Touch-sensitive display and method of control

• US 8,347,221 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2009
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Griffin, Jason Tyler, Wood, Todd Andrew, Lazaridis, Mihal, Furukawa, Shigeharu, Gao, Yu, Grenier, Steven Robert, Steele, Joel Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Matt
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pan, Yongjia
• Application Number:
  US12/574,824
• Publication Number:
  US 20110083110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,182 Days
• Field of Search: 715700-702, 715/705, 715/708, 715/711, 715/715, 715/764, 715/773, 715/780, 715/808, 715/863, 715/864
• US Class Current: 715/773
• 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 method includes displaying one or more selection options on a touch-sensitive display and detecting a hovering touch associated with a first option of the one or more selection options. Information associated with the first option is previewed in a first format in an information field in response to detecting the hovering touch. A selection of one of the one or more selection options is detected, and a function associated with the selected option is performed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying one or more selection options on a touch-sensitive display;

detecting a hovering touch associated with a first option of the one or more selection options;

when the first option is associated with a single character;

previewing the first option in a first format in a character entry field in response to detecting the hovering touch;

detecting a selection of the first option;

in response to detecting the selection, displaying the single character in a second format in the character entry field, wherein the first format is different from the second format;

when the first option is associated with two or more characters, displaying information associated with the first option in a window, box, or balloon located remotely from the first option, wherein the window, box, or balloon includes keyboard selection options not associated with characters that would be displayed with entered text.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein entered characters are displayed in the character entry field.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying information comprises displaying at least one alternate selection option that is different than the one or more selection options.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the selection comprises detecting depression of a movable touch-sensitive display.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the selection comprises detecting selection in an area other than where the one or more selection options are displayed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the one or more selection options comprises displaying a keyboard comprising a plurality of characters.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying in the second format comprises displaying in a format of information previously entered in the character entry field.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein previewing comprises displaying a character in a faded format.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein previewing comprises displaying a character in a font that is different than the font of the second format.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein previewing comprises displaying a character in a color that is different than the color of the second format.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein previewing comprises displaying an underscored, italicized, or bolded character.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein previewing comprises displaying a blinking or highlighted character.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein previewing comprises displaying a shaded, shadowed, enlarged, or shrunken version of a character.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein previewing comprises displaying a character after a last character entered in the character entry field.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein previewing comprises displaying a character in the middle of a character string entered in the character entry field.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein previewing comprises displaying a character with a cursor in the character entry field.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising moving a cursor after the information associated with the first option after detecting the selection and entering the information.

18. A computer-readable device having computer-readable code executable by at least one processor of the portable electronic device to perform the method of claim 1.

19. A method comprising:

displaying a first keyset of a plurality of selectable sets of keys;

detecting a hovering touch associated with a first key of the first keyset;

when the first key is associated with a first character;

displaying the first character in a first format in a character entry field in response to detecting the hovering touch;

detecting a selection of the first key;

displaying the first character in a second format in the character entry field in response to detecting the selection, wherein the first format is different from the second format;

when the first key is associated with two or more characters, displaying information associated with the first key in a window, box, or balloon located remotely from the first key, wherein the window, box, or balloon includes keyboard selection options not associated with characters that would be displayed with entered text.

20. A portable electronic device comprising:

a touch-sensitive display;

at least one processor configured to;

display one or more selection options on the touch-sensitive display;

detect a hovering touch associated with a first option of the one or more selection options;

when the first option is associated with a first character;

preview by displaying, in a first format in a character entry field, information associated with the first option in response to detecting the hovering touch;

detect a selection of the first option;

display, in a second format in the character entry field, the information associated with the first option in response to detecting the selection, wherein the first format is different from the second format;

when the first option is associated with two or more characters, display information associated with the first option in a window, box, or balloon located remotely from the first option, wherein the window, box, or balloon includes keyboard selection options not associated with characters that would be displayed with entered text.

21. A method comprising:

displaying a first keyset of a plurality of selectable sets of keys on a touch-sensitive display of a portable electronic device;

detecting a hovering touch associated with a first key of the first keyset;

when the first key is associated with a first character;

in response to detecting the hovering touch, displaying the first character in a first format in a character entry field displayed on the touch-sensitive display, wherein entered characters are displayed in the character entry field;

detecting a selection of the first key by detecting depression of the touch-sensitive display;

displaying the first character in a second format in the character entry field in response to detecting the selection, wherein the first format is different from the second format;

when the first key is associated with two or more characters, displaying information associated with the first key in a window, box, or balloon located remotely from the first key, wherein the window, box, or balloon includes keyboard selection options not associated with characters that would be displayed with entered text.