KR102014215B1

KR102014215B1 - Method and apparatus for converting unit

Info

Publication number: KR102014215B1
Application number: KR1020170171395A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 김현경
Original assignee: 주식회사 한글과컴퓨터
Priority date: 2017-12-13
Filing date: 2017-12-13
Publication date: 2019-08-26
Also published as: KR20190070658A

Abstract

The present invention provides a method comprising: displaying a work area including a user interface and a cell into which a numerical value and a unit for unit conversion are input; Inputting a prefix or a suffix indicating at least unit conversion according to a user input for a preset form; And outputting a conversion value using a preset unit conversion table or unit conversion formula based on a numerical value and a unit according to an additional input of a user. According to the present invention, unit conversion can be simplified using a function input method in a spreadsheet.

Description

Unit conversion method and apparatus {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING UNIT}

The present invention relates to a unit conversion method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for converting units using a unit conversion function defined by a spreadsheet application module.

The SI standard, the international standard, means the international unit system (SI) in French and is also called the MKS system. The international system of units is a measure that is widely used in everyday life as well as in commerce and science in terms of the metric system. In an effort to create a globally unified unit system, the SI unit system was decided at the 11th International Conference on Metrology in October 1960.

On the other hand, united states customary units, which originated in the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries, are still one of the most widely used metrological measures after the metric system. One of the volume units commonly used in the United States, gallons, is unfamiliar to metric users. In the movie Die Hard 3, for example, terrorists set up time bombs and threaten the main character, instructing them to produce four gallons of water with a five-gallon and three-gallon bucket. One gallon is equivalent to 3.8 liters. As mentioned above, the unit system of the United States is still widely used for marking football field and baseball field standards in the United States. The unit system of the United States originated from the unit system of yard pounds, England, but the unit system of the United Kingdom, which was originally the unit system of the United States, was changed to the SI unit system.

Difficulties in mixing units between the international and the US are one of the hardest things for US students to study abroad. Another example is the Mars climate orbiter (MCO) launched by the US Space Agency in 1999, due to the intermixing of unit systems. As the thrust of the rocket, which should have been expressed in Newtons (N) at the time, was input into pounds (lb), which is 4.45 times greater, the MCO lost contact with Earth and disappeared into space without entering Mars. I have a memory.

In order to solve the inconvenience caused by the mixed use of the unit system, various smart devices have a unit conversion or unit conversion function or are distributed in an application form.

Spreadsheet application is a generic term for programs that perform calculation functions on numeric tables. Spreadsheet applications have been widely used as personal or business programs, from the time they were developed to provide a wide variety of practical uses.

Previously, there was a math program for large computers, but the world's first PC spreadsheet application was VisiCalc, developed for the Apple II.

Typical spreadsheet applications simulate realistic spreadsheets by capturing, displaying, and manipulating data arranged in rows and columns. The intersecting rows and columns produce many cells in the spreadsheet. Typically each cell contains data items and / or equations.

Spreadsheets perform calculation functions using numerical tables, and the unit conversion function is one of the essential functions, especially in the case where international and US unit systems are used interchangeably.

According to the previous technique, the unit conversion was performed according to the function input method in the spreadsheet application module. However, when unit conversion is performed by a function input method, the number of characters that a user needs to input increases, and it is difficult to use the non-advanced user, so there are few users who actually use such a function, and thus there is a problem that user accessibility is deteriorated.

1 is an exemplary diagram of unit conversion of a function input method according to the related art.

Referring to FIG. 1, when the unit conversion function is used, a number, a unit before conversion, and a unit after conversion must be input according to the format, and the unit must also be separated by double quotation marks. There is a feeling.

The unit conversion method and apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems as a technology distinguished from the prior art in that various menus related to unit conversion having high user convenience are provided using a user interface when only a number and a unit are input. It is to.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a unit conversion method and apparatus using a concise function input method in a spreadsheet.

In addition, the present invention provides a unit conversion method and apparatus using a function input method having high user accessibility through a user interface in a spreadsheet.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a unit conversion method includes: displaying a work area including a user interface and a cell into which a numerical value and a unit for unit conversion are input; Inputting a prefix or a suffix indicating at least unit conversion according to a user input for a preset form; And outputting a conversion value using a unit conversion table preset based on the numerical value and the unit according to the additional input of the user.

The outputting of the converted value may include recognizing a unit conversion request by using an input prefix or suffix, a numerical value, and a unit.

The outputting of the converted value may further include displaying a dialog box for displaying a menu relating to unit conversion according to the recognition result.

The outputting of the converted value may further include performing a unit conversion using a unit conversion table or a unit conversion equation according to a user's selection and displaying the result in a cell.

Here, the displaying of the dialog box may display a metrological list, a pre-conversion unit, a numerical value, and a post-conversion unit that the user can select from the menu.

Here, when the unit is a monetary unit, the exchange rate may be output as a result.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a unit conversion apparatus, including: a display device configured to display a work area including a user interface and a cell into which a numerical value and a unit for unit conversion are input; An input device for inputting at least a prefix or a suffix indicating unit conversion according to a user input for a preset form; And a controller for outputting a conversion value using a unit conversion table preset based on the numerical value and the unit according to the user's additional input.

Here, the control unit, a conversion recognition module for recognizing the unit conversion request using the input prefix or suffix, numerical value and unit; A UI module for generating a user interface related to unit conversion according to the request; A unit conversion module for performing unit conversion by using a unit conversion table or unit conversion formula according to a user's selection in the UI; And it may include a conversion output module for outputting the result of the unit conversion.

Here, the display device may display a dialog box for displaying a menu relating to unit conversion according to the recognition result.

Here, the display device may display a metrological list, a unit before conversion, a numerical value, and a unit after conversion that the user can select in the menu.

According to the present invention, the unit conversion can be simplified using a function input method in a spreadsheet.

In addition, a spreadsheet can be used to convert units using a user-accessible function input method through a user interface.

1 is an exemplary diagram of unit conversion of a function input method according to the related art.
2 is an exemplary diagram of a system environment including a unit conversion apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram of a unit conversion apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram of the controller of FIG. 3.
5 is a block diagram of a unit conversion apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is an exemplary view for explaining a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is an exemplary view for explaining a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a unit conversion table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the unit conversion method and apparatus of the present invention. The unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention is a technology applied to a spreadsheet application module, and the unit conversion device also includes a computing device for driving the spreadsheet application module.

In addition, the unit conversion method and apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited to a spreadsheet application module, a viewer dedicated to viewing a spreadsheet, a viewing method used therein, and a cell constituting a table; And a unit conversion method and apparatus performed by a computer program provided in the form of a document preparation application that performs display and print functions.

Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements. In addition, specific structural to functional descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are only illustrated for the purpose of describing the embodiments according to the present invention, and unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein including technical or scientific terms These have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and are not construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined herein. It is preferable not to.

Hereinafter, a unit conversion apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

2 is an exemplary diagram of a system environment including a unit conversion apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the system environment includes a unit conversion apparatus 100, a server 300, and a network 400 corresponding to the user terminal 100.

The user terminal 100 is a device for displaying and inputting data, a document output device capable of creating and editing a document, for example, a spreadsheet, a document editor, a document editing device, an electric type writer or a document. A device capable of performing general purpose operations in addition to the creation and editing of a computer, includes a computer device for executing computer instructions contained in a spreadsheet application module, a terminal, and a wireless terminal.

Various embodiments of the wireless terminal include a cellular phone, a smart phone having a wireless communication function, a personal digital assistant (PDA) having a wireless communication function, a wireless modem, a portable computer having a wireless communication function, a digital camera having a wireless communication function, and the like. Portable units incorporating the same imaging device, gaming device with wireless communication capability, music storage and playback appliance with wireless communication capability, Internet appliance with wireless internet access and browsing, as well as combinations of such functions; Including but not limited to terminals.

The server 300 may include, but is not limited to, a file server, an update server, an FTP server, and a web server, and various files necessary for updating the unit conversion application module stored in the user terminal 100, for example, a new server. Stores patches, extensions and service packs, and permits access of user terminals to provide application updates by downloading files.

The network 400 includes, but is not limited to, a local area wireless network, such as a LAN, a WAN, a wired network, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee, and various kinds of cellular wireless networks.

The unit conversion apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the user terminal 100 has a unit conversion application module including a computer instruction set installed in order to perform a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Save it.

The unit conversion apparatus 100 may read the media in which the unit conversion application module, which is not installed, is stored, and install the same in the unit conversion apparatus 100. Here, the unit conversion application module includes a spreadsheet application module. The media includes optical storage media such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. In addition, the unit conversion application module may be provided in the form of a binary file downloaded from the server 300. The unit conversion apparatus 100 may download various files from the server 300 through the network 400 and update the application module. The unit conversion apparatus 100 will be described in detail.

3 is a block diagram of a unit conversion apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the unit conversion apparatus 100 may include an input device 110, a display device 120, an output device 130, and a storage device ( 140, a communication device 150, a power device 160, and a control unit 170.

The input device 110 includes, but is not limited to, a keyboard, a touch screen, a mouse, an electronic pen, and a voice input device, for example, a microphone, which inputs data required for document preparation and information for setting various parameters of a user working environment. It doesn't happen. Through substantially user input, input device 110 inputs text and objects into a document. Here, the character is a concept including a space, and the object includes various kinds of form objects such as icons, pictures, shapes, tables, and charts.

The display device 120 includes a cathode-ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and a light emitting device that perform frame output of an edit screen for document creation. Light emitting diode (LED) displays and organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays include, but are not limited to.

The output device 130 includes, but is not limited to, a printer, a plotter, a beam projector, a text to sound (TTS) device, a speaker, and an earphone.

The storage device 140 is any type that can be separated or not separated from the unit conversion device 100. The storage device 140 stores magnetic data such as magnetic tape, magnetic drum, floppy disk, ZIP drive, and hard disk drive (HDD). Electrical storage and CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives, blu-ray disc drives using flash memory such as devices, SD cards, USB memory and solid state drives (SSDs) Including an optical storage device such as, but is not limited thereto.

The communication device 150 includes, but is not limited to, a communication module corresponding to various communication networks of the network 400, for example, a Bluetooth module, a WiFi module, an Ethernet interface card, a USB module, a cellular wireless communication module, a modem, and a wireless router. It doesn't happen.

The power supply 160 includes, but is not limited to, a secondary battery such as a power supply for converting AC into DC, an adapter, a SMPS and a lithium ion battery, a lead acid battery, a fuel cell, and a bioethanol battery, and a primary battery. . Hereinafter, the control unit 170 will be described in detail.

4 is a block diagram of the controller of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, the controller 170 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 178, a memory 177 in which an operating system 176 and a unit conversion application module 175 are loaded. In the memory area, the control unit 170 may include a conversion recognition module 171, a UI module 172, and a unit conversion module from a unit conversion application module including a computer instruction set for performing a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 173) and a conversion output module 174. The controller 170 controls each component in the unit conversion apparatus 100 to implement the unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In detail, the control unit 170 receives a user input through the input device 110, and displays a display indicating a document creation process, a created document, and a user interface according to a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention. A process of outputting the screen frame through 120, a process of outputting a document created by the output device 130 on paper or a voice, a process of storing the created document in the storage device 140, and receiving various data required for creation The processor (CPU) configured in the control unit 170 may control a process of transmitting a written document to the server 300 or an external terminal through the network 400 using the communication device 150 and the power supply process through the power supply 160. Unit conversion, including an operating system (OS) and computer instructions for the unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention. And controls, using the application memory module is loaded.

The unit conversion apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the computing device 500 may be described in more detail through other embodiments.

5 is a block diagram of a unit conversion apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the unit conversion apparatus 100 corresponding to the computing device 500 may include an input interface device 510, an output interface device 520, a memory 531, a storage device 532, and a power supply device 540. ), A processor 550, a network interface device 560, a wireless communication device 570, and a bus 580.

The input interface device 510 inputs a character or an object required for document writing according to a user's input. The input interface device 510 includes, but is not limited to, a keyboard, a touch screen, a mouse, a stylus pen, and a pen tablet.

The output interface device 520 includes a display for displaying a document and a printer for printing out a document. In addition, the output interface device 520 includes a speaker, a head-phone, and a headset for outputting text in a document as a speech using a text to speech (TTS) engine. do.

The processor 550 may execute computer instructions included in a unit conversion application module related to a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention stored in a memory 531 and / or a storage device 532. The processor 550 may refer to a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor on which the methods according to the present invention are performed. The memory 531 and the storage device 532 may be configured of a volatile storage medium and / or a nonvolatile storage medium. For example, the memory 531 may be configured as read only memory (ROM) and / or random access memory (RAM).

The wireless communication device 570 includes a device for short range wireless communication, wireless data communication, and wireless voice communication.

Each component included in the unit conversion apparatus 500 is connected by a bus 580 to communicate with each other.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 3, 4, and 6 to 9, a unit conversion method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in which the above-described unit conversion apparatus 100 is executed by executing a computer instruction set included in a unit conversion application module is described. This will be described.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, 4 and 6, the unit conversion method (S100) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps S110 to S133.

The unit conversion method S100 performed by the unit conversion apparatus 100 according to the present invention has a graphical user interface and includes a display device 120 and at least one input device 110. It is assumed that it can be coded in the form of a computer instruction set executed in the based unit conversion apparatus 100.

First, the display device 110 displays a work area composed of a user interface and a cell into which a numerical value and a unit for unit conversion are input (S110). The unit conversion application module 175 is composed of a computer instruction set coded to perform the unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention in combination with computer hardware, for example, the processor 178 and the memory 177.

7 is an exemplary view for explaining a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, a frame of a screen output by the display device 110 is illustrated. In the frame of the screen, a work area 11 composed of a cell and a user interface is shown. Various menus, menu bars and icons are displayed at the top of the screen in the form of a graphical user interface, and active cells 12 are displayed in the work area 11.

Next, the input device 110 inputs at least a prefix or a suffix indicating unit conversion according to a user input for a preset form (S120).

Here, the preset form refers to a form that allows the unit conversion application module 175 to recognize a request for unit conversion of the user according to the content input to the cell. Specifically, the user can make a request to the function for unit conversion by using a prefix, for example, an equal sign. Referring to FIG. 7, "= 1 cm" is input to an active cell. Here, a symbol other than an equal sign may be used as a prefix in a range not to be confused with other symbols used in a unit conversion application module. As an example of use of the suffix, an equal sign may be entered after the unit, such as "1cm =". The unit here means a unit before conversion. Likewise, other symbols may be used as suffixes, for example ">".

Next, the conversion value is output using the unit conversion table or the unit conversion formula preset based on the numerical value and the unit according to the user's additional input (S130).

The step S130 may include the following detailed steps of S131 to S133.

First, the conversion recognition module 171 recognizes the unit conversion formula using the input prefix or suffix, the numerical value, and the unit (S131). When the user's input is input in accordance with the form, the conversion recognition module 171 recognizes the unit conversion request of the user.

Next, the display device 120 displays a dialog box for displaying a menu relating to unit conversion according to the recognition result (S132). According to the unit conversion request of the user, the UI module 172 generates a user interface related to the unit conversion. The display device 120 displays a dialog box corresponding to the user interface.

8 is an exemplary view for explaining a unit conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the display device 120 displays a metrological list 21 selectable by a user, a unit before conversion 22, a numerical value 22, and a unit after conversion 23.

Next, the unit conversion module 173 performs unit conversion using a unit conversion table according to a user's selection, and the conversion output module 174 displays the result value in the cell (S133). According to the user's selection, one of the converted units and the result value may be selected in the result 23. The conversion output module 174 can input the result value into the active cell 12 or copy it to another location.

The unit conversion module 173 may perform unit conversion requested by a user using a unit conversion table according to a conventional method.

9 is a unit conversion table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, a unit conversion table relating to length is shown in various unit conversion tables according to an embodiment of the present invention. Various length units are shown in FIG. 9, and the conversion value between each unit is shown. In this case, the unit conversion formula may be used instead of the unit conversion table.

When the unit conversion equation is used, the number of branches of the conversion value corresponding to the square of the unit number need not be stored, which is advantageous in operating a small memory capacity. For example, an input unit may be converted into output units in stages as shown in Equation 1 below. Equation 1 represents the conversion of a 6-foot key expressed in US unit systems into cm of an SI unit system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, conversion of various units displayed in the metrological list 21 shown in FIG. 8 is possible. In addition, the exchange rate may be displayed by the conversion method (S100) and the apparatus 100 according to the present invention. That is, the unit conversion module according to the present invention can output the value of another currency in won and vice versa. Usage examples thereof may be input in the form of "dollar" or "# 1", as in the metrology unit. In addition, the exchange rate information may be collected at the exchange rate information site, for example, Naver Portal, Korea Customs Service or Hana Foreign Exchange Bank site through the communication device 150.

The unit conversion method according to the present invention can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. Computer-readable media may include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like. The program instructions recorded on the computer readable medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in computer software.

Examples of computer readable media include hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code, such as produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The above-described hardware conversion unit 100 may be configured to operate as at least one software application module coupled with the hardware to perform the unit conversion method to perform the operation of the present invention, and vice versa.

As such, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, unit conversion may be simplified using a function input method in a spreadsheet.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible from those skilled in the art. I will understand the point. Therefore, the technical protection scope of the present invention will be determined by the claims below.

100: unit conversion device
110: input device
120: display device
130: output device
140: storage device
150: communication device
160: power supply
170: control unit
171: conversion recognition module
172: UI module
173: unit conversion module
174: conversion output module
300: server
400: network
500: computing device
510: input interface device
520: output interface device
531: memory
532: storage device
540: power supply
550: processor
560: network interface device
570: wireless communication device
580: bus

Claims

In the unit conversion method performed by the unit conversion apparatus installed in the unit conversion application module to support the unit conversion,
Displaying a work area consisting of a user interface and a cell into which a numerical value and a unit for unit conversion are input;
Inputting a prefix or a suffix indicating at least unit conversion according to a user input for a preset form; And
Outputting a conversion value using a unit conversion table preset based on a numerical value and a unit according to an additional input of a user,
The outputting of the converted value may include:
And recognizing a unit conversion request by using an input prefix or suffix, a numerical value, and a unit.

delete

The method according to claim 1,
The outputting of the converted value may include:
And displaying a dialog box for displaying a menu relating to unit conversion according to the recognition result.

The method according to claim 3,
The outputting of the converted value may include:
The unit conversion method further comprises the step of performing a unit conversion using a unit conversion table or a unit conversion formula according to a user's selection, and displaying the result in a cell.

The method according to claim 3,
Displaying the dialog box,
The unit conversion method, characterized in that for displaying the user-selectable metrological list, the unit before conversion, the numerical value and the unit after conversion in the menu.

The method according to claim 1,
And outputting an exchange rate as a result when the unit is a monetary unit.

A display device for displaying a work area comprising a user interface and a cell into which a numerical value for unit conversion and a unit are input;
An input device for inputting at least a prefix or a suffix indicating unit conversion according to a user input for a preset form; And
And a controller for outputting a conversion value using a unit conversion table preset based on a numerical value and a unit according to a user's additional input.
The control unit,
A conversion recognition module for recognizing a unit conversion request using an input prefix or suffix, a numerical value, and a unit;
A UI module for generating a user interface related to unit conversion according to the request;
A unit conversion module for performing unit conversion by using a unit conversion table or unit conversion formula according to a user's selection in the UI; And
And a conversion output module for outputting a result of unit conversion.

delete

The method according to claim 7,
The display device,
And a dialog box for displaying a menu relating to unit conversion according to the recognition result.

The method according to claim 9,
The display device,
The unit conversion apparatus, characterized in that for displaying the user-selectable metrological list, the unit before conversion, the numerical value and the unit after conversion in the menu.

The method according to claim 7,
And outputting an exchange rate as a result when the unit is a monetary unit.