JPH06318271A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to accurately recognize even different hand- writting without requesting specific setting to a user. CONSTITUTION:Which part of a palm rest in a device is used for resting a hand holding a pen 8 to input a character by the pen 8 is detected by hand sensors 9, 10 and either one of a right hand pattern matching dictionary 40 and a left hand pattern matching dictionary 41 is selected based upon the detected result. The stroke information of an inputted hand-written character is recognized based upon the selected dictionary.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus for inputting handwritten characters on a coordinate input device and recognizing characters based on the input contents.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, personal computers, word processors and the like have been known as information processing apparatuses of this type. These devices display character data such as documents and programs on the display and perform editing, searching, and other processing.

Further, as a device for inputting handwritten characters and figures into the information processing device, there have been devised devices using various coordinate input devices composed of an input pen and a tablet. These devices store the input trajectory,
In addition to what is output, based on the input character pattern,
Various devices for performing character recognition and inputting using the pattern matching method have been proposed.

In these pattern matching apparatuses, a pattern matching dictionary for matching with a character pattern is prepared and optimized so as to show the highest character recognition rate for various handwritings expected to be input. Is being carried out.

[0005]

However, since the pattern matching dictionary is not perfect, the recognition error is often made depending on the input handwriting. Therefore, the user needs to write a character with a handwriting that is easily recognized by the device, and needs to be careful in inputting.

One conceivable solution is to have several types of pattern matching dictionaries for each feature of handwriting, and switch and use them.

However, in this method, each time a user with different handwriting characteristics tries to make an input, he / she has to switch the dictionaries, and the user needs to know what pattern matching dictionary is currently in use. It is expected that it will be very troublesome.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and information processing capable of accurately recognizing different handwriting without requiring the user to make any special settings. The purpose is to provide a device.

In order to solve this problem, the information processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, in an information processing apparatus for recognizing handwritten characters, one of a plurality of dictionaries referred to when recognizing a character based on a discrimination means for discriminating an input person of the handwritten character and the discrimination means. And a character recognizing unit referring to the dictionary selected by the selecting unit.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that enables an operator to display an upright image.

In an information processing apparatus provided with an input means for holding a desired position and designating a desired position, a display means for displaying an image, a detection means for detecting the direction of the operator of the input means, and the detection means. And a means for changing the direction of the display image by the display means based on the result.

[0012]

In the structure of the present invention, the input person is discriminated by, for example, the dominant arm or the writing pressure, and the character recognition dictionary is switched based on the discrimination result.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Explanation of Appearance of Apparatus (FIG. 2)> FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus in this embodiment. The apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a coordinate input device as input means for inputting information by designating a coordinate position on the input tablet with an input pen.

In the figure, 8 is an input pen for designating coordinates, and 7 is an input tablet for inputting. 22,
Reference numeral 23 is a palm rest for placing a palm on the user's input, the palm rest 22 is used for inputting with the right hand, and the palm rest 23 is for the left hand.
The input tablet 7 is transparent, and a liquid crystal display is provided below the input tablet 7. The strokes input by the user using the pen 8 are sequentially detected, and the strokes are displayed as lines. Therefore, it is possible to use the present device as if writing with a pen on ordinary paper.

It should be noted that the apparatus of the embodiment is not a simple character recognition apparatus but an apparatus for editing a document, but since the edited contents do not have the characteristics of the present invention, the description regarding the character recognition will be given below. Only do.

<Description of Device Configuration (FIG. 1)> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information processing device in this embodiment. In the figure, a CPU 1 controls the entire information processing apparatus while storing control data in a RAM 3 according to a program to be described later stored in a ROM 2. 4 is a printer,
An I / O port for connecting a keyboard or a peripheral device such as a modem to input / output data. Reference numeral 5 denotes a display output unit which is composed of a liquid crystal and which displays an image, character data and the like. The display output unit 5 does not necessarily have to be made of liquid crystal, and may be a CRT display or another type of display.

Reference numeral 11 is a coordinate input device for inputting coordinates, and in this embodiment, a digitizer using a resistance film was used. Of course, other methods may be adopted.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a transparent input tablet using a resistance film, which is used to input coordinates by pressing the tablet surface with a pointing pen 8. The input tablet 7 is composed of a PET film and a glass plate on which a resistance film is formed by vapor-depositing or printing a material such as ITO on the surface, and the resistance film surfaces of the glass plate and the film face each other. They are arranged on top of each other. A spacer (not shown) such as a minute silicon rubber is arranged between the two, so that the resistance films of both of them come into contact with each other at the pressing point only when the surface of the film is pressed. Further, both the glass plate and the film have conductor patterns formed at both ends of the resistance film as terminals for applying a voltage to the resistance film or measuring a potential.

Reference numeral 6 is a pressing point detection circuit for applying a constant voltage to both ends of the resistance film and measuring the potential, and detects the pressing position by the magnitude of the measured potential.

9 and 10 are palm rests 22,
It is a hand-held sensor that detects whether pressure is applied to 23. Palm rest 2 when user tries to make input
Sensors with hands 9 and 1 when hands are placed on 2 or 23
0 detects this and outputs to CPU1. The detection means of the hand-held sensors 9 and 10 is not limited to the method of detecting the pressing force, but may be the method of detecting the temperature or the change of the capacitance on the palm rest.

Reference numerals 40 and 41 are dictionaries to be referred to when performing character recognition processing, and details will be described later.

<Description of Processing (FIGS. 3 to 5)> A brief description will be given of character recognition in the apparatus of the embodiment having the above-described configuration. When a state where a hand is placed on the palm rest 22 is detected, the user uses his / her right hand. It is determined that the user has the pointing pen 8. On the contrary, when it is detected that the hand is placed on the palm rest 23, it is determined that the user holds the pointing pen 8 in the left hand. Then, the dictionaries 40 and 41 for character recognition are switched based on the result of this judgment.

FIG. 3 shows a part of the display screen of the display output unit 5 when the character recognition input is performed. Reference numeral 3 in the figure
Reference numeral 0 is a character input box indicating an area in which characters can be input. When writing with the input pen 7 on the character input frame 30 so as to write in the character input frame 30,
For the character pattern, use the pattern matching method to create a CP
Characters are recognized by U1 and input into the document file.

The character recognition start timing is, for example, when a predetermined time elapses after inputting in one input box, when a predetermined pen instruction (character recognition instruction) is given, or when a pen is input in the next input box. This is the case when input is started.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the structure of a pattern matching dictionary for pattern matching of character patterns. The dictionary 40 is a pattern matching dictionary for the right-hand input person, and 41 is a pattern matching dictionary for the left-hand input person. That is, the pattern matching dictionaries 40 and 41 are optimized to show the highest recognition rate for various handwritings by right-handed and left-handed operators, respectively.

Next, the processing operation in this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The program according to this flowchart is stored in the ROM 2.

In the present embodiment, the operation of detecting the pressing of the palm rests 22 and 23 at the time of inputting a character pattern and switching the pattern matching dictionary to be referred to at the time of pattern matching processing is performed.

First, in step S101, it is determined whether coordinates have been input. If affirmative, step S10
If the answer is 2, the process returns to step S101 and waits for the input. If pen input is detected, step S10
In step 2, the character pattern is input from the locus of the input coordinates, and when the input of one character is completed, the process proceeds to step S103.

In step S103, the pressed state of the left palm rest 23 is input from the hand-held sensor (left) 10. Similarly, in step S104, the pressed state of the right palm rest 23 is input from the hand-held sensor (right) 9. In step S105, the result of step S103 is determined, and if the left sensor is pressed, step S106 is performed.
If NO, the process proceeds to step S107. Step S
At 106, the dictionary 41 between the left-hand input persons is set as the pattern matching dictionary, and the process proceeds to step S110.

If the process proceeds to step S107, the result of step S104 is determined. If the right sensor is pressed, the process proceeds to step S108, and if the result is negative, the process proceeds to step S109. In step S108, the dictionary 40 for the right-handed person is set as the pattern matching dictionary, and the process proceeds to step S110.

When the pressing by the hand cannot be detected in any of the palm rests, it is considered that the sensor is abnormal or the input direction of the input person is different (when the input is upside down with respect to the device). In this case, instead of invalidating the pen input, an alarm is simply output and the process proceeds to step S110. However, in this case, since it is not possible to identify which hand the user holds the pen, the dictionary selected immediately before is adopted.

Now, when the processing proceeds to step S110,
Pattern matching is performed based on the input character pattern and the selected dictionary. Continued Step S11
In 1, the character code resulting from the pattern matching is output to a predetermined position on the display output unit 5.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
By detecting the pressing on the left and right palm rests 22 and 23 and switching the pattern matching dictionaries, the user can use the pattern matching dictionaries optimized for the right and left dominant arms without making any setting.
It is possible to realize a suitable information processing apparatus with an improved character recognition rate.

Further, in the present embodiment, two types of pattern matching dictionaries, one for right-hand input and the other for left-hand input, are switched and used, but a plurality of dictionaries may be added and switched. For example, it is possible to have a right-hand dictionary and a left-hand dictionary as the third dictionary. In this case, in step S109 of FIG. 5, a high character recognition rate is obtained even if the sensor indicates an abnormality or a person with a dominant hand different from the previous time performs input by performing the processing of setting in the common dictionary. It is possible to maintain.

[Explanation of Second Embodiment] In the above-mentioned embodiment (first embodiment), the pattern matching dictionaries are switched depending on whether the input person is the right-hand input person or the left-hand input person. In this embodiment, a configuration in which the dictionary is switched according to the writing pressure of the input person will be described.

The schematic structure of the apparatus according to the second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment described above, and the description thereof will be omitted. Although the hand-held sensors 9 and 10 in FIG. 1 output binary values indicating whether or not they are pressed in the above-described embodiment,
In the second embodiment, multi-valued output is performed according to the pressed pressure. This identifies a plurality of operators.

In the above structure, when the character pattern is input, the pressure sensors 9 and 10 are operated by the palm rest 2.
The pressure applied to 2, 23 is output to the CPU 1. CP
U1 performs pattern matching by switching to a pattern matching dictionary optimized for high writing pressure, medium writing pressure, and low writing pressure according to the detected pressure.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to switch the pattern matching dictionaries by detecting the writing pressure of the input person, and to realize an information processing apparatus with an improved character recognition rate. You can In addition to the writing pressure of the input person, detection of holding the right or left hand of the pen is also used, so that more humans can be identified.

In the second embodiment, the individual identification is performed by the pen pressure, but it does not have a dictionary for each individual (of course, there is no problem in capacity).
That is, although the writing pressure is effective for identifying an individual, if the characteristics of the handwriting are similar, the characters may be recognized using the same dictionary. In this case, if only a limited number of N dictionaries are prepared, and if a table of correspondence between the information such as writing pressure and dominant arm of each individual (N or more) and the dictionary to be referred to is prepared, at least character recognition The rate can be expected to improve.

[Explanation of Third Embodiment] A third embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the above-described first embodiment, the configuration in which the left and right palm rests are pressed to determine the dominant arm of the input person has been described, but in this embodiment, a plurality of connectors for connecting the input pens are prepared. A case where the determination is performed based on the connection position will be described.

<Explanation of Appearance of Device (FIG. 8)> FIG.
3 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. In the third embodiment, an ultrasonic digitizer is used as the coordinate input device.

In the figure, reference numeral 18 denotes an input tablet which is placed on the liquid crystal display plate and which inputs coordinate positions. 12
Is an input pen for instructing coordinates, and the connecting cable 26
Driven by the signal transmitted through. 24, 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a pen connector for connecting the device and the input pen 12. By connecting the pen connector (right) 24 for the right-hand input person and the pen connector (left) 25 for the left-hand input person to the input pen 12, the connection cable 26 can be input without obstruction.

<Description of Device Configuration (FIG. 6)> FIG. 7 shows the third embodiment.
3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. In the figure, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals and will not be described in particular.

In the figure, 18 is a tablet in which piezoelectric elements 16A, 16B and 16C which are ultrasonic sensors are arranged in the peripheral portion of the input surface. Reference numeral 17 is an antireflection member that absorbs elastic waves and is arranged so as to surround the periphery of the tablet 18.
Reference numeral 13 is an input pen including an ultrasonic vibrating paper 14 and a pen tip 15. Reference numeral 12 is a vibrator driving circuit for driving the ultrasonic vibrator 14 provided in the input pen 13. Reference numeral 19 denotes a reception waveform detection circuit, which receives and detects ultrasonic reception signals from the respective sensors.

The oscillator drive circuit 12 is operated by the start signal of the CPU 1 to generate a pulse signal. This pulse signal is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 14 of the input pen 13 via a code to drive the transducer 14.
As a result, ultrasonic waves are emitted from the pen tip 15. When the pen tip 15 is pressed against the input surface of the tablet 18 in this state, the ultrasonic wave oscillated by the pen tip 15 is propagated as an elastic wave on the tablet 18, and the ultrasonic signal is detected by the sensors 16A, 16B, 16C. Be received. Since a delay time tg occurs before the elastic wave is received by each sensor from the pressing point, this is synchronized with the start signal and is received by the reception waveform detection circuit 19 for measurement. The output of the received waveform detection circuit 19 is calculated by the calculation control unit 11, and the pen tip 15
The coordinate position of the designated point can be detected.

Reference numerals 20 and 21 denote pen connectors 24, respectively.
25 is a pen connector sensor that detects that an input pen is connected to 25. Pen connector sensor (right) 20,
By (left) 21, the CPU 1 detects which of the left and right connectors the input pen 12 is connected to.

The control processing procedure of the CPU 1 in the third embodiment may follow the procedure shown in FIG.

Specifically, steps S101 and S102.
Is the same as in the first embodiment described above. Further, steps S102 and S103 are performed by the pen connector sensor 20,
The signal from No. 21 will be detected. Then, in steps S105 to S109, a dictionary is selected based on the signals from the pen connector sensors 20 and 21,
In steps S110 and S111, character recognition for a stroke input based on the selected dictionary and output of the recognized character code are performed.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, by detecting the connected position of the input pen and switching the pattern matching dictionary, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiments can be obtained. Obtainable.

[Explanation of the Fourth Embodiment] By the way, in an apparatus having a coordinate data input means by a pen, in order to specify the input direction of the input coordinate data, the user selects the input direction on the screen. Display a screen prompting the user to select an input direction, and perform an input operation according to the input direction that the user wants to select (first method), or detect the tilt of the pen and input the input direction based on the result. To identify (second
Method) is considered. As a mechanism for detecting the inclination of the pen, for example, a mercury switch is provided inside the pen,
It is conceivable that the light emitting element and the light receiving element are provided inside the pen so that the light emitted from the light emitting element enters the light receiving element only when the pen is vertical.

However, the first method is inconvenient because the user must make a selection operation each time he wants to change the input direction. In the second method, the mechanism of the pen is complicated, and the way of holding the pen varies from person to person, so it is necessary to register each person.

The fourth embodiment eliminates such a problem by detecting the touch by the operator and specifying the input direction based on the detection result. The fourth embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 9 shows a hardware configuration diagram in the fourth embodiment. 101 is a resistive film type digitizer A,
102 is an ultrasonic type digitizer B, and 103 is L
CD (Liquid Crystal Display) 104 is a pen that can input coordinate data by touching the digitizer surface.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a pen drive circuit for vibrating the pen 104 at a predetermined frequency, and reference numeral 106 denotes a coordinate detection circuit (touch detection circuit) in the digitizer A, which detects coordinates from the input of the pen and the result of the touch at the time of input. A coordinate detection circuit 107 in the digitizer B detects the input coordinates of the pen.
Reference numeral 108 denotes an input direction determination circuit, which is a touch detection circuit 10.
6 and the detection result of the coordinate detection circuit 107 are used as input to determine from which direction the pen input is made. It also stores whether the user is right-handed or left-handed. 109
Is a CPU and controls the entire system. Reference numeral 110 denotes a display control circuit, which is instructed by the CPU 109 to display the LCD 1
03 and the display memory 111. 112 is RA
M and 113 are ROMs.

Here, the principle of detecting the input coordinates in the resistance film method will be described with reference to FIG.

The coordinate input section has two resistive film films 20.
1, 202 are arranged apart from each other by a predetermined distance via a spacer such as silicon rubber. These resistance films are not normally in contact with each other, but when a pressing instruction is given to the coordinate input surface, the two resistance films come into contact with each other at the pressing point. Further, as shown in the drawing, electrodes are provided in orthogonal directions on two opposing sides of the two resistance films, and a predetermined voltage is applied to these electrodes by being connected to a coordinate detection circuit. As shown in FIG. 2, electrodes on both ends of the two resistive films are designated as A, B, C, and D.

Although FIG. 11 shows a state where no pressure is applied, when pressure is applied, the two resistance films make contact at the contact point P as shown in FIGS. The coordinate detection circuit 107 has A, B or C, D as shown in FIGS.
By applying a predetermined voltage Vcc between them and using a voltage detection circuit with a sufficiently high input resistance, point C (or D) or point A (or B)
The partial pressure at the contact point P is detected at the point. As a result, the X and Y components of the coordinate value are detected. Therefore, the coordinate detection circuit 10
7 has a structure as shown in FIG. 10, for example.

In the figure, reference numeral 203 designates FIGS.
3 is a switching circuit for switching the circuit connection of No. 3.
Reference numeral 204 is a switching circuit for switching the partial pressure of the contact point obtained via the XY switching circuit 203. 20
Reference numeral 4 denotes an operational amplifier for measuring the partial pressure of the contact point obtained via the XY switching circuit 203, which is configured as a voltage follower having a high input resistance as shown in the drawing, and is a resistance film between the contact point and the detection point. The voltage drop due to is negligible. The input terminal of the operational amplifier 204 is several M
It is pulled down to the ground potential by a high resistance of about ohms, and when there is no input by the resistance film, the operational amplifier 20
0V is detected via 4. And the operational amplifier 20
The voltage information detected by 3 is the A / D converter 205.
Is input to the CPU 109 via.

Next, the operation of the input direction determination circuit 108 using the hardware configuration of FIG. 9 will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the determination is made with respect to inputs from four directions of up, down, left and right. First, the user of the device registers whether the device is right-handed or left-handed. This is done by displaying a screen for the user to select one of them and performing a pen input by the user for registration. The registration result is stored in the input direction determination circuit 108.

In this state, it is assumed that the user performs pen input on the screen. That is, the pen 104 driven by the pen drive circuit 105 is moved to the touch point P (x1, y
The vibration of the pen 104 causes digitizer B
The input coordinates are detected by the coordinate detection circuit 107. In brief, the vibration (ultrasonic wave) given by the pen 104 propagates around the surface of the digitizer B around the pen contact point. Therefore, the pen 10
If the delay time from the driving of No. 4 to the detection of the propagated vibration is counted, the distance to the designated position of the pen 104 can be calculated. In the embodiment, a plurality of this vibration detection circuit is provided, and the pointing position of the pen 104 is detected by using the vibration detection circuit. In this case, due to the nature of the ultrasonic system, the hand is not affected. Incidentally, when drawing an object with a pen, normally, not only the pen (tip) is brought into contact with the board surface (tablet), but also a part of the hand is brought into contact. The meaning of "touch" here is such a meaning.

When the pen 104 is performing coordinate detection by ultrasonic vibration, part of the hand comes into contact with the board surface as described above. This hand position is detected by the digitizer A.

Here, the contact point by the touch is Q (x2, y
2), one of the states shown in FIGS. When the coordinate system in FIG. 10 is adopted,
If the x-coordinate of the contact point Q is smaller than the x-coordinate of the contact point P, the result is shown in FIG. Similarly, contact point Q
16 is smaller than the y coordinate of the contact point P in FIG.
When it is larger, it is as shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 shows the positional relationship between the pen input and the touch. When the area A in FIG. 18 is touched, it is FIG. 14 and FIG. Similarly, area B,
When C and D are touched, respectively, it becomes FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, FIG. 15 and FIG. 17, FIG. 4 and FIG. At this time, the potential detected by the detection system of the resistance film type digitizer A is different from the potential when there is no hand.

Now consider the case in FIG. If there is no touch, that is, the potential Vc (or Vd) at the point C (or D) in the case of FIG. 11 is detected by the detector of the ultrasonic digitizer B (x1, y1). It is expressed as follows. Here, however, the LCD is 640
* 480 dot configuration.

Vc = Vd = (x1 / 640) * Vcc (a) Next, when considering the handling, comparing Vc (or Vd) with Vc ′ (or Vd ′) in FIG.
It is clear from FIGS. 12 and 14 that Vc (= Vd) <Vc ′ (= Vd ′) (b). Similarly, in the case of FIG. 15, Vc (= Vd)> Vc ′ (= Vd ′) (c). . From this, it is possible to determine the relationship between the touch and the input coordinates with the pen with respect to the x axis.

Similarly, in the case of FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, it is possible to make a judgment about the y-axis.

Therefore, the input direction determination circuit 108 determines the input direction based on the following determination rule.

1) Vc (= Vd) <Vc '(= Vd') and Va (= Vb) <Va '(= Vb') and the user is right-handed, or Vc (= Vd)> Vc '(= Vd ′) and Va (= Vb) <Va ′ (= Vb ′) and the user is left-handed, the input direction (the direction in which the operator exists) is E in FIG.
Direction.

2) Vc (= Vd)> Vc '(= Vd') and Va (= Vb) <Va '(= Vb') and the user is right-handed, or Vc (= Vd)> Vc '(= Vd ') and Va (= Vb) <Va' (= Vb ') and the user is left-handed, the input direction is the direction F in FIG.

3) Vc (= Vd)> Vc '(= Vd') and Va (= Vb)> Va '(= Vb') and the user is right-handed, or Vc (= Vd) <Vc '(= Vd ') and Va (= Vb)>Va' (= Vb ') and the user is left-handed, the input direction is the direction G in FIG.

4) Vc (= Vd) <Vc '(= Vd') and Va (= Vb)> Va '(= Vb') and the user is right-handed, or Vc (= Vd) <Vc '(= Vd ′) and Va (= Vb) <Va ′ (= Vb ′) and the user is left-handed, the input direction is the direction H in FIG.

The input direction determination result is used to control the screen display direction on the LCD 103.

FIG. 19 shows the entire screen area 6 in the RAM 112.
01 and the display area 602 will be described. CPU10
9 displays data by transferring the data in the display area to the display memory 111 through the display control circuit 110.
That is, by changing the display area or the transfer order of data in the display area, the display direction of the display screen is changed as shown in FIG.

The operation flow of the screen display direction control will be described below with reference to FIG. The program related to the illustrated control processing procedure is stored in the ROM 113.

First, in step S801, the input direction determination circuit 108 makes a determination, and selects data acquisition and data conversion according to the input direction determined in step S802.

That is, in FIG. 18, when it is determined that the operator is in the G direction, the data in the display area 602 in the RAM area 601 is transferred to the display memory 111 as it is (without conversion).

Further, in FIG. 18, the operator selects E, F,
If it is determined that the image is located in either direction of G, the process proceeds to the corresponding process of steps S804, S806, S808, the data to be displayed in the RAM area 601 is fetched, and the rotation process suitable for each is performed. (Steps S805, S807, S809) are performed (or the writing direction in the display memory 111 is determined).

In any case, the process is step S810.
Here, the data converted in the previous process is transferred to the display memory 111 through the display control circuit 110, and the display control circuit 110 outputs the data in the display memory 111 to the LCD 103 in step S811. By doing so, the display direction of the display screen is changed.

By the above operation, when the user performs pen input from a certain direction, the input direction is automatically detected,
A screen display direction corresponding to the input direction can be obtained.

In the above description, in order to detect the positional relationship between the contact point P by the pen and the contact point Q by the hand, the potential derived from the coordinates of P detected by the digitizer B and the digitizer A are detected. However, this may be performed by comparing the coordinates detected by the digitizer B with the coordinates derived from the potential detected by the digitizer A.

[Explanation of Fifth Embodiment] In the fourth embodiment described above, the pen input coordinates and the touch are detected by superposing the resistive film type digitizer and the ultrasonic type digitizer. Of course, this may have another configuration. Also, the input direction determination result may be used not for changing the screen display direction but for performing other processing. In the fifth embodiment, a case will be described in which hand detection is performed by attaching a switch that also functions as a palm rest to the edge of the screen, and the input direction determination result is used for input character recognition. In addition, in this embodiment, the input direction is determined in two directions, up and down, and at the same time, the user's right-handed and left-handed determination is performed.

FIG. 22 shows a hardware configuration diagram in the fifth embodiment. Reference numerals 901 to 904 denote pads for detecting a touch, and a touch when a user inputs a pen is detected by a pressure chain (not shown) built in the pad. 23 shows an example of an external view of the device.

When the user inputs a pen from a certain direction, the digitizer 102 and the coordinate detection circuit 107 detect the input coordinates. At the same time, the hand-held detection pad 90
By touching any of 1 to 904, the touch detection is performed by any of the touch detection circuits 905 to 908. As a result of the detection, the input direction is determined as follows.

(A) Detection by hand detection circuit 905 → input direction is G in FIG. 18, user is right-handed (b) detection by hand detection circuit 906 → input direction is FIG.
8 G, user is left-handed (c) Detected by hand detection circuit 907 → input direction is as shown in FIG.
8E, the user is right-handed (b) Detected by the hand-hold detection circuit 908 → the input direction is as shown in FIG.
8E, user is left-handed It is determined by the above operation whether the pen input is from the up or down direction and whether the user is right-handed or left-handed. Now, the input direction determination result is used for data conversion for recognizing the input character. If the input direction determination result is upward, the input data is converted. The conversion formula is as follows. Here, the LCD 103 is 640 * 4.
It has a structure of 80 dots.

(X, y) = (640-x1, 480-y1) If the input direction determination result is downward, no conversion is performed.

FIG. 24 shows an operation flowchart in the fifth embodiment.

In step S1101, presence / absence of hand detection is checked, and in step S1102, presence / absence of input coordinate detection is checked. If both are present, subsequent processing is performed according to the hand detection result.

Here, when detected by the hand detection circuit 907, the input coordinate data is converted in accordance with the above conversion formula in step S1103. And step S1104
Sets the recognition dictionary for right-handed users.

When detected by the hand detection circuit 908, the conversion of step S1103 is similarly performed,
In step S1105, the recognition dictionary is set for the left-handed person. When detected by the hand detection circuits 905 and 906, the data conversion is not performed and the process proceeds to step S1104 or step S1105.

Next, in step S1107, pattern matching between the recognition dictionary and the converted data is performed. Finally, in step S1108, the recognition result is displayed on the screen.

In the fifth embodiment, since the detection of the hand movement is configured by using the hand detection pad, the device can be constructed at a lower cost than the above-mentioned embodiments. Further, by converting the input data according to the input direction, there is no need to prepare a recognition dictionary for each input direction, and it is sufficient to have two types of recognition dictionaries for right-handed and left-handed. Furthermore, the user's dominant hand is automatically determined at the same time as the input direction is determined, and by using the recognition dictionary corresponding to each, the user is always aware of whether the user is right-handed or left-handed. It is possible to get a rate.

In the fourth and fifth embodiments, the case where two digitizers are used as the hand detecting means and the case where the hand detecting pad is used are shown, but of course, other configurations may be used. Further, regarding the input direction determination result, the case where it is used for the screen display direction control and the character recognition operation is shown in the text, but it goes without saying that it may be used for other control.

Further, in the fourth embodiment, the direction of the pen operator is detected and the erect image is displayed in that direction.
~ It may be adapted to the character recognition of the third and fifth embodiments. With this configuration, handwritten characters from any direction can be recognized.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
By detecting whether the character pattern is input by the left or right hand and switching the pattern matching dictionary, the user can use the pattern matching dictionary optimized for each input without making any settings. It is possible to provide a preferable information processing apparatus having a high rate and a small number of false positives.

According to another embodiment, the input direction of pen input can be determined without the user's awareness.

[0098]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately recognize even different handwriting without requiring the user to make any special setting.

Further, it becomes possible to always display an upright image to the operator.

[0100]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a character input screen of the information processing device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a pattern matching dictionary for right-hand input of the information processing apparatus in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a pattern matching dictionary for left-hand input of the information processing apparatus in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation processing procedure in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus in a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic external perspective view of an information processing apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus in a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block configuration diagram around a coordinate detection circuit in a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the principle of coordinate detection by a resistance film in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the principle of coordinate detection by a resistance film in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the principle of coordinate detection by a resistance film in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the principle of hand detection in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the principle of hand detection in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the principle of hand detection in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the principle of hand detection in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing criteria for determining a touched area in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the relationship between the entire screen and the display area in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a relationship between a display direction and its display content in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing a control processing procedure in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of the information processing device in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is an external perspective view of an information processing device according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a control processing procedure in the fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 4 I / O Port 5 Display Output Unit 6 Push Point Detection Circuit 7 Input Tablet 8 Input Pen 9 Hand Sensor (Right) 10 Hand Sensor (Left) 11 Coordinate Input Device 12 Transducer Drive Circuit 13 Input Pen 14 Transducer 15 Pen tip 16A, 16B, 16C Piezoelectric element 17 Antireflection member 18 Input tablet 19 Received waveform detection circuit 20 Pen connector sensor (right) 21 Pen connector sensor (left) 22 Palm rest (right) 23 Palm rest (left) 24 Pen connector (right) 25 Pen connector (left) 26 Connection cable 30 Character input frame

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Noriyuki Suzuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Katsuhiko Nagasaki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Within the corporation

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus for recognizing handwritten characters, wherein a discriminating means for discriminating a person who inputs the handwritten character, and a plurality of dictionaries referred to when recognizing the character based on the discrimination result of the discriminating means. An information processing apparatus comprising: a selection unit that selects one from among the above, and a unit that recognizes a character by referring to the dictionary selected by the selection unit. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discriminating means is means for detecting whether the input person is a right-hand input person or a left-hand input person. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit is a unit that detects the writing pressure of the input person. 4. An information processing apparatus having an input means for holding a desired position and designating a desired position, a display means for displaying an image, and a detection means for detecting the direction of the operator of the input means. An information processing apparatus, comprising: means for changing the direction of the image displayed by the display means based on the result of the detection means. 5. The detection means detects the position of the operator based on the position pointed by the input means and the position of a part of the hand of the operator holding the input means. The information processing device according to item 4.