CHARACTER INPUT DEVICE, CHARACTER INPUT METHOD, AND CHARACTER INPUT PROGRAM

• US 20130157727A1
• Filed: 08/26/2011
• Published: 06/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Sudo, Tomohiro, Murakami, Hideko
• Granted Patent: US 9,014,762 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation methods for entering alphabetical characters per se G06F3/0237

Abstract

According to an aspect, a character input device includes: a display unit; a touch sensor for detecting a contact with a surface thereof; a character recognition processing unit for performing a first character recognition process for recognizing a character used for a first function and a second character recognition process for recognizing a character used for a second function, on the basis of a locus connecting positions where the contact is detected by the touch sensor; and an input control unit for displaying, on the display unit, a first input screen for the first function onto which the character recognized by the first character recognition process is input and/or a second input screen for the second function onto which the character recognized by the second character recognition process is input.

Claims

1. A character input device comprising:

a display unit;

a touch sensor for detecting a contact with a surface thereof;

a character recognition processing unit for performing a first character recognition process for recognizing a character used for a first function and a second character recognition process for recognizing a character used for a second function, on the basis of a locus connecting positions where the contact is detected by the touch sensor; and

an input control unit for displaying, on the display unit, a first input screen for the first function onto which the character recognized by the first character recognition process is input and/or a second input screen for the second function onto which the character recognized by the second character recognition process is input.

2. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein

the input control unit is configured to,

upon displaying the first input screen, output the character recognized by the first character recognition process onto the first input screen, and

upon displaying the second input screen, output the character recognized by the second character recognition process onto the second input screen.

3. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein

the input control unit is configured to display the first input screen and/or the second input screen on the display unit, on the basis of a recognition accuracy of the character by the first character recognition process and a recognition accuracy of the character by the second character recognition process.

4. The character input device according to claim 3, wherein

the input control unit is configured to

display the first input screen when the recognition accuracy of the character by the first character recognition process is greater than a threshold value, and

display the second input screen when the recognition accuracy of the character by the first character recognition process is less than the threshold value.

5. The character input device according to claim 3, wherein

the input control unit is configured to

display the first input screen when the recognition accuracy of the character by the first character recognition process is greater than a first threshold value,

display the second input screen when the recognition accuracy of the character by the first character recognition process is less than a second threshold value set to be less than the first threshold value, and

display both the first input screen and the second input screen when the recognition accuracy of the character by the first character recognition process is between the first threshold value and the second threshold value.

6. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein

the first function is a telephone function, and

the character recognition processing unit is configured to recognize a number using the first character recognition process.

7. The character input device according to claim 6, wherein

the second function is a function different from the telephone function, and

the character recognition processing unit is configured to recognize a number and other characters using the second character recognition process.

8. The character input device according to claim 3, wherein

the input control unit is configured to

display both the first input screen and the second input screen when a difference between the recognition accuracy of the character by the first character recognition process and the recognition accuracy of the character by the second character recognition process is less than a predetermined threshold value, and

displays only one of the first input screen and the second input screen which corresponds to the character recognition process with the higher recognition accuracy of the character when the difference between the recognition accuracy of the character by the first character recognition process and the recognition accuracy of the character by the second character recognition process is greater than the predetermined threshold value.

9. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein

the input control unit is configured to

display, when both the first input screen and the second input screen are displayed, at least one of the character recognized by the first character recognition process and the character recognized by the second character recognition process as candidates of the input character on the display unit, and

display, when any one of the candidates is selected, only one of the first input screen and the second input screen which corresponds to the character recognition process by which the selected candidate is recognized.

10. The character input device according to claim 3, wherein

the input control unit is configured to

process a cumulative total value or a representative value of the recognition accuracy of the character recognized by the first character recognition process as the recognition accuracy of the character by the first character recognition process, and

process a cumulative total value or a representative value of the recognition accuracy of the character recognized by the second character recognition process as the recognition accuracy of the character by the second character recognition process.

11. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein,

when the number of characters recognized by the first character recognition process or the second character recognition process is greater than a predetermined value,

the input control unit is configured to stop one of the first character recognition process and the second character recognition process which has lower character recognition accuracy.

12. The character input device according to claim 1, further comprising

a keyboard configured to be changed to a first mode for inputting the character used for the first function or a second mode for inputting the character used for the second function, wherein

the input control unit is configured to

upon displaying only the first input screen of the first and second input screens, change the keyboard to the first mode, and

upon displaying only the second input screen, change the keyboard to the second mode.

13. The character input device according to claim 1, wherein

the input control unit is configured to display only one of the first input screen and the second input screen on the display unit when a second character is recognized by at least one of the first character recognition process and the second character recognition process.

14. A character input device comprising:

a display unit;

a touch sensor for detecting a contact with a surface thereof;

a character recognition processing unit for recognizing a character on the basis of a locus connecting positions where the contact is detected by the touch sensor; and

an input control unit configured to

display a screen for a first function to which the character recognized by the character recognition processing unit is input on the display unit when the character is used for the first function, and

display a screen for a second function to which the character recognized by the character recognition processing unit is input on the display unit when the character is used for the second function.

15. The character input device according to claim 14, wherein

the input control unit is configured to display both the screen for the first function and the screen for the second function on the display unit when it is not determined whether the character recognized by the character recognition processing unit is the character used for the first function or the character used for the second function.

16. The character input device according to claim 15, wherein,

in a case in which both the screen for the first function and the screen for the second function are displayed on the display unit,

the input control unit is configured to

display, when the next character recognized by the character recognition processing unit is the character used for the first function, only the screen for the first function to which the character is input on the display unit, and

display, when the next character recognized by the character recognition processing unit is the character used for the second function, only the screen for the second function to which the character is input on the display unit.

17. A character input method performed by a character input device including a display unit and a touch sensor for detecting a contact with a surface thereof, the character input method comprising:

performing a first character recognition process for recognizing a character used for a first function on the basis of a locus connecting positions where the contact is detected by the touch sensor;

performing a second character recognition process for recognizing a character used for a second function on the basis of the locus; and

displaying, on the display unit, a first input screen for the first function to which the character recognized by the first character recognition process is input and/or a second input screen for the second function to which the character recognized by the second character recognition process is input.

18. A non-transitory storage medium that stores a character input program for causing, when executed by a character input device including a display unit and a touch sensor for detecting a contact with a surface thereof, the character input device to execute:

performing a first character recognition process for recognizing a character used for a first function on the basis of a locus connecting positions where the contact is detected by the touch sensor;

performing a second character recognition process for recognizing a character used for a second function on the basis of the locus; and

displaying, on the display unit, a first input screen for the first function to which the character recognized by the first character recognition process is input and/or a second input screen for the second function to which the character recognized by the second character recognition process is input.