JP6208718B2 - Dynamic placement on-screen keyboard - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a smooth touch-sensitive surface that allows a user to place a hand or finger on the surface without causing event actuation. More specifically, the touch surface is a dynamic display that presents an on-screen keyboard that is used to enter text and commands.

The origin of modern keyboards as the primary means of entering text and data from man to machine dates back to the early typewriters of the 19th century. With the development of computers, it was a natural development to improve the typewriter keyboard used as the main means for inputting text and data. The implementation of keys on typewriters and subsequent computer keyboards has evolved from mechanical to electrical and eventually to electronic, but the size, layout, and mechanical properties of the keys themselves have largely changed. Absent.

Computers have evolved from a “desktop” configuration to a more portable configuration known as a “laptop”, “notebook”, “netbook”, or “portable”. Laptop computers typically have an integrated mechanical keyboard as part of the device. This type of integrated keyboard has the advantage that it is similar in size and feel to a stand-alone keyboard typically used with desktop computers. However, by incorporating a keyboard, a portable computer has a display and a keyboard.
Has one part. Most portable computer models employ a “folding” design, where the keyboard part forms the base and the display part forms the lid. The presence of a keyboard in a portable computer makes the size of the portable computer almost twice the size it should be.

In the past decade, a new form of portable computing device, commonly referred to as a “tablet” computer, has emerged. Typically, this type of portable computing device relies solely on touch as the primary human computer interface means instead of having an integrated keyboard. Many people believe that tablets and eventually “touch surfaces” that permeate everyday life will become the standard way for people to interact with “computers” in the future.

While this new touch-centric computing paradigm has many advantages, one notable disadvantage is the absence of a keyboard. An external peripheral keyboard can usually be connected to the touch screen computer, but the external peripheral keyboard is not suitable for the purpose of the apparatus, and the advantages of the touch screen computer over the conventional laptop computer are negated.

The evolution of computing devices is aimed at touch-type user interfaces, and as a natural evolution of the keyboard concept, the keyboard has been incorporated into the virtual world of computer displays.

Auer et al., In US Pat. No. 4,725,694, describe a system in which one or more images of a simulated keyboard are displayed on a touch sensitive screen of a computer and appropriate control signals are generated in response to the touch of a simulated key. doing. In a later refinement of this concept, the keyboard image does not occupy a dedicated portion of the screen, but is displayed and floated on top of other applications running on the computer. The user operates this “on-screen keyboard” or “virtual keyboard” by overlaying the cursor pointer or by directly touching a key via the touch screen using a finger or stylus.

On-screen keyboards, for example as described by Auer, are some public information kiosks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones, tablets, other handheld computers that are too small to accommodate a physical keyboard, etc. Mainly used in devices lacking a standard keyboard. On-screen keyboards are often used by people who have physical problems and cannot use conventional electromechanical keyboards.

Small touch screen devices such as PDAs and smartphones do not have enough screen size to be able to type on an on-screen keyboard using multiple fingers by conventional touch typing methods. As a result, many inventions have sought to provide alternative text input methods that require less physical space than conventional keyboard layouts.

Grover et al., US Pat. No. 5,818,437, describes a system that reduces the number of individual keys required by assigning multiple characters to each key. This reduces the number of keys and reduces the space occupied on the screen. In addition, another invention that aims to reduce the size of the on-screen keyboard and / or facilitate text entry on a small screen is also disclosed by Lee US Pat. No. 6,292,179, Kaehl
er US Pat. No. 5,128,672, Vargas US Pat. No. 5,748,512
No. 5, Niemeier US Pat. No. 5,547,482, Van Kleeck US Pat. No. 6,008,799, and Perlin US Pat. No. 6,031,525.

While these inventions have various advantages in entering text with a small on-screen keyboard, they cannot enter text at a speed comparable to standard “10-finger” typing on a conventional keyboard.

To accelerate typing speed, Robinson et al., US Pat. No. 7,277,088.
Describes a system in which the disambiguation algorithm does not require the user to select each letter of a word with the keys of an on-screen keyboard. Since it doesn't have to be very accurate, the user can type quickly.

Kuschler et al., US Pat. No. 7,098,896, describes a system that allows text to be entered with one finger (or stylus). With this system, the user places his finger on the key representing the first letter of the desired word and slides the finger onto the key of each letter in the word while touching the touch surface. This has the advantage of accelerating text input by eliminating the action of raising and lowering the finger on-screen keyboard for each character. The disambiguation algorithm does not require the user to select a character so accurately, and the speed is further accelerated.

In order to set the world record of the fastest typing on a smartphone, Swiss (registered trademark), which has put the technology described by Kushler et al. Into practical use, was used. The new record achiever entered the prescribed words at a rate of 61 words per minute. This is a remarkable speed, but this is due to one finger input, well below the maximum speed possible with 10 finger typing.

Another approach uses a speech recognition system and inputs text by utterance. Although this technology has made significant progress recently, even if it works 100% correctly, there are many cases where the user does not want to input text by speaking (such as when consideration for others or privacy is required within the audible range). . Thus, there remains a need for alternative ways of entering text in some keyboard theoretical framework.

For large touch screens capable of 10-finger typing, it is desirable to find a quick text input method that is roughly comparable to the typing style learned with conventional keyboards. There are three important issues. First, the relatively large display area required for a 10-finger on-screen keyboard must be overcome. Second, the lack of haptic feedback that is common with mechanical keyboards must be overcome. Thirdly, the “home row” of the on-screen keyboard, as a user would normally do with a conventional electromechanical keyboard (
home-row) "position must be able to place a finger.

Marsden et al. In US Patent Application No. 2009/0073128 aims to use touch and vibration sensors that function by allowing the user to place a finger on a touch-sensitive surface and also in correlation with each other. The problem is overcome by detecting key presses. However, with this method, the keyboard keys are in a fixed position and take up considerable space on the dynamic display of the portable device. Also, since the key position is fixed, the user must pay attention to confirm that the finger is tapping the correct location. Tactile markers such as jagged keys help the user feel without looking at the keys.
However, it is not practical to place a tactile marker on the touch screen device.

Traditional electromechanical keyboards have adopted the “home row” concept for many years. The home column is a key for placing a finger toward the user when he / she starts typing.
This concept is particularly important for users who have mastered typing with 10 fingers without looking at the keys. By placing it in the home column (a dedicated “
Including using a “marker”), the user knows where to move his finger to type the desired letter, symbol, number, or function. Therefore, the user can type quickly without looking at the finger, and can concentrate on writing.

The prevalence of computers, e-mail, and text messaging in today's society has increased the percentage of “touch typers” over the last generation (who were subject to typing classes were limited to those seeking secretarial work). In fact, keyboard skills are often taught early in the curriculum of young children. Ten-finger (“touch”) typing is still the fastest and most reliable known writing method.

The present invention allows a user to place a finger on a key of an on-screen keyboard displayed on a touch-sensitive screen, and dynamically defines the position, orientation, shape, and size of the on-screen keyboard And providing a method. Rather than paying attention to the user placing a finger on the key (usually placing the finger on the key's tactile marker), the system moves the on-screen keyboard to the location where the user's finger is already placed. Move dynamically.

In one aspect of the invention, the process defines a “home column definition event”. The home row definition event is an action performed by the user, and based on this, the system redefines the position of the home row of the on-screen keyboard. This position is dynamically set based on the user's action.

In another aspect of the invention, the home column definition event is generated by the user for a predetermined time (eg, 1
Defined as placing all four fingers of both hands simultaneously on the touch-sensitive surface for a second).

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the home column definition event is defined as a user double-tapping all four fingers of both hands on a touch-sensitive surface and placing the finger on the surface after the second tap. Is done.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a home column definition event is defined as a user placing all four fingers of both hands simultaneously on a touch sensitive surface and then pressing the fingers instantaneously thereafter.

These actions (as well as other actions) are initiated by the user and tell the system that the user's finger is in the home row placement position. The system of the present invention then directs the on-screen keyboard in the appropriate orientation. Note that the home row keys are not necessarily arranged on a continuous line (the home row keys are arranged on a continuous line in most electromechanical keyboards). The position of each key in the home row is defined by the arrangement of the user's eight fingers at the home row definition event sensed by the touch sensor, and the position of the key that is not the “home row placement key” is estimated. . Thus, the home row may line up along two separate lines depending on the placement of each hand and even form two curves.

In this way, the system of the present invention needs to distinguish between the user placing his finger down on the touch-sensitive display surface and the user trying to type by tapping a virtual key. . Such a method is described in Marsden US Patent Application No. 2009/00.
73128.

When a home queue definition event occurs, the system provides feedback to the user in various ways. In one aspect of the invention, the system provides visual feedback by displaying an on-screen keyboard under the user's finger. In another aspect of the invention, the system provides an audible cue. In yet another aspect of the invention, the system momentarily vibrates the touch screen.

In one aspect of the present invention, the on-screen keyboard remains visible while typing is being performed according to user preferences. Alternatively, the on-screen keyboard becomes transparent after the home row definition event. In another aspect of the invention, the on-screen keyboard is translucent and the user can see the screen content below through the keyboard.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the on-screen keyboard repeats visible and invisible states as the user is typing. Each time the user taps a “hidden” on-screen keyboard, the on-screen keyboard appears temporarily and gradually disappears after a user configurable time.

In yet another aspect of the invention, only certain keys are visible after a keystroke. The key that is temporarily visible is the key that is most likely to follow the previous text entry task (determined based on word and character databases stored in the system).

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the on-screen keyboard becomes temporarily visible when the user placing the finger at the home row position presses the surface with the placed finger.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the on-screen keyboard becomes visible when the user performs a predetermined operation such as a double tap or a triple tap at the outer edge of the touch sensor area.

In one aspect of the present invention, the home row placement key has 8 fingers placed on each hand 8.
Defined as keys. In yet another aspect of the invention, there are fewer placement keys than eight keys to accommodate users who do not use all eight fingers.

In another aspect of the invention, the system narrows down the intended key according to a particular finger movement in the intended direction. For example, the user raises the ring finger, moves it slightly down, and taps it.
Even if the user's finger movement was not enough and the virtual position of the adjacent key was not reached, the user moved the finger at a settable threshold distance from the placement position and tapped in the direction of the adjacent key. Was obviously to choose an adjacent key. In this example, the system selects the adjacent key even if the adjacent key is not tapped.

In another aspect of the invention, the system adjusts the probability that each key is selected based on the immediately preceding text. This probability is used in conjunction with the tap position algorithm described in the previous paragraph to determine the key that the user is most likely to tap.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the system automatically accounts for “user drift” typing on the on-screen keyboard. Since there is no touch of each key, the user's hand tends to shift slightly when typing. The system tracks this behavior by comparing the intended key center with the actual position tapped by the user. When a consistent drift is detected in the space of successive key events, the system shifts the key position to deal with the drift. Again, rather than the user paying attention to the position of the key, the system moves the key to where the user's finger is already placed.

As the user drifts far away from the touch sensitive area, the system alerts the user with an audible, visible, and / or vibrational cue.

In another aspect of the invention, the method and system monitor a user's taps on the surface of the portable computing device, outside the touch sensor boundary. For example, the user may tap the end of the device enclosure to indicate a space bar operation. As with other tap events, the system correlates signals from the touch sensor and vibration sensor to determine the tap position. When the absence of a signal is detected by the touch sensor, the system recognizes the event as an “external tap” (ie, a tap on the surface of the device, outside the touch sensor boundary). The external tap generates a unique vibration waveform depending on its position in the enclosure. These waveform characteristics are stored in a database and used to uniquely identify the approximate location of the external tap. The identified external taps can be assigned to keyboard functions (space, backspace, etc.).

  The preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system formed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process performed by the system shown in FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process performed by the system shown in FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process performed by the system shown in FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process performed by the system shown in FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process performed by the system shown in FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process performed by the system shown in FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a tablet device with a planar virtual keyboard formed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 shows a keyboard display formed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 shows a keyboard display formed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus 100 that provides an adaptive on-screen keyboard user interface for alphanumeric input. The apparatus 100 is a CPU (processor).
One or more touch sensors 120 that provide input to 110 are included. The touch sensor 120
Notify the processor 110 of a touch event when the surface is touched. In one embodiment, touch sensor 120 or processor 110 includes a hardware controller;
The hardware controller interprets the original signal generated by the touch sensor 120 and communicates information to the processor 110 through an available data port using a known communication protocol. The device 100 includes one or more vibration sensors 130 that, like the touch sensor 120, communicate signals to the processor 110 when the surface is tapped. The processor 110 displays the display 1 based on signals received from the sensors 120 and 130.
A keyboard image presented on 40 (touch surface) is generated. In order to send an appropriate auditory signal to the user as a guide (eg an error signal), the processor 110 has a speaker 150
Is also coupled. A vibrator 155 is also coupled to the processor 110 to provide appropriate haptic feedback to the user (eg, an error signal). Processor 11
0 is in data communication with memory 160, which is a combination of temporary and / or permanent storage, read only and writable memory (random access memory or RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, hard drive , Writable non-volatile memories such as floppy disks, and the like. Memory 160 includes program memory 170, which includes all programs and software, such as operating system 171, adaptive on-screen keyboard (“OSK”) software component 172, and some other application program 173. The memory 160 also includes a data memory 180, which is the word database 1.
81, a record of user options and preferences 182 and any other data 183 required for some element of the device 100.

When a home column event is detected by processor 110 based on signals from sensors 120, 130, processor 110 places a virtual on-screen keyboard on display 140 below the user's finger. As the user types, the processor 110 continuously monitors the placement and tapped position of the user's fingers for each key actuation and positions each key (and the entire keyboard) to position the on-screen keyboard where the user types. , Adjust orientation, and size. This allows accounting for “drift” or movement of the user's finger from the original position of the on-screen keyboard. When the user drifts far in one direction and reaches the edge of the touch sensor area, the processor 110 outputs an audible and / or tactile alert.

At any time, the user can manually reassign the position of the on-screen keyboard by initiating a home column definition event (above).

In one embodiment, the user can enter a “home key” (F and J keys on a typical English keyboard)
When a forefinger is placed on a key commonly referred to as, a vibrator 155 provides tactile feedback. In one embodiment, when a user places a finger on a key, instantaneous vibrations are generated using slightly different frequencies on the left and right. In this way, the user can select the processor 110.
If does not choose to dynamically change the position of the on-screen keyboard, it can choose to return the hand to a fixed home row position. In another embodiment, the intensity of these vibrations can vary depending on the position of the finger relative to the home key in the fixed home row.

The device 100 allows a user to type without looking at a finger or a virtual keyboard. Therefore, the keyboard may not always be visible. This allows valuable screen space to be used for other purposes.

In one embodiment, the appearance of the keyboard changes in a visible, partially visible, invisible, or translucent state. A full keyboard appears when a home row definition event occurs or a finger is placed without typing for a user settable threshold time. When the user begins to type, the keyboard gradually disappears, including but not limited to home row definition events, pausing typing, pressing four fingers simultaneously, or some other uniquely identifiable gesture, It becomes invisible until the user performs any one of the actions. In another embodiment, the keyboard disappears gradually and becomes completely invisible, rather than translucent, so that the user can not only see where the keys are, but also the screen “under” the on-screen keyboard. You can also see the contents.

In one embodiment, the keyboard temporarily “illuminates” the keys that are tapped and the keys surrounding the tapped keys, or displays translucently in proportion to the distance from the tapped keys. This brightens the tapped area of the keyboard for a short time.

In one embodiment, the keyboard is “partially” visible by causing the key with the highest probability of being selected next to illuminate in proportion to that probability. As soon as the user taps a key, another key that is likely to follow is visible or semi-visible. Keys that are likely to be selected are easily visible, and keys that are not likely to be selected are difficult to visually recognize. In this way, the keyboard “guides” the user to the next most probable key.

In one embodiment, the user can tap gestures at the outer edge of the enclosure that surrounds the touch-sensitive surface.
By performing a quick continuous double or triple tap, for example, the on-screen keyboard becomes temporarily visible.

The user can select various on-screen keyboard visual display modes through preference settings in the user interface program.

2A-F illustrate an exemplary process performed by apparatus 100. FIG. The flowchart shown in FIGS. 2A-F is used for illustrative purposes and does not fully describe the software of the present invention.

FIG. 2A shows a process 200 performed by processor 100 based on instructions provided from OSK software component 172. Process 20 at block 206
When 0 is first started, various system variables such as minimum placement time, finger touch count threshold, drift distance threshold, and key threshold are initialized. At block 208, the processor 250 waits until notified that contact has occurred within the area of the touch screen. Then block 210
Then, home row detection is performed based on signals from one or more of the sensors 120, 130. Home row detection is described in more detail in FIG. 2B. In block 212, the position of the virtual keyboard key to be displayed is determined based on the sensor signal. The key position determination will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2C. Next, key activation is processed at block 216 (see FIGS. 2D and E for details). At block 218, the user's finger drift is detected based on the sensor signal. Thereafter, at block 220, a virtual keyboard is presented on the display 140 based on at least one of the decisions made at blocks 210-218. If the user removes eight fingers and then touches the touch screen, process 200 is repeated.

FIG. 2B shows the home column detection process 210. At decision block 234, process 210
Determines whether the user has placed his / her finger on the touch screen for a minimum amount of time (ie, a minimum placement threshold). At decision block 236, the process 210 determines whether a home column definition event begins by placing an appropriate number of fingers on the touch surface. If the condition is not met at block 234 or 236, the process 210 ends without changing the position of the on-screen keyboard.

When the finger placement time and the index condition are satisfied, the processor 110 determines the position of the placed finger. See block 240. Then, in block 242, KeySp
The aceIndex (“KSI”) value is determined. KSI is used to customize the on-screen keyboard to fit the user's finger size and spacing.

The KSI may change at each home row regulation event even for the same user. In one embodiment, the home row definition event begins when all four fingers of each hand are placed on the touch surface. In this case, KSI is given by:

KSI = (average placement key interval) / (modeled nominal interval) = [(a + b + c) / 3] / A =
(A + b + c) / 3A
here,
A = Modeled nominal distance between keys (usually 19mm)
a = Measurement distance between the placement key 1 and the placement key 2 b = Distance between the placement key 2 and the placement key 3 c = Distance between the placement key 3 and the placement key 4 If less than four placement fingers are used to start a column definition event, the KSI formula can be adjusted accordingly (defined by a set of user preferences stored in the database). KSI is used in subsequent processes.

The standard on-screen keyboard data model is stored in system memory. In this data model, the on-screen keyboard layout is divided into two parts: a key normally typed with the right hand and a key normally typed with the left hand. In addition, each key is associated with a home row placement key placed by a finger that is most likely to type that particular key (defined as a “relevant placement key”). In the data model, the position of each key is defined as a relative measured value from its associated placement key.

  An exemplary formula for determining the position of each key is as follows:

Key (x ′, y ′) = Key model (x * KSI, y * KSI)
here,
x = nominal accumulated x distance from the center of the relational placement key (RRK) x = nominal accumulated y distance from the center of RRK It is possible that the modified key positions of two or more keys overlap. In this case, the size of the overlapping keys is reduced until there is no overlapping.

The orientation of the XY axes is determined separately for each placement key. For each left and right sector, a curve is fitted to the placement key in the sector. Next, the XY axes of each key are oriented to be tangent (x axis) and orthogonal / tangent (y axis) to the curve at the center of the key.

FIG. 2C shows a key location assignment process 212. Process 212 is repeated for each key on the keyboard. In block 252, the position of each previously stored key relative to the associated placement key position in the form [ResingKey, Δx, Δy] is retrieved from the database 181. For example, the key representing the letter “R” is related to the placement key L1 (usually the letter “F”) and is located at the upper left of L1. Therefore, the data set is [L1, -5, 19] (in millimeters). Similar data is retrieved from the database 181 for each key. At block 254, a new relative offset is calculated for each key by multiplying the offset derived from the database by KSI. In block 258,
The absolute coordinates of each key are determined by adding the new offset determined in block 254 to the absolute position of the associated placement key. At decision block 260, the process 212 checks whether the keys overlap, and if so, the size and position of the keys are adjusted at block 262 to eliminate the overlap. Thereafter, process 212 is a process 200.
Return to.

FIG. 2D shows the key activation process 216. As a result, the actual key event is determined and output. Process 216 begins at decision block 270 where a check is made to see if a valid touch tap event has occurred. This is the second patent application of Marsden et al.
As described in detail in No. 009/0073128, the determination is made based on the correlation between the touch sensor 120 and the vibration sensor 130. At block 272, candidate keys are scored by applying a key scoring algorithm. The key with the highest score is then block 27.
4 and process 216 returns.

FIG. 2E shows the process of the key scoring algorithm from block 272 of FIG. 2D. At block 280, the signals received by the touch sensor 120 and the vibration sensor 130 are correlated to determine where the user's tap has been made and to define the adjacent key as a “candidate key”. By considering the keys surrounding the tap area (not just the tapped key), the processor 110 accounts for the ambiguity of the user's typing style. At decision block 282, process 272 checks to see if the user has moved his finger from the placement key to type. In a typical typing style, even a typist touching with ten fingers does not always place all four fingers constantly. Therefore,
It is not a prerequisite that a change occurs with the placement key because the correct key is typed. However, if there is a change in the state of the placement key near the candidate key (or if this is the candidate key itself), useful information can be obtained from such change, as described in block 284. At block 284, an imaginary line is calculated between the placement key near the tap where the state change was detected and the position of the tap calculated at block 280. The virtual line extends beyond the tap position. At block 284, the keys through which the projected line passes are determined and the processor 110 increases the score for those keys accordingly. In this way, even if the tap position is not directly above the desired key, the relative movement in the direction of that key is correlated to that key. At block 288, the processor 110 compares and takes into account the typed previous words and characters with the language data stored in the data memory 181. This is the letter-pair statistical frequency, partial-match predictio
n), including known disambiguation methods such as inter-word prediction and intra-word prediction. Each candidate key is assigned an appropriate score. At block 290, the candidate key with the highest score representing the highest computational probability of the user's intended selection is determined and process 272 returns.

FIG. 2F shows a drift detection process 218 that addresses the case where the user unintentionally moves his hand (“drift”) as he types. At block 300, the process 218 compares the actual tap position to the current center of the displayed destination key and accumulates the X and Y coordinate differences as ΔX and ΔY. At block 302, these differences are added to the previous accumulation from the previous keystroke. At decision block 304, the processor 110 determines whether the cumulative difference in either direction exceeds a pre-stored variable called “DriftThreshold” (defined from user preferences or default data stored in the data memory 182). inspect. If the threshold is exceeded, the processor 110 moves the position of the entire keyboard by an average of all ΔX and ΔY since the last position defining event at block 308. If the cumulative difference does not exceed the overall keyboard ShiftThreshold, a similar calculation is performed for each individual key selected in block 316. At block 318, the processor 110 checks after block 316 whether the accumulated difference of individual keys exceeds a user defined key threshold and if so, adjusts its position at block 320. The key threshold is an allowable error of the tap position compared to the current position of the related key. If the key threshold is exceeded, the associated key is moved. After block 308, if block 318 is no, or block 32
After 0, the processor 110 checks at block 310 whether the new position overlaps with other keys and whether the entire keyboard remains within the touch sensor boundaries. If there is a collision in any of the tests, the collision is corrected by the “best fit” algorithm at block 312 and the process ends. If no collision is found, process 218 returns.

The method of the present invention allows the user to type even when the on-screen keyboard is not visible, but sometimes the user may want to see the keys. For example, if the user does not know which key corresponds to the desired character, or if a particular character is in an independent number and / or symbol layer. Another user may not be able to type by memorizing the position of each character.
For these and other reasons, it is important to present an on-screen keyboard that is visible on the screen of the device.

According to the stored user preferences, the on-screen keyboard can remain visible continuously while typing is in progress. Alternatively, the on-screen keyboard becomes transparent after the home row definition event. In one embodiment, the on-screen keyboard is translucent and the user can see the screen content below through the keyboard.

If the keyboard is set invisible, other content can be displayed in full screen. Other active user interface elements such as buttons may be located below the invisible on-screen keyboard. In this case, the device 100 intercepts user input directed to such elements, makes the on-screen keyboard visible and informs the user that it is actually present. The user can then “tidy up” the keyboard by pressing the appropriate key on the keyboard. Cleaning up the keyboard is not the same as making the keyboard invisible. Clearing the keyboard means “minimizing” the keyboard from the screen, as is commonly done in touch screen devices.

In one embodiment, the on-screen keyboard repeats visible and invisible states as the user is typing. Each time the user taps a “hidden” on-screen keyboard, the on-screen keyboard appears temporarily and gradually disappears after a user configurable time.

In one embodiment, only certain keys are visible after each keystroke. The key that is temporarily visible is the key that is most likely to follow the previous text entry task (determined based on word and character databases stored in the system).

In one embodiment, when a user placing a finger at a home row position presses the surface with a placed finger, the on-screen keyboard is temporarily visible based on changes sensed by the touch sensor 120. Become.

In one embodiment, the on-screen keyboard becomes visible when the user performs a predetermined action, such as a double tap or triple tap, at the edge of the outer enclosure of the touch sensor area.

On-screen keyboards are typically set to appear when there is a text insertion condition that is typically visually displayed by an insertion carat (or similar indicator) (indicated by operating system 171). ,Appear.

In one embodiment, haptic markers commonly used with F and J home column keys are simulated by haptic feedback (such as vibrations generated on a touch screen). Haptic feedback is provided when the user places a finger on those keys. In this way, when the user chooses to keep the keyboard stationary at the same position on the screen, the user can confirm the correct placement of the hand with just a touch (without looking at it).

A statistical language model is used to increase the accuracy of the keyboard. If the key selection by the touch / tap event is ambiguous, the processor 110 invokes the statistical model to provide the key that the user is most likely to target.

This “disambiguation” is different from other methods used in other text entry systems, because the present invention must make a permanent decision on the desired key on the fly. There is no end-of-word delineation to display word selections to the user and modify the output. Instead, each time the user taps a key, a decision must be made and the key activation must be sent to the intended application program (ie, a text input program).

Partial-match letter prediction, current-word prediction
prediction), next-word prediction, connected next-word prediction (conjunctive next-w
several statistical analysis methods can be used, such as ord prediction). The following sections explain these in detail.

Prediction by partial match A well-known algorithm useful in this case is partial match prediction (PPM) originally invented for data compression. The PPM algorithm applied to the keyboard is used to predict the most probable next character from a character string of already made (length k). The computation time and resources increase exponentially with the value k. Therefore, the lowest k value that gives reasonable disambiguation results should be used.

As an example, k = 2. The process of the present invention looks at the past two characters entered and compares the probability of the next character most likely to be typed from the database. For example, the underlined character below is used to predict the next character with the highest likelihood.

An
An
An e
An ex
An e xa
An ex am
An exa mp
An exam pl
An exam le
The amount of data required for the total number A of possible keys in this algorithm is as follows.

A ^{k + 1}
For a typical on-screen keyboard, this process consumes less than 1 MB of data.

A statistical model is built for each language (k is a small value). The tables may be similar in languages with a common root. The model also dynamically updates as the user enters text. Thus, the system learns the user's typing pattern and predicts the typing pattern more accurately over time.

Language variants are provided in the form of a language dictionary set through the operating system control panel. The control panel identifies the current user's language from the system locale and selects the appropriate prediction dictionary. The dictionary is queried using a continuously running “system” application that provides new word identification and common word usage scoring.

In one embodiment, a database of words commonly used in a language is used to narrow down the intended keystrokes. The algorithm simply compares the characters typed so far to a word database and predicts the next most likely character based on a match in the database.

For example, assume that the user types “Hel”. Possible matches in the word database are:

Hello (50)
Help (20)
Hell (15)
Helicopter (10)
Helacius (5)
The number next to each word represents the usage “frequency” normalized by 100. (For convenience, the total frequency in this example is 100, but this is usually not the case).

  The candidate characters most likely to follow “Hel” are as follows.

L (70) —Probability P (20) added by the words “Hello”, “Hell”, and “Hellacioous”
I (20)
This example is particularly useful in that the letters L, P, and I are close to each other. The user may tap a position close to several keys (eg, I, O, P, or L). Selection is greatly narrowed by adding word prediction. The next most probable letter in this example is clearly "L".

Note that this word prediction algorithm implementation is different from what is conventionally used for on-screen keyboards. This is because it is not actually a word prediction system, but a character prediction system that uses a word database.

In one embodiment, word pairs are used to further narrow down the keys that are most likely to be selected. Simple word prediction has no context to narrow down the first letter of the current word. This is completely ambiguous. (This disambiguation is slightly reduced for the second and subsequent characters of the word.) The ambiguity of the first few characters of a word is greatly increased by taking into account the word entered immediately before the current word. Reduced. This is called “next word prediction”.

For example, if the input word is “Cleankeys”, the general next words stored in the database are as follows.

Keyboard (80)
Inc. (20)
Is (20)
Will (15)
Makes (10)
Touch (5)
If the user taps unambiguously between the I and K keys as the beginning of the next word, the next word prediction algorithm assists in the refinement (in this case “K” wins).

In logic, the concept of considering a previous word typed is the previous k typed
You may decide to expand to a single word. For example, if k = 2, the system stores a database having the second degree (next next word) for every word in the database. In other words, focus on the combination of the two previous words and determine the word that is most likely to follow.
However, this is immediately disadvantageous in terms of space and computing power. Since most combinations are not possible, accumulating so many combinations is not practical or useful.

However, there are major exceptions that deserve consideration. It is a word with a large number of next word candidates. This includes parts of speech known as conjunctions and articles.

  The seven most commonly used conjunctions in English are:

and, but, or, for, yet, so, nor.

  The English articles are:

the, a, an.

  By treating these 10 words specially, the system improves the first character prediction.

  Consider the phrase kick the_.

Since all nouns in the database are the most probable next word candidates for the article “the”, there is little merit obtained from the next word prediction algorithm. However, the article "the
If the context of “kick” before “is stored, meaningful next word selection is achieved. Specifically, a new “word” “kick_the” is stored in the database. The next word candidates for this new element are as follows.

Ball (50)
Bucket (20)
Habit (15)
Can (10)
Tires (5)
Thus, the next character most likely to follow the phrase “kick_the_”
B ”can be predicted with certainty.

Words found in conjunction with conjunctions or articles are combined with those parts of speech to form new word elements.

A significant difference between the character unit prediction system and the word standard prediction system described here is the ability to dynamically change the direction of prediction for each character. For example, if the guess is incorrect for a particular key and then the desired word is revealed, the algorithm discards the selection made for the wrong character and predicts the remaining characters based on the newly determined target word. Apply.

Example:

As the word progresses, it becomes clear that the first letter “B” should have been “H” (these letters are easy to mistake because they are close to each other in the qwerty keyboard layout). Rather than fully finalizing the first letter and considering only the words starting with “B”, the system also considers other candidates in predicting the second letter. Therefore, B, H, and G are considered as the first letter of subsequent keys. The error does not spill over and the user need only make one correction instead of potentially multiple corrections.

For each new key that is entered, a key close to the key and other ambiguous candidates are considered as possibilities for determining the subsequent character.

If the user makes an error and corrects this using backspace, the system can put that data into the algorithm and make adjustments accordingly.

For example, if the user ambiguously inputs the key at the center of the keyboard, the scoring algorithm will indicate “H”, “J”, and “N” as possible candidates. These three-letter scores are within acceptable limits and the highest score is taken. For example, the algorithm returns the letter “J” as the most likely candidate and the keyboard outputs it. Immediately after this, the user clearly types <backspace> and “H” to correct the error.

This information is fed back to the scoring algorithm, which examines which sub-algorithm scored higher than “J” and “H” when the ambiguous key was initially entered. Since the weights of those algorithms are increased, the letter “H” is selected if the same ambiguous input occurs again. Thus, a feedback loop is provided based directly on user corrections.

Of course, the user himself / herself may make a typing error, not for the algorithm.
The algorithm outputs exactly what the user typed. Therefore, care must be taken when determining whether to initiate a user correction feedback loop. Usually this only happens when the key in question is ambiguous.

User configurable options allow the keyboard to issue backspace and new characters to correct words that were clearly wrong. In the above example, the logical word selection is “ha
If the predictor determines that only "bit", the keyboard issues a backspace and "b"
"To" h "and reissue subsequent characters (possibly completing a word).

Numerous factors contribute to key ambiguity, and all algorithms can increase the number of key candidates. This approach is called scoring. All algorithms are weighted and summed. The weighting is dynamically changed to adjust the scoring algorithm to the user's typing style and environment.

FIG. 3A shows a schematic diagram of a typical handheld tablet computer 350 with a touch-sensitive display 352 incorporated in the front and a keyboard 354 designed and used in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The keyboard 354 used in accordance with the present invention generates text and the generated text is output to a text insertion position 360 in the text display area 358. The term “keyboard” in this application refers to a keyboard implemented with touch and tap sensitive surfaces, including a keyboard presented on a touch sensitive display. Keyboard 35
4 displays the alphabetic characters of each language selected by the user with individual keys generally arranged in the standard “QWERTY” arrangement found on most keyboards.

In one embodiment, the orientation, position, and size of the keyboard (and individual keys) are adaptively changed according to user input behavior. The user touches the touch surface 3 in a specific way
When a finger is placed on 52, the system moves the keyboard 35 to a position determined by the placed finger.
4 is moved. When the user attempts to activate a key, which is the keyboard 354, he taps the desired key by raising his finger and hitting the surface 352 with a recognizable force. The user's tap performed in the areas 362 and 364 outside the touch sensor area 352 is detected by the vibration sensor and can be assigned to a keyboard function such as a space bar.

The absence of the touch sensor signal is actually a zero value signal, correlated with the tap (or vibration) sensor, and can be used to uniquely identify the tap position. In one embodiment, the vibration signals for a particular area outside the touch sensor area 352, such as the areas indicated by areas 362, 364, are unique and are stored in a database by the system. When the absence of a touch signal occurs with a tap event, the system compares the tap vibration characteristics with the vibration characteristics stored in the database to determine the position of the external tap. In one embodiment, the lower outer boundary region 362 is assigned to the space function and the right outer boundary region 364 is assigned to the backspace function.

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary virtual on-screen keyboard 370. Keyboard 37
0 is divided into two halves, a left half 372 and a right half 374 (correlated to the user's left and right hands). Two independent halves 372, 374 are not aligned with each other. Eight keys 378 on which the user's fingers are normally placed are displayed with bold labels according to the fingers normally used for those keys (for example, L1 indicates an index finger of the left hand and L4 indicates a little finger of the left hand). Represents). Other non-home column keys are labeled with a finger that is typically used to type those keys with conventional touch typing techniques. However, it should be noted that there are many typing styles that do not use the finger placement shown in FIG. 3B, and the labels are used exclusively for illustration purposes.

In the left half 372 of the keyboard, all keys are arranged in a horizontal row as in a conventional electromechanical keyboard. In one embodiment, as seen in the right half 374, the home row keys are distributed along an arc to better fit the normal placement position of the user's four fingers. Similarly, the non-home row keys are distributed according to the relative positions with respect to the home row placement keys. In one embodiment, the size of each key can also vary according to the statistical likelihood that the user chooses the key (the higher the likelihood, the larger the key).

FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram of a virtual on-screen keyboard 384 tilted in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. A user can place the hand 390 on the touch-sensitive surface 392 of a typical handheld tablet computer 394 in any position and orientation the user desires. In this case, the hand is farther than normal and tilted with respect to the straight end of the device 394. The user starts an act of instructing a “home row regulation event”. A “home row stipulated event” is a situation where all 8 fingers are placed for a short user-definable time, all 8 fingers are simultaneously double-tapped on the surface 392 and then placed on the surface 392, or Including, but not limited to, pressing all eight fingers placed on 392 simultaneously. In another embodiment, not all eight fingers are required to initiate a home column definition event. For example, a person without a middle finger can start a home row definition event with only three fingers of that hand. Since the user places his hand 290 obliquely on the tablet computer 394, the processor of the computer 294 generates a virtual on-screen keyboard 384 and displays it diagonally.

  Embodiments of the invention that claim exclusive ownership or privilege are defined as follows.

Claims (10)

A method,
In an electronic device having a touch-sensitive display and a plurality of touch sensors coupled to the touch-sensitive display,
Detecting a home column defining event based on a plurality of signals generated by the plurality of touch sensors;
In response to detecting the home column definition event,
Determining a respective position on the touch-sensitive display for displaying each key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard;
Displaying the virtual keyboard on the touch-sensitive display, wherein each key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard is displayed at each determined position on the touch-sensitive display; and ,
Detecting a Ruyu chromatography The input put on the virtual keyboard,
A step of pre Kiyu over The input decides that corresponds to the first key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard,
Detecting a next user input on the virtual keyboard;
In response to detecting the next user input,
Determining that the next user input is ambiguous;
Before SL based at least in part on a comparison of the first key and the recorded language data, to predict whether to try what type the user with at least the first key and the next user input Steps,
Based on the prediction of what the user intends to type at least with the first key and the next user input, the next user input is a second of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard. Determining to correspond to a key of
Changing a visual characteristic of at least one key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard and displaying the at least one key with the changed visual characteristic;
Having a method. Changing the visual characteristics of the at least one key comprises:
A first drift based at least in part on a first position change between the respective position of the second key and a position on the touch-sensitive display corresponding to the next user input. A step of determining
Changing the respective determined position relative to the second key based at least in part on the first drift exceeding a first predetermined threshold;
The method of claim 1, comprising: Detecting a further user input corresponding to a third key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard;
A second drift based at least in part on a second position change between the respective position of the third key and a position on the touch-sensitive display corresponding to the further user input. A step of determining
Determining whether a combination of the first position change and the second position change satisfies a second predetermined threshold;
Each key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard based at least in part on determining that the combination of the first position change and the second position change satisfies the second predetermined threshold Changing the respective determined position with respect to
The method of claim 2 further comprising: Changing the visual characteristic of the at least one key includes changing the visual characteristic of the at least one key and the visual of other keys adjacent to the at least one key on the virtual keyboard. Changing the physical characteristics;
The method of claim 1, comprising:   The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one key is the second key.   The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one key is adjacent to the second key and separate from the second key. Changing the visual characteristic of the at least one key changes the displayed magnitude associated with the at least one key;
The method of claim 1, comprising: Changing the visual characteristic of the at least one key changes a displayed direction associated with the at least one key;
The method of claim 1, comprising: A computer readable program that stores one or more programs executed by one or more processors of an electronic device having (i) a touch sensitive display and (ii) a plurality of touch sensors coupled to the touch sensitive display. Recording medium,
The one or more programs are
Detecting a home column defining event based on a plurality of signals generated by the plurality of touch sensors;
In response to detecting the home column definition event,
Determining a respective position on the touch-sensitive display for displaying each key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard;
Displaying the virtual keyboard on the touch-sensitive display, wherein each key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard is displayed at each determined position on the touch-sensitive display. Display
To detect the Ruyu over The input put on the virtual keyboard,
It determines that the previous Kiyu over The input corresponds to the first key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard,
Detecting the next user input on the virtual keyboard;
In response to detecting the next user input,
Determining that the next user input is ambiguous;
Before SL based at least in part on a comparison of the first key and the recorded language data to predict whether to try to what type the user with at least the first key and the next user input ,
Based on the prediction of what the user intends to type at least with the first key and the next user input, the next user input is a second of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard. Decide to correspond to the key of
Changing a visual characteristic of at least one key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard and displaying the at least one key with the changed visual characteristic;
A computer-readable recording medium containing instructions. Electronic equipment,
Touch sensitive display,
A plurality of touch sensors coupled to the touch-sensitive display;
One or more processors in communication with the touch-sensitive display and the plurality of touch sensors;
A memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs comprising:
Detecting a home column defining event based on a plurality of signals generated by the plurality of touch sensors;
In response to detecting the home column definition event,
Determining a respective position on the touch-sensitive display for displaying each key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard;
Displaying the virtual keyboard on the touch-sensitive display, wherein each key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard is displayed at each determined position on the touch-sensitive display. Display
To detect the Ruyu over The input put on the virtual keyboard,
It determines that the previous Kiyu over The input corresponds to the first key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard,
Detecting the next user input on the virtual keyboard;
In response to detecting the next user input,
Determining that the next user input is ambiguous;
Before SL based at least in part on a comparison of the first key and the recorded language data to predict whether to try to what type the user with at least the first key and the next user input ,
Based on the prediction of what the user intends to type at least with the first key and the next user input, the next user input is a second of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard. Decide to correspond to the key of
Changing a visual characteristic of at least one key of the plurality of keys of the virtual keyboard and displaying the at least one key with the changed visual characteristic;
Said memory comprising instructions;
Electronic equipment having

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