CHARACTER INPUT DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND CHARACTER KEY DISPLAY METHOD

• US 20110317194A1
• Filed: 06/24/2011
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kyocera MITA Corporation (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakanishi, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,812,984 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen

Abstract

An input device comprises: an operation unit having a display part that can display a plurality of character keys and a touch screen; a subsequent input candidate search unit that, upon detection of contact to an area corresponding to a specific character key in the touch screen, searches among the input candidate string for an input candidate string with a first character being a specific character corresponding to the area thus detected, as a subsequent input candidate string; a subsequent input candidate determination unit that, with regard to the subsequent input candidate thus found, determines a subsequent character following the first character as a subsequent input candidate character; and a display exchange unit that displays a character key of the subsequent input candidate character thus determined, by exchanging with a character key arranged in the vicinity of a character key for the specific character as the first character.

Claims

1. A character input device comprising:

an operation unit having a display part that can display a plurality of character keys and an input confirmation key in a predetermined arrangement and a touch screen that is disposed on a front face of the display part;

an input candidate storage unit that stores at least one string as an input candidate string;

a subsequent input candidate search unit that, upon detection of contact to an area corresponding to a specific character key in the touch screen, searches among the input candidate string for an input candidate string with a first character being a specific character corresponding to the area thus detected, as a subsequent input candidate string;

a subsequent input candidate determination unit that, with regard to the subsequent input candidate thus found, determines a subsequent character following the first character as a subsequent input candidate character; and

a display exchange unit that displays a character key of the subsequent input candidate character thus determined, by exchanging with a character key arranged in the vicinity of a character key for the specific character as the first character.

2. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the display exchange unit exchanges the character key of the subsequent input candidate character with a character key adjacent to the character key for the specific character as the first character, thereby displaying the character key for the subsequent input candidate character and the character key for the specific character as the first character adjacently.

3. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein, in a case in which there is a plurality of the first characters,

the display exchange unit displays the character key for the subsequent input candidate character thus determined, by exchanging with a character key arranged in the vicinity of a character key corresponding to an area detected last.

4. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the input character string is selected from a group consisting of:

a string determined based on Markov information source, in which a probability of occurrence of a certain event depends on a previous event;

a string listed in a dictionary;

a string empirically determined to be frequently input by a user during image formation;

a string related to image formation; and

a string related to a user ID.

5. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the display exchange unit displays the character key for the subsequent input candidate character in a display exchange state in a display mode different from that of other character keys.

6. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the display exchange unit displays the character key for the specific character as the first character and the character key for the subsequent input candidate character in a display exchange state in a concatenated state.

7. The character input device according to claim 1 further comprising a counting unit that counts the number of character keys arranged in the vicinity of the character key for the specific character as the first character,

wherein the subsequent input candidate determination unit:

extracts the subsequent character for all the subsequent input candidate strings that are found;

calculates the number of types of the subsequent characters thus extracted;

determines the subsequent characters of all the types as the subsequent input candidate characters, if the number of types thus calculated is no greater than the number of the character keys counted;

calculates a probability of occurrence of the subsequent character of each type, if the number of types thus calculated is greater than the number of the character keys thus counted; and

determines the subsequent characters as the subsequent input candidate characters in a descending order of the probability of occurrence, until the number of the subsequent characters reaches the number of the character keys counted.

8. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein, upon detection of contact to an area in the touch screen corresponding to a specific subsequent input candidate character among the character keys for the plurality of subsequent input candidate characters that are brought into the display exchange state by the display exchange unit to be displayed in the vicinity of the character key for the specific character as the first character,

the display exchange unit maintains display exchange between the character key for the specific subsequent input candidate character corresponding to the area in which contact is detected and a character key exchanged therewith;

and

regarding the plurality of subsequent input candidate characters, exits display exchange between character keys for the subsequent input candidate characters other than the specific subsequent input candidate character and character keys exchanged therewith, thereby displaying the character keys in an original arrangement before the display exchange.

9. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein the display exchange unit exits display exchange upon detection of contact to an area in the touch screen corresponding to the input confirmation key.

10. An image forming apparatus comprising a character input device, the character input device including:

an operation unit having a display part that can display a plurality of character keys and an input confirmation key in a predetermined arrangement and a touch screen that is disposed on a front face of the display part;

an input candidate storage unit that stores at least one string as an input candidate string;

a subsequent input candidate search unit that, upon detection of contact to an area corresponding to a specific character key in the touch screen, searches among the input candidate string for an input candidate string with a first character being a specific character corresponding to the area thus detected, as a subsequent input candidate string;

a subsequent input candidate determination unit that, with regard to the subsequent input candidate thus found, determines a subsequent character following the first character as a subsequent input candidate character; and

a display exchange unit that displays a character key of the subsequent input candidate character thus determined, by exchanging with a character key arranged in the vicinity of a character key for the specific character as the first character.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the display exchange unit exchanges the character key of the subsequent input candidate character with a character key adjacent to the character key for the specific character as the first character, thereby displaying the character key for the subsequent input candidate character and the character key for the specific character as the first character adjacently.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein, in a case in which there is a plurality of the first characters,

the display exchange unit displays the character key for the subsequent input candidate character thus determined, by exchanging with a character key arranged in the vicinity of a character key corresponding to an area detected last.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the input character string is selected from a group consisting of:

a string determined based on Markov information source, in which a probability of occurrence of a certain event depends on a previous event;

a string listed in a dictionary;

a string empirically determined to be frequently input by a user during image formation;

a string related to image formation; and

a string related to a user ID.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the display exchange unit displays the character key for the subsequent input candidate character after display exchange in a display mode different from that of other character keys.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the display exchange unit displays the character key for the specific character as the first character and the character key for the subsequent input candidate character after display exchange in a concatenated state.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10 further comprising a counting unit that counts the number of character keys arranged in the vicinity of the character key for the specific character as the first character,

wherein the subsequent input candidate determination unit:

extracts the subsequent character for all the subsequent input candidate strings that are found;

calculates the number of types of the subsequent characters thus extracted;

determines the subsequent characters of all the types as the subsequent input candidate characters, if the number of types thus calculated is no greater than the number of the character keys counted;

calculates a probability of occurrence of the subsequent character of each type, if the number of types thus calculated is greater than the number of the character keys thus counted; and

determines the subsequent characters as the subsequent input candidate characters in a descending order of the probability of occurrence, until the number of the subsequent characters reaches the number of the character keys counted.

17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein, upon detection of contact to an area in the touch screen corresponding to a specific subsequent input candidate character among the character keys for the plurality of subsequent input candidate characters that are brought into a display exchange state by the display exchange unit to be displayed in the vicinity of the character key for the specific character as the first character,

the display exchange unit maintains display exchange between the character key for the specific subsequent input candidate character corresponding to the area in which contact is detected and a character key exchanged therewith;

and

regarding the plurality of subsequent input candidate characters, exits display exchange between character keys for the subsequent input candidate characters other than the specific subsequent input candidate character and character keys exchanged therewith, thereby displaying the character keys in an original arrangement before the display exchange.

18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the display exchange unit exits display exchange upon detection of contact to an area in the touch screen corresponding to the input confirmation key.

19. A character key display method for a character input device, the character input device including:

an operation unit having a display part that can display a plurality of character keys and an input confirmation key in a predetermined arrangement and a touch screen that is disposed on a front face of the display part; and

an input candidate storage unit that stores at least one specific string as an input candidate string, comprising;

a subsequent input candidate search step of, upon detection of contact to an area corresponding to a specific character key in the touch screen, searching among the input candidate string for an input candidate string starting with a specific character corresponding to the area thus detected as a first character, as a subsequent input candidate string;

a subsequent input candidate determination step of, with regard to the subsequent input candidate thus found, determining a subsequent character following the first character as a subsequent input candidate character; and

a display exchange step of displaying a character key of the subsequent input candidate character thus determined by exchanging with a character key arranged in the vicinity of a character key for the specific character as the first character.