JP2013214188A - Character recognition processing device, character recognition processing method, character recognition processing program, and computer readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more enhance continuity of operations from specification of a character type to specification of a recognition candidate than before while suppressing deterioration in a recognition rate due to recognition processing without specification of a character type.SOLUTION: A character recognition processing device comprises: a display control unit 3 that performs control so as to display character type buttons B1-B5; and a character recognition unit 5 that extracts a recognition candidate while limiting to a character type corresponding to a specified character type button B4. The display control unit 3 displays recognition candidate buttons f1-f4 in the vicinity of the character type button B4.

Description

  The present invention relates to a character recognition processing device, a character recognition processing method, a character recognition processing program, and a computer-readable record recorded in the character recognition processing program for recognizing a handwritten character (hereinafter referred to as “handwritten character”). It relates to the medium.

In recent years, in the technical field of mobile terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), with the spread of touch panels, commands are given to mobile terminals by operating virtual keys that are virtually displayed on the touch screen of touch panels. Development of so-called GUI (graphical user interface) for providing the above-mentioned has been actively performed.

  On the other hand, a handwriting input method is well known as one of input methods in which even a person who is not familiar with keyboard operations can input characters. In the handwriting input method, a locus of a handwritten character input in a predetermined handwriting input area where handwriting input is possible is extracted, character recognition is performed, and the character code is converted. In addition, the conventional handwriting input method has an input mode for selecting a character type such as hiragana and alphanumeric characters (hereinafter simply referred to as “character type” if necessary) and an input mode for not selecting, so that handwriting input can be performed. The input mode is switched before use.

  For example, the character recognition processing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a step of accepting input of handwritten characters and a step of checking whether or not a character type selection button is pressed. If the button is not pressed, the dictionary for handwritten character recognition is automatically selected. If the character type selection button is pressed, the dictionary for handwritten character recognition of the character type corresponding to the pressed button is selected. It is supposed to be.

  However, when the input mode in which the character type is not selected is selected in the conventional handwriting input method adopted by the character recognition processing device of Patent Document 1, the accuracy of character recognition is remarkably deteriorated. is there.

  For this reason, in order to suppress such deterioration in the accuracy of character recognition, it is preferable to employ an input mode for selecting a character type (that is, an input mode including an operation for selecting a character type).

  As an example of a technique related to an input mode including a step of selecting a character type, there is a character recognition processing device disclosed in Patent Document 2. In this character recognition processing device, when a character type is selected by specifying and specifying a character type selection button with an input pen or the like, a candidate character of the specified character type is extracted by the candidate character extraction unit and set on the display surface The extracted candidate characters are displayed in the extraction candidate character display area.

  Moreover, in the handwritten character input device disclosed in Patent Document 3, the recognition candidate having the best recognition value among all recognition candidates is displayed as the first candidate in the corresponding input frame, and the candidate character including the first candidate is displayed. Each character type is displayed in the next candidate display area.

  Furthermore, in the character recognition processing device disclosed in Patent Document 4, a different input area is provided for each character type, and the character type is designated depending on which input region is used for handwritten input.

  On the other hand, in the writing data processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 5, a character type designation button is arranged in the vicinity of the first candidate character, and when the button is pressed, a candidate narrowed down by the character type is replaced.

JP 2003-5902 (released on January 10, 2003) JP 10-293812 (published Nov. 4, 1998) JP-A-6-36072 (published February 10, 1994) JP 2000-200133 (released July 18, 2000) JP-A-11-195086 (released July 21, 1999)

  However, in the technique related to the input mode including the step of selecting the conventional character type, there are usually at least three operations of character type designation, handwriting input, and recognition candidate designation. There is a problem that the continuity of the operation until the designation of is poor.

  For example, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 2 to 4, the character type selection button and the display position of the candidate character may be far apart depending on the display position of the candidate character. There is a possibility that the continuity of the operation will be worsened.

  Note that with the technique described in Patent Document 5, after a character type designation button is pressed, a specific recognition candidate cannot be selected from a plurality of recognition candidates narrowed down to that character type.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and its purpose is from the specification of character types to the specification of recognition candidates while suppressing the deterioration of the recognition rate due to the recognition processing that does not specify the character types. An object of the present invention is to provide a character recognition processing device and the like that can increase the continuity of operation compared to the conventional art.

  In order to solve the above problems, the character recognition processing device of the present invention includes a display control unit that performs control to display a plurality of character type keys provided for each character type in a predetermined touch screen area, and the touch screen. Corresponding to an input determination means for determining whether or not one character type key is specified from among the plurality of character type keys according to an input position with respect to the area, and a character type key specified by the input determination means Limited to character type, the handwritten character trajectory to be input is collated with a plurality of registered characters registered in advance, and at least one registered character having a high similarity to the handwritten character trajectory is recognized as a recognition candidate. And the display control means at least extracted by the character recognition means in the vicinity of the center point set at an arbitrary position in the touch screen area. Control is performed to display all or a part of one recognition candidate, and the input determination means includes the direction of change in the input operation from the input position and the at least one recognition when viewed from the center point. When it can be considered that the candidate arrangement direction matches, control is performed to determine that the recognition candidate is designated.

The character recognition processing method of the present invention is inputted with a first display step for displaying a plurality of character type keys provided for each character type in a predetermined touch screen area in order to solve the above-mentioned problem. A first step of determining whether one character type key is designated from the plurality of character type keys according to a handwritten character specifying step of specifying a locus of handwritten characters and an input position with respect to the touch screen area; A plurality of pre-registered trajectories of handwritten characters specified in the handwritten character specifying step are limited to the character types corresponding to the character type keys specified in the input determining step and the first input determining step. A character recognition step of extracting at least one registered character having a high similarity to the locus of the handwritten character as a recognition candidate, and the touch screen area A second display step for displaying all or part of at least one recognition candidate extracted in the character recognition step in the vicinity of the center point set at an arbitrary position, and an input operation based on the input position. A second input determination step for determining that the recognition candidate is specified when it can be considered that the direction of the change of the position coincides with the arrangement direction of the at least one recognition candidate when viewed from the center point It is characterized by including.

  According to the above configuration or method, the character recognition means (in the character recognition step) is limited to the character type corresponding to the character type key designated by the input determination means (in the first input determination step), which will be described later. Perform character recognition processing.

  Here, the limitation on the character type may be before the character recognition process or after the character recognition process. As a result, the accuracy of character recognition deteriorates as in the case of selecting an input mode in which the character type is not selected in the conventional handwriting input method employed by the character recognition processing device of Patent Document 1. Can be suppressed.

  Here, “character recognition processing” refers to comparing the locus of a handwritten character with a plurality of registered characters registered in advance and recognizing at least one registered character having a high degree of similarity to the locus of the handwritten character. It is to extract as a candidate.

  Further, according to the above configuration or method, the display control means (in the second display step) has the character recognition means (in the character recognition step) in the vicinity of the center point set at an arbitrary position in the touch screen area. Control is performed to display all or part of the extracted at least one recognition candidate. The input determining means (in the second input determining step) matches the direction of change in the input operation with the input position as a base point and the arrangement direction of at least one recognition candidate when viewed from the center point. If it can be considered that the recognition candidate is designated, control is performed to determine that the recognition candidate is designated.

  Therefore, since the input position when specifying the character type and the base point of the input operation when specifying the recognition candidate can be substantially matched, a series of operations from the specification of the character type to the specification of the recognition candidate Can be made higher than before.

  As described above, it is possible to increase the continuity of operations from the designation of the character type to the designation of the recognition candidate, while suppressing the deterioration of the recognition rate due to the recognition process in which the character type is not designated.

  In addition, for example, a recognition candidate can be designated by so-called flick input from an input position when designating a character type. In addition, the character type (character type) specification and recognition candidate specification (recognition result confirmation) can be performed in a series of operations, reducing the time and labor required for handwriting input of a text that includes a plurality of character types. be able to.

  Moreover, according to the said structure or method, it is not necessary to switch the mode of a character type beforehand like the said conventional handwriting input system.

  The “input operation based on the input position” here is an input operation in which the end position of the input operation is different from the base point. For example, tap (click), drag, flick, etc. Can be displayed.

In addition, examples of “character types” include various types of characters used in other countries such as hiragana, katakana, kanji, alphabet (English), numbers, symbols, and other Latin characters and Russian characters. be able to.

  Further, the “center point” may be anywhere within the touch screen area, may be the center of the display position of the character type key displayed in advance in the touch screen area, or may be displayed in advance in the touch screen area. It may be the center of another character type key displayed at a position different from the input position when the specified character type key is specified.

  In addition to the above configuration, the character recognition processing device of the present invention is similar to the handwritten character locus when the display control means includes a plurality of recognition candidates extracted by the character recognition means. Control may be performed to display all or some of the plurality of recognition candidates in the vicinity of the center point in a predetermined arrangement according to the degree of the degree.

  Accordingly, for example, the recognition candidates having a high similarity (or priority) are arranged in the order of recognition candidates having a high similarity (or priority) from the recognition candidates having a low similarity around the center point, or recognition candidates having a high similarity are arranged in the clockwise direction. Can be arranged at a position where it is easy to operate, or a recognition candidate with a low similarity can be arranged at a position where it is difficult for the user to operate.

  In the character recognition processing apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the character recognition means includes at least one of the plurality of registered characters belonging to a character type corresponding to the specified character type key. One registered character may be extracted, and the extracted registered character may be collated with the locus of the handwritten character.

  According to the above configuration, since it is not necessary to perform the character recognition process for all registered characters, the time required for the character recognition process can be shortened.

  In addition to the above configuration, the character recognition processing device of the present invention may be configured such that the display control unit includes a part of the plurality of recognition candidates when there are a plurality of recognition candidates extracted by the character recognition unit. When the input determination means determines that the same character type key as the specified character type key is specified again, at least one of the plurality of recognition candidates already displayed is displayed. You may perform control which replaces a recognition candidate with the at least 1 recognition candidate which has not been displayed yet, and displays it.

  According to the above configuration, even when all of the extracted recognition candidates cannot be displayed at once, all of the recognition candidates can be displayed in a plurality of times.

  By the way, conventionally, in order to make the apparatus recognize that the handwriting input of one character has been completed, it is necessary to wait for a certain period of time or to perform a troublesome operation such as pressing an input completion button. There are some problems.

  In order to solve such a secondary problem, the character recognition processing device of the present invention performs an operation of specifying the locus of the input handwritten character in addition to the above configuration, and When one character type key is designated from the character type keys, a handwritten character specifying unit that ends the operation of specifying the locus of the handwritten character may be provided.

  This eliminates the troublesome operation for causing the apparatus to recognize that the handwriting input of one character has been completed. Therefore, it is not necessary to wait without inputting for a certain period of time, so that wasteful power consumption can be suppressed. In addition, useless processing such as displaying an input completion button in the touch screen area can be avoided.

Each means, each function or each process in the character recognition processing apparatus, or each step or each process in the character recognition processing method may be realized by a computer. The character recognition processing device or the character recognition processing method is operated on a computer by operating as each means, causing the computer to realize the functions described above, or causing the computer to execute the processes, steps, or steps. A character recognition processing program to be realized and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the character recognition processing device of the present invention includes display control means for performing control for displaying a plurality of character type keys provided for each character type on a predetermined touch screen area, and an input position with respect to the touch screen area. In accordance with the input determination means for determining whether one character type key is designated from the plurality of character type keys, and the character type corresponding to the character type key designated by the input determination means. The character which collates the locus | trajectory of the handwritten character input with the some registered character registered beforehand, and extracts as a recognition candidate at least 1 of the registered character with high similarity with the locus | trajectory of the said handwritten character Recognizing means, wherein the display control means is at least one recognition candidate extracted by the character recognizing means in the vicinity of a center point set at an arbitrary position in the touch screen area. The input determination means controls the direction of change of the input operation with the input position as a base point, and the arrangement direction of the at least one recognition candidate when viewed from the center point. Is a configuration that performs control to determine that the recognition candidate is designated.

  In addition, as described above, the character recognition processing method of the present invention includes a first display step for displaying a plurality of character type keys provided for each character type in a predetermined touch screen area, and an input handwritten character. A handwritten character specifying step for specifying a locus; and a first input determining step for determining whether one character type key is designated from the plurality of character type keys in accordance with an input position with respect to the touch screen area; The locus of the handwritten character specified in the handwritten character specifying step is limited to the character type corresponding to the character type key specified in the first input determining step, and a plurality of registered characters registered in advance A character recognition step of collating and extracting at least one registered character having a high similarity to the locus of the handwritten character as a recognition candidate; A second display step for displaying all or part of at least one recognition candidate extracted in the character recognition step in the vicinity of the center point set at the position; and a direction of change in the input operation based on the input position; A second input determination step for determining that the recognition candidate is designated when it can be considered that the arrangement direction of the at least one recognition candidate when viewed from the center point is the same. is there.

  Therefore, there is an effect that the continuity of operation from the designation of the character type to the designation of the recognition candidate can be made higher than before while suppressing the deterioration of the recognition rate due to the recognition process in which the character type is not designated.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the character recognition processing apparatus in this invention. It is a figure which shows the form of the display in a touch panel, (a) shows the form which the recognition candidate display area has protruded outside the key display area, (b) shows the display position of a character type button, and a recognition candidate. Indicates a form in which the base points of the specified operations do not match. It is a figure which shows another form of the display in the touchscreen 1, (a) shows the form by which a group of the first recognition candidate buttons is displayed, (b) is the display position of a recognition candidate button in (a). The change of the display when the finger is released at other than the above is shown, and (c) shows a form in which a group of recognition candidate buttons of the next candidate is displayed. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the basic operation | movement (handwriting input, designation | designated of a character type, designation | designated of a recognition candidate) of the said character recognition processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the next candidate display operation | movement of the said character recognition processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows another form of the display in a touchscreen, (a) shows the form by which five or more recognition candidate buttons are displayed, (b) is a character type button is circular, The form whose shape is a fan shape is shown.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Descriptions of configurations other than those described in the following specific items may be omitted as necessary. However, in the case where they are described in other items, the configurations are the same. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in each item are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof is omitted as appropriate.

[Character recognition processing apparatus 10]
First, based on FIG. 1, the structure of the character recognition processing apparatus 10 which is one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the character recognition processing apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the character recognition processing device 10 includes a touch panel 1, a touch panel control unit (input determination unit) 2, a display control unit (display control unit) 3, a handwritten character specifying unit (handwritten character specifying unit) 4, a character A recognition unit (character recognition means) 5, a central processing unit 6, a recording control unit 7, and a storage unit 8 are provided.

(Touch panel 1)
The touch panel 1 includes an imaging sensor group (not shown) that is a set of a plurality of imaging sensors (or optical sensors) arranged in a matrix, and has a function as a so-called touch sensor. As a configuration example of the image sensor, a solid-state image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor can be exemplified.

  Examples of input operations on the touch panel 1 include tap (click), double tap (double click), drag, flick, pinch out (pinch open), pinch in (pinch close), and the like. Tap is an operation to tap the display screen with a finger, double tap is an operation to repeat the tap twice, drag is an operation to move the finger while keeping it in contact, and flick is an operation to lightly touch with a finger. Yes, pinch-open is an operation of expanding between two fingers while being in contact, and pinch-in is an operation of contracting between two fingers.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the touch panel 1 is a liquid crystal display, that is, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as a display, in addition to the liquid crystal display, an electrophoretic display, a twist ball display, a reflective display using a fine prism film, a display using a light modulation element such as a digital mirror device, and a light emitting element, A display using a variable light emitting element such as an organic EL light emitting element, an inorganic EL light emitting element, an LED (Light Emitting Diode), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display (PD), etc. can be listed. Even when an input / output integrated display in which these displays and an image sensor (image sensor, optical sensor) are integrated in the future, the present invention can be applied to these input / output integrated displays. It will be clear from the explanation.

  Next, in this embodiment, as shown in the figure, on the display screen (touch screen area) of the single touch panel 1, a handwriting input area (handwriting input area, touch screen area) a1, a key display area (touch) Screen area a2 is disposed at least.

  However, the character recognition processing device of the present invention is not limited to a form having a single touch panel, for example, has two housings that can be folded in two connected by hinges, and the two housings are folded. The display panel may have two touch panels so that the display panels are respectively disposed on the two inner surfaces facing each other so as to face each other. Moreover, when it is a form which has two touch panels, the handwriting input area a1 may be arrange | positioned to one touch panel, and a touch screen area | region may be arrange | positioned to the other touch panel.

(Handwriting input area a1, key display area a2, recognition candidate display area a3)
As shown in FIG. 1, the handwriting input area a1 is an area where the user can input handwritten characters. In the figure, the handwritten character input operation is finished, and the handwritten character trajectory hw1 corresponding to the set of coordinates of the handwritten input position is drawn.

  Note that, as in the present embodiment, when the handwriting input area a1 is arranged on a touch panel instead of a tablet, the locus of handwritten characters hw1 can be displayed following the input operation on the handwriting input area a1. . For example, only the pixel having the coordinates of the position input by handwriting may be a color different from the background color. Thereby, a handwritten character can be input, confirming the locus | trajectory of a handwritten character as if a user actually handwritten.

  Next, as shown in the figure, the key display area a2 is an area where virtual keys that are virtually displayed in the initial (default) display state are displayed in advance.

  The virtual key may be a key for prompting the user to perform an input operation at the display position (range) (for example, a key having a selection function such as a selection key), and simply performing a predetermined display for some purpose. (In this case, the key has no selection function).

  For example, the character type buttons B1 to B5 and the recognition candidate buttons f1 to f4 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A are examples of keys for prompting the user to perform an input operation at the display position (range).

  For example, when a tap or the like is performed at a position where one of the character type buttons B1 to B5 is displayed (or its display range), the character recognition processing device 10 recognizes that the key is designated. Further, in a state where the recognition candidate buttons f1 to f4 are displayed, flicking toward the position (or display range thereof) where any of the recognition candidate buttons f1 to f4 is displayed, or tapping the position When an input operation such as performing is performed, the character recognition processing device 10 recognizes that the key is designated.

  On the other hand, the character type buttons B1 to B5 shown in FIG. 2B are keys for prompting the user to perform an input operation at the display position (range), but the character type buttons B6 and the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10 are for some purpose. It is a key that only performs a predetermined display.

  More specifically, the character type button B6 shown in FIG. 2B is displayed for the purpose of notifying the user that the character type “English” is designated. On the other hand, the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10 can be obtained as desired recognition candidates by changing the input operation position in any direction based on the finger contact position (input position) on the character type button B4 corresponding to the character type button B6. Is displayed for the purpose of notifying the user whether or not the user can be specified.

  In the figure, in the key display area a2, character type buttons (character type keys) B1 to B5 are arranged (virtually displayed), and the user touches the character type button B4 (English character) ( (Character type designation) status.

  Here, examples of “character types” include hiragana, katakana, kanji, alphabet (English), numbers, symbols, and various character types used in other countries such as Latin and Russian can do.

  In addition, in the same figure, a state in which recognition candidate buttons (recognition candidates) f1 to f4 are displayed in the vicinity (surrounding) of the character type button B4 with the touch as a trigger is shown.

  More precisely, the candidate buttons f1 to f4 are displayed so as to surround the center point with the center position of the character type button B4 as the center point.

  However, as shown in FIG. 6B described later, the identification candidate buttons do not necessarily have to be arranged so as to surround the reference point (or the center point) as described above. That is, the recognition candidate button only needs to be displayed near the reference point (for example, the center of the character type button B4). In other words, the knowledge candidate buttons may not be arranged symmetrically with respect to the four sides and the eight sides, and may be arranged asymmetric with respect to the four sides and the eight sides.

  In this specification, for the sake of convenience, an area including any one of the character type buttons (character type keys) B1 to B7 and at least one of the recognition candidate buttons (recognition candidates) f1 to f30 is defined as a recognition candidate display area. (Touch screen area) a3.

  Next, the relationship among the handwriting input area a1, the key display area a2, and the recognition candidate display area a3 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the positional relationship of each region of the handwriting input area a1, the key display area a2, and the recognition candidate display area a3 will be described. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the recognition candidate display area a3 is included in the key display area a2. However, the positional relationship among the handwriting input area a1, the key display area a2, and the recognition candidate display area a3 is not limited to the relationship shown in FIG.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2A, the key display area a2 and the recognition candidate display area a3 partially overlap, but a part of the recognition candidate display area a3 protrudes outside the key display area a2. ing. Thus, the recognition candidate display area a3 is not necessarily included in the key display area a2.

  On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, the recognition candidate display area a3 partially overlaps with both the key display area a2 and the handwriting input area a1. Thus, the recognition candidate display area a3 may overlap with at least one of the key display area a2 and the handwriting input area a1.

  As described above, the recognition candidate display area a3 may be arranged anywhere on the touch panel 1. However, as shown in FIG. 2B, the display of the character type button B6 and the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10 does not disturb the display of the locus hw1 of the handwriting input area a1 and the character type buttons B1 to B5 of the key display area a2. It is preferable to display the position.

(Touch panel control unit 2)
The touch panel control unit 2 of the present embodiment receives a detection signal from the imaging sensor group of the touch panel 1 and specifies the presence / absence of contact of a finger or a pen tip with the touch panel 1 and the coordinates of the contact position (input position). It is determined what kind of input operation has been performed by the user.

  For example, the touch panel control unit 2 of the present embodiment includes the above-described tap (click), double tap (double click), drag, flick, pinch out (pinch open), pinch in (pinch close), etc. on the display screen of the touch panel 1. Each input operation can be determined.

  In particular, the touch panel control unit 2 according to the present embodiment selects one character type key from the character type buttons B1 to B5 according to the input position with respect to the key display area a2 (touch screen area). ) It is determined whether or not it is specified. For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 2A, the touch panel control unit 2 determines that the character type button B1 (Hiragana) is designated. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, the touch panel control unit 2 determines that the character type button B4 (English character) is designated.

  Further, for example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 2A, the touch panel control unit 2 of the present embodiment recognizes a recognition candidate button according to a change in an input operation (for example, flick) based on the input position of the character type button B1. Control which determines which recognition candidate button is designated among f5 and f6 is performed. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, which recognition candidate button is designated among the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10 in accordance with a change in input operation (for example, flick) based on the input position of the character type button B4. Control to determine whether or not

  Here, “input operation based on the input position of the character type button B4” in this specification is an input operation in which the end position of the input operation is different from the base point. In addition, tap (click), drag, etc. can be listed.

  Next, based on FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the relationship between the display position (arrangement position) of the character type button and the base point of the operation for designating the recognition candidate will be described.

  In FIG. 2A, the display position of the character type button B1 and the base point (contact position of the finger) of the operation for specifying the recognition candidate (operation for specifying one of the recognition candidate buttons f5 and f6 by flicking) are almost the same. (The contact position of the finger is on the character type button B1). In the example shown in the figure, for example, when the character type button B1 is flicked upward from the contact position with the finger, the recognition candidate button f5 is designated, that is, the input character “HI” is fixed. Similarly, when the character type button B1 is flicked downward with respect to the paper surface from the contact position of the finger, the recognition candidate button f6 is designated, that is, the input character “I” is fixed.

  On the other hand, FIG. 2B shows the display position of the character type button B6 (showing the same character type as the character type button B4) and an operation for specifying a recognition candidate (an operation for specifying any of the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10 by flicking). The base point (contact position of the finger) is not matched (the contact position of the finger is on the character type button B4). In the example shown in the figure, for example, when the character type button B4 is flicked upward from the finger contact position, the recognition candidate button f7 is designated, that is, the input character “a” is fixed. Similarly, when flicking to the right with respect to the paper surface from the contact position of the finger, the recognition candidate button f8 is designated, that is, the input character “d” is fixed. When flicking downward from the paper contact position, the recognition candidate button f9 is designated, that is, the input character “q” is fixed. When flicking leftward from the contact position with the finger, the recognition candidate button f10 is designated, that is, the input character “u” is fixed.

  As described above, the display position of the character type button and the base point of the operation for designating the recognition candidate are not necessarily coincident.

  However, as in the example shown in FIG. 2B, when the display position of the character type button and the base point of the operation for designating the recognition candidate do not match, when viewed from the finger contact position of the character type button B4 The direction of the flick operation and the arrangement direction when viewed from the character type button B6 of the recognition candidate button to be designated in correspondence with the flick operation need to be substantially matched.

  For example, considering a polar coordinate system centered on the base point, the direction of the input operation depends on the angle range between the straight line connecting the base point and the end position of the input operation and the longitudinal direction of the touch panel 1. Should be specified.

(Display control unit 3)
Next, the display control unit 3 controls the display of various contents, virtual keys, and the like on the display screen by adjusting the luminance value (or pixel value or density value) of each pixel on the display screen of the touch panel 1. Do. Note that “content” refers to information to be processed by a computer. In addition to images, videos, music, audio data, text data such as e-mail, data posted on the WEB page (information retrieval system using hypertext format), pictures and a finder screen at camera startup , And various contents to be processed by software such as broadcast contents such as 1seg, 3seg and terrestrial digital, and various dictionary data stored in a database.

  In particular, the display control unit 3 of the present embodiment performs control to display a plurality of character type buttons B1 to B7 provided for each character type in a predetermined touch screen area. In addition, the display control unit 3 extracts all or a part of at least one recognition candidate extracted by the character recognition unit 5 described later as a registered character having a high similarity to the locus hw1 of the handwritten character. Display control is performed in the vicinity of a predetermined position in the screen area a3. Here, the “predetermined position in the touch screen area” may be anywhere within the touch screen area. For example, it may be the display position of the character type key displayed in advance in the touch screen area, or may be displayed in a position different from the input position when the character type key displayed in advance in the touch screen area is specified. It may be the display position of another character type key.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the display control unit 3 draws a locus hw1 of handwritten characters in the handwriting input area a1, displays the character type buttons B1 to B5 in the key display area a2, and displays the recognition candidate display area a3. The recognition candidate buttons f1 to f4 are displayed in the vicinity of the upper, right, lower, and left sides of the character type button B4 (English character).

  In the example shown in FIG. 2A, the display control unit 3 draws a handwritten character locus hw1 in the handwriting input area a1, displays the character type buttons B1 to B5 in the key display area a2, and displays recognition candidates. Control is performed to display the recognition candidate buttons f5 and f6 near the upper and lower sides of the character type button B1 (Hiragana) in the area a3.

  Further, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, the display control unit 3 draws a handwritten character locus hw1 in the handwriting input area a1, displays character type buttons B1 to B5 in the key display area a2, and displays recognition candidates. In the area a3, a character type button B6 (English letter) indicating the same character type as the character type button B4 is displayed, and recognition candidate buttons f1 to f4 are displayed in the vicinity of the upper, right, lower and left sides of the character type button B1. Control is in progress.

(Handwritten character identification unit 4)
Next, the handwritten character specifying unit 4 specifies the locus of the input handwritten character. For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the handwritten character specifying unit 4 receives a detection signal from the imaging sensor group of the touch panel 1, sequentially specifies the coordinates of the contact position such as a pen tip, and the handwritten character trajectory hw <b> 1. Identify. The trajectory hw1 specified in this way is displayed by the display control unit 3 following the input operation in the handwriting input area a1 as described above.

(Character recognition unit 5)
Next, the character recognizing unit 5 collates the locus hw1 of the handwritten character specified by the handwritten character specifying unit 4 with a plurality of registered characters stored (registered) in advance in the storage unit 8 described later, and the handwritten character A process (hereinafter referred to as “character recognition process”) for extracting at least one registered character having a high degree of similarity (or degree of matching) with a locus as a recognition candidate is performed.

  Here, the collation method in this embodiment extracts a predetermined feature amount from the locus (or its image data) of the handwritten character specified by the handwritten character specifying unit 4, and obtains the feature amount of the registered character obtained in advance. Although described as a method of performing matching according to the degree of similarity when compared, the matching method is not limited to this. For example, a locus pattern may be predetermined for each registered character, and pattern matching may be performed using the locus pattern and the locus of handwritten characters.

  The character recognizing unit 5 performs the character recognizing process limited to the character type corresponding to the character type button designated by the touch panel control unit 2.

  Here, the limitation on the type of character may be before the character recognition process or after the character recognition process. As a result, the accuracy of character recognition deteriorates as in the case of selecting an input mode in which the character type is not selected in the conventional handwriting input method employed by the character recognition processing device of Patent Document 1. Can be suppressed.

  Further, the character recognition unit 5 extracts at least one registered character belonging to the type of character corresponding to the designated character type button from the plurality of registered characters, and the extracted registered character is set as a handwritten character locus hw1. You may collate.

  Thereby, since it is not necessary to perform the character recognition process for all registered characters, the time required for the character recognition process can be shortened.

(Central processing unit 6)
The central processing unit 6 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central processing unit), and provides various commands to the touch panel control unit 2, the display control unit 3, the handwritten character identification unit 4, the character recognition unit 5, and the recording control unit 7 described above. , Sending various data read from the storage unit 8 to be described later to each of the above components, and instructing the recording control unit 7 about various data output from each of the above components and various calculation results, etc. General control such as recording in a computer or performing a predetermined calculation using various data output from each of the above-described components.

(Recording control unit 7)
The recording control unit 7 performs a process of recording various data in the storage unit 8 or a temporary memory (not shown) or changing the recording position of the various data recorded in the storage unit 8.

  The recording control unit 7 of the present embodiment mainly performs processing for changing the recording position of the index number of the registered character included in the character recognition dictionary recorded in the storage unit 8 described later.

(Storage unit 8)
Next, various data and the like recorded in the storage unit 8 will be described based on FIG.

In the storage unit 8, a character recognition dictionary used mainly by the character recognition unit 5 is recorded (registered) in advance.

  A plurality of registered characters registered in advance in the character recognition dictionary are divided into a plurality of character groups for each character type. Table 1 below shows an example of the data structure of registered characters belonging to the character group of the character type “English”.

  “Recording position (number)” in Table 1 corresponds to a sector (number) in the case of a disk-type recording medium, for example. Here, for convenience, the recording position number “1”, Described as “2”, “3”, and “4”.

  The numbers of registered characters in the table are numbers corresponding to predetermined character codes, for example, but are described as registered characters 1, 2, 3, 4 for convenience here.

As shown in the table, in the initial state (default), the recording position number, the index number, and the registered character number match.

  At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the finger is touched on the character type button B4, the character recognition unit 5 limits the character type to “English” corresponding to the character type button B4. The registered character and the handwritten character locus hw1 are collated, the similarity is calculated for each registered character, and the recording position of the index number is changed in descending order of the similarity.

For example, as shown in Table 1 below, the character “a” of the registered character 1 has the highest degree of similarity, so the recording position of the index number remains “1”. On the other hand, since the character “d” of the registered character 4 has the second highest similarity, the recording position of the index number is changed from “4” to “2”. Similarly, since the character “q” of the registered character 17 has the third similarity, the recording position of the index number is “17” (not displayed).
Is changed to “3”. Further, since the character “u” of the registered character 21 has the fourth similarity, the recording position of the index number is changed from “21” (not displayed) to “4”.

Thus, according to the data structure as shown in Table 1 below, a change in the order of registered characters by character recognition processing (from the order in which the default registration numbers are arranged in order) is the registration with the highest degree of similarity. In order from the character, it is only necessary to change the recording position of the index number, and it is not necessary to change the recording position of the registered character itself, so that the amount of information used in the character recognition process can be reduced. In the present embodiment, as a method for determining the order of registered characters according to the level of similarity, the mode of changing the recording position of the index number has been described. However, the recording position of the registered character number (for example, the character code) itself is changed. It may be changed.

The above-described recording control unit 7 performs control for changing the recording position of the index number and the registered character number described above.

  Next, based on FIG. 2B and the following Table 2, the relationship between the similarity and the arrangement position of the recognition candidates will be described. In the present embodiment, an example of the arrangement of registered characters whose similarity (or priority) decreases in the order of “up”, “right”, “down”, “left” (clockwise) will be described. Note that the arrangement order of the arrangement of registered characters is not limited to clockwise, and may be, for example, counterclockwise. Also, recognition candidates with high similarity may be arranged at positions where the user can easily operate, or recognition candidates with low similarity may be arranged at positions where it is difficult for the user to operate.

  As shown in the following Table 2 and FIG. 2B, the character “a” of the registered character 1 having the highest similarity is displayed on the recognition candidate button f7 arranged on the upper side with respect to the page as viewed from the character type button B6. Is done. The character “d” of the registered character 4 with the second highest similarity is displayed on the recognition candidate button f8 arranged on the right side of the page as viewed from the character type button B6. The character “q” of the registered character 17 having the third similarity is displayed on the recognition candidate button f9 arranged on the lower side of the page as viewed from the character type button B6. The character “u” of the registered character 21 having the fourth similarity is displayed on the recognition candidate button f9 arranged on the left side of the page as viewed from the character type button B6.

  Next, based on FIG. 2B and Table 3 below, the relationship between the change in the input operation from the base point (contact position of the finger on the character type button B4) and the selected recognition candidate will be described.

As shown in Table 3 below, when the direction of change in the input operation from the finger contact position of the character type button B4 is “up”, the designated recognition candidate button is the recognition candidate button f7, and the recognition The candidate is the character “a”, and the input character is confirmed. When the direction of change in the input operation from the character type button B4 is “right”, the designated recognition candidate button is the recognition candidate button f8, the recognition candidate is the character “d”, and the input character Is confirmed. When the direction of change in the input operation from the finger contact position of the character type button B4 is “down”, the designated recognition candidate button is the recognition candidate button f9, and the recognition candidate is the character “q”. The input character is confirmed. When the direction of change of the input operation from the finger contact position of the character type button B4 is “left”, the designated recognition candidate button is the recognition candidate button f10, and the recognition candidate is the character “u”. The input character is confirmed.

  As described above, the arrangement direction of the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10 when viewed from the character type button B6 is the direction of change in the input operation based on the contact position of the finger on the character type button B4 when designating the recognition candidate. And may be associated in advance.

  At this time, the touch panel control unit 2 considers that the direction of change in the input operation based on the contact position of the finger on the character type button B4 is substantially the same as the arrangement direction of any of the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10. If it is thin, it is determined that the recognition candidate is designated.

  Thereby, even if the distance between the contact position of the finger on the character type button B4 and the display position of the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10 is greatly separated, that is, the position where the input operation is actually performed and the arrangement of the recognition candidate buttons. Even if the position is far from the position, the recognition candidate can be designated intuitively, so that the position of the recognition candidate button can be any position on the display screen of the touch panel 1. In addition, this makes it possible to arrange the position of the recognition candidate button at a position that does not interfere with the display of the already displayed object, so that it is possible to avoid hiding the already displayed object.

  Although not shown in FIG. 1, a lookup table similar to the tables shown in Tables 1 to 3 is recorded in advance in the storage unit 8.

(About the characteristic operation of the character recognition processing apparatus 10)
Next, basic operations (handwriting input, character type designation, recognition candidate designation) of the character recognition processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the basic operation flow of the character recognition processing apparatus 10.

  First, the user turns on the power of the character recognition processing apparatus 10 and becomes “START”.

In step S1 (hereinafter simply described as “S1”), the display control unit 3 displays the character type buttons B1 to B5 in the key display area a2 (first display step), and accepts input of handwritten characters. It becomes a town. Next, when input of handwritten characters is started in the handwriting input area a1, the process proceeds to S2. At this time, the touch panel control unit 2 controls a plurality of image sensor groups of the touch panel 1, receives detection signals from the respective image sensors, and sends the detection signals to the touch panel control unit 2. The touch panel control unit 2 converts the detection signal into predetermined digital data (detection data) and sends it to the handwritten character specifying unit 4.

  In S2, the handwritten character specifying unit 4 specifies the locus hw1 of the input handwritten character (handwritten character specifying step). At this time, for example, the handwritten character specifying unit 4 sequentially specifies the coordinates of the contact position such as the pen tip, and specifies the locus hw1 of the handwritten character following the input operation of the handwritten character. The trajectory hw1 thus specified is displayed by the display control unit 3 following the input operation in the handwriting input area a1 as described above, and the process proceeds to S3.

  In S3, the touch panel control unit 2 determines whether any one of the character type buttons B1 to B5 is designated (touched) (first input determination step).

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2A, since the finger is in contact with the character type button B1, the touch panel control unit 2 determines that the character type button B1 (Hiragana) is designated (YES), and the determination result is It sends to the handwritten character specific | specification part 4, and progresses to S4. On the other hand, when the touch panel control unit 2 does not detect any designation (touch) of the character type buttons B1 to B5 (NO), the process returns to S1 and continues the above-described operation.

  On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, since the finger is in contact with the character type button B4, the touch panel control unit 2 determines that the character type button B4 (English character) is designated (touched) (YES), and The determination result is sent to the handwritten character identification unit 4, and the process proceeds to S4. On the other hand, when the touch panel control unit 2 does not detect any designation (touch) of the character type buttons B1 to B5 (NO), the process returns to S1 and continues the above-described operation.

  In S4, the handwritten character specifying unit 4 recognizes that the input of the handwritten character is completed, stores each coordinate of the locus hw1 of the handwritten character in a temporary memory (not shown), and proceeds to S5. At this time, in order for the character recognition processing device 10 to recognize that the input of the locus hw1 of the handwritten character has been completed, the user only needs to touch one of the character type buttons B1 to B5. For this reason, the troublesome operation for making a device recognize that the locus | trajectory hw1 of one handwritten character was complete | finished becomes unnecessary. Therefore, it is not necessary to wait without inputting for a certain period of time, so that wasteful power consumption can be suppressed. In addition, useless processing such as displaying an input completion button in the touch screen area can be avoided.

  In S5, the character recognition unit 5 extracts recognition candidates limited to the selected character type (character recognition step). At this time, the character recognition unit 5 reads the locus hw1 of the handwritten character specified by the handwritten character specifying unit 4 from the temporary recording memory, and collates it with a plurality of registered characters stored (registered) in advance in the storage unit 8. Then, a process of extracting at least one registered character having a high degree of similarity (or matching) with the locus hw1 as a recognition candidate (hereinafter referred to as “character recognition process”) is performed (character recognition step).

  At this time, the character recognition unit 5 performs the character recognition process by limiting the character types corresponding to the character type buttons specified by the touch panel control unit 2.

  Here, the limitation on the type of character may be before the character recognition process or after the character recognition process.

Prior to the character recognition process, only registered characters corresponding to the selected character type button may be extracted, and the registered characters and the locus hw1 of the handwritten character may be collated. As a result, it is possible to eliminate processing waste caused by collation with registered characters of a character type that is not related to the selected character type button, thereby reducing the consumption of CPU resources and the time required for character recognition processing. be able to.

Next, when the character recognition process is completed, the character recognition unit 5 notifies the recording control unit 7 to that effect.
For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2A, the recording control unit 7 determines the locus from the order of the default registered characters depending on the similarity of registered characters belonging to the character type (Hiragana) corresponding to the character type button B1. The recording position of the index number of the registered character is changed in descending order of similarity with hw1.

On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, as shown in Table 1, the recording control unit 7 uses the default value depending on the degree of similarity of registered characters belonging to the character type (alphabet) corresponding to the character type button B4. From the order of the registered characters, the recording positions of the index numbers of the registered characters are changed in descending order of similarity to the locus hw1.

When the change of the recording position of the index number is completed, the recording control unit 7 notifies the display control unit 3 to that effect and proceeds to S6.

  In S6, in the example shown in FIG. 2 (a), the display control unit 3 sets the recognition candidate buttons f5 and f6 respectively arranged on the upper and lower sides around the character type button B1 in the recognition candidate display area a3. Display (second display step), and proceed to S7. At this time, when the display of the recognition candidate buttons f5 and f6 is completed, the display control unit 3 notifies the touch panel control unit 2 to that effect. The touch panel control unit 2 receives this notification and enters an input town state.

  On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, the display control unit 3 recognizes the recognition candidate that is arranged in the recognition candidate display area a3 on the character type button B6 and the upper, right, lower, and left sides, respectively. The buttons f7 to f10 are displayed (second display step), and the process proceeds to S7. At this time, when the display of the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10 is completed, the display control unit 3 notifies the touch panel control unit 2 to that effect. The touch panel control unit 2 receives this notification and enters an input town state.

  In S7, in the example illustrated in FIG. 2A, the touch panel control unit 2 detects a change in input operation based on the contact position of the finger on the character type button B1, and any of the recognition candidate buttons f5 and f6 is detected. When it determines with having been designated (YES), it progresses to S8.

  On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, a change in the position of the input operation based on the contact position of the finger on the character type button B4 is detected, and it is determined that one of the recognition candidate buttons f7 to f10 has been designated. If yes (YES), go to S8.

  In S8, in the example shown in FIG. 2A, when flicking upward with respect to the paper surface with the finger contact position as a base point, the touch panel control unit 2 detects and recognizes the change in the position of the input operation. It is determined that the candidate button f5 has been designated (second input determination step). Thereby, it is determined that the locus hw1 of the handwritten character is the character “HI” (END).

  On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 2B, when flicking upward with respect to the paper surface with the contact position of the finger as a base point, the touch panel control unit 2 detects the change in the position of the input operation and recognizes the recognition candidate. It is determined that the button f7 has been designated (second input determination step). Thereby, it is determined that the locus hw1 of the handwritten character is the character “a” (END).

(Main effects of the character recognition processing device 10)
As described above, according to the character recognition processing device 10 of the present embodiment, for example, it is possible to specify a recognition candidate by so-called flick input from an input position when specifying a character type. In addition, the character type (character type) specification and recognition candidate specification (recognition result confirmation) can be performed in a series of operations, reducing the time and labor required for handwriting input of a text that includes a plurality of character types. be able to. Moreover, unlike the conventional handwriting input method, it is not necessary to switch the character type mode in advance.

(Another operation of the character recognition processing apparatus 10)
Next, the next candidate display operation will be described as another operation of the character recognition processing device 10 based on FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another form of display on the touch panel 1, FIG. 3 (a) shows a form in which a group of first recognition candidate buttons is displayed, and FIG. 3 (b) shows FIG. 3. FIG. 3A shows a change in display when the finger is released at a position other than the display position of the recognition candidate button, and FIG. 3C shows a form in which a group of recognition candidate buttons of the next candidate is displayed.

  In FIG. 3A, a handwritten character trajectory hw2 is drawn in the handwriting input area a1, and character type buttons B1 to B5 are displayed in the key display area a2.

  In addition, the figure shows a state when the character type button B3 (Kanji) is designated among the character type buttons B1 to B5. Also, in the figure, a recognition candidate button f11 for displaying the character “day” is displayed on the upper side of the page of the character type button B3 as a recognition candidate as a result of the character recognition process. Similarly, a recognition candidate button f12 that displays the character “month”, a recognition candidate button f13 that displays the character “white”, and a recognition candidate button f14 that displays the character “曰” (butterfly) are each a character type. The buttons B3 are displayed on the right, bottom and left sides of the page.

  In this state, when the finger is released (touched up) at a place other than the position of the recognition candidate buttons f11 to 14 (or its display range) (that is, without specifying any of the recognition candidate buttons f11 to f14), FIG. The display shifts to that shown in b).

  In the state of FIG. 3B, when the finger is again brought into contact with the character type button B3 corresponding to the same character type (kanji), the display shown in FIG.

  In the same figure, as a recognition candidate as a result of the character recognition process, a recognition candidate button f15 for displaying the next candidate character “100” having the next highest similarity, instead of each recognition candidate already displayed, A recognition candidate button f16 for displaying “eyes”, a recognition candidate button f16 for displaying the character “self”, and a recognition candidate button f17 for displaying the character “day” are displayed on the top, right, bottom, It is displayed on the left side.

  As mentioned above, if there is no desired recognition candidate displayed when you touch the character type button, once you lift your finger on the spot and touch the same character type button again, the next candidate May be displayed.

  In the present embodiment, since the total number of recognition candidates as a result of the character recognition process is eight or more that is four times the four recognition candidate buttons f11 to f14 displayed first, the recognition displayed first. Although the candidate buttons f11 to f14 are all replaced with different recognition candidate buttons f15 to f18, the display form of the next candidate is not limited to such a form.

In other words, when there are a plurality of recognition candidates, when a part of the plurality of recognition candidates is displayed and the same character type key as the first specified character type key is specified again, Of the recognition candidates, at least one recognition candidate that has already been displayed may be replaced with at least one recognition candidate that has not yet been displayed.

  As described above, even when all of the extracted recognition candidates cannot be displayed at once, all of the recognition candidates can be displayed in a plurality of times.

  In the case where the number of recognition candidates is enormous, by repeating the above operation, all of the extracted recognition candidates are displayed, or when a predetermined number of recognition candidates have been displayed. Then, the screen returns to the recognition candidate buttons f11 to f14 displayed first.

  The flow of the next candidate display operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in the state shown in FIG. 3A, if any recognition candidate displayed on the recognition candidate buttons f11 to f14 is not a desired recognition candidate in S7 of the basic operation shown in FIG. The finger is released without touching the recognition candidate buttons f11 to f14 (NO), and the process proceeds to “A”.

  Next, returning to FIG. 5, the process proceeds from “A” to S11.

  In S11, it becomes the acceptance town of the input of a handwritten character (refer FIG.3 (b)), and it progresses to S12.

  In S12, the touch panel control unit 2 determines whether any of the character type buttons B1 to B5 has been designated (touched), and proceeds to S13 (YES). On the other hand, when the touch panel control unit 2 does not detect any designation (touch) of the character type buttons B1 to B5 (NO), the process returns to S11 and continues the above-described operation.

  In S13, the touch panel control unit 2 determines, for example, whether or not the same character type button B3 as in FIG. 3A has been designated (touched) again. If the same character type button B3 is designated again, the process proceeds to S14. Proceed (YES). On the other hand, when a character type button different from the character type button B3 is designated (NO), the process proceeds to "C" and returns to S5 in FIG.

  In S14, the touch panel control unit 2 determines whether or not an additional handwriting input is performed on the handwriting input area a1. If the handwriting input is additionally performed (YES), the process proceeds to “C”, and S5 in FIG. Return to. On the other hand, if additional handwriting input is not performed (NO), the process proceeds to S15.

  In S15, the display control unit 3 determines whether or not all of the extracted recognition candidates have been displayed so far. If all the recognition candidates have been displayed (YES), the process proceeds to “D”, and FIG. Return to S6. On the other hand, when the recognition candidate which is not displayed remains (NO), it progresses to S16.

  In S16, the display control unit 3 determines whether or not a predetermined number of recognition candidates have been displayed so far. If the display has been completed (YES), the process proceeds to “D”. Returning to S6 of FIG. On the other hand, if the predetermined number of recognition candidates has not been displayed (NO), the process proceeds to S17.

  In S17, the display control unit 3 displays at least one next recognition candidate button instead of the already displayed recognition candidate button, and notifies the touch panel control unit 2 that the display of the recognition candidate button is completed. Then, the process proceeds to S18. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3C, the recognition candidate buttons f15 to f18 are displayed instead of the recognition candidate buttons f11 to f14 displayed first.

  In S18, the touch panel control unit 2 determines whether or not a recognition candidate is specified (touched up on the recognition candidate), and one (any) of the recognition candidate buttons f15 to f18 is specified. If yes (YES), go to “B”. On the other hand, if none of the recognition candidate buttons f15 to f18 is designated (NO), the process returns to S11.

(Another display form on the touch panel 1)
Next, still another form of display on the touch panel 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6A shows a form in which five or more recognition candidate buttons are displayed.

  For example, in the figure, a total of eight recognition candidate buttons f19 to f26 are displayed around the character type button B6. Thus, the number of recognition candidate buttons displayed on the display screen of the touch panel 1 may be five or more.

  Next, FIG. 6B shows a form in which the character type buttons are circular and the recognition candidate buttons are fan-shaped.

  For example, in the figure, the character type button B4 has a rounded rectangular shape, but the character type button B7 has a circular shape. As described above, the character type button B4 and the character type button B7 may have any shape as long as they are closed figures, and the shape of the character type button B4 and the character type button B7 may be different from each other.

  Moreover, in the same figure, each shape of the recognition candidate buttons f27-f30 is a fan shape. Thus, the recognition candidate buttons f27 to f30 may have any shape as long as it is a closed graphic. The shapes of the recognition candidate buttons f27 to f30 do not have to be the same, and may be different from each other.

  Further, the knowledge candidate buttons f27 to f30 of the present embodiment are different from the conventional forms, and the knowledge candidate buttons f27 to f30 are not arranged so as to surround the character type button B7.

  That is, the recognition candidate button only needs to be arranged in the vicinity of a reference point (for example, the center of the character type button B7) set at an arbitrary position, and is necessarily arranged so as to surround the reference point (or the central point). It does not have to be. In other words, the knowledge candidate buttons may not be arranged symmetrically with respect to the four sides and the eight sides, and may be arranged asymmetric with respect to the four sides and the eight sides.

  Finally, each block of the character recognition processing device 10, in particular, each block of the touch panel control unit 2, display control unit 3, handwritten character identification unit 4, character recognition unit 5, and recording control unit 7 is an integrated circuit (IC chip). The logic circuit formed above may be realized in hardware, or may be realized in software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

In the latter case, the character recognition processing device 10 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program, and the program And a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing various data. An object of the present invention is to read a program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of a control program (character recognition processing program) of the character recognition processing apparatus 10 which is software for realizing the above-described functions by a computer. This can also be achieved by supplying the recording medium recorded as possible to the character recognition processing apparatus 10 and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium by the computer (or CPU or MPU).

Examples of the recording medium include tapes such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ROM) / MO (Magnet Optical) disk / MD ( Discs including optical discs such as Mini Disc) / DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) / CD-R, IC cards (including memory cards) / cards such as optical cards, semiconductors such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM Memory, PLD (Programmable logic device) or FPG
Logic circuits such as A (Field Programmable Gate Array) can be used.

The character recognition processing device 10 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited as long as it can transmit the program code. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN (Local Area Network), ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), VAN (Value Added Network), CATV (Community Antenna TV) communication network, virtual private network (Virtual Private Network), telephone A line network, a mobile communication network, a satellite communication network, etc. can be used. The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, even with wired lines such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, and ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), IEEE 802.11 wireless, HDR ( It can also be used by radio such as High Data Rate (NFC), Near Field Communication (NFC), Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), mobile phone network, satellite line, and digital terrestrial network.

[Additional Notes]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The present invention can be applied to an input / output integrated information processing apparatus including a plurality of unit pixels and a plurality of imaging sensors. Specifically, the present invention can be widely applied to portable terminals and electronic devices that can perform handwritten input directly on the display screen. Note that “portable terminal” means a portable terminal having at least one communication function, such as a mobile phone-sized PC (personal computer) with a communication function, such as a portable PC capable of only IP communication. It is an included concept. Furthermore, the “electronic device” is a concept that includes an AV device with a communication function (including a navigation system).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Touch panel 2 Touch panel control part (input determination means)
3. Display control unit (display control means)
4 handwritten character identification part (handwritten character identification means)
5 Character recognition part (character recognition means)
10 character recognition processing device a1 handwriting input area (handwriting input area, touch screen area)
a2 Key display area (touch screen area)
a3 Recognition candidate display area (touch screen area)
B1 to B7 Character type buttons (character type keys)
f1-f30 recognition candidate buttons (recognition candidates)
hw1 locus hw2 locus

Claims (8)

Display control means for controlling to display a plurality of character type keys provided for each character type in a predetermined touch screen area;
Input determination means for determining whether one character type key is designated from the plurality of character type keys according to an input position with respect to the touch screen area;
Limited to the character type corresponding to the character type key designated by the input determination means, the locus of the handwritten character to be input is collated with a plurality of registered characters, and the locus of the handwritten character Character recognition means for extracting at least one of registered characters having a high similarity as a recognition candidate,
The display control means includes
In the touch screen area, control is performed to display all or part of at least one recognition candidate extracted by the character recognition means in the vicinity of the center point set at an arbitrary position.
The input determination means includes
When it can be considered that the direction of change in the input operation with the input position as a base point matches the arrangement direction of the at least one recognition candidate when viewed from the center point, the recognition candidate is designated A character recognition processing device that performs control to determine that the character has been deleted. The display control means includes
When there are multiple recognition candidates extracted by the character recognition means,
The control for displaying all or a part of the plurality of recognition candidates in the vicinity of the center point in a predetermined arrangement according to the degree of similarity to the locus of the handwritten character. The character recognition processing device according to 1. The character recognition means
Extracting at least one registered character belonging to the character type corresponding to the specified character type key from the plurality of registered characters, and collating the extracted registered character with the locus of the handwritten character The character recognition processing device according to claim 1 or 2. The display control means includes
When there are multiple recognition candidates extracted by the character recognition means,
After displaying a part of the plurality of recognition candidates, when the input determination unit determines that the same character type key as the specified character type key is specified again,
4. The control according to claim 1, wherein control is performed by replacing at least one recognition candidate already displayed among the plurality of recognition candidates with at least one recognition candidate not yet displayed. The character recognition processing apparatus of any one of Claims.   The handwritten character that performs the operation of specifying the locus of the input handwritten character and ends the operation of specifying the locus of the handwritten character when one character type key is designated from the plurality of character type keys. The character recognition processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a specifying unit. A first display step of displaying a plurality of character type keys provided for each character type in a predetermined touch screen area;
A handwritten character identification step for identifying a locus of input handwritten characters;
A first input determination step of determining whether one character type key is designated from the plurality of character type keys according to an input position with respect to the touch screen area;
The locus of the handwritten character specified in the handwritten character specifying step is collated with a plurality of registered characters in advance, limited to the character type corresponding to the character type key specified in the first input determining step. And at least one registered character having a high similarity to the locus of the handwritten character.
Character recognition step for extracting one as a recognition candidate;
A second display step of displaying all or part of at least one recognition candidate extracted in the character recognition step in the vicinity of the center point set at an arbitrary position in the touch screen region;
When it can be considered that the direction of change in the input operation with the input position as a base point matches the arrangement direction of the at least one recognition candidate when viewed from the center point, the recognition candidate is designated And a second input determining step for determining that the character has been deleted.   A character recognition processing program for operating a computer as each means in the character recognition processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the character recognition processing program according to claim 7 is recorded.

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