Terminal and method for determining type of input method editor

Abstract

A method for determining an input method editor in a terminal includes detecting a focus on an input field displayed on the terminal, analyzing information of the input field, determining a character type for the input field, setting input method editor corresponding to the determined character type, and outputting the set input method editor. A terminal includes an input detection unit to detect a focus on an input field, and an input method editor providing unit including an information analysis unit to analyze information of the input field, an input method editor determination unit to determine a character type for the input field, a database unit to store data related to the character type corresponding to the input field, and an input method editor output unit to output the input method editor corresponding to the determined character type.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for determining an input method editor in a terminal, comprising:
 detecting a focus on an input field displayed on the terminal;   analyzing information of the input field;   determining a character type for the input field;   setting input method editor corresponding to the determined character type; and   outputting the set input method editor.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining an input type of the input field based on the information of the input field.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information of the input field is in a Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) format. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the character type comprises:
 querying an activity history database to determine whether data related to the character type of the input field is present; and   determining the character type based on the data.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the character type comprises:
 extracting an associated word from the information of the input field;   retrieving data related to the associated word from an associated word database unit; and   determining the character type based on the retrieved data.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the associated word is information that describes or supplements information to be inputted in the input field. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the character type comprises:
 extracting a keyword from the information of the input field;   retrieving data related to the keyword from an associated word database unit; and   determining the type of characters based on the retrieved data.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the keyword is information that provides examples or exemplary format of information to be inputted in the input field. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the character type is based on at least one of information of the input field, a location of the terminal, a webpage or an application of the input field, and a source of the webpage or the application. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the input method editor is set according to a received user input. 
     
     
         11 . A terminal, comprising:
 an input detection unit to detect a focus on an input field; and   an input method editor providing unit, comprising:   an information analysis unit to analyze information of the input field,   an input method editor determination unit to determine a character type for the input field,   a database unit to store data related to the character type corresponding to the input field, and   an input method editor output unit to output the input method editor corresponding to the determined character type.   
     
     
         12 . The terminal of  claim 11 , further comprising an input method editor setting unit to set the input method editor. 
     
     
         13 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the information analysis unit determines an input type of the input field based on the information of the input field. 
     
     
         14 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the information of the input field is in a Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) format. 
     
     
         15 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the database unit comprises:
 an activity history database unit to store previously entered input in the input field; and   an associated word database unit to store at least one of an associated word and a keyword related to the input field.   
     
     
         16 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the input method editor determination unit queries the database unit to determine whether data related to the character type of the input field is present, and determines the character type based on the data. 
     
     
         17 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the input method editor determination unit extracts an associated word from the information of the input field, retrieves data related to the associated word from the database unit, and determines the character type based on the retrieved data. 
     
     
         18 . The terminal of  claim 17 , wherein the associated word includes at least one of a string, title, label, and tag displayed within a reference proximity of the corresponding input field. 
     
     
         19 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the input method editor determination unit extracts a keyword from the information of the input field, retrieves data related to the keyword from the database unit, and determines the character type based on the retrieved data. 
     
     
         20 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the keyword includes at least one of an example of information to be inputted and instructional information. 
     
     
         21 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the keyword is displayed translucently in the input field. 
     
     
         22 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the input method editor determination unit determines the character type based on at least one of information of the input field, a location of the terminal, a webpage or an application of the input field, and a source of the webpage or the application. 
     
     
         23 . The terminal of  claim 11 , wherein the input method editor is set according to a received user input. 
     
     
         24 . A method for determining a type of input method editor in a terminal, comprising:
 detecting a focus on an input field displayed on the terminal;   analyzing information of the input field;   querying an activity history database to determine whether data related to the character type of the input field is present, and performing a first determination process if the data is present;   extracting an associated word from the information of the input field, querying an associated word database unit for data related to the associated word, and performing a second determination process if the queried data is present;   extracting a keyword from the information of the input field, querying the associated word database unit for data related to the keyword, and performing a third determination process if the queried data is present; and   determining the type of input method editor to be outputted based on at least one of the first determination process, the second determination process, and the third determination process.