HK1162705A - Systems to enhance data entry in mobile and fixed environment - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a system to enhance data entry in the mobile and fixed environment, especially to a word prediction data input system using the word dictionary, which includes a plurality of input devices, wherein at least some input devices are common and associated with substantially all of letters of the alphabet; a screen; and a processer which is adjusted to display the letters input by the action of a letter input device on the screen. The system predicts the first word when a series of action of one of the letter input devices of the letter input device corresponds to the required word; and the system predicts the second word when the same series actions of the letter input device and the additional input information correspond to one of the required letters.

Description

System for enhanced data entry in mobile and stationary environments

This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application having application number 200480017215.9, filed on 2004 as 4/19, entitled "system for enhancing data entry in a mobile and stationary environment".

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application, nos.60/463,844, filed on a date of 4/18/2003; 60/466,594, application date is 30/4/2003; 60/468,028, application date 5/2003; 60/474,447, application date is 30/5/2003; 60/475,533, application date is 6/3/2003; 60/482,706, filing date is 26/6/2003; 60/482,998, filing date is 27/6/2003; 60/496,702, application date is 20/8/2003; 60/500,602, filing date 9/5/2003; 60/504,331, filing date 9/19/2003; 60/510,885, application date is 10/14/2003; 60/536,564, filing date 1/14/2004; 60/552,968, filing date 3/11/2004; 60/557,140 filed on 3/26/2004, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present application relates to systems and methods for inputting characters. More particularly, the present application relates to a system and method for inputting characters using keys, sounds, or a combination thereof.

Background

Typical systems and methods for electronically inputting characters include the use of a standard keyboard such as a QWERTY keyboard or the like. However, as modern electronic devices have become smaller, new methods have been developed for inputting desired characters.

One such method is to use a multi-press system on a standard telephone-type numeric keypad whereby multiple alphabetic characters are assigned to the same key. One disadvantage with this system is that multiple presses of a single key are required to enter a given character, thus increasing the total number of key presses and slowing the character entry process.

The second method for providing character input on often smaller devices has to simply miniaturize the standard QWERTY keypad on the device. However, such miniaturized keypads are often unsightly and do not provide enough space between keys to cause multiple key presses when only a single press is required.

Another attempt to provide character input on smaller electronic devices is the use of voice recognition software. This approach has been used for some time, but has several drawbacks. Most notably, voice recognition software cannot distinguish homonyms and often requires significant prior input for the system to recognize specific speakers, their specific habits, and their speech habits. Also, in an attempt to alleviate these problems, voice recognition software has become large and requires a significant amount of processing, not the limited power supply and processing power that is particularly suited for small electronic devices such as mobile telephones and text-based pagers.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages associated with the prior art and to provide a system and method for inputting characters that is fast, reliable and does not require significant assembly and energy/processing costs.

To this end, the present invention is directed to a data entry system having a keypad defined by a plurality of keys, where each key includes at least one symbol of a symbol set. The symbol set is divided into subgroups having at least one alphabet symbol, a number symbol and a command symbol, where each subgroup is associated with at least a portion of a user's finger.

A finger recognition system is provided in communication with at least one key of the plurality of keys, where the at least one key has at least a first symbol from a first subset and at least a second symbol from a second subset, where the finger recognition system is configured to recognize a portion of a user's finger when the finger interacts with the key, thereby selecting a symbol on the key corresponding to the subset associated with the portion of the user's finger.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary, the data entry system comprising: a plurality of input devices, wherein at least some of the input devices are collectively associated with substantially all letters of an alphabet; a screen; and a processor adapted to display on the screen letters input by the action of the letter input device; wherein the system predicts a first word when a sequence of actions of at least one of the letter input devices corresponds to a desired word and predicts a second word when the same sequence of actions of the letter input devices and additional input information corresponds to one of the letters of the desired word.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a word forecast data input system using a word dictionary, the data input system comprising: a plurality of input devices, wherein at least some of the input devices are collectively associated with substantially all letters of an alphabet; a screen; and a processor adapted to display on the screen letters input by the action of the letter input device; wherein the system predicts the first word when a sequence of actions of at least one of the letter input devices corresponds to the desired word, and predicts the second word when the exact letter of the desired word is entered and a sequence of actions of the letter input devices corresponds to at least one of the other letters of the desired word.

Drawings

FIG. 1 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7b shows a flow chart for making a correction according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a foldable keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a foldable keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a foldable keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a foldable keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a foldable keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 shows a keypad with a mouse according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 shows a keypad with a mouse according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates a plurality of devices using a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18 shows a keypad with a microphone according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18B shows a keypad with a microphone according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18C shows a keypad with a microphone according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18D shows a keypad with a microphone according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18E shows a keypad with an antenna according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18F shows a keypad with an antenna according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18G shows a keypad with a microphone according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18H shows a keypad with a microphone according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18I shows a keypad with a microphone according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 shows a keypad with a display and a PC according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 20 shows a keypad with a display and a PC according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 21a and 21b illustrate a keypad with a display and a laptop computer according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22a shows a keypad with a foldable display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22b shows a wrist-worn keypad and remote control display in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23a shows a wrist-worn keypad and a foldable display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 23b shows a wrist-worn keypad and a foldable display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 23c shows a foldable keypad worn on the wrist according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 24a shows a keypad with a foldable display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 24b shows a keypad with a foldable display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25a shows a keypad with a foldable display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25b shows a keypad with a foldable display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 26 illustrates a keypad with an extension arm according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27 shows a keypad with an extension arm according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27a shows a keypad with an extension arm according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27b shows a keypad with an extension arm according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 28 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 29 shows a microphone according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 29a shows a keypad and microphone combination according to one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 30 shows a headset according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 31 shows a headset and keypad combination according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 32 shows a headset according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 33 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 34 illustrates a voice recognition chart according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 35 illustrates a voice recognition chart according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 36 illustrates a voice recognition sample according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 37 shows a voice recognition chart in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 38 illustrates a voice recognition chart according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 39 illustrates a voice recognition chart according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 40 illustrates a voice recognition chart according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 41 illustrates a voice recognition chart according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 42 illustrates a conventional keyboard according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 43 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 43a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 43b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 44a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 44b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 45 illustrates a keyboard according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 45a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 45b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 45c shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 45d shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 46a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 46b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 46c shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47a shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47b shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47c shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47d shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47e shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47f shows a keypad with a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47g shows a standard folded sheet according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47h shows a standard folded sheet according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47i shows a standard folded sheet with a keypad and display printer according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 48 illustrates a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 49 shows a watch with a keypad and a display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 49a shows a watch with a foldable keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 49b shows a watch with a keypad and display closed, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 50a shows the exterior of a closed foldable watch with a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 50b shows the exterior of an open foldable watch with a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 51 illustrates a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 51a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 51b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 52 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 53 illustrates a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 54 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55c shows a keypad on a user's hand according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55d shows a microphone and camera according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55e shows a microphone and camera according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55f shows a foldable keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55g shows a key for a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55h shows a keypad on a mouse according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55i shows the underside of a mouse on a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55j shows a headset and a microphone with a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 56 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 56a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 56b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 57 shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 57a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 58a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 58b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 58c shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 59a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 59b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 60 shows a keypad and display cover according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 61a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 61b shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 61c shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 62a shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 62b shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 63a shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 63b shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 63c shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 63d shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 63e shows a keypad and display worn on the head in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 64a shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 64b shows a foldable keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 65a shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 65b shows the rear side of a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 65c shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 66 shows a plurality of keypads and displays connected by a host server/computer according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 67 shows a keypad in the form of a ring sensor according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 68 shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 68a shows a display according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 69 illustrates a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 69a shows a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 69b shows a keypad and display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 70a shows a flexible display according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 70b illustrates a flexible display having a keypad according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 70c illustrates a flexible display having a keypad according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 70d shows a closed retractable display with a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 70e shows an open retractable display with a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 70f shows a flexible display having a keypad and a printer in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 70g shows a closed foldable display with a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 70h shows an unfolded foldable display with a keypad according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 71a shows a flexible display with a keypad and an antenna according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 71b shows a flexible display with a keypad and an antenna according to one embodiment of the invention;

figure 71c shows a display with a keypad and extendable microphone according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 72a shows a wristband of an electronic device according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 72b illustrates a tethered flexible display in a closed state in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 72c illustrates a flexible display that can be tethered in an open state in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments:

the invention described below relates to a method of arranging symbols, such as characters, punctuation, functions, etc. (e.g. symbols of a computer keyboard) on a keypad having a limited number of keys for general data input and for data and/or text input methods combining inter alia the user's voice/speech interaction (e.g. pressing) with the keys on the keypad. This approach makes the use of such keypads easier.

Fig. 1 shows an example of an integrated keypad 100 for a data input method using a press and voice/speech recognition system. In this example, the keys of the keypad may be responsive to one or more types of interaction therewith. The interaction may be, for example:

-pressing a key with a specific finger or part of a finger (using a finger recognition system);

-single click (e.g. single press) of a key or double click (e.g. two consecutive presses in a short time interval) of a key;

pressing (or touching) a key lightly or pressing a key heavily.

Short-time interaction with a key (e.g. short-time key press) or long-time key press, etc.

A set of symbols on the keypad may be assigned to each of the interactions or combinations of interactions with the keys of the keypad. For example, the symbols shown on the upper portion of the keys of the keypad 100 may be assigned to the keys of the single click keypad. For example, if the user presses key 101, the symbol "def3. In the same example, a symbol configured in the lower part of a key of the keypad 100 may be assigned to, for example, double-clicking the key. For example, if the user double-clicks the key 101, the symbol "{ }'" is selected.

Depending on the system implemented using the keys of the keypad, it is also possible to make the same selections using other interactions as previously described. For example, lightly pressing (or touching) a key 101 may select a symbol configured on the upper portion of the key, while pressing the same key more heavily may select a symbol configured on the lower portion of the key.

As described, when a user makes contact with a key, the recognition system makes the symbol on the key assigned to the type of interaction a candidate symbol. For example, if the user touches or lightly presses the key 102, the system makes the symbols "a", "B", "C", "2", and "," candidate symbols. To select one of the candidate symbols, the user may speak, for example, the symbol or a location name of the symbol on the keypad. For this purpose, a sound/speech recognition system is used.

A predetermined symbol of these candidate symbols may be selected as a default value if the user is not speaking. In this example, punctuation "shown in block 103 is selected. To select one of the other candidate symbols, such as the letter "B", the user may speak the letter.

In the same example, if the user presses the key 102 heavily, the symbols "[", "]" and "" can be made candidate symbols. As described above, if the user does not speak, a predetermined symbol among those selected by the key actuation may be selected as a default value. In this example, punctuation "" is selected. In order to select the desired symbol among the other two candidate symbols "[" or "]", the user may, in the present example as well, use different methods, such as speaking the desired symbol, and/or speaking the position in relation to the other symbols, and/or speaking its color (if each symbol has a different color), and/or any predetermined name assigned to the symbol (e.g. a predetermined sound or voice uttered by the user). For example, if the user says "left", the symbol "[" is selected. If the user says "right", the symbol "]" is selected.

Of course, user behavior in combination with key interactions, rather than using speech, may also make selections of symbols. For example, the user may press the key 102 harder and swipe the finger towards the desired symbol.

The data entry methods described above may also be applied to keypads having keys that respond to a single type of interaction with the key (e.g., a standard telephone keypad having buttons). As shown in fig. 2, keypad 200 has keys that respond to a single interaction with the keys. When the user presses a key, the system makes all symbols on the key candidate symbols. For example, if the user presses the key 202, the symbols "a", "B", "C", "2", "[" and "]" become candidate symbols.

In this example, if the user is not speaking, the system may select a predetermined default symbol. In this example, punctuation "," 203 "is selected.

In still the same example, to select a desired symbol among the candidate symbols, the user may speak the desired symbol, or say, for example, the name of the location of the symbol on the key, or the name of the location on the keypad associated with other symbols, or say any other name as previously described. For example, a symbol (e.g., "a", "B", "C", or "2") of those symbols configured on the upper portion of the key may be selected by speaking the symbol. On the other hand, one of the symbols configured in the lower part of the key may be selected, for example, by saying its position relative to two other symbols, for example, in the lower part of the key, for example by saying "left", "center" or "right". For example, to select "[" 204, the user may press the button 202 and say "left".

As noted, the keys on the keypad of fig. 1 may be responsive to at least two predetermined types of interactions therewith. Each type of interaction with a key on the keypad may make a group of the characters on the key a candidate character.

As previously mentioned, during data input, such as writing text, different interactions with a key (e.g., single click, double click) and different user behaviors (e.g., say, not) in conjunction with the key interactions may be required. Although the data entry method of the present invention is a fast and easy data entry, a better arrangement of the symbols on the keys of the keypad of the present invention may result in an easier and faster data entry system. The method will be described below.

According to one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of symbols (e.g., symbols on a computer keypad) are physically divided into at least two groups and arranged on the keys of a telephone keypad by their priorities (e.g., frequency of use, user familiarity with existing arrangements of some symbols, such as letters and numbers on a standard telephone keypad, etc.), as follows:

a first group assigned to a first type of interaction with a key

a) First subgroup using sound/speech

The numbers 0-9 and letters a-Z may be arranged on the keys of the keypad according to a standard configuration and assigned to a first type of interaction with the keys (e.g., a first level of pressing). A desired one of these symbols can be selected by interacting with the corresponding key (e.g. a first type of interaction) and naturally speaking the symbol. In fig. 3, the symbol (e.g., 301) is arranged on the upper part of the key.

Letters and numbers may be used often during e.g. text input. These letters and numbers can be spoken naturally while, for example, the corresponding key is being hit. Thus, for faster and easier data entry, these letters and numbers are preferably assigned to the same type of interaction with the keys of the keypad.

b) Second subgroup without sound/speech

At least a portion of other symbols (e.g., punctuation, functions, etc.) that are often used during data (e.g., text) entry may be placed on the keys of the keypad (one symbol per key) and assigned to the first type of interaction with the keys (e.g., a single click). By default, the desired symbol may be selected only by interaction with the corresponding key, without using speech/sound. In fig. 3, the symbol (e.g. 302) is set in a box on the upper part of the key.

Of course, it is also possible to select the symbol by speaking it while interacting with the respective key, but since speaking such symbols (e.g. punctuation, function) is always not a natural behavior, these symbols are preferably not spoken.

At least a second group of at least a second type assigned to the interaction with the at least one key

At least a portion of the remaining symbols may be assigned to at least a second type of interaction with the keys of the keypad. They can be divided into two groups:

c) third subgroup without sound/speech

A third subgroup comprising the remaining frequently used symbols and difficult and/or unnatural sounding symbols may be placed on the keys of the keypad (one symbol per key) and assigned to a second type of interaction with the keys (e.g., double click, heavier pressing level, pressing both keys simultaneously, a portion of the finger through which the key is touched, etc.).

By default, the desired symbol may be selected only by said interaction with the corresponding key, without using speech/sound. In fig. 3, the symbols (e.g., 303) are arranged in boxes on the lower portion of the keys.

Of course, it is also possible to select the symbols by speaking them while interacting with the respective keys, but since speaking such symbols (e.g. punctuation, function) is always not a natural behavior, it is preferred that they are not spoken.

d) At least a fourth subgroup using sound/speech

A fourth sub-group comprising at least a part of the remaining symbols may be assigned to said second type of interaction with the keys of said keypad and combined with user behavior, e.g. sound. In fig. 3, the symbol (e.g., 304) is arranged on the lower portion of the key. The symbol may be selected by the second type of interaction with the respective key and using sounds/voices in different ways, including:

-selecting symbols by naturally speaking their name

-said symbols are selected by naturally speaking their position relative to each other on the keys, or their position when they are used in the text (e.g. "<", ">" in this example, said symbols do not belong to said second type of interaction, which is only an example), for example by speaking "left, right, on, off, etc".

Symbols that are very rarely used (hardly used) and/or difficult to pronounce (e.g. 304). For a fast and easy data entry method, the symbols can also be selected by saying their position on the keys or their position relative to each other on the keypad. Of course, these symbols can be selected by using other speech sounds, for example, to pronounce them.

e) Others

Other symbols such as "F1-F12" may be placed on the keys of the keypad and assigned the type of interaction, if desired. For example, they may be assigned to the second type of interaction (with or without speech) or to another type of interaction, such as pressing two keys simultaneously, tapping the corresponding key three times, using a switch to enter another mode, etc.

Enhanced keypad and increased consideration of keypad usage

Since the numbers 0-9 and letters a-Z may be arranged on the keys of the keypad according to a standard configuration and assigned to a first type of interaction (e.g. a first level of pressing, clicking, etc.) with said keys in combination with speech, some of the keys, e.g. 311, 312, 313 and 314, may comprise at most one symbol used in said configuration (e.g. the number 1 on key 311, or the number 0 on key 313). Thus, in order to make better use of the key, some easy and natural sounding symbols 321 and 324 may be added to the key and assigned to the first type of interaction. For example, the user may select a symbol "(". to select a symbol ")" by using a first type of interaction with a key 311 and saying, for example, "left" or "on", and the user may use the same first type of interaction with the key 311 and saying, for example, "right" or "off". For the symbols, this is fast and more important natural speech. Since the number of candidate symbols allocated to the first type of interaction at the keys 311 and 314 does not exceed the number of candidate symbols at the other keys, the speech recognition system may still have a similar accuracy as the other keys.

Some symbols may also be used in both modes (interaction with keys). The symbols may be configured on the keypad more than once (e.g. on a single key or on different keys) and assigned to a first type of interaction and/or a second type of interaction with the respective key.

FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention for use with a computer data entry system. The keys of keypad 300 are responsive to two or more different interactions thereon (e.g., different levels of depression, single or double clicking, etc.). As shown, a plurality of symbols, such as alphanumeric symbols, punctuation, functions and PC commands, are distributed among the keys in the following pattern.

Mode 1

The first group-letters a-Z and numbers 0-9 are very frequently used symbols during data entry, e.g. writing text. These symbols can be pronounced easily and more importantly naturally while the corresponding key is pressed. Thus, the symbols may be arranged together on the same side on a key belonging to the same type of interaction (e.g. first mode), e.g. clicking (e.g. single pressing) of the key, and selected by speaking the symbols.

A second group, e.g. punctuation and symbols of functions that are used very frequently during data entry, e.g. writing text, may belong to the same type of interaction that is used for selecting the letters and numbers (e.g. the first mode). That is, the more interactions of the same type with a key, the better when inputting data. Each key may have only one of said symbols of said second set. The set of symbols can be selected by simply pressing the corresponding key without using sound. For better distinction, these symbols are displayed in boxes on the upper part of the keys (e.g. on the same side as for letters and numbers).

Mode 2

The other symbols of the number of symbols are displayed on the lower part of the keys of the keypad. These symbols are assigned to a second type of interaction with the key (e.g., double-click).

Third group-default symbols are shown in the box (e.g. those symbols that require interaction with keys and do not require the use of sound). The symbols include characters, punctuation, functions, etc. that are less used by the user at present.

Fourth group-finally, symbols that are less used in data entry and cannot be spelled out naturally are located to the left on the lower portion of the keys in this example. These symbols can be selected by corresponding interaction with the corresponding key (e.g. double-clicking) and also (e.g. almost simultaneously) speaking the symbols, or by speaking a predetermined voice or sound (e.g. "left, right" or "blue, red", etc.) assigned to the symbols.

By using a keypad with keys corresponding to different types of interaction (preferably two types, thereby not complicating the use of the keys) and with some symbols not requiring speech (e.g. default symbols), either the required keys (e.g. default) are directly interacted with when interacting with the keys of the keypad or the selected candidate symbols are minimized by user actions such as sound/speech. This increases the accuracy of the speech recognition system.

For example, when the user lightly presses a key, the system selects the symbol on the upper part of the key among those located on the key. If the user is simultaneously using speech, the system selects those symbols in the selected symbols that require speech. This process of reducing the number of candidate characters and requiring speech recognition techniques to select one of the symbols is used for data entry with high accuracy through a keypad having a limited number of keys. The reduced process is created by the natural behavior of the user, such as pressing a key and/or speaking.

As shown in fig. 4, the keys 411, 412, 413 and 414 have one symbol that requires voice interaction and is assigned to a first type of interaction with the key. On the other hand, the same key in the lower part comprises two symbols that require a second type of interaction with said key and also require a voice interaction. The two symbols may be used more frequently than other symbols belonging to the same category (e.g. in arithmetic data input or when writing software, etc.). In this case, and in order to minimize user error while interacting with a key (e.g., pressing), the symbol may also be assigned to the first type of interaction with the key. The total number of candidate symbols remains low. The user can press the key and speak as he desires.

Additional arrangements may be provided on the keypad described above for use by the user. For example, "-" and "_", "" "and" ", or"; "and": "configured as a default symbol on the same key 411, or on two adjacent keys 415, 416. "Sp" and "" such as Tab may also be considered default symbols and configured on the same key 412, each corresponding to a different type of interaction (e.g., level of depression) with the key. For example, by pressing the key 412 once, the character "Sp" is selected. By double-clicking the same key, the "tab" function is selected.

By not releasing a key when interacting with the key (e.g., pressing the key once or double-clicking the key), a symbol (including speech, if desired) corresponding to the interaction may be selected and repeated until the key is released. For example, by double clicking on the key 415 and holding the key down and not speaking after the second tap, the default symbol assigned to the interaction (e.g., "&") is selected and repeated until the user releases the key. To enter the letter "X" and repeat the letter, the user may, for example, press the corresponding key 415 (without releasing the key) and speak "X". The letter "X" will be repeated until the user releases the key.

Also, for a more familiar appearance of the keypad, letters, numbers and characters such as "#" and "-" may be provided on the keys according to standard telephone keypad configurations.

Other keys, which are separate from the keys of the keypad, may be used to include some of the symbols and other symbols. In the example of fig. 6, the cursor is navigated in different directions by means of at least one key arranged separately from the keys of the keypad 600. A single key 601 may be assigned to all directions 602. For example, the user may press the key and say "up, down, left or right" to navigate the cursor in the corresponding direction. The keys 601 may also be multidirectional keys (e.g., similar to those used in video games or in some cellular telephones to navigate through menus). The user may press up, right, down or left of the key 601 to navigate the cursor accordingly. A plurality of other keys may also be assigned, for example, each to at least one symbol such as "".

The additional keys may be existing keys on the electronic device. For example, in a cellular telephone, in addition to the twelve keys of a standard telephone keypad, other function keys such as a menu key or an on/off key are provided. At least a portion of these keys may be used as further data input keys, comprising a plurality of symbols, when the system is in a text input mode, for example. This frees up some space on the keys of a standard telephone keypad. The freed space may allow for a more accurate speech recognition system and/or a more user-friendly configuration of the symbols on the keys of the keypad.

The above described configuration method and the previously shown examples are shown as examples only. Of course, many other configurations of symbols and different tasks for different users interacting with the keys are also contemplated. For example, a key may not have a default symbol, or there may be no symbol assigned to a sound/voice on the key.

Also, not all keys of the keypad may respond to the same type of interaction. For example, a first key of a keypad may respond to two levels of depression, while another key of the same keypad may respond to a single or double click of the key.

Fig. 1-7 show different configurations of symbols on the keys of a keypad.

The data entry system described above allows full data entry, such as full text data entry, via a computer keypad. By inputting symbols such as letters, punctuation marks, functions, etc. one by one, words and sentences can be input.

This will greatly impact the telecommunications market that allows for enhancements to the variety of applications and methods that have been used. Some of which are listed below. It will be appreciated that any combination of the above interactions may be used to input the desired symbol.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the user uses sound/speech to enter a desired symbol, such as a letter, without requiring other interaction, such as pressing a key. A user may use keys (e.g., single key, double key, triple key, etc.) of a keypad to enter symbols, such as punctuation, without having to speak the symbols.

It is understood that the data input method described in the present application can be applied to all other languages such as chinese, korean, japanese, etc.

Correction and repetition of symbols

Different methods may be used to correct erroneously entered symbols. As mentioned, in order to enter a symbol, the user may, for example, press a corresponding key and speak the desired symbol configured on the key. It may happen that the sound/speech recognition system misinterprets the user's speech and the system selects an undesired symbol arranged on said key.

For example, if the user:

a) identifying the symbol entered incorrectly (e.g., the cursor is positioned immediately after the incorrect symbol) before the next desired symbol is entered, the user may proceed with a correction process, which is explained later;

b) after the input of at least the next symbol, the symbol entered in error is recognized, the user can first navigate through the text in a corresponding manner, for example by means of the keys 101 (fig. 1) or 202 (fig. 2) with navigation function, and position the cursor next to the symbol entered in error. Then, the user performs a correction process, which is explained later;

After positioning the cursor immediately behind the wrong symbol, the user can say the desired symbol or its location name again without having to re-press the corresponding key. If the system reselects the same deleted symbol, the system will automatically discard the selection and select the symbol among the remaining symbols configured on the key, wherein the name of the symbol or its location name corresponds to the next highest likelihood corresponding to the user's voice. If the wrong symbol is still selected by the system, the process of re-speaking the desired symbol by the user and selecting the next symbol with the highest probability among the remaining symbols on the key may continue until the desired symbol is selected by the system.

It will be appreciated that in a data entry system using a keypad having keys responsive to, for example, two levels of depression, when making a correction, the recognition system may first select a symbol among those belonging to the same group of symbols belonging to the level of depression requesting selection of the wrong symbol. If the user does not accept any of these symbols, the system may select a symbol among symbols belonging to another press level on the key.

Fig. 7b shows a flow chart corresponding to an embodiment of the correction method. If for any reason the user wants to correct the symbol that has been entered, the user can enter this correction process.

The calibration process starts in step 701. If the substitute symbol is not located on the same key as the symbol to be substituted (702), the user deletes the symbol to be substituted (704) and enters the substitute symbol using increased speech (706) by pressing the corresponding key and, if necessary, then exits (724).

If the replacement symbol is located on the same key as the symbol to be replaced (708) and the replacement symbol does not require speech (710), the system proceeds to steps 704 and 706 and thus functions as previously described, and exits (724).

If the substitute symbol is located on the same key as the symbol to be substituted (708) and the substitute symbol does not require speech (712), then two possibilities are considered:

a) the cursor is not located behind the symbol to be replaced (714). In this case, the user positions the cursor next to and next to the symbol to be replaced (716), and proceeds to the next step 718;

b) the cursor is positioned behind the symbol to be replaced 714 (e.g., the user immediately recognizes the erroneously entered symbol). In this case, the user proceeds to the next step 718;

In step 718, the user speaks the desired symbol without pressing a key. By not pressing a key, but merely speaking, the system understands that a symbol belonging to a key located before the cursor must be replaced by another symbol belonging to the same key. The system will then select (720) a symbol among the remaining symbols on the key that has the highest likelihood of corresponding to the speech, including, for example, the symbol that has been selected. If the newly selected symbol is also an undesired symbol (722), the system (and user) re-enters at step 718. If the selected symbol is the desired symbol, the system exits the correction process (724).

Of course, in addition to the above-described method, a conventional method of correcting a symbol may be provided. For example, to correct an already entered symbol, the user may easily first delete the symbol and then re-enter a new symbol by pressing the corresponding key and, if necessary, using an added voice.

Text input systems may also be applied at the word level (e.g., a user speaks a word and enters it by using a keypad). The same text entry process may combine word-level entry (e.g., for words included in a database) and character-level entry. Thus, the above-described correction process may also be applied to word-level data input.

For example, to enter a word, the user may speak the word and press the corresponding key. If the recognition system selects an undesired word for reasons such as eliminating ambiguity between two words having similar sounds and similar key presses, the user may speak the desired word without re-pressing the corresponding key. The system will then select the word with the highest likelihood corresponding to the speech in the remaining portion of the candidate word corresponding to the key press (e.g., including the word that has been selected). If the newly selected word is not already the desired word, the user may re-speak the word. This process is repeated until the desired word is selected by the system or no other candidate words exist. In this case, the user may enter the desired word, for example, through the character input system described above.

It will be appreciated that in the word level, the cursor should be located after the word to be replaced when the correction is made. For this purpose, and to avoid confusion in the character correction mode, when modifying an entire word (word correction level), the user may position a cursor behind the word to be replaced, with at least one space character spacing the word and the cursor. This is due to, for example, the user should position the cursor immediately after the last character of the word that has been entered if the user wants to correct that character. By positioning the cursor at least one space after the word (or at the beginning of the next line if the word is the last word of the previous line) and speaking without pressing a key, the system recognizes that the user may wish to correct the last word before the cursor. For better results, it will be appreciated that if the word to be replaced includes a punctuation mark (e.g., ". This is because in some cases the user may wish to modify the wrong punctuation that must be at the end of the word. For this purpose, the user may position the cursor immediately behind the punctuation mark.

To avoid accidental correction (e.g. the cursor is located somewhere in the text and the user speaks without wanting to enter data) different methods can be applied. For example, when a user wishes to rest, for example, during text entry, pause or non-text keys may be used. Another solution is: after a period of time (e.g., two seconds) has elapsed after the cursor is positioned at a location in the text, the system does not accept correction of the last word or character before the cursor. If the user wishes to correct the word or the character, the user may, for example, navigate the cursor (at least once in any direction) and place it back in the desired position. After repositioning the cursor at the desired position, the time will be counted from the beginning and the user should correct the word or the character before the time period has expired.

Repeating symbol

To repeat a desired symbol, the user first presses the corresponding key and, if desired, either speaks the symbol or the user speaks the name of the location of the symbol on its corresponding key or from other symbols on the key. The system then selects the desired symbol. The user continues to press the key without interruption. After a predetermined period of time, the system recognizes that the user wants to repeat the symbol. The system repeats the symbol until the user stops pressing the key.

It should be noted that the above-described methods of correcting and repeating key symbols may be used in conjunction with any input method including, but not limited to, single/double clicking, pressure sensitive keys, simultaneously pressed keys, keys with only a portion of the key pressed, and the like.

Telephone directory

To make a telephone call, the user may enter the destination to be called by any information, such as name (e.g., person, company, etc.), instead of dialing a number, and enter further information, such as the address of the party to be called, if desired. The central phone book may automatically direct the call to the destination. If there is more than one telephone line assigned to the destination, e.g. the other party, or there is more than one selection for the desired information entered by the user, a corresponding list of selections, e.g. telephone numbers, or any other predetermined equipment assigned to the telephone lines, may be transmitted to the telephone of the calling party and displayed, e.g. on a display unit of the telephone thereof. The user may then select the desired selection and place a telephone call.

The above-described calling (e.g., dialing) method may allow for eliminating the need to call a party (e.g., an individual) through his/her telephone number. Thereby, the need for storing a telephone number, carrying a telephone book, or using the assistance of an operator can be eliminated.

Interactive phonebook using voice/speech

Voice phonebooks are increasingly used by companies, public institutions, etc. This method of interacting with another party is a very time consuming and cumbersome process for the user. Many people disconnect the communication by listening to the voice phonebook on the other side of the phone. Even when an individual seeks to interact with the system, it often happens that after a significant amount of time is spent, the calling party is unable to successfully access the desired service or individual. The main reason for this ambiguity is that when listening to the voice phonebook indication, the user in most cases has to wait until all options are announced. In most cases, he (the user) does not remember all the choices announced. He must therefore re-listen to these selections.

And in most cases the voice phonebook requires data to be entered by the user. The variation of data entry is limited due to the limited number of keys of the telephone keypad or due to the complexity of entering symbols through the keypad.

The above-described data entry method allows for rapid visual interaction with the phonebook. The called party can transfer the visual interactive phonebook to the calling party and the calling party can see all the selections almost immediately and respond to or ask questions easily and quickly using his telephone keypad (including the data entry system mentioned above).

Voice mail

Voicemails may also be replaced by text mails. This method has been used. The advantages of the above described data entry method are apparent when a user has to answer a message to another party or write a message to another party. The data entry method of the present invention also significantly enhances the use of messaging systems by mobile electronic devices such as cellular telephones. One of the best known uses is in Short Message Service (SMS).

The number of electronic devices using telephone-type keypads is enormous. The data entry method of the present invention allows for significantly enhanced data entry via the keypad of the device. Of course, this approach is not limited to a telephone-type keypad. The method may also be used with any keypad where at least one key of the keypad comprises more than one symbol.

Multi-part keypad

The size of the keypad using the above-described data input method can also be minimized by using a keypad having multiple sections. The keypad may be minimized in size (e.g., as large as the largest portion, such as the size of an adult user's fingertip or the keys of the keypad) when in the closed state, and may be largest (depending on the number of portions used and/or opened) when the keypad is in the open state, as desired.

In theory, the keypad may even have the size of the keys of the keypad when in the closed state.

Fig. 8 shows an embodiment of said keypad 800 comprising at least three sections 801, wherein each of said sections comprises a column of keys of a telephone keypad. When the keypad is in the open state, a telephone type keypad 800 is provided. In the closed state 802, the keypad may have a width of one of the portions.

Fig. 9 shows another embodiment of the keypad. The keypad 900 comprises at least two sections 901-902, wherein the first section 901 comprises two columns of keys 911-912 of a telephone type keypad and the second section 902 of the keypad comprises at least a third column 913 of the telephone type keypad. When the keys are in an open state, a telephone-type keypad is provided. The keypad may also have a further key column 914 arranged on the second portion. In the closed state 920, the keypad may have a width of one of the portions.

As shown in fig. 10, another embodiment of the keypad 1000 comprises at least four sections 1001 and 1004, wherein each of the sections comprises a row of keys of a telephone keypad. A telephone-type keypad is provided when the keypad is in an open state. In the closed state 1005, the length of the keypad may be the size of the width of a row of keys of the keypad.

Fig. 11 shows another embodiment of the keypad 1100 comprising at least two sections 1101-1102, wherein a first section comprises two rows of keys of a telephone-type keypad and a second section of the keypad comprises two further rows of keys of the telephone-type keypad. A telephone-type keypad is provided when the keypad is in an open state. In the closed state 1103, the length of the keypad may correspond to the width dimension of a row of keys of the keypad.

The above-described multipart keypad has been described in a patent application already filed by the present inventors.

By using the above-described data entry method through a multipart keypad as described, a miniaturized, easy-to-use full data entry keypad can be provided. Such keypads may be used in many devices, particularly those having limited dimensions.

Of course, the symbol configurations described above may be used on the multipart keypad.

Figure 12 shows another embodiment of a multipart keypad 1200. The distance between the portions having the keys 1201 may be increased by any method. For example, empty (e.g., no keys included) portions 1202 may be disposed between portions that include keys. This will allow the distance between the parts to be increased even more when the keypad is in the open state. On the other hand, in the closed state 1203, it also allows for a thinner keypad.

Data input device with integrated keypad and mouse or pointing and clicking device

To enhance the data entry method by means of a keypad in general and by means of a keypad of the invention in particular, the pointing and clicking system, hereinafter mouse, may be integrated on the back of an electronic device having a keypad for data entry on the front.

Fig. 13 shows an electronic device, such as a cellular phone 1300, where the user holds the device in his palm 1301. The user can hold the device 1300 in his hand using only one hand and simultaneously operate his front-located keypad 1303 and a mouse or pointing and clicking device (not shown) located on the back of the device. The user's thumb 1302 may use the keypad 1303 and their index finger 1304 may operate the mouse (on the back). The other three fingers 1305 may help hold the device in the user's hand.

A mouse or point and click device integrated on the back of the device may have similar functionality as a computer mouse. It is also possible to assign a plurality of keys (e.g. two keys) of a telephone type keypad or a plurality of other keys of the device to a mouse click function. For example, buttons 1308 and 1318 may function with an integrated mouse of the device 1300 and have similar functionality as buttons of a computer mouse. The keys may have the same function as a computer mouse. For example, by operating a mouse, the user can navigate a conventional selection (pointer) indicator 1306 on the device's screen 1307 and position it on the desired menu 1311. As with a computer mouse, the user may then, for example, click (click) or double-click (double click) a predetermined button 1308 in the keypad, which is assigned to the mouse, so that the desired menu 1311 may, for example, be selected or opened, which is pointed to by the conventional selection (pointer) indicator 1306.

Since the display of a mobile device, such as a cellular phone, has a small size, a pivot button 1310 may be provided in the device, enabling a user to pivot a menu list, for example. For example, after the desired menu 1311 appears on the screen 1307, the user may use the mouse to place a conventional selection (pointer) indicator on the desired menu and select it by using, for example, one of the keys 1313 of the telephone-type keypad 1303, or one of the other keys 1308 on the device, etc.

As with computers, the user may then press the key to open the associated menu bar 1312. To select a function 1313 of the menu bar 1312, the user may hold down the key and, after placing the normal selection (pointer) indicator 1306 over the function, may select the function by releasing the key.

By using the keypad and the mouse, other functions similar to those of a computer can be provided.

Also, the user may replace the function of the button with a predetermined sound/voice or other predetermined behavior without using the button assigned to the mouse. For example, rather than pressing a key to select or open an application represented by an icon, the user may speak "select" or "open" after positioning the normal selection (pointer) indicator 1306 over the icon.

Fig. 14 shows an electronic device such as a mobile phone 1400. A plurality of different icons 1411-1414 representing different applications are displayed on the screen 1402 of the device. To select and/or open one of the applications, the user may place a conventional selection (pointer) indicator 1403 on the desired icon 1411 by using a mouse, as with a computer. The user may then select the icon by, for example, pressing a predetermined key 1404 of the keypad once. To open the application represented by the icon, the user may, for example, double-click on a predetermined key 1404 of the keypad.

The mouse integrated on the back of the electronic device may be of any type. For example, FIG. 15 shows the back of an electronic device 1500, such as the electronic devices shown in FIGS. 13-14, with a mouse 1501 similar to a conventional computer mouse. As described, the mouse 1501 may be operated with a finger of the user. By placing the device on a surface, such as a desktop, and tapping the mouse on the surface, the mouse can be operated like a conventional computer mouse.

Fig. 16 illustrates another conventional type of mouse (sensor pad) integrated on the back side of an electronic device 1600 such as that shown in fig. 13-14. The mouse 1601 is similar to a conventional computer mouse. As mentioned, it can be operated with a finger of the user. In this example, the user preferably uses his index finger 1602 to use (e.g., to manipulate) the mouse while holding the device in his palm, as previously described. Depending on the position, the user uses his thumb (not shown) to operate keys in a keypad (not shown) that is located on the front (e.g., the other) side of the device.

Preferably, the mobile device should be operated with only one hand. This is because when the user is in motion (e.g. on a bus or train), the user can use the other hand while standing on the train for other purposes such as holding a rail, or holding a newspaper or briefcase with one hand).

By using a mouse on the back of a device, such as a mobile phone, a user can operate the device and input data with one hand. The user may use both the keypad and the mouse of the device at the same time.

Of course, if the user wishes, the user can use both of his hands to operate the device and its mouse.

Another way of using the device is to place it on a surface, such as a desktop, and slide the device over the surface in the same way as a conventional computer mouse, and enter data using the keypad.

It will be appreciated that any type of mouse, including the aforementioned mouse, may be integrated into any portion of the mobile device. For example, a mouse may be located in front of the device. The mouse may also be located on one side of the device and the mouse and keypad are operated simultaneously by the fingers as previously described.

It should be noted that a mouse is used throughout this discussion, however, any pointing and clicking data input device, such as a pen computer (stylus computer), integrated into an electronic device and combined with a telephone-type keypad is within the contemplation of the present invention.

Externally integrated data input unit

An externally integrated data input unit including a keypad and a mouse may also be provided and used in electronic devices requiring data input means such as a large keyboard (or keypad) and/or a mouse. An integrated data entry unit may be provided having the keys of a keypad (e.g. a telephone-type keypad) on the front of the unit and a mouse integrated into the back of the unit. The data input unit may be connected to a desired device such as a computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a camera, a Television (TV), a facsimile machine, etc.

FIG. 19 shows a computer 1900 including a large keyboard 1901, mouse 1902, monitor 1903 and other computer accessories (not shown). In some cases (e.g. when the user does not want to sit in a chair in front of the monitor, but rather lies in his bed while interacting with the computer), the user may use a smaller externally integrated data input unit instead of a large keyboard and/or a corresponding mouse. An external data input unit 1904 may be provided which includes features such as a keypad button 1911 located in front of the data input unit, a microphone which may be an extendable microphone 1906, a mouse (not shown) integrated into the back of the data input unit (as previously described). The data input unit may be connected (wirelessly or by wire) to the electronic device (e.g., the computer 1900). An integrated data input system such as that previously described (e.g., a voice recognition system used by a user in conjunction with key interactions) may be integrated within the electronic device (e.g., the computer 1900) or within the data input unit 1904. A microphone may also be integrated inside the electronic device (e.g. a computer). The integrated data entry system may use one or two microphones located on the data entry unit or within the electronic device (e.g., computer).

For better viewing when interacting, especially when interacting from a remote location with an electronic device such as the computer 1900, a display unit 1905 may be integrated inside the input unit such as the integrated data input unit 1904 of the present invention. When interacting with the monitor 1903 of the electronic device 1900 from a distance, the user may view the display 1910 of the monitor 1903 as a whole. A defined area 1908 or other area near the arrow 1909 selected by using a mouse on the display 1910 of the monitor 1903 can be simultaneously displayed on the display 1905 of the data input unit 1904. The size of the region 1908 may be defined by the manufacturer and user. Preferably, the size of the area 1908 may be close to the size of the display 1905 of the data input unit 1904. This may allow a close and/or if desired, full-size view of the interaction region 1908 to the user (e.g., by viewing the region on the data entry screen 1905). When having an overall view of the display 1910 of the monitor 1903, the user may have a particularly close view of the interaction area 1908, which is simultaneously displayed on the display 1905 of the data input unit 1904. For example, a user may use a keypad mouse (not shown, on the back of the keypad) to navigate arrows 1909 on the computer display 1910. At the same time, the arrow 1909 and an area 1908 around the arrow 1909 on the computer display 1910 may be displayed on the keypad display 1905.

For an interaction such as opening a file, the user may navigate arrow 1909, e.g. on the screen 1910 of the computer, and position it on the desired file 1907. The navigation area 1908 and the file 1907 can be seen on the data entry screen 1905. By having the display 1905 of the data input unit 1904 close to its eyes, the user can clearly see his interaction on the display 1905 of the data input unit 1904 while having an overall view on the large display 1910 of the electronic device 1900 (e.g., a computer).

It is to be understood that the interactive zone 1908 can be defined and changed according to different needs or definitions. For example, the interaction region may be a region around arrow 1909, where the arrow is located in the center of the region, or the region is a region to the right, left, top, bottom, etc. side of the arrow, or any region on the screen of the monitor, regardless of the location of the arrow on the monitor's display.

Fig. 20 shows a data input unit 2000 connected to a computer 2001, such as the data input unit described earlier. During data entry, such as text entry, an area 2002 around an interaction point 2003, such as a cursor, is simultaneously displayed on the keypad display 2004.

Fig. 21a-21b show examples of different electronic devices, which may use the data input unit described above. Fig. 21a shows a computer 2100, while fig. 21b shows a TV 2101. The data input unit 2102 of the TV 2101 may also serve as a remote controller of the TV 2101. For example, by using a mouse (not shown) located behind the data input unit 2102, the user can position the selection arrow 2103 over an icon 2104 representing a movie or channel and open it by double-clicking (double-clicking) a button 2105 of the data input unit. Of course, the data input unit 2102 of the TV may also be used for data input, e.g. via the internet of the TV, or for sending messages via the TV, cable TV, etc. In this case, the integrated data input system of the present invention may be integrated inside the modem 2106 of, for example, a TV.

Extensible microphone

Extendable and/or pivotable microphones may be integrated in an electronic device such as a cellular phone. The microphone may be a rigid microphone extending towards the mouth of the user.

As technology advances, new input systems and devices are entering the market, allowing easy interaction with the devices. Many such input systems use voice/speech recognition systems in which a user speaks data or commands to be input. Since this inputs data in a natural way, speech recognition systems are becoming very common. Computers, telephones, toys, and many other devices are equipped with different kinds of data input systems using voice recognition systems.

Although this is a good input method, it has serious drawbacks. This method is not an intermittent input method. Often, the user does not want others to hear what he said, while on the other hand, people do not like the other people to speak loudly.

To significantly overcome (or at least reduce) this problem, the user must speak softly. In order not to misinterpret the user's voice/speech by the speech recognition system, the microphone must be close to the user's mouth.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device using the voice of a user as data with a microphone extending from the device towards the user's mouth.

The use of such a microphone has a number of advantages. One of the advantages of such a microphone is that: by extending the microphone toward the user's mouth and speaking near the microphone, the sound/speech recognition system can better distinguish and recognize the sound/speech. Another advantage resides in: by positioning the microphone close to the user's mouth (e.g., near the mouth), the user can speak to it very gently (e.g., whisper). This allows for almost silent and intermittent data entry. Also, another advantage of the microphone is that: being integrated in the respective electronic device, the user may not have to hold the microphone by his hand in order to keep the microphone in a desired position, e.g. close to the user's mouth. The user does not have to carry the microphone separate from the electronic device.

In an electronic device or as an external unit connected to the electronic device, by combining the following features: for example, the enhanced keypad, mouse, extendable phone and data entry method in a manner such as that previously described of the present invention may provide a complete enhanced data entry system. A user may, for example, hold an electronic device, such as a data entry device (e.g., a mobile phone, PDA, etc.), using all features, such as an enhanced keypad, an integrated mouse, and an extendable microphone, by using only one hand, while providing fast, easy, and particularly natural data entry by using their natural habits (e.g., pressing keys of a keypad and speaking when needed).

One of the most important applications of extendable microphones is when the data input system of a mobile communication device is combined with the use of a keypad and a sound/speech recognition system. The user interacts with the keys in this manner (e.g., by pressing the keys) and at the same time, the user may speak, for example, symbols on the keys. To press a key comprising the desired symbol, the user may need to look at the keypad. The user may also need to view data on the display of the device. On the other hand, the user may prefer to speak the symbol softly. The extendable microphone allows the mobile phone to be located far from the eyes enough to see the keypad and at the same time, the microphone is close to the mouth allowing for soft talk.

As many people are accustomed to, they can hold their mobile phones in one hand while using the thumb of the same hand to press the keys of the keypad. The second hand may be used to hold the hand around the microphone to reduce external noise or to maintain the microphone in an optimal relationship with the mouth.

If the microphone of the device is wireless or the part connecting it to the device is made of a non-rigid material, the user can hold the microphone between the two fingers in such a way that it is positioned on the side of his palm. Then, by positioning the palm of the hand around the mouth, the user can significantly reduce external noise while speaking.

It is understood that the user interface including the data input unit and the display of the electronic device for inputting data using the voice of the user may be of any type. For example, the electronic system may include touch sensitive pads (touch sensitive pads) instead of keypads, or the electronic device may be equipped with only a speech recognition system without keypads.

FIG. 18 shows an electronic device 1800, such as a cellular telephone or PDA, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, a keypad 1801 is located on the front of the device 1800. A mouse (not shown) is located on the back of the device 1800. An extendable microphone 1802 is also integral to the device. The microphone may be extended and positioned by the user in a desired location (e.g., proximate to the user's mouth). The device may also include a data entry method as previously described. By using only one hand, the user is able to make fast and easy data entry with very high accuracy. The microphone is positioned close to the user's mouth so that the user's voice/speech is better recognized by the system. The user may also speak softly (e.g., whisper) into the microphone. This allows almost silent data entry.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, shown in fig. 18B to 18C, a mobile phone 1800 is shown with a keypad 1801 and a display unit. The mobile phone is provided with a pivoting part 1803 having a microphone 1802 mounted at its end. By extending the microphone towards the user's mouth, the user can speak lightly into the phone and at the same time be able to see the display and keypad 1801 of his phone and, ultimately, use both the display and keypad while speaking into the microphone 1802.

Fig. 18D shows an extendable microphone 1810 rotated to allow the user to position the device in a convenient relationship to him, and at the same time, bring the microphone 1810 closer to his mouth or to a desired position by rotating and extending the microphone accordingly. It has to be noted that the means connecting the microphone to the device may have at least two parts, extending/retracting each other or the device. The microphone may have folding, sliding, telescoping and other motions for extension or retraction.

Fig. 18E and 18F show telescopically extended integrated rotational microphone 1820. In this embodiment, an extendable portion including a microphone 1820 may be located in the device. When desired, the user may pull the portion and extend it toward his mouth. When it is pulled out, the microphone 1820 may also be used.

According to another embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig. 18G and 18H, the extension member 1830 comprising the microphone 1831 may be a part of a multipart device. This part may serve as a cover for the device. The portion itself comprising the microphone 1831 may be multi-part so as to be extendable and/or adjustable as desired.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 18I, an extendable microphone 1840 as previously described may be installed in a computer or similar device.

Also, according to another embodiment of the invention, the microphone of the device may be attached to a ring of the user, or itself shaped like a ring and worn by the user. The microphone may be connected to the device wirelessly or by wire. When in use, the user brings his hand close to his mouth and speaks.

It will be appreciated that the devices shown in the figures are shown by way of example. The extendable microphone may be mounted in any device. It can also be mounted anywhere on the extension.

In a communication device, an extension comprising a microphone may be used as an antenna for the device. In this case the antenna may be manufactured as said part and comprise an integrated microphone.

It has to be noted that the device may comprise at least one further conventional microphone in addition to the at least extendable microphone, wherein said microphone may be used alone or simultaneously with said extendable microphone.

It must be noted that the extendable members comprising the microphone may be made of a rigid material in order to allow the microphone to be positioned in the desired position without being held by hand. For better operation, the part comprising the microphone may also be made of semi-rigid or soft material.

It must be noted that any extension/retraction method, such as an unfolding/folding method, may be used.

As previously mentioned, the integrated keypad and/or mouse and/or extendable microphone of the present invention may be integrated within a variety of electronic devices, such as PDAs, TV remotes, and a variety of other electronic devices. For example, by using the integrated keypad and mouse in the remote control of the TV, the user can point on a movie-related icon shown on the TV screen and select the movie by using a predetermined key of the remote control.

Also, as mentioned, the integrated keypad and/or mouse and/or extendable microphone may be manufactured as a separate device and connected to the electronic device.

Of course, the keypad alone or integrated with the mouse and/or extendable microphone may be combined with data and text input methods such as the data input method of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates some electronic devices that may use the enhanced keypad, enhanced mouse, extendable microphone, and data entry methods of the present invention.

An electronic device may include at least one or more features of the present invention. The electronic device may for example comprise all features of the invention as described.

Data entry via wireline telephone

The aforementioned data entry methods may also be used for wired telephones and their corresponding networks. As is known, each key of the telephone keypad produces a predetermined tone, which is transmitted over the wired network. There are twelve predetermined tones assigned to the 12 keys of the telephone keypad. By using a wired telephone for data entry purposes, such as entering text, and its keypad, there may be a need to generate additional tones. Each symbol may be assigned a different tone so that the network will identify the symbol based on the generated tone assigned to the symbol.

Multi-part data input unit worn on wrist

FIG. 22a shows, as an example, a different embodiment of the data input unit 2201-2203 of the present invention as described above. To reduce the size of the data input unit, a multipart data input unit 2202 + 2203 may be provided, which may have a multipart keypad 2212 + 2222 as described above. The multipart data entry unit may have some or all of the features of the invention. The data input unit also has an integrated data input system as described in the present application. By way of example, the data input unit 2202 includes a display 2213, an antenna 2214 (which may be extendable), a microphone 2215 (which may be extendable), a mouse (not shown) integrated behind the data input unit.

An embodiment of the data input unit of the invention may be worn on the wrist. This embodiment may be integrated into a wrist-worn device, such as a watch, or a wristband, such as a wristband. The data input unit may have some or all of the features of the integrated data input unit of the present invention. This would allow having a small data input unit attached to the user's wrist. The wrist-worn data input unit may be used as a data input unit for any electronic device. By connecting the data input unit worn on his wrist to the desired electronic device, the user can, for example, open the door of his dwelling, interact with a TV, interact with a computer, dial a telephone number, etc. The same data input unit may be used for operating different electronic devices. For this purpose, an access code (access code) may be assigned to each electronic device. The connection between the data input unit and the electronic device may be established by inputting (e.g. via the data input unit) an access password for the desired electronic device.

Figure 22b shows an example (in the open state) of a wrist-worn data entry unit 2290 of the present invention (e.g., a multipart data entry unit with a multipart keypad 2291) connected (wirelessly or through a wire 2292) to a handheld device such as a PDA 2293. The multipart data input unit 2290 may also include additional features, such as some or all of the features described in this application. In this example, a display unit 2294, an antenna 2295, a microphone 2296, and a mouse 2297 are provided.

It will be appreciated that the multipart keypad may be removable from the wrist-worn device/wristband 2298. Different detachment/attachment methods known to those skilled in the art may be provided for this purpose. For example, as shown in FIG. 23a, a housing 2301 for containing the data input device may be disposed within a wristband 2302. Fig. 23b shows the housing 2303 in an open state. A removable data input device 2304 may be disposed within the housing 2301. Fig. 23c shows the housing in an open state 2305 and in a closed state 2306. In the open state (e.g., when the data input unit is used), a portion of a component 2311 of the data input unit (e.g., a portion of a keypad and/or a display, etc.) may be located within a cover 2312 of the housing.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a device such as wristwatch 2307 may be disposed within the same wristband in a side opposite the wrist. For example, a wristband with a housing may be provided to house the data input unit. The wristband may be attached to any wrist-worn device, such as a wristwatch, a wrist-worn camera, or the like. The housing of the data input device may be located on one side 2308 of the wearer's wrist and the housing of the other wristband device may be located on the opposite side 2309 of the wearer's wrist. To attach the wristband to a device such as a wristband, a conventional attachment 2310 of the wristband strap may be provided.

The wrist band housing described above may also be used to house any other wrist-worn device. For example, the wristband housing may be adapted to house a variety of electronic devices, such as a wrist-worn telephone, in addition to the data entry unit.

There are several advantages to using the wrist-worn data input unit of the present invention. For example, a user may place an electronic device in his pocket and the display unit (which may be flexible) of the electronic device in his hand. Interaction with the electronic device may be provided through the wrist-worn data input unit. In another example, the wrist-worn data entry unit of the present invention may be used to operate an electronic news display (PCT patent application No. PCT/US00/29647 for electronic news display, filed as 10.10.27.2000, incorporated herein by reference).

Thus, while there have been shown, described, and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to alternative embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is to be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, but that they are merely conceptual in nature. For example, rather than providing a separate pressure system for each key of the keypad, a single pressure sensitive system (e.g., a pressure sensitive pad) may be provided for all keys (e.g., a single larger pad above or below the key). The user may also interact with the keys by other methods than their finger. For example, the user may use a pen to press a key.

Other data entry methods may also be used with the data entry method of the present invention. For example, instead of assigning symbols to keys of a keypad, the symbols may also be assigned to other objects, such as a user's finger (or portion of a finger). The objects and data entry methods mentioned in this application have been described in detail in the incorporated reference PCT patent application No. PCT/US00/29647, filed 10/27/2000.

Extensible display unit

According to an embodiment of the invention, an extendable display unit may be provided within an electronic device, such as a data input unit of the invention, or within a mobile phone. Fig. 24a shows the extendable display unit 2400 in a closed state. The display unit may be made of rigid and/or semi-rigid material and may be folded or unfolded, or telescopically extended or retracted, for example by means of a respective hinge 2401, or have means allowing it to be extended and retracted by any method.

Fig. 24b shows a mobile computing device 2402, e.g. a mobile phone with the extendable display 2400 of the invention in an open state. When open, the extendable display unit may have the width of A4 standard paper, allowing a user to see and work on the actual width dimension of a document when, for example, the user writes a letter or browses a web page using a word processing program.

The display unit of the invention may also be made of a flexible material. Fig. 25a shows the flexible display unit 2500 in a closed state.

It is to be understood that the display unit of the present invention may also display information on at least a portion of another side (e.g., outer side) 2505 thereof. This is important because in some cases the user may wish to use the display unit without unfolding it.

Fig. 25b shows an electronic device 2501 having a flexible display unit 2500 of the present invention, the flexible display unit 2500 being in an open state.

By providing an electronic device such as a data input unit of the invention, a mobile phone, a PDA or the like with at least one enhanced feature of the invention, such as an extendable/non-extendable display unit comprising a telecommunication apparatus as described before, a mouse of the invention, an extendable microphone, an extendable camera, a data input system of the invention, a voice recognition system, or any other feature described in the present application, a complete data input/computing device that can be held and operated by a user's hand can be provided. This is important because, as is well known, at least one hand of the user must be free in mobile environment computing/data entry.

Extendable camera

The electronic device may also be equipped with an extendable camera, as described for the extendable microphone. For example, for the data input system of the present invention combining key depression and lip reading (not or in addition to the user's voice/speech), an extendable camera may be provided in the corresponding electronic device or data input unit.

Fig. 26 illustrates a mobile computing device 2600 equipped with a pivoting portion 2601. The pivoting portion may have a camera 2602 and/or a microphone 2603 mounted at, for example, a distal end thereof. By extending the camera towards the user's mouth, the user can speak into the camera and the camera can transmit images of the user's mouth shape, for example, during data input of the invention using a combination of key presses and mouth shape. At the same time, the user is able to see the display and keypad of his phone and eventually use it while speaking into the camera. Of course, a microphone mounted on the extendable portion may transmit the user's voice to the voice recognition system of the data entry system.

The extendable portion 2601 may include an antenna, or be itself an antenna of an electronic device.

The extendable microphone and/or camera of the present invention may be removably attached to an electronic device such as a mobile phone or PDA. This is because in many cases the manufacturer of an electronic device, such as a mobile phone, does not want to modify its hardware for new applications.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the external pivoting part comprising the microphone and/or the camera may be a separate unit detachably attached to the respective electronic device. Fig. 27 shows the detachable unit 2701 and an electronic apparatus 2700 such as a mobile phone in a detached state. The removable unit 2701 may include one of a number of components, including but not limited to a microphone 2702, a camera 2703, a speaker 2704, an optical reader (reader) (not shown), or other components that are necessary to be in close proximity to the user in order to better interact with the electronic device. The unit may also include at least one antenna, or be an antenna itself. The unit may also include attachment and/or connection means 2705 for attaching the unit 2701 to the electronic device 2700 and for connecting the components available on the unit 2701 to the electronic device 2700. The attaching and connecting means 2705 may be adapted for the purpose of attaching and connecting using a port 2706 available in an electronic device, such as a mobile phone 2700 or a computer, providing a port for the connection of peripheral components, such as a microphone, a loudspeaker, a camera, an antenna, etc. It will be appreciated that port 2706 may be a standard port such as a microphone jack or a USB port, or any other similar connection means available in an electronic device. In this case, the attaching/connecting means may be, for example, a standard connecting means, which plugs into a corresponding port available in the electronic device.

It will be appreciated that the attachment and/or connection means of the external unit may be provided so as to have either a mechanical attachment function or an electrical/electronic connection function, or both. As shown in fig. 27a, for example, the external unit 2701 may comprise pins 2705 fixedly located on the external unit for mechanically attaching the external unit to the electronic device. The pins may also electrically/electronically connect the microphone assembly 2702 available within the unit 2701 to the electronics shown previously. In addition to the pins, the external unit may include another connector 2707 such as a USB connector, which is connected by wires 2708 to, for example, a camera 2703 mounted in the external unit 2701. In this case, the connector 2707 may electrically/electrically connect the unit 2701 to the electronic device only.

For better mechanical attachment, the attachment and connection means through the external unit may use more than one port. For example, the attachment and connection means may comprise two attachment means, e.g. two fixed pins on the external unit, wherein a first pin is plugged into a first port of the electronic device corresponding to e.g. an external microphone and a second pin is plugged into a port corresponding to e.g. an external speaker.

Fig. 27b shows the detachable external unit 2701 and the electronic device 2700 of the present invention in a tethered position.

After attaching the external unit 2701 to the electronic device 2700 (e.g., by inserting the pins 2705 into the corresponding ports 2706), the user can adjust the external unit 2701 in a desired direction by the extending and rotating action described previously for the extendable microphone and camera in this application. It has again to be noted that the detachable unit of the invention may have similar characteristics as the extendable parts of the invention for external microphones and cameras in the present application as described earlier. For example, the detachable unit 2701 of the present invention may be multi-part with at least two parts 2710-2711, where each part has actions such as pivoting, rotating and extending (telescoping, folding/unfolding) with respect to each other and the external unit. Tether portion 2712 and 2714 may be used for these purposes.

The removable unit as described allows for the addition of external/peripheral components to the electronic device and their use as if they were part of the original device. It firstly allows the unit to be used without holding the components in the hand or attaching them to the user's body (e.g. a headset that must be attached to the user's ear), and secondly it allows the components to be added to the electronic device without forcing the manufacturer of the electronic device (e.g. a cell phone) to modify their hardware.

Other data input devices may also be used with the data input method of the present invention. For example, rather than assigning symbols to keys of a keypad, the symbols may be assigned to other objects, such as a user's finger (or portion of a finger). Also, the system may recognize data input by reading (recognizing the action of) the user's mouth shape in combination/non-combination with key presses, instead of (or in addition to) voice/speech input. The user may press a key of the keypad and speak the desired letter in the symbol on the key. By recognizing the mouth shape action of the user who speaks the letter in combination with the key press, the system can easily recognize and input the desired letter.

Also as described above, examples given in the configuration method described in the present application are shown as examples. A number of different configurations and assignments of symbols may be considered depending on the required data input unit. The principle in this configuration method is to define different symbol groups according to different factors, such as frequency of use, natural pronunciation, unnatural pronunciation, etc., and assign them so that their priority levels are assigned. The group of highest priority levels (voiced or unvoiced) is assigned to the easiest and most natural key interaction (e.g., single press). The group also includes the highest level non-spoken symbols. Then, the second highest priority is assigned to the second easier interaction (e.g., two presses), etc.

With continued reference to the data entry system described above, the keys that assign symbols to the keypad may be generated in a form that more enhances recognition by voice/speech or mouth-type readout systems. Fig. 28 shows a keypad 2800 in which alphabetic symbols having close pronunciations are assigned to the keys of the keypad in such a way as to avoid ambiguity therebetween. As shown, the letters "c" and "d", "i" and "k", "m" and "n", "v" and "t" with the proximity sounds are separated and placed on different keys. This will help the sound recognition system to recognize the letters more easily. For example, to select the letter "c," the user may press the key 2801 and speak "c". To select the letter "d," the user may press the key 2802 and speak "d". Other letters with close pronunciations such as "b" and "p", "t" and "d", "f" and "s" are also assigned to the different keys.

Embedded speech recognition systems for small devices are allocated to use as little memory as possible. Separating symbols with similar pronunciations and assigning them to different keys significantly simplifies the recognition algorithm, resulting in less memory usage.

With continued reference to fig. 28, as shown, the configuration of the letters is arranged in such a way as to maintain the letters a-z in a sequential order (e.g., a, b, c.... j.z). The arrangement of symbols on the keypad 2800 is made in a manner as similar as possible to a standard telephone-type keypad. It will be appreciated that this order may be changed as desired.

Also, separating symbols of similar mouth shape expressions may help mouth shape readout (mouth shape recognition) systems to identify them more easily. For example, assigning the letters "j" and "k" to different keys would significantly simplify their identification.

It will be appreciated that more than one image of the user's mouth shape at different times during the speaking of the letter may be provided to the mouth shape recognition/readout system in order to recognize spoken symbols such as letters.

The mouth shape readout (recognition) system of the present invention may use any image generation and image recognition processing technique for recognition purposes. For example, as described above, when the user is speaking a symbol such as a letter and is pressing a key corresponding to the symbol on a keypad, an image of the user's mouth shape may be received using a camera. Other image generation and/or image capture techniques may also be used. For example, when a user is speaking a symbol, such as a letter, and pressing a key corresponding to the symbol on a keypad, a projector and receiver, such as a light or wave pattern, may be used to project the pattern onto the user's mouth shape (and ultimately the face) and receive back the pattern providing a digital image of the user's mouth shape (and ultimately the user's face) without the use of a camera.

The data input system of the present invention, which combines key presses and user behavior (e.g., voice) may use different behavior (e.g., voice) recognition techniques. For example, in addition to the motion of the mouth shape, a pressing motion of the user's tongue against the user's teeth may be detected for better recognition of speech.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 29, the mouth shape readout system of the present invention may use a contact/pressure sensitive assembly 2900 that is removably mounted on the user's teeth and/or lips, without (or in addition to) the use of a camera. The assembly may have sensors 2903 distributed on its surface for detecting a depressing action on any part thereof, allowing measurement of the magnitude, location, pressure measurement, etc. of the impact between the user's tongue and the assembly. The assembly may have two parts. The first portion 2901 is positioned between the user's two lips (upper and lower lips) and the second portion 2902 is positioned on the user's teeth (preferably, in front of the upper teeth). The attachment device 2904 allows the assembly to be attached/secured to a user's teeth.

Fig. 29a shows a sensitive assembly 2910 as previously described, mounted on a user's teeth 2919 in such a way that a portion 2911 of the assembly is located between the user's upper and lower lips (in this figure, the assembly, the user's teeth and tongue are shown outside the user's body). The user may press a key 2913 of the keypad 2918 including the letter "abc" and speak the letter "b". By saying "b," the user's lips 2914-2915 depress the sensing portion 2911 between the lips. Because speaking two other letters (e.g., the letter "ab") does not require the lips to press against each other, the system recognizes that the desired letter is the letter "b". If the user presses the key 2913 and sounds the letter "c", the user's tongue 2916 will slightly press the inner portions 2912 of the tooth portions of the assembly that are in front of the user's upper teeth. Because the other letters on the key (e.g., "bc") do not require the pressing operation on the portion of the assembly, the system will recognize that the desired symbol is the letter "c". If the user presses key 2913 and speaks the letter "a", no pressing action is applied to the component. The system recognizes that the desired letter is the letter "a". In another example, if the user presses key 2917 and speaks the letter "j," the user's tongue presses against the upper inner side of the tooth portion of the assembly. If the user presses key 2917 and speaks the letter "I," the user's tongue will press nearly the entire inside portion of the tooth portion of the assembly. In this case, almost the entire sensor distributed over the inner portion of the tooth portion of the assembly will be pressed, and the system recognizes that the desired letter is the letter "I".

The above-described die read/identification system allows for intermittent and efficient data entry methods with high accuracy. Such data input systems are used in particular in sectors such as military, public security or intelligence authorities.

The following is an example of an alphabet input recognition system via a telephone-type keypad according to one embodiment of the present invention:

it must be noted that the above table is shown as an example only to illustrate the convenience of distinguishing the letters by speaking the desired letter (when using the hardware described) and pressing the corresponding key. It should be understood that other identification parameters according to the system, e.g. based on the time of the press on the hardware of the system (e.g. when saying "g" or saying "h", both on the same key and possibly with a similar degree of press) may be considered by the identification system and by the person skilled in the art. Also other symbols, such as numbers (e.g. 0-9), spoken by the user and identified may be considered by the system described above.

Furthermore, the sensitive components of the present invention may be connected to a processing device (e.g., a cellular telephone) wirelessly or by wires. If wirelessly connected, the assembly may include a transmitter for transmitting the press down information. The assembly may also include a battery power source for providing power for its functions.

As described above, the present invention combines a key press and voice for improving recognition accuracy. In one embodiment, the grammar does not work to allow recognition of letters that correspond only to key presses.

Typically, during data (e.g., text) input via voice/speech, a microphone/sensor (transducer) senses the user's voice/speech and transmits it to the processor of the desired electronic device for recognition processing via a voice/speech recognition system. A huge obstacle to efficient speech to data/text conversion by sound/speech recognition systems, especially in mobile environments, is the poor audio quality of the input, which is caused by external noise. It must be noted that microphones "listen" indiscriminately to everything.

Researchers have made many efforts to distinguish and eliminate external noise from desired audio. To date, these efforts have been able to only partially reduce external noise, but still do a lot of work to achieve acceptable results. Unfortunately, current noise cancellation/reduction techniques also degrade the quality of the desired audio, making it unsuitable for recognition by a sound/speech recognition system.

In order to reduce (or even completely eliminate) external noise during data input into the electronic device by means of sound/speech input, without degrading the quality of said sound/speech input, an ear-integrated microphone/sensor unit located in the ear of the user may be provided. The microphone/sensor may allow for better reception quality of the user's voice/speech even if the user speaks a little or whisper.

It is known that when a person speaks, bone vibration caused by the voice and corresponding to the voice is conducted to the ear, and air vibration corresponding to the voice is caused in the inner ear and auricle.

According to one method, the air vibration is sensed by an ear-coupled microphone located in the ear, preferably in the pinna. According to another approach, the ear bone vibrations themselves may be sensed from the inner ear by sensors located in the ear in conjunction with the ear.

Fig. 30 shows a microphone/sensor unit 3000 designed to be engaged with a user's ear in such a way that the microphone/sensor assembly 3001 is located in the user's ear (preferably, the user's pinna).

Preferably, in addition to the microphone/sensor assembly 3001, the unit 3000 may also have a sealed isolation device 3002, wherein the sealed isolation device 3002 may isolate the microphone from external (ear) ambient noise when the microphone 3001 is mounted in the ear of a user (preferably, in the pinna of the user) to allow the microphone 3001 to sense only the user's voice/sound formed within the ear. External noise, which is a major problem for sound/speech recognition systems, will be significantly reduced or even completely eliminated.

The user can adjust the degree of seal isolation as desired. For example, to cancel the voice echo in the pinna, the microphone unit may be less isolated from the external ear environment by slightly pulling the microphone unit out of the pinna of the user. The microphone unit also has an isolation/non-isolation level means integrated therewith.

The microphone/sensor 3001 may be connected to a corresponding electronic device by means of a wire 3003, or by means of a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system may be of any type such as bluetooth, infrared, Radio Frequency (RF), etc.

The above-described microphone/sensor in combination with the ear can be used to sense the user's voice/voice during the time that the voice/voice-to-data (e.g., text) input system uses the data input system of the present invention, now named key-and-talk (KIKS) technology, in combination with key presses and corresponding speech. By pressing a key and speaking the desired symbol (e.g., letter) assigned to the key, the sound/speech recognition system attempts to match the speech to one of the speech patterns of several symbols assigned to the key, as described above. In this case, even if the ear-coupled microphone/transducer has a lower quality audio perception than a standard microphone, the quality of the spoken symbol perceived by the ear-coupled microphone/transducer will still be sufficient for the sound/speech recognition system to easily recognize the spoken symbol in the several symbols on the key.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a microphone 3100 may be provided in combination with an ear, as shown in fig. 31, and connected to a mobile electronic device, such as a mobile phone 3102. As shown in the drawing, the microphone 3101 is designed in such a manner that it is positioned within the pinna of the user and senses the user's voice/speech vibration generated in the user's ear when the user speaks. The speech is then transmitted to the mobile phone 3102 by means of the wire 3103, or wirelessly.

By being positioned in the user's ear and having a sealed isolation device 3104, the microphone 3101 will only sense the user's voice/speech. External noise, which is a major problem for sound/speech recognition systems, will be significantly reduced or even completely eliminated. As described above, the degree of isolation may be adjusted automatically or by a user.

For example, when the user presses key 3105 and speaks the letter "k" located on that key, the vibration of the speech in the user's ear may be sensed by the ear-coupled sensor/microphone and transmitted to the desired electronic device. The sound/speech recognition system of the present invention must match the speech to the already stored speech pattern of several symbols (e.g., "J, K, L, 5" in this example) located on the keys. Even if the speech is not of sufficient quality (e.g., because the user is speaking whisper), the speech can be easily matched to the stored pattern of desired letters.

As just mentioned, another advantage of the present system is that the user can speak whisper or even whisper. The sound quality of the user will still be good enough for the sound/speech recognition system to use, because on the one hand the microphone is mounted in the user's ear and senses the user's sound directly without being interrupted by external noise, and on the other hand, even if the user speaks aloud, whispering, the recognition system tries to match the spoken symbol with only a few choices. For the same reason, the recognition system may be user independent. Of course, training the system with the user's voice (e.g., speaker dependent) method) will give the recognition system a better level of recognition accuracy.

In addition to the microphone/transducer, the ear-coupled unit also includes a speaker located outside the microphone/transducer, and which is also integral with the user's ear for listening purposes.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 32, a microphone and speaker 3200 combined with ears can be provided in such a manner that a microphone 3201 is mounted on a first ear of a user (as described above) and a speaker 3202 is mounted on a second ear of the user.

The above description should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely describing some preferred embodiments thereof. Many variations are contemplated within the scope of the invention. For example, in the example of the ear-coupled unit of fig. 32, both microphone and speaker components may be provided to both ears. In another embodiment, battery power may be provided within the ear-coupled unit when the ear-coupled unit is wirelessly connected to a corresponding electronic device. Likewise, for better speech reception quality, the inventive microphone unit in combination with the ear also comprises at least one further standard microphone located outside the ear (e.g. on the transmission line). The combination of the microphone inside the ear and the microphone outside the ear provides more audio signal information for the sound/speech recognition system of the present invention. It must also be noted that the data input system of the present invention may use a microphone or transducer using any technique for receiving speech vibrations in the ear.

As described above, a general data entry method that combines key presses and voice (e.g., based on a user's voice or mouth-type action) is described in PCT application PCT/US00/29647, filed on a date of 10/27/2000.

As described in said application, the desired symbol can be selected by pressing a key and speaking or not the desired symbol, for example a character in the group of symbols assigned to said key. For example, to enter the word "warning" via the standard telephone-type keypad 3300 (see fig. 33), the user may:

press key 3308 and say'm';

press key 3308 and say 'o';

press key 3306 and say 'r';

press key 3308 and say 'n';

press key 3303 and say 'i';

press key 3308 and say 'n';

press key 3303 and say 'g'.

The words can be input by speaking the words letter by letter (or symbol by symbol) and pressing the corresponding key.

The data entry system described in PCT/US00/29647 may allow a keyboard (e.g., a telephone keypad) with a reduced number of keys to function as a full-size PC keyboard (e.g., one symbol for one press action).

·Word-by-word data entry system

To enhance the above data entry system, a word level data entry system has been proposed in the PCT application. In said application it is described that the user is enabled to enter a word by speaking said word and pressing the keys corresponding to the letters constituting said word.

In a language, the speech of each word may be made up of a phone set, where the phone set includes one or more phones. FIG. 34 shows an example of a word dictionary 3400 in which, for each input (e.g., word) 3401, its character set (e.g., its corresponding character string) 3402, associated key press values 3403 (e.g., using a telephone keypad such as that shown in FIG. 33), a phone set 3404 corresponding to the word, and a speech model 3405 (ultimately used by a voice/speech recognition system) for the phone set are shown.

According to one method of voice (e.g., speech) recognition, when a user speaks a word, his speech may be compared to stored speech models and one or more best matching patterns will be selected by the system. According to another method of speech recognition, for example, when a user speaks a word, his speech is recognized based on recognition of a set of phonemes that constitute the speech.

Then, a word (e.g., a character set) corresponding to the selected speech model or phone set is selected by the system. If the selection includes a word, the word may become the final selection. If the selection comprises more than one word, the words may be displayed to the user (e.g. in a list displayed on the display) and the user may select one of them by e.g. pressing the "select" key.

The above-described method of word recognition based on word speech is described only as an example. It is understood that other methods of recognition by speech are contemplated by those skilled in the art.

Recognizing words based on their speech alone is not an accurate system. There are several reasons for this. For example, many words have substantially similar or ambiguous pronunciations. Also, factors such as external noise may cause ambiguities in word-level data entry systems. Inputting arbitrary words by voice requires complex software, requiring consideration of various parameters such as accents, voice morphing, user intent, or noise effects. For these reasons, speech recognition systems are based on recognition of phrases, where, for example, ambiguities of words with similar pronunciations can be eliminated in the phrases according to their context. Speech recognition systems based on recognition of phrases also require a lot of memory and CPU usage, which so far makes it impossible to integrate them in small devices such as mobile phones.

The problems described above are solved by the key and voice techniques invented by the present inventors and described in the various PCT and us patent applications. In addition to/in conjunction with the characters of the character input system as described in the noted application, the word-level data input techniques of the present invention may provide a user with a small/mobile/stationary device with a naturally fast (word-by-word) text/data input system.

As mentioned, in PCT application PCT/US00/29647, it is described that a user speaks a word while pressing the keys corresponding to the letters that make up the word. It is also mentioned that a word dictionary database may be used for this purpose. In accordance with these and with reference to FIG. 33, as an example, when the user speaks the word "card" and presses the corresponding key (e.g., keys 3302, 3306, 3309 of a telephone-type keypad), the system may select the word corresponding to the key press from a dictionary database (e.g., the database shown in FIG. 34). In this example, the same group of key presses also correspond to other words such as "care", "bare", "base", "cap", and "case". The system may then compare the user's speech (of the word) to the speech (stored model or phone set) corresponding to the word pressed by the same key, and select the word if one matches the user's speech. If no speech of the word matches the user's speech, the system may select the word (or words) among the words whose speech matches best with the user's speech.

According to this method, the recognition system will select words from only a few candidates (e.g., 6 words in the above example). As a result, recognition becomes easy, and the accuracy of the speech recognition system is significantly improved, which allows text input at a general word level with high accuracy. It must also be noted that it is a familiar act to speak a word while entering it.

According to another embodiment of the invention, in order to enter a word, the user may press several (e.g. one, two, and if desired more) keys corresponding to at least a part of the characters of the word, (preferably, start) and (preferably, simultaneously) speak the word. Based on the key presses and the speech, the system can recognize the desired word. To this end, according to one method, for example, the system may first select a word of the dictionary database, wherein a corresponding partial character of the word corresponds to the key press, and compare the voice of the selected word with the voice of the user. The system then selects one or more words whose speech best matches the user's speech. Words that exist in a dictionary of a word database are selected based on at least a few key presses corresponding to at least the beginning character of the word, significantly reducing the number of the selected words compared to the user's voice. This makes it possible to input a desired word with high accuracy. According to another approach, for example, the system may first select the word whose voice best matches the dictionary of the user's voice. The system may then determine (determine which key press they belong to) at least the beginning character of the word (of the character sets that constitute the word) by the user's corresponding key press in order to finally select a character set that matches the user's key press.

In the above embodiment, if the selection includes a word, the word may become the final selection. If the selection comprises more than one word, the words are displayed to the user (e.g. in a list displayed on the display), and the user may select one of them by e.g. pressing the "select" key. It will be appreciated that a system for entering words by a combination of key presses and speech, and selecting corresponding words by the system just described, is shown as an example. It is apparent that other systems based on the principles of the data entry system of the present invention can be understood and considered by those skilled in the art for the same purpose.

The above-described method of speaking a word and pressing a key corresponding to a character constituting at least a part of the word and comparing the key press with key presses corresponding to letters of the word in a word dictionary requires the use of a large amount of memory. Having stored a database of phone sets/phonetics (e.g., patterns) for all words available in a language, strings corresponding to the words available in one or more languages, and also having a database of key presses corresponding to the words available in the dictionary database, requires a significant amount of memory.

Also, as described in the previous application, according to the data input system of the present invention, symbols such as punctuation marks may be assigned to keys of a keypad and default input is made by pressing the keys without speaking voice. In the word-level data input system according to the present invention, the user may speak all words before the end of the key-down corresponding to the input of all words. This may confuse the recognition system, as the last key press not covered by the user's voice may be considered the default character. There are many solutions to overcome this problem. For example, the user may first speak a word and then press the corresponding key. This will indicate to the system that after a voice a series of key presses corresponding to the voice will be generated.

In another example, the system may exit the text mode and enter another mode (e.g., special character mode) such as punctuation/function mode by a predetermined action such as pressing a mode key. According to this example, in the text mode, the system may consider all key presses when corresponding to the last speech. By pressing a key when the system is in special character mode, a symbol, such as a punctuation mark, can be entered at the end of the word (or any other location), also indicating the end of the word to the system.

As explained in said PCT application, at least one special symbol, such as a punctuation mark, a space character, or a function, may be assigned to the keys of the keypad. By a single press of a key of the keypad without speaking, a symbol, such as a punctuation mark, is entered through the key. A double press on the same key without speaking may provide another symbol (e.g., a punctuation mark) assigned to the key.

·Sub-speech based (sub-speeches)Data input system of

It must be considered that when a user speaks a word while pressing down to input it, the customer naturally divides the speech of the word into one or more sub-speech parts according to, for example, the syllables of the speech (e.g., when the customer inputs a letter corresponding to each sub-speech). For example, when inputting the word "morning" using a keyboard such as a keypad, the user may naturally first speak the first sub-voice "mor" and/or press the corresponding key at the same time. The user may then pronounce the following sub-speech "ning" and tap the corresponding key. For convenience of illustration, in the present application, the word "sub-speech" is used to represent a portion of speech of the word. For example, the word "perhaps" may be spoken in two sub-voices "per" and "haps". Also for example, the word "pet" is spoken in a single sub-voice "pet".

Also for example, in order to input the word "playing", the user may first pronounce the phoneme corresponding to the first syllable (e.g., "ple") when inputting a button corresponding to the letter "playing", and then pronounce the phoneme corresponding to the second syllable (e.g., "ying") when inputting the character set "ymg".

It must be noted that one user may divide a word into portions that are different from those of another user. Thus, the sub-speech and corresponding key press may be different for each section. After the data (e.g., key presses and sub-speech) input for all parts of the word is completed by the user, the end result will be similar.

In the above example, the other user may sound the first part as "play" and press the key of the corresponding character set "play". He can then say "ing" and press the key corresponding to the string "ing". Also for example, a third user may enter the word "playing" through 3 sub-phonetic sequences and key presses. The user may say "ple", "yin", and "g" when the corresponding key is struck (e.g., spell the character "g" or emit a corresponding sound). It will be appreciated that the most natural way of dividing words in different sequences of speech and key presses is that each speech sequence corresponds to a syllable of the word. It must therefore be noted that even though in many paragraphs of the present application we have syllables as part/section of a word, the data entry system of the present invention can be applied to any form of dividing a word in one or more parts.

According to the above principle, for example, the word "trying" can be pronounced by two parts (e.g. syllables) "tri" and "ing". Also for example, the word "playground" may be divided and input in two parts (e.g., according to its two syllables) "pla" and "ground" (e.g., in many paragraphs of the present application, phonemes (e.g., phonetic sounds) are shown by corresponding characters according to the Webster's dictionary).

As shown in the above example, in one (or more) languages, portions of speech of different words may have similar pronunciations (e.g., consisting of the same phone set). For example, the words "trying" and "playing" have a common sub-speech portion "ing" (or "ying") in their speech.

According to the above principle, it is possible to produce a data input method in which recognition of an entire word can be made effective in the press-and-speak data input system of the present invention by taking into account/recording a predetermined phoneme/voice pattern set corresponding to a sub-voice of the word and taking into account at least a part of a key press corresponding to a character set (character-set) assigned to the corresponding phoneme/voice pattern set. Fig. 35 shows an exemplary dictionary 3501 of a phone set (e.g., a set of phones) of a sub-speech corresponding to an entire word dictionary 3502, and a dictionary 3503 of a character set corresponding to a phone set of the phone set dictionary 3501, and further includes a dictionary (according to a telephone keypad) 3504 of a button press value of the dictionary 3503 corresponding to the character set, and the dictionary 3503 of the character set corresponds to the dictionary 3501 of the phone set. One or more of these databases may be used by the data entry system of the present invention, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

Because in many cases the same phone set (or sub-speech patterns) can be used to recognize different words (having the same sub-speech pronunciation in their speech), fewer stored phone sets/speech patterns are needed to recognize the entire word available in one or more word dictionaries, reducing the required memory capacity. This will result in a reduced number of phone sets/character sets being assigned to corresponding keys of a keyboard, e.g. a telephone type keypad, and will significantly improve the accuracy of the speech recognition system, e.g. of arbitrary text input.

Fig. 36 shows an illustrative example of an english word 3601 with a similar phonetic component 3602. As shown, four short phone sets 3602 may produce speech for at least seven complete words 3601. It is understood that the phone set 3602 may also represent a partial speech of many other words in the english or other languages.

Based on the above principles, a natural press and speech data entry system may be provided that uses a reduced number of phone sets to enter any word (e.g., normal command, arbitrary text entry) via a mobile device having limited memory capacity (e.g., mobile phone, PDA) and a limited number of keys (e.g., phone keypad). The system may also enhance data entry by, for example, using a PC keyboard for a stationary device such as a personal computer. In this case (because the PC keyboard has more keys), a reduced number of phone sets are still assigned to each key, improving the accuracy of the speech recognition system. Various detailed embodiments of the present invention will be described later.

All keys-at least some phonemes

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a user may divide the speech of a word into different sub-voices, where each sub-voice may be represented by a phone set corresponding to a character string (e.g., a character set) that constitutes a corresponding portion of the word. The whole word (e.g. in the form of a character string) may be input by speaking each phone set and/or pressing a key corresponding to a letter corresponding to the phone set/character set simultaneously and repeating (in order, from start to last) this process for all (or at least part of) the sub-voices.

As shown in fig. 33, for example, the letter "t" is located on a key 3301 of the keypad 3300. For the keys, different phone sets, such as "tuola", "ti", "ta", "to", etc., may be assigned (in this example, the phone set corresponds to the character set starting with the letter "t"), and/or corresponding speech patterns (see table of fig. 37). The sound of "tuum" may correspond to a different set of letters such as "tea", "tee", or even "the" (e.g., if the user is not a local person in the United states/United kingdom). As an example, to generate the word "teatag," the user may press the "t" key 3301 and speak "t" and continue to press the remaining key corresponding to the remaining letter "ea". According to one approach, the system may compare the user's speech to the speech (e.g., patterns) or phone set assigned to the key pressed first (in this example, the "t" key 3301). After matching the user's speech to the phone set/speech pattern(s) assigned to the key press, the system selects one or more character sets assigned to the phone set/speech pattern. As described above, in this example, the same speech may correspond to two different character sets, one corresponding to the letter "tea" (e.g., key press value 832) and the other corresponding to the letter "tee" (e.g., key press value 833). The system compares the keys (e.g., key values) pressed by the user with the key presses (e.g., key values) corresponding to the selected character set and, if one of them matches the user key press, the system selects it for eventual input/output. In this example, the letter "tea" may be the final choice for this stage. For example, an end of space key press (e.g., end of word) signal may inform the system: for the current complete word, the key press and speech has ended.

It must be noted that preferably, a set of phonemes (e.g. "tak") representing a string (e.g. tac) may be assigned to the same key of another phoneme (e.g. "t"), the first character (e.g. "t") representing the string being assigned. Also, preferably, a single phoneme (e.g., "th") represented by a letter string (e.g., "th") and representing a character string (e.g., "th") may be assigned to the same key of another phoneme (e.g., "t"), indicating that the first character (e.g., "t") of the character string is assigned.

In the above example, the selection is not final (e.g., so the user does not provide the endpoint). The user can press the key 3302 corresponding to the letter "b" (e.g., the first character of the following syllable in the word) and say "bag" and continue pressing the remaining keys corresponding to the remaining letters "ag". The system processes as above and selects the corresponding character set "bag". The user now signals the end of the word by, for example, pressing the space key.

The word "teabag" may be generated by speaking "tutch" and pressing the key 3301, 3309, 3302 (e.g., key value "8, 3, 1"), and then speaking "bag" and pressing the key 3302, 3303 (e.g., key value "1, 1, 4"). As noted, the word "teatag" is generated by speech and key presses without having the complete speech pattern/phone set in memory. In fact, the speech patterns/phoneme set of the word "teatag" are generated by two other sub-speech patterns/phoneme sets (for example "t's" and "bag") available in memory, each representing a part of said phoneme patterns/phoneme set of the complete word "teatag", and together generating said complete speech patterns/phoneme set. A speech pattern/phone set of "tuum" or "bag" may be used as part of a speech pattern/phone set for other words such as "teaming" or "bag", respectively.

Although in this embodiment the recognition accuracy is very high, it may also happen that sometimes the final selection is the wrong word, which is not present in the dictionary database. For this reason, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the system may compare the final selection to words of a word dictionary of the desired language before inputting/outputting the words. If the selection does not match a word in the dictionary, the selection may be rejected.

Also, according to one method, when a partial corresponding key of a word is pressed and spoken, in the input, the user speaks the word in such a way that his voice covers the pressing of the corresponding key. This has the advantage that the user's speech corresponds to the simultaneously pressed keys at each moment, making the recognition of the speech easier. On the other hand, at the end of the word input, the user may press any key without speaking. This may inform the system that the word is fully entered (e.g., pressing a key without speaking may be assigned to a character such as a punctuation mark, a PC function, etc.). This has been explained in the PCT application, which has been filed by the present inventors.

After the above-described recognition process is completed, according to one embodiment, if the selected output includes more than one word, the words may be displayed to the user (e.g., in a list displayed on the display), and the user may select one of them by, for example, pressing a "select" key.

It must be noted that in some cases, in the press-and-speak data input system of the present invention, it may be sufficient to recognize partial phonemes of one or more sub-voices of a word (preferably, those at the beginning of the sub-voices).

According to one embodiment of the invention, instead of considering all the phonemes of the sub-speech corresponding to a word, only a few phonemes (preferably those from which the sub-speech starts) may be considered and preferably assigned to the key corresponding to the first letter of the character set corresponding to the phoneme set. The phone set may be used for recognition purposes by the push-to-talk data input system of the present invention. According to this approach, the number of speech patterns/phone sets required for recognizing many complete words can be significantly reduced. In this case, for each key of a keyboard, e.g. a keypad, only a few phone sets will be assigned by the sound/speech recognition system, thereby making the recognition of the phone sets easier.

By using a speech recognition system, a word in a language can be recognized by the data input system of the invention for the determination of all/several (preferably, the beginning) characters of each sub-speech (preferably, the first sub-speech) of the word, together with a consideration of all key presses corresponding to all characters of the word.

As mentioned above, different phone sets (or speech patterns) may preferably be considered and stored, depending on the sub-voices of the words in the language. Each of the phone sets may correspond to a portion of a word anywhere within the word. Each of the phone sets may correspond to one or more character sets (e.g., strings) having similar/substantially similar pronunciations. The phone sets are assigned to keys based on the first character of their respective character sets. For example, the phoneme set "tuyah" representing the character sets "tee" and "tea" may be assigned to key 3301, and the phoneme set "tuyah" also represents the letter "t". If a phone set represents two character strings each starting with a different letter, the phone set may be assigned to two different keys, each key representing the first letter of one of the character strings. For example, to enhance the accuracy of the voice recognition system of the present invention, the character sets "and" hand "having substantially similar pronunciations may be assigned to the phoneme set" and ". In this case, the phone set may be assigned to two different keys 3302 and 3303, which respectively represent the letters "a" and "h". It will be appreciated that when the key 3302 is pressed and "hand" is spoken, preferably the corresponding character set will be "and", and when the key 3303 is pressed and "hand" is spoken, preferably the corresponding character set will be "hand".

FIG. 37 shows an exemplary table of some phone sets that might appear at the beginning (or any other location) of a syllable for a word starting with the letter "t". The last row of the table also shows other examples of phone sets and related character sets for the letter "i".

While a phone set with more phones (e.g., longer phone sets such as taps, t ā ke, t ā st, etc.) may be considered, modeled, and stored to aid in the recognition of a word, in this embodiment, where the user presses substantially all of the keys corresponding to the letters of a word, it may be sufficient to determine/recognize a small number of beginning characters of one or more portions (e.g., syllables) of the word by combining sound/speech recognition and also using a database of words and associated databases (e.g., key press values) as shown in FIG. 35 to generate the word. It is clear that longer phone sets are also used when needed for better recognition and elimination of ambiguities.

For example, by considering FIG. 33 and using the table of FIG. 37, to generate the word "title," the user may press the key 3301 corresponding to the letter "t" and speak "ti," and then press the remaining keys corresponding to the remaining letters "ile". At the end of a word, the user may press a word end key, such as the space key. As shown in the table, character sets such as "ti, ty, tie" are assigned to the phoneme set "ti". It is apparent that the first letter "t" is selected. Because key 3303 is pressed (e.g., "y" on key 3304), the second letter will be "i". The next key to press is key 3301 associated with the letter "t". In this case, the possibility of the character key "tie" is excluded. So "ti" would be a definite choice. The system now considers "ti" and the remaining key presses (values) 8 (e.g., "t, u, v"), 5 (e.g., "g, h, i"), and 3 (e.g., "d, e, f"). Comparing these inputs to a dictionary of words having a database of corresponding key presses can reveal that the word corresponding to these inputs is the only word that is the word "title". The system then selects the word "title".

For better recognition, the user may speak more than one sub-speech of a word when the corresponding key is pressed. In this case, the system may take the input into account by speech in order to better recognize the characters corresponding to the sub-speech of the more than one of the characters.

In almost every case, by entering a word (with one or more parts/syllables) from a keyboard/keypad and speaking said word partly/entirely, in combination with a key press corresponding to the remaining characters of said word, recognition by a speech recognition system (assisted by the determination of the corresponding key press) of a few beginning characters of at least one of said parts/syllables (preferably, the first part/syllable) of said word will result in said word.

In another example, to input the word "taken" including the two sub-voices/syllables "t ā" and "ken", when the first character "t" (key 3301) is input, the user speaks "t ā" and then presses the remaining key (e.g., "a") corresponding to the remaining characters of the first syllable. The user then naturally proceeds to the next syllable and speaks "ken" while pressing the key 3305 corresponding to the letter "k" and continues to press the remaining keys of the next syllable corresponding to the letter "en". He can then press, for example, the space key to inform the system that data entry is complete.

After completing the above-described recognition process, if the selected output includes more than one word, the words may be displayed to the user (e.g., in a list displayed on the display), and the user may then select one of them, for example, by pressing a "select" key.

Shortcut key: fewer key presses in combination with at least some phonemes

Small mobile electronic devices having a keypad with a limited number of keys have been widely used worldwide. The user presses the keys of the keypad by using the fingers (e.g., thumb, index finger) of one hand. Even in the above-described data entry systems, in which each symbol is entered by a single pressing action on the corresponding key, the data entry speed is slower than that using a PC keyboard, in which the user often presses the keys of the keyboard using the fingers of both hands.

To enhance the data entry system of the present invention and to allow faster data (e.g. text) entry, macro-level data/text entry systems have been proposed in PCT application PCT/US 00/29647. It is mentioned in said PCT application that macros (e.g. letters/character strings) can be assigned to keys of a keypad and input by a single press action with/without sound/speech combination. By assigning at least a portion of the characters of a word to a single key press, an entire word can be entered with a small number of key presses. By applying the method to the push-and-talk data entry method of the present invention, fast data entry for mobile environments/small devices can be provided. In this method, the number of key presses is typically less than the number of characters of a word (except for single characters and some words other than, for example, dictionaries, which may require characters entered by characters).

As described above, it is possible to assign phone sets corresponding to at least a portion of the speech of words in one or more languages (including one or more syllables) to different predetermined keys on the keypad. Also, as described above, each of the phone sets may represent at least one character set in a language. As described above, it is preferable that a phoneme set representing a character string such as a letter (e.g., a character set) is assigned to the same key to which another phoneme representing the first character of the character string is assigned.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the user may preferably press a key corresponding to the first part of the word and preferably speak said corresponding part at the same time. To this end, the user may divide the word into different parts (e.g., according to syllables such as the speech of the word). In this application, each part/syllable of a spoken word is referred to as a "sub-voice". It will be appreciated that the phone sets (and their corresponding character sets) corresponding to the divided parts of the word must be available in the present system.

According to this embodiment, for example, in order to enter the word "tiptop", which may be divided into two sub-voices (e.g., according to its syllable in this embodiment) "tip" and "top", the user may first press the key 3301 (e.g., assign the phoneme/letter "t" to the key) and speak (preferably, simultaneously) the "tip" (e.g., the first sub-voice of the word "tiptop"), and then he may press the key 3301 and speak (preferably, simultaneously) the "top" (e.g., the second sub-voice of the word "tiptop"). Using the exemplary table in fig. 37, the character set "tip" is assigned to the phoneme set "tip" and the letter "t" on the key 3301. When the user presses the button 3301 and says "tip," the system compares the user's speech to all of the phone sets/speech patterns assigned to the button 3301. After selecting the phone set/pattern(s) that best match the user's speech, the system selects the character set assigned to the selected phone set. In the present example, only one character set (e.g., tip) is assigned to the phoneme set "tip". The system then proceeds to the next part of the word (e.g., sub-speech) in the same manner, and so on. In this example, the character set "top" is a unique character set assigned to the phoneme set "top". The system selects the character set. According to one embodiment of the invention, after selecting all character sets corresponding to all sub-speech/phone sets of a word, the system may then combine the character sets (e.g., an example of a combining process described in the next paragraph) that provide different character sets/strings. The system then compares each of the character sets to words of a dictionary of a word database available in memory. For example, after selecting a word that best matches a dictionary of one of the character sets, the system may select the word as the final selection. In this example, after entering the second part/syllable, the user presses, for example, the space bar or another key without informing that the system word has been fully entered (e.g., pressing a key without uttering may be assigned to a character such as a punctuation mark, a PC function, etc.). This problem has been explained in the PCT application already filed by the present inventors. The system combines the character sets "tip" and "top" and generates the character set "tiptop". If desired, the system then compares the character set to words in a dictionary (e.g., the English dictionary) of the system's word database, and if one of the words matches the character set, the system enters/outputs the word. In this example, the word "tiptop" exists in the system's English dictionary. Finally, the word is input/output.

Fig. 38 shows the selected character set combination method of the present embodiment. For example, when a user attempts to enter the word "envelope" in three sequences using an embodiment of the invention, the system selects 1 to 2 character sets 3801 for each part. As shown in fig. 39, the system may then combine the character sets according to their respective positions in the word, providing different character sets 3802. The character set 3802 will be compared with words of the word dictionary of the system and eventually a character set matching one or more of the words will be selected and entered. In this example, character set 3803 (e.g., "envelope") is the unique character set that matches the words in the dictionary. The word is finally selected.

As described above, in some cases, the speech recognition system selects more than one phone set/speech pattern for all/part (e.g., syllable) speech of a word. For example, if a user with a "bad" accent attempts to enter the word "teatag," he first presses key 3301 and simultaneously says "t" according to an embodiment of the invention. The system may not determine whether the user said "t" or "th", which were assigned to the key. In this case, the system may select different character sets corresponding to the two phone sets. The user then enters a second portion of the word by using the same process. In this example, only one character set "bag" is selected by the system. The user finally presses the space key. The system may then combine the character sets (in different permutations) to produce different character sets and compare words of the lexicon of the word database for each of the character sets. In this example, the possible character sets may be:

-“teebag”

-“teabag”

-“thebag”

The only character set that matches a word in the word dictionary in, for example, the english language is the word "teatag". The word may be considered the final choice.

As just described, it may happen that the system selects more than one character set for each/some of the phone sets of a word. In this case, more than one character set may be combined. Thus, it is possible that more than one word of the dictionary may match the character set. In this case, the words are displayed to the user (e.g. in a list displayed on the display) and the user can select one of them by e.g. the "select" key. Also, if the system includes sufficient memory and has sufficient processing speed, one of the words may be selected using the speech recognition system based on, for example, the corresponding phrase in context.

If a word/part of a word comprises a plurality of phonemes and its speech comprises a single syllable, according to one method a set/pattern of phonemes is assigned to the word that includes/considers all of the phonemes of the word/part of the word. For example, to enter the word "thirst", a phone set consisting of all phones of the word is assigned to the word and to the key of the letter "t" (e.g., located/assigned to the key 3301). For example, the user presses the key 3301 and says "thirst". As explained above, the system selects a character set (in this example, only one "third") of the sub-voices of the word (in this example, one sub-voice), and combines them (in this example, does not combine). The system may then compare the character set to words of a word dictionary of the system and, if the character set matches one of the words in the dictionary, the system selects the word as the final selection. In this case, the word "thirst" is finally selected.

In many cases, particularly when the word includes only one syllable, more than one key press for a syllable may be required in order to eliminate word ambiguity. For this purpose, different user-friendly methods can be implemented. For example, the word "fire" originally including one syllable may be pronounced with two syllables including the phone sets "fi" and "re", respectively. In this case, the user may first press the key corresponding to the letter "f" while saying "fi". He can then press the key corresponding to the letter "r" and can say "re".

Also, for example, the word "times" is pronounced with two syllables "ti" and "mes" or "tim" and "es". Also, words such as "listen" may be pronounced with the two syllables "lis" and "ten," which may require key presses corresponding to the letters "1" and "t," respectively. Also, according to this principle, the word "third" can be divided into three parts "third", "s", and "t". For example, by considering that the phone set "third" may have been assigned to a key that includes the letter "t" (e.g., key 3301), the user may press key 3301 and speak "third", and he may then press key 3306 corresponding to the letter "s" and speak the letter "s". He can then press the key 3301 corresponding to the letter "t" and pronounce the phoneme "t" or speak the letter. At the end of the word, the user may press a word end key, such as the space key 3307.

Also, to better eliminate ambiguity and reduce the number of phone sets required for words having, for example, the same speech at their beginning (e.g., "sting" and "strings"), in addition to pressing the first key of a syllable and speaking that syllable, in many cases one or more characters, such as the last character of a word/syllable (e.g., "s" in this example), may be pressed and spoken. For example, the user may press the button corresponding to the character "b" and speak "stringing" (e.g., assign the phone set "stringing" to the button 3302). He can then press the key corresponding to the letter "s" and pronounce the sound of "s" or say the phoneme of "s". After providing a word completion signal, such as pressing the "space" key, the system will consider both data entry sequences and provide the corresponding word "strings" (e.g., its phone set is not assigned to key 3302). It will be appreciated that it is possible to enter one or more single characters (e.g., beginning, middle, end) at any location in a word by using this method. In order not to confuse the system, when the user inputs a part including letters (of a word) through the word/part of word input system of the present invention, it is preferable that the user can speak the sound of the letters. For example, the user may sound the phoneme "m" instead of "em". Likewise, in a similar situation, the utterance "t" may be associated by the system with the string "tea", and the "tea" and letter "t" may be associated with the unique letter "t" when the phoneme "t" is voiced.

As described above, in order to better eliminate ambiguity, sub-speeches of words/parts of words/syllables of words/words having a large number of phone sets may be divided into more than one part, wherein some of said parts may comprise only one phone/character and input according to the data input system of the present invention. Also, as described above, according to this method, a plurality of phone sets each including a small number of phones may be used to represent a part of a word (e.g., a syllable) instead of a single phone set including a large number of phones. Also, as described above, dividing the speech of a long part of a word (e.g., a long syllable including a large number of phonemes) into shorter sub-speech/phone set parts will reduce the total number of phone sets required to recognize all words available in the dictionary database. As also described above, this will allow fewer phone sets to be assigned to each key of the keyboard/keypad.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a short phone set including a small number of phones is assigned to each key of the keyboard/keypad based on the above-described principle. To this end, for example, if the phone set starts with consonants, it may comprise the following structures/phones:

-only the consonants

-starting with said consonant and at least one vowel subsequently

-starting with said consonant, at least one vowel after said consonant, and one consonant after said vowel

If the phone set starts with a vowel, it may have the following structure:

-starting with at least one vowel

-starting with said vowel and a consonant following

Fig. 40 shows some examples of a phone set 4001 of a consonant "t" 4002 and a vowel "u" 4003 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Columns 4004, 4005, 4006 show different parts of the phone set according to the sound set (e.g., consonants/vowels) constituting the phone set. Column 4007 shows a corresponding exemplary word, wherein the corresponding phone set forms part of the speech of the word. For example, the phone set "t ā r" 4008 constitutes a part 4009 of the word "standing". Column 4010 shows an exemplary estimate of the number of key presses used to enter the corresponding word (one key press corresponding to the first character of each part of the word according to this embodiment of the invention). For example, to enter the word "unity" 4011, the user would first press the key 3301 (see FIG. 33) corresponding to the letter "u" and, preferably, say "un" at the same time. Then he presses again the key 3301 corresponding to the letter "t" and preferably also says "til" at the same time. To end the word, the user then signals the system by a word end signal, such as pressing the space bar. By two key presses (not including the word completion signal) and the user's voice until the word is entered. According to the current embodiment based on the foregoing principle, consonant phonemes without vowels before and after can be considered as separate parts of word speech. For example, "s" at the beginning of the word "study" 4012 and "s" in the middle of the word "understand" 4013 follow this principle. This will significantly reduce the number of phone sets required for entering most words available in the dictionary (e.g., when using a telephone-type keypad, each beginning phone/character part of a word may have about 100 phone sets, which may be sufficient to recognize most words in, for example, the english language). Fig. 40 shows other start phonemes/characters such as "v" 4014 and "th" 4015 assigned to a key 3301 of a telephone type keypad. For each of the start phonemes/characters, the phoneme set may be considered according to the principles described above.

It will be appreciated that if the word of the required/desired longer sub-speech portion has multiple syllables, it can also be considered with the short phone set of the present system. Also, for example, a phone set representing syllables of more than one word may be considered and assigned to the respective key. Also, to allow for better recognition of speech uttered by a user of a native person, which in many cases is a non-English spoken region, as described in previous embodiments, sets of phonemes corresponding to similar utterances with ambiguity (e.g., "t ō" and "t ō")) Is assigned to all of said phone sets.

The same predetermined (preferably, short) phone set/speech pattern may allow for recognition and entry of words in multiple languages. For example, the phone set "sha" may be used to identify words such as:

"shadow", English

Chaleur, French

"shalom", Hebrew

"sharab", Arabic

"Geisha", Japanese, etc

A respective character set in a respective language may be assigned to each of said phone sets. By doing so, as described above, a powerful multi-lingual data input system based on phoneme set recognition can be provided. To this end, one or more databases in different languages may be available in the system. Different methods for entering different text in different languages may be considered.

According to one approach, by having a phone set database and a corresponding character set database that are common among many languages, a user can select a language mode by informing the system in a predetermined manner in order to input text in a desired language. For example, the user may press a mode key to enter a desired language mode. In this case, according to a corresponding embodiment of the present invention, after entering a word by entering a portion of the word, the system will compare the selected corresponding set/string of the combined character set with the word of the word dictionary corresponding to the selected desired language. After matching the character set to one or more words of the dictionary, the system selects the word as the final choice for input/output. If the selection includes a word, the word may become the final selection. If the selection comprises more than one word, the words are displayed to the user (e.g. in a list displayed on the display) and the user may select one of them, e.g. by using the "select" key.

According to another approach, all databases in different languages available to the system will be used simultaneously, allowing entry of arbitrary word entries in different languages (e.g., in the same document). For example, after entering a word by entering a portion of the word according to one embodiment of the invention, the system may compare the selected corresponding character set to words of all word dictionaries available to the system. After comparing the character set to words available in different dictionaries available to the system, the system selects the matching word as the final choice for input/output. If the selection includes a word, the word may become the final selection. If the selection comprises more than one word, the words are displayed to the user (e.g. in a list displayed on the display) and the user selects one of them, for example by using the "select" key.

In some languages, such as hebrew or arabic, where most vowels are not represented by a single character, the system can work with even greater accuracy.

Not compared with word dictionary

The system can also operate without the step of comparing the combined selected character set and word dictionary. This is useful for entering text in different languages without worrying about whether they exist in the system's word dictionary. For example, if the system does not include a Hebrew word dictionary, the user may enter text in Hebrew by using the Roman letters. To enter the word "Shalom," the user would use the existing phone sets "sha" and "lom" and their corresponding character sets available in the system. Using a device notification system such as a mode key: without the comparison to the dictionary database, the combined character set would be input/output or displayed to the user for confirmation. If more than one combined character set has been generated, they will be displayed to the user (e.g. in a list displayed on the display) and the user may select one of them by e.g. pressing the "select" key.

In the word/part of word input embodiment of the present invention, if the inputted/outputted word is not the one desired by the user, a word erasure function is assigned to the key button. Pressing the word erase key, similar to the character erase function (e.g. delete, backspace) key, will erase, for example, the word in front of the cursor on the display.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is preferred that most phone sets of the system may have only one consonant. Fig. 41 shows some such phone sets as an example. According to the present embodiment, for example, to enter the word "teatag" 4101, the user first presses the key 3301 while saying "t's". Then, he presses the key 3302 while saying "ba". Finally, he presses the button 3303 while saying "g" (or speaking sounding the phoneme "g"). As in another embodiment, at the end of the word he may press a key such as the space key.

Auto-calibration software may be incorporated with embodiments of the present invention for better response and to increase the accuracy of the system. Auto-calibration software is known to those skilled in the art. For example, (by considering the keypad of fig. 33), when the user tries to enter the word "network", he first presses the key 3308 of the keypad to which the letter "n" is assigned and simultaneously speaks "net". The letter "m" is also assigned to the same key 3308. In some cases, the system may incorrectly recognize the user's speech as "met" and select a character set, such as "met," for the speech. By pressing the key 3304 corresponding to the first letter "w" of the syllable, the user proceeds to input the next syllable and speaks "work". The system recognizes the set of phonemes "work" uttered by the user and selects the corresponding set of characters "work". Now, the system combines the two selected character sets and gets the word "work". By comparing this word with words present in a dictionary of a word database of the system, the system may not be able to match the synthesized word with any of the words of the database. The system will then attempt to match the synthesized word with the most similar word. In this case, according to one assumption, the system may replace the letter "m" with the letter "n", providing the word "network" available in the dictionary. According to another assumption, the system may replace "met" with the phone set "net" and select the character set "net" assigned to the phone set "net" by considering that "m" and "n" may be misrecognized by the speech recognition system, both being located on the same key. Then, by replacing the character set "met" with the character set "net", the word "network" will be synthesized. The words are available in a word dictionary of the system. It will eventually be selected.

In another example, the input "that" may be recognized by the system as "vat". The same process will eliminate the word ambiguity and will provide the correct word "that".

In another example, if the system is unable to match a synthesized character set to a word of a dictionary, the system's auto-correction software may determine the location of the characters (related to each other) of the synthesized character set in the corresponding portion (e.g., syllable) and/or the synthesized character set and attempt to match the character set to a word of the dictionary. For example, if the character is not in the string/group, the system may recognize the error and output/input the correct word by the comparison with the words of the dictionary. For example, if a user entering the word "un-der-s-tand" (e.g., in four parts) forgets to enter the "s" part of the word, one of the composite character sets may be the character string "undetand". By taking into account the characters of the string and their positions in the string relative to each other and comparing the string with the words of the dictionary, the system can recognize that the desired word is the word "understand" and will eventually enter/output the word or display it to the user for the user to decide. In addition, the automatic correction software of the system may include some or all of the functionality of other correction software known by those skilled in the art.

Words such as "to", "too" or "two" having the same pronunciation (e.g., and assigned to the same key) may follow a special treatment. For example, the most commonly used of these words is the word "to". The word may be entered according to embodiments of the present invention. The output to this operation may default to the word "to". The word "too" (in two parts "to" and "o") is entered by pressing the key corresponding to the letter "t" while saying "t ō ō". The user may also enter another character "o" by pressing the key corresponding to the letter "o" and saying "o" before pressing the word end key. He can now press the end point key. The word "too" will be recognized and entered. To enter the word "two", the system may enter it character by character, or assign a special voice such as "tro" to the word and use this embodiment for entry. Also, for example, to enter "two," the user may press the key 3301 and pronounce a long "t ō ō". To enter the number "2", the user presses the corresponding key 3302 and sounds the number. It is to be understood that the examples shown herein are shown as examples. Other methods of entering words having substantially similar pronunciations are contemplated by those skilled in the art.

A very interesting problem has just been mentioned. For example, by speaking "five" and pressing the key 3309 corresponding to the first letter of the word "five", the word "five" will be entered. Interestingly, by speaking "five" and pressing the key 3305 corresponding to the number "5", the number "five" will be entered. By speaking words corresponding to two different symbols and using key presses, the user's intent is clarified. This is one of the disadvantages of data entry only, where the user's intention may not be taken into account by the sound/speech recognition system. Also, for example, more than one voice may be assigned to the same number. For example, two voices "four" and "forty" may be assigned to the number "4". The user can generate the number "45" by saying "four", "five" while pressing the corresponding key, or saying "forty five" while pressing the same key. Similarly, when the user presses the key 3306 and says "seven", the number "7" will be entered. This is because to enter the word "seven", the user can press the key 3306 and say "se". He can then press the key 3301 and say "ven".

In other languages, such as French, where the number "7" of speech includes a syllable, a custom-generated speech having two syllables may be assigned to the character set "sept" for the purpose of eliminating ambiguity. For example, the word "septo" may be generated by the user and added to the word dictionary. The word may point to the word "sept" in the dictionary. When the user enters the word "septo" (according to the current embodiment of the invention), the system will find the word in the system's word dictionary. The system will input/output the word pointed to by the word "septo" without inputting/outputting the word. The word is the word "sept". The generated symbols pointing to the words of the dictionary database may be arranged in a separate database.

According to another approach, a number is assigned to a first mode of interaction with a key, and a character set representing the number may be assigned to another mode of interaction with the key. For example, the number "7" may be assigned to a single press action on the key 3306 (e.g., when it is spoken), and the string "sept" may be assigned to two press actions on the same key 3306 (e.g., when it is spoken).

It must be noted that the sub-phonetic level data entry system of the present invention is based on recognition of at least a portion of the speech of a word (e.g., sub-speech of a word). Given that many words have common sub-speech in one or more languages, a multi-lingual data input system may be made available by slightly modifying/adding the phone set and assigning corresponding characters to the phone set. For example, various languages such as english, german, arabic, hebrew, and even chinese may include words with parts/syllables with similar pronunciations.

It will be appreciated that the user will add new standard or custom generated words and add the corresponding speech to the dictionary database of the system. Thus, the system may generate and add to the corresponding database the corresponding key press values and voice patterns.

As described above, in order to input a word, the user may press a key corresponding to the first character/letter of the first part of the word and speak (the phoneme of) the part. If the word is spoken in more than one part, the user may repeat the process for each remaining part of the word.

According to one embodiment of the invention, when a user presses a key corresponding to an initial part of a word (e.g. a syllable) and speaks said part, the sound/speech recognition system hears the user's speech and tries to match at least (preferably, at least the beginning part) of said speech with the phone set assigned to said key. The best matching phone set is selected and the corresponding character set is selected by the system. After the entire word is entered by repeating the same process for each part of the word (e.g., syllables), one or more character sets may be selected for each part of the word (e.g., syllables) separately. Now, the system may have one or more character sets for each part of the word (e.g. syllable), wherein each character set may comprise at least part (preferably the beginning part) of the characters of the syllable. The system will then try to match each of said character sets with the (beginning) characters of the corresponding syllables of the words of the dictionary of the word database of the system. The best matching word will be selected. In many cases, only one word of the lexicon is selected. The word is to be input/output. If more than one available word is selected, the words will be displayed to the user (in a list displayed on the display) and the user may select one of them by e.g. pressing the "select" key.

For example, by using the table of FIG. 37, and the keypad of FIG. 33, to enter the word "trying" (e.g., a phone set) ""), the user can first press the key 3301 and speak"". The system matches the user's speech with the corresponding phone set assigned to the key 3301 and selects the corresponding character set (e.g., "try", "tri" in this example). Then, the user presses the key 3303 corresponding to the character "i" and says "ing". In this case, the system opens the user's voiceThe beginning portion matches the phone set "in" assigned to the key 3303 (e.g., phone set "ing" does not exist in the exemplary database, so it is not assigned to the key) and the corresponding character set "in" is selected. Now the user has finished entering words and he enters an end point (e.g. end of word) symbol, e.g. presses the space bar, or presses any key without speaking (e.g. pressing a key without speaking may be assigned to a character such as a punctuation mark, a PC function etc.. this problem has been explained in the PCT application filed by the present inventors). The system can now generate different character sets, each comprising possible characters of at least part of the starting character of each part/syllable of the desired word. In this example, two character sets may be generated. The character set is:

“tri-in”

And

“try-in”

only the second set of characters (e.g., "try in") corresponds to words present in the english dictionary, wherein the word includes the letter "try" at the beginning of its first syllable and also includes the letter "in" at the beginning of another (e.g., second) syllable of the word. The word is the word "trying".

In the present system, the number of phone sets/speech patterns required for recognizing many complete words will be significantly reduced. On the other hand, the number of character sets representing the phone set may be increased, but will not significantly affect the required memory capacity.

In many cases, only one of the combined characters may match a word in the dictionary. The word is to be input/output. If a combination of more than one character set corresponds to a word available in the dictionary, the word may be displayed to the user (e.g., in a list displayed on the display) and the user selects one of them by, for example, pressing a "select" button.

As described above, the system may select a word based on one or more of the selected character/phone sets corresponding to the speech/sub-speech of the word.

In many cases, the system may not consider one or more of the selected character/phone sets in view of their being incorrectly selected by the system. Also, the system may consider only the partial (preferably, beginning) phones/characters of the phone set/character set selected by the system, as desired. For example, if the user attempts to enter the word "purifying" in four parts "de-mons-tra-ting" and the system erroneously selects the character set "des-month-tra-ting," the system may not find a combined word corresponding to the character set according to one recognition method (e.g., comparing the words of the character set to the dictionary). The system may then note that the desired word may be the word "optimizing" by considering the letters "de" of the first selected character set and the letters "mon" (a few starting letters) of the second character set, and considering the third and fourth character sets. Also, if desired, the system may add or remove characters from the combined character string (selection character set) for matching with the best matching word of the dictionary. For example, if the user attempts to enter the word "sit-ting" in two parts and the system erroneously selects the character set "sit-ting," the system may decide that the letter "t" must be added after the letter "i" in the character string for matching with the word "sitting" according to a recognition method (e.g., comparing the words of the character/phoneme set and dictionary). In another example, if the user attempts to enter the word "mee-ting" in two parts and the system erroneously selects the character set "meet-ting," the system may decide, according to one recognition method (e.g., comparing the character/phoneme set to the words of the dictionary), that the letter "t" must be deleted after the letter "e" in the character string for matching it to the word "meeting".

Having the same phones at the end of a part of a word (e.g. the word with more than one part/syllable) and at the beginning of the next part of the word may give the system a better recognition accuracy.

According to one embodiment of the invention, for example, for a set of phonemes (assigned to a key) ending with a phoneme such as a vowel, other sets of phonemes comprising the set of phonemes and ending with other phonemes such as consonants may be considered and assigned to the key. This may improve the accuracy of the identification. For example, by referring to FIG. 33, when the word "going" comprising two parts "co-ming" is entered, the user can press the key 3302 and say "co", and then he can immediately press the key 3308 and say "ming". Because the first part of the sub-speech is too short, if the phone set "com" is not assigned to the same key 3302 to which the phone set "co" is assigned, when the key is pressed and "co" is spoken, it may happen that the system may misidentify the part of speech spoken by the user and select, for example ""(e.g., to which the character set" call "is assigned). On the other hand, if the phone set "com" is also assigned to the key, the beginning phone "m" of the part "ming" will be similar to the ending phone "m" of the phone set "com". In this case, the system may select two phone sets "com-ming" and their corresponding character sets (e.g., "com/com" and "ming," as examples). After comparing the combined character set to the dictionary word, the system may decide to delete an "m" in one of the combined character sets and match the combined character set to the word "going" of the dictionary database.

To enable better recognition of the speech spoken by the user, who in many cases may be a local person in a non-spoken English area, character sets that are correspondingly assigned to phone sets with ambiguous, substantially similar pronunciations (e.g., "vo" and "tho") may be assigned to all of the phone sets. For example, the same (e.g., common) character sets "tho", "vo", and "vau" may be assigned to each of the phone sets "vo" and "tho", where comparing the words of the sets to the dictionary database of the system may result in selecting the desired word of the dictionary, with the character sets being selected by the system and the corresponding different character sets being generated.

Entering data, such as text, through a small keypad severely reduces the data entry speed. The data entry system of the present invention based on pressing a single key for each part/syllable of a word while speaking that part/syllable significantly improves the speed of data entry. There are many other advantages to this system. One advantage of this system is that it can (highly accurately) recognize words by pressing perhaps a single keystroke on each part of the word (e.g., syllable). Another significant advantage of the present invention is that the user does not need to worry about misspelling/mistyping a word, particularly in data entry systems for word prediction (e.g., by entering the first letter of each part), which may result in misrecognizing/not recognizing the entire word. Also, another significant advantage of the present system is that when the user presses a key corresponding to the first part of a word, he speaks during the key press (the part). At the end of a word, the user can enter a default symbol, such as a punctuation symbol (assigned to a key), by pressing the key without speaking. As described above, the key press may also be used as an end-of-word signal. For example, a user can speak simultaneously by pressing the key 3303 The word "hi" is entered. He can then press key 3306 without sounding. This will inform that the word entry has ended and that the symbol "" must be added to the end of the word. The final input/output will be the character set "hi,".

The data entry system described in the present invention is a derivative of the data entry systems described in PCT and US patent applications filed by the present inventors. The combination of characters by the character data entry system providing the full PC keyboard functionality described in the previous application and the word/part of a word level data entry system described in said PCT application and the present application will provide a very fast, convenient and natural data entry in a mobile (even stationary) environment, allowing fast data entry by a keyboard (e.g. a keypad) of a small electronic device with a reduced number of keys.

As described above, the data entry system of the present invention may use any keyboard, such as a PC keyboard. Also as described above, according to the data input system of the present invention, symbols on the keys of the keyboard can be input by pressing the keys without speaking. The data entry system of the present invention is optimally operable with a keyboard such as a standard PC keyboard, wherein a single symbol is assigned to a predetermined depression on one or more keys. As known to those using a computer keyboard such as that shown in fig. 42, the letter "b" may be entered, for example, by pressing a key 4201 of a PC keyboard 4200. Also, for example, by simultaneously pressing the shift key 4202 and the key 4203, the symbol "#" may be entered.

By combining the data input system of the invention with such a keyboard, the user can, on the one hand, use the keyboard as usual by pressing the keys corresponding to the desired data without speaking the data (which allows to enter single letters, punctuation characters, numbers, commands, etc.) and, on the other hand, enter the desired data (e.g. a word/part of a word) by speaking the data and (preferably, simultaneously) pressing the corresponding keys. For example, by using a keyboard such as a PC keyboard, the user can press the key 4201 without sounding in order to input the letter "b". To enter the word/syllable "band," the user can press the button 4201 and speak "band" (preferably, simultaneously). No other operations for changing the mode are required, which on the one hand allows the user to use the keyboard as usual, but on the other hand enables the user to enter a macro, e.g. a word/part of a word, by speaking the macro and (preferably, simultaneously) pressing the corresponding key or keys. Also, for example, for input, there are two parts (e.g., two)The syllable "bi" and "ble" constitute the word "ble", which the user (as described above, in accordance with the principles of the data entry system of the present invention) can press the button 4201 and speak " ". He can then press the button 4201 and speak "bel".

As mentioned above, the combination of characters by the character data entry system providing the full PC keyboard functionality described in the previous application and the word/part of a word level data entry system described in said PCT application and the present application will provide a very fast, convenient and natural data entry system in a mobile (even fixed) environment.

The speech of a word may include one or more sub-voices that also correspond to a single character. For example, by referring to fig. 33, when the user presses a key 3302 of the keypad 3300 and speaks "b", the data entered may correspond to the letter "b", the word "be", and the word "bee". According to one embodiment, the system may assign the highest priority to the character-level data, which (e.g., in this embodiment, the letter "b") is used as a preference for eventual input/display to the user. If this is not what the user wants to enter, he may then continue to enter the remaining words character by character, or he may, for example, press an end key to complete entry of the word and then, for example, operate a select key to navigate between other selections (e.g., "be" and "bee" in this example) and select the one he desires.

According to the method, also for example, when a word/character string is entered, starting with a sub-voice corresponding to a single character and eventually to the voice of a part of the word/word assigned to the key, the character can be given the highest priority and finally displayed on the display of the corresponding device even before the end-of-word signal is entered by the user. If a part/sub-speech of the input next speech still corresponds/also corresponds to a single letter, the process is repeated. If a word end signal, such as the space key, is generated, the string may be given the highest priority and maintained on the display. Proceeding to the next task, e.g., entering the next word, would be considered to be the acceptance of the confirmation of the string by the user. If the same data entered also corresponds to one or more words that are matched by the system, the words are also available/displayed to the user. If the printed single string is not what the user wishes to enter, the user can navigate between the words and select the one he desires, for example using a selection key.

Continuing with the description of the embodiments of the present invention, if one of the data (speech/partial speech and/or key press) entered in a portion of the input word/word does not correspond to a single character and a word end signal has been entered, the displayed character may be deleted instead of displaying the word with the highest priority (corresponding to the data) to the user. If the same data entered also corresponds to multiple words, the words may also be displayed to the user if desired. In this case, the user may navigate between the words and select the word he desires, for example using a selection key.

By using a standard telephone keypad and the data entry system of the present invention, it can be noted that there is no word in English that has more than one syllable, where the voices of all of the syllables correspond to a single letter on the corresponding key.

There are many monosyllabic words that correspond to characters on the corresponding key (e.g., "b, be" or "t, tea, tee"). As described above, in these cases, the single character may be given the highest priority.

According to the above principle, for example:

-for entering "b", the user presses the key corresponding to said letter and speaks "b"

-for entering "bmx", the user presses the corresponding key while pronouncing the corresponding letter

To enter "bmx 95", the user presses the corresponding key and sounds the corresponding character

To enter the word "before", the user may press the corresponding key while pronouncing the corresponding letter (for example, character by character data entry), or for example, he may first press the key corresponding to the letter "b" and (preferably, simultaneously) speak "b' and then press the key corresponding to the letter" f "and speak" for ". At the end, he enters a word end signal, e.g. presses the space key (e.g. a word/part of a word input system).

The advantage of this approach is that a user can combine the character-by-character data entry of the present invention with a word/portion of a word data entry system of the present invention without switching between different modes.

The data entry system of the present invention is a complete data entry system that enables a user to enter any string of characters including symbols such as letters, numbers, punctuation marks, (PC) commands, or to enter words that exist in a dictionary database at any time.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the character set selected by the system may be displayed to the user prior to the process of combining and comparing with the words of the dictionary database. For example, a character set corresponding to the input data may be displayed to the user immediately after each entry of a portion of a word. The advantage of this method is that the user can verify whether a part of a word is misrecognized by the system after the part of the word is entered. In this case, the user may delete the portion and repeat (if necessary, character-by-character input the portion) the input until the correct character corresponding to the portion is input. A key may be provided that allows deletion of the entire character corresponding to the portion, rather than deleting the characters of the input portion corresponding to the word one after another. According to one embodiment of the invention, the same key may be used to delete an entire word and/or a portion of a word. For example, a single press of the key may result in deletion of the entire portion of the entered word (e.g., by the system/user positioning a cursor behind the portion to indicate to the system that the portion is to be deleted). It is obvious that every other same pressing operation may delete other parts of the word preceding the cursor. Also, for example, pressing the key twice may result in deleting all portions entered for the word (e.g., a cursor located immediately after the portion to be deleted notifies the system that all portions of the word located before the cursor must be deleted).

It may happen that the user wishes to enter a string of characters, for example "systemXB 5", comprising the whole word and a single character.

According to one embodiment, after each entry corresponding to a portion of the character string, or at the end of the entry of the entire character string, the system may recognize that no word in the dictionary corresponds to the selected character set corresponding to each portion of a word. Alternatively, the system may recognize that some combinations of successively selected character sets correspond to words in the dictionary database, while others correspond to single characters. In this case, the system will form an output that includes the characters and words of the single character string. In the above example, the word "systemXB 5" is entered in five sections, "systems-tem-x-b-5".

For example, by using a telephone keypad as shown in FIG. 33, the selected character set and the speech of each portion corresponding to a key press may be as follows:

in part sys tem x b

5

Character set sis/sys tem/theme x b/be/bee

5

After combining and comparing the character set to the words of the dictionary, the system may identify that no words in the database match the selected combination of character sets. The system can then recognize that in said database corresponding to words, on the one hand, there are some parts corresponding to a single character and, on the other hand, a single character set or a combination of successive other character sets. The system then inputs/outputs the combination. In this example, the system may recognize that the combination of the first and second character sets "systems" and "tem" matches the word "system". The third and fifth character sets correspond to the letter "x" and the number "5", respectively. The fourth portion may correspond to the letter "b" or the words "be" and "bee".

The system may show the user the following choices according to their priority:

“systemxb5”

“systemxbe5”

“systemxbee5”

it will be appreciated that in order to facilitate the recognition process of a character string comprising individual characters and whole words, the user may signal the beginning/end of the word/character in the string by a predetermined signal, e.g. by pressing a predetermined key.

According to an embodiment of the invention, it is preferred that words divided into more than one part for input may be divided in such a way that the parts start with vowels when possible. For example, the word "merchandize" may be divided into the parts "merch-and-ize". Also, for example, the word "mangular" may be divided into "man-ip-ul-ate".

Also, for better results, when comparing the character set to words of the dictionary database, the selected character set corresponding to the phone set may consider the corresponding phone set, which corresponds to a partial speech of a word. For example, in the english language, the corresponding character set for the phoneme set "ā r" may be character sets such as "air", "ar", and "are". For a phone set ""may be" are "and" ar ". In this example, the two phone sets have similar character sets "are" and "ar". In the case of a misrecognized input, the system may attempt to eliminate ambiguity or correct the process (e.g., change order). Knowing which phone set the character set relates to can help the system to better perform the process. For example, if the user wishes to enter the word "ā r," the system erroneously recognizes the speech as "ā b" (e.g., no meaning in this example). The associated character set for the misrecognized phone set may be a character set such as "abe", "ab". By considering the phone set, the system will be directed to words such as "aim", "ail", "air", etc., rather than words such as "an", "am" (e.g., referring to the phone "a").

As described above, phone sets representing syllables of more than one word are also considered and assigned to keystrokes and are input by embodiments of the invention (e.g., a phone set corresponding to a portion of a word having two syllables may be input by speaking it and pressing a keystroke on a first character corresponding to the portion). Also, as described above, an entire word may be entered by speaking it and simultaneously pressing the key corresponding to the initial element/character of the word. As described above, even word strings may be assigned to keys and entered as described. It may happen that the system does not recognize a phone set (e.g., sub-speech) of words having more than one sub-speech (e.g., syllable). In this case, two or more consecutive sub-voices (e.g., syllables) of the word may be assigned to a keystroke. Referring to FIG. 33, for example, the word "da-ta" (e.g., where the system misrecognized the phone set "ta"), for example, may be assigned to the key 3309. To enter the word, the user can press the button 3309 and speak "data".

The press and talk data entry system of the present invention allows words to be entered so that the word completion process can be managed automatically or manually by the system or the user, respectively.

As mentioned above, there are a variety of words entered, such as:

entering words in one part (e.g. words with one syllable) by a single sub-voice/voice in combination with a corresponding key press

-dividing the word into more than one part (e.g. a word with more than one syllable, or a word with one syllable but comprising a plurality of consecutive consonants or vowels) and entering by sub-speech/speech corresponding to each part in combination with a corresponding key input for each part.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when an entire word corresponding to an existing word in a word database of languages is input and a user inputs a word end signal such as pressing an "end of word" button, the word is considered as a result of inputting the data for input/output. The system may consider adding or not adding characters such as space characters at the end of the result, according to a predetermined system design/mode. If the system or user does not enter a symbol, such as a space character or an enter function, after the word, the next entered word/character will be connected to the end of the word.

Example (c):

the "FOR" is followed by a "word end" button (without blank space), resulting in a "FOR"

According to another embodiment of the invention, when an entire word corresponding to an existing word in a database of words of a language is entered, and the user enters other symbols at the end of the word, such as at least a space character, at least a punctuation mark, or at least an "enter" function, then the word and the other symbols are entered.

Example (c):

the "FOR" is followed by "to produce" FOR "

"FOR" is followed by "," to produce "FOR"

"FOR" is followed by ". The" FOR "results in"

According to one embodiment of the invention, when a user enters a word corresponding to an existing word in the dictionary database of words of a language, and the user then enters the next word that also corresponds to an existing word in the dictionary (no word end signal such as a space character is entered between the two consecutive words), but the combination of the two words does not correspond to a word in the dictionary of the word database, the system may automatically add a space character between the two words.

Example (c): "FOR" is followed by "SOME", yielding "FOR SOME"

According to one embodiment of the invention, when the user enters a word corresponding to an existing word in the dictionary database of words of the language, and the user then enters the next word also corresponding to an existing word in the dictionary (no word end signal such as a space character is entered between the two consecutive words), and the combination of the two words also corresponds to a word in the dictionary of the word database, then the system may display two choices to the user. The first choice may be a combination of the two words (without a space character between them), while the second choice may be the two words including one (or more) space characters between them. Depending on factors such as the predetermined system design, the combined and separate meanings of the words, the phrase concept, etc., the system may give a higher priority to one of the choices and display it on the display of the respective device for user confirmation. The user will then decide which one to select. For example, entering the next word/character may inform the user that the first selection was confirmed.

Example 1:

the "FOR" followed by "GIVE" can yield the first selection "FORGIVE"

The "FOR" followed by "GIVE" can produce a second selection "FOR GIVE"

Example 2:

"WORK" followed by "MAN" can produce "WORKMAN"

"WORK" followed by "MAN" can also generate "WORKMAN"

The above-described procedure can be applied to words such as the following also corresponding to the same principle.

Example (c):

"WORKMAN" followed by "SHIP" can produce "WORKMANSHIP"

"WORKMAN" followed by "SHIP" can also produce "WORKMAN SHIP"

According to one embodiment of the invention, when a first word is entered corresponding to an existing word in a database of words of a language and the user enters a next word/part of a word to the end of said first word (without space characters between them) and said next word/part does not correspond to an existing word in the dictionary, but said next word/part combined with said first word corresponds to a word in the dictionary, the system will automatically connect said first word and said second word/part for providing a single word.

Example (c):

"FOR" is followed by "CING" to produce "FORCING"

"FORGIVE" followed by "NESS" resulting in "FORGIVENESS"

According to one embodiment of the invention, when a first entered word/part of a word is not present in the word database of the language and the user enters a next word/part of a word, the system will combine the first and next parts and compare the combination to words in the dictionary. If the combination corresponds to a word in the dictionary, the system selects the word and ultimately displays it to the user for confirmation.

Example (c):

"SYS" followed by "TEM" to produce "SYSTEM"

It will be appreciated that the automatic word-ending process is combined with user intervention for better results, and also for reducing ambiguities. For example, pressing a predetermined key at the ending part may inform the system that the part must be combined with at least one part before it. The system may also place a space character at the end of the combined word, if so defined.

Example 1: without user intervention, the following may occur:

the "FOR" followed by "GIVE" can yield the first selection "FORGIVE"

The "FOR" followed by "GIVE" can also generate a second selection "FOR GIVE"

Example 2: with user intervention, the following may occur:

the "FOR" is followed by "GIVE" and then by "can produce a selection" FORGIVE "

It may be optional to have the system enter a manual/semi-automatic/automatic word ending mode/process. The user may notify the system for entry into or exit from the process by means such as a mode button. This is because in many cases, users may prefer to deal with word-ending problems manually.

As mentioned in the above embodiments, a user may wish to arbitrarily enter one or more words in a character string. This problem has been described in one of the previous embodiments of the invention.

Example (c): "91 SYSTEM MEP 7"

According to one embodiment of the invention, the system may display to the user that the currently entered word/part of the word has been entered after its input (e.g., speech and corresponding key press) and before the "end of word" signal. The system may match the portion to a word of the lexicon, associate the portion with a portion of a previous word/word, a current phrase context, etc., to decide which output to display to the user. The system may simply display the portion itself to the user. The process may also enable the user to enter words without spacing between words. For example, after the user has selected the selected result displayed to him, the user may proceed to enter the next word/portion of words without adding a space character between the first word and the next word/portion of words. The system will connect the two words.

Example (c):

"PRESS" is followed by "SPEAK" yielding "PRESSSPEAK"

In addition to standard words in the dictionary, the word database of the system also includes abbreviations, words including special characters (e.g., "it's"), user generated words, and the like.

Referring to fig. 33, for example, when the user presses the key 3303 and speaks "its", the system may select the words "its" and "it's", which are assigned to the press action and the (part of the) speech using the key. The system may select one of the words itself (e.g., based on phrase concepts, previous words, etc.) as the final selection, or display the selected word to the user for final selection by him. In this case, for example, the system may display the word with the highest priority (e.g., "its") on the display of the corresponding device. If this is what the user wishes to enter, the user may use a predetermined confirmation means, for example pressing a predetermined key, or proceed to enter the following data (e.g. text). Data (e.g., text) proceeding below the input may be recognized by the system as a confirmation to accept the currently proposed word. If the displayed/presented data is not what the user wishes to enter, the user may select other selected words (e.g. "it's") by selection means provided in the system. According to another embodiment, when two words have similar pronunciations, a set of phonemes representing one of the words (e.g., the word "its" in the above example) may be assigned to a first interaction with a key (e.g., a single press), and a similar set of phonemes representing the other word (e.g., the word "it's") may be assigned to a second interaction with the key (e.g., a double press).

As described above, symbols (e.g. speech/phone set/character set, etc.) may be assigned to e.g. double-press modes/actions combined with/without speech on e.g. a key. According to one embodiment of the invention, the confusing word/part of a word is assigned to the mode/operation. For example, when a user pronounces the words "tom" and "tone" (e.g., assigned to the same key), they may cause ambiguity. One solution to eliminate their ambiguity is to assign each of them to a different mode/action of the key. For example, the user may press (e.g., press once) the key 3301 a single time and speak "tom" (e.g., assign the phone set "tom" to the mode of interaction with the key) for entering the example character set "tom". Likewise, the user may press the key 3301 twice and speak "ton" (e.g., assign the phone set "ton" to the mode interacting with the key) for entering the example character set "tone".

Also, for example, a first phone set (e.g., corresponding to at least a portion of speech of a word) ending with a vowel may cause ambiguities with a second phone set that includes the first phone set at its beginning, as well as other phones. The first phone set and the second phone set are assigned to two different modes of interaction with the key. This may significantly improve the accuracy of sound/speech recognition in noisy environments. For example, when spoken by the user, the phone set corresponding to the character set "mo" may cause ambiguity with the phone set corresponding to the character set "mall". For better confirmation, each of them is assigned to a different mode. For example, the phoneme of the character string "mo" may be assigned to a single press of the corresponding key, and the phoneme of the character string "mall" may be assigned to two presses on the corresponding key.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the ambiguity-causing symbols (e.g. phone sets) are assigned to different respective modes/operations, e.g. pressing different keys. Although clearly this is inconvenient, in the above example the first phone set (e.g. "mo") may for example be assigned to the first key, e.g. 3308, and the second phone set (e.g. "mall") may be assigned to the other key.

Also, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a first phone set represented with at least one character may be assigned to a first action/mode (e.g. with a corresponding key), the character representing a beginning phone of the first phone set, while a second phone set represented with at least one character representing a beginning phone of the second phone set may be assigned to a second action/mode (e.g. with a corresponding key), and so on. For example, a phoneme beginning with a representation character "s" may be assigned to a single press on the key 3301, while a phoneme beginning with a representation character such as "sh" may be assigned to two presses on the same key 3301 or other keys.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a single letter (e.g., "a" through "z") may be assigned to a first mode/action (e.g., with a corresponding key) and a word/portion of a word may be assigned to a second action/mode. For example, a single letter may be assigned to a single press on a corresponding key (e.g., in conjunction with the user speaking the letter), and a portion of a word/word may be assigned to two presses on a corresponding key (e.g., in conjunction with the user speaking a portion of the word/word). According to this example, the user may combine alphabetical data entry and a word/portion of a word data entry. To this end, on the one hand, the user may provide alphabetic data entry by a single depression of a key corresponding to the entered letter when said letter is spoken, and on the other hand, the user may provide a partial data entry of a word/word by a double depression of a key corresponding to a partial word/word entered when said word/word is spoken.

According to one embodiment of the invention, means are provided for the above purpose, such as key presses. For example, by pressing a mode button, the system may enter the character-by-character data entry system, and by pressing the same button again or pressing another button, the system may enter a word/portion of a word data entry system. According to this embodiment, in the respective mode, the user may enter a character or a part of a word/word, for example, by a single press action on the respective key, and speak the corresponding character (e.g., letter) or a part of the word/word.

Also words/parts of words with similar pronunciations (and, obviously, their corresponding phone sets) may be assigned to different patterns, e.g. based on their priorities, or generally based on the current phrase context. In this case, for example, a first word/part of a word may be assigned to a pattern of e.g. single presses, and a second word/part of a word may be assigned to an action of e.g. two presses on the respective key, and so on. For example, the words "by" and "buy" have similar pronunciations. The user may enter the word "by pressing the key assigned to the letter" b "a single time and saying" bi ". The user may enter the word "buy" by applying two pressing actions on the key corresponding to the letter "b" and saying "bi". Also, for example, a syllable/character set "bi" (also, say "bi") may be assigned to a third mode, e.g., triple-tap, of the keys, and so on. It will be appreciated that at least one of the words/parts of words may be assigned to a mode of interaction with another key (e.g. and obviously, in conjunction with the speech of the word/part of word).

As described above, different combinations of the selected character sets related to the speech of at least a portion of the word may correspond to more than one word in the dictionary database. Also, as described above, a selection means such as a "select key" may be used to select a desired word among those matching words. A higher priority (when there is more than one selected word) may be assigned to a word based on the phrase context to which the word belongs. Also, a higher priority (when there is more than one selected word) is assigned to a word based on the context of a portion/word of at least one preceding and/or following word.

According to one embodiment of the invention, each of the words/parts of words may be assigned to a different mode (e.g. interaction mode) of the data input system of the invention. For example, when the user presses the key corresponding to the letter "b" and speaks "be," the two words "be" and "bee" may be selected by the system. According to the present embodiment, in order to avoid the use of, for example, a "selection key", for example, the first word "be" may be assigned to a mode such as a single-press mode, and the second word "bee" may be assigned to another mode such as a double-press mode. According to this embodiment, in the above example, the user may press the key corresponding to "b" a single time and speak "b' for providing the word" be ". Again, he may press the same key twice and speak "b" to provide "bee".

According to one embodiment of the invention, some interval questions may also be assigned to modes such as a single-press mode or a double-press mode (e.g., interacting with a key). For example, during an autostop, a connect/disconnect function (e.g., a portion of a word/of a word) may be assigned to a single press or a double press mode. According to this embodiment, a part of the word/word to be entered assigned to the two-press pattern is connected to the entered word/part, for example before and/or after said entered word/part. For example, when a user enters a word such as the word "for" with a single press (e.g., speaks it at the same time), a space character may be automatically set before the word (or after, or both before and after). If the same word is entered by pressing twice (e.g., and speaking it), the word may be concatenated with a previous word/portion of a word or concatenated with a portion of a word/word that is entered thereafter.

In the above example as well, for example, two presses after entering a word/part of a word may lead to the same result.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, some words/parts of words assigned to the respective phone set may include at least one space character at their end for automatic spacing purposes. In this case, when the space is not needed, it can be automatically deleted by the system. Characters, such as punctuation, entered at the end of a word may precede the space (e.g., by the system). For example:

the word is followed by the word, resulting in the word "

According to another embodiment of the invention, some words/parts of words assigned to the respective phone set may comprise at least one space key at their beginning for automatic spacing purposes. In this case, when the space is not needed (e.g., for the first word of a line), it may be deleted by the system. Because the space character is located at the beginning of the word, as is conventional, a character such as a single letter or punctuation mark (e.g., connected to it) may be entered at the end of the word as usual.

According to one embodiment of the invention, during data entry including an auto-gap process, an action such as a predetermined key press for connecting a current part/word with preceding/following parts/words may be provided. For example, if a space is automatically provided between two (e.g., current and previous) words/parts, a predetermined action such as a key press may delete the space and connect the two words/parts, an example of:

"for" + "give" + predetermined key press, produce "give"

According to another embodiment of the invention, a longer time to emit a vowel of a word/syllable/part of a word, ending with said vowel, may lead to a better process of disambiguation by the speech recognition of the invention. For example, when saying "vo", sounding a vowel "o" for a longer time may inform the system that a portion of a word/word to be entered is "vo", and not, for example, a portion of a word/word "vol".

According to an embodiment of the present invention, data to be input may be uppercase by using a predetermined means such as a predetermined key press action. For example, by pressing the "Caps Lock" key, a part of the letter/word inputted thereafter may be inputted/outputted in capital letters. Another push on the "Caps Lock" button may transition the system back to lower case mode. It will be appreciated that the functions (e.g., "Caps Lock") may be assigned to spoken language models. For example, to provide for the beginning of a capitalization process, a user may press a button corresponding to a "Caps Lock" symbol and emit a corresponding voice (e.g., "Caps" or "Lock" or "Caps Lock," etc.) assigned to the symbol.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a part of lower case letters/words may be assigned to a first mode, e.g. a single press on the respective key (e.g. speech with/without binding a part of said letters/words), and a part of upper case letters/words may be assigned to a second mode, e.g. a double press on the respective key (e.g. speech with/without binding a part of said letters/words). For example, to provide a word (e.g., a set of characters) "throughput," a user may press the key 3301 a single time and speak "throughput. To generate the word "THOUGHT", the user may press the key 3301 twice and speak "THOUGHT". This allows for a locally capitalized input.

Also, according to similar principles, a portion of a word/word having its first letter upper case and its remainder lower case may be assigned to a mode such as a single press mode, a double press mode, or the like.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a part of the letters/words may be assigned to more than one single action, e.g. pressing two keys simultaneously, as described in the previous application for character-by-character data entry. For example, a word/part of a word starting with "th" may be assigned to the simultaneous pressing of two different keys assigned to the letters "t" and "h", respectively, and (eventually) spoken. The same principle can be assigned to words/parts of words starting with "ch", "sh", or any other letter of the alphabet (e.g. "a", "b", etc.).

According to one embodiment of the invention, a word/part of a word starting from a phoneme represented by a character may be assigned to a first mode, e.g. a single press of the corresponding key, while a word/part of a word starting from a phoneme represented by more than one character may be assigned to a second mode, e.g. a double press of the corresponding key, which may be a different key. For example, a word/portion of a word starting with "t" may be assigned to a single press of the corresponding key (e.g., in conjunction with the speech of the word), while a word/portion of a word starting with "th" may be assigned to a double press of the corresponding key or a double press of another key (e.g., in conjunction with the speech of the word).

As described above, according to different embodiments of the present invention, in one or more languages, a dictionary of syllables/parts of words (character sets), a dictionary of phonetic patterns (e.g., parts of syllables/words), etc. may be used in different categories of different dictionaries, e.g., word dictionaries. If desired, two or more dictionaries in each or all categories may be merged. For example, a dictionary of words and a dictionary of a portion of words may be combined.

As mentioned above, the data entry system of the present invention may use any keyboard and may be used in many data entry systems such as "multi-key" systems, word prediction systems, virtual keyboards, and the like. For example, on the one hand, the user may input text (e.g. letters, words) using the other system by pressing keys of the respective keyboard without speaking the content of the input (e.g. as is customary in the system), and on the other hand, the user may input data such as text (e.g. letters, words/parts of words, and if so designed, other characters such as punctuation marks, etc.) by pressing the respective keys and speaking the data.

As described above, the data entry system of the present invention may use any sound/speech recognition system and method for recognizing spoken symbols such as characters, word-word portions, phrases, and the like. The system may also use other recognition systems such as lip reading, eye reading, etc. in combination with user action recognition systems such as different patterns of key presses, finger recognition, fingerprint recognition, finger movement recognition (e.g. by using a camera), etc. These recognition systems and user actions have been described in previous patent applications filed by the present inventors. All of the features in the previous application may be applied to macros (e.g., word-by-word/portion of a word) of the data entry system of the present invention.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the system (as described in the previous application regarding the character-by-character input stage) may be designed such that for entering text, the user may speak a word/part of a word without pressing the corresponding key. Alternatively, the user may press a key to notify the system of the end/start of a voice (e.g., character, part of a word, phrase, etc.), punctuation, function, etc.

The data entry system of the present invention may also be applied to macros that enter sequences of, for example, more than one word, or even to phrase entry systems. For example, the user may speak two words (e.g., simultaneously) and press a key corresponding to the first letter of the first of the two words.

Although in many paragraphs of this and previous applications, key presses in combination with the user's voice/speech have been described as examples for data entry purposes, the data entry system of the present invention may also be applied to other data entry devices (e.g., objects such as a user's finger to which characters, words/parts of words, etc. may be assigned) and other user behaviors and corresponding recognition systems may be used. For example, rather than (or in conjunction with) analyzing the pressing actions on the keys of the keyboard, the system (by, for example, using a camera) may recognize the movement of the user's fingers in space (as has been described in previous patent applications filed by the present inventors). For example, the user may tap (e.g., assign the letters "m, n, o") his right thumb on the table and speak "mil" (e.g., preferably, the word "mil" is intended to be assigned to the right thumb). In this example, the user's finger movement in conjunction with the user's voice may be used to enter the word "mil".

In another example and according to the same principles, the other data entry method may be a user's handwritten symbol (e.g., graffiti), such as a letter, and the action may be the user's voice. For example, by using a pen-based device (e.g., PDA, stylus, etc.) that employs a handwriting recognition system, a user may write symbols, such as letters, and speak the letters to improve the accuracy of the recognition system of the present system. In another example, the user may write at least one letter of at least the initial element of the speech corresponding to a word/portion of a word and speak the word/portion of a word. When the user writes the letters, the handwriting recognition system of the device recognizes the letters and associates the letters with a word-part of a word and/or a phone set assigned to the at least one letter (or symbol). When the system hears the user's voice, the system attempts to match it to at least one of the phone sets. If there is a phone set in the phone set that matches the speech, the system selects a character set that corresponds to the phone set. The remaining processes (e.g., the process of finding the final word) may be similar to those described in different embodiments of the present application and applications previously filed by the present inventors.

The data entry system of the invention described in the present application and the previous applications filed by the present inventor, according to one embodiment, can be summarized as follows:

a predetermined number of symbols representing alphanumeric characters and/or words and/or parts of words, punctuation marks, functions, etc. of at least one language may be assigned to a predetermined number of objects, typically keys, said symbols being used in data of e.g. a text input system, wherein symbols may be input by providing a predetermined interaction with corresponding objects in said other information, which is typically provided without interaction with said objects when other information corresponding to said symbols is present, wherein said other information is typically the presence of speech corresponding to said symbols or eventually the absence of said speech. And wherein the object may also be an object such as a user's finger, a user's eye, a key of a keyboard, etc., and the user behavior may be a behavior such as a user's voice, a user's finger movement direction (including no movement), a user's fingerprint, a user's lip or eye movement, etc.

Unlike other data entry systems in which many key presses are used to enter a small number of characters, the data entry system of the present invention can provide for the entry of many characters using a small number of key presses.

Method for arranging symbols on a keypad

Different methods of configuring symbols have been proposed in previous patent applications filed by the present inventors. Fig. 43 shows a method of assigning symbols to keys of the keypad 4300.

As mentioned above, the letters a-z, and the numbers 0-9 are located in their standard positions on a telephone-type keypad and can be entered by pressing the corresponding keys and speaking them.

Also as described above, a number of punctuation marks and functions are assigned to the keys of the keypad and can be entered by pressing (or double pressing) the corresponding keys without saying them.

In the present configuration, some punctuation marks such as "+" 4301 naturally spoken by the user are assigned to some keys and can be input by pressing the corresponding keys and speaking them.

Also according to this arrangement, some symbols such as "-" number 4302 may be located at one key, two positions, the symbols may have different meanings and pronounce or not depending on the context, depending on the context of the data. They are combined at once with symbols that need to be spoken when they are entered, and also with symbols that do not need to be spoken when they are entered. Symbols requiring speech may be assigned to more than one voice depending on the context of the data. For example, the symbol "-" 4302 assigned to the key 4303 may be input in different ways.

The user can press the button 4303 and say "minus"

The user can press the button 4303 and say "dash"

The user can press the key 4303 without speaking

Exchanging ambiguous symbols on keys of a keypad

As mentioned above, some symbols, e.g. letters, assigned to the same keys of the keypad/keyboard may have substantially similar sounds. This may cause ambiguity in the sound/speech recognition system of the present invention. Figure 43 shows a standard telephone type keypad 4300. The pair of letters "d" and "e" assigned to key 4301 may result in ambiguity in the sound/speech recognition system of the present invention when the key is pressed and one of the letters is voiced. A pair of letters "m" and "n" assigned to adjacent keys 4302 may also cause ambiguity when uttering one of them. On the other hand, the letter "e" or "d" can be easily distinguished from the letter "m" or "n". The problem of identifying the four letters is solved (e.g., by using the push and talk data input system of the present invention) by swapping one of each pair of letters for the corresponding key assigned to the other pair. This may slightly change the numerical order configuration of the keypad, but will significantly improve the accuracy of the data entry. Fig. 43b shows the keypad 4310 after the change.

Automatic spacing method

As described above, the auto-interval process for connecting/separating a part/word of a word may be assigned to a mode such as a single-press mode or a double-press mode. As has been described, the user can input a symbol such as at least a part of a word (for example, no space character is provided at the end thereof) by speaking the symbol while pressing a key (for example, a key to which the symbol is assigned) corresponding to a start character/phoneme of the symbol (in the character-by-character data input system of the present invention, the start character is usually the symbol). According to said procedure, also for example, the user can input a symbol, for example at least a part of a word (for example comprising a space character at its end), by speaking said symbol while pressing said key corresponding to the beginning character/phoneme of said symbol twice. The automatic interval may be particularly advantageous in data entry systems that require many key presses to enter words.

According to the above principle, for example, in the character-by-character data input system of the present invention, a character can be input and connected with a preceding character by speaking/not speaking the character while pressing a corresponding key for example once. The same action, including two press actions, may result in the character being entered and connected to the preceding character, but a space character may also be added after the current character. The next character to be entered will be located after (e.g., will be concatenated with) the space character. For example, to enter the word "see you," a user may first enter the letters "s" and "e" by speaking the letters "s" and "e" and pressing their respective keys a single time. He can then say "e" while pressing its corresponding key twice. The user may then enter the letters "y" and "o" by speaking the letters "y" and "o" while pressing the corresponding keys a single time. He can then say "u" and press the corresponding key twice.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the system may position the space character before the current character instead of positioning the space character after the current character.

It will be appreciated that any other symbol (or group of symbols) may be considered after or before the character, rather than a space character. Of course, as previously described, the same process may be applied to a portion of a word/word level of a word of the data entry system of the present invention, considering that the letters are part of the word. As another example, the user may enter the word "prepare it" by speaking "pre" while first entering a portion "pre" such as by pressing a key corresponding to the letter "p" a single time. The user may then enter "part" (e.g., including a space at its end) by speaking "part" while pressing the key corresponding to the letter "p" twice. The user may then enter the word "it" (e.g., including a space at its end) by speaking the letter "i" while pressing the key corresponding to the letter "i" twice.

Standard traditional keyboard (QWERTY) configuration on a keypad with a reduced number of keys

According to one embodiment of the invention, the configuration and/or assignment of letters on the keypad may be based on the configuration of letters on a QWERTY keyboard. This may attract many people who do not use a telephone-type keypad for data entry, simply because they are unfamiliar with the alphabetical arrangement of letters on a standard telephone keypad. The use of such a keypad in combination with the data input system of the present invention may also provide better recognition accuracy by the sound/speech recognition system of the present invention, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 44a shows an example of a telephone-type keypad 4400 in which alphabetic characters are arranged/assigned to its keys according to the configuration of the letters on a QWERTY keyboard. As shown, the letters on the upper row of QWERTY keyboard alphabet keys are distributed over the keys 4401-4403 of the upper row 4404 of the keypad 4400 in the same order as the letters are on the QWERTY keyboard. The letters in the middle alphabetic row of the QWERTY keyboard are distributed over the keys of the second row 4405 of the keypad 4400 in the same order (correlation) as the letters are arranged on the QWERTY keyboard. And finally, the letters on the lower alphabetic row of the QWERTY keyboard are distributed over the keys of the third row 4406 of the keypad 4400 in the same order in which they were located on the QWERTY keyboard.

With continued reference to this embodiment, the alphabet letters are distributed over the keys of the keypad in such a way that the ambiguous letters are located over different keys. Fig. 44b shows a keypad 4407 with a slightly altered QWERTY arrangement. In the keypad, the key assignments for the letters "M" 4408 and "Z" 4409 are swapped in a manner that eliminates ambiguity between the letters "M" and "Z". In this example, the QWERTY configuration has been slightly modified, but by using the keypad with the data entry system of the present invention, recognition accuracy can be improved. It is to be understood that any other alphabetic arrangement and alterations are contemplated.

As shown, the QWERTY keypad of the present invention may include other symbols such as punctuation marks, numbers, functions, and the like. They are entered using the data entry system of the present invention as described in the present application and previous applications filed by the present inventors.

It must be noted that: alphabet letters having a QWERTY (or any other) arrangement may be assigned to keys of any keyboard having a reduced number of keys. The data entry system of the present invention may incorporate and use the keyboard. It will be appreciated that any standard arrangement may be modified for better accuracy.

QWERTY ARRANGEMENT ON SIX KEYS

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the data entry system of the present invention may use a keyboard/keypad in which six keys of the keyboard/keypad are assigned alphabet letters having a QWERTY arrangement. It will be apparent that words/parts of words may also be assigned to the keys in accordance with the data entry system principles of the present invention.

As is known, alphabet letters are arranged on the keys of 3 rows of keys of a PC keyboard according to a configuration order called QWERTY. Fig. 45 shows a QWERTY keyboard 4500 in which letters a through Z are arranged on three rows of keys 4507, 4508, 4509 of the keyboard. Typically, the user uses the fingers of his hands for (touch) tapping the keyboard. By using the fingers of his left hand, the user for example taps the keys of the letters shown on the left side 4501 of the keyboard 4500 and by using the fingers of his right hand, the user for example taps the keys of the letters located on the right side 4502 of the keyboard 4500. In accordance with these principles, it is contemplated that the keys for the letters of the QWERTY keyboard may be arranged according to a three row 4507, 4508, 4509 by two column 4501-4502 table.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a reduced set of six keys (e.g., 3 by 2) of the keyboard may be used to replicate the QWERTY arrangement of a PC keyboard thereon, and for the data entry system of the present invention. FIG. 45a shows an example where preferably six keys are arranged in three rows 4517 & 4519 & two columns 4511 & 4512 for replicating the QWERTY arrangement thereon. By way of example, the upper left key 4513 includes the letters "QWERTY" which correspond to the letters located on the keys on the left side 4501 of the upper row 4507 of the QWERTY keyboard 4500 of fig. 45. The other keys of the set of six keys follow the same principle and include corresponding letters located on the keys of the corresponding rows and columns of the PC keyboard.

The user of a QWERTY keyboard typically knows exactly the location of each letter. The motion reflection enables fast input on a QWERTY keyboard. As described above, duplicating the QWERTY arrangement on six keys enables a user to make finger-strokes (quick input) on a keyboard with a reduced number of keys. The user may, for example, use the thumbs of both hands (left thumb for the left column and right thumb for the right column) for data entry. This looks like a key press on a PC keyboard allowing fast data entry.

It will be appreciated that the left and right character definitions of the keyboard described in the above examples are shown as examples only. The definition may be reconsidered according to the user's habits. For example, the letter "G" may be considered to belong to the right side rather than the left side.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a keypad having at least 6 keys comprising alphabet letters that are assigned keys using a QWERTY arrangement may be used in the character-by-character/at least word-by-word portion of the data entry system of the present invention. In addition to the advantages already described, the arrangement also includes other advantages, such as:

the letters located on the same keys are generally distinguished by the sound/speech recognition system of the invention

Highly accurate data entry, greatly reduced number of alphabetic keys, and very familiar arrangement of the letters on the keypad (e.g. QWERTY), enabling a user to quickly enter data without the need to constantly look at the keypad or the display unit of the respective device

For better accuracy, modifications to the arrangement may be considered. For example, fig. 45b shows a keypad 4520 with at least six keys using a QWERTY alphabet arrangement as shown above, wherein the letters "Z" 4521 and "M" 4522 have been swapped in order to separate the letter "M" 4522 from the letter "N" 4523. It will be appreciated that this is merely an example and that other forms of modification are also contemplated.

It must be noted that, as mentioned above, the QWERTY arrangement assigned to a few keys is shown and described only as an example. Other configurations of alphabet letters (in any language) may be assigned to any number of keys arranged in any key arrangement on any shaped keyboard (e.g., keypad) and used in the push-to-talk data entry system of the present invention. Also, it will be appreciated that other symbols, such as punctuation marks, numbers, functions, etc., may be assigned to the keys, or other keys of a keypad including the keys of the letters, or other keys of the keypad, and input according to the data input system of the present invention as described in the present application filed by the present inventor and previously filed applications.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a lesser number of keys may be used to include alphabet letters (and other symbols as described above) and for the push and talk data input system of the present invention. FIG. 45C shows an example of four keys 4530-4533 having characters of the English alphabet assigned to them. To maintain familiarity with this arrangement, the QWERTY arrangement of the letters of the two rows above the keypad 4520 of fig. 45b is maintained, and the letters of the lowermost row of the keypad 4520 of fig. 45b are distributed among the keys in the respective columns (e.g., left and right) of the four keys 4530 and 4533 in a manner that maintains familiarity with a "near QWERTY" keyboard and the high accuracy of the speech recognition system of the present invention. For example, the letters "n" 4537 and "m" 4538 are separated and assigned to the right keys 4533 and 4532, respectively, of the keypad 4530, with the letters "n" and "m" located at the lowest right key of the keypad 4520 of fig. 45 b. It will be appreciated that other symbols, such as punctuation marks, numbers, functions, etc., may be distributed over the keys or other keys of the keypad comprising the alphabet keys and input according to the data input system of the present invention as described in this application and applications previously filed by the present inventor.

It will also be appreciated that recognition accuracy has not been affected so far, and that even a few keys may be used for characters comprising all alphabets and for the press and talk data input system of the invention. FIG. 45d shows two keys 4541-4542 (e.g., of the keypad) to which letters of the English alphabet are assigned. The keypad may be used in the push-to-talk data entry system of the present invention, but may cause ambiguity for letters on the same keys with substantially similar sounds.

In theory, all alphabet letters could be assigned to a single key, but this may greatly reduce recognition accuracy.

Although pressing a key and speaking the desired symbol assigned to the key is sufficient for entering the symbol, some methods such as those described in this and previous applications with respect to the data entry system of the present invention may be provided for some reason such as that it is not desirable to speak some symbols. As shown, a symbol may be entered by pressing a key without speaking the symbol. For example, by referring to fig. 45C, the user may press a key 4530 without speaking to provide a space character. According to another method, a symbol may be entered by pressing a first key, holding the key down while a second key is pressed. According to another method, a special character, such as a space character, may be provided after a symbol, such as a letter, by pressing a predetermined key (e.g., corresponding to the special character) before releasing the key corresponding to the symbol.

When there are a few keys for data input, for faster data input, input of frequently used non-spoken symbols such as space characters may be assigned to two pressing actions of a predetermined key without speaking. This may be effective because if a space character is assigned to a pattern, such as a single press of a button, while other spoken characters, such as letters, are also assigned to the button in the pattern, after entering the spoken character (in order not to confuse the sound/speech recognition system) in order to enter the space character, the user has to pause for a short time before pressing the key (without speaking). This problem is solved by assigning space characters to the double-press mode of the keys for which no spoken symbol is assigned to the double-press mode. Instead of stopping and pressing the key once, the user simply presses the key twice without the pause. Another solution, as described above, is to assign spoken and non-spoken symbols to different keys, but this may require more keys.

Also, it is understood that the QWERTY arrangement of letters on a key set as described here-above is provided as an example. Other symbol configurations such as alphabetical order, other numbers of keys, or any key arrangement are contemplated. For example, according to one embodiment of the invention, the keypad may include two keys for assigning the most frequently used letters, and the keypad may have the other two keys to which less frequently used letters are assigned.

Today, most electronic devices that allow data entry are equipped with a telephone-type keypad. The configuration and assignment of alphabet letters as described above may be applied to the keys of a telephone type keypad.

Fig. 46a shows an example of a telephone-type keypad 4600, wherein six keys of two adjacent columns 4601, 4602 of the keypad are assigned alphabet letters having a QWERTY configuration (e.g., as described above). Due to the adjacent columns, letter input by (the thumb of) one hand becomes easier. Also as described above, the user may use his two thumbs (e.g., left thumb for the left column and right thumb for the right column) for fast data entry. It will be appreciated that other symbols, such as punctuation marks, numbers, functions, etc., may be distributed over the keys of the keypad and input according to the data entry system as described in this application and in applications previously filed by the present inventor.

Fig. 46b shows another telephone-type keypad 4610 in which the alphabet letters having a QWERTY configuration are assigned to the six keys of the two outer columns 4611, 4612 of the keypad. The letter input by (the thumbs of) both hands becomes easier due to the columns being on the two outer sides. Also, as described above, the user may use one hand for data entry. In this example, minor modifications have been applied in order to improve the accuracy of the sound/speech recognition system of the present invention. For example, the letters "m" and "k" have been swapped on the respective keys 4613, 4614 to avoid ambiguity between the letters "m" and "k". Likewise, the letters "f" and "z" have been swapped on the corresponding keys to avoid ambiguity between the letters "f" and "z". It is understood that other variations in configuration are contemplated. For faster data entry, some characters, such as space characters, are assigned to the plurality of keys 4615, 4616.

Fig. 46C shows another telephone-type keypad 4620 in which four keys of the keypad are assigned an arrangement of alphabet letters based on the principles described above and shown in fig. 45C.

It will be appreciated that letters in a QWERTY arrangement on a few (e.g., 6, 4, 2, etc.) keys of a keyboard, such as a keypad, are described as examples. Other types of alphabetical arrangements are also contemplated and assigned to a few keys, such as 2/3/4/5/6.

It is clear that all data entry systems of the present invention (and their corresponding applications), such as the character-by-character data entry and/or word-by-word/part of the data entry system of the present invention, may use the keypad described immediately above (e.g., a few keys having, for example, 4 to 6 keys).

Personal mobile computer/telecommunication device

Mobile devices must be small enough to provide convenient portability. An ideal mobile device requiring data (e.g. text) input and/or data communication must have a small data input unit (e.g. at most, only a few keys) and a large (e.g. wide) display.

The arrangement of alphabetic letters (and other symbols) on a few keys and the ability to quickly and accurately complete data entry provided by the data entry system of the present invention through the few keys may allow some current product designs to be reconsidered for them to be more efficient.

One of these products is the mobile phone, which is currently used for tasks such as text communication and the internet, and is predicted to be a mobile computing device. The actual mobile phone is designed against the above-described principle. This is because the (complex) data entry system of a mobile phone requires the use of many keys, uses the general surface of the phone, provides slow data entry, and leaves a small area for a small (e.g. narrow) display unit.

One of the most commonly used applications of computers is the word processing process. With the use of the internet, writing letters will also be the most commonly used application for mobile computer/communication devices. The application requires a wide display to allow drafting, formatting and browsing of documents across its entire width. For example, when editing letters, the user must see the document across its entire width without having to scroll it to the left or right.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device, such as a mobile computing/communication device, with fast data entry capabilities may be provided that includes a wide display and a small data entry unit. Fig. 47a shows a mobile computing/communication device 4700 having two rows of keys 4701, 4702 in which alphabet letters (e.g., preferably having the QWERTY arrangement described above) are assigned to them. As mentioned above, other symbols such as numbers, punctuation marks, functions, etc. are also assigned to the key (or other keys). The keys of the communication device may be combined with the push and talk data input system of the present invention to provide complete and rapid data entry. Using a few keys (e.g., only two rows) for data entry allows for integration of the wide display 4703 within the device. The width of the mobile device (and, obviously, the display unit) may be approximately the width of a4 paper to provide a document of approximately true size (e.g., width) for viewing. The mobile computing/communication device may also have other buttons, such as buttons 4704, 4705, for scrolling documents, such as up/down, left/right, navigating cursor 4706 in the display 4703, sending/ending functions, and the like. Also, the device may comprise a mouse, for example, in its rear side or any other side. The mouse/navigation problem on displays and other data Entry enhancing devices has been described in a number of applications filed by the present inventors, such as "pen computers" and "Features for enhanced data Entry" (featuress to enhanced data Entry) ". All the described problems/features of the described applications can be combined between them and/or combined with the data input system and data communication device of the present invention.

Continuing with fig. 47a, the arrangement of keys in two rows 4701, 4702 on the left and right sides of the communication device 4700 allows a user to use both of his hands for thumb input while holding the device 4700. It will be appreciated that other configurations of letters and other symbols on other arrangements of keys on the device are contemplated. For example, the device may comprise a few keys arranged in only one row, wherein the symbols (e.g. letters) are assigned to them.

As also described above and in the corresponding patent application, by providing a mouse (not shown) on the rear side of the device, wherein preferably the keys of the mouse are in the opposite side (e.g. front side) of the electronic device, the user can use e.g. his index finger for operating the mouse while pressing the relevant buttons with his thumb.

Also, as described above, the device may be used as a telephone. It may include at least one microphone 4707 and at least one speaker 4708. The distance between the positions of the microphone and the speaker on the device may correspond to the distance between the mouse and the user's ear.

Fig. 47b shows an example of a device 4710 similar to that of fig. 47, in which its input unit comprises only four keys arranged in two rows 4711, 4712, to which alphabet letters and common numerals are assigned according to the principles already described. Other symbols and functions (not shown) may also be assigned to the keys and/or other keys according to the principles already described. The user may use his two thumbs 4713, 4714 for input.

Fig. 47C shows a device 4720 similar to that of fig. 47b, wherein its input unit comprises only four keys arranged in two rows 4721, 4722 on one side of the electronic device, wherein alphabet letters and common numbers can be assigned to the keys according to the principles already described. Other symbols and functions (not shown) may also be assigned to the keys and/or other keys according to the principles already described. The user may use one (or both) hands for data entry. A boss 4723 may be provided in the center of the arrangement of the four keys for allowing data entry without looking at the keypad.

Fig. 47d shows a device 4730 similar to the device of fig. 47c, wherein its input unit comprises four keys arranged in two rows 4731, 4732 on one side of the electronic device, wherein alphabet letters and common numbers can be assigned to the keys according to the principles already described. A third row of keys 4733 that copies one of the first two rows of keys (4731 in this example) is located at the opposite end of the electronic device 4730. This arrangement of keys allows the user to use one or both hands as his choice to enter data. Other symbols and functions (not shown) may also be assigned to the keys and/or other keys according to the principles already described.

Fig. 47e shows an example of an electronic device 4740 designed according to the principles described in this application and similar to the previous embodiments, except that an extendable/retractable/foldable display 4741 may be provided within the electronic device to allow large displays when needed. For example, the electronic device may be equipped with a one-piece extensible display by using an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display. It will be appreciated that the display may be extended as desired. For example, the display unit may be unfolded multiple times for providing a large display. It may also be a rotating/non-rotating display unit to extend as desired. It is to be understood that the keys of the data input system of the present invention may be soft keys, which are implemented on the surface of the display unit of the electronic device.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 47f, an electronic device 4750 such as the electronic devices described above may include a printing unit (not shown) integrated therein. Although the device may have any width, it is preferred that the design of the electronic device (e.g., having a width of approximately a4 paper in this example) be such that a print/scan/copy unit using, for example, a4 paper may be integrated within the device. For example, a user may load a4 paper 4751 to print a page.

Providing a complete solution for a mobile computing/communication device may be very useful in many situations. For example, a user may edit documents, such as letters, and print them immediately. Also for example, a merchant may edit a document, such as an invoice, and print it for immediate delivery at the discretion of the customer.

To allow the size of the mobile computing/communication device to be reduced and still be able to print standard size paper sheets, such as a4 paper, a device corresponding to half the size of the standard size paper sheets may be provided.

Fig. 47g shows a standard blank document 4760 such as a4 paper. As shown in fig. 47h, the paper may be folded in between to provide two half surfaces 4761, 4762. As shown in fig. 47i, the folded document 4771 may be loaded into a printing unit of an electronic device 4770, such as a mobile computing/communication device of the present invention, to print pages of the document, such as edited letters, on both of its halves 4761, 4762, to provide standard size printed letters. This would allow the manufacture of small-sized mobile electronic devices capable of printing standard-sized documents.

Circular keyboard

According to one embodiment of the invention, at least some of the keys of the keypad may be located on the keypad in a manner that creates a circular form. FIG. 48 shows a keypad 4800 including six keys 4801 and 4806 located around a center key 4807. The center key may be shaped differently than the other 6 keys. For example, the center key 4807 may be larger than the other keys or have a raised portion thereon. Alphabet letters having, for example, a QWERTY configuration may be distributed among the keys. A space character may be assigned to the key 4807 located at the center. Of course, the keys may also include other symbols such as numbers, punctuation marks, functions, etc. as previously described in this application and as described in previous applications and as used by the data input system of the present invention. An advantage of this (e.g. circular) key arrangement on the keypad is that the central key is identified by touching it, which the user can tap without looking at the keypad.

Wrist communication equipment

The data entry system of the present invention may allow for the creation of small electronic devices with complete, fast data entry capabilities. One promising future telecommunication device is a wrist communication device. Many efforts have been made to create a working wrist communicator/organizer (organizer) device. A major problem with such devices is the relatively fast data entry system that can operate. Some manufacturers have provided prototypes of wrist phones that use voice/speech recognition technology for data entry. Of course, the hardware and software limitations of such devices provide poor data entry results. As described in this application and applications previously filed by the present inventors, the data entry system of the present invention in combination with the use of a small number of keys can solve this problem and allow fast data entry on very small devices. Figure 49 shows an example of a wrist electronic device 4900 comprising a few keys (e.g. four keys arranged in two rows 4901, 4902 in this example) to which symbols, such as alphabet letters, numbers, punctuation marks and the like are assigned in accordance with the principles of the data input system of the present invention. The electronic device further comprises the data input system of the invention using at least the key. The keys may be of any type, for example similar to conventional keys of a mobile phone or touch sensitive. Touch sensitive keys may allow touch input using two fingers 4903, 4904 of one hand. A display unit 4905 may also be provided for viewing input data, received data, etc. It is also possible to fit the viewing unit 4906 with the wrist device. The wrist device may also include other buttons, such as 4907, 4908, for functions such as send, end, etc. It has to be noted that for faster data entry the user may remove the wrist device from his wrist and use two thumbs, each for pressing a key of a row of keys. It will be appreciated that other numbers of keys (e.g., 6 keys as described above) and other key arrangements (e.g., circular key arrangements as described above) are contemplated.

It will also be appreciated that other types of designs for wrist communication/organizer devices may be considered. For example, as shown in fig. 49a, wrist device 4910 may be provided with a flip portion 4911. The device 4910 may, for example, include a majority of keys 4913 for data entry, and the flip 4911 may include a display unit 4912 (or vice versa). On the other side of the flip, as shown in fig. 49b, a display unit 4921 of the viewing unit may be mounted. In the closed position, the wrist device may resemble and function as a wristwatch.

It will be appreciated that the wrist device shown and described above is shown by way of example only. Other types of wrist devices with the push and talk data input system of the present invention that require the use of only a few keys may be considered. For example, as shown in fig. 50a, wrist communication device 5000 comprising the data entry system of the present invention using few keys 5003 may be a wrist band 5001 that is detachable-connectable/integratable to a viewing unit 5002. Fig. 50b shows a 5000 wrist device 5010 similar to that of fig. 50a except that the display unit 5011 and the data input keys 5012 are separated and located on the flip 5013 and the device main body 5014, respectively. It is noted that the keys and the viewing unit may surround the user's wrist in an opposing relationship.

As described above, the data entry system of the present invention may be integrated into a device having a small number of keys. PDAs are electronic organizers that often use a handwriting recognition system or a small virtual QWERTY keyboard, where both approaches have the major disadvantage of providing a slow and frustrating data entry process. Typically, most PDA devices include at least four keys. The data entry system of the present invention may use the keys in accordance with the principles described above for providing fast and accurate data entry for PDA devices. Other devices, such as Tablet computers, may also use the data entry system of the present invention. Also, for example, according to another approach, a few large virtual (e.g., soft) keys (e.g., 4, 5, 6, 8, etc.) such as shown in FIG. 49a may be designed on the display unit of an electronic device such as a PDA, tablet computer, etc., as described and used in the data entry system of the present invention. As an example, the arrangement and configuration of keys on a large display, such as a display unit of a tablet computer, may be similar to those shown in fig. 47a-47 d.

Movement tracking for data entry

Dividing groups of symbols such as alphabet letters, numbers, punctuation marks, functions, etc. into a small number of subgroups and using them with the press-and-talk system of the present invention allows the use of button press actions to be eliminated by eventually replacing them with other user behavior recognition systems that recognize, for example, the movements of the user. The movement may be, for example, a movement of a user's finger, eyes, face, etc. This may be very advantageous for users with limited motion capabilities, or in environments where a more intermittent data entry system is required. For example, instead of using four keys, four directions of movement of a user's body part, e.g. one or more fingers or their eyes, may be considered.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by referring to fig. 45C and considering that the symbols of the data input system are arranged in four regions as an example, the user can move his eyes (or his face in the case of a face tracking system, or his fingers in the case of a finger tracking system) to the upper right side and speak "Y" for inputting the letter. The same movement without speaking may be assigned to, for example, a punctuation mark ". 4535. To enter the letter "S", the user can move his eyes to the lower left and speak "S". By using only a few clear/easily recognizable user movements assigned to a few symbol subsets in combination with e.g. features (of the data input system of the invention) to say the desired symbol, the data input system of the invention will provide fast and accurate data input without the need for hardware manufacturing (e.g. buttons). It is noted that in this embodiment, the predetermined movement of the user's body part may replace the key press in other embodiments. The remaining processes of the data entry system of the present invention are as old.

It will be appreciated that other objects, such as a sensitive keypad or a user's finger, may be used instead of keys for assigning the subset of symbols to them, as described in the previous application. For example, to enter a desired symbol, a user may tap a finger (to which the symbol is assigned) on a table and speak the letter assigned to the finger and the movement. Also, other user behaviors and/or behavior recognition systems, such as lip reading systems, may be used without recognizing the user's voice (e.g., speech).

One of the main problems with the present invention of data entry of at least a portion of the level of a word (e.g., syllable level) is that if external noise is present and the speech of a portion of the word ends with a vowel, the system may misrecognize the speech and provide an output that generally corresponds to the beginning of the desired portion and ends with a consonant. For example, if the user says "mo" (while pressing the key corresponding to the letter "m"), the system may provide an output such as "mall". To eliminate this problem, the data entry system of the present invention may apply some methods.

According to one embodiment of the invention, as mentioned before, a word/part of a word ending with a vowel pronunciation may be classed with a word/part having a similar beginning pronunciation but ending with a consonant. After the word/part is entered, the thesaurus comparison and phrase structure will decide what the desired part is to be entered. For example, words/parts of words "mo" and "mall" assigned to the same key are also categorized in the same category, meaning that when the user presses the key and says "mo" or "mall", in each of these cases the system considers the corresponding character sets of the two phone sets. This is because it should be considered that the pronunciations of the two phone sets "mo" and "mall" are substantially similar (particularly in a noisy environment) and may be misrecognized by the voice recognition system.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a keypad may be used for at least a portion of the level (e.g., syllable level) data entry systems of at least words of the present invention, wherein alphabet letters are arranged on two columns of keys, e.g., keypad keys.

Fig. 51 shows an example of a keypad 5100 in which alphabet letters are arranged on two columns of keys 5101 and 5102. The arrangement is such that letters/phonemes with similar sounds are located on different keys. The arrangement also makes some modifications to the QWERTY arrangement. In this example, the middle column does not include alphabetic characters. As described above, the different methods of the present invention of at least a portion of the word level (e.g., syllable level) data entry system may use a keypad of the type described, or other keypads having a small number of keys as shown in the previous figures of FIGS. 45a through 45 d.

As described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, if a word/part of a word ends with a vowel, the user may press a key of the keypad corresponding to a starting phoneme/letter of the word/part of a word and speak the word/part of a word for inputting it. If necessary, the user may press other keys corresponding to the part constituting at least a part of the letter in order to provide more information about the part. For example, if the word/part of a word ends with a consonant phoneme, the user may press other keys corresponding to the consonant.

In order to allow the system to distinguish between a key press corresponding to a beginning letter/phoneme of a word/part of a word and a key press corresponding to a last letter/phoneme of the word/part of the word, for example, different methods such as those described hereinafter may be provided.

According to one embodiment of the invention, when the user presses the first key of the beginning phoneme/letter corresponding to a part of a word/word while speaking it, he may keep said key pressed and press at least the other keys of the other letter (preferably the last consonant) corresponding to a part of said word/word.

If the other letter is on the same start key, the user can double-click the key while speaking the word/part of the word.

Fig. 51a shows a keypad 5110 in which alphabetic characters (shown in uppercase) are arranged on two columns of keys 5111, 5112. Each of the keys that includes the alphabetic character also includes an alphabetic character (shown in lower case) assigned to an opposite key of the same row. According to one embodiment of the invention, when a user attempts to enter a word/part of a word, he presses a key corresponding to the beginning character/phoneme of the part of the word/word that is capitalized (e.g., printed in capitalization on the key) and speaks the part of the word/word. If the user wishes to provide more information, such as pressing a key corresponding to another letter of a portion of the word/word, (while keeping the first key pressed) the user may press an opposite column of keys corresponding to the other letter of a portion of the word/word (e.g., printed in upper or lower case on the opposite column of keys). For example, if the user wishes to input the word "fund", he first presses the key 5113 and speaks the word, and (while keeping the key 5113 pressed) the user successively presses two other keys 5114 and 5115 corresponding to the consonants "n" and "d", for example.

Fig. 51b shows a keypad 5120 similar to that of fig. 51a, except that here two columns 5121 and 5122 are assigned to the letters/phonemes corresponding to the beginning phonemes/letters of a word/part of a word and that the other column 5123 is used to provide more information about the word/part of a word by pressing a key corresponding to at least one letter other than the beginning letter of the word/part of a word. This may allow data entry using only one hand. For example, if the user wishes to input the word "fund", he first presses the key 5124 and speaks the word, and (after releasing the key 5124) the user successively presses two other keys 5125 and 5126 corresponding to, for example, the consonants "n" and "d".

According to another embodiment of the present invention, as described above, symbols requiring voices (for inputting them) may be assigned to a first predetermined number of objects/keys, and symbols not input with voices may be assigned to another predetermined number of keys, which are separate from the first predetermined number of keys.

According to another embodiment of the invention, if the keys providing letters comprise only spoken symbols, the user may press a key corresponding to the first letter/phoneme of the word/part of the word and preferably speak the word/part of the word at the same time. He can then press other keys corresponding to other letters that form part of the word/word without speaking. The system recognizes that the non-voice key press corresponds to other information related to other letters of the word/part of the word. For example, by referring to fig. 51, and considering that only spoken symbols are assigned to the keys of the keypad providing letters, if a user wishes to enter the word "fund", he first presses the key corresponding to the letter "f" while speaking "fund", and after releasing the key, the user successively presses two other keys corresponding to the letters "n" and "d", for example, without speaking.

As described above, the word/part of word data entry system of the present invention may also operate without the step of comparing the dictionary of the combined selected set of characters and part of word/word. The user can enter words part by part and have them entered directly. As described above, this is useful for entering a word/part of a word in a different language without worrying about whether they are present in the word/part of a word. A means such as a mode button may be used to inform the system that a combined character set without the comparison is to be input/output. If more than one combined character set has been generated, they may be displayed to the user (e.g. in a list displayed on the display) and the user may select one of them by e.g. pressing the "select" key. In another embodiment, if more than one combined character set has been generated, the combined character set with the highest priority may be automatically entered by entering into a function such as entering the next word/part of a word, punctuation, e.g., "enter", etc.

Also, words may be entered by entering part-by-part with/without a step of comparing with a dictionary of words, in accordance with the principles described already in this application. Also, as described above, the portion may be a character set (macro) of characters or words.

In addition to alphabetic letters, the character-by-character data entry system of the present invention may use a portion of a limited number of frequently used words (e.g., "tion," "ing," "division," "ment," "ship," "ed," etc.) and/or a limited number of frequently used words (e.g., "the," "and," "will," etc.) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for providing a fast and accurate data entry system that requires less memory and faster processing. As described in this application and previously filed applications, the limited number of words/parts of words are assigned to the respective keys of the keypad according to the principles of the data entry system of the present invention. Also, it should be apparent that they can be entered in accordance with the data entry system principles of the present invention, as described in this application and previously filed applications. According to this embodiment, for example, a user may enter the word "section" with four portions "p", "o", "r", and "station". To do so, for example, by using the keypad of fig. 45C, the user may first say "p" and press (preferably, almost simultaneously) the corresponding key 4533. He can then say "o" and press (preferably, almost simultaneously) the corresponding key 4533. The user may then say "r" and press (preferably, substantially simultaneously) the corresponding key 4530. And finally, he can speak "she" (e.g., the pronunciation "station" of a portion of the word) and press (preferably, almost simultaneously) the key 4530 that assigned the portion "station" (e.g., the first letter of the portion "station" of the word corresponding to the letter "t").

This embodiment of the invention can be processed as described above with/without the step of comparing the input word with the words of the word dictionary as previously described in this application. Data may be input/output part by part without using the comparing step. As described above, this embodiment of the present invention facilitates the integration of the data entry system of the present invention in small devices (e.g., wrist band electronics, mobile phones) where memory capacity and processor speed are limited. In addition to (or instead of) the list of frequently used words/parts of words, the user may also add parts of words/words he likes to the list.

As described above, the data entry system of the present invention may use a small number of keys for complete data entry. It will be appreciated that instead of said few keys, a single multi-mode/multi-section button may be provided having different predetermined sections, each section responding differently to a user action/contact by a user on said each of said different predetermined sections of said multi-mode/multi-section button, wherein a character/phone set/character set as described in the present invention may be assigned to said action/contact with said predetermined section. Fig. 52 shows an example of a multi-mode/multi-part button 5200 (e.g., a multi/mode button similar to those used in many electronic games, mobile phones, TV remote controls, etc.), where five parts 5201 and 5205 of the button each respond differently to a user's finger action (e.g., press)/touch on the part. For example, different alphabetic characters and punctuation may be assigned to the four portions 5201-5204, and a space character may be assigned to the intermediate portion 5205. It will be appreciated that the button 5200 has a different shape, such as an oval shape, and may have a different number of sections, wherein a different symbol configuration may be assigned to each of the sections.

As described above, and as shown in the examples of fig. 47a to 47i, an electronic device, such as a mobile computing/communication device, including a wide display and a small data input unit, having fast data input capabilities resulting from the data input system of the present invention may be provided. Also as described above, the electronic device may include other buttons. Fig. 53 shows an electronic device 5300 that includes keys 5302, 5303 (in this example, two-way keys) for entering text and corresponding functions, as well as other button rows 5304, 5305 for entering other functions, such as dialing a telephone number (e.g., not speaking the digits), navigating through a display, sending/receiving calls, and so forth. As described in the present invention, a set of symbols for at least text entry may be assigned to each side of the two-way key press, such as key 5302-5303. One bi-directional key may correspond to two separate keys. It may be easier to operate one two-way key than two separate keys. In an example of this embodiment, the user can enter data by using the thumbs 5306, 5307 of both hands.

As described in various paragraphs of the present patent application and in applications previously filed by the present inventors, it will be appreciated that the data entry system of the present invention may use other types of keys, such as virtual (soft) keys. Also, at least part of the other data entry features described in this patent application and applications previously filed by the present inventor may be integrated in the computer/telecommunication device of the present invention. For example, as previously described, an extendable (e.g., detachable) microphone/camera/antenna 5301 and a mouse (not shown) within the rear side of the device may be implemented with corresponding keys of the mouse on the front side or any other side of the computer/telecommunication device.

As described above, some/all of the symbols available for full data entry may be assigned to a few keys and used in the data entry system of the present invention to provide full, quick and easy data entry. The few keys may be part of the keys of the keypad. Fig. 54 shows another example of assigning symbols of a PC keyboard to a few keys 5400. In this example, an arrow for navigating a cursor on a display (e.g., in text) is assigned to the spoken mode. For example, the user can click on button 5401 and speak "left" for moving the cursor one character to the left (e.g., in text displayed on the display). To move the cursor a few characters to the left, the user can press button 5401 while saying "left" and keep the button pressed. The cursor may remain moved to the left until the user releases the button 5401. To move the cursor to the right, the user can press button 5402 while saying "right", for example, and use the process just described. A similar process may be used for moving a cursor up and down within the text by pressing the corresponding key and speaking the corresponding word.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, moving the cursor in multiple directions (e.g., left, right, up, and down) may be assigned to at least one key. With continued reference to fig. 54, as an example, moving a cursor in different directions may be assigned to a single key 5403. For example, the user may press button 5403 and speak "left" causing the cursor to move to the left. To move the cursor to the right, up, or down, the user may press button 5403 and speak "right", "up", or "down", respectively.

It will be appreciated that in this example, the number of keys (to which some/all of the symbols available for full data entry may be assigned) is shown as an example only. The number of keys may vary depending on, for example, the needs of the electronic device design.

The keypad/data input unit of the present invention with a small number of keys may include other features such as a microphone, a speaker, a camera, etc., according to one embodiment of the present invention. The keypad may be a separate unit connected to the respective electronic device. The independent keypad may allow integration of a display unit covering substantially the entire side of the electronic device. Fig. 55a shows an independent keypad 5500 of the present invention with at least a few keys (or at least multi-directional keys corresponding to said few keys) 5501, 5507, 5508, 5509 to which part/all symbols available for a complete data input are assigned for data (e.g. text) input. The keypad may also include other features such as a microphone 5502, a speaker 5505, a camera 5503, and the like. The other features may be integrated within the keypad, attached/connected thereto, etc. As shown in fig. 55b, the keypad 5500 (shown by side view) may include an attachment device 5504 for attaching the keypad to another object, such as a user's fingers/wrist. The keypad may be connected (wirelessly or by wires) to the corresponding electronic device. Fig. 55C shows a stand-alone keypad 5510 in accordance with the principles just described. As described above, by using a few keys in combination with the data input system of the present invention for complete data input, a user can input data such as text through the few keys without looking at the keys after a short training. Based on this principle, the user can hold the keypad 5510 in his hand (e.g. palm) 5511 close to the mouth (by bringing his hand close to his mouth) and, according to the principles of the data input system of the present invention, press a desired key without speaking/speaking the symbol (e.g. corresponding to the character, letter, part of word/word, function pressed by the key) without looking at the key. As mentioned above, the keypad may be connected wirelessly or by wires to the corresponding electronic device. In this example, the keypad is connected to a corresponding device (not shown) by a wire 5512. Also, in this example, a microphone 5513 is attached to the wire 5512. Placing the keypad 5510 in a hand (e.g., palm) near the mouth for data entry has many advantages, such as:

The user does not need to wear a head-mounted microphone

The user can speak very close to the microphone, so he can speak intermittently

Holes in the user's palm may accentuate the user's voice for better reception by the microphone

The user's hand (e.g. palm) substantially eliminating external noise when speaking

The user's hand (e.g. palm) prevents the user's voice from being diffused (e.g. without disturbing others)

It will be appreciated that the stand-alone keypad/data entry unit of the present invention may also include some/all of the features described in this application and applications previously filed by the present inventors. For example, the separate keypad/data entry unit may include a camera, such as a lip reading system for use with the present invention. It may also comprise an apparatus based on the dental identification system of the invention. The keypad may also include other features such as a battery, wireless means to connect the keypad to the corresponding device. An antenna may also be implemented with the keypad. In case of a wire connection, the wire may also comprise a keypad and/or an antenna system of the respective electronic device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the stand-alone keypad 5520 of the invention can be used as a necklace/pendant as shown in fig. 55 d. This enables the use of the keypad/data entry unit of the present invention to be easy, intermittent, and portable.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a stand-alone keypad 5530 of the invention may be attached/integrated with a pen of a touch sensitive display, such as the display of a PDA/tablet PC, as shown in fig. 55 e. This enables the use of the keypad/data entry unit of the present invention to be easy, intermittent, and portable.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the keypad of the invention with few keys may be a multi-part keypad 5540 (shown in close proximity), as shown in fig. 55 f. This will allow a further reduction in the size of the keypad, allowing a very small size keypad to be provided through which complete data entry is provided. Multi-part keypads have been invented by the present inventors and patent applications have been filed. Some/all of the descriptions and features described in the application have been applied to the multi-part keypad of the present invention with a few keys.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the keypad/data entry unit of the invention with a few keys 5550 may comprise a pointing unit (e.g. a mouse) in the rear side (or other side) of the keypad, as shown in fig. 55 g. The indication unit may be of any type such as a flat plate type 5551 or a ball type (not shown). The key of the indication unit may be located at a front side of the data input unit. A pointing (e.g., mouse) unit located at a side such as a rear side of the data input unit has been invented by the present inventors and thus a patent application has been filed. Some/all of the descriptions and features described in the application may be applied to the multi-part keypad of the present invention having a small number of keys. For example, at least one key of the keypad may also function like a key of the pointing unit, which is located at the rear side of the keypad.

Fig. 55h shows a data input device 5560 according to the invention comprising a data input unit 5561 with a few keys 5565 and 5568. The device also has a click (e.g. mouse) unit for working in conjunction with the data input unit for complete data input and manipulation of data. The device and its movement over a surface may resemble a conventional computer mouse device. The integrated device may be connected to a corresponding electronic device, such as a computer, wirelessly or through a wire 5562. As shown in fig. 55i, an indication (e.g., mouse) unit 5569 may be located, for example, in one side of the rear side of the data input unit 5561 (not shown here, located on the other side of the device). The pointing (e.g., mouse) unit 5569 may be a roller ball type mouse. A user may operate/work with a computer using the integrated data input device 5560 in conjunction with the data input system of the present invention, the integrated data input device 5560 replacing a conventional PC keyboard and mouse. The mouse buttons may be conventional buttons such as 5563, 6664 (see fig. 55h), or the few buttons that assign their function to the data input unit 5561 (in this example 5565 and 5568).

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the data entry system of the present invention may be combined with word prediction (predictive) software, as described in this patent application and patent applications previously filed by the present inventors. When the corresponding key is pressed, the user may enter at least one beginning character of a word by using the data entry system of the present invention (e.g., speaking a portion of the word corresponding to at least one character) and continue to press the key corresponding to the remainder of the word without speaking. Accurate entry of the beginning letter of the word (due to the accurate data entry system of the present invention) with pressing of the key corresponding to the remaining letters of the word (without speaking) may allow the accurate data entry system to also allow for less speech. It will be appreciated that in this embodiment, it may be preferable to assign symbols other than letters to individual keys or individual interactions with the same key.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the inventive keypad/data input unit with few keys may be connected/integrated with a conventional headset of an electronic device, such as a mobile phone. Fig. 55i shows a conventional headset 5570 for use by a user. The headset may include a speaker 5571, a microphone 5572 and a keypad/data input unit 5573 of the present invention (in this example, a multi-part keypad). It will be appreciated that the keypad/data input unit of the present invention may be used with a corresponding electronic device for inputting key presses when a separate head microphone is used for inputting the user's corresponding speech.

Sweeping process in conjunction with the data entry system of the present invention

As described above, the data input system of the present invention may use any kind of object, such as a few keys, one or more multi-modal (e.g., multi-directional) keys, one or more sensitive pads, a user's finger, and the like. Also as described above, the objects, e.g., the keys, may be of any type, e.g., conventional mobile phone type keys, contact sensitive keys, keys corresponding to two or more pressure levels thereon (e.g., touch level and multiple pressure levels), soft keys, virtual keys combined with optical recognition, etc.

As described above, when a portion of a word is input according to the data input system of the present invention, for better recognition, the user may provide other information corresponding to more characters, such as the last character, and/or the middle character of the portion, in addition to information corresponding to the first character/phoneme of the portion (e.g., key press and speed).

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a contact sensitive surface/pad 5600 having a small number of predetermined regions/keys, such as regions/keys 5601-. According to the data input system of the present invention, a symbol group is assigned to each of the regions/keys. The purpose of this embodiment is to enhance the word/part of word (e.g., including character-by-character) data/text entry system of the present invention. According to this embodiment, in order to provide single character data entry, the user may e.g. click/double-click on the corresponding area/key, which (as described above, the data entry system according to the present invention) is combined/not combined with speech. To enter a word/part of a word with at least two characters, the user may sweep at least one area/key of the surface with e.g. his finger or pen, which is associated with at least one letter of the part of the word/word, when speaking the word/part of the word. Preferably, the sweeping process may start with an area corresponding to the first character of the word/part of the word and preferably ends with an area corresponding to the last character of the word/part of the word and finally (e.g. for easier recognition) passes over an area corresponding to one or more middle characters of the word/part of the word. When the user removes (e.g., lifts) the finger (or the object) from the surface/sensitive pad, information input corresponding to a portion of the word/word may end. It will be appreciated that the user's speech may be ended before the corresponding sweeping motion is ended, however, the system may consider the entire corresponding sweeping motion.

According to another embodiment of the invention, for entering a word/part of a word, when speaking it, the user may sweep his finger over an area/key (if more than one consecutive character is represented by the same area/key, respectively in a plurality of different directions over said same area/key) corresponding to all letters of a part of said word/word being entered. Referring to fig. 56a, for example, to enter a word/portion of a word "for", when speaking it, the user may sweep areas/keys 5612, 5614, and 5611 corresponding to letters "f", "o", and "r", respectively, with, for example, his finger or pen (shown by multi-directional arrow 5615). The user can then lift his finger from the surface (e.g., the sensitive pad) and notify the system that the information input corresponding to the word/portion of the word is complete.

According to another embodiment of the invention, for faster interaction, to enter a word, the user may sweep his finger over an area corresponding to some letters of the word/part of the word being entered. Referring to fig. 56b, for example, to enter a word/portion of a word "for", when speaking it, the user may sweep his finger or pen over regions 5622, 5621 (represented by arrow 5625) beginning with region 5622 (e.g., corresponding to the letter "f") and ending with region 5621 (e.g., corresponding to the letter "r"), without passing through region 5624 corresponding to the letter "o".

The sweeping process over the sensitive pad is advantageous over the pressing/releasing action of conventional non-sensitive keys in that when a sweeping process is used, the user can lift his finger from the sensitive surface only after having completed the sweep over the area/key corresponding to the letters of a plurality (or all) of the words/parts of words. Even if the user ends the portion of speech before the corresponding sweeping motion ends, the system also takes into account the entire corresponding sweeping motion (e.g., from the time the user first touches the first region/key of the surface until the time the user lifts his finger from the surface). Touching/sweeping and lifting the finger from the surface may also inform the system: the start and end points of the corresponding speech (e.g., preferably, the speech is approximately within the time period).

In summary, according to one embodiment of the invention, a trajectory of a sweeping interaction with a surface corresponding to a predetermined number of regions/keys (e.g. corresponding to a word having at least two characters) may comprise the following points (e.g. trajectory points), wherein each of said points corresponds to a letter of a part of said word/word, wherein a predetermined number of regions/keys correspond to said interaction:

1) Starting point, first character corresponding to word/part of word

2) Sweeping the direction change point (e.g., not necessarily, not for a word with only two characters), typically corresponds to the middle character (if any) of the word/portion of the word

3) Other characters (preferably, last character (preferably, enuncible)) corresponding to the word/portion of word P271

FIG. 57 shows an example where a track 5705 on a surface 5700 corresponding to the sweeping motion of the word "sting" has four regions/buttons 5701- "5704. Starting point 5706 informs the system that the first letter of the word is located on region/key 5703. The system is informed of the other three points/angles 5707-: the word includes a plurality of letters of at least three represented by one of the characters assigned to the regions 5701, 5704, and 5702. Preferably, the order of the letters in the word (e.g., "fining" in this example) corresponds to the order of the track points. It will be appreciated that the angle corresponding to the change in direction may be less emphasized and form, for example, a curved line. Fig. 57a shows an example of a swept trajectory (shown by arrow 5714 with a curved angle 5715) corresponding to the word "time". In this example, a sweeping action has been provided according to the letters "t" (e.g., represented by key/area 5711), "i" (e.g., represented by key/area 5712), and "m" (e.g., represented by key/area 5713). It will be appreciated that when scanned, the user speaks the word (e.g., "time" in this example).

The tapping/pressing and/or sweeping data entry system of the present invention will significantly reduce ambiguity between letters and words that begin with the letter and have similar sounds. Based on the principles just described, for example, to enter the letter "b", and the words/parts of words "be" and "bee", the following process may be considered:

to enter the letter "b", as shown in fig. 58a, the user may click/touch (without sweeping) the sensitive area/key (e.g., area/key 5801 in this example) corresponding to the letter "b" as usual while pronouncing the letter.

To enter a word/part of a word "be", as shown in fig. 58b and described above, when pronouncing said word/part of a word, the user can sweep over the sensitive surface 5810, starting from the area 5811 corresponding to the letter "b" and then passing/ending in the area 5812 corresponding to the letter "e". Arrow 5813 represents the corresponding swept path/trajectory.

To enter a word/part of a word "bee", as shown in fig. 58c and described above, when pronouncing said word/part of a word, the user may sweep across the sensitive plane 5820, starting at the area 5821 corresponding to the letter "b", passing/sweeping through the area 5822 corresponding to the (e.g. first) letter "e", and then changing the direction of sweep across the same area 5822 corresponding to the (second) letter "e". Having two track points (e.g., in this example, a middle point and an end point) on the same region/key can inform the system: at least two letters of said word/part of the word are located/assigned to said area/key and are located after the letters in said word/part of the word corresponding to the preceding area/key. Arrows 5823 represent the respective sweep paths.

It must be noted that each change in the sweep direction may correspond to other corresponding letters in the word, as shown. When sweeping from one area to another, the user may pass through areas that he does not wish to pass through. The system may not consider the path, e.g., whether the swept trajectory over the area is insignificant (see, e.g., swept path 5824 of area/key 5825 of FIG. 58 c), and/or whether there are no angles in the area (e.g., no changes in direction), etc. Also, to reduce and/or eliminate ambiguity, a cross-over (e.g., intermediate) region such as region 5826 may be considered.

As described above, the character-by-character data system of the present invention and the word-by-word/portion of the data entry system of the present invention may be combined. Also, the sweep and push embodiments of the present invention may be combined. For example, to write a word such as "stop," the user may enter the word with two parts "s" and "top". To enter the letter "s", the user can touch/press the area/key corresponding to the letter "s" (single time) and sound the letter at the same time. Then, in order to input the section "top", the user can sweep over the corresponding area/key with, for example, his finger, while sounding said section, according to the principles of the sweeping process of the invention as described.

In order to reduce or eliminate the ambiguity of accidental contact with areas/keys of the sensitive surface, other features such as click/heavier pressure systems (e.g. systems provided with keys of a conventional mobile phone keypad) may be provided with respective areas/keys in addition to the contact sensitive features. In this case, for example, to enter a single symbol (e.g., a character-by-character data entry system according to the present invention), rather than a light touch, the user may press the corresponding region/key more heavily for entering the symbol. To access the word-by-word/part of the data entry system of the present invention, the user may use the aforementioned sweeping process by sweeping a corresponding area/key slightly (e.g., using a slight pressure) with, for example, his finger.

If a word/part of a word comprises letters represented on a single area/key, the user may sweep said area/key with e.g. his finger when speaking a part of said word/word in a number of consecutive different directions, e.g. at least one direction and at most a number of directions equal to the number (n) of letters constituting a part of said word/word minus one (e.g. n-1 directions). For example, to enter the word "you," as shown in FIG. 59a, in addition to speaking the word, the user may sweep his finger once over region/key 5901 for informing the system to assign at least two letters of a portion of the word/word to the region/key (according to one embodiment of the invention, entering a single character is represented by a tap on the region/key). In order to enter the same word by providing more information to the system, as shown in fig. 59b, the user may sweep his fingers through two consecutive different directions 5912, 5913 (e.g. two straight/almost straight directions) over an area/key 5911 corresponding to at least three letters of a part of the word/word (e.g. all letters constituting the word "you" in this example), without removing (e.g. lifting) his fingers from the area/key (e.g. three track points are provided, one starting, one middle, one ending in this example).

As mentioned above, to enter a word/part of a word, the user may speak said word/part of a word and sweep an object, e.g. his finger, over at least part of the area/key of the corresponding symbol, e.g. letter, representing the word/part of a word. According to one embodiment of the invention, the user may preferably sweep through the area/keys representing the first letter, at least one middle letter (e.g., if present) of a part of the word/word and the last letter. Preferably, the last letter to be swept through is considered to be the last letter corresponding to the last pronounceable phoneme in the word/part of the word. For example, the last letter to be swiped through of the word "write" may be considered the (e.g., pronounceable) letter "t" instead of the letter "e" (e.g., in this example, the letter "e" is silent). It will be appreciated that the user may sweep according to the two letters "t" and "e" if desired.

According to another example, the user may sweep according to the first letter of the word/portion of the word and at least one remaining consonant of the word/portion of the word. For example, to enter the word "force," the user may sweep according to the letters "f," r, "and" c.

According to one embodiment of the invention, in order to enter a word in at least two parts, the user first sweeps (e.g. by using his finger) the area/key according to the first part while speaking said part. He can then lift (e.g. remove) his finger from the sensitive surface for informing the system that the input of the (e.g. first in this example) part has ended. The user then proceeds to enter the next section (and so on) according to the same principles. At the end of the word, the user may provide an action such as pressing/contacting the space bar.

To enter a word in at least two parts, according to another embodiment of the invention, the user first sweeps (e.g. by using his finger) the area/key according to the first part while speaking it. Then he (without lifting/removing his finger from the sensitive surface) enters the next section (and so on) input according to the same principle. At the end of the word, the user can lift (e.g., remove) his finger from the sensitive surface for informing the system that the entry of the entire word has ended. The user may then provide an action such as pressing/contacting the space bar. In this embodiment, as described, lifting the finger from the writing surface may correspond to the end of the entire word input. Thus, a space key may be automatically provided before/after the word.

It will be appreciated that preferably the regions/keys are swept and, if desired, the order of the different directions within the regions/keys may correspond to the order of the positions of the respective letters in the respective word/portion of the word (e.g., left to right, right to left, top to bottom, etc.). For example, when entering a word/portion of a word in english, the user may sweep through the regions/keys corresponding to and/or according to the letters positioned from left to right in the word/portion of the word. In another example, when entering a portion of a word/word in, for example, arabic or hebrew, a user may sweep through the regions/keys corresponding to/or according to the letters positioned from right to left in the portion of the word/word. As described and previously described, it will be appreciated that the user may sweep the area (and direction) according to/corresponding to a portion of the word/word, or according to/corresponding to some letters of a portion of the word/word.

As noted above, some or all of the systems, methods, features, etc. described in this patent application and patent applications previously filed by the present inventors may be combined to provide different embodiments/articles. For example, after entering a word part by part (e.g., by using the sweep data input of the present invention), more than one associated letter string may be selected by the system for each part of the input, as described above. In this case, different combinations of the selections may be provided and compared to the words of the word database, as described above. If the combination corresponds to more than one word of the lexicon, it may be displayed to the user according to their frequency of use, from the most frequently used word to the least frequently used word. This problem has been described in detail above.

The automatic space process of the present invention may be applied to data entry systems that use the sweep method of the present invention.

As noted above, different automatic space processes may be considered and combined with the data entry system of the present invention. According to one embodiment of the invention (as described above), each word/part of a word may have special space characteristics, such as those described below:

preferably, a part of a word may be the one that by default is linked to a part of a preceding word/word (e.g. "ing", "ment", "station", etc.)

Preferably, a part of a word may be the one that is connected to a previous word/part of a word and also requires a next word/part of a word to be connected to it (e.g. "ma" in the word "information") -a part of a word may be a separate meaningful word, and may not be connected to a previous word/part of a word. By default, a space character is automatically provided before or after the word unless, for example, the user or phrase context requires it to be linked to a portion of the preceding/next word/word (e.g., "for", "less")

It may be considered (e.g. default) that a single character, e.g. letter, number, punctuation, is automatically connected to a previous/next word/part of a word, unless otherwise decided upon

According to one embodiment of the present invention, based on the character-by-character data entry system of the present invention, the entry of a single character, e.g., a letter, may be assigned to the depression/stroke of the corresponding area/key of the touch-sensitive surface combined/not combined with speech, while a partial entry of a word/word may be assigned to the part that said word/word is spoken, while providing a one-way (e.g., almost straight direction) sweeping action on the area/key to which the beginning character of said word is assigned. For example, to enter the letter "z", the user may press/touch (not sweep) the key to which the letter "z" is assigned when the letter is spoken. To enter a word/portion of a word "zoo," the user may sweep through the area/key to which the letter "z" (e.g., the starting letter corresponding to the word "zoo") is assigned when speaking the word/portion of the word. This may make it easy for the system to understand the user's intent of the character input process or a part of the word/word input process.

As described and/or illustrated, the data entry system of the present invention may provide many embodiments based on the principles described in the patent applications filed by the present inventors. Based on the described principles and according to different embodiments of the present invention, for example, different keypads with different numbers of keys and/or different key mappings (e.g., different arrangements of symbols on the keypad) may be considered. An electronic device may include more than one of the embodiments described, which may require some of the different keypads and/or different key mappings. To allow the keypad and/or key mapping to be provided within the same electronic device, a physical and/or virtual keypad and/or key mapping may be provided.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, different keypad and/or key mappings on an electronic device may be automatically set on a display unit of the electronic device according to the current embodiment of the present invention. The user may select one embodiment from a set of different embodiments present in the electronic device, e.g. according to need or his preferences. To this end, means, for example, modes, can be provided in the electronic device, by which the user can use it for selecting one of the embodiments and the corresponding keypad and/or key mapping.

According to another embodiment, for example, instead of using the display unit of the electronic device for displaying the keypad and/or key mappings, the keys of the keypad of the device (e.g., the keys of its keypad if the electronic device is a telephone) may be used for displaying different key mappings on at least some keys of the keypad. To this end, the keys of the keypad may include electronically modifiable display key caps (e.g., key surfaces).

According to yet another embodiment and referring to the previous embodiment, different hard key mappings may be provided and delivered for use with the electronic device according to the respective data entry embodiments, without using a keypad having electronically modifiable display key caps. Fig. 60 shows an example of an exchangeable (e.g., front) cover 6000 of a mobile phone having a number of voids (e.g., holes 6001) corresponding to physical key caps (typically made of rubber material by the mobile phone manufacturer). Using the mobile phone and exchangeable cover, different alternative hard (e.g., physical) key maps (e.g., key map 6011-6013, for example) corresponding to the relevant embodiments of the present invention may be provided. After selecting a desired embodiment of the data entry system, the user may manually replace the corresponding key map within the cover (and the phone).

It will be appreciated that different predetermined pads, touch and/or press sensitive keys, etc. may be provided corresponding to each of the zones, rather than a single pad having different predetermined zones. Also, the user's finger may be used to assign the set of symbols and the sweeping movement to the finger in conjunction with a touch sensitive surface or any other finger recognition system (e.g., optical scanning), such as those described in this and previously filed applications. It has to be noted that any kind of technique and interaction of e.g. two pressure levels may be used instead of the sweep data input method of the present invention to provide the same result, for example. Also, any type and number of objects, such as keys, may be used. These problems have been described in the present patent application and patent applications previously filed by the present inventors.

According to an embodiment of the invention, symbols (e.g. described in different applications) and their configurations may be assigned to e.g. a few fingers of a few users and other objects operated by the user of said fingers, instead of a few keys and the way in which said keys are operated. The fingers of the user may replace keys of a keypad and the movement of the fingers may replace different modes such as single and/or double presses, sweeping processes, etc. The finger and the manipulation of the finger may be used for user actions such as sound and/or lip movement. Different recognition systems for recognizing the object (e.g. a finger, a part of a finger, a fingerprint recognition system, a scanning system, an optical system, etc.) and different recognition systems for recognizing the behavior (e.g. a sound and/or lip recognition system) may be used for providing different embodiments of the invention as described above and to be described later.

According to an embodiment of the invention and by referring to the embodiment of the system using four keys for data input, the symbols assigned to the keys may be assigned using four fingers of the user instead of four keys. Also, for example, means such as optical recognition systems and/or sensitive surfaces may be used to recognize the interaction/movement of the finger. For example, to enter the letter "to," the user may tap (e.g., click) on the surface one of the fingers to which the letter "t" is assigned while pronouncing the letter. Still other recognition means based on the data input system of the invention, such as a voice recognition system, may be used to recognize the user's speech and help the system provide accurate output.

Use of multidirectional buttons or trackballs for word/part of word data entry

Other devices, such as a trackball or multidirectional buttons with a small number (e.g., 4) of predetermined depressed areas/keys, may be provided with the data input system of the present invention without the use of a touch sensitive surface/pad with a small number of predetermined areas/keys in combination with the sweeping process of the present invention for entering a word/portion of a word. The principles of such a system may be similar to those described for the sweep process and other data input systems of the present invention.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a trackball with a rotation that can be directed towards a set of predetermined points/areas around said trackball can be used in the data input system of the invention, and wherein a set of symbols of the data input system according to the invention can be assigned to each of said predetermined points/areas. As mentioned, the principle of the system may be similar to that described for the sweeping process using a touch sensitive surface/pad with a few predefined areas/keys. The difference between these two systems is that here the trackball replaces the touch sensitive surface/pad, whereas the rotation of the trackball towards the predetermined point/area replaces the sweeping/pressing action on the predetermined area/key of the touch sensitive surface/pad. As mentioned above, all the description of the data input system of the present invention using a sweeping process on a touch sensitive surface/pad with a few predefined areas/keys can be applied to the data input system using the trackball. Figure 61a shows an example of a trackball 6100 which can be rotated towards four predetermined areas 6101-6104 wherein for each of said areas predetermined symbol sets, such as alphabetic characters, words, parts of words, etc., can be assigned and used for the press/sweep principle in combination with the inventive spoken/unspeaked data input system according to the different inventive data input systems described in the present application and in applications previously filed by the present inventor. For better interaction with the trackball, the areas and the symbols assigned to them may be displayed on a display unit, and the trackball may operate a pointer on the display unit and the areas. According to another approach, the trackball may be located in a predetermined position before and after each use. The center of the trackball can be marked by a point marker 6105. To input a symbol, the user may first place his finger (e.g. thumb) on the point and start moving in a direction according to the symbol to be input.

With continued reference to the current embodiment, as shown in fig. 61b, for example, to input a word/part of a word "ram", the user can turn the trackball 6110 toward the areas 6111, 6112, and 6113 corresponding to the characters "r", "a", and "m", and preferably, simultaneously speak the word/part of the word "ram".

According to another embodiment of the invention, the data input system of the invention may use multidirectional buttons with a few (e.g. 4) predefined press areas/keys, and wherein a symbol group of the data input system according to the invention is assigned to each of said areas/keys. The multidirectional buttons may provide two types of information for the data input system of the present invention. A first type of information corresponding to a press action on the button, and a second type of information corresponding to a key/region of the button, wherein the press action is applied. The user may press a single area/key of the button corresponding to the symbol (e.g. the first character) and speak/not speak the symbol, or he may press an area/key of the button corresponding to the first character of the symbol and sweep his finger over a different area/key of the button (e.g. for providing more information about the characters constituting the symbol when the symbol comprises more than one character, as described for the swept-over embodiment), while continuing to keep the key in the pressed position and preferably speaking the symbol at the same time. At the end of the symbol entry process, the user may release the continued pressing action on the key. As mentioned, the principles of embodiments of the present invention may be similar to those described for the sweeping process using a touch sensitive surface/pad with a small number of predefined areas/keys. The difference between these two systems is that here the multi-directional button replaces the touch sensitive surface/pad, whereas a single/continuous pressing action on the predetermined area/key of the multi-directional button replaces a sweeping/pressing action of the predetermined area/key of the sensitive surface/pad. All the descriptions of the data input system of the present invention using a sweeping process on a touch sensitive surface/pad with a few predefined areas/keys as described above can be applied to the current data input system of the present invention using the multi-directional buttons. FIG. 61c illustrates an example of a multidirectional button 6120, as described herein, wherein the button comprises four predetermined regions/keys 6121 and 6124, wherein for each of the regions/keys a predetermined set of symbols, such as alphabetic characters, words, parts of words, etc., may be assigned according to a different data input system of the present invention (as described in this application and applications previously filed by the present inventors) and used in the principles of the push and talk data input system of the present invention.

Computing/communication device with multi-user interface

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a computing communication device such as previously described in this application and shown in the examples of the various figures such as fig. 47a-47i may include a keypad on one side thereof for dialing at least a telephone number. The keypad may be a standard telephone type keypad. Fig. 62a shows a mobile communication device 6200 comprising a data/text input system using a few keys (here, arranged in two rows 6201-6202), and an associated display unit 6203, as described above. For intermittently dialing, a telephone-shaped keypad on the other side of the device may be considered. Fig. 62b shows the rear side of the device 6200, where a phone-shaped keypad 6211 is integrated with the rear side of the device. The user may use the keypad 6211 for conventional dialing, for example, or for providing other telephone functions such as selecting menus. Other telephone function keys, such as send/end key 6212 and 6213, may also be provided on the side. A display unit 6214 arranged separately from the display unit of the data/text input system may also be provided on the side for displaying, for example, a telephone operation of dialing a number or receiving a number. The pointing device 6215 involved in the data/text input system of the present invention implemented within the device (as described above) may also be integrated on this side. As described earlier in this application and in patent applications previously filed by the present inventors, the (click) key relating to the pointing device may be located on the other side of the opposite side of the electronic device, for example relating to the pointing device.

Computing/communication device equipped with handwriting data input system

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the data entry system of the present invention, the computing and/or communication device of the present invention may include a handwriting recognition system for dialing at least a telephone number. The handwriting system may be of any type, for example, based on recognition of sound/vibration of a writing tip (tip) of the device on a writing surface. This problem has been described in detail in PCT application entitled "pen computer" filed on 12/26/2001. Data entry based on handwriting recognition systems is slow. In another aspect, the data input is intermittent. Preferably, handwriting recognition systems can be used for short and intermittent data entry tasks in devices that include the push-and-talk data entry system of the present invention. Fig. 63a illustrates a computing and/or communication device 6300 such as previously described and illustrated by way of example in many of the figures, such as 47a-47 i. In this example, the device uses six keys 6301-6306, where the alphabet (again, the last digit) characters of the language may be assigned to four of the keys 6302-6305 (2 at each end) as described above. The other two keys 6301 and 6306 may include, for example, at least some punctuation marks and/or other symbols of a function (e.g., for editing text).

As described above, the data entry system of the present invention using a small number of keys is a very fast and accurate system. In some cases, often times, users may prefer to use an intermittent data entry system when a short-term effort, such as dialing a telephone number, is required. Handwritten data entry systems typically require a touch sensitive surface (e.g., display/pad) that is not very small. It also requires a pen for writing on the surface. The handwritten data input and recognition system invented by the inventors does not generally require the sensitive surface and the pen. It can be implemented in any device and cannot be used by other handwriting recognition systems in devices with small dimensions.

With continued reference to fig. 63a, a handwriting recognition system invented by the inventors may be implemented in the device 6300. To this end, a writing tip 6307 may be provided, for example, at one end of the device. Other features required by the handwriting recognition system, e.g. at least a microphone, may be implemented in the device 6300. It will be appreciated that other handwriting recognition systems, for example based on optical sensors or systems using accelerators, may be used for the device. The user may use the data input systems separately and/or in combination with each other in a manner convenient to him/her. For example, the user may dial by using only the handwriting data entry system. Alternatively, the user may write text by using the push-and-talk data input system of the present invention. The system may also be incorporated during data entry, such as writing text. For example, during writing of text, a user may write portions of the text and convert to a handwriting data input system (e.g., the handwriting system invented by the inventors using writing sounds/vibrations) by using the push and talk data input system of the invention. A user may switch from one data input system to another by writing with a stylus on the surface, or speaking/not speaking and pressing the corresponding key.

As described above, it will be appreciated that different key arrangements and different symbol configurations assigned to the keys are contemplated based on different embodiments of the push and talk/no-talk data input system of the present invention. Fig. 63b shows an example of a device 6310 according to another embodiment of the present invention similar to the device 6300 of fig. 63a, with the difference that here the data input system of the present invention may use four keys on each of its sides 6311, 6312 (one other key on each side, where a set of symbols, e.g. punctuation characters and/or functions, is assigned to each of said other keys). Having other keys may help to consider more symbols in the data entry system of the present invention. By assigning some of the symbols assigned to other keys to the other keys, it may be helpful to provide better input accuracy, resulting in fewer symbols being assigned to the keys used by the present system.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in order to easily distinguish between the character-by-character data entry system of the present invention and a portion of the word/word data entry system of the present invention, alphabetic characters may be assigned to a key group other than another key group to which a portion of the word/word is assigned. This can significantly improve the accuracy of data entry. Fig. 63C shows an example of a device 6320 similar to the device 6310 of fig. 63b, with two sets of four keys (2 x 2) on each side. In this example, the keys 6321-6324 may correspond to the alphabetic characters printed on the keys accordingly, while the keys 6325-6328 may correspond to the words/parts of the words starting with the characters printed on the keys accordingly. For example, to enter a single letter, such as the letter "t", the user may press key 6321 and speak the letter. Also, for example, to enter a portion of a word "til," the user may press key 6325 and speak the portion of the word.

It will be appreciated that as described and illustrated above, the keys may be arranged in their arrangement separately from the electronic device, for example within one or more keypads which may be connected to the electronic device wirelessly or by wires. Also, the few keys, their arrangement on the device, the assignment of symbols to the keys and interaction with the keys, the device itself, etc. are shown as examples only, as described and will be described in different paragraphs in any embodiment of the invention. It is obvious that other variations can be considered by those skilled in the art.

It must be noted that the data input system of the present invention may have the shape of a pen according to one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 63a-63c and fig. 47b-47 d. Also, as mentioned above, pen-shaped computer/communication devices and their features have been invented and described in the PCT application entitled "pen computer" filed on 12/26/2001. The pen-shaped device of the present invention may include some or all of the features and applications of the "pen computer" PCT patent application. For example, the pen-shaped device of the present invention may be a cylindrical device having a display unit covering its surface. Also, for example, the pen-shaped device of the present invention may include a pointing and clicking device, as well as a handwriting recognition system similar to the handwriting recognition system of the "pen computer" PCT.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the pen-shaped device of the invention may comprise an attachment device for attaching the device to a user, for example by attaching it to the user's clothing or ears. Fig. 63d shows an example of the back side of an electronic device such as device 6300 of fig. 63 a. As shown, an attachment device 6331 may be provided within the device for attaching the device to, for example, a user's pocket or a user's ear. Also, a speaker 6332 is provided within the attachment device for providing the speaker in close proximity to the ear cavity of the user's ear. An indication unit 6333, e.g. proposed by the inventors, may also be provided within the device.

With continued reference to the current embodiment, as shown in fig. 63e, the device 6340 may also be attached to the user's ear, as an example, for allowing hands-free conversation when, for example, the user is walking or driving. The location of the pen-shaped device 6340 and the microphone 6341 and the speaker 6342 and the attachment means 6343, respectively, in the device may allow the microphone and the speaker to be close to the mouth and ear, respectively, of the user. It will be appreciated that the microphone, speaker or anchor may be located anywhere within the device.

The independent data input unit of the present invention having a small number of keys includes a display unit

According to an embodiment of the present invention, as described and illustrated in fig. 55a-55i, the independent data input unit of the present invention having at least a few keys may include a display unit and may be connected to a corresponding electronic device. Fig. 64a shows an example of a stand-alone data input unit 6400, which includes a display unit 6401, based on the principles described earlier. An advantage of having a display inside the unit, especially when the unit is carried as a pendant, is that the user can, for example, insert the electronic device (e.g. a mobile phone) into his pocket, for example, and use the data input unit via the device for inputting/receiving data. By connecting to the device, the user can see the data he has entered (e.g. sent SMS) or received (e.g. received SMS) by looking at the display unit of the data input unit. It is understood that the display unit may be of any type according to different systems and arranged in the unit according to different systems. For example, as shown in fig. 64b, a display unit 6411 of a separate data input unit 6410 of the present invention may be disposed inside a cover 6412 of the data input unit. It will be appreciated that the stand-alone data input unit of the present invention may include some or all of the features of the respective embodiments described above (e.g. an embedded microphone).

As noted above, the data entry system of the present invention using a few keys may be implemented in any device, such as a PDA or a tablet PC, and FIG. 65a shows an example of an electronic device, such as a tablet PC device 6500, that includes the data entry system of the present invention using a few keys. A key arrangement and symbol allocation based on the principles of the data input system of the present invention has been provided within the device. In this example, the tablet PC6500 may include four buttons 6501 and 6504 to which at least the alphabet and last numeric character of the language may be assigned. In addition to the four keys, the device comprises further keys, such as keys 6505 and 6506, to which e.g. at least punctuation symbols and functional symbols may be assigned. It will be appreciated that virtual (e.g. soft) keys may be defined on the display unit of the tablet PC and used for data entry systems rather than physical keys (e.g. 6501 and 6506). The data entry system, key arrangement and assignment of symbols to the keys of the present invention have been described in detail. Part of the keys or other keys provided in the device may be combined with a pointing device integrated in the back of the device, for example. This problem has been described in detail in different patent applications filed by the present inventors. The tablet PC may include other keys 6507 for other purposes such as an on/off function. Fig. 65b shows an example of the back side of the tablet PC6500 of fig. 65 a. As shown, for better stability, the tablet PC may also include one or more handle devices 6511 and 6512 used by a user, for example, when entering data, during, for example, data entry. It will be appreciated that the handle device may be of any type and may be located anywhere in the device (e.g. on different sides). As mentioned above, the device may comprise at least a pointing and clicking system, wherein at least one pointing unit 6513 of the system may be located within the rear side of the device. As described above, the keys corresponding to the pointing may be located on the front side of the tablet PC (at convenient locations) for allowing easy operation of the pointing and clicking device (left or right handed, as desired). According to one design, the tablet PC may include two pointing and clicking devices located on the left and right sides of the tablet PC, respectively, and the components of the pointing and clicking devices may cooperate with one another. It is understood that any type of microphone, such as a built-in microphone or a separate wired/wireless microphone, may be used to receive the user's voice during data entry. These problems have been described in detail. The electronic device also uses the independent data input unit of the present invention.

Also, the data entry system of the present invention using a small number of keys may be used in many environments, such as automotive, simulation or gaming environments. According to one embodiment of the invention, the keys of the system may be located in a vehicle, such as an automobile. Fig. 65C shows a steering wheel 6520 of a key-on tool comprising a few keys (in this example, arranged on opposite sides 6521 and 6522 on the steering wheel 6520) that are used in the data input system of the present invention. The data entry system, key arrangement, and assignment of symbols to the keys of the present invention have been described in detail. As shown here, a user may enter data, such as text, while driving. To this end, the driver may use the push and talk data input system of the present invention by pushing the buttons and speaking/not speaking accordingly while holding the steering wheel 6520 using the user's hands, for example, during driving. It is understood that any type of microphone, such as a built-in microphone and/or a wired/wireless microphone, such as a bluetooth microphone, may be used to receive the user's voice during data entry. Any key arrangement and symbol assignment to said keys may also be considered at any location in any type of vehicle, e.g. an aircraft.

As mentioned above, the data entry system of the present invention and in general particularly the data entry system of the present invention using a small number of keys (e.g. wherein the alphabet and the last numeric character are assigned to four keys arranged in two pairs of adjacent keys and wherein the user can place each of his two thumbs on said each pair of keys for pressing one of said keys) has the great advantage that the user can provide a fast and accurate data entry without the need to (frequently) look at the keys and the display unit.

It will be appreciated that the notification system may be used to notify the user of the last character/phrase or characters/phrases entered in circumstances (e.g., darkness) and situations (e.g., driving) where viewing the respective display for input verification is not possible/allowed. The system may be a text-to-speech TTS system, wherein when a character is recognized by the data input system of the present invention, the system speaks the character. The user may be required to confirm the recognized symbol by, for example, not providing any action. Also for example, if the identified symbol is a wrong symbol, the user may provide a predetermined action, for example using a delete key, for deleting the symbol. He can then repeat the input of the symbol.

Network implementation

As described in the previously filed patent application related to the data entry system of the present invention, the data entry system of the present invention may be implemented in a network environment such as a local area network system including client terminals connected to servers/host computers. According to an embodiment of the invention, in the network environment, the terminal may typically be a small device without processing capabilities, or a device with at most limited processing capabilities. In contrast, the server computer may have a large processing power. In this case, the server computer may process information transmitted thereto through the terminal of the network system. By using a terminal, a user can input information (e.g. key, voice) about inputting symbols to the server according to the principles of the data input system of the present invention. After processing the information and identifying the corresponding symbol, the server computer may transmit the result to a display unit of the terminal. It will be appreciated that the terminal may include all features of the data entry system of the invention required for entering and communicating the information to the server computer (e.g., key arrangement, symbols assigned to the keys, at least microphone, camera, etc.). Fig. 66 shows, as an example, a terminal/data input unit 6601 and 6606 connected to a central server/computer 6600, wherein partial results of different data/text input by different data input units/terminals are displayed on respective displays.

The above-described embodiments may be used in many environments, such as airline aircraft. In incoming civil aircraft, each passenger location comprises a remote control unit with a limited number of keys connected to a display unit usually mounted in front of the location (for example usually located behind a front seat). The remote control may be combined with a built-in or separate microphone and may be connected to a server/host computer in the aircraft. Other personal computing or data input devices may be used instead of the remote control by connecting them to the server/host computer (e.g., through a USB port mounted in the seat). As mentioned above, the device may be, for example, a data input unit of the invention, a PDA, a mobile phone, or even a notebook, etc. This may be the most attractive entertainment service offered to its passengers by airlines during travel. The passenger may edit letters, send messages, use the internet, or chat with other passengers in the aircraft. A similar system may be implemented in a networked system of organizations or businesses (e.g., points of sale of chain stores), where a data input unit including the necessary features (e.g., keys, microphones) for inputting data/text based on the data input system of the present invention may be used in conjunction with a server computer. The data/text input system of the present invention described above allows for a fast and accurate data input system through terminal devices that generally do not have processing power, or have limited processing power.

The data entry system of the present invention using a small number of keys (e.g., including four keys to which at least alphabetic characters are assigned) may be useful in many environments. As described above, based on the principle of the data input system of the present invention, a user can use, for example, his face/head/eye movements in combination with his voice, without using keys, for data/text input. To this end, according to one embodiment of the invention, the symbols described in the present and previous applications (e.g. at least substantially all alphabetic characters of a language) may be assigned to, for example, a movement of the user's head in, for example, four directions (e.g. left, right, front, back) instead of being assigned to a few keys. The symbol configuration assignment may be the same as described for the keys. For example, if the letters "Q", "W", "E", "R", "T", and "Y" are assigned to the movement of the user's head to the left for entering the letter "T", the user may move the head to the left and speak "T". The same principle can be assigned to the movement of the user's eyes (e.g. left, right, up, down). By referring to the last-described example, to enter the letter "T," the user may move his eyes to the left and speak "T. The movement of the head, eyes, face, etc. is detected by a device such as a camera or a sensor provided on the body of the user.

The above-described embodiments, which do not use keys, may be useful for data entry by persons with limited motor capabilities. For example, a blind person may use his/her head movement in combination with his voice, and a person who cannot use his fingers for pressing keys may use his eye/head movement in combination with his voice.

According to another embodiment of the invention, instead of assigning symbols to a few keys, the symbols are assigned to the movement of the user's finger, as described above. For example, FIG. 67 shows a user's hand 6700, where symbol configurations may be assigned to four fingers 6701-6704 of the user's hand (e.g., two fingers per hand) based on the symbol configurations assigned to the few keys of the present invention. For example, the letters "Q", "W", "E", "R", "T" and "Y" (or a word/portion of a word beginning with the letters) may be assigned to a predetermined movement or gesture of the finger 6701. As an example, the movement may be moving the finger downwards. Also, for example, to enter the letter "T", the user can move finger 6701 downward, and preferably, say "T" at the same time. It will be appreciated that any configuration of symbols may be considered and assigned to any number of user's fingers based on the principles of the data entry system of the present invention described in this application and previously filed applications.

Continuing with the above embodiments, a number of systems may be considered for detecting movement/gestures of the user's fingers. For example, movement of a user's finger may be detected by the position of the finger relative to another finger. According to one approach, as shown in fig. 67, a finger 6701-6702 for data input may be provided with a sensor 6705-6706 (here, for example, in the form of a ring). According to one embodiment, movement of the user's finger may be identified based on, for example, vibrations received by the sensor based on friction of the adjacent ring 6705-6706 (e.g., it is understood that the surface of the ring may be such that the frictional vibrations of the upward and downward movement of the finger may be different).

According to another approach, the sensors 6707, 6708 may be mounted on a ring-shaped device (or other device mounted on the user's finger), and wherein the mutual position of the sensors may determine the movement of the finger.

It will be appreciated that the finger movement/gesture detection means described herein are described by way of example only. Other detection means, such as light detection means, may be considered.

Word categories

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the word/part of word level data input system of the present invention may be used in a predetermined environment, such as a medical or jurisdictional environment. In this case, the system does not use a large database of words/parts of words, but may consider a limited database of words/parts of words relating to the environment. This will significantly improve the accuracy and speed of the present system. Words/parts of words outside the database may be entered character by character.

Mode key for temporary character-by-character data input

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in a data entry system of the present invention that combines character-by-character data/text entry and partial data entry of words/words, a predetermined keystroke notification system may be used, with the user being temporarily entering a single character. For example, during text entry, a user may enter a portion of text without pressing the predetermined key in accordance with the principles of the word/portion of word data entry system of the present invention. In this case, the system may override the letter assigned to the user pressed key. The system may only consider the word/part of the word assigned to the key. If the predetermined key is pressed, for example, simultaneously with other key presses related to the text input, the system may consider only the single letter assigned to the key press and disregard a portion of the data input assigned to the word/word of the key press.

Phrase input

According to another embodiment of the present invention, as described above, the data entry system of the present invention may include a phrase-level text entry system. For example, after the entire phrase is entered, the system may analyze the identified phrase, for example, using the data entry system of the present invention in conjunction with the character-by-character data/text entry and/or a portion of the word/word data entry system of the present invention, and based on the linguistic characteristics/patterns of the language and/or the meaning of the phrase, the system may correct, add, or replace portions of the word of the phrase for providing an error-free phrase. For example, if the user enters the phrase "let's meet at noon" and the recognized word is "lets meet at noon," the system may replace the word "lets" with the word "let's" by analyzing the phrase and provide the phrase "let's meet at noon. The present embodiment is advantageous in that, because the data input system of the present invention is a highly accurate system, the user does not have to worry about correcting a few errors that occur during phrase input. The system may automatically correct the error. It will be appreciated that some symbols, such as ". john" provided at the end of a phrase or a return command may inform the system about the end point of the phrase.

Phrase input

According to one embodiment of the invention, symbols assigned to objects such as keys may represent phrases. For example, a word group (e.g., "Best regards") may be assigned to a key (e.g., preferably, a key that also represents the letter "b"). The user may press the key and provide, for example, speech (e.g., in this example, "best regards") that utters the phrase or portions of the phrase for entering the phrase.

Different patterns for a single character and for a word/part of a word

As described above, the data entry system of the present invention may use different modes (e.g., different interactions with objects such as keys) wherein each of the modes may be assigned a predetermined set of symbols assigned to the objects. Also as described above, the pattern may be, for example, a short/single press action on a key, a long press action on a key, a double press action on a key, a short/long/two gestures using a finger/eye, or the like.

According to one embodiment of the invention, individual characters, words, parts of words, phrases, etc. comprising more than one character or phrase may be assigned to different patterns. For example, a single character, e.g., a letter, may be assigned to a single/short press action on a key, while a word/portion of a word that includes at least two characters may be assigned to a double press action or a long press action on a key (e.g., the same key or other keys), or vice versa (e.g., also e.g., a word/portion of a word that includes at least two characters may be assigned to a single press action on a different key). Also, for example, as described above, a portion of a word/portion of a word that causes ambiguity in the speech (e.g., voice, lip) recognition system may be assigned to two press actions on a key. Also, different individual characters, words, etc. may be assigned to light, heavy, or double press actions on a key. Also for example, a word/portion of a word that is not ambiguous with a single letter assigned to a mode of interacting with a key may be assigned to the mode of interacting with the key. Different modes of interaction have been described in this application and other patent applications previously filed by the present inventors.

It will be appreciated that different predetermined time periods/pressure levels may be considered to define the pressing action/pattern. For example, a short time (e.g., at most 0.20 seconds) press down action on a key may be considered a short press down action (to which the first symbol group may be assigned), a long time press down action (e.g., greater than 0.20 to 0.40 seconds) may be considered a long press down action (to which the second symbol group may be assigned), and a longer press down action (e.g., greater than 0.40 seconds) may be considered another mode to which a repeating process (e.g., the foregoing) may be assigned. For example, to enter the letter "a," the user may short-press a key (where the letter "a" is assigned to the key and the interaction with the key) and speak "a". He can press the key longer and say "a" for e.g. obtaining a word/part of a word "ai" (e.g. wherein a word/part of a word "ai" is assigned to the key and the interaction with the key). The user may press the key and say "a" and hold the key in the pressed position as needed (e.g., for a longer period of time) for repeated input of the letter "a". The letter "a" will be repeated until the user releases (stops the pressing action) the key.

As described above, words that include space characters (e.g., before/after the word) may be assigned to the inventive interaction pattern with objects such as keystrokes. According to an embodiment of the invention, said interaction pattern with a key may be said longer/re-press action of said key just described.

As noted above, any combination of objects, interaction patterns, character sets, etc. are contemplated and used in the data entry system of the present invention.

Grid retreat

The backspace process for deleting an entered word/portion of a word has been described previously in this application. According to various embodiments, at least one backspace process may be assigned to at least one interaction mode, e.g., a backspace key may be provided, wherein at least one desired utterance, word/part of a word, phrase, etc. may be deleted by pressing the key. For example, each single press action on the key may delete the output corresponding to a single utterance located after the output but before the cursor. For example, if the user has entered a word/part of a word "call" and "ing", he can, according to one procedure, delete the last utterance "ing", for example by pressing the key once a single time. Another single press action on the key may delete the output "call" corresponding to another utterance. According to a predetermined procedure, for example, a single/double press action on the key can delete the entire word "trapping". Thus, in accordance with the principles of the backspace process of the present invention, it is apparent that many predetermined deletion processes may be considered by one skilled in the art.

Miniaturized keyboard

Miniaturized keyboards are used for small/mobile electronic devices. The main inconvenience of using the keyboard is that since the keys are small and close to each other, pressing a key with a user's finger may cause the key to be pressed erroneously. This is why in a PDA the keys are usually pressed with a pen. The data entry system of the present invention may eliminate the disadvantages. The data entry system of the present invention may use a PC-type miniaturized/virtual keyboard. By targeting a key for pressing it, the user can speak a voice corresponding to the key even if the user erroneously presses the key (by, for example, pressing an adjacent key), in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, and based on the principles of the data input system of the present invention. If the user's voice does not correspond to a key that was pressed, the system may assume that the key was pressed incorrectly. The system may then consider adjacent keys and correspond the speech to one of the keys. By using this embodiment, ordinary user fingers can easily use miniaturized keyboards, making data entry through these keyboards easy and fast. It will be understood that all features and systems based on the principles of the data entry system of the present invention are contemplated and used with such a keyboard. For example, the word/portion of a word data entry system of the present invention may also be used in such embodiments.

Also, as described and illustrated by the various embodiments, the principle of the data input system of the present invention is to select a predetermined smaller number of (e.g., candidate) symbols from a larger number of symbols by assigning a smaller number of symbols to a predetermined interaction with a predetermined object and selecting symbols from the smaller number of symbols with/without using speech corresponding to the symbols.

Also as described above, the object and the interaction with the object may be of any type. As described above, for example, the object may be a part of a user's body (e.g., a finger, an eye, etc.), and the predetermined interaction may be moving the object in different predetermined directions, e.g., left, right, up, down, etc.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the object may be an electronic device and the interaction with the object may be tilting the electronic apparatus in a predetermined direction. For example, each of the different smaller symbol groups comprising symbols of a partially larger symbol group, such as letters of a language, punctuation marks, parts of words/words, functions, etc. (as described above), may be assigned to a predetermined tilt/action direction applied to the electronic device. Then, still based on the principles of the data input system of the present invention (as described above), one of the symbols of the smaller set of symbols is selected by providing/not providing a voice corresponding to the symbol. Fig. 68 shows an example of an electronic device such as a mobile phone 6800. As an example, four symbol groups 6801-6804 may be assigned to four tilt directions (e.g., left, up, right, down) 6805-6808 applied to the device. Also for example, to enter the letter "t," the user may tilt the device to the right and pronounce a sound corresponding to the letter's voice (e.g., say the letter). One of the advantages of the tilting system of the present invention is that the system can be used without any keys and can use one hand for data input. It also allows a large display to be provided within the device. Figure 68a shows an electronic device 6810 using the tilted data entry system of the present invention and in which a large display 6811 substantially covers at least one side surface of the electronic device. It will be appreciated that the pattern of single/double press actions on a key, for example, may be replaced herein by a single/double tilt direction/action applied to the device.

Treatment of apostrophes

According to one embodiment of the invention, a predetermined word including an apostrophe may be generated and assigned to one or more keys and entered. For example, words such as "it's", "we're", "he'll", "the've", "isn't", etc. may be assigned to at least one predetermined key. Each of the words may be entered by pressing the corresponding key and speaking the word.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, words (e.g., abbreviations) such as '"s", "'ll", "'ve", "n't", etc. may be generated and assigned to one or more keys for the same purpose. The words are pronounced by their original pronunciation. For example:

"s" can be pronounced as "s/is/has";

"'re" can be pronounced as "are";

"'ve" can be pronounced as "have";

"n't" can be pronounced as "not", etc

The word may be entered, for example, to the end of a word/character that is connected to a previously entered word/character. For example, to enter the word "then've," a user may enter two separate words "then" and "ve" (e.g., entered according to the data entry system of the present invention) without a space being placed therebetween. As described above, the speech assigned to a word that includes an apostrophe (e.g., an abbreviated word such as "n't" of the word "not") may be the same as the original word. For example, both words "n't" and "not" may sound "not". In this case, each of the words may be assigned to a different interaction mode with the same key, or each of them may be assigned to a different key. For example, the user may press a corresponding key a single time (e.g., a predetermined interaction with the key to which the word "not" is assigned) and speak "not" for entering the word "not". To enter the word "n't", the user may, for example, press the same key twice (e.g., a predetermined interaction with the key to which the word "n't" is assigned) and speak "not". According to another embodiment of the invention, a part/whole of the word including an apostrophe may be assigned to the key to which the apostrophe symbol itself is assigned.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a portion of a word, such as "s", "d", etc., that includes an apostrophe may be assigned to a key and a mode of interaction with the key, and pronounce a corresponding letter, such as "s", "d", etc. The keys or the interaction pattern may be different from the keys or interaction pattern assigned to the respective letters for avoiding ambiguity.

Letter configuration on four keys

As described above, to improve the accuracy of the speech recognition system, symbols having close pronunciations (e.g., causing ambiguity to the speech system used to select one of them) may be assigned to different keys. FIG. 69 illustrates another example of assigning alphabetic characters to four keys 6901-6904 of a keypad 6900. Although they may be assigned to any key, preferably a word/part of a word comprising more than one character may be assigned to the key representing the first character of the word and/or part of the word. The exemplary character arrangement not only eliminates the ambiguity of the character-by-character text input system of the present invention using four keys comprising letters, but it also significantly reduces the ambiguity of the word/portion of the data input system of the present invention. For example, the letter "n" and a portion of a word starting with "n" may be assigned to key button 6903, while the letter "i" and a portion of a word starting with "i" may be assigned to key button 6901. This is because, for example, the word "in" (assigned to key 6901) and the letter "n" (assigned to key 6903) may have ambiguous, substantially similar sounds. It is clear that, as mentioned above, other symbol configurations on the keys, or any other number and arrangement of keys, based on the principles just described, can be considered by a person skilled in the art.

Also, as described above, according to another example, if the voices of two symbols have substantially similar pronunciations and the symbols are assigned to the same key and input through the same type of interaction as the key (e.g., combined with the corresponding voice), another voice having a substantially dissimilar pronunciation as the second symbol may be assigned to at least the first symbol of the plurality of symbols in order to avoid ambiguity. For example, if two symbols such as "I" and "hi" (e.g., letters and words having substantially similar pronunciations, respectively) are assigned to a key and input by speaking them simultaneously, e.g., with a single depression of the key, to avoid ambiguity, another voice such as "hey" (which is a substantially different pronunciation than "I") may be assigned to the symbol (e.g., the word) "hi".

Fast input

As previously and herein shown in FIG. 69a, one of the advantages of assigning at least the alphabetic characters to only four keys is that the user can place each of his 2 fingers (e.g., left and right thumbs) 6915, 6916 on respective columns of two keys (e.g., two keys 6911-. This allows no (or little) finger to be removed from the keys during text entry and thus the user knows which key to press without looking at the keypad. This allows for fast input even when the user is in motion. It will be appreciated that to this end the key sizes, the distances between the keys and other parameters such as the physical properties of the keys may be such that the above process is optimised.

As indicated above, it is understood that other key configurations may be considered as desired. For example, the four keys may be configured in such a way that when the user enters the text using one hand, his fingers are preferably able to contact the four keys simultaneously. Also, different predetermined numbers of keys to which the at least alphabetic characters are assigned may be considered according to different needs.

As described above and shown in the diagram of, for example, FIG. 52, a multi-directional key may be used with the data input system of the present invention. Also, as noted, different numbers of keys, different types/configurations of keys, are contemplated for use in the data entry system of the present invention. Also, as noted, alphabetic letters or text characters of a language may be assigned to, for example, four keys used by the data input system of the present invention. FIG. 69b illustrates an example of an electronic device 6920 having two multi-directional (e.g., four directional, in this example) keys 6927-6928 in which alphabetic characters of a language are assigned to their four sub-keys 6921-6924. The arrangement and use of four keys for data (e.g., text) input on both sides of the electronic device has been described previously and is illustrated by an exemplary diagram such as fig. 63 b.

Device with extendable flexible display unit

As described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a device comprising a flexible display, such as an OLED display, as well as the data input system of the present invention and its features may be provided. Fig. 70a shows an example of a flexible display unit 7000. The display unit may be retracted by, for example, rolling the display unit up on at least one side 7001 of the display unit. The display may be deployed by opening it. Fig. 70b shows an electronic device such as a computer/communication unit 7010 including a flexible display unit 7011. The electronic device may also comprise the data input system of the invention and the key arrangement of the invention. In this example, the device includes two portions 7018 and 7019 on which the keys 7012 and 7013 are disposed. The components of the device are implemented on at least one of the portions 7018, 7019 of the device 7010. The two parts may be connected to each other by wire or wirelessly. Also, at least a portion of the display unit can be disposed (e.g., rolled up) in at least one of the two portions 7018 and 7019 of the device. The two parts of the device may be deployed and retracted relative to each other at a predetermined distance or any distance desired by the user (e.g. the maximum distance may be a function of the maximum length of the display unit). In this example, the two portions are at a modest distance from each other. By unfolding the two parts relative to each other, the display unit may also be unfolded (e.g. by opening). The user may hold each of the two portions 7018 and 7019 in each of his hands and use the keys 7012 and 7013 of each of the portions with the respective hands for entering data into the device 7010 and the display unit 7011, for example, via the data entry system of the present invention. Fig. 70c shows the device 7010 and the display unit 7011 in a more expanded state. Means, such as at least one button, may be used to release and/or secure and/or retract the parts relative to each other. These functions are provided automatically by means such as buttons and/or springs. The functions are known to the person skilled in the art. Fig. 70d shows the device 7010 in a closed state. As mentioned, the device may be a communication device. In this example, the device may be used as a telephone unit. To this end, a microphone 7031 and a speaker 7032 may be arranged within the device (preferably at both ends thereof) such that the distance between the microphone and the speaker corresponds to the mouth and ear of the user. Because the display is a flexible display, it may be fragile. As shown in fig. 70e, to protect the display of the device in the deployed state, the device 7010 may comprise a multi-part, e.g., substantially rigid, component 7041 that also deploys and retracts relative to each other when the two parts of the device are deployed and retracted such that in the deployed state, the parts provide a flat surface on which the display (not shown) may rest. It will be appreciated that the assembly may be of any type and include any form and any retraction/deployment system. Also, the display unit may be retracted/extended by various methods such as a folding/extending or sliding/non-sliding method.

According to one embodiment of the invention, as shown in fig. 70f, an electronic device 7010, such as that just described, may include a print/scan/copy unit (not shown) integral therewith. Although the device may have any width, it is preferred that the design of the electronic device (e.g., having a height of approximately a4 paper in this example) be such that a user can fit a4 paper 7015 for printing document pages, such as edited letters.

Providing a complete solution to a mobile computing/communication device is extremely useful in many situations. For example, a user may draft documents such as letters and immediately print them. Also for example, a salesperson may edit a document such as an invoice and print it for immediate delivery with the customer's consent.

According to another embodiment, a foldable device comprising an expandable display unit and the data input system of the present invention is contemplated. The display may be a flexible display such as an OLED display. Fig. 70g shows the device 7050 in a closed state. Fig. 70h shows the device 7050 comprising the expandable display unit 7051 and the keys 7053 and 7054 of the data input system. The device may have communication capabilities. In this example, a microphone 7055 and a speaker 7056 are provided within the device, preferably each on a different part of the device.

It will be understood that the embodiments and the associated drawings are described and illustrated as examples. Many other embodiments and diagrams in accordance with the principles of the invention may be considered by those skilled in the art. For example, by referring to fig. 70b, when the display unit is unfolded to a desired length, only the unfolded part of the display unit can be used by the apparatus. For example, a system, such as an operating system of the device, can manage and direct the expanded (e.g., expanded) portion output to the display unit. Also, the apparatus may include at least some of the system features described in this application and other patent applications filed by the present inventors.

Attachable/detachable data input unit

As mentioned above, an electronic device, such as a tablet PC, may comprise the data input features of the present invention, such as the inventive key arrangement arranged on the front side of the device, a pointing device arranged on the rear side thereof, wherein the pointing device uses at least one key on the front side of the device, and vice versa. Also as described above, the device may include an extendable microphone/camera extending from the device to the user's mouth. As described and illustrated above, the features may constitute an external data input unit for the device. Fig. 71a shows an example of a detachable data input unit 7100 for an electronic device such as a tablet PC. The unit may comprise two sections 7101-7102, wherein each of the sections comprises keys 7103-7104 of the key arrangement of the present invention for providing signals to the device. In this example, the sections 7101 and 7102 are designed to be connected to both lateral ends of the electronic device. At least one of the parts may comprise a pointing device (e.g. a mouse, not shown), wherein the pointing device may be located in the rear side of the device when the detachable data input unit is connected to the electronic device, and at least one key (e.g. the key configured key) related to the pointing device will be located in the front side of the device, such that a user uses the pointing device simultaneously with at least the same hand, and the at least one related key and/or key configuration arranged on the part. The data input unit also includes an extendable microphone 7105 and/or a camera 7106 disposed within the extendable assembly 7107 for receiving the user's voice. The features of the data input unit of the present invention have been described in detail above. The two parts 7101-7102 of the data input unit are interconnected by means such as a strap (e.g. an elastic strap) so that the unit is fixed to the electronic device. The data input unit is connected to the device by conductor 7108. Which may be connected through, for example, a USB component 7109 connected to a USB port of the electronic device. The data input unit may also be wirelessly connected to the device. Also, the sections 7101, 7102 may be separate sections such that, instead of connecting them to the electronic device for data entry, the user may hold each of them in one hand (e.g., his hand may be in his pocket), for example.

Other connection means for connecting the data input unit to the electronic device may be considered. For example, as shown in FIG. 71b, the device 7100 can include sliding and/or attached/detached components 7111 and 7112 for such purposes.

It will be appreciated that the data input unit may comprise any number of sections. For example, the data input unit may comprise only one part, wherein for example the features just described (e.g. keys of a keypad, a pointing device, etc.) may be integrated with said part.

Fig. 71c shows the data input unit 7100 attached/connected to an electronic device such as a computer (e.g. a tablet PC). As shown, the keys of the data input unit 7103-7104 are located at both ends of the device. The microphone extends towards the user's mouth, while the pointing device 7105 (not shown, here behind or on one side of the device) is arranged on the rear side of the data input unit (e.g. obviously on the rear side of the device). At least one key 7126 corresponding to the pointing device is located on the front side of the data entry unit. It is clear that the pointing device and its corresponding keys can be located at any lateral (e.g. left, right, lower) end. Also, multiple (e.g., two, one on the left and one on the right) pointing and clicking devices may be used, where the multiple pointing and clicking devices may work in conjunction with each other. The user may hold the device with both of his hands and use the keys and the microphone simultaneously for inputting data, such as text, through the data input system of the present invention. The user may also use the pointing device and its corresponding keys simultaneously.

It will be appreciated that the data input unit may also be wirelessly connected to a corresponding device, such as the tablet PC. Also, the pointing device and/or its keys may be located on either side of the electronic device together or separately.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a flexible display unit, for example an OLED display, may be provided such that in the closed state the display unit has the form of a wrist strap which is worn on the wearer's wrist or connected to a wrist strap of a wrist-mounted device and finally connected to the device. Fig. 72a shows an example of a wrist strap 7211 of an electronic device 7210, such as a wrist electronic device, wherein the display unit in a closed state is connected to the strap. Fig. 72b shows the display unit 7215 in a detached state. Fig. 72C shows the display unit 7215 in an open state.

According to one embodiment of the invention, to help the system better distinguish between speech having two symbols, e.g. letters/words/parts of words, with substantially similar pronunciation, at least one different phone set substantially similar to a first symbol of the symbols and less similar to the other symbols may be assigned to the first symbol, so that when the user speaks the first symbol, the chance of recognizing the symbol by the voice recognition system is increased. For example, if the letters "d" and "b" are assigned to the same predetermined interaction with the same key, another similar phone set "t" in addition to the phone set "de" (in this example, the letter "t" is assigned to another key) may also be assigned to the speech for the letter "d". On the other hand, in addition to the phoneme set "yamin", another similar phoneme set "p" is also assigned (in this example, the letter "p" is assigned to another key). The letters "b" and "d" have substantially similar sounds, but the sounds of the letters "t" (phone set "te") and "p" are significantly different. For example, if the user presses the keys corresponding to the letters "b" and "d" and says "d" then the system may incorrectly identify the sound as "t's". In this case, the system will provide the character assigned to the speech associated with the key press and provide the letter "d". It is to be understood that the examples provided herein are merely illustrative of this embodiment. One skilled in the art can consider a variety of configurations and assignments of phones/phone sets to any letter/word/portion of a word according to the principles described.

The systems, features, enhancements, etc. described in this application and other applications filed by the present inventors may be applied to all embodiments of the present invention. Likewise, embodiments of the invention may operate alone or in combination with one or more embodiments of the invention.

Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to alternative embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. It will be appreciated that the illustrations are not necessarily drawn to scale, but that they are merely conceptual in nature.

For example, while a telephone-type keypad is used in the various embodiments to represent the various embodiments of the present invention, it should be apparent that any type of keypad having any type of symbol configuration assigned to the keys of the keypad may be used with embodiments of the present invention.

Since it is not the principle of the data entry system of the invention of an onerous copy, it is mentioned in many paragraphs of this application that one or more symbols, e.g. characters/words/parts/functions of words, etc., may be assigned to (e.g. corresponding) keys (or other objects than keys). It will be appreciated that in accordance with the principles of the data entry system explained in many other embodiments, it is assumed that the symbols are entered by a predetermined interaction with the keys. For example, unless otherwise stated, the symbol may preferably be entered by a predetermined easiest interaction with the key, possibly a single press on the key (as explained in many embodiments of the invention). Also, in many paragraphs, after explaining that symbols (e.g., symbols to be generally spoken) such as letters/phoneme set/character (letter) set/letter string/etc. are assigned to the keys, the principles of the data input system of the present invention for inputting the symbols may not be mentioned again in order to avoid repetition of the principles. It will be appreciated that unless otherwise stated, it is clear that preferably (as explained in many embodiments of the invention) the type of symbol (e.g. the symbol to be spoken) is entered by a corresponding depression on a corresponding key whilst incorporating speech corresponding to the symbol.

It must be noted that in many paragraphs of the present application, the term "character set" or "character-set" has been used to define character strings.

Although in different embodiments of the present invention a voice recognition system has been mentioned or is intended to be used for sensing and recognizing the speech of a user, a lip reading system may be used for sensing and recognizing the speech of the user (and vice versa) in addition to or instead of the voice recognition system.

Claims (14)

1. A word prediction data entry system using a word dictionary, the data entry system comprising:

a plurality of input devices, wherein at least some of the input devices are collectively associated with substantially all letters of an alphabet;

a screen; and

a processor adapted to display on the screen letters input by the action of the letter input device;

wherein the system predicts a first word when a sequence of actions of at least one of the letter input devices corresponds to a desired word and predicts a second word when the same sequence of actions of the letter input devices and additional input information corresponds to one of the letters of the desired word.

2. The word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary according to claim 1, wherein said letters are assigned to four input devices.

3. The word forecast data entry system using word dictionary according to claim 1, wherein said input means is selected from the group of hard keys and soft keys.

4. The word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary according to claim 1, wherein said input device is an area on a sensitive surface.

5. The word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary according to claim 4, wherein said input means is configured as two areas, each of said areas being located on opposite sides of the device from each other.

6. The word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary according to claim 5, wherein said surface is a touch screen.

7. The word forecast data entry system using word dictionary according to claim 1, wherein the input devices to which at least letters are assigned are divided into two groups of input devices, said two groups of input devices being separated by a screen of the apparatus.

8. A word prediction data entry system using a word dictionary, the data entry system comprising:

a plurality of input devices, wherein at least some of the input devices are collectively associated with substantially all letters of an alphabet;

a screen; and

a processor adapted to display on the screen letters input by the action of the letter input device;

wherein the system predicts the first word when a sequence of actions of at least one of the letter input devices corresponds to the desired word, and predicts the second word when the exact letter of the desired word is entered and a sequence of actions of the letter input devices corresponds to at least one of the other letters of the desired word.

9. The word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary according to claim 8, wherein said letters are assigned to four input devices.

10. The word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary according to claim 8, wherein said input means is selected from the group consisting of hard keys and soft keys.

11. The word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary according to claim 8, wherein said input device is an area on a sensitive surface.

12. The word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary according to claim 11, wherein said input means is configured as two areas, each of said areas being located on opposite sides of the device from each other.

13. The word forecast data entry system using a word dictionary according to claim 11, wherein said surface is a touch screen.

14. The word forecast data entry system using word dictionary according to claim 8, wherein at least the input devices to which letters are assigned are divided into two groups of input devices, said two groups of input devices being separated by a screen of the apparatus.