Graphical keyboard with integrated search features

• US 9,965,530 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2016
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Mohsin, Muhammad, Gupta, Pranay, Burks, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Arani, Taghi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Farhadian, F J
• Application Number:
  US15/134,243
• Publication Number:
  US 20170308586A1
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90328 using search space presentation or visualization, e.g. category or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites

Abstract

A computing device may include a presence-sensitive display, at least one processor, and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to output, for display at the presence-sensitive display, a graphical keyboard including a plurality of keys and a suggestion region; determine, based on a selection of the suggestion region or one or more keys from the plurality of keys, a search query; retrieve one or more search results determined based on the search query; and output, in place of at least a portion of the graphical keyboard, a visual representation of a particular search result of the one or more search results.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

while a first application executing at a computing device outputs, for display at a presence-sensitive display, a user interface including a text input region;

outputting, by a keyboard application executing at the computing device, for display at the presence-sensitive display and as part of the user interface of the first application, a graphical keyboard comprising;

a search element selectable to transition the keyboard application to search mode,

a plurality of keys, and

a word suggestion region configured to display predicted search queries and predicted characters, words, or phrases;

determining, by the computing device, based on a selection of a predicted search query from the word suggestion region or a selection of one or more keys from the plurality of keys, a search query;

retrieving, by the computing device, one or more search results determined based on the search query; and

outputting, by the computing device, in place of at least a portion of the graphical keyboard,

a first visual representation of a carousel of card-based user interface elements while continuing to display the search element and the word suggestion region, wherein;

each card-based user interface element in the carousel is a graphical representation of a particular search result of the one or more search results determined based on the search query; and

the first visual representation of the carousel includes a first card-based user interface element associated with a first search result from the search results;

after outputting the first visual representation of the search results, and in response to receiving an indication of a first user input, outputting, by the keyboard application, in place of the first visual representation of the carousel,

a second visual representation of the carousel including an animation switching focus from the first card-based user interface element to a second card-based user interface element associated with a second search result from the search results,

the second card-based user interface element associated with the second search result being different than the first card-based user interface element associated with the first search result;

determining, by the keyboard application, based on second user input detected at a location of the presence-sensitive display at which the second visual representation of the search results is displayed, selection of the second card-based user interface element;

while continuing to display the search element, the word suggestion region, and the carousel, inserting, by the keyboard application, in the text input region of the user interface automatically and without further user input, a hyperlink to a website containing more information related to the second search result that the second card-based user interface element graphically represents.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving one or more search results determined based on the search query comprises:

transmitting, by the computing device and to a data service, the search query; and

receiving, by the computing device, from the data service, one or more search results determined based on the search query.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving one or more search results determined based on the search query comprises performing, by the computing device, a search based on the search query to determine the one or more search results.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein the text input region is displayed adjacent to the graphical keyboard.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, based on a third user input, selection of a predetermined portion of the second card-based user interface element; and

automatically, without further user input, performing, by the computing device, a predetermined action associated with the second card-based user interface element.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein

the first user input is a swipe user input gesture.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the first visual representation of the carousel of card-based user interface elements comprises replacing at least some keys of the plurality of keys with the first visual representation of the carousel of card-based user interface elements.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein inserting the hyperlink to the website containing more information related to the second search result that the second card-based user interface element graphically represents further comprises inserting, in the text input region, a natural language response to the search query.

9. A computing device comprising:

a presence-sensitive display;

at least one processor; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to;

while outputting, for display at the presence-sensitive display, a user interface of a first application executing at the at least one processor;

output, for display at the presence-sensitive display and as part of the user interface of the first application, a graphical keyboard comprising;

a search element selectable to transition the keyboard application to search mode,

a plurality of keys, and

a word suggestion region configured to display predicted search queries and predicted characters, words, or phrases,

wherein the user interface of the first application includes a text input region;

determine, based on a selection of a predicted search query from the word suggestion region or a selection of one or more keys from the plurality of keys, a search query;

retrieve one or more search results determined based on the search query; and

output, in place of at least a portion of the graphical keyboard, a first visual representation of a carousel of card-based user interface elements while continuing to display the search element and the word suggestion region,

wherein;

each card-based user interface element in the carousel is a graphical representation of a particular search result of the one or more search results determined based on the search query; and

the first visual representation of the carousel includes a first card-based user interface element associated with a first search result from the search results;

after outputting the first visual representation of the search results, and in response to receiving an indication of a first user input,

output, in place of the first visual representation of the carousel,

 

a second visual representation of the carousel including an animation switching focus from the first card-based user interface element to a second card-based user interface element associated with a second search result from the search results,

 

the second card-based user interface element associated with the second search result being different than the first card-based user interface element associated with the first search result;

determine, based on second user input detected at a location of the presence-sensitive display at which the second visual representation of the search results is displayed, selection of the second card-based user interface element; and

while continuing to display the search element, the word suggestion region, and the carousel, insert, in the text input region of the user interface automatically and without further user input, a hyperlink to a website containing more information related to the second search result that the second card-based user interface element graphically represents.

10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to retrieve the one or more search results determined based on the search query cause the at least one processor to:

transmit, to a data service, the search query; and

receive, from the data service, one or more search results determined based on the search query.

11. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to retrieve the one or more search results determined based on the search query cause the at least one processor to perform a search based on the search query to determine the one or more search results.

12. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the memory further comprises instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to

display the text input region adjacent to the graphical keyboard.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein

the memory further comprises instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

determine, based on a third user input, selection of a predetermined portion of the second card-based user interface element; and

automatically, without further user input, perform a predetermined action associated with the second card-based user interface element.

14. The computing device of claim 9, wherein:

the first user input is a swipe user input gesture.

15. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the first visual representation of the carousel of card-based user interface elements replaces at least some keys of the plurality of keys.

16. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the hyperlink to the website containing more information related to the second search result that the second card-based user interface element graphically represents further includes a natural language response to the search query.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein

the first user input is a swipe user input gesture.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the at least one processor to:

while outputting, for display at a presence-sensitive display, a user interface of a first application executing at the at least one processor;

output, for display at the presence-sensitive display and as part of the user interface of the first application, a graphical keyboard comprising;

a search element selectable to transition the keyboard application to search mode,

a plurality of keys, and

a word suggestion region configured to display predicted search queries and predicted characters, words, or phrases,

wherein the user interface of the first application includes a text input region;

determine, based on a selection of a predicted search query from the word suggestion region or a selection of one or more keys from the plurality of keys, a search query;

retrieve one or more search results determined based on the search query; and

output, in place of at least a portion of the graphical keyboard,

a first visual representation of a carousel of card-based user interface elements while continuing to display the search element and the word suggestion region, wherein;

each card-based user interface element in the carousel is a graphical representation of a particular search result of the one or more search results determined based on the search query; and

the first visual representation of the carousel includes a first card-based user interface element associated with a first search result from the search results;

after outputting the first visual representation of the search results, and in response to receiving an indication of a first user input, output, in place of the first visual representation of the carousel,

a second visual representation of the carousel including an animation switching focus from the first card-based user interface element to a second card-based user interface element associated with a second search result from the search results,

the second card-based user interface element associated with the second search result being different than the first card-based user interface element associated with the first search result;

determine, based on second user input detected at a location of the presence-sensitive display at which the second visual representation of the search results is displayed, selection of the second card-based user interface element; and

while continuing to display the search element, the word suggestion region, and the carousel, insert, in the text input region of the user interface automatically and without further user input, a hyperlink to a website containing more information related to the second search result that the second card-based user interface element graphically represents.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17,

wherein the text input region is displayed adjacent to the graphical keyboard.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein:

the memory further comprises instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to;

determine, based on a third user input, selection of a predetermined portion of the second card-based user interface element; and

automatically, without further user input, perform a predetermined action associated with the second card-based user interface element.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the first visual representation of the carousel of card-based user interface elements replaces at least some keys of the plurality of keys.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the hyperlink to the website containing more information related to the second search result that the second card-based user interface element graphically represents further includes a natural language response to the search query.