KR101363710B1 - Method for inputting characters using software english keypad and electronic device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a character input method using a software English keypad for making a feature of comprising a step of displaying the software English keypad including one or more key buttons on a touch screen; a step of sensing a touch on a main button area of a first key button among one or more key buttons and of enabling each key button to include one or more sub-button areas, in which English characters are displayed, and the main button area in which numbers are displayed; a step of sensing a first touch gesture including touch movement to a first sub-button area among one or more sub-button areas of the first key button in the maintenance state of the touch or a second touch gesture including the touch movement to the main button of the first key button after passing through the first sub button area of the first key button; and a step of inputting capital letters and small letters of English characters displayed on the first sub-button area of the first key button according to the kind of the sensed touch gesture to a text box included in the touch screen. [Reference numerals] (AA) START; (BB) END; (S210) Display a software English keypad on a touch screen according to user control or the execution of a specific application; (S220) Sense a touch on a main button area related to one key button of a software English keypad; (S230) Determine a kind of a touch gesture sensed in a state in which the touch is maintained; (S240) Input a capital letter or a small letter of English displayed on a first sub button area of a first key button according to a kind of a sensed touch gesture

Description

Character input method and electronic device using software English keypad {METHOD FOR INPUTTING CHARACTERS USING SOFTWARE ENGLISH KEYPAD AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a character input method using a software English keypad, an electronic device for executing the method, and a computer readable storage medium storing a program relating to the method.

A terminal such as a personal computer, a notebook computer, or a mobile phone has various functions, for example, a multimedia device having a complex function such as photographing or photographing of a moving picture, reproduction of music or a moving picture file, (Multimedia player).

The terminal can move It may be divided into a mobile terminal and a stationary terminal, depending on whether it is present. The mobile terminal can be divided into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal according to whether the user can directly carry the mobile terminal. In order to support and increase the function of the terminal, it is considered to improve the structural part as well as the software part of the terminal.

In recent years, the spread of smart phones, tablet PCs, etc. has been rapidly spreading, and in accordance with the use of SNS (Social Network Service), it has replaced the existing text input method, and the text has become more effective and user-friendly even within a small screen size. Description of the input method is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a text input method using a software English keypad according to a text input method with more effective and increased user convenience, and a touch screen-equipped electronic device to which the method is applied.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, displaying a software English keypad including at least one key button on the touch screen, wherein each of the at least one key button is a main button area in which numbers are displayed and a letter in which English letters are displayed. More than one sub-button area; Sensing a touch on the main button area of a first key button of the at least one key button; The first touch gesture or the first sub-button area of the first key button including a touch movement to a first sub-button area of the one or more sub-button areas of the first key button while the touch is maintained. Detecting a second touch gesture including a touch movement returning to the main button area of the first key button after passing through the first key button; And inputting an uppercase letter or a lowercase letter of an English letter displayed on the first sub-button area of the first key button into a text box included in the touch screen according to the type of the detected touch gesture. A character input method using an English keypad is provided.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a touch screen; One or more processors; Memory; And one or more programs stored in the memory and implemented to be executed by the one or more processors, wherein the programs display a software English keypad including at least one key button on the touch screen; Each of the at least one key button comprises a main button area in which numbers are displayed and at least one sub-button area in which English letters are displayed; Sensing a touch on the main button area of the first key button of the at least one key button, and touching the first sub button area of the one or more sub-button areas of the first key button while the touch is maintained Any one of a first touch gesture including a movement or a second touch gesture including a touch movement of returning to the main button region of the first key button after passing through the first sub-button region of the first key button And detecting and inputting an uppercase letter or a lowercase letter of an English letter displayed on the first sub-button area of the first key button into a text box included in the touch screen according to the type of the detected touch gesture. Is provided.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a text input method using a software English keypad and a touch screen-mounted electronic device to which the method is applied may provide a text input method having more effective and increased user convenience.

1 is a block diagram of an electronic device with a touch screen executing a character input method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a character input method using a software keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 to 6 are application examples of the character input method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the present invention has been described in connection with certain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and similarities. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, numerals (e.g., first, second, etc.) used in the description of the present invention are merely an identifier for distinguishing one component from another.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described embodiments of the present invention;

1 is a block diagram of a touch screen-mounted electronic device that executes a text input method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device 100 for executing a text input method using a software English keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a touch screen 110, at least one processor 120, and at least one of the at least one processor. It may include a memory 130 that stores one or more programs implemented to be executed by the processor 120.

In this case, the memory 130 may further store information for identifying a character corresponding to a touch position (coordinate) on the software English keypad displayed on the touch screen 110. The processor 120 reads a program related to a character input method to be described later stored in the memory 130, executes the program, and displays the result on the screen.

In the present invention, the software English keypad refers to a virtual keypad implemented in software as a concept corresponding to a hardware keypad and displayed on a screen. In addition, in the present invention, the character to be input according to the character input method to be described later may be displayed on the touch screen 110 of the electronic device 100, but on the screen according to the external display device in communication with the electronic device 100 Of course, it may be displayed. In the present specification, a letter is used as a concept including all numbers, symbols, and the like. In addition, in the present specification, 'touch' includes not only a touch by a user's finger but also a touch by a touch input pen or the like.

The character input method to be described below is implemented as a program and stored in a computer readable storage medium, and the program is installed in an electronic device including a touch screen or downloaded to the electronic device as in the example shown in FIG. As a result, the corresponding function may be executed by the processor of the electronic device.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a character input method using a software English keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 to 6 are application examples of the character input method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a text input method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary views of FIGS. 3 to 6 with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2. The character input method according to the flowchart of FIG. 2 is implemented as a program and executed by a processor of a corresponding electronic device.

Referring to FIG. 2, in step S210, a software English keypad is displayed on a touch screen according to execution of a specific application or user operation. For example, when the user performs an operation of touching the search box while the Internet search application is running, the software English keypad is displayed on the touch screen.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the software English keypad displayed on the touch screen may be configured as shown in FIG. 3 as an example. 3 illustrates a software English keypad 300 in a 3x4 arrangement in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various M × N arrays (where M and N may be natural numbers, that is, 1 × 1) may be used, and may have various shapes (circles, etc.) rather than rectangular shapes. That is, in the present invention, the shape and configuration of the software English keypad, the character arrangement method, and the like, various modifications may be applied without any limitation other than the core technical features as described below.

Referring to FIG. 3, each key button (12 key buttons in total since a 3 × 4 arrangement is assumed) of the software English keypad 310 is formed at the top and bottom of the main button area 10 and the main button area 10 located at the center. A total of four sub-button areas 11, 12, 13 and 14 are included at the bottom, left and right. Of course, Figure 3 assumes that all key buttons include a main button area and a sub button area, but only some of the key buttons (i.e., at least one key button) include the main button area and the sub button area as needed. You may. In addition, although FIG. 3 assumes that a total of four sub-button areas exist around the main button area, at least one sub-button area may exist, and the position of the main button area does not necessarily need to be located at the center of the key button. Of course. However, hereinafter, it will be described on the assumption of the case of Figure 3 for convenience and concentration of the description.

In FIG. 3, a number is displayed in the main button area 10, and a specific character is displayed in the left 11, right 13, upper 12, and lower 14 sub-button areas of the main button area 10. Here, an uppercase alphabet letter is assumed (ie, displayed on a software English keypad screen) in a predefined order. Of course, according to the design method, it is obvious that only some of the total four sub-button areas may be displayed. As such, in step S210, the software English keypad shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the touch screen.

Subsequently, in step S220, the processor detects a touch for selecting a main button area of a specific key button (hereinafter, referred to as a “first key button”) among a plurality of key buttons provided in the software English keypad. That is, after the software English keypad is displayed on the touch screen according to step S210, when the user makes a touch on the main button area of the first key button on the touch screen (that is, the software English keypad), the processor may perform the following steps. The touch and the position of the contact can be sensed.

After the first touch is detected, when a specific touch gesture is recognized while the touch is maintained, a text input is performed according to a text input method according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is illustrated in steps S230, S240, and S250.

That is, in step S230, the processor determines the type of touch gesture that is detected while the corresponding touch (that is, the touch regarding the main button area of the first key button) is maintained. Here, the touch gesture may include a first including touch movement to any one sub-button area (hereinafter, referred to as a “first sub-button area”) of one or more sub-button areas of the first key button while the touch is maintained. And a second touch gesture including a touch movement of returning to the main button area of the first key button after passing through the touch gesture or the first sub-button area of the first key button.

In operation S240, the processor inputs an uppercase letter or a lowercase letter of the English letter displayed on the first sub-button area of the first key button into a text box included in the touch screen according to the detected touch gesture.

This will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a first touch gesture and an example of a text input according thereto.

First, referring to the touch gesture of FIG. 4A, when the initial touch position 21 falls within the main button area of the fourth key button of the software English keypad of the 3 × 4 arrangement, the sub-left of the left 11 is shown. The case where the touch gesture 22 including the touch movement to the button area is made is illustrated. In this case, the processor may input an English letter G displayed in the sub button area on the left 11 into the text box. At this time, the entered English letter may be either uppercase or lowercase. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that a lowercase alphabetic character is input by the first touch gesture.

As another example, referring to the touch gesture of FIG. 4B, in the state where the initial touch position 31 falls within the main button area of the seventh key button of the software English keypad of 3 × 4 arrangement, The case where the touch gesture 32 including the touch movement to the sub button area is made is illustrated. Even in this case, the processor may input the English letter Q displayed in the sub button area of the upper side 12 into the text box. Even in this case, the input alphabet may be either uppercase or lowercase (in this specification, lowercase).

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a second touch gesture and an example of text input according to the second touch gesture.

First, referring to the touch gesture of (c) of FIG. 5, when the initial touch position 41 falls within the main button area of the fourth key button of the software English keypad of the 3 × 4 arrangement, the left 11 sub The case where the touch gesture 42 returns to the original main button area after passing through the button area is illustrated. In this case, the processor may input an English letter G displayed in the sub button area on the left 11 into the text box. In this case, the input alphabet may be an alphabet letter different from that input by the first touch gesture among uppercase and lowercase letters. That is, when a lower case letter is input by the first touch gesture, an upper case letter may be input by the second touch gesture.

As another example, referring to the touch gesture of FIG. 5D, in the state where the initial touch position 51 falls within the main button area of the ninth key button of the software English keypad of 3 × 4 arrangement, The case where the touch gesture 52 including the touch movement in the direction toward the sub-button area is made is illustrated. Even in this case, the processor may input a capital letter of the English letter Z displayed in the sub button area of the upper side 12 into the text box.

In summary, when the touch gesture detected in step S230 is the first touch gesture, in step S240, any one of uppercase and lowercase letters for English characters displayed in the first sub-button area is input into a text box, and the detected touch gesture in step S230 is performed. When the touch gesture is the first touch gesture, in operation S240, another one of upper and lower case letters for the English letter displayed on the first sub-button area may be input to the text box.

As such, according to the present invention, uppercase / lowercase conversion can be performed by only one touch operation (ie, predetermined predetermined touch gesture), thereby increasing user convenience. In addition, as shown in the above example, the touch action as if descending to the sub-button area located below the main button area has an intuitive up / down relationship as if it were uppercase letters (ie ?? character) / lowercase letters (ie? 邦? Character). There is also an advantage that is recognized by the user.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the number displayed in the main button area may be input into the text box by a conventional general touch input method. In this case, as described above, since the character input method and the conventional numeric input method according to the present invention can be used at the same time, there is an advantage in that continuous input of numbers in English letters is facilitated.

On the other hand, according to another embodiment of the present invention, any one of the one or more alphabetic characters displayed in the one or more sub-button area may be set as a representative alphabet for the corresponding key button, in this case, long touch the corresponding key button In this case, similar to the conventional key button touch input method, the representative alphabet of the key button may be input in the text box. In this case, as described above, since the character input method and the conventional character input method according to the present invention can be used at the same time, there is an advantage in that repeated input of the same character is facilitated.

In other words, in the case of using only the conventional character input method, as an example of the same key button, when A is touched twice, the letter of B is inputted, and in order to input A twice, touch A first and then After elapsed, A had to be touched again. However, when two character input methods are used in parallel as in the present invention, the same character can be input two or more times without time delay.

In the above description, a case in which the touch gesture is performed in the downward direction through the main button area based on the example of FIG. 4 has been described. However, the touch gesture for implementing the same effect may be modified in many ways. . That is, as shown in the above example, instead of a touch gesture having one directionality of downward direction, a touch gesture having two directionality in the up and down direction, a touch gesture having three directionality in the left-> right-> down direction, and the like may also be possible. In addition, in the software English keypad illustrated in FIG. 3, the sub-button area is placed on the top, bottom, left, and right side, but the diagonal direction is left empty. It might be possible to have the effect implemented.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the time for which the detection of the touch on the main button area of the first key button is maintained is maintained, the character key input method may be performed whenever the preset time interval is exceeded. The method may further include sequentially displaying the representative alphabetic characters among the numerals of the main button region and the alphabetic characters of one or more sub-button regions of the first key button adjacent to the first key button. In this case, in step S240, the processor may input a number or alphabet letter displayed adjacent to the first key button in the text box at the point when the detection of the touch on the main button area of the first key button ends.

For example, referring to FIG. 6, when the representative English letter of the second key button is set to "A", when the main button area of the corresponding key button is touched for a long time, the number "2" and the English letter as time passes. "A" can be displayed sequentially adjacent to the second key button (2-> A-> 2-> A), and "2" or "A" displayed at the end of the touch can be entered in the text box. have.

Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, when the time for which the detection of the touch on the main button area of the first key button is maintained continues, at least one sub-button of the first key button every time the preset time interval is exceeded. The method may further include sequentially displaying an alphabetic character of the area adjacent to the first key button. Also in this case, in operation S240, the processor may input an English letter displayed adjacent to the first key button into the text box at the point when the detection of the touch on the main button area of the first key button is terminated. Since this can be inferred through FIG. 6, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Although not illustrated in the drawings, in a similar sense, when an intermittent touch is made several times in a specific main button area in succession, the characters displayed in the main button area are continuously displayed in a predetermined order whenever the intermittent touch occurs. You can also change it. For example, when the main button area of the second key button is intermittently touched several times, it may be changed in the order of A-> B-> C-> A.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Examples of program instructions, such as magneto-optical and ROM, RAM, flash memory and the like, can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like, as well as machine code, Includes a high-level language code. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform operations of one embodiment of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, such as specific elements, and limited embodiments and drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above- Various modifications and variations may be made thereto by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, belong to the scope of the present invention .

100: Electronic device
110: Touch screen
120: processor
130: memory

Claims (6)

Displaying a software English keypad including at least one key button on a touch screen, each of the at least one key button comprising a main button area on which numbers are displayed and one or more sub-button areas on which English letters are displayed;
Sensing a touch on the main button area of a first key button of the at least one key button;
The first touch gesture or the first sub-button area of the first key button including a touch movement to a first sub-button area of the one or more sub-button areas of the first key button while the touch is maintained. Detecting a second touch gesture including a touch movement returning to the main button area of the first key button after passing through the first key button; And
Inputting an uppercase or lowercase letter of an English letter displayed on the first sub-button area of the first key button in a text box included in the touch screen according to the type of the detected touch gesture,
If the time during which the detection of the touch on the main button area of the first key button is maintained continues, whenever the preset time interval is exceeded, the number of the main button area of the first key button and the number of the first key button are exceeded. And sequentially displaying a representative alphabetic character among alphabetic characters of the at least one sub-button area adjacent to the first key button.
The inputting step may include inputting a number or an English letter displayed adjacent to the first key button into the text box when the detection of a touch on the main button area of the first key button ends. Character input method using. The method of claim 1,
When the touch gesture detected in the detecting of the one is the first touch gesture, the inputting step inputs any one of uppercase and lowercase letters for the English letter displayed on the first sub-button area into the text box,
If the touch gesture detected in the detecting of the one is the second touch gesture, the inputting step inputs another one of upper and lower case letters for the English letter displayed in the first sub-area to the text box. Character input method using software English keypad. delete Displaying a software English keypad including at least one key button on a touch screen, each of the at least one key button comprising a main button area on which numbers are displayed and one or more sub-button areas on which English letters are displayed;
Sensing a touch on the main button area of a first key button of the at least one key button;
The first touch gesture or the first sub-button area of the first key button including a touch movement to a first sub-button area of the one or more sub-button areas of the first key button while the touch is maintained. Detecting a second touch gesture including a touch movement returning to the main button area of the first key button after passing through the first key button; And
Inputting an uppercase or lowercase letter of an English letter displayed on the first sub-button area of the first key button in a text box included in the touch screen according to the type of the detected touch gesture;
If the time for which the detection of the touch on the main button area of the first key button is maintained continues, the alphabetic characters of the one or more sub-button areas of the first key button are sequentially made whenever the preset time interval is exceeded. 1 key button and display adjacent to,
The inputting step may include inputting an English letter displayed adjacent to the first key button into the text box when the detection of a touch on the main button area of the first key button ends. Character input method. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for performing the method of any one of claims 1, 2 and 4. touch screen;
One or more processors;
Memory; And
An electronic device stored in the memory and including one or more programs implemented to be executed by the one or more processors,
The program includes:
Displaying a software English keypad comprising at least one key button on the touch screen, each of the at least one key button comprising a main button area on which numbers are displayed and one or more sub-button areas on which English letters are displayed;
Detect a touch on the main button area of a first key button of the at least one key button;
The first touch gesture or the first sub-button area of the first key button including a touch movement to a first sub-button area of the one or more sub-button areas of the first key button while the touch is maintained. Detects any one of the second touch gestures including a touch movement returning to the main button area of the first key button after passing through
According to the type of the detected touch gesture, the uppercase or lowercase letters of the letters displayed in the first sub-button area of the first key button are input into a text box included in the touch screen.
If the time during which the detection of the touch on the main button area of the first key button is maintained continues, whenever the preset time interval is exceeded, the number of the main button area of the first key button and the number of the first key button are exceeded. A representative alphabetic character among the alphabetic characters of the one or more sub-button regions is sequentially displayed adjacent to the first key button, and the first key button and And instructions for inputting adjacently displayed numbers or alphabets into the text box.

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