Search query predictions by a keyboard

• US 9,720,955 B1
• Filed: 10/10/2016
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Cao, Jing, Greenberg, Alexa, Sharma, Abhanshu, Su, Yanchao, Kong, Nicholas, Mohsin, Muhammad, Jurewicz, Jacek, Huang, Wei, Sidhom, Benjamin, Sharifi, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Shih, Haoshian
• Application Number:
  US15/289,661
• Time in Patent Office: 295 Days
• Field of Search: 715758, 715764, 715772, 709206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2428 Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms G06F16/2423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3322 using system suggestions G06F16/3325 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3323 using document space presentation or visualization, e.g. category, hierarchy or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90328 using search space presentation or visualization, e.g. category or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services

Abstract

A computing device is described that includes at least one processor and a memory including instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to output, for display, a graphical keyboard comprising a plurality of keys, and determine, based on an indication of a selection of one or more keys from the plurality of keys, text of an electronic communication. The instructions, when executed, further cause the at least one processor to identify, based at least in part on the text, a searchable entity or trigger phrase, generate, based on the searchable entity or trigger phrase, a search query, and output, for display, within the graphical keyboard, a graphical indication to indicate that the computing device generated the search query.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

outputting, by a keyboard application executing at a computing device, for display, a graphical keyboard comprising a plurality of keys and a suggestion region in which suggested words for text entry are displayed;

determining, by the keyboard application, based on an indication of a selection of one or more keys from the plurality of keys, text;

generating, by the keyboard application, based at least in part on the text, a search query; and

outputting, by the keyboard application, for display within a search region of the graphical keyboard that replaces the suggestion region of the graphical keyboard, a graphical indication to that indicates the keyboard application generated the search query, wherein the graphical indication includes text of the search query as a suggested query for searching.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the graphical indication comprises modifying a visual format of a search key from the plurality of keys that indicates the computing device generated the search query.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the search query comprises generating a plurality of search queries including the search query.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the graphical indication further includes text of one or more other search queries from the plurality of search queries, and outputting the graphical indication comprises outputting, for display within the search region, the text of the one or more other search queries.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein modifying the visual format of the search key comprises changing the search key from being displayed in a first visual format to a second visual format.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first visual format has a first color pallet and the second visual format has a second color pallet that is different than the first color pallet.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first visual format has a first size and the second visual format has a second size that is different than the first size.

18. The method of claim 2, wherein modifying the visual format of the search key comprises causing the search key to flash, move, or change size.

5. A mobile device comprising:

a presence-sensitive display component;

at least one processor; and

a memory that stores instructions associated with a keyboard application that when executed cause the at least one processor to;

output, for display at the presence-sensitive display component, a graphical keyboard comprising a plurality of keys and a suggestion region in which suggested words for text entry are displayed;

determine, based on an indication of a selection of one or more keys from the plurality of keys detected at the presence-sensitive display component, text of an electronic communication;

generate, based at least in part on the text, a search query; and

output, for display, at the presence-sensitive display component and a search region of the graphical keyboard that replaces the suggestion region of the graphical keyboard, a graphical indication that indicates the keyboard application generated the search query, wherein the graphical indication includes text of the search query as a suggested query for searching.

6. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to output the graphical indication by at least modifying a visual format of a search key from the plurality of keys to indicate that the computing device generated the search query.

7. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to generate the search query by at least generating a plurality of search queries including the search query.

8. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein the graphical indication further includes text of one or more other search queries from the plurality of search queries, and the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to output the graphical indication by at least outputting, within the search region, the text of the one or more other search queries.

19. The mobile device of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to modify the visual format of the search key by at least changing the search key from being displayed in a first visual format to a second visual format, wherein at least one of:

the first visual format has a first color pallet and the second visual format has a second color pallet that is different than the first color pallet;

or

the first visual format has a first size and the second visual format has a second size that is different than the first size.

20. The mobile device of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to modify the visual format of the search key by at least causing the search key to flash, move, or change size.

9. A method comprising:

invoking, by a first application executing at a computing device, for receiving text input, a keyboard application that is configured to provide a graphical keyboard comprising a plurality of keys and a suggestion region in which suggested words for text entry are displayed;

determining, by the keyboard application, based on an indication of a selection of one or more keys from the plurality of keys, the text input;

generating, by the keyboard application, based at least in part on the text input, a search query;

outputting, by the keyboard application, for display within a search region of the graphical keyboard that replaces the suggestion region of the graphical keyboard, a graphical indication that indicates the keyboard application generated the search query, wherein the graphical indication includes text of the search query as a suggested query for searching; and

responsive to receiving, by the keyboard application, an indication of a selection of the search query, initiating, by the keyboard application, at a search application, a search based on the search query.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the search application is executing at the computing device, the method further comprising:

executing, by the search application, the search based on the search query as an on-device search for search results associated with information stored locally at the computing device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the search application is executing at a remote computing device, the method further comprising:

executing, by the search application, the search based on the search query as a remote search for search results associated with information stored remote to the computing device.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the first application is a chat application and the text input is associated with a conversation within the chat application.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

outputting, by the first application, for display in place of at least a portion of the plurality of keys, a graphical indication of one or more search results obtained by the keyboard application after the keyboard application initiates the search.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

responsive to receiving, by the first application, an indication of a selection of at least one of the one or more search results, outputting, by the chat application, the at least one of the one or more search results as a message of the conversation.