JP4066566B2 - Electronic notebook - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic notebook obtained by digitizing a notebook, which has conventionally been a paper stationery.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a stationery for recording the contents of conferences and lectures, paper notebooks have been generally used, but there is a problem that information recorded in paper notebooks is poor in reusability and workability. In addition, materials and regimens may be distributed in advance at meetings and lectures, and conferences and lectures may be promoted based on these materials. In this case as well, information such as the contents of materials / regimes and writing on them will be reused. It was difficult to process or process.
[0003]
Therefore, portable and portable electronic stationery such as word processors and portable personal computers that have been digitized to give high reusability and processability have been put into practical use.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of a word processor, characters and symbols can only be entered at pre-assigned line and digit positions, so it is possible to write freely in any place, such as when writing with a pen. It was difficult to write on materials and regimes distributed in advance. Further, even if writing is possible, there is a problem that it is difficult to distinguish the original document / regime from writing because both are the same text data. The same was true when the word processor program was started on the portable personal computer.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic notebook that can be freely written in the same manner as a paper notebook and can digitize written information.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention of claim 1 Display means provided on the surface of the notebook-type casing, pen-type input means for writing an input object as a handwritten image at an arbitrary position on the base image displayed on the display means, and writing by the input means Recognition means for recognizing character codes from input objects and multiple pages Remember base image First Storage means; Written by the input means Input object Every page Remember Second Storage means; A third storage means for storing the character code recognized by the recognition means for each page; a first search means for searching the first and second storage means using a feature of the input object as a search key; and a character code Second search means for searching the first and third storage means using as a search key, The display means includes A page including the input object searched by the first search unit or a page including the character code searched by the second search unit is displayed. It is characterized by that.
[0007]
The invention of claim 2 is the invention of claim 1, Said The input means includes color designation means, Said At any position on the display means The Designated by color designation means The Means for writing the input object of the specified color.
[0008]
The invention of claim 3 is the invention of claims 1 and 2, The first search means includes Input object The shape of shape And Search colors Key It is characterized by that.
[0010]
In the present invention, the base image is, for example, an image of a conference material or a lecture regime arranged in advance. The image storage format may be a print image, but PDF (Portable Document Format) is suitable. The display means displays this base image. The user of the electronic notebook writes by hand on the base image.
[0011]
The control means searches for the shape and color of the input object that is the written handwritten image. Further, characters are extracted from the input object and recognized. This makes it easy to reuse and process handwritten content. Then, the input object input by handwriting is displayed at the writing position (arbitrary position). Due to the difference in shape, it is easy to visually distinguish between the base image and the input object, and the storage means also stores the base image and the input object in different areas, so that they are distinguished as information. Is also easy. In addition, since writing can be performed at an arbitrary position with a pen-type input unit, information can be recorded with a feeling of use similar to that of a conventional notebook.
[0012]
Also , Enter By converting the force object into electronic information, it is possible to use information that is not possible with conventional notebooks, such as recognizing it and converting it into a character code and searching for a desired character.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An electronic notebook which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of the electronic notebook and a configuration diagram of a switch group, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electronic notebook. This electronic notebook is an electronic device about the size of a magazine, and is intended to be used in a company or school instead of a conventional notebook.
[0014]
In FIG. 1A, an A4 size (height 296 mm × width 210 mm) display portion 3 is provided on the top surface of an electronic notebook 1. The display unit 3 includes an LCD display 15 and a touch panel 16 provided on the display surface. As described above, in this embodiment, the size of the display unit 3 is A4, but the present invention is not limited to this size. Further, the size of the casing of the electronic notebook 1 may be adjusted to a sheet size such as A4.
[0015]
This electronic notebook displays a base image taken from a personal computer on the LCD display 15 so that a user can write on the base image using the touch pen 2. Writing with the touch pen 2 is detected by the touch panel 16 which is a digitizer that converts the contact position into x and y coordinate values. The base image is composed of, for example, a lecture regime, a meeting material, a writing form, and the like is displayed and written by a user during a lecture or a meeting. The writing form also includes a ruled line and a grid of notes.
[0016]
A push button switch group 4 is provided in front of the display unit 3. As shown in FIG. 5B, the push button switch group 4 includes page feed buttons 31, 32, page return buttons 33, 34, a character recognition button 35, a graphic search button 36, a character string search button 37, and a layer combination button. 38. The base image can be stored for a plurality of pages, and the page forward buttons 31 and 32 and the page return buttons 33 and 34 are button switches for turning the page of the base image displayed on the display unit 3 back and forth. The page feed button 31 and the page return button 33 are buttons for turning a page one page at a time, and the page feed button 32 and the page return button 34 are buttons for turning a page by 10 pages. The functions of the character recognition button 35, the graphic search button 36, the character string search button 37, and the layer combination button 38 will be described later.
[0017]
In FIG. 2, a PC card interface 12, a memory 11, an interface 20, and a drawing circuit 13 are connected to a CPU 10 that controls the operation of the apparatus.
[0018]
A memory card or a modem card is set in the PC card interface 12. The memory card to be set is one in which a base image is written in a personal computer. When the modem card is set, the CPU 10 communicates with the personal computer and receives the base image. The memory 11 stores the base image received via the modem card. When the base image is supplied by a memory card, the memory card may be used as a storage unit as it is.
[0019]
In addition, a parallel port and a serial port may be provided so that the base image is directly supplied from the printer port of the personal computer. In this case, the personal computer executes an image data output program to the electronic notebook as a printer driver. Alternatively, a LAN card may be inserted into the PC card, and this electronic notebook may be recognized as a network printer and supplied with a base image.
[0020]
The base image is supplied as a PDF (Portable Document Format) file. The PDF file is a file described in the PostScript language, and can display an image mixed with text and graphics on any platform. In the PDF file, graphics are described by vector information, and texts are described by code information.
[0021]
The memory 11 is composed of a RAM and a ROM, and a program for controlling the operation of the apparatus, vector font data, and the like are stored in the ROM. The ROM also stores display image data that is displayed by default when the power is turned on.
[0022]
In the RAM, a base image storage area 11a for storing a base image for a plurality of pages is set, and an input object in which each page of the base images for a plurality of pages stored in the base image storage area is written is stored. An input object storage area 11b and a recognized character code storage area 11c for storing a character code recognized from the input object are set. In addition, an attribute code storage area, a contact flag, an enlargement flag, a contact coordinate storage area, and the like are set in the RAM.
[0023]
An operation unit 18 including the button switch group 4, a communication circuit 19, and the touch panel 16 are connected to the interface 20. The communication circuit 19 is a circuit for communicating with the touch pen 2 via a loop antenna 17 provided around the display unit 3. By this communication, an attribute code representing the function of the touch pen 2 such as a drawing color or an eraser is received.
[0024]
The drawing circuit 13 is a circuit that develops a base image and an input object, and includes a so-called graphic accelerator or media processor. When the drawing circuit 13 receives the base image and input object data from the CPU 10, the drawing circuit 13 rapidly develops the base image described in the PostScript language into raster image data in accordance with the display resolution and writes the raster image data in the base layer 14 a of the VRAM 14. At the same time, the input object is expanded and written to the writing layer 14b. The image data written in the VRAM 14 is displayed on the LCD display 15.
[0025]
As described above, the VRAM 14 includes the base layer 14a for expanding the base image and the writing layer 14b for displaying the input object input by handwriting by the user. The LCD display 15 is a high-definition color display, and each layer of the VRAM 14 has a storage capacity that matches this resolution.
[0026]
When the apparatus is turned on, the CPU 10 reads the cover image data, which is a default image, from the memory 11 and displays it on the LCD display 15. When the user turns on the page feed buttons 31 and 32 and the page return buttons 33 and 34, the base image corresponding to the operation is read from the memory 11 and displayed on the LCD display 15. As described above, the display process is performed by the CPU 10 reading display image data and a base image of a predetermined page from the memory 11 and inputting them to the drawing circuit 13. The drawing circuit 13 develops the pattern of the PostScript data at high speed. At this time, necessary vector font data is supplied from the CPU 10 at the same time. The pattern-developed image data is written into the base layer 14 a of the VRAM 14 and displayed on the LCD display 15.
[0027]
Note that the VRAM 14 may be configured with a memory having a frame for a plurality of pages in order to immediately respond to the switching of pages. In this case, the CPU 10 predicts the user's page switching instruction and expands the page data that will be displayed next in a frame that is not currently being displayed, and from the user (from the button switch) to the page. When an instruction to switch is input, the frame developing the page is connected to the LCD display 15.
[0028]
The user can directly write on the image using the touch pen 2 while viewing the image of the base image displayed on the LCD display 15.
[0029]
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the touch pen 2. The pen tip 24 of the touch pen 2 is thin so that the contact position can be accurately detected, and the material is made of a flexible resin so as not to damage the touch panel. A control unit 25, a communication circuit 26, and the like are built in the pen, and an attribute code is transmitted in response to a request from the communication circuit 19 of the electronic notebook main body.
[0030]
The communication circuit 19 has a loop antenna 17 embedded around the display unit 3, and communicates with the touch pen 2 through the loop antenna 17. When the touch detection signal of the touch pen 2 is input from the touch panel 16, the CPU 10 instructs the communication circuit 19 to communicate with the touch pen 2. The communication circuit 19 requests the touch pen 2 to transmit the attribute code.
[0031]
In the touch pen 2, the communication circuit 26 receives this attribute code transmission request and inputs it to the control unit 25. In response to this, the control unit 25 reads out its own attribute code from the memory 25 a and inputs it to the communication circuit 26. The communication circuit 26 transmits this attribute code to the electronic notebook main body 1. A plurality of touch pens 2 are attached to the electronic notebook 1 and have functions such as black, red, and eraser, respectively. Attribute codes representing functions such as colors and erasers are stored in the memory 25a. The memory 25a also stores an enlarged code along with the attribute code. The enlarged code will be described later. In addition to storing the attribute code in the semiconductor memory, the attribute code may be set by hardware using a switch such as a dip switch. In this case, this switch serves as an attribute code storage means.
[0032]
The electronic notebook 1 recognizes the function of the touch pen from this attribute code. That is, it is determined how many colors are to be drawn or erased in response to the movement of the touch pen. When the touch pen 2 moves while touching the touch panel 16, an input object (character or graphic) of the color indicated by the attribute code of the touch pen 2 is drawn on the locus, and the corresponding address in the input object storage area 11 b of the memory 11 is displayed. Write input object data. When the function of the touch pen is an eraser, the object near the locus is erased and the corresponding address data in the input object storage area 11b of the memory 11 is cleared. The drawing and erasing of the object is performed on the writing layer 14b and the input object storage area 11b of the memory 11, and is not performed on the base layer 14a and the base image storage area 11a of the memory 11.
[0033]
As described above, a single attribute code may be stored and a plurality of touch pens having a single function may be provided. However, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 3, a switching means such as a rotary switch 28 is provided, A plurality of attribute codes (functions) may be switched and set with a single touch pen, and may be used with a plurality of functions. Further, different functions may be provided on the top and bottom of one touch pen, such as making the tip of the pen a function of a black pen or the like and a function of an eraser.
[0034]
The touch pen 2 includes an enlarge button 29 that is a push button switch. The enlargement button 29 is connected to the control unit 25. When the enlargement button 29 is turned on and the attribute code transmission request is sent from the electronic notebook main body, the control unit 25 reads out the enlargement code from the memory 25a and returns it. That is, when the user presses a desired place on the display screen of the display unit 3 while pressing the enlargement button 29, the enlargement code is transmitted.
[0035]
When receiving the enlargement code, the electronic notebook main body (CPU 10) doubles the display size of the image on the LCD display 15 around the contact coordinates of the touch pen 2 at that time. As described above, the LCD display 15 has a high definition but has a rougher image than an actual notebook. Therefore, by enlarging the image twice, the image can be displayed with a resolution close to that of an actual note. By writing on this enlarged image, even if it is handwritten, it is possible to write as fine as when writing with a pen on actual paper.
[0036]
When the enlargement code is sent again from the touch pen 2 during enlargement display, the CPU 10 returns the display to the original size. That is, when the user presses an arbitrary place on the display screen of the display unit 3 while pressing the enlarge button 29 during the enlarged display, the display is restored to the original size.
[0037]
The touch panel 16 may be any transparent one that does not block the display on the LCD display 15 and can digitize the contact position of the touch pen. A well-known one that outputs two x and y coordinates of the touch position of the touch pen 2 as an X voltage and a Y voltage is used by making two transparent electrodes formed of a sheet face each other. The X voltage and Y voltage output from the touch panel 16 are converted into digital data by the interface 20 and input to the CPU 10.
[0038]
When the touch pen 2 moves while being in contact with the touch panel 16, the CPU 10 writes data of a predetermined input object at an address corresponding to the coordinates touched by the touch pen 2 of the currently displayed page in the input object storage area 11b. The drawing circuit 13 is instructed to perform a predetermined drawing process (including an erasing process) on the coordinates touched by. The drawing circuit 13 executes a drawing process, and writes the image data, which is the result of this process, at an address corresponding to the coordinates touched by the touch pen of the writing layer 14b.
[0039]
When the user designates another page by operating the page feed buttons 31 and 32 and the page return buttons 33 and 34, the contents of the memory 11 are saved as they are, but the contents of the VRAM 14 are changed to the contents of the designated page. Rewritten. That is, the drawing circuit 13 draws the base image of the page on the base layer 14a of the VRAM 14, and draws the input object on the writing layer 14b if there is an input object already written on the page.
[0040]
The operation of the electronic notebook will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0041]
FIG. 4A is a flowchart showing the operation when the power is turned on. When the power switch is turned on, an initialization operation of the apparatus is first executed (s1). When the initialization operation is completed, the cover image data is read from the memory 11 and developed in the VRAM 14 to display a display image (s2). This display image is displayed by default when the power is turned on, and is stored in the memory 11. However, for example, the display image may include an operation description of the apparatus. After this, it waits until there is a user operation.
[0042]
FIG. 5B is a flowchart showing the operation when the page change button is turned on. The page change buttons are the page feed buttons 31 and 32 or the page return buttons 33 and 34 described above. The page feed button 31 is a button for advancing the page to be displayed every time it is turned on, and the page feed button 32 is a button for advancing the page to be displayed every time it is turned on by 10 pages. The page return button 33 is a button for returning one page to be displayed each time it is turned on, and the page return button 34 is a button for returning 10 pages to be displayed each time it is turned on. When this button switch is turned on, the base image of the page specified by this operation is read from the base image storage area 11a of the memory 11 (s5) and input to the drawing circuit 13 (s6). The drawing circuit 13 expands the image data into image data and writes the image data in the base layer 14a of the VRAM 14 to display it on the LCD display 15.
[0043]
Next, the input object of the page specified by the user's operation is read from the input object storage area 11b of the memory 11 (s7) and input to the drawing circuit 13 (s8). The drawing circuit 13 displays this on the LCD display 15 by developing it into image data and writing it in the writing layer 14 b of the VRAM 14.
[0044]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation corresponding to the operation of the touch pen 2. This operation is an operation that is repeatedly executed at intervals of about 50 ms. First, the input from the touch panel 16 is checked to determine whether or not the pen is in contact with the touch panel (s11). If it is in contact, the process proceeds to s12 or less. If not in contact, the contact flag is reset in s28 and the process is terminated.
[0045]
In s12, it is determined whether the contact flag is set. The contact flag is a flag indicating that the touch pen 2 has been in contact with the touch panel 16 continuously. If the contact flag is not set, this time is the first contact, and the operation proceeds to the operation after s13. When the contact flag is set, the operation proceeds to the operation after s25.
[0046]
In s13, the touch pen 2 is requested to transmit an attribute code. On the other hand, if the touch pen returns an attribute code (s14), this is stored (s15), and a contact flag is set (s16). Based on the output voltage of the touch panel 16, the contact coordinates are determined and stored (s17). If the reply of the attribute code cannot be received in s14, this operation is terminated assuming that the touching pen is not a touch pen.
[0047]
It is determined whether the attribute code stored in s15 is an enlarged code (s18). If it is an enlargement code, it is determined whether the current image is being enlarged and displayed twice (s21). If not, the image is enlarged and displayed so that the contact coordinates are at the center of the screen (s22). On the other hand, if the display is currently enlarged, the display is returned to the normal size (s23).
[0048]
If the attribute code stored in s15 is a code other than an enlarged code, for example, a “black pen” code or an “eraser” code, a drawing process (including an erase process) is performed on the contact coordinates. Execute (s19).
[0049]
If the contact flag has been set in s12, this means that the touch pen 2 has been in contact with the touch panel from before, so the currently stored attribute code is read to determine whether it is an enlarged code ( s25). If it is an enlargement code, the enlargement / restoration display operation is executed in the first operation, and thus the operation is terminated without doing anything this time. On the other hand, if the stored attribute code is not an enlarged code, the coordinates of the touch pen are detected and stored based on the current input from the touch panel 16 (s26). Then, a drawing process for smoothly connecting the previous coordinates and the current coordinates is executed (s27). In this drawing process, the CPU 10 calculates a curve that smoothly connects the current coordinate and the previous coordinate, writes the curve in the input object storage area 1 b of the memory 11, and passes this to the drawing circuit 13. The drawing circuit 13 develops this and writes it in the write layer 14b of the VRAM 14. This is the process.
[0050]
In this processing operation, a dedicated touch pen is used, but writing may also be performed using something other than the dedicated touch pen (for example, a stick-shaped one). In this case, a palette for selecting a drawing color or the like may be displayed on the screen so that drawing can be performed with the attribute of the palette that is active when pressed. Alternatively, a palette may be incorporated in a pull-down menu and called up by menu selection.
[0051]
FIG. 4C is a flowchart showing the operation when the character recognition button 35 is turned on. When this character recognition button is turned on, a character recognition operation is executed. The character recognition operation is a function for recognizing a character input by handwriting with the touch pen 2 and converting it into character data. Although not only characters but also graphics are input from the touch pen 2, this character recognition function includes a function of distinguishing whether the input line drawing is a character or a graphic. First, the input object on the currently displayed page is scanned to search for an object that seems to be a character (s31). When an object that seems to be a character is extracted, this object is recognized and converted into a character code (s32). This character recognition may be performed by a general method such as a feature extraction method or a template matching method. The recognized character (and the font and the number of points obtained from the character shape) are written in the recognized character code storage area 11c of the memory 11 (s33). The display coordinates are written together with the character code recognized at this time. The display coordinates are coordinate data at the same position as the position of the object before conversion.
[0052]
At this time, an expanded version of font data corresponding to the recognized character may be displayed on the LCD display 15, or the line drawing before recognition may be displayed as it is. The object corresponding to the recognized character in the input object storage area 11b may be stored as it is or may be deleted. The user may be able to select whether or not to delete.
[0053]
FIG. 4D is a flowchart showing the operation when the graphic search button 36 is turned on. When the search button is turned on, a graphic search operation is executed. The graphic search operation is a search function for searching for an arbitrary graphic, but the search target is graphic data in the base image and a handwritten input object.
[0054]
When the search button is turned on, an input of a graphic to be searched is accepted (s35). This figure is input by handwriting input with a touch pen, and the CPU 10 recognizes features such as the shape and color of the inputted figure and uses it as a search key. Then, it is searched whether there is a corresponding figure in the base image 11a and the input object storage area 11b in the memory 11 (s36). Applicable Shape Is found (s37), the found page is displayed (s38). This page is displayed by the operation shown in FIG.
[0055]
FIG. 5E is a flowchart showing the operation when the character string search button 37 is turned on. When the search button is turned on, a character string search operation is executed. The character string search operation is a general search function for searching for an arbitrary character string. The search target is text data in the base image and a recognized character code that recognizes a handwritten character.
[0056]
When the search button is turned on, a character input window is displayed to accept input of a search character string (s41). The search character string is input by handwriting input with a touch pen, and the CPU 10 recognizes the input character string in the same manner as in FIG. Then, it is searched whether there is a corresponding character string in the base image 11a and the recognized character data storage area 11c in the memory 11 (s42). If the corresponding character string is found (s43), the found page is displayed (s44). This page is displayed by the operation shown in FIG.
[0057]
In this processing operation, a previously recognized character is searched, but a handwritten object that has not yet been recognized may be searched while recognizing the character. In this case, the data in the input object storage area 11b is read out and the target character string character string is searched while the characters are recognized by the operation shown in FIG.
[0058]
FIG. 8F is a flowchart showing the operation when the layer combination button 38 is turned on. When the layer combination button 38 is turned on, it is a function for integrating data in the input object storage area 11b into the base image storage area 11a. Since the input object data stored in the input object storage area 11b is bit pattern data, it is first converted into character code data and Bezier data (s45). Conversion to character code may be performed by the process shown in FIG. If there is a recognized character code that has already been recognized, this may be used. The recognized character code and Bezier data are combined with the base image (s46).
[0059]
In the above embodiment, the input method is only handwritten input with a touch pen, but as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 2, input devices such as a keyboard 21 and a mouse 22 can be connected, and character codes and objects can be input by these input devices. You may be able to Alternatively, the mouse 22 may be used as a pointing device to select an object or a range. Moreover, you may use the touch pen 2 as a pointing device other than an input device.
[0060]
It is also possible to transfer the base image, input object, and recognized character code stored in the memory 11 to a personal computer via a modem or a memory card. The layer combination described in FIG. 4F may be performed by a transfer destination personal computer.
[0061]
In the above-described embodiment, an example of a base image file composed of a plurality of pages has been described. However, a plurality of files for each page may be provided. In this case, a file name or keyword may be written in each file, and the file to be read may be managed based on the file name or keyword. Further, the link between files and the reading order may be determined / changed according to the file name or keyword.
[0062]
In the above embodiment, the base image in the base image storage area 11a is displayed and the writing on the base image is stored in the input object storage area 11b. However, the base image storage area 11a (base image) for one page is stored. ) May correspond to a plurality of input object storage areas 11b. For example, this is effective when the base image is a ruled line or grid of notes.
[0063]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, writing can be performed with almost the same usability as a notebook, which is a paper stationery, and information can be reproduced by extracting and recognizing characters from the input object. Easy to use.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of an electronic notebook according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electronic notebook.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a touch pen attached to the electronic notebook.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the electronic notebook.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the electronic notebook.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic note (main body), 2 ... Touch pen, 3 ... Display part, 4 ... Push button switch group
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... CPU, 11 ... Memory, 11a ... Base image storage area, 11b ... Input object storage area, 11c ... Recognition character code storage area, 12 ... PC card interface, 13 ... Drawing circuit, 14 ... VRAM, 14a ... Base layer, 14b ... Writing layer, 15 ... LCD (color) display, 16 ... touch panel, 17 ... (loop) antenna, 18 ... operation unit, 20 ... interface,
24 ... nib, 25 ... control unit, 25a ... memory, 26 ... communication circuit, 28 ... rotary switch, 29 ... enlarge button

Claims (3)

Display means provided on the surface of the notebook housing;
A pen-type input unit that writes an input object that is a handwritten image at an arbitrary position on the base image displayed on the display unit;
Recognition means for recognizing a character code from among the input objects written by the input means;
First storage means for storing a plurality of pages of base images;
Second storage means for storing the input object written by the input means for each page ;
Third storage means for storing the character code recognized by the recognition means for each page;
First search means for searching the first and second storage means using a feature of the input object as a search key;
Second search means for searching the first and third storage means using a character code as a search key;
The electronic notebook displaying the page including the input object searched by the first search unit or the page including the character code searched by the second search unit . Wherein the input means includes a color designation unit, an electronic notebook according to claim 1, wherein the means for writing input object for the specified color in said color designating means to an arbitrary position on the display means. 3. The electronic notebook according to claim 1, wherein the first search unit uses a shape or color of a graphic as an input object as a search key .

Images