JP2000112636A - Kana (japanese syllabary) input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the arrangement area and display areas of keys by selecting one character according to key selecting operation, an operation point after the selection, and/or the front-rear and right-left movement direction of the operating force. SOLUTION: On a touch panel, character input keys 3, a character input assistance key 4, and a KANJI (Chinese character) conversion key 5 are displayed. The character keys having 'a', 'ka'... displayed on their key tops correspond to the respective series of the KANA table. The character input assistance key 4 is used for conversion to a voiced-sound character, a p-sound character, etc., and the input of punctuation marks. The character of the 1st stage when a pointing device is left as it is after key operation, the character of the 2nd stage when moved to the right and released, the character of the 3rd stage when moved down and released, the character of the 4th stage when moved to the left and released, and the character of the 5th stage when moved up and released are selected respectively. Namely, five kinds of character or symbol can be inputted only according to the moving direction of the pointing device in key operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for inputting Japanese kana characters to an information processing apparatus, and has a small operation area, and is suitable for a portable terminal such as a small personal computer or an electronic organizer. Is related to a kana character input device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A method of inputting Japanese characters to a computer or other information processing device is to input a kana character and convert it into a sentence mixed with kanji and kana by a kana-kanji conversion means. The input of Kana characters is performed by Roman character Kana conversion or direct input, and the method using Roman character Kana conversion can reduce the operation area because there are few input character types, but input with two operations except for five vowel characters (Ai-ueo) Becomes

As an input device, a keyboard, a touch panel displaying keys, a handwritten character recognition device, and the like are used. As a touch panel, a transparent touch panel integrated with a display surface has become common, and keys are displayed using a display function of the display. Recognition of which key is pressed is performed by comparing coordinates operated by a pointing device such as a mouse pointer or a pen with a display coordinate area of each key. The handwritten character recognition device recognizes a kana character from a dynamic movement pattern of a pen tip on a tablet.

[0004]

Since the input using the keyboard can be performed using ten fingers, the input efficiency is high. However, an operation area corresponding to the size of a human hand is required, and in a portable terminal or the like having a small operation area, small keys are densely arranged.
This is an operation of pressing one by one and inputting. Also, in order to input using ten fingers, a certain level of skill is required, and it takes time to learn the operation.

A method of displaying characters on a touch panel and designating a character with a pointing device such as a pen requires 26 types of character keys to be displayed even if the Roman alphabet Kana conversion is used. In addition, the display area of other information (such as a document being created) is narrowed, and the workability is reduced. In addition, in the case of Romaji-Kana conversion, two operations are required for each character except for vowels, and when directly inputting Kana characters, nearly twice as many keys are required, so that the occupied area of the display is further increased.

The handwritten character recognition device is most easily used by a person who is unfamiliar with character input using a keyboard or a touch panel. However, the input speed is low, and the recognition rate is reduced if characters are not accurately written. Further, since the character recognition process is complicated, an arithmetic unit with a high processing speed is required. In general, a mobile terminal with a low CPU speed takes a long time to recognize each character.

According to the present invention, in an input device using a touch panel or a keyboard, the number of character keys can be significantly reduced, and thus the key arrangement area or display area for Japanese input is significantly reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a kana character input device which can perform input operations and can easily learn input operations.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, five characters are defined for one of a plurality of keys displayed on a touch panel or arranged on a keyboard, and a key selection operation and an operation point after selection are performed. The above-mentioned problem is solved by making it possible to select one character depending on the direction of movement of the operating force in the forward, backward, left and right directions.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kana character input device using a touch panel, a key display device for displaying a plurality of keys on a touch panel, and a key for ordering five kana characters to correspond to one of the displayed keys. Defining means, key recognizing means for recognizing the selected key by comparing the coordinates of the operating point at the start of the operation with the display area of each key, and defining the moving direction and the key of the operating point with respect to the operation starting point. Order defining means for associating the order of the characters with the sequence of the Japanese syllabary based on the coordinates of the operation start point, and selecting the row of the Japanese syllabary based on the moving direction of the operation point after the operation is started Is selected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kana character input device using a keyboard, comprising: a keyboard having a plurality of keys;
Key definition means for sequentially associating five kana characters with one of the keys on the keyboard, a plurality of press detection sensors arranged at positions offset from the center of the keys, and a signal from the press detection sensor at the end of press An order definition means for associating the output state with the order of the characters defined in the key is provided, and a row of the Japanese syllabary array is selected based on the pressed key, and the signal output state of the press detection sensor at the end of pressing is selected. It is characterized by selecting a row of the Japanese syllabary. It is appropriate to provide five or four push detection sensors for each key, but it is also possible to provide three push detection sensors and select a stage by a combination of their on / off states.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.
The ROM 1 stores a control program. The touch panel 2 is an input device in which a large number of contacts are arranged at a fine pitch on a transparent film. By pressing a panel surface with a sharp tip of a stick (pen), the coordinates of the pressed position are obtained. The touch panel 2 displays ten character input keys 3, one character input auxiliary key 4, and a kanji conversion key 5 shown in FIG. "A" on the key top,
Each of the character keys displayed as "?"
Corresponds to each row of the kana syllabary table. The character input auxiliary key 4 is used to convert the input character into voiced sounds, semi-voiced sounds, and murmurs, and to input punctuation marks. The kanji conversion key 5 is used to convert an input kana character into a sentence mixed with kanji.

The touch panel 2 is provided in front of a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and the character keys 3 shown in FIG. 2 are displayed by using the display function of the display when the Japanese input mode is selected. To do. In addition,
The character key group in FIG. 2 shows only one example. For example, three characters in a row and “Wa” and “N” are assigned to one key, and a row of a voiced sound or a semi-voiced sound is one each. Character keys, punctuation, spaces, etc.
Various changes, such as assignment to individual character keys, are possible. Each character key is assigned a maximum of five characters or symbols.

The storage device 6 of FIG. 1 is provided with a pen operation start position storage area 7, a pen operation end position storage area 8, and a character selection table storage area 9. The display device 11 is a display device such as the liquid crystal panel described above.

In the kana character input device of the present invention, the operated key and the pointing device (pen tip) at the time of operation
The character is selected according to the moving direction of the character, and the kana character of each column of the Japanese syllabary table is assigned in order to the key representing the line. When the key is simply tapped, that is, when the pointing device is released after the key is operated, the first character is selected, and when the pointing device is moved rightward and released, the second character is selected. Is selected, the character on the third row is selected when moving down and released, the character on the fourth row is selected when moving left and released, and the fifth row is selected when moving up and released. One of the five characters defined for each key, corresponding to the case where the pointing device is not moved during key operation, such as selecting a character, and the case where the pointing device is moved in each of the four directions. To choose. That is, in the kana character input device of the present invention,
It is possible to input five types of characters or symbols with one key, and the selection is made according to the moving direction of the pointing device during key operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure for selecting a character. When it is detected that any key (indicated as a button in the figure) is pressed, the type of the pressed character key, that is, the type of the pressed character key, is determined by comparing the coordinates of the operation start position with the display coordinate range of each key. , Which row of "Akasata hanayama" is selected. Then, the coordinates of the first pen touch, that is, the key operation start position, are stored in the pen operation start position storage area 7. Next, it waits for the pen to be released, and stores the coordinates when the pen is released in the pen operation end position storage area 8. Next, it is checked whether the coordinates when the pen is released are within the display area of the key when the pen is first pressed, and if it is within the display area of the key (inside the button) Select the character assigned to the first row of the key. If the coordinates where the pen is released are outside the display range of the button, the magnitude of the horizontal and vertical movements of the pen is compared based on the coordinates of the pen operation start position and the pen operation end position, and the horizontal movement is determined. If the movement is large, it is determined whether the movement is right or left. If the movement is right, the character in the second row is selected. If the movement is left, the character in the fourth row is selected. On the other hand, when the vertical movement is larger than the horizontal movement, it is determined whether the movement is upward or downward.
If the movement is upward, the character in the fifth row is selected. That is, one of the characters arranged in the character selection table is selected from the pressed key and the moving direction of the pointing device after the key is pressed. By repeating this operation, a desired kana character string is input.

If the character input auxiliary key 4 is a character that can be converted into a voiced sound or a semi-voiced sound by tapping after selecting the character, the character input auxiliary key 4 converts the character into a clear sound, a voiced sound, a half-voiced sound, a clear sound, and the like. If it is a character that can be converted, tap it to convert it to a murmur or a reminder sound. In addition, after tapping, inputting a back space by moving left, inputting a space by moving right, and inputting a punctuation mark by moving down are performed. When the desired kana character string is input in this way, the kanji conversion key 5 is tapped to convert to a kanji-kana mixed sentence.

FIGS. 5 to 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram thereof. In the second embodiment, a keyboard 12 is used instead of the input touch panel 2 of the first embodiment. This keyboard 12
Is a small keyboard for a portable terminal. The character input key 3 is provided with four contacts 14 or a pressure-sensitive sensor which is deflected near one of the upper, lower, left and right sides with respect to one key. An elastic compression member 15 for returning the key is disposed (see FIG. 6). FIG. 5 shows four contacts 1 of each key.
4 are arranged in a row, but the actual arrangement is as shown in FIG.
It is the position of the place. Note that the four positions may be four positions obliquely with respect to the key.

The storage device 6 is not provided with a coordinate storage area as in the first embodiment, but is merely provided with a storage area 9 for a character selection table. The character selection table may be the same as that shown in FIG. 3 in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a character selecting procedure in the second embodiment. When any key is pressed, it is recognized which line is assigned to that key, that is, which line of "Akasaka yamayawa" is selected. Next, it waits for the key to be released, and the control branches depending on which contact was in contact when the key was released.
When the plurality of contacts are separated at the same time (including when the plurality of contacts are separated by a slight time difference), the character assigned to the first row of the key is selected. After a while after the other contacts are separated, the second row of characters is released when the right contact is released last, the third row is printed when the lower contact is released last, and the left contact is released last. When the upper contact is finally released, the character in the fourth row is selected. In other words, one of the characters arranged in the character selection table is selected based on the pressed key and how the finger is pressed to the front, rear, left and right after the key is pressed. By repeating this operation, a desired kana character string is input.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing character input keys displayed on a display panel with a touch panel.

FIG. 3 shows a character selection table.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a contact arrangement of a key.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a key operation method.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Touch panel 7 Pen operation start position storage area 8 Pen operation end position storage area 9 Character selection table storage area 11 Display device 14 Contact

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A display means for displaying a plurality of keys on a touch panel, a key definition means for ordering five displayed Kana characters to correspond to one of the displayed keys, a coordinate of an operation point at the time of starting operation, and Key operation means for recognizing a selected key by comparing the display area with the display area; and order definition means for associating the moving direction of the operation point with respect to the operation start point and the order of characters defined in the key, and A kana character input device, wherein a row in the Japanese syllabary array is selected based on the coordinates of a point, and a row in the Japanese syllabary array is selected based on the moving direction of the operation point after the start of the operation. 2. A keyboard having a plurality of keys, key definition means for ordering five kana characters to correspond to one of the keys of the keyboard in order, and a plurality of keys arranged at positions offset from the center of the keys. A push detection sensor, and an order definition unit that associates the signal output state of the push detection sensor at the end of the press with the character order defined in the key, and selects a row of the Japanese syllabary based on the pressed key And a kana character input device for selecting a row of the Japanese syllabary according to the signal output state of the press detection sensor at the end of the press.