Intent-aware keyboard

• US 9,576,074 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2013
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Kuo, Yu-Ting, Gulli, Antonio, Wang, Kuansan
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Truong
• Application Number:
  US13/922,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20140379744A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,342 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3338 Query expansion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90324 using system suggestions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that provide contextual services are provided. Embodiments of the present invention allow an input mechanism to provide contextual services. Exemplary input mechanisms include a keyboard, a gesture interface, and a speech interface. These inputs may be used to provide user input into one or more applications running on a computer. The contextual services provided include composition assistance, grammatical assistance, communication-context assistance, and research assistance. In one embodiment, an input mechanism (“IME”) program provides the contextual service. The IME program may work with a remote contextual-service provider. The IME program communicates user input and contextual information to the contextual-service provider. The contextual-service provider analyzes the input and contextual information to determine whether one or more contextual services should be provided.

Claims

1. One or more computer storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, that when executed, cause a computing device to perform a method for providing a contextual service in association with an input mechanism, the method comprising:

receiving over a computer network, at a contextual-service provider, an input fragment from an input mechanism (“

IME”

) program running on a computing device, the input fragment comprising letters that do not presently constitute a full word;

receiving, at the contextual-service provider, information from the IME program that describes a characteristic of an active application into which the IME program input the input fragment;

determining, at the contextual-service provider, that the characteristic and the input fragment satisfy a contextual service'"'"'s trigger criteria that causes a contextual service to be generated;

generating content used to provide the contextual service; and

communicating the content to the IME program.

2. The one or more computer storage media of claim 1, wherein the IME program enables a touchscreen keyboard.

3. The one or more computer storage media of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is relevant to determining what task a user of the computing device is presently completing.

4. The one or more computer storage media of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is text within a document presently being composed on the computing device.

5. The one or more computer storage media of claim 4, wherein the contextual service is an autosuggested word or phrase that does not include the input fragment, but that is related by subject matter to a word that that includes the input fragment.

6. The one or more computer storage media of claim 1, wherein the contextual service is a group of facts describing an object with a name that includes the input fragment.

7. The one or more computer storage media of claim 1, wherein the contextual service is a search result generated in response to a query comprising the input fragment.

8. A method for providing a contextual service in association with an input mechanism, the method comprising:

receiving a user input at an input mechanism (“

IME”

) program running on a computing device, the IME program enabling an associated input mechanism;

communicating the user input from the IME program to an active application running on the computing device;

communicating the user input from the IME program to a remote contextual-service provider;

communicating from the IME program information that describes a characteristic of the active application to the remote contextual-service provider;

receiving at the IME program a contextual-service instruction from the remote contextual-service provider, the contextual-service instruction comprising information needed to provide one or more contextual services; and

outputting for display, a contextual interface that presents a contextual service.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the IME program enables a gesture interface that uses image data to identify the user input.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the input mechanism is a touchscreen keyboard, and wherein the input is a text fragment forming less than a full word.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises receiving a user interaction with the contextual interface, automatically generating an input for the active application, and communicating the input to the active application.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the active application is a web browser open to a web page having an input box, the user input is text entered into the input box, and the contextual service is a search result generated in response to the user input.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the active application is a web browser open to a web page having an input box, the user input is text entered into the input box, and the contextual service is a suggested query generated in response to the user input.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the input mechanism is a keyboard, and wherein the method further comprises receiving an indication that a contextual-service key on the keyboard has been selected and, in response, activating contextual service functionality associated with the IME program.

15. A computing system comprising:

a processor; and

computer storage memory having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the processor, configure the computing system to;

receive a user input at an input mechanism (“

IME”

) program running on a computing device, the IME program enabling an associated input mechanism that provides input to multiple applications on the computing device, the user input comprising letters that do not presently constitute a full word;

communicate the user input from the IME program to an active application running on the computing device;

communicating the user input from the IME program to a remote contextual-service provider;

receiving at the IME program a contextual-service instruction comprising information needed to provide one or more contextual services from the remote contextual-service provider;

generate, by the IME program, a contextual interface that offers to provide one or more contextual services related to the user input and context in the active application;

receive a user selection of a contextual service offered in the contextual interface; and

initiate the contextual service.

16. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the contextual interface is an overlay presented with an interface associated with the active application.

17. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the contextual service is a composition-assistance service and the contextual interface is displayed adjacent to a point where the user input is added within an interface associated with the active application.

18. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the contextual service associates a user with multiple devices through a login to the service and builds a contextual service profile using information from the multiple devices.

19. The computing system of claim 18, wherein the communications include one or more social posts from a social network and emails addressed to or from an address associated with the communication being composed.

20. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the computing system is further configured to communicate the user selection to a contextual service provider that uses the user selection to determine circumstances when the contextual service is relevant to a user.