Character input apparatus and method for automatically switching input mode in terminal having touch screen

Abstract

Provided is a character input method and apparatus for automatically switching an input mode in a terminal having a touch screen. If a press event occurs in one of key regions displayed in the touch screen, it is determined whether a drag event occurs prior to occurrence of a release event. According to whether the drag event occurs, one of a separate input mode for inputting one of characters of a corresponding character group and a text input mode for inputting a word including one of the characters of the character group is executed. Thus, a user can easily input a character by rapidly selecting a desired input mode.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A character input method for automatically switching an input mode in a terminal having a touch screen, the character input method comprising:
 assigning character groups, each of which includes at least two characters, to at least two key regions acquired by dividing a region of the touch screen and displaying the character groups in the corresponding key regions based on one-to-one correspondence;   if a press event occurs in a first of the key regions, determining whether a drag event occurs prior to occurrence of a release event;   executing one of a separate input mode for inputting one of characters of a corresponding character group and a text input mode for inputting a word including one of the characters of the character group according to whether the drag event occurs; and   upon execution of the separate input mode, assigning each character of the character group associated with the first key region to a different one of the key regions other than the first key region and displaying the characters of the character group in the other key regions.   
     
     
       2. The character input method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 if the press event occurs in the first key region, counting time from a point of time at which the press event occurs;   determining whether the counted time exceeds a previously stored threshold value; and   executing one of the separate input mode for inputting one of characters of a corresponding character group and the text input mode for inputting a word including one of the characters of the character group according to a determination result.   
     
     
       3. The character input method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether a key region indicated according to distance and direction of the drag event is the same as one of the key regions where the characters of the key region where the press event occurs are displayed;   highlighting the indicated key region if it is determined that the key region is the same as one of the key regions; and   if the release event occurs in the highlighted key region, outputting a character of the key region where the release event occurs onto, a predetermined input editor window of the touch screen.   
     
     
       4. The character input method of  claim 3 , further comprising, each time one of the key regions where the characters of the key region where the press event occurs are displayed is highlighted, outputting the character of the highlighted key region onto the input editor window. 
     
     
       5. The character input method of  claim 3 , wherein the displaying of the characters of the key region where the press event occurs in the key regions based on one-to-one correspondence comprises displaying the characters of the key region where the press event occurs in second portions of the key regions except for first portions where the character groups of the key regions are displayed based on one-to-one correspondence. 
     
     
       6. The character input method of  claim 3 , wherein the displaying of the characters of the key region where the press event occurs in the key regions based on one-to-one correspondence comprises enlarging and displaying the characters of the key region where the press event occurs in the key regions based on one-to-one correspondence, instead of the character groups of the key regions. 
     
     
       7. The character input method of  claim 3 , wherein the displaying of the characters of the key region where the press event occurs in the key regions based on one-to-one correspondence comprises enlarging and displaying the characters of the key region where the press event occurs in at least two key regions of a pop-up window type. 
     
     
       8. The character input method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 if the text input mode is executed, determining whether the release event occurs prior to occurrence of the drag event;   if the release event occurs, searching for words including a character of a key region where the release event occurs;   detecting a word that is most frequently used based on a search result; and   outputting the detected word.   
     
     
       9. A character input method for automatically switching an input mode in a terminal having a touch screen, the character input method comprising:
 in a text input mode for inputting a word including one of characters from character groups, each of which includes at least two characters, assigning the character groups to at least two key regions acquired by dividing a region of the touch screen and displaying the character groups in the corresponding key regions based on one-to-one correspondence;   if a press event occurs in a first of the key regions, counting time from a point of time at which the press event occurs;   if the counted time exceeds a previously stored threshold value, switching to a separate input mode for inputting one of characters from a corresponding character group;   upon execution of the separate input mode, assigning each character of the character group associated with the first key region to a different one of the key regions other than the first key region key region and displaying the characters of the character group in the other key regions;   determining whether a release event occurs in one of the other key regions assigned to the each character; and   outputting a character in the key region where the release event occurs onto a predetermined input editor window of the touch screen.   
     
     
       10. The character input method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 if the counted time does not exceed the previously stored threshold value, determining whether the release event occurs;   if the release event occurs, searching for words including characters of the key region where the release event occurs;   detecting a word that is most frequently used based on a search result; and   outputting the detected word.   
     
     
       11. A character input method for automatically switching an input mode in a terminal having a touch screen the character input method comprising:
 assigning character groups, each of which includes at least two characters, to at least two key regions acquired by dividing a region of the touch screen and displaying the character groups in the corresponding key regions based on one-to-one correspondence;   if a press event occurs in one of the key regions, determining whether a drag event occurs prior to occurrence of a release event;   if it is determined that the drag eve occurs, switching to a separate input mode for inputting one of characters of a corresponding character group;   upon execution of the separate input mode, checking a distance and a direction of the drag event;   displaying a character corresponding to the checked distance and direction of the drag event from among characters of the key region where the press event occurs; and   if the release event occurs when the character is displayed, outputting the displayed character.   
     
     
       12. The character input method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 if the press event occurs in one of the key regions, counting time from at point of time at which the press event occurs;   determining whether the release event occurs within previously stored threshold time; and   if it is determined that the release event occurs, executing a text input mode for inputting a word including one of the characters of the corresponding character group.   
     
     
       13. The character input method of  claim 11 , wherein the displaying of the character comprises enlarging and displaying the character onto a key region in the form of a pop-up window. 
     
     
       14. The character input method of  claim 11 , wherein the displaying of the character comprises displaying a character corresponding to the checked distance and direction of the drag event. 
     
     
       15. The character input method of  claim 11 , wherein a text input mode is a mode using a T9 input method. 
     
     
       16. A character input apparatus for automatically switching an input mode in a terminal having a touch screen, the character input apparatus comprising:
 a memory configured to store character groups, each of which includes at least two characters, displayed in at least two key regions acquired by dividing a region of the touch screen based on one-to-one correspondence;   a touch screen configured to display the character groups in the key regions based on one-to-one correspondence and generating a press event, a release event, and a drag event according to user input to each of the key regions; and   a controller configured to:
 determine whether the drag event occurs prior to occurrence of the release event if the press event occurs in a first of the key regions of the touch screen; 
 execute one of a separate input mode for inputting one of characters of a corresponding character group and a text input mode for inputting a word including one of the characters of the character group according to whether the drag event occurs; and 
 upon execution of the separate input mode, assign each character of the character group associated with the first key region to a different one of the key regions other than the first key region and display the characters of the character group in the other key regions. 
   
     
     
       17. The character input apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the controller counts time from a point of time at which the press event occurs if the press event occurs in one of the key regions, determines whether the counted time exceeds a previously stored threshold value, and executes one of the separate input mode for inputting one of characters of a corresponding character group and the text input mode for inputting a word including one of the characters of the character group according to a determination result. 
     
     
       18. The character input apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the controller determines whether a key region indicated according to distance and direction of the drag event is the same as one of the key regions where the characters of the key region where the press event occurs are displayed, highlights the indicated key region if it is determined that the key region is the same as one of the key regions, and outputs a character of the key region where the release event occurs onto a predetermined input editor window of the touch screen if the release event occurs in the highlighted key region. 
     
     
       19. The character input apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein each time one of the key regions where the characters of the key region where the press event occurs are displayed is highlighted, the controller outputs the character of the highlighted key region onto the input editor window. 
     
     
       20. The character input apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the touch screen displays the characters of the key region where the press event occurs in second portions of the key regions except for first portions where the character groups of the key regions are displayed based on one-to-one correspondence under the control of the controller. 
     
     
       21. The character input apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the touch screen enlarges and displays the characters of the key region where the press event occurs in the key regions based on one-to-one correspondence, instead of the character groups of the key regions under the control of the controller. 
     
     
       22. The character input apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the touch screen enlarges and displays the characters of the key region where the press event occurs in at least two key regions of a pop-up window type under the control of the controller. 
     
     
       23. The character input apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the controller determines whether the release event occurs prior to occurrence of the drag event if the text input mode is executed, searches for words including a character of a key region where the release event occurs if the release event occurs, detects a word that is most frequently used based on a search result, and outputs the detected word. 
     
     
       24. The character input apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the controller outputs the detected word onto the touch screen using a T9 input method in a text input mode. 
     
     
       25. A character input method for switching an input mode in a mobile device having a touch screen, the character input method comprising:
 in a first input mode for inputting one of characters from a character group on a key region, each character group including at least two characters, assigning character groups to at least two key regions of the touch screen and displaying the character groups in the corresponding key regions based on one-to-one correspondence;   based on a touch event occurring in a first key region of the key regions, counting time from a point of time at which the touch event occurs;   based on the counted time exceeding a previously stored threshold value, switching to a second input mode, different from the first input mode, for inputting one character corresponding one key region from among at least two characters of a character group respectively displayed on a plurality of key regions;   upon execution of the second input mode, assigning each character of the character group associated with the first key region to at least two key regions respectively, displaying the characters of the character group associated with the first key region in the assigned key regions, detecting changes in selection of the key regions associated with the displayed characters of the character group associated with the first key region based on drag inputs, and changing a visual characteristic of a selected key region;   determining whether a release event occurs in one of the key regions assigned to the each character of the character group associated with the first key region; and   outputting a character in the key region where the release event occurs, onto a predetermined input window of the touch screen.   
     
     
       26. The character input method according to claim 25, wherein the changing of a visual characteristic comprises changing color. 
     
     
       27. The character input method according to claim 26, wherein the changing of a visual characteristic comprises changing color of an edge of the selected key region. 
     
     
       28. The character input method according to claim 25, wherein the changing of a visual characteristic comprises changing a shading of the selected key region. 
     
     
       29. The character input method according to claim 25, further comprising:
 outputting a character corresponding to the selected key region onto the predetermined input window.   
     
     
       30. The character input method according to claim 29, further comprising:
 changing the character output onto the predetermined input window as changes in selection of key regions are detected.   
     
     
       31. The character input method according to claim 30, further comprising:
 maintaining a position of an input cursor in the predetermined input window as the character output onto the predetermined input window changes based on detected changes in selection of key regions.   
     
     
       32. The character input method according to claim 25, wherein the at least two key regions include a plurality of rectangular-type key regions. 
     
     
       33. The character input method according to claim 32, wherein the key regions are arranged in a 3×3 layout.