Electronic text input involving a virtual keyboard and word completion functionality on a touch-sensitive display screen

• US 20060265668A1
• Filed: 05/23/2005
• Published: 11/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Rainisto, Roope
• Granted Patent: US 8,185,841 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/816
• 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 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

A text input method is described for an electronic apparatus having a user interface with a touch-sensitive display screen. A virtual keyboard is presentable on the display screen so as to facilitate text input for a user by pointing at different virtual keys of the virtual keyboard. Word completion functionality is provided for predicting full word candidates for partial word inputs made by the user on the virtual keyboard. The method involves receiving a partial word input from said user and deriving a set of full word candidates using the word completion functionality, each of the full word candidates in said set having a prefix and a suffix, wherein the prefix corresponds to said partial word input. The suffices for at least a sub set of the full word candidates are presented in a predetermined area on the display screen, wherein each of the presented suffices is made selectable for the user.

Claims

1. A text input method for an electronic apparatus having a user interface with a touch-sensitive display screen, wherein a virtual keyboard is presentable on said display screen so as to facilitate text input for a user by pointing at different virtual keys of said virtual keyboard, and wherein word completion functionality is provided for predicting full word candidates for partial word inputs made by said user on said virtual keyboard, the method involving:

receiving a partial word input from said user;

deriving a set of full word candidates using said word completion functionality, each of the full word candidates in said set having a prefix and a suffix, wherein the prefix corresponds to said partial word input; and

presenting the suffices for at least a sub set of the full word candidates in a predetermined area on said display screen, wherein each of the presented suffices is made selectable for said user.

2. A text input method as defined in claim 1, wherein said predetermined area is located within or at said virtual keyboard on said display screen.

3. A text input method as defined in claim 1, involving the step of presenting also the prefix that corresponds to said partial word input in said predetermined area.

4. A text input method as defined in claim 3, wherein the prefix is shown first, followed by each presented suffix in successive order.

5. A text input method as defined in claim 4, wherein said successive order is horizontally from left to right on said display screen.

6. A text input method as defined in claim 2, wherein said predetermined area is located within, or on top of, a space bar included in said virtual keyboard.

7. A text input method as defined in claim 6, wherein said space bar of said virtual keyboard is located at one edge of said display screen.

8. A text input method as defined in claim 1, involving the steps of

detecting selection by said user of one of the presented suffices;

and

for the selected suffix, replacing a presentation of said partial word on said display screen with a presentation of the full word candidate to which the suffix belongs.

9. A text input method as defined in claim 8, wherein said step of detecting selection by said user involves differentiating between a first type of selection and a second type of selection, and wherein said step of replacing a presentation involves adding a space character after said full word candidate if the detected selection is of said first type.

10. A text input method as defined in claim 9, wherein said first type of selection involves tapping with a writing tool within an activation area representing said selected suffix, and wherein said second type of selection involves pointing with the writing tool within said activation area and dragging the writing tool outside of said activation area before lifting it.

11. A text input method as defined in claim 9, wherein said second type of selection involves tapping with a writing tool within an activation area representing said selected suffix, and wherein said first type of selection involves pointing with the writing tool within said activation area and dragging the writing tool outside of said activation area before lifting it.

12. A text input method as defined in claim 8, involving the further step, after said step of replacing a presentation, of removing the presented suffices from presentation in said predetermined area.

13. A text input method as defined in claim 6, involving the steps of

detecting selection by said user of said space bar, the user thereby indicating that the current text input is a complete word;

and

removing the presented suffices from presentation in said predetermined area.

14. A text input method as defined in claim 1, wherein all presented suffices contain at least two characters.

15. A text input method as defined in claim 6, wherein said predetermined area only overlaps a predefined maximum part of the space bar, the maximum part being such that a sufficient area of the space bar is left available for convenient selection by said user.

16. A text input method as defined in claim 6, involving the step of selecting, among the set of full word candidates derived by the word completion functionality, candidates to be included in said sub set for presentation in a way such that shorter suffices are favored over longer suffices, thereby allowing a larger number of suffices to be presented in the predetermined area.

20. A computer program product directly loadable into a memory of a processor, where the computer program product comprises program code for performing the method as defined in claim 1 when executed by said processor.

17. An electronic apparatus having a user interface with a touch-sensitive display screen, and a controller coupled to said display screen, the user interface including a virtual keyboard which is presentable on said display screen so as to facilitate text input for a user by pointing at different virtual keys of said virtual keyboard, and the user interface including word completion functionality for predicting full word candidates for partial word inputs made by said user on said virtual keyboard, the controller being adapted for performing the steps of:

receiving a partial word input from said user;

deriving a set of full word candidates using said word completion functionality, each of the full word candidates in said set having a prefix and a suffix, wherein the prefix corresponds to said partial word input; and

presenting the suffices for at least a sub set of the full word candidates in a predetermined area on said display screen, wherein each of the presented suffices is made selectable for said user.

18. An electronic apparatus as in claim 17, in the form of a pocket computer.

19. An electronic apparatus as in claim 17, in the form of a mobile terminal for a mobile telecommunications network.