Multiple graphical keyboards for continuous gesture input

• US 8,997,013 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2013
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Starner, Thad Eugene, Patel, Nirmal, Zhai, Shumin
• Primary Examiner(s): BLOOMQUIST, KEITH D
• Application Number:
  US13/907,602
• Publication Number:
  US 20140359513A1
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

In one example, a method includes outputting, by a computing device and for display, a graphical user interface comprising a first graphical keyboard comprising a first plurality of keys. The method further includes determining, based at least in part on an input context, to output a second graphical keyboard comprising a second plurality of keys, and outputting, for contemporaneous display with the first graphical keyboard, the second graphical keyboard. A character associated with at least one key from the second plurality of keys may be different than each character associated with each key from the first plurality of keys. The method further includes selecting, based at least in part on a first portion of a continuous gesture, a first key from first graphical keyboard, and selecting, based at least in part on a second portion of the continuous gesture, a second key from the second graphical keyboard.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

outputting, by a computing device and for display, a graphical user interface comprising a first graphical keyboard comprising a first plurality of keys, each key from the first plurality of keys associated with a respective character from a first plurality of characters;

responsive to receiving an indication of a first portion of a continuous gesture that is detected at a presence-sensitive input device and traverses a first location associated with a first key, selecting, by the computing device, the first key from the first plurality of keys of the first graphical keyboard;

responsive to receiving an indication of a second portion of the continuous gesture that traverses a second location of a second key of the first graphical keyboard associated with an alternate character function of the first graphical keyboard prior to a third portion of the continuous gesture, outputting, by the computing device and for contemporaneous display with the first graphical keyboard, a second graphical keyboard comprising a second plurality of keys, each key from the second plurality of keys associated with a respective character from a second plurality of characters, wherein each character from the second plurality of characters is different than each character from the first plurality of characters;

responsive to receiving an indication of the third portion of the continuous gesture that is detected at the presence-sensitive input device and traverses a third location associated with a third key, selecting by the computing device, the third key included in the second plurality of keys of the second graphical keyboard;

responsive to receiving an indication of a fourth portion of the continuous gesture that is detected at the presence-sensitive input device and traverses a fourth location associated with a fourth key, selecting by the computing device, the fourth key included in the first plurality of keys of the first graphical keyboard;

determining, by the computing device and based on the continuous gesture that traverses the first graphical keyboard and the second graphical keyboard to select the first key, second key, third key, and fourth key, a candidate character string, wherein the candidate character string comprises at least a first character associated with the first key, a second character associated with the third key, and a third character associated with the fourth key; and

outputting, by the computing device and for display, a representation of the candidate character string.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the input context comprises an identifier of an input region that is capable of receiving input.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the identifier of the input region comprises an identifier of at least one of a password region, a uniform resource locator (URL) region, an email address region, a color region, a date region, a datetime region, a datetime-local region, a month region, a number region, a range region, a search region, a telephone number region, a time region, and a week region.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the candidate character string comprises determining the candidate character string without comparing the candidate character string to a language model that indicates a probability that the candidate character string represents a word included in a lexicon.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein the graphical user interface comprises a first portion that includes the first graphical keyboard and a second, different portion that includes one or more of a text suggestion region and a text display region, and

wherein outputting the second graphical keyboard for contemporaneous display with the first graphical keyboard further comprises outputting the second graphical keyboard for display within the second portion of the graphical user interface as an alpha-blended overlay of one or more of the text suggestion region and the text display region.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the second graphical keyboard for contemporaneous display with the first graphical keyboard further comprises:

determining, based at least in part on the input context, an arrangement of the second plurality of keys of the second graphical keyboard; and

outputting the second graphical keyboard for contemporaneous display with the first graphical keyboard in accordance with the determined arrangement of the second plurality of keys of the second graphical keyboard.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the second graphical keyboard for contemporaneous display with the first graphical keyboard further comprises outputting, for display at the second graphical keyboard, an indication of a probability of selection of at least one key from the second plurality of keys of the second graphical keyboard.

8. A device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one module operable by the at least one processor to;

output, for display, a graphical user interface comprising a first graphical keyboard comprising a first plurality of keys;

responsive to receiving an indication of a first portion of a continuous gesture that is detected at a presence-sensitive input device and traverses a first location associated with a first key, select, the first key from the first plurality of keys of the first graphical keyboard;

responsive to receiving an indication of a second portion of the continuous gesture that traverses a second location of a second key of the first graphical keyboard associated with an alternate character function of the first graphical keyboard prior to a third portion of the continuous gesture, output, for contemporaneous display with the first graphical keyboard, a second graphical keyboard comprising a second plurality of keys;

responsive to receiving an indication of the third portion of the continuous gesture that is detected at the presence-sensitive input device and traverses a third location associated with a third key, select the third key included in the second plurality of keys of the second graphical keyboard;

responsive to receiving an indication of a fourth portion of the continuous gesture that is detected at the presence-sensitive input device and traverses a fourth location associated with a fourth key, select the fourth key included in the first plurality of keys of the first graphical keyboard;

determine, based on the continuous gesture that traverses the first graphical keyboard and the second graphical keyboard to select the first key, second key, third key, and fourth key, a candidate character string, wherein the candidate character string comprises at least a first character associated with the first key, a second character associated with the third key, and a third character associated with the fourth key; and

output, for display, a representation of the candidate character string.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the input context comprises an identifier of an input region that is capable of receiving input.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the identifier of the input region comprises an identifier of at least one of a password region, a uniform resource locator (URL) region, an email address region, a color region, a date region, a datetime region, a datetime-local region, a month region, a number region, a range region, a search region, a telephone number region, a time region, and a week region.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein the at least one module is operable by the at least one processor to determine the candidate character string by at least being operable by the at least one processor to determine the candidate character string without comparing the candidate character string to a language model that indicates a probability that the candidate character string represents a word included in a lexicon.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor of a computing device to:

output, for display, a graphical user interface comprising a first graphical keyboard comprising a first plurality of keys;

responsive to receiving an indication of a first portion of a continuous gesture that is detected at a presence-sensitive input device and traverses a first location associated with a first key, selecting, by the computing device, the first key from the first plurality of keys of the first graphical keyboard;

output, for contemporaneous display with the first graphical keyboard, based at least in part on an input context, a second graphical keyboard comprising a second plurality of keys,

wherein each character associated with at least one key from the second plurality of keys is different than each character associated with each key from the first plurality of keys;

responsive to receiving an indication of a second portion of the continuous gesture that is detected at the presence-sensitive input device and traverses a second location associated with a second key, selecting by the computing device, the second key included in the second plurality of keys of the second graphical keyboard;

responsive to receiving an indication of a third portion of the continuous gesture that is detected at the presence-sensitive input device and traverses a third location associated with a third key, selecting by the computing device, the third key included in the first plurality of keys of the first graphical keyboard;

determine, based on the continuous gesture that traverses the first graphical keyboard and the second graphical keyboard to select the first key, second key, and third key, a candidate character string, wherein the candidate character string comprises at least a first character associated with the first key and a second character associated with the third key; and

output, for display, a representation of the candidate character string.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the input context comprises an identifier of an input region that is capable of receiving input.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the identifier of the input region comprises an identifier of at least one of a password region, a uniform resource locator (URL) region, an email address region, a color region, a date region, a datetime region, a datetime-local region, a month region, a number region, a range region, a search region, a telephone number region, a time region, and a week region.