Information input system and method using extension key

Abstract

The present invention relates to an information input system and method using an extension key. The information input system comprises: an input unit including a plurality of divided regions, for detecting a user selected divided region among the plurality of divided regions; and an input analysis unit for allocating corresponding information to the plurality of divided regions, and analyzing, if the input unit detects a user selected divided region among the plurality of divided regions, whether or not information allocated to the divided region is input. The input analysis unit allocates an extension key to at least one divided region out of the plurality of divided regions; and once the extension key is selected, the input analysis unit allocates new information to an extended region which is a divided region determined according to the extension key.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a system for inputting information by utilizing an extension key and a method of inputting information using the same. In detail, the present invention has a feature that new items are allocated to an extension area when an extension key is included in an input system of a minimized digital device and this extension key is selected so that a user can input newly allocated information.BACKGROUND ART[0002]Recently, many minimized digital devices, such as mobile phones and game systems, are available in the market for use.[0003]Such minimized digital devices win preference because of their advantage of portability and anytime, anywhere use, and due to this, even in the future various products will be minimized and manufactured.[0004]A problem in such minimized digital devices is insufficient space to input various kinds of information, such as characters.[0005]For example, in a mobile phone, all characters and numerals are designed ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0045]Since Hangul character input systems that are well known till present arrange vowels regardless of shapes of the vowels to reduce finger movement as much as possible, it is difficult to support a user's intuition. However, the present invention designates consonants in the Korean alphabet as primary characters of keys to input a corresponding consonant when each key is pressed for the first time and designates at least one key, except for the keys to which the consonants are designated, as a vowel enable key to input vowels, thereby minimizing the number of keys for the Korean alphabet. That is, both a consonant and a vowel can be input with a single key by enabling an input of the vowel even through the key to which the consonant has been allocated when the vowel enable key is pressed. As a result, the number of independent keys for only vowels is reduced, and accordingly, the total number of keys is reduced, resulting in minimizing a finger moving distance for inputting the Korean alphabet, which increases user convenience. This principle may also be applied to Hindi and Chinese, and in a case of ‘disambiguity text input method’, by setting a ‘predicted word selection function key (extension key)’ corresponding to a ‘vowel input enabling key’ of Hangul, a predicted word selection function and other various additional functions are performed to minimize the number of keys required to input characters, and furthermore, it is easy to select a predicted word, thereby increasing user convenience and efficiency.

Problems solved by technology

A problem in such minimized digital devices is insufficient space to input various kinds of information, such as characters.

For example, in a mobile phone, all characters and numerals are designed to be input by using only a total of 12 keys, and inputting information using only this small number of keys is inconvenient and very slow in terms of an input speed, in comparison with using a QWERTY keyboard layout that is widely used as a keyboard layout of a Personal Computer (PC).

However, in spite of this, inputting information into a mobile phone is still inconvenient as the QWERTY keyboard layout, and product developers have been conducting lots of research to develop a method of reducing the number of key presses as much as possible and reducing a finger moving distance for pressing keys with a minimum number of keys.

Although research into an efficient input method, like that of Hangul, has been actively conducted for not only Hangul but also other languages such as English, Chinese, and Hindi, an epoch-making method has not been developed yet, and thus, smartphones that are recently available in the market employ a complete QWERTY keyboard layout.

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