WO2007060773A1

WO2007060773A1 - Character input device and character input method

Info

Publication number: WO2007060773A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/316328
Authority: WO
Inventors: Makoto Isomine; Tatsuhiro Kitagawa; Kazunori Nanji; Yozo Hayashi
Original assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Priority date: 2005-11-24
Filing date: 2006-08-21
Publication date: 2007-05-31
Also published as: JP2007148589A; JP4101264B2

Abstract

It is possible to increase speed of character input through a keyboard. In a character input device included in a game device (100), a keyboard display control unit (22) displays an on-screen keyboard on the screen. A cursor display control unit (14) displays a plurality of cursors on the on-screen keyboard. A cursor operation unit (10) receives a cursor operation by a user. A cursor shift processing unit (12) moves the cursors on the on-screen keyboard according to the cursor operation received by the cursor operation unit (10). An input operation unit (16) receives a character input operation by the user. An input processing unit (18) specifies a character inputted by a desired cursor among the cursors according to the character input operation received by the input operation unit (16).

Description

Specification

Character input device and character input method

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for performing character input using an on-screen keyboard.

Background art

[0002] As a method for executing character input, there is a method using an on-screen keyboard displayed on a screen. You can enter characters one by one by moving the cursor superimposed on the on-screen keyboard onto the key of the desired character and selecting the character.

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Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

When inputting different characters continuously using an on-screen keyboard, the user moves the cursor over the input target character. At this time, the user needs to operate the controller according to the amount of movement of the cursor. Here, the number of user operations increases as the key positions of characters that are continuously input are separated on the on-screen keyboard. An increase in the number of operations hinders speeding up of character input operations.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object thereof is to realize a high-speed key for character input operation using an on-screen keyboard.

Means for solving the problem

[0005] One embodiment of the present invention relates to a character input device. The character input device includes a keyboard display control unit that displays an on-screen keyboard on a screen, a cursor display control unit that displays a plurality of cursors on the on-screen keyboard, a cursor operation unit that receives a cursor operation by a user, and a cursor. A cursor movement processing unit that moves a plurality of cursors on the on-screen keyboard according to a cursor operation received by the operation unit, an input operation unit that receives a user's character input operation, and a character input operation that the input operation unit receives Depending on the character entered by the desired cursor among multiple cursors An input processing unit to be identified.

[0006] According to such an aspect, the user moves a plurality of cursors on the on-screen keyboard via the cursor operation unit, and executes character input via the input operation unit. The user can select a character by moving the cursor located closest to the key of the input target character among the multiple cursors on the on-screen keyboard. Compared with the case where only one cursor is displayed on the on-screen keyboard, the number of operations required to move the cursor to the character key to be input is reduced, so that the speed of character input operations can be increased.

[0007] The cursor movement processing unit may be configured to be able to move each cursor to the entire area of the on-screen keyboard. According to such an aspect, the user can execute character input using any of a plurality of cursors. As a result, the room for selection of the user's operation is widened, and the operability of the character input device is improved.

[0008] The plurality of cursors may be displayed with a predetermined positional relationship, and the cursor movement processing unit may move the plurality of cursors while maintaining the positional relationship. According to such an aspect, the plurality of cursors can be moved on the on-screen keyboard while maintaining a certain interval. After entering a character using one cursor, even if the key of the next character to be entered exists at a position away from the key of the entered character, the other cursor position is the key of the next character to be entered. Is displayed at a closer position. As a result, the number of operations of the cursor operation unit by the user can be reduced, and high-speed input of characters can be achieved.

[0009] The cursor operation unit and the input operation unit may be provided in a single controller unit of the character input device. According to such an aspect, the user can perform an operation of moving the cursor and an operation of specifying and inputting a character by a single controller unit. This makes the character input operation easier.

[0010] The controller unit may be provided with a plurality of input operation units as a set so as to correspond to each of the plurality of cursors. According to such an aspect, when the cursor is moved to the position of a desired character, the character can be input intuitively by operating the input operation unit corresponding to the cursor. As a result, the user can easily perform character input, and the operability of the character input device is improved. [0011] A plurality of sets of a plurality of input operation units may be provided. According to such an aspect, since a plurality of sets of input operation units are provided in the controller unit, the number of input operation units that can be operated by the user during the character input operation increases. This increases the operability of the character input device because the user has more room for selecting operations.

[0012] The on-screen keyboard may be color-coded for each region in which character input by each of a plurality of cursors is recommended. According to such an aspect, the user visually recognizes which region the key of the character to be input belongs to by the color of the region, and executes the character input using the cursor recommended in that region. Since the cursor used for character input can be selected based on an element that is sensuously recognizable as color, the character input operation is simplified, and high-speed character input is possible.

[0013] The cursor movement processing unit may move a plurality of cursors to a predetermined initial position by a predetermined operation different from the cursor operation. According to such an aspect, when a plurality of cursors are at positions away from the key force of the character to be input, the user moves the cursor to the initial position and then operates the cursor operation unit to operate the character. It is possible to move to the key. The movement to the initial position is executed by a predetermined operation different from the cursor operation. Here, by setting the number of operations in this operation to be small, the number of operations for moving the cursor can be reduced. As a result, speeding up of character input can be realized.

[0014] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a program. This program has a function to display an on-screen keyboard on the screen, a function to display a plurality of cursors on the on-screen keyboard, a function to accept a cursor operation by the user, and a plurality of cursors according to the received cursor operation. A function for moving on the on-screen keyboard, a function for receiving a character input operation corresponding to one of a plurality of cursors by a user, and a function for identifying an input character according to the received input operation May be realized by a computer.

[0015] According to this aspect, the user moves a plurality of cursors on the on-screen keyboard by a cursor operation, and performs character input by the input operation. At this time, the user selects the cursor located closest to the key of the character to be input among the plurality of cursors. Move to the key position of the character and execute the operation to input the character. With this,

Compared to the case where only one cursor is displayed on the on-screen keyboard, the number of operations for moving the cursor to the character key to be input is reduced, so that high-speed character input operation can be realized.

[0016] It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a representation of the present invention converted between a method, an apparatus, a system, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

The invention's effect

[0017] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize high-speed input of characters using an on-screen keyboard.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a front surface of a game device.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a game device.

FIG. 3 (a) is a diagram showing a game content display section of the game device.

FIG. 3 (b) is a diagram showing a display mode of the game content display section when the character “W” is input

FIG. 3 (c) is a diagram showing a display mode of the game content display section when the character “A” is input.

FIG. 3 (d) is a diagram showing a display mode of the game content display section when the character “L” is input.

FIG. 3 (e) is a diagram showing a display mode of the game content display section when the character “K” is input

[FIG. 3 (£)] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display mode of the game content display section when the character “L” is input by the L button.

FIG. 3 (g) is a diagram showing a display mode of the game content display section when the character “K” is input by the L button.

FIG. 3 (h) is a diagram showing a display mode of the game content display section when the character “ゲーム” is input by the R button.

Explanation of symbols

[0019] 10 cursor operation unit, 12 cursor movement processing unit, 14 cursor display control unit, 1 6 input operation unit, 18 input processing unit, 20 character display control unit, 22 keyboard display control unit, 24 game content display unit, 32 On-screen keyboard, 34 characters , 36 Input character display, 38 R button, 40 L button, 42 X button, 44 Y button, 46 Up button, 48 Down button, 50 Right button, 52 Left button, 54 R cursor, 56 L Cursor, 100 game device.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In this embodiment, an example in which a character input device is applied to a game device will be described.

A user of this game apparatus moves a plurality of cursors displayed on an on-screen keyboard displayed on the screen, and sequentially enters characters to create words (character strings). The character displayed on the screen operates according to the word.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a front surface of the game device 100. The game device 100 includes a game content display section 24, an R button 38, an L button 40, an X button 42, a Y button 44, an upward button 46, a downward button 48, a right button 50, and a left button 52. It is configured as a single controller unit. As shown in FIG. 1, the R button 38 and the L button 40 are provided on the right side of the game content display section 24, and are arranged side by side with the R button 38 positioned on the right side and the L button 40 positioned on the left side. Yes. Further, the X button 42 and the Y button 44 are respectively provided on the upper surface of the game apparatus 100 on the right side and the left side when viewed from the front of the game apparatus 100.

On the game content display unit 24, an on-screen keyboard 32, a character 34, an input character display unit 36, an R cursor 54 and an L cursor 56 are displayed. As shown in the figure, the on-screen keyboard 32 is displayed in the lower area in the game content display section 24. The input character display part 36 is displayed in the upper area in the game content display part 24. The character 34 is displayed in an area near the center in the game content display unit 24.

[0022] The on-screen keyboard 32 includes a plurality of character keys necessary for the user to create words. As shown in FIG. 1, these keys are displayed in an array on the game content display unit 24. Details of the on-screen keyboard 32 will be described later.

The R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 are displayed on the on-screen keyboard 32 with a certain positional relationship. In the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 are displayed side by side in the horizontal direction with three keys included in the on-screen keyboard 32 interposed therebetween. Where on screen keyboard 32 The R cursor 54 is located on the right side and the L cursor 56 is located on the left side. Hereinafter, the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 are collectively referred to as “cursor”.

[0023] The up button 46, the down button 48, the right button 50, and the left button 52 are buttons for moving the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 up, down, left, and right. Hereinafter, these buttons are also collectively referred to as “direction buttons”. The R button 38, the L button 40, the X button 42, and the Y button 44 are buttons for determining the input of the character selected by the R cursor 54 or the L cursor 56. Hereinafter, these buttons are also collectively referred to as “character input buttons”.

[0024] When inputting characters, the user operates the direction button to move either the R cursor 54 or the L cursor 56 onto the key of the input target character. Then, the user presses the character input button to input the character. The input characters are displayed on the input character display unit 36 in the order of input. Character 34 operates according to the content of words created by the input characters.

[0025] The R cursor 54 and the R button 38, and the L cursor 56 and the L button 40 correspond to! /. That is, the user presses the R button 38 when inputting the character selected by the R cursor 54, and the L button 40 when inputting the character selected by the L cursor 56. As described above, the R button 38 is located on the right side, the L button 40 is located on the left side, and the R cursor 54 and the R button 38, and the L cursor 56 and the L button 40 correspond to each other. . That is, the user can input characters by intuitively operating the button corresponding to the position of the cursor. As a result, the user can easily input characters.

[0026] The user can also operate the X button 42 to input a character selected by the R cursor 54, and operate the Y button 44 to input the character selected by the L cursor 56. As described above, the X button 42 and the Y button 44 are respectively provided on the right side and the left side when viewed from the front of the game apparatus 100. The R cursor 54 and the X button 42, and the L cursor 56 and the Y button 44 are positional. Corresponding to That is, when the user selects a character with the cursor, the user can input the character by intuitively operating the button corresponding to the position of the power. When operating the game apparatus 100 with both hands, the user operates the X button 42 with the right hand and the Y button 44 with the left hand. By hand corresponding to the cursor on the character to be selected This makes it possible to input characters intuitively and thus allows simple character input.

In addition, the game device 100 is provided with a plurality of operation buttons corresponding to the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56, so that the user has more choice of operation and the character input operability on the game device 100 is improved. To do.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of game device 100. The game device 100 includes a cursor operation unit 10, a cursor movement processing unit 12, a cursor display control unit 14, an input operation unit 16, an input processing unit 18, a character display control unit 20, a keyboard display control unit 22, and a game content display unit 24. Including. The keyboard display control unit 22 displays an on-screen keyboard 32 on the game content display unit 24. The cursor operation unit 10 receives a cursor operation by the user. The input operation unit 16 receives a user character input operation.

The cursor movement processing unit 12 moves the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 in accordance with the cursor operation accepted by the cursor operation unit 10. Here, the cursor movement processing unit 12 moves the cursor while maintaining the positional relationship between the cursors. The cursor movement processing unit 12 also sets the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 to a predetermined initial value on the on-screen keyboard 32 when the user performs a predetermined operation such as pressing the R button 38 and the L button 40 simultaneously. Move to position.

The cursor display control unit 14 displays an R cursor 54 and an L cursor 56 on the on-screen keyboard 32. When cursor movement is instructed by the cursor movement processing unit 12, the cursor display control unit 14 displays the cursor at the instructed position. The input processing unit 18 determines an input target character by either the R cursor 54 or the L cursor 56 according to the character input operation accepted by the input operation unit 16. The character display control unit 20 displays the character determined by the input processing unit 18 on the input character display unit 36. The game device 100 operates the character 34 in accordance with the character string in the input character display unit 36. In the game device 100, the cursor operation unit 10, the cursor movement processing unit 12, the power display display control unit 14, the input operation unit 16, the input processing unit 18, and the keyboard display control unit 22 function as a character input device.

Hereinafter, the character input operation using the on-screen keyboard 32 will be described in detail. Fig 3

(a) is a diagram showing a screen of game device 100, that is, game content display unit 24. Theory For the sake of clarity, the figure shows only the on-screen keyboard 32, the R power one 54, the L cursor 56, and the input character display section 36 in the game content display section 24. FIG. 3 (a) shows the state in which the R force 1 sol 54 and the L cursor 56 are displayed at the initial positions on the on-screen keyboard 32.

[0031] The on-screen keyboard 32 includes a plurality of character keys necessary for the user to input words. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the character keys included in the on-screen keyboard 32 are alphabet keys. The character key set included in the on-screen keyboard 32 can be switched by a user operation. For example, if the user wishes to input kana, the on-screen keyboard 32 including the kana character key can be displayed on the game content display unit 24 by selecting the “romaji” key. At this time, the “Romaji” key is replaced with the “Kana character” key.

[0032] In the figure, the R cursor 54 is displayed at the position of the "U" key, and the L cursor 56 is displayed at the position of the "E" key. The positions of these keys are the initial positions of the R cursor 54 and L cursor 56, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 are positioned side by side in the horizontal direction with three keys sandwiched therebetween. Each cursor moves in principle while maintaining this positional relationship. As shown in the figure, “R”, V, and a small letter are displayed in the vicinity of the R cursor 54, and “L” and a small letter are displayed in the vicinity of the L cursor 56. The user can determine which cursor each cursor is by looking at the characters displayed near the cursor.

[0033] The on-screen keyboard 32 is color-coded for each region in which character input by the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 is recommended. Assuming that the R cursor 54 and L cursor 56 are in the initial position, the R cursor 54 requires fewer cursor operations to select characters than the L cursor 56 in the right half area of the on-screen keyboard 32. . On the other hand, in the left half area of the on-screen keyboard 32, the L cursor 56 can select characters more efficiently than the R cursor 54. That is, it can be said that the right half area of the on-screen keyboard 32 is an area where character input by the R cursor 54 is recommended, and the left half area is an area where character input by the L cursor 56 is recommended.

[0034] In the present embodiment, the right half area is displayed in red and the left half area is displayed in blue. The screen keyboard 32 is color-coded. The R cursor 54 is displayed in red, and the L cursor 56 is displayed in blue. This makes it easier for the user to recognize the force that each region is a region in which character input with any cursor is recommended. The user can perceive sensibly as color, and can perform character input with an appropriate cursor based on the element. Therefore, the character input operation is simplified and the speed of character input can be increased.

In the present embodiment, the on-screen keyboard 32 may be colored with a force grade that is color-coded. For example, the right side force of the on-screen keyboard 32 may be colored so as to gradually change from red to blue toward the left side. According to this, as in the case of the above-described color coding, simplification of character input operation and high speed display can be realized.

[0035] The R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 move as follows.

(1) R-cursor 54 and L-cursor 56 are arranged in the horizontal direction with an interval of three keys, and in principle move while maintaining this positional relationship.

(2) As an exception, when the R cursor 54 and L cursor 56 are moved horizontally and one of them moves to the end key on the on-screen keyboard 32, the key that reaches the end does not move any further. Only the other cursor moves in that direction. For example, if the cursor continues to move to the right, the R cursor 54 first reaches the right end and stops, but the L cursor 56 continues to move to the right. When the L cursor 56 also reaches the right end, the L cursor 56 has already stopped! /, And is superimposed and displayed on the R cursor 54.

(3) After the operation in (2), if the cursor displayed in a superimposed manner is moved in the direction opposite to the movement direction in (2), only the other cursor will move in that direction first. If there is an interval for three keys, one cursor moves in that direction. For example, assume that the L cursor 56 and the R cursor 54 both reach the right edge of the on-screen keyboard 32 and continue to move the cursor to the left. First, when the L cursor 56 starts to move to the left and the number of character keys between the L cursor 56 and the R cursor 54 reaches 3, the R cursor 54 also starts to move to the left.

In the present embodiment, an example of inputting a word “WALK” will be described. At this time, the user performs character input in the order of “W”, “A”, “L”, and “K”. In this example, the user selects a cursor that is close to the key of the input target character among the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56. A character is selected by a sol.

First, the user inputs “W”.

FIG. 3B is a screen diagram of the game content display unit 24 when the character “W” is input. Of the “U” key that is the initial position of the R cursor 54 and the “E” key that is the initial position of the L cursor 56, the “E” key is closer to the “W” key. Therefore, the user selects “W” by L force one sol 56. The user presses the left button 52 once to move the L cursor 56 to the position of the key “^ \ ^”. Here, the R cursor 54 also moves to the left by one key and moves to the “Y” key position.

When the user power button 40 is pressed to input “W”, “W” is displayed in the input character display section 36 as shown in FIG.

[0038] The user then inputs "A".

FIG. 3 (c) is a diagram illustrating a display mode of the game content display unit 24 when the character “A” is input. When the input of “W” is completed, the R cursor 54 is positioned on the “Y” key on the L cursor 56 «“ W ”key. Of the “W” key and “Υ” key, the “W” key is closer to the “Α” key. Therefore, the user selects “A” with the L cursor 56. The user presses the down button 48 once and the left button 52 once to move the L cursor 56 to the “A” key position. In accordance with this operation, the R cursor 54 moves one key down and one key left, and moves to the “G” key position.

When the user power button 40 is pressed and “A” is entered, as shown in FIG. 3 (c),! / And “A” are displayed in the input character display section 36 after “W”.

The user then inputs “L”.

FIG. 3D is a screen view of the game content display unit 24 when the character “L” is input. When the input of “ΓΑ” is completed, the L cursor 56 is on the “A” key and the R cursor 54 is on the “G” key. Of the “A” key and “G” key, the “G” key is closer to the “L” key. Therefore, the user inputs “L” with the R cursor 54. The user moves the R cursor 54 onto the “L” key by pressing the right button 50 four times. Here, the L cursor 56 also moves to the right by 4 keys and moves to the “G” key.

When the user button 38 is pressed and “L” is entered, the input character table is displayed as shown in FIG. “/” Is displayed in the display section 36 after “A”.

[0040] The user then inputs "K".

FIG. 3 (e) is a screen view of the game content display unit 24 when the character “Κ” is input. When the input of “L” is completed, the R cursor 54 is on the “L” key and the L cursor 56 is on the “G” key. Of the “L” key and “G” key, the “R” key is closer to the “K” key. Accordingly, the user inputs “K” using the R cursor 54. The user presses the left button 52 once to move the R cursor 54 to the “Κ” key position. Here, L cursor 56 also moves one key to the left and moves to the “F” key position.

When the user button 38 is pressed to input “K”, as shown in FIG. 3E,! / And “Κ” are displayed after “L” in the input character display unit 36.

[0041] Since the user has continuously input four characters "W", "A", "L", and "K", the word "WALK" is displayed on the input character display unit 36. Here, when the user presses the down button 48 twice to move the R cursor 54 to the position of the “Done” key and presses the R button 38, the character input is completed. As a result, in the game device 100, a process of causing the game content display unit 24 to display a motion of the character 34 in accordance with the input word “WALK” is executed.

[0042] As described above, the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 are displayed at regular intervals and move while maintaining the positional relationship. After entering a character using one cursor, even if the key of the character to be input next exists at a position away from the cursor, the position of the other cursor is closer to the key of the character to be input next Is displayed. As a result, the number of operations by the user can be reduced and high-speed input of characters can be realized.

[0043] The example in which “WALK” and “!” Words are input separately using both the R button 38 and the L button 40 has been described. Character input operation in game device 100 according to the present embodiment is not limited to this, and any character can be input using only R button 38 or only L button 40. Hereinafter, an example in which the word “WALK” is input using only the L button 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (f) and 3 (g). At this time, it is assumed that the user inputs “W” and “A” with the L button 40 in the same manner as described above with reference to FIGS. 3 (b) and 3 (c). Here, when inputting “L” and “K” using the L button 40 Will be explained.

FIG. 3 (f) is a diagram showing a display mode of the game content display unit 24 when the character “L” is input by the L button 40. When the input of “A” is completed, the L cursor 56 is positioned on the “A” key and the R cursor 54 is positioned on the “G” key, as shown in FIG. Next, in order to input “L” with the L button 40, the user presses the right button 50 eight times to move the L force 1 sol 56 to the position of the “L” key. At this time, when the right button 50 is pressed five times, the R cursor 54 is positioned on the “;” key. When the user presses the right button 50 three times, the R cursor 54 does not move from the “;” key, and the L cursor 56 moves to the position of the “L” key.

When the user force button 40 is pressed and “L” is entered, as shown in FIG. 3 (f),! / And “L” are displayed after “A” in the input character display section 36.

The user continues to input “K”.

FIG. 3 (g) is a diagram showing a display mode of the game content display unit 24 when the character “Κ” is input by the L button 40. When the input of “L” is completed, the R cursor 54 is positioned on the “;” key and the L cursor 56 is positioned on the “L” key. Next, the user presses the left button 52 once to move the L cursor 56 to the position of the “K” key. At this time, there is an empty space between the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 before the left button 52 is operated, so there is an empty space for the three keys. When the user force button 40 is pressed and “Κ” is entered, as shown in Fig. 3 (g),! / And “Κ” is “L” in the input character display 36. Will be displayed.

Here, an example of creating a word using only the user power button 40 has been described, but it goes without saying that a word can be created using only the R button 38 in the same manner.

In this manner, in game device 100 according to the present embodiment, the user can input characters by operating only one of R button 38 and L button 40! When the R button 38 and the L button 40 are used to enter characters separately, and when using only one of these buttons! / It depends on your taste. In game device 100 according to the present embodiment, any of these operations Since character input is possible and it is possible to cope with various user preferences as described above, the operability is good.

[0047] In game device 100 according to the present embodiment, the user can move each of R cursor 54 and L cursor 56 over the entire area of on-screen keyboard 32. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 (h) is a diagram illustrating a display mode of the game content display unit 24 when “A” is input by the R button 38 after “W” is input in the above example. As shown in Fig. 3 (b), when the “W” input is completed, the L cursor 56 is positioned at the “W” key and the R cursor 54 is positioned at the “Y” key. The user shall press the down button 48 once and the left button 52 five times to move the R cursor 54 to the “Α” key position. Here, when the down button 48 is pressed once and the left button 52 is pressed once, the L cursor 56 moves to the position “Α”. After this, even if the left button 52 is pressed, the L cursor 56 does not move from the “Α” position. Only the R cursor 54 moves to the left. As a result of pressing down button 48 once and left button 52 five times, R cursor 54 and L cursor 56 are superimposed at the position of the key `` A '' as shown in Fig. 3 (h). Is displayed. When the user presses the R button 38, “A” is displayed on the right side of “W” in the input character display unit 36.

[0048] In addition, after inputting "A" with the R cursor 54 and subsequently inputting "L" with the R cursor 54, the user presses the right button 50 eight times. At this time, until the right button 50 is pressed four times, only the R cursor 54 moves to the right, and the L cursor 56 does not move from the position of the “A” key. When the right button 50 is pressed four times, the R cursor 54 is positioned at the “G” key and the L cursor 56 is positioned at the “A” key. In other words, there is an interval of three keys between these cursors. When the right button 50 is further pressed, the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 move to the right while maintaining the interval.

In this manner, each of the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56 can move over the entire area of the on-screen keyboard 32. Thus, the user can input characters of all keys included in the on-screen keyboard 32 by operating only one of the R button 38 and the L button 40. In other words, in this case, the user does not have to replace the finger pressing the R button 38 or the L button 40 according to the character to be input, so that the character input operation is simplified. It becomes a stool. In addition, since all the characters on the on-screen keyboard 32 can be input by any of the R cursor 54 and the L cursor 56, the room for selection of the user's operation is widened, and the operability of the character input device is improved.

[0050] In the above example, in order to select a character to be input, the cursor is moved by one key by operating the direction button, but the movement operation of the cursor is not limited to this. In the game device 100, the cursor is moved to the initial position by a predetermined button operation different from the cursor operation using only the direction button by the user, and the cursor is moved by the direction button until the character key to which the position force is input. It is possible to make it. Hereinafter, the operation of moving the cursor to the initial position is also referred to as “initial position movement operation”.

As an example, the case where the R cursor 54 located at the “V” key is moved to the “0” key position will be described. It is assumed that the initial position movement operation is an operation of simultaneously pressing the R button 38 and the L button 40. That is, the number of button operations in the initial position movement operation is one. When the cursor is moved only by the operation of the direction button, for example, the user presses the right button 50 five times and the up button 46 three times. At this time, the direction button is pressed a total of eight times.

When performing the initial position movement operation and operating the direction button, first, the user performs an operation of pressing the R button 38 and the L button 40 simultaneously. As a result, the R cursor 54 moves from the position of the “V” key to the position of the “U” key, which is the initial position. Thereafter, the user moves the R cursor 54 to the “0” position by pressing the right button 50 three times and the up button 46 once, for example. In this case, the user operates the button five times in total.

[0052] In other words, the number of button operations when executing the initial position movement operation should be three times less than the number of button operations when moving the cursor only by operating the direction button. Because the number of button operations is small, the speed of character input can be increased. The effect of high-speed input of characters becomes more prominent as the number of keys included in the on-screen keyboard increases. An example of an on-screen keyboard with a large number of keys is an on-screen keyboard that supports powerful input.

[0053] Initial position force The operation of moving the cursor to each character key can be patterned for each character key. That is, after executing the initial position movement operation, the user may move the cursor by operating the direction button with a pattern corresponding to the character to be input. For example, when moving the L cursor 56 located at the “B” key to the “A” key and moving the L cursor 56 located at the “5” key to the “A” key And explain. When the cursor is moved only by the operation of the direction button without executing the initial position movement operation, in the former case, the user presses the left button 52 five times and the up button 46 once. In the latter case, the user presses the left button 52 four times and the down button 48 twice. In other words, the operation of the direction buttons is different. Here, consider the case where the direction button is operated after the initial position movement operation is executed. In this case, in any of the above cases, after the user performs the initial position movement operation, the user presses the direction button in a predetermined pattern, for example, pressing the left button 52 twice and the down button 48 once. By operating, the L cursor 56 can be moved to the “A” key.

[0054] That is, when the user wants to input a certain character, regardless of which key the cursor is positioned at that time, the user first performs the initial position movement operation and then moves to the key of that character. The direction button may be operated with the pattern. Thus, even when different characters are continuously input, the character input operation can be patterned, so that the user can easily perform the character input.

[0055] In the present embodiment, when the character is input, the R button 38, the L button 40, and the direction button are operated. The R button 38 is used instead of the X button 42, and the L button 40 is used instead of the Y button 44. The only thing that can be done is ...

[0056] The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combinations of the respective constituent elements and the respective treatment processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. It is understood. For example, the following modifications can be considered.

[0057] In this embodiment, the number of force cursors is two, but the number of cursors is not limited to this, and three or more may be provided. At this time, it is desirable to provide the same number of character input buttons as the number of cursors and to associate the cursors with the character input buttons. In the present embodiment, the arrangement pattern of the force keys in which a plurality of keys are arranged so that the on-screen keyboard 32 is a square is not limited to this. For example, the keys may be arranged so that the on-screen keyboard 32 is a triangle. At this time, the on-screen keyboard 32 An example is shown in which three cursors are displayed above, and each area from the vertex of the triangle formed by the on-screen keyboard 32 to the center of gravity is set as an area recommended for character input by each of the three cursors. Conceivable. As a result, the speed of character input can be increased as the number of cursors increases. In addition, by setting the above-described region, it is possible to suppress variation in the number of cursor movement operations between the cursors when inputting characters, and the operability of the game apparatus 100 can be improved.

[0058] In the present embodiment, a force is executed by inputting characters by operating the R button 38, L button 40, X button 42, and Y button 44. In the modified example, the game apparatus 100 is provided with a lever, and the lever Character input may be executed. In this case, the user tilts the lever to the right and inputs the character of the key where the R cursor 54 is located, and tilts the lever to the left and inputs the character of the key where the L cursor 56 is positioned. This allows the user to input both the key character where the R cursor 54 is located and the character of the key where the L cursor 56 is located by operating one lever. Become.

[0059] In the present embodiment, the initial position movement operation is an operation of simultaneously pressing the R button 38 and the L button 40. However, in a modified example, the initial position movement operation is, for example, the X button 42 and the Y button. You can press the button 44 at the same time. You can press the R button 38 and the up button 46 at the same time. In other words, the initial position movement operation should be different from the cursor operation using only the direction buttons!

In this embodiment, the initial position movement operation is a single button operation. However, in a modified example, the initial position movement operation may be two or more button operations.

Industrial applicability

[0060] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize high-speed input of characters using an on-screen keyboard.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A keyboard display control unit that displays an on-screen keyboard on the screen;

A cursor display control unit for displaying a plurality of cursors on the on-screen keyboard;

A cursor operation unit for receiving a cursor operation by a user;

A cursor movement processing unit for moving the plurality of cursors on an on-screen keyboard in accordance with a cursor operation received by the cursor operation unit;

An input operation unit for receiving a user's character input operation;

An input processing unit that identifies a character input by a desired cursor among the plurality of cursors according to a character input operation received by the input operation unit;

A character input device comprising:

[2] The character input device according to [1], wherein the cursor movement processing unit is capable of moving each cursor to the entire area of the on-screen keyboard.

[3] The claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of cursors are displayed with a predetermined positional relationship, and the cursor movement processing unit moves the plurality of cursors while maintaining the positional relationship. Character input device.

4. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the cursor operation unit and the input operation unit are provided in a single controller unit of the device.

5. The controller unit according to claim 4, wherein the input operation unit corresponding to one cursor and the input operation unit corresponding to the other cursor are provided so as to correspond to each cursor in a positional manner. The character input device described.

6. The controller unit according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of input operation units are assigned to the one cursor, and a plurality of input operation units are also assigned to the other cursor. The character input device described in 1.

[7] The character input device according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the on-screen keyboard is color-coded for each region in which character input by each of the plurality of cursors is recommended.

[8] The cursor movement processing unit moves the plurality of cursors to a predetermined initial position by a predetermined operation different from the cursor operation by a user. Character input device.

[9] displaying an on-screen keyboard on the screen;

Displaying a plurality of cursors on the on-screen keyboard; receiving a cursor operation by a user;

Moving the plurality of cursors on an on-screen keyboard in accordance with an accepted cursor operation;

Receiving a user's character input operation;

Identifying a character input by a desired cursor among the plurality of cursors in response to an accepted character input operation;

A character input method comprising:

[10] The function to display the on-screen keyboard on the screen,

A function of displaying a plurality of cursors on the on-screen keyboard, a function of accepting a cursor operation by a user,

A function of moving the plurality of cursors on an on-screen keyboard in accordance with an accepted cursor operation;

A function of accepting an input operation of a character corresponding to any one of the plurality of cursors by the user;

A function that identifies the input character according to the input operation accepted,

A program characterized by causing a computer to realize.

[11] A computer-readable recording medium in which the program according to claim 10 is recorded.