Keyboard Typing and Language Assistant Device

DESCRIPTION

Field of invention:

The present invention relates generally to electronic displays, and, in particular, to electronic displays configured to provide typing assistance.

Scope of Prior Art:

Ideally, people should watch their screen to keep track of progress while typing. However, in practice, most people cannot master the skill of “blind typing”, and, instead, watch their keyboards while typing. This creates several issues. By constantly looking away, people only detect mistakes when looking back at the screen to see what had been typed. Furthermore, among those who use a bilingual keyboard, it is very common to type entire sentences in the wrong language before noticing.

Another issue typists face is quickly changing the active typing language. This is typically done via two-button hotkey commands or by clicking a small, hard to see icon on the screen.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure satisfies the foregoing needs by providing, inter aha, a typing assistance system for addressing each of the foregoing desirable traits as well as methods of its use.

The typing assistance system is meant to be used in combination with a computing device having a computing device typing surface, a computing device screen, and computing device memory storing an active typing language, where the active typing language may be selected from a set of languages.

The system includes a manual input component and an electronic display in between the typing surface and the computing device screen. This placement enables a typist to see received key presses and the active typing language without looking away from the typing surface.

Preferably, the system is configured to receive key presses made on the typing surface, display the received key presses on the electronic display, and display the active typing language. Toggling the manual input component causes the active typing language to be changed to a new typing language. The system may be a stand-alone system or integrated into the typing surface. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of preferred variations of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings variations that are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown. In the drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating example physical components of a typing assistance system, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating example physical components of a typing assistance system, according to another embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a typing assistance system as stand-alone system, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a typing assistance system integrated into a keyboard, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a typing assistance system integrated into a laptop, according to an embodiment. FIGs. 6a-6c show various embodiments of a typing assistance system 600 from a side view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Implementations of the present technology will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, which are provided as illustrative examples so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice the technology. Notably, the figures and examples below are not meant to limit the scope of the present disclosure to any single implementation or implementations. Wherever convenient, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to same or like parts.

Moreover, while variations described herein are primarily discussed in the context of a typing assistance system, it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill that the present disclosure is not so limited. In fact, the principles of the present disclosure described herein may be readily applied to other computing -device adjacent systems.

In the present specification, an implementation showing a singular component should not be considered limiting; rather, the disclosure is intended to encompass other implementations including a plurality of the same component, and vice-versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. Further, the present disclosure encompasses present and future known equivalents to the components referred to herein by way of illustration.

It will be recognized that while certain aspects of the technology are described in terms of a specific sequence of steps of a method, these descriptions are only illustrative of the broader methods of the disclosure and may be modified as required by the particular application. Certain steps may be rendered unnecessary or optional under certain circumstances. Additionally, certain steps or functionality may be added to the disclosed implementations, or the order of performance of two or more steps permuted. All such variations are considered to be encompassed within the disclosure disclosed and claimed herein.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing example physical components (e.g. hardware) of a typing assistance system 100. Said embodiment is designed to be used in combination with a computing device 150 having a typing surface 158, a computing device screen 160, and computing device memory 152 storing an active typing language 154, wherein the active typing language 154 may be selected from a language set 156 including at least a first language and a second language. For clarity purposes, not all hardware and software modules necessary for the computing device and its accessories to function are illustrated.

In its basic configuration, the typing assistance system 100 may include at least one processor 102 and memory 114.

The processor 102 executes commands to perform the functions specified in flowcharts and/or block diagram blocks throughout this disclosure. It should be appreciated that processing may be implemented either locally via the processor 102 or remotely via various forms of wireless or wired networking technologies or a combination of both.

The term computer readable media as used herein may include computer storage media. Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, or program modules. The memory 114, the nonremovable storage device 110, and the removable storage device 112 are all computer storage media examples (e.g., memory storage). Computer storage media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other article of manufacture which can be used to store information and which can be accessed by the typing assistance system 100. In some embodiments, such computer storage media may be part of the typing assistance system 100. Computer storage media does not include a carrier wave or other propagated or modulated data signal.

Communication media may be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that has one or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media.

Memory 114 may include various types of short and long-term memory as is known in the art. Memory 114 may be loaded with various applications 116 in the form of computer readable program instructions. These computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Applications 116 may include a keylogger 122, a Tenderer 124, and a tracking application 126, as will be further discussed. Accordingly, memory 114 includes all necessary applications 116 per each embodiment.

The keylogger 122 is configured to continuously receive key presses made on the typing surface 158. Data related to the received key presses, such as, but not limited to, key press identity, key press timing, etc., may be recorded to display data 120.

The Tenderer 124 is configured to draw, continuously or periodically, the content to be displayed on the electronic display 104. Said content may include at least the received key presses and the active typing language. The Tenderer 124 is operative to employ various font technologies such as variable fonts, raster, vector, and TrueType in the rendering processes. The tracking application 126 is configured to track which language is currently selected as the active typing language 154. The tracking application 126 may check, continuously or periodically, the identity of the active typing language 154 in computing device memory 152. If a change is detected, the tracking application 126 may record the new active typing language to display data 120. The selector application 128 is configured to cause the computing device 150 to select a new typing language as the active typing language 154. In embodiments where the typing assistance device 100 is in communication with the computing device 150 but not in communication with the typing surface 158 (such as in FIG. 1), the selector application 128 may transmit, to the computing device 150, instructions, which, when executed by the computing device 150, cause the computing device 150 to select a new typing language as the active typing language 154. In embodiments where the typing assistance device 100 is in communication with the typing surface 158 but not in communication with the computing device 150 (such as in FIG. 2), the selector application 128 may cause the typing surface to transmit, to the computing device 150, instructions, which, when executed by the computing device 150, cause the computing device 150 to select a new typing language as the active typing language 154.

Other applications may provide additional functionality as required per each embodiment.

Memory 114 may further include an operating system 118 and display data 120 as will be further discussed. In certain embodiments, memory 114 may be implemented locally, whereas in other embodiments, memory 114 may be implemented remotely.

The operating system 118 is suitable for controlling the operation of the typing assistance system 100.

Display data 120 is configured to store data related to the content to be displayed on the electronic display 104 including, but not limited to, received key presses and the active typing language. Associated font-resource files used in the rendering processes may be stored in display data 120.

The typing assistance system 110 may further include an electronic display 104, a manual input component 106, and a networking module 108, as will be further discussed.

The electronic display 104 is configured to display data to a user. The electronic display 104 may be a screen in any of the various forms associated with smart devices including, but not limited to, OLED or LCD screens.

The manual input component 106 is configured to enable manual interaction with the typing assistance system 100. The manual input component 106 is any physical part which can be toggled between at least two distinct states, including, but not limited to, a button that can be pressed, a switch that can be flipped, or a dial that can be twisted. In some embodiments, the manual input component 106 is integrated into the electronic display 104 (e.g., a portion of the electronic display 104 is touch-sensitive such that a user can tap it to select a new active typing language). Preferably, toggling the manual input component 106 activates the selector application 128 such that the computing device 150 is caused to select a new typing language as the active typing language. For example, the manual input component 106 is a button and the language set 156 of an associated computing device 150 includes English and Hebrew. Pressing the button causes the active typing language 154 to alternate between English and Hebrew. Alternatively, the manual input component 106 is a switch with three states and the language set 156 of an associated computing device 150 includes English, Hebrew, and Spanish. Moving the switch to the first state causes the active typing language 154 to be English, moving the switch to the second state causes the active typing language 154 to be Hebrew, and moving the switch to the third state causes the active typing language 154 to be Spanish.

The networking module 108 is configured to enable network connectivity among the typing assistance system 100, computing device 150, and typing surface 158. Network connectivity may be achieved through the use of common network infrastructure such as cables, switches, and gateways. Alternatively, network members may communicate according to conventional wireless communication standards including, but not limited to, Bluetooth.

Although the typing assistance system 100 is shown as a separate system in FIGs. 1-2, it should be appreciated that the typing assistance system 100 may be integrated into the computing device 150 or its associated typing surface 158.

In such embodiments, the typing assistance system 100 may lack its own memory, and, instead, use computing device memory 152 to store applications 116 and display data 120. Likewise, the typing assistance system 100 may lack its own processor, and, instead, use the processor (not shown) of the computing device 150 for processing.

FIG. 3 shows a typing assistance system 300 as a stand-alone system, according to an embodiment. The electronic display 304 and the manual input component 306 are integrated into the housing, where the housing is separate from the typing surface 358 and the computing device (not shown). The typing assistance system 300 is placed in between the typing surface 358 and a computing device screen (the computing device screen is not shown but would be positioned behind the typing assistance system).

Preferably, the typing assistance system 300 is positioned near the typing surface 358 such that a typist can see the received key presses 340 and the active typing language 342 without looking away from the typing surface 358. In some embodiments, the typing assistance system 300 includes a fastening mechanism that enables attachment of the typing assistance system 300 to a back end of the typing surface 358. FIG. 4 shows a typing assistance system 400, according to an embodiment. The electronic display 404 and the manual input component 406 are integrated into the keyboard. The electronic display 404 is placed in between the typing surface 458 and a computing device screen (the computing device screen is not shown but would be behind the typing assistance system).

Preferably, the electronic display 404 is positioned near the typing surface 458 such that a typist can see the received key presses 440 and the active typing language 442 without looking away from the typing surface 458.

FIG. 5 shows a typing assistance system 500, according to an embodiment. The electronic display 504 and the manual input component 506 integrated into the laptop. The electronic display 506 is placed in between the typing surface 558 and the computing device screen 560. Preferably, the electronic display 504 is positioned near the typing surface 558 such that a typist can see the received key presses 540 and the active typing language 542 without looking away from the typing surface 558.

FIGs. 6a-6c show various embodiments of a typing assistance system 600 from a side view. The typing assistance system 600 is a stand-alone system positioned in between typing surface 658 and a computing device screen (the computing device screen is not shown but would be positioned to the left of the of the typing assistance system).

In FIG. 6a, the angle (a) of the electronic display 604 is equal to the angle (P) of the typing surface 658. In FIG. 6b, the angle (a) of the electronic display 604 is greater than the angle ( ) of the typing surface 658. In FIG. 6c, the angle the angle (a) of the electronic display 604 is adjustable such that the electronic display 604 is directly facing a typist’s line of sight.

While the present invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, in both summarized and detailed forms, it is not intended that these descriptions in any way limit its scope to any such embodiments and applications, and it will be understood that many substitutions, changes, and variations in the described embodiments, applications and details of the method and system illustrated herein and of their operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this invention.