Handheld electronic device with text disambiguation
View Patent ↗A handheld electronic device includes a reduced QWERTY keyboard and is enabled with disambiguation software. The device provides output in the form of a default output and a number of variants. The output is based largely upon the frequency, i.e., the likelihood that a user intended a particular output, but various features of the device provide additional variants that are not based solely on frequency and rather are provided by various logic structures resident on the device. The device enables editing during text entry and also provides a learning function that allows the disambiguation function to adapt to provide a customized experience for the user. The disambiguation function can be selectively disabled and an alternate keystroke interpretation system provided. Additionally, the device can facilitate the selection of variants by displaying a graphic of a special <NEXT> key of the keypad that enables a user to progressively select variants generally without changing the position of the user's hands on the device.
1. A method of providing an input into a handheld electronic device, the handheld electronic device including an input apparatus, an output apparatus, and a memory having a plurality of objects stored therein, the plurality of objects including a plurality of language objects and a plurality of frequency objects, at least a portion of the language objects of the plurality of language objects being associated with an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects, the input apparatus including a plurality of input members, each of at least a portion of the input members of the plurality of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto, the method comprising:
providing a disambiguation function which, responsive to an ambiguous input of a number of input member actuations of a number of the input members of the plurality of input members, at least a portion of the number of the input members of the ambiguous input including a plurality of characters assigned thereto, is operable to:
generate a number of prefix objects corresponding with the ambiguous input, each prefix object of the number of prefix objects including a number of the characters of the number of the input members of the ambiguous input;
generate a result by, for each prefix object of at least a portion of the number of prefix objects, identifying a language object that corresponds with the prefix object, obtaining an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects that corresponds with the identified language object, and outputting an output of at least a portion of the prefix objects of the result to provide a number of proposed disambiguated outputs that substantially each have a correspondence with the ambiguous input, substantially each proposed disambiguated output of the number of proposed disambiguated outputs having a quantity of characters that is substantially equal to the quantity of the input member actuations of the number of input member actuations of the ambiguous input;
detecting the existence of a predetermined condition;
responsive to said detecting the existence of a predetermined condition, disabling at least temporarily the disambiguation function;
responsive to said disabling at least temporarily the disambiguation function, providing an alternate input interpretation function;
detecting another input of another number of input member actuations of the input members of the plurality of input members, at least a portion of the number of the input members of the another input including a plurality of characters assigned thereto; and
interpreting with the alternate input interpretation function the another input according to a predefined format related to the predetermined condition.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting as the predetermined condition a focus of the handheld electronic device being on a particular component of the handheld electronic device.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising determining that the particular component requires a substantially unambiguous input, and providing the substantially unambiguous input for the particular component by interpreting with the alternate input interpretation function the another input according to the predefined format.
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising detecting as the predetermined condition the focus of the handheld electronic device being on an input field associated with a password.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising outputting an output representative of at least a portion of the substantially unambiguous input, and, responsive to said outputting, and after a predetermined timing interval, altering on the output apparatus the output representative of at least a portion of the substantially unambiguous input to no longer include on the output apparatus the output representative of at least a portion of the substantially unambiguous input.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing as the alternate input interpretation function one of a multitap interpretation function, a press-and-hold/press-and-release interpretation function, and an input member chording interpretation function.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising interpreting the another input according to the predefined format by interpreting at least a portion of the input member actuations of the another number of input member actuations of the another input, said at least a portion of the input member actuations being a quantity of input member actuations of an input member of the plurality of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto, as being a particular character of the plurality of characters of the input member corresponding with the quantity of input member actuations.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting the discontinuation of the predetermined condition, and ceasing said disabling of the disambiguation function.
9. A handheld electronic device comprising:
a processor unit including a processor, an input apparatus, an output apparatus, and a memory having a plurality of objects and a routine stored therein;
the plurality of objects including a plurality of language objects and a plurality of frequency objects, at least a portion of the language objects of the plurality of language objects being associated with an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects;
the input apparatus including a plurality of input members, each of at least a portion of the input members of the plurality of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto;
the routine being adapted to provide a disambiguation function, and, responsive to an ambiguous input of a number of input member actuations of a number of the input members of the plurality of input members, at least a portion of the number of the input members of the ambiguous input including a plurality of characters assigned thereto, the disambiguation function being adapted to:
generate a number of prefix objects corresponding with the ambiguous input, each prefix object of the number of prefix objects including a number of the characters of the number of the input members of the ambiguous input; and
generate a result by, for each prefix object of at least a portion of the number of prefix objects, identify a language object that corresponds with the prefix object, obtain an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects that corresponds with the identified language object, and output an output of at least a portion of the prefix objects of the result to provide a number of proposed disambiguated outputs that substantially each have a correspondence with the ambiguous input, substantially each proposed disambiguated output of the number of proposed disambiguated outputs having a quantity of characters that is substantially equal to the quantity of the input member actuations of the number of input member actuations of the ambiguous input;
the routine being adapted to detect the existence of a predetermined condition;
responsive to said detection of the existence of a predetermined condition, the routine being adapted to disable at least temporarily the disambiguation function;
responsive to said at least temporary disablement of the disambiguation function, the routine being adapted to provide an alternate input interpretation function;
the routine being adapted to detect another input of another number of input member actuations of the input members of the plurality of input members, at least a portion of the number of the input members of the another input including a plurality of characters assigned thereto; and
the routine being adapted to interpret with the alternate input interpretation function the another input according to a predefined format related to the predetermined condition.
10. The handheld electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the routine is adapted to detect as the predetermined condition a focus of the handheld electronic device being on a particular component of the handheld electronic device.
11. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the routine is adapted to determine that the particular component requires a substantially unambiguous input, and wherein the routine is adapted to provide the substantially unambiguous input for the particular component by interpreting with the alternate input interpretation function the another input according to the predefined format.
12. The handheld electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the routine is adapted to detect as the predetermined condition the focus of the handheld electronic device being on an input field associated with a password.
13. The handheld electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the routine is adapted to output an output representative of at least a portion of the substantially unambiguous input, and, responsive to said outputting, and after a predetermined timing interval, the routine being adapted to alter on the output apparatus the output representative of at least a portion of the substantially unambiguous input to no longer include on the output apparatus the output representative of at least a portion of the substantially unambiguous input.
14. The handheld electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the routine is adapted to provide as the alternate input interpretation function one of a multitap interpretation function, a press-and-hold/press-and-release interpretation function, and an input member chording interpretation function.
15. The handheld electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the routine is adapted to interpret the another input according to the predefined format by interpreting at least a portion of the input member actuations of the another number of input member actuations of the another input, said at least a portion of the input member actuations being a quantity of input member actuations of an input member of the plurality of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto, as being a particular character of the plurality of characters of the input member corresponding with the quantity of input member actuations.
16. The handheld electronic device of claim 9 , further comprising detecting the discontinuation of the predetermined condition, and ceasing said disabling of the disambiguation function.