Zhuyin Input Interface on a Device

Abstract

One of a pair of alternate key planes of a virtual keyboard is presented. Each key plane includes a partial set of phonetic symbols from a phonetic alphabet. A first key plane includes a set of initial phonetic symbols. A second key plane includes a set of final phonetic symbols and a set of tone marks. The virtual keyboard automatically switches between the first key plane and the second key plane upon receiving a predetermined set of user input triggers. A sequence of Zhuyin phonetic symbol input is received from a user interface, where the sequence of Zhuyin phonetic symbols represents phonetic spellings of a plurality of Chinese characters. User input to select one of a list of Chinese character combinations is received. The selected Chinese character combination is entered as text input in the user interface.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 at an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface;
 receiving a sequence of Zhuyin symbols input from a user interface presented on the touch-sensitive surface, the sequence of Zhuyin symbols representing phonetic spellings of a plurality of Chinese characters, wherein:
 the user interface comprises a virtual keyboard that includes a first key plane and a second key plane; 
 the first key plane comprises a set of initial phonetic symbols of a Chinese Zhuyin alphabet; 
 the second key plane comprises a set of final phonetic symbols of the Chinese Zhuyin alphabet; and 
 display of the first key plane and display of the second key plane are mutually exclusive; 
 
 presenting a list of Chinese character combinations corresponding to the sequence of Zhuyin symbols; 
 receiving user input to select one of the list of Chinese character combinations; and 
 entering the selected Chinese character combination as text input in the user interface. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without corresponding tone marks for all of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without any corresponding tone marks for any of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without corresponding final phonetic symbols for all of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without any corresponding final phonetic symbols for any of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         6 . An electronic device, comprising:
 a display;   a touch-sensitive surface;   one or more processors;   memory; and   one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:
 receiving a sequence of Zhuyin symbol input from a user interface presented on the touch-sensitive surface, the sequence of Zhuyin symbols representing phonetic spellings of a plurality of Chinese characters, wherein:
 the user interface comprises a virtual keyboard that includes a first key plane and a second key plane; 
 the first key plane comprises a set of initial phonetic symbols of a Chinese Zhuyin alphabet; 
 the second key plane comprises a set of final phonetic symbols of the Chinese Zhuyin alphabet; and 
 display of the first key plane and display of the second key plane are mutually exclusive; 
 
 presenting a list of Chinese character combinations corresponding to the sequence of Zhuyin symbols; 
 receiving user input to select one of the list of Chinese character combinations; and 
 entering the selected Chinese character combination as text input in the user interface. 
   
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without corresponding tone marks for all of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without any corresponding tone marks for any of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without corresponding final phonetic symbols for all of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without any corresponding final phonetic symbols for any of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to:
 receive a sequence of Zhuyin symbol input from a user interface presented on the touch-sensitive surface, the sequence of Zhuyin symbols representing phonetic spellings of a plurality of Chinese characters, wherein:
 the user interface comprises a virtual keyboard that includes a first key plane and a second key plane; 
 the first key plane comprises a set of initial phonetic symbols of a Chinese Zhuyin alphabet; 
 the second key plane comprises a set of final phonetic symbols of the Chinese Zhuyin alphabet; and 
 display of the first key plane and display of the second key plane are mutually exclusive; 
   present a list of Chinese character combinations corresponding to the sequence of Zhuyin symbols;   receive user input to select one of the list of Chinese character combinations; and   enter the selected Chinese character combination as text input in the user interface.   
     
     
         12 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without corresponding tone marks for all of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         13 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without any corresponding tone marks for any of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         14 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without corresponding final phonetic symbols for all of the plurality of Chinese characters. 
     
     
         15 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the sequence of Zhuyin symbols represents phonetic spellings of the plurality of Chinese characters without any corresponding final phonetic symbols for any of the plurality of Chinese characters.