JPH0650033Y2 - Input device with display function - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an input device with a display function for displaying input characters on a display means.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in the above-mentioned input device with a display function, a keyboard including a plurality of keys is used as an input means.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned keyboard, in order to facilitate input, it is necessary to provide each key with a predetermined size and also consider the interval between the keys, so that the device itself is large. This has been a serious problem for recent electronic devices that are becoming smaller and lighter.

In order to solve this problem, for example, a dial type character selecting means can be considered instead of the keyboard. As shown in FIG. 2, a device having dial type character selecting means is provided on the main body device, and has an annular character selecting dial 16, a display section 22, and
It is composed of a confirmation key 20 for confirming a candidate character.
On the dial surface 17 of the character selection dial 16, a large number of characters, symbols, etc. are displayed at equal intervals, and the character aligned with the alignment point 18 provided on the main unit is always displayed on the display unit 22.
Are displayed in the lower area 22a of the. When the operator inputs a character, the dial 16 is rotated to bring a desired character to the alignment point 18 so that the candidate character is displayed on the display unit 22, and the enter key 20 is depressed to display the display unit. The candidate character displayed in the lower area 22a of 22 is decided as the input character.

However, when entering a dakuten (including semi-dakuten) symbol in the dial input device described above, after entering the character to which the dakuten should be added in advance (performing the confirmation operation after character selection), the dakuten symbol on the dial 16 However, if the dakuten symbol is selected by the decision key 20, the dakuten symbol is displayed as one character, and the display area cannot be used effectively.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an input device with a display function that is small and has good operability.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the input device with a display function of the present invention outputs a signal corresponding to a desired one character from a plurality of candidate characters arranged in a predetermined order. The character selecting means for outputting, the confirming means for confirming the character selected by the character selecting means, the candidate characters are sequentially replaced and displayed in response to the signal from the character selecting means, and the character is confirmed by the confirming means. In this case, the display means having an input area for displaying the confirmed character and the display means in response to a change in the signal from the character selecting means after the character is confirmed by the confirming means. And a control means for displaying the candidate character selected by the character selection means in the input area while shifting each character that is present, and the control means, when the dakuten or semi-dakuten is selected by the character selection means. To The voiced sound or the semi-voiced sound is displayed as one character in the input area, and when the voiced sound or the semi-voiced sound is confirmed by the confirmation means, each character displayed on the display means is shifted downward and It is characterized in that the voiced or semi-voiced points are additionally displayed on the characters shifted to the input area.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, the control means shifts each character displayed in the display area in the lower direction when the dakuten signal is confirmed by the confirming means, and displays the character with a dakuten in the input area. .

[Embodiment] An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a dial input device with a display function (hereinafter simply referred to as a dial input device) will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of this dial input device. This dial input device includes an input unit 10 for inputting data such as characters and a liquid crystal display for displaying the data.
22 and. The input unit 10 is provided with a character selection dial 16 that can be rotated. The character selection dial 16 has an annular shape, and characters, symbols, etc. are displayed on the annular dial surface 17 at equal intervals.

The input unit 10 is also provided with a positioning point 18 that defines the character selection position of the character selection dial 16. Inside the character selection dial 16, a confirmation key 20 that is pressed down to confirm the character selected by the character selection dial 16 as an input character is provided concentrically with the character selection dial 16.

The liquid crystal display 22 displays three input characters and has an input area (lower area) 22a on the right end side.
In the input area 22a, candidate characters to be aligned with the alignment point 18 by rotating the character selection dial 16 are displayed one after another, and the enter key is also displayed.
It displays the confirmed character when 20 is operated. At this time, since two types of characters, that is, a candidate character and a confirmed character, are displayed in the input area 22a, the cursor 22b is displayed below the character when the candidate character is displayed.

Next, the character selection dial 16 and the enter key 20 will be described in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, the character selection dial 16 is rotatably held in a cylindrical portion 40 formed in the cover 38 of the input unit 10, and while the dial portion that is rotated is projected from the cover 38, the character selection dial 16 is selected. An electrode group 43 is provided on the lower end portion 42 of the letter dial 16, and is always connected to a contact point 61 provided on the substrate 60 of the input unit 10 which faces the letter dial 16. And the character selection dial
When the 16 desired characters are aligned with the alignment point 18, the electrode group 43 contacts one of the contacts 61 corresponding to the character and outputs a signal corresponding to the character.

As shown in FIG. 3, the enter key 20 is axially slidably fitted inside a ring-shaped character selection dial 16 and is biased by a spring 54 in a direction projecting from the character selection dial 16. However, the projection 56 is engaged with the lower end of the character selection dial 16 to prevent the character selection dial 16 from coming off. An elastically deformable rubber contact plate 58 is provided on the substrate 60 below the confirmation key 20, and a movable contact disposed on the lower surface of the contact plate 58 and a pair of fixed contacts provided on the substrate 60. An input contact 62 is constituted by the contact.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a control system of this dial input device.

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 186 manages all the operations of the dial input device. The CPU 186 includes an input unit 10 and a ROM.
A (read only memory) 188, a RAM (random access memory) 190 and a liquid crystal display 22 are electrically connected to each other.

The input unit 10 has a character selection dial 16 and an enter key 20, and always outputs a character selection signal by the electrode group 43 and the contact 61 of the character select dial 16 to the CPU 186, and when the enter key 20 is operated. Is configured to output a confirmation signal from the contact 62 to the CPU 186.

The ROM 188 stores a control program for controlling the operation of the dial input device and also generates a character pattern corresponding to a character code and a character pattern of a character with a dakuten (hereinafter referred to as CG-ROM) 1
Equipped with 92.

The RAM 190 has an input buffer 202, a buffer pointer 204, and a confirmation flag 206. The input buffer 202 is an input unit
Character data input from the ten character selection dials 16 is stored with a predetermined code. Buffer pointer 204
Stores the position to be currently input in the input buffer 202 by an address (address), and the position in the input buffer 202 indicated by the buffer pointer 204 corresponds to the input area 22a of the liquid crystal display 22. It is like this. The confirmation flag 206 indicates the operation status of the confirmation key 20, and in the normal state (initial state), the logic "0" is set.
When the enter key 20 is operated, the logic becomes "1",
When the character selection dial 16 or the enter key 20 is subsequently operated, it is set to "0" again.

The liquid crystal display 22 is the input buffer 20 via the CPU 186.
2 and the character display pattern input from the CG-ROM 192 are displayed.

Next, regarding the operation of the dial input device as described above,
A description will be given according to the flowchart in the figure.

When the power is turned on or the reset operation is performed by the operator, in step S1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as S1 to S24), the CPU 186 performs the clear operation of the input buffer 202 and the confirmation flag 206 as an initial setting, and the buffer pointer 204. The start address of the input buffer 202 is set to. Then, in S2, which contact of the contacts 61 of the character selection dial 16 is selected is scanned, and character data corresponding to the contact is obtained as input data. In S3, it is determined whether or not the input data and the character data in the input buffer 202 indicated by the buffer pointer 204 are the same, and when they are the same,
If it is different, the character selection dial 16 is newly rotated, and the operation proceeds to S4. In S4, selection flag
It is determined whether 206 is "1", that is, whether the dial rotation operation is performed for the first time after the confirming operation described later. If YES, the process proceeds to S5, and if NO, the process proceeds to S7. In S5, since the dial operation is performed for the first time after the confirmation operation, the buffer pointer 204 is incremented by 1 in order to shift the input character display to the left by one character. In S6, the determination flag 206 is set to "0", and then the process proceeds to S7. In S7, the operation of storing the candidate character selected by the character selection dial 16 in the address indicated by the buffer pointer 204 of the input buffer 202 is performed. In S8, the upper three characters from the address indicated by the buffer pointer 204 of the input buffer 202 are displayed on the liquid crystal display 22. Then, in S9, in order to notify the operator that the characters displayed in the input area 22a of the liquid crystal display 22 are undetermined characters (candidate characters), the cursor 22b is placed below the input area 22a. Is displayed and S2 is returned to.

In addition, since the dial rotation operation is not performed at the time of shifting to S10 through S2 and S3, the CPU 186 sets the enter key 20.
Key scanning such as is performed, and it is determined in S11 whether the confirm key 20 has been operated. S1 when the enter key 20 is operated
At 4, it is determined whether the character selection flag 206 is "1", that is, whether the confirmation operation is continuously performed without rotating the character selection dial 16. If YES, the process proceeds to S22 and NO. Sometimes S15
Move to each. In S15, the input buffer 202
It is determined whether or not the character data of the address indicated by the buffer pointer 204 inside is a dakuten sign (including a semi-dakuten sign), that is, whether or not the dakuten sign is confirmed. If YES, go to S16 and NO.
In case of, shift to S20 respectively. In S16, it is determined whether or not a dakuten can be added to the character indicated by the address of (buffer pointer 204-1). If NO, an error process (not shown) is performed and the process returns to S2. If YES, in S17, the value of the buffer pointer 204 is decremented by 1 in order to reverse-shift the character displayed on the liquid crystal display 22, and in S18, the character shifted to the input area 22a of the liquid crystal display 22 has a dakuten. CG to add
-Restore the code of the character with dakuten dots stored in the ROM 192 at the address indicated by the buffer pointer 204 in the input buffer 202, and in S19 display the upper 3 characters from the address indicated by the buffer pointer 204 of the input buffer 202 on the liquid crystal display. Display on 22.

A confirmation operation is performed in S20 and S21, and in S20, a cursor 22d is displayed to notify the operator that the character displayed in the input area 22a of the liquid crystal display 22 is the confirmed character.
Is performed, the determination flag 206 is set to "1" in S21, and the process returns to S2.

When the process shifts to S22 by the determination in S14, the confirmation operation is continuously performed without rotating the character selection dial 16, so this operation is a repeat operation, that is, an operation of continuously inputting the same character. S22-S24 and S8, S9
Process. First, in S22, the buffer pointer 204 is incremented for display shift. S23
Then, the same character is input by storing the character data at the (buffer pointer 204-1) address at the (buffer pointer 204) address. Then, in S24, the storage flag 206 is set to "0" to make the character by the repeat operation a candidate character, and the process proceeds to S8 and S9 described above.

Further, when the process proceeds to S12 by the determination in S11, it is determined whether or not another key (not shown) is operated, and when it is determined that the other key is operated, the process for the other key is performed in S13, and S2 Return to.

As is apparent from the above description, in the dial input device of this embodiment, the input area 22a of the liquid crystal display 22 is
There are two types of characters, the fixed character and the candidate character, are displayed. However, since the cursor 22b is displayed in the input area 22a only when the candidate character is displayed, the operator distinguishes between the fixed character and the candidate character. Can be done easily. Moreover, since the cursor 22b as the notification means is displayed only in the input area 22a of the liquid crystal display 22, the processing for the display can be simplified.

Further, since the present dial input device sets the timing of shifting the displayed characters at the time of operating the character selection dial 16 after the candidate characters input in the input area 22a are set as the finalized characters by operating the finalizing key 20. , LCD display 22
The display area can be used friendly and the operability such as the correction operation after the confirmation operation can be improved.

In addition, this dial input device can achieve operability when consecutively inputting the same character by two or more characters by simply selecting the character with the character selection dial 16 and then continuously operating the selection key 20. Can be improved.

Also, when entering characters with dakuten or semi-dakuten,
When the dakuten sign or the semi-dakuten sign is independently stored in the input buffer 202 and confirmed after the character to be added is input, the character and the dakuten sign or the semi-dakuten sign is combined with the dakuten or the half-dakuten character, Since the data is re-stored with the decrement (reverse shift) of the buffer pointer 204, it is possible to effectively use the storage / display area.

It should be noted that this embodiment is merely an example in which the present invention is embodied as a dial input device, and can be implemented in a mode in which various modifications and improvements are made by those skilled in the art. For example, it is possible to input, exchange, and re-store symbols such as umlauts as well as dakuten symbols. Further, although the dial input device of this embodiment has only the display function, the dial input device can also be applied to an input device having a printing mechanism, and a method different from the dial input method, for example, a predetermined key is continuously pressed. By this, the character strings stored in a predetermined order change one after another,
It is also possible to implement a character input by opening the key when the desired character is reached.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described in detail above, the present invention can reduce the size of the entire input device by providing the character selection means and the determination means in the input device, and the control means displays when the dakuten is determined. Is displayed in the input area and the characters with dakuten dots are displayed in the input area, so that the display means can be effectively used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of a dial input device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the dial input device. FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the character selection dial in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the dial input device. In the figure, 10 is an input section, 16 is a character selection dial, 20 is an enter key,
22 is a liquid crystal display, 22a is an input area, 22b is a cursor, 186 is a CPU, 188 is a ROM (read only memory), 190
Is a RAM (random access memory), 192 is a CG-ROM (character generator), 202 is an input buffer, 204 is a buffer pointer, and 206 is a certain flag.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A character selection means for outputting a signal corresponding to a desired one of a plurality of candidate characters arranged in a predetermined order, and a confirmation means for confirming the character selected by the character selection means. A display unit having an input area for displaying the confirmed character when the character is confirmed by the confirming unit by sequentially switching and displaying candidate characters in response to a signal from the character selecting unit; In response to a change in the signal from the character selection means after the character has been confirmed by the means, each character displayed on the display means is shifted and the input area is a candidate selected by the character selection means. A control means for displaying a character, the control means displaying the dakuten or the semi-voiced sound as one character in the input area when the dakuten or the semi-voiced sound is selected by the character selecting means, and the confirming means. When the dakuten or semi-voiced sound is confirmed by, the characters displayed on the display means are shifted in the lower direction, and the dakuten or semi-voiced sound is additionally displayed on the characters shifted in the input area. Characteristic input device with display function.