JPS6255188B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a new technology for controlling and arranging kanji characters, and in particular to a keyboard for kanji input that has kanji control and arranging by a limited number of strokes containing elements of kanji, and a keyboard for inputting kanji characters. This invention relates to a kanji input method for inputting kanji into a computer or the like using a keyboard.

The written Chinese characters consist of many ideograms, each character representing a particular Chinese word. The kanji used today was largely perfected at the beginning of the first century and has changed little since then.

Chinese is unique among modern languages in that it has an overwhelmingly large number of characters in daily use. For example, kanji dictionaries list 43,000 kanji, and modern high school or university dictionaries list 43,000 kanji.
It lists 10,000 to 15,000 kanji, and the Kanji Telegraph Codebook lists 9,000 kanji. This means that a minimum of 9,000 kanji are required for daily communication.

Thus, the need for a large number of kanji for even basic communication poses a major problem for those who use kanji in the modern world. This is because Chinese does not have a writing system or a system for organizing words like many other languages. This becomes a problem when designing devices that process, print, or transmit Chinese characters, such as typewriters, typesetting machines, printing telegraph equipment, and most recently computer equipment. Because of the large number of unsorted characters, these devices must have highly complex keyboards with generally unacceptable layouts and codes for inputting and outputting information. Today, there are no computer input/output devices that control the minimum number of kanji required for daily communication. This has hindered the progress of kanji converter technology, creating a situation where we have no choice but to rely on other encoding technologies.

A number of solutions to this problem have been proposed. All of these proposals identify the basic components of kanji and use these components to control the arrangement of complete characters. One such solution is described in US Pat. No. 2,613,795. This US patent describes classifying Chinese characters into smaller groups with reference to the character lines at the top and bottom of the characters. According to this method,
By sorting the characters, the number of keys on a keyboard, such as a typewriter, can be reduced compared to the number of characters to be printed. More specifically, the aforementioned patent provides 36 keys corresponding to the top shape of the character, 28 keys corresponding to the bottom shape of the character, and 8 keys for top/bottom selection. It is suggested to use a keyboard with a total of 72 keys. In this case, various keys are selectively combined to form or select a complete Kanji.

Although this control system can solve some of the problems mentioned above, it is not fully satisfactory in that 72 keys are required to form a character and the character must be selected from a group of characters. I cannot say that it is. It is clear that if a system could be constructed that could arrange and control all characters using fewer keys or character components, this system would be more effective than the system disclosed in the above-referenced US patent.

Modern Kanji typewriters require the user to remember the position of each character on the dial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a kanji arrangement system that allows character control to be performed using fewer character elements than required in conventional systems, without the need to select characters from a group of characters.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling and arranging Chinese characters with a limited number of character components, which greatly simplifies the construction of a Chinese character control device.

In the present invention, a Chinese character is formed by a set of strokes or lines that are elements of an ideogram. In this case, it cannot be confused with the phonetic alphabet.

The invention is characterized in that it includes four subgroups: a horizontal line subgroup, a vertical line subgroup, a slope line subgroup, and a point subgroup, along with their variations.

Another feature of the invention is that the various strokes are subdivided into pairs of strokes.

Another feature of the present invention is to decompose Chinese characters into a limited number of character stroke subgroups to facilitate the design and construction of oriental character processing equipment.

Modern kanji contain different numbers of strokes such as straight lines, curves, and dots arranged within a rectangular area, and the combinations of these strokes form different kanji. The combinations of elements that make up kanji can be divided into four basic stroke subgroups. In this case, each subgroup includes a predetermined number of strokes. These four basic stroke types (hereinafter referred to as stroke subgroups) are shown in FIG. 1 and consist of a horizontal line H, a vertical line V, an inclined line S, and a point D. Additional strokes are formed that are included within each basic stroke subgroup.

Referring to FIG. 1, the horizontal H subgroup includes the following seven strokes.

1 H...Basic horizontal stroke 2 H'...H stroke "pair" (described later) 3 Ht...basic horizontal stroke with a line that bends downward 4 Ht'...Ht stroke "pair" (described later) 5 Hc...curve to the right Basic horizontal strokes with a line 6 Hc'...Hc stroke "pair" (described below) 7 Htt...Basic horizontal stroke with a double portion extending downwards The vertical V subgroup similarly includes the following seven strokes: There is.

8 V...Basic vertical stroke 9 V'...V-stroke "pair" (described later) 10 Vh...basic vertical stroke with a part that curves to the left 11 Vh'...Vh stroke "pair" (described later) 12 Vc...curves to the right Basic vertical strokes with a portion 13 Vc'...Xc stroke "pair" (described below) 14 Vtt...Basic vertical stroke with a double portion downwards The slant S subgroup only includes the following two strokes.

15 S...Basic slope line that slopes to the right or left 16 S'...S stroke "pair" (described later) The point D subgroup similarly includes the following two strokes.

17 D...Basic Braille stroke 18 D'...D stroke "pair" (described later) The 2 strokes shown in Figure 4a are created by the 18 strokes mentioned above.
It is possible to control and arrange all kanji except the two characters (snake and self). Additional rules are required to represent these two characters, which are not necessarily required. Also, to identify this word (snake), another letter form can be used, as shown in Figure 4b. There are two additional strokes in the slanted stroke, as shown in the Folds and Curves column next to the slanted S-stroke in FIG. These two strokes include S, which has a portion that turns to the right, and S, which includes a portion that turns downward. Although these strokes can be treated as two independent strokes, it is preferable to treat them as a single S stroke. Although confusion does not occur even if only one Htt and Vtt are used, it is not sufficient from the point of view of character arrangement.

When writing kanji, each stroke is written independently and in sequence. The starting point of the first stroke of each letter is important;
To properly locate the starting point, the "paired" strokes described above are utilized. Specifically, H of H subgroup,
The Ht, Hc, and Htt strokes begin at the top left of the square area where the final character will be drawn, and there are no other strokes above this stroke. H′, Ht′, and
The "counter" strokes of Hc' originate from other points in the square area and are generally lower than the corresponding H strokes.
Similarly for the V subgroup, the V, Vh, Vc, and Vtt strokes are strokes that move downward from the left top of the square area, and the "pair" strokes are V', Vh', and Vc' that move downward from the top left of the square area. It is a stroke that starts from another point. In the S subgroup, S strokes are strokes that extend from the top of the square area to the left of or on the center line, and "paired"S' strokes are strokes that extend from the top of the square area to the right of the center line. The D strokes in the D subgroup are placed on top of the next H stroke, while the "counterpart"D' strokes are placed near or following the next H stroke. This is also shown in an exaggerated form in the column of the first stroke starting point in FIG. “vs.” is for horizontal stroke H.
It is synonymous with H′.

Strokes following the first stroke are identified according to the rule that they are classified only by the next stroke.

1 H...This horizontal line stroke starts from the left side of the square area or reaches the right side, and the length of the stroke is more than half of the square area.

H′...This stroke does not reach either side of the square area, and its length is less than half its width. (H with a bouncing part is treated as H or H') 2 V...Vertical stroke starts from the top of the square area,
It moves downward and is longer than half the height of the square area.

V'...The stroke does not start from the top and is shorter than half of the square area. (A vertical stroke with a rightward bounce is a V or V') 3 S...This stroke starts at the top and follows the rules of the first stroke.

S′...All slanted strokes that do not start from the top are
S′.

4 D...The braille stroke above H is D, and the one below is D'.

By using the 18 types of strokes according to the rules mentioned above, it is possible to simplify and arrange kanji to a degree comparable to an English dictionary. Second
The figure shows the ideographic elements of several types of Chinese characters formed in accordance with the present invention. In detail,
The kanji “dai” (read aloud as “dai”) is H′, S, and
It is formed by the S′ stroke. Similarly, the kanji ``山'' (pronounced ``san'') is formed by the strokes V', Vt', and V'. As shown in Figure 2,
According to the present invention, completed Chinese characters can be arranged.

By using the method described above, it is possible to construct word processing devices, typewriters, computer input/output devices, etc. that require only 18 stroke elements to control Chinese characters. The stroke element is the first
They may be arranged from top to bottom in the order shown in the figure, and can be configured in the form of keys on a keyboard for inputting information to a word processing and communication device, and can be embodied as a device for controlling the completion of kanji. An example of the format of the keyboard described above is shown in FIG. As shown, the 18 stroke keys (elements) are 7 horizontal strokes, 7 vertical strokes, 2
It includes two oblique strokes and two braille strokes. Additional keys are shown that can be used to perform the required control functions or to display numbers. The keys are activated in sequence and a device, not shown, is positioned relative to the character. A device for selecting characters is not shown here, but it will be easy for one skilled in the art to construct such a device from the description of the invention. A Kanji typewriter is described in US Pat. No. 2,613,795. The present invention is not limited to the mechanical embodiments described in the above-mentioned US patents, but may be applied in other mechanical and preferably electrical devices. Such an electrical device may be an electronic keyboard combined with a display and a microprocessor for displaying and controlling completed Chinese characters.

Using the present invention, many aspects of kanji writing can be improved. These points are listed below.

1. Kanji dictionaries can be simplified, and kanji can be arranged according to the element order of ideograms.

2. Indexes and periodicals can be easily created.

3. Can study, read, and write easily and in an orderly manner.

4. Machines that handle kanji processing and communication can be improved.

For example, a simple typewriter for professional and home use could be developed as a keyboard with 19 keys (18 stroke keys and one for each word combined) to control all Kanji characters. Additional keys may be added to increase speed. Telegrams no longer require arbitrary codes, and teletypes can also be simplified. Kanji converter input/output devices are also possible.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, it goes without saying that various modifications are possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining character stroke subgroups used for controlling and arranging kanji characters according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a case where several types of kanji are constructed using stroke lines, and FIG. The figures show a stroke keyboard for use in kanji processing, printing, or communication devices, and FIG. 4 shows two characters that cannot be easily formed with the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a kanji input keyboard for inputting kanji without the need for reading aloud or reading the kanji, the strokes of kanji can be divided into horizontal stroke subgroup, vertical stroke subgroup,
classified into a tilted stroke subgroup and a braille stroke subgroup, and
The horizontal stroke subgroup is subdivided into four basic horizontal strokes and three diagonal strokes determined by the difference in the starting point position of the horizontal stroke, and the vertical stroke subgroup is determined by the difference in the starting point position of the vertical stroke. While subdividing into four basic vertical strokes and three diagonal strokes,
subdividing the slant stroke subgroup into basic slant strokes and counterslant strokes, which are determined by the position of the slant stroke; A kanji input device characterized by dividing kanji into a total of 18 strokes by subdividing them into strokes, and having a key arrangement corresponding to the 18 strokes obtained by this division. keyboard.