KR20040089437A - Method and apparatus of key input for portable terminals - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A character inputting method and an apparatus thereof are provided to allow a user to manipulate a button in four directions of up/down and left/right by forming the button in a stick form. CONSTITUTION: A keypad(10) includes a plurality of input buttons(20). Each button is pushed and moved in up/down direction(31) and left/right direction(32) on the surface of the keypad(10) as well as pressed down and pulled up in forward/backward direction. For example, when a number button '1' is pressed, the number '1' is inputted. When the number button '1' is pushed upward, 'A' is allocated. When the number button '1' is pushed downward, 'B' is allocated. When the number button '1' is pushed leftward, 'C' is allocated. When the number button '1' is pushed rightward, 'D' is allocated.

Description

Character input method and device {METHOD AND APPARATUS OF KEY INPUT FOR PORTABLE TERMINALS}

The present invention relates to a text input method that can be applied to a wireless telephone, a television remote control, a touch screen, a PDA, and the like, and more particularly, to a text input method for easily inputting Korean consonants and vowels.

At present, unlike a computer keyboard used on a desk, in a small device such as a mobile phone, a PD, or a remote control of a digital television, since the size of the product is small, it is difficult to arrange many key buttons as comfortably as on a keyboard of a desktop computer. .

For this reason, in the case of a mobile phone as an example, a method of assigning a plurality of character codes to each button and changing the input character codes according to the number of consecutive presses of each button within a short time is used.

That is, in the prior art, only the operation of pressing the respective buttons prepared on the keypad as shown in Figs. 1A and 1B is possible. In other words, if you want to enter the English letter "H" is operated by pressing the number "4" button twice in succession.

In addition, in the prior art, a method of designating an uppercase input mode and a lowercase input mode by pressing a separate key for case conversion is commonly used. However, the character input apparatus according to the prior art assigns a plurality of character codes to each button and uses a method of changing the character codes inputted according to the number of times each button is continuously pressed within a short time, so that character input time is increased. There is discomfort required.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character input method, and more particularly, to a character input apparatus and method for applying to a remote control of a portable terminal, a computer, a PD or a digital television.

1 is a view showing a character input device according to the prior art.

2A and 2B show an embodiment of a character input apparatus according to the present invention, showing a plan view and a sectional view, respectively.

3A and 3B show yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a plan view and a sectional view, respectively.

Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a character input method and apparatus that can easily and conveniently input characters in a small terminal.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a text input device and method of a new method which can easily and easily input text to a terminal such as a mobile phone, a media, a digital television remote control, etc. in addition to the first object.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that it is possible not only to press the button for character input from the top to the bottom, but also to push the button in the four directions of up, down, left and right by making the button into a stick shape. As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stick-shaped buttons can be pushed up, down, left and right, and pushed from the top to the bottom like a conventional button.

That is, the character input device according to the present invention is composed of a button of a stick shape, each button is pressed, raised up. It can have five operating directions, such as pushing down, pushing to the right, and pushing to the left, each having a contact in each direction and assigning a separate character code to each of these five contacts.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings Figures 2 and 3 will be described in detail the character input device and method according to the present invention.

2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating one embodiment of a character input apparatus according to the present invention, and show a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively. 2A and 2B, the character input device according to the present invention includes a plurality of input buttons 20 on the keypad 10, each button 20 not only in the up and down direction 30 but also in the keypad. It is possible to slide by moving in the up-down direction 31 and the left-right direction on a plane.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the number "1" button is pressed, the number "1" is input, 'A' to push up, 'B' to push down 'C' to push left, 'to push' Can be assigned to the letter 'D'. In addition, as another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of arranging each button so that the thumb of both hands of the user can be more conveniently manipulated in order to facilitate the button operation.

3A and 3B show still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively. Referring to FIG. 3A, when the user inputs both characters with both hands and uses the thumb of both hands, each button is arranged in an even number (40, 50) on one line in a symmetrical diagonal line so that the button can be operated more conveniently. Figure 3a shows a symmetrical diagonal arrangement, the arrangement of the symmetrical oblique button is arranged by the same number of buttons on the left and right sides so that both hands thumb can easily operate. As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the button arrangement direction can be installed in 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, and 10:30 directions so as to be pushed in four directions to operate.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention to better understand the claims of the invention which will be described later. Additional features and advantages that make up the claims of the present invention will be described below. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiments of the invention disclosed can be readily used as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out similar purposes to the invention.

In addition, the inventive concepts and embodiments disclosed herein may be used by those skilled in the art as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. In addition, such modifications or altered equivalent structures by those skilled in the art may be variously changed, substituted and changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention described in the claims.

As described above, the character input device according to the present invention can be applied to various electronic devices. In other words, when the present invention is applied to a PDA, all numbers, English letters, and Korean characters can be input with only about 10 buttons. In addition, when the present invention is applied to a mobile phone, character input becomes easier, and can be applied to a remote control of an interactive digital television.

In the present invention, even in the case of a console game machine such as a Playstation or an Xbox, the character input device of the present invention is mounted on an existing game controller so that a chat and the like can be supported in a service for playing a game with another person through a network. The character input unit according to the present invention may be utilized as an external character input unit by using a method such as a mobile phone or a PD or other infrared communication by making a separate character input unit instead of mounting on a specific electronic device.

Claims (4)

A plurality of character input buttons are provided on the keypad, and each of the character input buttons moves up to down, left, right (three o'clock, six o'clock, nine o'clock, and twelve o'clock) on the keypad plane with push operation up and down. And a character input device in which characters pre-allocated corresponding to all five moving contacts are inputted. A plurality of character input buttons are provided on the keypad, and each character input button has four diagonal directions (1:30, 4:30, and 7:30) in four directions on the keypad plane, with push motions up and down. And 10:30 directions) so that all of the pre-assigned characters are input in response to all five moving contacts. The terminal of claim 1 or 2, wherein the character input device is mounted. In the method for receiving a character in the terminal, the terminal provides a plurality of character input buttons for receiving a character, the user pushes the character input button up and down, or move to five contacts in the top, bottom, left and right on the keypad plane Character input method, characterized in that for receiving the pre-allocated character corresponding to the five operations.