Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards

• US 9,141,285 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2011
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Koch, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Kumar
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sadio, Insa
• Application Number:
  US13/076,395
• Publication Number:
  US 20120113026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,637 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/167, 345/168, 345173-183, 178/18.01, 178/18.03, 178/19.01, 178/20.01
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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, at an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface: concurrently displaying a first text entry area and an unsplit keyboard on the display; detecting a gesture on the touch-sensitive surface; and, in response to detecting the gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, replacing the unsplit keyboard with an integrated input area. The integrated input area includes a left portion with a left side of a split keyboard, a right portion with a right side of the split keyboard, and a center portion in between the left portion and the right portion.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a display;

a touch-sensitive surface;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

concurrently displaying

a text entry area,

a left side of a split keyboard, and

a right side of a split keyboard,

the left side of the split keyboard including a plurality of rows of keys and the right side of the split keyboard including a corresponding plurality of rows of keys;

detecting a gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a predefined area adjacent to and to the right of a rightmost key in a respective row of the left side of the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at the location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the predefined area adjacent to and to the right of the rightmost key in the respective row of the left side of the split keyboard, entering in the text entry area a character that corresponds to a leftmost key in a corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the predefined area adjacent to and to the right of the rightmost key in the respective row of the left side of the split keyboard is an undisplayed key activation area that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard.

3. The device of claim 1, including instructions for:

detecting a gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a predefined area adjacent to and to the left of a leftmost key in a respective row of the right side of the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at the location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the predefined area adjacent to and to the left of the leftmost key in the respective row of the right side of the split keyboard, entering in the text entry area a character that corresponds to a rightmost key in a corresponding respective row of the left side of the split keyboard.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the predefined area adjacent to and to the left of the leftmost key in the respective row of the right side of the split keyboard is an undisplayed key activation area that corresponds to the rightmost key in the corresponding respective row of the left side of the split keyboard.

5. The device of claim 1, including instructions for:

prior to detecting the gesture, detecting a key activation gesture at a first time at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a visible key in the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at a second time after the first time;

entering in the text entry area the character that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard when the second time is less than a predefined period of time after the first time; and

foregoing entering in the text entry area the character that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard when the second time exceeds the predefined period of time after the first time.

6. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface;

concurrently displaying

a text entry area,

a left side of a split keyboard, and

a right side of a split keyboard,

the left side of the split keyboard including a plurality of rows of keys and the right side of the split keyboard including a corresponding plurality of rows of keys;

detecting a gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a predefined area adjacent to and to the right of a rightmost key in a respective row of the left side of the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at the location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the predefined area adjacent to and to the right of the rightmost key in the respective row of the left side of the split keyboard, entering in the text entry area a character that corresponds to a leftmost key in a corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the predefined area adjacent to and to the right of the rightmost key in the respective row of the left side of the split keyboard is an undisplayed key activation area that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard.

8. The method of claim 6, including:

detecting a gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a predefined area adjacent to and to the left of a leftmost key in a respective row of the right side of the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at the location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the predefined area adjacent to and to the left of the leftmost key in the respective row of the right side of the split keyboard, entering in the text entry area a character that corresponds to a rightmost key in a corresponding respective row of the left side of the split keyboard.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the predefined area adjacent to and to the left of the leftmost key in the respective row of the right side of the split keyboard is an undisplayed key activation area that corresponds to the rightmost key in the corresponding respective row of the left side of the split keyboard.

10. The method of claim 6, including:

prior to detecting the gesture, detecting a key activation gesture at a first time at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a visible key in the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at a second time after the first time;

entering in the text entry area the character that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard when the second time is less than a predefined period of time after the first time; and

foregoing entering in the text entry area the character that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard when the second time exceeds the predefined period of time after the first time.

11. A graphical user interface on an electronic device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, a memory, and one or more processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memory, the graphical user interface comprising:

concurrently displayed;

a text entry area,

a left side of a split keyboard, and

a right side of a split keyboard, the left side of the split keyboard including a plurality of rows of keys and the right side of the split keyboard including a corresponding plurality of rows of keys;

wherein;

a gesture is detected at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a predefined area adjacent to and to the right of a rightmost key in a respective row of the left side of the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at the location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the predefined area adjacent to and to the right of the rightmost key in the respective row of the left side of the split keyboard, a character that corresponds to a leftmost key in a corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard is entered in the text entry area.

12. The graphical user interface of claim 11, wherein the predefined area adjacent to and to the right of the rightmost key in the respective row of the left side of the split keyboard is an undisplayed key activation area that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard.

13. The graphical user interface of claim 11, wherein:

in response to detecting a gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a predefined area adjacent to and to the left of a leftmost key in a respective row of the right side of the split keyboard, a character that corresponds to a rightmost key in a corresponding respective row of the left side of the split keyboard is entered in the text entry area.

14. The graphical user interface of claim 13, wherein the predefined area adjacent to and to the left of the leftmost key in the respective row of the right side of the split keyboard is an undisplayed key activation area that corresponds to the rightmost key in the corresponding respective row of the left side of the split keyboard.

15. The graphical user interface of claim 11, wherein:

prior to detecting the gesture, a key activation gesture is detected at a first time at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a visible key in the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at a second time after the first time;

the character that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard is entered in the text entry area when the second time is less than a predefined period of time after the first time; and

entering in the text entry area the character that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard is foregone when the second time exceeds the predefined period of time after the first time.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to:

concurrently display

a text entry area,

a left side of a split keyboard, and

a right side of a split keyboard,

the left side of the split keyboard including a plurality of rows of keys and the right side of the split keyboard including a corresponding plurality of rows of keys;

detect a gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a predefined area adjacent to and to the right of a rightmost key in a respective row of the left side of the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at the location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the predefined area adjacent to and to the right of the rightmost key in the respective row of the left side of the split keyboard, enter in the text entry area a character that corresponds to a leftmost key in a corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the predefined area adjacent to and to the right of the rightmost key in the respective row of the left side of the split keyboard is an undisplayed key activation area that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, including instructions which, when executed by the electronic device, cause the device to:

detect a gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a predefined area adjacent to and to the left of a leftmost key in a respective row of the right side of the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at the location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the predefined area adjacent to and to the left of the leftmost key in the respective row of the right side of the split keyboard, enter in the text entry area a character that corresponds to a rightmost key in a corresponding respective row of the left side of the split keyboard.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the predefined area adjacent to and to the left of the leftmost key in the respective row of the right side of the split keyboard is an undisplayed key activation area that corresponds to the rightmost key in the corresponding respective row of the left side of the split keyboard.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, including instructions which, when executed by the electronic device, cause the device to:

prior to detecting the gesture, detect a key activation gesture at a first time at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a visible key in the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at a second time after the first time;

enter in the text entry area the character that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard when the second time is less than a predefined period of time after the first time; and

forego entering in the text entry area the character that corresponds to the leftmost key in the corresponding respective row of the right side of the split keyboard when the second time exceeds the predefined period of time after the first time.