JP2705360B2 - Japanese input device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a Japanese input device, and more particularly to a Japanese input device such as a Japanese word processor and a Japanese electronic typewriter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of an English type, not only a skilled person but also an ordinary typist can quickly input by a so-called "blind touch". There is a disadvantage that the input speed is extremely slow.

As a method of easily inputting Japanese sentences mixed with kanji or kana without special training, a method of inputting pronunciation and converting a kanji part into kanji later has become widespread. In this case, there are a method of inputting pronunciation using "kana" characters and a method of inputting Roman alphabets using the alphabet. The latter method has a small number of characters, is easy to remember, and is suitable for input by a touch method.

[0004] Conventionally, Roman alphabet input is performed by an English typewriter type (QWERTY) keyboard, or a consonant vowel separation keyboard in which consonant keys are arranged on one of the right and left hands and vowel keys are arranged on the other hand. There is a method to do.

As an example of a consonant vowel separation method, Japanese Patent Publication No.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 26225, "Kana character input vowel key group" and "Kanji input vowel key group" are divided, and the kanji input vowel key group is arranged in multiple stages corresponding to a plurality of types of kanji vowels. Further, different types of kanji vowels are assigned to the same key, and different types of kanji vowels assigned to the same key are selected by operating the shift key. FIG. 2 shows the keyboard configuration. FIG.
2A shows a case where the shift key K4 is off, and FIG. 2B shows a case where the shift key K4 is on.

The key configuration shown in FIG. 2A includes a consonant input key group K3 and a vowel key group L for inputting short vowel type Chinese characters.
7, a vowel key group L8 for inputting kana characters and a vowel key group L9 for inputting compound vowel type kanji.

When the shift key K4 is pressed, the group of left hand keys shown in FIG. 2B is selected. The left hand side key group includes a vowel key group L10 for inputting a K-type voice sound,
It comprises a vowel key group L11 for inputting an inner-sound kanji and a vowel key group L12 for inputting a T-type input sound.

The system described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 2-26225 discloses six types of vowels (A, short vowels for Hiragana / Kanji characters).
I, U, E, O, and compound vowels Ai, Ii, Uu, Ei,
Ou, vowel Ak, Ik, Uk, Ek, O with vowel (k)
k, vowel At, It, Ut, Et, O with vocal sound (t)
t, vowels with internal sounds An, In, Un, En, On), which are input separately with different hiragana and kanji characters (keys are different). There is a feature that input can be performed at a speed of up to 2.5 times.

[0009]

The conventional system described above has the following problems. -English type (QWERTY) method Since the key arrangement is not regular, it is troublesome for a first-time user to learn. The input speed is about half that of the consonant / vowel separation method even if skilled.・ Consonant vowel separation method (described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-26255) Since the consonants and vowel keys are arranged separately on the left and right hands, the key arrangement is easier to remember than the English type method, but the vowel keys are 6 Difficult to use properly with many types. There are some differences in vowel key input restrictions from Roman alphabet input, so some education is required until you learn them. The conversion rate is good because of the method of inputting hiragana and kanji separately, but it requires special logic (front-end processor) and a dictionary for conversion, making it difficult to spread.

An object of the present invention is to provide a Japanese input device which solves the above problems.

[0011]

The Japanese language input device of the present invention has a consonant key group arranged at a position operable by one of the right and left hands, and a key group arranged at a position operable by the other hand. A vowel key group and a key for switching whether the keys of the vowel key group are vowel keys or alphabetic keys, wherein the vowel key group changes vowel input restrictions from normal Roman alphabet input restrictions. It is characterized in that it is of a type that can respond to

In this case, it is preferable that the vowel key group be of three types: short tone type, composite type, and inner tone type.

Further, the Japanese input device of the present invention has a consonant key group arranged at a position operable by one of the right and left hands, and a kana character and a short vowel arranged at a position operable by the other hand. Vowel keys for inputting pattern kanji,
A vowel key group having a vowel key group for inputting a compound vowel type kanji and a vowel key group for inputting an inner type kanji, wherein the compound vowel type kanji and the inner type kanji are inputted. A vowel key group for assigning an alphabetic character that is not included in the consonant key group to the vowel key group, and a key for switching whether the key of the vowel key group is a vowel key or an alphabet key. It is characterized by.

[0014]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a keyboard configuration used in the Japanese input device of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a consonant input key group K1, alphabetic key groups L1, L2, L3, a vowel key group L4 for inputting inner-tone kanji, a kana character and a short vowel-type kanji are input. , A vowel key group L6 for inputting complex vowel-type kanji, and the left hand side key group as an alphabetic key group L1, L2, L3 or a vowel key group L4, L5, L6
Key K2 to switch whether or not. The vowel key groups L6 and L4 for inputting the compound vowel type kanji and the inner-tone type kanji become the consonant input key group K1 and are assigned alphabetic characters.

FIG. 1A shows that the key-saving key K2 is turned off,
When the alphabetic key groups L1, L2, L3 are selected, FIG.
(B) shows that the key-saving key K2 is turned on and the vowel key group L4,
The case where L5 and L6 are selected is shown.

As is apparent from FIG. 1B, in this embodiment, a consonant input key group K1 is provided on the right hand side, and vowel input key groups L4 to L6 are provided separately on the left hand side. This makes it easier to remember alternate keystrokes and character arrangements.

Next, the function of the keyboard of this embodiment will be described.

When the key saving key K2 is off, the keyboard is in the alphabet key input mode shown in FIG. In this mode, although the key arrangement is different from that of the QWERTY type keyboard, the character code data to be output is the same, so that it is possible to realize alternate keystroke Roman character input without changing the software or the like of the host device.

For comparison, FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 show the alternate keying rate, the number of keystrokes, and the like in each method for the input example “Today is fine weather”. 3 shows the case of the QWERTY type keyboard, FIG. 4 shows the case of the English input mode of the present embodiment, FIG. 5 shows the case of the vowel input mode of the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 shows the specification of Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-26255. 9 shows a case of the disclosed consonant / vowel separation method.

The alternate keying rate is defined as: alternate keying / number of keystrokes / 2, but if the number of keystrokes is small and the alternating keying rate is large, the input speed is high.

In the Roman character input mode of the keyboard of FIG. 1, the number of keystrokes is QWER as shown in FIGS.
Same as TY type keyboard, but alternate keying rate is 53%
→ Improved to 84%, enabling high-speed input. In addition, since there is the same alphabet key as the QWERTY type keyboard, a Hepburn-style Roman alphabet notation (eg: CHI, JI
), And even those who use this keyboard for the first time can use it without discomfort.

When the key-saving key K2 is on, the keyboard of this embodiment is in a mode in which the vowel key groups L4, L5, L6 of FIG. 1B are effective. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the number of keystrokes is 16 and the alternate keying rate is 100%, which is faster than in the Roman alphabet input mode.

Input efficiency (minimum number of keystrokes, maximum rate of alternate keystrokes)
If only attention is paid to FIG. 6, the keyboard configuration of FIG. 2 is excellent, as is clear from FIG. 6, but it is difficult to regulate vowel input as described above, and it is necessary to take measures including upper-layer software.

On the other hand, in the keyboard of the present embodiment, the short tone type (L5) / composite type (L6) / inner tone type (L4) can be handled without changing the vowel input regulation from the normal Roman alphabet input rule. Three types are implemented. Therefore, in the case of the vowel input mode, the data output by the keyboard of this embodiment is as follows. (Example) Pressed key Output data [S], [ai] → [S], [A], [I] ([S], [A], [I] of QWERTY keyboard)
That is, the keyboard according to the present embodiment has a QWERT for the host device (software) even if the number of keystrokes is omitted.
By outputting the same data as the Y-type keyboard, there is no need for special correspondence of the host software.

The number of keystrokes in the vowel mode is 16 in the example of FIG. 5, which is 16% less than the number of keystrokes 19 in the case of the QWERTY type keyboard of FIG. Also, the alternate keying rate has been improved from 53% to 100%.

[0028]

As described above, a consonant input key group which can be operated by one of the right and left hands, and the other key group which can easily switch between the alphabet input mode and the vowel input mode by a switching key. Has the following effects. (1) There is a key-saving effect of about 16% as compared with the QWERTY type keyboard, and the alternate key-pressing rate may be improved to about 100%. (2) In the alphabet input mode, since it can be input according to the general Roman alphabet rules, it is easy for even the first person to accept. (3) The mode can be easily switched to the vowel input mode, and the input speed can be improved with the same keyboard. (4) Even in the vowel input mode, the data to be output to the upper software is the same as that of the QWERTY keyboard, so that the data can be realized without special correspondence of the upper software.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a conventional keyboard configuration.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an alternate keying rate, the number of keystrokes, and the like in an input example of a QWERTY keyboard.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an alternate keying rate, the number of keystrokes, and the like in an input example in the English character mode of the keyboard of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an alternate keying rate, the number of keystrokes, and the like in an input example in the vowel mode of the keyboard of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an alternate keying rate, the number of keystrokes, and the like in an input example in a conventional consonant / vowel separation method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 K1 Key group for consonant input K2 Key saving key selection key L1, L2, L3 Key group for alphabet input L4, L5, L6 Key group for vowel input

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A consonant key group arranged at a position operable by one of the right and left hands, a vowel key group arranged at a position operable by the other hand, and a vowel key group. A key for switching between a vowel key and an alphabetic key, wherein the vowel key group is of a type that can respond without changing the vowel input restriction from the normal Roman character input restriction. Input device. 2. The Japanese language input device according to claim 1, wherein said vowel key group is of three types: short tone type, composite type, and internal tone type. 3. A consonant key group arranged at a position operable by one of the right and left hands, and a vowel arranged at a position operable by the other hand for inputting a kana character and a short vowel type kanji. A vowel key group having a key group, a vowel key group for inputting a compound vowel type kanji, and a vowel key group for inputting an inner type kanji, wherein the compound vowel type kanji and the inner type A vowel key group for inputting a kanji, an alphabetic character not assigned to the consonant key group, and a key for switching whether the key of the vowel key group is a vowel key or an alphabet key; A Japanese input device comprising: