JP2004177994A - Mobile terminal with pressure sensor, and program executable by mobile terminal with pressure sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to enjoy operating a mobile terminal or inputting mail or a document and to express the document displayed on a display screen easily to understand and to a feeling aspect. <P>SOLUTION: When an operating means (push button) 13 is depressed, a pressure sensor 22 capable of detecting the pushed pressure is disposed in the mobile terminal. For example, the size of an inputted character is varied dependently on the pressure intensity (pressure value) measured by the pressure sensor. In other words, the size of a character displayed on a display screen is decreased when depressed pressure is low, the size of the character displayed on the display screen is set medium when depressed pressure is medium, and the size of the character displayed on the display screen is increased when depressed pressure is high. Thus, the size of the character can be varied by a simple operation, and feeling is provided between lines of the displayed document. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable terminal such as a portable telephone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and a program that can be executed by the portable terminal. In particular, the present invention relates to a portable terminal that can perform character input and a program that can be executed by the portable terminal. About the program.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, mobile terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs have information input means (also referred to as operation means in this specification) such as push buttons, dials, touch pens, mice, and keyboards. Thus, a user using the portable terminal can input a document, give an instruction for information processing, and the like. In particular, numbers, special symbols, alphabets, hiragana, katakana, etc., from 0 to 9 are assigned to push buttons (also called operation buttons, numeric keys, etc.), and input of these character information and conversion input of kanji etc. You can also do. For example, as described in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 below, generally, in mobile terminals such as mobile phones, push buttons are used as information input means.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-109987 (FIG. 5)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2002-152368 (FIG. 1)
[0004]
For example, when creating an e-mail or a document, a user using a mobile terminal operates a push button to input characters, and the input character information is displayed on a display unit of the mobile terminal according to a predetermined font setting. Will be displayed. Further, the user using the mobile terminal can change the font size of the entire character information displayed on the display screen at a time.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional information input means has a problem in that it is mainly capable of only binary input of ON / OFF, resulting in a very savory user interface. Although the font size of the character information on the display screen can be changed at a time, the font size has not been changed for each character.
[0006]
In view of the above problems, the present invention enables a user to perform a mobile terminal operation and an input operation of an e-mail and a document while having fun, and to make a document displayed on a display screen easy to understand and emotional. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal with a pressure sensor and a program executable by the portable terminal with a pressure sensor, which can express various aspects.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a portable terminal with a pressure sensor according to the present invention is a portable terminal having an information input unit for performing an information input operation, and is generated when the information input unit is pressed by the information input operation. A pressure sensor that detects a pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined value.
With this configuration, it is possible for the user using the mobile terminal with the pressure sensor to detect the pressure at which the information input unit is pressed for the information input operation.
[0008]
Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, the pressure sensor outputs a signal when detecting the pressure.
With this configuration, when pressure is detected by the pressure sensor, the information can be supplied to the inside of the portable terminal with the pressure sensor as a processable signal.
[0009]
Further, the present invention according to the above-mentioned invention has a processing means capable of performing information processing in accordance with a signal supplied from the pressure sensor.
With this configuration, the mobile terminal with the pressure sensor can perform a process according to the input information using the pressure sensor.
[0010]
Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, the pressure sensor is configured to output a signal corresponding to the pressure.
With this configuration, the user using the portable terminal with a pressure sensor can input various information by changing the manner of applying pressure to the pressure sensor (such as the intensity of pressure).
[0011]
Further, the present invention according to the above-mentioned invention has a processing means capable of performing information processing in accordance with a signal supplied from the pressure sensor.
With this configuration, the mobile terminal with a pressure sensor can perform processing according to various pressure application modes.
[0012]
Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, the correspondence between the signal supplied from the pressure sensor and the information processing by the processing unit is set, and the processing unit performs the information processing according to the pressure intensity according to the correspondence. Configured to do so.
With this configuration, for example, the intensity of the pressure applied to the pressure sensor can be classified and detected in a plurality of stages, and different signals can be supplied to the inside of the mobile terminal with the pressure sensor according to each stage. It becomes.
[0013]
Further, the present invention according to the above-mentioned invention has a display means capable of outputting character information by information processing according to the intensity of pressure.
With this configuration, it is possible to change the character information displayed on the display means according to the intensity of the pressure applied to the pressure sensor.
[0014]
Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, the size of the character is changed according to the strength of the pressure, and the character information corresponding to the character input by the information input operation is output from the display means.
With this configuration, it is possible to change the size of the character information displayed on the display unit according to the strength of the pressure applied to the pressure sensor.
[0015]
Further, the present invention according to the above-mentioned invention, further comprises storage means capable of storing a program enabling information processing by the processing means.
With this configuration, it is possible to read out the program from the storage unit as necessary and shift to the pressure input mode using the pressure sensor.
[0016]
Further, the present invention according to the above-mentioned invention, further comprises a storage unit capable of storing a program for setting a correspondence between a signal supplied from the pressure sensor and information processing by the processing unit.
With this configuration, it is possible to read out the program from the storage unit as needed and perform the processing with reference to information processing according to the user's input.
[0017]
Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, when a plurality of information input means are present, a pressure sensor is arranged in each of the information input means.
With this configuration, when there are a plurality of information input units, it is possible to detect the pressure applied to each of the information input units.
[0018]
Further, in the present invention according to the above-mentioned invention, the information input means is a push button.
With this configuration, pressure can be detected by a push button that is a general information input unit such as a mobile phone.
[0019]
Further, in order to solve the above problem, a program executable by the portable terminal with a pressure sensor according to the present invention has a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined value generated at the time of an information input operation using the information input means. The pressure sensor is a program executable by a mobile terminal with a pressure sensor configured to output a signal when detecting pressure, and performs information processing according to a signal output by the pressure sensor. It is configured.
With this configuration, the mobile terminal with a pressure sensor can perform a process according to a mode of applying various pressures to the information input unit.
[0020]
Furthermore, the present invention is configured such that in the above invention, it is possible to perform information processing according to the intensity of pressure according to the correspondence between the signal supplied from the pressure sensor and the information processing to be performed. .
With this configuration, for example, the intensity of the pressure applied to the pressure sensor can be classified and detected in a plurality of stages, and different signals can be supplied to the inside of the mobile terminal with the pressure sensor according to each stage. It becomes.
[0021]
Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, the character information corresponding to the character input by the information input operation is output to the display means of the portable terminal in a character size corresponding to the pressure.
With this configuration, it is possible to change the size of the character information displayed on the display unit according to the strength of the pressure applied to the pressure sensor.
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of a portable terminal with a pressure sensor and a program executable by the portable terminal with a pressure sensor according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view and a side view of a portable terminal with a pressure sensor according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a region A shown in FIG. The mobile terminal 10 (mobile terminal 10 with a pressure sensor) illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a display unit 12, an operation unit (push button) 13, a mouthpiece 14, a mouthpiece 15, and an antenna 16.
[0023]
Further, the partial cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 2 shows a cross-section including the push button 13 and schematically shows a cross-section of a region A in the side view shown in FIG. In the partial cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 2, the operating means (push button) 13, the CPU 21, the pressure sensor 22, and the flexible board 31 are illustrated. The push button 13 is formed of a resilient member or provided with an elastic body such as a spring, and applies a pressure from the outside (the finger of the user) to the pressure sensor 22 disposed inside. Pressure). The pressure sensor 22 measures the applied pressure and supplies a signal indicating the pressure intensity (pressure value) to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21. In addition, the flexible base 31 has a function of protecting an internal circuit of the mobile terminal where main information processing is performed from external pressure, impact, water droplets, and the like.
[0024]
2 (a) is a medium state of weak external pressure to the push button (a predetermined threshold value P ₁ than the predetermined pressure value less than the threshold P ₂₎ is applied, FIG. 2 (b), from the outside to the push button much pressure how (pressure value less than a predetermined threshold value P ₂ than the predetermined threshold value P ₃₎ is applied, FIG. 2 (c), a strong pressure (the predetermined threshold value P ₃ or more pressure values from external to the push button ) Are shown. As shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, when the push button 13 is pressed with a finger, the stress from the push button is transmitted to the pressure sensor 22, and the pressure sensor 22 measures the stress. The measurement result pressure value is supplied to the CPU 21.
[0025]
FIG. 1 illustrates a case in which a mobile phone is used as the mobile terminal 10 with a pressure sensor according to the present invention. The mobile terminal 10 is, like a conventional mobile phone, a liquid crystal display (LCD). ), Operation means 13 for inputting information, a mouthpiece 14 with a built-in microphone for voice input, and a receiver with a built-in speaker for voice output. Although it has the mouth 15 and the antenna 16 that enables communication, it is also possible to use a PDA or the like as the mobile terminal 10 with a pressure sensor of the present invention.
[0026]
Next, the internal configuration of the portable terminal with a pressure sensor according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the mobile terminal with a pressure sensor according to the present invention. The mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. 3 includes a display unit 12, an operation unit 13, an antenna 16, a CPU 21, a pressure sensor 22, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24, a transmission / reception unit 25, and a voice input unit 26. , Audio output means 27 and A / D conversion means (analog / digital conversion means) 28. Among them, the display unit 12, the operation unit 13, and the antenna 16 are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, and the CPU 21 and the pressure sensor 22 are the same as those shown in FIG.
[0027]
The CPU 21 is a unit that performs main control in the mobile terminal 10 and operation control of each unit. Further, the ROM 23 and the RAM 24 are information storage means, a program operating on the mobile terminal 10, image information (still image information and moving image information) displayed using the display means 12, and audio output using the audio output means 27. This is a means for storing information. The transmission / reception unit 25 is a unit for communicating with a communication base station and an external device via the antenna 16, and enables communication and transmission / reception of data. The voice input means 26 is a microphone for voice input, and the voice output means 27 is a speaker for voice output. The A / D converter 28 is a unit that converts an analog signal output from the pressure sensor 22 by detecting a pressure into a digital signal.
[0028]
Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to the internal configuration of the portable terminal with pressure sensor 10 shown in FIG. For example, when a user using the mobile terminal 10 performs a document input by creating a mail or the like, the user sets the operation mode to the mail creating mode and performs a hiragana or katakana input, a kanji conversion input, and the like.
[0029]
In this mail creation mode, when an arbitrary push button 13 is pressed with an arbitrary strength by the user, the pressure sensor 22 measures the intensity of the pressure and supplies the measurement result to the A / D converter 28. I do. The A / D converter 28 converts an analog signal related to the intensity of the pressure supplied from the pressure sensor 22 into a digital signal and supplies the digital signal to the CPU 21. Thereby, the CPU 21 can detect the intensity of the pressure at which the push button 13 is pressed.
[0030]
At the same time, the CPU 21 monitors which push button 13 has been pressed and in what process, and thereby determines which character has been input by the user. Note that the determination of the input character of the user performed in this way (that is, determination of which character has been input) can use the same method as the character input method used in the conventional technology. .
[0031]
As described above, the CPU 21 obtains information on the strength of the pressure applied from the pressure sensor 22 via the A / D conversion means 28 and character information input from the operation means 13. Then, referring to predetermined setting information stored in the ROM 23, the RAM 24, or the like, the size of a character to be displayed is determined based on the measured pressure intensity, and the character input by the user is Is displayed on the display means 12 in a size corresponding to the strength of the image.
[0032]
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of character information displayed on the display means of the portable terminal with a pressure sensor according to the present invention. 4 shows a character size three levels (large, medium, three levels of small) according to the strength of the pressure at the time of input in a state of being set to, if the word "hello" is input Is illustrated. When the user inputs the characters “ko”, “n”, and “ha”, the user presses the push button 13 corresponding to each character with a strong pressure as shown in FIG. In order to input the character "", the push button 13 corresponding to the character is pressed with a medium pressure as shown in FIG. The corresponding push button 13 is pressed with a weak pressure as shown in FIG.
[0033]
As a result, the processing is performed inside the mobile terminal 10 and the size of each character is displayed in a different size according to the pressure at the time of each input. ",""N" has a character size of "large", "ni" has a character size of "small", "chi" has a character size of "medium", and "ha" has a character size of " It will be displayed as "large" respectively.
[0034]
The text on the display screen displayed on the display means 12 in FIG. 1 is also displayed in different character sizes according to the applied pressure as described above. By expressing sentences in different character sizes in this way, it is possible to emphasize important points and to put the user's feelings in entering sentences in context or between lines. Compared to unified characters, the expression of sentences becomes deeper.
[0035]
In the above embodiment, the pressure intensity is classified into three levels according to the setting information. However, the number of pressure intensity classifications and each threshold can be set arbitrarily. In the above embodiment, the size of each character (font) is changed according to the pressure. However, the font, the font, the character color, and the character decoration are changed according to the pressure. Various changes, such as changes, can be set. Further, such setting information can be arbitrarily set (customized) by the user. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the size of each character can be changed, but it is also possible to change the size of a plurality of characters at once.
[0036]
When the created text is stored, it is preferable that information input using the pressure sensor 22 (information on the size of each character, etc.) is also stored at the same time, whereby the text generated next time is stored. When displayed again, information on the size of each character set at the time of inputting the text can be reproduced. Also, when the created text is transmitted to another terminal by e-mail or the like, the information input using the pressure sensor 22 is transmitted at the same time. The information about the size of the information is reflected.
[0037]
The present invention can also be realized by storing a program executable by the CPU 21 of the mobile terminal 10 in a memory such as the ROM 23 or the RAM 24 and executing the program by the CPU 21. Further, it is also possible to make it possible to externally acquire setting information for setting an operation when pressure is applied, the pressure value, and the like, a program, and the like from the outside by the transmission / reception means (wireless communication means) 25. In addition, according to the pressure value measured by the pressure sensor 22, the content (image information or audio information) output from the display unit 12 or the audio output unit 27 is changed, or the basic operation (e-mail transmission or reception The CPU 21 can perform various processes according to the measurement result of the pressure sensor 22, such as utilizing a pressure value measured by the pressure sensor 22 at the time of a normal operation performed by the mobile terminal 10). It is also possible to do so.
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a mobile terminal having an information input unit for performing an information input operation can measure a pressure generated when the information input unit is pressed by the information input operation. Since a pressure sensor capable of being provided is provided, a user using the mobile terminal with the pressure sensor can detect the pressure at which the information input unit is pressed for the information input operation. The user can perform input operation of a mail or a document, and can express a document displayed on the display screen in an easy-to-understand and emotional manner.
[Brief description of the drawings]
Figure 1 is a front view and a side view of a portable terminal with a pressure sensor of the present invention Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a region A shown in FIG. 1 (a) weak external pressure on the push button (a predetermined threshold value P ₁ than the predetermined threshold P ₂ less than the manner in which pressure value) is afflicted (b) how pressure around the medium external to the push button (pressure value less than a predetermined threshold value P ₂ than the predetermined threshold value P ₃₎ are taking (c of ) from outside strong pressure (the predetermined threshold value P ₃ or more pressure values the push button) it takes to have state block diagram showing the internal configuration of the portable terminal with a pressure sensor of the present invention; FIG 4 shows the present invention Schematic diagram showing an example of character information displayed on display means of a portable terminal with a pressure sensor.
10 Mobile terminal (mobile terminal with pressure sensor)
12 display means 13 operation means (push button)
14 mouthpiece 15 earpiece 16 antenna 21 CPU
22 Pressure sensor 23 ROM
24 RAM
25 Transmission / reception means (wireless communication means)
26 audio input means 27 audio output means 28 A / D conversion means 31 flexible board

Claims (15)

A mobile terminal having information input means for performing an information input operation,
A portable terminal with a pressure sensor having a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined value generated when the information input means is pressed by an information input operation. The mobile terminal with a pressure sensor according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor is configured to output a signal when the pressure is detected. The mobile terminal with a pressure sensor according to claim 2, further comprising a processing unit capable of performing information processing according to the signal supplied from the pressure sensor. The mobile terminal with a pressure sensor according to claim 2, wherein the pressure sensor is configured to output the signal according to the pressure. The mobile terminal with a pressure sensor according to claim 4, further comprising a processing unit capable of performing information processing according to the signal supplied from the pressure sensor. A correspondence between the signal supplied from the pressure sensor and the information processing by the processing unit is set, and the processing unit performs the information processing according to the strength of the pressure according to the correspondence. The mobile terminal with a pressure sensor according to claim 5, which is configured. The portable terminal with a pressure sensor according to claim 6, further comprising a display unit capable of outputting character information by the information processing according to the intensity of the pressure. The pressure sensor according to claim 7, wherein a size of a character is changed in accordance with the strength of the pressure, and the character information corresponding to a character input by the information input operation is output from the display unit. With mobile terminal. 9. The portable terminal with a pressure sensor according to claim 5, further comprising a storage unit capable of storing a program that enables the information processing by the processing unit. 9. The storage device according to claim 6, further comprising a storage unit capable of storing a program for setting a correspondence between the signal supplied from the pressure sensor and the information processing by the processing unit. Mobile terminal with pressure sensor. The portable terminal with a pressure sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein when a plurality of the information input units are present, the pressure sensor is disposed in each of the information input units. The mobile terminal with a pressure sensor according to claim 11, wherein the information input unit is a push button. A pressure sensor that detects a pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined value generated at the time of an information input operation using the information input unit, wherein the pressure sensor is configured to output a signal when the pressure is detected. A program executable by a mobile terminal with a sensor,
A program executable by a mobile terminal with a pressure sensor that performs information processing according to the signal output by the pressure sensor. The mobile phone with a pressure sensor according to claim 13, wherein the information processing according to the intensity of the pressure can be performed according to a correspondence relationship between the signal supplied from the pressure sensor and the information processing to be performed. A program that can be executed by a terminal. The pressure sensor according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the character information corresponding to the character input by the information input operation is output to a display unit of the portable terminal with a character size corresponding to the pressure. A program that can be executed on a mobile terminal.

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