JP2003076474A - Input device and storage medium storing program for it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input device having a function to automatically fix a letter inputted by a key after a predetermined time. SOLUTION: This input device comprises a key input section KY having plural keys for inputting letters, a display section DIS for sequentially displaying the letter input by the letter key, a timer 4 for outputting an elapsed time after the key operation, a memory 5 for storing a waiting time for automatically fixing the letter input by the letter key, a comparison section 6 for comprising the output of the timer 4 and the waiting time, and a control section 8 for automatically fixing the input letter according to the comparison and sequentially displaying the letter following the key operation on the display section DIS according to information regarding the operated key.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an input device having a function of automatically deciding a character input by a key after a predetermined waiting time from the key operation, and an operating device for operating the input device. The present invention relates to a recording medium recording a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, there are many devices for inputting characters using keys, but the number of keys tends to be limited because miniaturization is prioritized depending on the type of device, such as a mobile phone. Along with this, the role of one key is diversified, and the key operation is becoming complicated. For example, there is a case where an operation for confirming a character input by key operation is required. On the other hand, it is necessary to take into consideration the request that the time required to fix a character from key operation should be short. In such a situation, conventionally, the confirmation of a character has depended exclusively on the user's key operation.

On the other hand, the following proposals have been made. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-183365 has a time measuring means for measuring a time interval of key input, and detects a portion having a long key input time interval from a character string key input,
Disclosed is an input device that determines a detected portion as a phrase and uses it for character conversion. Also, JP-A-59-135
Japanese Patent No. 531 is provided with a discriminating means for discriminating a specific character sequence keyed in, and only for a predetermined phrase,
It discloses an input device that automatically adds a punctuation mark, a question mark, an exclamation mark, etc. after the phrase after a lapse of a certain time from the key-in. Further, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 3-25931 provides a detection means for detecting an operation time length during which a key switch to which a plurality of characters or the like are assigned is operated, and depending on the difference in the time length during which the key switch is pressed, An input device is disclosed which selects one of the characters assigned to the key switch and performs an input process.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a character input from a key after a predetermined waiting time has elapsed from the key operation. An object of the present invention is to provide an input device having a function of automatically confirming it, and a recording medium recording a program for operating the input device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 outputs a key input section having a plurality of keys for inputting characters and an elapsed time from key operation. A timer, a memory that stores a waiting time for automatically confirming a character input by the key, a comparing unit that compares the output of the timer with the waiting time, and a memory that stores the waiting time according to the result of the comparison. An input device, comprising: a control unit that automatically determines a character input from a key.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a key table section for storing key information about each of the keys and a display section for displaying a character input from the operated key are further provided. Yes, the control unit reads out the key information about the operated key from the key table unit, and sequentially displays characters on the display unit according to the operation of the key according to the read key information. It is something that can be done.

According to the invention of claim 3, the waiting time can be set in the memory.
The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that the memory is operable to set the waiting time for each of the keys.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the memory can set an adoption flag for each of the keys, the adoption flag indicating whether or not to operate the control unit when the key is operated. The flag state can be stored.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention, a buzzer operated by the control unit when a character input from the key is automatically determined, and the control when the character input from the key is automatically determined. At least one of an LED operated by the unit and a motor operated by the control unit when a character input from the key is automatically determined.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the memory, a flag indicating whether to operate the buzzer, the LED, or the motor when a character input from the key is automatically confirmed, respectively. The key is stored in the memory.

An eighth aspect of the present invention provides a computer-readable recording medium characterized by recording a program for causing a computer to function as the input device according to the first to seventh aspects.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an input device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
It is an external view of the information equipment provided with the input device which concerns on this invention. As shown in the figure, the input device has a key unit KY and a display unit DIS. The key portion KY is for inputting characters including numbers, kana characters, letters and symbols, character keys such as key 1 and key 2, numeral mode for inputting numbers from each character key, and kana input. Input mode switching key MODE for selecting either the kana mode for inputting or the alphabetic mode for inputting alphabetic characters, and the menu key MEN for selecting the operating conditions of the input device.
U, a cursor key 3 for moving the cursor left and right and up and down is arranged on the display DIS. The cursor keys 3 are, as shown, a left key 31 for moving the cursor to the left, a right key 32 for moving the cursor to the right,
It consists of four keys, an up key 33 for moving up and a down key 34 for moving down. Display DIS
Displays characters input from any of the character keys in input order. In addition, regarding the character key, the number or symbol displayed on the key surface will be referred to as the name of the key hereinafter. For example, the key displaying the number 1 is "key 1".
Called.

Each character key arranged in the key portion KY has
Characters that can be input in the number mode, the kana mode, and the alphabet mode are assigned in advance. In the numeric mode, each letter key is used to input the number displayed on the key surface, and in the kana mode, each letter key is displayed below the letter key in the “A” to “W” lines. It is used to input pre-assigned characters, including the characters contained in different rows, in sequence and cyclically for each operation (eg, depression) of a character key. Similarly, in alphabetic mode, each letter key is used to enter pre-assigned letters, including the letters displayed above it, in sequence and cyclically for each letter key operation. Which of numeric characters, kana, and alphabetic characters can be input from each character key is determined by the mode switching key MODE.

For example, the character key 2 is used to input the numeral 2 in the numeric mode, and in the kana mode.
Each time the key is pressed, the characters from “ka” to “ko” included in the “ka” line are changed to “ka”, “ki”, “ku”, “ke”,
It is used to input in sequence and cyclically, such as "ko", "ka", .... In the alphabet mode, press the key once to "A", press it again to " It is used to sequentially and cyclically use candidates of alphabetic characters such as "B", "C" when the button is pressed once more, and "A" when the button is pressed further. Thus, when the character to be confirmed is displayed on the display unit DIS among the characters sequentially displayed on the display unit DIS each time the character key is operated,
When the user waits for a predetermined time or more until the next key operation, that is, when a predetermined waiting time elapses, the character displayed on the display unit DIS is automatically determined. This will be described later.

In addition to the function of moving the cursor as described above, the cursor key 3 has been conventionally used for character confirmation. For example, when using the character key 2 to continuously input the characters of the line assigned to the character key, such as "Oki", conventionally, after pressing the key 2 once to display "ka", In order to confirm the displayed character, it was necessary to depress the rightmost cursor key among the cursor keys 3. Because "ka" and "ki" are assigned to the same character key 2, when the cursor key 3 is not operated, "ka",
This is because the kana of the “ka” line is only displayed in order, such as “ki”, “ku”, “ke”, “ko”, “ka”, ... On the other hand, the present invention eliminates the need for the character confirmation operation by the cursor keys 3 and monitors the time from one key operation to the next key operation, and when this time is longer than the predetermined waiting time, the display is performed. A process of confirming the character displayed in the section DIS is performed.

The configuration and operation of the input device shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail below. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a system configuration of the input device of FIG. 2, the input device includes a display unit DIS, a key unit KY, a timer 4, a memory 5, a comparison unit 6, a key table unit 7, a control unit 8, a buzzer 9, an LED 10, a motor. And 11.

As described above, in the key portion KY, character keys for inputting desired characters and control keys for inputting information necessary for setting various conditions are arranged, and any one of the key portions KY is arranged. When the character key is operated, the control unit 8 detects that the character key is operated, reads the key information about the key from the key table unit 7, and displays it on the display unit DIS.
To display. This operation is performed every time the character key is operated, and the characters are sequentially displayed on the display unit DIS. When detecting that the character key of the key portion KY is operated, the control portion 8 activates the timer 4 to measure the elapsed time after the key operation. The output of the timer 4 is given to the comparison unit 6.

The memory 5 has a waiting time for automatically confirming the characters displayed on the display DIS, an adoption flag indicating whether or not to use the automatic confirmation function, and a buzzer indicating that the characters are automatically confirmed. 9, a sound flag indicating whether or not to notify, a light flag indicating whether or not to notify by LED10 that a character is automatically determined, and whether or not to notify by motor 11 that a character is automatically determined. The state of the vibration flag is stored. To do this, the user first selects the required operating conditions using the menu key MENU and then writes the waiting time and flag information in the memory 5 using the letter keys. The waiting time as a default value may be written in the memory 5.

The comparison unit 6 compares the waiting time stored in the memory 5 with the output of the timer 4, and when the waiting time has passed, notifies the control unit 8 to that effect. In response to this,
The control unit 8 receives the last input (therefore, the display unit DI
The character displayed on the rightmost side in a certain line of S) is determined, and the characters that can be input thereafter are managed.

The key table section 7 stores all information about each key arranged in the key section KY, that is, information about a character assigned to each key in the numeric mode, the kana mode and the alphabet mode. . This will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

Buzzer 9, LED 10 and motor 11
Is a sound flag written in the memory 5 to notify or not notify that the automatic confirmation of characters has been performed.
According to the states of the light flag and the vibration flag, the control unit 8
Respectively operated under the control of.

As can be understood from the above description, the control unit 8 controls the operation of the other components of the input device. For example, the control unit 8 reads information about the operated character key from the key table unit 7. Output to the display unit DIS, the timer 4 is initialized or counted up when the character keys are operated, the waiting time and various flag information are written to the memory 5, the memory 5
Controls such as a process of reading the waiting time and various flag information from the device and a process of operating the buzzer 9, the LED 10, and the motor 11 are performed.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the key information table T1 written in the key table section 7 shown in FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 3, 12 arranged in the key portion KY
Characters that can be input in the number mode, the kana mode, and the alphabet mode are assigned to the respective character keys, and the key table portion 7 is input from each character key in the number mode, the kana mode, and the alphabet mode. Information representing possible characters is stored in the form of a key information table T1. The characters that can be input in the numeric mode correspond to the character keys in a one-to-one manner. In the kana mode, for example, each time the character key 1 (FIG. 1) is pressed, "A"
"U", "E", "O", "A", "I", "U",
The characters that can be input are repeatedly displayed in this order on the display unit DIS, such as “e”, “o”, “a”, ... In the alphabet mode, for example, in the numeric mode, “ Each time you press the key that "1" is entered,
"@", ".", "_", "-", ",", "/",
Inputable character candidates are sequentially and repeatedly displayed, such as “<”, “>”, “:”, “@”, ...
A desired character can be automatically determined from the characters thus displayed.

In FIG. 3, the blank indicates that there is no assigned character, and "(line feed)" is the key #
Indicates that it is operated when a line feed is performed in the kana mode and the alphabet mode.

A control procedure for automatically confirming characters in the input device shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step a1, it is determined whether or not a character key has been operated, that is, a character has been input. If not, the process of step a1 is executed again. In this way, the process of step a1 is repeated until the character key is operated. When it is determined in step a1 that the character key has been operated, the control unit 8 causes the display unit DIS to display the character input by the character key, and the timer 4 is initialized in step a2. That is, the value of the timer 4 is set to 0. Then, in step a3,
The waiting time stored in the memory 5 is read into the comparison register in the comparison unit 6, and the value of the timer is compared with the value of the comparison register in step a4.

During the period when it is determined in step a4 that the value of the comparison register is larger than the value of the timer 4,
That is, while the predetermined waiting time has not yet elapsed, it is determined in step a5 whether or not a new character key has been operated, and if a new character key has been operated, the process proceeds. Return to step a2, step a3
~ A5 is repeated. However, if a new character key has not been operated in step a5, the process proceeds to step a6 and after counting up the timer 4,
Returning again to step a4, the value of the timer 4 is compared with the value of the comparison register to determine whether or not a new character key is operated within a predetermined waiting time. As a result of this comparison,
When it is determined that the value of the timer 4 is larger than the value of the comparison register, that is, when the waiting time elapses before the next key operation is performed, the process proceeds to step a7.
Then, the process is terminated after the last input character displayed on the display DIS is automatically determined.

FIG. 5 shows a specific example of how the characters are automatically determined according to the control procedure shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the waiting time stored in the memory 5 is “0.5”, the value “0.5” is read in the comparison register of the comparison unit 6, and the input device is set to the kana mode. Be present. When the key 1 (FIG. 1) is operated in this state, the timer 4 is initialized to "0.
The character "A" is displayed on the display unit DIS. After that, the timer 4 counts up until a new key operation is performed, and at each count-up,
The value of the comparison register in the comparison unit 6 is compared. As a result, when it is determined that the value of the timer 4 becomes larger than the value of the comparison register, that is, when the value of the timer 4 becomes “0.6”, it is displayed on the display unit DIS at that time. The character "A" is automatically confirmed, and the cursor moves to the character position to the right of the character "A". After that, when the same character key is operated, the timer 4 has the initial value "0.0".
Is reset, and the character string "Oh" is displayed on the display unit DIS. In this character string, the character "a" on the left side is a character that has already been automatically determined, and the character "a" on the right side is a character candidate. Therefore, if the same character key is operated again before the value of timer 4 reaches 0.5, timer 4 is reset to "0.0" and the character candidate "A" is replaced with the next character candidate "I". The character string "ai" is displayed on the display unit DIS.

As described above, the timer 4 is reset to the initial value "0.0" each time a character key is pressed, and then counts up until a new key operation is performed, and the value of the timer 4 is compared with the comparison unit. When the value of the comparison register 6 is exceeded, the character is automatically determined. In FIG. 5, the timer 4 has been described as incrementing by “0.1”, but the value of “0.1” is for convenience, and in actual internal processing, finer setting and counting are performed. Up is done.

The automatic confirming process of the present invention is characterized by simplifying the conventional character confirming operation, particularly the key operation for confirming the input of different characters by the same character key. FIG. 6 shows an example of a conventional key operation procedure (left column) for inputting the character string “up” and a key operation procedure in the automatic confirmation process (center column) according to the present invention. As can be seen from the left and center columns of FIG.
In the conventional key operation procedure, when successively inputting characters assigned to the same key such as "up", it is necessary to operate the cursor key 3 in the middle to confirm the characters. Because "u" and "e" are assigned to the same key, even if you keep pressing the key without pressing cursor key 3, "a", "i", "u", "e", "o" ,
Kana candidates are only displayed in order, such as "a" .... On the other hand, in the present invention, after the character to be automatically confirmed is input, the next key operation can be automatically confirmed by waiting for a predetermined waiting time, so that the operation of the cursor key 3 is troublesome. Can be removed.

Here, a general control procedure for writing the waiting time in the memory 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. First, in step b1 of FIG. 7, after operating the menu key MENU (FIG. 1) to put the input device in the waiting time setting state, the desired waiting time is input using the character keys of the key portion KY. In step b1, it is determined whether or not this input work is completed. If not completed, the process in step b1 is executed again. In this way, the process of step b1 is repeated until the waiting time setting work is completed. When the waiting time setting operation is completed in step b1, the waiting time set in step b1 is written in the memory 5 in step b2, and the process is completed.

In this way, as a result of the processing shown in FIG.
A desired waiting time can be written in the memory 5. In FIG. 8, the wait times “0.5” and “1.
This indicates that "0" or "0.3" is set. Normally, the interval between key operations when the same key is operated continuously is about 0.2 seconds, but naturally there are individual differences in this. A user who has a fast key operation speed can select "0.
By setting a short waiting time such as “3”, it is possible to shorten the time until automatic input and realize smooth character confirmation. On the contrary, users with slow key operation speed set a long waiting time. As a result, it is possible to prevent characters that are not intended by the user from being automatically determined during normal key operations.

By performing the control procedure shown in FIG. 7 for each character key, the waiting time can be set for each character key in the input device shown in FIG. At the same time, by setting the input device to a desired input mode by using the mode switching key MODE (FIG. 2), even if the same character key is operated, the kana mode and the alphabet mode can have different waiting times. it can. A control procedure for realizing such processing is shown in FIG. In the figure, first, in step c1, after setting the input device to the kana mode,
Specify the character key for which you want to set the waiting time. Next, in step c2, it is determined whether or not the waiting time input work is completed. The input work at this time is the same as step b1 in FIG. If it is determined in step c2 that the input work is not completed, the process of step c2 is executed again. In this way, the process of step c2 is repeated until the waiting time input work is completed. When it is determined that the input work is completed in step c2, the waiting time input in step c2 is written in the memory 5 in step c3, and the process is ended.

As a result of performing the processing of FIG. 9 in each of the character keys in the kana mode and the alphabet mode,
As shown in 0, a waiting time table T2 that correlates the character keys to be automatically confirmed, the characters input from each character key, and the waiting time until the automatic confirmation function is executed for those characters, respectively. Stored in the memory 5. For example, in the case of the character key 1, the waiting time is set to 0.3 in the kana mode, and the waiting time is set to 1.0 in the alphabetic mode. Generally, for characters such as the Japanese syllabary and simple alphabet that do not require much visual confirmation and you can think of what is displayed depending on the number of times you press the character key, the set time Is shorter, and it is good to set a little longer setting time for a little difficult to understand alphabets. Also, for symbols that need to be visually confirmed, it is preferable to set a long setting time in order to avoid automatic input during confirmation. In this way, you can set the waiting time that matches the character or symbol entered from each character key,
A smoother key operation is realized.

In this way, when the waiting time is set for each character key and each input mode, the automatic confirmation processing is performed according to steps d1 to d7 of the control procedure shown in FIG. This control procedure is basically the same as the control procedure shown in FIG. 4, but in FIG. 4, only the process of reading the waiting time stored in the memory 5 into the comparison register is performed in step a3. In contrast, FIG.
In step d3, the waiting time for the operated character key is selected from the waiting times stored in the waiting time table T2 of FIG. 10 depending on whether the input device is in the kana mode or the alphabet mode at that time. The difference is that the process of reading the time and reading it into the comparison register is performed.

Hereinafter, FIG. 11 will be described. First, in step d1, it is determined whether or not the character key has been operated, and if not, the process of step d1 is executed again. In this way, the process of step d1 is repeated until the key operation is performed. If it is determined in step d1 that the character key has been operated, the process proceeds to step d.
Proceed to 2 to initialize the timer 4. That is, the value of the timer 4 is set to "0.0". Next, in step d3, from the waiting time table T2 of the memory 5, among the waiting times of the character keys operated in step d1, the values corresponding to whether the input device is in the kana mode or the alphabet mode at that time are compared. The value is read into the comparison register of the section 6, and then, in step d4, the value of the timer 4 is compared with the value of the comparison register.

During the period when the value of the comparison register is larger than the value of the timer 4, it is monitored in step d5 whether or not a new key operation is performed, and if the operation is performed, the process proceeds to step d2. The process returns to step d3. At this time, in step d3, the waiting time set for the character key newly operated in step d5 is read from the waiting time stored in the memory 5 into the comparison register. In this way, the character candidates are successively displayed on the display unit DIS. When a character to be automatically confirmed is displayed, the process waits for a predetermined time. That is, a new character key is not operated (N in step d5).
o), proceeding to step d6, the timer 4 is counted up. In this way, when the value of the timer 4 becomes larger than the value of the comparison register (Yes in step d4), in step d7, the corresponding character is automatically determined and the process ends.

Whether or not to use the automatic confirmation function described above can be set for each character key and each input mode. The control procedure for realizing this is shown in FIG.
Will be described. First, the input device is set to the adoption flag setting state by using the menu key MENU, and in step e1, a character key for setting whether or not to use the automatic confirmation function is specified, and then in step e2, the setting is performed. Whether or not the work is completed is monitored, and if not completed, the process of step e2 is executed again. In this way, the process of step e2 is repeated until the setting work is completed. When it is determined in step e2 that the setting work is completed, the process proceeds to step e3, and it is determined whether or not the automatic confirmation function is used for the character key designated in step e1. Here, if the automatic confirmation function is set to be used, the adoption flag is set to 1 in step e4, and if it is not used, the adoption flag is set to 0 in step e5 and the process is executed. Finish.

The result of the processing of FIG. 12 is the memory 5
Written in. FIG. 13 shows an example of the adoption flag table T3 written in the memory 5 when the processing in FIG. 12 is completed. Adoption flag table T
3 is the characters that can be entered from each character key in the kana mode and the alphabet mode, the waiting time set for each character, and the adoption flag set to 1 or 0 for each character group. It indicates whether or not. In the adoption flag table T3 shown in FIG. 13, for the character keys 1 to 9, the adoption flag is set to 1 in the kana mode to adopt the automatic confirmation function, and the key * and the key 0.
Indicates that it is not subject to automatic confirmation in the kana mode, that is, automatic confirmation is not executed for those keys in the kana mode. This adopts the automatic input function for character keys that require less visual confirmation, such as the Japanese syllabary and the alphabet, and for character keys that require visual confirmation, such as symbols,
This is because it is preferable to set the automatic input function to not be adopted in order to avoid automatic input during confirmation. As described above, since the setting suitable for each character key can be performed, a smoother key operation can be realized.

As can be understood from the above description, the time for automatic confirmation can be set for each character key and each input mode by the processing procedure of FIG. 9, and for each character key by the processing procedure shown in FIG. Also, the adoption or non-adoption of the automatic confirmation function can be set for each input mode. FIG. 14 shows what kind of control procedure is used to automatically determine the character keys when the character keys are operated with these settings. Step f1 in the processing procedure of FIG.
The steps f8 to f8 are basically the same as the processing procedure of FIG. 11, but in FIG. 14, after it is determined in step f1 that the character key has been operated, in step f2, the operated character key is Whether or not the adoption flag is set to 1 is determined, and only when the adoption flag is set to 1, that is, only for the character key that is the target of the automatic confirmation function, the automatic confirmation after step f3 is performed. The difference is that processing is performed.

This will be described with reference to FIG.
In step f1, it is determined whether or not the character key is operated, and if it is not operated, the process of step f1 is executed again. In this way, the process of step f1 is repeated until the key operation is performed. When it is determined in step f1 that the character key has been operated, it is determined in step f2 whether 1 is set in the adoption flag of the character key operated in step f1.
If the adoption flag is not set, that is, if the adoption flag is set to 0, it is determined that the character key operated in step f1 is not the target of automatic confirmation, and the process returns to step f1.

On the other hand, if the adoption flag is set to 1 in step f2, that is, if the adoption flag is set, the timer 4 is reset or initialized in step f3, and the value of the timer 4 is "0.0". To be Next, in step f4, from the waiting time table T2 written in the memory 5 by the processing procedure of FIG. 9, depending on whether the input device is in the kana mode or the alphabet mode at that time, The waiting time of the character key operated in f1 is read and written in the comparison register, and the value of the timer 4 is compared with the value of the comparison register in step f5.

As a result of the comparison in step f5, during the period when the value of the comparison register is larger than the value of the timer 4, that is, when the waiting time for automatic confirmation has not elapsed, at step f6, It is determined whether or not a new character key has been operated, and when it is determined in step f6 that no key operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step f7.
In step f6, it is monitored whether or not a new character key has been operated while the value of the comparison register is smaller than the value of the timer 4, and the timer 4 is counted up. As a result, when the value of the timer becomes larger than the value of the comparison register, that is, when the waiting time for automatic confirmation has elapsed, the process proceeds to step f8, and the character key input in step f1 is entered. Is automatically entered.

On the other hand, if the new character key is operated during the period when the value of the comparison register is larger than the value of the timer 4, the process proceeds to step f2, and the adoption flag is set for the new character key. The determination as to whether it is 1 or 0 is performed again. If it is determined in the process of step f2 that the adoption flag is set to 1, step f
3, and then the process of step f4 is executed. At this time, in step f4, the set time of the character key operated in step f6 is read from the waiting time table T2 in the memory 5 into the comparison register. After that, steps f5, f6, and f7 are performed to monitor whether or not the waiting time for the character key operated in step f6 has elapsed, and when the set time has elapsed, automatic confirmation processing is performed in step f8. When a new character key is operated before the set time elapses, the process proceeds to step f2.

Now, as described with reference to FIG. 2, FIG.
The input device includes a buzzer 9, an LED 10 and a motor 11. This is to notify the user by sound, light and vibration that the automatic confirmation process has been completed. The procedure is as follows. In FIG. 15, first, in step g1, it is determined whether or not the automatic confirmation processing performed in FIGS. 4, 11, and 14 is completed. If the automatic confirmation processing is not completed, the processing in step g1 is executed again. . In this way, the process of step g1 is repeated until the automatic confirmation process is completed. When the automatic confirmation process is completed in step g1, the buzzer 9 is driven in step g2, the LED 10 is driven in step g3, and the motor 11 is driven in step g4 to finish the process.

In the process of FIG. 15, the buzzer 9 and the LED
It can be set to drive any one of 10 and the motor 11. In order to realize this, it is preferable to set and release the sound flag, the light flag and the vibration flag as shown in FIG. In FIG.
First, the menu key MENU is used to put the input device in the notification flag setting state, and in step h1, a character key to notify the completion of the automatic confirmation process by sound, light and / or vibration is designated, and then in step h2. ,
It is determined whether or not the setting work has been completed for the designated character key, and if it has been completed, the process returns to step h2. However, if it is determined in step h2 that the setting work is not completed, the process proceeds to step h3, it is determined whether or not to set / cancel the notification by the buzzer 9, and if the setting / cancellation is performed, the step is performed. At h4, it is determined whether the notification by the buzzer 9 is set or canceled. Therefore, in step h4, when the notification by the buzzer 9 is set, the sound flag is set to 1 in step h5, and when the notification by the buzzer 9 is canceled, the sound flag is set to 0 in step h6 and then the processing is performed. The process proceeds to step h7, and it is determined whether or not the notification by the LED 10 or the motor 11 other than the buzzer 9 is set / released. As a result of the determination, if the setting / cancellation is not performed, the process ends.

If it is determined in step h7 that the notification / setting by the LED 10 or the motor 11 is to be set, and if it is determined in step h3 that the notification / setting by the buzzer 9 is not to be performed, step h
The process proceeds to step 8 to determine whether to set / cancel the notification by the LED 12, and if the setting / cancellation is performed, in step h9, it is determined whether the notification by the LED 10 is set or canceled. To do. When it is determined to be set, the light flag is set to 1 in step h10, and the process proceeds to step h12. On the other hand, when the setting is canceled, the optical flag is set to 0 in step 11. After this, in step h12, the buzzer 9 and L
Whether or not the motor 11 other than the ED 10 is to be set / released is determined, and if the setting / release is not to be performed, the process ends.

If it is determined in step h12 that the motor 11 is also set / released, and if it is determined in step h8 that the setting / release is not performed for the notification by the LED 10, the process proceeds to step h13. Whether to set the notification by the motor 11,
It is determined whether or not to cancel, and as a result, when it is set, the vibration flag is set to 1 in step h14, and when it is cancelled, the vibration flag is set to 0 in step h15, and the process ends.

In this way, which of the sound flag, the light flag and the vibration flag is set to 1 or 0 for each character key is written in the memory 5 as a notification flag table T4. An example thereof is shown in FIG.
The notification flag table T4 includes, for each character to be automatically confirmed, a sound flag indicating whether or not the character is automatically confirmed by a sound, and an optical flag indicating whether or not the character is automatically confirmed by light. , And the vibration flag indicating whether or not to automatically notify that the vibration has been confirmed is 1
Or, it is stored that it is set to 0. here,
"1" in each flag indicates that notification is executed,
“0” indicates that no announcement is made. Therefore, FIG.
From No. 7, no notification is given for the characters "a" to "a", but only the sound notification is set for the characters "ka" to "ko" in the line below. I understand. Similarly, for the letters "sa" to "so", only the light notification is performed, for the letters "ta" to "to", only the vibration notification is performed, and for the letters "na" to "no", the sound is output. And the notification by light, and the letters "ha"-"ho" are announced by sound and vibration, and the letters "ma"-
It can be seen that light and vibration are used to notify "mo" and sound, light, and vibration are used to notify all characters "ya" to "yo". In this way, various settings can be made according to the usability of the user and the type of character key, so that a smoother key operation can be realized.

In this way, the sound flag, the light flag and the vibration flag regarding whether or not to notify the automatic input of each character are set as in the notification table T4 shown in FIG. When a certain character key is operated after such setting is performed, the process of notifying by sound, light and / or vibration that the character key is automatically determined is performed according to the steps shown in FIG. . In the figure, first, in step i1, it is determined whether or not automatic confirmation is performed,
If not automatically determined, the process of step i1 is executed again. In this way, the process of step i1 is repeated until the automatic confirmation is performed. When it is determined in step i1 that the automatic confirmation has been performed, the setting state of the sound flag is determined in step i2. If the sound flag is set, that is, if the sound flag is 1, the buzzer 9 is driven in step i3. Then, the process proceeds to the next step i4. However, the sound flag is not set, that is, the sound flag is 0.
If so, the process directly proceeds to step i4 to determine the setting state of the optical flag. If it is determined in step i4 that the light flag is set, that is, the light flag is 1, the LED 10 is driven in step i5 and the process proceeds to the next step i6. However, in step i4, the light flag is not set, that is, the light flag is 0.
If it is determined that, the process directly proceeds to step i6. In step i6, the setting state of the vibration flag is determined,
If the vibration flag is set, that is, if the vibration flag is 1, the motor 11 is driven to finish the process in step i7. If the vibration flag is not set, that is, if the vibration flag is 0, the process is directly performed. Finish.

FIG. 19 is a comparison of the conventional key operation and the key operation in the present invention when inputting the sentence "warm up". FIG. 19A shows a conventional key operation and a display of the result,
(B) shows the key operation in the present invention and the display of the result.

It is obvious by comparing and contrasting (a) and (b) of FIG. 19, but in the conventional input method, when the characters assigned to the same character key are successively input, the cursor key 3 is used. It is necessary to perform the operation to fix the character. For example, when inputting the character “ta”, the character “ta” is input first, and then the operation of confirming the character “ta” with the cursor keys 3 is performed, and then the character “ta” is input again.
It is necessary to enter.

On the other hand, in the present invention, in the conventional case, the cursor key 3 must be operated to determine the character, and at each of j1, j2, and j3, only a predetermined waiting time is required. The automatic confirmation is performed simply by stopping the key operation. Therefore, it is possible to continuously input characters without releasing the finger from the key. For example,
For users who press the same key continuously at 0.2 second intervals, the set time until automatic confirmation is 0.25 seconds or 0.3 seconds.
By setting like seconds, it is possible to automatically input characters at the moment when continuous key operation is stopped, and extremely smooth character input can be realized.

20 and 21 show examples of key operations and displays when setting required operating conditions in the input device according to the present invention. First, in FIG. 20, when the menu key MENU is pressed, a screen K1 which is a selection screen of operation contents is displayed on the display DIS. here,
For the sake of convenience, “1. Various settings” for setting required operating conditions and “2.
A list of setting contents "is displayed. Therefore, a specific display example of "1. Various settings" will be described below.

When the screen K1 is displayed and the key 1 is pressed to select "1. Various settings", a screen K2 for selecting the mode key is displayed. When the screen K2 for selecting either the Kana mode key or the English character mode key is displayed, if you press key 2 and select "2. Alphabet mode key", the screen will switch to K3 and the English character key selection screen will appear. Is displayed. It should be noted that only a certain number of lines (7 lines in FIG. 20) can be displayed due to the size of the display unit DIS, but by scrolling the screen, “8.
[TUV] key and “9. [WXY] key” are also displayed, and these keys can be selected. On the other hand, screen K2
When "1. Kana mode key" is selected by pressing the key 1 when is displayed, the screen is switched to K4 and the Kana key selection screen is displayed. In this case also, the display DI
Although it is limited to the size of S and can display only 7 lines at a time, by scrolling the screen, "8. [or ...]
"Keys", "9. [la ...] keys", "*. [" ° ,.] keys "and" 0. [wa ....] keys "are also displayed, and these keys can be selected. .

Then, when the user presses the key 3 on the screen K4 and selects "3. [sa ... ． ． ] Key setting screen K5 (FIG. 21) is displayed.
At this time, the contents previously set by the user are displayed,
If no particular settings have been made, the default settings are displayed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 21, the setting of the waiting time for automatically confirming the character, the setting of whether to use the automatic confirming function, and whether the buzzer 9 notifies that the character is automatically confirmed. settings of,
It is possible to set whether or not the LED 10 notifies that the character is automatically determined, and whether or not the motor 11 notifies that the character is automatically determined. Perform by input, and for settings of ~, turn on when using or notifying
Is set to OFF when not used or not notified. The ON / OFF setting is performed by the left key 31 and the right key 32 of the cursor key 3. The target item to be set on the setting screen K5 is designated by an underline, and this underline can be moved by the up key 33 and the down key 34 of the cursor key 3.

In the setting screen K5 of FIG. 21, since the "waiting time" is displayed as 0.5 seconds, if it is desired to change this to 0.3, the up key 33 or the down key 34 Operate to move the underline to below 0.5, and then enter 0.3. As a result, the setting screen K5 changes to the screen K6 in which the waiting time is changed to 0.3. Although there is no key corresponding to "." Of 0.3 in the numerical keys, "." Can be input by assigning the key * as a key for inputting ".".

When the down key 34 is pressed once on the screen K6, the underline moves to the target item one line below. That is, the target item is changed, and the underline moves from “waiting time” to “automatic determination”. Below, for each target item of "automatic determination", "buzzer", "LED" and "motor", turn on with the left key 31 and the right key 32.
Alternatively, it is set to OFF. For example, on screen K7,
When you want to turn on the "automatic confirmation" that is off, operate the up key 33 or the down key 34 to move the underline to the off of "automatic confirmation", and then press the right key 32. As shown in K8, "Automatic confirmation"
Is set to ON. The screen K8 uses the automatic confirmation function when the waiting time is 0.3 seconds (K9) (K
10), the buzzer 10 does not notify that the character has been automatically determined (K11), and L indicates that the character has been automatically determined.
The ED10 notifies (K12) that the motor 11 does not notify that the character is automatically determined (K13). In this way, when setting is completed for all target items, the key # is pressed to confirm the setting items, and various setting processes are ended.

The contents set as described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21 are stored in the notification flag table T4 in the memory 5 shown in FIG. That is, screen K8
“Wait time”, “Automatic confirmation”, “Buzzer”,
"LED" and "motor" correspond to "waiting time", "adoption flag", "sound flag", "light flag" and "vibration flag" in FIG. 17, respectively, and if the setting on the screen K8 is ON. The flag "1" is set, and if it is OFF, the flag "0" is set.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, the input device is buzzer 9, LED1
It is not necessary to include all of 0 and the motor 11, and a required notification means can be adopted among notifications by sound, light, and vibration.

[0060]

As will be understood from the detailed description of the one embodiment of the input device according to the present invention, the invention of claim 1 has a waiting time until the character is automatically determined. Since the setting can be made, it is not necessary to release the hand from the key in the middle of input, and it is possible to reduce the troublesome key operation.

The invention of claim 2 has an effect that the input character can be confirmed on the display unit.
According to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to set the waiting time until the automatic confirmation process is performed to a desired value, and it is possible to perform an appropriate automatic confirmation process according to a desired key operation speed for each user. It has the effect of being able to.

According to the invention of claim 4, the waiting time can be set for each character key, and an appropriate automatic confirmation process is performed irrespective of the key operation speed generated by the arrangement and function of the character keys. There is an effect that can be.

According to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to set whether or not to use the automatic confirmation function for each character key.
The present invention has an effect that an appropriate automatic confirmation process can be performed regardless of the key operation speed generated by the arrangement and function of the character keys.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to notify that the character is automatically determined by a desired means of sound, light and vibration, and it is possible to reduce erroneous input due to an operation error. Produce an effect.

According to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to set for each character key whether to use sound, light or vibration, or not to use any of them, and a notification method suitable for each user. It is possible to employ the above-mentioned method and reduce the erroneous input due to the operation error.

The invention of claim 8 is a computer for properly operating the input device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
It has the effect of providing a program.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an input device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a system configuration of the input device shown in FIG.

3 is a diagram showing an example of a key information table stored in a key table section of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a control procedure of automatic confirmation processing performed in the input device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example for explaining an automatic character confirmation process performed according to the control procedure shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a difference in key operation procedure between a conventional method and the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of writing a waiting time until automatic confirmation in a memory in the input device of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which various waiting times are written in a memory as a result of the processing in FIG.

9 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for setting a waiting time until automatic confirmation for each character key in the input device of FIG.

10 is a diagram showing an example of a waiting time table written in the memory 5 as a result of performing the processing of FIG.

11 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of automatic confirmation processing performed when a waiting time is set for each key in the input device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for setting whether or not to perform an automatic confirmation process for each character key in the input device of FIG. 1.

13 is a diagram showing an example of an adoption flag table written in a memory as a result of performing the process of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of automatic confirmation processing when it is set in the input device of FIG. 1 whether or not to perform automatic confirmation processing for each character key.

15 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for notifying the completion of automatic confirmation by sound, light and vibration in the input device of FIG.

16 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for setting whether or not to notify the completion of automatic confirmation by sound, light and vibration for each character key in the input device of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a notification flag table written in a memory as a result of performing the processing of FIG.

18 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for notifying the completion of automatic confirmation according to the notification flag table of FIG.

19A and 19B are diagrams showing a key operation when inputting the same sentence and a display of the result, wherein FIG. 19A shows a conventional key operation and FIG. 19B shows a key operation of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of key operation and display when setting required operating conditions in the input device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of key operation and display when setting required operating conditions in the input device shown in FIG. 1.

[Explanation of symbols]

DIS: display part, KY: key part, 1: 2 key,
3: Cursor keys, 4: Timer, 5: Memory,
6: comparison unit, 7: key table unit, 8: control unit,
9: Buzzer, 10: LED, 11: Motor

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A key input unit having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, a timer for outputting an elapsed time from key operation, and a waiting time for automatically confirming characters input by the keys. Memory, a comparison unit that compares the output of the timer and the waiting time, and a control unit that automatically determines the character input from the key according to the result of the comparison. And input device. 2. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising a key table unit that stores key information regarding each of the keys, and a display unit that displays a character input from the operated key. The control unit reads the key information about the operated key from the key table unit, and sequentially displays characters on the display unit according to the operation of the key according to the read key information. An input device characterized by being capable of performing. 3. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the memory can set the waiting time. 4. The input device according to claim 3, wherein the memory operates to set the waiting time for each of the keys. 5. The input device according to claim 3, wherein the memory stores an adoption flag indicating whether to operate the control unit when the key is operated. An input device, which can be set for each of the keys and can store the state of the adoption flag. 6. The input device according to claim 2, wherein a buzzer is operated by the control unit when a character input from the key is automatically confirmed.
Of the LED operated by the control unit when the character input from the key is automatically determined, and the motor operated by the control unit when the character input from the key is automatically determined. An input device comprising at least one. 7. The input device according to claim 6, wherein in the memory, which of the buzzer, the LED, and the motor is operated when a character input from the key is automatically confirmed. An input device, wherein a flag indicating whether or not is stored for each of the keys. 8. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to function as the input device according to claim 1 is recorded.