Method and system for character insertion in a character string

• US 10,416,868 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2016
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Myscript
• Original Assignee: Myscript
• Inventors: Couelier, Joel, Desvages-Cousin, Laetitia
• Primary Examiner(s): Dyer, Andrew R
• Application Number:
  US15/192,252
• Publication Number:
  US 20170249505A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,180 Days
• Field of Search: 715255, 715256, 715268, 715271
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/171 by use of digital ink
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/32 Digital ink
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/387 using human interaction, e.g. selection of the best displayed recognition candidate

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a character input method and system, which may include a digital device including a touchscreen that has a recognition area and an insertion area. The method and system may include hardware and/or operations for: scrolling a string of characters that are displayed in the recognition area so as to select a position between a first character and a second character; detecting input strokes that are entered manually in the insertion area; performing handwriting recognition to convert the detected input strokes into recognised characters; inserting, at the position within the string of characters, the recognised characters; and scrolling the string of characters in the recognition area so as to display, in the recognition area, the recognised characters that were inserted into the string of characters.

Claims

1. A character input method performed by a computing device comprising:

a processor; and

a touchscreen display device that is operably connected to the processor, the touchscreen display device comprising an interactive user interface including a handwriting recognition area and a digital ink insertion area that are horizontally adjacent to each other,

the method comprising;

firstly scrolling, by the processor, a string of characters displayed at least in the handwriting recognition area of the touchscreen display device to select a position between a first character and a second character consecutive to the first character within the displayed string of characters, wherein said firstly scrolling comprises scrolling in a first direction by moving each character of the string of characters displayed in the handwriting recognition area within the handwriting recognition area until entering into the digital ink insertion area;

detecting, by the touchscreen display device, at least one digital ink input stroke entered manually in the digital ink insertion area;

converting, by the processor and using handwriting recognition, the at least one detected digital ink input stroke into at least one recognised character;

inserting, at the selected position within the displayed string of characters, the at least one recognised character; and

secondly scrolling, automatically by the processor, the displayed string of characters in the handwriting recognition area by moving said displayed string of characters in a second direction opposite said first direction, to display, in the handwriting recognition area that is horizontally adjacent to the digital ink insertion area, at least part of the at least one recognised character that was inserted into the displayed string of characters in the digital ink insertion area,

inserting, at the position within the displayed string of characters, the at least one digital ink input stroke that was detected, and replacing the at least one digital ink input stoke that was inserted and is displayed in the handwriting recognition area with the at least one recognized character after the handwriting recognition is completed, wherein the at least one inserted character is displayed as typeset text in the handwriting recognition area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the firstly scrolling, an insertion marker displayed on the touchscreen display device defines the position within the displayed string of characters.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the insertion marker is statically positioned at a boundary between the handwriting recognition area and the digital ink insertion area during the firstly scrolling.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed string of characters comprises a plurality of words, each of the plurality of words having at least one character, the method further comprising:

during the firstly scrolling, displaying each word positioned in the handwriting recognition area while masking, at least partially, each word entering entirely into the digital ink insertion area from being fully displayed in the handwriting recognition area.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed string of characters comprises a plurality of words, each of the plurality of words having at least one character, and

wherein, in the firstly scrolling, the position selected within the displayed string of characters is a position immediately following the last word of the plurality of words that is displayed at least partially in the handwriting recognition area.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondly scrolling is performed automatically after the detecting of the at least one digital ink input stroke.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the secondly scrolling is triggered automatically upon detection that the handwriting recognition is completed.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying, in the digital ink insertion area and while the converting using handwriting recognition is being performed, the at least one digital ink input stroke that was detected.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondly scrolling comprises:

scrolling the displayed string of characters in the handwriting recognition area to display, while the converting using handwriting recognition is being performed in the handwriting recognition area, at least part of the at least one digital ink input stroke that was inserted.

10. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

after the secondly scrolling, thirdly scrolling in a same direction as the secondly scrolling to cause display, in the handwriting recognition area, of a second character immediately following the at least one recognised character that was inserted within the displayed string of characters.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code being adapted to be executed by a processor to implement a character input method in a computing device comprising a touchscreen display device, the touchscreen display device comprising an interactive user interface including a handwriting recognition area and a digital ink insertion area that are horizontally adjacent to each other, the character input method comprising:

firstly scrolling, by the processor, a string of characters displayed at least in the handwriting recognition area of the touchscreen display device to select a position between a first character and a second character consecutive to the first character within the displayed string of characters, wherein said firstly scrolling comprises scrolling in a first direction by moving each character of the string of characters displayed in the handwriting recognition area within the handwriting recognition area until entering into the digital ink insertion area;

detecting, by the touchscreen display device, at least one digital ink input stroke entered manually in the digital ink insertion area;

converting, by the processor and using handwriting recognition, the at least one detected digital ink input stroke into at least one recognised character;

inserting, at the selected position within the displayed string of characters, the at least one recognised character; and

secondly scrolling, automatically by the processor, the displayed string of characters in the handwriting recognition area by moving said displayed string of characters in a second direction opposite said first direction, to display, in the handwriting recognition area that is horizontally adjacent to the digital ink insertion area, at least part of the at least one recognised character that was inserted into the displayed string of characters in the digital ink insertion area,

inserting, at the position within the displayed string of characters, the at least one digital ink input stroke that was detected, and replacing the at least one digital ink input stoke that was inserted and is displayed in the handwriting recognition area with the at least one recognized character after the handwriting recognition is completed, wherein the at least one inserted character is displayed as typeset text in the handwriting recognition area.

12. A system for inputting characters, the system comprising:

a touchscreen display device comprising an interactive user interface including a handwriting recognition area and a digital ink insertion area for accepting character input, wherein the handwriting recognition area and the digital ink insertion area are horizontally adjacent to each other;

a non-transitory computer readable medium including instructions; and

a processor, operably connected to the touchscreen and the non-transitory computer readable medium, that executes the instructions to perform operations comprising;

firstly scrolling, by the processor, a string of characters displayed at least in the handwriting recognition area of the touchscreen display device to select a position between a first character and a second character consecutive to the first character within the displayed string of characters, wherein said firstly scrolling comprises scrolling in a first direction by moving each character of the string of characters displayed in the handwriting recognition area within the handwriting recognition area until entering into the digital ink insertion area;

detecting, by the touchscreen display device, at least one digital ink input stroke entered manually in the digital ink insertion area;

converting, by the processor and using handwriting recognition, the at least one detected digital ink input stroke into at least one recognised character;

inserting, at the selected position within the displayed string of characters, the at least one recognised character; and

secondly scrolling, automatically by the processor, the displayed string of characters in the handwriting recognition area by moving said displayed string of characters in a second direction opposite said first direction, to display, in the handwriting recognition area that is horizontally adjacent to the digital ink insertion area, at least part of the at least one recognised character that was inserted into the displayed string of characters in the digital ink insertion area, inserting, at the position within the displayed string of characters, the at least one digital ink input stroke that was detected, and replacing the at least one digital ink input stoke that was inserted and is displayed in the handwriting recognition area with the at least one recognized character after the handwriting recognition is completed, wherein the at least one inserted character is displayed as typeset text in the handwriting recognition area.