Keyboard input control method and system

• US 9,239,631 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2012
• Issued: 01/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Pasquero, Jerome, McKenzie, Donald Somerset McCulloch, Griffin, Jason Tyler
• Primary Examiner(s): Amadiz, Rodney
• Application Number:
  US13/564,312
• Publication Number:
  US 20130222250A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-172
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

A method for processing input from a keyboard of a hand-held computing device includes receiving a plurality of key input events and, from the plurality of key input events, determining whether there is a double selection event corresponding to a specified key from the keyboard. Further, the method includes, when it is determined that there is the double selection event corresponding to the specified key, determining a key selection offset between a first and second key selection action of the double selection. The method also includes deciding whether the key selection offset is substantially equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and, when it is decided that the key selection offset is substantially equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, using at least a first key as key input of the double selection event. The first key and the specified key are different.

Claims

1. A method for processing input from a keyboard of a hand-held computing device, comprising:

receiving a key input event;

determining that the key input event is a double selection event, wherein the double selection event includes a first key selection action of a specified key of the keyboard at a first time instance and a second key selection action of the specified key of the keyboard at a second time instance, and a time difference between the first time instance of the first key selection action and the second time instance of the second key selection action of the double selection event is within a predetermined time period;

determining a key selection offset between the first key selection action and the second key selection action based on a first location associated with the first key selection action and a second location associated with the second key selection action, wherein the key selection offset is a distance between the first location and the second location in the double selection event; and

outputting at least a first punctuation, corresponding to a first key, based on the determination that the key selection offset is substantially equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, wherein the first key is different from the specified key.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified key reflects a spacebar input and the first key reflects a comma input.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein outputting at least a comma in the double selection event further includes:

outputting a comma followed by a space instead of two spaces corresponding to the double selection of the spacebar.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting at least a second punctuation, corresponding to a second key, based on the determination that the key selection offset is less than the predetermined threshold, wherein the second key is different from the specified key and the first key.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the specified key reflects a spacebar input;

the first key reflects a comma input; and

the second key reflects a period input.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein outputting at least a period in the double selection event further includes:

outputting a period followed by a space instead of two spaces corresponding to the double selection of the spacebar.

7. The method of claim 5, further including:

marking a key input sequence corresponding to the double selection event as one of double selection without offset and double selection with offset;

editing the key input sequence marked with double selection without offset to output a period followed by a space corresponding to the double selection of the spacebar; and

editing the key input sequence marked with double selection with offset to output a comma followed by a space corresponding to the double selection of the spacebar.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the keyboard is a virtual keyboard on a touch screen;

the first key selection action is a first key touching action; and

the second key selection action is a second key touching action.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a key selection offset further includes:

determining the key selection offset based on a first point of the first key selection action of the specified key of the keyboard at the first time instance and a second point of the second key selection action of the specified key of the keyboard at the second time instance.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the first key selection action is a first key touching action;

the second key selection action is a second key touching action; and

the key selection offset is a distance between two coordinates of the first point and the second point, respectively.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a plurality of key input events; and

outputting key input corresponding to the plurality of key input events, based on a determination that the key input events does not include the double selection event.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the first key selection action of the specified key follows a character key input in the double key selection event; and

outputting key input corresponding to the specified key, based on a determination that the first key selection action does not follow the character key input.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

cancelling the outputting of the first punctuation by selecting a cancelling key, the cancelling key different from the first key and the specified key.