System and method for providing context to an input method by tagging existing applications

• US 7,370,275 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2004
• Issued: 05/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Reddy, Vamshidhar G., Padte, Anuradha N., Suzue, Yutaka, Clow, Joshua A., Guha, Angshuman, Gupta, Ranjit Kumar, Bhoovaraghavan, Mukundan, Chambers, Robert Lewis, Haluptzok, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore; William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; MaiKhanh
• Application Number:
  US10/850,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20050091032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• Field of Search: 715/526, 715/536, 715/831, 715/857, 704/4, 704/9, 704/231, 704/235, 704/270, 704/275, 382/181, 382/186, 717/163
• US Class Current: 715/264
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

An improved system and method for providing context information of executable code to an input method is provided. Advanced text input methods may be made aware of the type of text expected to be received as input so that input methods may achieve a higher accuracy in recognition of text input. Generic interfaces provide a framework for supporting application authoring platforms to allow application developers to easily specify context information to the system and have it reliably forwarded to the correct input methods. Additionally, a context tagging tool may associate specific text input fields of an existing application with an input scope without modifying the application itself. The context tagging tool may create a manifest that contains tags associating the specific text input fields with an input scope. Any advanced input methods use by the application may be updated with instructions for accessing the context information stored in the manifest.

Claims

1. A computer system for providing context information to an input method in order to enable advanced input methods to achieve a higher accuracy recognition rate for text input to application fields by providing a developer with interfaces that allow setting of pre-defined formats of input scope for different types of text input fields, the system comprising:

a processor;

a memory couple to the processor;

a plurality of text input fields that receive a sequence of text characters;

a manifest that stores context information for each of the plurality of text input fields, wherein the stored context information comprises a tag associating each of the plurality of text input fields with an input scope;

a context tagging tool operably coupled to the plurality of text input fields, the context tagging tool having a control interface invocable by a user interface for setting an input scope for each of the plurality of text input fields and having a manifest interface for writing a mapping of each of the input scopes set for each of the plurality of text fields into the manifest, wherein an input scope is a subset of a language used to define what one or more words, numbers, or punctuations can be written and in what order they may be written to form a sequence of text characters in each of the plurality of text input fields, and wherein at least two input scopes set for each of the plurality of text input fields are different input scopes chosen from the following;

a list of input scopes, a list of words or phrases, a common input scope, or a custom input scope;

a context component operably coupled to the manifest, the context component having an application programming interface for retrieving the scope of input set for each of the plurality of text input fields from the manifest; and

a recognizer for an input method, the recognizer operably coupled to the context component for invoking the application programming interface of the context component for receiving the scope of input retrieved for each of the plurality of text input fields from the manifest,

wherein the manifest is created by the context tagging tool,

wherein the context tagging tool associates specific text input fields of an existing application with an input scope without modifying the existing application itself, and

wherein the user interface comprises a tag control editor for editing the input scope associated with the control interface.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the control interface for setting an input scope for each of the plurality of text input fields comprises a parameter for passing the list of words.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the control interface for setting an input scope for each of the plurality of text input fields comprises a parameter for passing the list of phrases.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the control interface for setting an input scope for each of the plurality of text input fields comprises a parameter for passing the common input scope.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the common input scope comprises a defined format with an associated fixed list of characters.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the control interface for setting an input scope for each of the plurality of text input fields comprises a parameter for passing a regular expression.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the control interface for setting an input scope for each of the plurality of text input fields comprises a parameter for passing the list of input scopes.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the application programming interface of the context component for receiving the scope of input retrieved for each of the plurality of text input fields from the manifest comprises a method invoked for obtaining the list of input scopes.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the application programming interface of the context component for receiving the scope of input retrieved for each of the plurality of text input fields from the manifest compnses a method invoked for obtaining the list of phrases.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the application programming interface of the context component for receiving the scope of input retrieved for each of the plurality of text input fields from the manifest comprises a method invoked for obtaining the list of words.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the application programming interface of the context component for receiving the scope of input retrieved for each of the plurality of text fields from the manifest comprises a method invoked for obtaining a regular expression.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the recognizer comprises a recognizer for speech.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the recognizer comprises a recognizer for handwriting.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the recognizer comprises a recognizer for an input method editor.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the user interface comprises a phrase list editor for editing the list of phrases.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the user interface comprises a custom input scope editor for editing the custom input scope.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the manifest comprises an XML file.

18. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable components comprising the system of claim 1.