JP2008276481A - Personal digital assistant - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a personal digital assistant which has both convenience and operability in inputting characters based on key operations. <P>SOLUTION: In a cellphone 1, text information is input (updated) in input information according to the number of continuous operations of a key 211 where the same key as a key which is operated in the previous time (for example, a key corresponding to the "A" line) is operated continuously for a certain period of time, and when the detected key operation is not one of the operations of the key (for example, a key corresponding to the "A" line) operated before passing the certain period of time and the operation is long pressing, at Step S24, input object position information is added and updated by one character without inputting new information or updating the input information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information terminal, and more particularly to a portable information terminal that accepts input of a character by operating a key and associates a plurality of characters with a single key.

  Conventionally, in a portable information terminal such as a cellular phone, input of characters via a numeric keypad or the like has been accepted, and kanji conversion for input characters has been performed.

  Note that portable information terminals are generally downsized to ensure portability. Therefore, it is difficult for the input unit to include many keys such as a keyboard for operating a personal computer. That is, the user inputs characters such as hiragana composing 50 sounds using a key such as a numeric keypad that is smaller than the number of characters to be input. Therefore, conventionally, in a portable information terminal, one key is associated with a plurality of characters when inputting characters, and the number of times each key is operated, etc. From this, the character to be entered was determined.

  As an example of a conventional technology related to such a portable information terminal, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-209246), a character group divided into a plurality of groups for one key. There is a technique for switching the group to be input by not operating the key for a predetermined time.

  Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-264620), a technique of providing a special operation unit (jog dial) to determine input for a character being input is disclosed.

  In addition, when it is desired to continuously input a plurality of characters associated with the same key with respect to a conventional portable information terminal, when determining the input of the first character, a key other than the key is selected. The user sometimes feels inconvenient for the point that it is necessary to operate. Specifically, for example, when a character of “ka line” (“ka”, “ki”, “ku”, “ke”, “ko”) is associated with a certain key, the user says “kaki”. Suppose you want to enter a character string and decide. In this case, the user operates the certain key once to display “ka” as the first character of the line, and then determines the input of the “ka” by operating another key. However, since it is necessary to operate another key in order to move the cursor to the next position, it is necessary to change the position of the operating finger, which may be inconvenient.

  With respect to such a point, in the conventional portable information terminal, as disclosed in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-108159), the input of the character being input is determined by long-pressing the key, A technique for moving the cursor to the display position of the next character is disclosed.

  Also, as disclosed in Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-207554), if a state in which a certain key is not operated for a predetermined time is continued, the input is performed immediately before that key is operated thereafter. The input is determined for the character that is in the middle state and the input has not been determined, and the cursor is moved to the next character input position, and the character associated with one operation on the key is input at the position. There was a technology that displayed in the middle state.

Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 5 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-259032), by measuring the time from when the key is pressed down to when the key is pressed up (released from the pressed-down state), operation on the key is performed. Is a long-press operation or not (short-press operation), and if a given key is operated continuously and the last one operation is a long-press operation The input of a character that was in the middle of input and was not determined immediately before the input is determined, and the cursor is moved to the next character input position and associated with one operation on the key at that position. There has been a technology that displays displayed characters while they are being input.
JP 2006-209246 A JP 2003-264620 A JP 2005-108159 A JP 2002-207554 A JP 2002-259032 A

  For the reasons described above, when a plurality of characters are associated with one key regarding character input by key operation on a portable information terminal, it has been desired to make the key operation at the time of character input as easy as possible. It was.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, when a long press of a key is started for character determination, the displayed character corresponds to the operation immediately before the character desired to be determined. It is thought that it is a character. Specifically, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, when the user wants to determine the character to input the character “ki” by operating the key corresponding to “ka line” as described above, It was necessary to start long-pressing the above key in a state where the character corresponding to the previous operation of “ki” was displayed in a state before determination, that is, for example, “ka” was displayed. . Specifically, when the first press of the key when starting a long press is detected by the portable information terminal, the displayed character is changed from “ka” to “ki”, and then the portable information terminal When the continuation of the pressed state is detected and it is determined that the button is long-pressed, the character “KI” is determined as the input character. Thus, in the technique as disclosed in Patent Document 3, the user needs to start a long press operation for determining a character from when the state before the intended state is displayed. However, there was a problem of lack of convenience.

  Further, in the technique disclosed in the prior art 4, even if the user does not intend to determine the character, the character is determined if the user does not inadvertently perform any operation for the predetermined time. Therefore, there was a case where it was thought that this technology was still not convenient.

  In the technique as disclosed in the prior art 5, the portable information terminal always has to determine whether the user performs a long press operation or a short press operation. For this reason, character input is performed after the user presses the key and when the user presses the key. Note that, among the push-down operation and the push-up operation, the push-down operation is an operation reflecting the intention of the user's positive operation. For this reason, in the technique as disclosed in the technical document 5, the process is always executed in a manner that cannot reflect the intention of the user's positive operation when inputting characters, and there is a lack of operability. There was a case.

  The present invention has been conceived in view of the actual situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable information terminal having convenience and operability in character input based on key operations.

  A portable information terminal according to the present invention includes a display unit, an operation unit, a first storage unit that stores character specifying information that is information for specifying a character in association with position information, and a continuous operation on the operation unit. Second storage means for storing the number of times and the character specifying information in association with each other, and the position information associated with the input character specifying information in the first storage means in response to an operation on the operating means, and Based on the association in the first storage means, the information specifying means for specifying the type of the character specifying information to be input, the third storage means for storing the number of times the operation means has been operated continuously, The display means includes display control means for displaying a character corresponding to the character specifying information at a position corresponding to the position information, and the information specifying means corresponds to the operation means. When the operation means is operated again before a predetermined time elapses after the operation on the operation means is completed, the operation of the operation means is started. Accordingly, in the first storage unit, the character specifying information stored in association with the number of times stored in the third storage unit is associated with the position information specified by the information specifying unit. And when the operation means is operated after the predetermined time has elapsed since the previous operation, the information is stored in the first storage means at the timing when the operation on the operation means is started. Without performing the operation, the number of times in the third storage means is cleared and the position information is advanced by one character in response to the completion of the operation on the operation means. And features.

  In the portable information terminal according to the present invention, the information specifying unit may be configured to operate the operation unit after the operation unit is operated after the predetermined time has elapsed since the operation unit was operated last time. When the operation is completed before the specific time has elapsed, the first storage unit is associated with the number of times stored in the third storage unit according to the timing at which the operation unit is ended. The character specifying information stored in the above is stored in association with the position information specified by the information specifying means, and when the specific time has elapsed from the start to the end of the operation on the operation means, In response to completion of the operation on the operation means, the number of times in the third storage means is cleared and the position information is advanced by one character. Door is preferable.

  Moreover, in the portable information terminal according to the present invention, the operation means includes a plurality of operation parts for specifying an input character, and the first storage means is continuous for one operation part. The number of operations and the character specifying information are stored in association with each other, the third storage means stores the number of times that the same operation part is operated continuously, and another operation part is operated. In this case, the number of operations stored so far is cleared, and the information specifying means allows the operation part to perform another operation before a predetermined time elapses after the operation on the operation part ends. When a part is operated again without being operated, the number of times stored in the third storage means in the first storage means in response to the start of the operation of the certain operation part Remembered associated with The character specifying information is stored in association with the position information specified by the information specifying means, and after the predetermined time has elapsed since a certain operation part was last operated for the operation part, Alternatively, when an operation is started after an operation is performed on another operation portion after the previous operation on the operation portion is completed, the operation on the operation portion is completed. Preferably, the number of times in the third storage means is cleared and the position information is advanced by one character.

  In the portable information terminal according to the present invention, the operation means is a key operated by being pressed, and the information specifying means detects the key by detecting that the key is pressed. It is preferable to detect the end of the operation with respect to the key operation means by detecting the start of the operation with respect to the operation means and detecting that the press on the key is released.

  According to the present invention, if the user operates the operation means again before the predetermined time has elapsed since the previous operation, the time at the first storage means at that time is determined according to the timing when the operation is started. The character specifying information associated with the position information is determined according to the number of continuous operations for the operation means stored in the third storage means at that time. In addition, when the user operates the operation unit after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous operation, character identification information associated with the operation unit in the first storage unit is input. The position information is advanced by one character.

  Therefore, in the portable information terminal, when the user continuously operates the same operation means within the predetermined time described above, the display content on the display means is reflected at a timing reflecting the intention of the user's active operation. Since this corresponds to the operation, the portable information terminal can ensure operability. In addition, when the user operates the same operation means with an interval of the predetermined time or more, it is possible to change the character input target position. It can be secured.

Hereinafter, a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are external views of the mobile phone 1. The mobile phone 1 is mainly composed of an upper housing 2 and a lower housing 3. In the mobile phone 1, the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are connected to each other by a slide mechanism (not shown) so as to be opened and closed. 1A shows a state in which the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are closed, and FIG. 1B shows a state in which the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are opened.

The upper housing 2 is provided with a display 11, a mouthpiece 12, and a mouthpiece 13.
Operation keys 21, 22, 23 </ b> A to 23 </ b> D and 24 to 28 are provided on the surface of the lower housing 3 that is covered with the upper housing 2 when the cellular phone 1 is closed. The operation key 21 is used when inputting a telephone number or characters. The operation keys 22 include keys (four-way keys) for moving the cursor in four directions, up, down, left, and right, and keys (decision keys) that are operated when selecting information displayed on the display 11. The operation keys 23A to 23D are keys that are operated when a function given to each key is executed. The operation keys 24, 25, and 26 are the same. The operation keys 27 and 28 are keys operated when inputting “*” and “#”, respectively.

  Side keys 31 to 36 are provided on the side surface of the lower housing 3. As can be understood from FIG. 1A, the side keys 31 to 36 can be operated even when the cellular phone 1 is closed.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the operation key 21 in FIG.
Referring to FIG. 2, operation keys 21 include keys 210 to 219 corresponding to numbers 0 to 9. Note that the key 210 corresponds to the numeral 0 and corresponds to “wa line” in character input. The keys 211 to 219 correspond to the numbers 1 to 9, respectively, and “A line”, “ka line”, “sa line”, “ta line”, “na line”, “ha line”, “ma line” in character input. ”,“ Ya line ”and“ ra line ”. A specific correspondence will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a hardware configuration of the mobile phone 1.
Referring to FIG. 3, mobile phone 1 and control unit 50 that controls the overall operation of mobile phone 1 are provided. The control unit 50 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The mobile phone 1 also includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) 51 that functions as a work area for the control unit 50.

  In the mobile phone 1, transmission / reception of information regarding a call and reception of a television broadcast wave are performed via an antenna 89. Radio waves related to a call are transmitted and received via the communication control unit 80. The television broadcast wave received by the antenna 89 is input to the control unit 50 via the tuner 81, the conversion unit 82, and the encoder 83.

  The mobile phone 1 includes a receiver 56 that outputs sound during a call, a microphone 58 that inputs sound, and a speaker 57 that outputs alarm sound, sound of a television broadcast program, and the like. The mobile phone 1 also includes a camera 52 (not shown) and a state detection unit 59 that detects the open / close state of the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 in the mobile phone 1.

  The cellular phone 1 further includes a storage unit 60 that stores various information such as a program executed by the CPU of the control unit 50.

  The storage unit 60 includes an input information storage unit 61, a conversion information storage unit 62, a continuous operation count storage unit 63, an image designation information storage unit 64, an image information storage unit 65, an input target position storage unit 66, and a time storage unit 67. including.

  The input information storage unit 61 stores input information. In the present embodiment, input information is one piece of information constituting a document, and is information that associates position information with text information. The position information corresponds to the display position on the display 11 when, for example, a document is displayed on the display 11. The text information is information for specifying characters used in the document. In the present embodiment, the characters are not limited to narrowly-defined characters such as kanji, hiragana, and alphabet, but include images (for example, symbols, pictograms, etc.) that are displayed in response to key operations. . An example of the input information is shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 4, text information such as “000A” is stored in association with position information such as “0001”. Each position information corresponds to, for example, position information for one half-width character when a character is input. In the example shown in FIG. 4, text information is stored in association with each position information. However, when characters are input in full-width, for one full-width character (that is, two half-width characters) One piece of text information is stored.

  When a document is created, position information (input target position information) that is a character input target is stored in the input target position storage unit 66. In addition, as shown in Table 1, any of the position information included in the input information is stored in the input target position information.

  When a document is created, the control unit 50 displays a cursor (for example, a cursor 131 described later) at a position specified by position information stored in the input target position information on the display 11.

  The conversion information storage unit 62 stores information (conversion table) that associates the number of times each key included in the operation key 21 is continuously operated (hereinafter referred to as “continuous operation number” as appropriate) and the input character. is doing. Table 2 shows an example of a conversion table used when characters are input in the hiragana input mode.

  Referring to Table 2, in this embodiment, a plurality of kana characters are assigned to each of keys 210 to 219. For example, if the number of consecutive operations increases from 1 to 10 with respect to the key 211, the input characters are “a”, “i”, “u”, “e”, “o”, “a”, “i”, “ぅ”, “e”. ”And“ ぉ ”. Table 2 shows a state in which the number of continuous operations is associated with the input character. Actually, in the conversion table, the number of continuous operations is associated with text information. The “characters to be input” are characters specified by “text information that the control unit 50 stores in association with the position information of the input information at that time”.

  When the number of continuous operations of the key 211 becomes “11”, the character information corresponding to the 11th time is not stored in the key 211 of Table 2. Therefore, the control unit 50 “A” whose number of continuous operations is “1”. The character corresponding to is stored in the input information.

  In this way, the control unit 50 changes the character input according to the association in the conversion table according to the number of continuous operations of each key, and the number of continuous operations of each key is associated with the character in the conversion table. When the number of continuous operations is exceeded, changing the characters input according to the increase in the number of continuous operations from the number of continuous operations “1” again is hereinafter referred to as “turning the toggle” as appropriate.

  The continuous operation number storage unit 63 is information (continuous operation) that specifies the number of times that a part of the operation keys 21, 22, 23A to 23D, 24 to 28 (including at least the keys 210 to 219) is operated continuously. Frequency information). An example of the continuous operation number information is shown in Table 3.

  In Table 3, the number of consecutive operations is stored in association with information (key identification information) that identifies which key has been operated continuously. In addition, the control part 50 updates the memory content of continuous operation frequency information, when the key different from the key specified by the key specific information of continuous operation frequency information is operated. That is, in such a case, the key specifying information is updated to information specifying a newly operated key, and the number of continuous operations is updated to “1”.

  The image designation information storage unit 64 is information (image designation information) associated with text information described with reference to FIG. 4 and the like and information (address information) for specifying a storage location in the storage unit 60 of image data representing characters. ) Is remembered. Table 4 shows an example of the image designation information.

  In Table 4, each piece of text information is stored in association with the address information. When creating the document, the control unit 50 refers to the input information, and displays the image stored in the image designation information associated with the text information at a position corresponding to the position information on the display 11. The image data as described above is stored in the image information storage unit 65, for example.

The time storage unit 67 is a storage area that is appropriately used in a character input process described later.
In addition, the mobile phone 1 includes an external I / F (interface) 53, and the control unit 50 provides information on an external recording medium such as an SD memory card (Secure Digital memory card) 500 via the external I / F 53. Read and write

  The mobile phone 1 has various functions such as a calendar function for managing schedule information in association with a calendar, an alarm function for executing an operation such as outputting an alarm sound at a preset time, and a calculator function. In the cellular phone 1, a known technique can be adopted as a technique for realizing these functions unless otherwise specified in the present specification, and therefore, a duplicate description will not be given.

  The storage unit 60 of the cellular phone 1 stores various information such as a program executed by the control unit 50.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 50 can detect pressing, long pressing, and pressing for various keys including the keys 210 to 219. Here, these states regarding each key will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the key depression. FIG. 5 (A) shows the state of the key before being depressed, and FIG. 5 (B) shows the key after being depressed. It is a figure shown typically.

  Each of FIGS. 5 to 7 shows a state in which the key K (which is a generic name of the keys 210 to 219) is pushed into the lower housing 3 by being pressed. Yes. 5 to 7, in order to clearly show the displacement of the key K, the height of the portion located on the outer periphery of the operation key such as the key 210 in the lower housing 3 is used as the reference plane F. Show.

  When a force is applied to the key K in the direction of arrow D1 from the state shown in FIG. 5A, the upper end of the key K approaches the reference plane F as shown in FIG. Displace.

  FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are diagrams for explaining a long-pressed state of the key. As shown in FIG. 6A, when a force in the direction indicated by the arrow D1 is continuously applied to the state in which the key K is pressed toward the inside of the lower housing 3, As shown in FIG. 6B, the key K is maintained in a state where it is pushed in the inner direction of the lower housing 3.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are diagrams for explaining the pushed-up state of the key.
When the key K is pushed into the inside of the lower housing 3 as shown in FIG. 7A, when the pressing in the direction of the arrow D1 in FIG. By displacing in the direction indicated by the arrow D2 by the force, as shown in FIG. 7B, the original position before being pressed is restored.

  In this specification, displacing the key K as shown in FIGS. 5 (A) to 5 (B) is called key depression, and as shown in FIGS. 6 (A) and 6 (B). Continuing the pressing state with respect to K is referred to as long key pressing, and displacing the key K as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7B is referred to as key pressing. The key depression in the present embodiment corresponds to the start of operation on the operation means (or operation part), and the key push-up corresponds to the end of operation on the operation means (or operation part).

  Next, with respect to a process (character input process) for inputting characters (text information) as input information based on a user's operation when creating a document in the cellular phone 1, FIGS. The description will be given with reference.

  It should be noted that the character input process is started (started by the control unit 50 when any one of the operation keys 21, 22, 23A to 23D, 24 to 28 is depressed).

  Referring to FIG. 8, in the character input process, when detecting a depression event, control unit 50 firstly, in step S10, the depression event detected at that time corresponds to keys (keys 210 to 210) corresponding to 0-9. 219), it is determined whether or not the event is a pressing event, and if so, the process proceeds to step S14, and if not, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, the control unit 50 executes an operation corresponding to the key that has been pressed, and advances the process to step S26 (see FIG. 9).

  In step S12, for example, when the part corresponding to the right direction of the four-way key of the operation key 22 is operated, the input target position information is added and updated by one character. In this case, for example, when the right portion is operated in a state where the character “O” is being input, the character input target position is the position next to “O” (if horizontal writing, Move to the position on the right. As a result, the character “o” is in a state where input is determined. Note that the state in which input is determined refers to a state in which a character string that is a conversion source such as kanji conversion is determined as a part of a character string to be subjected to conversion processing. At this time, the display on the display 11 is also changed so that the cursor is displayed at the position where the character next to “O” is displayed from the state where only the reverse display of “O” is displayed. . Further, the amount of the input target position information updated here varies depending on whether the character input at that time is a full-width character that is a half-width character.

  In step S14, the control unit 50 determines whether the pressing event determined in step S10 is a key for inputting a hiragana in the same row as the previously operated key, that is, the previously operated key and It is determined whether or not the keys are the same, and if so, the process proceeds to step S18, and if not, the process proceeds to step S16. Specifically, this determination is based on, for example, whether or not the key subjected to the pressing event determined in step S10 is the same as the key specified by the key specifying information in the continuous operation count information. Made.

  In step S16, the control unit 50 temporarily confirms the character being input, and sets the character corresponding to the first operation on the line corresponding to the key that detected the pressing event in step S10 in the text information field of the input information. , And the process proceeds to step S26 (see FIG. 9). Here, the input of a new character is performed after the input target position information is updated by adding one character (of the character being input). As a result, when the key 212 is operated while the character “O” is being input, the display 11 displays only the character “O” and moves to the display position of the character next to “O”. The character “ka” corresponding to the first operation of the key 212 (see Table 2) is displayed. That is, in this case, “Oka” is displayed on the display (display column 130 described later).

  On the other hand, in step S18, the control unit 50 determines whether or not a certain period has elapsed since the time recorded in step S28 described later. Here, the fixed period is, for example, 400 msec. If it is determined that the time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S22 (see FIG. 9). If it is determined that the time has not yet elapsed, the process proceeds to step S20.

  In step S20, the control unit 50 updates the text information in the input information associated with the position information specified by the input target position information to information for specifying characters according to the number of consecutive operations of the operated key. Then, the process proceeds to step S26.

  Referring to FIG. 9, in step S22, control unit 50 determines whether or not a long press event that has occurred following a press event has been detected. If it is determined that it has been detected, the process proceeds to step S24. . On the other hand, if a long-press event is not detected, that is, if a push-up event is detected before a period (for example, 2.0 sec) for which a long press is determined after detecting a push-down event, control is performed. The unit 50 proceeds with the process to step S30.

  In step S24, the control unit 50 adds and updates the input target position information for one character (of the character being input) without inputting or updating new information to the input information. Thereby, the cursor is displayed at the input position of the character next to the character while the character that was being input (the character that has been displayed in reverse video on the display 11) is left as it is. In step S24, the key specifying information and the continuous operation count in the continuous operation count information are cleared.

  Next, in step S26, the control unit 50 determines whether or not a push-up event has been detected. If it is determined that it has been detected, the control unit 50 proceeds to step S28.

  On the other hand, in step S30, the control unit 50 determines whether or not a push-up event has been detected. If it is determined that it has been detected, the process proceeds to step S32.

  In step S32, as in step S20, the control unit 50 specifies text information in the input information associated with the position information specified by the input target position information, and specifies characters corresponding to the number of consecutive key operations. The information is updated to step S28.

  In step S28, the control part 50 records the time at the time in the time memory | storage part 67, and returns a process to step S10. The control unit 50 refers to the time measured by a timer provided in the control unit 50, and obtains the current time. In addition, the control unit 50 refers to the time recorded in the time storage unit 67 in step S18. Note that the information recorded in the time storage unit 67 is updated every time the process of step S28 is executed.

  In the present embodiment described above, when a pressing event is detected for any of the keys 210 to 219 used for character selection in character input, a certain period of time has elapsed since the same key was detected last time. Is detected before the elapse of time (when NO is determined in step S18), the process related to character input based on the detection of the key depression event (text information specifying the character corresponding to the number of consecutive operations). Input for input information) is performed. On the other hand, if any one of these keys is operated again (a pressing event is detected) after a certain period of time has elapsed since the previous pressing event was detected (YES in step S22) ) The cursor is sent to the position ahead by one character without changing the characters input so far (step S24). Specifically, in step S24, the control unit 50 clears the key specifying information and the continuous operation count in the continuous operation count information even though the same key is operated continuously, and the input target position information. The input target position is updated by adding one character.

  As a result, in the cellular phone 1 of the present embodiment, when any of the keys 210 to 219 is continuously operated during character input, the key is operated with an interval of the above-described fixed period. For example, it is possible to move the cursor to the input position of the next character while keeping the character input so far as it is.

  This will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14 are diagrams partially illustrating an example of the mail creation screen displayed on the display 11. The following description corresponds to the description of the mail creation screen when the following operations from the first stage to the fourth stage are sequentially performed on the mobile phone 1.

1st stage: One long press operation on the key 211 2nd stage: Short press operation on the key 211 continuously (not spaced for a certain period or longer) 3rd stage: After a certain period or longer, the key 211 is touched Single long press operation 4th stage: Continuous short press operation (not spaced over a certain period of time) with respect to the key 211 First, referring to FIG. 10, a screen 100 shows an application executed on the mobile phone 1. A display column 110 that displays information related to the type, a display column 120 that displays information related to the gin input mode that is employed at that time, and a display column 130 that displays an image showing the input characters. Is included.

  FIG. 10 shows a state where no characters have been input yet. Specifically, in the input information (see FIG. 4), the associated text information is not stored for any position information. In such a state, in the input target position information (see Table 1), the position information of the first character is stored as the input target position. As a result, the cursor 131 is displayed at a position corresponding to such position information (the leftmost side of the uppermost line) in the display field 130.

  FIG. 11 shows a display screen when a long press operation (the first stage operation) is performed on the key 211 (the key corresponding to the row) in the state shown in FIG.

  In this case, with further reference to FIG. 8, a determination of YES is made in step S10, but a determination of NO is made in step S14. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the character corresponding to the first operation of the key 211 is displayed at the position to be input in the display field 130, and the cursor 131 is moved to the target position for the next character input. Is displayed. At this time, the input target position information is updated by adding one character from the state shown in FIG. 10, and the continuous operation count in the continuous operation count information (see Table 3) is cleared (updated to “0”). Is done.

  In FIG. 12, from the state shown in FIG. 11, the key 211 has been continuously operated five times without leaving the above-described interval (the second stage operation has been performed). ) Shows the screen that is displayed.

  Here, the change of the display content on the display 11 by the operation with respect to the key 211 continued 5 times is demonstrated in detail with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG.

  First, when the first operation on the key 21 is performed, the operated key is the key 211, and thus the process proceeds from step S10 to step S14.

  In step S14, it is determined whether or not the key is the same as the previously operated key. Actually, the key is the same as the previously operated key, but the operation on the previous key 211 (the display content of the display 11 is changed from the one shown in FIG. 10 to the one shown in FIG. 11). In step S24, the key specifying information and the continuous operation count in the continuous operation count information (see Table 3) are cleared in step S24. Further, in step S14, the control unit 50 specifies information that specifies the key that has detected an event such as pressing immediately before, and keys that are stored in the key specifying information in the continuous operation count information (see Table 3). It is judged whether or not. Therefore, in the first operation (among the operations for the five consecutive keys 211 described above), NO is determined in step S14, and the process proceeds to step S16. Thereby, in the display field 130, the character corresponding to the first operation of the key 211 is displayed at the position where the cursor 131 of FIG. That is, the display content in the display column 130 is “Oh”. At this time, in the continuous operation count information (see Table 3), information specifying the key 211 is stored as key specifying information, and the continuous operation count is set to “1”.

  After the process of step S16, the process proceeds to step S26 as shown in FIG. 9, and when a push-up event is detected for the key 211 being operated, the time at that time is stored in the time storage unit in step S28. 67. Even if the push-up event is detected in step S26, the cellular phone 1 updates or updates the text information in the process directly related to the character input (input information (see FIG. 4)) at the timing when the push-up event is detected. The update of the input target position in the input target position information (see Table 1) is not performed.

  If the second operation is performed from the end of the first operation (during 5 consecutive times) until the above-described fixed period has elapsed, YES is determined in steps S10 and S14 for the second operation. A determination is made, and a determination of NO is made in step S18, and the process proceeds to step S20. In step S20, the number of continuous operations for the operated key is updated by 1 and information for specifying a character corresponding to the number of continuous operations is text corresponding to the position information (input target position) at that time. Information is stored as input information (see FIG. 4). Then, after the process proceeds to step S26, the process proceeds from step S26 to step S28 in response to the end of the operation on the key 211, and the time at that time is recorded in the time storage unit 67, and the step The process is returned to S10.

  For the third to fifth operations (among the five consecutive operations) described above, the same processing as that for the second operation described above is executed. Accordingly, the characters displayed at the position where the cursor 131 is displayed in the display field 130 in FIG. 11 are “I”, “U”, “E”, “O” in accordance with the second to fifth operations. And will be changed in order.

  The display content in the display column 130 after five consecutive operations is shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, in the display column 130, the character 132 by one operation on the key 211 shown as the first stage and the key 211 shown as the second stage are continuously displayed (at intervals within the predetermined period). ) The character 133 displayed by five operations is displayed.

  FIG. 13 shows the case where the key 211 is further operated once after the predetermined period has elapsed after the five consecutive operations on the key 211 in the second stage (the third stage operation has been performed). It is a figure which shows the display content of case.

  For the third stage operation, YES is determined in step S10 and step S14. Here, the determination of YES is made in step S14 because the process of step S24 for clearing the continuous operation count information is not executed for the fifth key operation in the second stage. In step S18, the operation in the third stage has an interval of a predetermined period or more after the fifth operation in the second stage is completed, and thus the process proceeds to step S22. Since the third stage operation is a long press operation, the process proceeds from step S22 to step S24. In step S24, the input target position information is added and updated by one character (of the character being input) without inputting new information as input information.

  As a result, in FIG. 13, the cursor 131 is displayed at the display position of the character next to the character 133 (the position adjacent to the right of the character 133) while the character 132 and the character 133 are displayed. FIG. 14 shows a state in which the screen 100 shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the display 11, and as a fourth stage, the key 211 is continuous (not spaced above the predetermined period). It is a figure which shows the screen 100 displayed on the display 11 when pushing operation is performed twice.

  By the operations on the key 211 for the first time in the fourth stage, the processing of step S10, step S14, and step S16 is executed, so that the display column 130 is positioned at the position where the cursor 131 of FIG. , The character (“A”) corresponding to the first operation of the key 211 is displayed.

  Then, when a short press operation is performed on the key 211 without leaving an interval of the above-described fixed period or more from that state, the process of step S10, step S14, step S18, and step S20 is performed, and then FIG. The character ("I") corresponding to the two operations of the key 211 is displayed at the position where the cursor 130 was displayed. This state is shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment described above, an example is shown in which an operation on the operation means (operation part) is started by pressing the key, and an operation on the operation means (operation part) is ended by pushing the key up (release of the push-down). However, the operation mode for the operation means (operation part) according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the operation mode may be such that the operation is started by touching the operation target area with a finger and the operation is ended by releasing the finger from the area (releasing the touch state).

  In the present embodiment described above, the first storage unit is configured by the input information storage unit 61 that stores input information.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, the 2nd memory | storage means is comprised by the conversion information memory | storage part 62 which memorize | stores a conversion table (refer Table 2).

  In the present embodiment, the input target position storage unit 66 that stores the input target position information constitutes a third storage unit of the operating means (operation part).

  Then, by operating the same key continuously before a certain period of time has passed, text information is input (updated) to the input information in accordance with the number of times of continuous operation of the key, and detected in step S20. If the key operation is not performed before the same key has passed for a certain period of time, if the operation is a long press, in step S24, new information is not input or updated without input. The information specifying means is configured by the control unit 50 that adds and updates the input target position information by one character.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the mobile telephone which is an example of the portable information terminal of this invention. It is an enlarged view of the operation key in FIG. 1 (B) and its periphery. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of FIG. 1 typically. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the input information memorize | stored in the input information storage part of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating pushing down operation of the key of the mobile telephone of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the long press operation about the key of the mobile telephone of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating pushing-up operation of the key of the mobile telephone of FIG. It is a flowchart of the character input process which the control part of the mobile telephone of FIG. 1 performs. It is a flowchart of the character input process which the control part of the mobile telephone of FIG. 1 performs. It is a figure which shows partially an example of the screen displayed on the display of the mobile telephone of FIG. It is a figure which shows partially an example of the screen displayed on the display of the mobile telephone of FIG. It is a figure which shows partially an example of the screen displayed on the display of the mobile telephone of FIG. It is a figure which shows partially an example of the screen displayed on the display of the mobile telephone of FIG. It is a figure which shows partially an example of the screen displayed on the display of the mobile telephone of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  61 Input information storage unit, 62 Conversion information storage unit, 63 Continuous operation count storage unit, 64 Image designation information storage unit, 65 Image information storage unit, 66 Input target position storage unit, 67 Time storage unit, 100 screen, 110, 120 , 130 Display field, 131 cursor, 132, 133, 134 characters.

Claims (4)

Display means;
Operation means;
First storage means for storing character specifying information which is information for specifying a character in association with position information;
Second storage means for storing the number of consecutive operations on the operation means and the character specifying information in association with each other;
Information specifying means for specifying the position information associated with the input character specifying information and the type of the input character specifying information in the first storage means in response to an operation on the operating means;
Third storage means for storing the number of times the operation means has been operated continuously;
Display control means for causing the display means to display a character corresponding to the character specifying information at a position corresponding to the position information based on the association in the first storage means;
The information specifying means includes
Detecting the start and end of an operation on the operating means;
When the operation means is operated again before a predetermined time has elapsed after the operation on the operation means is completed, the first storage is performed in response to the operation of the operation means being started. In the means, the character specifying information stored in association with the number of times stored in the third storage means is stored in association with the position information specified by the information specifying means,
When the operation unit is operated after the predetermined time has elapsed since the previous operation, information is not stored in the first storage unit at the timing when the operation on the operation unit is started, A portable information terminal that clears the number of times in the third storage unit and advances the position information by one character in response to completion of an operation on the operation unit. When the information specifying means is operated after the predetermined time has elapsed since the operation means was operated last time,
When the operation is completed before a specific time has elapsed since the operation on the operation unit was started, the third storage unit performs the third storage according to the timing at which the operation of the operation unit is completed. Storing the character specifying information stored in association with the number of times stored in the storage means in association with the position information specified by the information specifying means;
When the specific time has elapsed from the start to the end of the operation on the operation means, the number of times in the third storage means is cleared in response to the end of the operation on the operation means, and The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the position information is advanced by one character. The operation means includes a plurality of operation parts for specifying input characters,
The first storage means stores the number of consecutive operations and the character specifying information in association with each other for the one operation portion,
The third storage means stores the number of times that the same operation part is operated continuously, and clears the operation number stored so far when another operation part is operated. ,
The information specifying means includes
When a certain operation part is operated again without any other operation part being operated before a predetermined time has elapsed after the operation on the operation part is completed, In response to the operation being started, in the first storage means, the character specifying information stored in association with the number of times stored in the third storage means is specified by the information specifying means. Storing it in association with the location information,
A certain operation part has been operated on another operation part after the predetermined time has elapsed since the previous operation on the operation part was completed, or after the previous operation on the operation part was completed. When the operation is started after the operation, the number of times in the third storage means is cleared and the position information is advanced by one character in response to the completion of the operation on the operation part. The portable information terminal according to claim 1 or 2. The operation means is a key operated by being pressed,
The information specifying unit detects the start of an operation on the key operation unit by detecting that the press on the key is started, and detects the key operation unit by detecting that the press on the key is released. The portable information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an end of an operation on the device is detected.

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