Method and apparatus for text input

• US 9,110,515 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2009
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Sharan, Santosh, Agarwal, Mayank, Kessler, Gordon
• Primary Examiner(s): Hur, Ece
• Application Number:
  US12/543,602
• Publication Number:
  US 20110047456A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,190 Days
• Field of Search: 715/261, 715/256, 715/200, 715/773, 708/142, 708/145, 708/131, 345/160, 345/168
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0426 tracking fingers with respect to a virtual keyboard projected or printed on the surface virtual keyboards on touch screens G06F3/04886
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00384 Key input means, e.g. buttons or keypads electromechanical details of key input means in general H01H13/00

Abstract

A method and apparatus for text entry are provided. The method provides a keypad comprising four directional keys and a center selection key, and assigns a set of letters to each of the four directional keys. A representation of the set of letters assigned to each of the four directional keys is provided. A sequence of selected directional keys is received in accordance with a user input, and in accordance with the selected directional keys, the set of letters assigned to each of the selected directional keys are selectively passed to a parsing algorithm. The parsing algorithm determines a user intended text input based upon the passed sequence of letter groupings.

Claims

1. A text entry apparatus, comprising:

a keypad comprising four directional keys;

a display device; and

a parsing algorithm for determining a user intended text input based upon a received sequence of directional keys;

wherein eight sets of characters are defined, each set comprising at least two characters;

wherein a different two sets of the eight sets of characters are simultaneously assigned to each of the four directional keys,

wherein a first individual actuation of a directional key selects all of the characters from one of the sets assigned thereto for the parsing algorithm; and

a second consecutive individual actuation of the same directional key selects all of the characters from the other set assigned thereto for the parsing algorithm;

wherein the parsing algorithm determines the user intended text input using a predetermined probability distribution that indicates, for one or more character set selections possible using the keypad, a probability that a user unintentionally performed a received actuation when the user intended to perform a different intended actuation;

wherein the parsing algorithm further determines the user intended text input by;

determining a context of the text entry apparatus comprising a set of elements including one or more of;

a set of songs, a set of contacts, or a set of stations; and

limiting possible user intended text inputs to the set of elements;

wherein, concurrently with the first individual actuation or the second consecutive individual actuation, the display device is configured to display, for each of the four directional keys, simultaneous indications of the different two sets of characters assigned to that directional key; and

wherein the sum of the characters in the four sets of characters that correspond to the first individual actuation of each of the four directional keys comprise all the characters in an alphabet.

2. The text entry apparatus of claim 1, wherein the keypad is a touchscreen that displays directional keys.

3. The text entry apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display is further configured to display a most likely intended word of the user, as determined in accordance with the parsing algorithm.

4. The text entry apparatus of claim 3, wherein actuation of a center selection key selects the displayed most likely intended word.

5. The text entry apparatus of claim 3, wherein an actuation of a center selection key for a period of time greater than a threshold displays the one or more of the most likely intended words as determined in accordance with the parsing algorithm.

6. The text entry apparatus of claim 1, wherein the keypad comprises dedicated hardware keys.

7. The text entry apparatus of claim 1, wherein the keypad comprises virtual keys.

20. The text entry apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the display is configured to show a menu configured to receive a selection from the user;

and

wherein, in response to the selection received in the menu, an alternate set of characters is assigned to one of the directional keys instead of the first set of characters assigned thereto.

21. The text entry apparatus of claim 20,

wherein the selection received in the menu indicates a type comprising one of letters, numbers, and symbols, and

wherein a type of characters in the alternate set of characters corresponds to the indicated type.

8. A text entry apparatus, comprising:

a keypad comprising four directional keys and a menu selection key; and

a display;

wherein actuation of the menu selection key allows for selection of a type of character to be entered by a user;

wherein, upon selection of text entry in accordance with the menu selection key, two sets of characters are simultaneously assigned to each of the four directional keys, each set of characters assigned to the four directional keys comprising two or more characters each;

wherein each letter of an alphabet is assigned to a directional key,

wherein a first individual actuation of any of the four directional keys selects all of the characters from one set of characters assigned thereto, the selected characters provided to a parsing algorithm for determining a user intended text input based upon a received sequence of directional keys;

wherein a second consecutive individual actuation of any of the four directional keys selects all of the characters from the other set of characters assigned thereto, the selected characters provided to the parsing algorithm for determining the user intended text input based upon the received sequence of directional keys;

wherein the parsing algorithm determines the user intended text input using a predetermined probability distribution that indicates, for one or more character set selections possible using the keypad, a probability that a user unintentionally performed a received actuation when the user intended to perform a different intended actuation;

wherein the parsing algorithm further determines the user intended text input by;

determining a context of the text entry apparatus comprising a set of elements including one or more of;

a set of songs, a set of contacts, or a set of stations; and

limiting possible user intended text inputs to the set of elements;

wherein, concurrently with the first individual actuation or the second consecutive individual actuation, the display device is configured to display, for each of the four directional keys, simultaneous indications of the two sets of characters assigned to that directional key;

wherein upon selection of numbers in accordance with the menu selection key, a set of numbers is assigned to each of the four directional keys; and

wherein upon selection of symbols in accordance with the menu selection key, a set of symbols is assigned to each of the four directional keys.

9. The text entry apparatus of claim 8, wherein the display is further configured to display a most likely intended word of the user, as determined in accordance with the parsing algorithm, when the user has selected text entry.

10. The text entry apparatus of claim 9, wherein actuation of a center selection key selects the displayed most likely intended word, and wherein the keypad is a touchscreen that displays directional keys.

11. The text entry apparatus of claim 9, wherein an actuation of a center selection key for a period of time longer than a threshold displays the one or more of the most likely intended words as determined in accordance with the parsing algorithm.

18. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the text entry apparatus can be switched to a direct character selection mode that displays multiple characters and the directional keys are employed to highlight and select the displayed characters.

19. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising a memory including a predictive text algorithm configured to determine the user intended text input based upon the received sequence of directional keys.

22. The text entry apparatus of claim 8,

wherein space and backspace characters are assigned to individual actuations of particular directional keys that exceed a duration;

wherein individual actuation of any of the four directional keys for no more than the duration passes all of the characters, from the set of characters assigned thereto, to the parsing algorithm;

wherein individual actuation longer than the duration of a particular directional key passes the space or backspace character assigned thereto to the parsing algorithm; and

wherein the individual actuation for longer than the duration is performed in a single step.

12. A method for text entry, comprising:

assigning, to each of four directional keys of a keypad, a different two sets of characters such that each directional key is simultaneously assigned two sets of characters,

wherein each set of characters assigned to the four directional keys comprise two or more characters, and

receiving a sequence of indications of a character set, each indication of a character set comprising either a first individual actuation of a directional key or a second of two individual actuations of the directional key;

wherein the first individual actuation of the directional key selects, as a selected set, all of the characters from one set of characters assigned thereto; and

wherein the second individual actuation of the directional key selects, as the selected set, all of the characters from the other set of characters assigned thereto;

concurrently with receiving at least one of the indications of the character sets in the sequence, displaying, for each of the four directional keys, simultaneous indications of the two sets of characters assigned to that directional key;

sequentially passing the selected sets of characters to a parsing algorithm that;

determines a user intended text input using a predetermined probability distribution that indicates, for one or more character set selections possible using the keypad, a probability that a user unintentionally performed a received actuation when the user intended to perform a different intended actuation;

determines a context of the text entry apparatus comprising a set of elements including one or more of;

a set of songs, a set of contacts, or a set of stations; and

limits possible user intended text inputs to the set of elements; and

receiving, from the parsing algorithm, the determined user intended text input based upon the passed sets of characters.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising displaying a most likely intended word of the user, as determined in accordance with the parsing algorithm.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein actuation of the selection key selects the displayed most likely intended word, and wherein determining a user intended text input includes employing a predictive text algorithm.

15. The method of claim 12,

wherein space and backspace characters are assigned individual actuations of particular directional keys that exceed a duration;

wherein individual actuation of any of the four directional keys for no more than the duration passes all of the characters, from the set of characters assigned thereto, to the parsing algorithm;

wherein individual actuation longer than the duration of a particular directional key passes the space or backspace character assigned thereto to the parsing algorithm; and

wherein the individual actuation for longer than the duration is performed in a single step.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising displaying an array or sequence of characters, and receiving input via the directional keys to highlight and select multiple displayed characters.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein determining the user intended text input includes employing a predictive text algorithm.