Japanese keyboard and Japanese input method

Abstract

The keyboard according to the present invention is characterized by being easily learnable without much discomfort for people accustomed to Roman alphabet input for Japanese input, and by significantly reducing the number of keystrokes required for input compared to Roman alphabet input, enabling far more efficient input. The Japanese keyboard proposed in this invention allows input of not only i-row or a-row consonants, but also small vowel characters (ぁ, ぃ, ぅ, ぇ, ぉ), n, を, わ, ゎ, ―, っ, ヴ, and uppercase diphthongs (や, ゆ, よ), small diphthong characters (ゃ, ゅ, ょ), Hyphen (―), and the period "。" with just one keystroke, thus significantly reducing the number of keystrokes required for Japanese input.

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a Japanese keyboard and a Japanese input method.

Background Art

[0002] Japanese is a syllabary character without a distinction between consonants and vowels, and each of the 50 syllables is recognized as an independent character. Therefore, in the Japanese standard keyboard, although arranged including the numeric keys in order to accommodate all 50 syllables, voiced sounds and semi-voiced sounds are not separately assigned to keyboard buttons, but are processed in a form where separate voiced sound and semi-voiced sound symbols are added to the voiceless sounds, and it involves problems such as having to make many selections such as hiragana, katakana, full-width, half-width, numbers / special characters, etc.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] The present invention intends to propose a Japanese keyboard for easily inputting Japanese.

[0004] The present invention intends to enable input of a desired character by pressing the Japanese characters printed on the Japanese keyboard as they are displayed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] This invention has the effect of making it easy for beginners to input Japanese, as they can either directly input Japanese characters by looking at the Japanese characters displayed on the Japanese keyboard, or, if they are not familiar with Japanese, input Japanese using the English keys on a Roman alphabet keyboard, similar to the Roman alphabet input method.

[0008] The Japanese keyboard proposed in this invention allows not only i-row or a-row consonants, but also vowels (a, i, u, e, o), small vowels (a, i, u, e, o), n, wo, wa, wa, -, tsu, v, uppercase diphthongs (ya, yu, yo), small diphthongs (ya, yu, yo), Hyphen (-), and periods "." to be entered with a single keystroke, thus significantly reducing the number of keystrokes required for Japanese input. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a Japanese keyboard embodied as a physical keyboard for Japanese input is illustrated. [Figure 2] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, this is an example of a Japanese keyboard being implemented in the form of an application. [Figure 3] An internal diagram of a Japanese keyboard is shown in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a Japanese keyboard is shown for illustrating the first to third key mapping sections mapped based on the pronunciation of Japanese i-row consonants. [Figure 5]In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example of mapping based on the pronunciation of Japanese 'a' consonants is illustrated. [Figure 6] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example of a Japanese keyboard with Roman alphabet keys and Japanese characters displayed side by side is shown. [Figure 7] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example of a Japanese keyboard for the "a" row, in which Roman alphabet keys and Japanese character keys are displayed side by side, is illustrated. [Figure 8] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example is shown in which the Roman alphabet keys are not arranged in parallel on a Japanese keyboard with the "i" row. [Figure 9] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example is shown in which the Roman alphabet keys are not arranged in parallel on a Japanese keyboard for the "a" row. [Figure 10] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example is shown in which Roman alphabet keys are displayed in parallel on a Japanese keyboard application for the "i" row used on a terminal device. [Figure 11] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example is shown in which Roman alphabet keys are displayed in parallel on a Japanese keyboard application for the "a" row used on a terminal device. [Figure 12] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example of using a Japanese keyboard application with the "i" row in a chat application is illustrated. [Figure 13] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an internal configuration diagram of the key input processing unit 320 is shown. [Figure 14] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example is shown in which the number of input strokes is reduced when using a Japanese keyboard. [Figure 15] A flowchart illustrating a method for inputting Japanese using a Japanese keyboard in a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. [Figure 16] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the process of the key input processing unit is illustrated when a user inputs Japanese using a Japanese keyboard. [Figure 17] In a desirable embodiment of the present invention, an example in which key input strokes are reduced using a Japanese keyboard is illustrated. [Figure 18] An example when only hiragana is displayed is illustrated. [Figure 19] In a desirable embodiment of the present invention, an example when roman characters keys are displayed in parallel in an I-row Japanese keyboard application used in a terminal device is illustrated. [Figure 20] An example when only katakana is displayed is illustrated. [Figure 21] An example when only hiragana is displayed is illustrated. [Figure 22] In a desirable embodiment of the present invention, an example when roman characters keys are displayed in parallel in an A-row Japanese keyboard application used in a terminal device is illustrated. [Figure 23] An example when only katakana is displayed is illustrated.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] In a desirable embodiment of the present invention, the Japanese keyboard further includes a third key mapping unit that associates the full stop "。" corresponding to a period (.) based on the form of Japanese with the position of the period "." that constitutes the roman character keyboard.

[0011] In a desirable embodiment of the present invention, the Japanese keyboard includes: a code search unit that searches for and transmits a code corresponding to a currently input character input via the Japanese keyboard; a determination unit that checks whether a immediately previous input character is an I-row consonant when the currently input character input via the Japanese keyboard is one of the Japanese vowels a, u, e, o; a new replacement code search unit that searches for and transmits a new replacement code corresponding to a new character pronounced by a combination of the I-row consonant that is the immediately previous input character and one of the vowels a, u, e, o that is the currently input character when it is confirmed that the immediately previous input character is an I-row consonant; and a transmission unit that transmits the code received by the code search unit when the immediately previous input character is not an I-row consonant and transmits the new replacement code received from the new replacement code search unit when the immediately previous input character is an I-row consonant.

[0012] In a desirable embodiment of the present invention, the Japanese keyboard further includes a key display unit that displays a keyboard for Japanese input in 5 rows. In the first row of the 5 rows, the key display unit displays numbers or special characters; in the second row, n, wa, e, ri, chi, ya, u, i, o, pi corresponding to the positions of Q, W, E, R, T, Y, U, I, O, P that make up the Roman alphabet keyboard respectively; in the third row, a, shi, ji, wo, gi, hi, yu, ki, yo corresponding to the positions of A, S, D, F, G, H, J, K, L that make up the Roman alphabet keyboard respectively; in the fourth row, ji, -(hyphen), tsu, vu, bi, ni, mi, 。(period) corresponding to the positions of Z, X, C, V, B, N, M, "." that make up the Roman alphabet keyboard respectively; and in the fifth row, the key display unit displays function keys including a hiragana-katakana conversion key, a Japanese / English conversion key, a Windows (registered trademark) key, an ALT key, and many other control keys.

[0013] In a desirable embodiment of the present invention, the key display unit displays in parallel an English keyboard button that makes up the Roman alphabet keyboard and a Japanese character, -(hyphen), and 。(period) for Japanese input corresponding thereto respectively.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the key display unit is characterized in that it displays only Japanese characters, hyphens (―), and periods (「。」) that correspond to each of the English key buttons constituting the Roman alphabet keyboard.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the Japanese keyboard is characterized by including: a first key mapping unit that associates Japanese consonants with the positions of English key buttons constituting a Roman alphabet keyboard based on the pronunciation of Japanese consonants; and a second key mapping unit that associates the characters a, i, u, e, and o with the positions of key buttons A, I, U, E, and O constituting a Roman alphabet keyboard based on the pronunciation of Japanese vowels.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first key mapping unit is characterized in that, based on the pronunciation of the Japanese a-row consonants, it associates the characters ka, ga, sa, za, ta, da, na, ha, ba, pa, ma, ya, ra, and wa with the positions of the English key buttons K, G, S, Z, T, D, N, H, B, P, M, Y, R, and W that constitute a Roman alphabet keyboard.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the Japanese input method is characterized by comprising: a first key mapping unit associating Japanese consonants with the positions of English key buttons constituting a Roman alphabet keyboard based on the pronunciation of Japanese consonants; a second key mapping unit associating the characters a, i, u, e, and o with the positions of key buttons A, I, U, E, and O constituting a Roman alphabet keyboard based on the pronunciation of Japanese vowels; and a key input processing unit generating and transmitting an HID code corresponding to the user's Japanese input.

[0018] The specific structural or functional descriptions of embodiments of the concept of the present invention disclosed herein are merely illustrative for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the concept of the present invention, and embodiments of the concept of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms and are not limited to those described herein.

[0019] Embodiments of the concept of the present invention can be modified in various ways and may take many forms; therefore, embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, this is not intended to limit embodiments of the concept of the present invention to any particular disclosure, but rather to include modifications, equivalents, or substitutions that fall within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

[0020] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0021] Figure 1 illustrates a Japanese keyboard 110, which is embodied as a physical keyboard for Japanese input in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] The Japanese keyboard 110 and terminal 120 disclosed in Figure 1 are separate physical devices, and the Japanese keyboard 110 can communicate with the terminal 120 via wired or wireless means. Examples of wired or wireless communication include Bluetooth® communication, USB communication, Wi-Fi communication, and various other forms of communication.

[0023] Terminal 120 includes mobile phones, smartphones, computers, notebook PCs, tablets, smartwatches, and wearable devices. Terminal 120 also includes devices equipped with a processor, communication unit, and display, and running operating systems such as Windows® OS (Operation System), macOS®, Android® OS, and iOS. Terminal 120 displays input from a Japanese keyboard 110 on its display.

[0024] Figure 2 shows an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in which the Japanese keyboard 110 is embodied in the form of an application. The terminal 200 can install the Japanese keyboard 110 application through its processor and provide the provided Japanese keyboard APP 210 to the user via the display of the terminal 200.

[0025] The Japanese keyboard app 210 shown in Figure 2 can interact with at least one application 220, 222, or 224 installed on the terminal device 200. Applications 220, 222, and 224 include document creation applications such as Microsoft Word and Korean word processors, chat applications such as KakaoTalk, SNS (Social Network Service) applications such as Facebook, and web browsers such as Windows® 10 Microsoft Edge and Chrome. User input is provided to at least one application 220, 222, or 224 via the Japanese keyboard app 210. Figure 12 illustrates an example of how the Japanese keyboard app 210 proposed in this invention is supported in a chat application.

[0026] Figure 3 illustrates the internal configuration of a Japanese keyboard 310 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the Japanese keyboard 310 may be in the form of a physical device or an application.

[0027] The Japanese keyboard 310 includes a key mapping unit 312, a key display unit 314, and a control unit 316. The control unit 316 includes a key input processing unit 320 that controls the operation of the key mapping unit 312 and the key display unit 314 and transmits a code corresponding to the user input S310.

[0028] User input S310 includes both input from a physical Japanese keyboard and input from an application-based Japanese keyboard. For example, user input S310 includes keystroke input on a keyboard and key touch input in a mobile application, etc.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Japanese keyboard input can be represented by matrix values ​​(i,j) on a keymap of a keyboard or mobile application. The present invention assumes that all keys constituting a Japanese keyboard have corresponding codes pre-configured in a code table. The codes corresponding to each key data in the code table are either HID codes or Unicode. See Table 1 for examples of HID codes related to Japanese characters, and Tables 10-11 for Unicode examples.

[0030] When mapping the Japanese character "あ" to the A key on a Roman alphabet keyboard, if entered in English mode, the HID code 0x04 corresponding to the English letter A is mapped and transmitted. If entered in Japanese hiragana mode, the hiragana code 0x1A is transmitted. Upon receiving this, the terminal, if the input mode is English, receives 0x04, recognizes it as A, and displays it on the screen. If the input mode is Japanese hiragana mode, it receives 0x1A, recognizes it as the hiragana character "あ", and displays it on the screen.

[0031] When a specific key is physically pressed on a Japanese keyboard (stroke), a specific position value on the (i,j) matrix is ​​received as user input S310, and the key input processing unit 320 searches for the code corresponding to user input S310 by referring to a default code table.

[0032] The code table already stores the codes corresponding to each key data that makes up the (i,j) matrix value. For example, when a user inputs the Japanese character "あ" on a 6x16 keyboard, the key input processing unit 320 recognizes the matrix value (4,2) corresponding to "あ" as the input value and can search for and transmit the HID code value "0x1A" that has been pre-mapped to the matrix value (4,2).

[0033] [Table 1]

[0034] The key mapping unit 312 includes a first key mapping unit, a second key mapping unit, a third key mapping unit, and a fourth key mapping unit. The first key mapping unit associates Japanese consonants with the positions of the English key buttons that make up the Roman alphabet keyboard, based on the pronunciation of Japanese consonants.

[0035] For example, if the second key mapping unit maps the English letter "A" and the Japanese character "あ" to the same key, when a user inputs "あ" in Japanese mode, the key input processing unit 320 recognizes the key matrix value (4,2) corresponding to "あ" as the input value, searches for the pre-mapped HID code "0x1A", and transmits it. Key mapping will be explained in more detail below.

[0036] Figure 4 shows a portion of a Roman alphabet keyboard for the purpose of illustrating the first to third key mapping sections in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] In the first key mapping section, an example is shown in which the characters ki, gi, shi, ji, chi, ji, ni, hi, bi, pi, mi, and ri are mapped to the positions of the English key buttons K(401), G(402), S(403), Z(404), T(405), D(406), N(407), H(408), B(409), P(410), M(422), and R(424) on the Roman alphabet keyboard, based on the pronunciation of the i-row consonants in Japanese.

[0038] More specifically, in one embodiment of Figure 4, the Japanese consonants "ki" is pronounced as ki, "gi" as gi, "shi" as si, "ji" as zi, "chi" as ti, "di" as di, "ni" as ni, "hi" as hi, "bi" as bi, "pi" as pi, "mi" as mi, and "ri" as ri, and these were matched to the English key buttons K(401), G(402), S(403), Z(404), T(405), D(406), N(407), H(408), B(409), P(410), M(422), and R(424), respectively, which are similar to the pronunciation of the Japanese i-row consonants.

[0039] In that case, the i-row consonants K (ki), G (gi), S (shi), Z (ji), T (chi), D (di), N (ni), H (hi), B (bi), P (pi), M (mi), and R (ri) are entered with only one stroke.

[0040] Figure 5 shows, in yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first key mapping unit, based on the pronunciation of Japanese a-row consonants, ka (401b), ga (402b), sa (403b), za (404b), ta (405b), da (406b), na (407b), ha (408b), ba (409b), pa (410b), ma (411b), ya (412b), ra (413 An example is shown illustrating how the characters b) and わ (414b) are mapped to the positions of the English key buttons K(401), G(402), S(403), Z(404), T(405), D(406), N(407), H(408), B(409), P(410), M(422), Y(423), R(424), and W(425) that make up a Roman alphabet keyboard.

[0041] In one embodiment of Figure 5, the Japanese consonants are: ka (401b) is ka, ga (402b) is ga, sa (403b) is sa, za (404b) is za, ta (405b) is ta, da (406b) is da, na (407b) is na, ha (408b) is ha, ba (409b) is ba, pa (410b) is pa, ma (411b) is ma, ya (412b) is ya,ら (413b) is pronounced "ra" and わ (414b) is pronounced "wa," matching the English key buttons K (401), G (402), S (403), Z (404), T (405), D (406), N (407), H (408), B (409), P (410), M (422), Y (423), R (424), and W (425), respectively, which are similar to the pronunciation of the Japanese "a" row consonants.

[0042] Referring to Figures 4 and 5, the second key mapping unit associates the Japanese vowels a (411c), i (412c), u (413c), e (414c), and o (415c) with the corresponding positions of the A (411), I (412), U (413), E (414), and O (415) key buttons on the Roman alphabet keyboard. The Japanese vowels a (411c) corresponds to the pronunciation of a, i (412c) to i, u (413c) to u, e (414c) to e, and o (415c) to O.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the key mapping unit may further include a third key mapping unit. The third key mapping unit maps Japanese characters to the keys constituting a Roman alphabet keyboard based on the form of the Japanese characters. For example, the third key mapping unit associates the period (.) corresponding to the punctuation mark "。" (421) with the position of the period (.) on the Roman alphabet keyboard.

[0044] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the key mapping unit may further include a fourth key mapping unit. The fourth key mapping unit maps numbers, special characters, hiragana and katakana conversion keys, Japanese / English conversion keys, Windows® key, ALT key, and other function keys, as well as keys such as hyphens, that are not mapped by the first to third key mapping units, to a Roman alphabet keyboard. The English / Japanese conversion key or the hiragana / katakana conversion key may be merged into a single conversion key, allowing the input character to be selected from English, hiragana, and katakana via a three-stage toggle ring of hiragana, katakana, and English.

[0045] Furthermore, the fourth key mapping section maps Japanese geminate consonants (っ), diphthongs (や, ゆ, よ), hyphens (-), わ, ヴ, を, ん, etc., to the remaining positions on the Roman alphabet keyboard where i-row consonants and vowels are not mapped.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fourth key mapping unit may map "ん" and "を" to the positions of Q and F, or to "を" and "ん". The fourth key mapping unit may map "ゆ" and "よ" to the positions of J and L, or to "よ" and "ゆ". The fourth key mapping unit may map - (hyphen), っ, and ヴ to the positions of X, C, and V, or to map them in a different order.

[0047] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fourth key mapping unit can map Japanese keys to alphabet keys constituting a Roman alphabet keyboard according to the criteria shown in Table 12 below.

[0048] [Table 2]

[0049] The key display unit 314 displays a Japanese keyboard on a physical keyboard or the display of a terminal device. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the key display unit 314 can display Roman alphabet keys and Japanese keys in parallel on Japanese keyboards 600, 700 as in one embodiment of Figures 6 and 7. In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the key display unit 314 can provide a Japanese keyboard without English alphabet characters, as in one embodiment of Japanese keyboards 800, 900 shown in Figures 8 and 9. More specifically, the key display unit 314 may not display English keys A to Z in the positions of English keys A to Z on a Roman alphabet keyboard, and may only display Japanese keys corresponding to the first key mapping unit and the second key mapping unit, or may only display Japanese keys corresponding to the first to fourth key mapping units. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the key display unit 314 displays a keyboard for Japanese input in five rows, as in an example of a Japanese keyboard 600 shown in Figure 6.

[0050] The first of the five rows that make up the Japanese keyboard 600 displays numbers or special characters. The second row displays n, wa, e, ri, chi, ya, u, i, o, and pi, corresponding to the positions of the English keys Q, W, E, R, T, Y, U, I, O, and P on the Roman alphabet keyboard. The third row displays a, shi, ji, wo, gi, hi, yu, ki, and yo, corresponding to the positions of the English keys A, S, D, F, G, H, J, K, and L on the Roman alphabet keyboard. The fourth row displays ji, hyphen, tsu, vu, bi, ni, mi, and ".", corresponding to the positions of the English keys Z, X, C, V, B, N, M, and the period "." on the Roman alphabet keyboard. The fifth row displays the hiragana and katakana conversion key, the Japanese / English conversion key, the Windows® key, and function keys including the ALT key.

[0051] In this case, the key display unit 314 can display the English key buttons that make up the Roman alphabet keyboard and the corresponding Japanese characters for Japanese input, such as - (hyphen) and ".", in parallel.

[0052] In yet another embodiment, the key display unit 314 may not display the English key buttons that constitute the Roman alphabet keyboard, as shown in the example in Figures 8 and 9, but may display only the Japanese characters for Japanese input corresponding to the English key buttons that constitute the Roman alphabet keyboard, the hyphen (―), and the period (。).

[0053] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the key input processing unit 320 has code values ​​corresponding to user key input S310 in the form of an HID code table as shown in Table 1 and Unicode tables as shown in Tables 10 and 11. The key input processing unit 320 also has novel substitution code tables as shown in Tables 4 to 7. The novel substitution code tables in Tables 4 to 7 are merely one embodiment and can be modified in various ways. In Tables 4 to 7, the horizontal axis represents the currently entered character (vowel), and the vertical axis represents the previously entered character (consonant).

[0054] Figure 13 illustrates the internal configuration of the key input processing unit 1300 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] When the key input processing unit 1300 receives a key input S1300 entered by a user via a Japanese keyboard with the "i" row, as shown in Figures 6, 8, and 10, it searches the code table via the code search unit 1310 to find the code corresponding to the key input.

[0056] The determination unit 1320 checks whether the previously entered character is a Japanese i-row consonant if the key input S1300 is one of the Japanese vowels a, u, e, or o.

[0057] If the current input character does not correspond to one of the Japanese vowels a, u, e, or o, or if it is not the previously input character which is an i-row consonant, the determination unit 1320 transmits and stores the code found by the code search unit 1310 via the code transmission unit 1340.

[0058] If the current input character corresponds to one of the Japanese vowels a, u, e, or o, and the previously input character is an i-row consonant, the determination unit 1320 searches the new replacement code table through the new replacement code search unit 1330 for a new replacement code that corresponds to a new character pronounced by the combination of the previously input i-row consonant and the current input character one of the vowels a, u, e, or o. An example of the new replacement code table can be found in Tables 4 and 5.

[0059] The new replacement code search unit 1330 transmits the searched new replacement code and the code corresponding to the backspace to the code transmission unit 1340. The code transmission unit 1340 transmits the code corresponding to the backspace and the new replacement code. Then, it stores the new replacement code as the immediately preceding input character in the code storage unit 1342. In this case, the backspace code is not stored separately in the code storage unit 1342. The code transmission unit 1340 transmits the backspace code before the new replacement code. In Figure 13, the code storage unit 1342 is shown as being included in the code transmission unit 1340, but the code storage unit 1342 can be implemented in various ways, such as being integrated with the code transmission unit 1340 or being connected via wireless communication.

[0060] The new replacement code tables in Tables 4 and 5 display new characters that are pronounced by combining the previously entered character, an i-row consonant, with one of the currently entered characters, a, u, e, or o.

[0061] Table 2 shows an example of a new replacement code table for hiragana Unicode characters in the "i" row of a Japanese keyboard, and Table 3 shows an example of a new replacement code table for katakana Unicode characters in the "i" row of a Japanese keyboard.

[0062] [Table 3]

[0063] [Table 4]

[0064] In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the determination unit 1320 checks whether the immediately preceding input character is a Japanese consonant in the "a" row if the key input (S310) entered by the user via a Japanese keyboard with an "a" row, as shown in Figures 7, 9, and 11, is one of the Japanese vowels i, u, e, or o.

[0065] If the current input character does not correspond to one of the Japanese vowels i, u, e, or o, or if the previously input character is not a Japanese 'a' consonant, the determination unit 1320 transmits the code searched by the code search unit 1310 via the code transmission unit 1340 and saves the searched code as the previously input character in the code storage unit 1342.

[0066] If the current input character corresponds to one of the Japanese vowels i, u, e, or o, and the previous input character is a Japanese 'a' row consonant, the determination unit 1320 searches for a new replacement code in the new replacement code tables shown in Tables 6 and 7 via the new replacement code search unit 1330 for a new character that is pronounced by the combination of the previous input character (an 'a' row consonant) and the current input character (one of the vowels i, u, e, or o). The new replacement code search unit 1330 transmits the searched new replacement code and the code corresponding to backspace to the code transmission unit 1340. The code transmission unit 1340 transmits the code corresponding to backspace and the new replacement code, and saves only the new replacement code as the previous input character in the code storage unit 1342.

[0067] The new replacement code tables in Tables 6 and 7 display new characters that are pronounced by a combination of the previously entered character (an "a" consonant) and the currently entered character (one of the vowels i, u, e, or o). The new replacement codes corresponding to the new characters are stored in advance, as shown in Tables 1, 10, and 11.

[0068] Tables 4 and 5 show the new replacement code tables for hiragana and katakana on the "i" row of the Japanese keyboard, and Tables 6 and 7 show the new replacement code tables for hiragana and katakana on the "a" row of the Japanese keyboard, respectively.

[0069] [Table 5]

[0070] [Table 6]

[0071] [Table 7]

[0072] [Table 8]

[0073] When the Japanese keyboard and terminal are separate devices, as in one embodiment of Figure 1, the code transmission unit 1340 transmits a code to the terminal that communicates with the Japanese keyboard. When the Japanese keyboard is embodied in the form of an application, as in one embodiment of Figure 2, the code transmission unit 1340 transmits a code to other applications within the terminal that communicate with the Japanese keyboard application, and the terminal displays the data received by at least one application that uses the Japanese keyboard. Referring to Tables 8 to 9, examples of data transmitted from the code transmission unit 1340 and data stored in the code storage unit 1342 are as follows.

[0074] Table 8 shows, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the searched code or new replacement code, the saved data, and the transmitted data when a user inputs "い" on a Japanese keyboard with the "い" row, and the previously entered character is "き". The terminal receiving the transmitted data displays "き" and then "い". In other words, the input content is output as is.

[0075] [Table 9]

[0076] Table 9 shows the searched code or new replacement code, saved data, and transmitted data, respectively, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when a user inputs "あ" on a Japanese keyboard with the "い" row, and the immediately preceding character input is "き". When the immediately preceding character input is "き", the terminal receiving the data transmitted from the keyboard displays "き" as is at the time "き" is input. Subsequently, when the user inputs "あ", a backspace code is received and "き" is deleted. Then, the new replacement code "か" is received, and finally "か" is displayed.

[0077] [Table 10]

[0078] Tables 10-11 show Unicode code tables for Japanese hiragana and katakana in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] [Table 11]

[0080] [Table 12]

[0081] Figures 10 and 11 illustrate an example of the Japanese keyboard application 1000 in the I row and the Japanese keyboard application 1100 in the A row used in a terminal device in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 shows an example of the Katakana I row Japanese keyboard application 1900, and FIG. 22 shows an example of the Katakana A row Japanese keyboard application 2200.

[0082] The Japanese keyboard application further includes a special key 1001 for map switching. FIGS. 18, 20, 21, and 23 illustrate key maps 1800, 2000, 2100, and 2300 composed only of hiragana without roman letters or only of katakana in the Japanese keyboard application in the I row or the A row used in a terminal device.

[0083] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of using the Japanese keyboard application in the I row in a chat application in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0084] FIG. 12 shows that the user is having conversations 1201 to 1204 in the chat application. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the user tries to input Japanese using the chat application, the Japanese mobile keyboard 1210 can be activated and displayed on the screen.

[0085] FIG. 14 shows the effect of reducing the number of key input strokes when using a Japanese keyboard in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0086] When trying to input a diary (nikki) using the conventional Japanese keyboard input method, the sokuon (っ) used the method of inputting the "consonant" twice continuously. That is, it is input in 5 strokes with the roman letters NIKKI corresponding to the pronunciation of the diary (nikki), and another method is to input it in 7 strokes with NILTUKI.

[0087] A Japanese keyboard according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention allows input in three strokes by sequentially inputting に (1410), っ (1420), and き (1430). Therefore, the number of strokes is reduced by 40% to 57% compared to existing 5-stroke or 7-stroke keyboards.

[0088] Figure 15 illustrates a flowchart of a method for inputting Japanese using a Japanese keyboard in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The first key mapping unit associates Japanese consonants with the positions of the English key buttons constituting the Roman alphabet keyboard based on the pronunciation of the Japanese consonants (S1510). The second key mapping unit associates the characters a, i, u, e, and o with the positions A, I, U, E, and O of the English key buttons constituting the Roman alphabet keyboard based on the pronunciation of the Japanese vowels (S1520). When there is Japanese input from the user, the key input processing unit generates and transmits a code corresponding to the user's Japanese input (S1530). Refer to Figure 16 for the process of generating and transmitting the code in the key input processing unit 1300.

[0089] Figure 16 illustrates the process performed by the key input processing unit 1300 when a user inputs Japanese using a Japanese keyboard, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0090] When input is received from a Japanese keyboard, the code search unit searches the code table for a code corresponding to the user input (S1610). The determination unit checks whether the user input matches a pre-configured vowel list (S1620). For a Japanese keyboard with the "i" row, the vowel list consists of a, u, e, and o. For a Japanese keyboard with the "a" row, the vowel list consists of i, u, e, and o.

[0091] If the determination unit determines that the user input does not match the pre-configured vowel list, the code search unit searches for a code and transmits it via the code transmission unit, and the code found is stored in the code storage unit as the most recent input character (S1622).

[0092] If the determination unit determines that the user input corresponds to a pre-configured vowel list, it checks whether the immediately preceding input character corresponds to a pre-configured consonant list (S1630). The consonant list refers to "i" row consonants in the case of an "i" row Japanese keyboard, and to "a" row consonants in the case of an "a" row Japanese keyboard.

[0093] If the determination unit determines that the current user input matches a pre-configured vowel list and the immediately preceding input character matches a pre-configured consonant list, the new replacement code search unit searches the new replacement code table for a new replacement code that corresponds to the new character pronounced by the combination of the immediately preceding input character and the currently input character (S1650).

[0094] Then, the searched new replacement code and backspace code are transmitted, and only the new replacement code is saved as the previously entered character (S1660). The code transmission unit transmits the backspace code first, and then transmits the searched new replacement code.

[0095] If the determination unit determines that the user input matches a pre-configured vowel list, but the immediately preceding input character does not match a pre-configured consonant list, the code found by the code search unit is transmitted to the code transmission unit, and the found code is saved as the immediately preceding input character in the code storage unit (S1649).

[0096] Figure 17 illustrates an example in a preferred embodiment of the present invention where, when using a Japanese keyboard with the "i" row, the number of key inputs is reduced compared to input using an existing Roman alphabet keyboard.

[0097] For consonants displayed in area 1710, key input is reduced by 50%. To explain in more detail, for consonants in the "i" row (ki, gi, shi, ji, chi, ji, ni, hi, bi, pi, mi, ri), two keystrokes in Romanization are processed with one keystroke, resulting in a 50% reduction. Similarly, for diphthongs (ya, yu, yo), wan, n, vu, and small vowel characters (a, i, u, e, o), what would normally require two keystrokes in Romanization can be processed with one keystroke, resulting in a 50% reduction.

[0098] For consonants displayed in area 1730 of the second region, key input is reduced by approximately 66%. To explain in more detail, for small diphthongs (ゃ, ゅ, ょ) and geminated consonants (っ), what would normally require three keystrokes in Romanization can now be processed in one keystroke, resulting in a 66% reduction. Furthermore, when inputting Hyphen (―), if you were to input Romanization, you would have to input minus (-), press the spacebar multiple times to select Hyphen (―), resulting in a reduction of more than 66%.

[0099] Furthermore, since the period (.) equivalent to the Japanese period can be entered with just one keystroke, the need to add the English period (.) and press the spacebar multiple times to select it, which is required when using Roman alphabet input, is eliminated, resulting in a reduction of more than 66% in the number of keystrokes.

[0100] For consonants displayed in the third area (1720), key input is reduced by approximately 33%. More specifically, for characters with small letters attached to the consonant (for example, kya, kyu, kyo), three keystrokes for Romanization are reduced to two, resulting in a 33% reduction.

[0101] Although this specification describes embodiments in which hiragana characters are positioned in the same locations as existing Roman letters, it should be noted that the present invention is also applicable to katakana characters.

[0102] The apparatus described above may be embodied by hardware components, software components, and / or combinations of hardware and software components. For example, the apparatus and components described in the embodiments may be embodied using one or more general-purpose or dedicated computers, such as a processor, controller, ALU (arithmetic logic unit), digital signal processor, microcomputer, FPGA (Field-programmable object array), PLU (programmable logic unit), microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing unit may perform an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications performed on the OS. The processing unit may also access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to software execution. For convenience of understanding, it has been described that one processing unit is used, but a person with ordinary skill in the art will see that the processing unit may include multiple processing elements and / or multiple types of processing elements. For example, the processing unit may include multiple processors or one processor and one controller. It may also include other processing configurations, such as parallel processors.

[0103] Software includes computer programs, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of these, which can configure a processing unit to operate as desired, or independently or collectively, instruct the processing unit. Software and / or data can be permanently or temporarily embodied in any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual device, computer recording medium or device, or transmitted signal wave, in order to be interpreted by a processing unit or to provide instructions or data to a processing unit. Software can be distributed, stored in a distributed manner, or executed on a networked computer system. Software and data can be stored on one or more computer-readable recording media.

[0104] As mentioned above, even if the embodiments are described by limited drawings, a person with ordinary skill in the art can make various modifications and variations from the above description.

Claims

1. A first key mapping unit that associates the characters ki, gi, shi, ji, chi, ji, ni, hi, bi, pi, mi, and ri with the positions of the English key buttons K, G, S, Z, T, D, N, H, B, P, M, and R that make up a Roman alphabet keyboard, based on the pronunciation of the i-row consonants of Japanese characters. A Japanese keyboard characterized by including a second key mapping unit that associates the characters a, i, u, e, and o with the positions of the key buttons A, I, U, E, and O that constitute a Roman alphabet keyboard, based on the pronunciation of Japanese vowels.

2. The Japanese keyboard according to claim 1, further comprising a third key mapping section that associates the period "。" corresponding to the period "。" in a Roman alphabet keyboard based on the morphology of Japanese.

3. A code search unit that searches for the code corresponding to the currently entered character entered via the Japanese keyboard, A determination unit that checks whether the previously entered character is a Japanese i-row consonant when the currently entered character, entered via the aforementioned Japanese keyboard, is one of the Japanese vowels a, u, e, or o, If the previously entered character is confirmed to be an i-row consonant, the new replacement code search unit searches for a new replacement code corresponding to a new character pronounced by a combination of the previously entered i-row consonant and one of the currently entered vowels a, u, e, or o. The Japanese keyboard according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission unit that transmits a code received by the code search unit if the preceding input character is not an i-vowel; and a transmission unit that transmits a new replacement code received from the new replacement code search unit if the preceding input character is an i-vowel.

4. The aforementioned new replacement code search unit is: The Japanese keyboard according to claim 3, characterized in that it searches a new replacement code table for a new character that is pronounced by the combination, and transmits the searched new replacement code and backspace code to the transmission unit.

5. It further includes a key display unit that displays a keyboard for Japanese input in 5 rows, and of the 5 rows, The first line contains numbers or special characters. The second row contains the following characters, corresponding to the positions of Q, W, E, R, T, Y, U, I, O, and P on the aforementioned Roman alphabet keyboard: n, wa, e, ri, chi, ya, u, i, o, pi, The third row contains the characters a, shi, ji, wo, gi, hi, yu, ki, yo, corresponding to the positions of A, S, D, F, G, H, J, K, L that make up the Roman alphabet keyboard. The fourth row contains the characters じ, ― (hyphen), っ, ヴ, び, に, み, and 。, corresponding to the positions of Z, X, C, V, B, N, M, and 。 on the aforementioned Roman alphabet keyboard. The Japanese keyboard according to claim 1, characterized in that the fifth row displays function keys including a hiragana / katakana conversion key, a Japanese / English conversion key, a Windows® key, an ALT key, and many other control keys.

6. The aforementioned key display unit is The Japanese keyboard according to claim 5, characterized in that it displays English characters that constitute the Roman alphabet keyboard, and Japanese characters for Japanese input corresponding to each English character, a hyphen (―), and a period (。) in parallel.

7. The aforementioned key display unit is The Japanese keyboard according to claim 5, characterized in that it displays only the Japanese characters corresponding to the English characters that make up the Roman alphabet keyboard, hyphens (―), and periods (「。」).

8. A first key mapping unit that associates Japanese consonants with the positions of English key buttons that make up a Roman alphabet keyboard, based on the pronunciation of Japanese consonants, A Japanese keyboard characterized by including a second key mapping unit that associates the characters a, i, u, e, and o with the positions of the key buttons A, I, U, E, and O that constitute a Roman alphabet keyboard, based on the pronunciation of Japanese vowels.

9. The first key mapping section involves associating Japanese consonants with the corresponding English key buttons on a Romanized keyboard based on their pronunciation, In the second key mapping section, based on the pronunciation of Japanese vowels, the characters a, i, u, e, and o are mapped to the positions of the key buttons A, I, U, E, and O that make up the Roman alphabet keyboard, respectively. A Japanese input method characterized by including the step of searching for and transmitting a code corresponding to the user's Japanese input in a key input processing unit.

10. The first key mapping unit is, The Japanese input method according to claim 9, characterized in that, based on the pronunciation of the Japanese i-row consonants, the characters ki, gi, shi, ji, chi, ji, ni, hi, bi, pi, mi, and ri are associated with the positions of the English key buttons K, G, S, Z, T, D, N, H, B, P, M, and R that constitute a Roman alphabet keyboard.

11. The first key mapping unit is, The Japanese input method according to claim 9, characterized in that, based on the pronunciation of the Japanese a-row consonants, the characters ka, ga, sa, za, ta, da, na, ha, ba, pa, ma, and ra are associated with the positions of the English key buttons K, G, S, Z, T, D, N, H, B, P, M, and R that constitute a Roman alphabet keyboard.

12. The aforementioned transmission step is, The code search unit searches for the code corresponding to the currently entered character entered via the Japanese keyboard, If the currently entered character via the Japanese keyboard is one of the Japanese vowels a, u, e, or o, the determination unit checks whether the preceding character is a Japanese i-row consonant. If the previously entered character is confirmed to be an i-row consonant, the new replacement code search unit searches for a new replacement code corresponding to a new character pronounced by a combination of the previously entered i-row consonant and one of the currently entered vowels a, u, e, or o. The Japanese input method according to claim 10, characterized in that it includes the step of transmitting the code received by the code search unit if the preceding input character is not an i-vowel, and transmitting the new replacement code received from the new replacement code search unit if the preceding input character is an i-vowel.

13. The Japanese input method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of displaying in parallel on the key display section the English key buttons constituting the Roman alphabet keyboard and the Japanese characters for Japanese input corresponding to the English key buttons.

14. The aforementioned new replacement code search unit is: The Japanese input method according to claim 12, characterized in that a new replacement code corresponding to the new character pronounced by the combination is searched in the new replacement code table, and the searched new replacement code and backspace code are transmitted to the transmission unit.

15. A computer-readable recording medium for implementing a program for the Japanese input method described in claim 9.

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