Character conversion apparatus and character conversion method for portable information apparatus

• US 6,738,042 B1
• Filed: 12/27/1999
• Issued: 05/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nobukiyo, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eisen, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US09/473,258
• Time in Patent Office: 1,604 Days
• Field of Search: 345/158, 345/156, 345/863, 345/864, 345/179
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/018 Input/output arrangements for oriental characters

Abstract

A character conversion apparatus for a portable information apparatus which can executes commands for selection of a character conversion candidate, determination, backspacing, escapement and so forth by a simple operation is disclosed. The character conversion apparatus includes a display apparatus, an inputting apparatus, a CPU, first to fourth acceleration sensors provided discretely on an upper side, a lower side, a left side and a right side of the body of the portable information apparatus, and a character database ROM. The acceleration sensors measure accelerations of the portable information apparatus when it is turned to be tilted longitudinally or laterally and measure directions of such turning movements of the portable information apparatus. Necessary functions regarding character inputting and character conversion are allocated individually to different results of the detection of the acceleration sensors, and the character conversion apparatus executes character inputting or conversion in response to one of the turning movements which is applied to the portable information apparatus.

Claims

1. A character conversion apparatus for a portable information apparatus, comprising:

an inputting apparatus for inputting a character to said portable information apparatus;

a character database memory in which character data are stored;

a display apparatus for displaying a character or characters inputted from said inputting apparatus or a character of characters obtained by conversion with reference to said character database memory;

at least four acceleration sensor means arranged in a distributed manner on the left, right, upper and lower sides of the portable information apparatus for detecting an acceleration thereof when one of different turning operations is performed for said portable information apparatus;

each of said acceleration sensors detecting a preset threshold value of an individually associated acceleration, a plurality of commands for character conversion identified by said commands for a character process according to the acceleration sensor that detects acceleration having a higher absolute value than absolute values of accelerations detected by the other acceleration sensors and executing a first identified command when the detected acceleration falls below the threshold value, executing a second identified command different from the first identified command when the acceleration sensor detects more than one consecutive acceleration having a higher absolute value than absolute values of accelerations detected by the other acceleration sensors within a predetermined period of time; and

a central processing unit for executing said one of commands for character processing individually allocated to the turning operations for said portable information apparatus which corresponds to the acceleration detected by said acceleration sensor means.

2. A character conversion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said acceleration sensor means includes said plurality of acceleration sensors mounted on said information processing apparatus, and different ones of the commands are allocated individually to detection results of said acceleration sensors.

3. A character conversion apparatus as claim in claim 2, wherein said acceleration sensors are mounted on an upper side, a lower side, a left side and a right side of said portable information apparatus and individually detect accelerations which are generated by a turning movement of said portable information apparatus, and said central processing unit executes commands of character conversion in an ascending order of numbers of character candidates, character conversion in a descending order of the numbers of the candidates, character deletion/cancellation and determination allocated to the detection results of the turning movement of said acceleration sensors to perform character conversion.

4. A character conversion apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the commands regarding the character conversion are allocated such that the command of ascending order conversion is allocated to a turning movement of said portable information apparatus in one direction and the command of descending order conversion is allocated to another turning movement of said portable information apparatus in the opposite direction.

5. A character conversion apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the commands regarding the character conversion are allocated such that the command of character deletion and the cancellation command are allocated to one turning direction of said portable information apparatus, and which one of the commands is to be used is automatically changed over depending upon whether character inputting is proceeding or character conversion is proceeding such that the character deletion command is performed during character inputting whereas the cancellation command is performed during character conversion, whereby a plurality of commands are allocated to the turning movement of said portable information apparatus in one direction.

6. A character conversion apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein, when each of said acceleration sensors measures a process having a magnitude of the acceleration of the turning movement of said portable information apparatus generated by a turning operation for said portable information apparatus first becomes greater than said preset threshold value and then becomes smaller than the threshold value, said central processing unit executes the command allocated to the turning direction of the turning movement so that any one command may be executed by a selected one or more turning operation of said portable information apparatus.

7. A character conversion apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said acceleration sensors are mounted on a left side and a right side of said portable information apparatus and each detects an acceleration generated by one or more turning movements of said portable information apparatus, and said central processing unit executes the commands of character conversion in an ascending order of numbers of character candidates, character conversion in a descending order of the numbers of the candidates, character deletion/cancellation and determination allocated to the turning operations for said acceleration sensors obtained as the detection results to perform character conversion.

8. A character conversion apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the commands regarding the character conversion are each defined by a unique combination of a direction of a turning movement of said portable information apparatus and a number of times by which a turning operation is applied to said portable information apparatus within a predetermined period of time and are allocated so as to effect reverse conversion by turning movements of said portable information apparatus in the opposite directions such that the command of ascending order conversion is allocated to a turning movement of said portable information apparatus in one direction and the command of descending order conversion is allocated to another turning movement of said portable information apparatus in the opposite direction.

9. A character conversion apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the commands regarding the character conversion are allocated such that the command of character deletion and the cancellation command are allocated to a predetermined number of times by which said portable information apparatus is turned in one turning direction, and which one of the commands is to be used is automatically changed over depending upon whether character inputting is proceeding or character conversion is proceeding such that the character deletion command is performed during character inputting whereas the cancellation command is performed during character conversion, whereby a plurality of commands are allocated to a particular number of times of one or more turning movements of said portable information apparatus in one direction.

10. A character conversion apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein one turning operation is determined when the magnitude of an acceleration of a turning movement of said portable information apparatus generated by a turning operation for said portable information apparatus becomes lower than a preset threshold value after the magnitude exceeds the threshold value, and a plurality of commands are allocated to different numbers of times by which the turning operation is performed for said portable information apparatus within said predetermined period of time such that, when a turning operation is performed once for said portable information apparatus in one direction, the command of ascending order conversion is performed once, but when a turning operation is performed twice for said portable information apparatus in the one direction, the character or characters obtained by the conversion are determined, whereby a plurality of command are allocated to one turning direction of said portable information apparatus.

11. A character conversion method for a character conversion apparatus of a portable information apparatus which includes an inputting apparatus for inputting a character to said portable information apparatus, a display apparatus for displaying a character or characters inputted from said inputting apparatus or a character or characters obtained by conversion, a central processing unit for executing a control operation processing of said portable information apparatus, a plurality of acceleration sensors mounted on an upper side, a lower side, a left side and a right side of said portable information apparatus for detecting accelerations exceeding a preset threshold level and generated by turning operations for said portable information apparatus, said individual turning operations indicating to which different commands regarding character conversion are allocated, and a character database memory in which character data are stored, said character conversion method comprising of the steps of:

inputting characters through said inputting apparatus;

detecting one or more accelerations having a higher absolute value than absolute values of accelerations detected by the other acceleration sensors by one of said acceleration sensors that one of said accelerations generated by a turning operation for said portable information apparatus in a longitudinal direction or a lateral direction and detected by one of said acceleration sensors which has the highest absolute value above said threshold level for responding to a detected acceleration;

executing that one of the commands regarding character conversion which is indicated by the highest absolute value allocated to the turning operation of the detected one or more accelerations, said execution occurring when said detected acceleration falls below said threshold level; and

executing a different one of the commands regarding character conversion which is indicated by more than one consecutive highest absolute value allocated to the turning operation of the detected one or more accelerations, said execution occurring when said detected accelerations fall below said threshold level within a predetermined period of time.

12. A character conversion method for a character conversion apparatus of a portable information apparatus which includes an inputting apparatus for inputting a character to said portable information apparatus, a display apparatus for displaying a character or characters inputted from said inputting apparatus or a character or characters obtained by conversion, a central processing unit for executing a control operation processing of by said portable information apparatus, at least four acceleration sensors mounted on a left, right, upper and lower sides of said portable information apparatus for detecting accelerations exceeding a preset threshold level and generated by turning operations for of said portable information apparatus, to which different commands regarding character conversion are being allocated to each of said acceleration sensors, and a character database memory in which character data are stored, said character conversion method comprising the steps of:

inputting characters through said inputting apparatus;

detecting one or more accelerations having a higher absolute value than absolute values of accelerations detected by the other acceleration sensors that one of said accelerations above said threshold level which is generated when said portable information apparatus is turned once or a plurality of times in a predetermined direction within a predetermined period of time, and detected by one of said acceleration sensors which has receives the highest absolute acceleration value above said threshold responding to said detected acceleration;

executing that one of the commands regarding character conversion which is allocated to the turning operation of the detected acceleration, said execution occurring when said detected acceleration falls below said threshold level; and

executing a different one of the commands regarding character conversion which is allocated to more than one consecutive turning operation of the detected one or more accelerations, said execution occurring when said detected accelerations fall below said threshold level within a predetermined period of time.