JPS6356581B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention allows predetermined characters to be sequentially specified in a predetermined order by operating a character search key, and when a desired character is specified, by operating a character input key, the above-mentioned characters can be specified. Electronic devices that are configured for input and have a dot matrix type character display section for displaying predetermined output information (e.g., electronic dictionaries, electronic clocks that can input alarm messages, clocks with calculators, etc.) are not involved. In particular, it was designed to provide an analog display showing the progress status of the character search without providing a dedicated display section, and in electronic equipment with the above configuration, when inputting characters. In this case, the character display section is divided into upper and lower parts, and the upper part (or lower part) displays an analog display showing the progress of the character search operation, and the lower part (or upper part) displays the characters that have already been input ( The present invention provides an electronic device characterized in that the electronic device is configured to display the currently specified character (column) and the currently specified character in a smaller format than when displaying the output information.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail based on Examples.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the appearance of an electronic English-Japanese dictionary which is an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is the power on/off key, 2 is the forward character search key, 3 is the reverse character search key,
4 is character input key, 5 is headword search key, 6
is the translation key, 7 is the clear key, 8 is the clear entry key, 9 is the display (liquid crystal display), 10
is the character index displayed on display section 9, 11
When inputting characters, displays a dot that shows the progress of the character search operation in relation to the characters that have already been input (sequence), the currently specified character, and the character index mentioned above, and displays the headword. After a search instruction or translation instruction is given, a character display section and character search operation progress display section (hereinafter simply referred to as "character display section") displays the searched entry word (English) or translated word (Japanese). It is.

Figure 1 shows the display state immediately after the second character "L" is input, with 12 displaying the already input character string, 13 displaying the cursor indicating the next character input position, and 14 is a display of the above-mentioned dots.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the display pattern of the display section 9. As shown in FIG.

The character display section is a 7 x 55 dot matrix type display section. Furthermore, the character indicators have a one-segment configuration, and either all character indicators are turned on or all character indicators are turned off.

During a character input operation, [c×a] in the figure is a character display unit, and the top row is used to display dots to indicate the progress of the character search operation. On the other hand, when displaying a headword or a translated word, [b×a] in the diagram is a one-character display unit. FIGS. 3 1 and 2 are diagrams showing specific examples of character display during character input operation, dot display, headword, and translation word display, respectively.

FIG. 4 shows specific examples of key operations and displays based on each key operation in this embodiment, taking as an example the case where the word "PLAY" is translated into Japanese.

First, press the power on/off key (ON/OFF). As a result, the character index is displayed and a cursor is displayed at the top. Note that the power on/off key is a key that repeatedly turns the power on and off each time it is operated.

Next, press the forward character search key ().
As a result, the letter "A" is displayed at the top, and the dot corresponding to the character index of "A" lights up. In addition, the character display at this time is the third
This is shown in FIG. Thereafter, the character search operation progresses by continuing to press the sequential character search key or by repeating the pressing operation. When the character “P” is specified, press the character input key (IN)
Press. As a result, the character "P" is input as the first character, and the cursor is displayed at the next character input position.

Next, press the reverse character search key ().
This returns the designated character to the previous character "O". Thereafter, by continuing to press the reverse character search key or repeating the pressing operation, the character search operation proceeds in the reverse order. When the character "L" is specified, press the character input key.
As a result, "L" is input as the second character and the cursor is displayed at the next character input position.

If the headword search key is pressed here, a search is performed for the first headword in alphabetical order starting with the input character string "PL", and the word "PLAY" is displayed. Note that the character display at this time is as shown in FIG. 3 above. Also, at this point, the display of the character index disappears. When you press the translation key, the translated word is read and displayed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the schematic structure of this embodiment.

In the figure, 15 is a microprocessor, 16
1 is a key input device, 17 is a memory (ROM) for storing dictionary information, 18 is a display control section, and 9 is a display section.

The microprocessor 15 is a key input device 16
The operated key is determined by outputting the key strobe signal KS and reading the key input signal KI. It also specifies the address of the memory 17 and reads its contents. The display control section 18 is a type of memory that stores whether each dot on the display section 9 is turned on or off, and the microprocessor 15 writes information corresponding to the display pattern into the display control section 18. The desired display is thereby performed. Note that 19 is an address bus, and 20 is a data bus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing part of the contents stored in the memory 17.

Pairs of English words and their translations are arranged in alphabetical order of the English words.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the microprocessor 15. However, only the parts related to the present invention are described.

In the figure, F ₁ is a flag indicating that the character search key has already been pressed, and F ₂ is a flag indicating that the character input operation has been completed and the headword search key or translation key has already been pressed. , _F3 is a flag indicating that the pressing of the character search key continues for more than a predetermined time, C is a counter for counting the duration of pressing the character search key, and Cm is set in advance corresponding to the above-mentioned predetermined time. SC is a buffer (counter) that temporarily stores character codes, IB is a buffer register, and I is a counter that indicates character input digits.

In this embodiment, the correspondence between characters and character codes is as follows: "A←→1, B←→2, . . . Z←→26."

Press the power on/off key to turn on the power,
After initialization is performed, display is performed.
The display at this point is as shown in FIG. 1 above.

Next, the key is read. If the sequential character search key () is pressed, first the flag F _{1 is}
The state of is determined. Since it is initially in the reset state, after _F1 is set, "1", which is the character code for "A", is input to the character code buffer SC. The display shown in FIG. 42 is performed based on the contents of this SC. In other words, the contents of SC are 5×5=
It is decoded into a 25-dot character pattern, the first character is displayed as the letter "A", and the dot corresponding to the character index of "A" is lit. If the character search key is continued to be pressed and it is detected that the contents of the counter C have become larger than the set value Cm, flag _F3 is set, and from then on, as long as the character search key is continued to be pressed, the specified value will be set. The character code buffer SC is counted up every time, and the character search progresses. That is, the display character at the top is sequentially switched in the order of A→B→C→... at each predetermined time interval, and the display of the dots is also sequentially shifted to the right. If SC>26, "1→SC" is executed and the display returns to the one shown in FIG. 42.

If the pressing of the character search key is released when the desired character is displayed, the progress of the character search operation is stopped, and the flag _F3 and counter C are reset.

Note that it is clear from the figure that the character search can proceed even if the key is repeatedly pressed instead of continuing to press the character search key.

Next, if you press the character input key (IN), the contents of SC at that time (character code) will be input into the most significant digit [IB(0)] of buffer register IB, and counter I will be input in preparation for the next character input. count up. Based on this, a cursor is displayed on the second character.

If the reverse character search key ( ) is pressed, character search is performed in the reverse order of the forward character search key.

After inputting a desired character or string of characters by operating the above keys, if the headword search key is pressed, a search is performed for the first headword starting with the input character (sequence), and then flag _F2 is set. Then,
However, based on flag _F2 being set, the character index display disappears, and each character that makes up the searched headword is decoded into a character pattern of 7 x 5 = 35 dots and displayed. be done.
Thereafter, each time the headword search key is pressed, the next headword is sequentially read out and displayed. When the desired headword is displayed, pressing the translation key will read and display the translated word.

In addition, if you press the translation key after inputting the spelling of the desired English word using the above keys, a translation search will be performed and flag _F2 will be set.
As in the case of pressing the entry word search key, at this point the display of the character index disappears, and each character is displayed in a pattern of 7×5=35 dots.

Note that the character index may be configured to be printed above the display section.

Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which each character indicator can be turned on and off independently, and the character indicators themselves are sequentially turned on instead of the dot display in the above-described embodiment. In this way, characters can be displayed in a normal pattern (7×5=35 dots pattern) during character input operations.

According to the present invention described above, it is possible to obtain an extremely useful electronic device that can provide an analog display showing the progress status of a character search operation without providing a dedicated display section.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the external appearance of an electronic English-Japanese dictionary which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the display pattern of the display section of the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of the display, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of key operation in the same embodiment and the display based on it, taking as an example the case where the word "PLAY" is translated into Japanese. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the same embodiment; FIG.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the microprocessor in the same embodiment. Code, 2: Forward character search key, 3: Reverse character search key, 4: Character input key, 5: Headword search key 6: Translation key, 9: Display section, 10:
Character index, 11: Character display section, 15: Microprocessor, 16: Key input device, 17: Memory, 18: Display control section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Predetermined characters are sequentially specified in a predetermined order by operating a character search key, and when a desired character is specified, the character is input by operating a character input key. In addition to the composition,
In electronic devices that have a dot matrix type character display section for displaying predetermined output information, when inputting characters, the character display section is divided into upper and lower halves, and the upper (or lower) Displays an analog display showing the progress of the character search operation, and displays the characters (column) that have been input and the currently specified characters at the bottom (or top) in a smaller format than when displaying the output information above. An electronic device characterized by having a configuration that allows