JP2010072678A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact mobile input device that is used by fingertips of one hand, prevents an increase in the number of operations such as key press operations as much as possible, and achieves reliable input with smooth operability. <P>SOLUTION: In an input device 1, a plurality of depression sensing points 5<SB>1</SB>, ..., 5<SB>N</SB>are formed in an operation part 3. Each of the depression sensing points are assigned to one group of alphabets classified into two groups. When the depression sensing point is operated by a user, one of the alphabets of the group to which the depression sensing point has been assigned is selected as one candidate information, and displayed on a display part 7. The user determines the candidate information, and inputs the information assigned to each depression sensing point. As for the alphabets of the two groups, when the alphabets of the first group are determined, the alphabets of the first group can be determined, and when the alphabets of the second group are determined, the alphabets of the first group can be determined. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an input device, and in particular, an operation unit formed with a plurality of press sensitivity points each capable of outputting a signal in response to a press with a predetermined sensitivity, and each press sensitivity point by a signal output from the operation unit. The present invention relates to an input device comprising: a display unit that displays information assigned to the screen as candidate information; and a confirmation unit that confirms the candidate information displayed on the display unit and inputs information assigned to each pressure sensitivity point. .

  First, in the mobile environment, English letters and English texts are input by assigning 3 to 4 types of alphabetic characters such as alphabets and symbols to 3 x 4 (12) independent key buttons represented by mobile phones, for example. An input method in which the function is determined by the number of keystrokes is widely used (reference: Patent Document 1). In addition, with the progress of miniaturization of personal computers, integration with mobile phones is also progressing, and even in the mobile environment of mobile phones, a normal full keyboard is equipped and input is performed using the keys. Further, there is a method of displaying characters on a touch panel and directly tapping the input. In addition, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, the inventor of the present application can input in relation to the display content using the sense of touch of the first fingertip, and can confirm the input content with the second fingertip. In addition to the input device, as disclosed in Patent Document 3, a fingertip tactile sense input device capable of performing various inputs with a size recognizable by tactile sense by movement of the fingertip has been proposed.

Japanese Patent No.30771704 JP 2004-295716 A JP 2003-162362 A

  However, in the method of determining the function by the number of keystrokes as described above, the number of times the key button is pressed increases, and the operability is insufficient. In addition, an increase in the number of times of pressing also adds a burden on the finger, and there has been a case where the determination process cannot be performed smoothly due to a decrease in the sensitivity of the key button itself due to an excessive increase in the number of times. One solution to this problem is to resolve the ambiguity by using the built-in dictionary to input without distinguishing multiple characters assigned to one key even if the input is ambiguous. It is also considered to reduce the number of keystrokes by inputting words. However, there still remains a problem that the number of key presses is large, and the use of a dictionary makes it necessary to select and determine a word, which means that the writing of text is interrupted compared to input of each character. There are also defects.

  In addition, when equipped with a normal full keyboard, the size of the full keyboard becomes extremely small because of the demand for miniaturization on the mobile. In that case, each key is operated with a finger. It was difficult, and erroneous input such as accidentally operating the adjacent key sometimes occurred. In addition, the full keyboard should have the advantage of being able to input by blind touch, as can be seen on a normal computer, but in the downsizing of mobile, it is necessary to fall into the input while comparing the key with the screen. There was no situation.

  Furthermore, in the case of a capacitive touch panel, there is a problem that the fingertip touches the screen and the screen is hidden by the fingertip or the finger. In addition, sebum is attached by touching a finger, and there is also a problem that the touch panel becomes sensitive when it is wiped. In addition, there is a difficulty in providing a mechanism for determining the input. In particular, the screen is required to be large in order to prevent the screen from being hidden by the fingertips and fingers, while the screen is required to be large. On the other hand, there is a demand for downsizing on the mobile, and it is necessary to meet conflicting requirements was there.

  Therefore, the present invention can input with one hand using a fingertip and can cope with the downsizing of the mobile, does not increase the number of key pressing operations as much as possible, and can perform reliable input with smooth operability. An object is to provide an input device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation unit in which a plurality of pressure sensitivity points each enabling a signal output in response to a press with a predetermined sensitivity are formed, and each of the pressure sensitivities by a signal output from the operation unit. A display unit that displays the information assigned to the point as candidate information on a screen, and a confirmation unit that confirms the candidate information displayed on the screen on the display unit and inputs the information assigned to each press sensitivity point, The information assigned to the pressure sensitivity point includes character information representing the 26-letter alphabet, and the character information representing the 26-letter alphabet is distinguished into two groups. If all the character information representing the alphabet in the list is displayed on the screen and candidate information is also displayed on the screen from the first group and can be confirmed, the alphabet in the second group is displayed. When the character information representing the bet cannot be confirmed and all the character information representing the alphabet in the second group is displayed on the screen by the display unit, and candidate information is also displayed on the screen from the second group and can be confirmed. The character information representing the alphabet in the first group cannot be confirmed, and it is determined whether or not the character information representing the alphabet in the first group is confirmed. Character information representing the alphabet in the first group can be confirmed, and character information representing the alphabet in the first group can be confirmed after the character information representing the alphabet in the second group is confirmed. Is.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the plurality of pressing sensitivity points are configured by at least twelve convex portions, and character information representing alphabets in the first group includes at least A, B, E. , H, I, N, O, R, S, and T are included, and the character information representing the alphabet in the second group includes the remaining characters that are not included in the first group. It is what

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the plurality of pressure sensitivity points are configured by at least 16 convex portions, and character information representing alphabets in the first group includes at least A, B, and D. , E, H, I, L, N, O, R, S, T are included, and the character information representing the alphabet in the second group is not included in the first group. Is included.

  According to the invention according to claim 1 of the present application, by providing the operation unit, the display unit, and the determination unit as described above, it is possible to input with one hand using a fingertip, and to cope with downsizing of the mobile, Can be suppressed. In addition, the character information representing the 26-character alphabet is classified into two groups, and when one can be confirmed, the other cannot be confirmed, and the device is also devised to prevent erroneous confirmation. . In addition, the alphabet in the first group can be confirmed continuously, and after the alphabet in the second group is confirmed, the first group can be confirmed, so that the alphabet in the first group is frequently input By collecting the, the operability is high and the user can feel a smooth input operation. Therefore, it is possible to input with one hand using the fingertip, and it is possible to cope with the miniaturization of mobile, and it is possible to perform reliable input with smooth operability without causing an increase in the number of operations such as key depression as much as possible. It is done.

  According to the invention of claim 2 of the present application, 10 characters in the alphabet have a high appearance frequency (more than about 70% of 11 characters including these as described later), and the first group is a screen. In addition to being able to input the majority in the displayed state, it is possible to obtain one with high operability in combination with the switching for confirmation from the second group to the first group. In addition, a plurality of pressing sensitivity points are composed of at least 12 convex portions, and even if the key size is the same, it is approximately one-eighth compared to a full keyboard composed of 106 keys. Space can be realized to meet the demands for mobile miniaturization.

  According to the invention according to claim 3 of the present application, in the case of claim 2, an arrangement of mobile phones (3 columns and 4 rows) is possible. The alphabet can be included in one group, and the operability can be further improved compared to the case of claim 2.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the following.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an input device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The input device 1 is a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone. The user operates the input device 1 while fixing (holding) the wrist with one hand. The input device 1 includes an operation unit 3 that allows a user to operate a fingertip by moving one finger. The operation unit 3 is formed with a plurality of pressing sensitivity points 5 ₁ ,..., 5 _N , each of which responds to pressing with a predetermined sensitivity and enables signal output. Further, the input device 1, the pressing sensitivity point 5 _1, ..., a display unit 7 for screen display information assigned to 5 _N. The display unit 7 displays the information assigned to each of the press sensitivity points 5 ₁ ,..., 5 _N as candidate information on the screen based on the signal output from the operation unit 3 generated by the operation of the operation unit 3 by the user. Further, the input device 1 includes a display unit 7 on the screen displayed candidate information respective pressing sensitivity point 5 ₁ to confirm the, ..., and a determination unit 9 for inputting information assigned to 5 _N.

The information assigned to the pressure sensitivity points 5 ₁ ,..., 5 _N includes character information representing 26 alphabets. The character information representing the 26-character alphabet is divided into two groups, a first group and a second group.

  In the display unit 7, all the character information representing the alphabet in the first group is displayed on the screen, and if the candidate information is also displayed on the screen from the first group and can be confirmed, the character representing the alphabet in the second group Information is not confirmed. Further, in the display unit 7, all the character information representing the alphabet in the second group is displayed on the screen, and if the candidate information is also displayed on the screen from the second group and can be confirmed, the alphabet in the first group is displayed. The character information to be represented is not fixed. In this way, it is determined whether or not the state can be determined in units of groups.

  Furthermore, after the character information representing the alphabet in the first group is confirmed, the input device 1 is in a state where the character information representing the alphabet in the first group can be confirmed. In addition, after the character information representing the alphabet in the second group is confirmed, the input device 1 is in a state where the character information representing the alphabet in the first group can be confirmed.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a mobile phone 11 which is a specific example of the input device 1 of FIG. (A) is a front view, (b) is a rear view, and (c) is a figure which shows a user's use condition.

As shown in FIG. 2A, a display unit 13 (corresponding to the display unit 7 in FIG. 1) is provided on the front surface of the mobile phone 11. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, an operation unit 15 (corresponding to the operation unit 3 in FIG. 1) is provided on the back surface of the mobile phone 11. The operation unit 15 is provided with a plurality of pressure sensitivity points 17 (corresponding to the pressure sensitivity points 5 ₁ ,..., 5 _N in FIG. 1), and two other pressure sensitivity points 19 and 21 are also provided. It has been. Further, the user operates the pressing sensitivity point 17 of the operation unit 15 to instruct the confirmation process of the alphabet displayed as candidate information among the alphabets displayed on the display unit 13 (therefore, the pressing sensitivity of FIG. 2). The point 17 also corresponds to the determination unit 9 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2C, the user holds the mobile phone 11 with one wrist fixed with the wrist, and operates the operation unit 15 with the fingertip by the movement of one finger.

  2B is an operation panel in which twelve convex pressing sensitivity points 17 are formed in a narrow space. In this embodiment, the number of character input keys is defined as 12, so that the number of keys is one-eighth or less than that of a normal 106 full keyboard. Therefore, space saving can be realized. While performing the tactile recognition of the convex portion by a minute movement of one fingertip during the operation, the user visually confirms the tactile recognition in real time on the display unit 13 and determines whether or not the confirmation signal can be input.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, at least the character information representing the alphabet in the first group can be clearly recognized in a narrow space, has no visual inconvenience, and the input operation is easy to understand. 1 function ”. This is different from a general method in which a plurality of character input functions are mounted on one key and the key is determined by the number of keystrokes. Furthermore, since the key display displayed at one time is limited to 12, it is easy to find a desired display key, and it is easy to remember the key display displayed on one screen and its position.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the mobile phone 11 of FIG. The mobile phone 31 includes a keypad 33 (corresponding to the operation unit 15 in FIG. 2) and a display 35 (corresponding to the display unit 13 in FIG. 2). In addition, a CPU 39 that operates under the control of software, including control of the communication device 37 and the like, is provided. A signal output (stimulation information) generated by the user operating the keypad 33 is transmitted to the CPU 39. Further, the mobile phone 31 includes a character table dictionary 41, and the CPU 37 performs processing with reference to the information held as necessary. The CPU 37 performs display control of the display 35 via the driver 3.

  In this embodiment, the input of English is performed by selectively using a 26-character alphabet and various functions such as various symbols, spaces, and cursor movement. Furthermore, for the convenience of input operation, the 26-letter alphabet is divided into two groups. The CPU 39 performs display processing of the first group alphabet on the display 35, performs display processing of candidate information of the first group alphabet by the user's operation of the keypad 33, and further confirms the candidate information. I do. In addition, the second group alphabet display process is performed by the user's operation on the keypad 33, the second group alphabet candidate information is displayed, and the candidate information confirmation process is further performed.

  First, a specific example of the keypad 33 in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part. As shown in FIG. 4, the twelve pressing sensitivity points of the keypad 33 have, for example, a vertical and horizontal pitch of about 4.8 mm, a planar shape φ of about 1.6 mm, and a height of about 0. .5 mm or less. As a result, it is possible to move a finger in a space of about 16 mm in length and width and execute character input with one hand.

  The keypad 33 is provided below the digitizer and a digitizer that can detect the position of the keypad 33 as the position on the xy coordinates when the user touches the operation panel arranged on the surface of the housing. It is provided with a confirmation switch for performing deterministic input. The digitizer has a configuration in which a plurality of areas (key corresponding areas) associated with predetermined keys are divided into a matrix. This key corresponds to information such as alphabets, numbers and functions. Although not shown, the digitizer is provided with a resistive film made of two materials such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), and a space with two resistive films through an insulating resist and a spacer. Are facing each other. One of the resistance films is for specifying the x-coordinate, and a pair of electrodes is provided on a pair of opposing sides. The other of the resistance films is for specifying the y coordinate, and a pair of electrodes are provided on a pair of opposing sides. When a voltage is applied to each of these electrodes and the digitizer is pressed, the resistance film of the x coordinate and the resistance film of the y coordinate come into contact with each other, the x coordinate is detected through the y coordinate side, and the y coordinate is the x coordinate. Detect through the side and determine each coordinate by partial pressure. The digitizer is covered with a top sheet and fixed to a rigid actuator plate made of stainless steel.

  On the surface of the upper surface sheet, a convex portion bulging to a height of, for example, about 0.3 mm is formed so that the user can easily search and input the key corresponding area with the fingertip. The top sheet has a thickness of about 0.2 mm, for example, and the actuator plate has a thickness of about 0.2 mm, for example.

The confirmation switch below the digitizer is a film on which a projecting action portion provided on the lower surface of the actuator plate (opposite the digitizer) and a switch circuit pattern for outputting a confirmation signal (not shown) are formed. It is composed of a substrate and a metal dome spring to which a resilient force is applied to give a click feeling. The dome spring conducts the contact pattern of the film substrate when the convex portion of the upper surface sheet is pressed stronger than a predetermined weight and the actuator plate is pressed down and pressed by the projecting action portion. This signal is output to the display unit via a CPU and a driver through a flat cable (FPC or the like). The strength at which the confirmation switch is turned on by pressing the convex portion is the strength with which the dome spring is pushed down with a pressing pressure of about 70 g / cm ² that is greater than about 10 g / cm ² that can detect contact.

  Next, an example of display on the display unit 13 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, 11 characters of A, B, E, H, I, L, N, O, R, S, and T are set as the first group, and the other alphabets are set as the second group. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the alphabet arrangement of (a) the first group and (b) the second group in the display unit 13 of FIG. Hereinafter, FIG. 5A is referred to as “display screen 1”, and FIG. 5B is referred to as “display screen 2”.

  On the display screen 1 in FIG. 5A, for each of the pressure sensitivity points 17 in FIG. 2, the first group of 11 letters and the symbol “,.” Assign the symbol “,. 11 letters are assigned to other pressing sensitivity points one by one in alphabetical order from the upper left. The symbol “,.” Is entered as “,” with one click and “.” With two clicks. The pressing sensitivity point 17 is switched to the display shown in FIG. 5B when it is continuously pressed for a predetermined time (for example, 1 second or longer) at any point (hereinafter referred to as “long pressing”). Further, the pressing sensitivity points 19 and 21 on the display screen 1 are assigned with a space and delete (clear), respectively.

  On the display screen 2 in FIG. 5B, for each of the pressure sensitivity points 17 in FIG. 2, three screen switching keys for switching to a screen for inputting the second group of 15 letters, numbers, functions and menus. Is displayed by assigning the screen switching key to the bottom three points, and assigning 15 letters to the other pressing sensitivity points. The pressing sensitivity points 19 and 21 are respectively assigned with a screen switching key to the display screen 1 and a line feed (return).

  In the present embodiment, the number of pressing sensitivity points 17 is limited to 12, and the user pinches the device (fixes the wrist), moves one finger, and inputs by operating the fingertip. Therefore, the operation range in which the finger moves is limited as compared with a method of inputting without fixing the wrist, such as a desktop keyboard. At the same time, it is easy to move the fingertip to the adjacent target key (convex part), but if the target key is in a position beyond the target key, at least the fingertip compared to the operation of the adjacent key. The difficulty increases in speedy position recognition by tactile sense and confirmation operation by fingertips. Therefore, the display method of the key corresponding to each pressing sensitivity point is very important in order to realize the improvement of the user interface (UI) from the viewpoint of finger operation.

  Next, an example of specific operations of the mobile phone 11 of FIG. 2 and the mobile phone 31 of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. When the user sets the English input mode, the display screen 1 in FIG. 5A is displayed on the display unit 13 in FIG. 2 (step ST1). The CPU 39 determines whether or not the user has input the pressing sensitivity point 19 or 21 in FIG. 2 (step ST2). The CPU 39 performs a delete input process when the user inputs the pressing sensitivity point 19 (step ST3), and performs a space input process when the user inputs the pressing sensitivity point 21 (step ST4). The process returns to ST2. If the user has not input the pressure sensitivity points 19 and 21 in FIG. 2, the CPU 39 determines whether or not the pressure sensitivity point 17 has been input (step ST5). If not, the process returns to step ST2. In the case of input, it is determined whether or not confirmation is input for a character or symbol (hereinafter referred to as “candidate information”) corresponding to the pressure sensitivity point, for example, by strongly pressing the pressure sensitivity point. (Step ST6). If it remains in the weak press and the confirmation is not input, the CPU 39 displays candidate information by changing the color of the key corresponding to the pressed sensitivity point and displaying it (step ST8). When the user does not complete the input on the display screen 1 or there is no target character display on the display screen 1, the user presses the pressure sensitivity point for a long time to input display screen switching. The CPU 39 performs display processing of the display screen 2 when the display screen switching is input (step ST10), and returns to the processing of step ST2 when the display screen switching is not input. If confirmation is input in step ST6, a confirmation process for confirming and inputting the alphabet or symbol corresponding to the candidate information is performed (step ST7), and the process returns to step ST2.

  CPU39 judges whether the user input the press sensitivity point 19 or 21 of FIG. 2 following the display process of the display screen 2 of step ST10 (step ST11). CPU39 returns to the display process of the display screen 1 of step ST1, when a user inputs the press sensitivity point 19. FIG. Further, when the user inputs the pressing sensitivity point 21, the CPU 39 performs a return (line feed) input process (step ST12), and returns to the display process of the display screen 1 in step ST1. When the user has not input the pressing sensitivity points 19 and 21 in FIG. 2, the CPU 39 determines whether or not the pressing sensitivity point 17 has been input (step ST13). If not, the process returns to step ST11. If so, it is determined whether or not the user has entered confirmation (step ST14). If the confirmation is not input, the CPU 39 displays candidate information corresponding to the pressed pressure sensitivity point (step ST16), and returns to the process of step ST11. If confirmation is input, a confirmation process for confirming and inputting the alphabet or symbol corresponding to the candidate information is performed (step ST15). At this time, if the CPU 39 senses that the user has continuously entered the pressing sensitivity point 17 within a predetermined time (for example, when the user double-clicks the pressing sensitivity point), the CPU 39 of the second group. The confirmation process for a plurality of characters is performed. Also, for example, when a plurality of characters are assigned to one key as in “PQZ”, P is once for Q, and Q is for 2 times, according to the number of times of continuous input. If it is three times, the character confirmation process is performed as in Z. For numeric input screen keys, function input screen switching keys, and menu input screen switching keys, the numeric screen is displayed and numeric input processing is performed, and function screens for cursor movement, copy & paste, etc. are displayed. Display and perform function input processing, and display a list related to character input for an input method selection screen or the like to perform input processing. Then, the process returns to step ST1.

  In the following, the specific character input process in FIG. 6 will be described by taking the case of inputting “CALL.” As an example.

  Since there is no C on the display screen 1, the user switches the screen to the display screen 2 by long pressing (about 1 second) one key of the pressing sensitivity point 17 (step ST10). The user recognizes the touch sensitivity point corresponding to the position C on the display screen 2 with a fingertip and confirms the position as a touch event. The CPU 39 identifies this as candidate information (step ST8). When the user further strongly presses the pressing sensitivity point, the CPU 39 performs C input processing and displays C on the display unit 13 of FIG. 2 (step ST7). When the input process is completed, the display screen 1 is displayed on the display unit 13 (step ST1). A is displayed at the same position as C on the display screen 2 and is displayed as a finger touch event. When the user strongly presses the same position as it is, the CPU 39 performs the input process A (step ST7). Next, the finger position of L is confirmed by a touch event (step ST5), and when the convex portion is continuously pressed twice, LL and the display unit 13 are input and displayed (step ST7). Next, when the user presses the “,.” Key twice, “.” Is input and displayed, and the input is completed (step ST7).

  The assignment positions of keys such as alphabets on the display screen 1 and the display screen 2 in the input display example of FIG. 5 are examples, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, on the display screen 1, 11 characters A, B, D, E, H, I, N, O, R, S, and T may be assigned (D is assigned instead of L). In this case, L is assigned to the display screen 2. For example, when inputting “LL” in “CALL.”, The user switches to the display screen 2 because there is no L on the display screen 1 (step ST9 in FIG. 6). At that time, the user remembers the L key display position on the display screen 2, moves the fingertip to the convex portion at the same position on the display screen 1, presses and holds the convex portion, and displays the display screen on the display screen 2. By switching, the finger position of L is confirmed by a touch event (step ST13 in FIG. 6), and the convex portion is quickly pressed twice. Thereby, LL and the display unit 13 are input and displayed (step ST15 in FIG. 6), and the display screen 1 is displayed on the display unit 13 (step ST1 in FIG. 6). Here, with respect to alphabet input on the display screen 2, the same character is input and displayed only when the convex portion at the same position is operated continuously within a predetermined time, and the input is not displayed at different positions. In addition, not only at the same position but also when convex portions at different positions are continuously operated within a predetermined time, characters corresponding to the respective positions may be continuously input and displayed. .

  Further, as in the present embodiment, for example, when two input screens having different modes accompanied by interlocking of the input operations are provided, for example, when the input operation is continued by switching from the display screen 1 to the display screen 2, When the screen switching from the first screen to the second screen is finalized and the second screen is displayed, the position of the fingertip can be confirmed at the same position as the key instructing the screen switching located on the first screen. A touch event may be displayed. Thereby, from the position of the fingertip at which the screen is switched from the display screen 1 to the display screen 2, it is possible to realize speedy operability by minimizing the movement of the fingertip when executing the operation on the display screen 2. Therefore, it is possible to devise the key display allocation position on the display screen 2. When blind touch is not possible, such as when pressing continuously, when searching for the target key display displayed on the key top, it is usually necessary to release the finger once the press operation is complete and move to the next target key. It is common to look for. The reason is that the key display is hidden with fingers and hands and the hand cannot be seen, but since this device does not hide the key display with fingers or hands, such an operation style is devised.

  Furthermore, when there are two input screens with different modes accompanied by input operations, the UI can be improved by displaying the display screen 1 and the display screen 2 so that they can be clearly distinguished. . This is because, even when the user is making an input in a hurry, it becomes easy to understand the screen being operated without confusing the recognition of the display screen and to search for the target key display.

  Further, when two input screens with different modes accompanied by input operation are provided, the assignment position and contents of the target key assigned to the display screen 2 are checked in advance while the operation is performed on the display screen 1. You may do it. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, in the case of an information terminal device having a large display unit such as a large portable information terminal or PDA, the display screen 1 and the display screen 2 may be displayed simultaneously. A display screen 1 that is performing an input operation is displayed on the left side, and a display screen 2 that is waiting for input is displayed on the right side by performing oblique line processing. It is desirable that the display of the oblique line processing unit is made lighter than that of the display screen 1 so that the display on the display screen 1 being executed can be clearly recognized. In this way, the display screen 2 waiting for input is displayed when the screen is switched from the display screen 1 to, for example, the position of the display screen 1 is switched, so that the user can clearly check the display contents. The input operation can be continued.

  Furthermore, when the number key or menu key assigned to the display screen 2 is lightly pressed, the display screen 2 may be displayed at the position of the display screen 1 as a touch event. The display on the inner display screen 2 may be clearly recognized.

  Furthermore, in FIG. 2A, the information displayed by the display unit 7 is described using an example of a device in which the display unit 13 and the operation unit 15 are integrated. For example, the input device 1 is a desktop computer. As in the case of a remote controller for a large-sized device such as a display device, a display device independent of the input device 1 may be displayed on a device connected to the input device 1 wirelessly or via USB.

  Further, for example, when inputting an alphabetic character, the first input of the alphabetic character is performed by repeating the operation of moving the fingertip to the target key display position while pressing the convex portion of the operation panel and pushing the portion more strongly. Once the fingertip is released from the operation panel and a second input of the same alphabet character is performed again after a predetermined time has elapsed, the alphabet character between the first input and the second input is between the alphabet characters by the first input. A space may be entered. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the confirmation operation for the “space”.

In the present embodiment, a case where the pressing sensitivity points 5 ₁ ,..., 5 _N of the operation unit 3 are 16 will be described. The first embodiment follows the custom of 3 columns and 4 rows, such as a mobile phone with a history. In the present embodiment, 16 convex portions of 4 columns and 4 rows are formed as an example based on the smooth finger movement range and the arrangement dimensions of the convex portions that make it easy to recognize the target convex portion by fingertip tactile sense.

  In this embodiment, the first group of alphabets is A, B, D, E, H, I, N, O, R, S, T, U, L, and M, and the other alphabets are second. Group. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of the alphabet arrangement of (a) the first group and (b) the second group displayed by the display unit 7. 8A and 8B correspond to FIGS. 5A and 5B, respectively, and are referred to as an input screen 1 and an input screen 2, respectively. The operation of the input device 1 is also the same as that in FIG. 6, but the input processing of the second space from the left in the lowermost stage in FIG. 8A is performed in step ST4 in FIG. Correspondingly similar.

  In FIG. 8A, a space is assigned to the left side of the center of the pressure sensitivity point at the bottom and the symbols “,.” Are assigned to the right side of the center. The symbol “,.” Is entered as “,” with one click and “.” With two clicks. For each of the other pressure sensitivity points, the alphabet of the first group is assigned in the order of A, B, D, E, H, I, N, O, R, S, T, U, L, and M from the upper left. . The pressing sensitivity point 17 is switched to the display shown in FIG. 8B when long-pressed at least at a point assigned with alphabets.

  In the display screen 2 of FIG. 8B, the screen switching key to the display screen 1, the numeric input screen switching key, the function input screen key, and the capital letter / small letter switching from the left to the four pressing sensitivity points at the bottom row. A key is assigned. The screen switching key, the numeric input switching key, and the function input screen key to the display screen 1 are the same as those shown in FIG. 5, and the uppercase / lowercase switching key switches the uppercase input screen to the lowercase input screen. In addition, the lowercase input screen is switched to the uppercase input screen. The other pressure sensitivity points are assigned alphabetical characters in the second group in alphabetical order.

  In the present invention, by setting the alphabet with a large number of key input operations as the first group and the alphabet with a small number of key input operations as the second group, the continuous key operations for inputting the alphabet are extremely few. Furthermore, the display screen switching process is omitted, and the operability is improved by simplifying the operation.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the number of pressing sensitivity points is increased to 16 compared with the first embodiment, thereby increasing the probability that the character input operation can be completed only with FIG. 8A among the 26 letters of the alphabet. In (b), one alphabet is assigned to each input key to make the display easy to see and to facilitate the input process.

  With reference to FIG. 9, the result which divided and displayed the alphabet in 2 groups in Example 1 and Example 2 is demonstrated. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the appearance frequency of characters for each input screen in the first and second embodiments. The English sentence in FIG. 9 compares three sentence examples randomly selected from magazines of the natural science genre in order to show the superiority of the present invention regarding the appearance frequency.

  The characters displayed on the display screen 1 of Example 1 had a high appearance frequency of 76% to 82.6% with respect to the total number of characters in the three sentence examples. Further, in the first embodiment, a plurality of keystrokes are not required to display a character to be input. Therefore, as compared with the case where the input is performed by continuous typing character input of the conventional mobile phone, the same input is realized with the number of keystrokes according to the first embodiment with the number of keystrokes of 50% to 62%. That is, in (a), the number of presses for repeated character input is 518, whereas in Example 1, it is 296, which is 57%. In (b), the number of presses for repeated character input is 466. On the other hand, in Example 1, it is 288 and 62%, and in (c), the number of presses for continuous character input is 518, whereas in Example 1, it is 260 and 50%.

  In addition, the characters displayed in FIG. 8A of Example 2 have an appearance frequency of 83% to 86% with respect to the total number of characters in three sentence examples, which is higher than that in Example 1. Further, since it is not necessary to make multiple keystrokes in order to display the character to be input as in the first embodiment, the number of keystrokes according to the second embodiment is smaller than that in the case where the input is performed by continuous character input of a conventional mobile phone. As described below, the same input was realized with the number of keystrokes of 46% to 54%, which was smaller than that in Example 1. That is, in (a), the number of presses for repeated character input is 518, whereas in Example 2, the number is 281 and 54%, and in (b), the number of presses for repeated character input is 466. On the other hand, in Example 2, it is 251 and 54%, and in (c), the number of times of continuous character input is 518, whereas in Example 2, it is 239 and 46%.

  As described above, according to the present invention, by assigning key display characters having a high appearance frequency in English to the display screen 1, almost all operations for character input can be performed only on the display screen 1, and simple operation with less screen switching is possible. UI can be realized. Furthermore, the superiority of the number of keystrokes overwhelming compared to conventional cell phone continuous character input is demonstrated, and a comfortable user interface (UI) as if the QWERTY key is input with one hand can be realized.

  The assignment position of keys such as alphabets in the input display example of FIG. 8 is an example, and can be changed as appropriate.

It is a schematic block diagram of the input device 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the mobile telephone 11 which is a specific example of the input device 1 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the mobile telephone 11 of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a specific example of a keypad 33 in FIG. 3. It is a figure which shows an example of the display in the display part 13 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the specific operation | movement of the mobile telephone 11 of FIG. 2 and the mobile telephone 31 of FIG. It is a figure which shows another example of the display in the display part 13 of FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of display in Example 2. FIG. In Example 1 and Example 2, it is a figure which shows the result which divided and displayed the alphabet in two groups.

Explanation of symbols

1 input device, 3 operation unit, 5 ₁ ,..., 5 _N pressure sensitivity point, 7 display unit, 9 determination unit, 11 mobile phone, 13 display unit, 15 operation unit, 17, 19, 21 pressure sensitivity point, 31 mobile phone Telephone, 33 keypad, 35 display, 39 CPU

Claims (3)

An operation unit formed with a plurality of pressing sensitivity points each enabling signal output in response to pressing with a predetermined sensitivity,
A display unit that displays information assigned to each pressing sensitivity point by signal output from the operation unit as candidate information;
A confirmation unit for confirming candidate information displayed on the screen of the display unit and inputting information assigned to each pressing sensitivity point;
The information assigned to the pressure sensitivity point includes character information representing a 26-character alphabet, and the character information representing the 26-character alphabet is distinguished into two groups.
When the display unit displays all the character information representing the alphabet in the first group on the screen and the candidate information is also displayed on the screen from the first group and can be confirmed, the character information representing the alphabet in the second group. When the display unit displays all character information representing the alphabet in the second group on the screen and candidate information is also displayed on the screen from the second group and can be confirmed, the first group is displayed. It is impossible to confirm the character information that represents the alphabet in the list, and it is determined whether or not it can be confirmed in groups,
After the character information representing the alphabet in the first group is confirmed, the character information representing the alphabet in the first group can be confirmed, and after the character information representing the alphabet in the second group is confirmed, An input device in which character information representing alphabets in the first group can be determined.   The plurality of pressing sensitivity points are composed of at least 12 convex portions, and character information representing alphabets in the first group includes at least A, B, E, H, I, N, O, R, S, The input device according to claim 1, wherein ten pieces of character information of T are included, and the character information representing the alphabet in the second group includes a remainder that is not included in the first group.   The plurality of pressing sensitivity points are composed of at least 16 convex portions, and character information representing alphabets in the first group includes at least A, B, D, E, H, I, L, N, O, The input device according to claim 1, wherein twelve pieces of character information of R, S, and T are included, and character information that represents an alphabet in the second group includes a remainder that is not included in the first group. .