Character input method for adding visual effect to character when character is input and mobile station therefor

• US 8,049,755 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2006
• Issued: 11/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Chang-Hoon, Kang, Tae-Young, Han, Myoung-Hwan, Lee, Dong-Uk, Seo, Jin-Gyu, Hong, Nho-Kyung
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang; Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Merouan; Abderrahim
• Application Number:
  US11/444,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20060276234A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,979 Days
• Field of Search: 345/418, 345/473, 345/474, 345/475, 345/472, 345/156, 345/471, 345/948, 345/467, 345/536, 382/177, 382/182, 382/187, 382/229
• US Class Current: 345/473
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/203 Drawing of straight lines or curves
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• 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

Disclosed is a apparatus and a method for displaying various character effects on a character input screen of a mobile station using a differentiated graphic element according to a key input signal. In the method a visual character theme set by a user is displayed in a character input mode, and a character input effect corresponding to the visual character theme is shown according to a key input signal. Accordingly, since the mobile station can show a visual character input effect in every key input sequence by allowing the user to select a desired visual character theme in advance, an entertaining effect is added to a user interface of the mobile station.

Claims

1. A character input method for displaying an alphanumeric character when the alphanumeric character is input to a mobile station, the method comprising the steps of:

determining whether a character input event occurs for the alphanumeric character;

checking a visual character theme for adding an animation effect corresponding to the visual character theme to the input alphanumeric character when the character input event occurs;

loading a background image corresponding to the visual character theme;

loading animated character data according to the visual character theme in response to the character input event, the animated character data being the input alphanumeric character with the animation effect added; and

displaying the animated character data,

wherein the input alphanumeric character implemented by the animated character data is drawn by tracing strokes of the input alphanumeric character on the background image, and

wherein the animated character data is displayed on a screen of the mobile station, the screen having at least, in order from a bottom, a background layer displaying the background image, a character effect layer displaying the animation effect, and a character input layer displaying the animated character data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step further comprises displaying the animated character data by using an animated pen input method including checking information of a drawing sequence corresponding to each key input signal and drawing the animated character data on the background image according to the drawing sequence.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the animated pen input method comprises loading an animated pen corresponding to the animated character data;

and moving the animated pen according to the drawing sequence.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting a sound effect corresponding to the visual character theme when the animated character data is displayed.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a pre-defined effect at a location which is below a current cursor, below the displayed animated character data, or throughout the screen, when the animated character data is displayed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises determining whether displaying the animated character data is made by inputting the alphanumeric character through the character input screen.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises displaying the animated character data by a message processing control unit of the mobile station.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether a visual character theme change request is input in a state where a background image according to a default visual character theme is displayed; and

loading background images respectively corresponding to stored visual character themes and displaying rotationally the loaded background images in response to the visual character theme change request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the stored visual character themes comprises at least an ink pen theme.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein when the visual character theme is the ink pen theme, the background image according to the default visual character theme is a letter paper image, and the animated character data is displayed to show an effect that a character corresponding to the input alphanumeric character is drawn on the letter paper image and a writing tool icon moving according to a drawing sequence assigned to the animated character data is simultaneously displayed.

11. A character input method for displaying an alphanumeric character when the alphanumeric character is input to a mobile station, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a background image according to a visual character theme provided by the mobile station on a screen of the mobile station, the screen having at least, in order from a bottom, a background layer displaying the background image, a character effect layer displaying an animation effect corresponding to the visual character theme, and a character input layer displaying animated character data, the animated character data being the input alphanumeric character with the animation effect added; and

displaying the animated character data,

wherein the input alphanumeric character implemented by the animated character data is drawn by tracing strokes of the input alphanumeric character on the background image.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising displaying the character effect layer with a pre-defined effect added to a background image portion.

13. The method of claim 11, further including displaying an animated pen moving according to the drawing sequence corresponding to the input alphanumeric character when the animated character data is displayed by adding the animation effect to the input alphanumeric character on an icon layer.

14. A mobile station for displaying an input alphanumeric character to a user, the mobile station comprising:

a memory for storing a plurality of visual character themes including a default visual character theme selected by the user;

a controller for loading from the memory a background image and animated character data associated with the default visual character theme when a character input event occurs for the input alphanumeric character and controlling a display unit of the mobile station to display the animated character data, wherein the input alphanumeric character implemented by the animated character data is drawn by tracing strokes of the input alphanumeric character on the background image; and

a screen disposed in the display unit for displaying the animated character data, the screen having at least, in order from a bottom, a background layer displaying the background image, a character effect layer displaying an animation effect corresponding to the default visual character theme, and a character input layer displaying the animated character data.

15. The mobile station of claim 14, further comprising a sound processing unit for outputting a sound effect when the animated character data is displayed when the default visual character theme includes the sound effect.

16. A character input method for displaying an alphanumeric character when the alphanumeric character is input to a mobile station, the method comprising the steps of:

determining whether a character input event occurs for the input alphanumeric character;

checking a visual character theme for adding an animation effect corresponding to the visual character theme to the input alphanumeric character when the character input event occurs;

loading a background image corresponding to the visual character theme; and

displaying at least one character image according to a number of the character input event, the character image being allocated to the input alphanumeric character,

wherein the character image is displayed on a screen of the mobile station, the screen having at least, in order from a bottom layer, a background layer displaying the background image, and a character input layer displaying the character image.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein displaying the at least one character image further comprises displaying, according to a relief method, each character image embossed or intaglioed on the background image.