JP2007316732A - Item selection device, information processor and computer program for item selection - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily select arbitrary items among a plurality of items while facilitating countermeasures to the multi-functionalization of an information processor. <P>SOLUTION: An item selector includes a distance calculation device to be used with a display device integrated touch panel for calculating the moving distance D of a designated part following an orbit 90 at the designated part of a position on the display device integrated touch panel based on position information acquired by sampling the output of the display device integrated touch panel in a prescribed timing; a candidate selection device for selecting one of a plurality of items configuring a character group (A, I, U, E, O and so on) as the functions of the calculated moving distance D as a selection candidate; and an output device for outputting information for specifying the item selected by the candidate selection device when the output of the position information cannot be acquired from the display device integrated touch panel. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a user interface in the information processing apparatus. In particular, in an information processing apparatus having many functions compared to a housing such as a cellular phone, items such as characters and menu items are efficiently used. The present invention relates to an improvement of a user interface for selecting frequently.

  Recent advances in performance of mobile phones, especially their multi-functionality, are remarkable, and it is no longer appropriate to call a phone, but to be called a portable computer. In addition to the telephone function, the mobile phone is provided with a clock, a calculator, a game function, and an Internet access function. Therefore, the mobile phone also operates as a platform for running applications such as a full browser and e-mail. Some of them have a GPS (Global Positioning System) function, a music download and playback function, and the like, and mobile phones are becoming an indispensable device in all aspects of human life.

  Such advances in mobile phones are largely due to advances in electronic technologies including hardware and software. In particular, it can be said that due to the advancement of semiconductor technology that realizes a high-performance CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory as a very small chip, a small-sized but high-performance mobile phone has become possible.

  Thus, although it is no longer a mere telephone, it is a mobile phone that should be called a portable information terminal, there are still problems to be solved. The biggest problem is the human interface, especially the information input interface. Since it is a portable device, the mobile phone must be small in size. For example, a size that does not fit into a pocket of clothes will no longer be accepted by the consumer, and a size that fits in the pocket but that is thicker than a certain degree will not be accepted by the consumer. However, as the apparatus is downsized in this way, there is a troublesome problem that it becomes difficult to input information.

  In the case of a computer, information can be input at high speed using a keyboard having a large number of keys. However, in the case of a mobile phone, it is difficult to provide a large number of keys due to restrictions due to the physical size of the device. If too many keys are provided, it is difficult to input due to the size of the finger. If the key is enlarged, the housing must be enlarged.

  At present, when making a call, it is necessary to input a telephone number, so that the mobile phone has numeric buttons 0 to 9 and special function buttons (for example, * button and # button) as in the past telephones. Is provided. On the other hand, since the mobile phone has many functions as described above, there are many opportunities to input text. Therefore, a text input function is also necessary. However, a key for text input is not usually provided alone. Generally, text is input by assigning a plurality of text characters to numeric keys.

For example, in the text input screen, the kana characters in the “a” line are assigned to the “1” key, and the kana characters in that line are displayed in order by successively pressing the “1” key. When another numeric key is operated, the character displayed at that time is determined as the input character. After inputting a plurality of characters in this manner, pressing the “conversion” key converts the input character string into kanji. In this specification, a method of assigning a plurality of characters to one key and inputting the characters by sequentially displaying the characters assigned to the key and inputting the characters is referred to as “continuous keystroke” in this specification. It will be called "method".
JP 2005-258653 A

  However, in the case of Japanese, in the continuous keying method, the first character of each line of 50 sounds such as “Akasana” can be input with a single keystroke, but in order to input other characters, the key is pressed multiple times. Must. In particular, when there are a lot of related sounds such as “ha” line, there is a possibility that the key must be pressed ten times or more in order to input one sound, which hinders the input. In order to avoid this, if a cloudy sound, semi-turbid sound, or the like is assigned to another key, there is a problem that the number of keys increases.

  In order to deal with such a problem, for example, a character input system disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been proposed that enables a desired character to be input by two keystrokes. The system disclosed in Patent Document 1 divides a plurality of characters into a plurality of character groups, and determines a representative character for each character group. At the start of character input, a representative character group is displayed. When one of the representative characters is selected, a character group represented by the representative character is displayed. Select one character from the displayed character group. In this way, a desired character can be input with two selections.

  By the way, the functions of mobile phones are expected to become more diversified in the future, and it is necessary to simultaneously deal with both the multi-function and the improvement of the input interface.

  Such problems typically appear in mobile phones, but are also becoming apparent in other small information processing apparatuses. For example, hard disk recorders have a large number of types of storage media that can be processed and their functions are becoming more complex. In addition, convenient but complicated processing due to the spread of data transfer over networks and the digitization of broadcasting There is a possibility of increasing more and more. In order to operate these devices, a remote controller is often used, but the remote controller must be small because of the nature of being operated at an arbitrary place. As these devices become more and more multifunctional in the future, the problem of how many functions can be easily and easily operated by an information processing device with a small casing becomes important.

  The system disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above can input characters by two operations, but cannot cope with the multi-functionalization of the device. Also, when inputting characters, a desired character must be searched each time the character display changes, and character input is not always possible at high speed.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an item selection device that can easily select an arbitrary item from a plurality of items while dealing with multi-functionality, an information processing device employing such an item selection device, and It is to provide a computer program for realizing.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an item selection device that can easily select and input an arbitrary character from a plurality of characters while coping with multifunctionalization, an information processing device employing such an item selection device, and It is to provide a computer program for realizing them.

  The item selection device according to the first aspect of the present invention, when a display device and an arbitrary location on the display of the display device are designated, outputs position information indicating the designated location, and the designation is released. And an item selection device used together with a location information output device having a function of stopping the output of location information, based on the location information obtained by sampling the output of the location information output device at a predetermined timing A distance calculating means for calculating the moving distance of the designated place along the locus of the designated place of the position on the display, and as a function of the moving distance calculated by the distance calculating means, a plurality of items constituting a predetermined set Candidate selection means for selecting one of them as a selection candidate, and the position information cannot be obtained in response to the fact that the position information from the position information output device cannot be obtained. And an output means for outputting information specifying the item selected by the candidate selection means when Tsu.

  The distance calculating means calculates the moving distance of the designated place on the display by the display device based on the position information obtained from the position information output. The candidate selecting means selects one of a plurality of items as a selection candidate as a function of the moving distance. When the position information cannot be obtained from the position information output device, the output means outputs information for specifying the item selected by the candidate selecting means at the time of the stop. One of a plurality of items is selected based on the movement distance of the designated location. Even if the area of the display device is limited, the movement distance can be changed in an infinite range by moving the designated portion in a circular shape, for example. Therefore, even if the area of the specifiable portion of display by the display device is small, and any number of items to be selected, any one of these items can be selected. In addition, since the display device and the position information output device are used, the entire screen can be used for item selection, and even when there are many functions to be dealt with, item selection can be performed with a very high degree of freedom. Is possible. As a result, it is possible to provide an item selection device that can easily select an arbitrary item among a plurality of items while coping with the increase in functionality.

  Preferably, the item selection device further includes candidate display means connected to the display device for displaying the selection candidates selected by the candidate selection means at a predetermined location on the display by the display device.

  Since the selection candidate is displayed at a predetermined position of display by the display device, the user can easily know what the current selection candidate is by looking at the predetermined position. As a result, it is possible to provide an item selection device that can easily and surely select an arbitrary item among a plurality of items while coping with multi-functionality.

  More preferably, the candidate display means connects the selection candidate selected by the candidate selection means to a position connected to the display device and having a predetermined relationship with the position information obtained from the position information output device on the display by the display device. Means for displaying.

  The selection candidate is displayed at a position that has a predetermined relationship with a position that is considered to be a designated place. Since this position moves with the movement of the designated location, it can be easily confirmed how the selection candidate changes due to the movement. In addition, if the relationship between the designated location and the position where the selection candidate is displayed is clearly known, it can be confirmed by looking at the predetermined location with reference to the designated location what kind of candidate is selected along with the movement. . As a result, it is possible to provide an item selection device that can easily and surely select an arbitrary item among a plurality of items while coping with multi-functionality.

  More preferably, the position having a predetermined relationship with the position information obtained from the position information output device is the display of the selection candidate on the display by the display device with respect to the position specified by the position information obtained from the position information output device. This is a position separated by a predetermined positive first distance in the upright direction.

  The user sets his / her position with respect to the item selection device so that the display of the selection candidates is in a direction that is easy for the user to view. Therefore, the user's line of sight is directed in the upright direction of the selection candidate display. Selection candidates are displayed at positions in the direction that are separated by a positive first distance. Therefore, the user can easily notice the display of the selection candidates and can surely see the display of the selection candidates.

  More preferably, the item selection device further includes means for outputting a predetermined signal in response to a change in the selection candidate selected by the candidate selection means.

  When the selection candidate changes, a predetermined signal is output. In an information processing device that uses this item selection device, this signal is used to notify the user that the selection candidate has changed, or when the selection candidate is selected before the selection candidate is actually selected. Predicted processing can be executed in advance. As a result, it is possible to provide an item selection device that can easily and surely select an arbitrary item from a plurality of items while dealing with multi-functionality and can provide advanced processing by prediction.

  The item selection device may further include means for performing a predetermined physical operation in response to a predetermined signal.

  When a predetermined signal is output when the selection candidate changes, a predetermined physical operation is performed in response to the signal. By this physical operation, the user can know that the selection candidate has changed without looking at the selection candidate.

  Preferably, the means for performing the physical operation includes means for vibrating the item selection device in response to the predetermined signal.

  When a predetermined signal is output when the selection candidate changes, the item selection device vibrates in response to the signal. This vibration allows the user to know that the selection candidate has changed without looking at the selection candidate. As a result, input becomes easy.

  More preferably, the means for performing the physical operation includes means for generating a predetermined sound in response to the predetermined signal.

  When a predetermined signal is output when the selection candidate changes, a predetermined sound is generated in response to the signal. This sound allows the user to know that the selection candidate has changed without looking at the selection candidate. As a result, input becomes easy.

  More preferably, the distance calculation means calculates the distance between the sampling means for sampling the output of the position information output device at a predetermined timing and the position specified by the position information continuously sampled by the sampling means. Based on the distance calculated by the means for calculating and the means for calculating, the moving distance of the specified location along the locus of the specified location on the display by the display device is calculated by a predetermined first calculation method Based on the position information obtained from the first calculation means and the position information output device, the moving distance of the specified location along the locus of the specified location on the display by the display device is a predetermined value different from the first calculation method. The second calculation means for calculating by the second calculation method and a series of position information obtained from the position information output device satisfy a predetermined condition. In response to this, the first calculation means and the second calculation means are switched and operated, and the distance calculated by the operating one of the first and second calculation means is designated. Switching means for outputting as a moving distance.

  The first calculation means and the second calculation means are switched by the switching means. This switching is performed when a series of position information satisfies a predetermined condition. Since the position information changes with the movement of the designated location, the user can perform this switching by moving the designated location in a predetermined manner. The distance calculation method can be changed only by the operation of specifying the position. As a result, an item selection method for a plurality of distances can be easily realized without adding a key.

  The first calculating means includes means for accumulating the absolute value of the movement distance of the designated place along the locus of the designated place on the display by the display device based on the position information obtained from the position information output device. The second calculation means uses the first calculation means to calculate the absolute value of the movement distance of the designated location along the locus of the designated location on the display by the display device based on the position information obtained from the position information output device. Means for subtracting from the calculated distance may be included.

  The first calculation means accumulates the absolute value of the movement distance of the designated location. The second calculation means subtracts the absolute value of the movement distance of the designated location from the distance calculated by the first means. As a result, the distance calculated by the distance calculating means can be increased or decreased. Selection item candidates are determined as a function of this distance. Therefore, it is possible to perform an operation of moving the selected item forward or backward by only an operation of moving the designated portion.

  Preferably, the switching means includes an encoding means for encoding the moving direction of the designated location with a predetermined code based on the position information obtained from the position information output device, and a code encoded by the encoding means. And a means for switching and operating the first calculation means and the second calculation means in response to the fact that the change amounts of the consecutive codes are within a predetermined range.

  The encoding means encodes the moving direction of the designated location. The amount of change between successive codes represents a change in the direction of movement. The user can switch between the first calculation unit and the second calculation unit by moving the designated portion so that the amount of change falls within a predetermined range. By encoding, a change in the moving direction can be calculated easily and reliably.

  More preferably, the candidate selecting means satisfies a predetermined condition by means for storing the first and second sets each including a plurality of items as elements and a series of position information obtained from the position information output device. In response, a set selection means for selecting one of the first and second sets, and a plurality of the sets selected by the set selection means as a function of the movement distance calculated by the distance calculation means Means for selecting one of the items as a selection candidate.

  When the series of position information satisfies a predetermined condition, one of the first and second sets is selected by the set selection unit. Thereafter, one of the plurality of items constituting the selected set is selected as a function of the moving distance calculated by the distance calculating means. It becomes possible to perform item selection in at least two stages.

  More preferably, the means for selecting is based on the position information obtained from the position information output device, and the encoding means for encoding the moving direction of the designated location with a predetermined code, and the encoding means Means for alternately selecting one of the first set and the second set in response to the change amount of the consecutive codes among the converted codes being in a predetermined range Including.

  The item selection device may further include means for displaying a plurality of items, which are elements of a predetermined set, on the display by the display device, each at a predetermined display position. Each of the plurality of items represents a set of predetermined selection items, and the candidate selecting means responds to the fact that the position information is obtained from the position information output device, based on the position information, An item specified by the item specifying means as a function of an item specifying means for specifying an item corresponding to the position specified on the display by the display device and a distance calculating means among a plurality of items Means for selecting one of a plurality of selection items constituting the set represented by

  A plurality of items each representing a set of predetermined selection items are displayed on the display device. The candidate selecting means specifies an item corresponding to the position information when the position information can be obtained from the position information output device. The means for selecting selects one of the selection items included in the set represented by the item thus identified as a function of the movement distance. Each one is selected from a plurality of sets represented by a certain item, and one item is selected from the components of the selected set. Accordingly, at least two-stage item selection using classification by representative items can be performed only by the operation of moving the designated position.

  More preferably, each of the plurality of items is a representative character representing a predetermined character set, and the item specifying means responds to the fact that the position information is obtained from the position information output device, and the position information And a means for specifying a representative character corresponding to a position designated on the display by the display device among the plurality of representative characters, and the means for selecting is a moving distance calculated by the distance calculating means As a function of the above, a means for selecting one of a plurality of characters constituting a character set represented by the representative character specified by the item specifying means is included.

  First, the representative character is displayed, and the character set represented by the representative character is determined depending on which representative character is designated, and one of the characters constituting the character set is the movement distance. Selected as a function. From a list of representative characters, it is possible to input a specific character only by an operation of moving a designated position by two-step selection.

  More preferably, an order is assigned to a plurality of items constituting the predetermined set in advance, and the candidate selecting means assigns an order corresponding to a quotient obtained by dividing the moving distance calculated by the distance calculating means by a predetermined fixed length. Means for selecting the item as a selection candidate.

  The item in the order corresponding to the quotient obtained by dividing the movement distance by the fixed length is selected. By a simple calculation called division by a fixed length, selection candidates can be determined as a function of the moving distance.

  A plurality of items constituting a predetermined set are preliminarily assigned different predetermined threshold values, and the candidate selection unit is configured to calculate the movement distance calculated by the distance calculation unit and the threshold values allocated to the plurality of items. And a means for selecting, as a selection candidate, an item to which the largest threshold among the thresholds smaller than the moving distance is assigned.

  The movement distance is compared with a plurality of threshold values, and an item to which the largest threshold value among the threshold values smaller than the movement distance is assigned can be selected as a selection candidate. The selection candidate can be determined as a function of the moving distance by a simple process of comparison with a threshold value.

  Preferably, the item selection device is encoded by the encoding means for encoding the moving direction of the designated location with a predetermined code based on the position information obtained from the position information output device, and the encoding means. In response to the latest fixed period code satisfying a predetermined condition, position information cannot be obtained from the means for disabling the candidate selecting means and the means for outputting and the position information output device. In response, further includes means for activating the candidate selection means and the means for outputting.

  The series of position information represents a movement locus of the designated place. If the series of position information satisfies a predetermined condition, the candidate selecting means and the means for outputting are disabled. Therefore, if the designated place is moved so as to draw such a trajectory, the input of the item can be canceled. Further, when the designation for display by the display device is canceled, position information cannot be obtained, and the candidate selection means and the output means are activated, so that the item can be selected again.

  More preferably, the item selection device further includes function execution means for executing a function corresponding to the information in response to information output by the output means.

  By assigning a function to each item selected by the item selection device, it is possible to cancel the designation after moving the designated part on the display by the display device. The function can be activated.

  The information processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention outputs the position information indicating the designated place when the display device and an arbitrary place on the display of the display device are designated, and the designation is released. A display device-integrated touch panel that operates as a position information output device having a function of stopping the output of position information, and any of the above-described item selection devices set to be used with the display device-integrated panel, Information processing means for performing information processing using information output from the item selection device.

  Preferably, the information processing apparatus is a mobile phone.

  When a display device and an arbitrary place on the display of the display device are designated, the computer program according to the third aspect of the present invention outputs position information indicating the designated place, and the designation is released. When executed by a computer connected to a position information output device having a function of stopping output of position information, the computer is operated as one of the item selection devices described above.

  Therefore, the same effect as the item selection device described above can be obtained.

  A computer-readable recording medium according to the fourth aspect of the present invention records the above-described computer program. By causing a computer program recorded on the recording medium to read and execute the computer program, the computer is caused to operate as any of the item selection devices described above.

  Therefore, the same effect as the item selection device described above can be obtained.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even if the area of the specifiable portion of the display device is small, or any number of items to be selected, any one of those items is referred to as movement of the designated portion. Can be selected with easy operation. Further, since the display device and the position information output device that outputs the position information of an arbitrary position on the display by the display device are used, the entire screen of the display device can be used for item selection and should be dealt with. Even if there are many functions, it is possible to select items with a very high degree of freedom.

  The selection candidate is displayed at a predetermined position of display by the display device, or at a position that is in a predetermined relationship with a position that is considered to be a specified position, particularly at a position that is a predetermined position away from the specified position in the erect direction of the selection candidate. When displayed, it is possible to easily know what the current selection candidate is, and it is possible to provide an item selection device that can easily and reliably select an arbitrary item among a plurality of items while coping with multi-functionality. .

  The user can change the processing content of the item selection device by moving the specified location so that the amount of change in the movement direction of the specified location is within a predetermined range. Various functions can be realized.

[appearance]
1 and 2 are perspective views of a mobile phone 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the mobile phone 30 includes a casing 40 having a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a stacked liquid crystal display (LCD) 48 disposed on almost the entire upper surface of the casing 40. A full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46, which is a display device integrated touch panel, and speakers 42 disposed on the upper and lower sides of the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46, respectively. A microphone 44. In the present embodiment, full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46 has a function of outputting position information on the assumption that the position is designated by the user when the user touches an arbitrary position on the liquid crystal display screen.

  In this embodiment, when a user touches the screen, a touch panel that outputs position information of the part is used. However, an apparatus for outputting position information is not limited to a device that detects such contact. As will be described later, a normal pointing device may be used. A touch panel may be one that detects pressure in addition to one that detects a change in capacitance, such as a capacitive touch panel, or one that uses infrared rays. Further, when the pointing device is used as a position information output device, the display device does not need to be integrated with them.

[Outline of character input method]
The details of the internal configuration of the mobile phone 30 will be described later, and the input method in the mobile phone 30 according to the present embodiment will be described first. Since the mobile phone 30 employs the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46, the screen can be arranged either vertically or horizontally. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the key for input can be arranged at an appropriate place according to the direction of use of the apparatus. This key is a software numeric keypad that uses a key display on the LCD 48 and a finger position detection function by the capacitive touch panel 49.

  Since full-screen display is used, not only numeric keys but also character input keys can be displayed separately. However, when doing so, a considerable range of the screen is occupied by the keys for character input, which hinders the display of information. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, when inputting text on the mobile phone 30, the user is expected to operate the software numeric keypad 60 with the same hand while holding the mobile phone 30 with one hand. The Therefore, if too many keys are arranged, there is a high possibility that it will be difficult to input. Various screen displays can be realized depending on the application when inputting characters on the mobile phone 30. For example, in the case of the display shown in FIG. 3, when a text input field 62 is provided in the screen information and characters are input one by one using the software numeric keypad 60 displayed below, the characters are displayed in the text input field 62. A kana-kanji mixed text can be input by further performing kana-kanji conversion on the input character string.

  In the present embodiment, at the time of text input, as shown in FIG. 4, the letters “Akasana Hamawara” are displayed as a software numeric keypad 60 in a predetermined arrangement. These characters form one character set, but each character is also a representative character of a certain character set (referred to herein as a “character set”), as will be described later. . Here, displaying the representative characters in a predetermined arrangement in this way is called representative character display. For example, the character display “A” is a representative character of the character set of the “A” line consisting of 10 characters in total, 5 characters “Aiueo” and 5 characters “Ai ぅ ぉ”. Then, when the user touches any one of the representative characters with the finger 66, the character set is selected as the input character set. Then, the first character of the selected character set (“A” in the case of the character set “A”) is displayed as a character candidate display 70 in the vicinity of the portion touched by the finger 66. At the same time, it is also displayed as a character candidate 72 at the character input position in the text input field 62.

  The reason why the character candidate display 70 is displayed in the vicinity of the finger 66 is as follows. When the finger 66 touches a certain character, the character is disturbed by the finger 66 and cannot be seen by the user. For a user who is not yet familiar with this input method, there is a possibility that the user may feel uneasy about the input if the selected character candidate cannot be confirmed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the selected character candidate display 70 is displayed in the vicinity of the finger 66 as described above.

  In the present embodiment, the character candidate display 70 is the position information output from the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46 along the direction in which the character candidate display 70 is correctly displayed, that is, the erect direction of the character candidate display 70. On the other hand, it is displayed at a position moved upward by a predetermined positive value. This is because the user's line of sight usually faces in the upright direction of the character candidate display 70, and when the character candidate display 70 is displayed at this position, the user can easily confirm the character candidate display 70. Preferably, the display position of the character candidate display 70 is selected so as not to enter the blind spot of the user's finger. For example, the character candidate display 70 may be displayed slightly to the right or left depending on the moving direction of the contact location. Further, such setting may be used as user setting information so that the user can freely set it.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, after touching a representative character as shown in FIG. 4 and dragging the finger without releasing it from the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46, the selection is made according to the distance measured along the dragged locus. The character candidates inside change. That is, it is assumed that the finger 66 moves (drags) from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown in FIG. In this case, when the amount of movement along the locus of the finger 66 exceeds a first threshold value, the character candidate display 74 displayed near the finger 66 is changed from “A” to “I” as shown in FIG. The character candidate 76 displayed at the input position of the text input field 62 also changes from “A” to “I”.

  Further assume that the finger 66 is dragged to the position shown in FIG. In this case, when the amount of movement of the finger 66 becomes larger than the second threshold, the character candidate display 78 in the vicinity of the finger 66 and the character candidate 80 displayed in the text input field 62 change to “U”. . The same applies hereinafter.

  Similarly, when the first touched character is “ka”, the character of the kana line is the same, and when it is “sa”, the character of the kashi line is sequentially changed according to the movement distance along the dragging trajectory by the finger 66. Instead, it is displayed near the finger 66.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the finger 66 moves away from the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46, the character candidate displayed near the finger 66 at that time, that is, the character candidate 80 displayed in the text input field 62 is changed to the input character. Is selected and input to the input position of the text input field 62. The input position advances by one, and the next character can be input.

  FIG. 8 shows changes in the character candidate display displayed near the finger 66 when inputting the characters in the “a” line. The distance along the drag locus of the finger 66 from the drag start point (hereinafter “drag distance”) is D. When the finger 66 touches the representative character “A”, a character candidate display 70 (“A”) is displayed in the immediate vicinity (directly above in the case of FIG. 8). The character candidate display 70 (“A”) continues to be displayed on the finger 66 until the finger 66 moves along the locus 90 and the drag distance D reaches the first threshold value. When the drag distance D reaches the first threshold value, the character candidate display changes to the character candidate display 74 (“I”). The character candidate display 74 (“I”) is displayed on the finger 66 and moves with the finger 66 until the drag distance D reaches the second threshold value. When the drag distance D reaches the second threshold value, the character candidate display changes to a character candidate display 78 (“U”) and is displayed on the finger 66. Similarly, each time the drag distance D reaches a predetermined threshold value, the character candidates are displayed as character candidate displays 94 (“E”), 96 (“O”), and “A” “I” “ぅ”. It changes with "Ye" and "Sai".

  In the present embodiment, a predetermined fixed value is provided, and an integer multiple of this fixed value is set as a threshold value. According to the order in each character set, 0 is assigned to the first character as a threshold value. The fixed value itself is assigned as the threshold value to the second character. The third character is assigned twice as a threshold value. The same applies hereinafter. At the time of character input, among the characters assigned a threshold smaller than the drag distance D, the character assigned the largest threshold is set as a character candidate. In other words, the character candidates are determined as a function of the drag distance D in the sense that the character candidates are all determined by the value of the drag distance D.

  FIG. 9 shows changes in display of character candidates when the direction of dragging is changed in a direction substantially opposite to the previous direction (when folded). Referring to FIG. 9, this drag trajectory 100 is composed of a first half portion 102 that gently draws an arc, and a second half portion 104 that is folded in a direction almost opposite to the first half portion 102 via a steep apex 106. In this case, in the first half portion 102, the display is as described with reference to FIG. 8, but in the second half portion 104, the character candidate display in the second half portion 104 is exactly followed in the reverse direction. Selection and display order change.

  FIG. 10 shows an outline of the trajectory 120 of the finger 66 when canceling in the middle of dragging. Referring to FIG. 10, when the input is canceled while the finger 66 is moved along the normal drag locus 122, the user is almost in the opposite direction as when erasing a line written with a pencil with an eraser. Move the finger several times while changing the drag direction. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the arcs 126, 130, and 134 are drawn while changing the drag direction in substantially opposite directions at the vertices 124, 128, and 132. In the present embodiment, the coordinate position of the finger 66 is always detected, but the number of times the direction of the drag locus has changed in the reverse direction as shown in FIG. When the threshold is exceeded, the input is considered canceled. As will be described later, in this embodiment, when such a cancel operation is performed, selection and output of character candidates are disabled, and subsequent input is performed unless the finger 66 is released from the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46. Shall not be accepted. When the finger 66 is released from the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46, selection and output of character candidates are enabled.

  FIG. 11 shows an outline of the trajectory 150 of the finger 66 when the character type is changed. In this embodiment, the character type means hiragana, katakana, numbers, alphabetic characters (uppercase), alphabetic characters (lowercase), and symbols.

  Referring to FIG. 11, when changing the character type, the user changes the drag direction in a direction almost perpendicular to the previous drag locus 152. In the example of FIG. 11, the drag trajectory changes upward at a substantially right angle at a point 154 and changes to a new drag trajectory 156. Thus, when the drag direction changes to a substantially right angle, mobile phone 30 according to the present embodiment changes the character type. For example, when inputting hiragana, the character type is changed to katakana, and when inputting katakana, the character type is changed to hiragana input. In the case of numbers, the number is increased by one. When inputting an English letter (upper case), the character type is changed to English (lower case), and when inputting an English letter (lower case), the character type is changed to English (upper case).

  In the present embodiment, for the direction of the trajectory of the finger 66 and the change thereof, encoding of the direction of the trajectory used in online character recognition is used. Details thereof will be described later.

[Constitution]
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of mobile phone 30 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 12, in addition to speaker 42, microphone 44 and full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46, mobile phone 30 vibrates antenna 180 and casing 40 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of mobile phone 30. Using the vibration unit 184, the ringer 186, the nonvolatile memory 188, the speaker 42, the microphone 44, the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46, the antenna 180, the vibration unit 184, the ringer 186, and the memory 188, A control circuit 182 for realizing the above-described character input function and various other functions is included.

  The control circuit 182 detects an incoming call from another mobile communication terminal at another base and outputs an incoming call detection signal based on a signal received from the base station via the antenna 180. 208, a line closing unit 206 for controlling on / off of the communication line via the antenna 180 in response to a predetermined control signal, and a base station via the line closing unit 206 and the antenna 180. An RF (Radio Frequency) processing unit 204 for controlling the strength of signals exchanged between them, and a signal given to the RF processing unit 204 and the RF processing unit 204 for performing safe signal transmission / reception with the base station A baseband processing unit 202 for performing predetermined signal processing on a signal received via the DA, a DA converter and an AD converter, and a microphone 44 and a speaker. 42, an audio interface (audio I / F) 200 for performing input / output of voice via 42, an audio I / F 200, a baseband processing unit 202, an RF processing unit 204, a line closing unit 206, a full-screen liquid crystal By controlling the touch panel 46, the vibration unit 184, and the ringer 186, a call of a telephone is made according to a request from the user, or an incoming call is processed. And a communication control unit 210 for performing voice communication, character communication, and processing for a character string input by the user.

  The communication control unit 210 is substantially composed of a CPU and software. In the present embodiment, the software is stored in the memory 188, and is appropriately read out and executed by the communication control unit 210. Although details are not described in this embodiment, the contents of the memory 188 can be rewritten, whereby various functions can be upgraded and added by the mobile phone 30.

  FIG. 13 shows a character set 220 used in the mobile phone 30 according to the present embodiment in a tabular form. Referring to FIG. 13, the character set 220 is classified according to the character type. As described above, there are six types of characters: hiragana, katakana, numbers, alphabetic characters (uppercase), alphabetic characters (lowercase), and symbols.

  The hiragana character set includes ten character sets from the “a” line to the “wa” line. Similarly, the Katakana character set includes 10 character sets. The characters included in these character sets are shown in FIG. The representative character of each character set is the first character of each line.

  The numeric character set includes 10 character sets from 1 to 0. Although not clearly understood in FIG. 13, each character set of numbers includes half-width numbers and full-width numbers. The representative character is a single-byte number.

  The alphabet (uppercase) character set includes a total of nine character sets represented by “ABC”, “DEF” to “VWX”, and “YZ”, respectively. In these character sets, the half-width alphabets are first arranged in the order described above, and then the full-width alphabets are arranged in the same order.

  Similarly, the character set of symbols includes various symbols of half-width and full-width.

  FIG. 14 illustrates codes used for coding a drag trajectory in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, 16 directions as shown in FIG. 14 are assumed in the coordinate system defined on the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46. In FIG. 14, in order to facilitate the explanation, 360 degrees is divided into 16 equal parts in the clockwise direction with reference to the direction facing directly upward. A number “1” is assigned to the direction immediately above, a number “2” is assigned to the right side of the direction, and so on. Then, the direction of a line segment (hereinafter referred to as “segment”) formed by connecting the drag coordinates at a certain time point and the drag coordinates at the next time point is approximated by these 16 directions. Number each segment.

  By encoding the segment direction in this way, it is possible to detect a change in direction as follows.

  Referring to FIG. 15, drag trajectory 230 includes four segments 240, 242, 244 and 246. The direction of the segment 240 is encoded to “3” according to the encoding shown in FIG. Similarly, segments 242, 244 and 246 are encoded as 4, 5 and 13, respectively. Differences in direction between segments can be detected by the absolute value of this sign difference. In the present embodiment, it is determined that the drag direction has changed in the opposite direction when the absolute value of the sign difference between the preceding segment and the subsequent segment is 7 or more and 9 or less. Further, when the absolute value of the difference between the signs of the preceding segment and the succeeding segment is in the range of 3 to 5 or 11 to 13, it is determined that the drag direction has changed to a right angle.

  In the example shown in FIG. 15, the segment 246 is substantially opposite to the preceding segment 244 with respect to the point 248. The absolute value of the difference between the two signs is | 13-5 | = 8. Therefore, it can be detected that the drag direction is opposite to the point 248 as a boundary.

  In the lower part of FIG. 15, as an example, a hatched area 266 indicates an area in which the drag direction is determined to be reversed when the preceding segment is in the direction indicated by reference numeral 1.

  In this way, when the drag direction is reversed, in this embodiment, the display order of the character candidates is also reversed as shown in FIG. Therefore, after the drag direction is reversed during the cumulative calculation of the drag distance, the segment length is subtracted from the cumulative length in the cumulative calculation of the drag distance. When the drag direction is further reversed, the segment length is added to the accumulated length again. That is, every time the drag direction is reversed, it is necessary to reverse the sign of the segment length added to the drag distance from positive to negative or from negative to positive. That is, the segment length calculated by the actual coordinate calculation is multiplied by a coefficient of +1 or −1 (this coefficient is represented by “α” hereinafter), and then this segment length is added to the drag distance. Each segment in FIG. 15 shows the value of coefficient α in parentheses when the value of coefficient α is initially +1.

  On the other hand, in the case of the cancel operation as shown in FIG. 10, the reversal of the drag direction is repeated many times in a short time. In the present embodiment, a cancel operation is performed when the drag direction is reversed a predetermined number of times (for example, k times) or more during a predetermined number of times (for example, K times) of coordinate acquisition. Judge that it is.

  In this embodiment, an array as shown in FIG. 16 is used to detect a cancel operation. Referring to FIG. 16, array 270 includes K + 1 elements 280-286. This array 270 is used as a ring buffer. That is, the index i of the array changes from 1 to K + 1, but when 1 is further added to K + 1, it returns to the first element (i = 1). The index i indicates the position of the element that stores the value of the code α assigned to the segment whose coordinate value and direction are specified by the latest coordinate acquisition. Each time a new coordinate associated with the drag is acquired, 1 is added to the value of the index i.

  By using such an arrangement, it is possible to know how many times the direction of the segment has been reversed in the past K coordinate acquisitions as follows. That is, when there is a reversal of the direction of a segment, the coefficient assigned to that segment (referred to as α1) is obtained by reversing the sign of the coefficient assigned to the immediately preceding segment (referred to as α0). Become. Therefore, α1 + α0 = 0. When there is no reversal of the direction of the segment, α1 + α0 = + 2 or −2. When the array 270 is used as a ring buffer as described above, if the index value is i, the coefficient of the oldest segment is stored in the i + 1th element, and the ith element Stores the coefficient of the newest segment.

  Thus, starting from the i + 1th, calculating the sum of adjacent elements and counting the number of times that the sum becomes 0, the number of segment inversions occurring at the K boundaries between the immediately preceding K + 1 segments can be calculated. I can know. However, in this case, when the index value is K + 1, it is necessary to calculate the sum of the coefficient value stored in the (K + 1) th element and the coefficient value stored in the first element.

  If the number of reversals in the drag direction calculated in this way is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value k, it can be determined that a cancel operation has been performed.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a drag trajectory 290 in which the drag direction changes substantially at a right angle in the middle. In FIG. 17, the segments 240, 242, and 244 constituting the drag trajectory 290 are the same as those shown in FIG. 15, but the segment 300 that follows the segment 244 is substantially perpendicular to the segment 244 at the point 302. Has changed. Such a change can also be determined by looking at the code of the segment.

  The direction of the following segment when it is determined that the direction of the following segment has changed substantially at right angles to the direction of the preceding segment when the code of the preceding segment is indicated by reference numeral 1 at the bottom of FIG. Are indicated by hatched areas 314 and 324. As shown in FIG. 17, the absolute value of the difference between the signs of both segments in this case is 3 or more and 5 or less, or 11 or more and 13 or less.

  FIG. 18 shows a control structure of a computer program for realizing the mobile phone 30 described above in a flowchart form. This program is stored in the memory 188 shown in FIG. 12, and is executed by the CPU included in the communication control unit 210. As a result of this execution, the functions described above are realized.

  Referring to FIG. 18, this program is activated when it becomes necessary to input characters in an application. In the first step 330, a list of representative characters is displayed on the full screen liquid crystal touch panel 46. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the list of representative characters is a full-screen liquid crystal display in a matrix form of 4 rows and 3 columns, representing the character set of lines A to W and the character set of symbols. The touch panel 46 is arranged and displayed at a predetermined position. This display position changes depending on whether the mobile phone 30 is used in a vertical type or a horizontal type.

  In step 332, it is determined whether or not coordinates are output from the capacitive touch panel 49. This determination is executed every predetermined sampling period. Not only this step, the determination of the presence / absence of the output of coordinates from the capacitive touch panel 49 is executed every predetermined sampling period. If no coordinate output is obtained, the process returns to step 332. If a coordinate output is obtained, the process proceeds to step 334 to acquire the coordinate value.

  Subsequently, in step 336, it is determined whether or not the coordinate value acquired in step 334, that is, the position corresponding to the point touched by the user on the capacitive touch panel 49 is a position where some representative character is displayed. If the representative character is displayed, control proceeds to step 338. Otherwise, control returns to step 332.

  In step 338, a character set whose representative character is the character displayed at the position touched by the user is selected. In step 340, the drag distance D is initialized to zero, the coefficient α is incremented to +1, and the index i is initialized to zero. Clear the array s []. The coordinate value acquired in step 334 is stored.

  In step 341, the representative character of the character set selected in step 338 is displayed in the vicinity of the coordinate position stored in step 340. Further, the representative character is stored in the memory 188. In this embodiment, a representative character is displayed at a position about 1 cm immediately above the coordinate position stored in step 340.

  In step 342, it is determined again whether or not coordinates are output from the capacitive touch panel 49. If there is no coordinate output, this means that the user has lifted his / her finger from the capacitive touch panel 49. In this case, the process proceeds to step 354. If the coordinate output continues, the user is still performing a drag operation. In this case, control proceeds to step 344.

  When the drag operation ends, in step 354, the character code displayed near the position touched by the user (position 1 cm immediately above) is selected by the user, and the code of this character is passed to the application. In step 356, the character candidate displayed immediately above the position touched by the user is deleted. Thereafter, control returns to step 332.

  On the other hand, in step 344, the coordinate value output by the capacitive touch panel 49 is acquired. In step 346, it is determined whether or not there is a change between the coordinate value acquired in step 344 and the previous coordinate value stored in step 340. If there is a change, control proceeds to step 348, but if there is no change, the process returns to step 342. Thus, when the same coordinate is detected continuously, it corresponds to a state in which the user stops his / her finger while dragging. In the present embodiment, as described above, when the user holds the finger, the change in the drag direction is not detected.

  In step 348, encoding of the latest segment direction defined by the coordinate value detected this time and the coordinate value detected and stored last time and the calculation of the segment length d are performed. In the following step 350, the difference between the code of the latest segment direction and the code of the previous segment direction is calculated and stored in the memory. In step 352, the coordinate value detected and stored last time is updated with the coordinate value detected in step 344. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 360 in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 19, in step 360, it is determined whether or not the absolute value of the code difference calculated in step 350 is 7 or more and 9 or less. If the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to step 362, and otherwise, the process proceeds to step 372.

  Steps 362 and after are processes performed when the drag locus is reversed in the reverse direction in the middle. In step 362, the coefficient α is inverted by multiplying the coefficient α by -1. In step 364, the value obtained by multiplying the segment length d by the coefficient α is added to the drag distance D. Since the sign of the coefficient α is inverted at step 362, the process of step 364 often reduces the absolute value of the drag distance D. In step 366, it is determined using the array 270 shown in FIG. If the determination result is YES, it means that a cancel operation has been performed. Control proceeds to step 368. If the determination result is NO, it means that the drag trajectory has simply been folded back, and control proceeds to step 380 in order to continue selecting character candidates by dragging.

  When the cancel operation is performed, in this embodiment, the user process is not accepted unless the drag is released. Therefore, in step 368, the process waits until coordinate information is not output from the capacitive touch panel 49. When coordinate information is no longer output from the capacitive touch panel 49, that is, when the user finishes dragging, the display of the character candidates displayed on the LCD 48 is deleted in step 370, and the process proceeds to step 332 (FIG. 18).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 360 that the absolute value of the difference is not 7 or more and 9 or less, the control proceeds to step 372. In this case, since the drag trajectory has not been turned back, it is determined whether or not the drag trajectory has changed substantially at a right angle. That is, in step 372, it is determined whether the absolute value of the difference between the code of the latest segment direction and the code of the immediately preceding segment direction is 3 or more and 5 or less. If the determination result is YES, it means that the drag locus has changed substantially at a right angle. In this case, control proceeds to step 376. Otherwise, control proceeds to step 374. In step 374, it is further determined whether or not the absolute value of the code difference between the segments is 11 or more and 13 or less. If the determination result is YES, it means that the drag trajectory has changed substantially at a right angle. In this case, control proceeds to step 376. Otherwise, the drag trajectory has not been turned back and the direction of the right angle has not changed, and control proceeds to step 378.

  In step 376, the character type is changed from the character type of the currently selected character set to the character type of the next character set. More specifically, when the currently selected character set is hiragana, the character set whose character type is changed to katakana is selected. In the case of katakana, hiragana is changed in the same way. When it is a number, it is changed to the next number (a value obtained by adding 1). In the case of an alphabetic character (uppercase), the character set is changed to the corresponding alphabetic (lowercase) character set. In the case of alphabetic characters (lowercase), the character set is changed to the corresponding alphabetic (uppercase) character set. Thereafter, control proceeds to step 380.

  On the other hand, in step 378, the value obtained by multiplying the segment length d by the coefficient α is added to the drag distance D. The value of the coefficient α is the same as the previous value. Therefore, the absolute value of the drag distance D is increased by the processing in step 378. Thereafter, control proceeds to step 380.

  In step 380, based on the drag distance D, character candidates to be displayed are determined. Here, the drag distance D is compared with a threshold value that is an integral multiple of a predetermined fixed value in order from the smallest threshold value. The assigned character is determined as a character candidate. In step 382, the display of the previous character candidate is updated with the newly determined character candidate. The display position of the new character candidate is changed to a position immediately above the coordinate position acquired in step 344.

  In step 384, a determination is made as to whether the character candidate determined in step 380 matches the previously displayed character candidate. If they do not match, the character candidate has changed. Therefore, in step 386, the vibration unit 184 shown in FIG. 12 is controlled to vibrate the mobile phone 30 for a short time. This vibration allows the user to know that the character candidate has changed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 388. If there is no change in the character candidates, the process proceeds to step 388 without doing anything. In step 386, a specific sound may be generated by giving a predetermined sound signal to the speaker 42 instead of or in addition to the vibration. By performing such a physical operation, the user can know that the character candidate has changed without looking at the character candidate, and the input can be facilitated.

  The processing after step 388 is updating processing of the array 270 shown in FIG. In step 388, 1 is added to the index i. In step 390, it is determined whether the value of index i is greater than K + 1. When the value of index i becomes larger than K + 1, 1 is substituted for the value of index i (step 392). Otherwise, the value of index is not changed.

  Subsequently, in step 394, the value of the coefficient α is stored in the element indicated by the index i of the array s. The value of the coefficient α is used in the determination in step 366. After step 394, control returns to step 342 in FIG. Thereafter, the processes shown in steps 344 to 352 and steps 360 to 394 are repeatedly executed until the detection of the coordinates accompanying the drag is completed.

  The character input function of the cellular phone 30 according to the present embodiment can be realized by executing the program having the control structure as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 by the communication control unit 210 shown in FIG.

<Operation>
1 to 19, mobile phone 30 according to the present embodiment operates as follows. When the user activates some application and enters a text input state, a character input program having the control structure shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 is activated. First, a representative character group of hiragana (“a”, “ka”, “sa”, “ta” to “wa”) and “symbol” are displayed as a representative character matrix at predetermined positions on the LCD 48 shown in FIG. (FIG. 18, step 330). This state corresponds to the state shown in FIG. Until the user touches the representative character, control is substantially stopped at step 332 in the program of FIG.

  Assume that the user touches one of the representative characters, for example, “A”. In this case, the capacitive touch panel 49 shown in FIG. 12 generates coordinate information indicating the position touched by the user and supplies the coordinate information to the communication control unit 210. As a result, the determination result in step 332 is YES, and the coordinate value is passed to the program in step 334.

  It can be seen from the coordinate value that the user touched the representative character “A”. Accordingly, in the program shown in FIG. 18, as a result of the determination in step 336, the control proceeds to step 338, and the character set of the “a” line (see FIG. 13) is selected. Subsequently, the drag distance D is set to 0, the coefficient α is set to +1, and the index i is set to 0, the array 270 (s []) is cleared, and the coordinates acquired in step 334 are stored in the memory 188 (step 340). ).

  Subsequently, the first character candidate (that is, the representative character “A”) of the selected character set (“A” line) is displayed in the vicinity (about 1 cm above) of the coordinates acquired in Step 334 and further stored in the memory 188. (Step 341).

  In this state, it is assumed that the user starts dragging without releasing the finger from the surface of the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46. Then, the capacitive touch panel 49 outputs a coordinate value indicating the position of the finger, and it is detected in step 342 that the coordinate value has been output, and in step 344, the coordinate value is acquired by the program.

  Since dragging is performed in this example, the determination result in step 346 is YES, and the process proceeds to step 348.

In step 348, the direction of the segment defined by connecting the previous coordinate value and the current coordinate value is encoded. Further, the segment length d is calculated from the Euclidean distance between the two coordinates. Calculated segment length and d _0. In step 350, the difference between the sign of the previous segment direction and the sign of the current segment is calculated. In this embodiment, it is assumed that this difference is 0 in the first process. In step 350, the difference value is stored in the memory 188. Subsequently, in step 352, the value stored as the previous coordinate value is updated using the coordinate value acquired in step 344. Thereafter, control proceeds to step 360.

Referring to FIG. 19, as described above, in the first process, difference = 0 is set, so the process proceeds from step 360, 372, 374 to step 378. In step 378, the value of the drag distance D, coefficient segment length d ₀ α (= 1) obtained by multiplying, i.e. segment length d ₀ is added. The value of the drag distance D was 0, the value of the drag distance D is changed to d _0.

In step 380, a character candidate is determined based on the drag distance D (= d ₀ ). Here, assuming that d ₀ <threshold (1 × fixed value), the character candidate is determined as “A”. In step 382, the character candidate display is updated with the new character candidate display. In the current example, the previous character candidate and the current character candidate are the same “A”, but their display positions change. That is, the previous character candidate display “A” is erased, and the current character candidate “A” is displayed at a new position determined by dragging.

  In the present example, the determination result in step 384 is YES, so the process proceeds directly to step 388, the value of index i becomes 2 in step 388, and α = + 1 is stored in the array s [2] through steps 390 and 394. Is done. Thereafter, control returns to step 342 in FIG.

  In this way, when normal dragging is continued, the display of the character candidates is sequentially updated through steps 342, 344, 346, 348, 350, 352, 360, 372, 374, 378, 380, 382. The If it is determined in step 380 that the drag distance D is equal to or greater than the threshold value (1 × fixed value), the character candidate changes to the next character candidate “I”. In step 382, the display of the character candidate is changed from “A” to “I”. Then, the determination result at step 384 is NO, and the housing 40 is vibrated using the vibration unit 184 shown in FIG. The user can easily know that the character candidate has changed due to the vibration of the housing 40. The threshold value is changed to 2 × fixed value.

  Control returns to step 342 through the processing of steps 388, 390, and 394. Thus, as long as normal dragging is performed, as shown in FIG. 8, the character candidates change from “A” to “I” to “U” according to the order in the character set and the value of the drag distance D. To go. When the user finishes dragging and releases his / her finger from the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46, the determination result in step 342 in FIG. 18 is NO, and the character candidate displayed at that time is selected as the input character in step 354, and the application Passed to. In step 356, the display of the character candidate is deleted, and the process returns to step 332 to move to the next character input.

  In the middle of the drag, it is assumed that the drag direction is folded back almost in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. In this case, the same processing as in the case of normal dragging is performed from step 342 to step 352 in FIG. However, the absolute value of the code difference calculated in step 350 is in the range of 7 to 9, as already described. As a result, the determination result in step 360 of FIG. 19 is YES, and the sign of the coefficient α is inverted in step 362 (step 362). Assuming that the value of the coefficient α was originally 1, the value of the coefficient α as a result of the processing here is −1. In step 364, the value of segment length d × coefficient α is added to the value of drag distance D. Since the sign of the coefficient α is inverted, the value of the drag distance D is substantially subtracted here by a value corresponding to the segment length d.

  Subsequently, at step 366, using the values stored in the array 270 shown in FIG. 16, it is determined whether or not the number of times of folding exceeds the threshold value k times in the past K coordinate detections. If the user is performing an operation as shown in FIG. 9, the determination result here is NO, and control proceeds to step 380. Thereafter, processing similar to the normal drag operation is performed in steps 380 to 394. Thereafter, control returns to step 342 in FIG.

  Assume that the user performs a cancel operation as shown in FIG. In this case, the determination result in step 366 in FIG. As a result, control proceeds to step 368, where the instruction is not accepted until the user finishes the drag operation. When the user finishes the drag operation, the display of the character candidate is deleted in step 370, and the process returns to step 332 to start inputting the next character.

  Consider a case where the user performs a character type changing operation as shown in FIG. In this case, the determination result in step 360 in FIG. 19 is NO. Then, the determination result at step 372 or 374 is YES, and the process proceeds to step 376. In step 376, the character type currently being processed is changed to the next character type. The method for changing the character type is as described above.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, when the user touches one of the representative characters, the character set represented by the representative character is selected. Then, the representative characters of the selected character set are first displayed near the user's finger. When the user drags as it is, the characters included in the selected character set are changed in a predetermined order and displayed as character candidates according to the cumulative distance of the drag. When the user reverses the drag direction in the middle, the character candidates are displayed in the reverse order. If the user reverses the drag direction many times during the process, it is interpreted as cancel, the input character is erased, and the next input is not accepted unless the drag operation is terminated.

  When the user changes the drag direction to a substantially right angle as shown in FIG. 11, the character type is changed, and the characters included in the new character type are displayed in order according to the drag distance.

  By repeating such processing, a series of character strings can be output to a text input program.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, when the user touches the character key, the character candidate display 70 corresponding to the touched position is displayed near the position where the finger 66 is detected. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. The user who is used to this input method will operate the software numeric keypad 60 while looking at the characters displayed in the text input field 62 rather than in the vicinity of his / her finger. In that case, such character display in the vicinity is unnecessary. It may be possible to select ON / OFF of the neighborhood character display function.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the drag direction is changed to a right angle, the character type is changed in a fixed order regardless of the direction (change in angle is 90 degrees or -90 degrees). However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the character type may be changed according to the above order when the angle change is 90 degrees, and the character type may be changed according to the reverse order to the above order when the angle change is −90 degrees. In addition, when the drag direction is changed to a right angle, another process may be activated instead of changing the character type. For example, if the drag direction changes to a right angle, a kana-kanji conversion candidate for a character string consisting of the character string that has been input so far and the character candidate when the drag direction changes to a right angle is displayed near the drag position. May be displayed. In this case, it is further preferable that a desired candidate can be selected by dragging in the display of the kana-kanji conversion candidates.

  In the above embodiment, the character candidate is selected by comparing the drag distance with a threshold value that is an integral multiple of a fixed value. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the drag distance may be divided by a predetermined fixed value, the quotient may be used as an index, and the character at the position corresponding to the index from the beginning of the character set may be used as the character candidate.

  In the above-described embodiment, characters are input using representative character display and dragging. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. The present invention can be applied to all processes in which selection of two layers is performed and each item can be displayed in a simple form. For example, when realizing a two-level menu, the first-level menu is displayed first, and the user touches and drags an arbitrary menu item, so that the menu items belonging to the second-level menu item are sequentially selected. It is also possible to perform control such that the selection item at the time when the dragging is finished is the menu item finally selected. In this case, control such as starting a program for realizing a function corresponding to the selected menu item or passing information corresponding to the selected menu item to the program being executed can be easily realized.

  Further, multi-stage selection can be performed by repeating the above-described two-stage selection a plurality of times. For example, it is possible to realize a process of selecting a character set on the assumption that all the character sets form one large group at the beginning, and further selecting characters from the selected character set. More specifically, as follows. First, when an arbitrary portion of the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46 is touched, “A” is displayed in the vicinity thereof. When dragging, “ka”, “sa”, etc. are displayed in order according to the drag distance. A character set whose representative character is the character displayed at the end of the dragging, for example, the character set in the “sa” line is selected. Further, when an arbitrary portion of the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46 is touched again in this state, the representative character “sa” of the selected character set is displayed in the vicinity thereof, and the display is changed to “shi” and “su” by dragging. "..." are displayed in order, and the character candidates displayed when the drag is finished are selected as input characters. By adopting such a configuration, the number of operations may increase somewhat, but multi-stage item selection can be realized by repeating the same operation.

  In the above-described embodiment, the cooperation with the function of the mobile phone itself has not been described, but interference between the above-described character input method and the mobile phone can be prevented, and a more efficient usage method can be realized. You can also For example, during the above-described character input, the mobile phone may be set in the offline mode so that incoming calls are not accepted. This is because the user may be surprised by the ringing sound and mistakenly perform the character input operation if an incoming call is generated in the mobile phone during the character input and the ringing sound is generated. In the above-described embodiment, the casing 40 is vibrated by the vibration unit 184 when the character candidate changes. When the mobile phone is set to generate only a vibration instead of a ringing tone when receiving an incoming call, the user cannot distinguish between the vibrations of both, and there is a risk that it will be confusing. Therefore, in such a case, the incoming call may be set to be ignored.

  In the above-described embodiment, an integer multiple of the same fixed value is used for all character sets as a threshold value for changing the drag distance for changing a character candidate. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. The fixed value for calculating the threshold value may be changed according to the number of characters included in the character set, or the threshold value may be changed according to the drag speed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the position and size of the first representative character display are determined by the settings unique to the mobile phone 30. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the display position and size of the first representative character can be changed to an arbitrary one depending on the application.

  Of course, the position and size of the representative character can always be constant. In this case, the display direction of the representative character changes depending on the usage posture (vertical or horizontal) of the mobile phone 30, but the center position and size are always constant. In such a case, by further devising the hardware, it is possible to adopt a configuration that allows easier input.

  An example is shown in FIG. A cellular phone 400 shown in FIG. 20 has almost the same configuration as that of the cellular phone 30 according to the first embodiment, but includes protrusions 410, 412 indicating representative character display positions at predetermined positions on the surface of the housing 40, and The difference is that 414 is formed. The protrusions 410 and 412 are formed at both ends of the position corresponding to the second line of the representative character in the vertical display. The protrusion 414 is formed at the lower end of the position corresponding to the central row of representative characters. In this manner, by forming the protrusion on the housing 40, it is possible to register the display position of the representative character with only the fingertip without looking at the display portion of the representative character.

  The same idea can also be applied when creating a conductive protective cover on the full-screen liquid crystal touch panel 46. In this case, a protrusion that serves as a mark can be formed directly at a position corresponding to the display position of the representative character on the protective cover. In this case, in the case where the display position of the representative character is fixed, it is possible to form something that can directly identify the position of the representative character, such as Braille, instead of a simple protrusion.

  In the above-described embodiment, a representative character group is displayed first, and when a user touches and drags one of them, a character candidate is displayed in the vicinity thereof. When dragging, the representative character group displayed first is still displayed. The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. When the user touches one of the representative character groups and starts dragging, the display of all the representative characters may be deleted. This reduces the risk of user confusion as to which character is being entered. In this case, it is necessary to redisplay the representative character group every time input of one character is completed.

  Furthermore, the above-described embodiment relates to a mobile phone. However, the present invention is not necessarily applicable only to a mobile phone, and can also be applied to general portable information terminal devices. Furthermore, it can be employed as a user interface when inputting characters or selecting a menu in a remote controller such as a television receiver or a hard disk recorder.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, a full-screen liquid crystal touch panel is used as a display device and a position information output device that outputs position information of an arbitrary designated place on the display by the display device. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the display device is a normal monitor, and the position information output device can be a pointing device that can specify any location on the display device, such as a mouse, pen input device, stick-type pointing device, trackball, touch pad, Any combination of a pointing device and a display device that can be used in a graphical user interface, such as a digitizer, that can define a drag operation is applicable.

  Further, the position information output device may be a non-contact device. For example, a pointing device using infrared rays, a pointing device using a magnetic sensor, or the like can be used. However, even when these are used, it is necessary to be able to define an operation corresponding to a drag operation.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, one element can be selected from a predetermined set of elements in accordance with the amount of movement along the drag trajectory. For example, one character can be selected from a predetermined set of characters. One item can be selected from predetermined menu items. The operation can be performed only by dragging. Therefore, it is possible to select a character or item at a higher speed as compared with the conventional method of selecting a desired character or item by pressing a single button a plurality of times. In the above-described embodiment, the selected candidate (for example, a character candidate) is displayed near the position of the finger in the middle of dragging. Therefore, the user can always confirm the selected candidate.

  When the drag trajectory satisfies a specific condition, a specific process corresponding to the condition can be executed. Various instructions can be given to the mobile phone without interrupting the drag operation. Compared with the conventional case of distinguishing between character input and instruction input, character input and instruction can be performed with a simpler operation. Switching to input can be performed.

  The embodiment disclosed herein is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The scope of the present invention is indicated by each of the claims after taking into account the description of the detailed description of the invention, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the wording described therein are intended. Including.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance at the time of vertical use of the mobile telephone 30 which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance at the time of horizontal type use of the mobile telephone 30 which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external appearance when the mobile phone 30 is used. It is a figure which shows the display mode at the time of the character input start of the mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the display mode during dragging at the time of the character input of the mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the display mode during dragging at the time of the character input of the mobile telephone. 6 is a diagram showing a display mode at the end of dragging of the mobile phone 30. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a change in display of character candidates during normal dragging of the mobile phone 30; FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a change in display of character candidates when the mobile phone 30 is dragged in the drag direction. It is a figure which shows the drag locus | trajectory at the time of the multiple return | turnback of the drag direction during the drag of the mobile telephone 30. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the change of the display of the character candidate at the time of the change to the orthogonal | vertical direction of the drag direction during the drag | drug of the mobile telephone 30. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a mobile phone 30. FIG. It is a figure which shows the character set used with the mobile telephone 30 in a table format. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining segment direction encoding used in the mobile phone 30; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a sign change when the mobile phone 30 is dragged in a drag direction. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an arrangement configuration for detecting a turn-back in the drag direction during dragging of the mobile phone 30; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a sign change when the mobile phone 30 is being dragged and the drag direction changes in a right-angle direction. 4 is a flowchart showing a configuration of a computer program for realizing a character input method in the mobile phone 30. 4 is a flowchart showing a configuration of a computer program for realizing a character input method in the mobile phone 30. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the mobile telephone 400 which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  30,400 mobile phone, 40 case, 42 speaker, 44 microphone, 46 full screen LCD touch panel, 48 LCD, 49 capacitive touch panel, 60 software numeric keypad, 62 text input field, 66 fingers, 70 character candidate display, 100, 120, 150, 230, 290 Drag locus, 180 antenna, 182 control circuit, 184 vibration unit, 186 ringer, 188 memory, 200 audio I / F, 202 baseband processing unit, 204 RF processing unit, 206 Close circuit Part, 208 incoming signal detection part, 210 communication control part, 220 character set, 270 array, 410, 412, 414 protrusion

Claims (23)

When a display device and an arbitrary place on the display device are designated, position information indicating the designated place is output, and when the designation is released, position information output having a function of stopping the output of the position information is output. An item selection device used with the device,
Based on the position information obtained by sampling the output of the position information output device at a predetermined timing, to calculate the movement distance of the designated location along the locus of the designated location of the position on the display of the display device Distance calculation means of
Candidate selection means for selecting one of a plurality of items constituting a predetermined set as a selection candidate as a function of the movement distance calculated by the distance calculation means;
An output means for outputting information specifying the item selected by the candidate selecting means when the position information is no longer obtained in response to the position information not being obtained from the position information output device; Including an item selection device. The item selection device according to claim 1, further comprising candidate display means connected to the display device for displaying a selection candidate selected by the candidate selection means at a predetermined location on the display by the display device. The candidate display means is connected to the display device, and the selection candidate selected by the candidate selection means at a position having a predetermined relationship with the position information obtained from the position information output device on the display by the display device The item selection device according to claim 2, comprising means for displaying. The position having a predetermined relationship with the position information obtained from the position information output device is displayed on the display by the display device with respect to the position specified by the position information obtained from the position information output device. The item selection device according to claim 3, wherein the item selection device is located at a predetermined positive first distance in the upright direction. The item selection device according to claim 1, further comprising means for outputting a predetermined signal in response to a change in the selection candidate selected by the candidate selection means. 6. The item selection device according to claim 5, further comprising means for performing a predetermined physical operation in response to the predetermined signal. 7. The item selection device according to claim 6, wherein the means for performing the physical operation includes means for vibrating the item selection device in response to the predetermined signal. 7. The item selection device according to claim 6, wherein the means for performing the physical operation includes means for generating a predetermined sound in response to the predetermined signal. The distance calculating means includes
Sampling means for sampling the output of the position information output device at a predetermined timing;
Means for calculating a distance between positions specified by position information continuously sampled by the sampling means;
Based on the distance calculated by the means for calculating, a first distance for calculating the movement distance of the designated location along the locus of the designated location on the display by the display device by a predetermined first calculation method. Means for calculating
Based on position information obtained from the position information output device, a predetermined second calculation that is different from the first calculation method is used to calculate the movement distance of the specified location along the locus of the specified location on the display by the display device. A second calculating means for calculating by a method;
In response to a series of position information obtained from the position information output device satisfying a predetermined condition, the first calculation means and the second calculation means are switched to operate, and the first and second The item selection in any one of Claims 1-8 including the switching means for outputting the distance calculated by the thing which is operate | moving among 2 calculation means as a movement distance of the said designated location apparatus. The first calculating means accumulates the absolute value of the moving distance of the designated location along the locus of the designated location on the display by the display device based on the location information obtained from the location information output device. Including the means of
The second calculating means calculates the absolute value of the movement distance of the designated location along the locus of the designated location on the display by the display device based on the location information obtained from the location information output device. The item selection device according to claim 9, comprising means for subtracting from the distance calculated by the calculating means. The switching means is
An encoding means for encoding the moving direction of the designated location with a predetermined code based on the position information obtained from the position information output device;
In response to a change amount of consecutive codes among the codes encoded by the encoding means being within a predetermined range, the first calculation means and the second calculation means are switched. 11. The item selection device according to claim 10, further comprising means for operating the device. The candidate selecting means includes
Means for storing first and second sets each including a plurality of items as elements;
A set selection means for selecting one of the first set and the second set in response to a series of position information obtained from the position information output device satisfying a predetermined condition;
2. A means for selecting one of a plurality of items constituting a set selected by the set selection means as a selection candidate as a function of the movement distance calculated by the distance calculation means. The item selection device according to claim 11. The means for selecting is
An encoding means for encoding the moving direction of the designated location with a predetermined code based on the position information obtained from the position information output device;
One of the first set and the second set is determined in response to a change amount of the consecutive codes among the codes encoded by the encoding means being in a predetermined range. 13. The item selection device according to claim 12, comprising means for alternately selecting. The display device further includes means for displaying a plurality of items that are elements of a predetermined set on a predetermined display position on the display by the display device, and each of the plurality of items is a set of predetermined selection items. On behalf of
The candidate selecting means includes
In response to the fact that the position information is obtained from the position information output device, the item corresponding to the position designated on the display by the display device among the plurality of items based on the position information. Item identification means for identifying
Means for selecting one of a plurality of selection items constituting a set represented by the item specified by the item specifying unit as a function of the moving distance calculated by the distance calculating unit; The item selection apparatus in any one of Claims 1-13. The plurality of items are representative characters each representing a predetermined character set,
In response to the fact that the position information can be obtained from the position information output device, the item specifying means designates the plurality of representative characters on the display by the display device based on the position information. Means for identifying representative characters corresponding to the marked position,
The means for selecting includes one of a plurality of characters constituting a character set represented by the representative character specified by the item specifying means as a function of the movement distance calculated by the distance calculating means. 15. An item selection device according to claim 14, comprising means for selecting. An order is assigned in advance to the plurality of items constituting the predetermined set,
The candidate selection means includes means for selecting, as selection candidates, items in an order corresponding to a quotient obtained by dividing the movement distance calculated by the distance calculation means by a predetermined fixed length. Item selection apparatus in any one of. A plurality of items constituting the predetermined set are preliminarily assigned different predetermined threshold values,
The candidate selecting means compares the moving distance calculated by the distance calculating means with a threshold value assigned to the plurality of items, and the largest threshold value among the threshold values smaller than the moving distance is determined. The item selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising means for selecting an assigned item as a selection candidate. An encoding means for encoding the moving direction of the designated location with a predetermined code based on the position information obtained from the position information output device;
Means for disabling the candidate selection means and the means for outputting in response to the latest fixed period code encoded by the encoding means satisfying a predetermined condition;
16. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for activating the candidate selecting means and the means for outputting in response to the position information not being obtained from the position information output device. Item selection apparatus in any one of. The item selection device according to claim 1, further comprising function execution means for executing a function corresponding to the information in response to information output by the means for outputting. . When a display device and an arbitrary place on the display device are designated, position information indicating the designated place is output, and when the designation is released, position information output having a function of stopping the output of the position information is output. A display device-integrated touch panel that operates as a device;
The item selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 19, which is set to be used together with the display device integrated panel,
And an information processing means for performing information processing using the information output from the item selection device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the information processing apparatus is a mobile phone. When a display device and an arbitrary place on the display device are designated, position information indicating the designated place is output, and when the designation is released, position information output having a function of stopping the output of the position information is output. A computer program that, when executed by a computer connected to a device, causes the computer to operate as the item selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 19. A computer-readable recording medium on which the computer program according to claim 22 is recorded.

Images