JP2010102684A - Single-hand input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a single-hand input device which reduces the number of keys to input dull sounds with comfort operation. <P>SOLUTION: Two of keys, K, S, T and H, are used for " long press on a shift key" or "simultaneous long press", to type Japanese syllabary of the dull sound and a contracted sound of the dull sound by double or single press. A comfortable character input device achieves an orderly character arrangement and less time and effort for input operation. As the input device has the character arrangement which can be accepted by the most Japanese and a simple typing method, input of Japanese syllabary and English characters can be accepted by a broad range of people from children to adult. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a one-handed input device for Japanese and English using a Roman character input method.

  Japanese-style input devices with one-handed Romaji input methods have limitations on the number of keys, so the same key is typed multiple times to obtain characters or input using the shift key. In addition, in the mobile phone, the target character is obtained by pressing the character at the beginning of the kana (a, ka, sa, ta, etc.) a plurality of times instead of the Roman alphabet method. In this regard, there are specifically the following documents.

Japanese Patent No. 3521870 (Regarding input display order) Japanese Patent No. 3130882 (character input method) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-75708 (Regarding romaji input) JP 11-134096 (same as above) JP-A-10-207601 (same as above) JP 2001-265505 (same as above) Sho62-44285 (for simultaneous keystrokes) Utility model registration No. 3072312 (same as above) Sho 62-37405 (same as above) Patent No. 3965413 (same as above)

Among the one-handed input devices, in the method of inputting a kana in which the same key is pressed a plurality of times to obtain a single character, the input efficiency decreases as the number of keystrokes increases, and a comfortable input cannot be obtained. Even a commercially available Romaji-style one-handed input device has the disadvantage that the number of keys is large, with 3 keystrokes for muddy kana and 4 keystrokes for muddy sound.
Also, because the emphasis was on kana input, English input would not go smoothly.
In the input device of the present invention, the kana (= straight sound) and its roaring sound can be input within 2 keys or 2 keystrokes, and the English letters can be input with “almost one keystroke”. Aimed at an input device that can be operated more comfortably.

The one-handed input device of the Roman alphabet kana method of the present invention is
(B) Five vowel keys (5) including vowel English letters and consonant English letters in one key
(B) Consonant keys that contain one or more consonant alphabetic characters in one key (6) Group (c) Three keys that contain any one of the lowercase letters “ya, yu, yo” in one key Roaring character key (7)
It consists of 20 or less character keys (2) consisting of (i) to (c) and various control keys (3).
About Kiyone
(D) After pressing or simultaneously pressing any one of the consonant keys (6), press any one of the vowel key (5) or the stuttering character key (7). By pressing the key, you can enter the kana and roar of Kiyone corresponding to the pressed key with one or two keystrokes.
About muddy sound
(E) Of the consonant keys, any one of the letters K, S, T, and H (clear mixed use key, 16), the vowel key (5), or the stuttering character key (7) By pressing the key at the same time and / or by pressing and holding the shift key, it is possible to input the pseudonym / stuttering of the muddy sound corresponding to the pressed key with one or two keys.
It is characterized by (d) to (e).

  The input device of the present invention can input the kana of the muddy sound and the roar of the muddy sound by two strokes of two keys by the “shift by character key” (long press) method. With the “push” method, it is possible to input the kana of the muddy sound and the roar of the muddy sound with a single keystroke, which makes it easier to input Japanese than with conventional devices.

(Overview of keyboard configuration)
On the keyboard (1), there are three key keys (7), each containing a group of alphabet keys (4) containing approximately two alphabetic characters and one lowercase letter “ya, yu, yo”. In addition, a control key (3) group is provided. Each character of the small letters “nya”, “yu”, and “yo” is called a roaring character (12).
Keys other than the control key (3) are collectively referred to as a character key (2). Of the character keys, a key with a letter is defined as a letter key (4). The key including the roaring character (12) is handled as the roaring character key (7).

Of the alphabetic keys, a key having a vowel is called a vowel key (5), and a key having only a consonant is called a consonant key (6). Specifically, a key having K, S, T, H, M, Y, R, and (W) in the main array is called a consonant key (W may be out of the main). Of the consonant keys, the K, S, T, and H keys are keys that are related to the generation of both clear and muddy sounds. The four alphabetic characters of H are called "clear consonants" (17).
In the roaring character key (7), in addition to the roaring character (12), "n, tsu,-", English letters, and the like can be included as appropriate.

A single character such as “ka” or “ga” is referred to as a “straight sound” character. Hereinafter, a clear sound is referred to as a “clear sound” (for example, “ka”), and a muffled sound is referred to as “a cloudy sound”. (Example: Gaza), Kiyane's roaring sound is called “Neaty sound” (Example: Kya, Sha), and muddy sounding noise is called “Muddy sound” (eg, Gya, Ja). In any case, the word itself is expressed rather than “sound”.

(Shift keystroke with shift key and character key)
In terms of electrical signals, pressing a key turns the signal on, releasing it turns it off.
In “shift keying” using the “shift key” (8, 9, 10, 15) of the control key (3), the shift key is usually turned on first, and then the character key (2) is turned on. Later, when the character key is pressed, both keys are in a state where both keys are on. By turning on “both two keys”, as a result, another character is switched (shifted).

(Simultaneous key press with shift key and character key)
By the way, the “shift” key and the character key (2) can be pressed simultaneously without any time difference. Simultaneous keystrokes create a “both keys on” state for a moment.
In the input device of the present invention, in particular, in the case where the “shift” key and the character key (2) are simultaneously pressed, the “shift” key is always set to be regarded as being input for a moment earlier.
As a result, two-key simultaneous key pressing of the “shift” key and the character key has the same function as “shift keying” using the shift key. In other words, simultaneous keystrokes can be regarded as “shift keystrokes with no time difference” (actually, there is a slight time difference).

An example of the simultaneous keying of the shift key and the character key is the “thumb shift method” (“Patent Document 7” Sho 62-44285, “Patent Document 9” Sho 62-37405). In “thumb shift”, another character is obtained by simultaneously pressing the shift key and the character key so that “right shift” + “no” → “ki”.

  If you use the simultaneous keying of the shift key and the character key, you can input the alphabet of the sub-array in one stroke, so you can complete all the alphabet characters in one stroke, and even if you input the kana, you can complete the muzzle alphabet GZDB in one stroke. There is a merit of adding vowels and stuttering characters to this and making it possible to produce a cloudy sound or a cloudy sound with two strokes (eg, simultaneous keystrokes of “Main Shift” and “A” → B “Auxiliary Shift” and “A” simultaneously Keystroke → “Ah”).

(Shift keystroke using character keys)
The input device of the present invention newly adopts a “shift keying by character key” method, which is slightly different from “shift keying by shift key”. In this method, the vowels or stuttering characters are shifted by a certain time or more with the K, S, T, and H keys of the consonant keys, thereby obtaining an unacceptable sound and an unclear sound. . This “shift by character key” is limited to the case of the kana mode and the use of the clear use key (16).

When each of the K, S, T, and H consonants is in an on state and a vowel key or a stuttering character key is input thereto, at that time, between the clear use key (16) and these keys, A state where “both two keys are on” occurs. In other words, this is the same as the “shift state with the clear and mixed use key”. If this state is very short, it ends with the generation of Kiyane's pseudonym (Kei Naoto) or Kiyane's roaring (Neat tone), but after a certain amount of time (α milliseconds) in the shifted state, it becomes murky. Is set so that clear sound becomes muddy.

  In other words, “shifting both the vowel key (5) or the roaring character key (7) by the mixed use key (16)” starts “both two keys on”. Although it is input, when the state of “both two keys on” exceeds a certain time (α milliseconds), the sound changes from clear to muddy.

For example, in the case of α = 400, if the two-way key (16) and the vowel key (5) are kept pressed for 0.4 seconds or more, the kana of the muddy sound is changed. That is, a clear sound is input for “sequential keystroke” or “normal shift keystroke”, and a muddy sound is input for “long press of shift”.
It is also possible to adjust the value of “α” according to the individual ability in the form of manual setting.
The long shift is established between the clear key (16) and the vowel key (5) or the roaring character key (7) and does not apply to consonant keys including N, M, Y, R, W, etc. .

(Input clear sound using simultaneous keystrokes)
If two keys are pressed at the same time and then released immediately, the keys will be pressed simultaneously. Since simultaneous keystrokes are instantaneous, if they are input in the order of consonants and vowels, kana will be output, but sometimes they will be input in the order of vowels and consonants. When that happens, it doesn't make a character. Therefore, if the consonant is input with a slight time difference, it can be an effective means for inputting the kana if it is always recognized that the consonant is input first.
If the time difference between the previous and next keys that are continuously input does not exceed β milliseconds, and set to be simultaneously keyed, if it is determined that the key is simultaneously keyed, it will be consonant and vowel, consonant and stuttering In the case of a combination of characters (12), the kana and roar of Kiyane are input.

In this way, with this device, Kiyane Kana is input by simultaneous keystrokes of consonant keys and vowel keys by instantaneous simultaneous keystrokes of β milliseconds or less, and Kiyane's roaring sounds by simultaneous keying of consonant keys and stuttering character keys. (For example, simultaneous keystrokes of M and A → ma. Simultaneous keystrokes of K and “nya” → kya).

(Muddy sound input using simultaneous keystrokes)
“Shift long press” has been described above, but another method of “simultaneous long press” can also produce a pseudonym or roar of muddy sound. For example, if you press K and A at the same time and let the commas elapse for several seconds, the character “ga” is obtained.
In other words, the kana / stuttering of the muddy sound is obtained by long pressing (simultaneous long pressing) of the simultaneous keying of the clear use key (16) and the vowel key or the stuttering character key.

Organizing the above contents,
Kiyane's pseudonym and roaring (clear and neat sounds) can be obtained by “sequential keying” (2 strokes) or “simultaneous keying” (1 stroke) of 2 keys.
The pseudonym and muffled sound of the muddy sound (the muffled sound and the muddy sound) can be obtained by pressing the “shift key” (16) and the vowel key or the roaring character key. "(1 stroke).
In the case of kana input, it is possible to input most of the characters using only the character key (2) without using the shift key (control key).

(Enter English characters)
Input of alphabetic characters (for example, B, C, D) in the sub-array is obtained by “shift keystroke by shift key” or “simultaneous keystroke” of the shift key and the corresponding key.
In English input, half of the letters are typed out with the shift key, so unlike the kana input, the shift key is frequently used. For this reason, an alphabetic character can be input with one stroke at any time by using a simultaneous keying method.

Next, the actual input of the kana by the input device of the present invention is started.
The following is a description in Kana (Japanese) mode unless otherwise noted.
(Quick sound input)
First, about Kiyone's input.
When the vowel key (5) is pressed after the consonant key (6), a clear sound is obtained, and when the stuttering character key (7) is pressed after the consonant key (6), a neat sound is obtained (example: K + A → or K + nya → kya).
The input of clear sound is based on sequential keystrokes. With sequential keystrokes, for example, there is a time difference in keystrokes, such as K first and then A, but with a one-handed keyboard, the keys are close to each finger, so two fingers with two swords, this K and A can also be pressed simultaneously. The same key can be pressed at the same time, even if a roaring sound (K + “nya”) is input. For simultaneous keystrokes, one keystroke is input for both kana and roar.

(Input of muddy sound)
Next, about the input of muddy sound.
As for the kana (muffled sound) and the roaring sound of each line of “GA / ZA / DA / BA”, in addition to using English letters of G, Z, D, B, Kiyone's English letters (K, S, T, H) are used. It is made without any problems. In this device, while pressing any one of these K, S, T, and H keys (unclear key 16), the vowel and the stuttering character (12) are kept pressed for a certain period of time (α milliseconds or more). “Long press” method and “Simultaneous long press” method with simultaneous use of clearing key (16) and vowels and stuttering characters, set to obtain cloudy and muddy sound with the minimum keystroke of 1 to 2 is doing.
As a result, muddy sound can be input with one or two strokes of the two-key operation.

(Key configuration and control keys)
Next, the overall arrangement of keys will be described.
On the palm-sized keyboard (1), the character key (2) is arranged in the number of keys such as 4 × 4 (4 columns × 4 rows) or 3 × 5. Next, various control keys (3) are arranged around the periphery.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control key (3) is divided into main shift (8), auxiliary shift (9), symbol shift (15), numeric shift (10) and English shift (11) shift keys. There are “blank / conversion” key (13), line feed key (14), cursor keys, etc., but only the minimum necessary ones are displayed.
Further, in the kana mode, function keys for conversion such as “kana / kana”, “half-width / full-width”, “large alphabet / small alphabet” are also necessary, and these are displayed in FIGS.

(Romaji basic layout)
Next, the alphabet (alphabetic) key arrangement will be described.
In the input device of the present invention, first, English characters are arranged in a Japanese-style layout of “Akasana Hamayawa”, one character for each key. This is so that Kiyane's kana can be entered even with one stroke. On top of that, the alphabets left out of this sequence were rearranged in alphabetical order.
This will be described with reference to the basic embodiment of FIG. 2 with 4 × 4, 16 character keys in total.

(B) Three roaring character keys (1) each including one character of the roaring character “nya, yu” (12) at the top of the 16 character keys (2) on the keyboard (1) 7) is disposed.
In the second row, four letters A, I, U, E, corresponding to the hiragana character “Aiueo” are placed, and the letter “O” is placed immediately above “E”.
Next, 8 alphabetic characters K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, and R corresponding to Hiragana's “Kasana Hamaya” are used for the 8th key in the 3rd and 4th steps. Arrange. These eight keys are consonant keys (6).
“W” in the form of overflowing by one character can be mixed in the roaring character key (7), but here, the “Y” key is also used to input “Wa”.
The above 13 alphabetic characters are input by direct keystroke, that is, only by one keystroke. These characters are referred to as “main sequence letters”.

(B) Next, the remaining alphabetic characters (B, C, D, F, G, J, L, P, Q, V, W, X, Z) are placed on the 13 alphabetic characters arranged in (a). 13 characters) are added one by one in the “alphabetical order” sequence starting from the position of A.
These 13 characters are called “sub-sequence alphabetic characters” because they are shifted out with the main shift (8) key. In other words, the alphabetic characters are composed of a main array in a clear order and a sub-array in alphabetical order. By adding a roaring character key (7) to this, it is possible to input a roaring sound with one or two strokes.

Next, character operations in the input device having the above configuration will be described.
In the input device according to the present invention, a plurality of characters are arranged in one key, such as mixing English letters, “n, tsu”, etc. in the roaring character key (7). There seems to be a character, and the next character is selected. That is, next to the direct sound or the roaring character (12), “tsu”, “n”, “-” or an English letter (consonant character) is selected, and the stuttering character (12) is selected immediately after the consonant. It becomes like this.

(Actual Japanese input)
The actual input in the “kana mode” will be described with a specific example.
First of all, about the input of “Kei Naoto”.
The five characters “Aueo” of “A line” key the vowels A, I, U, E, and O as they are. The 40 kana characters from “Ka Line” to “Wa Line” are basically input in the form of “consonant + vowel” of the keystrokes. In simultaneous keying, consonants and vowels are simultaneously keyed.
Enter "n" or "tsu" directly into the character. The same applies to the long “-”. The lower case “Ai ぅ e ぉ” uses auxiliary shift, but “L”, “X”, etc. can also be used (eg LA → a).

The stuttering (two-character compound word) is obtained by adding the stuttering character (12) to the English consonant.
“Neat sound” is played with 2 keystrokes in the form of consonant key (6) + roaring character key (7) (ex. K + nya → “kya” K + yu → “kyu” K + yo → “ki”) ). If you press the consonant key and the roaring character key at the same time, you only need one stroke.
Here, it is assumed that the sound character “nya, yo” continues after the consonant but does not follow the vowels A, I, U, E, O. Also, “ya, yu, yo” is not entered at the beginning of the phrase (and the roaring character does not follow C, F, J, L, Q, V, W, X, Y).

Next, about muddy sound.
The “turbidity sound” will be described by taking the letter “ga” as an example, but three methods are conceivable.
(A) The key A is shifted longer by the K key (long press of the shift), thereby producing a direct sound “GA” (2 keys 2 strokes).
(B) Keys K and A are simultaneously pressed and held down (simultaneously long press), thereby “ga” is shot (2 keys, 1 stroke).
(C) Add vowel A to the alphabetic letter G (eg “Main shift (8) + O (G key)” + A → “Ga”) (3 key 2 strokes or 3 key 3 strokes. “Main shift” , O "can be pressed simultaneously.

  The pseudonym of the semi-voiced sound “pa line”, after launching P by shift, adds any of the vowels AIUEO to it.

There are the following three input methods for “Gyaku” of “Sakuran”.
(A) The key “K” is shifted with the K key (long press of the shift) to make a roar “Gya” (2 keys 2 strokes).
(B) Strike “Kya” by pressing K and “nya” at the same time and holding them down (simultaneous long press) (2 keys, 1 stroke).
(C) Add "nya" to the alphabetic letter G of the muddy sound (example: "Main shift (8) + O" + "nya" → "Gya") (3 key 2 strokes or 3 key 3 strokes. "Shift, O "2 keys can be pressed simultaneously).
With regard to “two-key simultaneous long press”, first, two fingers are placed on the corresponding two keys, and then the two keys are simultaneously held long, the input can be made reliably.
Note that the roaring sound “Pya, Pyu, Pyo” of “Pa line” is a P in the shift and then adds “Ya, Pyu, Pyo” to it.

Hiragana lowercase letters “a, i, ぅ, e, 出 す” are entered with a shift key of “auxiliary shift (9) + vowel” (eg, auxiliary shift + A → “a”).
The prompt sound “tsu” inputs “tsu” directly. For the sound repellent “n”, “n” is directly input.

(Half-width English mode and number mode)
The input details in the full-width kana mode have been described above. Next, English text input and numeric input will be described.
In “Half-width English small mode”, 26 alphabetic characters can be input directly by one stroke or by using the “Main Shift” (8) and “Auxiliary Shift” (9) keys. I do. If the “shift key, character key” keys are pressed simultaneously, only one key is required.

About half of the letters (main array letters) are entered with a single key, and the remaining half of the letters (sub array letters) are typed using the main shift key (8) and auxiliary shift key (9) (two keys). 1 key for simultaneous keystrokes). In the alphabetic mode, if the auxiliary shift (9) has substantially the same function as the main shift (8), the characters in the sub-array are also easier to type (main shift + A → B auxiliary shift + A → B).

Uppercase alphabetic characters are obtained by shifting the lowercase letters with the British (11) key. (Although the British key is a shift key, it can be shifted by “sequentially” so that the next character can be shifted even if the key is typed alone. “Keystroke” method is adopted. Then, capital letters of sub-array alphabets can be entered easily by “keystroke, shift key + letter key”.

The “English sentence shift” key (18) is used to input half-width English small letters in the kana mode. When entering the Internet address, etc., even in the Kana mode, you can enter English letters in half-width letters at any time while holding down the “English Shift” key. You are free from the hassle of mode switching.

In “Numeric mode”, single-byte numbers can be directly and continuously input without shifting. When inputting numbers in the kana mode using the “number shift” (10), full-width numbers are obtained. To change to half-width, press the “half-width / full-width” key. To enter numbers continuously, hold down the number shift key.

(Merit of one-handed method)
The input device of the present invention can input both Kiyane's Kana and Kiyane's roaring sounds with two keystrokes or one keystroke at the same time. It can be input with one keystroke.
A two-hand input JIS keyboard has two keystrokes for kana and three keystrokes for stuttering. In contrast, the keyboard of the present invention has 1 to 2 keystrokes for kana and 1 to 2 keystrokes. It can be seen that even a one-handed device has the ability to match a two-handed keyboard.
Since the main array is arranged in the order of “Akasana” and the sub-arrays are arranged in the order of “alphabet”, the arrangement is suitable for both kana and English input.
Blind touch input is extremely simple compared to a two-handed JIS keyboard, and anyone can learn it in a short time. Even people with visual impairments can easily handle it with fewer keys.
If you have one in each corner of a student's desk at school, etc., you can interact with the teacher and change the traditional education using blackboard and chalk.
English input is easier than conventional one-handed input devices and can withstand long input. Since the thumb and pinky finger (or ring finger) can always be placed in a fixed position (main shift key and auxiliary shift key), all English letters can be input as if they were one keystroke.

  The input device of the present invention may be used alone by incorporating the display (60) into the device, or connected to a personal computer via USB or the like and using the CPU of the main body as a keyboard attached to the personal computer. Character input may be realized.

The following is a description of each embodiment (both FIGS. 2 and 3 are for right-hand operation).
In the basic embodiment of FIG. 1, the outline of the arrangement of the character key (2) has been described.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the key arrangement is shown in a horizontal direction.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 shows a form in which key arrangements are arranged in the vertical direction.
FIG. 4 is an example of a kana syllabary character input table (quick reference table) in the kana mode when input is made in the embodiment. Note that the underlined portion in the table indicates launching by using “shift long press” with the clear use key (16).

The top view which showed the outline | summary of the character key arrangement | positioning of the input device of this invention The top view which showed the outline | summary of the input device of this invention, and the example of an arrangement | sequence (type of an up-down direction alternating input) The top view which showed the example of arrangement | sequence (type of the left-right direction alternating input) of the input device of this invention Example of “Kana 50-sound input table” of the input device of the present invention

1 Keyboard 2 Character Key 3 Control Key 4 Alphabetic Key 5 Vowel Key 6 Consonant Key 7 “Large Character” Key
8 “Main shift” key 9 “Auxiliary shift” key 10 “Numeric shift” key 11 “Language shift” key 12 Roaring character 13 “Blank / conversion” key 14 Line feed key 15 “Symbol shift” key 16 Clear mixed use key 17 Clear Consonant 18 “English Shift” key

Next, about muddy sound.
The “turbidity sound” will be described by taking the letter “ga” as an example, but three methods are conceivable.
(A) The key A is shifted longer by the K key (long press of the shift), thereby producing a direct sound “GA” (2 keys 2 strokes). In other words, “long press A while pressing K” becomes “ga”.
(B) Keys K and A are simultaneously pressed and held down (simultaneously long press), thereby “ga” is shot (2 keys, 1 stroke).
(C) Add vowel A to the alphabetic letter G (eg “Main shift (8) + O (G key)” + A → “Ga”) (3 key 2 strokes or 3 key 3 strokes. “Main shift” , O "can be pressed simultaneously.

There are the following three input methods for “Gyaku” of “Sakuran”.
(A) The key “K” is shifted with the K key (long press of the shift) to make a roar “Gya” (2 keys 2 strokes). In other words, “holding“ K ”while holding down K” makes “Gya”.
(B) Strike “Kya” by pressing K and “nya” at the same time and holding them down (simultaneous long press) (2 keys, 1 stroke).
(C) Add "nya" to the alphabetic letter G of the muddy sound (example: "Main shift (8) + O" + "nya" → "Gya") (3 key 2 strokes or 3 key 3 strokes. "Shift, O "2 keys can be pressed simultaneously).
With regard to “two-key simultaneous long press”, first, two fingers are placed on the corresponding two keys, and then the two keys are simultaneously held long, the input can be made reliably.
Note that the roaring sound “Pya, Pyu, Pyo” of “Pa line” is a P in the shift and then adds “Ya, Pyu, Pyo” to it.

  The present invention relates to a one-handed input device for Japanese and English using a Roman character input method.

  Japanese-style input devices with one-handed Romaji input methods have limitations on the number of keys, so the same key is typed multiple times to obtain characters or input using the shift key. In addition, in the mobile phone, the target character is obtained by pressing the character at the beginning of the kana (a, ka, sa, ta, etc.) a plurality of times instead of the Roman alphabet method. In this regard, there are specifically the following documents.

Japanese Patent No. 3521870 (Regarding input display order) Japanese Patent No. 3130882 (character input method) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-75708 (Regarding romaji input) JP 11-134096 (same as above) JP-A-10-207601 (same as above) JP 2001-265505 (same as above) Sho62-44285 (for simultaneous keystrokes) Utility model registration No. 3072312 (same as above) Sho 62-37405 (same as above) Patent No. 3965413 (same as above)

Among the one-handed input devices, in the method of inputting a kana in which the same key is pressed a plurality of times to obtain a single character, the input efficiency decreases as the number of keystrokes increases, and a comfortable input cannot be obtained. Even a commercially available Romaji-style one-handed input device has the disadvantage that the number of keys is large, with 3 keystrokes for muddy kana and 4 keystrokes for muddy sound.
Also, because the emphasis was on kana input, English input would not go smoothly.
In the input device of the present invention, the kana (= straight sound) and its roaring sound can be input within 2 keys or 2 keystrokes, and the English letters can be input with “almost one keystroke”. Aimed at an input device that can be operated more comfortably.

The one-handed input device of the Roman alphabet kana method of the present invention is
(B) Five vowel keys (5) including vowel English letters and consonant English letters in one key
(B) Consonant keys that contain one or more consonant alphabetic characters in one key (6) Group (c) Three keys that contain any one of the lowercase letters “ya, yu, yo” in one key Roaring character key (7)
Are composed of a character key (2) consisting of (i) to (c) and various control keys (3).
(D) After pressing or simultaneously pressing any one of the consonant keys (6), press any one of the vowel key (5) or the stuttering character key (7). By pressing, kana and roar corresponding to the pressed key can be input with one or two keys,
(E) Of the consonant keys, any one of the letters K, S, T, and H (clear mixed use key, 16), the vowel key (5), or the stuttering character key (7) By pressing the key at the same time and / or by pressing and holding the shift key, it is possible to input the pseudonym / stuttering of the muddy sound corresponding to the pressed key with one or two keys.
(D) or (d) to (e).

  The input device of the present invention can input the kana of the muddy sound and the roar of the muddy sound by two strokes of two keys by the “shift by character key” (long press) method. With the “push” method, it is possible to input the kana of the muddy sound and the roar of the muddy sound with a single keystroke, which makes it easier to input Japanese than with conventional devices.

(Overview of keyboard configuration)
On the keyboard (1), there are three key keys (7), each containing a group of alphabet keys (4) containing approximately two alphabetic characters and one lowercase letter “ya, yu, yo”. In addition, a control key (3) group is provided. Each character of the small letters “nya”, “yu”, and “yo” is called a roaring character (12).
Keys other than the control key (3) are collectively referred to as a character key (2). Of the character keys, a key with a letter is defined as a letter key (4). The key including the roaring character (12) is handled as the roaring character key (7).

Of the alphabetic keys, a key having a vowel is called a vowel key (5), and a key having only a consonant is called a consonant key (6). Specifically, it refers to keys that have K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, R, (W) in the main layout, but the muddy sound (G, Z, D, B, P) etc. It is also possible to bring it into the main array (W may deviate from the main).
Of the consonant keys, the K, S, T, and H keys are keys that are related to the generation of both clear and muddy sounds. The four alphabetic characters of H are called "clear consonants" (17).
In the roaring character key (7), in addition to the roaring character (12), "n, tsu,-", English letters, and the like can be included as appropriate.

  A single character such as “ka” or “ga” is referred to as a “straight sound” character. Hereinafter, a clear sound is referred to as a “clear sound” (for example, “ka”), and a muffled sound is referred to as “a cloudy sound”. (Example: But, it's called “Zaza”), Kiyane's roaring is called “Neaty sound” (Example: Kyasha), and muddy sounding roaring is called “Muddy sound” (Example: Gya, Ja). In any case, the word itself is expressed rather than “sound”.

(Shift keystroke with shift key and character key)
In terms of electrical signals, pressing a key turns the signal on, releasing it turns it off.
In “shift keying” using the “shift key” (8, 9, 10, 15) of the control key (3), the shift key is usually turned on first, and then the character key (2) is turned on. Later, when the character key is pressed, both keys are in a state where both keys are on. By turning on “both two keys”, as a result, another character is switched (shifted).

(Simultaneous key press with shift key and character key)
By the way, the “shift” key and the character key (2) can be pressed simultaneously without any time difference. Simultaneous keystrokes create a “both keys on” state for a moment.
In the input device of the present invention, in particular, in the case where the “shift” key and the character key (2) are simultaneously pressed, the “shift” key is always set to be regarded as being input for a moment earlier.
As a result, two-key simultaneous key pressing of the “shift” key and the character key has the same function as “shift keying” using the shift key. In other words, simultaneous keystrokes can be regarded as “shift keystrokes with no time difference” (actually, there is a slight time difference).

  An example of the simultaneous keying of the shift key and the character key is the “thumb shift method” (“Patent Document 7” Sho 62-44285, “Patent Document 9” Sho 62-37405). In “thumb shift”, another character is obtained by simultaneously pressing the shift key and the character key so that “right shift” + “no” → “ki”.

  If you use the simultaneous keying of the shift key and character key, you can input the alphabet of sub-array in one stroke, so all the alphabet characters can be input in one stroke. Since it can be done by hitting it, there is a merit that vowels and stuttering characters can be added to it, and a cloudy straight sound and a cloudy sound can be produced with two strokes (example: “Main Shift” and “A” simultaneous keystrokes → B “Auxiliary Shift”) And “A” at the same time → “a”).

(Shift keystroke using character keys)
The input device of the present invention newly adopts a “shift keying by character key” method, which is slightly different from “shift keying by shift key”. In this method, the vowels or stuttering characters are shifted by a certain time or more with the K, S, T, and H keys of the consonant keys, thereby obtaining an unacceptable sound and an unclear sound. . This “shift by character key” is limited to the case of the kana mode and the use of the clear use key (16).

  When each of the K, S, T, and H consonants is in an on state and a vowel key or a stuttering character key is input thereto, at that time, between the clear use key (16) and these keys, A state where “both two keys are on” occurs. In other words, this is the same as the “shift state with the clear and mixed use key”. If this state is very short, it ends with the generation of Kiyane's pseudonym (Kei Naoto) or Kiyane's roaring (Neat tone), but after a certain amount of time (α milliseconds) in the shifted state, it becomes murky. Is set so that clear sound becomes muddy.

  In other words, “shifting both the vowel key (5) or the roaring character key (7) by the mixed use key (16)” starts “both two keys on”. Although it is input, when the state of “both two keys on” exceeds a certain time (α milliseconds), the sound changes from clear to muddy.

For example, in the case of α = 400, if the two-way key (16) and the vowel key (5) are kept pressed for 0.4 seconds or more, the kana of the muddy sound is changed. That is, when “shift is pressed and held”, muddy sound is input.
It is also possible to adjust the value of “α” according to the individual ability in the form of manual setting.
The long shift is established between the clear key (16) and the vowel key (5) or the roaring character key (7) and does not apply to consonant keys including N, M, Y, R, W, etc. .

(Input clear sound using simultaneous keystrokes)
If two keys are pressed at the same time and then released immediately, the keys will be pressed simultaneously. Since simultaneous keystrokes are instantaneous, if they are input in the order of consonants and vowels, kana will be output, but sometimes they will be input in the order of vowels and consonants. When that happens, it doesn't make a character. Therefore, if the consonant is input with a slight time difference, it can be an effective means for inputting the kana if it is always recognized that the consonant is input first.
If the time difference between the previous and next keys that are continuously input does not exceed β milliseconds, and set to be simultaneously keyed, if it is determined that the key is simultaneously keyed, it will be consonant and vowel, consonant and stuttering In the case of a combination of characters (12), a kana and a roar are input.

  In this way, in this device, a pseudonym is input by simultaneous keying of consonant key (6) and vowel key (5) by instantaneous simultaneous keying of β milliseconds or less, and simultaneous keying of consonant key and stuttering character key is not performed. , A roaring sound is input (for example, simultaneous keying of M and A → ma. Simultaneous keystroke of K and “nya” → kya).

(Muddy sound input using simultaneous keystrokes)
“Shift long press” has been described above, but another method of “simultaneous long press” can also produce a pseudonym or roar of muddy sound. For example, if you press K and A at the same time and let the commas elapse for several seconds, the character “ga” is obtained.
In other words, the kana / stuttering of the muddy sound is obtained by long pressing (simultaneous long pressing) of the simultaneous keying of the clear use key (16) and the vowel key or the stuttering character key.

Organizing the above contents,
Kiyane's pseudonym and roaring (clear and neat sounds) can be obtained by “sequential keying” (2 strokes) or “simultaneous keying” (1 stroke).
The pseudonym and muffled sound of the muddy sound (the muffled sound and the muddy sound) can be obtained by pressing the “shift key” (16) and the vowel key or the roaring character key. "(1 stroke).
In the case of kana input, it is possible to input most of the characters using only the character key (2) without using the shift key (control key).

(Enter English characters)
Input of alphabetic characters (for example, B, C, D) in the sub-array is obtained by “shift keystroke by shift key” or “simultaneous keystroke” of the shift key and the corresponding key.
Unlike English input, English input uses a lot of shift keys. For this reason, an alphabetic character can be input with one stroke at any time by using a simultaneous keying method.

Next, the actual input of the kana by the input device of the present invention is started.
The following is a description in Kana (Japanese) mode unless otherwise noted.
(Quick sound input)
When the vowel key (5) is pressed after the consonant key (6), the direct sound of the kana is obtained, and when the phonetic character key (7) is pressed after the consonant key (6), a roar is obtained (for example: K + A → or K + nya → kya).
In sequential keystrokes, for example, a time difference occurs in keystrokes such as K and A first, but K and A can be simultaneously keyed by two sword styles of two fingers. The same key can be pressed at the same time, even if a roaring sound (K + “nya”) is input. For simultaneous keystrokes, one keystroke is input for both kana and roar.

(Input of muddy sound)
As for the kana (muffled sound) and the roaring sound of each line of “GA / ZA / DA / BA”, in addition to using English letters of G, Z, D, B, Kiyone's English letters (K, S, T, H) are used. It is made without any problems. In this device, while pressing any one of these K, S, T, and H keys (unclear key 16), the vowel and the stuttering character (12) are kept pressed for a certain period of time (α milliseconds or more). “Long press” method and “Simultaneous long press” method with simultaneous use of clearing key (16) and vowels and stuttering characters, set to obtain cloudy and muddy sound with the minimum keystroke of 1 to 2 is doing. As a result, muddy sound can be input with one or two strokes of the two-key operation.

(Key configuration and control keys)
Next, the overall arrangement of keys will be described.
On the palm-sized keyboard (1), the character key (2) is arranged in the number of keys such as 4 × 4 (4 columns × 4 rows) or 3 × 5. Next, various control keys (3) are arranged around the periphery.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control key (3) is divided into main shift (8), auxiliary shift (9), symbol shift (15), numeric shift (10) and English shift (11) shift keys. There are “blank / conversion” key (13), line feed key (14), cursor keys, etc., but only the minimum necessary ones are displayed.
Further, in the kana mode, function keys for conversion such as “kana / kana”, “half-width / full-width”, “large alphabet / small alphabet” are also necessary, and these are displayed in FIGS.

(Romaji basic layout)
Next, the alphabet (alphabetic) key arrangement will be described.
In the input device of the present invention, first, English characters are arranged in a Japanese-style layout of “Akasana Hamayawa”, one character for each key. This is so that Kiyane's kana can be entered even with one stroke. On top of that, the alphabets left out of this sequence were rearranged in alphabetical order. This will be described with reference to the basic embodiment of FIG. 2 with 4 × 4, 16 character keys in total.

(B) Three roaring character keys (1) each including one character of the roaring character “nya, yu” (12) at the top of the 16 character keys (2) on the keyboard (1) 7) is disposed.
In the second row, four letters A, I, U, E, corresponding to the hiragana character “Aiueo” are placed, and the letter “O” is placed immediately above “E”.
Next, 8 alphabetic characters K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, and R corresponding to Hiragana's “Kasana Hamaya” are used for the 8th key in the 3rd and 4th steps. Arrange. These eight keys are consonant keys (6).
“W” in the form of overflowing by one character can be mixed in the roaring character key (7), but here, the “Y” key is also used to input “Wa”.
The above 13 alphabetic characters are input by direct keystroke, that is, only by one keystroke. These characters are referred to as “main sequence letters”.

(B) Next, the remaining alphabetic characters (B, C, D, F, G, J, L, P, Q, V, W, X, Z) are placed on the 13 alphabetic characters arranged in (a). 13 characters) are added one by one in the “alphabetical order” sequence starting from the position of A.
These 13 characters are called “sub-sequence alphabetic characters” because they are shifted out with the main shift (8) key. In other words, the alphabetic characters are composed of a main array in a clear order and a sub-array in alphabetical order. By adding a roaring character key (7) to this, it is possible to input a roaring sound with one or two strokes.

Next, character operations in the input device having the above configuration will be described.
In the input device according to the present invention, a plurality of characters are arranged in one key, such as mixing English letters, “n, tsu”, etc. in the roaring character key (7). There seems to be a character, and the next character is selected. That is, next to the direct sound or the roaring character (12), “tsu”, “n”, “-” or an English letter (consonant character) is selected, and the stuttering character (12) is selected immediately after the consonant. It becomes like this.

(Actual Japanese input)
The actual input in the “kana mode” will be described with a specific example.
First of all, about the input of “Kei Naoto”.
The five characters “Aueo” of “A line” key the vowels A, I, U, E, and O as they are. The 40 kana characters from “Ka Line” to “Wa Line” are basically input in the form of “consonant + vowel” of the keystrokes. In simultaneous keying, consonants and vowels are simultaneously keyed.
Enter "n" or "tsu" directly into the character. The same applies to the long “-”. The lower case “Ai ぅ e ぉ” uses auxiliary shift, but “L”, “X”, etc. can also be used (eg LA → a).

The stuttering can be obtained by adding the stuttering character (12) to the English consonant.
“Neat sound” is played with 2 keystrokes in the form of consonant key (6) + roaring character key (7) (ex. K + nya → “kya” K + yu → “kyu” K + yo → “ki”) ). If you press the consonant key and the roaring character key at the same time, you only need one stroke.
Here, it is assumed that the sound character “nya, yo” continues after the consonant but does not follow the vowels A, I, U, E, O. Also, “ya, yu, yo” is not entered at the beginning of the phrase (and the roaring character does not follow C, F, J, L, Q, V, W, X, Y).

Next, about muddy sound.
The “turbidity sound” will be described by taking the letter “ga” as an example, but three methods are conceivable.
(A) The key A is shifted longer by the K key (long press of the shift), thereby producing a direct sound “GA” (2 keys 2 strokes). In other words, if you press and hold A while holding down the K key, you will get "".
(B) Keys K and A are simultaneously pressed and held down (simultaneously long press), thereby “ga” is shot (2 keys, 1 stroke).
(C) Add vowel A to the alphabetic letter G (eg “Main shift (8) + O (G key)” + A → “Ga”) (3 key 2 strokes or 3 key 3 strokes. “Main shift” , O "can be pressed simultaneously.

  The pseudonym of the semi-voiced sound “pa line”, after launching P by shift, adds any of the vowels AIUEO to it.

There are the following three input methods for “Gyaku” of “Sakuran”.
(A) The key “K” is shifted with the K key (long press of the shift) to make a roar “Gya” (2 keys 2 strokes). In other words, if you hold down the “K” key while holding down the K key, you get “Gya”.
(B) Strike “Kya” by pressing K and “nya” at the same time and holding them down (simultaneous long press) (2 keys, 1 stroke).
(C) Add "nya" to the alphabetic letter G of the muddy sound (example: "Main shift (8) + O" + "nya" → "Gya") (3 key 2 strokes or 3 key 3 strokes. "Shift, O "2 keys can be pressed simultaneously).
With regard to “two-key simultaneous long press”, first, two fingers are placed on the corresponding two keys, and then the two keys are simultaneously held long, the input can be made reliably.
Note that the roaring sound “Pya, Pyu, Pyo” of “Pa line” is a P in the shift and then adds “Ya, Pyu, Pyo” to it.

Hiragana lowercase letters “a, i, ぅ, e, 出 す” are entered with a shift key of “auxiliary shift (9) + vowel” (eg, auxiliary shift + A → “a”).
The prompt sound “tsu” inputs “tsu” directly. For the sound repellent “n”, “n” is directly input.

(Half-width English mode and number mode)
The input details in the full-width kana mode have been described above. Next, English text input and numeric input will be described.
In “Half-width English small mode”, 26 alphabetic characters can be input directly by one stroke or by using the “Main Shift” (8) and “Auxiliary Shift” (9) keys. I do. If the “shift key, character key” keys are pressed simultaneously, only one key is required.

  Alphabetic characters in the main array are entered with a single keystroke, and alphabetic characters in the subarray are keyed out using the main shift key (8) or the auxiliary shift key (9) (one keystroke for two-key simultaneous keystrokes). In the alphabetic mode, if the auxiliary shift (9) has substantially the same function as the main shift (8), the characters in the sub-array are also easier to type (main shift + A → B auxiliary shift + A → B).

  Uppercase alphabetic characters are obtained by shifting the lowercase letters with the British (11) key. (Although the British key is a shift key, it can be shifted by “sequentially” so that the next character can be shifted even if the key is typed alone. “Keystroke” method is adopted. Then, capital letters of sub-array alphabets can be easily entered by “keystroke, shift key + letter key”.

  The “English sentence shift” key (18) is used to input half-width English small letters in the kana mode. When entering the Internet address, etc., even in the Kana mode, you can enter English letters in half-width letters at any time while holding down the “English Shift” key. You are free from the hassle of mode switching.

  In “Numeric mode”, single-byte numbers can be directly and continuously input without shifting. When inputting numbers in the kana mode using the “number shift” (10), full-width numbers are obtained. To change to half-width, press the “half-width / full-width” key. To enter numbers continuously, hold down the number shift key.

(Merit of one-handed method)
The input device of the present invention can input both Kiyane's Kana and Kiyane's roaring sounds with two keystrokes or one keystroke at the same time. It can be input with one keystroke.
A two-handed JIS keyboard has two keystrokes for kana and three keystrokes for roar. In contrast, the keyboard of the present invention has 1 to 2 keystrokes for kana and 1 to 2 keystrokes. It can be seen that even a one-handed device has the ability to match a two-handed keyboard.
The main array is in "Akasana" order and the sub-array is in "alphabet" order, which is suitable for both kana and English input.
Blind touch input is extremely simple compared to a two-handed JIS keyboard, and anyone can learn it in a short time. Even people with visual impairments can easily handle it with fewer keys.
If you have one in each corner of a student's desk at school, etc., you can interact with the teacher and change the traditional education using blackboard and chalk.
English input is easier than conventional one-handed input devices and can withstand long input. Since the thumb and pinky finger (or ring finger) can always be placed in a fixed position (main shift key and auxiliary shift key), all English letters can be input as if they were one keystroke.

  The input device of the present invention may be used alone by incorporating the display (60) into the device, or connected to a personal computer via USB or the like and using the CPU of the main body as a keyboard attached to the personal computer. Character input may be realized.

The following is a description of each embodiment (both FIGS. 2 and 3 are for right-hand operation).
In the basic embodiment of FIG. 1, the outline of the arrangement of the character key (2) has been described.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the key arrangement is shown in a horizontal direction.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 shows a form in which key arrangements are arranged in the vertical direction.
FIG. 4 is an example of a kana syllabary character input table (quick reference table) in the kana mode when input is made in the embodiment. Note that the underlined portion in the table indicates launching by using “shift long press” with the clear use key (16).

The top view which showed the outline | summary of the character key arrangement | positioning of the input device of this invention The top view which showed the outline | summary of the input device of this invention, and the example of an arrangement | sequence (type of an up-down direction alternating input) The top view which showed the example of arrangement | sequence (type of the left-right direction alternating input) of the input device of this invention Example of “Kana 50-sound input table” of the input device of the present invention

1 Keyboard 2 Character Key 3 Control Key 4 Alphabetic Key 5 Vowel Key 6 Consonant Key 7 “Large Character” Key
8 “Main shift” key 9 “Auxiliary shift” key 10 “Numeric shift” key 11 “Language shift” key 12 Roaring character 13 “Blank / conversion” key 14 Line feed key 15 “Symbol shift” key 16 Clear mixed use key 17 Clear Consonant 18 “English Shift” key

  The present invention relates to a one-handed input device for Japanese and English using a Roman character input method.

  Japanese-style input devices with one-handed Romaji input methods have limitations on the number of keys, so the same key is typed multiple times to obtain characters or input using the shift key. In addition, in the mobile phone, the target character is obtained by pressing the character at the beginning of the kana (a, ka, sa, ta, etc.) a plurality of times instead of the Roman alphabet method. In this regard, there are specifically the following documents.

Japanese Patent No. 3521870 (Regarding input display order) Japanese Patent No. 3130882 (character input method) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-75708 (Regarding romaji input) JP 11-134096 (same as above) JP-A-10-207601 (same as above) JP 2001-265505 (same as above) Sho62-44285 (for simultaneous keystrokes) Utility model registration No. 3072312 (same as above) Sho 62-37405 (same as above) Patent No. 3965413 (same as above)

Among the one-handed input devices, in the method of inputting a kana in which the same key is pressed a plurality of times to obtain a single character, the input efficiency decreases as the number of keystrokes increases, and a comfortable input cannot be obtained. Even a commercially available Romaji-style one-handed input device has the disadvantage that the number of keys is large, with 3 keystrokes for muddy kana and 4 keystrokes for muddy sound.
Also, because the emphasis was on kana input, English input would not go smoothly.
In the input device of the present invention, the kana (= straight sound) and its roaring sound can be input within 2 keys or 2 keystrokes, and the English letters can be input with “almost one keystroke”. Aimed at an input device that can be operated more comfortably.

The one-handed input device of the Roman alphabet kana method of the present invention is
(B) Five vowel keys (5) including vowel English letters and consonant English letters in one key
(B) Consonant keys including one or more consonant alphabetic characters in one key (6) Group (c) One key including any one of the lowercase letters “ya, yu, yo” 3 Individual roaring character keys (7)
The character key (2) consisting of (i) to (c) and various control keys (3),
An input device designed to produce kana and stuttering with a combination of English consonants and vowels, or English consonants and lowercase letters
(D) A certain period of time with two keys, the clearing key (16) and the vowel key (5), or the clearing key (16) and the roaring character key (7) pressed simultaneously. By “long press of simultaneous key press” to be passed, it is possible to input the kana / stuttering of the muddy sound related to the two keys pressed, the kana / stuttering of the muffled sound with one stroke,
(E) While pressing the clearing key (16), and subsequently pressing the vowel key (5) or the roaring character key (7) for a predetermined time or longer, by “long pressing of the shift key”, It is possible to input the kana and roar of the muddy sound related to the 2 keys pressed, related to the kana and roar of the clear sound with 2 strokes.
It is characterized by (d) to (e).
In addition, the one-handed input device of the Roman character kana method of the present invention is
(F) The alphabetic characters A, I, U, E, O, K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, R (or W) corresponding to the kana "Akasata Hamaya (wa)" , In the order of the Japanese syllabary (in the order of Kana)
(G) The remaining alphabetic characters (B, C, D...) Are additionally arranged on the key so as to follow the alphabetical order.
It is characterized by a key arrangement that is composed of (F) and (G), which is a combination of “Akasana” order and “alphabet” order.

  The input device of the present invention can input the kana of the muddy sound and the roar of the muddy sound by two strokes of two keys by the “shift by character key” (long press) method. With the “push” method, it is possible to input the kana of the muddy sound and the roar of the muddy sound with a single keystroke, which makes it easier to input Japanese than with conventional devices.

(Overview of keyboard configuration)
On the keyboard (1), there are three key keys (7), each containing a group of alphabet keys (4) containing approximately two alphabetic characters and one lowercase letter “ya, yu, yo”. In addition, a control key (3) group is provided. Each character of the small letters “nya”, “yu”, and “yo” is called a roaring character (12).
Keys other than the control key (3) are collectively referred to as a character key (2). Of the character keys, a key with a letter is defined as a letter key (4). The key including the roaring character (12) is handled as the roaring character key (7).

Of the alphabetic keys, a key having a vowel is called a vowel key (5), and a key having only a consonant is called a consonant key (6).
Of the consonant keys, the K, S, T, and H keys are keys that are related to the generation of both clear and muddy sounds. The four alphabetic characters of H are called "clear consonants" (17).
In the roaring character key (7), in addition to the roaring character (12), "n, tsu,-", English letters, and the like can be included as appropriate.

A single character such as “ka” or “ga” is referred to as a “straight sound” character. Hereinafter, a clear sound is referred to as a “clear sound” (for example, “ka”), and a muffled sound is referred to as “a cloudy sound”. (Example: Gaza), Kiyane's roaring sound is called “Neaty sound” (Example: Kya, Sha), and muddy sounding noise is called “Muddy sound” (eg, Gya, Ja). In any case, the word itself is expressed rather than “sound”.
Entering another character key (2) while holding down the shift key (8, 9, 10, 15) or character key (2) is called "shift keying". When the character key is left shifted, a certain period of time or longer is referred to as “long press of shift keystroke”. Further, letting a certain period of time elapse while the two character keys (2) are simultaneously pressed is referred to as “simultaneous long press”.

(Shift keystroke with shift key and character key)
In terms of electrical signals, pressing a key turns the signal on, releasing it turns it off.
In “shift keying” using the “shift key” (8, 9, 10, 15) of the control key (3), the shift key is usually turned on first, and then the character key (2) is turned on. Later, when the character key is pressed, both keys are in a state where both keys are on. By turning on “both two keys”, as a result, another character is switched (shifted).

(Simultaneous key press with shift key and character key)
By the way, the “shift” key and the character key (2) can be pressed simultaneously without any time difference. Simultaneous keystrokes create a “both keys on” state for a moment.
In the input device of the present invention, in particular, in the case where the “shift” key and the character key (2) are simultaneously pressed, the “shift” key is always set to be regarded as being input for a moment earlier.
As a result, two-key simultaneous key pressing of the “shift” key and the character key has the same function as “shift keying” using the shift key. In other words, simultaneous keystrokes can be regarded as “shift keystrokes with no time difference” (actually, there is a slight time difference).

  An example of the simultaneous keying of the shift key and the character key is the “thumb shift method” (“Patent Document 7” Sho 62-44285, “Patent Document 9” Sho 62-37405). In “thumb shift”, another character is obtained by simultaneously pressing the shift key and the character key so that “right shift” + “no” → “ki”.

  If you use the simultaneous keying of the shift key and character key, you can input the alphabet of sub-array in one stroke, so all the alphabet characters can be input in one stroke. Since it can be done by hitting it, there is a merit that vowels and stuttering characters can be added to it, and a cloudy straight sound and a cloudy sound can be produced with two strokes (example: “Main Shift” and “A” simultaneous keystrokes → B “Auxiliary Shift”) And “A” at the same time → “a”).

(Shift keystroke using character keys)
The input device of the present invention newly adopts a “shift keying by character key” method, which is slightly different from “shift keying by shift key”. In this method, the vowels or stuttering characters are shifted by a certain time or more with the K, S, T, and H keys of the consonant keys, thereby obtaining an unacceptable sound and an unclear sound. .

  When each of the K, S, T, and H consonants is in an on state and a vowel key or a stuttering character key is input thereto, at that time, between the clear use key (16) and these keys, A state where “both two keys are on” occurs. In other words, this is the same as the “shift state with the clear and mixed use key”. If this state is very short, it ends with the generation of Kiyane's pseudonym (Kei Naoto) or Kiyane's roaring (Neat tone). Is set so that clear sound becomes muddy.

  In other words, “shifting both the vowel key (5) or the roaring character key (7) by the mixed use key (16)” starts “both two keys on”. Although it is input, when the state of “both two keys on” exceeds a certain time (α milliseconds), the sound changes from clear to muddy.

For example, in the case of α = 400, if the two-way key (16) and the vowel key (5) are kept pressed for 0.4 seconds or more, the kana of the muddy sound is changed. That is, when “shift key is pressed and held”, muddy sound is input.
It is also possible to adjust the value of “α” according to the individual ability in the form of manual setting.

(Input clear sound using simultaneous keystrokes)
If two keys are pressed at the same time and then released immediately, the keys will be pressed simultaneously. Since simultaneous keystrokes are instantaneous, if they are input in the order of consonants and vowels, kana will be output, but sometimes they will be input in the order of vowels and consonants. When that happens, it doesn't make a character. Therefore, if the consonant is input with a slight time difference, it can be an effective means for inputting the kana if it is always recognized that the consonant is input first.
If the time difference between the previous and next keys that are continuously input does not exceed β milliseconds, and set to be simultaneously keyed, if it is determined that the key is simultaneously keyed, it will be consonant and vowel, consonant and stuttering In the case of a combination of characters (12), a kana and a roar are input.

  In this way, in this device, a pseudonym is input by simultaneous keying of consonant key (6) and vowel key (5) by instantaneous simultaneous keying of β milliseconds or less, and simultaneous keying of consonant key and stuttering character key is not performed. , A roaring sound is input (for example, simultaneous keying of M and A → ma. Simultaneous keystroke of K and “nya” → kya).

(Muddy sound input using simultaneous keystrokes)
Although “shift key press and hold ” is described above, another method of “simultaneous press and hold” can also create a pseudonym and roar of muddy sound. For example, if you press K and A at the same time and let the commas elapse for several seconds, the character “ga” is obtained.
In other words, the kana / stuttering of the muddy sound is obtained by long pressing (simultaneous long pressing) of the simultaneous keying of the clear use key (16) and the vowel key or the stuttering character key.

Organizing the above contents,
The pseudonym and muffled sound of the muddy sound (the muddy sound and muddy sound) can be obtained by pressing the “shift key long press” (2 strokes) of the “clear ambiguity key” (16) and the vowel key or roaring character key, "Simultaneous long press" (1 stroke) can be obtained.
In the case of kana input, it is possible to input most of the characters using only the character key (2) without using the shift key (control key).

(Enter English characters)
Input of alphabetic characters (for example, B, C, D) in the sub-array is obtained by “shift keystroke by shift key” or “simultaneous keystroke” of the shift key and the corresponding key.
Unlike English input, English input uses a lot of shift keys. For this reason, an alphabetic character can be input with one stroke at any time by using a simultaneous keying method.

Next, the actual input of the kana by the input device of the present invention is started.
The following is a description in Kana (Japanese) mode unless otherwise noted.
When the vowel key (5) is pressed after the consonant key (6), the direct sound of the kana is obtained, and when the phonetic character key (7) is pressed after the consonant key (6), a roar is obtained (for example: K + A → or K + nya → kya).
In sequential keystrokes, for example, a time difference occurs in keystrokes such as K and A first, but K and A can be simultaneously keyed by two sword styles of two fingers. The same key can be pressed at the same time, even if a roaring sound (K + “nya”) is input. For simultaneous keystrokes, one keystroke is input for both kana and roar.

(Input of muddy sound)
As for the kana (muffled sound) and the roaring sound of each line of “GA / ZA / DA / BA”, in addition to using English letters of G, Z, D, B, Kiyone's English letters (K, S, T, H) are used. It is made without any problems. In this device, while pressing any one of these K, S, T, and H keys (unclear key 16), the vowel and the stuttering character (12) are kept pressed for a certain period of time (α milliseconds or more). "Long key press" method and "Simultaneous long press" method with simultaneous input of clearing key (16) and vowels and stuttering characters to obtain turbidity sound and muddy sound with the minimum keystroke of 1 to 2 Is set. As a result, muddy sound can be input with one or two strokes of the two-key operation.

(Key configuration and control keys)
Next, the overall arrangement of keys will be described.
On the palm-sized keyboard (1), the character key (2) is arranged in the number of keys such as 4 × 4 (4 columns × 4 rows) or 3 × 5. Next, various control keys (3) are arranged around the periphery.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control key (3) is divided into main shift (8), auxiliary shift (9), symbol shift (15), numeric shift (10) and English shift (11) shift keys. There are “blank / conversion” key (13), line feed key (14), cursor keys, etc., but only the minimum necessary ones are displayed.
Further, in the kana mode, function keys for conversion such as “kana / kana”, “half-width / full-width”, “large alphabet / small alphabet” are also necessary, and these are displayed in FIGS.

(Romaji basic layout)
Next, the alphabet (alphabetic) key arrangement will be described.
In the input device of the present invention, first, English characters are arranged in a Japanese-style layout of “Akasana Hamayawa”, one character for each key. This is so that Kiyane's kana can be entered even with one stroke. On top of that, the alphabets left out of this sequence were rearranged in alphabetical order. This will be described with reference to the basic embodiment of FIG. 2 with 4 × 4, 16 character keys in total.

(B) Three roaring character keys (1) each including one character of the roaring character “nya, yu” (12) at the top of the 16 character keys (2) on the keyboard (1) 7) is disposed.
In the second row, four letters A, I, U, E, corresponding to the hiragana character “Aiueo” are placed, and the letter “O” is placed immediately above “E”.
Next, 8 alphabetic characters K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, and R corresponding to Hiragana's “Kasana Hamaya” are used for the 8th key in the 3rd and 4th steps. Arrange. These eight keys are consonant keys (6).
“W” in the form of overflowing by one character can be mixed in the roaring character key (7), but here, the “Y” key is also used to input “Wa”.
The above 13 alphabetic characters are input by direct keystroke, that is, only by one keystroke. These characters are referred to as “main sequence letters”.

(B) Next, the remaining alphabetic characters (B, C, D, F, G, J, L, P, Q, V, W, X, Z) are placed on the 13 alphabetic characters arranged in (a). 13 characters) are added one by one in the “alphabetical order” sequence starting from the position of A.
These 13 characters are called “sub-sequence alphabetic characters” because they are shifted out with the main shift (8) key. In other words, the alphabetic characters are composed of a main array in a clear order and a sub-array in alphabetical order. By adding a roaring character key (7) to this, it is possible to input a roaring sound with one or two strokes.

Next, character operations in the input device having the above configuration will be described.
In the input device according to the present invention, a plurality of characters are arranged in one key, such as mixing English letters, “n, tsu”, etc. in the roaring character key (7). There seems to be a character, and the next character is selected. That is, next to the direct sound or the roaring character (12), “tsu”, “n”, “-” or an English letter (consonant character) is selected, and the stuttering character (12) is selected immediately after the consonant. It becomes like this.

(Actual Japanese input)
The actual input in the “kana mode” will be described with a specific example.
First of all, about the input of “Kei Naoto”.
The five characters “Aueo” of “A line” key the vowels A, I, U, E, and O as they are. The 40 kana characters from “Ka Line” to “Wa Line” are basically input in the form of “consonant + vowel” of the keystrokes. In simultaneous keying, consonants and vowels are simultaneously keyed.
Enter "n" or "tsu" directly into the character. The same applies to the long “-”. The lower case “Ai ぅ e ぉ” uses auxiliary shift, but “L”, “X”, etc. can also be used (eg LA → a).

The stuttering can be obtained by adding the stuttering character (12) to the English consonant.
“Neat sound” is played with 2 keystrokes in the form of consonant key (6) + roaring character key (7) (ex. K + nya → “kya” K + yu → “kyu” K + yo → “ki”) ). If you press the consonant key and the roaring character key at the same time, you only need one stroke.
Here, it is assumed that the sound character “nya, yo” continues after the consonant but does not follow the vowels A, I, U, E, O. Also, “ya, yu, yo” is not entered at the beginning of the phrase (and the roaring character does not follow C, F, J, L, Q, V, W, X, Y).

Next, about muddy sound.
The “turbidity sound” will be described by taking the letter “ga” as an example, but three methods are conceivable.
(A) The key A is shifted long by the K key (long pressing of the shift keystroke ), thereby producing a direct sound "GA" (two keys two strokes). In other words, if you press and hold A while holding down the K key, you will get "".
(B) Keys K and A are simultaneously pressed and held down (simultaneously long press), thereby “ga” is shot (2 keys, 1 stroke).
(C) Add vowel A to the alphabetic letter G (eg “Main shift (8) + O (G key)” + A → “Ga”) (3 key 2 strokes or 3 key 3 strokes. “Main shift” , O "can be pressed simultaneously.

  The pseudonym of the semi-voiced sound “pa line”, after launching P by shift, adds any of the vowels AIUEO to it.

There are the following three input methods for “Gyaku” of “Sakuran”.
(A) The key “ゃ” is shifted long with the K key (long press of the shift keystroke ) to produce a roar “Gya” (2 keys, 2 strokes). In other words, if you hold down the “K” key while holding down the K key, you get “Gya”.
(B) Strike “Kya” by pressing K and “nya” at the same time and holding them down (simultaneous long press) (2 keys, 1 stroke).
(C) Add "nya" to the alphabetic letter G of the muddy sound (example: "Main shift (8) + O" + "nya" → "Gya") (3 key 2 strokes or 3 key 3 strokes. "Shift, O "2 keys can be pressed simultaneously).
With regard to “two-key simultaneous long press”, first, two fingers are placed on the corresponding two keys, and then the two keys are simultaneously held long, the input can be made reliably.
Note that the roaring sound “Pya, Pyu, Pyo” of “Pa line” is a P in the shift and then adds “Ya, Pyu, Pyo” to it.

Hiragana lowercase letters “a, i, ぅ, e, 出 す” are entered with a shift key of “auxiliary shift (9) + vowel” (eg, auxiliary shift + A → “a”).
The prompt sound “tsu” inputs “tsu” directly. For the sound repellent “n”, “n” is directly input.

(Half-width English mode and number mode)
The input details in the full-width kana mode have been described above. Next, English text input and numeric input will be described.
In “Half-width English small mode”, 26 alphabetic characters can be input directly by one stroke or by using the “Main Shift” (8) and “Auxiliary Shift” (9) keys. I do. If the “shift key, character key” keys are pressed simultaneously, only one key is required.

  Alphabetic characters in the main array are entered with a single keystroke, and alphabetic characters in the subarray are keyed out using the main shift key (8) or the auxiliary shift key (9) (one keystroke for two-key simultaneous keystrokes). In the alphabetic mode, if the auxiliary shift (9) has substantially the same function as the main shift (8), the characters in the sub-array are also easier to type (main shift + A → B auxiliary shift + A → B).

  The uppercase alphabetic characters are obtained by shifting the lowercase letters with the British (11) key. “Keystroke” method is adopted. Then, capital letters of sub-array alphabets can be easily entered by “keystroke, shift key + letter key”.

  The “English sentence shift” key (18) is used to input half-width English small letters in the kana mode. When entering the Internet address, etc., even in the Kana mode, you can enter English letters in half-width letters at any time while holding down the “English Shift” key. You are free from the hassle of mode switching.

  In “Numeric mode”, single-byte numbers can be directly and continuously input without shifting. When inputting numbers in the kana mode using the “number shift” (10), full-width numbers are obtained. To change to half-width, press the “half-width / full-width” key. To enter numbers continuously, hold down the number shift key.

(Merit of one-handed method)
The input device of the present invention can input both Kiyane's Kana and Kiyane's roaring sounds with two keystrokes or one keystroke at the same time. It can be input with one keystroke.
A two-handed JIS keyboard has two keystrokes for kana and three keystrokes for roar. In contrast, the keyboard of the present invention has 1 to 2 keystrokes for kana and 1 to 2 keystrokes. It can be seen that even a one-handed device has the ability to match a two-handed keyboard.
The main array is in "Akasana" order and the sub-array is in "alphabet" order, which is suitable for both kana and English input.
Blind touch input is extremely simple compared to a two-handed JIS keyboard, and anyone can learn it in a short time. Even people with visual impairments can easily handle it with fewer keys.
If you have one in each corner of a student's desk at school, etc., you can interact with the teacher and change the traditional education using blackboard and chalk.
English input is easier than conventional one-handed input devices and can withstand long input. Since the thumb and pinky finger (or ring finger) can always be placed in a fixed position (main shift key and auxiliary shift key), all English letters can be input as if they were one keystroke.

  The input device of the present invention may be used alone by incorporating the display (60) into the device, or connected to a personal computer via USB or the like and using the CPU of the main body as a keyboard attached to the personal computer. Character input may be realized.

The following is a description of each embodiment (both FIGS. 2 and 3 are for right-hand operation).
In the basic embodiment of FIG. 1, the outline of the arrangement of the character key (2) has been described.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the key arrangement is shown in a horizontal direction.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 shows a form in which key arrangements are arranged in the vertical direction.
FIG. 4 is an example of a kana syllabary character input table (quick reference table) in the kana mode when input is made in the embodiment. Note that the underlined portion in the table indicates that a strike is made using “long press of shift keystroke ” by the clear-use dual-purpose key (16).

The top view which showed the outline | summary of the character key arrangement | positioning of the input device of this invention The top view which showed the outline | summary of the input device of this invention, and the example of an arrangement | sequence (type of an up-down direction alternating input) The top view which showed the example of arrangement | sequence (type of the left-right direction alternating input) of the input device of this invention Example of “Kana 50-sound input table” of the input device of the present invention

1 Keyboard 2 Character Key 3 Control Key 4 Alphabetic Key 5 Vowel Key 6 Consonant Key 7 “Large Character” Key
8 “Main shift” key 9 “Auxiliary shift” key 10 “Numeric shift” key 11 “Language shift” key 12 Roaring character 13 “Blank / conversion” key 14 Line feed key 15 “Symbol shift” key 16 Clear mixed use key 17 Clear Consonant 18 “English Shift” key

The one-handed input device of the Roman alphabet kana method of the present invention is
(B) Five vowel keys (5) including vowel English letters and consonant English letters in one key
(B) Consonant keys including one or more consonant alphabetic characters in one key (6) Group (c) One key including any one of the lowercase letters “ya, yu, yo” 3 Individual roaring character keys (7)
The character key (2) consisting of (i) to (c) and various control keys (3),
An input device designed to produce kana and stuttering with a combination of English consonants and vowels, or English consonants and lowercase letters
Of the consonant keys (5), K, S, T, and H are included in the key.
If you use the dual-purpose key (16),
(D) A certain period of time with two keys, the clearing key (16) and the vowel key (5), or the clearing key (16) and the roaring character key (7) pressed simultaneously. By “long press of simultaneous key press” to be passed, it is possible to input the kana / stuttering of the muddy sound related to the two keys pressed, the kana / stuttering of the muffled sound with one stroke,
(E) While pressing the clearing key (16), and subsequently pressing the vowel key (5) or the roaring character key (7) for a predetermined time or longer, by “long pressing of the shift key”,
It is possible to input the kana and roar of the muddy sound related to the 2 keys pressed, related to the kana and roar of the clear sound with 2 strokes.
It is characterized by (d) to (e).
In addition, the one-handed input device of the Roman character kana method of the present invention is
(F) The letters A, I, U, E, O, K, and S corresponding to the kana “Akasata Hamaya (wa)”
, T, N, H, M, Y, R (or W) alphabetical characters are arranged in each key in the order of kana (Japanese alphabetical order), and then,
(G) The remaining alphabetic characters (B, C, D...) Are additionally arranged on the key so as to follow the alphabetical order.
It is characterized by a key arrangement that is composed of (F) and (G), which is a combination of “Akasana” order and “alphabet” order.

Of the alphabetic keys, a key having a vowel is a vowel key (5) and a key having only a consonant is a consonant key (6
).
Among the consonant keys, each of the four keys having the K, S, T, and H characters in the main array is a key related to the generation of both a clear sound and a cloudy sound. Dirty dual use key "
(16), and the four alphabetic characters K, S, T, and H are referred to as "clear consonant" (17).
In the roaring character key (7), in addition to the roaring character (12), "n, tsu,-", English letters, and the like can be included as appropriate.

Claims (1)

(B) Five vowel keys (5) including vowel English letters and consonant English letters in one key
(B) Consonant keys that contain one or more consonant alphabetic characters in one key (6) Group (c) Three keys that contain any one of the lowercase letters “ya, yu, yo” in one key Roaring character key (7)
In kana input in an input device composed of 20 or less character keys (2) consisting of (a) to (c) and various control keys (3),
About Kiyone
(D) After pressing or simultaneously pressing any one of the consonant keys (6), press any one of the vowel key (5) or the stuttering character key (7). By pressing the key, you can enter the kana and roar of Kiyone corresponding to the pressed key with one or two keystrokes.
About muddy sound
(E) Of the consonant keys, any one of the letters K, S, T, and H (clear mixed use key, 16), the vowel key (5), or the stuttering character key (7) By pressing the key at the same time and / or by pressing and holding the shift key, it is possible to input the pseudonym / stuttering of the muddy sound corresponding to the pressed key with one or two keys.
Romaji-kana type one-handed input device characterized by (d) to (e).

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