JP2017103806A - Electronic apparatus, information input method and information input control program used for the electronic apparatus, and portable terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic apparatus capable of inputting a character from a touch panel that is provided in a display part, through simple operation even in the case where a size of the display part is limited.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus comprises an input part in which third multiple regions consisting of first multiple regions and second multiple regions disposed outside of the first multiple regions are displayed in a matrix array and a first character and a second character accompanying the first character are designated based on a touch to a display screen. First characters are allocated to the first multiple regions one by one and displayed. While a touch to one of the first multiple regions is detected, the first character and the second character displayed in the one region are displayed in two upward and downward directions of the same column and two leftward and rightward directions of the same row of the one region in the third multiple regions. Upon receiving a designation of the displayed first and second characters and a cancellation of the designation, a character of which the designation is cancelled last is inputted. In the case where a first character is displayed in the other region neighboring to the one region, a second character is displayed in place of the first character.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, an information input method and an information input control program used for the electronic device, and a mobile terminal device. For example, a mobile phone or PDA (Personal Digital) that performs a predetermined operation by inputting characters from a touch panel The present invention relates to an electronic device suitable for application to an assistant (mobile information terminal) and the like, an information input method and an information input control program used for the electronic device, and a mobile terminal device.

  In an electronic device configured to input characters using a touch panel, a configuration in which all the hiragana 50-sounds are displayed on the touch panel is generally used, but a mobile phone or PDA in which a touch panel for character input is displayed on the display unit In such portable electronic devices, the size of the display unit is limited due to the nature of the portable device, and it is difficult to secure an area for displaying the touch panel. As a coping method, display the characters corresponding to the character line ("A line", "Ka line", etc.), for example, by pressing the "A line" touch panel a fixed number of times, "A" → " The method of switching the input character is taken as “I” → “U” → “E” → “O”. In addition, in the character input using the keys, in addition to the method of switching the input characters in the same manner as described above, when the “A line” key is pressed once, “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, There is also a method of displaying “O” as a selection candidate on the display unit and determining a character by the second selection operation.

  As this type of related technology, for example, there is a kana character input device described in Patent Document 1.

  In this kana character input device, five characters are defined for one of a plurality of keys on a touch panel or a keyboard, and one character is determined depending on a key selection operation and an operation point or a moving direction of the operation force before, after, left and right after the selection. Selected. More specifically, one kana character is selected by arranging five kana characters in order corresponding to one of the keys, and selecting a step of the Japanese syllabary arrangement based on the operated or pressed key. Since five characters are defined for one key, the number of character keys can be greatly reduced. Therefore, the area of the touch panel and the keyboard can be reduced without reducing the size of the keys. Since the user can learn the input operation in association with the Japanese syllabary arrangement, it is easy to learn.

  Also, in the kana input method using the liquid crystal touch panel described in Patent Document 2, the character string “Akasana Hamayawa” is superimposed on the screen of the liquid crystal touch panel, and one of the characters is touched. In response to the input, the remaining character strings of any one of the “A” line or “Wa” line including the touch character under the touch character are superimposed and displayed in a vertical line. By touch-inputting one character among the display characters arranged in a vertical row including the one character in one row, the character is inputted.

  Moreover, in the character input device described in Patent Document 3, a hiragana input screen is displayed on the display unit, and the contact state of the stylus pen on the display surface of the display unit via the touch panel and the touch panel is displayed by the CPU (central processing unit). When the stylus pen touches a predetermined area of the touch panel facing the hiragana input key on the hiragana input screen based on the detection result, the predetermined character assigned to the hiragana input key is input, and the hiragana input When the stylus pen moves in contact with a predetermined area of the touch panel that faces the key, by inputting different characters, a remarkably simple selection operation for the hiragana input keys is executed, and a large number of characters are easily input. The

  Further, in the character input method described in Patent Document 4, in a character input device that inputs kana characters by using the numeric keys to which the characters of the “a” line to the “wa” line are assigned, There are contacts that detect indentation from the top and contacts that detect indentation from the top, bottom, left, and right. With each numeric keypad, the letters “A” that are input from the front and “I” that are input from four directions, top, bottom, left, and right. "," "U" stage, "E" stage, and "O" stage, a signal corresponding to the five characters is output.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-112636 (Abstract, FIG. 1) JP 2002-222053 A (Abstract, FIG. 6) JP 2003-157144 A (Abstract, FIGS. 4 and 14) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-178755 (Abstract, FIG. 4)

  However, the above techniques including the above documents have the following problems.

  That is, the method of switching the input character by pressing the touch panel has a problem that it is necessary to press the key many times when displaying the character intended by the user. Moreover, even if all of the Japanese syllabary is displayed, since the number of characters is large, it is difficult to instantly search for a character that the user wants to input. Further, in the character input using the key, it is necessary to press the key many times when displaying the character intended by the user.

  Further, in the kana character input device described in Patent Document 1, one character is selected by the key selection operation and the operation point after the selection or the movement direction of the operation force in the front / rear and left / right directions. , Configuration and processing method are different.

  In the kana input method described in Patent Document 2, a character is input by touch-inputting one character among display characters arranged in a vertical row including one character in a horizontal row. Are different in configuration and processing method.

  In the character input device described in Patent Document 3, a selection operation for a hiragana input key is executed and a large number of characters are easily input. However, the configuration and processing method are different from the present invention.

  In the character input method described in Patent Document 4, “a” stage characters input from the front and “i” stage, “u” stage, “e” input from four directions of up, down, left and right by each numeric keypad. The signals corresponding to the five characters of the step and the “O” step are output, but the configuration and processing method are different from the present invention.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even when the size of the display unit is limited like a portable device such as a mobile phone, characters and information are input from the touch panel with a simple operation. It is an object to provide an electronic device, an information input method and an information input control program used for the electronic device, and a portable terminal device.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a first configuration of the present invention relates to an electronic device having a touch panel for inputting information, the touch panel being partitioned by a predetermined number of information input frames, and a plurality of pieces of information are stored in a predetermined manner. When any one of the information input frames in which each information is displayed is pressed, the information is already displayed in the information input frame adjacent to the pressed information input frame. Regardless of the presence or absence of information, the sub-information accompanying the information displayed in the information input frame that has been pressed is displayed, and when the press is released after being pressed, immediately before this release Input information confirmation means for confirming the information or sub-information displayed in the information input frame that has been pressed as input information is provided.

  According to a second configuration of the present invention, there is provided an information input method used for an electronic device having a touch panel for inputting information, the touch panel being partitioned by a predetermined number of information input frames, Assigned to each information input frame and displayed, and when any of the information input frames in which each information is displayed is pressed, it is already displayed in the information input frame adjacent to the pressed information input frame Regardless of the presence or absence of information, the sub information accompanying the information displayed in the pressed information input frame is displayed, and when the press is released after being pressed, it is pressed immediately before this release. The information or sub-information displayed in the information input frame that has been set is determined as input information.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, when the input information confirmation means assigns and displays a plurality of information to each predetermined information input frame, and when any of the information input frames in which the respective information is displayed is pressed, Sub information associated with the information displayed in the pressed information input frame is displayed in the information input frame adjacent to the pressed information input frame, regardless of the presence or absence of information already displayed. When the same press is released after being pressed, the information or sub-information displayed in the information input frame that was pressed immediately before this release is confirmed as the input information. Information input can be performed accurately only in a narrow area composed of adjacent information input frames.

It is a block diagram which shows the electrical constitution of the principal part of the electronic device which is one Example of this invention. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the mobile phone 1 in FIG. 1. It is a figure explaining the state in which a character is selected with the touch panel 11 in FIG. It is a figure explaining the other example of the state in which a character is selected with the touch panel 11 in FIG. It is a figure explaining the other example of the state in which a character is selected with the touch panel 11 in FIG. It is a figure explaining the other example of the state in which a character is selected with the touch panel 11 in FIG.

  The electronic device has a touch panel for character input, and the touch panel is partitioned by a predetermined number of character input frames. Then, each character in the “a” column of the Japanese syllabary is assigned to each predetermined character input frame and displayed, and one of the character input frames in which each character in the “a” column is displayed is pressed. When the character input box adjacent to the pressed character input frame has a character that is displayed in the pressed character input frame, regardless of whether or not there is a character already displayed. And an input character confirmation means for confirming, as an input character, a character displayed in the character input frame that was pressed immediately before the release when the press is released after being pressed. Provided are an electronic device, an information input method and an information input control program used for the electronic device, and a portable terminal device.

  Further, in the present invention, the input character determining means, for the character displayed in the pressed character input frame, converts each character displayed in the character input frame adjacent to the character input frame to a vowel. The relative positional relationship is fixed and displayed.

  Further, in the present invention, the input character determining means is arranged in a character input frame adjacent to the upper side, the lower side, the left side, and the right side of the character input frame with respect to the character displayed in the pressed character input frame. Each displayed character is configured to be displayed with the relative positional relationship of vowels fixed.

  In the present invention, the input character determination means is adjacent to the upper left, lower left, upper right, and lower right sides of the character input frame with respect to the character displayed in the pressed character input frame. Each character displayed in the character input frame is configured to be displayed with a fixed relative vowel positional relationship.

  Further, in the present invention, the input character determination means is configured to determine a relative vowel between the character displayed in the pressed character input frame and each character displayed in the character input frame adjacent to the character input frame. A positional relationship setting unit for arbitrarily setting the positional relationship is provided.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a main part of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the electronic apparatus of this example is a mobile phone 1 and includes a display unit 10, a processing device 20, and a character database 30. The display unit 10 is configured by a liquid crystal display device, for example, and has a function as a touch panel 11 for character input. The touch panel 11 is partitioned by a predetermined number of character input frames according to the input frame setting signal fa of the processing device 20, and each character in the “a” column of the “50” sounds (“A, K, S, T, Nana, Hama, Rya, Wa ") are assigned to the predetermined character input frames and displayed. In addition, when any of the character input frames is pressed, the touch panel 11 outputs position information da corresponding to the position of the pressed character input frame. The touch panel 11 outputs a database update signal cd when an operation for updating the character database 30 is performed.

  The processing device 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20a as a computer that controls the entire mobile phone 1, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 20b in which an information input control program for operating the CPU 20a is recorded. ing. In particular, in this embodiment, the processing device 20 outputs the input frame setting signal fa to the touch panel 11, thereby assigning each character in the "a" column of the fifty-five sounds to a predetermined character input frame. When one of the character input frames in which each character of the “a” column is displayed is pressed, the character input frame is adjacent to the pressed character input frame based on the position information da output from the touch panel 11. Regardless of whether or not there are already displayed characters in the character input frame, the remaining characters of the character line that includes the character displayed in the pressed character input frame are displayed and When the press is released, the character displayed in the character input box pressed immediately before the release is determined as the input character.

  In addition, the processing device 20 fixes the relative position relation of the vowels for each character displayed in the character input frame adjacent to the character input frame with respect to the character displayed in the pressed character input frame. To display. For example, the characters to be displayed are fixed such that the vowel “i” is on the lower side, “u” is on the left side, “e” is on the upper side, and “o” is on the right side. The relative positional relationship between the vowels of these characters is set in advance and stored in the character database 30. The character input frame adjacent to the pressed character input frame is, for example, adjacent to the upper, lower, left and right sides of the pressed character input frame, or upper left, lower left, upper right and right. Adjacent to the lower side. The processing device 20 is provided with a positional relationship setting unit 21. Based on the database update signal cd output from the touch panel 11, the positional relationship setting unit 21 sends the positional relationship setting signal ce to the character database 30 to arbitrarily set the relative positional relationship.

  FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the mobile phone 1 in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are diagrams for explaining a state in which characters are selected on the touch panel 11 in FIG. .

  With reference to these drawings, processing contents of the information input method used in the mobile phone 1 of this example will be described.

  In this mobile phone 1, each character in the “a” column of the “50” sound (“Akasa / Tanaha / Mayara / Wa”) is assigned to each preset character input frame and displayed. When any of the character input boxes in which the characters in the column “a” are displayed is pressed, whether or not there is a character already displayed in the character input box adjacent to the pressed character input box. First, when the remaining characters of the character line that includes the character displayed in the pressed character input box are displayed, and the same press is released after being pressed, the character that was pressed immediately before this release The character displayed in the input frame is confirmed as the input character.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2, when the user performs an operation using a function that requires character input, such as mail creation, for example, the processing device 20 is activated (step A1). 11, an input frame setting signal fa is output, and a character input frame is set (step A2). On the touch panel 1, as shown in FIG. 3A, a character input frame is displayed, and each character in the “A” column (“Akasa / Tanaha / Mayara / Wa”) is displayed in each preset character input frame. ) Is assigned and displayed (step A3). In this state, for example, when a character input frame displaying “A” is pressed (step A4), this position information da is detected and sent to the processing device 20 (step A5).

  The processing device 20 makes an inquiry to the character database 30 based on the position information da (step A6), reads the relative positional relationship of the characters (step A7), and character information cn corresponding to the relative positional relationship is obtained. It is sent to the touch panel 1 (step A8). On the touch panel 1, characters corresponding to the character information cn are displayed (step A9). In this case, as shown in FIG. 3B, for example, on the lower side, the left side, the upper side, and the right side of the character input frame with respect to the character ("A") displayed in the pressed character input frame. Characters ("I, U, E, O") displayed in adjacent character input frames are displayed in a state where the relative positional relationship of vowels is set in advance. When the press is released in this state (step A10), “A” is determined as the input character (step A11). On the other hand, without releasing the press at step A10, for example, the character input frame on which “O” is displayed is pressed (step A12). When the press of the character input frame “” is released (step A 13), “O” is determined as the input character as shown in FIG. 3C (step A 14).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, for example, when a character input frame displaying “sa” is pressed, each character input adjacent to the lower side, the left side, the upper side, and the right side of the character input frame. Characters displayed on the frame (“Shi, Suse, Setsu”) are displayed in a state where the relative positional relationship of vowels is the same as in FIG. If the press is released in this state, “sa” is fixed as the input character, but without releasing the press, for example, the character input frame in which “shi” is displayed is pressed and the character input frame of “sa” is displayed. When the pressing of the “Shi” character input frame is released after the pressing of “S” is released, “Shi” is determined as the input character as shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the character input frame displaying “WA” is pressed, the characters (“ ") Is displayed in a state in which the relative positional relationship between the vowels is the same as in FIG. When the press is released in this state, “Wa” is confirmed as the input character, but without releasing the press, the character input frame displaying “O” is pressed, and the character input frame for “Wa” is pressed. When the character input frame ““ ”is released after releasing“ ”,“ “” is confirmed as the input character, as shown in FIG.

  Further, when an operation for updating the character database 30 is performed on the touch panel 11 (step B <b> 1), a database update signal cd is output from the touch panel 11 to the positional relationship setting unit 21. The positional relationship setting unit 21 sends a positional relationship setting signal ce to the character database 30 to arbitrarily set the relative positional relationship of the stored character vowels. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 6B, for the character (“A”) displayed in the pressed character input frame, for example, the left side, lower left side, lower side and Characters (“I, U, E, O”) displayed in the adjacent character input frames on the lower right side are displayed. When pressing is released in this state, “a” is confirmed as an input character. On the other hand, without releasing this press, for example, press the character input frame displaying “O”, release the press of the character input frame of “A”, and then press the character input frame of “O” Is released, “o” is confirmed as an input character as shown in FIG.

  As described above, in this embodiment, each character in the “A” column (“Akasa / Tanaha / Mayara / Wa”) is assigned to each character input frame set in advance and displayed. When any of the character input boxes displaying each character in the “A” column is pressed, regardless of the presence or absence of characters already displayed in the character input box adjacent to the pressed character input box, When the remaining characters of the character line containing the characters displayed in the pressed character input box are displayed, and the same press is released after being pressed, the character input box that was pressed immediately before this release Since the character displayed on the screen is determined as the input character, it is possible to accurately input the character only in a narrow area composed of a 5 × 6 character input frame. In addition, when inputting a single character, it is not necessary to press the same character input frame multiple times, so that, for example, an operation error such as pressing a portion that should originally be pressed three times does not occur. .

  In FIG. 5, if no character input frame is provided in the lower row of “WA”, it is possible to input characters only in an area composed of 5 × 5 character input frames. In FIG. 6, if no character input frame is provided in the upper column of “A” and the lower column of “WA”, character input is performed only in an area composed of 5 × 4 character input frames. be able to. In addition, since the character corresponding to the corresponding character line is displayed for each character in the “A” column (“Akasa / Tanaha / Mayara / Wa”), the user can instantly search for the character that the user wants to input. it can. Also, each character displayed in the character input box adjacent to the pressed character input frame is displayed with the relative positional relationship of the vowels fixed. , Character input is always performed accurately in a standard one action or two actions. Basically, since a general cellular phone character input method is followed, the user does not need to learn a new input method. Moreover, since the relative positional relationship of the vowels is arbitrarily set by the positional relationship setting unit 21, the positional relationship according to the user's preference is set, and the operability is improved.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiment, and even if there is a design change without departing from the gist of the present invention, Included in the invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, a character is input by the touch panel 11, but an information input frame may be provided instead of the character input frame, and information such as a menu may be selected.

  In this case, a plurality of information is assigned to each information input frame and displayed, and when any of the information input frames in which each information is displayed is pressed, the information input frame adjacent to the pressed information input frame is displayed. Regardless of the presence or absence of information already displayed, sub-information accompanying the information displayed in the pressed information input frame is displayed (corresponding to claim 1 or 7).

  The present invention can be applied not only to a mobile phone but also to all electronic devices having a touch panel for inputting information and characters, and is particularly effective for use in a mobile device in which the size of the touch panel is limited.

1 Mobile phones (electronic devices, mobile terminal devices)
10 Display (part of electronic equipment, part of input information confirmation means, part of input character confirmation means)
11 Touch Panel 20 Processing Device (Part of Input Information Confirming Unit, Part of Input Character Confirming Unit)
20a CPU (central processing unit) (part of input information confirmation means, part of input character confirmation means)
20b ROM (read only memory) (part of input information confirmation means, part of input character confirmation means)
21 Position relation setting part (part of input character confirmation means)
30 character database (part of input character confirmation means)

Claims (11)

A display unit displaying a third plurality of regions configured by a first plurality of regions and a second plurality of regions arranged outside the first plurality of regions in a matrix arrangement;
A first character and an input unit for designating a second character associated with the first character based on contact with the surface of the display unit;
While the first character is assigned to the first plurality of areas and displayed one by one, and the state of contact with one of the first plurality of areas is detected, the one area is displayed in the one area. The first character displayed and the second character associated with the first character displayed in the one region are arranged in the same row in the first region in the third plurality of regions, below It is possible to accept designation and cancellation of the designation for each of the first character displayed in the one area and the second character, displayed in two directions and left and right directions that are in the same direction, Enter the character that was last canceled
A mobile terminal device that displays the second character instead of the first character when the first character is displayed in another region adjacent to the one region.   The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the other region is a region adjacent to the one region in the same column direction and the same row direction.   3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the second character is displayed one character in each of the upper and lower two directions and the left and right two directions in the same row in the same region. A portable terminal device according to any one of the above.   The second character has two or more types, and a display position for each type of the second character with respect to the one region is set according to the type. 4. The mobile terminal device according to any one of 3.   The portable terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second character is a character having the same consonant as the first character displayed in the one region.   The portable terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the first character is a representative character in the character group having the same consonant. The first characters include the characters “a”, “ka”, “sa”, “ta”, “na”, “ha”, “ma”, “ya”, “ra”, and “wa”. Including
Display the “a”, the “ka”, and the “sa” in a horizontal row,
The “ta”, the “na”, and the “ha” are displayed side by side in a row under the row of the “a”, the “ka”, and the “sa”,
The “ma”, the “ya”, and the “ra” are displayed in a horizontal row below the “ta”, the “na”, and the “ha”.
The mobile terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the “wa” is displayed below the line of “ma”, “ya”, and “ra”. Displaying the second character corresponding to the "I" column of the displayed first character in the first direction, which is one of up, down, left, and right;
The second character corresponding to the “u” column of the first character input by the operation is a second direction different from the first direction of up, down, left, and right. Display in direction,
The second character corresponding to the “e” column of the first character input by the operation is in any one direction different from the first and second directions of up, down, left, and right. Display in the third direction,
The second character corresponding to the “O” column of the first character input by the operation is any one direction different from the first to third directions of up, down, left, and right. The portable terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the portable terminal device displays in a fourth direction. A display unit displaying a third plurality of regions configured by a first plurality of regions and a second plurality of regions arranged outside the first plurality of regions in a matrix arrangement;
An input unit for designating a first character and a second character associated with the first character based on contact with the surface of the display unit;
Among the designated characters, a control unit for inputting the character that was lastly released from the designation,
The control unit assigns and displays the first character to the first plurality of areas one by one, and detects a state in which one of the first plurality of areas is touched. The first character displayed in the one region and the second character associated with the first character displayed in the one region are arranged in the same row of the one region in the third plurality of regions. If the first character is displayed in another area adjacent to the one area, the first character is displayed as the first character. Instead, a mobile terminal device that displays the second character. A display unit configured to display a third plurality of regions including a first plurality of regions and a second plurality of regions arranged outside the first plurality of regions in a matrix arrangement; and the display An information input method used for an electronic device including a first character and an input unit for designating a second character associated with the first character based on contact with a surface of the unit,
While the first character is assigned to the first plurality of areas and displayed one by one, and the state of contact with one of the first plurality of areas is detected, the one area is displayed in the one area. The first character displayed and the second character associated with the first character displayed in the one region are arranged in the same row in the first region in the third plurality of regions, below It is possible to accept designation and cancellation of the designation for each of the first character displayed in the one area and the second character, displayed in two directions and left and right directions that are in the same direction, Enter the character that was last canceled
An information input method for displaying the second character instead of the first character when the first character is displayed in another region adjacent to the one region.   The information input method according to claim 10, wherein the other area is an area adjacent to the one area in the same column direction and the same row direction.

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