JPH01194068A - Mathematical expression input and edition system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to input a mathematic expression which can not be expressed by hierarchical relation such as a written expression by inducing an operator to input a character string constituting a mathematic expression in accordance with the contents of a divided unit table and automatically determining the display position of an input character string to display the input character string. CONSTITUTION:A mathematical expression is grasped as divided units and items in each divided unit and a divided unit table for storing the number of divided units of the mathematical expression and the constitution information of each divided unit in each sort of mathematical expression is previously formed. At the time of inputting and editing a mathematical expression, a control means 204 induces the operator to input a necessary character string while referring to the divided unit table, a automatically determines the display position of the input character string and displays the input character string on a display means 203. Consequently, a written expression can be inputted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a document creation device, and particularly to a mathematical formula input/edit method suitable for creating written calculation formulas and the like.

[Prior art 1] The mathematical input function already implemented in conventional word processors accepts the input of character strings with a hierarchical relationship such as Y= f f (x) dx, and calculates the value of each character string based on the hierarchical relationship. It was possible to calculate and display the display position.

By the way, for example, in a written calculation method, unlike a normal document, input is not done from left to right, but from top to bottom. It also does not have hierarchical relationships like normal mathematical expressions. Furthermore, for multiplication, division, etc., you may have to intentionally shift the upper and lower strings of characters in order to match the digits of the characters you input.

[Problem to be solved by the invention 1] As described above, the above-mentioned conventional technology does not take into consideration the creation of mathematical formulas that cannot be expressed in hierarchical relationships, such as handwritten calculation formulas, the digit alignment of input character strings, and the calculation of input mathematical formulas. Not yet,
I was unable to input formulas efficiently.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable the input of mathematical formulas that cannot be expressed in hierarchical relationships such as written calculation formulas, and to
It is possible to calculate a mathematical formula or a part of a mathematical formula when the meaning of the mathematical formula is taken into consideration and the created mathematical formula can be calculated.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the mathematical input/editing method according to the present invention includes an input means for inputting a character string, a storage means for storing the character code of the character string, and a method for inputting the character string. In a document creation device comprising a display means for displaying a column and a control means for controlling each of the above-mentioned means, the number of division units of the formula and the configuration of each division unit are stored in the control means for each type of formula to be created. A division unit table storing information is provided, and the control means guides the operator to input a character string constituting the formula according to the contents of the division unit table, and automatically changes the display position of the input character string. It is designed to be displayed according to the specific criteria.

As an aspect of the present invention, the configuration information of the division unit stored in the division unit table includes suffix symbol information indicating the presence or absence of a symbol indicating the end of the division unit, and the control means automatically controls the division unit according to the suffix symbol information. display the corresponding ending symbol.

As another aspect of the present invention, the control means displays a symbol indicating the end of the division unit in response to an operation by the operator indicating the end of the division unit.

As still another aspect of the present invention, the configuration information of the division unit includes display information indicating the relative position of each item within the division unit, and the control means controls the display of each item according to the display information. Performs digit alignment automatically.

As another aspect of the present invention, the configuration information of the division unit is:
It includes calculation information for calculating items within the division unit from the input character string, and the control means calculates the items from the input character string according to the calculation information.

Note that the term "mathematical formula" in this specification is not limited to a mathematical formula in a pure sense, but is understood in a broad sense to include chemical formulas and the like.

[Effect 1] In the present invention, a mathematical formula is regarded as a division unit and an item within each division unit, and a division unit table is provided in advance that stores the number of division units of the formula and configuration information of each division unit for each type of formula. By setting, when editing formula input,
The control means guides the operator to input a necessary character string while referring to the division unit table, automatically determines the display position of the input character string, and displays the input character string on the display means.

The configuration information of the above division unit includes, for each division unit, the number of items (sometimes undefined), display information indicating the relative position of each item, and end symbol information indicating the presence or absence of a symbol indicating the end of the division unit. , consists of calculation information, etc. when the item can be calculated by calculating the input character string. These table information does not necessarily have to include everything;
Some effect can be obtained even if only a part of it is used.

When the configuration information of the division unit includes the suffix information, the control means automatically displays the suffix along with the division unit, if necessary, according to this information. Even if the end symbol information is not included or the end of the division unit cannot be automatically determined, the end symbol can be added according to the operator's operation to indicate the end of the division unit.

If the configuration information of the above division unit includes display information,
The control means automatically adjusts the digits of the character string when displayed in division units that require digit alignment according to this information.

If the configuration information of the above division unit includes calculation information,
The control means calculates the target item for the division unit including the calculation information, according to the calculation information. On this occasion,
The control means determines whether the target item is a character string such as a number that can be calculated, and also determines whether all the character strings necessary for calculation are available, and whether or not each character string used for calculation is present. Determine whether it can be treated as a number. Based on this determination result, part or all of the formula is calculated.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a word processor will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the characteristics of the mathematical expressions used in the present invention will be explained. Figure 3 (a
) indicates a mathematical formula handled in the present invention. As shown in this figure, the present invention is mainly aimed at inputting and editing vertical equations called calculation by hand. Explain whether there are addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, prime factorization, etc. in written calculations, using multiplication as an example. Calculation by hand generally involves arranging multi-digit numbers vertically to perform simple calculations. In the present invention, this sequence of numbers or letters is called an item. In Figure 3(a), 3
06-310 or each item. Multiple items are grouped together to form a division unit. In FIG. 3(a), 301~
303 indicates the division unit. A division unit may include a symbol indicating the end. In Figure 3(a), 30
4.305 indicates the final symbol. In order to input and edit the mathematical formulas used in the present invention, consideration must be given to the line spacing between items, alignment of digits, arrangement of division units, presence or absence of suffix symbols, etc.

Next, the hardware configuration of the present invention will be explained. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the equipment configuration of the present invention. The hardware to which the present invention is applied includes an input device 201 such as a keyboard for inputting character strings, mathematical symbols, etc., a storage device 202 for storing character codes of input characters, and a CRT for displaying character strings, etc.
It is composed of a display device 203 such as a display, and a control device 204 that controls each of the above-mentioned parts.

Of these, the control device 204 will be explained in detail. The control device 204 is composed of five functional blocks: a formula input section 205, a formula calculation section 206, a formula display section 207, a target designation section 208, and a formula editing section 209.

(1) Mathematical Formula Input Unit 205 As described above, the mathematical formulas handled by the present invention are composed of items and division units. Items are usually composed of numerical formulas and characters such as kanji, but may also be composed of numerical formulas with a hierarchical structure. A division unit is a collection of multiple items, and the number of division units is unique for each calculation formula such as multiplication or addition. Further, information such as the number of items and the presence or absence of a suffix is also determined for each division unit. The input unit 205 has a table (division unit table) that summarizes all mathematical formulas and information on division units of each formula.

When the user selects a formula type using the input device 201, the formula input unit 205 searches the division unit table corresponding to the input formula type, and guides input of the first item of the formula according to the information. The user inputs a character string that constitutes an item, and inputs a delimiter at the end of the item to indicate that one item or one item has been completed. Formula input section 20
5 guides the input of items according to the number of items and input order obtained from the division unit table. As shown in FIG. 3(b), management data 311 for the entire formula and management data 312 for each division unit obtained from the results of formula input.
4. The character strings, delimiters 313, etc. of the input items are arranged in a line and stored in the storage device 202.

(2) Mathematical formula calculation unit 206 - Pencil calculation formulas are often used to assist calculations in boat fishing, and are often easier to calculate than general formulas. The formula calculation unit 206 takes advantage of this feature. The formula calculation unit 206 determines whether or not the next input item can be calculated based on the information in the division unit table and the items that have already been input, and if it is calculationable, actually performs the calculation.

(3) Mathematical formula display section 207 In order to display handwritten calculation formulas, instead of characters and lines with fixed sizes, two-dimensional areas of different sizes are basically considered, and these are divided into types of handwritten calculation formulas. They must be arranged vertically or horizontally as appropriate.

That is, it is necessary to set the size of the area (hereinafter referred to as item area) for each division unit and item, and to arrange the division unit and the items forming the division unit at fixed positions depending on the type of writing formula.

This will be specifically explained using the formula shown in FIG. 3(a) as an example. In this formula, the first minute side vehicle position 301 is the first item 313
5 and the second item 307. The thickness of each item is the size of the characters that make up each item plus the character spacing and line spacing, and the size of each division unit is determined by arranging the items that make up the division unit according to the information in the division unit table. It can be calculated by adding the size of the last symbol and the top, bottom, left, and right margins. Therefore, the size of the entire formula can be found by arranging each division unit according to the data in the division unit table. After the size of the entire formula is determined, the coordinates of each division unit and item are calculated from the coordinates of the reference point and displayed on the display device 2.
Displayed on 03.

(4) Character string specification section 208 When a part of the mathematical expression displayed by the mathematical expression display section 207 is specified by input device Z (11), it is possible to specify where the specified character is located in the data stored in the storage device 202. Search for.

(5) Character editing section 209 Edits the characters obtained by the character specifying section 208, such as insertion and correction. The input method is the formula input section 20.
5, and when storing the data in the storage device 202, the re-input character string data is inserted into the specified character string position.

Next, a description will be given of the input method of the Japanese arithmetic tree, the display of the last symbol, the automatic digit alignment, and the mathematical formula calculation functions in the device composed of the above functional blocks.

In the present invention, the formula input unit 205 has a division unit table for each type of formula, such as multiplication and division. Fourth
The figure shows a multiplication division unit table. The division unit table includes a formula type column 410, a division unit number type 420, and a division unit data column 430.4 for the number of division units.
It has 40.450. Each division unit data column stores the number of items and input order. 431.441.451
, display information @432.442°452, and a suffix symbol display field 433.443.453, and if the value of each item can be determined by calculation, it has calculation information a444.

The calculation information column 444 stores calculation information between items.

When the input function is activated and the formula type is input, the control '44
Place B 204 first calls up a division unit table stored in the formula input section 205 that corresponds to the selected formula type. Next, the user is prompted to input characters for each item.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the control device 204 when inputting one item in the present invention. In step 101, the control device 204 calculates the display coordinates of the item that accepts input from the display information of the called division unit chiful. This display information stores the relative positional relationship of each item within the division unit. This allows you to align the digits to the right, for example, as in the first minute position 301 in Figure 3(a), or to automatically align the digits by shifting each character to the left, as in the second minute position 302. can.

Next, the control device 204 determines whether calculation is possible based on the data in the calculation information column of the division unit table (step 102). FIG. 5 shows details of step 102. The determination procedure is first to check whether there is an inter-item calculation formula that calculates the item to be input in the calculation information column of the division unit table (step 5).
01). If an inter-item calculation formula exists, it is checked whether there are any uninputted items among the items necessary to calculate the target item (step 502). Furthermore, it is checked whether these items can actually be calculated like numbers (step 503). Those that satisfy the above three judgment conditions can be calculated (step 504
), − is not satisfied, it is determined that it is not computable (
Step 505).

Returning to Figure 1, if calculation is determined to be impossible by the above procedure, a cursor-like marker is displayed at the input position of the corresponding item found earlier, and the input of the character string that makes up the item is guided. (Step 103). If it is determined that calculation is possible, the formula calculation unit 206 calculates the item according to the item amount calculation formula (step 104).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the calculation procedure. The calculation procedure will be explained by taking as an example the case where item 3 shown in FIG. 3 308 is calculated.

In step 601, the control device 204 calls the corresponding item amount calculation formula from the division unit table shown in FIG. In the case of this example, (item 3)=(item l)×(1's digit of item 2).

Next, in step 602, the items necessary to calculate the applicable items are digitized. This is the storage device 202
This is because it is necessary to convert the character code stored in the . Step 602 is repeated until all items are digitized (step 603). In this example, the code for the characters 1.2.3 in Figure 3(b) is changed to the numerical value 1.
23, convert the code of 5 to the numerical value 5.

In step 604, the digitized items are calculated according to the item amount calculation formula. In this example, 123x5
Find item 3 by

The items obtained in the above procedure are as follows in step 605.
, it is converted into a character code again and stored in the storage device 202.
is memorized. In this example, since 123x5=625, 625 is converted into the character code sequence 6.2.5 and stored.

Returning to FIG. 1 again, after the character string of the relevant item is determined by input or calculation according to the above procedure, the control device 20
4 recalculates the size and coordinates of each item and division unit based on the coordinates obtained in step 101, and displays the determined character string on the display device 203 (step 1
05).

This is the item displayed based on the number of items in the division unit table and the end symbol information, or is the end of the division unit, and is 304 in FIG. 3(a).
If it is necessary to display a final symbol such as ``305'' or ``305'', the step 106 makes a determination and the display device 203
A suffix is displayed on top (step 108). If the number of items in the target division unit is indefinite, or if the number of items actually input is smaller than the contents of the division unit table, it is determined in step 107 whether the operator has performed an operation to specify the end through the input device 201. do. If any operation is performed, it is recognized as the end of the division unit and step 1 is performed.
The final symbol is displayed at 08.

The control device 204 controls the first input every time one item is input.
Follow the steps in the figure to guide and accept character input.

A formula management section 311 that stores the character strings that make up the formula and the delimiter 313 as well as the number of characters, coordinates, size, etc. of the entire formula, and a division unit management section that stores the number of characters, coordinates, size, etc. of each division unit. 312°314 in Figure 3 (b
) are arranged and stored in the storage device 202 as shown in FIG.

Although the present invention has been explained using a handwritten calculation formula as an example, it is clear that it can be applied to inputting and editing not only general mathematical formulas but also chemical formulas, musical notes, and the like.

[Effect of the invention 1] According to the present invention, it is possible to input written calculation formulas that were not considered in conventional formula input and editing methods, and it is possible to perform digit alignment that takes into account the meaning of the formula, automatic display of trailing symbols, and even more. If the created formula can be calculated, the formula or a part of the formula can be calculated, allowing efficient input and editing of the formula.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of the method of the present invention, the second block diagram, Fig. 3(a) is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the handwritten calculation method handled by the present invention, and Fig. 3(b) shows its data structure. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the division unit table in the present invention, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the procedure for determining the computability of an item in the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the procedure for calculating an item. It is. 101...Item input position calculation step 102...Calculability determination step 103...Character input reception step 104...Item calculation step 105...Character string display step 106...Division unit end determination step 107... End designation operation determination step 108... End symbol display step Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd. Agent: Patent attorney Tomi 1) Kazuko 41 Figure 2? nA Figure 3 (a) Figure 3 (b) Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An input means for inputting a character string, a storage means for storing a character code of the character string, a display means for displaying the character string, and a control means for controlling each of the above means. In the document creation device, a division unit table storing the number of division units of the formula and configuration information of each division unit is provided in the control means for each type of formula to be created, and the control means is configured to control the division unit table. A mathematical formula input/edit method characterized by guiding an operator to input a character string constituting the mathematical formula according to the contents of a table, and automatically determining and displaying a display position of the input character string. 2. The configuration information of the division unit stored in the division unit table includes suffix information indicating the presence or absence of a symbol indicating the end of the division unit, and the control means automatically selects the suffix symbol according to the suffix information. A mathematical formula input/edit method according to claim 1, which displays the following. 3. The mathematical expression input/edit method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means displays a symbol indicating the end of the division unit in response to an operation by the operator indicating the end of the division unit. . 4. The configuration information of the division unit includes display information indicating the relative position of each item within the division unit, and the control means:
A mathematical expression input/edit method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein digits are automatically aligned when displaying each item in accordance with the display information. 5. The configuration information of the division unit includes calculation information for calculating the items in the division unit from the input character string, and the control means calculates the items from the input character string according to the calculation information. The formula input/editing method described in the first to fourth terms of the range.