JPH0371320A - Character retriever - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce an occupied area of a switch group, and also, to simply retrieve a desired character by providing a means for displaying a retrieved character, and also, constituting the switch group of a membrane switch brought to pattern formation at a minute pitch on a membrane. CONSTITUTION:A display means 23 for displaying a retrieved character is provided, and also, a switch group 6 is constituted of membrane switches 601 - 650 brought to pattern information at a minute pitch on a membrane. A retrieval key 2 is placed at a very minute internal, for instance, at an interval of 1mm, and under the retrieval key 2, the switch group 6 constituted of the membrane switches 601 - 650 corresponding to its pitch is provided. In such a state, in the case plural adjacent retrieval keys 2 are turned on simultaneously, for instance, the youngest key 2 therein is selected, and displayed on a display part 23. In such a way, an occupied area of the switch group decreases, and also, at the time of retrieving, a desired character can be retrieved by only shifting a pressing position of a finger, while looking at a character displayed by the display means 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a character search device that includes a group of switches for character search and searches for a character corresponding to a selected switch from the switch group.

For example, the above-mentioned character search device is used in a facsimile machine, and specifically, the following devices have been proposed or put into practical use.

■Each key of the 50 sounds corresponding to "A~n" is arranged. For example, when searching for data for "Sa", first press the "Sa" key, then select the data belonging to "Sa". A device that does.

■The first letter of each line from the “A” line to the “N” line (A.

There are keys that indicate ka,...wa,n〉.For example, when searching for data for ``Sa'', first press the ``sa'' key to select ``sa'', and then A device that selects the data belonging to that row.

(2) A device in which a shift key is arranged, and for example, when searching for data for "sa", the shift key is used to shift to the position of "sa" and then data belonging to "sa" is selected.

However, the conventional structures (1) to (4) above each had the following problems.

■Since each key needs to be large enough to accommodate a finger, the space on the operation surface becomes significantly large, leading to an increase in the size of the device using the character search device.

■Since a lot of data is stored in the row to be searched, it takes a long time to search, which reduces operability. Furthermore, even just the initials require a considerable amount of space.

- Since it takes time to reach the position of the character to be searched by operating the shift key, the operability is also poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the current situation, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a character search device that can eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a character search device that includes a group of switches for character search and searches for a character corresponding to a switch selected from the switch group. The apparatus is characterized in that it comprises a display means for displaying, and that the switch group is composed of membrane switches having a fine pinch pattern formed on the membrane.

As described above, if the switch group is composed of membrane switches patterned at a fine pitch, the area occupied by the switch group is significantly reduced compared to the conventional one.

Further, when searching, a desired character can be easily searched for by simply slightly shifting the pressed position of the finger while looking at the characters displayed on the display means.

In addition, the switch group does not protrude too much from the surface of the device equipped with the character search device, which improves the appearance of the device.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the operation surface 3 of the facsimile machine 30
1, there are a search key 2 corresponding to the Japanese syllabary, shift keys 3a and 3b, a display section 23 that displays the searched characters, and a display content forwarding key that sequentially changes the content displayed on this display section 23. Other operation keys 24 including a send key etc.
, a confirmation switch 33 used when inputting characters, and a search switch 34 used when searching displayed contents.
and is provided. The search keys 2 are arranged at very fine intervals (In interval in this embodiment), and below the search keys 2 are membrane switches 601 to 650 corresponding to the above pitches, as shown in FIG. A switch group 6 is provided.

This switch group 6 is made of a carbon sheet and is arranged between the encoder circuit 8 and the earth line 12. When a predetermined key among the search keys 2 is pressed, the corresponding membrane switch is turned on and a code signal indicating a predetermined character is output from the encoder circuit 8 to the input port 20.

A membrane switch 1 is located below the shift keys 3a and 3b.
0 and 11 are provided respectively, and these membrane switches 10 and 11 are connected to the input port 20 and the ground line 1.
He is cast between the two.

The input port 20 is connected to the facsimile ξ through a data bus.
It is connected to a control section 21 that performs communication control and the like. The control unit 21 includes a storage unit 22 in which data such as the destination of a facsimile is stored and also stores characters when a character code signal is output, and decodes character data read from this storage unit 22. It is connected to a decoder 25 that outputs the data to the display section 23 and the other operation keys 24.

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are flowcharts showing character search operations performed by the control unit 21.

First, depending on the operator, press search key 2 or shift key 3a/3.
When b is pressed, it is determined which key it is (S
l). When the search key 2 is pressed, a code signal is emitted from the encoder circuit 8, and when the shift keys 3a and 3b are pressed, a code signal is emitted from the input port 20 instead of a code signal like the search key.
Since the switch-on signal is directly emitted from the switch-on signal, it is possible to determine Sl by detecting whether the code signal is a switch-on signal. If the search key 2 is ON, it is determined whether a plurality of search keys 2 are turned ON at the same time (S
2) As described above, since the search keys 2 are arranged at a very fine pitch, it is possible that a plurality of adjacent search keys 2 are turned on at the same time, so this determination is made. If a plurality of search keys 2 are turned on, for example, the youngest search key 2 among them is selected (S3
〉, memorize the character code corresponding to this search key 2 (
S4), and the character corresponding to this character code is displayed on the display section 23 (S5). Also, singular search key 2
If only the search key 2 is turned on, the character code corresponding to this search key 2 is stored (S4), and the same operation is performed thereafter.

On the other hand, if the shift keys 3a and 3b are ON in step S1, it is determined which one of the shift keys 3a and 3b is pressed (S6).

This determination can be easily made through the input boat 20.

If it is determined that the shift key 3a is pressed, the control unit 2
1, the built-in timer starts operating (S7). This timer determines the time for displaying one character on the display section 23 when the shift key is pressed to shift the characters in order. In other words, if the setting time of the timer is short, the characters will shift at high speed when the shift key 3a is pressed, and the characters on the display section 23 will be replaced rapidly, making it difficult to see the characters. On the other hand, if the timer is set for a long time, the characters to be shifted on the display section 23 can be viewed one by one with certainty, but there is a drawback that it takes too much time to shift the characters. Therefore, the setting time of the timer is preferably about 0.2 to 0.5 seconds.

When the timer is turned on in step S7, the program proceeds to step S8 and increments the code number of the displayed character by one in order to shift from the currently displayed character to the next character (S8).

Then, the character corresponding to this character code No. is displayed (S9). Next, it is determined whether or not the shift key 3a has been pressed continuously (310).

If the shift key 3a is continuously pressed, wait for the timer to time up (Sll), turn on the timer again, and repeat the operations of steps 87 to S11 described above. The characters are shifted one after another at set time intervals.The operator stops pressing the shift key 3a when the desired character is displayed while visually viewing the displayed characters. Then, the shift operation of the displayed characters stops, and the program returns to step S10.
The process then proceeds to 812, resets the timer, and returns to the main flow (not shown).

If the shift key 3b is then pressed, the program proceeds from S6 to 312 and turns on the timer. This timer also has the same set time as the above-mentioned timer, and is built into the control section 21. The subsequent operations are from 314 to S17.
As shown in , the only difference is that the characters are shifted in the opposite direction (that is, in the case of 50 syllables, they are shifted in the order of "U", "I", "A", "N", etc.). Same as when is pressed. Then, when the desired character is displayed, the shift of the character is stopped by releasing the shift key 3b.

According to the above-mentioned character search device, Ki part 201-2
50 is a very narrow pitch, even if two or more keys are pressed at the same time, only the youngest character will be displayed, and if a character different from the desired character is displayed, Desired characters can be displayed simply by slightly shifting the pressing position of the finger or by pressing the shift keys 3a and 3b.

The facsimile machine shown in FIG. 1 has the following destination search function and character input function in addition to the character search function provided by the character search device.

That is, the storage unit 22 has a table that associates each letter as shown in the table below with the name of the recipient whose initial letter is the first letter and the telephone number of the destination, and for example, when searching for "a", the search is performed. When switch 34 is pressed, "A" is displayed from the table below.
One destination name with initials ``Shallow 1) 06-xxX-
0000J is read out and displayed on the display section 23. In this case, if the destination name is not the desired destination name, when the display content forwarding key is pressed, the next destination name "Ashimori" with the initial letter "A" is read out and displayed. Then, when you press the send key when the desired destination name is displayed, the phone number associated with the destination name is read out, and the auto dialer (
(not shown) allows dialing.

In addition, if you want to input a new destination name, search for the necessary characters and press the confirmation switch to store the desired destination name in the storage unit 22.0 For example, by searching for characters, you can enter After searching for the letters ``ra'' and ``ta'' in that order, you can press the confirmation switch to input the destination name ``Murata''.

In the above embodiment, when a plurality of search keys 2 are turned on, the control unit 21 selects the youngest search key 2 using software, but if a priority encoder is used in the encoder circuit 8, the youngest A younger search key 2 can be selected by the encoder circuit 8. Therefore, in this case, step S2 and step S shown in FIG.
3 becomes unnecessary.

In addition, when multiple search keys 2 are pressed, the youngest key is selected in the embodiment, but the middle key of the group of pressed keys may be selected, or the last key may be selected. Of course, it is possible.

Furthermore, the present invention can support searches for not only 50 syllables but also numbers.

As described above, according to the present invention, the area occupied by the switch group is significantly reduced compared to the conventional method, so that equipment using a character search device can be downsized.

Further, when searching, a desired character can be easily searched for by simply slightly shifting the pressed position of the finger while looking at the characters displayed on the display means, thereby improving operability.

4. In addition, since the switch group does not protrude too much from the surface of the device equipped with the character search device, the appearance of the device is improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a facsimile machine using the character search device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the main parts of the character search device, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control circuit of the character search device. FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are flowcharts showing the operation of the character search device. Fig. 1...Search key, 20 Border group, 601-8...Encoder, 23...Display section, 2-250...Ki part, 6...50...Membrane swift... Control unit, 22... Memory... Operation unit, 25... Decoding

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A character search device that includes a switch group for character search and searches for a character corresponding to a selected switch among the switch group, further comprising display means for displaying the searched character, and wherein the switch group is A character search device comprising a membrane switch having a pattern formed at a fine pitch on the membrane.