JPH11196451A - Mobile communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication terminal that can input characters either by a toggle system or a matrix system in accordance with a user's request. SOLUTION: A toggle input data storage area 6b is an area for storing a ten key 531 that is pressed and various character data in accordance with the number of the key press times. A matrix input data storage area 6c is an area for storing various character data coordinated to inputted two-digit numerical data. A toggle input control means 5b performs control for receiving the input of the character data by the toggle system on the basis of data in the toggle input data storage area 6b. On the other hand, a matrix input control means 5c is made to perform control for receiving the input of the character data on the basis of the data in the matrix input data storage area 6c.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to, for example, PHS
(Personal Handyphone System) and a terminal device of a mobile phone system, which can be connected to a public network via a base station device of the system. In particular, a display portion capable of displaying various information and a key input portion as an information input means are provided. The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal device provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile communication terminals such as PHSs and portable telephone systems have been provided with various additional functions in addition to the original communication function. For example, according to the present inventors, the terminal device includes a large liquid crystal display unit,
A function of storing / displaying a large amount of personal information such as that found in a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), etc., and transmission / reception of e-mails and the like by connecting to a personal computer communication network via the above-mentioned wireless communication network and public network Development of things with functions and the like is underway.

The mobile communication terminal has a character message transmitting function of transmitting a previously prepared character message to a pager or another mobile communication terminal. In this text message sending function,
As a method of inputting a text message, an input method called a toggle method (or a cyclic method) is used in order to easily input the text message using a numeric keypad.

In this toggle method, a key, a key, a key, and so on are assigned to each key of a numeric keypad in advance, and a key, a key, a key, and a key of each row are selected according to the number of times each key is continuously pressed. … Characters are input.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a toggle system in which various characters are made to correspond to the key to be pressed and the number of times the key is pressed. In the case where the key correspondence as shown in FIG. 5 is made, for example, when "and" is input, the "4" key of the numeric keypad is pressed five times in succession. Thereafter, this operation is repeated to create a text message.

On the other hand, when a text message is transmitted to a pager from a mobile communication terminal which does not have the text message transmission function as described above, such as a telephone widely used by ordinary subscribers, as is well known, A DTMF signal is transmitted to the call control station of the pager by a ten-key operation of the terminal device, and a character message is designated. here,
A matrix method is adopted as a method for specifying a character message to be transmitted.

In this matrix system, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, two-digit numerical data is made to correspond to one character data. For example, when a character message "Ohyou" is transmitted, the caller must use " 15618513 "
Is pressed to transmit a DTMF signal.

[0008] Recently, with the expansion of radio base stations of PHS and portable telephone systems, pager users have come to use the above-mentioned mobile communication terminal device together with the pager, or to use it instead of the pager. .

However, when a text message is transmitted by a mobile communication terminal having a text message transmission function, the text message must be created by the toggle method as described above. For a user who is skilled in the method, there is a problem that usability is poor.

The toggle method is widely used not only for mobile communication terminals having a text message transmission function but also for mobile communication terminals for inputting characters such as personal information using a numeric keypad. The problem existed.

[0011]

In a conventional mobile communication terminal, character input is performed by a toggle method.
For users who are skilled in the matrix system, such as pager users, there is a problem that the usability is poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a mobile communication terminal device capable of inputting characters in either a toggle system or a matrix system according to a user's request. And

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention comprises a mobile communication terminal connectable to a radio base station connected to a public network via a radio channel. In the device, a first character input mode by a method of receiving a character specified by key input means including a plurality of keys, a key operated by the key input means, and the number of times the operation is continuously performed And operating the key of the key input means at least twice,
An input mode switching unit that switches to accept a character input according to an input mode designated by a user among a second character input mode based on a method of accepting a character designated by the operated key combination. I did it.

The mobile communication terminal having the above-described configuration has a first input mode and a second input mode as character data input methods, and the input mode switching means switches to an input mode designated by a user. ing.

Therefore, according to the mobile communication terminal having the above configuration, the user can select an input method according to his / her preference, so that a user who is accustomed to the first input mode and a user who is accustomed to the second input mode Can also be accommodated.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a kanji conversion means for converting a character string designated by the first input mode and a character string designated by the second input mode into a character string containing kanji. Therefore, according to the mobile communication terminal device having the above-described configuration, even if the character string is specified by the first input mode or the character string specified by the second input mode, Can be converted to a character string containing.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a system using a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, a PHS will be described as an example of this system.

In FIG. 1, mobile communication terminals (hereinafter, referred to as PHS terminals) according to the present invention are denoted by PS1 to P1.
Sm, and PHS base stations are indicated by CS1 to CSn. Each of the PHS base stations CS1 to CSn is, for example, geographically dispersed in a service area of the system as shown in FIG. 2, and has a local area E1, E2,
E3 is formed, and PHS terminals PS1-P are connected via a wireless line.
Sm is connected. In addition, as a wireless access system between the base station and the PHS terminal, for example, a TDMA-TDD system is used.

Each of the PHS base stations CS1 to CSn
Are respectively connected to the public network INW. Public network INW
Is the ISDN and this PHS base station C
And an I 'interface network for accommodating S1 to CSn. In addition, public network INW has Internet IT
N is connected to a network of a personal computer carrier that can be connected.

The network of the personal computer carrier has an access server AS for connecting the network to the ISDN, and a content server TS. The content server TS provides a function of providing various information to an information communication terminal connected via the access server AS or the Internet ITN, and stores and provides information transmitted from the information communication terminal. It has functions and so on.

Further, the content server TS, for each ID assigned to a user who subscribes to the service of this business operator,
It has a function of storing / managing e-mails sent through the access server AS or the Internet ITN, and delivering the e-mails in response to user requests.

The access server AS is a public network I
A communication terminal connected via an NW and an Internet I
It is possible to connect to the WWW servers WS1, WS2,... Connected to the TN by the TCP / IP protocol.

The ISDN is a selective call control station SCS.
Is connected. The selective call control station SCS is connected to a communication terminal capable of transmitting a DTMF signal via the ISDN. Then, when receiving the DTMF signal from the communication terminal, it controls the selective calling base stations BS1 to BSi and
A message signal corresponding to the TMF signal is transmitted to the selective call receiver (pager) PB.

On the other hand, when the pager PB receives a message signal addressed to itself, the pager PB converts the message signal according to a predetermined code conversion table, and notifies the user of the reception of the message by a sounding operation or the like.
The received message is displayed on the display unit.

The PHS terminals PS1 to PSm have a pager PB in addition to the call function as a PHS terminal.
Features to easily send messages to
It has a function to access the network of the aforementioned personal computer carrier.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the PHS terminals PS1 to PSm will be described. FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram showing the configuration, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance. PH
Each of the S terminals PS1 to PSm includes a radio unit 1 having an antenna 11, a modem unit 2, a TDMA unit 3, a communication unit 4, a control unit 5, a memory unit 6, and a power supply unit 7. I have.

Radio carrier signals arriving from the PHS base stations CS1 to CSn are received by an antenna 11 and then input to a receiving circuit (RX) 13 via a high frequency switch (SW) 12 of the radio unit 1.

In the receiving circuit 13, the received radio carrier signal is mixed with the local oscillation signal generated from the synthesizer 14 and down-converted into a received intermediate frequency signal. The local oscillation frequency generated by the synthesizer 14 is instructed by the control unit 5 according to the radio channel frequency.

Further, the radio section 1 is provided with a reception field strength detection section (RSSI) 16. The reception electric field strength detection section 16 detects the reception electric field strength of the wireless carrier signal arriving from the PHS base stations CS1 to CSn, and notifies the control section 5 of the detected value.

The reception intermediate frequency signal output from the reception circuit 13 is input to a demodulation circuit (DEM) 21 of the modem unit 2. The demodulation circuit 21 digitally demodulates the received intermediate frequency signal, thereby reproducing the digital demodulated signal.

TDMA decoding circuit 31 of TDMA section 3
Separates the digital demodulated signal for each reception time slot. Then, in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 5, a digital communication signal inserted in a time slot allocated to the own station is extracted, and the extracted digital communication signal is input to the communication unit 4.

On the other hand, control data transmitted through the control channel and unrestricted digital data transmitted through the traffic channel are input to the control unit 5.
The communication unit 4 is an ADPCM (Adaptive Differential Puls
e Code Modulation) It is composed of a transcoder 41 and a PCM codec 42.

In the ADPCM transcoder 41, the digital speech signal is decoded. The PCM codec 42 converts the decoded digital call signal into an analog call signal. The analog call signal is amplified by a receiving amplifier (not shown) and then output from the speaker 43.

On the other hand, the transmission voice input to the microphone (M) 44 is amplified by a transmission amplifier (not shown) in the communication unit 4 and then converted into a digital transmission signal by the PCM codec 42. Then, the digital transmission signal is subjected to an encoding process in the ADPCM transcoder 41, and is input to the TDMA unit 3 as a digital communication signal.

In the TDMA encoding circuit 32, the A
The digital communication signal output from the DPCM transcoder 41 is inserted into the transmission time slot specified by the control unit 5 and multiplexed, and is multiplexed.
OD) 22.

The modulation circuit 22 digitally modulates the transmission intermediate frequency signal with the multiplexed digital communication signal output from the TDMA encoding circuit 32, and applies the modulated transmission intermediate frequency signal to the transmission circuit (TX) 15 of the radio unit 1. To enter.

The transmission circuit 15 mixes the modulated transmission intermediate frequency signal with the local oscillation signal generated from the synthesizer 14, upconverts the mixed signal into a radio carrier frequency, and further amplifies the signal to a predetermined transmission power level. Then, the radio carrier signal output from the transmission circuit 15 is transmitted from the antenna 11 via the high frequency switch 12 to the PH.
It is transmitted to S base stations CS1 to CSn.

The memory section 6 uses a semiconductor memory such as a ROM or a RAM as a recording medium. The recording medium includes a control program of the control section 5 described later, various control data, and setting data of its own device. , A work area for the control unit 5, an area for storing a large number of personal information (name, telephone number, address, mail address, etc.), a transmission message storage area 6a, a toggle input data storage, and the like. An area 6b, a matrix input data storage area 6c, and a dictionary data storage area 6d are provided.

The transmission message storage area 6a is an area for storing characters specified by the user by operating the numeric keypad 531 of the key input unit 53 in a corresponding predetermined text code.

The toggle input data storage area 6b is an area for storing a numeric keypad 531 for the user to press text codes of various characters according to the toggle method, and a conversion table corresponding to the number of times the keypad is pressed. FIG.
Shows an example in the case of Hiragana, but in addition, katakana and alphanumeric data are stored.

Matrix input data storage area 6c
Is an area for storing a conversion table in which text codes of various characters are associated with two-digit numeric data input by a user according to a matrix method. FIG. 6 is an example showing the correspondence between the two-digit numeric data and the characters.

The dictionary data storage area 6d stores hiragana,
And an area that stores a dictionary table that converts character strings of katakana into character strings containing kanji, for example, hiragana,
And a text code string of a character string including katakana and a character code string of a character string including kanji.

The sounder 51 is controlled by the control unit 5 and emits a ring tone having a pattern, frequency and volume previously selected by the user at the time of an incoming call, or an input confirmation sound (key touch sound) of a key input unit 53 described later. , An alarm sound indicating an error, and an alarm sound when the alarm set time comes.

The vibrator 52 is a vibrator made of a small motor or the like, and its operation is controlled by the control unit 5, and operates to notify the user when an incoming call or an alarm set time comes. Is controlled as follows.

The key input section 53 is an input means such as a key switch as shown in FIG.
1, 4-way key 532, Yes key 533, No key 5
34, on-hook key 535, off-hook key 536,
It consists of a menu key 537 and the like.

The display unit 54 includes an LC having a backlight.
A display such as D (Liquid Crystal Display),
The control section 5 controls ON / OFF of the backlight, controls display contents, and changes the size of displayed characters.

The DTMF generating circuit 55 generates a DTMF tone signal in accordance with the instruction from the control unit 5, and generates the generated DTMF tone signal.
The TMF tone signal is input to the PCM codec 42 in the same manner as the transmission signal input from the microphone 44.

The data I / F 56 is controlled by the control unit 5 to be described later, and buffers the digital demodulated signal separated by the TDMA decode circuit 31 during the data communication with the personal computer communication carrier described above. This is an interface for inputting as reception data or buffering transmission data from the control unit 5 and inputting it to the TDMA encoding circuit 32.

The control unit 5 includes, for example, a microcomputer as a main control unit and controls the above-described units.
Its control functions include its own device and PHS base stations CS1 to CS
A function for displaying personal information stored in the memory unit 6 (hereinafter, referred to as a personal information display function) in addition to a control function for performing voice communication by connecting to the Sn (hereinafter, referred to as a call function), and storing a transmission message. The character data stored in the area 6a in advance can be stored in a pager or another PH by a simple operation.
It has a function of transmitting to the S terminals PS1 to PSm and a personal computer carrier.

The control section 5 has, as new control functions, input mode switching control means 5a, toggle input control means 5b, matrix input control means 5c, and kanji conversion control means 5d.

The input mode switching control means 5a controls switching of the character data input method (toggle method / matrix method) in response to an input method switching instruction from the key input unit 53.

The toggle input control means 5b controls to receive input of character data by a toggle method. As the reception control, for each of the same numeric data continuously input from the numeric keypad 531, referencing the table of the toggle input data storage area 6 b, the text of the character corresponding to the input numeric data and the number of continuous inputs is referred to. Find the code and store this code in the send message storage area 6
Stored in a.

The matrix input control means 5c controls to receive input of character data in a matrix system. As the reception control, the numeric keypad 53
The text code of the character corresponding to the input two-digit numeric data is obtained by referring to the table of the matrix input data storage area 6c for each of the two-digit numeric data input from 1 and storing this code in the transmission message. It is stored in area 6a.

The kanji conversion control means 5d refers to the dictionary table in the kanji dictionary data storage area 6d for the text code specified by the user among the hiragana and katakana text codes stored in the transmission message storage area 6a. Then, it is converted into a code including a kanji text code and stored in the transmission message storage area 6a.

The power supply section 7 includes a battery 71 and a power supply circuit 72. The power supply circuit 72 generates a predetermined operating power supply voltage Vcc based on the output of the battery 71, and supplies it to each circuit.

Next, the PHS terminals PS1 to PS having the above configuration
The setting operation of the input mode at m will be described. FIG. 7 is a display example of the display unit 54 during the above operation. First, the user presses the menu key 537 and the numeric keypad 531
Is operated to call the function setting mode of the PHS terminal, the control unit 5 reads the setting data of the own device from the memory unit 6 and displays the display 7a on the display unit 54.

In this state, the display unit 54 displays
The display state adjustment, backlight setting, key input sound, and other setting states are displayed, and the control unit 5 is in a state of waiting for a request to change these setting data.

Here, the ten key 531 is operated to change the input mode. In the example of the display 7a, since the setting change of the “Kana input mode” corresponds to “5”, the “5” key of the ten keys 531 is pressed.

Then, the input mode switching control means 5a starts the input mode switching control operation according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step 8a, the input mode switching control means 5a displays a selection screen of the matrix system / toggle system on the display unit 54, and enters an input system designation standby state.

Here, if the matrix method was previously set, a display indicating the state where "1. matrix input" is focused on the display unit 54 is displayed on the display unit 54 as the above selection screen. On the other hand, when the toggle method is set, "2. Toggle input" is displayed corresponding to the focus as shown in a display 7c.

Incidentally, in the input method designation standby state,
When the "2." key of the ten keys 531 is pressed in a state where the focus is on "1. Matrix input" (display 7b), the display unit 54 displays 7c, and conversely, "2.
Focus on "toggle input" (display 7c)
When the "1" key of the numeric keypad 531 is pressed, the display unit 54 displays the display 7b.

Then, with the focus on “1. Matrix input” (display 7b), the Yes key 533
Is pressed, the process proceeds to step 8b, where the matrix method is set as the input method. And step 8
In step c, a display 7d is displayed on the display unit 54, and the setting operation is terminated by pressing any key.

On the other hand, if the Yes key 533 is depressed in a state where the focus is placed on "2. Toggle input" (display 7c) in step 8a, the flow shifts to step 8d and the toggle method is used as the input method. Set. And
The process proceeds to step 8e, where the display 7e is displayed on the display unit 54, and the above-mentioned setting is terminated by pressing any key.

Thereafter, when character data is input to the transmission message storage area 6a or when personal information is input, the input of character data is accepted according to the input mode specified during the setting operation.

Incidentally, the transmission message storage area 6a
When converting the hiragana and katakana text codes stored in the transmission message storage area 6a, the character string stored in the transmission message storage area 6a is displayed on the display unit 54. When the direction is pressed, the kanji conversion control means 5d executes a kanji conversion process as shown in FIG.

First, in step 9 a, the user designates a range of characters to be converted into kanji in the character string displayed on the display unit 54 by operating the four-way key 532.
Then, in step 9b, the characters designated in the range in step 9a are highlighted on the display unit 54, and a state of waiting for an operation to determine the character string designated in the range as a kanji conversion target is set.

Here, for example, when the user depresses the down direction of the four-way key 532 as an operation indicating confirmation, the process proceeds to step 9c. On the other hand, when the user presses the upper direction of the four-way key 532 as an operation for releasing the range designation,
Returning to step 9a, the designation of the conversion range is accepted again.

In step 9c, a character string including a kanji corresponding to the character string whose range is specified is searched with reference to the dictionary table in the dictionary data storage area 6d, and the search result is displayed on the display unit 54. Move to step 9d.

In step 9d, it is determined whether there is a plurality of search results in step 9c. If the result of this determination is that there are a plurality of search results, the process proceeds to step 9e. , To 9f.

In step 9e, the user accepts the designation of data as a temporary conversion result among the search results in step 9c through the up and down keys of the four-way key 532, and proceeds to step 9g. On the other hand, in step 9f, a search result having only one is set as a temporary conversion result, and the process proceeds to step 9g.

At step 9g, the user is asked whether the search result obtained as the temporary conversion result at step 9e or 9g is determined as a true conversion result. If the user accepts the designation to confirm through the operation of the four-way key 532, the process proceeds to step 9h. If the designation is not confirmed, that is, if the designation to cancel is accepted, the conversion of the character string whose range is designated in step 9a is performed. Is stopped, and the routine goes to step 9a.

In step 9h, the text code corresponding to the determined conversion result is stored in the dictionary data storage area 6d.
, And is stored in the transmission message storage area 6a in place of the text code of the character before conversion specified in the range in step 9a.

As described above, the PHS terminal having the above configuration, that is, the mobile communication terminal device has the character input function by the toggle method and the character input function by the matrix method, and selectively operates in response to a request from the user. Character input is also possible with the input method.

Therefore, according to the mobile communication terminal device having the above configuration, since the user can select an input method according to his / her preference, it is possible to support both users who are used to the toggle method and users who are used to the matrix method. it can.

Also, kana character data input by either the toggle method or the matrix method can be converted to character data mixed with kanji by kanji conversion processing.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above description, the input mode is set before the input of the character data. However, a change in the input mode may be received after the input of the character data is started.

Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, PH
Although the terminal device of S has been described as an example, the same effect can be obtained by applying the present invention to a terminal device of a mobile communication system such as a cellular phone typified by a cellular system.

Further, in the above-described kanji conversion processing, 4
Although it has been described that the operation is performed using the direction key 532,
You may make it perform using another key, such as a Yes key 533 and a No key 534. It goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0079]

As described above, according to the present invention, a toggle system and a matrix system are provided as character data input systems, and the input mode switching means switches the character input system according to the user's specification. And to change to the matrix method.

Therefore, according to the present invention, since the user can select an input method according to his / her preference, a mobile communication terminal capable of responding to both a user who is accustomed to the toggle method and a user who is accustomed to the matrix method Equipment can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, a mobile communication system capable of converting a character string specified by a toggle method or a character string specified by a matrix method into a character string containing Chinese characters. A terminal device can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system in which a mobile communication terminal device according to the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a service area formed by distributing the PHS base stations shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the mobile communication terminal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an appearance of the mobile communication terminal device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the correspondence between a pressed key and the number of times the key is pressed during character input by a toggle method.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing correspondence with two-digit numeric data input at the time of character input by a matrix method.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing transition of display contents at the time of an input mode setting operation of the display unit of the mobile communication terminal device shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an input mode setting operation of the mobile communication terminal device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining kanji conversion processing of the mobile communication terminal device shown in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Radio | wireless part 11 ... Antenna 12 ... High frequency switch (SW) 13 ... Receiving circuit (RX) 14 ... Synthesizer 15 ... Transmission circuit (TX) 16 ... Received electric field strength detection part (RSSI) 2 ... Modem part 21 ... Demodulation circuit ( DEM) 22 Modulation circuit (MOD) 3 TDMA section 31 TDMA decode circuit 32 TDMA encode circuit 4 Talk section 41 ADPCM transcoder 42 PCM codec 43 Speaker 44 Microphone (M) 5 Control section 5a ... input mode switching control means 5b ... toggle input control means 5c ... matrix input control means 5d ... kanji conversion control means 51 ... sounder 52 ... vibrator 53 ... key input unit 54 ... display unit 55 ... DTMF generation circuit 56 ... data I / F 6: memory section 6a: transmission message storage area 6b: toggle Input data storage area 6c Matrix input data storage area 6d Dictionary data storage area 7 Power supply unit 71 Battery 72 Power supply circuit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshio Akagotofashi 3-1-1 Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo Inside the Toshiba Hino Plant Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Taro Omura 3-1-1 Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo Inside Toshiba Hino Factory Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A mobile communication terminal device connectable to a wireless base station device connected to a public network via a wireless channel, comprising: key input means comprising a plurality of keys; and a key operated by the key input means. A first character input mode based on a method of receiving a character specified by the number of times the operation has been continuously performed, and a combination of the operated key by operating a key of the key input means at least twice And a second character input mode based on a method for receiving a character specified by the user. The mobile communication terminal device further comprises: input mode switching means for switching to accept a character input according to an input mode specified by a user. 2. The key input means includes a numeric keypad for inputting at least a numeral. In the first character input mode, each key of the numeric keypad corresponds to each row of the Japanese syllabary table. 2. The mobile communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the number of continuous key operations corresponds to each row of the Japanese syllabary table, and the kana character input is accepted. 3. The key input means includes a numeric keypad for inputting at least a numeral, and the second character input mode accepts a character designated by a combination of two numbers by operating the numeric keypad twice. The mobile communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A kanji conversion means for converting a character string specified by the first input mode and a character string specified by the second input mode into a character string containing kanji. The mobile communication terminal device according to claim 1.