U.S. patent application number 12/680830 was filed with the patent office on 2011-01-13 for software keyboard input method for realizing composite key on electronic device screen.
Invention is credited to Xiaofeng Huang, Xiaoshan Tao, Yanjiao Zhao.
Application Number | 20110007004 12/680830 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39422726 |
Filed Date | 2011-01-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110007004 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Huang; Xiaofeng ; et
al. |
January 13, 2011 |
SOFTWARE KEYBOARD INPUT METHOD FOR REALIZING COMPOSITE KEY ON
ELECTRONIC DEVICE SCREEN
Abstract
A software keyboard input method for implementing compound keys
on an electronic device screen is provided to assist a user in fast
inputting a text with convenience and efficiency. Two letters are
displayed on a key. The user performs a ambiguous input by directly
clicking a key, and performs a precise input by moving a contact
point via which a fast selection of a symbol and a fast switching
of a uppercase letter are realized. With the software keyboard
input method for implementing compound keys on an electronic device
screen, information can be inputted on the electronic device screen
easily and accurately. The method is of convenient usage and
flexibility.
Inventors: |
Huang; Xiaofeng; (Shanghai,
CN) ; Zhao; Yanjiao; (Shanghai, CN) ; Tao;
Xiaoshan; (Shanghai, CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HAMRE, SCHUMANN, MUELLER & LARSON, P.C.
P.O. BOX 2902
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402-0902
US
|
Family ID: |
39422726 |
Appl. No.: |
12/680830 |
Filed: |
October 6, 2008 |
PCT Filed: |
October 6, 2008 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN08/72599 |
371 Date: |
July 19, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/173 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/0237 20130101;
G06F 3/04842 20130101; G06F 3/04886 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/173 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/041 20060101
G06F003/041 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 30, 2007 |
CN |
200710046742.8 |
Claims
1. A software keyboard input method for implementing compound keys
on an electronic device screen, comprising: 1) a display step of
displaying a plurality of keys on a tactile display device, wherein
at least some keys present a plurality of letters; 2) a detection
step of detecting a contact point motion on said keys performed by
a user; 3) a determination step of determining a content
corresponding to the present key-press performed by the user; and
4) an input step of inputting a user selection into an editing
text.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein, at least some keys present two
letters in the display step.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein, the determination step
comprises: determining whether the present input is a precise input
or a ambiguous input; if the present input is a precise input,
determining the content of the present input to be the letter
corresponding to the contact point motion; if the present input is
a ambiguous input, determining the content of the present input to
be any one of the letters on the key, and finalizing the content
after a word in a candidate area is selected by the user in the
input step;
4. The method of claim 1, wherein, the determination step
comprises, if the contact point motion is pressing a key and then
directly releasing the key, determining the content of the present
input to be the letter closest to the position of a contact point
being pressed on the key.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein, the determination step
comprises, if the contact point motion is pressing a key and then
directly releasing the key, determining a position of the contact
point being pressed; if the position locates at the left part of
the key, inputting the left letter on the key; otherwise, inputting
the right letter on the key.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein, the determination step
comprises, if the contact point motion is pressing a key and
directly releasing the key, determining the present input to be a
ambiguous input and determining the content of the present input to
be any one of the letters on the key, wherein the content is
finalized after a word in the candidate area is selected by the
user in the input step.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein, the determination step
comprises, if the contact point motion is pressing a key and then
releasing the key after moving towards a direction of a letter on
the key for a certain distance, determining the present input to be
a precise input and determining the content of the present input to
be the letter in said direction on the key.
8. The method claim 2, wherein, the determination step comprises,
if the contact point motion is pressing a key and then releasing
the key after moving leftwards for a certain distance, determining
the present input to be a precise input and determining the content
of the present input to be the left letter on the key; if the
contact point motion is pressing a key and then releasing the key
after moving rightwards for a certain distance, determining the
present input to be a precise input and determining the content of
the present input to be the right letter on the key.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein, the determination step
comprises, if the contact point motion is long-pressing a key and
then selecting a letter, determining the present input to be a
precise input and determining the content of the present input to
be the selected letter.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein, the input step comprises adding
a user-defined word into a user-defined word list when the user
selects the user-defined word which is not in a dictionary and
inputs the user-defined word in the editing area via the precise
input.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following step
after the display step: 11 a symbol display step of displaying at
least one symbol on some keys, wherein the at least one symbol
includes but not limited to a punctuation, a number.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein, the determination step
comprises, if the contact point motion is pressing a key and then
releasing the key after moving towards a direction of a symbol on
the key for a certain distance, determining the content of the
present input to be the symbol in said direction on the key.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein, the determination step
comprises, if the contact point motion is pressing a key and then
releasing the key after moving upwards for a certain distance, or
releasing the key after moving upwards for a certain distance and
then downwards for a certain distance, or releasing the key after
long-pressing for a certain period, or double-clicking the key, or
any one of predetermined motions, determining the content of the
present input to be an uppercase of any one of the letters on the
key or a switching case of a letter, wherein the switching case of
the letter indicates that an uppercase letter is determined when
the default status is lowercase, and an lowercase letter is
determined when the default status is uppercase.
14. The method of claim 2, wherein, the determination step
comprises, if the contact point motion is pressing a key and then
releasing the key after moving upper-left for a certain distance,
determining the content of the present input to be the uppercase of
the left letter on said key, or the switching case of the left
letter on said key; if the contact point motion is pressing a key
and then releasing the key after moving upper-right for a certain
distance, determining the content of the present input to be the
uppercase of the right letter on said key, or the switching case of
the right letter on said key, wherein the switching case indicates
that an uppercase letter is determined when the default status is
lowercase, and an lowercase letter is determined when the default
status is lowercase.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein, the determination step
comprises, if the contact point motion is pressing a key, moving
towards a direction of a letter on the key, long-pressing the key
for a certain period and then releasing the key, determining the
content of the present input to be the uppercase of the letter in
the movement direction on said key, or the switching case of the
letter in the movement direction on said key, wherein the switching
case of the letter indicates that an uppercase letter is determined
when the default status is lowercase, and an lowercase letter is
determined when the default status is uppercase.
16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following step
after the determination step: 31) an indication step of displaying
indication information of a current input.
17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following step
after the determination step: 32) a prediction step of searching a
predicted candidate word in a dictionary based on the sequence of
the keys inputted by the user and displaying said predicted
candidate word.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein, the indication step comprises
dynamically displaying the contents of the current input in an
indication area.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein, the prediction step comprises,
searching, based on the sequence of the keys inputted by the user,
the word in the dictionary or the user-defined word list, and
displaying the possible candidate word in the candidate area.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein, the input step comprises
inputting the selected word to the editing text via a preset
operation, wherein the preset operation includes, but not limited
to, directly clicking the selected word in the candidate area, or
pressing a confirmation key after a cursor is moved to the selected
word.
21. The method of claim 1, wherein, the input step comprises
inputting a default candidate word to the editing text by pressing
any specified shortcut key, wherein the shortcut key includes, but
not limited to, a space key or an Enter key.
22. The method of claim 1, wherein, the input step comprises
automatically inputting the default candidate word to the editing
text without a selection in the candidate area.
23. The method of claim 1, wherein, the input step comprises,
directly inputting the content being precisely inputted to the
editing text without a selection in the candidate area when a
precise input is adopted entirely.
24. A portable electronic device, wherein, the method of claim 1 is
adopted.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a field of electronic
device screen, particularly to a field of inputting information on
an electronic device screen, and more specifically, to a software
keyboard input method for implementing compound keys on an
electronic device screen.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In modern life, various kinds of electronic devices having
touch screen come into existence with the continual development of
integrated circuit technology. These numerous electronic devices
having touch screen (e.g., palmtop computer, intelligent mobile
phone, embedded system, pocket computer, etc.) fail to be equipped
with a complete hardware keyboard due to the restriction of size,
fabrication cost, etc. Thus, the input on such devices is generally
realized by software simulation.
[0003] Usually, in prior art, the conventional software keyboard
may bring much inconvenience to users. This is largely due to a
small area of the touch screen and a plenty of contents to be
selected. Accordingly, the corresponding selection area on the
screen is relatively small. The user may therefore fail to input by
accurately clicking the selection area on the screen directly via a
finger. Instead, the user usually has to employ other equipments
with smaller contact point resolution, e.g., a touch pen.
[0004] In general situations, it requires the user to employ both
hands simultaneously for operation, i.e., one hand for holding the
electronic device, another hand for inputting by clicking the touch
screen via a touch pen. Even so, in some cases, in a running car
for example, even with other equipments, the user may yet possibly
fail to accurately select a content to be input, which is effected
by the circumstance, e.g., shaking.
SUMMARY
[0005] The present invention aims at overcoming the drawbacks of
the foregoing prior art, and provides a software keyboard input
method for implementing compound keys on an electronic device
screen, where the method has the characteristics of inputting
information on the electronic device screen easily and accurately,
simple implementation, convenient usage, stable and reliable
working performance, wide range of application.
[0006] To this end, the software keyboard input method for
implementing compound keys on an electronic device screen according
to the present invention is as follows.
[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a
software keyboard input method for implementing compound keys on an
electronic device screen is provided. The method includes, a first
step of displaying a plurality of keys on a tactile display device,
wherein at least some keys present a plurality of letters; a second
step of detecting a contact point motion on the key performed by a
user; a third step of determining a content corresponding to the
present key-press performed by the user; and a fourth step of
inputting a user selection to an editing text.
[0008] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a
portable electronic device is provided, where the portable
electronic device adopts the software keyboard input method for
implementing compound keys on an electronic device screen according
to the first aspect of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to a first embodiment of the present
invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to the first embodiment of the present
invention;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to the first embodiment of the present
invention;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to the first embodiment of the present
invention;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
where a candidate area and an inputted letter area are
included;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
where an ambiguous input method is depicted.
[0015] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
where a precise input method is depicted.
[0016] FIG. 8 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
where a symbol input method is depicted.
[0017] FIG. 9 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
where a method for switching uppercase letter and lowercase letter
is depicted.
[0018] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an input procedure of a
software keyboard according to the first embodiment of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 11 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to a second embodiment of the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 12 is a schematic illustrating a software keyboard
layout according to the second embodiment of the present invention,
where a candidate area is included;
[0021] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an input procedure of a
software keyboard according to the second embodiment of the present
invention; and
[0022] FIG. 14 is a basic block diagram of a computer device or
portable terminal device which is applicable to the input method of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] The software keyboard input method according to the present
invention may be applied to various electronic devices having a
touch screen, especially a portable electronic device such as a
mobile phone, a PDA, a laptop computer, etc.
[0024] The following embodiments are specifically illustrated for a
better understanding of the technical contents of the present
invention.
[0025] First, it should be noted that English input is taken as an
example in all the following embodiments. However, the method
according to present invention is not limited to the kind of
language. The method according to present invention may also be
applied to various languages such as Chinese, Japanese, German,
etc. A software keyboard version that meets the requirements of
different languages may be designed by only a fine adjustment of
the keyboard layouts illustrated in the following embodiments.
First Embodiment
[0026] The present embodiment illustrates an input method for fast
and easily inputting word, symbol, and switching uppercase and
lowercase letter on a software keyboard layout having compound
keys.
[0027] FIG. 1 illustrates a software keyboard layout 100 used in
the input method relating to the present invention. According to
the letter layout of the present keyboard which is based on a
standard keyboard layout (QWERTY keyboard layout) of personal
computer, two letters and one or more symbols are combined on one
key. For example, letters "q" and "w", together with symbol ";"
share a key 101. In a special case, letter "l" and letter "m"
occupy a separate key 102 and a key 103, respectively.
[0028] For ease of illustration, a specific symbol is depicted in
the location of the symbol. It is apparent that the essentials of
the present invention will totally not be affected by adding,
deleting, changing the symbols on the keys, changing the symbol
into a number or other symbol, or modifying its layout.
[0029] Both the rows where key 102 and key 103 locate have the odd
number of letters. Thus, there are only one letter on the key 102
and key 103. However, we may also modify and adjust the key layout,
as shown in FIG. 2, i.e., put letter "a" on the key 201 separately,
and adjust other letters accordingly.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, according to some embodiments, "I" and
"m" may be combined in the key 302.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, according to some embodiments, a symbol
may be combined in the right part of the key 402 and the key 403,
respectively.
[0032] In addition, the location of the space key 104 in FIG. 1 may
also be adjusted optionally (e.g., at the middle or right part of
the row where it locates, or displayed at the fourth row, etc.),
and other keys may be adjusted accordingly. This will not
compromise the essentials of the present invention.
[0033] An ordinary person skilled in the art may also, based on the
keyboard layout, add one or more grids, one or more rows, one or
more columns of keys or buttons. All of these will not compromise
the essentials of the present invention as long as the
double-letter layout of the keyboard is not changed.
[0034] Based on the keyboard layout area 100 as shown in FIG. 1,
the input method may also contain a word candidate area for
displaying a list of possible words that the user may desire to
input, and contain an inputted letter area for displaying the
actual input of the user. For example, a software keyboard 500
having a keyboard layout area 501, an inputted letter area 502 and
a word candidate area 503 is illustrated in FIG. 5. The content
that the user actually presses is already displayed in the inputted
letter area 502. According to the input method, the possible words
that the user may input are displayed in the candidate area 503,
where the possible words are predicted based on the inputted
key-presses. The user may click a word in the candidate area and
input it to the editing text.
[0035] The candidate area may be displayed in a fixed area of the
screen, or may be displayed in an area near the cursor in the
current editing text. There may be none or any number of the
candidate words (within the range allowed by the screen) in the
candidate area. The inputted letter area 502 may be displayed in a
fixed area of the screen, or may be displayed in an area near the
cursor in the editing text. These will not compromise the
essentials of the present invention.
[0036] According to the first embodiment of the present invention,
a software keyboard based on a letter layout of a standard keyboard
(QWERTY keyboard) of personal computer is displayed, and two
letters and/or one or more symbols are combined on one key. Thus,
benefits such as displaying larger key-presses on the screen with a
limited size and reducing keystroke errors are achieved. Of course,
it is appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art that
although the first embodiment of the present invention is
illustrated by way of the layout similar to the QWERTY keyboard,
other keyboard layouts may also adopt the input method according to
the present invention as long as two or more letters are combined
on one key.
[0037] The following discussion will be made to an embodiment of a
software keyboard input method based on the keyboard layout 500 as
shown in FIG. 5.
[0038] Ambiguous Input Approach
[0039] The ambiguous input approach means that when the user
directly presses a key on the keyboard, the input method may search
possible candidate words in a dictionary based on the contents that
the user has inputted already, and may display a word list in the
candidate area according to the word frequency. The dictionary
herein may be an information database stored in the form of files,
which may include all or parts of English words and other forms, or
may further include user-defined words, or may further include
information of the frequency of use of each word, information of a
phrase combination, or a semantic model, etc.
[0040] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, assume that the user
desires to input a word "product". When the user presses keys 601,
602 and 601 in sequence, although the key 601 includes "p" and "o"
at the same time, and the key 602 includes "e" and "r" at the same
time, the input method may enumerate, based on the sequence of
these three inputted keys, all the words in the dictionary with
their first three letters meeting the inputted keys. And, the input
method may display several words with the highest frequency, e.g.,
"product", "proactive", "probable", "profit", in the candidate area
604.
[0041] In some embodiments, the candidate words may possibly be
adjusted based on the context of the editing text, and further
based on the semantic model. Therefore, most probable candidate
words in the context herein may be displayed in the candidate
area.
[0042] In the inputted letter area 603, the letters that the user
already inputted are displayed. Since three key-presses may
represent a plurality of letter combinations at this point, the
area may display three initial letters of the first candidate word,
e.g., "pro". With the continuation of input, the first candidate
word will be changed constantly, and therefore the letters in this
area will be adjusted dynamically.
[0043] The user may click a candidate word in the candidate area
604 and input it to a target text field. For example, the user may
click and input the candidate word "product". When the desired
input is the first candidate word, the user may press a shortcut
key (e.g., a space key) to input it directly. Or, the user may
click the combination of the inputted letters in the inputted
letter area 603, and input "pro" in the text.
[0044] When the user clicks the combination of the inputted letters
which is not included in the dictionary, the system may indicate
the user or automatically add the combination into the
dictionary.
[0045] The symbol on the key will not function during the ambiguous
input. The method merely considers the letters on the key. When
there is only one letter on a key (e.g., the key 102 in FIG. 1 and
the key 402 in FIG. 4), the effect thereof equals a precise input
approach in the following description.
[0046] Precise Input Approach
[0047] The precise input approach means that the user may press a
key, and then release the key after moving for a certain distance,
achieving the goal of precisely inputting a character or a
symbol.
[0048] For example, as shown in FIG. 7, it assumes that the user
desires to input the word "acknowledge". To improve the accuracy of
the candidate words, the user may precisely input the first three
letters "ack". The user may press the key 701, and then release the
key 701 after moving a contact point leftwards for a certain
distance (e.g., more than 10 pixels), and thereby the letter "a" is
inputted. The user may press the key 702, and then release the key
702 after moving leftwards for a certain distance, and thereby the
letter "c" is inputted. The user may press the key 703, and then
release the key 703 after moving rightwards for a certain distance,
and thereby the letter "k" is inputted. At this point, the input
method may search all the words starting with "ack" in the
dictionary, and display them in the candidate area 705.
[0049] The precise input and the ambiguous input may be used at the
same time. For example, the user may first precisely input "a"
(press the key 701 and then release the key 701 after moving
leftwards), then ambiguously input "c" and "k" (press the key 702
and the key 703 and then release the key directly). The input
method may also search all the matching words in the dictionary,
and display them in the candidate area.
[0050] The distance for moving the contact point may be any
predetermined value, or may be configured by the user. This will
not compromise the essentials of the present invention.
[0051] Inputting a User-Defined Word
[0052] Sometimes the words that user desires to input are not
included in the dictionary, for example, some rare words,
abbreviations, slangs, or dedicated terms, etc. Since the precise
input approach is provided, the user may easily input the words not
included in the dictionary.
[0053] For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the user desires to
input the word "ack" which is not included in the word library, the
user may precisely input "ack", and directly click the inputted
letter area 704 to input the word "ack" to the editing text.
[0054] Fast Inputting Punctuations, Numbers or Other Symbols
[0055] The user may fast input punctuations, numbers or other
symbols via a contact point motion on a key. For example, as shown
in FIG. 8, the user may input the punctuation "?" in the following
way: press the key 801, then release the key 801 after moving the
contact point downwards for a certain distance.
[0056] Of course, it is appreciated by a person of ordinary skill
in the art that other approaches may also be employed for inputting
punctuations, e.g., inputting the punctuation "?" by way of
clicking the key 801 and then holding for a period
(long-press).
[0057] In some embodiments, one or more symbols may be combined on
one key. As shown in FIG. 4, when the user presses the key 402 and
moves the contact point rightwards for a certain distance, thus,
the symbol "&" is inputted. Similarly, in some embodiments, the
symbol may be combined on the key at an upper part, a lower part, a
left part, a right part, an upper left part, an upper right part, a
lower left part, a lower right part, etc. The user may input the
corresponding symbol by moving the contact point towards the
symbol.
[0058] Fast Switching Uppercase and Lowercase
[0059] The user may fast switch and input uppercase and lowercase
letter via a contact point motion on the key. For example, as shown
in FIG. 9, assume the user desires to input the word "Amy", and
assume that the word is already included in the dictionary. Thus,
the user may perform the following steps. The user may press the
key 901, then release the key 901 after moving the contact point
upwards for a certain distance, and thereby the uppercase letter
"A" or "S" is inputted ambiguously. Next, the user may press the
keys 902 and 903 in sequence. The word "Amy" is presented in the
candidate area 905.
[0060] If "Amy" is not included in the dictionary, the user may
perform the following steps. The user may press the key 901, then
release the key 901 after moving the contact point upper-left to a
certain position, and thereby the uppercase letter "A" is inputted.
Next, the user may precisely input "m" (press the key 902) and "y"
(press the key 903, and then move the contact point
rightwards).
[0061] The determination method regarding moving the contact point
upper-left to a certain position may be as follows. Compare
coordinates of a position where the contact point is pressed with
coordinates of a position where the contact point is released. It
is regarded that switching to uppercase letter is conducted, when
the latter position locates at the upper-left part of the former
position, the difference between the x-axis of the two positions is
larger than a certain value, and the difference between the y-axis
of the two positions is larger than a certain value.
[0062] Of course, other contact point motions may also be employed
for switching uppercase and lowercase. For example, in some
embodiments, the uppercase letter "A" or "S" may be inputted
ambiguously by way of pressing the key 901 and holding the key 901
for a period (long-press). The uppercase letter "A" may be
precisely inputted by pressing the key 901, then long-pressing the
key 901 after moving leftwards for a certain distance. The
uppercase letter "S" may be precisely inputted by pressing the key
901, then long-pressing the key 901 after moving rightwards for a
certain distance.
[0063] For another example, in some embodiments, press the key 901,
and then move the contact point upwards to a certain distance and
then move back to switch to the uppercase mode "A" or "S". Next,
continue to move the contact point leftwards or rightwards to
precisely input the letter "A" or "S".
[0064] It is to be noted that the method described herein is not
only applicable to the situation of switching the lowercase letter
to the uppercase letter, but also applicable to the situation of
switching the uppercase letter to the lowercase letter. For
example, when the default status of the keyboard is the uppercase,
all of the foregoing contact point motions may be employed for fast
switching the uppercase to the lowercase letter.
[0065] Indication Area
[0066] Since the user requires to precisely input word, symbol, and
switch uppercase and lowercase letter via a contact point motion
(e.g., moving for a certain distance, or long-pressing for a
period, etc.), the user may need a kind of indication information
for confirming whether the input contents that the system
determines are the contents that the user desires to input.
[0067] This can be achieved by setting an indication area, where
the indication area is configured to indicate the contexts inputted
currently to the user. In normal situation, the indication area may
be hidden. When the user presses a certain key, the indication area
may be presented above the key, and the contexts to be inputted
currently may be displayed dynamically with the change of the
contact point motion. For example, when the user presses the key "a
s", the amplified "a s" is displayed in the indication area above
the key. When the contact point is moved leftwards for a certain
distance, the amplified "a" is displayed in the indication area.
When the contact point is moved rightwards for a certain distance,
the amplified "s" is displayed in the indication area. When the
contact point is moved downwards for a certain distance, the symbol
"*" is displayed. When the contact point is moved upwards for a
certain distance, the uppercase letter "A S" is displayed. When the
contact point is moved upper-left, the uppercase letter "A" is
displayed. When the contact point is moved upper-right, the
uppercase letter "S" is displayed.
[0068] Such kind of indication area is optional.
[0069] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of the input
method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The procedure includes the following steps. Step 1001: Display a
plurality of keys on a tactile display device, where at least some
keys present two letters. Step 1002 (optional): One or more symbols
(e.g., punctuation, number or other symbol) are further included on
some keys. Step 1003: Detect a contact point motion on the key
performed by the user. Step 1004: Determine a content corresponding
to the current key-press performed by the user. Step 1005
(optional): Display indication information of a current input. Step
1006 (optional): Select a predicted candidate word in the
dictionary based on the content inputted by the user and display
the predicted candidate word. Step 1007 (optional): Input a user
selection to an editing text.
[0070] In terms of step 1001, the keyboard layout thereof may be
the QWERTY keyboard layout. When there are two letters on the key,
the letters may be in a horizontal layout. Some examples of the
keyboard layout may be referred to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG.
4. However, the present invention is not limited to these
layouts.
[0071] In terms of step 1002, when there is one or more symbols on
the key, these symbols may be located on the key at an upper part,
a lower part, a left part, a right part, a lower left part, a lower
right part, an upper left part, or an upper right part. The
position of the symbols may be adjusted appropriately based on the
position of the existing letter. In some embodiments, the symbol
may not be displayed. Thus, this step is optional.
[0072] In terms of step 1003, the contact point motion may include
pressing and then directly releasing the key; pressing the key, and
then releasing the key after moving the contact point towards a
certain direction for a certain distance; long-pressing the key
over a specified period; moving the contact point and then holding
on over a specified period, etc.
[0073] In terms of step 1004, the determination method may include
the following substeps.
[0074] 1) If the contact point motion is pressing and then directly
releasing the key, then it is determined that the content of the
present input is any one of the letters on the key, where the
content is determined after a certain candidate word in the
dictionary is selected by the user, i.e., the ambiguous input
approach.
[0075] 2) If the contact point motion is pressing the key, and then
releasing the key after moving the contact point towards a
direction of a certain letter for a certain distance, then it is
determined that the content of the present input is the letter in
such direction on the key, i.e., the precise input approach. For
example, in FIG. 9, the letter "a" is inputted by moving leftwards
on the key 901, and the letter "s" is inputted by moving
rightwards. (optional)
[0076] 3) If the contact point motion is pressing the key, and then
releasing the key after moving the contact point towards a
direction of a certain symbol for a certain distance, then it is
determined that the content of the present input is the symbol in
such direction on the key. For example, in FIG. 9, the symbol "*"
is inputted by moving downwards on the key 901. The contact point
motion may also be long-pressing the key over a specified period,
and then inputting the symbol. For example, in FIG. 9, the symbol
"*" is inputted after long-pressing the key 901. (optional)
[0077] 4) If the contact point motion is releasing the key after
moving the contact point upwards for a certain distance, then it is
determined that the content of the present input is the capital
form of any one of the letters on the key, i.e., also the ambiguous
input approach. (optional)
[0078] 5) If the contact point motion is releasing the key after
moving the contact point upper-left for a certain distance, then it
is determined that the content of the present input is the capital
form of the left letter on the key. If the contact point motion is
releasing the key after moving the contact point upper-right for a
certain distance, then it is determined that the content of the
present input is the capital form of the right letter on the key.
For example, in FIG. 9, the uppercase letter "A" is inputted by
moving upper-left on the key 901, and the letter "S" is inputted by
moving upper-right. (optional)
[0079] 6) The contact point motion in the substeps 4) and 5) may be
changed to releasing the key after long-pressing the key over a
specified period for inputting the uppercase letter. For example,
in FIG. 9, the uppercase letter "A" or "S" is ambiguously inputted
by long-pressing the key 901 over a period. The uppercase letter
"A" may be precisely inputted by long-pressing the key 901 after
moving the contact point leftwards for a certain distance. The
uppercase letter "S" may be precisely inputted by long-pressing the
key 901 after moving the contact point rightwards for a certain
distance. (optional)
[0080] In terms of step 1005, the contents of the current input may
be dynamically amplified and displayed in the indication area
(e.g., above the pressed key).
[0081] In terms of step 1006, the input method may search, based on
the combination of the letters inputted by the user (which may
include precise input and ambiguous input), the words in the
dictionary (which may include a user-defined dictionary), and may
display the possible candidate words in the candidate area.
[0082] In terms of step 1007, the user may directly click a
candidate word in the candidate area to input it to the editing
text, or may use a shortcut key (e.g., SPACE or Enter key) to
automatically input the first candidate word to the editing text.
When the word that the user desires to input is not included in the
candidate word list, the letter inputted already may be directly
inputted to the text.
[0083] Although the procedure 1000 of the input method includes a
series of steps performed in sequence, apparently, the procedure
may include more or fewer steps. And the steps may be performed in
series or in parallel (e.g., using a multithread processor), or
several steps may be combined into one step, or only the
combination of some steps may be selected, or other contact point
motions may be adopted. For example, it is very easy for a person
of ordinary skill in the art to design an input method based on the
essence of the present invention, where the symbol is not displayed
(i.e., without step 1002) while the double-letter layout as well as
ambiguous and precise input approaches are still adopted; or to
design another input method, where substeps 4), 5), or 6) in step
1004 are omitted, i.e., without fast switching uppercase and
lowercase letter; or to design another input method, where the
condition of the contact point motion in step 1004 is changed to
inputting the symbol by double-click, etc. Apparently, such changes
will not compromise the essentials of the present invention.
[0084] The foregoing layouts are designed based on English
keyboard. However, it is readily appreciated by a person of
ordinary skill in the art that the layouts may also be applied to a
keyboard in other languages, e.g., German keyboard, French
keyboard, etc. The keyboards in these languages may differ in their
letters and layouts. However, the method of the present invention
may also be adopted, as long as the keyboards are modified
similarly to the double-letter layout of the present design by
referring to the computer keyboard layout, to thereby achieve the
benefits of accelerating the input efficiency and rate, reducing
input errors, and so forth. Therefore, such changes will not
compromise the essentials of the present invention either.
Embodiment Two
[0085] The ambiguous input approach included in the software
keyboard input method described in the first embodiment may be
applied to a lot of scenarios of text input. However, when the user
needs to input a dedicated term on an electronic device, such as
password, personal name, palace name, etc., the ambiguous input
approach may not exhibit its advantage, but may affect the input
rate. At this point, there is a need for a method for merely
providing precise input.
[0086] The present embodiment describes a method for precise input.
When the user presses a key and moves a contact point, a letter in
the movement direction is inputted. When the user presses the
contact point and directly releases the contact point, the input
letter is determined based on the initial position of the contact
point.
[0087] The software keyboard layout in the present embodiment is
similar to the keyboard layout in the first embodiment, as shown in
FIG. 2.
[0088] In addition, the input approach in the present embodiment is
also similar to that in the first embodiment, including precise
input for a letter, input for a symbol, fast input for a uppercase
letter, etc. But the difference lies in that there is no ambiguous
input in the present embodiment.
[0089] As shown in FIG. 11, when the user presses the key 1101, and
releases the contact point after moving leftwards for a certain
distance, the letter "o" is inputted. When the user presses the key
1101, and releases the contact point after moving rightwards for a
certain distance, the letter "p" is inputted.
[0090] Unlike the first embodiment, when the user presses the key
1101 and releases it directly, it is determined whether the input
letter is "o" or "p" based on the initial position of the contact
point, rather than performing the ambiguous input. If the contact
point locates at the left part of the key, "o" is inputted;
otherwise, "p" is inputted. For example, in FIG. 11, assume that
the contact point is pressed at the position of dot 1104, "o" is
inputted since the dot is at the left part of the key. If the
contact point is pressed at the position of dot 1103, "p" is
inputted since the dot is at the right part of the key.
[0091] The width of the key may be set to an even number of pixels
to avoid the situation that the contact point is exactly at the
middle position of the key. Or, the system may specify that the
middle position indicates a letter at the left part or a letter at
the right part.
[0092] Similar to the first embodiment, the present embodiment may
input the symbol, switch the uppercase letter and the lowercase
letter, via the contact point motion. For example, when the user
presses the key 1101, then releases the key 1101 after moving the
contact point downwards for a certain distance, the symbol "&"
may be inputted. When the user presses the key 1101, then releases
the key 1101 after moving the contact point upper-left or
upper-right for a certain distance, the uppercase letter "O" and
"P" may be inputted.
[0093] Since there is no ambiguous input, the keyboard layout of
the present embodiment needs no candidate area. The user may
directly input the symbol to the editing text upon each key-press.
Of course, in some embodiments, the candidate area may still be
displayed for predicting the user input. For example, in FIG. 12,
after the user precisely inputs the letters "a", "c", "k" in
sequence, "ack" is directly presented in the editing text area
1206. And the candidate words predicted by the system, such as
"acknowledge", "acknowledgement", etc., are presented at the
candidate area 1205 at the same time. The user may input the
desired predicted word via a click or a corresponding shortcut key,
to thereby accelerate the input rate. The candidate area is
optional.
[0094] Similarly, in order to indicate the input content that is
currently determined to the user, an indication area as described
in the first embodiment may be displayed for dynamically displaying
the content to be inputted currently. The indication area is also
optional.
[0095] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of the input
method according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
The procedure includes the following steps. Step 1301: Display a
plurality of keys on a tactile display device, where at least some
keys present two letters. Step 1302 (optional): One or more symbols
(e.g., punctuation, number or other symbol) are further included on
some keys. Step 1303: Detect a contact point motion on the key
performed by the user. Step 1304: Determine a precise content
corresponding to the current key-press performed by the user. Step
1305 (optional): Display indication information. Step 1306
(optional): Display a predicted candidate word based on the content
inputted by the user. Step 1307 (optional): Input a user selection
to an editing text.
[0096] In terms of step 1301, the keyboard layout thereof may be
the QWERTY keyboard layout. When there are two letters on the key,
the letters may be in a horizontal layout. Some examples of the
keyboard layout may be referred to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG.
4. However, the present invention is not limited to these
layouts.
[0097] In terms of step 1302, when there is one or more symbols on
the key, these symbols may be located on the key at an upper part,
a lower part, a left part, a right part, a lower left part, a lower
right part, an upper left part, or an upper right part. The
position of the symbols may be adjusted appropriately based on the
position of the existing letter. In some embodiments, the symbol
may not be displayed. Thus, this step is optional.
[0098] In terms of step 1003, the contact point motion may include
pressing and then directly releasing the key; pressing the key, and
then releasing the key after moving towards a certain direction for
a certain distance; long-pressing the key over a specified period;
moving the contact point and then holding on over a specified
period, etc.
[0099] In terms of step 1004, the determination method may include
the following substeps.
[0100] 1) If the contact point motion is pressing and then directly
releasing the key, then the position of the pressed contact point
is determined. If the contact point is pressed at the left part of
the key, then the left letter on the key is inputted; otherwise,
the right letter on the key is inputted.
[0101] 2) If the contact point motion is releasing the key after
moving towards a direction of a certain letter for a certain
distance, then it is determined that the content of the present
input is the letter in the direction on the key. For example, in
FIG. 9, the letter "a" is inputted by moving leftwards on the key
901, and the letter "s" is inputted by moving rightwards.
(optional)
[0102] 3) If the contact point motion is releasing the key after
moving towards a direction of a certain symbol for a certain
distance, then it is determined that the content of the present
input is the symbol in the direction on the key. For example, in
FIG. 9, the symbol "*" is inputted by moving downwards on the key
901. The contact point motion may also be long-pressing the key
over a specified period, and then inputting the symbol. For
example, in FIG. 9, the symbol "*" is inputted after long-pressing
the key 901. (optional)
[0103] 4) If the contact point motion is releasing the key after
moving upper-left for a certain distance, then it is determined
that the content of the present input is the capital form of the
left letter on the key. If the contact point motion is releasing
the key after moving upper-right for a certain distance, then it is
determined that the content of the present input is the capital
form of the right letter on the key. For example, in FIG. 9, the
uppercase letter "A" is inputted by moving upper-left on the key
901, and the letter "S" is inputted by moving upper-right on the
key 901. (optional)
[0104] 5) The contact point motion in said substeps 4) and 5) may
be changed to releasing the key after long-pressing over a
specified period for inputting the uppercase letter. For example,
in FIG. 9, the uppercase letter "A" may be precisely inputted by
long-pressing the key 901 after moving the contact point leftwards
for a certain distance. The uppercase letter "S" may be precisely
inputted by long-pressing the key 901 after moving the contact
point rightwards for a certain distance. If the contact point is
released after long-pressing at the original position, the capital
form of the letter may be determined via substep 1). (optional)
[0105] In terms of step 1305, the contents of the current input may
be dynamically displayed in the indication area (e.g., above the
pressed key).
[0106] In terms of step 1306, the input method may search the words
in the dictionary (which may include a user-defined dictionary)
based on the letters inputted by the user, and may display the
possible candidate words in the word candidate area.
[0107] In terms of step 1307, the user may keep the inputted
contents, or may click a candidate word in the candidate area to
input it to the editing text, or may use a shortcut key (e.g.,
SPACE or Enter key) to automatically input the first candidate word
to the editing text.
[0108] Although the procedure 1300 of the input method includes a
series of steps performed in sequence, apparently, the procedure
may include more or less steps. And the steps may be performed in
series or in parallel (e.g., using a multithread processor), or
several steps may be combined into one step, or only the
combination of some steps may be selected, or the contact point
motions may be changed. For example, it is very easy for a person
of ordinary skill in the art to design an input method based on the
spirit of the present invention, where the symbol is not displayed
(i.e., without step 1302) while the double-letter layout as well as
ambiguous and precise input approaches are still adopted; or to
design another input method, where substeps 4) and 5) in step 1304
are omitted, i.e., without fast switching uppercase and lowercase
letter; or to design another input method, where the condition of
the contact point motion in step 1304 is changed to inputting the
symbol by double-click, etc. Apparently, such changes will not
compromise the essentials of the present invention.
[0109] The foregoing layouts are designed based on English
keyboard. However, it is readily appreciated by a person of
ordinary skill in the art that the layouts may also be applied to a
keyboard in other languages, e.g., German keyboard, French
keyboard, etc. Usually, the layout of the keyboards in these
languages may differ from the English keyboard. However, the
benefits of high input efficiency and large keys, etc., may also be
embraced, as long as the keyboards are modified similarly to the
double-letter layout of the present design by referring to the
computer keyboard layout. Therefore, such changes will not
compromise the essentials of the present invention either.
[0110] It is to be noted that the "tactile display device"
according to the present invention is applicable to any electronic
device screen with indication input system. The electronic device
screen may include, but not limited to, pressure-sensitive touch
screen, electromagnetic induction touch screen, mouse indicative
touch screen, etc. These screens share the common characteristics
of having a contact point with coordinate position information
together with the motion corresponding to pressing and releasing
operations. For example, the coordinate position information is
included when the touch screen is pressed, and the coordinate
position information is also included when the left part of the
mouse is pressed.
[0111] FIG. 14 is a basic block diagram illustrating a computer
device or portable terminal device 1400 which is applicable to the
software keyboard input method of the present invention. A user
input apparatus 1401 is configured to receive a user input command.
The user input apparatus 101 includes a touch screen, or an
electronic device screen equipped with a pointing system (e.g., a
mouse, an inductive plate, etc.). A storage apparatus 1402 stores
basic program commands that support routine work for the computer
device or portable terminal device, e.g., operating system, common
software, etc. In addition, the storage apparatus 1402 further
stores computer program commands for implementing a text input
method according to the below embodiments of the present invention.
Moreover, the storage apparatus 1402 further stores a dictionary
and user configured information, etc. A control apparatus 1403 may
be implemented by any kind of microprocessor, micro control and
programmable logic element, dedicated integrated circuit or similar
device in the conventional art. The control apparatus 1403 is
configured to implement the software keyboard input method
according to the present invention. A display apparatus 1404 is
configured to provide the user with a visional interface
illustrating the user input text, together with the foregoing
keyboard layout, the key, the candidate word, the editing text, and
a control process thereof. The display apparatus may be separated
from the user input apparatus 1401, or may be integrated with the
user input apparatus 1401, e.g., a touch and display plate.
[0112] In the specification herein, the specific embodiments are
provided for illustration of the present invention. However, it is
apparent that various modifications and variations can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present
invention. Thus, the specification and the annexed drawings shall
be construed as illustrations for the present invention, as the
invention is not so limited.
* * * * *