WO2010089918A1

WO2010089918A1 - Electronic device and electronic device program

Info

Publication number: WO2010089918A1
Application number: PCT/JP2009/066300
Authority: WO
Inventors: 絢子細井; 明美豊蔵; 聡町田; 幸夫各務; 光洋佐藤; 忠嗣布目
Original assignee: 株式会社東芝
Priority date: 2009-02-09
Filing date: 2009-09-17
Publication date: 2010-08-12
Also published as: JP2012088750A

Abstract

Provided is an electronic device in which a user can select a type of characters to be inputted by an easy operation through a display which can intuitionally be understood. The user inputs a character via a software keyboard displayed on a touch panel and uses a different software keyboard in accordance with the type of the character to be inputted. The electronic device performs an animation display for shifting the software keyboard by a slide action against the touch panel when switching the software keyboard from one to another.

Description

Electronic device and electronic device program

The present invention relates to an electronic device having a function of inputting characters by switching a plurality of character input modes, and more particularly to an input using a touch panel and a program for the electronic device.

In recent years, electronic devices equipped with character input functions are becoming smaller and more sophisticated. A cellular phone, which is one of electronic devices having a character input function, uses a character input function when creating an e-mail or browsing a website. When performing such character input, the user needs to input using various character types such as hiragana, katakana and alphabet.

Also, mobile phones that are provided with a touch panel on the display and perform character input by operating the touch panel with a pen or a finger have been put into practical use. In a mobile phone that inputs characters through a touch panel, a virtual keyboard (hereinafter referred to as a software keyboard) is displayed on a display. The software keyboard is a virtual keyboard that displays character buttons side-by-side, and the user touches the character button that he / she wants to input with a pen or finger, and the characters corresponding to the character button displayed in the touched area are input. The Unlike a keyboard using physical buttons, the software keyboard can switch the arrangement of character buttons and the character type assigned to the character buttons. For example, according to the ease of input, the user can display the software keyboard by assigning alphabets such as “q”, “w”, “e”, “r”, “t”, and “y” to 35 buttons. , “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O”, and other hiragana characters can be switched to the display assigned to the 12 buttons.

In order to input characters through such a touch panel, character buttons assigned hiragana corresponding to consonants such as “a”, “ka”, “sa”, “ta” and “na” are displayed on the display as a software keyboard. A character corresponding to the character button displayed in the touched area is input by touching the character button with a finger or a touch pen. In addition, when the character type input from the software keyboard is switched from hiragana to katakana, for example, a slide operation (slide action) is performed by sliding a finger or a touch pen on the character buttons constituting the software keyboard. Then, in accordance with this slide operation, the software keyboard for inputting hiragana is switched to the software keyboard for inputting katakana (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Also, a software keyboard in which numbers such as “1”, “2”, and “3” are assigned to the character buttons is displayed on the display. There is a technique for switching to a software keyboard for inputting different character types by operating a switching button displayed on the software keyboard (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2006-148536 A JP 2005-92441 A

By the way, in a mobile phone provided with a touch panel on the display, display control can be performed to change the display on the display in conjunction with an operation on the touch panel. Using this, when a finger or a touch pen is slid on the touch panel, it is possible to display software keys displayed on the display in conjunction with the slide operation. A telephone is required.

However, in many conventional software keyboards, when the type of characters to be input is switched, the switching display of the software keyboard is instantaneously performed. For example, when switching from a software keyboard for inputting hiragana to a software keyboard for inputting katakana, for example, when a specific button on the software key is operated, the display of that button instantly changes from “A” to “A”. The characters to be input are also switched. As described above, a technique for switching the character type of the software keyboard according to an intuitive operation on the touch panel and further displaying the fact that the character type has been switched to the user in an easy-to-understand manner has not yet been realized.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an electronic device and an electronic device program capable of performing intuitive display in an easy-to-understand operation and switching the type of characters to be input. provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a display means for displaying an image, a detection means provided on the display means for detecting an operation on the image, and a display means for controlling the first software keyboard. An input control unit that receives and displays a predetermined character input from an operation position on the first software keyboard based on the detection result of the detection unit, and switches from the first software keyboard to the second software keyboard based on the detection result of the detection unit When it is determined that a request has been given, the display means is controlled to perform display control for moving the first software keyboard as if it is moved out of the display area of the display means, and to move and display the first software keyboard. Next, move the second software keyboard from the display area of the display means to the display area. And to constitute by comprising a display control unit that performs display control to move as Luca.

The electronic device program of the present invention displays a first software keyboard by controlling a display means for displaying an image, a detection means provided on the display means for detecting an operation on the image, and the display means. And an input control means for receiving a predetermined character input from an operation position on the first software keyboard based on the detection result of the detection means, and a request for switching from the first software keyboard to the second software keyboard based on the detection result of the detection means. When it is determined that the display has been given, the display means is controlled to perform display control for moving the first software keyboard as if it is moved out of the display area of the display means, and following the movement display of the first software keyboard. , Move the second software keyboard from the display area of the display means to the display area Characterized in that the functioning of the electronic device as a display control unit for controlling the display to move as if.

According to the present invention, it is possible to switch the type of characters to be input with an intuitive and easy-to-understand operation, and further display the display in conjunction with the above operation to determine that the type of character input to the user has been switched. An electronic device that can be easily notified can be provided.

1 is a diagram showing an external appearance of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the electronic device illustrated in FIG. 1. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. 6 is a flowchart for describing processing for an input operation of the electronic device illustrated in FIG. 1. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a software keyboard switching process of the electronic device shown in FIG. 1. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure for demonstrating the slide action with respect to the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG. The figure which showed the display of the main display of the electronic device shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Description will be made by taking the cellular phone 1 as an example of the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an appearance of the mobile phone 1. FIG. 1A is a front view of the mobile phone 1, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the mobile phone 1.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), a main display 10 is provided in front of the mobile phone 1, and characters and figures are displayed on the main display 10. In addition, a touch panel 4 made of a transparent material is provided so as to overlap the main display 10. The user performs input by touching the touch panel 4. The touch panel 4 is manufactured by a known technique such as a pressure-sensitive type or an electrostatic type. For example, in the case of an electrostatic type, the touch panel 4 includes a capacitance sensor that detects a change in capacitance due to contact with a finger or the like. The capacitance sensor detects a position where the capacitance has changed due to a finger touching the touch panel 4, and notifies the control unit 31 described later of the coordinates of the position where the capacitance has changed. Thereby, the control part 31 performs the process according to the coordinate (henceforth an input coordinate) of the position which the user input. The input coordinates may be detected not only when a new input coordinate is detected, but also when the input coordinate changes or whenever a certain time elapses.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, a side key 5 is provided on the side surface of the mobile phone 1. The side key 5 is assigned a function for switching the operation mode to the manner mode and a function for calling a menu input screen. When the side key 5 is pressed, information indicating the pressed key is notified to the control unit 31, which will be described later, and the control unit 31 executes processing corresponding to the notification. A part of the functions assigned to the buttons of the software keyboard displayed on the main display 10 can be assigned to the side keys 5. Input processing through the software keyboard will be described in detail later.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, a microphone 7 is provided under the main display 10. The microphone 7 collects the user's voice during a call. A speaker 8 is provided on the main display 10. The speaker 8 amplifies and outputs the voice of the other party during a call. In addition, a battery 9 is provided inside the mobile phone 1. The battery 9 stores driving power of the mobile phone 1 and supplies power to each circuit of the mobile phone 1 through the power supply circuit 34.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the mobile phone 1. The mobile phone 1 includes an antenna 21. The antenna 21 transmits and receives radio signals to and from other radio stations. The mobile phone 1 performs voice communication and data communication by wireless communication. Although FIG. 2 shows a configuration in the case of adopting a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) scheme, other communication methods may be employed. Since a known technique is applied to the communication method, description thereof is omitted here.

The mobile phone 1 includes a control unit 31. The control unit 31 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The CPU executes processing in accordance with programs stored in the ROM and various application programs loaded from the storage unit 32 (to be described later) into the RAM. The CPU processes signals supplied from the respective units, generates various control signals, and supplies them to the respective units. Through such processing, the CPU controls the mobile phone 1 in an integrated manner. Further, the CPU executes various processes such as accepting an instruction from the user or accepting a character input according to the input coordinates detected by the touch panel 4.

The storage unit 32 includes, for example, a storage medium such as a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory that is an electrically rewritable or erasable nonvolatile memory, and an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), and is executed by the CPU of the control unit 31. Various application programs and control data to be stored are stored. The RAM temporarily stores data necessary for the CPU to execute various processes and data related to video displayed on the main display 10. The storage unit 32 stores characters of various languages such as hiragana, katakana, and alphabet, and various types of character information such as symbols and numbers, and also stores image data of a software keyboard corresponding to each type of character information. ing. Further, the control unit 31 has a conversion function for converting the input character string “Au” into another type of character string such as “Meet”. This conversion function performs conversion with reference to a dictionary file stored in the storage unit 32. The dictionary file associates input characters with converted characters. Since the conversion function technique is a known technique, the description thereof is omitted here.

Next, the process of inputting characters through the software keyboard will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which an alphabet software keyboard 50 for inputting alphabets is displayed on the main display 10. The main display 10 displays an antenna picture indicating the radio wave reception intensity of the antenna 21, a battery picture indicating the remaining battery level of the battery 9, time information notified from the timer 39, and the like on the upper part. The main display 10 displays a character string display window 51 for displaying the input character string at the center. The main display 10 displays a software keyboard 51 for inputting alphabets, a left software keyboard switching button 58 and a right software keyboard switching button 59 for switching the software keyboard at the bottom.

The character input process for inputting characters using the alphabet software keyboard 50 is described below. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the character input process. First, when the control unit 31 starts the process (step 100), the control unit 31 waits for an input through the touch panel 4 (step 101). When the input coordinates are given from the touch panel 4 (Yes in Step 101), the control unit 31 determines whether or not the input coordinates match the coordinates of any key on the alphabet software keyboard 50 (Step 102). ). If it is determined that the input coordinates do not match the coordinates of any key of the alphabet software keyboard 50 (No in step 102), the control unit 31 waits for an input from the touch panel 4 again (step 101). On the other hand, when it is determined that the input coordinates match the keys of the alphabet keyboard 50 (Yes in step 102), the control unit 31 controls whether the keys having the same coordinates (hereinafter simply referred to as input keys) are character keys. Determine if it is a key. If it is determined that the input key is a character key (“character key” in step 103), the control unit 31 determines that a character corresponding to the input key has been input, and accepts the input of this character (step 104). . For example, when a character key marked with “d” in the software keyboard for alphabet 50 is operated, the control unit 31 continues to the character input position on the character display window 51 after the character string already input so far. To display the character “d”. On the other hand, when it is determined that the input key is a control key button (“control key” in step 103), the control unit 31 executes a process assigned to the control key (step 105). The process assigned to the control key includes, for example, a process of moving a cursor indicating a character input position, a process of deleting a character adjacent to the cursor, a process of switching lowercase / uppercase letters of the alphabet, or another type of character. For example, switching to a software keyboard. When the process of step 104 or step 105 ends, the character input process ends (step 106). The user can input a desired character string by repeatedly performing the character input process shown in FIG.

使用 By switching to a software keyboard that supports different types of characters from the alphabet, the user can enter other types of character strings. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example in which a numeric symbol software keyboard 53 for inputting numbers and symbols is displayed on the main display 10. The main display 10 displays the software keyboard 53 for numerical symbols at the bottom. The character input process using the numerical symbol software keyboard 53 is the same as the character input process described with reference to FIG. 4. When the user touches the touch panel 4 on which software keys of desired numbers and symbols are displayed, That character is entered. For example, when a character key on which “” is displayed on the numeric symbol software keyboard 53 is operated, the control unit 31 moves to the position of the cursor on the character display window 51 and continues to “ ) ”Is displayed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which a hiragana software keyboard 54 for inputting hiragana and kanji is displayed on the main display 10. The main display 10 displays a hiragana software keyboard 54 at the bottom. In the character input process using the hiragana software keyboard 54, for example, the character key with “A” displayed is the “Hi”, “I”, “U”, “E” and “O” five-character hiragana characters. Assigned. When the character key “A” is continuously operated, the control unit 31 performs toggle input for switching the five characters according to the number of times of operation.

Similarly, three character hiragana characters “WA”, “O”, and “N” are assigned to the character key displaying “WA”, and if the character key of “WA” is operated twice, for example, The control unit 31 displays the character “O” at the position of the cursor on the character display window 51 following the character string input so far.

Next, the process for switching the software keyboard will be described. The user needs to use the software keyboard shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6 in accordance with the type of characters to be input. Therefore, when the user operates, for example, the left software keyboard switching button 58 or the right software keyboard switching button 59 and the coordinates thereof are notified to the control unit 31 by the touch panel 4, the control unit 31 uses the software keyboard as another software keyboard. Switch to and display. The main display 10 shown in FIG. 3 displays a left software keyboard switching button 58 on the left side of the main display 10 and a right software keyboard switching button 59 on the right side. The main display 10 shown in FIG. 5 displays only the left software keyboard switching button 58, and the main display 10 shown in FIG. 6 displays only the right software keyboard switching button 59. When the left software keyboard switching button 58 or the right software keyboard switching button 59 is operated, the control unit 31 performs switching processing for switching to the software keyboard corresponding to each of the

software keyboards

50, 53, and 54.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the switching process. First, when the user operates the left software keyboard switching button 58 or the right software keyboard switching button 59 and the coordinates thereof are notified to the control unit 31 by the touch panel 4, the control unit 31 starts this switching process (step S1). 200). The control unit 31 determines which one of the right software keyboard switching button 58 (indicated as the right switching button in FIG. 7) and the left software keyboard switching button 59 (indicated as the left switching button in FIG. 7) has been operated ( Step 203). When the operated key is the left software keyboard switching button 58 (“left switching button” in step 203), the control unit 31 indicates that the software keyboard currently displayed on the main display 10 is the alphabet software keyboard 50. Or the software keyboard 53 for numeric symbols (step 204). Here, when the software keyboard displayed on the main display 10 is the numeric symbol software keyboard 53 (“numeral symbol” in step 204), the control unit 31 replaces the numeric symbol software keyboard 53 with the alphabet software. Control is performed to display the keyboard 50 (step 205), and the process is terminated (step 210), whereas the software keyboard displayed on the main display 10 is an alphabet software keyboard ("alphabet" in step 204). The control unit 31 performs control to display the hiragana software keyboard 54 instead of the alphabet software keyboard 50 (step 206), and ends the process (step 210).

On the other hand, when the input button is the right software keyboard switching button 59 (“right switching button” in step 203), the control unit 31 uses the alphabet software keyboard 50 as the software keyboard currently displayed on the main display 10. It is determined whether there is a hiragana software keyboard 54 (step 207). When the software keyboard displayed on the main display 10 is the alphabet software keyboard 50 (“alphabet” in step 207), the control unit 31 replaces the alphabet software keyboard 50 with the numeric symbol software keyboard. 53 is controlled (step 208), and the process is terminated (step 210). On the other hand, when the software keyboard displayed on the main display 10 is the hiragana software keyboard 54 (“Hiragana” in step 207), the control unit 31 displays the alphabet software keyboard 50 instead of the hiragana software keyboard 54. Control is performed (step 209), and the process is terminated (step 210).

By the above switching process, the user can display a software keyboard for inputting desired types of characters by operating the software keyboard 52 on the left or right side of the main display 10.

Next, display processing that displays animation when the software keyboard is switched will be described. In the process of switching the conventional software keyboard, when the user gives an instruction to switch the software keyboard, the software keyboard is switched instantaneously. In this case, since the character display and key layout of the software keyboard change instantaneously, there is a problem that it is difficult for the user to recognize that the software keyboard has been switched.

Therefore, in the present invention, when an instruction to switch the software keyboard is given from the user, the control unit 31 scrolls the software keyboard displayed before switching to the outside of the screen of the main display 10 and hides it. The software keyboard corresponding to is scrolled from the outside of the main display 10 to display an animation. In the example shown in FIG. 8, when the right software keyboard switching button 59 is operated while the main display 10 displays the alphabet input software keyboard 50, an animation display that newly displays the hiragana input software keyboard 54 is displayed. It is the figure which showed a part of. That is, the alphabet input software keyboard 50 is scrolled in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

At the same time, under the control of the control unit 31, the main display 10 scrolls the hiragana input software keyboard 54 from the outside of the screen to the right to display an animation. By this animation display, it is possible to give the user an impression as if the hiragana input software keyboard 54 is connected to the left of the alphabet input software keyboard 50. Even when switching from the alphabet input software keyboard 50 to the numeric symbol input software keyboard 53, an animation is displayed in the direction opposite to that shown in FIG. The user can be given an impression as if they are connected and arranged. This animation display gives the user an intuitive impression that three software keyboards are connected horizontally and can be slid horizontally to switch the character type. The operation can be performed.

Next, a display process for displaying an animation when the software keyboard is switched by an action of sliding a finger or a touch pen that touches the touch panel 4 (hereinafter referred to as a slide action) will be described. In the switching process shown in FIG. 7, the software keyboard is switched by operating the left software keyboard switching button 58 or the right software keyboard switching button 59. In addition to this, the control unit 31 performs a slide switching process for switching the software keyboard by a slide action.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a sliding action on the touch panel 4 by the finger 80. The control unit 31 corresponds to three slide actions described below.

The first slide action is as shown in FIG. That is, in the first slide action, the user's finger 80 (or touch pen) touches the area on the touch panel 4 where the software keyboard is displayed, and then the finger 80 is moved on the software keyboard on the left or right side of the screen. This is an operation of releasing the finger 80 from the software keyboard. That is, the locus that the finger 80 draws on the touch panel 4 by the first slide action is on the software keyboard. The control unit 31 detects from the input coordinates output from the touch panel 4 that such a first slide action has been performed. Further, the control unit 31 detects the distance (the length of the trajectory drawn by the finger 80 on the touch panel) and the speed at which the finger 80 slides on the touch panel based on the input coordinates, and the distance is equal to or greater than the first threshold value. When the speed is equal to or higher than the second threshold, it is determined that the first slide action has been performed, and control is performed to switch the displayed software keyboard. The switching display of the software keyboard is performed by an animation display as shown in FIG. As a result, an animation is displayed in response to the first slide action, and the user can perform an intuitive operation.

The second slide action is as shown in FIG. That is, in the second slide action, the user's finger 80 (or touch pen) touches the area where the software keyboard of the touch panel 4 is displayed, and then the finger 80 is moved on the software keyboard on the left side or right side of the screen. Is moved to outside the main display 10 (outside the touch panel 4). That is, the locus drawn by the finger 80 on the touch panel 4 by the second slide action reaches the end of the detection range of the touch panel 4 from the software keyboard. The control unit 31 detects from the input coordinates output from the touch panel 4 that such a second slide action has been performed. Further, the control unit 31 detects the distance and speed at which the finger 80 slides on the touch panel 4 based on the input coordinates, and the distance is equal to or greater than a third threshold and / or the speed is a second threshold. In the above case, it is determined that the second slide action has been performed, and control to switch the displayed software keyboard is performed. The switching display of the software keyboard is performed by an animation display as shown in FIG. As a result, an animation is displayed in response to the second slide action, and the user can perform an intuitive operation.
The third slide action is as shown in FIG. That is, in the third slide action, the user's finger 80 (or touch pen) touches outside the main display 10 (outside the touch panel 4), and then slides the finger 80 on the area where the software keyboard of the touch panel 4 is displayed. And then releasing the finger 80 from the software keyboard. That is, the locus drawn by the finger 80 on the touch panel 4 by the third slide action reaches the software keyboard from the end of the detection range of the touch panel 4. The control unit 31 detects from the input coordinates output from the touch panel 4 that such a third slide action has been performed. Further, the control unit 31 detects the distance and speed at which the finger 80 slides on the touch panel 4 based on the input coordinates, and the distance is equal to or greater than a third threshold and / or the speed is a second threshold. In the above case, it is determined that the third slide action has been performed, and control to switch the displayed software keyboard is performed. The switching display of the software keyboard is performed by an animation display as shown in FIG. Thereby, an animation display corresponding to the third slide action is performed, and the user can perform an intuitive operation.

Note that the third threshold value may be smaller than the first threshold value. That is, when the finger 80 is slid out of the touch panel 4 (second action), or when the finger 80 is slid out of the touch panel 4 (third action), the finger 80 is slid within the touch panel 4 (first action). ), The action may be detected at a short distance.

Note that the animation display performed by the sliding action in the right direction is the same as when the “right switching button” described in step 203 in FIG. 7 is operated. The animation displayed by the leftward sliding action is the same as when the “left switching button” is operated.

Next, switching processing for switching the type of characters input from the hiragana input software keyboard 54 will be described. In the above description, it is assumed that the alphabet input keyboard 50 shown in FIG. 3 is used for inputting alphabets, while the numerical symbol input keyboard 53 shown in FIG. 5 is used for inputting numbers and symbols. did. Similarly, when inputting hiragana, the hiragana input keyboard 54 shown in FIG. 6 is used. However, in the present invention, other character types such as katakana are input with the same key arrangement as the hiragana input keyboard 54. Enable. FIG. 10 shows a software keyboard to which characters other than hiragana and hiragana are assigned with the same key arrangement as the hiragana input keyboard 54 and a character type switching key 60 for switching the character type. When the control unit 31 displays the hiragana input keyboard 54, first, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), the controller 31 switches the key displaying the hiragana and the character type to katakana. A hiragana input keyboard 54a having a character type switching key 60a is displayed. When the control unit 31 detects from the input coordinates notified from the touch panel 4 that the character type switching key 60a is operated by the user, as shown in FIG. A hiragana input keyboard 54b having a displayed key and a character type switching key 60b for switching the character type to a lowercase alphabet is displayed. When the control unit 31 detects from the input coordinates notified from the touch panel 4 that the character type switching key 60b has been operated by the user, as shown in FIG. A hiragana input keyboard 54c having a key on which alphabets are displayed and a character type switching key 60c for switching the character type to the capital letter alphabet is displayed. When the control unit 31 detects from the input coordinates notified from the touch panel 4 that the character type switching key 60c is operated by the user, as shown in FIG. A hiragana input keyboard 54d having a key on which alphabets are displayed and a character type switching key 60d for switching the character type to a symbol is displayed. When the control unit 31 detects from the input coordinates notified from the touch panel 4 that the character type switching key 60d has been operated by the user, as shown in FIG. A hiragana input keyboard 54e having a displayed key and a character type switching key 60e for switching the character type to a number is displayed. When the control unit 31 detects from the input coordinates notified from the touch panel 4 that the character type switching key 60e has been operated by the user, as shown in FIG. A hiragana input keyboard 54f having a displayed key and a character type switching key 60f for switching the character type to hiragana is displayed.

The hiragana input keyboards 54a to 54f are switched by displaying the animation described with reference to FIG. 8 by the display control of the control unit 31 so that the user can intuitively understand the switching. In the above description, the switching process of the hiragana input keyboards 54a to 54f has been described as being executed by the control unit 31 when the control unit 31 detects an operation on the character type switching keys 60a to 60f. The control unit 31 may execute the switching process when the control unit 31 detects the slide action described with reference to FIG.

In the description with reference to FIG. 10, it has been described that each time the character type switching keys 60a to 60f are operated, hiragana, katakana, lowercase alphabet, uppercase alphabet, symbol, number, hiragana, etc. are switched in order. May be arbitrarily set by the user. FIG. 11 shows a state in which the order setting window 62 for setting the order is displayed on the main display 10. The control unit 31 switches the above order by an operation from the user through the touch panel 4 and records this information in the storage unit 32. Thereafter, the control unit 31 displays the character type switching keys 60a to 60f on the hiragana input keyboards 54a to 54f based on the order information stored in the storage unit 31, and the character type switching keys 60a to 60f are displayed. When operated, the control unit 31 displays on the main display 10 hiragana input keyboards 54a to 54f for inputting characters of the type corresponding to the operated key. In addition, the control unit 31 counts the usage frequency of each of the hiragana input keyboards 54a to 54f, rearranges the order from the highest usage frequency according to the count result, and records this order information in the storage unit 32. In this way, similar display control may be performed according to this order.

Next, the highlighting process for highlighting the operated key will be described. In the case of a mechanical key, the user can recognize that the user has pressed the key by feeling the touch when operating the key. However, the character input using the touch panel 4 has a problem that it is difficult for the user to feel the key operation because the user does not feel that the key is depressed. Therefore, in the present invention, highlighting processing for recognizing the key operated by the user is performed by changing the display of the operated key. FIG. 12 shows an example in which the operated key is highlighted. In the key highlighting process shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 31 detects a key operated on the basis of input coordinates given from the touch panel 4 (hereinafter referred to as an operation key), and at a position where the operation key is displayed. The main display 10 is controlled so as to perform display with the shades reversed and to perform normal display above the position. According to this, even if the operation key is hidden by the operated finger or the like, it is displayed on the operation key, so that the user can easily recognize which operation key is. FIG. 13 highlights the operation keys by inverting the display of the operation keys. For example, in the example of FIG. 13, the background of a key that has not been operated is displayed in white and the character is displayed in black. In this case, the control unit 31 controls the main display 10 so that the background of the operation keys is displayed in black and the characters are displayed in white. In this way, by reversing the shade of the operation key display, the user can easily recognize which key has been operated.

Next, character input processing using the hiragana input software keyboard 54 will be described. In the hiragana input method described with reference to FIG. 6, the character that the user desires to input is specified according to the number of times the keys of the hiragana input software keyboard 54 are continuously operated. Instead of this, a hiragana input method as shown in FIG. 14 may be adopted. That is, when the control unit 31 detects that the key of the hiragana input software keyboard 54 is operated based on the input coordinates given from the touch panel 4, each of the control unit 31 corresponds to a plurality of characters assigned to the operated key. The display 10 is controlled to display the key to be displayed in the assigned character display area 55. Then, when the control unit 31 detects that the character key displayed in the assigned character display area 55 has been operated based on the input coordinates given from the touch panel 4, the character assigned to the operated character key is displayed. Display and accept input. In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, the character key “ta” is operated as illustrated in FIG. 14A, whereby the control unit 31 performs “ta” “chi” associated with the character key “ta”. Character keys corresponding to “tsu”, “te”, and “to” are displayed in the assigned character display area 55. Then, as shown in FIG. 14B, when the character key “to” displayed in the assigned character display area 55 is operated, the control unit 31 displays the character “to” at the cursor position and inputs it. Accept. According to such an input method, it is possible to input with two operations per character, and the user can input characters with few operations, which is highly convenient.

Next, the user key will be described. The user key is used to increase the convenience of input by allowing the user to arbitrarily register characters or the like that are frequently input in advance. FIG. 15 shows a display example of the user key 61. In the example illustrated in FIG. 15, “1”, “2”, “!”, “◯”, “?”, And “tsu”, which are considered to be frequently used by the user, are registered as user keys 61. . Character identification information registered by the user is recorded in the storage unit 40 as definition data, and based on this definition data, the control unit 31 controls the display 10 to display the user key 61. For example, when the user key 61 in which “!” Is defined is operated, the control unit 31 detects that the key corresponding to “!” Is operated based on the input coordinates given from the touch panel 4, The character “!” Is displayed at the cursor position to accept the input. According to the user key, the user can reduce the number of times of character type switching and character selection operations by previously registering frequently input characters. It should be noted that registration of frequently used characters may be arbitrarily performed by the user, or the control unit 31 counts the usage frequency, generates the definition data based on the count result, and stores it in the storage unit 40. It may be recorded.

As described above, in the electronic device having the above-described configuration, when a slide action is applied to the software keyboard displayed on the main display 10, the software keyboard is switched to another software keyboard with animation display. Since the software keyboard is switched and displayed by the animation in this way, the user can have an impression as if a plurality of software keyboards are connected and are easily operated intuitively.

In the embodiment described here, a mobile phone has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, and can be applied to, for example, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a wired terminal, or a small information processing device having no communication function. In the present embodiment, the case where three software keyboards are switched has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a case where two or four or more software keyboards are provided. The key layout is not limited to that shown in the figure, and various modifications can be made. Further, the slide action and the animation display have been described by taking the left and right direction as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the user applies a vertical slide action to the software keyboard, the control unit 31 may perform switching display to another software keyboard with an animation display that moves the software keyboard up and down. . Alternatively, when the user applies a sliding action in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction to the software keyboard, as shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 31 is accompanied by an animation display that moves the software keyboard to the back side of the screen. The display may be switched to another software keyboard. That is, as shown in FIG. 16A, a plurality of

software keyboards

50, 53, and 54 are displayed so as to overlap each other. When a slide action is given to the software keyboard 50, as shown in FIG. 16 (b), an animation is displayed in which the software keyboard 50 displayed at the top is moved to the bottom, thereby FIG. As shown in (c), another software keyboard 53 in the next order is displayed at the top. Even when such animation display is performed, the control unit 31 detects that a slide action has been given based on the input coordinates given from the touch panel 4. When detecting the slide action, the control unit 31 controls the display 10 to perform the animation display described above.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be embodied by modifying the constituent elements within a range not departing from the gist of the invention. Various inventions may be formed by proper combinations of a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in each embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile phone 4 Touch panel 5 Side key 7 Microphone 8 Speaker 9 Battery 10 Main display 21 Antenna 31 Control part 32 Memory | storage part 34 Power supply circuit 50 Alphabetic software keyboard 51 Character input window 52 Software keyboard switching button 53 Numerical symbol software keyboard 54 Hiragana Software keyboard 55 Assigned character display area 60 Character type switching button 61 User button display area

Claims

Display means for displaying video;
Detecting means provided on the display means for detecting an operation on the video;
Input control for controlling the display means to display a first software keyboard, specifying a predetermined character from an operation position on the first software keyboard detected by the detecting means, and receiving the specified predetermined character input Means,
When it is determined that a request to switch from the first software keyboard to the second software keyboard is given based on the detection result of the detection means, the display means is controlled to display the first software keyboard on the display means. Display control means for performing display control for moving outside the area, and for performing display control for moving the second software keyboard from outside the display area of the display means into the display area following the movement display of the first software keyboard An electronic device comprising:
2. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit determines that the switching request is given when a detection result of the detection unit indicates a trajectory having a length longer than a preset length. Electronic equipment.
When the detection result of the detection means is a trajectory that continues from the position where the first software keyboard is displayed to the end of the detection range of the detection means, the display control means outputs the second from the first software keyboard. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that a request to switch to a software keyboard is given.
When the detection result of the detection means is a trajectory that continues from the end of the detection range of the detection means to the position where the first software keyboard is displayed, the display control means outputs the second from the first software keyboard. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that a request to switch to a software keyboard is given.
The display control means controls the display means to move the first software keyboard out of the display area of the display means when the detection result of the detection means is a locus indicating the first direction. And performing display control for moving the second software keyboard from outside the display area of the display means into the display area following the movement display of the first software keyboard, while the detection result of the detection means Is a trajectory indicating the second direction, the display means is controlled to perform display control for moving the first software keyboard out of the display area of the display means, and the movement of the first software keyboard Following display, display control is performed to move the third software keyboard from outside the display area of the display means into the display area. The electronic device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized and.
Display means for displaying video;
Detecting means provided on the display means for detecting an operation on the video;
An input for controlling the display means to display the first software keyboard, to identify a predetermined character from the operation position on the first software keyboard detected by the detecting means, and to accept the specified predetermined character input Control means;
When it is determined that a request to switch from the first software keyboard to the second software keyboard is given based on the detection result of the detection means, the display means is controlled to control a part of the first software keyboard; And a display control means for performing display control for displaying the second software keyboard instead of the first software keyboard after a part of the second software keyboard is simultaneously displayed on the display means. Electronics.
Display means for displaying video;
Detecting means provided on the display means for detecting an operation on the video;
An input for controlling the display means to display the first software keyboard, to identify a predetermined character from the operation position on the first software keyboard detected by the detecting means, and to accept the specified predetermined character input Control means;
When it is determined that a request to switch from the first software keyboard to the second software keyboard is given based on the detection result of the detection means, the display means is controlled to display the first software keyboard on the display means. Display control means for performing display control for moving outside the area, and for performing display control for moving the second software keyboard from outside the display area of the display means into the display area following the movement display of the first software keyboard As a program for functioning electronic devices.