KR20090091269A - Text input method by a touch pointing device with a bottom switch - Google Patents

Abstract

A character input method using a touch key pad with a push button switch to two dimension pointing device is provided to facilitate a character input in a small sized electronic device, such as a mobile phone by distinguishing a touch state and pressing state. A user selects a key in a touch state(801). When a user inputs character through a pointing device, if the user terminates a touch of finger about the current region of the key inputting, the pointer moves to next section in an input window(802,803).

Description

Text input method by a touch pointing device with a bottom switch}

A related field of the present invention is a technical field related to an input device of a portable small digital device, and is a field for developing a simple text input method using a two-dimensional pointing device represented by a touch pad or a touch screen.

The computer was converted into a graphical user interface (GUI) system since the advent of the mouse as a device that allows the computer monitor to move the pointer that specifies the content and location of the executable command. Since then, as computers become smaller in size, portable pointing devices, such as touchpads and built-in touch screens, have been developed and used as a built-in pointing device that can replace a mouse for added convenience. These touch screens also provide the form and function of a full PC keyboard, which causes the inconvenience of having to operate it with two hands unlike the keypad of a mobile phone. Accordingly, the present invention is to provide a text input method that can be operated with one hand even using a touch pad and a touch screen pointing device.

Thanks to advances in semiconductor technology, vacuum tube-based computers in the mid-twentieth century are now miniaturized and integrated enough to fit in your hand, and are no longer devices that are confined to space and used on desktops and laptops. (laptop) Routines have already been made through computers and PDAs. Furthermore, devices such as mobile phones, MP3s, and PDPs, which were previously unrelated to computers, are in charge of additional functions such as computers, or are in the age of convergence where these functions are included in portable Palmtop computers. With this trend, it is time to introduce computer graphical user interface (GUI) systems to these small electronic devices. However, the pointing device, which is essential for a graphical user interface (GUI) system of a computer, has not been applied due to the space limitations and usage problems in which these small electronic devices can be mounted. In order for the pointing device to be applied to use a graphical user interface (GUI) system, the size of the touchpad or pointing stick already used in a laptop computer and the like and the structure and size of the function button used with the pointing device need to be changed. will be. Designed to overcome this point, touch screens and input pens are currently being applied to palmtop computers or PDAs, but such touch screens or input pens are not easy to apply in one hand such as mobile phones. Accordingly, it is a technical problem of the present invention to provide an input device using a touch pad which is easy to point like a mouse and makes text input easier than a keypad of a general mobile phone. In addition, in some cases, by providing a structure that can be operated with one hand to provide a method that can be used in the same way as the existing mobile phone.

 For the above purpose, the present invention uses a two-dimensional pointing device capable of distinguishing a touch state from a pressed state, and includes a virtual key including a plurality of characters assigned to a plurality of characters including a first letter and a second letter. A character input method using a keyboard, comprising: when a touch state is detected, designating a first character of a virtual key on a virtual keyboard corresponding to a touched area of the two-dimensional pointing device; If a pressed state is detected, designating a second character of the virtual key; And allowing the designated character to be inputted.

 Here, when only two characters are designated for each virtual key of the virtual keyboard, the reference character, which is a representative character of these two characters, is input when the finger is spaced while touching the pointing device, and another non-reference Characters can be entered when the pointing device reaches a pressed state and the fingers are spaced apart.

 In addition, when three or more characters are assigned to each key of the virtual keyboard, the reference character, which is a representative of these characters, is input when the finger is spaced while touching the pointing device, and the remaining non-reference characters are used for pointing the pointing device. It can be specified in turn according to the number of presses, and the specified characters can be entered when the fingers are spaced apart.

 In addition, when the number of presses is greater than the number of the specified characters, the number of subtracted numbers of the designated characters becomes the actual number of presses so that the characters may be designated.

 In addition, the character input method may allow a new character input step to be entered when the finger is separated from the pointing device or the finger moves to another position in the touch state.

 On the other hand, the present invention is a character input method through a virtual keyboard comprising a virtual key assigned a plurality of characters to each key using a two-dimensional pointing device in order to achieve the above object, when a touch state is detected, Allowing a plurality of characters allocated to a virtual key on a virtual keyboard corresponding to the touched first area to be arranged and output on each virtual key of the virtual keyboard on the screen in the two-dimensional pointing device; Designating one letter of the output characters according to the touched position in the two-dimensional pointing device in a state in which the plurality of characters are output on the virtual keyboard; And allowing the designated character to be inputted.

 Here, when a user moves a finger to a second area other than the first area while pressing a finger, and then presses it, the plurality of characters assigned to the virtual key are output to the virtual keyboard on the screen. The letter of may be a letter assigned to the virtual key corresponding to the second area.

The present invention adds a push switch to a two-dimensional pointing device such as a touch pad and a touch screen to facilitate character input in a handheld small device such as a portable electronic device, especially a mobile phone, and the pointing device is in a touch state and a pressed state. To distinguish between. That is, by providing a touch input method and an input method by pressing such as a keypad, the number of keys on the keyboard can be reduced in half, thereby bringing the effect of embedding the keyboard in a small space of the mobile device. Moreover, the QWERTY keyboard installed in existing mobile devices is so small that it can be placed in a limited space due to the large number of keys, so that the thumb touches the keypad as much as possible by raising the thumb to distinguish between the key to be pressed and the surrounding keys. It causes the inconvenience of making the area small. This causes a lot of fatigue and even pain in the thumb, while the character input using the touchpad of the present invention does not need to move the finger carefully to distinguish between the key and the surrounding key to press on the keyboard Relatively low fatigue and fast text entry is guaranteed.

 As a result, the text input method using the touch pad according to the present invention enables the user to install a keyboard which can be easily operated even in a narrow space, and thus, the mobile phone is no longer a simple communication device but a PDA in a hand, that is, a Palmtop computer. It will open an upgraded generation of fingertop computers. This change means the emergence of digital devices that bring mobile phones to the computer at any time in response to the Ubiquitous era. In addition, the input device using the touch pad of the present invention can be used as a remote controller capable of inputting characters used in conventional TVs, VCRs, DVDs, as well as portable digital electronic devices. That is, not only a simple pointing device but also a function of an all-purpose pointing device equipped with a function of a keyboard can be implemented, thereby enabling the implementation of a graphical user interface (GUI) in an electronic device having a monitor. Ultimately, the input device of the present invention will be a true hand-in Ubiquitous input device that enables computerization of electronic devices and networking between all devices.

 The present invention uses a structure in which the touch pad and the touch screen have a separate switch for confirming the pressed state or distinguishes the touch and the pressed state in order to distinguish the touch from the pressed state. Such a structure is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. Even though a method of checking a touch state and a pressed state is different, the touch state and the pressed state are easily manipulated while the mobile device is held by one hand.

 Figure 1 shows a typical keypad mobile phone [Fig. 1 (A)] and a mobile phone (Fig. 1 (B)) using a touch pad 101 having a switch function with a built-in push switch at the bottom, although not shown in the figure. In the case of a mobile phone using a touch pad, a virtual keypad 106 and an input window 103 are used on a screen 105 for text transmission or a phone call, and a pointer 104 is provided to operate as a general personal computer. In addition to the touchpad, if you have a switch 012 that can additionally power on / off, there is no shortage to implement a PC in the hand. The reason is that the touch pad having a switch function according to the present invention is a pointing device that allows a user to operate a cursor together with a keyboard input using a virtual keypad, and tapping and pressing a function of a left button and a right button of a mouse to tap the touch pad. Each switch can be implemented to provide a practical one-handed PC.

 2 is an example of a touch pad having the push switch of FIG. 1 (B) at the bottom, and when the touch pad bundle 201 is pressed with a finger, the switch 202 located at one end is pressed and a finger for operating the touch pad. The mouse button can also be operated. For the switch 202 shown in the figure, it is preferable to use a metal dome switch or a tact switch that allows a user to easily recognize the on / off state of the switch.

 FIG. 3 shows one switch 303 disposed at four corners of the touch pad 301, and the upper part where the fingers touch each other makes a keytop layer 306 of a general keypad to visually and tactilely recognize each key. Keyboard printing and uneven structure are formed. Unlike in FIG. 2, the switch closest to where a finger is pressed is pressed so that an elastic body 305 is attached to the cellular phone body 304 by a bundle of touch pads consisting of a touch pad 301, a touch pad support plate 302, and a key top layer. It is a structure supporting it. 3 (A) and 3 (B) show that the touch pad is in a touch state and a pressed state, respectively. As in FIG. 2, the switch under the touch pad bundle may use a metal dome switch or a tact switch.

 FIG. 4 is a structure in which a metal dome sheet is disposed below the touch pad bundle so that one metal dome switch is disposed directly under each key region, thereby making it easier to operate the switch. 4A is a plan view of a bundle of touch pads consisting of a keytop, a light guide sheet, a silicon pad, a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) type touch pad, and a metal dome switch (metal dome sheet and PCB) ( II, III, IV, V, VI) and A-A ', and the pads on the silicon pad press the center of the metal dome to increase the click feel, and the touchpad allows the bosses to penetrate through It is attached to the bottom of the silicon pad with a number of bossholes. The characteristic feature of the metal dome switch shown in FIG. 4 is that the circuit on the PCB on which the metal dome sheet is placed has only one (+) and (-) electrodes. It penetrates through the PCB and is connected to the lower surface of the PCB. Likewise, the negative electrode covers the entire upper surface of the PCB. Therefore, the same on / off signal is generated even if a finger presses any position of the keytop. The principle of the operation of the metal dome switch is as shown in FIG. 4b. In the non-pressed state [Fig. 4b (I)], the metal dome of the metal dome touches the negative electrode of the PCB and the positive electrode of the PCB When the touch pad is pressed by the finger [Fig. 4b (II)], the center part of the metal dome is recessed downward and touches the (+) electrode of the PCB. The over (+) electrode is shorted to turn on the SW. However, in the figure, the adhesive tape which combines the LED illuminating the waveguide sheet, the key top, the waveguide sheet, the silicon pad, and the touch pad is omitted.

 5 illustrates a structure in which a switch under the touch pad shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is disposed outside the body of the cellular phone. The advantage of such a structure is to remove the movement of the touch pad to form a rigid touch pad structure, especially when a touch sensor, such as a touch screen is located in the upper part of the display is not applicable to move up and down. FIG. 5A (A) shows the front surface of the part including the touch pad 501 in the cellular phone body, and FIG. 5A (B) shows the back portion, and FIGS. 5A (C) and (D) show A-A '. A cross-sectional view of the cutout is shown. In particular, the rear part has push switch levers 502L and 502R at both edges in the longitudinal direction, and this structure reacts to the force of pressing the touchpad when the mobile phone is held by one or both hands as shown in FIG. 5B. The push switch lever is pressed simultaneously so that the switch 503R is turned on. The pressed shape of the lever is shown in detail in FIG. 5A (D). 5b (A) shows how a mobile phone having a switch structure is actually held by one hand, and unlike a mobile phone, a mobile phone having a touch screen is operated in landscape mode with two hands due to its wide screen size. This operation is shown in Figure 5b (B). In the case of the actual touch screen mobile phone can be operated with one hand in the vertical mode, in this case is the same shape as Figure 5b (A). In particular, in the case of the touch screen, since the touch screen itself is connected to the monitor and its size is generally large, it is impossible to have a push switch having the structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. Therefore, when the structure shown in FIG. 5A is applied, both the left handed and the right handed can be easily operated by giving a pressed state to a mobile device having a touch screen.

 In the case of using such a structure there is the following convenience.

 When a two-dimensional pointing device such as a touch pad or a touch screen has a function of distinguishing a contact state from a pressed state, a virtual keyboard character input system using these pointing devices may have the same input method as a conventional keypad input device. For example, the position of the key on the virtual keyboard is determined by the function of providing the original (x, y) coordinates, and when the pressing state is reached, the character assigned to the key where the finger is located is input. If multiple characters are assigned to each key, they are entered in order among the multiple characters specified by the number of pressing. This is the same as using a conventional keypad. However, in the case of the two-dimensional pointing device that distinguishes the contact state from the pressed state, the state in which the finger touches the pointing device and the separated state is distinguished, so the counting of the number of times that the same key is pressed ends and the new counting starts. When the contact point is broken, there is no need to press the move key to input the same character consecutively unlike the existing keypad. That is, the first configuration of the present invention is to determine the counting reset function of the number of pressing in the virtual keyboard system requiring multi-tapping according to the contact state. In this case, the contact is disconnected not only when the finger is separated from the pointing device but also when the current key position is moved to another key, the new position key is activated and a new push counting starts. Therefore, in order to input the same character continuously, the user presses the designated key for the specified number of times and then presses the finger away from the pointing device and presses the same key again for the specified number of times. If the user presses the key a predetermined number of times and moves the finger to a neighboring key while the finger is in contact with the pointing device, the counting of the key pressed so far is terminated and the character is selected and input according to the number of presses. If the finger is not spaced apart from the pointing device and returns to the same key and presses again, counting the number of pushes from the beginning again starts a new character input.

 6 (showing only the keypad of the keypad mobile phone) and 7 illustrates the difference between the keypad using the existing multi-tapping and the text input using the touch pointing device of the present invention.

 Figure 6 shows the keypad portion (A) of the body of the keypad phone, Figure 6 (B) shows a key press for entering the phrase 'door opens' using multi-tapping, in particular the movement key (601) The following shows an example of using the character input.

 In the case of the keypad using the existing multi-tap, when entering the English letter door, to input the continuous 'o' after entering 'd', press the designated 'mno' key three times and enter 'o' In order to input the 'o', the shift key 601 is pressed, and the 'mno' key is pressed three times to input 'o'. In this case, the direction key 601, which moves to the next space in the text input sentence, is located at the farthest distance in the range of joint motion of the thumb from the keypad, which makes the text input more difficult.

 7 illustrates a method of inputting text in the same manner as a general keypad mobile phone by using a two-dimensional pointing device that can distinguish a touch state from a touch state by using the push switches of FIGS. 1 to 6. However, unlike a general keypad, since the pointing device can distinguish a touch state and a spaced state, when a finger is spaced from the pointing device, the pointing device enters a new input step in the input window and produces the same effect as pressing the move key shown in FIG. The point is different. In case of entering 'door opens' sentence, 'd' is input when the finger reaches the pressed state by pressing once with the 'DEF' key area on the pointing device. After the 'd' is entered, the finger moves to the 'MNO' key to activate the 'MNO' key ('Activation' refers to a state in which a key area is selected to be touched by the finger) and then pressed three times. 'O' is entered when three pushes have been reached. At this time, when the finger moves from the 'DEF' key area to the 'MNO' key area, the same result is obtained whether the finger moves with the pointing device touched or spaced apart. Even if the finger is moved to the pressed state, that is, the touch pad is in the pressed state, the same result is obtained. However, after moving from the pressed state, the touch state must be restored to activate the 'MNO' key.

 Press the touch pad area corresponding to the 'mno' key three times, and then, to enter the next 'o', the finger is removed from the touch pad and then touches the touch pad as shown in FIG. 7 (B) (702). Press again three times and leave the 'mno' key area or move your hand away from the touchpad to create a continuous 'o' input. That is, even if the finger is separated from the touch pad, the effect of pressing the direction key of the keypad is produced. Furthermore, even when the finger touches the touch pad, even if the character leaves the character area and returns to the character area again, the same effect as pressing the direction key of the keypad is not the same as the first configuration of the present invention. You do not have to move your finger away from the pointing device to enter the letters assigned to the keys.

 That is, under this configuration, the two-dimensional pointing device that distinguishes the touch state from the pressed state can input multiple characters with a single key by multi-tapping like the existing keypad cell phone, while pressing the shift key to continuously input the same characters. Eliminate the discomfort you have to give. 8 is a flowchart illustrating such a configuration in the virtual keyboard system corresponding to the case where three characters are assigned to each key.

 FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an algorithm for selecting and inputting one character from among a plurality of characters assigned to one key according to the number of presses using a pointing device that distinguishes a touch state from a pressed state. In general keypad, separate switch is connected to each key so that pressing of key is performed at the same time as selecting key and executing input, but in case of pointing device that distinguishes touch state from pressing state, key is selected in touch state ( Activated, 801) The input execution is different only when the pressed state is reached. Therefore, the point that the touch of the finger to the area of the currently input key when the character input using the pointing device is different from the general keypad is that the movement to the next space in the input window is made. In other words, in the case of the general keypad, it is necessary to press another key or press the move key (exactly the character input end key of the currently input key) to move to the next space in the input window to start a new input step.

 According to a second configuration of the present invention, in the case of a two-dimensional pointing device having a function of distinguishing a contact state from a pressed state, the character input is performed only by being spaced apart from the contact state. That is, it is a second configuration of the present invention to provide a method for distinguishing a character input in a touch state and a character input in a pressed state.

 As shown in FIG. 9, when three letters are assigned to one key in the virtual keypad, the reference letter (corresponding to the first letter of the letters printed on each key of the virtual keypad) is spaced apart when the fingers are in contact. The other two non-reference characters are inputted in order according to the number of times the pointing device is pressed while the finger is in contact with the two-dimensional pointing device, that is, the number of times of reaching the pressed state. If all n characters including the representative character are specified, the reference character is displayed on the virtual keypad screen when each key is touched, and the last non-reference character is displayed on the screen according to the number of presses. When a total of n pushes are made, the reference character is displayed on the screen again.

 FIG. 9 illustrates a case in which an input execution is performed when a finger is spaced apart from the pointing apparatus in a character input method using a pointing device that distinguishes a touch state from a pressed state. The actual character input is shown in FIG. 9B. to be. The difference from FIG. 8 is that the entry into the new character input step is the point 901 in which the finger starts contacting the pointing device, and the point in which the character input ends is the time point 902 in which the finger is separated from the pointing device. When the finger is in contact with the pointing device, the position change (903) causes a change in the activation key so that no input of the letter assigned to the previously activated key is made at all, and a new key is activated to start the input step of the letter assigned to this key. do. According to the flow chart, when the character input is achieved, the character is specified in both the touch state and the pressed state to reduce the number of presses required for the character input. Furthermore, when only two characters are assigned to one key, no multi-tapping is necessary. Implement no keyboard algorithm. An example of this is illustrated in FIG. 10. 9B shows an example of character input using both the touch state and the pressed state of the same sentence 'door opens' used in the character input method using only the pressed state in FIG. 7B. It shows the effect of reducing it. In addition, 'd' and 'p' do not need to be pressed, so the ease of input is much increased.

 Specifically, the first letter 'd' is input when the finger touches the 'DEF' key area in the pointing device and is spaced apart. The subsequent 'o' is pressed twice by touching the 'MNO' key area 905 with a finger. 904. And second 'o' touch the 'MNO' key area and press twice to complete the input. In case of 'r', press 'PRS' area once and input by separating fingers. That is, in the case shown in FIG. 7B, even if only one input is pressed twice, the input is reduced by half because the input is performed. Like 'r', 'e' and 'n' both press the 'DEF' and 'MNO' key areas once to complete the entry. 'd' and 'p' are just the 'DEF' and 'PRS' key areas. Touching and spacing brings the ease of typing.

 FIG. 10 shows an example of inputting a character when only two characters are assigned to each key of the virtual keyboard. FIG. 10A is English and FIG. 10B is a virtual keypad corresponding to Korean (A) and Chinese (B). It is showing the bay.

 In English and Chinese, only two characters are assigned to a single key, but in the case of Korean, the three-letter keys are 'ㄱㅋ', 'ㄷㅌ', 'ㅂㄷ', 'ㅈ'. These keys are additionally assigned to two consonants. To input these two consonants, they must be pressed twice in the designated area of the pointing device. This refers to the case where m = 2 in the flowchart of FIG. 9A.

 When only two characters are assigned to each key, such as the 5 * 5 type keyboard shown in FIG. 10A, the same input method as that of the keyboard, that is, a method of inputting one character in one pressing operation is implemented. ) Has the advantage of changing the keypad method to the keyboard method (all characters can be entered by pressing a key once).

 For example, when you enter the sentence 'door opens', the number of presses is 10 times the same as that of the keyboard, which is less than half that of the multi-tap method, and even 'o', 'e', and 's' are separated from the touch. Since it is only input by the will bring the advantage of reducing the fatigue caused by pressing.

 FIG. 10B illustrates a virtual keyboard layout for inputting Korean (A) and Chinese (B). Unlike English, Korean and Chinese are characterized by separating vowels and collecting them in one row. This is because one syllable is composed of second, middle, and final words like Korean and Chinese, and it is convenient to separate consonants and vowels, especially when the neutral is composed of vowels.

Korean and Chinese have separate consonants and vowels, and all vowels are completed with a combination of these vowels. In Korean, however, the vowels' ㅒ ',' ㅒ ',' ㅔ ', and' 입력 'are input as a completed vowel in the general keyboard, but in the virtual keypad of FIG. 10B (A), they are respectively' ㅏ '+' ㅣ The only difference is the combination of ',' ㅑ '+' ㅣ ',' ㅓ '+' ㅣ ',' ㅕ '+' ㅣ '. And English and Korean are phonetic letters, so if you enter the letters phonetically, the characters are completed. However, in Chinese, they are ideograms, so many letters are represented with the same pronunciation. The process of selecting the desired character is further complicated. For example, if you enter Chinese Pinyin 'zhongguo' phonetically to input '中國 (China)', you will first find 18 Chinese characters that correspond to 'zhong'.

 20 Chinese characters for "guo"

It is inconvenient to input by selecting '中' and '國' respectively. However, in the case of personal computer, if you use input method editor (IME) provided by Microsoft Corporation's Windows system, 'zhongguo' is entered automatically and '中國' is input. Input is done by translating the entire sentence into the most appropriate Chinese characters in the context. In order to convert Chinese Pinyin into Chinese characters through the context, it is necessary to input the Pinyin one by one exactly like a keyboard. In the case of the existing keypad, it is difficult to input each of the Pinyin by multi-tap method [keypad shown in FIG. In case of mobile phone, to input 'zhongguo', all z (3) + h (2) + o (3) + shift key (1) + n (2) + g (1) + shift key (1) + g (1 ) + u (2) + o (3)] 19 presses are required.] When you enter a word, enter only the syllables of each syllable as Pinyin, then list the words that are predicted from these initials. Is used as the input method. On the contrary, the Chinese virtual keypad shown in FIG. 10B (B) has the convenience of being able to complete the input of '中國' in a total of eight pressing operations. That is, the character input is possible in the same principle as the method of inputting using a keyboard as in a personal computer.

In the pointing device shown in Fig. 10B, the key arrangement of five rows has substantially the same effect as the keyboard of ten rows. Therefore, a problem occurs in the case of a mobile device equipped with a general QWERTY keyboard, that is, the size of the key becomes smaller, making it difficult to select the finger, or vice versa, the mobile device must be turned on to maintain the key size at a certain level. Does not occur in a mobile device using this configuration. If the keys are the same size, the width can be reduced by half compared to the mobile device equipped with the QWERTY keyboard to maximize portability, and unlike the keypad used for a general mobile phone, it does not touch the surrounding key area. There is no inconvenience to lift your thumb to press only the desired key, so that the user can easily use a large finger.

 Unlike the first configuration, the third configuration of the present invention is not performed by pressing repeated input of a plurality of characters assigned to each key, but each key when a finger touches a pointing device with a plurality of characters assigned to each key on a virtual keyboard. It is a method of arranging the distribution around and selecting it. That is, in the case of a virtual keyboard using a two-dimensional pointing device, when multiple characters are assigned to each key and the finger touches the pointing device, the characters assigned to each key are distributed and arranged around each key, and the user inputs them among the distributedly arranged letters. By moving a finger to a position where the desired character is arranged, the finger may be spaced apart from the pointing device at that position to allow input of the character.

 11 is a method in which three or more characters are assigned to one key and all of these characters are separated and input by using a touch state and a pressed state. For example,

 In FIG. 11, the keyboard layout of the virtual keypad is composed of characters representing the ten rows (あ, か, さ, た, な, は, ま, や, ら, わ) from keys 1 to 0. It is the same as the keyboard of a Japanese mobile phone. Representative characters in each of these lines correspond to different consonants, and each of these lines includes a total of five characters in which the representative and consonant pronunciations are the same and the vowel pronunciations are different.

 In the case of a typical keypad mobile phone, each key is assigned a letter corresponding to each line, and the key must be pressed one to five times to enter five characters on each line. On the contrary, in the case of using the two-dimensional pointing device, it is possible to input a desired character by one touch and a space without having to press it several times.

 Look specifically.

 11A (I) shows a case of having the same virtual keypad layout as that of a typical keypad cellular phone. The keyboard layout of this virtual keypad differs from the general keypad in that in Japanese, five letters are assigned to each key, and these letters have the same consonant pronunciation and different vowel pronunciation. The same consonant and vowel sound are said to belong to the same line. Thus, in the case of か (ka), the five Japanese characters か (ka), き (ki), く (ku), and け (ke, こ (ko)) belong.

 FIG. 11A (II) shows that the characters belonging to the ka line when the finger is spaced from the pointing device 1101 and the ka line key is activated by touching the key area 1103 of the pointing device 1103. Shows the arrangement around the key. When one line (character group) is activated, the characters representing each row displayed on each key on the virtual keypad disappear from the screen, and the characters belonging to the active line (character group) are arranged and displayed on the screen.

 As shown in FIG. 11A (II), when the user touches the key area 1103 of the '2' key and the ka row key is activated, ka (ka) and ki (ki) belonging to the same character group as ka (ka). , (Ku), け (ke), and こ (ko) are arranged around the second key on the virtual keypad 1102 (in this configuration, in a symmetrical form from top to bottom).

 In this state, when the finger moves to the area where the character to be input among the characters belonging to the active row is displayed, the character is selected and activated. If the finger is spaced apart from the character, the corresponding character is input.

 11A (III) shows that the finger moves to the 'SP' (space, 1105) key region in the state in which the ka key is activated, and the character 'ka (ka, 1106) is selected and activated, and the finger is spaced apart in this state.か (ka) is shown in the input window (1107). This is shown in a flowchart in Fig. 11B.

 That is, when a character string representing a character group is displayed on each key of the initial screen of the virtual keypad and a finger touches the pointing device and these keys are activated (1108), the characters belonging to these character groups are displayed from top to bottom on each key of the virtual keypad. When the finger is moved to the region of these characters (1109), the keys corresponding to these characters are activated (1110) and inputted when the fingers are spaced (1111).

 In this way, it is possible to input characters corresponding to ten lines in Japanese. However, the problem is that in addition to the characters (あ, か, さ, た, な, は, ま, や, ら, わ) representing each line displayed on these keypad keyboards, there are characters derived from these representative characters. For example, あ (A)-> ぁ ('あ'), か (ka)-> が (ga), さ (sa)-> ざ (za), た (ta)-> だ (da) , は (ha)-> ば (ba)-> ぱ (pa)-> ヴ ぁ (va). To make these inputs possible, when each key is touched, These derivatives, as well as the characters, must be arranged on the virtual keypad at the same time, which is inconvenient for practical use, and in a virtual keypad with 15 keys, if a total of 16 keys are required, such as the ha line, they cannot be distributed. In some cases. Rather, as in the case of a normal keypad, to input these derived characters, enter the characters corresponding to the representative characters and then press a key (corresponding to the '*' key on the keypad) to input these derived characters. It is convenient. In this regard, the third configuration of the present invention designates not only the representative character group of each row but also the derived character group in one key, and a finger touches the pointing device region corresponding to the key to which the representative character group is assigned. When the character group is arranged around the designated key on the virtual keypad, press once to display the characters belonging to the first derived character group on the virtual keypad, and press the pointing device once more to display the second derived character group. This is a way to make the characters belonging to appear. If all n character groups including the representative character group are specified, the representative character group is displayed on the virtual keypad screen when each key is touched, and the characters of the last derivative group are displayed on the screen according to the number of presses. If press again one more time, a total of n pushes are performed, then the representative character group is displayed on the screen again. In other words, according to the number of times a key is pressed, the characters of the derived character group belonging to these groups are arranged on the virtual keypad and selected.

 FIG. 12 shows an example in which such a derived character group (subgroup) character string is designated on a virtual keypad for inputting Japanese.

 Each character line has an additional subgroup character line similar in consonant pronunciation to the character that represents each character line. For example, in FIG. 12A, line あ (a), which is Group-1, has line la (la) as a subgroup.

 For line ka (ka) with Group-2, line 을 (ga),

 Line sa (Group-3) with line sa (za),

 In the case of Group (4) (TA), we have だ (da) and っ (ltu).

 な (na) lines, which are Group-5, have nen (nn) lines,

 Group-6 inha (ha) has a line of ba, pa and pa

 Ya (ya) line, which is Group-8, has Ya (lya) line as subgroup,

 However, Group-7 line Ma (ma), Group-9 line ra (ra), and Group-0 line wa (wa) do not have a separate subgroup. Therefore, in order to input characters belonging to each subgroup of each character line, first activate the character line (1201), and then press the pointing device without moving the finger to activate the subgroup in turn according to the number of times of pressing (1202). . As shown in FIG. 12E, if the subgroups are all three, activating the character line to which these subgroups belong is displayed on the screen, the representative subgroup subgroup-0, and then activated according to the number of times subgroup-1 and subgroup-2 press in turn. If the number of times of pressing is greater than 3, the remaining number of times of subtraction of 3 is determined as a subgroup (1202). Once a subgroup is activated, a method of inputting characters belonging to these subgroups is shown in FIG. In the same manner, the finger is moved (1203) to select and activate a desired character. (1204) In this state, if the finger is separated from the pointing device (1205), character input is performed. 12E illustrates a case where the number of subgroups is 3, and if the number of subgroups is p, 3n may be changed to pn from 3n + m, which is the criterion for determining the number of times 1202 of FIG. 12E.

 Referring to FIG. 12, in the case of the representative character group 'か (ka)', as shown in Group2 of FIG. 12A, pressing the key area 1303 corresponding to ka (ka) once, the group assigned to this key Subgroup-1 [が (ga) derived character group] of 'か (ka)' is shown on the virtual keypad. Subgroup-1 in Group 2 is the same except that the English pronunciation 'k' of the representative group Subgroup-0 ['か (ka)'] is changed to 'g'. Therefore, you do not need to familiarize yourself with the characters belonging to Subgroup-1. Furthermore, Subgroup-0 of each group is a representative character group representing each line, and the first character of these standard groups is the same as the character that represents each key in the Japanese mobile phone keyboard. It is an advantage that you can learn them naturally. In the case of the existing keypad mobile phone, if you want to enter ga (ga), you need to press か (ka)-> が (ga) conversion key in addition to the third configuration of the present invention According to the method, it is convenient to perform the automatic conversion of ka (ka)-> ga (ga) by pressing the same key (key corresponding to ka (ka)] once without the need for a separate conversion key.

 The fourth configuration of the present invention complements the problem of the character input method using the third configuration. In the second configuration, the key of the area where the finger is in contact with the pointing device in the spaced state becomes the active key, and when the finger moves to the new key area in the contact state, this key becomes the active key and the input of the character assigned to the key is made. It becomes possible. On the other hand, in the third configuration, the key in the area where the finger first touches the pointing device in the separated state is fixed with the activation key, and there is no change in the activation key until the finger is away from the pointing device. The finger movement in the contacted state is only responsible for selecting the characters arranged around the activation key, and the keys of the virtual keyboard that were shown on the screen before the contact are not activated. As in the third configuration of the present invention, even when the finger is fixed with an active key touched in a spaced state, the method of enabling the conversion of the active key without separating the finger from the pointing device by using the pressed state of the pointing device The fourth configuration of the present invention. In other words, while the finger is in contact with the pointing device, a method of moving out of an already activated key area to a new key area and then pressing the key area to activate the key enables the setting of a new activation key. This is not possible with a pointing device without a depressed state. This will be described with reference to FIG. 13 as an example. 13A (I) is a virtual keypad arrangement providing a method for inputting Japanese according to the third aspect of the present invention. Figure 13a (II) is a character that the actual user wants to input the other (た) line, in the case of accidentally selected ah (あ) by the finger touches the '1' key to the state 'A' row key is activated Is showing. In this case, as shown in FIG. 13B (III), when the finger touches the touch pad, the finger is moved to the touch pad '4' key area corresponding to the other row, and the finger is pressed in that state. As shown, the ta line is activated and the characters assigned to it are expanded on the virtual keyboard so that they can be selected. The method of changing the activation key while the finger is in contact with the pointing device (touch pad) is to provide an easy way to modify the activation key even if the activation key is incorrectly selected by the touch. It is an advantage that the pointing device has a pressed state. If a pointing device has only a touch state without a pressing state, it is inconvenient to select a method of inevitably modifying a finger away from the pointing device. Alternatively, like the virtual keypad arrangement shown in FIG. 12, letters are not assigned to the position of the active key, but only letters are arranged around the adjacent keys so that they are spaced apart as they are first touched. You just need to activate it. The numbers written inside the activation key shown in black in FIG. 12 are shown for the purpose of showing correlation with the numbers displayed on the pointing device of the cellular phone of FIG. 11 and are not designated as numbers that can be input to the activation key. In reality, no character is specified.

 The fifth configuration of the present invention is a method for enabling easy input without using the pointing function of the pointing device when two letters are assigned to each key of the virtual keypad. Referring to FIG. 14 as an example, when two letters m and n are assigned to the '4' key, the finger (exactly the center of the finger) is located in the pointing device area (the '4' key) corresponding to this key (mn key). Touches the 'mn' key on the virtual keypad and enters the reference character 'm' when the fingers are spaced in this state, and the non-reference character when the finger is away from the pointing device with the pointer out of the 'mn' key area. 'n' is inputted.

 In other words, two letters are assigned to each key of the virtual keypad, and when these keys are activated, the standard letter is assigned to the original active key position and the remaining non-reference letters are assigned around the active key. The reference character is input when the key is spaced apart from the pointing device at the activation key position, and the non-reference character is input when the key is spaced apart from the position of the activation key.

 Here, the activated key is a key of the virtual keypad corresponding to the point where the finger first touches the spaced apart device. The activated key is not changed until the finger is spaced apart.

 However, as in the fourth configuration of the present invention, if the two-dimensional pointing device can distinguish the touch state from the pressed state in this configuration, when the finger is moved away from the active key area and moved to another key position, the pointing device is pressed. The key corresponding to this position can be activated.

 For example, the character that the user wants to input was originally 'o', but the 'mn' key was activated by touching the 'mn' key as shown in Fig. 14 (II), but the finger as shown in Fig. 14 (III). Move to the position corresponding to the 'op' key area and press the pointing device to activate the 'op' key. This example clearly shows the usefulness of the activation key conversion function provided in FIG.

 In the case of FIG. 14, if the user only touches an area corresponding to a desired key, the user does not need to consider the direction and the point at which the fingers should be spaced apart to input the non-reference character. When a key is activated, the background color of the key is in a different state from that of the original virtual keypad. Furthermore, by displaying the reference character at the center of the activation key and the non-reference character at the key area other than the activation key, it is possible to easily recognize the active state, the reference, and the non-reference character, thereby increasing the convenience of character input. However, as shown in FIG. 14, the display of non-reference characters is limited to only the key immediately adjacent to the active key so that the user can keep track of the characters assigned to the keys other than the currently activated key to Make location easy

The method of the present invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and the like, which are also implemented in the form of carrier waves (for example, transmission over the Internet). Include. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

Brief description of the drawings

 1 is a view showing a keypad using a general keypad mobile phone and the touchpad of the present invention.

 FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a touch pad having a push switch of FIG.

 FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example in which one switch is disposed at four corners of a touch pad, and an upper portion where a finger touches forms a key top layer of a general keypad.

 FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure in which a metal dome sheet is disposed below the touch pad bundle so that one metal dome switch is disposed directly below each key region so that switch operation is easier.

 FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a structure in which a switch under the touch pad shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is disposed at the outer side of the mobile phone body;

 6 is a diagram schematically showing a key press for inputting the phrase 'door opens' using a keypad mobile phone.

 7 is a diagram schematically showing a key press for inputting the phrase 'door opens' using the touch pad of the present invention.

 FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an algorithm for selecting and inputting one character from among a plurality of characters assigned to one key according to the number of presses using a pointing device that distinguishes a touch state from a pressed state.

 FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method in which an input execution is performed when a finger is spaced apart from the pointing apparatus in a character input method using a pointing device that distinguishes a touch state from a pressed state. Illustrated Drawing

 FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of character input when only two characters are designated for each key of the virtual keyboard. FIG.

 11 is a diagram illustrating an example and a flowchart of a method in which three or more characters are assigned to one key and all of these characters are separately input using a touch state and a pressed state.

 12 is a flowchart showing a character string arrangement of subgroups belonging to ten character lines in Japanese, and a flowchart for character input.

 FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process of inputting Japanese according to the method described with reference to FIG. 12.

 FIG. 14 illustrates an example of inputting a letter 'n' using a virtual keypad having a 5 * 5 type keypad.

Claims (8)

In a character input method using a virtual keyboard comprising a virtual key assigned a plurality of characters including a first character and a second character to each key using a two-dimensional pointing device that can distinguish the touch state and the pressed state , If a touch state is detected, designating a first character of a virtual key on a virtual keyboard corresponding to a touched area of the two-dimensional pointing device; If a pressed state is detected, designating a second character of the virtual key; And Character input method using a virtual keyboard, characterized in that it comprises; inputting the specified character. The method of claim 1, wherein if only two characters are designated for each virtual key of the virtual keyboard, the reference character that is representative of these two characters is input when the finger is spaced apart while touching the pointing device. One non-reference character is a character input method using a virtual keyboard, characterized in that is input when the pointing device reaches the pressed state and the fingers are spaced apart. The reference character of claim 1, wherein when three or more characters are assigned to each key of the virtual keyboard, a reference character that is representative of these characters is input when a finger is spaced apart while touching a pointing device, and the remaining non-reference characters are used. The character input method using a virtual keyboard characterized in that the specified in accordance with the number of times the pointing device is pressed in order to be input when the finger is spaced apart. The character input method of claim 3, wherein when the number of presses is greater than the number of the specified characters, the number of characters remaining after subtracting the number of the specified characters becomes the actual number of presses. The character input method of claim 1, wherein the character input method enters a new character input step when the finger is spaced from the pointing device or the finger moves to another position in a touch state. In the character input method through a virtual keyboard comprising a virtual key assigned a plurality of characters to each key using a two-dimensional pointing device, If a touch state is detected, causing the plurality of characters allocated to the virtual key on the virtual keyboard corresponding to the touched first area to be arranged on each virtual key of the virtual keyboard on the screen; Designating one letter of the output letters according to the touched position in the two-dimensional pointing device in a state in which the plurality of letters are output on the virtual keyboard; And Character input method using a virtual keyboard, characterized in that it comprises; inputting the specified character. And a second character of the virtual key is designated when a pressed state is sensed. The character group of claim 3, wherein a plurality of characters to be input in the touch state and the pressed state are divided into a character group input in the touch state and a character group input in the pressed state, and the character groups are sequentially converted according to the number of times of pressing the activation key. Character input method arranged on screen The method of claim 6, wherein when a user moves a finger to a second area other than the first area while pressing a finger, the plurality of characters assigned to the virtual key are output to the virtual keyboard on the screen. A plurality of characters output from the character input method using a virtual keyboard, characterized in that the character assigned to the virtual key corresponding to the second area. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for realizing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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