KR20080023068A - Character input device for inputting of alphabet character - Google Patents

Abstract

A text input device for English input is provided to improve the speed of English input by allocating consonant alphabets and vowel alphabets respectively on the left side and right side of a keypad so that a user can input English letters with his both hands. A text input device, which has 16 keys in 4 rows and 4 columns, comprises a consonant part(100), a vowel part(200) and a function part(300). The consonant part(100) comprises the left 2 columns of the 4x4 key matrix. In the left 2 columns, consonant alphabets are sequentially arranged. The vowel part(200) comprises the right 2 columns of the key matrix. In the right 2 columns, vowel alphabets are sequentially arranged. The function part(300) consists of 3 keys(310,330,350) of the bottom row.

Description

Character Input Device for Inputting of Alphabet Characters

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

2A to 2B illustrate a character input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

3A to 3B illustrate a character input device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and

4A to 4B are diagrams illustrating a character input device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a character input device for inputting English characters, and more particularly, to a character input device including n * m keys of n rows and m columns for inputting English characters.

With the rapid development of portable terminals, communication terminals such as portable telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) generally perform not only normal voice calls but also functions of transmitting and receiving short messages and data communications. In particular, due to the convenience of text messaging, most users use text message transmission. At this time, the portable terminal has a keypad capable of inputting Korean and English.

In order to input an English letter in a portable terminal having a character input device as shown in FIG. 1, a complicated process must be performed.

For example, entering the string 'life' is as follows:

When the key to which 'jkl' is assigned is input three times, the 'l' consonant alphabet is selected. After selecting the consonant alphabet, when the key to which 'ghi' is assigned is input three times, the 'i' vowel alphabet is selected. After selecting the vowel alphabet and entering the key to which 'def' is assigned 3 times, 'f' consonant alphabet is selected, and after selecting the consonant alphabet, if the key 'def' is assigned twice, the 'e' vowel alphabet is selected. A total of 11 keystrokes are selected to complete the 'life' string.

Therefore, there is a need to develop a technique for inputting English characters accurately and quickly using a character input device.

An object of the present invention is to provide a character input device for improving the input speed of the alphabet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard of a mobile terminal for inputting characters using both hands by dividing the character input device into a consonant part and a vowel part.

In order to achieve the above object, a character input device including n * m keys of n rows and m columns for inputting alphabetic characters according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a consonant part in which consonant alphabets are sequentially arranged in the left n / 2 columns. And a vowel section in which vowel alphabets are sequentially arranged in the right n / 2 columns.

In the present invention, a case in which a character input device including m * n keys in m rows and n columns is m = 4 and n = 4 is described, but m and n may be substituted with arbitrary numbers.

In the present invention, the consonant part is a key arrangement in which consonant alphabets are sequentially arranged, and the vowel part is a key arrangement in which vowel alphabets are sequentially arranged. Specifically, the consonant part consists of a plurality of keys in which three consonants consecutive in alphabetical order are assigned to one key, and the vowel part consists of a plurality of keys in which one vowel is assigned to one key in alphabetical order.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same elements in the figures are represented by the same numerals wherever possible. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted.

2A and 2B illustrate a character input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2A, a character input apparatus including 16 keys in 4 rows and 4 columns according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a consonant unit 100, a vowel unit 200, and a function unit 300. .

The consonant part 100 sequentially arranges the consonant alphabet in the left two columns. In particular, the consonant part 100 is composed of keys in which consonant alphabets are sequentially assigned to each of three keys. For example, the consonant part 100 includes a plurality of keys to which the three consonant alphabets are assigned. In this case, the first key is 'bcd', the second key is 'fgh', the third key is 'jkl', The fourth key is assigned 'mnp', the fifth key is 'qrs', the sixth key is 'tvw', and the seventh key is '.xz'. At this time, if each key of the consonant part 100 is input twice in succession, the second consonant is selected. For example, when the first key is input twice in a row, a 'c' consonant alphabet is selected. In addition, when each key of the consonant part 100 is input three times in succession, the third consonant alphabet is selected. For example, if the first key is input three times in succession, the 'd' consonant alphabet is selected.

The vowel 200 sequentially arranges the vowel alphabet in the right two columns. In particular, the vowel unit 200 is composed of keys in which vowel alphabets are sequentially assigned, one for each key. For example, the vowel unit 200 includes a plurality of keys to which one vowel alphabet is assigned, wherein a first key is 'a', a second key is 'e', a third key is 'i', 'O' is assigned to the fourth key, 'u' is assigned to the fifth key, and 'y' is assigned to the sixth key.

As described above, by separating the 16 keys of the 4 rows and 4 columns into the consonant unit 100 and the vowel unit 200, there is an effect that the character input can be speeded up. Specifically, by dividing the keyboard into left / right and assigning the letters to the left consonant alphabet and the right to the vowel alphabet, character input speed can be improved since both characters are used to input characters.

The function unit 300 includes a mode change key 310, a blank input key 330, and a shortcut input key 350 disposed at the lower end of the consonant 100 and the vowel 200 of the character input device. . In detail, the mode switching key 310 switches to the English character mode when inputted when the Korean mode is input, and switches to the Korean mode when inputted when the English character mode is input. In addition, the blank input key 330 moves the cursor to receive the next English letter input after the English letter is input. In addition, the shortcut input key 350 inputs the corresponding key and the shortcut input key 350 sequentially when the alphabet input of the consonant alphabet is assigned to the last of three consonant alphabets consecutively to any key of the consonant part 100. The consonant alphabet assigned at the end of the key is selected. By using a shortcut input key as described above, there is an effect that can speed up the input of the alphabet.

The number of key inputs input for selecting a specific alphabet in the character input device having the above configuration is shown in Table 1 below.

alphabet Input key Number of keystrokes a a One b bcd One c bcd, bcd 2 d bcd, # 2 e e One f fgh One g fgh, fgh 2 h fgh, # 2 i i One j jkl One k jkl, jkl 2 l jkl, # 2 m mnp One n mnp, mnp 2 o o One p mnp, # 2 q qrs One r qrs, qrs 2 s qrs, # 2 t tvw One u u One v tvw, tvw 2 w tvw, # 2 x , xz, .xz 2 y y One z .xz, # 2 . .xz One

                     <Table 1>

For example, the process of entering the string 'life' is described below with reference to <Table 1>.

'l' consonant alphabet is selected by sequentially entering 'jkl' assigned key and shortcut input key, 'i' vowel alphabet selected by pressing 'i' assigned key once after selecting the consonant alphabet do. After selecting the vowel alphabet, enter the key to which 'f' is assigned once. 'F' consonant alphabet is selected. After selecting the consonant alphabet, enter the key to which 'e' is assigned once. Is selected and the 'life' string is completed by a total of five keystrokes.

2B is a diagram illustrating another example of a character input apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the character input apparatus including 16 keys in 4 rows and 4 columns according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a consonant unit 100, a vowel unit 200, and a function unit 300. . At this time, the consonant part 100 sequentially arranges the consonant alphabet in the right two columns, and the vowel part 200 sequentially arranges the vowel alphabet in the left two columns. The consonant part 100, the vowel part 200, and the functional part 300 have been described in detail with reference to FIG. 2A.

3A and 3B illustrate a character input apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3A, a character input apparatus including 16 keys in 4 rows and 4 columns according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a consonant unit 400, a vowel unit 500, and a function unit 600. .

The consonant unit 400 sequentially arranges consonant alphabets in the left column. In particular, the consonant 400 has two consonant alphabets sequentially assigned to one key. For example, the consonant unit 400 includes a plurality of keys to which the two consonant alphabets are assigned, wherein the first key is 'bc', the second key is 'df', and the third key is 'fg'. , Jk for the fourth key, 'lm' for the fifth key, 'np' for the sixth key, 'qr' for the seventh key, 'st' for the eighth key, 'vw' for the ninth key, and tenth. The key is assigned '.xz'. At this time, when each key of the consonant unit 400 is input two times in succession, the second consonant is generated. For example, if the first key is input twice in a row, the 'c' consonant alphabet is selected.

The vowel unit 500 sequentially arranges the vowel alphabet in the right column. In particular, the vowel 500 has two vowel alphabets sequentially assigned to one key. For example, the vowel unit 500 includes a plurality of keys to which the two vowel alphabets are assigned. In this case, the first key is 'ae', the second key is 'io', and the third key is 'uy'. Is assigned.

As described above, by separating the 16 keys of the 4 rows and 4 columns into the consonant unit 400 and the vowel unit 500, the user can quickly input text using both hands.

The function unit 600 is disposed at the lower end of the consonant unit 400 and the vowel unit 500 of the character input device, and includes a mode change key 610, a blank input key 630, and a shortcut input key 650. . A detailed description of the functional unit 600 has been described above with reference to FIG. 2A.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the character input apparatus including 16 keys in 4 rows and 4 columns according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a consonant unit 400, a vowel unit 500, and a function unit 600. . At this time, the consonant unit 400 sequentially arranges the consonant alphabets in the right three columns, and the vowel unit 500 sequentially arranges the vowel alphabets in the left one column. The consonant part 400, the vowel part 500, and the functional part 600 have been described in detail with reference to FIG. 3A.

4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating a character input device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a character input device including 15 keys in 3 rows and 5 columns according to a third embodiment of the present invention includes a consonant unit 700, a vowel unit 800, and a function unit 900. .

The consonant part 700 sequentially arranges the consonant alphabet in the left three columns, and the vowel part 800 sequentially arranges the vowel alphabet in the right two columns. A detailed description of the consonant part 700, the vowel part 800, and the function part 900 has been described above with reference to FIG. 2A.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the character input apparatus including 15 keys of 3 rows and 5 columns according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a consonant unit 700, a vowel unit 800, and a function unit 900. .

The consonant unit 700 sequentially arranges the consonant alphabet in the right three columns, and the vowel unit 800 sequentially arranges the vowel alphabet in the left two columns. A detailed description of the consonant part 700, the vowel part 800, and the function part 900 has been described above with reference to FIG. 2A.

In the above, specific preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention attached to the claims. will be.

According to the present invention, by separating the sixteen keys in four rows and four columns into consonants and vowels, the character input can be speeded up. Specifically, by dividing the keyboard into left / right and assigning the letters to the left consonant alphabet and the right to the vowel alphabet, character input speed can be improved since both characters are used to input characters.

Claims (15)

A character input device including n * m keys of n rows and m columns for inputting English characters, A consonant part in which consonant alphabets are sequentially arranged in a left n / 2 column; And And a vowel portion in which vowel alphabets are sequentially arranged in a right n / 2 column. According to claim 1, And m = 4 and n = 4. According to claim 1, The character input device further comprises a function unit consisting of three keys arranged at the bottom of the consonant and vowel sections. The method of claim 3, wherein the functional unit And a mode change key for changing a text input mode, a blank key for generating a space, and a shortcut input key for fast English input. The method of claim 1, wherein the consonant part And three consonant alphabets are sequentially assigned to one key. The method of claim 5, wherein the consonant portion The first key included in the consonant part is 'bcd', the second key is 'fgh', the third key is 'jkl', the fourth key is 'mnp', the fifth key is 'qrs', and the sixth key is Character input device, characterized in that '.xz' is assigned to 'tvw', the seventh key. The method of claim 6, wherein the consonant portion And if the predetermined key and the quick input key included in the consonant part are sequentially input, the consonant located at the end of the consonant included in the arbitrary key is selected. The method of claim 1, wherein the vowel portion Character alphabet input device, characterized in that the vowel alphabet is sequentially assigned to each one key. The method of claim 8, wherein the vowel portion The first key included in the vowel portion is 'a', the second key is 'e', the third key is 'i', the fourth key is 'o', the fifth key is 'u' and the sixth key is Character input device characterized in that the 'y' is assigned. In the character input device including 16 keys of 4 rows and 4 columns for inputting English characters, A consonant part in which consonant alphabets are sequentially arranged in a left third column; And Character input device comprising a vowel in which vowel alphabets are sequentially arranged in the right column. The method of claim 10, wherein the consonant portion Character input device, characterized in that two consonant alphabets are sequentially assigned to one key. The method of claim 11, wherein the consonant portion The first key included in the consonant part is 'bc', the second key is 'df', the third key is 'fg', the fourth key is jk ', the fifth key is' lm ', and the sixth key is' np ',' qr 'for the seventh key,' st 'for the eighth key,' vw 'for the ninth key, and' .xz 'for the tenth key. The method of claim 10, wherein the vowel portion Character input device, characterized in that the vowel alphabet is sequentially assigned to each of two keys. The method of claim 10, wherein the vowel portion The first key included in the vowel unit is 'ae', the second key 'io', the third key 'uy' is assigned. In the character input apparatus including 15 keys of 3 rows 5 columns for inputting English characters, A consonant part in which consonant alphabets are sequentially arranged in a left third column; And And a vowel portion in which vowel alphabets are sequentially arranged in the right two columns.

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