Text entry device and method

摘要

The present invention is a device for processing text strings by displaying at least two bands of characters of an alphabet, each band having one character designated as the focus character, with the focus character of a first band being highlighted initially, and having a band switching means for switching the highlighted character to the focus character of another band, a character choosing means for switching the highlighted character in a band to a different character in the band, and a character selecting means for selecting the currently highlighted character. The character choosing means and band switching means are typically arrow buttons on a control device and the character selecting means is typically an “enter” button. The invention also includes the corresponding method of entering text strings into a text processing device.

主权项

1. A method for a user to specify a text string, the text string comprising a sequence of characters selected from an alphabet of characters, the method being performed by a processor running software, the method comprising the steps of:
a. generating a display for presentation to a user, the display depicting at least two bands of characters, including a first depicted band; b. for each band, designating one character of the alphabet that is depicted in that band to be a focus character, with the designated focus character of the first depicted band being highlighted initially in the display; c. until a text string submission request from the user is received,
i. if a character switch request is received from the user, removing the highlighting from the highlighted character in the display, and highlighting an adjacent character in the same depicted band as requested by the user,ii. if a band switch request is received from the user, removing the highlighting from the highlighted character in the display, and highlighting the designated focus character in another depicted band as requested by the user,iii. if a character selecting request is received from the user, selecting the highlighted character without altering the highlighting, and appending the selected character to the text string; and d. when a text string submission request is received, submitting the text string to a string processor, wherein only one character is ever highlighted at one time.