JPH1153117A - Handwritten character recognition device, handwritten input interface, and recording medium therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To reduce the difficulty of a user's handwriting input window from interfering with other windows in a palmtop computer and to obstruct the keyboard during handwriting input, and to press a key by mistake. Solving inconveniences such as getting lost. At least an input area for inputting handwritten information in an input / display unit of a palmtop computer is displayed in a transparent manner, and handwriting of the input handwritten information is made transparent. Without any color. The rear window can be seen through, making it hard to see. In addition, by making the shape of the window 11 for handwriting input vertically long and arranging it at the end in the horizontal direction of the screen, the keyboard can be prevented from becoming an obstacle when inputting information by handwriting.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a handwritten character recognition device for analyzing handwritten characters input by a user and recognizing and outputting them as characters, symbols or words, and more particularly to a user interface thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a handwritten character recognition device, a character input by a user is recognized by a character recognition processing unit, and as a result, a character considered most suitable as a candidate is extracted and output to a display device or the like. . The character recognition processing unit searches for a candidate character from the characters registered in the recognition dictionary and extracts one or more characters based on a recognition algorithm provided in the device. In recent years, with the development of semiconductors and the like, portable terminals have been miniaturized, and palmtop computers (hereinafter simply referred to as palmtops), electronic notebooks, and the like having a handwritten character recognition function have been increasing.

[0003] For example, a palmtop is configured as a computer having a function similar to that of a desktop computer (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a desktop) that can be put on the palm of a hand. A central processing unit (CPU), a main storage device, a keyboard, It is composed of a screen display unit and the like.

[0006] The keyboard and the screen display unit are disadvantageous in configuration of the palmtop as compared with the desktop due to physical restrictions. In general, the keyboard layout is shared between the palmtop and the desktop, and the user can always use the character layout on the keyboard or the function key layout regardless of the palmtop or the desktop. Originally, desktop keyboards were designed with two hands in mind, and consist of a landscape layout. It is common for palmtops to have a keyboard arrangement that is horizontally long according to this, and many palmtops have such a configuration.

Further, in the case of a palmtop, it is necessary to store about 100 keys on a keyboard, and there is a limitation that each key button becomes small. Key buttons were very small and often accidentally pressed other buttons, which was not always user friendly. For this reason, with the advancement of CPU performance, palmtops in which the user inputs characters by handwriting with pen-type input devices have recently increased. By performing handwritten character input, mistakes in pressing key buttons are eliminated, and character input can be performed more smoothly than key input.

[0006] A pen-type input device is connected to a computer by directly tracing a display portion, which is a touch panel, which is used for both display and input, with a pen to input characters and the like and virtually pressing a displayed function selection button. To give instructions.

On the other hand, the screen display section also generally has a horizontally long display frame. Mobile terminals, such as palmtops,
A liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or the like is often used for the display unit. This is because the thickness of the display portion can be relatively reduced and portability can be improved. However, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, and the like are structurally vulnerable to impact and may be damaged. Therefore, when transported, they are stored in a form that is folded in two so as to face the keyboard. Therefore, when the arrangement of the display unit is devised, in many cases, the display unit has to be formed in a horizontally long shape like the keyboard.

Due to such physical limitations of the display unit, the resolution of the display unit of the palmtop is 480 (width) × 200.
(Vertical) pixels. Although the screen area can be improved depending on the device, the OS (operating system) that controls the palmtop has a screen resolution of this level because many palmtops were created under such restrictions. Tend to make software with settings,
In effect, the configuration of the display unit is as described above.

By the way, when a user inputs a character by handwriting, the character is recognized as follows. here,
“Character” indicates a one-to-one correspondence with a character code. However, when character recognition is performed for each word, even a word is interpreted in the same manner as a “character”. In any case, what can be represented by a character code is described as “character” in this specification.
In this specification, a handwriting input by a user with an input device is referred to as “ink data”, and characters displayed as a result are selected based on ink data in order to obtain “recognized characters” and “recognized characters”. The written characters are referred to as “candidate characters”.

FIG. 4 shows an example of character recognition in the handwritten character recognition device. The handwritten character recognition device described here is
Includes software implemented on a computer. That is, the palmtop itself can be regarded as a handwritten character recognition device. The user inputs ink data to the input / display unit 1 using a pen-type input device (not shown) or the like. The input / display unit 1 is a user interface having both an input function of ink data and work instructions and a display function. In this example, an ink data input frame 15 and a recognition character frame 13 for displaying a recognition result are provided as portions for inputting ink data. The input ink data is subjected to a recognition algorithm by a character recognition unit (not shown).

The character recognition processing section analyzes input ink data in accordance with a recognition algorithm and names candidate characters. In some cases, only one candidate character is output, or in a case where a plurality of characters are output and the user selects from them. In any case, the user can replace the ink data with the character by selecting a character intended to be input from the candidate characters listed in the character recognition processing unit.

[0012]

As described above, with the development of semiconductors and the like, computers have been reduced in size, and characters can be input by handwriting. However, the size of the input / display unit itself has not changed, and, for example, the following problems still remain. In other words, handwritten character input is used not only to display the input characters on the screen, but also to input characters to applications such as a word processor and a calendar. The screen of the application to which characters are to be input is also displayed.

FIG. 4 shows a case where a character is input by a handwritten character input device in order to input a character into a word processor document. This palmtop is a user interface of a so-called multi-window system, and displays a window 12 of a word processor and a window 11 of a handwritten character recognition interface.
In this specification, a window that is not hidden at all by other windows among the plurality of displayed windows is interpreted as the foreground. On the other hand, if there is a part that is partially hidden by other windows, Interpreted as behind the hidden window,
Notation such as "behind".

The window 12 of the word processor is displayed so as to occupy almost the entire area of the input / display unit 1. This is because the resolution of the input / display unit 1 of the palmtop is low, and thus it is easier for the user to view the display substantially on the entire screen. However, even in this case, it is difficult to display the entire document of the word processor, so the device has been devised so that the screen can be scrolled and viewed with a scroll bar.

On the other hand, the larger the character recognition window 11 is, the easier it is to input characters, but the other windows are covered by that much. In FIG. 4, the character recognition window 11 obscures the lower right of the window 12 of the word processor. This is annoying when inputting a document, and even if the user tries to input characters while checking the context, the character recognition windows 11 overlap, and work such as frequently changing windows or changing the arrangement of windows is performed. Occurs.

For example, in a case where a window is appropriately selected and handwritten character input is performed in a state where both the word processor and the calendar application are activated, if the window for handwritten input is always displayed on the foreground, the handwritten input window may be displayed. This makes typing text easier, but it hides other word processing and calendar windows and is inconvenient.

In the handwritten character recognition device, as an input unit for inputting ink data, a plurality of characters are successively input at a time, and the device cuts out one character at a time and performs recognition. In some devices, only one character of ink data is inserted, and the apparatus performs character recognition based on the ink data in the frame.

The former type of handwritten character recognition that requires clipping requires relatively machine power, and thus is rarely used for palmtops. On the other hand, the one-character-per-frame method has the condition that the user must fit one character in the frame, but since there is no need to let the device perform the cutout processing, even a device with low processing capacity such as a palmtop can be used lightly. There is an advantage that processing can be performed. Under such circumstances, the palmtop is provided with an ink data input frame 15 for one character or two to three characters, and the user inputs ink data one character at a time.

It is more convenient to provide the ink data input frame 15 for a plurality of characters. That is, when there is only one ink data input frame 15, the user cannot input the next ink data until one character is determined, and it takes time to input the ink data. . On the other hand, if there are a plurality of ink data input frames 15, recognition processing of another ink data can be performed while ink data of one character is being input.

However, when the ink data input frame 15 is provided for a plurality of characters, the range for covering other windows is increased by the number of the input data input frames 15, and the usability is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in a hand-held character recognition device of a portable terminal type, an application window, particularly a hand-writing input window, covers another window in a display screen. An object of the present invention is to provide a handwriting input interface that reduces the difficulty of viewing.

[0022]

A handwritten character recognition apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has an input function for a user to input ink data and at least one of ink data and recognized characters. An input display unit having a display function to display, and a character recognition window displayed in the input display unit and serving as an interface for handwritten character recognition, wherein at least a part of the color arrangement area in the character recognition window is displayed in a transparent manner. A handwritten character recognition device.

Further, the handwritten character recognition device of the present invention is characterized in that the frame line of the ink data input frame is displayed in an arbitrary color arrangement without being made transparent.

The ink data input by the user in the ink data input frame is displayed in an arbitrary color scheme without being made transparent.

Alternatively, the character recognition window is characterized in that the vertical direction is larger than the horizontal direction with respect to the direction of the information displayed on the screen of the portable terminal.

In the handwritten character recognition device of the present invention having such a configuration, since many parts of the character recognition window are made transparent, the user can view the window displayed behind without moving the character recognition window. This makes it possible to reduce the possibility that application windows interfere with each other on the display screen and become difficult to see.

The ink data input by the user in the ink data input frame is displayed in an arbitrary color scheme without being made transparent, so that the handwriting can be confirmed.

Furthermore, the character recognition window is displayed vertically larger than the horizontal direction with respect to the direction of the information displayed on the screen of the portable terminal, that is, displayed vertically, so that it can be placed near both left and right ends on the screen. Ink data can be easily input.

The handwriting input interface according to the present invention is provided in a portable terminal device having a window-type user interface, and has a handwriting input interface having an input window for inputting handwritten information from a user. The handwriting input interface is characterized in that at least an area of the input window for inputting handwritten information is displayed in a transparent manner, and handwriting input by a user is displayed in an arbitrary color scheme.

Further, the handwriting input interface of the present invention has a function of recognizing a character from information input in an input window and displaying the recognized character.

In the handwriting input interface according to the present invention having such a configuration, since many parts of the input window are made transparent, the user can see the window displayed behind without moving the input window. In addition, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the windows of the application interfere with each other on the display screen and become difficult to see.

Further, since characters can be recognized from the input information and the recognized characters can be displayed, a portable terminal device or the like can be used as a handwritten character recognition device using the handwritten input interface. .

The recording medium of the present invention is read by a reading section of a portable terminal device having an input display section having, on the same screen, an input function for a user to input information by hand and a display function for displaying information on the same screen. In this way, at least the input area for inputting information by hand in the input display unit is displayed in a transparent manner, and the handwriting of the input handwritten information is displayed in an arbitrary color scheme without being made transparent. Thus, the program for controlling the portable terminal device is stored.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the handwritten character recognition device of the present embodiment. The handwritten character recognition device is an input / display unit 1 for inputting ink data by a user and displaying necessary information, and an input device for inputting ink data and selecting a command on a screen. An input pen 2 and a character recognition processing unit 6 for performing a character recognition process on the input ink data
A recognition dictionary 10 used when the character recognition processing unit 6 performs character recognition processing; an input / display control unit 4 for controlling input / display processing of the input / display unit 1; It comprises a processing unit 5 and the like. In addition, a keyboard 3 is also provided, and normal keyboard input can be performed.

The input / display unit 1 is a display integrated input panel in which a display unit and an input unit for ink data and the like are integrated. As the input function, for example, input of ink data performed by tracing the panel surface with the input pen 2 and input performed by selecting a displayed command or the like are possible. Also,
As the display function, display of input ink data, display of recognized characters, display of other commands, images, and the like can be performed. Further, when any processing is performed in accordance with a user's instruction, the result is displayed on the input / display unit 1.

The character recognition processing unit 6 obtains character characteristics of the input ink data by a predetermined algorithm.
Based on the information, one or several characters are detected from the recognition dictionary 10 as candidate characters.

A user interface of the multi-window system is displayed in the input / display unit 1.
In FIG. 1, a window 12 of a word processor and a window 11 of handwritten character recognition are displayed. This 2
The two windows operate in conjunction with each other, and the ink data input by the user is recognized by the character recognition processing unit 6 in the handwritten character recognition window 11, and the characters determined as a result are input to the word processor document.

FIG. 2 shows the display of the input / display unit 1 in more detail. The word processor window 12 has the same functions as those usually used on a desktop, and is displayed using many parts of the screen. The word processor is for creating a document, and it is desirable that the word processor can be created while looking at the context before and after the word processor.
2 is displayed as large as possible.

In the character recognition window 11, a recognition character frame 13, a candidate character frame 14, an ink data input frame 15,
The function button 16 is arranged.

When the user uses the input pen 2 to input ink data into the ink data input frame 15, the character recognition processing unit 6 obtains a characteristic amount of the input ink data and obtains a character which is considered to be close to the characteristic amount. From the recognition dictionary 10. It is more convenient to provide a plurality of ink data input frames 15 as described above. Although two ink data input frames are provided in the present embodiment, three or more ink data input frames may be provided. If the number of the frames can be changed, the number of frames can be set according to each user's preference. You can also.

The candidate characters extracted from the recognition dictionary 10 based on the feature amount of the input ink data are the candidate character frames 1
4 is displayed. If a character that the user intends to input exists in the candidate characters, the character is determined and displayed in the recognition character frame 13. In FIG. 2, ink data corresponding to the character “A” and ink data corresponding to the character “SA” are input to the ink data input frame 15. Recognition and determination of the character “A” have already been completed, and the character “A” is displayed in the recognized character frame 13. On the other hand, "sa"
Since the characters have not been determined yet, three characters “sa”, “ki”, and “su” are listed as candidates in the candidate character frame 14. When the user selects one of the three characters, the character is determined and displayed next to “A” in the recognition character frame 13.

In the present embodiment, hiragana is assumed as the ink data to be input. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and ink data assuming kanji, symbols, alphabets, etc. is input and recognition is performed. You may. Also, for example, by incorporating the kana-kanji conversion function,
Hiragana input may be used to perform kanji conversion.

The function buttons 16 are used to perform various functions by selecting them with the input pen 2.
3, a function to move the cursor left and right one character at a time to select a character displayed in the candidate character frame 14, a function to delete a character, a function to input a blank character, a function to re-enter ink data, It may be considered that the display setting function or the like of the character recognition window 11 is started.

As described above, the character recognition window 11
Various displays and input requests are made to realize processing for recognizing characters based on ink data input by handwriting. The larger the ink data input frame 15 is, the easier it is for the user to input, and the ink data input frame 15 is arranged so as to occupy a relatively large area in the character recognition window 11.

The most distinctive feature of the present invention is that, as shown in FIG. 2, most of the character recognition window 11 is transparently displayed. Many parts of the character recognition window 11 are made transparent except for the frame line 19 and the function button 16, and the word processor window 12 behind can be seen.

The character recognition window 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described. In the character recognition window 11 of FIG. 2, a title bar 20, a recognized character frame 13, a candidate character frame 1
4, a function button 16 and an ink data input frame 15 are arranged. The title bar 20 is generally used in a window system user interface and the like, and indicates the application for which the window is used, and changes the name of the application and the size of the screen. A button to perform is also included.

Title bar 20, character recognition frame 13, candidate character frame 14, function button 1 in character recognition window 11
6 is displayed in an arbitrary color scheme as in the case of the normal interface.
The background does not have this window-specific color scheme information. In these portions, information of windows and the like existing behind the character recognition window 11 is displayed as it is.

For example, the ruled line 18 in the word processor window 12 is hidden behind the recognition character frame 13 and cannot be seen, but can be seen without being hidden in the ink data input frame 15. In the conventional apparatus, the ruled lines 18 behind the character recognition window 11 are all hidden and invisible. This applies not only to ruled lines but also to characters, figures, window frames, and the like behind.

In FIG. 2, two ink data input frames 15 are provided. Since ink data for one character is input to each frame, it is preferable to display the boundaries of each ink data input frame 15. In the present embodiment, the frame line 19 is displayed as a thin line having a width of, for example, about one pixel, or as a dotted line. Since the frame line 19 is only a guide when inputting ink data, it is sufficient to display the frame line 19 with a thin line or a dotted line as described above.

On the other hand, it is not always necessary to make all the inside of the ink data input frame 15 transparent. For example, if the input ink data is not displayed at all, character input becomes rather inconvenient, so it is preferable that the input ink data leave its handwriting in some color scheme. In particular, it is difficult to input multi-characters such as kanji unless handwriting is displayed. In FIG. 2, the ink data “A” and “SA” are displayed.

The ink data displayed in the ink data input frame 15 is deleted when the recognition character corresponding to the ink data is determined, the inside of the ink data input frame 15 is made transparent again, and the next ink data is input. Ready to be.

In this embodiment, the character recognition window 1
1 except for the title bar 21, the recognition character frame 13, the candidate character frame 14, the function button 16, the frame line of the ink data input frame 15, and the frame line 19 of the character recognition window 11, The invention is not limited to this, and only the inside of the ink data input frame 15 may be made transparent. Ink data input frame 1
Since 5 occupies a large area in the character recognition window 11, a considerable effect can be obtained by making the area transparent within this range.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The character recognition window 11 in FIG. 3 is arranged at the right end on the screen of the input / display unit 1. further,
The window has a vertically long shape. Each function in the character recognition window 11 is the same as the character recognition window 11 of the first embodiment.

As described above, the palmtop has a feature that the shape of the input / display unit 1 is long horizontally. As shown in FIG. 4, the keyboard 3 and the input / display unit 1 face each other. It is configured so that it can be stored in a folded form. Accordingly, the keyboard 3 and the input / display unit 1 are in a very close positional relationship, and when inputting ink data, the hand holding the input pen 2 touches the keyboard 3 and writing is difficult. In some cases, the key button 33 of the keyboard 3 may be erroneously pressed.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the input and
By disposing the display unit 1 at the right end on the screen, the disadvantage is solved. FIG. 3 assumes that the user is right-handed. When the ink data is arranged at the right end on the screen in this manner, it is difficult for the hand to touch the keyboard 3 even when trying to input ink data with the right hand. Conversely, the character recognition window 11 may be arranged at the left end of the input / display unit 1 in order to respond to input with the left hand. Ink data input frame 1
The inside of the window 5 is transparent, so that the back window can be seen.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the window shape of the character recognition window 11 is devised and partially made transparent, so that the inconvenience caused by the shape of the device for inputting handwritten characters on the palmtop is obtained. And the inconvenience in displaying the application on the screen.

In this specification, a palmtop computer having a handwritten character recognition function has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a handwritten character recognition function. A similar effect can be obtained as long as the terminal inputs information by hand.

For example, when a figure or map is input by handwriting while looking at a document of a word processor, it has conventionally been necessary to arrange and display appropriately, but if the input interface of the present invention is used, the word processor and the handwriting can be used. The handwriting input operation can be performed while both input windows are displayed to some extent large.

Next, the recording medium of the present invention will be described.
In FIG. 1, a recording medium 9 is a reading unit 8 of a palmtop.
The recording medium can be read by a computer, such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, an MO (magneto-optical disk), and a semiconductor storage device. The recording medium stores a program for controlling the palmtop.

This program processing is for displaying the window shown in the first or second embodiment. For example, the color arrangement of at least an input area for inputting information by hand in the input / display unit 1 Is displayed in a transparent manner, and the handwriting of the input handwritten information is controlled to be displayed in an arbitrary color scheme without being made transparent.

[0061]

As described above, the present invention is displayed in an input display unit having an input function for a user to input ink data and a display function for displaying at least one of ink data and recognition characters. In a morphological terminal device having a character recognition window which is an interface for handwritten character recognition, an arbitrary portion of the character recognition window is displayed in a transparent state, so that the character recognition window The range of obscuring is reduced, and it is possible to reduce the possibility that application windows in the display screen interfere with each other and become difficult to see.

Further, by disposing the vertically long character recognition window at an end in the horizontal direction with respect to the screen, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the keyboard becomes obstructive or touches the keyboard by mistake when inputting ink data. did it.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a handwritten character recognition device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an input display unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention in detail.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an input display unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention in detail;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a conventional handwritten character recognition device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input / display part 2 Input pen 3 Keyboard 4 Input / display control part 5 Central processing part 6 Character recognition processing part 7 Recognition dictionary 8 Reading part 9 Recording medium 11 Character recognition window 12 Word processor window 13 Recognition character frame 14 Candidate character frame 15 Ink data input frame 16 Function button 17 Scroll bar 18 Rule line 19 Character recognition window frame line 20 Title bar 33 Key button

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G09G 5/14 G09G 5/14 C

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A handwritten character recognition device for performing handwritten character recognition based on ink data input by a user, an input function for inputting ink data, and a display function for displaying at least one of the ink data and recognized characters. And a character recognition window displayed in the input display unit and serving as an interface for handwritten character recognition, wherein at least a part of the color arrangement area in the character recognition window is displayed in a transparent manner. A handwritten character recognition device characterized by the following. 2. The handwritten character recognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least an area in an ink data input frame, which is an area where a user inputs ink data, is displayed in a transparent manner. apparatus. 3. The handwritten character recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the frame line of the ink data input frame is displayed in an arbitrary color scheme without being made transparent. . 4. The handwritten character recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the ink data input by the user in the ink data input frame is in an arbitrary color scheme without being made transparent. A handwritten character recognition device characterized by being displayed. 5. The handwritten character recognition device according to claim 4, wherein the ink data input by the user in the ink data input frame is determined as a candidate character and is made transparent. Handwritten character recognition device. 6. The handwritten character recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the character recognition window has a vertical direction with respect to a direction of information displayed on a screen of the mobile terminal. A handwritten character recognition device characterized by being larger than the horizontal direction. 7. A handwriting input interface provided in a portable terminal device having a window-type user interface and having an input window for inputting handwritten information from a user, wherein at least handwritten information in the input window is A handwriting input interface, wherein an input area is displayed in a transparent manner, and handwriting input by a user is displayed in an arbitrary color scheme. 8. The handwriting input interface according to claim 8, wherein the input window is displayed in front of another window in the screen. 9. The handwriting input interface according to claim 7, further comprising a function of recognizing a character from information input in the input window and displaying the recognized character. Handwriting input interface. 10. The handwriting input interface according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the input window is configured such that a vertical direction is a horizontal direction with respect to a direction of information displayed on a screen of the mobile terminal. A handwriting input interface characterized by being larger. 11. A reading unit of a portable terminal device having an input display unit having an input function for inputting information by handwriting by a user and a display function for displaying information on the same screen. The portable terminal device so that at least an input area for inputting information by hand is displayed in a transparent manner, and the handwriting of the input handwritten information is displayed in an arbitrary color scheme without being made transparent. Recording medium storing a program for controlling the computer. 12. The recording medium according to claim 11, further comprising a program for realizing a handwritten character recognition function for recognizing characters based on ink data input by handwriting by a user. .