JP2010237929A - Character input device and character input method - Google Patents

Abstract

A cellular phone capable of inputting characters efficiently with a simple configuration.
A cellular phone 1 is provided on a front surface 2a of a main body 2, and is provided on one or a plurality of input keys 4 to which a plurality of input characters are assigned, and on a back surface 2b of the main body 2 opposite to the front 2a. The touch sensor 6 provided and a database that associates the pressed key number with the input character for the touch operation on the touch sensor. Characters corresponding to the combination of the input key 4 detected to be pressed and the touch operation detected while the key is pressed are read from the database and input is performed.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a character input device and a character input method including an input key to which a plurality of characters are assigned.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a character input device including an input key to which a plurality of input characters are assigned is known. For example, in Patent Document 1 below, the direction of the force applied to the key is detected by detecting the distortion generated in the input key that is detected to be pressed, and the input information is determined based on the detected direction. An input device is described. As a result, the user can input desired information by applying a force in the direction corresponding to the information desired to be input and pressing the key, thereby increasing the efficiency of the input operation.

JP 2005-190460 A

  However, when the method described in Patent Document 1 is used, a sensor for detecting distortion (direction of force) needs to be mounted on all the input keys, and the configuration of the apparatus becomes complicated.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a character input device and a character input method capable of realizing efficient character input with a simple configuration.

  The character input device of the present invention is provided on the front surface of the device main body, one or a plurality of input keys to which a plurality of characters to be input are assigned, a press detection means for detecting that the input key is pressed, Contact detection means for detecting a contact operation with respect to a contact area provided on the back surface of the apparatus main body facing the front surface, an input key, a storage means for storing the contact operation and an input character in association with each other, and a press detection means Receiving means for reading out characters from the storage means corresponding to the combination of the input key detected by pressing and the contact operation detected by the contact detection means, and receiving the input of the characters.

  The character input method of the present invention is a character input method executed by a character input device provided on the front surface of the device main body and provided with one or a plurality of input keys to which a plurality of characters to be input are assigned. , A press detection step for detecting that the input key is pressed, a contact detection step for detecting a contact operation on the contact area provided on the back surface of the apparatus main body facing the front surface, an input key, a contact operation, and an input. The character corresponding to the combination of the input key detected in the press detection step and the contact operation detected in the contact detection step is read from the storage means for storing the character in association with the input character, and the character input And a reception step for receiving.

  According to such a character input device and character input method, character input is performed using the input keys provided on the front surface of the device main body and the contact area provided on the back surface of the main body. Specifically, when pressing of the input key and a touch operation on the touch area are detected, a character corresponding to the combination of the input key and the touch operation is read and accepted as an input character. Therefore, the user can input characters by simply pressing the input key and performing a predetermined contact operation on the contact area. In order to realize this, a contact area may be provided on the back of the apparatus main body in addition to the input keys. Therefore, efficient character input can be realized with a simple configuration.

  In the character input device of the present invention, the contact detection unit detects a contact operation performed while the press detection unit detects the pressing of the input key, and the reception unit detects the contact operation by the contact detection unit. Each time a character corresponding to a combination of the input key detected by the press detection means and the touch operation is read from the storage means and accepted, and finally detected while the input key and the press are detected. It is preferable that the character corresponding to the combination with the contact operation performed is determined as the input character.

  In this case, the contact operation is continuously detected while the input key is pressed, and the corresponding character is received each time based on the contact operation. Then, the character corresponding to the contact operation that was detected last when the user stopped pressing is determined as the input character. Therefore, the user can change the input character by performing the contact operation again while the input key is continuously pressed, and as a result, it is possible to avoid an erroneous operation or an erroneous input.

  In the character input device of the present invention, it is preferable that the device main body can be held with one hand.

  When the user holds the character input device with one hand, the thumb is usually placed on the front surface of the device body and the index finger is placed on the back surface of the device body. Since the touch sensor is provided on the back surface, in this case, the user can easily input characters using the thumb and index finger.

  According to such a character input device and character input method, characters are input based on pressing of an input key on the front surface of the device main body and a contact operation on the contact area on the back surface of the main body. Efficient character input can be realized.

It is the perspective view of the mobile telephone which concerns on embodiment, (a) is the figure seen from the front, (b) is the figure seen from back. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the input key shown in FIG. 1, and allocation of a character. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows contact operation on the touch sensor shown in FIG. (A)-(b) is a figure which shows contact operation on the touch sensor shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the table which the database shown in FIG. 3 memorize | stores. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the mobile phone shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the character input device according to the present invention is applied to a mobile phone. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  First, the function and configuration of the mobile phone 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The cellular phone 1 is a folding cellular phone in which a main body (device main body) 2 in which a plurality of input keys 4 are arranged and a lid 3 in which a screen 5 is arranged are connected by a hinge. When the user opens the lid 3, the mobile phone 1 is in a state where the screen 5 and the input key 4 are visible as shown in FIG. Here, the surface of the main body 2 on which the input keys 4 are arranged is defined as “front surface”, and the surface of the main body 2 facing the front surface 2 a (surface opposite to the front surface) is defined as “rear surface”. . A flat touch sensor (contact area) 6 is provided on a portion of the back surface 2b close to the lid 3 (see FIG. 1B).

  Although the touch sensor 6 shown in FIG. 1B is a quadrangle, the shape of the touch sensor may be other shapes such as a circle. Also, the number of touch sensors is not limited. For example, two touch sensors may be arranged in the width direction of the apparatus main body in consideration of the convenience of right-handed users and left-handed users.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the input keys 4 are arranged in a grid of 5 columns × 3 columns. Among these, one or a plurality of characters are assigned to each of the 12 input keys 4a to 4l except for the top three, for each input mode. For example, with respect to the input key 4a, “1” is assigned in the numeric input mode, and five characters “A line” are assigned in the kana input mode. As for the input key 4b, “2” is assigned in the numeric input mode, “A”, “B”, and “C” are assigned in the alphabet input mode, and five characters “ka line” are assigned in the kana input mode. Assigned. Note that the key arrangement and character assignment in FIG. 2 are merely examples, and various modifications are possible.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cellular phone 1 includes, as functional components, a press detection unit (press detection unit) 11, a contact detection unit (contact detection unit) 12, a database (storage unit) 13, and a reception unit (reception unit) 14. It has.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the mobile phone 1 includes a CPU 101 that executes an operating system, an application program, and the like, a main storage unit 102 that includes a ROM and a RAM, an auxiliary storage unit 103 that includes a memory, and data. The communication control unit 104 performs communication, a display unit 105 including a liquid crystal monitor, and an operation unit 106 including input keys. Each function shown in FIG. 3 reads predetermined software on the CPU 101 and the main storage unit 102, operates the communication control unit 104 under the control of the CPU 101, and controls the main storage unit 102 and the auxiliary storage unit 103. This is realized by reading and writing data.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the press detection unit 11 is a part that detects that the input key 4 is pressed. While a certain input key 4 is being pressed, the press detection unit 11 continues to generate an identifier of the input key 4 (hereinafter referred to as “key identifier”) and output it to the reception unit 14 and the contact detection unit 12.

  The contact detection unit 12 is a part that detects a contact operation on the touch sensor 6. While the key identifier is continuously input from the press detection unit 11, the contact detection unit 12 first detects the position (coordinates) of contact with the touch sensor 6 and its change with time. Here, examples of the contact position detection method employed by the contact detection unit 12 and the touch sensor 6 include well-known techniques such as a resistance film method, a surface acoustic wave method, and a capacitance method. However, the contact position detection method is not limited thereto. Absent.

  Subsequently, the contact detection unit 12 estimates the user's contact operation based on the detected temporal change of the contact position. Specifically, the contact detection unit 12 performs an operation of tracing the touch sensor 6 from the bottom to the top (hereinafter referred to as “upward operation”, see FIG. 5A), from the left to the right when the touch sensor 6 is viewed from the user. A tracing operation (hereinafter referred to as “right operation”; see FIG. 5B), an operation of tracing the touch sensor 6 from top to bottom (hereinafter referred to as “down operation”; see FIG. 5C), and the touch sensor 6 An operation of tracing from right to left as viewed from the user (hereinafter referred to as “left operation”; see FIG. 6A) and an operation of tapping (tapping) the touch sensor 6 (hereinafter referred to as “tap operation”). (B)), it is estimated which operation has been performed.

  In addition, the arrow and point in FIG.5, 6 have each shown the time-dependent change of the contact position. 5 and 6 are views of the main body 2 viewed from the back surface 2b side. In FIG. 5B, the arrow indicating the right operation is directed leftward, and in FIG. 6A, the left operation is performed. The arrow shown points to the right.

  The contact detection unit 12 outputs contact operation information indicating the estimation result of the contact operation to the reception unit 14. In some cases, a plurality of contact operations may be detected while the key identifier is input from the press detection unit 11, but the contact detection unit 12 outputs contact operation information each time. For example, when a “left operation” is first detected while a key signal is being input, and subsequently “right operation” is detected, contact operation information indicating “left operation” is output first, and then Contact operation information indicating “right operation” is output.

  The database 13 is a part that stores input keys, contact operations, and input characters in association with each other. For example, the database 13 stores a table as shown in FIG. The table in FIG. 7 shows an example of the correspondence between input keys, contact operations, and characters in the kana input mode. The top row of this table shows the identifiers of the input keys 4a to 4l, and the rightmost column shows the touch operation. According to the table of FIG. 7, when the input key 4a on which “1” is printed is pressed and “right operation” is performed on the touch sensor 6, “yes” is input and “*” is printed. When the input key 4j is pressed and “up operation” is performed on the touch sensor 6, a muddy point is input. Note that the table (data) shown in FIG. 7 is merely an example, and various modifications are possible.

  Similar to the example shown in FIG. 7, the database 13 also stores a table indicating the correspondence between input keys, contact operations, and characters in an alphanumeric input mode in which alphanumeric characters and predetermined symbols can be input.

  The accepting unit 14 reads a character corresponding to the combination of the input key detected by the press detecting unit 11 and the touch operation detected by the contact detecting unit 12 from the database 13 and receives the input of the character It is.

  The reception unit 14 monitors the subsequent input state of the contact operation information when the key identifier starts to be input from the pressing detection unit 11. When the contact operation information is input, the accepting unit 14 reads a character corresponding to the key identifier and the contact operation information from the database 13 and accepts the character as an input character. For example, if the key identifier is “5” and the contact operation information is “left operation”, the reception unit 14 sets the character “Ne” as the input character. The accepted character data is output to a storage area such as a key buffer and then displayed at the cursor position on the screen 5.

  When new contact operation information is input while the key identifier is continuously input, the reception unit 14 reads out characters corresponding to the acquired key identifier and the latest contact operation information from the database 13, and Accept characters as input characters. In this case, the character data received last time is overwritten with the latest character data, and the character displayed at the cursor position on the screen 5 is also updated. For example, when “ne” is displayed at the cursor position by the key identifier “5” and the contact operation information “left operation”, if new contact operation information indicating “right operation” is input, The character “ni” is accepted by the unit 14 and the character at the cursor position changes from “ne” to “ni”.

  When the input of the key identifier is interrupted, that is, when the user stops pressing the input key 4, the receiving unit 14 determines the last received character as the input character. As a result, the character at the cursor position is fixed, and the cursor moves to the next input position.

  Next, the operation of the mobile phone 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 8, and the character input method according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In order to input characters, the user first presses one of the input keys 4. At this time, the press detection unit 11 detects this (step S11, press detection step), and the contact detection unit 12 starts to monitor the touch operation on the touch sensor 6. Next, the user performs an operation of tracing a finger on the touch sensor 6 or a tap operation. Then, the contact detection unit 12 estimates a contact operation based on a temporal change in the position of contact with the touch sensor 6 (step S12, contact detection step). Subsequently, the reception unit 14 reads out characters corresponding to the key identifier indicating the pressed input key 4 and the contact operation information indicating the contact operation from the database 13 and receives them as input characters (step S13, reception step).

  The processes in steps S12 and S13 can be repeatedly executed until the user stops pressing the input key 4. Thereafter, when the pressing operation is completed (step S14; YES), the receiving unit 14 determines the last received character as an input character (step S15). As a result, the character designated by the user is displayed at the cursor position on the screen 5, and the mobile phone 1 waits for the input of the next character or a predetermined instruction.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when pressing of the input key 4 and a touch operation on the touch sensor 6 are detected, characters corresponding to the combination of the key and the touch operation are read and input. It is accepted as a character. Therefore, the user can input characters by simply pressing the input key 4 and performing a predetermined contact operation on the touch sensor 6. Moreover, in order to implement | achieve this, what is necessary is just to provide the touch sensor 6 in the back surface 2b of the main-body part 2 other than the conventional input key 4. FIG. Therefore, for example, efficient character input can be realized with a simple configuration without providing a sensor for each input key as in the technique described in Patent Document 1.

  Further, it is easier for the user to trace or tap the finger on the touch sensor 6 than to adjust the direction of the force applied to the key as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, and as a result, an erroneous operation is performed. And incorrect input can be avoided. Furthermore, as long as the user does not stop pressing the input key 4, the input character can be changed within the range assigned to the key by redoing the touch operation, so that erroneous input can be avoided more reliably.

  In the present embodiment, the touch sensor 6 is disposed on the back surface 2b of the main body 2 where the index finger is often placed when the user grips and inputs the mobile phone 1, so that the user uses the thumb and index finger. Can easily input characters.

  The present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The present invention can be modified in various ways as described below without departing from the scope of the invention.

  Although the present invention is applied to the mobile phone 1 in the above embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to other communication terminals that can be held with both hands or one hand, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a portable personal computer. It is.

  In the above-described embodiment, characters are accepted only when there is some contact with the touch sensor 6, but predetermined characters may be accepted even when the pressing operation is terminated without touching the contact area after the input key is pressed. . For example, in such a case, the accepting unit may accept the same character as the character at the tap operation in the above embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cell-phone (character input device), 2 ... Main-body part (apparatus main body), 2a ... Main-body part front surface, 2b ... Main-body part rear surface, 4 (4a-4l) ... Input key, 6 ... Touch sensor (contact area), DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Press detection part (press detection means), 12 ... Contact detection part (contact detection means), 13 ... Database (memory | storage means), 14 ... Reception part (reception part).

Claims (4)

One or a plurality of input keys provided on the front surface of the apparatus body to which a plurality of input characters are assigned;
A press detection means for detecting that the input key is pressed;
Contact detection means for detecting a contact operation with respect to a contact area provided on a back surface of the apparatus main body facing the front surface;
Storage means for associating and storing the input key, the contact operation, and the input character;
A receiving unit that reads out a character corresponding to a combination of an input key detected by the pressing detection unit and a contact operation detected by the contact detection unit from the storage unit, and receives an input of the character;
A character input device comprising: The contact detection means detects the contact operation performed while the press of the input key is detected by the press detection means;
Each time the receiving means detects the contact operation by the contact detection means, it reads from the storage means a character corresponding to the combination of the input key detected by the press detection means and the contact operation. Accepting and confirming as an input character a character corresponding to the combination of the input key and the touch operation detected last while the pressing is detected;
The character input device according to claim 1.   The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the device main body can be held with one hand. A character input method executed by a character input device provided on the front surface of the apparatus main body and having one or a plurality of input keys to which a plurality of input characters are assigned,
A pressing detection step for detecting that the input key is pressed;
A contact detection step of detecting a contact operation with respect to a contact region provided on a back surface of the apparatus main body facing the front surface;
From the storage means for storing the input key, the contact operation, and the input character in association with each other, the input key detected to be pressed in the press detection step and the contact operation detected in the contact detection step A reception step of reading out characters corresponding to the combination and receiving input of the characters;
The character input method characterized by including.

Images