WO2010061640A1 - Mobile terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

A compact mobile terminal device comprising relatively many small keypads at a narrow footprint in a panel constituting the mobile terminal device is provided with a means for allowing finger tips of a user to be easily matched with the small keypads, wherein the mobile terminal device conventionally had a problem that finger tips of a user cannot be easily matched with the keypads even if characters on the keypads are recognized. By applying a principle that ease of matching finger tips of a user is unconnected with recognition of characters on the keypads, the mobile terminal device is provided with a means for continuously changing the lightness of color between neighboring keypads substantially in the form of a wave and making the lightness of color of the characters on the keypads different from the lightness of color of the keypads. This improves the ease of matching visually and optically. The mobile terminal device improves the ease of matching further by a means for setting the range in a keypad for receiving a character into a diamond shape. Alternatively, the ease of matching can be improved by a means for changing the height of a keypad and the height of a neighboring keypad, which constitute a keypad group, continuously and alternately in the form of a wave.

Description

Mobile device

The present invention can be applied to a wireless voice telephone terminal, an Internet terminal and a television receiver used for text data communication such as electronic mail, a video camera (including still images and moving images), and a portable video game. Regarding terminals.
The present invention particularly relates to a compact portable terminal having a relatively large number of keypads in a narrow footprint in a panel constituting the portable terminal.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, portable terminals that are widely used have a keypad composed of two symbols for ten numbers, which is necessary when dialing a telephone number of a caller.
This portable terminal is also used when inputting necessary text for the purpose of creating e-mail texts as the Internet. When used in Japanese, 10 consonant sounds ("A" only vowels) of "Akasata Hamayawara" equal to the 10 numbers are simultaneously printed on the 10 number keypad. Therefore, 5 vowels are used in combination.
When used in a language other than Japanese, for example, English alphabet characters (hereinafter simply referred to as characters) printed on the ten numeric keypads are used. Since there are 26 English characters, a plurality of characters such as 3 abc characters are assigned to the 10 numeric keypads, for example, 1 numeric keypad. Thus, for example, when inputting the word word, the four keypads corresponding to the four alphabetic characters constituting the word are depressed and input, and the word candidate selected by the electronic circuit built in the portable terminal is displayed on the display unit. The correct word word is selected from the displayed words.
This operation is repeated to create a text sentence.

On the other hand, a so-called smartphone having a relatively large number of small keypads in a narrow footprint is known as a conventional portable terminal. In particular, this smartphone is not only used for voice calls but also for the Internet, for example, all of the letters corresponding to 26 letters required for inputting text necessary for creating e-mail texts, for example. Most keypads are equipped. This character keypad is usually arranged on the keyboard in a form of 3 rows and 10 columns in a QWERTY arrangement used for a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC).
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional smart phone type single plate (straight) type mobile terminal. In FIG. 1, 1 is a mobile terminal, 2 is a hard keyboard, 3 is a display device, 11 is a frame of the mobile terminal, 21 is an English character keypad, 22 is an alphanumeric keypad, and 23 is a function (also called a command). Is a function), 25 is a cross keypad (pointing device), and 26 is a shortcut icon for a voice call.
The surfaces of the keypads 21, 22, and 23 are on the same plane parallel to the surface of the frame 11 of the mobile terminal 1 when the keypad is not depressed. Color contrast is given to the color of each keypad and the character color imprinted on each keypad.

The conventional smart phone type portable terminal 1 uses the character / numeric keypad indicated by 22 as a keypad composed of 10 numbers necessary for dialing a telephone number of the other party using the phone number. The arrangement is usually arranged in 4 rows or 3 rows, for example. Further, as indicated by 22, numbers are displayed in white, for example, different from characters. Switching between letter and number keypads is done by depressing a specific function keypad (not shown).
The display device 3 is usually composed of a liquid crystal display device, and may or may not have a touch panel function, but recently, a display device having a touch panel function is widely used (in this application, a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel function). ).
When the character keyboard of the keypad in the keyboard 2 is depressed and entered, before inputting all the characters of the word to be inputted, the electronic circuit of the portable terminal shows several word candidates including those characters as shown in FIG. The smart phone type portable terminal 1 has a function of displaying as shown at 31.
At the same time, it has a function of referring to past information histories and displaying them in order from the word candidate having the highest accuracy and the highest probability. Further, referring to the past information history, a word candidate having the highest accuracy, for example, 33 is selected, and temporarily input into a text character string created as shown at 32 in FIG. indicate. If the tentatively input word is correct, the subsequent character is continuously input from the character keypad as it is to create the subsequent word. If the temporarily input word is not correct and is changed, for example, 34 is pushed down with the down key of the cross keypad 25, for example, the cursor is moved down by selecting the word 34 to be changed, and then the cross is selected. Press down the enter key on the keypad 25. In this way, the selected 34 is inputted by changing the temporary input word 33 of the sentence 32.

To select a correct word or phrase from the plurality of word candidates and phrase candidates 31, the cursor is moved to the display unit 31 by operating the above-described (1) cross keypad (pointing device) 25. The display unit 31 is moved up and down for selection. In addition, (2) the word candidate or phrase candidate to be selected is directly touched with the fingertip of the user, and (3) the word candidate or phrase to be selected with the pen tip for example by a digital pen for the user to input. Touch the candidate directly.

In some conventional smartphone-type mobile terminals, the hard keyboard is omitted, and for example, characters are input and the touch panel is used as an input device. The function is usually called a soft keyboard. FIG. 2A is a plan view when a smartphone-type mobile terminal using a touch panel without a hard keyboard is used in a portrait orientation. In FIG. 2A, 101 is a portable terminal, 102 is a soft keyboard, 103 is a display device, 121 is a character keypad, 123 is a function keypad, and 126 is a function keypad that switches to a numeric keypad.
In the case of a soft keyboard, the numeric keypad is usually used by switching the display of the soft keyboard by depressing this specific function keypad 126.
Since the soft keyboard using the touch panel described above can freely change the shape of the keyboard and keypad, for example, when used as an e-mail, the mobile terminal 101 is laid on its side so that the ten characters arranged in one line as a landscape are displayed. The corresponding keypad pitch can also be increased somewhat.
FIG. 2B is a plan view when the portable terminal 101 using the touch panel is used in landscape orientation. In FIG. 2B, 102 is a soft keyboard, 103 is a display device, 121 is a character keypad, 123 is a function keypad, and 126 is a function keypad that switches to a numeric keypad.

The size of the smartphone-type mobile terminal 101 is, for example, a height (length) of 100 mm, a width (width) of 60 mm, and a thickness of 8 mm. The size of the keypad is, for example, in the case of FIG. 1, having a height of 10 mm and a width of 5 mm. Also, for example, in the case of FIGS. 2A and 2B, the size of the touch panel is 80 mm in height and 50 mm in width, and the keypad size is 5 mm × 8 mm when used vertically, and when used horizontally. 7mm x 8mm.

The problem with a compact smartphone-type mobile terminal that has a relatively large number of small keypads in a narrow footprint is that the user is required to enter text that is necessary when composing e-mail texts using the mobile terminal, for example. That is bad.
Here, the operability means (1) that the character that the user wants to input is easy to see on the corresponding keypad (easy to recognize), (2) that the user's fingertip is easy to align with the keypad, (3) It is possible to realize that characters on the keypad with the user's fingertip depressed are input. Among these, (1) is a necessary condition but not a sufficient condition, and (2) is a minimum necessary condition and a sufficient condition. (3) is a condition for enhancing the user's confidence in (2).

As an advantage when using the touch panel as a soft keyboard, the frequency of the alphabetic characters used and the misalignment when the user presses the keypad are stored in an electronic device installed in the mobile terminal, so-called learning effect keypad It is also possible to change the acceptance range, that is, the contour (Patent Document 1).
In other words, it is known that the reception range can be set continuously in plane space as a characteristic of the touch panel. For example, it is known that the physical size of the keypad is changed according to the frequency of use and the contour is displayed. Yes.
Also, without changing the size and outline of the keypad recognized by the user using the characteristics of the touch panel, for example, the specific character keypad is actually input according to the size and thickness of the user's fingertip. It is also known that the accepted reception range can be changed.

As a soft keyboard using a touch panel, change the brightness (brightness) of the color of the adjacent character keypad to gray (intermediate brightness height) and white (maximum brightness height) with alternating contours. In addition, a conventional technique in which black characters (minimum brightness) are displayed therein is also known (Patent Document 2).
This prior art relates to an input device related to car navigation mounted on an automobile. When a specific character is input, only the character keypad of the input specific character is changed to black so as to have a further contrast with the surroundings, and at the same time, the color of the character therein is highlighted in white. In this way, a technique for discriminating whether a specific character is input correctly or incorrectly is disclosed.
JP 2000-0666817 JP2004-301655A

In a portable terminal (not limited to a smartphone type), a mouse or operation panel such as a PC is not usually used from the viewpoint of portability, and only the above-described cross key (pointing device) 25 is provided and a display screen is provided. Smaller than PC. As a result, it takes time to select a required specific address from, for example, a list of telephone and mail addresses recorded in the mobile terminal, other than inputting a new text. That is, for example, ten address lists are displayed on a limited display screen, and if there is no specific address in the list, the address list is displayed by scrolling the cross key (pointing device) 25. When the specific address appears on the display screen, the selection pad of the cross key (pointing device) 25 is depressed to select it. For example, the above operation is performed when selecting specific information from list-like information distributed over the Internet.

(1) As a problem of the above-described smartphone-type mobile terminal, especially in the case of a single plate (straight) type as shown in FIG. 1, the horizontal (X direction) pitch of the character keypad is only about 5 mm. is there.
On the other hand, the thickness of the fingertip of the user is about 10 mm, which is about twice as large as the pitch of a specific character keypad, though there are individual differences. Therefore, even when a specific character keypad is recognized, it is necessary to adjust the fingertips so as not to touch the adjacent character keypad when aligning the fingertip therewith. is there. There is a problem that the user perceives stress in the rectangular outline itself that indicates the boundary between the character keypad shown in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B and the adjacent character keypad.
In addition, if a small character keypad is operated for a long time, only a specific part of the fingertip is kept in contact when the character keypad is depressed, which causes a problem that the user's fingertip is likely to get tired.

(2) Next, especially in the case of a soft keyboard using a touch panel as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, there is no click feeling when the user presses the keypad, and the touch of the fingertip has a keypad boundary. I do not understand. For this reason, the character keypad of a soft keyboard is inferior in operability compared with the character keypad of the same size in a hard keyboard.
As a result, there is a problem that it is not easy to match the fingertips even if the mobile terminal is turned sideways, the touch panel is horizontally long, and the keypad pitch is widened. Moreover, as a result of making the touch panel horizontally long, as can be seen from FIG. 2B, a larger portion of the entire size of the limited touch panel is allocated to the soft keyboard portion. As a result, the display area of the remaining part becomes narrow, and for example, even one sentence cannot be displayed on the display unit. For this reason, since the next input sentence cannot be considered from the context before and after the sentence displayed by the user, there is a problem that the operability is lowered.

According to the means of Patent Document 1, for example, the size and outline of a character keypad that is frequently used can be changed by a learning effect. As a result, for example, the mutual position of the character keypad is changed, On the other hand, a troublesome problem for the user also arises.
Further, according to the means of Patent Document 2, the lightness of the color of adjacent keypads is changed alternately, and the three types of displays that change the lightness of the color of the input specific character keypad and the specific character make it easy to see. There is. However, the contrast between the keypad color (lightness) and the character color (lightness) arranged before being input to the specific keypad cannot be increased as a result of using three types of keypad colors (including character colors). Moreover, the outline between the adjacent keypads is too clear. For this reason, there is a problem in that it gives the user a psychological influence that is rather cramped when the fingertip is put on the input keypad. That is, since it is a keyboard of a stationary device like the car navigation device described in Patent Document 2 and the keypad size is equal to or larger than the fingertip size of the user, the fingertip is put on the keypad. Unlike the application example in which this is not a problem, there remains a problem to make it easier to align a keypad smaller than the size of a fingertip, such as a portable terminal.

(3) Conventionally, as shown by 33 in FIG. 1, a plurality of word candidates and phrase candidate language characters are displayed, and a correct word or phrase is selected from among them to create a sentence string 32 on the display unit 3. The technology has the following problems. That is, when changing the selection candidate, (A) the operation of the cross key (pointing device) has a large number of operation steps, and (B) when the user selects with his / her fingertip, the word and phrase candidates are displayed vertically. Since the display pitch of the direction is as small as about 4 mm, it is difficult to align the fingertip to the word or phrase candidate location to be changed. (C) The digital pen can be used by changing the finger to the digital pen each time it is selected. There is an annoying problem.

(4) In relation to the problems (2) and (3), for example, the keypad color is set to, for example, black, and the characters are displayed in white so that the boundary between adjacent character keypads of a small character keypad is hardly noticeable. There is also a conventional technique. In this way, the user can easily recognize the characters displayed in white. However, when the user puts his / her fingertip on a specific character keypad, the character shape differs from the character keypad row displayed at a short interval (pitch) from the adjacent white character. There are challenges that are difficult to match to rely solely on.
(5) In a portable terminal (not limited to a smartphone type), for example, a specific address is selected from an address list. When a portable terminal displays a larger number of lists at a time for a limited display screen, individual address information is generally displayed smaller. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to match a fingertip to a specific address.
(6) When a fingertip is put on the small character keypad of the portable terminal, the individual difference of the user greatly affects the ease of the setting. The ease of fingertip alignment is delicately related to, for example, the color brightness difference between adjacent character keypads, the size and thickness of the characters on the keypad. The prior art has a problem that these specifications cannot be set by the user.

An object of the present invention is to solve several problems of the prior art, especially the problem that it is difficult to align the fingertip with a small keypad in a small keypad. That is, in a compact device having a relatively large number of small keypads in a narrow footprint typified by a smartphone-type mobile terminal, it is easy for a user to align a fingertip with a small keypad, and information on the keypad can be reliably input. Means.

The inventor earnestly researched a means by which the user, who is the subject, can easily align a fingertip with a small keypad. As a result, we have found the principle when a person matches a specific object among similar objects that are adjacent to each other in the left-right or up-down direction. That is, when a person matches a specific object Y with a specific means X, the specific object Y as a target to be combined is recognized, and at the same time, a similar shape or color object adjacent to the specific object Y is between the specific object Y and the specific object Y. Implicitly measure distance and interval. Then, the distance and interval are compared with a specific means X, for example, the size of the fingertip, and it is determined that the fingertip size (including the three-dimensional shape) is smaller than the distance and interval. . That is, when a human uses X to match another specific object Y with specific means X, the outline of the specific object Y to be combined is digitally recognized, and at the same time, the outline of a similar object adjacent to the specific object Y is also digital. To recognize. At the same time, the background of those objects, for example, the boundary between adjacent keypads, is focused on the analog recognition where the brightness changes continuously (the change in the first derivative of the brightness is also continuous). And found that there was no cramped feeling. For example, when the specifying unit X is a fingertip and the specific object Y to be combined is a character of a specific keypad, the distance and interval between adjacent characters of the same color (lightness) are set between them. It was found to be implicitly measured while taking into account the change in brightness with the background color of the keypad, that is, the keypad color.
In other words, the content and position of the character itself on the keypad are displayed as digital contour information in order to ensure sufficient contrast for the difference in color brightness with the keypad in contact with the character. On the other hand, the digital information of the shape of a quadrangular line indicating the boundary between the character keypad and the adjacent character keypad gives the user information that restricts the size of the keypad. Instead, it provides a means for indicating wavy analog contour information of lightness instead of indicating approximate boundaries.

(1) First, in order to solve the problem of first aligning the user's fingertip with the adjacent small keypad, the inventor continuously sets the color brightness (brightness) of adjacent keypads in a substantially wave shape. The character is displayed with the brightness (brightness) opposite to that of the wave at the location of the peak of the wave, so that the distance between adjacent keypads is approximately the same as that of the keypad itself. Provide a visual and optically easy-to-fit means that makes the user feel like they are centered between three times the distance.
Here, the brightness (brightness) of the color of the keypad is the brightness (brightness) of the color of the area excluding the character part of the keypad. Next, “substantially wavy” is a general term for (A) and (B). (A) The brightness of the keypad color is continuously changed into a simple wave shape. (B) The brightness of the color of the keypad at the boundary portion that is in contact with the character portion of at least a part of the keypad color is the maximum brightness of the character of the keypad in order to ensure the contrast (recognition) of the characters. Add a difference (border of characters), and on the other hand, change the brightness difference between adjacent keypads continuously to make it blurry (without giving a cramped feeling about the keypad spacing information) It is provided to the user to make it easier to align the fingertips).
(2) Secondly, continuously changing the brightness of the color of the area indicating the input acceptance range of a plurality of word candidates and phrase candidates composed of at least language characters displayed on the touch panel in a substantially wave shape. Visual blur that blurs the boundary between adjacent word candidates and makes the user feel that the distance between them is centered between three times the distance between word candidates and phrase candidates. Provide a means that is optically easy to match. The meaning of the substantially wavy shape is basically the same as described in (1) except that there are a plurality of characters.
(3) Third, since the size of the user's fingertip varies from person to person, based on the results of an experimental investigation of distribution data of the size of the fingertip of a person who is assumed to use a mobile terminal, in principle In particular, it is possible to provide means that is particularly easy to match when the pitch of the small keypad narrower than the fingertip is in the range of 3 mm to 12 mm. That is, means that are particularly easy to match in the range of 3 mm of an interval of about 1/3 of the upper limit 12 mm of the interval where the pitch of the small keypad is approximately equal to the thickness of the fingertip of the user (12 mm to 9 mm) to the lower limit of 9 mm, I will provide a.
Further, it is confirmed that the brightness (brightness) of the background color (acceptance range) of the small keypad and / or word candidates and phrase candidates described in the items (1) and (2) continuously changes in a wave shape. In order to make the display conscious of the above, a means that is particularly easy for the user is provided by displaying the background color in the region of at least 20% or more of the wave interval (pitch) described above. .
(4) Fourth, especially in a soft keyboard using a touch panel, the character keypad to be displayed is arranged in a zigzag arrangement with one line of characters arranged in the QWERTY standard arrangement, and the input range for actually determining the input character information ( Provide a means for making a diamond shape (not appearing on the display). This utilizes the fact that the alignment error when the user aligns the fingertip with the character on the keypad is distributed over the vertical and horizontal crosses from the center of the character. That is, a means is provided which makes it easy to match by making the reception range a diamond shape and does not strike adjacent character keypads simultaneously. Further, by combining the means (1) with the means in the oblique direction of the character keypad, there is provided means for further greatly improving the operability due to the synergistic effect that allows easy input and reliable input. .
(5) Fifth, in a hard keyboard, by continuously changing the planar heights of adjacent keypads in a wave-like manner to each other and using it together with the first means described above, it is possible for the user. Provide a means for easy physical, visual and optical alignment.
(6) Sixth, there is provided means for quickly selecting a specific address from the displayed address list and making it easy to match the fingertip to the specific address.
(7) Seventh, when a fingertip is placed on a small character keypad, the user's individual difference greatly affects the ease of matching. For example, the hue difference between adjacent character keypads, the character of the keypad Provided is a means by which a user can easily set the size and character thickness specifications.

First, in order to explain the means of (1) in more detail, the ergonomic theory relating to (1) described in [0017] will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, and 3F. To do.
The character keypad in the following drawings will be described by taking a soft keypad using a touch panel as an example, but this principle can also be applied to a hard keypad.

FIG. 3A shows character keypads Q, W, E, R, T, and Y on the conventional soft keyboard shown in FIG. 2A or 2B. However, in order to facilitate comparison with the present invention described later, the character keypad displays characters in white as a black background. In FIG. 3A, X0 and Y0 represent the size of each character keypad, that is, the spatial pitch in the X and Y directions, respectively.
FIG. 3B is a graph showing the relationship between the position (horizontal axis) in the X direction of the keypad in FIG. 3A and the brightness G (vertical axis) indicating brightness. In FIG. 3B, G1 and G2 are the brightness of black and white, respectively. In FIG. 3B, x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, and x6 respectively indicate the center positions of the character keypads Q, W, E, R, T, and Y in the X direction. In FIG. 3B, a function F1 (X): 30 represents a change in brightness on the keypad surface when scanning in the X right direction, that is, the one-dimensional direction in FIG. 3A. Although the shape of the lightness waveform is slightly different due to the difference in the shape of the characters in FIG. 3A, the same waveform is shown for simplicity.
Next, referring to FIG. 3B, a function F1 (x): 30 representing a change in lightness of the keypad surface will be described. First, at the left end in FIG. 3A: X = 0, F (x): 30 is at the level of G1 (black) having the lowest brightness. When scanning in the X direction, as shown in FIG. 3B, the function F (x): 30 is a pulse-like waveform that peaks at the level of G2 (white) having the highest brightness at the position corresponding to the white character Q. 30A.
Thereafter, when scanning in the X right direction, a pulse-like waveform corresponding to each white character is repeated for each pitch X0.

FIG. 3C shows a display of a pure checkered pattern with the maximum brightness contrast added to the character keypad and the character color, which the inventors have examined the disclosed technique of Patent Document 2 in the process of the present invention. As is apparent from FIG. 3C, this display cannot outline the character color. 3A is compared with the present invention described later using FIG. 3E. In QWERTY, the three letters QET are white and the three letters WRY are black.

FIG. 3D is a graph showing the relationship between the position (horizontal axis) of the keypad in the X direction in FIG. 3C and the brightness G (vertical axis) indicating brightness. In FIG. 3D, a function F2 (X): 40 represents a change in lightness on the keypad surface when scanned in the X direction, that is, the one-dimensional direction in FIG. 3C. As in FIG. 3B, the shape of the lightness waveform differs depending on the shape of the character, but for the sake of simplicity, the same waveform is shown.
The lightness waveform of the character displayed in black is a pulse waveform 40B having a center at the bottom, unlike the lightness waveform 40A of the white display character.
Next, referring to FIG. 3C, a function F2 (x): 40 representing a change in lightness of the keypad surface will be described. First, at the left end in FIG. 3C: X = 0, F2 (x): 40 is at the level of G1 (black) having the lowest brightness. When X is scanned in the right direction, that is, in a one-dimensional direction, to a signal level corresponding to the white letter Q, as shown in FIG. 3D, the function F2 (x): 40 suddenly increases the level of G2 (white) having the highest brightness. A pulse-like waveform 40A having a peak is obtained.
Thereafter, when scanning to the right in the X direction, F2 (x): 40 suddenly rises from G1 to G2 in a rectangular wave shape at the position where the end of the checkered keypad changes from black to white. Then, after maintaining the G2 level up to the black W position, the waveform 40B falls in a pulse shape from G2 to G1 corresponding to the black W signal. When the scanning is further performed in the right direction, that is, the one-dimensional direction, the same waveform is repeated every two times the pitch X0.

FIG. 3E is a plan view of a QWERTY 6-character keypad according to the present invention corresponding to FIGS. 3A and 3C. As shown in the figure, each keypad has a background color that continuously changes in a wave shape from light to dark and from dark to light between adjacent keypads in the X direction. There is no clear outline between adjacent keypads. In QWERTY, the three characters QET are white, and the background color of each keypad continuously changes in a wave shape, and there are three characters QET in the darkest black position.
On the other hand, in the QWERTY, the three WRY characters are black, and the background color of each keypad continuously changes in a wave shape, and there are three WRY characters in the brightest white position. By such means, the contrast of the character with respect to the background color of the keypad is obtained.

FIG. 3F is a diagram showing the same brightness function F3 (x): 50 as FIG. 3B in FIG. 3A. Unlike the lightness waveform for white display characters, the lightness waveform for black display characters is a pulse-like waveform with the center at the bottom. As in FIG. 3A, the shape of the lightness waveform actually differs depending on the character, but for simplicity, it is shown with the same waveform.
The lightness waveform of the character displayed in black is different from the lightness waveform 50A of the character displayed in white, and is a pulsed waveform 50B with the center at the bottom.
First, at the left end in FIG. 3E: X = 0, F3 (x): 50 is at a level of an intermediate color between G1 (black) and G2 (white). When scanning to the right in the X direction, the color of the keypad becomes darker continuously and becomes black at a position corresponding to the white character Q having the highest brightness. Therefore, F3 (x): 50 in the white Q signal becomes a pulse-like waveform 50A having a peak at the G2 (white) level.
Thereafter, when scanning to the right in the X direction, the color of the Q keypad gradually becomes brighter and is continuously connected to the color of the adjacent W keypad to further increase the brightness. And it becomes white at the position of W. Since W is black at that position, F3 (x): 50 becomes a downward pulse-like waveform 50B having a peak at the level of G1 (black) having the lowest brightness. When scanning is further performed in the X direction, the same waveform is repeated every two times the pitch X0.

As can be understood from the above description, when the character color is changed to white and black with the adjacent keypads as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3E, the functions F2 (X): 40 and F3 (X): 50 are F1 ( X): A waveform having a period twice as long as 30.
On the other hand, as is clear from comparison between FIG. 3C and FIG. 3E, the function F2 (X): 40 is abruptly pulsed, for example, at the boundary between the keypad Q and the keypad W, like the signal of the letter Q. Because it stands up like a letter, it feels like a character at that position in terms of visual optics.
As a result, the keypad of FIG. 3C gives a tight feeling when the fingertips are aligned as in FIG. 3A.
On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 3E corresponding to the present invention, for example, W, R at the position where the color of the keypad of W, R adjacent to the character of E with whiteness reaches the white peak, Since the lightness of the letter R changes to the lightness opposite to that of black, the brightness (lightness) cancels each other. Then, the user recognizes the letters Q and T whose brightness is further outside of the adjacent W and R, and puts his fingertip on the letter E whose brightness is white at the center. At this time, since the fingertip has a substantially dome shape, if the fingertip is first touched on the keypad with the letter E, the fingertip is also moved to the adjacent black lightness letters W and R. It is implicitly conscious that the information of the letter E touched first is selected even if it touches.
As a result, the keypad color arrangement shown in FIG. 3E of the present invention provides an easy means to match the fingertip to the keypad.
As can be seen in comparison with FIGS. 3A and 3C, the display of FIG. 3E of the present invention has a somewhat small contrast between the lightness of the keypad character color and the lightness of the keypad color. This is because the display is restricted. That is, in FIG. 3E, the brightness of the keypad color is simply displayed as a wave. In particular, as can be seen from FIG. 3E, the black-colored means described in (1) is not shown in the white Q, E, and T characters. Incidentally, it should be noted that it is not necessary to apply white bordering to black, W, R, and Y characters. In the present invention, when the lightness of the color of the keypad is simply wave-like, the size of the character is determined by the relative relationship between the size of the keypad and the character size of the keypad. When the ratio in the X direction) is large, the contrast inevitably decreases. Therefore, the means described in (1), that is, continuously changing the lightness of the color of the keypad in a substantially wave shape maintains the ease of recognizing the character of the user and makes it easy to align the fingertips. It becomes a means that satisfies the necessary and sufficient conditions.
The specific contents of the means (2), (3) and (4) will be described in the embodiments described later.

(1) According to the present invention, even in a keyboard with a limited footprint of a portable terminal device provided with an adjacent small keypad, a sense that the user's fingertip is aligned at the center of the interval of about three times the keypad. This makes it easy to input according to the keypad, improving operability.
(2) According to the present invention, when the interval between adjacent small keypads is 12 mm or less, especially when the user has a fingertip size (diameter) shorter than the fingertip size, the user can easily align the fingertip with the keypad. Can be input and operability is improved.
(3) According to the present invention, at least 20% or more of the wave interval (pitch) described above has a background color of an acceptable range of word candidates and phrase candidates composed of a small keypad and / or at least language characters. By displaying that the brightness (brightness) continuously changes in a wave shape, the user can input the fingertip more easily according to the keypad, thereby improving the operability.
(4) According to the present invention, when selecting a word candidate to be input from among adjacent word candidates that are displayed at narrow intervals, for example, composed of at least language characters in the vertical direction, The operability is improved because the user can easily select and input the fingertips as if the user's fingertips were aligned with the center of the interval approximately three times the interval.
(5) According to the present invention, since the space between adjacent small keypads can be increased physically and / or optically and psychologically, the user can input the fingertips more easily according to the keypad, thereby improving operability. Will improve.
(6) According to the present invention, it is possible to perform a hard keyboard input that is easy for the user to match physically, visually, and optically, and the operability is improved.
(7) According to the present invention, there is an effect that a specific address can be quickly selected from the displayed address list.
(8) According to the present invention, there is an effect that the user can easily set, for example, the color difference between adjacent character keypads, the character size and thickness specifications of the keypad so as to be easily operated.

It is a top view of the conventional portable terminal with the hard keyboard which uses the hard keypad for input. In the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the invention portion (keyboard portion) is excluded. It is a top view of the conventional portable terminal used by the portrait which has the soft keyboard which used the soft keypad for the input using a touch panel. The description of the embodiment of the present invention is also used except for the inventive part (keyboard part). FIG. 2B is a plan view when a soft keypad is used to input FIG. 2A in landscape orientation. It is a top view of the adjacent character keypad which comprises the QWERTY arrangement | sequence of a prior art. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the distance of a horizontal (X) direction and the brightness (Y) when it scans to a horizontal (X) direction in FIG. 3A. It is a top view of the adjacent character keypad which comprises the QWERTY arrangement | sequence which applied the pure checkered pattern. It is a figure which shows the relationship with the brightness (Y) when it scans to a horizontal (X) direction in FIG. 3C. It is a top view of the adjacent character keypad which comprises the QWERTY arrangement | sequence explaining the principle of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the distance of a horizontal (X) direction and the brightness (Y) when it scans to a horizontal (X) direction in FIG. 3E. It is a top view of the soft keyboard with the character keypad of the standard QWERTY arrangement | sequence regarding Example 1 of this invention. It is an electronic circuit block diagram regarding Example 1, 2, 3 of this invention. It is a top view of the touch panel which displayed the several word candidate regarding Example 1 of this invention. It is a top view of the keyboard with the character keypad of the deformation | transformation QWERTY arrangement | sequence concerning Example 2, 3 of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the relationship between the principal part of Example 2 of this invention and FIG. It is a detailed top view of the principal part of FIG. 8A. It is sectional drawing of a part of hard keyboard concerning Example 3 of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile terminal 2 Hard keyboard 21 Character keypad 22 Number combined character keypad 23 Function keypad 25 Cross key (pointing device)
26 Short cut icon 3 for voice call 3 Display device 31 Word / sentence candidate display part 32 Sentence display part 33, 34 Word / sentence candidate 101 Mobile terminal 102 using touch panel Soft keyboard 103 Display device 121 Character keypad 123 Function key Pad 126 Numeric keyboard conversion function Keypad 30, 40, 50 Lightness function 30A, 40A Character lightness waveform 50A Character lightness waveform 40B, 50B Character lightness waveform 303 Entire touch panel 302A Soft keyboard 302B Word, phrase candidate Selection unit 302C Text display unit 304 Display element unit 305 Signal sensor units 351A and 351B of touch panel Signal sense circuit units 352A and 352B Fixed section 353A, 353B Keypad, word candidate display, acceptance range specification generating section 360 CPU (microprocessor)
370 Display control unit 380, 381 Memory unit 385 ROM unit 390 Specification setting unit 303A Overall soft keyboard 305A, 305B Fingertip 320A, 320B Character keypad row (column)
320C character keypad row (column)
320D function keypad row (column)
320E Space 321, 322 Character keypad 324 Function keypad 402 A Overall soft keyboard 472 Character keypad 472 A Character keypad acceptance range 550 Uneven resin 551 Uneven resin bottom protrusion 552 Piezoelectric film 553 Contact 554 Lower electrode 555 Spacer

In the following description, it should be noted that some elements constituting the present invention cannot be expressed in the drawings due to restrictions in creating the drawings. That is, in the following embodiments, in particular, the description and illustration of the operation of bordering a white keypad character with the highest lightness and a plurality of word candidate characters with a low lightness, for example, black, are omitted. Keep in mind that

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 4, 5, and 6. FIG. 1, 2A, and 2B are plan views of the portable terminals 1 and 101 described in the related art, and FIG. 4 is a soft keyboard to which the present invention is applied, corresponding to the conventional soft keyboard 102 of the portable terminal 101. FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electronic circuit implementing the invention of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a detailed plan view of word candidate display to which the present invention is applied, corresponding to the prior art word candidate display in FIG.
In FIG. 5, 303 is the entire touch panel of the mobile terminal 101, 302A is a soft keyboard according to the present invention, 302B is a word and phrase candidate display selection unit, 302C is a text display unit, 304 is a display element unit of the touch panel 303, and 305 is The signal sensor part of the touch panel 303 is represented.
In FIG. 5, reference numerals 351A and 351B denote a keypad and word candidate signal sense circuit unit, 352A and 352B denote a keypad and word candidate determination unit, and 353A and 353B denote a keypad and a word candidate according to the present invention, respectively. A display part and a specification generation part of the reception range are shown. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 370 denotes a display control unit, and 360 denotes a CPU. In FIG. 5, 380 and 385 related to the present invention are memory units and ROM units, 381 is a memory unit related to other purposes, 390 is a keypad related to the present invention, keypad characters and word candidates, for example, This is a display specification setting unit for setting the hue, change in color brightness, and character size.

In FIG. 4, 321 and 322 are character keypads, 324 is a function keypad, 320A, 320B, and 320C are first, second, and third rows (stages) of character keypad columns arranged in QWERTY. In FIG. 4, 320D is a row of function keypads, and 320E is a space without a keypad function. Actually, other keypads are provided, but are not shown in order to clearly show the contents of the present invention.
The external shape of the portable terminal 101 is 110 mm in length, 60 mm in width, and 10 mm in thickness. The character keypad has an X-direction pitch of about 5 mm and a Y-direction pitch of about 10 mm.

In FIG. 4, the character keypad rows (stages) 320A, 320B, and 320C of QWERTY are arranged from the character Q at the center of the character keypad 321 to the character keypad 322 as shown by the character keypads 321 and 322, for example. The keypad color continuously changes in a substantially wave shape from black to white in the X right direction up to the letter W at the center. Therefore, the outlines of the character keypads 321 and 322 and their boundaries are blurred, and constitute optically substantially wave-like continuous valleys (black system) and peaks (white system) from Q to P. . For example, Q is displayed with a contrast such as a protrusion at the bottom of the valley (black) and W is a depression at the top of the mountain (white).

In FIG. 4, since the pitch is about 10 mm in the Y direction of each row (stage) of the character keypads 320A, 320B, and 320C provided with QWERTY, the present invention is not applied to the Y direction.
In FIG. 4, 320E is a space without a keypad function between the function keypad row (column) 320D and the bottom row (column) 320C of the character keypad. As shown in FIG. 4, the space 320 </ b> E has an intermediate brightness continuously from white to black, which is the color of the alternating character keypad arranged in the X direction, from 320 C to the direction of the function keypad row (stage) 320 </ b> D. Now, gradation is implemented so that it continues to the brightness of the function keypad. Furthermore, the gradation of the present invention in which the brightness continuously changes in a substantially wave shape in the X and X directions is implemented on each of the function keypads in the function keypad row (stage) 320D.

Next, a procedure for performing gradation in which the lightness for the character keypad and / or the function keypad according to the present invention continuously changes in a substantially wave shape will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the user displays, for example, on the touch panel 3, 103 of the portable terminal (see FIGS. 1 and 2A), for example, sets the color of the character keypad and the size of the characters (see FIG. 3E). The color of the character keypad is, for example, a specification in which the left end of the row (stage) 320A of the character keypad is subjected to gradation in which the brightness continuously changes from black or white to a substantially wave shape. Also, the color setting of the character keypad is opposite to that shown in FIG. 5, for example, the center of the Q character keypad is displayed in black with the highest brightness and the Q in the center with the lowest brightness, or the intermediate gray color Can also be set. In addition, for example, the size of characters can be set.
The set specification is input to 390 shown in FIG. Based on the specification, the CPU 360 instructs the keypad display unit and the keypad specification generation unit 353A to display the soft keyboard 303A shown in FIG. Based on the instruction, 353A controls display control unit 370 to display 302A. The CPU 360 stores the specifications set at the same time in the memory unit 380. When the user does not particularly set the specification, that is, in the case of default, the CPU 360 extracts the content from the ROM 385 storing the standard specification of the portable terminal and stores it in the memory unit 380.
In FIG. 4, for example, the character keypad 321Q and the character keypad 322W are determined to be Q and W, respectively, and the reception range of each character input to the mobile terminal is a square as in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B. Yes (actually, the user cannot see the linear boundary (outline) of the rectangle in the X direction).
The touch panel sense unit 305 determines the boundary of the keypad adjacent to the specific keypad in the same manner as shown by the substantially wave-like brightness in FIG. Analog boundary (Rather than digitally partitioning adjacent keypads, information on adjacent keypads and information on the keypads are distributed with weights corresponding to positions in the keypad) It can also be.

Next, using the soft keyboard 302A based on the set specifications, the user inputs text data such as e-mail as follows. That is, the user's fingertip 305A is aligned with a specific character keypad on the soft keyboard 302A of the touch panel, and the soft keyboard 302A is touched. The signal sense circuit unit 351A of the soft keyboard 302A senses the position, the key determination unit 352A determines a specific character, and sends the information to the CPU 360. The CPU 360 displays the information on the display units 302C and 302B via the display control unit 370 and simultaneously stores the information in the memory unit 381. The user confirms the input of the text data on the display unit 302C and / or 302B. In this embodiment, for example, if two English alphabet characters n and a are input, the CPU 360 selects the word candidate predicted to 302B in FIG. 5 based on the past usage situation of the user and the information history referring to the dictionary. As shown in FIG. 6, a display based on the present invention is performed. At the same time, the most likely word candidate based on the information history is temporarily input and displayed in the sentence being created (not shown, corresponding to the conventional technique 33 (see FIG. 1)). The CPU 360 instructs the word candidate specification generation unit 353B to arrange the language characters of the word candidates in the order of high priority, ie, natural, nature, native, nation, and nature based on the past information history as shown in FIG. Displayed on the 302B via the display control unit 370 as 331.
In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the upper and lower word candidates are displayed with white and black background colors, and the brightness is continuously changed in a substantially wave shape alternately. Then, for example, the natural vertex 333 is displayed in black on the white vertex and the natural character is displayed in white on the black valley bottom. Then, the user who wants to select native 334 instead of natural 333 that was initially temporarily input matches the user's fingertip on the native 334 word and touches the touch panel to select the native 334 word. The selected native 334 word is displayed at a position indicated by 33 in FIG. 1, and when the user instructs confirmation (not shown), native 334 is formally input instead of natural 333. In addition to selecting word candidate language characters, for example, the present invention can also be applied to selecting kanji-candidate language characters by performing kana-kanji conversion by inputting Roman characters in Japanese. Moreover, although the example of five word candidates was demonstrated in FIG. 6, a present Example is applicable to the selection from three or more word candidates. When there are a large number of word candidates, the simultaneous display is, for example, five, and more word candidates can be selected by selecting specific word candidates by sequentially displaying according to the present embodiment by scrolling the touch panel. I can do it.

Next, the execution results of the basic experiment for examining the application range of the effect based on the display of the present invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 will be described. First, the character keypad pitch in the X direction in FIG. 4 is compared with the display pitch of the word candidate in the Y direction in FIG. 6, but there is no limit in the X direction, but the display pitch of the word candidate is the pitch of the character keypad. After confirming that the specifications were smaller and stricter, basic experiments were advanced with the display pitch of word candidates as a parameter. That is, a basic experiment was conducted to arrange words candidates based on the display of the present invention shown in FIG. 6, and to easily match the user's fingertip to the middle word, that is, native 334 from among them.

In the basic experiment, the experiment was conducted on 20 people from elementary school children to adults who are expected to use the mobile terminal. The size of the fingertip from the thumb of the experimenter to the middle finger was distributed from 6 mm to 18 mm. Most of them were distributed from 9 mm to 12 mm.
Here, the definition of the size of the fingertip is defined as the locus of the contour of the fingertip that touches the keypad when the fingertip touches the keypad and is depressed. It is the approximate diameter of a substantially circular cross-sectional area (exactly, for example, an ellipse that is flat in the X direction in FIG. 1).
Next, as experimental conditions, (1) the pitch of the acceptance range of word candidates is changed every 2 mm from 2 mm to 15 mm, and (2) the present invention: there is a gradation that continuously changes the lightness in a substantially wave shape, and the prior art: gradation None were tested.
The fingertip alignment ease data indicates the time required for the experimenter to match the fingertip with the alignment error between the center position of the native 334 in the Y direction (vertical direction) and the center position of the touched fingertip using the pitch and size as parameters. Obtained as an evaluation function.
As a result, the lower limit of the fingertip alignment ease to which the present invention is applied is that the pitch of the acceptance range of the word candidates is 2 mm, and 6 mm, which is about three times that, is almost the size of the smallest fingertip among the testers. It turns out that it corresponds. On the other hand, it was found that the ease of fingertip alignment is less significant than the prior art when the pitch of word candidates is greater than 12 mm. This value approximately corresponds to the size of a large fingertip among the testers. Therefore, it has been found that the application of the present invention has a remarkable effect that the fingertip is particularly easily aligned with the word candidate and / or keypad when the pitch of the acceptance range of the word candidate is 3 mm to 12 mm.
In addition, another basic experiment was conducted on the means and effects of continuously changing the brightness (brightness) of the color with respect to the acceptance range of a small keypad and / or word candidates and phrase candidates. That is, FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 are basic experiments regarding the effect on the ease of matching the allocation of the character part area of the small keypad and / or word candidate and phrase candidate and the color part area to the acceptance range. The experimenter is the same as above. As a result of the basic experiment, in order for the means of the present invention to be particularly remarkable in terms of ease of matching, the entire area of the small keypad and / or the part of the acceptance range excluding the area of the character part of the word candidate and the phrase candidate, It has been found that approximately 20% of the wavy pitch (interval) of lightness is required. Incidentally, the wavy pitch (interval) of the lightness is the interval in the horizontal (X) direction in FIG. 4 and the vertical (Y) direction in FIG.
In FIGS. 4 and 6, since the brightness can be displayed as a whole in a space where no character is displayed in the vertical and horizontal directions, the ratio between the space area and the character area can be easily matched. It was also found to affect. Again, it was found that a remarkable effect was obtained on the ease of combining at least about 20% or more of the whole.

As described above, in this embodiment, the procedure is described in which the user sets the specification so that the user's fingertip can be easily aligned with the keypad. This specification is set in advance in the portable terminal by the manufacturer of the portable terminal, for example, based on the present invention. Then, the user may use the portable terminal with the specifications as it is. In this embodiment, the soft keyboard has been described as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to, for example, a sheet-like hard keyboard.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 7, 8A, and 8B.
FIG. 7 is a detailed plan view of the soft keyboard corresponding to FIG. 4 to which the present invention is applied. 8A is a perspective view showing the relationship between the portion 302A in the touch panel 303 shown in FIG. 5 and the main part of FIG. 7, and FIG. 8B is the main part of FIG.
In FIG. 5, when the specification setting unit 390 is set to the specification of the second embodiment, the soft keyboard 402A is displayed on the touch panel 303 on 302A as shown in FIG.
As can be seen from FIG. 7, the character keypad arrangement is different from the standard QWERTY arrangement, and has a zigzag arrangement with the 5 characters of QETUO in the first row (stage) and the 5 characters of WRYIP in the second row (stage). Similarly, the ADGJL five characters are in the third row (stage), and the SFHKN five characters are in the fourth line (stage). The 6 characters of ZXCVBM are arranged in the 5th row (stage). Since the number of characters in each line is less than 10 characters in the standard QWERTY arrangement, the horizontal (X) direction pitch is correspondingly larger. On the other hand, in the vertical (Y) direction, the character keypad has more rows (stages) than three rows (stages) and the standard QWERTY arrangement. However, for the entire soft keyboard 402A, the length in the vertical (Y) direction is substantially the same as the length of the standard QWERTY array for reasons described later.
As can be seen from FIG. 7, gradation in which the brightness of the keypad, which is the concept of the present invention, is continuously changed in a substantially wave shape is implemented in the horizontal (X), vertical (Y) and both diagonal directions. Here, both diagonal directions are directions along line segments A1 and A2 and line segments B1 and B2 in FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 7, the characters in the character keypad QETUO column are displayed in the wave-like black color of the wave bottom in the wavy change in brightness in the X direction, and in the wave mountain white symmetrical to it. On the other hand, the characters in the character keypad WRYIP row are displayed in a wave-bottom black that is symmetrical with the white color of the wave mountain in the wavy change in brightness in the X direction. Further, in the character keypad ERGHV row arranged in an oblique direction along the line segments A1 and A2, the ERGHV is alternately displayed on the wave bottom and the wave mountain with the lightness of the opposite phase. Similarly, the character keypad UYGFX row arranged in the diagonal direction along the line segments B1 and B2 also displays UYGFX alternately on the wave bottom and wave mountain with lightness opposite to that of them.

The ease of alignment of the character keypad in the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 and the character keypad G472 as an example. First, the distance (pitch) between the character keypads D, G, J and T, G, C adjacent in the vertical and horizontal directions is longer in the physical space than in the first embodiment. Next, the spacing (pitch) between the character keypads R, G, H and Y, G, F adjacent to each other in the diagonal direction (the direction of the line segments A1, A2 and the line segments B1, B2) is the principle of the present invention. Therefore, E, V, U, and X, which are the same white as the character G472, are used as marks, which corresponds to aligning the fingertip with the character keypad G at a longer visual and optical interval than in the first embodiment. As a result, there is a feature that it is easier to match in the vertical and horizontal directions than in the first embodiment.

Subsequently, the results of implementation of the means of the present invention capable of reliably inputting character keypad data with the fingertips aligned will be described. In FIG. 8B, the area within the rhombus formed by the lines indicated by dotted lines indicates the reception range of each character by the touch panel sense unit 305 (actually, the dotted line is not visible to the user). .
In FIG. 8B, for example, a white letter G is surrounded by four black letters RYFH. A gradation in which the brightness continuously changes in a wavy shape between these characters is drawn by the display device 304 in FIG.
Since the touch panel sense part 305 on the upper surface is transparent, the screen is displayed as shown in FIG. 8B. On the other hand, in FIG. 8B, that is, when the user touches the fingertip on the diamond 472A in the reception range of the character G472, for example, the touch sense unit 305 recognizes the character G472 in FIG. Capture.

The user performs a text input operation using the soft keyboard 402A shown in FIG. 7 in a state where there is no dotted line in FIG. 8B. When the user puts the fingertip on the character keypad, the user tends to determine the size of the character keypad based on an interval in a direction perpendicular to the direction parallel to the user's eyes. That is, in FIG. 7, for example, when the user inputs the character G472, the position of the four characters of RYFH surrounding it is recognized as a quadrangular shape with the corner as the corner, and the user enters the character G472 in the center of the vertical and horizontal sides. Align your fingertips.
Actually, there is a misalignment error when the fingertip is aligned with the character keypad, but the frequency of the error is mostly distributed in the horizontal (X) direction and vertical (Y) direction of the cross with the character G472 as the center. . In the present embodiment, this characteristic and the fact that the diagonal line of the rhombus is √2 times longer than the length of the side of the square is used. That is, as shown in FIG. 8B, even if the reception range of the actual character G472 is a rhombus 472A, the sense of ease of matching is the same as a square keypad having sides of X1 and Y1 surrounding the rhombus. Can be operated. This is because the area of a quadrangle whose side is the diagonal of the rhombus is twice the area of the rhombus, and the error that occurs when the user puts the fingertips has the above-described characteristics.
By applying this characteristic and the principle of ease of matching, the second embodiment is much more effective than the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the soft keyboard has been described as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to, for example, a sheet-like hard keyboard.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. However, in this embodiment, FIG. 7 shows a plan view of the hard keyboard.
FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion corresponding to the character keypads E, R, and G along the line segments A1 and A2 in FIG. In FIG. 9, 550 is a resin with substantially wavy unevenness, 551 is a protrusion on the bottom of 550, 552 is a piezoelectric film made of a material whose conductivity changes with pressure, 553 is a contact, 554 is a lower electrode, and 555 is an insulation A spacer made of resin.

In FIG. 9, gradation corresponding to FIG. 7 is applied to the resin 550 having substantially wavy unevenness. On the surface of 550, for example, R is printed in black, and E and G are printed in white as keypad characters. In FIG. 9, the resin 550 having substantially wavy unevenness has a lateral pitch of about 7 mm, and the height difference between the uneven and recessed portions is about 2 mm.

For example, when the user depresses the R keypad at the wave crest of the resin 550 having substantially wavy unevenness, the protrusion 551 on the bottom side applies pressure to the 552 through the contact 553 to increase the conductivity of the portion. As a result, the contact 553 and the lower electrode 554 are turned on, and R is selected. For example, when the user depresses the G keypad on the wave bottom of the resin 550 having substantially wavy unevenness, the protrusion 551 on the bottom side applies pressure to the 552 and increases the conductivity of that portion through the contact 553. As a result, the contact 553 and the lower electrode 554 are turned on, and R is selected.

As a modification of this embodiment, the material 550 having substantially wavy irregularities may be used without performing gradation of the brightness of the keypad color. Even in this case, the gentle wavy unevenness of 550 matches the shape of the user's substantially dome-shaped fingertip, making it easier to align the fingertip to the user and at the same time fatigue even if the keypad is operated for a long time. There is an effect that does not give a feeling.
This embodiment is merely a description of one embodiment to which the principle of the present invention is applied, and the present invention can be applied to all the keypads having a difference in height that are covered by the present concept.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described as exemplary embodiments thereof, the foregoing and various other omissions and additions to the various portions thereof have been described. It can be understood by the technology established here without departing from the spirit and scope of the technology.

In the present invention, the brightness of the color of the keypad is continuously changed in a substantially wave shape, and adjacent characters are arranged at the approximate vertex and bottom of the wave height, and the characters are arranged with a brightness different from the brightness of the keypad color. Although described, for example, the following means are also included in this concept. That is, adjacent characters are arranged at approximately the highest position and approximately the lowest position where the lightness is constant, and, for example, the lightness and lightness differentiation (change amount) are continuously generated between the adjacent ends of the characters. It is also possible to use a means of changing at a linear (constant) rate. In the present invention, the brightness of the color and the brightness are used in the same meaning. In the present invention, the keypad color and / or the keypad background color have the same meaning. In the present invention, the character color of the keypad is a single or double border on the entire character or a part of the character (a border with a lightness different from the lightness of the character color to outline the character is a single border) Further, the outer edge may be bordered with the same brightness as that of the character color). The keypad acceptance range described in the present invention may be changed by a learning effect or the like during the use period of the mobile terminal.
In the present specification, claims, abstract, and drawings, the basic concept of the present invention including such means is defined as “substantially changing in a substantially wave shape”. In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the substantially wave shape means that the lightness of the color of adjacent keypads is constant in the Y direction with respect to the width of the keypad, but the lightness is continuous in the X direction. It also includes the case of changing to. Further, as described in [0025], for example, the lightness of the character color is constant, and the lightness of the keypad color is constant while maintaining the contrast to the outer shape of the character. Changing the color of the pad continuously in a wavy manner is also a substantially wavy category. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the brightness of the color of the keypad adjacent in the oblique direction may continuously change while changing the width, or it is adjacent in both the X and Y directions or in the oblique direction. It also includes the case where the brightness of the keypad color is constant or changes continuously while changing the width.
The basic concept of the present invention can also be defined as “a color of a keypad character having digital outline information and a keypad color (background color) having analog boundary space information”.
As described in [0025], the concept of maintaining the contrast by changing the lightness of the color of the character from the center of the character to the outer shape in inverse proportion to the change of the lightness of the wavy color of the keypad. Is also within the scope of the present invention.
Combining the hue, saturation and lightness of a color is also included in the concept of the present invention. Further, for example, as a means for analogly changing the lightness of the color to a substantially white background color at the approximate center of a specific keypad to a substantially white background color at the approximate center of an adjacent keypad. There is also the following method. That is, a small dot-like black spot is arranged on a white background, and a portion where the number (density) of black spots is very large corresponds to the background color being substantially black, and the number (density) of black spots is continuously reduced. This is a way to increase the brightness. These means are also included in the concept of the present invention. Further, the concept of the present invention includes a method of changing the distribution of the wavy change of the lightness between the portion having the lightness lower than the intermediate value of the lightness and the portion having the high lightness.
In the present invention, for example, an abbreviation such as the top of the approximate wave of lightness, the bottom of the approximate wave, and the approximate center is described. This is for expressing a character having a predetermined size, for example. The concept of the present invention includes these ideas.
The character definition described in the present invention when the keypad is displayed for use for multiple purposes of letters and numbers as shown in FIG. 1 is “for example, for use as a mail. "Character". Therefore, the numeric part is regarded as the background part of the keypad.
In addition, as a means of matching, the explanation has been made centering on matching with the fingertip (not specified) of the user (person), but the fingertip may be any thumb, index finger, or any other finger, and the user (person) holds it in his hand A pen-shaped object having a nib having a predetermined size may be used.
Although the present invention has been described mainly with respect to small-sized characters on a hard keyboard and / or soft keypad, it can also be applied to selection of small keypads mainly composed of symbols such as numbers, symbols, function display symbols, and icons. .

Regarding the application area of the present invention, not only a portable terminal having a voice telephone function and a mail function, but also a handheld computer, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), an electronic dictionary, a navigation, a game, a digital camera, and various remote controllers It can be applied to all kinds of portable terminals. The idea of the present invention can also be applied to inputting directly and / or translated languages used by ethnic groups such as Japanese and Chinese. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described so far, but includes all the embodiments covered by the spirit, idea and concept of the present invention, that is, the features described in the appended claims. It includes all possible implementations embodied in the enclosed range and equivalents thereof.

Claims (17)

1. One input device, liquid crystal and / or touch panel comprising a keyboard and / or a touch panel including a keypad group of keypads each having a center position where at least three language characters representing at least one language character are adjacent at predetermined intervals Means for continuously changing the lightness of the color of the adjacent keypad alternately in a substantially wave shape in a portable terminal having one display device constituted by:
   At least one of the language characters displayed on each of the keypads is arranged at a position where the lightness of the color of the keypad is approximately the highest and / or the lightness is approximately the lowest, and the lightness is different from that of the keypad. Means to display,
   A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
2. In claim 1,
   Means for displaying the substantially highest lightness and / or substantially the lowest lightness of the keypad color in substantially white and / or substantially black, respectively, wherein the substantially highest lightness is substantially white and the substantially lowest lightness is substantially black;
   A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
3. In claim 1,
   The color of at least one of the language characters displayed on each of the keypads is displayed with the lowest lightness at a position where the lightness of the keypad color is substantially highest, and the lightness of the color of the keypad is approximately Means to display at the highest brightness at the lowest position,
   A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
4. In claim 1,
   Means for setting the predetermined distance between adjacent keypads to 12 mm or less;
   A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
5. In claim 1,
   Means for continuously changing the lightness of the color of the adjacent keypad in a substantially wave-like manner and not an area of the language character to at least 20% of the predetermined interval;
   A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
6. One input device, liquid crystal and / or touch panel comprising a keyboard and / or a touch panel including a keypad group of keypads each having a center position where at least three language characters representing at least one language character are adjacent at predetermined intervals Means for alternately and continuously changing the brightness of the color of the adjacent keypad in a portable terminal having one display device configured by:
   Means in which the color brightness of the color of the keypad and the language character has a digitally different outline, and the brightness of the color at the boundary between the adjacent keypads is analog and has no outline And a portable terminal.
7. A keyboard including a keypad group consisting of keypads representing at least one language character and / or a first input device composed of a first touch panel, and at least three center positions of the language characters are adjacent at a predetermined interval It consists of a second touch panel that displays word characters and / or phrase candidate language characters, and selects and accepts one word candidate language character and / or one phrase candidate language character from among them. A portable terminal having one display device composed of a second input device, a liquid crystal and / or a third touch panel,
   Means for continuously changing the background color and / or the lightness of the acceptance range of each adjacent word candidate language character and / or phrase candidate language character displayed on the second touch panel alternately in a substantially wave shape; The word candidate language character and / or the phrase candidate language character are arranged at a position where the lightness of the background color is substantially the highest and / or at a position where the lightness is substantially the lowest, and the lightness is different from the background color. Means to display,
   A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
8. In claim 7,
   Means for setting the predetermined distance between adjacent language characters of the word candidates and / or language candidates of the phrase candidates to 12 mm or less;
   A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
9. In claim 7,
   The word character of the word candidate and / or the language of the phrase candidate, which is a part that continuously changes the lightness of the background color of the adjacent word character of the word candidate and / or the phrase candidate of the phrase candidate in a substantially wave shape Means for setting an area that is not a character part to be at least 20% of the predetermined interval;
   A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
10. In claim 7,
    The color of the word candidate and / or phrase candidate language character and the lightness of the word candidate language character and / or the phrase candidate language character have a digitally different outline, and the adjacent word candidate And a means for preventing the outline from having an outline in the brightness of the color at the boundary of the background color of the language character of the phrase candidate and / or the language character of the phrase candidate.
11. A portable device having a keyboard including a keypad group consisting of at least five adjacent keypads representing at least one language character and / or an input device composed of a touch panel, a liquid crystal and / or a display device composed of a touch panel On the terminal,
    The keypads that constitute a group of keypads adjacent to each other at a predetermined interval between the center positions of the five language characters are arranged adjacent to each other substantially at the center, substantially at the upper left, substantially at the lower left, substantially at the upper right, and substantially at the lower right. Means,
    Means for continuously changing the brightness with the color of the keypad alternately in a substantially wave shape;
    Means for disposing at least one language character color displayed on each of the keypads at a position where the brightness with the keypad color is substantially the highest and the brightness is substantially the lowest;
    Means for displaying the color of at least one language character with a lightness different from the color of the keypad;
    A portable terminal comprising:
12. In claim 11,
    The substantially highest lightness is substantially white, the substantially lowest lightness is substantially black, and the substantially highest lightness and / or the lowest lightness of the color of the adjacent keypad is displayed in substantially white and / or substantially black, respectively. means,
    A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
13. In claim 11,
    Means for rhombusing the range accepted by the input device as at least one of the language characters of the keypad when the keypad is depressed;
    A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
14. It is composed of one input device constituted by a keyboard including a keypad group consisting of keypads having keypads adjacent to each other at a predetermined interval at the center position of at least three language characters representing at least one language character, a liquid crystal and / or a touch panel. In a portable terminal having one display device,
    Means for continuously changing the height of the side representing at least one language character of the keypad constituting the keypad group and the height of the adjacent keypad alternately in a wave shape;
    A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
15. In claim 14,
    Means for disposing the at least one language character displayed on each of the keypads at a position where the lightness with the color of the keypad is substantially highest and possibly lightest;
    Means for displaying the color of at least one language character with a lightness different from the color of the keypad;
    A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
16. One input device, liquid crystal and / or touch panel comprising a keyboard and / or a touch panel including a keypad group of keypads each having a center position where at least three language characters representing at least one language character are adjacent at predetermined intervals In a portable terminal having one display device, one memory, and one microprocessor,
    Means capable of setting from the input device a specification for continuously changing the brightness of the keypad alternately in a substantially wave shape and / or a specification for changing the color and size of at least one language character;
    A portable terminal characterized by comprising:
17. In claim 16,
    Means for generating an electronic signal with a diamond as a range that the input device accepts as at least one language character of the keypad when the keypad is depressed;
    A portable terminal characterized by comprising:

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