Method and apparatus for positioning a software keyboard

• US 20040119750A1
• Filed: 12/19/2002
• Published: 06/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Harrison, Edward R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,081,887 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/773
• 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

A method and apparatus for positioning a software keyboard are described herein. In one embodiment of the invention, the method includes determining a screen touch location indicating where a touch screen display device was last touched. The method also includes determining a bounding region corresponding to an area on the touch screen display device based on the screen touch location and displaying a software keyboard outside the bounding region on the touch screen display device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a screen touch location indicating where a touch screen display device was last touched;

determining a bounding region corresponding to an area on said touch screen display device based on said screen touch location; and

displaying a software keyboard outside said bounding region on said touch screen display device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein if there is an area sufficient for displaying the software keyboard below the bounding region, the software keyboard is displayed below the bounding region.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the bounding region includes an application input space displayed on the touch screen display device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the bounding region width is equal to the width of the touch screen display device and the bounding region height is equal to a predetermined height.

5. A method comprising:

receiving a first indication that a keyboard display button was pressed;

in response to the first indication, displaying a software keyboard at a first predetermined location on a touch screen display device; and

in response to receiving additional indications that the keyboard display button was pressed, displaying the software keyboard at other predetermined locations on said touch screen display device, wherein said software keyboard is sized to predetermined sizes.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the predetermined locations include the bottom center, lower left corner, lower right corner, upper left corner, and upper right corner of the touch screen.

7. The method of claim 5, where the predetermined location is an arbitrary location on the touch screen.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the predetermined sizes are approximately proportional to the original size of the software keyboard.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the software keyboard is displayed at a location that does not overlay an application input space.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a keyboard display button;

a keyboard button driver coupled to the keyboard display button to process indications that the keyboard display button has been pressed and to indicate predetermined locations and sizes of a software keyboard to be displayed on a touch screen display device; and

a software keyboard unit coupled to the keyboard button driver to display the software keyboard.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the predetermined locations include the bottom center, lower left corner, lower right corner, upper left corner, and upper right corner of the touch screen.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the predetermined sizes are approximately proportional to the original size of the software keyboard.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising:

a touch screen display device driver coupled to said keyboard button driver to determine whether a key of the software keyboard has been touched, wherein the keyboard button driver is to cause the software keyboard to disappear if the keyboard display button is pressed after a key of the software keyboard is pressed.

14. An apparatus comprising:

a touch screen display device driver to determine where a touch screen display device was touched;

a keyboard button driver coupled with said touch screen display device driver to determine where a software keyboard is to be displayed, said keyboard button driver to determine a bounding region corresponding to an area on the touch screen display device; and

a software keyboard unit coupled to the keyboard button driver and touch screen display device driver to display the software keyboard outside the bounding region.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the software keyboard unit is to display the software keyboard below the bounding region if there is sufficient area below the bounding region to display the software keyboard.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the bounding region includes an application input space.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the bounding region width is equal to the width of the touch screen display device and the bounding region height is equal to a predetermined height.

18. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the software keyboard unit includes,

a positioning unit to receive a predetermined location at which the software keyboard is to be displayed;

and

a size unit coupled to the positioning unit to receive the size of the software keyboard from the keyboard button driver.

19. A computer system comprising:

a processor;

a touch screen liquid crystal display; and

a storage device coupled to said processor and having stored thereon a set of one or more instructions, which when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the following,

determine a screen touch location indicating where a touch screen display device was last touched;

determining a bounding region corresponding to an area on said touch screen display device based on said screen touch location; and

displaying a software keyboard outside said bounding region on said touch screen display device.

20. The processor of claim 19, wherein if there is an area sufficient for displaying the software keyboard below the bounding region, the software keyboard is displayed below the bounding region.

21. The processor of claim 19, wherein the bounding region includes an application input space displayed on the touch screen display device.

22. The processor of claim 19, wherein the bounding region width is equal to the width of the touch screen display device and the bounding region height is equal to a predetermined height.

23. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon one or more instructions, which when executed by a processor, causes said processor to perform the acts of:

receiving a first indication that a keyboard display button was pressed;

in response to the first indication, displaying a software keyboard at a first predetermined location on a touch screen display device; and

in response to receiving additional indications that the keyboard display button was pressed, displaying the software keyboard at other predetermined locations on said touch screen display device, wherein said software keyboard is sized to predetermined sizes.

24. The machine readable medium of claim 23, wherein the predetermined locations include the bottom center, lower left corner, lower right corner, upper left corner, and upper right corner of the touch screen.

25. The machine readable medium of claim 23, wherein the predetermined sizes are approximately proportional to the original size of the software keyboard.

26. The machine readable medium of claim 23, wherein the software keyboard is displayed at a location that does not overlay an application input space.

27. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon one or more instructions, which when executed by a processor, causes said processor to perform the acts of:

determining a screen touch location indicating where a touch screen display device was last touched;

determining a bounding region corresponding to an area on said touch screen display device based on said screen touch location; and

displaying a software keyboard outside said bounding region on said touch screen display device.

28. The machine readable medium of claim 27, wherein if there is an area sufficient for displaying the software keyboard below the bounding region, the software keyboard is displayed below the bounding region.

29. The machine readable medium of claim 27, wherein the bounding region includes an application input space displayed on the touch screen display device.

30. The machine readable medium of claim 28, wherein the bounding region width is equal to the width of the touch screen display device and the bounding region height is equal to a predetermined height.