HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED METHOD PROVIDING DISAMBIGUATION OF AN AMBIGUOUS OBJECT DURING EDITING AND SELECTIVELY PROVIDING PREDICTION OF FUTURE CHARACTERS

• US 20110316787A1
• Filed: 09/06/2011
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Rubanovich, Dan, Fux, Vadim, Kornilovsky, Alexander
• Granted Patent: US 8,866,746 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation methods for entering alphabetical characters per se G06F3/0237

Abstract

A handheld electronic device includes a reduced QWERTY keyboard and is enabled with disambiguation software and prediction software. During editing of an object, the object can be ambiguous, and the system provides one or more disambiguated interpretations of the ambiguous object. In some circumstances, the system can additionally provide one or more completions, i.e., predictions of future characters. However, in other circumstances the outputting of completions of an ambiguous object can be suppressed in order to avoid distracting the user and to provide more meaningful results to the user.

Claims

1-4. -4. (canceled)

5. A method of enabling input on a handheld electronic device that comprises an output apparatus, an input apparatus comprising a plurality of input members, and a processor apparatus, the method comprising:

detecting an input member actuation editing a displayed text object that was generated as a result of an ambiguous text input; and

when the input member actuation reflects a deletion of a character from the displayed text object, outputting a first list comprising a number of disambiguated interpretations of the ambiguous text input excluding the deleted character, the first list being free of proposed completions.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

when the input member actuation reflects an addition to the displayed text object at a location disposed at a terminal end of the displayed text object, outputting a second list comprising a number of proposed completions of the ambiguous text input plus the input member actuation.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

when the input member actuation reflects an addition to the displayed text object at a location disposed elsewhere than at a terminal end of the displayed text object, outputting a second list comprising a number of disambiguated interpretations of the ambiguous text input plus the input member actuation, the second list being free of proposed completions.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising, responsive to the input member actuation reflecting an addition at a location disposed at a terminal end, or elsewhere than at the terminal end, of the displayed text object, reinitiating a terminated text entry session with respect to the ambiguous text input.

9. A handheld electronic device comprising:

a processor apparatus comprising a processor and a memory having stored therein a number of routines;

an input apparatus comprising a plurality of input members for providing input to the processor apparatus; and

an output apparatus for receiving output signals from the processor apparatus;

wherein one or more of the routines, when executed on the processor, cause the handheld electronic device to perform operations comprising;

detecting an input member actuation editing a displayed text object that was generated as a result of an ambiguous text input; and

when the input member actuation reflects a deletion of a character from the displayed text object, outputting a first list comprising a number of disambiguated interpretations of the ambiguous text input excluding the deleted character, the first list being free of proposed completions.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

when the input member actuation reflects an addition to the displayed text object at a location disposed at a terminal end of the displayed text object, outputting a second list comprising a number of proposed completions of the ambiguous text input plus the input member actuation.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

when the input member actuation reflects an addition to the displayed text object at a location disposed elsewhere than at a terminal end of the displayed text object, outputting a second list comprising a number of disambiguated interpretations of the ambiguous text input plus the input member actuation, the second list being free of proposed completions.

12. The handheld electronic device of claim 9 wherein the operations further comprise, responsive to the input member actuation reflecting an addition at a location disposed at a terminal end, or elsewhere than at the terminal end, of the displayed text object, reinitiating a terminated text entry session with respect to the ambiguous text input.