VIRTUAL KEYBOARD WITH STAGGERED KEYS

• US 20100251161A1
• Filed: 03/24/2009
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Fong, Jeffrey, Kittell, John David, Nealer, Bryan
• Application Number:
  US12/410,280
• Publication Number:
  US 20100251161A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods
• 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 computing system includes a touch display and a virtual keyboard visually presented by the touch display. The virtual keyboard includes one or more rows of staggered virtual-touch-input keys. The computing system further includes a touch-to-key assignment module configured to assign a touch directed to the virtual keyboard and recognized by the touch display to a virtual-touch-input key.

Claims

1. A computing system, comprising:

a touch display;

a virtual keyboard visually presented by the touch display, the virtual keyboard including one or more rows of staggered virtual-touch-input keys;

a touch-to-key assignment module configured to assign a touch directed to the virtual keyboard and recognized by the touch display to a virtual-touch-input key.

2. The computing system of claim 1, where each row of staggered virtual-touch-input keys includes a first set of keys aligned with a first offset and a second set of keys aligned with a second offset.

3. The computing system of claim 2, further comprising a staggered-proximity-distance-detection module configured to determine, for each virtual-touch-input key struck by the touch, a staggered-proximity distance from the touch to an offset for that virtual-touch-input key.

4. The computing system of claim 3, where the touch-to-key assignment module is configured to assign the touch to the virtual-touch-input key having a shortest staggered-proximity distance.

5. The computing system of claim 2, where each row of staggered virtual-touch-input keys further includes a third set of keys aligned with a third offset.

6. The computing system of claim 1, where one or more staggered virtual-touch-input keys are generally-rectangularly-shaped.

7. The computing system of claim 1, where the touch-to-key assignment module is configured to assign the touch to the virtual-touch-input key having a largest strike area from the touch.

8. The computing system of claim 1, where one or more rows of staggered virtual-touch-input keys are straight rows.

9. The computing system of claim 1, where one or more rows of staggered virtual-touch-input keys are arced rows.

10. The computing system of claim 1, where each row of staggered virtual-touch-input keys includes a first set of generally-triangularly-shaped keys having an upward-facing base and a second set of generally-triangularly-shaped keys having a downward-facing base.

11. The computing system of claim 10, where the first set of generally-triangularly-shaped keys has an upward offset as measured from a centroid of each key and the second set of generally-triangularly-shaped keys has a downward offset as measured from a centroid of each key.

12. The computing system of claim 11, where the first set of generally-triangularly-shaped keys is aligned with the second set of generally-triangularly-shaped keys.

13. The computing system of claim 1, where the virtual keyboard includes:

a top row comprising a left-to-right arrangement of a Q-key, a W-key, an E-key, an R-key, a T-key, a Y-key, a U-key, an I-key, an O-key, and a P-key;

a middle row comprising a left-to-right arrangement of an A-key, an S-key, a D-key, an F-key, a G-key, an H-key, a J-key, a K-key, and an L-key; and

a bottom row comprising a left-to-right arrangement of a Z-key, an X-key, a C-key, a V-key, a B-key, an N-key, and an M-key.

14. The computing system of claim 13, where the Q-key, the E-key, the T-key, the U-key, the O-key, the S-key, the F-key, the H-key, the K-key, the Z-key, the C-key, the B-key, and the M-key are aligned with a downward offset.

15. The computing system of claim 1, further comprising a visual-feedback module configured to visually indicate that a staggered virtual-touch-input key is considered to be ready for selection.

16. A handheld computing system, comprising:

a touch display;

a logic subsystem operatively coupled to the touch display; and

a data-holding subsystem holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to;

visually present a virtual keyboard with the touch display, the virtual keyboard including one or more rows of staggered virtual-touch-input keys, each row of staggered virtual-touch-input keys including a first set of keys aligned with a first offset and a second set of keys aligned with a second offset;

detect a touch directed to the virtual keyboard;

determine, for each virtual-touch-input key struck by the touch, a staggered-proximity distance from the touch to an offset for that virtual-touch-input key; and

assign the touch to the virtual-touch-input key having a shortest staggered-proximity distance.

17. The handheld computing system of claim 16, where one or more staggered virtual-touch-input keys are generally-rectangularly-shaped.

18. The handheld computing system of claim 16, where each row of staggered virtual-touch-input keys includes a first set of generally-triangularly-shaped keys having an upward-facing base and a second set of generally-triangularly-shaped keys having a downward-facing base.

19. The handheld computing system of claim 16, where the virtual keyboard includes:

a top row comprising a left-to-right arrangement of a Q-key, a W-key, an E-key, an R-key, a T-key, a Y-key, a U-key, an I-key, an O-key, and a P-key;

a middle row comprising a left-to-right arrangement of an A-key, an S-key, a D-key, an F-key, a G-key, an H-key, a J-key, a K-key, and an L-key; and

a bottom row comprising a left-to-right arrangement of a Z-key, an X-key, a C-key, a V-key, a B-key, an N-key, and an M-key.

20. A method of processing user input, the method comprising:

visually presenting a virtual keyboard including one or more rows of staggered virtual-touch-input keys, each row of staggered virtual-touch-input keys including a first set of keys aligned with a first offset and a second set of keys aligned with a second offset;

detecting a touch directed to the virtual keyboard;

determining, for each virtual-touch-input key struck by the touch, a staggered-proximity distance from the touch to an offset for that virtual-touch-input key; and

assigning the touch to the virtual-touch-input key having a shortest staggered-proximity distance from the touch to an offset for that virtual-touch-input key.