JP2003528388A - Document processing - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract An electronically stored document, which can be of any type, such as text, images or charts, is printed on a surface, preferably a paper sheet, with a position-coding pattern. The printout surface is then manually edited with a digital pen with position coding pattern reading means and a pen point for marking the surface. Editing is performed on a paper sheet by a code in the form of a symbol selected from a predetermined symbol set. The editing information, ie the symbols on the surface, are digitally registered with a digital pen and transferred to a storage and processing device, preferably a computer. This transfer can be performed directly during editing or a subsequent opportunity. The edit code is then fully or partially interpreted in the computer interactively with the document stored on the computer, and upon completion, changes are made to the stored document based directly on the interpretation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to methods and apparatus for editing electronically stored documents.

BACKGROUND ART US Pat. No. 5,897,648 describes an apparatus and method for editing electronic documents. The original document is scanned into a computer and an electronic version of this document is stored in the computer. This original is then placed on an X / Y discretized tablet and the position of the document on the discretized tablet is correlated with a scanned version of the document.
Then edit on the tablet with the help of a digitizing pen linked to this discretized tablet. This editing is performed on the original in the form of markings, the location of which is transferred to the computer via the tablet.
This edit marking is interpreted and converted in computer to electronic form, after which the edited electronic document is displayed.

With the present invention according to US Pat. No. 5,897,648, the user is forced to be located at a computer, at least a discretized tablet, for editing. There are drawbacks.

Therefore, a general problem is to provide a simple and flexible method of editing electronic documents.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to raise the problems associated with the prior art. This object is achieved by a method and a computer program as claimed in claims 1 and 2 and a system as claimed in claims 8 and 9.

In its most general form, a feature of the present invention is that, based on an electronically stored document that can be of any type such as text, images, charts, and the like, the document is provided with a position-coding pattern. Printed on a surface, preferably a sheet of paper. Next, a manual edit is performed on the printout surface using means for reading the position-coding pattern and also a device with pen points for marking on the surface. Editing is performed on this paper sheet by means of a code in the form of a symbol selected from a predetermined symbol set. The editing information, ie the symbols and markings applied on the surface, are transferred to a storage device and a processing device, preferably a computer. This transfer can be done directly during the editing or at a later opportunity. The edit code is then fully or partially interpreted in the computer interactively with the document stored in the computer, after which changes are made to the stored document directly based on this interpretation. Add.

It is often convenient to print the document information on a pre-printed sheet on which the position coding pattern has already been provided, but with the extra freedom, the document information is printed with the position coding pattern. It may be desirable to print it with. This aspect of the invention is useful in situations where the user has the ability to calculate position coding patterns, as discussed below.

The present invention allows for multiple users to edit the same document. By associating the edit command with the time stamp and the user, for example by an identification code associated with the reader, the series of edit commands can be interpreted by a computer holding an electronic version of the document.

The many advantages of the present invention, which are associated with processing simplicity, are clear as follows: simple and easy to understand means that a conventional type of document, ie, paper print. This is a problem of intuitively processing out documents. This is also
As a result, the learning threshold of the person who performs the editing is lowered.

Furthermore, the document to be edited does not have to be located at the computer where the document is stored, that is to say without being bound by the complex input device for which a discretized tablet is illustrated in the prior art. The advantage is that you can easily edit. Therefore, the editing information should be stored in the input device for later
It would be an advantage if it could be transferred to a storage location.

It is also advantageous to directly obtain a copy of the edited content in the form of manually edited printout content as provided by the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION For the sake of simplicity, the following detailed description of the invention will be divided into several parts. As an introduction, coding patterns are presented with reference to FIGS. 1, 2a-2d and 3. This coding pattern represents the position information that can be used in the method according to the invention. Once the coding pattern is presented, the device that would be used for manual editing of the printed document is presented as shown in FIG. This pen-shaped device also reads the position-coding pattern and, if applicable, also the text and is equipped with pen points to visibly create editing information on the printed document. Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 5a and 5b, an example of manual editing information is how a document containing printout content (FIG. 5a) and a drawing drawing of a text document (FIG.
5b) and what is depicted above. Next, a method and system for editing document information is presented with reference to Figures 5c and 6.

Applicant International Patent Publication WO 01/1669, the position coding patterns and readers of which are shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 below are further incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
1 and applicant's international patent applications PCT / SE00 / 01895 and PCT / SE0
0/01897.

FIG. 1 shows a part of a product in the form of a paper sheet 1 having on its surface 2 an optically readable position-coding pattern 3 enabling position determination. This position-coding pattern consists of symbols 4 systematically arranged on the surface 2 so as to have a "patterned" appearance. This paper sheet has an x coordinate axis and ay coordinate axis. In this case, the position determination is carried out based on the total surface of the product. In other cases, the position-enabling surface consists of a smaller part of the product.
For example, a paper sheet can be used to electronically display information written or drawn on a surface. The electronic representation can be generated by continuously determining the position of the pen on the paper sheet by reading the position coding pattern while writing with the pen on the surface.

The position-coding pattern is a virtual raster that is invisible to the human eye and cannot be directly detected by an on-surface position-determining device, and each has four values, as described in the text below. And a plurality of symbols 4 which can be one of "1" to "4". In this regard, it should be pointed out that the position coding pattern of FIG. 1 has been greatly expanded for clarity. Moreover, it is only shown on a portion of the paper sheet.

The position-coding pattern is arranged such that the position of the partial surface on the writing surface is coded by a symbol on this partial surface. The first partial surface 5a and the second partial surface 5b are shown in phantom in FIG. The part of the position-coding pattern (in this case 3 × 3 symbols) located on the first partial surface 5a is
The portion of the position-coding pattern that codes the first position and that is on the second partial surface 5b codes the second position. Therefore, the position coding pattern is partially common to the adjacent first and second positions.
Such position-coding patterns are referred to in this application as "floating."

2a-2d show embodiments of symbols that can be used in the position-coding pattern according to the invention. This symbol is composed of a virtual raster point 6 represented by an intersection of raster lines and a marking 7 having a dot form. The value of this symbol depends on where the marking is located. In the example of FIG. 2, there are four possible positions, one for each raster line extending from the raster point. The displacement from the raster point is equal for all values. In the text below, the symbol is the value 1 in Figure 2a, the value 2 in Figure 2b, the value 3 in Figure 2c,
In FIG. 2d, the value is 4. In other words, there are four different types of symbols.

Accordingly, the symbols each represent four values of “1 to 4”. This means that the position coding pattern can be divided into a first position code with x-coordinates and a second position code with y-coordinates. This division is done as follows.

[0019]

Each position is coded with the aid of multiple symbols. In this example, 4x
The four symbols are used to code the position in two dimensions, namely the x and y coordinates.

The position code is made up of a sequence of 1s and 0s, and this sequence has the characteristic that a 4-bit sequence does not occur more than once in this sequence. This sequence of numbers is circular, meaning that this feature applies even if the end of the sequence is concatenated with its beginning. Therefore, a 4-bit sequence always has a well-defined position within the sequence.

[0022]

Since each position on the surface is coded by 4 × 4 symbols in this example, three differences (having a value of 0-6) according to the above are available for coding the x coordinate. Is. The coding is then performed such that the three differences always have a value of 1 or 2 and the other two have a value in the range 3-6. Therefore, any difference in the x-code is not zero. In other words, the x-code is constructed such that the difference is: (3-6) (3-6) (1-2) (3-6) (3-6) (1-2) (3-6) (
3-6) (1-2). ． ． Thus, the x coordinate is coded with two numbers each between 3 and 6 and a subsequent number which is 1 or 2. Subtracting 3 from this higher order number and 1 from the lower order number gives the value in the mixed radix, which directly gives the position in the x direction, and then from this, the x coordinate It can be determined directly as shown in the example below.

Using the above principles, the x-coordinates 0, 1, 2, 3 ,. ． ． Can be coded with the aid of numbers that represent the three differences. These differences are coded in a bit pattern that is based on the above sequence. Finally, this bit pattern can be coded graphically with the aid of the symbols of FIG.

In many cases, when reading 4 × 4 symbols, it is not possible to get the complete number coding the x-coordinate, but the two number parts are possible. However, since the lowest part of a number is always 1 or 2, perfect numbers can be easily restructured.

The y coordinate is coded according to the same principles used for the z coordinate. The cyclic sequence is repeatedly written in horizontal rows over the surface to be position coded. Just as in the x-coordinate case, these rows can start at different positions in the sequence, ie in different sequences. However, for the y coordinate, it is not the difference that is used, but the coordinates are coded numerically based on the starting position of the sequence in each row. Once the x-coordinates of the 4x4 symbols have been determined, it is possible to determine the starting position in the sequence for the row contained in the y-code in the 4x4 symbols. In the y-code, the most significant digit is determined by allowing it to be the only digit with a value in a particular range. In this example, row 4 is allowed to start at position 0-1 in the sequence, which indicates that this row is associated with the least significant digit on the y coordinate, and the other three.
One row starts at positions 2-6. In the y direction, the following sequences can be seen: (2-6) (2-6) (2-6) (0-1) (2-6) (2-6) (2-6) (
0-1) (2-6). ． ． Therefore, each y coordinate is coded with three numbers in the range 2-6 and subsequent numbers in the range 0-1.

Subtracting 1 from the lower numerical value and subtracting 2 from the higher numerical value gives the y-direction position in the mixed radix corresponding to the case in the x direction, from which the y coordinate can be determined directly. Is possible. Using the above method, it is possible to code 4x4x2 = 32 positions in the x direction. Each such position corresponds to three differences, resulting in 3 × 32 = 96 positions. Furthermore, 5x in the y direction
It is possible to code 5 × 5 × 2 = 250 positions. Each such position corresponds to four rows, resulting in 4 × 250 = 1000 positions. Taken together, it is possible to code 96,000 positions.
However, since the x-coding is based on the difference, it is possible to choose the position where the first sequence starts. Considering that this first sequence can start from 7 different positions, 7 × 96,000 = 672,00
It is possible to code the 0 position. The starting position of the first sequence of numbers in the first column can be calculated once the x coordinate is determined. The above-mentioned seven different starting positions of the first number sequence make it possible to code different sheets or writing surfaces on the product.

To further illustrate the invention according to this embodiment, a specific example based on the above position code embodiment is provided below.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an image with 4 × 4 symbols read by a device for position determination.

These 4 × 4 symbols have the following values: 4 4 4 2 3 2 3 4 4 4 2 4 1 3 2 4 These values represent the following binary x and y codes: x code y code 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 Vertical direction x sequence is position 2 0 4 6 in the sequence Code.
The difference between the columns is -2 42, which is 5 4 2 modulo 7, which is the position (5-3) x 8 + (4-3) x 2 + (2-1 ) = 16
Code + 2 + 1 = 19. The first coded x position is position 0
Therefore, the difference appearing in the 4 × 4 symbols within the range 1-2 is the 12th such difference. There are a total of three columns for such differences,
Also, since there is one starting column, the farthest vertical sequence on the right side in the 4x4 x code belongs to the 61st column in the xcode (3x20 + 1 = 61), and the farthest one on the left side is the 58th sequence. Belong to.

The horizontal y-sequence codes for position 0 4 1 3 in the sequence. Since these series of numbers start from the 58th column, the starting position of the row is a value obtained by subtracting 57 from these values modulo 7, and the starting position is 6 3 0 2. Converted to mixed-radix digits, this yields 6-2, 3-2, 0-0, 2-2 = 4
It becomes 1 0 0, and the third digit is the least significant digit in the numerical value in question. Then, the fourth digit becomes the most significant digit in the next numerical value. In this case it must be the same as in the number at issue. (The exception is if the number in question consists of the highest possible digit in all positions.
It is clear that the start of the next number is one more than the start of the number in question. ) In the mixed radix, the position of the 4-digit numerical value is 0x50 + 4x10 + 1x2 + 0x1 = 4
It is 2.

Therefore, the third line in the y code is the 43rd position where the start position is 0 or 1, and there are a total of four lines in each such line, so the third line has a numerical value. 43 × 4 = 172.

Thus, the position of the top left corner of the group of 4 × 4 symbols is (58,170) in this example.

Since the x-sequence in the 4 × 4 group starts at row 170, the x-column of the overall pattern starts at position (modulo 7 (2 0 4 6) = 1 6 3 5) in the sequence. . Between the last start position (5) and the first start position, the numbers 0 to 19 are coded in a mixed radix, and the values represented by the numbers 0 to 19 in the mixed radix are summed to obtain a value between these columns. The total difference of is obtained. The basic algorithm for doing this is to generate these 20 numbers and sum their digits directly.
The sum thus obtained is called s. The sheet or writing surface is then given modulo 7 at (5-s).

In the above example, an embodiment in which each position is coded with 4 × 4 symbols and a sequence of 7 bits is used has been described. Of course, this is the only example. The position is
It is possible to code with more or less symbols. The number of symbols need not be the same in both directions. Sequences may have different lengths, and need not be binary and may be based on different bases. Coding in the x-direction and coding in the y-direction can be performed using different sequences. The number of symbol values may be another number.

In the above example, the markings are also dots. Of course, the appearance will be different. For example, it may consist of a line starting at a virtual raster point and extending from it to a predetermined location.

In the above example, symbols are used within the rectangular partial surface to code the position. This partial surface can have a different shape, for example a hexagonal shape. The symbols also need not be arranged in rows and columns at 90 degrees to each other, but may be arranged in other ways.

In the case of the detected position code, a virtual raster has to be determined. This is possible by considering the distance between different markings. Two
The minimum distance between two markings originates from two adjacent symbols with the values 1 and 3, respectively, so the markings should be on the same raster line between two raster points. Once such a pair of markings is detected, the raster points associated with it can be determined by knowing the distance between the raster points and the displacement of the markings from the raster points. Once the two raster points have been located, further raster points can be determined with the aid of the measured distance to other markings and by knowledge of the relative distance between the raster points.

[0039]

[0040]   The casing mainly contains the optics, electronics and power supply.

This optical part comprises at least one light emitting diode 13 for illuminating the surface to be imaged and a light sensitive area sensor 14 for registering a two-dimensional image, for example a CCD or CMOS sensor. The device also includes a lens system (not shown).

The power supply for this device is obtained from a battery 15 mounted in a separate compartment within the casing.

The electronic part is configured to image-position-determine means 16 for determining the position based on the images registered by the sensor 14, more specifically for reading the images from the sensor and determining the position based on these images. It includes a processor unit with a programmed processor. Moreover, the processor unit may also store an identifier that is unique for each reader. This device identifier usually consists of multiple numbers and / or letters and can be used in coded form. The identifier is useful in carrying out the method according to the invention when the user is identified by the device identifier as being the particular editor of the document.

In this embodiment too, the device is equipped with a pen point 17, with the aid of which it is possible to carry out normal writing with pigments on the surface on which the position-determining movement takes place. The pen point 17 can be retracted or extended to allow the user to control whether or not to use it. In the alternative, the pen point 17 is non-retractable and is covered by a cap (not shown) when not in use. In some applications, the device need not have any pen points.

The device also comprises a button 18, with the aid of which the device is activated and controlled. Further, it has a transceiver 19 for wirelessly exchanging information with the device by, for example, IR rays or radio waves. The device may also include a display 20 to show location and registered information.

Applicant International Patent Publication WO 98/20446 describes a device for registering text. When properly programmed, this device can be used for position determination. When used for pigment writing, it too must have a pen point.

This device can be divided into different physical casings, but for the first casing to obtain images of the position-coding pattern, and for those images in the second casing. And contains the components needed to transfer to a component that locates based on one or more registered images.

As already mentioned, the position determination is carried out by a processor which needs to have the software to locate and decode the symbols in the image and to determine the position from the code thus obtained. It One of ordinary skill in the art can design software based on the above example to perform position determination based on an image of a portion of the position coding pattern. Furthermore, a person skilled in the art can configure the software for printing the position coding pattern based on the above.

In the above embodiment, the raster is a rectangular grid. It may also be in another form, i.e. not rectangular.

In the above embodiment, it is also not the longest cycle number used. This provides some redundancy that can be used, for example, to check the rotation of the read symbol group.

In this embodiment, the pattern is optically readable and thus
The sensor is an optical sensor. Other position-coding patterns, such as those described in Applicant's International Patent Publication WO 00/01670 and US-A-505.
It should be emphasized that the position-coding patterns according to the prior art disclosed in 1 736, WO 00/31682 and EP-A-0 469 864 can be used within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the pattern may also be based on other parameters than the optical parameters. In that case, of course, the sensor must be of a type that can read the parameter in question. Examples of such parameters are chemical, acoustic or electromagnetic symbols. Also, capacitive or inductive symbols can be used.

FIG. 5 a shows a printout 501 of a text document that is preferably stored on a computer. The printout 501 is suitable for printing on a paper sheet with a position coding pattern as described above with reference to FIGS. However, for simplicity, such a pattern is not shown in Figure 5a.

In one embodiment of the invention, the digital pen of FIG. 4 is used to provide editing information on printout 501. Such editing information is schematically illustrated by reference numerals 502, 503 and 504 in FIG. 5a. The misspelled word "tw
The typographical error "o" for "o" is cross-hatched and marked in the right margin to be replaced with "o" 502. The malformed word "green" is cross-lined and the right margin is marked 503 as it should be replaced with the word "gold". The words "fade" and "not" are accompanied by an edit symbol 504, which, when interpreted, indicates that these words should be interchanged with each other.

In FIG. 5b, a diagram consisting of simple geometric figures is shown very schematically. The Peke mark 505 is drawn on one side of the rectangle, indicating that this side should be erased.

A method of editing according to the invention and with reference to the example of FIG. 5a is illustrated in FIG. 5c.

In a read / search step 510, the text of the document is analyzed to associate each character with its position and at the same time search for edit symbols with corresponding positions. Next, in a number of decision steps 511, 513, 515 and 517, the edit symbol is identified,
Corresponding interpretation steps 512, 514, 516 and 518 are performed.

In a read / search step 510, the identity of the digital pen is determined and the unique device identifier is transferred from the digital pen to a means for storing documents, typically a memory unit within a computer or server. A particular digital pen is associated with a particular user, the editor or censor of the document. When multiple editors, each having a digital pen with a unique device identity, modify the text, these modifications are associated with different users.

If the edit symbol of step 511 is found, it is searched for the corresponding edit symbol in the blank area of the printed document and any handwritten text close to the edit symbol. Such text is interpreted using the ICR technique, and the interpreted text is then
It is inserted at the appropriate position in the stored document.

If the edit symbol of step 513 is found, the text in the stored document at the same position as the edit symbol is removed from the stored document.

If the edit symbol of step 515 is found, the corresponding edit symbol is searched for in the blank area of the printed document and any handwritten text near the edit symbol. Such text is interpreted using the ICR technique, and the interpreted text is then
It is inserted at the appropriate position in the stored document to replace the character at the position of the edit symbol in the stored text.

If the edit symbol of step 517 is found, identify one or more characters in the position of the left portion of the edit symbol, ie, in the left “loop”. next,
Once you have identified one or more characters in the right part of the edit symbol, the identified text from the left part is moved to the identified position in the right part of the edit symbol,
Then do the reverse.

From the above, it is stated that each edit symbol causes an edit command either in the pen itself or in communication with the pen, and also in the computer unit containing the software for identifying the edit symbol. It will be understood that it will result.

As already discussed, it is often convenient to print the document information on a pre-printed sheet that already has position-coding patterns. However, it is desirable to print the document information along with the position-coding pattern with extra freedom. Such aspects of the invention are useful in situations where a user has the ability to calculate a position coding pattern and apply it to a printed sheet. Moreover, as briefly mentioned above, the present invention allows for multiple editors to edit the same document. By associating the edit command with the time stamp and the user, for example by a unique identification code associated with the digital pen, the series of edit commands can be interpreted by a computer holding an electronic version of the document. is there.

It should be understood that the edit symbols and markings shown in FIGS. 5a, 5b and 5c should be viewed merely as an example of how the edit information can be constructed. Editing symbols are a large subset of a set of symbols that contain more or less complex instructions that indicate how subsequent interpretations should be performed and what a real change in a stored document should look like. obtain. A corresponding set of editing commands can be predetermined or generated by the user, for example, in a suitable learning process according to the prior art.

[0065]

After creating the document in the local processing unit 603, the author registers the document in the central unit 602. In this process, the central unit 602 receives from the local processing unit 603 the file identifier and data relating to the standard page number of the registered document. In the alternative, central unit 602 receives an electronic copy of the document. In the central unit 602, the pages of the electronic document are assigned corresponding pattern numbers, i.e. mutually unique subsets of the above position-coding patterns. Once registered, the original document, or a copy thereof, is "locked" to prevent further manipulation and stored in local treatment unit 603 or central unit 602.

Next, the author distributes the document thus locked to various censors. The author sends the electronic document from the local processing unit 603 to the printing press unit 604, then physically distributes the printouts, etc. electronically distributes the document so that the censors can send it to the printer at some convenient printing press. Allow printing with a unit (not shown).
Alternatively, various censors may themselves download the document from the central unit to their respective computers, from which they may send the document to the appropriate printing press unit.

Thereafter, each censor uses his or her reader 601 to write on his or her printout 605, in which case the reader 601 electronically identifies the position at which he or she applied to the printout. , Which produces a digital copy of the editing information written on the page of the printout. The censor will synchronize his reader 601 with the central unit 602 when he has finished censoring. In this process, digital editing information, ie, reading device 60
The position data read by 1 is sent to the central unit 602 with a reader identifier and, optionally, a time stamp indicating the date and time of the annotation. This synchronization is performed, for example, by the censor viewing the send icon (
This icon is provided with a specific part of the position-coding pattern, as occurs by checking (not shown). When the processor unit of the reading device 601 registers one or more positions coded in this specific pattern portion, it starts synchronization. In the alternative, the censor can operate a button on the reader 601 to initiate synchronization. In a further alternative, the digital editing information is provided to the central unit 602 in real time, ie,
It is possible for the censor to send the editing information while actually writing it on the printout 605.

Once synchronization with one or more readers 60 is complete, central unit 602 may
It publishes a message to the local processing unit 603, which allows the author to connect to the central unit 602 and download one or more feedbacks from the censors at one time. The central unit 602 also translates the editing information into a local location on each page of the electronic document, which allows the local processing unit 603 to incorporate the editing information into the electronic document displayed to the author. . If a copy of the electronic document is sent to central unit 602, this incorporation can be effected by central unit 602 sending the electronic file back to local processing unit 603 for display to the author.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the pattern management functionality of the central unit is incorporated into the local processing unit so that one or more readers may be local processing units, typically: Communicate with PCs, PDAs, etc.

In another alternative embodiment (not shown), the central unit only serves the function of assigning pattern pages to the electronic document, ie the local processing unit is for calculating pattern pages or pattern pages. Receives a parameterized file from the central unit. The local processing unit then communicates with the digital pen to generate the updated document based on the received edit information.

In a further embodiment, the digital pen is capable of inserting edit symbols, which allows the pen to send edit commands to the local processing unit. Optionally, the pen can also do an ICR analysis of the relevant portion of the edit information written on the printout.

Although the author and censor are described as separate individuals, it is clear that the author also functions as a censor in the methods and systems described above. It should also be appreciated that the central unit can communicate with multiple local processing units, thereby acting as a hub in the infrastructure for handling information.

It should also be noted that incorporating edit information may or may not include interpreting markings made by censoring sheet 605 containing printed text. Is. When censoring, in some cases one or more censors can easily annotate the text, and associate these annotations with specific locations in the text to allow the owner of the document to annotate them. It is desirable to be able to browse the document with. This allows viewers to write simple comments in the margins of a document or draw a sketch, without the need to edit the text or shapes on the printout, so that the author can further refine the document. It becomes possible to support writing. In this case, after browsing, the document information of the updated electronic document contains the original text and handwritten annotations by the viewer. Viewers should understand that it is possible to allow the use of both annotations and editing symbols / markings in the same document. This can be accomplished, for example, by using a particular set of annotation symbols that identify the editing information as annotations.

The local processing unit 603 suitably includes display software that can be adapted to present annotations in the form of pop-up windows, for example, overlaid on the original document. By associating different users with different annotations by device identifiers, it is possible to include functionality in, for example, display software that presents the commentator's comments at a time.

It should also be noted that the display software may be set to prompt the author to accept before inserting any interpreted text associated with the edit symbol into the electronic document. .

In the context of the present invention, editing information may be directed to a particular location in a document, specifically to a particular portion of text, such as a chapter, paragraph, line, single word, etc., especially when allowing for annotations. It is important to fix. When the author begins to edit the original document based on the editing information, the overwritten handwritten comment must be kept in sync with its original position. This is accomplished by anchoring the annotation to the text, for example, by a set of matching annotation symbols that associate a comment written in the margin of the document with a portion of the text in the document. Such symbols may be of any kind, for example as discussed in connection with Figures 5a-5c above.

The various steps above are performed by the system units 602 and 603 and the device 6
It is properly implemented by software running on 01. The software may be included in the system or distributed to the system in one or more computer-readable media, for example volatile memory or non-volatile memory such as a floppy disk or CD-ROM. The software is also distributed on computer readable media in the form of bitstreams representing packet transmissions on the Internet or propagating signals such as carrier waves transmitted to satellites.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Figure 1]   9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a product with a position-coded pattern.

[Fig. 2]   a-d are schematic diagrams showing how symbols are constructed in embodiments of the present invention.

[Figure 3]   5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of 4 × 4 symbols used for position coding.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a device according to the invention that can be used for position determination in three dimensions.

FIG. 5a is a diagram showing the content of a text document printed out by a manually drawn edit command.

FIG. 5b is a diagram showing the content of a drawn-out document having a manually drawn edit command printed out.

FIG. 5c   3 is a flowchart of a method according to the present invention.

[Figure 6]   1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a document information editing system according to the present invention.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE, TR), OA (BF , BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, G M, KE, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ , UG, ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, B Z, CA, CH, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE , DK, DM, DZ, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, I S, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK , LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, P T, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL , TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW (72) Inventor Aker Sten Christopher             Sweden S-115 32 Stop             Kholm Eric Darbergsgar             Tan 29 B F-term (reference) 5B009 LA01 QB05 QB11 VC03                 5B021 AA01 LL06 LL07 QQ04                 5B068 BB18 BD09 BD20 CC06

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. Transferring document information of a document to a printing device capable of printing the document information on a surface provided with a position-coding pattern; a readable reading of the position information from the position-coded surface. A step of receiving edit information from a device; a step of interpreting the edit information; a step of changing the document information based on an interpretation of the edit information, and thereby generating an updated document; To edit the document information in the document stored in. 2. Transferring the position-coding pattern information to a printing device capable of printing the position-coding pattern on the surface; the document information of the document being capable of printing the document information on the surface. Transferring to the printing device; receiving edit information from a reader capable of reading position information from the position-coded surface; interpreting the edit information; interpreting the document information in the edit information A method of editing document information in a document stored in a computer, the method comprising: 3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of receiving device identification information from the reading device, thereby associating the editing information with a user of the reading device. 4. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the editing information is associated with a plurality of users, each of which has issued at least one editing command at a reader. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the edit commands generated by the plurality of users are in an ordered sequence identified by at least a time stamp associated with each edit command. 6. The edit information of claim 1, wherein the edit information includes position information associated with a position of the reader on the surface, and the interpretation of the edit information includes an interpretation of the position information. The method according to any one of. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the location information is in the form of a sequence of coordinates that manually generate relevant curves in the form of curves drawn on the printed document. 8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying the document information of the updated document to a user. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of changing the document information includes a step of adding editing information to a document stored in the computer in the form of a handwritten annotation. The method described in. 10. The method of claim 9, including associating each of the handwritten annotations with a respective portion of the document information of a document stored in the computer based on location information included in the editing information. The method described. 11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein modifying the document information comprises reformatting one or more portions of the document information. 12. The reformatting step includes the steps of adding text or graphics to the document information, removing text or graphics from the document information, or repositioning text or graphics contained in the document information. 13. The method of claim 11, comprising. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of adding text comprises converting a portion of the editing information into machine readable text. 14. Initially comprising the step of registering a document stored in said computer in a pattern management unit, said pattern management unit providing each page of said document with a unique subset of said position-coding patterns. 14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the allocation is performed. 15. Computer readable, readable by a computer and having a computer program embodied thereon, the computer program having instructions to cause a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-14. Possible medium. 16. Storage means for storing a document; means for transferring the document information of the document to a printing device capable of printing the document information on a surface having a position coding pattern; the position coded Means for receiving editing information from a reading device capable of reading position information from the surface; means for interpreting the editing information; changing the document information based on the interpretation of the editing information, thereby updating the updated document. A system for editing document information in a document, which includes means for generating. 17. Storage means for storing a document; Means for transferring the position coding pattern information to a printing device capable of printing the position coding pattern on the surface; Printing the document information on the surface. Means for transferring the document information of the document to the printing device capable of performing; edit means for receiving edit information from a read device capable of reading position information from the position-coded surface; means for interpreting the edit information; A system for editing document information in a document, comprising: means for changing the document information based on an interpretation of the edit information, and thereby generating an updated document. 18. The method of claim 16 or 17, further comprising the step of receiving device identification information from the reading device, thereby associating the editing information with a user of the reading device. 19. The storage means is included in a computer device arranged to initially register the document in a pattern management unit containing a database of the position-coding patterns, the central unit being the document unit. 19. The system according to any one of claims 16-18, arranged to assign a unique sub-set of the position-coding patterns for each page of. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the means for receiving edit information is included in the pattern management unit. 21. The system of claim 19, wherein the means for receiving editing information is included in the local processing unit.