Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Kazuhide Oigo

Takeshi Tanaka

Liang Jeff Chen

Yasuhiko Mori

Juan Dai

Taketoshi Yoshida

Jerome Joseph Turner

Shinji Morimitsu

Songming Ho

William Arthur Steward Buxton

Eric Matthew Bell

In a mobile device, the strings that make up a current thread in application are stored in a buffer. A thread is a series of communications sent between a user of the mobile device and one or more other users, such as a series of text messages or a series of emails. When the user enters text to continue the current thread, characters of the entered text are compared against the strings stored in the buffer, and strings that have the entered text as a prefix are selected and displayed to the user as string predictions in a soft input panel. Alternatively, the strings in the buffer may be used to increase the probabilities of matching strings in a dictionary or model that is used to select string predictions.

String predictions from buffer

A user interface suited for use on mobile devices for entering characters which may require one or more modifiers is disclosed. The interface may be implemented utilizing a touch screen interface on which a user engages the interface, is provided feedback, and removes the user's touch to enter a character. The interface presents a series of main, supplemental and modifier keys. Touching an interface button or main key presents a series of 'petals' or supplemental keys emanating from the main key. Each petal or supplemental key may in turn present one or more sub petals or modifier keys emanating from the supplemental key. Each petal or sub-petal may represent another character or a modifier action. The characters and/or actions on the supplemental keys and modifier keys provide options for characters or modifiers which are dependent or related to the main input key.

User character input interface with modifier support

Growing community of inventors

Yamato, Japan

Kazuhide Oigo