KR20220081062A - Character input device implemented in software - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a text input device implemented in software, comprising: a keypad providing unit providing a virtual keypad in which a plurality of input keys related to consonants and vowels are arranged in a predetermined order; a candidate key determining unit for determining a plurality of candidate keys related to at least one drag input on the virtual keypad; a candidate character determination unit for determining at least one candidate character generated by a combination of the plurality of candidate keys; and a character input unit for determining an input character from among the at least one candidate character and inputting it into a character input window.

Description

Character input device implemented in software

The present invention relates to a text input system, and more particularly, to a text input device implemented in software that can provide text input by multi-touch and drag functions of a touch screen using the features of the Hangul phoneme structure.

As electronic devices are miniaturized and text input through a touch screen is used in various ways, a new text input method that can replace the existing input key is required. In particular, since Hangul input is used much more than when inputting a foreign language, ease of use may be improved if it can be easily input.

In general, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a PDA, or a smart phone is provided with a text input device or a text input method for entering a phone number, writing a text message, writing a memo pad, or inputting text for a search.

In the case of Hangul, the manufacturer's unique Hangul input method is used as the character input method, such as Cheonjiin, Naratgeul, and QWERTY. is being used

In addition, in the case of Hangul, the consonants of a, ㄲ, b, c, ㄸ, d, ㅁ, f, ㅃ, s, ㅆ, ㅇ, ㅎ, tt, ch, ㅋ, t, yp, heh, and a, ㅐ Since the vowels of , ㅑ, ㅒ, ㅓ, ㅔ, ㅕ, ㅖ, ㅗ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅛ, TT, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅟ, ㅠ, ㅡ, ㅢ, ㅣ are completed through the combination of vowels Hangul characters can be input by sequentially inputting them through the keypad, but such an input method may cause inconvenience to the user.

Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2006-0033275 (2006.04.19)

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a text input device implemented in software that can provide text input by multi-touch and drag functions of a touch screen by using the features of the Hangul phoneme structure.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a character input device implemented in software that can input characters according to the drag touch and release motions and can simultaneously input one Hangul character through multi-touch.

Among the embodiments, the text input device implemented in software includes: a keypad providing unit providing a virtual keypad in which a plurality of input keys related to consonants and vowels are arranged in a predetermined order; a candidate key determining unit for determining a plurality of candidate keys related to at least one drag input on the virtual keypad; a candidate character determination unit for determining at least one candidate character generated by a combination of the plurality of candidate keys; and a character input unit for determining an input character from among the at least one candidate character and inputting it into a character input window.

The keypad providing unit is formed in the size of 3 rows * 6 columns, and the consonants of 'a, c, f, s, ㅇ, ㅎ' and the vowels of 'ㅗ, TT, ㅐ, ㅔ' are arranged in upper and lower rows, respectively. It is possible to provide a two-dimensional keypad that becomes the virtual keypad.

The candidate key determiner may determine the plurality of candidate keys based on a first touch associated with initiation of the drag input and a second touch associated with termination of the corresponding drag input.

The candidate key determiner determines the first input key for each of the adjacent second input keys determined based on the position of the current drag input according to the movement of the corresponding drag input based on the first input key associated with the first touch. A result that can be combined with can be displayed overlaid on the corresponding second input key.

The candidate key determiner determines the direction of movement when the candidate key associated with the first touch corresponds to a first vowel and is located in an input key of a second vowel that cannot be combined with the first vowel while the corresponding drag input is moved. determines a third vowel combinable with the first vowel according to When ending at the input key of , a character according to the combination result may be determined as the input character.

The candidate character determination unit classifies the plurality of candidate keys into consonants and vowels, sorts them in an input order, and determines the at least one candidate character through a sequential combination between the corresponding consonants and vowels, and the character input unit determines the at least one A candidate character that is completed first among candidate characters of , may be determined as the input character, or the at least one candidate character may be determined as the input character according to a completed order.

The disclosed technology may have the following effects. However, this does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all of the following effects or only the following effects, so the scope of the disclosed technology should not be understood as being limited thereby.

The text input device implemented by software according to an embodiment of the present invention may provide text input by multi-touch and drag functions of a touch screen by using the features of the Hangul phoneme structure.

The text input device implemented with software according to an embodiment of the present invention can input text according to drag touch and release motion, and can simultaneously input one Hangul text through multi-touch, thereby increasing the efficiency of text input. can

1 is a view for explaining a character input system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a system configuration of the character input device of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a functional configuration of the character input device of FIG. 1 .
4 is a flowchart illustrating a text input method performed by the text input device of FIG. 1 .
5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining an embodiment of a character input method according to the present invention.

Since the description of the present invention is merely an embodiment for structural or functional description, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiment described in the text. That is, since the embodiment may have various changes and may have various forms, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention includes equivalents capable of realizing the technical idea. In addition, since the object or effect presented in the present invention does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all of them or only such effects, it should not be understood that the scope of the present invention is limited thereby.

On the other hand, the meaning of the terms described in the present application should be understood as follows.

Terms such as “first” and “second” are for distinguishing one component from another, and the scope of rights should not be limited by these terms. For example, a first component may be termed a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be termed a first component.

When a component is referred to as being “connected to” another component, it may be directly connected to the other component, but it should be understood that other components may exist in between. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that a certain element is "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that the other element does not exist in the middle. Meanwhile, other expressions describing the relationship between elements, that is, "between" and "between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to", etc., should be interpreted similarly.

The singular expression is to be understood as including the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, and terms such as "comprises" or "have" refer to the embodied feature, number, step, action, component, part or these It is intended to indicate that a combination exists, and it should be understood that it does not preclude the possibility of the existence or addition of one or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In each step, identification numbers (eg, a, b, c, etc.) are used for convenience of description, and identification numbers do not describe the order of each step, and each step clearly indicates a specific order in context. Unless otherwise specified, it may occur in a different order from the specified order. That is, each step may occur in the same order as specified, may be performed substantially simultaneously, or may be performed in the reverse order.

The present invention can be embodied as computer-readable codes on a computer-readable recording medium, and the computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording devices in which data readable by a computer system is stored. . Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, and the like. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium is distributed in a computer system connected to a network, so that the computer-readable code can be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Terms defined in general used in the dictionary should be interpreted as having the meaning consistent with the context of the related art, and cannot be interpreted as having an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application.

1 is a view for explaining a character input system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the text input system 100 may include a user terminal 110 , a text input device 130 , and a database 150 .

The user terminal 110 may correspond to a computing device capable of inputting text through the text input system 100 . The user terminal 110 may be implemented as a smartphone, a notebook computer, or a computer, but is not limited thereto, and may be implemented in various devices such as a tablet PC. The user terminal 110 may be connected to the text input device 130 through a network, and the plurality of user terminals 110 may be simultaneously connected to the text input device 130 . In addition, the user terminal 110 may install and execute a dedicated program or application capable of using the text input method provided by the text input device 130 .

The text input device 130 may be implemented as a server corresponding to a computer or program that provides a keypad for text input and can process text input according to the user's touch or drag on the touch screen. The text input device 130 may be connected to the user terminal 110 through a wired network or a wireless network such as Bluetooth or WiFi, and may transmit/receive data to and from the user terminal 110 through the network.

On the other hand, the text input device 130 may be implemented and operated as a physical component, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and is implemented as a logical component to a functional operation module operating in a computing device such as the user terminal 110 . may be applicable. That is, the text input device 130 may operate as software on the user terminal 110 , and may be in charge of a text input function as a functional operation.

The database 150 may correspond to a storage device for storing various types of information required in the operation process of the text input device 130 . The database 150 may store data for detecting a user's input to the touch screen, and may store data related to Hangul input by a combination of input keys, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and the character input device 130 . In the process of processing character input through the software keyboard, information collected or processed in various forms can be stored.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a system configuration of the character input device of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the character input device 130 may be implemented including a processor 210 , a memory 230 , a user input/output unit 250 , and a network input/output unit 270 .

The processor 210 may execute a procedure for processing each step in the process in which the character input device 130 operates, manage the memory 230 read or written throughout the process, and the memory 230 ) can schedule the synchronization time between volatile and non-volatile memory in The processor 210 may control the overall operation of the character input device 130 , and is electrically connected to the memory 230 , the user input/output unit 250 , and the network input/output unit 270 to control data flow between them. can The processor 210 may be implemented as a central processing unit (CPU) of the text input device 130 .

The memory 230 is implemented as a non-volatile memory such as a solid state drive (SSD) or a hard disk drive (HDD) and may include an auxiliary storage device used to store overall data required for the character input device 130, It may include a main memory implemented as a volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM).

The user input/output unit 250 may include an environment for receiving a user input and an environment for outputting specific information to the user. For example, the user input/output unit 250 may include an input device including an adapter such as a touch pad, a touch screen, an on-screen keyboard, or a pointing device, and an output device including an adapter such as a monitor or a touch screen. In an embodiment, the user input/output unit 250 may correspond to a computing device accessed through a remote connection, and in such a case, the text input device 130 may be implemented as an independent server.

The network input/output unit 270 includes an environment for connecting with an external device or system through a network, for example, a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), and a VAN (Wide Area Network) (VAN). It may include an adapter for communication such as Value Added Network).

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a functional configuration of the character input device of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the character input device 130 may include a keypad providing unit 310 , a candidate key determining unit 330 , a candidate character determining unit 350 , a character inputting unit 370 , and a control unit 390 . have.

The keypad providing unit 310 may provide a virtual keypad in which a plurality of input keys related to consonants and vowels are arranged in a predetermined order. The virtual keypad may be implemented in the form of a keypad for text input on the touch screen. For example, the virtual keypad may be implemented as a Korean 2-beol-type keyboard or a Google short vowel keyboard. The keypad providing unit 310 may change the arrangement of consonants or vowels constituting the virtual keypad as needed.

In one embodiment, the keypad providing unit 310 is formed in a size of 3 rows * 6 columns, and consonants of 'a, c, f, s, o, i' and vowels of 'ㅗ, TT, ㅐ, ㅔ' A two-dimensional keypad may be provided as a virtual keypad, respectively, which are arranged in upper and lower rows of the two-dimensional keypad. The keypad providing unit 310 may generate a virtual keypad using a predetermined key arrangement so that characters can be input more easily in combination with a multi-touch function, which will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5 .

The candidate key determiner 330 may determine a plurality of candidate keys associated with at least one drag input on the virtual keypad. That is, when the user touches several input keys on the virtual keypad through a drag input, the candidate key determiner 330 may determine the corresponding input keys as a plurality of candidate keys. Here, the candidate key is input keys simultaneously input by the user and may correspond to input keys likely to be used to complete one character. The user may selectively input one drag at a time, and in this case, input keys related thereto on the virtual keypad from the first touch to the last touch of the drag input may be determined as candidate keys. If the user simultaneously inputs a plurality of touch and drag inputs, all input keys related to the plurality of drag inputs may be determined as candidate keys.

In an embodiment, the candidate key determiner 330 may determine a plurality of candidate keys based on a first touch associated with initiation of a drag input and a second touch associated with an end of the corresponding drag input. That is, when the user touches a specific point and then moves by a predetermined distance on the touch screen while maintaining the touch and then ends the touch, when the first touch is determined as the first touch and the touch is finally terminated on the touch screen A touch of may be determined as the second touch. When the user's first touch is detected, the candidate key determiner 330 may track the movement of the touch, determine input keys on the virtual keypad associated with the touch, and collect input keys until the touch is terminated. can be determined as a candidate key. Thereafter, these candidate keys may be used to determine a character that the user wants to input.

In one embodiment, the candidate key determiner 330 may determine the surrounding second input keys based on the position of the current drag input according to the movement of the corresponding drag input based on the first input key associated with the first touch. Results that can be combined with each of the first input keys may be overlaid on the corresponding second input key and displayed. The text input device 130 may display a text completed through a combination of candidate keys in real time through the text input window when the drag input is continued, and the candidate key determiner 330 may display the user's drag input. In this process, when the drag input moves to the corresponding position with respect to the input keys in the vicinity based on the position of the current drag input, the result of the input possible key combination may be displayed in advance to support the user's selection. This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 6 .

In one embodiment, the candidate key determiner 330 is a candidate key associated with the first touch that corresponds to the first vowel and is located in the input key of the second vowel that cannot be combined with the first vowel in the process of moving the corresponding drag input. In this case, a combination result between the first and third vowels may be provided in advance through a text input window by determining a third vowel combinable with the first vowel according to the direction of movement. This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 6 .

The candidate character determiner 350 may determine at least one candidate character generated by a combination of a plurality of candidate keys. The user may simultaneously input a plurality of input keys through a single drag input or a multi-touch input according to a multi-touch, and accordingly, the candidate key determiner 330 may determine a plurality of candidate keys. The candidate character determiner 350 may predict characters to be input by the user based on the candidate keys determined by the candidate key determiner 330 and determine them as candidate characters.

In an embodiment, the candidate character determiner 350 classifies a plurality of candidate keys into consonants and vowels, sorts them according to an input order, and determines at least one candidate character through a sequential combination between the corresponding consonants and vowels. The candidate character determiner 350 may sort the candidate keys by reflecting the order according to the user's touch input, and may separately classify consonants and vowels among the candidate keys.

As a result, the candidate character determination unit 350 may determine the candidate character based on the inputted candidate keys according to the input order for each consonant and vowel, and in the case of the consonant, the consonant may be determined as a leading consonant and a final consonant in that order. The vowels are combined in order to determine whether it is a single character or not. If a character cannot be completed by a combination according to consonants and vowels, they may be excluded in order, and consonants or vowels in the next order may be added to determine whether or not the character is completed.

The text input unit 370 may determine an input text from among at least one candidate text and input it into the text input window. In an embodiment, the text input unit 370 may determine the first completed candidate text among the at least one candidate text as the input text, or determine the at least one candidate text as the input text according to the completed order, respectively. That is, when a user's touch is initiated, the character input unit 370 inputs the corresponding character when a completed character is detected according to sequential operations of the candidate key determining unit 330 and the candidate character determining unit 350 when the user's touch is initiated. It can be determined as a character, and the input character can be processed as being input in the character input window. When the input character is determined and input, all input related to the currently continuous touch may be ignored. That is, in order to input a new character, the user must end the current touch and start a new touch.

The controller 390 controls the overall operation of the character input device 130 , and controls flow or You can manage the data flow.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a text input method performed by the text input device of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , the text input device 130 may provide a virtual keypad implemented by arranging a plurality of input keys related to consonants and vowels in a predetermined order through the keypad providing unit 310 (step S410 ). . The text input device 130 may determine a plurality of candidate keys associated with at least one drag input on the virtual keypad through the candidate key determiner 330 (step S430).

Also, the character input device 130 may determine at least one candidate character generated by a combination of a plurality of candidate keys through the candidate character determiner 350 (step S450 ). The text input device 130 may determine an input text from among at least one candidate text through the text input unit 370 and input it into the text input window (step S470).

5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining an embodiment of a character input method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the text input device 130 may display a virtual keypad formed in the size of 3 rows * 6 columns on the touch screen of the user terminal 110 through the keypad providing unit 310 . More specifically, the virtual keypad may be composed of input keys arranged in 3 rows * 6 columns, and consonants or vowels may be arranged in each input key. In particular, consonants may be arranged in 3 rows * 3 columns on the left side, and vowels may be arranged in 3 rows * 3 columns on the right side. In addition, the virtual keypad contains the consonants of 'ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅎ' and the vowels of 'ㅗ, TT, ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅡ' in the upper and lower rows of the two-dimensional keypad of 3 rows * 6 columns. Each can be arranged. In addition, the remaining consonants and vowels, for example, 'ㅁ, ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅓ, AH, ㅣ' may be arranged in the middle row.

Figures (a) and (b) of FIG. 5 may correspond to embodiments of a virtual keypad having such an arrangement structure, and the text input device 130 is combined with a multi-touch function to make text input easier. A virtual keypad with a specific key arrangement can be created and provided. More specifically, 'a-ㄲ-blah', 'c-ㄸ-t', 'c-t-c', 'b-ㅃ-p', 'ㅇ-heh', 'ㅅ-ㅆ', 'ㅗ -ㅛ', 'ㅐ-ㅒ', 'TT-ㅠ', such as double consonants (e.g., ㄲ, ㄸ, etc.), related consonants (e.g., ㅋ, t, etc.), double vowels (e.g., Consonants or vowels associated with ㅛ, ㅑ, etc.) may be arranged at the top and bottom of the virtual keypad.

For example, when there are two additional phonemes such as 'ㄱ-ㄲ-ㅋ', the text input device 130 may be implemented to be input by dividing it into a short drag and a long drag, or an upper-left drag, an upper-right drag, etc. In addition, it can be implemented so that the user can easily recognize it by providing a preview of the key in the drag direction. In this case, if you use the virtual keypad in the figure (a) or (b), you can input double consonants by dragging outward from the upper or lower area. can be minimized.

If 'a' is located in the middle row of the arrangement in the input key arrangement in Figure (a) or (b), it is ambiguous whether it is an input of a double consonant or double consonant, or an input of a beginning and a final consonant when dragging after touching 'a' There may be issues with termination.

Meanwhile, in the arrangement of the input keys of FIG. 5 , the vowel area may correspond to the same arrangement as the Google short vowel keyboard, and the consonant area may correspond to a changed arrangement in the QWERTY keyboard and the short vowel keyboard. This input key arrangement structure is a minimal modification of the arrangement of the QWERTY keyboard or the short vowel keyboard, and may correspond to an arrangement form that users of the existing QWERTY keyboard and short vowel keyboard can use more familiarly.

Referring to the figure (a) of FIG. 6 , in the text input device 130 , the candidate key associated with the first touch corresponds to the first vowel through the candidate key determiner 330, and in the process of moving the corresponding drag input, the second When it is located on the input key of the second vowel that cannot be combined with the first vowel, a third vowel that can be combined with the first vowel is determined along the direction of movement, and the result of combining the first and third vowels through the character input window 510 can be provided in advance.

More specifically, in Figure (a), when the user starts a touch at 'TT' and moves to 'A' through dragging, the combination of 'TT' and 'A' is impossible, so the character input device 130 is dragged. In anticipation of 'ㅔ' according to the direction of , 'ㅞ' may be displayed in advance as a combination result for the input vowel through the character input window 510 . In this case, the user may end the drag input as it is at 'A', and in this case, the character input device 130 may process it as inputting 'ㅞ'. Similarly, the user can move upwards of 'a' in the process of dragging in the 'ㅣ' direction from 'TT', and even in this case, even if dragging is ended at 'A', the character input device 130 enters 'ㅟ' can be treated as

Referring to the figure (b) of FIG. 6 , the text input device 130 determines the current drag input according to the movement of the corresponding drag input based on the first input key associated with the first touch through the candidate key determiner 330 . A result that can be combined with the first input key for adjacent second input keys determined based on the location may be displayed by overlaying the second input key on the corresponding second input key.

More specifically, in Figure (b), when the user starts a touch at 'TT' and moves to 'A' through dragging, the combination of 'TT' and 'A' is impossible, so the character input device 130 is currently Based on the drag position 'a', for 'ㅓ', 'ㅔ', and 'ㅣ' that can be combined with 'TT' among the surrounding input keys, 'ㅝ', 'ㅞ', and 'ㅟ', It can be displayed overlaid on the top. In another embodiment, the text input device 130 may provide a preview function only for input keys related to the drag direction among the surrounding input keys in consideration of the user's drag direction. In the case of the figure (b), considering that the drag direction is from 'TT' to 'A', the combination result can be displayed overlaid for only 'ㅔ' and 'ㅣ' among the input keys that can be combined.

In addition, the character input device 130 according to the present invention can provide various character input methods in the case where a final consonant of a double vowel such as 'do' or 'gnaw' is included. For example, you can input 'in' by multi-touch and enter 'heh' after exiting. In addition, in the state in which 'no' is input, the touch 'ㅇ-ㄴ' may be terminated, and 'ㅎ' may be input again as a multi-touch. In addition, in a state in which 'ah' is input, the touch 'ㅇ' may be terminated and 'ㄴ-heh' may be inputted with a multi-touch.

Also, the text input device 130 according to the present invention may provide various additional functions for text input. For example, when dragging is performed on keys such as delete, enter, space, and number, a function that repeats the input by one distance or the number of times the key is pressed with the drag may be provided. have. In addition, a function used as a keyboard shortcut such as 'alt + f4' using multi-touch may be provided. In addition, functions such as a two-finger or three-finger multi-touch swap may be provided.

Although the above has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art can variously modify and change the present invention within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. You will understand that it can be done.

100: text input system
110: user terminal 130: text input device
150: database
210: processor 230: memory
250: user input/output unit 270: network input/output unit
310: keypad providing unit 330: candidate key determining unit
350: candidate character determination unit 370: text input unit
390: control unit
510: text input window

Claims (6)

a keypad providing unit providing a virtual keypad in which a plurality of input keys related to consonants and vowels are arranged in a predetermined order;
a candidate key determining unit for determining a plurality of candidate keys related to at least one drag input on the virtual keypad;
a candidate character determination unit for determining at least one candidate character generated by a combination of the plurality of candidate keys; and
and a character input unit for determining an input character from among the at least one candidate character and inputting it into a character input window.
The method of claim 1, wherein the keypad providing unit
A two-dimensional keypad that is formed in the size of 3 rows * 6 columns, and the consonants of 'a, ㄴ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅎ' and the vowels of 'ㅗ, TT, ㅐ, ㅔ' are arranged in upper and lower rows, respectively A text input device implemented in software, characterized in that it provides as the virtual keypad.
The method of claim 1, wherein the candidate key determiner
and determining the plurality of candidate keys based on a first touch associated with initiation of the drag input and a second touch associated with termination of the corresponding drag input.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the candidate key determiner
Based on the first input key associated with the first touch, a result that can be combined with the first input key for adjacent second input keys determined based on the position of the current drag input according to the movement of the corresponding drag input A text input device implemented in software, characterized in that overlaid and displayed on the corresponding second input key.
The method of claim 1,
The candidate key determiner determines the direction of movement when the candidate key associated with the first touch corresponds to a first vowel and is located in an input key of a second vowel that cannot be combined with the first vowel while the corresponding drag input is moved. determines a third vowel combinable with the first vowel according to
and the text input unit determines a text according to the combination result as the input text when the corresponding drag input is terminated by the input key of the second vowel.
The method of claim 1,
The candidate character determination unit classifies the plurality of candidate keys into consonants and vowels, arranges them in an input order, and determines the at least one candidate character through sequential combinations between the corresponding consonants and vowels,
The character input unit determines the first completed candidate character among the at least one candidate character as the input character, or determines the at least one candidate character as the input character according to the completed order. Implemented character input device.

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