Electronic device with touch-sensitive display and method of facilitating input at the electronic device

• US 8,830,200 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2013
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Pasquero, Jerome, Walker, David Ryan, Elizarov, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): SHENG, TOM V
• Application Number:
  US13/794,565
• Publication Number:
  US 20130187884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178, 178 1803- 1809, 715/863, 715/864
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• 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 of controlling an electronic device that has a touch-sensitive display includes detecting a touch at an area associated with a character displayed on the touch-sensitive display, adding the character to a character string, identifying, from stored data, objects that at least partially match the character string, determining a next character of ones of the objects identified to yield a set of next characters, increasing a size of an area associated with each character of the set of next characters, and reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters with time absent detection of a further touch.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an electronic device having a touch-sensitive display, the method comprising:

detecting a touch at an area associated with a character displayed on the touch-sensitive display;

adding the character to a character string;

identifying, from stored data, objects that at least partially match the character string;

determining a next character of ones of the objects identified to yield a set of next characters;

increasing a size of an area associated with each character of the set of next characters; and

in response to detecting entry of a space or a period that ends the character string, reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein reducing the size of the area comprises reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters with time until a further touch is detected or until the size of each area reaches a set size.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising, absent detection of a further touch, reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters with time at a rate dependent on a factor related to touch-sensitive display operation.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters at a rate dependent on a factor comprises reducing the size at a rate dependent on an average time between touches on the touch-sensitive display.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters at a rate dependent on a factor comprises reducing the size at a rate dependent on force of the touch on the touch-sensitive display.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters at a rate dependent on a factor comprises reducing the size at a rate dependent on an average force of touches on the touch-sensitive display.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters at a rate dependent on a factor comprises reducing the size at a rate dependent on a field being populated.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters at a rate dependent on a factor comprises reducing the size at a rate dependent on a previously entered string.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying objects comprises identifying language objects stored in memory on a portable electronic device.

10. The method according to claim 1, comprising returning the size of the area associated with each next character of the set of next characters to a set size in response to entry of a return or enter function.

11. The method according to claim 1, comprising starting a new character string in response to detecting a touch at an area associated with another character displayed on the touch-sensitive display after entry of the space or period.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the character and the set of next characters are displayed in a virtual keyboard on the touch-sensitive display.

13. The method according to claim 12, comprising changing a visual attribute of a displayed representation of each next character.

14. The method according to claim 1, comprising reducing area size of areas associated with other characters that are not included in the set of next characters in response to detecting the touch and increasing the area size of the areas associated with each of the other characters with time absent detection of the further touch.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device having stored thereon computer-readable code executable by at least one processor in an electronic device comprising a touch-sensitive display connected to the at least one processor and a memory connected to the at least one processor, to perform the method of claim 1.

16. An electronic device comprising:

a touch-sensitive display;

a memory; and

a processor connected to the touch-sensitive display and the memory to detect a touch at an area associated with a character displayed on the touch-sensitive display, add the character to a character string, identify, from stored data, objects that at least partially match the character string, determine a next character of ones of the objects identified to yield a set of next characters, increase a size of an area associated with each character of the set of next characters, and in response to detecting entry of a space or a period that ends the character string, reducing the size of the area associated with each character of the set of next characters.