Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD OF CHARACTER ENTRY
FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
[0001] The present disclosure relates to electronic devices including, but not
limited to, portable electronic devices and their control.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Electronic devices, including portable electronic devices, have gained
widespread use and may provide a variety of functions including, for example,
telephonic, electronic messaging and other personal information manager (PIM)
application functions. Portable electronic devices include several types of
devices
including mobile stations such as simple cellular telephones, smart telephones
(smart phones), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, and
laptop
computers, with wireless network communications or near-field communications
connectivity such as BluetoothC) capabilities.
[0003] Portable electronic devices such as PDAs, or tablet computers are
generally intended for handheld use and ease of portability. Smaller devices
are
generally desirable for portability. A touch-sensitive input device, such as a
touchscreen display, is particularly useful on handheld devices, which are
small
and may have limited space for user input and output. Improvements in
electronic devices with displays are desirable.
SUMMARY
[0004] According to one example, a method includes displaying, on a touch-
sensitive display, a keyboard including selectable keys associated with
primary
characters, responsive to detecting a touch at a location associated with one
of the
keys, entering one of the primary characters associated with the one of the
keys,
and responsive to detecting a gesture on the keyboard, moving at least a first
key
of the keys of the keyboard while maintaining a location of at least a second
key
of the keys of the keyboard, to facilitate selection of one of a plurality of
secondary characters.
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[0005] According to another example, an electronic device includes a touch-
sensitive display to display a keyboard including selectable keys associated
with
primary characters, and at least parts of secondary characters between the
keys,
and a processor coupled to the display to enter one of the primary characters
associated with one of the keys when a touch is detected at a location
associated
with the one of the keys, and move at least one of the keys of the keyboard
while
maintain a location of at least one other of the keys of the keyboard, to
facilitate
selection of one of the secondary characters when a gesture is detected on the
keyboard. .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of
example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a portable electronic device
in
accordance with the disclosure;
[0008] Fig. 2 is a front view of an example of a portable electronic device in
accordance with the disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of character entry in
accordance with the disclosure; and
[0010] FIG. 4 through FIG. 10 are front views of examples of a portable
electronic device in accordance with the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] The following describes an electronic device and a method that includes
displaying, on a touch-sensitive display, a keyboard including selectable keys
associated with primary characters, responsive to detecting a touch at a
location
associated with one of the keys, entering one of the primary characters
associated
with the one of the keys, and responsive to detecting a gesture on the
keyboard,
moving at least a first key of the keys of the keyboard while maintaining a
location
of at least a second key of the keys of the keyboard, to facilitate selection
of one
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of a plurality of secondary characters.
[0012] For simplicity and clarity of illustration, reference numerals may be
repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.
Numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the embodiments
described herein. The embodiments may be practiced without these details. In
other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been
described in detail to avoid obscuring the embodiments described. The
description
is not to be considered as limited to the scope of the embodiments described
herein.
[0013] The disclosure generally relates to an electronic device, such as a
portable electronic device. Examples of portable electronic devices include
wireless communication devices such as pagers, mobile or cellular phones,
smartphones, wireless organizers, PDAs, notebook computers, netbook
computers, tablet computers, and so forth. The portable electronic device may
also be a portable electronic device without wireless communication
capabilities.
Examples include handheld electronic game device, digital photograph album,
digital camera, notebook computers, netbook computers, tablet computers, or
other device.
[0014] A block diagram of an example of a portable electronic device 100 is
shown in FIG. 1. The portable electronic device 100 includes multiple
components, such as a processor 102 that controls the overall operation of the
portable electronic device 100. The portable electronic device 100 presently
described optionally includes a communication subsystem 104 and a short-range
communications 132 module to perform various communication functions,
including data and voice communications. Data received by the portable
electronic device 100 is decompressed and decrypted by a decoder 106. The
communication subsystem 104 receives messages from and sends messages to a
wireless network 150. The wireless network 150 may be any type of wireless
network, including, but not limited to, data wireless networks, voice wireless
networks, and networks that support both voice and data communications. A
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power source 142, such as one or more rechargeable batteries or a port to an
external power supply, powers the portable electronic device 100.
[0015] The processor 102 interacts with other components, such as Random
Access Memory (RAM) 108, memory 110, a display 112 with a touch-sensitive
overlay 114 operably connected to an electronic controller 116 that together
comprise a touch-sensitive display 118, one or more actuators 120, one or more
force sensors 122, an auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystem 124, a data port
126, a speaker 128, a microphone 130, short-range communications 132, and
other device subsystems 134. User-interaction with a graphical user interface
is
performed through the touch-sensitive overlay 114. The processor 102 interacts
with the touch-sensitive overlay 114 via the electronic controller 116.
Information, such as text, characters, symbols, images, icons, and other items
that may be displayed or rendered on a portable electronic device, is
displayed on
the touch-sensitive display 118 via the processor 102. The processor 102 may
interact with an orientation sensor such as an accelerometer 136 to detect
direction of gravitational forces or gravity-induced reaction forces so as to
determine, for example, the orientation of the portable electronic device 100.
[0016] To identify a subscriber for network access, the portable electronic
device 100 uses a Subscriber Identity Module or a Removable User Identity
Module (SIM/RUIM) card 138 for communication with a network, such as the
wireless network 150. Alternatively, user identification information may be
programmed into memory 110.
[0017] The portable electronic device 100 includes an operating system 146 and
software programs or components 148 that are executed by the processor 102
and are typically stored in a persistent, updatable store such as the memory
110.
Additional applications or programs may be loaded onto the portable electronic
device 100 through the wireless network 150, the auxiliary I/O subsystem 124,
the data port 126, the short-range communications subsystem 132, or any other
suitable subsystem 134.
[0018] A received signal, such as a text message, an e-mail message, or web
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page download, is processed by the communication subsystem 104 and input to
the processor 102. The processor 102 processes the received signal for output
to
the display 112 and/or to the auxiliary I/O subsystem 124. A subscriber may
generate data items, for example e-mail messages, which may be transmitted
over the wireless network 150 through the communication subsystem 104, for
example.
[0019] The touch-sensitive display 118 may be any suitable touch-sensitive
display, such as a capacitive, resistive, infrared, surface acoustic wave
(SAW)
touch-sensitive display, strain gauge, optical imaging, dispersive signal
technology,
acoustic pulse recognition, and so forth, as known in the art. A capacitive
touch-
sensitive display includes a capacitive touch-sensitive overlay 114. The
overlay
114 may be an assembly of multiple layers in a stack including, for example, a
substrate, a ground shield layer, a barrier layer, one or more capacitive
touch
sensor layers separated by a substrate or other barrier, and a cover. The
capacitive touch sensor layers may be any suitable material, such as patterned
indium tin oxide (ITO).
[0020] One or more touches, also known as touch contacts or touch events,
may be detected by the touch-sensitive display 118. The processor 102 may
determine attributes of the touch, including a location of a touch. Touch
location
data may include an area of contact or a single point of contact, such as a
point at
or near a center of the area of contact. When a touch begins, one or more
signals
are provided to the controller 116 and the origin of the touch may be
determined
from the signals. The origin may be a point or an area, for example. Signals
may
be provided to the controller at regular intervals in time for a touch, also
known as
sampling, such that changes in location of the touch may be detected. A touch
may be detected from any suitable input member, such as a finger, thumb,
appendage, or other objects, for example, a stylus, pen, or other pointer,
depending on the nature of the touch-sensitive display 118. The controller 116
and/or the processor 102 may detect a touch by any suitable input member on
the
touch-sensitive display 118. Multiple simultaneous touches may be detected.
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[0021] One or more gestures may also be detected by the touch-sensitive
display 118. A gesture, such as a swipe, also known as a flick, is a
particular type
of touch on a touch-sensitive display 118 that begins at an origin point and
continues to an end point. A gesture may be identified by attributes of the
gesture, including the origin point, the end point, the distance travelled,
the
duration, the velocity, and the direction, for example. A gesture may be long
or
short in distance and/or duration. Two points of the gesture may be utilized
to
determine a direction of the gesture. A hover may be a touch at a location
that is
generally unchanged over a period of time or is associated with the same
selection
item for a period of time.
[0022] In some example embodiments, an optional force sensor 122, or force
sensors, is disposed in any suitable location, for example, between the touch-
sensitive display 118 and a back of the portable electronic device 100 to
detect a
force imparted by a touch on the touch-sensitive display 118. The force sensor
122 may be a force-sensitive resistor, strain gauge, piezoelectric or
piezoresistive
device, pressure sensor, or other suitable device. Force as utilized
throughout the
specification refers to force measurements, estimates, and/or calculations,
such as
pressure, deformation, stress, strain, force density, force-area
relationships,
thrust, torque, and other effects that include force or related quantities.
[0023] Force information related to a detected touch may be utilized to select
information, such as information associated with a location of a touch. For
example, a touch that does not meet a force threshold may highlight a
selection
option, whereas a touch that meets a force threshold may select or input that
selection option. Selection options include, for example, displayed or virtual
keys
of a keyboard; selection boxes or windows, e.g., "cancel," "delete," or
"unlock";
function buttons, such as play or stop on a music player; and so forth.
Different
magnitudes of force may be associated with different functions or input. For
example, a lesser force may result in panning, and a higher force may result
in
zooming.
[0024] A front view of an example of the electronic device 100 is shown in
FIG.
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2. The electronic device 100 includes a housing 202 in which the touch-
sensitive
display 118 is disposed. The housing 202 is utilized to enclose components
such
as the components shown in FIG. 1.
[0025] A keyboard 204 may be displayed on the touch-sensitive display. In the
example illustrated in FIG. 2, the keyboard 204 is a QWERTY keyboard. Other
keyboards such as QWERTZ, AZERTY, or Dvorak keyboards may be utilized.
[0026] The keyboard 204 includes the keys 206. The keys 206 are generally
rectangular and spaced apart by a small spacing that is less than the width of
the
keys 206. Each of the keys 206 is associated with a primary character or a
function. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the primary characters
associated
with the keys include the letters of the alphabet, punctuation marks including
the
period and comma, and a space. Other keys 206 are associated with functions
including shift, backspace, and return functions. One key 208 is associated
with a
symbol function.
[0027] Secondary characters 210, including the numbers 0 through 9, and
symbols, such as punctuation marks and other symbolic characters are displayed
such that these secondary characters are at least partially visible between
the
keys 206 of the keyboard 204. The secondary characters 210 may be displayed
utilizing attributes that differ from the attributes of the primary characters
or the
keys 206 associated with the primary characters of the keyboard 204. For
example, the secondary characters 210 may be displayed utilizing a font that
is of
lower contrast than the font utilized for the primary characters. Utilizing
different
attributes than those of the primary characters and the keys 206, the
secondary
characters 210 appear to be on a different level, below the keys 206.
[0028] The key 208 may be utilized to change the keyboard 204 to symbols,
which may include the secondary characters 210, or may include further symbols
not otherwise displayed on the touch-sensitive display 118.
[0029] A flowchart illustrating a method of character entry at an electronic
device is shown in FIG. 3. The method may be carried out by software executed,
for example, by the processor 102. Coding of software for carrying out such a
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method is within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art given the
present
description. The method may contain additional or fewer processes than shown
and/or described, and may be performed in a different order. Computer-readable
code executable by at least one processor of the portable electronic device to
perform the method may be stored in a computer-readable medium, such as a
non-transitory computer-readable medium.
[0030] The process may be carried out in any suitable program or application
in
which characters, such as alphabetical, numerical, and symbolic characters,
are
input. Examples of suitable applications include email, text messaging,
calendar,
tasks, address book, map, Web browser, word processing, and so forth.
Information from the application is displayed on the display 112 of the
portable
electronic device 100.
[0031] The keyboard 204 is displayed at 302. The keyboard 204 includes the
primary characters. The secondary characters 210 may be displayed between the
keys 206 of the keyboard, as described above with reference to FIG. 2. The
keyboard 204 may be displayed when composing an email, text message,
calendar event, task, contact for an address book, when entering data into a
character entry field, or for any other character entry.
[0032] When a touch on the touch-sensitive display 118, is detected at 304, at
a touch location associated with a key 206 and the touch does not move from
the
area associated with the key 206 before the end of the touch is detected, the
method proceeds to 306 and the primary character associated with the key 206
is
entered. The character may be entered into a field displayed on the touch-
sensitive display 118, for example.
[0033] When a touch on the touch-sensitive display 118, is detected and the
touch moves at 304, the method proceeds to 308. A determination is made at
308 whether or not the touch is a keyboard gesture. A keyboard gesture may be
any suitable gesture that is associated with keys 206 or with the keyboard
204, to
facilitate selection of a secondary character or characters 210. Keyboard
gestures
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may include gestures that begin on a key 206 of the keyboard 204 , multi-touch
gestures that begin on two keys 206 of the keyboard 204, gestures that begin
and
continue between columns of keys 206 or between rows of keys 206 of the
keyboard 204, or any other suitable gesture. The keyboard gesture may be
detected utilizing attributes of the gesture and determining, based on the
attributes of the gesture, whether the gesture is a keyboard gesture. When a
keyboard gesture is detected at 308, the process continues at 310.
[0034] Keys 206 of the keyboard 204 are moved at 310. Some of the keys 206
are moved while the locations or positions of other keys are maintained, i.e.,
the
other keys do not move. The keys 206 that are moved are determined based on
the gesture detected at 308. For example, the keys 206 that are moved may be
dependent on the origin of the gesture, or origins in the example of a multi-
touch
gesture, the direction of the gesture, the length or distance travelled, a
location of
the touch part way through the gesture, such as a location of touch in the
middle
or half way along the path of the gesture, or any other suitable gesture
attributes.
When the keys 206 are moved, the secondary characters 210 are not moved and
the secondary characters 210 located in the area from which the keys 206 are
moved, may be selected. Selection of the secondary characters is thereby
facilitated. The key movement may be animated such that the keys appear to
move smoothly along the touch-sensitive display 118.
[0035] When a touch associated with a secondary character 210, is detected at
312, the process continues at 314 and the secondary character 210 is entered.
A
touch may be associated with a secondary character 210 when the touch is
detected at an area associated with the character.
[0036] When a touch associated with a secondary character 210 is not detected
at 312, or after entry of the secondary character at 314, the process
continues at
316. At 316, a determination is made whether or not to maintain the keys in
the
locations to which they were moved at 310. The determination may be dependent
on any suitable factors such as the gesture utilized to move the keys 204. For
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example, a gesture between keys may move the keys 206 to facilitate selection
of
one of the secondary characters 210 such that the keys are returned to the
original keyboard positions after entry of one secondary character 210. A
multi-
touch gesture including two touches that originate at adjacent keys 206 and
move
apart may move the keys 206 until another gesture is received to move the keys
206 back to the keyboard positions. The determination may also be dependent on
time such that the keys 206 are moved for a predetermined time period or are
moved back to the keyboard positions after a threshold time has elapsed after
a
selection.
[0037] When the keys are not maintained in the locations to which they were
moved, the keys are moved back to the original keyboard positions or locations
at
318. When the keys are maintained in the locations to which they were moved,
the process continues at 320. When an input is detected, such as a gesture,
that
is utilized to return the keys 206 to the keyboard positions or locations at
320, the
keys are moved back to the original keyboard positions or locations at 318.
When
the input is not detected, the process continues at 312. The input may be a
gesture, as indicated above, or may be any other suitable input such as a
touch at
a key 206 associated with a primary character.
[0038] Examples of character entry at a portable electronic device are
illustrated in FIG. 4 through FIG. 10. In the examples illustrated, the
keyboard
204 is displayed along with secondary characters 210 that are at least
partially
displayed between the keys 206 of the keyboard 204. Characters are entered in
a
field 402 of, for example, an email.
[0039] In the example shown in FIG. 4, a touch is detected at a location
associated with a key 206 at 304. The touch is illustrated by the circle 404
on the
key 206 associated with the letter S. The character "s" is selected and is
entered
into the field 402 at 306.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 5, a touch is detected and a key 206 is not selected.
Instead, a gesture is detected at 308, beginning at the origin 502 and
continuing
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in the direction of the arrow 504. Thus, the gesture begins between the keys
206
associated with the characters "B" and "N", and continues between the columns
of
keys 206. The keys 206 in the two columns 506, 508 on either side of the
gesture, are moved apart at 310 such that the keys in the column 506 are moved
to the left and overlap with the keys in the adjacent column to the left, and
the
keys in the column 508 are moved to the right and overlap with the keys in the
adjacent column to the right, increasing the separation between columns of
keys,
as illustrated in the example of FIG. 6.
[0041] The terms top, bottom, right, and left are utilized herein for the
purpose
of providing a reference and refer to an area of the portable electronic
device 100
relative to the orientation in which the keyboard 204 is displayed.
[0042] As shown in FIG. 6, the secondary characters 210, which in the present
example include ")", ":", and '1?", are displayed and selection of these
secondary
characters 210 is facilitated by the gesture illustrated in FIG. 5. In the
example
illustrated in FIG. 7, a touch at a location 702 that is associated with the
secondary character 210 ":" is detected at 312 and the secondary character 210
":" is entered and displayed in the field 402 on the touch-sensitive display
118 at
314.
[0043] For the purpose of the present example, the gesture between columns of
keys is utilized to move columns of keys for selection of a secondary
character and
the keys are moved back to their original keyboard locations after selection
of a
secondary character. At 316, the keys are therefore not maintained at the
locations to which they were moved and the keys in the columns 506, 508 are
moved at 318, back to the original keyboard locations or positions illustrated
in
FIG. 2.
[0044] Rows of columns may also be moved by increasing the separation
between the rows when a suitable gesture is detected, such as a gesture
between
the rows of the keys 206.
[0045] Referring to FIG. 8, a multi-touch gesture is detected and a key 206 is
not selected. Instead, the gesture is detected at 308, including two detected
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touches that have origins 802, 804 and continue in the directions of the
arrows
806, 808, respectively. The origins 802, 804 are located at areas associated
with
the keys 206 that are associated with the primary characters "E" and "R", and
the
touches of the multi-touch gesture move apart, in a reverse pinching gesture.
[0046] The keys 206 in the column 810 that includes the key associated with
the character "E" and the adjacent column 812 to the left, are moved to the
left
such that the columns 810, 812 of keys 206 overlap the column 814 of keys 206
that includes the key associated with the character "Q". Similarly, the column
816
that includes the key associated with the character "R" and the adjacent
column
818 to the right, are moved to the right such that the columns 816, 818 of
keys
206 overlap the column 820 of keys 206 that includes the key associated with
the
character "Y". The space key also moves to the right and overlaps the key
associated with the period and the key adjacent and to the left of the space
key is
moved to the left and overlaps the key 208 associated with the symbol
function.
The distance that the columns move may depend on the attributes of the
gesture,
such as the length or distance of the gesture, or may be a set distance.
[0047] The keys 206 are moved to facilitate entry of the numbers 0 through 9,
as illustrated in FIG. 9. Any one of the numbers may be entered into the field
402
by a touch at the area associated with the number.
[0048] In this example, the reverse pinching gesture illustrated in FIG. 8 is
utilized to move columns of keys for selection of secondary characters and the
keys are not moved back to their original keyboard locations after selection
of a
secondary character. At 316, the keys are therefore maintained at the
locations to
which they were moved. A gesture is utilized to move the keys in the columns
810, 812, 816, 818 back to the original keyboard locations or positions
illustrated
in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 10, the gesture may be, for example, a multi-touch
gesture including two detected touches that have origins 1002, 1004 and
continue
in the directions of the arrows 1006, 1008, respectively. The origins 1002,
1004
are located at areas associated with the keys 206 that are associated with the
primary characters "E" and "R", and the touches of the multi-touch gesture
move
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toward each other, in a pinching gesture.
[0049] Although not illustrated in the example flowchart of FIG. 3, multiple
consecutive keyboard gestures may be detected before the keys 206 of the
keyboard 204 are moved back to the original keyboard locations. Thus,
consecutive keyboard gestures may be detected before a touch is detected at a
location associated with a key 206 or before a touch is detected at a location
associated with a secondary character 210. A first keyboard gesture moves keys
206 of the keyboard 204. A second or subsequent keyboard gesture may move
further keys 206 of the keyboard 204. Thus, a plurality of keyboard gestures
may
be received and keys 206 of the keyboard 204 moved a plurality of consecutive
times before selection of a key 206 associated with a primary character or
selection of a secondary character 210.
[0050] Primary characters may also be entered by a touch at a location
associated with a key 206, after some of the keys 206 are moved to facilitate
secondary character 210 selection and prior to moving the keys 206 back to the
original keyboard positions as illustrated in FIG. 2. Optionally, the keys 206
may
be moved back to the original keyboard positons when a touch at a key 206 is
detected. Alternatively, the keys 206 may be maintained in the locations to
which
they were moved until a secondary character is selected, until a gesture is
received, or until any other suitable input is received.
[0051] The portable electronic device 100 is described to provide an example
of
one suitable electronic device. Many of the features or elements of the
electronic
device 100 described herein may be optional. Furthermore, the electronic
device
may also include other features that are not described herein and may differ
in
form.
[0052] Utilizing the method of the present disclosure, a primary character is
entered when a touch is detected at an associated area on the touch-sensitive
display 118. A secondary character may be entered utilizing a gesture to move
keys of the keyboard without moving the entire keyboard, to facilitate entry
of the
secondary characters, followed by a touch on an area associated with the
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secondary character. The secondary characters are at least partially displayed
between the keys associated with the primary characters to facilitate easy
identification of the location of a secondary character. Changing an entire
keyboard to display characters that are not previously displayed may be
unnecessary, thereby reducing disruptions during typing.
[0053] The present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without
departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described
embodiments
are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive.
The
scope of the present disclosure is, therefore, indicated by the appended
claims
rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the
meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their
scope.
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