Dynamic soft keyboard

• US 9,552,155 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2008
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Geidl, Erik M., LeProwse, Shawn R., LeGrow, Ian C., Townsend, Reed L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yi, Rinna
• Application Number:
  US12/025,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20090195506A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,277 Days
• Field of Search: 715/773, 715/780, 715/808, 715/816, 715/864, 345/169, 345/172, 345/173, 345/472, 345/619
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• 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 accordance with one or more aspects of a dynamic soft keyboard, a user input is received via a soft keyboard having multiple keys. Information describing a current input environment for the soft keyboard is obtained, and a determination is made as to which one or more keys of the multiple keys was intended to be selected by the user input. This determination is made based at least in part on the current input environment.

Claims

1. One or more computer storage hardware devices having stored thereon multiple instructions to display a dynamic soft keyboard that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to:

receive an indication of a user input;

obtain information describing a current input environment based on the user input;

determine, based at least in part on the current input environment, a layout of a soft keyboard, wherein the soft keyboard includes multiple keys each having a corresponding hit target comprising locations on the soft keyboard that correspond to the key;

display the soft keyboard with the determined layout;

receive a user selection of a key via the soft keyboard;

predict, based on the user selection, which one or more keys of the multiple keys are intended to be selected by the user; and

alter a hit target of the predicted one or more keys by increasing size of the hit target of the predicted one or more keys so that the hit target of the predicted one or more keys extends beyond a display of the predicted one or more keys and over a portion of a display of one or more adjacent keys while decreasing a size of a hit target of the one or more adjacent keys, the altering resulting in the hit target of the predicted one or more keys including both locations in which the predicted one or more keys is displayed and locations in which the one or more adjacent keys is displayed.

2. One or more computer storage hardware devices as recited in claim 1, wherein the indication of the user input is a set of one or more coordinates indicating one or more locations of the soft keyboard selected by a user.

3. One or more computer storage hardware devices as recited in claim 1, the information describing the current input environment comprising information describing an operation mode of the device.

4. One or more computer storage hardware devices as recited in claim 3, the information describing the operation mode of the device comprising a geographical location of the device.

5. One or more computer storage hardware devices as recited in claim 3, the information describing the operation mode of the device comprising a physical description of how the device is being used.

6. One or more computer storage hardware devices as recited in claim 1, the information describing the current input environment comprising a language-specific dictionary.

7. One or more computer storage hardware devices as recited in claim 1, the information describing the current input environment comprising information regarding words that are commonly entered by a user of the device.

8. One or more computer storage hardware devices as recited in claim 1, the information describing the current input environment comprising information mapping, for each of one or more fields in which a user may enter data, the field to types of data that are valid for the field.

9. One or more computer storage hardware devices as recited in claim 1, the information describing the current input environment comprising information describing particular words or phrases that are more likely than other words or phrases based on partial inputs.

10. One or more computer storage hardware devices as recited in claim 1, the information describing the current input environment comprising:

information describing an operation mode of the device;

a language-specific dictionary;

information regarding words that are commonly entered by a user of the device;

information mapping, for each of one or more fields in which the user may enter data, the field to types of data that are valid for the field;

information describing a language being used by the user; and

information describing particular words or phrases that are more likely than other words or phrases based on partial inputs.

11. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

a predictive keyboard engine;

one or more modules coupled to provide, to the predictive keyboard engine, information describing a current input environment for a soft keyboard; and

the predictive keyboard engine being configured to, based at least in part on the information describing the current input environment;

receive an indication of a user input;

obtain information describing the current input environment based on the user input;

determine, based at least in part on the current input environment, a layout of a soft keyboard, wherein the soft keyboard includes multiple keys each having a corresponding hit target comprising locations on the soft keyboard that correspond to the key;

display the soft keyboard with the determined layout;

receive a user selection of a key via the soft keyboard;

predict, based on the user selection, which one or more keys of the multiple keys are intended to be selected by the user; and

alter a hit target of the predicted one or more keys by increasing size of the hit target of the predicted one or more keys so that the hit target of the predicted one or more keys extends beyond a display of the predicted one or more keys and over a portion of a display of one or more adjacent keys while decreasing a size of a hit target of the one or more adjacent keys, the altering resulting in the hit target of the predicted one or more keys including both locations in which the predicted one or more keys is displayed as well as locations in which the one or more adjacent keys is displayed.

12. A computing device as recited in claim 11, the predictive keyboard engine comprising an artificial intelligence system.

13. A computing device as recited in claim 11, the one or more modules including:

an operation mode detection module to provide information describing an operation mode of the computing device; and

a user specific lexica module to provide information regarding words that are commonly entered by the user of the computing device.

14. A method for displaying a dynamic soft keyboard, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of a user input;

obtaining information describing a current input environment based on the user input;

determining, based at least in part on the current input environment, a layout of a soft keyboard, wherein the soft keyboard includes multiple keys each having a corresponding hit target comprising locations on the soft keyboard that correspond to the key;

displaying the soft keyboard with the determined layout;

receiving a user selection of a key via the soft keyboard;

predicting, based on the user selection, which one or more keys of the multiple keys are intended to be selected by the user; and

altering a hit target of the predicted one or more keys by increasing size of the hit target of the predicted one or more keys so that the hit target of the predicted one or more keys extends beyond a display of the predicted one or more keys and over a portion of a display of one or more adjacent keys while decreasing a size of a hit target of the one or more adjacent keys, the altering resulting in the hit target of the predicted one or more keys including both locations in which the predicted one or more keys is displayed and locations in which the one or more adjacent keys is displayed.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising changing which characters, numbers, or symbols correspond to which of the multiple keys based at least in part on the current input environment.

16. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the current input environment includes information regarding words that are commonly entered by the user, and information mapping, for each of one or more fields in which the user may enter data, the field to types of data that are valid for the field.

17. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the current input environment includes information describing a language being used by the user, and information describing particular words or phrases that are more likely than other words or phrases based on partial inputs.

18. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

identifying a particular key of the multiple keys that is invalid; and

determining that the particular key of the multiple keys are not intended to be selected by the user.

19. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the current input environment includes a geographical location of a device implementing the method for displaying the dynamic soft keyboard.

20. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising displaying a prediction of a particular word or phrase being input by the user.

21. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising changing, based at least in part on the current input environment, faces for the multiple keys by highlighting at least one of the multiple keys and dimming at least another of the multiple keys.