JPH1195914A - Character input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a character input device which unnecessitates an input space or special panel while enabling high-speed input of characters. SOLUTION: Distance sensors 3A and 3B in X and Y directions are provided at the top end of a pen-shaped cylinder 1 so as to become the rotation ball type position detecting mechanism of a mouse and further, acceleration sensors 4A and 4B are provided for detecting the acceleration of a cylinder top end part in X and Y directions when the cylinder 1 is moved with no contact with an operating surface. Concerning the character input operation touching the operating surface with the top end part of the cylinder, at the main body of a computer, the direction and distance of movement based on the distance sensors are found and concerning character input operation without touching the operating surface with the top end part of the cylinder, the direction and distance of movement based on the acceleration sensors are found. The operation of the cylinder is expanded on a bit map from these moving directions and distances, and inputted characters are recognized by a character recognizing method based on this bit map.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character input device for inputting characters to a computer, such as a workstation, a personal computer, and a word processor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At the time of inputting characters to a computer, the following types are currently available and widely used. However,
Only the shape of the character is recognized, and those that are not recognized as a character (that is, input as a character code) are excluded.

(1) A method of inputting using a keyboard.

(2) A method of inputting characters of a display character (pseudo keyboard) on a screen by hitting with a mouse, a pen, a touch on the screen, or the like.

(3) A method of recognizing and inputting a character by writing the character on a display screen or a special panel with a pen-type device (so-called pen input).

[0006]

The conventional character input device has the following problems.

(1) Method using a keyboard: A space for placing a keyboard such as on a desk is required. Also, the keyboard is inconvenient to carry. Furthermore, skill is required to input at a sufficient speed.

(2) Method of hitting a character on the screen: It is difficult to input at high speed. Also, character display and input processing on the screen are required.

(3) Pen input method: A display screen and a special panel are required, and the special panel is inconvenient to carry. In addition, characters can be input only within a specific range such as a display screen or a panel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a character input device which enables high-speed input of characters and does not require an input space or a special panel.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there are provided sensors for detecting a moving direction and a moving distance when a pen is operated with or without touching an operation surface, and a computer main body is obtained from detection signals from these sensors. A character drawn by a pen operation on the side is developed as a bit map, and input characters are recognized based on this map, and has the following configuration.

X- and Y-direction distance sensors serving as a mouse rotating ball type position detection mechanism are provided at the tip of a pen-shaped cylinder,
An acceleration sensor that is provided in the cylinder and detects acceleration in the X and Y directions of the tip of the cylinder when the cylinder is moved in a non-contact manner with respect to an operation surface, and a detection signal from each of the sensors is provided. In the character input operation of inputting the tip of the cylinder to the operation surface, the moving direction and the distance by the distance sensor are obtained, and the character input operation of contacting the tip of the cylinder without the operation surface is performed. Comprises a computer main body that determines a moving direction and a distance by the acceleration sensor, develops the operation of the cylinder on the bit map from the moving direction and the distance, and recognizes input characters by a character recognition method based on the bit map. It is characterized by having.

[0013]

1 is a front view (a) and a side view (b) of a pen of a character input device showing an embodiment of the present invention.
And a bottom view (c).

The pen of the character input device of this embodiment is
The cylindrical body 1 has a pen-like structure that a person can hold with one hand.
The distance sensors 3A and 3B that generate pulse signals of a number proportional to the rolling distance of the rotating ball 2 in the horizontal and vertical directions when the rollers are driven by the rotation of.

Further, acceleration sensors 4A and 4B are provided at the tip of the cylinder 1 (or inside the cylinder 1) to detect the horizontal and vertical movement accelerations as voltage signals. These acceleration sensors 4A and 4B fix a weight (mass) directly to the piezoelectric element, for example, and amplify an output voltage generated in the piezoelectric element in accordance with the acceleration applied to the weight to generate a detection signal. The acceleration sensors 4A and 4B may be provided inside the cylinder, but the acceleration sensors 4A and 4B can be provided at the tip to increase the acceleration detection sensitivity for pen operation.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a cable for coupling signal lines and power lines from the sensors 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B to the computer main body. Reference numeral 6 is a mark for matching the moving direction of the cylinder 1 with the detection directions of the sensors 3A, 3B and 4A, 4B.

In the pen of the character input device provided with such a mechanism, a character input person has a cylindrical body 1 and a rotating ball 2 is attached to a tube surface of a display, similarly to a conventional rotary ball type position detecting mechanism of a mouse. When it is moved in the X and Y directions while being in contact with an operation surface such as a desk or the like, the amount of rotation of the rotating ball 2 accompanying this movement is output as a pulse number signal of the distance sensors 3A and 3B. Find the pen's moving direction and moving distance on the main unit.

Further, the acceleration sensors 4A and 4B detect accelerations in the X and Y directions when the pen is moved in a floating state without bringing the rotating ball 2 into contact with the operation surface. Find the pen movement direction and distance on the main unit.

In this embodiment, when a character is to be input, the computer body is set to a character input mode by a selection operation on its display screen, and then a flat operation surface such as a tube surface or a desk (material is made of a material) using a pen. Start typing characters. At this time, in order to clarify the vertical and horizontal positional relationship, for example, before the first input of the first character, a dummy horizontal line `` one '' is input by a horizontal operation of the pen,
The positional relationship between the left and right is input as reference X, Y coordinate information on the computer main body side. After that, the computer performs character input processing using software designed according to the following procedure.

(1) Recognizing the top, bottom, left and right of the character to be input from the dummy horizontal line "1" which is the first input.
That is, the input coordinates are coordinate-transformed so that the straight line connecting the start point and the end point of “1” is the horizontal axis, and the subsequent input is performed using the coordinates.

(2) When the pen is moving in contact with the operation surface (ie, when the rotating ball is moving), the movement distance of the pen tip is measured by the rotation of the ball. Further, since the upper, lower, left and right are determined by the above, the moving direction can be determined.

(3) When the pen is not in contact with the operation surface (ie, when the rotating ball is not moving), the movement distance of the pen tip is estimated by the acceleration sensor. Further, since the upper, lower, left and right are determined by the above, the moving direction can be determined.

(4) From the moving direction and the moving distance during the space movement, a vector from the point at which the pen tip is away to the point at which the pen tip comes into contact again is obtained. What is needed at this time is not a trajectory at the time of non-contact, but a point that has come into contact with the operation surface again, and this point is calculated by the above-described vector calculation.

(5) By detecting the moving direction and the moving distance by the two types of sensors, when a character is drawn by a pen operation, a point at which the tip of the pen moves on the operation surface in a contact or non-contact manner is calculated. Then, it is developed on a bitmap for character recognition.

(6) Based on the map developed above, characters that have already been written using various character recognition techniques such as a pattern matching method are recognized and displayed on a screen.

As described above, the character input device according to the present embodiment enables the pen to input characters anywhere there is an operation surface having a friction coefficient capable of rotating the rotary ball of the pen.

Further, the pen can be applied to all models such as a desktop personal computer and a notebook personal computer. At this time, since a special panel is not required, carrying the panel becomes unnecessary. In addition, even in the case of a stationary type such as a desktop personal computer, pen input can be performed anywhere using a flat operation surface such as a desk, without being limited to a panel.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, there are provided sensors for detecting the moving direction and the moving distance when the pen is operated with or without touching the operation surface, and the detection signals from these sensors are used. Characters drawn by pen operation on the computer body are developed as a bitmap, and input characters are recognized based on this map. Therefore, the following effects are obtained.

(1) When entering characters into a computer, there is no need to use a keyboard, and simple handling equivalent to that of a conventional pen can be performed.

(2) In the conventional character input device, character input can only be performed on a screen or a specific panel capable of recognizing a position. However, in the character input according to the present invention, a flat operation surface is used. If there is, character input with a pen becomes possible.

(3) High-speed character input equivalent to handwritten characters can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a pen configuration diagram of a character input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cylindrical body 2 ... Rotating ball 3A, 3B ... Distance sensor 4A, 4B ... Acceleration sensor 5 ... Cable

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An X, Y direction distance sensor serving as a rotary ball type position detection mechanism of a mouse is provided at the tip of a pen-shaped cylinder, and is provided inside the cylinder so that the cylinder is not in contact with an operation surface. An acceleration sensor for detecting the acceleration in the X and Y directions of the distal end of the cylindrical body when the moving operation is performed by the user, inputting a detection signal from each of the sensors, and bringing the distal end of the cylindrical body into contact with an operation surface For the input operation, the moving direction and the distance by the distance sensor are obtained. For the character input operation in which the tip of the cylindrical body is not in contact with the operation surface, the moving direction and the distance by the acceleration sensor are obtained. A character input device comprising: a computer body that develops an operation of a cylindrical body on a bitmap from a computer and recognizes input characters by a character recognition method based on the bitmap.