JPS6132693B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a character input device for information equipment.

Recently, digital watches have made remarkable progress, and their functions are not limited to simple time display, but also alarms, chronographs, timers, time signals, etc.
It appears that they are evolving into small devices that handle information that is not limited to watches, such as world time displays. In this process, we naturally come to treat arbitrary characters as information. To give a simple example, for the convenience of contacting people overseas, there is a new type of world clock that stores the name and time difference of the other party in a watch, calculates the other party's time, and calls it up at any time along with the name. For example, a telephone number can be memorized and displayed as a memo at any time, or it can be displayed with an alarm sound at a scheduled time, or character input can be used to specify the type of function or calculation command. In conventional electronic computers, characters have been entered by operating typewriter keys, but pocket-sized or watch-sized devices do not have enough space for multiple input keys, so it is possible to input characters using only a few switches and a complicated method. It is necessary to be able to input characters without performing any operations. The present invention was made in response to this demand, and its feature is that when inputting any character one by one from characters arranged in a certain order, it skips over and selects characters every few characters. The present invention includes an interlacing selection means, a sequential selection means for shifting sequentially selected characters one by one, and an input means for inputting the characters thus specified. Another objective is to provide a character input device that requires only a small number of operating members, is not difficult to use, and has satisfactory input speed. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the display surface side of an embodiment of the present invention in a watch-sized information device. Reference numeral 1 denotes an electro-optical display surface such as a liquid crystal device for displaying character or numerical information, and 2 is a parting portion on which Roman letters 2a to be input are printed around the display surface 1 in alphabetical order. Note that other displays and a windshield are not shown. 3 is the clock exterior, and 1a is a character indicator, which lights up at the position of the selected character. A state in which the letter "A" is selected is shown. Among letters 2a, vowels A, E, I, O, U
is differentiated from other consonants in typeface, color, etc.
Reference numeral 4 designates a push button switch for selecting a block of characters, and each time the switch is pressed, the index 1a moves clockwise to selectively select only vowel characters. Reference numeral 5 designates a push button switch for sequential selection, and each press advances the index clockwise from the currently selected position to the next character.
Reference numeral 6 denotes an input push button, and by pressing this button, the characters specified by the two selection means are input into the internal circuit. By repeating this procedure, you can enter multiple characters that form a sequence of spellings. When reproducing input characters on the display screen, use indicator 1a (in the case of a series of multiple characters, indicators of different shapes or colors light up, or move at a readable speed in the order of playback). ) or to light up a character segment such as a character type. FIG. 2 shows an example of the character input portion of the internal circuit. Reference numeral 7 denotes a circular shift register having the number of elements corresponding to the number of characters to be input, and the logic state of the element corresponding to the selected character is "1", and the others are "0". 8 is a memory circuit for fixedly storing the selected character by switch 6; 9;
10 is a control circuit that arranges the display order of characters and relates them to other concurrently written information during reproduction, and 10 is a display circuit that decodes characters and drives the display. The character input operation will be explained. A shift pulse for the shift register 7 is applied from an OR gate 11. Since the differential of the output of the sequential selection switch 5 is applied to this gate, sequential selection operation is possible. 1
2, 13, and 18 are logic differentiator circuits. When the skip selection switch 4 is closed, a clock pulse Cl of several Hz to several tens of Hz passes through the AND gate 14, causing the shift register 7 to perform a fast shift. However, when one of the registers corresponding to a vowel becomes "1", the R-S flip-flop 16 is reset through the OR gate 15, and the Q output changes from "1" to "0", blocking the shift pulse and starting the character shift. stops there. If you operate switch 4 or 5 again here, R-SF.F will pass through or gate 17.
is set and shifting is possible again. When switch 4 is operated, an interlacing shift is performed to the next vowel, and when switch 5 is operated, a shift is performed one by one. For example, if you want to start from A and select L, press switch 4 twice to display I, then press switch 5 three times.

Various other embodiments of the invention are possible. In this example, vowels were assigned to the letters to be skipped, but we focused on the fact that vowels are generally used frequently and are conveniently arranged at approximately equal intervals in the alphabet. , may be based on other criteria. For example, characters may be arranged on the four sides of the display, and the first characters on the long and short sides and characters near the center of the long sides may be selected, or frequently used consonants may be used. Of course, numbers, symbols, spaces, etc. other than letters may also be included in the arrangement. Characters may also be arranged in several rows inside the display surface. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the selected character is directly displayed as a character segment or dot matrix, rather than as a position index. Also, jump selection means, sequential selection means,
The input means is not limited to three switches as in the embodiment, but one or two switches may be intertwined with a timer circuit to change the operation depending on the length of time the switch is pressed, or a reuse type switch may be used to change the rotation direction. There are various possibilities, such as making different movements by pushing or pulling, or using a touch switch. The characters selected for interlacing do not necessarily have to be fixed. The selection direction is not limited to one direction, and a means for rotating in the opposite direction may be added. The characters are not limited to Roman characters either. For example, the Japanese kana are arranged in alphabetical order, and the characters selected for skipping are the A line,
The operation can be made easier by using our senses, which are familiar with dictionaries, by setting the first character of each line, such as ``ka line''.

As described above, according to the present invention, when inputting Roman letters, vowels are first selected with skips.
Since vowels are used more frequently than consonants, there is an effect that the frequency of reselection within a block can be reduced when inputting any word. Furthermore, when inputting kana characters, the character to be skipped and selected is the first character of each line, making it easy for the user to understand the operation method and making it extremely easy to use.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing one example of its input circuit. 1...electro-optical display surface, 1a...character indicator,
2... Cutout plane, 2a... Character, 4... Jump selection switch, 5... Sequential selection switch, 6... Input switch, 7... Shift register, Cl... Clock pulse.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An input device for Roman characters, which has the same number of elements as the number of characters, and only one of the elements can be in a selected state, and the selected state can be sequentially shifted in a predetermined direction by shift input. a circular register for displaying a display indicating the N-th character in alphabetical order when the N-th element is selected; a memory circuit for capturing information as input information for a small information device; a circuit means for generating one shift input for each manual operation of the second switch; and a circuit means for generating one shift input for each manual operation of the third switch; circuit means for generating a continuous shift input;
The continuous shift input is stopped upon detecting that the order of the elements selected during the fast forwarding matches the order of the vowels of the alphabet, and the stop is performed by manual operation of the second or third switch. A character input device for a small information device, characterized by comprising circuit means for canceling the state. 2. An input device for kana characters, which has the same number of elements as the number of characters, and only one of the elements can be in a selected state, and the selected state can be sequentially shifted in a predetermined direction by shift input. , display means for displaying the Nth character in kana alphabetical order when the Nth element is selected; a memory circuit for inputting information to the information device; a circuit means for generating one shift input for each manual operation of the second switch; and a continuous shift input for fast forwarding for each manual operation of the third switch. circuit means for detecting that the order of the elements selected during the fast-forwarding matches the order of the first characters of each line of the kana 50 syllabary, and stopping the continuous shift input and the second or second shift input; 3. A character input device for a small information device, comprising circuit means for canceling the stopped state by manual operation of the switch of item 3.