Displaying a graphic keyboard

• US 9,959,038 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2013
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Yu, Fan, Bao, Huanjun
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, RUAY L
• Application Number:
  US13/959,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20140068492A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,730 Days
• Field of Search: 715773, 345173, 340665
• 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 general, this disclosure describes techniques for providing a mechanism for facilitating text entry by a user interacting with a graphical keyboard displayed at a presence-sensitive screen of a computing device. For example, a computing device having a presence-sensitive screen and a housing, the housing further having a plurality of touch sensors, receives touch input at the touch sensors. The computing device determines a usage mode, based on the touch input. The computing device also displays, based on the usage mode, a graphical keyboard at the presence-sensitive screen. If the usage mode is a one-handed usage mode, a unitary graphical keyboard is displayed. If the usage mode is a two-handed usage mode, a split graphical keyboard is displayed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, an indication of touch input detected at one or more touch sensors of a plurality of touch sensors included in a housing of the computing device;

determining, based at least in part on the indication of the touch input and by the computing device, a usage mode;

receiving, by the computing device, indications of two or more inputs detected at a presence-sensitive screen, each input of the two or more inputs being detected at a respective location of the presence-sensitive screen;

determining, by the computing device and based at least in part on the respective locations of the presence-sensitive screen and the usage mode, that one of the two or more inputs is an unintentional input; and

discarding, based on the determination, the unintentional input.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that one of the two or more inputs is an unintentional input comprises:

determining, based on the indication of the touch input, that the usage mode is a left-handed usage mode, wherein at least one of the respective locations at which at least one of the two or more inputs is detected is between a left edge of the presence-sensitive screen and at least one other input of the two or more inputs; and

determining, by the computing device, that the one of the two or more inputs detected between the left edge of the presence-sensitive screen and the at least one other input of the two or more inputs is the unintentional input.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that one of the two or more inputs is an unintentional input comprises:

determining, based on the indication of the touch input, that the usage mode is a right-handed usage mode, wherein at least one of the respective locations at which at least one of the two or more inputs is detected is between a right edge of the presence-sensitive screen and at least one other input of the two or more inputs; and

determining, by the computing device, that the one of the two or more inputs detected between the right edge of the presence-sensitive screen and the at least one other input of the two or more inputs is the unintentional input.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that one of the two or more inputs is the unintentional input comprises:

determining, based on the indication of the touch input, that the usage mode is a two-handed usage mode, wherein the respective location at which the one of the two or more inputs is detected is

     1) between a left edge of the presence-sensitive screen and at least one other input detected at a second location more inbounds from the left edge of the presence-sensitive screen than the at least one respective location or

     2) between a right edge of the presence-sensitive screen and at least one other input detected at a third location more inbounds from the right edge of the presence-sensitive screen than the respective location at which the one of the two or more inputs is detected; and

determining, by the computing device, that the one of the two or more inputs detected at the respective location of the presence-sensitive screen is the unintentional input.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based on the respective locations, a usage location;

determining, based at least in part on the usage location and by the computing device, a position on the presence-sensitive screen at which to display a graphical keyboard; and

outputting the graphical keyboard for display by the presence-sensitive screen at the position.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by an interface manager of the computing device, based at least in part on the respective locations and the usage mode, that at least one input of the two or more inputs is an intentional input; and

providing, by the interface manager, the intentional input to a software application executing at the computing device.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein receiving the indication of the touch input comprises receiving, by the computing device, a respective indication of the touch input from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a rear surface of the housing, from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of the rear surface of the housing, and from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a front surface of the housing, and

wherein determining the usage mode comprises determining, based at least in part on the indication of the touch input, that the usage mode is a left-handed usage mode, the method further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device for display, a left-weighted graphical keyboard.

8. The method of claim 1,

wherein receiving the indication of the touch input comprises receiving, by the computing device, a respective indication of the touch input from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a rear surface of the housing, from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of the rear surface of the housing, and from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of a front surface of the housing, and

wherein determining the usage mode comprises determining, based at least in part on the indication of the touch input, that the usage mode is a right-handed usage mode, the method further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device for display, a right-weighted graphical keyboard.

9. The method of claim 1,

wherein receiving the indication of the touch input comprises receiving, by the computing device, a respective indication of touch input from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a rear surface of the housing, from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of the rear surface of the housing, from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a front surface of the housing, and from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of the front surface of the housing, and

wherein determining the usage mode comprises determining, based at least in part on the indication of the touch input, that the usage mode is a two-handed usage mode.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the split graphical keyboard comprises a left portion of a QWERTY-type keyboard layout and a right portion of a QWERTY-type keyboard layout, and wherein the unitary graphical keyboard comprises a QWERTY-type keyboard layout.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one touch sensor of the plurality of touch sensors is located on a front surface of the housing.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one touch sensor of the plurality of touch sensors is located on a rear surface of the housing.

13. A computing system comprising:

one or more processors;

a presence-sensitive screen;

a housing having a plurality of touch sensors;

a usage mode module operable by the one or more processors to receive an indication of a touch input detected at one or more touch sensors of the plurality of touch sensors and determine, based at least in part on the indication of the touch input, a usage mode; and

an interface manager operable by the one or more processors to receive indications of two or more inputs detected at the presence-sensitive screen, each input of the two or more inputs being detected at a respective location of the presence-sensitive screen, determine, based at least in part on the respective locations of the presence-sensitive screen and the usage mode, that one of the two or more inputs is an unintentional input, and discard, based on the determination, the unintentional input.

14. The computing system of claim 13,

wherein the usage mode module is further operable by the one or more processors to determine, based on the indication of the touch input, that the usage mode is a left-handed usage mode, wherein at least one of the respective locations at which at least one of the two or more inputs is detected is between a left edge of the presence-sensitive screen and at least one other input of the two or more inputs, and

wherein the interface manager is further operable by the one or more processors to determine that the one of the two or more inputs detected between the left edge of the presence-sensitive screen and the at least one other input of the two or more inputs is the unintentional input.

15. The computing system of claim 13,

wherein the usage mode module is further operable by the one or more processors to determine, based on the indication of the touch input, that the usage mode is a right-handed usage mode, wherein at least one of the respective locations at which at least one of the two or more inputs is detected is between a right edge of the presence-sensitive screen and at least one other input of the two or more inputs, and

wherein the interface manager is further operable by the one or more processors to determine that the one of the two or more inputs detected between the right edge of the presence-sensitive screen and the at least one other input of the two or more inputs is the unintentional input.

16. The computing system of claim 13,

wherein the usage mode module is further operable by the one or more processors to determine, based on the indication of the touch input, that the usage mode is a two-handed usage mode, wherein the respective location at which the one of the two or more inputs is detected is 1) between a left edge of the presence-sensitive screen and at least one other input detected at a second location more inbounds from the left edge of the presence-sensitive screen than the at least one respective location or 2) between a right edge of the presence-sensitive screen and at least one other input detected at a third location more inbounds from the right edge of the presence-sensitive screen than the respective location at which the one of the two or more inputs is detected, and

wherein the interface manager is further operable by the one or more processors to determine that the one of the two or more inputs detected at the respective location of the presence-sensitive screen is the unintentional input.

17. The computing system of claim 13, wherein the interface manager is further operable by the one or more processors to determine, based at least in part on the respective locations and the usage mode, that at least one input of the two or more inputs is an intentional input, and provide the intentional input to a software application executing at the computing device.

18. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a computing device to:

receive an indication of touch input detected at one or more touch sensors of a plurality of touch sensors included in a housing of the computing device;

determine, based at least in part on the indication of the touch input and by the computing device, a usage mode;

receive indications of two or more inputs detected at a presence-sensitive screen, each input of the two or more inputs being detected at a respective location of the presence-sensitive screen;

determine, based at least in part on the respective locations of the presence-sensitive screen and the usage mode, that one of the two or more inputs is an unintentional input; and

discard, based on the determination, the unintentional input.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

determine, based at least in part on the respective locations and the usage mode, that at least one input of the two or more inputs is an intentional input; and

provide the intentional input to a software application executing at the computing device.