Information input device, information input method, information input control program, and electronic device

• US 10,684,775 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2016
• Issued: 06/16/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Kajiyama, Kunihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ketema, Benyam
• Application Number:
  US15/144,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20160246500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,505 Days
• Field of Search: 345173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/018 Input/output arrangements for oriental characters
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• 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: H04M 1/23 Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof by improving visibility H04M1/22
• 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

The present invention provides an information input device, in which information is inputted by easy operations, even if a display unit size is limited. An information input device of the present invention has: a display unit displaying a plurality of figures; a detecting unit arranged in front of the display unit or behind the display unit, and detecting whether a physical contact from an outside exists or not and a contacted position at which the physical contact exists; and a control unit deciding a figure displayed on the display unit and a position at which the figure is displayed, and inputting information based on a signal from the detecting unit, and when the detecting unit detects the physical contact exists, the control unit determines a first figure displayed at a nearest position to the contacted position in the plurality of figures based on the contacted position and decides a second figure displayed at a position surrounding the contacted position based on a kind of the first figure.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal device comprising:

a display with a touch panel configured to detect a touch to the touch panel;

a controller comprising at least one processor and a computer-readable memory storing program instructions that when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to control;

displaying on the display a plurality of first characters and a plurality of second characters, wherein each of the plurality of first characters is associated with two or more of the plurality of second characters and each of the two or more of the plurality of second characters is associated with one of the plurality of first characters has a different kind of vowel from each other;

displaying the plurality of first characters in a plurality of first regions by allocating each of the plurality of first characters on a one by one basis;

in response to detecting a touch to one of the plurality of first regions in which one of the first characters is displayed, designating the first character displayed in the first region and display two or more second characters associated with the first character in two or more of upper, lower, right, and left regions adjacent to the first region respectively, wherein the two or more second characters are allocated in the two or more of upper, lower, right, and left regions in accordance with the kinds of vowels of the two or more second characters; and

when one of the upper, lower, right, and left regions in which one of two or more second characters is displayed is one of the others of the plurality of first regions, displaying on the display the one of the two or more second characters without displaying one of the others of the plurality of first characters.

2. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of first characters comprise characters of “

a ()”

, “

ka ()”

, “

sa ()”

, “

ta ()”

, “

na ()”

, “

ha ()”

, “

ma ()”

, “

ya ()”

, “

ra ()” and

“

wa ()”

,

the characters of “

a ()”

, “

ka ()”

, “

sa ()”

are displayed along a row;

the characters of “

ta ()”

, “

na ()”

, and “

ha ()”

are displayed along a row and are located below the row of the characters of “

a ()”

, “

ka ()”

, and “

sa ()”

;

the characters of “

ma ()”

, “

ya ()”

, and “

ra ()”

are displayed along a row and are located below the row of the characters of “

ta ()”

, “

na ()”

, and “

ha ()”

, and

the character of “

wa ()”

is displayed below the row of the characters of “

ma ()”

, “

ya ()”

, and “

ra ()”

.

3. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, wherein

a second character corresponding to a “

i ()”

row of the displayed first character is displayed at a first region from among the upper, lower, right, and left regions;

a second character corresponding to a “

u ()”

row of the displayed first character is displayed at a second region, which is different from the first region, from among the upper, lower, right, and left regions;

a second character corresponding to a “

e ()”

row of the displayed first character is displayed at a third region, which is different from the first and the second regions, from among the upper, lower, right, and left regions; and

a second character corresponding to a “

o ()”

row of the displayed first character is displayed at a fourth region, which is different from the first, second, and third regions, from among the upper, lower, right, and left regions.

4. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, wherein

the first character is a representative character in character groups having a same consonant.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a change of position of the touch and when a change of position of the touch from the first region to one of the upper, lower, right, and left regions is detected, changing the designation from the first character to one of the two or more second characters during the detecting the touch; and

in response to detecting a release of the touch to the touch panel, inputting the one of the two or more second characters which is designated at a time of the release.

5. A mobile terminal device comprising:

a display with a touch panel configured to detect a touch to the display;

a controller comprising at least one processor and a computer-readable memory storing program instructions that when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to control;

displaying on the display a plurality of characters in a plurality of first regions, wherein a plurality of second regions are located outside of the plurality of first regions,

allocating a plurality of groups including one or more of the plurality of characters to the plurality of first regions on a one by one basis, in response to detecting a touch to one of the plurality of first regions in which one of the plurality of groups is allocated, displaying on the display and designating one of characters included in the group in the first region, and displaying on the display two or more of other characters included in the group in two or more of upper, lower, right and left region adjacent to the first region respectively,

when one of the upper, lower, right and left regions is one of the others of the plurality of first regions, displaying on the display the one of the two or more of the characters in the group without displaying one of the others of the plurality of characters allocated to the one of the others of the plurality of first regions,

when one of the upper, lower, right and left regions is one of the plurality of second regions, displaying on the display the one of the two or more of the characters in the group in the second regions,

detecting a change of position of the touch and when a change of a position of the touch from the first region to one of the upper, lower, right and left regions is detected, changing the designation from the one of characters to one of the two or more of the other characters during detecting the touch, and

in response to detecting a release of the touch, inputting the one of the characters included in the group which is designated at a time of the release.

6. An information input method comprising:

detecting a touch to a touch panel on a display;

displaying on the display a plurality of first characters and a plurality of second characters, wherein each of the plurality of first characters is associated with two or more of the plurality of second characters and each of the two or more of the plurality of second characters is associated with one of the plurality of first characters has a different kind of vowel from each other;

displaying the plurality of first characters in a plurality of first regions by allocating each of the plurality of first characters on a one by one basis;

in response to detecting a touch to one of the plurality of first regions in which one of the first characters is displayed, designating the first character displayed in the first region and display two or more second characters associated with the first character in two or more of upper, lower, right, and left regions adjacent to the first region respectively, wherein the two or more second characters are allocated in the two or more of upper, lower, right, and left regions in accordance with the kinds of vowels of the two or more second characters; and

when one of the upper, lower, right, and left regions in which one of two or more second characters is displayed is one of the others of the plurality of first regions, displaying on the display the one of the two or more second characters without displaying one of the others of the plurality of first characters.