KR100652579B1 - Letter input apparatus and the letter recognition method for mobile communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

A character input device of a mobile communication terminal and a character recognition method are provided to embed a touch sensor in a keypad, so that a user can use the overall keypad as if the keypad were a touch screen, thus the user can easily input characters. A touch sensor unit(101) senses whether each button is touched in predetermined button areas of a keypad. A touch button detector(102) detects buttons to which a human body such as a finger is contacted among the buttons of the keypad, by capacitance detected through the touch sensor unit(101). A character combiner(104) detects characters by combining sequences of the buttons whose touching is sensed, according to types of the corresponding characters through the touch sensor unit(101). A controller(105) controls operation of a terminal in accordance with button inputting and displaying of the combined characters.

Description

LETTER INPUT APPARATUS AND THE LETTER RECOGNITION METHOD FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICE}

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a character input device of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exemplary view showing a matrix structure of a keypad for receiving a character with a built-in touch sensor in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 3 is an exemplary view for explaining a capacitive sensing method applied to the present invention.

Figure 4 is an exemplary view showing the English characters recognized through the touch keypad of the 3 * 3 matrix structure according to the present invention.

5 is a table showing a sequence of buttons combined for each letter for character recognition according to the present invention.

6 is an exemplary diagram showing Korean consonants recognized through a touch keypad of a 3 * 3 matrix structure according to the present invention.

7 is an exemplary diagram showing Korean vowels recognized through the touch keypad of the 3 * 3 matrix structure according to the present invention.

8 is a table showing a sequence of buttons combined by Korean consonants and vowels for character recognition according to the present invention.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a character recognition method of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

101: touch sensor unit 102: touch button detection unit

103: mode switching unit 104: character combination

105: control unit

The present invention relates to a character input of a mobile communication terminal, and in particular, a built-in touch sensor on the keypad so that the entire keypad can be utilized as a touch pad, so that characters can be easily entered as if the characters are written on the touch screen without pressing a button. The present invention relates to a character input device and a character recognition method of a mobile communication terminal.

The keypad of a general telephone is basically provided with numeric keys 0 to 9 and special function keys of '*' and '#', and the configuration and arrangement of the keypad is also applied to a mobile communication terminal.

However, the mobile communication terminal duplicates Korean, English, and special characters for each button of the keypad to perform additional functions such as SMS (Short Message Service), chat, web surfing, schedule, memo and other information input to the telephone function. It is arranged so that it can selectively input numbers or letters depending on the mode.

However, most of the additional functions are performed by inputting a character, and since the user inputs a character by pressing a keypad button attached to the terminal, the terminal manufacturer can easily enter a character in addition to improving call quality. Research to do this also takes a lot of weight.

In particular, the character input method is different in each country, but since most mobile communication terminals press a keypad to input characters, there is a problem in that the same button must be pressed several times to complete a word or sentence.

In addition, because several characters are repeatedly assigned to one button, there is a problem that a user may make a mistake when one button needs to be pressed several times. There is a problem that can be applied to the continuous.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and the character input device and its characters to easily input characters by using a touch sensor in the keypad as if it were a touch screen. Its purpose is to provide a method of recognition.

In addition, according to the characteristics of the terminal mainly using a finger, by applying a capacitive touch sensor, the character input device that enables accurate character recognition even if you write lightly as if writing on the keypad with a finger; The purpose is to provide a method of recognizing the character.

In addition, the present invention, unlike the general character recognition method on the touch screen, by using the characteristics of the keypad divided into 3 * 3 area by the numeric buttons (1-9), the character is recognized in the order of passing through each area It is an object of the present invention to provide a character input device and a method of recognizing a character, which enable a character to be quickly recognized even through a keypad having a poor character recognition resolution.

In addition, the present invention provides a character input device and a character input device that enables the user to quickly enter a character without having to find a character assigned to the button or press a button assigned to the character, and also without burdening the finger. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of recognizing a character.

The present invention for achieving the above object, the touch sensor unit for detecting whether or not to touch each button in the predetermined button area of the keypad; A touch button detector for detecting a button in which a human body, such as a finger, is touched among the buttons of the keypad by the capacitance detected by the touch sensor unit; A character combination unit that detects a corresponding character by combining a sequence of buttons in which a touch is detected according to a form of a character through the touch sensor unit; And a controller for controlling the operation of the terminal according to the display of the combined character and the button input.

In addition, the present invention comprises the steps of detecting a touch input button by detecting a capacitance change of the keypad to achieve the above object; Combining buttons sequentially input within a predetermined time; And determining and recognizing the designated characters displayed in the same order as the combined order.

The present invention gradually increases the need for text input using a mobile communication terminal, and as a limitation arises in a method of assigning a text to a button of a keypad, a text may be written on the keypad as if the text is written on a touch screen. Summary of the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a character input device and a method of recognizing the character.

That is, the present invention is to achieve the same effect as entering a character on the touch screen without using an expensive touch screen used in PDA, etc., less character recognition resolution than the character recognition algorithm through the touch screen Characters are recognized in (3 * 3 matrix), so it is possible to implement fast and accurate character recognition even with simpler algorithm.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a character input device of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention, wherein the touch sensor unit 101 is shown in FIG. 2 below the number (1-9) button area A of the keypad. It is attached to (or top) to detect button touches. In this case, the number button may be configured as a push button as in the prior art, or may display only the number area to detect the button press only by touching.

In addition, the touch sensor unit 101 may be configured in a capacitive sensing method in consideration of the characteristics of a terminal mainly using a finger, but it should be noted that it is not intended to limit the capacitive sensing method.

For reference, the capacitive sensing technology is a technology for quantitatively accurately detecting a very small capacitance generated by contact with the human body, which is only a few pF, and a state in which a frequency change sensing method as illustrated in FIG. 3 is currently developed. In the above scheme, the period To occurs at a constant frequency when there is no human contact, and the period is changed to "To + ΔT" due to the influence of the capacitance Cbody added by the human contact. By detecting this, even the smallest change can be detected.

Next, the touch button detector 102 detects a button touched by a finger among the numeric buttons of the keypad.

Next, the mode switching unit 103 operates a key bounce removal time or the like according to a mode (numeric input mode, character input mode), so that the button detected through the touch button detection unit 102 can be continuously recognized. By adjusting, the controller 105 can recognize a character corresponding to a button or a combination of characters by continuous recognition of a button touch.

Next, the character combination unit 104 combines the order (number information) of the number buttons outputted through the mode switching unit 103 and serves to recognize and output the characters. That is, the corresponding character is output to the controller 105 in the order of the characters (eg, alphabets) written with the fingers on the 3 * 3 matrix number buttons shown in FIG. 2.

Next, the controller 105 controls the mode switching unit 103 to recognize and display a number or letter touched through a keypad or to control an operation of a terminal corresponding to a touch-sensitive button.

Next, a method of recognizing a character in which the button recognition order is combined will be described in more detail with reference to the exemplary diagram of FIG. 4.

4 is an exemplary view showing English characters recognized through the touch keypad of the 3 * 3 matrix structure according to the present invention, in the 3 * 3 matrix structure consisting of the first button from the upper left to the nine button at the lower right, If you want to input the English letter 'A', change the terminal's mode to 'Character input mode' and when the touch sequence of buttons is recognized in the order of '7-4-1-2-3-6-9-5', The terminal recognizes this as 'A' and displays 'A' on the LCD screen.

In addition to the letter 'A', other letters shown in FIG. 4 may be recognized in the same manner through the touch input order, and the touch input order for each letter is as shown in FIG. That is, when the touch input is made in the order as shown in FIG. 5, the controller recognizes that the corresponding alphabet is input.

6 is an exemplary diagram showing Korean characters (Korean consonants) recognized through a touch keypad of a 3 * 3 matrix structure according to the present invention. For example, when a Korean consonant 'a' is to be input, the mode of the terminal is referred to as a 'character input mode'. After changing to ', when the touch order of the buttons is recognized in the order of' 1-2-3-6-9 ', the terminal recognizes this as' ㄱ' and displays' ㄱ 'on the LCD screen.

Likewise, if you want to input Korean vowel 'ㅏ', write 'ㅏ' collection on the touch keypad in the order of '2-5-8-5-6' in 'Character input mode', and change the order of touch. Use it to recognize 'ㅏ'.

However, unlike English, Korean is a combination letter, so it is necessary to combine the recognized consonants and vowels into one letter.

In addition to the letter 'a' and 'ㅏ', other letters and vowels shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 can be easily recognized through the touch input order, and the touch input order for each Korean letter (consonant and vowel) is shown in FIG. 8. As shown.

That is, when touch input is made in the order as shown in FIG. 8, the controller recognizes that the corresponding Korean character is input.

On the other hand, in the above embodiment, the twin consonants, the consonant consonants, and the vowel vowels are not separately illustrated, but this can be recognized by continuously writing the corresponding consonants or vowels according to the combination order of the Korean characters, and recognizing each character described above It should be noted that the order may be differently applied to each terminal in consideration of user habits.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a character recognition method of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention. First, a touch input button is detected by detecting a change in capacitance of a keypad (S101 and S102). The input button is regarded as an input when the same button is touched for a predetermined time or more in order to prevent a key bounce error.

However, the button input detection time is set differently according to the mode (numeric input mode, character input mode).

That is, based on the 'button input detection time' in the 'numeric input mode', the 'button input detection time' in the 'character input mode' is set short, so that even when passing through each button for character display, The button input can be detected.

Therefore, when determining the currently set button input mode and outputs the number assigned to the detected button in the 'digit input mode' (S103 ~ S105), and continuously input within a predetermined time when the current set mode is the 'character input mode' The buttons are combined in order (S104, S106), and the characters displayed in the same order as the combined order are determined and output (S107).

Accordingly, the control unit performs a control operation corresponding to the output number and letter (S108). For example, a telephone call may be made to a phone number of a number input in a number input mode, or a text message may be created and transmitted using text input in a text input mode.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, the terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as being limited to the common or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted as meanings and concepts corresponding to the technical spirit of the present invention.

Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the drawings shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, and do not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, which can be replaced at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be various equivalents and variations.

As described above, since the character input device and the character recognition method of the present invention do not need to assign a letter to a button, it is not necessary to find a button to which the corresponding letter is assigned for character input, and does not need to press a button. Because you can enter text lightly as if writing on the keypad, there is an effect that can enter text quickly without burdening the fingers.

In addition, the present invention improves user convenience by allowing characters to be easily input through the keypad without using an expensive touch screen in consideration of the characteristics of a mobile communication terminal mainly using a keypad and having a small screen. In addition, there is an effect of reducing the unit manufacturing cost.

In addition, the present invention has the effect that it is possible to quickly recognize the character by a simple character combination algorithm by the touch order of the buttons, even through the keypad of the character recognition resolution is low.

Claims (10)

A touch sensor unit configured to detect whether or not each button is touched in a predetermined button area of the keypad; A touch button detector for detecting a button in which a human body, such as a finger, is touched among the buttons of the keypad by the capacitance detected by the touch sensor unit; A character combination unit that detects a corresponding character by combining a sequence of buttons in which a touch is detected according to a form of a character through the touch sensor unit; And a controller for controlling the operation of the terminal according to the display of the combined character and the button input. The character input apparatus of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor unit is configured as a capacitive touch sensor. The character input apparatus of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor added to the keypad is added in a 3 * 3 matrix structure. delete The character of the mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a mode switching unit for receiving a number assigned to each button or a character by a continuous input of the button by switching the input mode of the keypad. Input device. The mobile communication terminal of claim 5, wherein the mode switch is configured to adjust a detection speed of a button continuously touched by manipulating a key bounce removal time according to a mode (numeric input mode or character input mode). Character input device. In recognizing characters input through the touch keypad, Detecting a touch input button by detecting a change in capacitance of the keypad; Combining buttons sequentially input within a predetermined time; And recognizing designated characters displayed in the same order as the combined order. The method of claim 7, further comprising: determining a currently set 'button input mode' upon detection of the touch input button; And outputting the number assigned to the detected button immediately when the determined mode is the 'number input mode'. The method of claim 8, wherein the button input mode is configured to apply a button input detection time (time considered as input when the same button is touched) set differently according to a mode (numeric input mode, character input mode). Character recognition method of the mobile communication terminal. 10. The mobile terminal of claim 9, wherein the button input detection time is shorter than the button input detection time of the numeric input mode. Character recognition method.

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