JP3127966B2 - Character input device and method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character input device and a method suitable for use in inputting characters by hand, for example, in an electronic organizer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an electronic organizer or the like, an input screen is constituted by an LCD and a tablet so that characters can be input by handwriting. When a predetermined character is input by handwriting on the tablet with a pen, a display corresponding to the stroke is displayed on the LCD, the input stroke is pattern-recognized, and the character obtained as a result of the recognition is displayed on the LCD. It has been made.

In these devices, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, an input area 22 for inputting characters by hand is provided separately from a display area 21. The input area 22 has a somewhat large shape so that the input stroke can be recognized as a pattern. On the other hand, the display area 21 is input from the input area 22 so as to display as many characters as possible.
Thereafter, the characters obtained as a result of the pattern recognition are displayed as relatively small characters. In the example of FIG. 8, the input area 22 is fixedly displayed at a predetermined position.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the input area 22 can be moved to a predetermined position with respect to the display area 21 to be displayed, and if necessary, the input area 22 shown in FIG.
In the state where the input area 22 is displayed as shown in (b), the display can be changed to a display in which the input area 22 is deleted as shown in FIG. By deleting the input area 22 in this manner, the display area 21 can be used more widely.

[0005]

However, in the example shown in FIG. 8, since the input area 22 is fixedly displayed at a predetermined position, the area of the display area 21 which can be used for displaying characters is relatively small. There is a problem that it becomes narrow. In addition, the characters already entered and displayed and the input area 22 are displayed.
Are relatively distant from each other, so that there is a problem that the amount of movement of the viewpoint becomes large when checking the connection between the already input character and the character currently being input.

On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 9, the input area 22 can be displayed at a predetermined position, and the display can be canceled if necessary. The operation for recognizing the relationship with the character being input is easy, but since part of the character already input is hidden by the input region 22, the input region 22 is displayed or displayed. Operation for canceling the operation has to be performed frequently, which is inconvenient.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has been made so that characters that have already been input and characters that are currently being input can be more easily recognized.

[0008]

The first character input of the present invention
The device displays a first area for inputting a character by hand.
Display processing means, and a second display means for displaying already input characters.
Display processing means and the already input sentence overlapping the input area
A third display in which the input area is grayed out so that the characters can be identified.
Display processing means. The third
In the display processing means, the already input sentence overlapping the input area is displayed.
Characters can be displayed in dark color. Input position
It is composed of a transparent material that outputs coordinates corresponding to
Input detection means and a display arranged below the input detection means
Means are further provided, and the first display processing means
The input area for inputting characters by hand is displayed on the indicating means.
In the display processing means 2, characters already input to the display means
Can be displayed. The second of the present invention
The character input device displays an input area for inputting characters by hand
First display processing means for displaying characters already input
A second display processing means for performing
Characters already entered so that the input area
And a third display processing means for displaying in a light color.
And The third display processing means has already input
Display the input area that overlaps with the characters in dark color
Can be. Transparent material that outputs coordinates corresponding to the input position
Input detection means configured by quality and below the input detection means
And a display means arranged on the side of the first table.
Input means for inputting characters by hand on the display means
The area is displayed, and the second display processing means includes a display processing means.
It is possible to display characters already entered in columns
it can. The third character input device of the present invention has a first display area.
First display processing means for displaying the area, and second display area
A second display processing unit for displaying, and an overlap with the second display area.
Display processing for displaying the display of the first display area in light color
Means. The third display processing
The means includes a table of a second display area overlapping the first display area.
The display can be displayed in dark color. Input position
It is composed of a transparent material that outputs coordinates corresponding to
Input detection means and a display arranged below the input detection means
Means are further provided, and the first display processing means
Display means for displaying a first display area, and a second display processing means.
In the column, the display means displays the second display area.
can do. The first character input method of the present invention is a
First display processing for displaying an input area for inputting characters by hand
Step and a second display showing the characters already entered
Processing steps and characters already entered that overlap the input area
Third table in which the input area is grayed out so that can be identified.
And a display processing step. The third
In the display processing step, the input
Characters can be displayed in dark color. Departure
Akira's second character input method is to input characters by handwriting
A first display processing step for displaying the area,
A second display processing step of displaying the entered character;
In order to identify the input area that overlaps the input characters,
A third display processing step for displaying characters input in
And a pump. The third display processing step
The input area that overlaps with the characters already entered
It can be displayed. Third sentence of the present invention
The character input method includes a first display processing for displaying a first display area.
Management step and a second display process for displaying a second display area.
Management step and a first display area overlapping the second display area
And a third display processing step of displaying the display in a light color.
It is characterized by the following. In the third display processing step,
The display of the second display area overlapping the first display area is displayed in a dark color table.
Can be shown.

[0009]

According to the character input device and method of the present invention , characters that have already been input are displayed so that they can be identified in the input area. Therefore, characters that have already been input can be confirmed without erasing the input area.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the character input device of the present invention. Tablet 1 (pressure-sensitive,
Any type, such as a capacitance type, is pressed by the input pen 3 to output coordinates corresponding to the pressed position. The tablet 1 is made of a transparent material so that a user can identify an image displayed on the LCD 2 disposed below the tablet. That is, the tablet 1 and the LCD 2 constitute an input screen.

The tablet control section 4 reads coordinate data input from the tablet 1 and outputs data corresponding to the read result to the processing section 6. Processing unit 6
Is constituted by, for example, a CPU or the like, and corresponds to the LCD 2 via the display control unit 5 in response to an input from the tablet control unit 4.
Is driven, and a predetermined display is performed there.

Next, the operation will be described. When the tablet 1 is pressed with the input pen 3, coordinates corresponding to the pressed position are output to the tablet control unit 4. The tablet control section 4 reads the coordinate data and supplies an output corresponding to the read result to the processing section 6. The processing unit 6 calculates data input from the tablet control unit 4 and executes a predetermined process. Then, the display controller 5 is controlled in accordance with the execution result, and predetermined characters, graphics, and the like are displayed on the LCD 2.

Next, a process for inputting a predetermined character will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in step S1 (second means) of FIG. 2, characters (characters already input and obtained as a result of pattern recognition) displayed below an input area for inputting characters by hand are shaded. Display in color. That is, for example, as shown in FIG.
Characters obtained as a result of the pattern recognition (in this embodiment, "Aioo ... hahifuheho") are displayed in dark color.

Next, the process proceeds to step S2 (first means),
Displays the input area in light color. A more detailed flowchart of the subroutine for displaying the input area in light color is shown in FIG.
Is shown in

That is, in step S11, it is determined whether or not a dark dot (the character displayed in step S1) is displayed below. In step S1 described above, if there is a displayed dark point, that point is given priority,
Proceed to step S14. Then, in step S14, it is determined whether or not the display of the input area 12 has been completed, and if not, the process returns to step S11.

If no dark point is displayed, the process proceeds from step S11 to step S12, where it is determined whether or not the input area 12 is a point to be drawn. If it is not the point where the input area 12 is to be drawn, the display does not overlap, and the process proceeds to step S14. If it is determined in step S12 that the input area 12 should be drawn, the process proceeds to step S13.
To display that point in light color. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the frame outside the input area 12 is displayed as a light-colored point.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the frame of the input area 12 is displayed so as to identify a character (Nanuninanoha Hifueho) whose input has already been completed.

After the processing in step S13, step S1
If the display of the input area 12 has not been completed, the process returns to step S11. If the display has been completed, the process of this subroutine is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S3 in FIG.

In step S3, input by the pen 3 is started. Then, in step S4, the pen 3
Is determined to be pen-down into the input area 12. If the pen is down inside the input area 12, the process proceeds to step S5 (third means), and a subroutine process for displaying a handwriting is executed. This subroutine is shown in more detail in FIG.

That is, first, in step S21, it is determined whether or not the dark point displayed in step S1 is displayed below. If you don't see the dark dots,
Proceeding to step S22, it is determined whether or not the handwriting is a point to be drawn. If the handwriting is to be drawn, step S2
Proceeding to 3, the point of the handwriting is displayed in light color. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the character (Iroha) currently being input there is displayed in the input area 12 in light color. As a result, the character (Iroha) currently being input in the input area 12
Not only that, the input has already been completed, and the characters obtained as a result of the pattern recognition (Sashisuse Soso ... hafuheho) are displayed so as to be distinguishable from each other.

If it is determined in step S21 that a dark point is being displayed, and if it is determined in step S22 that the handwriting is not to be drawn, the processing in step S23 is skipped. In other words, if a dark point is already displayed, that point is a point that has already been input and constitutes a character obtained as a result of recognition, and that display is given priority. If the handwriting is not a point to be drawn, no special processing is necessary because the points do not overlap.

When the processing in step S23 is completed in this way, or when it is determined in step S21 that a dark point is displayed, or in step S22, it is determined that the handwriting is not a point to be drawn. If so, the process returns to step S5 in FIG.

If it is determined in step S4 that the pen-down has not occurred inside the input area 12, the processing in step S5 is skipped because there is no need to display handwriting.

Next, in step S6, it is determined whether or not the pen input is completed. If not, the process returns to step S4.
Subsequent processing is repeated.

As described above, the characters input from the display area 12 and obtained as a result of the recognition are displayed in the display area 11, and the characters are also displayed inside the input area 12. The character (handwriting) currently being input to the input area 12 is displayed in light color. Therefore, the user can view not only the character currently being input in the input area 12 but also the character that has already been input and obtained as a result of recognition.

The display of such a dark color and the display of a light color are realized in an apparatus capable of displaying multiple gradations.
However, for example, when the display resolution is high, the same effect can be obtained by displaying the input area with a mesh.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the display.
In this embodiment, contrary to the case of FIG. 5, the character (handwriting) currently being input in the input area 12 and the character obtained as a result of recognition outside the input area 12 are displayed as dark dots. The input within the input area 12 is already completed, and the characters obtained as a result of the recognition are displayed as light-colored dots. Even in this case, both characters can be recognized.

FIG. 7 shows still another embodiment.
This embodiment is an embodiment in which color display can be performed,
The overlapping portion is displayed in a complementary color. Therefore, in this case, both characters can be recognized.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the input area 12 may be fixed, or may be movable or deleted.

[0029]

As described above, the character input device of the present invention and
According to the method , characters that have already been input are displayed in the input area so that they can be identified, so that the input area can be placed near the characters that have already been input and that have been recognized as a result of recognition. Not only is it possible, but also in this case, the input area does not hide characters that have already been input, so there is an operation to check the connection between the currently input character and the already input character. It will be easier. In addition, since no special operation is required for this, a quick write operation can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a character input device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a main routine for explaining the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for displaying an input area in FIG. 2 in light color.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for displaying handwriting in the embodiment of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another display example in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing still another display example in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a conventional display example.

FIG. 9 is a view showing another conventional display example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 tablet 2 LCD 3 pen 4 tablet control unit 5 display control unit 6 processing unit

────────────────────────────────────────────────── (5) References JP-A-63-184130 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/03 380 G06F 15/02 310 G06K 9/20 310

Claims (15)

(57) [Claims] An input area for inputting a character by hand is displayed.
First display processing means, Second display processing means for displaying already input characters; Characters already input that overlap the input area can be identified
A third display processing for displaying the input area in a light color
And a character input device. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third display processing means includes an input area.
Displaying the already input characters that overlap the area in dark color
The character input device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A transparency for outputting coordinates corresponding to an input position.
Input detection means composed of various materials, And display means disposed below the input detection means.
In preparation for The first display processing means writes a character on the display means by hand.
Display the input area to input, The second display processing means is configured to input the information already input to the display means.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the displayed characters are displayed.
Character input device. 4. An input area for inputting a character by hand is displayed.
First display processing means, Second display processing means for displaying already input characters; The input area overlapping with the already input characters can be identified.
To display the previously entered characters in gray
Character input, characterized by comprising: a display processing means (3).
apparatus. 5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the third display processing means has already input the input data.
Displaying the input area overlapping with the displayed character in dark color
The character input device according to claim 4, wherein: 6. Transparency for outputting coordinates corresponding to an input position
Composed of various materials Input detection means, And display means disposed below the input detection means.
In preparation for The first display processing means writes a character on the display means by hand.
Display the input area to input, The second display processing means has already entered the display processing means.
5. The display according to claim 4, wherein the input character is displayed.
The character input device according to 1. 7. A first display processing for displaying a first display area.
Means, Second display processing means for displaying a second display area; Display of the first display area overlapping the second display area
And a third display processing means for displaying the color in a light color.
Character input device 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third display processing means is configured to execute the first display processing.
The display of the second display area overlapping the display area is displayed in dark color
The character input device according to claim 7, wherein 9. Transparency for outputting coordinates corresponding to an input position
Input detection means composed of various materials, And display means disposed below the input detection means.
In preparation for The first display processing means may include the first display processing means
Display the display area, The second display processing means includes the second display processing means
The display area according to claim 7, wherein the display area is displayed.
Character input device. 10. An input area for inputting characters by handwriting is displayed.
A first display processing step, Second display processing step for displaying already input characters
When, Characters already input that overlap the input area can be identified
A third display processing for displaying the input area in a light color
A character input method. 11. The method according to claim 11, wherein the third display processing step comprises:
The previously entered characters that overlap the input area are displayed in dark color.
The character input method according to claim 10, wherein: 12. An input area for inputting characters by handwriting is displayed.
A first display processing step, Second display processing step for displaying already input characters
When, The input area overlapping with the already input characters can be identified.
To display the previously entered characters in gray
And a display processing step.
Power method. 13. The method according to claim 13, wherein the third display processing step is already performed.
The input area overlapping the input character is displayed in dark color.
13. The character input method according to claim 12, wherein: 14. A first display for displaying a first display area
Processing steps; A second display processing step of displaying a second display area; Display of the first display area overlapping the second display area
And a third display processing step of displaying in color.
Character input method. 15. The method according to claim 15, wherein the third display processing step comprises:
The display of the second display area overlapping the first display area is darkened.
15. The character input device according to claim 14, wherein the characters are displayed in color.
Power method.