U.S. patent application number 12/123290 was filed with the patent office on 2009-06-11 for predictive keyboard.
Invention is credited to Jonathan D. Friedman, Raymond W. Riley.
Application Number | 20090149204 12/123290 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40722181 |
Filed Date | 2009-06-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090149204 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Riley; Raymond W. ; et
al. |
June 11, 2009 |
Predictive Keyboard
Abstract
A predictive keyboard is described. In an implementation, a
keyboard comprises a plurality of indications of letters arranged,
one to another, according to a QWERTY layout. Two rows of keys are
arranged such that at least one of the keys includes at least two
of the indications from at least two of the rows of the QWERTY
layout.
Inventors: |
Riley; Raymond W.;
(Bainbridge Island, WA) ; Friedman; Jonathan D.;
(Seattle, WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Microsoft Corporation;Patent Group Docketing Dept.
One Microsoft Way
Redmond
WA
98052
US
|
Family ID: |
40722181 |
Appl. No.: |
12/123290 |
Filed: |
May 19, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60992608 |
Dec 5, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/466 ; 341/22;
455/575.1; 715/261 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 1/72409 20210101;
H04M 1/72454 20210101; H04M 1/72436 20210101; H04M 1/7246 20210101;
H04W 64/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/466 ;
455/575.1; 341/22; 715/261 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/12 20090101
H04W004/12; H04M 1/00 20060101 H04M001/00; H03K 17/94 20060101
H03K017/94 |
Claims
1. A mobile communications device comprising: a keyboard having
indications of letters arranged according to a QWERTY layout across
two rows of keys such that at least one said key includes at least
two said indications of letters from different rows of the QWERTY
layout; and one or more modules to predict a desired word from one
or more inputs received via one or more said keys of the
keyboard.
2. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the keys in a first said row are staggered in relation to the keys
in a second said row.
3. A mobile communications device as described in claim 2, wherein:
the keys in the first said row of the keyboard include indications
of the letters "q", "w", "e", "r", "t", "y", "u", "i", "o" and "p";
and the keys in the second said row of the keyboard include
indications of the letters "z", "x", "c", "v", "b", "n" and
"m".
4. A mobile communications device as described in claim 2, wherein:
a first said key in the first said row of the keyboard includes
particular said indications that include "q", "w" and "a"; a second
said key in the first said row of the keyboard includes particular
said indications that include "e", "r" and "d"; a third said key in
the first said row of the keyboard includes particular said
indications that include "t", "y" and "g"; a fourth said key in the
first said row of the keyboard includes particular said indications
that include "u", "i" and "j"; a fifth said key in the first said
row of the keyboard includes particular said indications that
include "o", "p" and "l"; a first said key in the second said row
of the keyboard includes particular said indications that include
"s", "z" and "x"; a second said key in the second said row of the
keyboard includes particular said indications that include "f", "c"
and "v"; a third said key in the second said row of the keyboard
includes particular said indications that include "h", "b" and "n";
and a fourth said key in the second said row of the keyboard
includes particular said indications that include "k" and "m".
5. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the at least one said key includes at least two said indications of
letters taken from a first said row of the QWERTY layout and
another said indication of a letter is taken from a second said row
of the QWERTY layout.
6. A mobile communications device as described in claim 5, wherein
another said key includes at least two said indications of letters
taken from a third said row of the QWERTY layout and yet another
said indication of a letter taken from the second said row of the
QWERTY layout.
7. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the at least one said key includes at least two said indications of
letters taken from a first said row of the QWERTY layout and
another said indication of a letter is taken from a second said row
of the QWERTY layout.
8. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the one or more modules are further configured to provide text
messaging functionality.
9. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the one or more modules are further configured to provide email
functionality.
10. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the one or more modules are further configured to provide
telephonic functionality.
11. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the at least one said key also includes an indication of a
corresponding number.
12. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
selection of punctuation via the keyboard causes the one or more
modules to stop the prediction of the desired word.
13. A keyboard comprising: a plurality of indications of letters
arranged, one to another, according to a QWERTY layout; and two
rows of keys arranged such that at least one said key includes at
least two of the indications from at least two rows of the QWERTY
layout.
14. A keyboard as described in claim 13, wherein: a first said row
of said indications includes letters "q", "w", "e", "r", "t" and
"y"; a second said row of said indications includes letters "a",
"s", "d", "f" and "g"; and a third said row of said indications
includes letters "z", "x", "c", "v" and "b".
15. A keyboard as described in claim 13, wherein the keys in a
first said row are staggered in relation to the keys in a second
said row.
16. A keyboard as described in claim 15, wherein: a first said key
in the first said row includes particular said indications that
include "q", "w" and "a"; a second said key in the first said row
includes particular said indications that include "e", "r" and "d";
a third said key in the first said row includes particular said
indications that include "t", "y" and "g"; a fourth said key in the
first said row includes particular said indications that include
"u", "i" and "j"; a fifth said key in the first said row includes
particular said indications that include "o", "p" and "l"; a first
said key in the second said row includes particular said
indications that include "s", "z" and "x"; a second said key in the
second said row includes particular said indications that include
"f", "c" and "v"; a third said key in the second said row includes
particular said indications that include "h", "b" and "n"; and a
fourth said key in the second said row includes particular said
indications that include "k" and "m".
17. A method comprising: receiving one or more inputs from a
keyboard having indications of letters arranged according to a
QWERTY layout across two rows of keys such that at least one said
key includes at least two said indications of letters from
different rows of the QWERTY layout; and predicting a word based on
the one or more inputs.
18. A method as described in claim 17, wherein the predicting is
performed for a plurality of said words to form a phrase.
19. A method as described in claim 17, outputting the predicted
word.
20. A method as described in claim 19, wherein the outputting is
performed such that the predicted word is verifiable as being
intended by a user that provided the one or more inputs.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) to U.S. Patent Application No. 60/992,608, filed Dec.
5, 2007 and titled "Devices, Features and Systems for Mobile
Communications", the entire disclosure of which is hereby
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Portable devices, such as gaming devices, mobile
communications devices and so on, have become an integral part of
everyday life. Additionally, the functionality that may be accessed
using these devices has increased. For example, advances have been
made to provide a variety of different communication techniques,
e.g., text messaging and email. However, inclusion of these
additional communication techniques on mobile communications
devices having traditional form factors may cause these devices to
become unwieldy and less suitable for mobile applications. For
example, traditional input devices that were employed by these
communication techniques may be less suitable when utilized by
traditional mobile communications devices than when implemented by
full size devices.
SUMMARY
[0003] A predictive keyboard is described. In an implementation, a
keyboard comprises a plurality of indications of letters arranged,
one to another, according to a QWERTY layout. Two rows of keys are
arranged such that at least one of the keys includes at least two
of the indications from at least two of the rows of the QWERTY
layout.
[0004] In an implementation, a mobile communications device
comprises a keyboard and one or more modules. The keyboard has
indications of letters arranged according to a QWERTY layout across
two rows of keys such that at least one of the keys includes at
least two of the indications of letters from different rows of the
QWERTY layout. The one or more modules are configured to predict a
desired word from one or more inputs received via one or more of
the keys of the keyboard.
[0005] In an implementation, a method includes receiving one or
more inputs from a keyboard having indications of letters arranged
according to a QWERTY layout across two rows of keys such at least
one of the keys includes at least two of the indications of letters
from different rows of the QWERTY layout. A word is predicted based
on the one or more inputs.
[0006] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of
concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in
the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify
key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter,
nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of
the claimed subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The detailed description is described with reference to the
accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a
reference number identifies the figure in which the reference
number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in
different instances in the description and the figures may indicate
similar or identical items.
[0008] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example implementation of an
example mobile communications device in accordance with one or more
embodiments of devices, features, and systems for mobile
communications.
[0009] FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example implementation
showing a keyboard of the mobile communications device of FIG. 1 in
greater detail.
[0010] FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example implementation
showing the mobile communications device of FIGS. 1 and 2 in a side
view.
[0011] FIG. 4 is an illustration of various components of an
example device that can be implemented in various embodiments as
any type of a mobile communication device to implement embodiments
of devices, features, and systems for mobile communications.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an example
implementation in which a desired word is predicted based on one or
more inputs received via one or more keys of the keyboard that
includes indications of letters of a QWERTY layout across two rows
of keys.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] Overview
[0014] Users continually desire increased functionality from
portable devices, e.g., gaming devices, wireless phones, mobile
messaging devices, calendaring devices, and so on. For example,
users may maintain a calendar, a list of contacts, send and receive
text messages, access the Internet, send and receive email, take
pictures and so on. However, interaction with this increased
functionality in traditional mobile communications devices may be
difficult due to a traditional form factors that were employed to
keep the device "portable", which traditionally resulted in small
keys that were difficult to use and/or a large form factor that
became less and less portable in order to provide sufficient space
for each of the keys of a keyboard.
[0015] Predictive keyboard techniques are described. In an
implementation, letters of a QWERTY keyboard that were
traditionally provided using three rows of keys are provided using
two rows of keys. Indications of letters, for example, may be
arranged, one to another, according to a traditional QWERTY layout
in three rows. However, these indications may be spread across two
rows of keys such that at least some of the keys have a plurality
of indications.
[0016] For instance, a single key of the keyboard may include
indications for letters "q", "w" and "a". This technique may be
continued across additional keys, e.g., another key of the keyboard
may include indications for the letters "s", "z" and "x" and so on.
Therefore, in this instance indications of letters in a "middle"
row of a QWERTY layout may alternate between the top and bottom
rows of keys of the keyboard. Thus, a user may be presented with a
familiar QWERTY layout even though two rows of keys are used to
implement the layout.
[0017] Predictive techniques may then be employed to determine
which word is likely desired by a user that is interacting with the
keys, e.g., such as to auto complete the word. In this way, the
overall amount of space consumed by the keyboard may be reduced
(e.g., a height of the keyboard may be reduced), thereby making the
keyboard better suited for portable devices. Additionally, each of
the keys themselves may be made larger (when compared to a
traditional QWERTY layout in which each of the letters is provided
on its own separate key) thereby aiding a user's selection of the
keys.
[0018] In the following discussion, a variety of example
implementations of a predictive keyboard are shown. Additionally, a
variety of different devices that may employ a predictive keyboard
are described, which may be implemented in that example as well as
in other described examples. Accordingly, example implementations
are illustrated of a few of a variety of contemplated
implementations. Further, although a mobile communications device
having one or more modules that are configured to provide
telephonic functionality are described, a variety of other portable
devices are also contemplated, such as dedicated messaging devices,
game devices and so forth.
Example Implementations
[0019] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example implementation 100
of a mobile communications device 102 in accordance with one or
more embodiments of devices, features, and systems for mobile
communications. The mobile communications device 102 is illustrated
as assuming a plurality of configurations, examples of which
include a first configuration 104 and a second configuration
106.
[0020] The mobile communications device 102 is further illustrated
as including a first housing 108 and a second housing 110 that are
connected via a slide 112 such that the first and second housing
may move (e.g., slide) in relation to one another. Although sliding
is described, it should be readily apparent that a variety of other
movement techniques are also contemplated, e.g., a pivot, a hinge
and so on.
[0021] The first housing 108 includes a display device 114 (e.g., a
touchscreen) that may be used to output a variety of data, such as
a caller identification (ID), information related to text messages
as illustrated, email, multimedia messages, Internet browsing, game
play, music, video and so on.
[0022] The second housing 110 is illustrated as including a
keyboard 116 that may be used to provide inputs to the mobile
communications device 102. Although the keyboard 116 is illustrated
as a QWERTY keyboard, a variety of other examples are also
contemplated, such as a twelve key numeric pad found on basic
telephones, keyboards configured for other languages (e.g.,
Cyrillic) and so on.
[0023] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the first and second
housings 108, 110 of the mobile communications device 102 are
rectangular. For example, a plane defined by an outer surface of
the display device 114 may be parallel to a plane of the first
housing 108 that approximates a rectangle, which may be the same as
or different from the plane defined by the display device 114. In
other words, the width and height of the plane taken from the first
housing 108 that is parallel to the other surface of the display
device 114 is greater than one-to-one. Likewise, the second housing
110 may be considered rectangular along a plane that is parallel to
and/or is the same as an outer surface of the keyboard 116 disposed
within the second housing 110.
[0024] In the first configuration 104, the mobile communications
device 102 is closed such that the first housing 108 covers the
second housing 110. Consequently, the keyboard 116 disposed on the
second housing 110 is covered and is not available to receive input
from a user of the mobile communications device 102. In an
implementation, telephonic functionality is still available when
the mobile communications device 102 is in the first configuration
104, e.g., to receive a telephone call.
[0025] In the second configuration 106, the first housing 108 is
moved (e.g., slid) "away" from the second housing 110 using the
slide 112. In this example configuration, at least a majority of
the keys of the keyboard 116 is exposed such that the exposed keys
are available to receive inputs from a user. Accordingly, the
second configuration 106 may be considered an "open" configuration.
Further, the second configuration 106 results in an extended
rectangular form factor of the mobile communications device 102 as
contrasted with the rectangular form factor of the mobile
communications device 102 in the first configuration 104. In an
implementation, the planes of the first and second housings 110,
112 that are used to define the rectangular form factor are
parallel to each other, although other implementations are also
contemplated.
[0026] In the illustrated implementation 100, the display device
114 remains viewable by a user in each configuration, examples of
which are shown in the first and second configurations 104, 106. In
the first configuration 104, example text "Text Message from Sara"
is illustrated as being displayed on the display device 114.
Additionally, the example text is illustrated as being orientated
with respect to the second housing 110, which in the illustrated
implementation 100 the example text and indications of functions of
the keyboard 116 (e.g., numbers and/or letters) are aligned,
generally.
[0027] In the second configuration 106, the example text is again
illustrated as orientated with respect to the second housing 110 as
was previously shown and described in relation to the first
configuration 104. For instance, example text "Text Message from
Sara" displayed on the display device 114 is approximately aligned
with the keyboard 116, e.g., indications of text for respective
keys of the keyboard 116. Thus, in this manner a user of the mobile
communications device 102 is provided with a consistent and
intuitive approach to interaction with the mobile communications
device 102 in a plurality of configurations, e.g., the first and
second configurations 104, 106.
[0028] The rectangular form factor employed by the mobile
communications device 102 may be suitable to support a wide variety
of features. For example, the keyboard 116 is illustrated as
supporting a QWERTY configuration. This form factor may be
particularly convenient to a user to utilize the previously
described functionality of the mobile communications device 102,
such as to compose texts, play games, check email, "surf" the
Internet and so on.
[0029] The keyboard 16 is illustrated as having a reduced height
118 through implementation using two rows of keys. Even though two
rows of keys are utilized, indications are provided that conform
with a traditional QWERTY layout that typically arranges letters
into three rows. In this way, the user is provided with a familiar
QWERTY layout in a reduced form factor, further discussion of which
may be found in relation to the following figure.
[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates an example implementation 200 showing the
keyboard 116 of FIG. 1 in greater detail. The keyboard 116 is
illustrated as having a first row 202 of keys and a second row 204
of keys. Even though first and second rows of keys 202, 204 are
utilized, indications of letters are arranged according to a
traditional QWERTY layout having three rows. For example, a first
row of indications includes a letters "Q", "W", "E", "R", "T", "Y",
"U", "I", "O" and "P". Thus, each of the first row of indications
of letters is included in the first row 202 of keys of the keyboard
116. Continuing with this example, a third row of indications
includes letters "Z", "X", "C", "V", "B", "N" and "M". Each of
indications of letters in the third row of the QWERTY layout is
included in the second row 204 of keys of the keyboard 116.
[0031] The second row of indications of letters of the QWERTY
layout, however, in the keyboard 116 of FIG. 2 alternate between
inclusion in the first and second rows 202, 204. For example, the
indication of the letter "A" is included on a first key 206 in the
first row 202 with indications of the letters "Q" and "W". The
indication of the letter "S", however, is illustrated as being
included on a first key 208 of the second row 204 with letters "Z"
and "X".
[0032] Letters included in the second row of indications in the
QWERTY layout may continue to alternate between the first and
second rows 202, 204 of keys as illustrated in FIG. 2. For
instance, the second, third, fourth and fifth keys 210, 212, 214,
216 of the first row 202 may alternate inclusion of indications of
letters with the second, third and fourth keys 218, 220, 222 of the
second row 204. Thus, keys in the first row 202 are staggering in
relation to the keys in the second row 204.
[0033] Functionality may also be included on the keyboard 116 in
addition to entry of letters. For example, buttons 224, 226 may be
used for navigation functions such as "up" shown for a button 224
and "down" shown for button 226. Punctuation may also be entered,
examples of which are shown in relation to button 228. "Space" and
"enter" indications are also shown in relation to buttons 230, 232,
respectively. Additionally, numbers may also be entered, such as a
number "1" which is illustrated for the first key 206 of the first
row 202. A variety of other functionality and indications for
functionality are also contemplated. A user may then interact with
the illustrated keys to input a variety of data, further discussion
of which may be found in relation to the following procedures.
[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates an example implementation 300 showing the
mobile communications device 102 of FIGS. 1 and 2 in a side view.
As illustrated, the first housing 108 substantially covers the
second housing 110 such that the keyboard 116 of FIGS. 1 and 2 is
covered and therefore protected from inadvertent input,
contamination, and so on. Further, edges of the first and second
housings 108, 110 are illustrated as rounded such that the mobile
communications device 102 may be comfortably grasped by a user. A
variety of other implementations are also contemplated.
[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates various components of an example device
400 that can be implemented in various embodiments as any type of a
mobile communication device to implement embodiments of devices,
features, and systems for mobile communications. For example,
device 400 can be implemented as any of the mobile communications
devices 102 described with reference to respective FIGS. 1-3.
Device 400 can also be implemented to access a network-based
service, such as a content service.
[0036] Device 400 includes input(s) 402 that may include Internet
Protocol (IP) inputs as well as other input devices, such as the
keyboard 116 of FIGS. 1-2. Device 400 further includes
communication interface(s) 404 that can be implemented as any one
or more of a wireless interface, any type of network interface, and
as any other type of communication interface. A network interface
provides a connection between device 400 and a communication
network by which other electronic and computing devices can
communicate data with device 400. A wireless interface enables
device 400 to operate as a mobile communication device for wireless
communications.
[0037] Device 400 also includes one or more processors 406 (e.g.,
any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like) which process
various computer-executable instructions to control the operation
of device 400 and to communicate with other electronic devices.
Device 400 can be implemented with computer-readable media 408,
such as one or more memory components, examples of which include
random access memory (RAM) and non-volatile memory (e.g., any one
or more of a read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM,
etc.).
[0038] Computer-readable media 408 provides data storage to store
content and data 410, as well as device applications and any other
types of information and/or data related to operational aspects of
device 400. For example, an operating system 412 can be maintained
as a computer application with the computer-readable media 408 and
executed on processor(s) 406. Device applications can also include
a communication manager module 414 (which may be used to provide
telephonic functionality) and a media manager 416.
[0039] Device 400 also includes an audio and/or video output 418
that provides audio and/or video data to an audio rendering and/or
display system 420. The audio rendering and/or display system 420
can be implemented as integrated component(s) of the example device
400, and can include any components that process, display, and/or
otherwise render audio, video, and image data. Device 400 can also
be implemented to provide a user tactile feedback, such as vibrate
and haptics.
[0040] The communication manager module 414 is further illustrated
as including a predictive module 422. The predictive module 422 is
representative of functionality to predict a desired word from one
or more inputs received via the keyboard 116 of FIGS. 1 and 2. For
example, the predictive module 422 may compare inputs received via
the keyboard 116 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and compare the inputs to a
prediction dictionary to determine one or more words that have a
likelihood of being desired by a user based on the inputs. The
determined one or more words may then be entered automatically or
output for verification by the user (e.g., such as to provide auto
complete functionality), further discussion of which may be found
in relation to the following procedures.
[0041] Generally, the blocks may be representative of modules that
are configured to provide represented functionality. Further, any
of the functions described herein can be implemented using
software, firmware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual
processing, or a combination of these implementations. The terms
"module," "functionality," and "logic" as used herein generally
represent software, firmware, or a combination of software and
firmware. In the case of a software implementation, the module,
functionality, or logic represents program code that performs
specified tasks when executed on a processor (e.g., CPU or CPUs).
The program code can be stored in one or more computer readable
memory devices. The features of the techniques described above are
platform-independent, meaning that the techniques may be
implemented on a variety of commercial computing platforms having a
variety of processors.
Example Procedures
[0042] The following discussion describes predictive keyboard
techniques that may be implemented utilizing the previously
described systems and devices. Aspects of each of the procedures
may be implemented in hardware, firmware, or software, or a
combination thereof. The procedures are shown as a set of blocks
that specify operations performed by one or more devices and are
not necessarily limited to the orders shown for performing the
operations by the respective blocks. In portions of the following
discussion, reference will be made to the environment and devices
of FIGS. 1-4.
[0043] FIG. 5 depicts a procedure in an example implementation 500
in which a desired word is predicted based on one or more inputs
received via one or more keys of the keyboard that includes
indications of letters of a QWERTY layout across two rows of keys.
One or more inputs are received from a keyboard having indications
of letters arranged according to a QWERTY layout across two rows of
keys such that at least one of the keys includes at least two of
the indications of letters from different rows of the QWERTY layout
(block 502). For example, the keys of the keyboard may be displayed
on a touchscreen display of a portable device (e.g., a gaming
device), preconfigured from hardware on a mobile communications
device, and so on.
[0044] A word is predicted based on the one or more inputs (block
504). This prediction may be performed in a variety of ways to
arrive at a word that has increased likelihood of being a word
intended to be input by a user. For example, the one or more inputs
may be compared with one or more entries in a prediction dictionary
(block 506). The predicted word may then be output (block 508),
such as to verify that the output word was desired by a user that
provided the one or more inputs (block 510). In another
implementation, however, the word may be automatically entered
without verifying that the user specifically intended that word. A
variety of other implementations are also contemplated, such as to
cease the prediction of the desired word when punctuation and or
other non-alphanumeric character (e.g., a space or enter key) is
encountered.
[0045] Although the invention has been described in language
specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is
to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims
is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts
described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as
example forms of implementing the claimed invention.
* * * * *