JP2007052549A - Character converter, portable equipment comprising character converter, character converting method, character converting program, and computer readable recording medium for recording character converting program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve efficiency of character converting operations when inputting Chinese characters. <P>SOLUTION: This character converter 2 comprises a storage part 24 which stores Pinyin data and a plurality of corresponding Chinese character data in association with each other and stores four tones specific data indicating four tones of each Chinese character, a Pinyin input processing part 21 which generates Pinyin data according to character input operations by a user, a tilt input processing part 22 which specifies the attribute according to tilt of a cellphone 1, and an extraction processing part 23 which extracts the Chinese character data corresponding to the Pinyin data classified into the attribute specified by the inclination input processing part 22 and generated by the Pinyin input processing part 21 from the storage part 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a character conversion apparatus and method that can be suitably applied to, for example, a mobile phone that inputs Chinese characters.

  Chinese mobile phones have begun to spread since the introduction of GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) mobile phones in 1994, and in 2002, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) services have also started.

  According to the Ministry of Information Industry, which promotes the IT industry in China, China has 300 million mobile phone users, making it the world's largest mobile phone market. China has 354 million mobile phone subscribers as of the end of April 2005, with a penetration rate of 25.9%. China's mobile phone production in 2004 was 230 million units, and the number of SMS (short message service) messages sent in China by phone numbers as addresses was sent by 2006 There are forecasts to reach 500 billion cases per year.

  The SMS market is growing rapidly around the world. However, it is still cumbersome to create a sentence using a small key of a mobile phone, which keeps many users away. Especially in the Chinese-speaking region, inputting a Chinese character is more complicated than an alphabet, so that a simple input method can be provided, but it holds a big key for spreading SMS.

  In general mobile phones, it is difficult to meet the needs of consumers to increase input speed, and new text input methods for mobile phones have been required.

  In Chinese, there are many characters with the same reading, that is, homophones. For this reason, in the Pinyin method, which is a typical input method for Chinese characters, a large number of candidates for the same reading are displayed during character conversion, so it takes time to find the target character.

  In addition, regarding the input of Chinese characters, a technique for assisting a selection operation using eye movement is known (see Non-Patent Document 1).

In addition, regarding the input of characters using a mobile phone, a technique is known that assists the selection operation of a plurality of characters associated with one key by tilting the mobile phone (see Non-Patent Document 2).
Jingtao Wang et al., "Chinese Input with Keyboard and Eye-Tracking-An Anatomical Study", Proc. CHI 2001, pp.349-356 (2001) Daniel Wigdor et al., "TiltText: Using Tilt for Text Input to Mobile Phones" Proc. UIST '03, pp.81-90, (2003)

  However, the technique disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 assists the selection operation itself, and does not present a countermeasure for displaying a large number of conversion candidates.

  The technique disclosed in Non-Patent Document 2 is not intended for conversion in which the number of characters originally associated with one key is small and fixed, and a large number of conversion candidates are displayed. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the object thereof is to associate a plurality of conversion candidate characters with a character string such as Pinyin like the input of Chinese characters described above. In the character system in which the plurality of conversion candidate characters are classified according to their attributes, the efficiency of the character conversion operation is improved.

  A character conversion device according to the present invention has a plurality of conversion candidate characters associated with an input character string, and performs conversion into a character selected by the user from among the plurality of conversion candidate characters. In order to solve the above problem, the plurality of conversion candidate characters are classified according to their attributes, and input character string data and a plurality of conversion candidate character data corresponding thereto are stored in association with each other. Storage means for storing attribute data indicating attributes of each conversion candidate character, input character string data generating means for generating input character string data in response to a character input operation by the user, and in response to an operation by the user Attribute specifying means for specifying the attribute, and input character string data classified by the attribute specifying means and generated by the input character string data generating means. Is characterized by comprising extraction means for extracting a conversion candidate character data corresponding from the storage means.

  The character conversion device associates a plurality of conversion candidate characters with an input character string, and performs conversion to a character selected by the user from among the plurality of conversion candidate characters.

  When such character conversion is performed, since there are generally many conversion candidate characters for the input character string, the user must search for a desired character from among the many conversion candidate characters. It is forced to be inconvenient.

  On the other hand, in the above configuration, as the plurality of conversion candidate characters, characters classified according to their attributes are targeted, and conversion candidate characters are narrowed down by classification based on these attributes.

  That is, in the above configuration, the storage means stores the input character string data and a plurality of conversion candidate character data corresponding to the input character string data in association with each other, and stores attribute data indicating the attributes of each conversion candidate character, The extraction means extracts from the storage means conversion candidate character data that is classified into the attributes specified by the attribute specifying means and that corresponds to the input character string data generated by the input character string data generation means. Here, the attribute specifying unit specifies the attribute according to the operation by the user, and the input character string data generating unit generates the input character string data according to the character input operation by the user.

  Thereby, in the said structure, the inconvenience mentioned above with respect to a user can be reduced and the efficiency of character conversion operation can be aimed at.

  In the character conversion device according to the present invention, in the character conversion device, the storage means includes Pinyin data indicating Pinyin as the input character string data, and Chinese character data indicating Chinese characters as the conversion candidate character data. The four-voice data indicating the four voices of each Chinese character may be stored as the attribute data.

  There are many Chinese characters with the same reading, that is, homophones. Therefore, in the Pinyin method, which is a typical input method for Chinese characters, a large number of conversion candidate characters for the same reading are displayed during character conversion.

  In the above configuration, Chinese characters as conversion candidate characters can be effectively narrowed down using four voices as attributes, so that the effect of improving the efficiency of the character conversion operation is great.

  The character conversion device according to the present invention is the character conversion device to be mounted on a portable device, wherein the attribute specifying unit is configured to detect the inclination of the portable device detected by an inclination detection unit provided in the portable device. Accordingly, the attribute associated in advance with this inclination may be specified.

  In the above configuration, the attribute can be specified according to the inclination of the mobile device. Therefore, when specifying an attribute in the mobile device, it is only necessary to tilt the mobile device instead of performing a separate key operation, so that the attribute can be specified in parallel with the character input operation. become. Therefore, the operation speed can be improved. Further, since it is not necessary to add a configuration such as a key for receiving an operation for specifying an attribute, it is possible to avoid an increase in the size of the portable device.

  In the character conversion device according to the present invention, in the character conversion device, four types of attributes may be associated with inclinations of the mobile device in four different directions.

  It is easy for the user to tilt the mobile device in four different directions (for example, back / left / front / right), and the tilt detection unit can easily distinguish the tilt, thereby reducing the occurrence of erroneous operations. Can do.

  In the character conversion device according to the present invention, in the character conversion device, the inclination of the portable device may be an inclination with respect to a horizontal state of the portable device.

  Alternatively, in the character conversion device according to the present invention, in the character conversion device, the inclination of the portable device may be an inclination with respect to the state of the portable device at a predetermined timing.

  Thereby, for example, even when the user lies down and operates the mobile device, the operation for specifying the attribute can be performed accurately.

  The portable device according to the present invention can be configured by including a character conversion device to be mounted on the portable device, a character input unit that accepts a character input operation by a user, and the tilt detection unit.

  In the character conversion method according to the present invention, a plurality of conversion candidate characters are associated with an input character string, and the character conversion method performs conversion to a character selected by the user from among the plurality of conversion candidate characters. The plurality of conversion candidate characters are classified according to their attributes, and input character string data generation processing for generating input character string data in response to a character input operation by a user, and in response to an operation by a user Based on the attribute specifying process for specifying the attribute of each conversion candidate character, the association between the input character string data and a plurality of conversion candidate character data corresponding thereto, and the attribute of each conversion candidate character The conversion candidate character data classified into the attribute specified by the attribute specifying process and corresponding to the input character string data generated by the input character string data generating process is extracted. It is characterized in that it comprises and out processing.

  In the above method, as in the character conversion device described above, the above-mentioned inconvenience for the user can be reduced, and the efficiency of the character conversion operation can be improved.

  A character conversion program according to the present invention is a program for operating a computer as the character conversion device, and is a character conversion program for causing a computer to function as each means.

  With the above configuration, the character conversion device can be realized by realizing each unit of the character conversion device with a computer. Therefore, as described above, a character conversion device that can improve the efficiency of the character conversion operation can be realized on a computer.

  A computer-readable recording medium according to the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which the character conversion program is recorded.

  With the above configuration, the character conversion device can be realized on a computer by a character conversion program read from the recording medium.

  The character conversion device according to the present invention stores input character string data and a plurality of conversion candidate character data corresponding to the input character string data in association with each other, and storage means for storing attribute data indicating an attribute of each conversion candidate character; Input character string data generating means for generating input character string data in response to a character input operation by a user, attribute specifying means for specifying an attribute in accordance with an operation by the user, and attributes specified by the attribute specifying means An extraction means for extracting conversion candidate character data corresponding to the input character string data classified and generated by the input character string data generation means from the storage means.

  The character conversion method according to the present invention includes an input character string data generation process for generating input character string data in response to a character input operation by a user, and an attribute of each conversion candidate character in accordance with an operation by the user. Attribute identification processing that identifies the attribute specified by the attribute identification processing, based on the association between the input character string data and a plurality of corresponding conversion candidate character data, and the attributes of each conversion candidate character. And an extraction process for extracting conversion candidate character data corresponding to the input character string data that is classified and generated by the input character string data generation process.

  With the above-described configuration and method, it is possible to reduce the inconvenience of having to search for a desired character from among a large number of conversion candidate characters, and to improve the efficiency of the character conversion operation.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9 as follows. In the present embodiment, a mobile phone for Chinese input to which the character conversion device of the present invention is applied will be described.

1. Chinese character input method 1-1. The phonetic method of Chinese The pinyin romanization, which is currently the most widely used Chinese phonetic method, was promulgated in 1958 and widely used in Chinese and foreign educational settings, as well as a Chinese dictionary. Most of them arrange terms in Pinyin alphabetical order. Since the 1980s, the name of the place and person in China has been unified into Pinyin when written in Roman letters. Chinese represents syllables in Pinyin. Syllables include a, o, e, i, er, ai, ei, ao, ou, an, en, ang, eng, ong, etc., and are described in alphabets.

  When inputting Chinese Pinyin, this alphabet is input and converted. For example, China is represented as zhong guo.

  Each syllable in Chinese has four kinds of high and low accents, which are called “sicheng”.

  For example, as shown in the following Table 1, even in the same Roman alphabet notation “ma”, the corresponding characters differ depending on the four voices.

  According to the results of the survey using static statistic (statistics created by grasping the target of the survey at a specific point in time), Chinese is one voice (22%), two voices (23%), three It can be divided into voice (20%) and four voices (35%).

1-2. Chinese character input method There are two Chinese input methods: a Pinyin method for inputting Chinese pronunciation and a stroke method for inputting the stroke order.

  The stroke method is a method for assembling a character by pressing a key to which a point constituting a character or a part such as a horizontal bar or a vertical bar is assigned. The stroke method is used by those who specialize in input using a keyboard, but is not generally used. In particular, the pinyin method is mainly used in a mobile phone having a small number of keys.

  The Pinyin method is a method of inputting a reading in alphabet, and predicting a meaningful reading from a combination of characters assigned to a pressed key and displaying a corresponding kanji. Pinyin is a mainstream Chinese input method in mainland China. Taking the case of inputting “hand phone (mobile phone)” as an example, the four characters are replaced with “SHOU TI DIAN HUA” with Chinese as a sound. According to the keypad, you need to press the corresponding key for the number of characters you want to enter. For example, for “hand”, when the conversion key is pressed when the input of the corresponding key is completed, characters starting with “SHOU” are listed, and “hand” is selected from the list. To complete a word, it is necessary to repeat this operation for all characters.

  In Chinese, there are many characters with the same reading, that is, homophones. The large number of homophones is a characteristic of Chinese. As an example of a homophone, a pinyin input “yi” has 135 characters from one to four voices. For this reason, in the input method using the Pinyin method, a large number of candidates for the same reading are displayed, and it takes time to find the target character.

  However, unlike other languages, Chinese has four voices (tones). In the Pinyin input method, there are a large number of candidates, but if the difference between four voices is input, the number of candidates for the same reading can be narrowed down, the user input speed can be increased, and character input can be improved. .

1-3. Multi-tap and T9 text input Multi-tap input is an input system that allows characters to be entered using the keys used to enter numbers. Most mobile phones and PHSs (Personal Handy Phones) currently use this system. Is adopted. In a general multi-tap input method, a plurality of alphabets (for example, a, b, c) are assigned to one key, and “a” is obtained by one keystroke, and “b” as the number of keystrokes increases. c, and once the assigned alphabet is complete, it returns to the first letter. The advantage of multi-tap input is that the input principle is simple and easy to learn.

  On the other hand, T9 (text on 9 keys) is an input method using software that allows a user to input a message quickly and easily with only nine keys of a mobile phone, and more than 180 types of mobile phones in the world. It is mounted on. If the user of the mobile phone corresponding to T9 presses the key once for each character, the software guesses the character string candidates that can be considered by the combination of the buttons, so that it is not necessary to press the key again and again. Even in Chinese, T9 supports all the input methods described above. Even in Chinese-speaking countries, many new terminals are equipped with T9 and are becoming popular, especially in Hong Kong.

2. Input method using tilt of mobile phone 2-1. Outline of Input Method Using Inclination The mobile phone according to the present embodiment includes an inclination sensor in addition to a keypad provided in a normal mobile phone as a configuration for character input. In this mobile phone, when inputting characters, a key is pressed to perform pinyin input, and at the same time, as shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone is tilted in one of four different directions (back / left / front / right). Therefore, it is designed to input the difference between four voices in Chinese. Thereby, the number of selection candidates can be reduced, and conversion can be facilitated and speeded up.

  If this mobile phone has 6663 Chinese characters and there are 413 readings, there will be an average of about 16 homophones per reading. In addition, when the four voices are divided, the candidate for each four voices is about four characters, so that narrowing down of candidate characters by specifying the four voices is effective. Furthermore, since the mobile phone tilt is used, no additional buttons are required on the mobile phone, so there is no need to increase the size of the device, and pinyin and four voices can be input simultaneously, increasing the input time. It can be avoided.

2-2. Device Configuration The block configuration of the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment will be described based on the block diagram of FIG. The mobile phone 1 corresponds to the mobile device of the present invention. The mobile device of the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, but may be a mobile information device such as a PHS (Personal Handy Phone), a PDA (Personal Data Assistant), a mobile personal computer, or other mobile devices. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 1 includes a keypad 11 corresponding to the character input unit of the present invention, a liquid crystal display 12 corresponding to the character display unit of the present invention, and 3 corresponding to the tilt detection unit of the present invention. An axis gyro sensor 13 and a character conversion device 2 corresponding to the character conversion device for portable equipment of the present invention are provided. The mobile phone 1 also includes elements that constitute a conventional mobile phone, such as a speaker, a microphone, a communication device, and the like, but description of these elements is omitted here.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the keypad 11 includes a numeric keypad 11a for inputting numbers 0 to 9, a direction key 11b for moving the cursor, a determination key 11c for determining an operation, and making and receiving calls. A start key 11d for ending the call, an end key 11e for ending the call, and the like.

  The keypad 11 employs the multi-tap input method described above, and a plurality of alphabets are assigned to the eight keys corresponding to the numbers 2 to 9 among the numeric keys 11a. That is, alphabets A, B, and C are used for keys corresponding to the number 2, alphabets D, E, and F are used for keys corresponding to the number 3, alphabets G, H, and I are used for keys corresponding to the number 4. The keys corresponding to the number 5 are alphabets J, K, L, the keys corresponding to the number 6 are alphabets M, N, O, the keys corresponding to the number 7 are alphabets P, Q, R, S, The keys corresponding to the numeral 8 are assigned alphabets T, U, and V, and the keys corresponding to the numeral 9 are assigned alphabets X, Y, and Z, respectively.

  When the user presses a key corresponding to the numbers 2 to 9, the assigned alphabet can be input. Note that by pressing the key a plurality of times, the alphabets assigned to the key can be sequentially switched and input.

  The keypad 11 receives a character input operation performed by the user as described above, and sends an input signal corresponding to the input operation to the pinyin input processing unit 21 of the character conversion device 2 described later. Note that the mobile phone 1 uses the keypad 11 to input an alphabetical sequence indicating pinyin.

  The liquid crystal display 12 displays various information such as a telephone number, an e-mail, a schedule, and an address book on the mobile phone 1 and displays an input screen for these information.

  A three-axis gyro sensor (three-dimensional motion sensor) 13 detects the tilt of the mobile phone 1. As the three-axis gyro sensor 13, an attitude angle sensor that outputs an inclination angle and a rotation angle (attitude angle) of an attached measurement target as an attitude angle signal indicated by a ZYX Euler angle display can be used.

  This attitude angle sensor incorporates three types of sensors, a piezoelectric vibration gyro, an acceleration sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor, for each of three axes, and by comparing and correcting the output of each sensor, it is possible to detect an attitude angle with high accuracy while being small. It is realized. This attitude angle sensor can measure the entire angle range of roll angle ± 180 degrees, pitch angle ± 90 degrees, and yaw angle ± 180 degrees.

  In this embodiment, the posture to be detected by the three-axis gyro sensor 13 is the inclination in the four directions of back / left / front / right as shown in FIG. Not only the attitude angle sensor but also any sensor that can detect the inclination in the four directions.

The triaxial gyro sensor 13 sends the posture angle signal to the tilt input processing unit 22 of the character conversion device 2 described later.

  In the character conversion device 2, a plurality of Chinese characters as conversion candidate characters are associated with Pinyin as an input character string, and conversion from the plurality of Chinese characters to a character selected by the user is performed. A pinyin input processing unit 21 corresponding to the input character string data generation unit of the present invention, an inclination input processing unit 22 corresponding to the attribute specifying unit of the present invention, and an extraction process corresponding to the extraction unit of the present invention Part 23.

  The pinyin input processing unit 21 generates input character string data indicating an input character string corresponding to the input operation performed by the user based on the input signal sent from the keypad 11, and sends it to the extraction processing unit 23. This input character string data is pinyin data indicating pinyin input.

  In response to the attitude angle signal sent from the three-axis gyro sensor 13, the tilt input processing unit 22 outputs four-voice specifying data for specifying four voices as attributes of Chinese characters.

  For this purpose, the tilt input processing unit 22 tilts the mobile phone 1 in any of the back / left / front / right directions based on the attitude angle signal indicating the tilt of the mobile phone 1 in ZYX Euler angle display. First of all, it is identified. Note that the mobile phone 1 is rarely inclined only in one of the rear / left / front / right directions, and usually the mobile phone 1 is inclined in a direction that combines the two directions (for example, forward and right) In this case, priority is given to the inclination to the direction with a large inclination degree.

  Note that the determination of the inclination in the four directions is based on the state in which the keypad 11 of the mobile phone 1 is horizontal. However, in addition to this, on the basis of the tilt of the keypad 11 at a predetermined timing (for example, when pinyin input is started or when a conversion operation is performed), which of the above four directions is tilted from that state? The above determination may be made by:

  Then, the inclination input processing unit 22 refers to the inclination four-voice correspondence table 24b stored in the storage unit 24, and determines the specified inclination as four voices (in Chinese characters) associated with the inclination in advance. To four-voice specific data (attribute data) indicating (attribute). Here, it is assumed that the first to fourth voices are associated with the inclination to the back / left / front / right, but the association is not necessarily limited to this.

  The tilt input processing unit 22 sends the four-voice specific data obtained as described above to the extraction processing unit 23.

  The extraction processing unit 23 refers to the Chinese character database 24a stored in the storage unit 24, and extracts Chinese characters as conversion candidate characters.

  In the Chinese character database 24a, Chinese character data indicating a Chinese character is associated with pinyin data indicating the pinyin and classified and registered by the four voices. The Chinese character data is a character code indicating a Chinese character, for example, GB 2312 that substantially corresponds to Japanese JIS X208.

  The extraction processing unit 23 corresponds to the pinyin indicated by the pinyin data (input character string data) sent from the pinyin input processing unit 21 by referring to the Chinese character database 24a, and the inclination input processing unit 22 Chinese characters classified into the four voices indicated by the four-voice specific data sent from are identified, and Chinese character data corresponding to the Chinese characters are extracted.

  Usually, a plurality of Chinese character data is extracted, but depending on the number and types of registered Chinese characters, there may be cases where the Chinese character data is narrowed down to one by a combination of Pinyin and four voices. The following description is based on the assumption that a plurality of Chinese character data is extracted by the extraction processing unit 23.

  Then, the extraction processing unit 23 sends the extracted Chinese character data to the display control unit 25 as conversion candidate character data.

  The display control unit 25 controls the display screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 12, generates an image signal for the display screen, and sends it to the liquid crystal display 12.

  When the mobile phone 1 is in a Chinese character input state (character input state in an application such as an e-mail, a schedule, or an address book), the display control unit 25 displays a Chinese character input screen. At this time, based on the Chinese character data sent from the extraction processing unit 23, the display control unit 25 displays a list of Chinese characters corresponding to these as conversion candidate characters on the character input screen (FIG. 5 described later). (B), see FIG. 5 (d)).

  The selection input processing unit 26 receives a selection operation and a determination operation from the keypad 11 in a state where the conversion candidate characters are displayed as a list on the character input screen as described above (character selection state).

  In the character selection state, the user operates the cursor using the direction key 11b (see FIG. 3) of the keypad 11, moves the cursor over the Chinese character to be selected (selection operation), and determines the keypad 11. Selection is determined by pressing the key 11c (see FIG. 3) (decision operation). The keypad 11 sends an operation signal corresponding to this operation to the selection input processing unit 26. When the selection operation is performed, the selection input processing unit 26 instructs the display control unit 25 to move the cursor according to the selection operation. When the determination operation is performed, the conversion determination processing unit 27 is notified of this.

  When the conversion determination processing unit 27 receives a notification indicating that the determination operation has been performed from the selection input processing unit 26, the conversion determination processing unit 27 determines the conversion candidate character selected by the cursor at that time as the conversion character, and the determined conversion character Is displayed to the display control unit 25.

  The storage unit 24 corresponds to the storage means of the present invention, and stores the above-described Chinese character database 24a and the inclined four-voice correspondence table 24b.

  Next, input processing of Chinese characters in the mobile phone 1 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. Note that FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D showing examples of character input screens when performing the Chinese character input process are also referred to as appropriate. The numbers shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D indicate four directions (back / left / front / right), where number 1 is left, number 2 is back and number 3 is right. The numeral 4 indicates the front side.

  When the mobile phone 1 enters a character input state of Chinese characters (character input state in an application such as e-mail, schedule, and address book) (see FIG. 5A), the user can use the numeric keypad 11a on the keypad 11 (FIG. 3). Pinyin input is performed using (see S1). Then, the pinyin input processing unit 21 generates pinyin data based on the input signal sent from the keypad 11 by the pinyin input operation, and sends it to the extraction processing unit 23 (step S2).

  Next, the tilt input processing unit 22 determines the tilt of the keypad 11 of the mobile phone 1 based on the attitude angle signal from the three-axis gyro sensor 13 (step S3), and is associated with the tilt in advance. The four-voice specific data indicating the four voices that are present is output (step S4).

  Next, the extraction processing unit 23 corresponds to the pinyin indicated by the pinyin data sent from the pinyin input processing unit 21 and is classified into the four voices indicated by the four-voice specific data sent from the inclination input processing unit 22. The Chinese character being identified is specified, and Chinese character data corresponding to the Chinese character is extracted (step S5).

  The extracted Chinese character data is sent from the extraction processing unit 23 to the display control unit 25. Based on the Chinese character data, the display control unit 25 displays a list of conversion candidate characters on the character input screen on the liquid crystal display 12. (Step S6, see FIG. 5B).

  When the conversion candidate characters are displayed in a list, the user performs a selection operation using the direction key 11b (see FIG. 3) of the keypad 11 (step S7), and the display control unit 25 responds accordingly by using the character input screen. The cursor is moved up (step S8). When the user performs a determination operation using the determination key 11c (see FIG. 3) of the keypad 11 (step S9), the conversion determination processing unit 27 performs the determination operation on the selection input processing unit 26. The selection input processing unit 26 determines the conversion candidate character currently selected by the cursor as the conversion character, and the display control unit 25 displays the determined conversion character (step S10, FIG. 5). (See (c)).

  When the conversion character for one character is determined as described above and character input is continued (YES in step S11), the processing from step S1 is repeated (see FIG. 5D), and is not continued. (Step S12, NO), the character input state is canceled.

  For comparison, examples of character input screens when performing a conventional Chinese character input process are shown in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (d). FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D showing this embodiment and FIG. 6A to FIG. 6D showing conventional examples are compared with China displayed in a list in the case of this embodiment. It can be seen that the number of word characters is reduced and the display is easy for the user to select.

  In the above processing, the tilt detection (step S3) is performed after the pinyin input (step S1). However, even in this case, the pinyin input operation and the operation of tilting the mobile phone 1 are performed in parallel. Can be done. Further, the processing may be changed so that pinyin input (step S1) and inclination detection (step S3) are performed in parallel.

  Each block of the character conversion device 2 (see FIG. 1) described above may be configured by hardware logic, or may be realized by software using a computer as follows. That is, the character conversion device 2 includes a CPU (central processing unit) that executes instructions of a character conversion program that implements each function of the device, a ROM (read only memory) that stores the program, and a RAM ( random access memory), and a computer having a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data. That is, an object of the present invention is to supply a computer with a recording medium in which a program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of a character conversion program, which is software that realizes the above-described functions, is recorded in a computer-readable manner However, this can also be achieved by the computer reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium.

  Thus, in this specification, the means does not necessarily mean physical means, but includes cases where the functions of the means are realized by software. Further, the function of one means may be realized by two or more physical means, or the functions of two or more means may be realized by one physical means.

  As described above, in the character conversion device 2 of the present embodiment, a plurality of Chinese characters as conversion candidate characters are associated with Pinyin as an input character string, and the user's character is selected from the Chinese characters. It is a device that converts to a selected character. The character conversion device 2 stores the Pinyin data and a plurality of Chinese character data corresponding to the Pinyin data in association with each other, and stores the four-voice data indicating the attributes of each Chinese character. Specified by a pinyin input processing unit 21 that generates pinyin data in response to a character input operation by a user, an inclination input processing unit 22 that specifies an attribute of a Chinese character in accordance with an operation by a user, and an inclination input processing unit 22 And an extraction processing unit 23 for extracting Chinese character data corresponding to the pinyin data generated by the pinyin input processing unit 21 from the storage unit 24.

  This reduces the user's inconvenience of having to search for a desired character from a large number of Chinese characters when performing pinyin input, and can improve the efficiency of the character conversion operation.

  Note that the character conversion device 2 according to the present embodiment is configured to specify the attributes of Chinese characters based on the inclination of the mobile phone 1 on the assumption that the character conversion device 2 is mounted on the mobile phone 1. You may mount in an apparatus and you may mount in apparatuses other than a portable apparatus.

  When the character conversion device 2 is mounted on a device other than a portable device, it may be difficult to specify the attributes of Chinese characters depending on the inclination of the device to be mounted. A Chinese character attribute may be specified by an operation such as providing a separate key. In this case, instead of the inclination input processing unit 22 of the character conversion device 2, a processing unit that receives the key operation and outputs the four-voice specific data may be provided.

  However, when the portable device includes an inclination detection unit such as the three-axis gyro sensor 13 and the character conversion device 2 is installed in the portable device, the attribute can be specified in parallel with the character input operation. become. Therefore, the operation speed can be improved. Further, since it is not necessary to add a configuration such as a key for receiving an operation for specifying an attribute, it is possible to avoid an increase in the size of the portable device.

  Moreover, although this embodiment demonstrated on the assumption of the Chinese character, this invention is not restricted to this, A some conversion candidate character is matched with a certain character string, This some conversion candidate character Can be applied to script systems classified by their attributes.

Third evaluation experiment 3-1. Experimental Conditions An experiment conducted to compare the above-described input process of Chinese characters in the mobile phone 1 and the input process of Chinese characters in a conventional mobile phone that does not perform four-voice narrowing will be described below.

  The subjects were 14 Chinese students who could use pinyin input using a mobile phone.

  As an experimental task 1, I entered the “Tang Poem Selection” Shizuya thought (see Table 2 below) that anyone in China knows and can input without looking at the text.

  In addition, as an experiment task 2, the text was input for a certain time (5 minutes) while looking at the text prepared for e-mail (see Table 3 below).

  The test subjects were divided into two groups of seven persons, and one group was allowed to execute the experimental task 1 by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment after the experimental task 1 was executed by the conventional mobile phone. The other group was allowed to execute the experimental task 1 by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment after the experimental task 2 was executed by the conventional mobile phone.

  Measurement items are input speed and input error rate. Before starting the experiment, the subject explained the input operation using the conventional mobile phone and the input operation using the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment, and allowed him to practice enough input.

3-2. Experimental Results The average number of input characters per minute is shown in FIG. In the experiment task 1, the number of input characters (6.59 characters / minute) by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment was significantly larger than the number of input characters by the conventional mobile phone (6.13 characters / minute) (statistical). As a result of the test, a significant difference was observed at a risk rate of less than 5% (p <0.05)). Also in the experimental task 2, the number of input characters per minute (6.68 characters / minute) by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment is more significant than the number of input characters by the conventional mobile phone (5.71 characters / minute). (P <0.05).

  In addition, FIG. 8 shows the number of input characters per minute after the start of input in the experiment task 2. As can be seen from FIG. 8, in the input by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment, the input speed increased with time.

  FIG. 9 shows error rates in the experimental tasks 1 and 2. Here, the error means that a character different from the instructed character is input. Note that once entered characters cannot be corrected even if they are incorrect. As can be seen from FIG. 9, the error rate was almost the same between the input by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment and the input by the conventional mobile phone. Note that all errors in the input by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment are selection errors, and there were no four-voice input errors.

  From the above experimental results, it was found that the input speed by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment is faster than the input by the conventional mobile phone. About KSPC (Key Stroke Per Character) of the input character, the input (8.8 times / character) by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment is less than the input (12.2 times / character) by the conventional mobile phone, This is considered to have increased the input speed. As described above, in the input by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment, the reason why the KSPC is small and the input speed is high is considered to be because the narrowing down by the four voices worked effectively.

  The mobile phone generally used in China adopts the T9 input method, the average number of input characters per minute is 6.3 characters / minute, and KSPC is 10.1 times / character. The mobile phone 1 has fewer KSPCs and can be said to be easier to operate.

  Furthermore, since the average number of input characters per minute in the experiment task 2 increases with time in the input by the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment, it can be understood that faster input is possible by getting used.

  The present invention can be particularly suitably used in the field of mobile phones for inputting Chinese characters.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is drawing which shows the state which inclined the mobile telephone of FIG. 1 back / left / front / right. It is a top view which shows the keypad of the mobile telephone of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process performed when performing the input conversion of a Chinese character in the mobile telephone of FIG. (A)-(d) is drawing which shows the example of the screen displayed when performing the input conversion of a Chinese character in the mobile telephone of FIG. (A)-(d) is a figure which shows the example of the screen displayed when performing the input conversion of a Chinese character in the conventional mobile phone. It is a graph which shows the average number of input characters per minute in the experimental result which performed the input conversion of the Chinese character using the mobile phone of FIG. 1 and the conventional mobile phone. It is a graph which shows the number of input characters for every minute after the input start in the experimental result which performed the input conversion of the Chinese character using the mobile phone of FIG. 1 and the conventional mobile phone. It is a graph which shows an error rate in the experimental result which performs input conversion of the Chinese character using the mobile phone of FIG. 1 and the conventional mobile phone.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cellular phone 2 Character converter 11 Keypad (character input unit)
12 Liquid crystal display (character display part)
13 3-axis gyro sensor (tilt detector)
21 Pinyin input processing unit (input character string data generation means)
22 Tilt input processing unit (attribute specifying means)
23 Extraction processing unit (extraction means)
24 storage unit (storage means)
24a Chinese character database 24b Inclination four-voice correspondence table 25 Display control unit 26 Selection input processing unit 27 Conversion determination processing unit

Claims (10)

A plurality of conversion candidate characters are associated with the input character string, and in the character conversion device that performs conversion to a character selected by the user from among the plurality of conversion candidate characters,
The plurality of conversion candidate characters are classified according to their attributes,
Storage means for storing input character string data and a plurality of conversion candidate character data corresponding to the input character string data, and storing attribute data indicating attributes of the conversion candidate characters;
Input character string data generating means for generating input character string data in response to a character input operation by a user;
Attribute specifying means for specifying the attribute in response to an operation by a user;
An extraction means for extracting from the storage means conversion candidate character data that is classified into the attribute specified by the attribute specifying means and that corresponds to the input character string data generated by the input character string data generation means; Character conversion device characterized by.   In the storage means, Pinyin data indicating Pinyin as the input character string data, Chinese character data indicating Chinese characters as the conversion candidate character data, and four voices of each Chinese character as the attribute data The character conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein four-voice data is stored. The character conversion device is a device for mounting on a portable device,
The attribute specifying unit specifies the attribute associated in advance with the inclination according to the inclination of the portable device detected by an inclination detection unit provided in the portable device. Item 12. The character conversion device according to Item 1.   The character conversion apparatus according to claim 3, wherein four types of attributes are associated with inclinations of the mobile device in four different directions.   The character conversion apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the inclination of the portable device is an inclination with respect to a horizontal state of the portable device.   The character conversion apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the inclination of the portable device is an inclination with respect to a state of the portable device at a predetermined timing. The character conversion device according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
A character input unit that accepts a character input operation by a user;
A portable device comprising the tilt detection unit. In the character conversion method in which a plurality of conversion candidate characters are associated with the input character string, and conversion is performed from the plurality of conversion candidate characters to the character selected by the user.
The plurality of conversion candidate characters are classified according to their attributes,
Input character string data generation processing for generating input character string data in response to a character input operation by a user,
An attribute specifying process for specifying an attribute of each conversion candidate character in accordance with an operation by a user;
Based on the association between the input character string data and a plurality of conversion candidate character data corresponding to the input character string data and the attribute of each conversion candidate character, the input character string data is classified into the attribute specified by the attribute specifying process, and A character conversion method comprising: an extraction process for extracting conversion candidate character data corresponding to the input character string data generated by the input character string data generation process.   A program for operating a computer as the character conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the computer functions as each of the means.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the character conversion program according to claim 9 is recorded.