JP2001222361A - Portable communication terminal and character input method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable communication terminal and a character input method capable of smoothly inputting many kinds of characters and enhancing the operability of input. SOLUTION: This portable communication terminal 11 is provided with a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a font ROM 24, I/Os 25, 26, a key input part 27 to select one character among characters allocated to each ten key and input it by key operations, a display part driver 28 and a display part 29 with a display screen to display a plurality of lines of characters. Tables are prepared by every kind of characters in the ROM 22, the CPU 21 sets the number of key operations to establishment of the character to be inputted by the key operation corresponding to kinds of characters, simultaneously performs control to establish the character which is displayed on the display screen and to simultaneously transfer a cursor to an input position of the character next to the established character when the number of key operations reaches a set number.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable communication terminal and a character input method used for a portable telephone and the like,
The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and a character input method capable of efficiently and easily inputting characters in a device such as a mobile phone having only a very limited number of keys and a display screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In portable communication terminals such as portable telephones, the number of operation keys tends to increase as the number of functions increases. It is desirable to arrange keys corresponding to functions in a one-to-one correspondence, but there is a limit in the layout of the device, and a key operation corresponding to one function is performed by an operation using a plurality of keys. .

[0003] Some current mobile phones are equipped with a telephone directory function and an e-mail transmission function.
When registering personal data or creating e-mail using these functions, it is often necessary to input characters using a mixture of hiragana, katakana, kanji, and alphanumeric characters such as entering names and creating e-mail texts. Come up. Typical input sections of conventional mobile communication terminals include those using a dial button and those using a touch panel.

FIG. 11 is an external view of a conventional portable telephone. In FIG. 1, a mobile phone 1 includes a display unit 2 such as an LCD, a keypad 3, a specific function key 4 provided on the keypad 3, a numeric keypad 5, and a symbol key 6. Two or more alphanumeric characters and kana characters are assigned to the numeric keypad 5 of the keypad 3, respectively, and a character can be input in a mode switched by input mode switching between an alphanumeric mode, a kana character mode, and a symbol mode.

As shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of characters are assigned to one numeric keypad 5. For example, when the input mode is "Hiragana" and it is desired to input "KU", "2" of the numeric keypad 5 is required. Must be pressed three times. That is, when the input mode is "Hiragana", five characters of "Kakikukeko" are assigned to the numeric keypad "2". Each time "ki" is pressed three times, the characters "ka", "ki", "ku" are displayed in order, such as "ku". Also,
At this point, the input character has not yet been determined, and to determine it, specify it by pressing a key on another line, in this case, a key other than the numeric keypad “2”, or pressing the cursor key movement. You have to move the cursor. Therefore, to enter the character "ku",
It is necessary to stroke the ten-key "2" three times and the key input for confirming the character, four times in total. Above is when the input mode is "Hiragana", but "Alphanumeric mode"
The same applies to the input of.

In the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-184612, the number of key operations is reduced by storing inputtable characters in one table and inputting all characters in two strokes. At the same time, by displaying the selection candidates on the screen, errors in character input are reduced.

[0007]

However, in such a conventional character input method for a cellular phone or the like, one method is as follows.
Since a large number of characters / symbols are assigned to one key, the number of key strokes required for input is very large. Furthermore, when the character that has been input is passed, it is necessary to continue the key operation and make the same stroke the same number of times. In addition, it cannot be visually determined whether or not a character has been determined, and an operation such as moving a cursor key may be required for determination.

In the apparatus described in the above publication, all the characters that can be input are stored in one table, so that the number of characters that can be input is limited. Also, originally 1
There is a drawback that two strokes are required even for a number that can be input by a stroke.

As described above, there are many key operations up to the selection of a character, and an extra operation is sometimes required for determination, and it has been difficult to input characters smoothly. The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides a mobile communication terminal and a character input method capable of smoothly inputting various types of characters and improving input operability. The purpose is to do.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a portable communication terminal according to the present invention, wherein input means for selecting and inputting one character from characters assigned to each numeric keypad by one or more key operations; Display means for displaying a character input by the user on a display screen; setting means for setting the number of key operations until the character input by the key operation is determined in accordance with the type of character; When the number of key operations reaches the set number of key operations, the character displayed on the display screen is determined, and a cursor indicating a character input enabled state is moved to the next character input of the determined character. Control means for moving to a position. Thereby, it is possible to indicate to the user whether or not the character is determined, and to save the trouble of moving the cursor.

Further, the setting means sets the number of times of key operation to a different number in accordance with the type of character (Hiragana, Katakana, English character, number, symbol, etc.). 2 strokes to enter, 1 stroke to enter numbers, 2 to enter letters
Efficient character input can be realized by preliminarily determining the number of keystrokes, such as strokes, required for confirmation, for each type of character.

Further, the portable communication terminal of the present invention has a table to which character candidates corresponding to the key operation are assigned for each type of character, and the control means refers to the table and displays the character candidates on the display screen. By displaying, it is possible to input various types of characters smoothly.

The control means operates a key (for example, a symbol key) for starting selection of a character type for the first time when selecting a character type, and performs a second key operation.
By selecting a corresponding character type from a plurality of character types, when selecting a character type to be input from now on, it is possible to select a character type to be input in the second stroke.

When selecting the character type, the control means operates a key for starting the selection of the character type for the first time, and displays the plurality of character types assigned to the numeric keypad on the display screen. And the second key operation
By selecting a corresponding character type from the plurality of character types, a list of character types that can be selected in the second stroke is displayed on the display screen. Selection of the type becomes easy.

The control means displays a plurality of selection character candidates assigned to the operated numeric keypad on the display screen by a first key operation, and displays the plurality of selection characters by a second key operation. By selecting the character to be determined from the character candidates, for example, when inputting an alphabetic character, narrow down the character candidates to be input to 3 to 4 characters in the first stroke, and select the alphabetic character in the second stroke At the same time, by moving the cursor on the display screen to the next input position, any alphabetic character can be easily input with two strokes, and it can be easily confirmed that the character has been determined. The same applies to hiragana, symbols, etc. other than the above alphabetical characters. The candidates for symbols, etc. to be input in the first stroke are narrowed down to some extent, and the symbols are selected in the second stroke, and simultaneously, the cursor on the display screen is moved. By moving to the next input position, any symbol can be easily input with two strokes, and it can be easily confirmed that it has been determined.

Further, the portable communication terminal of the present invention stores a key operated for the first time, a key operated for the second time, and a plurality of selected character candidates assigned to these keys in association with each other. The control means is for inputting characters by two key operations by selecting a row by a first key operation and a column by a second key operation, for example, hiragana When inputting katakana or katakana, by selecting a line in the first stroke and a column in the second stroke, a character is selected in the second stroke,
At the same time, by moving the cursor on the display screen to the next input position, characters can be easily input with two strokes,
Further, it is possible to easily confirm that the determination has been made.

The display means has a display screen for displaying a plurality of lines of characters. At least one line of the display screen is a line for inputting characters, and an input guide is displayed on the other lines. Since the input guide is displayed, the conversion table is not required because the input guide is displayed, and the input character can be easily selected without printing the character corresponding to the key on the key top portion.

The input guide displayed on the display screen displays a representative character of a selected character candidate by a first key operation, and displays a character to be determined by a second key operation. Thus, input characters can be easily selected.

The character input method according to the present invention is a character input method for selecting one character from the characters assigned to each numeric keypad by one or more key operations and inputting the character. The number of key operations until the character to be set is determined according to the type of character.When the key operation is performed up to the set number of key operations, the character displayed on the display screen is determined and the character can be entered. Is moved to a character input position next to the determined character.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a portable communication terminal according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is an example in which the mobile communication terminal is applied to a mobile phone.

In FIG. 1, a portable telephone 11 has an LCD.
Display unit 12, keypad 13, keypad 1
3 is provided with a specific function key 14, a numeric keypad 15, and a symbol key 16 each of which is provided with menu, call, end, and cancel keys (menu and call keys are not shown). Although not shown, the mobile phone includes an antenna, a wireless unit, a speaker, a microphone, an audio processing unit, and a CODEC (audio encoding) unit.

At the time of character input, an input guide for displaying a selected character candidate or the like is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 12, so that the character corresponding to the key is not printed on the key top portion as in the conventional example. Also, the input characters can be easily selected. Therefore, the numeric keypad 1 of the keypad 13
In 5, only numerals are printed, and two or more alphanumeric characters and kana characters as in FIG. 11 are not printed. Note that characters may be printed in the same manner as in the conventional example.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the portable telephone 11. In FIG. 2, the mobile phone 11
CPU 21 (control means), ROM 22, RAM 23, font ROM 24, I / Os 25 and 26, key input unit 27
(Key input means), a display section driver 28, and a display section 29 (display means) having a matrix screen constituted by an LCD.

The CPU 21 is a control unit for controlling the entire apparatus, and controls communication of the mobile phone using a memory storing a control program and data used for calculation, for example,
It controls call setup, release, handoff, etc., and executes part of the communication protocol.

The CPU 21 sets the number of strokes (the number of key operations) up to determination according to the type of the character when inputting the character according to the program on the ROM 22 according to the type of the character. When the set number of strokes is reached, the character is determined, the cursor is moved to the next input position simultaneously with the determination of the character, and control is performed to guide the character determined at the time of input on the display screen.

The ROM 22 is a read-only semiconductor memory for storing fixed data such as programs and communication control data required when the CPU 21 operates. Also, ROM
Reference numeral 22 denotes a table of keystrokes and corresponding character types (to be described later with reference to FIG. 4), and a table in which table keystrokes and corresponding characters are assigned (FIG. 6).
Various tables are stored.

The RAM 23 is used as a so-called working memory for temporarily storing data related to character display, data used for calculation, calculation results, and the like, and stores a virtual screen, display data, etc., which have been bit-mapped.
The font ROM 24 is a read-only semiconductor memory that stores character codes and font data corresponding to the character codes.

A ROM 22 and a font ROM 24
Is a part of E which is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory.
EPROM (electrically erasable programmable RO
M), the various specifications of the mobile phone 11 can be changed by changing the program written in the EEPROM. That is, recently, in order to avoid the time loss of changing the mask ROM for each debugging of system development, the program ROM is replaced with a non-volatile memory,
For example, EPROMs and EEPROMs are used to greatly reduce the time required for program development and modification. Further, if the program is downloaded and the program content of the EEPROM is rewritten, the function can be easily upgraded or the function can be easily changed.

The key input unit 27 includes a specific function key 14 such as a menu key, a call key, an end key, and a cancel key provided on the keypad 13, a numeric keypad 15, an * key, and a # key.
This is an input section including symbol keys 16 such as keys, and selects and inputs one character from the characters assigned to each numeric keypad 15 by one or more key operations. The input information is input to the CPU 21 through the I / O 26. The display unit driver 28 receives data from the font ROM 24 in response to an instruction from the CPU 21 through the I / O 25,
Control is performed to display characters and the like on the display unit 29.

The display section 29 is composed of an LCD display, and is capable of displaying, for example, a dot matrix of 8 digits × 6 rows. This display screen displays the time during standby,
During a call, the telephone number and call time of the other party are displayed. When a character is input, the type of the character and the input character according to the fixed number of strokes are displayed, and a cursor that moves to the next input position simultaneously with the confirmation is displayed.

Hereinafter, the operation of the portable telephone 11 configured as described above will be described. In the character input method according to the present embodiment, regarding the character input, the number of keystrokes required to determine for each character type, such as hiragana and numbers, is determined in advance, and after the character is determined, the cursor is moved to the next input. Movement to a position is a basic operation. Also, by having a table (described later with reference to FIG. 6) in which keystrokes and corresponding characters are assigned to each character type, such as hiragana, katakana, alphabetic characters, and numbers, it is possible to input various types of characters.

As a method of determining the number of keystrokes required until the character is determined, in this embodiment, the number of keystrokes required until the character is determined is set to a fixed length. Move the cursor on the display screen to the next input position. For example, to input "Hiragana", two strokes are input, and to input "numbers", one stroke is input.
The number of keystrokes required for determination, such as two strokes for inputting strokes and alphabets, is determined in advance so as to be optimal for each type of character.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display screen of the display unit 29 of the mobile phone 11. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 31 denotes an already determined character string “Hello”, and reference numeral 32 denotes a cursor indicating the current input position.

Each character of the character string "Hello" 31 is
This is determined by inputting a fixed stroke predetermined for each character type using the numeric keypad 15 on the keypad 13, and at the same time as this determination, the cursor automatically moves to the next input position. The determination by inputting the fixed stroke will be described later with reference to FIGS. The determination by inputting the fixed stroke and the cursor to the next input position do not perform the determination operation for each character or the operation necessary for moving the cursor, and the user can confirm that the character is determined by moving the cursor.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a table indicating the correspondence between the keys of the second stroke and the selected character type when selecting the character type. When the "*" key is pressed in the first stroke, It is an example of the table showing the character type selected by the 2nd stroke. For example, in this example, when "Hiragana" is selected, "*" of the symbol key 16 is pressed in the first stroke, and then "1" of the numeric keypad 15 is pressed in the second stroke. A display example of the character type using the table of FIG. 4 is shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a guide displayed on the display screen of the display unit 29 when a character type is selected. Here, when the character type is selected, 2 is displayed on the display screen.
A guide display for selecting a character type is shown by associating each key pressed at the stroke with the character type.

For example, in FIG. 5, after the “*” is pressed in the first stroke, the key number 51 in the second stroke
And a character type 52 corresponding to the key number 51 are displayed. Since the character type 52 corresponding to the key number 51 is displayed on the screen, the character type 52 can be selected without fail by two strokes.

In addition, among the keys of the second stroke, in addition to the character type 52, an option other than characters such as a registered sentence such as “registered sentence” indicated by “6” of the key number 51 is entered. It is also possible to select any sentence set by the user. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a table in which the pressed keys for each character type and the corresponding characters are determined in association with each other. When the characters are input, the keys for the first and second strokes are selected. Character correspondence.

FIG. 6A shows a table 61 indicating "Hiragana" selected by the first and second stroke keys, and FIG. 6B shows a table 61 which is selected by the first and second stroke keys. FIG. 6C shows a table 63 indicating “Katakana”, FIG. 6C shows a table 63 indicating “English characters” selected by the first and second stroke keys, and FIG. Each of the tables 64 indicates a “number”.

As can be seen from the tables 61 to 64, the characters are determined by two strokes for "Hiragana", "Katakana", and "English", and the characters are determined by one stroke for "numerals". Thus, each table 61-
With 64, the number of keystrokes required to determine is
It is determined in advance to be optimal for each type of character.

For example, when inputting "shi" of "hiragana", the input character type is set to "hiragana",
By pressing "3" for the first stroke and "2" for the second stroke in accordance with the "Hiragana" table 61, the input character "shi" is determined, and "shi" is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 29. Is displayed. At the same time, by moving the cursor to the next input position, the user is notified that "shi" has been determined.

Hereinafter, a specific operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10 taking as an example a case where "Hiragana" is input. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an input line and a guide display when "Hiragana" is input. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the state of the display screen after the first stroke is pressed when "Hiragana" is input. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the state of the second stroke when "Hiragana" is input. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state of the display screen after the input is performed, and FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a guide display when an input guide does not fit on one screen when “registered statement” is selected.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 71 denotes eight digits of the display unit 29.
This is a six-line display screen. The first line of the display screen 71 is an input line 72, and the second and subsequent lines are an input guide display area 7.
Example 3 is used. When "Hiragana" is input, as described above, when the input character type is "Hiragana", a table 61 indicating "Hiragana" (FIG. 6)
(See (a)), a character string in a range in which the character narrowed down by the first stroke can be recognized is displayed in the guide display area 73.

For example, when "3" is pressed in the first stroke, the character narrowed down to the cursor position 81 by the first stroke as shown in FIG. 8 (here, "sa", which is the initial of "sa line"). Is displayed to indicate that the first stroke has been pressed, and at the same time, the character "Sashisuse Sesso" determined in the second stroke is displayed in the guide display area 82. In order to input "shi", " 2 "indicates that you need to press it.

Subsequently, when "2" is pressed in the second stroke, "shi" in the input line 91 is determined as shown in FIG.
The user can recognize that the cursor has moved to the next input position and “S” has been determined. In addition, for the next stroke, a candidate to be squeezed again by the first stroke (the first letter of the Japanese syllabary “Akasa hana yamarayawa”) is displayed in the guide display area 9.
2 is displayed. By displaying the input guide in this way, it is possible to reduce input errors without the user having to refer to the table separately.

As shown in FIG. 10, for example, in the guide display of the user registration statement, the guide display area 101
If the input guide does not fit in the box, it indicates that there is an additional display as indicated by an arrow “↓” 102. The user
The display of the arrow “↓” 102 indicates that there is an additional display. If all guides are displayed by moving the guide display with the cursor key, it is possible to input even if the display cannot be accommodated on one screen.

In the above example, the first character of the first stroke is displayed on the guide display of the first stroke since the example of input of "Hiragana" is displayed. Guide display for "1: ABC"
Can be displayed as follows.

As described above, the portable communication terminal 11 of the present embodiment operates the CPU 21, the ROM 22, the RAM 23, the font ROM 24, the I / Os 25 and 26, and the key operations.
A key input unit 27 for selecting and inputting one character from the characters assigned to each numeric keypad, a display driver 28, and a display unit 29 having a display screen for displaying a plurality of lines of characters are provided. A table is prepared for each type, and the CPU 21 sets the number of key operations until the character input by key operation is determined in accordance with the type of character, and the number of key operations at the time of character input is set. When the number of key operations is reached, the character displayed on the display screen is determined and the cursor is moved to the next character input position at the same time as the determined character. Characters can be determined one after another with the minimum necessary number of strokes, the cursor can be moved, and there is an effect that characters can be input very smoothly.

In addition, at the time of character input, an input guide is displayed on the display screen, so that it is possible to input characters that cannot be memorized without fail. In addition, since the input guide display is provided, there is an effect that it is not necessary to print a character corresponding to the key top as in the related art.

Although the above embodiment is an example in which the portable communication terminal is applied to a portable telephone, the present invention can be applied to any portable terminal device. For example, PD
It can be applied to A (Personal Digital Assistant) and mail terminals.

In the above embodiment, the display examples of FIGS. 5 and 7 to 10 have been described using the tables shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, but other configurations and display examples may be used. Further, the example of the line for the input characters and the input guide is an example, and other display examples may be used. Further, the type, number, connection method, and the like of each circuit unit constituting the portable communication terminal, for example, ROM, RAM, and the like are not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0052]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, various types of characters can be input smoothly, and input operability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the mobile communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display screen of a display unit of the mobile communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a table indicating a correspondence between a second stroke key and a selected character type of the mobile communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a guide displayed on a display screen of a display unit of the mobile communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a table in which a key pressed for each character type and a corresponding character are determined in association with each other in the portable communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input line and a guide display when “Hiragana” is input in the mobile communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state of a display screen after a first stroke is pressed while “Hiragana” is being input on the portable communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state of a display screen after a second stroke is pressed while “Hiragana” is being input on the portable communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a guide display when the input guide of the mobile communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention does not fit on one screen.

FIG. 11 is an external view of a conventional mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Mobile telephone (mobile communication terminal) 12, 29 Display part (display means) 13 Keypad 14 Specific function key 15 Numeric keypad 16 Symbol key 21 CPU (Control means) 22 ROM 23 RAM 24 Font ROM 25, 26 I / O 27 key Input section (key input means)

Claims (12)

[Claims] An input means for selecting and inputting one character from characters assigned to each numeric keypad by one or more key operations, and a display for displaying a character input by the key operation on a display screen Means, a setting means for setting the number of key operations until a character input by the key operation is determined in accordance with the type of the character, and the number of key operations at the time of character input is determined by the set key operation When the number of times is reached, the character displayed on the display screen is determined, and a control unit that moves a cursor indicating a character input enabled state to a character input position next to the determined character is provided. Mobile communication terminal. 2. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets the number of times of key operation to a different number according to a type of a character. 3. A table in which character candidates corresponding to key operations are assigned for each type of character, and wherein said control means displays the character candidates on the display screen with reference to the table. Item 2. The mobile communication terminal according to Item 1. 4. When selecting a character type, the control means operates a key for starting selection of the character type for the first time, and performs a second key operation to select a character type from a plurality of character types. 4. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein a corresponding character type is selected. 5. When selecting a character type, the control means operates a key for starting the selection of the character type for the first time, and displays a plurality of character types assigned to numeric keys on the display screen. The portable communication terminal according to any one of claims 1, 3 and 4, wherein a character type is selected from the plurality of character types by a second key operation. 6. The control means displays a plurality of selection character candidates assigned to the operated numeric keypad on the display screen by a first key operation, and displays the plurality of selection characters by a second key operation. 6. A character to be determined is selected from character candidates.
A mobile communication terminal according to any one of the above. 7. A table in which a key operated first time, a key operated second time, and a plurality of selected character candidates assigned to these keys are stored in association with each other. 2. A character is input by two key operations by selecting a row by a first key operation and a column by a second key operation.
The mobile communication terminal according to any one of 3, 4, 5, and 6. 8. The portable communication terminal according to claim 4, wherein a key for starting the selection of the character type is a symbol key. 9. The type of the character is hiragana, katakana,
The mobile communication terminal according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8, wherein the mobile communication terminal is an alphabet, a number, a symbol, or the like. 10. The display means includes a display screen for displaying a plurality of lines of characters, wherein at least one line of the display screen is a line for character input, and an input guide is displayed on the other lines. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the mobile communication terminal is a mobile communication terminal. 11. An input guide displayed on the display screen displays a representative character of a selected character candidate by a first key operation, and displays a character to be determined by a second key operation. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 10, wherein: 12. A character input method for selecting one character from among the characters assigned to each numeric keypad by one or more key operations and inputting the character. When the number of key operations is set in accordance with the type of character, and the key operation is performed up to the set number of key operations, the character displayed on the display screen is determined, and the cursor indicating the character input enabled state is moved to the cursor. A character input method characterized by moving to a character input position next to a determined character.