The present invention relates to a method, for facilitating text entry into a data entry area displayed in an image unit related to an electronic device, applied by a processor unit related to said image unit.

PRIOR ART

Text entry by means of virtual keyboards, existing in interfaces provided on a screen by set- top devices or televisions, is delimited by the structure of the remote control unit where the text is entered. Remote control units, used in general, do not comprise all typing characters thereon due to dimension delimitations, and they comprise direction keys for providing movement on the menu, and they comprise various auxiliary keys. Thus, the processes, which request sequential character entry like user name, password, search keywords, are realized by means of movement of the user on a virtual keyboard, which is provided on the screen, by using these direction keys. While these keyboards may comprise alphabetically arranged characters, they may also comprise characters which are in the arrangement of Q or F keyboard. The text entry realized on a data entry area by means of this method requires pluralities of key typing. The text entry methods existing in the present art may be time consuming and difficult.

Moreover, since the process capacities of set-top devices and smart televisions are delimited, the number of key typing, which is required for the user to reach the target character in order to provide the user to be less affected by the delays occurring in the passages between characters, shall be reduced.

As a result, because of all of the abovementioned problems, an improvement is required in the related technical field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system, for eliminating the above mentioned disadvantages and for bringing new advantages to the related technical field. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for text entry where the number of key typing required for text entry is reduced.

Another object of the present invention is to facilitate text entry of the user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide text entry by means of different types of control units.

In order to realize all of the abovementioned objects and the objects which are to be deducted from the detailed description below, the present invention is a method, for facilitating text entry into a data entry area displayed in an image unit related to an electronic device, applied by a processor unit related to said image unit. Accordingly, the improvement of the present invention is that the method comprises the steps of:

a) displaying pluralities of character arrays where each one comprises pluralities of characters and where at least two of them are related to at least two special characters,

b) when a special character is entered through a remote control unit connected to said electronic device in a wireless manner, highlighting at least one of the characters provided in the character array related to this special character and highlighting the character matched with the number of receiving of the special character entry when the same special character entry is received in a sequential manner,

c) eliminating the highlighting of the character which is highlighted when entry is received related to a first direction from said remote control unit and highlighting another character provided in the same character array,

d) eliminating the highlighting of the highlighted character provided in the present character array when entry is received, related to a second direction provided in a different axis from the entry axis related to the first direction, by means of said remote control unit and highlighting of a character provided in another character array,

e) entering the present highlighted character, which is highlighted when an entry command is received from the remote control unit, to the data entry area.

Thus, movement can be realized and character can be entered both using numeric characters and direction keys, and the number of key presses required for reaching the target character is reduced.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, said special characters are numeric characters. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the characters provided in said character array are arranged side by side.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the characters provided in said character array are arranged one below the other.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, each character array comprises different character sub-sets formed by the characters selected from at least one character set. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the other character highlighted in step b is an adjacent character of the present highlighted character in the axis of the first direction.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the other character highlighted in step c is an adjacent character of the present highlighted character in the axis of the first direction.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, step a comprises the following sub-step: i) highlighting the location where the control unit is directed on the screen when an entry with movement control is received which comprises location information where the remote control unit is directed onto the image unit from a remote control unit which can realize movement control. Thus, data entry can be provided by means of a control unit using a third entry method.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, in step b, the character array related to the received special character entry is highlighted.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, in step c, when an entry related to the second direction is received, the highlighting of the character array is eliminated and another character array is highlighted. The present invention is moreover a system, for facilitating text entry into a data entry area displayed in an image unit related to an electronic device, comprising a processor unit related to said image unit. Accordingly, the subject matter system is characterized by comprising pluralities of keys in order to be selected from a key group where the direction keys, numeric keys, color keys and data entry key are provided, and a remote control unit is provided which may send data in a wireless manner by means of said electronic device, wherein the processor unit is configured in a manner realizing the following processes: a) displaying pluralities of character arrays where each one comprises pluralities of characters and at least two of them are related to at least two special characters, b) when a special character entry is received from a remote control unit related to said electronic device in a wireless manner, highlighting at least one of the characters provided in the character array related to this special character and highlighting the character which matches with the receiving number of the special character entry when the same special character entry is received in a sequential manner,

c) highlighting another character provided in the same character array by means of eliminating the highlighting of the highlighted character when the entry related to a first direction is received from said remote control unit,

d) eliminating the highlighting of the highlighted character provided in the present character array when entry related to a second direction, provided at an axis which is different from the entry axis related to the first direction, is received from said remote control unit, and highlighting a character provided in another character array,

e) entering the present highlighted character, which is highlighted when an entry command is received from the remote control unit, to the data entry area. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, in process b, the other highlighted character is an adjacent character of the present highlighted character in the axis of the first direction.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, in process c, the other highlighted character is an adjacent character of the present highlighted character in the axis of the first direction.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the processor unit is moreover configured in a manner realizing the process mentioned below:

after process a,

i) highlighting the location where the control unit is directed on the screen when an entry is received having movement control and comprising location information where the remote control unit is directed on the image unit from a remote control unit which can realize movement control.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, said electronic device is a set-top device (receiver). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In Figure 1 , a representative view of the text entry system is given. In Figure 2, a more detailed representative view of the text entry system is given.

In Figure 3, a representative view of an interface related to a text entry method of the prior art is given. REFERENCE NUMBERS

100 Electronic device

1 10 Processor unit

120 Memory unit

121 Entry processing module

122 Presentation module

123 Selection module

130 Wireless communication interface

140 Image interface

200 Remote control unit

210 Direction keys

220 Numeric keys

230 Transmitter (wireless or infrared)

300 Image unit

400 Text entry interface

410 Character array

41 1 First character array

412 Second character array

413 Third character array

420 Data entry area

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description, the subject matter system and method are explained with references to examples without forming any restrictive effect only in order to make the subject more understandable. With reference to Figure 1 , in an exemplary embodiment, said system comprises an electronic device (100) which provides formation of the user interface in a related image unit (300), and a remote control unit (200) connected to said electronic device (100) in a wireless manner.

The electronic device (100) is a sub-system provided in the television or a set-top device (receiver). Said image unit (300) is a television or a television screen.

Said remote control unit (200) comprises a transmitter (230). In this exemplary embodiment, said transmitter (230) sends command to the electronic device (100) by means of infrared light. In different embodiments, the transmitter (230) can send command to the electronic device (100) by means of radio signals, etc. With reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2, the remote control unit (200) comprises direction keys (210). Said direction keys (210) provide the user to move between the tabs provided in a menu or between characters provided in a screen keyboard. In this embodiment, four direction keys (210) are provided in order to provide two directional movements in each of vertical and horizontal axes with respect to the image unit (300). Said remote control unit (200) moreover comprises numeric keys (220) which provide numeric character entry. Said numeric keys (220) may comprise numbers between 0 and 9 and the signs like "#, ^* ". Said control unit may comprise a processor (not illustrated in the figures) where the entries received from the keys are processed and a memory (not illustrated in the figures) comprising the commands used by this processor in processing these entries.

The electronic device (100) comprises a processor unit (1 10) and a memory unit (120). Said processor unit (1 10) executes the commands recorded in the memory unit (120) and realizes the processes providing text entry. The processor unit (1 10) may be a microprocessor. Said memory unit (120) may be permanent (ROM), temporary (RAM) memories, the combinations of these or the memories derived from these. The electronic device (100) also comprises a wireless communication interface (130). Said wireless communication interface (130) may receive the commands coming from the remote control unit (200). In this exemplary embodiment, the wireless communication interface (130) is an infrared communication interface. In different embodiments, the wireless communication interface (130) may communicate by means of the Bluetooth protocol or may communicate by means of radio waves.

The electronic device (100) may also comprise an image interface (140). Said image interface (140) provides an image output which has a format suitable for the image unit. Said memory unit (120) comprises functional modules formed by commands to be executed by the processor unit (1 10). Accordingly, the memory unit (120) comprises an entry processing module (121 ). Said entry processing module (121 ) processes the entries received by the control unit and determines the processes which are to be realized according to these entries. A presentation module (122) arranges the user interface displayed in the image unit (300) in accordance with the entries received from remote control unit (200). The presentation module (122) may realize this process by means of the process information received from the entry processing module (121 ). For instance, when a direction key (210) is pressed in order to move on the tabs provided in a menu, a pointer provided on the menu of the user interface provides displacement of highlighted area or the pointer-like guide with respect to the entry data. When the entry processing module (121 ) receives entry from the keys assigned for different tasks except the direction keys (210), it may provide realization of the movement process. A selection module (123) provides selection of the items together with the approval entry after the movement and realization of the changes to be made in the user interface after said items are selected. For instance, when selection entry is received for a character, this character is entered to a data entry area (420) provided in the text entry interface (400).

With reference to Figure 2, in order to realize processes like identity authentication, making search, the user may be requested to enter text. The subject matter method provides more rapid text entry when compared with the text entry methods existing in the present art. Moreover, text entry is also provided by means of control units which do not comprise direction keys (210) or numeric keys (220). Accordingly, in the present method, in Figure 2, the text entry interface (400) is displayed on the image unit (300). Said text entry interface (400) comprises character arrays (410) which comprise pluralities of characters. In this exemplary embodiment, said character arrays (410) are provided in numbers equal to the numeric characters or substantially close to the numeric characters. The character arrays (410) comprise different character sub-sets of the character set. The character set of this embodiment comprises at least a section of the alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9). For instance, if the character set comprises Latin letters from A to Z, a character sub-set may comprise the letters from A to D, and another character sub-set may comprise the letters from E to G. The character arrays (410) comprise arranged characters in the form of rows or columns. Each character array (410) is related to a special character. Said special characters are numeric characters in this exemplary embodiment. For instance, as in Figure 2, the first character array (41 1 ) may be related to 1 , the second character array (412) may be related to 2 and the third character array (413) may be related to 3. In this embodiment, special characters are shown together with the character arrays (410). The text entry interface (400) also comprises the data entry area (420) where the approved characters are entered.

When a special character entry is received from the remote control unit (200), the character array (410) related to this special character entry or a character in this character array (410) is highlighted. Said highlighting may be underlining the character, bringing a pointer onto the character, coloring the character with a different color, upsizing the character, etc. In case pluralities of the same special character entry are received from the remote control unit (200) one after the other, the character which matches the number where the special character is received is highlighted, and if any, the highlighting of the present selected character is eliminated. For instance, with reference to Figure 2, when the entry related to "2" special character is received once, "a" character is highlighted. When the entry related to "2" special character is received one after the other two times more when "a" character is selected, the highlighting of "a" character is eliminated, and "c" character is highlighted.

When a direction entry is received in "right" or "left" direction in the horizontal axis with respect to Figure 2, the highlighting of the character which has been highlighted in the present character array (410) is eliminated, and the next or prior character is highlighted. For instance, with reference to Figure 2, while "a" character is highlighted, when the right direction entry is received once, the highlighting of "a" character is removed, and "b" character is highlighted.

When a vertical "upward" or "downward" directional entry is received from the remote control unit (200) is received with respect to Figure 2, the highlighting of the character which has been highlighted in the present character array (410) is eliminated, the character which is in the next lower or next upper character array (410) and which is in the same direction as the present highlighted character is highlighted. For instance, while "a" character is highlighted in the interface in Figure 2, when a downward entry is received, the highlighted of "a" character is eliminated, and "d" character is highlighted.

When a selection command is received from the remote control unit (200), the present highlighted character is selected and it is entered to the data entry area (420). Thus, character selection can be realized by using numeric characters and direction keys (210). This provides the user to select the method which feels comfortable for the user and moreover provides the user to realize rapid passage between the characters with respect to his/her own selection. In a prior art keyboard as in Figure 3, in order to type "AT" and in order to go from "A" character to the "T" character by means of the direction keys (210), 10 key typing is required. After "A" character is entered by means of the subject matter method and the interface used in this method, "8" special character is typed once and "T" character can be arrived or when the downward direction key is pushed 6 times depending on the preference of the user when the user is on "A" character, "T" character can be arrived at. Thus, character entry can be realized by means of control units comprising only numeric character or only direction keys (210). Besides, in a possible embodiment, said electronic device (100) can receive a movement controlled entry, comprising the location information where the remote control unit (200) is directed on the image unit (300), from a remote control unit (200) where movement control can be realized, and accordingly, the location where the control unit is directed on the screen can be highlighted. This location information can be obtained by means of processing of the image taken by a camera (not illustrated in the figure) related to the electronic device (100).

The protection scope of the present invention is set forth in the annexed Claims and cannot be restricted to the illustrative disclosures given above, under the detailed description. It is because a person skilled in the relevant art can obviously produce similar embodiments under the light of the foregoing disclosures, without departing from the main principles of the present invention.