JP4786458B2 - Input character conversion apparatus, candidate word display method, and input character conversion program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an input character conversion device, a candidate word / phrase display method, an input character conversion program, and a recording medium that change a character input by a user into a predetermined conversion word / phrase.

  With the spread of word processors and e-mails in personal computers and portable terminals, there have been many opportunities for inputting characters from the keyboard. In recent years, word conversion candidates are increasing due to the enhancement of the dictionary for character conversion.

Furthermore, in these apparatuses, conversion word / phrase candidates by predictive conversion are listed, frequently used words / phrases are displayed at the top, and words / phrases used last time are displayed at the top . Therefore, the user can easily select a phrase.

  However, there is a problem that the phrase that the user really wants to select is not displayed on the screen, it is not known in advance where it is in the candidate list, and in some cases, it is necessary to press the key many times and search for it later. Therefore, there has been a demand for a method that can more easily select candidate words.

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, a candidate reading length to be converted is selected and designated. Further, Kanji conversion candidates with the specified reading length are displayed in a matrix on the screen. This facilitates selection of kanji candidates to be converted.

  In the technique of Patent Document 2, a plurality of conversion candidate words corresponding to one key are displayed simultaneously. This improves the efficiency of conversion phrase search.

Further, in the technique of Patent Document 3, words of kana characters to be converted are arranged in order from the smallest number of characters in a predetermined kana character set block, and in the case of the same number of characters, they are arranged in a dictionary. This improves the conversion performance of Kana-Kanji conversion.
JP-A-1-158560 (released on June 21, 1989) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-141460 (released on June 17, 1991) JP 3-209556 (published on September 12, 1991)

  However, in the conventional configuration, the following problem occurs when the user selects a conversion candidate.

  For example, a case where the user inputs “Inazuma” and the device converts it to “lightning” will be described. When the user enters “Ina”, the device displays candidate words that begin with “Ina”. Specifically, No, Ina, Unusual, Ina, Ina, Do not shoot, Within, Inai, Country, No, etc. are predicted as conversion targets and displayed. Here, the user wants to select “lightning bolt”. However, there are cases where this word or phrase is kept far behind among a plurality of candidate words or phrases. Therefore, the user cannot find the desired phrase immediately.

  In a display device having a large screen, it is not impossible to display all candidates. However, since there are usually a large number of candidate phrases, it is not realistic. Furthermore, it is troublesome to find the target word / phrase in the random display. In particular, only some candidate words are displayed on a small screen of a mobile device. At this time, the user has to scroll the display screen with a cursor key or the like in order to search for a target candidate phrase, which is troublesome.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an input character conversion device and a candidate that can cause a user to quickly search for a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases. An object is to provide a phrase display method, an input character conversion program, and a recording medium.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an input character conversion device according to the present invention provides:
An input for displaying a plurality of candidate words that are previously associated with input characters input by the user on a predetermined display and determining a candidate word selected by the user from among the plurality of candidate words displayed on the display as a conversion word A character conversion device,
A candidate word / phrase display unit is provided which displays the plurality of candidate words / phrases for each number of characters of the candidate words / phrases in a plurality of candidate word / phrase display areas having different display positions on the display.

  According to said structure, an input character conversion apparatus receives the input character input by the user. Thus, the candidate phrase display means displays a plurality of candidate phrases that are associated in advance with the received input characters on a predetermined display. The user selects, for example, one candidate word / phrase from the plurality of candidate words / phrases displayed on the display. The input character conversion device determines the candidate phrase selected by the user as the conversion phrase. As a result, the input character conversion device converts the input character input by the user into a predetermined conversion phrase.

  At this time, the candidate phrase display means collects the plurality of candidate phrases for each number of characters of the candidate phrases, and displays them in a plurality of different candidate phrase display areas on the display. For example, only one character candidate phrase is displayed in a certain candidate phrase display area. Furthermore, only two-character candidate phrases are displayed in another candidate phrase display area different from the candidate phrase display area.

  As a result, the user can simultaneously check candidate words / phrases having different numbers of characters on the display. Therefore, when the user wants to convert an input character into a single-word conversion phrase, the user can quickly search from a candidate phrase display area in which a one-character candidate phrase is displayed. When it is desired to convert an input character into a two-character conversion phrase, a search can be quickly made from a candidate phrase display area in which a two-character candidate phrase is displayed.

  For example, the candidate phrase display means does not display only one letter candidate phrase on the display. Therefore, when the user wants to convert an input character into a two-character conversion phrase, there is no need to scroll the display screen on which only the one-character candidate phrase is displayed to display the two-character candidate phrase.

  As described above, the user who uses the input character conversion device does not need to waste time when searching for a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases. Thereby, the input character conversion device has an effect of allowing the user to quickly search for a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases.

In order to solve the above problem, the candidate word / phrase display method according to the present invention displays a plurality of candidate words / phrases previously associated with the input characters input by the user on a predetermined display and displays the plurality of candidate words / phrases displayed on the display. A candidate phrase display method of displaying a plurality of candidate phrases on an input character conversion device that determines a candidate phrase selected by the user as a conversion phrase among the candidate phrases of
A candidate word / phrase display step is included, in which the plurality of candidate words / phrases are collected for each number of characters of the candidate words / phrases and displayed in a plurality of candidate word / phrase display areas having different display positions on the display.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect similar to the input character conversion apparatus which concerns on this invention.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable to display the plurality of candidate phrases in a general candidate display area different from the candidate phrase display area on the display regardless of the number of characters of the candidate phrases.

  According to said structure, a candidate phrase display means displays the candidate phrase regardless of the number of characters in the general candidate display area different from a candidate phrase display area on a display. For example, the candidate phrase display means displays a plurality of candidate phrases in the general candidate display area in the order of frequency converted in the past. Therefore, in this general candidate display area, for example, a one-character candidate phrase, a two-character candidate phrase, and a three-character candidate phrase are displayed. The same applies to four or more characters. That is, as long as the candidate words are associated in advance with the input characters, any number of characters are displayed in the general candidate display area.

  Thereby, the user can search for a conversion phrase from the general candidate display area in addition to a plurality of candidate phrase display areas displaying candidate phrases of a specific number of characters. Therefore, in the input character conversion device of this configuration, there is an effect that the user can more easily search for a conversion word / phrase from a plurality of candidate words / phrases.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable to display a number indicating the number of characters of the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area at a predetermined display position in the candidate phrase display area.

  According to said structure, a candidate phrase display means displays the number showing the number of characters of the candidate phrase displayed on each of several candidate phrase display area for displaying the candidate phrase of a specific number of characters. For example, a number “1” representing one character is displayed in the candidate word display area for displaying a one-character candidate word. Further, a number “2” representing two characters is displayed in a candidate word display area for displaying a two-character candidate word.

  Thereby, the user can know the number of characters of the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area by looking at the number displayed in each candidate phrase display area. Therefore, for example, when a user wants to search for a one-letter candidate phrase, the user can move to an area where the one-letter candidate phrases are collectively displayed by simply looking at the number “1” representing one letter. .

  As described above, the user who uses the input character conversion device does not need to count the number of characters of the displayed candidate words to know how many candidate words are displayed in which candidate word display area. Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to search for a candidate word / phrase display area in which candidate words / phrases of a specific number of characters are displayed earlier.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable to display an identification symbol indicating that the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed at a predetermined display position in the general candidate display area.

  According to said structure, a candidate word display means displays the identification symbol showing that the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed in the predetermined display position in the said general candidate display area. For example, when candidate words are displayed in order of frequency in the general candidate display area, the character string “frequency order” is also displayed in the general candidate display area. Alternatively, the identification symbol “#” is displayed in the general candidate display area. The user who sees these character strings can easily confirm that the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed in this display area.

  As described above, the user using the input character conversion device confirms that each candidate word / phrase displayed in the display area is displayed in the general candidate display area in order to confirm that the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed. There is no need to analyze the display configuration. Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to quickly search in which display area on the display the candidate word regardless of the number of characters is displayed.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention,
The candidate phrase display means is:
When the user inputs a number, the display state of the candidate phrase display area where the number is displayed as a number representing the number of characters indicates that the user can select the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area It is preferable to change to the display state.

  According to said structure, a candidate phrase display means changes the display state of the candidate phrase display area where the number which the user input is displayed as a number showing the number of characters into the display state different from usual. Specifically, the display state of the candidate word / phrase display area is changed to a display state indicating that the user can select the displayed candidate word / phrase. For example, a selection cursor indicating that a candidate word is selected is displayed on any one candidate word displayed in the candidate word display area.

  Thus, when the user wants to select a candidate word / phrase having a certain number of characters, the user may input a number representing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase using a predetermined input means. For example, the user can cause the selection cursor to be displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area displaying a one-word candidate word / phrase only by pressing a button for inputting the number “1”.

  As described above, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to quickly perform an operation for selecting a candidate word / phrase display area displaying candidate words / phrases of a specific number of characters.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
A display indicating that the user can select a candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area when the input character conversion device is operating in a predetermined candidate phrase selection mode for selecting the candidate phrase display area. It is preferable to change to a region.

  According to the above configuration, the input character conversion device can operate in a predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode for selecting a candidate word / phrase display area. If the user inputs a number when the input character conversion device is operating in this mode, the candidate phrase display means displays the candidate phrase display area displaying the candidate phrase with the number of characters of the number as the candidate phrase. The display state is changed to indicate that the user can select. For example, a predetermined selection cursor is displayed in this candidate word / phrase display area.

  For the user, inputting “1” as the number of characters to the input character conversion device first inputs “1” as the input character and first selects a candidate phrase display area for displaying a candidate phrase of one character. Therefore, there are two meanings of inputting “1” as a selection number.

  When the user inputs the number “1”, if the input character conversion device unconditionally selects a candidate phrase display area to display a one-character candidate phrase, the number “1” is actually input. The user who intends to input as will be confused. However, the input character conversion device of this configuration selects the candidate word / phrase display area when executing in the predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode. Therefore, for example, when the user inputs the number “1” as an input character, the candidate phrase display means inputs the number “1” representing one character, so that the candidate phrase display area is not selected by mistake.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of avoiding unnecessary confusion for the user who inputs numbers.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
When the user inputs the identification symbol, the display state of the general candidate display area where the identification symbol is displayed is changed to a display state indicating that the user can select a candidate phrase displayed in the general candidate display area. It is preferable to change.

  According to said structure, a candidate word display means changes the display state of the general candidate display area in which the identification symbol which the user input is displayed to a display state different from usual. Specifically, the display state of the general candidate display area is changed to a display state indicating that the user can select the displayed candidate word / phrase. For example, a selection cursor indicating that a candidate word / phrase is selected is displayed on any one candidate word / phrase displayed in the general candidate display area.

  As described above, when the user selects a candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters, the user may input the identification symbol by a predetermined input unit. For example, the user can display a selection cursor in the general candidate display area simply by pressing a button for inputting the symbol “#”.

  As described above, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect that the user can quickly perform an operation for selecting a general candidate display area displaying candidate words regardless of the number of characters.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
When the input character conversion device is operating in the candidate phrase selection mode for selecting the general candidate display area, the display state of the general candidate display area is changed to the candidate words displayed in the general candidate display area. It is preferable to change the display state to indicate that the user can select.

  When the input character conversion device is operating in a predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode for selecting the candidate word / phrase display area, the selection cursor is preferably displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

  According to said structure, the input character conversion apparatus can operate | move in the predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode for selecting a general candidate display area. If the user inputs an identification symbol while the input character conversion device is operating in this mode, the candidate word / phrase display means allows the user to select a candidate word / phrase for the general candidate display area displaying the identification symbol. Change the display status to indicate that you can do it. For example, a predetermined selection cursor is displayed in the general candidate display area.

  For the user, inputting the identification symbol into the input character conversion device includes inputting the identification symbol as an input character and inputting the identification symbol as a selection number in order to first select the general candidate display area. There are two meanings.

  When the user inputs an identification symbol, if the input character conversion device unconditionally selects a general candidate display area for displaying candidate words that are not related to the number of characters, the intention is that the identification symbol is actually input as an input character. Will be confused. However, the input character conversion device of this configuration selects the general candidate display area when executing in the predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode. Therefore, for example, when the user inputs the identification symbol “#” as an input character, the candidate phrase display means does not erroneously select the general candidate display area.

  For this reason, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of avoiding unnecessary confusion for the user who inputs the identification symbol.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
In the candidate phrase display area, when the candidate phrase is scrolled and displayed, it is preferable that the number of characters is fixed and displayed.

  According to the above configuration, the input character conversion device scrolls and displays a plurality of candidate words while fixedly displaying numbers representing the number of characters of the candidate words. Therefore, for example, when a candidate word / phrase displayed on the current display screen is scrolled and displayed by a user's instruction, a number representing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase is not erased from the display screen. Accordingly, the user can easily confirm the number of characters of the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area even after the candidate phrase is scrolled and displayed.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
In the general candidate display area, when the candidate words that are not related to the number of characters are scrolled and displayed, it is preferable that the identification symbols are fixedly displayed.

  According to the above configuration, the input character conversion device scrolls and displays a plurality of candidate phrases while fixedly displaying an identification symbol indicating that a candidate phrase regardless of the number of characters is displayed. Therefore, for example, when a candidate word or phrase displayed on the current display screen is scrolled and displayed according to a user instruction, the identification symbol is not erased from the display screen. Accordingly, the user can easily confirm the number of characters of the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area even after the candidate phrase is scrolled and displayed.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable that the candidate phrase display area is scrolled and displayed in units of the candidate phrase display area.

According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means scrolls and displays the candidate phrase display area in units of candidate phrase display areas. For example, it is assumed that the candidate phrase display means is currently displaying three different candidate phrase display areas. Specifically, a candidate phrase display area for displaying a one-character candidate phrase, a candidate phrase display area for displaying a two-character candidate phrase, and a candidate phrase display for displaying a three-character candidate phrase It is assumed that the areas are displayed side by side in the row direction. Here, for example, when the user presses the right scroll key, the candidate phrase display means deletes the candidate phrase display area for displaying the one-character candidate phrase from the screen, and the candidate for displaying the two-character candidate phrase. The phrase display area and the candidate phrase display area for displaying the three-character candidate phrase are shifted and displayed one by one for each candidate phrase display area. Furthermore, a candidate word / phrase display area for displaying a four-character candidate word / phrase that was not displayed before the scroll key was pressed is newly displayed. That is, when the scroll key is input in the state where the candidate words of 1, 2, 3 characters are displayed, the candidate words of 2 , 3 , 4 characters are displayed.

  Thereby, the operability of the apparatus can be further improved.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
The candidate phrase display areas are displayed adjacent to each other, and
The candidate phrase display area for displaying the candidate phrase having the same number of characters as the number of characters of the candidate phrase previously selected by the user is displayed at the top of the plurality of candidate phrase display areas to be displayed adjacent to each other. It is preferable.

  According to said structure, a candidate word display means displays a some candidate word display area adjacent to each other. As a result, candidate words / phrases with a specific number of characters are displayed together, and all these candidate words / phrases are also displayed together.

  The candidate phrase display means further specifies the number of characters of the candidate phrase selected last time by the user. For example, it is specified that the user previously selected a one-letter candidate phrase. Next, a candidate word / phrase display area for displaying candidate words / phrases having the same number of characters as the number of characters is displayed at the top of a plurality of candidate word / phrase display areas displayed adjacent to each other. For example, when displaying candidate words for each number of characters adjacent to each other in line units, a candidate word / phrase display area for displaying a one-character candidate word / phrase is displayed on the leftmost side.

  Thus, by confirming the candidate phrase display area displayed at the top, the user can easily confirm the number of characters of the previously selected candidate phrase. In general, a user is likely to select a candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters repeatedly. Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of further improving the convenience of selecting candidate words by the user.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable to display the plurality of candidate word / phrase display areas with different background colors.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays the plurality of candidate phrase display areas with the background colors different from each other. Thus, the user can confirm that candidate words / phrases having different numbers of characters are displayed in the candidate word / phrase display areas having different background colors. For example, it can be confirmed that a one-letter candidate phrase is displayed in the candidate phrase display area whose background color is red. Further, for example, it can be confirmed that a two-letter candidate phrase is displayed in the candidate phrase display area whose background color is green.

  Thus, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily distinguish each candidate word / phrase display area for displaying candidate words / phrases having a specific number of characters.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
The background colors of the plurality of candidate word / phrase display areas and the background color of the general candidate display area are preferably displayed different from each other.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display unit displays the background colors of the plurality of candidate phrase display areas and the background colors of the general candidate display areas, respectively, different from each other. Accordingly, the user can confirm that candidate words / phrases having different numbers of characters or candidate words / phrases not related to the number of characters are displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area and the general candidate display area having different background colors. For example, it can be confirmed that a one-letter candidate phrase is displayed in the candidate phrase display area whose background color is red. Furthermore, for example, it can be confirmed that candidate words that are not related to the number of characters are displayed in the general candidate display area whose background color is green.

  Thus, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect that allows the user to easily distinguish each candidate word / phrase display area and general candidate display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
Preferably, the number background color displayed in the currently selected candidate phrase display area is displayed differently from the number background color displayed in another candidate phrase display area different from the candidate phrase display area. .

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays the number background color indicating the number of characters to be displayed in the currently selected candidate phrase display area in another candidate phrase display area different from the candidate phrase display area. The number is displayed differently from the background color of the number representing the number of other characters. For example, the background color of the number displayed in the currently selected candidate word / phrase display area is displayed in red. On the other hand, all the background colors of the numbers displayed in the other candidate word / phrase display areas not currently selected are displayed in green.

  Thus, when the user wants to know which candidate phrase display area is currently selected, he / she only has to confirm a number whose background color is different from other numbers. For example, the user can recognize a candidate word / phrase display area whose number background color is displayed in red as a currently selected candidate word / phrase display area.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device having this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm the currently selected candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable that the background color of the identification symbol displayed in the currently selected general candidate display area is displayed differently from the background color of the numbers displayed in the candidate word display area.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate word display means displays the background color of the identification symbol displayed in the currently selected general candidate display area different from the background color of the numbers displayed in the candidate word display area. To do.

  For example, the background color of the identification symbol displayed in the general candidate display area is displayed in red. On the other hand, all the background colors of the numbers displayed in the other candidate word / phrase display areas not currently selected are displayed in green.

  Accordingly, when the user wants to know whether or not the general candidate display area is currently selected, it is only necessary to confirm an identification symbol having a background color different from that of the number. For example, the user can recognize that the general candidate display area is currently selected only by confirming that the background color of the identification symbol is red.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm the currently selected general candidate display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable to display the character color of the numeral displayed in the currently selected candidate word / phrase display area different from the character color of the numeral displayed in a general candidate display area different from the candidate word / phrase display area.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays the number character color indicating the number of characters to be displayed in the currently selected candidate phrase display area in another candidate phrase display area different from the candidate phrase display area. Different from the character color of the numbers representing the number of other characters. For example, the character color of the number displayed in the currently selected candidate phrase display area is displayed in red. On the other hand, all the character colors of the numbers displayed in the other candidate word / phrase display areas not currently selected are displayed in green.

  Thus, when the user wants to know which candidate phrase display area is currently selected, he / she only has to confirm a number whose character color is different from other numbers. For example, the user can recognize a candidate word / phrase display area in which a numeric character color is displayed in red as a currently selected candidate word / phrase display area.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device having this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm the currently selected candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable that the character color of the identification symbol displayed in the currently selected general candidate display region is different from the character color of the numbers displayed in the candidate word / phrase display region.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays the character color of the identification symbol displayed in the currently selected general candidate display area different from the numeric character color displayed in the candidate phrase display area. To do.

  For example, the character color of the identification symbol displayed in the general candidate display area is displayed in red. On the other hand, all the character colors of the numbers displayed in the other candidate word / phrase display areas not currently selected are displayed in green.

  Thereby, when the user wants to know whether or not the general candidate display area is currently selected, it is only necessary to confirm an identification symbol having a character color different from that of the numeral. For example, the user can recognize that the general candidate display area is currently selected only by confirming that the character color of the identification symbol is red.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm the currently selected general candidate display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable that the size of the number displayed in the currently selected candidate word / phrase display area is different from the number displayed in the general candidate display area different from the candidate word / phrase display area.

  According to said structure, a candidate word display means displays the size of the number showing the number of characters displayed on the currently selected candidate word display area in another candidate word display area different from this candidate word display area. , It is displayed differently from the size of numbers representing the number of other characters. For example, the number displayed in the currently selected candidate phrase display area is displayed 1.5 times larger than the number displayed in the currently selected candidate phrase display area.

  Thus, when the user wants to know which candidate phrase display area is currently selected, he / she only has to confirm a number whose size is different from other numbers. For example, the user can recognize a candidate word / phrase display area in which a number 1.5 times larger than other numbers is displayed as the currently selected candidate word / phrase display area.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device having this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm the currently selected candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable that the size of the identification symbol displayed in the currently selected general candidate display area is different from the number displayed in the candidate word display area.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays the size of the identification symbol displayed in the currently selected general candidate display area different from the size of the number displayed in the candidate phrase display area. For example, the identification symbol displayed in the general candidate display area is displayed 1.5 times larger than the number displayed in the currently selected candidate word / phrase display area.

  Accordingly, when the user wants to know whether or not the general candidate display area is currently selected, it is only necessary to confirm an identification symbol having a size different from that of the number. For example, the user can recognize that the general candidate display area is currently selected only by confirming that the size of the identification symbol is 1.5 times larger than the number.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm the currently selected general candidate display area.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an input character conversion device according to the present invention provides:
An input for displaying a plurality of candidate words that are previously associated with input characters input by the user on a predetermined display and determining a candidate word selected by the user from among the plurality of candidate words displayed on the display as a conversion word A character conversion device,
A candidate word / phrase of a certain number of characters among the plurality of candidate words / phrases is displayed in a predetermined candidate word / phrase display area on the display, and at least one number representing the number of the certain character and another number of characters different from the certain character number A candidate word / phrase display means for displaying two numbers in a predetermined selection symbol display area different from the candidate word / phrase display area on the display is provided.

  According to said structure, an input character conversion apparatus receives the input character input by the user. Thus, the candidate phrase display means displays a plurality of candidate phrases that are associated in advance with the received input characters on a predetermined display. The user selects, for example, one candidate word / phrase from the plurality of candidate words / phrases displayed on the display. The input character conversion device determines the candidate phrase selected by the user as the conversion phrase. As a result, the input character conversion device converts the input character input by the user into a predetermined conversion phrase.

  At this time, the candidate phrase display means displays a candidate phrase of a certain number of characters among a plurality of candidate phrases in a predetermined candidate phrase display area on the display. For example, a one-letter candidate phrase is displayed in a matrix form.

  The candidate phrase display means further displays a number representing the number of characters of the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area in a predetermined selection symbol display area different from the candidate phrase display area. For example, the candidate phrase display means displays a number “1” representing one character in the selection symbol display area. Furthermore, at least one of the numbers representing the number of characters different from the number of characters is also displayed in the selection symbol display area. For example, if there are a 2-character candidate word and a 3-character candidate word, numbers representing the number of characters of each candidate word, that is, “2” and “3” are displayed in the selection symbol display area.

  Thereby, the user can confirm the candidate word / phrase of the specific number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area. At the same time, it can also be confirmed by looking at the numbers displayed in the selection symbol display area that there are candidate words having other numbers of characters. Therefore, the user does not have to bother searching for the candidate words / phrases having the number of characters not displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

  As described above, the user who uses the input character conversion device does not need to waste time when searching for a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases. Thereby, the input character conversion device has an effect of allowing the user to quickly search for a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases.

In order to solve the above problem, the candidate word / phrase display method according to the present invention displays a plurality of candidate words / phrases previously associated with the input characters input by the user on a predetermined display and displays the plurality of candidate words / phrases displayed on the display. A candidate phrase display method for displaying the plurality of candidate phrases on an input character conversion device that determines a candidate phrase selected by the user as a conversion phrase from
A candidate word / phrase of a certain number of characters among the plurality of candidate words / phrases is displayed in a predetermined candidate word / phrase display area on the display, and at least one number representing the number of the certain character and another number of characters different from the certain character number The display includes a candidate word / phrase display step for displaying two numbers in a predetermined selection symbol display area different from the candidate word / phrase display area on the display.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect similar to the input character conversion apparatus which concerns on this invention.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable to display a candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters as the number selected by the user in the candidate word / phrase display area.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays the candidate phrase with the same number of characters as the number input by the user in the candidate phrase display area. For example, when the user inputs the number “1” representing one character, the one-letter candidate phrase is displayed in the candidate phrase display area.

  Thus, when the user wants to select a candidate word / phrase having a certain number of characters, the user may input a number representing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase using a predetermined input means. For example, if the selection cursor is moved to the numeral “2” using a predetermined cross key, the user can display a two-character candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area.

  In this way, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect that the user can quickly perform an operation for displaying a candidate word / phrase with a specific number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
An identification symbol indicating that a candidate word / phrase can be selected regardless of the number of characters is displayed at a predetermined display position in the selection symbol display area,
When the identification symbol is selected by the user, it is preferable to display a candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays a predetermined identification symbol at a predetermined display position in the selected symbol display area. For example, “#” is displayed as the identification symbol. The “identification symbol” here indicates that the user can select a candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters. That is, if the user selects this identification symbol, it is an identification symbol indicating that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

  If the user selects this identification symbol, the candidate phrase display means displays candidate phrases that are not related to the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area. Therefore, the user can next select a desired candidate phrase as a conversion phrase from candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters.

  As a result, the user can search for conversion words from candidate words / phrases not related to the number of characters in addition to candidate words / phrases of a specific number of characters. Therefore, in the input character conversion device of this configuration, there is an effect that the user can more easily search for a conversion word / phrase from a plurality of candidate words / phrases.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention,
The candidate phrase display means is:
When the user inputs a number, it is preferable to display a candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters as the number in the candidate word / phrase display area.

  According to the above configuration, when the user inputs a number, the candidate phrase display means displays the candidate phrase with the same number of characters as the number in the candidate phrase display area. For example, when the user inputs a number “1” representing one character, the candidate phrase display means displays the one-word candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area.

  Thus, when the user wants to select a candidate word / phrase having a certain number of characters, the user may input a number representing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase using a predetermined input means. For example, only by pressing a button for inputting the number “1”, the user can display one word candidate phrase in a candidate phrase display area on the display.

  As described above, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect that the user can quickly perform an operation for displaying a candidate word / phrase of a specific number of characters collectively in the candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
When the input character conversion device is operating in the candidate phrase switching mode for switching the candidate phrase display area, the candidate phrase having the same number of characters as the number input by the user is displayed in the candidate phrase display area. It is preferable.

  According to the above configuration, the input character conversion device can operate in a predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode for selecting a candidate word / phrase display area. If the user inputs a number when the input character conversion device is operating in this mode, the candidate phrase display means displays the candidate phrase with the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area. For example, when the user inputs a number “1” representing one character, a one-letter candidate phrase is displayed in the candidate phrase display area.

  For the user, inputting the number “1” to the input character conversion device means selecting “1” as an input character and displaying a one-letter candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area. There are two meanings of inputting "1" as

  When the user inputs the number “1”, if the input character conversion device unconditionally displays one character candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area, the number “1” is actually input as the input character. The intended user will be confused. However, when the input character conversion device of this configuration is executed in the predetermined candidate word selection mode, the candidate word / phrase to be displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area is switched. Therefore, for example, the user can input the number “1” as an input character. When input, the candidate phrase display means does not erroneously display a one-character candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area.

  As described above, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of avoiding unnecessary confusion for a user who inputs a number.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
When the identification symbol displayed in the selection symbol display area is input by the user, it is preferable that the candidate words / phrases irrespective of the number of characters are displayed in the candidate phrase display area.

  According to the above configuration, when the user inputs the identification symbol displayed in the selection symbol display area, the candidate phrase display means displays the candidate phrase regardless of the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area. For example, when the user inputs the identification symbol “#”, the candidate phrase display means displays candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area in the order of frequency selected in the past.

  Thus, when the user wants to select a conversion phrase from candidate words regardless of the number of characters, the identification symbol displayed in the selection symbol display area may be input by a predetermined input means. For example, by simply pressing a button for inputting the identification symbol “#”, the user can collectively display candidate words / phrases regardless of the number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area of the display.

  As described above, the input character conversion device of the present configuration has an effect of allowing the user to quickly perform an operation for displaying the candidate words / phrases regardless of the number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
When the input character conversion device is operating in a candidate phrase selection mode for selecting a candidate phrase to be displayed in the candidate phrase display area, the candidate phrase regardless of the number of characters is displayed in the candidate phrase display area. Is preferred.

  According to the above configuration, the input character conversion device can operate in a predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode for selecting a candidate word / phrase display area. If the user inputs an identification symbol while the input character conversion device is operating in this mode, the candidate phrase display means displays candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area. For example, when the user inputs “#”, which is an identification symbol, candidate phrases that are not related to the number of characters are displayed in the candidate phrase display area in the order of frequency selected in the past.

  For the user, inputting an identification symbol into the input character conversion device means that an identification symbol as an input character is input and an identification symbol as a selection symbol is displayed in order to display a candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area. There are two meanings of entering a symbol.

  When the user inputs the symbol “#”, if the input character conversion device unconditionally displays a candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area, the user actually intends to input the symbol “#” as the input character. Will be confused. However, the input character conversion device of this configuration switches candidate words to be displayed in the candidate word display area when executing in the predetermined candidate word selection mode. Therefore, for example, when the user inputs the symbol “#” as an input character, the candidate phrase display means does not erroneously display a candidate phrase that is not related to the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area.

  As described above, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of avoiding unnecessary confusion for the user who inputs the identification symbol displayed in the selection symbol display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
In the candidate phrase display area, when the candidate phrase is scrolled and displayed, it is preferable that the number of characters is fixed and displayed.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means scrolls and displays a plurality of candidate phrases in the candidate phrase display area while fixedly displaying numbers representing the number of characters of the candidate phrases in the candidate phrase display area. Therefore, for example, when a candidate word / phrase displayed on the current display screen is scrolled and displayed by a user's instruction, a number representing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase is not erased from the display screen.

  As a result, the input character conversion device of the present configuration has an effect that the user can easily confirm the number of characters of the candidate words displayed in the candidate word display area even after the candidate words are scrolled and displayed. Play.

The candidate phrase display means is:
In the candidate word / phrase display area, when the candidate word / phrase is scrolled and displayed, the identification symbol is preferably fixed and displayed.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays a plurality of candidate phrases while displaying the identification symbol indicating that the candidate phrase regardless of the number of characters is displayed in the candidate phrase display area. Scroll to display in the area. Therefore, for example, when the candidate word / phrase displayed on the current display screen is scrolled and displayed according to a user instruction, the identification symbol is not erased from the display screen.

  Thereby, the input character conversion device of this configuration allows the user to easily confirm that the candidate words / phrases irrespective of the number of characters are displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area even after scrolling and displaying the candidate words / phrases. There is an effect that can be.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
In the selection symbol display area, it is preferable that the number representing the number of characters is scrolled and displayed in units of the number.

  According to said structure, a candidate word display means scrolls and displays the number showing the number of characters of a candidate word by the said number unit in a selection symbol display area. For example, suppose that the candidate phrase display means currently displays 1, 2, and 3 as numbers representing the number of characters in the candidate phrase, arranged side by side in the column direction (vertical direction) in the selection symbol display area. Here, for example, when the user presses the down scroll key, the candidate word / phrase display means erases the number 1 and displays each of 2 and 3 by shifting them in units of numbers. Furthermore, the number 4 representing the four characters that were not displayed before the scroll key was input is newly displayed in the selection symbol display area. That is, when the numbers 1, 2, and 3 are displayed in the selection symbol display area, when the down scroll key is input, the numbers 2, 3, and 4 are displayed.

  Thereby, the operability of the apparatus can be further improved.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
When the user inputs the input character, it is preferable to display the candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters as the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase previously selected by the user in the candidate word / phrase display area.

  According to said structure, the input character conversion apparatus has memorize | stored the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase which the user selected last time. For example, it stores that the user has previously selected a one-letter candidate phrase. Thus, when the user next inputs a character, the candidate phrase display means displays the number of stored candidate phrases in the candidate phrase display area.

  For example, when the user inputs “Kami” as an input character, the candidate phrase display means displays one-character candidate phrase such as “paper” and “god” in the candidate phrase display area in the candidate phrase display area. . Therefore, when the user inputs a character to be converted, the user can first confirm a candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters as the previously selected candidate word / phrase in the candidate word / phrase display area.

  In general, a user is likely to select a candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters repeatedly. Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of further improving the convenience of selecting candidate words by the user.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
The background color of the candidate word display area when displaying the candidate word / phrase with a certain number of characters is different from the background color of the candidate word / display area when displaying a candidate word / phrase with a different number of characters from the number of characters. It is preferable to display it.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means flexibly changes the background color of the candidate phrase display area for displaying the candidate phrase according to the number of characters of the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area. For example, when displaying a one-word candidate phrase, the background color of the candidate phrase display area is displayed in red. Further, for example, when displaying a two-letter candidate phrase, the background color of the candidate phrase display area is displayed in green.

  Thus, the user only needs to confirm the background color of the candidate phrase display area when he / she wants to know the number of characters in the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area. For example, when the background color is displayed in red, the user can know that a one-word candidate phrase is currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to more quickly confirm the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
The background color of the candidate word / phrase display area when displaying candidate words / phrases not related to the number of characters is displayed differently from the background color of the candidate word / phrase display area when displaying candidate words / phrases with the specific number of characters. It is preferable.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays a candidate phrase that is not related to the number of characters as a background color of the candidate phrase display area for displaying the candidate phrase, and displays a candidate phrase with a specific number of characters. And make it different. For example, when displaying a candidate word regardless of the number of characters, the background color of the candidate word display area is displayed in red. On the other hand, for example, when displaying a two-letter candidate phrase, the background color of the candidate phrase display area is displayed in green.

  Thus, when the user wants to know whether or not a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area, it is only necessary to check the background color of the candidate word / phrase display area. For example, when the background color is displayed in red, the user can know that a candidate phrase that is not related to the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to more quickly confirm that a candidate phrase that is not related to the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable to display the background color of the number representing the number of characters of the candidate word currently displayed in the candidate word display area different from the background color of the number representing the number of other characters in the selection symbol display area. .

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means displays the number background color representing the number of characters in the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area, and the number background color representing the number of other characters in the selection symbol display area. And display differently. For example, the background color of the number “1” representing one character is displayed in red. Furthermore, the background color of the number “2” representing two characters is displayed in green, for example.

  Thus, when the user wants to know the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area, the user only has to confirm a number whose background color is different from other numbers in the selection symbol display area. For example, the user knows that the candidate word / phrase of the number of characters represented by the number is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area only by confirming the number displayed in red in the background color in the selection symbol display area. be able to.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
When candidate words that are not related to the number of characters are currently displayed in the candidate word display area, the background color of the identification symbol is displayed differently from the background color of the number representing the number of characters in the selection symbol display area. It is preferable to do.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means represents the number of characters in the background color of the identification symbol in the selected symbol display area when a candidate phrase that is not related to the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area. Display different from the background color of numbers. For example, the background color of the identification symbol is displayed in red. Furthermore, the background color of the number “2” representing two characters is displayed in green, for example.

  Thereby, the user can know that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area simply by confirming the background color of the identification symbol. For example, the user can confirm that the background color of the identification symbol is displayed in red in the selection symbol display area, and the candidate phrase that is not related to the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area. Can know.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable to display the character color of the number representing the number of characters of the candidate word currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display region different from the character color of the number representing the number of other characters in the selection symbol display region. .

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means converts the number character color representing the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area to the number character color representing the number of other characters in the selected symbol display area. And display differently. For example, the character color of the number “1” representing one character is displayed in red. Further, the character color of the number “2” representing two characters is displayed in green, for example.

  Thus, when the user wants to know the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area, the user only has to confirm a number having a different character color from the other numerals in the selected symbol display area. For example, the user knows that a candidate word / phrase of the number of characters represented by the number is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area only by confirming the number displayed in red in the character color in the selection symbol display area. be able to.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

The candidate phrase display means is:
When candidate words / phrases not related to the number of characters are currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area, the character color of the identification symbol is made different from the character color of a number representing the number of other characters in the selection symbol display area. Are preferably displayed.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means represents the number of characters in the character color of the identification symbol in the selected symbol display area when a candidate phrase that is not related to the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area. Display different from the text color of numbers. For example, the character color of the identification symbol is displayed in red. Further, the character color of the number “2” representing two characters is displayed in green, for example.

  Thereby, the user can know that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area simply by confirming the character color of the identification symbol. For example, the user can confirm that the character color of the identification symbol is displayed in red in the selection symbol display area, and the candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area. Can know.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

In the input character conversion device according to the present invention, further,
The candidate phrase display means is:
It is preferable that the number size representing the number of characters of the candidate words currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area is displayed differently from the number size representing the number of other characters in the selection symbol display area.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means makes the number representing the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area different from the number size representing the number of other characters in the selection symbol display area. indicate. For example, the number “1” representing one character is displayed 1.5 times larger than the number “2” representing two characters.

  Thus, when the user wants to know the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area, the user only has to confirm a number that is different in size from the other numerals in the selection symbol display area. For example, the user knows that a candidate phrase with the number of characters representing the number is currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area simply by confirming a number 1.5 times larger than the other numerals in the selection symbol display area. be able to.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

The candidate phrase display means is:
When candidate words / phrases that are not related to the number of characters are currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area, the size of the identification symbol in the selection symbol display area is different from the size of the number representing the number of other characters. It is preferable to display.

  According to the above configuration, the candidate phrase display means sets the size of the identification symbol in the selected symbol display area to the number representing the number of characters when a candidate phrase that is not related to the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area. Display different from the size of. For example, the character color of the identification symbol is displayed 1.5 times larger than the number “2” representing two characters.

  As a result, the user can know that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area simply by confirming the size of the identification symbol. For example, the user simply confirms in the selection symbol display area that the identification symbol is displayed 1.5 times larger than the number representing the number of characters, and the candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters is displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area. You can know what is currently displayed.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device of this configuration has an effect of allowing the user to easily confirm that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area.

  The input character conversion device may be realized by a computer. In this case, an input character conversion program for realizing the input character conversion device in the computer by operating the computer as each of the above means, and a computer-readable recording medium recording the input character conversion program are also within the scope of the present invention. enter.

  As described above, the input character conversion device according to the present invention combines a plurality of candidate words for each number of characters of the candidate words and displays them in a plurality of candidate word display areas having different display positions on the display. Since the means is provided, it is possible to cause the user to quickly search for a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Input character conversion device 1)
First, the configuration of the input character conversion device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an input character conversion apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to this figure, the input character conversion device 1 includes an operation unit 2, a display 3, an operation content analysis unit 4, an input mode switching unit 5, and a display unit 10 (candidate phrase display means).

(Operation unit 2)
The operation unit 2 receives an operation of the input character conversion device 1 by the user. For example, it accepts characters entered by the user.

(Display 3)
The display 3 displays predetermined information related to the input character conversion device 1. For example, a display screen is displayed for the user to select candidate words.

(Operation content analysis unit 4)
The operation content analysis unit 4 analyzes the content of the operation of the input character conversion device 1 by the user. Based on the analyzed content, the operation content analysis unit 4 outputs an instruction to each member. For example, when it is determined that the user has performed an operation for changing the operation mode of the input character conversion device 1, the operation content analysis unit 4 changes the operation mode of the input character conversion device 1 to the input mode switching unit 5. Output instructions.

(Input mode switching unit 5)
The input mode switching unit 5 changes the operation mode of the input character conversion device 1. The input character conversion device 1 is executed according to the operation mode set by the input mode switching unit 5. Details of this operation mode will be described later.

(Candidate phrase acquisition unit 6)
The candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 acquires candidate phrases that are associated in advance with the input characters input by the user from the candidate phrase database 7. The candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 outputs the acquired candidate phrase to the display unit 10.

(Candidate word database 7)
The candidate word / phrase database 7 is a database that stores a predetermined candidate word / phrase associated with an input character input by a user. For example, candidate words such as “letter”, “time”, and “time” are stored in association with the character “ji”.

(Temporary memory 8)
The temporary memory 8 stores various settings related to the input character conversion device 1. For example, a flag indicating the operation mode currently being executed by the input character conversion device 1 is stored.

(Display unit 10)
The display unit 10 displays predetermined information on the display 3. For example, an input character input by the user is displayed. Further, the candidate phrase acquired by the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 from the candidate phrase database 7 is displayed in a predetermined display area on the display 3.

  In the input character conversion device 1, the display unit 10 has a feature that is not found in the conventional device. Therefore, details of the display unit 10 included in the input character conversion device 1 will be further described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the display unit 10 includes a tag display unit 12, a candidate phrase display unit 14, and a scroll control unit 16.

(Tag display unit 12)
The tag display unit 12 displays, in a predetermined display area on the display 3, a number representing the number of characters of candidate words that are associated in advance with characters input by the user. For example, if there is a one-character candidate phrase, a two-character candidate phrase, and a three-character candidate phrase for the character entered by the user, the number “1” representing one character and the number “2” representing two characters , And a number “3” representing three characters are displayed.

(Candidate phrase display part 14)
The candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays candidate words / phrases previously associated with characters input by the user in a predetermined display area on the display 3 for each number of characters. For example, one-letter candidate words are collectively displayed in a display area. Further, two-character candidate words are displayed together in another display area different from the display area.

(Scroll control unit 16)
The scroll control unit 16 controls the tag display unit 12 and the candidate word display unit 14 when scrolling and displaying the candidate words displayed on the display 3. Details of this will be described later.

(External interface)
An external interface provided in the input character conversion device 1 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the appearance of the input character conversion device 1.

  According to this figure, the input character conversion device 1 includes a character input key 22, a mode switching key 24, a determination key 26, and a clear key 28 as a part of the operation unit 2. The character input key 22 is a key for inputting “a” as a character and “1” as a number to the input character conversion device 1. Thus, in the input character conversion device 1, a plurality of different characters can be input by pressing one character input key. In addition, the input character conversion device 1 includes various character input keys for inputting specific characters.

  The mode switching key 24 is a key for switching the operation mode of the input character conversion device 1. Every time the user presses the character input key 22, the operation mode of the input character conversion device 1 is switched to the candidate word selection mode or the character input mode. The character input mode is an operation mode for the user to input characters. The candidate phrase selection mode is a special operation mode for switching the type of candidate phrase displayed on the display 3 to be described later.

  The decision key 26 is a key to be pressed when the user selects a candidate word / phrase. The clear key 28 is a key that the user presses when it is desired to cancel the input characters or cancel the selection of candidate words.

(Display screen 50)
The input character conversion apparatus 1 has a feature that is not present in the method of displaying candidate words on the display 3. A display screen displayed on the display 3 by the input character conversion device 1 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 13. In this case, a method of determining the candidate word / phrase selected by the user looking at the display screen as the conversion word / phrase will be described in detail.

  First, the configuration of the display screen 50 displayed on the display 3 provided in the input character conversion device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a plurality of individual display areas for displaying candidate words having the same number of characters in a row for each number of characters.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 10 displays a display screen 50 on the display 3. The display screen 50 includes a confirmed sentence display area 52, a converted phrase display area 54, a determination button 56, and a candidate phrase display area 60.

(Confirmed sentence display area 52)
The fixed sentence display area 52 is a display area for displaying a fixed word / phrase string. Here, the fixed word / phrase string is a word / phrase string made up of words / phrases determined as conversion words / phrases by a method described later. In the display screen 50 shown in FIG. 3, the fixed phrase string “waiting” is displayed in the fixed sentence display area 52.

(Conversion phrase display area 54)
The conversion phrase display area 54 is a display area for displaying the input characters input by the user and the candidate phrases selected by the user. In the display screen 50 shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 10 displays the character string “ji” input by the user in the conversion phrase display area 54.

(OK button 56)
The determination button 56 is a button that is selected when the user determines a candidate word / phrase as a conversion word / phrase.

(Candidate phrase display area 60)
The candidate phrase display area 60 is a display area for displaying a list of a plurality of candidate phrases. The candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays candidate words / phrases of a specific number of characters collectively in a plurality of individual display areas (candidate word / phrase display areas). That is, the candidate words are classified according to the number of characters, and are displayed in a plurality of individual display areas having different display positions. At this time, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a plurality of individual display areas adjacent to each other. As a result, candidate words / phrases of a specific number of characters are displayed together, and all these candidate words / phrases are also displayed together in the candidate word / phrase display area 60.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, the candidate phrase display area 60 includes three individual display areas, that is, a one-character candidate display area 61 (candidate phrase display area), a two-character candidate display area 62 (candidate phrase display area), and 3 A character candidate display area 63 (candidate phrase display area) is included.

(One character candidate display area 61)
The one-character candidate display area 61 is an individual display area for displaying a one-character candidate word / phrase. In the example of FIG. 3, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays a plurality of one-character candidate words / phrases such as “character”, “thing”, and “time” in a single character candidate display area 61. The user can select a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases displayed in this display area.

(Two-character candidate display area 62)
The 2-character candidate display area 62 is an individual display area for displaying 2-character candidate phrases. In the example of FIG. 3, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a plurality of two-character candidate phrases such as “self”, “self”, and “ground” in a two-character candidate display area 62 in a line. The user can select a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases displayed in this display area.

(3-character candidate display area 63)
The 3-character candidate display area 63 is an individual display area for displaying 3-character candidate phrases. In the example of FIG. 3, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a plurality of three-character candidate phrases such as “bicycle”, “ready” and “freely” in a three-character candidate display area 63 in a line. Yes. The user can select a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases displayed in this display area.

(Procedure for displaying candidate words)
An example of a procedure in which the input character conversion device 1 displays candidate words in the candidate word display area 60 based on the character string input by the user will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a plurality of display areas for displaying the candidate words / phrases having the same number of characters for each character.

  In the following description, an example in which the character input by the user is “ji” will be described. The user inputs the character “ji” by pressing a predetermined button provided in the input character conversion device 1. The operation unit 2 receives this character. The operation content analysis unit 4 analyzes that the user has input “ji” as a character. As a result, the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 is instructed to acquire from the candidate phrase database 7 candidate phrases that are associated in advance with this character.

  The candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 inquires of the candidate phrase database 7 for candidate phrases starting with the character string input by the user. Thereby, the candidate word / phrase associated with the character input by the user is acquired from the candidate word / phrase database 7.

  Here, a candidate word / phrase that starts with a character input by the user means a word / phrase that matches forward with the input character string when expressed in kana. In the input character conversion device 1, such phrases are stored in advance in the candidate phrase database 7.

  For example, the candidate word / phrase database 7 stores words / phrases such as “ji”, “jitto”, “character”, “thing”, “self”, “self”, “bicycle”, and “ready” in association with the character string “ji”. Yes. That is, these candidate words are stored in advance using the character string “ji” as a predetermined key. Thus, for example, if the character string input by the user is “ji”, the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 acquires a candidate phrase such as “star” from the candidate phrase database 7.

(Summarize candidate words)
The candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 classifies the candidate phrases acquired from the candidate phrase database 7 according to the number of characters of the candidate phrases. Further, the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 records the classified candidate phrases in the temporary memory 8 in an array data format. For example, “ji”, “character”, “thing”, and the like are classified into one-character candidate phrases and recorded in the temporary memory 8 as one-character candidate phrase array data. Further, “self”, “self”, and the like are classified into two-character candidate phrases and recorded in the temporary memory 8 as two-character candidate phrase arrangement data. Further, “bicycle” and “ready” are classified into three-letter candidate words and recorded in the temporary memory 8 as three-letter phrase arrangement data.

  The candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 outputs the number of candidate phrases that can be displayed in the above-described candidate phrase display area 60 among the candidate phrases that are classified by the number of characters and recorded in the temporary memory 8 to the display unit 10. In the display unit 10, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the candidate words / phrases classified according to the number of characters in different display areas on the display 3.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 outputs the first six one-character candidate phrases included in the one-character candidate phrase array data to the candidate phrase display unit 14. Further, the top six two-character candidate phrases included in the two-character candidate phrase array data are also output to the candidate phrase display unit 14. Further, the first six three-character candidate phrases included in the three-character candidate phrase array data are also output to the candidate phrase display unit 14.

(Displaying candidate words)
The candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the obtained six one-character candidate words / phrases in a line in the one-character candidate display area 61. Further, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the obtained six two-character candidate words / phrases in a line in the two-character display area 62. Further, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the obtained six three-character candidate words / phrases in a line in the three-character candidate display area 63.

  As described above, the input character conversion device 1 classifies the plurality of candidate words for each number of characters and displays them in a plurality of display areas having different display positions. Next, the user is allowed to select a candidate phrase to be selected as a conversion phrase from a plurality of individual display areas displaying candidate phrases of a specific number of characters. Finally, the user is allowed to select one candidate phrase from the candidate phrases displayed in the selected individual display area.

(Selecting candidate words)
Next, the input character conversion device 1 causes the user to select any one candidate phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases displayed in the candidate phrase display area 60, and determines the selected candidate phrase as a conversion phrase Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a view showing a display screen 50 including a selection cursor 70 displayed on one candidate word / phrase selected by the user.

(Display of selection cursor 70)
In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the user selects “one character candidate display area 61” after inputting “ji” as a character. As a result, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the selection cursor 70 on any of the candidate phrases included in the display area. The selection cursor 70 is for selecting a candidate word / phrase. In the example of FIG. 4, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the selection cursor 70 at “hour”. The display unit 10 displays the candidate phrase indicated by the selection cursor 70 in the converted phrase display area 54 as the selected phrase 72. In the example of FIG. 4, the display unit 10 displays “hour” as the selected phrase 72.

(Shape of selection cursor 70)
The shape of the selection cursor 70 may be any shape as long as it allows the user to recognize that one of the displayed candidate words is pointed to. In the input character conversion apparatus 1, the selection cursor 70 is a rectangle. That is, when the number “1” is input by the user, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a rectangular selection cursor 70 large enough to contain one single-character candidate phrase on the top line of the single-character candidate display area 61. Is displayed at a position that includes the candidate word / phrase (here, “letter”).

  The input character conversion device 1 causes the user to select any one individual display area included in the candidate phrase display area 60. Next, one of the displayed candidate words is selected.

(Changing the display position of the selection cursor 70)
The input character conversion device 1 can appropriately change the position where the selection cursor 70 is displayed based on a user instruction. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the selection cursor 70 displayed in the one-character candidate display area 61 in a further upper candidate phrase or in a lower candidate phrase. it can.

  At this time, the user presses an up key or a down key for moving the selection cursor 70. As a result, the candidate phrase display unit 14 changes the position of the selection cursor so that the candidate phrase displayed above or below the candidate phrase that has been displaying the selection cursor so far is displayed. Next, the display unit 10 displays the new candidate phrase indicated by the selection cursor 70 in the converted phrase display area 54 as the selected phrase 72.

  For example, when the display screen 50 shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display 3, when the user wants to select “next”, the user presses the down key. Thereby, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the selection cursor 70 at a position indicating “next” which is the candidate word / phrase displayed under “hour”. Further, when the user tries to select “Ground” and inputs the down key again, the candidate phrase display unit 14 moves the selection cursor 70 to “Ground” which is the phrase displayed under “Next”. Display at the indicated position.

  Thereby, the user can select a desired candidate word / phrase as the selected word / phrase 72 from the candidate words / phrases displayed in the selected individual display area. Further, the user can confirm which word / phrase is currently selected as the selected word / phrase 72 by viewing the display position of the selection cursor 70.

(Display candidate words regardless of the number of characters)
The input character conversion device 1 can display a plurality of candidate words on the display 3 regardless of the number of characters of the candidate words. This example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 includes a one-character candidate display area 61 for displaying one-character candidate phrases in one line and a two-character candidate display area 62 for displaying two-character candidate phrases in one line. It is a figure which shows the display screen 50 containing the general candidate display area 68 for displaying the candidate word / phrase which does not depend on one line.

  According to this figure, the display unit 10 includes a display screen 50 including a general candidate display area 68 (general candidate display area) in addition to the one-character candidate display area 61 and the two-character candidate display area 62 on the display 3. indicate. The general candidate display area 68 is one of individual display areas for displaying candidate words regardless of the number of characters.

(Sorting candidate words)
Hereinafter, an example will be described in which the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the candidate phrases that are not related to the number of characters in the general candidate display area 68 in the order of frequency converted in the past.

  When the character string input by the user is input to the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6, the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 inquires of the candidate phrase database 7 about a candidate phrase that is associated with the character string in advance. Thereby, a plurality of candidate phrases are acquired from the candidate phrase database 7. At this time, the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 acquires the candidate phrases without regard to the number of characters, that is, without classification according to the number of characters.

  The candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 sorts the plurality of candidate phrases acquired from the candidate phrase database 7 in the order of frequency selected in the past. Note that the frequency with which each candidate word is selected in the past is stored in the candidate word database 7 in association with each candidate word. Therefore, when the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 acquires candidate phrases from the candidate phrase database 7, it simultaneously acquires the number of times each candidate phrase has been determined as a conversion phrase. For this purpose, the candidate phrases acquired from the candidate phrase database 7 are sorted. The candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 records the sorted candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters in the temporary memory 8 as array data.

(Displaying candidate words)
The candidate phrase acquisition unit 6 outputs to the display unit 10 the number of candidate phrases that can be displayed at once in the general candidate display area 68 among the candidate phrases recorded in the temporary memory 8. The candidate phrase display unit 14 arranges and displays the sorted candidate phrases in the general candidate display area 68 in order of use frequency. Thereby, in this general candidate display area 68, for example, a one-character candidate phrase, a two-character candidate phrase, and a three-character candidate phrase are displayed. The same applies to four or more characters. That is, any number of characters that are associated with input characters in advance are displayed in the general candidate display area 68.

  As a result, the user can search for a conversion phrase from the general candidate display area 68 in addition to a plurality of individual display areas (such as the one-character candidate display area 61) displaying candidate words of a specific number of characters. Therefore, it becomes easier for the user to search for a conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases.

(Displays the number of characters)
The input character conversion device 1 may display a number representing the number of characters of the candidate word to be displayed at a predetermined position in each individual display area. This example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 that includes a plurality of display areas for each number of characters for displaying candidate words and phrases arranged in a line and the number of characters of the candidate words.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the tag display unit 12 displays “1” representing the number of characters of the candidate words to be displayed as a tag at the top of the one-character candidate display area 61. Also, “2” representing the number of characters of the candidate word to be displayed is displayed as a tag at the top of the two-character candidate display area 62. Further, “3” representing the number of characters of the candidate word to be displayed is displayed as a tag at the top of the three-character candidate display area 63.

  As described above, the tag display unit 12 displays a number representing the number of characters of the displayed candidate word / phrase in each of the plurality of individual display areas for displaying the candidate word / phrase having a specific number of characters. Thereby, the user can know the number of characters of the candidate words displayed in the individual display area by looking at the numbers displayed in the individual display areas. Therefore, for example, when the user wants to search for a one-letter candidate word / phrase, only by looking at the number “1” representing one letter, You can move your eyes.

  As described above, the user who uses the input character conversion device 1 does not need to count the number of characters of the displayed candidate words in order to know how many candidate words are displayed in which individual display area. Therefore, the individual display area in which the candidate words / phrases having a specific number of characters are displayed can be retrieved more quickly by the user.

(Enter numbers to indicate the number of characters)
In the input character conversion device 1, a number representing the number of characters is assigned to each individual display area for displaying a candidate word / phrase having a specific number of characters. This allocation information is stored in advance in the temporary memory 8, for example. Therefore, when the user inputs a number, the input character conversion device 1 may change the display state of the individual display area in which the candidate words / phrases having the number of characters of the number are displayed to a display state different from the normal display state.

  In addition, the input of the number here includes an act of designating a tag or a number icon displayed on the screen by the user. In other words, the act of the user operating the mouse and clicking a tag or a numeric icon also corresponds to a numeric input act. Thus, in this invention, it is the same meaning that a user designates a number using some means as inputting a number. This is true in common with each embodiment of the present specification.

  Specifically, the candidate phrase display unit 14 changes the display state of the individual display area to a display state that indicates that the user can select the displayed candidate phrase. For example, the selection cursor 70 indicating that a candidate word / phrase is selected is displayed on any one candidate word / phrase.

  Thus, when the user wants to select a candidate word / phrase having a certain number of characters, first, the user may input a number representing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase through the operation unit 2. For example, the user can cause the selection cursor 70 to be displayed in the one-character candidate display area 61 displaying a one-word candidate word / phrase only by pressing a button for inputting the number “1”.

  Thereby, the input character conversion device 1 can cause the user to quickly perform an operation for selecting an individual display area displaying a candidate word / phrase having a specific number of characters.

(Candidate phrase selection mode)
The candidate phrase display unit 14 allows the user to select a candidate phrase for display of the individual display area when the input character conversion device 1 is operating in a predetermined candidate phrase selection mode for selecting the individual display area. You may change to the display state which shows.

  That is, the input character conversion device 1 can operate in a predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode for selecting an individual display area such as the one-character candidate display area 61. For example, when the user presses the mode switching key 24, the operation mode can be switched and the candidate word / phrase selection mode can be selected. Information regarding which operation mode the input character conversion apparatus 1 executes is stored in the temporary memory 8 in the form of a flag.

  If the user inputs a number when the input character conversion device 1 is operating in the candidate phrase selection mode, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the individual display area displaying the candidate phrase of the number of characters of the number, The display state is changed to indicate that the user can select a candidate word / phrase. For example, the selection cursor 70 is displayed in this individual display area.

  As described above, the input character conversion device 1 is a small portable terminal device. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, it has only a limited number of input keys. Therefore, a plurality of functions are assigned to one input key.

  For example, when the user presses the input key 21, the input character conversion device 1 can interpret the press as input of the numeral “1”. Alternatively, it can be interpreted as an input of “a” in hiragana. Further, it can be interpreted as a pressing action for selecting the one-character candidate display area 61 and displaying the selection cursor 70 in this area.

  Thus, in the input character conversion apparatus 1, one input key has a plurality of meanings. However, generally, when the user inputs the same key, the input signal received by the input character conversion device 1 is always the same. Therefore, the input character conversion device 1 executes different processes according to the operation mode even when the same key is input and the same input signal is received by switching the operation mode to operate. The user can arbitrarily switch the operation mode of the input character conversion device 1 by pressing the mode switching key 24 described above.

  For example, when the input character conversion device 1 is operating in the “Hiragana input mode” for inputting hiragana, if the user presses the input key 21, the hiragana “a” is displayed in the input character display area 54. To do. Further, when operating in the “number input mode” for inputting numbers, if the user inputs the input key 21, the number “1” is displayed in the input character display area 54. Further, when operating in the “candidate phrase selection mode” for selecting an individual display area, if the user inputs the input key 21, the input character conversion device 1 will display the number input by the user (in this case, 1 The selection cursor 70 is displayed in the individual display area for displaying the candidate words having the number of characters equal to. Therefore, the user can select a one-word candidate phrase from this area.

  For the user, inputting “1” as the number of characters to the input character conversion device 1 is to input “1” as an input character and to display a one-character candidate display area 61 for displaying one-character candidate word / phrase. First, to select, there are two meanings of inputting “1” as a selection number.

  When the user inputs the number “1”, if the input character conversion device 1 unconditionally selects the one-character candidate display area 61 to display a one-character candidate word / phrase, the number “1” is actually the number “1”. The user who intends to input as the input character will be confused.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device 1 may select an individual display area corresponding to a number input by the user when executing in the predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode. Conversely, when the input character conversion device 1 is executing in the character input mode, even if the user inputs an identification symbol, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays an individual display area such as the one-character candidate display area 61. Do not change state.

  Therefore, for example, when the input character conversion device 1 is executing in the character input mode, even if the user inputs the number “1” as the input character, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the one-character candidate display area 61. There is no wrong choice. For this reason, the input character conversion device 1 does not give unnecessary confusion to the user who inputs numbers.

In addition,
(Use of numeric keypad)
Note that the input character conversion device 1 may include a key for inputting numbers and a key for selecting an individual display area as separate keys. For example, a normal keyboard key may be provided as a key for inputting a number, and a so-called numeric keypad may be provided as a key for selecting an individual display area. At this time, when the user presses the “1” key on the keyboard, the input character conversion device 1 displays the number “1”. On the other hand, when the user presses the “1” key of the numeric keypad, the input character conversion device 1 selects the one-character candidate display area 61 for selecting one-character candidate word / phrase.

(Determination of conversion words)
As described above, the input character conversion device 1 can cause the user to select an arbitrary word / phrase as the selected word / phrase 72 from candidate words / phrases corresponding to the character string input by the user. After confirming that the desired word / phrase has been selected as the selected word / phrase 72, the user inputs the decision button 56. Thereby, the input character conversion apparatus 1 determines the selected phrase 72 selected by the user as the converted phrase. Further, information on the determined conversion phrase is stored in the temporary memory 8.

(Addition to finalized sentence)
When the user inputs the determination button 56, the display unit 10 additionally displays the determined conversion phrase in the fixed sentence display area 52. That is, the conversion phrase is added and displayed at the end of the currently displayed finalized sentence. Further, the display unit 10 clears the converted phrase display area 54 and the candidate phrase display area 60. Thereby, the user can visually confirm the displayed new fixed phrase string. After confirmation, the user inputs a new character string to be converted.

(Candidate word scroll)
As described above, each individual display area such as the one-character candidate display area 61 and the two-character candidate display area 62 has a limited number of candidate words that can be displayed at one time. Therefore, the candidate phrase display unit 14 cannot always display all candidate phrases corresponding to the characters input by the user in the individual display area at the same time.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, each of the individual display areas displays only six candidate words at a time. As a result, when there are more than six candidate words having a specific number of characters, candidate words that cannot be displayed in the individual display area are generated.

  Therefore, the input character conversion apparatus 1 has a scroll function described below, and appropriately scrolls and displays candidate words that cannot be displayed in the individual display area. Thus, the user can display and select the candidate words displayed in the current individual display area by scrolling the line display.

(Details of scroll processing)
An example in which the selection cursor 70 is displayed at a position indicating the candidate word / phrase on the bottom line of the one-character candidate display area 61 will be described. At this time, the user presses the down key. Thereby, the scroll control unit 16 starts the candidate word / phrase displayed in the m-th line from the candidate word / phrase displayed in the second line of the one-character candidate display area 61 and the candidate displayed in the m-th line. The candidate phrases arranged next to the phrases are acquired from the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6.

  The candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the candidate word / phrase displayed in the nth line in the one-character candidate display area 61 in the (n−1) th line. Further, the candidate word / phrase next to the candidate word / phrase displayed in the m-th line is displayed in the m-th line. Here, m is the number of candidate words that can be displayed in the one-character candidate display area 61 (a positive integer). N is an integer of 2 or more and m or less.

  The phrase next to the phrase displayed in the m-th line is a candidate phrase arranged in succession to the phrase displayed in the m-th line in the candidate phrase array data recorded in the temporary memory 8 described above. Of words having a larger address.

(Scroll up)
Next, an example will be described in which the user presses the up key in a state where the selection cursor 70 is displayed at a position indicating the uppermost candidate word / phrase in the one-character candidate display area 61. At this time, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 is displayed on the candidate word / phrase that comes before the candidate word / phrase displayed on the first line in the first character candidate display area 61 and on the first line of the first character candidate display area 61. The candidate phrases displayed in the (m−1) th stage from the candidate phrases are acquired from the candidate phrase acquisition unit 6, respectively.

  The candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the candidate word / phrase that comes before the candidate word / phrase displayed on the first line in the one-character candidate display area 61 on the first line, and the word / phrase displayed on the n-th line, Displayed on the (n + 1) th line. Here, n is an integer of 1 or more and less than m. In addition, the phrase that comes before the phrase that is displayed in the first line is arranged in succession to the candidate phrase that is displayed in the m-th line in the candidate phrase array data recorded in the temporary memory 8 described above. Among the candidate phrases, the candidate phrase has the smaller address.

(Fixed number display)
The display unit 10 can scroll and display the candidate words while fixing and displaying the number representing the number of characters in each individual display area. This example will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen 50 displayed when scrolling a plurality of candidate words arranged in a line while fixing the number of characters to be displayed. FIG. FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a display screen 50 that includes a two-character candidate display area 62 that includes a candidate word / phrase before being displayed, and FIG. 7 (b) is a two-character candidate display area that includes the candidate word / phrase after being scrolled. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display screen 50 including 62.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the selection cursor 70 in the two-character candidate display area 62 before scrolling the candidate phrase. Specifically, the selection cursor 70 is displayed on the candidate phrase “earthquake”.

  Here, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 scrolls up and displays the candidate word / phrase by two, under the control of the scroll control unit 16 according to the user's operation. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7B, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the selection cursor 70 on the candidate word / phrase “hour”.

  At this time, in the input character conversion device 1, the scroll control unit 16 controls the display of tags by the tag display unit 12 and the display of candidate words by the candidate word display unit 14. That is, the scroll control unit 16 controls the tag display unit 12 so that the tag is fixed and displayed. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, before and after the candidate word is scrolled, the display position of the number “2” indicating the number of characters of the candidate word does not change at all.

  As described above, the input character conversion device 1 scrolls and displays a plurality of candidate words while fixedly displaying numbers representing the number of characters of the candidate words. Therefore, for example, when the candidate word / phrase displayed on the current display screen 50 is scrolled and displayed by the user's instruction, the number representing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase is not erased from the display screen 50. Thus, the user can easily confirm the number of characters of the candidate words displayed in the individual display area even after scrolling through the candidate words and searching.

  Note that the input character conversion device 1 may scroll and display a plurality of candidate phrases while fixedly displaying an identification symbol indicating that a candidate phrase regardless of the number of characters is displayed. Thereby, for example, when the candidate words or phrases displayed on the current display screen 50 are scrolled and displayed according to a user instruction, the identification symbol is not erased from the display screen 50. Thus, the user can easily confirm that the candidate words / phrases irrespective of the number of characters are displayed in the individual display area even after scrolling through the candidate words / phrases and searching.

(Scroll display of candidate word display area)
Moreover, the input character conversion apparatus 1 can also scroll and display a plurality of candidate word / phrase display areas in units of the areas. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the display unit 10 displays a one-character candidate display area 61, a two-character candidate display area 62, and a three-character candidate display area 63 on the display 3. To do. Here, it is assumed that the user presses the right scroll key as the scroll key. Then, the display unit 10 erases the one-character candidate display area 61 from the screen of the display 3 and displays the two-character candidate display area 62 and the three-character candidate display area 63 while shifting to the left in units of individual display areas. Further, a 4-character candidate phrase display area (not shown) that has not been displayed before the right scroll key is input is newly displayed on the right side of the display 3 ( that is, the position where the 3-character candidate display area 63 is displayed ). To display.

  As described above, when the right scroll key is pressed while the display unit 3 displays the candidate words of 1, 2, and 3 characters in order from the left of the screen, the candidate words of 2, 3, and 4 characters are displayed. Are displayed in order from the left of the screen. Thus, the user can select a conversion phrase from the four-letter candidate phrases by inputting the number 4. If there are 5 or 6 character candidate phrases, the individual display area for displaying these candidate phrases can be scrolled one after another each time the user presses the right scroll key.

  In addition, the display part 10 can also arrange and display each candidate word / phrase put together for every number of characters in the line direction on a screen. In this case, the horizontally long candidate word / phrase display areas are displayed side by side in the column direction. Therefore, when the user presses the up / down scroll key, the plurality of candidate word / phrase display areas can be scroll-displayed in the column direction.

  As described above, the display unit 10 may scroll and display each candidate word / phrase display area in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which each candidate word / phrase is scroll-displayed. Thereby, a user's operativity can be improved further.

(Display of identification symbol)
Note that the display unit 10 included in the input character conversion device 1 may display an identification symbol indicating that a candidate word or phrase regardless of the number of characters is displayed at a predetermined display position in the candidate display area 60. This example will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 8 shows a one-character candidate display area 61 for displaying a one-character candidate phrase displayed in a row and a number representing one character, a two-character candidate phrase displayed in a row, and two characters. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a two-character candidate display area 62 for displaying numbers and a general candidate display area 68 for displaying candidate words and phrases and predetermined identification symbols that do not depend on the number of characters. is there. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the character string “frequency order” as an identification symbol at the top of the general candidate display area 68. This character string indicates that a plurality of candidate words are displayed in the order of frequency selected in the past in the general candidate display area 68.

  FIG. 9 shows a one-character candidate display area 61 for displaying a one-character candidate phrase displayed in a row and a number representing one character, a two-character candidate phrase displayed in a row, and two characters. Another display screen 50 including a two-character candidate display area 62 for displaying numbers and a general candidate display area 68 for displaying candidate words and phrases and predetermined identification symbols that do not depend on the number of characters is shown. FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the symbol “#” as an identification symbol at the top of the general candidate display area 68. This symbol also represents that a plurality of candidate words are displayed in the general candidate display area 68 in the order of frequency selected in the past.

  A user who sees these identification symbols or identification character strings can easily confirm that candidate words that are not related to the number of characters are displayed in the general candidate display area 68. Therefore, the user does not have to analyze the display configuration of each candidate word displayed in the general candidate display area 68 in order to confirm that the candidate words regardless of the number of characters are displayed. Thereby, the input character conversion device 1 can cause the user to quickly search in which display area on the display the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed.

(Input identification code)
As described above, in the input character conversion device 1, a predetermined identification symbol (for example, “#”) different from a number is assigned to the general candidate display area 68 for displaying candidate words regardless of the number of characters. ing. This allocation information is stored in advance in the temporary memory 8, for example. Therefore, when the user inputs an identification symbol, the display state of the general candidate display area 68 in which the identification symbol is displayed may be changed to a display state different from the normal state.

  Specifically, the display state of the general candidate display area 68 is changed to a display state indicating that the user can select the displayed candidate word / phrase. For example, a selection cursor 70 indicating that a candidate word / phrase is selected is displayed in any one candidate word / phrase displayed in the general candidate display area 68. Thereby, when the user wants to select a candidate word regardless of the number of characters, the identification symbol displayed in the general candidate display area 68 may be input by a predetermined input means. For example, the user can cause the selection cursor 70 to be displayed in the general candidate display area 68 simply by pressing a button for inputting the symbol “#”.

  As a result, the input character conversion device 1 can cause the user to quickly perform an operation for selecting the general candidate display area 68 displaying the candidate words regardless of the number of characters.

(Candidate phrase selection mode)
When the input character conversion device 1 is operating in a predetermined candidate phrase selection mode for selecting the general candidate display area 68, the candidate phrase display section 14 displays the candidate word / phrase as a display of the general candidate display area 68. You may change to the display state which shows that a user can select.

  If the user inputs an identification symbol while the input character conversion device 1 is operating in the candidate phrase selection mode, the candidate phrase display unit 14 selects the general candidate display area 68 displaying the identification symbol as a candidate. The display state is changed to indicate that the user can select a phrase. For example, the selection cursor 70 is displayed in the general candidate display area 68. Conversely, when the input character conversion device 1 is executing in the character input mode, even if the user inputs an identification symbol, the candidate phrase display unit 14 does not change the display state of the general candidate display area 68.

  For the user, inputting an identification symbol into the input character conversion apparatus 1 includes inputting an identification symbol as an input character and inputting an identification symbol as a selection symbol in order to select the general candidate display area 68 first. There are two meanings.

  When the user inputs an identification symbol, if the input character conversion device 1 unconditionally selects the general candidate display area 68 for displaying candidate words and phrases irrespective of the number of characters, the identification symbol is actually input as the input character. The user who intends to do so will be confused. However, if the general character display area 68 is selected when the input character conversion device 1 is executing in the candidate phrase selection mode, for example, when the user inputs the identification symbol “#” as an input character, the candidate The phrase display unit 14 does not select the general candidate display area 68 by mistake. For this reason, the input character conversion device 1 does not cause unnecessary confusion to the user who inputs the identification symbol.

(Change display area background color)
In the input character conversion device 1, the candidate phrase display unit 14 may display the background color of the currently selected individual display area different from the background color of another individual display area that is different from the individual display area. . This example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including an individual display area in which a background color different from the background color displayed in another individual display area is displayed.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the display unit 10 displays the background color of the currently selected two-character candidate display area 62 in gray. On the other hand, the background color of the other one-character candidate display area 61 that is not currently selected and the background color of the three-character candidate display area 63 are displayed in white.

  Thus, the user only needs to confirm the background color when he / she wants to know which individual display area is currently selected. For example, the user can recognize the two-character candidate display area 62 whose background color is gray as the currently selected individual display area. In other words, the input character conversion device 1 allows the user to easily confirm the currently selected individual display area.

  The above example is the same when the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed in the general candidate display area 68. That is, in the input character conversion device 1, the candidate phrase display unit 14 uses the background color of the currently selected general candidate display area 68 as the background color of other individual display areas for displaying candidate words of a specific number of characters. It may be displayed differently.

Thereby, the user can confirm whether or not the general candidate display area 68 is currently selected only by confirming the background color of the individual display area . For example, the user can recognize the general candidate display area 68 whose background color is gray as the currently selected individual display area. In other words, the input character conversion device 1 allows the user to easily confirm the currently selected individual display area.

(Change tag size)
In the input character conversion device 1, the tag display unit 12 displays the size of a number (tag) indicating the number of characters displayed in the currently selected individual display area in another individual display area different from the individual display area. , It may be displayed differently from the size of a number representing the number of other characters. This example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including an individual display area in which the number of characters larger than the number of characters displayed in another individual display area is displayed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 11, the display unit 10 sets the size of the number to be displayed in the currently selected two-character candidate display area 62 to other one-character candidate display areas 61 and three-character candidates that are not currently selected. The size is 1.5 times larger than the size of the number displayed in the display area 63.

  Thus, when the user wants to know which individual display area is currently selected, it is only necessary to confirm a number that is different in size from other numbers. For example, the user can recognize the two-character candidate display area 62 in which numbers larger than other numbers are displayed as the currently selected individual display area. Thereby, the input character conversion device 1 can make the user easily confirm the currently selected individual display area.

  The candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the size of the identification symbol displayed in the currently selected general candidate display area 68 in another individual display area different from the general candidate display area 68. It may be displayed differently from the size of. This also allows the input character conversion device 1 to allow the user to easily confirm the currently selected individual display area.

(Change tag background color)
In the input character conversion device 1, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the background color of the number representing the number of characters displayed in the currently selected individual display area in another individual display area different from the individual display area. You may display different from the background color of the number showing the number of other characters. This example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including an individual display area in which the number of characters of a background color and a character color different from the background color and the character color of the number of characters displayed in another individual display area is displayed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 12, the display unit 10 displays the background color of the number displayed in the currently selected two-character candidate display area 62 in gray. On the other hand, all the background colors of the numbers displayed in the other one-character candidate display area 61 and the three-character candidate display area 63 that are not currently selected are displayed in white.

  Thus, when the user wants to know which individual display area is currently selected, it is only necessary to confirm a number having a background color different from other numbers. For example, the user can recognize that the two-character candidate display area 62 in which the background color of the number is displayed in gray is the currently selected individual display area. Thereby, the input character conversion device 1 can make the user easily confirm the currently selected individual display area.

  The candidate word / phrase display unit 14 represents the number of specific characters to be displayed in another individual display area different from the general candidate display area 68, in which the background color of the identification symbol displayed in the currently selected general candidate display area 68 is displayed. It may be displayed differently from the background color of the numbers. This also allows the input character conversion device 1 to allow the user to easily confirm the currently selected individual display area.

(Change tag text color)
Further, in the input character conversion device 1, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the character color of the number representing the number of characters displayed in the currently selected individual display area in another individual display area different from the individual display area. It may be displayed differently from the character color of the numbers representing the number of other characters. This example will also be described below with reference to FIG.

  In the example shown in FIG. 12, the display unit 10 displays the character color of the number displayed in the currently selected two-character candidate display area 62 in white. On the other hand, all the character colors of the numbers displayed in the other one-character candidate display area 61 and the three-character candidate display area 63 that are not currently selected are displayed in black.

  Thus, when the user wants to know which individual display area is currently selected, he / she only has to confirm a number whose character color is different from other numbers. For example, the user can recognize the two-character candidate display area 62 in which the numeric character color is displayed in white as the currently selected individual display area. Thereby, the input character conversion device 1 can make the user easily confirm the currently selected individual display area.

  The candidate phrase display unit 14 represents the number of specific characters displayed in the individual display area different from the general candidate display area 68 in the character color of the identification symbol displayed in the currently selected general candidate display area 68. It may be displayed differently from the character color of the numbers. This also allows the input character conversion device 1 to allow the user to easily confirm the currently selected individual display area.

(Order for displaying individual display areas)
In the example described above, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the individual display areas in parallel from the left end of the display screen 50 in the order of the number of characters of the candidate phrases to be displayed. For example, in the example of FIG. 6, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the one-character candidate display area 61 at the left end, displays the two-character candidate display area 62 on the right side, and displays the three-character candidate display area 63 on the right end. it's shown.

  However, the method by which the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the individual display area is not limited to this. For example, the candidate phrase display unit 14 may display an individual display area for displaying a candidate phrase having the same number of characters as the number of characters of the candidate phrase selected last time by the user at the top. In this case, it may be displayed at the leftmost end on the display screen 50. This example will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a display area corresponding to the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase selected by the user last time.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 13, the user has previously selected a three-letter candidate phrase. Information relating to the number of characters of the candidate phrase selected by the user last time is stored in the temporary memory 8. Therefore, when the user next inputs a character, the candidate phrase display unit 14 first specifies the number of characters of the candidate phrase selected by the user last time in the temporary memory 8. In this example, it is specified that the user has previously selected a three-letter candidate phrase. Thereby, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the three-character candidate display area 63 at the left end in the candidate phrase display area 60. That is, this display area is displayed at the top.

  By confirming the 3-character candidate display area 63 displayed at the top, the user can easily confirm that the number of characters of the previously selected candidate word / phrase is 3 characters. In general, a user is likely to select a candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters repeatedly. Therefore, the user who previously selected the three-letter candidate phrase can first examine the selection from the three-letter candidate phrase. Thereby, the input character conversion apparatus 1 can further improve the convenience of selection of candidate words by the user. When words having the same number of characters are selected as conversion words in succession, the user can convert input characters while always paying attention to the individual display area displayed at the top.

[Embodiment 2]
A second embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Also in this embodiment, the configuration of the input character conversion device 1 is the same as that of the first embodiment. However, in the present embodiment, the input character conversion device 1 displays a display screen 50 different from that in the first embodiment on the display 3. Specifically, the display method of candidate words and tags displayed on the display screen 50 is different.

  First, a basic configuration of the display screen 50 displayed on the display 3 by the input character conversion device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 14 shows a display screen 50 including a candidate phrase display area 80 for displaying a plurality of candidate phrases arranged in a matrix and a tag representing the number of characters of candidate phrases that can be displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80. FIG.

(Display screen 50)
As shown in FIG. 14, the display unit 10 displays a display screen 50 on the display 3. The display screen 50 includes a confirmed sentence display area 52, a converted phrase display area 54, a determination button 56, a candidate phrase display area 80, and a plurality of tag display areas 81 to 85 (selected symbol display areas).

  Since the fixed sentence display area 52, the conversion phrase display area 54, and the enter button 56 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

(Candidate phrase display area 80)
The candidate phrase display area 80 is a display area for displaying a list of a plurality of candidate phrases. The candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a plurality of candidate phrases with a specific number of characters arranged in a matrix in the candidate phrase display area 80. For example, in the example of FIG. 14, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays 20 candidate phrases of one character at a time as a matrix of 5 rows and 4 columns.

(Single character tag 81)
The one-character tag 81 is a tag indicating that a one-character candidate phrase can be displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80. In the input character conversion device 1, the tag display unit 12 displays a one-character tag 81 adjacent to the left side of the candidate word / phrase display area 80. Further, the boundary line between the one-character tag 81 and the candidate phrase display area 80 is not displayed. That is, the display unit 10 displays the one-character tag 81 and the candidate phrase display area 80 in an integrated manner. Thereby, the user can easily confirm that a one-word candidate phrase is displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80.

(2-character tag 82-5-character tag 85)
The two-character tag 82 to the five-character tag 85 are tags indicating that 2 to 5 character candidate phrases can be displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80. That is, when the user selects the two-character tag 82, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the two-character candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area 80. The same applies to other tags. That is, in the input character conversion device 1, when the user selects a tag, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters as the number displayed as the tag in the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

  In the example of FIG. 14, the tag display unit 12 displays 1-character tags 81 to 5-character tags 85 adjacent to each other. Further, among these tags, a one-character tag 81 is displayed at the top, that is, at the top.

  As described above, the input character conversion device 1 of the present embodiment displays the display screen 50 including the candidate phrase display area 80 and each tag (a number representing the number of characters in the candidate phrase) on the display 3. Therefore, the user can select a desired candidate word / phrase from candidate words / phrases of a specific number of characters displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

  Furthermore, when the user wants to select a candidate word / phrase having another number of characters that is not currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80, the user does not need to scroll the display of the candidate word / phrase display area 80. That is, the user can display a list of candidate words / phrases having a desired number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area 80 by selecting each tag displayed adjacent to the candidate word / phrase display area 80. For example, when the user wants to select a two-letter candidate word / phrase, the user may select the number “2” representing two characters, that is, the two-character tag 82.

  As described above, the user who uses the input character conversion device 1 does not need to waste time when searching for a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases. Thereby, the input character conversion apparatus 1 can make a user perform faster searching for a desired conversion phrase from a plurality of candidate phrases.

(Selecting candidate words)
When the user selects a tag, the input character conversion device 1 displays a predetermined selection cursor 70 in the candidate phrase display area 80. This example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a predetermined selection cursor 70 displayed on the one-character candidate word selected by the user.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 15, the user selects “one character tag 81” after inputting “ji” as a character. As a result, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the selection cursor 70 on one of the one-character candidate phrases displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80. The selection cursor 70 is for the user to select a candidate word / phrase.

  In the example of 15, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the selection cursor 70 at “Tera”. At this time, the display unit 10 displays the candidate phrase indicated by the selection cursor 70 in the converted phrase display area 54 as the selected phrase 72. In the example of FIG. 15, the display unit 10 displays “Tera” as the selected phrase 72.

(Enter numbers)
When the user inputs a number, the candidate phrase display unit 14 may display a candidate phrase with the same number of characters as the number in the candidate phrase display area 80. For example, when the user inputs a number “1” representing one character, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the one-word candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area 80.

  Thus, when the user wants to select a candidate word / phrase having a certain number of characters, the user may input a number representing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase using the operation unit 2. For example, only by pressing a button for inputting the number “1”, the user can collectively display a one-word candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area 80. Therefore, the input character conversion device 1 can cause the user to quickly perform an operation for displaying the candidate words / phrases of a specific number of characters together in the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

(Candidate phrase selection mode)
The candidate phrase display unit 14 operates when the input character conversion apparatus 1 is operating in a predetermined candidate phrase selection mode for selecting the type of candidate phrase to be displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80. Alternatively, candidate phrases having the same number of characters as the number input by the user may be displayed.

  That is, the input character conversion device 1 can operate in a predetermined candidate word / phrase selection mode. This operation mode is a mode for selecting the type of candidate phrase to be displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80. If the user inputs a number when the input character conversion device 1 is operating in this mode, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the candidate phrase with the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area 80. For example, when the user inputs a number “1” representing one character, a one-word candidate phrase is displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80.

  For the user, inputting “1” as the number of characters to the input character conversion device 1 is to input “1” as an input character and to display a candidate phrase of one character in the candidate phrase display area 80. There are two meanings of inputting “1” as a selection number.

  When the user inputs the number “1” and the input character conversion device unconditionally displays the one-letter candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area 80, the number “1” is actually input as the input character. The user who intends to do so will be confused.

  Therefore, the input character conversion device 1 switches candidate words to be displayed in the candidate word display area 80 when executing in the predetermined candidate word selection mode. Therefore, for example, when the input character conversion apparatus 1 is operating in the character input mode, even if the user inputs the number “1” as the input character, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays one character in the candidate phrase display area 80. Will not be displayed in error. Thereby, the input character conversion apparatus 1 does not need to give unnecessary confusion to the user who inputs numbers.

(Fixed number display)
The candidate phrase display unit 14 can scroll and display the candidate phrases in the candidate phrase display area 80. At this time, the candidate phrase display unit 14 can fix and display a number representing the number of characters of the candidate phrase. That is, the tag displayed as a number is fixedly displayed. This example will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example of scrolling a plurality of candidate words arranged in a matrix while displaying a fixed number of characters displayed as identification symbols. FIG. 16 (a) is scrolled. FIG. 16B is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a candidate phrase display region 80 including a plurality of candidate phrases before and after, and FIG. 16B is a candidate phrase including a plurality of candidate phrases after scrolling. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a display area 80.

  As shown in FIG. 16A, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a one-character candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area 80 before scrolling the candidate phrase. As a result, the tag display unit 12 does not display the boundary line of the one-character tag 81 indicating that the one-character candidate phrase is displayed in the candidate-phrase display area 80 in contact with the candidate-phrase display area 80. Yes.

  Here, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 scrolls and displays the candidate word / phrase up by one line under the control of the scroll control unit 16 according to the user's operation. At this time, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays the one-character candidate phrase shown in FIG. 16B in the candidate phrase display area 80.

  At this time, in the input character conversion device 1, the scroll control unit 16 controls the display of tags by the tag display unit 12 and the display of candidate words by the candidate word display unit 14. That is, the scroll control unit 16 controls the tag display unit 12 so that the one-character tag 81 is fixed and displayed. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, before and after the candidate phrase is scrolled, the number “1” (that is, 1) indicating the number of characters of the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80 is displayed. The display position of the character tag 81) has not changed at all.

  As described above, the input character conversion device 1 scrolls and displays a plurality of candidate words while fixedly displaying numbers representing the number of characters of the candidate words. Therefore, for example, when the candidate word / phrase displayed on the current display screen 50 is scrolled and displayed by the user's instruction, the number representing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase is not erased from the display screen 50. As a result, the user can easily confirm the number of characters of the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80 even after scrolling through the candidate phrase and searching.

  Note that the input character conversion device 1 may scroll and display a plurality of candidate phrases while fixedly displaying an identification symbol indicating that a candidate phrase regardless of the number of characters is displayed. Thereby, for example, when the candidate words displayed on the current display screen 50 are scrolled and displayed according to a user instruction, the identification symbol is not erased from the display screen 50. Thus, the user can easily confirm that the candidate words / phrases irrespective of the number of characters are displayed in the individual display area even after scrolling through the candidate words / phrases and searching.

(Tag scroll display)
The input character conversion device 1 can also scroll and display a plurality of tags in units of tags. Specifically, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 16, it is assumed that the display unit 10 displays a one-character tag 81 to a five-character tag 85 on the display 3. Here, it is assumed that the user presses the down scroll key as the scroll key. Then, the display unit 10 deletes the one-character tag 81 from the screen, and displays the two-character tag 82 to the five-character tag 85 while shifting them on the screen in units of tags. Further, a 6-character tag (not shown) that has not been displayed before the left scroll key is input is newly displayed on the lower side of the display 3 (that is, the position where the 5-character tag 85 is displayed).

In this way, the display unit 10 displays the one-character tag 81 to five-character tag 85 in order from the top of the screen, and when the down scroll key is pressed, the two-character tag 82 to six-character tag Display in order from the top of the screen. Thus, the user can select a conversion phrase from six-character candidate phrases by inputting the number 6. If there are further 7-character and 8-character candidate phrases, each time the user presses the down scroll key, tags (numbers 7 and 8) representing the number of characters of these candidate phrases can be scrolled and displayed one after another. it can.

  The display unit 10 can also display a plurality of tags arranged in the row direction on the screen. Therefore, when the user presses the left and right scroll keys, a plurality of tags can be scroll-displayed.

  As described above, the display unit 10 may scroll-display each tag in a direction parallel to the direction in which the tags are displayed side by side. Thereby, a user's operativity can be improved further.

(Display candidate words regardless of the number of characters)
The candidate phrase display unit 14 can also display candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area 80. At that time, the tag display unit 12 displays a predetermined identification symbol indicating that a candidate word regardless of the number of characters can be selected adjacent to the candidate word display area 80. This example will be described below with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including, as a general tag 88, an identification symbol indicating that a candidate word regardless of the number of characters can be selected. In the example illustrated in FIG. 17, the tag display unit 12 displays the identification symbol “#” as a general tag 88 below the four-character tag 84. This identification symbol indicates that when the general tag 88 is selected, a plurality of candidate words are displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80 in the order of frequency selected in the past.

  The “identification symbol” here indicates that the user can select a candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters. That is, if the user selects this identification symbol, it is an identification symbol indicating that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

  If the user selects this identification symbol, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays candidate phrases that are not related to the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area 80. Therefore, the user can next select a desired candidate phrase as the selected phrase 72 from candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters.

  As a result, the user can search for a conversion word / phrase from candidate words / phrases not related to the number of characters in addition to candidate words / phrases of a specific number of characters. Therefore, the user who uses the input character conversion device 1 can more easily search for conversion words from a plurality of candidate words.

(Input identification code)
The candidate phrase display unit 14 may display candidate phrases that are not related to the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area 80 when the identification symbol displayed on the general tag 88 is input by the user. For example, when the user inputs the symbol “#”, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area 80 in the order of frequency selected in the past.

  As described above, when the user wants to select a conversion phrase from candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters, the identification symbol displayed on the general tag 88 may be input by a predetermined input means. For example, by simply pressing a button for inputting the symbol “#”, the user can collectively display candidate words / phrases regardless of the number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area 80. Therefore, the input character conversion device 1 can cause the user to quickly perform an operation for displaying the candidate words / phrases regardless of the number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

(Candidate phrase selection mode)
The candidate phrase display unit 14 selects candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters when the input character conversion device 1 is operating in the candidate phrase selection mode for selecting candidate phrases to be displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80. It may be displayed in the phrase display area 80.

  That is, the input character conversion device 1 can operate in a predetermined candidate phrase selection mode in order to select the type of candidate phrase to be displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80. If the user inputs an identification symbol while the input character conversion device is operating in this mode, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays candidate phrases that are not related to the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area 80. For example, when the user inputs the symbol “#”, candidate phrases that are not related to the number of characters are displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80 in the order selected in the past.

  For the user, inputting an identification symbol into the input character conversion device 1 is a selection symbol in order to input an identification symbol as an input character and to display a candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area 80. There are two meanings of inputting the identification symbol.

  When the user inputs the symbol “#”, if the input character conversion device 1 unconditionally displays a candidate word / phrase regardless of the number of characters in the candidate word / phrase display area 80, the character “#” is actually input as the input character. The user who intends to do so will be confused.

  Therefore, the candidate phrase display unit 14 may switch the candidate phrase displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80 when the input character conversion device 1 is executing in the predetermined candidate phrase selection mode. Thereby, for example, when the user inputs the symbol “#” as an input character, the candidate phrase display unit 14 does not erroneously display a candidate phrase regardless of the number of characters in the candidate phrase display area 80. Therefore, the input character conversion device 1 does not give unnecessary confusion to the user who inputs the identification symbol displayed on the general tag 88.

(Change display area background color)
In the input character conversion device 1, the candidate phrase display unit 14 uses the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80 when displaying a candidate phrase with a certain number of characters as the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80 when displaying a candidate phrase with another number of characters. The background color may be displayed differently. This example will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a candidate word / phrase display area 80 in which a background color is displayed in gray when a two-character candidate word / phrase is displayed.

  According to this figure, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a two-character candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area 80. At this time, the candidate phrase display section 14 displays the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80 in gray. Further, the tag display unit 12 displays the background color of the two-character tag 82 in gray, similar to the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80.

  Therefore, when the user wants to know the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80, the user only needs to confirm the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80. Alternatively, only the background color of the two-character tag 82 may be confirmed. For example, when the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80 is gray, the user can confirm that a two-character candidate phrase is currently displayed. Thereby, the input character conversion device 1 allows the user to more quickly confirm the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

The candidate phrase display unit 14 makes the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80 when displaying candidate phrases regardless of the number of characters different from the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80 when displaying candidate phrases with a specific number of characters. May be displayed.
For example, the candidate phrase display unit 14 may display the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80 in gray when displaying a candidate phrase regardless of the number of characters. Furthermore, the candidate phrase display part 14 should just display the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80 at the time of displaying the candidate phrase of specific number of characters in white. In this way, when the user wants to know that candidate words / phrases not related to the number of characters are currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80, the user need only check the background color of the candidate word / phrase display area 80. For example, when the background color of the candidate phrase display area 80 is gray, the user can confirm that a candidate phrase that is not related to the number of characters is currently displayed. Thereby, the input character conversion apparatus 1 can make a user confirm more quickly that the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed on the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

(Change tag size)
In the input character conversion device 1, the tag display unit 12 displays the size of the number representing the number of characters of the candidate word currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80 different from the number size representing the number of other characters. Also good. This example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a display screen 50 including a tag having a size larger than that of other tags.

  In the example shown in FIG. 19, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a one-character candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area 80. As a result, the tag display unit 12 displays the number “1” displayed as the one-character tag 81 1.5 times larger than the numbers displayed as the other tags.

  Therefore, when the user wants to know the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80, the user only needs to confirm a number that is different in size from other numbers. For example, the user can confirm that a candidate word / phrase having the number of characters represented by a number larger than another number is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80. Thereby, the input character conversion device 1 allows the user to easily check the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

  In the input character conversion device 1, the tag display unit 12 changes the size of the identification symbol indicating that the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80 from the size of the number indicating the specific character number. May be displayed. For example, the tag display part 12 should just display an identification symbol 1.5 times larger than the number displayed as another tag. Thus, when the user wants to know that a candidate word / phrase that is not related to the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80, the user only has to confirm an identification symbol having a size different from that of the number. For example, when the size of the identification symbol is larger than other numbers, the user can confirm that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80. Thereby, the input character conversion apparatus 1 can make a user easily confirm that the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed on the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

(Change tag background color)
In the input character conversion device 1, the tag display unit 12 displays the background color of the number representing the number of characters of the candidate word currently displayed in the candidate word display area 80 different from the background color of the number representing the number of other characters. May be. This example will also be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a tag whose background color and character color are different from those of other tags.

  In the example shown in FIG. 20, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a one-character candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area 80. Thereby, the tag display unit 12 displays the background color of the number “1” displayed as the one-character tag 81 different from the background color of the number displayed as the other tag. That is, the tag display unit 12 displays the background color of the one-character tag 81 in gray. On the other hand, the background colors of the other tags, that is, the two-character tag 82, the three-character tag 83, the four-character tag 84, and the five-character tag 85 are all displayed in white.

  Thus, when the user wants to know the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80, the user only has to confirm a number having a different background color from the other numbers. For example, the user can confirm that a candidate word / phrase having the number of characters represented by a number having a white background color is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80. Thereby, the input character conversion apparatus 1 can make a user check easily the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed on the candidate phrase display area 80. FIG.

  In the input character conversion device 1, the tag display unit 12 uses the background color of the identification symbol indicating that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80, It may be displayed differently. For example, the tag display unit 12 may display the background color of the identification symbol in red, and display the background color of numbers displayed as other tags in green. Thus, when the user wants to know that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80, the user only has to confirm an identification symbol having a background color different from that of the number. For example, the user can confirm that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80 by confirming that the background color of the identification symbol is red. Thereby, the input character conversion apparatus 1 can make a user easily confirm that the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed on the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

(Change tag text color)
In the input character conversion device 1, the tag display unit 12 displays the character color of the number representing the number of characters of the candidate word currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80 different from the character color of the number representing the number of other characters. May be. This example will also be described below with reference to FIG.

  As described above, in the example illustrated in FIG. 20, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a one-character candidate phrase in the candidate phrase display area 80. Thereby, the tag display unit 12 displays the character color of the number “1” displayed as the one-character tag 81 different from the character color of the number displayed as the other tag. That is, the tag display unit 12 displays the character color of the one-character tag 81 in white. On the other hand, the character colors of the other tags, that is, the two-character tag 82, the three-character tag 83, the four-character tag 84, and the five-character tag 85 are all displayed in black.

  Thus, when the user wants to know the number of characters of the candidate phrase currently displayed in the candidate phrase display area 80, the user only has to confirm a number whose character color is different from other numbers. For example, the user can confirm that a candidate word / phrase having the number of characters represented by a number whose character color is white is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80. Therefore, the input character conversion device 1 allows the user to easily check the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

  In the input character conversion device 1, the tag display unit 12 uses a character color of an identification symbol indicating that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80 as a character color of a number indicating a specific number of characters. It may be displayed differently. For example, the tag display part 12 should just display the character color of an identification symbol in red, and display the character color of the number displayed as another tag in green. Thus, when the user wants to know that a candidate word / phrase that is not related to the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80, the user need only confirm an identification symbol having a character color different from that of the number. For example, the user can confirm that a candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is currently displayed in the candidate word / phrase display area 80 by confirming that the character color of the identification symbol is red. Thereby, the input character conversion apparatus 1 can make a user easily confirm that the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters is displayed on the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

(Displays candidate words with the same number of characters as the previous selection)
The input character conversion device 1 stores the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase selected by the user last time in the temporary memory 8. For example, it stores that the user has previously selected a two-letter candidate phrase. Thereby, when the user next inputs a character, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 may first display the candidate word / phrase of the number of characters stored in the candidate word / phrase display area 80.

  A case will be described in which the user previously selected a two-letter candidate phrase. When the user next inputs “Kami” as an input character, the candidate phrase display unit 14 displays a two-character candidate phrase such as “Kami” and “Bite” in the candidate phrase display area 80. Thus, when the user inputs a character to be converted, the user can first confirm a candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters as the previously selected candidate word / phrase in the candidate word / display area 80.

  In general, a user is likely to select a candidate word / phrase having the same number of characters repeatedly. Therefore, the input character conversion device 1 can further improve the convenience of selection of candidate words by the user.

(Tag display position)
In the example described above, the tag display unit 12 displays each tag such as the one-character tag 81 adjacent to the left side of the candidate phrase display area 80. However, the tag display unit 12 may display each tag at an arbitrary display position on the display screen 50.

  This first example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a candidate phrase display area 80 in which the number of characters of a candidate phrase is displayed adjacent to the upper part.

  In the example shown in this figure, the tag display unit 12 displays a one-character tag 81, a two-character tag 82, and a three-character tag 83 adjacent to the candidate word / phrase display area 80 and above them. .

  A second example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a display screen 50 including a candidate phrase display area 80 in which the number of characters of a candidate phrase is displayed adjacent to the lower part.

  In the example shown in this figure, the tag display unit 12 makes the general tag 88, the 1-character tag 81, the 2-character tag 82, the 3-character tag 83, and the 4-character tag 84 all adjacent to the candidate phrase display area 80. Is displayed at the bottom. Note that the characters “frequency order” are displayed as the general tag 88. At this time, the candidate word / phrase display unit 14 displays the general tag 88 at the top, that is, the leftmost among the plurality of tags displayed continuously.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A various change is possible in the range shown to the claim. In other words, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately changed within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

(Line display of candidate words)
For example, the candidate phrase display unit 14 may display the candidate phrases to be displayed in each individual display area in the horizontal direction instead of the vertical direction. That is, candidate words / phrases with a specific number of characters may be displayed in a row. At this time, the candidate phrase display unit 14 can scroll and display each candidate phrase displayed in a row in the horizontal direction.

(Simultaneous display)
The candidate word / phrase display unit 14 may display a candidate word / phrase with a certain number of characters and a candidate word / phrase with another number of characters together in one individual display area. This method is particularly effective when the number of candidate words with a specific number of characters is small. For example, the candidate phrase display unit 14 may display a 5-character candidate phrase and a 6-character candidate phrase in one common individual display area. At this time, the tag display unit 12 may simultaneously display the number “5” representing five characters and the number “6” representing six characters simultaneously in any individual display area. Thereby, the user can confirm that a 5-character candidate word and a 6-character candidate word are displayed in one individual display area.

(Displayed together)
The candidate phrase display unit 14 may not display an individual display area for displaying the candidate phrase on the display 3 when there is no candidate phrase of a specific number of characters among the candidate phrases input by the user. Good. For example, when it is determined that a 5-character candidate word does not exist and that 4-character and 6-character candidate words exist, the candidate-phrase display unit 14 includes an individual display area for displaying a 4-character candidate word, The individual display area for displaying the character candidate words may be displayed continuously (adjacent to each other).

(Initialization means)
Furthermore, the input character conversion device 1 may include means for initializing rules for displaying candidate words. This initialization means can return various parameters stored in the temporary memory 8 and the candidate phrase database 7 to the initial state. For example, it is possible to return the number of characters of the candidate phrase selected by the user last time to “1” in the initial state.

  In addition, this invention is realizable also as the following structures.

(First configuration)
A character input means; a memory storing words; a display means for displaying input characters input from the character input means and candidate words corresponding to the input characters; a cursor for selecting the candidate words; In an electronic device comprising: a cursor moving means capable of moving the cursor; and a selection means for determining a candidate word or phrase indicated by the cursor.
An electronic device characterized in that a candidate word / phrase corresponding to an input character can be displayed and selected on the display means for each column or row in units of the number of characters together with the input character.

(Second configuration)
In the electronic device of the first configuration,
Further, the electronic device is characterized in that candidate words / phrases that are not divided in character units are displayed on the display means in columns or rows on the display means.

(Third configuration)
In the electronic device of the first configuration,
An electronic device that displays the number of characters in a column or row displayed in units of the number of characters.

(Fourth configuration)
In the second configuration electronic device,
An electronic device characterized in that the number of characters is displayed in a column or row displayed in units of characters, and a character or symbol is displayed in a column or row not divided in units of characters.

(Fifth configuration)
A character input means; a memory storing words; a display means for displaying a page in which the input characters inputted from the character input means and candidate words corresponding to the input characters are divided into character units; and the candidate words In an electronic device comprising: a cursor for selecting a cursor; a cursor moving means capable of moving the cursor; and a selecting means for determining a candidate word indicated by the cursor.
An electronic apparatus, wherein a tag indicating the number of characters or characters / symbols is attached to each page, and a selected page is preferentially displayed on a non-selected page.

(Sixth configuration)
In the electronic device of the fifth configuration,
Furthermore, the electronic device is characterized in that a page of candidate words / phrases not divided by the number of characters is displayed on the display means, and a character / symbol is attached to a tag of an approximate page.

(Seventh configuration)
In the electronic devices of the third configuration and the sixth configuration,
An electronic apparatus comprising: a number input means for inputting a number, wherein the cursor moves to a row, column, or page having the same number of characters as the number input by the number input means.

(Eighth configuration)
In the electronic device of the seventh configuration,
When the character input means and the number input means use a common input key, comprising means for switching between a character input mode and a row (or column or page) selection mode,
An electronic device characterized by enabling character input and row (or column or page) selection with a limited number of keys.

(Ninth configuration)
In the third to sixth electronic devices,
Means for scrolling candidate words in a row or column by depressing the cursor,
An electronic device characterized in that the number of characters or characters / symbols attached to a row, column, or page does not scroll even when candidate words in the row, column, or page are scrolled.

(10th configuration)
In the third to sixth electronic devices,
When there is no candidate word / phrase of the corresponding number of characters in the memory, the row / column / page of the number of characters without the candidate word / phrase is omitted, and the next line / next column / next page is displayed and displayed. .

(Eleventh configuration)
In the electronic equipment of the first configuration to the eighth configuration,
When displaying candidate words, the previously selected row or column is displayed in the first column or row for column display or row display, and the previous selected page is displayed preferentially for page display. Electronic equipment.

(Twelfth configuration)
In the electronic equipment of the eleventh configuration,
An electronic apparatus comprising an initialization unit capable of returning a display order to an initial state.

(13th configuration)
In the electronic equipment of the first configuration to the eighth configuration,
An electronic apparatus characterized in that the background color of each column or row or page of candidate words displayed in units of characters is different.

(14th configuration)
In the third to sixth electronic devices,
An electronic apparatus characterized by changing the number portion of a selected column or row or the background color of a tag of a page.

(Fifteenth configuration)
In the third to sixth electronic devices,
An electronic device characterized by changing the number of characters or the character display color of the character / symbol written on the numeric part of the selected column or row or the tag of the page.

(16th configuration)
In the third to sixth electronic devices,
An electronic apparatus characterized by changing the number of characters or the display size of the characters / symbols written in a numeric part of a selected column or row or a tag of a page.

(Program and recording medium)
Finally, each block included in the input character conversion device 1 may be configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as follows.

  That is, the input character conversion device 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a control program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the control program, and a RAM (Randam) that expands the control program into an executable format. (Access Memory) and a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the control program and various data.

  With this configuration, the object of the present invention can be achieved by a predetermined recording medium. The recording medium only needs to record the program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of the control program of the input character conversion apparatus 1 which is software that realizes the above-described functions so that it can be read by a computer. This recording medium is supplied to the input character conversion apparatus 1. Thus, the input character conversion device 1 (or CPU or MPU) as a computer may read and execute the program code recorded on the supplied recording medium.

  The recording medium that supplies the program code to the input character conversion device 1 is not limited to a specific structure or type. That is, the recording medium includes, for example, a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. A disk system, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a semiconductor memory system such as a mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM can be used.

  Moreover, even if the input character conversion device 1 is configured to be connectable to a communication network, the object of the present invention can be achieved. In this case, the program code is supplied to the input character conversion device 1 via the communication network. This communication network is not limited to a specific type or form as long as it can supply a program code to the input character conversion apparatus 1. For example, the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a LAN, an ISDN, a VAN, a CATV communication network, a virtual private network, a telephone line network, a mobile communication network, a satellite communication network, or the like may be used.

  The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, in the case of wired communication such as IEEE 1394, USB (Universal Serial Bus), power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802. 11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, etc. can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for an apparatus that converts characters input by a user into a predetermined word / phrase, such as a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, and a mobile phone.

It is a block diagram showing the structure of the input character conversion apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the external appearance of an input character conversion apparatus. It is a figure which shows the display screen which contains the separate display area for displaying the candidate word / phrase with the same number of characters in a line for every number of characters. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the selection cursor displayed on the candidate word of one 1 character which the user has selected. A one-character candidate display area for displaying a one-character candidate word / phrase in a line; a two-character candidate display area for displaying a two-character candidate word / phrase in a line; It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the general candidate display area for displaying on. It is a figure which shows the display screen which contains the display area for displaying the candidate word / phrase arrange | positioned in a line with the same number of characters, and the character number of this candidate word / phrase for every character number. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen displayed when scrolling the several candidate word / phrase arranged in a line, fixing the number of characters displayed, (a) contains the candidate word / phrase before scrolling It is a figure showing the display screen containing the 2 character candidate display area which is, (b) is a figure showing the display screen containing the 2 character candidate display area containing the candidate word / phrase after scrolling. . A one-character candidate display area for displaying a one-character candidate phrase displayed in a row and a number representing one character, a two-character candidate phrase displayed in a row, and a number representing two characters are displayed. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the general candidate display area for displaying the 2 character candidate display area | region for displaying, the candidate word / phrase irrespective of the number of characters, and a predetermined | prescribed identification symbol. To display a one-character candidate display area for displaying a one-character candidate phrase displayed in a row and a number representing one character, a two-character candidate phrase displayed in a row, and a number representing two characters FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another display screen including a two-character candidate display area, and a general candidate display area for displaying candidate words and phrases that do not depend on the number of characters, and a predetermined identification symbol. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the separate display area where a background color different from the background color displayed on another separate display area is displayed. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the separate display area where the number of characters of the size larger than the number of characters displayed on another separate display area is displayed. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the separate display area where the number of characters of the background color and character color different from the background color and character color of the number of characters displayed on another separate display area are displayed. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the display area corresponding to the number of characters of the candidate word phrase selected last time by the user. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the candidate word / phrase display area | region for displaying the some candidate word / phrase arranged in the matrix form, and the tag showing the number of characters of the candidate word / phrase which can be displayed on a candidate word / phrase display area. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the predetermined | prescribed selection cursor displayed on the one word candidate word / phrase which the user has selected. It is a figure explaining the example which scrolls several candidate words and phrases arranged in matrix form, fixing and displaying the number of characters currently displayed as an identification symbol, (a) is a plurality of candidates before scrolling It is a figure showing the display screen containing the candidate word display area containing a word, (b) represents the display screen containing the candidate word display area containing the several candidate word after scrolling FIG. It is a figure which shows the display screen which contains the identification symbol which shows that the candidate word regardless of the number of characters can be selected as a general tag. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the candidate word / phrase display area displayed with a gray background color when a two-character candidate word / phrase is displayed. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the tag larger in size than another tag. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the tag from which a background color and a character color differ from another tag. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the candidate word display area where the number of characters of a candidate word is displayed adjacent to upper part. It is a figure which shows the display screen containing the candidate word display area where the number of characters of a candidate word is displayed adjacent to the lower part.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input character conversion apparatus 2 Operation part 3 Display 4 Operation content analysis part 5 Input mode switching part 6 Candidate word acquisition part 7 Candidate word database 8 Temporary memory 10 Display part 12 Tag display part 14 Candidate word display part 16 Scroll control part 24 Mode Switch key 26 Enter key 28 Clear key 22 Character input key 50 Display screen 52 Confirmed sentence display area 54 Input character display area 56 Enter button 60 Candidate phrase display area 61 One-character candidate display area 62 Two-character candidate display area 63 Three-character candidate display Area 68 General candidate display area 70 Selection cursor 72 Selected word / phrase 80 Candidate word / phrase display area 81 1-character tag 82 2-character tag 83 3-character tag 84 4-character tag 85 5-character tag 88 General tag

Claims (8)

An input for displaying a plurality of candidate words that are previously associated with input characters input by the user on a predetermined display and determining a candidate word selected by the user from among the plurality of candidate words displayed on the display as a conversion word A character conversion device,
Candidate phrase display means for collecting a plurality of candidate phrases that are associated in advance with the input characters input by the user for each number of characters of the candidate phrases and displaying them in a plurality of candidate phrase display areas with different display positions on the display. With
The candidate phrase display means is:
A plurality of candidate phrases that are associated in advance with the input characters input by the user are displayed in a general candidate display area different from the candidate phrase display area on the display, regardless of the number of characters of the candidate phrases. Input character conversion device. The candidate phrase display means is:
2. The input character conversion device according to claim 1, wherein an identification symbol indicating that a candidate word regardless of the number of characters is displayed is displayed at a predetermined display position in the general candidate display area. The candidate phrase display means is:
2. The input character conversion device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of candidate words that are associated in advance with an input character input by the user are displayed in the general candidate display area in the order of frequency of conversion in the past. . The candidate phrase display means is:
2. The input character conversion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the candidate phrase display area is scrolled and displayed in units of the candidate phrase display area. The candidate phrase display means is:
The candidate phrase display areas are displayed adjacent to each other, and
The candidate phrase display area for displaying the candidate phrase having the same number of characters as the number of characters of the candidate phrase previously selected by the user is displayed at the top of the plurality of candidate phrase display areas to be displayed adjacent to each other. The input character conversion apparatus according to claim 1 . The candidate phrase display means is:
2. The input character conversion device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of candidate word / phrase display areas are displayed with different background colors. An input for displaying a plurality of candidate words that are previously associated with input characters input by the user on a predetermined display and determining a candidate word selected by the user from among the plurality of candidate words displayed on the display as a conversion word A candidate word / phrase display method for causing a character conversion device to display a plurality of candidate words / phrases previously associated with an input character input by the user,
A candidate phrase display step of displaying a plurality of candidate phrases that are associated in advance with the input characters input by the user for each number of characters of the candidate phrases, and displaying them in a plurality of candidate phrase display areas with different display positions on the display. With
In the candidate phrase display step,
A plurality of candidate phrases that are associated in advance with the input characters input by the user are displayed in a general candidate display area different from the candidate phrase display area on the display, regardless of the number of characters of the candidate phrases. Candidate phrase display method. An input character conversion program for operating the input character conversion device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the input character conversion program causes a computer to function as each of the above means.

Images