Patent US1852191A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent US6043760A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
← Back to Patent Explorer
US6043760A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Language-dependent letter input by means of number keys

Assignee: Ironworks Patents LLC
•
Filing: 1998-02-02
•
Granted: 2000-03-28
•
Expires: 2018-02-02
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract In an apparatus with a limited keypad (100, 300) several characters can be associated with each key. Characters associated with a key are determined on the basis of the language selected (200) as the operating language of the apparatus. The apparatus comprises a memory element (302) which includes a certain part (302a) for storing information indicating which set of the possible characters entered as push-button commands is in use as well as character set tables (302b-n) for selectively associating certain characters with each key on the basis of the information in said part (302a).

Inventors

  • 👤 Kimmo Laakkonen

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-28 15:22
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F3/00; G06F3/01; G06F3/02; H; H03; H03M; H03M11/00; H03M11/02; H03M11/04; H03M11/06

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim 94 words
A method for producing character input in a portable terminal of a cellular radio system, the portable terminal having a numeric keypad (100, 300), characterised in that it comprises the steps of: (a) producing information (200) concerning which set of the possible characters entered as push-button commands is in use; (b) associating each key in the numeric keypad with a certain subset of characters belonging to the selected set of characters; (c) selecting a key associated with the desired subset of characters; and (d) pressing the key successively until the desired character is produced.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 94 words
A method for producing character input in a portable terminal of a cellular radio system, the portable terminal having a numeric keypad (100, 300), characterised in that it comprises the steps of: (a) producing information (200) concerning which set of the possible characters entered as push-button commands is in use; (b) associating each key in the numeric keypad with a certain subset of characters belonging to the selected set of characters; (c) selecting a key associated with the desired subset of characters; and (d) pressing the key successively until the desired character is produced.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 45 words
The method of claim 1, characterised in that in response to n successive presses of a key (203a-203f, 204a-204f) a character input is produced (205a-205f, 206a-206f) the ordinal number of which in the list of characters associated with the key in question corresponds to n.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 46 words
The method of claim 2, characterised in that a character input is produced the ordinal number of which in the list of characters associated with the key in question is [(n-1) mod m]+1, where m is the number of characters associated with the key in question.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 60 words
The method of claim 2, characterised in that a character input is produced which consists of (n-1) div m instances of the last character in the list of characters associated with the key in question and, in addition, the character the ordinal number of which in the list of characters associated with the key in question is [(n-1) mod m]+1.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 53 words
The method of claim 1, characterised in that said information indicating which set of the possible characters entered as push-button commands is in use, is the same as information about the operating language of the apparatus, whereby the characters that belong to the alphabet of the operating language of the apparatus are used.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 57 words
The method of claim 5, characterised in that it comprises stages for selecting an operating language, where the available languages are presented to the user in the form of a menu, and in response to an activation command issued by the user the language to which the activation command is directed is set as the operating language.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 36 words
The method of claim 1, characterised in that the subsets of characters of the selected character set that are associated with the individual keys are arranged into lists in which the characters are in alphabetical order.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 49 words
The method of claim 1, characterised in that the subsets of characters of the selected character set that are associated with the individual keys are arranged into lists in which the characters are in the order determined by the statistical frequency of use, the most frequently used character first.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 86 words
The method of claim 1, characterised in that in response to a press of a key the characters associated with that key and the cursor are displayed, in response to presses of arrow keys indicating the direction of movement of the cursor said cursor is moved on the display, and in response to a press of an acceptance key a character input is produced consisting of the character at which the cursor is located on the display at the moment when the acceptance key is pressed.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 92 words
A portable terminal of a cellular radio system equipped with a keypad (300) and including an electronic circuit (301) for converting presses of numeric keys into character inputs, characterised in that it comprises in connection with the electronic circuit a memory element (302) which includes a certain part (302a) for storing information indicating which set of the possible characters entered as successive push-button commands is in use as well as character set tables (302b-n) for selectively associating certain characters with each key on the basis of the information in said part (302a).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 92 words
A portable terminal of a cellular radio system equipped with a keypad (300) and including an electronic circuit (301) for converting presses of numeric keys into character inputs, characterised in that it comprises in connection with the electronic circuit a memory element (302) which includes a certain part (302a) for storing information indicating which set of the possible characters entered as successive push-button commands is in use as well as character set tables (302b-n) for selectively associating certain characters with each key on the basis of the information in said part (302a).

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 2003-03-28 2003-09-27 2004-03-28 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2007-03-28 2007-09-27 2008-03-28 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2011-03-28 2011-09-27 2012-03-28 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag