JP5233357B2 - Character input device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a character input device used for character input in, for example, a mobile phone.

As is well known, for example, in personal computers and mobile phones, many functions have been developed in order to reduce the user load for inputting a desired character string.
For example, the input prediction function stores dictionary data in advance, searches for the character string starting from the character string already input from the dictionary data, displays the character string, and inputs the character string with a small number of operations. . For example, if you enter “A”, candidates such as “Meeting”, “Free”, “Tomorrow”, “Tomorrow” are displayed in order of possibility, and the number of input operations can be reduced by the user selecting from them. Can do.

  In addition, the phrase prediction function, for example, confirms the input of “Akiko”, reads the part of speech and words of use of the confirmed character string from the dictionary data, such as “san”, “chan”, “sama”, “ga”, etc. Candidates are displayed in descending order of possibility, and the number of input operations can be reduced by the user selecting from these (for example, Patent Document 1).

However, in descriptions such as e-mails and blogs exchanged between close friends, text is often expressed in colloquial style, so the character string entered by the user is often abbreviated. , Not input in the user's desired expression. For this reason, the user performs operations such as cursor back and deletion, which is very inconvenient. Conventionally, this can be dealt with by making the dictionary data larger, but in an electronic device such as a cellular phone that is required to be small, an increase in storage capacity becomes a problem.
JP-A-10-229021

Conventional character input devices enable simple input of various expressions by enlarging the dictionary data, but with the increase in storage capacity, especially for portable electronic devices, the size and weight are reduced. It was a problem in terms of reproduction.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and an object thereof is to provide a character input device capable of easily inputting abbreviations without increasing the capacity of dictionary data.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides candidate extraction means for obtaining a first input candidate that the user desires to input, and input prior to the first input candidate obtained by the candidate extraction means. Based on the character string storage means for storing the preceding character string, the rule storage means for storing the omission rule, and the omission rule and the preceding character string, a character to be omitted is detected from the first input candidate obtained by the candidate extraction means. A detecting means, a display means for omitting the character detected by the detecting means from the first input candidate obtained by the candidate extracting means and displaying it as a second input candidate, and a display means in response to a request from the user And an input means for receiving the second input candidate displayed in the above as an input character string.

  As described above, in the present invention, the user obtains a character string that the user desires to input, and based on the preset omission rule and the preceding character string input in advance, the character to be omitted from the obtained character string. The detected characters are omitted and displayed as input candidates, and the input is confirmed in response to a request from the user.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the abbreviation rules can be omitted without registering the omitted character strings in the dictionary data, so that the abbreviation can be easily input without increasing the capacity of the dictionary data. A possible character input device can be provided.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a character input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This character input device is mounted on a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), a portable game machine, a personal computer such as a notebook computer, etc., and includes an input unit 10, an input control unit 20, The input prediction unit 30, the kana-kanji conversion unit 40, the omission determination unit 50, the dictionary data storage unit 60, the phrase dictionary data storage unit 70, the new word dictionary data storage unit 80, and the display unit 90 are provided.

The input unit 10 includes a plurality of key switches and is an interface that accepts various requests such as character input and cursor movement from the user.
The input control unit 20 performs overall control of the display control of the display unit 90 and the input prediction unit 30 and the kana-kanji conversion unit 40 related to conversion of input characters. In the process of accepting character input, the input control unit 20 displays the text area and the candidate window area on the display unit 90, stores the character string whose input is confirmed as a confirmed character string, and displays it in the text area. In addition, a display control function for displaying a character string as an input candidate in the candidate window area is provided.

  The input prediction unit 30 refers to the dictionary data stored in the dictionary data storage unit 60, the phrase dictionary data storage unit 70, and the new word dictionary data storage unit 80, and determines a character string starting from the character input through the input unit 10, It is predicted as a candidate for a character string that the user desires to input.

  The kana-kanji conversion unit 40 refers to the dictionary data stored in the dictionary data storage unit 60, the phrase dictionary data storage unit 70, and the new word dictionary data storage unit 80, and converts the characters input through the input unit 10 into kanji according to the grammar. Convert to kana mixed text.

  The omission determination unit 50 determines characters that can be omitted from a predicted character string or kanji conversion candidate in accordance with a preset omission rule. The abbreviated rule is created from information that collects, for example, statistically collected characters to be omitted or used implicitly in daily conversation, and is stored in the omission determination unit 50. .

  The dictionary data storage unit 60 stores dictionary data. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the dictionary data storage unit 60 stores a table in which readings are associated with headings, parts of speech, frequencies, and the like as dictionary data. That is, in this dictionary table, it is stored in a structure so that the reading can be understood for each heading, and the reading of each character of the heading is delimited by “/”.

The phrase dictionary data storage unit 70 stores phrase dictionary data. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the phrase dictionary data storage unit 70 uses words or phrases having strong connections (words having a high probability of being used next to each other) as headline information. A table in which particles following these are associated is stored as phrase dictionary data.
The new word dictionary data storage unit 80 stores words used by the user and words specified by the user in a table in the same manner as the dictionary data shown in FIG.
The display unit 90 is a display unit using an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like, and displays input characters, converted characters, and the like.

  Next, the operation of the character input device configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation, which is executed when the user starts character input, and is repeated until the character input is completed.

  First, in step 4a, the input unit 10 receives a character input from the user. Then, the input control part 20 starts the input prediction part 30, and transfers to step 4b. Here, it is assumed that “A” is input as an example.

  In step 4b, the input predicting unit 30 refers to the dictionary data in the dictionary data storage unit 60 and the dictionary data in the new word dictionary data storage unit 80, and detects a reading that matches the reading input in step 4a and its heading. Then, the data is read as candidate data, and the process proceeds to step 4c. Here, as an example, it is assumed that “Meet”, “Available”, “The day after tomorrow”, “Tomorrow”, “Meeted”, “Aiko”, “Akiko”, and the like are detected.

  In step 4c, the input control unit 20 acquires the candidate data read in step 4b from the input prediction unit 30, and lists headings included in each candidate data in the candidate window area in the display unit 90 as prediction input candidates. Display and go to step 4d. That is, “Meet”, “Avail”, “Tomorrow”, “Tomorrow”, “Meeted”, “Aiko”, “Akiko”, etc. are displayed in a list.

  In step 4d, when the user who has viewed the headline displayed in the candidate window area through the input unit 10 performs an operation of selecting a headline desired to be input, the input control unit 20 accepts the operation, and the process proceeds to step 4e. To do. Here, as an example, it is assumed that “Akiko” is selected.

  In step 4e, the input control unit 20 outputs the headline selected in step 4d to the input prediction unit 30. On the other hand, the input prediction unit 30 detects dictionary data corresponding to the heading given from the input control unit 20 from the dictionary data storage unit 60, holds this dictionary data as subsequent selection data, and proceeds to step 4f. . That is, the input prediction unit 30 holds dictionary data having “Akiko” as a headline as subsequent selection data.

  In step 4 f, the input prediction unit 30 calls the omission determination unit 50. As a result, the omission determination unit 50 searches for characters that can be omitted according to the omission rule from the heading and part of speech included in the preceding selection data and the subsequent selection data held by the input prediction unit 30, and proceeds to Step 4g. It should be noted that in the initial stage of operation, there is no preceding selection data, and therefore a character that can be omitted is not detected.

Hereinafter, examples (1) to (4) of the omission rule will be described.
・ Omission rule (1)
In the state of holding two selection data (preceding selection data and succeeding selection data), the part of speech of the preceding selection data preceding on the character string is a noun, the last character of the heading is “child”, When the subsequent selection data subsequent to this is a name suffix such as “Chan” or a person name suffix, the “child” is detected as a character that can be omitted. That is, when both “Akiko” and “Chan” selection data are held, “Child” is detected in order to omit “Aki-chan”.

・ Omission rule (2)
While holding two selection data (preceding selection data and subsequent selection data), the part of speech of the preceding selection data is a noun, the last character of the heading is “suke”, and the subsequent selection data is “chan” In the case of a name suffix such as “” or a personal name suffix, the above “suke” is detected as an abbreviation. That is, when both selection data of “Daisuke” and “Chan” are held, “Dai” is detected to omit “Daisuke”.

・ Omission rule (3)
Two selection data (preceding selection data and subsequent selection data) are held, the two selection data are both nouns, the preceding selection data is the place name (region name), and the subsequent selection data is “Gakuin”. In the case of a character string indicating a school, characters other than the first character of each of the two selection data headings are detected as characters that can be omitted. That is, when both selection data of “Kansai” and “School” are held, “West” and “Hospital” are detected to be “Kansei”.

・ Omission rule (4)
When two selection data are held (preceding selection data and subsequent selection data), the two selection data are both nouns, the preceding selection data is the place name (region name), the subsequent selection data is “bank”, etc. In the case of a character string indicating a financial institution, characters other than the second character of each reading of the two selection data are detected as characters that can be omitted. That is, when both selection data of “Aozora” and “Shinkin Bank” are held, “Sora” and “Safe Bank” are detected to be “Aoshin”.

  In step 4g, the input prediction unit 30 determines whether or not the omission determination unit 50 detects a character to be omitted in step 4f. If it is determined that a character to be omitted is detected, the process proceeds to step 4h. On the other hand, if it is determined that a character is not detected, the process proceeds to step 4j.

  In step 4h, based on the detection result in step 4f, the input predicting unit 30 deletes the characters to be omitted from the character strings of the headings of the two selection data held (the preceding selection data and the subsequent selection data). Then, the input prediction unit 30 outputs the character strings of the two headings subjected to the deletion to the input control unit 20, and proceeds to step 4i.

  In step 4i, the input control unit 20 displays the character strings of the two headings given from the input prediction unit 30 in step 4h in the candidate window area of the display unit 90, and proceeds to step 4k. Note that the two selection data displayed on the display unit 90 at this point are omitted character strings such as “Akira” and “Chan”, “Ao” and “Shin”.

  In step 4 j, the headings of the two selection data (preceding selection data and subsequent selection data) held by the input prediction unit 30 are output to the input control unit 20. On the other hand, the input control unit 20 displays the given two headline character strings in the candidate window area of the display unit 90, and proceeds to step 4k. In the initial stage of operation, since there is no preceding selection data, only the character string of the heading of the subsequent selection data is displayed.

In step 4k, the input control unit 20 accepts an operation for determining a candidate from the user through the input unit 10, and the process proceeds to step 4l.
In step 41, the input control unit 20 stores the character string of the preceding heading among the character strings of the two headings displayed in the candidate window area as a confirmed character string, and pastes the character string in the text area. Add, display, and call the input prediction unit 30. The input predicting unit 30 re-holds the subsequent selection data held in step 4e as the preceding selection data, and proceeds to step 4m.

  That is, if No is determined in Step 4g, the character string of the heading of the preceding selection data displayed in Step 4j is set as the confirmed character string, while if Yes is determined in Step 4g, Step 4i The heading character string (omitted) of the pre-selected data displayed in is used as the confirmed character string. In the initial stage of the operation, since there is no preceding selection data, the character string is not confirmed and the process proceeds to step 4m.

  In step 4m, the input prediction unit 30 refers to the dictionary data in the phrase dictionary data storage unit 70, searches for a phrase associated with the character string of the heading of the preceding selection data, and proceeds to step 4n. In this example, “Akiko” is held again as the preceding selection data, so “San”, “Chan”, “Sama”, “Ga”, etc. are detected as phrase candidates here.

  In step 4n, the input prediction unit 30 determines whether or not the phrase candidate has been detected in step 4m. If the phrase candidate can be detected, the process proceeds to step 4o. If the phrase candidate cannot be detected, the input control unit 20 is called, and the process proceeds to step 4a to accept a new input.

  In step 4o, the input prediction unit 30 outputs the phrase candidate detected in step 4m to the input control unit 20. On the other hand, the input control unit 20 displays the given phrase candidates in the candidate window area of the display unit 90, and proceeds to step 4p. Thereby, in this example, “san”, “chan”, “sama”, “ga”, and the like are displayed as phrase candidates in the candidate window area of the display unit 90.

  In step 4p, when the user who has viewed the phrase candidates listed in the candidate window area through the input unit 10 performs an operation of selecting a phrase candidate desired to be input, the input control unit 20 receives this operation, and step 4q Migrate to Here, as an example, it is assumed that “Chan” is selected.

  In step 4q, the input control unit 20 outputs the phrase candidate headline selected in step 4p to the input prediction unit 30. On the other hand, the input prediction unit 30 detects dictionary data corresponding to the headline newly given from the input control unit 20 from the dictionary data storage unit 60, holds this dictionary data as subsequent selection data, and proceeds to step 4p. Transition. That is, the input predicting unit 30 re-holds the dictionary data having “Akiko” as the heading as the preceding selection data, and holds the dictionary data having “Chan” as the heading as the subsequent selection data.

  In step 4r, the input prediction unit 30 calls the omission determination unit 50. As a result, the omission determination unit 50 searches for characters that can be omitted according to the omission rule from the heading selection and part of speech included in the preceding selection data and the subsequent selection data held by the input prediction unit 30, and proceeds to step 4s. Note that the omission rules applied here are the same as in the examples (1) to (4) of step 4g described above.

  In step 4s, the input prediction unit 30 determines whether or not the omission determination unit 50 detects a character to be omitted in step 4r. If it is determined that a character omitted here is detected, the process proceeds to step 4t. On the other hand, if it is determined that a character is not detected, the process proceeds to step 4v.

  In step 4t, based on the detection result in step 4r, the input predicting unit 30 deletes the omitted characters from the heading character strings of the two selection data held (preceding selection data and succeeding selection data). Then, the input prediction unit 30 outputs the character strings of the two headings subjected to the deletion to the input control unit 20, and proceeds to step 4u.

  In step 4u, the input control unit 20 displays the character strings of the two headings given from the input prediction unit 30 in step 4t in the candidate window area of the display unit 90, and proceeds to step 4w. In this example, the character strings of the two headings displayed on the display unit 90 are character strings in which “Akira” and “Chan” are omitted.

  In step 4v, the headings of the two selection data (preceding selection data and subsequent selection data) held by the input prediction unit 30 are output to the input control unit 20. On the other hand, the input control unit 20 displays the two given headline character strings in the candidate window area of the display unit 90, and proceeds to step 4w.

In step 4w, the input control unit 20 accepts an operation for determining a candidate from the user through the input unit 10, and the process proceeds to step 4x.
In step 4x, the input control unit 20 stores the character string of the preceding heading among the character strings of the two headings displayed in the candidate window area as a confirmed character string, and pastes this character string in the text area. Add, display, call the input prediction unit 30, and proceed to step 4y.

That is, when it is determined No in step 4s, the character string of the heading of the preceding selection data displayed in step 4v is set as a confirmed character string, while when it is determined Yes in step 4s, step 4u is determined. The heading character string (omitted) of the pre-selected data displayed in is used as the confirmed character string.
In step 4y, the input predicting unit 30 re-holds the subsequent selection data held in step 4q as preceding selection data, and proceeds to step 4m.

As described above, in the character input device configured as described above, in accordance with the omission rule, an omissible character is detected from the preceding character string and the subsequent character string, and the sequence of characters in which the two character strings are omitted. The input is accepted by the user's confirmation operation.
Therefore, according to the character input device having the above configuration, the abbreviation rules can be omitted without registering each omitted character string in the dictionary data, so that the abbreviation can be easily input without increasing the capacity of the dictionary data. Can be done.

  In the above example, it is determined whether or not the omission process is performed on the character string predicted by the input predicting unit 30. However, this omission process is a character string that is a conversion candidate obtained by the kana-kanji conversion unit 40. You may go against. In this case, since the character string predicted by the input prediction unit 30 and the conversion candidate obtained by the kana-kanji conversion unit 40 are the same character string data, the omission processing for the conversion candidate can be performed in the same manner as described above.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. Further, for example, a configuration in which some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment is also conceivable. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component described in different embodiment.

  As an example, for example, in the above-described embodiment, characters that can be omitted from two character strings are estimated, but instead, for example, input of reading of an abbreviated character string is accepted and omitted from this character string. An uncharacterized character string may be estimated, and characters other than reading may be deleted from the estimated character string heading and converted to an appropriate character. Such processing is shown in FIG. Similar to the process shown in FIG. 4, this process is executed when the user starts character input, and is repeated until the character input is completed.

First, in step 5a, the input unit 10 receives a character input from the user. Then, the input control unit 20 holds the input character and proceeds to step 5b.
In step 5b, the input control unit 20 determines whether or not the key associated with the conversion of the input unit 10 has been operated, that is, whether or not a conversion request has been made by the user. If there is a conversion request, the process proceeds to step 5c. On the other hand, if there is no request, the process proceeds to step 5a to continue accepting input of characters. In this example, it is assumed that there is a request for conversion after inputting “Seigaku”.

  In step 5c, the input control unit 20 outputs the character string held so far to the kana-kanji conversion unit 40. In response to this, the kana-kanji conversion unit 40 outputs the character string given from the input control unit 20 to the omission determination unit 50. On the other hand, the omission determination unit 50 detects a portion omitted from the given character string according to a preset omission rule, calls the input prediction unit 30, and proceeds to step 5d. In this example, it is assumed that the omission determination unit 50 detects that there are omitted parts between “sei” and “gaku” and behind “gaku”.

Hereinafter, examples (1) to (4) of the omission rule will be described.
・ Omission rule (1)
If the end of the reading is a name suffix or personal name suffix such as “Chan”, “Kun”, “San”, etc., it is determined that there is a possibility that a character is omitted immediately before, and this is detected. That is, when a character string “Aki-chan” is input, it is determined that there is a possibility that a character is omitted between “Aki” and “Chan”.

・ Omission rule (2)
If the end of the reading is used as an abbreviation for a school name such as “gaku”, “in”, “dai”, etc., it is determined that there is a possibility that characters may be omitted immediately before and after the reading. Is detected. That is, when a character string “Kan-ku” is input, it is determined that there is a possibility that a character is omitted before and after “Gaku”.

・ Omission rule (3)
If the end of the reading is a reading used for an abbreviation of a bank name such as “Gin”, there is a possibility that a letter may be omitted immediately before, and that “Ko” may be omitted immediately after that. This is detected and detected. In other words, if the character string “Aogin” is entered, the character may be omitted before “Gin” and “Kou” may be omitted after “Gin”. Judge that there is sex.

・ Omission rule (4)
If the reading is 4 characters and is not stored as dictionary data in any storage unit, it is determined that there is a possibility that the character is omitted every 2 characters, and this is detected. That is, when “dejikame” and a character string are input, it is determined that there is a possibility that a character is omitted after “deji” and “kame”.

  In step 5d, the input predicting unit 30 determines whether there is an omitted part based on the detection result of the omitting determining part 50. If there is an omitted part, the process proceeds to step 5e. On the other hand, if there is no omitted part, the process proceeds to step 5f.

  In step 5e, the input predicting unit 30 corrects the given character string by setting a wild card “*” in the omitted part based on the detection result of the omission determination unit 50, and the process proceeds to step 5e. To do. That is, in this example, it is assumed that “Sei * gaku *” has been corrected.

  In step 5f, the input prediction unit 30 refers to the dictionary data stored in the dictionary data storage unit 60 or the new word dictionary data storage unit 80, and reads the dictionary data of the reading corresponding to “sei * gaku *” set with a wild card. A fuzzy search is performed, and the process proceeds to step 5g. In this example, it is assumed that dictionary data having the headings “Sei Gakuen”, “Saijo Gakuin”, “Saijo Gakuin”, and “Seishaku Gakuen” can be detected.

  In step 5g, the input prediction unit 30 creates a conversion candidate from which the headline character (character not corresponding to reading) corresponding to the corrected portion is deleted based on the result of the fuzzy search in step 5f, and the process proceeds to step 5h. . In this example, it is assumed that conversion candidates “Seigaku”, “Nishigaku”, “Nishigaku”, and “Seigaku” are generated by the above deletion.

  In step 5h, the input prediction unit 30 performs merging between the conversion candidates created in step 5g, deletes the overlapping conversion candidates, and outputs the result to the input control unit 20. On the other hand, the input control unit 20 displays a list of conversion candidates given from the input prediction unit 30 in the candidate window area of the display unit 90, and proceeds to step 5i.

  In step 5i, when the user who has viewed the headline displayed in the candidate window area through the input unit 10 performs an operation of selecting a headline desired to be input, the input control unit 20 accepts the operation and proceeds to step 5j. To do.

  In step 5j, the character string of the headline that has been selected in step 5i is stored as a confirmed character string, and this character string is pasted into the text area, added and displayed, and the process proceeds to step 5a for new input. Accept.

  As described above, it accepts input of reading of abbreviated character strings, estimates a character string that is not omitted from this character string, and deletes characters other than reading from the heading of this estimated character string, and makes appropriate characters I am trying to convert it. Even in such a process, the abbreviated character string can be input easily without increasing the capacity of the dictionary data because accurate conversion can be performed according to the omission rules without registering the omitted character strings in the dictionary data. be able to.

  Further, the user may arbitrarily turn on / off the abbreviation input function as described above, select a name to be applied, or arbitrarily set an omission rule. FIG. 6 shows display transitions at that time.

  First, when “4 abbreviation conversion” is selected in the setting menu as shown in 6a, as shown in 6b, “1 abbreviation conversion” for setting ON / OFF of the input function of the abbreviation, and the name to be applied are set (omitted rule). “2 customization” and “3 rule creation” for creating an abbreviated rule are displayed.

  When the user selects “1 abbreviation conversion” through the input unit 10, an ON / OFF selection screen as shown in 6c is displayed, and when “2 customize” is selected, an omission rule as shown in 6d is turned on / off. When a setting screen for creating OFF is displayed and “3 rule creation” is selected, an input field for setting a rule is displayed.

  This display is performed under the control of the input control unit 20, holds information received from the input unit 10, and the input control unit 20 performs operation settings for the input prediction unit 30 according to the received information. In this way, the user's convenience is further improved by arbitrarily setting the abbreviation conversion function.

4 and 5 show examples of the abbreviation input control flow. Since these processes can be selectively executed according to the input from the user, both controls can be implemented simultaneously. Is possible. One of them may function according to the user's selection.
In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly implemented even if various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

The circuit block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the character input device concerning this invention. The figure which shows an example of the dictionary data which the dictionary data storage part of the character input device shown in FIG. 1 memorize | stores. The figure which shows an example of the dictionary data which the phrase dictionary data storage part of the character input device shown in FIG. 1 memorize | stores. The flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the character input device shown in FIG. The flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the character input device shown in FIG. The figure which shows an example of the input screen which sets operation | movement of the character input device shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Input part, 20 ... Input control part, 30 ... Input prediction part, 40 ... Kana-Kanji conversion part, 50 ... Omission determination part, 60 ... Dictionary data storage part, 70 ... Phrase dictionary data storage part, 80 ... New word dictionary data storage Part, 90... Display part.

Claims (4)

Candidate extraction means for obtaining a first input candidate that the user desires to input;
A character string storage means for storing a preceding character string input separately from the first input candidate preceding the first input candidate obtained by the candidate extraction means;
Rule storage means for storing abbreviated rules;
Detection means for detecting a character to be omitted from the first input candidate obtained by the candidate extraction means based on the omission rule and the preceding character string;
Display means for omitting the characters detected by the detecting means from the first input candidates obtained by the candidate extracting means and displaying them as second input candidates;
A character input device comprising: an input unit that receives a second input candidate displayed on the display unit as an input character string in response to a request from a user. Furthermore, it comprises dictionary data storage means for storing at least dictionary data associating readings with character strings,
The candidate extraction unit obtains a character string associated with a reading starting from a reading input by a user as a first input candidate that the user desires to input based on the dictionary data. The character input device according to 1. Furthermore, it comprises dictionary data storage means for storing dictionary data in which a character string is associated with a character string having a strong tendency to be connected to the character string,
The said candidate extraction prediction means calculates | requires the character string matched with the said preceding character string as a 1st input candidate which a user desires to input based on the said dictionary data. Character input device. Of the two character strings before input is confirmed, the preceding character string is stored as the preceding character string, and the character string following the preceding character string that is input separately from the preceding character string is the subsequent character string. Storage means for storing as,
Rule storage means for storing abbreviated rules;
Detection means for detecting characters to be omitted from the preceding character string and the subsequent character string, respectively, based on the omission rule;
Display means for omitting the characters detected by the detection means from the preceding character string and the subsequent character string, respectively, and displaying them as input candidates;
A character input device comprising: an input unit that receives an input candidate displayed on the display unit as an input character string in response to a request from a user.

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