Display device, display method, and display program

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of reducing erroneous input.SOLUTION: A display device includes: a display section having a touch panel; and a control section that displays, on the display section, a character input area in which a soft key is arranged, repeatedly receives, from the character input area, an operation for inputting an input character, and displays, on the display section, an input character string display area in which a character string that is a sequence of the input character is displayed. The control section arranges in order, in the input character string display area, one of the input character and a replacement character for replacing the input character, acquires from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming a character when receiving the operation for inputting the input character from the character input area, the input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character, and displays the acquired input character confirmation information on the display section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device, a display method, and a display program that accepts input of a character string. [Background technology]

[0002] When smart devices such as smartphones and tablet terminals accept input of character strings such as passwords or SSIDs, they display a software keyboard and accept repeated input of characters from the software keyboard. SSID is an abbreviation for Service Set Identifier. The input characters are displayed in order, either as is or after being replaced with a predetermined character such as "*".

[0003] The mobile terminal disclosed in Patent Document 1 temporarily displays the character selected by the operator, and when the confirmation key is pressed, erases the character by displaying an asterisk "*". [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-166843 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Smart devices require users to input characters within a small display and input area, making it difficult to type blind like with a physical keyboard. As a result, users tend to focus on the software keyboard and may not notice input errors. The above-mentioned problems also exist in display devices other than smart devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The display device of the present invention comprises: a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character, the input character confirmation information being capable of identifying each of the input characters; The acquired input character confirmation information is displayed on the display unit. 、 The input character confirmation information includes at least one of the phonetic code of the character, a word having the character as an initial character, and a reading of the character. , has an aspect. The display device of the present invention further comprises: a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; the character string is one of a password and an identifier; The input character confirmation information has a form including at least one of the phonetic code of the character, a word having the character as an initial character, and a reading of the character. Furthermore, the display device of the present invention is a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; a previously input character display area showing the input character that was received immediately before the operation is displayed on the display unit, separately from the input character string display area; The input character for which the operation has been accepted is displayed on the display unit so as to float out of the character input area and move to the previously input character display area. Furthermore, the display device of the present invention is a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; The input character confirmation information is grouped into a plurality of confirmation information, The control unit displaying, on the display unit, a confirmation information selection area for receiving a selection of confirmation information to be displayed on the display unit from the plurality of pieces of confirmation information; When the selection of the confirmation information is accepted from the confirmation information selection area, the confirmation information for which the selection is accepted is acquired from the input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character from the database; The acquired confirmation information is displayed on the display unit. Furthermore, the display device of the present invention is a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; The information for confirming numbers in the input character confirmation information includes number confirmation information for two or more of hiragana, katakana, kanji, and English, The control unit displaying a numeric confirmation information selection area on the display unit for receiving selection of numeric confirmation information to be displayed on the display unit from the plurality of pieces of numeric confirmation information; Accepting the selection of the numeric verification information from the numeric verification information selection area; When the operation of the number among the input characters is accepted from the character input area, the number confirmation information of which the selection is accepted is acquired from the database among the input character confirmation information corresponding to the number; The acquired numeric confirmation information is displayed on the display unit. Furthermore, the display device of the present invention is a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; The input character confirmation information is grouped into a plurality of country / region-specific information according to country or region, The control unit acquiring, from the database, the country / region information corresponding to the country or region where the display device is located, from the input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character; The acquired country / region-specific information is displayed on the display unit. Furthermore, the display device of the present invention is a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; The input character confirmation information is grouped into a plurality of language-specific information according to language, The control unit acquiring, from the database, the language-specific information corresponding to the language set in the display device from the input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character; The acquired language-specific information is displayed on the display unit.

[0007] A display method of the present invention includes displaying a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on a display unit having a touch panel, repeatedly accepting input character operations from the character input area, displaying an input character string display area on the display unit showing a character string which is a sequence of the input characters, and arranging either the input characters or replacement characters which have replaced the input characters in order in the input character string display area, an input character confirmation information acquisition step of acquiring, when the operation of the input character is accepted from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character, the input character confirmation information being capable of identifying each of the input characters; an input character confirmation information display step of displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit. fruit, The input character confirmation information includes at least one of the phonetic code of the character, a word having the character as an initial character, and a reading of the character. , has an aspect.

[0008] Furthermore, a display program of the present invention is a display program for displaying a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on a display unit having a touch panel, repeatedly accepting input character operations from the character input area, displaying an input character string display area on the display unit showing a character string which is a sequence of the input characters, and arranging either the input characters or replacement characters which have replaced the input characters in order in the input character string display area, an input character confirmation information acquisition function that, when receiving the operation of the input character from the character input area, acquires input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character, the input character confirmation information being capable of identifying each of the input characters; and an input character confirmation information display function for displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit. 、 The input character confirmation information includes at least one of the phonetic code of the character, a word having the character as an initial character, and a reading of the character. , has an aspect. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an example of the configuration of a system including a display device. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a password entry screen displayed on a display device. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the structure of input character confirmation information included in a database. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the structure of a database having input character confirmation information. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a group setting process. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a confirmation information selection area displayed on the display unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an editing area displayed on a display unit. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a character string input acceptance process. [Figure 9] Figure 9A is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of another example of the input character string display area, Figure 9B is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an example of an SSID input screen displayed on the display unit, and Figure 9C is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of a display example of the previously input character display area. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing an example of animation display of input characters. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing another example of a group setting process. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing another example structure of input character confirmation information included in a database. [Figure 13] FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a numeric confirmation information selection area displayed on the display unit. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating another example of a password entry screen displayed on the display device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following describes embodiments of the present invention. Of course, the following embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and not all of the features shown in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0011] (1) Overview of the technology included in this invention: First, an overview of the technology included in the present invention will be described with reference to the examples shown in Figures 1 to 14. Note that the figures in this application are diagrams showing schematic examples, and the magnifications in each direction shown in these figures may differ, and the figures may not be consistent with each other. Of course, each element of the present technology is not limited to the specific example indicated by the symbol. In the "Outline of the Technology Included in the Present Invention," the words in parentheses indicate supplementary explanations for the immediately preceding words.

[0012] [Aspect 1] As illustrated in FIG. 1 and other figures, a display device 1 according to an aspect of the present technology includes a display unit 15 and a control unit 10. The display unit 15 has a touch panel 16. As illustrated in FIG. 2 and other figures, the control unit 10 displays a character input area 20 in which soft keys 21 are arranged on the display unit 15, repeatedly accepts an operation of input characters 82 from the character input area 20, and causes the display unit 15 to display an input character string display area 30 showing a character string 80 which is a sequence of the input characters 82. As illustrated in FIGS. 2, 8, 9A, and other figures, the control unit 10 sequentially arranges the input characters 82 and replacement characters 83 that have replaced the input characters 82 in the input character string display area 30. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 8, when the control unit 10 accepts the operation of the input characters 82 from the character input area 20, it obtains input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input characters 82 from a database DB1 that has input character confirmation information IN1 for confirming characters 90. As illustrated in FIGS. 2, 8, etc., the control unit 10 causes the display unit 15 to display the acquired input character confirmation information IN1.

[0013] When the user operates the character input area 20, the input character 82 and the replacement character 83 that replaced the input character 82 are sequentially arranged in the input character string display area 30, and input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 is displayed on the display unit 15. By looking at the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82, the user can confirm whether the input character 82 is correct. In this way, the above-mentioned aspect 1 makes it easy to confirm the character that was input immediately before, thereby reducing input errors. For example, if the character string is important registration information, it becomes easier to input the important registration information accurately, thereby reducing setting failures.

[0014] Here, the key arrangement in the character input area 20 is not limited to a standardized keyboard arrangement, and may be a non-standard arrangement such as alphabetical order. The database DB1 may be stored in the display device itself, or may be stored in an external computer such as the server 300. The above remarks also apply to the following aspects.

[0015] [Aspect 2] 2, 9B, etc., the character string 80 may be either a password or an identifier. As illustrated in Fig. 3, etc., the input character confirmation information IN1 may include at least one of the phonetic code of the character 90, a word having the character 90 as an initial character, and the pronunciation of the character 90. This embodiment can facilitate the input of a password or an identifier, which are important registration information.

[0016] Here, the identifier includes an SSID, an IP address, a domain name, a host name, a port number, a MAC address, an email address, etc. Note that an IP address is an abbreviation for Internet Protocol Address, and a MAC address is an abbreviation for Media Access Control Address. The phonetic code, also known as a phonetic alphabet, is a set of words that are used internationally. The above remarks also apply to the following aspects.

[0017] [Aspect 3] 2 etc., the control unit 10 may cause the display unit 15 to display a last input character display area 40 showing a last input character 84 for which the operation was last accepted, separately from the input character string display area 30. In this aspect, the last input character 84 for which the operation was last accepted is displayed in the last input character display area 40 separately from the character string 80 shown in the input character string display area 30, making it even easier to check the last input character. Although not included in the above-mentioned aspect 3, the case where the previously input character display area 40 is not displayed on the display unit 15 as exemplified in FIG. 14 is also included in the present technology.

[0018] [Aspect 4] 2 etc., the control unit 10 may display the input character 82 in the previously input character display area 40 larger than the display character 81 in the input character string display area 30. In this mode, the previously input character 84, the operation of which has been accepted immediately before, is displayed larger, making it easier to check the character input immediately before.

[0019] [Aspect 5] 2 etc., the control unit 10 may display the input character confirmation information IN1 in parentheses in the previously input character display area 40. In this mode, the input character confirmation information IN1 is displayed in parentheses in accordance with the previously input character 84 whose operation was accepted immediately before, making it easier to confirm the character input immediately before.

[0020] [Aspect 6] 10 , the control unit 10 may display the input character 82 for which the operation has been accepted on the display unit 15 so that the input character 82 appears to float out of the character input area 20 and moves to the previously input character display area 40. In this mode, an animation display 25 is performed in which the input character 82 appears to float out of the character input area 20 and moves to the previously input character display area 40, making it easier to check the character just input.

[0021] [Aspect 7] 2, 9B, and 9C, the control unit 10 may change at least one of the font and the character size when the input character 82 is an uppercase alphabetic character and when the input character 82 is a lowercase alphabetic character, and cause the input character confirmation information IN1 to be displayed on the display unit 15. In this embodiment, input character confirmation information IN1 is displayed in a different font and at least one of the font and the character size when the input character 82 is an uppercase alphabetic character and when the input character 82 is a lowercase alphabetic character, making it easier to confirm the character just input.

[0022] [Aspect 8] 7, the control unit 10 may cause the display unit 15 to display an editing area 50 for accepting editing of the input character confirmation information IN1 to be displayed on the display unit 15. When accepting the editing of the input character confirmation information IN1 from the editing area 50, the control unit 10 may cause the display unit 15 to display the input character confirmation information IN1 that corresponds to the input character 82 and for which the editing has been accepted. In this aspect, the display of the input character confirmation information IN1 can be customized, making it easier to confirm the characters just input.

[0023] [Aspect 9] As illustrated in FIG. 3 and other figures, the input character confirmation information IN1 may be grouped into a plurality of pieces of confirmation information IN2. As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 and other figures, the control unit 10 may display, on the display unit 15, a confirmation information selection area 60 for accepting selection of confirmation information IN2 to be displayed on the display unit 15 from the plurality of pieces of confirmation information IN2. When accepting the selection of the confirmation information IN2 from the confirmation information selection area 60, the control unit 10 may acquire, from the database DB1, the confirmation information IN2 corresponding to the input character 82 for which the selection was accepted. The control unit 10 may display the acquired confirmation information IN2 on the display unit 15. In this aspect, the input character confirmation information IN1 to be displayed can be selected from a plurality of pieces of confirmation information IN2 that are grouped together, making it easier to confirm the characters just input.

[0024] [Aspect 10] As illustrated in FIG. 12 , the information for confirming numbers in the input character confirmation information IN1 may include two or more pieces of number confirmation information (e.g., confirmation information IN2 shown in FIG. 12 ) in hiragana, katakana, kanji, and English. As illustrated in FIG. 13 , the control unit 10 may display, on the display unit 15, a number confirmation information selection area 65 for accepting selection of number confirmation information (IN2) to be displayed on the display unit 15 from a plurality of pieces of number confirmation information (IN2). The control unit 10 may accept the selection of the number confirmation information (IN2) from the number confirmation information selection area 65. When accepting the operation of the number among the input characters 82 from the character input area 20, the control unit 10 may acquire, from the database DB1, the number confirmation information (IN2) corresponding to the number that has been selected and accepted from the input character confirmation information IN1. The control unit 10 may display the acquired number confirmation information (IN2) on the display unit 15. In this embodiment, the displayed number confirmation information (IN2) can be selected from two or more of hiragana, katakana, kanji, and English, making it easier to confirm the number just entered.

[0025] [Aspect 11] As illustrated in Fig. 4, the input character confirmation information IN1 may be grouped into a plurality of country / region-specific information IN3 according to the country or region. As illustrated in Figs. 11 and 8, the control unit 10 may obtain from the database DB1, among the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82, the country / region-specific information IN3 corresponding to the country or region in which the display device 1 is located. The control unit 10 may cause the obtained country / region-specific information IN3 to be displayed on the display unit 15. In this embodiment, the country / region-specific information IN3 corresponding to the country or region in which the display device 1 is located among the input character confirmation information IN1 is displayed, making it easier to confirm the characters just input.

[0026] [Aspect 12] As illustrated in Fig. 4, the input character confirmation information IN1 may be grouped into a plurality of language-specific information IN4 according to language. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the control unit 10 may acquire, from the database DB1, the language-specific information IN4 corresponding to the language set in the display device 1, from the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82. The control unit 10 may cause the acquired language-specific information IN4 to be displayed on the display unit 15. In this embodiment, the language-specific information IN4 corresponding to the language set in the display device 1, from the input character confirmation information IN1, is displayed, making it easier to confirm the character just input.

[0027] [Aspect 13] 1 and 8 , a display method according to one aspect of the present technology displays a character input area 20 in which soft keys 21 are arranged on a display unit 15 having a touch panel 16, repeatedly accepts operations of input characters 82 from the character input area 20, displays an input character string display area 30 on the display unit 15 that shows a character string 80 which is a sequence of the input characters 82, and sequentially arranges either the input characters 82 or replacement characters 83 that have replaced the input characters 82 in the input character string display area 30, and includes the following steps (A) and (B). (A) When the operation of the input character 82 is received from the character input area 20, an input character confirmation information acquisition process ST3 acquires the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 from a database DB1 having input character confirmation information IN1 for confirming the character 90. (B) An input character confirmation information display step ST4 of displaying the acquired input character confirmation information IN1 on the display unit 15. The above-mentioned mode 13 also makes it easier to confirm what character was input immediately before, thereby reducing input errors.

[0028] [Aspect 14] 1 and 8 , a display program PR0 according to an aspect of the present technology is a display program PR0 for displaying a character input area 20 in which soft keys 21 are arranged on a display unit 15 having a touch panel 16, repeatedly accepting an operation of an input character 82 from the character input area 20, displaying an input character string display area 30 showing a character string 80 which is a sequence of the input characters 82 on the display unit 15, and arranging either the input characters 82 or replacement characters 83 which have replaced the input characters 82 in order in the input character string display area 30, and for realizing an input character confirmation information acquisition function FU3 and an input character confirmation information display function FU4 in a computer (e.g., a display device 1). When the input character confirmation information acquisition function FU3 accepts the operation of the input character 82 from the character input area 20, it acquires input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 from a database DB1 which has input character confirmation information IN1 for confirming a character 90. The input character confirmation information display function FU4 causes the display unit 15 to display the acquired input character confirmation information IN1. The above-mentioned mode 14 also makes it easier to confirm what character was input immediately before, thereby reducing input errors.

[0029] Furthermore, the present technology is applicable to a multifunction device including the above-described display device, a display method for the multifunction device, a control program for the multifunction device, a computer-readable medium on which the control program or the display program is recorded, etc. Any of the above-described devices may be composed of multiple distributed parts.

[0030] (2) Specific examples of system configurations including display devices: FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic configuration of a system SY1 including a display device 1. As shown in FIG. The system SY1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a wireless router 100, a display device 1, a printer 200, and a server 300. The display device 1 and the printer 200 are wirelessly connected to the wireless router 100. The wireless router 100 is connected to the server 300 via a network NE1. The network NE1 can be the Internet, a LAN, a combination of these, or the like. Here, LAN is an abbreviation for Local Area Network.

[0031] The display device 1 is a computer including a control unit 10, a storage unit 14, a display unit 15 having a touch panel 16, a communication unit 17, an audio output unit 18, an audio input unit 19, etc. The control unit 10 includes a CPU 11 which is a processor, a ROM 12 which is a semiconductor memory, a RAM 13 which is also a semiconductor memory, etc. Here, CPU is an abbreviation for Central Processing Unit, ROM is an abbreviation for Read Only Memory, and RAM is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory. The multiple elements indicated by the reference numerals 11 to 19 are electrically connected to each other so that information can be input and output.

[0032] The storage unit 14 stores an OS and a display program PR0, and may also store a database DB1 having input character confirmation information IN1, as shown in Fig. 3. Here, OS is an abbreviation for operating system. The storage unit 14 may be a nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk, or the like. The display program PR0 is an application program that causes the display device 1 to realize a plurality of functions, such as an input character string display function FU1, a previously input character display function FU2, an input character confirmation information acquisition function FU3, and an input character confirmation information display function FU4, as illustrated in Fig. 8. The display program PR0 is installed in the display device 1, and the display program PR0 is read into the RAM 13 and executed by the CPU 11, thereby achieving a plurality of functions indicated by the symbols FU1 to FU4 in Fig. 8. As a result, a plurality of steps, such as an input character string display step ST1 corresponding to the input character string display function FU1, a previously input character display step ST2 corresponding to the previously input character display function FU2, an input character confirmation information acquisition step ST3 corresponding to the input character confirmation information acquisition function FU3, and an input character confirmation information display step ST4 corresponding to the input character confirmation information display function FU4, are performed.

[0033] A liquid crystal display panel or the like can be used for the display unit 15. The touch panel 16 is attached to the surface of the display unit 15 and accepts touch operations by the user. The touch panel 16 can be a capacitance type touch panel that detects changes in capacitance on the surface due to touch. The touch panel 16 can be a multi-touch type touch panel that can detect touches at multiple points simultaneously, or a single-touch type touch panel that can only detect touches at one point.

[0034] The communication unit 17 is an interface that performs wireless communication with the communication unit 106 of the wireless router 100 in accordance with a wireless LAN standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The communication unit 17 can send print data to the printer 200 and receive status information from the printer 200 via the wireless router 100. The audio output unit 18 generates audio in accordance with an audio signal. A general-purpose speaker can be used as the audio output unit 18. The audio input unit 19 converts input audio into an audio signal. A general-purpose microphone can be used as the audio input unit 19. If the display device 1 is a mobile phone such as a smartphone, during a call, the audio output unit 18 generates audio in accordance with an audio signal from a telephone line, and the audio input unit 19 converts the audio from the user or the like into an audio signal that is output to the telephone line.

[0035] Note that display devices 1 to which the present technology can be applied include smart devices such as smartphones and tablet terminals, personal computers including displays, printers equipped with display panels, ATMs (automated teller machines), etc. The display device 1 of this specific example is assumed to be a smart device with a relatively small display unit 15.

[0036] The wireless router 100 includes a controller 101, a communication I / F 105, a communication unit 106, etc., and functions as an access point. Here, I / F is an abbreviation for interface. The controller 101 includes a CPU 102, a ROM 103, a RAM 104, etc., and stores a unique identification name, such as an SSID and a password. The communication I / F 105 is an interface that communicates with the server 300 via the network NE1. The communication unit 106 is an interface that performs wireless communication with the communication unit 17 of the display device 1 and the communication unit 206 of the printer 200 in accordance with a wireless LAN standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The communication unit 106 confirms the SSID and password from the communication units 17 and 206 before performing wireless communication with the communication units 17 and 206.

[0037] The printer 200 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a storage device 204, a printing unit 205, a communication unit 206, and the like. The storage device 204 can be a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, a magnetic storage device, or the like. The printing unit 205 prints based on print data received from the display device 1 via the wireless router 100. The printing unit 205 can be an inkjet print engine that ejects ink droplets onto a print medium, an electrophotographic print engine that deposits toner onto a print medium, or the like. The communication unit 206 is an interface that wirelessly communicates with the communication unit 106 of the wireless router 100 in accordance with a wireless LAN standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The communication unit 206 can send print data from the display device 1 and send statuses to the display device 1 via the wireless router 100. The printer 200 may be a copy machine, a facsimile machine, a multifunction machine having a document reading function and a printing function, or the like.

[0038] The server 300 is a computer including a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, a storage device 304, and a communication I / F 305. The storage device 304 may store a database DB1 having input character confirmation information IN1, as shown in Fig. 3. The communication I / F 305 is an interface for communicating with the wireless router 100 via the network NE1.

[0039] In order to execute printing by the printer 200 by operating the display device 1 in the above-described system SY1, it is first necessary to set an SSID and password on the display device 1, thereby wirelessly connecting the display device 1 to the wireless router 100. Although the display device 1 may automatically acquire the SSID using an SSID acquisition function that the OS has implemented on the display device 1, the user must at least input the password into the display device 1. If the password and other information are not input correctly into the display device 1, the wireless connection of the display device 1 to the wireless router 100 will fail.

[0040] 2 is a schematic illustration of a password entry screen displayed on the display unit 15 of the display device 1. When the control unit 10 of the display device 1 receives an operation to wirelessly connect the display device 1 to the wireless router 100 via the touch panel 16, it causes the display unit 15 to display the password entry screen shown in FIG. 2. This password entry screen has a character entry area 20, an input character string display area 30, a previously input character display area 40, a keyboard switching button 71, an OK button 72, and a cancel button 73.

[0041] In the character input area 20, a plurality of soft keys 21 for accepting tap operations are arranged in an orderly fashion. The arrangement of the soft keys 21 constitutes a kind of software keyboard. The OS functions include displaying a software keyboard with a QWERTY layout, which is the de facto standard for keyboard layouts, on the display unit 15. However, because the QWERTY software keyboard is displayed on the relatively small display unit 15, users must operate small soft keys, making it difficult to touch-type the OS-standard software keyboard as they would with a physical keyboard. For this reason, users often focus on the software keyboard and fail to notice incorrect character input. Therefore, in this specific example, the control unit 10 displays a plurality of soft keys 21 in the character input area 20, each of which is divided into numbers, lowercase letters, uppercase letters, symbols, etc., and arranged in an order.

[0042] The soft keys 21 shown in FIG. 2 include a plurality of numeric keys 21a, a plurality of lowercase keys 21b, a plurality of uppercase keys 21c, a plurality of symbol keys 21d, a backspace key 21e, and an enter key 21f. These soft keys 21 are color-coded according to their type. The character keys for operating the input characters 82 include a plurality of numeric keys 21a, a plurality of lowercase keys 21b, a plurality of uppercase keys 21c, and a plurality of symbol keys 21d. The numeric keys 21a have 10 numbers, from 1 to 0, arranged in order. The lowercase keys 21b have 26 lowercase letters arranged in alphabetical order. The uppercase keys 21c have 26 uppercase letters arranged in alphabetical order. This makes it easy for the user to find numbers, lowercase letters, and uppercase letters and to easily operate the numeric keys 21a, lowercase keys 21b, and uppercase keys 21c. When the control unit 10 receives an operation of any of the numeric keys 21a, lowercase key 21b, uppercase key 21c, and symbol key 21d on the touch panel 16, it adds an input character 82 to the end of the character string 80 in the input character string display area 30. When the control unit 10 receives an operation of the backspace key 21e, it deletes the last character in the character string 80. The enter key 21f is a soft key for confirming the character string 80 displayed in the input character string display area 30. The control unit 10 repeatedly accepts tap operations on the input character 82 in the character input area 20.

[0043] A character string 80, which is a sequence of input characters 82, is displayed in the input character string display area 30. Every time the control unit 10 accepts an operation of an input character 82 from the character input area 20, the control unit 10 arranges the input characters 82 in order from the left end in the input character string display area 30. For example, when the control unit 10 accepts an operation of "A", the control unit 10 adds "A", which is the immediately preceding input character 84, to the end (right end) of the character string 80 in the input character string display area 30. The display character 81 in the input character string display area 30 shown in FIG. 2 is the input character 82 itself.

[0044] However, because the input characters 82 are arranged in the input character string display area 30 displayed on the relatively small display unit 15, each input character 82 is small. For this reason, the user often does not notice that a character has been input incorrectly. Therefore, in this specific example, the control unit 10 causes the display unit 15 to display input character confirmation information IN1 for confirming the immediately preceding input character 84, and further causes the display unit 15 to display the immediately preceding input character display area 40 in which the immediately preceding input character 84 is separately displayed.

[0045] The last input character display area 40 displays an enlarged version of the input character (last input character 84) that was previously accepted, and further displays input character confirmation information IN1 in parentheses for confirming the last input character 84. The control unit 10 displays the last input character 84 in the last input character display area 40 larger than the display character 81 in the input character string display area 30 and larger than the characters in the character input area 20. The control unit 10 also displays the input character confirmation information IN1 in the last input character display area 40 in the same character size as the last input character 84. By displaying the last input character 84 and the input character confirmation information IN1 in the last input character display area 40, which is separate from the input character string display area 30, the last input character 84 and the input character confirmation information IN1 are easy to see, allowing the user to easily confirm the character that was just input. Furthermore, by displaying the last input character 84 and the input character confirmation information IN1 enlarged, the last input character 84 and the input character confirmation information IN1 are easy to see, allowing the user to even more easily confirm the character that was just input. As will be described in detail later, input character confirmation information IN1 for confirming the immediately preceding input character 84 is acquired from a database DB1 and displayed alongside the immediately preceding input character 84 in the immediately preceding input character display area 40.

[0046] When the control unit 10 accepts operation of the keyboard switching button 71, it displays a QWERTY software keyboard on the display unit 15. When the control unit 10 accepts operation of the OK button 72, it confirms the character string 80 displayed in the input character string display area 30 and passes this character string 80 to the next process. When the control unit 10 accepts operation of the cancel button 73, it discards the character string 80 displayed in the input character string display area 30 and returns to the process before the password was entered.

[0047] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of input character confirmation information IN1 contained in a database DB1 stored in the server 300 or the display device 1. As shown in FIG. The input character confirmation information IN1 is information for confirming the character 90. The input character confirmation information IN1 shown in FIG. 3 is grouped into a plurality of pieces of confirmation information IN2. The plurality of pieces of confirmation information IN2 include confirmation information IN2a that emphasizes phonetic codes, confirmation information IN2b that emphasizes easy-to-understand words, and confirmation information IN2c that emphasizes pronunciation. Each piece of confirmation information IN2 has information associated with the character 90.

[0048] For alphabetical characters, the phonetic code is a word that begins with the corresponding letter 90, and is used uniformly across many industries. In phonetic code-focused verification information IN2a, for example, the capital letter "A" is associated with the phonetic code "ALPHA," and the capital letter "B" is associated with the phonetic code "BRAVO." Lowercase letters are associated with lowercase phonetic codes, such as "alpha." Numbers are associated with words that indicate how to read the letter 90, such as "One."

[0049] However, the phonetic code may contain words that are unfamiliar to the user. Therefore, the input character confirmation information IN1 includes confirmation information IN2b containing easy-to-understand words that start with the corresponding alphabetic character 90. In the confirmation information IN2b, for example, the letter "A" is associated with the well-known "APPLE," and the letter "B" is associated with the well-known "BANANA." Lowercase letters are associated with easy-to-understand words, such as "apple." Symbols are also associated with easy-to-understand words, such as "underline" instead of "underscore," for example. Because numbers are also easy to understand using the phonetic code, the same words as the phonetic code are associated with them.

[0050] The pronunciation-focused confirmation information IN2c is associated with the phonetic symbols of letters 90, such as "ei," for alphabetic characters. The phonetic symbols are examples of pronunciations. Here, uppercase letters are associated with phonetic symbols in a larger font than the phonetic symbols associated with lowercase letters. For numbers, the phonetic code also indicates the pronunciation, so the same words as the phonetic code are associated with the numbers.

[0051] From the above, the input character confirmation information IN1 includes the phonetic code of the character 90, such as "ALPHA," includes words that have the character 90 as the initial letter, such as "APPLE," and includes the pronunciation of the character 90, such as "ei" and "One."

[0052] Fig. 4 shows a schematic example of the structure of the database DB1 containing the above-mentioned input character confirmation information IN1. As shown in Fig. 4, the input character confirmation information IN1 is grouped into multiple country / region-specific information IN3 by country or region, and into multiple language-specific information IN4 by language. The multiple country / region-specific information IN3 shown in Fig. 4 includes country A confirmation information IN3a, country B confirmation information IN3b, country C confirmation information IN3c, region D confirmation information IN3d, etc. The multiple language-specific information IN4 shown in Fig. 4 includes language a confirmation information IN4a, language b confirmation information IN4b, language e confirmation information IN4c, language c confirmation information IN4d, etc. In Fig. 4, the relationship between the multiple country / region-specific information IN3 and the multiple language-specific information IN4 is indicated by dashed double-dashed arrows.

[0053] For example, when only one language is used, as in country A or region D, language-specific information IN4 corresponding to the used language can be used as country / region-specific information IN3. In the example shown in FIG. 4, language a confirmation information IN4a is used for country A confirmation information IN3a, and language c confirmation information IN4d is used for region D confirmation information IN3d. Country B confirmation information IN3b for country B, where languages ​​a, b, and e are used, includes language a confirmation information IN4a, language b confirmation information IN4b, and language e confirmation information IN4c. Therefore, country B confirmation information IN3b can be said to be grouped into language a confirmation information IN4a, language b confirmation information IN4b, and language e confirmation information IN4c. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5 and the like, a processing example for setting a group for displaying input character confirmation information IN1 according to the language setting of the display device 1 will be described.

[0054] (3) Examples of processing performed by the display device: 5 illustrates a group setting process performed by the control unit 10 of the display device 1. This process includes steps S102 to S108. Hereinafter, the word "step" will be omitted, and the step number will be indicated in parentheses. The group setting process is performed, for example, when the display program PR1 is installed in the display device 1. When the group setting process starts, the control unit 10 acquires a language setting indicating the language set in the display device 1 (S102). The OS of the display device 1 causes the display device 1 to realize a function of accepting a language setting and storing it in the storage unit 14, and a function of reading the language setting from the storage unit 14 in response to a language setting acquisition request from an application program and passing it to the application program. The control unit 10 can then acquire the language setting from the OS by issuing a language setting acquisition request to the OS. After acquiring the language setting, the control unit 10 performs a process of setting language-specific information IN4 corresponding to the acquired language setting as input character confirmation information IN1 to be used, for example, a process of storing setting information indicating the language-specific information IN4 corresponding to the language setting in the storage unit 14 (S104).

[0055] The input character confirmation information IN1, which is language-specific information IN4 corresponding to the language setting, may be grouped into multiple pieces of confirmation information IN2 as shown in Fig. 3. When the input character confirmation information IN1 is grouped, the control unit 10 causes the display unit 15 to display a confirmation information selection area 60 as shown in Fig. 6 (S106).

[0056] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a confirmation information selection area 60 displayed on the display unit 15 based on the input character confirmation information IN1 shown in FIG. 3. The confirmation information selection area 60 is an area for accepting selection of confirmation information to be displayed on the display unit 15 from multiple pieces of confirmation information IN2. The confirmation information selection area 60 shown in FIG. 6 includes selection areas 60a, 60b, and 60c for selecting confirmation information IN2, an edit button 60e, a setting end button 60f, and a cancel button 60g. The selection area 60a is an area for selecting confirmation information IN2a that emphasizes phonetic codes. The selection area 60b is an area for selecting confirmation information IN2b that emphasizes easy-to-understand words. The selection area 60c is an area for selecting confirmation information IN2c that emphasizes pronunciation. FIG. 6 shows that the radio button in the selection area 60b is turned on due to an operation to select the selection area 60b corresponding to the easy-to-understand word-focused confirmation information IN2b. When the control unit 10 receives an operation of the setting end button 60f, the control unit 10 stores in the storage unit 14 a group setting indicating confirmation information corresponding to the area selected from the selection areas 60a, 60b, and 60c (S108 in FIG. 5), and ends the group setting process. When the control unit 10 receives an operation of the cancel button 60g, the control unit 10 stores in the storage unit 14 a default group setting, and ends the group setting process.

[0057] Some users may wish to customize a portion of the input character confirmation information IN1 while following the group settings as a whole. Therefore, the confirmation information selection area 60 shown in Fig. 6 is provided with an edit button 60e for editing a portion of the input character confirmation information IN1. When the control unit 10 accepts operation of the edit button 60e, it causes the display unit 15 to display an edit area 50 as shown in Fig. 7.

[0058] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of an editing area 50 displayed on the display unit 15. The editing area 50 is an area for accepting edits of input character confirmation information IN1 to be displayed on the display unit 15. The editing area 50 shown in FIG. 7 includes an editing field 50a, an edit end button 50b, and a cancel button 50c. The editing field 50a displays a list of input character confirmation information IN1 associated with the character 90. The input character confirmation information IN1 in the editing field 50a shown in FIG. 7 is one piece of confirmation information selected from multiple pieces of confirmation information IN2. The control unit 10 accepts an operation to edit the input character confirmation information IN1 in the editing field 50a via the touch panel 16. For example, if a user changes the input character confirmation information "BANANA" associated with the capital letter "B" to "BONUS" using a software keyboard (not shown), the control unit 10 associates the input character confirmation information "BONUS" with the capital letter "B." At this time, the control unit 10 may change "banana," which is associated with the lowercase letter "b" of the same alphabet as the capital letter "B," to "bonus." When the control unit 10 accepts operation of the edit end button 50b, it stores the edited input character confirmation information IN1 in, for example, the database DB1, and erases the editing area 50 from the display unit 15. The edited content may be stored in the storage unit 14 separately from the database DB1. When the control unit 10 accepts operation of the cancel button 50c, it discards the edited content and erases the editing area 50 from the display unit 15.

[0059] 8 illustrates a character string input acceptance process performed by the control unit 10. Here, S206 corresponds to an input character string display step ST1 and an input character string display function FU1. S208 corresponds to a previously input character display step ST2 and a previously input character display function FU2. S210 corresponds to an input character confirmation information acquisition step ST3 and an input character confirmation information acquisition function FU3. S212 corresponds to an input character confirmation information display step ST4 and an input character confirmation information display function FU4. The character string input acceptance process is performed, for example, when an operation to wirelessly connect the display device 1 to the wireless router 100 is accepted on the touch panel 16.

[0060] When the character string input acceptance process starts, the control unit 10 displays an initial screen on the display unit 15 (S202). Although not shown, the initial screen is a screen in which no input characters 82 are displayed in the input character string display area 30 and the immediately preceding input character display area 40 on the password input screen shown in FIG. After the initial screen is displayed, the control unit 10 branches the process depending on the operation on the character input area 20 etc. (S204).

[0061] When the character keys denoted by the reference symbols 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d are operated, the control unit 10 sequentially arranges the input characters 82 corresponding to the operated character keys in the input character string display area 30 (S206). Then, a character string 80, which is a line of the input characters 82, is displayed in the input character string display area 30, as in the input character string display area 30 shown in FIG.

[0062] 9A, replacement characters 83 that have replaced input characters 82 may be sequentially arranged in the input character string display area 30. FIG. 9A schematically illustrates another example of the input character string display area 30. The control unit 10 arranges "*" characters, which are replacement characters 83 that have replaced the input characters 82, excluding the immediately preceding input character 84, in the input character string display area 30. The replacement characters 83 simply hide the input characters 82, so the character string 80 displayed in the input character string display area 30 can be said to be a sequence of input characters 82. The display characters 81 in the input character string display area 30 shown in FIG. 9A are replacement characters 83 that have replaced the input characters 82, excluding the immediately preceding input character 84. The control unit 10 may display a password display button 74 on the display unit 15 so that the input characters 82 that have been replaced with replacement characters 83 can be confirmed, or may display all of the input characters 82 included in the character string 80 in the input character string display area 30 when an operation of the password display button 74 is accepted.

[0063] 9B, the character string 80 may be an SSID. The SSID is an example of an identifier. FIG. 9B schematically illustrates an SSID input screen displayed on the display unit 15. The control unit 10 repeatedly accepts input of characters 82 in the character input area 20, and displays the SSID as the character string 80 in the input character string display area 30. The example shown in FIG. 9B is suitable for cases where the SSID acquisition function of the OS does not work.

[0064] 8, the control unit 10 displays the previously input character 84 in the previously input character display area 40 larger than the display character 81 in the input character string display area 30 (S208). The previously input character 84 in the previously input character display area 40 is larger than the character in the character input area 20. 2 and 9B, the control unit 10 may change the font depending on whether the previously input character 84 to be displayed in the previously input character display area 40 is an uppercase alphabetic character or a lowercase alphabetic character. This allows the user to easily distinguish whether the previously input character 84 is an uppercase alphabetic character or a lowercase alphabetic character.

[0065] 9C , the control unit 10 may change the character size depending on whether the previously input character 84 to be displayed in the previously input character display area 40 is an uppercase alphabetic character or a lowercase alphabetic character. FIG. 9C schematically illustrates the display of uppercase alphabetic characters and lowercase alphabetic characters in the previously input character display area 40. In the previously input character display area 40 shown in FIG. 9C , the previously input character 84 is displayed in a relatively small character size when the previously input character 84 is a lowercase alphabetic character, and is displayed in a relatively large character size when the previously input character 84 is an uppercase alphabetic character. Although the previously input character 84 shown in FIG. 9C has different fonts depending on whether it is an uppercase alphabetic character or a lowercase alphabetic character, the font of the previously input character 84 may be the same whether it is an uppercase alphabetic character or a lowercase alphabetic character.

[0066] 10, the control unit 10 may cause the display unit 15 to display an animation display 25 in which an input character 82 that has been operated is raised from the character input area 20 and moved to the previously input character display area 40. FIG. 10 schematically illustrates an example of the animation display 25 of the input character 82. After the input character 82 is raised from the character input area 20, it may move continuously or stepwise toward the previously input character display area 40. When the animation display 25 in which the input character 82 is raised from the character input area 20 and moved to the previously input character display area 40 is performed, the previously input character becomes even easier to check.

[0067] After S208 shown in FIG. 8 , the control unit 10 acquires input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 from the database DB1 that has the input character confirmation information IN1 (S210). If the database DB1 is stored in the storage unit 14, the control unit 10 can acquire the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 from the database DB1 stored in the storage unit 14. If the database DB1 is stored in the server 300, the control unit 10 transmits to the server 300 an acquisition request for the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82. Upon receiving the acquisition request, the server 300 reads out the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 from the database DB1 and transmits the input character confirmation information IN1 to the display device 1. By receiving the input character confirmation information IN1 from the server 300, the display device 1 can acquire the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82.

[0068] 4, when the input character confirmation information IN1 is grouped into a plurality of language-specific information IN4, the control unit 10 acquires, from the database DB1, the language-specific information IN4 corresponding to the language setting of the display device 1, from the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82, in accordance with the setting information stored in the storage unit 14. When the input character confirmation information IN1, which is the language-specific information IN4 corresponding to the language setting, is grouped into a plurality of confirmation information IN2, the control unit 10 acquires, from the database DB1, the confirmation information IN2 that has been selected from the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82, in accordance with the group setting stored in the storage unit 14. When the edited input character confirmation information IN1 is stored in the database DB1, the control unit 10 acquires the edited input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 from the database DB1. When the edited input character confirmation information IN1 is stored in the storage unit 14 separately from the database DB1, the control unit 10 acquires the edited input character confirmation information IN1 from the storage unit 14 when the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 is edited.

[0069] For example, assume that the language setting of the display device 1 is English and the easy-to-understand-word-focused selection area 60b is selected from the confirmation information selection area 60 shown in FIG. 6. In this case, the control unit 10 acquires confirmation information corresponding to the input character 82 from the easy-to-understand-word-focused confirmation information IN2b in the input character confirmation information IN1 shown in FIG. 3. When the immediately preceding input character 84 is "A" as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 10 acquires "APPLE," which is the easy-to-understand-word-focused confirmation information IN2b in the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character "A." When the immediately preceding input character 84 is "a" as shown in FIG. 9B, the control unit 10 acquires "apple," which is the easy-to-understand-word-focused confirmation information IN2b in the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character "a."

[0070] After S210 shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 10 displays the input character confirmation information IN1 acquired from the database DB1 in the previously input character display area 40, following the previously input character 84 (S212), and returns the process to S204. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9B, the input character confirmation information IN1 displayed in the previously input character display area 40 has the same character size as the previously input character 84 displayed in the previously input character display area 40. By displaying the input character confirmation information IN1 in a large size, the user can easily confirm the character inputted last. Furthermore, the control unit 10 displays the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the previously input character 84 in parentheses in the previously input character display area 40. Since the user can see the input character confirmation information IN1 displayed in parentheses alongside the input character operated last, the user can more easily confirm the character inputted last.

[0071] 9C and other figures, the control unit 10 may change at least one of the font and the character size when the input character 82 is an uppercase alphabetic character and when the input character 82 is a lowercase alphabetic character, and display the input character confirmation information IN1 in the previously input character display area 40. When input character confirmation information IN1 is displayed in a different font and at least one of the font and the character size when the input character 82 is an uppercase alphabetic character and when the input character 82 is a lowercase alphabetic character, the previously input character can be confirmed more easily.

[0072] 4, when the input character confirmation information IN1 is divided into a plurality of language-specific information IN4 groups, the language-specific information IN4 corresponding to the language setting of the display device 1 among the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 is displayed in the previously input character display area 40. This allows the user to more easily confirm the character just input. When input character confirmation information IN1, which is language-specific information IN4 corresponding to a language setting, is grouped into multiple pieces of confirmation information IN2, the confirmation information IN2 corresponding to the group setting among the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 is displayed in the previously input character display area 40. This allows the user to more easily confirm the character input immediately before.

[0073] For example, when the language setting of the display device 1 is English and the easy-to-understand-word-focused selection area 60b is selected from the confirmation information selection area 60 shown in Fig. 6, the easy-to-understand-word-focused confirmation information IN2b from the input character confirmation information IN1 shown in Fig. 3 is displayed in the previously input character display area 40. When the previously input character 84 is "A" as shown in Fig. 2, the confirmation information "APPLE" corresponding to the input character "A" from the easy-to-understand-word-focused confirmation information IN2b is displayed in the previously input character display area 40. When the previously input character 84 is "a" as shown in Fig. 9B, the confirmation information "apple" corresponding to the input character "a" from the easy-to-understand-word-focused confirmation information IN2b is displayed in the previously input character display area 40.

[0074] When the control unit 10 receives an edit of the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82, the control unit 10 displays the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82 and for which the edit has been received in the previously input character display area 40. By displaying the customized input character confirmation information IN1, the user can more easily check the characters input immediately before.

[0075] By repeating the processes of S204 to S212 shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 10 repeatedly accepts the operation of the input character 82 from the character input area 20, arranges the input characters 82 or the replacement characters 83 in order in the input character string display area 30, and displays the corresponding input character confirmation information IN1 together with the immediately preceding input character 84 in the immediately preceding input character display area 40.

[0076] 8, if the backspace key 21e (see FIG. 2) is operated, the control unit 10 deletes the last character of the character string 80 displayed in the input character string display area 30, and returns the process to S204. If the keyboard switching button 71 (see FIG. 2) is operated in the determination process of S204 shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 10 switches between the character input area 20 shown in FIG. 2 and the QWERTY software keyboard, and returns the process to S204. If the cancel button 73 (see FIG. 2) is operated in the determination process of S204 shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 10 discards the character string 80 displayed in the input character string display area 30, and ends the character string input acceptance process.

[0077] When the Enter key 21f or the OK button 72 is operated in the judgment process of S204 shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 10 confirms the character string 80 displayed in the input character string display area 30, passes this character string 80 to the next process (S214), and ends the character string input acceptance process.

[0078] As described above, when the user operates the character input area 20, the input characters 82 or replacement characters 83 are sequentially arranged in the input character string display area 30, and input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input characters 82 is displayed in the previously input character display area 40. By looking at the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input characters 82, the user can confirm whether the input characters 82 are correct. In this way, this specific example makes it easy to confirm what characters were input immediately before, thereby reducing erroneous input of important registration information such as passwords and identifiers, and reducing failures in setting up wireless connections, etc.

[0079] (4) Variation: The present invention can be modified in various ways. For example, when replacement characters 83 are arranged in the input character string display area 30 as shown in FIG. 9A, the immediately preceding input character 84 may also be replaced with the replacement character 83. The control unit 10 may accept a setting as to whether to arrange the input characters 82 or the replacement characters 83 in the input character string display area 30. Then, the control unit 10 may arrange the input characters 82 in the input character string display area 30 when the setting is to arrange the input characters 82, and may arrange the replacement characters 83 in the input character string display area 30 when the setting is to arrange the replacement characters 83. The above-described processes can be changed as appropriate by changing the order, etc. For example, in the character string input reception process shown in Fig. 8, the process of S206 in which the input characters 82 are arranged in the input character string display area 30 can be performed after any of the processes of S208, S210, and S212.

[0080] 11, the control unit 10 may set a group for displaying the input character confirmation information IN1 depending on the country or region where the display device 1 is located. FIG. 11 shows another example of the group setting process performed by the control unit 10. When the group setting process starts, the control unit 10 acquires information about the country or region where the display device 1 is located (S122). The OS of the display device 1 causes the display device 1 to realize a function of acquiring information about the country or region where the display device 1 is located and storing it in the storage unit 14, and a function of reading the country or region information from the storage unit 14 in response to a country or region setting acquisition request from an application program and passing the country or region information to the application program. The OS of the display device 1 may also cause the display device 1 to realize a function of accepting a country or region setting and storing it in the storage unit 14, and a function of reading the country or region setting from the storage unit 14 in response to a country or region setting acquisition request from the application program and passing the country or region information to the application program. The control unit 10 can perform a process of acquiring the country or region information from the OS by issuing a country or region setting acquisition request to the OS. After the process of S122, the control unit 10 performs a process of setting the country or region-specific information IN3 corresponding to the country or region as the input character confirmation information IN1 to be used based on the acquired country or region information, for example, a process of storing setting information indicating the country or region-specific information IN3 corresponding to the country or region in the storage unit 14 (S124).

[0081] Input character confirmation information IN1, which is country / region-specific information IN3 corresponding to a country or region, may be grouped into multiple pieces of confirmation information IN2, as shown in Fig. 3. When input character confirmation information IN1 is grouped, control unit 10 causes display unit 15 to display confirmation information selection area 60 as shown in Fig. 6 (S126). After displaying confirmation information selection area 60, control unit 10 stores in memory unit 14 a group setting indicating confirmation information corresponding to an area selected from selection areas 60a, 60b, and 60c (S128), and terminates the group setting process. 11 is performed, the control unit 10 acquires, in S210 shown in Fig. 8, confirmation information IN2 that has been selected and accepted from the country / region-specific information IN3 corresponding to the input characters 82 from the database DB1 in accordance with the group setting stored in the storage unit 14. As a result, in S212 shown in Fig. 8, the country / region-specific information IN3 corresponding to the country or region in which the display device 1 is located, out of the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input characters 82, is displayed in the previously input character display area 40. This allows the user to more easily check the characters they input most recently.

[0082] 12, the database DB1 may have input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to Japanese. Fig. 12 schematically illustrates the structure of another input character confirmation information IN1 included in the database DB1 stored in the server 300 or the display device 1. 12, the input character confirmation information IN1 includes confirmation information IN2a that emphasizes hiragana, confirmation information IN2b that emphasizes katakana, confirmation information IN2c that emphasizes kanji, and confirmation information IN2d that emphasizes English. Each piece of confirmation information IN2 has information associated with a character 90.

[0083] In hiragana-focused confirmation information IN2a, the reading of character 90 in hiragana, such as "ichi" (one) and "ei" (eight), is associated with character 90. In katakana-focused confirmation information IN2b, the reading of character 90 in katakana, such as "ichi" (one) and "ei" (eight), is associated with character 90. In kanji-focused confirmation information IN2c, for numbers and symbols, the reading of character 90 in kanji, such as "ichi" (one) and "underline" (underline), is associated with character 90. However, for alphabets, the reading of character 90 in katakana is associated with character 90. In English-focused confirmation information IN2d, for numbers and symbols, the reading of character 90 in English words, such as "One" and "Underline," is associated with character 90. However, for alphabets, the reading of character 90 in phonetic symbols is associated with character 90. As described above, the input character confirmation information IN1 shown in Fig. 12 is composed of the reading of the character 90. Of course, the input character confirmation information IN1 shown in Fig. 12 may also include Japanese phonetic codes such as "Asahi no A" or may include words that have the character 90 as the initial character such as "Atama no A."

[0084] Focusing on the numbers in the input character confirmation information IN1, confirmation information IN2a that emphasizes hiragana can be considered as number confirmation information that emphasizes hiragana, confirmation information IN2b that emphasizes katakana can be considered as number confirmation information that emphasizes katakana, confirmation information IN2c that emphasizes kanji can be considered as number confirmation information that emphasizes kanji, and confirmation information IN2d that emphasizes English can be considered as number confirmation information that emphasizes English. Therefore, the information for confirming numbers in the input character confirmation information IN1 includes number confirmation information in hiragana, katakana, kanji, and English. The control unit 10 may accept selection of number confirmation information from the number confirmation information selection area 65 by displaying a number confirmation information selection area 65, as shown in FIG. 13, on the display unit 15. Note that selecting number confirmation information also means selecting input character confirmation information IN1 to display for alphabets and symbols, so the number confirmation information selection area 65 is also the confirmation information selection area 60.

[0085] FIG. 13 schematically illustrates a numeric confirmation information selection area 65 displayed on the display unit 15 based on the input character confirmation information IN1 shown in FIG. 12. The numeric confirmation information selection area 65 shown in FIG. 13 includes selection areas 60a, 60b, 60c, and 60d for selecting numeric confirmation information, an edit button 60e, a setting end button 60f, and a cancel button 60g. The selection area 60a is an area for selecting confirmation information IN2a that emphasizes hiragana. The selection area 60b is an area for selecting confirmation information IN2b that emphasizes katakana. The selection area 60c is an area for selecting confirmation information IN2c that emphasizes kanji. The selection area 60d is an area for selecting confirmation information IN2d that emphasizes English. When the setting end button 60f is operated, the control unit 10 stores in the memory unit 14 a group setting indicating the numeric confirmation information corresponding to the area selected from the selection areas 60a, 60b, 60c, and 60d.

[0086] 8 is performed, the input characters 82 or replacement characters 83 are sequentially arranged in the input character string display area 30, and input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input characters 82 is displayed in the previously input character display area 40. When the control unit 10 accepts an operation of a number among the input characters 82 from the character input area 20, it obtains, from the database DB1, number confirmation information of the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the number, the number confirmation information of which selection has been accepted, and displays the obtained number confirmation information in the previously input character display area 40. As a result, the number confirmation information corresponding to the group setting among the input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the input character 82, which is a number, is displayed in the previously input character display area 40. Therefore, the user can easily check the number inputted last time.

[0087] The selection of numeric confirmation information may be made from two or more of hiragana, katakana, kanji, and English. For example, if the input character confirmation information IN1 shown in Fig. 12 has only hiragana-focused confirmation information IN2a and katakana-focused confirmation information IN2b as confirmation information IN2, the numeric confirmation information selection area 65 shown in Fig. 13 may have only a hiragana-focused selection area 60a and a katakana-focused selection area 60b as selection areas.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 14 , the present technology is also applicable to a case where the display unit 15 does not have a last-input character display area 40. FIG. 14 schematically illustrates another password entry screen displayed on the display unit 15 of the display device 1. This password entry screen includes a character entry area 20, an input character string display area 30, a keyboard switching button 71, an OK button 72, a cancel button 73, and a password display button 74. As shown in FIG. 14 , the soft keys 21 can be color-coded or have various other colors. The password entry screen shown in FIG. 14 does not include the last-input character display area 40, and input character confirmation information IN1 is displayed in a balloon aligned with a last-input character 84 arranged at the end of a character string 80 displayed in the input character string display area 30. The control unit 10 sequentially arranges the replacement characters 83, excluding the last-input character 84, in the input character string display area 30, obtains input character confirmation information IN1 corresponding to the last-input character 84 from the database DB1, and displays the obtained input character confirmation information IN1 in the balloon. In this example as well, it is easy to check what character was input immediately before, which can reduce input errors.

[0089] Although not shown, the input character confirmation information IN1 may consist only of the phonetic code of the character 90, or may consist only of a word whose initial letter is the character 90. Of course, the input character confirmation information IN1 does not have to be grouped into a plurality of pieces of confirmation information IN2, the confirmation information selection area 60 shown in Figures 6 and 13 does not have to be displayed on the display unit 15, and the group setting process shown in Figures 5 and 11 does not have to be performed.

[0090] (5) Conclusion: As explained above, the present invention can provide a technology for reducing input errors through various aspects. Of course, even a technology that does not have the elements of the dependent claims and is comprised only of the elements of the independent claims can achieve the basic functions and effects described above. Furthermore, it is possible to implement configurations in which the components disclosed in the above examples are substituted with each other or the combination is changed, or configurations in which the components disclosed in the publicly known techniques and the above examples are substituted with each other or the combination is changed, etc. The present invention also includes these configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 1...display device, 10...controller, 14...storage unit, 15...display unit, 16...touch panel, 20...character input area, 21...soft keys, 25...animation display, 30...input character string display area, 40...previously input character display area, 50...editing area, 60...confirmation information selection area, 65...numeric confirmation information selection area, 80...character string, 81...display character, 82...input character, 83...replacement character, 84...previously input character, 90...character, 100...wireless router, 200...printer, 300...sub server, DB1...database, FU1...input character string display function, FU2...previously input character display function, FU3...input character confirmation information acquisition function, FU4...input character confirmation information display function, IN1...input character confirmation information, IN2...confirmation information, IN3...country / region information, IN4...language information, PR0...display program, ST1...input character string display step, ST2...previously input character display step, ST3...input character confirmation information acquisition step, ST4...input character confirmation information display step, SY1...system.

Claims

1. a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character, the input character confirmation information being capable of identifying each of the input characters; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; A display device, wherein the input character confirmation information includes at least one of a phonetic code of the character, a word having the character as an initial letter, and a reading of the character.

2. a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; the character string is one of a password and an identifier; A display device, wherein the input character confirmation information includes at least one of a phonetic code of the character, a word having the character as an initial letter, and a reading of the character.

3. 3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the display unit to display, separately from the input character string display area, a previously input character display area that indicates the input character that was accepted immediately before the operation.

4. The display device according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit displays the input character in the previously input character display area larger than the display character in the input character string display area.

5. The display device according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit displays the input character confirmation information in parentheses in the previously input character display area.

6. a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; a previously input character display area showing the input character that was received immediately before the operation is displayed on the display unit, separately from the input character string display area; The display device displays the input character for which the operation has been accepted on the display unit so that the input character is raised from the character input area and moved to the previously input character display area.

7. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit displays the input character confirmation information on the display unit by changing at least one of the font and the character size depending on whether the input character is an uppercase alphabetic character or a lowercase alphabetic character.

8. The control unit displaying, on the display unit, an editing area for accepting editing of the input character confirmation information to be displayed on the display unit; The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when the editing of the input character confirmation information is accepted from the editing area, the input character confirmation information that corresponds to the input character and for which the editing has been accepted is displayed on the display unit.

9. a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; The input character confirmation information is grouped into a plurality of confirmation information, The control unit displaying, on the display unit, a confirmation information selection area for receiving a selection of confirmation information to be displayed on the display unit from the plurality of pieces of confirmation information; When the selection of the confirmation information is accepted from the confirmation information selection area, the confirmation information for which the selection is accepted is acquired from the input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character from the database; A display device that displays the acquired confirmation information on the display unit.

10. a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; the information for confirming numbers in the input character confirmation information includes number confirmation information for two or more of hiragana, katakana, kanji, and English; The control unit displaying a numeric confirmation information selection area on the display unit for receiving selection of numeric confirmation information to be displayed on the display unit from the plurality of pieces of numeric confirmation information; Accepting the selection of the numeric verification information from the numeric verification information selection area; When the operation of the number among the input characters is accepted from the character input area, the number confirmation information of which the selection is accepted is acquired from the database among the input character confirmation information corresponding to the number; A display device that displays the acquired numeric confirmation information on the display unit.

11. A display device, a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; The input character confirmation information is grouped into a plurality of country / region-specific information according to country or region, The control unit acquiring, from the database, the country / region information corresponding to the country or region where the display device is located, from the input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character; A display device that displays the acquired country / region-specific information on the display unit.

12. A display device, a display unit having a touch panel; a control unit that displays a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on the display unit, repeatedly accepts input character operations from the character input area, and displays an input character string display area showing a character string that is a sequence of the input characters on the display unit, The control unit Arranging one of the input character and the replacement character replaced with the input character in order in the input character string display area; When the operation of the input character is received from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character is acquired from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character; Displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; The input character confirmation information is grouped into a plurality of language-specific information according to language, The control unit acquiring, from the database, the language-specific information corresponding to the language set in the display device from the input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character; A display device that displays the acquired language-specific information on the display unit.

13. a display method for displaying a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on a display unit having a touch panel, repeatedly accepting input character operations from the character input area, displaying an input character string display area on the display unit showing a character string which is a sequence of the input characters, and arranging either the input characters or replacement characters which have replaced the input characters in order in the input character string display area, an input character confirmation information acquisition step of acquiring, when the operation of the input character is accepted from the character input area, input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character, the input character confirmation information being capable of identifying each of the input characters; an input character confirmation information display step of displaying the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit, A display method, wherein the input character confirmation information includes at least one of a phonetic code of the character, a word having the character as an initial letter, and a reading of the character.

14. a display program for displaying a character input area in which soft keys are arranged on a display unit having a touch panel, repeatedly accepting input character operations from the character input area, displaying an input character string display area on the display unit showing a character string which is a sequence of the input characters, and arranging either the input characters or replacement characters which have replaced the input characters in order in the input character string display area, an input character confirmation information acquisition function that, when receiving the operation of the input character from the character input area, acquires input character confirmation information corresponding to the input character from a database having input character confirmation information for confirming the character, the input character confirmation information being capable of identifying each of the input characters; an input character confirmation information display function that displays the acquired input character confirmation information on the display unit; A display program, wherein the input character confirmation information includes at least one of the phonetic code of the character, a word having the character as its initial letter, and a reading of the character.

Images