Apparatus and method for conditionally enabling or disabling soft buttons

• US 9,442,654 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Kocienda, Kenneth L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tan, Alvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yi, Rinna
• Application Number:
  US14/094,735
• Publication Number:
  US 20140089839A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: 715/773, 715/835, 715/863
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• 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 operating a multifunction device includes displaying a soft keyboard having a plurality of buttons including one or more unconditionally enabled buttons and one or more conditionally enabled buttons. The method further includes detecting a first input with a first button at a first time; detecting a second input with a second button at a second time after the first time, where the second button is a conditionally enabled button; and in response to the detecting the second input with the second button at the second time: in accordance with a determination that the period of time between the first time and the second time is above a predefined threshold, activating the second button; and in accordance with a determination that the period of time between the first time and the second time is below the predefined threshold, preventing the second button from being activated.

Claims

1. A multifunction device, comprising:

a touch screen display;

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;

displaying a soft keyboard having a plurality of buttons including one or more unconditionally enabled buttons and one or more conditionally enabled buttons, wherein each respective unconditionally enabled button of the one or more unconditionally enabled buttons is always responsive to an activation input on the respective unconditionally enabled button while the soft keyboard is displayed;

detecting a first input with a first button at a first time;

detecting a second input with a second button at a second time after the first time, wherein the second button is a conditionally enabled button; and

in response to the detecting the second input with the second button at the second time;

in accordance with a determination that the period of time between the first time and the second time is above a predefined threshold, activating the second button; and

in accordance with a determination that the period of time between the first time and the second time is below the predefined threshold, preventing the second button from being activated.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for hiding the soft keyboard.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for changing a language associated with the soft keyboard.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the soft keyboard is associated with a first language, and wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for switching to a soft keyboard associated with a second language.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for switching from an alphabet keyboard to a numbers and symbols keyboard.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for switching from a numbers and symbols keyboard to an alphabet keyboard.

7. A method, comprising:

at a multifunction device with a touch screen display;

displaying a soft keyboard having a plurality of buttons including one or more unconditionally enabled buttons and one or more conditionally enabled buttons, wherein each respective unconditionally enabled button of the one or more unconditionally enabled buttons is always responsive to an activation input on the respective unconditionally enabled button while the soft keyboard is displayed;

detecting a first input with a first button at a first time;

detecting a second input with a second button at a second time after the first time, wherein the second button is a conditionally enabled button; and

in response to the detecting the second input with the second button at the second time;

in accordance with a determination that the period of time between the first time and the second time is above a predefined threshold, activating the second button; and

in accordance with a determination that the period of time between the first time and the second time is below the predefined threshold, preventing the second button from being activated.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for hiding the soft keyboard.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for changing a language associated with the soft keyboard.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the soft keyboard is associated with a first language, and wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for switching to a soft keyboard associated with a second language.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for switching from an alphabet keyboard to a numbers and symbols keyboard.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for switching from a numbers and symbols keyboard to an alphabet keyboard.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a multifunction device with a touch screen display, cause the device to:

display a soft keyboard having a plurality of buttons including one or more unconditionally enabled buttons and one or more conditionally enabled buttons, wherein each respective unconditionally enabled button of the one or more unconditionally enabled buttons is always responsive to an activation input on the respective unconditionally enabled button while the soft keyboard is displayed;

detect a first input with a first button at a first time;

detect a second input with a second button at a second time after the first time, wherein the second button is a conditionally enabled button; and

in response to the detecting the second input with the second button at the second time;

in accordance with a determination that the period of time between the first time and the second time is above a predefined threshold, activate the second button; and

in accordance with a determination that the period of time between the first time and the second time is below the predefined threshold, prevent the second button from being activated.

14. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for hiding the soft keyboard.

15. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for changing a language associated with the soft keyboard.

16. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the soft keyboard is associated with a first language, and wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for switching to a soft keyboard associated with a second language.

17. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for switching from an alphabet keyboard to a numbers and symbols keyboard.

18. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more conditionally enabled buttons comprise a button for switching from a numbers and symbols keyboard to an alphabet keyboard.