Abstract:
A method and related apparatus for inputting characters. The number of buttons of a portable electric device is smaller than the number of buttons of a keyboard of a computer. Therefore, it takes more time and is more inconvenient to key in characters into the portable electric device. While inputting characters in the portable electric device, two or more adjacent buttons are simultaneously pressed, such that the number of pressing buttons can be reduced.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a method for inputting characters, and more particularly, to a method for inputting characters into a portable electronic device.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     With the advantages of convenience, light weight, and easy carrying, a portable electronic device, such as a mobile phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), or a hand-held computer, allows a user communicate with others and access data anytime and anywhere.  
         [0005]     Generally, the physical size of the portable electronic device is small, and thereby buttons of such a device are much fewer in number than those of a keyboard of a computer. It is more inconvenient to input characters into the portable electronic device than in the computer.  
         [0006]     Generally, the English alphabet having twenty-six letters and the Chinese phonetic notation having thirty-seven letters are arranged on limited buttons of the portable electronic device. The user must press buttons many time or press buttons with a word-selecting function for character input. Please refer to  FIG. 1 , which is an arrangement of English letters in a prior art mobile phone. Suppose that the user wants to input an English letter “C”. The user must press the button “2” three times, and then the display shows “C” accordingly. If inputting “money”, the user has to press buttons “66666633999” in sequence, which requires pressing buttons eleven times. The drawback is that the number of button pressings is large.  
         [0007]     Suppose that a word-selecting function is used for character input. When inputting an English word of “money”, the user has to press buttons “66639” sequentially, then all possible words would be displayed, such as “moody” and “money”, and be selected by the user. The drawback of the word-selecting function is that the first displayed English word is usually not the one the user wants. The user still has to select the word by pressing buttons many times. Therefore, it requires an easier and more convenient method for inputting characters with the limited buttons of such a portable electronic device.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to provide a method and related device for inputting characters to solve the above-mentioned problems.  
         [0009]     The claimed invention provides a method for inputting characters applied in an electronic device. The electronic device comprises a plurality of circuit switches and a plurality of bridges. The method comprises displaying a first character when a plurality of adjacent circuit switches is simultaneously triggered by a bridge.  
         [0010]     These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is an arrangement of English letters in a prior art mobile phone.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is an arrangement of English letters of an electronic device according to the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a diagram of a T-shaped bridge positioned between two adjacent input units according to the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of only pressing one input unit.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a diagram of simultaneously pressing two adjacent input units.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a top view of a T-shaped bridge positioned beneath four adjacent input units.  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  and  8  are other types of bridges based on the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     Please refer to  FIG. 2 , which is an arrangement of English letters of an electronic device  10  according to the present invention. The electronic device  10  comprises a housing  12 , a display panel  14  for displaying information, and a plurality of input units (e.g. buttons)  20  positioned on the housing  12 . In the first embodiment of the present invention, two adjacent input units are simultaneously pressed to input words. The present invention arranges twenty-six English letters on the limited input units  20  of the electronic device  10 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . Pressing input unit “1” displays “a”; simultaneously pressing input units “1” and “2” displays “b”; pressing input unit “2” displays “c”; simultaneously pressing input units “2” and “3” displays “d”; pressing input unit “3” displays “e”; simultaneously pressing input units “1” and “4” displays “f”; simultaneously pressing input units “2” and “5” displays “g”; simultaneously pressing input units “3” and “6” displays “h”; pressing input unit “4” displays “i”; simultaneously pressing input units “4” and “5” displays “j”; and so on. Obviously, other arrangements are equally possible.  
         [0019]     According to the arrangement of English letters in  FIG. 2 , if inputting “c”, the user just has to press input unit “2” once, then “c” is displayed on the display panel  14 . To input the word “money”, by pressing input unit “6”, simultaneously pressing input units “5” and “8”, simultaneously pressing input units “4” and “7”, pressing input unit “3”, and finally pressing input units “*” and “0”, totally requires pressing input units five times. Compared with the prior art requiring pressing input units eleven times, the present invention reduces the input unit presses, and immediately shows the required word or letters on the display panel  14  without using the word-selecting function.  
         [0020]     In order to implement the present invention of simultaneously pressing two adjacent input units for a letter input, a feasible method is disclosed as follows. Generally, there is a circuit board  40  having a plurality of circuit switches inside the electronic device  10 . A character is shown on the display panel  14  according to the pressed circuit switch. Please refer to  FIG. 3 , which is a diagram of a T-shaped bridge  30  positioned between two adjacent input units  22  and  24  according to the present invention. The input unit  22  and the input unit  24  are adjacent and corresponding to the circuit switches  42  and  44  on the circuit board  40 , respectively. The T-shaped bridge  30  is positioned beneath the input units  22  and  24 . Two contact portions  32  and  34  of the T-shaped bridge  30  are used for respectively triggering the circuit switches  42  and  44 . Therefore, the present invention of simultaneously triggering two adjacent input units for a character input can be accomplished.  
         [0021]     Please refer to  FIG. 4 , which is a diagram of pressing one input unit. Suppose that the user only presses the input unit  22 . Only input unit  22  receives the force so that the left end of the T-shaped bridge  30  inclines while the right end rises. Then the contact portion  32  presses the circuit switch  42  so that a first character corresponding to the pressed input unit  22  is shown on the display panel  14 . Please refer to  FIG. 5 , which is a diagram of simultaneously pressing two adjacent input units. Suppose that the user simultaneously presses the input units  22  and  24 . Thus, the T-shaped bridge  30  has a vertical displacement without any incline, so that the two contact portions  32  and  34  respectively trigger the circuit switches  42  and  44 . Thus, a second character (other than the first character) corresponding to the pressed input units  42  and  44  is shown on the display panel  14 .  
         [0022]     The number of input units (buttons) formed on the portable electronic device  10  depends on different requirements, and thereby there is no limitation in the number of input units. For instance, the Chinese phonetic notation having thirty-seven characters requires more input units than the English alphabet does. The input units of  FIG. 2  are not enough for the Chinese phonetic notation. The number of input units in  FIG. 2  is twelve, and the number of two adjacent input units is seventeen, totally having twenty-nine inputs. Therefore, to add eight inputs in the arrangement of  FIG. 2  for the Chinese phonetic input method can be achieved by simultaneously pressing three or more than three adjacent input units or non-adjacent input units, cooperating with direction keys, soft key, or side key, or including additional input units. Pressing three or more than three input units at the same time can be achieved by using two bridges.  
         [0023]     Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a top view of a T-shaped bridge  50  positioned beneath four adjacent input units. If simultaneously pressing input units “1”, “2”, “4”, and “5” for an input, the T-shaped bridge  50  beneath the four input units lower down in the vertical direction, and four contact portions  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  respectively press circuit switches on the circuit board  40  correspondingly and at the same time. If only pressing input units “1” and “4”, the contacts  52  and  56  descend and press the corresponding circuit switches. Simultaneously, the contacts  54  and  58  rise and the corresponding circuit switches are not pressed. If only pressing the input unit “1”, the contact  52  descends to press the corresponding circuit switch while the positions of the contacts  54 ,  56 , and  58  are higher than the position of the contact  52 . The T-shaped bridge of the present invention is capable of simultaneously pressing two or four adjacent input units, or pressing one input unit for a letter input. Additionally, the present invention can be implemented in any input method, such as English input, Chinese phonetic input, or other language input.  
         [0024]     As mentioned above, the present invention simultaneously presses a plurality of input units to input characters, and thereby there is a plurality of T-shaped bridges beneath the plurality of input units  20 . Each T-shaped bridge includes a plurality of contacts, each contact for pressing a circuit switch. The present invention presses one or more than one circuit switch simultaneously to display the required letter accordingly. In addition, the electronic device  10  of the present invention can be a mobile phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), or a household telephone whose input units are much fewer in number than those of a keyboard of a computer.  
         [0025]     The bridge of the present invention is not limited as the T-shaped bridges of  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 6 . Please refer to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , which are other types of bridges. The bridge  60  of  FIG. 7  comprises two contacts  62  and  64 . The bridge  60  is positioned between the input units  22  and  24  and the circuit board  40  via a spring  66 . An end of the spring  66  is connected to the middle of the contacts  62  and  64 , and the other end is connected to the circuit board  40 . The bridge  70  of  FIG. 8  comprises two contacts  72  and  74 . The bridge  70  is positioned via two crossed rods  76  and  78 . When pressing input units, the two rods  76  and  78  move along the plane of the two contacts  72  and  74 , so that the two contacts  72  and  74  are capable of pressing the circuit switches  42  and  44  respectively. Alternately, the two rods  76  and  78  move along the circuit board  40 .  
         [0026]     Compared with the prior art, the present invention provides an easier input method and related device whose input units are much fewer in number than those of the keyboard of the computer. The present invention reduces the number of inputs by pressing adjacent input units at the same time, and the required letters or words can be displayed immediately and precisely.  
         [0027]     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.