Language input interface on a device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-RE46139-E
Application number	US-201414516533-A
Country	US
Kind code	E1
Filing date	Oct 16, 2014
Priority date	Mar 4, 2008
Publication date	Sep 6, 2016
Grant date	Sep 6, 2016

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for inputting text. A virtual keyboard is presented in a first region of a touch sensitive display of a device. An input representing a phonetic string is received on the virtual keyboard. The entered phonetic string is presented in a second region of the touch sensitive display. One or more candidates are identified based on the phonetic string. At least a subset of the candidates is presented. An input selecting one of the candidates is received. The entered phonetic string is replaced with the selected candidate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
presenting a virtual keyboard corresponding to a first alphabet in a first region of a touch-sensitive display of a device;
receiving an input on the virtual keyboard representing a phonetic string;
presenting the phonetic string in a second region of the touch-sensitive display;
identifying one or more candidate representations based on the phonetic string, wherein the candidate representations correspond to a second alphabet different from the first alphabet;
identifying one or more additional candidate representations based on the phonetic string in a third alphabet different from the first and second alphabets;
presenting a candidate tray including at least a subset of the candidate representations and a subset of the additional candidate representations;
receiving an input of a selected candidate representation of the candidate representations and the additional candidate representations; and
replacing the entered phonetic string with the selected candidate representation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the phonetic string comprises Chinese romanization; and
the candidates comprise Chinese characters.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the phonetic string comprises Japanese romanization; and
the candidates comprise one or more of the group consisting of Japanese kanji characters and Japanese kana symbols.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual keyboard comprises keys corresponding to letters of the Latin alphabet.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the candidates comprise multi-character words.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying one or more candidates based on the phonetic string comprises identifying one or more candidates using text prediction from the phonetic string.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein presenting at least a subset of the candidates comprises presenting the subset of the candidates in an order determined based on the text prediction.

8. A portable device comprising:
a touch-sensitive display;
memory;
one or more processors; and
instructions stored in the memory and configured for execution by the one or more processors, the instructions comprising instructions to:
present a virtual keyboard corresponding to a first alphabet in a first region of the touch-sensitive display of a device;
receive an input on the virtual keyboard representing a phonetic string;
present the phonetic string in a second region of the touch-sensitive display;
identify one or more candidate representations based on the phonetic string, wherein the candidate representations correspond to a second alphabet different from the first alphabet;
identify one or more additional candidate representations based on the phonetic string in a third alphabet different from the first and second alphabets;
present a candidate tray including at least a subset of the candidate representations and a subset of the additional candidate representations;
receive an input of a selected candidate representation of the candidate representations and the additional candidate representations; and
replace the entered phonetic string with the selected candidate representation.

9. The device of claim 8 , wherein:
the phonetic string comprises Chinese romanization; and
the candidates comprise Chinese characters.

10. The device of claim 8 , wherein:
the phonetic string comprises Japanese romanization; and
the candidates comprise one or more of the group consisting of Japanese kanji characters and Japanese kana symbols.

11. The device of claim 8 , wherein the virtual keyboard comprises keys corresponding to letters of the Latin alphabet.

12. The device of claim 8 , wherein the candidates comprise multi-character words.

13. The device of claim 8 , further comprising instructions to identify one or more candidates using text prediction from the phonetic string.

14. The device of claim 13 , further comprising instructions to present the subset of the candidates in an order determined based on the text prediction.

15. A computer program product, encoded on a tangible program carrier, operable to cause a portable device to perform operations comprising:
presenting a virtual keyboard corresponding to a first alphabet in a first region of a touch-sensitive display of a device;
receiving an input on the virtual keyboard representing a phonetic string;
presenting the phonetic string in a second region of the touch-sensitive display;
identifying one or more candidate representations based on the phonetic strings wherein the candidate representations correspond to a second alphabet different from the first alphabet;
identifying one or more additional candidate representations based on the phonetic string in a third alphabet different from the first and second alphabets;
presenting a candidate tray including at least a subset of the candidate representations and a subset of the additional candidate representations;
receiving an input of a selected candidate representation of the candidate representations and the additional candidate representations; and
replacing the entered phonetic string with the selected candidate representation.

16. The program product of claim 15 , wherein:
the phonetic string comprises Chinese romanization; and
the candidates comprise Chinese characters.

17. The program product of claim 15 , wherein:
the phonetic string comprises Japanese romanization; and
the candidates comprise one or more of the group consisting of Japanese kanji characters and Japanese kana symbols.

18. The program product of claim 15 , wherein the virtual keyboard comprises keys corresponding to letters of the Latin alphabet.

19. The program product of claim 15 , wherein the candidates comprise multi-character words.

20. The program product of claim 15 , wherein identifying one or more candidates based on the phonetic string comprises identifying one or more candidates using text prediction from the phonetic string.

21. The program product of claim 20 , wherein presenting at least a subset of the candidates comprises presenting the subset of the candidates in an order determined based on the text prediction.

22. A method comprising:
presenting a virtual keyboard corresponding to a first alphabet in a first region of a touch-sensitive display of a device;
receiving an input on the virtual keyboard representing a phonetic string;
presenting the phonetic string in a second region of the touch-sensitive display;
identifying one or more candidate representations based on the phonetic string, wherein the candidate representations correspond to a second alphabet different from the first alphabet;
identifying one or more additional candidate representations based on the phonetic string in a third alphabet different from the first and second alphabets;
presenting at least a subset of the candidate representations and a subset of the additional candidate representations inline with the phonetic string in the second region, where the candidate representations are displayed according to an orientation of text in the second region;
receiving an input selecting one of the candidate representations and the additional candidate representations; and
replacing the entered phonetic string with the selected candidate representation.

23. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying one or more additional candidate representations based on the phonetic string in a third a

Assignees

• Kida Yasuo
• Kocienda Kenneth
• Cranfill Elizabeth Caroline Furches
• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Kida Yasuo
• Kocienda Kenneth
• Cranfill Elizabeth Caroline Furches

Classifications

• G06F3/0237 Primary

  using prediction or retrieval techniques · CPC title

• G06F3/018

  Input/output arrangements for oriental characters · CPC title

• G06F40/129

  Handling non-Latin characters, e.g. kana-to-kanji conversion · CPC title

• G06F3/04886 Primary

  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 · CPC title

• G06F40/274

  Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs · CPC title