Character input system and method using keyboard

Details Character input system and method using keyboard Character input system and method using keyboard

1999-10-04

2001-05-15

Eickholt, Eugene (Department: 2854)

Typewriting machines

Key-board or key lever-actuating mechanism

For foreign-language typewriter

C400S485000, C400S109000, C400S110000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06231252

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for inputting characters using keyboards.
This application is based on Patent Application No. Hei 10-282359 and No. Hei 10-326555 both filed in Japan, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, keyboards are widely used to input character information into electronic digital devices. As the representative of the keyboards, personal computers normally use the so-called “QWERTY” keyboards. The QWERTY keyboard has a relatively large number of keys. Recently, however, it is demanded to cope with downsizing of “portable” (or “handy”) digital devices. In order to do so, it is necessary to downsize input devices such as keyboards by reducing a number of keys. In case of portable telephones (or cellular phones), for example, ten keypads originally used for inputting telephone numbers are used to input twenty-six alphabetic letters.
For instance, Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 6-102979 discloses a keyboard suited to the downsizing of the digital devices described above.
Now, such a keyboard will be described with reference to FIG.
14
.
FIG. 14
is a schematic illustration showing an arrangement of keys of a one-hand keyboard
801
. The one-hand keyboard
801
contains fifteen main keys
802
, five control keys
803
, ten function keys
804
and four cursor keys
805
as well as a kana mode key
806
(where “kana” denotes the Japanese syllabary), a symbol mode key
807
, a numeral mode key
808
and a shift key
809
. Incidentally, a lamp is turned on when each of the keys
806
,
807
,
808
and
809
is pressed.
The main keys
802
are used for inputting data into some digital device equipped with the one-hand keyboard
801
. The main keys
802
are arranged in a matrix consisting of three rows and five columns. In the main keys
802
, five main keys arranged in a middle row are respectively provided for five characters corresponding to five vowels in Japanese, i.e., “A”, “I”, “U”, “E” and “O”, while main keys arranged in other rows are respectively provided for ten characters, which correspond to unvoiced consonants and voiced consonants. Four characters corresponding to the voiced consonants are input using a shift function being associated with the corresponding unvoiced consonants. Incidentally, remaining alphabetic characters are input using the shift function. Each voiced consonant can be input by pressing a key of the corresponding unvoiced consonant twice. Thus, the one-hand keyboard
801
actualizes operations to input Japanese characters using roman letters and operations to input alphanumeric characters with high performance.
As shown in
FIG. 14
, a layout of the keys of the one-hand keyboard
801
is designed such that the control keys
803
, function keys
804
, cursor keys
805
, kana mode key
806
, symbol mode key
807
, numeral mode key
808
and shift key
809
are arranged in surrounding areas of the main keys
802
. Thus, it is possible to actualize functions of the normal keyboard used for data input on the one-hand keyboard
801
.
Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 5-216575 discloses a keyboard in which an arrangement of consonant keys used for inputting consonant characters is separated from an arrangement of vowel keys for inputting vowel characters in left-right directions while at least two thumb shift keys (i.e., left thumb shift key and right thumb shift key) are arranged at left and right base portions respectively. Using the thumb shift keys, four shift patterns are provided for inputting a consonant character by pressing the corresponding consonant key, as follows:
i) The consonant key being pressed is subjected to shift using the left thumb shift key.
ii) The consonant key is subjected to shift using the right thumb shift key.
iii) The consonant key is subjected to “double” shift by simultaneous depression of the left and right thumb shift keys.
iv) The consonant key is not subjected to shift at all.
Similarly, four shift patterns are provided for inputting a vowel character by pressing the corresponding vowel key. So, there are provided sixteen combinations of shift patters in total due to combinations of the four shift patterns of the consonant key and four shift patterns of the vowel key. Within such sixteen combinations of shift patterns, five combinations of shift patterns are selected and combined with three keys, which correspond to three vowel keys being arranged in three rows respectively. Thus, it is possible to produce fifteen combinations between the shift patterns and keys. Then, a large part of fourteen consonant characters used in the Japanese language and a symbol showing non-existence of the consonant are assigned to the fifteen combinations respectively. Such assignment is commonly accompanied with each vowel key in the same row so as to actualize a complex key. Using such a complex key, two syllables of a Japanese word are simultaneously input. That is, pressing the complex key allows simultaneous input of a vowel character corresponding to an odd-numbered syllable and a consonant character corresponding to a next even-numbed syllable in the Japanese word being input. Thus, it is possible to omit pressing the key for inputting the consonant character corresponding to the even-numbered syllable of the Japanese word.
The aforementioned one-hand keyboard suffers from a problem as follows:
In order to input a voiced consonant character using the one-hand keyboard, it is necessary to repeatedly press the corresponding key twice. So, it is impossible to distinguish between operations to simply input the same character twice and operations to input the voiced consonant character by repeatedly pressing the key twice. Because, the one-hand keyboard lacks a specific function to distinguish between those operations. Another problem is that the one-hand keyboard is not so good in performability. Because, the vowel key adjoins the consonant key.
The aforementioned keyboard using the thumb shift keys suffers from a problem as follows:
It is impossible to produce English documents using such keyboard.
Because, the keyboard does not have keys for inputting letters (e.g., “L”), which are not used to input the Japanese language using the roman letters.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a keyboard, which has a relatively small number of keys with a good efficiency in operation and performance and which is small in size but is easy to operate.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method to input characters using such a keyboard.
It is a further object of the invention to provide media for storing programs actualizing the character input method using the keyboard.
A character input system (and method) of this invention is actualized using an “easy-to-operate” keyboard, which is downsized by reducing a number of keys and which has a good efficiency in performance and operation without increasing key-pressing numbers so much. The keyboard contains a first group of keys for inputting five vowel characters of Japanese (i.e., A, I, U, E and O) in roman letters and a second group of keys for inputting consonant characters (and symbols). Herein, the first group of keys are separated in positions from the second group of keys on a panel of the keyboard. Two consonant characters are assigned to each of the keys of the second group in such a way that an unvoiced consonant character is input by a single key-pressing operation while a voiced consonant character is input by a double key-pressing operation. Assignment of the consonant characters to the keys is determined in consideration of appearance frequencies of kana characters in Japanese documents and/or appearance frequencies of alphabetic letters in English documents, for example.
A predetermined time is set to distinguish between operations to repeatedly press the same key twice and the double key-pressing operation applied to the key. Herein, the prede

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