WO2005106631A1

WO2005106631A1 - Character input method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2005106631A1
Application number: PCT/IB2005/051261
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ivo Rutten
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date: 2004-04-30
Filing date: 2005-04-19
Publication date: 2005-11-10
Also published as: CN1690932A

Abstract

A character input apparatus, comprising: at least one shared key component for entering a plurality of characters; interrupting means for generating an interrupt signal according to an instruction of an user after a character has been inputted via the shared key component; controlling means for accepting the inputted character so as to be prepared for accepting a next character to be inputted via the shared key component after receiving the interrupt signal. With this character input apparatus, no Acceptance time is required to be waited during character input procedure and thus the character input speed can be increased.

Description

CHARACTER INPUT METHOD AND APPARATUS

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a character input method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a character input method and apparatus used in text entry devices that share a single key between a plurality of characters.

Background Art of the Invention

In equipments such as mobile phones, the numeric keypad generally has a limited number of keys (usually less than 20). But in practical applications, the number of different characters (including letters, numbers, punctuations, icon symbols and so on) to be entered is generally more than the number of different keys on the numeric keypad. On a computer keyboard, a key can be used in combination with the 'shift' key to represent a new character to increase the number of characters that can be entered with the keyboard. But in mobile terminals, the numeric keypad is generally designed to be operable with a single finger (thumb), so 'shift' key is not a viable way in practice to increase the number of distinguished key entries to be higher than the number of keys. To be able to enter more characters with the keypad of a current mobile terminal (or other devices with a number of keys smaller than the number of distinct characters or symbols to be entered), 3 to 15 characters are usually designated to share one single key on the numeric keypad. As shown in Fig.1 , every time a user presses a key, the character represented by the key will change into the next one in order, and thus the user can choose the intended character through pressing the key repeatedly. In this way, the number of characters entered through this keypad can be much higher than the number of keys on the numeric keypad. When characters are entered by using the above keypad in which several different characters shares a single key, the mobile terminal typically works as follows: In the case that two subsequently entered characters do not share a single key, after the user presses the first key to choose the first intended character and subsequently presses the second key to choose the next intended character, a control unit in the mobile terminal accepts the first chosen character and stores it into a storing unit of the mobile terminal, then restores the character input state of the first key to the initial state, and meanwhile moves the cursor on the display screen of the mobile terminal to the next position to display the second character to be entered. However, if the two subsequently entered characters share a single key, after the user presses the key and chooses the first intended character, the user has to pause pressing the key and wait for a short time period. When the control unit in the mobile terminal judges that the time period exceeds a predefined interval (also called as 'Acceptance Time', or 'AT', usually around half a second to a second), it will assume that the user does not intend to choose the last character and not press the same key again to move on to the next character represented by the key. In this state, the control unit accepts the first chosen character and stores it into the storing unit, and then restores the character input state of the key to the initial state, and subsequently moves the cursor on the display screen to the next position.

After this sequence of events, the user can press the key again to choose the next intended character. In accordance with the above character input method, let's take the state-of-the-art keypad on a typical mobile phone as an example. When word 'DOG' is to be entered, characters 'D', 'O' and 'G' correspond to different keys respectively, so it's not necessary to pause for a time period to wait for the above 'AT' when the characters of the word are being entered. However, when word 'EFFORT is inputted, it is necessary to wait for at least two above AT's respectively (one after the Ε', one after the first 'F') after character Ε' and the first 'F' are entered, because characters 'D', Ε', 'F' and number '3' are usually designated to share a single key on the keypad of typical mobile phones. As Fig.2 shows, on the keypad of typical mobile phones, characters 'D', Ε', 'F' and number '3' are designated to share a single key, characters 'M', 'N', 'O' and number '6' are designated to share a single key, characters 'P', 'Q', 'R' and number 7' are designated to share a single key, character T and number '8' are designated to share a single key. Just as stated above, when word 'EFFORT' is being entered, it is necessary for the user to wait for two AT's during the input process since Ε' and 'F' share a single key: when the cursor stays at the position of the first character to be entered, the user has to press key '3' twice and waits for an AT after the display screen indicates the shared key '3' represents character Ε', and then after the predefined AT expires, character Ε' is displayed at the position of the first character and the cursor moves to the position of the second character to be entered, the user can press the shared key '3' again to enter the next character 'F'. During character input procedure, it's very annoying to wait for AT, and furthermore, the speed of inputting characters is slowed down. To reduce waiting for AT during character input procedure, sometimes users have to resort to misspelling like ΕFORT, to decrease waiting for an AT, This tradeoff solution cannot resolve the problem completely, since one AT still needs to be waited for, and users also have to accept misspelled words. A new input method and apparatus is, therefore, proposed to avoid waiting for AT.

Summary of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a character input method and apparatus used in text entry devices that share a single key between several characters. The input method and apparatus can completely avoid waiting for AT when two continuously inputted characters share a single key. A character input apparatus in accordance with the present invention, comprising: at least one shared key component for entering a plurality of characters; interrupting means for generating an interrupt signal according to an instruction of an user after a character has been inputted via the shared key component; controlling means for accepting the inputted character so as to be prepared for accepting a next character to be inputted via the shared key component after receiving the interrupt signal. A character input method in accordance with the present invention, comprising the steps of: acquiring a character inputted via a key component shared by a plurality of characters; accepting the inputted character according to an instruction of an user; acquiring a next character inputted via the shared key component. Other objects and attainments together with a fuller understanding of the invention will become apparent and appreciated by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings For a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which: Fig.1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the numeric keypad of a conventional mobile terminal; Fig.2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the input of a word by using a conventional mobile terminal; Fig.3 illustrates the numeric keypad of mobile terminals in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.4 is a block diagram illustrating the mobile terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the input of a word by using a mobile terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention To solve the problem of waiting for AT when characters are inputted, the present invention proposes to add an extra key into current mobile terminals, which has as its function to interrupt the wait for AT and to immediately restore the state of the last used key to its initial state. The function of this key is thus to perform the same actions as are performed automatically by the control unit of the mobile terminal when the AT comes to its end. That is, the newly added AT interrupt key generates an interrupt signal for ending the AT, and meanwhile triggering the control unit to perform corresponding actions when the AT comes to its end. As shown in Fig.3, when two subsequently inputted characters share a single key, the newly added AT interrupt key can be pressed after the first character has been entered, to interrupt the wait for AT and restore the character input state of the shared key to the initial state, so that the user can immediately press the shared key again to input the second character. Fig.4 is a block diagram illustrating the mobile terminal 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The newly added AT interrupt key 110 can be arranged on the keypad of the mobile terminal, or on the side of the mobile terminal, or at other suitable positions on the mobile terminal. Just as Fig.4 shows, when the user enters a string of characters by using plurality of keys 100 which are same as or similar to those of conventional mobile terminals, if two subsequently entered characters share a single key, then the user can press the newly added AT interrupt key 110 to generate an interrupt signal, to interrupt the wait for AT after the user presses the shared key and has acquired the first intended character. After control unit 120 in the mobile terminal receives the interrupt signal from AT interrupt key 110, it will accept the first chosen character, store it into storing unit 130 immediately and restore the character input state of the shared key to the initial state, and then move the cursor on the display screen to the next position so that the user can press the shared key again to choose the second intended character. Wherein, if AT interrupt key 110 is arranged on the keypad of mobile terminal 10 like other keys, it can be built in the keypad circuit of mobile terminal 10 just like other keys (e.g. in the keypad circuit which employs array decoding circuit). Control unit 120 can distinguish AT interrupt key 110 according to its location in the keypad circuit (such as the row-and-column location where AT interrupt key 110 sits in the array decoding circuit) just as distinguish other keys, and generate corresponding interrupt signal when the user is pressing the AT interrupt key 110. As an example, a description will be given below to the procedure of inputting word 'EFFORT' in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention as shown in Fig.5, using a mobile terminal equipped with the proposed AT interrupt key. As shown in Fig.5, after repeatedly pressing the key shared by characters 'D', 'E', 'F' and number '3', the first character Ε' which is displayed at the position of the first character to be entered is chosen. At this moment, if the user presses the newly added AT interrupt key 110, the wait for AT can be interrupted, the cursor on the display screen will move to the next position and the shared key corresponding to number '3' can be pressed again. After the shared key is pressed three times subsequently, the second character 'F' is chosen. At this moment, the user can press the newly added AT interrupt key 110 again to interrupt wait for AT, move the cursor on the display screen to the next position, and press again the shared key corresponding to number '3' to choose the next character 'F'. As illustrated in Fig.5, when word 'EFFORT' is inputted, with help from the newly added AT interrupt key 110, speedy and continuous character input can be accomplished without waiting for AT in the character input procedure, even though character Ε' and the first character 'F', the first character 'F' and the second character 'F' share a single key.

Beneficial Results of the Invention As described above, this invention proposes to add an extra key into current mobile terminals, for interrupting the wait for AT. With regard to the character input method and apparatus for use in text entry devices that share a single key between several characters as described in the present invention, when two subsequently entered characters share a single key, the newly added AT interrupt key can be pressed to interrupt wait for AT after the previous character has been entered, so that the user can immediately continue to press the shared key to input the next character. Thus, it's no longer necessary to wait for AT during character input procedure, which greatly increases the character input speed. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the proposed character input method and apparatus used in text entry devices that share a key between several characters, is suitable for use in mobile phones, and equally applicable to other text entry devices that share a single key between several characters. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that, with regard to the character input method and apparatus for use in text entry devices that share a single key between several characters as disclosed in this invention, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A character input apparatus, comprising: at least one shared key component for entering a plurality of characters; interrupting means for generating an interrupt signal according to an instruction of an user after a character has been inputted via the shared key component; controlling means for accepting the inputted character so as to be prepared for accepting a next character to be inputted via the shared key component after receiving the interrupt signal.

2. The character input apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controlling means interrupts an acceptance time (AT) to be waited after the character is inputted so as to be prepared for accepting the next character after accepting the inputted character.

3. The character input apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: storing means; wherein the controlling means stores the accepted inputted character into the storing unit after receiving the interrupt signal.

4. The character input apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controlling means restores the character input state of the shared key component to an initial state after accepting the inputted character.

5. The character input apparatus according to any one of claim 1 to 4, wherein the interrupt component includes a key.

6. A character input method, comprising the steps of: acquiring a character inputted via a key component shared by a plurality of characters; accepting the inputted character according to an instruction of an user; acquiring a next character inputted via the shared key component.

7. The character input method according to claim 6, further comprising the step of: generating an interrupt signal according to the instruction so as to interrupt an acceptance time(AT) to be waited after inputting the character.

8. The character input method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of: storing the accepted inputted character after generating the interrupt signal.

9. The character input method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of: restoring the character input state of the shared key component to an initial state after accepting the inputted character.

10. A mobile terminal, comprising: a transceiving unit for receiving and transmitting radio signals; at least one shared key component for entering a plurality of characters to form the radio signal to be transmitted; interrupting means for generating an interrupt signal according to an instruction of an user after a character has been inputted via the shared key component; controlling means for accepting the inputted character so as to be prepared for accepting a next character to be inputted via the shared key component after receiving the interrupt signal.

11. The mobile terminal according to claim 10, wherein the controlling means interrupts an Acceptance time (AT) to be waited after the character is inputted so as to be prepared for accepting the next character after accepting the inputted character.

12. The mobile terminal according to claim 11 , further comprising: storing means; wherein the controlling means stores the accepted inputted character into the storing unit after receiving the interrupt signal.

13. The mobile terminal according to claim 11 , wherein the controlling means restores the character input state of the shared key component to an initial state after accepting the inputted character.

14. The mobile terminal according to any one of claim 10 to 13, wherein the interrupt component includes a key.