SYSTEM FOR A TEXT SPELLER

• US 20090097753A1
• Filed: 06/02/2008
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman International Industries Incorporated (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman International Industries Incorporated (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Millington, Jeffrey A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,296,676 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/187
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3611 using character input or menus, e.g. menus of POIs character input methods in general G06F3/0233
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• 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

An apparatus may generate a text entry with a user interface. The apparatus may include a display, a user input device, a memory and a processor. The apparatus may display single character user input controls and multi-character user input controls on the display. Each of the single character user input controls and the multi-character user input controls may be buttons selectable with the user input device. A single character user input control may correspond to a single character and a multi-character user input control may correspond to a group of characters. The apparatus may display one of the multi-character user input controls in a display region and other user input controls outside of the display region. If the multi-character user input control is selected, the apparatus may replace the multi-character user input control with a second set of single character user input controls in an expanded display region.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a display;

a user input device;

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the display, and the user input device, where the processor is operable to;

direct display of a plurality of first single character user input controls on the display;

direct display of a plurality of multi-character user input controls on the display, where one of the multi-character user input controls is displayed in a display region, and the first single character user input controls are displayed outside of the display region; and

replace the one of the multi-character user input controls with a plurality of second single character user input controls in response to receipt of a selection signal from the user input device indicative of a user selection of the one of the multi-character user input controls, where the second single character user input controls are displayed in an expanded display region and the expanded display region includes the display region.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, where the selection signal is a first selection signal, the user selection is a first user selection, and the processor is further operable to:

generate a text entry in response to receipt of a second selection signal from the user input device indicative of a second user selection of one of the first single character user input controls, where the one of the first single character user input controls corresponds to a maximized character and the text entry includes the maximized character.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, where the processor is further operable to:

position the multi-character user input controls and a collection of the first single character user input controls along a single axis in the display, where each of the multi-character user input controls and the collection of the first single character user input controls is positioned on the display based on an order of each of a plurality of character groups, and each of the multi-character user input controls and the collection of single character user input controls correspond to a respective one of the character groups.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, where the processor is further operable to:

direct display on the display of a plurality of minimized characters of a corresponding one of a plurality of minimized groups on each of the multi-character user input controls, where each of the multi-character user input controls corresponds to a respective one of the minimized groups.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, where the processor is further operable to:

direct display on the display of the minimized characters of the corresponding one of the minimized groups in a first font size and to direct display on the display of a plurality of maximized characters corresponding to the first single character user input controls in a second font size, where the first font size is smaller than the second font size.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising an entries database stored in the memory, and where the processor is further operable to:

retrieve entries from the entries database, where each of the entries comprises a first character followed by a next character, the first character of each of the entries matched with the maximized character.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, where the processor is further operable to:

direct display on the display of a plurality of minimized characters of a corresponding one of a plurality of minimized groups on each of the multi-character user input controls, where the multi-character user input controls correspond to the minimized groups, and any of the minimized characters of the corresponding one of the minimized groups that is matched to any next character of each of the entries is displayed differently than any non-matched character.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, where the processor is further operable to:

direct display on the display of another one of the multi-character user input controls as disabled, where the another one of the multi-character user input controls corresponds to a group of characters, and the group of characters includes only characters not matched with any next character of each of the entries.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, where the processor is further operable to:

generate the text entry to also include a selected character in response to receipt of a third selection signal from the user input device indicative of a third user selection of another one of the multi-character user input controls, where the another one of the multi-character user input controls corresponds to a group of characters, and no character other than the selected character included in the group of characters is matched with any next character of each of the entries.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, where the entries are recent entries, the recent entries include a plurality of text entries generated previously, and the entries database is a recent entries database.

11. A system to generate a text entry with a user interface, the system comprising:

a display;

a user input device;

a recent entries database;

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the display, the user input device and the recent entries database, the processor operable to;

generate the text entry in response to receipt of a plurality of selection signals from the user input device, where at least one of the selection signals is indicative of a selection of a single character user input control corresponding to a beginning character, and the text entry comprises the beginning character;

store the text entry in the recent entries database; and

receive recent entries from the recent entries database, where each of the recent entries start with the beginning character.

12. The system of claim 11, where the processor is operable to:

direct display of at least one of the recent entries in response to receipt of the at least one of the selection signals.

13. The system of claim 11, where the recent entries received from the recent entries database are based on a speller type, the speller type indicative of the type of information included in the text entry.

14. The system of claim 11, where the recent entries received from the recent entries database are based on an identity of a user of the system.

15. The system of claim 11, where the processor is operable to:

direct display on the display of a value indicative of a numerical count of the recent entries associated with the text entry.

16. The system of claim 11, where the processor is further operable to:

direct display on the display of the beginning character and any remaining characters of one of the recent entries, where the beginning character is displayed differently than the any remaining characters.

17. The system of claim 11, where the recent entries received from the recent entries database are based on a context and the context is indicative of a relationship between information included in the text entry and information included in other text entries.

18. A method of displaying a plurality of user input controls, the method comprising:

displaying at least one of the user input controls in each of a plurality of display regions, where each of the display regions corresponds to a respective one of a plurality of character groups formed from a plurality of selectable characters and the user input controls include a multi-character user input control displayed in one of the display regions;

replacing the multi-character user input control with a plurality of single character user input controls in the one of the display regions in response to selection of the multi-character user input control with a user input device; and

displaying another multi-character user input control in another display region included in the display regions.

19. The method of claim 18, where replacing the multi-character user input control comprises:

resizing the one of the display regions to a determined size; and

shifting a position of at least one of the display regions other than the one of the display regions to accommodate the determined size of the one of the display regions.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

adding a selected character to a text entry in response to selection of one of the single character user input controls with a user input device, where the one of the single character user input controls corresponds to the selected character.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

displaying a visual indication on the multi-character user input control, where the multi-character user input control corresponds to a plurality of minimized characters, and the visual indication includes display of the minimized characters.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving a selection signal from the user input device, the selection signal indicative of a secondary selection mechanism of one of the single character user input controls; and

displaying a family of characters based on a root character in response to receipt of the selection signal, where the one of the single character user input controls corresponds to the root character.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

displaying a visual indication on the one of the single character user input controls, where the visual indication indicates the one of the single character user input controls is selectable with the secondary selection mechanism.

24. The method of claim 18, where the single character user input controls are displayed in a three by three grid formed in the one of the display regions.

25. A system comprising:

a display;

a user input device;

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the display and the user input device, where the memory includes computer code, and the computer code comprises;

code executable with the processor to direct display of a plurality of first single character user input controls on the display;

code executable with the processor to direct display a plurality of multi-character user input controls on the display, where one of the multi-character user input controls is displayed in a display region, and the first single character user input controls are displayed outside of the display region;

code executable with the processor to replace the one of the multi-character user input controls with a plurality of second single character user input controls in response to receipt of a first selection signal from the user input device indicative of a first user selection of the one of the multi-character user input controls, where the second single character user input controls are displayed in an expanded display region and the expanded display region includes the display region; and

code executable with the processor to generate a text entry in response to receipt of a second selection signal from the user input device indicative of a second user selection of one of the first single character user input controls, where the one of the first single character user input controls corresponds to a maximized character and the text entry includes the maximized character.