CA 02566775 2006-10-31
METHOD OF INDICATING ADDITIONAL CHARACTER COMBINATION
CHOICES ON A HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED
APPARATUS
BACKGROUND
Field
The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to handheld electronic
devices
that employ a text disambiguation function and, more particularly, to an
improved method
of displaying character combination choices that are generated by a text
disambiguation
function on the handheld electronic device.
Description of the Related Art
Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples of such
handheld devices include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs),
handheld
computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Many handheld
electronic
devices also feature wireless communication capability, although many such
handheld
devices are stand-alone devices that are functional without communication with
other
devices.
Such handheld electronic devices are generally intended to be portable, and
thus
are of a relatively compact configuration in which keys and other input
structures often
perform multiple functions under certain circumstances or may otherwise have
multiple
aspects or features assigned thereto. With advances in technology, handheld
electronic
devices are built to have progressively smaller form factors yet have
progressively greater
numbers of applications and features resident thereon. As a practical matter,
the keys of a
keypad can only be reduced to a certain small size before the keys become
relatively
unusable.
One way of providing numerous letters in a small space has been to provide a
"reduced keyboard" in which multiple letters, symbols, and/or digits, and the
like, are
assigned to any given key. For example, a touch-tone telephone includes a
reduced
keyboard by providing twelve keys, of which ten have digits thereon, and of
these ten
keys, eight have letters assigned thereto. For instance, one of the keys
includes the digit
"2" as well as the letters. "A", "B", and "C". Since a single actuation of
such a key
potentially could be intended by the user to refer to any of the letters "A",
"B", and "C",
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and potentially could also be intended to refer to the digit "2", the input
(by actuation of
the key) generally is an ambiguous input and is in need of some type of
disambiguation in
order to be useful for text entry purposes.
In order to enable a user to make use of the multiple letters, digits, and the
like on
any given key in a reduced keyboard, a software-based text disambiguation
function is
utilized. In such a system, a user typically presses keys to which one or more
characters
have been assigned, generally pressing each key one time for each desired
letter, and the
disambiguation software attempts to disambiguate the intended input. One
example of
such a system is disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication No.
2006-
0058995 filed August 31, 2004, entitled "Handheld Electronic Device With Text
Disambiguation.". As is known, many such systems display an output component
as the
user is typing (pressing keys) that includes a list of possible intended input
character
strings (i.e., what the user intended while typing) that are generated by the
disambiguation
software.
In many current software-based text disambiguation systems, an output
component, which includes the list of possible intended inputs that is
generated by the
disambiguation software, is output on the display of the handheld electronic
device. A
problem arises when the length of a possible intended input is so large that
the remaining
possible intended inputs cannot fit on the display. In these situations, the
list is typically
split and the user must take some additional action, such as scrolling a
thumbwheel or
pressing a predetermined function button, to move from one possible intended
input to the
next possible intended input. The drawback with current systems, however, is
that the
indicators, which indicate that there are additional possible intended inputs
beyond the one
possible intended input that is currently being displayed, are typically
located in multiple
locations on the display thereby making it difficult for user to determine
whether there are
additional possible intended inputs and where the additional possible intended
inputs are
located in relation to the possible intended input that is currently being
displayed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A full understanding of the disclosed and claimed concept can be gained from
the
following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings
in
which:
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment of the improved handheld electronic
device in accordance with the disclosed and claimed concept;
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FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of the handheld electronic device of FIG. 1;
FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B depict each depict an output that can be generated on the
improved handheld electronic device of FIG 1;
FIG. 4 depicts another output that can be generated on the improved handheld
electronic device of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of an improved method in
accordance with the disclosed and claimed concept.
DESCRIPTION
As used herein, the phrase "a number of or variations thereof means one or an
integer greater than one.
As used herein, the phrase "alphanumeric" or variations thereof shall broadly
refer
to a letter, such as a Latin letter, and/or a digit such as, without
limitation, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, 0, and combinations thereof.
Directional phrases used herein, such as, for example, upper, lower, left,
right,
vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, above, beneath, clockwise, counterclockwise
and
derivatives thereof, relate to the orientation of the elements shown in the
drawings and are
not limiting upon the claims unless expressly recited therein.
One embodiment of a handheld electronic device 2 in accordance with the
disclosed and claimed concept is depicted generally in FIG. I. The handheld
electronic
device 2 of FIG. I is depicted schematically in FIG. 2. The handheld
electronic device 2
includes a housing 4 upon which are disposed a processor unit that includes an
input
apparatus 6, an output apparatus 8, a processor 10, a memory 12, and a
wireless
transceiver 13. The processor 10 may be, for instance, and without limitation,
a
microprocessor ( P) and is responsive to inputs from the input apparatus 6 and
provides
output signals to the output apparatus 8. The processor 10 also interfaces
with the
memory 12 which, as will be discussed in greater detail below, contains one or
more
routines that are used to implement the disclosed and claimed concept. The
processor 10
and the memory 12 together form a processor apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 1, the input apparatus 6 includes a keypad 14 and a
navigational
input member 16. The keypad 14 is in the exemplary form of a reduced QWERTY
keyboard including a plurality of keys 18 that serve as input members. Many of
the keys
18 each have a plurality of characters assigned thereto. The keypad 14 also
includes an
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<ALT> key 20, an <ENTER> key 22, and a <SPACE> key 23. It is noted, however,
that
the keypad 14 may be of other configurations, such as an AZERTY keyboard, a
QWERTY keyboard, a QWERTZ keyboard or another keyboard arrangement, whether or
not reduced, and whether presently known or unknown.
The keys 18 are located on a front face 24 of the housing 4, and the
navigational
input member 16, which is in the exemplary form a trackball 36, is disposed on
the front
face 24 of the housing 4 as well. The trackball 36 is rotatable in various
directions thereby
allowing for the navigation of the cursor 32, which is displayed on the output
apparatus 8,
in various directions including up, down, left, right, and any combination
thereof.
Moreover, the trackball 36 can also be depressed to provide a selection or
other input
based upon the current location of the cursor 32. Accordingly, rotation of the
trackball 36
can navigate the cursor 32 over a particular program icon 34, while depression
of the
trackball 36 can launch the program. It should be noted that a trackwheel (not
shown),
.which can be disposed on a side 26 of the housing 4, can be used in lieu of
the trackball
36. Similar to the trackball, the trackwheel can serve as input member since
the
trackwheel is capable of being rotated in a clockwise or a counterclockwise
direction as
well as being depressed. Rotation of the trackwheel can provide a navigation
or other
input, while depression of the trackwheel can provide a selection or other
input. For
example, if a cursor 32 is located over a given program icon 34, that program
will be
launched when the trackwheel is depressed.
Referring to FIG. 2, the memory 12 can be any of a variety of types of
internal
and/or external storage media such as, without limitation, RAM, ROM, EPROM(s),
EEPROM(s), and the like that provide a storage register for data storage such
as in the
fashion of an internal storage area of a computer, and can be volatile memory
or
nonvolatile memory. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the memory 12 is in electronic
communication with the processor 10. The memory 12 additionally can include
one or
more routines depicted generally with the numeral 38 for the processing of
data. The
routines 38 can be in any of a variety of forms such as, without limitation,
software,
firmware, and the like.
The output apparatus 8 includes a display 40 upon which can be provided an
output 42. A number of exemplary outputs 42 are depicted on the display 40 in
FIGS. 3,
3A, 3B, and 4. Each exemplary output 42 includes a text component 44 and a
variant
component 46. As can be seen from these figures, the variant component 46
extends
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substantially horizontally across the display 40. This, however, is not meant
to be limiting
since the variant component 46 can also extend across the display 40
substantially
vertically or can be otherwise disposed. Preferably, the variant component 46
is located
generally in the vicinity of the text component 44. Referring to FIGS. 3, 3A,
3B, and 4,
the variant component 46 includes a selectable output 48 that can be selected
by the user
for possible output on the output apparatus 8 of the handheld electronic
device 2. The
display 40 also includes a caret (cursor) 50 in the text component 44 which
depicts
generally where the next output will be displayed.
As stated above, a shortcoming of current disambiguation systems is that
indicators, which indicate that there are additional possible intended inputs
beyond the one
possible intended input that is currently being displayed, are typically
located in multiple
locations on the display 40. Accordingly, the user's ability to enter data
into the handheld
electronic device 2 is hindered due to the fact that the user might not
recognize that there
are additional possible intended inputs available and/or not know where the
additional
possible intended inputs may be found.
The disclosed and claimed concept enables the handheld electronic device 2 to
overcome this shortcoming by having a routine 38 that is adapted to display a
single visual
indicator which is located at a single location on the display 40. The visual
indicator not
only represents that additional subsets of the list of possible intended
inputs (character
combination choices) are displayable on the output apparatus 8 of the handheld
electronic
device 2 in response to the handheld electronic device 2 detecting a
navigational input in a
particular direction, but it also represents the direction in which the
additional subsets may
be found.
By way of example, referring to FIGS. 1, 3, 3A, and 3B, when the language that
is
currently operative on the handheld electronic device is German and the user
actuates the
keys 18 on the handheld electronic device 2 that correspond to
"mannerfantasien", the
disambiguation function of the handheld electronic device 2 will generate a
list of three
possible intended inputs in response to the detected ambiguous key sequence.
The three
possible intended inputs are as follows: (1) mannerfantasien (hereinafter,
referred to as the
first subset), (2) mannredabyssieb (hereinafter, referred to as the second
subset), and (3)
mannredabyssien (hereinafter, referred to as the third subset). The variant
component 46,
however, is unable to contain all three possible intended inputs
simultaneously due to the
length of each possible intended input. Accordingly, the handheld electronic
device 2 will
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display only one possible intended input (i.e., a subset of the three possible
inputs) within
the variant component 46 at any one time. It should be noted, however, that
despite FIGS.
3, 3A, 3B, and 4 depicting one possible intended input, in its entirety, being
displayed
within the variant component 36, there may be instances when only a portion of
the
possible intended input is displayed within the variant component 46.
Continuing with FIG. 3, upon detecting the ambiguous key sequence that
corresponds with "mannerfantasien", the handheld electronic device 2 will
display
"mannerfantasien" within the variant component 46 as well as in the text
component 44.
As stated above, the variant component 46 is unable to simultaneously contain
all of the
possible intended inputs. Therefore, in order to assist the user in data
entry, a first visual
indicator 52 is displayed in the variant component 46 that allows the user to
ascertain
whether or not there are additional subsets available and where the additional
subsets may
be found. Moreover, the first visual indicator 52 is also displayed at a
single location 53
for easy reference by the user. It should be noted that despite FIG. 3
depicting the first
visual indicator 52 as being located in the variant component 46, the first
visual indicator
52 can be located anywhere on the display 40. The first visual indicator 52
represents that
additional possible intended inputs are displayable within the variant
component 46, in
place of the first subset, if the handheld electronic device 2 detects a
navigational input in
a first direction. In the embodiment that is depicted in FIG. 3, the first
visual indicator 52
is a graphic 54 having a pointing portion 56 that points towards the first
direction. In this
particular embodiment, the pointing portion 56 of the first visual indicator
52 points
towards the "right". Accordingly, when the handheld electronic device 2
detects a
navigational input from the trackball 36 to the "right" or a clockwise
rotation of a
trackwheel (if a trackwheel is being used as the navigational input member
16), the
handheld electronic device 2 will replace "mannerfantasien" with the second
subset,
"mannredabyssieb", in addition to replacing the first visual indicator 52 with
a second
visual indicator 58.
Continuing with FIG. 3A, as can be seen from this figure, "mannerfantasien"
has
been replaced with "mannredabyssieb" in the variant component 46 as well as in
the text
component 44. Moreover, the first visual indicator 52 has been replaced with
the second
visual indicator 58 which comprises a first pointing portion 60 which points
towards the
first direction, and a second pointing portion 62 which points towards a
second direction.
In this particular embodiment, the first pointing portion 60 of the second
visual indicator
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58 points towards the "right" while the second pointing portion 62 of the
second visual
indicator 58 points towards the "left". Moreover, in this particular
embodiment, the first
and second portions 60,62 are interconnected. It should be noted, however,
that in other
embodiments the first and second pointing portions 60,62 of the second visual
indicator 58
are not interconnected (see FIG. 4). Similar to the first visual indicator 52,
the first portion
60 of the second visual indicator 58 represents that additional possible
intended inputs are
displayable within the variant component 46 if the handheld electronic device
2 detects a
navigational input in the first direction. However, unlike the first visual
indicator 52, the
second portion 62 of the second visual indicator 58 also represents that the
first subset can
be displayable within the variant component 46 if the handheld electronic
device 2 detects
a navigational input in a second direction. Specifically, the second visual
indicator 58
represents that a third subset is displayable within the variant component 46,
in place of
the second subset, if the handheld electronic device 2 detects a navigational
input in the
first direction (Le., to the "right") while the first subset is displayable
within the variant
component 46, in place of the second subset, if the handheld electronic device
2 detects a
navigational input in the second direction (i.e., to the "left").
Upon detecting a navigational input to the "right" or a clockwise rotation of
the
trackwheel, the handheld electronic device 2 will display the third subset in
place of the
second subset. Specifically, "mannredabyssieb" will be replaced with the third
subset,
"mannredabyssien", in both the variant component 46 and the text component 44
(see FIG.
3B). When this occurs, the second visual indicator 58 will also be replaced
with a third
visual indicator 64.
Alternatively, if the handheld electronic device 2 detects a navigational
input to the
"left" or a counterclockwise rotation of the trackwheel, then the handheld
electronic device
2 will replace "mannredabyssieb" with the first subset, "mannerfantasien", in
addition to
replacing the second visual indicator 58 with the first visual indicator 52.
Continuing with FIG. 3B, as can be seen from this figure, "mannredabyssieb"
has
been replaced with the third subset, "mannredabyssien", in the variant
component 46 as
well as in the text component 44 because the handheld electronic device 2
detected a
navigational input in the first direction. Additionally, the second visual
indicator 58 has
been replaced with a third visual indicator 64 which comprises a pointing
portion 66
pointing towards the second direction. In this particular embodiment, the
pointing portion
66 of the third visual indicator 64 points towards the "left." The third
visual indicator 64
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represents that the second subset is displayable within the variant component
46 in place
of the third subset if the handheld electronic device 2 detects a navigational
input in the
second direction. Moreover, the third visual indicator 64 also represents that
"mannredabyssien" is the final choice among the possible intended inputs by
not having
another pointing portion that points in the first direction.
Upon detecting a navigational input to the "left" or a counterclockwise
rotation of
the trackwheel, the handheld electronic device 2 will replace
"mannredabyssien" with the
second subset, "mannredabyssieb", in the both the variant component 46 and the
text
component 44 (see FIG. 3A). Additionally, the third visual indicator 64 will
be replaced
with the second visual indicator 58.
Alternatively, if the handheld electronic device 2 detects a navigational
input to the
"right" or a clockwise rotation of the trackwheel, then the handheld
electronic device 2
will replace "mannredabyssien" with the first subset, "mannerfantasien", in
both the
variant component 46 and the text component 44 in addition to replacing the
third visual
indicator 64 with the first visual indicator 52. In other words, a
navigational input to the
"right" or a clockwise rotation of the trackwheel enables the user to
continuously scroll
through the subsets.
It should be noted that in FIGS. 3, 3A, 3B, and 4, a language indicator 68 is
provided in the variant component 46. The language indicator is representative
of a
language that is currently operable on the handheld electronic device 2. In
these figures,
"DE" represents that German is the language that is currently operative on the
handheld
electronic device 2.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of the disclosed concept. As
can
be seen from this figure, the handheld electronic device 2 will detect an
input at step 100.
The handheld electronic device 2 will then determine whether the detected
input was an
alphanumeric input at step 102.
If the handheld electronic device 2 does determine at step 102 that the
detected
input was an alphanumeric input, then the handheld electronic device 2 will
generate a
number of character combination choices based on the detected alphanumeric
input using
the text disambiguation function of the handheld electronic device 2 at step
104. The
handheld electronic device 2 will then display an output that comprises a
subset of the
character combination choices in addition to a first visual indicator at step
106. For
example, referring to FIG. 3, the handheld electronic device 2 would display
the first
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subset, "mannerfantasien", in addition to the first visual indicator 52 in
response to
determining at step 102 that the detected input was an alphanumeric input.
Continuing
with FIG. 5, after the output has been displayed at step 106, the handheld
electronic device
2 will then go to step 100.
The handheld electronic device 2 will then detect another input at step 100.
Responsive to the detecting the input, the handheld electronic device 2 will
then determine
whether the detected input was an alphanumeric input at step 102. If the
handheld
electronic device 2 determines that the detected input is not an alphanumeric
input, then
the handheld electronic device 2 will determine whether the detected input is
a
navigational input in a first direction at step 108.
If the handheld electronic device 2 does determine that the detected input is
a
navigational input in the first direction at step 108, then the handheld
electronic device 2
will display an output that comprises the next subset of the character
combination choices
as well as the next visual indicator. For example, referring to FIG. 3A, the
handheld
electronic device 2 would display the second subset, "mannredabyssieb", in
place of the
first subset in addition to displaying the second visual indicator 58 in place
of the first
visual indicator 52. Continuing with FIG. 5, after the output has been
displayed at step
110, the handheld electronic device 2 will go to step 100.
The handheld electronic device 2 will then detect yet another input at step
100.
Responsive to detecting the input, the handheld electronic device 2 will
determine whether
the detected input was an alphanumeric input at step 102. If the handheld
electronic
device 2 determines that the input detected at step 102 is not an alphanumeric
input, then
the handheld electronic device 2 will determine whether the detected input is
a
navigational input in a first direction at step 108.
If the handheld electronic device 2 does determine that the detected input is
a
navigational input in the first direction at step 108, then the handheld
electronic device 2
will display an output that comprises the next subset of the character
combination choices
as well as the next visual indicator. For example, referring to FIG. 3B, the
handheld
electronic device 2 would display the third subset, "mannredabyssien", in
place of the
second subset in addition to displaying the third visual indicator 64 in place
of the second
visual indicator 58. Continuing with FIG. 5, after the output has been
displayed at step
110, the handheld electronic device 2 will go to step 100.
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Alternatively, if the handheld electronic device 2 determines that the
detected input
is not a navigational input in the first direction at step 108, then the
handheld electronic
device will determine whether the detected input was a navigational input in a
second
direction at step 112.
If the handheld electronic device 2 does determine that the detected input is
a
navigational input in the second direction at step 112, then the handheld
electronic device
2 will display an output that comprises the prior subset and the prior visual
indicator at
step 114. For example, referring to FIG. 3A, the handheld electronic device 2
would
display the second subset, "mannredabyssieb", in place of the third subset in
addition to
displaying the second visual indicator 58 in place of the third visual
indicator 64.
Continuing with FIG. 5, after the output has been displayed at step 110, the
handheld
electronic device 2 will go to step 100.
Alternatively, if the handheld electronic device 2 determines that the
detected input
was not a navigational input in the second direction at step 112, then the
handheld
electronic device 2 will take other action such as, without limitation,
determining whether
the detected input was a selection input at step 116.
While specific embodiments of the disclosed and claimed concept have been
described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
various
modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of
the overall
teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements
disclosed are meant
to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the disclosed and
claimed concept
which is to be given the full breadth of the claims appended and any and all
equivalents
thereof.
