Personalized String List for Touchscreen Keyboard Input

Solution Overview

Problem

Touchscreen keyboards on mobile devices are inefficient for inputting strings that require infrequently used characters, as users often need to switch between primary and alternative keyboard layouts multiple times, making tasks like typing email addresses time-consuming.

Innovation Solution

A system that detects user interaction with a single keyboard key, identifies the associated string type, and populates a list of personalized, user-selectable strings, allowing users to input characters like '@' and '_' without frequent layout switching.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If users switch between primary and alternative keyboard layouts to input infrequently used characters, then the complete character set is accessible, but the input time and operational complexity increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecharacter set accessibilityVSAvoidinput time

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-populates a list of personalized strings containing infrequently used characters based on user interaction patterns and context. This preliminary preparation allows users to access these characters immediately through the popup list without needing to switch keyboard layouts, thus resolving the time loss while maintaining character set accessibility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

A popup list interface is introduced as an intermediary between the keyboard and the user's input needs. This popup list aggregates frequently needed infrequent characters and personalized strings, serving as a mediator that provides quick access without requiring layout switching, thereby reducing input time while maintaining versatility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If users switch between primary and alternative keyboard layouts to input infrequently used characters, then the complete character set is accessible, but the operational complexity and user effort increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecharacter set accessibilityVSAvoidoperational simplicity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-populates a list of personalized strings containing infrequently used characters based on user interaction patterns and context. This preliminary preparation allows users to access these characters immediately through the popup list without needing to switch keyboard layouts, thus resolving the time loss while maintaining character set accessibility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

A popup list interface is introduced as an intermediary between the keyboard and the user's input needs. This popup list aggregates frequently needed infrequent characters and personalized strings, serving as a mediator that provides quick access without requiring layout switching, thereby reducing input time while maintaining versatility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Device complexity

If the keyboard provides only basic characters, then the interface remains simple, but the ability to input specialized characters like '@' and '_' is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvekeyboard interface simplicityVSAvoidspecialized character input capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-populates a list of personalized strings containing infrequently used characters based on user interaction patterns and context. This preliminary preparation allows users to access these characters immediately through the popup list without needing to switch keyboard layouts, thus resolving the time loss while maintaining character set accessibility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

A popup list interface is introduced as an intermediary between the keyboard and the user's input needs. This popup list aggregates frequently needed infrequent characters and personalized strings, serving as a mediator that provides quick access without requiring layout switching, thereby reducing input time while maintaining versatility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS10191621B2Exposing populated lists of personalized strings

Publication Date: 2019.01.29 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

Presenting a list of personalized strings to a user in response to the user's interaction with a single key of a keyboard. Interaction of a user with a single key of a keyboard is detected. Responsive to detecting the user interaction at the single keyboard key, a string type associated with the user interaction is identified. One or more personalized strings that are associated with the user and that are of the identified string type are also identified. A list of strings with the one or more personalized strings of the string type associated with the user interaction is then populated. The populated list of strings is then presented, wherein each string of the list of strings comprises a user-selectable element.