JPH07192095A - Character string input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To drastically improve the input speed and input efficiency of a character string input device for inputting characters by character-recognizing the characters handwritten on a tablet with a stylus pen or the like. CONSTITUTION:A direct character string buffer 5 stores the character recognized results of the handwritten characters written from a character handwriting means 1, a prediction means 6 predicts character strings continuing immediately after the character string inside the direct character string buffer 5 and a predicted character string buffer 7 stores character string candidates predicted by the prediction means 6. A display control means 22 constitutes display contents including the contents of the predicted character string buffer 7 as well in addition to the contents of a handwritten character buffer 2 and the contents of the direct character string buffer 5. For the display method of the predicted character strings, a method for displaying them in an area different from the direct character string and making them selectable and the method for continuously displaying the first candidate of the predicted character strings immediately after the direct character string and overwriting and selecting a different candidate when it is not the desired character string, are present.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character string input device for handwriting and inputting characters. Recently, pen-operable pen computers, portable terminals, word processors, and the like have been on the market, but they can also be used for the character string input section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional character string input device has the following three types.
It can be roughly divided into types.

(A) Inputting characters by selecting from characters (including kanji) arranged on the board, such as a kanji keyboard or an all-character arrangement pen touch tablet.

(B) Characters are input by inputting kana or roman characters from a standard keyboard or a special keyboard composed of alphanumeric symbols and kana, and converting the kana or kana into a character string (kana kanji conversion). What to enter.

(C) A character is input by handwriting a character on a tablet with a stylus pen and recognizing the handwritten character.

Each of these three types has advantages and disadvantages, and can be used properly according to the purpose and application. The invention described in this specification belongs to the type (C) as described in the section of the field of industrial application. A conventional type (C) character string input device is, for example, Japanese Patent Publication Sho 63.
No. 49264 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-59578), there is a “character recognition / kana-kanji conversion device” and the like.

The type (C) character string input device is easier to use even for beginners and can be miniaturized, as compared with the type (A) and the type (B), since it is sufficient to write characters by hand like writing on paper. It has the advantage that it is suitable for portable terminals and computers. On the other hand, a drawback of the type (C) is that the input speed becomes slower than that of the types (A) and (B).

Therefore, in order to improve the input speed and input efficiency of the type (C) character string input device, the following techniques have been conventionally devised.

The first method is the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-4.
It is included in "Character recognition and kana-kanji conversion device" of Japanese Patent No. 9264 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-59578) and adds a mechanism for converting the hiragana part of a handwritten character string into kanji. For example, when inputting the character string "device", write "Sachi" by handwriting and give a conversion instruction to convert it to "device" (normal kana-kanji conversion). Alternatively, when the character string “meeting” is input, “meeting” is written, and a conversion instruction is given to convert it to “meeting” (kana-kanji conversion for mixed words including kanji). As in this example, when inputting kanji with a large number of strokes by handwriting, it is more efficient to write them in hiragana and then convert them into kanji.

The second method is to input one character in an abbreviated form. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-11891 "Handwritten character / figure recognition device" has a method of inputting a corresponding kanji by defining a corresponding abbreviation for a kanji having a large number of strokes and handwriting the abbreviation. Have been described. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-208639 “Document Creation Device” and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-177726 “Kanji Input Device” describe a method of designating a radical and inputting a kanji character having the radical. There is.

Further, although not originally devised for type (C), as a third method effective for improving the input speed and input efficiency of type (C), a word is input in abbreviated form. There is that. JP-A-2-16671
In the "sentence creation support device", a correspondence table in which abbreviated character strings are defined in advance for a certain character string is prepared, and the character string input in abbreviated form is searched and converted in the correspondence table. By doing so, a method of restoring the original character string is described. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-155443 "Japanese Input Method" describes a method of converting a kana-kanji character by inputting the reading of a word halfway and giving an instruction to omit the latter half. ing. For example,
The former is a conversion such as “◆ 日 ◆” → “Japanese input device” (previously defined as “◆ Day ◆” = “Japanese input”), the latter is “Niho ◆” → “Japan” / It is a conversion such as "Japanese" / "Japanese input" (◆ indicates an abbreviated conversion instruction, and divisions by / indicate multiple conversion candidates).

[0012]

In the type (C) character string input device, the input speed and input efficiency of the character string are slower than those of the type (A) and type (B) character string input devices. Is the biggest drawback, and although it can be improved by the above three methods, it is not yet sufficient.

An object of the present invention is to provide a type (C) character string input device, that is, a type of character string input device for inputting characters by handwriting characters on a tablet with a stylus pen and recognizing handwritten characters. Compared to the past
It is an object of the present invention to provide a character string input device in which the input speed / input efficiency of a character string is greatly improved.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A first invention is a character handwriting means for taking in trajectory data of a handwritten character, a handwritten character buffer for storing the trajectory data, and a selection instruction for inputting a selection or confirmation instruction. An input means, a character recognition means for character-recognizing the locus data to obtain a corresponding character code, a direct character string buffer for storing a character string encoded by the character recognition means, and a direct character string buffer in the direct character string buffer. Has a predicting means for generating a character string candidate immediately following the character string, a predictive character string buffer for storing the character string candidates generated by the predicting means, and an input character string area and a predictive character string area as different areas. Display means, a display information buffer for storing information displayed on the display means, contents of the handwritten character buffer and the direct character string buffer And display control means for configuring the content of the display information buffer based on the content of the predicted character string buffer and the instruction from the selection instruction input means and controlling the display content of the display means. Is a character string input device.

In the first aspect of the invention, the display control means temporarily displays the trajectory data in the handwritten character buffer in the input character string area, and when the operation of the character recognition means for the trajectory data is completed, The trace string data is replaced and the corresponding character string in the direct character string buffer is displayed again in the input character string area, the character string candidates in the predicted character string buffer are displayed in the predicted character string area, and the selection is performed. When an instruction to select a character string in the predicted character string area is input from the instruction input means, one character string candidate in the selected predicted character string buffer is added to the end of the character string in the input character string area. The display contents of the display means are controlled so as to be displayed as.

A second aspect of the invention is a character handwriting means for taking in trajectory data of a handwritten character, a handwriting character buffer for storing the trajectory data, and a character recognition for recognizing the trajectory data to obtain a corresponding character code. Means, a direct character string buffer for storing the character string encoded by the character recognition means, a predicting means for generating a character string candidate immediately following the character string in the direct character string buffer, and the predicting means. A predicted character string buffer for storing the character string candidates generated by the display means, a display means for connecting and displaying the predicted character string area immediately after the input character string area, and a display information buffer for storing the information displayed on the display means. When,
Overwriting detection means for detecting a case where the handwritten character is overwritten in the predicted character string area, contents of the handwritten character buffer, contents of the direct character string buffer, contents of the predicted character string buffer, and A character string input device comprising: a display control unit configured to configure the contents of the display information buffer based on a detection signal from the overwriting detection unit and control the display contents of the display unit.

In the second invention, the display control means temporarily displays the trajectory data in the handwritten character buffer in the input character string area, and when the operation of the character recognition means for the trajectory data is completed, The locus data is replaced and the corresponding character string in the direct character string buffer is displayed again in the input character string area, and one character string candidate in the predicted character string buffer is displayed in the predicted character string area, and the overlay is performed. When a detection signal is received from the writing detection means, the display contents of the display means are set so that the predicted character string up to the position immediately before the overwritten position is confirmed as the input character string and the predicted character string after the position is erased. Control.

A third aspect of the invention is a character handwriting means for taking in trajectory data of a handwritten character, a handwriting character buffer for storing the trajectory data, a selection instruction input means for inputting a selection or confirmation instruction, and the trajectory. Immediately after the character recognition means for recognizing the data to obtain the corresponding character code, the direct character string buffer for storing the character string converted by the character recognition means, and immediately after the character string in the direct character string buffer. Prediction means for generating the following character string candidates,
A predictive character string buffer that stores the character string candidates generated by the predicting unit, a display unit that connects and displays the predictive character string region immediately after the input character string region, and stores information that is displayed on the display unit. A display information buffer, overwriting detection means for detecting a case where the handwritten character is overwritten in the predicted character string area, contents of the handwritten character buffer, contents of the direct character string buffer, and the predicted character string. Display control means for configuring the content of the display information buffer based on the content of the buffer, the detection signal from the overwriting detection means, and the instruction from the selection instruction input means, and controlling the display content of the display means. It is a character string input device characterized by the above.

In the third aspect of the invention, the display control means temporarily displays the trajectory data in the handwritten character buffer in the input character string area, and when the operation of the character recognition means for the trajectory data is completed, The trace string data is replaced and the corresponding character string in the direct character string buffer is displayed again in the input character string area, and one character string candidate in the predicted character string buffer is displayed in the predicted character string area, and the selection is performed. When a selection instruction for the predicted character string area is input from the instruction input means, another candidate of the predicted character string is displayed again in the predicted character string area, and when the detection signal is received from the overwriting detection means, it is overwritten. Display contents of the display means so that the predicted character string up to immediately before the position is fixed as the input character string and the predicted character string after the position is deleted. Control to.

[0020]

In the present invention, a character input by handwriting is recognized, and a character string immediately following it is predicted and displayed. In this specification, a character string corresponding to handwriting input is called a direct character string, and a character string predicted to follow immediately thereafter is called a predicted character string. By predicting the character string, the number of operations by the user is reduced, and it is possible to improve the input speed and input efficiency of the character string, which is a problem of the conventional type (C) character string input device.

For example, for a direct character string "Saudi", a predicted character string "Arabic" (direct character string + predicted character string = "Saudi Arabia") is displayed. As a third improvement method of the conventional type (C) character string input device,
There was a method of inputting a word in abbreviated form, but in that case, the omission of the latter half is explicitly indicated by an ellipsis or the like. On the other hand, the prediction in the present invention does not need to explicitly indicate the prediction location, but automatically predicts and displays the number of operations compared to the abbreviation input method, Input efficiency is improved.

Further, for example, when the direct character string is "Tray", the direct character string + predicted character string is "tray".
There can be multiple ways such as "trace", "trade", "trainer", "training". In such a case, a method of displaying a plurality of predicted character strings in a region different from the character strings directly and selecting a desired one from among them, and a method of selecting only one of the predicted character strings from the character string There is a method to display immediately after. In the latter case, even if the predicted character string displayed is not the desired one, if it matches the desired character string halfway, it means that the effort of inputting was omitted, and the prediction was misaligned. You only have to rewrite after the position. For example, if you try to enter "trace" and the predicted character string is "do" when the character string is "tre", "-" is the desired one, so "do""S" can be overwritten on. There is also a method of instructing to display another candidate of the predicted character string instead of overwriting.

[0023]

First, the first embodiment of the first invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the first invention. The constituent elements will be described.

The character handwriting means 1 is a means for fetching trajectory data of handwritten characters. It can be realized by a pointing device and a plane capable of detecting the pointing position as two-dimensional coordinate data. In pen computers that have already been commercialized, the character handwriting means 1 is realized by a stylus pen and a tablet. Other than that, it can be realized by pointing the touch panel with a finger, or can be realized by using a mouse as a pointing device.

The handwritten character buffer 2 is a buffer for storing the trajectory data fetched by the character handwriting means 1. It can be realized by a storage device such as an IC memory. The method of expressing the trajectory data in the buffer is (x coordinate,
There are three expressions such as (y coordinate, time).

The selection instruction input means 3 is means for inputting an instruction for selection or confirmation. There is a method of inputting an instruction by hitting a predetermined key on the keyboard, or a method of inputting an instruction by using a device physically similar to the character handwriting means 1 and pointing to a certain area. .

The character recognition means 4 includes a handwritten character buffer 2
Is a means for character-recognizing the locus data stored in and obtaining a character code corresponding thereto. It has been realized in a handwritten character recognition unit of a pen computer that has already been commercialized, and is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication No.
No. 9,264 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-59578) and the like also describe how to realize it. The basic flow of character recognition processing is to first extract a characteristic amount from the trajectory data and then compare it with a similar characteristic amount that was previously obtained for the standard character to be recognized. Then, the most similar one is decided as the recognition result. If there are multiple candidate characters in the recognition result and it is not possible to narrow them down to one, combine them with the preceding and succeeding characters, check them against the word dictionary, and also check the grammatical connection relationships to make them most linguistically correct. There is also a method of selecting character candidates.

The direct character string buffer 5 is a character recognition means 4
It is a buffer that stores the character string encoded by. It can be realized by a storage device such as an IC memory. As a data representation method in the buffer, for example, the character code of the character recognition result and the character input order or the input position may be stored in association with each other. Further, when the recognition result cannot be uniquely determined by the character recognition means 4, a plurality of character candidates may be stored together.

The predicting means 6 is means for directly generating character string candidates immediately following the character string in the character string buffer 5.
Word-level prediction can be realized by searching a word dictionary for a word that directly matches a character string. That is, the word that matches the front part of the direct character string is extracted from the word dictionary, and the part that matches the direct character string that is the first half of the word is removed to become the predictive character string. Can be a predictive string candidate). FIG. 6 shows an example of the contents of the word dictionary 60. In FIG. 6, the words are arranged in the order of the character code shown. For example, when the direct character string is “Tre”, the word that precedes it is “Tray”, “Trace”, “Trade”, “Trainer” in the dotted line range 61. "Training". Therefore, as a predicted character string for the direct character string "Tore"
You can create "doors", "ners", and "earnings". The structure of a word dictionary for searching for such partial prefix matches is
The digit search type as shown in FIG. 7 is efficient. When a digit search type word dictionary 62 as shown in FIG. 7 is used, if the word dictionary 62 is directly followed by the first and second characters in accordance with the character string, the subsequent character strings are predicted character strings. Corresponding to. That is, in FIG. 7, the predicted character string for “Tre” is obtained as the dotted range 63.

The predictive character string buffer 7 is a buffer for storing the character string candidates generated by the predicting means 6.
It can be realized by a storage device such as an IC memory. In the buffer, the predicted character string is stored as a character code string. When there are a plurality of possibilities in the predicted character string, the plurality of predicted character string candidates are stored. When a rank corresponding to the certainty of prediction is determined among a plurality of prediction character strings, the prediction character strings are arranged in the order of the ranks, or rank information is given to each prediction character string.

The display means 10 can be realized by a CRT display or a liquid crystal display. A liquid crystal display tablet in which the tablet of the character handwriting means 1 is also used as a liquid crystal display, such as a recent pen computer, may be used. Even when a touch panel is used for the character handwriting means 1, the character handwriting means 1 and the display means 10 can be physically integrated as in the case of a liquid crystal display tablet. In this display means 10, the input character string area 100 and the predicted character string area 101 are provided as different areas.

The display information buffer 8 is a buffer for storing information displayed on the display means 10. It can be realized by a storage device such as an IC memory. The information displayed is
It can be expressed by the content to be displayed, the position where it should be displayed, and its attributes (color etc.).

The display control means 11 is based on the contents of the handwritten character buffer 2, the contents of the direct character string buffer 5, the contents of the predicted character string buffer 7, and the instruction from the selection instruction input means 3. Display information buffer 8
Is a means for controlling the display contents of the display means 10 by configuring the contents of. The control method of the display control means 11 will be specifically described as follows. First, the locus data in the handwritten character buffer 2 is converted into the input character string area 1 of the display means 10.
Temporarily displayed at 00. When the operation of the character recognition means 4 for the trajectory data is completed, the trajectory data temporarily displayed is replaced and the corresponding character string in the character string buffer 5 is directly displayed in the input character string area 100 again. On the other hand, the predicted character string area 101 displays the character string candidates in the predicted character string buffer 7. When an instruction to select a character string in the predicted character string area 101 is input from the selection instruction input means 3, the selected predicted character string buffer is added to the end of the character string in the input character string area 100. One character string candidate in 7 is added and displayed.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are flowcharts of an implementation example of the display control means 11. Further, FIG. 10 is a display example. An operation example of the first embodiment of the first invention will be described with reference to these drawings.

FIG. 10A shows a state in which nothing has been input yet. The input character string area 100 and the predicted character string area 101 are provided as different areas. The process of inputting the character string “training” from this state will be described as an example.

First, in FIG. 10B, the character "TO" is handwritten. This is a display in which step 1104 of FIG. 8 is repeated at the stage where the trajectory data is stored in the handwritten character buffer 2 from the character handwriting means 1.

When one handwritten character is written,
As a processing result of the character recognizing means 4, the character code of “TO” is directly stored in the character string buffer 5. At that stage,
A YES determination is made in step 1105 of FIG. 9, and in step 1106, a character-coded “to” is displayed in the input character string area 100 in place of the handwritten “to” that was displayed until then. .

Subsequently, the predicting means 6 predicts the character string following the "to", and the character string candidates are stored in the predicted character string buffer 7. At that stage, the process proceeds to steps 1109 and 1110 of FIG. 9, and the character string candidates that are considered to follow “to” are displayed in the predicted character string area 101. The display at that stage is shown in FIG. At this stage, it is possible to select a character string candidate in the predicted character string region 101, but the operation example will be continued on the assumption that the selection is not made.

FIG. 10 (d) shows that "re" is input by hand after "to". When "re" is character-coded and displayed again as the second character in the input character string area 100, a character string candidate expected to follow "tre" is displayed in the predicted character string area 101. FIG. 10E is an example of the display contents at that stage. In this example, the selection instruction input means 3 selects “earning” from the character string candidates displayed in the predicted character string area 101. is doing.

Since step 1111 of FIG. 8 has proceeded to YES, the selected character string candidate "earning" is additionally displayed in the input character string area 100 in step 1112. The resulting state is shown in FIG.

In the explanation of this operation example, the input character string area 1
Although a section for each character is prepared for 00, it is not always necessary to prepare this section. Further, the shape and the positional relationship between the input character string area 100 and the predicted character string area 101 are not limited to this example. It is also possible to shift the position of the predicted character string region 101 according to the position of the handwritten character or change the size of the predicted character string region 101 according to the number of candidates for the predicted character string. Further, in FIG. 10, only the predicted character string portion is displayed in the predicted character string area 101.
It is also possible to display the characters of the input character string area 100 together (for example, display “training” instead of “earning”). In addition, with regard to the relationship between the timing of inputting the next character and the timing of switching the character displayed on the screen, a plurality of ways of implementation can be considered.

The arrangement of the character string candidates displayed in the predicted character string area 101 may have various variations (character code order, length order, priority order determined by some standard, etc.). Alternatively, when the number of character string candidates is larger than a predetermined value, the character string candidates are rarely selected from them, and therefore may not be displayed in the predicted character string region 101.

Next, one embodiment of the second invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the second invention.

Among the constituent elements, the character handwriting means 1, the handwritten character buffer 2, the character recognition means 4, the direct character string buffer 5, the predicting means 6, the predictive character string buffer 7, and the display information buffer 8 are the first invention. This is the same as the first embodiment.
Components different from the first embodiment of the first invention will be described.

The display means 20 is the display means 1 of the first invention.
Similar to 0, it can be realized by a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, or the like, and by using a liquid crystal display tablet, a touch panel, or the like, the character handwriting means 1 and the display means 10 can be physically realized as one body. In the display means 10 of the first invention, the input character string area 100 and the predicted character string area 101 are provided as different areas, whereas in the display means 20 of the second invention, the area immediately after the input character string area is The predicted character string area is connected to and displayed. That is, the area 200 of the input character string area + the predicted character string area
To provide.

The overwriting detection means 9 is a character handwriting means 1
It is detected that the handwritten character written from is overwritten in the predicted character string area of the display unit 20. The coordinate range of the predicted character string area is obtained from the display information buffer 8.
Therefore, the overwriting detection unit 9 compares and determines whether the coordinate value of the trajectory data newly written in the handwritten character buffer 2 is included in the coordinate range of the predicted character string area obtained from the display information buffer 8. , Can be realized by sending a detection signal to the display control means 21 when it is determined to be included.

The display control means 21 is based on the content of the handwritten character buffer 2, the content of the direct character string buffer 5, the content of the predicted character string buffer 7, and the detection signal from the overwriting detection means 9. , Means for configuring the contents of the display information buffer 8 and controlling the display contents of the display means 20. The control method of the display control means 21 will be specifically described as follows. First, the locus data in the handwritten character buffer 2 is temporarily displayed in the input character string area of the display means 20. When the operation of the character recognition means 4 for the trajectory data is completed, the trajectory data temporarily displayed is replaced and the corresponding character string in the character string buffer 5 is directly displayed again in the input character string area. On the other hand, one character string candidate in the predicted character string buffer 7 is displayed in the predicted character string area. When the detection signal is received from the overwriting detection means 9, the predicted character string up to the position immediately before the overwritten position is determined as the input character string, and the predicted character string after that position is erased.

FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are flow charts of an implementation example of the display control means 21. 13 is a display example. An operation example of the embodiment of the second invention will be described with reference to these drawings.

FIG. 13A shows a state in which nothing has been input yet. Unlike the first invention, the area of the input character string area and the area of the predicted character string area are not divided in advance. Both the input character string area and the predicted character string area will be displayed in the area 200, and the predicted character string area will be displayed immediately after the input character string area. For example, the region highlighted in FIGS. 13C and 13E is the predicted character string region. From this state, the process of inputting the character string "in the tournament" will be described as an example.

First, in FIG. 13B, the character "TO" is written by hand. This is a stage in which the trajectory data is stored in the handwritten character buffer 2 from the character handwriting means 1, and step 2102 in FIGS.
(Branch to YES) → step 2103 → step 210
4 (branch to NO) → step 2109 (branch to YES)
→ step 2110 (branch to NO) → step 2108
→ Step 2112 (branch to NO) → Step 21 again
It is displayed in the input character string area by repeating the loop of 02.

When one handwritten character is written,
As a processing result of the character recognizing means 4, the character code of “TO” is directly stored in the character string buffer 5. At that stage,
A YES determination is made in step 2112 in FIG. 12, and in step 2113, the character-coded “TO” is displayed in the input character string area in place of the handwritten “TO” that has been displayed until then.

Subsequently, the predicting means 6 predicts the character string following the "to", and the character string candidates are stored in the predicted character string buffer 7. At that stage, the process proceeds to steps 2116 and 2117 in FIG. 12, and “-star” is displayed as the first candidate of the predicted character string immediately after the input character string area. The display at this stage is shown in FIG. FIG.
In the display example of, by displaying the predicted character string area in reverse,
It can be distinguished from the input character string area. The method of this distinction is not limited to the reverse display, and various methods such as changing the color and adding an underline may be used. In addition, the first candidate of the predicted character string immediately following the "to" is "-star" because the first word starting with "to" is "toaster" in the example of the content of the word dictionary 60 in FIG. If there are many predicted character string candidates,
What is displayed in the predicted character string area as the first candidate is not only the method based on the arrangement order in the word dictionary as in the example of FIG. 13, but also the method based on the length of the predicted character string (the longest character string is There are various methods such as a candidate), a method of considering a semantic relationship, a method based on learning (such as giving priority to a character string that has appeared before), and the like.

The character string "toaster" predicted at this stage is different from the "tournament" originally intended to be input. However, since "to" is the same, you can rewrite "star" and later. Ie 2
The character "-" can be used as it is as predicted. Therefore, "na" is overwritten on the third character "su" by handwriting. When the handwritten character is overwritten in the predicted character string area, the flow in FIG. 11 is step 2102 (Y
Branch to ES) → step 2103 → step 2104
(Branch to YES). Then, in step 2105, the predicted character string after the overwritten position, that is, "star" is erased. Further, in step 2106, the predicted character string (“−” in this example) before the overwritten position is fixed as the input character string. Then, the handwritten character "na" is the same as the case of "to" in FIG.
08 → step 2112 (branch to NO) → step 21
02 (branch to YES) → step 2103 → step 2
A loop of 104 (branch to NO) → step 2109 (branch to YES) → step 2110 (branch to NO) → step 2108 is repeated, and (d) of FIG.
Is displayed.

At the stage of FIG. 13 (e), the handwritten "na" is coded and displayed again and the predicted character string following it is displayed. The input character string area is "Toner", and immediately after that, the predicted character string area "ment" is highlighted.

Since this predicted character string is the desired one,
It is not necessary to overwrite and change as in the case of (c) → (d) of FIG. Therefore, "ni" is newly written at the position next to "tournament". In the processing flow of FIGS. 11 and 12, step 2102 (branch to YES) →
Step 2103 → Step 2104 (branch to NO) →
Step 2109 (branch to YES) → Step 2110
(Branch to YES) → step 2111 → step 210
In the step 2111, the “ment” displayed as the predicted character string area in FIG. 13E is fixed as the input character string.
Then, the handwritten character "ni" is displayed at the end of the input character string area. The display at this stage is as shown in FIG.

Although the basic processing flow has been described above, a supplementary explanation will be given for the case where the YES branch is made from step 2115 in FIG. Such branching is performed, for example, by writing the next handwritten character "-" from the character handwriting means 1 before the character "to" is encoded from FIG. 13B. It is a case. In that case, since the next character has already been written when the character "TO" is character-coded, this embodiment does not make a prediction such that the character is ignored. That is, FIG.
The steps 2116 and 2117 in the above are not executed.

In the display example shown in FIG. 13, the input character string area and the predicted character string area are provided with a section for each character.
This is not necessarily required, as in the case of the first embodiment of the invention.

Further, the first embodiment of the third invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the third invention.

Among the constituent elements, the character handwriting means 1, the handwritten character buffer 2, the selection instruction input means 3, the character recognition means 4, the direct character string buffer 5, the predicting means 6, the predictive character string buffer 7, and the display information buffer 8 are included. The same as the first embodiment of the first invention. The overwriting detection means 9 and the display means 20 are the same as those in the second embodiment of the invention. The display control means 22 is different from that described above.

The display control means 22 includes the contents of the handwritten character buffer 2, the contents of the direct character string buffer 5, the contents of the predicted character string buffer 7, the detection signal from the overwriting detection means 9, and Selection instruction input means 3
It is a means for configuring the contents of the display information buffer 8 and controlling the display contents of the display means 20 based on the instructions from the. The control method of the display control means 22 will be specifically described as follows. First, the locus data in the handwritten character buffer 2 is temporarily displayed in the input character string area of the display means 20. When the operation of the character recognition means 4 for the trajectory data is completed, the trajectory data temporarily displayed is replaced and the corresponding character string in the character string buffer 5 is directly displayed again in the input character string area. On the other hand, in the predicted character string area,
One character string candidate in the predicted character string buffer 7 is displayed. Then, when a selection instruction for the predicted character string area is input from the selection instruction input means 3, another candidate for the predicted character string is displayed again in the predicted character string area. When the detection signal is received from the overwriting detection means 9, the predicted character string up to the position immediately before the overwritten position is determined as the input character string, and the predicted character string after that position is erased. That is,
The display control means 21 of the first embodiment of the second invention is added with display control processing for displaying another candidate of the predicted character string in response to a selection instruction for the predicted character string region.

Therefore, the flow chart of the implementation example of the display control means 22 is the same as the flow chart of the implementation example of the display control means 21 of the second invention, and another candidate of the predicted character string is displayed according to the selection instruction to the predicted character string area. It will be the one that added the step to make it. The additional steps are as shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, the flow chart of the implementation example of the display control means 22 of the third invention is composed of FIG. 11, FIG. 12 and FIG. 14, and moves from point 4 of FIG. 12 to the flow of FIG. In the flow of continuing to the point 4 of 11, the processing steps of minutes of FIG. 14 are added.

In the first embodiment of the third invention, the display as shown in FIG. 13 can be performed similarly to the embodiment of the second invention. Further, by using the added step of FIG. 14, the display as shown in FIG. 15 is also made. 15A corresponds to FIG. 13C. FIG. 15 (a)
In such a state, when the selection instruction input means 3 inputs a selection instruction of a character string candidate of the predicted character string area, another candidate of the predicted character string is displayed in the predicted character string area in step 2201 of FIG. It Another predicted character string candidate is obtained from the predicted character string buffer 7. In the display example of FIG. 15,
Since the predicted character string candidates are ranked in the order in which the words are arranged in the word dictionary 60 shown in FIG. 6, the predicted character string candidates are changed from “-star” to “east”. In FIG. 15, (a) → (b), (b) → (c), (c) → (d).
Then, each time a prediction character string candidate selection instruction is input, the display content of the prediction character string area (predicted character string candidate) changes. At the stage of (d), the desired predicted character string is obtained. Therefore, the next character "ni" is handwritten at the next position in (e) of FIG. 15, which corresponds to the stage of (f) in FIG. 13 at this stage.

There is also a method of giving an instruction including a position in a predicted character string when giving an instruction to select a predicted character string candidate. For example, assume that the predicted character string is “-star” with respect to the direct character string “TO”. At this time, in the description of the above-mentioned embodiment, all the words starting with "to" in the word dictionary 60 of FIG. 6 correspond as candidates for the predicted character string. On the other hand, the position of the "s" in the predicted character string area is given in the predicted character string candidate selection instruction, and the control is performed so that the character strings before that position are displayed only in the candidates that do not change. Conceivable. In that case, in the word dictionary 60 of FIG. 6, only words starting with “to” are candidates for the predicted character string.

Further, not only the selection instruction for the predicted character string area but also the selection instruction for the input character string area may be input from the selection instruction input means 3. In that case, a method of displaying another candidate character generated by the character recognition means 4 can be considered in response to the selection instruction of the input character string area. Another character recognition candidate character can be directly obtained from the character string buffer 5.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the first invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the third invention. In these two embodiments, the character string conversion means 23 is added as a component.

The character string converting means 23 is a means for converting the notation of the character string. In FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the notation of the character string in the character string buffer 5 is directly rewritten in accordance with the instruction from the selection instruction inputting means. . The conventional kana-kanji conversion and the patent publication No. 63-49264 mentioned in the section of the prior art (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-
No. 59578) "Character recognition and kana-kanji conversion device". As a specific example for explaining the function of the character string conversion means 23, for example, when there is a character string "Kagiki" directly in the character string buffer 5 as a result of character recognition (this character string is also displayed in the display means). (Displayed), there is an instruction from the selection instruction input means 3 to convert the portion of "Kaigai", and the character string is directly rewritten to "conference". There is also a case where the character string of the recognition result of “meeting” is converted to “meeting” by designating “meeting”.

In the second embodiment of the first invention and the second embodiment of the third invention, not only the predicting means 6 is directly applied based on the character string obtained by the character recognizing means 4. It is possible to change the notation of the character string obtained by the character recognition means 4 and then apply it to the prediction means 6.

In the above description, as a method of implementing the predicting means 6, a method of performing partial matching with the word dictionary has been described.
In the case of this implementation method, only the second half of the word can be predicted. However, various other methods can be considered as the method of realizing the prediction unit 6.

For example, there is a method of utilizing the connection probability of characters without using a word dictionary. By examining a large amount of sentences, it is possible to find out in advance how often a certain two-character set appears. Based on that, a list of characters that are likely to appear immediately after a character can be obtained. Characters with a high possibility of appearance may be obtained in order based on the concatenation probability of the characters, and this may be used as the predicted character string.

As another method, a method of utilizing the co-occurrence probability of words can be considered. For example, co-occurrence information such that "management" and "diagnosis" are likely to appear after "health" is made into a dictionary, and these co-occurrence words are used as predicted character strings. In addition to the co-occurrence of words, the ease of co-occurrence may be organized in the form of closeness of meaning classification.

There is also a method in which a predictive character string is a word that is easy to connect immediately after that, based on the part of speech of the word. For example, particles such as "ha", "ga", "wo", and "ni" are likely to be connected immediately after a noun, so these should be used as predicted character strings. In that case, particles that have already been used in the same sentence may be excluded from the prediction candidates (or the candidate rank may be lowered). For parts of speech and words that can be connected immediately after a certain part of speech, refer to the connection table (a table that describes whether two words or parts of speech can be connected) that are used in conventional kana-kanji converters and morphological analyzers. Required by that. Furthermore, a method of predicting from a sentence pattern or a syntax pattern can be considered.

Regarding the flow chart of the display control means, step 1108 in FIG. 9 and step 21 in FIG.
In No. 16, if the predicting unit 6 cannot generate the character string candidate, there is a risk of falling into an infinite loop. But,
If the predicting means 6 cannot generate any character string candidates, a dummy candidate character string may be set in the predictive character string buffer 7 or connected to many character strings such as punctuation marks. You can set the character or take other actions. Alternatively, step 1108 or step 2
A determination process may be added so that 116 branches depending on the presence or absence of a character string candidate. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 11, and FIG.
2. The flowchart shown in FIG. 14 is an example of realizing the display control means, and may have various variations.

[0076]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A character string input device of the type that uses a stylus pen to write characters on a tablet and recognizes handwritten characters to input characters. It will be possible.
Specifically, in the operation example of FIG. 10, the six characters “Training” can be input by handwriting two characters “Train” and giving a single selection instruction. Also in the operation example of FIG. 13, only two characters “TO” and “NA” are handwritten, and six characters “tournament” can be input.
In the operation example of FIG. 15, by handwriting one character of “TO” and giving a selection instruction three times, a “tournament” is displayed.
You can enter characters.

In a conventional character string input device of a similar type (type using handwritten character recognition), it is a principle that characters are written by hand by the number of characters to be input. The number of non-breakable characters is greatly reduced. At present, the recognition accuracy of handwritten character recognition is not necessarily high, and the reduction in the number of times that characters are written by handwriting means that the number of characters that fail in character recognition is also reduced, and in terms of input efficiency. , Even more effective.

Further, conventionally, there is also an input method in which an instruction that only a part of a character string is input and the remaining part is omitted is given, and the omitted character string is complemented. Comparing such a method with the present invention, the input efficiency is high because the trouble of explicitly instructing the omitted portion can be saved.

Further, in the present invention, even if the predicted character string is not completely the desired one, if the desired character string partially matches, the input of that portion can be effectively used. Further, even for an undesired character string, there is no need to delete each character one by one, and when the overwriting operation occurs, the subsequent character strings can be invalidated instantly. Even in such a point, the present invention realizes high input efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the third invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the third invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a word dictionary.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a digit search type word dictionary.

FIG. 8 is a part of a flowchart of an implementation example of the display control means 11 of the first invention.

FIG. 9 is a part of a flowchart of an implementation example of the display control means 11 of the first invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of the first invention.

FIG. 11 is a part of a flowchart of an implementation example of the display control means 21 of the second invention.

FIG. 12 is a part of a flowchart of an implementation example of the display control means 21 of the second invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of the second invention.

FIG. 14 is a part of a flowchart of an implementation example of the display control means 22 of the third invention (a part different from the display control means 21 of the second invention).

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example of the third invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Character Handwriting Means 2 Handwritten Character Buffer 3 Selection Instruction Input Means 4 Character Recognition Means 5 Direct Character String Buffers 6 Prediction Means 7 Predicted Character String Buffers 8 Display Information Buffers 9 Overwrite Detection Means 10 1st Invention Display Means 11 1st Display control means 20 of the invention of 2nd Display means of 2nd invention and 3rd invention 21 Display control means of 2nd invention 22 Display control means of 3rd invention 23 Character string conversion means 60 Word dictionary 61 In the word dictionary The range that is prefixed with "Tre" 62-digit search type word dictionary 63 The predicted character string for "Tre" in the digit search type word dictionary 100 Input character string area 101 Predicted character string area 200 Input character string area + predicted character string area Area

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A character handwriting means for capturing trajectory data of a handwritten character, a handwritten character buffer for storing the trajectory data, a selection instruction input means for inputting a selection or confirmation instruction, and character recognition of the trajectory data. A character recognizing means for obtaining the corresponding character code, a direct character string buffer for storing the character string encoded by the character recognizing means, and a character string candidate immediately following the character string in the direct character string buffer. A predicting means for generating a character string candidate generated by the predicting means, a display means having an input character string area and a predictive character string area as different areas, and Display information buffer that stores information, the contents of the handwritten character buffer, the contents of the direct character string buffer, and the predicted character string buffer. A character string input device, comprising: display control means for configuring the content of the display information buffer based on the content of the buffer and the instruction from the selection instruction input means and controlling the display content of the display means. 2. The display control means temporarily displays the trajectory data in the handwritten character buffer in the input character string area and replaces the trajectory data with the trajectory data when the operation of the character recognition means for the trajectory data is completed. The corresponding character string in the direct character string buffer is displayed again in the input character string area, the character string candidate in the predicted character string buffer is displayed in the predicted character string area, and the character string candidate in the predicted character string buffer is displayed from the selection instruction input means. When an instruction to select a character string in the predictive character string area is input, one character string candidate in the selected predictive character string buffer is additionally displayed at the end of the character string in the input character string area. The character string input device according to claim 1, wherein the display content of the display means is controlled. 3. A character handwriting means for taking in trajectory data of handwritten characters, a handwriting character buffer for storing the trajectory data, a character recognition means for recognizing the trajectory data to obtain a corresponding character code, and A direct character string buffer for storing a character string encoded by the character recognition means, a predicting means for generating a character string candidate immediately following the character string in the direct character string buffer, and a predicting means generated by the predicting means. A predictive character string buffer that stores character string candidates, a display unit that connects and displays the predictive character string region immediately after the input character string region, a display information buffer that stores information displayed on the display unit, and the handwriting Overwriting detection means for detecting a case where the written character is overwritten in the predicted character string region, the contents of the handwritten character buffer and the direct writing character buffer. Display control means for configuring the content of the display information buffer based on the content of the contact character string buffer, the content of the predicted character string buffer, and the detection signal from the overwriting detection means, and controlling the display content of the display means. A character string input device characterized by being provided. 4. The display control means temporarily displays the trajectory data in the handwritten character buffer in the input character string area and replaces the trajectory data with the trajectory data when the operation of the character recognition means for the trajectory data is completed. The corresponding character string in the direct character string buffer is redisplayed in the input character string area, one character string candidate in the predicted character string buffer is displayed in the predicted character string area, and detected by the overwriting detection unit. The display content of the display means is controlled so that when the signal is received, the predicted character string up to immediately before the overwritten position is fixed as the input character string and the predicted character string after the position is erased. The described character string input device. 5. A character handwriting means for taking in trajectory data of handwritten characters, a handwritten character buffer for storing the trajectory data, a selection instruction input means for inputting selection and confirmation instructions, and character recognition of the trajectory data. A character recognizing means for obtaining the corresponding character code, a direct character string buffer for storing the character string encoded by the character recognizing means, and a character string candidate immediately following the character string in the direct character string buffer. A predicting means for generating a predictive character string buffer for storing the character string candidates generated by the predicting means, a display means for connecting and displaying the predictive character string area immediately after the input character string area, and the display means. A display information buffer storing information to be displayed, and an overwriting detection hand for detecting a case where the handwritten character is overwritten in the predicted character string area. And the display information based on the contents of the handwritten character buffer, the contents of the direct character string buffer, the contents of the predicted character string buffer, the detection signal from the overwriting detection means, and the instruction from the selection instruction input means. A character string input device, comprising: a display control unit that configures the contents of a buffer and controls the display contents of the display unit. 6. The display control means temporarily displays the trajectory data in the handwritten character buffer in the input character string area and replaces the trajectory data with the trajectory data when the operation of the character recognition means for the trajectory data is completed. The corresponding character string in the direct character string buffer is redisplayed in the input character string area, one character string candidate in the predicted character string buffer is displayed in the predicted character string area, and the character string candidate is displayed from the selection instruction input means. When a selection instruction for the predicted character string region is input, another candidate of the predicted character string is displayed again in the predicted character string region, and when a detection signal is received from the overwriting detection means, the position immediately before the overwritten position is displayed. The display content of the display means is controlled so that the predicted character string is confirmed as an input character string and the predicted character string after the position is erased. Character string input device.