Handheld electronic device and method for performing spell checking during text entry and for providing a spell-check learning feature

• US 9,058,320 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2011
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Fux, Vadim, Rubanovich, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Velez-Lopez, Mario M
• Application Number:
  US13/175,177
• Publication Number:
  US 20110258539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• Field of Search: 715/256, 715/257, 382/231
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/232 Orthographic correction, e.g. spell checking or vowelisation

Abstract

A handheld electronic device includes a reduced QWERTY keyboard and is enabled with a disambiguation routine that is operable to disambiguate text input. In addition to identifying and outputting representations of language objects that are stored in the memory and that correspond with a text input, the device is able to perform a spell check routine during input of a text entry and to learn and automatically correct mistakes typically made by the particular user.

Claims

1. A method of enabling input on a handheld electronic device having an internal data source, and an input apparatus comprising a number of keys, the method comprising:

detecting as a first input a first number of input key selections;

outputting as a proposed textual interpretation of the first input a text output having an arrangement of linguistic elements different than the arrangement of linguistic elements of the first input and being relatively less preferred than another textual interpretation of the first input, wherein the internal data source comprises the proposed textual interpretation of the first input;

detecting a selection of the text output;

detecting as a second input a second number of input key selections;

outputting the text output as a proposed textual interpretation of the second input relatively more preferred than the another textual interpretation, wherein the internal data source comprises the proposed textual interpretation of the second input;

detecting as the first input a misspelled input; and

outputting the text output as a proposed spelling correction,

wherein the handheld electronic device has stored therein a number of language objects, at least some of the language objects each being comprised of a number of linguistic elements, further comprising detecting as the misspelled input a misspelled ambiguous input comprising as the first number of input key selections at least a first selection of a key having as the number of linguistic elements assigned thereto a plurality of linguistic elements, failing to identify a language object having an arrangement of linguistic elements consistent with the misspelled ambiguous input and, responsive thereto, initiating said outputting as a proposed textual interpretation.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to said text output selection, storing a representation of the first input as a first data element and storing a representation of the text output as a second data element associated with the first data element.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising, responsive to said second input, identifying at least a portion of the first data element and, responsive thereto, outputting at least a portion of the second data element as said at least one of:

a default textual interpretation of the second input, and

a proposed textual interpretation of the second input relatively more preferred than the another textual interpretation.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting another text output representative of at least a portion of the another textual interpretation and having an arrangement of linguistic elements consistent with the arrangement of linguistic elements of the first input.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising outputting the another text output as a default output and outputting the text output as a selectable variant output.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting as an input key selection of the first number of input key selections a current input key selection of a key having a number of linguistic elements assigned thereto and, responsive to said current input key selection, initiating said outputting as a proposed textual interpretation.

7. A handheld electronic device comprising an input apparatus, a processor apparatus, and an output apparatus, the input apparatus comprising a number of keys, the processor apparatus comprising a processor and an internal memory having stored therein a plurality of objects comprising a plurality of language objects, at least some of the language objects each comprising a number of the linguistic elements, the memory having stored therein a number of routines which, when executed by the processor, cause the handheld electronic device to be adapted to perform operations comprising:

detecting as a first input a first number of input key selections;

outputting as a proposed textual interpretation of the first input a text output having an arrangement of linguistic elements different than the arrangement of linguistic elements of the first input and being relatively less preferred than another textual interpretation of the first input, wherein the internal memory comprises the proposed textual interpretation of the first input;

detecting a selection of the text output;

detecting as a second input a second number of input key selections;

outputting the text output as a proposed textual interpretation of the second input relatively more preferred than the another textual interpretation, wherein the internal memory comprises the proposed textual interpretation of the second input;

detecting as the first input a misspelled input; and

outputting the text output as a proposed spelling correction,

wherein the handheld electronic device has stored therein a number of language objects, at least some of the language objects each being comprised of a number of linguistic elements, and wherein the operations further comprise detecting as the misspelled input a misspelled ambiguous input comprising as the first number of input key selections at least a first selection of a key having as the number of linguistic elements assigned thereto a plurality of linguistic elements, failing to identify a language object having an arrangement of linguistic elements consistent with the misspelled ambiguous input and, responsive thereto, initiating said outputting as a proposed textual interpretation.

8. The handheld electronic device of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise, responsive to said text output selection, storing a representation of the first input as a first data element and storing a representation of the text output as a second data element associated with the first data element.

9. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise, responsive to said second input, identifying at least a portion of the first data element and, responsive thereto, outputting at least a portion of the second data element as said at least one of:

a default textual interpretation of the second input, and

a proposed textual interpretation of the second input relatively more preferred than the another textual interpretation.

10. The handheld electronic device of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise outputting another text output representative of at least a portion of the another textual interpretation and having an arrangement of linguistic elements consistent with the arrangement of linguistic elements of the first input.

11. The handheld electronic device of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise outputting the another text output as a default output and outputting the text output as a selectable variant output.

12. The handheld electronic device of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise detecting as an input key selection of the first number of input key selections a current input key selection of a key having a number of linguistic elements assigned thereto and, responsive to said current input key selection, initiating said outputting as a proposed textual interpretation.

13. A method of enabling input on a handheld electronic device having an internal data source, and an input apparatus comprising a number of keys, the method comprising:

detecting as a first input a first number of input key selections;

outputting as a proposed textual interpretation of the first input a text output having an arrangement of linguistic elements different than the arrangement of linguistic elements of the first input and being relatively less preferred than another textual interpretation of the first input, wherein the internal data source comprises the proposed textual interpretation of the first input;

detecting as a second input a second number of input key selections;

outputting the text output as a proposed textual interpretation of the second input relatively more preferred than the another textual interpretation, wherein the internal data source comprises the proposed textual interpretation of the second input;

detecting as the first input a misspelled input; and

outputting the text output as a proposed spelling correction,

wherein the handheld electronic device has stored therein a number of language objects, at least some of the language objects each being comprised of a number of linguistic elements, further comprising detecting as the misspelled input a misspelled ambiguous input comprising as the first number of input key selections at least a first selection of a key having as the number of linguistic elements assigned thereto a plurality of linguistic elements, failing to identify a language object having an arrangement of linguistic elements consistent with the misspelled ambiguous input and, responsive thereto, initiating said outputting as a proposed textual interpretation.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising storing a representation of the first input as a first data element and storing a representation of the text output as a second data element associated with the first data element.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising identifying at least a portion of the first data element and, responsive thereto, outputting at least a portion of the second data element as a default textual interpretation of the second input.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising identifying at least a portion of the first data element and, responsive thereto, outputting at least a portion of the second data element as a proposed textual interpretation of the second input relatively more preferred than the another textual interpretation.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising outputting another text output representative of at least a portion of the another textual interpretation and having an arrangement of linguistic elements consistent with the arrangement of linguistic elements of the first input.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising outputting the another text output as a default output and outputting the text output as a selectable variant output.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising detecting as an input key selection of the first number of input key selections a current selection of a key having a number of linguistic elements assigned thereto and, responsive to said current input key selection, initiating said outputting as a proposed textual interpretation.

20. A computer-readable medium having computer-readable code executable by at least one processor of a portable electronic device to perform the method of claim 13.