Patent ID: 6046732
Filing Date: 2000-04-04
Classification: G06F,H04M

Abstract:
A method of allowing a user to enter characters into electronic equipment by selecting a character on a software keyboard displayed on a display screen of said electronic equipment using a cursor key, and displaying characters selected by the user on said display screen, comprising the steps of:providing an input data display region comprised of at least one line, in which characters selected by the user are displayed, within said display screen;providing a software keyboard display region comprised of a plurality of lines, in which said software keyboard is displayed, within said display screen; andproviding a dot pattern display on said display screen showing a boundary between said input data display region and said software keyboard display region, wherein each line of said display screen consists of dot patterns of N pixels high, N being an integer greater than three, wherein in performing said providing steps, within a first line of said software keyboard display region, a dot pattern of 1 dot high showing said boundary between said input data display region and said software keyboard display region is displayed at the top of said first line of said software keyboard display region so that said boundary is adjacent to said input data display region, a first blank dot line of dots of 1 pixel high is provided just under said boundary, and a first row of keys or characters on said software keyboard is displayed just under said first blank dot line by using a screen font built up on a matrix of (N-2) dots high by M.sub.1 dots wide, M.sub.1 being an integer greater than one, so that said boundary and said first row of said software keyboard are spaced from each other, wherein within a second line of said software keyboard display region, a second blank dot line of dots of 1 pixel high is provided just under said first line of said software keyboard display region and a second row of keys or characters on said software keyboard is displayed just under said second blank dot line by using a screen font built up on a matrix of (N-2) dots high by M.sub.1 dots wide so that said first and second rows of said software keyboard are spaced from each other, and a third blank dot line of dots of 1 pixel high is provided just under said second row of said software keyboard, and wherein within a third line of said software keyboard display region, a third row of keys or characters on said software keyboard is displayed just under said third blank dot line by using a screen font built up on a matrix of (N-1) dots high by M.sub.1 dots wide so that said second and third rows of said software keyboard are spaced from each other, and a fourth blank dot line of dots of 1 pixel high is provided at the lowermost part of said third line of said software keyboard display region.