JPH11316649A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide smooth character input processing while facilitating pen input operation by switching an input mode through the operation of a hardware button concerning electronic equipment having a display device with tablet. SOLUTION: A CPU 11 executes input mode switching processing as processing related to the pen input operation on a tablet 3 and a display panel and when the power source of portable information terminal equipment 1 is turned on, the pen input mode to be displayed on the display panel of a display device 14 is set to 'pointing mode'. Then, it is detected whether the operating position of a hardware button 5 is changed or not (such as from normal position to depressed position or from depressed position to normal position) and when the operating position is not changed, the current input mode is kept but when the operating position is changed and returned to the normal position, the pen input mode is switched to the pointing mode. When the operating position is changed and depressing is performed, the pen input mode is switched to a character recognizing mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electronic device having a display device with a tablet, and more particularly, to an electronic device having a pointing input mode and a character recognition mode in a tablet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a PDA (Personal Digital Assis) has been developed.
portable information terminal devices such as personal computers and portable personal computers are equipped with a transmissive tablet on the display panel, enabling pen input on the tablet while checking the display contents displayed on the display panel. Has become. The tablet input mode in the tablet includes, for example, a pointing mode (corresponding to operations such as dragging and clicking a mouse cursor) and a character input mode. The switching of the input mode for the tablet has been performed by a method such as clicking a predetermined icon or the like displayed in the display frame with a pen or time-out due to a click time.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional portable information terminal device with a tablet, switching between the pointing mode and the character input mode is performed by a predetermined pen displayed in a display frame by a pen. Because the click operation of the icon or the like was performed or the method such as time-out due to the click time was performed, on the tablet, the pointing operation, the input mode switching operation, and the character input operation are performed with the same pen,
There has been a problem that pen input operation is complicated and character input cannot be performed smoothly.

An object of the present invention is to realize a smooth character input process by simplifying a pen input operation by enabling an input mode to be switched by operating a hardware button in an electronic device having a display device with a tablet. is there.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In an electronic device having a display device with a tablet, a switching key for switching an input mode of the tablet is arranged on the device main body, and in response to an operation of the switching key, a pointing mode for detecting an indicated position on the tablet, and a pen, Switching between a character recognition mode for recognizing a stroke written on a tablet and a character recognition mode to switch the setting of an input mode, and when the pointing mode is set by the input mode switching control means, When input processing is performed in accordance with the designated position on the tablet and the character recognition mode is set, a character whose character has been recognized from a stroke written on the tablet with the pen is input on the display screen of the display device. Input control means for displaying at a position.

According to the electronic device of the present invention, in the electronic device having the display device with a tablet,
A switching key for switching the input mode of the tablet is arranged on the main body of the device, and the input mode switching control means, in accordance with the operation of the switching key, a pointing mode for detecting an indicated position on the tablet, and a pen on the tablet. By switching between a character recognition mode for recognizing a written stroke and a character recognition mode and switching the setting of an input mode, when the input control means is set to the pointing mode by the input mode switching control means, an instruction on the tablet is displayed. When an input process is performed according to a position and the character recognition mode is set, a character whose character has been recognized from a stroke written on a tablet with the pen is displayed at an input position on a display screen of the display device. .

Therefore, when switching the pen input mode of the tablet as in the prior art, complicated operations such as clicking an icon with the pen are not required, and the pen input mode can be easily switched simply by pressing the switching key. Becomes possible. As a result, since the pen input mode can be easily and reliably switched, it is possible to prevent the user from performing the pointing input operation in the character recognition mode or vice versa, The reliability of the pen input mode in an electronic device such as a portable information terminal can be improved.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in an electronic device having a display device with a tablet, a display switching key for displaying a soft keypad on a display screen of the display device is arranged on the device main body. A display control means is provided for displaying the predetermined soft keypad on a display screen of the display device in accordance with an operation.

According to the electronic device of the present invention, in the electronic device having the display device with a tablet,
A display switching key for displaying a soft keypad on the display screen of the display device is disposed on the main body of the device, and display control means switches the predetermined soft keypad of the display device according to the operation of the display switching key. Display on the display screen.

Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a complicated operation such as switching the display mode by a pen operation on the tablet as in the related art, and the display mode can be easily switched only by pressing the display switching key. As a result, since the display mode can be switched easily and reliably, it is easy to confirm the display contents (the contents of the character string being input) hidden by the soft keypad only by pressing the display switching key. Character input can be performed efficiently.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 10 are diagrams showing a first embodiment of a portable information terminal device 1 to which the present invention is applied. First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of the portable information terminal device 1 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, a portable information terminal device 1 includes a display panel 4 integrally formed with a tablet 3 formed of transparent electrodes on a front surface of a housing 2 thereof, and a hardware button 5 for switching an input mode of the tablet 3. ,
Is provided. In FIG. 1, a portable information terminal 1
The left end of the housing 2 is supported by the user's hand,
The state where the thumb of the user operates the hardware button 5 is shown.

The hardware button 5 shown in FIG. 1 has a concave portion on the surface portion to which the user's finger touches as shown in the sectional view shown in FIG. 2, and in the normal position, as shown in FIG. 2 (a). The surface and the surface of the housing 2 are flush with each other, and when pressed by the user's finger at the pressed position, as shown in FIG. I have.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a control system inside the portable information terminal device 1 of FIG. 1. The portable information terminal device 1 comprises a CPU 11, an input device 12, a RAM 13,
Display device 14, tablet 3, tablet detection unit 15,
It comprises a storage device 16 and a storage medium 17, and each part except the storage medium 17 is connected by a bus 18.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11
Expands an application program specified from a system program stored in the storage device 16 and various application programs corresponding to the system into a program storage area (not shown) in the RAM 13 and is input from the tablet detection unit 15. Various kinds of instructions or data based on the detected coordinates are temporarily stored in the RAM 13, various processings are executed in accordance with the input instructions and the input data in accordance with the application programs stored in the storage device 16, and the processing results are stored in the RAM 13. And displayed on the display device 14. And
The processing result stored in the RAM 13 is stored in the tablet detecting unit 15.
Is stored in the storage destination in the storage device 16 which is instructed by the user.

The CPU 11 executes an input mode switching process (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, as a process related to a pen input operation on the tablet 3 and the display panel 4. When the portable information terminal device 1 is turned on, , Display device 14
The pen input mode displayed on the display panel 4 is set to the "pointing mode", and the presence or absence of a change in the operating position of the hardware button 5 (normal position → pressed position or pressed position → normal position) is detected. If there is no change in the current input mode, the current input mode is continued.If the operation position is changed and returned to the normal position, the pen input mode is switched to the pointing mode, and the operation position is changed and pressed. If so, switch the pen input mode to the character recognition mode.

Further, in the input mode switching process, when the pen input mode is set to the pointing mode, the CPU 11 executes a pointing mode process (see FIG. 6) to be described later, and the display panel 4 of the display device 14.
In response to a pen operation on the tablet 3, the operation position is detected based on the coordinate information input from the tablet detection unit 15, and an input process corresponding to the detected operation position is executed. It is determined whether the pointing mode is to be continued or terminated in accordance with whether or not the operation position of the button 5 has changed.

When the pen input mode is set to the character recognition mode in the input mode switching process, the CPU 11 performs a character recognition mode process described later (see FIG. 7).
Is executed, the contrast of the keyboard is reduced and displayed on the display panel 4 of the display device 14, and the stroke coordinates input by the pen on the tablet 3 are input from the tablet detection unit 15 in accordance with the pen operation on the tablet 3. Character recognition processing is executed based on the obtained stroke coordinates, the character recognition candidate is displayed at the cursor position on the display screen, and whether the operation position of the hardware button 5 has changed. , It is determined whether the character recognition mode is to be continued or terminated.

The input device 12 has the hardware button 5 shown in FIG. 1, a power button (not shown), various other mode setting buttons, and the like, and outputs an operation signal corresponding to each button operation to the CPU 11. .

A RAM (Random Access Memory) 13 is
When the CPU 2 executes the various application programs, it forms a program storage area for expanding the various programs, and when the CPU 2 executes the pointing mode processing and the character recognition processing, stores the coordinate information and the like acquired from the tablet detection unit 15. A data storage area for temporarily storing is formed.

The display device 14 includes a display panel 4 shown in FIG.
It has a display control unit (not shown) and the like, and displays on the display panel 4 a keyboard based on keyboard display data input from the CPU 2, stroke information input by a pen on the tablet 3, and character recognition candidates thereof.

In response to a pen input operation on the tablet 3 of FIG. 1, the tablet detection section 15 detects position coordinates corresponding to the input operation and outputs the position coordinates to the CPU 11.

The storage device 16 has a storage medium 17 in which programs, data and the like are stored in advance, and this storage medium 17 is constituted by a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. The storage medium 17 is fixedly provided in the storage device 16 or is detachably mounted. The storage medium 17 includes the system program, various application programs corresponding to the system, and an input mode switching processing program. , A pointing mode processing program, a character recognition processing program, data processed by each processing program, and the like.

The program, data, and the like stored in the storage medium 17 may be received and stored from another device connected via a communication line or the like. A storage device having the storage medium may be provided on the other connected device side, and the program and data stored in the storage medium 17 may be used via a communication line.

Further, the storage device 16 stores the CPU 1
The keyboard display data area 16a and the keyboard display position information area 16a as input information storage areas shown in FIG. 4 used in the input mode switching processing, the pointing mode processing, and the character recognition mode processing executed by
b, stroke storage area 16c, mode setting information area 1
6d, and a character recognition dictionary area 16e.

The keyboard display data area 16a stores keyboard display data displayed on the display panel 4 when the pointing mode processing and the character recognition mode processing are executed by the CPU 11, and the keyboard display position information area 16b stores The display position coordinates on the display panel 4 are stored as display position information when the keyboard is displayed, and the stroke storage area 16c is acquired from the tablet detection unit 15 when the CPU 11 executes the character recognition mode processing. The mode setting information area 16d stores currently set input mode information, and the character recognition dictionary area 16e stores the CP information.
When a character recognition mode process is executed by U11, a character recognition dictionary for reading character recognition candidates from stroke information is stored.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. First, the input mode switching process executed by the CPU 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the power of the portable information terminal device 1 is turned on, the CPU 11 reads the input mode switching processing program stored in the storage medium 17, expands the program in the program storage area in the RAM 13, and starts the input mode switching processing. . In FIG. 5, the CPU 11 first sets the pointing mode in the mode setting information area 16d shown in FIG. 4 in the storage device 16, sets the current input mode to the pointing mode (step S1), and shown in FIG. It is checked whether or not the operation position of the hardware button 5 has changed (step S2). At this time, unless the user presses the hardware button 5 with his / her finger, the operation position of the hardware button 5 does not change, so that the input processing in the pointing mode, which is the current processing mode, is continued. (Step S3), and the process returns to Step S2.

If the user presses the hardware button 5 with his / her finger and the operating position of the hardware button 5 changes, the operation of the hardware button 5 is changed from the normal position to the pressing. It is determined whether or not the operation is to the position (step S4). If the operation of the hardware button 5 is not the operation from the normal position to the pressed position but the pressed position to the normal position, the pointing mode is set in the mode setting information area 16d in the storage device 16 (step S5). If the operation is from the normal position to the pressed position, the character recognition mode is set in the mode setting information area 16d in the storage device 16 (Step S6), and Step S2 is performed.
The process returns to the process of detecting a change in the operation position of the hardware button 5 of the above.

With the above input processing, in the portable information terminal device 1 according to the first embodiment, immediately after the power is turned on, the pen input mode for the tablet 3 is set to the pointing mode. While the user is pressing the hardware button 5 with his / her finger, the character recognition mode is continued. Therefore, when switching the pen input mode in the tablet 3 as in the related art, it is not necessary to click the icon with the pen or the like, and it is possible to easily switch the pen input mode just by pressing the hardware button 5. .

Next, the pointing mode processing executed by the CPU 11 when the pen input mode is set to the pointing mode in the input mode switching processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the pen input mode is set to the pointing mode in the input mode switching process, the CPU 1
1 reads out the pointing mode processing program stored in the storage medium 17, expands it in the program storage area in the RAM 13, and starts the pointing mode processing. In FIG. 6, the CPU 11 first stores the keyboard display data stored in the keyboard display data area 16a in the storage device 16 and the keyboard display position information area 1
The keyboard display position information stored in 6b is read out and output to the display device 14 to display the keyboard on the display panel 4 (step S11).

Next, the CPU 11 waits for a pen input operation on the tablet 3 by the user (step S1).
2) Based on the detection signal input from the tablet detection unit 15, it is determined whether or not the user has performed a pen input operation on the tablet 3 (step S13). If there is no pen input operation, the process proceeds to step S16. If there is a pen input operation, for example, if there is a click operation with the pen 6 of the icon displayed on the display panel 4 as shown in FIG. Then, the pointing position coordinates of the pen input position are detected from the detected coordinates input from the tablet detecting unit 15 (step S14). Then, a key operation content corresponding to the detected pointing position coordinates is identified, and an input process corresponding to the key operation content is executed (step S1).
5).

Next, the CPU 11 checks whether there is a change in the operating position of the hardware button 5 (step S16). At this time, if the user does not perform a pressing operation on the hardware button 5 with his / her finger, the process returns to the step S12 and waits for a pen input operation on the tablet 3 by the user. If the user presses the hardware button 5 with his / her finger, the pointing mode process ends, and the process returns to the input mode switching process in FIG.

Next, when the pen input mode is set to the character recognition mode in the input mode switching process, the CP
The character recognition mode processing executed by U11 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This character recognition mode processing is executed when the hardware button 5 is pressed by the user's finger as described in the input mode switching processing.

When the pen input mode is set to the character recognition mode in the input mode switching process, the CPU 11
The character recognition mode processing program stored in the storage medium 17 is read out and expanded in the program storage area in the RAM 13 to start the character recognition mode processing. 7, the CPU 11 first reads and displays the keyboard display data stored in the keyboard display data area 16a and the keyboard display position information stored in the keyboard display position information area 16b shown in FIG. The data is output to the device 14 and the keyboard is displayed on the display panel 4 with the contrast reduced (step S21).

Next, the CPU 11 waits for a pen input operation on the tablet 3 by the user (step S2).
2) Based on the detection signal input from the tablet detection unit 15, it is determined whether or not a user has input a character stroke by a pen input operation on the tablet 3 (step S23). If there is no pen input operation, the flow shifts to step S27, and as shown in FIG.
Tablet 3 is pressed by the user's finger.
In response to the input of the character stroke by the input operation of the pen 6, the input position coordinates of the character stroke by the pen input are acquired from the detected coordinates input from the tablet detection unit 15, Is stored in the stroke storage area 16c (step S24). And
Based on the change in the input position coordinates of the obtained character stroke, candidate characters are read from the character recognition dictionary stored in the character recognition dictionary area 16e shown in FIG. It is displayed on the display device 14 at the cursor position on the display screen of the display panel 4 (step S26).

Next, the CPU 11 checks whether or not the operation position of the hardware button 5 has changed (step S27). At this time, if the pressing operation on the hardware button 5 is continued by the user's finger, the process returns to the step S22 and waits for the user's pen input operation on the tablet 3. If the pressing operation on the hardware button 5 is released by the user's finger, the character recognition mode process ends, and the process returns to the input mode switching process of FIG.

As described above, in the portable information terminal device 1 according to the first embodiment, the hardware button 5 for switching the pen input mode is provided, and the user presses the hardware button 5 with a finger. In the meantime, the character recognition mode is continued, so that when switching the pen input mode in the tablet 3 as in the related art, a complicated operation such as a click operation of an icon with a pen is not required, and the hardware button 5 is operated. It is possible to easily switch the pen input mode simply by pressing the button.

As a result, since the pen input mode can be easily and reliably switched, it is possible to prevent the user from performing a pointing input operation in the character recognition mode or vice versa. Thus, the reliability of the pen input mode in the portable information terminal device 1 can be improved.

In the first embodiment, the case where the pen input mode is set to the character recognition mode only while the hardware button 5 is pressed has been described. However, other switching contents of the pen input mode are considered. Can be For example, FIG.
As shown in (5), each time the hardware button 5 is pressed, the character recognition mode and the pointing mode may be alternately switched.

As shown in FIG. 10, a character recognition mode (alphabet recognition mode, number recognition mode, symbol recognition mode) is set for each character type in the character recognition mode.
Each time the hardware button 5 is pressed, the character recognition mode and the pointing mode are alternately switched. When the mode is switched to the character recognition mode, each time the hardware button 5 is pressed, the recognition mode is set for each character type. May be switched.

[Second Embodiment] FIGS. 11 to 19 are similar to FIGS.
It is a figure showing a 2nd embodiment of personal digital assistant device 20 to which the present invention is applied. First, the configuration will be described. FIG.
Is a portable information terminal device 20 according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of an internal control system. 11, the same components as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 and the internal configuration of the portable information terminal device 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the configuration is omitted.

The appearance of the portable information terminal device 20 in the second embodiment is the same as the appearance of the portable information terminal device 1 shown in FIG. 1 in the first embodiment. A description of the configuration is omitted. In addition, the first
In the embodiment, the hardware button 5 is used to switch the pen input mode. However, the second embodiment is a software input panel for character input including fixed handwritten character recognition and the like. When the soft keypad is displayed on the display panel 4, the hardware button 5 is used as a display switching button 25 to switch between display and non-display.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a control system inside the portable information terminal device 20 according to the second embodiment.
It comprises an input device 22, a RAM 13, a display device 14, a tablet 3, a tablet detection unit 15, a storage device 23, and a storage medium 24, and each unit except the storage medium 24 is connected by a bus 18.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21
Develops an application program specified from a system program stored in the storage device 23 and various application programs corresponding to the system into a program storage area (not shown) in the RAM 13 and is input from the tablet detection unit 15. Various kinds of instructions or data based on the detected coordinates are temporarily stored in the RAM 13, various processings are executed in accordance with the input instructions and the input data according to the application programs stored in the storage device 23, and the processing results are stored in the RAM 13. And displayed on the display device 14. And
The processing result stored in the RAM 13 is stored in the tablet detecting unit 15.
Is stored in the storage destination in the storage device 23 which is instructed by the user.

The CPU 21 executes the above-described pen input mode switching processing, pointing mode processing, and character recognition mode processing as processing related to pen input operations on the tablet 3 and the display panel 4, and also performs display mode switching processing described later. (See FIG. 13).
In the display mode switching process, when the power of the CPU 21 and the portable information terminal device 20 is turned on, the display mode displayed on the display panel 4 of the display device 14 is set to the “soft keypad non-display mode”, and the display switching button is set. The presence or absence of a change in the operating position (normal position → pressed position or pressed position → normal position) at 25 is detected. If there is no change in the operating position, the current display mode is continued, and there is a change in the operating position. When the display is returned to the normal position, the display mode is switched to the soft keypad non-display mode. When the operation position is changed and pressed, the display mode is switched to the soft keypad display mode.

Further, if the display mode is set to the soft keypad non-display mode in the display mode switching process, the CPU 21 executes a soft keypad non-display process (see FIG. 14), which will be described later. A software keyboard is displayed on the display panel 4 of the tablet 3, the operation position is detected by the coordinate information input from the tablet detection unit 15 in response to the pen operation on the tablet 3, and an input process corresponding to the detected operation position is executed. Along with
Depending on whether or not the operation position of the display switching button 25 has changed,
It is determined whether to continue or end the soft keypad non-display mode.

When the display mode is set to the soft keypad display mode in the display mode switching process, the CPU 21 executes a soft keypad display mode process (see FIG. 15) to be described later. The contrast of the soft keypad is displayed on the display panel 4 with a reduced contrast, and the pointing position of the soft keypad input by the pen on the tablet 3 is displayed in the coordinates input from the tablet detection unit 15 in response to the pen operation on the tablet 3. The key input processing of the corresponding soft keypad is executed based on the obtained pointing position coordinates, and the soft keypad display mode is set according to the presence or absence of a change in the operation position of the display switching button 25. Is determined whether to continue or end.

The input device 22 has a display switching button 25 shown in FIG. 11, a power button and other various mode setting buttons (not shown), and outputs an operation signal corresponding to each button operation to the CPU 21. .

The storage device 23 has a storage medium 24 in which programs, data and the like are stored in advance, and the storage medium 24 is constituted by a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. The storage medium 24 is fixedly provided in the storage device 23 or is detachably mounted. The storage medium 17 includes the system program, various application programs corresponding to the system, and an input mode switching processing program. , A pointing mode processing program, a character recognition processing program, data processed by each processing program, and the like.

The program, data, and the like stored in the storage medium 24 may be received and stored from another device connected via a communication line or the like. A storage device having the storage medium may be provided on the other connected device side, and the program and data stored in the storage medium 24 may be used via a communication line.

Further, the storage device 23 stores the CPU 2
1, a keyboard display data area 23a and a keyboard display position information area as input information storage areas shown in FIG. 12 used in the display mode switching processing, the soft keypad non-display mode processing, and the soft keypad display mode processing. 23b, soft keypad display data area 23c, soft keypad display position information area 23
d, stroke storage area 23e, mode setting information area 2
3f and a character recognition dictionary area 23g.

The keyboard display data area 23a stores keyboard display data displayed on the display panel 4 when the CPU 21 executes the pointing mode processing (see FIG. 6) and the character recognition mode processing (see FIG. 7). The keyboard display position information area 23b stores display position coordinates on the display panel 4 as display position information when displaying the keyboard, and the soft keypad display data area 23c stores the soft keypad display processing by the CPU 21. The display data of the soft keypad displayed on the display panel 4 when is executed is stored, and the soft keypad display position information area 23d is displayed on the display panel 4 as display position information when the soft keypad is displayed. Stores the display position coordinates of.

Further, the stroke storage area 23e stores stroke information acquired from the tablet detecting section 15 when the character recognition mode processing is executed by the CPU 21, and the mode setting information area 23f stores the currently set stroke information. The character recognition dictionary area 23g stores a character recognition dictionary for reading character recognition candidates from stroke information when the CPU 21 executes the character recognition mode processing.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. First, the display mode switching process executed by the CPU 21 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the power of the portable information terminal device 20 is turned on, the CPU 21 reads out the display mode switching processing program stored in the storage medium 24, expands the display mode switching program in the program storage area in the RAM 13, and starts the main display mode switching processing. . In FIG. 13, the CPU 21 first
The mode setting information area 2 shown in FIG.
The soft keypad non-display mode is set to 3f, the current display mode is set to the soft keypad non-display mode (step S31), and it is checked whether the operation position of the display switching button 25 shown in FIG. 11 has changed (step S31). Step S32). At this time, if the display switching button 25 is not pressed by the user's finger, the operation position of the display switching button 25 does not change, and the display in the soft keypad non-display mode which is the current display mode is performed. The process is continued (Step S33), and the process returns to Step S32.

If the user presses the display switching button 25 with his / her finger and the operation position of the display switching button 25 changes, the display switching button 2
It is determined whether the operation 5 is an operation from the normal position to the pressed position (step S34). If the operation of the display switching button 25 is not the operation from the normal position to the pressed position but the pressed position to the normal position, the soft keypad non-display mode is set in the mode setting information area 23f in the storage device 23. (Step S35) If the operation is from the normal position to the pressed position, the soft keypad display mode is set in the mode setting information area 23f in the storage device 23 (Step S3).
6), the process returns to the process of detecting a change in the operating position of the display switching button 25 in step S32.

With the above input processing, in the portable information terminal device 20 according to the second embodiment, immediately after the power is turned on, the display mode for the display panel 4 is set to the soft keypad non-display mode. Thus, while the user presses the display switching button 25 with his / her finger, the soft keypad display mode is continued. Therefore, an operation of switching the display mode by a click operation with the pen on the tablet 3 as in the related art is not required, and the display mode can be easily switched only by pressing the display switching button 25.

Next, the soft keypad non-display mode processing executed by the CPU 21 when the display mode is set to the soft keypad non-display mode in the display mode switching processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. .

When the display mode is set to the soft keypad non-display mode in the display mode switching process, the CP
U21 reads out the soft keypad non-display mode processing program stored in the storage medium 24, expands it in the program storage area in the RAM 13, and starts the soft keypad non-display mode processing. In FIG. 14, the CPU
Reference numeral 21 first reads the soft keypad display data stored in the soft keypad display data area 23c in the storage device 23 and the soft keypad display position information stored in the soft keypad display position information area 23d to read out the display device. 14 to display a soft keypad on the display panel 4 (step S41).

Next, the CPU 21 waits for a pen input operation on the tablet 3 by the user (step S4).
2) Based on the detection signal input from the tablet detection unit 15, it is determined whether or not the user has performed a pen input operation on the tablet 3 (step S43). If there is no pen input operation, the process proceeds to step S46. If there is a pen input operation, for example, if there is a click operation with the pen 6 of the icon displayed on the display panel 4 as shown in FIG. Then, the pointing position coordinates of the pen input position are detected from the detected coordinates input from the tablet detecting unit 15 (step S44). Then, a key operation content corresponding to the detected pointing position coordinates is identified, and an input process corresponding to the key operation content is executed (step S4).
5).

Next, the CPU 21 sets the display switching button 2
It is checked whether or not the operation position has changed in Step 5 (Step S46). At this time, if the pressing operation of the display switching button 25 is not performed by the user's finger, the process returns to the step S42 to wait for the pen input operation on the tablet 3 by the user. If the user presses the display switching button 25 with his / her finger, the soft keypad non-display mode processing ends, and the process shown in FIG.
The process returns to the display mode switching process.

Next, the soft keypad display mode processing executed by the CPU 21 when the display mode is set to the soft keypad display mode in the display mode switching processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The soft keypad display mode processing is executed when the display switching button 25 is pressed by the user's finger as described in the display mode switching processing.

When the display mode is set to the soft keypad display mode in the display mode switching process, the CPU
Reference numeral 21 reads out the soft keypad display mode processing program stored in the storage medium 24, expands the program in the program storage area in the RAM 13, and starts the present soft keypad display mode processing. In FIG. 15, the CPU 21
First, the soft keypad display data and the soft keypad display position information area 2 stored in the soft keypad display data area 23c shown in FIG.
The soft keypad display position information stored in 3d is read out and output to the display device 14, and the soft keypad is displayed on the display panel 4 with reduced contrast (steps S51, S52).

At this time, when displaying the soft keypad on the display panel 4, the display position of the soft keypad may be adjusted so as not to overlap the current input position, or the current input position may be adjusted. The soft keypad may be displayed in a vertical or horizontal format according to the above. Further, the range in which the soft keypad is displayed may be adjusted according to the current input position.

Next, the CPU 21 waits for a pen input operation on the tablet 3 by the user (step S5).
3) Based on the detection signal input from the tablet detection unit 15, it is determined whether or not the user has performed a pen input operation on the tablet 3 (step S54). If there is no pen input operation, the process proceeds to step S57. If there is a pen input operation, for example, as shown in FIG. If there is a click operation with the pen 6 on the soft keypad at the time of inputting the address displayed in 4, the pointing position of the soft keypad is detected from the detected coordinates input from the tablet detection unit 15 (step S55).

Then, the CPU 21 executes a key input process of the soft keypad corresponding to the detected pointing position (step S56). For example, FIG.
In the case of (a), when "U" in the soft keypad is pointed by the pen 6, as shown in FIG. 3B, "U" is input by pointing at the cursor position in the character string input box of the address. Is displayed.

Next, the CPU 21 sets the display switch button 2
It is checked whether or not the operation position has changed in Step 5 (Step S57). At this time, if the pressing operation on the display switching button 25 is continued by the user's finger, the process returns to the step S53 and the tablet 3
Wait for pen input operation at. When the user presses the display switching button 25 with his / her finger, the present soft keypad display mode process ends, and the process returns to the display mode switching process of FIG.

As described above, in the portable information terminal device 20 according to the second embodiment, the display switching button 25 for switching the display mode is provided, and while the user is pressing the display switching button 25 with his / her finger. Since the soft keypad display mode is maintained, complicated operations such as switching the display mode by a pen operation on the tablet 3 as in the related art become unnecessary, and the display switching button 25
By simply pressing, the display mode can be easily switched.

As a result, the display mode can be easily and reliably switched, so that the display content (the content of the character string being input) which is hidden by the soft keypad only by pressing the display switching button 25 is displayed. Can be easily confirmed, thereby enabling efficient character input.

In the second embodiment, the case where the display mode is set to the soft keypad display mode only while the display switching button 25 is being pressed has been described. However, other display mode switching contents may be considered. Can be For example, as shown in FIG. 17, every time the display switching button 25 is pressed, the soft keypad display mode and the soft keypad non-display mode may be alternately switched.

As shown in FIG. 18, in the soft keypad display mode, a soft keypad for each character type (alphabet soft keypad, numeric soft keypad, symbol soft keypad) is set, and a display switching button is set. Each time the button 25 is pressed, the soft keypad display mode and the soft keypad non-display mode are alternately switched. When the mode is switched to the soft keypad display mode, every time the display switching button 25 is pressed, A soft keypad for each character type may be displayed.
The “SIP” described in FIGS. 17 and 18 means
"Software Input Panel"

As an input information storage area stored in the storage device 23 in correspondence with the display mode switching contents shown in FIG. 18, the one shown in FIG. 19 can be considered. In the input information storage area in the storage device 23 shown in FIG.
Keyboard display data area 23a, keyboard display position information area 23b, alphabet SIP display data area 23c, alphabet SIP display position information area 23
d, numeric SIP display data area 23e, numeric SIP display position information area 23f, symbolic SIP display data area 23
g, a symbol SIP display position information area 23h, a stroke storage area 23i, a mode setting information area 23j, and a character recognition dictionary area 23k.

In this case, the keyboard display data area 23
a, the keyboard display position information area 23b, the stroke storage area 23i, the mode setting information area 23j, and the character recognition dictionary area 23k are the same as those shown in FIG.

Alphanumeric SIP display data area 23
c indicates that the display mode in FIG.
When the mode is switched to the P display mode, display data of the alphabet soft keypad displayed on the display panel 4 is stored, and the alphabet SIP display position information area 2 is stored.
Numeral 3d stores the display position coordinates on the display panel 4 as display position information when displaying the alphabet soft keypad, and the numeric SIP display data area 23e switches the display mode to the numeric SIP display mode in FIG. The display data of the numeric soft keypad displayed on the display panel 4 when the numeric keypad is pressed is stored, and the numeric SIP display position information area 23f is used as display position information for displaying the numeric soft keypad. The upper display position coordinates are stored, and the symbol SIP display data area 23g stores the display data of the symbol soft keypad displayed on the display panel 4 when the display mode is switched to the symbol SIP display mode in FIG. The symbol SIP display position information area 23h indicates a display position when the symbol soft keypad is displayed. Storing display coordinates on the display panel 4 as broadcast.

The shapes and arrangement positions of the hardware button 5 and the display switching button 25 shown in each of the above embodiments are not particularly limited, and may be any as long as they are easy for the user to handle.

[0076]

According to the electronic apparatus of the present invention, when switching the pen input mode of the tablet as in the prior art, a complicated operation such as clicking an icon with a pen is not required. That is, it is possible to easily switch the pen input mode simply by pressing the switching key. As a result, since the pen input mode can be easily and reliably switched, it is possible to prevent the user from performing the pointing input operation in the character recognition mode or vice versa,
The reliability of the pen input mode in an electronic device such as a portable information terminal can be improved.

According to the electronic apparatus of the present invention, it is not necessary to perform a complicated operation such as switching the display mode by a pen operation on the tablet as in the related art, and simply press the display switching key. , The display mode can be easily switched. As a result, since the display mode can be switched easily and reliably, it is easy to confirm the display contents (the contents of the character string being input) hidden by the soft keypad only by pressing the display switching key. Character input can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating an appearance of a portable information terminal device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views showing the structure of the hardware button 5 of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A shows a state in which the hardware button 5 is in a normal position, and FIG. It is a figure showing a state.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a control system inside the portable information terminal device 1 of FIG. 1;

4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an input information storage area in a storage device 16 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an input mode switching process executed by a CPU 11 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a pointing mode process executed by a CPU 11 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a character recognition mode process executed by a CPU 11 of FIG. 3;

8A and 8B show states of an input operation performed on the tablet 3 by the pen 6 in the pointing mode process of FIG. 6 (FIG. 8A), and the pen 6 in the character recognition mode process of FIG.
FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the state of an input operation to the tablet 3 by the user (FIG. 9B).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another pen input mode switching operation in the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another pen input mode switching operation in the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a control system inside a portable information terminal device 20 according to a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

12 is a diagram showing a configuration of an input information storage area in a storage device 23 in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a display mode switching process executed by the CPU 21 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a soft keypad non-display mode process executed by the CPU 21 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a soft keypad display mode process executed by the CPU 21 of FIG. 11;

16A and 16B show the state of an input operation to the soft keypad by the pen 6 in the soft keypad display mode processing of FIG. 15 (FIG. 16A), which is displayed after pen input to the soft keypad; It is a figure (the figure (b)) showing the display state of a character string input screen.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing another display mode switching operation in the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating another display mode switching operation according to the second embodiment.

19 is a diagram showing a configuration of an input information storage area formed in a storage device 23 in accordance with the display mode switching contents of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 20 portable information terminal device 2 housing 3 tablet 4 display panel 5 hardware button 11, 21 CPU 12, 22 input device 13 RAM 14 display device 15 tablet detecting unit 16, 23 storage device 16a keyboard display data area 16b keyboard display Position information area 16c Stroke storage area 16d Mode setting information area 16e Character recognition dictionary area 17 Storage medium 18 Bus 23a Keyboard display data area 23b Keyboard display position information area 23c Soft keypad display data area 23d Soft keypad display position information area 23e Stroke Storage area 23f Mode setting information area 23g Character recognition dictionary area

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An electronic device having a display device with a tablet, wherein a switching key for switching an input mode of the tablet is arranged on a main body of the device, and a pointing position on the tablet is detected in accordance with an operation of the switching key. An input mode switching control means for switching between a mode and a character recognition mode for recognizing a stroke written on the tablet with a pen to switch the setting of an input mode; and setting the pointing mode by the input mode switching control means. If the character recognition mode is set to the character recognition mode, a character recognized from a stroke written on the tablet by the pen is used to perform a character input process in accordance with the designated position on the tablet. Input control means for displaying at an input position on the display screen. Electronic devices 2. The input mode switching control means switches the input mode to the character recognition mode while the switching key is pressed, and switches the input mode when the pressed state of the switching key is released. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device returns to the pointing mode. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the input mode switching control means alternately switches the input mode between the pointing mode and the character recognition mode in response to an operation of the switching key. machine. 4. A plurality of character recognition modes having different types of characters to be recognized are set as the character recognition modes, and the input mode switching control means includes a plurality of characters having different types of characters in response to an operation of the switching key. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the recognition mode is sequentially switched.
Electronic device as described. 5. The input control means sets a display contrast of a display object displayed on the display screen to be low in the character recognition mode, and returns the display contrast of the display object to a normal display in the pointing mode. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switching key is arranged at a position on the device main body which can be operated with an empty finger while holding the device main body. Electronics. 7. An electronic device having a display device with a tablet, wherein a display switching key for displaying a soft keypad on a display screen of the display device is arranged on a main body of the device. An electronic apparatus, further comprising: display control means for displaying the soft keypad on a display screen of the display device. 8. The display control means displays the soft keypad while the display switching key is pressed, and erases the soft keypad when the pressed state of the display switching key is released. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein: 9. The display control means alternately switches between a display state in which the soft keypad is displayed and a display state in which the soft keypad is not displayed in response to operation of the display switching key. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein: 10. The soft keypad further comprises storage means for storing a plurality of soft keypad display data of different key input types, wherein the display control means stores the data in response to an operation of the display switching key. A plurality of soft keypad display data are sequentially read from the means, and the plurality of soft keypads having different key input types are sequentially switched and displayed on the display screen of the display device. An electronic device according to any of the above. 11. The display control means, when displaying the soft keypad displayed on the display screen of the display device, adjusts a display position of the soft keypad so as not to overlap a current input position. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein
An electronic device according to any one of claims 10 to 10. 12. The display control means, when displaying the soft keypad to be displayed on the display screen of the display device, displays the soft keypad in a vertical type or a horizontal type according to a current input position. 7. The method according to claim 7, wherein
11. The electronic device according to any one of items 10. 13. The display control means, when displaying the soft keypad to be displayed on the display screen of the display device, adjusts a display range of the soft keypad according to a current input position. 11. The method according to claim 7, wherein
Electronic equipment according to any one of the above. 14. The display switching key according to claim 7, wherein the display switching key is arranged at a position on the device main body which can be operated with an empty finger while holding the device main body. Electronic equipment.