Multiple input language selection

• US 20040230912A1
• Filed: 05/13/2003
• Published: 11/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wu, Wei, Kaplan, Michael S., Soin, Ravipal, Dain, Robert A., Clow, Joshua
• Granted Patent: US 8,479,112 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• 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 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42208 Display device provided on the remote control

Abstract

Multiple language inputs may be provided to various applications programs and/or threads in a computer system. Such inputs may be directed to various software systems on the computer for further processing, wherein the software systems provide language-specific processing. Each application program and/or thread within an application program active on or accessible by the computer may have a different selected input language. More specifically, systems, methods, and computer-readable media for this process may include: (a) determining an input language for a first application program accepting input through a computer; and (b) selecting at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some of the input based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program. The software system(s) may include at least one member selected from the group of: a soft keyboard generator, a handwriting recognizer, and a speech recognizer. In some examples, the input language of various software systems on the computer may be tied to the input language of another software system, such as the soft keyboard. For example, in some instances, a specific handwriting recognizer and/or a specific speech recognizer may be selected for receiving input based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the soft keyboard used in the application program.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining an input language for a first application program accepting input through a computer; and

rendering a soft keyboard on a display of the computer, wherein the soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

changing the input language in the first application program to a second input language; and

rendering a new soft keyboard on the display of the computer, wherein the new soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the second input language.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

switching from the first application program to a second application program that is different from the first application program;

determining an input language for the second application program; and

when the input language for the second application program differs from the input language for the first application program, rendering a new soft keyboard on the display of the computer, wherein the new soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the input language for the second application program.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

changing from a first thread in the first application program to a second thread in the first application program;

determining an input language for the second thread; and

when the input language for the second thread differs from the input language for the first thread, rendering a new soft keyboard on the display of the computer, wherein the new soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the input language for the second thread.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the soft keyboard rendered on the display is configured based, at least in part, on a physical keyboard driver previously used on the computer for the determined input language.

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

selecting a handwriting recognizer based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program.

7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

selecting a speech recognizer based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein determining the input language for the first application program includes determining a language identifier for the input language and determining a keyboard layout identifier for the input language.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the soft keyboard is rendered in response to a user'"'"'s command.

10. A method, comprising:

determining an input language for a first application program accepting input through a computer; and

selecting at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some of the input based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program, wherein the software system includes at least one member selected from the group of;

a soft keyboard, a handwriting recognizer, and a speech recognizer.

11. A method according to claim 10, further comprising:

changing the input language for the first application program to a second input language; and

selecting at least one software system based, at least in part, on the second input language.

12. A method according to claim 10, further comprising:

switching from the first application program to a second application program that is different from the first application program;

determining an input language for the second application program; and

when the input language for the second application program differs from the input language for the first application program, selecting at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some of the input in the second application program based, at least in part, on the input language for the second application program.

13. A method according to claim 10, further comprising:

changing from a first thread in the first application program to a second thread in the first application program;

determining an input language for the second thread; and

when the input language for the second thread differs from the input language for the first thread, selecting at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some of the input in the second thread based, at least in part, on the input language for the second thread.

14. A method according to claim 10, wherein determining the input language for the first application program includes determining a language identifier for the input language.

15. A method according to claim 10, wherein at least some of the input is sent to at least one of the software systems in response to a user'"'"'s command.

16. A system, comprising:

an input for selecting an input language for a first application program accepting input through a computer; and

a processor for rendering a soft keyboard on a display of the computer, wherein the soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program.

17. A system according to claim 16, wherein when a user selects a new input language for the first application program, the processor renders a new soft keyboard on the display of the computer, wherein the new soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the new input language.

18. A system according to claim 16, further comprising:

a selector for switching from the first application program to a second application program that is different from the first application program; and

an input for selecting an input language for the second application program, wherein when the input language for the second application program differs from the input language for the first application program, the processor renders a new soft keyboard on the display of the computer, wherein the new soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the input language for the second application program.

19. A system according to claim 16, further comprising:

a selector for changing from a first thread in the first application program to a second thread in the first application program; and

an input for selecting an input language for the second thread, wherein when the input language for the second thread differs from the input language for the first thread, the processor renders a new soft keyboard on the display of the computer, wherein the new soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the input language for the second thread.

20. A system according to claim 16, wherein the soft keyboard rendered on the display is configured based, at least in part, on a physical keyboard driver previously used on the computer for the determined input language.

21. A system according to claim 16, wherein a handwriting recognizer for at least some of the input is selected based, at least in part, on the input language selected for the first application program.

22. A system according to claim 16, wherein a speech recognizer for at least some of the input is selected based, at least in part, on the input language selected for the first application program.

23. A system according to claim 16, wherein the processor renders the soft keyboard in response to a user'"'"'s command.

24. A system, comprising:

an input for selecting an input language for a first application program accepting input through a computer; and

a processor for selecting at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some of the input based, at least in part, on the input language for the first application program, wherein the software system includes at least one member selected from the group of;

a soft keyboard, a handwriting recognizer, and a speech recognizer.

25. A system according to claim 24, wherein when a user changes the input language for the first application program to a second input language, the processor selects at least one of the software systems based, at least in part, on the second input language.

26. A system according to claim 24, further comprising:

a selector for switching from the first application program to a second application program that is different from the first application program; and

an input for setting an input language for the second application program, wherein when the input language for the second application program differs from the input language for the first application program, the processor selects at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some of the input in the second application program based, at least in part, on the input language for the second application program.

27. A system according to claim 24, further comprising:

a selector for changing from a first thread in the first application program to a second thread in the first application program; and

an input for setting an input language for the second thread, wherein when the input language for the second thread differs from the input language for the first thread, the processor selects at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some input in the second thread based, at least in part, on the input language for the second thread.

28. A system according to claim 24, wherein at least some of the input is sent to at least one of the software systems in response to a user'"'"'s command.

29. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing a method, comprising:

determining an input language for a first application program accepting input through a computer; and

rendering a soft keyboard on a display of the computer, wherein the soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program.

30. A computer-readable medium according to claim 29, wherein the method further comprises:

changing the input language in the first application program to a second input language; and

rendering a new soft keyboard on the display of the computer, wherein the new soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the second input language.

31. A computer-readable medium according to claim 29, wherein the method further comprises:

switching from the first application program to a second application program that is different from the first application program;

determining an input language for the second application program; and

when the input language for the second application program differs from the input language for the first application program, rendering a new soft keyboard on the display of the computer, wherein the new soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the input language for the second application program.

32. A computer-readable medium according to claim 29, wherein the method further comprises:

changing from a first thread in the first application program to a second thread in the first application program;

determining an input language for the second thread; and

when the input language for the second thread differs from the input language for the first thread, rendering a new soft keyboard on the display of the computer, wherein the new soft keyboard is configured based, at least in part, on the input language for the second thread.

33. A computer-readable medium according to claim 29, wherein the soft keyboard rendered on the display is configured based, at least in part, on a physical keyboard driver previously used on the computer for the determined input language.

34. A computer-readable medium according to claim 29, wherein the method further comprises:

setting a handwriting recognizer based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program.

35. A computer-readable medium according to claim 29, wherein the method further comprises:

setting a speech recognizer based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program.

36. A computer-readable medium according to claim 29, wherein determining the input language for the first application program includes determining a language identifier for the input language and determining a keyboard layout identifier for the input language.

37. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing a method, comprising:

determining an input language for a first application program accepting input through a computer; and

selecting at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some of the input based, at least in part, on the input language determined for the first application program, wherein the software system includes at least one member selected from the group of;

a soft keyboard, a handwriting recognizer, and a speech recognizer.

38. A computer-readable medium according to claim 37, wherein the method further comprises:

changing the input language for the first application program to a second input language; and

selecting at least one of the software systems based, at least in part, on the second input language.

39. A computer-readable medium according to claim 37, wherein the method further comprises:

switching from the first application program to a second application program that is different from the first application program;

determining an input language for the second application program; and

when the input language for the second application program differs from the input language for the first application program, selecting at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some of the input in the second application program based, at least in part, on the input language for the second application program.

40. A computer-readable medium according to claim 37, wherein the method further comprises:

changing from a first thread in the first application program to a second thread in the first application program;

determining an input language for the second thread; and

when the input language for the second thread differs from the input language for the first thread, selecting at least one software system capable of accepting or operating on at least some input in the second thread based, at least in part, on the input language for the second thread.

41. A process for recognizing electronic ink, comprising:

receiving electronic ink;

determining a selected language;

setting a recognizer associated with the selected language;

sending at least some of the electronic ink to the recognizer;

receiving recognized ink from the recognizer; and

sending the recognized ink to an application program.

42. A process according to claim 41, further comprising:

sending the electronic ink to the application program.

43. A process according to claim 42, further comprising:

maintaining at least one of the electronic ink and the recognized ink.

44. A process according to claim 41, further comprising:

sending at least some of the electronic ink to a second recognizer.

45. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for performing a process according to claim 41.

46. A process of changing between at least two recognizers, comprising:

receiving a change in language;

determining if a change in recognizer is associated with the change in language; and

switching from a first recognizer to a second recognizer when the second recognizer corresponds to the language of the change and the first recognizer does not correspond to the language of the change.

47. A process according to claim 46, further comprising:

upon determining that no recognizer is associated with the language of the change, switching a user interface surface to comport with the language of the change; and

maintaining the first recognizer.

48. A system for recognizing electronic ink, comprising:

means for receiving electronic ink;

means for determining a selected language;

means for setting a recognizer associated with the selected language;

means for sending at least some of the electronic ink to the recognizer;

means for receiving recognized ink from the recognizer; and

means for sending the recognized ink to an application program.