JP2007110464A - Mobile communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication terminal which is improved in convenience of transmission mail creation, especially, a mobile communication terminal which is improved in operability when reply mail is created. <P>SOLUTION: The mobile communication terminal comprises a mail creation part 5 which creates transmission mail including KANJI (Chinese character) based upon KANA (Japanese syllabary) characters input by a user, a received mail storage part 8 which stores received mail 8a, a display control part 10 which divides a display area on a screen into an editing area 24a and a browsing area 24b and displays transmission mail being created in the editing area 24a and the received mail in the browsing area 24b, and a conversion candidate extraction part 6 which extracts a conversion candidate 32 consisting of KANJI based upon KANA characters specified to be converted by the user. Once the conversion candidate extraction part 6 extracts the conversion candidate 32, a display control part 10 displays the extracted conversion candidate 32 in the browsing area 24b instead of the received mail. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal, and more particularly, to an improvement of a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone capable of creating an outgoing mail including kanji based on a kana character input by a user.

In recent years, communication terminals such as mobile phones that can create and send e-mails and receive and view e-mails have become widespread. Such a mobile communication terminal has a function of displaying a mail text on a screen and creating and editing a character string constituting the mail text based on an operation input by a user when a transmission mail is created. When a character string is input and edited, kana character conversion candidates designated as conversion targets are displayed in a display area on the screen.
JP 2001-273074 A JP 2003-125041

  In general, regarding the creation of outgoing mail, there are many cases in which a reply mail is created with the sender of the received mail as the destination. Furthermore, when creating such a reply mail, it is often the case that the mail content of the received mail of the reply source is referred to. It is extremely convenient if you can view the received mail from the reply source when creating a reply mail. However, with a conventional mobile communication terminal, when you try to view the received mail that is the reply source when creating a reply mail, you must save the reply mail that is being created. There was a problem that it was necessary to switch from the mail editing screen to display the received mail browsing screen. Then, after viewing the received mail of the reply source, when trying to resume editing of the reply mail, the screen must be switched again to display the edit screen.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal with improved convenience when creating a transmission mail. In particular, an object is to provide a mobile communication terminal with improved operability when creating a reply mail.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile communication terminal comprising: an e-mail creating unit that creates an e-mail containing kanji based on a kana character input by a user; The display control means for dividing the editing area and the browsing area, displaying the outgoing mail being created in the editing area, and displaying the received mail in the browsing area, and a kana character designated as a conversion target by the user Conversion candidate extracting means for extracting conversion candidates consisting of kanji characters, and the display control means replaces the extracted conversion candidate with the received mail when the conversion candidate is extracted by the conversion candidate extracting means. Configured to display in the browsing area.

  In this mobile communication terminal, the display area on the screen is divided into an editing area and a browsing area, and a transmission mail being created and a reception mail are displayed in the area. In particular, when inputting kana characters, conversion candidates consisting of kanji characters extracted based on kana characters designated as conversion targets by the user are displayed in the browsing area where the received mail is displayed. This configuration eliminates the need to switch between the sent mail editing screen and the received mail viewing screen when creating outgoing mail while referring to the content of the received mail. Can be improved.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, the mobile communication terminal according to the second aspect of the present invention is configured so that when the display control unit selects any of the conversion candidates based on an operation input by the user, the original received mail is used instead of the conversion candidate. Configured to display. According to such a configuration, by selecting the conversion candidate, the display in the browsing area automatically returns to the display of the original received mail, so that the editing work on the received mail can be easily resumed. it can.

  In addition to the above configuration, the mobile communication terminal according to the third aspect of the present invention is configured such that, when two or more different conversion candidates are extracted, the display control means displays each conversion candidate with different lines. .

  A mobile communication terminal according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes, in addition to the above configuration, a previous display mail storage unit that stores a received mail last displayed as a mail text as a previous display mail, and the display control unit includes: The previously displayed mail is configured to be displayed in the browsing area. According to such a configuration, since an appropriate received mail is automatically selected as a received mail to be displayed in the browsing area, it is possible to further improve operability when creating a transmitted mail.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, the mobile communication terminal according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is configured so that the display control unit displays the received mail when the user inputs an operation for specifying the received mail and creating a reply mail. It is configured to display within the viewing area. According to such a configuration, when the reply mail is created, the received mail of the reply source is displayed in the viewing area, so that the operability at the time of creating the reply mail can be improved.

  A mobile communication terminal according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention. It is comprised so that it may display on the whole area.

  A mobile communication terminal according to a seventh aspect of the present invention includes, in addition to the above configuration, mail display scroll means for scrolling mail display in the viewing area based on an operation input by a user, and the display control means receives received mail. When displaying the received mail on both lines, and displaying the received mail in both areas, display the received mail so that the character string displayed on the first line in the viewing area is placed on the first line in both areas. Configured to do.

  According to the mobile communication terminal of the present invention, when creating a send mail while referring to the contents of the received mail, it is not necessary to switch between the edit screen for the sent mail and the view screen for the received mail. The operability at the time can be improved. In particular, when a reply mail is created, the reply-source received mail is displayed in the viewing area, so the convenience in creating the mail can be improved.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile communication terminal 1 according to the present embodiment is a portable communication terminal such as a mobile phone that can create and transmit an e-mail or receive and view an e-mail. The mobile communication terminal 1 includes an antenna 2, a wireless communication unit 3, a main control unit 4, a mail creation unit 5, a conversion candidate extraction unit 6, a mail display scroll unit 7, a received mail storage unit 8, an operation input unit 9, and display control. Unit 10, LCD 11, and previous display mail storage unit 12.

  The wireless communication unit 3 is a cellular communication means for performing wireless communication with a base station via a mobile communication network, and performs processing for transmitting and receiving communication data such as electronic mail via the antenna 2. The received mail storage unit 8 is a storage unit for the received mail 8a that stores an electronic mail (referred to as a received mail) received by the wireless communication unit 3, and includes, for example, a rewritable nonvolatile memory. The operation input unit 9 includes various input keys, and performs an operation of outputting an input signal according to an input key operated by a user. As various input keys, keys for inputting telephone numbers and kana characters (character input keys), keys for moving the input position during character input (direction keys), and different functions are assigned depending on the operation state. A key (guide key) is provided.

  The mail creating unit 5 performs an operation of creating an e-mail to be transmitted (referred to as a send mail) based on the input of kana characters by the user. Here, it is assumed that a transmission mail including kanji is created. An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 11 includes a liquid crystal panel and a backlight, and is a display data output device that outputs display data such as mail information on a screen.

  The display control unit 10 is a control means for controlling the operation of the LCD 11 and displays a standby screen, a menu screen for selecting various functions, a received mail browsing screen, and a transmitted mail editing screen. The display control unit 10 divides the display area on the screen into an editing area and a reading area when the outgoing mail is created, displays the mail text of the outgoing mail being created in the editing area, and receives it in the reading area. Control to display the mail information of the mail is performed.

  An e-mail usually consists of a header and a mail body. The header is composed of address information for specifying a mail transmission source, address information for specifying a transmission destination, and identification information such as a title or a subject. The mail text is composed of character information constituting a message to be transmitted to the user of the destination terminal. Here, it is assumed that the display area on the screen is divided into two equal parts, and the mail text of the outgoing mail and the mail information of the incoming mail specified by the user are displayed respectively. The upper side in the display area is an editing area, and the lower side is a viewing area. Further, the mail information to be displayed in the browsing area is the title of the received mail and the mail text. The mail information of the received mail is displayed for each line.

  The conversion candidate extraction unit 6 performs a process of extracting conversion candidates composed of Chinese characters based on kana characters designated as conversion targets by the user. This conversion candidate extraction process is performed based on a database in which a plurality of conversion candidates are stored in association with kana characters. The conversion target is specified by selecting a character string that has already been input or by newly inputting a character string.

  When inputting a kana character during transmission mail creation, if the conversion candidate is extracted by the conversion candidate extraction unit 6, the extracted conversion candidate is displayed in the viewing area instead of the received mail. Further, when any of the conversion candidates is selected based on an operation input by the user, the input process regarding the kana character designated by the user is finished (confirmed), and the original received mail is displayed instead of the conversion candidate. . That is, when the character input is confirmed by selecting the conversion candidate, the display automatically returns to the display of the received mail being created, and the editing work on the received mail can be resumed.

  When a plurality of different conversion candidates are extracted, each conversion candidate is displayed with different lines when the conversion candidates are displayed in the viewing area.

  The mail display scroll unit 7 performs a process of scrolling the mail display in the editing area and the browsing area based on an operation input by the user. The mail display scrolling process is a process in which the mail display in the editing area or the browsing area is displayed while being shifted in the vertical direction. Here, it is assumed that the editing area and the browsing area can be scrolled for each area. Further, the scrolling of the mail display is performed for each line.

  Here, regarding the received mail displayed in the browsing area, the mail information (character string) of the received mail can be copied to the mail text of the transmitted mail in the editing area. Based on the operation input for copying the character string in the browsing area to the editing area, the received mail is displayed in both the editing area and the browsing area. Further, when the received mail is displayed in both areas, the received mail is displayed so that the character string displayed in the first line in the browsing area is arranged in the first line in both areas.

  The previous display mail storage unit 12 is a storage unit that stores the received mail last displayed as the mail text as the previous display mail 12a. Here, it is assumed that the received mail whose mail text was browsed last when the outgoing mail is created is stored as the previous display mail 12a. Further, when the received mail is displayed in the browsing area, the received mail designated by the user from the list of received mails can be displayed, or the previously displayed mail 12a can be displayed. In particular, when creating a reply mail whose destination is the sender of the received mail specified by the user, the mail information is displayed in the viewing area with the received mail of the reply source as the previous display mail.

  FIG. 2 is a state transition diagram showing an example of the operation in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1, showing a state from the display state of the standby screen to the transition to the received mail display mode when the outgoing mail is created. ing. If a predetermined input key is operated in the display state of the standby screen, the menu screen can be displayed. From the display state of the menu screen, it is possible to shift to a received mail browsing mode for browsing received mail and a newly created outgoing mail mode for newly creating outgoing mail.

  It is possible to shift between the received mail browsing mode and the newly created outgoing mail mode by directly operating a predetermined key or by selecting a desired function from a menu. When creating a reply mail in the received mail viewing mode, or when creating a new outgoing mail, display the received mail that simultaneously displays the mail text of the outgoing mail and the mail information of the incoming mail specified by the user on the same screen. A mode can be selected.

  When the display mode of the received mail is not selected, the mail text of the outgoing mail being created is displayed in the entire display area as in the conventional case.

  Steps S101 to S107 in FIG. 3 are flowcharts showing an operation example at the time of mail creation in the mobile communication terminal in FIG. First, the display control unit 10 shifts to a received mail display mode when the received mail display function for displaying the received mail in the viewing area is selected by the user when the outgoing mail is created (step S101). At this time, if the mode is a newly created outgoing mail mode, a list of received mails is displayed (steps S102 and S103). If any received mail is selected based on an operation input by the user, the selected and specified received mail is displayed. Mail information of the mail is displayed in the browsing area (steps S104 and S105).

  If you are not in the new outgoing mail creation mode, you can select from the received mail list or select the last displayed mail. When selecting the last displayed mail, the mail information of the last displayed mail is displayed in the viewing area. (Steps S107 and S105).

  Next, when character input is performed while the outgoing mail is displayed in the editing area, input processing based on an operation input by the user is performed (step S106).

  Steps S201 to S206 in FIG. 4 are flowcharts showing an operation example at the time of character input in the mobile communication terminal in FIG. First, when a conversion target is designated based on an operation input by the user, the conversion candidate extraction unit 6 extracts a conversion candidate based on the designated conversion target (steps S201 and S202). Next, when the conversion candidate is extracted, the display control unit 10 switches the display of the viewing area, and displays the conversion candidate instead of the received mail (step S203).

  When one of the conversion candidates displayed in the viewing area is selected by the user and the character input is confirmed, the area display of the viewing area is switched, and the original received mail is displayed instead of the conversion candidate ( Steps S204 and S205). The processing procedure from step S201 to step S205 is repeated until the creation of the transmission mail is completed, and when the transmission mail is completed, the character input process ends (step S206).

  FIG. 5 is a transition diagram showing an operation example in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1, and shows an operation procedure when switching the mail creation mode to the received mail display mode. When the received mail display mode is not selected, the mail text is displayed in the entire display area 24 on the outgoing mail editing screen 21a. The editing screen 21a includes a pictogram area 22, an operation mode display area 23, a mail information display area 24, and a function assignment display area for soft keys. The pictogram area 22 is a display area for displaying a radio wave reception state, a remaining battery level, and the like with pictograms (pictograms), and is arranged at the top. In the operation mode display area 23, the name of the function being operated is displayed. In the mail information display area 24, the mail text and header information of the outgoing mail being created can be displayed.

  In the function assignment display area, function assignments assigned to soft keys such as the “OK” key 25 and the “menu” key 26 are displayed. The soft keys are keys having different functions assigned according to the operation mode, and are operated by the guide keys. When the “menu” key 26 is operated in such a display state of the editing screen 21a, the screen can be switched to the menu screen, and when the received mail display function is selected from the menu, the screen can be shifted to the input screen 21b.

  This input screen 21b is a screen for selecting a method for specifying a received mail to be displayed in the browsing area. In this example, “1, received mail selection”, “2, previous display mail”, “3, display release” are displayed in the display area 24 as items indicating the method of specifying the received mail. “1, received mail selection” is an item of a designation method for selecting from a list of received mails, and “2, previous display mail” is an item of a designation method for displaying previously displayed mail. Further, “3, cancel display” is an item for canceling the received mail display mode in the received mail display mode. Therefore, this item “3, display cancellation” cannot be selected when the screen is shifted from the editing screen 21a when the received mail display mode is not selected.

  The item field selected based on the operation input by the user is focused (for example, highlighted), and the “determine” key 25 is operated to execute the method for specifying the selected item. In this example, “1, received mail selection” is selected and executed, and the input screen 21c is displayed. The input screen 21c is a screen for displaying a list of received mails, and displays the identification information of the received mails stored in the received mail storage unit 8. Here, it is assumed that the received mail identification information is displayed in a list in the upper editing area 24a of the display area 24, and the mail information is displayed in the lower browsing area 24b.

  In this example, the user name of the transmission source terminal of the received mail determined from the header information is displayed as the identification information of the received mail. For example, the user name of the transmission source terminal is displayed in order from the closest incoming date and time of the received mail. The identification information of the received mail selected based on the operation input by the user is focused, and the mail information of the received mail is displayed in the browsing area 24b. Here, it is assumed that a title and a mail text are displayed as the mail information. In addition, the received mail is displayed in the browsing area 24b with a different background color from the editing area 24a.

  If the received mail is selected and the “OK” key 25 is operated, it is possible to shift to the transmitted mail editing screen 21d in the received mail display mode. In this editing screen 21d, the mail text of the outgoing mail being created is displayed in the editing area 24a in the upper part of the display area 24, and the mail information of the selected received mail is displayed in the lower browsing area 24b.

  On the other hand, if “2, last displayed mail” is selected on the input screen 21b, it is possible to shift to an editing screen in which the previous displayed mail is displayed in the viewing area 24b.

  In the display state of the edit screen 21d, the received mail display mode can be canceled by operating the “menu” key 26 and selecting canceling the display of the received mail. Further, by operating the “switch” key 27, the operation target can be switched from the editing area 24a to the browsing area 24b.

  FIG. 6 is a transition diagram showing an operation example in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1, and shows how the area display is switched when characters are input in the received mail display mode. When a kana character is input to the mail body being created in the display state of the outgoing mail editing screen 31a, a conversion candidate 32 of a character string ("Iroha" in this example) designated as a conversion target by this kana character input is displayed. Extracted and displayed in the browsing area 24b.

  On the conversion candidate 32 selection screen 31b, the conversion candidate 32 is displayed instead of the mail information of the received mail. In this example, a plurality of different conversion candidates are extracted, and each conversion candidate is displayed with different lines. That is, the conversion candidates are arranged in the vertical direction by changing the row for each conversion candidate. The conversion candidate 32 is displayed with the display color of the peripheral part in the browsing area 24b different from the background of the central part. That is, the conversion candidate 32 is displayed with a frame.

  If any one of the conversion candidates 32 is selected in the display state of the selection screen 31b and the “OK” key 25 is operated, the highlighted character string is replaced with the selected conversion candidate, and the screen shifts to the editing screen 31c. To do.

  FIG. 7 is a transition diagram showing an operation example in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1, and shows a state of scrolling the mail display in the received mail display mode. The edit screen 41a is an edit screen in the received mail display mode, and a character string in the edit area 24a is selected as an operation target. When the direction key is operated in such a display state of the edit screen 41a, the mail display in the edit area 24a can be scrolled up and down. The edit screen 41b is an example when the mail display is scrolled upward.

  On the other hand, if the “switch” key 27 is operated in the display state of the editing screen 41a, the operation target can be switched from the editing area 24a to the browsing area 24b. The browsing screen 41c is an example when the operation target is switched to the browsing area 24b, and the character string in the browsing area 24b selected as the operation target is highlighted. When the direction key is operated in such a display state of the browsing screen 41c, the mail display in the browsing area 24b can be scrolled up and down. The browsing screen 41d is an example when the mail display is scrolled upward.

  FIG. 8 is a transition diagram showing an operation example in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1, and shows how the mail display is switched when the character string in the viewing area 24b is copied to the editing area 24a in the received mail display mode. Has been. In this browsing screen 51a, the operation target is switched from the editing area 24a to the browsing area 24b in order to copy the character string constituting the received mail displayed in the browsing area to the mail text of the outgoing mail being created. It is a screen.

  When the “menu” key 26 is operated and the copy function is selected from the menu in the display state of the browsing screen 51a, the received mail is displayed on the browsing screen 51b that displays the entire editing area 24a and the browsing area 24b. Transition.

  In the browsing screen 51b, the mail information of the received mail that was being browsed is displayed in the entire display area 24. At that time, the mail display is performed so that the character string displayed on the first line of the browsing area 24 b is arranged on the first line in the display area 24. If the character string to be copied is selected and specified in the display state of the browsing screen 51b and the “OK” key 25 is operated, the character string can be transferred to the editing area 24a. Further, if the “return” key 52 is operated, it is possible to return to the browsing screen 51a.

  FIG. 9 is a transition diagram showing an operation example in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1, and shows another example of mail display in the received mail display mode. The editing screen 61 is an editing screen in which the peripheral portions in the editing area 24a and the browsing area 24b are decorated. Specifically, an image in which decoration is applied to the upper part, the left part, and the right part in the editing area 24a or the browsing area 24b is displayed, and the character string constituting the mail information is displayed inside the decoration image. It is displayed.

  The function for decorating the mail display in this way is called a design stationery function. Here, it is assumed that received mail and outgoing mail are grouped into a plurality of groups and stored for each group. For such a group of received mail and outgoing mail (for example, a mail folder), a different decoration image can be designated for each group. That is, the decoration image associated with the group to which the transmitted / received mail displayed in the area belongs is displayed in the area. In addition, the design stationery function can designate ON / OFF for each of the editing area 24a and the browsing area 24b.

  According to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to switch between the edit screen of the sent mail and the view screen of the received mail when creating the sent mail while referring to the mail content of the received mail. Operability can be improved. In addition, by selecting the conversion candidate, the display in the browsing area automatically returns to the original received mail display, so that the editing work on the received mail can be easily resumed.

  In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which when a received mail display function is selected, a display area is divided and a transmission mail and a reception mail being created are displayed at the same time. It is not limited to this. For example, if the user inputs an operation to create a reply mail by specifying a received mail, the display area is divided and sent mail and reply regardless of whether the received mail display function is selected or not selected. The original received mail may be displayed at the same time.

It is the block diagram which showed the example of 1 structure of the portable communication terminal by embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a state transition diagram illustrating an example of an operation in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example when creating a mail in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example when inputting characters in the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1. It is the transition diagram which showed the operation example in the portable communication terminal of FIG. 1, and the operation procedure at the time of switching mail preparation mode to received mail display mode is shown. It is the transition diagram which showed the operation example in the portable communication terminal of FIG. 1, and the mode of the area display switching at the time of the character input in a received mail display mode is shown. It is the transition diagram which showed the operation example in the portable communication terminal of FIG. 1, and the mode of the scroll of the mail display in the received mail display mode is shown. It is the transition diagram which showed the operation example in the portable communication terminal of FIG. 1, and the mode of the mail display switching at the time of copying the character string in the browsing area 24b is shown. It is the transition diagram which showed the operation example in the portable communication terminal of FIG. 1, and the other example of the mail display in a received mail display mode is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile communication terminal 2 Antenna 3 Wireless communication part 4 Main control part 5 Mail preparation part 6 Conversion candidate extraction part 7 Mail display scroll part 8 Received mail memory | storage part 9 Operation input part 10 Display control part 11 LCD
12 previously displayed mail storage unit 24 display area 24a editing area 24b viewing area 32 conversion candidate

Claims (7)

An email creation means for creating an outgoing email containing kanji based on the input of kana characters by the user;
Received mail storage means for storing received mail;
A display control means for dividing the display area on the screen into an editing area and a browsing area, displaying the outgoing mail being created in the editing area, and displaying the received mail in the browsing area;
Conversion candidate extraction means for extracting conversion candidates consisting of kanji characters based on kana characters designated as conversion targets by the user;
When the conversion candidate is extracted by the conversion candidate extraction unit, the display control unit displays the extracted conversion candidate in the browsing area instead of the received mail.   The mobile communication according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays the original received mail instead of the conversion candidate when any of the conversion candidates is selected based on an operation input by a user. Terminal.   The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein when two or more different conversion candidates are extracted, the display control unit displays each conversion candidate with different lines. It has a previous display mail storage means for storing the last received mail that was displayed last as the mail text as the previous display mail,
The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays the previous display mail in a browsing area.   2. The display control means according to claim 1, wherein the received mail is displayed in a browsing area when a user performs an operation input for designating a received mail and creating a reply mail. Mobile communication terminals.   2. The display control means according to claim 1, wherein the received mail is displayed in both the editing area and the browsing area based on an operation input for copying the character string in the browsing area to the editing area. The portable communication terminal as described. E-mail display scroll means for scrolling the e-mail display in the browsing area based on the operation input by the user,
The display control means displays the received mail line by line, and when the received mail is displayed in both areas, the character string displayed in the first line in the browsing area is arranged in the first line in both areas. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 6, wherein the received mail is displayed as described above.

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