JP2003114752A - Personal digital assistant unit, and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a size of a mounting area, to reduce a manufacturing cost, and to make information input by a simple operation by operating an operation key and by tilting a unit itself. SOLUTION: This personal digital assistant unit is provided with an inclination detecting part 2 for detecting an inclination based on rotation of a vector on a two-dimensional plane, an input information proposal displaying part 5a for displaying an index for specifying a selection object out of plural proposals, an operation input part 6 for conducting an operation for specifying the selection object, and a control part 3 for changing the proposal concerned in the selection object in the index of the input information proposal displaying part 5a when the inclination is detected by the inclination detecting part 2, and for specifying the selection object to conduct processing based on the information concerned in the selection object when the operation is conducted by the input part 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile information terminal device such as a mobile phone and a control method thereof,
In particular, the present invention relates to a portable information terminal device that can input information such as characters and numbers by a simple operation and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a portable information terminal device such as a mobile phone is provided with various operation keys. Then, when the user inputs information of letters and numbers, the corresponding operation key is pressed. Also,
When the user selects a desired option from the options displayed on the display unit, he or she depresses the operation key of the corresponding number or the direction key to move the cursor to the desired option. After that, it is common to press the enter key.

Here, FIG. 12 shows the configuration of a conventional portable information terminal device 100 and will be described.

As shown in FIG. 12, the portable information terminal device 100 is constructed by connecting a control unit 102 for controlling the whole, a key unit 101, a data processing unit 103, and a display unit 104 to each other. In such a configuration, when a user inputs a key, data indicating which key is pressed by the key unit 101 is sent to the control unit 102, and the data is sent to the data processing unit 103.

The data processing unit 103 performs a predetermined process based on the data of the pressed key, outputs a signal to the control unit 102 and the display unit 104 as necessary, and displays a predetermined display on the display unit 104. Will be done.

[0006] In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-56893, the tilt and direction of the portable information terminal device are detected, and a virtual screen area of a display switching destination is calculated from them and virtual screen area data to obtain a screen display. A technique for changing is disclosed.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, in order to input characters and numbers through the operation keys, a considerable number of operation keys, that is, at least 0.
An integer number key up to 9 and a decision key need to be implemented. In this case, the mounting area becomes large and the manufacturing cost rises due to an increase in the number of parts, which poses a problem.

Further, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-56893 described above simply scrolls the information display on the screen based on the tilt and direction of the portable information terminal device, and it is 0-9. There is no disclosure of any device for omitting the integer number keys and the like, and there is still a problem that the manufacturing cost increases due to an increase in mounting area and an increase in the number of parts.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. An object of the present invention is to reduce the number of operation keys to be mounted to a small number, thereby realizing a reduction in mounting area and a reduction in manufacturing cost. Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable information terminal device and a control method therefor capable of inputting desired information by a simple operation of operating the operation keys and inclining the device itself.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a portable information terminal device according to a first aspect of the present invention has a tilt detecting means for detecting tilt and a selection target from a plurality of candidates. When the tilt is detected by the display means for displaying the index for specifying, the operation means for performing the operation for specifying the selection target, and the tilt detection means, the selection target in the index of the display means is selected. And a control means for changing the candidate and for specifying the selection target when the operation means performs an operation and performing a process based on the information on the selection target.

In the portable information terminal device according to the second aspect, the tilt detecting means has a first axis parallel to the vertical direction of the portable information terminal device and passing through the center of the portable information terminal device. A second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis, parallel to the left-right direction of the portable information terminal device, and passes through the center of the portable information terminal device;
It is a further feature that the tilt is detected based on the rotation of the vector on the two-dimensional plane with respect to the axis of.

Further, in the portable information terminal device according to the third aspect, the control means relates to the selection target in the index of the display means only when the tilt detected by the tilt detection means is within a predetermined range. A further feature is that the candidates are changed.

In the portable information terminal device according to the fourth aspect, the control means selects the object selected by the index of the display means only when the tilt detected by the tilt detection means exceeds a predetermined threshold value. It is a further feature to change the candidate related to.

In the portable information terminal device according to the fifth aspect, the index comprises at least first and second indexes, and the control means has the inclination detected by the inclination detection means as the first inclination. In the case of the rotation of the vector around the axis of, the candidate related to the selection target in the first index is changed, and the tilt detected by the tilt detecting means becomes the rotation of the vector around the second axis. In the case of being related, changing the candidate related to the selection target in the second index is a further feature.

Further, in the control method of the portable information terminal device according to the sixth aspect, the step of detecting the inclination by the inclination detecting means, and the indicator for displaying the index for specifying the selection target from the plurality of candidates by the display means. And a step of performing an operation for specifying the selection target by the operation means, and a tilt related to the selection target in the index of the display means when the tilt is detected by the tilt detection means by the control means. Is changed, and when the operation is performed by the operation means, a selection target is specified, and a process is performed based on the information related to the selection target.

Further, in the control method of the portable information terminal device according to the seventh aspect, the tilt detecting means causes the first axis parallel to the vertical direction of the portable information terminal device and passing through the center of the portable information terminal device. And the inclination is detected based on the rotation of the vector on the two-dimensional plane by the second axis perpendicular to the first axis and parallel to the left-right direction of the portable information terminal device and passing through the center of the portable information terminal device. This is a further feature.

Further, in the control method of the portable information terminal device according to the eighth aspect, the control means selects the index of the display means only when the tilt detected by the tilt detection means is within a predetermined range. It is characterized by further comprising the step of changing the candidate related to the target.

Further, in the control method for the portable information terminal device according to the ninth aspect, the indicator of the display means is provided by the control means only when the inclination detected by the inclination detection means exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The method further comprises the step of changing the candidate related to the selection target in.

Further, in the control method for the portable information terminal device according to the tenth aspect, the index comprises at least first and second indexes, and the tilt detected by the tilt detection means by the control means is In the case of the rotation of the vector around the first axis, the candidates related to the selection target in the first index are changed, and the tilt detected by the tilt detecting means is the vector around the second axis. When it is related to the rotation of No. 1, the method further comprises the step of changing the candidate related to the selection target in the second index.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a portable information terminal device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, in this portable information terminal device, a control unit 3 that controls the entire control, a tilt detection unit 2, a data processing unit 4, a display unit 5, and an operation input unit 6 can communicate with each other. Connected to and configured. Further, the data processing unit 4 is electrically connected to the input information candidate display unit 5a included in the display unit 5.

In such a structure, the inclination detecting section 2
Detects the tilt of the portable information terminal device itself and outputs the result to the control unit 3. The display unit 5 displays various information such as numbers and characters under the control of the control unit 3. The input information candidate display section 5a displays, for example, a ring-shaped icon for selecting a desired number or the like, as will be described later in detail. The data processing unit 4 recognizes the display of the input information candidate display unit 5a and feeds back the result to the control unit 3. The operation input unit 6 includes operation keys, and is for performing a predetermined key input. However, in this example, the numeric keys 0 to 9 are unnecessary.

The operation of the portable information terminal device according to the first embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3 to 5 as appropriate.

This corresponds to the control method of the portable information terminal device of the present invention.

In the initial state, the input information candidate display portion 5a of the portable information terminal device 1 displays a ring-shaped icon for selecting the numbers 0-9.

In this state, when the user tilts the portable information terminal device 1, the tilt detector 2 detects the tilt θ (step S1).

Here, the portable information terminal device 1 is tilted in the left-right direction about a first axis that is parallel to the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of the portable information terminal device 1 and passes through the center of the portable information terminal device 1. It is assumed that it will be done. That is, here, the inclination θ of the mobile information terminal device 1 is perpendicular to the first axis, is perpendicular to the first axis, is parallel to the lateral direction (left-right direction) of the mobile information terminal device 1, and is the mobile information terminal device. It shall be detected based on the rotation of the vector on the two-dimensional plane by the second axis passing through the center of 1.

In the initial state, a ring-shaped icon as shown in FIG. 3B is displayed, but when the tilt detecting section 2 detects the tilt by the control section 3, the detected tilt θ. Is determined to be within the range of −90 ° ≦ θ ≦ + 90 ° to the left and right (step S
2).

Here, the inclination θ is −90 ° ≦ θ ≦ + to the left and right.
If it is outside the range of 90 °, the process returns to step S1 and the above-described processing is repeated. On the other hand, the inclination detected by the inclination detection unit 2 is −9 to the left and right.
If it is within the range of 0 ° ≦ θ ≦ + 90 °, the control unit 3 subsequently determines whether or not the inclination θ is within the range of threshold θ1 ≦ θ ≦ threshold θ2 (step S3). , S
5) At this time, as shown in FIG. 3A, if the inclination θ is within the range of the threshold θ1 ≦ θ ≦ threshold θ2, the above step S
The value is returned to 1 and the above process is repeated (step S3).
S5). On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
When the inclination θ> threshold value θ1, the control unit 3 outputs a control signal for clockwise rotation to the display unit 5, and as a result, the display by the input information candidate display unit 5a of the display unit 5 is as shown in FIG.
It is updated as shown in (b), and the process proceeds to step S7 (step S4).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the inclination θ <threshold value θ2, the control unit 3 outputs a control signal for left rotation to the display unit 5, and as a result, , The display by the input information candidate display portion 5a of the display portion 5,
It is updated as shown in FIG. 5B, and the process proceeds to step S7 (step S6).

In this way, the control unit 3 determines whether or not the operation key included in the operation input unit 6 has been pressed. If not pressed, the process returns to step S1 and the above operation is repeated (step S7). On the other hand, when the operation key is pressed by the user, the information corresponding to the number on the forefront of the ring-shaped icon displayed on the input information candidate display portion 5a of the display portion 5 is processed as data. It is recognized by the unit 4 and the result is fed back to the control unit 3 (step S8).

That is, when the operation key is pressed in the state of FIG. 3B, the numeral "1" is displayed, and when the operation key is pressed in the state of FIG. 4B, the numeral "0" is displayed. When the operation key is pressed in the state of 5 (b), the number "9" is recognized by the data processing unit 4, and the data related to the result is recognized by the control unit 3.
Will be output to.

In this way, the control unit 3 performs a predetermined process based on the recognition result, for example, the display update or the like (step S9), and this process is terminated.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, in this example, if the portable information terminal device 1 is tilted to the right, it turns clockwise.
If you tilt it to the left, the number on the front of the ring-shaped icon will change counterclockwise. That is, in the state of FIG. 3B, the number is changed from “0” to “1” when tilted to the right by more than the threshold θ1, and the number is changed from “0” when tilted to the left more than the threshold θ2. It will be changed to "9". At this time, since the numbers are changed one by one in order, it is possible to set the desired number to the selection target, that is, the foreground regardless of whether the rotation is right rotation or left rotation.

In the above-described first embodiment, the example in which the selection target is a number has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a character such as an alphabet or hiragana can be selected as a selection target in a similar method. It is possible. Also, −90 ° ≦ θ +
Although the foreground display of the ring-shaped icon is updated only when the inclination within the range of 90 ° occurs, the present invention is not limited to this range.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Since the configuration of the portable information terminal device according to the second embodiment is similar to that of FIG. 1, the same components will be described below with the same reference numerals.

In the portable information terminal device 1 according to the second embodiment, an icon composed of two rings is displayed on the input information candidate display portion 5a, and depending on the inclination of the device 1 in the left-right and up-down directions. Thus, the selected object can be changed freely.

Here, the portable information terminal device 1 is tilted in the left-right direction about a first axis that is parallel to the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of the portable information terminal device 1 and passes through the center of the portable information terminal device 1. When asked, "a", "ka",
"Sa", "ta", "na", "ha", "ya", "ra",
The target to be selected from "wa" is changed. The portable information terminal device 1 is centered around a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis and is parallel to the lateral direction (lateral direction) of the portable information terminal device 1 and passes through the center of the portable information terminal device 1. When tilted vertically, for example, if the current selection target is "A", the target to be selected as "A", "I", "U", "E", "O" is the hiragana of the row. Will be changed in order.

The operation when the portable information terminal device 1 is tilted in the left-right direction will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. This operation corresponds to the control method of the portable information terminal device of the present invention, and the detailed sequence is similar to that of the flowchart of FIG. 2 described above, and therefore, only a brief description will be given here. To

In the initial state, an icon consisting of two rings is displayed on the input information candidate display section 5a as shown in FIG. 6 (b). In this example, “A” is located at the forefront and is a selection target. In such a state, as shown in FIG. 6A, the display of the input information candidate display section 5a is changed even if the inclination θ occurs in the left-right direction within the range of the threshold θ1 ≦ θ ≦ threshold θ2. There is no.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the control section 3 detects the relationship of inclination θ> threshold value θ1,
As shown in FIG. 7B, the display is rotated to the right, and the selection target is changed from “A” to “Wa”.

As shown in FIG. 8 (a), when the control unit 3 detects the relationship of inclination θ <threshold value θ2, the display is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 8 (b). Is
The selection target will be changed from "a" to "ka".

Next, the flowchart of FIG. 9 and FIG.
With reference to FIG. 11, an operation when the portable information terminal device 1 according to the second embodiment is tilted in the vertical direction will be described.

This corresponds to the control method of the portable information terminal device of the present invention.

In the initial state, the input information candidate display portion 5a of the portable information terminal device 1 displays an icon composed of two rings as shown in FIG. 6 (b).

In this state, when the user tilts the portable information terminal device 1, the tilt detector 2 detects the tilt θ (step S11).

The control unit 3 determines whether or not the inclination θ detected by the inclination detection unit 2 is within the range of −90 ° ≦ θ ≦ + 90 ° vertically (step S12).

Here, the inclination θ is up and down by −90 ° ≦ θ ≦ +
If it is outside the range of 90 °, the process returns to step S1 and the above-described processing is repeated. On the other hand, the inclination detected by the inclination detection unit 2 is −9 in the vertical direction.
If it is within the range of 0 ° ≦ θ ≦ + 90 °, the control unit 3 subsequently determines whether or not the inclination θ is within the range of threshold θ1 ≦ θ ≦ threshold θ2 (step S13). ，
S15) If the inclination θ is within the range of threshold θ1 ≦ θ ≦ threshold θ2, the process returns to step S1 and the above process is repeated (steps S13 and S15).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10A, when the inclination θ> threshold value θ3, the control unit 3 outputs the control signal for the upper rotation to the display unit 5, and as a result, , The display by the input information candidate display portion 5a of the display portion 5,
Updated as shown in FIG. 10B, step S1
7 is entered (step S14).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11A, when the inclination θ <threshold value θ4, the control unit 3 outputs a control signal for downward rotation to the display unit 5, and as a result, , The display by the input information candidate display portion 5a of the display portion 5,
Updated as shown in FIG. 11B, step S1
7 is entered (step S16).

In this way, the control unit 3 determines whether or not the operation key included in the operation input unit 6 has been pressed. If not pressed, the process returns to step S11 to repeat the above operation (step S17). On the other hand, when the operation key is pressed by the user, the display unit 5
The information corresponding to the number on the foreground of the ring-shaped icon displayed on the input information candidate display unit 5a of No. 3 is recognized by the data processing unit 4, and the result is fed back to the control unit 3 (step S18). ).

That is, when the operation key is pressed in the state of FIG. 10B, “O” is displayed, and when the operation key is pressed in the state of FIG. 11B, “I” is displayed. The data related to the result is output to the control unit 3.

In this way, the control unit 3 performs a predetermined process based on the recognition result, for example, the display update or the like (step S19), and this process is terminated.

In this example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, if the portable information terminal device 1 is tilted toward the front, it is directed upward, and if it is tilted toward the back, it is directed downward, and the mobile information terminal device 1 is moved downward. The characters on the front are changed. That is, in the state of FIG. 10B, if the front is tilted more than the threshold θ3, “A” is changed to “O”, and if the back is tilted more than the threshold θ4, “A” is changed to “Yes”. It will be changed.
Since the characters are changed one by one in order, it is possible to set the desired character to the selection target, that is, the foreground, regardless of whether the character is rotated upward or downward.

In the above-described second embodiment, the description has been made by taking the characters as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is a matter of course that a character such as an alphabet can be selected by a similar method. Further, the foreground display of the ring-shaped icon is updated only when the inclination within the range of −90 ° ≦ θ + 90 ° occurs, but it is not limited to this range. .

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, various inputs can be made by providing only one operation key. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to the improvement of the operability of the user, and it is possible to reduce the mounting capacity and the number of parts of various keys to the portable information terminal device, and consequently to reduce the size and weight of the device itself and reduce the cost.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various improvements and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the icon is composed of one or two rings has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the icon may be composed of two or more rings. Of course.

[0059]

According to the present invention, by reducing the number of operation keys to be mounted to a small number, the mounting area can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the operation of the operation keys and the inclination of the apparatus itself can be prevented. It is possible to provide a portable information terminal device capable of inputting desired information by a simple operation of giving it and a control method thereof.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile information terminal device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining in detail the operation of the mobile information terminal device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a laterally tilted state of the portable information terminal device 1 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a display mode of an input information candidate display unit 5a of the device 1. FIG.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a laterally tilted state of the portable information terminal device 1 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a display mode of an input information candidate display unit 5a of the device 1. FIG.

5A is a diagram showing a tilted state of the portable information terminal device 1 according to the first embodiment in the left-right direction, and FIG. 5B is a display mode of an input information candidate display portion 5a of the device 1. FIG. FIG.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a tilted state of the portable information terminal device 1 according to the second embodiment in the left-right direction, and FIG. 6B is a display mode of an input information candidate display section 5a of the device 1. FIG.

7A is a diagram showing a tilted state of the portable information terminal device 1 according to the second embodiment in the left-right direction, and FIG. 7B is a display mode of an input information candidate display portion 5a of the device 1. FIG.

FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a laterally tilted state of the portable information terminal device 1 according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a display mode of an input information candidate display section 5a of the device 1. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining in detail the operation of the mobile information terminal device 1 according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10A is a diagram showing a vertically tilted state of the portable information terminal device 1 according to the second embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display mode of an input information candidate display section 5a of the device 1.

FIG. 11A is a diagram showing a vertically tilted state of the portable information terminal device 1 according to the second embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display mode of an input information candidate display section 5a of the device 1.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional portable information terminal device 100.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Personal digital assistant 2 Tilt detector 3 control unit 4 Data processing unit 5 Display 5a Input information candidate display section 6 Operation input section

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 15/02 310 H04M 1/23 P 5K027 H03M 11/04 1/725 H04M 1/23 G06F 3/023 310L 1/725 F term (reference) 5B019 DB10 HC01 5B020 CC01 CC12 FF53 5B087 AA10 CC21 DE03 5E501 AB03 BA05 CB02 CC01 EB05 FA04 FA13 5K023 AA07 BB11 KK10 5K027 AA11 BB01 BB02 CC08

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An inclination detecting means for detecting an inclination, a display means for displaying an index for specifying a selection target from a plurality of candidates, and an operation means for performing an operation for specifying the selection target. When the tilt is detected by the tilt detecting means, the candidate related to the selection target in the index of the display means is changed, and when the operation means is operated, the selection target is specified, and the selection target is selected. A portable information terminal device, comprising: a control unit that performs a process based on the information. 2. The tilt detecting means comprises a first axis which is parallel to the vertical direction of the portable information terminal device and which passes through the center of the portable information terminal device, and a vertical axis of the first axis which is perpendicular to the first axis of the portable information terminal device. The tilt is detected based on rotation of a vector on a two-dimensional plane by a second axis that is parallel to the left-right direction and that passes through the center of the portable information terminal device. Mobile information terminal device. 3. The control means is further characterized in that the candidate for selection in the index of the display means is changed only when the inclination detected by the inclination detection means is within a predetermined range. Claim 1
The portable information terminal device described in 1. 4. A further feature that the control means changes the candidate related to the selection target in the index of the display means only when the tilt detected by the tilt detection means exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The portable information terminal device according to claim 1. 5. The index comprises at least a first index and a second index, and the control means is such that the tilt detected by the tilt detecting means relates to rotation of a vector around the first axis. In this case, the candidate related to the selection target in the first index is changed, and the inclination detected by the inclination detecting means is changed to the second inclination.
If it involves the rotation of the vector about the axis of
The mobile information terminal device according to claim 2, further comprising changing a candidate related to a selection target in the second index. 6. A step of detecting a tilt by a tilt detecting means, a step of displaying an index for specifying a selection target from a plurality of candidates by a display means, and a step of specifying the selection target by an operating means. When the tilt is detected by the tilt detecting means by the control means and the step of performing the operation, the candidate related to the selection target in the index of the display means is changed, and when the operation is performed by the operation means A step of specifying a selection target and performing a process based on the information relating to the selection target. 7. The tilt detecting means includes a first axis parallel to the vertical direction of the portable information terminal device and passing through the center of the portable information terminal device, and a vertical axis of the portable information terminal device perpendicular to the first axis. The tilt is detected based on rotation of a vector on a two-dimensional plane by a second axis that is parallel to the left-right direction and that passes through the center of the portable information terminal device. A method for controlling a mobile information terminal device. 8. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of changing, by the control means, a candidate to be selected in the index of the display means only when the inclination detected by the inclination detection means is within a predetermined range. The method for controlling a mobile information terminal device according to claim 6. 9. The method further comprises the step of changing, by the control means, a candidate related to a selection target in the index of the display means only when the inclination detected by the inclination detection means exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The method for controlling a mobile information terminal device according to claim 6, wherein the control method is for a mobile information terminal device. 10. The index is at least a first and a second.
When the inclination detected by the inclination detecting means is related to the rotation of the vector around the first axis, the control means selects a candidate to be selected in the first index. If the tilt detected by the tilt detecting means is related to the rotation of the vector about the second axis, the method further includes the step of changing the candidate related to the selection target in the second index. The portable information terminal device according to claim 7, which is characterized in that.