WO2009074278A1 - Dispositif et procédé pour la saisie de caractères combinés - Google Patents

Dispositif et procédé pour la saisie de caractères combinés Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2009074278A1
WO2009074278A1 PCT/EP2008/010394 EP2008010394W WO2009074278A1 WO 2009074278 A1 WO2009074278 A1 WO 2009074278A1 EP 2008010394 W EP2008010394 W EP 2008010394W WO 2009074278 A1 WO2009074278 A1 WO 2009074278A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
character
supplemental
input
base
key area
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2008/010394
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Ying Liu
Jari Alhonen
Diya Gangopadhyay
Original Assignee
Nokia Corporation
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Publication date
Application filed by Nokia Corporation filed Critical Nokia Corporation
Publication of WO2009074278A1 publication Critical patent/WO2009074278A1/fr

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Classifications

    • 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
    • G06F3/048—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
    • G06F3/0487—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
    • G06F3/0488—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
    • G06F3/04886—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
    • 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
    • G06F3/018—Input/output arrangements for oriental characters
    • 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
    • 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
    • G06F3/048—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
    • G06F3/0487—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
    • G06F3/0488—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
    • G06F3/04883—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M2250/00—Details of telephonic subscriber devices
    • H04M2250/22—Details of telephonic subscriber devices including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M2250/00—Details of telephonic subscriber devices
    • H04M2250/58—Details of telephonic subscriber devices including a multilanguage function
    • 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 following specification particularly describes the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
  • the present application relates to a device and a method for inputting characters , and in particular to a device and a method for inputting characters in an alphabet having many characters or character combinations .
  • the input means such as keypads and touchpads , have traditionally been designed for Latin based languages and due to this the overall design of the mobile device follow the same design making it difficult to implement text input for languages using alphabets having more characters than the Latin alphabet.
  • One common way to arrange the characters of the Latin alphabet is by assigning a number of characters to a single key as is commonly done for ITU-T keypads having twelve keys with the character groups ⁇ abc' , ⁇ def' , ⁇ ghi' , ⁇ jkl' , ⁇ mno' , ⁇ pqrs' , ⁇ tuv' , ⁇ wxyz' assigned to the keys X 2', y 3' , ⁇ 4' , '5', ⁇ 6' , y T , ⁇ 8' and ⁇ 9' respectively.
  • the remaining three keys ⁇ l' , ⁇ *' and ⁇ #' are used for special characters or functions .
  • This type of keyboard commonly uses input methods such as multi-tapping, where a certain character is input by repeated taps on the corresponding key, or through the use of predictive text input engines such as Tegic's® T9®. This has the draw back that only a limited number of characters can be assigned to each key for reasons such as labelling (too many characters would not fit on a single key) and fast input (too many characters on each key would either require too many multi-taps or produce too many candidates that need to be scrolled through) .
  • Another way is to use a QWERTY (or AZERTY) style keyboard where the characters are assigned to one key each making it faster to input each character.
  • This has the drawback that for an alphabet having many characters the keypad has to be very large which is not suitable for devices that are to be portable and carried around close to a person and give quick and easy access to data stored thereon .
  • the writing script Devnagari which is used for several Indo-Aryan languages including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Sindhi , Bihari , Bhili , Marwari , Konkani , Bhojpuri , Santhali, Nepali, Newari and Tharu, has 12 svara (vowels) and 34 vya ⁇ jana (consonants) making a total of 46 characters .
  • the vowels can exist in two forms , the actual vowel and its corresponding matra.
  • a matra refers to the sound of the vowel. As a matra is combined with a consonant the matra associates the sound of the vowel or matra with the consonant.
  • consonants can also exist in two forms, one complete and one partial .
  • the partial form is used to create conjunct letters comprising two or more consonants called ligatures .
  • Thai Thai or phasa thai being a Tai kadai language has an alphabet that has 46 consonants and 31 vowels.
  • Thai also uses many accents and tone markers or diacritics that need to be easily accessible to input text quick and efficiently. Due to the large numbers of characters a keypad designed to accommodate all letters and signs would need to be very big.
  • a device comprising touch input means for identifying a key area, said touch input means comprising a plurality of key areas, wherein at least one key area is associated with a base character, said device also comprising control means for combining a further character input received through said touch input means with a said base character associated with said identified key area into an input character and appending said character input to a text string.
  • ligature or other part of a word By identifying some base characters in an alphabet that when combined with other further characters forms a syllable, ligature or other part of a word a reduced key area or key pad can be achieved while still allowing a user to type in all the characters of an alphabet in a quick and efficient way.
  • the further character is a supplemental character .
  • said supplemental character is received through said identified key area. If a user keeps on writing in the same area that was identified a movement is saved, making the input more efficient.
  • said supplemental character is received through a default key area.
  • the device further comprises control means for combining further supplemental characters with said base character.
  • control means for combining further supplemental characters with said base character In some languages or scripts it can be possible to further subdivide a base character into characters that possibly need to be supplemented by more than one other character, mark or sign to complete it. This allows for a further reduced keypad.
  • the text string is null before appending said input character.
  • the character input is in effect a standard input of one character that can be used in some applications not requiring a longer text.
  • the base character is a vowel and in one embodiment the base character is a matra.
  • the number of vowels and matras are generally lower than the number of consonants, esp. in Devnagari , and as these are to be combined with a consonant or other, such as a diacritic, to form the correct character they are well suited for being base characters for a keypad that is small in physical size yet easy to use and providing access to a full writing script.
  • the supplemental character is consonant.
  • the supplemental character is a diacritic. Simply identifying a base character and quickly adding a diacritic on top of it makes the input very quick and easy to use and intuitive to learn.
  • the touch input means are a touch display. Using a touch display makes it easy for a user to identify the correct key area.
  • the device further comprises means for combining a base character with another base character or input character.
  • the device By reversing the input order of the consonant and the vowel or in a consonant-vowel/matra pair the device can be made much smaller as there are far fewer vowels and even matras than there are consonants .
  • the objectives above are also achieved by providing a method for inputting text in a device comprising touch input means comprising a plurality of key areas where at least one key area is associated with a base character, wherein said method comprises identifying a key area and associated base character by user selection through said touch input means , receiving a further character input through said touch input means , combining said further character input with said base character associated with said key area into an input character through combining means and appending said input character to a text string through appending means .
  • This method has the same advantages as the device described above.
  • the further character is a supplemental character .
  • the step of receiving said supplemental character through said touch input means further comprises receiving a graphical trace of the supplemental character in the key area through said touch input means .
  • the step of receiving said supplemental character through said touch input means further comprises receiving a graphical trace of the supplemental character starting in the key area through said touch input means . If the graphical pen trace is only required to start in the identified key area the key areas can be made smaller thus either reducing the size of the total key area or keypad or allowing further base characters to be displayed. It also allows the user to make bigger graphical traces which are easier to make correct and easier to recognise, especially if the contain small details .
  • the step of identifying said key area further comprises displaying an enlarged key area on said display means .
  • the step of receiving said supplemental character through said touch input means further comprises receiving a graphical trace of the supplemental character in a default key area through said touch input means .
  • a default area is very intuitive to use and makes the method easier to learn.
  • the step of appending said input character to a text string further comprises creating a text string which is null for the input character to be put into through the appending means .
  • the base and supplemental characters represent in the script that is being implemented with the method.
  • the steps of receiving a further character through said touch input means and combining said further character with said base character into a an input character by said combining means are repeated whereby more than one further character is combined with said base character into an input character by said combining means .
  • the method further comprises a step of receiving a second base character through said touch input means and a step of combining said base character with said second base character into a base character through said combining means .
  • the further character is a base character .
  • the method further comprises a step of receiving a second base character through said touch input means and a step of combining said input character with said second base character into an input character through said combining means .
  • the display means are the same as said touch input means .
  • a computer readable medium including at least computer program code for controlling a device comprising touch input means comprising a plurality of key areas where at least one key area is associated with a base character, said computer readable medium comprising software code for identifying a key area and associated base character by user selection through said touch input means , software code for receiving a further character input through said touch input means , software code for combining said further character input with said base character associated with said key area into an input character through combining means and software code for appending said input character to a text string through appending means .
  • the further character is a supplemental character .
  • the objectives are achieved by a device incorporating and implementing a computer readable medium according to above.
  • the objectives above are achieved by a module comprising touch sensitive input means for identifying a base character associated with a key area, display means for displaying a plurality of key areas, receiving means for receiving a further character, combining means for combining said identified base character with said received further character into an input character and appending means for appending said input character to a text string.
  • said further character is a supplemental character .
  • said supplemental character is received through said identified key area.
  • said supplemental character is received through a default key area.
  • the module further comprises control means for combining further supplemental characters with said base character.
  • said text string is null before appending said input character.
  • said supplemental character is a diacritic . In one embodiment said supplemental character is consonant.
  • said base character is a vowel.
  • said base character is a matra.
  • said touch input means is a touch display .
  • the module further comprises means for combining a base character with another base character or input character.
  • the base characters could be the similar graphical presentations of the letters and the supplemental characters could be the accent marks or diacritics a combination of which would produce a complete input character.
  • Other possibilities are also possible such as having the diacritics being the base characters and writing the letter on top of them.
  • the writing script for Vietnamese is a Romanised writing script based on the Latin alphabet and has 29 letters, 10 digraphs, 1 trigraph and 9 accent marks or diacritics. Of these 29 characters many of them share the same base character and as the digraphs and trigraphs are combinations of two or three characters the teachings of this application can beneficially be used for Vietnamese reducing the number of characters needing assigned keys (virtual or physical) .
  • To input a digraph the user could write the second or following character on top of the first. For example to input ⁇ CH' a user would draw an ⁇ H' on top of the ⁇ C thereby form the digraph ⁇ CH' . Alternatively for digraphs the ⁇ H' could be dragged onto the ⁇ C or vice versa to be combined as a CH.
  • each character is constructed by one or more pen strokes forming graphical symbols or structures. Many of the characters share some of these structures that are part of the complete character and can be changed into the complete character by supplementing with further strokes or structures . Each supplemental pen stroke can only be in a few of places thus making the number of candidates relatively small and easy for a user to select. If the base characters are the most common structures a user can quickly input a complete character by identifying and selecting a base character and then draw one or more supplemental characters which are combined with the base character to form a complete input character. In one embodiment it is possible to combine more than one base character into a more complex base character that can either for a complete input character or be combined with further supplemental or base characters .
  • a device comprising touch input means having a plurality of key areas, wherein at least one key area is associated with a base character, said touch input means being arranged to identify a key area upon user selection and thereby also the associated base character, wherein said touch input means being further arranged to receive a further character, said device being arranged to combine said base character with said further character into an input character .
  • a device comprising a touch input comprising a plurality of key areas, wherein at least one key area is associated with a base character, for identifying a key area, said device also comprising a controller adapted to combine a further character input received through said touch input with said base character associated with said identified key area into an input character.
  • the further character is a supplemental character .
  • said supplemental character is received through said identified key area.
  • the device further comprises control means or a controller for combining further supplemental characters with said base character.
  • the input character is appended to a text string which can be null before appending said input character to it.
  • said supplemental character is a diacritic. In one embodiment said supplemental character is consonant.
  • said base character is a vowel .
  • said base character is a consonant.
  • said base character is a matra.
  • said touch input is a touch display.
  • the device is further arranged to combine a base character with another base character or input character.
  • the objectives above are achieved by providing a method for inputting text in a device comprising a touch input or touch input means comprising a plurality of key areas where at least one key area is associated with a base character, wherein said method comprises identifying a key area and associated base character by user selection, receiving a further character input, combining said further character input with said base character associated with said key area into an input character.
  • the further character is a supplemental character .
  • the method further comprises appending said input character to a text string.
  • the step of receiving said supplemental character further comprises receiving a graphical trace of the supplemental character in the key area .
  • step of receiving said supplemental character further comprises receiving a graphical trace of the supplemental character starting in the key area.
  • the step of identifying said key area further comprises displaying an enlarged key area on said display.
  • the step of receiving said supplemental character further comprises receiving a graphical trace of the supplemental character in a default key area.
  • step of appending said input character to a text string further comprises creating a text string which is null for the input character to be put into.
  • the supplemental character is a diacritic.
  • the supplemental character is a consonant .
  • the base character is a vowel .
  • the base character is a matra.
  • the steps of receiving a supplemental character and combining said supplemental character with said base character into a an input character are repeated whereby more than one supplemental character is combined with said base character into an input character .
  • the method further comprises a step of receiving a second base character and a step of combining said base character with said second base character into a base character.
  • the method further comprises a step of receiving a second base character and a step of combining said input character with said second base character into an input character.
  • the display means are the same as said touch input means, alternatively they are a touch display.
  • Fig. 1 is an overview of a telecommunications system in which a device according to the present application is used according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 2 is a plane front view of a device according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the general architecture of a device of Fig. 1 in accordance with the present application
  • Fig. 4a, b and c are flow charts describing methods according to embodiments
  • Fig. 5 is a plane front view of a device according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 6 is a plane front view of a device according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 7 is a plane front view of a device according to an embodiment .
  • Fig. 8 is a plane front view of a device according to an embodiment .
  • the device, the method and the software product according to the teachings of this application in the form of a cellular/mobile phone will be described by the embodiments. It should be noted that although only a mobile phone is described the teachings of this application can also be used in any electronic device and especially in portable electronic devices such as laptops , PDAs , mobile communication terminals , media players, game consoles, watches, video and photo cameras electronic books and notepads and other electronic devices offering access to information.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a cellular telecommunications system in which the invention may be applied.
  • various telecommunications services such as cellular voice calls, www/wap browsing, cellular video calls, data calls, facsimile transmissions, music transmissions, still image transmissions, video transmissions, electronic message transmissions and electronic commerce may be performed between a mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention and other devices, such as another mobile terminal 106 or a stationary telephone 132.
  • a mobile terminal 100 may be performed between a mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention and other devices, such as another mobile terminal 106 or a stationary telephone 132.
  • different ones of the telecommunications services referred to above may or may not be available; the invention is not limited to any particular set of services in this respect.
  • the mobile terminals 100, 106 are connected to a mobile telecommunications network 110 through RF links 102, 108 via base stations 104, 109.
  • the mobile telecommunications network 110 may be in compliance with any commercially available mobile telecommunications standard, such as GSM, UMTS, D-AMPS, CDMA2000, FOMA and TD-SCDMA.
  • the mobile telecommunications network 110 is operatively connected to a wide area network 120, which may be Internet or a part thereof.
  • An Internet server 122 has a data storage 124 and is connected to the wide area network 120, as is an Internet client computer 126.
  • the server 122 may host a www/wap server capable of serving www/wap content to the mobile terminal 100.
  • a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 130 is connected to the mobile telecommunications network 110 in a familiar manner .
  • Various telephone terminals including the stationary telephone 132, are connected to the PSTN 130 .
  • the mobile terminal 100 is also capable of communicating locally via a local link 101 to one or more local devices 103.
  • the local link can be any type of link with a limited range, such as Bluetooth, a Universal Serial Bus
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • WUSB Wireless Universal Serial Bus
  • IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network link an IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network link
  • the local devices 103 can for example be various sensors that can communicate measurement values to the mobile terminal 100 over the local link 101.
  • the mobile terminal 200 comprises a speaker or earphone 202, a microphone 206, a main or first display 203 which is a touch display having a set of virtual keys 204.
  • a virtual key is a dedicated key area on the display and any touch input in that area is interpreted as being an input relating to that key.
  • a virtual key can be used much in the same way as a normal physical key by identifying the virtual key by pressing or touching on the associated key area with a finger or stylus .
  • a touch could also be detected without actual touching by using proximity sensors . These sensors are adapted to detect if an object is in close proximity to a surface.
  • the key areas are indicated on the display with some graphics indicating the associated character, letter, number or function and possibly including a marked border that makes it easier for a user to see the borders of the key making identification of the key easier.
  • the device also includes certain other keys such as soft keys 205 and a joystick 213 or other type of navigational input device .
  • the mobile terminal has a controller 300 which is responsible for the overall operation of the mobile terminal and may be implemented by any commercially available CPU ("Central Processing Unit") , DSP ("Digital Signal Processor") or any other electronic programmable logic device.
  • the controller 300 has associated electronic memory 302 such as RAM memory, ROM memory, EEPROM memory, flash memory, or any combination thereof.
  • the memory 302 is used for various purposes by the controller 300, one of them being for storing data used by and program instructions for various software in the mobile terminal .
  • the software includes a real-time operating system 320, drivers for a man-machine interface (MMI) 334, an application handler 332 as well as various applications .
  • MMI man-machine interface
  • the applications can include a calendar application 350, a notepad application 360, as well as various other applications 370, such as applications for voice calling, video calling, sending and receiving Short Message Service (SMS) messages, Multimedia Message Service (MMS) messages or email, web browsing, an instant messaging application, a phone book application, a calendar application, a control panel application, a camera application, a text input application , a Hand Writing Recognition (HWR) engine, one or more video games, a notepad application, etc.
  • SMS Short Message Service
  • MMS Multimedia Message Service
  • HTTP Hand Writing Recognition
  • the MMI 334 also includes one or more hardware controllers, which together with the MMI drivers cooperate with the touch display 336/203 including the virtual keypad 204, and the special keys 338/205 as well as various other I/O devices such as microphone, speaker, vibrator, ringtone generator, LED indicator, etc.
  • the MMI includes drivers for a touchpad 340.
  • the user may operate the mobile terminal through the man-machine interface thus formed.
  • a touch display a normal display and a touchpad could be used.
  • the touchpad may then be arranged with labels indicating different writing and/or key areas and their associated characters and/or functions .
  • the software also includes various modules , protocol stacks, drivers, etc., which are commonly designated as 330 and which provide communication services (such as transport, network and connectivity) for an RF interface 306, and optionally a Bluetooth interface 308 and/or an IrDA interface 310 for local connectivity.
  • the RF interface 306 comprises an internal or external antenna as well as appropriate radio circuitry for establishing and maintaining a wireless link to a base station (e.g. the link 102 and base station 104 in FIG. 1) .
  • the radio circuitry comprises a series of analogue and digital electronic components , together forming a radio receiver and transmitter. These components include, band pass filters, amplifiers, mixers, local oscillators, low pass filters, AD/DA converters , etc .
  • the mobile terminal also has a SIM card 304 and an associated reader.
  • the SIM card 304 comprises a processor as well as local work and data memory .
  • the touch display 203 is arranged with ten virtual keys or key areas 204, and each of these key areas 204 are associated with a base character which in this embodiment is a matra.
  • the associated matra is displayed or indicated 211 on the key area 204 within border markers 210. It should be understood that using vowels (requiring 11 key areas) is also feasible.
  • the touch display 203 is also arranged with a default key area 207 which is used as a default writing area 207.
  • the touch display 203 is further arranged with a candidate display area 209 and a text display area 208.
  • a user who wants to input Hindi text using the Devnagari script can either input each character directly in the default character area 207 or by using the key areas 204.
  • each consonant is paired with a matra to form words or part of words when using Devnagari the user can reverse the order in which the characters are input.
  • the number of keys necessary can be slightly reduced.
  • a user identifies or selects a key area 204 in step 410 by clicking on the key area 204 on the touch display 203 with a stylus or a finger and the associated base character is received by the controller 300 (not shown in fig 2) in step 420.
  • the user can then either move his hand to the default key area 207 or keep it by the identified key area 204 in step 430 and write a supplemental character, in this embodiment a consonant.
  • a graphical trace is recognised and stored by the driver 336.
  • This graphical trace is then sent to the controller 300 where it is converted into graphical data constituting a pen stroke which is used by the HWR engine 370 to recognise which character or other sign that has been input through the touch display 203.
  • This pen stroke originating from the graphical trace constitutes the supplemental character .
  • the supplemental character is received by the controller in step 440 and combined with the base character already received into an input character in step 450, in this embodiment a consonant-matra pair.
  • the input character is then appended to a text string being displayed in the text display area 208 in step 460 by the controller 300.
  • the text string is naturally empty or null and as the first character is appended to it the text string will gain a length or size. It should be noted that a text string of length 1 could be used for some applications only requiring 1 character, such as initiating a phone book search for example.
  • the different possible candidate characters are displayed in the candidate display area 209.
  • the user can then write in further supplemental characters either on the identified key area 204 or the default key area 207 as indicated by arrow 455. Or the user can select one of the candidate characters displayed in the candidate display area 209.
  • a hand writing recognition (HWR) engine or other input means 370 interprets the strokes made and recognizes a supplemental character.
  • the HWR engine only has a limited number of possible supplemental characters so the recognition is relatively simple as a skilled person would realize.
  • a first candidate can be displayed in the display area 208 simultaneously with the candidate characters being displayed in the candidate display area 209.
  • the candidate characters being displayed in the candidate display area 209 can either include or exclude the first candidate character. Should another candidate character be selected this candidate character is made to be the first candidate character.
  • switching from the key area 204 to the default key area 207 after a supplemental character has been input will be recognized by the controller 300 as an accept of the input character.
  • the mobile phone has a switch key 214 which can be used to switch the base characters associated with the key areas 204. This would enable a base character set up with consonants as base characters as well which is useful for ligature input.
  • a user wanting to input a ligature could then press the switch key area 214 which causes the touch display 203 to display consonants associated with the key areas 204 as indicated by the graphical indications 211.
  • the user would identify one key area 204 associated to the base character wanted and then either drag and drop the next base character if visible or draw a supplemental character which will be combined with the base character into a complete ligature.
  • the switch key 214 could be used to scroll between different sets of consonants .
  • a halant can be a supplemental character .
  • the base character set is user definable so that the user can add, remove or delete base characters from the set thereby creating a base character set well-suited for personal or regional use.
  • the mobile phone 200 is adapted for Chu Quoc Ngu or Vietnamese input and the base characters are the letters ⁇ A B C D E G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y ⁇ and the supplemental characters are diacritics used to complete the alphabet.
  • the complete alphabet is ⁇ A A B C D D E E G H I K L M N O ⁇ ⁇ P Q R S T U U V X Y CH GH GI KH NG NGH NH PH QU TH TR ⁇ .
  • the diacritics could be the base character and a user would then input the characters without a diacritic in the default key area 207 and the ones with a diacritic in the corresponding key area 204.
  • the digraphs could have a special key area for indicating that it is a digraph that is being input whereupon two graphical pen traces would be received and combined into a complete input character.
  • the mobile phone 200 is adapted for Thai, Khmer and/or Lao input
  • the base characters are the diacritics and the user simply writes a letter of the alphabet on top of the key area 204 with the selected or identified diacritic forming an input character consisting of the letter (being the supplemental character) and the diacritic (being the base character) .
  • the second base character can be dragged and dropped on to the first identified base character. This is possible in all languages having such a need. For the Thai embodiment above it is possible that more than one diacritic (such as an accent and a tone marker) should be input for the same character . For Vietnamese this would be useful when inputting diagraphs or trigraphs .
  • Figure 4b shows a method where a base character can be combined with both supplemental characters and further base characters.
  • a base character key area 204 is identified by the user tapping it with a stylus and the corresponding base character is received by the controller. The user then continues by selecting further characters, base or supplemental by dragging and dropping other key areas 204 to the identified one or by writing on the touch display 203 as explained above, step 435. These characters are thus received by the controller 300, step 445, and combined in step 450 and displayed 260.
  • Figure 4c shows a method where a user selects a key area 204 470 and the associated base character is received by the controller 300 in step 471.
  • the key area 204 or the associated base character is then dragged and dropped in step 472 on a second key area 204.
  • the second key area 204 is identified in step 473 and a second base character is received 474.
  • they are combined into one base character.
  • This base character can then either be the finished input character or be further supplemented with supplemental characters and possibly also further base characters .
  • the input character is complete and displayed in step 476.
  • an identified key area 204 is enlarged so that it is easier for a user to input a supplemental character in the area. See figure 5 where the border markers 210 have been expanded to indicate an enlarged key area 204.
  • the identification of a key area 204 can be done either as the pen touches the key area 204 or by using proximity sensors common in the field when the stylus or finger comes close to a key area 204. As the stylus moves over the key areas 204 different key areas 204 will be identified or selected and subsequently de-selected as the stylus moves on.
  • the key area identified 204 becomes the starting point for any subsequent input of a supplemental character. See fig 6 in which a pen trace 212 over many of the key areas 204 is shown.
  • a user identifies a key area 204 by placing the stylus in the key area 204 on the touch display 203 which also selects a base character associated with the key area 204.
  • To input a supplemental character the user draws on the whole virtual key area using all the key areas 204, including the default key area 207 and possibly the whole display area of the touch display 203.
  • a user can use much more of the touch display for the input which makes it easy to input the supplemental characters, as the movements can be larger and more precise in detail and faster to process the display updates and the image recognition as no rescaling is needed as the display does not change.
  • This is especially useful for languages using many diacritics .
  • To input a letter without a diacritic the default writing area 207 is used, either to input the whole character or as a starting point. And to input a character with a diacritic the key area 204 associated with the diacritic is used as a starting area.
  • the input can thus be made very similar to conventional character input using HWR.
  • the default writing area 207 is made large so as to occupy most of the lower half of the touch display 203.
  • Four key areas 204 area arranged above the default key area 207 each having base characters ⁇ ⁇ ' , ⁇ A ' , ⁇ '' and ⁇ * ' assigned to it respectively as indicated by the graphical indicator 211.
  • ⁇ ⁇ ' , ⁇ A ' , ⁇ '' and ⁇ * ' assigned to it respectively as indicated by the graphical indicator 211.
  • To input "A ma ⁇ ana!” a user would simply write as normal, but when it came time for the ⁇ fi' the user would start in the key area 204 and draw an ⁇ n' . Instead of simply clicking the ⁇ ⁇ ' symbol and then writing the ⁇ n' the user can save time and effort by not having to lift and move his hand and the input becomes one single swift movement.
  • the mobile phone 200 (see also below for fig 8) is adapted for logogram or iconic input, such as the scripts used for Chinese et.c.
  • logogram or iconic input such as the scripts used for Chinese et.c.
  • the key areas 204 will thus have one basic pen stroke associated with it and as a key area 204 is identified the base character is received by the controller. Further strokes in either the default writing area 207 or on top of the key area 204, starting in the key area 204 or in an enlarged version of the key area 204 as explained above, are sent to the controller 300 as supplemental characters and they are combined by the controller 300 into an icon or input character. Most often more than one supplemental character is required and the user continues to input them as above .
  • a further basic pen stroke can be used to complete a base character and the user can simply drag and drop this further base character on top of the identified key area 204.
  • a pen-trace can be left for a short time interval possibly up until acceptance of an input character to show to the user what has been input and where . This is especially useful as some characters might need more than one stroke.
  • any predictive text input engine could be coupled with the character input described in this application to provide a faster input of whole words or even phrases and sentences .
  • a HWR engine will then recognize which character is being input and to which language and/or alphabet it belongs and possibly automatically alter the layout of the touch display' s 203 to display key areas 204 that are associated with base characters for the alphabet recognised.
  • a HWR engine could be used to detect which user is currently using the device and change the base character set accordingly to the preferred language or personalised base character set if such exists .
  • special key areas could be assigned to special functions or characters, signs such as the operation delete, punctuation marks or other operation keys such as the switch key 214.
  • Each base character is a common pen-stroke or combination of pen-strokes i.e. a structure. These base characters are indicated 211 on the key areas 204.
  • To input a character a user identifies a base character 211 by clicking or tapping on the associated key area 204. The base character is thus received by the controller 300. The user can then proceed with either combining more base characters to the first or writing or drawing some supplemental characters on the touch display in the key area 204 in the default area 207 or over a bigger area of the touch display 203 as is shown in figure 8 with the graphical trace 212.
  • Indications as to how the supplemental character is to be combined with the base character can be given by the position of the supplemental character input in the key area 204 or 207 or display portion used. For example if the supplemental character is to be combined with the base character in the upper half of the base character, the supplemental character is drawn on the upper portion of the key area 204 or 207 used. If the identified key area 204 is enlarged this becomes easier as it is easier to indicate exactly where on or in relation to the base character the supplemental character belongs .
  • the relative position can also be indicated by a quick tap on the displayed base character before or after the supplemental character is input. Which input method that is easiest to use depends on the screen size, the number of base characters displayed and the size of the key area 204 in relation to the stylus being used.
  • the various aspects of what is described above can be used alone or in various combinations .
  • the teaching of this application may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software, but can also be implemented in hardware or software .
  • the teaching of this application can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium. It should be noted that the teaching of this application is not limited to the use in mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones, but can be equally well applied in Personal digital Assistants (PDAs) , MP3 players, personal organizers or any other device designed for providing information while maintaining low power consumption .
  • PDAs Personal digital Assistants
  • Another advantage of the teaching of the present application is that it is quick to use and easy to learn.
  • teachings of this application can also be used for other languages even languages based on the Latin alphabet.
  • teachings herein were to be applied to Swedish the unique characters ⁇ A' , ⁇ A/ and ⁇ O' could be input by inputting a ring or an umlaut respectively on top of the base characters ⁇ A' and ⁇ O' .
  • any accents or diacritics could be input by directly making them on top of the base character. French having many diacritics is one language that would benefit from this.
  • Inputting ⁇ e' for example would be done by making the acute accent ⁇ ' ' directly on the base character ⁇ e' producing ⁇ e' .

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Input From Keyboards Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention porte sur un dispositif qui comporte des moyens d'entrée tactiles, lequel dispositif comprend une pluralité de zones de touche. Les zones de touche sont chacune associées à un caractère de base. Une zone de touche est identifiée et un caractère de base est sélectionné. Le dispositif comprend également des moyens de commande pour combiner une autre entrée de caractère reçue par les moyens d'entrée tactiles avec le caractère de base associé à ladite zone de touche identifiée en un caractère d'entrée et annexer ladite entrée de caractère à une chaîne de texte.
PCT/EP2008/010394 2007-12-11 2008-12-08 Dispositif et procédé pour la saisie de caractères combinés WO2009074278A1 (fr)

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IN2597/DEL/2007 2007-12-11

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WO2012021017A2 (fr) 2010-08-13 2012-02-16 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Procédé et dispositif d'entrée de caractères
EP2450773A1 (fr) * 2010-10-20 2012-05-09 Research In Motion Limited Procédé d'entrée de caractères
WO2014053731A1 (fr) * 2012-10-02 2014-04-10 Naonext Dispositif de commande d'un systeme informatique et/ou electronique
US8810581B2 (en) 2010-10-20 2014-08-19 Blackberry Limited Character input method
WO2014197366A1 (fr) * 2013-06-04 2014-12-11 Google Inc. Saisie gestuelle de signes de tonalité et diacritiques
EP2869180A1 (fr) * 2013-11-01 2015-05-06 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Procédé d'entrée multilingue et appareil d'entrée multilingue l'utilisant
WO2015080836A1 (fr) * 2013-11-27 2015-06-04 Qualcomm Incorporated Entrée de texte pour des systèmes d'écriture abugida avec des caractères conjoints
EP2874058A4 (fr) * 2012-07-12 2016-03-16 Yulong Computer Telecomm Tech Terminal et procédé de commande de terminal
CN106155343A (zh) * 2014-11-24 2016-11-23 贝内迪亚 汉字输入方法及装置
EP2506122A3 (fr) * 2011-03-31 2017-03-29 Nokia Technologies Oy Appareil de saisie de caractères et procédés associés

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WO2006022668A1 (fr) * 2004-08-02 2006-03-02 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Systeme et procede permettant d'entrer des syllabes dans un ordinateur

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EP0661619A1 (fr) * 1993-12-28 1995-07-05 Casio Computer Company Limited Dispositif d'entrée de données avec un clavier virtuel
EP1271295A2 (fr) * 2001-06-29 2003-01-02 Nokia Corporation Méthode et dispositif pour réaliser une fonction
WO2003077108A2 (fr) * 2002-03-11 2003-09-18 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procede de commande d'un appareil de communication et appareil de communication commande selon ce procede
WO2006022668A1 (fr) * 2004-08-02 2006-03-02 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Systeme et procede permettant d'entrer des syllabes dans un ordinateur

Cited By (18)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2012021017A2 (fr) 2010-08-13 2012-02-16 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Procédé et dispositif d'entrée de caractères
EP2604023A4 (fr) * 2010-08-13 2016-06-22 Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Procédé et dispositif d'entrée de caractères
EP2450773A1 (fr) * 2010-10-20 2012-05-09 Research In Motion Limited Procédé d'entrée de caractères
US8810581B2 (en) 2010-10-20 2014-08-19 Blackberry Limited Character input method
EP2506122A3 (fr) * 2011-03-31 2017-03-29 Nokia Technologies Oy Appareil de saisie de caractères et procédés associés
EP2874058A4 (fr) * 2012-07-12 2016-03-16 Yulong Computer Telecomm Tech Terminal et procédé de commande de terminal
WO2014053731A1 (fr) * 2012-10-02 2014-04-10 Naonext Dispositif de commande d'un systeme informatique et/ou electronique
WO2014197366A1 (fr) * 2013-06-04 2014-12-11 Google Inc. Saisie gestuelle de signes de tonalité et diacritiques
KR20160016870A (ko) * 2013-06-04 2016-02-15 구글 인코포레이티드 제스쳐에 의한 톤 및 발음 기호들의 입력
KR102260989B1 (ko) 2013-06-04 2021-06-04 구글 엘엘씨 제스쳐에 의한 톤 및 발음 기호들의 입력
EP2869180A1 (fr) * 2013-11-01 2015-05-06 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Procédé d'entrée multilingue et appareil d'entrée multilingue l'utilisant
US10592081B2 (en) 2013-11-01 2020-03-17 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Multi-language input method and multi-language input apparatus using the same
WO2015080836A1 (fr) * 2013-11-27 2015-06-04 Qualcomm Incorporated Entrée de texte pour des systèmes d'écriture abugida avec des caractères conjoints
CN106155343A (zh) * 2014-11-24 2016-11-23 贝内迪亚 汉字输入方法及装置
CN107003729A (zh) * 2014-11-24 2017-08-01 贝内迪亚 汉字输入方法及装置
EP3226106A4 (fr) * 2014-11-24 2017-11-15 Benedea Inc. Procédé et appareil destinés à la saisie d'un caractère chinois
JP2017536630A (ja) * 2014-11-24 2017-12-07 ベネディア インコーポレイテッド 漢字入力方法及び装置
US10248220B2 (en) 2014-11-24 2019-04-02 Benedea Inc. Method and apparatus for chinese character input

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