Method of allowing users to enter characters into electronic equipment by using cursor key and displaying user-entered characters

• US 6,046,732 A
• Filed: 04/03/1998
• Issued: 04/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishimoto, Hajime
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kovalick, Vincent E.
• Application Number:
  US09/054,478
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 345/145, 345/146, 345/141, 345/156, 345/168, 345/169, 345/160, 345/173
• US Class Current: 345/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2748 by matching character strings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• 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

The screen of a display such as a liquid crystal display can be divided into an input data display region comprised of at least one line, in which characters selected by a user are displayed, and a software keyboard display region comprised of three lines, in which a software keyboard is displayed. A dot pattern showing a boundary between the input data display region and the software keyboard display region is also provided. A blank dot pattern is further provided between any two adjacent rows of keys or characters on the on-screen software keyboard so that the three rows of keys or characters on the on-screen software keyboard are spaced. The user can select a character displayed in the software keyboard display region by using a cursor key and an OK key.

Claims

1. A method of allowing a user to enter characters into electronic equipment by selecting a character on a software keyboard displayed on a display screen of said electronic equipment using a cursor key, and displaying characters selected by the user on said display screen, comprising the steps of:

providing an input data display region comprised of at least one line, in which characters selected by the user are displayed, within said display screen;

providing a software keyboard display region comprised of a plurality of lines, in which said software keyboard is displayed, within said display screen; and

providing a dot pattern display on said display screen showing a boundary between said input data display region and said software keyboard display region, wherein each line of said display screen consists of dot patterns of N pixels high, N being an integer greater than three, wherein in performing said providing steps, within a first line of said software keyboard display region, a dot pattern of 1 dot high showing said boundary between said input data display region and said software keyboard display region is displayed at the top of said first line of said software keyboard display region so that said boundary is adjacent to said input data display region, a first blank dot line of dots of 1 pixel high is provided just under said boundary, and a first row of keys or characters on said software keyboard is displayed just under said first blank dot line by using a screen font built up on a matrix of (N-2) dots high by M₁ dots wide, M₁ being an integer greater than one, so that said boundary and said first row of said software keyboard are spaced from each other, wherein within a second line of said software keyboard display region, a second blank dot line of dots of 1 pixel high is provided just under said first line of said software keyboard display region and a second row of keys or characters on said software keyboard is displayed just under said second blank dot line by using a screen font built up on a matrix of (N-2) dots high by M₁ dots wide so that said first and second rows of said software keyboard are spaced from each other, and a third blank dot line of dots of 1 pixel high is provided just under said second row of said software keyboard, and wherein within a third line of said software keyboard display region, a third row of keys or characters on said software keyboard is displayed just under said third blank dot line by using a screen font built up on a matrix of (N-1) dots high by M₁ dots wide so that said second and third rows of said software keyboard are spaced from each other, and a fourth blank dot line of dots of 1 pixel high is provided at the lowermost part of said third line of said software keyboard display region.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in performing said step of providing said input data display region, characters selected by the user are displayed by using a screen font built up on a matrix of (N-1) dots high by M₁ dots wide, and a blank dot line of dots of 1 pixel high is provided at the lowermost part of said input data display region so that characters displayed in said input data display region and said boundary displayed in said software keyboard display region are spaced from each other.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said software keyboard has a key layout which is the same as the QWERTY typewriter layout.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said software keyboard has three different key layouts:

an uppercase alphabetic key layout, a lowercase alphabetic key layout, and a special symbol key layout, and wherein said software keyboard can switch among the three different key layouts in response to manipulation by a user.