WO2004070599A1 - Method and apparatus of key input for portable terminals - Google Patents
Method and apparatus of key input for portable terminals Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2004070599A1 WO2004070599A1 PCT/KR2003/000282 KR0300282W WO2004070599A1 WO 2004070599 A1 WO2004070599 A1 WO 2004070599A1 KR 0300282 W KR0300282 W KR 0300282W WO 2004070599 A1 WO2004070599 A1 WO 2004070599A1
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- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- buttons
- pushing
- characters
- button
- inputting
- Prior art date
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
- G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
- G06F3/023—Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
- G06F3/0233—Character input methods
- G06F3/0234—Character input methods using switches operable in different directions
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a method and device for inputting characters, and more particularly, to a method and device for inputting characters, which is applicable to in portable terminals, such as cellular phones, computers, PDAs, or remote controllers for digital TV sets.
- the present invention also relates to a method and device for inputting characters, particularly easily inputting Korean vowels and consonants, which is applicable to cellular phones, TV remote controllers, touch screens, and PDAs.
- BACKGROUND ART Unlike a computer keyboard used on a desk, portable devices, such as cellular phones, PDAs, remote controllers for digital TV sets and the like, have a difficult in arranging a number of key buttons as the their volumes and sizes are too smal l .
- the cellular phone has several buttons, each of which is assigned with a number of character codes, and so, different character codes are inputted according to the number of times of continuously depressing of each button within a short period of time.
- the conventional character-inputting method and device just allow a user to depress the buttons arranged on the keypad.
- English alphabet "H” is inputted by twice depressing a button assigned with a numeral ".
- the conventional character- inputting device adopts a method for designating an upper case letter input mode or a lower case letter input mode by depressing a specific key for interconversion between the upper case and the lower case letters.
- the conventional character-inputting device has several buttons, each of which is assigned with a number of character codes, and adopts the method for inputting different character codes according to the number of times of continuously depressing of each button within a short period of time, it has a shortcoming in that it takes too much time to input characters
- Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and device for simply and easily inputting characters using portable terminals such as cellular phones, PDAs, remote controllers for digital TV sets, and so on .
- a device for inputting characters comprising a plurality of buttons arranged on a keypad, each of the buttons having five contact points formed therein for five directional manipulations including downward depressing, forward pushing (12 o'clock direction), backward pushing (6 o'clock direction), rightward pushing (3 o'clock direction) and leftward pushing (9 o'clock direction) thereof, and being adapted to perform any one of the five directional manipulations to thereby activate an associated one of the five contact points of each button, such that an associated one of characters pre- assigned to each button is inputted to correspond to the associated contact point.
- a method for inputting characters to a terminal having a plurality of buttons formed on a keypad thereof comprising the steps of: forming five contact points in each of the plurality of buttons for five directional manipulations including downward depressing, forward pushing, backward pushing, rightward pushing and leftward pushing; assigning characters corresponding to the five contact points to each button; performing any one of the five directional manipulations to thereby activate an associated one of the five contact points of each button; and inputting an associated one of the assigned characters, which corresponds to the associated contact point in response to the activation of the associated contact point.
- the present invention is characterized in that a user can pushingly manipulate stick- shaped buttons arranged on a key pad in four directions, i.e., forward, backward, rightward and leftward directions) as well as downwardly depress the buttons so as to input characters.
- the stick-shaped buttons may be downwardly depressed as well as pushingly manipulated in the forward, backward, rightward and leftward directions as in the conventional device.
- the character-inputting device is configured of the stick-shaped buttons, each of which can perform five directional manipulations, such as depressing, forward pushing, backward pushing, leftward pushing, and rightward pushing.
- Each of the stick-shaped buttons has contact points corresponding to the five directional manipulations and different character codes are assigned to the five contact points, respectively .
- FIG.l is a view showing a conventional character-inputting device.
- FIG.2a is a plan view showing a character-inputting device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG.2b is a sectional view showing the character inputting device according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention .
- FIG.3a a plan view showing a character inputting device according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG.3b is a sectional view showing the character inputting device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention .
- FIGS.2a to 3b a method and device for inputting characters according to the present invention will be described in detail.
- FIG.2a is a plan view showing a character-inputting device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention
- FIG.2b is a sectional view showing the character-inputting device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- the character-inputting device according to the present invention has a number of buttons 20 arranged on a keypad 10, each of which can be pushingly manipulated in the forward and backward directions 31, and the rightward and leftward directions 32 as well as in the downward and upward direction so as to input characters.
- a numeral ⁇ l" is inputted when a button assigned with a numeral "1" is downwardly depressed, an upper case letter “A” is inputted when it is forwardly pulled, an upper case letter ⁇ B" is inputted when it is backwardly pushed, an upper case letter “C” is inputted when it is leftwardly pushed, an upper case letter “D” is inputted when it is rightwardly pushed.
- a second preferred embodiment of the present invention proposes a method for arranging buttons on a key pad in such a manner as to allow a user to more easily manipulate the buttons using thumbs of the two hands for the sake of convenience of button manipulation.
- FIG.3a a plan view showing a character- inputting device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention
- FIG.3b is a sectional view showing the character-inputting device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention .
- buttons are arranged on the keypad in symmetrically oblique lines, each of which has the even numbers of the buttons 40 and 50, so that the user can manipulate the buttons more conveniently when the user grasps the character-inputting device with the two hands and inputs characters with the thumbs of the two hands .
- FIG.3a shows the symmetrically oblique type arrangement of the buttons, and at this time, the buttons of the same numbers are arranged on the left and right lines, respectively, so that the user can easily manipulate the buttons with the thumbs of the two hands.
- the buttons may be arranged in such a manner to be pushingly manipulated in the clock directions of 1:20, 4:30, 7:30 and 10:30.
- the inventive characters-inputting device can be applied to various electronic instruments. For example, if the present invention is applied to a PDA, the user can input all numerals, English alphabets and Korean characters only with about 10 buttons Furthermore, if the present invention is applied to a cellular phone, the user can more easily input characters. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a remote controller for a two-way digital TV set.
- the character-inputting device of the present invention can be installed on the existing game controller of console game machines such as a play station or an Xbox so as to support a chatting service while a user enjoys playing games with another game player at a remote place through a network.
- console game machines such as a play station or an Xbox
- the character-inputting device can be utilized as external character-inputting device for cellular phones, PDAs, infrared communication interface and so on, by configuring a separate character-inputting unit .
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
- Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Input From Keyboards Or The Like (AREA)
Abstract
The present invention discloses a method of input interface for portable terminals including PDA, keyboard, keypad, and a remote controller, and more specifically a key input technology having a key button that is movable horizontally and vertically.
Description
TITLE OF INVENTION METHOD AND APPARATUS OF KEY INPUT FOR PORTABLE
TERMINALS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and device for inputting characters, and more particularly, to a method and device for inputting characters, which is applicable to in portable terminals, such as cellular phones, computers, PDAs, or remote controllers for digital TV sets.
The present invention also relates to a method and device for inputting characters, particularly easily inputting Korean vowels and consonants, which is applicable to cellular phones, TV remote controllers, touch screens, and PDAs.
BACKGROUND ART Unlike a computer keyboard used on a desk, portable devices, such as cellular phones, PDAs, remote controllers for digital TV sets and the like, have a difficult in arranging a number of key buttons as the their volumes and sizes
are too smal l .
For example, the cellular phone has several buttons, each of which is assigned with a number of character codes, and so, different character codes are inputted according to the number of times of continuously depressing of each button within a short period of time.
That is, as shown in FIGS, la and lb, the conventional character-inputting method and device just allow a user to depress the buttons arranged on the keypad. For example, English alphabet "H" is inputted by twice depressing a button assigned with a numeral ".
Furthermore, the conventional character- inputting device adopts a method for designating an upper case letter input mode or a lower case letter input mode by depressing a specific key for interconversion between the upper case and the lower case letters.
However, since the conventional character-inputting device has several buttons, each of which is assigned with a number of character codes, and adopts the method for inputting different character codes according to the number of times of continuously depressing of each button within a short period of time, it has a shortcoming in that it takes too much time
to input characters
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and device for easily inputting characters using a small- sized terminal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and device for simply and easily inputting characters using portable terminals such as cellular phones, PDAs, remote controllers for digital TV sets, and so on .
To achieve the above objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for inputting characters, comprising a plurality of buttons arranged on a keypad, each of the buttons having five contact points formed therein for five directional manipulations including downward depressing, forward pushing (12 o'clock direction), backward pushing (6 o'clock direction), rightward pushing (3 o'clock direction) and leftward pushing (9 o'clock direction) thereof, and being adapted to perform any one of the five directional manipulations to thereby activate an associated
one of the five contact points of each button, such that an associated one of characters pre- assigned to each button is inputted to correspond to the associated contact point.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method for inputting characters to a terminal having a plurality of buttons formed on a keypad thereof, comprising the steps of: forming five contact points in each of the plurality of buttons for five directional manipulations including downward depressing, forward pushing, backward pushing, rightward pushing and leftward pushing; assigning characters corresponding to the five contact points to each button; performing any one of the five directional manipulations to thereby activate an associated one of the five contact points of each button; and inputting an associated one of the assigned characters, which corresponds to the associated contact point in response to the activation of the associated contact point.
The present invention is characterized in that a user can pushingly manipulate stick- shaped buttons arranged on a key pad in four directions, i.e., forward, backward, rightward and leftward directions) as well as downwardly
depress the buttons so as to input characters. In a preferred embodiment, the stick-shaped buttons may be downwardly depressed as well as pushingly manipulated in the forward, backward, rightward and leftward directions as in the conventional device.
That is, the character-inputting device according to the present invention is configured of the stick-shaped buttons, each of which can perform five directional manipulations, such as depressing, forward pushing, backward pushing, leftward pushing, and rightward pushing. Each of the stick-shaped buttons has contact points corresponding to the five directional manipulations and different character codes are assigned to the five contact points, respectively .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further objects and advantages of the invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which :
In the drawing:
FIG.l is a view showing a conventional
character-inputting device.
FIG.2a is a plan view showing a character-inputting device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.2b is a sectional view showing the character inputting device according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention .
FIG.3a a plan view showing a character inputting device according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.3b is a sectional view showing the character inputting device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention .
BEST MODE FOR CARRAYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described in detail in connection with preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings .
Referring to FIGS.2a to 3b, a method and device for inputting characters according to the present invention will be described in detail.
FIG.2a is a plan view showing a character-inputting device according to a first
preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.2b is a sectional view showing the character-inputting device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS.2a and 2b, the character-inputting device according to the present invention has a number of buttons 20 arranged on a keypad 10, each of which can be pushingly manipulated in the forward and backward directions 31, and the rightward and leftward directions 32 as well as in the downward and upward direction so as to input characters.
In the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, a numeral λl" is inputted when a button assigned with a numeral "1" is downwardly depressed, an upper case letter "A" is inputted when it is forwardly pulled, an upper case letter λB" is inputted when it is backwardly pushed, an upper case letter "C" is inputted when it is leftwardly pushed, an upper case letter "D" is inputted when it is rightwardly pushed.
A second preferred embodiment of the present invention proposes a method for arranging buttons on a key pad in such a manner as to allow a user to more easily manipulate the buttons using thumbs of the two hands for the
sake of convenience of button manipulation.
FIG.3a a plan view showing a character- inputting device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.3b is a sectional view showing the character-inputting device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention .
In FIG.3a, buttons are arranged on the keypad in symmetrically oblique lines, each of which has the even numbers of the buttons 40 and 50, so that the user can manipulate the buttons more conveniently when the user grasps the character-inputting device with the two hands and inputs characters with the thumbs of the two hands .
FIG.3a shows the symmetrically oblique type arrangement of the buttons, and at this time, the buttons of the same numbers are arranged on the left and right lines, respectively, so that the user can easily manipulate the buttons with the thumbs of the two hands. In the preferred embodiment, the buttons may be arranged in such a manner to be pushingly manipulated in the clock directions of 1:20, 4:30, 7:30 and 10:30.
Although the invention has been
illustrated and described with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes, omissions and additions may be made therein and thereto, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Therefore, the present invention should not be understood as limited to the specific embodiment set forth above but to include all possible embodiments which can be embodies within a scope encompassed and equivalents thereof with respect to the feature set forth in the appended claims .
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the inventive characters-inputting device can be applied to various electronic instruments. For example, if the present invention is applied to a PDA, the user can input all numerals, English alphabets and Korean characters only with about 10 buttons Furthermore, if the present invention is applied to a cellular phone, the user can more easily input characters. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a remote
controller for a two-way digital TV set.
Moreover, the character-inputting device of the present invention can be installed on the existing game controller of console game machines such as a play station or an Xbox so as to support a chatting service while a user enjoys playing games with another game player at a remote place through a network.
In addition, in stead of being installed in specific electronic instruments, the character-inputting device according to the present invention can be utilized as external character-inputting device for cellular phones, PDAs, infrared communication interface and so on, by configuring a separate character-inputting unit .
While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1. A device for inputting characters, comprising a plurality of buttons arranged on a keypad, each of the buttons having five contact points formed therein for five directional manipulations including downward depressing, forward pushing (12 o'clock direction), backward pushing (6 o'clock direction), rightward pushing
(3 o'clock direction) and leftward pushing (9 o'clock direction) thereof, and being adapted to perform any one of the five directional manipulations to thereby activate an associated one of the five contact points of each button, such that an associated one of characters pre- assigned to each button is inputted to correspond to the associated contact point.
2. A device for inputting characters, comprising a plurality of buttons arranged on a keypad, in such a manner as to be disposed on the keypad in symmetrically oblique lines, each of which has the even numbers of the buttons, each of the buttons having five contact points formed therein for five directional manipulations including downward depressing, and four diagonal pushings (the clock directions of 1:30, 4:30, 7:30 and 10:30) and being adapted to perform any one of the five directional manipulations upon to thereby activate an associated one of the five contact points of each button, such that an associated one of characters pre-assigned to each button is inputted to correspond to the associated contact point .
3. A terminal mounted with the device for inputting characters according to claim 1 or 2.
4. A method for inputting characters to a terminal having a plurality of buttons formed on a keypad thereof, comprising the steps of: forming five contact points in each of the plurality of buttons for five directional manipulations including downward depressing, forward pushing, backward pushing, rightward pushing and leftward pushing; assigning characters corresponding to the five contact points to each button; performing any one of the five directional manipulations to thereby activate an associated one of the five contact points of each button; and inputting an associated one of the assigned characters, which corresponds to the associated contact point in response to the activation of the associated contact point
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2003/000282 WO2004070599A1 (en) | 2003-02-10 | 2003-02-10 | Method and apparatus of key input for portable terminals |
| AU2003207124A AU2003207124A1 (en) | 2003-02-10 | 2003-02-10 | Method and apparatus of key input for portable terminals |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2003/000282 WO2004070599A1 (en) | 2003-02-10 | 2003-02-10 | Method and apparatus of key input for portable terminals |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| WO2004070599A1 true WO2004070599A1 (en) | 2004-08-19 |
Family
ID=32844745
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2003/000282 WO2004070599A1 (en) | 2003-02-10 | 2003-02-10 | Method and apparatus of key input for portable terminals |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| AU (1) | AU2003207124A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2004070599A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7336206B2 (en) | 2003-07-08 | 2008-02-26 | Ntt Docomo, Inc. | Input key and input apparatus |
| WO2008130209A3 (en) * | 2007-04-24 | 2008-12-18 | Eui Jin Oh | Character input device |
Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5528235A (en) * | 1991-09-03 | 1996-06-18 | Edward D. Lin | Multi-status multi-function data processing key and key array |
| KR980003973A (en) * | 1996-06-03 | 1998-03-30 | 김광호 | Keyboard system with directional keypad |
| KR19990001599U (en) * | 1997-06-20 | 1999-01-15 | 김영환 | 8-way function button switch |
| WO2001095358A2 (en) * | 2000-05-22 | 2001-12-13 | Digit Wireless, Llc | Input devices and their use |
| KR20020078326A (en) * | 2001-04-09 | 2002-10-18 | 진용옥 | Apparatus for inputing character using multi contact switch and method for arranging character on multi contact switch |
-
2003
- 2003-02-10 WO PCT/KR2003/000282 patent/WO2004070599A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2003-02-10 AU AU2003207124A patent/AU2003207124A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5528235A (en) * | 1991-09-03 | 1996-06-18 | Edward D. Lin | Multi-status multi-function data processing key and key array |
| KR980003973A (en) * | 1996-06-03 | 1998-03-30 | 김광호 | Keyboard system with directional keypad |
| KR19990001599U (en) * | 1997-06-20 | 1999-01-15 | 김영환 | 8-way function button switch |
| WO2001095358A2 (en) * | 2000-05-22 | 2001-12-13 | Digit Wireless, Llc | Input devices and their use |
| KR20020078326A (en) * | 2001-04-09 | 2002-10-18 | 진용옥 | Apparatus for inputing character using multi contact switch and method for arranging character on multi contact switch |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7336206B2 (en) | 2003-07-08 | 2008-02-26 | Ntt Docomo, Inc. | Input key and input apparatus |
| WO2008130209A3 (en) * | 2007-04-24 | 2008-12-18 | Eui Jin Oh | Character input device |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| AU2003207124A1 (en) | 2004-08-30 |
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