US20050250547A1 - Keypad reorientation - Google Patents
Keypad reorientation Download PDFInfo
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- US20050250547A1 US20050250547A1 US11/116,001 US11600105A US2005250547A1 US 20050250547 A1 US20050250547 A1 US 20050250547A1 US 11600105 A US11600105 A US 11600105A US 2005250547 A1 US2005250547 A1 US 2005250547A1
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- keys
- keypad
- subset
- alphabetic
- arrangement
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
- G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
- G06F3/0202—Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
- G06F3/0219—Special purpose keyboards
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
- G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
- G06F3/023—Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
- G06F3/0233—Character input methods
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
- G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
- G06F3/023—Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
- G06F3/0233—Character input methods
- G06F3/0237—Character input methods using prediction or retrieval techniques
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
- H04M1/22—Illumination; Arrangements for improving the visibility of characters on dials
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
- H04M1/23—Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2219/00—Legends
- H01H2219/036—Light emitting elements
- H01H2219/039—Selective or different modes of illumination
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M2250/00—Details of telephonic subscriber devices
- H04M2250/70—Details of telephonic subscriber devices methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation
Definitions
- the present disclosure is related to the field of electronic device user interfaces. More specifically, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to the design of input mechanisms for use in portable electronic devices.
- PDA personal digital assistant
- cellular telephone in addition to serving as a personal organizer and cellular phone, may also provide text messaging, paging, and Internet connectivity. Accordingly, most devices require an interface for entering alphabetic as well as numeric characters.
- the personal preference of the user of the mobile communications is one factor driving the different configurations of mobile communications devices. For example, with wireless-enabled PDAs some users prefer the use of a stylus to “hand write” information for entry into the wireless-enabled PDAs. In contrast, other users prefer that a wireless-enabled PDA contain a miniaturized QWERTY keyboard to facilitate the entry of data. Note that, at times, different users with different personal preferences may share use of a mobile communications device.
- Certain environmental conditions may affect the user of a mobile communications device. For example, a user may have a preference to use a mobile communications device with a keypad located below the display device. However, under particularly sunny conditions, the user may decide that having the keypad over the display, so that the shadow from the hand on the keypad blocks direct sunlight, is a more desirable configuration.
- Portable communication devices may be loaded with a number of different applications.
- a mobile communications device may be used in a configuration as a wireless mobile telephone.
- the most desirable input method is via a traditional numeric input keypad found on most wireless mobile telephones.
- a mobile communications device may be used to record notes at a meeting attended by the user. In this usage mode, it is more desirable to have a traditional QWERTY keyboard for entering data.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art mobile electronic device including a miniaturized QWERTY keyboard for inputting data
- FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art mobile telephone device including a conventional telephone keypad for inputting data
- FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram view of a computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment
- FIGS. 4 a - 4 b illustrate block diagram views of keypad environments, in accordance with various embodiments
- FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an input method processing routine, in accordance with one embodiment.
- FIGS. 6 a - 6 d illustrate mobile electronic devices having keypads in accordance with various embodiments
- FIGS. 7 a - 7 b illustrate an example of a keypad and an enlarged view of a key in accordance with an embodiment
- FIGS. 8 a - 8 b illustrate mobile electronic devices having a keypad in accordance with various embodiments.
- FIGS. 8 c - 8 d illustrate enlarged keys, of the keypad in FIGS. 8 a and 8 b , coupled to light sources in accordance with various embodiments.
- FIGS. 9 a - 9 b illustrate an example of a keypad and an enlarged view of a key in accordance with an embodiment
- FIGS. 10 a - 10 b illustrate an example of a keypad and an enlarged view of a key in accordance with an embodiment.
- Embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, a reduced keypad for a mobile electronic device and apparatuses including the same.
- portable/mobile electronic device herein, including in the claims, comprise devices configured to operate as wireless portable phones, PDAs, and the like.
- wireless portable phone refers to the class of telephone devices equipped to enable a user to make and receive calls wirelessly, notwithstanding the user's movement, as long as the user is within the communication reach of a service or base station of a wireless network service provider. Unless specifically excluded, the term “wireless portable phone” is to include the analog subclass as well as the digital subclass (of all signaling protocols).
- activation means an affirmative action by a user to provide a value associated with a key as input to the electronic device.
- Key activations may include a traditional mechanical key that, when pressed, causes the key to contact a switch on a circuit board located beneath the key.
- key activations may mean the touching by a user (or stylus) of a pressure sensitive key or a capacitive or resistive touch sensitive surface, as well as on “soft” keys on a touch-sensitive display.
- FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary prior art portable electronic device 100 utilizing a miniaturized QWERTY keyboard 110 for inputting data.
- a relatively large display 120 leads to a reduced amount of surface area available for an input keyboard such as miniaturized QWERTY keyboard 110 .
- miniaturized QWERTY keyboards on portable electronic devices typically have a limited key set.
- the QWERTY keyboard has numeric values, the values will frequently be located along the top row of keys, which may be awkward for entry of telephone numbers and the like. Competing interface requirements on the keyboard have resulted in a reduction in input key size as well as a reduction in spacing between input keys. Frequently, users will activate input keys inadvertently due to the close proximity and size of the input keys. This affects the ability of a user to input data to electronic device 100 .
- FIG. 2 shows an exemplary prior art keypad 210 on a mobile telephone device 200 .
- one method for entering alphabetic values or letters via a telephone keypad 210 is generally known as multi-tap.
- a letter is selected by repeatedly activating a corresponding input key until the desired letter appears. For example, a user may activate the input key associated with the numeric value “2” once for “a”, twice for” b” or three times for “c.”
- traditional multi-tap requires multiple activations of a single input key in order to enter a letter.
- Another method used for entering text on mobile telephone device 200 may include predictive text entry (T9 Text InputTM).
- T9 Text InputTM Using predictive text entry, a user activates each key only once to enter each letter of a key sequence representing a word. Software may then produce a list of word possibilities for the particular key sequence. If the desired word is correctly “predicted”, the user then selects it from the list.
- electronic device 300 suitable for use in embodiments of the present invention is shown.
- electronic device 300 may include many more components than those shown in FIG. 3 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an enabling embodiment for practicing the present invention.
- electronic device 300 includes an optional (wire line based or wireless) communications interface 330 for connecting to remote device(s) (not shown).
- Communications interface 330 includes the necessary circuitry, driver and/or transceiver for such a connection and, is constructed for use with the appropriate protocols for such a connection.
- Electronic device 300 also includes a processor or processing unit 310 , a controller 315 , a keypad (keyboard) 325 , a display 385 , a keypad display controller (also referred to as a “light provision arrangement”) 345 , and a memory 350 , all interconnected along with the communications interface 330 via a bus 320 .
- Memory 350 generally comprises random access memory (“RAM”), a read only memory (“ROM”) and a permanent mass storage device, such as a disk drive, flash RAM, or the like.
- SIM subscriber identity module
- PROM Programmable Read Only Memory
- EEPROM Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
- Memory 350 stores an operating system 355 , a key map 365 , and an input method routine 375 formed in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
- input method routine 375 may include an input routine associated with a multi-tap input routine, a predictive text input routine, or both.
- the keypad 325 has a plurality of keys. These keys may be divided into at least two subsets of keys, each subset of keys being adapted to define corresponding arrangements of keys.
- the light provision arrangement 345 is coupled to controller 315 .
- Light provision arrangement 345 includes at least one light source (not shown).
- various subsets of keys may correspondingly be highlighted by the light provision arrangement 345 to provide an indication to a user of the respective mode of operation in which the electronic device 300 may be configured to operate.
- a first subset of keys (or selective subsets of the indicia of the first subset of keys) may be configured to be highlighted during a first mode of operation of the electronic device 300
- a second subset of keys or selective subsets of the indicia of the second subset of keys
- electronic device 300 may be configured to operate in a numeric mode. In this mode, activation of each data entry key is interpreted by the controller 315 as numeric input selections and the light provision arrangement 345 , under the instruction of controller 315 , selectively illuminates the numerals of the keypad 325 .
- the electronic device may be configured to operate in an alphanumeric mode. In the alphanumeric mode, activation of each alphanumeric entry key of the keypad 325 is interpreted by the controller 315 and the light provision arrangement 345 selectively illuminates the QWERTY portions of the keypad 325 . Alternately, the area of the keypad 325 having the numeric, or the QWERTY portions may be backlit corresponding to the mode of operation.
- the keypad 325 coupled and controlled by controller 315 , has at least two different relative operational dispositions to the display 385 .
- the keypad 325 may be configured/adapted to be operated from a position above the display 385 , below the display 385 , to the right of the display 385 , and/or to the left of the display 385 .
- the subsets of keys may be defined to complement the relative operational dispositions, correspondingly.
- one subset of keys may be defined to operate from the left of the display 385 when the electronic device is in a PDA mode of operation (e.g., the first mode of operation) in one embodiment.
- a subset of the keys may be defined to operate from below the display 385 when the electronic device is configured to be in a phone mode of operation (e.g., the second mode).
- the only keys that can be activated by a user may be those that are highlighted by the light provision arrangement 345 .
- memory 350 also stores application(s) 360 .
- applications may correspond to the different modes of operation for the electronic device 300 .
- the electronic device 300 may be configured to operate predominately as a PDA.
- the electronic device 300 may be configured to operate as a cell phone (portable phone).
- the electronic device may, for example, operate as an entertainment device providing MP3 music support, video conferencing capability, video recorder and camera capabilities, or as a gaming device.
- key map 365 , input routine 375 and applications 360 are described as separate individual software components, they may actually be combined, comprised of multiple software components; or may in fact be sub-parts of one or more integrated software components.
- input routine 375 may be integrated with applications 360 or operating system 355 .
- key map 365 and input routine 375 are illustrated as software components (e.g., part of the operating system, or a discrete application), in alternate embodiments, they may be hardware components of electronic device 300 .
- the software components may be loaded from a computer readable medium into memory 350 of the host computer or electronic device 300 using a drive mechanism (not shown) or network mechanism (not shown) associated with the computer readable medium, such as a floppy, tape, DVD/CD-ROM drive, flash RAM, network interface card, or communications interface 330 .
- a drive mechanism not shown
- network mechanism not shown
- communication interface 330 may be designed to support one or more signaling protocols, including but not limited to Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”), Time Division Multiple Access (“TDMA”), Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”), General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”) and so forth. Moreover, communication interface 330 may be implemented using a separate transmitter and receiver.
- CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
- TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
- GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
- GPRS General Packet Radio Service
- communication interface 330 may be implemented using a separate transmitter and receiver.
- each input key on the keypad 325 may be associated with one or more alphabetic and/or numeric values to comprise a reduced keypad.
- a reduced keypad has fewer keys than the limited keyboard shown in prior art QWERTY keyboard 110 and obviously fewer keys than a standard QWERTY keyboard layout.
- the reduced keypads of the present invention may provide more data entry or input keys than the simple telephone keypads, such as conventional telephone keypad 210 .
- FIGS. 4 a and 4 b illustrate block diagram views of a keypad environment, in accordance with various embodiments.
- Controller 315 (either a hardware or software controller) operates in conjunction with an input routine 375 in support of keypad 325 .
- input routine 375 may have a multi-tap input subroutine and a predictive input subroutine as described in more detail in co-pending applications U.S. Ser. No. 05/05054 and U.S. Ser. No. 05/05013 which are incorporated as if fully contained herein.
- input routine 375 may have a modified QWERTY input subroutine.
- Input assembly 400 has an output 450 coupled to controller 315 .
- controller 315 when controller 315 is operating in multi-tap input mode, controller 315 detects each input key activation and an amount of time that has passed since the most recent input key activation, or the length of time between input key activations.
- a memory 350 is coupled to controller 315 .
- the memory 350 may store a numeric key mapping 405 and an alphanumeric key mapping 365 , which includes the assignments between the physical input keys, the number of times an input key is activated, and the corresponding characters as illustrated in FIG. 4 a .
- the memory may store an alphabetic key mapping 365 as illustrated in FIG. 4 b , depending on the mode of operation of the electronic device 300 described in FIG. 3 .
- Controller 315 provides an output signal to output 450 , the output signal indicating the character selected by the user.
- the key map 365 also includes a numeric digit corresponding to each alphanumeric key, where the numeric digit is the numeric digit corresponding to the data entry key.
- the numeric digit corresponds to an activation count that is one greater than the activation count corresponding to the last letter in the ordered set corresponding to each data entry key. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 b activating the “Zero” key three times results in a selection of the digit “0”.
- numeric digits are included in the key map 365 , their corresponding activation count is not based on frequency of use for the digit.
- controller 315 can be configured/adapted to control operations of the light provision arrangement 345 .
- Light provision arrangement 345 includes at least one light source (not shown).
- various subsets of keys may correspondingly be highlighted by the light provision arrangement 345 to provide an indication to a user of the respective mode of operation in which the electronic device 300 may be configured to operate.
- a first subset of keys may be configured to be highlighted by being backlit during a first mode of operation of the electronic device 300
- a second subset of keys may be configured to be highlighted by being backlit during a second mode of operation.
- the plurality of keys may be equipped with light sources.
- LEDs light emitting diodes
- indicia may be coupled to various subsets of indicia on each key to allow different portions (the numeric, alphanumeric, or alphabetic portions) of each key to be selectively illuminated corresponding and in response, at least in part, to device 300 currently configured mode of operation.
- light valves may be disposed between each of the sets of indicia on each of the keys and one or more corresponding light sources. The light valves may then be controlled by controller 315 in response to the mode of operation of device 300 .
- the intensity of the illumination highlighting the keys may be varied. It isn't necessary that illumination highlighting the keys be binary (on/off). Rather, the intensity may be varied to denote the corresponding mode of operation and/or selection of the keys. For example, in a numeric mode, the intensity of the illumination of the numeric indicia on a first set of keys may be noticeably greater than that of other indicia. Additionally, the most recently selected key may temporally illuminated with the highest intensity. Conversely, if device 300 is in an alphabetic mode, the QWERTY portion of each of the keys containing the QWERTY indicia of a second subset of keys may be noticeably greater than that of other indicia.
- the controller 315 may be adapted to modify the intensity of the light emitting from the light source(s) illuminating the keys.
- the controller 315 may be modifying the intensity in response, at least in part, to the mode of operation in which device 300 is configured to operate.
- a user interface for device 300 may be configured to allow a user to control the intensity of the light emitting from the light sources based at least in part on the user's preferences.
- the number of subsets of keys, key arrangements, and modes of operation are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting. More than two subsets of keys, modes of operation and corresponding key arrangements may be defined for device 300 .
- a display 385 is coupled to controller 315 .
- an output signal for controller 315 causes an appropriate alphabetic, numeric or non-numeric character to be displayed on display 385 .
- each successive activation causes a tentative character selection to overwrite the previous tentative character selection on display 385 .
- FIG. 5 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of input method process 500 .
- the input method process begins at block 501 and proceeds to decision block 505 where a determination is made whether a text field has a designated input method. If so, processing proceeds to block 535 where the designated input method/mode of operation is set for inputting information into an electronic device 300 .
- decision block 505 If, however, in decision block 505 , it was determined that no input method has been designated for a particular text field, processing continues to decision block 510 .
- decision block 510 a determination is made whether the application containing the text field has a designated input method (e.g., some external property indicates an input method for the particular text field). If so, processing also proceeds to block 535 .
- decision block 510 determines whether the application (and/or the text field) is of a known input type (e.g., a “name” field is almost always known to be alphabetic/alphanumeric and not conforming to a dictionary, so a multi-tap input method may automatically be chosen). If so, processing proceeds to block 530 where an appropriate input method is set, according to the known input type.
- a known input type e.g., a “name” field is almost always known to be alphabetic/alphanumeric and not conforming to a dictionary, so a multi-tap input method may automatically be chosen.
- decision block 515 If in decision block 515 it was not determined that the application was of a known input type, processing proceeds to decision block 520 .
- decision block 520 a determination is made whether a user of the electronic device 300 has designated an input method and, if so, processing proceeds to block 535 .
- processing proceeds to block 525 where a default input method is set.
- a default input method is set.
- processing proceeds to the text entering subroutine 540 , such as the predictive input method subroutine, the multi-tap input method subroutine, or a numeric input subroutine (not shown, but described above).
- the text entering subroutine 540 returns, then the input text is returned in block 599 .
- a modified predictive input method may be employed to provide an adaptive predictive input method such that as new words are entered into text fields they are also added to a predictive input dictionary, thereby increasing the predictive capabilities of the adaptive input method.
- FIGS. 6 a - 6 d illustrate front views of an electronic device 600 having a keypad 625 in accordance with various embodiments.
- Various embodiments of electronic device 600 have been discussed above corresponding to FIGS. 3-4 b.
- FIG. 6 a illustrates an embodiment where keypad 625 has a first operational disposition to that of display 685 while electronic device 400 is configured for a first mode of operation.
- keypad 625 is configured to be operated from below the display 685 .
- a first subset of keys 635 of a plurality of keys on the keypad may be defined in this embodiment to be the first arrangement of keys.
- a controller 315 may control the definition of the first subset of keys 635 .
- Subset 635 is highlighted by the light provision arrangement 345 of FIG. 3 .
- the controller may also be adapted to control or instruct the light provision arrangement to highlight the first subset of keys 635 by applying a backlight or backlights to illuminate either the keys themselves or the area surrounding the keys in accordance with various embodiments.
- the subset of keys are configured to operate as an alphanumeric set of keys.
- the first mode of operation may be numeric mode in support of the device 600 when it is configured to operate as a portable phone.
- FIG. 6 b illustrates an embodiment where keypad 625 has a second operational disposition to that of display 685 in a second mode of operation.
- keypad 625 is configured to operate from above the display 685 .
- a second subset of keys 645 of a plurality of keys on the keypad 625 may be defined in this embodiment to be the first arrangement of keys.
- a controller 315 may control the definition of the first subset of keys 645 .
- Subset 645 is highlighted by the light provision arrangement 345 .
- the controller may also be adapted to control or instruct the light provision arrangement 345 to highlight the second subset of keys 645 by applying a backlight or backlights to illuminate either the keys themselves or the area surrounding the keys in accordance with various embodiments.
- the second subset of keys 645 are configured to operate as a QWERTY like keyboard.
- the second mode of operation may be a text mode in support of the device 600 when it is configured to operate as,a PDA.
- FIGS. 6 c and 6 d illustrate embodiments similar to that of FIGS. 6 a - 6 b .
- FIG. 6 c illustrates an embodiment where keypad 625 may be configured to be operated from the right of the display 685 .
- FIG. 6 d illustrates an embodiment where keypad 625 may be configured to be operated from the left of the display 685 .
- FIG. 7 a illustrates an enlarged front view of a keypad layout 725 for various embodiments.
- Keypad layout 725 is similar to the keypads 625 illustrated in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b .
- the keypad 725 may be arranged in five rows and include a first plurality of input keys 735 (indicated by the shaded area) partially surrounded by a second plurality of input keys 745 (indicated by reference lines 745 a and 745 b ).
- the first and the second pluralities of keys 735 a and 745 may also be referred to as a first and a second subset of keys respectively. For some embodiments, more than two subsets of keys may be defined.
- At least two keymaps (examples of which are illustrated in FIGS. 4 a and 4 b ) stored in a memory 350 as illustrated in FIG. 3 .
- At least some of the first subset of keys 735 include at least two pluralities of indicia.
- FIG. 7 b illustrates enlarged key 735 b .
- Each of the first plurality of indicia 737 corresponds to a first numeric keypad layout and each of the second plurality of indicia 738 corresponds to a first alphabetic keyboard layout.
- Controller 315 may be adapted to dynamically bind a first keymap to some of the keys in the first subset of keys. This keymap may then define a set of numeric values and a first set of alphabetic values that correspond to, and are represented by, the first plurality of indicia 737 and the second plurality of indicia 738 , respectively.
- the first plurality of input keys 735 may be associated with numeric values 0-9 and the first set of alphabetic values to form a telephone keypad layout based on the first plurality of input keys' numeric values and respective first sets of alphabetic values.
- Each of the input keys of the first and second plurality of input keys 735 and 745 may be associated with one or more non-alphabetic or non-numeric character values as well.
- the bottom row of the first plurality of input keys 735 may also include input keys 735 b and 735 c associated with at least an asterisk and a pound symbol, respectively.
- the first plurality of input keys 735 and second plurality of input keys 745 may be associated with a third plurality of indicia 740 corresponding to a second alphabetic keyboard layout that is different from the first alphabetic keyboard layout.
- the controller 315 may be adapted to dynamically bind a second keymap to some of the keys in the second subset of keys. This keymap may then define a second set of alphabetic values that correspond to, and are represented by, the first plurality of indicia 737 and the third plurality of indicia 740 .
- each of second sets of alphabetic indicia 740 may include one or more letters arranged to be compatible with a QWERTY like keyboard layout.
- each of first plurality of input keys 735 may be arranged relative to each of adjacent or partially surrounding second plurality of input keys 745 to form the QWERTY like keyboard layout.
- at least one set from the first or second sets of alphabetic indicia, 738 and 740 respectively comprises a single alphabetic letter or value.
- input key 735 d is associated with a second set of alphabetic values 740 comprising the single alphabetic value ‘E.’
- input keys 745 may include two groups of keys substantially disposed on a left and a right side of input keys 735 , in alternate embodiments, the second plurality of input keys 745 may be disposed at other suitable locations relative to the first plurality of input keys 735 to facilitate the formation of the QWERTY keyboard layout or other suitable layout.
- FIGS. 6 a and 6 b exemplify such an embodiment.
- another suitable layout formed by first and second plurality of input keys 735 and 745 may include a Dvorak keyboard layout or other keyboard layout familiar to users of electronic devices.
- the first plurality of input keys 735 or the second plurality of input keys 745 may include one or more input keys associated with one or more non-alphabetic or non-numeric values. Examples of such associated values include, but are not limited to, punctuation marks, special symbols or characters, device commands or other suitable values.
- device command values may include function keys, cursor-control keys, or modifier keys.
- input keys 735 c and 735 d may include an asterisk or pound symbol on a lower portion of the respective keys.
- input key 735 a includes symbols, “?” “!” and “/” while input key 745 c includes a device command value of “select.”
- first plurality of input keys 735 includes an input key 735 e associated with device command value of ′space bar ′ as well as numeric value “0”.
- each of first and second sets of alphabetic values 738 and 740 the numeric values, and non-alphabetic and non-numeric values are displayed on particular portions of the input keys (i.e., upper, lower, central portions), in alternate embodiments, the values may be displayed on varying portions of input keys.
- input keys of the first and second plurality of input keys 735 and 745 may be associated with more or fewer values and are not limited to the specific associated values as shown in FIG. 7 .
- input keys 735 and 745 may include input keys rendered on a display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD).
- LCD liquid crystal display
- a toggle button or an input key for activation of a QWERTY mode of operation or telephone keypad mode of operation.
- a user may input data using a QWERTY like layout for textual input and a telephone keypad for entry of telephone numbers and the like.
- a keypad such as the ones illustrated in FIGS. 6 a - 6 d , FIG. 7 a , or FIGS. 8 a and 8 b may be used with a multi-tap mode of entry.
- a particular numeric value, an alphabetic value from the first set of alphabetic value, or an alphabetic value from the second set of alphabetic value may be selectable based on a number of key activations applied to a corresponding input key.
- key map 365 maps a combination of one or more key activations and an input key to a corresponding character or alphabetic value of first and second sets of alphabetic values.
- a predictive text mode of entry may be used for text entry, in either a QWERTY mode or a telephone keypad mode.
- each of the first plurality of keys 735 may be a numeric key associated with a unique number or numeric value and corresponding indicia 737 .
- Input keys having numeric values zero, and four through nine (0, 4-9) of first plurality of keys 735 may be associated with a first set of alphabetic values and corresponding first alphabetic indicia 738 , each set having approximately three or four alphabetically ordered letters, in accordance with the embodiment.
- first sets of alphabetic indicia 738 correspond to their respective numeric key: abc—2 key, def—3 key, ghi—4 key, jkl—5 key, mno—6 key, pqrs—7 key, tuv—8 key, wxyz—9 key.
- correspondence between each of the numeric keys and alphabetically ordered letters of first sets of alphabetic values associated with the first alphabetic indicia 738 is substantially the same as the correspondence between each of the numeric keys and letters of a conventional telephone keypad.
- each of the alphabetically ordered letters of first sets of alphabetic values associated with the first alphabetic indicia 738 corresponds to a DTMF signal substantially consistent with a DTMF signal corresponding to the alphabetically ordered letters of a conventional telephone keypad layout.
- This may allow mnemonic phone numbers, such as 1-800-FLOWERS, and the like, to be entered in the same manner as on a conventional telephone keypad because the correspondence between each letter and numeric key is compatible.
- FIGS. 8 a and 8 b illustrate front views of an electronic device 800 having a keypad 825 in a first and a second different relative operational disposition to a display 885 while being configured in a first and second mode of operation respectively, in accordance with various embodiments.
- These embodiments illustrate an example of how key pad 325 can be configured in so that a second plurality of input keys 845 may be positioned adjacent to or partially surrounding first plurality of input keys 835 .
- Second plurality of input keys 845 may include two (2) groups of keys substantially disposed on one or more sides of the first plurality of input keys 835 as indicated by reference lines 845 a and 845 b , respectively.
- first plurality of input keys 835 and second plurality of input keys 845 may be associated with a second set of alphabetic indicia 840 .
- each of first plurality of input keys 835 may be arranged relative to each of partially surrounding second plurality of input keys 845 to form an alphabetic arrangement different from the alphabetic keyboard arrangement of a telephone keypad.
- a QWERTY keyboard layout may be formed.
- FIGS. 8 c - 8 d illustrate a perspective and plan view of an embodiment of the invention where a single key selected from the keypad illustrated in FIGS. 8 a and 8 b is described for ease of understanding.
- a light provision arrangement 345 may be controlled by a controller 315 to highlight a first subset of keys and/or a second subset of keys depending and in response at least in part on the device 800 configured mode of operation.
- FIG. 8 c illustrates such an embodiment wherein, for ease of understanding, only one key 835 a is described.
- the light provision arrangement 345 has at least one light source 870 .
- light valves 875 may be disposed between a light source and the first and second subset of keys 835 a , respectively.
- the at least one light source 870 may be coupled to the key 835 a by a light pipe 890 .
- each set of indicia 837 , 838 , and 840 may have a corresponding light valve 875 that is selectively controlled by controller 315 in response to the mode of operation.
- the controller 315 being adapted to selectively control the first and second light valves.
- FIGS. 9 a and 9 b illustrate an embodiment wherein first sets of alphabetic indicia 938 on the keys 935 a (represented by the area in gray) includes groups or sets of letters having an order on some input keys based on a frequency of occurrence of the letters, rather than alphabetically ordered as in keypad 725 of FIG. 7 a .
- letter-to-key correspondence matches a standard letter-to-key correspondence as illustrated in FIG. 7 a , but within a group of letters, letters with a higher frequency of use are positioned before letters with a lower frequency of use.
- Such an embodiment may be advantageous when using multi-tap entry.
- the letters having a higher probability of occurrence are selected by a single activation of the input key and letters with a lower probability of occurrence are selected by activating the input key two or more times.
- the input key associated with numeric value “2” has an associated first set of alphabetic values 938 of “acb,” rather than “abc.”
- a standard correspondence between numeric input keys and letters of the alphabet is maintained for compatibility when entering mnemonic phone numbers and generating DTMF signals.
- the ordered sets of alphabetic indicia may correspond to an order of multi-tap input associated with the respective input keys.
- An appropriate key map 365 is bound to the input keys to facilitate the multi-tap input.
- FIG. 10 a illustrates a front view of a reduced QWERTY like keypad 1025 according to an embodiment.
- reduced keypad 1025 may enhance multi-tap input by placing more frequently used alphabetic values or letters in positions that require fewer activations than those of less frequently used letters.
- an arrangement of letters may be implemented by determining the frequency of use, sometimes referred to as the probability of occurrence, of each of the letters of the language.
- the frequency of the use of each letter may be determined with respect to a corpus of usage representing general usage in a language.
- a table of probability of usage derived in this manner is included in “One-Gram Probability Distribution” from Alan G.
- each of first plurality of input keys 1035 may be arranged relative to each of partially surrounding second plurality of input keys 1045 to form an alphabetic arrangement different from the alphabetic keyboard arrangement of a telephone keypad.
- a modified QWERTY keyboard layout may be formed in conjunction with the first plurality of input keys 1035 .
- Input key 1035 b of FIGS. 10 a and 10 b illustrate an embodiment of the second alphabetic set 1040 on key 1035 b has displayed thereon “I U”, rather than “U I” because “I” may be more frequently occurring than “U.”
- the present invention as described, may advantageously make user entry of the more frequently used letters more convenient and efficient.
- the keypad has at least a first and a second operational disposition to a display corresponding to a first and a second mode of operation within the device.
- a user may use a QWERTY layout for textual input and a telephone keypad for entry of telephone numbers and the like.
- keypad 325 / 425 / 5251625 may be used with a multi-tap mode of entry or a predictive text mode of entry.
- exemplary keypad 1025 as well as the other exemplary keypads 325 , 625 , 725 , 825 , 925 and 1025 are shown by way of illustration and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention.
Abstract
Description
- This application claims the benefit of priority from:
-
- Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/565,638 filed Apr. 27, 2004,
- Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/566,676 filed Apr. 30, 2004,
- Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/567,214 filed Apr. 30, 2004, and
- Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/566,704, filed Apr. 30, 2004, all of which applications are fully incorporated herein by reference.
- The present disclosure is related to the field of electronic device user interfaces. More specifically, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to the design of input mechanisms for use in portable electronic devices.
- Mobile electronic devices have become ubiquitous in today's fast paced society. Various portable or mobile handheld devices can perform multiple tasks as well as provide multiple communication systems. For example, the personal digital assistant (“PDA”) cellular telephone, in addition to serving as a personal organizer and cellular phone, may also provide text messaging, paging, and Internet connectivity. Accordingly, most devices require an interface for entering alphabetic as well as numeric characters.
- The personal preference of the user of the mobile communications is one factor driving the different configurations of mobile communications devices. For example, with wireless-enabled PDAs some users prefer the use of a stylus to “hand write” information for entry into the wireless-enabled PDAs. In contrast, other users prefer that a wireless-enabled PDA contain a miniaturized QWERTY keyboard to facilitate the entry of data. Note that, at times, different users with different personal preferences may share use of a mobile communications device.
- Certain environmental conditions may affect the user of a mobile communications device. For example, a user may have a preference to use a mobile communications device with a keypad located below the display device. However, under particularly sunny conditions, the user may decide that having the keypad over the display, so that the shadow from the hand on the keypad blocks direct sunlight, is a more desirable configuration.
- Portable communication devices may be loaded with a number of different applications. For example, a mobile communications device may be used in a configuration as a wireless mobile telephone. In such a case the most desirable input method is via a traditional numeric input keypad found on most wireless mobile telephones. At a second time, however, a mobile communications device may be used to record notes at a meeting attended by the user. In this usage mode, it is more desirable to have a traditional QWERTY keyboard for entering data.
- Thus, various factors determine the method of interaction with today's mobile communications devices.
- Similar reference numerals in the drawings denote similar elements throughout the several views; the figures in each of the views illustrate various embodiments of the present invention.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art mobile electronic device including a miniaturized QWERTY keyboard for inputting data; -
FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art mobile telephone device including a conventional telephone keypad for inputting data; -
FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram view of a computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment; -
FIGS. 4 a-4 b illustrate block diagram views of keypad environments, in accordance with various embodiments -
FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an input method processing routine, in accordance with one embodiment. -
FIGS. 6 a-6 d illustrate mobile electronic devices having keypads in accordance with various embodiments; -
FIGS. 7 a-7 b illustrate an example of a keypad and an enlarged view of a key in accordance with an embodiment; -
FIGS. 8 a-8 b illustrate mobile electronic devices having a keypad in accordance with various embodiments. -
FIGS. 8 c-8 d illustrate enlarged keys, of the keypad inFIGS. 8 a and 8 b, coupled to light sources in accordance with various embodiments. -
FIGS. 9 a-9 b illustrate an example of a keypad and an enlarged view of a key in accordance with an embodiment; and -
FIGS. 10 a-10 b illustrate an example of a keypad and an enlarged view of a key in accordance with an embodiment. - Embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, a reduced keypad for a mobile electronic device and apparatuses including the same.
- Parts of the description will be presented in terms such as portable or mobile electronic devices. As is well understood by those skilled in the art, the term “portable/mobile electronic device” (hereafter, “electronic device”, or simply “device”), as used herein, including in the claims, comprise devices configured to operate as wireless portable phones, PDAs, and the like.
- The term “wireless portable phone”, as used herein, refers to the class of telephone devices equipped to enable a user to make and receive calls wirelessly, notwithstanding the user's movement, as long as the user is within the communication reach of a service or base station of a wireless network service provider. Unless specifically excluded, the term “wireless portable phone” is to include the analog subclass as well as the digital subclass (of all signaling protocols).
- In the following description, various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described. It will be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that alternate embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with all or only some aspects of the present invention. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that alternate embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments.
- Various operations will be described as multiple discrete steps, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention, however, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation.
- The phrase “in one embodiment” is used repeatedly. The phrase generally does not refer to the same embodiment, however, it may. The terms “comprising”, “having” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise.
- The term “activation” means an affirmative action by a user to provide a value associated with a key as input to the electronic device. Key activations may include a traditional mechanical key that, when pressed, causes the key to contact a switch on a circuit board located beneath the key. Alternatively, key activations may mean the touching by a user (or stylus) of a pressure sensitive key or a capacitive or resistive touch sensitive surface, as well as on “soft” keys on a touch-sensitive display.
- The embodiments are described herein with respect to a character set based on the English language. It is to be recognized that the invention may be practiced with characters of other languages as well.
- While the present invention is described with respect to its improvement over a miniaturized “QWERTY” keyboard, one skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may be practiced with respect to other keyboard layouts, such as a Dvorak keyboard and the like. Moreover, while the present invention is described with respect to an improvement over a miniaturized QWERTY keyboard, the present invention may be practiced with standard-sized keyboards in an attempt to enhance their functionality as well.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary prior art portableelectronic device 100 utilizing aminiaturized QWERTY keyboard 110 for inputting data. Note that a relativelylarge display 120 leads to a reduced amount of surface area available for an input keyboard such asminiaturized QWERTY keyboard 110. In contrast to standard QWERTY keyboards in use with desktop and larger computers, miniaturized QWERTY keyboards on portable electronic devices typically have a limited key set. Furthermore, if the QWERTY keyboard has numeric values, the values will frequently be located along the top row of keys, which may be awkward for entry of telephone numbers and the like. Competing interface requirements on the keyboard have resulted in a reduction in input key size as well as a reduction in spacing between input keys. Frequently, users will activate input keys inadvertently due to the close proximity and size of the input keys. This affects the ability of a user to input data toelectronic device 100. - Other mobile devices include simply a conventional telephone keypad.
FIG. 2 shows an exemplaryprior art keypad 210 on amobile telephone device 200. As mentioned previously, one method for entering alphabetic values or letters via atelephone keypad 210 is generally known as multi-tap. In order for a user to enter text using multi-tap, a letter is selected by repeatedly activating a corresponding input key until the desired letter appears. For example, a user may activate the input key associated with the numeric value “2” once for “a”, twice for” b” or three times for “c.” Thus, traditional multi-tap requires multiple activations of a single input key in order to enter a letter. - Another method used for entering text on
mobile telephone device 200 may include predictive text entry (T9 Text Input™). Using predictive text entry, a user activates each key only once to enter each letter of a key sequence representing a word. Software may then produce a list of word possibilities for the particular key sequence. If the desired word is correctly “predicted”, the user then selects it from the list. - Referring now to
FIG. 3 , wherein an exemplaryelectronic device 300 suitable for use in embodiments of the present invention is shown. Those of ordinary skill in the art and others will appreciate thatelectronic device 300 may include many more components than those shown inFIG. 3 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an enabling embodiment for practicing the present invention. As shown inFIG. 3 ,electronic device 300 includes an optional (wire line based or wireless)communications interface 330 for connecting to remote device(s) (not shown). Communications interface 330 includes the necessary circuitry, driver and/or transceiver for such a connection and, is constructed for use with the appropriate protocols for such a connection. -
Electronic device 300 also includes a processor orprocessing unit 310, acontroller 315, a keypad (keyboard) 325, adisplay 385, a keypad display controller (also referred to as a “light provision arrangement”) 345, and amemory 350, all interconnected along with thecommunications interface 330 via abus 320.Memory 350 generally comprises random access memory (“RAM”), a read only memory (“ROM”) and a permanent mass storage device, such as a disk drive, flash RAM, or the like. Other components (not shown) that may be included in various embodiments include a type of memory device separate frommemory 350; such as a subscriber identity module (SIM), a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) device, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) device and the like. -
Memory 350 stores anoperating system 355, akey map 365, and aninput method routine 375 formed in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In an embodiment,input method routine 375 may include an input routine associated with a multi-tap input routine, a predictive text input routine, or both. Thekeypad 325 has a plurality of keys. These keys may be divided into at least two subsets of keys, each subset of keys being adapted to define corresponding arrangements of keys. - In one embodiment in accordance with the present invention, the
light provision arrangement 345 is coupled tocontroller 315.Light provision arrangement 345 includes at least one light source (not shown). For different embodiments, various subsets of keys may correspondingly be highlighted by thelight provision arrangement 345 to provide an indication to a user of the respective mode of operation in which theelectronic device 300 may be configured to operate. For example, a first subset of keys (or selective subsets of the indicia of the first subset of keys) may be configured to be highlighted during a first mode of operation of theelectronic device 300, while a second subset of keys (or selective subsets of the indicia of the second subset of keys) may be configured to be highlighted during a second mode of operation. - To illustrate, in one embodiment
electronic device 300 may be configured to operate in a numeric mode. In this mode, activation of each data entry key is interpreted by thecontroller 315 as numeric input selections and thelight provision arrangement 345, under the instruction ofcontroller 315, selectively illuminates the numerals of thekeypad 325. In another embodiment, the electronic device may be configured to operate in an alphanumeric mode. In the alphanumeric mode, activation of each alphanumeric entry key of thekeypad 325 is interpreted by thecontroller 315 and thelight provision arrangement 345 selectively illuminates the QWERTY portions of thekeypad 325. Alternately, the area of thekeypad 325 having the numeric, or the QWERTY portions may be backlit corresponding to the mode of operation. - For the embodiments, the
keypad 325, coupled and controlled bycontroller 315, has at least two different relative operational dispositions to thedisplay 385. For some embodiments, thekeypad 325 may be configured/adapted to be operated from a position above thedisplay 385, below thedisplay 385, to the right of thedisplay 385, and/or to the left of thedisplay 385. The subsets of keys may be defined to complement the relative operational dispositions, correspondingly. For example, one subset of keys may be defined to operate from the left of thedisplay 385 when the electronic device is in a PDA mode of operation (e.g., the first mode of operation) in one embodiment. In another embodiment, a subset of the keys may be defined to operate from below thedisplay 385 when the electronic device is configured to be in a phone mode of operation (e.g., the second mode). - For some embodiments, the only keys that can be activated by a user may be those that are highlighted by the
light provision arrangement 345. - In various embodiments,
memory 350 also stores application(s) 360. These applications, for some embodiments, may correspond to the different modes of operation for theelectronic device 300. For example, in one embodiment theelectronic device 300 may be configured to operate predominately as a PDA. In another embodiment, theelectronic device 300 may be configured to operate as a cell phone (portable phone). For other embodiments, the electronic device may, for example, operate as an entertainment device providing MP3 music support, video conferencing capability, video recorder and camera capabilities, or as a gaming device. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art and others, that whilekey map 365,input routine 375 andapplications 360 are described as separate individual software components, they may actually be combined, comprised of multiple software components; or may in fact be sub-parts of one or more integrated software components. In particular,input routine 375 may be integrated withapplications 360 oroperating system 355. Additionally, whilekey map 365 and input routine 375 are illustrated as software components (e.g., part of the operating system, or a discrete application), in alternate embodiments, they may be hardware components ofelectronic device 300. - It will be appreciated that the software components may be loaded from a computer readable medium into
memory 350 of the host computer orelectronic device 300 using a drive mechanism (not shown) or network mechanism (not shown) associated with the computer readable medium, such as a floppy, tape, DVD/CD-ROM drive, flash RAM, network interface card, orcommunications interface 330. - Further,
communication interface 330 may be designed to support one or more signaling protocols, including but not limited to Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”), Time Division Multiple Access (“TDMA”), Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”), General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”) and so forth. Moreover,communication interface 330 may be implemented using a separate transmitter and receiver. - In accordance with various embodiments, each input key on the
keypad 325 may be associated with one or more alphabetic and/or numeric values to comprise a reduced keypad. In aggregate, a reduced keypad has fewer keys than the limited keyboard shown in priorart QWERTY keyboard 110 and obviously fewer keys than a standard QWERTY keyboard layout. However, in various embodiments, the reduced keypads of the present invention may provide more data entry or input keys than the simple telephone keypads, such asconventional telephone keypad 210. -
FIGS. 4 a and 4 b, illustrate block diagram views of a keypad environment, in accordance with various embodiments. Controller 315 (either a hardware or software controller) operates in conjunction with aninput routine 375 in support ofkeypad 325. In various embodiments,input routine 375 may have a multi-tap input subroutine and a predictive input subroutine as described in more detail in co-pending applications U.S. Ser. No. 05/05054 and U.S. Ser. No. 05/05013 which are incorporated as if fully contained herein. In other embodiments,input routine 375 may have a modified QWERTY input subroutine.Input assembly 400 has anoutput 450 coupled tocontroller 315. As one example, whencontroller 315 is operating in multi-tap input mode,controller 315 detects each input key activation and an amount of time that has passed since the most recent input key activation, or the length of time between input key activations. Amemory 350 is coupled tocontroller 315. In one embodiment, thememory 350 may store a numerickey mapping 405 and an alphanumerickey mapping 365, which includes the assignments between the physical input keys, the number of times an input key is activated, and the corresponding characters as illustrated inFIG. 4 a. In an alternate embodiment, the memory may store an alphabetickey mapping 365 as illustrated inFIG. 4 b, depending on the mode of operation of theelectronic device 300 described inFIG. 3 .Controller 315 provides an output signal tooutput 450, the output signal indicating the character selected by the user. - In one embodiment, successive selected characters are stored in a memory and become a generated text string. In one embodiment, the
key map 365 also includes a numeric digit corresponding to each alphanumeric key, where the numeric digit is the numeric digit corresponding to the data entry key. The numeric digit corresponds to an activation count that is one greater than the activation count corresponding to the last letter in the ordered set corresponding to each data entry key. For example, in the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 4 b activating the “Zero” key three times results in a selection of the digit “0”. When numeric digits are included in thekey map 365, their corresponding activation count is not based on frequency of use for the digit. - In an embodiment,
controller 315 can be configured/adapted to control operations of thelight provision arrangement 345.Light provision arrangement 345 includes at least one light source (not shown). For different embodiments, various subsets of keys may correspondingly be highlighted by thelight provision arrangement 345 to provide an indication to a user of the respective mode of operation in which theelectronic device 300 may be configured to operate. For example, in one embodiment a first subset of keys may be configured to be highlighted by being backlit during a first mode of operation of theelectronic device 300, while a second subset of keys may be configured to be highlighted by being backlit during a second mode of operation. In another embodiment, the plurality of keys may be equipped with light sources. For example, light emitting diodes (LEDs) may be coupled to various subsets of indicia on each key to allow different portions (the numeric, alphanumeric, or alphabetic portions) of each key to be selectively illuminated corresponding and in response, at least in part, todevice 300 currently configured mode of operation. In an alternate embodiment, light valves may be disposed between each of the sets of indicia on each of the keys and one or more corresponding light sources. The light valves may then be controlled bycontroller 315 in response to the mode of operation ofdevice 300. - The intensity of the illumination highlighting the keys, for some embodiments, may be varied. It isn't necessary that illumination highlighting the keys be binary (on/off). Rather, the intensity may be varied to denote the corresponding mode of operation and/or selection of the keys. For example, in a numeric mode, the intensity of the illumination of the numeric indicia on a first set of keys may be noticeably greater than that of other indicia. Additionally, the most recently selected key may temporally illuminated with the highest intensity. Conversely, if
device 300 is in an alphabetic mode, the QWERTY portion of each of the keys containing the QWERTY indicia of a second subset of keys may be noticeably greater than that of other indicia. Likewise, the most recently selected key may temporally illuminated with the highest intensity. In some embodiments, thecontroller 315 may be adapted to modify the intensity of the light emitting from the light source(s) illuminating the keys. For some embodiments, thecontroller 315 may be modifying the intensity in response, at least in part, to the mode of operation in whichdevice 300 is configured to operate. In other embodiments, a user interface fordevice 300 may be configured to allow a user to control the intensity of the light emitting from the light sources based at least in part on the user's preferences. - The number of subsets of keys, key arrangements, and modes of operation are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting. More than two subsets of keys, modes of operation and corresponding key arrangements may be defined for
device 300. - In one embodiment, a
display 385 is coupled tocontroller 315. In the embodiment, an output signal forcontroller 315 causes an appropriate alphabetic, numeric or non-numeric character to be displayed ondisplay 385. In one embodiment, as the user repeatedly activates an input key and has not completed selection of a character, each successive activation causes a tentative character selection to overwrite the previous tentative character selection ondisplay 385. -
FIG. 5 illustrates one exemplary embodiment ofinput method process 500. The input method process begins atblock 501 and proceeds to decision block 505 where a determination is made whether a text field has a designated input method. If so, processing proceeds to block 535 where the designated input method/mode of operation is set for inputting information into anelectronic device 300. - If, however, in
decision block 505, it was determined that no input method has been designated for a particular text field, processing continues todecision block 510. In decision block 510 a determination is made whether the application containing the text field has a designated input method (e.g., some external property indicates an input method for the particular text field). If so, processing also proceeds to block 535. - If, however, in
decision block 510 it was determined that the application does not have a designated input method, processing proceeds to decision block 515, where a determination is made whether the application (and/or the text field) is of a known input type (e.g., a “name” field is almost always known to be alphabetic/alphanumeric and not conforming to a dictionary, so a multi-tap input method may automatically be chosen). If so, processing proceeds to block 530 where an appropriate input method is set, according to the known input type. - If in
decision block 515 it was not determined that the application was of a known input type, processing proceeds todecision block 520. In decision block 520 a determination is made whether a user of theelectronic device 300 has designated an input method and, if so, processing proceeds to block 535. - If, however, in
decision block 520 it was not determined that the user has designated an input method, processing proceeds to block 525 where a default input method is set. Once an input method has been set, either inblock text entering subroutine 540, such as the predictive input method subroutine, the multi-tap input method subroutine, or a numeric input subroutine (not shown, but described above). Once thetext entering subroutine 540 returns, then the input text is returned inblock 599. - Those of ordinary skill in the art and others will appreciate that other input methods may be automatically determined according to input
method determination process 500, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention a modified predictive input method may be employed to provide an adaptive predictive input method such that as new words are entered into text fields they are also added to a predictive input dictionary, thereby increasing the predictive capabilities of the adaptive input method. Those of ordinary skill in the art and others will appreciate that there are yet still other input methods that may be employed in various embodiments of the present invention. -
FIGS. 6 a-6 d illustrate front views of anelectronic device 600 having akeypad 625 in accordance with various embodiments. Various embodiments ofelectronic device 600 have been discussed above corresponding toFIGS. 3-4 b. -
FIG. 6 a illustrates an embodiment wherekeypad 625 has a first operational disposition to that ofdisplay 685 whileelectronic device 400 is configured for a first mode of operation. As illustrated,keypad 625 is configured to be operated from below thedisplay 685. A first subset ofkeys 635 of a plurality of keys on the keypad may be defined in this embodiment to be the first arrangement of keys. As described above, acontroller 315 may control the definition of the first subset ofkeys 635.Subset 635 is highlighted by thelight provision arrangement 345 ofFIG. 3 . The controller may also be adapted to control or instruct the light provision arrangement to highlight the first subset ofkeys 635 by applying a backlight or backlights to illuminate either the keys themselves or the area surrounding the keys in accordance with various embodiments. Further, as illustrated by the embodiment inFIG. 6 a, the subset of keys are configured to operate as an alphanumeric set of keys. Additionally, for the example illustrated by this embodiment, the first mode of operation may be numeric mode in support of thedevice 600 when it is configured to operate as a portable phone. -
FIG. 6 b illustrates an embodiment wherekeypad 625 has a second operational disposition to that ofdisplay 685 in a second mode of operation. As illustrated,keypad 625 is configured to operate from above thedisplay 685. A second subset ofkeys 645 of a plurality of keys on thekeypad 625 may be defined in this embodiment to be the first arrangement of keys. As described above, acontroller 315 may control the definition of the first subset ofkeys 645.Subset 645 is highlighted by thelight provision arrangement 345. The controller may also be adapted to control or instruct thelight provision arrangement 345 to highlight the second subset ofkeys 645 by applying a backlight or backlights to illuminate either the keys themselves or the area surrounding the keys in accordance with various embodiments. Further, as illustrated by the embodiment inFIG. 6 b, the second subset ofkeys 645 are configured to operate as a QWERTY like keyboard. Additionally, for the example illustrated by this embodiment, the second mode of operation may be a text mode in support of thedevice 600 when it is configured to operate as,a PDA. -
FIGS. 6 c and 6 d illustrate embodiments similar to that ofFIGS. 6 a-6 b.FIG. 6 c illustrates an embodiment wherekeypad 625 may be configured to be operated from the right of thedisplay 685.FIG. 6 d illustrates an embodiment wherekeypad 625 may be configured to be operated from the left of thedisplay 685. -
FIG. 7 a illustrates an enlarged front view of akeypad layout 725 for various embodiments.Keypad layout 725 is similar to thekeypads 625 illustrated inFIGS. 6 a and 6 b. For the illustrated embodiment, thekeypad 725 may be arranged in five rows and include a first plurality of input keys 735 (indicated by the shaded area) partially surrounded by a second plurality of input keys 745 (indicated byreference lines keys - For the embodiment, there may be at least two keymaps (examples of which are illustrated in
FIGS. 4 a and 4 b) stored in amemory 350 as illustrated inFIG. 3 . At least some of the first subset ofkeys 735 include at least two pluralities of indicia.FIG. 7 b illustrates enlarged key 735 b. Each of the first plurality ofindicia 737 corresponds to a first numeric keypad layout and each of the second plurality ofindicia 738 corresponds to a first alphabetic keyboard layout.Controller 315 may be adapted to dynamically bind a first keymap to some of the keys in the first subset of keys. This keymap may then define a set of numeric values and a first set of alphabetic values that correspond to, and are represented by, the first plurality ofindicia 737 and the second plurality ofindicia 738, respectively. - For the embodiment, at least some of the first plurality of
input keys 735 may be associated with numeric values 0-9 and the first set of alphabetic values to form a telephone keypad layout based on the first plurality of input keys' numeric values and respective first sets of alphabetic values. Each of the input keys of the first and second plurality ofinput keys input keys 735 may also includeinput keys - In the illustrated embodiment, at least some of the first plurality of
input keys 735 and second plurality ofinput keys 745 may be associated with a third plurality ofindicia 740 corresponding to a second alphabetic keyboard layout that is different from the first alphabetic keyboard layout. Thecontroller 315 may be adapted to dynamically bind a second keymap to some of the keys in the second subset of keys. This keymap may then define a second set of alphabetic values that correspond to, and are represented by, the first plurality ofindicia 737 and the third plurality ofindicia 740. In contrast to each of first sets ofalphabetic indicia 738, which may include one or more alphabetically ordered letters, each of second sets ofalphabetic indicia 740 may include one or more letters arranged to be compatible with a QWERTY like keyboard layout. Thus, in an embodiment, each of first plurality ofinput keys 735 may be arranged relative to each of adjacent or partially surrounding second plurality ofinput keys 745 to form the QWERTY like keyboard layout. Note also that in the embodiment, and as described above, at least one set from the first or second sets of alphabetic indicia, 738 and 740 respectively, comprises a single alphabetic letter or value. For example, in the embodiment,input key 735 d is associated with a second set ofalphabetic values 740 comprising the single alphabetic value ‘E.’ - Note that for clarity, only one
input key 735, oneinput key 745, onenumeric value 737, one set ofalphabetic values 738, and one set of second set ofalphabetic values 740 have been labeled in the figure. Furthermore, please note that in the embodiment shown, althoughinput keys 745 may include two groups of keys substantially disposed on a left and a right side ofinput keys 735, in alternate embodiments, the second plurality ofinput keys 745 may be disposed at other suitable locations relative to the first plurality ofinput keys 735 to facilitate the formation of the QWERTY keyboard layout or other suitable layout.FIGS. 6 a and 6 b exemplify such an embodiment. In another embodiment, another suitable layout formed by first and second plurality ofinput keys - Additionally, as noted previously, in various embodiments, the first plurality of
input keys 735 or the second plurality ofinput keys 745 may include one or more input keys associated with one or more non-alphabetic or non-numeric values. Examples of such associated values include, but are not limited to, punctuation marks, special symbols or characters, device commands or other suitable values. In one embodiment, device command values may include function keys, cursor-control keys, or modifier keys. For example, as referenced above,input keys input key 745 c includes a device command value of “select.” As another example, in the embodiment shown, first plurality ofinput keys 735 includes an input key 735 e associated with device command value of ′space bar ′ as well as numeric value “0”. - Note also that although in
FIG. 7 b, each of first and second sets ofalphabetic values input keys FIG. 7 . Furthermore, in one embodiment,input keys - In one embodiment, there may be a toggle button or an input key for activation of a QWERTY mode of operation or telephone keypad mode of operation. Thus, a user may input data using a QWERTY like layout for textual input and a telephone keypad for entry of telephone numbers and the like. For a user to input data into
electronic device 300, in an embodiment, a keypad such as the ones illustrated inFIGS. 6 a-6 d,FIG. 7 a, orFIGS. 8 a and 8 b may be used with a multi-tap mode of entry. For example, in one embodiment, a particular numeric value, an alphabetic value from the first set of alphabetic value, or an alphabetic value from the second set of alphabetic value may be selectable based on a number of key activations applied to a corresponding input key. Thus, in one embodiment,key map 365 maps a combination of one or more key activations and an input key to a corresponding character or alphabetic value of first and second sets of alphabetic values. In other embodiments, a predictive text mode of entry may be used for text entry, in either a QWERTY mode or a telephone keypad mode. - In the illustrated embodiment, each of the first plurality of keys 735 (indicated in shaded area) may be a numeric key associated with a unique number or numeric value and
corresponding indicia 737. Input keys having numeric values zero, and four through nine (0, 4-9) of first plurality ofkeys 735 may be associated with a first set of alphabetic values and corresponding firstalphabetic indicia 738, each set having approximately three or four alphabetically ordered letters, in accordance with the embodiment. Thus, more specifically, in one embodiment, as illustrated inFIG. 7 a, the following ordered groups of first sets ofalphabetic indicia 738 correspond to their respective numeric key: abc—2 key, def—3 key, ghi—4 key, jkl—5 key, mno—6 key, pqrs—7 key, tuv—8 key, wxyz—9 key. Thus, in an embodiment, correspondence between each of the numeric keys and alphabetically ordered letters of first sets of alphabetic values associated with the firstalphabetic indicia 738 is substantially the same as the correspondence between each of the numeric keys and letters of a conventional telephone keypad. - Furthermore, in an embodiment, each of the alphabetically ordered letters of first sets of alphabetic values associated with the first
alphabetic indicia 738 corresponds to a DTMF signal substantially consistent with a DTMF signal corresponding to the alphabetically ordered letters of a conventional telephone keypad layout. This may allow mnemonic phone numbers, such as 1-800-FLOWERS, and the like, to be entered in the same manner as on a conventional telephone keypad because the correspondence between each letter and numeric key is compatible. -
FIGS. 8 a and 8 b illustrate front views of anelectronic device 800 having akeypad 825 in a first and a second different relative operational disposition to adisplay 885 while being configured in a first and second mode of operation respectively, in accordance with various embodiments. These embodiments illustrate an example of howkey pad 325 can be configured in so that a second plurality ofinput keys 845 may be positioned adjacent to or partially surrounding first plurality ofinput keys 835. Second plurality ofinput keys 845 may include two (2) groups of keys substantially disposed on one or more sides of the first plurality ofinput keys 835 as indicated byreference lines input keys 835 and second plurality ofinput keys 845 may be associated with a second set ofalphabetic indicia 840. In an embodiment, each of first plurality ofinput keys 835 may be arranged relative to each of partially surrounding second plurality ofinput keys 845 to form an alphabetic arrangement different from the alphabetic keyboard arrangement of a telephone keypad. In the embodiment illustrated, a QWERTY keyboard layout may be formed. -
FIGS. 8 c-8 d, illustrate a perspective and plan view of an embodiment of the invention where a single key selected from the keypad illustrated inFIGS. 8 a and 8 b is described for ease of understanding. As discussed above, for various embodiments alight provision arrangement 345 may be controlled by acontroller 315 to highlight a first subset of keys and/or a second subset of keys depending and in response at least in part on thedevice 800 configured mode of operation.FIG. 8 c illustrates such an embodiment wherein, for ease of understanding, only one key 835 a is described. For the embodiment, thelight provision arrangement 345 has at least onelight source 870. In an embodiment,light valves 875 may be disposed between a light source and the first and second subset ofkeys 835 a, respectively. The at least onelight source 870 may be coupled to the key 835 a by alight pipe 890. - Alternately, in an embodiment as illustrated in
FIG. 8 d, each set ofindicia light valve 875 that is selectively controlled bycontroller 315 in response to the mode of operation. Thecontroller 315 being adapted to selectively control the first and second light valves. Various approaches to selectively lighting keys are described in contemporaneously filed application, express mail number <insert express number>, entitled <insert title>, which specification is hereby fully incorporated by reference (for U.S. version of the subject application). -
FIGS. 9 a and 9 b illustrate an embodiment wherein first sets ofalphabetic indicia 938 on thekeys 935 a (represented by the area in gray) includes groups or sets of letters having an order on some input keys based on a frequency of occurrence of the letters, rather than alphabetically ordered as inkeypad 725 ofFIG. 7 a. For the embodiment letter-to-key correspondence matches a standard letter-to-key correspondence as illustrated inFIG. 7 a, but within a group of letters, letters with a higher frequency of use are positioned before letters with a lower frequency of use. - Such an embodiment may be advantageous when using multi-tap entry. Thus, the letters having a higher probability of occurrence are selected by a single activation of the input key and letters with a lower probability of occurrence are selected by activating the input key two or more times. For example, as illustrated in
FIG. 9 b, the input key associated with numeric value “2” has an associated first set ofalphabetic values 938 of “acb,” rather than “abc.” In the embodiment, a standard correspondence between numeric input keys and letters of the alphabet is maintained for compatibility when entering mnemonic phone numbers and generating DTMF signals. The ordered sets of alphabetic indicia may correspond to an order of multi-tap input associated with the respective input keys. An appropriatekey map 365 is bound to the input keys to facilitate the multi-tap input. -
FIG. 10 a illustrates a front view of a reduced QWERTY likekeypad 1025 according to an embodiment. In the embodiment, reducedkeypad 1025 may enhance multi-tap input by placing more frequently used alphabetic values or letters in positions that require fewer activations than those of less frequently used letters. For a given language, for example, English, an arrangement of letters may be implemented by determining the frequency of use, sometimes referred to as the probability of occurrence, of each of the letters of the language. In one embodiment, the frequency of the use of each letter may be determined with respect to a corpus of usage representing general usage in a language. A table of probability of usage derived in this manner is included in “One-Gram Probability Distribution” from Alan G. Konheim's “Cryptography—A Primer,” John Wiley, 1981, p. 16. This work cites the letters of the English alphabet as the following, in decreasing order of frequency of use: E, T, A, O, N, R, I, S, H, D, L, F, C, M, U, G, P, Y, W, B, V, K, X, J, Q, Z. In one embodiment, letters may be grouped in a manner compatible with standard keyboards or telephone keypads, and then some of the letters may be ordered on each input key in order of decreasing frequency of use. In an embodiment, each of first plurality of input keys 1035 (represented by the area in gray) may be arranged relative to each of partially surrounding second plurality ofinput keys 1045 to form an alphabetic arrangement different from the alphabetic keyboard arrangement of a telephone keypad. In one embodiment, a modified QWERTY keyboard layout may be formed in conjunction with the first plurality ofinput keys 1035. -
Input key 1035 b ofFIGS. 10 a and 10 b illustrate an embodiment of the secondalphabetic set 1040 on key 1035 b has displayed thereon “I U”, rather than “U I” because “I” may be more frequently occurring than “U.” Thus, the present invention, as described, may advantageously make user entry of the more frequently used letters more convenient and efficient. - Thus, it can be seen from the above descriptions, a keypad having two or more subsets of keys in a keypad has been described for use on a portable electronic device. In various embodiments, the keypad has at least a first and a second operational disposition to a display corresponding to a first and a second mode of operation within the device. In one embodiment, there may be a toggle button or an input key for activation of a QWERTY mode or a telephone keypad mode. Thus, a user may use a QWERTY layout for textual input and a telephone keypad for entry of telephone numbers and the like. In various embodiments,
keypad 325/425/5251625 may be used with a multi-tap mode of entry or a predictive text mode of entry. - Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that
exemplary keypad 1025, as well as the otherexemplary keypads - It will be appreciated that although particular embodiments of the invention has been described in detail, various modifications and improvements can be made by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. It will also be appreciated that the frequency of use of letters varies in situations where users predominately use languages other than English, or where geographical or cultural differences result in different corpuses of use. In these situations, ordered sets other than those explicitly described, in accordance with the present invention, may be desirable.
Claims (27)
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Also Published As
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---|---|
US8890719B2 (en) | 2014-11-18 |
US7656317B2 (en) | 2010-02-02 |
US7202802B2 (en) | 2007-04-10 |
US20050237228A1 (en) | 2005-10-27 |
US20100156677A1 (en) | 2010-06-24 |
WO2005109645A1 (en) | 2005-11-17 |
US20070279256A1 (en) | 2007-12-06 |
WO2005109652A3 (en) | 2006-11-23 |
WO2005109644A1 (en) | 2005-11-17 |
WO2005109652A2 (en) | 2005-11-17 |
US20130021258A1 (en) | 2013-01-24 |
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