Patent Abstract:
Disclosed are a portable electronic device and a method for controlling the portable electronic device wherein it is possible to use an application enabling an easy input of characters. The portable electronic device is provided with a starting unit, a display unit, a detection unit, and a control unit. The starting unit starts the application enabling the input of characters. The display unit displays a screen based on the application. The detection unit detects a contact to the display unit. The control unit causes the starting unit to start the application when identifying, while a standard screen is displayed on the display unit, the track of the contact to the display unit according to the contact to the display unit detected by the detection unit and determining from the detected track of the contact that characters are being inputted.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2010/072091, filed Dec. 9, 2010, which claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2009-284225, filed Dec. 15, 2009, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a portable electronic device including a touch panel, and to a method of controlling the portable electronic device. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Some portable electronic devices include a touch panel having: a display unit; a detection unit that detects a finger or the like that touches the display unit; and a control unit that controls display contents on the display unit in accordance with a result of detection by the detection unit. In such portable electronic devices, in a case in which a standard screen is displayed on the display unit, when a finger or the like touches an area that triggers displaying of a menu screen that includes a plurality of areas for activating applications, the menu screen is displayed on the display unit. As a result, a user can activate a desired application by selecting an area for activating the desired application from the menu screen (see Patent Document 1). 
     Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2008-141519 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Problems to be Solved by the Invention 
     Incidentally, in the portable electronic device including the touch panel, in a case of activating an application enabling an input of characters (for example, a memo pad application), first of all, while a standard screen is displayed on the display unit, when an area that triggers displaying of a menu screen is operated (touched), the menu screen is displayed on the display unit. Next, when the user selects the memo pad application from the menu screen, the portable electronic device activates the memo pad application. In this way, the conventional portable electronic devices had a problem of requiring a large number of operations for activating an application enabling an input of characters. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a portable electronic device and a method of controlling the portable electronic device, all of which can utilize an application enabling an easy input of characters. 
     Means for Solving the Problems 
     The portable electronic device of the present invention is characterized by including: an activation unit that activates an application enabling an input of characters; a display unit that displays a screen based on the application; a detection unit that detects contact to the display unit; and a control unit that identifies a track of contact to the display unit according to the contact to the display unit detected by the detection unit in a state where a standard screen is displayed on the display unit, and causes the activation unit to activate the application in a case in which the control unit determines that characters are being input based on the track of contact thus identified. 
     In a case in which the control unit determines that characters are being input based on the track of contact, it is preferable for the activation unit to activate an application based on an input character thus input. 
     It is preferable for the application based on the input character to be an application having an application name including the input character. 
     In a case in which application names of a plurality of applications predicted based on the input character are displayed on the display unit, it is preferable for the application based on the input character to be an application corresponding to a single application name selected from the plurality of application names. 
     In a case in which the control unit determines that characters are being input based on the track of contact, it is preferable for the control unit to cause the activation unit to activate an application, and to cause an input character to be input into the application. 
     It is preferable for the application activated by the activation unit to be a preset application. 
     In a case in which application names of a plurality of applications enabling an input of characters are displayed on the display unit, it is preferable for the application activated by the activation unit to be an application corresponding to a single application name selected from the plurality of application names. 
     After the input character is input into the application, in a case in which a single application is selected from applications enabling an input of characters, it is preferable for the control unit to cause the single application thus selected to be activated, and to cause the input character to be input into the single application. 
     It is preferable for the control unit to cause the display unit to display a plurality of words predicted based on the input character, and when a single word is selected from the plurality of words, it is preferable for the control unit to cause the activation unit to activate the application, and to cause the word thus selected to be input into the application. 
     It is preferable for the activation unit to be capable of activating a call originating application, and it is preferable for the control unit to be capable of determining that numeric characters are being input based on the track of contact, and in a case of determining that the numeric characters are being input based on the track of contact detected by the detection unit, it is preferable for the control unit to cause the activation unit to activate the call originating application. 
     In a case in which the control unit determines that characters or numeric characters are not being input based on the track of contact detected by the detection unit, it is preferable for the control unit to cause the display unit to display a menu screen for selecting an application from a plurality of applications. 
     The present invention is a method of controlling a portable electronic device including a display unit capable of displaying a screen based on an application enabling an input of characters, and the method is characterized by including: a detecting step of detecting contact to the display unit; and an activating step of identifying a track of contact to the display unit according to the contact to the display unit detected in the detecting step in a state where a standard screen is displayed on the display unit, and activating the application in a case of determining that characters are being input based on the track of contact thus identified. 
     Effects of the Invention 
     According to the present invention, it is possible to utilize an application enabling an easy input of characters. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an appearance of a mobile telephone device according to an embodiment of a portable electronic device; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the mobile telephone device; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart for illustrating a method of controlling the mobile telephone device; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart for illustrating operations of the mobile telephone device in a case of executing processing of activating an application, or executing processing of displaying a menu screen; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram for illustrating a first state of the display unit  11 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram for illustrating a second state of the display unit  11 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram for illustrating a third state of the display unit  11 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram for illustrating a fourth state of the display unit  11 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram for illustrating a fifth state of the display unit  11 ; and 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram for illustrating a sixth state of the display unit  11 . 
     
    
    
     EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
         
           
               1  mobile telephone device (portable electronic device) 
               10  touch panel 
               11  display unit 
               12  detection unit 
               18  activation unit 
               19  control unit 
           
         
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A preferred embodiment for carrying out the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings. First of all, with reference to  FIG. 1 , descriptions are provided for a basic structure of a mobile telephone device  1  according to an embodiment of the portable electronic device of the present invention.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an appearance of the mobile telephone device  1  according to an embodiment of the portable electronic device. 
     The mobile telephone device  1  includes a body  2 . A touch panel  10 , a microphone  13  and a speaker  14  are disposed on a front face portion of the body  2 . 
     The touch panel  10  includes a display unit  11  and a detection unit  12  (see  FIG. 2 ). The display unit  11  is a liquid-crystal display panel, an organic EL (electroluminescence) display panel, or the like. The detection unit  12  is a sensor for detecting a position or the like touched by a contact object such as a finger or a stylus of a user. For example, a sensor that employs a method such as a capacitive sensing method and a resistive film method can be utilized as the detection unit  12 . 
     The microphone  13  is used for inputting sound produced by the user of the mobile telephone device  1  during a telephone call. 
     The speaker  14  is used for outputting sound produced by the other party of the telephone call. 
     Next, a functional configuration of the mobile telephone device  1  is described with reference to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the mobile telephone device  1 . 
     The mobile telephone device  1  includes the touch panel  10  (the display unit  11  and the detection unit  12 ), the microphone  13  and the speaker  14  as described above. The mobile telephone device  1  includes a communication unit  15 , memory  16  and a central processing unit (CPU  17 ). 
     The communication unit  15  includes a main antenna (not shown) and an RF circuit unit (not shown), and performs communication with a predetermined communication party. The communication party, with which the communication unit  15  performs communication, is an external device that performs a telephone call or transmission/reception of mail with the mobile telephone device  1 , or an external device or the like such as an external web server, with which the mobile telephone device  1  establishes Internet connections. 
     The communication unit  15  performs communication with an external device via a predetermined usable frequency band. More specifically, the communication unit  15  executes demodulation processing on a signal received via the main antenna, and transmits the processed signal to the control unit  19 . The communication unit  15  executes modulation processing on a signal transmitted from the CPU  17  (the control unit  19  to be described below), and transmits the signal to an external device (a base station) via the main antenna. 
     The memory  16  includes, for example, working memory, and is utilized for arithmetic processing by the CPU  17  (the control unit  19 ). The memory  16  stores data, tables and the like, which are utilized by various applications running inside the mobile telephone device  1 . The memory  16  may also serve as detachable external memory. 
     The CPU  17  (the control unit  19 ) controls the entirety of the mobile telephone device  1 , and performs predetermined control of the communication unit  15  and the display unit  11 . The CPU  17  (the control unit  19 ) receives a result of detection by the detection unit  12 , and executes various processing based on the result of detection as various input operations. 
     The mobile telephone device  1  with such a configuration has a function capable of utilizing an application enabling an easy input of characters. Descriptions are hereinafter provided for a configuration and operations for achieving the aforementioned function according to the mobile telephone device  1 . 
     The CPU  17  includes an activation unit  18  and the control unit  19 . 
     The activation unit  18  activates an application enabling an input of characters. Specific examples of the application enabling an input of characters may include a memo pad application, a mail application, a browser application, an address book application and the like. 
     The display unit  11  displays a screen based on an application activated by the activation unit  18 . More specifically, in a case in which the activation unit  18  activates an application, the display unit  11  displays a character (an input character) that is input into the application, in accordance with control by the control unit  19 . More specific descriptions are provided by taking the memo pad application as an example. In a case in which the activation unit  18  activates the memo pad application, the display unit  11  displays input characters in an area for inputting characters of a memo pad in accordance with the memo pad application, and displays a screen for inputting characters when a predetermined operation is carried out to input characters. 
     The display unit  11  displays a standard screen (also referred to as wallpaper, desktop or stand-by screen) while waiting for communication, or while waiting for activation of an application. 
     The detection unit  12  detects contact of a contact object such as a finger or a stylus of the user with the display unit  11 . As a result, the detection unit  12  detects a state where the display unit  11  is touched by the contact object (a state where the contact object does not move on the surface of the display unit  11 ), and a state where the contact object moves on the surface of the display unit  11 , as contact of the contact object with the display unit  11 . The detection unit  12  outputs, to the control unit  19 , information (position information) about a position of the contact object touching the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ), and information (position information) about moving positions of the contact object in a case in which the contact object moves on the surface of the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ). 
     In a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11 , the control unit  19  identifies a track of contact to the display unit  11  according to the contact to the display unit  11  detected by the detection unit  12 , and in a case in which the control unit  19  determines that characters are being input based on the track of contact thus identified, the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate an application. 
     More specifically, based on the position information (information about positions where the contact object moves) provided from the detection unit  12 , the control unit  19  identifies a track of contact of the contact object that moves while touching the surface of the display unit  11 . 
     The control unit  19  determines whether characters are being input, based on the track of contact of the contact object. For example, the determination may be made as follows. More specifically, the control unit  19  compares an identified track with character recognition data that is stored beforehand in the memory  16  (data for associating a character with a track pattern of writing the character), and in a case in which the identified track coincides with the track in the character recognition data, the control unit  19  determines that a character associated with the track in the character recognition data is being input. On the other hand, in a case in which the identified track does not coincide with the track in the character recognition data, the control unit  19  determines that characters are not being input. 
     In a case in which the control unit  19  determines that characters are being input, the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate an application enabling an input of characters. 
     Herein, the characters include hiragana, katakana, kanji and alphabetic characters. 
     Next, descriptions are provided for a method of controlling the mobile telephone device  1 .  FIG. 3  is a flow chart for illustrating the method of controlling the mobile telephone device  1 . 
     The mobile telephone device  1  performs a detecting step (Step S 1 ) and an activating step (Step S 2 ). 
     In the detecting step in Step S 1 , the detection unit  12  detects contact to the display unit  11 . 
     In the activating step in Step S 2 , in a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11 , the control unit  19  identifies a track of contact to the display unit  11  according to the contact to the display unit  11  detected in the detecting step, and in a case in which the control unit  19  determines that characters are being input based on the track of the contact, an application enabling an input of characters is activated. 
     As discussed above, by writing a character on the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ) with a contact object while the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11 , the mobile telephone device  1  determines that characters are being input based on the track of contact of the contact object, an application enabling an input of characters is activated, and the application can be utilized. Thus, the mobile telephone device  1  can reduce the number of operations required for activating an application, as compared to conventional cases. 
     In a case in which the activation unit  18  activates an application enabling an input of characters, the control unit  19  may cause the display unit  11  to display (dispose) keys enabling an input of characters in order to input characters thereafter. In a case in which a key displayed on the display unit  11  is operated (touched), the detection unit  12  provides information about a touched position (position information) to the control unit  19 . Based on the position information thus provided, the control unit  19  determines what character is assigned to the touched key, and based on a result of the determination, the control unit  19  causes the application to input a character assigned to the touched key. Here, the control unit  19  may display keys enabling an input of hiragana characters on the display unit  11  in a case in which the input character is a hiragana character, may display keys enabling an input of katakana characters on the display unit  11  in a case in which the input character is a katakana character, and may display QWERTY keys enabling an input of alphabetic characters on the display unit  11  in a case in which the input character is an alphabetic character. 
     In a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11 , and the display unit  11  displays an area to which a predetermined function is assigned, such as a short-cut icon (an icon for activating a predetermined application), in a case in which the short-cut icon (an area to which a predetermined function is assigned) on the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ) is touched with a contact object, the control unit  19  does not determine whether characters are being input. In this case, the control unit  19  may activate the predetermined application corresponding to the short-cut icon. 
     In a case in which the control unit  19  determines that characters are being input based on the track of contact, it is preferable for the activation unit  18  to activate an application based on an input character thus input. 
     More specifically, in a case in which a character is input by way of a contact object via the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition by comparing the track of contact and the track in the character recognition data. In a case in which the input character is identified based on the character recognition, the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate an application based on the input character. The control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display a screen based on the application activated by the activation unit  18 . 
     Here, as a case in which an application is activated based on an input character, for example, data for associating an input character with an application is stored beforehand in the memory  16 , and when the input character is identified based on character recognition, the control unit  19  may refer to the data stored in the memory  16 , and may cause the activation unit  18  to activate the application associated with the input character. 
     A specific example is described with reference to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  is a diagram for illustrating a first state of the display unit  11 . First of all, the data for associating a hiragana character “a” with the address book application is stored in the memory  16 . In a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11  (see  FIG. 5A ), in a case in which the hiragana character “a” is input by way of a contact object via the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ) (see  FIG. 5B ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition by comparing the track of contact and the track in the character recognition data. In a case in which the input character is identified as the hiragana character “a” based on the character recognition, the control unit  19  refers to the data stored in the memory  16 , identifies the address book application associated with the input hiragana character “a”, and controls the address book application to be activated. The control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display a screen (image) of the address book application thus activated (see  FIG. 5C ). In this case, the screen of the address book application includes an area (a character input area  100   a ) for inputting characters. 
     As a case in which an application is activated based on an input character, the activation unit  18  may activate an application having an application name that includes the input character, as will be described below. 
     Therefore, since an application is activated based on an input character, the mobile telephone device  1  can easily activate an application associated with the input character, simply by determining that characters are being input. 
     Here, as a case in which the activation unit  18  activates an application based on an input character, the control unit  19  may cause the activation unit  18  to activate an application having an application name that includes an input character. 
     More specifically, in a case in which the input character is identified based on character recognition, the control unit  19  determines whether the input character is included in any one of a plurality of application names stored beforehand in the memory  16 . In a case in which the control unit  19  determines that the input character is included in any one of the application names, the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate an application corresponding to the application name. 
     Specific descriptions are provided by taking an example, in which the address book application is activated. The memory  16  stores “address book” as an application name of the address book application. First of all, in a case in which the user writes a hiragana character “a” on the surface of the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition based on a track of writing the hiragana character “a”. As a result of the character recognition, the control unit  19  determines that the input character is the hiragana character “a”, and determines whether there is an application name including the input character among the plurality of application names stored in the memory  16 . The control unit  19  identifies “address book” as the application name including the input character “a”, and causes the activation unit  18  to activate the address book application. 
     In addition to the specific example described above in which the control unit  19  performs control to activate a corresponding application in a case in which an initial character of the application name is input as an input character, the control unit  19  may also perform control to activate a corresponding application in a case in which a character other than the initial character of the application name is input as an input character. For example, in a case in which a hiragana character “re” is input as an input character, the control unit  19  may perform control such that “address book” (including “re”) is identified as an application name, and the address book application is activated. 
     With reference to  FIG. 6 , descriptions are provided for an example in which an application is activated based on an input alphabetic character.  FIG. 6  is a diagram for illustrating a second state of the display unit  11 . First of all, as an application name of the mail application, “Mail” is registered with the memory  16 . In a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11  (see  FIG. 6A ), in a case in which an alphabetic character “M” is input by way of a contact object via the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ) (see  FIG. 6B ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition by comparing the track of contact and the track in the character recognition data. As a result of the character recognition, the control unit  19  determines that the input character is the alphabetic character “M”, and determines whether there is an application name including the alphabetic character “M” among the plurality of application names stored in the memory  16 . The control unit  19  identifies “Mail” as the application name including the alphabetic character “M”, and causes the activation unit  18  to activate the mail application. The control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display a screen (image) of the mail application thus activated (see  FIG. 6C ). In this case, the screen of the mail application includes the character input area  100   a.    
     In addition to the aforementioned example in which the control unit  19  performs control to activate a corresponding application in a case in which an initial character of the application name is input as an input character, the control unit  19  may also perform control to activate a corresponding application in a case in which a character other than the initial character of the application name is input as an input character. For example, in a case in which an alphabetic character “L” is input as an input character, the control unit  19  may perform control such that “Mail” (including “L”) is identified as an application name, and the mail application is activated. 
     Therefore, since an application is activated based on an input character, the mobile telephone device  1  can easily activate an application associated with the input character, simply by determining that characters are being input. 
     As a case in which the activation unit  18  activates an application based on an input character, the control unit  19  may cause the display unit  11  to display a plurality of application names that are predicted based on the input character, and may cause the activation unit  18  to activate an application corresponding to an application name selected from the plurality of application names. 
     More specifically, in a case in which an input character is identified based on character recognition, the control unit  19  determines whether there is an application name predicted from the input character among the plurality of application names stored beforehand in the memory  16 . In a case in which the control unit  19  determines that there is an application name predicted from the input character, the control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display the application name predicted from the input character. In a case in which the user selects any one of the application names displayed on the display unit  11 , the control unit  19  controls the activation unit  18  to activate an application corresponding to the application name thus selected. 
     Here, with reference to  FIG. 7 , descriptions are provided for an example in which a memo pad application is activated.  FIG. 7  is a diagram for illustrating a third state of the display unit  11 . The memory  16  stores “memo pad” as an application name of the memo pad application, and stores “mail” as an application name of the mail application. In a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11  (see  FIG. 7A ), in a case in which the user writes a hiragana character “me” on the surface of the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ) (see  FIG. 7B ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition based on a track of writing the hiragana character “me”. As a result of the character recognition, the control unit  19  determines that the input character is the hiragana character “me”, and determines whether there is an application name predicted from the input hiragana character “me”. The control unit  19  determines that there are application names “memo pad” and “mail” predicted from the input hiragana character “me” (pronounced like “meh” in Japanese), and controls the display unit  11  to display the application names “memo pad” and “mail” (see  FIG. 7C ). In a case in which the user selects “memo pad”, the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate the memo pad application. The control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display a screen (image) of the memo pad application thus activated (see  FIG. 7D ). In this case, the screen of the memo pad application includes the character input area  100   a.    
     Whether there is an application name predicted from the input character “me” may be determined based on whether there is an application name including the input character “me”, or whether there is data in which the input character “me” is associated beforehand with application names. 
     As discussed above, the mobile telephone device  1  causes the display unit  11  to display application names predicted from an input character, and in a case in which any one of the application names is selected, an application corresponding to the application name thus selected is activated. Thus, the mobile telephone device  1  can easily activate an application associated with an input character. 
     In a case in which the control unit  19  determines that characters are being input based on the track of contact, it is preferable for the activation unit  18  to activate an application, and it is preferable for an input character to be input into the application. 
     More specifically, in a case in which a character is input by way of a contact object via the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition by comparing the track of contact and the track in the character recognition data. In a case in which an input character is identified based on the character recognition, the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate an application, and causes the input character to be input into the character input area of the application. The control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display a screen based on the application thus activated, in which the input character is input into the character input area thereof. 
     Here, descriptions are provided for an example with reference to  FIG. 8 , in which the memo pad application is activated to input characters into the memo pad application.  FIG. 8  is a diagram for illustrating a fourth state of the display unit  11 . In a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11  (see  FIG. 8A ), in a case in which a hiragana character “yo” is input by way of a contact object via the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ) (see  FIG. 8B ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition by comparing the track of contact and the track in the character recognition data. In a case in which the input character is identified as the hiragana character “yo” based on the character recognition, the control unit  19  activates, for example, the memo pad application. The control unit  19  causes the hiragana character “yo” to be input into a memo input area (the character input area  100   a ) of the memo pad application. The control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display a screen, in which the hiragana character “yo” is input into the memo input area (see  FIG. 8C ). 
     Therefore, the mobile telephone device  1  activates an application based on performing recognition of a character, and causes the character to be input into the application; accordingly, simply by determining that a character is being input, the character can be input into the application, and the application can be activated in a state where the input character is displayed. 
     In a case in which the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate an application to input a character into the application, the control unit  19  may cause the activation unit  18  to activate a preset application to input a character into the application thus activated. 
     Regarding setting for activating applications, for example, the user may set any one of a plurality of applications, or the control unit  19  may set an application that is most frequently activated among the plurality of applications. 
     Here, a specific example is described with reference to  FIG. 9 , in which the user sets any one of a plurality of applications.  FIG. 9  is a diagram for illustrating a fifth state of the display unit  11 . In a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11  (see  FIG. 9A ), in a case in which a hiragana character “me” is input by way of a contact object via the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ) (see  FIG. 9B ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition by comparing the track of contact and the track in the character recognition data. As a result of the character recognition, the control unit  19  determines that the input character is the hiragana character “me”, and controls the display unit  11  to display predictive conversion candidates “melon” and “medaka (Japanese killifish)” with the initial character “me” (see  FIG. 9C ). In addition, in a case in which the user selects, for example, “medaka” from the predictive conversion candidates, the control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display application names “mail”, “address book”, “memo pad” and “web” corresponding to the plurality of applications, respectively (see  FIG. 9D ). In addition, in a case in which the user selects, for example, “mail” from the plurality of application names, the control unit  19  causes the mail application to be activated, in which the mail application corresponds to the application name “mail”. The control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display a screen (image) of the mail application, in which the conversion candidate character “medaka” selected by the user is input into the character input area  100   a  (see  FIG. 9E ). 
     The specific example has been described for a case in which a screen for selecting an application name is displayed when a predictive conversion candidate is selected. As another example, a screen for selecting an application name may be displayed in a case in which an input of a sentence is completed. In this case, the sentence is input into a character input area of the application thus selected. 
     Therefore, the mobile telephone device  1  activates a preset application based on performing recognition of a character, and causes the character to be input into the application; accordingly, simply by determining that characters are being input, the character can be input into the application, and the application can be activated in a state where the input character is displayed. 
     As a case in which the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate an application to input a character into the application, after determining that characters are being input based on the track of contact, the control unit  19  may cause the display unit  11  to display a plurality of names of applications enabling an input of characters, may cause the activation unit  18  to activate an application corresponding to an application name selected from the plurality of application names, and may cause the character to be input into the application thus activated. 
     As a specific example, in a case in which the user writes a hiragana character “yo” on the surface of the display unit (the detection unit  12 ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition based on a track of writing the hiragana character “yo”. As a result of the character recognition, the control unit  19  determines that the hiragana character “yo” is being input, and determines that characters are being input. In a case in which the input of the hiragana character “yo” is completed, i.e. in a case in which the detection unit  12  does not further detect contact of the contact object within a predetermined period after detecting the contact of the contact object for inputting the hiragana character “yo”, the control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display names of applications enabling an input of characters such as “memo pad”, “mail”, “browser” and “address book”. In a case in which the user selects “memo pad”, the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate the memo pad application, and causes the hiragana character “yo” to be input into the memo input area of the memo pad application. 
     As discussed above, based on performing recognition of a character, the mobile telephone device  1  causes the display unit  11  to display names of applications enabling an input of characters, activates an application corresponding to a selected application name, and causes the character to be input into the application thus activated. Therefore, with the mobile telephone device  1 , simply by determining that a character is being input, the character can be input into an application, and the application can be activated in a state where the input character is displayed. 
     As a case in which the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate an application to input a character into the application, after determining that characters are being input based on the track of contact, the control unit  19  may cause the display unit  11  to display a plurality of words predicted from the character thus input, may cause the activation unit  18  to activate an application when a word is selected from the plurality of words, and may cause the word thus selected to be input into the application. 
     More specifically, in a case in which an input character is identified based on character recognition, the control unit  19  causes the display unit  11  to display a plurality of prediction conversion candidates (words) for converting the input character into a word. In a case in which the user selects one of a plurality of predictive conversion candidates, the control unit  19  causes the prediction conversion candidate thus selected to be input into an application activated by the activation unit  18 . 
     As a specific example, in a case in which an input character is identified as a hiragana character “me” based on character recognition, the control unit  19  causes the display unit  11  to display prediction conversion candidates such as “melon” and “medaka” for converting the hiragana character “me” into a word. In a case in which the user selects “melon”, the control unit  19  causes “melon” to be input into a character input area of an application activated by the activation unit  18 . Similarly, in a case in which an input character is identified as an alphabetic character “C” as a result of character recognition, the control unit  19  causes the display unit  11  to display prediction conversion candidates such as “California” and “Chicago” for converting the alphabetic character “C” into a word. In a case in which the user selects “California”, the control unit  19  causes “California” to be input into a character input area of an application activated by the activation unit  18 . 
     Regarding an application activated by way of the activation unit  18 , a preset application may be activated by way of the activation unit  18  as described above, or an application corresponding to an application name selected from a plurality of application names may be activated by way of the activation unit  18 . 
     Therefore, with the mobile telephone device  1 , in a case of selecting one of a plurality of words (predictive conversion candidates) predicted based on an input character, the word thus selected is input into the character input area of the application thus activated; accordingly, the word can be input into the application, and the application can be activated in a state where the input character is displayed. 
     It is preferable for the activation unit  18  to be capable of activating the call originating application. In this case, it is preferable for the control unit  19  to be capable of determining that numeric characters are being input based on the track of contact, and in a case of determining that numeric characters are being input based on the track of contact detected by the detection unit  12 , it is preferable for the control unit  19  to cause the activation unit  18  to activate the call originating application. 
     More specifically, based on the position information (information about positions where the contact object moves) provided from the detection unit  12 , the control unit  19  identifies a track of contact of the contact object that moves while touching the surface of the display unit  11 . 
     The control unit  19  determines whether numeric characters are being input based on the track of contact of the contact object. For example, the determination may be made as follows. More specifically, the control unit  19  compares an identified track with numeric character recognition data that is stored beforehand in the memory  16  (data for associating a numeric character with a track pattern of writing the numeric character), and in a case in which the identified track coincides with the track in the numeric character recognition data, the control unit  19  determines that a numeric character associated with the track in the numeric character recognition data is being input. On the other hand, in a case in which the identified track does not coincide with the track in the numeric character recognition data, the control unit  19  determines that numeric characters are not being input. 
     In a case in which the control unit  19  determines that numeric characters are being input, the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate the call originating application. 
     The call originating application is an application capable of making a telephone call by utilizing the communication unit  15 . 
     Here, with reference to  FIG. 10 , descriptions are provided for a specific example of activating the call originating application.  FIG. 10  is a diagram for illustrating a sixth state of the display unit  11 . In a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11  (see  FIG. 10A ), in a case in which a numeric character “5” is input by way of a contact object via the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ) (see  FIG. 10B ), the control unit  19  performs character recognition by comparing the track of contact and the track in the numeric character recognition data. As a result of the numeric character recognition, the control unit  19  determines that the numeric character “5” is being input, and activates the call originating application. The control unit  19  causes the numeric character “5” to be into an area (a numeric character input area  100   b ), into which numeric characters are input for the call originating application. The control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to display a screen (image), in which the numeric character “5” is input into the numeric character input area  100   b  (see  FIG. 10C ). 
     The specific example has been described for a case in which the call originating application is activated when a single numeric character is input. As another example, the call originating application may be activated when all digits of a numeric character string as a telephone number are input. 
     Therefore, since the call originating application is activated in a case in which the mobile telephone device  1  determines that numeric characters are being input based on the track of contact of a contact object, the call originating application can be easily activated. 
     In a case in which the activation unit  18  activates the call originating application, the control unit  19  may cause the display unit  11  to display (dispose) keys enabling an input of numeric characters in order to input numeric characters thereafter. In a case in which such keys are operated (touched), the control unit  19  causes numeric characters, which are assigned to the keys thus operated, to be input into the call originating application. 
     In a case in which the control unit  19  determines that numeric characters are being input, the control unit  19  may determine that numeric characters are being input after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the detection unit  12  ceased to detect contact of a contact object. As a result, the control unit  19  can distinguish, for example, whether a longitudinal line is drawn in a sequence of inputting a hiragana character “ha”, or a numeric character “1” is input. 
     In the abovementioned embodiment, in a case in which the identified track coincides with the track in the character recognition data or the numeric character recognition data, determination is made such that non-numeric characters or numeric characters associated with the data are being input; however, also in a case in which the identified track coincides with a part of the character recognition data or a part of the numeric character recognition data, determination may be made such that non-numeric characters or numeric characters associated with the data are being input. 
     In a case in which the control unit  19  determines that characters or numeric characters are not being input based on the track of contact detected by the detection unit  12 , it is preferable for the display unit  11  to display a menu screen for selecting an application from a plurality of applications. 
     The control unit  19  determines whether characters or numeric characters are being input based on the track of contact of the contact object. For example, the track of contact of the contact object is compared with the character recognition data and the numeric character recognition data as described above, and in a case in which the track of contact of the contact object does not coincide with any of the track in the character recognition data and the track in the numeric character recognition data, the determination may be made such that characters and numeric characters are not being input. In a case in which the control unit  19  determines that characters and numeric characters are not being input, the control unit  19  controls the display unit  11  to switch the standard screen to the menu screen. 
     Therefore, in a case in which the mobile telephone device  1  determines that characters or numeric characters are not being input, the mobile telephone device  1  determines that the contact is a touch by a contact object, and causes the display unit  11  to display the menu screen; as a result, the user can select any one of a plurality of applications. 
     Next, descriptions are provided for operations of the mobile telephone device  1  when an application is activated or the menu screen is displayed on the display unit  11 .  FIG. 4  is a flowchart for illustrating the operations of the mobile telephone device  1  in a case of executing processing for activating an application, or executing processing for displaying the menu screen. 
     In Step S 11 , in a state where the standard screen is displayed on the display unit  11 , the control unit  19  determines whether a character or a numeric character was input by way of a contact object. More specifically, based on a track of a contact object touching the display unit  11  (the detection unit  12 ), determination is made as to whether characters are being input, numeric characters are being input, or characters and numeric characters are not being input. In a case in which the determination is that characters are being input, the processing advances to Step S 12 . In a case in which the determination is that numeric characters are being input, the processing advances to Step S 13 . In a case in which the determination is that characters and numeric characters are not being input, the processing advances to Step S 14 . 
     In Step S 12 , based on the input character, the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate an application enabling an input of characters. 
     In Step S 13 , the control unit  19  causes the activation unit  18  to activate the call originating application. 
     The processing of activating an application is terminated by executing the processing in Step S 12  or S 13 . Subsequently, processing corresponding to each application thus activated is executed. 
     In Step S 14 , the control unit  19  causes the display unit  11  to display the menu screen. The processing for displaying the menu screen is terminated by executing the processing in Step S 14 . Subsequently, for example, as a result of selecting any application from the menu screen, the activation unit  18  executes processing of activating the application thus selected. 
     As described above, the mobile telephone device  1  can reduce the number of operations required for activating an application, as compared to conventional cases. 
     As described above, the embodiment has been described by illustrating the cases in which the present invention is applied to the mobile telephone device  1 . However, the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiment, and may also be applied to an electronic device such as a PHS (Personal Handyphone System), a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a portable navigation device.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7