JP2009295066A - Information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus that effectively performs character conversion processing, by reducing the load for selecting the words to be converted from among candidate words and the number of operations required in selection. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus includes: an input means to input a character string; a storage means for storing the candidate words associated with the character string to be input by the input means, while associating the words with the character string to be input; an output means to retrieve and output the words associated with the character string that is input by the input means among the words stored by the storage means, responding to the input of the character string by the input means; and a selection means for selecting a single word from among the words that are output by the output means. The output means retrieves and outputs the words that include the words selected by the selection means at the beginning of the words by the storage means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus that performs character conversion processing.

  Character conversion processing typified by kana-kanji conversion is widely used not only in word processors and personal computers but also in information processing apparatuses including cellular phones. In particular, in the case of a mobile phone, it is difficult to provide a large number of character input keys due to size restrictions, so that a method of inputting different characters depending on the number of times the same character input key is pressed is often used.

  Conventionally, there has been known an information processing apparatus capable of smoothly performing a character conversion process for converting a kana character input by such a method of inputting characters into a Chinese character (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In this information processing apparatus, conversion candidate dictionaries in which conversion candidates of words corresponding to character strings representing readings of words are stored in advance, and information on words and phrases finally obtained from input character strings are accumulated by a learning function. A prediction candidate dictionary stored in advance. This information processing apparatus searches and displays a conversion candidate from the conversion candidate dictionary for the first time when a prediction candidate corresponding to the input character string is not searched from the prediction candidate dictionary, so that smooth operation is not hindered. The display amount can be prevented from becoming excessive.
JP 2006-227819 A

  The information processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1 can suitably search and display conversion candidates for character conversion from prediction candidates and conversion candidates. For this reason, when the word or phrase desired to be converted is included in the prediction candidates and conversion candidates displayed on the screen, the conversion process can be suitably performed by inputting a minimum character string.

  However, if the word or phrase desired to be converted is not included in the candidate, it is necessary to scroll the screen until the word or phrase desired to be converted is displayed in the candidate. Alternatively, it is necessary to give up the conversion of words by selecting from the candidates and to input a character string that follows the input character string, and to perform character conversion processing by pressing a character input key.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and efficiently performs character conversion processing by reducing the burden of selecting a word / phrase to be converted from candidates and the number of operations required for selection. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus that can perform the above processing.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention can input an input unit that inputs a character string and a word / phrase candidate associated with the character string that can be input from the input unit. Corresponding to the character string input by the input means among the words and phrases stored in the storage means in response to the storage means stored in association with the character string and the input of the character string by the input means Output means for searching and outputting the attached phrase, and selection means for selecting one word from the words output by the output means, wherein the output means includes the word selected by the selection means Are retrieved from the storage means and output.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention can efficiently perform character conversion processing by reducing the burden of selecting a word / phrase to be converted from candidates and the number of operations required for selection.

  An embodiment of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a foldable mobile phone which is an example of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1A shows an external configuration of the mobile phone 1 as viewed from the front when the mobile phone 1 is opened at about 180 degrees. FIG. 1B shows a configuration of an appearance viewed from the side when the mobile phone 1 is in an open state.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the mobile phone 1 includes a first casing 12 and a second casing 13 that are hinge-coupled with a central hinge portion 11 as a boundary. It is formed so as to be foldable in the direction of the arrow X via the part 11. A transmitting / receiving antenna is provided at a predetermined position inside the mobile phone 1, and radio waves are transmitted / received to / from a base station (not shown) via the built-in antenna.

  The first casing 12 is provided with operation keys 14 as input means on the surface thereof. The operation key 14 includes a cross key 15, a confirmation key 16, a character input key 18, and a soft key 19. On the top of the first housing 12, a cross key 15 and a confirmation key 16 are provided. The cross key 15 is provided with four keys in the up / down / left / right directions, and the cursor displayed on the main display 20 can be moved in the up / down / left / right directions by operating in the up / down / left / right directions. Specifically, the cursor position on the character input screen displayed on the main display 20 provided in the second casing 13, the scrolling operation of the phone book list and e-mail, the page turning operation of the simple homepage, and the image sending operation Various operations such as are executed. In the present embodiment, the cross key 15 functions as selection means.

  Various functions can be confirmed by pressing the confirmation key 16. For example, in the first housing 12, a desired phone number is selected from a plurality of phone numbers in the phone book list displayed on the main display 20 in response to an operation of the cross key 15 by the user, and the confirmation key is the first key. When the key is pressed in the inner direction of the case 12, the selected telephone number is confirmed and the calling process is performed on the telephone number. The confirmation key 16 is also assigned the process displayed on the confirmation key function display unit 20a provided at the lower part of the main display 20.

  Soft keys 19 are provided in the left and right direction of the cross key 15. The soft key 19 is also assigned a process displayed on the soft key function display unit 20 b displayed on the main display 20. In the present embodiment, the soft key 19 functions as a selection unit and a key that receives an instruction to execute a narrow search based on a phrase selected by operating the cross key 15.

  Below the cross key 15, character input keys 18 (character input keys 18a to 18j) are provided. The character input keys 18 are assigned numbers “0” to “9”, symbols such as Japanese syllabary, “,”, “.”, Etc., and are used for character input. The character input key 18a is assigned a character input such as the number “0” or the Japanese syllabary “wa line”. The character input key 18b is assigned a character input such as a number “1” or a Japanese syllabary “A line”. In addition, the character input key 18c is assigned character input such as the numeral “2” or the Japanese syllabary “ka line”. Note that the character input keys 18d to 18j are also assigned to each of the 50-syllable lines and alphanumeric character inputs similarly expressed.

  The first casing 12 is provided with a side key 21 for operating the mobile phone 1. The side key 21 is assigned a predetermined process that is executed when the mobile phone 1 is pressed toward the inside of the first housing 12 when the mobile phone 1 is in the open state and the closed state.

  The first casing 12 is provided with a microphone 22 below the operation keys 14, and the microphone 22 collects the user's voice during a call.

  The first casing 12 has a battery pack (not shown) inserted on the back side, and when the end call / power key is turned on, power is supplied from the battery pack to each circuit unit. Start in a possible state.

  On the other hand, the second housing 13 is provided with a main display 20 on the front surface thereof. The main display 20 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display, an inorganic EL (Inorganic ElectroLuminescence) display, a SED (Surface-Condition Electron Display), or the like.

  On the main display 20, in addition to the reception status of the radio wave, the remaining battery level, the destination name and telephone number registered as a telephone directory, the transmission history, etc., the contents of the e-mail, a simple homepage, an external content server (not shown) )) The received content etc. is displayed. In addition, a confirmation key function display unit 20a and a soft key function display unit 20b are provided at the lower part of the main display 20, and display predetermined processes assigned to the confirmation key 16 and the soft key 19 according to the activated application. To do.

  A receiver (receiver) 23 is provided at a predetermined position on the upper part of the main display 20 so that the user can make a voice call. Note that a speaker (not shown) as an audio output unit other than the receiver 23 is also provided at a predetermined position of the mobile phone 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another external configuration of a foldable mobile phone which is an example of the mobile phone according to the present invention. The mobile phone 1 in FIG. 2 is in a closed state rotated from the state of the mobile phone 1 in FIG. 2A shows an external configuration viewed from the front when the mobile phone 1 is in a closed state, and FIG. 2B shows the configuration viewed from the side when the mobile phone 1 is in a closed state. The structure of the appearance is shown.

  The second housing 13 is provided with a sub-display 24 constituted by, for example, an LCD, an antenna picture showing the current antenna sensitivity level, a battery picture showing the current battery level of the mobile phone 1, The current time is displayed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the mobile phone according to the present embodiment. The mobile phone 1 is configured by connecting a main control unit 30, a power supply circuit unit 31, an input control unit 32, a display control unit 33, a storage unit 34, a voice control unit 35, and a communication control unit 36 so that they can communicate with each other via a bus. Is done.

  The main control unit 30 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The CPU comprehensively controls the mobile phone 1 by generating various control signals and supplying them to each unit. The CPU performs, for example, an input control process for an input received from the operation key 14 or the like, and various other arithmetic processes and control processes. In the present embodiment, the main control unit 30 functions as output means.

  The power supply circuit unit 31 switches the power supply ON / OFF state based on, for example, an input received from the operation key 14 by the user. When the power supply is ON, the power supply circuit unit 31 supplies power to each unit from a power supply source (battery pack or the like). The mobile phone 1 is made operable.

  The input control unit 32 includes an input interface for the operation keys 14 and the side keys 21. When detecting that the operation key 14 or the side key 21 is pressed, the input control unit 32 generates a signal indicating the pressed operation key 14 or the side key 21 and transmits the signal to the main control unit 30.

  The display control unit 33 includes a display interface for the main display 20 and the sub display 24, and displays display information including documents and images on the main display 20 and the sub display 24 based on the control of the main control unit 30.

  The storage unit 34 is used when a processing program of the processing performed by the main control unit 30 and a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores data necessary for the processing, a hard disk, a nonvolatile memory, and the main control unit 30 perform processing. RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores data to be stored. The storage unit 34 stores various applications such as an e-mail function executed by the CPU of the main control unit 30 and various data groups.

  The storage unit 34 functions as a storage unit in this embodiment. The storage unit 34 is provided with a prediction candidate storage unit 40 that stores words / phrases as prediction candidates used in the character conversion process executed by the mobile phone 1.

  The sound control unit 35 generates an analog sound signal from the sound collected by the microphone 22 based on the control of the main control unit 30, and converts the analog sound signal into a digital sound signal. In addition, when acquiring the digital audio signal, the audio control unit 35 converts the digital audio signal into an analog audio signal based on the control of the main control unit 30, and outputs the analog audio signal as audio from the receiver 23.

  Based on the control of the main control unit 30, the communication control unit 36 performs spectrum despreading processing on the received signal received from the base station (not shown) via the antenna 38 to restore the data. This data is transmitted to the voice control unit 35 and output from the receiver 23 according to an instruction from the main control unit 30, transmitted to the display control unit 33 and displayed on the main display 20, or recorded in the storage unit 34. Or In addition, the communication control unit 36 acquires voice data collected by the microphone 22, data input via the operation keys 14, and data stored in the storage unit 34 based on the control of the main control unit 30. These data are subjected to spread spectrum processing and transmitted to the base station via the antenna 38.

  Here, the prediction candidate memory | storage part 40 provided in the memory | storage part 34 of the mobile telephone 1 is demonstrated.

  The mobile phone 1 accepts input of a character string via the character input key 18 of the operation key 14 when inputting characters such as when creating the contents of an e-mail. For example, when inputting a kana character with the character input key 18, "A" when the character input key 18b is pressed once, "Yes" when pressed twice, "U" when pressed three times, "U" when pressed four times, "E" If it is pressed 5 times, “o” is input, if it is pressed 6 times, “a” is input, and if “ぉ” is input thereafter, “a” is input.

  After a character string representing the reading of a phrase is input using such an input method, a character conversion process is performed. In the character conversion process, when a conversion instruction is input from a predetermined operation key 14, the input character string is divided into appropriate units such as one word or one phrase, and kanji or kana or kanji or kana is used in that unit. Is converted to a word composed of only A predictive conversion function is provided to perform the character conversion process with a small number of operations. This predictive conversion function is a function for displaying a word candidate predicted from a character string representing the reading of a word as a prediction candidate, and performing character conversion by selecting a word to be converted from the prediction candidate.

  When a plurality of prediction candidates for a word corresponding to the character string are searched, the plurality of candidates are displayed on the main display 20 of the mobile phone 1. Further, by operating the cross key 15, the cursor displayed on the main display 20 can be moved to select a word / phrase to be converted and confirm the conversion of the character string.

  Prediction candidates as candidate words to be converted are registered in advance in the prediction candidate storage unit 40 provided in the storage unit 34. In the prediction candidate storage unit 40, a word string formed including a character string or a character string derived from the character string is registered. In addition, the prediction candidate storage unit 40 stores words or phrases that are selected as defaults because they are generally used or words that are acquired as a result of learning in association with character strings.

  Here, “prediction” means that when a character string is input, a word / phrase stored in association with the character string is searched from the prediction candidate storage unit 40.

  The “character string derived from the character string” refers to a character string obtained by pressing the character input key related to the last character of the character string. For example, the character input key related to the last character of the character string “Kiya” which is a character string obtained by pressing the character input key 18c twice and then pressing the character input key 18i once. Reference numeral 18 denotes a character input key 18i to which character input of “Ya” is assigned. When the character input key 18i is pressed repeatedly, the character strings obtained are “kiyu”, “kiyo”, “ki”, “kyu”, and “ki”. These character strings Corresponds to “a character string derived from a character string”. For this reason, when the character string "Kiya" is entered, the words formed including the character string "Kiya", and the strings "Kiyu" and "Kiyo" derived from the character string "Kiya", etc. “Today”, “Customer”, “Terms”, “Relax”, and the like that are formed including “” are predicted from the prediction candidate storage unit 40 and displayed.

  Here, a conventional character conversion process using the predictive conversion function will be described. As an example, description will be made by applying to a case where a character string “red” input by pressing a character input key is converted to “red dot”.

  When the character string “red” is input by pressing the character input key, the prediction candidates retrieved from the prediction candidate storage unit are “1. Red, 2. Red, 3. Autumn, 4. Free, 5. Bright, 6. Red, 7. Red, 8. Baby, 9. Dawn, ..., 33. Covered, 34. Account, 35. Red, 36. Red, 37. Red, ... " Suppose that

  As for these prediction candidates, a predetermined number, for example, eight words from “red” to “baby” searched for first to eighth are displayed as prediction candidates in a display area provided on the main display. In addition, the prediction candidates after “dawn” searched for in the ninth can be appropriately displayed by eight (not limited to this number) by scroll operation using the cross key.

  In order to select “red dot”, which is a word that the user wants to convert from among these prediction candidates, the user expects that “red dot” is included in the prediction candidate, and “red dot” is displayed. There is a method in which the scroll operation is repeated until it is displayed, and the conversion is selected and displayed at the time of display.

  When this method is adopted, the “red dot” is displayed by, for example, performing a scroll operation by pressing the down cross key 36 times until the “red dot” which is the 36th displayed phrase is displayed. Can be selected.

  In addition, since “red dots” are not included in the eight prediction candidates “red” to “baby” displayed after the input of the character string “red”, the character string “red” is used to further narrow down the prediction candidates. There is a method of inputting “ten” which is a character string following “.”.

  When this method is adopted, the character input key to which the character input “Ta Line” is assigned is pressed four times, and then the character input key to which the character input “Wa Line” is assigned is pressed three times. The operation is performed. Thereafter, the phrase associated with the character string “Akaten” is retrieved from the prediction candidate storage unit 40 as a prediction candidate and displayed. The user can select a “red point” from the prediction candidates narrowed down by inputting the character string “point”.

  In such a conventional character conversion process, it is necessary to visually find and select a word or phrase desired to be converted from the displayed prediction candidates. For this reason, depending on the input character string, it is necessary to visually select a phrase to be converted from among a large number of prediction candidates, and the selection operation has been a heavy burden. In addition, if the word you want to convert is not found in the prediction candidates, you will need to input an additional character string that follows the character string that has already been input, and the predictive conversion function has not been fully demonstrated. It was.

  On the other hand, the mobile phone 1 in the present embodiment can efficiently perform the character conversion process by including the narrowing down prediction function.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a character conversion process executed based on the process of the control unit of the mobile phone according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of the main display when the character conversion process is executed.

  This character conversion process is executed after a character string is input, for example, when inputting characters such as when creating the contents of an e-mail. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a display example of the main display 20 at the time of starting up the creation screen of the content of the e-mail. On the input character display section 20c provided on the main display 20, a cursor 41 representing the character input position is displayed. The position of the cursor 41 shown in FIG. 5A is an initial position when inputting characters. When the cross key 15 is pressed down in the vertical and horizontal directions, the cursor 41 moves in the vertical and horizontal directions. When the enter key 16 is pressed, a process for ending the character input, which is a process assigned to “◎ OK” displayed on the enter key function display unit 20a, is assigned. In the upper part of the input character display portion 20c, the capacity of characters that can be input and the capacity of characters that are currently input are displayed, such as “00000/30000”.

  In step S <b> 1, the main control unit 30 accepts input of a character string via the character input key 18. The main control unit 30 accepts an input by pressing the character input key 18 to which the kana of kana is assigned. For example, the input of the character string “Aka” is accepted when the character input key 18b and the character input key 18c are sequentially pressed once.

  In step S2, the main control unit 30 searches the prediction candidate storage unit 40 for a word registered in association with the character string received in the input receiving step S1 as a prediction candidate.

  In step S <b> 3, the main control unit 30 determines whether or not a word as a prediction candidate associated with the character string exists as a result of searching the prediction candidate storage unit 40. When one or more words are searched and it is determined that there is a prediction candidate, the main control unit 30 displays the prediction candidate on the main display 20 in step S4.

  FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a display example of prediction candidates when an input of the character string “red” is received. The input character display portion 20c displays the character string “red” that has been accepted. A prediction candidate display unit 20d is provided below the input character display unit 20c, and the searched prediction candidates are displayed.

  When the input of the character string “red” is received, the main control unit 30 searches the prediction candidate storage unit 40 for a prediction candidate associated with the character string “red”. The main control unit 30 selects, for example, prediction candidates “1. Red, 2. Red, 3. Autumn, 4. Empty, 5. Bright, 6. Red, 7. Red, 8. Baby, 9. Dawn,. , 33. Covered with dirt, 34. Account, 35. Red, 36. Red dot, 37. Red letter, and so on.

  Predictive words associated with the string “red” are “red”, “red”, “bright”, “red”, “red”, “baby”, etc. Is obtained. In addition, words such as “autumn” and “empty” that are formed by including a character string derived from the character string “red” are displayed. These words as prediction candidates are predicted to have a high possibility of being converted based on a character string that has been input and a word or phrase selected as a default because it is frequently used or a word or phrase obtained as a result of learning. Displayed in order.

  The main control unit 30 displays a predetermined number, for example, eight prediction candidates from “red” to “baby” searched for first to eighth at a time on the prediction candidate display unit 20d. Further, after “dawn” searched for after the ninth, it can be displayed by a scroll operation using the cross key 15.

  If it is determined in the candidate presence / absence determination step S3 that there is no prediction candidate associated with the input character string, the process proceeds to the selection / determination determination step S7.

  In step S <b> 5, the main control unit 30 determines whether or not an instruction for executing narrowed-down prediction based on the prediction candidate has been received. The execution instruction of the narrowing down prediction is a soft key to which the execution of the narrowing down prediction is assigned after the cursor 41 is moved to one word / phrase from among the prediction candidates by pressing the cross key 15 in the vertical and horizontal directions as appropriate. It is accepted when 19 is pressed.

  FIG. 5C shows a display example of the main display 20 when the cross key 15 is pressed downward from the state shown in FIG. 5B and the cursor 41 is set to “red” among the prediction candidates. FIG. At this time, the cursor 41 is moved by pressing the cross key 15 in the vertical and horizontal directions as appropriate, and the desired word / phrase can be selected by moving the cursor 41. At this time, the character string displayed on the input character display unit 20c is temporarily converted into a word / phrase to which the cursor 41 is placed and displayed.

  The soft key function display unit 20b displays “narrowing prediction” that is a process assigned when the corresponding soft key 19 is pressed.

  If the main control unit 30 determines that it has not received an execution instruction for narrowing down prediction, the process proceeds to a selection / determination determination step S7.

  On the other hand, if the main control unit 30 determines that the execution instruction for the narrowed-down prediction has been received, the main control unit 30 executes the narrowed-down prediction and displays the narrowed-down prediction candidates on the main display 20 in step S6. The narrowed-down prediction is performed by searching the prediction candidate storage unit 40 for a word formed by including one word / phrase selected from the prediction candidates acquired in the prediction candidate search step S2 at the beginning of the word.

  For example, when an instruction to execute refined prediction is given in a state where “red” displayed on the prediction candidate display unit 20d in FIG. 5C is selected from prediction candidates corresponding to the character string “red”, The main control unit 30 searches the prediction candidate storage unit 40 for words formed by including “red” at the beginning of the word.

  FIG. 5D is a diagram illustrating a display example when the search result of the narrowed prediction is displayed on the prediction candidate display unit 20d of the main display 20 as a prediction candidate. The main control unit 30 displays the words / phrases formed by including “red” at the beginning of the already searched prediction candidates among the words / phrases stored in the prediction candidate storage unit 40 as narrowed prediction candidates. Prediction candidates are words formed with "red" at the beginning such as "red", "red", "red", "baby", "red dot", "red hair", "Akasaka", "Akabane" Is applicable.

  The main control unit 30 displays a predetermined number, for example, eight narrowed prediction candidates at a time on the prediction candidate display unit 20d. When there are eight or more narrowed prediction candidates, the cursor 41 is moved by scroll operation using the cross key 15 and displayed in order of eight. When the narrowed-down prediction candidates are displayed, the cursor 41 is matched with the prediction candidate displayed at the head. In FIG. 5D, it is set to “red” which is the prediction candidate displayed at the top.

  In step S7, the main control unit 30 determines whether or not one word / phrase is selected and confirmed from the prediction candidates displayed on the prediction candidate display unit 20d. The phrase is selected by operating the cross key 15 in the up / down / left / right directions to move the cursor 41 to the word / phrase to be converted from the prediction candidates displayed on the prediction candidate display section 20d, and then press the enter key 16 This is done by pressing.

  FIG. 5 (E) shows a display example of the main display 20 when the cross key 15 is pressed rightward from the state of FIG. 5 (D) and the cursor 41 is placed on the “red dot” of the prediction candidates. FIG. At this time, when the confirmation key 16 to which the conversion confirmation process is assigned is pressed, the control unit 30 confirms the character conversion of the character string. FIG. 5F is a diagram illustrating a display example of the main display 20 when the character string “red” is converted into the phrase “red dot”. In the input character display portion 20c, a “red dot” that is a confirmed phrase is displayed. The cursor 41 is displayed at the character input position following the “red dot” in the input character display portion 20c.

  On the other hand, when the confirmation process is not performed after the phrase is selected from the prediction candidates, such as when the displayed prediction candidate does not include the phrase that is desired to be converted, the process returns to the character string input step S1, and the character When the input of the column is accepted, the subsequent processing is repeated. This completes the character conversion process. This character conversion process is repeatedly executed when a character input is accepted.

  In the narrowed down prediction execution / display step S6, when the search result of the narrowed down prediction is displayed as shown in FIGS. 5D and 5E, a predetermined key such as a clear key among the operation keys 14 is displayed. When pressed, a prediction candidate for which the narrowed-down prediction displayed in the prediction candidate display step S4 has not been executed may be displayed. That is, the prediction candidate when the input of the character string “Aka” shown in FIG. 5B is accepted can be displayed, or a desired word or phrase can be selected from the prediction candidates shown in FIG. It may be configured.

  According to the mobile phone 1, it is possible to reduce a burden of visually searching for a word / phrase to be converted from words / phrases displayed as prediction candidates. In other words, even if the candidate for conversion is not included in the prediction candidates, it is possible to select the word that forms the beginning of the word that wants to be converted and execute the narrowed down prediction, so that the number of operations can be reduced. A desired word / phrase can be selected and a character conversion process can be executed.

  In this character conversion process, when there are a large number of prediction candidates retrieved from the prediction candidate storage unit 40, which are words associated with the input character string, the words that are desired to be converted with a particularly small number of operations. This is effective in that it can be converted.

  In the execution instruction determination step S5, when the narrowing prediction is executed by selecting a word that forms the beginning of the word from the prediction candidates displayed on the prediction candidate display unit 20d, the narrowing prediction is performed with the cursor 41 being set. The execution instruction is accepted by pressing the soft key 19 to which execution is assigned. However, the execution instruction is not limited to this, and when the cursor 41 is placed on a word in the prediction candidate for a predetermined time, the execution instruction for narrowing down prediction is executed. May be considered accepted.

  Alternatively, the character input may be performed by a so-called two-touch method in which characters are input by sequentially pressing two numbers assigned to the character input key 18 in combination.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention has been described as applied to the mobile phone 1, but a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a personal computer, a portable game machine, a portable music player, a portable type The present invention can also be applied to a video player and other information processing apparatus having a character input function.

  Furthermore, the series of processes described in the present embodiment can be executed by software, but can also be executed by hardware.

  In the present embodiment, the steps of the flowchart show examples of processing that is performed in time series in the order described, but the processing that is executed in parallel or individually is not necessarily performed in time series. Is also included.

The figure which shows the structure of the external appearance of the foldable mobile telephone which is an example of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the other external appearance of the foldable mobile telephone which is an example of the mobile telephone which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the structure inside the mobile telephone in this embodiment. The flowchart explaining the character conversion process performed based on the process of the control part of the mobile telephone in this embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a display of the main display at the time of execution of a character conversion process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile telephone 11 Hinge part 12 1st housing | casing 13 2nd housing | casing 14 Operation key 15 Cross key 16 Confirmation key 17 Clear key 18 Character input key 19 Soft key 20 Main display 20a Confirmation key function display part 20b Soft key function Display unit 20c Input character display unit 20d Prediction candidate display unit 21 Side key 22 Microphone 23 Receiver 24 Sub display 30 Main control unit 31 Power supply circuit unit 32 Input control unit 33 Display control unit 34 Storage unit 35 Voice control unit 36 Communication control unit 38 Antenna 40 Prediction candidate storage unit 41 Cursor

Claims (4)

An input means for inputting a character string;
Storage means for storing a word / phrase candidate associated with a character string that can be input from the input means in association with the character string that can be input;
An output means for searching for and outputting a phrase associated with the character string input by the input means from words stored in the storage means in response to input of a character string by the input means; ,
Selecting means for selecting one word from the words output by the output means;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit searches the storage unit for a word including the word selected by the selection unit at the beginning of the word and outputs the word. 2. The storage unit further stores word candidates predicted from a character string that can be input from the input unit as prediction candidates associated with the character string that can be input. The information processing apparatus described. The input means includes one or more character input keys, and is configured to be able to input different characters depending on the number of times one of the character input keys is pressed,
The phrase predicted from the input character string is a character string obtained by pressing the input character string or one of the character input keys related to the last character of the input character string a plurality of times. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information processing apparatus is included. An input means having a plurality of keys including a character input key for inputting a character string;
Storage means for storing candidate words associated with the character string;
Output means for searching for and outputting a phrase associated with the character string input by the input means from words stored in the storage means in response to the input of a character string by the character input key When,
Selecting means for selecting one word from the words output by the output means,
The output means searches the storage means for a word including the word selected by the selection means at the beginning in response to a predetermined instruction being input by a key different from the key to which the character string is input. An information processing apparatus characterized in that the information is output.

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