Patent Application
20090109069
The present invention relates to an input device which inputs information, and further relates to a mobile terminal including the input device, such as a mobile phone or a PDA.
In the above described conventional mobile terminal 100, it is possible to communicate with another user by using a mail function and the like, and therefore, an occasion of inputting the character-related information frequently occurs. Thus, numerous pieces of the character-related information such as the numbers, the hiragana, the katakana, and the alphabet have been assigned to the 12 kinds of the input keys. In other words, to the respective keys assigned with the numbers 0 to 9 in the input keys, 10 kinds of information grouped for each line ((a)-line to
(wa)-line) in a 50-character hiragana syllabary, and 10 kinds of information grouped for each line (
(a)-line to
(wa)-line) in a 50-character katakana syllabary have been assigned, and in addition, A to Z of the alphabet have been grouped into 10 pieces and assigned. Furthermore, also to other keys assigned with two kinds of signs (* and #), the signs including a punctuation, a voiced sound mark, a semi-voiced sound mark, and the like, have been generally grouped and assigned.
In this way, since the plural pieces of the character-related information have been assigned to one input key, it is necessary for the user to press the same key, a plural number of times, to change a character to be inputted. For example, when a character “(O)” is desired to be inputted, it is necessary to press a key assigned with
(a)-line, a plural number of times, to change display in an order of “
(a)”→“
(i)”→“
(u)”→“
(e)”→“
(o)”. Moreover, since a plurality of character-related information sets have been assigned to one input key, it is necessary for the user to press a predetermined function key to switch the character-related information sets. For example, when a number is desired to be inputted while the hiragana is being inputted, it is necessary to press a character switching key to switch from hiragana input to number input.
When the character-related information is inputted with such a combination of the input keys and the function keys, the selection key, the determination key, and the like, a method in which the user holds the mobile terminal in one hand while seeing the display unit and performs a operation with his thumb of this one hand is common. However, it cannot necessarily be said that the conventional mobile terminal 100 as described above has a configuration in which the user can easily perform an input operation. For example, when the user uses the mobile terminal 100 to input characters of “(o)
(ha)
(yo)
(u)”, in order to input “
(o)”, it is necessary to press a number 1 key five times to change the display in the order of “
(a)”→“
(i)”→“
(u)”→“
(e)”→“
(o)”. Next, in order to input “
(ha)”, it is necessary to press a number 6 key once to display “
(ha)”. Subsequently, in order to input “
(yo)”, it is necessary to press a number 8 key three times to change the display in an order of “
(ya)”→“
(yu)”→“
(yo)”. Finally, in order to input “
(u)”, it is necessary to press the number 1 key three times to change the display in an order of “
(a)”→“
(i)”→“
(u)”. In other words, in order to input four characters of “
(o)
(ha)
(yo)
(u)”, it becomes necessary to press the keys 10 times in total. At this time, the user has to take his eyes from the display unit and check the operation unit in order to find target keys (in the above described case, the number 1 key, the number 6 key, and the number 8 key) from the 12 kinds of the input keys. Moreover, when the input is performed with a combination of different character-related information sets such as the hiragana, the katakana, and the numbers, it is necessary to use the function key such as the character switching key to switch the character-related information sets, and therefore, the user's burden of checking the operation unit increases. Furthermore, since the character-related information has been grouped and assigned to a plurality of the input keys, the user has to perform the input operation by moving a finger (mainly, the thumb) which performs the operation, to a key assigned with target character-related information.
As above, in the conventional mobile terminal 100, since the plurality of character-related information sets which have been grouped, have assigned to the plurality of input keys, the user has to move the thumb among the plurality of input keys to input the character-related information, and each time, the user has to take his eyes from the display unit and see the operation unit to visually recognize a target input key. Moreover, when the user has taken his eyes from the display unit once and operated the input key while seeing the operation unit, the user has to see the display unit again to check whether or not the target character-related information has been inputted without mistakes. In this case, when the plural pieces of the character-related information have been displayed on the display unit, the target character-related information has to be found from among the plural pieces of the character-related information.
Thus, the more the character-related information is inputted, the more a time for seeing the operation unit and the display unit to find target characters, and checking whether or not the character-related information has been correctly inputted is required, and therefore, an input speed is lowered. Moreover, the movement of the finger among the input keys increases a burden on the hand or the finger which performs the operation. Thus, when the conventional mobile terminal 100 is used to attempt to input much character-related information, the attempt may cause mental and physical fatigue. In addition, when the fatigue has been accumulated on the hand or the finger which performs the operation, the mobile terminal may be dropped and broken while being re-held, or the like.
This problem has remarkably appeared due to increase in the number of times of key operations in accordance with more multifunctional mobile terminals in recent years. Particularly, in a character input operation for the mails and the like, in accordance with increase in the number of characters in the mail which can be transmitted, the number of times of key operations has significantly increased, which is thus likely to cause the mental and physical fatigue, and has been a problem which should be immediately solved. Consequently, as described below, an input device which reduces the burden on the user has been proposed (for example, refer to Patent Reference 1).
According to the media player as described above, it is possible to select a target item only by operating a single device which is the rotary input device 410. According to such an operation method, since only a small number of times of pressing the keys are required and also it is possible to select the target item by seeing only the display unit without seeing the operation unit, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user. In addition, even with such a simple operation method, since many items are presented to the user with the menu having the hierarchical structure, convenience for the user is not impaired.
Patent Reference 1: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0095096 specification (
Patent Reference 2: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0055446 specification (
However, according to the media player disclosed in the above-described Patent Reference 2, when play of one song is completed, a song layer to which that song belongs stays there, and therefore, for example, after the play of one song has been completed, when a song belonging to an album different from that song is desired to be played, an operational efficiency is reduced. In other words, in such a case, the selection has to be newly redone from the highest layer, or an operation (pressing a “Return” button, or the like) other than a selection operation has to be performed.
The present invention aims at solving the above described problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an input device in which the user can efficiently find the target information even when a large amount of information is managed with the menu having the hierarchical structure.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the input device according to the present invention is an input device which inputs information, the device includes: an operation unit which is operated by a user; a movement sensing unit which senses a physical amount related to a movement of an object in contact with a surface of the operation unit, or a physical amount related to a movement of the operation unit; a pressing sensing unit which senses that the surface of the operation unit is pressed; an information set storage unit which stores a plurality of information sets constituting a hierarchical structure with at least three layers; a selection unit which selects unit information from among the information sets, depending on the physical amount which is sensed by the movement sensing unit; and a confirmation unit which confirms the selection of the unit information, when it is sensed by the pressing sensing unit that the operation unit is pressed or that the pressing on the operation unit is released, wherein when the selection of unit information in an information set of an n-th layer is confirmed by the confirmation unit, the selection unit shifts to a state in which unit information is selected from among an information set of an m-th layer between a highest layer and the n-th layer. Therefore, after input of one character has been completed, when a character is desired to be successively inputted, it is not necessary to perform an operation for a transition in a hierarchy. In other words, even when a large amount of information is managed with a menu having a hierarchical structure, it becomes possible for the user to efficiently find target information.
Here, the information set belonging to the m-th layer may be a collection of line information corresponding to each character constituting a beginning line of a 50-character hiragana syllabary, and the information set belonging to the n-th layer may be a collection of column information corresponding to each character belonging to each line of the 50-character hiragana syllabary. Thereby, in the case where hiragana is inputted, it becomes possible to, when selection of a line character is confirmed, shift to a state in which a column character belonging to that line is selected, and when the selection of the column character is confirmed, shift to a state in which the line character is selected.
Furthermore, the information set belonging to the m-th layer may be a collection of unit information indicating an artist, and the information set belonging to the n-th layer may be a collection of unit information indicating a tune belonging to the artist. Thereby, in the case where a music function is selected and the tune is played, it becomes possible to, when selection of the artist is confirmed, shift to a state in which the tune belonging to that artist is selected, and when the selection of the tune is confirmed, shift to a state in which the artist is selected.
Furthermore, the information set belonging to the m-th layer may be a collection of unit information indicating a music album, and the information set belonging to the n-th layer may be a collection of unit information indicating a tune belonging to the music album. Thereby, in the case where the music function is selected and the tune is played, it becomes possible to, when selection of the music album is confirmed, shift to a state in which the tune belonging to that music album is selected, and when the selection of the tune is confirmed, shift to a state in which the music album is selected. Furthermore, the information set belonging to the m-th layer may be a collection of unit information indicating a music genre, and the information set belonging to the n-th layer may be a collection of unit information indicating a tune constituting the music genre. Thereby, in the case where the music function is selected and the tune is played, it becomes possible to, when selection of the music genre is confirmed, shift to a state in which the tune constituting that music genre is selected, and when the selection of the tune is confirmed, shift to a state in which the music genre is selected.
Furthermore the information set belonging to the m-th layer may be a collection of unit information indicating a music playlist, and the information set belonging to the n-th layer may be a collection of unit information indicating a tune belonging to the music playlist. Thereby, in the case where the music function is selected and the tune is played, it becomes possible to, when selection of the music playlist is confirmed, shift to a state in which the tune belonging to that music playlist is selected, and when the selection of the tune is confirmed, shift to a state in which the music playlist is selected.
Furthermore, the information set belonging to the m-th layer is a collection of unit information indicating a television program genre, and the information set belonging to the n-th layer is a collection of unit information indicating a television program belonging to the television program genre. Thereby, in the case where a television function is selected and the television program is played, it becomes possible to, when selection of the television program genre is confirmed, shift to a state in which the television program constituting that genre is selected, and when the selection of the television program is confirmed, shift to a state in which the television program genre is selected.
Furthermore, the information set storage unit may store a first information set which is a collection of first unit information, and a second information set which is a collection of second unit information associated with the first unit information, and when the second unit information is confirmed as input information by the confirmation unit, the selection unit may return to selection of the first unit information from the first information set. Thereby, for example, in the case where the hiragana is inputted, when selection of predetermined first unit information (for example, “(a)” line) from among line information (“
(a)” line, “
(ka)” line, “
(sa)” line, “
(ta)” line, “
(na)” line, and the like) which is the first information set is confirmed, the state shifts to a state in which column information (“
(a)”, “
(i)”, “
(u)”, “
(e)”, and “
(o)”, for “
(a)” line) which is the second information set belonging to that line is selected, and when selection of predetermined second unit information (for example, “
(u)”) from among the column information is confirmed, the state shifts to a state in which the line information which is the first information set is selected. Therefore, after the input of one character has been completed, when a character is desired to be successively inputted, it is not necessary to perform the operation for the transition in the hierarchy. In other words, it becomes possible for the user to efficiently input a target character.
Furthermore, the selection unit may start the selection of the first unit information, with the first unit information associated with the second information set, as a reference point. Thereby, when the user confirms selection of one character (for example, “(mi)”), and subsequently, successively performs the selection of the line information which is the first information set, the selection unit does not start the selection from the same line character (for example, “
(a)” line) every time one character is inputted, and selects the first unit information (“
(ma)” line) which has been associated with the second information set to which the confirmed second unit information (“
(mi)”) belongs. Therefore, since a time for the selection of the line information is reduced, a burden on the user's hand or finger is reduced, and moreover, it becomes possible to reduce a time required for an operation.
Furthermore, the input device may include an information presentation unit which presents, on a screen, selected target information selected by the selection unit, the selected target information including at least a portion of the information sets, wherein, when the second unit information is confirmed as the input information by the confirmation unit, the information presentation unit may present, on the screen, an information set including the first unit information associated with the second information set, as the selected target information. Thereby, since the information being selected by the user is presented by the information presentation unit, it becomes unnecessary for the user to visually recognize a key assigned with the target information when performing an input operation. Thus, a time required for the input operation can be reduced.
Furthermore, when presenting the first unit information as the selected target information, the information presentation unit may present the first unit information in an external appearance different from other unit information in the selected target information. Thereby, since the character being selected by the user is presented in an external appearance different from characters previous and next thereto, it becomes easier to comprehend the character to be inputted, and it becomes possible to further reduce the time required for the operation.
Furthermore, the information presentation unit may include an information presentation unit which presents the first unit information selected by the selection unit, in a display size larger than selected target unit information other than the first unit information. Thereby, since the character being selected by the user is presented in a display size larger than the characters previous and next thereto, it becomes easier to comprehend the character to be inputted, and it becomes possible to further reduce the time required for the operation.
Furthermore, the input device may further include the information presentation unit which presents the selected target information which includes at least some of the information sets and is selected by the selection unit, on the screen; and an information presentation unit which presents a predetermined piece of the first unit information selected by the selection unit, in a color different from the selected target information other than the first unit information. Thereby, since the character being selected by the user is presented in a color different from the characters previous and next thereto, it becomes easier to comprehend the character to be inputted, and it becomes possible to further reduce the time required for the operation.
Furthermore, the input device may include a history information retention unit which stores history information related to unit information confirmed in the past, as input information, by the confirmation unit, wherein the selection unit may select the unit information which becomes a reference point, based on the history information. Thereby, when the user uses, for example, a mail function to input the character, the selection is not started from the same character (for example, “(a)”) every time, and it is possible to determine a character to be selected first, based on a character of which selection has been confirmed when the user has used the mail function in past times. Thus, since a time for selection of the first character is reduced when a predetermined function has been used, the burden on the user's hand or finger is reduced, and moreover, it becomes possible to reduce the time required for the operation.
Furthermore, the operation unit may be a rotary body provided on a base body of the input device, the movement sensing unit may be an amount of rotation sensing unit which senses an amount of rotation of the rotary body, the selection unit may include: a first selection unit which selects information from among the information sets, depending on the amount of rotation from a position of the rotary body when the rotary body is pressed and immediately preceding input information is confirmed, with first reference unit information in the information sets as a reference point; and a second selection unit which selects unit information from among the information sets, depending on the amount of rotation from a reference position of the rotary body, with second reference unit information in the information sets as the reference point, and the input device may further include a switching unit which switches between the first selection unit and the second selection unit. Thereby, it is possible to switch between the first selection unit (hereinafter also referred to as “relative input method”) in which the information being selected by the user can be known only from a display unit, and the second selection unit (hereinafter also referred to as “absolute input method”) in which the information being selected by the user is displayed on the display unit and also can be comprehended from a position of the operation unit with respect to the input device. In other words, it becomes possible to switch between an input method suitable for inputting the information while seeing only the display unit, and an input method suitable for inputting the information while seeing both the display unit and the operation unit.
Furthermore, the input device may further include a reference position setting unit which changes the amount of rotation to 0 when the switching from the first selection unit to the second selection unit is performed by the switching unit, and thereby set, as the reference position, a position of the rotary body at a time point when the switching is performed. Thereby, when switching from the above described first selection unit to the above described second selection unit is performed while the position of the above described operation unit is at a predetermined position, it becomes possible to set the position of the above described operation unit when a predetermined character is inputted, to be always constant.
Furthermore, when it is sensed by the pressing sensing unit that a duration in which the rotary body is pressed is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold, the switching unit may switch between the first selection unit and the second selection unit. Thereby, it becomes possible to switch between the above described first selection unit and the above described second selection unit by performing a simple operation of long-pressing the above described rotary body.
Furthermore, when it is sensed by the pressing sensing unit that the number of times that the rotary body is successively pressed is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold, the switching unit may switch between the first selection unit and the second selection unit. Thereby, it becomes possible to switch between the above described first selection unit and the above described second selection unit by performing a simple operation of successively pressing the above described rotary body, equal to or more than a predetermined number of times.
Furthermore, the pressing sensing unit may sense whether or not there is pressing on a predetermined button; and when it is sensed by the pressing sensing unit that a duration for which the predetermined button is pressed is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold, the switching unit may switch between the first selection unit and the second selection unit. Thereby, it becomes possible to switch between the above described first selection unit and the above described second selection unit by performing a simple operation of long-pressing the predetermined button.
Furthermore, when it is sensed by the pressing sensing unit that the number of times the predetermined button is successively pressed is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold, the switching unit may switch between the first selection unit and the second selection unit. Thereby, it becomes possible to switch between the above described first selection unit and the above described second selection unit by performing a simple operation of successively pressing the predetermined button, a predetermined number of times.
Furthermore, the input device may further include a switch, wherein, when the switch is switched, the switching unit may switch between the first selection unit and the second selection unit. Thereby, it becomes possible to switch between the above described first selection unit and the above described second selection unit by performing a simple operation of switching a predetermined switch.
Furthermore, the input device may further include an information presentation unit which presents, at a periphery of the rotary body, an information set including information which is selected by the second selection unit. Thereby, since a predetermined information set is presented around the above described rotary body, it becomes further possible to set an input method suitable for inputting the information without seeing the display unit.
Furthermore, when the second reference unit information is a number “0” and the rotary body is at the reference position, the second selection unit may select “0” as input information. Thereby, when the above described operation unit is at the above described reference position, the number “0” is selected, and it becomes possible to improve usability.
Furthermore, when the second reference unit information is “a” of alphabet and the rotary body is at the reference position, the second selection unit may select “a” of the alphabet as input information. Thereby, when the above described operation unit is at the above described reference position, “a” of the alphabet is selected, and it becomes possible to improve the usability.
Note that it is possible to embody the present invention not only as such an input device, but also as: a mobile terminal including such an input device; an input method which includes, as their respective steps, characteristic units included in such an input device; and a program causing a computer to execute such steps. It should be also noted that, of course, such a program can be distributed on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and over a transmission medium such as the Internet.
As above, according to the input device according to the present invention, even when the large amount of information is managed with the menu having the hierarchical structure, it becomes possible for the user to efficiently find the target information.
For example, in the case where the hiragana is inputted, when the selection of the line character is confirmed, the state shifts to a state in which the column character belonging to that line is selected, and when the selection of the column character is confirmed, the state shifts to a state in which the line character is selected. Therefore, after the input of one character has been completed, when a character is desired to be successively inputted, it is not necessary to perform the operation for the transition in the hierarchy.
Alternatively, in the case where the music function is selected and the tune is played, when the selection of the album is confirmed, the state shifts to a state in which the tune belonging to that album is selected, and when the selection of the tune is confirmed, the state shifts to a state in which the album is selected. Therefore, after play of one song has been completed, when a song belonging to an album different from that song is desired to be played, it is not necessary to perform the operation for the transition in the hierarchy.
As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user's hand or finger and reduce the time required for the operation, and it becomes possible to provide an input device and the like which can be comfortably operated by the user.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention are described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that, in the following description and the respective drawings, the same reference characters are used for the same components and descriptions thereof are omitted.
The present embodiment is described by using
The input device 2 included in the mobile terminal 1 is a device which inputs information, and includes function invocation keys 5 for invoking the respective functions (the mail function, a telephone call function, a Web function, a clear function, and the like) of the mobile terminal 1, a pressible operation unit 8, a direction key 9 which selects a desired function or character from a plurality of the functions or the characters, and a determination key 10 which determines the selection by the direction key 9. On a surface of the operation unit 8, a touch sensor which senses contact of an object such as a finger or a touch pen is provided. A user uses this input device 2 to invoke the desired function or input the characters.
The operation unit 8 is an input key or the like of a push style, which is operated by the user.
The contact sensing unit 70 is a touch sensor or the like which senses the contact of the finger to the surface of the operation unit 8.
The storage unit 71 is an example of an information set storage unit according to the present invention, and specifically, is a processing unit which stores information sets including a hierarchical structure with at least three layers, in a hierarchically corresponding manner. The information set is a collection of unit information, and the unit information is character-related information or function information. The character-related information is a generic name of the characters, numbers, and signs, and the function information is information related to the functions such as “mail”, “web”, “setting”, and “camera” which are included in the mobile terminal 1. Hereinafter, an information set to which unit information being selected by the user via the selection unit 72 belongs may be referred to as “selected target information set”.
The selection unit 72 is an example of a selection unit according to the present invention, and specifically, is a processing unit which selects predetermined unit information from among a predetermined information set, depending on a physical amount sensed by the movement sensing unit 77. The information selected in this way is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 73. Moreover, when it is sensed that the finger in contact with the surface of the operation unit 8 has moved on the surface of the operation unit 8, unit information which has been ranked following unit information being selected as input information, in the selected target information set, is selected as the input information. When the input information is selected in this way, input information which has been temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 73 is updated to the input information which has been newly selected. In other words, even when the finger which has been in contact with the surface of the operation unit 8 leaves the surface of the operation unit 8 once, the information which has been temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 73 is not lost. When the finger has contacted the surface of the operation unit 8 again, the information which has been temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 73 is selected by the selection unit 72. By doing like this, a time required for selecting target information is reduced, and an input speed can be improved.
The movement sensing unit 77 is an example of a movement sensing unit according to the present invention, and specifically, is a processing unit which senses the physical amount related to the movement of the object (for example, the finger) in contact with the surface of the operation unit 8. The movement sensing unit 77 has a movement speed sensing unit 77a and an amount of movement sensing unit 77b. The movement speed sensing unit 77a senses a movement speed of the object in contact with the surface of the operation unit 8. The amount of movement sensing unit 77b senses an amount of movement of the object in contact with the surface of the operation unit 8.
Although details are described later, the selection unit 72 changes an amount of movement required for changing the unit information to be selected from among the information set, depending on the movement speed sensed by the movement speed sensing unit 77a. In other words, depending on the movement speed sensed by the movement speed sensing unit 77a becoming a low speed, an amount of movement required for changing a rank in the information set is set to a large value. Moreover, depending on the movement speed sensed by the movement speed sensing unit 77a becoming a high speed, the amount of movement required for changing the rank in the information set is set to a small value.
The pressing sensing unit 74 is an example of a pressing sensing unit according to the present invention, and specifically, is a processing unit which senses that the surface of the operation unit 8 is being pressed.
The confirmation unit 75 is an example of a confirmation unit according to the present invention, and specifically, is a processing unit which confirms the selection of the unit information being selected by the selection unit 72 (the unit information which has been stored in the temporary storage unit 73), when it is sensed by the pressing sensing unit 74 that the surface of the operation unit 8 has been pressed or that the pressing on the surface of the operation unit 8 has been released.
Although an indication in the figure has been omitted here, the input device 2 includes an image generation unit. This image generation unit is a processing unit which generates an image in which the unit information being selected by the selection unit 72 is being highlighted more than other unit information. The image generated by the image generation unit is displayed on the display unit 6 such as a liquid crystal display. A specific example of the image which is generated by the image generation unit is described later.
It should be noted that the selection unit 72, the confirmation unit 75, and the movement sensing unit 77 can be realized, for example, by executing programs by CPUs (Central Processing Units). The CPUs for realizing these respective units may be included as the same CPU in the mobile terminal 1. Moreover, the storage unit 71 and the temporary storage unit 73 can be realized, for example, by a medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), an HD (Hard Disc), or a flash memory. Storage units for realizing these respective units may be included as the same storage unit (such as the same RAM) in the mobile terminal 1.
The contact sensing unit 70 is a unit for sensing whether or not the finger is in contact with the surface of the operation unit 8, and specifically, is a capacitance-type touch sensor S placed in the operation unit 8. In the capacitance-type touch sensor S, when a uniform voltage is applied to four corners of the sensor, a uniform electric field is generated on a surface of the sensor. When the user's finger touches in this state, capacitance changes in proportion to distances from the four corners of the sensor to the finger are generated, and therefore, it is possible to calculate a coordinate position of the finger based on the capacitance changes at the four corners. The contact sensing unit 70 performs judgment of whether or not the finger is touching, from sensed capacitance changes. The amount of movement sensing unit 77b calculates a change in X-Y coordinates of an area which the user is touching, from the capacitance changes sensed by the contact sensing unit 70, and senses the amount of movement based on the change and the like. The movement speed sensing unit 77a calculates the movement speed from the amount of movement which changes per unit time.
The pressing sensing unit 74 is a unit for sensing that the operation unit 8 has been pressed, and specifically, is a contact point 8a. In other words, in the present embodiment, an input key of a push type is employed. This input key of the push type is structurally one physical key, and has a mechanical movement in which a key top moves in upward and downward directions.
As shown in this figure, the character information 20 is made up of a line information set which is a collection of line information, and a column information set which is a collection of column information. Line information 201 to 212 is an example of unit information according to the present invention, and specifically, is line characters “(a)”, “
(ka)”, “
(sa)”, “
(ta)”, “
(na)”, “
(ha)”, “
(ma)”, “
(ya)”, “
(ra)”, “
(wa)” at a beginning in a 50-character hiragana syllabary, and signs “#” and “*”. The line information set is an example of an information set according to the present invention, and specifically, is the collection of the line information “
(a)
(ka)
(sa)
(ta)
(na)
(ha)
(ma)
(ya)
(ra)
(wa)#*”. The column information is an example of the unit information according to the present invention, and specifically, is column characters in the 50-character hiragana syllabary (for example, “
(a)”, “
(i)”, “
(u)”, “
(e)”, and “
(o)” when the line information is “
(a)”, and “
(ka)”, “
(ki)”, “<(ku)”, “
(ke)”, and “
(ko)” when the line information is “
(ka)”). The column information set is an example of the information set according to the present invention, and specifically, is the collection of the column information (for example, “
(a)
(i)
(u)
(e)
(o)” when the line information is “
(a)”, and “
(ka)
(ki)
(ku)
(ke)
(ko)” when the line information is “
(ka)”).
In the highest layer, an information set T11 has been stored. The information set T11 is a function information set, and specifically, is a collection of function information “mail”, “music”, “web”, “camera”, “application”, “tool”, and “setting”. In a second layer, an information set T12 has been stored. The information set T12 is a function information set which has been associated with the function information “setting” belonging to the highest layer, and specifically, is a collection of function information “memo pad”, “calculator”, “schedule”, “clock”, “infrared reception”, “barcode recognition”, and “software update”. In a third layer, an information set T13 has been stored. The information set T13 is a line information set which has been associated with the function information “memo pad” belonging to the second layer, and specifically, is the collection of the line information (a)”, “
(ka)”, “
(sa)”, “
(ta)”, “
(na)”, and the like. In the lowest layer, information sets T14-1, T14-2, and the like have been stored. The information set T14-1 is a column information set which has been associated with the line information “
(a)” belonging to the third layer, and specifically, is the collection of the column information “
(a)”, “
(i)”, “
(u)”, “
(e)”, and “
(o)”. The information set T14-2 is a column information set which has been associated with the line information “
(ka)” belonging to the third layer, and specifically, is the collection of the column information “
(ka)”, “
(ki)”, “<(ku)”, “
(ke)”, and “
(ko)”.
As shown in this
First, when the user touches the surface of the operation unit 8 with the finger, the contact sensing unit 70 senses the contact of the finger (S301: Yes), and when the user moves the finger touching the surface of the operation unit 8, the movement speed sensing unit 77a and the amount of movement sensing unit 77b sense the movement speed and the amount of movement of the finger (S302).
Next, based on the movement speed and the amount of movement, when a line selection flag is 1, the selection unit 72 changes a rank of the column information stored in the storage unit 71 and thereby selects the column information (S303: Yes, S308), and when the line selection flag is 0, the selection unit 72 changes a rank of the line information stored in the storage unit 71 and thereby selects the line information (S303: No, S304).
Here, when the user uses a character input function, it is assumed that 0 has been given to the line selection flag as an initial value. In other words, when the user starts using the character input function of the mobile terminal 1, it is assumed that, first, desired line information is selected from the line information set, and next, the column information associated with the above described selected line information is selected. By doing like this, since the column information set is ranked after the line information set, the user performs the character input in an order in which the line information is selected and subsequently the column information is selected.
Hereinafter, the description is continued in a state in which the line selection flag has been set to 0 (S303: No).
The line information selected by the selection unit 72 is stored in the temporary storage unit 73. When the user presses the operation unit 8 and the pressing sensing unit 74 senses the pressing on the operation unit 8, the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of the line information stored in the temporary storage unit 73 (S305: Yes, S306).
On the other hand, when the pressing sensing unit 74 does not sense the pressing on the operation unit 8, and the contact sensing unit 70 and the movement sensing unit 77 sense the movement of the user's finger, the selection unit 72 selects the line information again based on the movement speed and the amount of movement, and changes the line information stored in the temporary storage unit 73 (S305: No).
When the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of the line information stored in the temporary storage unit 73, 1 is set to the line selection flag (S307). Thereby, the selected target information set shifts to the column information set which has been is ranked following the line information set.
Also in the selection of the column information, similarly to the selection of the line information, based on the amount of movement and the movement speed of the finger sensed by the movement sensing unit 77, the rank of the column information stored in the storage unit 71 is changed, and thereby the column information is selected. Then, the above described selected column information is stored in the temporary storage unit 73, and when the pressing sensing unit 74 senses the pressing on the operation unit 8, the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of the column information stored in the temporary storage unit 73 (S301, S302, S303: Yes, S308, S309: Yes, S310).
When the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of the column information stored in the temporary storage unit 73, 0 is set to the line selection flag (S311). Thereby, the selected target information set shifts to the line information set which has been ranked prior to the column information set. In other words, in the case where a hierarchical structure has been configured in which the column information is selected after the selection of the line information, the selected target information set shifts from the line information set which is upper to the column information set which is lower with the pressing on the operation unit 8, which thereby enables the selection of a lower information set. Not only that, it is also possible to shift the selected target information set from the column information set which is lower to the line information set which is upper, by an exactly similar operation.
In this way, it is possible to change the selected target information set from the lower information set to an upper information set without requiring a special operation. Thereby, it is possible to save an effort of searching the upper information set after the input in the lower information set has been confirmed, and therefore, an operational burden is reduced and the input speed is improved.
It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, although it is assumed that the line selection flag included within the input device 2 is composed of software, the line selection flag may be composed of hardware. For example, the operation unit 8 can also be composed of a so-called tact switch or the like. In this case, the line selection flag may be set to “1” when the operation unit 8 is in a state of being electrically energized with a circuit included in the input device 2, and the line selection flag may be set to “0” in an insulating state.
When the user performs a character input operation, a generally semicircular-shaped wheel GUI (Graphical User Interface) 40 is displayed on the display unit 6. In other words, a character being selected by the selection unit 72 (that is, a character stored in the temporary storage unit 73) is displayed in a fixed frame 41 on the wheel GUI, and information adjacent to the character being selected by the selection unit 72 is also displayed on the wheel GUI 40 in such a manner in which a circular arc is drawn. In this way, when a configuration in which not only the selected character but also characters next thereto are displayed is employed, the user can also check characters previous and next to the character being selected.
Hereinafter, an operation when “(to)” of hiragana is inputted is described by using
First, as shown in (a)” of a beginning rank and line information “
(wa)” of a last rank in the line information set are displayed in a side-by-side manner, and the line information “
(a)” of the beginning rank is being selected.
At this time, when the user moves the finger on the operation unit 8, based on the amount of movement and the movement speed of the finger sensed by the movement sensing unit 77, the selection unit 72 changes the rank of the line information constituting the line information set, and thereby selects the line information. Then, the above described selected line information is displayed in the fixed frame 41, and adjacent line information is displayed on the wheel GUI. In this way, (a)” to “
(ka)” and “
(sa)”, and “
(ta)” is being selected.
Here, when the user presses the operation unit 8, the pressing sensing unit 74 senses the pressing, and the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of “(ta)” stored in the temporary storage unit 73 and changes a color of the wheel GUI. Along with this confirmation, the selection unit 72 changes the rank of the information set to the column information associated with the selected line information, thereby shifts the selected target information set, and displays the selected target information set on the display unit 6 (
In this way, in the case where the color of the wheel GUI is changed when the selected target information set has been changed, the user can easily comprehend which information set has become the selected target information set. In other words, the display may be any display from which the user can recognize which information set has been set as the selected target information set.
Subsequently, when the user moves the finger on the operation unit 8, based on the amount of movement and the movement speed of the finger sensed by the movement sensing unit 77, the selection unit 72 changes the rank of the column information constituting the column information set, and thereby selects the column information. Then, the above described selected column information is displayed in the fixed frame 41, and adjacent column information is displayed on the wheel GUI. In this way, (ta)” to “
(chi)”, “
(tsu)”, and “
(te)”, and “
(to)” is being selected.
Here, when the user presses the operation unit 8, the pressing sensing unit 74 senses the pressing, and the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of “(to)” stored in the temporary storage unit 73 and displays “
(to)” on an input screen 42 (
In this way, it is possible to change the selected target information set from the lower information set to the upper information set without requiring the special operation. Thereby, it is possible to save the effort of searching the upper information set after the input in the lower information set has been confirmed, and therefore, the operational burden is reduced and the input speed is improved.
Moreover, the characters constituting the information set which has become the selected target information set are displayed on the wheel GUI 40. Thereby, the user can easily input a desired character while seeing the display unit 6, without feeling the operational burden.
Although a case where the character is inputted has been described in the above described first embodiment, a case where a tune is played is mainly described in the present second embodiment. Hereinafter, the present second embodiment is described with a focus on different points from the above described first embodiment, by using
On the display unit 6, unit information (for example, the function information, music information, or the like) constituting one information set is displayed. Among these pieces of the unit information, the unit information being selected by the selection unit 72 is displayed so as to be surrounded by a selection frame 53. Hereinafter, an information selection operation is described by using
First, as shown in
Subsequently, when the user moves the finger on the operation unit 8, based on the amount of movement and the movement speed of the finger sensed by the movement sensing unit 77, the selection unit 72 changes a rank of information constituting the second information set and thereby selects the information, and the selection frame 53 moves to the above described selected information (
Here, when the user presses the operation unit 8, the pressing sensing unit 74 senses the pressing, and the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of the information stored in the temporary storage unit 73. When the selection in the second information set is confirmed, the selection unit 72 changes the rank of the information set, thereby shifts the selected target information set to a third information set, and displays the third information set on the display unit 6 (
Furthermore, when the user moves the finger on the operation unit 8, based on the amount of movement and the movement speed of the finger sensed by the movement sensing unit 77, the selection unit 72 changes a rank of information constituting the third information set and thereby selects the information, and the selection frame 53 moves to the above described selected information (
Here, when the user presses the operation unit 8, the pressing sensing unit 74 senses the pressing, and the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of the information stored in the temporary storage unit 73. When the selection in the third information set is confirmed in this way, the selection unit 72 changes the rank of the information set, thereby shifts the selected target information set to the first information set, and displays the first information set on the display unit 6 (
Thereby, only by pressing the operation unit 8, the selected target information set shifts to the first information set which has been ranked prior to the third information set. In other words, in the case where a hierarchical structure has been configured in which the information constituting the second information set is selected after the selection of the information constituting the first information set, and the information constituting the third information set is selected after the selection of the information constituting the second information set, the selected target information set shifts from the first information set which is upper to the second information set and the third information set which are lower with the pressing on the operation unit 8, which thereby enables the selection of the lower information set. Not only that, it is also possible to shift the selected target information set from the column information set which is lower to the line information set which is upper, by the exactly similar operation.
In this way, it is possible to change the selected target information set from the lower information set to the upper information set without requiring the special operation. Thereby, it is possible to save the effort of searching the information set of an upper rank after the input in the lower information set has been confirmed, and therefore, the operational burden is reduced and the input speed is improved.
It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, although it has been assumed that the selected target information set shifts to the first information set after the selection of the information constituting the third information set has been confirmed, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, after the selection of the information constituting the third information set has been confirmed, the selected target information set may shift to the second information set.
In a highest layer, an information set T21 has been stored. The information set T21 is the function information set, and specifically, is the collection of the function information “mail”, “music”, “web”, “camera”, “application”, “tool”, and “setting”. In a second layer, an information set T22 has been stored. The information set T22 is an album information set which has been associated with the function information “music” belonging to the highest layer, and specifically, is a collection of “album A” to “album G”. In a lowest layer, an information set T23 has been stored. The information set T23 is a tune information set which has been associated with “album D” belonging to the second layer, and specifically, is a collection of “tune A” to “tune G”. As shown in this
First, as shown in
Subsequently, when the user moves the finger on the operation unit 8, based on the amount of movement and the movement speed of the finger sensed by the movement sensing unit 77, the selection unit 72 changes a rank of information constituting the information set T22 and thereby selects “album D”, and the selection frame 53 moves to the above described selected “album D” (
Here, when the user presses the operation unit 8, the pressing sensing unit 74 senses the pressing, and the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of “album D” stored in the temporary storage unit 73. Along with this confirmation, the selection unit 72 changes the rank to the information set T23 associated with the selected “album D”, thereby shifts the selected target information set, and displays the selected target information set on the display unit 6 (
Furthermore, when the user moves the finger on the operation unit 8, based on the amount of movement and the movement speed of the finger sensed by the movement sensing unit 77, the selection unit 72 changes a rank of information constituting the information set T23 and thereby selects “tune D”, and the selection frame 53 moves to the above described selected “tune D” (
Here, when the user presses the operation unit 8, the pressing sensing unit 74 senses the pressing, and the confirmation unit 75 confirms the selection of “tune D” stored in the temporary storage unit 73. When the selection in the information set T23 is confirmed in this way, the selection unit 72 changes the rank of the information set, thereby shifts the selected target information set to the information set T22, and displays the information set T22 on the display unit 6 (
As described above, according to the mobile terminal 1 including the input device 2 in the second embodiment of the present invention, when the selection of the album is confirmed, there is a shift to a state in which the tune belonging to that album is selected, and when the selection of the tune is confirmed, there is a shift to a state in which the album is selected. Therefore, after play of one song has been completed, when a song belonging to an album different from that song is desired to be played, it is not necessary to perform an operation for a transition in a hierarchy. In other words, even when a large amount of information is managed with a menu having a hierarchical structure, it becomes possible for the user to efficiently find target information.
It should be noted that, in the above description, although it has been assumed that when the selection of a music album is confirmed, there is the shift to the state in which the tune belonging to that music album is selected, and when the selection of the tune is confirmed, there is the shift to the state in which the music album is selected, kinds of the information sets to be handled are not limited.
It should be noted that, here, although a three-hierarchical structure in which there is the transition from the lowest layer to the second layer has been illustrated, the number of layers and the hierarchical structure are not limited thereto. For example, a hierarchical structure with at least four layers may be included in which a highest layer is a genre layer, a second layer is an artist layer, a third layer is an album layer, and a lowest layer is a tune layer. In this case, there may be a transition from the tune layer to the artist layer, or there may be a transition from the tune layer to the album layer. In other words, any configuration in which there is the transition to the middle layer when the selection of the information is confirmed in the lowest layer is included in the applicable scope of the present invention. When the middle layer is made up of a plurality of layers, regarding which layer the transition is performed to, a determination may be freely made in terms of usability. In other words, the layer which becomes a transition target may have been previously determined depending on an intended use and the like of the above described device, or may be able to be freely changed by the user depending on preferences.
It should be noted that, in the above description, although the input key of the push style which includes the touch sensor has been employed as the operation unit 8, a mode of the operation unit 8 is not limited thereto. In other words, as described below, a rotary body can also be employed as the operation unit 8.
This mobile terminal 1 is the communication terminal with the built-in antenna and includes the functions which realize the telephone calls, the transmission and the receiving of the mails, the Internet connections, and the like, and can communicate with another terminal or the base station. Moreover, when the mail function, the Internet browsing function, and other functions are used, it is possible to input the characters by using the input device 2. Moreover, on the front face of the mobile terminal 1, the speaker 3 which outputs the speech, the speech input unit 4 which inputs the speech, and the display unit 6 which causes the various kinds of information to be displayed are included.
The input device 2 included in the mobile terminal 1 is composed of the function invocation keys 5 for invoking the respective functions (for example, the mail function, the telephone call function, the Web function, the clear function, and the like) of the mobile terminal 1, a wheel unit 108 which is freely rotatable within a plane in parallel with a housing of the mobile terminal 1, a depressible wheel button 107 included on the wheel unit 108, the direction key 9 which selects the desired function or character from the plurality of the functions or the characters, and the determination key 10 which determines the selection by the direction key 9. The user uses this input device 2 to invoke the desired function or input the characters.
As shown in
In other words, as shown in
In the present embodiment, although the description is performed by using the rotary encoder of a photoelectric method as described above, rotary encoders of other methods may be used. As other methods, a magnetic method, an electrostatic method, a contact method, and the like are representative thereof.
In this way, the input device 2 may have any mechanism in which both the signal depending on the rotation of the wheel unit 108 and the signal depending on the depression of the wheel button 107 can be outputted, and may also be realized with other structures.
It should be noted that the input device according to the present invention is applicable to various devices such as a remote controller and a gaming machine, which are held in one hand and for which it is necessary to perform the input operation with that one hand. For example, as shown in
The present embodiment is described by using
The rotation signal generation unit 120 is an example of a rotary body according to the present invention, and corresponds to the rotary encoder 11 included in the wheel unit 108.
The pressing unit 121 is an example of an operation unit according to the present invention, and corresponds to the wheel button 107. The wheel button 107 is the depressible push switch, and also functions as a handle when the wheel unit 108 is rotated. Since the wheel button 107 may not be the push switch and may have a structure in which whether pressed or not can be judged, a representation “press” may be used instead of a representation “depress” in the following description.
The rotation signal counting unit 122 and the rotation direction detection unit 123 are an example of an amount of rotation detection unit according to the present invention, and sense a physical amount related to the rotation of the wheel unit 108. Specifically, from an output signal of the rotation signal generation unit 120, a rotation angle and a rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 are identified.
The pressing time judgment unit 124 is an example of a pressing sensing unit according to the present invention, and senses whether or not the pressing unit 121 is being pressed. Specifically, the depression signal of the pressing unit 121 and the energized terminal ID are outputted to either the input method switching unit 125 or the confirmation unit 133, by judging a length of a pressing time of the pressing unit 121. In other words, when the pressing unit 121 has been pressed for equal to or more than a threshold time for switching (for example, one second or more), a pressing signal and the energized terminal ID are outputted to the input method switching unit 125. On the other hand, when the pressing unit 121 has been pressed only for equal to or less than the threshold time for switching, the pressing signal and the energized terminal ID are outputted to the confirmation unit 133.
It should be noted that, in the following description, to press for equal to or more than the threshold time for switching may be referred to as “long-press”.
The input method switching unit 125 is an example of a switching unit according to the present invention, and switches whether the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 are outputted to the first selection unit 127 or the second selection unit 129. Specifically, when the pressing signal has been received from the pressing time judgment unit 124 in a state in which the first selection unit 127 is enabled, the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 are switched to be outputted to the reference position setting unit 128 and the section information presentation unit 131. On the other hand, when the pressing signal has been received from the pressing time judgment unit 124 in a state in which the second selection unit 129 is enabled, the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 are switched to be outputted to the first selection unit 127. Here, the rotation angle of the wheel unit 108 has been identified by the rotation signal counting unit 122, and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 has been identified by the rotation direction detection unit 123.
The storage unit 126 is an example of an information set storage unit according to the present invention, and stores an information set which is a collection of ranked information. In the storage unit 126, as described later, character information 30 has been stored. This storage unit 126 is specifically a ROM (Read Only Memory), or the RAM (Random Access Memory), or the hard disk, or the like, and the information set is specifically a collection of the function information, the character information, and the like included in the mobile terminal 1.
The first selection unit 127 is an example of a first selection unit according to the present invention, and selects information from among the information set stored in the storage unit 126. Specifically, information corresponding to the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 is read from the storage unit 126, however, details are described later.
The reference position setting unit 128 is an example of a reference position setting unit according to the present invention, and changes the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 to initial values corresponding to an amount of rotation of 0 when the switching from the first selection unit 127 to the second selection unit 129 is performed, and thereby sets a position of the pressing unit 121 at a time point when the switching has been performed, as a reference position. Specifically, when the switching from the first selection unit 127 to the second selection unit 129 is performed, the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 are reset to 0, and outputted to the second selection unit 129. Although the reference position may be set at the time point of the switching in this way, the reference position may be set at the time of starting a character input mode which is closest to the switching.
The second selection unit 129 is an example of a second selection unit according to the present invention, and selects the information from among the information set stored in the storage unit 126. Specifically, the information corresponding to the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 is read from the storage unit 126, however, details are described later.
It should be noted that the selection unit in the present invention is a generic name indicating any one of, or both the first selection unit 127 and the second selection unit 129 described above.
The section information presentation unit 131 is an LED or the like which presents a predetermined information set including the information which is selected by the second selection unit 129, around the wheel unit 108. “A predetermined information set including the information which is selected by the second selection unit 129” described here means section information. Meanings of “section” and “section information” are described later.
The information presentation unit 132 is a liquid crystal display or the like which presents the information selected by the first selection unit 127 or the second selection unit 129. The user presses the pressing unit 121 when desired information is being selected in the information being presented on the information presentation unit 132.
When this pressing time is equal to or less than the threshold time for switching, the pressing time judgment unit 124 outputs the pressing signal to the confirmation unit 133.
The confirmation unit 133 is an example of a confirmation unit according to the present invention, and confirms information being selected, as the input information, when it is sensed by the pressing time judgment unit 124 that the pressing unit 121 has been pressed. “Information being selected” means the information being selected by the first selection unit 127 or the second selection unit 129.
It should be noted that, it is desirable that the rotation signal counting unit 122, the rotation direction detection unit 123, the pressing time judgment unit 124, the input method switching unit 125, the first selection unit 127, the reference position setting unit 128, the second selection unit 129, and the confirmation unit 133 are realized with software, although may be realized with other units. Moreover, in addition to units which visually present the information with the liquid crystal display or the like, the information presentation unit 26 and the section information presentation unit 131 may be units which auditorily present the information with speech or the like, or may be units which present the information both visually and auditorily.
Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that an input method in the case where the first selection unit 127 reads the information from the storage unit 126 and presents the information on the information presentation unit 132 is referred to as “relative position input method”, and an input method in the case where the second selection unit 129 reads the information from the storage unit 126 and presents the information on the information presentation unit 132 is referred to as “absolute position input method”.
The information presentation unit 132 presents at least some of the line information 301 to 312, as selected target information, to the user.
The first selection unit 127 or the second selection unit 129 selects predetermined line information from among the selected target information, based on the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108. When confirmation of selection of a desired line from the user has been accepted (for example, when the depression of the wheel button 107 is accepted while “(ha)” line 306 is being selected), the confirmation unit 133 confirms the selected line (“
(ha)” line), and the information presentation unit 132 presents at least some of character information set (in this case, “
(ha)”, “
(hi)”, “
(fu)”, “
(he)”, and “
(ho)”) constituting the confirmed line, as the selected target information. Subsequently, when the user rotates the wheel unit 108, the physical amount related to this rotation is identified by the rotation signal counting unit 122 and the rotation direction detection unit 123. Thereby, depending on the physical amount related to this rotation, a desired character (for example, “
(fu)”) is selected by the first selection unit 127 or the second selection unit 129. When the wheel button 107 is further depressed in that state, the character being selected (“
(fu)”) is confirmed as an input character by the confirmation unit 133. It should be noted that, after this, the state becomes a state in which the line information can be selected again.
Here, a character information set representing lines of the 50 syllables of the hiragana (“(a)”, “
(ka)”, “
(sa)”, “
(ta)”, “
(na)”, and the like) corresponds to “first information set” of the present invention. Moreover, individual pieces of information constituting this character information set correspond to “first unit information” of the present invention. Moreover, a character information set constituting the lines of the 50 syllables of the hiragana (for example, “
(a)”, “
(i)”, “
(u)”, “
(e)”, and “
(o)” constituting “
(a)” line, and “
(ka)”, “
(ki)”, “<(ku)”, “
(ke)”, and “
(ko)” constituting “
(ka)” line) corresponds to “second information set” of the present invention. Moreover, individual pieces of information constituting this character information set correspond to “second unit information” of the present invention.
First, since the wheel unit 108 is rotated by the user (S401), the wheel unit 108 outputs a rotation signal shown in
It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, although it is assumed that the line selection flag included within the input device 2 is composed of software, the line selection flag may be composed of hardware. For example, the wheel button 107 may be composed of a so-called tact switch or the like, and the line selection flag may be set to “1” when the wheel button 107 is in the state of being electrically energized with the circuit included in the input operation device 2, and the line selection flag may be set to “0” in the insulating state.
When the pressing time judgment unit 124 has sensed that the wheel button 107 has been depressed for equal to or more than the threshold time for switching, the pressing time judgment unit 124 outputs the terminal ID of the terminal 17 which has been energized with the wheel button 107, along with the depression signal, to the input method switching unit 125. Here, as shown in (1) and (2) of
As a result, for the terminal 17(a) with the terminal ID of 1, as shown in S100 and S101 of (a)-line” of the hiragana. Then, as the terminal ID becomes larger like “2, 3, 4, . . . , 12”, the distance from the second reference position (clockwise) becomes “1, 2, 3, . . . , 11”, the distance from the second reference position (counterclockwise) becomes “−11, −10, −9, . . . , −1”, the correspondence information (number) becomes “1, 2, 3, . . . , sign 2”, and the correspondence information (line information) becomes “
(ka)-line,
(sa)-line,
(ta)-line, . . . , sign 2”. It should be noted that the distance from the second reference position can be calculated based on the reference position set by the reference position setting unit 128, and the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108.
As shown in (3) of (a)-line”, “
(ka)-line”, “
(sa)-line”, “
(ta)-line”, “
(na)-line”, “
(ha)-line”, “
(ma)-line”, “
(ya)-line”, “
(ra)-line”, “
(wa)-line”, “sign 1”, and “sign 2”. When the section information is presented around the wheel unit 108 in this way, it becomes possible for the user to perform the input operation while checking character-related information which is being selected by the user himself, with a positional relationship between the mobile terminal 100 and the wheel button 107 as a clue. It should be noted that the above described “sign 1” and “sign 2” are specifically a set of signs such as ( )
, ∘ “ # * ! ? + ̂ ; : which are used in the character input and the like. Here, the set of the signs is classified into two groups depending on intended uses and the like.
Here, when the user rotates the wheel unit 108, the second selection unit 129 moves the rank depending on a distance from the reference position of the wheel button 107, with second reference information in the character information 30 stored in the storage unit 126 as a reference point, and thereby selects the information from among the character information 30. The second reference information is information which is selected when the amount of rotation (rotation angle) of the wheel unit 108 is 0, and specifically means the number “0” and “(a)-line” of the hiragana. Therefore, when the wheel unit 108 has rotated clockwise for one unit (15 degrees) in a state in which the character input mode has been set, the second selection unit 129 moves the rank by one rank in a forward direction of “
(a)
(ka)
(sa)
(ta)
(na)” with “
(a)-line” in the character information 30 as the reference point, and thereby selects “
(ka)-line” from among the character information 30. Of course, the position of the wheel button 107 at this time has become a position corresponding to the terminal 17(b) with the terminal ID of 2.
Since the user rotates the wheel unit 108 (S601), the wheel unit 108 outputs the rotation signal. The rotation signal counting unit 122 and the rotation direction detection unit 123 identify the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 from this rotation signal (S602). At this time, when the line selection flag which has been internally included in the input device 2 is 0 (S603: No), the second selection unit 129 calculates the distance from the second reference position, based on the second reference position set by the reference position setting unit 128, and the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 (S604). Subsequently, from among the character information 30, line information corresponding to the distance from the second reference position is selected (S605). On the other hand, when the line selection flag is 1 (S603: Yes), from among characters constituting the line information being selected, a character corresponding to the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 is selected (S608).
When desired line information or character is being selected (S606: Yes, or S609: Yes), the user depresses the wheel button 107 and thereby confirms the selection of the line information or character being selected (S607, S610). On the other hand, when the desired line information or character is not being selected (S606: No, or S609: No), the wheel unit 108 is rotated again, and thereby another line information or character is selected (S601). The input device 2 sets the line selection flag to 1 when the selection of the line information has been confirmed (S612), and sets the line selection flag to 0 when the selection of the character has been confirmed (S611). According to such a series of flows, the input of one character is confirmed. When the user has rotated the wheel unit 108 again for inputting, in continuation, another character (S601), since the line selection flag has been set to 0, it is possible to select the predetermined line information from among the character information 30 (S605).
When the user performs the character input operation, the character being selected by the first selection unit 127 (selected character) is highlighted within a frame of the fixed frame 41, and is being displayed in a font larger than other characters. The Information presentation unit 132 presents the generally semicircular-shaped wheel GUI (Graphical User Interface) 50 on the display unit 6, and arranges the selected character and information adjacent thereto on this wheel GUI 40 in such a manner in which a circular arc is drawn. Since the selected character is highlighted and displayed in the font larger than the adjacent information in this way, the user can clearly comprehend the selected character. Moreover, since the selected character is displayed at a fixed position, movement of a line of sight of the user during the operation decreases, and it becomes easy to comprehend the selected character. Furthermore, since not only the selected character but also the characters next thereto are displayed, the user can also check the characters previous and next to the selected character. In addition, on the wheel GUI 40, only some of the line information 401 to 412 in the character information 30 stored in the storage unit 126 are displayed. Since the information to be displayed is reduced in this way, it becomes easier for the user to find target line information. When the wheel unit 108 is rotated, the line information to be displayed on the wheel GUI 40 is interchanged according to the rotation, and as a result, all line information can be selected. Also when the characters constituting each piece of the line information 401 to 412 are displayed, since a similar display method has been employed, a similar effect can be obtained.
Hereinafter, the operation when “(to)” of the hiragana is inputted is described by using
First, as shown in (a)”, “
(ka)”, “
(sa)”, and “
(ma)”, “
(wa)”) are displayed on the wheel GUI 40. Here, since a case where “
(a)-line” is a first reference information is assumed, a status in which the character “
(a)” is being selected is shown.
At this time, as shown in (ka)”, “
(sa)”, and “
(ta)”, and highlighted and displayed in the order in the fixed frame 41. When the user depresses the wheel button 107 while “
(ta)” line is being selected, the confirmation unit 133 confirms the selection of “
(ta)” line, and the respective characters “
(ta)”, “
(chi)”, “
(tsu)”, “
(te)”, and “
(to)” constituting “
(ta)” line are displayed on the wheel GUI 40. At this time, as shown in
Subsequently, as shown in (ta)” and “
(to)”, and highlighted and displayed in the order in the fixed frame 41. When the user depresses the wheel button 107 while the character “
(to)” is being selected, the information confirmation unit 32 confirms the selection of the character “
(to)”, and the character “
(to)” is displayed on the input screen 42. According to the above operation, the user can easily input the desired character while seeing the display unit 6, without feeling the operational burden.
(to)” is inputted is illustrated and described.
First, as shown in (a)” line which is the first reference information has been selected, as shown in
(ka)”, “
(sa)”, and “
(ta)”. When the user presses the wheel button 107 in a state in which “
(ta)” line has been selected in this way, the state becomes a state in which the respective characters “
(ta)”, “
(chi)”, “
(tsu)”, “
(te)”, and “
(to)” constituting “
(ta)” line can be selected. As shown in
(chi)”, “
(tsu)”, “
(te)”, and “
(to)”. When the user presses the wheel button 107 in this state, the character “
(to)” is confirmed as the input information. Here, as shown in
(a)” line which is the first reference information is selected, and subsequently, the information is selected from among the character information 30 in the same manner. In other words, when the input information is confirmed, “
(a)” line which is the first reference information becomes the reference point, and when the wheel unit 108 rotates again, the rank moves depending on the amount of rotation.
(to)” is inputted is illustrated and described.
The case is similar to the case of the relative position input method, until the character “(to)” is confirmed as the input information. In other words, as shown in
(a)” line which is the second reference information has been selected, as shown in
(ka)”, “
(sa)”, and “
(ta)”. When the user presses the wheel button 107 in the state in which “
(ta)” line has been selected in this way, the state becomes the state in which the respective characters “
(ta)”, “
(chi)”, “
(tsu)”, “
(te)”, and “
(to)” constituting “
(ta)” line can be selected. As shown in
(chi)”, “
(tsu)”, “
(te)”, and “
(to)”. When the user presses the wheel button 107 in this state, the character “
(to)” is confirmed as the input information. Here, as shown in
(ya)” line is selected, and subsequently, the information is selected from among the character information 30 in the same manner. In other words, when the character “
(to)” is confirmed as the input information, since the wheel unit 108 at the time has rotated clockwise for seven units from the reference position, “
(ya)” line to which the rank has moved for seven units from “
(a)” line which is the second reference information is selected.
It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, although the above described function is realized by using the clear key, of course, the above described function may be realized with other keys.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, although only an operation of the clear key in the function invocation keys 5 has been described, operations of other function invocation keys 5 are not particularly defined. To other function invocation keys 5, operations required for the operation of the input device 2 (for example, the telephone call, call ending, a Web browsing function, and the like) may be assigned.
Moreover, other operations of the clear key are not defined in this flowchart. For example, when the clear key has been depressed while the line selection flag is 0 (S502: No), a process such as performing deletion of the character of which the input has been already confirmed may be performed.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, although when the wheel unit 108 is rotated clockwise, the characters “(ka)”, “
(sa)”, and “
(ta)” in the character information representing the lines have been selected in the order, of course, it may be assumed that the display is performed as described above when the wheel unit 108 has been rotated counterclockwise.
In (a)”, as represented in
(a)”. According to such a process, when the user activates the mail function, the character information representing the line which is frequently selected is automatically selected by the selection unit 25 and displayed in the fixed frame 41, and thereby an input time can be reduced.
It should be noted that although the list 50 in the present embodiment has been described as the list in the mail function, of course, the above described list may also be included in other functions. Moreover, when a different list is included for each function of the mobile terminal 1, it is possible to attempt to reduce the input time also in the case where character information representing a line to be selected first is different for each function. Moreover, although the list 50 in the present embodiment stores an activation year-month-day, an activation time, and selected line information, of course, other information may be stored, or information other than the character information representing the selected and confirmed lines may not be stored.
As described above, according to the mobile terminal 1 including the input device 2 in the third embodiment of the present invention, it becomes possible for the user to input the predetermined information such as the character, only with the rotation of the wheel unit 108 and the depression of the wheel button 107, and it becomes possible to reduce a burden when the finger is moved to a key assigned with the target information.
Moreover, it is possible to switch between the relative position input method suitable for inputting the information while seeing the display unit 6, and the absolute position input method suitable for inputting the information without seeing the display unit 6, by a simple operation of long-pressing the wheel button 107. Thereby, it becomes possible to provide an input device with good operability, which can flexibly respond to a status in which the user is using the input device or the user's preferences.
When such a configuration has been set, it is possible to realize a usage depending on a status of use or the preferences of the user, in which the relative position input method with a high input speed is normally used and is switched to the absolute position input method in a time of emergency such as a time when the display is broken, and the like.
In other words, when the character-related information is inputted according to the relative position input method, since the information being selected by the first selection unit 127 is displayed on the display unit 6, it is not necessary for the user to see the hand. Thus, there is no delay in the input time due to a time of searching information which is desired to be inputted while seeing the hand, and the input time can be reduced.
On the other hand, when the character-related information is inputted according to the absolute position input method, since the user can input the character-related information with the positional relationship between the mobile terminal 1 and the wheel button 107 as the clue, it becomes possible to input a telephone number and the like for using the telephone call function of the mobile terminal, in a state in which the display unit 6 is not seen. In other words, even when the display unit 6 has been broken due to a disaster such as an earthquake, it becomes possible to make an emergency call.
Moreover, since the clear key is provided, when the character constituting the predetermined line is being selected, it becomes possible for the user to redo the selection of the character information representing the line again. Thus, even when the user has temporarily and mistakenly selected the character information representing the line, which is other than the character information representing the desired line, it is possible to recover from an error with a small operational burden and a short operation time.
Furthermore, since the character being selected by the first selection unit 127 or the second selection unit 30 (selected character) is highlighted and displayed in a large font within the frame of the fixed frame 41 on the wheel GUI 40 by the information presentation unit 132, the movement of the line of sight of the user during the operation can be decreased, and the user can clearly comprehend which character is being selected.
Furthermore, since not only character information representing a target line to be selected but also character information representing the selected target information next thereto is displayed, the user can also check the character information as the selected target information previous and next to the character information being selected.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, “(a)” which is character information representing a beginning line of the 50 syllables of the hiragana and “
(wa)” which is character information representing an end line are displayed in a side-by-side manner. Since such display requires only few wheel operations even when “
(wa)” line which is the end line is desired to be selected while “
(a)” line which is the beginning line is being selected, the burden on the user can be reduced, and the operation time can also be reduced.
Furthermore, the information presentation unit 26 changes the color of the wheel GUI 40 being displayed on the display unit 6 between in a case where the user is caused to select the character information representing the line and in a case where the user is caused to select the character information constituting the line. Thereby, the user can clearly comprehend whether the user is selecting the character information representing the line in the character information 30 or selecting the character information constituting the line.
Moreover, when a predetermined function has been activated, based on a history of the line of which the selection has been confirmed by the user in past times, the mobile terminal 1 including the input device 2 in the present embodiment determines the character information representing the line to be displayed first in the fixed frame 41. Thus, when the user activates the above described predetermined function, the line information which is frequently selected is displayed in a state of having been automatically selected, in the fixed frame 41, and thereby the input time can be reduced.
With the above described effects, according to the input device 2 according to the present embodiment, the burden on the user's hand or finger is reduced and the time required for the operation is also reduced, which enables the comfortable operation.
It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the wheel unit 108 is composed of the rotary encoder, which, however, may be another configuration when the configuration can output the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108. In this case, it is desirable that the wheel unit 108 is composed of a member which can be operated by a rotary torque not imposing the burden on the user, and that a configuration in which the operation unit is not degraded by abrasion due to a long term use is employed.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, although it is assumed that the information is displayed on the display unit 6 with the GUI, an information presentation mode is not limited thereto. In other words, with a configuration in which the information being selected is not only displayed with the GUI but also presented with the speech by the information presentation unit 132, it becomes possible to provide an input device which can also be used by a user having a difficulty in comprehending the information being selected, only with visual information, such as a visually-impaired person or a person with weak eyesight.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, although it has been described that the information is displayed on the display unit 6 only in the case of the relative position input method, the information may be similarly displayed on the display unit 6 also in the case of the absolute position input method.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, although it has been assumed that the line information from “(a)” line to “
(wa)” line is selected and confirmed first and subsequently the character constituting each piece of the line information (column information) is selected and confirmed, a similar effect can also be obtained when the column information is selected and confirmed first and subsequently the character constituting each piece of the column information (line information) is selected and confirmed.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, although it has been assumed that the pressing time judgment unit 124 outputs the pressing signal to the input method switching unit 125 when the pressing unit 121 has been pressed for one second or more, the above described time may not be necessarily one second. In other words, the time may be any time in which the user can clearly distinguish a normal pressing from a pressing for switching the input method.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, although it has been assumed that when the pressing time judgment unit 124 judges that the wheel button 107 has been long-pressed, the input method switching unit 125 performs the switching between the relative input method and the absolute input method, it may be assumed that the input method is switched with long-pressing of another button other than the long-pressing of the wheel button 107. Specifically, the input method may be switched by using a button of other than the wheel unit 108 included in the mobile terminal 1. In this case, it may be judged whether or not the button which is used for the above described switching is being depressed. Moreover, the input method may be switched by using a slide switch instead of the above described button.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, although the first and second reference information has been the number “0” or (a)-line of the hiragana, of course, other information may be the reference information. Although a case where alphabet is inputted has not been referred to, in that case, it is desirable that “A” is the reference information.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, although the position at which the wheel button 107 has been long-pressed has been the reference position, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, it is also possible to set a specific position as the reference position when the wheel button 107 is long-pressed at any position. For example, when it is assumed that the number “0” or (a)-line of the hiragana is always associated with the terminal 17(a) with the terminal ID of 1, since the section information to be presented around the wheel unit 108 is always constant, the absolute position input with further good operability becomes possible. When the section information to be presented around the wheel unit 108 is always constant in this way, the terminal ID is not necessarily required. Of course, even in the case where the position at which the wheel button 107 has been long-pressed is set as the reference position, when a mode in which the section information is not presented around the wheel unit 108 is employed, the terminal ID is not necessarily required.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, although the information presentation unit 132 displays the character information adjacent to each piece of the information when either the character information representing the line in the character information 30 or each piece of the character information constituting the line is displayed, such display may not be necessarily performed. For example, an adjacent character may not be displayed when the character information representing the line is displayed, and the adjacent character may be displayed only when each character constituting the line is displayed, and vice versa. Also with such display, an operator can clearly comprehend whether the operator is selecting the character information representing the line in the character information 30 or selecting the character information constituting the line, at a glance.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, although it is assumed that the information presentation unit 132 presents the character being selected, in the font larger than other characters, it may be assumed that the character being selected is presented in a color different from other characters, and the display may have any mode in which the information being selected can be distinguished from other information.
Moreover, although the mobile terminal 1 including the input device 2 in the present embodiment has been configured so that when a predetermined function has been activated, a character to be selected first is determined based on the beginning character constituting the line information of which the selection has been confirmed first after the user has activated the above described predetermined function in past times, another method may be possible when the method determines the character to be displayed, based on a history of the character input in past times by the user. For example, the character information representing the line to which the character, of which the selection has been confirmed first after the user has activated the above described predetermined function in past times, belongs may be stored, and the beginning character of the line information of which a largest number of pieces have been stored may be selected first therefrom.
The fourth embodiment is described with a focus on different points from the third embodiment, by using
The number of times of pressing judgment unit 164 is a pressing sensing unit according to the present invention, and senses whether or not the pressing unit 121 is being pressed. Specifically, the pressing signal of the pressing unit 121 and the energized terminal ID are outputted to either the input method switching unit 125 or the confirmation unit 133, by judging the number of times of pressing on the pressing unit 121 within a predetermined time. In other words, when the pressing unit 121 has been pressed once again without the wheel unit 108 being rotated, within the predetermined time after the pressing unit 121 has been depressed, the pressing signal and the energized terminal ID are outputted to the input method switching unit 125. On the other hand, when the pressing unit 121 has never been pressed within the predetermined time after the pressing unit 121 has been depressed, the pressing signal and the energized terminal ID are outputted to the confirmation unit 133. It is desirable that the number of times of pressing judgment unit 164 is composed of software.
Since other components are similar to the above described third embodiment, descriptions thereof are omitted.
The information presentation unit 132 presents at least some of the line information 701 to 712, as the selected target information, to the user.
The first selection unit 127 or the second selection unit 129 selects predetermined line information from among the selected target information, based on the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108. When confirmation of selection of a desired line from the user has been accepted (for example, when the depression of the wheel button 107 is accepted while “m” line 706 is being selected), the confirmation unit 133 confirms the selected line (“m” line), and the information presentation unit 132 presents at least some of character information set (in this case, “m”, “n”, “o”, “M”, “N”, and “O”) constituting the confirmed line, as the selected target information. Subsequently, when the user rotates the wheel unit 108, the physical amount related to this rotation is identified by the rotation signal counting unit 122 and the rotation direction detection unit 123. Thereby, depending on the physical amount related to this rotation, a desired character (for example, “M”) is selected by the first selection unit 127 or the second selection unit 129. When the wheel button 107 is further depressed in that state, the character being selected (“M”) is confirmed as the input character by the confirmation unit 133. It should be noted that, after this, the state becomes a state in which the line information can be selected again.
Here, a character information set representing the lines of the 50 syllables of the hiragana (“a”, “d”, “g”, “j”, “m”, and the like) corresponds to “first information set” of the present invention. Moreover, a character information set constituting the lines of the 50 syllables of the hiragana (for example, “a”, “b”, “c”, “A”, “B”, and “C” constituting “a” line, and “d”, “e”, “f”, “D”, “E”, and “F” constituting “d” line) corresponds to “second unit information” of the present invention.
First, since the wheel unit 108 is rotated by the user (S801), the wheel unit 108 outputs the rotation signal. The rotation signal counting unit 122 and the rotation direction detection unit 123 identify the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 from this rotation signal (S802). At this time, based on the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108, when the line selection flag included within the input device 2 is “0” (S803: No), the first selection unit 127 selects predetermined character information from the first information set being selected by the information presentation unit 132 (S804), and when the line selection flag is “1” (S803: Yes), the first selection unit 127 selects predetermined character information from the second information set (S808).
When the user hopes to confirm the input for the desired information being selected by the first selection unit 127 and displayed in the fixed frame 41 (S805: Yes, or S809: Yes), the user depresses the wheel button 107, and when the user hopes to select another information, the user rotates the wheel unit 108 again (S805: No, or S809: No). With the depression of the wheel button 107, the confirmation unit 133 confirms the input of confirmation of the selected information (S806, S810). The input device 2 sets the line selection flag included therein to “1” when the selection of the predetermined information from among the first information set has been confirmed (S807), and sets the line selection flag to “0” when the selection of the predetermined information from among the second information set has been confirmed (S811). According to such a series of flows, the input of one character is confirmed. After the input of one character has been confirmed, when the wheel unit 108 has been further rotated by the user (S801), the line selection flag is set to “0”. Then, since at least some of the character information set representing the lines is being presented as the selected target information again by the information presentation unit 132, the first selection unit 127 selects the predetermined character information from among the above described character information representing the lines (S804).
When the number of times of pressing judgment unit 164 has sensed that the wheel button 107 has been pressed once again without the wheel unit 108 being rotated, within the predetermined time after the wheel button 107 has been depressed, the number of times of pressing judgment unit 164 outputs the terminal ID of the terminal 17 which has been energized with the wheel button 107, along with the depression signal, to the input method switching unit 125. Here, as shown in (1) and (2) of (a)-line” of the hiragana. Then, as the terminal ID becomes larger like “2, 3, 4, . . . , 12”, the distance from the reference position (clockwise) becomes “1, 2, 3, . . . , 11”, the distance from the reference position (counterclockwise) becomes “−11, −10, −9, . . . , −1”, the correspondence information (number) becomes “1, 2, 3, . . . , sign 2”, and the correspondence information (line information) becomes “
(ka)-line,
(sa)-line,
(ta)-line, sign 2”.
Moreover, as shown in (3) of
Since the user rotates the wheel unit 108 (S901), the wheel unit 108 outputs the rotation signal. The rotation signal counting unit 122 and the rotation direction detection unit 123 identify the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 from this rotation signal (S902). At this time, when the line selection flag which has been internally included in the input device 2 is 0 (S903: No), the second selection unit 129 calculates the distance from the reference position, based on the reference position set by the reference position setting unit 128, and the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 (S904). Subsequently, from among the character information 70, information corresponding to the distance from the reference position is selected (S905). On the other hand, when the line selection flag is 1 (S903: Yes), from among characters constituting the information being selected, a character corresponding to the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 is selected (S908).
When the desired information is being selected (S906: Yes, or S909: Yes), the user depresses the wheel button 107 and thereby confirms the selection of the information being selected (S907, S610). On the other hand, when the desired information is not being selected (S906: No, or S909: No), the wheel unit 108 is rotated again, and thereby another line information or character is selected (S901).
The input device 2 sets the line selection flag to 1 when the selection of the line information has been confirmed (S912), and sets the line selection flag to 0 when the selection of the character has been confirmed (S911). According to such a series of flows, the input of one character is confirmed. When the user has rotated the wheel unit 108 again for inputting, in continuation, another character (S901), since the line selection flag has been set to 0, it is possible to select the predetermined line information from among the character information 70 (S905).
First, as shown in
Here, as shown in
The case is similar to the case of the relative position input method, until the character “H” is confirmed as the input information. In other words, as shown in
Here, as shown in
When the user performs the input operation, in selected target characters being presented on the display unit 6 by the information presentation unit 132, the predetermined character being selected by the first selection unit 127 or the second selection unit 129 (also referred to as “selected character”) is highlighted within the frame of the fixed frame 41, and is displayed in the font larger than other characters.
Moreover, the information presentation unit 132 presents a generally square-shaped wheel GUI 65, and arranges and displays the selected character and the character information adjacent thereto linearly in the wheel GUI 65. Since the selected character is highlighted and displayed in the font larger than the adjacent character information in this way, the user can clearly comprehend which character is the selected character. Moreover, since the selected character is displayed at the fixed position, the movement of the line of sight of the user during the operation is decreased, and it becomes further easy to comprehend the selected character. Furthermore, since not only the selected character but also the characters next thereto are displayed, the user can also check the characters previous and next to the selected character. Moreover, the wheel GUI 65 displays only some of the character information 70 stored in the storage unit 126. Since the information to be displayed is reduced in this way, it is possible to make it easier for the user to identify the character to be selected. For other character information 70 which is not being displayed, along with the rotation of the wheel unit 108, the information presentation unit 132 interchanges the selected target information being displayed so that all information can be selected.
Hereinafter, an operation when “c” of the alphabet is inputted is described by using
According to the above operation, the user can easily input the desired character while seeing the display unit 6, without feeling the operational burden.
As described above, according to the mobile terminal 1 including the input device 2 in the present embodiment, it is possible to switch between the relative position input method suitable for inputting the information while seeing the display unit 6, and the absolute position input method suitable for inputting the information without seeing the display unit 6, by a simple operation of double-clicking on the wheel button 107. Thereby, it becomes possible to provide the input device with good operability, which can flexibly respond to the status in which the user is using the input device or the user's preferences.
It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, although it has been assumed that the number of times of pressing judgment unit 164 outputs the pressing signal to the input method switching unit 125 when the pressing unit 121 has been depressed, a predetermined number of times within the predetermined time, the above described predetermined time or the predetermined number of times may be any time and any number of times in which the user can clearly distinguish the normal pressing from the pressing for switching the input method.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, although it has been assumed that when the number of times of pressing judgment unit 164 judges that the wheel button 107 has been double-clicked, the input method switching unit 125 performs the switching between the relative input method and the absolute input method, it may be assumed that the input method is switched with double-clicking on another button other than the double-clicking on the wheel button 107. Specifically, the input method may be switched by using the button of other than the wheel unit 108 included in the mobile terminal 1. In this case, it may be judged whether or not the button which is used for the above described switching is being depressed.
Moreover, according to the mobile terminal 1 including the input device 2 according to the present embodiment, at the time of the relative position input method, when the selection of the first information set is selected, in continuation, after the selection of the predetermined information in the second information set has been confirmed, the first unit information which has been associated with the above described selected second information set is selected.
With the above described effects, according to the input device 2 according to the present embodiment, the burden on the user's hand or finger is reduced and the time required for the operation is also reduced, which enables the comfortable operation.
The present embodiment is described with a focus on different points from the above described third embodiment and fourth embodiment, by using
The input device 2 included in the mobile terminal 1 is composed of the function invocation keys 5 for invoking the functions (for example, the mail function, the telephone call function, the Web function, the clear function, and the like) included in the mobile terminal 1, the wheel unit 108 which is freely rotatable within the plane in parallel with the housing of the mobile terminal 1 and composed of the rotary encoder of the photoelectric method, a depressible wheel button 183 included at a rotation center of the wheel unit 108, and the direction key 9 which selects the desired function or character from the plurality of the functions or the characters. The user can invoke the desired function or input the characters by using this input device 2.
First, since the wheel unit 108 is rotated by the user (S1001), the wheel unit 108 outputs the rotation signal. The rotation signal counting unit 122 and the rotation direction detection unit 123 identify the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the wheel unit 108 from this rotation signal (S1002). At this time, when the user hopes to confirm the input for the desired character being selected by the selection unit 25 and displayed in the fixed frame 41 (S1004: Yes), the user depresses the wheel button 63, and when the user hopes to select another character, the user rotates the wheel unit 108 again (S1004: No). The confirmation unit 133 confirms the input of the character information representing the selected character with the depression of the wheel button 183 (S1005). According to such a series of flows, the input of one character is confirmed. When the user has rotated the wheel unit 108 again for inputting, in continuation, another character (S1001), it is possible to select and confirm the predetermined character from among the characters being presented by the information presentation unit 132 (S1005).
When the user performs the input operation, in the selected target characters being presented on the display unit 6 by the information presentation unit 132, the predetermined character being selected by the first selection unit 127 (also referred to as “selected character”) is highlighted within the frame of the fixed frame 41, and is displayed in the font larger than other characters. Moreover, the information presentation unit 132 presents a generally square-shaped wheel GUI 85, and arranges and displays the selected character and the character information adjacent thereto linearly in the wheel GUI 85. Since the selected character is highlighted and displayed in the font larger than the adjacent character information in this way, the user can clearly comprehend which character is the selected character.
Hereinafter, an operation when “(u)” of the hiragana is inputted is described by using
(a)” is being displayed in the fixed frame 41 on the wheel GUI 85. At this time, as shown in
(i)” and “
(u)” are sequentially highlighted and displayed in order in the fixed frame 41 in the center. When the user depresses the wheel button 183 while “
(u)” is being selected, the confirmation unit 133 confirms the selection of “
(u)”, and displays “
(u)” on the input screen 42.
As described above, according to the mobile terminal 1 including the input device 2 in the present embodiment, since the wheel button 183 is provided at the rotation center of the wheel unit 108, when the user performs the input operation, the user can easily operate the wheel button 183 with the finger at any position on the wheel unit 108, and it is possible to reduce a burden associated with the movement of the finger and reduce a time required for the movement of the finger. Thereby, it becomes possible for the user to easily input the desired character while seeing the display unit 6, without feeling the operational burden.
The input device according to the present invention is applicable to a mobile phone, a mobile-type music terminal, a remote controller of a television, a gaming machine, and the like in which the user needs to efficiently find the target information.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-106819 | Apr 2006 | JP | national |
| 2006-106824 | Apr 2006 | JP | national |
| 2006-190512 | Jul 2006 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2007/055801 | 3/22/2007 | WO | 00 | 9/29/2008 |
