JP2014039215A - Character input device, character input method, character input program and program recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the trouble of inputting text with mixed character types with the use of a touch panel.SOLUTION: Twelve soft keys 16 for selecting ten characters with a vowel /a/ are set in a lower middle of a display screen 15 of the touch panel, and an input guide part 17 for guiding the direction of the next operation on the twelve soft keys 16 is set near the character selected on the twelve soft keys 16. The input guide part 17 comprises a cross guide button part 17a for guiding the direction of a slide operation in inputting five characters having the same consonant as the selected character, and character type changeover guide buttons 17b-17e set to the upper right, lower right, upper left and lower left of the center guide button of the cross guide button part 17a, respectively, to change the character type of input characters. A finger stroke between the character input from the twelve soft keys 16 and the character type changeover becomes shorter to reduce the trouble of input.

Description

  The present invention relates to a character input device that inputs characters using a touch panel, a character input method, a character input program, and a program recording medium.

  As a character input device for inputting characters using a soft keyboard on a touch panel, an input device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-233051 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-84086 (Patent Document 2) are disclosed. There are portable electronic devices.

  In the above input device, when the character “ka” is touched and selected in the first area on the touch panel in the state where, for example, the Japanese syllabary “Akasana Hamayawa” is displayed, A second area indicating “Kakikakeko” in an arc shape is developed (displayed) above the selected character in the first area. Further, a third area indicating “turbidity” is developed (displayed) in the vicinity of the character “ka”.

  Then, when the third area indicating “turbid point” is touched, the display of the second area is changed to “Gagugugogo”.

  In the portable electronic device, when the Kana character “NA” displayed in the first input candidate is long pressed for T1 or more, the contact character “NA” and the first character are displayed. A second input candidate “NA, NAN, NE, NO” of the related character type (kana characters having the same consonant) is displayed. Furthermore, if the contact character “NA” is continuously pressed for T2 or more, the third character type (number or other character assigned to the same key) having the second relationship with the contact character “NA” is displayed. The input candidates “5, J, K, L” are displayed in a circle centered on the contact character “NA”.

  That is, any of the above-described conventional character input devices for inputting characters using a soft keyboard relates to a switching operation method of character types (Hiragana, Katakana, alphanumeric characters, etc.) when inputting characters. When the kana character in the first input candidate displayed in the first area is selected, the same group of the same character type is displayed as the second input candidate in the second area near the first area, A touch area for switching to another character type is displayed in a third area different from the second area. Then, by touching the third area to change the character type of the input candidate character, it is easy to input a character of a character type different from the character type of the current character input mode.

  In that case, in the input device of Patent Document 1, the second region of the same group of the same character type is displayed above the first input candidate kana character touched first, and the third region is It is displayed on the lower side of the first touched kana character.

  On the other hand, in the portable electronic device of Patent Document 2, the second area of the same group of the same character type around the first touched kana character around the first input candidate kana character touched first. Is displayed in a rectangle, and the third region is displayed in a circle outside the rectangle.

  However, the conventional input device for inputting characters using the soft keyboard has the following problems.

  That is, in the input device of Patent Document 1, the input candidate “ka, ki, k, ke, ko” is displayed at the upper and lower positions across the selected character of the first area touched first. A selection button for the second area and a character type switching button indicating “dakuten” in the third area are arranged. The character type of the selected character is set by touching the selection button and the character type switching button. Therefore, there is a problem that the distance between the selection button and the character type switching button is long, and the movement amount of the finger to be touched is increased, which is troublesome.

  Further, in the portable electronic device of Patent Document 2, the second input indicating “ka, ki, k, ke, ko” around the first input candidate kana character touched first. An area selection button is arranged, and the character type switching button of the third area is arranged in a circle outside the area selection button. Therefore, as in the case of the input device, there is a problem that the amount of movement of the finger to be touched becomes large and time-consuming. Further, since the character type switching button is displayed outside the selection button, there is a problem that a space for displaying the character type switching button becomes large.

  As described above, the distance between the character selection button and the character type switching button is long, and the movement amount of the finger to be touched increases and takes time, which is decisive in a portable terminal device that performs finger operation with one hand. It is disadvantageous and it becomes a very big problem.

  Further, in any case, when the soft keyboard is arranged at the end (lower end) of the LCD (liquid crystal) display screen, there is a problem that the displayable area of the LCD (liquid crystal) display screen protrudes as it is. .

JP 2011-233051 A JP 2012-84086 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a character input device, a character input method, a character input program, and a program recording medium that can reduce the trouble of inputting a text of mixed character types using a touch panel.

In order to solve the above problems, a character input device according to the present invention provides:
A touch panel having a display function and an input function;
Character input soft key part setting means for setting a character input soft key part composed of a plurality of soft keys for selecting any of the first character strings arranged in a predetermined order on the touch panel;
An input for setting an input guide unit including a plurality of guide buttons for guiding a next operation direction with respect to the character input soft key unit in the vicinity of the selected character selected by the character input soft key unit on the touch panel. A guide setting means;
Based on the guide button of the input guide unit, the operation content for the character input soft key unit is determined, and the function and display of each soft key in the character input soft key unit are determined according to the determination result of the operation content. And control means for switching and controlling the display of each guide button in the input guide unit,
The above input guide part
A plurality of guide buttons for guiding the direction of the slide operation when inputting any one of the character types having the same character type as the selected character and having a specific relationship with the selected character are centered on the selected character. Cross-shaped guide button parts arranged in a letter shape,
Adjacent to the center guide button in the cross-shaped guide button section, any of the upper right of the center guide button, the lower right of the center guide button, the upper left of the center guide button, or the lower left of the center guide button A character type switching guide button for guiding the direction of a slide operation when the character type of the character input from the character input soft key part is switched to another character type. It is characterized by being.

According to the above configuration, the input guide unit for guiding the next operation direction for the character input soft key unit is set near the selected character selected by the character input soft key unit on the touch panel. . And the input guide part is
A plurality of guide buttons for guiding the direction of the slide operation when inputting any one of the character types having the same character type as the selected character and having a specific relationship with the selected character are centered on the selected character. Cross-shaped guide button parts arranged in a letter shape,
Adjacent to the center guide button in the cross-shaped guide button section, any of the upper right of the center guide button, the lower right of the center guide button, the upper left of the center guide button, or the lower left of the center guide button A character type switching guide button for guiding the direction of a slide operation when the character type of the character input from the character input soft key part is switched to another character type. Yes.

  Therefore, regardless of the current character input mode, after touching the finger to the character input soft key portion, the user can simply slide the finger according to the guidance by the guide button of the input guide portion from the touched position. Can be selected and the input character type can be switched, and the amount of finger movement between inputting a character and switching the character type of the input character is small, and the input effort can be reduced.

  Further, the input guide unit includes a cross-shaped guide button portion in which a plurality of guide buttons are arranged in a cross shape, an upper right of the center guide button in the cross-shaped guide button portion, a lower right of the center guide button, Since it is composed of a guide button arranged at either the upper left of the center guide button or the lower left of the center guide button, the size of the input guide part is the height of the cross-shaped guide button part and It becomes the same height and width as the width. Therefore, the input guide part can be configured in a compact manner, and the space occupied on the touch panel can be reduced.

In the character input device of one embodiment,
The selection of the input character and the selection of the switching character type by the soft key portion for character input is the same as the direction from the center guide button to the guide button of the target character or character type in the cross-shaped guide button portion of the input guide portion. In the direction, it is performed when a slide operation is performed on the soft key portion for character input.

  According to this embodiment, when an input character is selected by the character input soft key portion, the direction from the central soft key in the cross-shaped guide button portion toward the guide button of the target character is used as a guide. The finger is slid up / down / left / right on the soft key portion for character input. On the other hand, when the switching character type is selected by the character input soft key unit, the character input is performed using the direction from the center guide button toward the guide button of the target character type as a guide in the cross-shaped guide button unit. The finger is slid in an oblique direction on the soft key portion.

  Therefore, the selection of the input character and the selection of the switching character type can be distinguished by the direction in which the finger is slid on the character input soft key section, and the erroneous operation due to the sliding operation in the wrong direction can be reduced.

In the character input device of one embodiment,
When the switching character type is selected by the character input soft key portion, the control means functions and displays each soft key in the character input soft key portion, and in the cross-shaped guide button portion. The display of each guide button is switched according to the selected character type.

  According to this embodiment, the function and display of each soft key in the character input soft key section and the display of each guide button in the cross-shaped guide button section are selected by the character input soft key section. The character type of the character selected from the character input soft key portion and the character guided by the cross-shaped guide button portion can be switched at the same time. Character input can be performed promptly.

In the character input device of one embodiment,
The input guide unit setting means resets the character type switching guide button according to the selected character type when the switching character type is selected by the character input soft key unit. Yes.

  The character type that can be switched next is determined by the character displayed on the soft key portion for character input and the character type. For example, the character “sa” cannot be switched to semi-voiced sound.

  According to this embodiment, since the character type switching guide button is reset according to the selected character type, the character currently displayed on the character input soft key portion when the next switching character type is selected. It is possible to prevent erroneous switching to a character type that is not set for.

In the character input device of one embodiment,
The input guide section setting means is set on the edge side of the display screen in the input guide section when the soft key located at the edge of the display screen in the character input soft key section is selected. When there is a character type switching guide button, a character type switching guide button different from the character type switching guide button for switching to the same character type as the character type switching guide button is set at a position different from the character type switching guide button. It has become.

  According to this embodiment, it is not necessary to forcibly slide to the edge side with respect to the soft keys of the character input soft key section which are difficult to operate because they are located on the edge of the display screen. Using the character type switching guide button set at a different position from the character type switching guide button as a guide, by performing a slide operation in the direction that is easy to operate on the above-mentioned character input soft key unit, the same character type as the character type switching guide button is obtained. Can be switched.

In the character input device of one embodiment,
The input guide section setting means for switching to another character type for instructing to switch to a plurality of preset character types when the character type switching guide buttons cannot be set simultaneously. When the character type switching guide button is set and the character type switching guide button for switching to the other character type is selected, the plurality of setting character types indicated by the character type switching guide button for switching to the other character type A plurality of character type switching guide buttons for switching to each of these are newly set.

  According to this embodiment, even when all of the character type switching guide buttons cannot be set simultaneously, first, a character type switching guide for switching to another character type for instructing switching to a plurality of set character types. When a button is set and a character type switching guide button for switching to the other character type is selected, a plurality of character type switching guide buttons for switching to each of the plurality of set character types are set next. Can be dealt with.

The character input method according to the present invention includes
A touch panel having a display function and an input function has a plurality of soft keys and is used for inputting any of the first character strings arranged in a predetermined order by the character input soft key section setting means. A first step of setting a character input soft key;
In the vicinity of the selected character selected by the character input soft key portion on the touch panel by the input guide portion setting means, a cross-shaped guide button portion composed of a plurality of guide buttons and a character type switching guide button are included, and the character A second step of setting an input guide part for guiding the next operation direction with respect to the input soft key part;
Based on the guide button of the input guide unit, the control unit determines the operation content for the character input soft key unit, and each soft key in the character input soft key unit is determined according to the determination result of the operation content. And a third step for switching and controlling the display and display of each guide button in the input guide unit,
The cross-shaped guide button portion includes a plurality of guide buttons for guiding a direction of a slide operation when inputting any of character strings having the same character type as the selected character and having a specific relationship with the selected character. , Arranged in a cross shape with the selected character as the center,
The character type switching guide button is adjacent to the center guide button in the cross-shaped guide button section, and is located at the upper right of the center guide button, the lower right of the center guide button, the upper left of the center guide button, and the center. A guide button arranged at the lower left of the guide button for guiding the direction of the slide operation when switching the character type of the character input from the character input soft key part to another character type It is characterized by being a button.

  According to the above configuration, the amount of finger movement between the case of inputting a character and the case of switching the character type of the input character is small, and the input effort can be reduced.

  Further, the input guide unit includes a cross-shaped guide button portion in which a plurality of guide buttons are arranged in a cross shape, an upper right of the center guide button in the cross-shaped guide button portion, a lower right of the center guide button, Since it is composed of a guide button arranged at either the upper left of the center guide button or the lower left of the center guide button, the size of the input guide part is the height of the cross-shaped guide button part and It becomes the same height and width as the width. Therefore, the input guide part can be configured in a compact manner, and the space occupied on the touch panel can be reduced.

Moreover, the character input program of this invention is
Computer
In the character input device of the present invention, the character input soft key part setting means, the input guide part setting means, and the control means are functioned.

The program recording medium of the present invention is
The character input program of the present invention is recorded.

  According to the configuration of the character input program and the program recording medium, the amount of finger movement between the case of inputting characters and the case of switching the character type of the input characters is small, and the input effort can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the size of the input guide portion is the same height and width as the cross-shaped guide button portion, the input guide portion can be configured compactly and occupies the touch panel. Space can be reduced.

As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, the input guide for guiding the next operation direction with respect to the character input soft key portion in the vicinity of the selected character selected by the character input soft key portion on the touch panel. Set. And the input guide part is
A plurality of guide buttons for guiding the direction of the slide operation when inputting any one of the character types having the same character type as the selected character and having a specific relationship with the selected character are centered on the selected character. Cross-shaped guide button parts arranged in a letter shape,
Adjacent to the center guide button in the cross-shaped guide button section, any of the upper right of the center guide button, the lower right of the center guide button, the upper left of the center guide button, or the lower left of the center guide button A character type switching guide button for guiding the direction of a slide operation when the character type of the character input from the character input soft key part is switched to another character type. Yes.

  Therefore, regardless of the current character input mode, after touching the finger to the character input soft key portion, the user can simply slide the finger according to the guidance by the guide button of the input guide portion from the touched position. Can be selected and the input character type can be switched, and the amount of finger movement between inputting a character and switching the character type of the input character is small, and the input effort can be reduced.

  Further, the size of the input guide portion is the same height and width as the height and width of the cross-shaped guide button portion. Therefore, the input guide part can be configured in a compact manner, and the space occupied on the touch panel can be reduced.

  That is, it is possible to provide a character input method suitable for a portable terminal device in which high operability of finger operation with one hand and small size are important.

It is an external view in the portable terminal device by which the input device of this invention is mounted. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the portable terminal device shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the memory content of the character description data storage area of the memory | storage part in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the touchscreen in FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation method of the finger | toe with respect to the soft key in FIG. 4, and the transition of the display content of a touch panel. It is a flowchart of the character input processing operation performed by the control part in FIG. It is a flowchart of the character input processing operation following FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific operation example with respect to “12 soft key part” and “input guide part” in FIG. 4. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an “input guide unit” different from FIG. 8. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the touchscreen different from FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the "input guide part" different from FIG. 8 and FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an “input guide unit” different from those in FIGS. 8, 9, and 11.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

-1st Embodiment FIG. 1: is an external view in the portable terminal device by which the character input device of this 1st Embodiment is mounted.

  The mobile terminal device is a smartphone (trade name), and includes a housing 1 and a touch panel 2 disposed on the surface of the housing 1 as shown in FIG.

  The touch panel 2 has a display function and an input function, and can be operated by touching a touch key such as an icon displayed on the touch panel 2 (hereinafter also referred to as a soft key) with a finger. Yes. A call microphone 3 is disposed below the touch panel 2, and a call speaker 4 is disposed above the touch panel 2.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the mobile terminal device shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the mobile terminal device includes a touch panel 2, operation keys 5, a storage unit 6, a communication unit 7, and a control unit 8.

  The touch panel 2 has a display function and an input function. For example, a display device 9 such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel and a transparent position input device 10 are laminated to form the display device 9. Is displayed through the position input device 10. The display device 9 displays a software keyboard, an input guide, an input character string, and the like, as will be described in detail later.

  The operation key 5 is a key other than a soft key displayed on the touch panel 2 such as a power key.

  The storage unit 6 stores programs and data information for executing various functions. The communication unit 7 transmits and receives signals to and from a telephone station or the like via a wireless device (not shown).

  The control unit 8 as an example of the control means receives signals from the position input device 10, the microphone 3, the operation key 5, the storage unit 6, the communication unit 7, etc. of the touch panel 2, performs various processes, and Signals are output to the display device 9, the speaker 4, the storage unit 6, the communication unit 7, and the like.

  Hereinafter, the character input function in the portable terminal device having the above configuration will be described in detail.

  The storage unit 6 includes a “character notation data storage area”, a “switching character type information storage area”, and a “selected character string storage area”. In the character notation data storage area, character notation data that can be input by this character input function is stored for each display position for each character input mode of hiragana, katakana, and alphanumeric characters. In the switching character type information storage area, information related to soft keys for switching character types is stored. The selected character string storage area stores an input character string selected by operating the position input device 10.

  FIG. 3 schematically shows the storage contents of the character notation data storage area in the storage unit 6. The character notation data storage area 11 is divided into a hiragana mode area 12, a katakana mode area 13, and an alphanumeric mode area 14, and each area 12, 13, 14 has a key notation 12a, 13a, 14a and input candidates. Character notation portions 12b, 13b, and 14b are provided.

  In the key notation portions 12a, 13a, and 14a, notation data of key notation characters displayed on the “12 soft key portion” on the display device 9 are stored. Here, the “12 soft key portion” is an example of the soft key portion for character input in the above claims, and is 12 soft keys arranged in 4 rows and 3 columns on the software keyboard. It is configured. The key notation characters displayed in the “12 soft key part” are 10 characters whose vowel is / a /.

  Further, the input candidate character notation portions 12b, 13b, and 14b are displayed on an “input guide portion” including five guide buttons in which three vertical and horizontal keys are arranged in a cross shape on the display device 9. Stores notation data for key notation characters. Here, in the hiragana mode and the katakana mode, the key notation characters displayed in the “input guide part” are the same five characters as the key notation characters and the consonant. In the case of the alphanumeric mode, the same characters and numbers as the above-mentioned key notation characters.

  The “guide button” is an image of a mere “button” for guiding an operation position and an operation direction when the user selects an input character from the “12 soft key portion”. It has no function.

  In other words, in the present embodiment, as an example of “first character string arranged in a predetermined order” in the above-mentioned claims, “Akasana Hamayahara” with vowel / a / is used. As an example of the “character string having a specific relationship with the selected character”, the selected character (ka) and the same five consonant characters are used.

  Here, “middle, left, upper, right, lower” in the input candidate character notation parts 12b, 13b, 14b represents the position of the key notation character in the “input guide part”. Specifically, “middle” is a key notation character displayed at the center of five guide buttons arranged in a cross shape, and is stored in the key notation portions 12a and 13a in the hiragana mode and the katakana mode. The key notation character corresponds to this. Further, in the case of the alphanumeric mode, this is the first key notation character described in the key notation character string stored in the key notation unit 14a. “Left” is a key notation displayed on the left side with respect to the center. Similarly, “upper” is a key notation displayed above the center, “right” is on the right, and “lower” is on the lower side.

  The “input guide section” is provided with a guide button for character type switching in addition to the above-described five guide buttons arranged in a cross shape.

  Table 1 shows the switching character type information in the hiragana mode, and shows the relationship between “character type to be switched”, “position of guide button”, and “key notation character positioned at the center of the cross”. In the table, “◯” indicates that there is a setting, and “−” indicates that there is no setting.

  Table 2 shows the switching character type information in the katakana mode, and shows the relationship between “character type to be switched”, “position of guide button”, and “key notation character positioned at the center of the cross”. In the table, “◯” indicates that there is a setting, and “−” indicates that there is no setting.

  Table 3 shows the switching character type information in the alphanumeric mode, and shows the relationship between “character type to be switched”, “position of guide button”, and “key notation character”. In the table, “◯” indicates that there is a setting, and “−” indicates that there is no setting.

  The switching character type information in each mode shown in Tables 1 to 3 is stored in the “switching character type information storage area” of the storage unit 6.

  FIG. 4 shows a display example of the touch panel 2. In the lower center of the display screen 15 of the touch panel 2, a “12 soft key section” 16 composed of 12 soft keys arranged in 4 rows and 3 columns is displayed. In this display example, the hiragana mode is set, and the 12 soft keys 16 have key notation characters “Akasana Hamahara” and “” in the hiragana mode. "And"? "Are displayed.

  In addition, in the vicinity of the selected character (the character selected as described later, “ka” in the display example of FIG. 4) in the 12 soft key section 16, three vertical and horizontal guide buttons are arranged in a cross shape. An “input guide portion” 17 including the five guide buttons (hereinafter referred to as a cross-shaped guide button portion 17 a) is displayed so as to partially overlap the 12 soft keys 16. The input of the hiragana mode area 12 in the character notation data storage area 11 of the storage section 6 is input to the cross-shaped guide button section 17 a of the “input guide section” 17 based on the selected character “KA” selected by the 12 soft keys 16. The key notation character “Kakikukeko” read from the candidate character notation unit 12b has a designated position, that is, “ka” in the center, “ki” on the left side, and “ku” on the upper side. “K” is displayed on the right side and “ko” is displayed on the lower side.

  Further, in the “input guide part” 17, in addition to the five cross-shaped guide button parts 17 a arranged in the above-described cross shape, character type switching guide buttons 17 b and 17 c for character type switching are displayed. In the display example of FIG. 4, since the hiragana mode is used, the switchable character type read based on the selected character “ka” from Table 1 stored in the switching character type information storage area of the storage unit 6 is represented. “Kana” and “English” are displayed on the character type switching guide button 17b at the position “upper right” of the guide button and the character type switching guide button 17c of “lower right”.

  When an input candidate character is designated from the “12 soft key part” 16 displayed as shown in FIG. 4, “touch operation”, “flick operation”, and “release operation” are performed on the soft key. Here, the “touch operation” refers to touching a soft key with a finger. The “release operation” is to release the finger that has touched the soft key.

In addition, the “flick operation” is generally an operation of touching a soft key with a finger and releasing it while sliding the finger on the display screen 15 for a short time (flicking operation).
Alternatively, an operation of touching a soft key with a finger and sliding a certain distance or more while touching the finger on the display screen 15 (slide operation).
The two operations are said.

  FIG. 5 shows a method of operating a finger with respect to the soft key and transition of display contents of the “12 soft key part” 16 and the “input guide part” 17. However, FIG. 5 (a) shows the contents of the flick operation, FIG. 5 (b) shows the transition of the display contents of the “input guide part” 17, and FIG. 5 (c) shows the display of the “12 soft key part” 16. Indicates the transition of contents. Here, in the present specification, the “flick operation” when the input candidate character and the switching character type are designated assumes only the “slide operation” of the above two operations. Therefore, in the following, in order to avoid confusion with the “flick operation”, it is simply referred to as “slide operation”.

  First, when the hiragana mode is initially set, as shown in FIG. 5 (c)-(i), the key notation characters "Akasana Hamahara" and "" are displayed on the "12 soft key part" 16. "And"? "Are displayed. In this state, when the character “NA” is touched with a finger, the key notation character string “NA” is displayed on the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a of the “input guide portion” 17, as shown in FIGS. "Ninuneno" is displayed, and the guide button for the selected character "NA" is displayed in a color (indicated by hatching in FIG. 5B). Further, “Kana” is displayed on the character type switching guide button 17b, and “English” is displayed on the character type switching guide button 17c. In this state, when the finger touching “12” of the “12 soft key section” 16 is slid in the upper right direction as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5A, the character input mode is changed. The katakana mode is changed.

  As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5 (c)-(ro), the display contents of the 12 soft keys 16 are the katakana key notation characters “Akasana Naha Maya Rawa” and “”. "And"? ". Further, as shown in FIGS. 5B to 5B, the display content of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a of the “input guide portion” 17 is switched to the katakana key notation character “naninuneno”. Furthermore, the “upper right” character type switching guide button 17b is deleted, and “ka” representing hiragana is displayed on the “lower left” character type switching guide button 17d. Note that the display of the “lower right” character type switching guide button 17c remains unchanged.

  In this state, if the slide operation of sliding the finger in the right direction is continuously performed on the “12 soft key portion” 16 as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5B, the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a. The input candidate character “ne” is selected on the basis of the guide by, and the color of the guide button indicating the selected character in the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a is changed from “NA” to “NE” guide button. When the finger is released, the input character “ne” is confirmed. Then, the “input guide part” 17 is deleted as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 5C to 5C, the display contents of the 12 soft keys 16 remain in katakana. Then, when the next character is input, the katakana mode shown in FIG. 5 (c)-() is started.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the designation of the selected character and the designation of the switching character type for the 12 soft keys 16 are performed by “touch operation”, “slide operation” and “guide operation” using the guide buttons of the “input guide unit” 17. This is done by “release operation”.

  Here, the input character “ne” determined as described above is stored in the “selected character string storage area” of the storage unit 6.

  By the way, the specific hardware configuration of the portable terminal device having the above functional configuration includes a program memory for storing various programs including programs for executing various processes described later, a data memory for storing various information, and communications such as the Internet. Communication I / F for connecting to a network, input device, output device, display device, external auxiliary storage device for accessing and accessing this external recording medium, program memory, data memory, communication I / F, input It comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls the device, output device, display device, external auxiliary storage device, etc., and executes the determination of input characters and presentation information.

  That is, the control unit 8 is configured by the CPU, the storage unit 6 is configured by the data memory and an external auxiliary storage device, and the touch panel 2 is configured by the display device and the input device. Further, the CPU performs various processing operations such as calculation / judgment processing, timing processing, and input / output processing in addition to the processing operations according to the present embodiment by the above-described units 2, 5-7. ing.

  6 and 7 are flowcharts of the character input processing operation executed by the control unit 8 of the mobile terminal device configured as described above. The character input processing operation will be described below with reference to FIGS. When the application program for character input stored in the storage unit 6 is activated, the character input processing operation starts.

  In step S1, the character input mode is initialized to “Hiragana mode”. In step S 2, “12 soft key portion” 16 is set on the display screen 15 of the touch panel 2, and the characters “Akasana Hamahara” and the symbol “” are displayed on each soft key of “12 soft key portion” 16. "And"? "Are assigned and displayed. In step S3, it is determined whether or not a touch on the soft key is detected in the 10-key area in the “12 soft key section” 16. As a result, if touched, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if not, the process proceeds to step S21. Here, the “10 key area” is “12 soft key part” 16 to “”. This is an area excluding the “?” Key and the “?” Key.

  In step S4, the touch coordinates on the touch panel 2 are obtained based on the position signal from the position input device 10 constituting the touch panel 2, and the touched soft key in the 10 key area is specified based on the touch coordinates. Is done. In step S5, it is recognized that an input candidate character exists in the group of hiragana characters assigned to the touched soft key. Further, the first character of the group (for example, the character “A” in the case of the group in the upper row) is set as the input candidate character.

  In step S 6, an “input guide part” 17 is set in the vicinity of the touched soft key on the display screen 15 of the touch panel 2, and the cross-shaped guide button part 17 a in the “input guide part” 17 is set to the step S 3. 5 characters having the same consonant starting from the touched character are displayed.

  Further, when the character input mode is “Hiragana mode”, the character type switching guide button 17b for switching katakana is set at the upper right position with respect to the center of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a, and “Kana” is displayed. In the lower right position, the character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters is set and "English" is displayed. Similarly, in the “Katakana mode”, a character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters and a character type switching guide button 17d for switching hiragana are set and displayed. In the case of the “alphanumeric mode”, a character type switching guide button 17b for switching katakana and a character type switching guide button 17d for switching hiragana are set and displayed.

  In step S 7, it is determined whether or not the release is detected in the “12 soft key section” 16 set on the display screen 15 of the touch panel 2. As a result, if release is detected, the process proceeds to step S19. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, it is determined whether or not the slide operation is detected in the “12 soft key section” 16. As a result, if it is detected, the process proceeds to step S9. If not detected, the process returns to step S7 to wait for release or sliding operation.

  In step S9, it is determined whether or not the direction of the slide operation is any one of up, down, left and right directions. As a result, if the direction is up, down, left, or right, the process proceeds to step S10, and if not, the process proceeds to step S11. In step S10, a character assigned to the guide button positioned in the slide direction with respect to the center of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a is set as an input candidate character according to the direction of the slide operation. After that, the process returns to step S7, and the process proceeds to determination of input candidate characters.

  In step S11, it is determined whether or not the direction of the slide operation is the first direction. As a result, if it is the first direction, the process proceeds to step S12, and if not, the process proceeds to step S15.

  Here, in this embodiment, two character type switching guide buttons are set for each character input mode. Among these, the direction from the center of the character type switching guide button that appears first when searching clockwise with respect to the center of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a is defined as the first direction. On the other hand, the direction from the center of the other character type switching guide buttons is the second direction.

  Therefore, in the case of the “Hiragana mode”, the direction of the character type switching guide button 17b for switching katakana is the first direction, and the direction of the character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters is the second direction. It is. Similarly, in the case of “Katakana mode” and “alphanumeric character mode”, the first direction and the second direction are determined.

  In step S12, the character input mode is changed to a character type character input mode corresponding to the slide operation direction determined in step S11. That is, in the case of the “Hiragana mode”, it is changed to “Katakana mode”, in the case of the “Katakana mode”, it is changed to “alphanumeric mode”, and in the case of the “alphanumeric mode”, “Katakana mode”. It is changed to.

  In step S13, the character display on the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a of the “12 soft key portion” 16 and the “input guide portion” 17 is changed to the character type in the character input mode changed in step S12.

  That is, in the case of the “Hiragana mode” and the “alphanumeric character mode”, the “12 soft key portion” 16 is changed to “Akasatanahamayarawa”, and the character display of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17 a is changed to Katakana. Furthermore, the character type switching guide button 17c (“English” is displayed) for switching alphanumeric characters and the character type switching guide button 17d (“ka” is displayed) for switching hiragana are changed. Similarly, in the “Katakana mode”, the display of “12 soft key part” 16 and “input guide part” 17 is changed.

  In step S14, the input candidate character already set in step S10 or the like is changed to the character type in the character input mode changed in step S12. After that, the process returns to step S7, and the process proceeds to determination of input candidate characters.

  In step S15, it is determined whether or not the direction of the slide operation is the second direction. As a result, if it is the second direction, the process proceeds to step S16. If not, the process returns to step S3. Thereafter, in steps S16 to S18, as in the case of steps S12 to S14, the character input mode is changed, the “12 soft key part” 16 and the “input guide part” 17 are changed, and the input candidate characters. Changes are made. After that, the process returns to step S7, and the process proceeds to determination of input candidate characters.

  In step S19, the input candidate characters already set are determined as the input characters. The determined input character is stored in the selected character string storage area of the storage unit 6 and displayed in the input character display area provided on the display screen 15 of the touch panel 2. In step S20, the “input guide part” 17 is deleted. After that, the process returns to the above step S3 and shifts to the next character input.

  In step S21, it is determined whether or not a preset set time has elapsed since it was first determined in step S3 that there was no touch on the 10-key area. As a result, if it has elapsed, the character input processing operation is terminated.

  Hereinafter, the character input processing operation will be described in more detail with a specific example.

  FIG. 8 shows a specific operation for the “12 soft key portion” 16 when the next character is input from the state where the input character “patent” is already confirmed and displayed in the input character display area 18 of the display screen 15. An example is shown. The character input processing operation will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 8A, the input character “patent” is displayed in the input character display area 18 of the display screen 15, and the “12 soft key part” 16 has a hiragana “Akasana Hamahara” and a symbol “”. . ","? "Is displayed. When the character input mode is “Hiragana mode”, the Hiragana character “Tokkyo” is input, and in Step S19 of the character input processing operation shown in FIG. 6, the input character “Tokkyo” is determined, and then Kana-Kanji conversion processing is executed. When converted to “patent”, the state shown in FIG.

  In this state, when the soft key of the character “NA” in the “12 soft key part” 16 is touched, the steps “S3” to “S6” in the flowchart shown in FIG. The “input guide part” 17 is set, and the five letters “Nanuneno” with the same consonant as the selected character “NA” are displayed on the cross-shaped guide button part 17a. Further, the character type switching guide button 17b for switching katakana is set to display “Kana”, and the character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters is set to display “English”.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, when a rightward sliding operation is performed on the selected character “NA” in the “12 soft key portion” 16, the steps S7 to S10 in the flowchart are performed. As shown in FIG. 8C, the character “Ne” in the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a is selected and set as an input candidate character. Then, the color of the guide button indicating the selected character in the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a (hatched display in FIG. 8) changes from the “NA” guide button to the “NE” guide button. When the finger is released from the “12 soft key portion” 16, the input candidate character “Ne” is determined as the input character by steps S 7 and S 19 of the flowchart, and as shown in FIG. It is displayed in the display area 18.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (e), a “slide operation” is performed on the selected character “NA” of “12 soft key portion” 16 shown in FIG. When the character type switching guide button 17b for switching is selected, as shown in FIG. 8 (f), the display of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a is changed to the katakana name “Nani Nuneno” by steps S7 to S9 and S11 to S14 of the flowchart. Be changed. The input candidate character is set to “NA”. Further, a character type switching guide button 17c (“English” is displayed) for switching alphanumeric characters and a character type switching guide button 17d (“ka” is displayed) for switching hiragana are displayed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (f), when a slide operation and release in the right direction are performed on the "12 soft key section" 16, the steps S7 to S10, S7, and S19 in the flowchart are performed. As shown in FIGS. 8 (g) and 8 (h), the character “ne” in the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a is selected and confirmed as an input character and displayed in the input character display area 18.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (i), a “slide operation” is performed on the selected character “NA” of “12 soft key part” 16 shown in FIG. When the character type switching guide button 17c for number switching is selected, the display of the cruciform guide button portion 17a is changed to a katakana character “as shown in FIG. 8 (j) by steps S7 to S9, S11, S15 to S18 of the flowchart. It is changed to “JKL5”. Further, the input candidate character is set to “J”. Furthermore, a character type switching guide button 17b ("Kana" is displayed) for switching katakana and a character type switching guide button 17d ("ka" is displayed) for switching hiragana are displayed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (j), when a slide operation and release in the left direction are performed on the "12 soft key section" 16, steps S7 to S10, S7, and S19 in the flowchart described above are performed. As shown in FIG. 8 (k) and FIG. 8 (l), the character “K” in the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a is selected and confirmed as an input character and displayed in the input character display area 18.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, any one of the first character strings “Akasana Hamahara” arranged in a predetermined order by the control unit 8 on the touch panel 2 having a display function and an input function. “12 soft keys (character input soft key portion)” 16 composed of a plurality of soft keys for selecting k is set, and in the vicinity of the selected character selected by “12 soft keys” 16 on the touch panel 2, “ An “input guide part” 17 composed of a plurality of guide buttons for guiding the next operation direction with respect to the “12 soft key” 16 is set. Based on the guide buttons of the “input guide part” 17, the “12 soft key” 16 In accordance with the determination result of the operation content, the function and display of each soft key in the “12 soft keys” 16 and the “input guide unit” 1 So as to control switching between display of each guide button in.

At that time, the "input guide part" 17 is
Plural for guiding the direction of the slide operation when inputting any of the character strings (having the same consonant) that have the same character type as the selected character and have a specific relationship with the selected character (having the same consonant) A cross-shaped guide button portion 17a formed in a cross shape with the selected character at the center,
Adjacent to the central guide button in the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a, the upper right of the central guide button, the lower right of the central guide button, the upper left of the central guide button, and the lower left of the central guide button. Character type switching guide buttons 17b to 17e for guiding a slide operation direction when switching the character type of the character input from the “12 soft key part” 16 to another character type Is included.

  Therefore, regardless of the current character input mode, after touching the “12 soft key portion” 16, simply slide the finger according to the guidance by the guide button of the “input guide portion” 17 from the touched position. Character selection and input character type switching can be performed, and the amount of finger movement between inputting a character and switching the character type of the input character is small, and the input effort can be reduced.

  Further, the size of the “input guide part” 17 is the same height and width as the height and width of the cross-shaped guide button part 17a. Therefore, the “input guide part” 17 can be configured in a compact manner, and the space occupied on the display screen 15 can be reduced.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a small portable terminal device that is excellent in operability when performing character input with a finger operation of one hand and is less likely to be erroneously operated.

  The selection of the input character and the selection of the switching character type in the “12 soft key portion” 16 are performed when the target character or character type guided by the “input guide portion” 17 is slid. It has become.

  Therefore, when an input character is selected by the “12 soft key portion” 16, the finger is slid up / down / left / right in the direction of the target character. On the other hand, when selecting the switching character type, the finger is slid in an oblique direction toward the target character type. Therefore, the selection of the input character and the selection of the switching character type can be distinguished by the direction in which the finger slides on the “12 soft key portion” 16, and erroneous operations due to the sliding operation in the wrong direction can be reduced.

  Further, when the switching character type is selected by the “12 soft key part” 16, the control unit 8 performs the function and display of each soft key in the “12 soft key” 16 and the cross-shaped guide button part. The display of each guide button in 17a is switched to a function and display corresponding to the selected character type.

  Accordingly, characters of different character types can be input without releasing the finger from the “12 soft key portion” 16, and the character input can be performed quickly.

  Further, when the switching character type is selected by the “12 soft key portion” 16, the control unit 8 switches the character type switching guide buttons 17 b to 17 e according to the selected character type. .

  The character type that can be switched next is determined by the character displayed in the “12 soft key section” 16 and the character type. For example, it is not necessary to switch “Hiragana” to “Hiragana”.

  In the present embodiment, since the character type switching guide buttons 17b to 17e are switched according to the selected character type, the next time the selected character type is selected, the character type switching guide buttons 17b to 17e are currently displayed on the “12 soft key section” 16. It is possible to prevent erroneous switching to a character type that is not set for a certain character.

  In the present embodiment, the first direction is defined as the direction of the character type switching guide button that appears first when searching clockwise with respect to the center of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a. The direction from the center of the other character type switching guide button is defined as the second direction, and in step S11 and step S15 of the flowchart of FIG. 7, the direction of the slide operation is the first direction or the second direction. The direction is determined. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it does not matter if the character type switching guide button for which character type is directly determined.

  Further, if the surfaces of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a and the character type switching guide buttons 17b to 17e in the “input guide portion” 17 are displayed in different colors, confusion between the input character selection operation and the switching character type selection operation is more effective. Can be prevented.

Second Embodiment A block diagram showing the appearance and functional configuration of a mobile terminal device equipped with the character input device of the second embodiment, and the storage contents of the character notation data storage area in the storage unit 6 are as described above. This is exactly the same as the portable terminal device according to the embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the switching character type information stored in the “switching character type information storage area” of the storage unit 6 is different from the switching character type information of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, “switching character type information” of the present embodiment, which is different from that of the first embodiment, will be described in detail.

  In the first embodiment, three types, “Hiragana”, “Katakana”, and “alphanumeric characters” are set as switchable character types. However, in the present invention, it is not limited to the above three types. For example, “turbid sound (in the case of ka, sa, ta, ka, sa, ta, ha)”, “semi-turbid sound (ha, ha ) ”,“ Uppercase letters (alphanumeric, ah, ah, ah, yah) ”and the like, the guide button 17 at the center of the cross-shaped guide button part 17a of the“ input guide part ”17 above. Can be assigned to vacant locations in four diagonal directions.

  In the present embodiment, the “switching character type information” including the “muddy sound”, “semi-voiced sound”, and “uppercase” is set as shown in Tables 4 to 6, and the above “ It is stored in the “switching character type information storage area”.

尚、表中「○」は設定あり、「−」は設定無しを示す。

In the table, “◯” indicates that there is a setting, and “−” indicates that there is no setting.

尚、表中「○」は設定あり、「−」は設定無しを示す。

In the table, “◯” indicates that there is a setting, and “−” indicates that there is no setting.

尚、表中「○」は設定あり、「−」は設定無しを示す。

In the table, “◯” indicates that there is a setting, and “−” indicates that there is no setting.

  FIG. 9 shows a display example of the character type switching guide button 17 by the control unit 8 based on the “switching character type information” in Tables 4 to 6.

  The upper part of FIG. 9A shows the display content of the “input guide part” 17 when the character “ha” is selected when the character input mode is the hiragana mode. In this case, the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a of the “input guide portion” 17 is selected from the input candidate character notation portion 12b (see FIG. 3) of the hiragana mode region 12 in the character notation data storage region 11 of the storage portion 6. A character string “hahifuheho” read based on the character “ha” is displayed. Further, the switchable character types “Kana” and “English” read based on the selected character “ha” from Table 4 stored in the switching character type information storage area of the storage unit 6 are displayed as cross-shaped guide buttons. The character type switching guide button 17b “upper right” and the character type switching guide button 17c “lower right” are displayed with respect to the center of the portion 17a. The process up to this point is the same as in the case of the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, in addition, the switchable character types “” (turbid sound) ”and“ ° (semi-voiced sound) ”are“ upper left ”character type switching guide buttons with respect to the center of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a. 17e and “lower left” character type switching guide button 17d.

  Therefore, on the “12 soft key section” 16, for example, when “” ”is selected by performing a slide operation in the upper left direction, the character input mode is changed to the muddy sound mode. As a result, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 9A, the display of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17 a is changed to the muddy sound “Babibembo”. At the same time, the character type switching guide button 17b for switching katakana and the character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters are deleted, and the character type switching guide button 17e for switching muddy sounds is used for returning to clear sound. The character type switching guide button 17e ("return" is displayed) is changed. The character type switching guide button 17d for switching the semi-voiced sound remains unchanged.

  Therefore, in the lower part of FIG. 9A, when a slide operation in the upper left direction is performed on the “12 soft key part” 16, the sound is returned to the clear sound, and the display of the “input guide part” 17 is displayed in FIG. a) Return to the top.

  Similarly, in the katakana mode of FIG. 9 (b) and the alphanumeric mode of FIG. 9 (c), a character type switching guide button for switching “”, “°” and “case” is displayed. . When "" "and" ° "are selected, the character type switching guide button for returning to clear sound is changed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the “switching character type information” including the “muddy sound”, “semi-voiced sound”, and “case” is set as shown in Tables 4 to 6, and It is stored in the “switching character type information storage area”.

  Therefore, there are three types of characters that can be switched: “Hiragana”, “Katakana”, and “Alphanumeric characters”, and “Hakuon (in case of ka, sa, ta, ka, sa, ta, ha)”, “Half The character type switching guide buttons 17b to 17e to which “muddy sound (in the case of ha)” and “small letters (in the case of alphanumeric characters, ah, ah, a, ya)” are added to the cross-shaped guide of the “input guide part” 17 It becomes possible to assign to a vacant place in four oblique directions with respect to the central guide button in the button portion 17a.

  At that time, when the character type switching guide button of the above-mentioned “turbid sound” and “semi-turbid sound” is selected and the display of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a is switched to “turbid sound” or “semi-turbid sound”, the return type The character type switching guide button is set. Therefore, the display of the “input guide part” 17 can be easily restored by selecting return.

Third Embodiment A block diagram showing the appearance and functional configuration of a mobile terminal device equipped with the character input device of the third embodiment, and the storage contents of the character notation data storage area in the storage unit 6 This is exactly the same as the portable terminal device according to the embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the switching character type information stored in the “switching character type information storage area” of the storage unit 6 is different from the switching character type information of the first and second embodiments. Hereinafter, “switching character type information” of the present embodiment, which is different from those of the first and second embodiments, will be described in detail.

  In the first and second embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, a “12 soft key section” 16 is displayed at the lower center of the display screen 15 of the touch panel 2. Further, in order to move the position of the cursor 19 (see FIG. 8A) displayed in the input character display area 18 to the left side, for example, on the left side of the “12 soft key portion” 16 of the display screen 15. Left shift key 20, katakana / alphabet input key 21, and hiragana / alphabet / number input key 22 are displayed.

  However, in the first and second embodiments, the “input guide unit” 17 can set the hiragana, katakana, and character type switching guide buttons 17 b to 17 e for switching alphanumeric characters. The character input mode can be switched to the corresponding mode by performing a sliding operation on the “12 soft key portion” 16 in the direction guided by the character type switching guide buttons 17b to 17e. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the katakana / alphabet input key 21 and the hiragana / alphabet / number input key 22 are deleted from the display screen 15 in FIG. 4, and the left shift key 20 is moved to the right side of the “12 soft key section” 16. Move. In this way, the number of soft keys on the display screen 15 can be reduced, and the area per soft key can be widened to improve operability.

  In that case, the leftmost and lowermost soft keys of the “12 soft key portion” 16 are arranged along the left and lower edges of the display screen 15.

Therefore, when inputting the hiragana character “mi” in the katakana mode, it is necessary to perform the slide operation twice in the vicinity of the left edge of the display screen 15 twice as described in (1) to (3) below. In some cases, the finger cannot move sufficiently.
(1) Touch “ma” located at the left end in “12 soft key section” 16 to select “ma”.
(2) Subsequently, from the position of “ma” located on the left side in the “12 soft key part” 16 above, in the “input guide part” 17, the selection character “ma” in the center of the cross-shaped guide button part 17 a is diagonally lower left. The character type switching guide button 17d for hiragana switching displayed on the screen is used as a guide to perform a “slide operation” in the lower left direction to switch to the hiragana mode.
(3) Subsequently, a slide operation to the left on the “12 soft key portion” 16 is performed to select the hiragana “mi” and then release, and the selected character “mi” is confirmed as an input character. Here, hiragana “mi” is selected because the color of the guide button indicating the selected character in the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a of the “input guide portion” 17 (hatched display in FIG. 11) is “G” guide. This can be seen by transitioning from a button to a “guide” guide button.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the soft key of “12 soft key part” 16 arranged along the edge of the display screen 15 is touched by the control of the control unit 8, the setting is displayed. For the character type switching guide button that is set and displayed on the same side as the edge on which the touched soft key is located in the “input guide part” 17, the character type switching guide button having the same function is set in other empty areas. It is displayed.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11 (a), when “ma” located at the left edge of the display screen 15 in the “12 soft key part” 16 in FIG. 10 is selected, the “input guide part” "Mamimumemo" is displayed on the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a of "17", and a character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters and a character type switching guide button 17d for switching hiragana are set and displayed. In this case, the position on the “input guide part” 17 in the character type switching guide button 17d for hiragana switching is the same left side as the position on the “12 soft key part” 16 of the selected character “ma”. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a character type switching guide button for hiragana switching having the same function as the character type switching guide button 17d is used as an empty character type switching guide button at the upper right with respect to the center of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a. 17b is set.

  Therefore, the operator does not have to forcibly slide the finger located near the left edge of the display screen 15 to the left side where it is difficult to operate, and the hiragana switching displayed on the right side of the “input guide unit” 17 Using the character type switching guide button 17b as a guide, a slide operation in the upper right direction can be performed with good operability. Hereinafter, the hiragana character “mi” can be selected by performing a slide operation on the left side on the “12 soft key portion” 16.

  In the above description, the case where the character “ma” positioned at the left edge of the display screen 15 is selected is described, but the same applies to the case where the character positioned at the lower edge of the display screen 15 is selected.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 11B, when “Wa” located at the lower edge of the display screen 15 in the “12 soft key part” 16 is selected in the hiragana mode, the “input guide part” “17” is displayed on the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a, and a character type switching guide button 17b for switching katakana and a character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters are set and displayed. In this case, the character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters is on the same lower side as the position on the “12 soft key portion” 16 of the selected character “WA”. Therefore, the character type switching guide button for switching alphanumeric characters having the same function as that of the character type switching guide button 17c is set to the character type switching guide button 17e which is open at the upper left with respect to the center of the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a.

  By the way, in the above description, the case where there are three character input modes that can be switched and set are “Hiragana mode”, “Katakana mode”, and “Alphanumeric mode” has been described. However, as in the case of the second embodiment described above, the character input mode is “Hiragana mode”, “Katakana mode”, and “Alphanumeric mode”, as well as “Muddy sound mode”, “Half sound mode” and “Large and small”. When the “character mode” is also set, since the character input mode increases, there may be no free space for setting and displaying the character type switching guide button having the same function. In that case, it is dealt with as follows.

  That is, when the selected character “TA” is the Hiragana character “Tatsuteto” located at the left edge of the display screen 15, the switchable character types are “Katakana”, “Alphanumeric characters”, and “Motone”. There are types. In FIG. 10, when “TA” located at the left edge of the display screen 15 in the “12 soft key part” 16 is selected in the hiragana mode, in the normal case, the “input guide part” 17 In the cross-shaped guide button portion 17a, "Tatsuteto" is displayed, and a character type switching guide button 17b for switching katakana and a character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters are set and displayed. Accordingly, there is no empty area on the right side of the “input guide part” 17, and as it is, a character type switching guide button for muddy sound switching, which is another switchable character type, is arranged on the right side of the “input guide part” 17. I can't.

  Therefore, when the above “ta” is selected, instead of the character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters, as shown in FIG. The character type switching guide button 17c for switching to another character type for instructing to switch to is set, and “other” is displayed. When a slide operation is performed on the “12 soft key portion” 16 in the lower right direction, the character type switching guide button 17c for switching to another character type is changed to the character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters. At the same time, a character type switching guide button 17e for switching muddy sounds is additionally set.

  Therefore, the operator does not have to forcibly slide the left side of “ta” displayed near the left edge of the display screen 15, and performs the sliding operation in the lower right direction with good operability. After selecting “switch to another character type”, the user can perform a slide operation in the upper left direction to select “turbid sound”.

  In addition, when the selected character is the Katakana character “Tachitsutoto” located at the left edge of the display screen 15, there are three types of characters that can be switched: “Hiragana”, “Alphanumeric characters”, and “Muddy sound”. Then, as shown in FIG. 12 (b), when “kata” located at the left edge of the display screen 15 in the “12 soft key part” 16 in FIG. 10 is selected in the katakana mode, In the “input guide part” 17, the cross-shaped guide button part 17 a of the “input guide part” 17 is displayed with “tactile”, and a character type switching guide button 17 c for switching alphanumeric characters and a character type switching guide button 17 d for switching hiragana are set. Is displayed. Further, since the character type switching guide button 17d for hiragana switching is located on the left side of the display screen 15, the character type switching guide button 17b for hiragana switching having the same function as the character type switching guide button 17d for hiragana switching is set. Accordingly, there is no empty area on the right side of the “input guide part” 17, and as it is, a character type switching guide button for muddy sound switching, which is another switchable character type, is arranged on the right side of the “input guide part” 17. I can't.

  Therefore, when the “T” is selected, as shown in FIG. 12B, the character type switching guide button for switching to another character type is used instead of the character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters. 17c is set and “other” is displayed. When a slide operation is performed on the “12 soft key portion” 16 in the lower right direction, which is the direction of the character type switching guide button 17c for switching to another character type, the character type switching for switching to another character type is performed. The guide button 17c is changed to a character type switching guide button 17c for switching alphanumeric characters, and a character type switching guide button 17e for switching muddy sounds is additionally set.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the selected character on the “12 soft key portion” 16 is located at the left edge of the display screen 15 as shown in FIG. Is different from the character type switching guide button 17d for switching to the same character type as the character type switching guide button 17d in addition to the character type switching guide button 17d located at the left edge on the "input guide part" 17. The guide button 17b is arranged at a right position different from the position of the character type switching guide button 17d.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to forcibly slide the selected soft key on the “12 soft key section” 16 located on the edge of the display screen 15 in the direction of the edge, and the character type switching guide button. It is possible to switch to the same character type as the character type switching guide button 17d by performing a sliding operation in the right direction that is guided by the character type switching guide button 17b arranged at a right position different from 17d.

  Further, when all of the character type switching guide buttons 17b to 17e cannot be set at the same time, the control unit 8 first switches to other character types for instructing to switch to a plurality of preset character types. When the character type switching guide button for switching is set and the character type switching guide button for switching to the other character type is selected, the plurality of character types indicated by the character type switching guide button for switching to the other character type A plurality of character type switching guide buttons for switching to each of the set character types are set again.

  Therefore, even when all of the character type switching guide buttons cannot be arranged at the same time, it is possible to cope with it.

  By the way, the function as the character input soft key part setting means, the input guide part setting means to be set and the control means by the control part 8 in each of the above embodiments is performed by a character input program recorded on the program recording medium. Realized. The program recording medium in each of the above embodiments is a program medium composed of a ROM (read only memory). Alternatively, it may be a program medium that is loaded into the external auxiliary storage device and read out.

1 ...
2. Touch panel,
3 ... Mic for call,
4 ... Speaker for call,
5 ... Operation keys,
6 ... storage unit,
7… Communication Department
8 ... control unit,
9 ... Display device,
10: Position input device,
11 ... character notation data storage area,
12 ... Hiragana mode area,
12a, 13a, 14a ... key notation,
12b, 13b, 14b ... input candidate character notation,
13 ... Katakana mode area,
14 ... Alphanumeric mode area,
15 ... Display screen,
16 ... 12 soft keys,
17 ... Input guide part,
17a: Cross-shaped guide button part,
17b-17e ... Character type switching guide button,
18 ... Input character display area,
19 ... Cursor,
20 ... Left shift key,
21 ... Katakana / English input key,
22 ... Hiragana / alphabet / number input key.

Claims (9)

A touch panel having a display function and an input function;
Character input soft key part setting means for setting a character input soft key part composed of a plurality of soft keys for selecting any of the first character strings arranged in a predetermined order on the touch panel;
An input for setting an input guide unit including a plurality of guide buttons for guiding a next operation direction with respect to the character input soft key unit in the vicinity of the selected character selected by the character input soft key unit on the touch panel. A guide setting means;
Based on the guide button of the input guide unit, the operation content for the character input soft key unit is determined, and the function and display of each soft key in the character input soft key unit are determined according to the determination result of the operation content. And control means for switching and controlling the display of each guide button in the input guide unit,
The above input guide part
A plurality of guide buttons for guiding the direction of the slide operation when inputting any one of the character types having the same character type as the selected character and having a specific relationship with the selected character are centered on the selected character. Cross-shaped guide button parts arranged in a letter shape,
Adjacent to the center guide button in the cross-shaped guide button section, any of the upper right of the center guide button, the lower right of the center guide button, the upper left of the center guide button, or the lower left of the center guide button A character type switching guide button for guiding the direction of a slide operation when the character type of the character input from the character input soft key part is switched to another character type. A character input device. The character input device according to claim 1,
The selection of the input character and the selection of the switching character type by the soft key portion for character input is the same as the direction from the center guide button to the guide button of the target character or character type in the cross-shaped guide button portion of the input guide portion. A character input device, which is configured to perform a sliding operation on the character input soft key portion in a direction. In the character input device according to claim 1 or 2,
When the switching character type is selected by the character input soft key portion, the control means functions and displays each soft key in the character input soft key portion, and in the cross-shaped guide button portion. A character input device, wherein the display of each guide button is switched according to the selected character type. In the character input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The input guide unit setting means resets the character type switching guide button according to the selected character type when the switching character type is selected by the character input soft key unit. A character input device. In the character input device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The input guide section setting means is set on the edge side of the display screen in the input guide section when the soft key located at the edge of the display screen in the character input soft key section is selected. When there is a character type switching guide button, a character type switching guide button different from the character type switching guide button for switching to the same character type as the character type switching guide button is set at a position different from the character type switching guide button. Character input device characterized by becoming. In the character input device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The input guide section setting means for switching to another character type for instructing to switch to a plurality of preset character types when the character type switching guide buttons cannot be set simultaneously. When the character type switching guide button is set and the character type switching guide button for switching to the other character type is selected, the plurality of setting character types indicated by the character type switching guide button for switching to the other character type A character input device characterized in that a plurality of character type switching guide buttons for switching to each of the above are set anew. A touch panel having a display function and an input function has a plurality of soft keys and is used for inputting any of the first character strings arranged in a predetermined order by the character input soft key section setting means. A first step of setting a character input soft key;
In the vicinity of the selected character selected by the character input soft key portion on the touch panel by the input guide portion setting means, a cross-shaped guide button portion composed of a plurality of guide buttons and a character type switching guide button are included, and the character A second step of setting an input guide part for guiding the next operation direction with respect to the input soft key part;
Based on the guide button of the input guide unit, the control unit determines the operation content for the character input soft key unit, and each soft key in the character input soft key unit is determined according to the determination result of the operation content. And a third step for switching and controlling the display and display of each guide button in the input guide unit,
The cross-shaped guide button portion includes a plurality of guide buttons for guiding a direction of a slide operation when inputting any of character strings having the same character type as the selected character and having a specific relationship with the selected character. , Arranged in a cross shape with the selected character as the center,
The character type switching guide button is adjacent to the center guide button in the cross-shaped guide button section, and is located at the upper right of the center guide button, the lower right of the center guide button, the upper left of the center guide button, and the center. A guide button arranged at the lower left of the guide button for guiding the direction of the slide operation when switching the character type of the character input from the character input soft key part to another character type Character input method characterized by being a button. Computer
The character input program according to claim 1, wherein said character input program functions as said character input soft key part setting means, said input guide part setting means and said control means.   A computer-readable program recording medium on which the character input program according to claim 8 is recorded.

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