Circuit for typing in and / or trasmitting text messages to be processed, portable electronic device comprising it, and related system and method of operation

Abstract

A circuit for an electronic device (10) connectable to a communications network (40). The circuit (20) is configured to be activated by means of an icon (22) that can be displayed on a display (11) of the device, and comprises at least typing and displaying means (23) for typing in a text to be processed (24) and at least one management parameter (25) to be associated with the text for processing it. The circuit further comprises management means applicable to the text to be processed and configured to manage the text and the at least one management parameter (25) to obtain a processed text (34), and displaying means (33) configured to display the processed text (34). The invention also concerns a portable electronic device (10) and a system (5) comprising the circuit, as well as an operation method of the system.

Description

[0001] CIRCUIT FOR TYPING IN AND / OR TRANSMITTING TEXT MESSAGES TO BE PROCESSED, PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE COMPRISING IT, AND RELATED SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATION

[0002] DESCRIPTION

[0003] Technical Field

[0004] The present invention relates, in general, to a circuit configured for typing in and transmitting text messages.

[0005] In particular, the present invention relates to a circuit configured for generating text messages and comprised in a portable electronic device connected to a network.

[0006] The present invention further relates to a system comprising the device, as well as to an operation method thereof.

[0007] Prior Art

[0008] Portable electronic devices, e.g. cellular phones, are known which are configured to allow typing in and transmitting text messages.

[0009] Such devices generally comprise electronic circuits including hardware and software components configured to allow typing in text, to optionally also provide automatic correction of individual words in the text, and to transmit the typed message to another electronic device, e.g. connected to a known telecommunications network.

[0010] One problem suffered by the electronic circuits comprised in portable electronic devices lies in the fact that the typed and transmitted text often includes typing errors or, in some cases, inappropriate words chosen by the electronic circuit when performing the correction.

[0011] Computer systems are also known which use, for example, tools exploiting the so-called Artificial Intelligence to translate text and / or to correct text typed by a system user in accordance with specific rules.

[0012] In general, the Applicant observed that prior-art portable electronic devices cannot effectively solve the problem of typing in text in correct form and transmitting it to another electronic device.

[0013] Description of the Invention

[0014] The invention is defined by the appended claims.

[0015] In particular, the present invention aims at effectively solving the above-mentioned problem suffered by the prior art.

[0016] This object is achieved through a circuit for generating messages having the features set out in the appended claims.

[0017] Such object is also achieved through a device and a system comprising the circuit as claimed herein.

[0018] Such object is also achieved through an operation method of the system as claimed herein. The present invention further relates to a computer-readable medium comprising a set of program modules configured to implement the circuit according to the invention.

[0019] As used herein, any reference to a computer-readable medium should be understood as a computer-readable medium containing instructions for managing a computerized circuit.

[0020] Any reference to a “computer” or a “computerized system” is meant to highlight the possibility of implementing the present invention in a distributed manner on a plurality of computers.

[0021] The claims, the description, and the drawings are integral parts of the technical teaching provided herein according to the invention.

[0022] The following brief description of the invention is provided for the purpose of permitting a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention.

[0023] This brief description is not complete, and as such it should not be understood as suitable for identifying all key or critical elements of the invention, or for fully describing the object of the invention. Its only purpose is to present some of the various concepts of the invention in a simplified and synthetic form, so as to anticipate some elements shown in the drawings and in the detailed description that follows.

[0024] In accordance with a feature of a preferred embodiment, the circuit comprises typing and displaying means for typing in a text to be processed, at least one management parameter to be associated with the text for processing it, management means applicable to the text to be processed and configured to manage the text and the at least one management parameter to obtain a processed text, and displaying means configured to display the processed text.

[0025] In accordance with a further feature of a preferred embodiment, the claimed device and system comprise transmission and reception means for, respectively, transmitting the text to be processed to at least one remote site and receiving the processed text from the at least one remote site, and a display on which both the text to be processed and the processed text are displayed.

[0026] In accordance with another feature of a preferred embodiment, a method is also claimed for typing in and / or transmitting text messages to be processed in a system comprising at least one portable electronic device, and sites connectable, via respective links and a telecommunications network, to the at least one device, comprising the steps of

[0027] - entering a text into an area intended for typing in text,

[0028] - entering or confirming at least one text management parameter,

[0029] - transmitting to one of the sites, via the link, both the text and the management parameter,

[0030] - processing the text to be processed on the site and returning the processed text to the device,

[0031] - displaying the processed text, and either

[0032] - accepting the text as processed, and optionally sending it to an addressee, or

[0033] - modifying the text and / or the management parameter, and transmitting the modified text and management parameter, via the link, to one of the sites.

[0034] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0035] These and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in light of the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, provided herein merely by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are an integral part of the technical teaching of the invention, wherein the same or similar reference numerals identify elements having the same or a similar function or construction, and wherein:

[0036] Fig. 1 shows the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment;

[0037] Fig. 2 shows the device and the circuit in accordance with a preferred embodiment; and Figs. 3a and 3b show an example of a method of operation of the system of Fig. 1.

[0038] In the present description, the drawings are not necessarily in scale, and terms such as upper, lower, longitudinal, orthogonal, lateral, above, under, etc. will have their conventional meaning, unless otherwise specified.

[0039] Description of a Preferred Embodiment

[0040] With reference to Fig. 1, a system 5 in accordance with a preferred embodiment comprises a portable electronic device (hereafter simply referred to as device) 10 and one or more remote systems 30, also referred to as sites, which can be connected, through a known telecommunications network (hereafter simply referred to as network) 40 to the device 10. The device 10 (Fig.1, Fig.2) comprises, inter alia, connected via a bus 19 known per se, known components such as, for example, a CPU 12, a display 11, preferably of the touch type, transmission / reception means 14, configured for at least transmitting and receiving messages, mass memory means 15, configured for storing programs or APPs (electronic applications performing respective functions), and volatile memory means 18, configured for, for example, storing at least messages typed in by a user of the device 10, e.g. messages to be transmitted.

[0041] In accordance with the present embodiment, the mass memory means 15 store also a circuit 20, preferably also referred to hereafter as APP, which implements the present invention.

[0042] In particular, the APP 20 is configured for, once it has been activated by a device user by means of an associated icon 22 displayed, in a known manner, on the display 11, showing on the same display a typing and displaying area 23, where a text to be processed 24 and one or more text management parameters 25 can be entered, e.g. a set of predefined parameters to be associated with the text that the user wants to type in.

[0043] More particularly, the one or more management parameters 25 comprise parameters such as: translation required, e.g. a translation language, text type, e.g. text compliant with a legal standard or a colloquial standard, etc.

[0044] According to the present embodiment, the APP 20 is also configured for proposing to the user, through a flag or an icon 27, a link 31 configured to establish, by means of the device 10 and the network 40, a connection to the site 30 to be used for activating, for example, one of the functions provided by one of the predefined parameters.

[0045] In particular, the flag or icon 27 may be presented to the user within the display 11, as shown in Fig. 1, or, according to one possible variant, within the typing and displaying area 23.

[0046] More particularly, in accordance with the present embodiment, the user can save into the volatile memory 18 of the device 10 one or more links 31 selectively applicable to the typed text in order to perform the function corresponding to that provided by one of the predefined parameters.

[0047] In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the site 30 returns to the portable electronic device 10, in particular to the APP 20, the processed text 34, e.g. the text translated or corrected as a function of the predefined parameter chosen by the user.

[0048] In particular, according to the present embodiment, when the device 10 receives the processed text 34, the circuit or APP 20 is configured for displaying it, preferably in a second area 33 of the display 11, and for asking, through a new flag or a new icon 37, whether the user wants to accept the processed text or not.

[0049] More particularly, the new flag or the new icon 37 are configured to allow the user to either accept the processed text or establish a new connection by changing, for example, the predefined parameter or even the link 31, so as to reach a different site 30. In summary, the APP 20 is configured to allow typing in a text, while the device 10 uses the APP 20 to establish a connection to a link and return the translated or corrected text to the APP 20, which text then can, if accepted by the user, be read or transmitted.

[0050] The invention is thus implemented with assistance from a tool which is more powerful than the simple spell checker employed in the devices 10 known in the art, which can at most correct single words or, what is worse, replace them with other words making no sense in the sentence. According to the invention, the sites 30 can rewrite the whole sentence (optionally according to different writing styles) so that, starting from the originally typed sentence, it will make sense, and will replace the sentenc that the automatic spell checker turned into a sentence including meaningless words or difficult to read and comprehend.

[0051] The following is an example showing how the invention operates, starting from a sentence typed on a typical smartphone with poor ability to correct input mistakes, which is then returned by a site comprising modules based on Artificial Intelligence (Al).

[0052] Original sentence: "This is a test tiped of iPhone to demonstrate the pour performance of auto-cirrection method for test typed on a keyboards with poor performanxe corretion." The sentence returned to the device 10 will be as follows:

[0053] “This is a test typed on iPhone to demonstrate the poor performance of auto-correction methods for text typed on a keyboard with poor performance correction.”

[0054] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the system of the present invention performs the correction of a text full of typing errors, or errors derivable from typing errors, according to a very innovative principle which is no longer based on an attempt to correct mistyped words, but on the use of tools capable of writing sentences and even lengthy text starting from just a few inputs (i.e. the text with misspelled or unintelligible words) to obtain a new text, which nonetheless meets the intentions of the person who typed in the text.

[0055] For completeness’ sake, the following will show an example of the operation of the system 5 as described so far.

[0056] In a first step (step 100), Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the user enters a text 24 into the typing area 23. When the user has finished typing in the text (step 150), the user either enters (step 200 with output YES and step 250) or confirms (step 200 with output NO) the parameters 25 to be associated with the text, so that the device 10 will transmit the text and the associated parameters 25 to the site 30 via the link 31 (step 300).

[0057] In a next step (350), the text 24 is processed based on the parameters associated therewith, and the site 30 produces the processed text 34, which is then transmitted to the device 10. In accordance with the present embodiment, when the device 10 receives the text from the site 30 (step 400), the processed text 34 is displayed by the APP 20, for example, in the second area 33 (step 500), so that the user can choose whether to accept the text and, if necessary, transmit it (step 550 with output YES and step 600) or to modify the text (step 550 with output NO and steps 570 and 100) or, as a further alternative, to modify the text management parameters (steps 570 and 200).

[0058] In this description, several parameters and links have been suggested for handling typed texts but, as can be easily understood by a person skilled in the art, such parameters may be limited to a single parameter. In this description, a circuit / APP and a device have been described as separate elements to distinguish the text writing / reading function from the function providing a connection to one or more links.

[0059] Of course, as can be easily inferred by those skilled in the art, the circuit / APP and the device may be an integrated unit comprising all of the hardware and software elements described herein.

[0060] Of course, the above description may be subject to obvious modifications as concerns components, circuit elements and connections, and also as concerns the construction details illustrated herein, without however departing from the invention as set out in the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A circuit for an electronic device (10, 20) connectable to a telecommunications network (40), said circuit (20) being configured to be activated by means of an icon (22) that can be displayed on a display (11) of the device, said circuit (20) comprising- at least typing and displaying means (23), for typing in a text to be processed (24), and at least one management parameter (25) to be associated with the text for processing it, and being characterized in that it comprises- management means (31) applicable to the text to be processed, and configured to manage the text to be processed and the at least one management parameter (25) to obtain a processed text (34), said management means being configured to send the text to be processed, over the telecommunications network (40), to a site using Artificial Intelligence (Al) tools available on the network (30, 31) in order to identify and correct any typing errors, or errors derivable from typing errors, comprised in the text to be processed, and to obtain and return to the device (10, 20) the processed text with no typing errors, and- displaying means (33) configured to display the text (34) processed by means of the at least one management parameter (25).

2. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein said management means (31) comprise, stored therein, one or more links to said sites using Artificial Intelligence (Al) tools, said Artificial Intelligence (Al) tools being selectively accessible through said management means for processing the text to be processed (24) and returning the processed text (34).

3. The circuit according to claim 1 or 2, comprising- a first area for displaying the text to be processed and the at least one management parameter (23, 24, 25), and- a second area for displaying the processed text (33, 34).

4. The circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one management parameter (25) consists of a parameter comprised in the group:- selection of a language into which the text to be processed (24) has to be translated;- selection of a type of text to be obtained when correcting typing errors, or errors derivable from typing errors, comprised in the text to be processed (24).

5. A portable electronic device comprising at least one display (11), memory means (14, 18), and transmission / reception means (14), characterized in that it comprises- a circuit as claimed in claims 1 to 4, stored in the memory means,said device (10) being configured to use the transmission / reception means (14) in order to:- display the text to be processed (24) on the display (11) and transmit it, and- receive and display, on the display (11), the processed text (34).

6. A system configured to use a telecommunications network (40) connectable to remote sites (30) via one or more links (31), said remote sites (30) being configured to process texts to be processed (24) and obtain processed texts (34), characterized in that it comprises- at least one portable electronic device (10) comprising- at least one display (11), memory means (14, 18), and transmission / reception means (14), and- a circuit (20) stored in the memory means, configured for- displaying said texts to be processed (24) on the display (11), and selectively transmitting them to one of said sites (30) via the transmission / reception means, said sites (30) being configured to use Artificial Intelligence (Al) tools for processing the text to be processed (24), and- receiving via the transmission / reception means and displaying on the display (11) the text (34) processed by said Artificial Intelligence (Al) tools.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the circuit (20) comprises- the one or more links (31), selectively applicable to the text to be processed (24), configured for managing the text to be processed,- at least one management parameter (25), configured to define a type of treatment for the text to be processed, said at least one management parameter comprising- the selection of a language into which the text to be processed (24) has to be translated, or- the selection of a type of text to be obtained when correcting typing errors, or errors derivable from typing errors, comprised in the text to be processed (24).

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the circuit (20) is configured to show on the display (11)- a first area (23) for displaying the text to be processed and the at least one management parameter (24, 25), and- a second area (33) for displaying the processed text (34).

9. A method for typing in and / or transmitting text messages to be processed in a systemcomprising at least one portable electronic device (10) and sites (30) connectable, via respective links (31) and a telecommunications network (40), to the at least one device, comprising the steps of- entering a text (24) into an area intended for typing in text (step 100),- entering or confirming at least one text management parameter (25) (steps 200, 250),- selectively transmitting to one of the sites (30), via the link (31), both the text and the management parameter (24, 25) (step 300),- processing the text to be processed on the site (30), said site being configured to use Artificial Intelligence (Al) tools for correcting the text and returning the processed text to the device (10) (step 350),- displaying the processed text (step 500), and either- accepting the text as processed, and optionally sending it to an addressee (step 660), or- modifying the text (step 100) or modifying the management parameter (step 250), and selectively transmitting the text to be processed and the management parameter as modified to one of said sites (steps 200, 250, 300).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of typing in a text (100) comprises a step of checking that the typed text is complete (step 150).

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the entered management parameter (step 250) is configured for processing the text in such a way as to- translate the text to be processed (24) into a predefined language; or- obtain, when correcting typing errors, or errors derivable from typing errors comprised in the text, a type of text processed and corrected in accordance with a predefined standard.

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