KR20060097300A - Alphabet input apparatus using a touchpad and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for inputting a character, said apparatus comprising: a central region (A ₃ ) and an upper left region (A ₁₎ disposed around each vertex in a generally square shape around the central region (A ₃ ). ), A touch pad means including a character input area A for generating five distinct signals of the lower left area A ₄ , the upper right area A ₂ , and the lower right area A ₅ ; Means for converting and outputting a coordinate signal input by a user touching each area of the touch pad as an area input signal; Means for sequentially receiving the converted region input signal and generating the region input signal sequence; Means for storing a character list comprising a character sequence and a character representation and function data, wherein one character representation or one function data is associated with at least one character sequence; Each time one area input signal is received, character search and output means for processing to search the character list and output the corresponding character representation using the sequence of the area input signal or a series of area input signals.

Handwriting, Text Input, Touchpad, Handwriting, Pattern

Description

Alpha Input Apparatus Using A TouchPad And Method Thereof}

1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a 4-wire resistive touch pad, which is a conventional pointing touch pad for moving a mouse point of a laptop or the like in general.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a character input apparatus using a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating steps of extracting an English character representation according to an English character input algorithm in a character input apparatus using a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining an English character input touch pattern in the character input device using a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a character input touch pattern for a function such as a symbol character input or an input mode switching function in a character input apparatus using a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a touch pattern for inputting a number in a character input apparatus using a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a touch pattern for inputting Korean consonants in a character input apparatus using a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a touch pattern for inputting a Korean vowel in a character input apparatus using a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a portable electronic device to which a character input device using a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a size of a character input device using a touch pad and a touch method using a finger according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an arrangement pattern of five input areas distinguished from each other in a touch pad of a character input device using a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

12 is a schematic diagram showing some examples of specific markings of the touchpad appearance in embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in which a text input device using a touch pad is applied to a laptop keyboard according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

<Brief description of the main parts of the drawing>

A: touch pad A ₁ : upper left area

A ₂ : idol area A ₃ : center area

A ₄ : lower left area A ₅ : lower right area

20: character input device 22: touch panel

24: touch panel controller 26: main processor

25: memory 28: display

200: character recognition program 300: lookup table

40: portable MP3 player 42: display

44: touch pad 46: control buttons

60: PDA 62: display

64: touch panel 66: control button

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a character input device using a touch pad and a method thereof, wherein a touch pad capable of generating five distinct input signals from each other is touched using a finger or the like according to a standardized touch pattern. The present invention relates to a character input device and a method for inputting a writing, a symbol, a numeric expression, and a function key for other functions.

With the development of wireless communication today, various functions such as a function of sending and receiving text messages, storing phone numbers, and wireless Internet functions are being added to the functions of a mobile phone, a mobile phone terminal. In addition, with the advent of small devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) with editing functions such as documents and tables, which have been possible in large devices such as desktop computers, demands for small size and text input are increasing. .

Meanwhile, smaller portable electronic devices that fit in one hand, such as small MP3 players, are becoming more popular today. In such very small electronic devices, since there is no space for a small keypad including a conventional 3 × 4 key button for text input, it is common to employ several control button structures such as arrows and input buttons. . However, with the development of technology, the memory device of such a small portable electronic device has greatly increased from about 16M bytes in the present to about 1G bytes, so that the stored MP3 music reaches a considerable number, and among them, the desired music is searched. Doing so has become a nuisance through simple keybutton arrangements for navigation for left and right navigation.

Therefore, it would be very convenient if the search through the text input is possible even in such a small MP3 player in which there is no space for the small keypad including the conventional 3 × 4 key buttons for text input. Furthermore, even in the case of an electronic device such as a mobile phone or a PDA employing a small keypad including a conventional 3 × 4 key button for character input, if there is a smaller and convenient character input device instead of such a small keypad, It would be desirable because not only can it be miniaturized but also the space for the display can be larger.

As such, the necessity of inputting characters is increasing, but there is a problem in that an input device is difficult to grow due to the characteristics of a mobile device having a small size. Accordingly, methods have been proposed that allow characters to be input without changing the size of the input device significantly or using a conventional 3 × 4 button keypad as is or through other modified devices.

 For example, in the publication of the "alphabet input device using a small keypad and its input method" (patent application No. 10-2004-0009086, filed February 11, 2004) previously devised and filed by the inventor of the present invention By slightly modifying the conventional 3 × 4 keypad keypad and sequentially inputting the buttons of the keypad in a predetermined order according to a standardized pattern, a technique has been proposed that enables character input even in a compact keypad designed to input only numbers in the related art. . This technology provides the advantage that text entry can be easily made with minimal modification, even in electronic devices such as conventional mobile handset terminals or portable PDAs employing small keypads including 3 × 4 key buttons. do. Furthermore, the use of only five buttons that may be implemented in the touch screen provides the advantage of being able to be implemented in an electronic device using the touch screen or a smaller electronic device having only a few buttons for navigation. By the way, this technique can generally input English alphabet letters using only five button structures arranged in a square, but to a certain extent, in order to provide a sense of handwriting input to the user in the press of a button There was a limit. In addition, since only the English alphabet can be input, there is a disadvantage that it cannot be used when it is necessary to input Hangul and numbers.

On the other hand, it has been proposed to configure a character input device using a touch pad to replace the character input through the arrangement of the key button to input numbers and characters into the mobile terminal. For example, Korean Patent (Application No. 10-2001-0067202, Application Date October 30, 2001, Patent Holder Mirae Communications Co., Inventor Chun Myung-chul) The registered patent publication of "Mobile terminal using a touch pad", a mobile terminal using a touch pad As a related art, a technology is disclosed in which a touch pad is set in the form of a small keypad having a 3 × 4 key button structure so that numbers, contract letters, and handwritten contract letters can be input according to input modes, and a mouse mode can be utilized separately. In this technology, the character input, especially the contract character input method, is to provide a corresponding character compared to the contract pattern stored in the memory when there is a contact according to the contracted character pattern on the touch pad. However, according to this technology, the character pattern to be contacted on the touch pad is not specifically limited, and thus it is impossible to know whether the character can be actually input, nor can any character be actually input other than the number. Furthermore, the technology does not anticipate or anticipate that the size of the touchpad may be smaller than the size of a conventional 3 × 4 keypad, so that more advanced miniaturization or other smaller handheld electronic devices of such existing mobile terminals are expected. There is a problem that can not be utilized for the character input of.

Therefore, the character input is also possible in an electronic device that is so small that it can replace or assist the key button keypad in a portable electronic device employing the existing key button character input structure, and / or cannot employ the existing key button character input structure. It can be configured to actually enable it, but it is also possible to freely enter English alphabets, symbols, numbers, and Hangul consonants, and furthermore to provide users with the feel of real handwriting character input, There is still a technical need for a character input device using a new touchpad, in which problems such as low recognition rate can be avoided.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional character input technology using a touch pad as described above, and to provide a character input technology using a touch pad having new additional advantages.

A specific object of the present invention is to use a touchpad including regions for generating five different signals arranged in a square to represent English alphabet and Korean consonants and assortments, numbers, symbols, and some functions using only the five regions. It is an object of the present invention to provide a character input device and method using a new touchpad that can input a wide variety of characters such as keys.

Another specific object of the present invention is to use only a smaller size touchpad to input enough numbers, English letters, Korean, etc., employing not only the electronic device employing the existing 3 × 4 key button keypad but also such a small keypad It can also be adopted in smaller electronic devices that can not be, thereby providing a character input device and method using a new touchpad, which provides the advantage that the use of characters can be utilized in a variety of electronic devices of different sizes I would like to.

In addition, another specific object of the present invention is a user's finger or pen-type stylus, etc., by writing the five regions arranged in a square on the touchpad in a form similar to a writing style of a character intuitively according to a standardized touch pattern. By using the touch action to draw a line, the user can input a desired character, thereby avoiding problems such as slow recognition speed and low recognition rate of the conventional handwriting input method, while providing the user with the intuitiveness of the existing handwriting input. The present invention provides a character input device and method using a new touchpad.

In order to achieve these objects, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a character input apparatus using a touchpad is provided. The character input apparatus using the touch pad includes: a central area A ₃ and an upper left area A ₁ and a lower left area A ₄ which are disposed around each vertex of a generally square shape around the central area A ₃ . ), A touch pad means including a character input region A for generating five distinct signals of the upper right region A ₂ and the lower right region A ₅ ; Means for receiving a coordinate signal input by a user touching each area of the touch pad, converting the area as an area input signal, and outputting the coordinate signal; Means for receiving the converted region input signal sequentially and generating it into a region input signal sequence; Means for storing a character sequence consisting of a sequential sequence of arbitrary region input signals and a character list comprising character representations and function data, wherein one character representation or one function data is associated with at least one character sequence Storage means for storing a list of characters; Each time one region input signal is received, character search and output means for processing to search the character list and output a corresponding character representation using the sequence of region input signals or a sequence of region input signals. .

According to the present invention, each of the character sequences of the character list is constituted by a signal which is in principle touched and inputted by one or more regions arranged in the touch pad means in a shape similar to the handwritten shape of the associated character. It is preferable.

According to the present invention, the character representation of the character list may include at least some of lowercase letters of the English alphabet, uppercase letters of the English alphabet, Korean consonants and vowels, numbers, and symbols. In this case, the function data associated with the character sequence includes at least a mode for switching from one input mode to another input mode among an English alphabet lowercase input mode, an English alphabet uppercase input mode, a numeric input mode, a symbol input mode, and a Korean input mode. It is desirable to include a switching function.

According to the present invention, in the pattern in which the five regions for generating the distinct signals are arranged, the central region A ₃ is different from the remaining four regions A ₁ , A ₂ , A ₄ , A ₅ . All are contiguous; The upper left area (A ₁ ) is adjacent to the lower left area (A ₄ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the upper right area (A ₂ ); The upper right area (A ₂ ) is adjacent to the upper left area (A ₁ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the lower right area (A ₅ ); The lower left area (A ₄ ) is adjacent to the upper left area (A ₁ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the lower right area (A ₅ ); The lower right area A ₅ is preferably arranged to be adjacent to the lower left area A ₄ , the central area A ₃ , and the upper right area A ₂ .

According to the invention, a particular mark is provided on the outer surface of the touchpad, e.g. in a printed form, to allow a user to visually distinguish at least roughly the five areas of the touchpad generating the distinct signals. Or by finishes of different materials.

According to the present invention, the touch pad means may be arranged as a text input only touch pad dedicated to text input separately from the display in a portable electronic device having at least a display. In this case, the character input touch pad means has a size of about 5 mm ㅧ 5 mm to about 30 mm ㅧ 30 mm, a touch pad suitable for text input using a user's finger or a pen-type stylus aid It is preferably implemented by means.

According to the present invention, the touch pad means may be arranged to overlap at least a portion of the key button array in a portable electronic device having at least a display and a key button arrangement.

According to the invention, the touch pad means is a touch screen with a transparent hardware touch pad arranged at least superimposed on the display in a portable electronic device having a display, wherein five distinct areas of the touch pad means are located on the touch screen. It may be implemented as a soft touch pad area implemented in. In this case, the soft touch pad area may be semitransparent.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for inputting a character, the method comprising: an upper left region, a lower left region disposed at one vertex region and at each vertex of a generally square shape around the central region for inputting a character; A character input method using a touch pad means including an area for generating five distinct signals of an area, an upper right area, and a lower right area, comprising: receiving coordinate signals input by a user touching each area of the touch pad; Changing and outputting it as an area input signal; Sequentially receiving the converted area input signal and generating the area input signal sequence; Using the region input signal sequence, retrieving a character list comprising a sequential sequence of any region input signal and a character representation and function data associated with each of the at least one character sequence; The method may include outputting the searched text representation when the text representation corresponding to the region input signal sequence exists and receiving a next region input signal to repeat the text list search. Here, each of the character sequences of the character list is constituted by a signal in which one or more regions arranged in the touch pad means are touched in succession in principle in a shape similar to the writing shape of the associated character.

According to a preferred embodiment of the method, the character representation of the character list includes at least a lowercase letter and an uppercase letter of the English alphabet, and when inputting a case, (a) the character sequence corresponding to the lowercase letter and the uppercase letter is the same; , The input of lowercase letters or uppercase letters is determined according to whether the character input mode is the lowercase input mode or the uppercase input mode, or (b) the character sequence corresponding to the uppercase letter is added to the lowercase character sequence associated with the uppercase letter. As a character sequence which is partially repeated, one of the methods that are separately determined or (c) the method of adopting both the above (a) and (b) methods may be adopted.

According to another preferred embodiment of the method, the character representation of the character list includes at least Hangul consonants and vowels, after touching the character representation corresponding to the Hangul consonants and vowels, i.e., a character sequence corresponding to the phoneme; The method may further include designating that the corresponding phoneme is completed by long pressing the final area or touching it once more.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method for inputting a character, the method comprising: an upper left region and a lower left region disposed at a corner of a generally square shape around one center region and the center region for inputting a character; Using a touchpad means comprising an area for generating five distinct signals, an upper right area and a lower right area, and also having a character sequence consisting of a series of area input signals and character representations associated with the character sequence in advance 1. A character input method comprising retrieving a stored character list and outputting a character representation according to sequentially inputted region input signal sequences, the method comprising: a first waiting step of waiting for an area input signal to be received; Generating a region input sequence by adding the received region input signal; Retrieving the character list using the area input signal sequence; A preliminary character extraction step of outputting a character representation associated with the character sequence and returning to the first waiting step when a character sequence corresponding to the area input signal sequence exists in the searching step; If there is no character sequence corresponding to the area input signal sequence in the search step, it is determined whether there is a character sequence including as a part a sequence corresponding to the area input signal sequence, and if such a part-containing character sequence exists A second waiting step returning to the first waiting step; If the partial inclusion character sequence does not exist, it is determined whether the preliminary character extraction step was present after the search step when the area input signal was previously received, and if not, all area input signals received so far. Incorrect input correcting step ignoring a sequence and returning to said first waiting step; If present, the method may include extracting and outputting the output character representation as a determined character, regenerating an area input signal sequence including only the currently received area input signal, and returning to the search step. have.

According to the present invention, there is provided a software program comprising program instructions embodied to perform the steps of the method described above by a microprocessor, and a computer readable recording medium on which such software program is recorded.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like numbers in the figures indicate corresponding similar means or parts.

The character input device and method according to the present invention is not exactly a handwriting pattern, but is previously assigned to a touch pattern that has been formatted in a pattern similar to a form in which a user writes a letter with a pen, It is characterized in that it is possible to easily input the desired character by sequentially touching each area of the character input touch panel including five areas.

Since the touch panel used in the present invention is a touch panel capable of providing only five areas that provide different distinct signals as described in detail below, the auxiliary input for moving the cursor in a laptop or the like is conventionally used. From touch panels using fingers such as touch panels used as means to more advanced touch panels for touch screens used in terminals such as banks, or touch panels for PDA touch screens using pen-type stylus. All types of touch panels can be used.

In FIG. 1, a block diagram illustrating a simple operation of a simple touch panel that can be employed in the present invention is illustrated, which schematically illustrates a functional configuration of a conventional 4-wire resistive touch panel device 10. The illustrated touch panel device 10 includes a touch panel 12 having a line capable of sensing four resistances, and a touch panel controller unit 14 receiving an analog resistance value from the touch panel 12. . The controller unit 14 includes an A / D converter 142 for converting the received analog resistance value into a digital signal, a controller 144 for determining the converted signal as X and Y coordinate values, and a reference value for determining the coordinate value; It has a local memory 146 that stores the touch panel driving algorithm, and is composed of a communication interface 148 for transmitting coordinate values to the main processor 16. The main processor 16, which may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) of an electronic device such as a notebook computer or a PDA, is connected to the main memory 15 that stores application programs and the like. The main processor 16 controls the movement of the cursor displayed on the display 18 using the coordinate values received from the controller unit 14.

In the block diagram of FIG. 2, a configuration of a character input device 20 using a touch panel according to the present invention is schematically illustrated. In this apparatus, the configuration of the touch panel 22 and the touch panel controller unit 24, the main processor 26, the main memory 25, and the display 28 are similar to those of the apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1. Do. However, according to the present invention, the signal value from the touch panel 22 is characterized in that it is converted in the controller unit 24 as five distinct area input signals. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this conversion process can be determined, for example, through the setting of the A / D converter in the controller unit 24 or the setting of the touch panel driving algorithm executed in the controller 144.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the five distinct region input signals correspond to signals generated when a user touches five distinct regions of the touch pad A. FIG. The five area input signals on the touch pad A have a structure in which one area is disposed at each vertex of a square and one area is disposed at the center thereof. Afterwards, the five regions are referred to as Left-Top Area A ₁ for the convenience of explanation, and the region located in the upper right is Right- Top Area (A ₂ ), Center Area (A ₃ ), Left Bottom Area (Left-Bottom Area) (A ₄ ), Bottom Right Area Will be referred to as Right-Bottom Area A ₅ . In addition, signals generated by touching each of these areas are also referred to as A ₁ , A ₂ , A ₃ , A ₄ , and A ₅ , respectively, for simplicity of explanation.

Here, the term 'touch' refers to 'the act of a user tapping or touching the touch panel using a sub tool such as a finger or a pen-type stylus to draw gold while moving it, i.e., moving a conventional cursor. It is used to mean the same action as the touch action used by the users. In addition, the term 'touch' is used in the present description in a broad sense including 'clicking' or 'pressing' a conventional button-pressing method.

According to the present invention, the user touches regions A ₁ , A ₂ , A ₃ , A ₄ , A _{5 of five} distinct touch panels in a predetermined pattern as will be described in detail later. That is, the character input may be performed by continuously touching each area through an operation of drawing gold with a finger or gold with a stylus in a predetermined order in a predetermined pattern similar to the handwritten form of the corresponding letter. As such, when a character is input, the user 'touches' the adjacent regions in order to input one character. Therefore, the text input method according to the present invention has the advantage that it is possible to input text in a manner similar to writing using one finger such as a thumb.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the character input apparatus 20 using the touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a touch pad 22 including five areas that are distinguished from each other. The touch pad 22 is connected to a touch panel controller 24 for converting a resistance value, a pressure value, or an ultrasonic intensity signal generated by the touch into a digital value suitable for processing. The controller unit 24 may execute a touch panel driving program to provide a signal generated by the touch panel touch to the main processor 26 as five distinct region input signals. The main processor 26 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) of a notebook, and in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, may be a main microprocessor in a portable electronic device such as a PDA, a cellular phone, an MP3 player, or the like. The memory device 25 and the display 18 are connected to the main processor 26.

The memory device 25 stores the character recognition program 200 and the lookup table 300 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The character recognition program 200 is an algorithm executed by the main processor 26, and maps a sequence of sequentially input area input signals to a character representation, as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. It is a program to make it work. The lookup table 300 is a list in which a character sequence consisting of region input signals from the touch panel 22 and a character representation corresponding thereto are associated with each other. FIGS. 4 to 8 and Tables 1 to 10 will be described below. Reference will be made in more detail. According to the invention, the display 18 is a means by which the character recognized by the main processor 26 is displayed to the user whenever the touch panel 22 is touched. Although illustrated in the drawing as a separate device from which the touch panel and the display are distinguished, those skilled in the art will also appreciate that a touch screen device of the type in which the transparent touch panel 22 is superimposed on the display 28 is also within the scope of the present invention. Will be easy to understand.

Some application examples of the character input apparatus using the touch panel according to the present invention of this type are shown in FIGS. 9 and 13. 9A shows an example of a design that can be applied as the small MP3 player device 40. The MP3 player device 40 is provided with a display 42 and a touch panel 44 on the front side, and a control button 46 such as an on / off power switch button on the side. In this example, navigation such as movement of the cursor through the touch panel 44 and text input according to the present invention may be possible. 9 (b) shows an example of a design that can be applied as the PDA device 60. In this example, the touch panel 64 overlaps with the navigation arrow button 66 and is installed below it. The user may deactivate the touch panel 64 when navigating a menu or the like, and may activate the touch panel 64 for text input and deactivate the button 66 during text input. 13 shows an example of the keyboard device 70 of the notebook computer. In this example, in addition to the conventional keyboard 72 and the existing touch panel 74 for moving the cursor, a character input touch panel A according to the present invention is further added. These examples are only a part of various applications of the character input device using the touch panel according to the present invention, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily conceive of other various applications.

Although not shown, in accordance with the present invention, a touchpad is a touchscreen with a transparent hardware touchpad that is overlaid on the display in a portable electronic device having at least a display, wherein five distinct areas of the touchpad are: It can be implemented as a soft touch pad area implemented on this touch screen. In this case, the soft touch pad region is preferably translucent.

 In the character input apparatus using the touch pad according to the present invention, in particular, the size of the character input touch pad may be very small. In this case, the touch pad may have a size of about 5 mm × 5 mm to about 30 mm × 30 mm, and preferably, about 15 mm × 15 mm. This size is a size suitable for inputting a character using a single finger of the user. This specific size is a suitable example as the size of the touch panel according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention for a small electronic device, but the present invention need not be limited to this size. Touchpads as large as 50 mm by 50 mm are also possible.

On the other hand, although the shape of the preferred touch panel of the present invention is generally square, the present invention does not necessarily need to use only a square touch panel, but any shape as long as five distinct regions are arranged in a square shape. It will be readily understood by one skilled in the art that this is possible.

A particularly advantageous feature of a small size touch panel is schematically illustrated in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10A, a user places a thumb on the center of the touch panel 44 mounted on the MP3 player device 40. In FIG. 10B, the touch panel 44 of FIG. It illustrates the user's finger on the edge. In this figure it can be understood intuitively the preferred relative size of the touch panel and fingers. In addition, according to the present invention, a smaller size is possible, and in this case, it may be implemented in a size suitable for inputting a character by using an auxiliary tool such as a pen-type stylus which is conventionally used in a conventional PDA.

As shown in FIG. 12, in accordance with the present invention, specific markings are provided on the outer surface of the touchpad to allow a user to visually distinguish at least roughly five areas that generate distinct signals of the touchpad. For example, it may be indicated by a printed shape, by finishes made of different materials, or by shaping to protrude or enclose the boundary between the respective areas. Although only nine examples of such marks are illustrated in FIG. 12, it should be noted that these illustrated shapes are merely examples, not limiting of the present invention, and many modifications may be readily conceived by those skilled in the art. Of course, even if there is no mark on the touch panel is within the scope of the present invention. As another example, five buttons may be displayed on the touch panel. In addition, even such marks may be provided in a number of separate stickers, for example, so that the user can select and use the desired markers.

According to the character input device according to the present invention, a user can naturally enter characters using a touch panel having a specific mark or no mark as if writing a letter on paper. In this case, the signal value generated in each input area among the five distinct areas of the touch panel may be generated as an analog value, converted into one or more discrete values, or may be directly generated as a plurality of discrete values. Since such a handwriting input method inputs a character as if drawing a line, the following will often refer to it as a 'graffiti' method to emphasize this. Alternatively, the user may touch each area as if the button is pressed by using the touch panel in which the five button types are displayed. In this case, the signal value generated in each input area among the five distinct areas of the touch panel may not be an analog method, and only one signal may be generated. Character input method by touch of the method of pressing such a button will be sometimes referred to as 'button handwriting input method'.

2 and 3, area input signals generated by a user touching the touch pad 22 are processed by the character recognition program 200 performed by the main processor 26, and the English alphabet as an example. The steps shown in FIG. 3, which are shown in FIG. 3, are extracted to the corresponding character representation and displayed on display 28. In the process of extracting the character representation, a character sequence consisting of predetermined region input signals and corresponding character representations, such as the schematic patterns of FIGS. 4 to 8 and the examples listed in Tables 1 to 10 below, are generated. The associated character list 300 is retrieved. The character list 300 may be implemented as a lookup table that is stored and inquired in the memory 25 connected to the main processor 26. According to the invention, the retrieval of the character list by the control device is preferably made each time one area is pressed, as described in more detail below.

As can be seen intuitively in Figures 4 to 8, the character input method according to the present invention, in particular to input any character of the English alphabet, symbols, key function keys, numbers, Korean consonants and vowels, Similar to the written form, the arranged area is pressed. For example, as can be seen in FIG. 4 and Table 1, in order to input the letter representation of "a", the user may select five areas of the touch pad A (see FIG. 11, A ₁ , A ₂ , A ₃ , A ₄ , A ₅ ) can sequentially press the A ₄ , A ₃ , A ₅ area. In this case, as evident in the drawing, the areas to be pressed are arranged adjacent to each other and the shape is arranged in a form similar to "a", so that the user feels that he or she directly writes a finger with one finger. Simply tap or 'touch' the fields.

According to a specific embodiment, when inputting a lowercase letter and a capital letter of English, the input sequence pattern of the uppercase letter “A” may be the same as the input sequence pattern of the lowercase letter “a”. In one embodiment according to the present invention, the same area input pattern is output in lower case in the lower case input mode, and in upper case in the upper case input mode. In this case, a sequence for a 'Caps Lock' function key sequence or a 'Shift' function key for switching to a capital letter input mode or a toggle type capital letter / lowercase letter may also be specified. This function key sequence is shown in Table 3 and FIG. For example, the sequence for the 'Shift' function key is A ₁ , A ₄ , after which only one character input can be entered in uppercase. On the other hand, the sequence for the 'Caps Lock' function key is A ₁ , A ₄ , A ₁ , A _4, which means that the Shift function key is repeated twice. In this case, the upper case input mode can be switched.

Alternatively, the input sequence pattern of the uppercase letter "A" may be different from the input sequence pattern of the lowercase letter "a", but with a pattern that adds simple rules to reduce user confusion. For example, it is preferable that the pattern is made of a pattern which is similar to a lowercase input pattern and repeats a part. Examples of such capital letter input patterns are illustrated in Table 2 below. As illustrated, the input pattern of the lowercase letter 'a' is A ₄ , A ₃ , A ₅ , whereas the input pattern of the uppercase letter 'A' may be A ₄ , A ₃ , A ₅ , A ₃ . The capitalization rule in this example is to repeatedly touch the area immediately before the final input area signal. According to this method, the user can easily enter the uppercase letter by adding a simple repetition rule in a similar manner to the lowercase input.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, there may be four region input sequences associated with “A” or “a”. There may be two input sequences associated with "B" or "b". There may be two input sequences associated with "C" or "c". Similarly with respect to other English alphabets, punctuation marks, numbers, Korean consonants, and vowels, one or more input sequence patterns may be associated with each other, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 8 and Tables 1 to 10. It should be noted that what is illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 8 and Tables 1 to 10 is only a few examples of many possibilities, and various combinations are alternatively and / or additionally possible.

In the following tables given by way of example, A ₁ is the left-top area, A ₂ is the right-top area, and A ₃ is the center position of the five areas of the touchpad. The center region, A ₄ refers to the left-bottom region located at the bottom left, and A ₅ refers to the right-bottom region located at the bottom right, and as mentioned above, FIG. 11. Intuitively displayed at.

In the following tables, the principle of the touch pattern for text input according to the present invention illustrated in FIG. 4 to FIG. 8 as an intuitive pattern is 'continuity'. That is, in the character extraction through the touch pattern of the present invention, the character is extracted by using the continuous input area signal from the area where the user starts to touch the touch panel to the area where the touch ends. The user must write consecutively without lifting the finger (or stylus) from the touch panel from the touch start area to the end area. This principle is applied to all touch patterns except for the English letters 'k, K' in the touch pattern for character input illustrated.

Although in the present invention, the touch pattern is possible only by satisfying the principle of continuously touching five regions, the touch pattern may further have an additional principle to further limit the start and end as follows.

Additional Principle 1. [Restriction of the end area of the touch pattern] All touches except for the result of the closed area as a result from the trajectory touched by the user (here, 'trace' means an abstract line connecting the areas to be touched). The endpoint of the trajectory does not end in the upper left area, ie A ₁ . For example, if the user touches the letter 'A ₁ -A ₃ -A ₄ ', ie, A _1, then touches A ₃ and finally touches A ₄ , the user can enter 'A' If it ends with A ₁ like ₄ -A ₃ -A ₁ ', it cannot be a touch pattern for character input. The touchpann entered by the user ending with A ₁ will be treated as an error. However, this is not the case with touch patterns for symbols or function keys. A function key refers to a function key for capitalization such as 'Caps Lock' and a function key to delete a previously entered character such as 'back space'. A symbol refers to a character such as '? (Question mark)'. A commonly used sign.

Additional Principle 2. [Restriction of Start Area of Touch Pattern] The trace that the user touches next does not start in the area on the lower right, A ₅ . For example, 'A ₄ -A ₃ -A ₅ ' is possible as a touch pattern for inputting the alphabet 'a', but a pattern such as 'A ₅ -A ₃ -A ₄ ' is not possible.

This additional principle has the purpose of making the touch pattern of the graffiti input method and the button handwriting input method the same. The button handwriting input method is composed of five button handwriting input signals, and thus is strictly 'continuous' in that there is only an intermittent button handwriting input action without strictly 'pressing and handwriting'. It differs from the graffiti input method. Applying this additional principle to the graffiti input method, there is an advantage that the touch pattern of the button handwriting input method and the touch pattern of the graffiti input method can be almost identically defined. Alternatively, however, the touch pattern of the graffiti input method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be defined such that reverse input is possible without limitation according to the above additional principles for starting and ending.

In the touch patterns of the Korean button handwriting input method shown in Tables 7 and 8 below, when the last input area signal displayed with a thick underline is long pressed, it indicates that the corresponding character sequence is completed. In the Korean handwriting input method touch patterns shown in Table 9 and Table 10, the repeated input area signals displayed with thick underlines indicate that the corresponding character sequence is completed so as to be distinguished from the following input characters. In the case of, the value of the sound is switched in the order of listening, sound, and sound, and in the case of vowel, the sound is converted in the order of short vowel and double vowel.

Referring to Figure 3 will be described in more detail the character extraction process 200 mentioned above. Although the process of extracting the English alphabet is illustrated in this figure, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the process applies equally to symbols, numbers, and Korean consonants and vowels.

According to the present invention, if a user taps or pushes gold while distinguishing from one another on the touch panel A, the signal generated by the touch panel according to this act is an area input signal, for example, a main device which is a control device. It is input to the character extraction process 200 by the character recognition program executed in the processor. The character extraction process 200 includes, in summary, a first waiting step 220 for waiting for an area input signal, generating an area input sequence 235, retrieving a character list 245, and character representation. A preliminary character extraction step 255 and 256 for outputting and returning to the first waiting step, a second waiting step 265 for returning to the first waiting step without preliminary character extraction, and ignoring all area input signal sequences received so far 1 may include a correction error extraction step 275 and a confirmation character extraction step 285 for extracting a character and returning to the search step.

First, when the user presses the central area for more than a predetermined time, for example, the lowercase English input mode according to the present invention may be started (step 210). In the initialization step 215, the count i is initialized to a null (0) value, the character value m representing the character representation and the area input signal sequence I are also initialized to the null value, for example.

In a first waiting step 220 the control device then waits for the area input signal to be received. When the next signal is input, the count i is incremented by one, and the area input signal sequence I is generated in addition to the signal input (if present) before the currently input and received area input signal rules {step (235)}. The region input signal sequence I generated in this generation step 235 can be compared with the character sequence included in the character list and thus the associated character representation can be retrieved.

On the other hand, basically, before this generating step 235, it will be determined whether the area signal is a reset area, an area for switching to another function, or an area (key) for switching / release to an input mode of another language, etc. (step (225)}. In the case of a reset area (for example, a signal of long pressing the upper left area for a predetermined time), the process returns to the initialization step 215, and in the case of another function key, this character extraction process is stopped and the corresponding function is started (step 230). }.

Once the area input signal sequence I is generated, using the generated area input signal sequence I, the character list is retrieved. In this step, the area input signal sequence I is compared and searched for whether a corresponding character sequence exists in the character list (step 245).

In the searching of the character list, it is determined whether there is a character sequence corresponding to the area input signal sequence I and an associated character representation (step 250). If present, output the associated character representation m _i as a preliminary character extraction step (step 255), add the character representation m _i to the character value m (step 256), Return to the first waiting step 220. For example, if the current touched area is the A ₄ area, but the A ₄ area signal is added to the previous signal, for example, the A ₁ area signal, and the area input signal sequence generated is {A ₁ , A ₄ }, the character "i" and The letter "i" is output because it matches the associated character sequence. Since the characters extracted in this step may not be fixed, this step is a preliminary character extraction step. In order to extract characters definitely, this preliminary character extraction step must be performed.

If there is no character sequence corresponding to the area input signal sequence in the search step (NO in step 250), it is determined whether there is a character sequence including as a part a sequence corresponding to the area input signal sequence. {Step 260). If this partial containing character sequence is present (YES), it returns to the first waiting step without any output as the second waiting step (step 265). When the user touches, for example, the A ₄ region for the first time after initialization, for example, a character uniquely corresponding to the region input signal sequence {A ₄ } does not exist with reference to Table 1. By the way, there are a number of character representations such as a, m, o, p as characters which have this area input signal sequence {A ₄ } partially. In this case, since one character representation cannot be determined, the current stage waits for input of the next region without displaying the character representation.

If the partial containing character sequence does not exist (NO), it is determined whether the preliminary character extraction step was present after the search step when the area input signal was previously received (step 270). If it does not exist (no m _i-1 ), the process proceeds to the incorrect input correction step. The incorrect input correcting step is a step of ignoring all area input signal sequences received so far and returning to the first waiting step. At this time, a warning sound (bip) for notifying the wrong input may be output (step 275). For example, if the area input signal sequence generated by the user touching the A ₅ area is {A ₅ }, the character that is (partially even) associated with the character sequence {A ₅ } in Table 1 cannot be found. All of the region input signals (right and bottom regions) inputted up to this point are ignored and the process returns to the step of waiting for the next region input with the output of the warning sound. According to this incorrect input correction step, the incorrectly input area sequence is automatically deleted. Therefore, the user can start a new area input for a desired letter without the need for separate area manipulation.

In step 270, if present (there is m _i-1 ), the outputted character representation is extracted as the determined character and outputted (step 285). At the same time, an area input signal sequence containing only the currently received area input signal is regenerated (step 290) to return to the search step. This step is a definite character extraction step. Only by this step will the character be confirmed. For example, if the region input signal sequence generated by the user inputting the region A ₁ is {A ₂ , A ₅ , A ₁ }, the table 1 is associated with the character sequence {A ₂ , A ₅ , A ₁ }. Character not found However, in the previous step, the letter "i" was preliminarily extracted by {A ₂ , A ₅ }. Therefore, the letter "i" preliminarily extracted in the previous step is output as the letter confirmed in the present step. At the same time, a region input signal sequence containing only the currently received region input signal is newly generated. In this example, we will return to the step of retrieving the character list using a sequence consisting only of {A ₁ }.

Through the above steps, the main processor extracts the characters and displays them on the display to input characters. Each of these steps is fast, so the user simply needs to draw the desired text on the touchpad.

The present invention may also be performed by implementing the above-described methods according to the present invention by logically processing the input area signal and retrieving a list stored in advance. Thus, they may be implemented by program instructions implemented to be executed by the microprocessor. Accordingly, the present invention also provides a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a software program for implementing the same.

In the above, the present invention has been described through specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited only to the described examples. Those skilled in the art can make various changes, modifications, and combinations within the technical scope and / or technical scope represented by the various claims in the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is pointed out that the protection scope of the present invention is limited only by what is claimed in the claims.

According to the character input device and method using the touch pad according to the present invention as described above, by using the touch pad including the regions for generating five different signals arranged in a square, the English alphabet and A wide variety of characters can be entered, such as Korean consonants and assortments, numbers, symbols, and keys representing some functions. Furthermore, according to the present invention, only a small size of the touch pad can be used to sufficiently input numerals, English letters, Korean, etc., so that not only an electronic device employing a conventional 3 × 4 key button keypad but also such a small keypad can be employed. It can also be employed in countless smaller electronic devices, thereby providing the advantage of enabling the use of characters in electronic devices of various sizes. In addition, according to the present invention, the user intuitively draws five areas arranged in a square on the touchpad in a form similar to the handwritten form of a character by using a finger or a pen-type stylus. By allowing the user to input a desired character through a touch action, the user can avoid the problems of the slow recognition speed and the low recognition rate of the conventional handwriting input method, while providing the user with the intuition of the existing handwriting input. Provides a significant effect.

Claims (24)

In a device for entering text, the device comprises: One central region A ₃ and the upper left region A ₁ , the lower left region A ₄ , the upper left region A ₂ , the lower right which are disposed around each of the vertices of a generally square shape around the central region A ₃ . Touch pad means comprising a character input area A for generating five distinct signals of area A ₅ ; Means for receiving a coordinate signal input by a user touching each area of the touch pad, converting the area as an area input signal, and outputting the coordinate signal; Means for receiving the converted region input signal sequentially and generating it into a region input signal sequence; Means for storing a character sequence consisting of a sequential sequence of arbitrary region input signals and a character list comprising character representations and function data, wherein one character representation or one function data is associated with at least one character sequence Storage means for storing a list of characters; Each time one region input signal is received, a character search and output means for processing the list of characters and processing to output a corresponding character representation using the sequence of region input signals or a sequence of region input signals is provided. Character input device using a touchpad, characterized in that it comprises a. 2. The character sequence of claim 1, wherein each of the character sequences of the character list is constituted by a signal that is in principle touched and inputted by one or more regions arranged in the touch pad means in a shape similar to the handwritten shape of the associated character. Character input device using a touch pad. The character input apparatus of claim 1, wherein the character representation of the character list comprises at least some of lowercase letters of the English alphabet, uppercase letters of the English alphabet, Korean consonants and vowels, numbers, and symbols. The method of claim 3, wherein the function data associated with the character sequence comprises: switching from one input mode to another input mode among at least an English alphabet lowercase input mode, an English alphabet uppercase input mode, a numeric input mode, a symbol input mode, and a Korean input mode. Character input device using a touch pad, including a mode switching function for. The method of claim 1, wherein in the pattern in which five regions for generating the distinct signals are arranged, the central region A ₃ is the remaining four regions A ₁ , A ₂ , A ₄ , A ₅ . Are all contiguous with; The upper left area (A ₁ ) is adjacent to the lower left area (A ₄ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the upper right area (A ₂ ); The upper right region (A ₂ ) is adjacent to the upper left region (A ₁ ), the central region (A ₃ ), and the lower right region (A ₅ ); The lower left area (A ₄ ) is adjacent to the upper left area (A ₁ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the lower right area (A ₅ ); The lower right area (A ₅ ) is arranged in a form adjacent to the lower left area (A ₄ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the upper right area (A ₂ ), character input device using a touch pad. The touch pad of claim 1, wherein a specific mark is displayed on an outer surface of the touch pad to allow a user to visually distinguish at least approximately five areas of the touch pad means that generate the distinct signals. Character input device using. The character input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the touch pad means is arranged as a character input dedicated touch pad dedicated to character input separately from the display in a portable electronic device having at least a display. The touch pad device of claim 7, wherein the touch pad means for inputting a letter has a size between about 5 mm × 5 mm and about 30 mm × 30 mm, and is suitable for touch input using a single finger of a user or a pen type stylus. Character input device using a touch pad, implemented by a pad means. The character input device of claim 1, wherein the touch pad means is arranged to overlap at least a portion of the key button array in a portable electronic device having at least a display and a key button arrangement. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein the touch pad means is a touch screen having a transparent hardware touch pad arranged at least superimposed on the display in a portable electronic device having a display, wherein the five distinct areas of the touch pad means are touch screens. Character input device using a touch pad, implemented as a soft touch pad area implemented on the. The character input device of claim 10, wherein the soft touch pad area is semi-transparent. In order to input a character, it comprises a central area and an area for generating five distinct signals of a top left area, a bottom left area, a top right area, and a bottom right area which are disposed at each vertex in a generally square shape around the center area. Character input methods using touchpad means are: Receiving a coordinate signal input by a user's touch on each area of the touch pad and outputting the coordinate signal as an area input signal; Receiving the converted region input signal sequentially and generating the region input signal sequence; Using the region input signal sequence, retrieving a character list comprising a sequential sequence of any region input signal and a character representation and function data associated with each of the at least one character sequence; Outputting the searched character representation when the character representation corresponding to the region input signal sequence exists, and receiving a next region input signal to repeat the character list search; Include, and also Here, each of the character sequences of the character list is constituted by a signal inputted by successively touching one or more regions arranged in the touch pad means in a shape similar to a writing shape of the associated character in principle. Character input method using a touch pad. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the character representation of the character list includes at least some of lowercase letters of the English alphabet, uppercase letters of the English alphabet, Korean consonants and vowels, numbers, and symbols, wherein the function data includes each character input mode. Character input method using a touch pad, including a mode switching function to switch. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the character representation of the character list comprises at least lowercase and uppercase letters of the English alphabet, When entering a case, (a) the character sequence corresponding to the lowercase and uppercase letters is the same, and the input of the lowercase letter or the uppercase letter is determined depending on whether the character input mode is the lowercase input mode or the uppercase input mode, or (b) A character sequence corresponding to an uppercase letter is defined in addition to the lowercase character sequence associated with the uppercase letter, and a part thereof is separately determined as a repeated character sequence, or (c) employs both of (a) and (b) above. Character input method using a touch pad, using any one of the methods. The method of claim 12, wherein the character representation of the character list includes at least Hangul consonants and vowels, Touch input of the character representation corresponding to the Hangul consonants and vowels, that is, the character sequence corresponding to the phoneme, and then, pressing and holding the final area or touching it again, designating that the phoneme is completed. Character input method. The method of claim 12, wherein in the pattern in which five regions for generating the distinct signals are arranged, the central region A ₃ is the remaining four regions A ₁ , A ₂ , A ₄ , A ₅ . Are all contiguous with; The upper left area (A ₁ ) is adjacent to the lower left area (A ₄ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the upper right area (A ₂ ); The upper right area (A ₂ ) is adjacent to the upper left area (A ₁ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the lower right area (A ₅ ); The lower left area (A ₄ ) is adjacent to the upper left area (A ₁ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the lower right area (A ₅ ); The lower right area (A ₅ ) is arranged in a form adjacent to the lower left area (A ₄ ), the center area (A ₃ ), and the upper right area (A ₂ ), character input method using a touch pad. In order to input a character, it comprises a central area and an area for generating five distinct signals of a top left area, a bottom left area, a top right area, and a bottom right area which are disposed at each vertex in a generally square shape around the center area. By using a touchpad means and by retrieving a pre-stored character list having a character sequence consisting of a series of area input signals and character representations associated with the character sequence, the characters according to sequentially inputted area input signal sequences A character input method made by outputting a representation, the method comprising: A first waiting step of waiting for an area input signal to be received; Generating a region input sequence by adding the received region input signal; Retrieving the character list using the area input signal sequence; A preliminary character extraction step of outputting a character representation associated with the character sequence and returning to the first waiting step when a character sequence corresponding to the area input signal sequence exists in the searching step; If there is no character sequence corresponding to the area input signal sequence in the search step, it is determined whether there is a character sequence including as a part a sequence corresponding to the area input signal sequence, and if such a part-containing character sequence exists A second waiting step returning to the first waiting step; If the partial inclusion character sequence does not exist, it is determined whether the preliminary character extraction step was present after the search step when the area input signal was previously received, and if not, all area input signals received so far. Incorrect input correcting step ignoring a sequence and returning to said first waiting step; If present, the extracted character representation is extracted and output as a definite character, and the definite character extraction step of regenerating an area input signal sequence including only the currently received area input signal and returning to the search step is performed. Character input method using a region input signal sequence, characterized in that it comprises a.  18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein each of the character sequences of the character list is constituted by a signal inputted by successively touching one or more regions arranged in the touch pad means in a shape similar in principle to the handwritten shape of the associated character. Character input method using the touch pad.   The method of claim 17, wherein the character representation of the character list comprises at least some of lowercase letters of the English alphabet, uppercase letters of the English alphabet, Korean consonants and vowels, numbers, and symbols.   20. The method of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises: mode switching for switching from at least one input mode of at least one of an English alphabet lowercase input mode, an English alphabet uppercase input mode, a numeric input mode, a symbol input mode, and a Korean input mode to another input mode. Further comprising the step, the character input method using a touch pad. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein in the pattern in which five regions for generating different signals are arranged, the central region A ₃ is the remaining four regions A ₁ , A ₂ , A ₄ , A ₅ . Are all contiguous with; The upper left area (A ₁ ) is adjacent to the lower left area (A ₄ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the upper right area (A ₂ ); The upper right area (A ₂ ) is adjacent to the upper left area (A ₁ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the lower right area (A ₅ ); The lower left area (A ₄ ) is adjacent to the upper left area (A ₁ ), the central area (A ₃ ), and the lower right area (A ₅ ); The lower right area (A ₅ ) is arranged in a form adjacent to the lower left area (A ₄ ), the center area (A ₃ ), and the upper right area (A ₂ ), character input method using a touch pad. The method of claim 17, wherein the correcting of the wrong input further comprises outputting a sound indicating that an error is detected. A software program comprising program instructions embodied to enable a microprocessor to perform the steps as described in any of claims 12 to 22. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded the software program of claim 23.

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