CA 02405287 2002-10-23
Hand-held Electronic Device with a Keyboard Optimized for Use with the Thumbs
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional application of Canadian Patent Application
S/N
2,276,697, filed on June 28, 1999.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed toward the field of small, hand-held
electronic devices such
as personal data assistants (PDA's), personal information managers (P1M's),
two-way pagers and the
like. In particular, the system and method of the present invention provide
the user of the hand-held
device with the ability to input data with a minimal amount of key strokes and
optimized for use
substantially with the thumbs.
In a two-way paging system that provides two-way, full text messaging, there
is a need to
permit the user to initiate messages and to respond to messages in a timely
fashion and with text
entirely created by the user. In order to keep the form factor of the two-way
pager small enough to
be worn on the body of the user, such as with a belt clip, the input device
needs to be small, have a
minimal number of keys and optimized for use with a minimal number of key
strokes. Prior art
systems have attempted to address these needs by incorporating virtual
keyboards or pen-based input
systems for user inputs to the device, but such systems require the user to
input data in an unfamiliar
manner. Additionally, in a small hand-held messaging device, such as a two-way
pager, these
systems prove awkward to use.
In order to provide a hand-held electronic device that permits a user the
opportunity to enter
data into an address book, a calendar, a task list, an email message or a
similar text file that requires
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user-generated data, the instant invention is directed to an input device that
is oriented to be used
substantially through use of the thumbs. This is accomplished first by
providing a keyboard with a
minimal number of keys, but with the keys representing the alphabet generally
placed in the same
order as they would appear on a standard keyboard, such as in a standard
QWERTY or a DVORAK
keyboard layout. The use of a keyboard layout that is familiar to the user
enables the user to
immediately use the device without having to hunt for the keys he or she
wishes to use.
Although the layout is similar to a standard keyboard, the keys are placed at
an orientation
and in a particular shape that attempts to maximize the surface area of the
thumb hitting the key and
to provide the user with a comfortable position of the hands for data input.
Also, the orientation
encourages input by the thumbs, which the inventors of the instant invention
have discovered to be
faster and more accurate in small hand-held electronic devices than touch-
typing or "hunting and
pecking" typing.
An additional feature of the invention is the use of an additional input means
for control of
functions that might otherwise be controlled by a keyboard that included
function keys. To
encourage data entry using thumbs and again to minimize the number of keys on
the keyboard, the
instant invention also includes a thumb-wheel for control of menus for
selection of forms and
functions relevant to data input. As discussed below, one of the data forms
the thumbwheel is
implemented to accommodate is a special character set. The thumb-wheel is
positioned in close
proximity to the keyboard to enable the easily transition from thumb-based
typing to thumb control
of forms and functions.
In addition to hardware features that encourage optimal data entry through the
use of thumbs,
there are several software features that are designed to minimize keystrokes
and aid in entry of data.
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The features of this invention, both individually and collectively, have not,
to the knowledge
of the inventors, been applied to a small hand-held electronic device that
requires user-generated data
entry. To permit efficient operation of such devices while keeping the form
factor of the device
small enough to be worn on the body, there is a general need for a hand-held
electronic device that
can fit in the palm of the hand and that can be operated substantially with
the thumbs.
There is a further need for a keyboard for a palm-size data entry device with
keys placed at an
angle to optimize operation of the keyboard by the use of the thumbs.
There remains another need for a keyboard with keys that are shaped and sized
to maximize
contact with the thumbs while minimizing the keyboard area required for such
keys.
There also remains a need for an auxiliary input device that is to be operated
by the thumb for
data inputs forms and function control and that, in conjunction with the
keyboard, encourages and
permits data entry and management through input performed substantially by the
thumbs.
There remains still another need for a software-implemented user interface
system that is
designed, at least in part, to support and encourage data entry through use of
the thumbs.
There remains another need for facilitating entry of special or international
characters with
the thumbs while limiting the keyboard area.
There remains another need for automatically entering certain common
punctuation thereby
reducing repetitive key entry and increasing the speed of data entry.
There remains another need for automatically entering certain common phrases
or electronic
signatures without tediously typing the full phrase or electronic signature.
There remains another need for easily removing automatic features when such
features are
not desired.
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There remains another need for executing a set of common instructions for a
particular task
with a minimum of user data entry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the problems noted above and satisfies the
needs in this
field for a hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with
the thumbs. In one
preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hand-held electronic device
is a two-way paging
or wireless email device that permits full-text, two-way messaging such as
email messaging. The
device may also include standard PDA or PIM features such as an address book,
an electronic
calendar, a task list and other text-based features. Such features require
user input of text strings that
can be lengthy and that cannot be reduced to pre-determined or "canned"
strings. Thus, for such a
device, the efficient entry of data in a device meant to fit into the palm of
one's hand requires that
two goals are achieved. First, the data entry must be relatively easy from a
user perspective. This
means that the user must be somewhat familiar with analogous forms of data
entry and not have to be
trained to use the data entry for the hand-held device. Second, the form
factor does not permit a
large number of keys or keys that are very large. Thus, efficient use of the
keyboard space is
required and functions that might be able to be performed by a standard
keyboard are off-loaded to
an auxiliary input device or are performed, through a minimal number of
keystrokes that encourage
the use of thumb-based data entry.
To accomplish these goals, the invention first optimizes the placement of the
keys on the
device keyboard. In order to work within the limited space available for the
keyboard, it was
determined that it was preferable to use keys that were oval or oblong and
that were placed at angles
designed to facilitate use by thumb typing. An angle for the keys on the right
side of the keyboard
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and a complementary angle for the keys on the left side of the keyboard are
chosen based upon
observation of the angle at which a user will orient his or her thumbs while
thumb-typing.
The invention also minimizes the number of keys available or required for data
input. In the
preferred embodiment, only keys for the 26 letters of the English alphabet are
available as well as a
backspace key, a line feed key, an "alt" key, a "cap" key and a space bar. The
alt key enables the
user in conjunction the other keys to input numbers and symbols to perform
certain functions. The
placement of the keys is designed to enhance the user experience while typing
with the thumbs by
meeting two seemingly opposite goals - minimizing the keyboard footprint while
maximizing the
likelihood that proper keys will be struck by the thumb-typing user.
Alternative embodiments could include fewer or more keys, including, for
example function
keys or control keys. The form factor, however, generally limits the number of
keys that may be
implemented if the goal of facilitating thumb typing is to be met.
The invention also provides additional incentive for the user to use thumb
input by providing
an input device adjacent to the keyboard, but integral to the overall hand-
held device. Although
other devices can be used in an auxiliary fashion, the preferred device is a
thumbwheel that registers
movement of the wheel by measuring the number of indents traversed while
rolling the wheel and
that also registers as an input the depression or "clicking" of the wheel,
which is performed by
pressing the wheel toward the back of the pager. This clicking of the wheel is
similar to the clicking
of a mouse associated with a PC or any other input device that registers the
depression of a button.
The thumbwheel in the preferred embodiment is placed vertically on the two-way
paging device so
that the user can easily move his or her thumb from the thumbwheel to the
keyboard and back for
performing functions and retrieving data forms, such as an email template or
address book entry
template, for data entry.
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Additionally, various software techniques can be implemented to enhance the
thumb-typing
user's experience in using the device of the instant invention. In the
preferred embodiment, for
example, the user can change the capitalization of a particular letter simply
by keeping a key
depressed for a particular length of time without an intermittent release
being detected by the
keyboard controller.
Therefore, according to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a
method of
changing the functional state of a key on a keyboard of a handheld wireless
communications device
comprising the steps of: receiving a predefined functional state associated
with a key being depressed
on the keyboard; initiating of an altering functional state condition;
processing the altering functional
state condition; and, modifying the predefined state of the key and submitting
for display a modified
functional state.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a
method of changing
the character display of a key on a keyboard of a handheld wireless
communications device
comprising the steps of: receiving a first input from a depression of a
keyboard key, the first input
defining a first character associated with the depressed keyboard key;
receiving a second input from
an auxiliary input device in conjunction with the continual depression of the
keyboard key; initiating
of an altering character condition and processing the altering character
condition; and, modifying the
first character and submitting for display a second character associated with
the depressed keyboard
key.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method of
optimizing user input in a handheld wireless communications device comprising
the steps of:
receiving first user input data from a keyboard; substituting the first user
input data with predefined
formatted data upon the occurrence of a formatting condition and submitting
the predefined
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formatted data for display; and, restoring and resubmitting for display the
first user input data upon
the occurrence of a restore input condition from the keyboard.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method of
modifying the character display of a key on a keyboard comprising the steps
of: receiving a first
input from a depression of a keyboard key, the first input associating a first
character associated with
the depressed keyboard key; initiating of an altering character condition upon
a continual depression
of the keyboard key beyond a predefined period of time; processing the
altering character condition;
and, modifying the first character and submitting for display a second
character.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
handheld two-way
wireless communications device optimally configured for use with the thumbs of
a user comprising:
a keyboard having a plurality of keys, each key having a predefined functional
state; an auxiliary
input device positioned in relative proximity to the keyboard, the auxiliary
input device having
measurable rotatable and depressible input movements to initiate an altering
functional state
condition; a display positioned adjacent to the keyboard; and user interface
software residing in the
communications device for providing functionality to inputs received from the
auxiliary input device
and the keyboard.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
handheld two-way
communications device optimally configured for use with the thumbs of a user
comprising: a
keyboard having a plurality of keys; a thumbwheel device positioned in
relative proximity to the
keyboard, the thumbwheel device having a corresponding thumbwheel logic
circuitry in the
communications device for detecting measurable rotatable and depressible input
movements from
the thumbwheel device; a display positioned adjacent to the keyboard; and,
user interface software
residing in the communications device for providing functionality to inputs
received from the
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thumbwheel device and the keyboard; wherein an altering functional state
condition is triggered by
the occurrence of input via the thumbwheel device in conjunction an input from
the depression of a
keyboard key.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
handheld two-way
wireless communications device optimally configured for use with the thumbs of
a user comprising:
a keyboard having a first set of keys and a second set of keys, wherein the
first set of keys is
positioned a positive predetermined degree relative to a vertical reference
and the second set of keys
is positioned a negative predetermined degree relative to the vertical
reference; an auxiliary input
device positioned in relative proximity to the keyboard; a display positioned
adjacent to the
keyboard; software residing in the communications device for providing
functionality to inputs
received from the auxiliary input device and the keyboard.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method of
composing an email address in an email address field comprising the steps of:
receiving a first input;
receiving a first delimiter trigger signal; determining whether the first
input contains a first email
delimiter; and, substituting the first delimiter trigger signal with a first
email delimiter upon a
positive determination or with a second email delimiter upon a negative
determination.
A primary advantage of the present invention is that it enables efficient and
user-friendly data
entry into a palm-sized electronic device by maximizing the potential for user
data entry through
thumb typing.
These are just a few of the many advantages of the present invention, as
described in more
detail below. As will be appreciated, the invention is capable of other and
different embodiments
and its several details are capable of modifications in various respects, all
without departing from the
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spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the
preferred embodiment set
forth below are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention satisfies the needs noted above as will become apparent
from the
following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings
wherein:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a two-way, full-text, messaging device
incorporating a keyboard
and an auxiliary data entry device;
FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the hand-held device showing the shape and
placement of the keys
on the keyboard and the auxiliary input device;
FIG. 3 is a diagram of showing the shape, size and placement of the keys on
the keyboard;
FIG. 4 is a diagram of the control circuitry for the thumbwheel;
FIG. 5 is a general flow diagram of the major steps of the keyboard-related
aspect of the
invention;
FIG. 6 is a general block diagram of the major subsystems involved in the
process described
in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a general flow diagram of the major steps of the thumbwheel-related
aspect of the
invention; and,
FIG. 8 is a general block diagram of the major subsystems involved in the
process described
in FIG. 7.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Refernng now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the major
subsystems and
elements comprising a palm-sized, mobile, two-way messaging device that
preferably incorporates
the invention. In its broadest terms, the messaging device includes a
transmitterlreceiver subsystem
100 connected to a DSP 200 for digital signal processing of the incoming and
outgoing data
transmissions, power supply and management subsystem 300, which supplies and
manages power to
the overall messaging device components, microprocessor 400, which is
preferably an X86
architecture processor, that controls the operation of the messaging device,
display 500, which is
preferably a full graphic LCD, FLASH memory 600, RAM 700, serial output and
port 800, keyboard
900 , thumbwheel 1000 and thumbwheel control logic 1010. In its intended use,
a message comes
via a wireless data network, such as the Mobitex network, into subsystem 100,
where it is
demodulated via DSP 200 and decoded and presented to microprocessor 300 for
display on display
500. To access the display of the message, the user may choose from functions
listed under a menu
presented as a result of user interaction with thumbwheel 1000. If the message
is an email message,
the user may chose to respond to the email by selecting "Reply" from a menu
presented on the
display through interaction via thumbwheel 1000 or via menu selection from
keyboard 900. In
typing the reply, the user can use keyboard 900 to type full text message
replies, or insert pre-
determined or "canned" response by using either a particular keystroke pattern
or through pulling
down pre-determined text strings from a menu of items presented on display 500
through the use of
thumbwheel 1000. When the reply to the message is composed, the user can
initiate the sending of
the message preferably by interaction through thumbwheel 1000, or
alternatively, with less
efFciency, through a combination of keyboard 900 keystrokes. When the
microprocessor 300
receives an indication that the message is to be sent, it processes the
message for transport and, by
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directing and communicating with transmitter/receiver subsystem 100, enables
the reply message to
be sent via the wireless communications data network to the intended
recipient. Similar interaction
through I/O devices keyboard 900 and thumbwheel 1000 can be used to initiate
full-text messages or
to forward messages to another party. Also, the keyboard 900 and thumbwheel
1000 can be used to
permit data entry to an address book resident on the messaging device, or an
electronic calendar or
log book, or any other function on the messaging device requiring data entry.
Preferably, the
thumbwheel is a thumbwheel with a push button SPST with quadrature signal
outputs, such as that
manufactured by Matsushita Electronic Components Co. Ltd. as part number
EVQWK2001.
Figure 2 is a front view of messaging device 10 that incorporates the
invention. Shown in
Figure 2 are a plurality of letter keys 901, and specialized keys 902, 903,
904 and 905 and space bar
906. Also shown is thumbwheel 1000 in its vertical orientation and in
association with display 500
and keyboard 900. In a preferred embodiment, 902 is the alt key, 903 is the
cap key, 904 is the line
feed (blank space) key and 905 is the backspace key.
Figure 3 is a view of a subset of the letter keys 901, showing the dimensions
and relative
position of the keys. Shown also is the point 950 that marks the center of
keyboard 900, key
dimensions 970, 971, 972 and 973, as well as angle 960 and the rho value 965,
representing
curvature of a letter key 901. In investigating optimal key placement on the
keyboard, it was
determined that the keys should be placed at an angle 960 relative to vertical
that facilitated easy
typing using thumbs. That angle is preferably positive 40 degrees relative to
vertical for keys on the
right side of the keyboard (where 950 is the center of the keyboard) and
negative 40 degrees for the
keys on the left side of the keyboard, although complementary angles ranging
from 20 degrees to 70
degrees could also be used to accomplish the goal, albeit less optimally, of
facilitating thumb typing.
Also as shown on Figures 2 and 3, the keys are dispersed across keyboard 900
evenly so that there is
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sufficient space between the keys to decrease the opportunity for multiple
keys being depressed
while thumb typing. Additionally, the keys are sized appropriately given the
footprint of the
messaging device and the keyboard 900. In its preferred embodiment, the
messaging device 10
measures across its face 64 mm by 89mm, which does not leave much room for
keyboard 900 and
display 500. In the preferred embodiment, keyboard 900 occupies over half of
the face of the
messaging device 10.
The key shape and dimensions are also key components of the invention. In
order to
maximize the surface area of the key that a thumb would hit, the keys are
preferably oval, and have a
rho 965 defining the curvature of the key of .414, although values may range
higher or lower. Other
rho values will lead to an acceptable, but not as optimal or aesthetically
pleasing shape of keys 901.
As to the key dimensions, the width 970 of the key 901 is 4.8 millimeters (971
representing the
radius of half that value, 2.4 mm) and the length (or height) 972 of the key
901 is 7 millimeters (973
representing the radius of half that value, 3.5 mm).
Figure 4 is the logic circuitry 1010 associated with thumbwheel 1000.
Thumbwheel 1000
outputs quadrature signals phase A 1021 and phase B 1022, which are processed
by D flip-flops
1031 and 1032 to present signals 1041 W UP and 1042 W_DN to microprocessor
400. Signals
1041 and 1042 represent, respectively, a user rolling the thumbwheel up and
rolling the thumbwheel
down. Preferably, another detectable input movement from the thumbwheel is
desirable. One such
input movement implementation would produce an additional input signal derived
from pushing the
thumbwheel toward the rear of the device. Hence, the thumbwheel of the present
invention has
preferably measurable rotatable and depressible input movements. Although the
description that
follows is specifically relating to a thumbwheel input device, it is to be
understood that other suitable
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thumb-based auxiliary input devices having multiple input detectable movements
are envisioned and
well within the scope and spirit of the present invention.
In a broad aspect of the invention, input via keys on the keyboard in
conjunction with
software residing in the flash memory 600 also facilitates the device's
operation with the user's
thumbs. In another broad aspect of the invention, input via the thumbwheel
1000 and a key on the
keyboard in conjunction with software residing in the flash memory 600 further
increases the ease,
performance and functionality of the device. These two broad aspects and their
specific
embodiments will now be described.
Figure 5 is a general flow diagram of the major steps 2080 of the aforesaid
keyboard-
related aspect of the invention. The first step 2000 is the input via
depressing of a key having a
predefined functional state in combination with another key on a keyboard.
Depending on the
combination of keys depressed, an altering functional state condition is then
initiated at step 2020.
The altering functional state condition is processed at step 2030. Next, the
predefined functional
state of the key is modified at 2040. In step 2050, the modified functional
state is interpreted, and
information is displayed accordingly at 2060.
Figure 6 is a general block diagram of the major subsystems involved in the
process
described in Figure 5. In the preferred embodiment of the device, when a key
is depressed its
predefined functional state 901 is given to the microprocessor 400 and then to
the operating system
910. The operating system is responsible for accepting and dispatching to a
specialized application
915 any user input and for providing services to control the display. The
modifying step is achieved
by a user interface software engine 930 processing the altering functional
state condition 905
received from the operating system 910 via a specialized application 915. The
modified functional
state 905' is then passed to the operating system 910. The operating system
then acts on the
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information in a predetermined manner so as to produce a display 906'
representing the modified
functional state of the depressed key.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, there is a plurality of
specialized
applications 915 that manage different major features of the device. In such a
preferred embodiment,
the device would include the following specialized applications: a graphical
ribbon application,
message compose application, transport application, address book application,
device options
application, cryptographic application and database application. Other
applications are well within
the scope and spirit of this aspect of the invention. The applications
function directly with the
operating system while the user interface engine (albeit another application),
in general, provides
further specialized functional services to these applications. The user
interface engine comprises, in
essence, a plurality of modules - each module executing at least one different
function, and either
alone or in combination with another module, providing additional
functionality to the applications
that use its services. For instance, the user interface engine provides an
input field that other
applications such as the message compose application can use to display user
input. Additionally,
the user interface engine receives, stores, manages and outputs data in a
consistent manner to readily
perform the various specific features to be described below. This scheme has
proven to be very
advantageous in view of the fact the operating system and the specialized
applications may then be
limited in their coding overhead and hence allows them to be very robust. Some
of the unique
functions will be described in more detail below.
Keypad Aspect Generally
The process logic detail is now described for any keypad event resulting from
user input.
When any key on the device is depressed, a keypad event containing the
parameters of the particular
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key is communicated to the microprocessor. In this instance, "any key"
includes the thumbwheel in
addition to the keys on the keyboard. Preferably, the parameters indicate that
a keypad event has
occurred and which key has been depressed. The microprocessor communicates the
keypad event
information to the operating system. The operating system takes this keypad
event information and
notifies a specialized application of the keypad event information. Since,
preferably, the specialized
application is blocked waiting for such a keypad event, the application is
awakened, examines the
keypad event information, and passes the keypad event information to the user
interface engine for
further processing. In essence, the keypad event information is passed to the
user interface engine
from the operating system via the specialized application: the specialized
application in this case acts
as a conduit for information flow. In other instances, the specialized
application may preprocess the
keypad event information before passing the same to the user interface engine.
Based on the keypad
event information provided to the user interface engine, the user interface
engine then acts in a
predetermined functional manner. The predetermined functional manner
preferably includes
processing the keypad event information and updating stored display data so as
to provide output
instruction data. The user interface engine submits the output instruction
data to the operating
system. The operating system then acts according to the instructions in the
instruction data, in most
cases, by submitting for display a representation of the keypad event. The
output instruction data
would preferably include instructions as to where characters are to be
displayed within the display
and a character code reference value indicating which character should be
displayed on the display.
In other cases, a plurality of character code references may be provided for
producing a display of a
string of characters. The preferred character code reference is the standard
Latin One Code Set. The
operating system would simply execute the instructions by mapping the
appropriate characters from
its internal bitmap of characters into the appropriate locations on the
display.
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Auxiliary Input Device Aspect
Figure 7 is a general flow diagram of the major steps of the auxiliary input
device-related
aspect of the invention. The process 2080' begins with a first input 2000' via
the depressing of a key
on a keyboard having a predefined functional state. Next, a second input 2010'
from the auxiliary
input device in conjunction with the depression of the key is provided. This
combined effect of the
first and second input initiates an altering functional state condition step
2020'. The altering
functional state condition is processed 2030' and the predefined functional
state of the key is
modified 2040'. The modified functional state is then submitted 2050' for
display. Additional
modified functional states are accomplished by receiving further inputs 2060'
from the auxiliary
input device while the depressed key is continued to be depressed. Figure 8 is
a block diagram of the
major subsystems involved in the process described in Figure 7. Figure 8 is
similar to Figure 6 save
for input from the auxiliary input device subsystem now contributing to the
altering functional state
condition. This aspect of the present invention has proven extremely useful in
optimizing the
functionality of the handheld device by operation of the device with only the
user's thumbs.
International Character-Scrolling Feature
Turning now to a specific embodiment of the aforesaid auxiliary input device-
related aspect
of the invention, the user interface engine, the thumbwheel and at least one
key on the keyboard may
be utilized to insert international characters into a user input field such as
the input field provided by
the user interface engine. In general and preferably, the user first presses
and holds down a key with
the desired associated international characters while the thumbwheel is
rolled. For each rolled input
from the thumbwheel, a different international character associated with the
depressed key is
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outputted on the display as a substitute for the previous character displayed.
There is preferably a
plurality of international characters or symbols associated with every key on
the keyboard. When the
desired character is displayed, the user releases the depressed key and the
desired character remains
on the display. Traditional means to select such international characters
require a number of
additional input steps or the availability of additional keys on the keyboard -
requirements
undesirable with the present handheld device.
With reference to Figure 8, the international character-scrolling feature
begins with the
depression of a key on the keyboard 900 in conjunction with input from the
thumbwheel 1010. The
input from the thumbwheel is preferably accomplished by rolling the thumbwheel
in either the up or
down direction. The combined effect of inputs 901 from the key and the
thumbwheel produce an
altering functional state condition or a special keypad event 905. The
parameters associated with this
special keypad event 905 include data descriptors that will indicate whether
the thumbwheel was
either rolled up or down and which key on the keyboard was depressed. The user
interface engine
930 processes the special keypad event information by indexing through an
array containing
references to the international characters associated with the depressed key.
The processing
incrementally indexes up or down the array (depending on the thumbwheel scroll
direction
parameter), stores the current array position where the indexing stopped and
retrieves the character
reference code information stored in the current array position. Preferably,
at each index increment,
output instruction 905' is submitted to the operating system 910 for display
on the display 500. The
output instruction preferably includes the reference character code and the
location of the character to
be displayed on the display. Based on this output instruction, the operating
system outputs at the
appropriate location a bitmap image 906' for a given reference code from its
internal bitmap. If the
user chooses to see the next international character associated with the
depressed key, the user
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provides an additional rolling input while continuing to depress the key. This
produces a second
special keypad event thereby initiating the altering functional state process.
Consequently, the above
process is repeated. The user interface engine processes the keypad parameters
from the second
special keypad event by further indexing in the appropriate direction by one
element from the
previously stored position within the array. Again, the user interface engine
submits to the operating
system sufficient information to display the next associated international
character retrieved from the
array. Further inputs from the thumbwheel would simply repeat the processing
until all international
characters associated with the depressed key are indexed through after which
time the indexing
returns to the top of the array.
Although the above description refers to modifying the default character of
the key depressed
with an international character it is to be understood that the application of
this aspect of the
invention can equally be applied to modifying the functional state of the
depressed key. For instance,
a certain special keypad event defined by a certain key depressed in
conjunction with input received
from the thumbwheel could trigger a macro to be executed thereby altering the
functional state of the
depressed key. In this instance, a macro is a single instruction provided by
the scrolling feature that
expands automatically into a set of instructions to perform a particular task.
In another instance, the
altered functional state of a key could produce any one of the following: a
larger font for the display;
change the default font type; change subsequent text to bold or italics; cause
certain text to blink in a
received email transmission; and reverse image certain text. In another
instance, the altered the
functional state of a key could provide the user with "canned" or pre-set
messages that could be
readily be used for the purposes of quickly responding to a received message.
In another instance,
the context of the current active display area of the device may either add,
or alternatively, suppress,
associated altered states. For example, when a user is in the reply-to-message
screen display,
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depression of the letter "M" with the scrolling input from the thumbwheel
would produce an ellipsis
on the display as the altered functional state. In contrast, the same key and
thumbwheel sequence
would instead result in a macro sequence to execute in the options screen
display.
Capitalization
Turning to another software-related feature that aids in the device 10 being
optimally used for
thumb typing is a capitalization feature implemented via software. If a user
depresses a key 901, the
operating system detects a key down event. If the key is released after a
period of time, the operating
system detects a key up event. If after a key down event, a certain period of
time elapses before a
key up event is detected, the operating system determines that a key repeat
event has occurred
representing a situation where a user has continued to depress a key without
releasing it. A key
repeat event is then treated by application software residing in either flash
600 as an event that
requests the capitalization of the key previously depressed. This feature
disables the key repeat
feature and substitutes instead a capitalization feature based on the length
of a key press. The timing
of the key scanning to determine whether a key has been released can be set to
permit a slower
keyboard response or a faster keyboard response, depending upon user
experience or preferences.
Although the capitalization function preferably works only to change the state
of a letter to a capital,
it alternatively could operate to change a capital letter to a lower case
letter. The actual display
image is changed by the operating system mapping appropriate bitmapped
characters as instructed by
the user interface engine. As alternatively implemented, the continued
depressing without release of
a letter key could result in a key oscillating between upper case and lower
case, depending on the
length of time the key is depressed.
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Automatic Formatting Features
Now follows a description of another software-related aspect of the present
invention that is
implemented to specifically minimize the number of keystrokes required as
input by the user in using
the device. In some cases, two software engines handle this software-related
aspect, namely the user
interface engine and an autotext engine. The user interface engine by using
the above-mentioned
functional modules facilitates presenting common interface elements such as
menus, lists and
textboxes. The autotext engine is another software application that extends
the user interface engine
and makes use of a database to perform text insertions and other related
activities. The autotext
engine is preferably implemented as a user interface engine element (such as a
choice box or list or
standard edit element). This arrangement of being a user interface engine
element allows specialized
applications to incorporate a buffer that performs autotext substitution as
they would a standard input
field. However, because of the substantive amount of code associated with the
autotext engine and
the engine's need to be configured with a list of replacement strings, the
engine is preferably
implemented as a separate module. One specific advantage that flows from the
specific
embodiments of the engines as described herein is that there is a substantial
reduction of input
formatting by the user, since automatic formatting can be triggered by a small
number of keystrokes,
or by predefined key sequences entered one key at a time.
Autopunctuation
Another embodiment of the user interface engine is the "autopunctuation"
feature of the
device. If the user enters one of a number of predefined character sequences,
the user interface
engine will automatically insert a period (full stop) in the user input field.
In this manner the user
does not need to use the alt key to enter a period. An example of one such
character sequence would
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be <character><space><space>, after such character sequence the user interface
engine will instruct
the operating system to replace the first <space> with a full stop and to
capitalize the next character
entered by the user. For clarity, in this description: <space> represents a
blank space user input;
<character> represents any character user input; and, <period> represents user
input of the character
".". Because of bandwidth considerations when the device transmits data to the
wireless network, it
is preferable that only one space, instead of two, is present between the
period and the first character
of the next sentence. Alternatively implemented, instead of replacing the
first <space> in the
aforesaid character sequence, a period is inserted after the <character> and
the next character entered
by the user is capitalized thereby producing two spaces between the period and
the next character. In
another embodiment of this autopunctuation feature, if the user enters one of
a number of predefined
character sequences that is used as a capitalization signal, such as
<period><space>, the user
interface engine will process the event and capitalize the next character
entered by the user.
Alternatively implemented, the predefined character sequence could be
<period><space><space>.
To further enhance this feature, autopunctuation can be undone easily, as
described below.
Character Substitution
Another embodiment of the user interface engine is the "intelligent character
substitution"
feature of the device. In fields designed for certain types of input, the user
interface engine will
automatically substitute appropriate characters if inappropriate characters
are entered. For example,
in a field designed to hold an email address, a method of composing an email
address is provided by
the character substitution feature of the present invention for email address
taking on the general
form <characters>@<characters>.<characters>. In the instance, it is assumed
blank spaces are
unacceptable characters for an email address field. The method begins with the
user interface engine
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receiving from user input a character set representing a certain portion of
the email address. If a first
delimiter trigger signal, preferably a first blank space, is received from the
user input, the engine
confirms that no at-sign character (" @ ") has been entered in the already
received character set. If no,
the engine substitutes the first delimiter trigger signal with a first email
delimiter, preferably the at-
sign character. If yes, the engine substitutes the first delimiter with a
second email delimiter,
preferably a period character. For any subsequent blank space input received,
the engine substitutes
preferably another period character.
Another example of the character substitution feature occurs when entering
data in a field
designed to hold numeric data. If the user presses an alphabetic key whose
corresponding alt
character is a numeral, the user interface engine will recognize this and
instruct the operating system
to automatically insert the numeral into the field, even if the user had not
pressed the alt key.
Phrase substitution
The first embodiment of the autotext engine provides an application service
for error
correction and phrase substitution. By entering pairs of strings into an
autotext database, the user can
associate "original strings" with "replacement strings". The autotext engine
also defines an autotext
input field that applications may use to access the functionality of the
autotext engine. The autotext
input field may be of variable length typically up to the length of an email
message. As the user is
entering data into an autotext input field, each time a space is entered, the
autotext engine will search
backwards from the current cursor position to extract the last word from the
autotext input field. The
autotext engine will then efficiently search through the autotext database for
an original string that
exactly matches the last word. If such a string is found, the last word in the
autotext input field will
automatically be replaced with the corresponding replacement string from the
database. This
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phrase substitution feature could be used to correct common typing errors (for
example, "teh" could
be automatically converted to "the") or to facilitate the entry of common
phrases (for example, "fyi"
could be automatically converted to "for your information"). This feature
could also automatically
insert a regularly used international character or symbol in a message thereby
reducing the instances
when the international character-scrolling feature needs to be used. In this
latter scenario, the
original string could be "jr" and the associated replacement string could be
"Jiirgen". The
international character would be entered as described before for the
international character-scrolling
feature.
The phrase substitution feature could advantageously be used for electronic
signatures to be
appended to the end of an email message composed by the user on the device.
Advantageously, a
variety of different electronic signatures can be stored in the autotext
database. In this manner, the
user may chose the appropriate signature from his set of signatures for the
particular context of the
email message about to be transmitted. For instance, in one case the user in
an informal message
may sign off "Take Care & Cheers" with the original string "tc" while in a
legally sensitive message
the same user may sign off "Solicitor-Client Privileged Communication" with
the original string
"scp". In this manner, there is no need for any electronic signature field
insertion at the gateway of
the wireless network and the user may amend and modify his electronic
signatures without network
interaction. In the preferred embodiment, the replacement string is case
sensitive in that any preset
capitalization in the replacement string appears when displayed and cannot be
forced into a lower
case by the case status of the original string. However, if the first
character of the original string is
upper case, then preferably the first character of the replacement is forced
into an upper case as well.
In another embodiment, the autotext engine preferably includes a macro
functionality that
allows a user to specify special character codes in the replacement string
that will be treated specially
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when the replacement string is entered into the autotext engine. These codes
are preferably divided
into two distinct sets: control character codes and dynamic data codes.
In the control character code situation, some character sequences in the
replacement string
will be converted to control characters when the original string is replaced
by the substitution feature.
Examples of these sequences would be "%b" and "%B" which convert to a
backspace character and
a delete character respectively. Therefore, for an open bracket "(" to be
displayed, the original string
could be defined as "br" and the replacement string as "(%B". Likewise, for a
close bracket ")", the
original string could be "rb" and the replacement string "%b)".
In the dynamic data code situation, certain character sequences in the
replacement string will
be converted to dynamic data when the original string is replaced. Examples of
these sequences
would be "%t" and "%d" wherein the codes are converted into the current time
and current date
respectively.
Like the intelligent character substitution feature, autotext replacement can
be undone easily,
as described below.
Undo Feature
As mentioned above, all automatic formatting features of the user interface
and autotext
engines such as autocapitalization, autopunctuation and phrase substitution
may be overndden by
what is referred to the "easy undo" feature herein. The automatic formatting
features have undo
capabilities that are triggered by backspacing over a significant character.
As such, if the user
backspaces over one of these significant characters, the formatted data is
replaced with the raw data
as it existed prior to automatic formatting.
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For instance, the user may type "fyi" into an autotext input field such one
implemented in the
message compose screen. If then the user types <space> and "fyi" is in the
autotext database, the
autotext engine will replace "fyi" with "for your information" in the input
field as earlier described in
phrase substitution. If the user does not desire this substitution, the user
can preferably backspace
over the last character of the displayed string "for your information".
Consequently, the autotext
engine will restore the contents of the input field to "fyi" as they were
prior to the phrase substitution
formatting operation. In this instance, the significant character was the last
character "n" in the
phrase "for your information".
If the user types a sequence of characters that results in an automatic
formatting operation,
and backspaces to activate the easy undo feature, the appropriate engine will
retain the fact that an
undo operation took place at that significant character position.
Consequently, if the user retypes the
same sequence of characters, then the automatic formatting will not be applied
for a second time.
This allows the user to suppress an automatic formatting feature when desired.
For example the user may suppress the autopunctuation feature from inserting a
full stop
automatically. As described above, if the user types <space><space> in an
input field, a full stop
will be inserted by the user interface engine for the first <space>. If the
user does not desire a full
stop in that location, the user would then backspace over the full stop
character and retype
<space><space>. The user interface engine will not replace the full stop as it
did the first time.
Navigation Aids
The device software provides a number of navigation aids for most user input
tasks. The
navigation aids maximize the likelihood that there will be a graphical
interface that the user finds
intuitive. The aids allow most input tasks to be performed completely using
either the keyboard or
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the thumbwheel. The navigation aids are preferably incorporated into choice
boxes and menus of the
device software. A choice box is graphical interface wherein only one
selection is displayed at one
time. The other possible selections are displayed one at a time by a
navigation means. A menu, on
the other hand, is a graphical interface wherein all selections for a
particular input are displayed at
one time. There are other instances where the navigation aids may be used and
such applications are
within the scope of the invention.
As a first aid, the user may cycle through all available options in a choice
box by pressing the
space bar. For instance, in a box containing the months of the year, pressing
the space bar repeatedly
will change the selection from "January" to "February" to "March", etc. A
keypad event, defined by
the location of the cursor being in a choice box and the depression of the
space bar, would trigger the
altering functional state process. As a result, the user interface engine
would process the event by
indexing through a choice array associated with the choice box and provide to
the operating system
instructions to display the next available option.
As a second aid, the user may also cycle through the data by pressing a
control key and
rolling the thumbwheel. The control key is preferably the "alt" key 902. Other
control keys are
possible and within the scope of the invention. This navigation method allows
more flexibility for
the user because the user can cycle through data in either direction in the
choice array. This
navigation is similar to the aforesaid international character-scrolling
embodiment. Instead of
international characters associated with the key depressed, the software
displays a list of options.
Preferably, in the downward scrolling direction, the user interface engine
will move through the list
of choices in the same direction as it would have if the space bar had been
pressed. In the upward
scrolling direction, the user interface engine will move backwards through the
list of choices (e.g.
"March" to "February" to "January", etc.). Hence, the alt key's defined
function of producing for
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display an alternate character for a key has been altered by the keypad event
triggered by the
thumbwheel and the alt key inputs. In the case of a menu display, the user can
move the cursor
between items in the menu by depressing a character key. If a menu item exists
beginning with the
character, the cursor will be positioned automatically over the first item in
the menu beginning with
that character. If there are multiple menu items beginning with that
character, pressing the key
repeatedly will cycle through those menu items. When the cursor is positioned
over the desired item,
the user can select it by pressing the Enter key. If the user decides that he
does not want to select any
menu item, but instead return to his previous position in the application, he
can again select the
"Hide Menu" menu item or press the backspace key, and the menu will be
dismissed.
Another navigation aid is available when the cursor is positioned over a
specific choice box
that changes options by allowing the user to cycle through the options in the
choice box by only
rolling up or down without depressing the alt key. Similarly, when a menu is
displayed, the user can
move the cursor up or down in the menu by rolling the thumbwheel,
respectively, up or down. When
the cursor is positioned over the desired menu item, the user can select it by
pressing the roller wheel
toward the back of the device (called clicking the wheel). If the user decides
that he does not want to
select any menu item, but instead desires to return to his previous position
in the application,
preferably, he can select the "Hide Menu" item, and the menu will be
dismissed. Preferably, the user
can also dismiss the menu by pressing the backspace key.
Another navigation aid utilizes the uniqueness of the first character of each
choice listed in a
choice box. If the user depresses a key and there exists a possible choice
beginning with the
character represented by the key, that choice will automatically be selected
without any further input
required by the user. If there are multiple choices beginning with that
letter, pressing the key
repeatedly will cycle through the available choices. For example, in a month
choice box, pressing 'j'
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will first select "January", then "June" and then "July". Alternatively
implemented, rapid keystrokes
could result in a narrower search. For instance, rapidly pressing "ju" would
result in "June" and then
"July".
Having described in detail the preferred embodiments of the present invention,
including the
preferred methods of operation, it is to be understood that this operation
could be carried out with
different elements and steps. This preferred embodiment is presented only by
way of example and is
not meant to limit the scope of the present invention that is defined by the
following claims.
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