JP3766695B6 - Screen display type key input device - Google Patents

Description

この表１から分かるように、図２８の高速配列を用いれば、二重母音や拗音を１回のタッチで入力できるため、かな入力やローマ字入力に比べてタッチ数（表１における各数字）を少なくでき、特に音読み語の多い文章においてはその効果を高めることができる。
また、前記高速配列では、文字入力の流れが右から左に順次移るように設計されている。つまり、右側の子音の次に左側の母音か二重母音にタッチし、母音の次にさらに左側の２音節目の「ん・き・く・ち・つ・っ」にタッチするので、手の動きに無駄が少なくなり、操作性を向上できる。これは、２音節の音読み漢字において２音節目が母音以外の場合には「ん・き・く・ち・つ・っ」のいずれかになる、つまり１音節目（子音＋母音）の後に「ん・き・く・ち・つ・っ」が入力される可能性が高いという日本語の特性に着目してなされたものであり、日本語の入力においては非常に効果的である。
これらの文字が含まれる漢字としては、以下のようなものがある。
１）２音節目が「イ」になる漢字の例（２重母音の「AI・UI・EI」のいずれかになる例）
・開催（KAI SAI） ・内外（NAI GAI）
・会計（KAI KEI） ・類推（RUI SUI）
・推定（SUI TEI） ・累計（RUI KEI）
２）２音節目が「ウ」になる漢字の例（２重母音の「UU・OU」のいずれかになる例）および「ＹＵＵ」、「ＹＯＵ」を含む漢字の例
・方法（HOU HOU） ・構造（KOU ZOU）
・工場（KOU ZYOU） ・東京（TOU KYOU）
・通風（TUU FUU） ・中央（TYUU OU）
３）２音節目が「ン」になる漢字の例
・安全（Aん ZEん） ・簡単（KAん TAん）
・混沌（KOん TOん）
４）２音節目が「キ・ク」になる漢字の例
・辟易（HEき Eき） ・的確（TEき KAく）
・画策（KAく SAく） ・目的（MOく TEき）
・宿敵（SYUく TEき） ・即席（SOく SEき）
５）２音節目が「チ・ツ・ッ」になる漢字の例
・１日（Iち NIち） ・吉日（KIち ZIつ）
・質実（SIつ ZIつ） ・切実（SEつ ZIつ）
・１日（Iち NIち） ・活発（KAっ PAつ）
・実質（ZIっ SIつ） ・出発（SYUっ PAつ）
次に、図２９に示す選択メニューキー１８で切り替えられるＱＷＥＲＴＹ式英語専用配列におけるメインキーエリア２０、切替エリア４０、機能キーエリア５０のキー配列について説明する。このＱＷＥＲＴＹ式英語専用配列は、従来のＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列のキーボートに慣れた人が英文を入力する際に使いやすいように設定されたものであり、前記第１実施形態では各キー２１〜３５のキー領域の左右にキーを表示していたのに対して、上下に表示している点が異なるものである。
ＱＷＥＲＴＹ式英語専用配列では、第１の文字コードとして、メインキーエリア２０の上段１列には左側から順に、キー２１に「Ｙ」が、キー２２に「Ｕ」が、キー２３に「Ｉ」が、キー２４に「Ｏ」が、キー２５に「Ｐ」が設定され、中段１列には左側から順にキー２６に「Ｈ」が、キー２７に「Ｊ」が、キー２８に「Ｋ」が、キー２９に「Ｌ」が、キー３０にセミコロン「；」が設定され、下段１列には左側からキー３１に「Ｎ」が、キー３２に「Ｍ」が、キー３３にカンマ「，」が、キー３４にピリオド「．」が、キー３５に記号「／」が設定されている。
さらに、各メインキーのシフト状態（第２の文字コード）には、上段１列左側から順に、キー２１に「Ｑ」が、キー２２に「Ｗ」が、キー２３に「Ｅ」が、キー２４に「Ｒ」が、キー２５に「Ｔ」が設定され、中段１列には左側から順にキー２６に「Ａ」が、キー２７に「Ｓ」が、キー２８に「Ｄ」が、キー２９に「Ｆ」が、キー３０に「Ｇ」が設定され、下段１列には左側からキー３１に「Ｚ」が、キー３２に「Ｘ」が、キー３３に「Ｃ」が、キー３４に「Ｖ」が、キー３５に「Ｂ」が設定される。
一方、切替キーエリア４０には、キー配列を図２７の記号配列に切り替えるためのＳＹＭ（SYMBOL）キー４１、入力モードを大文字入力および小文字入力のいずれかに切り替えるＣＡＰキー４２、キー配列を図２６の数字配列に切り替えるためのＮＵＭキー４３が設けられている。
また、機能キーエリア５０には、４つのキー５３〜５６が設定されている。このうち、キー５３にはスペース入力用の「ＳＰＡＣＥ」キーが、キー５４には「改行」キーが、キー５５には「ＤＥＬ」（削除）キーが、キー５６には「ＢＳ」（後退）キーがそれぞれ設定されている。
次に、図３０に示す選択メニューキー１９で切り替えられるＱＷＥＲＴＹ式日本語専用配列におけるメインキーエリア２０、切替キーエリア４０、機能キーエリア５０のキー配列について説明する。このＱＷＥＲＴＹ式日本語専用配列は、従来のＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列のキーボードでローマ字入力に慣れた人が日本語を入力する際に使いやすいように設定されたものである。
この、ＱＷＥＲＴＹ式日本語用配列は、ＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列を基にしている点で図２９のＱＷＥＲＴＹ式英語専用配列とほぼ同じ配列になっている。
すなわち、各メインキーの第１の文字コードとして、そのメインキーエリア２０の上段１列には左側から順に、キー２１に「Ｙ」が、キー２２に「Ｕ」が、キー２３に「Ｉ」が、キー２４に「Ｏ」が、キー２５に「Ｐ」が設定され、中段１列には左側から順にキー２６に「Ｈ」が、キー２７に「Ｊ」が、キー２８に「Ｋ」が、キー２９に「Ｌ」が、キー３０に長音「ー」が設定され、下段１列には左側からキー３１に「Ｎ」が、キー３２に「Ｍ」が、キー３３に読点「、」が、キー３４に句点「。」が、キー３５に「ん」が設定されている。
さらに、各メインキーのシフト状態（第２の文字コード）には、上段１列左側から順に、キー２１に「Ｑ」が、キー２２に「Ｗ」が、キー２３に「Ｅ」が、キー２４に「Ｒ」が、キー２５に「Ｔ」が設定され、中段１列には左側から順にキー２６に「Ａ」が、キー２７に「Ｓ」が、キー２８に「Ｄ」が、キー２９に「Ｆ」が、キー３０に「Ｇ」が設定され、下段１列には左側からキー３１に「Ｚ」が、キー３２に「Ｘ」が、キー３３に「Ｃ」が、キー３４に「Ｖ」が、キー３５に「Ｂ」が設定されている。
なお、切替キーエリア４０の３つのキー４１、４２、４３および機能キーエリア５０の６つのキー５１〜５６は、前記標準配列と同一である。
次に前述のようにキーが配列された本発明にかかる画面表示式キー入力装置１０１を実現する内部構成について、図３１及び図３２を参照して説明する。
図３１は、画面表示式キー入力装置１０１を実現する内部構成のブロック図であり、図３２は処理手順を示すフローチャートである。
画面表示式キー入力装置１０１は、入力制御部１７０、シフト入力手段１７１、処理制御部１７２、出力制御部１７６を備えている。
入力制御部１７０は、選択メニュー１１、メインキーエリア２０、切替キーエリア４０、機能キーエリア５０において、ペン１５によるタッチ入力があるかをチェックするものである（ステップ１、以下「ステップ」を「Ｓ」と略す）。
タッチ入力があれば、シフト入力手段１７１はそのタッチ入力がシフト入力であるかを判断する（Ｓ２）。
ここで、シフト入力であると判断されれば、シフト入力手段１７１は、タッチされたキーのシフト位置のキーコードを生成するシフト処理を行い（Ｓ３）、そのコードが処理制御部１７２に送られる。一方、シフト入力でないと判断されれば、シフト入力手段１７１はタッチされたキーの非シフト位置のキーコードを生成して処理制御部１７２に送る。
処理制御部１７２には、配列切替手段１７３、キー処理手段１７４、機能処理手段１７５の各処理手段が設けられており、入力されたキーに応じて各処理手段が選択されて入力処理が行われる（Ｓ４）。例えば、入力されたキーが、選択メニュー１１の各メニューキー１６〜１９であったり、切替キーエリア４０の各切替キー４１〜４３であれば、配列切替手段１７３によってそのキーで指定された配列にメインキーエリア２０、切替キーエリア４０、機能キーエリア５０を切り替える処理が行われる。
また、入力されたキーがメインキーエリア２０の各キーであれば、キー処理手段１７４によってそのキーを入力ライン６０に表示・出力する処理が行われる（Ｓ４）。この際、標準配列等のローマ字入力の場合には、キー処理手段１７４は入力されたアルファベットを自動的にかなに変換する処理を行う（Ｓ４）。
さらに、入力されたキーが機能キーエリア５０の各キーであれば、機能処理手段１７５によってそのキーに設定された機能を実行する（Ｓ４）。例えば、変換キー５１がタッチされれば、入力ライン６０に表示された文字列を漢字に変換して確定する。また、実行キー５４がタッチされれば、確定された文字列を表示領域１０に表示する処理を行う。
出力制御部１７６では、処理制御部１７２で処理された結果を、液晶画面３に表示する処理を行う（Ｓ５）。
以上により、各タッチ入力に対する処理が完了し、次のタッチ入力があれば以上の処理を繰り返して順次タッチ入力を行う。
なお、シフト入力手段１７１としては、図３３に示すように、押しボタン式シフト入力手段１８１、クリック式シフト入力手段１８２、プレシフト式シフト入力手段１８３、領域区分式シフト入力手段１８４の４つのシフト入力手段から適宜選択して用いられている。
以下、各シフト入力手段１７１を個別に説明する。
押しボタン式シフト入力手段１８１は、図２２に示す押しボタン４を押しながらペン１５でキーがタッチされた場合には、そのキーのシフト状態に設定された記号のコード（第２の文字コード）を生成し、押しボタン４が押されていない状態でキーがタッチされた場合には、そのキーの非シフト状態に設定された記号のコード（第１の文字コード）を生成するように構成されている。
クリック式シフト入力手段１８２は、ペン１５でキーが所定時間内に２回タッチされた場合にはそのキーのシフト状態に設定された記号のコード（第２の文字コード）を生成し、所定時間内に１回タッチされた場合にはそのキーの非シフト状態に設定された記号のコード（第１の文字コード）を生成するように構成されている。
すなわち、図３４に示すように、ペン１５で画面を最初にタッチしてから２度目にタッチして離すまでが設定された時間内である場合（▲１▼、▲２▼）には、シフト状態と判断し、ペン１５でタッチする動作が設定時間内に１回の場合（▲３▼、▲４▼）や、２回目のタッチ操作が設定時間を越えた場合（▲５▼）には、非シフト状態と判断するように構成されている。
プレシフト式シフト入力手段１８３は、図２２に示すシフトキー５が押されて入力モードがシフト状態に設定されている場合には、ペン１５でタッチされたキーのシフト状態に設定された記号のコード（第２の文字コード）を生成し、シフトキー５が再度押されて入力モードが非シフト状態に設定されている場合には、ペン１５でタッチされたキーの非シフト状態に設定された記号のコード（第１の文字コード）を生成するように構成されている。
領域区分式シフト入力手段１８４は、図３５に示すように、各キーの上側半分をシフト領域１８４Ａに、下側半分を非シフト領域１８４Ｂに区分した際に、ペン１５でどちらの領域１８４Ａ，１８４Ｂがタッチされたかを判断するタッチ領域判断手段１８７を備え、タッチ領域判断手段１８７でシフト領域１８４Ａがタッチされたと判断された場合にはそのキーのシフト状態に設定された記号のコード（第２の文字コード）を生成し、タッチ領域判断手段１８７で非シフト領域１８４Ｂがタッチされたと判断された場合にはそのキーの非シフト状態に設定された記号のコード（第１の文字コード）を生成するように構成されている。
なお、この領域区分は、キーを上下に区分せずに、左右に区分しても良いし、斜めに区分してもよいが、いずれの場合にもその各領域にその領域をタッチした際に入力される記号を表示しておくことが好ましい。
また、シフト入力手段１７１としては、上記の押しボタン式シフト入力手段１８１、クリック式シフト入力手段１８２、プレシフト式シフト入力手段１８３、領域区分式シフト入力手段１８４のいずれか１つを設定しておけばよいが、複数のシフト入力手段１７１を設定しておいて利用者が適宜選択できるように構成してもよい。
なお、押しボタン４およびシフトキー５は、シフト入力手段１７１として押しボタン式シフト入力手段１８１、プレシフト入力手段１８３を用いない場合には、本体２に設けなくてもよい。
さらに、図２８に示す高速配列を選択した場合には、キー３３、３４には第１および第２の２つのシフト状態（第２および第３の文字コード）が設定されているため、シフト入力手段１７１としても第１および第２の互いに異なる方式の２つのシフト入力手段を設定しておく必要がある。
例えば、第１シフト入力手段として押しボタン式シフト入力手段１８１を設定し、第２シフト入力手段としてクリック式シフト入力手段１８２等を設定すればよい。この場合、例えば、キー３３、３４を押しボタン４を押しながらタッチした場合には、第１シフト状態（第２の文字コード）である読点「、」、句点「。」が入力され、キー３３、３４をクリック式（一定時間内に２回キーをタッチする）でタッチした場合には、第２シフト状態（第３の文字コード）である「Ｆ」、「Ｖ」が入力される。
次にこのような本実施の形態における効果について説明する。
本実施の形態によれば、メインキー２１〜３５が１５個しか設けられていなくても、シフト入力手段１７１によって各キー２１〜３５に少なくとも２つのキー（シフト状態に設定されるキーと非シフト状態に設定されるキー）つまりは第１および第２の文字コードを設定でき、全体で少なくとも３０個のキーを設定することができる。従って、日本語をローマ字入力する際に用いるアルファベット、つまり母音「Ａ」、「Ｉ」、「Ｕ」、「Ｅ」、「Ｏ」と、母音キーと組み合わせて日本語の「か」行から「わ」行までの清音を入力する「Ｋ」、「Ｓ」、「Ｔ」、「Ｎ」、「Ｈ」、「Ｍ」、「Ｙ」、「Ｒ」、「Ｗ」、さらに母音と組み合わせて日本語の濁音、半濁音を入力する「Ｇ」、「Ｚ」、「Ｄ」、「Ｐ」、「Ｂ」の１９文字に加えて読点「、」、句点「。」などまでを含めても各メインキー２１〜３５に設定でき、少ないキー数でも日本語入力に十分対応できる。
同様に、アルファベット２６文字に加えてカンマ「，」、ピリオド「．」等も含めてメインキー２１〜３５に設定でき、英語入力にも十分対応できる。
従って、従来のＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列や５０音配列に比べて大幅に少ない１５個のメインキー２１〜３５を用いてローマ字入力や英語入力を行うことができる。このため、各キー２１〜３５を従来のＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列や５０音配列のキーと同じ大きさで画面３に表示すれば、キー表示領域であるメインキーエリア２０を小さくできるため、キー２１〜３５をタッチするペン１５の移動量も少なくでき、操作性を向上することができる。
また、メインキーエリア２０を小さくできることで、画面タッチ式入力装置１を小型化することができたり、データ等の表示領域１０を大きくすることができ、取扱い性や操作性を向上することができる。
一方、メインキーエリア２０を従来のＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列や５０音配列のキー配置領域と同じ程度の大きさにすれば、各メインキー２１〜３５の大きさを従来に比べて大きくでき、キー２１〜３５をペン１５や指先で簡単にタッチすることができ、この場合も操作性を向上することができる。
また、本実施の形態では、切替キー４１〜４３および選択メニュー１１における各メニューキー１６〜１９と、配列切替手段１７３とを設けたので、メインキー２１〜３５の配列を７種類に切り替えることができる。このため、アルファベットだけでなく、数字や記号さらには従来のＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列に類似する配列などの各種キー配列を設定することができる。
従って、メインキー２１〜３５に設定される文字コードの配列を、日本語のローマ字入力用（標準配列）、英語配列、数字配列、記号配列、高速配列、ＱＷＥＲＴＹ英語専用配列、ＱＷＥＲＴＹ日本語専用配列の７種類に切り替えることができ、メインキー２１〜３５が１５個しかなくても、前記シフト入力手段１７１と配列切替手段１７３とを組み合わせることによって、３０個×配列数分のキーを設定でき、各記号（文字、数字、記号など）を簡単に入力することができる。
さらに、この各配列の切替は、切替キー４１〜４３や各メニューキー１６〜１９をタッチするだけでよいため、各メインキー２１〜３５の配列を簡単に切り替えてローマ字入力だけでなく、英語、数字、各種記号の入力を簡単に行うことができる。
また、各配列切替手段１７３は、メインキー２１〜３５だけではなく、機能キーエリア５０に表示される各機能キー５１〜５６も切り替えるように構成されているので、各配列に合わせて機能キー５１〜５６も設定することができ、操作性をより一層向上することができる。例えば、日本語入力のみに必要な「漢字変換」などの機能を、英語の配列では表示させないことによって必要な機能キーのみを表示させることができ、操作性がより一層向上する。
図２３や図２８に示すローマ字入力用の配列において、母音部分のキーと子音部分のキーとが母音エリア２０Ａおよび子音エリア２０Ｂに分かれて配置されるため、子音と母音とが交互に出現する日本語のローマ字入力時に、特に頻度が高い母音キーの位置を容易に把握できて操作性を向上することができる。
また、子音の中でも使用頻度が高い清音用の子音を各キーの非シフト状態（第１の文字コード）に設定しているので、頻度の高い清音を入力する際にシフト操作を伴わないので、この点でも操作性を向上することができる。
その上、メインキーエリア２０での中心に近いキー２７、２８に、母音および子音において頻度が高い「Ａ」、「Ｋ」のキーを設定し、そのキーから外側に向かってかつ上段、下段の順で、母音「Ａ」、「Ｉ」、「Ｕ」、「Ｅ」、「Ｏ」および子音「Ｋ」、「Ｓ」、「Ｔ」、「Ｎ」、「Ｈ」、「Ｍ」、「Ｙ」、「Ｒ」、「Ｗ」つまり「か」行から「わ」行までを順序よく並べて設定したので、キー配列を容易に把握でき、操作性をより一層向上することができる。
さらに、前記子音エリアのうち「Ｋ」、「Ｓ」、「Ｔ」、「Ｎ」、「Ｈ」の各シフト状態（第２の文字コード）には、母音「Ａ」、「Ｉ」、「Ｕ」、「Ｅ」、「Ｏ」と組み合わせて、日本語の濁音、半濁音を入力する「Ｇ」、「Ｚ」、「Ｄ」、「Ｐ」、「Ｂ」を配列したので、「か」、「さ」、「た」の入力位置に対応して「が」、「ざ」、「だ」が、「な」、「は」の入力位置に対応して「ぱ」、「ば」がそれぞれ配列されることとなり、濁音、半濁音のキーの位置を覚えやすくなり、操作性をより一層向上することができる。
ローマ字入力用の標準配列（図２３）、高速配列（図２８）およびＱＷＥＲＴＹ式日本語専用配列（図２９）では、日本語において頻度が高い撥音「ん」や促音「っ」および読点「、」、句点「。」、長音「ー」もメインキー２１〜３５の一部に設定しているので、少ないキー数においても、撥音「ん」、促音「っ」、読点「、」、句点「。」、長音「ー」を１回のタッチ操作で入力できて操作性を向上することができる。特に、撥音「ん」は、キー３１あるいはキー３５に非シフト状態で設定されているため、日本語入力の特に音読み漢字などで頻度が高い撥音「ん」を簡単に入力することができる。
一方、前記メインキーが英語配列用（図２５、図２９）に設定されている場合でも、英語入力で頻度が高いカンマ「，」、ピリオド「．」等を各キーのシフト状態あるいは非シフト状態に設定しているため、直接タッチ入力することができ、英語入力時の操作性も向上することができる。
さらに、図２５の英語配列は、図２３の標準配列と多くのキーの配置を一致させており、図２９のＱＷＥＲＴＹ式英語専用配列は図３０のＱＷＥＲＴＹ式日本語専用配列と多くのキー配置を一致させているので、標準配列と英語配列とを切り替えて併用する場合にも、キー配列が覚えやすく、操作性を向上することができる。
図２６に示す数字配列では、各数字を従来のキーボードにおけるテンキーと同様に配置でき、さらに計算に使われる各種記号をタッチ入力できるため、数字の入力や計算の操作を簡単に行うことができる。
図２７に示す記号配列では、使用頻度が多い割には、入力が難しかった各種記号を、各メインキー２１〜３５に表示してタッチ入力することができるため、各種記号を簡単に入力することができる。また、各かっこ記号を、基準側の２列に配置された６個のメインキー２１、２２、２６、２７、３１、３２のシフト状態および非シフト状態にまとめて設定しているので、かっこ記号とその他の記号とのキー位置を容易に判断でき、入力操作性を向上することができる。
図２８に示す高速配列では、母音エリア２０Ａの各キー２１、２２、２６、２７、３１、３２のシフト状態（第２の文字コード）に、日本語の特に音読み漢字において頻度が高い２重母音や拗音である「ＡＩ」、「ＵＩ」、「ＵＵ」、「ＥＩ」、「ＯＵ」、「ＹＵＵ」を設定し、これらの文字を１回のタッチで入力できるようにしているので、日本語の入力効率を向上することができる。
その上、高速配列では、通常切替キーとして用いられるキー４１、４２、４３のシフト状態および非シフト状態に、「つ」、「く」、促音「っ」、「ち」、「き」、「ＹＯＵ」を入力するキーを設定しているので、日本語の特に音読みの単漢字の２音節目に頻出する「き・く・ち・つ・っ」を１回のタッチで入力できるとともに、東京（TOU KYOU）のように二重母音を伴う「ＹＯＵ」の文字も１回のタッチで入力でき、入力効率をより一層向上することができる。
さらに、これらのキーは、２音節目に頻出するという特徴を生かし、メインキーエリア２０のいずれかのキーがタッチされた後に、切替キー４１〜４３の設定を「き・く・ち・つ・っ」等に切り替え、通常は他の配列と同じ切替キー４１〜４３の設定として用いられるので、キー４１〜４３を状況に応じて適宜切り替えることで共用することができ、操作性を損なうことなく、キー数を少なくすることができる。
さらに、高速配列時には、メインキー３３、３４のシフト状態に、第１シフト状態（第１の文字コード）としての読点「、」および句点「。」と、第２シフト状態（第２の文字コード）としての「Ｆ」、「Ｖ」とを設定しているので、特にカタカナ語の入力において頻度が高い特殊拗音である「ファ（F＋A）」、「ヴァ（V＋A）」を入力する際に用いられる「Ｆ」、「Ｖ」を簡単に入力することができ、特にカタカナ語の入力時の操作性を向上することができる。
図２９および図３０に示すＱＷＥＲＴＹ式英語専用配列および日本語専用配列では、従来より広く利用されて慣れ親しまれているＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列のキー順序を１５個のメインキーに設定でき、ＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列に慣れた人にとってキー配列を容易に覚えることができ、即座に利用することができる。
また、前記シフト入力手段１７１として、特に、クリック式シフト入力手段１８２、領域区分式シフト入力手段１８４を用いれば、ペン１５によるタッチ方式を多少異ならせるだけでシフト入力と非シフト入力とを使い分けることができ、操作性を向上することができる。
クリック式シフト入力手段１８２を用いた場合には、所定時間内に２回タッチすればシフト操作を行えるため、マウスのダブルクリックと同様の操作とすることができて馴染みやすい操作とすることができる。
この際、タッチの判断時間を入力装置１の利用者が適宜調整できるようにしておけば、各利用者によって２回タッチの間隔が異なる場合でも、１回タッチと２回タッチとを、つまりシフト操作であるか否かを正確に判断できる。
領域区分式シフト入力手段１８４を用いた場合には、ペン１５でタッチする領域を変えるだけでシフト操作を行えて操作性を向上できる。
この場合には、各メインキー２１〜３５にシフト状態と非シフト状態に設定された各記号を各シフト領域８４Ａおよび非シフト領域８４Ｂに表示し、その各領域８４Ａ、８４Ｂつまり入力したい記号部分を直接タッチするという非常に直感的な操作で各記号（第１および第２の文字コード）を入力できるため、操作が分かりやすく、操作性も高くすることができる。
一方、押しボタン式シフト入力手段１８１やプレシフト式シフト入力手段１８３は、押しボタン４を押しながら、あるいはシフトキー５を押してからペン１５でタッチすればよいので、ペン１５のタッチの仕方は注意する必要がなく、明示的に操作することができ、利用者によっては特に細かな動きに不慣れな人にとっては、タッチの仕方を変えてシフト操作を行う場合に比べて操作しやすくできる場合もある。
また、プレシフト式シフト入力手段１８３を用いれば、複数のシフト状態のキーを続けて入力する場合には、最初にシフト状態を設定すれば、その後のキータッチ時には何らシフト操作をする必要がないため、入力効率が向上することができる。
さらに、前記実施の形態では、キー入力領域１２の各キーを互いに離して配置しているので、各キーの領域が明確に区分され、ペン１５等によってタッチ入力する際に、２つのキーにまたがって入力してしまうような誤操作を防止することができる。特に、各キー間の隙間部分までタッチした場合には、その隙間部分から先のタッチ入力をキャンセルするように設定しておけば、誤操作を確実に防止することができる。
なお、本発明は、図２２に示す画面タッチ式入力装置１に限らず、図３６に示すようなより小型の画面タッチ式入力装置１９０に適用してもよい。この場合には、表示領域１０が前述の入力装置１０１に比べて小さくなるが、それ以外の選択メニュー１１、キー入力領域１２は、前記入力装置１０１と同じものにでき、同様に操作することができる。
さらに、本体２に蓋体を取付け、この蓋体部分に表示領域１０を設け、本体２にキー入力領域１２を設けてもよい。要するに、本発明は、各種の携帯パソコン、電子手帳、携帯情報端末（ＰＤＡ）等に広く適用することができる。
また、前記実施の形態では、配列切替手段１７３を機能させるために、切替キー４１〜４３および選択メニュー１１を設けていたが、これらのいずれか一方のみを設けてもよい。また、配列切替手段１７３は、前述のように液晶画面３上に表示されたものに限らず、本体２にボタン式に設けられたものでよい。
さらに、メインキーエリア２０に表示される各メインキー２１〜３５の配列は、前記標準配列やＱＷＥＲＴＹ式の配列に限らない。例えば、母音エリア２０Ａを下段一列に配置し、子音エリア２０Ｂを上中２段に配置してもよい。また、標準配列や高速配列などにおいて、母音エリア２０Ａと子音エリア２０Ｂとを左右逆にし、各キーの配置順もすべて逆向きにして前記実施例と対称的に設定してもよい。また、切替キーエリア４０や機能キーエリア５０もメインキーエリア２０の右側や上側などの他の場所に配置してもよく、これらの各キーエリア２０、４０、５０の配置位置等も利用者の利き手などを考慮して適宜設定すればよい。
また、タッチ手段としては、ペン１５以外に指先等を利用してもよい。また、画面も液晶画面３に限らず、ＣＲＴ画面などを用いてもよい。ここで、ペン１５などのタッチを認識する手段としては、画面種類などに応じて静電容量型、光学型、抵抗型等の各種手段が利用でき、前記タッチ手段もこれら認識手段に応じて適宜選択すればよい。
さらに、各キーをタッチした場合には、タッチした各キーが反転表示されてどのキーがタッチされたかが容易に把握できるように構成してもよい。この際、シフト操作を伴う場合のタッチと、通常のタッチとで反転表示状態を変えれば、例えば、シフト操作の場合にはそのキーの上半分のみが反転し、通常操作の場合にはキーの下半分が反転するようにすれば、よりタッチ入力操作が把握しやすいという利点がある。
さらに、シフト入力手段１７１としては、前記第１実施形態のように、点タッチあるいはバータッチの入力操作の区別によって、非シフト状態およびシフト状態つまりは第１および第２の文字コードを入力するように構成してもよい。
次に、本発明の第６実施形態について説明する。
本実施の形態は、情報記号がアイコンの場合についてなされたものである。
すなわち、図３７に示すように、本実施の形態の画面表示式キー入力装置１９５の本体１０２の液晶画面１０３には、各アプリケーションの起動を行うアイコン１１１〜１１６が表示されている。なお、アイコンの数およびアイコンで起動されるアプリケーションの種類は適宜設定すればよいが、本実施の形態では、表計算、データベース、通信、スケジュール、住所録、ワープロの各アプリケーションソフトを起動する６個のアイコン１１１〜１１６が設定されている。
そして、各アイコン１１１〜１１６を起動操作することで、各アプリケーションが立ち上がるようにされている。例えば、ワープロ用のアイコン１１６を起動操作すると、図３８に示すように、画面１０３に文字入力画面１２０が表示されることになる。この際、画面１０３の所定部分をタッチすると、前記第１実施の形態のように、キー入力領域１２がポップアップ式に表示されて文字などをタッチ入力できるようにされていることが好ましい。
この画面表示式キー入力装置１９５は、図３９の内部構成を示すブロック図および図４０の処理手順のフローチャートに示すように、画面タッチ入力手段７１と情報選択処理手段７２とを備えており、情報選択処理手段７２は、判定手段７３、アイコン選択処理手段７７およびアプリケーション起動手段７８で構成されている。
画面タッチ入力手段７１は、画面１０３においてペン１５によるタッチ入力があるかをチェックするものである（ステップ１１、以下「ステップ」を「Ｓ」と略す）。
ここで、タッチ入力があれば、判定手段７３によってそのタッチ入力がハイフンタッチ入力つまりペン１５がアイコン１１１〜１１６内をタッチしたまま所定長さ以上移動しているかを判断する（Ｓ１２）。判定手段７３は、前記第１実施形態と同様に、前記図７に示すピクセル数あるいは図８に示すタッチ入力の始点および終点間の長さなどによって、アイコン１１１〜１１６の領域内をペン１５がタッチしながら所定距離以上移動したか否かを判定できるようにされている。
ここで、ハイフンタッチ入力であると判断されれば、各アプリケーションの起動処理が行われる。（Ｓ１３）。
一方、ハイフンタッチ入力でないつまりペン１５の移動距離が所定長さ以内である判断されれば、アイコン１１１〜１１６の選択処理が行われる（Ｓ１４）。選択されたアイコン１１１〜１１６は、処理対象となり、所定の実行キーによって起動処理が行われたり、削除キーで削除されたりすることになる。
このような本実施の形態によれば、従来、マウスのダブルクリックおよびシングルクリックによって使い分けられていたアイコンの起動処理および選択処理を、ペン１５によるタッチ入力においても実現することができる。このため、画面表示式キー入力装置１９５においても、従来のマウスを用いたシステムと同じような操作体系、メニュー体系とすることができ、操作性を向上できるとともに、各種アプリケーションの移植性も高めることができる。
その上、従来のマウスにおけるダブルクリック操作は初心者にとって必ずしも容易な操作ではなかったが、本実施の形態においては、ペン１５でポイントをタッチしたり、所定長さ移動させればよいため、初心者であっても非常に簡単に操作することができ、操作性をより一層向上させることができる。
なお、前記第６実施形態において、アイコンの起動処理をペン１５によるタッチ入力の移動距離によって行っていたが、第５実施形態のように、ペン１５を押し続けたタッチ時間によって行ってもよい。
また、第６実施形態においては、通常入力の場合にはアイコン１１１〜１１６の選択処理を行っていたが、その他の処理、例えばそのアプリケーションによって最近処理されたファイルの一覧を表示して選択処理等を行うように設定してもよい。
また、タッチ入力で文字等を入力する際のキー配列は、前述の各配列に限らず、例えば、図４１に示すように、各キー１２１にアルファベットがアルファベット順に２文字づつ、各キー１２１の上下位置にそれぞれ表示されているように配列してもよいし、図４２に示すように、ＱＷＥＲＴＹ配列に準拠して、各キー１２１に２文字づつ、そのキー１２１の左右位置にそれぞれ文字が表示されるように配列してもよい。
次に、本発明の第７実施形態について説明する。本実施形態は、画面表示式キー入力装置２０１にキーボード２１４Ａを付属させ、タッチ入力だけではなくキー入力も併用できるようにしたものである。
図４３には、本実施形態の画面表示式キー入力装置２０１が示されている。画面表示式キー入力装置２０１も、携帯情報端末（ＰＤＡ）として用いられるものであり、本体２０２の表面には液晶画面２０３が設けられている。また、本体２０２の裏面には、本体２０２を立てて配置するための支持板２０６が取り付けられている。なお、図４３には示していないが、画面２０３部分を保護するために本体２０２に回動自在に蓋体を取り付けてもよい。
液晶画面２０３には、ワープロ、表計算、住所録、電子メール、スケジュールなどの各種機能を実行する際に、文字を入力したり、データが表示されるデータ表示領域２１０が設けられている。この表示領域２１０の形式は、選択された機能によって適宜変更されるように構成されている。
また、データ表示領域２１０の下側には、キー表示領域であるキー入力領域２１２が配置されている。また、キー入力領域２１２の左側には、後述するメニューキーを押した際にポップアップ式に表示される選択メニューを表示するメニュー領域２１１が設けられている。
なお、メニュー領域２１１およびキー入力領域２１２は、常時表示されるようにしてもよいが、通常は前記表示領域２１０が液晶画面２０３のほぼ全域に渡って表示され、画面に表示された選択メニュー表示キーや、キー入力開始キー等をタッチすると、表示領域２１０上の一部にポップアップ式に必要に応じて表示されるようにすることが、表示領域２１０を大きくできて情報量を多くできる点で好ましい。
この画面表示式キー入力装置２０１は、図４４に示すような内部構成を備えている。すなわち、画面表示式キー入力装置２０１は、キーボード２１４Ａを備えるキー入力手段２１４と、ペン２１５Ａを備えるタッチ入力手段２１５と、処理制御部２１６および画面２０３の表示出力を制御する出力制御部２１７と、キー配列データが記憶されている配列テーブル２１８とを備えている。
キーボート２１４Ａは、図４３に示すように、薄型で小型のカードサイズのものが用いられており、未使用時には本体２０２内に收納可能に、かつ使用時には本体２０２から分離して利用できるように構成されている。
そして、キー入力手段２１４は、キーボード２１４Ａの各キーが入力された場合には、電波や赤外線などの無線２１９によってキー入力の情報を本体２０２の処理制御部２１６に送信するように構成されている。
また、本体２０２には、ペン２１５Ａを保持するホルダなどを設けておき、ペン２１５Ａの紛失を防止できるようにされていることが好ましい。
そして、画面表示式キー入力装置２０１でペン２１５Ａを使用する場合には、本体２０２を左手で持ってあるいは机などの上に置いて、ペン２１５Ａを右手で握って操作すればよい。
ペン２１５Ａで液晶画面２０３のキー入力領域２１２の各キーをタッチすると、タッチ入力手段２１５はタッチされたキーの入力情報を処理制御部２１６に送るように構成されている。
処理制御部２１６には、キーボード２１４Ａあるいはキー入力領域２１２に表示された各キーのシフト位置のデータを入力するシフト入力手段２６０と、キー入力領域２１２に表示された各キーの配列を切り替える配列切替手段２６３と、入力された各キーのデータを処理するデータ処理手段２６４と、各キーの通常位置あるいはシフト位置に２つのデータが設定されている際にその一方のデータを選択して入力する選択入力手段２６２と、前記キー配列を切り替えるための選択メニューを表示する選択メニュー表示手段２６１とが設けられている。
キーボード２１４Ａには、図４５に示すように、画面２０３のキー入力領域２１２と同じ配列となるように、メインキーエリア２２０と、切替キーエリア２４０と、機能キーエリア２５０とが設けられている。
すなわち、メインキーエリア２２０には、上下３段左右５列の１５個のメインキー２２１〜２３５が配置されている。また、切替キーエリア２４０には、３個の切替キー２４１〜２４３が配置されている。さらに、機能キーエリア２５０には、５個の機能キー２５１〜２５５が配置されている。従って、キーボード２１４Ａには、切替キー２４１〜２４３および機能キー２５１〜２５５を含めて、４段で計２３個のキーが配置されている。
そして、これらの各キーの表面には、図２３に示す前記実施形態の標準配列に対応した各キーが表示されている。
このように構成された画面表示式キー入力装置２０１における処理手順について図４６のフローチャートも用いて説明する。
まず、キー入力手段２１４やタッチ入力手段２１５において、キーボード２１４Ａやペン２１５Ａを用いた入力があるかをチェックする（ステップ１、以下「ステップ」を「Ｓ」と略す）。
ここで、入力があれば、その入力がシフト入力（第２の文字コード入力）であるかを判定する（Ｓ２）。この判定は、各キー入力手段２１４やタッチ入力手段２１５で行ってもよいし、処理制御部２１６側で行ってもよい。
なお、キー入力の場合には、シフトキー２５１が他のキーと同時に押されているかでシフト入力が判断される。また、タッチ入力の場合には、前記各実施形態のように、ペン１５の移動量やタッチ時間の長さでシフト入力が判断される。
そして、シフト入力と判断されれば、シフト入力手段２６０は入力されたキーのシフト位置のキーが入力されたものとしてシフト処理を行う（Ｓ３）。
次に、入力キーがメニューキー（キーボード２１４Ａではキー２４１、液晶画面２０３ではキー２４１に対応するキーのシフト位置）であるかを判断し（Ｓ４）、メニューキーが入力されていれば、選択メニュー表示手段２６１によってメニュー領域２１１に各選択メニュー２７１〜２７６を表示するメニュー表示処理を行う（Ｓ５）。
一方、メニューキーでなければ、配列切替入力であるか、つまり切替キーエリア２４０の各キー２４１〜２４３が入力されたり、選択メニュー２７１〜２７６がタッチ入力されたかを判断する（Ｓ６）。
ここで、配列切替入力であれば、配列切替手段２６３は、配列テーブル２１８を指定された配列用に切り替える配列切替処理を行う（Ｓ７）。
また、配列切替入力でなければ、選択入力であるかを判断する（Ｓ８）。ここで、選択入力と判断されれば設定されたキーの一方を選択する選択処理を行う（Ｓ９）。
そして、入力されたキーが確定したら、データ処理手段２６４により、そのキーに設定された文字を発生させたり、各機能を実行するデータ処理が行われる（Ｓ１０）。この際、データ処理手段２６４は、配列テーブル２１８を参照して設定されているキー配列における入力されたキーに対応した文字や機能に基づいてデータ処理している。なお、キー配列の初期設定は標準配列である。
そして、データ処理された結果は、出力制御部２１７によって液晶画面２０３に出力処理される（Ｓ１１）。
以上により、各入力に対する処理が完了し、次の入力があれば以上の処理を繰り返して順次入力処理を行う。
このような本実施形態においても、前記各実施形態と同様の効果が得られる上、ペン２１５Ａを用いて入力するタッチ入力手段２１５のほかに、キーボード２１４Ａを設けているので、入力方式を利用者が適宜選択することができ、操作性をより向上することができる。
前記キーボード２１４Ａは、本体２０２から分離可能に設けられ、かつどのキーが入力されたかを表すキー情報を無線により前記処理制御部２１６に送信可能とされているので、キーボード２１４Ａを本体２０２から離して操作することができ、特に複数の人が同じ画面２０３を見ている場合に、操作者が邪魔にならず画面２０３を見やすくすることができる。
さらに、キーボード２１４Ａは、本体２０２内に収納できるように構成されているので、画面表示式キー入力装置２０１の携帯時にはキーボード２１４Ａを収納し、使用時のみキーボード２１４Ａを取り出して操作できるため、操作性および携帯性に優れた画面表示式キー入力装置２０１とすることができる。
なお、オプションでキーボード２１４Ａを併用するものとしては、携帯情報端末（ＰＤＡ）用の画面表示式キー入力装置２０１に限らず、図４７に示すように、本体３６２およびディスプレイ３６３を備えるデスクトップ型の画面表示式キー入力装置３６１に用いてもよいし、図４８に示すように、壁掛けテレビなどの表示装置３７３を備えた画面表示式キー入力装置３７１に適用してもよい。なお、この場合、表示装置３７３に表示されるキー配列の１つに、各テレビチャンネルが各キーに設定されたチャンネル配列を設定すれば、チャンネル切替操作も前記キーボード２１４Ａで実現することができる。
また、キーボード２１４Ａを併用する場合、各キー２２１〜２３５を押した際に入力される文字は画面２０３のキー入力領域２１２に表示されるため、キーボード２１４Ａ上には文字を表示しなくてもよい。
なお、本発明においてメインキー２１〜３５に設定される文字コードの配置は前記各実施形態に記載されたものに限らず、実施にあたって適宜設定すればよい。
例えば、タッチ入力用として画面に表示される日本語、英語、数字、記号の各キー配列は、図４９〜５３に示すものでもよい。
具体的には、図４９の日本語配列のメインキー２１〜３５は、基本的に図２３に示す標準配列に合わせて設定されているが、母音エリア２０Ａの各キー２１，２２，２６，２７，３１，３２のシフト位置（第２の文字コード）に「e,u,i,a,っ,o」が設定され、キー２５のシフト位置に点「・」が設定され、キー３３，３４の第２シフト位置（第３の文字コード）に「Ｆ、Ｖ」が設定されている点が図２３の配列と異なっている。
また、サポートキー（機能キー）エリア５０は、「Ｅｎｔｅｒ（リターン）」機能、かな漢字変換機能およびスペース入力機能をもったキー５１と、かな漢字無変換および「Ｎｕｍ（数字）」配列への切替機能をもったキー５２と、かな漢字変換時に変換候補の前候補を選択する機能および「Ｍａｒｋ（記号）」配列への切替機能をもったキー５３と、バックスペース入力機能および英字配列への切替機能を備えたキー５４と、削除（ＤＥＬ）機能および半角モードへの切替機能を持ったキー５５とにより構成されている。
また、図５０の日本語高速配列のメインキー２１〜３５は、基本的に図２８に示す高速配列に合わせて設定されているが、母音エリア２０Ａの各キー２１，２２，２６，２７，３１，３２のシフト位置（第２の文字コード）に「you,yu,yuu,ya,っ,yo」が設定され、キー３１の非シフト位置に第３の文字コードとして「UU」が設定され、キー２５のシフト位置に点「・」が設定されている点が図２８の配列と異なっている。
また、図５１の英語配列のメインキー２１〜３５は、基本的に図２５に示す英語配列に合わせて設定されているが、母音エリア２０Ａの各キー２１，２２，２６，２７，３２のシフト位置（第２の文字コード）にカンマ「，」、ピリオド「．」、「Ｊ」、「Ｑ」、「Ｘ」が設定され、キー３１に「ＣＡＰＳ」キーが設定され、キー２５，３５のシフト位置にそれぞれ「Ｃ」、「Ｌ」が設定されている点が図２５の配列と異なっている。
また、サポートキー５１〜５５は、キー５１に「Space」キーが設定され、キー５２に日本語標準配列に戻る「かな」機能が設定され、キー５３にはカタカナ入力に切り替える「カナ」機能が設定されている点が、図４９の日本語標準配列と異なるが、それ以外は同一である。
図５２の数字配列では、メインキーエリア２０の中央３列に数字キーが設定され、左右２列に算術記号キーが設定されている。具体的には、メインキーエリア２０の上段左側から順にキー２１に記号「−」が、キー２２に数字「７」が、キー２３に数字「８」が、キー２４に数字「９」が、キー２５に記号「／」が設定され、また中段左側から順にキー２６に記号「＋」が、キー２７に数字「４」が、キー２８に数字「５」が、キー２９に数字「６」が、キー３０にコロン記号「＊」が設定され、さらに下段左側から順にキー３１に数字「０」が、キー３２に数字「１」が、キー３３に数字「２」が、キー３４に数字「３」が、キー３５に記号「．」が設定されている。
また、サポートキー５１〜５５は、図５１の英語配列と同一である。
図５３の記号配列では、メインキーエリア２０の左側２列にかっこ記号キーが設定され、右側３列に各種記号キーが設定されている。具体的には、メインキーエリア２０の上段左側から順にキー２１にかっこ記号「<」が、キー２２にかっこ記号「>」が、キー２３にセミコロン記号「；」が、キー２４にコロン記号「：」が、キー２５に記号「／」が設定され、また中段左側から順にキー２６にかっこ記号「（」が、キー２７にかっこ記号「）」が、キー２８に修飾記号「＠」が、キー２９にシャープ記号「＃」が、キー３０にアスタリスク記号「＊」が設定され、さらに下段左側から順にキー３１にかっこ記号「［」が、キー３２にかっこ記号「］」が、キー３３に修飾記号「！」が、キー３４にクエスチョン記号「？」が、キー３５に記号「＝」が設定されている。また、各キー２１〜３５のシフト位置（第２の文字コード）にも、図５３に示す各記号が設定されている。
また、サポートキー５１〜５５は、図５１の英語配列と同一である。
これらの図４９〜５３に示すキー配列においても、前記各実施形態と同様に、２種類のタッチ入力操作を行うことで、第１および第２の文字コードを入力することができる。
さらに、画面表示式キー入力装置に電話機能が加えられている場合には、図５４に示すように、電話機能に適した各種キーが設定されたキー配列が画面に表示され、電話機能を実現できるようにしてもよい。
この際、メインキー２１〜３５およびサポートキー５１〜５５の計２０個のキーが、一般の電話のボタン数とほぼ同じであるため、一般の電話と同様なキー設定を行え、一般の電話と同じ感覚で電話を掛けることができる。
また、前記各実施形態では、例えば、各キー２１〜３５のキー領域内に左右に文字が設定されている場合には、左部側を第１の文字コードとし、右部側を第２の文字コードとしていたが、これらを逆にして、左部側を第２の文字コードとし、右部側を第１の文字コードと設定してもよい。同様に、各キー２１〜３５の非シフト位置（下側）を第１の文字コードとし、シフト位置（上側）を第２の文字コードとしていたが、これらを逆にして、非シフト位置を第２の文字コードとし、シフト位置を第１の文字コードと設定してもよい。
産業上の利用可能性
以上のように、本発明にかかる画面表示式キー入力装置は、各種の情報処理装置における入力装置として有用であり、特に各種の携帯パソコン、電子手帳、携帯情報端末（ＰＤＡ）等の小型の情報処理装置に組み込まれる入力装置に用いるのに適している。Technical field
The present invention relates to an input device used in the field of a character input device or an input method, and more specifically, a key (soft key) on a screen of a small electronic notebook, a small word processor (word processor), a personal computer (personal computer) or the like. ) And touch the key directly with a pen or fingertip, or use a mouse or tablet etc. to point the key with the pointer displayed on the screen and enter characters and symbols displayed on the key The present invention relates to a type key input device.
Background
As information devices, personal computers and word processors are common, and these have been rapidly miniaturized while improving their performance. In other words, it has moved from desktop to laptop and from notebook to sub-note, but it has come a little smaller now. This is because there is a limit to miniaturization with the conventional keyboard format, and simply reducing the key size impairs usability.
Therefore, we give up on “key input” that is too small and hard to type on mobile PCs, electronic notebooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc., which are downsized to B5 and B6 sizes used for corporate sales tools. The transition to “screen touch type input” in which input is performed by touching the screen with “pen” or “fingertip”, in particular, “pen”, is progressing, and keyboard-less is progressing.
On the other hand, along with recent enhancement of functions of personal computers, OSs (operating systems), and various software, desktop and notebook personal computers use GUIs (graphical) to select and input icons displayed on the screen with a mouse.・ User interfaces are becoming more common, and input methods that do not use a keyboard are widespread.
However, since current mouse input and pen input can directly access the screen of the display, it is suitable for selection input such as “menu” and “command” displayed on the screen, but it is most important for word processors and e-mails. There was a problem that it was not necessarily suitable for character input.
For example, handwriting input of characters used in the pen input type is convenient because it can be used by people who are not good at keyboard input, but the recognition rate of handwriting input is not necessarily high, and after further recognition, kanji, katakana, hiragana, etc. In other words, it has to go through the steps of "handwriting input"-> "recognition"-> "conversion", and the input operation takes time and effort, the operability is not good, and quick input is not possible There was a problem.
Therefore, instead of a “character input board” similar to a keyboard, that is, a general keyboard key (hard key) on the screen, a small key (soft key) displayed on the screen is provided, and this key is touched with a pen or mouse. The method of inputting characters is adopted.
However, since the conventional “character input board” inherits the shape of the conventional keyboard as it is, there is a problem that soft keys are finely packed and difficult to touch.
That is, as a conventional “character input board”, a “QWERTY layout” as shown in FIG. 55 or a “50 sound array” for character input as shown in FIG. In either case, there are 10 rows in width, the movement width when moving a pen, a mouse, etc. is large, and the individual soft keys are small, so that the operability is low.
An object of the present invention is to provide a screen display type key input device for inputting a key displayed on a screen by touching it with a pen, a mouse or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a screen display type key input device that can be used.
Disclosure of the invention
The present invention relates to a screen display type key input device for selecting and inputting a key displayed on a screen.,in frontThe key input means pointing in the key display area and the key selection operation of this key input means are judged to be set for each key.SentenceCharacterDoSelection processing means for selecting and performing output processing, and the screen displays 15 main keys in three columns on the top and bottom, left and right, and five columns on the top of the 15 main keys. “Q”, “E”, “T”, “U”, “O” are displayed in order from the left key in the left part of each key area of the key, and in each key area of the middle five keys “A”, “D”, “G”, “J”, “L” are displayed in order from the left key on the left side of the left side, and in the left part of each key area of the four keys from the left side of the lower row Displays “Z”, “C”, “B”, “M” in order from the left key, and “Q”, “E”, “T”, “U”, “O”, “A”, “A”, “W”, “R”, “Y” are displayed in the right part of each key area where “D”, “G”, “J”, “Z”, “C”, “B” are displayed, respectively. , “I”, “P”, “S”, “F”, “H”, “ "," X "," V ", to display the" N ",Each main key is set with a character code representing each character displayed on each main key as a first and second character code, and a number that is a symbol for arranging numbers is placed at the lower left position of each main key. Arithmetic symbols are displayed, a character code representing the symbols for the numeric array is set as a third character code for each main key, and various symbols as symbols for the symbol array are set at the lower right position of each main key. , And set a character code representing a symbol for these symbol arrangements as a fourth character code in each main key,The key input means comprises touch type input means for touching and inputting each key area displayed on the screen,The selection processing means includes determination means for determining four types of key selection operations of the key input means, and first to fourth character codes set for each key based on the key selection operation determined by the determination means. And a character generating means for selecting and outputting one ofSaidJudgment meansThe touch type input means determines whether or not the touch type input means has moved a predetermined length or more while touching the key area regardless of the moving direction.In addition, when the movement distance of the touch-type input unit is equal to or longer than a predetermined length, it is determined whether the movement direction is a horizontal direction, a lower left direction, or a lower right direction. AboveWhen it is determined by the determination means that the distance that the touch type input means has moved with the key touched is shorter than a predetermined length, the first character code set for the key is selected and output, and the touch type When the moving distance of the input means is determined to be longer than the predetermined lengthWhen the movement direction is determined to be the horizontal direction, the second character code set to the key is selected and output, and when the movement direction is determined to be the lower left direction, the third character code set to the key is selected. A character code is selected and output. If it is determined that the direction is the lower right direction, the fourth character code set to the key is selected and output.Is.
According to the present invention, since two character codes such as letters, numbers, and symbols can be set for one key, for example, 26 letters of the alphabet can be set for 13 keys. The number of keys displayed on can be halved. For this reason, the amount of movement of a pen or mouse for selecting a key can be reduced, and the size of each key can be increased to improve operability.
Further, the key selection operation can be changed simply by changing the length of touching the key with the touch-type input means, and the input operability can be improved.
Further, in the present invention, 15 main keys in three columns, upper and lower, left and right, are displayed on the screen, and symbols corresponding to at least the first and second character codes are displayed on each main key. Even if only 15 main keys are provided, at least two keys (symbols) can be set for each key, that is, at least 30 keys in total. Therefore, the alphabet used when inputting Japanese Romaji, that is, the vowels “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O”, and the vowel key are combined with “ “K”, “S”, “T”, “N”, “H”, “M”, “Y”, “R”, “W”, and vowels In addition to 19 characters “G”, “Z”, “D”, “P”, “B” to input Japanese muddy and semi-voiced sounds in combination with punctuation marks “,”, punctuation marks “.”, Etc. However, each key can be set as a main key, and if a key layout for Japanese input is set, it can sufficiently handle Japanese input without switching to another key layout.
Similarly, a comma “,”, a period “.”, Etc. in addition to the 26 letters of the alphabet can be set as main keys, and an English input can be sufficiently handled by setting a key layout for English input.
In addition, the number of 15 keys is significantly smaller than the conventional QWERTY layout and 50-sound layout, so if each main key is displayed in the same size as the conventional QWERTY layout and 50-sound layout key display, The area can be reduced, and the screen display type key input device can be further miniaturized, and the amount of movement of the pen, finger, mouse pointer, etc. that touch the key is reduced, and the operability is improved.
On the other hand, if the main key layout area is equivalent to the conventional QWERTY layout or 50-sound layout, the size of each main key can be made larger than before and the keys can be easily touched with a pen or fingertip. In this case, the operability is improved.
Furthermore, since each alphabet is arranged on the left and right, two for each key, and arranged in accordance with the QWERTY layout, it can be arranged in the same manner as a general keyboard and the operability is improved.
In addition, since four types of character codes are set, for example, alphabets are set for the first and second character codes, numbers are set for the third character code, and symbols are set for the fourth character code. Since this number and symbol can be entered simply by changing the key selection operation in the same way as entering characters, it is easy to enter even when numbers and symbols are required. It is possible to further improve input operability such as sentence input. In particular, when the movement distance of the touch-type input means is determined to be a predetermined length or more, when the movement direction is determined to be the horizontal direction, the second character code set to the key is selected. When it is determined that the lower left direction is determined, the third character code set for the key is selected and output. When the lower right direction is determined, the fourth character is set for the key. Since the code is selected and output, the first to fourth character codes set to one key can be easily selected and input by slightly changing the input operation method, and the operability is improved. Can do.
Here, as the key acquisition means, a pen type input means using a touch pen or a touch screen type input means for touching a screen with a finger can be used.
In addition, a long sound “-” and a punctuation mark “,” are displayed on the right side of each key area where “L” and “M” are displayed, and a punctuation mark is displayed on the left side of the lower right key area. “.” May be displayed, and the symbol “•” may be displayed on the right side. With such a key arrangement, you can enter punctuation marks “,”, punctuation marks “.”, Long sound “-”, etc. that are frequently used in Japanese input by directly selecting each key. Input operability can be improved.
In addition, a semicolon symbol “;” and a comma symbol “,” are respectively displayed on the right side in each key area where “L” and “M” are displayed, and the left part in the lower right key area. May be displayed with a period symbol “.” And a colon symbol “:” on the right. With such a key layout, you can enter the comma symbol “,”, period symbol “.”, Etc., which are frequently used in English input, by selecting each key directly. It can be improved.
The present invention also includes an arrangement switching means for switching the arrangement of the symbols displayed on the screen and the character code generated when the key is touched.
According to the present invention as described above, the character code array set for the main key can be switched to various arrays such as Japanese romaji input, English array, number array, symbol array, etc. Even if there are only 15, 15 keys × 2 (first and second symbols) × the number of arrays, that is, 30 keys × the number of arrays can be set, and each symbol (letter, number, Symbols etc.) can be directly touch input, and can be input easily.
In addition to the main key area consisting of 15 keys in the upper and lower 3 steps left and right 5 rows, the present invention includes a plurality of support keys in which various functions are set adjacent to the main key area. A support key area is provided.
The support key area may be arranged, for example, below the main key area or on either the left or right side, and it is preferable that at least five support keys are provided.
For these support keys, various functions required for character input operations such as mode switching function to switch the key layout displayed on the screen to various layouts, kanji conversion, space input, return key, backspace key, delete key, etc. Can be set, and the input operability can be further improved.
In addition, a mode switching key may be provided adjacent to the main key area separately from the support key by making only the mode switching function independent. In this case, the arrangement of the main keys can be easily switched by touching the switching key.
Further, the menu key for displaying the mode selection menu may be set as a support key or the like, and the mode switching may be performed by pressing the menu key to display the mode selection menu on the screen.
In this case, more arrangements can be set as compared with the case where the mode switching function is set to the switching key, and it is possible to deal with various inputs and improve operability.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a screen display type key input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a Japanese key arrangement in the screen display type key input device. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an English key arrangement in the screen display type key input device, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the screen display type key input device, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an input processing procedure of the screen display type key input device, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the determination means of the screen display type key input device, and FIG. 7 is a touch input determination. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another determination method for touch input, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a Japanese screen display type key input device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a key arrangement for words. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a key layout for English in the screen display type key input device of the embodiment, and FIG. 11 shows a key layout for Japanese in the screen display type key input device of the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an English key arrangement in the screen display type key input device of the third embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a screen display type key input device of the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the touch input determination method in the third embodiment, and FIG. 15 is a screen in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a display-type key input device, FIG. 16 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of the determining means of the screen display-type key input device of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 17 is a third embodiment. And each screen display type key of the fourth embodiment FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing a modification of the touch input operation in the screen display type key input device of the present invention, and FIG. 19 is a screen display type of the present invention. FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing another modification of the touch input operation in the key input device, FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing another modification of the screen display type key input device of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing another modified example of the screen display type key input device of the present invention, FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing the screen touch type input device of the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 24 is a plan view showing a key arrangement of a standard arrangement in a screen touch type input device, FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a key arrangement in the screen touch type input device, and FIG. 25 is a screen touch type input. Indicates the key layout of the English layout on the device FIG. 26 is a plan view showing a numeric key arrangement in the screen touch input device, and FIG. 27 is a plan view showing a symbol arrangement key arrangement in the screen touch input device. FIG. 28 is a plan view showing a high-speed key arrangement in the screen touch input device, and FIG. 29 is a plan view showing a QWERTY English-only key arrangement in the screen touch input device. FIG. 30 is a plan view showing the key layout of the QWERTY Japanese-only layout in the screen touch type input device, and FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the screen touch type input device. Is a flowchart showing the input processing procedure of the screen touch type input device, FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the shift input means in the screen touch type input device, FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the function of the click-type shift input means, FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the function of the area-partition type shift input means, and FIG. FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing a screen touch input device according to another embodiment of the invention, FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing a screen touch input device according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the application starting state in 6th Embodiment, FIG. 39 is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the screen touch type input device of 6th Embodiment, FIG. 40 is the screen of 6th Embodiment. FIG. 41 is a flowchart showing an input processing procedure of the touch type input device, FIG. 41 is a plan view showing a modification of the key arrangement in the screen touch type input device of the present invention, and FIG. 42 is a screen touch of the present invention. Type input device FIG. 43 is a perspective view showing a screen display type key input device of a seventh embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 44 is a seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 45 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the screen display type key input device, FIG. 45 is a plan view showing the keyboard arrangement of the keyboard in the screen display type key input device of the seventh embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing an input processing procedure of the screen display type key input device according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 47 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the screen display type key input device. FIG. FIG. 49 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of a display-type key input device, FIG. 49 is a plan view showing a Japanese input arrangement for touch input, and FIG. 50 is a Japanese high-speed arrangement for touch input. FIG. 51 is a plan view showing English FIG. 52 is a plan view showing a numeric input array for touch input, FIG. 53 is a plan view showing a symbol input array for touch input, and FIG. FIG. 55 is a plan view showing a telephone array for touch input, FIG. 55 is a plan view for explaining a conventional QWERTY array, and FIG. 56 is for explaining a conventional 50 sound array. It is the top view shown in.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In order to explain the present invention in more detail, it will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a screen display type key input device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The screen display type key input device 1 is used as a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a liquid crystal screen 3 is provided on the surface of a main body 2. Although not shown in FIG. 1, a lid may be attached to the main body 2 so as to be rotatable in order to protect the screen 3 portion.
The liquid crystal screen 3 is provided with a data display area 10 for inputting characters and displaying data when executing various functions such as a word processor, spreadsheet, address book, e-mail, and schedule. The format of the display area 10 is configured to be changed as appropriate according to the selected function.
A key input area 12 is disposed below the display area 10. The key input area 12 may be displayed at all times. Normally, the display area 10 is displayed over almost the entire area of the screen 3, and a key input start key or the like is displayed on the screen. When the start key is touched, it is preferable to display a part of the display area 10 in a pop-up manner as necessary in that the display area 10 can be enlarged and the amount of information can be increased.
As shown in FIG. 1, the screen display type key input device 1 is attached with a pen 15 used in touch type input means as key input means. For this reason, the main body 2 is preferably provided with a holder for holding the pen 15 so that the pen 15 can be prevented from being lost.
When the screen display type key input device 1 is used, the main body 2 may be held with the left hand (right hand) or placed on a desk or the like, and the pen 15 may be operated with the right hand (left hand).
As shown in FIG. 2, the key input area 12 is provided with a main key area 20 in which 15 main keys 21 to 35 are displayed in three columns on the upper and lower sides and five columns on the left and right.
Each of the main keys 21 to 35 in the main key area 20 includes a QWERTY Japanese layout used in Roman character input shown in FIG. 2 and a QWERTY English layout shown in FIG. Are switched and displayed by an array switching means that is activated by, for example, clicking on a portion of the main key area 20 where no key is displayed.
The arrangement of letters (alphabets) displayed on the main keys 21 to 35 in the QWERTY Japanese layout is set in accordance with the general QWERTY arrangement as an alphabet arrangement on a normal keyboard.
Specifically, “Q” is assigned to key 21, “E” is assigned to key 22, “E” is assigned to key 23, and “23” is assigned to “23” in order from the left key. "T" is displayed on the key 24, "O" is displayed on the key 25, and "O" is displayed on the key 25. In the left part of each key area of the five keys 26 to 30 in the middle row, the key 26 is assigned in order from the left key. "A" is displayed on the key 27, "G" is displayed on the key 28, "J" is displayed on the key 29, "L" is displayed on the key 30, and the five keys 31 to 35 are displayed from the lower left side. In the left part of each key area, “Z” is stored in the key 31 in order from the left key, “C” in the key 32, “B” in the key 33, “M” in the key 34, and the key 35. The punctuation mark “.” Is displayed.
In the right part of the key area of each of these keys 21 to 35, “W” is assigned to the key 21, “R” is assigned to the key 22, “Y” is assigned to the key 23, and “I” is assigned to the key 24. However, the key 25 has “P”, the key 26 has “S”, the key 27 has “F”, the key 28 has “H”, the key 29 has “K”, and the key 30 has a long sound “−”. , “X” is displayed on the key 31, “V” is displayed on the key 32, “N” is displayed on the key 33, a punctuation mark “,” is displayed on the key 34, and a dot symbol “•” is displayed on the key 35.
That is, "QW", "ER", "TY", "UI", and "OP" are displayed in order from the left key on the upper five keys 21 to 25, and the middle five keys 26 to 30 are displayed. “AS”, “DF”, “GH”, “JK”, “L-” are displayed in order from the left key, and the lower five keys 31 to 35 are “ZX” in order from the left key. , “CV”, “BN”, “M,”, “..” are displayed.
Here, the first character code of each of the keys 21 to 35 is set with a character code representing the character displayed on the left side in the key area, and the character displayed on the right side with the second character code. The character code that represents is set.
On the other hand, the arrangement of letters (alphabets) displayed on the main keys 21 to 35 in the English layout shown in FIG. 3 is set in accordance with the QWERTY layout in the same manner as the Japanese layout.
However, punctuation marks are not used for English input.
A comma symbol “,”, a period symbol “.”, A semicolon symbol “;”, and a colon symbol “:”, which are frequently used in English input, are set.
Specifically, in the left part (first character code) in each key area of the upper five keys 21 to 25, “Q” is assigned to the key 21 in order from the left key, and “E” is assigned to the key 22. "," T "is displayed on the key 23," U "is displayed on the key 24," O "is displayed on the key 25, and the left side in each key area of the five keys 26 to 30 in the middle is on the left side. “A” is displayed on the key 26, “D” is displayed on the key 27, “G” is displayed on the key 28, “J” is displayed on the key 29, and “L” is displayed on the key 30. In the left part of each key area of the five keys 31 to 35, “Z” is assigned to the key 31, “C” is assigned to the key 32, “B” is assigned to the key 33, and the key 34 from the left key. “M” is displayed on the key 35 and a period symbol “.” Is displayed.
In the right part (second character code) in each key area of each of these keys 21 to 35, “W” is assigned to the key 21, “R” is assigned to the key 22, and “Y” is assigned to the key 23. “I” for key 24, “P” for key 25, “S” for key 26, “F” for key 27, “H” for key 28, “K” for key 29, The key 30 has a semicolon symbol “;”, the key 31 has “X”, the key 32 has “V”, the key 33 has “N”, the key 34 has a comma symbol “,”, and the key 35 has a colon symbol “ : "Is displayed.
That is, "QW", "ER", "TY", "UI", and "OP" are displayed in order from the left key on the upper five keys 21 to 25, and the middle five keys 26 to 30 are displayed. “AS”, “DF”, “GH”, “JK”, “L;” are displayed in order from the left key, and “ZX” is sequentially displayed in the lower five keys 31 to 35 from the left key. , “CV”, “BN”, “M,”, “.:” Are displayed.
Next, an internal configuration for realizing the screen display type key input device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an internal configuration for realizing the screen display type key input device 1, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure.
The screen display type key input device 1 includes a key input unit 71 and a selection processing unit 72, and the selection processing unit 72 includes a determination unit 73 and a character generation unit 74.
The key input means 71 in the present embodiment is constituted by the touch type input means using the pen 15 as described above, and checks whether or not there is a touch input by the pen 15 in the main key area 20 (step 1, hereinafter). “Step” is abbreviated as “S”).
Here, if there is a touch input, it is determined by the determination means 73 that the touch input is a bar touch input, that is, the pen 15 is moving over a predetermined length in the key area while touching the key, or a point touch input, that is, the pen 15 It is determined whether the moving distance is shorter than a predetermined length (S2).
If it is determined that the input is a point touch input, the character generating unit 74 performs a standard process for generating the first character code set at the left position of the touched key (S3).
On the other hand, if it is determined that the input is not a point touch input but a bar touch input, the character generating means 74 performs a shift process for generating the second character code set at the right position of the touched key (S4).
The result processed by the character generating means 74 is displayed on the liquid crystal drawing 3.
As described above, the processing for each touch input is completed, and if there is a next touch input, the above processing is repeated to sequentially perform touch input. In the case of input using the Japanese layout shown in FIG. 2, the input alphabet is recognized as a Roman character input by the “kana-kanji conversion program” built in the screen display type key input device 1, and the screen displays “Hiragana”. 3 is further converted into kanji or the like automatically or by operating a conversion key (not shown).
Here, a touch input determination method in the determination unit 73 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 6, the determination unit 73 detects a difference in operation when the pen 15 touches each key 21 to 35, and detects the left position (A in FIG. 6) and the right position ( In FIG. 5, it is determined that any one of B) is selected.
As a method for determining the difference in touch operation at this time, one of the methods shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is employed.
The method shown in FIG. 7 determines a difference in touch operation for each pixel 76 included in the display area of each key 21 to 35. That is, as shown in FIG. 7 (1), when a total of 100 cells 76 of 10 columns and 10 rows are set in the display area of each of the keys 21 to 35, the determination means 73 uses the pen 15 Is within a predetermined number within the display area of each key 21-35, for example, one within the display area of each key 21-35, or one of its pixels 76 and its surrounding pixels 76 (in FIG. When the pixel 76 in the displayed portion) is touched (when touched with a point), it is determined that the input has been made by point touch, and four pixels arranged in one direction as shown in FIG. When the above pixel 76 is touched (when a touch is made so as to draw a hyphen “−” bar), it is determined that the input is performed by bar touch.
Although FIG. 7 illustrates the case where the pen 15 is moved in the horizontal direction, even if the pen 15 is moved in the vertical direction or the oblique direction, and further in a “∨” or “∧” shape, If two or more cells 76 are touched, it is determined that the input is a bar touch. The starting point of touch input may be any position within the area of each key 21 to 35, and even if the touch (bar) terminal protrudes from the key area, the touch input can be performed by point touch depending on the number of pixels touched in the key area. It is determined whether there is a touch or a bar touch.
Further, the number of cells 76 serving as a determination criterion is not limited to four or more, and may be set according to the number of cells 76 in the display area. For example, when the number of cells 76 is set to 25 in a total of 5 columns and 5 rows, it may be determined that a bar touch is made when two or more cells 76 are touched.
On the other hand, the method shown in FIG. 8 determines the difference in touch operation based on the distance between the start point and end point of the touch of the pen 15. That is, when the touch length with the pen 15 is shorter than the set length as shown in FIG. 8 (1), the determination unit 73 determines that the input is a point touch, and as shown in FIG. 8 (2). When the length of the touch by 15 is equal to or longer than a preset length, it is determined that the input is made by bar touch.
Also in this case, the direction of movement of the pen 15 may be up and down or oblique, and the direction may change in the middle like a “re” point. In short, the distance between the start point and the end point of the pen 15, that is, the movement distance is a predetermined length. If it is above, it is determined as a bar touch input.
It should be noted that the set length serving as a determination criterion may be set in advance, or may be set as appropriate by the operating user.
Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.
According to the present embodiment, since the first and second character codes are set for the keys 21 to 35, two characters (alphabets) and symbols can be set for the keys 21 to 35. For this reason, the number of keys can be reduced to about half compared to the case where one character is set for one key as in the prior art.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, even if only 15 main keys 21 to 35 are provided, two character codes, that is, 30 character codes can be set for each key 21 to 35. Therefore, in addition to the 26 alphabetic characters used for Japanese Romaji input and English input, the frequency of reading “,”, punctuation “.”, Etc. in Japanese input, comma “,”, period “.”, Etc. in English input Can be set to the main keys 21 to 35 including symbols having a high number of characters, so that even a small number of keys can sufficiently handle Japanese input and English input.
For this reason, Roman input and English input can be performed using 15 main keys 21 to 35 which are significantly fewer than the conventional QWERTY arrangement and the 50 sound arrangement, and each key 21 to 35 is assigned to the conventional QWERTY arrangement or If the main key area 20 that is a key display area can be reduced by displaying it on the screen 3 with the same size as the keys of the 50 sound arrangement, the movement amount of the pen 15 that touches the keys 21 to 35 can be reduced, and the operability is improved. Can be improved.
In addition, since the main key area 20 can be reduced, the screen touch input device 1 can be reduced in size, the display area 10 for data and the like can be increased, and handling and operability can be further improved. it can.
On the other hand, if the main key area 20 has the same size as the key arrangement area of the conventional QWERTY layout or the 50-sound layout, the size of the main keys 21 to 35 can be increased as compared with the prior art. Can be easily touched with the pen 15 or the fingertip, and in this case, the operability can be improved.
In addition, the punctuation mark “,”, the punctuation mark “.”, Which are frequently used in Japanese input, the comma “,”, the period “.”, Etc., which are frequently used in English input, are displayed on each key 30, 34, 35 and directly touch input Therefore, the operability when inputting Japanese or English can be further improved.
Furthermore, since the key sequence of the QWERTY layout that has been widely used and familiar to the past is set to 15 main keys 21 to 35, the key layout of this embodiment is used for many people who are used to the QWERTY layout. Can be easily remembered, and the screen display type key input device 1 can be used immediately and easily.
In addition, the Japanese layout in FIG. 2 and the English layout in FIG. 3 have the same key layout except for the symbol part, so the Japanese layout and the English layout are switched and used together. Even in this case, the key layout is easy to remember, and the operability can be improved.
In order to input the two characters and symbols displayed on the keys 21 to 35, the pen 15 is moved slightly differently, that is, a point touch input is performed at a point or a predetermined length while touching. It is possible to perform two types of operations simply by selecting whether or not to perform bar touch input to be moved. One of the two characters and symbols of the keys 21 to 35, that is, one of the first and second character codes can be selected. It is possible to select and input by a very simple operation.
For this reason, even with touch input using the pen 15, two types of character input operations can be performed on one key as in the conventional keyboard shift operation, and the operation is very simple. Can be improved.
Furthermore, if the user of the input device 1 can appropriately adjust the movement amount of the pen 15 that is regarded as a bar touch input, even if the movement amount of the pen 15 varies depending on each user, the bar touch input is performed. Whether the input is a touch input can be accurately determined, and the operability can be further improved.
In addition, since the keys 21 to 35 of the key input area 12 are arranged apart from each other, the areas of the keys 21 to 35 are clearly separated, and when the touch input is performed by the pen 15 or the like, the two keys 21 to 35 are arranged. Thus, it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation that causes the input to extend over 35. In particular, when a touch is made up to a gap between the keys 21 to 35, an erroneous operation can be reliably prevented by setting so as to cancel the previous touch input from the gap.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In each embodiment described below, the same or similar components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted or simplified.
This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a mode key area 40 and a function key area 50 are newly provided in the key input area 12 in addition to the main key area 20. Accordingly, the description of the same or similar components as those in the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the Japanese layout in this embodiment, a mode key area 40 is provided on the left side of the main key area 20, and a function key area 50 is provided on the lower side of the main key area 20.
Here, the main keys 21 to 35 in the main key area 20 are the same as the Japanese layout of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
On the other hand, in the mode key area 40, three mode keys 41, 42, and 43 are arranged in one vertical column.
These mode keys 41, 42, and 43 are set so that the keys 21 to 35 of the main key area 20 are arranged other than for Japanese and English so that numbers and symbols can be input. For example, when the symbol mode key displayed at the lower position of the mode key 41 is selected, the display of each key 21 to 35 in the main key area 20 is changed from alphabet to various symbols, and each key 21 to 35 is changed with the pen 15. Various symbols may be input by touching.
In addition, when the kana mode key displayed at the upper position of the mode key 41 is selected, the main key area 20 is divided into an alphabet representing a Japanese vowel and an alphabet representing a consonant. May be able to easily input Roman characters, or may be set to a katakana fixed mode in which characters input in Roman characters are converted into katakana.
Further, when the English (uppercase English) mode key displayed at the lower position of the mode key 42 is selected, the input alphabet is output in all uppercase letters, and the lower English displayed at the upper position of the mode key 42 is displayed. When the (English lowercase) mode key is selected, the input alphabet may be set to be output in all lowercase.
Further, when the numeric mode key displayed at the lower position of the mode key 43 is selected, a numeric value (0-9) and an arithmetic symbol can be set and inputted to each key 21-35 of the main key area 20, and the key can be entered. When the half-width mode key displayed at the upper position of 43 is selected, the input in the main key area 20 may be set to be a half-width input.
That is, these mode keys 41 to 43 are used when inputting English notation or katakana notation used as abbreviations or foreign words in Japanese sentences, or inputting numbers, symbols, or the like. The specific configuration of each of these arrays will be described in other embodiments described later.
On the other hand, in the function key area 50, five function keys 51 to 55 in which various functions necessary for inputting Roman characters are set are arranged.
That is, a “conversion” key for executing a kana-kanji conversion function is set at the lower left position of the key 51, and a “space” key for inputting a space is set at the lower right position of the key 51. In each key 21 to 35 of the main key area 20, an “extended function” key for setting various extended functions is set. In addition, as a function set by the extended function key, for example, a moving function for moving the cursor to the beginning of a sentence, the end of a sentence, the beginning of a line, the end of a line, and various types of word processors that are often used for insertion, ruled line, movement, copying, printing, etc. Is set.
In addition, a “no change” key for executing a kana-kanji no conversion function is set at a lower position of the key 52, and a “cancel” key is set at an upper position. Further, a “backward” key is set at the lower position of the key 53, and the “previous” key is displayed at the upper position to display previous candidates for homophones displayed in a list at the time of kana-kanji conversion. Is set.
Further, a “delete” key is set at the lower position of the key 54, and a “single character” key for performing single character conversion is set at the upper position. A “line feed” key is set at the lower position of the key 55, and a “menu” key for displaying a menu for switching the key layout to an English layout, which will be described later, is set at the upper position.
The function key 51 has a larger width dimension than the other keys 52 to 55.
These mode keys 41 to 43 and function keys 51 to 55 are similar to the case of the main keys 21 to 35, and by selecting a point touch input or a bar touch input, the upper or lower portions of the keys 41 to 43 and 51 to 55 are selected. The mode or function set to is selected.
In addition, two functions of “conversion” and “space” are set below the function key 51. When the input character is not converted into kanji or the like and is in an unconfirmed state, the key 51 is turned on. It is set to act as a “conversion” key if touched, and to act as a “space” key if a point touch is made in a fixed state, and it is possible to switch between “conversion” and “space” without changing the input operation. You can enter it.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, also in the English layout in the present embodiment, the mode key area 40 is provided on the left side of the main key area 20, and the function key area 50 is provided on the lower side of the main key area 20. .
The main keys 21 to 35 in the main key area 20 are the same as the English layout of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
On the other hand, in the mode key area 40, a SYM (SYMBOL) key 41 for switching the main key area 20 to a symbol arrangement, a CAPS key 42 for switching the input mode to either upper case input or lower case input, and the main key area 20 for numbers. A NUM key 43 for switching to the arrangement is provided.
In the function key area 50, five keys 51 to 55 are set. Of these, the key 51 has a “SPACE” key for space input and a “COMMAND” key for extended functions, the key 52 has an “ESC” key, the key 53 has a “BS” (reverse) key, A “DEL” (delete) key is set in 54, and a “line feed” key and a “MENU” key are set in the key 55, respectively.
It should be noted that the function keys 51 and 55 to which two functions are set are distinguished from each other by the point touch or bar touch input operation, similarly to the main keys 21 to 35.
According to the second embodiment having the key arrangement shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the function key area 50 provided with the function keys 51 to 55 in which various functions, space keys, and the like are provided is provided. Various functions used in Japanese input and English input can be executed simply by touching the keys 51 to 55, and the input operability can be improved.
Further, since the mode key area 40 provided with the mode keys 41 to 43 for switching the arrangement or the like of the main key area 20 is provided, it is possible to efficiently input numbers and symbols.
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the present embodiment, in the key area of each of the main keys 21 to 35 in the main key area 20, in addition to symbols such as alphabets, punctuation marks, and commas, two types of symbols, symbols for symbol arrangement and symbols for symbol arrangement, are used. Are arranged to form a composite array. In this embodiment, the description of the same or similar components as those in the first and second embodiments is omitted or simplified.
As shown in FIG. 11, in the composite arrangement for Japanese in the present embodiment, each main key 21 to 35 of the main key area 20 displays a symbol for numeric arrangement and symbol arrangement.
That is, numerals and arithmetic symbols, which are symbols for numeric arrangement, are displayed at the lower left positions of the main keys 21 to 35, and these numeric arrangement symbols are displayed as third character codes on the keys 21 to 35, respectively. The character code to represent is set.
Specifically, numeric keys are displayed in the central three columns of the main key area 20, and arithmetic symbols are displayed in the left and right columns. That is, at the lower left position of each of the main keys 21 to 35, the symbol “-” is displayed on the key 21, the number “7” is displayed on the key 22, and the number “8” is displayed on the key 23. The number “9” is displayed on the key 24, the symbol “÷” is displayed on the key 25, the symbol “+” is displayed on the key 26, the number “4” is displayed on the key 27, and the number “5” is displayed on the key 28. However, the number “6” is displayed on the key 29, the symbol “×” is displayed on the key 30, the number “0” is displayed on the key 31, the number “1” is displayed on the key 32, and the number “ 2 ”, the number“ 3 ”is displayed on the key 34, and the symbol“ = ”is displayed on the key 35.
In addition, various symbols such as parenthesis symbols, which are symbols for symbol arrangement, are displayed at the lower right positions of the main keys 21 to 35, and each of the keys 21 to 35 is used as a fourth character code. The character code representing the symbol is set.
Specifically, at the lower right positions of the main keys 21 to 35, the parenthesis symbol ““ ”is assigned to the key 21, the parenthesis symbol“ ”” is assigned to the key 23 in order from the upper left side of the main key area 20. The colon symbol “:” is displayed on the key 24, the semicolon symbol “;” is displayed on the key 25, the symbol “/” is displayed on the key 25, and the parenthesis symbol “(” is the parenthesis symbol “” on the key 27 in order from the left side of the middle row. ”, An AND symbol“ & ”is displayed on the key 28, a percent symbol“% ”is displayed on the key 29, an asterisk symbol“ * ”is displayed on the key 30, and a sharp symbol“ # ”is sequentially displayed on the key 31 from the lower left side. A modifier symbol “@” is displayed on the key 32, a comma symbol “,” is displayed on the key 33, a period symbol “.” Is displayed on the key 34, and a symbol “˜” is displayed on the key 35.
The mode keys 41 to 43 and the function keys 51 to 55 are the same as the Japanese layout in the second embodiment shown in FIG.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, also in the composite array for English in the present embodiment, numbers and arithmetic symbols that are symbols for the number array are set at the lower left positions of the main keys 21 to 35 in the main key area 20. The symbols for symbol arrangement are set at the lower right position, and the third and fourth character codes are set for the keys 21 to 35, respectively.
The numerical sequence is the same as the composite sequence for Japanese in FIG. That is, the symbol “-” is displayed on the key 21, the number “7” is displayed on the key 22, the number “8” is displayed on the key 23, the number “9” is displayed on the key 24, and the symbol “÷” is displayed on the key 25. The symbol “+” is the key 27, the number “4”, the key 28 is the number “5”, the key 29 is the number “6”, the key 30 is the symbol “x”, and the key 31 is the number “0”. The key 32 has a number “1”, the key 33 has a number “2”, the key 34 has a number “3”, and the key 35 has a symbol “=”.
In the symbol array, symbols used in English are arranged instead of symbols used in Japanese.
Specifically, in order from the upper left side of the main key area 20, the parenthesis symbol ““ ”is displayed on the key 21, the parenthesis symbol“ ”” is displayed on the key 22, the parenthesis symbol “′” is displayed on the key 23, and the dollar symbol “ “$” Is set to the key 25, the symbol “/” is set to the key 25, the parenthesis symbol “(” is set to the key 26, the parenthesis symbol “)” is set to the key 27, and the AND symbol “&” is set to the key 28. A percent sign “%” is set for the key 29, an asterisk symbol “*” is set for the key 30, a sharp sign “#” is set for the key 31, and a modifier symbol “@” is set for the key 32. The modifier symbol “!”, The question symbol “?” In the key 34, and the symbol “˜” in the key 35 are set.
The mode keys 41 to 43 and the function keys 51 to 55 are the same as those for the English layout in the second embodiment shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, since four types of characters, symbols, and numbers are set for each of the main keys 21 to 35, the four types of touch input operations are selectively used with the pen 15, and the difference between the input operations is determined. Each character, symbol and number, that is, the first to fourth character codes are input by determining by means 73.
That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the determination unit 73 detects a difference in operation when the pen 15 touches each of the keys 21 to 35, and determines the left position of each key 21 to 35 (A in FIG. 13). It is determined that one of the right position (B in FIG. 13), the lower left position (C in FIG. 13), and the lower right position (D in FIG. 13) has been selected.
As a method for determining the difference in touch operation at this time, for example, a method as shown in FIG. 14 can be used.
In the method shown in FIG. 14, a difference in input operation is determined based on the presence or absence of touch for each pixel 76 included in the display area of each key 21 to 35. That is, as shown in FIG. 14 (1), when a total of 100 cells 76 of 10 columns and 10 rows are set in the display area of each key, the determination means 73 uses the pen 15 for each key. Within a predetermined number within the display area of 21-35, for example, one within the display area of each key 21-35, or one of its pixels 76 and its surrounding pixels 76 (indicated by the “+” symbol in FIG. 14) When the pixel 76 in the portion is touched (point touch), it is determined that the input is made by point touch, and as shown in FIG. 14 (2), four or more pixels 76 arranged in the horizontal direction are determined. Is touched (a case where the bar is touched to draw a hyphen “−” and may include a “+” symbol portion) is determined to be input by a horizontal bar touch.
Further, as shown in FIG. 14 (3), when the four or more pixels 76 are touched from the upper right to the lower left as shown in FIG. As indicated by ▼, when four or more pixels 76 are touched from the upper left toward the lower right, it is determined that the input has been made by the lower right bar touch. The character generation means 74 outputs the character (first character code) at the left position of the keys 21 to 35 if the determination means 73 determines that the touch is a point touch, and the right portion if the horizontal direction bar touch is determined. The character at the position (second character code) is output. If it is determined that the bar touch is in the lower left direction, the character in the lower left position (third character code) is output. A character (fourth character code) is output.
In order to distinguish each bar touch having a different direction, the position and time of each pixel 76 touched with the pen 15 may be detected and determined from the touch direction (movement direction) of the pen 15. However, in this embodiment, since only the bar touch in the three directions of the horizontal direction, the lower left direction, and the lower right direction has to be distinguished, it is possible to distinguish only by the positional relationship between the pixels 76 touched with the pen 15. This has the advantage that the process can be simplified.
According to the present embodiment, not only alphabets but also numbers and symbols can be set for the main keys 21 to 35, and the input operation method of these numbers and symbols with the pen 15 is slightly changed. The first to fourth character codes set in one key 21 to 35 can be easily selected and input. For this reason, when inputting numbers and symbols, there is no need to provide a shift key or a mode key for switching input, and operability can be improved.
In particular, when inputting numbers and symbols that appear less frequently in text, the numbers and symbols can be input without switching the mode one by one, so that the input operability can be improved.
In addition, when inputting numbers and symbols continuously, the mode keys 41 to 43 at the left end may be touched to switch the main key area 20 to a number array or a symbol array.
In addition, since information such as a plurality of characters, numbers, symbols, and the like can be set in one key 21-35, the number of keys can be reduced as compared with the case where number keys and symbol keys are provided separately from the main keys 21-35, The movement width of the pen 15 at the time of key input operation can be reduced, and the size of each key 21 to 35 can be increased, so that the operability can be further improved. Furthermore, since the point touch, right bar touch, lower left bar touch, and lower right bar touch of the pen 15 are greatly different in input operation, detection by the determination means 73 can be easily performed, and erroneous operation can be eliminated. Each character etc. can be input reliably.
Furthermore, the numeric keys are arranged in the middle three rows of the main key area 20 in the order of 0 to 9 from the lower side as in the case of an ordinary calculator. It is possible to input, and operability can be improved.
Also, the symbol array arranged at the lower right of each key 21 to 35 is different between the Japanese composite array of FIG. 11 and the English composite array of FIG. Therefore, the operability of symbol input can be improved.
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 15, the present embodiment uses a desktop type screen display type key input device 80 having a main body 81 and a display 82, and moves a pointer 83 displayed on the display 82 as a key input means. A mouse 84, which is an example of pointer type input means for selectively inputting the keys 21 to 35 of the key input area 12 displayed on the display 82, is used.
In the present embodiment, the key arrangements of the first to third embodiments can be applied as appropriate. However, the selection method for each character, symbol, number, etc. employs a method that takes advantage of the characteristics of the mouse 84.
That is, as in the third embodiment, when the first to fourth character codes are set for one key and four types of character information such as characters, numbers, and symbols are displayed, as shown in FIG. When the left button 84A of the mouse 84 is clicked (operation for pressing the button) with the pointer 83 set to the keys 21 to 35, and the click is detected by the determining means 73, the character generating means 74 is connected to the keys 21 to 35. When the right button 84B of the mouse 84 is clicked, the character at the right position of each key 21 to 35 (B in FIG. 16) is output. It is configured to output (second character code).
When the left or right button 84A or 84B of the mouse 84 is held down and the pointer 83 is moved in the lower left direction (dragging in the lower left direction) in the area of the keys 21 to 35, the character generating means 74 is moved to each key. When the character (third character code) at the lower left position (C in FIG. 16) of 21 to 35 is output and dragged in the lower right direction, the character (D in FIG. 16) at the lower right position (D in FIG. 16) The fourth character code) is output.
In this embodiment as well, information such as four types of characters, numbers, symbols, and the like can be input by slightly changing the input operation with the mouse 84, and operability can be improved.
In addition, when the mouse 84 is used, the alphabet part that is frequently used, that is, the left position and the right position of each key 21 to 35 need only be clicked on the left and right buttons 84A and 84B. The operability can be greatly enhanced.
In the present embodiment, when the key arrangement of the first or second embodiment is adopted, the input may be switched by simply clicking the left and right buttons 84A and 84B.
In addition, when a mouse having only one button is used, the character input at the right position input by clicking the right button 84B is performed by double-clicking the button (pressing the button twice at short intervals). Alternatively, it may be performed by dragging the pointer 83 in the horizontal direction in the same manner as the input with the pen 15.
FIG. 17 shows a summary of the four types of character, number, and symbol input switching methods using the pen 15 and the mouse 84 according to the fourth and third embodiments.
In the first to fourth embodiments described above, when selecting the left and right characters of the main keys 21 to 35, the keys 21 to 35 are used as shown in FIG. The selection operation may be distinguished and determined according to the touch time.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18 (1), when the time during which the keys 21 to 35 are continuously touched (pressed) with the pen 15 is shorter than the set time, the left of the keys 21 to 35 is left. As shown in FIG. 18 (2), when the touch time with the pen 15 is longer than the set time, it is determined that the right position of the keys 21 to 35 is selected. What is necessary is just to comprise the determination means 73. FIG.
Even when the determination is made based on such a touch time, two types of operations can be performed just by slightly changing the touch operation with the pen 15 as in the above embodiment, and the left and right positions of the keys 21 to 35 can be determined. One of the set characters and symbols can be selected and input by a very simple operation, and the operability can be improved.
In addition, if the user of the input device 1 can appropriately adjust the touch determination time, it is possible to accurately determine which character input operation is performed even when the length of time for which the user continues to press differs. Can be judged.
Note that four types of characters, numbers, and symbols may be input as in the third embodiment by dividing the touch time into four stages.
Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the difference in the key touch operation with the pen 15 is determined whether the touch pressure is lower than the set pressure (FIG. 19 (1)) or higher than the set pressure (FIG. 19 (2)). The character input operation may be selected by determining by means 73.
Further, the character input operation is selected by dividing each area of the keys 21 to 35 into left and right, or dividing into 4 areas vertically and horizontally, and determining which of the divided areas has been touched. May be.
Further, as the touch-type input means, instead of the pen-type input means using the pen 15, as shown in FIG. 20, a touch-screen type input means for touching the key input area of the screen 91 with a fingertip or the like may be used. Good.
As the means for recognizing the touch of the pen 15 or the finger in the touch type input means, various means such as a capacitance type, an optical type, a resistance type and the like can be used according to the screen type and the like. What is necessary is just to select suitably according to these recognition means.
Further, the key input means is not limited to the touch type input means using the pen 15 or the touch screen, but a pointer type input means such as the mouse 84 may be used.
As this pointer type input means, a tablet type input means for moving the pointer 98 displayed on the screen 97 by touching a pad 95 as shown in FIG. 21 with a pen 96 may be used. Furthermore, you can move the pointer displayed on the screen, such as a trackball that functions in the same way as the mouse 84, a pad type that you can operate by touching the pad with your fingertips, a joystick, or a control pad for game consoles. Various input devices having a button or a function corresponding to a button can be used.
At this time, in the pointer type input means, when three or more buttons are provided, it may be set so that characters or the like input by the drag operation can be input by the button operation. For example, in the case of having three buttons, if four types of characters, numbers, symbols, etc. are set in the keys 21 to 35 as in the third embodiment, the keys 21 to 35 are clicked by clicking each button. What is necessary is just to set it so that the character of the left part, the right part, the lower left position, the number, etc. can be input and the symbol of the lower right position can be input by a drag operation.
Furthermore, when providing four or more buttons, such as a control pad for a game machine, the left, right, lower left, and lower right of each key 21 to 35 can be obtained by pressing each button without dragging. You may set so that the character, number, symbol, etc. of each position can be input.
By increasing the number of buttons and the like that can be input only by a click operation as described above, the input operation can be simplified and surely distinguished as compared with the case where a drag operation is included, and the determination means 73 is also provided. Therefore, it is possible to provide a key input device at a low cost.
Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, two or four characters or the like are displayed on each of the keys 21 to 35, but three or five or more characters or the like may be displayed and input.
When five or more types of characters are displayed, touch direction input means using the pen 15 or the like may determine the moving direction of the pen 15 or the like. For example, in addition to point touch, you can determine four directions of top, bottom, left and right or top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, and five types of input operations, top and bottom, left and right, top left, top right, Nine types of input operations may be performed so that the lower left and lower right eight directions can be determined.
Further, when a pointer type input means such as a mouse is used, the button operation such as double click is changed in addition to the click of each button, or the drag direction is the same as in the case of the pen 15, up / down / left / right, upper left, What is necessary is just to implement five or more types of input operations by setting up to eight directions in the upper right, lower left, and lower right.
If five or more types of input operations can be realized in this way, a large number of characters, numbers, symbols, and the like can be set by the keys 21 to 35, and the input operability can be further improved.
In addition, in the keys 21 to 35 of the main key area 20, the arrangement and types of symbols and numbers other than alphabets are not limited to those in the above embodiments, and for example, frequently used characters and symbols according to the language type to be used. May be set as appropriate.
Further, in the third embodiment, the numeric keys are arranged in the middle three rows, but may be arranged in either the left or right three rows. Moreover, it arrange | positions so that it may become 1-9,0 in order from an upper stage, and may match it with the numerical arrangement in a telephone. In particular, when a telephone function is built in a portable information terminal or the like, if such a telephone arrangement is provided, there is an advantage that telephone operability can be improved.
When the present invention is applied to a data input device for a dedicated game machine or information device that uses a television as a screen, a channel arrangement for television channels is displayed on the main keys 21 to 35 displayed on the television screen. The channel switching operation may also be realized by the screen display type key input device of the present invention.
Further, in each of the embodiments, other operation methods are set in addition to the key input operations as key input operations for touching the main keys 21 to 35, and various functions are executed when the operation is performed. You may comprise.
For example, in each of the main keys 21 to 35, when a pen or finger is touched to “V type” in the key area or dragged to “V type” with a mouse or the like, the alphabet at the left position is directly input in capital letters, When touching or dragging the “reverse V type”, the alphabet at the right position may be directly input in capital letters.
If configured in this way, abbreviations such as “TV / VAN / NTT”, proper nouns, sentence heads in English sentences, initials of proper nouns, etc. When entering an uppercase letter, the letter can be easily entered.
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 22 shows a screen display type key input device 101 of the present embodiment. The screen display type key input device 101 is used as a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a liquid crystal screen 3, a push button 4, and a shift key 5 are provided on the surface of the main body 2. Although not shown in FIG. 22, a lid may be attached to the main body 2 so as to be rotatable in order to protect the screen 3 portion.
The liquid crystal screen 3 is provided with a data display area 10 for inputting characters and displaying data when executing various functions such as a word processor, spreadsheet, address book, e-mail, and schedule. The format of the display area 10 is configured to be changed as appropriate according to the selected function.
A selection menu 11 and a key input area 12 are arranged below the display area 10. The selection menu 11 and the key input area 12 may be always displayed. Usually, the display area 10 is displayed over almost the entire area of the screen 3, and the selection menu displayed on the screen is displayed. By touching a key, a key input start key, or the like, a part of the display area 10 can be displayed in a pop-up manner as needed, because the display area 10 can be enlarged and the amount of information can be increased. preferable.
As shown in FIG. 22, the screen display type key input device 101 is provided with a pen 15 as touch means. For this reason, the main body 2 is preferably provided with a holder for holding the pen 15 so that the pen 15 can be prevented from being lost.
When the screen display type key input device 101 is used, the main body 2 may be held with the left hand or placed on a desk or the like, and the pen 15 may be operated with the right hand.
As shown also in FIG. 23, the key input area 12 is provided with a main key area 20, a switching key area 40, a function key area 50, and an input line 60 on which input characters are displayed. .
The selection menu 11 includes a standard layout menu key 16 for switching the settings of the main key area 20, the switching key area 40, and the function key area 50 in the key input area 12 for the standard layout, and a high-speed layout menu key for switching for the high-speed layout. 17, an English-only menu key 18 for switching to a QWERTY type English-only arrangement, and a Japanese-only menu key 19 for switching to a QWERTY type Japanese-only arrangement. That is, the menu for switching the key arrangement has a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG.
In the standard arrangement shown in FIG. 23, the main key area 20 has 15 main keys 21 to 35 arranged in three rows, five columns in the upper and lower stages. In the switching key area 40, three switching keys 41 to 43 are arranged. Further, six function keys 51 to 56 are arranged in the function key area 50. Therefore, a total of 24 keys (soft keys) are arranged in the main key area 20 including the switching keys 41 to 43 and the function keys 51 to 56 in four rows and six columns.
The arrangement of the character keys in the main key area 20 for this standard arrangement takes into consideration the frequency of use of alphabet vowels and consonants when inputting Roman characters, ease of remembering the key arrangement, and input efficiency with the pen 15. Are arranged. That is, the key area of the vowel and the consonant is arranged separately so that the key layout is easy to remember, and the basic position may be set to the central portion of the main key area 20 in order to reduce the movement amount of the pen 15. The vowels and consonants are arranged in the middle, upper, and lower stages in the order of ease of use, and the keys of each stage are arranged from the center side to the outside.
Specifically, an area composed of two rows of key groups on one side (left side in the illustrated example) in the main key area 20 is a vowel area 20A in which vowel keys are set, and the remaining three rows of keys in the main key area 20 An area composed of groups was set as a consonant area 20B for inputting consonants.
The keys 21, 22, 26, 27, 31, and 32 of the vowel area 20A have vowel keys and repellent keys “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, and “O” representing vowels, respectively. The keys of “n” are arranged as follows.
That is, among the vowel keys, “A” and “I” are set for the middle keys 27 and 26, “U” and “E” keys are set for the upper keys 22 and 21, respectively, and the lower keys The keys 32 and 31 are set with “O” and sound repellent “n” keys.
As a result, the frequently used “A” key is arranged in the middle key 27 close to the center position of the main key area 20, and the “I” key is arranged in the side key 26, thereby improving the operability. At the same time, the keys “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, and “O” are arranged in order as it goes to the middle, upper, and lower stages, making it easy to remember the characters.
On the other hand, the right three columns of consonant areas 20B include “K”, “S”, “T”, “N”, “H”, “M”, “Y”, “R”, which represent Japanese consonants. "W" consonant keys are arranged. More specifically, the middle-stage keys 28, 29, and 30 are the keys “K”, “S”, and “T” in order from the left side, and the upper-stage keys 23, 24, and 25 are “N” in order from the left side. , “H”, “M” keys, and the lower keys 33, 34, 35 are “Y”, “R”, “W” keys in order from the left. And these arrays are "ka" line, "sa" line, "ta" line, "na" line, "ha" line, "ma" line, "ya" line, "ra" line, "wa" Consideration is given so that the consonants of the line are arranged from left to right in the middle, upper, lower, and each key of the key in order of Akasatana.
This consonant arrangement is also set in consideration of the order of ease of use, the order of use of Roman letters, and the ease of remembering the key arrangement, like the arrangement of vowels.
Each character described above is set as the first character code of each key 21-35.
Moreover, in the shift state of the consonant key (the state in which each key of the main key area 20 is shifted by the shift input means 71 described later and the second character code is set), the punctuation mark “,” , “P”, “B”, “G”, “Z”, “D”, which are composed of semi-turbid sound and muddy sound by combining punctuation “.”, Long sound “-”, prompt sound “tsu” and vowel Yes.
Specifically, the keys 23, 24, and 25 corresponding to “N”, “H”, and “M” in the upper row are arranged with “P”, “B”, and “tsu”, and “K” in the middle row. , “S”, “T” corresponding to keys 28, 29, 30 are arranged with “G”, “Z”, “D”, and further to “Y”, “R”, “W” in the lower row The corresponding keys 33, 34, and 35 are arranged with a reading mark “,”, a phrase “.”, And a long sound “−”.
On the other hand, the three keys 41, 42, and 43 in the switching key area 40 are changed from the standard arrangement shown in FIG. 23 to the English arrangement, the numeric arrangement, and the symbol arrangement shown in FIGS. A switching key for switching is set. That is, when the English switching key (“English University”) 42 is touched with the pen 15, the English layout for inputting capital English letters shown in FIG. 25 is switched, and when the numeric switching key (“number”) 43 is touched, FIG. When the symbol switching key ("symbol") 41 is touched, the symbol arrangement for symbol input shown in FIG. 27 is selected. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 24, the menu for switching the key layout is displayed by touching the standard layout menu and the switch keys 41 to 43 from the standard layout below the standard layout menu in the selection menu 11. It consists of a hierarchical structure where menus are arranged.
In each English layout, number layout, and symbol layout, the input characters, numbers, and symbols are basically displayed in full-width. However, when half-width input is basically used, the keys 41 to 43 are used as shift input means. Use it to touch in the shifted state (“half”). Here, since the “half” angle is in the shift position of each of the keys 41 to 43 for symbols, English, and numbers, there is also an advantage that the operability of the half-width input is good.
Further, various functions necessary for inputting Roman characters are set in the keys 51 to 56 of the function key area 50.
That is, a “conversion” key for executing a kana-kanji conversion function is set for the key 51, and a “no change” key for executing a kana-kanji non-conversion function is set for the key 52. Further, a “space” key for inputting a space is set in the key 53, a “new line” key is set in the key 54, and an “execute” key for sending a character string determined on the input line 60 to the display area 10 in the key 55. Is set, and the key 56 is set with a "backward" key that moves the cursor displayed on the input line 60 backward (returns it forward).
In addition, the shift states of the keys 51 to 56 include a “precise” key for displaying previous candidates for homonyms displayed in a list at the time of kana-kanji conversion, a “kana” key for performing katakana conversion, and a “half-width” for converting to half-width. ”Key,“ small letter ”key for converting alphabet to lower case,“ cancel ”key and“ delete ”key for canceling input and conversion operations, respectively.
Next, the key arrangement of the main key area 20, the switching key area 40, and the function key area 50 in the English arrangement shown in FIG. 25 will be described.
In the main key area 20, as in the standard layout, the keys “A” and “I” are respectively set in the middle keys 27 and 26 in the left two columns of the vowel area 20A in the English layout. “U” and “E” keys are respectively set in 21, and “O” and “X” keys are set as first character codes in the lower keys 32 and 31.
In the consonant area 20B, in the non-shifted state (as the first character code), the middle-stage keys 28, 29, and 30 are the keys “K”, “S”, and “T” in order from the left side. The upper keys 23, 24, and 25 are the “N”, “H”, and “M” keys in order from the left side, and the lower keys 33, 34, and 35 are “Y”, “R”, “ W ”key.
On the other hand, in the shift state (second character code) of each key in the main key area 20, the hyphen symbol “-” is displayed on the key 21, the apostrophe “′” is displayed on the key 22, and the key 23 is “ “B” is set to the key 24, “L” is set to the key 25, the period “.” Is set to the key 26, the comma “,” is set to the key 27, and the key 28 is set “ “G”, “Z” in the key 29, “D” in the key 30, and “J” in the key 31, “Q” in the key 32, “F” in the key 33 from the lower left side. The key 34 is set to “V” and the key 35 is set to “C”.
On the other hand, the three keys 41, 42, 43 in the switching key area 40 are the same as the standard arrangement, and are provided with a signal switching key 41, an English switching 42, and a number switching key 43, respectively.
In the function key area 50, five keys 51, 53 to 56 are set. Of these, the keys 54, 55, and 56 are the same as the keys 54 to 56 of the standard arrangement. On the other hand, a “release” key for returning to the standard layout is set for the key 51, and only a “space” key is set for the key 53.
Next, the key arrangement of the main key area 20, the switching key area 40, and the function key area 50 in the numeric arrangement shown in FIG. 26 will be described.
In the main key area 20, numeric keys are set in the left three columns, and arithmetic symbol keys are set in the right two columns. Specifically, as the first character code, from the upper left side of the main key area 20, the number “7” is displayed on the key 21, the number “8” is displayed on the key 22, the number “9” is displayed on the key 23, and the key 24 The symbol “×” is set to the key 25, the symbol “÷” is set to the key 25, the number “4” is set to the key 26, the number “5” is set to the key 27, the number “6” is set to the key 28, in order from the left side of the middle stage. The symbol “+” is set to the key 29, the symbol “−” is set to the key 30, the number “1” is set to the key 31, the number “2” is set to the key 32, and the number “3” is set to the key 33 from the lower left side. However, the symbol “.” Is set in the key 34, and the symbol “=” is set in the key 35.
Furthermore, each of the shift states (second character codes) of the keys 24, 25, 29, 30, 34, and 35 includes a symbol “%”, a symbol “/”, a colon symbol “:”, and a semicolon symbol “;”. , Comma “,” and symbols “˜” are set.
On the other hand, the three keys 41, 42, 43 in the switching key area 40 are the same as the standard arrangement, and are provided with a symbol switching key 41, an English switching key 42, and a number switching key 43, respectively.
In the function key area 50, five keys 51, 53 to 56 are set. Of these, the keys 55 and 56 are identical to the standard and English sequences. On the other hand, the key 51 is set with a “release” key for returning to the same standard layout as the English layout, and the key 53 is set with a number “0” in the non-shift state and a “space” key in the shift state. Yes. Further, only the “line feed” key is set for the key 54.
Next, the key arrangement of the main key area 20, the switching key area 40, and the function key area 50 in the symbol arrangement shown in FIG. 27 will be described.
In the main key area 20, parenthesis symbol keys are set in the left two columns, and various symbol keys are set in the right three columns. Specifically, as the first character code, the parenthesis symbol ““ ”is displayed on the key 21, the parenthesis symbol“ ”” is displayed on the key 22, and the asterisk symbol “*” is displayed on the key 23 as the first character code. , The sharp symbol “#” is set in the key 24, the AND symbol “&” is set in the key 25, the parenthesis symbol ““ ”is set in the key 26 in order from the left side of the middle stage, the parenthesis symbol“ ”” is set in the key 27, and the key 28. Is marked with a dot symbol “·”, a key 29 with a colon symbol “:”, a key 30 with a semicolon symbol “;”, and a parenthesis symbol “(” with a key 32 in parentheses in order from the left side of the lower row. “”, A question symbol “?” Is set to the key 33, a modifier symbol “!” Is set to the key 34, and a symbol “/” is set to the key 35.
On the other hand, in the shift state (second character code) of each key in the main key area 20, the parenthesis symbol “′” is assigned to the key 21 and the parenthesis symbol “′” is assigned to the key 23 in order from the upper left side. The modifier “@” is set to the key 24, the right arrow symbol “→” is set to the key 24, the left arrow symbol “←” is set to the key 25, the parenthesis symbol “<” is set to the key 26 in order from the left side of the middle row, and the parenthesis symbol is set to the key 27. ">" Is set to the key 28, the dot symbol "..." is set to the key 29, the dot symbol "..." is set to the key 29, the symbol "to" is set to the key 30, and the parenthesis "[" However, the parenthesis symbol “]” is set for the key 32, the dollar symbol “$” is set for the key 33, the yen symbol “¥” is set for the key 34, and the modifier symbol “§” is set for the key 35.
On the other hand, the three keys 41, 42, 43 in the switching key area 40 are the same as the standard arrangement, and are provided with a symbol switching key 41, an English switching key 42, and a number switching key 43, respectively.
In the function key area 50, five keys 51, 53 to 56 are set. Among these, the keys 51 and 54 to 56 are the same as the numerical arrangement. On the other hand, the key 53 is the main key 21 to 35 in the shifted state or the “pictogram” key for displaying various pictograms in an appropriate pop-up area, and the next candidate for the pictogram displayed in the non-shift state. "Next candidate" key to display is set.
Next, the key arrangement of the main key area 20, the switching key area 40, and the function key area 50 in the high-speed arrangement that can be switched by the selection menu key 17 shown in FIG. 28 will be described. This high-speed arrangement is almost the same as the standard arrangement shown in FIG. 23, and some keys are set for high-speed input.
Specifically, each key 21, 22, 26, 27, 31, 32 of the vowel area 20A has the same “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O”, “ ”Is set as the first character code of each key, but the shift state (second character code) of these keys includes double vowels“ AI ”,“ UI ”,“ UU ”for high-speed input. ”,“ EI ”,“ OU ”, and“ YUU ”are set. That is, among the vowel keys, “AI” and “UI” are set for the shift states of the middle keys 27 and 26, and “UU” and “EI” are set for the shift states of the upper keys 22 and 21. Further, “OU” and “YUU” are set in the shift states of the lower keys 32 and 31.
On the other hand, in the right three columns of consonant areas 20B, “K”, “S”, “T”, “N”, “H”, “M”, “Y”, The consonant keys “R” and “W” are arranged as the first character code. More specifically, the middle-stage keys 28, 29, and 30 are the keys “K”, “S”, and “T” in order from the left side, and the upper-stage keys 23, 24, and 25 are “N” in order from the left side. , “H”, “M” keys, and the lower keys 33, 34, 35 are “Y”, “R”, “W” keys in order from the left.
The consonant key shift state (second character code) is also the same as the standard arrangement. Specifically, the keys 23, 24, and 25 corresponding to “N”, “H”, and “M” in the upper row are arranged with “P”, “B”, and “tsu”, and “K” in the middle row. , “S”, “T” corresponding to keys 28, 29, 30 are arranged with “G”, “Z”, “D”, and further to “Y”, “R”, “W” in the lower row The corresponding keys 33, 34, and 35 are arranged with a reading mark “,”, a phrase “.”, And a long sound “−”.
Furthermore, in the shift state of the keys 33 and 34, “F” and “V” are set as the second shift state (third character code), respectively.
On the other hand, the three keys 41, 42, 43 in the switching key area 40 are usually the same as the standard arrangement, and are provided with a symbol switching key 41, an English switching key 42, and a number switching key 43, respectively. When any key in the key area 20 is touched, as shown in FIG. 28, the keys 41, 42, and 43 are keys for inputting “tsu”, “ku”, and a prompt sound “tsu” respectively. It is configured as a code, and each shift state (second character code) of these keys 41, 42, 43 is configured to be set with keys for inputting “CHI”, “KI” and “YOU”. ing. Accordingly, in the high-speed arrangement, the switching keys 41 to 43 are configured to function also as sub keys.
In the function key area 50, six keys 51 to 56 having the same functions as those in the standard arrangement are set.
Such a high-speed arrangement is particularly suitable for the double vowels “AI”, “UI”, “UU”, “EI”, “OU”, “YUU”, “YOU” and “N ・ KI ・ KU ・ CHI ・ TSU ・ TSU”. "Can be input with a single touch, thereby realizing high-speed input.
In other words, these double vowels, stuttering, and “n / ki / ku / chi / tsu / tsu” have a high frequency of appearance in Japanese, especially in reading Kanji characters, so usually they must be entered with a few touches. If these characters that cannot be input can be input with a single touch, the number of touches decreases and the input efficiency increases. Table 1 shows an example in which the number of touches is compared with kana input in the conventional 50-tone arrangement and Roman input in the QWERTY arrangement.

As can be seen from Table 1, if the high-speed arrangement in FIG. 28 is used, double vowels and stuttering can be input with a single touch, so the number of touches (each number in Table 1) is smaller compared to Kana input or Romaji input. In particular, the effect can be enhanced in a sentence with a lot of reading words.
The high-speed arrangement is designed so that the character input flow sequentially moves from right to left. In other words, touch the left vowel or double vowel after the right consonant, and then touch the second syllable “n / ki / ku / chi / tsu / tsu” after the vowel. This reduces waste and improves operability. If the second syllable is not a vowel in a syllable kanji with two syllables, it will be one of “n / ki / ku / chi / tsu / tsu”, that is, after the first syllable (consonant + vowel) It was made by paying attention to the characteristic of Japanese that there is a high possibility that “N ・ KI ・ KU ・ CHI ・ TSU ・ TSU” will be input, and it is very effective in Japanese input.
Examples of kanji that include these characters are as follows.
1) Example of Kanji whose second syllable is “I” (example of double vowel “AI / UI / EI”)
・ Held (KAI SAI) ・ Inside and outside (NAI GAI)
・ Accounting (KAI KEI) ・ By analogy (RUI SUI)
・ Estimation (SUI TEI) ・ Cumulative (RUI KEI)
2) An example of a Chinese character whose second syllable is “U” (an example of a double vowel “UU · OU”) and an example of a Chinese character that includes “YUU” and “YOU”
・ Method (HOU HOU) ・ Structure (KOU ZOU)
・ Factory (KOU ZYOU) ・ Tokyo (TOU KYOU)
・ Ventilation (TUU FUU) ・ Center (TYUU OU)
3) An example of a Chinese character whose second syllable is “n”
・ Safety (A No ZE) ・ Easy (KA No TA)
-Chaos (KO and TO)
4) Example of Kanji whose second syllable is “Ki-Ku”
・ Easy (HE and E) ・ Accurate (TE and KA)
・ Plan (KA Ku SA) ・ Purpose (MO Ku TE)
・ Enemy (SYU Ku TE) ・ Immediate (SO Ku SE)
5) Example of Kanji whose second syllable is “Chi-Tu-T”
・ One day (I and NI) ・ Yoshihi (KI and ZI)
・ Simple (SI and ZI) ・ Cut (SE and ZI)
・ One day (Ichi NIchi) ・ Active (KA Tsu PA)
・ Real (ZI tsu SI) ・ Departure (SYU tsu PA)
Next, the key arrangement of the main key area 20, the switching area 40, and the function key area 50 in the QWERTY English-only arrangement switched by the selection menu key 18 shown in FIG. 29 will be described. This QWERTY type English-only layout is set so that a person familiar with the keyboard of the conventional QWERTY layout can easily use it when inputting English sentences. In the first embodiment, the key area of each of the keys 21 to 35 is set. The keys are displayed on the left and right of the screen, but the keys are displayed on the top and bottom.
In the QWERTY English-only layout, as the first character code, “Y” for the key 21, “U” for the key 22, “I” for the key 23 in the upper row of the main key area 20 from the left side. However, “O” is set to the key 24, “P” is set to the key 25, “H” is set to the key 26, “J” is set to the key 27, and “K” is set to the key 28 from the left in the middle row. “L” is set in the key 29, semicolon “;” is set in the key 30, “N” is set in the key 31 from the left side, “M” is set in the key 32, “M” is set in the key 32, and the comma “,” is set in the key 33. ”, A period“. ”Is set in the key 34, and a symbol“ / ”is set in the key 35.
Further, in the shift state (second character code) of each main key, “Q” is assigned to the key 21, “W” is assigned to the key 22, “E” is assigned to the key 23, in order from the left side of the upper row. “R” is set to 24, “T” is set to the key 25, “A” is set to the key 26, “S” is set to the key 27, “D” is set to the key 28, and the key 28 in the middle row. “F” is set to 29, “G” is set to the key 30, and “Z” is set to the key 31, “X” is set to the key 32, “C” is set to the key 33, and the key 34 is set from the left in the first row. “V” and “B” are set in the key 35.
On the other hand, in the switching key area 40, a SYM (SYMBOL) key 41 for switching the key layout to the symbol layout of FIG. 27, a CAP key 42 for switching the input mode to either uppercase input or lowercase input, and the key layout shown in FIG. A NUM key 43 is provided for switching to the numeric array.
Further, four keys 53 to 56 are set in the function key area 50. Among them, the key 53 has a “SPACE” key for space input, the key 54 has a “carriage return” key, the key 55 has a “DEL” (delete) key, and the key 56 has “BS” (backward). Each key is set.
Next, the key arrangement of the main key area 20, the switching key area 40, and the function key area 50 in the QWERTY Japanese-only arrangement switched by the selection menu key 19 shown in FIG. 30 will be described. This QWERTY-style Japanese-only layout is set so that it is easy to use when a person who is familiar with Roman character input with a conventional QWERTY keyboard inputs Japanese.
This QWERTY Japanese language array is substantially the same as the QWERTY English-only array in FIG. 29 in that it is based on the QWERTY array.
That is, as the first character code of each main key, “Y” for the key 21, “U” for the key 22, “I” for the key 23 in the upper row of the main key area 20 from the left side. However, “O” is set to the key 24, “P” is set to the key 25, “H” is set to the key 26, “J” is set to the key 27, and “K” is set to the key 28 from the left in the middle row. However, “L” is set for the key 29, and the long sound “−” is set for the key 30, “N” is set to the key 31 from the left side, “M” is set to the key 32, and the mark “ “,” The phrase “.” Is set in the key 34, and “n” is set in the key 35.
Further, in the shift state (second character code) of each main key, “Q” is assigned to the key 21, “W” is assigned to the key 22, “E” is assigned to the key 23, in order from the left side of the upper row. “R” is set to 24, “T” is set to the key 25, “A” is set to the key 26, “S” is set to the key 27, “D” is set to the key 28, and the key 28 in the middle row. “F” is set to 29, “G” is set to the key 30, and “Z” is set to the key 31, “X” is set to the key 32, “C” is set to the key 33, and the key 34 is set from the left in the first row. “V” is set in the key 35 and “B” is set in the key 35.
The three keys 41, 42, and 43 in the switching key area 40 and the six keys 51 to 56 in the function key area 50 are the same as the standard arrangement.
Next, an internal configuration for realizing the screen display type key input device 101 according to the present invention in which keys are arranged as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 31 and 32. FIG.
FIG. 31 is a block diagram of an internal configuration for realizing the screen display type key input device 101, and FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure.
The screen display type key input device 101 includes an input control unit 170, a shift input unit 171, a processing control unit 172, and an output control unit 176.
The input control unit 170 checks whether there is a touch input by the pen 15 in the selection menu 11, the main key area 20, the switching key area 40, and the function key area 50 (Step 1, hereinafter "Step" is referred to as "Step"). S ”).
If there is a touch input, the shift input means 171 determines whether the touch input is a shift input (S2).
Here, if it is determined that the input is a shift input, the shift input unit 171 performs a shift process for generating a key code of the touch position of the touched key (S3), and the code is sent to the process control unit 172. . On the other hand, if it is determined that the input is not a shift input, the shift input unit 171 generates a key code of the non-shift position of the touched key and sends it to the processing control unit 172.
The processing control unit 172 is provided with processing means of an array switching means 173, a key processing means 174, and a function processing means 175, and each processing means is selected according to the input key and input processing is performed. (S4). For example, if the input keys are the menu keys 16 to 19 of the selection menu 11 or the switching keys 41 to 43 of the switching key area 40, the array switching unit 173 changes the layout to the layout specified by the key. A process of switching the main key area 20, the switching key area 40, and the function key area 50 is performed.
If the input key is each key in the main key area 20, the key processing means 174 performs processing for displaying and outputting the key on the input line 60 (S4). At this time, in the case of romaji input such as a standard arrangement, the key processing means 174 automatically converts the input alphabet into kana (S4).
Further, if the input key is each key in the function key area 50, the function set to the key is executed by the function processing means 175 (S4). For example, if the conversion key 51 is touched, the character string displayed on the input line 60 is converted into a Chinese character and confirmed. If the execution key 54 is touched, a process for displaying the confirmed character string in the display area 10 is performed.
The output control unit 176 performs a process of displaying the result processed by the process control unit 172 on the liquid crystal screen 3 (S5).
As described above, the processing for each touch input is completed, and if there is a next touch input, the above processing is repeated to sequentially perform touch input.
As the shift input means 171, as shown in FIG. 33, four shift inputs of a push button type shift input means 181, a click type shift input means 182, a preshift type shift input means 183, and a region segment type shift input means 184 are provided. It is used by appropriately selecting from means.
Hereinafter, each shift input means 171 will be described individually.
When the key is touched with the pen 15 while pressing the push button 4 shown in FIG. 22, the push button type shift input means 181 is the code of the symbol set in the shift state of the key (second character code). When the key is touched in a state where the push button 4 is not pressed, the code of the symbol (first character code) set to the non-shift state of the key is generated. ing.
The click-type shift input means 182 generates a code (second character code) of the symbol set in the shift state of the key when the key is touched twice with the pen 15 within the predetermined time, When the key is touched once, the code (first character code) of the symbol set in the non-shift state of the key is generated.
That is, as shown in FIG. 34, when the time from the first touch of the screen with the pen 15 to the second touch and release is within the set time ((1), (2)), the shift is performed. When it is determined that the touching operation with the pen 15 is performed once within the set time ((3), (4)), or when the second touch operation exceeds the set time ((5)) The non-shift state is determined.
When the shift key 5 shown in FIG. 22 is pressed and the input mode is set to the shift state, the pre-shift type shift input means 183 has the code of the symbol set to the shift state of the key touched with the pen 15 ( 2nd character code) is generated, and when the shift key 5 is pressed again and the input mode is set to the non-shift state, the code of the symbol set to the non-shift state of the key touched with the pen 15 (First character code) is generated.
As shown in FIG. 35, the area-partitioned shift input means 184 uses the pen 15 to divide the upper half of each key into a shift area 184A and the lower half into a non-shift area 184B. Touch area determination means 187 for determining whether or not the touch area has been touched. When the touch area determination means 187 determines that the shift area 184A has been touched, the code of the symbol set in the shift state of the key (second code) Character code), and when the touch area determination means 187 determines that the non-shift area 184B has been touched, the code of the symbol set to the non-shift state of the key (first character code) is generated. It is configured as follows.
In addition, this area division may be divided into left and right without dividing the key up and down, or may be divided obliquely, but in any case, when the area is touched to each area It is preferable to display the input symbol.
Further, as the shift input means 171, any one of the above-described push button type shift input means 181, click type shift input means 182, pre-shift type shift input means 183, and area segment type shift input means 184 can be set. However, a plurality of shift input means 171 may be set so that the user can select as appropriate.
Note that the push button 4 and the shift key 5 may not be provided in the main body 2 when the push button type shift input unit 181 and the preshift input unit 183 are not used as the shift input unit 171.
Further, when the high-speed arrangement shown in FIG. 28 is selected, since the first and second shift states (second and third character codes) are set for the keys 33 and 34, shift input is performed. As the means 171, it is necessary to set two shift input means of the first and second different systems.
For example, a push button type shift input unit 181 may be set as the first shift input unit, and a click type shift input unit 182 may be set as the second shift input unit. In this case, for example, when the keys 33 and 34 are touched while the push button 4 is pressed, the first shift state (second character code), the punctuation mark “,” and the punctuation mark “.” Are input, and the key 33 , 34 is clicked (touching the key twice within a predetermined time), “F” and “V”, which are the second shift state (third character code), are input.
Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.
According to the present embodiment, even if only 15 main keys 21 to 35 are provided, at least two keys (a key set to a shift state and a non-shift key) are assigned to each key 21 to 35 by the shift input means 171. (Key set to state), that is, the first and second character codes can be set, and at least 30 keys can be set as a whole. Therefore, the alphabet used when inputting Japanese Romaji, that is, the vowels “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O”, and the vowel key are combined with “ “K”, “S”, “T”, “N”, “H”, “M”, “Y”, “R”, “W”, combined with vowels In addition to the 19 characters “G”, “Z”, “D”, “P”, “B” for inputting Japanese muddy and semi-voiced sounds, it is also possible to include up to a punctuation mark “,”, a punctuation mark “.”, Etc. Each main key 21 to 35 can be set, and even a small number of keys can sufficiently handle Japanese input.
Similarly, in addition to the 26 letters of the alphabet, commas “,”, periods “.” And the like can be set for the main keys 21 to 35, and English input can be sufficiently handled.
Accordingly, it is possible to perform Roman character input or English input using 15 main keys 21 to 35 which are significantly fewer than the conventional QWERTY array and 50 sound array. For this reason, if the keys 21 to 35 are displayed on the screen 3 with the same size as the keys of the conventional QWERTY layout or the 50-sound layout, the main key area 20 that is the key display area can be reduced. The movement amount of the pen 15 to be touched can be reduced, and the operability can be improved.
Further, since the main key area 20 can be reduced, the screen touch input device 1 can be reduced in size, the display area 10 for data and the like can be increased, and handling and operability can be improved. .
On the other hand, if the main key area 20 has the same size as the key arrangement area of the conventional QWERTY layout or the 50-sound layout, the size of the main keys 21 to 35 can be increased as compared with the prior art. Can be easily touched with the pen 15 or the fingertip, and in this case, the operability can be improved.
In the present embodiment, the switch keys 41 to 43, the menu keys 16 to 19 in the selection menu 11, and the array switching means 173 are provided, so that the array of the main keys 21 to 35 can be switched to seven types. it can. Therefore, not only alphabets but also various key arrays such as numbers, symbols, and arrays similar to the conventional QWERTY array can be set.
Therefore, the character code array set in the main keys 21 to 35 is used for Japanese Romaji input (standard array), English array, number array, symbol array, high-speed array, QWERTY English dedicated array, QWERTY Japanese dedicated array. Even if there are only 15 main keys 21 to 35, by combining the shift input means 171 and the array switching means 173, 30 keys × the number of arrays can be set. Each symbol (letters, numbers, symbols, etc.) can be easily entered.
Furthermore, since the switching of the respective arrays only needs to be performed by touching the switching keys 41 to 43 and the menu keys 16 to 19, the layout of the main keys 21 to 35 can be easily switched to input not only Roman characters but also English, You can easily enter numbers and various symbols.
Each arrangement switching means 173 is configured to switch not only the main keys 21 to 35 but also the function keys 51 to 56 displayed in the function key area 50. Therefore, the function keys 51 according to each arrangement. -56 can also be set, and the operability can be further improved. For example, only necessary function keys can be displayed by not displaying functions such as “Kanji conversion” necessary for Japanese input only in an English layout, thereby further improving operability.
23 and 28, the vowel part key and the consonant part key are arranged separately in the vowel area 20A and the consonant area 20B, so that consonants and vowels appear alternately. When inputting a roman character of a word, the position of a vowel key, which is particularly frequent, can be easily grasped and operability can be improved.
Also, since the consonant for clear sound that is used frequently among the consonants is set to the non-shift state (first character code) of each key, there is no shift operation when inputting the frequent clear sound. In this respect, the operability can be improved.
In addition, keys “A” and “K” that are frequently used in vowels and consonants are set to the keys 27 and 28 close to the center in the main key area 20, and outward from the keys and in the upper and lower stages. In order, vowels “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O” and consonants “K”, “S”, “T”, “N”, “H”, “M”, “ Since “Y”, “R”, “W”, that is, the “ka” line to the “wa” line are set in order, the key arrangement can be easily grasped and the operability can be further improved.
Further, in the consonant areas, the shift states (second character codes) of “K”, “S”, “T”, “N”, “H” include vowels “A”, “I”, “ Since “G”, “Z”, “D”, “P”, “B” for inputting Japanese muddy sound and semi-turbid sound are arranged in combination with “U”, “E”, “O”, “K” ”,“ Sa ”,“ ta ”corresponding to the input positions“ ga ”,“ za ”,“ da ”,“ na ”,“ ha ”corresponding to the input positions“ pa ”,“ ba ” Are arranged, making it easier to remember the positions of the keys of the muddy sound and the semi-voiced sound, and the operability can be further improved.
In the standard arrangement (FIG. 23), the high-speed arrangement (FIG. 28), and the QWERTY Japanese-only arrangement (FIG. 29) for romaji input, the sound repellent “n”, the prompt sound “tsu” and the reading “ , The punctuation mark “.” And the long sound “-” are also set as a part of the main keys 21 to 35, so even with a small number of keys, the sound repellent “n”, the prompt sound “tsu”, the reading “”, and the punctuation mark “.” ”And a long sound“ − ”can be input by one touch operation, and operability can be improved. In particular, since the sound repellent “n” is set to the key 31 or the key 35 in a non-shifted state, it is possible to easily input the sound repellent “n” which is frequently used in Japanese input especially for reading Kanji.
On the other hand, even when the main key is set for English layout (FIG. 25, FIG. 29), the comma “,”, period “.”, Etc., which are frequently used in English input, are shifted or not shifted. Therefore, direct touch input is possible, and operability during English input can be improved.
Furthermore, the English layout in FIG. 25 matches the arrangement of many keys with the standard arrangement in FIG. 23, and the QWERTY English-only arrangement in FIG. 29 has many key arrangements with the QWERTY Japanese-only arrangement in FIG. Since they are matched, the key layout is easy to remember and the operability can be improved even when the standard layout and the English layout are switched and used together.
In the numerical arrangement shown in FIG. 26, each number can be arranged in the same manner as a numeric keypad on a conventional keyboard, and various symbols used for calculation can be touch-inputted, so that the input of numbers and calculation operations can be performed easily.
In the symbol arrangement shown in FIG. 27, various symbols that are difficult to input can be displayed on the main keys 21 to 35 and touch-inputted even if the frequency of use is high. Can do. In addition, since each parenthesis symbol is collectively set to the shift state and the non-shift state of the six main keys 21, 22, 26, 27, 31, 32 arranged in two columns on the reference side, the parenthesis symbol And other symbols can be easily determined, and the input operability can be improved.
In the high-speed arrangement shown in FIG. 28, the double vowels that are frequently used in Japanese, especially the reading Kanji, are used in the shift state (second character code) of each key 21, 22, 26, 27, 31, 32 in the vowel area 20A. “AI”, “UI”, “UU”, “EI”, “OU”, “YUU” are set as roaring sounds so that these characters can be input with one touch. Input efficiency can be improved.
In addition, in the high-speed arrangement, the keys 41, 42, and 43, which are normally used as switching keys, are shifted to the non-shifted state, “tsu”, “ku”, prompting sounds “tsu”, “chi”, “ki”, “ “YOU” key is set, so you can enter “Ki ・ ku ・ chi ・ tsu ・ tsu”, which frequently appears in the second syllable of single kanji in Japanese, with one touch. As in (TOU KYOU), “YOU” characters with double vowels can be input with a single touch, and the input efficiency can be further improved.
Furthermore, taking advantage of the feature that these keys frequently appear in the second syllable, after any key in the main key area 20 is touched, the setting of the switching keys 41 to 43 is set to “ki, k, chi, tsu, Since it is normally used as the setting of the same switching keys 41 to 43 as other arrangements, it can be shared by appropriately switching the keys 41 to 43 according to the situation, without impairing the operability. The number of keys can be reduced.
Further, at the time of high-speed arrangement, the main keys 33 and 34 are shifted to the shift state (first character code) as the first shift state (")" and the punctuation mark "." And the second shift state (second character code). ) As “F” and “V” are used, especially when inputting “Fa (F + A)” and “Va (V + A)”, which are special roaring sounds that are frequently used in Katakana input. "F" and "V" can be easily input, and in particular, the operability when inputting katakana can be improved.
In the QWERTY type English-only array and Japanese-only array shown in FIG. 29 and FIG. 30, the key order of the QWERTY array, which has been widely used and familiar to the past, can be set to 15 main keys. A person can easily learn the key layout and can use it immediately.
Further, when the click input unit 182 and the area segment type input unit 184 are used as the shift input unit 171 in particular, the shift input and the non-shift input can be selectively used only by slightly different the touch method using the pen 15. And operability can be improved.
When the click-type shift input unit 182 is used, a shift operation can be performed by touching twice within a predetermined time. Therefore, an operation similar to a double click of the mouse can be performed and the operation can be made familiar. .
At this time, if the user of the input device 1 can appropriately adjust the touch determination time, even if the two-touch interval is different for each user, the one-touch and the two-touch are shifted. It is possible to accurately determine whether the operation.
In the case where the area-partitioned shift input means 184 is used, the shift operation can be performed simply by changing the area touched with the pen 15, and the operability can be improved.
In this case, the symbols set in the shifted state and the non-shifted state on the main keys 21 to 35 are displayed in the shifted regions 84A and the non-shifted region 84B, and the regions 84A and 84B, that is, the symbol portions to be input are displayed. Since each symbol (first and second character codes) can be input by a very intuitive operation of directly touching, the operation is easy to understand and the operability can be improved.
On the other hand, the push button type shift input unit 181 and the pre-shift type shift input unit 183 may be touched with the pen 15 while pressing the push button 4 or after pressing the shift key 5, so it is necessary to pay attention to how to touch the pen 15. In some cases, a user who is unaccustomed to fine movements may be able to operate more easily than a shift operation by changing the touch method.
In addition, when the pre-shift type shift input unit 183 is used, when a plurality of shift keys are continuously input, if the shift state is set first, there is no need to perform any shift operation when the key is touched thereafter. Input efficiency can be improved.
Further, in the above embodiment, since the keys of the key input area 12 are arranged apart from each other, the areas of the keys are clearly divided, and when touch input is performed with the pen 15 or the like, the two keys are spread over. Incorrect operation can be prevented. In particular, when a touch is made up to a gap portion between the keys, an erroneous operation can be reliably prevented by setting so as to cancel the previous touch input from the gap portion.
The present invention is not limited to the screen touch input device 1 shown in FIG. 22, and may be applied to a smaller screen touch input device 190 as shown in FIG. In this case, the display area 10 is smaller than that of the input device 101 described above, but the selection menu 11 and the key input area 12 other than that can be the same as those of the input device 101 and can be operated in the same manner. it can.
Further, a lid body may be attached to the main body 2, the display area 10 may be provided in the lid body portion, and the key input area 12 may be provided in the main body 2. In short, the present invention can be widely applied to various portable personal computers, electronic notebooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and the like.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, in order to make the arrangement | sequence switching means 173 function, although the switching keys 41-43 and the selection menu 11 were provided, you may provide only any one of these. Further, the arrangement switching unit 173 is not limited to the one displayed on the liquid crystal screen 3 as described above, and may be provided on the main body 2 in the form of a button.
Furthermore, the arrangement of the main keys 21 to 35 displayed in the main key area 20 is not limited to the standard arrangement or the QWERTY type arrangement. For example, the vowel area 20A may be arranged in the lower row and the consonant area 20B may be arranged in the upper and middle two rows. Further, in a standard arrangement, a high-speed arrangement, or the like, the vowel area 20A and the consonant area 20B may be reversed left and right, and the arrangement order of each key may be reversed, and may be set symmetrically with the above embodiment. Further, the switching key area 40 and the function key area 50 may be arranged at other places such as the right side or the upper side of the main key area 20, and the arrangement positions of these key areas 20, 40, and 50 are also determined by the user. What is necessary is just to set suitably considering a dominant hand.
In addition to the pen 15, a fingertip or the like may be used as the touch means. The screen is not limited to the liquid crystal screen 3, and a CRT screen or the like may be used. Here, as a means for recognizing the touch of the pen 15 or the like, various means such as a capacitance type, an optical type, and a resistance type can be used according to the screen type and the like. Just choose.
Further, when each key is touched, each touched key may be highlighted so that it can be easily grasped which key is touched. At this time, if the reverse display state is changed between the touch with the shift operation and the normal touch, for example, only the upper half of the key is inverted in the case of the shift operation, and the key of the key in the case of the normal operation. If the lower half is reversed, there is an advantage that the touch input operation is easier to grasp.
Further, as the shift input means 171, as in the first embodiment, the non-shift state and the shift state, that is, the first and second character codes are input by distinguishing the input operation of the point touch or the bar touch. It may be configured.
Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the present embodiment, the information symbol is an icon.
That is, as shown in FIG. 37, icons 111 to 116 for starting each application are displayed on the liquid crystal screen 103 of the main body 102 of the screen display type key input device 195 of the present embodiment. The number of icons and the types of applications activated by the icons may be set as appropriate. However, in this embodiment, six applications that activate spreadsheet, database, communication, schedule, address book, and word processor application software. Icons 111 to 116 are set.
And each application is started up by starting each icon 111-116. For example, when the word processor icon 116 is activated, a character input screen 120 is displayed on the screen 103 as shown in FIG. At this time, when a predetermined portion of the screen 103 is touched, it is preferable that the key input area 12 is displayed in a pop-up manner so that characters and the like can be touch-inputted as in the first embodiment.
This screen display type key input device 195 includes screen touch input means 71 and information selection processing means 72 as shown in the block diagram showing the internal configuration in FIG. 39 and the flowchart of the processing procedure in FIG. The selection processing unit 72 includes a determination unit 73, an icon selection processing unit 77, and an application activation unit 78.
The screen touch input means 71 checks whether there is a touch input with the pen 15 on the screen 103 (step 11, hereinafter “step” is abbreviated as “S”).
Here, if there is a touch input, the determination means 73 determines whether the touch input is a hyphen touch input, that is, whether the pen 15 moves more than a predetermined length while touching the inside of the icons 111 to 116 (S12). In the same way as in the first embodiment, the determination unit 73 is configured so that the pen 15 moves within the area of the icons 111 to 116 depending on the number of pixels shown in FIG. 7 or the length between the start and end points of the touch input shown in FIG. It is possible to determine whether or not the user has moved more than a predetermined distance while touching.
Here, if it is determined that the input is a hyphen touch input, activation processing of each application is performed. (S13).
On the other hand, if it is determined that the input is not a hyphen touch input, that is, the movement distance of the pen 15 is within a predetermined length, the selection process of the icons 111 to 116 is performed (S14). The selected icons 111 to 116 are to be processed and are activated by a predetermined execution key or deleted by a delete key.
According to the present embodiment as described above, the icon activation process and the selection process that are conventionally used by the double click and the single click of the mouse can be realized even by the touch input with the pen 15. For this reason, the screen display type key input device 195 can have the same operation system and menu system as the conventional system using a mouse, which can improve the operability and improve the portability of various applications. Can do.
In addition, the double-click operation with the conventional mouse is not always easy for beginners. However, in this embodiment, it is only necessary for a beginner to touch a point with the pen 15 or move it by a predetermined length. Even if it exists, it can operate very easily and operativity can be improved further.
In the sixth embodiment, the icon activation process is performed according to the movement distance of the touch input by the pen 15, but may be performed according to the touch time during which the pen 15 is kept pressed as in the fifth embodiment.
In the sixth embodiment, the selection process of the icons 111 to 116 is performed in the case of normal input, but other processes such as a list of files recently processed by the application are displayed. You may set so that.
In addition, the key arrangement for inputting characters and the like by touch input is not limited to the above-described arrangements. For example, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 42, two characters are displayed on each key 121 and characters are displayed on the left and right positions of the key 121 in accordance with the QWERTY layout. You may arrange so that.
Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a keyboard 214A is attached to the screen display type key input device 201 so that not only touch input but also key input can be used together.
FIG. 43 shows a screen display type key input device 201 of the present embodiment. The screen display type key input device 201 is also used as a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a liquid crystal screen 203 is provided on the surface of the main body 202. A support plate 206 for placing the main body 202 upright is attached to the back surface of the main body 202. Although not shown in FIG. 43, a lid may be attached to the main body 202 so as to be rotatable in order to protect the screen 203 portion.
The liquid crystal screen 203 is provided with a data display area 210 for inputting characters and displaying data when executing various functions such as a word processor, spreadsheet, address book, e-mail, and schedule. The format of the display area 210 is configured to be changed as appropriate according to the selected function.
A key input area 212 that is a key display area is arranged below the data display area 210. Further, on the left side of the key input area 212, a menu area 211 for displaying a selection menu displayed in a pop-up manner when a menu key described later is pressed is provided.
The menu area 211 and the key input area 212 may be displayed at all times, but normally, the display area 210 is displayed over almost the entire area of the liquid crystal screen 203, and the selection menu displayed on the screen is displayed. By touching a key, a key input start key, or the like, a part of the display area 210 can be displayed in a pop-up manner as needed, because the display area 210 can be enlarged and the amount of information can be increased. preferable.
The screen display type key input device 201 has an internal configuration as shown in FIG. That is, the screen display type key input device 201 includes a key input unit 214 including a keyboard 214A, a touch input unit 215 including a pen 215A, an output control unit 217 that controls display output of the processing control unit 216 and the screen 203, And an arrangement table 218 in which key arrangement data is stored.
As shown in FIG. 43, the keyboard 214A has a thin and small card size and can be stored in the main body 202 when not in use, and can be used separately from the main body 202 when in use. Has been.
The key input unit 214 is configured to transmit key input information to the processing control unit 216 of the main body 202 by radio 219 such as radio waves or infrared rays when each key of the keyboard 214A is input. .
The main body 202 is preferably provided with a holder for holding the pen 215A so that the pen 215A can be prevented from being lost.
When the pen 215A is used with the screen display type key input device 201, the main body 202 may be held with the left hand or placed on a desk or the like, and the pen 215A may be operated with the right hand.
When each key in the key input area 212 of the liquid crystal screen 203 is touched with the pen 215A, the touch input unit 215 is configured to send input information of the touched key to the processing control unit 216.
The processing control unit 216 includes a shift input unit 260 that inputs data of the shift position of each key displayed on the keyboard 214A or the key input area 212, and an array switching that switches the arrangement of each key displayed on the key input area 212. Means 263, data processing means 264 for processing the data of each input key, and selection for selecting and inputting one of the two data when the normal position or shift position of each key is set Input means 262 and selection menu display means 261 for displaying a selection menu for switching the key arrangement are provided.
As shown in FIG. 45, the keyboard 214A is provided with a main key area 220, a switching key area 240, and a function key area 250 so as to have the same arrangement as the key input area 212 of the screen 203.
That is, in the main key area 220, 15 main keys 221 to 235 are arranged in five rows of three columns on the upper and lower sides. In the switching key area 240, three switching keys 241 to 243 are arranged. Furthermore, in the function key area 250, five function keys 251 to 255 are arranged. Therefore, a total of 23 keys are arranged on the keyboard 214A in four stages including the switching keys 241 to 243 and the function keys 251 to 255.
Each key corresponding to the standard arrangement of the embodiment shown in FIG. 23 is displayed on the surface of each key.
The processing procedure in the screen display type key input device 201 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, in the key input unit 214 and the touch input unit 215, it is checked whether there is an input using the keyboard 214A or the pen 215A (Step 1, hereinafter “Step” is abbreviated as “S”).
Here, if there is an input, it is determined whether the input is a shift input (second character code input) (S2). This determination may be performed by each key input unit 214 or touch input unit 215, or may be performed by the processing control unit 216 side.
In the case of key input, the shift input is determined based on whether the shift key 251 is pressed simultaneously with other keys. In the case of touch input, shift input is determined based on the amount of movement of the pen 15 and the length of touch time, as in the above embodiments.
If it is determined that the input is a shift input, the shift input means 260 performs a shift process assuming that the key at the shift position of the input key has been input (S3).
Next, it is determined whether or not the input key is a menu key (a key shift position corresponding to the key 241 in the keyboard 214A and a key 241 in the liquid crystal screen 203) (S4). If the menu key is input, the selection menu is selected. Menu display processing for displaying the selection menus 271 to 276 in the menu area 211 by the display means 261 is performed (S5).
On the other hand, if it is not a menu key, it is determined whether it is an array switching input, that is, whether each key 241 to 243 in the switching key area 240 is input or the selection menus 271 to 276 are touch-input (S6).
If the input is an array switching input, the array switching means 263 performs an array switching process for switching the array table 218 for the specified array (S7).
If it is not an array switching input, it is determined whether it is a selection input (S8). If it is determined that the input is a selection input, a selection process for selecting one of the set keys is performed (S9).
When the input key is confirmed, the data processing means 264 performs data processing for generating a character set for the key or executing each function (S10). At this time, the data processing means 264 performs data processing based on characters and functions corresponding to the input keys in the key layout set with reference to the layout table 218. The initial setting of the key layout is a standard layout.
The data processing result is output to the liquid crystal screen 203 by the output control unit 217 (S11).
As described above, the processing for each input is completed. If there is a next input, the above processing is repeated to sequentially perform input processing.
In this embodiment as well, the same effects as those of the above embodiments can be obtained, and the keyboard 214A is provided in addition to the touch input means 215 for inputting using the pen 215A. Can be appropriately selected, and the operability can be further improved.
The keyboard 214A is provided so as to be separable from the main body 202, and key information indicating which key is input can be transmitted wirelessly to the processing control unit 216. Therefore, the keyboard 214A is separated from the main body 202. In particular, when a plurality of people are watching the same screen 203, the operator can easily see the screen 203 without getting in the way.
Further, since the keyboard 214A is configured to be housed in the main body 202, the keyboard 214A can be housed when the screen display type key input device 201 is carried, and the keyboard 214A can be taken out and operated only when used. In addition, the screen display type key input device 201 having excellent portability can be obtained.
Note that the optional combination of the keyboard 214A is not limited to the screen display type key input device 201 for a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a desktop screen including a main body 362 and a display 363 as shown in FIG. You may use for the display type key input device 361, and as shown in FIG. 48, you may apply to the screen display type key input device 371 provided with display devices 373, such as a wall-mounted television. In this case, if the channel arrangement in which each TV channel is set to each key is set as one of the key arrangements displayed on the display device 373, the channel switching operation can also be realized by the keyboard 214A.
In addition, when the keyboard 214A is used in combination, the characters input when the keys 221 to 235 are pressed are displayed in the key input area 212 of the screen 203. Therefore, the characters need not be displayed on the keyboard 214A. .
In the present invention, the arrangement of the character codes set in the main keys 21 to 35 is not limited to that described in each of the above embodiments, and may be set as appropriate in implementation.
For example, the Japanese, English, number, and symbol key arrays displayed on the screen for touch input may be those shown in FIGS.
Specifically, the main keys 21 to 35 in the Japanese layout in FIG. 49 are basically set in accordance with the standard layout shown in FIG. 23, but each key 21, 22, 26, 27 in the vowel area 20A is set. , 31, 32 are set to “e, u, i, a, tsu, o” at the shift position (second character code), the point “•” is set to the shift position of the key 25, and the keys 33, 34 are set. 23 is different from the arrangement of FIG. 23 in that “F, V” is set at the second shift position (third character code).
The support key (function key) area 50 includes a key 51 having an “Enter” function, a Kana-Kanji conversion function and a space input function, a Kana-Kanji non-conversion and a function for switching to a “Num (number)” array. It has a key 52, a key 53 with a function for selecting a previous candidate for conversion candidate at the time of Kana-Kanji conversion and a function for switching to the “Mark (symbol)” arrangement, a backspace input function, and a function for switching to an alphabetic arrangement. And a key 55 having a delete (DEL) function and a function for switching to the half-width mode.
50 are basically set in accordance with the high-speed arrangement shown in FIG. 28, but the keys 21, 22, 26, 27, 31 of the vowel area 20A are basically set. , 32 is set to “you, yu, yuu, ya, tsu, yo” at the shift position (second character code), “UU” is set as the third character code at the non-shift position of the key 31, 28 is different from the arrangement in FIG. 28 in that a point “·” is set at the shift position of the key 25.
51 are basically set in accordance with the English layout shown in FIG. 25, but the shift of each key 21, 22, 26, 27, 32 in the vowel area 20A is performed. The comma (,), period “.”, “J”, “Q”, “X” are set in the position (second character code), the “CAPS” key is set in the key 31, and the keys 25, 35 25 is different from the arrangement in FIG. 25 in that “C” and “L” are respectively set at the shift positions.
The support keys 51 to 55 have a “Space” key set on the key 51, a “Kana” function for returning to the Japanese standard layout set on the key 52, and a “Kana” function for switching to katakana input on the key 53. The set points are different from the Japanese standard arrangement of FIG. 49, but are otherwise the same.
52, numeric keys are set in the central three columns of the main key area 20, and arithmetic symbol keys are set in the left and right columns. Specifically, in order from the upper left side of the main key area 20, the symbol “-” is displayed on the key 21, the number “7” is displayed on the key 22, the number “8” is displayed on the key 23, the number “9” is displayed on the key 24, The symbol “/” is set to the key 25, the symbol “+” is sequentially set to the key 26, the number “4” is set to the key 27, the number “5” is set to the key 28, and the number “6” is set to the key 29. However, the colon symbol “*” is set to the key 30, the number “0” is set to the key 31, the number “1” is set to the key 32, the number “2” is set to the key 33, and the number is set to the key 34. “3” is set in the key 35 and the symbol “.” Is set.
The support keys 51 to 55 are the same as the English layout in FIG.
In the symbol arrangement of FIG. 53, parenthesis symbol keys are set in the left two columns of the main key area 20, and various symbol keys are set in the right three columns. Specifically, in order from the upper left side of the main key area 20, the parenthesis symbol “<” is displayed on the key 21, the parenthesis symbol “>” is displayed on the key 22, the semicolon symbol “;” is displayed on the key 23, and the colon symbol “ : ", The symbol" / "is set in the key 25, the parenthesis symbol" ("is in the key 26, the parenthesis symbol") "is in the key 27, and the modifier symbol" @ "is in the key 28. The sharp symbol “#” is set to the key 29, the asterisk symbol “*” is set to the key 30, the parenthesis symbol “[” is set to the key 31 and the parenthesis symbol “]” is set to the key 33 in order from the lower left side. The modifier symbol “!”, The question symbol “?” In the key 34, and the symbol “=” in the key 35 are set. Each symbol shown in FIG. 53 is also set at the shift position (second character code) of each key 21-35.
The support keys 51 to 55 are the same as the English layout in FIG.
In the key arrangements shown in FIGS. 49 to 53, the first and second character codes can be input by performing two types of touch input operations, as in the above embodiments.
Furthermore, when a telephone function is added to the screen display type key input device, as shown in FIG. 54, a key arrangement in which various keys suitable for the telephone function are set is displayed on the screen, thereby realizing the telephone function. You may be able to do it.
At this time, since the total of 20 keys of the main keys 21 to 35 and the support keys 51 to 55 are almost the same as the number of buttons of a general telephone, the same key setting as that of a general telephone can be performed. You can make calls with the same feeling.
In each of the above embodiments, for example, when characters are set to the left and right in the key areas of the keys 21 to 35, the left side is the first character code, and the right side is the second The character code may be reversed, but the left side may be set as the second character code and the right side may be set as the first character code. Similarly, the non-shift position (lower side) of each of the keys 21 to 35 is the first character code, and the shift position (upper side) is the second character code. 2 may be set, and the shift position may be set as the first character code.
Industrial applicability
As described above, the screen display type key input device according to the present invention is useful as an input device in various information processing apparatuses, and in particular, small information such as various portable personal computers, electronic notebooks, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). It is suitable for use in an input device incorporated in a processing device.

Claims (7)

In the screen display type key input device that selects and inputs the key displayed on the screen,
And the key input means pointing to the display area of the previous Symbol key,
The key to determine the difference in key selection operation of the input means to select the set character code to each key is constructed and a selection processing means for outputting processed,
The screen displays 15 main keys in 3 columns, 5 columns in the upper and lower sides, and the left of the 15 main keys in the key area of the 5 keys in the upper row, in order from the left key. “Q”, “E”, “T”, “U”, “O” are displayed, and “A”, “D” in order from the left key in the left part of each key area of the five keys in the middle row. ”,“ G ”,“ J ”,“ L ”are displayed, and“ Z ”,“ C ”,“ B ”are displayed in order from the left key in the left part of each key area of the four keys from the left in the lower row. ”And“ M ”are displayed, and“ Q ”,“ E ”,“ T ”,“ U ”,“ O ”,“ A ”,“ D ”,“ G ”,“ J ”,“ Z ”, “W”, “R”, “Y”, “I”, “P”, “S”, “F” are respectively displayed in the right part of each key area where “C” and “B” are displayed. , "H", "K", "X", "V", "N" is displayed, each Character code representing each character displayed on the main key as the first and second character code is set in the Inki,
In the lower left position of each main key, numerals and arithmetic symbols, which are symbols for numerical arrangement, are displayed, and each main key is set with a character code representing the symbols for the numerical arrangement as a third character code. ,
Various symbols, which are symbols for symbol arrangement, are displayed at the lower right position of each main key, and a character code representing the symbols for symbol arrangement is set as a fourth character code for each main key,
The key input means includes touch input means for touching and inputting each key area displayed on the screen,
The selection processing means includes determination means for determining four types of key selection operations of the key input means, and first to fourth character codes set for each key based on the key selection operation determined by the determination means. And a character generation means for selecting and outputting one of
The determination means determines whether or not the touch type input means has moved in a predetermined length regardless of the moving direction while touching the key area, and the movement distance of the touch type input means is a predetermined length. In the above case, determine whether the moving direction is the horizontal direction, the lower left direction, or the lower right direction,
The character generation means selects the first character code set for the key when the determination means determines that the distance moved by the touch-type input means while touching the key is shorter than a predetermined length If the movement distance of the touch input means is determined to be greater than or equal to a predetermined length, the second character code set for the key is determined if the movement direction is determined to be the horizontal direction. If it is determined to be output in the lower left direction, the third character code set to that key is selected and output. If it is determined to be in the lower right direction, the third character code set to that key is selected. 4. A screen display type key input device that selects and outputs a character code of 4. The screen display type key input device according to claim 1, wherein the touch type input means is a pen type input means using a touch pen. 2. The screen display type key input device according to claim 1, wherein the touch type input means is a touch screen type input means in which a finger touches the screen. In the screen display type key input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
In the right part of each key area where “L” and “M” are displayed, a long sound “-” and a punctuation mark “,” are displayed, respectively. A screen display type key input device characterized in that a punctuation mark “.” Is displayed on the right side and a symbol “·” is displayed on the right side. In the screen display type key input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A semicolon symbol “;” and a comma symbol “,” are displayed in the right part of each key area where “L” and “M” are displayed, respectively. A screen display type key input device characterized in that a period symbol “.” Is displayed on the left side and a colon symbol “:” is displayed on the right side. The screen switching type key input device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an array switching means for switching a symbol displayed on the screen and a character code generated when the key is touched. A screen display type key input device. The screen display type key input device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the main screen area includes not only the main key area composed of 15 keys of the upper and lower three-stage left and right five columns. A screen display type key input device comprising a support key area comprising a plurality of support keys in which various functions are set adjacent to the key area.

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