JP2610874B2 - Information processing method - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing method particularly suitable for a panel input device including a display surface for pattern information and a transparent panel keyboard superimposed on the display surface.

[Related Art] In recent years, this type of device has been heavily used from the viewpoint of space utility and operability.

As this type of panel input device, there is known a panel input device which responds to various key inputs by switching a key top display on a display surface.

However, in the conventional panel input device, a character used for displaying a key top indicating a function of a key and a character used for displaying an echo back for the input of the key have the same character size. For this reason, if the displayed characters of the key tops are enlarged to improve the operability, the display amount in the display area for echo back or the like is reduced. Also,
If an attempt is made to reduce the character size used to increase the amount of display in the display area for echo back or the like, the displayed characters on the key tops will also be reduced, and the operability of each key will be sacrificed.

Conventionally, the size of the frame indicating the key top of each key is fixed by a switch pattern provided on a transparent panel keyboard.For example, the key top area of frequently used keys is increased to improve operability. I could not improve.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-described drawbacks of the related art, and has as its object to reduce the character size of characters displayed as an echo back of key input. Provided is an information processing method capable of making the character size smaller than the character size displayed on the key top and effectively using a display area such as an echo back display while maintaining the operability of the input panel. It is in.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an information processing method that can make the size of each key top (key frame) different and can provide an input panel with excellent operability.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An information processing method according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes a display unit for displaying character patterns of different sizes, and a transparent coordinate input arranged so as to overlap the display unit. A key character is displayed in a character pattern of a first character size on the display unit, and coordinates of the displayed key character are input by the coordinate input unit. In response, a character pattern of a second character size, which is the same character as the key character at the input position and is smaller than the first character size, is different from the key character on the display means. Is displayed.

Preferably, in the above configuration, the character size of the character pattern displayed in response to the input of the coordinates of the position where the key character is displayed is set to be substantially the same as the first character size. It has a first mode and a second mode in which a second character size smaller than the first size is set.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method comprising: key pattern identification information; key position information including information indicating a combination of unit key frames in a key pattern; Utilizing storage means storing a plurality of key pattern information having key character information of a key, and in response to input of key pattern identification information, the input key pattern identification information is obtained from the key pattern information stored in the storage means. An information processing method of selecting key pattern information corresponding to the key pattern information, and displaying a key pattern according to the selected key pattern information, wherein a key frame is displayed according to individual key position information stored in the storage means, For the unit key frames for which the combination is set by the key position information, the key frames surrounding them are displayed so that Characterized in that the visible different delimiter key of's.

[Operation] According to this configuration, in response to the input of the key character and the coordinates of the key character, the same character as the key character at the input position is located at a position different from the key character position. While being displayed, the input characters can be displayed (hereinafter, referred to as echo back display) in a size smaller than the key characters. For this reason, the key characters are displayed in a large size to improve the operability when operating the keys,
Characters in the echo back display are displayed in a small size, and a display area for performing a display such as an echo back can be saved.

In addition, it is possible to specify whether the size of the character in the echo back display is smaller than the key character or substantially the same as the key character, so that the echo back display can display the character as required. become.

According to another aspect of the invention, the key position information includes information for combining the unit key frames, and the unit key frames for which the combination is instructed by the key position information display the key frames surrounding the unit key frames. . Therefore, it is possible to display key frames having different sizes by setting the combination of the unit key frames. For example, it is possible to display a key pattern or the like in which the size of the key top is changed according to the frequency of use. Become.

[Description of Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a panel input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a central processing unit (CP) for performing main control of a panel input device.
U), 2 is a read only memory (ROM) that stores various basic control programs of the CPU 1, 3 is a random access memory (RAM) that stores application programs and other information of the CPU 1, 4 is an address / data of the CPU 1 A bus (BUS) 5 is a liquid crystal controller (LC) that develops character information and key management information from the CPU 1 into corresponding pattern information.
DC), 6 is a liquid crystal driver (LCD) that operates under the control of LCDC5.
D), 7 are liquid crystal display panels (LCDP) for displaying pattern information under the control of LCDD6, 8 is a transparent touch key panel, 9
Is an output port of the CPU1, and 10 is an input port of the CPU1.
A touch panel key 8 on the surface of the LCDP 7 is called an LCD panel keyboard.

In such a configuration, the CPU 1 controls the key input of the touch panel key 8 according to the basic control routine of the ROM 2. For example, CPU 1 converts each bit of output port 9 from bit I5 to bit I0.
, And sequentially read the contents (bits O0 to O6) of the input port 10 at each time. Therefore, when the operator touches the panel key in the second row and the third column at a certain point in time, when the output bit I3 is activated, the LOW level is transmitted to the input bit O1, and the bit O1 becomes the LOW level. The CPU 1 receives the key input information (output bit I3 and input bit O
1) is saved in the key input data area of RAM3.

Also, CPU1 follows LCDP7 according to the basic control routine of ROM2.
Display control. For example, CPU1 has LCDC5 via BUS4.
The LCDC 5 controls the LCDD 6 according to the information, and the LCDD 6 displays the corresponding character pattern and key pattern on the LCDP 7 surface.

Further, the CPU 1 executes the application program of the RAM 3 created in, for example, the BASIC language, and executes the above-described basic control routine of the ROM 2 as needed in accordance with execution of a call (CALL) from the program. Function as a display. The above configuration is common to the first to fourth embodiments described below unless otherwise specified.

First Embodiment The first embodiment relates to the effective use of a liquid crystal display surface, and relates to the effective use of the display surface as a normal data display area, an input area for panel key data, or both. .

FIG. 2A is an external perspective view of the LCD panel keyboard of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 2A. The LCD panel keyboard of this embodiment comprises a liquid crystal display panel 7, a transparent touch key panel 8, and a division spacer 11 for dividing the key panel 8 into (6 × 7) key units. The number of dots of the display panel 7 is (horizontal 90 × vertical 84), and the (matrix 6 × vertical 7) key matrix is superimposed thereon.

3 (A) to 3 (D) are views for explaining an operation example of the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 (A) shows an operation example of mode 1, for example. In the operation mode 1, all the display information is displayed by the pitch of the panel key matrix. The display information forms character information sent from the application program, echo back information for confirming key input, and a key input area. Key pattern information and the like. The operation mode 1 is common to display pitches when the entire screen is used as the information display area, when the entire screen is used as the key input area, and when the screen is divided into the information display area and the key input area. And it is easy to control and suitable for simple applications.

FIG. 3 (C) is an enlarged view of the partial area a of FIG. 3 (A). As is clear from the figure, many effective dots are not used for actual character display in this case.

FIG. 3B shows an operation example of the mode 2.
In the operation mode 2, for example, when displaying normal character information, echo back information, or the like, the character pitch is reduced and displayed. In this case, a font having a small character size may be used. However, the display of the key pattern portion is indicated by the pitch of the key matrix. This makes it possible to display more character information and echo back information, although the control becomes somewhat complicated in the operation mode 2.

FIG. 3D is an enlarged view of a partial area b of FIG. 3B. As is clear from the figure, the display dots are effectively used until the space between characters is minimized. In the first embodiment, up to 15 characters can be displayed on one line. In such display control, a display pitch parameter for information display is prepared separately from a display pitch parameter for a key pattern.
These parameters may be changed according to the display area (mode). The division of the display screen will be described later.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are diagrams for explaining the basic control of the LCD panel keyboard according to the first embodiment. In order to use a part or all of the liquid crystal display surface as a data input device as described above, it is necessary to display key pattern information there and perform corresponding key input control. In addition, the key pattern information to be displayed and its function must be changed to various types and contents according to the flow of business. Therefore, in this embodiment, key pattern data is introduced to easily manage the panel key input function.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a storage structure of a key pattern data file. The key pattern data file is an information file storing one or more key pattern data (key management information) c.
Stored in RAM3. Each key pattern data c includes a key pattern number, key matrix data, key top data, and a data group of a return code table.
The key pattern number identifies each key pattern data c.
ID number. The key matrix data is a data group forming the key pad arrangement of FIG. 5B of the key pattern information, and the key top data is a data group forming the key top characters and the like of FIG. 5C. For example, key matrix data corresponding to FIG.
First, twelve data “−1” (indicating that no key function is set for key numbers 1 to 12) and the following three data “13”
(The key numbers 13 to 15 indicate one key unit), and the following three data "16" (key numbers 16 to 18)
Up to one key unit). Also, the return code table is
It is a table for generating a corresponding program return code for giving each key a predetermined meaning. In this way, for example, when a certain key pattern number is designated from the application program, the basic control program of the ROM 2 operates to display the corresponding key pattern information on the liquid crystal display screen, and the panel key input function is set. In the present embodiment, as a result of introducing such a key pattern data file, it is possible to easily divide the screen (function) of the liquid crystal display surface and change it.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a basic control procedure of the touch panel key 8, and a program of the procedure is stored in the ROM 2. In step S1, all bits of output port 9 are
Set to HIGH level. In step S2, 5 is set in the register I provided in the RAM3. At step S3, the bit I (= bit 15) of the output port 9 is set to the LOW level. That is, the first row of the touch panel keys 8 is energized. In step S4, the contents of the input port 10 are read, and it is checked whether any of the bits is at a LOW level. If there is no LOW level bit, no key unit in the column has been touched. Then, the process proceeds to step S5 where the register I
Add -1 to the contents of At step S6, it is checked whether or not the content of the register I is FFH (H indicates hexadecimal). When it is FFH, it indicates -1 and indicates that the column scan has completed one cycle, so the processing is terminated. If it is not FFH, the flow returns to step S3 to activate the next row of the panel key 8.

Also, the content of the input port 10 is set to LOW in the judgment of the step S4.
If there is a bit of the level, the process proceeds to step S7, and the corresponding key number is calculated based on the contents relating to the input / output ports 9 and 10 at that time. In step S8, a return code corresponding to the obtained key number is searched from the return code table. In step S9, the obtained return code is stored in RAM3.
Store in the key buffer.

FIG. 6A is a flowchart of a basic control procedure for dividing and controlling the display area and the key input area, and the program of the procedure is stored in the ROM 2. In step S21, the presence or absence of a key pattern data file is checked.
In step 2, it is checked whether key pattern data of the number specified by the application program exists. In either case,
If not, the process exits. If there is key pattern data of the designated number, the flow advances to step S23 to check whether any key pattern data has been set by that time. If it has been set, the key pattern display at the present time is erased in step S24, and if it has not been set, the process in step S24 is skipped. Step S
In step 25, the area occupied by the key input area is calculated based on the key matrix data in the key pattern data. In step S26, a boundary between the key input area and the display area is determined based on the calculation result, and the position information of the boundary is stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 3. In step S27, the current display area is moved so as to match the determined boundary line. This completes the work of dividing the key input area and the display area into two. In step S27, a keypad frame is displayed based on the key matrix data, and in step S28, a keytop character is displayed based on the keytop data. In step S29, the start address of the return code table is stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 3 so as to respond to the subsequent touch key input.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing the details of the procedure for moving the display area. The program for this procedure is stored in the ROM 2. In step S41, register A provided in RAM3
The start address of the key matrix data is stored in DDR. In step S42, 0 is set in the register I. In step S43, (ADDR) is stored in the register MAT provided in RAM3.
+ I) is stored. Therefore, the register MAT first stores the contents of the head address of the key matrix data (fifth
In the case of FIG. 7B, data-1) is held. Step S4
At 4, it is checked whether or not the content of the register MAT is -1. If -1, no key unit exists at this position, so
Proceeding to S45, +1 is added to the contents of the register I. Step S46
Then, it is checked whether or not the content of the register I is smaller than the number of key units (48). If it is smaller, the process returns to step S43 to check the next key matrix data. If not, the process proceeds to step S47 since the number of all key units is checked, and the boundary between the key input area and the display area is calculated from the contents of the register I (the number of unused units). For example, in the case of FIG. 5B, since I = 12, the upper two rows of the liquid crystal display panel are used as the display area, and the remaining five rows are used as the key input area. If it is not -1 in the determination in step S44, the process proceeds to step S47, and the boundary between the input area and the display area is calculated from the contents of the register I. Considering that the key input area has a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 5 (B), it is possible to quickly process even the first non--1 data found.

FIGS. 7A to 7E are diagrams showing a mode in which the display screen moves as a result of inserting a keyboard function into a normal display screen. FIG. 7A shows the display screen before the keyboard function is inserted. FIG. 7B is a screen of a key pattern to be inserted. In FIG. 7A, it is assumed that the cursor K has now reached the position shown in FIG. Considering the echo back function at the time of key input, the line with the cursor K should always be displayed. Therefore, when inserting the key pattern of FIG. 7 (B) into the display screen of FIG. 7 (A), it is inserted as shown in FIG. 7 (D). Preferably, the display line of the cursor K is inserted so as to be immediately above the keyboard area. For this reason, a part of the display data above the cursor K is scrolled up and disappears from the display screen.
FIG. 7 (C) shows a state where the scrolled up data portion is stored in the upper screen stack of the RAM 3. FIG. 7 (E) shows a state where, for example, a portion of data which has been scrolled down and disappeared from the display screen is also stored in the lower screen stack of the RAM 3. In this way, when the key pattern is later removed, for example, by first scrolling down the data and then scrolling up the data, the state shown in FIG. 7A can be easily returned.

[Second Embodiment] The second embodiment solves an application in which the keypad frame and the return code change only the contents of the same key top with a good memory efficiency. FIG. 15 shows the second embodiment.
It is a front view of an LCD panel keyboard. That is, a case is considered in which a product name is extracted from a master file of a product, displayed as a key pattern, and one of them is selected. Like the first embodiment, the panel keyboard of this embodiment has seven vertical keys and six horizontal keys (15 digits in small pitch characters).
If the product name is kept within 7 characters, 14 products can be displayed as a keypad on one screen. Now all the product names you want to select are 70
If there are types, five selection screens are required. if,
When this is registered in the key pattern data file of FIG. 5A of the first embodiment, the key matrix data and the return control tape may be the same, but only the key top data is different, so that five key pattern data c are prepared. I have to do it. For one key pattern data
Assuming that 384 bytes of data is required, 1920
Requires bytes of memory.

FIG. 16A is a diagram showing an example of a product selection application process according to the first embodiment. In the figure, procedure number 100 sets 1 as the key pattern number, and procedure number 1
At 10, the key pattern 1 is displayed. In the procedure number 120, one byte is keyed in, and in the procedure number 130, it is checked whether the key input byte is 0 or not. Here, 0 means that the next key pattern number is selected. Therefore, if it is not 0, the process of selecting the key-input product is performed. If it is 0, the process proceeds to the procedure number 140. In the procedure number 140, K is incremented by 1, and in the procedure number 150, it is determined whether or not the maximum five sides have been exceeded.
If it does not exceed five screens, the procedure returns to procedure number 110 and the next key pattern is displayed.

FIG. 16B is a diagram showing an example of a component selection application process according to the second embodiment. In the figure, a procedure number 110 executes a subroutine [DISPKEY]. In [DISPKEY] of procedure number 170, the contents of register I are sequentially
Instead, the I-th product name is extracted from the K file (the product name file in the application) and written into the corresponding key-top position of one fixed key pattern data. Therefore, in the second embodiment, only one key pattern data is required, and only 384 bytes are required. Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, the effect increases as the number of product names increases.

[Third Embodiment] The third embodiment effectively solves the problem of preceding key input in this type of input device. In the case of an ordinary device, a plurality of key advance inputs are secured, and this number is defined as the number of bytes of the key buffer.
However, in the touch panel input, the meaning and contents of the keys are changed, and if the application program is not properly synchronized with the preceding input, a serious error is caused in the processing system.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a processing procedure of an example of the third embodiment, and FIG.
13A to 13C are diagrams showing a change in the key top accompanying the processing in FIG. First, it is assumed that a key pattern as shown in FIG. 12 (A) is set. 13th from this state
Execute the processing procedure shown in the figure. That is, it is assumed that the operator erroneously preliminarily inputs the [Send] key and the [Receive] key in FIG. 12 (A) during data transmission through the RS port of procedure number 100. In procedure number 110, the key pattern is changed to 16, and the key top changes as shown in FIG. 12 (B). In the procedure number 120, first, the return code (3) of the first preceding input is fetched by one-character input. However, since the return code (3) at this point means "printer printing", printer printing is executed in the procedure number 140. At the end of the printer printing, the key pattern is changed to 17 in the procedure number 150, and the key top is changed as shown in FIG. 12 (C). In procedure number 160, the return code (4) of the second preceding input is fetched by one-character input. However, since the return code (4) at this point means "initialization", the data is initialized in the procedure number 180. As described above, since the operator erroneously preliminarily inputs the transmission key and the reception key, the same processing as that of inputting the print key and the initialization key is actually performed.

A simple way to prevent such a serious operation error is to eliminate the function of preceding input. That is, the key input is enabled only when the application program executes the procedure number 120 or the procedure number 160. However, in this method, for example, a process in which a certain loop process is broken depending on the presence or absence of the preceding input becomes impossible.
Therefore, in the third embodiment, the possible number of preceding inputs is set to one character, and the characters input later are rewritten by the previously input characters.

With such a configuration, the processing procedure of FIG. 13 is executed again. During transmission of data through the RS port in procedure number 100, when the [transmit] key is pressed first, a return code (3) is stored in the key buffer. Next, when the [Receive] key is pressed, the return code of the one-character buffer is rewritten from (3) to (4). If the operator notices a mistake here and presses the [invalid] key, the return code is rewritten from (4) to (0). Therefore, if it is specified that the return code (0) does not perform any processing in the subsequent key pattern, an erroneous input by the operator is corrected and ignored in the processing.

FIG. 14A is an operation timing chart when the number of preceding inputs is five, and FIG. 14B is an operation timing chart when the number of preceding inputs is one in the third embodiment.

Fourth Embodiment In a fourth embodiment, a semi-fixed portion is provided on a panel keyboard.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of the panel keyboard of the fourth embodiment. In the figure, 21 is a transparent touch key panel, 22
Is a liquid crystal display (LCDP), a portion of the touch key panel 21 that functions as an LCD panel keyboard of the first embodiment, is a portion of the touch key panel 21 that functions as a semi-fixed keyboard, and 23 is a semi-fixed keyboard. This is a film (other acrylic plate or the like) on which the key tops of some parts are fixedly printed.

9 (A) to 9 (C) are front views showing various usage examples of the panel keyboard of the fourth embodiment. In the LCD panel keyboard section, the corresponding key pattern is selected according to the specification of the key pattern number, and the screen is set. Further, since the key top is printed in advance on the semi-fixed keyboard section, the function of this section is semi-fixed. That is, the application program is semi-fixed in the sense that an original return code can be set in this part. Also, this part is semi-fixed in the sense that several keys can be made to look like one key by the film key pattern.

9 (A) to 9 (C), preferably, the semi-fixed keyboard portion is assigned a key function which is used most in the application program. This function is, for example, a function of changing a key pattern, or executing a function such as writing, inputting, clearing, or deleting key input data. Thus, the structure of the semi-fixed keyboard is simple, and the function of the entire keyboard is greatly improved.

10 (A) to 10 (G) are front views of examples provided with another type of semi-fixed keyboard unit. 10A through 10G, for example, K1 is a set key of a certain key pattern, K2
Is the return key to change to the key pattern of the previous number, K3
Has the function of a feed key for changing to the key pattern of the next number. The realization of such a function is simple.
For example, a control code may be assigned as a return code of the key.

By having a semi-fixed part, the application program can be set and changed without being aware of the key pattern.
Conventional programs for devices having a liquid crystal display surface and a keyboard separately can be used as they are.

Now, according to FIGS. 10A to 10G, an example INPUT statement (B
Let's follow the key input operation based on ASIC language). FIG. 10A shows a state of waiting for input. In FIG. 10 (B), the key pattern as shown is set by inputting the K1 key of the semi-fixed part. In Fig. 10 (C), "A" is set by the LCD panel key.
Enter In FIG. 10D, the K3 key is input to change to the next key pattern. In FIG. 10 (E), "A"
Enter In FIG. 10 (F), the K1 key is pressed twice to change to the previous key pattern. In FIG. 10 (G), “1370
Enter "00" and finally enter the entry key (ENT) to end the operation.

In this case, the BASIC I / P only needs to call a function of the touch panel control section such as "KBD input with buffer". Also, in a place where such a key configuration is adopted, the application program becomes very simple.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a processing procedure for achieving the screen of FIG. 7 (D) without a semi-fixed key. However, this processing procedure does not include any screen control such as whether the key pattern is not destroyed when scrolling the data or whether the cursor K is moved on the key pattern. According to the present embodiment having the semi-fixed portion, this can be achieved by the following one sentence including the subsequent screen control.

DEFKEY 15 Here, “DEFKEY” is a new statement to set a key pattern. In BASIC I / P, to execute “DEFKEY”, a touch panel control unit called “Key pattern set” with key pattern number 15 It only calls functions supported by.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a fixed key input function is set on the panel keyboard, and the key top information of the fixed phrase is selected and displayed on the display surface from the information file having a large number of key top information. Most of the management information related to the key input function can be managed by the common unit, and the information memory can be largely saved.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the display control means controls the pitch of the information pattern displayed on the display surface to the same pitch as the key pitch of the panel keyboard or to a different pitch, especially when the display surface is used for the purpose of displaying information. , The amount of display information increases significantly.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to make the character size of a character displayed as an echo back of a key input smaller than the character size displayed on the key top. Thus, it is possible to effectively use a display area such as an echo back display while maintaining the operability of the input panel.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to vary the size (key frame) of each key top, and it is possible to provide an input panel having excellent operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a panel input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 (A) is an external perspective view of an LCD panel keyboard of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 (B) is FIG. 2 (A). ), FIGS. 3 (A) to 3 (D) are views for explaining an operation example of the first embodiment, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a basic control procedure of the touch panel key 8, FIG. 6A to 6C are diagrams for explaining the basic control of the LCD panel keyboard according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6A is a flowchart of a basic control procedure for dividing and controlling a display area and a key input area. 7B is a flowchart showing details of a display area moving processing procedure, and FIGS. 7A to 7E are views showing a mode in which the display screen moves as a result of inserting a keyboard function into a normal display screen. FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of the panel keyboard of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 9 (A). 10 (A) to 10 (C) are front views showing various usage examples of the panel keyboard of the fourth embodiment, FIGS. 10 (A) to 10 (G) are front views of an example having another type of semi-fixed keyboard, FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure for achieving the screen shown in FIG. 7 (D) without a semi-fixed key, and FIGS. 12 (A) to 12 (C) show changes in key tops accompanying the process of FIG. FIG. 13, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a processing procedure of an example of the third embodiment, FIG. 14 (A) is an operation timing chart when the number of preceding inputs is 5, and FIG. 14 (B) is a third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a front view of the LCD panel keyboard of the second embodiment, and FIG. 16 (A) is a flowchart of a product selection application process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 16B is a diagram showing an example of a product selection application process according to the second embodiment. That. In the figure, 1 ... Central Processing Unit (CP
U), 2 ... Read only memory (ROM), 3 ... Random access memory (RAM), 4 ... Address / data bus (BUS), 5 ... Liquid crystal controller (LCDC), 6 ...
Liquid crystal driver (LCDD), 7 Liquid crystal display panel (LCD)
P), 8: Touch key panel, 9: Output port, 10
...... Input port.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An information processing method using display means for displaying character patterns of different sizes, and transparent coordinate input means arranged so as to be superimposed on said display means, wherein said first character is displayed on said display means. Displaying a key character in a character pattern of a size, in response to input of the coordinates of the displayed key character by the coordinate input means, the key character being the same as the key character at the input position; An information processing method for controlling a character pattern having a second character size smaller than the first character size to be displayed at a position on the display unit different from the key character. 2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein a character size of a character pattern displayed in response to input of coordinates of a position where said key character is displayed is substantially the same as said first character size. A first mode for setting a size and a second mode for setting a second character size smaller than the first size.
2. The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A plurality of key pattern information having key pattern identification information, key position information including information indicating the combination of unit key frames in the key pattern, and key character information of the individual keys in the key pattern are stored. Utilizing storage means, in response to input of key pattern identification information, selecting key pattern information corresponding to the input key pattern identification information from the key pattern information stored in the storage means; An information processing method for displaying a key pattern according to pattern information, wherein a key frame is displayed according to individual key position information stored in the storage unit, and a unit key frame set to be combined by the key position information is By displaying the key frame surrounding these,
An information processing method characterized in that a partition between keys having different sizes is made visible.