JP5208054B2 - Character input device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a character input device used when inputting characters into a terminal. In particular, the present invention relates to a character input device that inputs characters by bringing a finger, a stylus pen, or the like into contact with a touch panel.

  Currently, in daily life, there are scenes where characters are input to a terminal when various electric products (such as household appliances) are operated. In particular, when inputting characters in a small terminal such as a mobile phone, an input method called “multi-tap” is often employed.

  Multi-tap is a numeric keypad on a numeric keypad, etc., and each line of hiragana (for example, “a line (= a, i, u, e, o)” or “ka line (= ka, ki, k, ke, ko This is an input method in which a plurality of characters such as “)”) are assigned and a press input to these keys is accepted. In this input method, when a plurality of successive pressing inputs to the same key are received, a plurality of characters assigned to each key are sequentially switched and displayed according to the number of pressings.

  That is, for example, when the user (operator) presses the “A line” key once, “A” is input, and when the user (operator) presses twice continuously, “A” changes to “I” and is input three times. If it is continuous, it will be changed and input as “A” → “I” → “U”. Thus, when the user continuously presses the same key, the next character appears in order each time the key is pressed. This multi-tap input method is sometimes referred to as “spinning” or “toggle”, but is referred to as “multi-tap” in the present application.

  Since this multi-tap is an input method that is intuitive and very easy to understand, the operation required by the user is currently used in most mobile phones. However, this multi-tap has a disadvantage that the number of times the user has to press the key when inputting characters is very large from the viewpoint of the number of times the key is pressed.

  By the way, in recent years, an input device for a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, which has a touch panel is rapidly increasing. In many cases, the touch panel is configured by arranging an input unit that receives a pressing input by contact on the front surface of a display unit such as a liquid crystal display. Therefore, in such a touch panel, a keyboard, a button, or the like can be displayed on the display unit, and a pressing input with a user's finger or a stylus pen can be directly received at the display position.

  When a touch panel is adopted as the input device, the user can perform an operation input that is extremely intuitive and easy to understand, and thus the operability can be improved. A terminal that employs a touch panel displays a keyboard, buttons, and the like related to input on the display unit. For this reason, unlike a mechanical key, a user interface can be freely configured according to a mode of accepting an operation input. Under such circumstances, the field of terminal devices in which touch panels are adopted has recently expanded not only to mobile phones but also to digital cameras, digital audio players, and portable game machines.

  However, an input device using a touch panel often has a problem that it is difficult to perform touch typing (blind touch). This is mainly due to the fact that when a touch panel is adopted as the input device, the keys and buttons are virtual ones displayed on the display unit. That is, when a press input is performed using the touch panel, the user cannot determine the outer shape of the key, such as the edge portion of the key, with the touch of the fingertip. For this reason, when changing the key to be pressed, the user cannot accurately grasp the position of the key unless he / she makes an input while paying attention to the displayed key.

  On the other hand, in order to confirm the input character, the user needs to move his / her line of sight to the place where the input character is displayed. For this reason, if the input is performed while changing the key to be pressed while confirming the input character (that is, when touch typing is performed), the user performs the input without being able to accurately grasp the position of the key. When input is performed in such a state, the user often presses a key different from his / her intention, and such input is an input error for the user. Therefore, in an input device using a touch panel, there is a concern that such input mistakes frequently occur. When an input mistake occurs, it is common for the user to perform character input again correctly after performing an operation of deleting a character that has been input by mistake.

  Even in a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone having a touch panel, the above-described multi-tap is often employed as an input method when inputting characters. As described above, in the multi-tap input method, the number of times the user has to press a key when inputting characters is very large. Therefore, when multi-tap input is performed using the touch panel, it is necessary to delete characters that have been input incorrectly and perform redo input, so that the number of times the user must press a key in a series of operations may be further increased. Concerned. This is considered to be a considerable effort and burden for the user. In addition, the fact that the user who inputs data takes time and effort means that it takes a considerable amount of time to perform such input.

  In view of this, an input device has been proposed that can be expected to reduce the number of pressings and reduce input errors when performing input corresponding to a multi-tap method using a touch panel (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .

  The character input device described in Patent Literature 1 receives a user operation input on the touch panel. At this time, the character input device not only receives a normal pressing input, but also receives an input of a slide movement for performing a drag operation (tracing operation) on the touch panel. This character input device performs processing corresponding to the multi-tap input method in accordance with the number of times the slide movement input is turned back.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the character input device described in Patent Document 1.

  A character input device 100 shown in FIG. 11 includes an input unit 200 and a display unit 300 that displays a result of input accepted by the input unit 200. The input unit 200 is configured by a touch panel, and the input unit 200 displays a key group 400 in which each row of hiragana is associated with a numeric keypad. The input unit 200 detects the touch of the user's finger, that is, the presence / absence of the press input by the user and the position of the press input. When the input unit 200 detects a pressing input by the user, the control unit (not shown) of the character input device 100, based on the coordinates of the position of the input unit 200 where the input is detected, one kana character corresponding to the coordinates. The “line” (A line, Ka line, Sa line, etc.) is determined.

  In addition, the control unit (not shown) of the character input device 100 records the coordinates of the pressed position detected by the input unit 200 in the buffer, and whether or not there is a “turnback” in the locus obtained by connecting the coordinates in the order of recording. Determine whether. Here, “turning back” means that the pressing position detected by the input unit 200 is changed by changing the angle in the direction of the drag operation while the user is performing an operation input for dragging on the input unit 200. An input in which the angle formed by the locus of coordinates changes more than a predetermined value.

  The character input device 100 determines a character group (“line” of hiragana) corresponding to the key at the position based on the first press input to the input unit 200. Thereafter, the character input device 100 sequentially changes and displays the characters belonging to the character group each time a return is determined while the first press input is detected. This character group includes the hiragana characters of each “line”.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when a pressing input to the “ta” line key in the key group 400 is detected, the character group of the “ta” line is determined. The character group of the “ta” line includes kana characters “ta, chi, tsu, te, and”. When a press input to the key of the “ta” line is first detected, the character input device 100 displays the character of “ta” that is the first character included in the determined character group (“ta” line). 300 is displayed. Thereafter, whenever it is determined that the press input is “wrapping”, the character input device 100 sequentially converts the characters in this character group in the order of “chi” → “tsu” → “te” → “to”. It is displayed on the display unit 300.

  FIG. 11 shows a state in which, after the character “Tokyo” is input, a press input is detected on the “ta” line key of the key group 400 and the input unit 200 performs the wrapping four times as it is. Yes. The broken line shown on the input unit 200 in FIG. 11 is indicated by a solid line so that the locus caused by the return of the user's input can be recognized. In FIG. 11, after the character “Tokyo”, the character “TA” by the first press input is first displayed on the display unit 300, and thereafter, the display of the character is sequentially changed every time the input is determined to be turned back. , The character “to” is currently displayed. When the desired character is displayed on the display unit 300, the user releases the contact with the input unit 200 (that is, releases the finger from the input unit 200), thereby confirming the displayed character as the input character.

  As described above, according to the character input device described in Patent Document 1, when inputting each character, any character can input a character by sliding one press input in principle. Therefore, the number of times the user has to press the key when inputting characters can be considerably reduced.

  Further, according to this character input device, after the character group is determined by the first press input, the user can then perform a slide input at an arbitrary position of the input unit 200. Therefore, if the user presses an accurate position without making a mistake even at the first input, the user can input without gazing at the input unit 200 thereafter. Therefore, if the user pays attention to the input part only at the time of the first input for determining the character group (that is, “line”), after that, even if the user only pays attention to only the display part on which the input result is displayed, an input error occurs. There is almost no fear of doing.

JP 2008-269456 A

  The character input device described in Patent Document 1 determines the above-described “turnback” based on an angle formed by the locus of the coordinates of the pressed position detected by the input unit 200. In the determination of “turnback”, first, an angle θ1 formed by three contact coordinates that are temporally continuous is calculated. For example, when the coordinates of the contact detected by the input unit at a predetermined time interval are in the order of point a → point b → point c, the angle formed by the side ab and the side bc with the point b as the vertex is θ1.

  Furthermore, the character input device described in Patent Document 1 also takes measures to deal with input that can be regarded as noise, such as subtle blurring of the detected locus. That is, in the determination of the return, the angle θ2 formed by the contact coordinates of the points before and after the three points described above is also calculated. For example, when the detection of the contact coordinates described above includes the points before and after that, in the order of the point z → the point a → the point b → the point c → the point d, the side zb and the side bd are set with the point b as the vertex. The formed angle is θ2.

  When θ1 and θ2 calculated in this way are both equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle θ0 (for example, 90 degrees), it is determined as “turning back”. When the return is determined according to this criterion, the character input device described in Patent Document 1 performs input processing corresponding to multi-tap.

  However, since the character input device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 uses the angle to determine the return, the input is not determined to be turned back unless the slide input with a predetermined angle or less is accurately performed. For example, even if the user intends to perform a folded slide input with a sharp angle, if the locus actually detected by the input unit is a curved line (when viewed in detail), the input is as intended by the user. Must not. In particular, when the user performs quick slide input, the trajectory detected by the input unit is likely to turn back at a sharp angle. The trajectory tends to be a curve.

  It is considered that such a problem can be solved to some extent by appropriately adjusting the above-described folding angles θ1 and θ2 and appropriately adjusting the time interval for detecting the contact coordinates.

  However, the operation when the user performs an operation input has a great individual difference. Therefore, it can be considered that there is a considerable individual difference for each user in the angle at which the user turns back with a natural motion. In the character input device described in Patent Literature 1, when the user feels that the determination of the return does not match the operation input method of the user, the degree of the return must be adjusted for each user. Such adjustment is troublesome for a user who feels resistance in handling an electric product or the like.

  When the input terminal for inputting characters is small, the user often operates the terminal while moving or performing other operations. In such a case, the user may not be able to concentrate on the character input operation in many cases, so the user cannot always perform the exact operation as intended. In particular, in the case of an input device operated by an infant or an elderly person, or an input device used in a medical field, for example, which is assumed to be operated by a person with a physical disability, the user must be requested to perform an accurate operation. Is difficult.

  Therefore, the objective of this invention made | formed in view of this situation provides the character input device which can improve the precision of determination with respect to operation by a user's press input, when a user inputs a character using a touch panel. There is.

The invention of the character input device according to claim 1 that achieves the above object is as follows:
An input unit pressed by the operator;
A position detection unit for detecting the position of the pressing input of the input unit;
When the position of the press input detected by the position detection unit passes a character feed line corresponding to a predetermined character group, the pass input determination unit determines that the press input is a pass input,
A character selection unit that selects characters belonging to the predetermined character group in a predetermined order each time the passage input is determined;
A display unit for displaying the character selected by the character selection unit;
Is provided.

The invention according to claim 2 is the character input device according to claim 1,
The passing input determination unit determines the passing input together with the direction of the passing input,
The character selection unit selects characters belonging to the predetermined character group in an order reverse to the predetermined order when the first pass input is determined to be a reverse input in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction. It is.

The invention of the character input device according to claim 3 is
An input unit pressed by the operator;
A position detection unit for detecting the position of the pressing input of the input unit;
When the position of the press input detected by the position detection unit passes a character feed line corresponding to a predetermined character group, the press input is determined to be a pass input and the pass is determined to determine the direction of the pass input. An input determination unit;
The characters belonging to the predetermined character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is first determined are selected in a predetermined order according to the determination of the passage input for an arbitrary character feed line and the direction of the passage input. A character selection section to
A display unit for displaying the character selected by the character selection unit;
Is provided.

Furthermore, the invention of the character input device according to claim 4 is:
An input unit pressed by the operator;
A position detection unit for detecting the position of the pressing input of the input unit;
When the position of the press input detected by the position detection unit passes a character feed line corresponding to a predetermined character group, the press input is determined to be a pass input and the pass is determined to determine the direction of the pass input. An input determination unit;
When the passage input is determined for a plurality of character feed lines, the characters belonging to the predetermined character group corresponding to the character feed lines for which the most passage inputs are determined are determined to be the passage input for the character feed lines and A character selection unit that selects in a predetermined order according to the direction of the passing input,
A display unit for displaying the character selected by the character selection unit;
Is provided.

The invention according to claim 5 is the character input device according to claim 3 or 4,
The character selection unit selects characters belonging to the predetermined character group in an order reverse to the predetermined order when the first pass input is determined to be a reverse input in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction. It is.

The invention according to claim 6 is the character input device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
In the state where the selected character is displayed on the display unit, when the input unit does not accept the press input, the control unit further includes a control unit that controls to confirm the displayed character as the input character. is there.

  According to the present invention, the input of which the position of the pressing input detected by the position detecting unit passes through the character feed line is determined as the passing input, and belongs to a predetermined character group according to the number of times the passing input is determined. Select and display characters sequentially. That is, according to the present invention, the character input corresponding to multi-tap is performed by determining that the input of the position of the press input passes through the character feed line is the pass input regardless of the shape of the locus. For this reason, it is possible to perform a character feed for sequentially changing display characters irrespective of individual differences in operations when a user performs an operation input. Therefore, the character input device according to the present invention can remarkably improve the accuracy of determination on the press input of the user who performs character input using the touch panel, and thus can reduce input mistakes.

It is a functional block diagram which shows schematic structure of the character input device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the character feed line displayed on the input part by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining selection of the input character by a 1st embodiment. It is a figure explaining the character input process by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the character input process by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the character input process by 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the character input process by 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the character input process by 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the character input process by 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the character input process by 4th Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement by the conventional character input device.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, as an example of the character input device of the present invention, a mobile terminal having a touch panel such as a mobile phone or a PDA will be described. However, the character input device of the present invention is not limited to a portable terminal, and can be applied to any input terminal having a touch panel, such as a bank ATM or a station ticket vending machine.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the character input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the character input device 1 according to the first embodiment includes a control unit 10, an input unit 20, a display unit 30, and a position detection unit 40. The control unit 10 controls the overall operation of the character input device 1. Further, the control unit 10 includes a passage input determination unit 12 and a character selection unit 14. Each of these functional units will be described later. In the present embodiment, the input unit 20 is configured with a touch panel or a touch pad. The input unit 20 receives a pressing input by a user (operator). The user makes a pressing input by touching the input unit 20 using a pen-type input device such as a finger or a stylus pen. In the present embodiment, display unit 30 is configured by a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like. The display unit 30 displays input characters. Specifically, the character selected by the character selection unit 14 is displayed. Further, as will be described later, the display unit 30 also draws and displays objects such as keys and buttons when receiving user input. The position detection unit 40 detects the position of the press input performed by the input unit 20.

  In the present embodiment, the input unit 20 and the position detection unit 40 are configured by a member such as a transparent electrode and are arranged so as to overlap the front surface of the display unit 30, whereby the input unit 20, the position detection unit 40, the display unit 30, The touch panel is composed of. Therefore, the touch panel according to the present embodiment displays objects such as keys and buttons on the display unit 30, and the input unit 20 corresponding to the position of the object receives a pressing input by the user. In this way, the input unit 20 receives a pressing input by the user, the position detection unit 40 detects the position of the pressing input, and outputs the detection result to the control unit 10. Note that as the touch panel used in this embodiment, an arbitrary method such as a resistance film method or a capacitance method can be used.

  Next, determination of pass input by the pass input determination unit 12 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In the present embodiment, a “character feed line” corresponding to each line of hiragana is displayed on the display unit 30 of the touch panel instead of the numeric keys of the numeric keypad used for conventional character input. Each character feed line displayed on the display unit 30 corresponds to a character group in each line of Hiragana. When the position of the pressing input detected by the position detection unit 40 passes through the character feed line in a state where the pressing input is detected in the input unit 20, the passing input determination unit 12 “passes the input”. It is determined as “input”. That is, the passage input determination unit 12 determines that this input is a passage input when the position of the press input received by the input unit 20 passes a character feed line corresponding to a predetermined character group. When the passage input is determined, the characters in the character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is determined are displayed in order. In the present embodiment, the fact that characters in a predetermined character group are selected and displayed in order (that is, an operation corresponding to conventional multi-touch) is referred to as “character feed”.

  Here, the position of the press input “passes through the character feed line” means that the locus of the press input based on the position of the press input passes through the character feed line. That is, after the position of the press input is detected on the character feed line, the position of the press input is detected at a position other than the character feed line. This means a case where the position of the press input is detected on the character feed line after being detected. Further, the case where the character feed line exists between two positions of the press input detected successively corresponds to the case where the position of the press input “passes the character feed line”. That is, from the viewpoint of the operation performed by the user, this means that the user's finger or a pen-type input device such as a stylus passes the character feed line.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a plurality of examples in which character feed lines corresponding to character groups in each line of Hiragana are displayed on the display unit 30 of the touch panel. In each of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, character feed lines corresponding to “lines” of hiragana, such as “a line”, “ka line”, and “sa line” are displayed. doing. 2 (A), 2 (B), and 2 (C) differ only in the design of the character feed line, and operations performed using these, processing based on the operations, and the like are as follows. The same is true in all examples. These are only some examples of “character feed lines”, and other character feed lines of various designs can be assumed. In the present embodiment, the “character feed line” is used as a reference for the user's slide input passing through the “character feed line”. Things can be “character feed lines”.

  In this way, each character feed line is displayed on the display unit 30, and the input unit 20 arranged on the front side thereof receives a pressing input by the user. When the input unit 20 detects a pressing input by the user, the passage input determination unit 12 determines that the position of the pressing input detected by the position detection unit 40 passes the character feed line corresponding to the predetermined character group. It is determined that the pressing input is a passing input. In the present embodiment, the characters belonging to the character group corresponding to the character feed line are sequentially fed and displayed according to the number of passage inputs determined in this way.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the character feed of the character group corresponding to each character feed line.

  In the present embodiment, “character advance” is performed, that is, the hiragana characters are sequentially displayed in accordance with the number of times that the press input is determined to be the pass-through input. Based on the same idea. Each “line” (“a line”, “ka line”, “sa line”, etc.) of the hiragana shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to each “character feed line” shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, these characters belonging to each “line” are referred to as “character group”. For example, the kana characters “Ta, Chi, Tsu, Te, and To” belong to the character group “Ta Line”. The fact that these characters sequentially change from top to bottom according to the number of times passage input is determined is referred to as “character feed” in the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, for example, when the first pass input is determined for the character feed line of “Ta line”, the pass input count is the first (first pass) among the characters belonging to the “Ta line” character group. ) “Ta” is displayed. Further, in the present embodiment, after the first pass input is determined, character feed is performed when the second pass input is determined while the input is pressed. That is, in this case, among the characters belonging to the “Ta line” character group, the character is changed to the display of the character “Chi” having the second pass input count. Note that the upper arrow (↑) shown at the end of the hiragana character group of each “line” returns to the beginning of each line and repeats the character feed when the number of passing inputs indicated by the arrow is determined. It means that. Thus, in this Embodiment, the character selection part 14 selects the character which belongs to a predetermined character group one by one according to the frequency | count that the passage input mentioned above was determined.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining determination of passage input according to the present embodiment.

  For the sake of simplicity, FIG. 4 shows only the “A line” of the character feed lines shown in FIG. Thus, the character feed line is displayed on the display unit 30 of the touch panel, and the input unit 20 of the touch panel accepts the user's press input performed on this display.

  In addition, in FIG. 4, each arrow has shown the locus | trajectory by a user's press input. Also, a white circle mark (◯) shown in FIG. 4 indicates that character feeding has been performed in response to the determination that the position of the user's pressing input has passed through the character feeding line and is passing input. Thus, when it is determined that the user's pressing input is a passage input, a display serving as a mark can be displayed on the display unit 30 so that the user can recognize it. Further, instead of such a display, or together with such a display, it is possible to notify the user that the pressing input is determined to be the passing input by generating a sound or generating a vibration. The kana characters in parentheses shown in FIG. 4 indicate the kana characters to be displayed at the place where the input characters are displayed on the display unit 30 according to the determination of the passage input.

  In FIG. 4A, no character is displayed in a state where the user's pressing input is first detected by the input unit 20 (a state in which the user touches the starting point of the arrow) (because the passing input has not yet been determined). . As described above, it is assumed that the user performs an input of sliding the pressing position along the arrow illustrated in FIG. 4A while the input unit 20 detects the pressing input by the user. When the position of the input passes through the character feed line “A line” and the pressing input is determined to be “Pass input”, the character “A” is displayed on the display unit 30 for the first time at this time. When the user's press input is no longer detected by the input unit 20 in a state where the character “A” is displayed in this manner (that is, when the user stops the press input at the end point of the arrow shown in FIG. 4A). ), And confirm the character “A” as the input character.

  On the other hand, while the press input is maintained in the state shown in FIG. 4A, the direction of the input to slide the press position is reversed and the character feed line is passed in the reverse direction as shown in FIG. 4B. Suppose that In this way, when it is determined that the press input is “passing input” again, as shown in FIG. 4B, the characters displayed on the display unit 30 at that time are changed from “A” to “I”. To change. When the user's press input is no longer detected by the input unit 20 in a state where the character “I” is displayed in this manner (that is, when the user stops the press input at the end point of the arrow shown in FIG. 4B). ), Confirm the character “I” as the input character.

  On the other hand, while the pressing input is maintained in the state shown in FIG. 4B, the direction of the input for sliding the pressing position is further reversed as shown in FIG. Pass. In this way, when the pressing input is further determined as “passing input”, the character displayed on the display unit 30 at that time is changed from “I” to “U” as shown in FIG. Change. When the user's press input is no longer detected by the input unit 20 in a state where the character “u” is displayed in this manner (that is, when the user stops the press input at the end point of the arrow shown in FIG. 4C). ), "U" is confirmed as the input character.

  Thereafter, the character belonging to the character group corresponding to the character feed line is sequentially changed and displayed each time the pressure input is determined to be the pass-through input while the pressure input is maintained. In addition, after the character in the last order belonging to the character group is displayed, when it is further determined that the passing input is made, the display returns to the first character in the order belonging to the character group and the display is sequentially changed.

  As described above, in this embodiment, character feeding is performed according to the number of times of passing the character feeding line. Therefore, when the user tries to feed the character, the reference for the character feed is whether or not the press input passes the character feed line, and the locus during the press input does not matter. . Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 4D, a pressing input that changes the direction of the sliding input at a very gentle angle is performed, or the pressing position is slid by drawing a circle as shown in FIG. Even if the input is performed, the character can be accurately fed. In this embodiment, since the difference in the direction of passing through the character feed line is not detected, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 (F), it is assumed that the character feed line is passed in the opposite direction to FIG. 4 (B). Will produce the same result.

  Next, a flow of processing for performing character input according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the character input process according to the first embodiment. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the character input process according to the first embodiment starts from a point in time when a pressing input by the user is detected by the input unit 20.

  When the character input process according to the present embodiment is started, first, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the press input to the input unit 20 continues in the pressed state (step S11). In step S11, when the press input with respect to the input part 20 is continuing, the passage input determination part 12 determines whether the passage input was made (step S12). That is, in step S12, the passage input determination unit 12 determines whether or not the position of the continuous press input has passed the character feed line. If it is not determined in step S12 that a passage input has been made, that is, if a passage input has not been made, the processing returns to step S11 and continues.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S12 that a passage input has been made, the control unit 10 determines whether or not a character corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input has been determined has already been selected (step S13). Here, when the character corresponding to the character feed line for which passage input is determined has not been selected, the position of the press input first passes through the character input line after the press input is detected. This is a case where the input is determined. In this case, before that time, since the press input is not determined to be a passage input, there is no character related to the input displayed on the display unit 30 yet.

  In step S13, when the character corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is determined has not been selected, the character selection unit 14 selects the first character among the characters belonging to the character group corresponding to the character feed line. Select (step S14). That is, for example, if it is determined that the input is a passage input for the character feed line of “NA”, the character “NA” is selected. If a character is selected in step S14, the control part 10 will display the selected character on the display part 30 (step S15), will return to step S11, and will continue a process.

  On the other hand, when the character corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is determined has already been selected in step S13, the process proceeds to step S16. Here, the case where the character corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is determined has already been selected, that is, after the press input is detected by the input unit 20, the position of the press input is the character input line. It is a case where it is not the first time (after the second time) that has passed and is determined to be a passing input. In this case, there are characters that are already selected and displayed on the display unit 30.

  In step S <b> 16, the character selection unit 14 selects a character in the next order of the already selected and displayed characters among the characters belonging to the character group to which the already selected and displayed characters belong. For example, when the character already selected and displayed is “NA”, the next character “NI” is selected (see FIG. 3). If a character is selected in step S16, the control part 10 will display the selected character on the display part 30 (step S15), will return to step S11, and will continue a process.

  In step S11, when the press input to the input unit 20 does not continue, that is, when the user stops the press input, the control unit 10 displays the characters related to the input already selected on the display unit 30. It is determined whether or not (step S17). If the selected character is already displayed on the display unit 30 in step S17, the control unit 10 determines the displayed character as the input character (step S18), and the character input process according to the present embodiment. Exit. Therefore, when the input unit 20 does not accept the press input in a state where the selected character is displayed on the display unit 30, the control unit 10 performs control so that the displayed character is determined as the input character. .

  On the other hand, if the selected character is not already displayed on the display unit 30 in step S17, there is no input character to be confirmed, and the character input processing according to the present embodiment ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the character feed as shown in FIG. 4 can be performed by performing the passage input passing through the character feed line as shown in FIG.

  In addition, according to the character input device 1 according to the present embodiment, if an input that accurately passes even the first character feed line is performed, the user can subsequently change the character displayed on the display unit 30 to You can recognize that you have passed the character feed line. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to input while paying attention to the character feed line every time the character is fed.

  Furthermore, according to the character input device 1 according to the present embodiment, the character is fed by determining whether or not the position of the press input slides and passes the character feed line. Therefore, accurate input can be performed with little dependence on individual differences in operations performed by the user. For this reason, the character input device 1 according to the present embodiment can reduce input errors in an operation of performing a series of character inputs.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a character input device according to a second embodiment of the invention will be described.

  The character input device according to the second embodiment is to change the operations of the passage input determination unit 12 and the character selection unit 14 in the character input device 1 according to the first embodiment described above. Therefore, since the character input device according to the second embodiment can be implemented by the same configuration as the character input device 1 described in the first embodiment, the same description as in the first embodiment described above is appropriately applied. Omitted.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, when a plurality of character feed lines are displayed on the display unit 30 and a pressing input to the input unit 20 is received, the input unit 20 is widely used to input the passage. It can be performed. That is, in the second embodiment, after the press input to the input unit 20 first passes through the character feed line and is determined to be the pass input, the press input passes through any character feed line. Character input is judged as input. For example, if the pressing input to the input unit 20 first passes through the “ma line” character feed line shown in FIG. 2A and is determined to be a pass input, then it passes through any character feed line everywhere. By performing the input, characters in the character group belonging to “ma line” can be sent.

  However, in the second embodiment, when the position of the press input first passes through the character feed line and the first character belonging to the character group corresponding to the character feed line is displayed, then the press input is performed last time. The character is fed only when it is determined that the input is in a different direction. Here, the “direction” of the passage input indicates whether the position of the press input has passed from the right to the left or the left to the right with respect to the character feed line when passing through the character feed line. It is something to distinguish.

  For example, when the pressing input to the input unit 20 first passes through the “A line” character feed line shown in FIG. 2A from the left to the right and displays the character “A”, the pressing input continues. However, the character “A” does not become the character “I” unless it passes through any character feed line from right to left. Therefore, for example, even if the user performs a pressing input that slides through a plurality of character feed lines at once in the horizontal direction, the first one belonging to the character group corresponding to the character feed line that is first determined to be the pass input Only letters are displayed. After that, if the maintained press input is determined to be a passing input after passing through an arbitrary character feed line in a direction opposite to the direction first passing through the character feed line, the displayed character is fed. . After that, the character input of the displayed character is performed according to the number of times that the maintained pressing input passes through an arbitrary character feed line and is determined to be a passing input in the opposite direction to the previous time.

  Due to such processing, in the character input device 1 according to the second embodiment, the passage input determination unit 12 uses the position of the press input detected by the position detection unit 40 to pass through the character feed line. Is determined, the direction of the passage input with reference to the character feed line is also determined. That is, when the passage input determination unit 12 determines that the press input is a passage input, whether the passage input has passed from the right to the left or the left to the right with respect to the passed character feed line, Determine.

  Furthermore, in the character input device 1 according to the second embodiment, the character selection unit 14 selects characters belonging to a predetermined character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is first determined as an arbitrary character feed line. Are sequentially selected according to the number of times that the passage input is determined and the direction of the passage input. Specifically, when it is determined that the press input is the first passage input, the first character in the order among the characters belonging to the character group corresponding to the passed character feed line is displayed. After that, if it is determined that the press input that has passed through an arbitrary character feed line is a pass input in the direction opposite to the previous pass input, the displayed character is changed to the next character and the character feed is performed. .

  Next, a flow of processing for performing character input according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining character input processing according to the second embodiment. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the character input process according to the second embodiment is started from the point in time when a pressing input by the user is detected by the input unit 20, as in the first embodiment.

  When the character input process according to the present embodiment is started, first, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the press input to the input unit 20 continues in the pressed state (step S31). In step S31, when the press input with respect to the input part 20 is continuing, the passage input determination part 12 determines whether the passage input was made (step S32). That is, in step S <b> 32, the passage input determination unit 12 determines whether or not the position of the continuous press input has passed the character feed line. If it is not determined in step S32 that a passage input has been made, that is, if a passage input has not been made, the processing returns to step S31 and continues.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S32 that the passage input has been made, the control unit 10 determines the direction of the passage input (from left to right or from right to left) and the character feed line from which the passage input has been determined. It is determined whether a character group corresponding to is already selected (step S33). In the present embodiment, the character group corresponding to the character feed line is each “line” of the kana character. Here, when the character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is determined has not been selected, the position of the press input is the first character input line after the press input is detected by the input unit 20. This is a case where it is determined that the input is a passing input. In this case, before that time, since the press input is not determined to be a passage input, there is no character related to the input displayed on the display unit 30 yet.

  In step S33, if the character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is determined has not been selected, the character selection unit 14 selects the character group corresponding to the character feed line (step S34). When the character group corresponding to the character feed line is selected in step S34, the character selection unit 14 selects the first character among the characters belonging to the character group (step S35). That is, for example, if it is determined that the input is a passage input for the character feed line “R”, the character “R” is selected. If a character is selected in step S35, the control part 10 will display the selected character on the display part 30 (step S36), will return to step S31, and will continue a process.

  On the other hand, when the character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is determined has already been selected in step S33, the process proceeds to step S37. Here, the case where the character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input has been determined has already been selected, that is, after the press input is detected by the input unit 20, the position of the press input is the character input line. It is a case where it is not the first (after the 2nd time) that is determined to be a passing input after passing through. In this case, one of the characters belonging to the already selected character group is selected and displayed on the display unit 30.

  In step S37, the character selection unit 14 determines whether or not the current passage input is in the same direction as the previous passage input. In the present embodiment, the character feed line for which the current pass input is determined does not have to be the same as the character feed line for which the previous pass input has been determined. As described above, in this embodiment, after the character feed line is first determined to be a pass input, the press input is determined to be a pass input regardless of which character feed line is passed, Perform character advance. In step S37, if the current pass input is in the same direction as the previous pass input, the character feed is not performed, so the process returns to step S31 and continues.

  On the other hand, in step S37, if the current passing input is not in the same direction as the previous passing input, that is, in the reverse direction, the character selecting unit 14 has already selected and displayed among the characters belonging to the already selected character group. A character in the next order of the characters being selected is selected (step S38). In step S38, for example, when the character already selected and displayed is the character “ra”, the next character “ri” is selected (see FIG. 3). If a character is selected in step S38, the control part 10 will display the selected character on the display part 30 (step S36), will return to step S31, and will continue a process.

  In step S31, when the press input to the input unit 20 does not continue, that is, when the user stops the press input, the control unit 10 displays the characters related to the input already selected on the display unit 30. It is determined whether or not there is (step S39). If the selected character is already displayed on the display unit 30 in step S39, the control unit 10 determines the displayed character as an input character (step S40), and the character input process according to the present embodiment. Exit. Therefore, when the input unit 20 does not accept the press input in a state where the selected character is displayed on the display unit 30, the control unit 10 performs control so that the displayed character is determined as the input character. .

  On the other hand, if the selected character is not already displayed on the display unit 30 in step S39, there is no input character to be confirmed, and the character input process according to the present embodiment ends.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the user performs an input operation using the input unit 20 (display unit 30) widely while maintaining the same effect as that of the first embodiment described above. be able to. In this embodiment, after the first press input that passes through the character feed line, even if the position to slide the press input is shifted to the position of the next character feed line, for example, The same operation as that for the original character feed line can be performed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, if only the pressing input that first passes through the character feed line is surely performed, then the character input can be performed with little awareness of the position of the character feed line. Therefore, the effect of further reducing the possibility of the user making an input mistake can be expected.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a character input device according to a third embodiment of the invention will be described.

  As in the second embodiment, the character input device according to the third embodiment changes the operations of the passage input determination unit 12 and the character selection unit 14 in the character input device 1 according to the first embodiment described above. To do. Therefore, the character input device according to the third embodiment can be implemented with the same configuration as the character input device 1 described in the first and second embodiments, and thus the first and second embodiments described above. The same description as in FIG.

  In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of character feed lines are displayed on the display unit 30, and input errors unintended by the user are reduced when pressing input to the input unit 20 is received. be able to. That is, in the third embodiment, the user makes a mistake in the character feed line that should be passed through first, or passes through another character feed line after making a pass input as intended by the user. Even if it does, the character as the user intends is selected.

  Due to such processing, in the character input device 1 according to the third embodiment, the passage input determination unit 12 performs the passage input by passing the character feed line through the position of the press input, as in the second embodiment. Is determined, the direction of the passage input with reference to the character feed line is also determined. That is, when the passage input determination unit 12 determines that the press input is a passage input, whether the passage input has passed from the right to the left or the left to the right with respect to the passed character feed line, Determine.

  Furthermore, in the character input device 1 according to the third embodiment, the character selection unit 14 corresponds to the character feed line for which the most passage input is determined when the pass input is determined for a plurality of character feed lines. Characters belonging to a predetermined character group are sequentially selected. In this case, the character selection unit 14 determines the number of times the passage input is determined for the character feed line and the number of passages of characters belonging to the predetermined character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the most passage input is determined. Select sequentially according to the input direction. Hereinafter, a specific example will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a character input process according to the third embodiment. FIG. 7 shows only the “A line” and “Ka line” character feed lines for simplification among the plurality of character feed lines shown in FIG.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the user should have started the pressing input from the input that originally passed through the character feed line of “ka line”. Suppose that the character input is started from the input passing through the character feed line of the adjacent “A line”. In addition, the curve of the arrow shown in the figure has shown the locus | trajectory that a user's press input slides. As described above, when it is determined that the user's pressing input has passed through the character feed line “A”, the character “A” is displayed on the display unit as the selected character. By seeing this character, the user should have originally started pressing from the input that passes through the character feed line of “ka line”, but from the input that passes through the character feed line of “a line” by mistake. Notice that you have started typing.

  However, the user does not delete the “A” character displayed based on the incorrect input and restarts the input. Pass the character feed line. Then, following the input that passes through the “A line” character feed line, it is determined that the press input has passed through the “Ka line” character feed line in the same direction, but the input in the same direction as the previous pass input. Therefore, in this case, the character “a” displayed on the display unit does not change. Note that a black circle (●) shown in FIG. 7 indicates that the user's pressing input is determined to be a passing input after passing the character feeding line, but the character feeding is not performed.

  After that, it is assumed that the user passes the “ka line” character feed line again with further pressing input. Then, since it is determined that the user's pressing input has passed through the character feed line of “ka line” in the opposite direction to the previous input following the input that passed through the character feed line of “ka line” last time, The character “a” displayed on the display unit is changed to the character “ki” of “ka line” and displayed. Such processing is performed when the character feed line for which the most passage input is determined is changed. That is, at this point, the passage input for “A line” is one time, whereas the passage input for “Ka line” is determined twice, and the character feed line for which the most passage input is determined. Is changed, a character group corresponding to the character feed line is newly selected. The double circle mark (◎) shown in FIG. 7 indicates that the character feed line through which the user's pressing input has passed most has been changed, and the selection of the character group to which the displayed character belongs has been changed. .

  Thus, when the character feed line through which the user's pressing input has passed most is changed, it reflects the character feed based on the pass input made so far and belongs to the changed character group. Select characters. That is, until the time of the double circle mark (◎) shown in Fig. 7, the character feed line has been changed because one character feed has already been performed (when the white circle mark (○) is marked). When this is done, the character in the second order is selected in the newly selected character group “ka line”.

  After this, after it is determined that the user's pressing input has passed through the “ka line” character feed line in the opposite direction to the previous input following the previous pass through the “ka line” character feed line, The displayed “ki” characters are changed to “ku” characters and displayed. At this time, the passage input for “A row” is once, whereas the passage input for “K” is determined three times. Thereafter, as long as the pressing input continues, the character can be continuously fed. Therefore, even if the user makes a mistake in the character feed line that should be passed through first, it is possible to select a character as intended by the user.

  Also, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, the user performs three consecutive inputs through the character feed line “A line”, such as “A” → “I” → “U”. Suppose that after performing a character feed as intended, an operation is mistakenly performed and an input is made that passes through the character feed line on the right side of “ka line”. In this case, at this time, the passage input for “A” is three times, whereas the passage input for “A” is determined once. Therefore, since the character feed line for which the most passage input is determined is not changed, the character group to which the selected character belongs is not changed. At the time when an input that passes through the character feed line of “ka line” is performed, this pass input is a pass input in the same direction as the previous pass input, and therefore, the “u” displayed on the display unit. The character does not change.

  Therefore, even if the user has mistakenly passed another character feed line after performing the passage input as intended, the user can select a character as intended. After the state shown in FIG. 7B, the user's pressing input passes through the “ka line” character feed line in the opposite direction to the previous input following the previous pass through the “ka line” character feed line. If it is determined that the character has been changed, the character “u” displayed on the display unit is changed to the character “e” and displayed. At this point, the passage input for “A row” is three times, whereas the passage input for “K” row is determined twice. Therefore, since the character feed line for which the most passage input is determined is not changed, the character group to which the selected character belongs is not changed. Thereafter, as long as the pressing input continues, the character can be continuously fed.

  Next, a flow of processing for performing character input according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining character input processing according to the third embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 adds step S51 and step S52 after step S33 in the character input process according to the second embodiment. Therefore, the same description as the character input process according to the second embodiment is omitted as appropriate. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, the character input process according to the third embodiment is started from the point in time when a pressing input by the user is detected by the input unit 20 as in the second embodiment.

  When the character input processing according to the present embodiment is started, when it is determined that the press input to the input unit 20 is a passage input (Yes in step S32), the character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is determined is already selected. If already completed (Yes in step S33), the process proceeds to step S51. In step S51, since the character group has already been selected, that is, the press input is determined to be the pass input after the second time, the character selection unit 14 determines the character feed line for which the most pass input has been determined. It is determined whether or not it has been changed.

  In step S51, if the character feed line for which the most passage input is determined is not changed, the process proceeds to step S37, and thereafter, the same processing as in the second embodiment described above is performed. That is, it is determined whether or not the passing input is in the same direction as the previous passing input (step S37), and if it is the same direction, the process returns to step S31. On the other hand, if the passing input is in the opposite direction to the previous passing input, the next character in the order is selected in the character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the most passing inputs are currently determined (step S38). The selected character is displayed on the display unit 30 (step S36).

  On the other hand, when the character feed line for which the most passage input is determined is changed in step S51, the character selection unit 14 selects a character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the most passage input is determined. Re-execute (step S52). That is, here, the selected character group is changed. After this, the character is fed using characters belonging to the newly selected character group. However, in step S37, if the passage input is in the opposite direction to the previous passage input, the character based on the passage input that has already been performed. After reflecting the feed, the next character in the order is selected (step S38). That is, when the character group is selected again in step S52, for example, if the character group before the change to the character group has already been performed three times, the selection is made in step S38. The fourth character feed is performed in the corrected character group.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if the user mistakes the character feed line that should be passed first, the character up to that point can be obtained by performing a press input after passing the correct character feed line. Character input can be continued while reflecting the feed. Further, according to the present embodiment, even if the user makes a passing input as intended and then accidentally passes through some other character feed line to some extent, it affects the characters input as intended so far. Not give. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the user makes an input mistake while maintaining the same effect as the first embodiment described above, it is time and effort to correct the input mistake and perform character input again. And save time.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a character input device according to a fourth embodiment of the invention will be described.

  The character input device according to the fourth embodiment changes the operations of the passage input determination unit 12 and the character selection unit 14 in the character input device 1 according to the first to third embodiments described above. Therefore, the character input device according to the fourth embodiment can be implemented by the same configuration as the character input device 1 described in the first to third embodiments. This is omitted as appropriate.

  In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, in the first to third embodiments described above, when the pressing input to the input unit 20 is first determined to be the passing input, is the passing input in the forward direction? It is determined whether it is in the reverse direction, and character feed in the reverse direction is performed for a reverse direction input.

  In the first embodiment described above, a difference in direction passing through the character feed line is not detected. Therefore, when this embodiment is applied to the character input device 1 according to the first embodiment, when the passage input determination unit 12 determines that the position of the press input passes through the character feed line and is a passage input, The direction of the passing input with reference to the character feed line can also be determined. That is, in the present embodiment, when the passage input determination unit 12 determines that the press input is a passage input, the passage input has passed from the right to the left with reference to the passed character feed line, or from the left. It is judged whether it has passed to the right. When the present embodiment is applied to the first embodiment, the direction determination described above is performed when a passage input is determined in step S12 in the flowchart of FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the character selection unit 14 selects characters belonging to a predetermined character group when the pass input is started in the direction opposite to the predetermined forward direction according to the determination result of the first pass input direction. , And sequentially selecting in a reverse order to the predetermined forward direction. When the passage input is started in the forward direction, the same processing as in the first to third embodiments described above is performed.

  In this embodiment, when it is first determined that the input is a passage input, it is necessary to first set the forward direction and the reverse direction of the passage input in order to determine whether the passage input is the forward direction or the reverse direction. is there. Here, for the sake of convenience, the passing input that passes through the character feed line from left to right is defined as the “forward” passing input, and conversely, the passing input that passes the character feed line from right to left is referred to as the “reverse” passing input. And

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a character input process according to the fourth embodiment. When carrying out this embodiment, it is necessary for the user to be aware of the “forward direction” when passing through the character feed line when the character input device 1 accepts a user's pressing input. Therefore, in the present embodiment, each character feed line displayed on the display unit 30 has the “forward direction” of each character feed line, for example, the “ka line” character feed line shown in FIG. It is preferable to display it together with a suggestion arrow or the like.

  For example, when it is determined that the user's pressing input is a passing input, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the pressing input is started in the forward direction, the character selection unit 14 determines that the first selection described above. Character feeding is performed in the order described in the third embodiment. FIG. 9B shows that the user's press input first passes the “ka line” character feed line in the forward direction to display the “ka” character, and the press input continues in the direction opposite to the forward direction. This indicates that the character “ki” has been forwarded (forward direction) because it has passed the character feed line.

  On the other hand, for example, when it is determined that the user's pressing input is a passing input, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the pressing input is started in the reverse direction, the character selection unit 14 Character feeding is performed in the reverse order to the order described in the first to third embodiments. FIG. 9C shows “ko”, which is the last character in the “ka line” character group, because the user's press input first passes through the “ka line” character feed line in the reverse direction. It shows how it was done. After that, the press input that started in the reverse direction continued to pass through the character feed line in the opposite direction to the previous one, so that the character “ko” was changed to the character “ke” in the reverse order. Represents.

  Next, a flow of processing for performing character input according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a character input process according to the fourth embodiment. As described above, the fourth embodiment partially changes the processing of the first to third embodiments. Specifically, when the fourth embodiment is applied to the first embodiment, step S14 in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is changed to the process shown in FIG. 10A, and step S16 in the flowchart of FIG. The process is changed to the process shown in FIG. Further, when the fourth embodiment is applied to the second or third embodiment, step S35 in the flowchart of FIG. 6 or FIG. 8 is changed to the process shown in FIG. Step S38 in the flowchart is changed to the process shown in FIG.

  FIG. 10A shows a character belonging to the character group corresponding to the character feed line when the press input to the input unit 20 is first determined to be a passing input through the character feed line in the present embodiment. Is a process of selecting.

  When this process starts, first, the character selection unit 14 determines whether or not the direction of the passage input when the press input to the input unit 20 first passes through the character feed line and is determined to be the passage input is the forward direction. (Step S71). If the determined direction is the forward direction in step S71, the first character is selected from the characters belonging to the character group corresponding to the character feed line (step S72), and this process ends. This is the same as the normal processing described in the first to third embodiments.

  On the other hand, if the determined direction is the reverse direction in step S71, the last character is selected from the characters belonging to the character group corresponding to the character feed line (step S73), and this process is terminated. As a result of this processing, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the user's pressing input is started from the reverse passage input, the character feed of the characters belonging to the character group corresponding to the character feed line is reversed. Can be done in order.

  FIG. 10B shows a character belonging to the character group already selected when the press input to the input unit 20 is determined to be a passing input after passing the character feed line for the second time or later in this embodiment. This is a process of selecting a character to be displayed by feeding it from among the characters.

  When this process starts, first, the character selection unit 14 determines whether or not the direction of the passage input when the press input to the input unit 20 first passes through the character feed line and is determined to be the passage input is the forward direction. (Step S91). If the determined direction is the forward direction in step S71, the next character in the order among the characters belonging to the already selected character group is selected (step S92), and this process ends. This is the same as the normal processing described in the first to third embodiments.

  On the other hand, if the determined direction is the reverse direction in step S91, the character in the previous order is selected from the characters belonging to the already selected character group (step S93), and this process ends. . By this process, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the user's pressing input is started from the reverse direction input, by performing the reverse direction input to the previous pass input, Characters belonging to character groups can be moved in the reverse order.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the characters can be fed in the reverse order to the normal order by performing the passage input in the reverse direction to the forward direction. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, if the user gets used to such an input method, the user can perform character input with less time and effort than normal character input by properly using the direction of passage input.

  In addition, this invention is not limited only to each embodiment mentioned above, Many changes or deformation | transformation are possible. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the character feed line is displayed on the display unit 30 and the user's pressing input is received. However, the character feed line is not necessarily displayed on the display unit 30. For example, the input unit and the display unit may be arranged separately without overlapping each other, and the character feed line may not be displayed on the display unit. In this case, a character feed line is previously painted with a paint or the like on the input unit, or a linear convex portion is provided on the input unit 20 so that the user can recognize the character feed line. It can be considered. If comprised in this way, the display part which displays the input character can be provided in the position different from an input part.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, for convenience of explanation, the control unit 10 is described as including the passage input determination unit 12 and the character selection unit 14. However, according to the configuration of the device that embodies the present invention, The functional unit can be configured as a separate unit. Moreover, according to the structure of the apparatus which embodies this invention, it can also be set as the structure which the control part 10 serves as the function of the passage input determination part 12 and the character selection part 14. FIG.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, when the input unit 20 no longer accepts pressing input while the selected character is displayed on the display unit 30, the displayed character is determined as the input character. . However, even if the input unit 20 is still receiving the pressing input, the displayed character can be determined as the input character after a predetermined time has elapsed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Character input device 10 Control part 12 Passing input determination part 14 Character selection part 20 Input part 30 Display part

Claims (6)

An input unit pressed by the operator;
A position detection unit for detecting the position of the pressing input of the input unit;
When the position of the press input detected by the position detection unit passes a character feed line corresponding to a predetermined character group, the pass input determination unit determines that the press input is a pass input,
A character selection unit that selects characters belonging to the predetermined character group in a predetermined order each time the passage input is determined;
A display unit for displaying the character selected by the character selection unit;
A character input device comprising: The passing input determination unit determines the passing input together with the direction of the passing input,
The character selection unit selects characters belonging to the predetermined character group in an order opposite to the predetermined order when the first pass input is determined to be a pass input in a direction opposite to a predetermined direction. The character input device according to claim 1. An input unit pressed by the operator;
A position detection unit for detecting the position of the pressing input of the input unit;
When the position of the press input detected by the position detection unit passes a character feed line corresponding to a predetermined character group, the press input is determined to be a pass input and the pass is determined to determine the direction of the pass input. An input determination unit;
The characters belonging to the predetermined character group corresponding to the character feed line for which the passage input is first determined are selected in a predetermined order according to the determination of the passage input for an arbitrary character feed line and the direction of the passage input. A character selection section to
A display unit for displaying the character selected by the character selection unit;
A character input device comprising: An input unit pressed by the operator;
A position detection unit for detecting the position of the pressing input of the input unit;
When the position of the press input detected by the position detection unit passes a character feed line corresponding to a predetermined character group, the press input is determined to be a pass input and the pass is determined to determine the direction of the pass input. An input determination unit;
When the passage input is determined for a plurality of character feed lines, the characters belonging to the predetermined character group corresponding to the character feed lines for which the most passage inputs are determined are determined to be the passage input for the character feed lines and A character selection unit that selects in a predetermined order according to the direction of the passing input,
A display unit for displaying the character selected by the character selection unit;
A character input device comprising:   The character selection unit selects characters belonging to the predetermined character group in an order opposite to the predetermined order when the first pass input is determined to be a pass input in a direction opposite to a predetermined direction. The character input device according to claim 3 or 4.   And a control unit that controls to confirm the displayed character as an input character when the input unit does not accept pressing input in a state where the selected character is displayed on the display unit. Item 6. The character input device according to any one of Items 1 to 5.

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