NO20015349L - Data entry system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system for entering data elements,

e.g. letters, characters, numbers and/or symbols in connection with electronic apparatus or equipment that has or is connected to a display, where the system is designed to, upon input of at least one first data element included in a data expression, make suggestions for the data expression, as specified in the preamble of the attached claims 1,2 and 13.

The present invention is related to the applicant's previously filed Norwegian patent application 20012305 and represents a further development of what appears there. The content of the said application is included here only by this reference.

In connection with a rotatable, multifunctional switch with five pressure points, it is intended to show how the initially stated system is intended to be realized in practice. In the aforementioned Norwegian patent application 20012305 in connection with fig. 5, a predictive system is shown where such a switch type is used. A predictive selection of letters takes place here by highlighting or marking relevant letters that are distributed in a "keyboard".

The present invention, however, intends to take the form of predictability shown and described there a significant step further, primarily in connection with the use of said rotatable, multi-functional switch.

The invention is thus intended to simplify a system for entering data elements, such as e.g. letters, characters, numbers and/or symbols, so that words or sentences can be entered significantly faster using such a multi-functional switch than has previously been possible.

It is also intended with the present invention to be able to adapt the system to a per se conventional keyboard, even if the same advantages are not achieved as with the use of a rotatable, multi-functional switch.

The primary, characteristic features of the invention appear from the attached claims 1, 2 and 13 as well as the subordinate claims.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings which serve as non-limiting embodiments of the present invention. Fig. 1 shows as an example a rotatable, multifunctional switch with five pressure points. Fig. 2a-2m shows step by step an interactive display setup with an animation of the switch itself with its five pressure points, as well as related screenshots.

Fig. 3a-3h show a variant of the system shown in fig. 2a-2m.

Fig. 4a-4u indicate the entry of data using a rotatable switch as shown in fig. 1 interactive with viewer and a predictive letter and word system. Fig. 5a-5d show the use of a traditional keyboard in connection with the system as indicated in fig. 2-4. Fig. 1 shows a rotatable, multi-functional switch 1' which has five pressure points indicated by F, II', III', IV and V. In fig. 2 shows an animation 1 of the switch 1'. In addition, during the entry of text, numbers and/or symbols, an input field or result field 2 and a field 3 indicating the relevant words or choices that are possible from a "dictionary" or "lookup list" showing the most likely words will be displayed which begins with the entered letter(s), preferably in order determined by how many value points the word or letter combination has received, as such points will be related to the frequency of use of such combinations. Word or letter combinations that are thus not given any "points" will be listed alphabetically in this dictionary.

On the screen that appears on the viewer, the aforementioned animation 1 is shown as an interactive figure of the switch 1' itself with an indication of the switch's pressure positions, here indicated by I-V which are connected to the mentioned pressure points F-V in fig. 1. Next to this animation, in the same display area, a "keyboard" is indicated 4. This keyboard will preferably display all relevant letters, numbers and characters, here organized alphabetically as a Qwerty array, but it is also possible to organize such keyboard as a Qwerty arrangement purely alphabetically. By rotating the switch 1', a marker 5 will move over a field covering three characters at a time. By pressing in the animation positions I, II and III, characters can be selected. Pressing as indicated at animation position IV confirms selection, i.e. "Space": Pressing at animation position V will return to the previous menu, possibly with the HOME function. This can be varied depending on where you are in the menu. If the cursor 5 is placed above the "keyboard" 4, V will be used as an undo or "delete" (Clear) button in the system as indicated in fig. 2c. In fig. 2, it is assumed that all letters, numbers, characters and/or symbols will be able to fit on the screen next to the keyboard 4. Turning the switch 1' as shown in fig. 1 will cause the cursor 5 to move over the keyboard 4 step by step. The system is preferably arranged so that the data elements marked by the marker 5, e.g. letters, from the keyboard are shown in animation 1 in fields I, II and III. Here, the data elements that are guessed, e.g. letters, appear regardless of the position in which the cursor 5 is located above the keyboard 4. This will mean that it is not necessary to rotate the switch 1' to all the data elements you will need, as the most relevant data elements are most likely to be directly selected indicated in animation fields I-III.

Fig. 2a-2m thus show an example of how the predictive system, according to the invention, will be able to assist a user when entering, for example, text. Fig. 2b shows how a starting line-up in animation 1 could look like. Here it will be seen that the marker's 5 field is "parked" in a position 5'.

It is intended to write "the telephone number". In this connection, reference is made to fig. 2c-2e. The switch 1' is rotated and the cursor 5 is placed over the relevant letters, in this case the letter STU. In animation 1, field II is selected for the letter T, see fig. 2d. The system now guesses the word "The", which is thus written in full in text field 2, see fig. 2nd. Field 3 shows the word candidates that have been picked from the available word list in an order based on how often these words have been statistically used. Based on this, the system will select letters that follow the previously entered letter. In this case, HOE is selected which are the letters that are letter number two in the first words chosen to be displayed from the list. These letters appear in animation 1. Here, however, the system will guess correctly and acceptance is done by selecting the "Space" function represented by function field IV in animation 1. By using this function, a space will automatically be generated and entering a new word can then be executed.

As shown in fig. 2f, the letter T is entered when activating function field II, and

the word "the" is selected by the system again, see fig. 2g, as this word is at the top of the list shown in field 3. The letters "HOE" are posted as choices in animation field 1, and the letter e is selected upon activation of function field III. This means that the glossary 3 will change to words beginning with "te" in priority order, see fig. 2h. The word "telephone" is then suggested in field 2, see fig. 2h and 2i. The word is confirmed by activating function field IV (see fig. 2h), i.e. "Space" or the space field, and the screen will then return to where it was previously, i.e. as in fig. 2f where the predictive system came into play.

With reference to fig. 2j, it will be understood that the switch 1' is now rotated and the cursor 5 is moved to the letter combination MNO, where the letter "n" is selected. Consequently, as shown in fig. 2k, the system will thus suggest the word "name", which is given priority. The letters AOU which are thus predictively selected will appear in the switch animation's fields I, II, III. However, "name" is not desired and the letter "u" is selected when activating function field III. The glossary will thus shrink to four words, from which the system prints "number" which is confirmed by pressing related to function field IV, see fig. 21.

When activation of the function fields in the animation 1 is shown in the preceding, and likewise in the following, it will be understood that the user will press down correspondingly on the positions I', II', III', IV or V for activation at these pressure points of switches which are respectively placed at the pressure points.

On i.a. fig. 2e, it will be seen that a number indicated by 3' appears at the bottom of the glossary 3, here the number 500. This number indicates how many words there are in the glossary in total under the selected category, but it will be understood that there is neither space nor appropriateness to show the entire contents of the glossary. Fig. 2h shows that the possible words in the list are "shrunk" considerably after the entry of letter number 2. If one were to enter a long word that is at the bottom of the word list that appears, it will be possible to rotate forward using the system by means of the switch 1' to a starting position as shown in fig. 2a and press the switch at location II' (function field II on the animation 1) to activate a glossary marker 6 and by rotating the switch 1' to move this marker 6 downwards until the desired word is selected. This selected word is confirmed by another press linked to function field II.

Fig. 3 will now be explained in more detail, as the drawing figures fig. 3a-3h show a variant of the system just explained in connection with fig. 2a-2m.

After a main menu, a program for entering text is selected and a screen as shown in fig. 3a. If you select the function linked to field II on animation 1, it will be possible to move down list 3. Field 2 is also a text field here. When selecting function field I, the animation 1 will change to "Edit" or editing mode, see fig. 3b, whereby it becomes possible to edit a written text. A marker 7 can thus be moved by first depressing what is represented by function field I, i.e. depressing the switch 1' in depress location I, and then rotating the switch 1', i.e. its control element 1". In the case of selection linked to the function field V will move back to the previous menu. If function field IV is selected as shown in Fig. 3a, fields 8 and 9 will appear, see Fig. 3c. Animation 1 will show the alternative numbers and letters over which a cursor 10 will move when the control element 1" of the switch 1' is rotated, or alternatively the letters 11 that the predictive system selects. Fig. 3d shows that the field 11, here denoted by 11', can contain a plurality of fields for displaying additional letters. However, here, for the sake of simplicity, emphasis has been placed on showing the principle and thus in the further explanation, only a field 11 is included which gives the opportunity to show three data elements. Fig. 3e shows that the field 8 frames part of a "keyboard" 12. It should be clearly understood here that the structure and design of such a keyboard 12 should not in any way be limiting for the inventive idea, but only serve as an embodiment example for to understand the principle of the system according to the invention. The keyboard can, for example, be built up alphabetically or in Qwerty form as shown in fig. 3 and 4, or otherwise. Fig. 3 e and 3 f show an alternation of the field 8 between the keyboard's main part 12 and its lower part 12'. Switching can be done by placing the cursor 10 over the keyboard symbol 13, as shown in fig. 3 f. The marker 10 will in this position also cover a function such as "back" (Back) 14 and "activate" (enter) 15, as known from the "ordinary keyboards". Fig. 3g and fig. 3h shows that it is possible to leave only one of the keyboard parts 12, respectively 12' visible at a time, so that they visually lie on top of each other, as also indicated with the fields 8 and 8'.

The system according to the invention will now be further described in connection with what appears in fig. 4a-4u. The entry of data elements will be described here using a rotatable multi-function switch which has five pressure points, as shown in connection with fig. 1, and where there is an interactive interaction between the viewer and the predictive letter and word system that the invention has provided. In the example shown, you want to write "The telephone number is 22 35 70 18". When switching to the "number keyboard", such as the keyboard lower part 12', the predictive system will naturally switch to guessing numbers, as explained in the following.

In fig. 4a, one has gone from a main menu, as for example shown in fig. 3 a and is in a mode for writing, e.g. selection of function field IV on fig. 3a ("Keyboard"). The control element 1" of the switch 1' is rotated to move the cursor 10 to an area on the keyboard 12 where the desired character is located. The letter T is keyed by pressing in position I', see Fig. 1, on the switch 1', which causes function selection I which shown in Fig. 4a where this function selection field is thus highlighted. The character thus entered or entered will appear in field 2. This causes the predictive system, according to the invention, to be activated. From a word list, all words beginning with the letter "t" are listed up in priority order and shown in field 3 to the extent that there is room for these words. At the bottom of the field, a number 3' will be entered which indicates the total number of words found within the said word category, possibly how many words there are in addition to those shown. The predictive system picks out the word "The" based on the fact that this is the most used word, statistically speaking, in the list and it is placed in field 9. At the same time, letter number two from the first three words (with different second letter) picked out of the system and placed in field 11. As shown in fig. 3d, the field 11 may optionally consist of several fields 11', whereby it will be possible to select several candidates for the second letter.

In the example chosen here, however, you want the selected word and function field IV, i.e. space is selected and the proposed word will thus be entered in text field 2. As shown in fig. 4d, the letter "t" is then entered and the system will again select "the". However, another word is desired here and one therefore continues entering "e", see fig. 4e, which in this case is easily accessible, as the predictive system has presented as a shortcut in field 11. It will be seen here that the same letters also appear more clearly in animation 1. In this case, the letter "e" appears in function field III on the animation 1. Here again you will see that rotation of the switch 1' control element 1" is not necessary to retrieve the correct letter.

Referring to fig. 4f, it will be seen that the first word that is prioritized in list 3 is now printed, in this case "telephone". The list has now been "shrunken" as there are no longer as many options associated with the two letter combinations "te" that have been entered. Function field IV on the animation 1, related to depression point IV on the switch 1' is selected to confirm the word "telephone" and this word is then printed on the screen, see field 2 on fig. 4g. The control element 1" of the switch 1' is then rotated until the marker 10 covers the letter group "YHN", as these letters also appear in the animation's function fields I, II and III. The letter "N" is selected, as indicated in fig. 4h and as indicated in fig. 4i all words that have the first letter "n" are listed in the list 3, while at the same time "name" is entered in the field 9 which is the top word on the list and which is also marked with the list marker 6. The letters "aou" are distributed in the respective fields I, II, III on animation 1 and are the various options for the letter after the first letter "n" which appears in the glossary in field 3. It will be seen from the glossary that the first word has as the second letter "a" , the next three have as second letter "o" and the next word has as second letter "u". Referring here to Fig. 4j, the letter "u" is selected, upon activation of function field III and the system will thus bring up the word " number". This word can be confirmed by the use of spaces the place of depression represented at function field IV, see fig. 4 j.

Referring now to fig. 4k-4m "is" should be written according to the same principles as discussed earlier. As will be understood, the multifunction switch's control element 1" is rotated until the marker 10 lies above the letters "ikx" as shown in Fig. 4k and when the control element 1" is pressed down at position I', i.e. function field I, as shown in Fig. 4k, the letter "i" is entered in field 2. As indicated by field 11, the system now predictively selects the three most likely second letters in the word that has now been started and these letters are "stn", which also appear on the animation 1 in the respective fields I, II, III. Here, it would be correct to select the letter s linked to field I by pressing down the switch's control element 1" again at position I'. "Is" thus appears in field 9. At the same time, field 2 now says "The telephone number is".

A number must now be entered, and this means that numbers must be displayed on the keyboard. This means that you have to retrieve the keyboard lower part 12', as shown and described in connection with fig. 3e-3h. In fig. 4n you can see that the cursor has been moved to position 13, and respectively "back" (back) "activate" (enter) and "change keyboard part" appear in the respective function fields I, II and III on the animation 1. Here, pressing down is selected the switch's control element 1" associated with the function field III, thereby changing to a keyboard lower part which primarily consists of numbers and symbols, indicated by the reference number 12'. As indicated in fig. 4o and fig. 4q, a change between the keyboard parts will also be possible by rotating the switch's control element 1" to thereby "scroll" the marker 10 past "p!," whereby the keyboard's lower part 12' appears as shown in fig. 4p. Numbers can be entered in the same way as shown and explained in detail in connection with entering letters. Fig. 4n, 4p and fig. 4r-4u shows this. Here previously used numbers will be stored, so that the system, according to the invention, can guess which number the user is likely to enter based on statistical frequency of use. This can easily be transferred directly to a number directory and in devices where the system is used in a connection situation, such as, for example, in a telephone.

The invention will now finally be described in connection with an embodiment which does not make use of a multi-function switch that can be rotated in steps as shown in fig. 1, but makes use of an intrinsically traditional keyboard.

In this case, you do not need to use the key that shows the letter group in a writing process where the system guesses letters regardless of which group they belong to. The system, according to the invention, will, during input of letters, add up the guessed letters that form words that the system finds "correct" and the user can, by using direction/OK keys 14,15,16, choose one of the "new" the groups, or as shown in fig. 5a-5d one of the selected letters. If the system guesses incorrectly, the user can use the "normal keyboard" to go directly to the letter group that has the letter the user is looking for. Another option, if there is a large enough viewer screen, is to go directly to the word list and choose from among the selected words. It will be possible to scroll up and down in this list using the arrow keys 17, 18, but it is also possible to use a scroll switch, such as the scroll switch 19 shown in fig. 5d. This is basically a scroll switch with three pressure points and when rotated it can be used to scroll through the glossary in addition to replacing the OK keys 14-16 as shown in fig. 5a-5c. As indicated in fig. 5a, pressing the key 20 will cause the letters "STU" to appear on the display screen 21. By pressing the key 15, the letter "T" is selected. Thereby, a predictive list 22 appears on the display screen of the words that appear to be the relevant ones, taking into account the statistically greatest frequency. The system will predictively select the letters "HOE" as these appear as the second letter in the words entered in part of the word list 22. The predictive system has suggested the word "the", but this is not the desired word, as "telephone" is what is desired to be written. The predictability therefore dictates that key 16 is pressed to select the letter e. If the word "the" had been correct, this could have been confirmed, for example, by pressing key 23 as shown in fig. 5b. When selecting the letter e, the word "telephone" appears at the top of the dictionary 22 at the same time as the three letters "lea" which are the third suggested letter in the desired word. However, in the example shown, "telephone" is in the desired word, and this can then be selected by pressing, for example, the key 23. It will also be seen that the list as shown in fig. 5b has in the version found in fig. 5c shrunk from 500 words to 27 words, as choosing a second letter limits the list's content.

In a similar way, use of a roller switch 19 as shown in fig. 5, with three depression points is used in a similar way as just shown and described in connection with fig. 5a-5c. Here, one will also have the advantage of being able to move a marker, such as the marker 24, by rotating the switch.

It is also possible to imagine a guess of the person/name and number based on the entered combination of numbers and letters. Predictability may exist with respect to names in a letter combination. For example, there may be a list of names with associated numbers. One can imagine finding e.g. the name noia erison, plus 47 22 23 24 25.1 in this case the user can enter "N" and all people whose names begin with "N" will be selected. If "E" is also entered, only names beginning with these two letters will appear. There is also the possibility of predictability in the system with regard to numbers and letter combinations. In this case, this will happen as essentially described above, but here both numbers and letters are used in combination to find a correct name. For example, it is possible to write "N22" and, for example, all people who live in Oslo with names beginning with "N" will be selected. If "E" is added, it will be very unlikely to bring up more than the person or phone number that the user is looking for.

There is thus the possibility of a system which, in a certain case, can use a combination of the first letter of a name, as well as the first number, e.g. a telephone number. In this case, the system will be able to be adapted to what the user wants to find in lists, such as e.g. in a telephone directory, address book, etc. The system will therefore be able to provide an infinity of possibilities for predictive searches for names, numbers, addresses, etc. by combining letters, numbers, symbols, etc. When searching for e-mail addresses, it is possible to create a system where you enter a letter plus @ plus a letter for a domain (e.g. "no", "com"). For web addresses (WEB), it will be possible e.g. to enter a letter plus domain, possibly more letters.

It is also possible, in further application of the present system, to make guesses based on sentence formulations and based on grammar. This means that words are guessed on the basis of a preceding word, as well as that the correct conjugation of the word is guessed. However, this implies a large need for storage capacity and processing power, but the predictability will in and of itself be the same as when weighting letters in a word. In this way, you only expand the system so that it can put together sentences according to a priority, possibly related to a grammatically correct word order. Correcting spelling and grammar is known in and of itself, so that in this case this can be used as an addition to the possibilities that the described system has already been shown to have.

In a further application of the system according to the present invention, it is possible to imagine that this can be used predictively in connection with filling in forms, such as, for example, personal details and other data. By using the system in a predictive operating mode, it will be easy in and of itself to be able to e.g. fill in forms, either internally or externally (website). The individual rubrics will require specific data, e.g. name, number etc. based on what the form applies to, and the system will in this case hold a database that contains the choices and data that should be available. In the case of names that are exchanged between, for example, mobile phone devices, there may be options there that enable data to be exchanged. In this connection, you can think of e.g. meeting reminders, agendas etc. However, this will require that a software is designed for this. In this way, it will also be possible to exchange predictive word lists, whether these are personal or standard word lists.

Within the framework of the invention, as expressed in the attached patent claims, it will also be possible to make complete modifications without thereby deviating from the idea and scope of the invention.

Claims (17)

1. System for entering data elements, e.g. letters, characters, numbers and / or symbols in connection with electronic apparatus or equipment that has or is connected to a display, where the system is designed to make proposals for the data expression when entering at least one first data element included in a data expression, characterized by - that the system includes an incrementally rotatable multi-function switch with five pressure points and where rotation of the switch causes movement of a cursor over an array of said data elements, - that the display shows an animation of the multi-function switch and its pressure points, as well as the successive data elements over which the cursor is brought to select at least the first data element when the switch is pressed at the specified pressure point, and that the system after entering said at least the first data element and possibly further data element(s) are predictively arranged to indicate in the depressed places on said animation at least one of the next most probable data element in the data expression regardless of the cursor's position on the array of data elements. 2. System for entering data elements, e.g. letters, characters, numbers and / or symbols in connection with electronic apparatus or equipment that has or is connected to a display, where the system is designed to make proposals for the data expression when entering at least one first data element included in a data expression, characterized by - a) that the system includes an incrementally rotatable multi-function switch with five pressure points, - b) that rotation of the switch causes movement of a cursor over an array of said data elements, c) that the viewer is arranged to show an animation of the multi-function switch and its depression locations, as well as the successive data elements over which the cursor is brought to select at least the first data element when the switch is depressed at the indicated depression location, and - d) that the system, after inputting the aforementioned at least the first data element and/or any additional data element(s), is predictively arranged to indicate to the viewer, without further rotation of the switch, predictively at least three data elements on the switch animation for further construction of words, regardless of the marker's position on the arrangement of data elements, and at the same time suggestions for remaining data elements in a completed data expression, as the proposed data expression - either e) can be selected as acceptable, so that it becomes the final data expression or so that it can be followed by at least one further data expression, - or f) is rejected by choosing one of the aforementioned three predictive data elements instead, - or g) is rejected by moving the cursor to lie above at least three data elements in the array, and one of these is selected by pressing the switch at the specified pressure point. 3. System as stated in claim 1 or 2, characterized by - that the predictive instruction is designed to only come into operation after rotation of the switch has caused movement of the cursor, marking of at least three data elements on the layout and on the switch animation, and selection of one of these when pressing the switch at the desired pressure point. 4. System as stated in claim 1 or 2, characterized by - that the predictive indication of the next data element is related to a pre-stored look-up list of data expressions, preferably data expressions in priority order 5. System as specified in claim 4, characterized in that the look-up list is arranged to be displayed in a separate field on the viewer. 6. System as specified in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when specifying one data expression as part of several data expressions in a context is the system is designed for - either predictively proposing at least one first possible data element in a subsequent data expression, - or predictively indicating the most probable, subsequent data expression, - or scroll through the list of pre-stored data expressions by rotating the switch. 7. System as specified in one or more of the preceding requirements, characterized by - that one of said print-down locations is arranged to represent a space between entered data elements or entered data expressions, and/or accept a predictive data expression to be followed by a further data expression. 8. System as specified in one or more of the preceding requirements, characterized by - that a central location of the pressure points is designed to represent a return function ("BACK") or return-to-main-menu function ("HOME") 9. System as specified in one or more of the preceding requirements, characterized by - that the screen also displays a predictive data element field consisting of at least one set of at least three data elements. 10. System as stated in claim 8, characterized in that the set represents at least the next three unique data elements in a next data expression in a list of selected data expressions 11. System as specified in one or more of the preceding requirements, characterized by - that a function field is shown on the screen over which the cursor can be moved, where a first function is related to a return function ("Back"), a second function is related to an "enter" function ("Enter") and a third function is related to a data element type switch. 12. System as stated in claim 10, characterized by the data element type switching between a) letters and b) numbers/special characters. 13. System for entering data elements, e.g. letters, characters, numbers and / or symbols in connection with electronic apparatus or equipment that has or is connected to a display, where the system is designed to make proposals for the data expression when entering at least one first data element included in a data expression, characterized by - that the system includes a standard keyboard with - either three confirmatory push-down keys and three keys in addition to another function has a marl control function, or a roller switch with three pressure points and possibly axially aligned impact switch function, as well as three keys which additionally have a cursor control function, where rotation of the switch causes movement of a cursor over an arrangement of the aforementioned data elements, - that a field is displayed on the display indicating the aforementioned pressure points, as well as the successive data elements that press the keyboard's letter or number/sign keys provide for selection of at least the first data element when pressing down on one of the confirming pressure points, and - that the system, after inputting said at least the first data element and possibly further data element(s), is predictively arranged to indicate in said field the pressure points of at least one of the next most likely data element in the data expression. 14. System as stated in claim 13, characterized by - that the predictive indication of the next data element is related to a look-up list of data expressions, preferably data expressions in priority order. 15. System as specified in claim 14, characterized in that the look-up list is arranged to be displayed in a separate field on the viewer. 16. System as stated in claim 13,14 or 15, characterized by - that by specifying a data expression as part of several data expressions, the system is aligned to predictive: to propose at least one first possible data element in the subsequent data expression and/or - to indicate the selectable data elements which predictively follow the previously existing, entered data element, said selectable data elements being selected in priority order from at least three consecutive data expressions in the look-up list. 17. System as stated in one or more of the preceding claims 13-16, characterized by that one of the keys in the keyboard is arranged to, when pressed, provide either a confirmation predictively suggested data expression or a space for subsequent data elements.