JP2006238171A - Cellular phone and character input method therein - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cellular phone for allowing easy character input and imposing few burdens on fingers, and to provide a character input method in the cellular phone. <P>SOLUTION: A display 13 displays vowels repeatedly in order of "A", "I", "U", "E", and "O" with a fixed time interval, independent from an operation by a user. If the user presses down anyone of dial keys, an input character determination portion 17 acquires a consonant "α" assigned to the pressed dial key. A vowel rotation determination portion 18 measures a key press-down time τ, and compares τ with a vowel reverse rotation time T. If τ is more than T, the vowel rotation determination portion 18 displays vowels in reverse order. The input character determination portion 17 acquires a vowel "β" currently displayed when the dial key is released as a vowel of an inputted character. The input character determination portion 17 determines the inputted character, based on relationship between the consonant "α" and the vowel "β". <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile phone capable of inputting kana characters and a character input method in the mobile phone.

  The mobile phone functions include not only a voice call function but also many functions for handling character data such as a telephone directory function and a mail function. In general, characters can be input by operating a dial key or the like provided in a mobile phone. However, since the number of dial keys is as small as 12 numbers from “1” to “0” and the symbols “*” and “#” are displayed, it is difficult to input. In addition, since the mobile phone has been miniaturized, it is difficult to greatly increase the types of keys.

  Therefore, a key input device and a mobile phone that improve operability without increasing the number of keys when inputting kana characters have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-328765 A (paragraphs 0039-0042)

  However, the method described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the input is troublesome because the number of times the dial key is pressed to input characters increases.

  As a method of inputting Japanese kana characters, there are two methods, “Kana method” and “2-touch method”, which use ten dial keys displaying numbers “1” to “0”. Two methods are known.

  In "Kana method", from the dial key ("1" key) to which the number "1" is displayed to the "0" key, from the "a" line to the "wa" line Ten rows are allocated. When inputting, a character corresponding to the number of pressings can be selected by pressing each dial key once or a plurality of times. For example, the “1” key is used as a key for inputting each character (“A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O”) in the “A” line, and for selecting “A”. Press the “1” key once and press the “1” key five times to select “O”.

  In the “2-touch method”, ten lines from the “a” line to the “wa” line are assigned to the “1” key to the “0” key, and the “1” key to the “0” key. Five vowels of “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, and “O” are assigned to each of the “5” keys. At the time of input, a dial key indicating a line of a character to be input (any one of “1” key to “0” key) is pressed, and a dial key indicating a vowel of a character to be input next (“1” key to “5”) Press one of the keys. For example, when inputting the character “ko”, the “2” key to which the “ka” line is assigned is pressed, and then the “5” key to which the vowel “o” is assigned is pressed.

  The number of times the dial key is pressed to input one character is an average of 2 or 3 times in the “Kana method” and 2 times in the “2 touch method”. Therefore, since the number of times the dial key is pressed to input characters increases, there is a problem that the input is troublesome and the burden on the finger is large.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone that can easily input characters and has less burden on the finger, and a character input method in the mobile phone.

  A mobile phone according to the present invention is a mobile phone having a dial key for inputting information other than kana characters and capable of inputting kana characters by pressing the dial key, and sequentially displaying information indicating vowels when inputting kana characters. An input for determining an input character based on a correspondence relationship between a vowel output means that repeatedly outputs to, a pressed dial key, and information indicating a vowel output by the vowel output means when the pressed dial key is released And character determining means.

  Display means capable of displaying characters may be provided, and the vowel output means may repeatedly output characters indicating vowels in order on the display means as information indicating vowels. According to such a configuration, it is possible to select a vowel of a character to be input based on the character output to the display means.

  The light emitting means emits light when the dial key is operated, the light emitting means emits at least as many colors as the number of vowels, and the vowel output means is based on a correspondence relationship between the predefined vowels and the light emission colors. Thus, different colors may be repeatedly emitted to the light emitting means in order as information indicating vowels. According to such a configuration, since it is possible to select the vowel of the character to be input based on the color emitted by the light emitting means, it is possible to input the character while looking only at the dial key. Can improve convenience.

  A key pressing time indicating a time from when the dial key is pressed until it is released is detected, a predetermined value of the key pressing time is compared with the key pressing time, and the vowel output means is based on the comparison result. You may provide the vowel rotation determination means which changes the order of the vowel to output. According to such a configuration, even when the timing of pressing the key is delayed, the vowel display order can be reversed before the input character is determined by continuing to press the key. Therefore, it is not necessary to wait until the vowel goes around once and is displayed again, and characters can be input quickly.

  The vowel rotation determining means may change the order of vowels output by the vowel output means when a predetermined specific key is pressed. According to such a configuration, there is no need to keep pressing the keys in order to reverse the display order of the vowels, so that it is possible to input quickly with less burden on the finger.

  The character input method in the cellular phone according to the present invention comprises 10 dial keys displaying numbers from 1 to 0, and each of the dial keys has 10 lines from the 50th line to the first line. A character input method in a mobile phone that is assigned and can input kana characters, and repeatedly outputs information indicating vowels in order to input kana characters, and the pressed dial key and the pressed dial key are released. The input character is determined based on the correspondence with the information indicating the vowel that is sometimes output.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to select a consonant of a character to be input based on the pressed key, and it is possible to select a vowel of a character to be input based on the displayed vowel or emission color. A single character can be entered simply by pressing and releasing the key. Therefore, there is an effect that a character can be easily input with less burden on the finger. In addition, since the number of times the key is pressed can be reduced, deterioration of the key device can be prevented.

  Even when the timing of pressing a key is delayed, the vowel display order can be reversed before the input character is determined by continuing to press the key or by pressing a specific key. Therefore, it is not necessary to wait until the vowel goes around once and is displayed again, and characters can be input quickly.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a mobile phone 10 according to the present invention. A cellular phone 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a wireless device 11, a transmitter device 12, a display device 13, a key device 14, a receiver device 15, and a control circuit unit 16. FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the appearance of the mobile phone.

  The wireless device 11 performs wireless communication with a base station of a mobile phone network via an antenna. The mobile phone 10 can perform telephone and data communication with other communication devices such as a mobile phone and a fixed phone via a mobile phone network. The transmitter 12 is a voice input device for making a call, and the receiver 15 is a received voice output device for making a call.

  The display device 13 is realized by a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display device, and displays information. The display device 13 displays a character input screen 300 shown in FIG. 3 when inputting kana characters.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the character input screen 300 according to the first embodiment. The character input screen 300 includes a text display unit 301, a vowel display unit 302, and a switching display unit 303. The text display unit 301 displays the input text (see FIG. 3A). The vowel display unit 302 repeatedly displays the letters “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, and “O” in order, regardless of the user's operation (FIG. 3B )reference). The switching display unit 303 displays information necessary for switching between kanji and alphabet, full-width and half-width, and information necessary for displaying a menu key (see FIG. 3A).

  The key device 14 has a plurality of keys for inputting information. The key device 14 includes a dial key on which numbers “1” to “0” and symbols “*” and “#” are displayed, and outputs the input information to the control circuit unit 16. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the correspondence between the dial keys and the consonant and the Japanese syllabary lines assigned to the dial keys. Each of the “1” key to the “0” key is assigned 10 lines from the “a” line to the “wa” line of the consonant at the time of Roman alphabet notation, that is, the Japanese syllabary.

  The control circuit unit 16 performs various controls of the mobile phone 10. The control circuit unit 16 includes an input character determination unit 17 and a vowel rotation determination unit 18. In addition, the control circuit unit 16 stores fixed data such as a CPU (not shown) that controls each unit of the mobile phone 10, and various control programs executed by the CPU, a dictionary used for kana character conversion, and the like. ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown) for storing, working memory (not shown) for storing various data such as data temporarily required for the CPU to execute the program, A control definition memory (not shown) for storing various setting information.

  The input character determination unit 17 has a function of executing a process of determining an input character based on the correspondence between the pressed dial key and the vowel displayed on the display device 13 when the pressed dial key is released. Have. The correspondence between the pressed dial key and the vowel displayed on the display device 13 when the pressed dial key is released is stored in the ROM. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a method by which the input character determination unit 17 determines an input character. For example, when “U” is displayed on the display device 13 when the “2” key is pressed and released, the input character determination unit 17 displays the character “ku” on the display device 13. Note that small characters such as “tsu”, “n”, dakuten, semi-dakuten, etc. are combinations of consonants and vowels that do not exist as pseudonyms (for example, combinations of consonant “W” and vowel “I”). Or “*” key and “#” key. In the following description, only pressing a key is expressed as pressing, and releasing the pressed key is expressed as releasing.

The vowel rotation determining unit 18 compares a key press time τ indicating a time from when the dial key is pressed to being released, with a preset vowel reverse rotation time T, and when τ is equal to or greater than T. The vowel display unit 302 has a function of executing processing for displaying the vowels displayed in the reverse order.
In the following description, displaying the vowels displayed in the vowel display unit 302 in the reverse order is expressed as vowel reverse rotation. The vowel reverse rotation time T indicates the time from when the dial key is pressed until the vowels are displayed in the reverse order. The vowel reverse rotation time T is stored in the control definition memory, and the key press time τ is stored in the work memory.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a method in which the vowel rotation determination unit 18 compares the key press time τ and the vowel reverse rotation time T, and the input character determination unit 17 acquires the vowel of the input character. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the elapsed time is shown on the horizontal axis, and the key press time τ and the vowel display update status are shown.

  When the character input screen 300 is displayed, the display device 13 causes the vowel display unit 302 to display “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “E”, at regular intervals regardless of the user's operation. Vowels are repeatedly displayed in the order of “O” (see FIG. 6A).

  When the user presses any dial key, the input character determination unit 17 stops updating the vowel display. Also, the vowel rotation determination unit 18 starts measuring the key press time τ. The vowel rotation determination unit 18 compares τ and T at a predetermined period. The input character determination unit 17 acquires the vowel displayed on the vowel display unit 302 when the user releases the dial key. The examples shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C show a case where the update is stopped when the user presses any dial key when the vowel “E” is displayed on the vowel display unit 302.

  When the user releases the dial key when τ is smaller than T, the vowel rotation determination unit 18 ends the process. The input character determination unit 17 acquires the vowel “E” displayed on the vowel display unit 302 as the vowel of the input character (see FIG. 6B).

  On the other hand, when the user does not release the dial key and it is measured that τ is equal to or greater than T, the vowel rotation determination unit 18 causes the vowel display unit 302 to display the vowels in the reverse order. In the example shown in FIG. 6C, the vowel “E” is displayed, and when τ is equal to or greater than T, the order of the vowels “O” and “A” is not reversed but “U” and “I” are reversed. Are displayed in this order. Then, the input character determination unit 17 acquires the vowel “I” displayed on the vowel display unit 302 when the user releases the dial key as the vowel of the input character.

  In the first embodiment, the vowel output means and the display means are realized by the display device 13. The input character determination means is realized by the input character determination unit 17. The vowel rotation determination means is realized by the vowel rotation determination unit 18.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process in which the input character determination unit 17 determines an input character. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which the vowel rotation determination unit 18 determines the display order of vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302.

  When the character input screen 300 is displayed, the display device 13 repeats the vowels in the order of “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O” on the vowel display unit 302 at regular time intervals. To display. When any of the dial keys is pressed, the process of determining the input character by the input character determining unit 17 is started, and the process of determining the display order of the vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302 by the vowel rotation determining unit 18 Is started.

  With reference to FIG. 7, the process in which the input character determination part 17 determines an input character is demonstrated. In step S71, the input character determination unit 17 stops updating the display of vowels. The input character determination unit 17 acquires the consonant “α” assigned to the pressed dial key, and stores it in the work memory (step S72).

  The input character determination unit 17 determines whether or not the pressed dial key is released (step S73). If released (YES), the input character determination unit 17 acquires the vowel “β” displayed on the vowel display unit 302 and stores it in the work memory (step S74). On the other hand, if not released (NO), the process proceeds to step S73, and the process of determining whether or not the pressed dial key is released is repeated.

  In step S75, the input character determination unit 17 refers to the consonant “α” and the vowel “β” stored in the work memory, and based on the correspondence between the consonant “α” and the vowel “β” illustrated in FIG. The input character is determined and displayed on the body display unit 301. For example, if the “2” key is pressed, the consonant “K” assigned to the “2” key is acquired in step S72, and the vowel “E” is acquired in step S74. “K” is determined, and “K” is displayed in the text display section 301.

  When the input character determination unit 17 determines the input character, the display device 13 causes the vowel display unit 302 to display “A”, “I”, “U” at regular time intervals in order to perform processing for determining the next input character. The vowels are displayed repeatedly in the order of “,” “E”, “O”. If any dial key is pressed, the process proceeds to step S71. If the character input on the character input screen 300 is finished, the series of processes is finished.

  Next, a process in which the vowel rotation determination unit 18 determines the display order of the vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S81, the vowel rotation determination unit 18 sets the key press time τ to 0. The vowel rotation determination unit 18 determines whether or not the pressed dial key is released (step S82). When released (YES), the vowel rotation determination unit 18 ends the series of processes. On the other hand, if not released (NO), the key pressing time τ is measured (step S83).

  Next, the vowel rotation determination unit 18 compares the preset vowel reverse rotation time T with the key press time τ (step S84). If τ is equal to or greater than T (YES), the process proceeds to step S85. On the other hand, if τ is smaller than T (NO), the process proceeds to step S82, and a process of determining whether or not the pressed dial key is released is executed.

  In step S85, the display device 13 uses the vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302 as a reference and reverses the order of “O”, “E”, “U”, “I”, “A”. Vowels are repeatedly displayed on the screen, and a series of processing ends.

  The process by the input character determination unit 17 and the process by the vowel rotation determination unit 18 are executed in synchronization. When a vowel is repeatedly displayed on the vowel display unit 302 of the character input screen 300 and any dial key is pressed, the processing by the input character determination unit 17 and the processing by the vowel rotation determination unit 18 are started simultaneously. . In addition, after the processing by the vowel rotation determination unit 18 is completed, the input character determination unit 17 executes processing for determining whether or not the pressed dial key is released in step S73.

  For example, when the vowel is repeatedly displayed on the vowel display unit 302 of the character input screen 300 and the “2” key is pressed while “E” is displayed, the processing by the input character determination unit 17 and the vowel rotation determination unit 18 is started at the same time.

  The input character determination unit 17 stops updating the display of the vowels, and “E” remains displayed on the vowel display unit 302. The input character determination unit 17 acquires the consonant “K” assigned to the “2” key and stores it in the work memory.

  On the other hand, the vowel rotation determination unit 18 sets the key pressing time τ to 0 and determines whether or not the pressed “2” key is released. Since the “2” key is not released, the vowel rotation determination unit 18 measures the key press time τ and compares it with the vowel reverse rotation time T. Here, when τ is equal to or greater than T, the display device 13 uses the vowel “E” displayed on the vowel display unit 302 as a reference and reverses “U”, “I”, “A”. The vowels are repeatedly displayed in the order of “,” “O”, “E”, and the process is terminated.

  The input character determination unit 17 determines whether or not the pressed “2” key is released. When the vowels are repeatedly displayed in the reverse order of “U” and “I” on the vowel display unit 302 and the “2” key is released when “I” is displayed, the input character determination unit 17 displays the vowels. The vowel “I” displayed in the unit 302 is acquired and stored in the working memory. The input character determination unit 17 refers to the consonant “K” and the vowel “I” stored in the work memory, and displays “ki” on the body display unit 301 as the input character.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the consonant of the character to be input can be selected based on the pressed key, and the vowel of the character to be input based on the displayed vowel. Can be selected, one character can be input by simply pressing and releasing the key once. Therefore, it is possible to easily input characters and to reduce the burden on the finger. In addition, since the number of times the key is pressed can be reduced, deterioration of the key device can be prevented. Furthermore, even if the timing of pressing the key is delayed, by continuing to press the key, the display order of vowels can be reversed before the input character is determined. Further, it is not necessary to wait until the vowel goes around once and is displayed again, and characters can be input quickly.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of the key device 14 according to the second embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 9, the key device 14 includes a key backlight 91 for each dial key. The key backlight 91 is illuminating when the key device 14 is operated for the purpose of easily performing key operation even when the surroundings are dark. The key backlight 91 includes, as a light source, at least a vowel type, that is, a multi-color light emitting LED (Light Emitting Diode) capable of emitting five types of colors.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the key backlight 91 according to the second embodiment. The key backlight 91 sequentially emits different colors based on the correspondence between the vowels and the emission colors defined in advance, regardless of the user's operation. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the correspondence relationship between the emission color of the key backlight 91 and the vowels in the second embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 11, vowels “A” and “red”, vowels “I” and “yellow”, vowels “U” and “green”, vowels “E” and “blue”, and vowels “O” and “purple”. "Is associated. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 10, the key backlight 91 emits light by repeating “red”, “yellow”, “green”, “blue”, and “purple” in order.

  In the second embodiment, the character input screen 300 includes a text display unit 301 and a switching display unit 303. The input character determination unit 17 determines an input character based on the correspondence between the pressed dial key and a vowel indicated by the color emitted by the key backlight 91 when the pressed dial key is released. It has a function to execute processing. For example, if the key backlight 91 emits green when the “2” key is pressed and released, the input character determination unit 17 displays the character “ku” on the display device 13.

  The vowel rotation determining unit 18 compares a key press time τ indicating a time from when the dial key is pressed to being released, with a preset vowel reverse rotation time T, and when τ is equal to or greater than T. The key backlight 91 has a function of executing the process of emitting the light emitted in the reverse order. The remaining configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In the second embodiment, the vowel output means and the light emitting means are realized by the key backlight 91.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. When the character input screen 300 is displayed, the key backlight 91 repeatedly emits light in the order of “red”, “yellow”, “green”, “blue”, and “purple” at regular time intervals. When any dial key is pressed, the input character determination unit 17 starts processing to determine the input character, and the vowel rotation determination unit 18 performs processing to determine the order of the colors emitted by the key backlight 91. Be started. Note that the processing from step S71 to step S73 in FIG. 7 is the same as the processing in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In step S73, it is determined whether or not the pressed dial key is released. If the dial key is released (YES), the input character determination unit 17 acquires the vowel “β” indicated by the color emitted by the key backlight 91. And stored in the work memory (step S74). On the other hand, if not released (NO), the process proceeds to step S73, and the process of determining whether or not the pressed dial key is released is repeated.

  In step S75, the input character determination unit 17 refers to the consonant “α” and the vowel “β” stored in the work memory, and based on the correspondence between the consonant “α” and the vowel “β” illustrated in FIG. The input character is determined and displayed on the body display unit 301. For example, if the “2” key is pressed, the consonant “K” assigned to the “2” key is acquired in step S72, and the vowel “E” is acquired in step S74. “K” is determined, and “K” is displayed in the text display section 301.

  When the input character determination unit 17 determines the input character, the key backlight 91 performs “red”, “yellow”, “green”, “blue” at regular time intervals in order to perform processing for determining the next input character. Flashes repeatedly in the order of “,” “purple”. If any dial key is pressed, the process proceeds to step S71. If the character input on the character input screen 300 is finished, the series of processes is finished.

  Next, a process in which the vowel rotation determination unit 18 determines the order of colors emitted by the key backlight 91 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the processing from step S81 to step S84 in FIG. 8 is the same as the processing in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In step S85, the key backlight 91 emits light repeatedly in the order of "purple", "blue", "green", "yellow", and "red", which is the reverse of the previous color, based on the emitted color. Then, a series of processing ends.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, a line of sight is displayed on the display device 13 to confirm the display of vowels when the dial key is pressed. There is no need to move, and it is possible to input characters by looking only at the dial keys. Therefore, the convenience at the time of character input can be improved.

  In the second embodiment, “red”, “yellow”, “green”, “blue”, and “purple” are illustrated as colors emitted from the key backlight 91, but other colors and orders are used. There may be.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In the first and second embodiments described above, a case in which the key press time τ and the vowel reverse rotation time T are compared as a determination condition for reversing the order of the vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302 is shown. However, the determination condition may be a case where a specific key different from the dial key is pressed.

  A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The key device 14 in FIG. 2 includes a call key 24 used for a voice call or the like. When the character input screen 300 is displayed on the display device 13, the call key 24 is used as a key for reversing the order of vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302.

  When the character input screen 300 is displayed, the vowel rotation determination unit 18 determines whether or not the call key 24 is pressed at predetermined time intervals, and determines that the call key 24 is pressed. In this case, the vowel display unit 302 has a function of executing processing for displaying the vowels displayed in the reverse order. The remaining configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating processing for determining the display order of vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302 by the vowel rotation determination unit 18 according to the third embodiment.

  When the character input screen 300 is displayed, the display device 13 repeats the vowels in the order of “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O” on the vowel display unit 302 at regular time intervals. To display. When any dial key is pressed, the input character determination unit 17 starts processing to determine the input character, and the vowel rotation determination unit 18 determines the display order of the vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302. Processing begins. In addition, since the process of the input character determination part 17 in 3rd Embodiment is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The vowel rotation determination unit 18 determines whether or not the call key 24 has been pressed at predetermined time intervals (step S1201). If it is determined that the call key 24 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S1202. If it is determined that the call key 24 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to step S1201 to repeatedly determine whether the call key 24 has been pressed.

  In step S1202, the display device 13 uses the vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302 as a reference and reverses the order of “O”, “E”, “U”, “I”, “A”. The vowel is displayed repeatedly in step S1201, and the process proceeds to step S1201. The vowel rotation determination unit 18 continues the process while the character input screen 300 is displayed, and ends the series of processes when the character input screen 300 is ended.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, there is no need to keep pressing keys to reverse the display order of vowels, so that a finger can be input quickly with less burden.

  By pressing the call key 24 while pressing the dial key, the vowel is determined before the input character is determined, as in the case where the key press time τ in the first embodiment is equal to or longer than the vowel reverse rotation time T. The display order of can be reversed. Therefore, even when the timing of pressing the key is delayed, it is possible to input characters quickly. Further, the call key 24 may be pressed when the dial key is not pressed. In that case, the user can select the order in which the vowels to be selected are displayed earlier, and the characters can be input quickly.

  In the third embodiment, the call key 24 is exemplified as a key for reversing the order of vowels displayed on the vowel display unit 302. However, other keys may be used.

  The present invention can be applied to a device such as a mobile phone that realizes kana character input by inputting a key not assigned to the kana character.

It is a block diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the mobile telephone by this invention. It is a front view which shows an example of the external appearance of a mobile telephone. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a character input screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the correspondence of a dial key and the line allocated to the dial key. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the method in which an input character determination part determines an input character. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the method in which a vowel rotation determination part compares a key press time with a vowel reverse rotation time, and an input character determination part acquires the vowel of an input character. It is a flowchart which shows the process in which an input character determination part determines an input character. It is a flowchart which shows the process in which a vowel rotation determination part determines the display order of a vowel. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the key apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of operation | movement of the key backlight 91 in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the correspondence of the light emission color of a key backlight and vowel in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process in which the vowel rotation determination part in 3rd Embodiment determines the display order of a vowel.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cellular phone 11 Radio | wireless part 12 Transmitter 13 Display apparatus 14 Key apparatus 15 Receiver 16 Control circuit part 17 Input character determination part 18 Vowel rotation determination part

Claims (6)

A mobile phone having a dial key for inputting information other than kana characters and capable of inputting kana characters by pressing the dial key,
Vowel output means for repeatedly outputting information indicating vowels in order when inputting kana characters;
Input character determination means for determining an input character based on a correspondence relationship between the pressed dial key and information indicating the vowel output from the vowel output means when the pressed dial key is released. A mobile phone characterized by that. A display means capable of displaying characters;
The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the vowel output means repeatedly outputs characters indicating vowels in order on the display means as information indicating vowels. Equipped with a light emitting means that emits light when the dial key is operated,
The light emitting means emits light of at least the number of types of vowels,
The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein the vowel output means causes the light emitting means to repeatedly emit different colors in order as information indicating vowels based on a correspondence relationship between vowels and emission colors defined in advance. Detects a key pressing time indicating a time from when the dial key is pressed until it is released, compares a predetermined value of the key pressing time with the key pressing time, and outputs a vowel based on the comparison result The cellular phone according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a vowel rotation determining means for changing the order of vowels output by the means. 4. The mobile phone according to claim 2, wherein the vowel rotation determining means changes the order of vowels output by the vowel output means when a predetermined specific key is pressed. A mobile phone that has 10 dial keys with numbers from 1 to 0, each of which has 10 lines from the 50th line to the first line, and can be used to input kana characters. A character input method for a telephone,
Output information indicating vowels in order when inputting kana characters,
An input character is determined based on a correspondence relationship between the pressed dial key and information indicating a vowel output when the pressed dial key is released. .

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