Temporary Dictionary for Reduced Keyboard Disambiguation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Handheld electronic devices with reduced keyboards face challenges in efficiently entering unconventional words and salutations due to cumbersome disambiguation systems, especially when words are not in the device's dictionary or have low frequency.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method that uses temporary dictionaries to store frequently expected words and names, associating them with high frequency values for rapid retrieval and disambiguation, allowing for facilitated entry of language in messages, particularly in replying or forwarding scenarios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a reduced keyboard with multiple linguistic elements per key is used, then the device form factor can be made smaller, but the effort required to enter language increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by automatically populating a temporary dictionary with words from the original message before the user begins composing the reply. This pre-processing allows the disambiguation system to have candidate words ready in advance, reducing the effort required during actual text entry.
Solution Approach 2:
The disambiguation system provides feedback by presenting a ranked list of candidate words that match the user's input sequence, allowing the user to select the intended word without typing it completely. This feedback mechanism significantly reduces the number of keystrokes needed.
2Reliability
If conventional disambiguation systems are used for unconventional words or low-frequency words, then the system can handle standard dictionary words, but significant input effort is required for words not in the dictionary or with low frequency
Solution Approach 1:
The temporary dictionary serves multiple functions: it stores recipient names for salutation generation, stores words from the original message for reply composition, and provides candidate words for disambiguation. This multi-functionality allows the system to handle both standard and unconventional words effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The temporary dictionary acts as an intermediary between the original message and the reply composition process. It captures and stores relevant words from the original message, making them readily available as candidates during reply composition, thus facilitating the entry of unconventional words.
3Productivity
If recipient names are manually entered for salutations, then the message can be sent, but the process is time-consuming and effort-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically generating salutations using recipient names extracted from the message headers. The disambiguation system uses the temporary dictionary to provide candidate recipient names, allowing the user to select the appropriate salutation with minimal input effort.
Data Source
AI summary
An improved handheld electronic device having a reduced keyboard provides facilitated language entry by making available to a user certain words that a user may reasonably be expected to enter. In some situations, certain words can be stored, for example, in a temporary dictionary for use in particular situations. For instance, the names of the recipients of an electronic message might be stored in a temporary dictionary for rapid retrieval when entering a salutation in the message. As another example, a number of the words in an existing electronic message may be stored in a temporary dictionary and made available to a user when replying to or forwarding the message since the existing message might include words that the user might reasonably be expected to type in the reply message or the forwarded message.