CN101882047B - On-Screen Virtual Keyboard System - Google Patents

Abstract

A screen virtual keyboard system is applied to a screen touch electronic device and comprises a simple virtual keyboard layout, a traditional virtual keyboard layout and a memory block. The simplified virtual keyboard layout has a traditional layout switching key and a plurality of reserved keys, wherein the reserved keys are used for generating key characters, and the traditional layout switching key is used for switching from the simplified virtual keyboard layout to the traditional virtual keyboard layout. The traditional virtual keyboard layout at least comprises a simple layout switching key and a plurality of key character input keys, wherein the simple layout switching key is used for switching to the simple virtual traditional layout, and the key character input keys are used for generating key characters. The memory block is used for memorizing the keystroke characters input by the user last or defined by the user. The key characters stored in the memory block are mapped to reserved keys of the simple virtual keyboard layout, so that the key characters and the number keys coexist in the simple virtual keyboard layout, and a user can quickly select any key character in the memory block.

Description

On-Screen Virtual Keyboard System

technical field

The present invention relates to a virtual keyboard system and input method on a touch-screen electronic device, in particular to a virtual keyboard system and an input method with a memory function for memorizing frequently used English letters or the last few times The used English letters allow the user to reduce switching steps when inputting specific data, so as to simplify the input procedure. the

Background technique

Portable screen touch electronic devices (mobile touch screen operated electronic device) usually do not have a built-in (built-in) physical keyboard (physical keyboard), so the user must touch the virtual keyboard (on-screen) displayed on the screen. screen virtual keyboard/on-screen keyboard, or software keyboard software keyboard), to operate and input (key in) information. Due to the small display screen of the electronic device, it is impossible to simultaneously display keys (including English letters, numbers, punctuation marks, phonetic symbols, arithmetic symbols, function auxiliary keys, etc.) on a virtual keyboard layout (virtual keyboard layout), so each After sorting the keys of various characters and operation symbols, they are arranged in a plurality of virtual keyboard layouts. Users switch between different keyboard layouts to ensure that all keys are available. The virtual keyboard layout can be a numeric keyboard layout, a numeric and symbol keyboard layout, an alphabetic character keyboard layout, or a mixed English and numeric keyboard ( alphanumerickeyboard layout), English letter and symbol mixed keyboard (alphabetic character and symbolic keyboard layout), symbol keyboard (symbolic keyboard layout), phonetic symbol keyboard (phonetic symbol keyboard layout) or other Chinese input method keyboards (such as Cangjie)... etc. , and with function auxiliary keys, such as uppercase and lowercase switching key 56 (Shift key), positioning key 54 (Tab key), control key 58 (Control/Ctrl key), rewind/delete key 62 (Backspace key), direction key 52, Enter key 60 (Enter key), Esc key (cancel key) combination to use together. the

Fig. 1 to Fig. 4 is to run the personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA) of Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system as an example, with the application program screen 30 illustrating the common virtual keyboard layout in the prior art, in the application program screen 30, Press the show/hide key 32 to display the virtual keyboard layouts 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 on the application screen 30 . 5 to 8 are enlarged schematic diagrams of the keyboard layouts in FIGS. 1 to 4 . In the conventional technology, the virtual keyboard layout of the screen touch-sensitive electronic device is usually reduced in order to reduce the inconvenience for the user to switch between different keyboard layouts, so that the keyboard layout can accommodate more buttons. Common virtual keyboard layouts 34, 36, 38, 40 are numeric keys plus lowercase English letter keys 66 and commonly used symbol keys 68 (as shown in Figures 1 and 5), uppercase English letter keys 72 plus commonly used symbol keys 68 (such as 2 and shown in Fig. 6), numeral key 64 adds symbol key 70 (as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 7), phonetic notation key adds combination such as symbol key 68 commonly used (as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 8). When more keys are combined in the keyboard layout, the display area of each key is smaller, and the adjacent keys are closer together. Therefore, if the user operates with fingers instead of a stylus, it is very easy to mistakenly touch other adjacent keys. This is a shortcoming of the virtual keyboard layout of the screen touch electronic device in the prior art. If the display area of the key is enlarged to allow the user to touch it with a finger, the number of keys that can be accommodated in each keyboard layout is reduced, increasing the frequency of switching between different keyboard layouts for the user. Also belong to inconvenience, this is another shortcoming. the

When the user only needs to input numbers and a few commonly used English letters, for example, when inputting ID number, login account number, or login password on a web page, there are two ways to input with the virtual keyboard of the prior art: 1. Using a virtual keyboard layout with a mixture of numeric keys and English letter keys, you can input mixed English and numeric data on the same virtual keyboard layout without switching the virtual keyboard layout, but the English letters still need to be switched between uppercase and lowercase; 2. Use numeric keys and The English letter keys are separated into two virtual keyboard layouts, the keyboard layout must be switched to input mixed English and numeric data, and the uppercase/lowercase of the English letters must be switched. the

Referring to Figure 9, taking the input of mixed English and numeric data "A1b2C" as an example, the process of using the conventional virtual keyboard layout input is as follows: 1. Turn on the input function to display the virtual keyboard layout; 2. Press the uppercase and lowercase switch key 56 to switch uppercase English Letter; 3, input "A"; 4, input "1"; 5, input "b"; 6, input "2"; 7, press the uppercase and lowercase switching key 56 to switch uppercase English letters; 8, input "C" . It can be seen that, using the conventional virtual keyboard layout in which numeric keys and English alphabetic keys are mixed, although there is no need to switch the numeric keyboard and the English alphabetic keyboard, it still needs to operate 8 steps (switching times) depending on the data entered). the

Users often input short English/number mixed data, including three types: ID number, account number, and password. If the input data contains English letters, the length is usually 1 to 6 (for example, the ID number only contains 1 English character. letters), even if these 1 to 6 English letters are frequently used keys by the user, it cannot reduce the troublesome operations of the conventional virtual keyboard layout described above. the

Referring to FIG. 10 , it is a flow chart of the operation of the virtual keyboard layout of the electronic device in the prior art. Take the PDA running the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system as an example. After the user clicks the display/hide button 32 of the virtual keyboard layout on the screen, the PDA displays a default virtual keyboard (S1) on the screen. Next, the virtual keyboard layout 34 waits to receive key information input by the user on the keyboard ( S2 ). Then judge whether the user input key is English/symbol/phonetic/full-type switch key 42, 44, 46, 48 (S3). If "Yes", change the screen display virtual keyboard layout to English/symbol/phonetic/full type, and jump back to step S2 to wait for user input again (S2). If step S3 judges that the input button is not English/symbol/phonetic/full-type switching key, then enters the next step, and judges whether the user input is a function auxiliary key (S5) (such as uppercase and lowercase switching key 56, positioning key 54, control key 58 , reverse/delete key 62, direction key 52, enter key 60). If it is judged in step S5 that the information input by the user is not a function auxiliary key (that is, number/character/symbol), then the information input by the user is displayed on the screen (S6). Display A, and then enter the next step to judge whether the user decides to continue inputting (S7). the

In step S7, if it is judged that the user does not continue to input, the operation ends. If it is judged in step S7 that the user continues to input, then step S1 is repeated to continue to display the virtual keyboard layout (S1). the

If the information input by the user is judged to be a function auxiliary key in step S5, then the work of the function auxiliary key is executed (S8), for example, the key input is the reverse/delete key 62, and the last number/literal/symbol is displayed on the screen Promptly be deleted; If the button of input is enter key 60, then line feed or input or the preset button of selection program are displayed on the screen. Enter step S7 again after the function auxiliary key is executed to allow the user to decide whether to continue inputting, if "no", then end, if "yes", then get back to step S1 again. the

Although the above icons take the PDA running Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system as an example. Other touch-screen electronic devices running different operating systems and versions have virtual keyboard layouts with different appearances (for example, virtual keyboard layouts have different combinations of key types and different key position assignments), however, their The disadvantages are all the same as above: there is no key memory function, and there are too many keys on the layout, so the keys are small and difficult to use. the

Contents of the invention

From the above-mentioned prior art, the virtual keyboard operation flow of the electronic device can be known. The virtual keys of the prior art do not memorize the key information input by the user, so that when inputting the combination of letters and numbers, it is necessary to use different keyboard layouts. Repeatedly switch between, which leads to the problem of complicated operation process. the

In view of the above problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a screen virtual keyboard system, which can memorize the commonly used English alphabet keys or the English alphabet keys input by the user for the last few times and display them in the keyboard layout, so that The user can quickly input the memorized keys the next time they use it, reducing the number of keyboard layout switches and the number of uppercase/lowercase switches in English letters, which is convenient for users to quickly input short mixed English/number information, such as ID number, account number, password. the

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a screen virtual keyboard system, which includes a screen touch electronic device and a memory block. The touch screen electronic device has a touch screen for displaying a display screen including one of a simple virtual keyboard layout and a traditional virtual keyboard layout, and can be touched to input information. The simple virtual keyboard layout has a traditional layout switching key and a plurality of reserved keys, wherein the reserved keys are used to generate key characters, and the traditional layout switching keys are used to switch the simple virtual keyboard layout displayed on the touch screen to the traditional virtual keyboard layout. The traditional virtual keyboard layout has a simple layout switching key and a plurality of key character input keys, wherein the simple layout switching key is used to switch the traditional virtual keyboard layout displayed on the touch screen to the simple virtual keyboard layout, and the key character input key is used to Generate keystroke characters. the

The memory block is used to memorize the last input key characters and user-defined key characters, wherein the number of key characters stored in the memory block corresponds to the number of reserved keys. And the key characters stored in the memory block are mapped to the reserved keys of the simple virtual keyboard layout, so that the key characters and numeric keys coexist in the simple virtual keyboard layout, so that the user can quickly select either the numeric keys or the key characters in the memory block one. the

The effect of the present invention is that the simple virtual keyboard layout only commonly used reserved keys (English letter keys), and the auxiliary keys used in conjunction with the number keys do not need to display complete keys, so the number of keys placed in the virtual keyboard layout can be greatly reduced Therefore, the button area can be increased, so that users who do not operate with a stylus but use fingers, and users with poor eyesight can easily click the enlarged button to avoid accidentally touching other adjacent buttons. the

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a virtual keyboard layout of a screen touch electronic device in the prior art, including number keys, lowercase English letter keys, and common symbol keys. the

FIG. 2 is a virtual keyboard layout of a touch-screen electronic device in the prior art, including uppercase English letter keys and common symbol keys. the

FIG. 3 is a virtual keyboard layout of a touch-screen electronic device in the prior art, including number keys and symbol keys. the

FIG. 4 is a virtual keyboard layout of a touch-screen electronic device in the prior art, including phonetic symbol keys and common symbol keys. the

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic view of the layout of the virtual keyboard in FIG. 1 . the

FIG. 6 is an enlarged schematic diagram of the layout of the virtual keyboard in FIG. 2 . the

FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic view of the layout of the virtual keyboard in FIG. 3 . the

FIG. 8 is an enlarged schematic diagram of the layout of the virtual keyboard in FIG. 4 . the

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a keyboard layout switching sequence for inputting alphanumeric mixed data A1b2C with a conventional keyboard. the

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of the operation of a conventional virtual keyboard layout. the

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a simple virtual keyboard layout according to the first embodiment of the present invention. the

FIG. 12 is an enlarged schematic view of the simple virtual keyboard layout in FIG. 11 . the

FIG. 13 is a traditional virtual keyboard layout with keyboard switch keys added, including lowercase English letters, numbers, and common symbols. the

FIG. 14 is a traditional virtual keyboard layout with keyboard switch keys added, including uppercase English letters and common symbols. the

FIG. 15 is a traditional virtual keyboard layout with keyboard switch keys added, including traditional numbers and symbols. the

Fig. 16 is a traditional virtual keyboard layout with keyboard switching keys added, including traditional phonetic symbols. the

Fig. 17 is a main flow chart of the operation of the simple English-number virtual keyboard in the first embodiment of the present invention. the

Fig. 18 is a flowchart of the operation of the memory key in the first embodiment of the present invention. the

Fig. 19 is a flow chart of the operation of switching keys of the traditional virtual keyboard in the first embodiment of the present invention. the

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of storing information into a memory block. the

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of data reordering of memory blocks. the

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a simple alphabetic virtual keyboard after the memory data of the memory block is changed in the first embodiment of the present invention. the

Fig. 23 is a schematic diagram of the keyboard layout switching sequence of the input example "A1b2C" in the first embodiment of the present invention. the

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of the keyboard layout keys after the input example “A1b2C” has been changed in the first embodiment of the present invention. the

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of the keyboard layout switching sequence for re-inputting the example "A1b2C" in the first embodiment of the present invention. the

FIG. 26 is a simple virtual keyboard of English and numerals according to the second embodiment of the present invention, including arithmetic symbols and a decimal point. the

FIG. 27 is a simplified virtual keyboard of English and numerals according to the third embodiment of the present invention, including a decimal point and setting keys. the

Fig. 28 is a simplified virtual keyboard of English and numerals according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, including a setting key. the

Description of main component symbols

1. Known technology

30 Application screen

32 Display/hide key of on-screen virtual keyboard

34 Virtual keyboard layout including lowercase English letters, numbers and common symbols

36 A virtual keyboard layout containing uppercase English letters and common symbols

38 Virtual keyboard layout with numbers and symbols

40 Virtual keyboard layout with phonetic symbols

42 Phonetic symbols virtual keyboard switch key

44 English virtual keyboard switch key

46 Symbol virtual keyboard switch key

48 Full-size character switching key

50 space bar

52 Arrow keys

54 positioning key

56 Uppercase and lowercase switching keys

58 control keys

60 Enter key

62 Reverse/Delete key

64 Numeric keys

66 Lowercase English letter keys

68 Frequently used symbol keys

70 symbol keys

72 Uppercase English letter keys

Two, embodiment of the present invention

30 Application screen

32 Show/hide key

50 space bar

60 Enter key

62 Reverse/Delete key

64 Numeric keys

88 Simple virtual keyboard layout

90 English letter keys

92 switch key

94 memory key

150 traditional virtual keyboard layout

152 traditional virtual keyboard layout

154 traditional virtual keyboard layout

156 traditional virtual keyboard layout

Detailed ways

Referring to Fig. 11 to Fig. 16, it is a screen virtual keyboard system disclosed in the first embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a touch-screen electronic device, such a touch-control electronic device can be a mobile phone (Cell Phone), Personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), stock machine (Financial/Stock PDA), and mobile Internet device (Mobile Internet Device, MID)/mini mobile computer (Ultra-Mobile PC, UMPC) when the screen is less than 7. For the convenience of description, the touch electronic device in the embodiment of the present invention takes a PDA running Microsoft's WindowsMobile operating system as an example, and displays an application screen 30 after running an application program, but it is not limited thereto. The screen virtual keyboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a simple virtual keyboard layout 88 and at least one traditional virtual keyboard layout 150, 152, 154, 156. Switch between the layouts 150, 152, 154, 156 to meet the needs of users. Under specific input requirements, the simple virtual keyboard layout 88 can meet the needs of fast input; under general input requirements, the traditional virtual keyboard layouts 150, 152, 154, 156 can provide complete input characters for users to complete general Text input job requirements. the

FIG. 11 shows a simple virtual keyboard layout displayed on the touch screen of an electronic device by the on-screen virtual keyboard system of the first embodiment; FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the simple virtual keyboard layout 88 in FIG. 11 . Figures 13 to 16 are enlarged views of traditional virtual keyboard layouts 150, 152, 154, 156 for switching between different character groups, wherein the traditional virtual keyboard layout 150 shown in Figure 13 is used for lowercase English letters and Arabic numerals Input; traditional virtual keyboard layout 152 shown in Figure 14 is to be used for the input of uppercase English letters and half-width labels; Traditional virtual keyboard layout 154 shown in Figure 15 is to be used for the input of Arabic numerals, operands and full-width symbols; Figure 16 The conventional virtual keyboard layout 156 shown is for the Chinese input method. the

Referring again to Fig. 11 and shown in Fig. 12, the simple and easy virtual keyboard layout 88 has a plurality of number keys 64, a space bar 50, a carriage return key 60 (Enter key), a backward/delete key 62 (Backspace key), a plurality of Reserved keys, a traditional layout switching key 92 , and a memory key 94 . the

The number keys 64 are ten, including 0-9. The reserved keys have a fixed number. In the first embodiment, the number of reserved keys is eight, and they are all English letter keys 90. Therefore, the reserved keys in the first embodiment are used for English letter input. However, the reserved keys are not in English. The letter keys 90 are limited to any keys commonly used by users. In addition, the number of reserved keys disclosed in the first embodiment is eight, but the actual number of reserved keys is not limited to eight, it can be any number, and even the number can be changed according to the needs of users. However, in order to avoid the excessive number of reserved keys from crowding out other keys to be displayed on the simple virtual keyboard layout 88, or the too small number of key display areas caused by too many keys, the number of reserved keys should not exceed ten. The traditional layout switching key 92 is used for the user to switch to the traditional virtual keyboard layout 150, 152, 154, 156 when needed, and the memory key 94 is used for the user to switch the system to the setting mode, so as to define the permanent memory required by oneself key characters (commonly used English letters). the

Referring to Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 again, the simple virtual keyboard layout 88 of the first embodiment displays eight English letter keys 90 preset as reserved keys when first enabled, and the corresponding English letters include four lowercase letters ( a, b, c, d) and 4 capital letters (A, B, C, D). Then, the simple virtual keyboard layout 88 continuously monitors the process of the user using the traditional virtual keyboard layouts 150, 152, 154, 156 and the simple virtual keyboard layout 88, records the last eight English letters that the user has input, and updates the English English letters corresponding to the letter keys 90 . That is to say, as the user continues to operate the screen touch-sensitive electronic device, the eight English letter keys 90 will constantly change the corresponding key characters, so that they correspond to the last eight key characters (English letters) that the user has input. . the

In addition to recording the last key characters used by the user, the screen virtual keyboard system can also accept the settings of the user and directly record the commonly used key characters (English letters), so that at least one of the English letter keys 90 is defined by the user. Common English letters. The user can press the memory key 94 to customize an English letter key corresponding to a commonly used English letter. At this time, the remaining seven keys are used to memorize the last seven letters input by the user. If the user defines two commonly used English letter keys, the remaining six keys are used to remember the last six letters input by the user, and so on. the

Referring to FIG. 17 , FIG. 18 , and FIG. 19 , they are the process flow of the screen virtual keyboard input method disclosed in the first embodiment of the present invention. Wherein, FIG. 17 is the main flow chart of simple English-number virtual keyboard layout operation; FIG. 18 is a flow chart of memory key 94 operation; FIG. 19 is an operation flow chart of switching to traditional virtual keyboard layout with traditional layout switching key 92. the

Referring to Fig. 17, after the main process starts (S10), if the user clicks the display/hide button 32 of the screen virtual keyboard of the touch-screen electronic device, the touch-screen electronic device displays a simple virtual keyboard layout on the screen (S11) , the display screen shown in Figure 11. the

Then the screen touch electronic device receives the information input by the user in the simple virtual keyboard layout 88 ( S12 ). After receiving the user input, the program judges whether the input key is a traditional virtual keyboard switching key (S13). the

If step S13 judges as "Yes", then jump to the traditional virtual keyboard layout switching key process (S30), as shown in FIG. 19 . If step S13 judges as "No", then continue to judge whether the input key is memory key 94 (S14). the

If the step S14 judges that the input key is the memory key 94, then jump to the memory key process (S20), that is, the process shown in FIG. 18 . If step S14 determines that the input key is not the memory key 94, then continue to determine whether the input key is a function auxiliary key (S15). the

If the step S15 judges that the input is a function auxiliary key, then execute the operation S152 of the function auxiliary key. Wherein the auxiliary function keys include a carriage return key 60 (Enter), a reverse/delete key 62 (Backspace), and a space bar 50 . Executing the work of the Enter key 60 is to display a new line on the screen or input or select the preset button (default button) in the program; performing the work of the reverse/delete key means to delete a character before the position of the cursor (cursor) on the screen. After step S152 is executed, it waits to determine whether the user chooses to continue inputting (S18). the

In step S15, if the program judges that the input key is not a function auxiliary key, then continue to judge whether the input key is a preset key character input key (S16). In the first embodiment, the key character input key is an English letter key 90, But not limited to English letters. If the step S16 judges as "yes", then the program reorders the key characters of the memory block (S162) and maps the key characters to the English letter key 90, which is redisplayed on the screen (S17). In step S15, if the program judges that the input key is not the English letter key 90, then the input key must be a number key 64 or a space bar 50. At this time, the program displays the input key on the screen 118 (S17), and enters step S18 to wait for the judgment of the user Choose whether to continue typing. The user selects not to continue inputting, and then the main process ends, if the user continues to input, then get back to step S11 to display the simple virtual keyboard layout 88. the

Please refer to the memory key flow chart shown in FIG. 18 , if the user presses the memory key 94 in the simple virtual keyboard layout 88 of the first embodiment of the present invention, this subroutine starts (S21). the

Firstly, traditional virtual keyboard layouts 150, 152, 154, 156 are displayed on the screen (S22), as shown in FIG. 13, and then the program receives user input information (S23). After the user inputs, the program judges whether the input key is the case switching key 56 (Shift) (S24). If the user input is the case switching key 56 (Shift), then switch the uppercase/lowercase of English letters (S242), and then update the uppercase/lowercase of the traditional virtual keyboard layout displayed on the screen (S244), as shown in Figure 13 to Figure 14 . If the originally displayed traditional virtual keyboard layout is lowercase, change the displayed traditional virtual keyboard layout to uppercase. If the originally displayed traditional virtual keyboard layout is uppercase, change the displayed traditional virtual keyboard layout to lowercase. After step S244 finishes updating the displayed traditional virtual keyboard layout, return to step S23 to receive user input information. the

If the step S24 judges that the input information is not the case switching key 56, then it is judged whether the user input information is the key character generated by the English letter key (S25) (lowercase letter 66 or capital letter 72). the

If step S25 is judged as "No", then return to step S22 to redisplay the traditional virtual keyboard layout (S22), to re-receive user input (S23), because the memory function only memorizes the uppercase/lowercase English alphabet keys input by the user The key character represented. the

If step S25 judges that the user's input information is the key character that English letter key (lowercase letter 66 or capital letter 72) produces, then check whether this input key character has been stored in the memory block (S26). If stored in the memory block, reorder the key characters of the memory block (S262). If the input key characters are not stored in the memory block, then the key characters are stored in the memory block (S264), then the keys of the simple virtual keyboard layout 88 are updated and displayed on the screen (S28), and then jump back to the main process (S10) . the

Referring to FIG. 19 , it is a flow chart of switching keys of a traditional virtual keyboard layout. If the user presses the traditional virtual keyboard traditional layout switching key 92 in the simple virtual keyboard layout 88 of the first embodiment of the present invention, the traditional virtual keyboard switching key process S30 is started, and the traditional virtual keyboard layout is directly displayed (S31), as Figure 13 shows. the

Next, receive user input information (S32), and judge whether it is an English/symbol/zhuyin/full-type switching key according to the input information (S33). the

If step S33 judges as "Yes", then change the keyboard layout to English/symbol/Zhuyin/full type (S332), and return to step S32 again to receive user input. the

If step S33 judges as "No", that is, the input information is not English/symbol/zhuyin/full-type switch key, then it is further judged whether the user input information is the simple layout switch key 158 of the first embodiment (S34). the

If the determination in step S34 is "Yes", then return to the main process S10. If the judgment in step S34 is "No", it is judged whether the input key is a function auxiliary key (S35). the

If step S35 is judged to be "yes", execute function auxiliary key operation (S352), wait and judge whether the user chooses to continue inputting after execution (S39). If step S39 determines that the user continues to input, then return to step S31 to display the traditional virtual keyboard layout. If step S39 determines that the user does not continue to input, the process ends. the

In step S35, if it is determined that the input key is not a function auxiliary key, continue to determine whether the input information is an English letter key (S37). If the user input is not an English letter key, the input information is directly displayed on the screen (S384). the

If the user input is an English letter key, then check whether the input key character has been stored in the memory block (S372). If the input key character has been stored in the memory block, the memory block is rearranged (S374), and then the input information is displayed on the screen (S384). If the input information is new information not stored in the memory block, the information is stored in the memory block (S372), and then the keys of the simple virtual keyboard layout are updated (S386), so that the new key characters are remapped to the simple The reserved key (English letter key 90) of the virtual keyboard, and then the input information is displayed on the screen (S384). Finally, judge whether the user chooses to continue inputting (S39), decide whether to end the process, or re-display the traditional virtual keyboard layout (S31). the

As mentioned above, the present invention puts the key characters that the user has frequently used or input several times into the memory block (memory block), and maps them to the reserved keys so that they can be used in the simple keyboard layout next time. For quick selection, this memory block refers to permanently saving the information stored in it, and it is not limited to storing it in a file (such as a program setting file) or a non-volatile memory (NVM, Non-Volatile Memory). the

As shown in FIG. 20, the key characters stored in the memory block are sorted by the first-in-first-out method (First-In First-Out, FIFO). The upper part of Fig. 20 is the original memory block, in which there are 8 memory cells (memory cells), and the key characters are B D g a F C k w according to the order of storage. When a key character y is to be stored in this memory block, the key character B stored in the memory block at the earliest is discarded to make room for subsequent key characters to be supplemented sequentially, and the key character y is stored in the memory block. That is, the updated memory block shown at the bottom of FIG. 20 . That is, in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 , steps S264 and S372 store the information in the memory block. The key characters stored in the memory block are not repeated, but English letters with different uppercase and lowercase letters are regarded as different key characters. the

And step S162, S262, S374 among Fig. 17, Fig. 18 and Fig. 19 reorders the button character of memory block then is different with above-mentioned step S264, S372 and key character is stored to memory block, and step S264, S372 is to store The new key character of the key has not appeared in the memory block, but in steps S162, S262, S374, the key character to be stored has appeared in the memory block. the

Referring to shown in Figure 21, the top of Figure 21 is the original memory block, the key character g is stored in this memory block, but the key character g has been stored at the memory block address 003, so the storage action of the key character g is actually The memory block is reordered, the key character g is moved to the address 008 and then the data is supplemented forward, as shown in Figure 21, the updated memory block, the information at address 008 is the key generated by the last used key Key character, this is the meaning expressed in steps S162, S262, S374. the

In order to further understand the difference between the operation flow of the present invention and the conventional on-screen virtual keyboard layout, the input example "A1b2C" is used here as an explanation of the input flow of the present invention. For the operation flow of the conventional on-screen virtual keyboard layout, please refer to Figure 9 and the preceding Technical description. the

As shown in Figure 22, in the simple keyboard layout of the first embodiment of the present invention, there is no English letter key to be input in the example "A1b2C", and the English letters memorized in this simple keyboard layout are: w D c W x Y a h, the flow of the first operation input example "A1b2C" is shown in Figure 23, and the description is as follows:

1. Display a simple virtual keyboard of English and numeric characters;

2. Press the traditional virtual keyboard switching key to switch to the traditional virtual keyboard;

3. Press the uppercase switch key to switch uppercase English letters;

4. Enter "A";

5. Enter "1";

6. Enter "b";

7. Enter "2";

8. Press the uppercase switch key to switch uppercase English letters;

9. Enter "C". the

From the conventional virtual keyboard operation flow (as shown in FIG. 9 ) and the keyboard operation sequence of the first embodiment of the present invention (as shown in FIG. 23 ), it can be known that even when it is used for the first time, there is no There are no English keys that have been memorized, and its operation is only one more step than the usual virtual keyboard. And next time when the user needs to input the same data again, the steps of switching to the traditional virtual keyboard and switching English uppercase/lowercase can be reduced. the

Figure 24 is a schematic diagram of the simple keyboard layout after inputting the above-mentioned example "A1b2C", and Figure 25 is a virtual keyboard operation sequence diagram for the user to input the same example "A1b2C" again with the simple virtual keyboard layout 88 shown in Figure 24, as shown in Figure 25 It can be known that only 6 steps are needed to input the same example again. Compared with the conventional technology that still needs 8 steps, the embodiment of the present invention can simplify the operation process of the same input operation after memorizing the commonly used English alphabet keys. the

Fig. 26, Fig. 27 and Fig. 28 are schematic diagrams of different embodiments of the present invention. the

Fig. 26 is a simple virtual keyboard layout of the second embodiment of the present invention, which adds four arithmetic symbols (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and a decimal point, adds five input keys in total, and reduces the space of the memory block to accommodate the input of four English letters The memory is convenient for the user to use as a calculator keyboard when using the calculator. the

Fig. 27 is a simple virtual keyboard layout of the third embodiment of the present invention, which adds a decimal point and a setting key 160, and the space of the memory block is reduced to accommodate the memory of six English letters input. After pressing the setting key 160, you can enter the setting screen (not shown), allowing the user to set the size of the two memory blocks, one block is used to memorize the buttons you set, and the other block is used to memorize the user's last memory block. The entered key character. Wherein, the key character input key that produces key character is not limited to English letter key, namely the user can set whether to memorize the key other than English letter key as key character input key, such as phonetic symbol key, symbol key, function auxiliary key, Use different symbols, Chinese characters and other languages (depending on the support level of the electronic device and its operating system)... etc. as key characters to map to reserved keys. the

FIG. 28 is a simple virtual keyboard layout of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, which adds a setting key 160, and the memory block still retains the input memory of 8 reserved keys. the

The different embodiments mentioned here are intended to illustrate that the present invention is not limited to the fixed virtual keyboard layout in the embodiment, nor the fixed buttons and button positions, and the non-fixed memory block size (memory input keys can be from 1 to 10 varies). In addition, all the above illustrations are not marked according to actual scale, but are only schematic diagrams. the

To sum up, the present invention is an on-screen virtual keyboard system and an on-screen virtual keyboard input method with a memory function. When the user enters frequently used brief alphanumeric data, such as ID card number, account number, password, the user can quickly input the alphanumeric data, can record frequently used keys, and reduce the keys that are not commonly used on the keyboard layout, so that the keys The area is greatly increased, which is convenient for users to input with their fingers without worrying about pressing adjacent keys by mistake. However, if the user wants to use the familiar virtual keyboard layout, he can still input according to his customary method. The present invention does not intend to completely replace the conventional virtual keyboard layout, but to provide the user with another convenient operation option. the

The above icons take the PDA running Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system as an example, but the touch-screen electronic device of the present invention is not limited to be used here, and the touch-screen electronic device can be an electronic device with a touch screen (such as MID , UMPC, PDA, mobile phone), the operating system of which can be any operating system. the

Claims (10)

1. on-screen virtual keyboard system, it comprises a screen touch control electronic device and a memory region, it is characterized in that:

Said screen touch control electronic device has a Touch Screen, and be used to show comprise one of them the display frame of a simple and easy virtual keyboard layout and a traditional virtual keyboard layout, and can be touched input information by point, wherein:

Said simple and easy virtual keyboard layout has a conventional in layout switch key and a plurality of reservation button, and these keep button in order to produce button character;

Said traditional virtual keyboard layout has a simple and easy layout switch key and a plurality of button character enter key; This simple and easy layout switch key is in order to switch to this simple and easy virtual keyboard layout with the traditional virtual keyboard layout that Touch Screen showed; And these button character enter keies are in order to the generation button character, and the conventional in layout switch key of this simple and easy virtual keyboard layout is in order to switch to this traditional virtual keyboard layout with the simple and easy virtual keyboard layout that Touch Screen showed;

Said memory region is in order to remember the button character of last input; Wherein the reservation button of button character reflection to this simple and easy virtual keyboard layout of this memory region storage is chosen any button character in this memory region from this simple and easy virtual keyboard layout fast for the user.

2. on-screen virtual keyboard system as claimed in claim 1; It is characterized in that: said simple and easy virtual keyboard layout comprises a memory button; Switching the mode of operation of this memory region in order to be touched by point, is the self-defining button character of these users with the button character of remembering user input.

3. on-screen virtual keyboard system as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that: these quantity that keep button are no more than ten.

4. on-screen virtual keyboard system as claimed in claim 3 is characterized in that: the button character that this memory region stores does not repeat.

5. on-screen virtual keyboard system as claimed in claim 4; It is characterized in that: the button character that wherein is stored to the last input of this memory region is that the button character that is stored to this memory region the earliest promptly is dropped so that button character is thereafter filled vacancies in the proper order forward in regular turn with the method for first-in, first-out ordering.

6. on-screen virtual keyboard system as claimed in claim 4 is characterized in that: when wherein the button character of last input has been stored in this memory region, and the rearrangement of the button character of this memory region.

7. on-screen virtual keyboard system as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that: the button character that this memory region stores is an English alphabet, and the large and small kinds of characters that is written as of these English alphabets.

8. on-screen virtual keyboard system as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that: this simple and easy virtual keyboard layout more comprises a plurality of numerical keys, an enter key, a space bar, and one retreats/delete key.

9. on-screen virtual keyboard system as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that: this memory region is more remembered the self-defining button character of user, and the stored button character quantity of this memory region is corresponding with the quantity that these keep button.

10. on-screen virtual keyboard system as claimed in claim 9 is characterized in that: said simple and easy virtual keyboard layout comprises a setting key, in order to button character quantity and the self-defining button character quantity of user that changes last input.

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