Character input device, character input method, and character input program

Abstract

To provide a character input device, a character input method, and a character input program capable of inputting symbols used as a pair, such as parentheses, at a desired position in a sentence that has been inputted.SOLUTION: A character input device 20 is a device for inserting symbols used as a pair at a desired position in a sentence that has been inputted, comprising an input acceptance unit 21, an operation detection unit 22, and a parentheses insertion unit 23. At the input acceptance unit 21, character information is input thereto. The operation detection unit 22 detects an operation of tapping when a user taps with two fingers approximately simultaneously at a desired position in the sentence of the character information input to the input acceptance unit 21. The parentheses insertion unit 23 inserts the symbols used as a pair at the position detected by the operation detection unit 22 where being tapped with the two fingers approximately simultaneously.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a character input device, a character input method, and a character input program for inputting characters on a display screen of, for example, a smartphone or a tablet terminal.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, for example, in character input on a display screen of a smartphone or a tablet terminal, there have been an increasing number of opportunities to input symbols, etc. that are used in pairs such as parentheses in various scenes such as quotations, emphasis, and comparison. However, in a software keyboard installed in a smartphone or the like, input of parentheses or the like is troublesome. Specifically, basic keys for performing general character input are displayed on the keyboard displayed on the display screen, but keys for directly inputting symbols, etc. that are used in pairs such as parentheses are not displayed. For this reason, when inputting parentheses or the like, additional procedures such as displaying a symbol list are required, and thus it is desired to be able to input parentheses more easily.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a keyboard and an input method configured such that when a key assigned to input of a character or symbol represented by a pair such as a parenthesis symbol is pressed when inputting characters using a keyboard, a right parenthesis used in a pair with the left parenthesis is input at a predetermined input position at once. In Patent Document 2, for each of various provisional input characters, a corresponding input candidate character group is stored in a dictionary storage unit. When a provisional input operation of a character is performed by a character input unit, the provisional input character is displayed on a display unit, and at the same time, the input candidate character group corresponding to the provisional input character is extracted from the storage unit and displayed on the display unit as candidate information. When a selection / confirmation operation of a desired input candidate is performed from the candidate information by the character input unit, the selected input candidate character is used as a confirmed input character and inserted after the character input position pointer among the already input character strings and displayed on the display unit. At this time, the character input position pointer is moved to the head of the character position next to the current confirmed input character. In this character input method, when displaying candidate information, if the input candidate character corresponding to the provisional input character is a bracket symbol consisting of a start bracket and an end bracket, it is displayed with a pointer mark between the start bracket and the end bracket. When a selection / confirmation operation of a bracket symbol consisting of a start bracket and an end bracket in the candidate information is performed, the selected bracket symbol is used as a confirmed input character and inserted after the character input position pointer and displayed on the display unit. At this time, the character input position pointer is moved to the head of the end bracket. A character input method and a character input device are disclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, the above conventional character input method has the following problems. That is, in the character input method disclosed in Patent Document 1 above, in the process of inputting characters, a process of inputting a pair of characters or symbols used in a left-right pair by a single keystroke is performed. In addition, in the character input method disclosed in Patent Document 2 above, a process is performed to reduce the labor required when writing parentheses in the process of inputting characters.

[0006] Therefore, the character input methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are both technologies related to the input of parentheses in the process of inputting text, and are not applicable when inserting symbols used in pairs such as parentheses after the text has been input. An object of the present invention is to provide a character input device, a character input method, and a character input program that can easily input symbols used in pairs such as parentheses at a desired position in an already input text.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A character input device according to a first invention is a character input device that inserts symbols used in pairs at a desired position in an already input text, and includes an input reception unit, an operation detection unit, and a symbol insertion unit. The input reception unit receives character information. The operation detection unit detects an operation in which two fingers of the user tap substantially simultaneously at a desired position in the text of the character information input to the input reception unit. The symbol insertion unit inserts symbols used in pairs at the position where the two fingers detected by the operation detection unit tap substantially simultaneously.

[0008] Here, for example, when inputting symbols used in pairs such as parentheses used in a text on a display screen of a smartphone or a tablet terminal, an operation in which two fingers of the user tap substantially simultaneously is detected for the text that has already been input, and symbols used in pairs are input to the two tapped positions respectively. Thereby, for example, when inputting parentheses as symbols used in pairs, compared with the case of inputting the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis separately, the input is completed with only one tap operation for the text that has already been input, so that the labor of the user can be significantly reduced. As a result, symbols used in pairs such as parentheses can be easily input at a desired position in the already input text.

[0009] The character input device according to the second invention is the character input device according to the first invention, and further includes a symbol position determination unit that determines whether the positions of a pair of symbols used are appropriate. Thereby, for example, by performing morphological analysis on the input text and determining the appropriateness of the position where the symbol is inserted, based on the determination result, the symbol inserted at an inappropriate position can be corrected to an appropriate position.

[0010] The character input device according to the third invention is the character input device according to the second invention, and further includes a symbol position correction unit that corrects the position of a symbol determined to be inappropriate when the symbol position determination unit determines that the positions of a pair of symbols used are not appropriate. Thereby, when it is determined that the position tapped with two fingers is deviated from the position where a pair of symbols are to be inserted and is not appropriate, for example, by performing morphological analysis or the like, it can be moved to a position determined to be appropriate.

[0011] The character input device according to the fourth invention is the character input device according to the second or third invention, and the symbol position determination unit performs morphological analysis on the input text and determines the position of the symbol. Thereby, by performing morphological analysis on the input text, it is possible to determine the position where a pair of symbols should originally be inserted.

[0012] The character input device according to the fifth invention is the character input device according to the second or third invention, and further includes a storage unit that stores a determination table for collating the character string obtained by morphological analysis in the symbol position determination unit. Thereby, by referring to the determination table stored in the storage unit and collating the character string obtained by morphological analysis, it is possible to determine the position where a pair of symbols should originally be inserted.

[0013] The character input device according to the sixth invention is the character input device according to the fifth invention, wherein the storage unit stores determination tables for a first symbol (opening parenthesis) and a second symbol (closing parenthesis) included in symbols used in pairs (for example, in the case of parentheses). Accordingly, for each of the first symbol and the second symbol included in the symbols used in pairs, it is possible to easily determine whether they are inserted at appropriate positions by referring to the determination tables stored in the storage unit.

[0014] The character input device according to the seventh invention is the character input device according to the fifth invention, wherein the symbol position determination unit determines the positions of symbols used in pairs by using the determination tables stored in the storage unit. Accordingly, by referring to the determination tables stored in the storage unit and collating the morpheme-analyzed character strings, it is possible to easily determine whether the positions where the symbols used in pairs are inserted are appropriate.

[0015] The character input device according to the eighth invention is the character input device according to the second or third invention, wherein the symbol position determination unit determines which of the positions tapped substantially simultaneously with two fingers detected by the operation detection unit is the first symbol on the front side and which is the second symbol on the rear side. Accordingly, by determining which of the two symbols inserted at the positions tapped substantially simultaneously with two fingers is the first symbol and which is the second symbol, it is possible to easily determine the appropriateness of the inserted positions.

[0016] The character input device according to the ninth invention is the character input device according to the first or second invention, wherein the symbol insertion unit compares the x-coordinates and y-coordinates of two points tapped with two fingers of the user, with reference to the left side of the display screen that displays the input text, and inserts the first symbol at the point with the smaller x-coordinate and the second symbol at the point with the larger x-coordinate. Accordingly, in a horizontally written text, by inserting the first symbol at the point with the smaller x-coordinate and the second symbol at the point with the larger x-coordinate, it is possible to insert the symbols used in pairs at appropriate positions.

[0017] The character input device according to the 10th invention is the character input device according to the 1st or 2nd invention, wherein the symbol insertion unit is based on the left side of the display screen that displays the input text, compares the x coordinates and y coordinates of two points tapped with two fingers of the user, and if the difference in y coordinates is greater than or equal to the height of the characters in the text, inserts the first symbol on the side with the larger y coordinate and the second symbol on the side with the smaller y coordinate. Accordingly, for a text described in multiple lines in a horizontally written text, when it is detected that two fingers have tapped substantially simultaneously across multiple lines, by inserting the first symbol on the side with the larger y coordinate and the second symbol on the side with the smaller y coordinate, the pair of symbols used can be inserted at appropriate positions.

[0018] The character input device according to the 11th invention is the character input device according to the 1st or 2nd invention, and further includes a symbol type determination unit that determines the type of symbol to be inserted according to the context of the input text. Accordingly, by analyzing the input text, for example, if the analysis result indicates that it is a conversation, by determining " " as the pair of symbols to be used, symbols suitable for the text can be automatically inserted.

[0019] The character input device according to the 12th invention is the character input device according to the 1st or 2nd invention, wherein the input reception unit receives an input for manually correcting the position of a pair of symbols inserted in the input text. Accordingly, if the two positions tapped substantially simultaneously in the input text are misaligned, the user can manually correct the misalignment.

[0020] The character input device according to the 13th invention is the character input device according to the 1st or 2nd invention, wherein the input reception unit receives an input for manually correcting the type of a pair of symbols inserted in the input text. Accordingly, if the type of a pair of symbols inserted by tapping substantially simultaneously in the input text is not appropriate, the user can manually change the type of the symbols.

[0021] The character input device according to the 14th invention is a character input device that inserts symbols used in pairs at a desired position in an already input text, and includes an input reception unit, a reference position detection unit, an operation detection unit, and a symbol insertion unit. The input reception unit receives character information. The reference position detection unit detects a reference position input to a desired position in the text of the character information input to the input reception unit. The operation detection unit detects an operation of tapping substantially simultaneously with two fingers of the user at the reference position detected by the reference position detection unit. The symbol insertion unit inserts symbols used in pairs at the position where the two fingers detected by the operation detection unit tap substantially simultaneously.

[0022] Here, for example, when inputting symbols used in pairs such as parentheses used in a text on a display screen of a smartphone, tablet terminal, etc., with respect to a reference position previously input to the already input text, an operation of tapping substantially simultaneously with two fingers of the user is detected, and symbols used in pairs are input to the two tapped reference positions respectively. Thereby, for example, when inputting parentheses as symbols used in pairs, compared with the case of inputting the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis separately, the input is completed with only one tap operation on the already input text, so that the labor of the user can be significantly reduced. As a result, symbols used in pairs such as parentheses can be easily input to a desired position in the already input text.

[0023] The character input method according to the 15th invention is a character input method that inserts symbols used in pairs at a desired position in an already input text, and includes an input reception step, an operation detection step, and a symbol insertion step. In the input reception step, character information is input. In the operation detection step, an operation of tapping substantially simultaneously with two fingers of the user at a desired position in the text of the character information input in the input reception step is detected. In the symbol insertion step, symbols used in pairs are inserted at the position where the two fingers detected in the operation detection step tap substantially simultaneously.

[0024] Here, for example, when inputting symbols used in pairs such as parentheses in a sentence on a display screen of a smartphone, tablet terminal, etc., for a sentence that has already been input in advance, an operation of tapping with two fingers of the user almost simultaneously is detected, and symbols used in pairs are input to the two tapped positions respectively. Thereby, for example, when inputting parentheses as symbols used in pairs, compared with the case of inputting the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis separately, for a sentence that has already been input in advance, the input is completed with only one tap operation, so that the labor of the user can be greatly reduced. As a result, symbols used in pairs such as parentheses can be easily input to a desired position in the input sentence.

[0025] The character input program according to the 16th invention is a character input program for inserting symbols used in pairs at a desired position in an input sentence, and causes a computer to execute a character input method including an input reception step, an operation detection step, and a symbol insertion step. In the input reception step, character information is input. In the operation detection step, an operation of tapping with two fingers of the user almost simultaneously at a desired position in the sentence of the character information input in the input reception step is detected. In the symbol insertion step, symbols used in pairs are inserted into the positions tapped with two fingers detected in the operation detection step almost simultaneously.

[0026] Here, for example, when inputting symbols used in pairs such as parentheses in a sentence on a display screen of a smartphone, tablet terminal, etc., for a sentence that has already been input in advance, an operation of tapping with two fingers of the user almost simultaneously is detected, and symbols used in pairs are input to the two tapped positions respectively. Thereby, for example, when inputting parentheses as symbols used in pairs, compared with the case of inputting the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis separately, for a sentence that has already been input in advance, the input is completed with only one tap operation, so that the labor of the user can be greatly reduced.

[0027] As a result, symbols used in pairs such as parentheses can be easily input to a desired position in the input text.

Advantages of the Invention

[0028] According to the character input device of the present invention, symbols used in pairs such as parentheses can be easily input to a desired position in the input text.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029]

Figure 1

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0030] The character input device 20 and the character input method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14(b). In this embodiment, detailed descriptions that are more detailed than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of well-known matters and duplicate descriptions of substantially the same configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid making the following descriptions unnecessarily redundant and to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art. Also, the applicant provides the accompanying drawings and the following description for those skilled in the art to fully understand the present invention, and does not intend to limit the subject matter described in the claims thereby.

[0031] (1) Configuration of the smartphone 10 The smartphone (display device) 10 according to the present embodiment has a touch panel type input function, and as shown in FIG. 1, includes a touch panel 11, a storage unit 12, and a character input device 20.

[0032] The touch panel (input unit, display unit) 11 has an input function for characters and the like, and a display function for displaying the input characters and the like. In the present embodiment, when performing a process of inserting parentheses at a desired position with respect to the text input via the touch panel 11 of the smartphone 10, various operations such as a tap operation, a flick operation, and a drag operation are accepted. The storage unit 12 stores various programs for executing various functions of the smartphone 10, image data, music data, etc. photographed by the user. Further, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 12 stores a parenthesis input determination table (see FIG. 6) used in the parenthesis input process described later.

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the character input device 20 inserts a pair of parentheses at a desired position where the user's two fingers tap substantially simultaneously with respect to the text that has been previously input, in response to various operations input to the touch panel 11 of the smartphone 10. The detailed configuration of the character input device 20 will be described in detail later. In the following description, it is assumed that the text that has been previously input starts from the upper left on the display screen 11a of the smartphone 10 and is a horizontally written text.

[0034] (2) Configuration of the character input device 20 The character input device 20 according to this embodiment is mounted on a terminal such as a smartphone 10. As shown in FIG. 1, it includes an input reception unit 21, an operation detection unit 22, a parenthesis insertion unit (symbol insertion unit) 23, a parenthesis position determination unit (symbol position determination unit) 24, a parenthesis position correction unit (symbol position correction unit) 25, a morphological analysis unit 26, a style collation unit 27, a context determination unit 28, a parenthesis type determination unit (symbol type determination unit) 29, and a conversion control unit 30.

[0035] The input reception unit 21 receives input of information such as characters and various operations via the touch panel 11. Also, when the position of the parentheses inserted into the text described later is not the desired position, the input reception unit 21 receives the process of the user manually correcting the position of the parentheses (see FIG. 3(a)). Further, when the type of the parentheses inserted into the text described later is not the desired type, the input reception unit 21 receives the process of the user manually correcting the type of the parentheses (see FIG. 3(b)).

[0036] Note that the character information received by the input reception unit 21 may be character information directly input by the user, or may be information obtained from external sources for the already input character information. The operation detection unit 22 detects an operation of tapping on the display screen 11a of the touch panel 11 with two fingers almost simultaneously on the text that has been input in advance (hereinafter, the simultaneous tap operation (see FIG. 2(a))), a flick operation, a drag operation, etc.

[0037] The parenthesis insertion unit (symbol insertion unit) 23 inserts a pair of predetermined parentheses (for example, "」" as the initial setting) as symbols used in pairs at the position tapped almost simultaneously with two fingers detected by the operation detection unit 22 (see FIG. 2(b)). Also, the parenthesis insertion unit 23 determines which tap position is to be the opening parenthesis (the first symbol) or the closing parenthesis (the second symbol) for the parentheses inserted at the position tapped almost simultaneously with two fingers, and inserts the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis at appropriate positions.

[0038] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4(a), if the coordinates of the positions tapped almost simultaneously with two fingers are ▲(X1, Y1) and ▼(X2, Y2), then as shown in FIG. 4(b), when the Y coordinate is Y2 < Y1 and (Y1 - Y2 < the height of one character), it is determined that the two tap positions are on the same line, and the positions of the opening and closing parentheses are determined by the magnitude relationship of the X coordinates. That is, when X2 < X1, an opening parenthesis is inserted at the position of ▼, and a closing parenthesis is inserted at the position of ▲.

[0039] On the other hand, when the Y coordinate is Y2 < Y1 and (Y1 - Y2 ≥ the height of one character), it is determined that the two parentheses span multiple lines, and the positions of the opening and closing parentheses are determined by the magnitude relationship of the Y coordinates regardless of the magnitude relationship of the X coordinates. That is, when Y2 < Y1, an opening parenthesis is inserted at the position of ▲, and a closing parenthesis is inserted at the position of ▼. Conversely, when the Y coordinate is Y1 < Y2 and (Y2 - Y1 ≥ the height of one character), it is determined that the two parentheses span multiple lines, and the positions of the opening and closing parentheses are determined by the magnitude relationship of the Y coordinates regardless of the magnitude relationship of the X coordinates. That is, when Y1 < Y2, an opening parenthesis is inserted at the position of ▼, and a closing parenthesis is inserted at the position of ▲.

[0040] The parenthesis position determination unit (symbol position determination unit) 24 determines whether the positions of the parentheses inserted by the parenthesis insertion unit 23 at the positions of the simultaneous tap operations in the text are appropriate. The parenthesis position correction unit (symbol position correction unit) 25 moves one or both of the parentheses (the opening and closing parentheses) to an appropriate position when the parenthesis position determination unit 24 determines that the positions of the parentheses inserted by the parenthesis insertion unit 23 at the positions of the simultaneous tap operations in the text are not appropriate.

[0041] The morphological analysis unit 26 performs morphological analysis when the parenthesis position determination unit 24 determines whether the positions of the parentheses inserted by the parenthesis insertion unit 23 at the positions of the simultaneous tap operations in the text are appropriate. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the morphological analysis unit 26 performs morphological analysis on all the character strings in the field tapped on the display screen 11a of the smartphone 10.

[0042] The text style matching unit 27 compares the text style by collating the result of the analysis in the morphological analysis unit 26 with the parenthesis input determination table stored in the storage unit 12. Here, the parenthesis input determination table determines whether the position between the morphemes is optimal for inputting parentheses from four viewpoints: part of speech, punctuation, beginning of a sentence, and end of a sentence, for a string in a morphemically analyzed state, and is used to specify the position where parentheses should be input in the morphemically analyzed string. And as shown in FIG. 6, for example, for a part such as "Mother said that she would go on a round-the-world trip.", the parenthesis input determination table is referred to, and the suitability of the position suitable for the opening parenthesis and the position suitable for the closing parenthesis is specified.

[0043] For example, for each of the parts of speech (verbs, adjectives, adjectival nouns, nouns, adverbs, conjunctions, connectives, interjections, auxiliary verbs) classified by morphological analysis, punctuation marks, and periods, it is determined one by one at which position parentheses should be inserted and their context. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the text style matching unit 27 determines the suitability of the parenthesis input position using the parenthesis input determination table stored in the storage unit 12. And as shown in FIG. 7, the text style matching unit 27 determines whether the positions "▲" and "▼" tapped on the display screen 11a of the smartphone 10 match the positions " / " where parentheses should originally be input as identified by morphological analysis.

[0044] Here, as a result of morphological analysis on the display screen 11a of FIG. 5(b), the inserted " / "s are displayed in different colors for the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis. For example, the 11 " / "s from the beginning of the sentence to between "Mother went on a" and "trip" are displayed in green, and the 11 " / "s from between "trip" and "said that she would go" to the end of the sentence are displayed in red. Note that, among the pair of parentheses used, the optimal positions for the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis in the input are different. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, the parenthesis input determination table is prepared with two determination tables, one for the opening parenthesis and one for the closing parenthesis. Thereby, for the morpheme-analyzed character string, the optimal positions for inputting each of the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis can be specified using the parenthesis input determination table.

[0045] That is, for the opening parenthesis, it is determined that there is a possibility of insertion (〇) between a particle and a noun, no possibility of insertion (×) between a noun and a particle, a possibility of insertion (〇) between nouns, no possibility of insertion (×) between a particle and a verb stem, ··· Similarly, for the closing parenthesis, it is determined that there is a possibility of insertion (〇) between a noun and a particle, no possibility of insertion (×) between a particle and a noun, a possibility of insertion (〇) between nouns, no possibility of insertion (×) between a particle and a verb stem, ···

[0046] The context determination unit 28 determines the context of the text between the positions where parentheses are inserted by a simultaneous tap operation in the text that has already been input. Specifically, the context determination unit 28 determines whether the text is a conversation, an interrogative sentence, an exclamatory sentence, etc. based on the part-of-speech information included in the parentheses where the input position has been determined. For example, if the parentheses contain an interjection, an exclamation, a question mark, or contain verbs such as "say", "talk", "describe", "speak", "utter" indicating that words are spoken between the closing parenthesis and the end of the sentence or a period, a comma, a question mark, an exclamation mark, it is determined as a conversation sentence.

[0047] The parenthesis type determination unit (symbol type determination unit) 29 selects and determines an appropriate type of parenthesis according to the context determined by the context determination unit 28. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, when the parentheses contain an exclamation mark (!), or when they contain an interjection or a question mark, the parentheses type determination unit 29 selects and determines the key parentheses “「」” as the type of the input parentheses. Also, as described above, when the text from the closing parenthesis to the end of the sentence or a period, comma, question mark, or exclamation mark includes verbs such as “say,” “speak,” “describe,” “utter,” or “express,” it is presumed to be a conversation sentence, so the key parentheses “「」” are also selected and determined accordingly.

[0048] The conversion control unit 30 receives the processing in the above-mentioned parenthesis insertion unit 23, parenthesis position determination unit 24, parenthesis position correction unit 25, morphological analysis unit 26, style matching unit 27, context determination unit 28, and parenthesis type determination unit 29, and displays a pair of desired parentheses on the touch panel 11. In addition, in the character input device 20 of the present embodiment, in order to adjust the position of the parentheses automatically inserted into the text by tapping the pre-input text with two fingers almost simultaneously, the input reception unit 21 receives a manual operation by the user.

[0049] That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the input reception unit 21 receives a flick operation and / or a drag operation by the user so that the positions “▲” and “▼” of the two parentheses input with respect to the pre-input text displayed on the display screen 11a of the smartphone 10 are moved to the optimal positions with reference to the position of “ / ” inserted into the character string analyzed by the morphological analysis unit 26.

[0050] Similarly, in the character input device 20 of the present embodiment, the user can manually change the type of the parentheses automatically inserted into the text by tapping the pre-input text with two fingers almost simultaneously. That is, as shown in Fig. 10(a), when the user taps either of the two types of brackets, i.e., “「” or “」”, inputted for the pre-input text displayed on the display screen 11a of the smartphone 10, a list of brackets of another type, i.e., “()”, “{}”, “[]”, “<>”, “『』”, “≪≫”, is displayed as shown in Fig. 10(b), and a new bracket candidate is selected. As a result, for each of the opening and closing brackets, the bracket type is changed to the selected candidate so that it becomes the optimal type of bracket selected by the user.

[0051] <Character input method> The character input method of this embodiment will be described as follows with reference to Figs. 11 to 14(b).

[0052] First, as shown in Fig. 2, with reference to Figs. 11 and 12, a character input method for automatically inserting brackets at a desired position for the pre-input text on the display screen 11a of the touch panel 11 of the smartphone 10 will be described. That is, as shown in Fig. 11, in step S11, the input reception unit 21 determines whether it has received a two-finger simultaneous tap operation on the display screen 11a of the smartphone 10 for the pre-input text (input reception step, operation detection step). Here, when the input reception unit 21 receives the simultaneous tap operation, the process proceeds to steps S12 and S16.

[0053] Next, in step S12, since the input reception unit 21 has received the simultaneous tap operation on the display screen 11a in step S11, the bracket position determination unit 24 acquires the character string on the field of the display screen 11a. Next, in step S13, for the character string acquired in step S12, the morphological analysis unit 26 performs morphological analysis.

[0054] Next, in step S14, the style collation unit 27 acquires the analysis result of the morphological analysis unit 26 in step S13 and collates it with the position between the morphemes in the bracket input determination table. Next, in step S15, based on the result of morphological analysis obtained in step S14, the bracket position determination unit 24 determines whether the position of the simultaneous tap operation is a position where an opening bracket is to be inserted.

[0055] Here, if it is determined that the position is that of an opening bracket, the process proceeds to "1", and if it is determined that the position is that of a closing bracket, the process proceeds to "2". On the other hand, in step S16, after receiving the simultaneous tap operation with two fingers in step S11, the position of the simultaneous tap operation is detected. Next, in step S17, the bracket position determination unit 24 compares the magnitude relationship between the two X coordinates and Y coordinates of the simultaneous tap position whose coordinates were detected in step S16, and determines whether Y1≈Y2 and X2<X1.

[0056] Note that whether Y1≈Y2 is determined based on whether (Y1 - Y2 < the height of one character) as described above. Here, if the condition X2<X1 is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S18a, and if the condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S18b. Next, in step S18a, since it was determined in step S17 that Y1≈Y2 and the condition X2<X1 is satisfied, the bracket position determination unit 24 determines that, among the two coordinates in the same row, X2 indicating the left - hand coordinate is the insertion position of the opening bracket and X1 is the insertion position of the closing bracket.

[0057] On the other hand, in step S18b, it is determined whether Y2<Y1 and X2<X1 among the two coordinates of the simultaneous tap operation. Here, if both conditions are satisfied, the process proceeds to step S19a, and if the conditions are not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S19b. Next, in step S19a, since it was determined in step S18b that both conditions are satisfied, when two coordinates in different rows are simultaneously tapped, regardless of the magnitude relationship of the X coordinates, X1 in the upper row is determined to be the opening bracket and X2 is determined to be the closing bracket.

[0058] Next, in step S19b, since it was determined in step S18b that the two conditions were not satisfied, when two coordinates in different rows are simultaneously tapped, the smaller X2 of the X coordinates is determined as the opening parenthesis, and X1 is determined as the closing parenthesis. Next, in step S20, as determined in steps S18a, S19a, and S19b respectively, the bracket insertion unit 23 inserts an opening parenthesis and a closing parenthesis at the two simultaneously tapped positions (symbol insertion step).

[0059] Next, in step S21, in step S15 described above, as a result of determining whether the position tapped by the user among the two input parentheses (opening parenthesis, closing parenthesis) is an opening parenthesis, and it is determined to be an opening parenthesis, the morphological analysis unit 26 refers to the opening parenthesis input determination table (refer to the middle row of FIG. 6) two morphemes at a time in order from the beginning of the sentence (only one morpheme at the beginning). Then, such processing is repeatedly performed until the end of the sentence to identify the positions between the morphemes where the opening parenthesis is inserted.

[0060] As a result, as shown in the middle row of the table in FIG. 6, based on the result of morphological analysis, as the positions where the opening parenthesis is inserted, for example, before "mother", before "world", before "one round", and before "travel" are determined as candidate insertion positions. On the other hand, in step S22, in step S15 described above, as a result of determining whether the position tapped by the user among the two input parentheses (opening parenthesis, closing parenthesis) is an opening parenthesis, and it is determined to be a closing parenthesis, the morphological analysis unit 26 refers to the closing parenthesis input determination table (refer to the lower row of FIG. 6) two morphemes at a time in order from the beginning of the sentence (only one morpheme at the beginning).

[0061] Then, such processing is repeatedly performed until the end of the sentence to identify the positions between the morphemes where the closing parenthesis is inserted. As a result, as shown in the lower row of the table in FIG. 6, based on the result of morphological analysis, as the positions where the closing parenthesis is inserted, for example, before "wa", before "one round", before "no", before "ni", before "to", and before "." are determined as candidate insertion positions.

[0062] Next, in step S23, based on the determination results using the parenthesis input determination table in steps S21 and S22, the positions between all the morphemes where parentheses are to be inserted are identified. Next, in step S24, the positions between the morphemes identified in step S23 are compared with the position of the simultaneous tap operation. Next, in step S25, the input positions of the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis are determined.

[0063] Next, in step S26, the context determination unit 28 determines whether the content inside the parentheses determined in step S25 is a conversation sentence. If it is determined to be a conversation sentence, the process proceeds to step S27. If it is determined not to be a conversation sentence, the process proceeds to step S28. Next, in step S27, since it is determined in step S26 that the content inside the parentheses is a conversation sentence, the types of parentheses to be inserted are determined as the key parentheses “「” and “」”, and the process ends.

[0064] On the other hand, in step S28, since it is determined in step S26 that the content inside the parentheses is not a conversation sentence, the types of parentheses to be inserted are determined as the round parentheses “(” and “)”, and the process ends. Subsequently, a process for automatically determining the appropriateness of the types of parentheses input by the above-described character input method will be described with reference to FIG. 13. First, in step S31, the context determination unit 28 acquires the result of morphological analysis inside the parentheses.

[0065] Next, in step S32, the context determination unit 28 determines whether the analysis result includes an interjection, an exclamation mark, or a question mark. Here, if it is determined that an interjection, etc. is included, the process proceeds to step S33. If it is determined that it is not included, the process proceeds to step S34. Next, in step S33, since it is determined in step S32 that an interjection, etc. is included inside the parentheses, the parenthesis type determination unit 29 determines that the type of parentheses to be inserted is a key parenthesis, and the process ends.

[0066] On the other hand, in step S34, since it is determined in step S32 that no interjection or the like is included in the parentheses, the context determination unit 28 acquires the morphological analysis results from the closing parenthesis to the end of the sentence or a period, comma, question mark, or exclamation mark. Next, in step S35, the context determination unit 28 determines whether or not the analysis result includes a verb that expresses the meaning of speaking a word. Here, if the analysis result includes a verb that expresses the meaning of speaking a word, the process proceeds to step S36, and if not, the process proceeds to step S37.

[0067] Next, in step S36, since it is determined in step S35 that the analysis result includes a verb that expresses the meaning of speaking a word, the parenthesis type determination unit 29 determines that the type of the inserted parenthesis is a key parenthesis and ends the process. Next, in step S37, since it is determined in step S35 that the analysis result does not include a verb that expresses the meaning of speaking a word, the parenthesis type determination unit 29 determines that the type of the inserted parenthesis is a round parenthesis and ends the process.

[0068] Furthermore, the process when manually changing the position of the input parenthesis will be described with reference to FIG. 14(a). First, in step S41, it is determined whether or not the input of the parenthesis is completed. If it is determined that the input is completed, the process proceeds to step S42. Next, in step S42, the input reception unit 21 detects a flick or drag operation on either one of the pair of parentheses used.

[0069] Next, in step S43, the parenthesis position correction unit 25 acquires the position between the morphemes specified in the input position determination process. Next, in step S44, the parenthesis position correction unit 25 outputs (moves) the parentheses in the order closest to the direction of the operation at that position. Next, in step S45, the conversion control unit 30 completes the process of changing the position of the parenthesis moved by the manual operation.

[0070] Furthermore, the process when manually changing the type of the input parenthesis will be described with reference to FIG. 14(b). First, in step S51, it is determined whether the input of parentheses is completed. If it is determined that the input is completed, the process proceeds to step S52. Next, in step S52, the input reception unit 21 detects a tap operation on either one of the pair of parentheses used.

[0071] Next, in step S53, the conversion control unit 30 causes the display screen 11a to display other types of parentheses that are candidates for change for the tapped parentheses. Next, in step S54, the conversion control unit 30 outputs (displays) the type of parentheses selected by the user. Next, in step S55, the conversion control unit 30 completes the process of changing the type of parentheses moved manually.

[0072] <Main Features> The character input device 20 of the present embodiment is a device that inserts a pair of symbols used at a desired position in an already input text, and includes an input reception unit 21, an operation detection unit 22, and a parenthesis insertion unit 23. The input reception unit 21 receives character information. The operation detection unit 22 detects an operation in which two fingers of the user tap substantially simultaneously at a desired position in the text of the character information input to the input reception unit 21. The parenthesis insertion unit 23 inserts a pair of parentheses used at the position where the two fingers detected by the operation detection unit 22 tap substantially simultaneously.

[0073] Thereby, for example, when inputting a pair of parentheses, compared to the case of inputting the opening parenthesis and the closing parenthesis separately, the input can be completed with only one tap operation on the already input text, so that the labor of the user can be significantly reduced. As a result, it is possible to easily input a pair of symbols such as parentheses at a desired position in the already input text.

[0074] [Other Embodiments] As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0075] (A) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the positions tapped almost simultaneously with two fingers of a user are detected, and symbols used in pairs such as parentheses are inserted. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, a smartphone 110 may have a configuration including a character input device 120 in which a space position detection unit 122 detects an almost simultaneous tap operation with two fingers at a reference position such as a space inserted in a previously input text, and automatically inserts symbols used in pairs such as parentheses at the detected reference position. In this case, since a reference position such as a space is inserted in the previously input text, the position tapped almost simultaneously with two fingers can be detected more accurately.

[0076] (B) In the above embodiment, an example of realizing the present invention has been described as the character input device 20 and the character input method. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be realized as a character input program that causes a computer to execute the character input method by the above-described character input device 20.

[0077] This character input program is stored in a memory (storage unit) mounted on the character input device 20, and the CPU reads the character input program stored in the memory and causes the hardware to execute each step. More specifically, by the CPU reading the character input program and executing the above-described input reception step, operation detection step, and symbol insertion step, the same effects as above can be obtained. Further, the present invention may be realized as a recording medium storing the character input program.

[0078] (C) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which morphological analysis is used when determining the insertion position of parentheses. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which the insertion positions of symbols used in pairs such as parentheses are determined using a method other than morphological analysis.

[0079] (D) In the above embodiment, an example in which the text input to the display screen 11a of the smartphone 10 is in landscape writing has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which parentheses are inserted at a desired position in a text displayed in vertical writing on the display screen.

[0080] (E) In the above embodiment, parentheses such as (), [], <>, 「」, 『』, etc. have been described as examples of symbols used in pairs. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in addition to various forms of parentheses, other symbols used in pairs such as “” and ** may be inserted at desired positions in the input text.

[0081] (F) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which an operation of tapping with two fingers almost simultaneously is detected, parentheses used in pairs are inserted at the two tapped positions, and then the position and type of the parentheses are manually changed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which adjustment of the position and type of symbols such as parentheses by manual operation is not accepted. In this case, by automatically performing a process of changing the position and type of symbols used in pairs such as parentheses, an appropriate symbol can be inserted at an appropriate position.

[0082] (G) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the storage unit 12 for storing the parenthesis input determination table is provided inside the smartphone 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the parenthesis input determination table may be stored in a cloud space, an external server, or the like, and the character input device may acquire and refer to it via the Internet line.

[0083] (H) In the above embodiment, an example in which the smartphone 10 is used as a touch panel type display device equipped with the character input device 20 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of a smartphone, other terminals such as a tablet terminal or a PC (Personal Computer) may be used.

[0084] <Supplementary Note> The character input device according to the first invention is a character input device that inserts symbols used in pairs at desired positions in an input text, an input reception unit for receiving character information, an operation detection unit that detects an operation of tapping substantially simultaneously with two fingers of a user at a desired position in the text of the character information input to the input reception unit, a symbol insertion unit that inserts the symbols used in pairs at the position tapped substantially simultaneously with the two fingers detected by the operation detection unit, and includes.

[0085] The character input device according to the second invention is the character input device according to the first invention, and further includes a symbol position determination unit that determines whether the positions of the symbols used in pairs are appropriate. The character input device according to the third invention is the character input device according to the second invention, and further includes a symbol position correction unit that corrects the position of the symbol determined to be inappropriate when the symbol position determination unit determines that the positions of the symbols used in pairs are inappropriate.

[0086] The character input device according to the fourth invention is the character input device according to the second or third invention, wherein the symbol position determination unit performs morphological analysis on the input text to determine the position of the symbol. The character input device according to the fifth invention is the character input device according to the second or third invention, It further includes a storage unit that stores a determination table for collating the character string subjected to morphological analysis in the symbol position determination unit.

[0087] The character input device according to the sixth invention is the character input device according to the fifth invention, The storage unit stores the determination tables for the first symbol and the second symbol included in the symbols used in pairs, respectively. The character input device according to the seventh invention is the character input device according to the fifth invention, The symbol position determination unit determines the positions of the symbols used in pairs by using the determination table stored in the storage unit.

[0088] The character input device according to the eighth invention is the character input device according to any one of the second to seventh inventions, The symbol position determination unit determines which of the two positions tapped substantially simultaneously with the two fingers detected by the operation detection unit is the first symbol on the front side and the second symbol on the rear side. The character input device according to the ninth invention is the character input device according to any one of the first to eighth inventions, The symbol insertion unit compares the x - coordinates and y - coordinates of the two points tapped by the two fingers of the user with reference to the left side of the display screen for displaying the input text, and inserts the first symbol at the position with the smaller x - coordinate and the second symbol at the position with the larger x - coordinate.

[0089] The character input device according to the tenth invention is the character input device according to any one of the first to ninth inventions, The symbol insertion unit compares the x - coordinates and y - coordinates of the two points tapped by the two fingers of the user with reference to the left side of the display screen for displaying the input text, and when the difference in y - coordinates is equal to or greater than the height of the characters in the text, inserts the first symbol at the position with the larger y - coordinate and the second symbol at the position with the smaller y - coordinate.

[0090] The character input device according to the eleventh invention is the character input device according to any one of the first to tenth inventions, It further includes a symbol type determination unit that determines the type of symbol to be inserted according to the context of the input text. The character input device according to the twelfth invention is a character input device according to any one of the first to eleventh inventions, The input reception unit receives an input for manually correcting the position of the symbols used in pairs inserted into the input text.

[0091] The character input device according to the thirteenth invention is a character input device according to any one of the first to twelfth inventions, The input reception unit receives an input for manually correcting the type of the symbols used in pairs inserted into the input text.

Industrial Applicability

[0092] Since the character input device of the present invention can easily input symbols used in pairs such as parentheses at a desired position in the input text, it is widely applicable to a display device including a touch panel type display.

Explanation of Signs

[0093] 10 Smartphone 11 Touch panel 11a Display screen 12 Storage unit 20 Character input device 21 Input reception unit 22 Operation detection unit 23 Parenthesis insertion unit (symbol insertion unit) 24 Parenthesis position determination unit (symbol position determination unit) 25 Parenthesis position correction unit (symbol position correction unit) 26 Morphological analysis unit 27 Stylistic comparison unit 28 Context determination unit 29 Parenthesis type determination unit (symbol type determination unit) 30 Conversion control unit 110 Smartphone 120 Character input device 122 Space position detector

Claims

1. A character input device for inserting a pair of symbols at a desired position in an input sentence, comprising: an input receiving unit for inputting character information; an operation detection unit that detects an operation of a user tapping with two fingers at approximately the same time on a desired position in a sentence of the character information input to the input acceptance unit; a symbol insertion unit that inserts the symbol used by the pair of fingers into a position that has been detected by the operation detection unit and tapped substantially simultaneously with the two fingers; A character input device comprising:

2. The method further includes a symbol position determination unit that determines whether the positions of the symbols used in pairs are appropriate. The character input device according to claim 1 .

3. The system further includes a symbol position correction unit that corrects the positions of the symbols that are determined to be inappropriate when the symbol position determination unit determines that the positions of the symbols used in a pair are inappropriate. The character input device according to claim 2 .

4. the symbol position determination unit performs a morphological analysis on the input sentence to determine the position of the symbol; 4. The character input device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The method further includes a storage unit for storing a judgment table for collating character strings morphologically analyzed by the symbol position judgment unit.

4. The character input device according to claim 2 or 3.

6. the storage unit stores the judgment table for each of a first symbol and a second symbol included in the symbols used in a pair; The character input device according to claim 5 .

7. the symbol position determination unit determines the positions of the symbols used in pairs by using the determination table stored in the storage unit; The character input device according to claim 5 .

8. the symbol position determination unit determines which of the positions tapped approximately simultaneously with the two fingers detected by the operation detection unit is a first symbol on the front side and which is a second symbol on the rear side; 4. The character input device according to claim 2 or 3.

9. the symbol insertion unit uses the left side of the display screen displaying the inputted sentence as a reference, compares x-coordinates and y-coordinates of two points tapped with two fingers of the user, and inserts a first symbol into the smaller x-coordinate and a second symbol into the larger x-coordinate; 3. The character input device according to claim 1 or 2.

10. the symbol insertion unit uses the left side of the display screen displaying the inputted text as a reference, compares the x-coordinates and y-coordinates of the two points tapped with two fingers of the user, and when the difference in the y-coordinates is equal to or greater than the height of a character of the text, inserts a first symbol at the larger y-coordinate and a second symbol at the smaller y-coordinate.

3. The character input device according to claim 1 or 2.

11. The method further includes a symbol type determination unit that determines the type of symbol to be inserted according to the context of the input sentence.

3. The character input device according to claim 1 or 2.

12. the input receiving unit receives an input for manually correcting positions of the pair of symbols inserted in the inputted sentence; 3. The character input device according to claim 1 or 2.

13. the input receiving unit receives an input for manually correcting the types of the symbols used in the pair inserted in the input sentence; 3. The character input device according to claim 1 or 2.

14. A character input device for inserting a pair of symbols at a desired position in an input sentence, comprising: an input receiving unit for inputting character information; a reference position detection unit that detects a reference position input to a desired position in a sentence of the character information input to the input reception unit; an operation detection unit that detects an operation of tapping the reference position detected by the reference position detection unit with two fingers of a user substantially simultaneously; a symbol insertion unit that inserts the symbol used by the pair of fingers into a position that has been detected by the operation detection unit and tapped substantially simultaneously with the two fingers; A character input device comprising:

15. A character input method for inserting a pair of symbols at a desired position in an input sentence, comprising the steps of: an input receiving step in which character information is input; an operation detection step of detecting an operation of tapping with two fingers of a user at substantially the same time on a desired position in the text of the character information input in the input receiving step; a symbol insertion step of inserting the symbol used by the pair of fingers into a position tapped approximately simultaneously by the two fingers detected in the operation detection step; A character input method comprising:

16. A character input program for inserting a pair of symbols into a desired position in an input sentence, comprising: an input receiving step in which character information is input; an operation detection step of detecting an operation of tapping with two fingers of a user at substantially the same time on a desired position in the text of the character information input in the input receiving step; a symbol insertion step of inserting the symbol used by the pair of fingers into a position tapped approximately simultaneously by the two fingers detected in the operation detection step; A character input program that causes a computer to execute a character input method comprising the steps of:

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