Electronic device and user interface and input method therefor

• US 20050114770A1
• Filed: 11/21/2003
• Published: 05/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Romera, Maria E., Nagel, Jens, Sacher, Heiko K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,136,050 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/261
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

A portable electronic device (100,400) and user interface (425) are operated using a method including initiating entry of a content string; determining the most probable completion alternative or a content prediction using a personalized and learning database (430); displaying the most probable completion alternative or next content prediction; determining whether a user has accepted the most probable completion alternative or next content prediction; and adding the most probable completion alternative or next content prediction to the content string upon user acceptance.

Claims

1. A method of operating an electronic device comprising the steps of:

initiating entry of a content string;

determining a most probable completion alternative using a personalized and learning database;

displaying the most probable completion alternative;

determining whether a user has accepted the most probable completion alternative; and

adding the most probable completion alternative to the content string when the user has accepted the most probable completion alternative.

2. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 1, wherein the user accepting the most probable completion alternative comprises a user pressing a control of a navigation key.

3. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 1, wherein the user accepting the most probable completion alternative comprises a user pressing a soft key.

4. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 1, wherein the step of adding further comprises:

changing one or more display characteristics of the most probable completion alternative.

5. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

detecting a user input for going back in the content string after the adding step; and

eliminating the most probable completion alternative from the content string.

6. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 5, wherein the user input comprises a user pressing a left control of a navigation key.

7. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 1 wherein the database comprises recently used data selected from a group consisting of one or more new words, one or more word associations, one or more context associations, one or more sensitivity associations, one or more Uniform Resource Locators, and one or more electronic mail addresses.

8. A method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

dismissing the most probable completion alternative when the user does not accept the most probable completion alternative; and

displaying a next most probable completion alternative.

9. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

overriding the most probable completion alternative by a user input; and

displaying a next most probable completion alternative.

10. The method of operating an electronic device as recited in claim 9, wherein the step of overriding comprises:

the user pressing a first set of controls of the navigation key to indicate the overriding; and

the user pressing a second set of controls of the navigation key to scroll through one or more completion alternates.

11. A method of operating an electronic device comprising the steps of:

detecting a content entry;

receiving a request by a user for a content prediction;

identifying a most probable next content prediction by using a personalized and learning database;

displaying the most probable next content prediction;

determining whether a user has accepted the most probable next content prediction; and

adding the most probable next content prediction to the content entry when the user has accepted the most probable next content prediction.

12. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11, wherein the request by the user for prediction comprises the user pressing a first control of a navigation key.

13. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 12 wherein the user accepts the most probable next content prediction as displayed by pressing a second control of the navigation key.

14. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11 wherein the user accepts the most probable next content prediction as displayed by pressing a soft key.

15. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11 wherein the most probable next content prediction is selected from a group consisting of one or more textual predictions, one or more numeric predictions, one or more symbolic predictions, one or more iconic predictions, and one or more sounds predictions.

16. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11 wherein the user accepts one or more portions of the most probable next content prediction.

17. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11 wherein the user accepts the entire most probable next content prediction.

18. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11, further comprising the step of:

editing the most probable next content prediction.

19. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 18, wherein the editing step comprises pressing a control of a navigation key to move the focus to a next content element and comparing the next content element to one or more content prediction alternates.

20. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

retrieving one or more alternate predictive content from the personalized and learning database;

displaying the one or more alternate predictive content; and

reviewing the one or more alternate predictive content by a user using one or more controls of a navigation key.

21. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11, further comprising the step of:

providing one or more additional content predictions.

22. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for less prediction; and

backing up the predictive content to an earlier point in the editing.

23. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 22 wherein the request for less prediction comprises a user pressing a control of a navigation key.

24. The method of operating an electronic device as defined in claim 11, further comprising the steps of;

receiving further content entry from a user input.

25. A portable electronic device comprising:

a display for displaying a content string including one or more content elements;

a user input for entering the one or more content elements of the content string; and

a user interface coupled to the display and further coupled to the user input, wherein the user interface is adapted to;

determine a most probable completion alternative;

cause to the most probable completion alternative to be displayed; and

adding the most probable completion alternative to the content string in response to receiving a signal from the user input that the user has accepted the most probable completion alternative.

26. The portable communication device as defined in claim 25 wherein the user input comprises:

a navigation key having at least two control keys,

wherein a first control key provides for accepting of the most probable completion alternative.

27. The portable communication device as defined in claim 26 wherein a second control key provides for removing the added most probable completion alternative from the content string.

28. The portable communication device as defined in claim 27 wherein a third control key provides for requesting a next most probable completion alternative.

29. The portable communication device as defined in claim 27 wherein a third control key provides for overriding the most probable completion alternative, and further wherein a fourth control key provides for scrolling through one or more completion alternates.

30. The portable communication device as defined in claim 25, further comprising:

a memory for storing one or more user interface data memory, wherein the one or more user interface data includes user interface data selected from a group consisting of context associations, sensitivity associations, user entered content strings, and language dictionaries,

wherein the user interface is adapted to determine the most probable completion alternative using the one or more user interface data memory.

31. A portable electronic device comprising:

a display for displaying a content string including one or more content elements;

a user input for entering the one or more content elements of the content string; and

a user interface coupled to the display and further coupled to the user input, wherein the user interface is adapted to;

detecting a content entry from the user input;

receiving a request from the user input for a content prediction

identifying a most probable next content prediction by using a personalized and learning database;

causing the most probable next content prediction to be displayed on the display; and

adding the most probable next content prediction to the content entry on the display in response to receiving a user acceptance from the user input.

32. The portable electronic device as defined in claim 31, wherein the user input comprises:

a navigation key having at least two control keys,

wherein a first of the at least two control keys provides for a request by the user for content prediction.

33. The portable electronic device as defined in claim 32, wherein a second of the at least two control keys provides for the user acceptance of the most probable next content prediction.

34. The portable electronic device as defined in claim 33 wherein a third control key provides for a user request for a list of content prediction alternates.