| 摘要 |
The present invention provides for easy and efficient entry of information by providing a process, apparatus, keypad and communications appliance for receiving user input involving associating different movements of an actuator with symbols of different sets of symbols. Movement of an actuator in a direction generally parallel to a reference surface may be associated with a first symbol set while movement of the actuator generally perpendicular to the reference surface may be associated with a second symbol set. Movement of the actuator in the first direction may invoke non-numeric characters such as the letters of the alphabet and movement of the actuator in the second direction invokes may invoke only numeric characters. The second direction may be a direction similar to that of a conventional push button on a telephone keypad commonly used to invoke numbers, for example. Thus, a single key may be used in the conventional pushbutton manner to invoke numeric characters and the same key can be moved in a direction generally parallel to the surface to invoke non-numeric characters, for example. Thus, the user can associate directions of movement with separate symbol sets, thereby simplifying input of data. |
