JP4207089B2 - Text input device and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a computer that can input at least text, that is, a text input device, and a text input method that is suitable for efficiently inputting text on a computer.

  In recent years, various portable computers have been widely used due to improvement in computer performance and miniaturization technology. In particular, a so-called pen input computer that does not have a keyboard as hardware is convenient to carry and is frequently used as a general-purpose computer.

  As a prior art, Patent Literature 1 discloses a character input device that inputs characters to a document processing device such as a word processor, and Patent Literature 2 discloses a device that includes an input unit, a display unit, and an arithmetic unit. A character string input method is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-292944 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-17385

  Many pen input computers currently on the market employ a handwritten character recognition method or a character input method using a so-called soft keyboard on a screen as a method for inputting text, for example. Note that a soft keyboard is an arrangement of key images corresponding to, for example, hiragana (or katakana) characters and English characters on a screen in a predetermined order (for example, hiragana for alphabetical order, and for English characters for example alphabet A keyboard image arranged in order is displayed, and keys on the displayed keyboard image are indicated by, for example, a pointing device, thereby realizing substantially the same function as a hardware keyboard.

  However, in the case of the above-mentioned handwritten character recognition, there is a limit to the speed of inputting characters by handwriting and the trouble of correcting recognition errors when a computer misrecognizes handwritten characters. Is difficult. It is said that the upper limit of the character input speed by a pen input computer that performs current handwritten character recognition is about 30 characters / minute. Furthermore, in the case of the handwritten character input, there is a problem that the hand gets tired when a large amount of text is input.

  In the character input method using the soft keyboard, kana-kanji conversion is performed on the characters input by the soft keyboard. In this method, a small keyboard (soft keyboard) displayed on the screen is used. Since it is necessary to pick up the characters above in succession, there is a problem that eyes and nerves become tired, and at the same time it takes time to input and convert.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide a text input device and method that enable text to be input efficiently and at high speed.

The text input device of the present invention includes a display unit that can display at least characters and has a virtual keyboard area and a candidate display area, a word dictionary that stores a plurality of candidate words and candidate word readings, and a plurality of candidates Dictionary storage means including a character string, a confirmed character string connected immediately before the candidate character string, and a sentence example dictionary for storing the candidate character string in association with each other, and at least the virtual keyboard displayed by the display means Characters added to the undetermined character string buffer and input means for performing key input by touching and releasing the object with respect to each of the keys, and selection input by touching and releasing the object with respect to the candidate items displayed on the display means and a search means for searching for the word dictionary based on said input means, the object for the same key of the virtual keyboard When the predetermined time touch state has passed, add to the undetermined character array buffer the letter corresponding to the key as an input character, the search means, when performing a search based on the added characters, the When there is a confirmed word before the character input, a confirmed character string connected immediately before the sentence example dictionary is searched based on the word, and the candidate character string corresponding to the search result is found in the past sentence input. When the candidate character string is selected as the candidate item in order from the candidate character string in the past in the past, and when an additional character is input by the input means, a connection is made immediately before the sentence example dictionary based on the additional character. The candidate character string corresponding to the search result of the confirmed character string to be searched is forward matched, and the candidate character string corresponding to the forward match search result is input to the display means in the past sentence input. The candidate character string is selected as the candidate item in order from the candidate character string in the past in the past, and the display means selects the candidate word corresponding to the search result as the candidate item as the object in the keyboard area. For a plurality of candidate words displayed in the candidate display area in the vicinity of the position in contact and displayed as the candidate item on the display means, the position in contact with the object is one of the candidate words The above-mentioned problem is solved by moving to the item and selecting and inputting the candidate word as a desired word by releasing at that position.

The sentence input method of the present invention includes a display means that can display at least characters and has a virtual keyboard area and a candidate display area, a word dictionary that stores a plurality of candidate words and candidate word readings, and a plurality of words A candidate character string, a fixed character string connected immediately before the candidate character string, and a dictionary storage means including a sentence example dictionary for storing the candidate character string in association with each other, and at least the virtual displayed by the display means An input means for performing key input by touching and releasing an object with respect to each key of a typical keyboard, and selection input by touching and releasing an object with respect to a candidate item displayed on the display means, and an undefined character string buffer. A text input method of a text input device having a search means for searching the word dictionary based on a character, wherein the input means When the predetermined time in a state where the object is in contact against the same key of the virtual manner keyboard has elapsed, it adds to the undetermined character array buffer the letter corresponding to the key as an input character, the search means, the additional When there is a word that has been confirmed before the character input when performing a search based on the entered character, a search is performed for the confirmed character string connected immediately before the sentence example dictionary based on the word, and the search result is When the corresponding candidate character string is selected as the candidate item in order from the candidate character string in which the candidate character string was selected in the past in the past sentence input, and when an additional character is input by the input means, Based on the added character, the candidate character string corresponding to the search result of the confirmed character string connected immediately before the sentence example dictionary is subjected to a forward match search, and the display means is matched with the forward match search result. The candidate character strings to be selected in the past sentence are selected as the candidate items in order from the candidate character string in which the candidate character string has been selected in the past in the past, and the display means corresponds to the search result as the candidate item. The candidate word to be displayed is displayed in the candidate display area near the position where the object is in contact with the keyboard area, and the object is in contact with the plurality of candidate words displayed as the candidate items on the display means. The position is moved to any item of the candidate words, and the candidate word is selected and input as a desired word by releasing at that position, thereby solving the above-described problem.

  That is, the present invention is a text input device and method suitable for a pen input computer based on, for example, retrieval and prediction of characters, words, phrases, etc., and narrows down by specifying a part of reading and prediction from a character string immediately before the input position. By repeating the operation of selecting a word from a set of candidate words, it is possible to input a sentence efficiently and at high speed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to recognize handwritten characters and convert kana-kanji characters by repeating operations of selecting words from a set of candidate words narrowed down by prediction of partial reading and prediction from a character string immediately before the input position. It is possible to input a sentence more than twice as fast as the conventional character input method based thereon.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a pen input computer as an embodiment of the text input device and method of the present invention.

  A pen input computer 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a relatively large liquid crystal display panel in a small portable case, and characters and figures based on inputted data are displayed on the liquid crystal display panel. This is a portable pen input computer that can be displayed on the screen.

  The pen input computer 30 shown in FIG. 1 has a CPU (Central Control Unit) 1 that controls the entire internal components. The CPU 1 is a ROM (read only) that stores a basic program called an OS (Operating System), a text input program for realizing pen input according to the present invention, a word dictionary, a sentence example dictionary, and the like. A memory) 2, a RAM 3 provided as various buffer memories to be described later, and a card slot 4 to which a memory card 5 as an external storage means can be connected. The CPU 1 processes the data stored in the RAM 3 in accordance with the basic program stored in the ROM 2. The CPU 1 also reads out data from the memory card 5 connected to the card slot 4 and transfers the data to the RAM 3 according to the basic program, and transfers the data stored in the RAM 3 to the memory card 5. . Thus, the storage area of the RAM 3 is also used as a work area for data processed according to the basic program. In order to enable version upgrade in the pen input computer 30, the ROM 2 is preferably a rewritable memory that does not require a memory holding operation.

  Further, a liquid crystal drive circuit 7 is connected to the CPU 1 via a so-called ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 6 as an interface, and the CPU 1 displays on the liquid crystal display panel 8 connected to the liquid crystal drive circuit 7. Take control.

  A pressure sensitive tablet 9 is arranged on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel 8. This pressure-sensitive tablet 9 generates a coordinate position signal indicating the coordinates of the position touched by the input pen 25 by touching the surface with the input pen 25 or the like. The coordinate position signal generated from the pressure-sensitive tablet 9 is converted into digital data (coordinate position data) by the analog / digital converter 10 and sent to the CPU 1 via the ASIC 6. In the CPU 1, based on the coordinate position on the liquid crystal display panel 8 of the display content actually displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 8 and the coordinate position data input from the pressure sensitive tablet 9, the input pen 25. Therefore, it is determined what information is input.

  The pen input computer 30 also includes an audio reproduction circuit 13 and a speaker 14 to which the output of the audio reproduction circuit 13 is supplied, and the audio stored in the ROM 2 or RAM 3 based on the control of the CPU 1. By supplying the data to the audio reproduction circuit 13, the sound data is emitted as sound from the speaker 14.

  Further, the pen input computer 30 includes a power button 11 for instructing power ON / OFF. When the power ON operation is performed with the power button 11, the power obtained from the main battery 21 or the AC adapter 22 is supplied. The power is supplied to each component through a power supply block 20 that is a power supply circuit. The pen input computer 30 also includes a backup battery 23 for the RAM 3. When power cannot be obtained from the main battery 21 or the AC adapter 22, the backup battery 23 backs up the RAM 3. The stored data is not erased.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic appearance of the pen input computer 30 of this embodiment.

  2, the pen input computer 30 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the circuit unit illustrated in FIG. 1 is disposed in a housing 31, and the speaker 14 and the surface are disposed on the top surface of the housing 31. A liquid crystal display panel 8 provided with a pressure-sensitive tablet 9 is disposed. The liquid crystal display panel 8 is disposed substantially at the center of the upper surface of the casing 31. When the pressure-sensitive tablet 9 provided on the liquid crystal display panel 8 is touched with, for example, the input pen 25 or the like, input by the pen can be performed. Further, the power button 11 and the card slot 4 are arranged on the right side of the housing 31, for example.

  Here, the basic concept in the case of applying the text input method according to the present invention to the pen input computer of the embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described below.

  In a sentence input method in an existing pen input computer, a user usually gives a considerable amount of information about an input character string. That is, as described above, in a pen input computer that employs a handwritten character recognition method, the character is input only when the user has correctly written the character. The pen input computer to be employed generally performs kana-kanji conversion only when a complete reading of a character string is input from a soft keyboard.

  On the other hand, for example, partial information on a character string to be input, for example, the first character in the character string to be input or some characters included in the character string are searched for characters, words, phrases ( Hereafter, these are collectively referred to as words.) If you select multiple candidates from these candidates, select the necessary words from these candidates, and connect the obtained words, the characters you want to input above Sentences can be entered without giving complete information about the columns.

  That is, particularly in a pen input computer, a character input operation cannot be performed as fast as a computer having a hardware keyboard, but a selection operation can be performed at a high speed. For this reason, in the pen input computer, it is considered that character input can be performed at high speed by adopting at least four policies different from those provided with a hardware keyboard as follows.

  As a first policy, a search condition is given by a simple operation.

  As a second policy, as a search condition changes, a set of words listed as candidates is dynamically changed to be searched and displayed, and these are selected.

  As a third policy, a target word is selected from a plurality of candidates displayed as search results.

  As a fourth policy, the ease of appearance of a word is calculated from the already determined character string immediately before the input location of the word, the general appearance frequency of the word, the context, etc., and the candidates are displayed in that order. .

  In order to realize these four policies, specifically, the following method is adopted.

  In specifying the search condition, a part of the input character string reading is specified as the search condition using, for example, a soft keyboard displayed on the screen. That is, of the keys on the soft keyboard, not all readings of the word you want to enter, for example, only the first character, only some characters in order from the beginning, or only some characters skipping from the beginning A search condition for searching for a word to be input is designated by selecting a key corresponding to with an input pen. In addition, as a method for specifying the search condition, it is possible to specify a plurality of characters indicating reading by one operation by moving the keyboard on the display screen without moving the input pen.

  In the search and display of candidate words and their selection, at the moment when a part of the reading of the input character string is specified, a set of candidate words starting with the reading is presented and selected. That is, when a search condition (reading) for searching for the word to be input is specified, a plurality of words corresponding to the search condition (reading) are displayed as candidates. However, when the designation of the search condition is changed, the display of the candidate word is also changed immediately. Further, when searching for candidate words, by using a sentence example prepared in advance, an input word is predicted from a previously determined character string immediately before the word input location and presented with priority. For example, when a character string “O” is designated with an input pen when a character string that has already been confirmed immediately before ends with “Let me say”, the word “Please” is preferentially selected as a candidate. When there is no sentence example that matches the above search condition (reading) when searching for this candidate word, a word that is frequently used or a recently selected word that matches the reading is preferentially presented as a candidate word. . When there is no word that matches the search condition, a fuzzy search described later is performed to present a word close to the search condition as a candidate. The plurality of candidate words obtained in this way are to be selected when the word to be input is selected. The set of candidate words at this time is displayed as a menu in the vicinity of the soft key or at a predetermined position.

  Based on the four policies described above and the specific method thereof, a specific state when a sentence is input by the pen input computer 30 of FIG. 1 is shown in FIGS.

  Here, for example, specific examples in the case of inputting a Japanese sentence such as “I used this method below” are shown in FIGS. 3 to 14, the position of the input pen is indicated by an arrow A in the figure.

FIG. 3 shows an initial screen of the soft keyboard SKB _J , for example, in the order of the Japanese syllabary displayed on the screen DPY of the liquid crystal display panel 8 of FIGS. This soft keyboard SKB _J has hiragana soft keys in alphabetical order (including “.”, “,”), “Back”, “new line”, “ A general editing command soft key SKC such as "Cancel" is provided. The hiragana soft keys are arranged in approximately alphabetical order.

In the state of this initial screen, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, when the input pen (arrow A) is pressed on the soft key sk _I “I”, the “I” is designated as a search condition (reading). Thus, for example, when “I” is designated as a search condition, a set of a plurality of candidate words starting with “I” is displayed on the screen DPY as a pull-down menu PDM _J as shown in FIG. The pull-down menu is generally one of menu display methods for displaying a column of work items that can be selected on a screen when instructing a computer to perform a work, and allowing the user to select a desired work from the column. In this method, the menu of work items appears on the screen so as to pull out a scroll. In the pull-down menu in the present embodiment, the candidate word is displayed instead of the work item.

The pull-down menu PDM _{J in} FIG. 4 includes about ten candidate words (for example, “I”, “I”, “Interface”, “I”, “Following”, “From”, in descending order of appearance frequency among words starting with “I”. ”,“ Good ”,“ say ”,“ good ”,“ move ”,“ not ”,“ is ”, etc.) are displayed as menu items. In the following description, each menu item in which each candidate word is displayed is called a menu key. Of course, the number of candidate words displayed as the pull-down menu PDM _J is not limited to the above ten, and may be smaller or larger. The number of candidate words to be displayed is determined in consideration of the size of the screen DPY and the balance with other display contents. When the pull-down menu PDM _J is displayed, the display of the soft keyboard SKB _J is blocked. Therefore, a place other than the display area of the soft keyboard SKB _J (more preferably, other display contents are obstructed). It is also possible to display a menu having the same content as the pull-down menu PDM _J in a place that does not become.

When the input pen is released in the state shown in FIG. 4, for example, the candidate word displayed in the pull-down menu PDM _J in FIG. 4 is displayed as a pop-up menu PUM _{J in} the lower part of the screen DPY as shown in FIG. The pull-down menu PDM _J shown in FIG. 4 disappears. The pop-up menu is one of the same types of menu display methods as the pull-down menu, and is a method for displaying the menu at an arbitrary place on the screen. In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, it is displayed at the lower part of the screen DPY, but it may be another place. However, it is desirable that the location does not interfere with other display contents.

The pop-up menu PUM _{J in} FIG. 5 also arranges candidate words in descending order of appearance frequency. Since the pop-up menu PUM _{J at} this time is displayed outside the soft keyboard SKB _J , the number of displayed candidate words can be made larger than the pull-down menu PDM _J shown in FIG. In the example, “I” “I” “Interface” “I” “Following” “It” “Good” “Saying” “Good” “I” “Move” “Not” “Genetic” “Position” “Line” “ "Iku", "Previous", "Meaning", etc. are displayed.

When the menu key corresponding to the desired candidate word on the pop-up menu PUM _J is touched with a pen in the state shown in FIG. 5, the candidate word corresponding to the menu key is selected. Thereby, the selected candidate word can be input. After the candidate word is selected, the pop-up menu PUM _J display disappears.

Also, if the pen is released while the display of FIG. 4 is displayed, the pop-up menu PUM _J shown in FIG. 5 is not displayed, but the pull-down menu PDM _J shown in FIG. 4 is left displayed. It is also possible to select a desired candidate word from this pull-down menu PDM _J.

On the other hand, “I” is first specified as a search condition as shown in FIG. 4, and the input pen is moved while touching the screen DPY, and input on, for example, the “ka” soft key sk _K as shown in FIG. When the pen (arrow A) is brought in, “squid” is designated as a search condition. Designing a plurality of characters by moving the input pen while touching the screen DPY in this way is called drag processing. Thus, when the reading by the drag processing, for example, "squid" is specified as a search condition, screen on DPY, as shown in FIG. 6, the set has a pull-down menu of candidate words starting with "squid" PDM _J Is displayed.

The pull-down menu PDM _J of FIG. 6 includes a plurality of candidate words (for example, “squid”, “squid”, “below”, “other”, “below”, “below”) in descending order of appearance frequency among words starting with “squid”. “Iga”, “How”, “Go”, “Unexpected”, “Inoue”, “Live”, “Body”, etc.) are displayed. As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the input pen is moved to another character (on another soft key) while being in contact with the screen PDY, the search condition and the candidate word are dynamically changed accordingly. It is going to change.

In the case of the display example in FIG. 6 as well, the pull-down menu PDM _J may be displayed in a place other than the display area of the soft keyboard SKB _J (more preferably, a place that does not interfere with other display contents) as described above. Is possible.

When the display shown in FIG. 6 is made, for example, the pen is released, and the menu key corresponding to the desired candidate word is selected from the pull-down menu PDM _J shown in FIG. A word is input. In the example of FIG. 7, the menu key mk _I displayed as “below”, for example, is selected from the pull-down menu PDM _J with the input pen (arrow A).

When the pen is released in the state shown in FIG. 6, the candidate word displayed in the pull-down menu PDM _J in FIG. 6 is displayed in the pop-up menu PUM at the bottom of the screen DPY as shown in FIG. _It can also be displayed as _J.

If the “n” soft key sk _N is designated with the input pen without releasing the input pen from the screen DPY as the above dragging process after the “ho” soft key is pressed with the pen by the same procedure as described above, Is set as a search condition. When reading “hon” is designated as a search condition in this way, a set of candidate words starting with “hon” is displayed on the screen DPY as a pull-down menu PDM _J, as shown in FIG.

The pull-down menu PDM _{J in} FIG. 8 includes candidate words (for example, “hon” “phone” “book” “this paper” “main body” “true” in descending order of appearance frequency among words starting with “hon”. "Essential""thisyear""thisarticle""thischapter""presentinvention""thistechnique""thismethod""thissection" etc.) is displayed. In the present embodiment, for example, a menu key displayed as “present method” is selected from the pull-down menu PDM _J with a pen.

  By the procedure so far, the character string determined at this point becomes “the present method”. The character string thus determined is displayed at a position on the screen where the soft keyboard, editing command soft key, pull-down menu, pop-up menu, etc. are not displayed.

Next, on the screen DPY, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a set of candidate words is displayed as a pop-up menu PUM _{J in} descending order of frequency of appearance immediately after the character string determined as “the following method”. The As a set of candidate words that appear frequently immediately after the character string determined as “the method” below, for example, “ha” “ha” “edit document” “ha simple” “no” “ga” “ "And", "apply", "to", "switch", "by", "propose", "use", "about", "fusion", "de", etc., and these are the popups in FIG. Displayed on menu PUM _J. In the present embodiment, when the menu key mk _O on which “ _O ” is displayed is selected from the pop-up menu PUM _J with the pen (arrow A) in the state shown in FIG. The column becomes “this method below”.

As shown in FIG. 9, “O”, “Ha”, etc. on the pop-up menu PUM _J are candidate words that frequently appear immediately after the already determined character string “this method”. Each candidate word displayed at this time is displayed as a pop-up menu PUM _J without specifying a search condition as a reading from the soft keyboard SKB _J. From the candidate words displayed on the pop-up menu PUM _J It is possible to select directly with the input pen 25.

Next, on the screen DPY, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, a set of candidate words is displayed as a pop-up menu PUM _{J in} descending order of frequency of appearance immediately after the character string determined as “the method is described below”. Is done. As a set of candidate words at this time, for example, “document editing” “use” “apply” “suggest” “use” “use” “select” “select” “use” “use” “use” “use” ”,“ Line ”,“ Input ”,“ Prediction ”,“ Create ”,“ Perform ”,“ Execution ”, etc., and these are displayed in the pop-up menu PUM _J in FIG. In the present embodiment, when the menu key mk _M, for example, “used” is selected from the pop-up menu PUM _J with the pen (arrow A) in the state shown in FIG. The character string is “I used this method below”.

Even in the example of FIG. 10, the pop-up menu PUM _J appears immediately after the already determined character string “this method is described below” as the pop-up menu PUM _J without specifying a search condition as a reading from the soft keyboard SKB _J. Candidate words with a high frequency are displayed, and therefore, it is possible to directly select a candidate word displayed on the pop-up menu PUM _{J with a} pen.

  With the above-described procedure, the character string “this method is used below” can be determined.

  In the text input procedure according to the present invention so far, if the operation from touching the screen DPY with the pen to releasing it is counted as one operation, the above-mentioned character string “using this method” is 6 operations. You can see that the input was successful.

  On the other hand, when trying to input the above-mentioned character string “using this method” by a pen input computer using the above-described existing handwritten character recognition method, a total of about 40 operations are required. In the case of a pen input computer using an existing soft keyboard and kana-kanji conversion method, at least about 20 operations are required. When inputting the above-mentioned character string “using this method” on a pen input computer using a conventional soft keyboard and kana-kanji conversion method, first, the “i” and “ka” soft keys are set. After specifying, specify the “Convert” soft command key for Kana-Kanji conversion and confirm the “Following” character string (this will be 3 operations), then specify the “Ni” soft key and then “Confirm” ”Soft command key is specified and the word“ ni ”is confirmed (this is 2 operations), then“ ho ”and“ n ”soft keys are specified, followed by the“ conversion ”soft command key To confirm the character of “book” (this is 3 operations), and then specify “Shi” and “yu” soft keys and “character conversion” to convert “yu” to lower case. Specify the soft command key (this is 3 operations Next, after specifying the “ho” and “u” soft keys, the “conversion” soft command key is specified to determine the “method” character string (this is 3 operations), and then “ After specifying the “O” soft key, specify the “OK” soft command key to fix the “O” character (this will be two operations), and then “MO”, “CHI” and “I” After specifying each soft key of “ta” in turn, specifying the “conversion” soft command key ((this will be 5 operations) will confirm the input of the character string “using this method below”. Thus, in the case of a pen input computer using a conventional soft keyboard and kana-kanji conversion method, the sum of 3 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 5 is used to input the character string “this method is used hereinafter”. 21 operations are required.

  The examples of FIGS. 3 to 10 described above show examples of operations and displays when inputting Japanese, but for example, operations and displays as shown in FIGS. 11 to 14 are performed when inputting English. It will be. 11 to 14 are the same as those shown in FIGS.

FIG. 11 shows an initial screen of the soft keyboard SKB _E composed of unit characters such as alphabets and numbers displayed on the screen DPY of the liquid crystal display panel 8. The soft keyboard SKB _E includes alphabet soft keys such as “A” to “Z” (including “(”, “)”, “#”, etc.), and “backward” similar to FIGS. General editing command soft keys SKC such as “line feed” and “cancel” are provided. Note that the edit command soft key SKC can be written in English.

In this initial screen state, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, when the input pen (arrow A) is pressed on the soft key sk _{F of} “F”, the “F” is designated as a search condition (reading). Thus, for example, when “F” is designated as a search condition, a set of a plurality of candidate words starting with “F” is displayed on the screen DPY as a pull-down menu PDM _E as shown in FIG.

The pull-down menu PDM _{E in} FIG. 12 includes about ten candidate words (for example, “F” “for” “from” “figure” “first” “ In this example, “found”, “form”, “focus”, “feedback”, “features”, etc.) are displayed as menu items (menu keys). In the state shown in FIG. 12, a desired candidate word is selected from the candidate words displayed in the pull-down menu PDM _E. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, when the menu key mk _f of “first” is selected, the character of “first” is fixed.

In the state shown in FIG. 12, for example, by releasing the input pen, the candidate words displayed in the pull-down menu PDM _E in FIG. 12 as described above are displayed on the screen DPY as shown in FIG. It is also possible to display it as a pop-up menu PUM _{E at the} bottom. The pop-up menu PUM _{E in} FIG. 14 also arranges candidate words in descending order of appearance frequency. The pop-up menu PUM _E in the example of FIG. 14 includes, for example, “F” “for” “from” “figure” “first” “found” “form” “focus” “feedback” “features” “further” “following” "Four" etc. are displayed. In the state shown in FIG. 14, a desired candidate word is selected from the candidate words displayed in the pop-up menu PUM _E. The example of FIG. 14 shows a state where the menu key mk _f of “first” is selected.

  In the case of the above-described English input, as in the case of the Japanese input, English text can be input with a simple selection operation.

  As described above, the sentence input method according to the present invention is particularly effective for an input accompanied with a conversion operation (conversion operation such as hiragana-kanji conversion or alphabetic character-hiragana and kanji conversion) like Japanese. Not only can it be applied to text input in languages that do not require conversion operations, such as English, French, and German. In particular, in the text input method of the present invention, since the English word or the like is input by selecting from a plurality of candidate words as described above, a spell check that is absolutely necessary for normal English text input, It is expected to be almost unnecessary.

  For example, when the confirmed sentence is corrected or deleted, the editing command soft key SKC is used.

  By the way, in order to effectively realize the sentence input method according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, a high-quality word dictionary and a sentence example dictionary are required.

  For example, as the word dictionary used in the above-described embodiment for Japanese input, for example, the type shown in FIG. 15 can be considered. The word dictionary of the type shown in FIG. 15 has a list structure consisting of readings as first elements (reading candidate words) on the left side in the figure and candidate words as second elements on the right side in the figure. .

  Moreover, as a sentence example dictionary for Japanese input used in this embodiment, for example, the type shown in FIG. 16 can be considered. The sentence example dictionary of the type shown in FIG. 16 has a first element indicating candidate word reading on the left side in the figure, a character string determined as a search condition as a second element in the center in the figure, and a third element on the right side in the figure. It has a list structure consisting of candidate words as elements. That is, in the sentence example dictionary shown in FIG. 16, when the character string of the second element matches the character string immediately before the input location, the search condition (reading) of the first element shown on the left side in the figure is designated. This means that the character string of the third element shown on the middle right is determined as a candidate word.

  In this embodiment, when searching for candidate words according to the search conditions, the above-described search policy is realized simply by performing matching operations in order from the beginning of the dictionary as shown in FIGS. It becomes possible.

  The dictionary shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 has a structure that makes it easy to search for sentences that have been created before. In other words, since the words and sentence examples selected at the time of document creation are added to the beginning of these dictionaries, the words and sentence examples added to the beginning are preferentially used as candidate words in the next search. For example, it is easy to input again a sentence similar to the sentence input immediately before.

  For example, when a word dictionary of 22,000 words is used, for example, 471 candidate words can be selected by “selection of reading of first one character + selection of menu key”, and “selection of reading of first two characters + menu” In “key selection”, for example, 8611 candidate words can be selected. Here, for example, when 10 candidate words are displayed in the pull-down menu or the pop-up menu, the candidate word to be selected in the example sentence among the total of 471 candidate words is the “first The probability of appearing on the pull-down menu or pop-up menu is 44% by performing “select reading of one character + selection of menu key”, and select from the total of 8611 candidate words using the example sentence. The probability that the candidate word to appear appears on the pull-down menu or pop-up menu by performing the above “selection of reading of first two characters + selection of menu key” was 85%. Furthermore, when “selection of reading of first three characters + selection of menu key” is performed, the probability that a candidate word desired to be selected in the example sentence appears on the menu becomes 97% or more. Thus, according to the candidate word search process in the text input method of the present embodiment, most candidate words required at the time of text input can be selected simply by designating one or two letters.

  However, these appearance frequency probabilities are calculated when the prediction candidate search for predicting the candidate word having the highest appearance frequency from the already determined character string as described in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 is not used. In practice, the predicted candidate search functions to further increase the frequency of appearance of the necessary candidate words. For this reason, reading as a search condition is not specified at all as in the examples of FIG. 9 and FIG. However, it is often possible to input words.

  In the present embodiment, different dictionaries can be used according to the type and context of the document to be created, thereby enabling more effective text input. For example, if a place name list with place names as candidate words is used as a dictionary, it becomes very easy to input an address when creating a name list database. For example, if a sentence example dictionary with sentence examples as candidate words is used, letters and the like are created. It is possible to easily retrieve a sentence example. In the case of a place name list dictionary, for example, if a hierarchical structure is formed in the order of prefecture, group, city, town, village, and address, place names as candidate words can be easily searched and specified.

  In the above description, the dictionary for Japanese input is described, but the same effect can be obtained also in the case of the English input. Of course, the same applies not only to the case of Japanese input using the aforementioned Japanese hiragana character display soft key, but also to the so-called Roman character input using this alphabet display soft keyboard.

  In the above description of Japanese input or English input, the fuzzy search is not performed, but if there are few or no candidate words that start with the reading specified as the search condition, the pen input computer of this embodiment performs fuzzy search. To do. That is, for example, when inputting Japanese, if you specify “Take” as a search condition, for example, there are few words that start with “Take”, so there is an ambiguity that uses “te” and “ke” as search conditions. Do a search. This fuzzy search makes it possible to display words such as “Electrotechnical Laboratory” as candidate words. In the case of English input, for example, a word such as “Pithecanthropus” can be input simply by specifying “p”, “t”, “p”, and “s”.

  Here, taking the case of the above-mentioned English input as an example, a state of searching for a correct candidate word by the fuzzy search will be described.

  In the text input method of the present embodiment, two types of regular expression recognition algorithms are used in combination in the word dictionary in order to perform an ambiguous search at high speed. For example, when searching for a character string “ab ca”, a state transition machine for recognizing the character string pattern of “ab ca” can be expressed as shown in FIG. Note that “*” represents any input character. In the state transition machine of FIG. 17, the initial state S0 transitions to the next state S1 by the input character “a”, the state S1 transitions to the state S2 by the input character “b”, and the state S2 transitions by the input character *. Without transition to the state S3 by the input character “c”, and the state S3 transitions to the state A by the input character “a”. This state A is called the final state or the acceptance state, and indicates whether or not the input character string “ab ca” has been accepted. When the input characters “a”, “b”, “*”, “c”, and “a” are not given, the states S0, S1, S2, S3, and A disappear.

  The state transition machine expressed as shown in FIG. 17 can be extended to a machine that allows mismatch (erroneous / missing / erroneous insertion) by increasing the number of states as shown in FIG. That is, the state A0 in FIG. 18 is an accepting state that does not allow mismatching, the state A1 is an accepting state that permits one character error, and the state A2 is an accepting state that allows character error.

  As a method for the above fuzzy search, for example, a method for performing pattern matching using a shift operation is described in the literature (Ricardo A. Baeza-Yates and Gaston H. Gonnet. A new approach to text searching. Communications of the ACM, Vol. 35 , No. 10, pp. 74-82, October 1992., Sun Wu and Udi Manber.Agrep-a fast approximate pattern-matching tool.In Proceedings of USENIX Technical Conference, pp. 153-162, San Francisco, CA, January 1992., etc., and also hardware implementations (Hachiro Yamada, Tsunesuke Takahashi, Masanori Hirata, Satoshi Nagai. Character string search LSI capable of fuzzy search. Nikkei Electronics, No. 422, pp. 165-181, 1987.6.1.) And the inventor of this case has already disclosed it in a paper (Information Processing Society of Japan, January 1996.pp13-23), etc. Description is omitted. In the fuzzy search described above, instead of inputting the first character of the character string, any number of characters in the character string are input in the order in which they appear in the character string. It is also possible to perform a search.

  Next, the flow of processing in the configuration of FIG. 1 for realizing the specific text input as described above in the configuration of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The processing of these flowcharts is realized by the CPU 1 controlling each part and performing data processing based on the text input program stored in the ROM 2. That is, the sentence input program stored in the ROM 2 is a program for the CPU 1 to execute the processing of the flowchart. 19 and 20 show the overall flow of character input processing in the pen input computer 30 having the configuration shown in FIG. 19 and 20 should originally be represented in one drawing, but are divided for convenience of the drawing. FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 show flowcharts when a plurality of characters are continuously input as search conditions in the character input process (the drag process). 21 and 22 are originally supposed to be represented in one drawing, but are divided and represented for the sake of space. FIG. 23 shows a specific flow of the prediction candidate search process in the flowchart of the character input process.

  First, in FIG. 19, in step ST1, reading of the first character of the character string to be input as the search condition is input. That is, as described above, from the soft keys of each character on the soft keyboard, the reading of the first character for specifying the search condition is performed by the input pen 25.

  When the reading of the first character is input, the CPU 1 stores the data of the input character in an unconfirmed character string buffer provided in the RAM 3 of FIG. 1 as step ST2, and as step ST3. A buffer for storing a set of candidate words provided in the RAM 3 (hereinafter referred to as a candidate set buffer) is cleared. The unconfirmed character string buffer is a buffer that stores a character string specified as a search condition. Since the search condition is composed of not only one character but also two or more character strings and is not determined until a candidate word is selected, it is designated as the search condition in this embodiment. The buffer that stores the character string is referred to as the undetermined character string buffer.

  Next, in step ST4, the CPU 1 searches for candidate words having, as the first character (or character string), the character (or character string) stored in the unconfirmed character string buffer from the word dictionary. . A search that uses the first character (or character string) as a keyword in this way is called a forward matching search. In step ST5, the CPU 1 stores the candidate words obtained by the forward match search of the word dictionary in step ST4 in the candidate set buffer.

  At this time, in step ST6, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the number of retrieved candidate words is less than a predetermined N. This N number corresponds to the number that can be displayed on the screen DPY as described above, for example, the number of candidate words displayed as the pull-down menu PDM or the pop-up menu PUM. In the determination of step ST6, when it is determined that the number of candidate words is N or more (when determined as no), the process proceeds to step ST9 described later, and the number of candidate words is less than the N. When it is determined (when it is determined as YES), the process proceeds to step ST7.

  In step ST7, since the number of retrieved candidate words is still smaller than the number N that can be displayed on the screen DPY, a candidate word is further retrieved from the word dictionary. The search at this time is the fuzzy search. The number of candidate words searched by this fuzzy search can be set to a number that can be displayed on the screen DPY together with the previously searched candidate words. After the fuzzy search in step ST7, the CPU 1 adds the obtained search results (a set of candidate words) to the candidate set buffer in step ST8, and further stores candidates stored in the candidate set buffer in step ST9. A set of words is read and displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 8 as a menu (the pull-down menu or pop-up menu is displayed).

  At this time, the CPU 1 determines whether or not an additional character is input in step ST10, that is, a character (reading) newly added as a search condition from the input pen 25 is input, or by the drag process. It is determined whether or not a character string has been input. When an additional character is input in step ST10 (when it is determined as YES), the process returns to step ST2, and the character (or character string) previously stored in the undetermined character string buffer is returned. Add the added character and store it in the undefined character string buffer. Thereafter, the processing from step ST3 to step ST10 is performed in the same manner as described above using the character string stored in the unconfirmed character string buffer as a search condition. The same applies when additional characters are input in step ST10.

  When it is determined in step ST10 that no additional characters have been input, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the candidate word has been determined in step ST11, that is, the pull-down menu PDM or pop-up menu PUM displayed on the screen DPY. It is determined whether or not a correct candidate word has been selected. When the candidate word is not fixed in this step ST11 (when it is determined as NO), the process returns to step ST10, and when the candidate word is fixed (when it is determined as YES), the process proceeds to step ST12.

  Since the candidate word is confirmed, the CPU 1 clears the unconfirmed character string buffer as step ST12 in order to proceed to the next character input processing, and then performs the processing after step ST21 in FIG. . At this time, since the input of at least one word has already been confirmed by the flowchart process of FIG. 19 described above, in the process of step ST21 of FIG. 20, the input is confirmed based on the already confirmed word (character string). A prediction candidate search is performed to predict a candidate word that should come after the word (for example, the candidate word having the highest appearance frequency). When a set of candidate words is obtained by the prediction candidate search, the CPU 1 displays the set of candidate words on the liquid crystal display panel 8 as the next step ST22.

  At this time, the CPU 1 determines whether or not there is an input of an additional character in step ST23, that is, an input of one character newly added as a search condition from the input pen 25, or an input of a character string by the drag processing. It is determined whether or not it has been made.

  When an additional character is input in step ST23 (when it is determined as YES), the newly added character is stored in the unconfirmed character string buffer (or in step ST27). Character string) and store it in the indeterminate character string buffer. Thereafter, the processing from step ST21 to step ST23 is performed in the same manner as described above using the character string stored in the unconfirmed character string buffer as a search condition. The same applies when additional characters are input in step ST23.

  When it is determined in step ST23 that no additional characters have been input, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the candidate word has been confirmed in step ST24, that is, the pull-down menu PDM or pop-up menu PUM displayed on the screen DPY. It is determined whether or not a correct candidate word has been selected. When the candidate word is not confirmed in this step ST24 (when it is determined no), the process returns to step ST23, and when the candidate word is confirmed (when determined as yes), the process proceeds to step ST25.

  When the CPU 1 clears the undetermined character string buffer in step ST25, the process proceeds to step ST26. In step ST26, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the input of one sentence has been completed. When it is determined in step ST26 that the input has not ended (when it is determined no), the process returns to the processing after step ST21, and until it is determined in step ST26 that the input has ended, the process from step ST21 to step ST26 is performed. Repeat the process. When it is determined in step ST26 that the input is completed (when it is determined as YES), the character input process is ended.

  Next, the flow of the drag process will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, in FIG. 21, the CPU 1 determines in step ST31 whether or not the input pen 25 is placed on the screen DPY of the liquid crystal display panel 8, that is, on the soft keyboard SKB _J (strictly on the soft keyboard SKB _J ). Whether or not the pressure-sensitive tablet 9 corresponding to the character soft key sk is touched. When it is determined in step ST31 that the input pen 25 is placed on the character soft key sk (when it is determined YES), the process proceeds to step ST32, and it is determined that the input pen 25 is not placed. When it is determined (when it is determined NO), the process proceeds to step ST39.

  When determining in step ST31 that the input pen 25 is placed on the character soft key sk, the CPU 1 determines in step ST32 whether or not the input pen 25 has left the screen DPY (strictly, from the pressure-sensitive tablet 9). If it is determined that it is not separated, the process proceeds to step ST33. If it is determined that the object is separated, the process proceeds to step ST51 in FIG.

  When determining in step ST32 that the input pen 25 is not separated from the screen DPY, the CPU 1 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the input pen 25 was placed on the same character soft key sk in step ST33. Determine. When it is determined in step ST33 that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to the process after step ST31, and when it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step ST35.

  When the CPU 1 determines in step ST33 that a predetermined time has elapsed since the input pen 25 is placed on the same character soft key sk, in step ST35, the CPU 1 selects the character of the character soft key sk as an input character. In the next step ST36, the character is stored in the undetermined character string buffer (added to the character when it is already stored).

  Next, in step ST37, the CPU 1 performs a candidate word search process using the character string stored in the undetermined character string buffer, and in step ST38, the set of candidate words obtained by the search is stored in the above-described search. Display on the screen DPY. The display position of the set of candidate words at this time is set in the vicinity of the character soft key on which the input pen 25 is placed, as in the above-described pull-down menu PDM. After the process of step ST38 is completed, the process returns to the process of step ST31.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step ST31 that the input pen 25 is not placed on the character soft key sk, the CPU 1 on the pull-down menu PDM or pop-up menu PUM in which a set of candidate words is displayed in step ST39. Whether or not the input pen 25 is placed (strictly speaking, whether or not the pressure sensitive tablet 9 corresponding to the menu key mk for displaying the candidate word on the menu is touched) is determined. If it is determined in step ST39 that the input pen 25 is placed on the menu key mk, the process proceeds to step ST40. If it is determined that the input pen 25 is not placed, the process proceeds to step ST42.

  When it is determined in step ST39 that the input pen 25 is placed on the menu key mk, the CPU 1 determines in step ST40 whether or not the input pen 25 has left the screen DPY. The process proceeds to step ST31 and returns to step ST31 when it is determined that the user is not away.

  CPU1 when it determines with the input pen 25 having left | separated from the screen DPY in the said step ST40 will complete | finish the said drag process noting that selection of a candidate word was made in step ST41.

  Further, when it is determined in step ST39 that the input pen 25 is not placed on the menu key mk, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the input pen 25 has left the screen DPY in step ST42. The process proceeds to step ST53 and subsequent steps in FIG. 22, and when it is determined that the user is not separated, the process returns to step ST31.

  Further, when it is determined in step ST32 that the input pen 25 has left the screen DPY, the CPU 1 selects the character of the character soft key sk as an input character as the process of step ST51 in FIG. The character is stored in the undetermined character string buffer (added to the character if it has already been stored).

  Thereafter, the process of the CPU 1 proceeds to the process of step ST53. The process of step ST53 also proceeds when it is determined YES in step ST42 of FIG.

  The CPU 1 determines whether or not a character string as a search condition is stored in the undetermined character string buffer as the process of step ST53. When it is determined that the character string is not stored, the CPU 1 ends the drag process. When it is determined that it is stored, the process proceeds to step ST54.

  When the CPU 1 proceeds to the process of step ST54, it performs a candidate word search process using the character string stored in the undetermined character string buffer. Next, in step ST55, the candidate word obtained by the search is searched for. The set is displayed as a menu as described above, and then the drag process is terminated.

  Next, the flow of the prediction candidate search process in step ST21 of the flowchart of FIG. 20 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 23, the CPU 1 first clears the candidate set buffer as step ST61, and then searches the example sentence dictionary as step ST62. After searching the example sentence dictionary, the CPU 1 stores the candidate words obtained by the search in the candidate set buffer (added when the candidate words are already stored).

  At this time, in step ST64, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the number of retrieved candidate words is less than the predetermined N. If it is determined in step ST64 that the number of candidate words is N or more, the prediction candidate search process is terminated. If it is determined that the number of candidate words is less than N, step ST65 Proceed to the process.

  When proceeding to the process of step ST65, the CPU 1 performs a forward match search of the word dictionary, and then stores the candidate word obtained by the search in the candidate set buffer as step ST66.

  Thereafter, the CPU 1 determines again whether or not the number of candidate words searched in step ST67 is less than the predetermined N. If it is determined in step ST67 that the number of candidate words is N or more, the prediction candidate search process is terminated, and if it is determined that the number of candidate words is less than N, step ST68. Proceed to the process.

  When the CPU 1 proceeds to the process of step ST68, it performs an ambiguous search of the word dictionary, and then stores the candidate word obtained by the search in the candidate set buffer as step ST69, whereby the prediction candidate search process Exit.

  Next, using a pen input computer that realizes the sentence input method according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the results of the test of the sentence input time measurement and the operability at the time of carrying are performed by a conventional existing pen input computer. Explain while comparing with text input.

  As a comparison of sentence input speed, FIG. 24 shows the result of measuring the time taken to input an example sentence consisting of, for example, 128 characters using the pen input computer of the embodiment of the present invention and an existing pen input computer. In addition, this experimental result is a thing when the subject is made into the same one person.

  From FIG. 24, it can be seen that the pen input computer of the embodiment to which the text input method of the present invention is applied can input the above-mentioned example sentence consisting of 128 characters in 120 seconds (64 characters / minute). On the other hand, in the existing pen input computer shown in FIG. 24, the time required to input the 128-character example sentence takes 260 seconds (30 characters / minute) at the shortest, and 320 seconds (24 characters / minute) at the longest. Minutes). From this, it can be seen that according to the pen input computer of the present embodiment, the sentence input speed of the existing pen input computer is greatly exceeded.

  In addition, it is very difficult for an existing pen input computer, for example, a handwriting input pen input computer, for example, in a shaking environment like a running train. It is easy to enter and edit texts even in an environment that swings like a running train, even while standing on the train.

  Note that a technique for predicting the next operation from the previous operation has been widely studied as an application to a PBE (Programming by Example) interface, and there is an application example to predicting text input using a keyboard. In addition, research is being conducted to present recently used commands so that they can be easily selected next time. On the other hand, the technique of the present invention is characterized in that the input of a sentence is speeded up by combining a selection operation with a pen with a prediction interface.

  There has also been proposed a technique for improving the efficiency of handwriting input by combining a prediction technique similar to the technique of the present invention with handwritten character recognition. Since this method can input characters and select candidates by one handwriting operation, it is characterized by good compatibility with the prediction system. However, since handwritten character recognition is used, the above-mentioned handwritten character recognition is used. It holds the problems of the system as it is, and more pen operation is required compared with the search condition designation by the soft key according to the present invention, and it is considered that input takes time. In addition, in the case of the method combining the prediction method and handwritten character recognition, it is said that the required input characters can be reduced by 10 to 40% compared to only the handwritten character recognition method that does not use the prediction method. However, in this case, even if it is the most effective, it is expected that it can be improved only to about 30 / (1−0.44) = 54 characters / minute, and is improved to 64 characters / minute by the method of the present invention. Is not enough.

  As described above, the pen input computer according to the embodiment of the present invention implements a high-speed text input method using a pen using dynamic search for candidate words and prediction from example sentences.

  Next, the word discovery rate and discovery speed at the time of candidate search in the pen input computer according to the embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 25 to FIG. 29, the number of pen operations (i: i = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), the number of candidates displayed on the screen, and the menu are displayed when text is input. This shows the relationship with the probability that a desired word is present among the candidate words. FIG. 25 shows a case where English input is performed, FIG. 26 shows a case where Japanese input is performed, FIG. 27 shows a case where English input is performed and a prediction candidate search is not performed, and FIG. FIG. 29 shows a case where a candidate search is performed. FIG. 29 shows a case where English input is performed and a prediction candidate search and an adaptive search using the dictionary are performed. These FIG. 25 to FIG. 29 show that it is possible to find a desired candidate word with a small number of pen operations, and it becomes easier to find a candidate word by a prediction candidate search or the like.

  30 and 31 show the number of pen operations (i: i = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) when inputting text, the number of candidates displayed on the screen, and the menu display. It shows the relationship with the time from when a desired word is selected from among the candidate words that have been selected until the candidate word is confirmed. FIG. 30 shows a case where a prediction candidate search is not performed, and FIG. 31 shows a case where a prediction candidate search is performed. 30 and 31 that it is possible to select a desired candidate word with a small number of pen operations, and it is easy to further select a candidate word by a prediction candidate search or the like.

  Finally, FIG. 32 shows a schematic configuration of a computer 100 for realizing a text input method according to the present invention using a so-called mouse or hardware keyboard as another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 32, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In the configuration of FIG. 32, instead of the pressure-sensitive tablet 9 and the analog / digital converter 10 of FIG. 1, a mouse or keyboard 109 and a computer main body are used as means for specifying the search conditions and selecting candidate words. The display drive circuit 107 and the display device 108 are used in place of the liquid crystal drive circuit 7 and the liquid crystal panel 8 shown in FIG. The display device 108 is a cathode ray tube that is often used in a normal stationary computer, a liquid crystal display that is used in a portable computer, or the like. Therefore, the drive circuit 107 and the display device 108 having the configuration shown in FIG. 24 are not necessarily replaced with the liquid crystal drive circuit 7 and the liquid crystal panel 8 shown in FIG. 1, and may be the same as those shown in FIG.

  In the configuration of FIG. 32, when the mouse is used, the same soft keyboard, editing command soft keys, etc. are displayed on the display device 108, and the mouse cursor is an instruction mark operated by the mouse. When the mouse cursor is moved and clicked on a desired soft key or the like on the soft keyboard, the soft key is designated, that is, the search condition is designated. Similarly, in the case of selecting a candidate word, a desired candidate word can be selected by moving the mouse cursor over the desired menu key and clicking.

  In the configuration of FIG. 32, when a hardware keyboard is used, the hardware keyboard operates as the soft keyboard, and the search condition is specified by operating a key on the hardware keyboard. Will be done. When this search condition is specified, for example, a menu for displaying the candidate word is displayed on the screen. When a desired candidate word is selected from this menu, the cursor is moved onto the desired candidate word by operating the cursor movement key provided on the mouse cursor or hardware keyboard, for example, a confirmation key ( A candidate word is selected by a return key or the like. When a key having the same hardware configuration as the editing command soft key is provided on the hardware keyboard, editing or the like is performed using the key.

  Also in the configuration of FIG. 32, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the embodiment of FIG.

In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a pen input type computer that performs so-called handwriting input. When performing handwriting input, the pen input computer will be provided with an area for handwriting input on the screen, recognizing which character or the like the gesture drawn in the area indicates, In accordance with the recognition result, the same search conditions as those described above, selection of candidate words, and the like are performed.
As is clear from the above description, the embodiment of the present invention is a sentence input device and method suitable for a pen input computer based on, for example, retrieval and prediction of characters, words, phrases, etc. Compared with the conventional character input method based on recognition of handwritten characters and kana-kanji conversion by repeating the operation of selecting words from the set of candidate words narrowed down by prediction from the character string immediately before designation and input position It is possible to input sentences more than twice as fast.

It is a block circuit diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of a pen input computer of an embodiment of the present invention. It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the pen input computer of this invention Example from diagonally upward. It is a figure which shows an example of the liquid crystal display panel initial display screen at the time of Japanese input in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (pull-down menu display example) of a display screen when "I" is designated as search conditions (reading). It is a figure which shows an example (pop-up menu display example) of a display screen when "I" is designated as search conditions (reading). It is a figure which shows an example (pull-down menu display example) of a display screen when "Ika" is designated as a search condition (reading). It is a figure which shows a mode that the candidate word of "below" is selected from the candidate words of a pull-down menu when "Ika" is designated as search conditions (reading). It is a figure which shows an example (pull-down menu display example) of a display screen when "hon" is designated as search conditions (reading). It is a figure which shows a mode that the candidate word of "O" is selected from the candidate words of the pop-up menu displayed when the character string of "this method is the following." It is a figure which shows a mode that the candidate word of "used" is selected from the candidate words of the pop-up menu displayed when the character string of "this method is below" is decided. It is a figure which shows an example of the liquid crystal display panel initial stage display screen at the time of English input in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (pull-down menu display example) of a display screen when "F" is designated as search conditions (reading). It is a figure which shows a mode that the candidate word of "first" is selected from the candidate words of a pull-down menu when "F" is designated as search conditions (reading). It is a figure which shows a mode that the candidate word of "first" is selected from the candidate words of a pop-up menu when "F" is designated as search conditions (reading). It is a figure used for the format description of the word dictionary used with the pen input computer of this invention Example. It is a figure used for description of the format of the sentence example dictionary used with the pen input computer of this invention Example. It is a figure which shows the basic composition of the state transition machine used for description of fuzzy search. It is a figure which shows the structure which expanded the state transition machine used for description of fuzzy search. It is a flowchart which shows the first half part of the character input process in the pen input computer of this invention Example. It is a flowchart which shows the second half part of the character input process in the pen input computer of this invention Example. It is a flowchart which shows the first half part of a drag process. It is a flowchart which shows the latter half part of a drag process. It is a flowchart of a prediction candidate search process. It is a figure used for description of the measurement result of the input time when a 128-character example sentence is input using the pen input computer of the embodiment of the present invention and the existing pen input computer. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the frequency | count of pen operation in the case of performing English input, the number of candidates displayed on a menu, and the probability that a desired word exists in a menu. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the frequency | count of the pen operation in the case of performing Japanese input, the number of candidates displayed on a menu, and the probability that a desired word exists in a menu. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the frequency | count of the pen operation in the case of performing English input and not performing a prediction candidate search, the number of candidates displayed on a menu, and the probability that a desired word exists in a menu. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the frequency | count of the pen operation at the time of performing English input and performing a prediction candidate search, the number of candidates displayed on a menu, and the probability that a desired word exists in a menu. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the frequency | count of a pen operation, the number of candidates displayed on a menu, and the probability that a desired word exists in a menu in the case of performing English input and performing a prediction candidate search and an adaptive search using a dictionary. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the number of times of pen operation in the case of inputting a text without performing prediction candidate search, the number of candidates displayed on the menu, and the time for selecting and confirming a desired candidate word from the menu display. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the number of times of pen operation, the number of candidates displayed on a menu, and the time for selecting and confirming a desired candidate word from the menu display when inputting a sentence by performing a prediction candidate search. It is a block circuit diagram which shows the schematic circuit structure of the other Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 CPU, 2 ROM, 3 RAM, 4 card slot, 5 memory card, 6 ASIC, 7 circuit for liquid crystal drive, 8 liquid crystal display panel, 9 pressure sensitive tablet, 10 analog / digital converter, 11 power button, 20 power block , 21 Main battery, 22 AC adapter, 23 Backup battery, 30 Pen input computer, 109 Mouse or keyboard, 110 Interface circuit, DPY screen, SKB _J , SKB _E soft keyboard, PDM pull-down menu, sk soft key, PUM pop-up menu , Mk menu key

Claims (2)

Display means capable of displaying at least characters and having a virtual keyboard area and a candidate display area;
A word dictionary for storing a plurality of candidate words and candidate word readings, as well as a plurality of candidate character strings, a fixed character string connected immediately before the candidate character strings, and a sentence example dictionary for storing the candidate character string in association with each other Dictionary storage means including
Input means for performing key input by contact and release of an object with respect to each key of the virtual keyboard displayed at least by the display means, and selection input by contact and release of an object with respect to candidate items displayed on the display means When,
Search means for searching the word dictionary based on the characters added to the unconfirmed character string buffer;
The input means adds a character corresponding to the key to the undetermined character string buffer as an input character when a predetermined time has passed with the object in contact with the same key of the virtual keyboard,
When the search means performs a search based on the added character and there is a word that has been confirmed before the character input, the search means searches for the confirmed character string connected immediately before the sentence example dictionary based on the word. The candidate character string corresponding to the search result is set as the candidate item in order from the candidate character string in which the candidate character string has been selected in the past sentence in the past sentence input, and additional characters are added by the input means. Is input based on the additional character, the candidate character string corresponding to the search result of the confirmed character string connected immediately before the sentence example dictionary is searched for forward match, and the forward match search result is displayed on the display means. The candidate character string corresponding to is selected as the candidate item in order from the candidate character string in the past in which the candidate character string was selected in the past sentence input,
The display means displays the candidate word corresponding to the search result as the candidate item in the candidate display area near the position where the object is in contact with the keyboard area,
For a plurality of candidate words displayed as the candidate items on the display means, the position in contact with the object moves to any item of the candidate words, and the candidate is released at that position. A text input device for selecting and inputting a word as a desired word. Display means capable of displaying at least characters and having a virtual keyboard area and a candidate display area;
A word dictionary for storing a plurality of candidate words and candidate word readings, as well as a plurality of candidate character strings, a fixed character string connected immediately before the candidate character strings, and a sentence example dictionary for storing the candidate character string in association with each other Dictionary storage means including
Input means for performing key input by contact and release of an object with respect to each key of the virtual keyboard displayed at least by the display means, and selection input by contact and release of an object with respect to candidate items displayed on the display means When,
A text input method of a text input device having search means for searching the word dictionary based on characters added to an unconfirmed character string buffer,
The input means adds a character corresponding to the key to the undetermined character string buffer as an input character when a predetermined time has passed with the object in contact with the same key of the virtual keyboard,
When the search means performs a search based on the added character and there is a word that has been confirmed before the character input, the search means searches for the confirmed character string connected immediately before the sentence example dictionary based on the word. The candidate character string corresponding to the search result is set as the candidate item in order from the candidate character string in which the candidate character string has been selected in the past sentence in the past sentence input, and additional characters are added by the input means. Is input based on the additional character, the candidate character string corresponding to the search result of the confirmed character string connected immediately before the sentence example dictionary is searched for forward match, and the forward match search result is displayed on the display means. The candidate character string corresponding to is selected as the candidate item in order from the candidate character string in the past in which the candidate character string was selected in the past sentence input,
The display means displays the candidate word corresponding to the search result as the candidate item in the candidate display area near the position where the object is in contact with the keyboard area,
For a plurality of candidate words displayed as the candidate items on the display means, the position in contact with the object moves to any item of the candidate words, and the candidate is released at that position. A text input method for selecting and inputting a word as a desired word.

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