Method of e-mail address search and e-mail address transliteration and associated device
View Patent ↗An improved method of transliterating non-Latin input within an e-mail address field to the Latin equivalent. A routine in a handheld device is structured to detect a triggering event that indicates an e-mail address is being input into an e-mail address field. Following the triggering event, both prior and subsequent input is transliterated to Latin characters as these characters are required by Internet protocols. The transliteration routine may also be utilized to search an email address book wherein names are recorded using both Latin and non-Latin characters.
1. A method of transliterating non-Latin input within an e-mail address field to the Latin equivalent on a handheld electronic device, the handheld electronic device including a display, a processor, and a memory, the method comprising the steps of:
repeating the steps of:
detecting a character key input from a set of character keys,
determining a non-Latin character associated with the character key, and
presenting the non-Latin character associated with the character key in an e-mail address field on the display,
until a trigger event occurs;
converting non-Latin characters presented in the e-mail address field to the Latin equivalent of the determined non-Latin characters;
repeating the steps of:
detecting a character key input from the set of character keys,
determining a Latin character associated with the character key, and
presenting the Latin character in the e-mail address field,
until the e-mail address is complete.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the trigger event comprises at least one of:
actuation of a manual conversion option,
detection of an input that is not subject to auto-completion, or
detection of a functional character input,
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein a functional character input comprises one of a character key representing the “@” symbol or an operational key.
4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
presenting an output table adjacent to the e-mail address field, and
further wherein the step of detecting a character key input having an associated non-Latin character includes the steps of:
presenting for selection by a user within the output table a first field and at least one second field,
the first field presenting the Latin equivalent of the non Latin characters, and
the at least one second field presenting a predicted name.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
receiving a selection of the first field; and
activating the manual conversion option.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first field contains an indication of an action to be taken with respect to the Latin equivalent of the non-Latin character input.
7. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
determining the predicted name by performing steps of:
determining if a non-Latin character name within an address book corresponds to at least one of the determined non-Latin characters;
determining if a Latin character name within the address book corresponds to at least one of the converted Latin characters.
8. The method of claim 2 , wherein detection of an input that is not subject to auto-completion comprises determining that the non-Latin characters presented in the e-mail address field do not correspond to a name within an address book.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the display is touch-sensitive, and the character keys are implemented on the display.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
initiating the sending of an e-mail using the complete e-mail address.
11. A device operable to transliterate non-Latin input within an e-mail address field to the Latin equivalent, the device comprising:
a display;
a processor; and
a memory, wherein the memory contains instructions configured to cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising the steps of:
repeating the steps of:
detecting a character key input from a set of character keys,
determining a non-Latin character associated with the character key, and
presenting the non-Latin character associated with the character key in an e-mail address field on the display,
until a trigger event occurs;
converting non-Latin characters presented in the e-mail address field to the Latin equivalent of the determined non-Latin characters;
repeating the steps of:
detecting a character key input from the set of character keys,
determining a Latin character associated with the character key and
presenting the Latin character in the e-mail address field,
until the e-mail address is complete.
12. The device of claim 11 , wherein the trigger event comprises at least one of:
actuation of a manual conversion option,
detection of an input that is not subject to auto-completion, or
detection of a functional character input.
13. The device of claim 12 , wherein a functional character input comprises one of a character key representing the “@” symbol or an operational key.
14. The device of claim 12 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
presenting an output table adjacent to the e-mail address field, and
further wherein the step of detecting a character key input having an associated non-Latin character includes the steps of:
presenting for selection by a user within the output table a first field and at least one second field,
the first field presenting the Latin equivalent of the non-Latin characters, and
the at least one second field presenting a predicted name.
15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
receiving a selection of the first field; and
activating the manual conversion option.
16. The device of claim 14 , wherein the first field contains an indication of an action to be taken with respect to the Latin equivalent of the non-Latin character input.
17. The device of claim 14 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
determining the predicted name by performing steps of:
determining if a non-Latin character name within an address book corresponds to at least one of the determined non-Latin characters;
determining if a Latin character name within the address book corresponds to at least one of the converted Latin characters.
18. The device of claim 12 , wherein the step of detection of an input that is not subject to auto-completion comprises determining that the non-Latin characters presented in the e-mail address field do not correspond to a name within an address book.
19. The device of claim 11 , wherein the display is touch-sensitive, and the character keys are implemented on the display.
20. The device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
initiating the sending of an e-mail using the complete e-mail address.