JP2009151688A - Electronic device, character input method, character input control program, touch input pen, and mobile terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To input a large quantity of characters at high speed in a mobile information terminal or the like in which a touch panel for inputting characters is partitioned by a plurality of character input frames and a plurality of characters are assigned to each of the character input frames. <P>SOLUTION: The character input frame including one or two points pressed with a touch input pen 11 is determined based on coordinate information da detected in a touch panel 12. Position related information pa corresponding to the one or two points is generated based on a predetermined position in the character input frame, and characters corresponding to the position related information out of a plurality of characters assigned to the character input frame are determined and displayed. One character can thereby be input with a single operation, and a large quantity of characters are input at high speed. Further, since the corresponding relationship between the position related information pa and characters stored in a character-corresponding database 21 is optionally changed by a character-corresponding setting part 32, operability when the user presses the touch panel 12 with the touch input pen 11 is improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, a character input method, a character input control program, a touch input pen, and a portable terminal device. The present invention relates to an electronic device, a character input method, a character input control program, a touch input pen, and a mobile terminal device that are suitable for application to a device.

  In a portable electronic device having a communication function such as a PDA, it is necessary to input a large amount of characters when creating and transmitting an e-mail or the like. There are restrictions on the area that can be used for input, and it is difficult to place keys corresponding to all characters. For this reason, as a conventional handling method, a character corresponding to a character line ("A line", "Ka line", etc.) is used as an input key. For example, by pressing the "A line" key a predetermined number of times. , "A"-> "I"-> "U"-> "E"-> "O", the method of switching the input character, or when the "A line" key is pressed once, "A", " “I”, “U”, “E”, “O” are displayed as selection candidates, and a character is determined by a second selection operation. In addition, when a touch panel is adopted as a character input means, it is necessary to display characters to be input on the touch panel. However, when the touch panel is small in size, all kana characters and Roman letters cannot be displayed on the touch panel. Therefore, in the same manner as described above, a method of switching input characters is taken, and a plurality of operations are required to input one character.

As this type of related technology, for example, there is an electronic device described in Patent Document 1.
In this electronic apparatus, when a key area corresponding to a plurality of keys is set at a predetermined position on the keyboard sheet by the key area setting means, and a key is touched in the key area by the key input means, the key of this key is set. The character displayed at the top is entered. A handwriting operation detection area for detecting a predetermined handwriting operation by the touch input means is set at a predetermined position of the keyboard sheet by the handwriting detection area setting means, and the handwriting operation detected in the handwriting operation detection area by the handwriting input means. The corresponding character is entered. The input method switching means switches so that one of the key input means and the handwriting input means operates. As a result, both the handwriting input and key input methods can be used together with the keyboard sheet attached to the touch input detection area, and the user can change the input method appropriately according to the characters or sentences to be input. This improves input operability for characters and the like.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2007-234053 (page 6, FIG. 3)

However, the electronic devices including the above documents have the following problems.
That is, when the touch panel size is small, multiple operations are required to input one character, and it takes time to input. For example, when a large number of characters need to be input at high speed, such as when creating an email There is a problem that it can not cope with.

  Moreover, in the electronic device described in Patent Document 1, the user can change the input method according to the character or sentence to be input, and the character input operability is improved. Is different.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even when the size of the touch panel is small, an electronic device, a character input method, a character input control program, a touch input pen, and a mobile phone capable of inputting a large amount of characters at high speed The object is to provide a terminal device.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first configuration of the present invention has a touch panel for character input, and the touch panel is partitioned by a predetermined number of character input frames and a plurality of characters for each character input frame. In the touch panel, each character is associated with each preset position in each character input frame and each character is touched by a touch input pen formed in a bifurcated shape. When one point or two points in the input frame are pressed at the same time, the position information of the pressed one point or two points is detected, and it is pressed based on the position information detected by the touch panel. In addition, the character input frame including the one or two points is determined, and positional relation information corresponding to the relative position of the one or two points is generated with reference to a predetermined position in the character input frame. And it is characterized in that the input character determination display means for displaying to determine the character corresponding to the positional relationship information of the plurality of characters is provided.

  A second configuration of the present invention includes a touch panel for character input, and the touch panel is partitioned into a predetermined number of character input frames and an electronic device in which a plurality of characters are assigned to each character input frame. In accordance with a character input method used, the touch panel is configured such that each character is associated with each preset position in each character input frame and each character input frame is formed by a bifurcated touch input pen. When one point or two points at the same time are pressed, the position information of the pressed one point or two points is detected, and the pressed point is determined based on the position information detected by the touch panel. The character input frame including one point or two points is determined, and positional relationship information corresponding to the relative position of the one point or the two points is determined with reference to a predetermined position in the character input frame. Form, is characterized by performing the input character judgment display process of displaying to determine the character corresponding to the positional relationship information of the plurality of characters.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, each character is associated with each preset position in each character input frame by the touch panel, and 1 in each character input frame is formed by the touch input pen formed in a bifurcated shape. When a point or two points are pressed simultaneously, the position information of the pressed one point or two points is detected, and the input character determination display means presses the pressed point based on the position information detected by the touch panel. The character input frame including one or two points is determined, and positional relationship information corresponding to the relative position of the one or two points is generated with reference to a predetermined position in the character input frame. Since the character corresponding to the same positional relationship information among the plurality of characters is determined and displayed, one character can be input by one operation, and a large number of characters can be input at high speed. .

  A predetermined coordinate system is set in each character input frame of the touch panel, each character is associated with each preset coordinate in the same character input frame, and 1 in each character input frame by the touch input pen. When a point or two points are pressed at the same time, the coordinate information of the pressed point or two points is detected, and a character including the pressed point or two points based on the detected coordinate information The input frame is determined, and the positional relationship information corresponding to the relative position of the one point or the two points is generated with reference to a predetermined position in the character input frame, and a plurality of numbers assigned to each character input frame An electronic device, a character input method and a character input control program, a touch input pen, and a portable terminal device provided with input character determination display means for determining and displaying a character corresponding to the same positional relationship information provide

  Thereby, based on the coordinate information detected by the touch panel, a character input frame including one point or two points pressed by the touch input pen is determined, and a predetermined position in the character input frame is used as a reference. Position relation information corresponding to the relative position of the same one point or two points is generated, and a character corresponding to the same position relation information among a plurality of characters assigned to the same character input frame is determined and displayed. Therefore, it becomes possible to input one character by one operation, and a large number of characters can be input at high speed.

  Further, in the present invention, the input character determination display means generates a same positional relation information and stores a character corresponding to the same positional relation information, and a storage means that stores in advance a character corresponding to the positional relation information. And a display means for displaying the character read by the character input unit.

  In the present invention, the input character determination / display unit is provided with a character correspondence setting unit for arbitrarily changing and setting the correspondence between the character stored in the storage unit and the positional relationship information. Thereby, since the correspondence between the character stored in the storage unit and the positional relationship information can be arbitrarily changed, the operability when the user presses the touch panel with the touch input pen can be improved.

  Moreover, in this invention, the said character input part is set as the structure which assigns a several character for every said each character input frame while setting each said character input frame with respect to the said touch panel.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a main part of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The electronic apparatus in this example is a PDA (portable terminal device), and includes an input device 1, a storage device 2, a processing device 3, and an output device 4, as shown in FIG. The input device 1 includes a touch input pen 11 and a touch panel 12. The touch input pen 11 is formed in a bifurcated shape, and is used for pressing one point or two points on the touch panel 12 at the same time. The touch panel 12 is for character input, is partitioned by a predetermined number of character input frames, and a plurality of characters are assigned to each character input frame. In particular, in this embodiment, the touch panel 12 has a coordinate system (for example, an orthogonal coordinate system) set in each character input frame, and each character is set to each preset coordinate (position) in each character input frame. In addition, when one point or two points in the same character input frame are pressed simultaneously by the touch input pen 11, the coordinate information da (position information) of the pressed one point or two points is detected.

  The storage device 2 is composed of, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) and includes a character correspondence database 21. The character correspondence database 21 stores in advance characters corresponding to the positional relationship information pa generated by the processing device 3.

  The processing device 3 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 3a as a computer that controls the entire PDA and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 3b in which a character input control program that can be read by the CPU 3a is recorded. 12 is used to determine the character input frame that includes the pressed one point or two points, based on the coordinate information da detected in step 12, and the same point or Position relation information pa corresponding to two relative positions is generated, and a character corresponding to the same position relation information pa among a plurality of characters assigned to each character input frame of the touch panel 12 is determined and displayed. . In particular, in this embodiment, the processing device 3 includes a character input unit 31, a character correspondence setting unit 32, and a character display unit 33.

  The character input unit 31 generates the positional relationship information pa, reads the character ca corresponding to the positional relationship information pa from the character correspondence database 21, and sends it to the character display unit 33 as character information cb. The character input unit 31 outputs the input frame setting signal fa to the touch panel 12, thereby setting the character input frames and assigning a plurality of characters to each character input frame. The character display unit 33 causes the output device 4 to display a corresponding character based on the character information cb. The output device 4 is composed of a liquid crystal display device, for example. When the user operates the touch panel 12 with the touch input pen 11 and inputs the character correspondence information cd, the character correspondence setting unit 32 sends the character correspondence information ce to the character correspondence database 21 and is stored in the character correspondence database 21. The correspondence relationship between the character and the positional relationship information pa is arbitrarily changed and set.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing an example of the touch input pen 11 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the touch input pen 11 has one end formed in a bifurcated shape, and two points can be simultaneously pressed by bringing both ends of the fork into contact with the touch panel 12 at the same time. Is.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which the touch panel 12 in FIG. 1 is partitioned by each character input frame and characters are displayed. FIG. 4 is a diagram in which the character input frame in FIG. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the PDA shown in FIG.
The processing contents of the character input method used for the PDA of this example will be described with reference to these drawings.
In this PDA, a character input frame including one or two points pressed by the touch input pen 11 is determined based on the coordinate information da detected by the touch panel 12, and a predetermined input in the character input frame is determined. Position relation information pa corresponding to the relative position of the same one point or two points is generated on the basis of the position, and a character corresponding to the same position relation information pa among a plurality of characters assigned to the same character input frame is displayed. It is judged and displayed (input character judgment display processing).

  In this input character determination display process, characters corresponding to the positional relationship information pa (for example, characters included in a character line such as “A line”, “Ka line”) are stored in the character correspondence database 21 in advance. In this case, for example, the point at the lower left corner in each character input frame in FIG. 3 is used as a base point. For example, when only one point of the character input frame “A” is pressed, the corresponding character is “A”, When the second point is pressed, the corresponding character is “Yes” when the second point is located 13 dots to the right of the base point and the upper 0 dot, and the second point is located 11 dots to the right and 7 dots above the base point In this case, the corresponding character is “U”.

  In this state, when the user performs an operation using a function that requires character input such as e-mail creation, the character input unit 31 is activated (step A1). Next, the character input unit 31 outputs an input frame setting signal fa to the touch panel 12, and each character input frame is set to the touch panel 12 and a plurality of characters are assigned to each character input frame. (Step A2). On the touch panel 12, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, each character input frame is displayed (step A3), and a kana character line (“a” line, “ka” line, etc.) is assigned to each character input frame. It has been. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the user performs an operation of pressing two points (points A and B) in an arbitrary character input frame of the touch panel 12 using the touch input pen 11 (step A4). At this time, only one point may be pressed by tilting the touch input pen 11.

  On the touch panel 12, one or two pressed coordinate information da is detected (step A5), and the coordinate information da is sent to the character input unit 31 (step A6). In the character input unit 31, based on the coordinate information da, the pressed character input frame ("A" in FIG. 4) and the positional relationship information pa of the points A and B are generated (step A7). In the example shown in FIG. 4, the positional relationship information pa indicates that the point B exists at the position of 11 dots on the right side and 7 dots on the upper side with the point A as the base point. In the character input unit 31, an inquiry is made to the character correspondence database 21 based on the positional relationship information pa (step A8), and a character ca (for example, “U”) corresponding to the positional relationship information pa is read ( Step A9, character input process), and is sent to the character display unit 33 as character information cb (step A10). At this time, if there is no data corresponding to the positional relationship information pa in the character correspondence database 21, it may be determined that the character at the closest position has been input. In the character display part 33, the character corresponding to the character information cb is displayed on the output device 4 (step A11, display processing). At this time, the user can confirm that the intended character has been input by visually recognizing the displayed character.

  The character correspondence database 21 stores characters corresponding to the positional relationship information pa in advance, but some users desire to update the characters corresponding to the positional relationship information pa so that they can be input easily. It is possible. In this case, the user performs a predetermined operation on the touch panel 12 with the touch input pen 11 (step B1), and the character correspondence setting unit 32 is activated (step B2). Next, the user presses two points in the character input frame where the character is to be updated with the touch input pen 11 or displays numbers on the touch panel 12 and inputs the coordinate information numerically (step B3). , Database DB update operation), the character correspondence information cd is sent from the touch panel 12 to the character correspondence setting unit 32 (step B4). Then, the character correspondence setting unit 32 sends the character correspondence information ce to the character correspondence database 21 (step B5), and the correspondence between the characters stored in the character correspondence database 21 and the positional relationship information pa is changed and set. (Step B6, character correspondence setting process).

  As described above, in this embodiment, a character input frame including one point or two points pressed by the touch input pen 11 is determined based on the coordinate information da detected by the touch panel 12, and the same character is used. The positional relationship information pa corresponding to the relative position of the same one point or two points is generated on the basis of a predetermined position in the input frame, and the same positional relationship information among a plurality of characters assigned to the same character input frame Since the character corresponding to pa is determined and displayed, one character can be input by one operation, and a large number of characters are input at high speed. Further, since the correspondence relationship between the character stored in the character correspondence database 21 and the positional relationship information pa is arbitrarily changed by the character correspondence setting unit 32, when the user presses the touch panel 12 with the touch input pen 11. Operability is improved.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiment, and even if there is a design change without departing from the gist of the present invention, Included in the invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the character input unit 31 sets each character input frame by outputting the input frame setting signal fa to the touch panel 12 by the character input unit 31. Instead, each character input frame may be displayed on the touch panel 12 from the beginning. Further, the coordinate system set in each character input frame of the touch panel 12 is not limited to the orthogonal coordinate system but may be a polar coordinate system. In this case, the coordinate information da detected by the touch panel 12 is represented by polar coordinates of points A and B, for example, with an arbitrary point in each character input frame as a base point.

  The present invention can be applied to all electronic devices having a touch panel for character input, the touch panel being partitioned by a plurality of character input frames, and a plurality of characters being assigned to each character input frame. The present invention is effective when applied to a case where a telephone is provided with a touch panel for inputting characters instead of a general button switch.

It is a block diagram which shows the electrical constitution of the principal part of the electronic device which is one Example of this invention. It is an external view which shows an example of the touch input pen 11 in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the state by which the touch panel 12 in FIG. 1 was divided by each character input frame, and the character was displayed. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state where a character input frame in FIG. 3 is pressed by a touch input pen 11. It is a sequence diagram explaining operation | movement of PDA of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Input device (part of electronic equipment)
2 Storage device (storage means, part of input character determination display means)
3. Processing device (part of input character judgment display means)
3a CPU (Central Processing Unit)
3b ROM (read-only memory)
4 Output device (part of input character judgment display means, part of display means)
11 Touch input pen (part of input device)
12 Touch panel (part of input device)
21 character correspondence database (storage means, part of input character judgment display means)
31 Character input part (part of input character judgment display means)
32 character correspondence setting part (part of input character judgment display means)
33 character display part (part of input character determination display means, part of display means)

Claims (13)

A touch panel for character input, the touch panel is an electronic device that is partitioned by a predetermined number of character input frames and a plurality of characters are assigned to each of the character input frames,
The touch panel
Each character is associated with each preset position in each character input frame, and one or two points in each character input frame are pressed simultaneously by a bifurcated touch input pen When the position information of the pressed one point or two points is detected,
Based on the position information detected by the touch panel, the character input frame including the pressed one point or two points is determined, and the one point is determined based on a predetermined position in the character input frame. Alternatively, there is provided input character determination display means for generating positional relationship information corresponding to two relative positions and determining and displaying a character corresponding to the positional relationship information among the plurality of characters. Electronic equipment. A touch panel for character input, the touch panel is an electronic device that is partitioned by a predetermined number of character input frames and a plurality of characters are assigned to each of the character input frames,
A touch input pen formed in a bifurcated shape is provided,
The touch panel
A predetermined coordinate system is set in each character input frame, each character is associated with each preset coordinate in each character input frame, and the touch input pen When one point or two points are pressed simultaneously, the coordinate information of the pressed one point or two points is detected.
Based on the coordinate information detected by the touch panel, the character input frame including the pressed one point or two points is determined, and the one point is determined based on a predetermined position in the character input frame. Alternatively, there is provided input character determination display means for generating positional relationship information corresponding to two relative positions and determining and displaying a character corresponding to the positional relationship information among the plurality of characters. Electronic equipment. The input character determination display means includes:
Storage means for previously storing characters corresponding to the positional relationship information;
A character input unit that generates the positional relationship information and reads out characters corresponding to the positional relationship information from the storage unit;
3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, comprising display means for displaying a character read by the character input unit. The input character determination display means includes:
4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a character correspondence setting unit configured to arbitrarily change and set a correspondence relationship between the character stored in the storage unit and the positional relationship information. The character input part is
5. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein each character input frame is set on the touch panel and a plurality of characters are assigned to each character input frame. 6. A character input touch panel, which is a character input method used in an electronic device that is partitioned by a predetermined number of character input frames and a plurality of characters are assigned to each character input frame;
In the touch panel, each character is associated with each preset position in each character input frame, and one point in each character input frame or two points at the same time by a touch input pen formed in a bifurcated shape When the button is pressed, the position information of the pressed one point or two points is detected.
Based on the position information detected by the touch panel, the character input frame including the pressed one point or two points is determined, and the one point is determined based on a predetermined position in the character input frame. Alternatively, the input character determination display processing is performed for generating positional relationship information corresponding to the relative positions of the two points and determining and displaying a character corresponding to the positional relationship information among the plurality of characters. input method. A character input touch panel, which is a character input method used in an electronic device that is partitioned by a predetermined number of character input frames and a plurality of characters are assigned to each character input frame;
Provided with a bifurcated touch input pen, and
In the touch panel, a predetermined coordinate system is set in each character input frame, each character is associated with each preset coordinate in each character input frame, and each character is input by the touch input pen. When one point in the input frame or two points are pressed at the same time, the coordinate information of the pressed one point or two points is detected.
Based on the coordinate information detected by the touch panel, the character input frame including the pressed one point or two points is determined, and the one point is determined based on a predetermined position in the character input frame. Alternatively, the input character determination display processing is performed for generating positional relationship information corresponding to the relative positions of the two points and determining and displaying a character corresponding to the positional relationship information among the plurality of characters. input method. In the input character determination display process,
Storage means for storing in advance characters corresponding to the positional relationship information is provided,
A character input process for generating the positional relationship information and reading out characters corresponding to the positional relationship information from the storage means;
The character input method according to claim 7, wherein display processing for displaying the character read by the character input processing is performed. In the input character determination display process,
The character input method according to claim 8, wherein a character correspondence setting process for arbitrarily changing and setting a correspondence relationship between the character stored in the storage unit and the positional relationship information is performed. In the character input process,
The character input method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the character input frame is set on the touch panel and a plurality of characters are assigned to each character input frame.   A computer-readable character input control program for causing a computer to control the electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   The touch input pen used for the electronic device as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5.   A portable terminal device having the function of the electronic device according to claim 1.

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