Mobile device and switching method of input method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to a mobile device, in particular to a mobile device and an input method switching method thereof. The mobile device comprises a general camera module, a special camera module, a bar code decoding module, a touch display module and a control module. The touch display module is used for displaying a display picture, and the display picture is provided with an input field. The control module is used for responding to an input trigger event of an input field to start a trigger element of the image conversion input method and controlling the touch display module to simultaneously display the input field and a first overlapping window formed by a virtual keyboard of a system default input method on a display picture. And in response to a first trigger event of the trigger element, the touch display module is controlled to switch the displayed first overlapping window into a second overlapping window. The second overlapping window is provided with a custom keyboard and a preview pane of the image conversion input method in parallel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image conversion input method, and more particularly to a mobile device and an input method switching method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In order to meet the special needs of the market, some companies have developed applications with barcode scanning functions and / or optical character recognition (OCR) functions, and applied these applications to various types of mobile devices (such as smart phones, tablet computers or industrial touch computers, etc.). However, these applications are not convenient to use. For example, when a user wants to convert a barcode image or a text image into a string through this application, and input this string into the input field of another application (such as Facebook or Google Chrome, etc.), the user needs to open the window screens of these two applications alternately to complete the above operations. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, the inventor proposes a switching method of a mobile device and its input method, integrating an application with a barcode scanning function and / or an OCR function (hereinafter referred to as an image conversion input method) into the input method of the mobile device, so as to use the barcode scanning function and / or the OCR function to obtain the content represented by the barcode and / or the image and directly input the obtained content into the input field, thereby improving the convenience of using the image conversion input method.

[0004] In some embodiments, a mobile device includes: a general camera module; a dedicated camera module; a barcode decoding module electrically connected to the dedicated camera module, used to capture at least one barcode image through the dedicated camera module, and convert at least one barcode image into at least one first string, wherein each barcode image is generated by the dedicated camera module photographing at least one barcode; a touch display module, used to display a display screen, wherein the display screen has an input field; and a control module electrically connected to the general camera module, the barcode decoding module and the touch display module, used to respond to an input trigger event of the input field to activate a trigger element of an image conversion input method, control the touch display module to simultaneously display the input field and a first overlapping window consisting of a virtual keyboard of a system default input method on the display screen, and respond to a first trigger event of the trigger element to control the touch display module to switch the displayed first overlapping window to a second overlapping window, wherein the second overlapping window has a custom keyboard and a preview pane of the image conversion input method in parallel.

[0005] In some embodiments, the trigger element is a virtual button, and the control module activates the trigger element by controlling the touch display module to simultaneously display the first overlapping window and the virtual button on the display screen.

[0006] In some embodiments, the mobile device further includes a shell, a general camera module, a dedicated camera module and a touch display module are embedded in the shell, a barcode decoding module and a control module are arranged in the shell, the trigger element is a physical button, the physical button is embedded in the shell and electrically connected to the control module, and the control module activates the trigger element by enabling an input method switching function of the physical button, and the first trigger event is a switching signal generated by the physical button.

[0007] In some embodiments, the mobile device further includes a communication module electrically connected to the control module; and a control element wirelessly connected to the communication module, wherein the trigger element is a physical button on the control element, the control module activates the trigger element by enabling an input method switching function of the physical button, and the first trigger event is a switching signal generated by the trigger element.

[0008] In some embodiments, the trigger element is a designated gesture, and the control module activates the trigger element by enabling a gesture detection input function of the designated gesture.

[0009] In some embodiments, the control module is further configured to control the touch display module to switch the displayed second overlapping window back to the first overlapping window in response to the first triggering event occurring again.

[0010] In some embodiments, the control module is further configured to control the touch display module to display a setting screen of the image conversion input method in response to a second trigger event of the trigger element.

[0011] In some embodiments, the mobile device further includes at least one selection key, wherein the dedicated camera module is used to capture a preview screen having at least one barcode image, and the control module is further used to activate the barcode decoding module in response to a barcode selection trigger event of the at least one selection key, and after activating the barcode decoding module, the preview screen is displayed in real time in the preview pane and one of the at least one first string is displayed in the input field.

[0012] In some embodiments, at least one barcode image is multiple, the second overlapping window further has a candidate field, the candidate field is above the virtual keyboard and the preview pane, and the control module is further used to display at least one first string as an input option of the input field in the candidate field after starting the barcode decoding module.

[0013] In some embodiments, the mobile device further includes a text recognition engine disposed between the general camera module and the control module, for capturing at least one word string image and another preview screen having at least one word string image via the general camera module, and recognizing and converting each word string image into at least one second word string, wherein each word string image is generated by the general camera module by photographing at least one word.

[0014] In some embodiments, the control module is further configured to activate the text recognition engine in response to a text selection trigger event of at least one selection key, and after activating the text conversion engine, instantly display another preview screen in the preview pane and display one of the second strings in the input field.

[0015] In some embodiments, the second overlapping window further includes a zoom-in key, and the control module is further configured to control the touch display module to zoom in on the preview pane in response to a zoom-in triggering event of the zoom-in key.

[0016] In some embodiments, a method for switching input methods of a mobile device includes: displaying an input field on a display screen; activating a trigger element of an image conversion input method via the input field, and controlling a touch display module to simultaneously display the input field and a first overlapping window on the display screen, wherein the first overlapping window is composed of a virtual keyboard of a system default input method; and switching the first overlapping window displayed on the display screen to a second overlapping window in response to a first trigger event of the trigger element, wherein the second overlapping window has a custom keyboard and a preview pane of an image conversion input method in parallel, and the preview pane is linked to a general camera module or a dedicated camera module.

[0017] In some embodiments, the trigger element is a virtual key, and the simultaneous display step includes: simultaneously displaying the input field, the virtual key, and a first overlapping window consisting of a virtual keyboard of the system default input method on the display screen.

[0018] In some embodiments, the trigger element is a physical key, the first trigger event is a switching signal generated by the physical key, and the activation step of the trigger element includes: enabling an input method switching function of the physical key to activate the trigger element.

[0019] In some embodiments, the switching method further includes: receiving a switching signal from a physical button via a wire; and switching the first overlapping window displayed on the display screen to a second overlapping window in response to the switching signal.

[0020] In some embodiments, the switching method further includes: wirelessly receiving a switching signal from a physical button; and switching the first overlapping window displayed on the display screen to a second overlapping window in response to the switching signal.

[0021] In some embodiments, the trigger element is a designated gesture, and the switching method further includes: detecting the designated gesture; and switching the first overlapping window displayed on the display screen to the second overlapping window when the designated gesture is detected.

[0022] In some embodiments, the switching method further includes: in response to the first trigger event occurring again, switching the second overlapping window displayed on the display screen back to the first overlapping window.

[0023] In some embodiments, the switching method further includes: displaying a setting screen of the image conversion input method in response to a second trigger event of the trigger element.

[0024] In some embodiments, the image conversion input method includes a barcode scanning input method, and the switching method further includes: starting the barcode scanning input method in response to a barcode selection trigger event; using the barcode scanning input method to scan at least one barcode to obtain at least one first string, wherein the starting step of the barcode scanning input method includes: photographing at least one barcode via a dedicated camera module to obtain at least one barcode image of the at least one barcode; and using a barcode decoding module to decode at least one barcode image into at least one first string; and displaying one of the at least one first string in the input field.

[0025] In some embodiments, the shooting step of the dedicated camera module further obtains a preview screen having at least one barcode image, and the scanning step using the barcode scanning input method further includes: previewing and displaying the preview screen in a preview pane.

[0026] In some embodiments, at least one barcode image is multiple, the second overlapping window further has a candidate field, the candidate field is above the virtual keyboard and the preview pane, and the switching method further includes: displaying at least one first string as an input option of the input field in the candidate field.

[0027] In some embodiments, the image conversion input method includes a text recognition input method, the mobile device also includes a text recognition engine, and the switching method further includes: starting the text recognition input method in response to a text selection trigger event; using the text recognition input method to detect at least one text to obtain at least one second string, wherein the activation step of the text recognition input method includes: photographing at least one text through a general camera module to obtain at least one string image of at least one text and another preview screen with at least one string image; previewing another preview screen in a preview pane; and using the text recognition engine to recognize and convert at least one string image into at least one second string; and displaying one of the at least one second strings in the input field.

[0028] In some embodiments, the second overlapping window further includes a zoom-in key, and the switching method further includes: enlarging the display preview pane in response to a zoom-in triggering event of the zoom-in key.

[0029] In summary, according to any embodiment, the mobile device or its input method switching method has both a system default input method and an image conversion input method to provide multiple input functions. In this way, when the user inputs text in any input field, he can select an appropriate input method to perform input operations (such as but not limited to Chinese and English input, barcode scanning input or OCR input, etc.), thereby improving the convenience and efficiency of text input. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 is a module block diagram of a first embodiment of a mobile device;

[0031] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic front plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the mobile device;

[0032] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A rear plan view schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the mobile device;

[0033] Figure 4 is a flowchart of the operation of a mobile device according to some embodiments;

[0034] Figure 5 yes Figure 2 In the input field, Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S110;

[0035] Figure 6 yes Figure 2 The trigger element passes through Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S120;

[0036] Figure 7 yes Figure 4 The operation flow chart of the first embodiment of the process following step S120;

[0037] Figure 8 yes Figure 4 The operation flow chart of the second embodiment of the process following step S120;

[0038] Fig. 9 yes Figure 6 The preview pane passes Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S132a' and step S132b;

[0039] Fig.10 yes Figure 6 The preview pane passes Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S132c and step S134;

[0040] Fig.11 yes Figure 8 The operation flow chart of an embodiment of the process following step S132;

[0041] Fig.12 yes Fig. 9 The preview pane passes Fig.11 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S134;

[0042] Fig.13 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of a mobile device;

[0043] Fig.14 yes Figure 4 The operation flow chart of the third embodiment of the process following step S120;

[0044] Fig.15 yes Fig.14 A detailed flow chart of an embodiment of step S142;

[0045] Fig.16 yes Figure 6 The preview pane passes Fig.15 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S142a and step S142b;

[0046] Fig.17 yes Figure 6 The preview pane passes Fig.14 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S143 and step S144;

[0047] Fig.18 yes Figure 4 The operation flow chart of the fourth embodiment of the process following step S120;

[0048] Fig.19 yes Figure 4 The operation flow chart of the first embodiment following step S110;

[0049] Fig. 20 yes Figure 6 The trigger element passes through Fig.19 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S170;

[0050] Fig.21 yes Figure 4 The operation flow chart of the fifth embodiment of the process following step S120;

[0051] Fig. 22 yes Figure 6 The preview pane passes Fig.21 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S180;

[0052] Fig.23 yes Figure 4 The operation flow chart of the first embodiment of the process following step S100;

[0053] Fig.24 yes Figure 2 The trigger element passes through Fig.23 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment after processing in step S110a and step S110b;

[0054] Fig.25 yes Figure 1 or Fig.13 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a mobile device and a control element;

[0055] Fig.26 yes Figure 4 The operation flow chart of the second embodiment of the process following step S100;

[0056] Fig. 27 yes Figure 4 FIG. 4 is an operation flow chart of the second embodiment following step S110 .

[0057]

Explanation of symbols

[0058] 10: Mobile Devices

[0059] 100: General camera module

[0060] 110: Dedicated camera module

[0061] 120: Barcode decoding module

[0062] 130: Touch display module

[0063] 140: Control module

[0064] 150:Text recognition engine

[0065] 160: Communication module

[0066] 20: Shell

[0067] 21: Physical buttons

[0068] 200: Display screen

[0069] 210: Input field

[0070] 211: Cursor

[0071] 220: First overlapping window

[0072] 221:Virtual Keyboard

[0073] 230: Virtual Button

[0074] 240: Second overlapping window

[0075] 241:Custom keyboard

[0076] 242:Preview Pane

[0077] 243:Select key

[0078] 244:Select key

[0079] 245: Preview screen

[0080] 246: Candidate Column

[0081] 247: Preview screen

[0082] 248: Zoom in key

[0083] 250: Setting window

[0084] 30: Trigger element

[0085] 31,32,33: Barcode image

[0086] 41,42: string image

[0087] 50: Control components

[0088] 51: Physical buttons

[0089] BT: Virtual Button

[0090] BT1~BT6: Button

[0091] IT1,IT2: Input options

[0092] S100~S180: Steps

[0093] S110a, S110b, S110c, S110d: Steps

[0094] S120a, S120b, S120c: Steps

[0095] S131~S134: Steps

[0096] S132a, S132a', S132b, S132c: Steps

[0097] S141~S144: Steps

[0098] S142a, S142b, S142c: Steps

[0099] ST1: First string

[0100] ST2: Second string DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0101] Please refer to Figure 1 , a mobile device 10 with multiple input methods (hereinafter referred to as mobile device 10) can provide multiple input operations such as virtual keyboard, image conversion (such as barcode scanning and / or text recognition). The mobile device 10 includes a general camera module 100, a dedicated camera module 110, a barcode decoding module 120, a touch display module 130 and a control module 140. Among them, the barcode decoding module 120 is electrically connected between the dedicated camera module 110 and the control module 140, and the control module 140 is electrically connected to the general camera module 100, the barcode decoding module 120 and the touch display module 130.

[0102] Here, the barcode decoding module 120 can capture at least one barcode image through the dedicated camera module 110 and convert each captured barcode image into at least one string (hereinafter referred to as a first string).

[0103] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 In some embodiments, the mobile device 10 includes a housing 20 and at least one physical button 21. The touch display module 130 is embedded in the front side of the housing 20 (eg Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the general camera module 100, the dedicated camera module 110 and at least one physical button 21 are embedded in the housing 20, and the barcode decoding module 120 and the control module 140 are disposed inside the housing 20 (not shown).

[0104] In some embodiments, the general camera module 100 can be embedded in the back side of the housing 20 (eg Figure 3 In some embodiments, the general camera module 100 may also be embedded in the front side of the housing 20 (not shown).

[0105] In some embodiments, the dedicated camera module 110 may be embedded in the back side of the housing 20 (eg, Figure 3 In some other embodiments, the dedicated camera module 110 may also be embedded in the side surface of the housing 20 (not shown).

[0106] In some embodiments, at least one physical button 21 may be embedded in a side surface of the housing 20 (eg, Figure 3 In some other embodiments, at least one physical button 21 may also be embedded in the front of the housing 20 (not shown). In some embodiments, at least one physical button 21 is multiple. The multiple physical buttons 21 may all be embedded in the side or front of the housing 20, or some physical buttons 21 may be embedded in the side of the housing 20 and other physical buttons 21 may be embedded in the front of the housing 20.

[0107] In some embodiments, the mobile device 10 may be a device with touch function and text input application, such as but not limited to a smart phone, a tablet computer or a touch computer, etc. In some embodiments, the general camera module 100 may be a front camera or a rear camera on the mobile device 10 for taking photos or recording videos.

[0108] Please refer to Figures 1 to 6 When the mobile device 10 starts to operate, the touch display module 130 displays an input field 210 on a display screen 200 (step S100, such as Figure 5 shown).

[0109] In some embodiments, the size of the display screen 200 is not larger than the size of the screen of the touch display module 130. For example, the size of the display screen 200 may be substantially equal to the size of the touch display module 130 (eg, Figure 2 shown).

[0110] In some embodiments, the input field 210 can be a desktop widget resident on the desktop provided by the operating system or application of the mobile device 10 (for example, but not limited to the search bar on the main screen of the mobile device 10), a field of a search engine in an application or a web page (for example, but not limited to the App Store search engine or the Google search engine, etc.), or a text input page or field in an application or a web page (for example, but not limited to the input page of Word or the create post field of Facebook, etc.).

[0111] After step S100, the control module 140 responds to a trigger input event of the input field 210 to activate a trigger element 30 of an image conversion input method, and controls the touch display module 130 to simultaneously display the input field 210 and a first overlapping window 220 in the display screen 200 (step S110, as shown in FIG. 11). Figure 5 ). The first overlapping window 220 is composed of a virtual keyboard 221 of a system default input method, and the system default input method is connected to the input field 210.

[0112] In some embodiments, the trigger element 30 is a virtual key 230, and the control module 140 controls the touch display module 130 to simultaneously display the input field 210, the first overlapping window 220 and the virtual key 230 on the display screen 200 to activate the trigger element 30. In other words, the control module 140 realizes the activation of the trigger element 30 of the image conversion input method by controlling the touch display module 130 to display the trigger element 30. In some implementations, the virtual key 230 can be set in a floating manner in the display screen 200. In other words, the user can press and drag the virtual key 230 to any position in the display screen 200, and after the user releases the pressing, the virtual key 230 will stay at the current position in the display screen 200 to which it is dragged. In other implementations, the virtual key 230 can also be fixedly set in the display screen 200. For example, it is fixed in the middle position of the display screen 200 near the left side.

[0113] After step S110, the control module 140 switches the first overlapping window 220 displayed on the display screen 200 to a second overlapping window 240 (eg, Figure 6 As shown in step S120 ), the second overlapping window 240 has a custom keyboard 241 of an image conversion input method and a preview pane 242 of the image conversion input method in parallel, and the preview pane 242 is linked to the general camera module 100 or the dedicated camera module 110 .

[0114] In some embodiments, the custom keyboard 241 may be a text input keyboard having the same function as the virtual keyboard 221 (eg, Figure 6 It can also be other types of input keyboards, such as but not limited to a handwriting input keyboard or a voice input keyboard (not shown). The user can set the type of the custom keyboard 241 by himself.

[0115] In some embodiments, if the trigger element 30 is a virtual key 230 , the first trigger event may be a user pressing once or continuously clicking on the virtual key 230 .

[0116] For example, the input field 210 is a search bar on the main screen of the mobile device 10 (eg Figure 2 When the user clicks the input field 210 (i.e., an input trigger event occurs in the input field 210), the control module 140 responds to the user's click event and controls the touch display module 130 to display a cursor 211 in the input field 210, and a first overlapping window 220 including a virtual keyboard 221 of the system default input method is floated out from the bottom of the display screen 200, and a virtual key 230 of the image conversion input method is displayed floatingly or fixedly at any position in the display screen 200 (e.g., Figure 5Then, when the user presses (i.e., the first trigger event) the virtual key 230, the touch display module 130 switches the first overlapping window 220 displayed on the display screen 200 to the second overlapping window 240 (i.e., Figure 6 shown).

[0117] Please refer to Figure 6 In some embodiments, the mobile device 10 further includes at least one selection key 243, 244, and the image conversion input method includes a barcode scanning input method. In other words, the mobile device 10 has a barcode scanning function.

[0118] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 to Figure 7 In some embodiments, after step S120, the control module 140 activates the barcode scanning input method in response to a barcode selection event of a selection key 243 among at least one selection key 243 and 244 (step S131). In other words, the selection key 243 corresponds to the barcode scanning function.

[0119] In some embodiments, the selection key 243 corresponding to the barcode scanning function may be a physical key (e.g., one of the at least one physical key 21) of the mobile device 10, or a virtual key on the second overlapping window 240. For example, taking the selection key 243 as a virtual key, the barcode selection event may be a user clicking the virtual key (i.e., the selection key 243) once.

[0120] After step S131 , the mobile device 10 uses a barcode scanning input method to scan at least one barcode to obtain at least one first string (step S132 ).

[0121] In some embodiments of step S132, the dedicated camera module 110 captures at least one barcode to obtain at least one barcode image 31 of the at least one barcode (step S132a). Subsequently, the barcode image 31 is transmitted to the barcode decoding module 120, and the barcode decoding module 120 decodes each barcode image 31 into at least one first string (step S132c).

[0122] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 and Figure 8 In some other embodiments of step S132, the dedicated camera module 110 captures at least one barcode to obtain at least one barcode image 31 of the at least one barcode and a preview screen 245 having the at least one barcode image 31 (step S132a'). Next, the control module 140 of the mobile device 10 controls the touch display module 130 to instantly preview and display the preview screen 245 in the preview pane 242 (step S132b, as shown in FIG. 1 ). Fig. 9 ), so that the user can confirm the barcode that the dedicated camera module 110 is aimed at. Then, the control module 140 transmits at least one barcode image 31 to the barcode decoding module 120, and the barcode decoding module 120 decodes at least one barcode image 31 into at least one first string (step S132c).

[0123] After step S132, the control module 140 receives the first string output by the barcode decoding module 120, and controls the touch display module 130 to display any first string ST1 of the at least one first string in the input field 210 (step S134, such as Fig.10 shown).

[0124] For example, take a barcode as an example, the barcode information carried by the barcode is "ABC123456". Here, the dedicated camera module 110 photographs the barcode to obtain the barcode image 31 of the barcode, and then the barcode decoding module 120 decodes the obtained barcode image 31 to obtain the first string ST1 of "ABC123456".

[0125] In some embodiments, when the dedicated camera module 110 captures multiple barcodes at one time (i.e., there are multiple barcode images at least one), the touch display module 130 displays the first string represented by (i.e., converted from) the barcode image at a specified position in the preview screen 245 (e.g., the barcode image overlapping the center of the preview screen 245) in the input field 210.

[0126] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Fig. 9 , Fig.11 and Fig.12 In some embodiments, at least one first string can be multiple, and the second overlapping window 240 further has a candidate field 246. The candidate field 246 is above the custom keyboard 241 and the preview pane 242 (eg, Fig.12 In other words, the dedicated camera module 110 captures multiple barcodes at one time and obtains multiple barcode images 32 and 33. At this time, in step S132c, the barcode decoding module 120 decodes the barcode images 32 and 33 of the multiple barcodes into multiple first character strings, and the control module 140 controls the touch display module 130 to display the multiple first character strings as input options IT1 and IT2 of the input field 210 in the candidate field 246 (step S133, as shown). Fig.11 shown).

[0127] For example, take the dedicated camera module 110 taking pictures of two bar codes at one time (e.g. Fig.12), the barcode information carried by the two barcodes is "DEF789012" and "GHI345678" respectively. At this time, the candidate field 246 has two input options IT1 and IT2, one of which is the first string "DEF789012" converted from the barcode image 32, and the other is the first string "GHI345678" converted from the barcode image 33. Specifically, when the mobile device 10 captures the barcode images 32 and 33 of the two barcodes, the barcode decoding module 120 decodes the two barcode images 32 and 33 into the first strings "DEF789012" and "GHI345678" respectively, and the two first strings are displayed in the candidate field 246 as input options IT1 and IT2, so that at least one of the two first strings can be selected to be input into the input field 210.

[0128] Please refer to Fig.13 In some embodiments, the image conversion input method may further include a text recognition input method, and the mobile device 10 further includes a text recognition engine 150. The text recognition engine 150 is electrically connected between the general camera module 100 and the control module 140, and is disposed inside the housing 20 (not shown). In other words, the mobile device 10 has an optical character recognition (OCR) function.

[0129] Please refer to Figure 4 , Fig.13 and Fig.14 In some embodiments, after step S120 or step S134, the control module 140 activates the text recognition input method in response to a text selection event of another selection key 244 of the at least one selection key 243, 244 (step S141). In other words, the selection key 244 corresponds to the optical character recognition function.

[0130] In some embodiments, the selection key 244 corresponding to the optical character recognition function may be a physical key (e.g., one of the at least one physical key 21) of the mobile device 10, or a virtual key on the second overlapping window 240. For example, if the selection key 244 is a virtual key, the text selection event may be a user clicking the virtual key (i.e., the selection key 244).

[0131] In some embodiments, the selection key 243 corresponding to the barcode scanning function and the selection key 244 corresponding to the optical character recognition function can both be physical keys of the mobile device 10 (for example, any two of the plurality of physical keys 21 of the mobile device 10), or both can be virtual keys on the second overlapping window 240 (for example, Figure 6), or one is a physical key of the mobile device 10 (such as one of the at least one physical key 21 ) and the other is a virtual key on the second overlapping window 240 .

[0132] After step S141 , the mobile device 10 can detect at least one character using the text recognition input method to obtain at least one character string (hereinafter referred to as a second character string, step S142 ).

[0133] Please refer to Figure 4 , Figures 13 to 17 In some embodiments of step S142, the general camera module 100 captures at least one character to obtain at least one character string image 41, 42 of the at least one character and another preview screen 247 having at least one character string image 41, 42 (step S142a, such as Fig.16 Then, the control module 140 of the mobile device 10 controls the touch display module 130 to instantly preview and display another preview image 247 in the preview pane 242 (step S142b, as shown). Fig.16 Then, the mobile device 10 utilizes the text recognition engine 150 to recognize and convert at least one character string image 41, 42 into at least one second character string (step S142c, as shown in FIG. 142c ). Fig.17 shown).

[0134] Finally, the control module 140 controls the touch display module 130 to display any second string ST2 of the at least one second string in the input field 210 (step S144, such as Fig.17 For example, taking the two string images 41 and 42 as examples, in step S142c, the second string ST2 converted by the string image 41 is "Hello", and the second string converted by the string image 42 is "world". And, in step S144, the second string ST2 of "Hello" is displayed in the input field 210.

[0135] In some embodiments, when the at least one second string obtained in step S142c is multiple, after step S142c and before step S144, the control module 140 can control the touch display module 130 to display the multiple second strings as input options of the input field 210 in the candidate field (step S143, not shown). After the user clicks, the touch display module 130 displays the second string ST2 selected by the user in the input field 210 (step S144, not shown). Fig.17 shown).

[0136] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Fig.13 and Fig.18In some embodiments, after step S120, the control module 140 controls the touch display module 130 to switch the displayed second overlapping window 240 back to the first overlapping window 220 in response to the first trigger event occurring again (step S160, such as Figure 5 For example, following the previous example, taking pressing once as the first trigger event, when the second overlapping window 240 is displayed on the display screen 200 (as shown in FIG. Figure 6 , Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.12 , Fig.16 and Fig.17 As shown), and when the user presses the trigger element 30 again, the control module 140 can switch the displayed second overlapping window 240 back to the first overlapping window 220 (as shown Figure 5 It should be clear that Fig.18 It is shown that step S160 is executed immediately after step S120, but this order is not a limitation of the present invention. Under reasonable circumstances, step S160 is executed before or after any step after step S120 (for example, any one of steps S131-S134, S141-S144).

[0137] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Fig.13 , Fig.19 and Fig. 20 In some embodiments, after step S110, the control module 140 controls the touch display module 130 to display a setting window 250 of the image conversion input method in response to a second trigger event of the trigger element 30 (step S170, such as Fig. 20 It should be clear that Fig.19 It is shown that step S170 is executed immediately after step S110, but this order is not a limitation of the present invention. Under reasonable circumstances, step S170 is executed before or after any step after step S110 (for example, any one of steps S120, S131-S134, S141-S144, S160).

[0138] In some embodiments, the first trigger event and the second trigger event are different trigger events. In some embodiments, the first trigger event is a short press, and the second trigger event is a long press. For example, a short press is, but not limited to, a single press or a press for 1 second and then release, and a long press is, for example, a press for more than 3 seconds, but is not limited to this.

[0139] In some embodiments, the mobile device 10 can adjust various functions of the image conversion input method and its preview pane 242 through a setting window 250 .

[0140] Please refer to Fig. 20 In some embodiments, the setting window 250 has a plurality of virtual buttons BT. Each virtual button BT has a corresponding setting or function. For example, the function button BT1 is used to adjust the detailed settings of functions such as OCR, QR code scanning and barcode scanning (for example, the automatic / manual function setting of barcode scanning). The Windows button BT2 is used to set the size and position of the preview pane 242. The notice button BT3 is used to set the switch of the sound notification and / or the vibration notification when the recognition or scanning is successful. The prefix / suffix button BT4 is used to set the switch of adding a prefix / suffix string before and after at least one first string. The autoreturn button BT5 is used to set the switch of automatically or manually hiding the preview pane 242 after the scanning or recognition is successful. The other buttons BT6 are used to execute other detailed settings related to the preview pane 242 (for example, appearance settings such as language or background). In other words, any functions related to the image conversion input method and its custom keyboard 241 and preview pane 242 (such as the type of the custom keyboard 241 mentioned above) can be customized by the user by providing setting buttons, options or any combination thereof in the setting window 250.

[0141] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 , Fig.13 , Fig.21 and Fig. 22 In some embodiments, the overlapping window 240 may include a zoom-in key 248. After step S120, the control module 140 controls the touch display module 130 to zoom in and display the preview pane 242 in response to a zoom-in trigger event of the zoom-in key 248 (e.g., the zoom-in key 248 is pressed and selected) (step S180, such as Fig.21 It should be clear that Fig.21 It is shown that step S180 is executed immediately after step S120, but this order is not a limitation of the present invention. Under reasonable circumstances, step S180 is executed before or after any step after step S120 (for example, any one of S131-S134, S141-S144).

[0142] In some embodiments of step S180, the control module 140 may control the touch display module 130 to enlarge and display the preview pane 242 in response to the enlargement trigger event of the enlargement key 248. In some embodiments, the second overlapping window 240 has a first size, the preview pane 242 before enlargement has a second size, and the preview pane 242 after enlargement has a third size. Here, the second size is smaller than the first size, and the third size is larger than the second size and smaller than or equal to the first size. In some embodiments, the second size and / or the third size of the preview pane 242 can be set in the setting window 250 of the image conversion input method. For example, the third size of the preview pane 242 is substantially equal to the first size of the second overlapping window 240 (e.g., Fig. 22 In other words, in some embodiments, the second overlapping window 240 may only have the preview pane 242 but not the custom keyboard 241. The user may use the setting window 250 of the image conversion input method to set the second overlapping window 240 to have the custom keyboard 241 and the preview pane 242 in parallel (such as Figure 6 ), or setting the second overlapping window 240 to have only the preview pane 242 (as shown in Fig. 22 shown).

[0143] In some embodiments, the trigger element 30 is a physical button. Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Figures 13 to 15 , Fig.23 and Fig.24 In some implementations, the trigger element 30 may be one of at least one physical button 21 located on the body of the mobile device 10 (i.e., embedded in the housing 20) (hereinafter referred to as the physical button 21), and the physical button 21 is electrically connected to the control module 140 (e.g., Figure 2 shown).

[0144] In some embodiments of step S110, the control module 140 enables an input method switching function of the physical key 21 in response to the input trigger event of the input field 210 (i.e., activates the trigger element 30 of the image conversion input method via the input field 210) (step S110a), and controls the touch display module 130 to simultaneously display the input field 210 and the first overlapping window 220 on the display screen (step S110b). After step S110b, the control module 140 of the mobile device 10 receives a switching signal from the physical key 21 via wire (step S110c), and switches the first overlapping window 220 displayed on the display screen 200 to the second overlapping window 240 in response to the switching signal (step S120a). It should be clear that Fig.23It is shown that steps S110 and S120a are executed immediately after step S100, but this order is not a limitation of the present invention. Under reasonable circumstances, steps S110 and S120a are executed before or after any step after step S100 (for example, any one of steps S131-S134, S141-S144).

[0145] In some embodiments of step S110a, when the input field 210 is clicked (i.e., the input trigger event occurs) and the cursor 211 appears therein, the input field 210 generates an activation signal to notify the control module 140 that the input trigger event occurs. In response to the received activation signal, the control module 140 enables the input method switching function of the given physical key 21. In other words, before the physical key 21 does not enable the input method switching function, any pressing or clicking event (i.e., the first trigger event) occurring on the physical key 21 will not cause the control module 140 to control the touch display module 130 to display the input field 210 and the first overlapping window 220 on the display screen at the same time, and the touch display module 130 keeps displaying the first overlapping window 220 on the display screen 200.

[0146] In some other implementations, the trigger element 30 may be a physical button located on a peripheral component of the mobile device 10 body (ie, embedded in a component that is separate from the body but matches the body, such as embedded in a housing of a control element).

[0147] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Figures 13 to 15 , Fig.25 and Fig.26 In some embodiments, the mobile device 10 further includes a communication module 160 and a control element 50 (eg Figure 1 and Fig.25 ), and the trigger element 30 is a physical button 51 on the control element 50. The communication module 160 is electrically connected to the control module 140, and the control element 50 is wirelessly connected to the communication module 160. In some embodiments, the communication module 160 is disposed inside the housing 20 of the mobile device 10 ( Fig.25 (not shown).

[0148] In some embodiments of step S110, the control module 140 enables an input method switching function of the physical key 51 in response to an input trigger event to activate the trigger element 30 of the image conversion input method (step S110a), and controls the touch display module 130 to simultaneously display the input field 210 and the first overlapping window 220 on the display screen (step S110b). After step S110b, the communication module 160 of the mobile device 10 wirelessly receives a switching signal from the physical key 51 on the control element 50 (step S110d), and transmits the switching signal to the control module 140. Subsequently, the control module 140 of the mobile device 10 switches the first overlapping window 220 displayed on the display screen 200 to the second overlapping window 240 in response to the switching signal (step S120a). It should be clear that Fig.26 It is shown that steps S110 and S120a are executed immediately after step S100, but this order is not a limitation of the present invention. Under reasonable circumstances, steps S110 and S120a are executed before or after any step after step S100 (for example, any one of steps S131-S134, S141-S144).

[0149] In some embodiments, the user can control the control element 50 to generate the switching signal through a switching trigger event. The switching trigger event is, for example, pressing the physical button 51 once or long pressing the physical button 51, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the user can set the switching trigger event in the setting window 250.

[0150] In some embodiments, the trigger element 30 is a designated gesture, and the control module 140 activates the trigger element 30 by enabling a gesture detection input function of the designated gesture.

[0151] Please refer to Figures 1 to 7 , Figures 13 to 15 and Fig. 27 In some embodiments, after step S110, the control module 140 may detect a designated gesture received by the touch display module 130 (step S120b). When the control module 140 detects the designated gesture, the control module 140 controls the touch display module 130 to switch the first overlapping window 220 displayed on the display screen 200 to the second overlapping window 240 (step S120c). It should be clear that Fig. 27 It is shown that step S120 is executed immediately after step S110, but this order is not a limitation of the present invention. Under reasonable circumstances, step S120 is executed before or after any step after step S110 (for example, any one of steps S131-S134, S141-S144).

[0152] In some embodiments, the designated gesture is a gesture action performed by the user on the touch display module 130 of the mobile device 10, such as but not limited to single click, double click, drag, flick, swipe, zoom in, zoom out, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the user can set the designated gesture in the setting window 250.

[0153] In some implementations, the control module 140 can simultaneously activate multiple trigger elements 30 of different types, such as Figure 5 The virtual keys 230 shown, Fig.24 The physical buttons 21 at the near end are shown. Fig.25 In some other embodiments, the control module 140 may activate only a single type of trigger element 30, such as Figure 5 The virtual keys 230 shown, Fig.24 The physical buttons 21 at the near end are shown. Fig.25 The remote physical button 51 or the designated gesture (not shown) is shown.

[0154] In some embodiments, the general camera module 100 and the dedicated camera module 110 may be photosensitive elements for sensing images (including barcode images and string images) and converting the images into electronic signals, such as but not limited to charge-coupled devices (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor sensors (CMOS sensors).

[0155] In some embodiments, the barcode decoding module 120 and the text recognition engine 150 may be hardware components with computing functions, such as but not limited to a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an embedded controller or a microcontroller unit (MCU).

[0156] In some embodiments, the barcode decoding module 120 converts at least one barcode image into at least one first string according to data in a database built into the mobile device 10, and the text recognition engine 150 converts at least one string image into at least one second string according to data in a database built into the mobile device 10.

[0157] In some embodiments, the mobile device 10 is coupled to a cloud database by wireless communication via the communication module 160. The barcode decoding module 120 converts at least one barcode image into at least one first string according to the data in the cloud database, and the text recognition engine 150 converts at least one string image into at least one second string according to the data in the cloud database.

[0158] In some embodiments, the touch display module 130 may be a display device with touch function, such as but not limited to a resistive touch panel, a capacitive touch panel, an infrared touch panel, an optical touch panel or a surface acoustic wave touch panel.

[0159] In some embodiments, the control module 140 can be a hardware element with logic processing functions, such as but not limited to a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a microcontroller unit.

[0160] In some embodiments, the barcode decoding module 120 , the control module 140 , and the text recognition engine 150 may be three hardware components with signal processing functions respectively.

[0161] In other embodiments, the dedicated camera module 110 and the barcode decoding module 120 may be integrated into an independent hardware component, namely a barcode engine (also called a barcode scanning module), while the control module 140 and the text recognition engine 150 are implemented by a single hardware component with signal processing function.

[0162] In some other embodiments, the barcode decoding module 120 , the control module 140 , and the text recognition engine 150 may be implemented by a single hardware component having a signal processing function.

[0163] In some embodiments, the communication module 160 may be a chip or circuit with wireless communication function, such as but not limited to a Wi-Fi chip, a Bluetooth chip, or an infrared chip.

[0164] In some embodiments, the control element 50 may be a control device having a physical button 51 and a wireless communication function, such as but not limited to a stylus pen, a presentation pen, a remote control, a wireless mouse or a wireless keyboard.

[0165] In summary, according to any embodiment, the mobile device or its input method switching method has both a system default input method and an image conversion input method to provide multiple input functions. In this way, when the user inputs text in any input field, he can select an appropriate input method to perform input operations (such as but not limited to Chinese and English input, barcode scanning input or OCR input, etc.), thereby improving the convenience and efficiency of text input.

[0166] Although the present invention has been disclosed as above by way of embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention of the present invention. Any person with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field may make some modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. However, such modifications and changes are still within the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

Claims

1. A mobile device, characterized in that: Include: A general camera module; A dedicated camera module; A barcode decoding module, electrically connected to the dedicated camera module, for capturing at least one barcode image through the dedicated camera module, and converting the at least one barcode image into at least one first string, wherein each barcode image is generated by the dedicated camera module photographing at least one barcode; a touch display module, used for displaying a display screen, wherein the display screen has an input field; and A control module is electrically connected to the general camera module, the barcode decoding module and the touch display module, and is used to respond to an input trigger event of the input field to activate a trigger element of an image conversion input method, control the touch display module to simultaneously display the input field and a first overlapping window consisting of a virtual keyboard of a system default input method on the display screen, and respond to a first trigger event of the trigger element to control the touch display module to switch the displayed first overlapping window to a second overlapping window, wherein the second overlapping window has a custom keyboard and a preview pane of the image conversion input method in parallel.

2. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: The trigger element is a virtual button, and the control module activates the trigger element by controlling the touch display module to display the first overlapping window and the virtual button on the display screen simultaneously.

3. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes a shell, the general camera module, the special camera module and the touch display module are embedded in the shell, the barcode decoding module and the control module are arranged in the shell, the trigger element is a physical button, the physical button is embedded in the shell and electrically connected to the control module, and the control module activates the trigger element by enabling an input method switching function of the physical button, and the first trigger event is a switching signal generated by the physical button.

4. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: Also includes: a communication module electrically connected to the control module; and A control element is wirelessly connected to the communication module, wherein the trigger element is a physical button on the control element, the control module activates the trigger element by enabling an input method switching function of the physical button, and the first trigger event is a switching signal generated by the trigger element.

5. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: The trigger element is a designated gesture, and the control module activates the trigger element by enabling a gesture detection input function of the designated gesture.

6. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: The control module is further configured to control the touch display module to switch the displayed second overlapping window back to the first overlapping window in response to the first triggering event occurring again.

7. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: The control module is further used for controlling the touch display module to display a setting screen of the image conversion input method in response to a second trigger event of the trigger element.

8. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes at least one selection key, wherein the dedicated camera module is used to capture a preview screen having the at least one barcode image, and the control module is further used to activate the barcode decoding module in response to a barcode selection trigger event of the at least one selection key, and after activating the barcode decoding module, the preview screen is instantly displayed in the preview pane and one of the at least one first string is displayed in the input field.

9. The mobile device according to claim 8, wherein: The at least one barcode image is multiple, the second overlapping window has a candidate field, the candidate field is above the virtual keyboard and the preview pane, and the control module is further used to display the at least one first string as an input option of the input field in the candidate field after starting the barcode decoding module.

10. The mobile device according to claim 8, wherein: Also includes: A text recognition engine is arranged between the general camera module and the control module, and is used to capture at least one word string image and another preview screen having the at least one word string image through the general camera module, and recognize and convert each of the word string images into at least one second word string, wherein each of the word string images is generated by the general camera module by photographing at least one word.

11. The mobile device according to claim 10, wherein: The control module is further used to respond to a text selection triggering event of the at least one selection key to start the text recognition engine accordingly, and after starting the text conversion engine, the other preview image is instantly displayed in the preview pane and one of the second strings is displayed in the input field.

12. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein: The second overlapping window further includes a zoom-in key, and the control module is further used for controlling the touch display module to zoom in and display the preview pane in response to a zoom-in triggering event of the zoom-in key.

13. A method for switching an input method of a mobile device, characterized in that: Include: displaying an input field on a display screen; activating a trigger element of an image conversion input method via the input field, and controlling a touch display module to simultaneously display the input field and a first overlapping window on the display screen, wherein the first overlapping window is composed of a virtual keyboard of a system default input method; as well as In response to a first trigger event of the trigger element, the first overlapping window displayed on the display screen is switched to a second overlapping window, wherein the second overlapping window has a custom keyboard and a preview pane of a parallel image conversion input method, and the preview pane is linked to a general camera module or a dedicated camera module.

14. The switching method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The trigger element is a virtual button, and the simultaneous display step includes: The input field, the virtual key and the first overlapping window formed by the virtual keyboard of the system default input method are displayed on the display screen at the same time.

15. The switching method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The trigger element is a physical button, the first trigger event is a switching signal generated by the physical button, and the activation step of the trigger element includes: An input method switching function of the physical key is enabled to activate the trigger element.

16. The switching method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The switching method also includes: Receiving the switching signal from the physical button via wire; and The first overlapping window displayed on the display screen is switched to the second overlapping window in response to the switching signal.

17. The switching method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The switching method also includes: wirelessly receiving the switching signal from the physical button; and The first overlapping window displayed on the display screen is switched to the second overlapping window in response to the switching signal.

18. The switching method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The trigger element is a specified gesture, and the switching method further comprises: detecting the designated gesture; and When the designated gesture is detected, the first overlapping window displayed on the display screen is switched to the second overlapping window.

19. The switching method according to claim 13, characterized in that: Also includes: In response to the first trigger event occurring again, the second overlapping window displayed on the display screen is switched back to the first overlapping window.

20. The switching method according to claim 13, characterized in that: Also includes: In response to a second trigger event of the trigger element, a setting screen of the image conversion input method is displayed.

21. The switching method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The image conversion input method includes a barcode scanning input method, and the switching method further includes: In response to a barcode selection trigger event, the barcode scanning input method is started; The barcode scanning input method is used to scan at least one barcode to obtain at least one first string, wherein the activation step of the barcode scanning input method includes: photographing the at least one barcode by the dedicated camera module to obtain at least one barcode image of the at least one barcode; as well as Decoding the at least one barcode image into the at least one first string using a barcode decoding module; and One of the at least one first character string is displayed in the input field.

22. The switching method according to claim 21, characterized in that: The shooting step of the dedicated camera module also obtains a preview screen having the at least one barcode image, and the scanning step using the barcode scanning input method further includes: The preview displays the preview image in the preview pane.

23. The switching method according to claim 21, characterized in that: The at least one barcode image is multiple, the second overlapping window further has a candidate field, the candidate field is above the virtual keyboard and the preview pane, and the switching method further includes: The at least one first string is displayed in the candidate field as an input option of the input field.

24. The switching method according to claim 21, characterized in that: The image conversion input method includes a text recognition input method, the mobile device also includes a text recognition engine, and the switching method further includes: In response to a text selection trigger event, the text recognition input method is activated; The character recognition input method is used to detect at least one character to obtain at least one second character string, wherein the activation step of the character recognition input method includes: photographing the at least one character through the general camera module to obtain at least one character string image of the at least one character and another preview screen having the at least one character string image; Previewing and displaying the other preview picture in the preview pane; as well as Using the text recognition engine to recognize and convert the at least one character string image into the at least one second character string; as well as One of the at least one second string is displayed in the input field.

25. The switching method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The second overlapping window further includes a zoom-in key, and the switching method further includes: The preview pane is displayed in an enlarged manner in response to a zoom-in triggering event of the zoom-in key.

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