JPH0366699B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Technical Field> The present invention relates to a Japanese input device using a kana-kanji conversion method, which inputs Japanese while converting a character string input in kana into a mixture of kanji and kana.

<Prior art> Conventionally, this type of kana-kanji conversion Japanese input device has a kana character string input for kana-kanji conversion, and a kanji character string that is converted from the kana character string and replaced with the kana character string based on a conversion instruction. Or, because the kanji/kana mixed character string candidates and the kanji or kanji/kana mixed character strings that have been changed from the candidate state to the confirmed state based on the conversion confirmation instruction are displayed on the same screen, the operator glances at the screen. This makes it difficult to distinguish between the kana character string before conversion, the candidate character string after conversion, and the confirmed character string, making it difficult for the operator to efficiently perform tasks such as text input, correction, and insertion.

To improve this, the display format of the kana character string before conversion and the confirmed character string are different, and the display format of the kana character string before conversion and the character string candidate after conversion is changed. Different versions have been proposed, but in all of the previously proposed character string candidates, the converted character string candidate and the confirmed character string are displayed in the same format, and sometimes, If it is difficult to distinguish between the two (for example, if the final character string ends in a kana character, and then a kana character string is input and conversion is instructed, a kana notation candidate is found among the conversion candidates) , the boundary between a kana notation candidate and the previous confirmed character string could not be seen at a glance, etc.), and it could not be called satisfactory in terms of work efficiency.

<Purpose> The present invention makes it possible to easily distinguish between the three with just a glance at the screen by making the display formats of the kana character string before conversion, the character string in the conversion candidate state, and the character string after confirmation different from each other. The present invention provides a kana-kanji conversion Japanese input device that can perform text input, correction, etc. more efficiently.

<Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external view, and FIG. 3 is a detailed plan view of the keyboard section.

The keyboard 1 consists of, for example, flat keys of a flat tablet type, and as shown in FIG. 3, a group of 50 syllabary keys 1a is arranged in the center thereof.
The key group 1b below the 50-sound kana key group 1a is a numerical value,
The number and alphabet keys are arranged so that alphabetic characters can also be entered. Also, adjacent to the left is a key group 1c that is mainly operated during kanji conversion, including conversion keys for instructing kanji conversion, and adjacent to the right are a voiced mark (゛) key and a handakuten (゜) key. Key groups 1d, such as keys, punctuation marks (,), and (.) keys, are arranged, which are mainly used in conjunction with the kana key group 1a. Furthermore, a group of keys 1e and 1f, which are mainly used to perform overall control, are arranged a little apart left and right.

The keyboard 1 as described above is positioned on the device as shown in FIG. 2, and any input can be made by placing the hand on the device and moving the press bar S using the wrist as a fulcrum without changing the position. It is of a size that allows it to be used.

In Figure 1, the kana character string input from the keyboard 1 is sent to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2.
is once introduced into the input sentence buffer 3 and displayed on the one-line display 4. At this time, the input kana character string is displayed together with the already converted kanji-kana mixed sentence - stored in the output sentence buffer 5. In this example, 1
A display with 30 characters per line is used, and each character is in one line.
Enter up to 28 characters.

When the conversion key is pressed here, the CPU 2 searches the dictionary memory 7 for the contents of the input sentence buffer 3 according to the program of the processing program section 6. The dictionary memory 7 stores kanji notations corresponding to kana headings that can be searched by phrase. As a result of the search, if the corresponding data is found, the CPU 2 moves the kanji notation part of the conversion dictionary to the conversion candidate buffer 8, and at the same time
On the row display 4, one of the candidates is displayed in place of the input kana character string. As will be explained in detail later, the kanji to be converted can be arbitrarily selected, and the selected characters are sequentially switched and displayed on the one-line display 4. Once a specific kanji is selected, the next kana character string can be input by operating the keyboard 1, and the kanji identified above or a kanji-kana mixed sentence containing this kanji is displayed in the output text buffer 5. input and stored.

The format display 9 is provided on the left side of the keyboard 1 as shown in FIG. 2, and displays the format (outline) of the entire input text.
Display.

A more detailed explanation will be given below with reference to detailed block diagrams of main parts, flowcharts, etc.

The kana character string entered from keyboard 1 is
The text is once entered into the input sentence buffer 3 via the CPU 2 and displayed on the one-line display 4.
The kana character string input at this time is displayed differently from other character displays (black and white inversion, boxed boxes, different font) to distinguish it from the kanji-kana-mixed text stored in the output text buffer 5 and already converted. I do. An example of this display is shown in FIG. 4a. As an example, in the last line (the line including the cursor position), a case is shown in which "Japanese" is already converted and is a combination of kanji and kana, and "kansei" is input. In the figure, the mark indicates the starting position of the line, and the mark indicates the cursor position. As described above, this embodiment uses a display with 30 characters per line, and up to 28 characters can be entered per line. Although the number of characters per line can be set arbitrarily by a separate instruction from the keyboard 1, hereafter it is assumed that it is set to 28 characters per line for ease of explanation.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the main parts in detail.
The already converted kanji/kana mixed sentences are stored in the output buffer 5. The one-line display 4 displays the line including the cursor position among the stored sentences containing kanji and kana. "Japanese" in Figure 4a corresponds to this. Here, when the kana character string "Kansei" is input using the keyboard 1, it is stored in the input sentence buffer 3. Each character data is CG
(Character Generator) 11 is written to the refresh RAM 12 and displayed. However, when character data is supplied from the input sentence buffer 3, the CPU 2 inverts and refreshes the character pattern extracted from the CG 11.
Write to RAM12. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4a, ``Kansei'' is displayed in black and white inverted, distinguishing it from the already converted kanji and kana characters.

In the case of using square boxes, different fonts, etc., the generation of character patterns in the CG 11 may be similarly controlled in accordance with the supply of character data from the input sentence buffer 3.

When the conversion key is pressed, the dictionary memory 7 is searched and if the corresponding data is found, the CPU 2 transfers the kanji notation part of the conversion dictionary to the conversion candidate buffer 8. and
The CPU 2 extracts the first candidate from the conversion candidate buffer 8 and displays it in place of the input kana character string displayed earlier on the one-line display 4.

An example of the display at this time is shown in FIG. 4b. As is clear from Figure 4b, the number of homophones (conversion candidate buffer 8
(number of candidates retrieved) is added and displayed after the converted character. The kanji notation of the conversion result is in normal letters, and the number of homophones is highlighted or boxed to distinguish it from the numbers included in other normal sentences, or to indicate that the following homophones can be selected. etc. will be done.

The number of homophones is stored in P and Q of the conversion candidate buffer 8. P is the total number of homophones, and Q is the remaining number of homophones. When the conversion key is pressed, the corresponding character pattern is extracted from the CG 11 according to the first candidate data in the conversion candidate buffer 8 and stored in the refresh RAM 12.
is memorized. The character pattern extracted at this time is not inverted like the output sentence buffer 5 and is displayed normally. However, when displaying the number of homophones (remaining number of homophones Q), CPU2 uses CG
The character pattern taken out from 11 is written as an inversion into the refresh RAM 12 and displayed in reverse.

In the display example in Figure 4b, "Complete" is the first option.
is selected and displayed.
When the next candidate key is pressed on keyboard 1,
In accordance with the program of the processing program device 6, the CPU 2 takes out the next candidate from the conversion candidate buffer 8 and replaces it with the first candidate "Complete" already displayed on the one-line display 4. At this time, the number of homophones is subtracted by 1 so that the remaining number of homophones can be displayed. For example, "Completion" becomes "Quiet", and the number of homophones is displayed as 9. If you press the next candidate key further, the next candidates will be displayed one after another. If the next candidate key is further pressed when the number of homophones is displayed as 1, the screen returns to the beginning and becomes as shown in Figure 4b. The previous candidate key is a key that selects candidates in the opposite direction to the next candidate key.If the number of homophones is large and the next candidate key is pressed too many times,
Alternatively, it is particularly effective when selecting homophones with low candidate rankings.

The operation flow associated with the pressing operation of the next candidate key and the previous candidate key is shown in Figure 6, and the total number of homophones P is provided for transfer and comparison for the cycle operation of each key, and one line On the display 4, the number Q of remaining homophones is displayed.

When the selection of the homophone is completed and the next kana character is input, the CPU 2 moves the last displayed candidate from the conversion candidate buffer 8 to the output sentence buffer 5, and also updates the input kana character string to the input sentence buffer 3. At the same time, the number of homophones on the one-line display 4 is displayed in reverse order. If the CPU 2 searches the dictionary memory 7 by displaying the conversion key and finds no corresponding data, the input sentence buffer 3
The content of is transferred as is to the conversion candidate buffer 8, and the kana character string to be converted is displayed as is. However, for example, by displaying the number of homophones 0 immediately after the character string, the kana character string before the conversion instruction is displayed. The character strings and their display formats are made different, so that it can be easily determined whether the kana character string is in a state before a conversion instruction is given or in a state in which there are no conversion candidates as a result of conversion.

Next, a case where the number of displayed characters exceeds the number of characters on the one-line display 4 will be explained. As an example,
It is already displayed that ``Japanese input device with kana-kanji conversion method is very convenient,'' and ``it is a machine.''
The relationship between key input and display when inputting ``and'' is shown below. In addition, the reversed display is shown in Gossik font, and the blank space is shown with an ○ mark.

Display 1 How to convert kana-kanji...Very convenient 1〓○○○
Key input: Kana display 2 How to convert kana to kanji...Very convenient text〓
Key input: Displayed in 3 Kana-Kanji conversion method...a very convenient phrase.
Key input: Display 4 Kanji conversion method day... It's a convenient phrase.
Key input: Conversion display 5 Kanji conversion method day... It's a convenient opportunity 2〓○
Key input: Next candidate display 6 Kanji conversion method day... It's a convenient machine 1〓○
Key input: and display 7 If there is 〓○○○...○○○○○○○○○○○
Key input: No conversion display 8 If there is ○○○...○○○○○○○○○○○
Key input: ↑ Display 9 Kana-Kan = Character conversion..., this is a very convenient machine.Display 1 is the initial state, Display 2 is the one-line display when it is full, and Display 3 is when you enter one more character and the entire screen is moved to the left. Shifted by one character, display 4 is the state where you have finished inputting the kana characters to be converted,
Display 5 shows the state in which the conversion key is pressed (at this time, note that the first character of the conversion result is at the beginning position of the kana character to be converted), display 6 shows the state selected by the next candidate key, and display 7 shows the state selected by the next candidate key. When the next kana character is input, it is assumed that one of the homophones has been determined and is displayed in an unshifted state (moving to the next line). Display 8 shows a state in which the conversion target "to" is left unconverted by pressing the no-conversion key (the display of "to" is replaced with a normal character), and display 9 shows a state in which the cursor is moved up and the previous line is displayed. This is the displayed state.

In FIG. 5, A of the output sentence buffer 5 stores the number of characters that can be displayed on the one-line display 4 (which can be set using the keyboard 1), and B stores the character position from the beginning of the line. Also, C of input sentence buffer 3
stores the number of kana characters input. In the display example of FIG. 4, A=28, B=5, and C=4.

As shown in the flowchart of Figure 7,
When the flag F of the CPU 2 is 0, the kana data is taken into the input sentence buffer 3 every time there is a kana input. Then, the sizes of A and (B+C) are compared. If A is larger, the characters are not shifted and the input kana characters are displayed one after the other. When (B+C) becomes larger, the character position B is -1 and the entire one-line display 4 is shifted to the left by one character and displayed. In other words, when inputting a kana character string, even if the number of characters in one line exceeds the number of characters displayed on the display 4,
All input kana character strings can be displayed along the right edge of the row display 4. If you press the conversion key and then the next candidate key or previous candidate key, the results will be displayed based on B, so the first character of the conversion result will be at the first position of the kana character to be converted, and all conversion results will be displayed. Ru.

If you press the conversion key, the flag F=2, so when entering a new kana character string, clear input buffer 3 and import the input data,
The conversion result is transferred to the output sentence buffer 5, and accordingly, the contents of character position B are rewritten and returned to normal display.

In this way, in this example, the conversion target and the conversion result can all be displayed at once until a homophone is determined. If you move to the next line without shifting to the left when you exceed the number of characters in one line, only the second half will be displayed, resulting in very poor operability. Furthermore, in this example, when a homophone is determined, the display automatically returns to the normal, unshifted display, allowing the operator to continue inputting using natural operations. A homophone is considered determined when a key other than conversion, no conversion, cancellation, onkun, previous candidate, and next candidate is pressed.

As explained above, in order to reduce the burden on the operator during input, mode settings and key input prohibitions are avoided as much as possible, and when the device is in input mode, conversion, no conversion, and cancellation can be done by shifting the cursor left or right. The functions of function keys such as , erase key, etc. are always enabled. The example sentence input operation and display method will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Example 1 "Thank you" Combination of conversion, cancellation, left/right shift Indication of incorrect conversion unit 〓 Key input: Display of onegai mo oshigasu 〓 Key input: Display of conversion 〓 Key input: Display of conversion 〓 Key input: Display of cancellation Please I'll do it for you〓 Key input: ←←←←←←← Display Please〓 I'll do it for you Key input: Conversion display Request 1〓 I'll do it for you〓 Key input: → Display I'll do it for you〓 Key input: Conversion display Thank you 1 Example 1 is This is a case where two clauses were entered by mistake.
When the conversion key is operated for the first time, there is no corresponding data in the dictionary memory 7 and the data is displayed without conversion. When the cancel key is operated, the operation of the conversion key is canceled and the display returns to that of the previous input sentence buffer 3, which is displayed in reverse video. Here, the flag becomes F=0, and when the left cursor movement (←) key is pressed, the cursor moves by the number of times the left cursor movement (←) key is pressed. This moves the cursor to the position corresponding to one phrase. When you press the conversion key, the highlighted character in front of the cursor is converted, the corresponding part becomes normal display, and the number of homophones is displayed. Incidentally, since the kana character string after the cursor at this time remains in the input sentence buffer 3, it is also displayed in a reversed state. When the conversion key is pressed, the flag F=2 is set. Therefore, next time you press the right cursor movement (→) key, you will clear the converted part of input sentence buffer 3 and move the cursor to 1.
Jump to the end at once and return to the normal position. After that, press the normal conversion key to convert the remaining input kana string.

Example 2 "Japanese" Combination of Convert, Cancel, Left/Right Shift, and Erase keys Correction display for input errors 〓 Key input: Display Japanese 〓 Key input: Display Japanese 〓 Key input: Display conversion 〓 Key Input: Cancel display Japanese key input: ←← Display Japanese key input: <× Display Japanese key input: Display Japanese key input: →→ Display Japanese key input: Conversion display Japanese 1〓 Cancel and move the cursor position to the left are the same as Example 1. In this case, when the character on the left side is pressed, the character on the left side is deleted, and the kana character input for "ho" is taken into the corresponding position of the input buffer 3. Since the flag F=0 for moving the cursor in the right direction, the cursor moves one step for each press in the usual manner.

Example 3 “I can tell you” Combination display with no conversion Can tell Key input: Can display Can tell Key input: Conversion display Can tell 1 Key input: No conversion display Can be conveyed〓 Key input: Conversion display Can be conveyed 1〓 Key input: No conversion display Can be conveyed〓 Key input: Cancellation display Can be conveyed〓 To use the no conversion key, press the conversion key. As in the case where there is no corresponding data, the contents of the input sentence buffer 3 are directly transferred to the conversion candidate buffer 8 and displayed.
Switching between the conversion key and the non-conversion key is simply the selection of data from the conversion candidate buffer 8, and the non-conversion key or the conversion key can be directly pressed as desired. Also,
The ability to press the cancel key without conversion is the same as in the case of the conversion key.

Example 4 "You can input Japanese quickly" Combination display of insertion and conversion Japanese can be input 1 Key input: ←←←←← Display Key input that can input Japanese: Display quickly Japanese can be input quickly Key input that can be done: Conversion display Key input that can input Japanese quickly 2〓: Next candidate display Can input Japanese quickly 1〓 Kana character input is possible at any time, and when you move the cursor and press the kana key The previously exchanged character data is transferred to the output sentence buffer 5. on the other hand,
The kana character string is taken into the cleared input buffer 3 and displayed in reverse. The insertion position is controlled by the cursor position, and Kanji conversion can be done in the same way within the text.

Example 5 "Easy to input Japanese" Display combination of insertion and deletion conversion Key input that allows you to input Japanese quickly: ＜× Display Key input that allows you to input Japanese quickly: ×＞ Display Japanese 〓Key input that can be input: Easy display Japanese can be easily input〓 Key input that can be input: Conversion display Japanese can be input easily 3〓 You can erase characters in both the left and right directions with the <×, ×> keys, and example 4 This shows that you can insert sentences like this.

Next, punctuation exchange will be explained. FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of punctuation exchange. When the period (.) key is pressed, the period (.) is input into the input sentence buffer 3 and is automatically exchanged without pressing the exchange key. Of course, in this state, a specific item can be selected by pressing the next candidate key or the previous candidate key.

By using punctuation conversion in this way, normally you would have to enter kana input, conversion, next candidate (or previous candidate), and period (.); (previous candidate), and the number of input operations can be reduced by one step. If you want to input kana as is, you can enter kana, do no conversion, and use the normal period (.). The same goes for commas (,).

As explained above, the operability of kana-kanji conversion input is greatly improved even though it is a one-line display, but since the format of the entire input sentence cannot be grasped on a one-line display, the CPU 2 further increases the output sentence buffer 5. Using the format display 9, which displays the format of one page of sentences by associating each character with one dot (dots are lit where there are characters, and dots are turned off where there are no characters, such as spaces and tabs). ) and by flashing the dot on the format display corresponding to the cursor position on the one-line display 4, the one-line display 4 and the format display 9 are made to correspond, and although it is small, it has the same operability as a CRT screen display. It is made to have. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a display example of the format display 9. As shown in FIG.

In the above embodiments, the display device is limited to a one-line display, but the present invention is particularly useful for a one-line display, and is applicable to a two-by-three-line partial page display or a screen display. It can also be applied to a kana-kanji conversion input device. In addition, the present invention performs kana-kanji conversion by word-by-word conversion and kanji-by-kanji conversion,
It can be applied to any method, such as one for converting phrases.

Embodiments of the invention are as follows.

A keyboard including at least 50 syllabary keys and several function keys for inputting kana, a one-line display capable of displaying kana, kanji, alphanumeric characters, etc., a conversion dictionary for converting kana to kanji, and the above-mentioned A CPU that controls the keyboard and display as well as performs kana-kanji conversion processing, a processing program device that operates the CPU in a fixed procedure, and an input text buffer that stores kana character strings input from the keyboard. It is equipped with a conversion candidate buffer that temporarily stores the candidates that should be used, and an output sentence buffer that stores the selected candidate as a sentence, and converts the kana character string input from the keyboard into a sentence containing kanji and kana to input Japanese. In a Japanese input device using the Kana-Kanji conversion method, () When displaying a Kana character string input from the keyboard on the one-line display, the input Kana character string is A Japanese input device characterized by displaying the white and black of the text inverted, or surrounding it with a frame, or displaying the characters in different fonts. When a word is found, the number of homophones is added to the conversion result and displayed, and the number of homophones is displayed by inverting black and white or by changing the character pattern so that it can be distinguished from numbers included in other sentences. Japanese input device characterized by While displaying the word, the number of homophones to be added and displayed is subtracted by 1 to display the remaining number of homophones,
A Japanese input device characterized in that when the number of remaining homophones becomes 0, it returns to the beginning and displays the first homophone candidate and the number of homophones, and the same operation is repeated thereafter. A Japanese input device that has a previous candidate call key in addition to the call key, and allows the reverse rotation of the next candidate call key. mode, the Japanese input device improves operability by enabling the functions of the function keys mentioned above (2). When the limit is exceeded, all displayed characters are shifted to the left sequentially, and the conversion results obtained by pressing the conversion key and the conversion results obtained by pressing the next candidate and previous candidate call keys are the final Until it is determined, the first character of the conversion result is positioned at the first character position of the input kana string, and the next kana character input, cursor shift, etc.
A kana-kanji conversion processing device that returns to the normal display position only when the conversion selection is confirmed by pressing a key such as backspace () In addition to the one-line display for displaying the text, it is stored in the output text buffer. Sentence 1
By providing a format display that displays characters in one segment and displaying the document format of the entire page, and blinking the segment of the format display that corresponds to the cursor position on the one-line display, the one-line display and the format display can be created. A Japanese input device () that supports conversion. A kana-kanji conversion processing device that is characterized by being able to give conversion instructions not only by the conversion key but also by full periods (.) and commas (,). According to the invention, since the display formats of the character strings before conversion, conversion candidates, and after confirmation are different from each other, it is possible to easily distinguish between these character strings by just glancing at the screen, and the operator can easily In addition to reducing fatigue, you can easily understand the status by the display format of the character string even when you resume inputting work after suspending it, especially if there are no conversion candidates corresponding to the kana character string you entered. Although the character string is displayed as it is, by making the display format different from the display format of the kana character string in the input state, it is possible to easily recognize that there are no conversion candidates, and to avoid operational errors due to misunderstanding of the state. There is no increase in the number of keystrokes due to operation errors, and the status of character string candidates can be easily recognized, making it possible to make more effective use of calling up homophones by operating the next candidate key, making it easier to input, correct, and correct sentences. Work such as insertion can be performed more efficiently.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is an external perspective view, Fig. 3 is a detailed plan view of the keyboard section, Fig. 4 a and b are views each showing an example of display on a one-line display section, and Fig. 5 shows the main part in detail. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation, FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining another operation, FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining another operation, and FIG. 9 is a format display section. It is a figure which shows the example of a display. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Keyboard, 2...CPU, 3...Input sentence buffer, 4...1 line display, 5...Output sentence buffer, 6...Processing program device, 7...
...Dictionary memory, 8...Conversion candidate buffer, 9...
Format display.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A kana key for inputting a kana character string, an input buffer for storing the kana character string input from the kana key, and a kana character string input from the kana key sequentially converted into kanji or kanji-kana. A conversion key for instructing conversion to a mixed character string, and searching a dictionary memory for and storing a kanji or a kanji-kana mixed character string corresponding to the kana character string stored in the input buffer based on the instruction from the conversion key. an exchange candidate buffer to select, a next candidate key for selecting a kanji or kanji-kana-mixed character string candidate stored in the conversion candidate buffer, and a kanji or kanji in the previous stage of the operation based on the operation of the kana key for kana input. An output sentence buffer that stores kana-mixed character string candidates as confirmed character strings, the kana character strings stored in the input buffer, the kanji or kanji-kana-mixed character strings stored in the conversion candidate buffer, and the output sentence buffer. display means for displaying the input information on the same screen; and when a conversion key is operated while the kana character string inputted by the kana key is displayed, the kana character string is replaced with a kanji character string or a kanji-kana-mixed character string; The first candidate is displayed, and each time the next candidate key is operated in the candidate state, character string candidates are sequentially called from the conversion candidate buffer and displayed as replacements, and the kana characters input by the subsequent operation of the kana key are display control means for displaying the character string candidates following the character string candidates; the display control means calls the kana character string, the kanji or kanji-kana mixed character string candidates, and the confirmed character string from each buffer and displays them on the screen of the display means. When displaying the kana character string on the top, control is performed so that the formats are different from each other, while if there is no conversion candidate corresponding to the kana character string that is instructed to be converted by the conversion key in the dictionary memory, the kana character string is displayed as it is. A kana-kanji conversion Japanese input device characterized in that the display form of the kana character string is different from the display form of the kana character string before the conversion instruction is given.