Touch Input Gesture Recognition for Predictive Text Entry

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing portable electronic devices with touch-sensitive displays face challenges in efficiently facilitating user input, particularly in limited space, where traditional keyboarding methods are cumbersome and context-sensitive interfaces often require additional screens or menus for navigation.

Innovation Solution

A method is implemented where a processor in a portable electronic device detects multiple touches on a touch-sensitive display to determine character associations and display predictive text candidates based on user input, allowing for efficient data entry by adjusting the distance between touches to select the appropriate number of characters, and utilizing meta-navigation gestures to provide system-level navigation without additional screens.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a traditional virtual keyboard is displayed on a touch-sensitive display, then user input is enabled, but the display area is reduced and the interface becomes cluttered

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser input capabilityVSAvoiddisplay area
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs predictive text generation in advance by analyzing the first and second touches to identify candidate words before the user completes the input sequence. This preliminary action eliminates the need to display the full virtual keyboard, as the system has already prepared the likely text completions based on the touch pattern.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The invention extracts only the essential elements needed for text input (the two touches and their associated characters) while removing the traditional virtual keyboard from the display. This extraction allows the interface to show only relevant predictive text candidates rather than the complete keyboard layout, freeing up display area.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Ease of operation

If context-sensitive user interfaces are implemented to adapt to user needs, then user experience is improved, but additional screens or menus are required for navigation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser experienceVSAvoidnavigation structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention merges the predictive text generation, candidate display, and navigation functions into a single integrated flow. The predictive text candidates are displayed directly in response to the touch gestures without requiring separate screens or menus. The system combines the input detection, prediction, and presentation into one unified interface that adapts to user needs without adding navigational complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Productivity

If predictive text candidates are displayed based on touch distance, then data entry speed is improved, but the interface requires additional processing logic

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata entry speedVSAvoidprocessing logic
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the predictive text display based on the distance between the first and second touches. When the touches are close together, the system displays candidates for single-word entries; when touches are farther apart, it displays candidates for multi-word phrases. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize data entry speed for different input patterns without requiring complex processing logic, as the behavior rules are straightforward and easily implementable.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP2568370B1Method of facilitating input at an electronic device
Publication Date: 2016.08.31 BLACKBERRY LTD
  • EP2568370B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2568370B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2568370B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

A method of facilitating input at an electronic device includes detecting a first touch at a first touch location on a touch-sensitive device; the first touch being associated with a first character; detecting a second touch at a second touch location on the touch-sensitive surface, the second touch being associated with a second character; when movement of one of the first touch and the second touch is detected, determining a distance between the first touch location and the second touch location, the distance being associated with a number of characters of an object; identifying candidate objects in reference data that match the number of characters and include an initial character that matches the first character and a final character that matches the second character; and displaying at least one candidate object.