JP2020067993A - Character input system, character input device, character input program, and character input method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a character input system capable of inputting characters quickly.SOLUTION: A character input system includes a MIDI keyboard capable of outputting MIDI signals and an information processor. The information processor determines characters input by a user on the basis of a plurality of keys pressed simultaneously, when the keys of the MIDI keyboard are simultaneously pressed. The MIDI keyboard has a left-side region and a right-side region. When the key of the left-side region and the key of the right-side region are simultaneously pressed, the information processor prioritizes the input to the key of the left-region over the input to the key of the right-side region to determine the input characters.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a character input system using an input means having a plurality of keys, a character input device, a character input program, and a character input method.

  Conventionally, a key layout conversion system for changing the layout of a keyboard for inputting characters has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2014-164610, A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 changes the layout of the keyboard to execute an application that performs an operation different from character input, and there is room for improvement in order to quickly input a desired character. there were.

  One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a character input system capable of quickly inputting characters.

  In one example of the present invention, the following configuration is adopted in order to solve the above problems.

  A character input system according to an example of the present invention includes an input unit capable of simultaneously inputting a plurality of keys, an input signal receiving unit that receives an input signal from the input unit according to an input to the plurality of keys, and the input signal. Character determining means for determining input characters corresponding to a plurality of input keys based on an input signal received by the receiving means, wherein the character determining means is arranged in the first area of the input means. Key and a key arranged in the second area of the input means are input at the same time, the input to the key in the first area is given priority over the input to the key in the second area, The input character is determined.

  According to the above, a character can be input by simultaneously inputting a plurality of keys of the input means. Further, by determining the input character by giving priority to the input to the keys arranged in the first area over the input to the keys arranged in the second area, for example, while inputting the keys with both left and right hands, It is possible to preferentially enter the characters entered with one hand. With this, the user can input characters with both hands and can input desired characters even when inputting with both hands at the same time.

  Further, in another configuration, the character determining unit may input the first key input in the first area and the key input in the second area at the same time. A character string in which a character corresponding to the key of the area is arranged first and a character corresponding to the key of the input second area is arranged later may be determined as the input character.

  According to the above, the character corresponding to the key of the first area is arranged first, and the character corresponding to the key of the second area is arranged later, so that the user inputs the keys of the two areas at the same time. A desired character can be input by using the keys in the two areas, and characters can be input quickly by using the keys in the two areas.

  In another configuration, the key arranged in the first area is a key input by one hand of the user, and the key arranged in the second area is the other hand of the user. It may be an input key.

  Based on the above, the user can simultaneously input a plurality of keys with the left and right hands. For example, when the first area is arranged on the left side, the input with the left hand can be prioritized over the input with the right hand.

  In another configuration, when the key of the input unit is input, the character determination unit determines the input key and the input strength of the key, and determines the input key and the input strength. The input character may be determined based on and.

  Based on the above, the user can input different characters according to the strength (speed) of key input in addition to the type of key.

  Further, in another configuration, when the key of the input unit is input, the character determination unit determines the input key and the input time of the key, and determines the input key and the input time. The input character may be determined based on the above.

  Based on the above, the user can input different characters according to the key input time in addition to the key type.

  Further, in another configuration, the input unit may be capable of outputting a MIDI signal. The input signal receiving means may receive the MIDI signal from the input means. The character determination means may determine the input character based on the MIDI signal.

  Based on the above, it is possible to input a character using the input means capable of outputting a MIDI signal.

  Further, in another configuration, the character determination unit may determine whether the first key of the input unit is released or the second key of the input unit is released. It may be determined whether or not a key and the second key are simultaneously input, and the input character may be determined based on the determination result.

  According to the above, when a plurality of keys are released at the same time, it can be determined that a plurality of keys have been input at the same time. This makes it easier to input a plurality of keys at the same time than when a plurality of keys are input at the same time.

  In another configuration, the character determining unit determines that the first character is input when the first key of the plurality of keys is input, and determines the second character of the plurality of keys. If the second key is input, it is determined that the second character has been input, and if the first key and the second key of the plurality of keys are input at the same time, the third character is input. You may judge that it was performed.

  According to the above, the first character is input by inputting the first character, the second key is input by inputting the second character, and the first key and the second key are simultaneously input. By inputting, the third character can be input. Accordingly, various characters can be input by changing the timing of inputting a plurality of keys, and various characters can be input even with a small number of keys.

  Further, another invention may be a character input device. The character input device is based on an input signal receiving means for receiving an input signal corresponding to an input to the plurality of keys from an input means capable of simultaneously inputting a plurality of keys, and an input signal received by the input signal receiving means. , Character determining means for determining input characters corresponding to a plurality of input keys, wherein the character determining means includes a key arranged in the first area of the input means and a second key of the input means. When the keys arranged in the area are simultaneously input, the input to the key in the first area is given priority over the input to the key in the second area to determine the input character.

  Further, another invention is a character input program executed in a computer of an information processing apparatus, and the computer may be caused to function as the input signal receiving means and the character determining means. Further, another invention may be a character input method using an input means capable of simultaneously inputting a plurality of keys.

  According to the present invention, the user can input a character by simultaneously inputting a plurality of keys of the input means, and can input a desired character quickly.

Block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the character input system 1 of the present embodiment The figure which shows an example of the MIDI keyboard 2 of this embodiment, and its arrangement. The figure which shows an example of the left side area and right side area of two MIDI keyboards 2. The figure which shows an example of the alphabet assigned to each key of two MIDI keyboards 2. The figure which shows an example of the kana character correspondence table which made the alphabet assigned to each key of the MIDI keyboard 2 and the kana character correspond. The figure which shows an example of the input of the voiced sound and the semi-voiced sound character The figure which shows the other example of the input of the voiced sound and the semi-voiced character The figure which shows an example of the input of the small letter and the normal character according to the keystroke strength. The figure which shows an example in the case of expressing the voiced sound and the semi-voiced sound character by combination with other keys. The figure which shows an example when expressing a small letter by the combination with other keys Diagram showing an example of inputting sound-repellent (“n”) characters A diagram showing an example of inputting a consonant (“tsu”) character A diagram showing an example of key assignments corresponding to a plurality of kana characters Diagram for explaining the case of inputting a "simple" character string by pressing multiple keys in the left and right areas at the same time Diagram showing an example of simultaneous input of multiple keys The flowchart which shows the detail of the character input process which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the relationship between the character input using the character input system 1 of this embodiment, and time. The figure which shows an example of allocation of the alphabet to each key of the MIDI keyboard 2 in other embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the correspondence of the alphabet character and the kana character in other embodiment.

(Structure of character recognition device)
Hereinafter, a character input system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The character input system of the present embodiment is a system for inputting characters by using a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) keyboard for playing music. By inputting characters using the MIDI keyboard, it is possible to input characters faster than when inputting characters using a normal 101 keyboard having 101 keys or a 109 keyboard having 109 keys. .

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the character input system 1 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the character input system 1 includes a MIDI keyboard 2 and an information processing device 3.

  The MIDI keyboard 2 is, for example, a keyboard that is connected to a personal computer and is commercially available as a keyboard for playing music. The MIDI keyboard 2 has a plurality of keyboards. Further, the MIDI keyboard 2 includes, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal. The MIDI keyboard 2 outputs a MIDI signal according to a key input by the user. Specifically, the MIDI keyboard 2 has information indicating the type of the key input by the user, information indicating the strength (speed) of key pressing, and the length of key pressing (when the key is pressed. A MIDI signal including the information of (when separated from) is output. Also, the MIDI keyboard 2 can output information regarding a tone color as a MIDI signal. Further, the MIDI keyboard 2 can output octave (8-degree pitch) change information, scale, pitch, tempo change information, sustain (vibration) information, and event mute (silence) as MIDI signals. Further, the MIDI keyboard 2 can output, as a MIDI signal, information indicating that the key has been pressed more strongly when the key has been pressed more strongly after the key has been pressed. In addition, when a plurality of keys are input at the same time, the MIDI keyboard 2 has information regarding the plurality of input keys (information indicating the type of the key, information regarding the strength of keystroke, information indicating that the key has been strongly depressed, etc.). ) Is output at the same time.

  The information processing device 3 includes a MIDI signal receiving unit 31, a character determination unit 32, a setting unit 33, and a storage device 34. The information processing device 3 is, for example, a personal computer, and includes a CPU, a RAM, a storage device (such as a hard disk or a non-volatile memory), and a plurality of USB ports. The CPU of the information processing device 3 functions as each unit 31 to 33 shown in FIG. 1 by executing the character input program of this embodiment.

  The MIDI signal receiving unit 31 receives a MIDI signal from the MIDI keyboard 2. The MIDI signal receiving section 31 outputs the MIDI signal received from the MIDI keyboard 2 to the character determining section 32.

  The character determination unit 32 determines the input character input by the user based on the MIDI signal from the MIDI signal reception unit 31. The character determination unit 32 stores a correspondence table in which each key of the MIDI keyboard 2 is associated with a character (kana character), and the input character is determined based on the correspondence table. The correspondence table between keys and characters will be described later. Then, the character determination unit 32 outputs the determined input character to another application (Japanese conversion application, document creation application).

  The setting unit 33 sets a correspondence table in which each key of the MIDI keyboard 2 is associated with a character (kana character) based on an input from the user. This allows the user to set the correspondence table, edit the correspondence table so that the user can easily use it, and add a new record in which one or more keys are associated with characters to the correspondence table. You can

  The storage device 34 is a storage device such as a non-volatile memory, a magnetic disk such as a hard disk or a floppy disk, an optical disk, or a magneto-optical disk. The storage device 34 may be built in the information processing device 3 or externally attached. The storage device 34 stores a MIDI file corresponding to a MIDI signal from the MIDI keyboard 2. The character determination unit 32 also reads the MIDI file stored in the storage device 34 and converts the MIDI signal into character information.

  The information processing device 3 is capable of converting a MIDI signal corresponding to an input to the MIDI keyboard 2 by the user into a character and saving the MIDI signal as a MIDI file in the storage device 34. Further, the information processing device 3 (the character determination unit 32 thereof) can convert the MIDI signal into a character by reading the saved MIDI file. The storage device 34 is arranged on a network such as a LAN or the Internet, and when the information processing device 3 accesses the storage device 34 via the network, a MIDI file corresponding to a MIDI signal from the MIDI keyboard 2 is created. It may be saved or the saved MIDI file may be acquired.

  The MIDI keyboard 2 and the information processing device 3 are connected via, for example, a USB port. In this embodiment, two MIDI keyboards 2 are connected to the information processing device 3.

  The MIDI keyboard 2 and the information processing device 3 may be wirelessly connected. For example, the MIDI keyboard 2 and the information processing device 3 may be connected by a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  Further, as the information processing device 3, any information processing device may be used, and for example, a laptop computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or the like may be used.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the MIDI keyboard 2 of the present embodiment and its arrangement. As shown in FIG. 2, the MIDI keyboard 2 includes a MIDI keyboard 2A and a MIDI keyboard 2B.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the MIDI keyboard 2A includes, for example, 25 keyboards (keys 21 to 45). For example, the MIDI keyboard 2A has a key 21 corresponding to "do", a key 23 corresponding to "re", a key 25 corresponding to "mi", a key 26 corresponding to "fa", and a key corresponding to "so". 28, a key 30 corresponding to “La”, a key 32 corresponding to “Si”, and the like. The MIDI keyboard 2A also includes control keys 46 for changing the settings of the keyboard. For example, the control key 46 is used as a key for changing the tone color.

  The same applies to the MIDI keyboard 2B. In the present embodiment, the same type of keyboard is used as the MIDI keyboard 2A and the MIDI keyboard 2B. The MIDI keyboard 2A and the MIDI keyboard 2B may be different types of keyboards. For example, the MIDI keyboard 2A and the MIDI keyboard 2B may have different numbers of keys.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the MIDI keyboard 2A and the MIDI keyboard 2B are arranged vertically. Specifically, the MIDI keyboard 2A arranged on the upper side is arranged in a normal direction. On the other hand, the MIDI keyboard 2B arranged on the lower side is arranged upside down. That is, the MIDI keyboard 2A is arranged so that the key 21 corresponding to the leftmost (bass side) "do" is on the left side, and the MIDI keyboard 2B corresponds to the leftmost (bass side) "do". The key 21 is placed on the right side. Further, as will be described later, the MIDI keyboard 2A arranged on the upper side is arranged so as to be shifted to the left side of the MIDI keyboard 2B arranged on the lower side so that the characters assigned to the respective keys are symmetrical. For example, the two keyboards are arranged such that the key 32 of the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the key 33 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B are vertically aligned.

  The information processing device 3 may distinguish the upper MIDI keyboard 2A from the lower MIDI keyboard 2B, for example, depending on which port of the plurality of USB ports of the own device the MIDI keyboard 2 is connected to. Further, the information processing device 3 may distinguish the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the lower MIDI keyboard 2B according to the order in which the two MIDI keyboards 2 are connected. For example, the MIDI keyboard 2 first connected to the information processing device 3 may be recognized as the upper MIDI keyboard 2A, and the second MIDI keyboard 2 connected may be recognized as the lower MIDI keyboard 2B.

  Further, the information processing apparatus 3 causes the user to input any one of the keys of the MIDI keyboard 2 when the character input program of the present embodiment is activated, so that the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the lower MIDI keyboard 2B are connected. May be recognized.

  When the two MIDI keyboards 2 and the information processing device 3 are wirelessly connected, the information processing device 3 may recognize the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the lower MIDI keyboard 2B by a wireless channel. . When the two MIDI keyboards 2 and the information processing device 3 are wirelessly connected, the information processing device 3 recognizes the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the lower MIDI keyboard 2B according to the order of wireless connection. May be.

  In the present embodiment, two MIDI keyboards 2 are arranged as shown in FIG. 2, and the user inputs characters with the left and right hands.

  In the following, when distinguishing the upper and lower keyboards, they are referred to as “MIDI keyboard 2A” and “MIDI keyboard 2B”, and when the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the lower MIDI keyboard 2B are collectively referred to, Indicated as "MIDI keyboard 2".

(Assignment of alphabet to each key of MIDI keyboard 2)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a left side region and a right side region of the two MIDI keyboards 2. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an alphabet assigned to each key of the two MIDI keyboards 2.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the two MIDI keyboards 2 are divided into a left side area and a right side area. Specifically, the two MIDI keyboards 2 are divided into a left side region and a right side region with a boundary between the keys 32 and 33 of the two MIDI keyboards 2 as a boundary. The left side area is an area that is input using the left hand of the user. The right side area is an area that is input using the right hand of the user. For example, the left area includes the keys 21 to 32 of the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the keys 33 to 45 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B. The right area includes the keys 33 to 45 of the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the keys 21 to 32 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B. Note that the definition of the area shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and the definitions of the left area and the right area are not limited to those shown in FIG.

  For each key in the left area, for example, alphabetical characters “Y”, “K”, “S”, “M”, “R”, “U”, “A”, “Z”, “X”, “V”. 10 characters are assigned. Also, "* (asterisk)" is assigned to the key in the left area. In addition, 10 characters of the same alphabet and “*” are assigned to each key in the right area.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the key 33 in the left area of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B corresponds to "*", the key 34 corresponds to "U", and the key 35 corresponds to "." The key 36 corresponds to "A", the key 37 corresponds to "S", the key 38 corresponds to "R", the key 40 corresponds to "X", and the key 42 corresponds to "Y". "V". The key 30 in the left area of the upper MIDI keyboard 2A corresponds to "Y", the key 28 corresponds to "K", the key 26 corresponds to "M", and the key 25 corresponds to "Z". .

  Further, the key 32 in the right area of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B corresponds to "*", the key 31 corresponds to "U", the key 30 corresponds to "Y", and the key 29 corresponds to "A". The key 28 corresponds to "S", the key 26 corresponds to "R", the key 25 corresponds to "X", and the key 23 corresponds to "V". The key 35 in the right area of the upper MIDI keyboard 2A corresponds to "Y", the key 37 corresponds to "K", the key 38 corresponds to "M", and the key 40 corresponds to "Z". . Note that the other keys are assigned as function keys (keys to which fixed operations and functions can be assigned).

  The respective keys in the left area are arranged in such a positional relationship that the user can press a plurality of keys at the same time with the left hand. For example, the key 34 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B and the key 25 of the upper MIDI keyboard 2A are relatively distant from each other, but each key is pressed so that the user can press these two keys simultaneously with the left hand. Each alphabet is associated. The same applies to each key in the right area, and each key in the right area is arranged so that the user can simultaneously press a plurality of keys in the right area using the right hand. That is, in consideration of the physical size of each key of the MIDI keyboard 2, the distance between the keys, the size of a human hand, etc., each key is pressed so that a person can press a plurality of keys in each area with one hand. Is associated with the alphabet.

  Also, a plurality of alphabets that are likely to be input at the same time are arranged at positions close to each other.

  More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each character is assigned in three stages. Four characters of "Y", "K", "M", and "Z" are assigned to the first row (upper row). Six characters of “*”, “Y”, “S”, “R”, “X”, and “V” are assigned to the second row (middle line). “U” and “A” are assigned to the third row (lower row). Regarding the left side region, the user, for example, presses “A” and “U” with the first finger of the left hand and “K”, “S”, and “Y” with the second finger of the left hand, and Press "M" and "R" with three fingers, press "Z" and "X" with the fourth finger of the left hand, and press "V" with the fifth finger of the left hand. The user presses one or more keys assigned to each finger. For example, the user uses the first finger of the left hand to select three types of "U", "A", and "AU". In addition, the user uses the second finger of the left hand to select seven types of “K”, “S”, “KS”, “Y”, “KY”, “SY”, and “KSY”. The same applies to the characters assigned to other fingers, and the user can select a plurality of combinations by pressing one or more characters with the assigned finger.

  Similarly for the right area, the first finger of the right hand depresses “A” and “U”, the second finger of the right hand depresses “K”, “S”, and “Y”, and the third finger of the right hand. "M" and "R" are pressed with, the fourth finger of the right hand is pressed with "Z" and "X", and the fifth finger of the right is pressed with "V".

  The correspondence between each key of the MIDI keyboard 2 and the alphabet is merely an example, and each key may be associated with another alphabet. Further, in the above, each of the 10-letter alphabets “Y”, “K”, “S”, “M”, “R”, “U”, “A”, “Z”, “X”, “V” is used. Although the letters are assigned to the keys, different 10-letter alphabets may be assigned to each key, and not limited to 10 letters, but less than 10 letters or 11 letters or more may be assigned to each key.

  In addition, the user can set the correspondence shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 by himself. For example, the user may associate the key 32 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B with an alphabet different from “Y”, or the key 40 with another new alphabet.

(Enter Kana characters (Kiyone))
Next, input of Japanese Kana characters will be described. As described above, the keys of the two MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B are "Y", "K", "S", "M", "R", "U", "A", "Z", "X". , Or “V”. The character determination unit 32 determines the input kana character based on the depression of the key corresponding to the 10-character alphabet. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a kana character correspondence table in which alphabets assigned to each key of the MIDI keyboard 2 and kana characters are associated with each other.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when one or more keys corresponding to each character of the alphabet are pressed (keystroked), the character determination unit 32 determines that the kana character shown in FIG. 5 has been input. To do.

  For example, when the key corresponding to "A" is pressed, the character determination unit 32 determines that "a" has been input. Specifically, as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, when the key 36 or the key 29 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B is pressed, it is determined that “A” has been input.

  When four keys corresponding to “M”, “R”, “K”, and “S” are simultaneously pressed, it is determined that “I” has been input. Specifically, if the keys 26 and 28 of the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the keys 37 and 38 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B are pressed at the same time, it is determined that "i" has been input. Alternatively, if the keys 37 and 38 of the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the keys 26 and 28 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B are pressed at the same time, it is determined that "i" has been input.

  When the key corresponding to "U" is pressed, it is determined that "U" has been input. Specifically, when the key 34 or the key 31 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B is pressed, it is determined that "u" has been input.

  If the key corresponding to "Y" is pressed, it is determined that "e" has been input. Specifically, when any one of the key 35 and the key 30 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B and the key 35 and the key 30 of the upper MIDI keyboard 2A is pressed, it is determined that “e” has been input.

  If two keys corresponding to “A” and “U” are pressed at the same time, it is determined that “O” has been input. Specifically, when the key 36 and the key 34 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B are pressed at the same time, it is determined that "O" has been input. Alternatively, when the key 29 and the key 31 of the lower MIDI keyboard 2B are pressed at the same time, it is determined that "O" has been input.

  In addition, when inputting each character of the "ka" line, basically "K" is simultaneously input in addition to each character of the "a" line. For example, when two keys corresponding to “K” and “A” are pressed at the same time, it is determined that “ka” has been input. When the key corresponding to "K" is pressed, it is determined that "ki" has been input. When two keys corresponding to “K” and “U” are pressed at the same time, it is determined that “KU” has been input. If two keys corresponding to “K” and “Y” are pressed at the same time, it is determined that “ke” has been input. If three keys corresponding to “K”, “A”, and “U” are simultaneously pressed, it is determined that “K” has been input.

  Further, when inputting each character of the "sa" line, basically, "S" is simultaneously input in addition to each character of the "a" line. For example, when two keys corresponding to “S” and “A” are pressed at the same time, it is determined that “sa” has been input. When the key corresponding to "S" is pressed, it is determined that "shi" is input. If two keys corresponding to "S" and "U" are pressed at the same time, it is determined that "su" has been input. If two keys corresponding to “S” and “Y” are pressed at the same time, it is determined that “SE” has been input. When three keys corresponding to "S", "A", and "U" are pressed at the same time, it is determined that "so" has been input.

  When inputting each character of the "ta" line, basically, "K" and "S" are simultaneously input in addition to each character of the "a" line. For example, when three keys corresponding to “K”, “S”, and “A” are simultaneously pressed, it is determined that “ta” has been input. Further, when two keys corresponding to “K” and “S” are pressed, it is determined that “Chi” has been input. When three keys corresponding to “K”, “S”, and “U” are simultaneously pressed, it is determined that “tsu” has been input. When three keys corresponding to “K”, “S”, and “Y” are simultaneously pressed, it is determined that “te” has been input. Further, when four keys corresponding to “K”, “S”, “A” and “U” are simultaneously pressed, it is determined that “to” has been input.

  The same applies to other kana characters. The alphabets corresponding to the consonants indicating the "na" line, the "ha" line, the "ma" line, the "ya" line, the "la" line, and the "wa" line are assigned respectively, and the alphabet corresponding to the consonant and the vowel The input character is determined based on whether or not the alphabet ("A", "U", "Y", etc.) corresponding to is simultaneously pressed.

  The kana character correspondence table shown in FIG. 5 is merely an example, and the correspondence relationship between the alphabet and kana characters is not limited to this. In addition, the user can change the correspondence between the alphabet and the kana character by himself or add a new record in which the alphabet and the kana character are associated with each other.

(Voice and semi-voiced sound input according to keystroke strength)
Next, the input of a dull sound and a semi-voiced sound will be described. The characters of the voiced sound and the semi-voiced sound are determined according to the strength (speed) of the keystroke when the key is pressed. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of inputting characters of a dull sound and a semi-voiced sound.

  As described above, the MIDI signal output from the MIDI keyboard 2 includes information indicating the strength of keystrokes (keystroke strength or keystroke speed). For example, the keystroke strength is represented by a value of 0 to 127. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, the kana character “hi” corresponds to the letters “R” and “S” of the alphabet. In this case, the keys corresponding to “R” and “S” (for example, the keys 35 and 33 of the MIDI keyboard 2B) are simultaneously pressed with the keystroke strength “weak” (for example, the keystroke strength range of 1 to 45). At this time, it is determined that the Kiyone "hi" has been input. When the keys corresponding to “R” and “S” are simultaneously tapped with the keystroke strength “medium” (for example, in the range of keystroke strength 46 to 90), it is determined that the voiced sound “vi” has been input. Further, when the keys corresponding to “R” and “S” are simultaneously tapped with the keystroke strength “strong” (for example, the range of the keystroke strengths 91 to 127), it is determined that the semi-voiced sound “pi” has been input. .

  Further, when a plurality of keys are tapped, it is determined based on the sum of the keystroke strengths of the plurality of keys whether the plurality of keys are tapped with the strength "strong", "medium", or "weak". Good. Then, the clear sound, the dull sound, and the semi-dumb sound may be determined according to the total of the keystroke strengths of the plurality of keys.

  Although FIG. 6 shows an example in which a clear sound, a dull sound, and a semi-voiced sound are discriminated according to the absolute keystroke strength when a key is pressed, FIG. It is not limited to the example given. As another determination method, a clear sound, a dull sound, or a semi-voiced sound may be determined according to the relative keying strength of each key. FIG. 7: is a figure which shows the other example of the input of the voiced sound and the semi-voiced sound character.

  As shown in FIG. 7, for example, when the keys corresponding to “R” and “S” are simultaneously tapped with the same strength (for example, when the difference in the tap strength is within a predetermined range (for example, less than 10)). ), It may be determined that the Kiyone “hi” has been input. In addition, when the keys corresponding to “R” and “S” are pressed at the same time, and the key corresponding to “R” is pressed more strongly than the key corresponding to “S” (for example, “R” is pressed). When the value obtained by subtracting the keystroke strength of "S" from the strength is a predetermined positive value (for example, 10) or more), it may be determined that the dull sound "vi" has been input. Further, when the keys corresponding to “R” and “S” are pressed at the same time, and the key corresponding to “S” is pressed more strongly than the key corresponding to “R” (for example, “R” is pressed). When the value obtained by subtracting the keystroke strength of “S” from the strength is a predetermined negative value (for example, −10) or less), it may be determined that the semi-voiced sound “pi” has been input.

  The same is true for characters with other voiced sounds and semi-voiced sounds, and clear sounds, voiced sounds, and semi-voiced sounds are determined according to the keystroke strength.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, even when the same key is pressed, a clear sound, a dull sound, and a semi-voiced sound are discriminated according to the strength of keystroke (keystroke speed). As a result, various characters can be input even if the number of keys is small.

  It should be noted that the keystroke strength may be used for other characters. The combination of other characters may be used to distinguish voiced sounds, semi-voiced sounds, and small letters, and the keystroke strength may be used for other purposes. For example, the keystroke strength may be used for changing the size, font, color, etc. of characters, or for distinguishing hiragana and katakana. Further, the keystroke strength may be used for inputting a line feed or a space. For example, when the keystroke strength is within a predetermined range, a character is input when a certain key is pressed, but when the keystroke strength exceeds the predetermined range, even when the key is pressed, the character is replaced by ( Alternatively, a line feed code may be input in addition to the certain character.

(Enter lowercase letters according to keystroke strength)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of input of lowercase letters and normal characters according to keystroke strength. As shown in FIG. 8, for example, the key corresponding to “A” (key 36 or key 27 of the MIDI keyboard 2B) is pressed with the keystroke strength “strong” (for example, the range of keystroke strengths 31 to 127). At this time, it is determined that the normal "A" is input. On the other hand, when the key corresponding to “A” is pressed with the keystroke strength “weak” (for example, in the range of keystroke strength 1 to 30), it is determined that the lower case “a” has been input. Similarly, for other characters with lowercase letters (“i”, “u”, “ya”, etc.), when a key is pressed with the key strength “strong”, the normal character is input and the key When the key is pressed with the key strength "weak", it is determined that the lower case letter of the character corresponding to the key is input. Note that the relationship between the keystroke strength and the input character may be reversed. That is, it may be determined that a normal character has been input when the keystroke strength is “weak” and that a lowercase letter has been input when the keystroke strength is “strong”.

(Combined with other keys, voiced, semi-voiced, lowercase letters)
In addition, in FIGS. 6 to 8, the voiced sound, the semi-voiced sound, and the lowercase letters are input according to the keystroke strength. However, instead of the keystroke strength, the voiced sound, the semi-voiced sound, and the lowercase letters are input in combination with other keys. May be.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a case of expressing a voiced sound character and a semi-voiced sound character in combination with another key. Further, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which a lowercase letter is expressed by a combination with another key.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when, for example, “M” is simultaneously input in addition to a normal character, a dull sound corresponding to the normal character may be input. For example, when the characters corresponding to Kiyone “hi” are “R” and “S”, when “M” is simultaneously input in addition to “R” and “S”, the dakuon “bi” is input. Good. In addition to the normal characters, the semi-voiced sound may be input when, for example, “K” is simultaneously input. For example, when “K” is simultaneously input in addition to “R” and “S”, the semi-voiced sound “pi” may be input. The same applies to other ordinary characters that represent Kiyone.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, when, for example, “R” and “K” are simultaneously input in addition to the normal character, the lowercase character of the normal character may be input. For example, when “R” and “K” are input in addition to “A” corresponding to the normal character “A”, a lower case “A” is input. When “R” and “K” are input at the same time for other characters, it is determined that the lower case letter corresponding to the character is input.

(Sound repellency and consonant input)
Next, the input of the sound repellency (“n”) and the consonant sound (“t”) will be described. When inputting a sound utterance (“n”), “Z” is simultaneously pressed in addition to the above-mentioned characters. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of inputting a sound-repellent (“n”) character.

  As shown in FIG. 11, for example, when "An" is input, a key corresponding to "A" indicating "A" (for example, the key 36 of the MIDI keyboard 2B) and a key corresponding to "Z" ( For example, the key 25) of the MIDI keyboard 2B is pressed at the same time. When inputting "Kan", two keys corresponding to "K" and "A" indicating "ka" and a key corresponding to "Z" are simultaneously pressed. When "san" is input, two keys corresponding to "S" and "A" indicating "sa" and a key corresponding to "Z" are simultaneously pressed. When "tan" is input, three keys corresponding to "K", "S", and "A" indicating "ta" and a key corresponding to "Z" are simultaneously pressed.

  In addition, when inputting a consonant (“t”), in addition to the above-mentioned characters, “Z” and “X” are simultaneously pressed. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of inputting characters of a consonant sound (“tsu”).

  As shown in FIG. 12, for example, in the case of inputting “Ku”, two keys corresponding to “K” and “A” indicating “Ka” and two keys corresponding to “Z” and “X” are input. Press the key and at the same time. In addition, when inputting “Shap”, two keys corresponding to “S” and “A” indicating “S” and two keys corresponding to “Z” and “X” are simultaneously pressed. When inputting "tatsu", three keys corresponding to "K", "S" and "A" indicating "ta" and two keys corresponding to "Z" and "X" are simultaneously entered. Press down. The same applies to characters having other consonants.

  In addition to those shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, one or a plurality of keys corresponding to arbitrary two or more kana characters may be assigned. For example, a plurality of keys corresponding to character strings of two or more characters that are relatively frequently used in Japanese may be assigned.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of key assignments corresponding to a plurality of kana characters. As shown in FIG. 13, for example, when a key corresponding to “X” is simultaneously input in addition to a key corresponding to a certain kana character, “i” is added to the certain kana character. For example, when the key corresponding to "X" is simultaneously pressed in addition to the key corresponding to "A" (the key corresponding to "A"), it may be determined that the character string "ai" has been input. . When the key corresponding to "X" is simultaneously pressed in addition to the two keys corresponding to "K" and "A" (the key corresponding to "ka"), the character string "kai" is input. It may be determined that When the key corresponding to "X" is pressed simultaneously in addition to the two keys corresponding to "S" and "A" (the key corresponding to "sa"), the character string "sai" is input. It may be determined that In addition to the three keys corresponding to “K”, “S”, and “A” (the key corresponding to “ta”), when the key corresponding to “X” is simultaneously pressed, the character string “tai” is displayed. May be determined to have been input.

  In addition, a key indicating a jumble (for example, “Kya”, “Kyu”, “Kyo”, etc.) may be assigned.

  Also, a key corresponding to the repetition of characters may be assigned. For example, when the kana character “shin” corresponds to the keys corresponding to “S” and “Z”, in addition to the key corresponding to “S” and the key corresponding to “Z”, another key ( For example, when the keys corresponding to “V” are simultaneously pressed, it may be determined that “shinshin” has been input.

  In addition, the character determination unit 32 outputs a long sound (prolonged sound. For example, “ku” or “ko”) according to the time during which the key is continuously pressed (the time from the start of pressing to the end of pressing). (This way)) may be determined. For example, when the key corresponding to “K” and the key corresponding to “U” are pressed at the same time, the character determination unit 32 determines that the time from the start of pressing the key to the end of the pressing (pressing time) is a predetermined threshold value. If it is (for example, 500 msec) or more, it may be determined that “ku” or “ku” has been input, and if the key pressing time is less than a predetermined threshold, it may be determined that “ku” has been input. That is, when the key pressing time is less than the predetermined threshold value, the character determining unit 32 determines that the kana character (without long sound) corresponding to the pressed key is input, and the key pressing time is equal to or more than the predetermined threshold value. In the case of, it may be determined that the corresponding long character of the kana character has been input. The alphabet corresponding to the long sound may be assigned, and it may be determined whether or not the long sound is based on whether or not the keys of the alphabet corresponding to the long sound are simultaneously pressed.

  In addition, the character determination unit 32 may determine the character based on the information indicating that the key has been strongly pressed when the key has been strongly pressed after the key has been pressed.

  Further, one or a plurality of keys corresponding to a plurality of other frequently used kana characters may be assigned. For example, one or more corresponding to multiple kana characters such as kana character strings "yes", "yes", "was", "things", "is", "masu", "thank you", "yes". Key may be assigned.

  Also, a key indicating conversion from hiragana to kanji or katakana may be assigned. For example, a key corresponding to any of the above 10-character alphabet may be used as a key indicating conversion into kanji or katakana. Alternatively, a key other than the key associated with the 10-character alphabet (for example, the key 39 or the key 21 of the MIDI keyboard 2B) may be used as the key indicating the conversion into kanji or katakana.

  Further, a foot pedal (sustain pedal) may be connected to the MIDI keyboard 2 or the information processing device 3, and the foot pedal may be used as a key indicating the conversion from hiragana to kanji or katakana. In this case, the user can input the hiragana by pressing the MIDI keyboard 2 with both hands or one hand and depress the foot pedal to convert the input hiragana into kanji or katakana. You can quickly input Japanese including Japanese.

  Further, the character determination unit 32 may determine that different kana characters have been input according to the set tone color. For example, using the control key 46 of the MIDI keyboard 2, any one of a plurality of tone colors including a first tone color (for example, piano) and a second tone color (for example, electric tone) is set. For example, when the key corresponding to "A" (for example, the key 36 of the MIDI keyboard 2B) is pressed and the first tone is set, it is determined that the hiragana "A" has been input, When the second timbre is set, it may be determined that the katakana “A” has been input. When the key corresponding to “A” is pressed, it is determined that “A” is input when the first tone color is set, and when the second tone color is set, It may be determined that another character (for example, “i”) has been input. Also, the correspondence between the keys and the alphabet may differ depending on the tone color setting of the MIDI keyboard 2.

  In addition, although the case where the kana character is basically input has been described above, a character of another alphabet may be input using a plurality of keys corresponding to the 10-character alphabet. For example, when the key corresponding to "A" is input, it is determined that the alphabet "a" is input, and when the key corresponding to "U" is input, the alphabet "u" is input. If the key corresponding to “A” and the key corresponding to “U” are simultaneously input, it may be determined that the alphabet “b (or B)” is input. The input switching between hiragana, katakana, and alphabet (English characters) may be performed, for example, according to the setting of the tone color. For example, if the first tone is set, then Hiragana is entered, if the second tone is set, then Katakana is entered, and if the third tone is set, then English characters are entered. May be.

(Priority processing of the left area)
Next, the priority processing of the left side area will be described. As described above, the two MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B are divided into a left side area input by the user's left hand and a right side area input by the user's right hand. The user can use both hands to simultaneously press a plurality of keys in the left area and the right area. Here, for example, a case of inputting a character string “simple” will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a case where a character string of “simple” is input by simultaneously pressing a plurality of keys in the left area and the right area.

  As shown in FIG. 14, in the left area of the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B, three keys corresponding to "Z", "K" and "A" are simultaneously pressed, and in the right area, "Z", It is assumed that four keys corresponding to “K”, “S” and “A” are pressed at the same time. When the three keys corresponding to "Z", "K", and "A" are pressed simultaneously, it is determined that "Kan" has been input as described above (see FIG. 11). When four keys corresponding to “Z”, “K”, “S”, and “A” are simultaneously pressed, it is determined that “tan” has been input (see FIG. 11).

  In this case, the input to the left side area has priority over the input corresponding to the right side area. Specifically, when the input to the left side area and the input to the right side area are performed at the same time, it is considered that the input to the left side area is input first and the input to the right side area is input later. As a result, if "Kan" is input in the left side area and "tan" is input in the right side area at the same time, it is assumed that "Easy" is input. When inputting "tankan", the user inputs "tan" (four keys corresponding to "Z", "K", "S" and "A") in the left side area and at the same time, right side In the area, enter "Kan" (three keys corresponding to "Z", "K", and "A").

  In this manner, by giving priority to the left side area over the right side area, the user can input a desired character string composed of a plurality of characters by simultaneously inputting the keys in the left and right areas.

  Note that one or a plurality of characters described above may be input using both the left and right area keys. For example, when the key corresponding to "K" is pressed in the left side area and at the same time "A" is pressed in the right side area, "Kia" is displayed instead of "Ka" due to the priority processing of the left side area. It is determined that the input has been made. Therefore, in order to input "ka", the user needs to simultaneously press the key corresponding to "K" and the key corresponding to "A" in one of the left side area and the right side area. is there.

  Here, when both the left side area and the right side area are pressed at the same time, if the kana character corresponding to the above-mentioned key combination cannot be identified in only one area, the character determination unit 32 determines that the left side area and the right side area. It may be possible to determine that one kana character has been input using the keys of both areas of the area. For example, when two keys corresponding to “M” and “R” are pressed in the left area and two keys corresponding to “K” and “S” are pressed in the right area at the same time, the character determination unit 32 May use the keys in the left and right areas to determine that the kana character “i” has been input. Only two keys corresponding to "M" and "R" do not correspond to any kana characters. Further, only two keys corresponding to “K” and “S” do not correspond to any kana character. Therefore, in this case, the character determination unit 32 determines that four keys are simultaneously input by using the keys in the left and right areas without performing the priority processing of the left area, and the kana characters corresponding to these four keys are input. It is determined that "i" has been input.

  Further, in the above, the left side region is prioritized over the right side region, but conversely, the right side region may be prioritized over the left side region.

(Determination of simultaneous input)
Here, a method of determining whether or not a plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed will be described. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of simultaneous input of a plurality of keys.

  As shown in FIG. 15A, for example, the pressing of the keys corresponding to “K” and “A” is detected at time t1, and the pressing of the keys corresponding to “K” and “A” is detected at time t2. If no key is detected, the key corresponding to "K" and the key corresponding to "A" are simultaneously pressed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15B, for example, the pressing of the key corresponding to “K” is detected at time t1, the pressing of the key corresponding to “A” is detected at the subsequent time t2, and , When the pressing of the keys corresponding to “K” and “A” is no longer detected at time t3, it is assumed that the key corresponding to “K” and the key corresponding to “A” are pressed simultaneously.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15C, for example, the pressing of the keys corresponding to “K” and “A” is detected at time t1, and the pressing of the key corresponding to “K” is detected at time t2. When it is no longer detected that the key corresponding to “A” is pressed at time t3 after Δt time smaller than a predetermined threshold value (for example, 100 msec) from time t2, the key corresponding to “K” and “ It is assumed that the key corresponding to "A" is pressed simultaneously.

  In any of the examples shown in FIGS. 15A to 15C, it is determined that the key corresponding to “K” and the key corresponding to “A” are pressed at the same time, so the kana character correspondence table shown in FIG. Accordingly, it is determined that the kana character “ka” has been input.

  In addition, in FIG. 15C, when the difference Δt between the time points t2 and t3 is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the key corresponding to “K” and the key corresponding to “A” are simultaneously pressed. Not done. Specifically, it is determined that the key corresponding to “K” that no longer detects pressing at time t2 is input first, and the key corresponding to “A” that does not detect pressing at time t3 is later. It is determined that the input has been made. In this case, according to the kana character correspondence table shown in FIG. 5, it is determined that two characters are input in the order of “ki” and “a”.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not a plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed on the basis of the time point when no key press is detected. Specifically, when the pressing of a plurality of keys is not detected at the same time, or when the pressing of a plurality of keys is not detected within a predetermined threshold value (for example, 100 msec), the plurality of keys are pressed at the same time. I shall.

  Note that in FIG. 15, it is determined whether or not a plurality of keys have been input at the same time, based on the time point when no key press is detected. In another example, the determination as to whether or not a plurality of keys have been simultaneously input may be performed on the basis of the time point when the detection of the key press is started. For example, if it is determined that a plurality of keys are pressed at the same time, or if a plurality of keys are pressed at a start time within a predetermined threshold (for example, within 100 msec), it is determined that the plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed. Good.

  Further, it may be determined whether or not a plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed, based on both the pressing start time and the pressing end time. Further, the above-mentioned predetermined threshold value used for determination of simultaneous input is merely an example, and another value may be used or may be changed by the user.

  As described above, in the character input system 1 according to the present embodiment, information when a key of the MIDI keyboard 2 is pressed (type of pressed key and keystroke strength) and information while the key is pressed (pressed) The input character is judged based on the time, the information indicating that the key was pressed more strongly after the key was pressed), and the information when the key was released (the information when the pressing was no longer detected). Be seen.

  The user uses the left hand to simultaneously input a plurality of keys arranged in the left area, and uses the right hand to simultaneously input a plurality of keys arranged in the right area to input kana characters with the left and right hands. be able to. Further, by pressing a plurality of keys at the same time, various kana characters can be input with a small number of keys, and the characters can be input quickly.

(Details of character input processing)
Next, details of the character input process performed in the information processing device 3 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing details of the character input process according to this embodiment. The processing illustrated in FIG. 16 is performed by the CPU of the information processing device 3 executing the character input program of this embodiment. The CPU of the information processing device 3 simultaneously executes a document creation application and a Japanese conversion application in addition to the character input program of this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the information processing device 3 first performs a setting process (step S1). Here, the information processing device 3 recognizes the two MIDI keyboards 2 and sets the upper MIDI keyboard 2A and the lower MIDI keyboard 2B. For example, the information processing device 3 sets the first connected MIDI keyboard 2 as the upper MIDI keyboard 2A, and sets the second connected MIDI keyboard 2 as the lower MIDI keyboard 2B. Further, in the setting process of step S1, the tone colors of the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B may be set. Further, in the setting process of step S1, the correspondence between the keys shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the alphabets is set in accordance with the user's operation, and the correspondence between the alphabets and kana characters shown in FIGS. Relationships may be set. Further, in the setting process of step S1, it may be set whether to prioritize the left side region or the right side region according to the user's operation.

  After executing the setting process of step S1, the information processing device 3 repeatedly executes the processes of the following steps S2 to S7 at predetermined time intervals (for example, 1 msec intervals). It should be noted that while the processes of steps S2 to S7 are repeatedly performed, the timbre is set, the correspondence between each key and the alphabet is set, and the correspondence between the alphabet and the kana is set according to a user's instruction. Etc. may be performed.

  Specifically, in step S2, the information processing device 3 receives the MIDI signal from the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B. The MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B repeatedly transmit MIDI signals to the information processing device 3 at predetermined time intervals (for example, 1 msec intervals). The information processing device 3 receives MIDI signals from the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B in step S2.

  Next, the information processing device 3 performs a discrimination process of the type of the key pressed and the key strength based on the received MIDI signal (step S3). Specifically, the information processing device 3 determines which of the plurality of keys of the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B has been pressed based on the received MIDI signal, and the key pressing strength of the pressed key. (Keystroke speed) is determined. Further, the information processing device 3 determines the tone color settings of the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B.

  Next, the information processing device 3 performs the simultaneous input determination process of determining whether or not a plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed based on the result of the determination process of step S3 (step S4). Specifically, the information processing device 3 determines whether or not a plurality of keys have been pressed to be in a non-pressed state, and compares timings at which the respective keys are no longer pressed. Then, when the timing at which the plurality of keys are not pressed is within a predetermined threshold value (for example, within 100 msec), the information processing device 3 determines that the plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed. Note that the information processing device 3 may determine that a plurality of keys are simultaneously pressed when the timing at which the plurality of keys are pressed is within a predetermined threshold as described above.

  Next, the information processing device 3 performs a character determination process (step S5). Specifically, the information processing device 3 searches the correspondence table shown in FIGS. 5 to 13 for a character corresponding to the pressed key, and determines the inputted kana character. Here, the information processing device 3 determines whether or not it is a dull sound, whether it is a semi-voiced sound, or whether it is a lowercase character, based on the type of the pressed key and the keystroke strength when the key is pressed. . Further, the information processing device 3 determines whether or not the sound is a long tone, in accordance with the key pressing time (the pressing time continues) in addition to the type of the pressed key. Further, the information processing device 3 may determine the character based on whether or not the key is pressed more strongly after the key is pressed, in addition to the type of the pressed key.

  Following step S5, the information processing device 3 performs a left-side area priority process (step S6). Specifically, the information processing device 3 determines whether each key pressed is a key in the left side area or a key in the right side area, and when the key in the left side area and the key in the right side area are pressed simultaneously, the left side area It is assumed that the kana character corresponding to the key is input first, and the kana character corresponding to the key in the right area is input later. Then, the information processing device 3 determines the character string in which the kana character corresponding to the key in the left area is arranged first and the kana character corresponding to the key in the right area is arranged later as the input character input by the user. . In addition, when the left area key and the right area key are pressed at the same time, when the character corresponding to only the left area key cannot be found in the correspondence tables shown in FIGS. The device 3 may discriminate the characters corresponding to the pressed keys in both the left area and the right area from the correspondence tables shown in FIGS.

  Next, the information processing device 3 outputs the character determined based on the result of the processing of steps S3 to S6 (step S7). Specifically, the information processing device 3 outputs the determined character to another Japanese conversion application or a document creation application that is being executed by itself. When the determined character is output to the Japanese conversion application and the Japanese conversion key (for example, any one of the foot pedal and the MIDI keyboard 2) is pressed, the determined character is converted into a kanji character or the like. Then, the characters converted into Chinese characters or the like are passed to the document creation application, the characters converted into Chinese characters or the like in the document creation application are displayed on the screen of the information processing device 3, and the storage means (memory such as RAM or hard disk is stored. Device). Further, the information processing device 3 may store the MIDI signal from the MIDI keyboard 2 as it is as a MIDI file.

  The information processing device 3 executes the process of step S2 again after the process of step S7. This is the end of the description of the processing illustrated in FIG.

  Note that the processing illustrated in FIG. 16 is merely an example, and the order of each step may be changed, another processing may be performed during each step, and some of the above steps may be omitted. Good. Further, the threshold value and the like used for the determination in each step are merely examples, and other values may be used as the determination threshold value.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 17, an example of characters input during execution of the processing shown in FIG. 16 will be described. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between characters input using the character input system 1 of the present embodiment and time.

  FIG. 17 shows the relationship between the key (alphabet) of the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B in which the pressing is detected and the time. The letter in each rectangle in FIG. 17 indicates the alphabet corresponding to the pressed key, the short side on the left side of each rectangle indicates the pressing start time point, and the short side on the right side of each rectangle indicates the pressing end time point.

  As shown in FIG. 17, for example, at time t1, MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B are used to correspond to “Z”, “X”, “S”, “A”, “U”, and “K”. It is assumed that 6 keys are pressed simultaneously. Specifically, using the keys in the left area of the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B, the five keys of "Z", "X", "S", "A", and "U" are pressed, and the MIDI keyboard 2A is pressed. One of the keys "K" is pressed using the keys in the right area of 2 and 2B.

  Next, it is assumed that at time t2, the six keys corresponding to “Z”, “X”, “S”, “A”, “U”, and “K” are released.

  Next, at time t3, using the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B, the seven keys corresponding to "X", "K", "S", "A", "X", "K" and "A" are It is assumed that they are pressed at the same time. Specifically, in the left area of the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B, four keys corresponding to "X", "K", "S" and "A" are simultaneously pressed, and in the right area of the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B. , "X", "K", and "A" are simultaneously pressed. Then, at time t4, it is assumed that the pressing on these seven keys is completed.

  In this case, the input in the period from time t1 to time t2 is “Z” and “X” corresponding to the consonant in addition to the three keys “S”, “A” and “U” corresponding to the kana character “so” in the left area. Is entered at the same time, so it is recognized as the kana character "soft". At the same time, the “K” input in the right area is recognized as the kana character “ki”. As described above, the left side region is prioritized over the right side region, so that the input in the period from time t1 to t2 is recognized as “slow”. Further, in the input from the time point t3 to t4, four keys “X”, “K”, “S” and “A” corresponding to “tai” are input in the left side area, and 3 keys corresponding to “kai” in the right side area. Since the two keys “X”, “K”, and “A” have been input, the priority processing in the above left side area recognizes that it is “taikai”.

  Therefore, it is determined that the character string "Sotekitaikai (shorthand competition)" has been input during the period from time t1 to time t4.

  As described above, in the character input system 1 of the present embodiment, by inputting a plurality of keys of the MIDI keyboard 2 at the same time and combining a plurality of keys less than the usual 101 keyboard and 109 keyboard, various characters can be input in a short time. Can be entered.

  For example, when inputting the above-mentioned character string of "Sokitakitai" using a normal 101 keyboard or 109 keyboard, it is necessary to input "sokkitaikai" and 11 alphabets in order. If, for example, 0.3 seconds is required to input one key, it takes 3.3 seconds to input "sokkitaikai" using a normal 101 keyboard or 109 keyboard.

  On the other hand, when the character input system 1 of the present embodiment is used, it is possible to input a plurality of keys at the same time, and therefore the operation related to the input is required only twice. Therefore, substantially 13 keys can be input at the time when the two keys are sequentially input. Therefore, if it takes, for example, 0.3 seconds to enter one or more keys (when the time required for one operation is 0.3 seconds), it will be "soft" in 0.6 seconds. It is possible to input a character string of "kitaikai", and it is possible to input a character earlier than when the same character is input using a normal 101 keyboard or 109 keyboard. Further, although handwritten shorthand cannot be saved as character data, in this embodiment, shorthand using a keyboard can be realized and saved as character data.

  In the character input system 1 of the present embodiment, for example, all kana characters can be input using only one of the left side area and the right side area of the MIDI keyboards 2A and 2B. Each key corresponding to 11 characters in the left side area is arranged at a position where the finger of the left hand can reach, and even the most distant characters can be simultaneously input with only the left hand. The same applies to the right side region. Therefore, various kana characters can be input with only one hand, and even a person with one hand cannot input the characters.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the MIDI keyboard 2 is used, it is possible to determine the input character based on the type of the pressed key, the pressing strength of the key, and the pressing time. Therefore, the input characters can be changed depending on the way of inputting the keys, and various characters can be input with a small number of keys.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the MIDI keyboard 2 is used, it is possible to output a sound using another music reproduction program based on a MIDI signal corresponding to a key input by the user. As a result, the character can be recognized by the sound, and the user can be entertained by the sound beyond mere character input. Also, the MIDI signal can be saved as a MIDI file, and the voice information input using the MIDI keyboard can be saved in real time. As a result, not only the character information but also the voice information can be saved, and the saved MIDI file can be connected to a musical instrument or the like to reproduce a sound.

  Further, the information processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment can save a MIDI file corresponding to a MIDI signal or read the saved MIDI file and convert it into character information. Therefore, for example, the first user of the information processing device 3 can read the MIDI file saved by the second user and convert it into character information by exchanging the MIDI file with another second user. As a result, the first user and the second user can exchange character information using the MIDI file (voice data). Since the MIDI file stores audio signals, a third party cannot easily recognize it as character information. Therefore, the first user and the second user can exchange the MIDI file as a ciphertext with each other. Further, a correspondence table (for example, the correspondence table of FIGS. 4 to 13) that stores the correspondence relationship between each key of the MIDI keyboard and the character is predetermined between the first user and the second user, so that the correspondence table is created. It is possible to perform encrypted communication between the first user and the second user by using the MIDI file as the ciphertext by using it as the encryption key.

(Modification)
Although the character input system 1 according to the present embodiment has been described above, the character input system 1 is not limited to the above example.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 13, alphabetic characters are assigned to each key and the alphabetical characters and the kana characters are associated with each other. Is not limited to this.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of assigning an alphabet to each key of the MIDI keyboard 2 according to another embodiment. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of association between alphabetic characters and kana characters in another embodiment. In FIG. 18, a character different from the character shown in FIG. 3 is assigned to each key. Further, in FIG. 19, the correspondence between the alphabet characters and the kana characters is different from that in FIG. Also in this case, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 13, one or more alphabetic characters are used for a special character or character string (voiced sound, semi-voiced sound, lowercase letters, sound repellant, consonant, character string in FIG. 13). Is set.

  In addition to characters, numbers and symbols, enter key, shift key, Caps Lock key, control key, alt key, tab key, function key, cursor key, escape key, kanji conversion key, input character conversion key, non-conversion key, number A lock key, a backspace key, a delate key, a page up key, a page down key, a home key, an end key, an arithmetic operation key, a half-width full-width key, a context menu key, a Windows (registered trademark) key, or the like may be input. Also, the input characters may be converted into numbers, symbols, or shortcut keys for work instructions.

  For example, two MIDI keyboards 2 are used in the above embodiment, but in other embodiments, one keyboard that can output a MIDI signal may be used, or three or more keyboards may be used. Good. For example, characters may be input using a single keyboard in which a plurality of rows in which a plurality of keys are arranged in the horizontal direction are arranged in the vertical direction (three rows in the upper row, rows in the middle row, and rows in the lower row). Further, the characters are not limited to the upper, middle, and lower three lines, and for example, the characters may be input by using the keys of four lines or the characters may be input by using the keys of two upper and lower lines.

  Further, in the above embodiment, one MIDI keyboard 2 is divided into a left side area and a right side area. In other embodiments, the keyboard input by the user's left hand and the keyboard input by the user's right hand may be different keyboards. In this case, one or more keyboards may be used as the left-hand keyboard, and one or more keyboards may be used as the right-hand keyboard.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the MIDI keyboard for music performance capable of outputting the MIDI signal is used, but not limited to the MIDI keyboard, other keyboards may be used. For example, in another embodiment, even if the information processing device 3 inputs a character by using another keyboard capable of discriminating the keystroke strength (keystroke speed) and the keystroke time in addition to the type of the keystroked. Good. Further, any keyboard may be used as long as it can input a plurality of keys at the same time.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the left area key and the right area key are pressed at the same time, as the priority processing of the left area, the character corresponding to the left area key is arranged first, and the right area key is selected. The character string in which the corresponding character was placed afterward was determined as the input character. In another embodiment, when the left area key and the right area key are pressed simultaneously, only the character corresponding to the left area key may be determined as the input character as the priority processing of the left area.

  In addition, when a predetermined signal is output from the MIDI keyboard 2, the keystroke signal after the predetermined signal may be input in a separate frame as a memo or an annotation. For example, when a signal indicating mute is output from the MIDI keyboard 2, the subsequent keystroke signal may input characters in a separate frame as a memo, an annotation, or subtitle input. Also, a key that repeats the character or information input immediately before is assigned, and when the key is pressed, the character or information input immediately before may be re-input.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the MIDI keyboard 2 and the information processing device 3 are locally connected, and the character input system 1 is realized. In another embodiment, the character input system 1 may be composed of a plurality of devices that are physically separated from each other. For example, the MIDI keyboard 2, the MIDI signal receiving unit 31, the character determination unit 32, and the setting unit 33 of the information processing device 3 are arranged at physically different places, and each unit is connected by a network such as the Internet, thereby A character input system may be configured.

  For example, a user terminal equipped with a MIDI keyboard, a server that determines an input character based on information from the user terminal, and a database that stores a correspondence table that associates alphabets and kana characters are connected by the Internet. The character input system described above may be configured. In this case, the information input in the user terminal is transmitted to the server via the Internet, and the server connects to the database via the Internet and determines the character according to the information from the user terminal. Then, the determined character is returned to the user terminal.

  Further, a part or all of the above-described processing may be performed by a plurality of processors or may be performed by a dedicated circuit.

1 character input system 2 MIDI keyboard 3 information processing device 32 character determination unit

Claims (11)

Input means that can input multiple keys simultaneously,
Input signal receiving means for receiving an input signal corresponding to an input to the plurality of keys from the input means,
Based on the input signal received by the input signal receiving means, character determining means for determining the input characters corresponding to the plurality of input keys,
The character determination means is for the keys of the first area when the key arranged in the first area of the input means and the key arranged in the second area of the input means are simultaneously input. A character input system, wherein input is prioritized over input to a key in the second area to determine the input character.   When the key arranged in the first area and the key arranged in the second area are input at the same time, the character determining means determines a character corresponding to the input key in the first area. The character input system according to claim 1, wherein a character string in which is arranged first and a character corresponding to the entered key in the second area is arranged later is determined as the input character.   The keys arranged in the first area are keys input by one hand of the user, and the keys arranged in the second area are keys input by the other hand of the user. The character input system according to claim 1.   When the key of the input unit is input, the character determination unit determines the input key and the input strength of the key, and based on the input key and the input strength, the input is performed. The character input system according to claim 1, which determines a character.   When the key of the input unit is input, the character determination unit determines the input key and the input time of the key, and determines the input character based on the input key and the input time. The character input system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which makes a determination. The input means can output a MIDI signal,
The input signal receiving means receives the MIDI signal from the input means,
The character input system according to claim 1, wherein the character determination unit determines the input character based on the MIDI signal.   The character determination means is configured to, based on a timing when the first key of the input means is released and a timing when the second key of the input means is released, the first key and the second key. The character input system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which determines whether or not is input at the same time, and determines the input character based on the determination result.   When the first key of the plurality of keys is input, the character determination means determines that the first character is input, and when the second key of the plurality of keys is input. Determining that a second character has been input, and if the first key and the second key of the plurality of keys have been input at the same time, it is determined that a third character has been input. The character input system according to any one of 1 to 7. An input signal receiving means for receiving an input signal corresponding to an input to the plurality of keys from an input means capable of simultaneously inputting a plurality of keys;
Based on the input signal received by the input signal receiving means, character determining means for determining the input characters corresponding to the plurality of input keys,
The character determination means is for the keys of the first area when the key arranged in the first area of the input means and the key arranged in the second area of the input means are simultaneously input. A character input device for determining the input character by giving priority to the input to the key in the second area. A character input program executed in a computer of an information processing apparatus, the computer comprising:
Input signal receiving means for receiving input signals corresponding to inputs to the plurality of keys from input means capable of simultaneously inputting a plurality of keys, and
Based on the input signal received by the input signal receiving means, function as character determining means for determining input characters corresponding to a plurality of input keys,
The character determination means is for the keys of the first area when the key arranged in the first area of the input means and the key arranged in the second area of the input means are simultaneously input. A character input program for determining the input character by giving priority to the input to the key in the second area. A method of inputting characters using an input means capable of inputting a plurality of keys at the same time,
An input signal receiving step of receiving an input signal corresponding to an input to the plurality of keys from the input means;
A character determination step of determining input characters corresponding to a plurality of input keys based on the input signal received in the input signal receiving step,
In the character determining step, when a key arranged in the first area of the input means and a key arranged in the second area of the input means are simultaneously input, the key of the first area is detected. A character input method, wherein input is prioritized over input to the keys in the second area to determine the input character.

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