Character input apparatus

• US 9,361,022 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2013
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Iino, Masahiro, Aono, Tetsuaki, Ohta, Takashi, Okada, Takaho
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Repsher, III, John
• Application Number:
  US14/029,086
• Publication Number:
  US 20140157180A1
• Time in Patent Office: 994 Days
• Field of Search: 715/773
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• 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

Abstract

A plurality of characters that are candidates for entry are displayed on a display surface of a display corresponding to an operation surface of a touch panel as character buttons. A touch detector judges whether a user touches the operation surface either with a single point or plural points, and detects a position touched by the user. An input receiver receives an entry of a character associated with a character button in the position touched by the user among the plurality of characters displayed on the display surface of the display. Then, the input receiver receives the entry of the character which varies in type depending on whether the user touches an area in the operation surface corresponding to an identical character button with a single point or plural points.

Claims

1. A character input apparatus comprising:

a display having a touch panel and that displays a plurality of characters which are candidates for entry on a display surface corresponding to an operation surface of the touch panel, each of the characters being displayed in a corresponding area of the display that is associated with the character;

a first touch panel control circuit configured to judge whether a user touches one of the corresponding areas of the operation surface that is associated with a particular one of the characters either with a single point or with plural points;

a second touch panel control circuit configured to judge whether the user comes close to the one of the corresponding areas of the display surface that is associated with the particular one of the characters either with the single point or with the plural points without contacting the display surface; and

a processor coupled to the display and to the first and second touch panel control circuits, the processor configured to (i) control the display to display a first version of the particular one of the characters in the corresponding area associated with the particular one of the characters when the user comes close to the corresponding area in the display surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the single point without contacting the display surface, and to display a second version of the particular one of the characters, different from the first version, in the corresponding area associated with the particular one of the characters when the user comes close to the corresponding area in the display surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the plural points without contacting the display surface, and (ii) receive an entry of the particular one of the characters associated with the corresponding area touched by the user among the plurality of characters, wherein

the processor (a) receives the entry of the first version of the particular one of the characters when the user touches the corresponding area in the operation surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the single point and (b) receives the entry of the second version of the particular one of the characters when the user touches the corresponding area in the operation surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the plural points.

2. The character input apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the processor causes the display to emphatically display a character in the position where the user comes close among the plurality of characters.

3. The character input apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the processor judges a direction of movement of the user when the user moves while touching the operation surface, and

when the user moves while touching the corresponding area of the operation surface with the plural points, the processor causes the display to display, in the corresponding area, a plurality of alternative types of the character associated with the corresponding area, and the processor receives the entry of one of the plurality of alternative types of the corresponding character located in the direction of the movement of the user.

4. The character input apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an informing part that informs the user of information when the processor receives the entry of the character.

5. A character input method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying a plurality of characters which are candidates for entry on a display surface corresponding to an operation surface of a touch panel of a display, each of the characters being displayed in a corresponding area of the display that is associated with the character;

(b) judging whether a user comes close to one of the corresponding areas of the display surface that is associated with a particular one of the characters either with a single point or with plural points without contacting the display surface;

(c) judging whether the user touches the one of the corresponding areas of the operation surface that is associated with the particular one of the characters either with the single point or with the plural points; and

(d) receiving an entry of the particular one of the characters associated with the corresponding area touched by the user among the plurality of characters, wherein

the step (b) controls the display to display a first version of the particular one of the characters in the corresponding area associated with the particular one of the characters when the user comes close to the corresponding area in the display surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the single point without contacting the display surface, and to display a second version of the particular one of the characters, different from the first version, in the corresponding area associated with the particular one of the characters when the user comes close to the corresponding area in the display surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the plural points without contacting the display surface, and

the step (d) (i) receives the entry of the first version of the particular one of the characters when the user touches the corresponding area in the operation surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the single point and (ii) receives the entry of the second version of the particular one of the characters when the user touches the corresponding area in the operation surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the plural points.

6. The character input method of claim 5, wherein

the step (a) emphatically displays a character in the position where the user comes close among the plurality of characters.

7. The character input method of claim 5, further comprising the step of:

(e) judging a direction of movement of the user when the user moves while touching the operation surface, wherein

when the user moves while touching the corresponding area of the operation surface with the plural points, the corresponding area displaying a plurality of alternative types of the character associated with the corresponding area, the step (d) receives the entry of one of the plurality of alternative types of the corresponding character located in the direction of the movement of the user.

8. The character input method of claim 5, further comprising the step of:

(f) informing the user of information when the step (c) receives the entry of the character.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores a program to be executed by a computer, the program causing the computer to execute the steps of:

(a) causing a display surface corresponding to an operation surface of a touch panel of a display to display a plurality of characters which are candidates for entry, each of the characters being displayed in a corresponding area of the display that is associated with the character;

(b) judging whether a user comes close to one of the corresponding areas of the display surface that is associated with a particular one of the characters either with a single point or with plural points without contacting the display surface;

(c) judging whether a user touches the one of the corresponding areas of the operation surface that is associated with the particular one of the characters either with the single point or with the plural points; and

(d) receiving an entry of the particular one of the characters associated with the corresponding area touched by the user among the plurality of characters, wherein

the step (b) controls the display to display a first version of the particular one of the characters in the corresponding area associated with the particular one of the characters when the user comes close to the corresponding area in the display surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the single point without contacting the display surface, and to display a second version of the particular one of the characters, different from the first version, in the corresponding area associated with the particular one of the characters when the user comes close to the corresponding area in the display surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the plural points without contacting the display surface, and

the step (d) (i) receives the entry of the first version of the particular one of the characters when the user touches the corresponding area in the operation surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the single point and (ii) receives the entry of the second version of the particular one of the characters when the user touches the corresponding area in the operation surface associated with the particular one of the characters with the plural points.

10. The non-transitory recording medium of claim 9, wherein

the step (a) emphatically displays a character in the position where the user comes close among the plurality of characters.

11. The non-transitory recording medium of claim 9, wherein

the program further causes the computer to execute the step of:

(e) judging a direction of movement of the user when the user moves while touching the operation surface, and

when the user moves while touching the corresponding area of the operation surface with the plural points, the corresponding area displaying a plurality of alternative types of the character associated with the corresponding area, the step (c) receives the entry of one of the plurality of alternative types of the corresponding character located in the direction of the movement of the user.

12. The non-transitory recording medium of claim 9, wherein

the program further causes the computer to execute the step of:

(f) informing the user of information when the step (c) receives the entry of the character.