Fast typing system and method

Abstract

A method of interpreting keypad input includes identifying a first letter of a target word from activation of an initial key, identifying a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of associated keys of the keypad following activation of the initial key, identifying a last letter of the target word from activation of a final key following the non-activating traversal, and then determining the target word based upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters. The method is particularly useful in key input devices sensitive to non-activating finger position above the keys.

1. A method of interpreting keypad input, the method including
 identifying a first letter of a target word from activation of an initial key; 
 identifying a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of associated keys of the keypad following activation of the initial key; 
 identifying a last letter of the target word from activation of a final key following the non-activating traversal; and 
 determining, by a processor associated with the keypad, the target word based upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters, the determining comprising preferentially considering intermediate letters associated with finger traversal direction changes. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  A method of interpreting keypad input, the method including
 identifying a first letter of a target word from activation of an initial key; 
 identifying a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of associated keys of the keypad following activation of the initial key; 
 identifying a last letter of the target word from activation of a final key following the non-activating traversal; and 
 determining, by a processor associated with the keypad, the target word based upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters, wherein determining the target word comprises generating a set of possible words from which the target word is to be selected. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2  including selecting a most probable target word from the set of possible words. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2  wherein the set of possible words contains only words starting with the identified first letter and ending with the identified last letter. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 2  wherein the set of possible words is selected from a list of words stored in memory within a device connected to the keypad. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1  further comprising displaying the target word on a display of a device connected to the keypad. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1  further comprising displaying a word-separation character immediately after displaying the target word. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7  further comprising A method of interpreting keypad input, the method including
 identifying a first letter of a target word from activation of an initial key; 
 identifying a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of associated keys of the keypad following activation of the initial key; 
 identifying a last letter of the target word from activation of a final key following the non-activating traversal; 
 determining, by a processor associated with the keypad, the target word based upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters; 
 displaying a word-separation character immediately after displaying the target word; 
 deleting the word-separation character in response to activation of a key associated with a punctuation character. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1  further comprising A method of interpreting keypad input, the method including
 identifying a first letter of a target word from activation of an initial key; 
 identifying a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of associated keys of the keypad following activation of the initial key; 
 identifying a last letter of the target word from activation of a final key following the non-activating traversal; 
 determining, by a processor associated with the keypad, the target word based upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters; and 
 editing identified letters to remove any of a predetermined set of non-occurring adjacent two letter combinations. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1  wherein determining the target word includes preferentially considering intermediate letters associated with finger traversal direction changes. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10  A method of interpreting keypad input, the method including
 identifying a first letter of a target word from activation of an initial key; 
 identifying a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of associated keys of the keypad following activation of the initial key; 
 identifying a last letter of the target word from activation of a final key following the non-activating traversal; and 
 determining, by a processor associated with the keypad, the target word based upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters, wherein determining the target word includes comprises selecting the target word from a list of words each starting with the identified first letter, containing all intermediate letters associated with finger traversal direction changes, and ending with the identified last letter. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1  wherein identifying any of the first, intermediate or last letters includes comprises sensing an intensity of finger pressure upon an associated region of the keypad. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12  wherein identifying either of the first and last letters includes comprises sensing finger pressure intensity above a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 12  A method of interpreting keypad input, the method including
 identifying a first letter of a target word from activation of an initial key; 
 identifying a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of associated keys of the keypad following activation of the initial key; 
 identifying a last letter of the target word from activation of a final key following the non-activating traversal, wherein identifying any of the first, intermediate or last letters comprises sensing an intensity of finger pressure upon an associated region of the keypad; and 
 determining, by a processor associated with the keypad, the target word based upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters, wherein keys traversed between activation of the initial and final keys during periods of finger pressure intensity below a predetermined threshold are omitted from the set of possible intermediate letters of the target word. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 1  further comprising A method of interpreting keypad input, the method including
 identifying a first letter of a target word from activation of an initial key; 
 identifying a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of associated keys of the keypad following activation of the initial key; 
 identifying a last letter of the target word from activation of a final key following the non-activating traversal; 
 determining, by a processor associated with the keypad, the target word based upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters; and  
 identifying occurrences of duplicate sequential letters in response to a transient change of finger position above an associated region of the keypad. 
 
     
     
       16. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the final key is associated with the last letter of the target word. 
     
     
       17. An input device comprising:
 a keypad defining a set of keys associated with alphanumeric characters; and 
 a processor adapted to:
 identify a first letter of a target word from activation of an initial key; 
 identify a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of associated keys of the keypad following activation of the initial key; 
 identify a last letter of the target word from activation of a final key following the non-activating traversal; and to 
 determine the target word based upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters the determining comprising preferentially considering intermediate letters associated with finger traversal direction changes. 
 
 
     
     
       18. The input device according to  claim 17  wherein the keypad comprises a plurality of spaced apart key structures each associated with a corresponding one of the set of keys. 
     
     
       19. The input device according to  claim 17  wherein the keypad comprises a continuous sheet defining a plurality of discrete key regions each associated with a corresponding one of the set of keys. 
     
     
       20. The input device according to claim 17, wherein the input device is configured to allow a user to enter letters associated with non-adjacent ones of the keys without requiring the user to individually press each of the associated keys. 
     
     
       21. The input device according to claim 17, wherein the processor is further adapted to edit identified letters to remove letters that are unrelated to the target word. 
     
     
       22. A method of interpreting keypad input, the method comprising:
 identifying a first alphanumeric character of a target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of a user's finger within a first region of a keypad,   identifying a set of possible intermediate alphanumeric characters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of the user's finger across other regions of the keypad following the sensed position of the user's finger within the first region;   identifying a last alphanumeric character of the target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of the user's finger within a final region of the keypad following the non-activating traversal; and   determining the target word based, at least in part, on the identified first, intermediate and last alphanumeric characters, the determining comprising preferentially considering intermediate alphanumeric characters associated with finger traversal direction changes;   wherein identifying the first, intermediate and last alphanumeric characters comprises sensing changes in measured capacitance levels at corresponding positions along the keypad.   
     
     
       23. The method of claim 22, wherein each of the first, other, and final regions are each associated with a respective, single letter. 
     
     
       24. The method of claim 22, wherein each of the first, other, and final regions are defined by independently displaceable spaced apart key structures. 
     
     
       25. The method of claim 22, wherein the first, other, and final regions are adjacent regions of a contiguous keypad surface. 
     
     
       26. The method of claim 22, wherein determining the target word comprises generating a set of possible words from which the target word is to be selected. 
     
     
       27. The method of claim 26 including selecting a most probable target word from the set of possible words. 
     
     
       28. The method of claim 26 wherein the set of possible words contains only words starting with the identified first alphanumeric character and ending with the identified last alphanumeric character, wherein the identified first alphanumeric character is a letter and wherein the identified last alphanumeric character is a letter. 
     
     
       29. The method of claim 26 wherein the set of possible words is selected from a list of words stored in memory within a device connected to the keypad. 
     
     
       30. The method of claim 22 further comprising displaying the target word on a display of a device connected to the keypad. 
     
     
       31. The method of claim 22 wherein determining the target word comprises selecting the target word from a list of words each starting with the identified first alphanumeric character, containing all intermediate alphanumeric characters associated with finger traversal direction changes, and ending with the identified last alphanumeric character, wherein the identified first alphanumeric character is a letter, wherein each of the identified intermediate alphanumeric characters is a letter, and wherein the identified last alphanumeric character is a letter. 
     
     
       32. The method of claim 22 wherein determining the target word comprises selecting the target word from a list of words each containing intermediate letters associated with finger traversal direction changes. 
     
     
       33. The method of claim 22, wherein identifying either of the first and last alphanumeric characters comprises sensing a change in measured capacitance levels above a predetermined threshold, and wherein the identified first alphanumeric character is a letter and wherein the identified last alphanumeric character is a letter. 
     
     
       34. The method of claim 22, wherein identifying one or more of the set of possible intermediate alphanumeric characters comprises sensing changes in measured capacitance levels within a predetermined threshold, wherein each alphanumeric character in the set of possible intermediate alphanumeric characters is a letter. 
     
     
       35. The method of claim 22 further comprising eliminating unlikely letter combinations. 
     
     
       36. The method of claim 35 wherein eliminating unlikely letter combinations comprises editing identified letters to remove any of a set of predetermined letter combinations that comprises non-occurring adjacent two letter combinations. 
     
     
       37. The method of claim 22 further comprising eliminating letter combinations that do not exist within a dictionary of a given language associated with the keypad. 
     
     
       38. The method of claim 22 further comprising identifying occurrences of duplicate sequential letters in response to a transient change of finger position above an associated region of the keypad. 
     
     
       39. The method of claim 22, wherein the final region is associated with the last alphanumeric character of the target word, and wherein the last alphanumeric character of the target word is a letter. 
     
     
       40. The method of claim 22, wherein identifying the first alphanumeric character of the target word comprises sensing activation of an initial key region of the keypad, and wherein the first alphanumeric character of the target word is a letter. 
     
     
       41. The method of claim 40, wherein sensing activation of the initial key region comprises sensing a change in a measured capacitance level above a predetermined threshold at a corresponding position along the keypad. 
     
     
       42. The method of claim 22, wherein identifying the final alphanumeric character of the target word comprises sensing activation of a final key region of the keypad, and wherein the final alphanumeric character of the target word is a letter. 
     
     
       43. The method of claim 42, wherein sensing activation of the final key region comprises sensing a change in a measured capacitance level above a predetermined threshold at a corresponding position along the keypad. 
     
     
       44. The method of claim 22, wherein the keypad is configured to allow a user to enter letters associated with non-adjacent regions of the keypad without requiring the user to individually press each of the non-adjacent regions. 
     
     
       45. An input device comprising
 a keypad defining a set of regions associated with alphabetic characters; and   a processor adapted to:
 identify a first letter of a target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of a user's finger within a first region of the keypad; 
 identify a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to non-activating traversal of the user's finger across other regions of the keypad following the sensed position of the user's finger within the first region; 
 identify a last letter of the target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of the user's finger within a final region of the keypad following the non-activating traversal; and 
 determine the target word based, at least in part, upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters, the determining comprising preferentially considering intermediate letters associated with finger traversal direction changes; 
 wherein the processor is adapted to identify the first, intermediate and last letters based, at least in part, on sensed changes in measured capacitance levels at corresponding positions along the keypad. 
   
     
     
       46. The input device of claim 45 wherein the keypad comprises a plurality of spaced apart key structures each defining a corresponding one of the set of regions. 
     
     
       47. The input device of claim 45 wherein the first, other, and final regions are adjacent regions of a contiguous keypad surface. 
     
     
       48. The input device of claim 45, further comprising a capacitive sense matrix disposed beneath the keypad. 
     
     
       49. The input device according to claim 45, wherein the input device is configured to allow a user to enter letters associated with non-adjacent ones of the regions of the keypad without requiring the user to individually press each of the non-adjacent regions. 
     
     
       50. The input device according to claim 45, wherein each of the regions of the keypad is identified by an associated alphabetic character, and wherein the regions are arranged to form a standard keypad layout. 
     
     
       51. The input device according to claim 45, wherein the processor is further adapted to edit identified letters to remove letters that are unrelated to the target word. 
     
     
       52. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the first, intermediate and last letters comprises sensing changes in measured capacitance levels at corresponding positions along a keypad. 
     
     
       53. The method of claim 52, wherein the keypad is configured to allow a user to enter letters associated with non-adjacent regions of the keypad without requiring the user to individually press each of the non-adjacent regions. 
     
     
       54. A method of interpreting keypad input, the method comprising:
 identifying a first letter of a target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of a user's finger within a first region of a keypad,   identifying a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to traversal of the user's finger from the first region across other regions of the keypad, wherein the traversal of the user's finger across the other regions of the keypad comprises traversal of at least one key of the keypad corresponding to a letter that is not in the target word, and wherein the traversal causes a change in capacitance at the region of the keypad in which the at least one key is situated;   identifying a last letter of the target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of the user's finger within a final region of the keypad at the end of the traversal; and   determining the target word based, at least in part, on the identified first, intermediate and last letters;   wherein identifying the first, intermediate and last letters comprises sensing changes in measured capacitance levels at corresponding positions of the keypad.   
     
     
       55. The method of claim 54, wherein the first, other, and final regions each is associated with a respective, single letter. 
     
     
       56. The method of claim 54, wherein each of the first, other, and final regions is defined by an independently displaceable spaced apart key structures. 
     
     
       57. The method of claim 54, wherein the first, other, and final regions are adjacent regions of a contiguous keypad surface. 
     
     
       58. The method of claim 54, wherein determining the target word comprises generating a set of possible words from which the target word is to be selected. 
     
     
       59. The method of claim 58 further comprising selecting a most probable target word from the set of possible words. 
     
     
       60. The method of claim 58 wherein the set of possible words contains only words starting with the identified first letter and ending with the identified last letter. 
     
     
       61. The method of claim 58 wherein the set of possible words is selected from a list of words stored in memory within a device comprising the keypad. 
     
     
       62. The method of claim 54 wherein determining the target word comprises selecting the target word from a list of words each starting with the identified first letter, containing all intermediate letters associated with finger traversal direction changes, and ending with the identified last letter. 
     
     
       63. The method of claim 54 wherein determining the target word comprises selecting the target word from a list of words each containing at least one intermediate letter associated with a finger traversal direction change. 
     
     
       64. The method of claim 54, wherein identifying either of the first and last letters comprises sensing a change in measured capacitance levels above a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
       65. The method of claim 54, wherein identifying one or more of the set of possible intermediate letters comprises sensing changes in measured capacitance levels below a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
       66. The method of claim 54 wherein determining the target word comprises eliminating unlikely letter combinations. 
     
     
       67. The method of claim 66 wherein eliminating unlikely letter combinations comprises editing identified letters to remove any of a set of predetermined letter combinations that comprises non-occurring adjacent two letter combinations. 
     
     
       68. The method of claim 54 wherein determining the target word comprises eliminating letter combinations that do not exist within a dictionary of a given language associated with the keypad. 
     
     
       69. The method of claim 54 further comprising identifying occurrences of duplicate sequential letters in response to a transient change of finger position above an associated region of the keypad. 
     
     
       70. The method of claim 54, wherein the final region is associated with the last letter of the target word. 
     
     
       71. The method of claim 54, wherein identifying the first letter of the target word comprises sensing activation of an initial key region of the keypad. 
     
     
       72. The method of claim 71, wherein sensing activation of the initial key region comprises sensing a change in a measured capacitance level above a predetermined threshold at a corresponding position on the keypad. 
     
     
       73. The method of claim 54, wherein identifying the final letter of the target word comprises sensing activation of a final key region of the keypad. 
     
     
       74. The method of claim 73, wherein sensing activation of the final key region comprises sensing a change in a measured capacitance level above a predetermined threshold at a corresponding position on the keypad. 
     
     
       75. The method of claim 54, wherein the keypad is configured to allow a user to enter letters associated with non-adjacent regions of the keypad without requiring the user to individually press each of the non-adjacent regions. 
     
     
       76. An input device comprising
 a keypad defining a set of regions associated with alphabetic characters; and   a processor adapted to:
 identify a first letter of a target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of a user's finger within a first region of the keypad; 
 identify a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to traversal of the user's finger from the first region across other regions of the keypad, wherein the traversal of the user's finger across the other regions of the keypad comprises traversal of at least one key of the keypad corresponding to a letter that is not in the target word, and wherein the traversal causes a change in capacitance at the region of the keypad in which the at least one key is situated; 
 identify a last letter of the target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of the user's finger within a final region of the keypad at the end of the traversal; and 
 determine the target word based, at least in part, upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters; 
 wherein the processor is adapted to identify the first, intermediate and last letters based, at least in part, on sensed changes in measured capacitance levels at corresponding positions along the keypad. 
   
     
     
       77. The input device of claim 76 wherein the keypad comprises a plurality of spaced apart key structures each defining a corresponding one of the set of regions. 
     
     
       78. The input device of claim 76 wherein the first, other, and final regions are adjacent regions of a contiguous keypad surface. 
     
     
       79. The input device of claim 76, further comprising a capacitive sense matrix. 
     
     
       80. The input device according to claim 76, wherein the input device is configured to allow a user to enter letters associated with non-adjacent ones of the regions of the keypad without requiring the user to individually press each of the non-adjacent regions. 
     
     
       81. The input device according to claim 76, wherein each of the regions of the keypad is identified by an associated alphabetic character, and wherein the regions are arranged to form a standard keypad layout. 
     
     
       82. A processor for use with a keypad defining a set of regions associated with alphabetic characters, the processor being adapted to:
 identify a first letter of a target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of a user's finger within a first region of the keypad;   identify a set of possible intermediate letters of the target word in response to traversal of the user's finger from the first region across other regions of the keypad, wherein the traversal of the user's finger across the other regions of the keypad comprises traversal of at least one key of the keypad corresponding to a letter that is not in the target word, and wherein the traversal causes a change in capacitance at the region of the keypad in which the at least one key is situated;   identify a last letter of the target word based, at least in part, on a sensed position of the user's finger within a final region of the keypad at the end of the traversal; and   determine the target word based, at least in part, upon the identified first, intermediate and last letters;   wherein the processor is adapted to identify the first, intermediate and last letters based, at least in part, on sensed changes in measured capacitance levels at corresponding positions along the keypad; and   wherein the processor is further adapted to edit identified letters to remove letters that are unrelated to the target word.