Disambiguation method and apparatus
A plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions are provided ( 31 ). Using only a portion of a particular graphic symbolic expression as entered ( 32 ) by a user, one can then disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to select ( 33 ) one of the expressions as most likely correlating to the intended complete expression entry. In a preferred embodiment, the pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions can include both expressions comprising characters and expressions comprising characters and spaces.
1 . A method comprising:
providing a plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions, wherein a graphic symbolic expression includes any of:
a plurality of characters; and
a combination of characters and spaces that separate characters;
receiving input that corresponds to only a portion of a particular graphic symbolic expression;
using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the particular graphic symbolic expression.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein a graphic symbolic expression can further include any of:
an individual character;
a plurality of characters; and
a combination of characters and spaces that separate characters.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein a character can comprise any of:
a linguistic element;
a non-linguistic element.
4 . The method of claim 2 wherein a linguistic element can comprise any of:
an alphanumeric character;
an idiogram;
a punctuation mark.
5 . The method of claim 1 wherein providing a plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions comprises providing a plurality of non-user specific pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein providing a plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions comprises providing a plurality of user specific pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein providing a plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions comprises providing a plurality of:
non-user specific pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions; and
user specific pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions.
8 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving input comprises receiving input via at least one of:
a full keyboard;
an abbreviated keyboard;
a handwriting recognizer; and
a speech recognizer.
9 . The method of claim 8 wherein either of the full keyboard and abbreviated keyboard can comprise any of:
a mechanical keyboard; and
a soft keyboard.
10 . The method of claim 1 wherein using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the particular graphic symbolic expression comprises using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a multi-word linguistic expression.
11 . The method of claim 1 wherein using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the particular graphic symbolic expression comprises using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a partial-sentence multi-word linguistic expression.
12 . The method of claim 1 wherein using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the particular graphic symbolic expression comprises using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a complete-sentence multi-word linguistic expression.
13 . The method of claim 1 wherein using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the particular graphic symbolic expression comprises using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a multi-sentence multi-word linguistic expression.
14 . The method of claim 1 wherein using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the particular graphic symbolic expression comprises using the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression to disambiguate amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby select a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a multi-word linguistic expression wherein at least one word of the multi-word linguistic expression comprises at least one of:
an abbreviation;
an ideogram;
at least one numeric character; and
a punctuation mark.
15 . A method for use with an abbreviated keyboard wherein at least some keys ambiguously represent multiple graphic symbolic characters, comprising:
providing a plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions, wherein a graphic symbolic expression includes any of:
a plurality of characters; and
a combination of characters and spaces that separate characters;
and wherein the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions includes at least one user specific pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions;
receiving input via the abbreviated keyboard that corresponds to only a portion of a user-intended particular graphic symbolic expression and that ambiguously corresponds to a plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions;
using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the user-intended graphic symbolic expression.
16 . The method of claim 15 wherein:
a character can comprise any of:
a linguistic element; and
a non-linguistic element;
and wherein a linguistic element can comprise any of:
an alphanumeric character;
an idiogram; and
a punctuation mark.
17 . The method of claim 15 wherein using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the user-intended graphic symbolic expression comprises using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a multi-word linguistic expression.
18 . The method of claim 15 wherein using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the user-intended graphic symbolic expression comprises using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a partial-sentence multi-word linguistic expression.
19 . The method of claim 15 wherein using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the user-intended graphic symbolic expression comprises using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a complete-sentence multi-word linguistic expression.
20 . The method of claim 15 wherein using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the user-intended graphic symbolic expression comprises using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a multi-sentence multi-word linguistic expression.
21 . The method of claim 15 wherein using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression as likely correlating to the user-intended graphic symbolic expression comprises using the input and the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions to thereby disambiguate amongst the plurality of possible graphic symbolic expressions to provide a selected graphic symbolic expression that comprises a multi-word linguistic expression wherein at least one word of the multi-word linguistic expression comprises at least one of:
an abbreviation;
an ideogram;
at least one numeric character; and
a punctuation mark.
22 . An apparatus comprising:
a graphic symbol entry device;
at least one memory containing a plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions, wherein a graphic symbolic expression includes any of:
a plurality of characters; and
a combination of characters and spaces that separate characters;
a disambiguator operably coupled to:
the graphic symbol entry device to facilitate receiving a portion of a particular graphic symbolic expression as entered by a user using the graphic symbol entry device; and
the at least one memory;
and having an output comprising a given one of the pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions as disambiguated from others of the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions as based upon the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression.
23 . The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the graphic symbol entry device comprises a keypad having keys, wherein at least some of the keys have a plurality of differing alphanumeric characters assigned thereto.
24 . The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the apparatus comprises a cellular telephone.
25 . The apparatus of claim 22 and further comprising a display having an input operably coupled to the output of the disambiguator.
26 . The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the disambiguator comprises disambiguation means for disambiguating amongst the plurality of pre-identified graphic symbolic expressions as a function, at least in part, of the portion of the particular graphic symbolic expression.
27 . The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the memory is disposed integral to the disambiguator.
28 . The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the memory is disposed remote to the disambiguator.