JP2523441Y2 - Input device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an input device capable of inputting English characters and kana.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, an input device capable of inputting alphabetic characters and kana has been provided with a shift key as means for selecting whether to input uppercase letters or lowercase letters.
The shift key is one that is operated once, and then keeps a shift state specified by the shift key until it is operated again, that is, a mode that holds the uppercase mode or the lowercase mode (hereinafter referred to as a lock-type shift key), and a period during which the shift key is pressed. It is known that the shift state is maintained only when the finger is released from the shift key and the shift key returns to the state before the shift key was operated.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the case of the former shift key, two shift keys are used to input a character in a shifted state by one character.
Had to be manipulated. In particular, when inputting kana lowercase letters, the above problems were often observed.

In the case of the latter shift key, there is a trouble that a character must be input while operating the shift key. In particular, when inputting alphabetic characters, the above problems were observed.

As another conventional technique for solving the above-mentioned problem,
Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-34889 discloses a keyboard device. That is, a plurality of shift keys are provided, and the shift state of the shift key for inputting a kana lowercase letter is valid for one character input, and the shift state after one character input is returned to the shift state before the shift key is operated. At the same time, a shift key for inputting lowercase alphabetic characters is separately provided, and has the same configuration as the above-mentioned lock type shift key.

However, providing two shift keys, one for kana lowercase letters and the other for lowercase alphabet letters, has a problem that the input device becomes large and the structure becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide an input device that can be easily operated without increasing the number of keys.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the input device of the present invention switches between an input unit for inputting characters and an alphabetic mode for inputting alphabetic characters and a kana mode for inputting kana. A first means, a second means for switching between an uppercase mode in which uppercase letters are input and a lowercase mode in which lowercase letters are input;
Means for determining whether the alphabet mode or the kana mode has been set by the means, and kana mode has been selected by the determination means when the lower case mode has been selected by the second means. Is determined, the lowercase mode is returned to the uppercase mode after one character is input by the input unit. When the determination unit determines that the alphabet mode is selected, the lowercase mode is operated until the second unit is operated. And control means for holding the uppercase mode until the second means is operated when the uppercase mode is selected by the second means.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, when the lower-case mode is selected by the second unit, the control unit inputs one character by the input unit when the determination unit determines that the kana mode is selected. Return lowercase mode to uppercase mode,
On the other hand, when it is determined by the determining means that the alphabet mode is selected, the lower case mode is held until the second means is operated. Further, when the upper case mode is selected by the second unit, the control unit keeps the upper case mode until the second unit is operated.

[Embodiment] An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a tape printer with a dial input device will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the tape printer. This tape printer is an input device 10 for inputting print data.
And a printing device (not shown) for printing on a printing tape in accordance with the print data. The input device 10 has a rotation selectable (input) dial that functions as an input unit.
16 are provided. The character selection dial 16 is formed in an annular shape, and a number of characters such as characters (kana, alphabets, and numbers) and symbols and signs are arranged on the annular dial surface 17 at equal intervals.
It is displayed in the column. Hereinafter, in order to avoid complication, these characters are typically referred to as characters.

The input device 10 is also provided with an alignment point 18 for defining the character selection position of the character selection dial 16. On the inside of the character selection dial 16, a determination key 20 operated to determine a character to be printed is provided concentrically with the character selection dial 16. After the character selection operation using the character selection dial 16, when the enter key 20 is pressed, the positioning point is set.
Among the characters located at 18, the character selected by the outside inside selection key 25 described later is determined as the input character. The characters to be aligned with the alignment points 18 are displayed on a liquid crystal display 22 provided on the frame of the tape printer.

The input device 10 further includes a plurality of necessary keys located next to the character selection dial 16 such as an outer inner selection key 25, an uppercase / lowercase key 26, a kana / kana conversion key 27, a kana / kanji conversion key 32, and a print key 35. Function keys 36 are provided. The outside / inside selection key 25 is used to select between the outside character string and the inside character string for the two-stage character string displayed on the annular dial surface 17 of the character selection dial 16. Operated. That is, if the outside is selected, a kana mode in which kana can be entered is set, and if the inside is selected, an alphabetic mode in which an alphabet can be input is set. The uppercase / lowercase key 26 is operated when the input character is to be uppercase or lowercase, that is, when the uppercase / lowercase mode is selected. In addition, Kana / English mode and capital letters /
The selection status of the lower case mode is displayed in a mode display area (not shown) of the liquid crystal display 22.
The kana-kana conversion key 27 is operated when converting characters entered in the kana mode into hiragana and katakana. The kana / kanji conversion key 32 is operated at the time of kanji conversion for the kana character determined as an input character by operating the enter key 20. The print key 35 is operated when printing input characters.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a control system of the tape printer.

The character selection dial 16, the enter key 20, and various function keys 36 are connected to an input interface 182. Input interface 182 is connected to bus line 184
U186, ROM188, RAM190, character generator (hereinafter CG
192) and an output interface 196.

The ROM 188 includes a program memory 198 for storing a program for controlling the entire operation of the tape printer, a dictionary memory 200 used for kana / kanji conversion, and the like. R
AM190 has input buffer 202, kana flag 206, lowercase flag 2
08 and confirmation flag 209 etc., various buffers and counters,
It has a register. The kana flag 206 becomes logical "0" when the kana mode is selected by the outer inner selection key 25.
In addition, when the alphabet mode is selected, the logic becomes "1". Lowercase flag 208 is for lowercase key 26
When the lowercase mode is selected, the logic becomes "1", and when the uppercase mode is selected, the logic becomes "0". The determination flag 209 is set to logic "1" when a determination operation is performed on the candidate character input by dialing. The CG-ROM 192 generates a dot pattern of a character to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 22.

The liquid crystal display 22 and a printing device are connected to the output interface 196.

Next, the operation of the above-described tape printer will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

When the power supply (not shown) of the tape printer is turned on,
The CPU 186 executes step S1 (hereinafter simply referred to as S1 to S27).
, The input buffer 202 is cleared and each mode is initialized. That is, the logic of the kana flag 206, the lowercase flag 208, and the confirmation flag 209 are each set to “0”.
To set the kana mode and the uppercase mode, and define the input characters as undetermined characters. CPU 186
The set mode is displayed in a mode display area (not shown) of the liquid crystal display 22. Select dial for S2
It detects which of 16 characters is selected and obtains the character mode corresponding to that character as input data. At S3, it is determined whether or not the character selection dial 16 has been rotated, and YES
The process moves to S4 at the time of, and moves to S7 at the time of NO.

In S4 to S6, a process of storing the selected input data in the input buffer 202 and displaying it on the liquid crystal display 22 is performed. That is, in S4, it is determined whether or not the determination flag 209 is "1", that is, whether or not the dial rotation operation has been performed for the first time after the determination operation of determining the character selected by the character selection dial 16 as an input character. S5 when YES
If NO, shift to S6. In S5, since the dial operation was performed for the first time after the confirmation operation, the input character display was shifted right by one character, and the confirmation flag was set.
After the operation of setting 209 to “0” is performed, the process proceeds to S6. S
In 6, the operation of storing the candidate character selected by the character selection dial 16 in the input buffer 202 and the operation of displaying the character stored in the input buffer 202 on the liquid crystal display 22 are performed, and the process returns to S2.

When the process proceeds to S7 via S2 and S3, since the dial rotation operation has not been performed, the key scan of the function key 36 is performed by the CPU 186, and the following S8 to S26 are determined. When it is determined in S8 that the confirmation key 20 has been operated, the confirmation flag 209 is set to "1" in S9, and the process returns to S2. If it is determined in S10 that the outside / inside selection key 25 has been operated, the kana flag 206 is inverted in S11, the current mode status is displayed, and the flow returns to S2. If it is determined in S12 that the uppercase / lowercase key 26 has been operated,
Move to S13. In S13 to S20, a case conversion process is performed. In S13, it is determined whether or not the determination flag 209 is "0". When the determination flag 209 is not "0", that is, when the character is determined, error processing is performed in S14, and the process returns to S2. If the determination result in S13 is YES, in S15, it is determined whether or not the kana flag 206 is "0". If the determination is YES, that is, if the kana mode is selected, the process proceeds to S16.
At that time, that is, when the alphabet mode is selected, the process shifts to S17. In S16, since the kana mode and the lowercase mode have been selected, the logic "0" is forcibly set in the lowercase flag 208 in order to validate only one character of the kana lowercase character, and the process proceeds to S19. In addition, in S17, since the uppercase / lowercase key 26 was operated when the alphabet mode was selected, the selected mode of the uppercase mode and the lowercase mode was held until the next operation of the uppercase / lowercase key 26. Then, the logical value of the lowercase flag 208 is inverted, the current mode status is displayed based on the logical value of the lowercase flag 208, and the routine goes to S18. In S18, it is determined whether or not the lowercase flag 208 is "1". When NO, that is, when the uppercase mode is selected, S23 is shifted. When YES, that is, when the lowercase mode is selected, S19 is performed. Move on to In S19, it is determined whether or not a lower case character is present in the character selected by the character selection dial 16. When NO, that is, when a character having no lower case character such as "sa" is selected, a lower case character is selected. If the mode is selected, the process returns to S2 after performing the error processing in S14. If the result of the determination in S19 is YES, the lower-case character code corresponding to the character selected in S20 is input to the input buffer 202, and the process proceeds to S23.

In FIG. 3, when the determination result in S12 is NO, S
At 21, it is determined whether or not the kana-kana conversion key 27 has been operated. If YES, the process proceeds to S22, and if NO, the process proceeds to S24. In S22, processing related to kana-kana conversion,
That is, if the hiragana is selected, the character code is converted into the corresponding katakana code and stored in the input buffer 202, and the process proceeds to S23. In S23, a process of displaying a character pattern generated in the CG-ROM 192 on the liquid crystal display 22 based on the character code in the input buffer 202 is performed.

In S24, it is determined whether or not the kana-kanji conversion key 32 has been operated. If YES, the process proceeds to S25, and if NO, the process proceeds to S26. In S25, a process related to kana-kanji conversion, that is, a process of performing kanji conversion on an input kana character group, and then converting the character code of the kana character group to the kanji code and storing the same in the input buffer 202 Then, the process proceeds to S23.

In S26, it is determined whether the print key 35 has been operated or not. If YES, the process proceeds to S27, and if NO, the process proceeds to S2. In S27, a process related to printing, that is, a process of developing the character code group stored in the input buffer 202 into a corresponding character pattern, and printing it on a printing tape by a printing device (not shown) is performed, and the process returns to S2.

By performing the above operation, the operator can easily input desired characters. In particular, when entering a document in which both uppercase and lowercase letters are mixed, it is determined whether the alphabetic mode or the kana mode has been selected, and when the lowercase mode has been selected while the alphabetic mode has been selected. While the lowercase mode is held until the next mode switching, while the lowercase mode is selected while the kana mode is selected, the lowercase mode is enabled for only one character input, thereby continuously Only when an infrequently used kana lowercase character is input, the subsequent input is returned to the kana uppercase mode, so that an input device with excellent operability can be realized without increasing the number of operation keys. Become.

It should be noted that the present embodiment is merely an example in which the present invention is embodied in a tape printer with a dial input device, and it is apparent that the present invention can be applied to other input devices, for example, a keyboard.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, the input device of the present invention is designed such that when the kana mode is selected by the first means and the lowercase mode is selected by the second means, the lowercase character is input immediately after one character is input. Return the mode to uppercase mode and
When the alphabet mode is selected by the means and when the kana mode is selected by the first means and the capital letter mode is selected by the second means, the second mode is operated until the second means is operated. By providing the control means for holding the current mode selected by the means, it is possible to obtain an input device having excellent operability without increasing the number of keys.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a tape printer with a dial input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the tape printer with a dial input device. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the tape printer with a dial input device. In the figure, 10 is an input device, 25 is an outside inside selection key, 26 is a capital letter key, 186 is a CPU, 190 is a RAM, 206 is a kana flag, and 208 is a small letter flag.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-58-46424 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An input unit for inputting characters, first means for switching between an alphabetic mode for inputting alphabetic characters and a kana mode for inputting kana, and an uppercase mode for inputting uppercase characters and a lowercase mode for inputting lowercase characters A second means for switching between a lower case mode and a lower case mode; a determining means for determining whether the alphabet mode or the kana mode has been set by the first means; and a lower case mode being selected by the second means. At this time, when it is determined by the determining means that the kana mode is selected, the lowercase mode is returned to the uppercase mode after one character is input by the input unit, and it is determined that the alphabet mode is selected by the determining means. The lower-case mode is maintained until the second means is operated,
Control means for holding the uppercase mode until the second means is operated when the uppercase mode is selected by the means.