JPH09305698A - Character input display device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To easily determine whether a character having a pattern input is correct. A character input display device 1 has two types of input devices. The code data of the desired input character is output from the code input device 3, and the standard pattern is visually displayed on the display device 8 in the first display mode. A desired character input pattern is handwritten and input to the pattern input unit 11. The character recognition circuit 13 selects a standard pattern similar to the input pattern from a plurality of standard patterns of characters stored in advance, and outputs the code data as a code data candidate of a desired character. Since the standard pattern of the code data candidate is visually displayed on the display device 8 in the second display form, it can be easily distinguished from the code-input character. In addition, since the display form of the characters that have been pattern-inputted is changed depending on the number of obtained code data candidates, the recognition accuracy of each character can be obtained visually.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character input / display device for inputting characters as a handwritten pattern and visually displaying the result.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In electronic devices such as personal computers, word processors and electronic notebooks, so-called handwritten character input / display devices are used as character input / display devices for inputting and displaying characters. Hiragana is a character
It includes concepts such as katakana, kanji, Western characters, symbols, and pictograms. The electronic device has, for these characters, code data indicating each character and dodd pattern data corresponding to the standard character pattern of each character. In electronic equipment, dot pattern data is handled only when characters are visually displayed on a display device, and as other processing operations as code data.

The handwritten character input display device includes a display device having a visual display surface which is a flat two-dimensional plane, and an input device having a light-transmitting and flat two-dimensional plane input surface. The input surface of the input device is arranged so as to overlap the visual display surface of the display device. When a user inputs a character, a pattern corresponding to the character is drawn by handwriting on the input surface of the input device by using an input pen, for example, in the manner of drawing a figure on paper.

When a pattern is handwritten on the input surface, the character input / display device executes a character recognition process for recognizing the input pattern as a character. As a result, a character having a standard character pattern similar to the input pattern is selected. Through such processing, the input pattern is recognized as the character indicated by the code data. The character input method described above is referred to as pattern input. A standard character pattern indicating an input character is visually displayed on the visual display surface of the display device of the character input display device.

The above-described character recognition processing is sequentially executed, for example, every time a pattern is drawn on the input surface. In addition, after a plurality of patterns are sequentially input, character recognition processing may be collectively performed on these patterns. When the character recognition processing is sequentially executed, a standard character pattern corresponding to the code data obtained by the recognition processing is visually displayed on the visual display surface of the display device. Further, when the recognition processing is collectively performed, the display device displays the input pattern as it is immediately after the pattern is input from the input surface. When a character recognition process is performed on these patterns after a plurality of patterns have been input, each pattern is replaced with the standard character pattern of the recognized code data and displayed.

As a conventional technique relating to such a handwritten character input / display device, there is JP-A-5-128297. In the character recognition device disclosed in the publication,
A character pattern input from the input unit, which is a tablet or an image scanner, is input. A characteristic pattern is extracted from this character pattern, and the characteristic pattern is compared with standard characteristic patterns of various characters to obtain code information that is character code data. In this character recognition device, when the input character pattern is correctly recognized, the dot pattern of the character represented by the obtained code information is visually displayed on the display unit. When it cannot be correctly recognized, the character pattern input from the input unit is displayed as it is. As a result, the character pattern can be continuously input and the character recognition process can be performed regardless of whether the recognition result of the character pattern is correct or incorrect.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned conventional character recognition device, after recognizing the input pattern,
The dot pattern of the character represented by the code information is displayed instead of the recognized character pattern. For the character patterns that cannot be recognized, the character patterns that have been input as they are are displayed. As a result, when the display unit is visually displayed after the character recognition is performed, the characters are displayed in two types of display forms, that is, the character pattern and the dot pattern. Therefore, it can be determined that the character for which the character pattern is displayed cannot be recognized.

In the character recognition processing in the current character input / display device, 100% of the code data desired by the user is obtained.
Getting it right is very difficult. A code input device realized by a so-called keyboard or the like is an input device for surely inputting a character desired by a user. In this device, character code data is directly input. Therefore, there is no error in the code data for the character input by this code input device. Such a character input method is called code input.

In the electronic equipment described above, the two input devices, the character input display device and the code input device described above, may be selectively used depending on the intended use and the situation of use. Regarding the code data of these characters, there is a possibility that there is an error in the pattern-input characters, although there is no error in the code-input characters. In a character group composed of a plurality of characters handled by electronic devices, characters input by pattern input and code input may be mixed.

When a character group in which characters input by different input methods are mixed is visually displayed, each character is represented by a standard character pattern corresponding to the character. Therefore, among the characters in the group of characters visually displayed as a standard character pattern, there is a possibility that there is an error in the code data. It is displayed in the form. Therefore, for all the characters in the character group, it is necessary to confirm whether or not the standard character pattern of the displayed character is the standard character pattern of the desired character and there is no error in the character recognition processing. Therefore, since the confirmation is performed even for the character that originally does not need to be confirmed, it takes time and effort to confirm.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a character input / display device which can easily determine whether the standard character pattern of a visually displayed character is correct or incorrect.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides code input means for outputting code data indicating a predetermined standard character pattern, and pattern input means for inputting a character pattern and outputting pattern data indicating the character pattern. In response to the output of the pattern input means, the characteristic points of the character pattern are extracted from the pattern data, and the characteristic points are compared with the characteristic points of the standard character pattern that are predetermined corresponding to the plurality of code data. Then, a character recognition means for selecting and outputting code data corresponding to a standard character pattern whose feature points are similar to or greater than a predetermined reference value as a code data candidate, and a standard character pattern indicated by the code data given from the code input means. A standard character pattern that is visually displayed in the first display mode and is indicated by the code data provided from the character recognition means. Different from the first display form second
And a visual display means for visually displaying in a display form. According to the present invention,
The character input device has two systems of input means, that is, a code input means and a pattern input means as means for a user to input a character. The characters include the concepts of kana characters, kanji characters, Western characters, symbols, and pictorial symbols, and are represented by, for example, code data and standard character patterns.
The code data and the standard character pattern are predetermined for each character. In the internal processing of the electronic device, the input character is treated as code data and is displayed as a standard character pattern only when it is visually displayed on the display device. Code data corresponding to a character desired by the user is directly given to the code input means, and the given code data is outputted. A character pattern, which is an image similar to the standard character pattern, is handwritten and input to the pattern input means, and pattern data indicating the input character pattern is output. The pattern data is given to the character recognition means. The character recognition means performs character recognition processing, which will be described later, on the pattern data to obtain code data of a desired character.
In the character recognition processing, first, the feature points of the input character pattern are extracted. Next, the feature points are compared with the feature points of the standard character pattern. For example, a plurality of standard character patterns are prepared and are individually associated with code data. Such a standard character pattern is stored in a memory in the character recognition means, for example. The character recognition means individually compares the characteristic points of the plurality of standard character patterns and obtains the degree of similarity. Of these standard patterns,
Code data of a standard character pattern whose feature points are similar to or larger than a predetermined reference value is selected as a code data candidate of a desired character. As a result, in the subsequent processing,
A character pattern input by handwriting can be treated in the same manner as a character input by the code input means. The standard character pattern indicated by the code data output from the code input means is visually displayed on the visual display means in the first display form. The standard character pattern indicated by the code data output from the character recognition means is visually displayed on the visual display means in the second display form. At this time, the first display form and the second display form are different. For example, the character font is different between the first display form and the second display form.
Therefore, the character patterns of the characters input from these two systems of input means are displayed in different display forms on the same visual display surface of the same visual display device. As a result, when a character group consisting of multiple characters is visually displayed as a standard character pattern, it is possible to know which input means each character is input by simply observing the standard character pattern itself. can do. Although the code data input from the code input means surely indicates the character desired by the user, it is difficult to reliably obtain the code data of the character desired by the user in the character recognition processing described above. Therefore, the user needs to visually confirm whether or not the code data obtained from the character recognition means surely indicates a desired character by visually observing the standard character pattern displayed. As described above, when the standard character patterns of the characters input from different input means are displayed so that they can be distinguished at a glance, it is possible to easily distinguish the character that needs confirmation after recognition processing and the character that does not need confirmation. Therefore, even when the characters input from the two input means are mixed, the character to be confirmed can be easily identified. Therefore, when the characters are mixed, it is possible to prevent the characters that do not need to be confirmed from being confirmed. Therefore, the number of characters to be confirmed is reduced.

According to the present invention, the visual display means visually displays a pattern corresponding to a character indicated by the code data in a predetermined display color, and the first display form displays a standard character pattern of the code data in advance. The second display form is characterized in that the code data standard character pattern is visually displayed in a display color different from the display color in the first display form. According to the invention, the visual display means visually displays a standard character pattern corresponding to the character indicated by the code data in a predetermined display color. There are at least two display colors. When the character from the code input means is visually displayed on the visual display means, the standard character pattern of the character is visually displayed in a predetermined display color. When visually displaying a character from the pattern input means, the standard character pattern for that character is
Visually display in a display color different from the display color of the characters from the code input means. Thus, when the characters from the two input means are mixedly displayed on the same visual display surface, the characters that need to be confirmed and the unnecessary characters are displayed in different display colors. Therefore, it becomes easy for the user who visually checks the visual display surface to distinguish the characters from the two-system input means.

Further, according to the present invention, a character pattern is input, pattern input means for outputting pattern data indicating the character pattern, and feature points of the character pattern are extracted from the pattern data in response to the output of the pattern input means, The feature points are compared with the feature points of a standard character pattern that is predetermined corresponding to a plurality of code data,
Code data corresponding to a standard character pattern having feature points similar to or greater than a predetermined reference value is selected as a code data candidate, and when the code data candidate is single, the code data is output, and there are a plurality of code data candidates. Sometimes, one of the character recognition means for outputting one of the code data and a response of the output from the character recognition means for matching the standard character pattern indicated by the code data candidate selected by the character recognition means with the input character pattern. From the accuracy acquisition means for acquiring the degree of character recognition accuracy, the display mode setting means for setting the display mode of the code data according to the character recognition accuracy in response to the output from the accuracy acquisition means, and the character recognition means. Visual display means for visually displaying the standard character pattern indicated by the output code data in the display form set by the display form setting means. A character input display device, which comprises a. According to the present invention, the character input display device is
It has a pattern input means for inputting characters in a character pattern. A user manually inputs a desired character pattern from this input means. The character recognition means performs character recognition processing based on the pattern data output from the input means, and from the code data of a plurality of stored characters,
A code data candidate of a desired character is selected. Among the code data of a plurality of stored characters, all the characters that are similar to or above a predetermined reference value are selected as code data candidates. Therefore, a plurality of code data candidates may be selected. At this time, among the multiple code data candidates,
Any one of the candidates that meets a predetermined condition is output. The predetermined condition is, for example, that the character has the highest degree of similarity. When only a single code data candidate is obtained, that candidate is output. The apparatus includes accuracy acquisition means and acquires the recognition accuracy of the character recognition processing.
The recognition accuracy indicates the degree to which the standard character pattern of the code data obtained by the character recognition process matches the input character pattern, and indicates the probability that the character desired by the user will be obtained by the character recognition process. The acquired recognition accuracy is given to the display form setting means. The display form setting means sets the display form when the standard character pattern of the code data output from the character recognition means is visually displayed according to the character recognition accuracy. The character indicated by the code data candidate output from the character recognition means is visually displayed on the visual display means in the display form set by the display form setting means.
As described above, the standard character pattern visually displayed on the visual display means has a different display form depending on the recognition accuracy when the code data indicating the standard character pattern is obtained. Therefore, the user of the character recognition device can grasp the recognition accuracy of each character only by visually observing the visual display means. Therefore, the authenticity and reliability of each character can be clarified.

In the present invention, the accuracy acquisition means acquires the number of code data candidates selected by the character recognition means,
The display form setting means sets the display form of the code data to the first display form when the number of code data candidates is less than a predetermined threshold number, and sets the display form to the first display form when the number is equal to or more than the threshold number. The second display form different from the first display form is set. According to the invention, the accuracy measuring unit acquires the number of code data candidates selected by the character recognizing unit. The display form setting means sets a threshold value for the number of code data candidates. The threshold value is determined by whether or not the character desired by the user can be obtained, and is set to "2", for example. The display form of the character indicated by the code data candidate in the visual display means is set based on this threshold value. For example, when the number of code data candidates is less than the number of predetermined thresholds, the display form of the code data is set to the first display form. When the number of code data candidates is equal to or larger than the threshold number, the display form is set to the second display form. The first and second display forms have different requirements such as a typeface of a standard character pattern and a display color that the user can visually recognize the difference. Therefore, on the visual display means, the recognition accuracy of each character is divided into two levels and visually displayed. In the character recognition processing, the increase in the number of code data candidates indicates that the input character pattern is similar to any of the standard character patterns of the characters indicated by these code data candidates. In such a state, it is considered that the character recognition means cannot determine which of the selected code data candidates the character pattern indicates. Therefore, it is considered that the recognition accuracy decreases as the number of code data candidates increases. Therefore, the number of code data candidates can be used as an index of recognition accuracy. Since the number of code data candidates can be easily measured, the recognition accuracy measurement process is facilitated.

According to the present invention, the accuracy acquisition means acquires the recognition time required for selecting the code data candidate in the character recognition means, and the display form setting means, when the recognition time is less than a predetermined threshold time, It is characterized in that the display form of the code data is set to the first display form and the display form is set to the second display form different from the first display form when the time is equal to or longer than the threshold time. According to the invention, the accuracy measuring unit acquires the recognition time required for selecting the code data candidate in the character recognizing unit. In the display form setting means, a threshold of the recognition time is set, and the display form of the character indicated by the code data candidate in the visual display means is set in two ways on the basis of this threshold. The character recognition means extracts, for example, the number of strokes of the input character pattern, the stroke order, and the shape of the pattern as the characteristic points of the input character pattern. Of these stored standard character patterns of a plurality of characters, for example, only those having the same number of strokes are read from the memory as a comparison target with reference to this feature point. Therefore, the number of standard character patterns to be compared changes depending on the number of strokes of the input character pattern. The number of standard character patterns to be compared decreases as the number of strokes decreases, for example. It is considered that the accuracy of the character recognition process increases as the number of comparison targets decreases. Also, when the number of comparison targets decreases,
It is considered that the recognition time required for character recognition processing will be shortened. Therefore, the recognition time can be used as an index of recognition accuracy.

In the present invention, the visual display means visually displays the standard character pattern indicated by the code data in a predetermined display color, and the first display mode is a display color in which the standard character pattern of the code data is predetermined. The second display mode is a mode in which the standard character pattern of the code data is visually displayed in a display color different from the display color in the first display mode. According to the invention, the visual display means visually displays a pattern corresponding to the standard character pattern indicated by the code data in a predetermined display color. There are at least two display colors. The display form setting means, according to the recognition accuracy of each character,
The display color is set to be different depending on whether the index value of the recognition accuracy is less than the threshold value or more than the threshold value. As a result, the characters whose recognition accuracy is lower than the threshold and the characters whose recognition accuracy is higher than the threshold are displayed in different display colors. Therefore, a user who visually checks the visual display surface can easily distinguish the characters having different recognition accuracies.

According to the present invention, the display form setting means is
A display form input means for inputting a display form of each code data in the visual display means, a visual display state of code data in the visual display means, a first visual display state indicating recognition accuracy of the code data, and a code data A second visual display state showing the standard character pattern shown, and a switching means for switching to either one of the second visual display states.
When the display mode is switched to the visual display state, the display form is set according to the recognition accuracy of the character recognition means, and when the second visual display mode is switched, the display form is input from the display form input means. It is characterized by setting in the form. According to the invention, the visual display means visually displays the characters in the first and second visual display states. The first visual display state is a state in which the recognition accuracy of the code data of each character is visually displayed when the character is input. The second visual display state is a state in which the standard character pattern of the character obtained by the character recognition process is visually displayed in the display form set by the user. In other words, the first visual display state is a state that is taken only during the character input operation, and the second visual display state is a state in which the display desired by the user is performed. The display form setting means sets the display form in these visual display states. The display form setting unit includes a display form input unit and a switching unit. The user inputs the display form of the character in the second visual display state from the display form input means. The switching means sets the visual display state of the standard character pattern on the visual display means to the first display.
And switch to either the second visual display state. This switching is performed, for example, at the time of character input operation and at the time of other remaining operations. For example, when inputting characters,
The state is switched to the first visual display state, and the display form is set according to the recognition accuracy of the character recognition means. During the rest of the operation,
The state is switched to the second visual display state, and the display form is set according to the display form input from the display form input means. Thereby, the visual display means can visually display the display image showing the recognition accuracy only during the input operation, and can visually display the display image desired by the user during the remaining operation other than that. Accordingly, in the device that visually displays the recognition accuracy and presents it to the user, the display image desired by the user can also be displayed. Further, for example, even when the user performs the input operation while displaying the image in the desired display form, the image can be displayed again in the desired display form when the input operation is completed.

Further, according to the present invention, a character pattern is input, pattern input means for outputting pattern data indicating the character pattern, and characteristic points of the character pattern are extracted from the pattern data in response to the output of the pattern input means, The feature points are compared with the feature points of a standard character pattern that is predetermined corresponding to a plurality of code data,
Code data corresponding to a standard character pattern having feature points similar to or greater than a predetermined reference value is selected as a code data candidate, and when the code data candidate is single, the code data is output, and when there are a plurality of code data candidates. A character recognition unit that outputs any one code data candidate, a visual display unit that visually displays a standard character pattern indicated by the code data output from the character recognition unit, and a single unit that stores only a single code data candidate. The character recognition means includes a storage mode and a selection means for selecting a plurality of storage modes for storing all code data candidates.
In response to the output of the selecting means, when the single storage mode is selected, only the code data of the output single code data candidate is stored, and when the multiple storage mode is selected, all the code data candidates are stored. It is a character input display device including candidate storage means for storing each code data in association with each other. According to the present invention, the character input / display device inputs characters in a pattern, performs character recognition processing of pattern data, and selects one or more code data candidates having a standard character pattern similar to the input character pattern. To do. Of these obtained code data candidates,
Any one of them is visually displayed on the visual display means. Further, the obtained code data candidates are stored in the candidate storage means. Candidate storage means, as a mode for storing candidates,
It has a single save mode and a multiple save mode. In the single storage mode, only one of the code data candidates obtained by the character recognition means is stored. In the multiple save mode, all code data candidates obtained by the character recognition means are associated and saved. When all the code data candidates obtained by the character recognition processing are stored, for example, when the standard character pattern visually displayed is different from the standard character pattern of the character desired by the user, other stored code data candidates The next best candidate can be selected from among them. When only a single code data candidate is stored, if the characters are different, it is necessary to input the pattern again and redo the character recognition process. At this time, it is necessary to carefully draw the input character pattern so that it can be recognized correctly. As described above, it is convenient to store a plurality of code data candidates for later processing, but it is necessary to increase the memory capacity of the candidate storage means. When only a single code data is stored, the memory capacity becomes smaller than that in the case described above, and it can be realized by a memory having a small capacity. In the character input processing device of the present invention, the user selects one of these two modes.
Therefore, it is possible to perform the operation in a mode that is easy for the user to use, depending on the usage state during the character input operation.

[0020]

1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a character input display device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The character input / display device 1 visually displays the input character as a corresponding pattern. Characters include concepts such as hiragana, katakana, kanji, Western characters, symbols and pictorial symbols. Characters are represented as individually predetermined code data and standard patterns. The standard character pattern corresponds to a visually displayed figure of a character and is a pattern that is not changed by the font and decoration on the display.

The character input / display device 1 has three modes: an input mode, an edit mode, and a display mode. In the input mode, characters are input by two input methods, a code input method and a pattern input method. The characters respectively input by the code input method and the pattern input method are visually displayed in different display forms.

When inputting a character by the code input method, the user inputs a desired character from the code input device 3. The code input device 3 is, for example, a keyboard,
Keys corresponding to multiple characters are arranged. The user operates the key corresponding to the desired character to input the character.
When a character is input, the code input device 3 outputs code data corresponding to the input character.

The code data from the code input device 3 is
It is stored in the code storage circuit 4. As will be described later, the code storage circuit 4 stores the given code data and the additional data, which is attribute data, for example, in association with each other. The attribute data is data representing the display form of the input character. The display form of the characters is, for example, the display color of the standard pattern on the display device, the typeface (font), and the presence or absence of an underline. These attribute data are input from the input device 3 as described later, for example.

The code data stored in the code storage means 4 is given to the dot pattern generation circuit 6. Further, the attribute data is given to the display control circuit 7. The dot pattern generation circuit 6 generates dot pattern data of this code data based on the code data given from the code storage circuit 4. The dot pattern data is data relating to the shape of a standard pattern which is a visual display graphic peculiar to a character, and includes, for example, data indicating the directionality of line segments that form the standard pattern and the positional relationship between the line segments.

For example, the dot pattern generation circuit 6 has a memory. In this memory, code data of each character and dot pattern data corresponding to the code data are stored in association with each other for a plurality of characters. Generation circuit 6
When the code data is given, reads out the dot pattern data corresponding to the desired code data from the plurality of dot pattern data stored in the memory. The read dot pattern data is given to the display control circuit 7.

The display control circuit 7 uses the display device 8 based on the given dot pattern data and attribute data.
Generates display data to be displayed on. The display data is image data for displaying a standard pattern of characters indicated by the dot pattern data based on the display form indicated by the attribute data. The display data is given to the display device 8.

The display device 8 visually displays the input standard pattern of characters in a desired display form based on the display data. The display device 8 is realized by, for example, a cathode ray tube and a liquid crystal display device. The display device 8 has a visual display surface having a flat two-dimensional plane, and a standard pattern of characters is visually displayed on the visual display surface. For example, a plurality of display pixels are arranged in a matrix on this visual display surface. The display data is data that sets the display state of each display pixel. The display device 8 determines the display state of each of the display pixels based on the display data, and visually displays the standard pattern by combining the display states of the display pixels.

When a character is input by the pattern input method, the user inputs a desired character by handwriting from the pattern input device 11. The handwriting input is an input method of directly inputting an input pattern, which is a two-dimensional image similar to a standard pattern, as described later. The pattern input device 11 outputs stroke data of the input pattern. This stroke data is given to the pattern storage circuit 12 and the character recognition circuit 13, respectively.

The pattern input device 11 is realized by a two-dimensional coordinate input device called a tablet, for example. This two-dimensional coordinate input device has a flat input surface. This input surface is often transparent. An orthogonal coordinate system is preset on the input surface. Two-dimensional coordinate input device,
For example, there are resistance film type, electromagnetic induction type, and electrostatic induction type devices. For example, if one point on the input surface is designated as a desired coordinate point, the position coordinate of the designated coordinate point in the orthogonal coordinate system is detected, and coordinate data indicating the position coordinate of the coordinate point is output. The operation of designating the coordinate point is, for example, an operation of pressing one point on the input surface and an operation of touching one point on the input surface.

When inputting the input pattern by handwriting, the user draws the pattern on the surface of the input surface with the sensation of drawing a character on the surface of the input surface by using a pen-shaped pointing member, for example. The coordinate input device is
While the pattern is being drawn, the coordinate point designated by the pointing member is detected at predetermined time intervals, and the coordinate information of the coordinate point is output. The stroke data output from the pattern input device 11 is, for example, a set of coordinate data of coordinate points detected while the input pattern is being drawn.

As will be described later, the pattern storage circuit 12 stores the given stroke data and additional data such as attribute data in association with each other. Pattern memory circuit 1
The stroke data stored in 2 is displayed by the display control circuit 7.
Given to. The display control circuit 7 generates display data of the input pattern based on the stroke data.
The generated display data is given to the display device 8. The display device 8 visually displays a visual display graphic of the stroke data on the visual display surface based on the given display data. The visual display graphic of the stroke data is equal to the input pattern input to the pattern input device 11.

The character recognition circuit 13 performs a pattern matching processing operation which is a character recognition processing operation of the input pattern. The pattern processing operation is an operation of searching for a standard pattern similar to the given stroke data and recognizing the input pattern as a character. When the pattern matching processing operation is performed, in the subsequent operations, the pattern-input character is handled in the form of code data in the same manner as the code-input character. The character recognition circuit 13 includes a pattern feature extraction circuit 16, a recognition circuit 17, a recognition time measurement circuit 19, and a standard pattern storage circuit 18.

The stroke data output from the pattern input circuit 11 is applied to the feature extraction circuit 16. The feature extraction circuit 16 extracts feature data indicating the features of the input pattern based on the stroke data. This feature data is, for example, the stroke order of drawing the input pattern, the number of strokes of the input pattern, and the feature points of the shape of the input pattern. The shape feature points are the directionality of a plurality of line segments forming the input pattern and the positional relationship between the line segments. The feature data output from the feature extraction circuit 16 is the recognition circuit 17
Given to.

The characteristic data of the standard pattern is given to the recognition circuit 17 from the standard pattern storage circuit 18. The characteristic data of the standard pattern includes, for example, data indicating the stroke order and the number of strokes of the standard pattern, in addition to the data indicating the characteristic of the shape of the standard pattern.

The recognition circuit 17 carries out a recognition process for collating the characteristic data of the input pattern given from the characteristic extraction circuit 16 with the characteristic data of the standard pattern of characters given from the standard pattern storage circuit 18. In the recognition processing, for example, with respect to the characteristic data of the input pattern and the characteristic data of the standard pattern, data representing the stroke order, the number of strokes, and the shape of the pattern are respectively compared, and the similarity of the data is obtained.
When the similarity of this data is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold,
It is determined that the character corresponding to the compared standard pattern is a recognition candidate of the input pattern.

The recognition process of the standard pattern and the input pattern is performed for each of the standard patterns of a plurality of characters stored in the standard pattern storage circuit 18, for example. Therefore, the recognition circuit 17 may recognize a plurality of standard patterns as recognition candidates for the input pattern. When a plurality of recognition candidates are obtained, the recognition circuit 17 determines the first candidate, the second candidate, ... In descending order of similarity of feature data.

The recognition circuit 17 supplies the dot pattern generation circuit 6 with the code data of the character of any one of the obtained recognition candidates. The given recognition candidate is, for example, a recognition candidate regarded as the first candidate. The dot pattern generation circuit 6 generates dot pattern data corresponding to the given recognition candidate character and gives it to the display control circuit 7. The display control circuit 7 is provided with character attribute data from the pattern storage circuit 12. The display control circuit 7 generates the display data of the recognition candidate character based on the dot pattern data and the attribute data. The display device 8 displays the standard pattern of the recognition candidate characters on the visual display surface in a desired display form based on the display data. The recognition time measuring circuit 19 measures the recognition time required for the recognition process in the recognition circuit 17.

The code input device 3 and the pattern input device 11 described above can be realized by a single input device configured by combining the display device and the two-dimensional coordinate input device described above, for example. The display device has a visual display surface that is a flat two-dimensional plane. The input surface of the two-dimensional coordinate input device has a light-transmitting property, and is arranged so as to overlap the visual display surface of the display device. The orthogonal coordinate system of the input surface and the orthogonal coordinate system of the visual display surface are set to correspond to each other. In this input device, input processing is performed based on the coordinate signal output from the two-dimensional coordinate input device and the display image displayed on the visual display surface of the display device at the time of input.

For example, when this input device is used as the code input device 3, a display image including a plurality of indication areas corresponding to the characters that can be input is displayed on the visual display surface of the display device. The user designates a coordinate point on the input surface directly above the designation area corresponding to a desired character among a plurality of characters that can be input. When the input device outputs the coordinate data indicating the coordinate point from the two-dimensional coordinate input device, it is considered that the designated area including the point on the visual display surface corresponding to the coordinate point is designated. At this time, the input device outputs the code data of the character corresponding to the designated designated area.

As described above, in the input device, the indication area displayed on the visual display surface of the display device and the area of the input surface of the two-dimensional coordinate input device corresponding to the indication area are combined,
The operation corresponding to the so-called keyboard key is performed. Therefore, with a single visual display surface and input surface combination,
You can get the same behavior with different keyboards. The display of the display device and the output processing of the coordinate input device are controlled by, for example, a processing circuit in the input device. This operation can be easily changed by changing the software that controls the processing circuit, in combination with the displayed area and the area corresponding to the input area. Therefore, the size of the input device can be reduced. Hereinafter, the configuration in which the pointing area and the area of the input surface corresponding thereto are combined in this way to perform the input operation determined by software is referred to as a "software key",
Handle it like a keyboard key.

The code input device 3 is realized by a so-called software keyboard in which software keys corresponding to a plurality of characters are arranged. The code input device 3 has a configuration in which a plurality of software keys individually corresponding to characters such as kana characters and numbers are arranged, as in a so-called keyboard. Further, it has a configuration in which software keys corresponding to the numbers “0” to “9” are arranged, as in a so-called ten-key pad.
The user operates these software keys to input code data of a desired character.

As described above, the pattern input device 11 is constructed by combining, for example, a two-dimensional coordinate input device and a display device. In the device 11, for example, the display surface of the two-dimensional coordinate input device is arranged so as to overlap the visual display surface of the display device. A user manually inputs a character pattern of a character on the display surface of the two-dimensional coordinate input device using a pointing member as if drawing a character on paper.

The display pixels on the visual display surface of the display device are kept in the first display state, for example, when the coordinate points on the input surface of the two-dimensional coordinate input device are not designated. The first display state is, for example, a state in which the display pixels display white. When a character is input by handwriting on the input surface, the display device sets the display pixel of the coordinate point of the visual display surface overlapping the coordinate point of the input surface to the first pixel according to the coordinate data output from the two-dimensional coordinate input device. The display state is switched to the second display state different from the display state.
The second display state is, for example, black display. As a result, the same pattern as the character pattern drawn on the input surface is visually displayed on the visual display surface of the display device.

Further, this input device is used as the pattern input device 1
When used as 1, the device 11 generates stroke data indicating the input pattern input, based on the coordinate data output from the two-dimensional coordinate input device. This stroke data is given to the configuration after the pattern input device 11. Furthermore, the pattern input device 11 is accompanied by a software key used for a recognition process, an edit process, a display process, etc., which will be described later. When performing a desired process, the user specifies a software key corresponding to the process. When the software key is instructed, instruction data indicating that the software key has been instructed is given to the configuration after the pattern input device 11.

The display device 8 described above may be the same device as the display device of the input device described above. At this time, the visual display surface of the display device serves as a display area used as the visual display surface of the display device 8 and an input editing area used as the visual display surface of the display devices of the code input device 3 and the pattern input device 11. Used by dividing. Hereinafter, the display device that serves as both the display device 8 and the display device of the input device is referred to as a comprehensive display device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display image 21 displayed on the visual display surface of the comprehensive display device in the input mode of the character display input device 1. The display image 21 is displayed when a character is input by the pattern input method after the character is input by the code input method. The display area 23 of the display image 21 is an area corresponding to the display device 8, and the characters input from the code input device 3 and the pattern input device 11 are displayed in different display forms. The input editing area 24 is an area corresponding to the display device of the input device that also serves as the input devices 3 and 11.

In the pattern input method of the character input display device 1, after a plurality of characters are input as the input pattern,
The recognition processing is collectively performed. In such a pattern input method, the input character is indicated by the input pattern before the recognition processing. That is, the input pattern is visually displayed as it is in the display area 23. In the code input method, the characters input from the code input device 3 are displayed on the display device 8 as a standard pattern corresponding to the code data.

In the display image 21 of FIG. 2, the characters shown in the standard pattern visually displayed on the code portion 26 in the display area 23 are the characters input from the code input device 3. The characters indicated by the input pattern visually displayed on the pattern portion 27 are the characters input from the pattern input device 11.

A character input section 29 is set in the input editing area 24. The character input unit 29 is divided into five rectangular areas. The user draws a single input pattern in each rectangular area of the character input unit 29 and inputs a character. The pattern input device 11 regards the pattern drawn in each rectangular area as a single input pattern and generates stroke data.

Further, the input editing area 24 is provided with a plurality of software keys used for the input operation and the editing operation. This software key is, for example, the letter key 3
1, a symbol key 32 and a rear recognition key 38. Letter key 3
1 indicates that the characters input after this key is operated are kanji and kana. The symbol key 32 indicates that the character input after the key is operated is a symbol. The post-recognition key 38 instructs to perform a character recognition process described later. Further, in the input edit area 24, a message text 39 that is “directly writable” indicating that the display image 21 is in the pattern input mode is visually displayed.

When a character is input by the code input method, the display area of the display image visually displayed on the comprehensive display device is equivalent to the display area 23 by the pattern input method. In the input editing area, a plurality of software keys corresponding to the characters that can be input are arranged. Further, keys 31 and 32 used for inputting and editing operations are displayed in this input editing area.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the input processing operation in the input mode of the character input display device 1. When the power is turned on, the process proceeds from step a1 to step a2. At step a2, it is determined whether the operation of either the code input device 3 or the pattern input device 11 has been started. When the input devices 3 and 11 are composed of a combination of a two-dimensional coordinate input device and a display device, for example, when the pointing member comes into contact with the input surface or a pen down which is a push down operation occurs, it is considered that the operation is started. . When pen down occurs in step a2, the process proceeds to step a3. When the pen down does not occur, the process returns to step a2 again, and this operation is repeated until the pen down occurs.

At step a3, it is judged whether or not the current input method is the code input method. If so, the process proceeds from step a3 to step a4, and the operation of storing the code data of the input character in the code storage circuit 4 is started. In the code storage circuit 4, when a single code data is input, the code information area 41 is set for the code data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of the code information area 41 of the code storage circuit 4. The code information area 41 includes a data length area 42, a recognition determination area 43, an attribute area 44, and a data area 45, which will be described later.

Referring again to FIG. In step a4,
The data length of the input character is stored in the data length area of the code information area 41, and the process proceeds to step a5. At step a5, data indicating "no recognition required" is stored in the recognition determination area 43 of the code information area 41. Character code data is directly applied to the code storage circuit 4 from the code input device 3. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform the recognition operation in the character recognition circuit 13 for the character whose data is stored in the circuit 4. Therefore, “recognition unnecessary” indicating that is stored in the recognition determination area 43. When data storage in the recognition determination area 43 is completed, step a5
To step a6.

At step a6, the code information area 41
The attribute data of the input character is stored in the attribute area 44. The attribute data is data relating to the display form when the standard pattern of the code data of the input characters is visually displayed on the display device 8, for example. This data is, for example, data regarding the display color when the standard pattern is displayed on the display device 8 and the typeface (font) of the standard pattern. When the data is stored in the attribute area 44, the process proceeds from step a6 to step a7.

In step a7, the code information area 41
The input code data is stored in the data area 45 of. When the code data is stored, the process proceeds from step a7 to step a8. In step a8, the characters indicated by the input code data are displayed on the visual display surface of the display device 8 in a predetermined first display form. Predetermined first
The display form of is a display form in which the standard pattern typeface is a plain typeface, for example. That is,
The standard pattern indicated by the input code data is visually displayed on the display device 8 in a plain font.

When it is determined in step a3 that the input method is not the code input method, that is, when the input method is the pattern input method, the process proceeds from step a3 to step a9. At step a9, the stroke data of the input pattern is stored in the pattern storage circuit 12.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of the pattern information area 46 of the pattern storage circuit 12. In the pattern storage circuit 12, a pattern information area 46 is set for each character indicated by each input pattern. The pattern information area 46 includes a data length area 47, a recognition determination area 48, an attribute area 49 and a data area 5.
0 is included.

Referring again to FIG. In step a9,
The data length of the input stroke data of the input pattern is stored in the data length area 47 of the pattern information area 46, and the process proceeds to step a10. In step a10,
Data indicating “recognition required” is stored in the recognition determination area 48 of the pattern information area 46. As described above, what is input from the pattern input device 11 to the storage circuit 12 is the stroke data indicating the character pattern. therefore,
In order to obtain the code data of the character desired by the user from this data, the character recognition processing operation in the character recognition circuit 13 is necessary. Therefore, in the recognition determination area 48,
Store as "recognition required". When the data storage in the recognition determination area 48 is completed, the process proceeds from step a10 to step a11.

At step a11, the attribute data of the input character is stored in the attribute area 49 of the pattern information area 46. This attribute data is the same as the attribute data input from the code input device 3. When the storage of the data in the attribute area 49 is completed, step a1
From 1 to step a12. At step a12, the stroke data of the input pattern is stored in the data area 50 of the pattern information area 46. by this,
The data storage in the pattern storage circuit 12 is completed.
When the data storage is completed, the process proceeds from step a12 to step a13.

At step a13, the pattern storage circuit 1
The input pattern input based on the stroke data given via 2 is reduced. For example, the input pattern input by the above-described input method is converted into a dot pattern having a prescribed pattern including a predetermined dot matrix in accordance with the line spacing of the character lines in the display area 23.
Compared with the size of the character input portion 29 and the area occupied by the single character pattern in the display area 23, the area of the character input portion 29 is wider. Therefore, this conversion operation is equivalent to reducing the input pattern. Display area 23
The specified size, which is the size of the area in which the single character is displayed, is composed of a dot matrix of, for example, 12 × 12 dots, 16 × 16 dots, or 24 × 24 dots. When the input pattern is reduced to obtain the dot pattern of the input pattern to be displayed, step a1
It progresses from 3 to step a14.

At step a14, the pattern indicated by the input stroke data is visually displayed at a position corresponding to the display area 23 of the display image 21 on the visual display surface of the display device 8 in a predetermined second display form. The second display form is a display form different from the first display form, which is the display form of characters input in the code input method.

For example, in the first display mode, the characters are visually displayed in the standard pattern, but in the second display mode, the characters are visually displayed in the same pattern as the input pattern.
That is, in step a13, the dot pattern for display of the input pattern obtained by reducing the stroke data of the input pattern is visually displayed at the position corresponding to the display area 23. Further, at this time, the display dot pattern is displayed in a bold typeface. It is preferable that the standard pattern typeface in the first display mode and the dot pattern typeface in the second display mode are different typefaces.

In step a8 described above, when the characters input from the code input device 3 are visually displayed on the display device 8 in the first display form, steps a8 to a1
5, the processing operation of the flowchart is finished.
In step a14, the pattern input device 11
When the input pattern is visually displayed on the visual display surface of the display device 8 in the second display mode, the process proceeds from step a14 to step a15, and the processing operation of the flowchart ends. In this way, it is possible to display, on the display device 8, the characters that are code-input using a software keyboard or the like and the characters that are input by handwriting a pattern in the display device 8.

As described above, in the character input / display device 1 of FIG. 1, a plurality of characters are continuously input from the pattern input device 11 to the character input / display device 1, and the plurality of characters are collectively recognized. It can be performed.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining the character recognition processing operation in the input mode of the character input display device 1 of FIG. When a character is pattern-input from the pattern input device 11 based on the flowchart of FIG. 3,
The process proceeds from step b1 to step b2. At step b2, it is judged whether or not the rear recognition key 38 which is a software key has been operated. When the rear recognition key 38 is operated, the process proceeds from step b2 to step b3. When it is not operated, the process returns to step b2 again, and the determination operation is repeated until it is operated.

At step b3, the pattern storage circuit 12
The stroke data indicating the input pattern is read from the data area 50 of the pattern information area 46 of the desired character among the plurality of pattern information areas 46. When the stroke data is read, steps b3 to b
Go to 4. At step b4, the character recognition circuit 13 performs the above-described pattern matching process to determine one or a plurality of recognition candidates. When the pattern matching process is completed and a recognition candidate is obtained, the process proceeds from step b4 to step b5.

In the character input / display device 1 of the present embodiment, the character input by the pattern input device 11 is subjected to the recognition process to obtain the code data of the character. After the recognition processing is performed, the input pattern of the pattern-input characters visually displayed on the visual display surface of the display device 8 is replaced with the standard pattern of the code data of the characters obtained by the recognition processing.

At step b5, it is judged whether or not the number of recognition candidates obtained by the recognition process is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value. In the character input display device 1 of this embodiment, the predetermined threshold is set to “2”, and the display form of the standard pattern dot pattern to be replaced is changed depending on whether the number of candidates is single or plural. When the number of recognition candidates is less than a predetermined threshold value, that is, when a single recognition candidate is obtained, steps b5 to b6
Proceed to. At step b6, the obtained data regarding the recognition candidate is stored in the recognition information area 51 of the character newly set in the pattern storage circuit 12.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of the recognition information area 51 of the pattern storage circuit 12. The recognition information area 51 has a similar structure to the pattern information area 46 before the recognition processing shown in FIG. 4, and the area 46 is included in the same area.
The data from is copied. The recognition information area 51 includes a data length area 47, a recognition determination area 48, and an attribute area 4.
9, recognition mode area 53 and recognition data area 54
including. The contents of the recognition determination area 48 are rewritten as compared with the recognition determination area 48 of the pattern information area 46.

Referring again to FIG. When the number of recognition candidates is less than 2 in step b5, step b5
To step b6. At step b6, the content of the step in the recognition determination area 48 of the pattern information area 51 is rewritten from the data indicating "recognition required" to the data indicating "recognition completed".
When the data in the recognition determination area 48 is rewritten, the process proceeds from step b6 to step b7. At step b7, data indicating that only a single recognition candidate has been obtained, for example, "0" is stored in the recognition mode area 53. When the store data in the recognition mode area 53 is stored, the process proceeds from step b7 to step b8. At step b8, the obtained recognition result is stored in the recognition data area 54. That is, the code data of the character output from the character recognition circuit 13 as a recognition candidate is stored. As a result, in addition to the stroke data of the input pattern, the pattern storage circuit 12 stores the code data of the character of the recognition candidate obtained by the recognition processing. When the data is completely stored in the pattern information area 51, the process proceeds from step b8 to step b9.

At step b9, the input pattern of characters displayed on the visual display surface of the display device 8 is replaced with the standard pattern of the code data of the recognition candidate obtained by the recognition processing. When replaced, the standard pattern of the character code data is displayed in the third display form. The third display form is, for example, the same display form as the second display form, and is a display form in which a pattern to be displayed is displayed in a bold typeface.

When it is determined in step b5 that the number of recognition candidates obtained is two or more, that is, when it is determined that a plurality of recognition candidates are obtained, the process proceeds from step b5 to step b10. In step b10, the contents stored in the recognition determination area 48 of the pattern information area 51 of the pattern storage circuit 12 are updated by replacing "recognition required" with "recognition completed". When the update of the data in the recognition determination area 48 is completed, the process proceeds from step b10 to step b11, and data indicating that a plurality of recognition candidates have been obtained, for example, "1" is stored in the recognition mode area 53. When the data is stored in the recognition mode area 53, the process proceeds from step b11 to step b12. In step b12, the code data of the obtained plurality of recognition candidate characters is stored in the recognition data area 54.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a detailed memory configuration of the recognition data area 54 of the recognition information area 51. The recognition data area 54 includes a candidate number area 56 and n candidate areas 57. n is the number of recognition candidates and is a natural number of 1 or more. The number of obtained recognition candidates is stored in the candidate number area 56. In the n candidate areas 57, the code data of the obtained recognition candidate characters is 1
Stored one by one. For example, these recognition candidates are the first candidate and the second candidate in order from the area adjacent to the candidate number area 56.
Code data of characters of the candidate, ..., Nth candidate is stored.

Referring back to FIG. Recognition information area 51
When the storage of the data has been completed, the process proceeds from step b12 to step b13. In step b13, the display device 8
Input pattern of the input characters displayed on the visual display surface of the and one of the obtained plurality of recognition candidates
The standard pattern of the code data of one recognition candidate character is replaced and visually displayed. At this time, for example, the standard pattern of the first candidate character having the highest similarity to the input pattern is selected from the plurality of recognition candidates. This standard pattern of characters is visually displayed, for example, in the fourth display form.
The fourth display form is different from the third display form of the character of the recognition candidate when the number of recognition candidates is one. For example, in the fourth display mode, the standard pattern of characters is represented by a bold typeface and is displayed with an underline. An underlined typeface is a type that is visually displayed by adding an underline to the standard pattern of code data of a desired character.

When the code data recognized in step b9 is visually displayed on the visual display surface of the display device 8, the process proceeds from step b9 to step b14. Step b13
When any one of the code data recognized in step 1 is visually displayed, steps b13 to b1
Go to 4. In step b14, it is determined whether or not the recognition processing has been completed for all of the input patterns that have been input. If not, return to step b3,
The stroke data of the character next to the desired character is called for recognition processing. When the recognition process is completed for all the input patterns that have been input, the process proceeds from step b14 to step b15, and the processing operation of the flowchart is finished.

As described above, the display form after the recognition processing can be changed according to the number of obtained recognition candidates.
As a result, all the characters that have been pattern-input are subjected to recognition processing and visually displayed by the corresponding standard pattern that is the code data of the character that is the recognition candidate. As a result, all characters that have been code-input and pattern-input are visually displayed as a standard dot pattern.

When the recognition processing of the characters thus pattern-inputted is completed, the character input display device 1 shifts from the input mode to the edit mode.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display image 61 visually displayed on the comprehensive display device in the edit mode of the character input display device 1. The display image 61 has a configuration similar to that of the display image 21 in the input mode, and the same reference numerals are given to the same components and the description thereof will be omitted. The pattern-input characters visually displayed on the pattern portion 27 of the display area 23 are visually displayed by the standard pattern of the code data of the recognition candidate characters obtained by the recognition process.

The display form of the standard pattern of characters of the code portion 26 and the display form of the standard pattern of characters of the pattern portion 27 are different. For example, the standard pattern typeface of these characters is different. Therefore, the display image 61 in the edit mode
When you see, the character obtained by the recognition process,
It is possible to easily distinguish a character that has not undergone recognition processing. Furthermore, the display form of the standard pattern of characters visually displayed on the pattern portion 27 differs depending on the number of recognition candidates obtained by the recognition processing. Therefore, the character having a plurality of recognition candidates and the character having only a single recognition candidate can be easily distinguished by visually observing the display image 61.

Further, in the input editing area 24, images of ink keys 63 and end keys 64, which will be described later, are visually displayed. Further, a candidate display section 65 is set in the input editing area 24. On this candidate display portion 65, as will be described later, standard patterns of a plurality of recognition candidate characters are visually displayed.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining the editing processing operation in the character input display device 1 of FIG. When the character recognition processing operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is completed, the process proceeds from step c1 to step c2. In step c2, it is determined whether or not coordinates have been designated by the two-dimensional coordinate input device forming the input devices 3 and 11, and which position is the position of the designated coordinates. When the position of the designated coordinate is a position corresponding to a position other than the position on the ink key 63 of the display image 61 and the standard pattern of characters in the display area 23, the process returns to step c2, and the coordinates corresponding to the ink key 63 and the standard pattern. This determination operation is repeated until is instructed. When the input coordinate position is a position corresponding to the standard pattern of characters visually displayed in the display area 23 of the display image 61, that is, when the pen touch position is on the character, the character is a processing target to be edited. It is determined that the character has been selected. At this time, the process proceeds from step c2 to step c3.

In step c3, it is determined whether or not the value "1" is stored in the recognition mode area 53 of the desired character recognition information area 51. When stored, it is determined that the recognition data area 54 stores data regarding a plurality of recognition candidates. At this time, the process proceeds from step c3 to step c4. Step c
In 4, the code data of all the recognition candidates stored in the recognition data area 54 are read out, and the process proceeds to step c5.

In step c5, the standard pattern corresponding to the code data of the second to nth candidates among all the read recognition candidates is visually displayed on the candidate display section 65.
Thereby, the user can obtain all the obtained recognition candidates by visually observing the display image 61. When all the recognition candidates are visually displayed, the user newly designates one of the recognition candidates as a standard pattern of a desired character. If you specify a character, step c
It progresses from 5 to step c6.

The above-mentioned designation operation will be described, for example, using the input device in which the two-dimensional coordinate input device and the display device are combined, taking the state where the display image 61 of FIG. 9 is displayed as an example. At step c2, it is assumed that the user inputs the coordinates corresponding to the points in the area 67 of the pattern portion 27, for example. At this time, the character input display device 1 determines that the character "be" is designated as the character to be processed in the editing process. The standard pattern for the letter "be" is displayed in an underlined typeface. Therefore, this character "be"
In the recognition information area 51, a plurality of recognition candidates are stored.

At step c5, the standard pattern of the characters of the second to nth candidate recognition candidates is visually displayed on the candidate display portion. At this time, a plurality of recognition candidates of the character "be" are visually displayed on the candidate display portion 65 as a standard pattern that is either one of hiragana and katakana and one of full-width characters and half-width characters. For example, it is assumed that the character desired by the user is the double-byte character “de”. At this time, the user displays the character “de” in the candidate display section 65.
The coordinates corresponding to the area 68 in which the standard pattern is displayed are input. When the area 68 is designated by the coordinate input, the character input display device 1 considers that the character “de” indicated by the standard pattern drawn in the area 68 is designated by the user as a desired character.

Referring back to FIG. In step c6, it is determined whether a recognition candidate that is a correct recognition result has been designated. When specified, the process proceeds from step c6 to step c7. In step c7, the standard pattern of the character to be processed that has been visually displayed in the pattern portion 27 is erased, and the standard pattern of the character of the recognition candidate designated at the same position is visually confirmed in the fourth display form. indicate. The predetermined fourth display form is, for example, an underlined typeface. Thereby, the standard pattern of the first candidate of the character to be processed can be replaced with the standard pattern of the newly designated character of the recognition candidate.
Therefore, in the example described above, the area 67 of the pattern unit 27
The character "be" visually displayed in is replaced with the character "de".

When the standard pattern of visually displayed characters is replaced, the process proceeds from step c7 to step c8. If no recognition candidate is designated in step c6, the process directly proceeds from step c6 to step c8. At step c8, it is judged whether or not the editing process is completed. It is determined that the editing process ends only when the end key 64 is operated, for example. When the editing process is not completed, the steps c8 to c2
Return to

In step c3 described above, when the value of the recognition mode area 53 of the recognition information area 51 is "0", the character to be processed is the character for which only one recognition candidate was obtained in the character recognition processing. It is judged that there is. At this time, the process proceeds from step c3 to step c9. In step c9, the message text "no candidate" is visually displayed on the candidate display section 65. As a result, it is possible to indicate to the user that the character to be processed does not have a recognition candidate other than the recognition candidate visually displayed on the pattern portion 27. When the message text is displayed, step c9
To step c8.

In step c2, the ink key 6
When it is determined that 3 has been operated, the process proceeds from step c2 to step c10. In step c10, the character input display device 1 reads the stroke data of the input pattern of each character from the data area 50 of the pattern information area 46 of all the characters indicated by the standard pattern visually displayed in the pattern portion 27. When the stroke data is read, the process proceeds to step c10 or step c11. Step c11
Then, the standard pattern of the recognition candidate of each character is deleted from the pattern portion 27, and the input pattern of each character is visually displayed instead. This allows the user to re-visualize the input pattern that he / she has input, even after the recognition process is performed. With this, it is possible to confirm what kind of pattern the user actually drew. Therefore, for example, even if a user has forgotten the input content after a lapse of time since the pattern was input, the input pattern can be confirmed and the input content can be grasped. When the input pattern is visually displayed, the process proceeds from step c11 to step c8.

At step c7, step c9 and step c11, when the respective processing operations are completed,
In step c8, it is determined whether the editing process is completed. When the end pattern has been operated and the editing process has not ended, the process returns to step c2. When the end pattern is operated and it is determined that the editing process is finished, the process proceeds from step c8 to step c12, and the processing operation of the flowchart is finished. As a result, editing operations such as correction and confirmation of the character after the recognition processing can be performed.

When the editing operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is completed, the character input display device 1 shifts to the display mode. In the display mode, the characters that have been code-input and pattern-input are visually displayed in the display form desired by the user.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display image 71 visually displayed on the visual display surface of the comprehensive display device in the display mode of the character input display device 1. The display image 71 has a configuration similar to that of the display images 21 and 61 in the input and edit modes, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In the display image 71 in the display mode, the code portion 2
The characters of 6 and the pattern portion 27 are displayed in a desired display form set by the user. Data indicating a desired display form is stored as attribute data in the attribute areas 44 of the information areas 41 and 51. For example, "fax communication function" and "personal computer communication function" 2
An underline is drawn under the three strings. Also, the parts 26, 2
The standard pattern typeface of the characters depicted in FIG. 7 may be unified.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining the image display operation in the display mode. When the editing process ends in the flowchart of FIG. 10, step d
From 1 to step d2. In step d2, it is determined whether or not the editing process in the above-mentioned flowchart is completed. If not completed, the process returns to step d2, and this determination is repeated until completed. When it is completed, the process proceeds from step d2 to step d3.

At step d3, of the plurality of characters visually displayed in the display area 23, the data of the first character is read from the storage circuits 4 and 12. For example, when the editing process ends with the display image 61 of FIG. 9 being displayed,
The first character is "ko". The data relating to this character is stored in the code information area 41 of the code storage circuit 4. When the data is read, steps d3 to d
Go to 4.

At step d4, the attribute data of the character is read out from the attribute areas 44 and 49 of each area of the information area 41 to be read, and the process proceeds to step d5. At step d5, the standard pattern of characters is displayed on the visual display surface of the display device 8 in a display form corresponding to the attribute data, replacing the standard pattern that has been displayed so far. As a result, the characters can be displayed in the desired display form set by the user. When the display of this character is completed, the process proceeds from step d5 to step d6.

At step d6, the data in the information area relating to the character next to the character which has been displayed is read. When the data is read, the process proceeds from step d6 to step d7, and it is determined whether or not to end the data display. For example, in step d6, it is determined whether or not the data of the next character has been read, and if it can be read, it is determined that the character to be processed exists. At this time, the data display processing is not completed and the steps d7 to d
Returning to step 4, the processing relating to the character is performed. When the character data cannot be read, it is determined that the character to be processed does not exist. At this time, it is determined that the data display processing is to be ended, the process proceeds from step d7 to step d8, and the processing operation of the flowchart is ended.

By such a process, the pattern-input character can be visually displayed on the visual display surface of the display device 8 in the display form desired by the user after the character recognition process.

A character input display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The character input display device according to the present embodiment has the same electrical configuration as the character input device 1 according to the first embodiment, and detailed description of the constituent elements is omitted. In the character input display device of the present embodiment, the operation of each constituent element in the edit mode and the display mode is the same as the operation of the constituent element of the first embodiment.

In the input mode, characters can be input to the apparatus 1 by the code input method and the pattern input method. This input operation is the same as the input operation of the first embodiment shown in the flowchart of FIG. When the post-recognition key 38 is operated after a plurality of characters have been pattern-input, the device 1 performs a recognition process on the pattern-input characters.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart for explaining the recognition processing operation in the input mode. In the recognition processing operation of the present embodiment, the display mode on the display device 8 is switched according to the recognition time of the recognition processing for each character. The flowchart of FIG. 13 shows the same operation as that of the flowchart of FIG. 6, and steps that perform the same operation are assigned the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

When the character pattern is input, the process proceeds from step e1 to step b2, and it is determined whether or not the rear recognition key 38 has been operated. When the rear recognition key 38 is operated, the process proceeds from step b2 to step b3, and the stroke data of the desired character is read from the pattern storage circuit 12. In step b4, the character recognition circuit 13 performs pattern matching processing based on the stroke data. When the pattern matching process is completed, the process proceeds from step b4 to step b5. When it is determined that the number of recognition candidates obtained in step b5 is less than 2, the result of the recognition process is stored in the recognition information area 51 in steps b6 to b8. When the number of recognition candidates is 2 or more, all the recognition candidates obtained in steps b10 to b12 are stored in the recognition information area 51. When the storage of the recognition candidate data is completed, the process proceeds from step b8 and step b12 to step e2.

At step e2, the pattern storage circuit 12
Read the recognition time from. This recognition time is the time required for the recognition operation for the desired character in the recognition circuit 17, and for example, the recognition time measurement circuit 19 of the character recognition circuit 13.
Is measured. The recognition time is stored in the pattern storage circuit 12 in association with the recognition information area 51 of the desired character. When the recognition time is read, the process proceeds from step e2 to step e3.

At step e3, it is judged whether or not the recognition time is shorter than a predetermined reference time. It is considered that the shorter the recognition time, the higher the reliability of the recognition candidate obtained by the recognition process and the higher the recognition accuracy. When the recognition time is less than the predetermined reference time, the process proceeds from step e3 to step b9, and the standard pattern corresponding to the recognition candidate is replaced with the input pattern in the third display form and visually displayed on the display device 8. If the recognition time is equal to or longer than the reference time, the process proceeds from step e3 to b13, and the recognized code data is replaced with the input pattern in the fourth display mode and visually displayed. When the standard pattern of recognition candidates is visually displayed, steps b9 and b13 to b
Proceed to 14.

At step b14, it is judged if the recognition processing is completed. When not finished, step b1
The process returns from step 4 to step b3, and the recognition operation is performed for the next character. When the recognition process ends, the process proceeds from step b14 to step e4, and the processing operation of the flowchart ends.

In the character recognition circuit 13 of the character input / display apparatus 1 of this embodiment, as described above, the feature data of the input pattern is compared with the feature data of the standard pattern to select a recognition candidate. At this time, for example, the standard pattern to be compared with the input pattern in the recognition circuit 17 is limited to the standard pattern having the same number of strokes among all the standard patterns stored in the standard pattern storage circuit 18. Then, since the number of standard patterns to be compared is reduced, the recognition time is shortened. It is considered that when the recognition time is shortened in this way, the character recognition accuracy is also improved. Therefore, the display time of the standard pattern of the recognition candidates after the character recognition processing is changed using the recognition time as an index of the recognition accuracy. This makes it possible to easily distinguish between a character with high recognition accuracy and a character with low recognition accuracy simply by visually observing the visual display surface of the display device 8.

The character input display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The character input display device of the present embodiment has the same electrical configuration as the character input display device 1 of the first embodiment, and detailed description of the constituent elements is omitted. The behavior of each component in the edit mode and the display mode is the same as the behavior in the character input display device 1 of the first embodiment. The behavior of each component in the input operation in the input mode is also the same as that of the character input display device 1 of the first embodiment. The character input display device of the present embodiment performs pattern recognition processing for a plurality of characters and then collectively performs the recognition processing. At this time, the character recognition processing operation in the character recognition circuit is performed by selecting one of the first and second methods. In the first method of character recognition processing operation, all obtained recognition candidates are saved. In the second method, only the code data of the first candidate character that is determined to have the highest degree of similarity in the comparison operation with the input pattern is stored, and the remaining code data is discarded.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart for explaining the recognition processing operation in the character input display device of this embodiment. The flowchart of the present embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the flowchart of FIG. 6 of the first embodiment, and steps that perform the same operation will be assigned the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When a character is input from the pattern input device 11, the process proceeds from step f1 to step b2. Step b
In 2, it is determined whether or not the rear recognition key 38 has been operated. When operated, the process proceeds from step b2 to step f2. In step f2, the recognition method selection image 81 is displayed on the visual display surface of the comprehensive display device.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a recognition method selection image 81 visually displayed on the comprehensive display device. In the selected image 81, a region 83 for designating the recognition process with a candidate which is the first technique and a region 84 for designating the recognition process without a candidate which is the second technique are set. In the area 83,
"Recognition with candidates / After recognition is complete, you can select from the recognition candidates and correct it / When the memory of recognition candidates runs out,
The message "It will end in the middle" will be displayed visually. In the area 84, a message text "recognition without candidate / first candidate is adopted, recognition candidate is lost / specified range can be recognized" is visually displayed.
The user inputs the coordinates included in one of the areas 83 and 84 from the two-dimensional coordinate input device and selects the recognition processing operation of either the recognition process with a candidate or the recognition device without a candidate. Further, the recognition image 81 includes images of the execute key 86 and the stop key 87. The execute key 86 and the stop key 87 are the software keys described above.

Referring again to FIG. When the selected image 81 is displayed, the process proceeds from step f2 to step f3. In step f3, it is determined whether the recognition method has been selected. For example, when the coordinates included in the area 83 are input from the two-dimensional coordinate input device, it is determined that the candidate recognition process is selected. When the coordinates included in the area 84 are input, it is determined that the candidateless recognition process has been selected.
When the recognition process with candidates is selected, the process proceeds from step f3 to step f4, and 1 is set to the recognition method flag and set. When no candidate recognition process is selected,
From step f3 to step f5, 0 is assigned to the recognition method flag and set. When the value of the flag is set, steps f4 and f5 to f6
Proceed to.

At step f6, it is judged whether or not there is a pen-down for instructing coordinates on the two-dimensional coordinate input device. Further, when there is a pen down, it is determined which area the coordinates correspond to. When the input coordinates specify the coordinates included in the area other than the execution key 86 and the stop key 87, the process returns to step f6 and this determination is repeated. When the input coordinates are the coordinates corresponding to the stop key 87, the character recognition process is interrupted and the process returns from step f6 to step b2. When the input coordinates are the coordinates corresponding to the execution key 86, the steps f6 to b
3, the character recognition process of the input pattern is started. After performing the pattern matching process for the desired character in step b3 and step b4, the process proceeds to step f7.

At step f7, it is judged what the value is set in the recognition method flag. Flag value is 1
If so, the process proceeds from step f7 to step b5.
In steps b5 to b13, the code data of the recognition candidates is stored in the recognition information area 51 of the pattern storage memory 12 according to the number of recognition candidates. Further, the standard pattern of the first candidate is replaced with the input pattern in a display form corresponding to the number of recognition candidates, and is visually displayed on the display device 8. When the value of the recognition method flag is 0, the process proceeds from step f7 to step b10. In steps b10 to b13, only the first candidate code data is irrespective of the number of obtained recognition candidates.
Stored in the second recognition information area 51. Further, the standard pattern of the first candidate is replaced with the input pattern in the fourth display form and visually displayed.

When the standard pattern of the recognition candidates selected by the pattern matching process is visually displayed, the process proceeds from step b9 and step b13 to step b14,
It is determined whether or not the recognition process has been performed for all the input patterns. If not, the process returns from step b14 to step f2, and the recognition process is performed for the next character. If it is determined that the recognition process is completed, step b14
To step f8, the processing operation of the flowchart is finished.

As described above, in the character input / display apparatus of this embodiment, the user can select the recording method of the recognition candidate after the input processing. Therefore, when the recognition process with a candidate is selected, in the editing operation in the edit mode, when the first recognition candidate is not the character desired by the user, the character desired by the user can be selected from other recognition candidates. When the candidateless recognition process is selected, the memory capacity of the recognition information area 51 becomes small, so that the recognition information area 51 for many characters can be set in the pattern storage circuit 12 and data can be stored. Therefore, even when there are a large number of input patterns to be recognized, it becomes impossible to store data in the pattern storage circuit 12 and the recognition process is not interrupted.

In the character input / display devices of the above-described first to third embodiments, the standard patterns of the characters having the code input and the characters having the pattern input, the characters having different recognition candidates, and the characters having different recognition times are displayed differently. It is visually displayed in the form.
In this display mode, the typeface (font) when the standard pattern is visually displayed is different, but the display color of the standard pattern may be different. For example,
As a first display form, each dot forming the standard pattern is visually displayed on the display device 8 as a black display,
In this display form, the dots of the standard pattern are visually displayed as blue display. In this way, when the standard pattern of each character is visually displayed in different display colors, the user can easily distinguish the character under different conditions.

[0118]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the character input / display device, the standard character patterns of the code-input characters and the pattern-input characters are visually displayed in different display forms. With this, when a character group in which characters input by different input methods are mixed is visually displayed as a standard character pattern, the standard character pattern itself can be visually checked to see which input means each character is input from. You can figure it out just by doing. Therefore, it is possible to easily discriminate only the pattern-entered character that needs to be confirmed whether the character is a desired character. Therefore, even in the mixed character group described above, it is possible to confirm only the characters for which the pattern is input, so that the labor required for confirmation can be omitted. Moreover, the authenticity of each displayed character can be clarified.

Further, according to the present invention, the standard character patterns of characters input by different input methods are visually displayed by changing the display color. Therefore, it becomes easy for the user who visually checks the visual display surface to distinguish the characters from the two-system input means.

Further, according to the present invention, the character input / display device changes the display form of each character in accordance with the recognition accuracy of the character recognition processing when visually displaying the pattern-input character as a standard character pattern. Therefore, the user of the character recognition device can grasp the recognition accuracy of each character only by visually observing the visual display means. Therefore, the authenticity and reliability of each character can be clarified.

Further, according to the present invention, the recognition accuracy of the character recognition processing uses the number of code data candidates selected by the character recognition means as an index. According to the present invention, the recognition accuracy of the character recognition process uses the recognition time required for the character recognition process as an index.
Further, the standard character pattern of characters is visually displayed with the recognition accuracy divided into two stages. Since the number of code data candidates and the recognition time can be easily measured, the recognition accuracy acquisition process becomes easy. Therefore, the device can be simplified.

Further, according to the present invention, standard character patterns of characters having different recognition accuracies are visually displayed in different display colors. Therefore, it becomes easier for the user who visually checks the visual display surface to recognize the recognition accuracy of each character.

Further, according to the present invention, the visual display means visually displays the standard character pattern in a display form based on the recognition accuracy only at the time of character input, and displays the standard character pattern in a display form desired by the user during the rest of the operation. Display visually. As a result, the recognition accuracy can be displayed and shown only when inputting without changing the layout of the display image set by the user.

According to the present invention, the character input / display device pattern-inputs a character. With this character recognition means, the user can select whether to store all of the selected code data candidates in the memory or only one of them. Therefore, the user can select a mode in which the memory storage capacity is reduced and the input is redone when an input error occurs, and a mode in which the storage capacity is increased to facilitate the correction of an input error depending on the usage state during the character input operation. It can be arbitrarily selected. Therefore, the operation can be performed in a mode that is easy for the user to use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a character input display device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display image 21 displayed on a visual display surface of a display device in a pattern input method in an input mode.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an input processing operation in an input mode in the character input display device 1.

4 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of a code information area 41 of the code storage circuit 4. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a pattern information area 46 of the pattern storage circuit 4.
3 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of FIG.

6 is a flowchart for explaining a character recognition processing operation in an input mode in the character input display device 1. FIG.

7 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of a recognition information area 51 of the pattern storage circuit 4. FIG.

8 is a diagram showing a detailed memory configuration of a recognition data area 54 of a recognition information area 51. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display image 61 displayed on the visual display surface of the display device in the edit mode.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an edit processing operation in the edit mode in the character input display device 1.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display image 71 displayed on the visual display surface of the display device in the display mode.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a display processing operation in a display mode in the character input display device 1.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a character recognition processing operation in an input mode in the character input display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining a character recognition processing operation in an input mode in the character input display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a recognition method selection image 81 visually displayed on a display device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 character input display device 3 code input device 4 code storage circuit 6 dot pattern generation circuit 7 display control circuit 8 display device 11 pattern input device 12 pattern storage circuit 13 character recognition circuit 16 feature extraction circuit 17 recognition circuit 18 standard pattern storage circuit 19 Recognition time measurement circuit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A code input means for outputting code data indicating a predetermined standard character pattern, a pattern input means for inputting a character pattern and outputting pattern data indicating a character pattern, and an output of the pattern input means. In response, the characteristic points of the character pattern are extracted from the pattern data, and the characteristic points are compared with the characteristic points of the standard character pattern that are predetermined for each of the plurality of code data, and the characteristic points are predetermined. Character recognition means for selecting and outputting code data corresponding to standard character patterns similar to the reference value or more as code data candidates, and visually displaying the standard character pattern indicated by the code data given from the code input means in the first display form. However, the standard character pattern indicated by the code data given from the character recognition means is different from the first display mode. That character input display device characterized by comprising a visual display means for visually displaying a second display mode. 2. The visual display means visually displays a pattern corresponding to a character indicated by code data in a predetermined display color, and the first display mode visually displays a standard character pattern of code data in a predetermined display color. 2. The character input display according to claim 1, wherein the second display form is a form in which the code data standard character pattern is visually displayed in a display color different from the display color in the first display form. apparatus. 3. A pattern input means for inputting a character pattern and outputting pattern data indicating the character pattern, and a characteristic point of the character pattern is extracted from the pattern data in response to the output of the pattern input means. And a characteristic point of a standard character pattern that is predetermined corresponding to each of a plurality of code data, respectively, and the code data corresponding to the standard character pattern in which the characteristic point is similar to a predetermined reference value or more is selected as a code data candidate. When the number of code data candidates is single, the code data is output, and when there are a plurality of code data candidates, one of them is selected.
A character recognition unit that outputs one code data, and a character that is the degree of matching between the standard character pattern indicated by the code data candidate selected by the character recognition unit and the input character pattern in response to the output from the character recognition unit. Accuracy acquisition means for acquiring the recognition accuracy of the character, display mode setting means for setting the display mode of the code data according to the recognition accuracy of the character in response to the output from the accuracy acquisition means, and the code output from the character recognition means. A character input / display device comprising: a visual display means for visually displaying a standard character pattern indicated by data in a display form set by the display form setting means. 4. The accuracy acquisition means acquires the number of code data candidates selected by the character recognition means, and the display form setting means, when the number of code data candidates is less than a predetermined threshold number, 4. The display form of the code data is set to the first display form, and when the number is equal to or more than the threshold value, the display form is set to the second display form different from the first display form. Character input display device described. 5. The accuracy acquisition unit acquires a recognition time required for selecting a code data candidate in the character recognition unit, and the display form setting unit detects the code data when the recognition time is less than a predetermined threshold time. The character input display according to claim 3, wherein the display form is set to the first display form, and the display form is set to a second display form different from the first display form when the threshold time is exceeded. apparatus. 6. The visual display means visually displays the standard character pattern indicated by the code data in a predetermined display color, and the first display mode visually displays the standard character pattern of the code data in a predetermined display color. 6. The character input according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the second display form is a form in which the standard character pattern of the code data is visually displayed in a display color different from the display color in the first display form. Display device. 7. The display form setting means, a display form inputting means for inputting a display form of each code data in the visual display means, a visual display state of the code data in the visual display means, a recognition accuracy of the code data. And a second visual display state showing the standard character pattern indicated by the code data, and a switching means for switching the display state to either one of the second visual display state and the first visual display state. The display form is set according to the recognition accuracy of the character recognition means, and when the display mode is switched to the second visual display state, the display form is set to the display form input from the display form input means. The character input display device according to claim 3. 8. A pattern input means for inputting a character pattern and outputting pattern data indicating the character pattern, and a characteristic point of the character pattern extracted from the pattern data in response to the output of the pattern input means. And a characteristic point of a standard character pattern that is predetermined corresponding to each of a plurality of code data, respectively, and the code data corresponding to the standard character pattern in which the characteristic point is similar to a predetermined reference value or more is selected as a code data candidate. And a code output from the character recognition means for outputting the code data when there is a single code data candidate and outputting one of the code data candidates when there are a plurality of code data candidates. Visual display means to visually display the standard character pattern indicated by the data, and save only a single code data candidate And a selection unit for selecting a plurality of storage modes for storing all code data candidates, wherein the character recognition unit responds to the output of the selection unit, and the single storage mode is selected. And a candidate storage means for storing only the code data of the output single code data candidate, and storing each code data of all the code data candidates in association with each other when the multiple storage mode is selected. Character input display device characterized by.