JP2015500539A - Small Japanese keyboard and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a small keyboard for inputting Japanese in Roman characters on a small device. The configuration of the button according to the present invention is basically an arrangement of 5-4 horizontal and vertical, and the central 3-4 arrangement corresponds to a conventional numeric keypad arrangement. In a conventional numeric keypad layout, “a” is placed on the key where “a” is placed, “k” is placed on the key where “ka” is placed, “s” is placed on the key where “sa” is placed, and “ta” is placed. T for the key, “n” for the key with “na”, h for the key with “ha”, m for the key with “ma”, “ya” Y is placed in the key where “is” is placed, r is placed in the key where “ra” is placed, and w is placed in the key where “wa” is placed. The g, z, d, b, and p used when inputting a muddy sound or a semi-turbid sound are arranged together with the key where the representative sound value (quiet sound) is arranged, and i, u, e, o which are vowels. Are arranged one by one on four of the buttons in the left and right rows of the 3-4 array. The remaining four buttons in the left and right rows are provided with function keys such as an input cancel button, multilingual mode, special symbol mode, and katakana mode. The method of selecting and inputting a plurality of characters arranged on one button is a continuous press method. In the case of a touch screen, the representative character of each key is touched briefly, and the characters arranged on the left or right side are keys. You can input by dragging to the left or right. [Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a small keyboard for inputting Japanese characters.

[Reference 1] Microsoft Japanese Key Layout Manual [Reference 2] Character frequency table (http://www7.plala.or.jp/dvorakjp/hinshutu.htm) (Search date: 2011.12.6)
[Reference 3] Kodama character sequence (http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~cws/kodama_1.htm
(Search date: 2011.12.15)
[Reference 4] Romaji input method for mobile phones (http://www.d-tech.jp/kaihatu/main2.html
(Search date: 2011.12.15)

  As a small keyboard for inputting Japanese, there is a numeric keypad method in which characters of “a” in each row of hiragana are arranged in order on a 3 × 4 keypad, but this method is considerably inconvenient.

  Various attempts have been made to solve this problem, but the small QWERTY keyboard is inconvenient because the keys are too small, and a method having a new layout and a new input method has been selected so much that it requires user learning. Absent.

  Therefore, the present invention is a small-sized application in which the method of inputting in romaji, which is the most commonly used Japanese input method, is more easily applied so that even a small device such as a smartphone can input Japanese. An object is to present a method for embodying a keyboard (hereinafter, including a virtual keyboard).

  In order to achieve the above object, the button configuration according to the present invention is basically a horizontal × vertical 5 × 4 arrangement, and the central 3 × 4 arrangement is a conventional 3 × 4 arrangement (or a numeric keypad arrangement). It corresponds to).

  In order to make it easier for the user to remember a new key arrangement, a key is arranged with “a”, “k” is arranged with “ka”, and “sa” is arranged with “ka”. S for keys, t for keys with “ta”, n for keys with “na”, h for keys with “ha”, “ma” M is arranged for the arranged key, y is arranged for the key arranged with “Ya”, r is arranged for the key arranged with “ra”, and w is arranged for the key arranged with “wa”. .

  In addition, it is necessary to input a muddy sound or a semi-turbid sound among i, u, e, o, g, z, d, b, p, v, l, etc., which are further necessary for inputting all Japanese characters. Sometimes g, z, d, b, and p are arranged together on a key on which representative tone values (quiet sounds) are arranged, and vowels i, u, e, and o are in the 3 × 4 arrangement. One button is arranged for each of the four buttons in the left and right columns, and the other four buttons in the left and right columns have functions such as an input cancel (or delete) button, multilingual mode, special symbol mode, and katakana mode. A key is placed.

In addition, a method of selecting and inputting a plurality of characters arranged on one key is a generally known continuous pressing method, and in the case of a touch screen, a representative character of each key is touched shortly, Characters placed on the right side can be entered by dragging the key to the left or right side.

  According to the present invention, Japanese characters can be input easily and quickly even with a small keyboard.

It is the graph which showed the usage frequency classified by character used when inputting a Japanese character by a Roman character. This is one of the conventional methods for inputting Roman characters using a mobile phone. This is a Kodama layout for inputting Roman characters on a mobile phone. It is the figure which showed 3 steps | paragraphs deformation | transformation of Kodama type | formula arrangement | sequence. 3 is an example of a character arrangement according to the present invention. This is a character array with vowels arranged on the right side. It is the Example which combined the function key. Arrangement for left-handed. It is the Example which has arrange | positioned the vowel on right and left. It is an example of a screen process in the case of carrying out continuous pressing in the embodiment of FIG. It is a further embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a graph showing the frequency of use for each character used when inputting Japanese characters in Roman characters.

  The graph in Fig. 1 shows 117,433 letters from the Asahi Shimbun / Yomiuri Shimbun and editorial, the Japanese presidential inauguration speech (from Fitzgerald to George Bush), the E-mail of the 20s male and the criminal code. It was created based on the interpreted data (the source is shown in the background section).

  As can be seen from the graph, vowels a, i, u, e, and o are all ranked higher, and consonant usage frequencies are n, t, k, s, r, y, m, w, d, g, z, The order is b, p, f, v, q.

  Therefore, in order to obtain an optimized key arrangement, the arrangement should be made in consideration of such usage frequency.

  The present invention has an intuitive arrangement that follows exactly such an arrangement, an intuitive input rule, and an easy and quick Roman-based basis that anyone can easily use without special learning. Provides a key layout.

  First, a conventional Romaji-based portable keyboard will be described.

  FIG. 2 shows one of the conventional methods for inputting Roman characters using a mobile phone.

  In the method of FIG. 2, the manner key and four direction keys shown are added to a conventional 3 × 4 keypad and used for character input.

  Hereinafter, the input method will be described in detail.

For vowels, press the “A” key to select “a”, press the “↑” key to select “i”, press the “→” key to select “u”, press the “↓” key to select “e”, “ Press “←” key to input “o”. The consonant is “k” by pressing the “ka” key, “s” by pressing the “sa” key, “t” by pressing the “ta” key, “n” by pressing the “na” key, “ha” Press the key to select “h”, press the “ma” key to select “m”, press the “ya” key to select “y”, press the “ra” key to select “r”, press the “wa” key to select “w” Enter.

  The muddy consonant is entered using the “Manner” key. That is, after pressing the “Manner” key, press the “ka” key to select “g”, press the “Manner” key, then press the “sa” key to press “z”, press the “Manner” key, and then press the “Ta” key. Press “d”, press “Manner” key, then press “Ha” key to input “b”.

  A semi-voiced consonant is input by pressing the “Manner” key and then the “NA” key.

  “N” becomes “n” by pressing the “na” key twice in succession and entering “nn”.

  Enter the consonant key by pressing the consonant key twice in succession, enter the punctuation mark by pressing the “Manner” key and then press the “A” key, and enter the “Manner” key twice by pressing the “Manner” key twice. However, lowercase letters can be entered by pressing the “Manner” key and “Ra” key and then entering lowercase letters.

  In addition, the extended Roman letters f, j, l, and v are input by successively pressing the “Manner” key and the “MA” key, “YA” key, “RA” key, and “WA” key, respectively.

  However, in this method, the consonant to be pressed is not shown on the surface of the key, and it is only confusing because of the display for inputting English characters (for example, if trying to input “k”, The second key must be pressed, but “k” is shown in the fifth key), and the vowels i, u, e, and o arranged in the direction keys are also not intuitive and require learning, It takes considerable exercises. Also, the muddy sound input method uses a separate key called “Manner” key, so it is not intuitive and requires learning and requires considerable exercises. In the case of a semi-voiced sound, the Roman character “p” to be input must be pressed together with the “na” key and the “manner” key to input “n” which has no relation. It is less intuitive than the example and requires learning and exercises.

  In addition, punctuation marks, long sounds, extended Roman letters (f, j, l, v), and lowercase input methods are not intuitive and require considerable learning and practice.

  Also, the fact that the vowel key is far away from the consonant key is that, instead of reducing the number of strokes, the fingering distance has become longer (it becomes difficult to input with one hand) and it has achieved great results in terms of its effectiveness. There wasn't.

  FIG. 3 is a Kodama layout for inputting Roman characters using a mobile phone.

  This system is characterized in that it can be input by a child system based on a conventional 3 × 4 keypad.

  However, this method is also not intuitive and difficult to use without learning. The use of the Y key as a preceding key for inputting the muddy sound cannot be understood unless it is learned, and is not intuitive at all.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a three-stage modification of the Kodama type array.

  As can be seen from the drawing, the method of pressing the Y key to press muddy sounds or other consonant sounds with low usage rates, such as M and W, is neither intuitive nor consistent.

  Certainly, in order to input “p”, it is difficult to understand that the Y key is pressed twice first.

  Although the conventional method has been described above, the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a character arrangement according to the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the Roman character arrangement of the present invention directly uses the numeric keypad arrangement that is most familiar to the user. That is, according to the present invention, a is placed where “a” is placed, k is placed where “ka” is placed, s is placed where “sa” is placed, and “ta” is placed. T, where "na" is placed, n, where "ha" is placed, h, where "ma" is placed, m, where "ya" is placed, y , R is placed where "ra" is placed, and w is placed where "wa" is placed so that everyone can use this array as it is.

  In addition, by adding four vowel keys to the left side of this 10 character array and arranging i, u, e, and o respectively, the top 14 characters that are the most basic of the present invention are used as basic characters. The arranged prototype is completed. Such key arrangements are close to each other, so it is convenient to input with one hand, convenient to input consonant vowels alternately with both hands, and display the romaji on the corresponding key for better intuition. You can quickly find and enter.

  In addition, the top 14 characters having a frequency that occupies a total of 91.4% can be input with a single stroke, and the efficiency is very high. Furthermore, a, i, u, e, o Since all the vowel keys are arranged in order, the arrangement is excellent in intuition and does not require learning or memorization.

  Here, d, g, z, b, and p used when inputting the muddy sound and the semi-turbid sound are arranged together with characters indicating the clear sound value. That is, g is placed with k, z is placed with s, d is placed with t, b and p are placed together with h and displayed on the key, which is also an array that does not require learning. .

  Also, here, v is arranged together with l used when making a lowercase letter for the last key. Although it is desirable in terms of consistency that v is arranged together with h, this letter is rarely used, and it is an efficiency aspect that four letters are arranged in one key together with b and p. Because it is not good, I collected it in one place together with l, which is another character that I do not use much.

  Also, there are frequently used sentence symbols (,,.,!,?) And long sounds on the keys where m, y, r, w, which are characters that do not need to be input, and the vl key are arranged there. One symbol (-) was further arranged for each.

  The v, l and sentence symbols need not necessarily be arranged as shown. The m, y, r, w, and vl keys can be arranged separately, and the order can be varied and arranged in accordance with the purpose of the person who performs the operation.

  The vl key may be arranged at 4 rows and 2 columns.

  Hereinafter, a method of inputting each character with such a key arrangement will be described.

  In each key, the letters a, i, u, e, o, k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w, and-that are arranged first are each pressed once. Entered.

  G, z, d, b,... Which are the second arranged characters. ,! ,? , V are input by inputting each corresponding key twice in succession by the “continuous press” method. “Continuous press” refers to a method in which “k” is input when the K key is pressed once, and “g” which is the next character after “k” is input when the K key is pressed again.

  Hereinafter, a method of inputting lowercase letters using the key layout according to the present invention will be described.

  Even in the keyboard according to the present invention, if the l key, which is a key for making a lowercase letter on a Japanese keyboard for computers, is pressed first and then the letter key to be input in lowercase is pressed, the lowercase letter of the corresponding character is input. For example, if a lower case letter “a” of “A” is to be input, then “l” and “a” may be input in order.

  The other method of inputting lowercase letters is a method of inputting all Roman letters that input letters in a form in which the corresponding lowercase letters are combined with other letters. For example, if you want to input “ye”, you can press “i” and enter “yes”, then press “l” and “e” to enter “ee”. Then, “y” and “e” may be pressed to input “yes”. Such an input method is also a method already known by computers.

  Next, a description will be given of a method of inputting the sound “tsu” in small letters.

  Of course, you can press "l", "t", "u" in order, but you can enter it by overlapping the consonant of the next letter of the sound as it is already widely used. You may use the method to do. In other words, when “tsu” is input with “zatsushi”, “s” that is the character before “shi” to be input by pressing “s” and “i” may be input in an overlapping manner. That is, if “s”, “s”, and “i” are sequentially input, “Toshi” is input.

  However, when inputting consonants in this way, there is a problem that such a keyboard that selects a plurality of characters arranged on one key by successive pressing is easy to make an error. For example, if “−tt−” is input, “−d−” is input.

Therefore, in order to perform such prompt sound input smoothly, the present invention provides the following rules. For example, a key where t and d are arranged will be described.
t once = processing with t input t continuous twice = processing with d input t continuous three times = processing with tt (t) input t continuous four times = processing with dd (t) input t continuous five times = t input again After that, if you press further, this process is repeated. Here, if it is not used in an actual language like “tsu”, this step may be omitted.

  Furthermore, when inputting kk, ss, tt, and pp in order to input a prompt sound, according to the present invention, the corresponding key is input three times, three times, three times, and four times, respectively. Is not only inconvenient but also confusing, as compared to other sounds. In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides another method that is simpler than a method in which a consonant is superimposed and a prompt sound is input.

  This is a method in which a prompt sound is entered by placing the prompt (t) first in the vl key and pressing it once when it is necessary. This has the advantage that it can be input without losing the sense of typing rhythm at the timing when the prompt sound should be pressed. Further, since the long sound code is used only in the katakana mode, it may be possible to arrange the long sound code in the order of the prompt sound. Of course, the order will depend on the choice of the person implementing it.

  Since some users use x instead of l for lowercase input, x may be placed instead of l depending on the user option.

  Next, a supplementary description will be given of a method of processing other keys by continuous pressing.

  For example, the m key will be described. The input of “m” by pressing once and “,” by pressing twice is the same as general continuous pressing, but a slightly different embodiment can be made after pressing three times. That is, when “,” is input and a character starting with “m” is input again, “,” that has already been input by continuous pressing is prevented from disappearing. It is also possible to implement that the push is stopped and the third input is processed as a new input. Selection of such a processing method can be modified according to the purpose of those skilled in the art.

  In the present invention, as a method of inputting numbers, a key on which each number is displayed is long pressed or dragged in a specific direction (up / down / left / right direction is preferable to be input along a direction from a representative character). Just enter. In the case of a drawing, a number can be entered by dragging downward.

  Of course, in the present invention, numbers may or may not be displayed. Alternatively, the number mode may be switched and displayed after being displayed as a number key.

  Hereinafter, other arrangements of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a character array in which vowels are arranged on the right side.

  In the arrangement described above, since the vowel keys are arranged on the left side and there is a more unnatural aspect than the arrangement on the right side, in this arrangement, the basic key arrangement is maintained while arranging the vowel keys on the right side.

  In order to arrange the vowel keys on the right side, the “A” key that was in the first key on the left side is moved to the right side, and the character arranged in the last key in the first embodiment is arranged there in the first key. A vowel key is arranged on the last key as shown.

  That is, in this arrangement, the vowel keys are arranged on a separate key and placed on the right side, and the consonant keys are arranged along the conventional numeric keypad arrangement.

  As described above, it can also be confirmed that the prompt sound is displayed on the key.

  FIG. 7 shows an embodiment in which function keys are combined.

  As shown in the drawing, since it is an intuitive arrangement that the muddy sound and the semi-voiced sound can be input by continuously pressing the clear sound key, the description may be omitted from the key skin. . Such implementation has aesthetic advantages.

  In this embodiment, prompt sounds, long tones, lowercase letter prefixes (l), and v are arranged as characters after successive pressing of the m, y, r, and w keys, and related to the input of Japanese characters in the basic numeric keypad array. Characteristically, the text is collected and the sentence code is input in the same way as the numerical input. In other words, Japanese characters were input by continuous pressing, and numbers and other symbols were input by methods other than continuous pressing to maintain consistency.

  On the right side, function keys such as input cancel (delete), multilingual, symbol, and katakana mode are arranged, and the space and enter key are arranged in the center. Spaces and enter keys are not used only for blank input or line breaks in Japanese input, but have more complex functions. The space is used to select the recommended characters (ordinary kanji) displayed on the screen after entering the romaji (moves to the next candidate character), and the enter key displays the current candidate character in the same state (romaji input state). Used for fixed applications. In other words, the space and enter keys are more frequently used than other key arrangements, and when entering with one hand, it is inconvenient that the thumb must be stretched or bent excessively if it is in the corner too much. It is desirable to locate in the center as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a left-handed arrangement.

  This arrangement is an arrangement when the user selects the i key, u key, e key, and o key columns on the right side in the embodiment of FIG.

  It is preferable that user selection items related to the keyboard according to the present invention can be set in the user setting menu of the device, and if a left-handed arrangement is selected in the menu, it is preferable that the selection is arranged as shown in the drawing.

  FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which vowels are arranged on the left and right.

  This arrangement is an arrangement when the user selects the e-key and o-key columns to be located on the right side in the embodiment of FIG. The positions of other function keys are automatically moved as shown in the drawing.

  It is desirable to set user selection items related to the keyboard according to the present invention in the user setting menu of the device, and if left and right arrangement is selected in the menu, it is desirable to arrange as shown in the drawing. .

  FIG. 10 is an example of screen processing when continuous pressing is performed in the embodiment of FIG.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 7, instead of not displaying the muddy sound or semi-turbid sound in the key skin, if the next input character is shown in the key skin every time the corresponding key is pressed, even a user who does not understand the rules can easily use it. be able to. FIG. 10 illustrates the function.

  The first figure in FIG. 10 shows the state of the key skin of the k key in the unpressed state. If this key is pressed once, the character notation of the k key changes from K to G as shown in the next figure. This is to inform that g is input according to the rule of continuous pressing of the k key if it is pressed once more. If the k key is pressed again, the notation changes from G to KK as shown in the next figure. If pressed once more, KK changes to K as shown in the last figure. Here, when another character is input by continuous pressing, it can be made more conspicuous by changing the hue of the key skin as shown in the drawing, but other changes in character notation need not be given.

  FIG. 11 shows still another embodiment of the present invention.

  When typing with both hands holding the tablet PC, it is more convenient to use only the thumb. According to the present invention, as shown in the figure, consonants and vowels are arranged separately on both sides, and are used in a state where they are connected as shown in the drawing for a small device, while consonants and other parts are separated from each other in a tablet PC or the like. It has the advantage that it can be easily input with just the thumb even when it is placed on both sides.

  As described above, since the arrangement and input method of the present invention all have excellent intuition, no special learning and exercises are required, and since the efficiency is high, very fast input is possible.

  When the present invention is implemented using a physical keyboard, the host is provided with a physical keyboard arranged according to the present invention and software for receiving a scan code generated therefrom and converting it into a character code as described above. Just do it. If the virtual keyboard is to be implemented, a virtual keyboard area is allocated so that the key arrangement according to the present invention is displayed on the screen, and a specific key in the virtual keyboard is selected by an input means (for example, mouse or touch). If a gesture is input or a gesture is input, a corresponding value is generated by an input event, and the generated corresponding value may be processed as described above to be converted into a character.

  In order to embody the present invention, it is obvious that all other general components must be provided, and since this is a general technique, description thereof will be omitted.

  However, the difference from the prior art is that the new character arrangement presented by the present invention and the method of selecting and inputting the character are different. The character string input by this new system is analyzed. Convert to Japanese character input.

  By using the present invention, Japanese characters can be input easily and quickly even with a small keyboard.

Claims (6)

In a small keyboard for entering Japanese in Romaji,
The configuration of the buttons is a conventional 3 × 4 arrangement (or also called a numeric keypad arrangement) in the center, and further arranged in a single row on the left and right of the 3 × 4 arrangement. Yes,
Buttons corresponding to the conventional numeric keypad layout are a for the 1st key (or 1 row 2 column key), k for the 2nd key (or 1 row 3 column key), and the 3rd key (or 1 row). S for the 4th column key, t for the 4th key (or 2 row 2 column key), n for the 5th key (or 2 row 3 column key), 6th key (or 2 row 4 column) H) for key, m for key 7 (or 3 rows and 2 columns key), y for key 8 (or 3 rows and 3 columns key), 9 keys (or 3 rows and 4 columns key) Is arranged as r, and w is arranged in the 0th key (or any one of the 4th row and 2nd column key to the 4th row and 4th column key),
G, z, d, b, and p used when inputting the muddy sound and the semi-voiced sound are arranged together on the key where the representative sound value (quiet sound) is arranged,
The vowels i, u, e, and o are respectively arranged on four buttons of the 3 × 4 array of left and right buttons, and input cancellation ( Or delete) button, multi-language mode, special symbol mode, katakana mode and other function keys are arranged,
“G” at the second character of the second key, “kk” at the third character, “z” at the second character of the third key, and “ss” at the third character. "D" at the second character of the 4th key, "tt" at the 3rd character, "b" at the 2nd character of the 6th key, at the 3rd character “P” is arranged at the fourth character, “pp”,
The representative character is input by selecting the representative character with each key, the second character is input by selecting the second character, and the third character is input by selecting the third character. A small keyboard for inputting Japanese, characterized in that the fourth character is input by the method of selecting the fourth character.   Long vowel code (-), prompt sound, or main sentence code (,,!,?, Etc.) at the second character of the vowel key, the 7th key, the 8th key, the 9th key, and the 0th key. The small keyboard for inputting Japanese characters according to claim 1, further comprising:   The method of selecting the representative character is to press the corresponding key once, the method of selecting the second character is to press the corresponding key twice in succession, and the method of selecting the third character is the corresponding key. The small keyboard for inputting Japanese according to claim 1, wherein the key is pressed three times in succession, and the fourth character is selected by pressing the corresponding key four times in succession.   A method in which a long sound code (-), a prompt sound, or a main sentence code (,,.,!,?, Etc.) is further arranged one by one is a prompt sound, a long sound, v, l are the 7th key, and the 8th key. , 9 key, 0 key, one key code, i key, u key, e key, o key, one main sentence code (,,!,?) The small keyboard for inputting Japanese according to claim 2.   The Japanese language according to claim 1, further comprising a function that allows a user to select the vowel key excluding the a key so that the vowel key is arranged on either the left side, the right side, or the left and right sides. A small keyboard for typing. In a method of embodying a small keyboard for inputting Japanese in romaji,
The configuration of the buttons is a conventional 3 × 4 array (also referred to as a numeric keypad array) in the center, and further arranged in one row on the left and right of the 3 × 4 array so that the overall horizontal × vertical array is 5 × 4. And
The button corresponding to the conventional numeric keypad layout is a number 1 key (or 1 row 2 column key).
K for the 2nd key (or 1 row 3 column key), s for the 3rd key (or 1 row 4 column key), t for the 4th key (or 2 row 2 column key), N for the 5th key (or 2 rows 3 columns key), h for the 6th key (or 2 rows 4 columns key), m for the 7th key (or 3 rows 2 columns key), 8 Y for the key (or 3 row 3 column key), r for the 9th key (or 3 row 4 column key), 0 key (or any one of the 4 row 2 column key to 4 row 4 column key) W) is arranged in
G, z, d, b, and p used when inputting the muddy sound and the semi-voiced sound are arranged together on the key where the representative sound value (quiet sound) is arranged,
The vowels i, u, e, and o are arranged one by one on each of the four buttons in the left and right columns of the 3 × 4 array, and the input cancellation is performed on the remaining four buttons in the left and right columns ( Or delete) button, multi-language mode, special symbol mode, katakana mode and other function keys are arranged,
“G” at the second character of the second key, “kk” at the third character, “z” at the second character of the third key, and “ss” at the third character. "D" at the second character of the 4th key, "tt" at the 3rd character, "b" at the 2nd character of the 6th key, at the 3rd character “P” is arranged at the fourth character, “pp”,
The representative character is input by selecting the representative character with each key, the second character is input by selecting the second character, and the third character is input by selecting the third character. A method of embodying a small keyboard for inputting Japanese, wherein the fourth character is input by a method of selecting the fourth character.

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