Data input panel character conversion

• US 20050099408A1
• Filed: 11/10/2003
• Published: 05/12/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Pettiross, Jeffrey W., Davis, Shawna J., Murayama, Takanobu, Garside, Adrian J., Seto, Tetsuo
• Granted Patent: US 7,406,662 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/179
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/018 Input/output arrangements for oriental characters
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/987 with the intervention of an operator
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1423 the instrument generating sequences of position coordinates corresponding to handwriting preprocessing or recognising digital ink G06V30/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/287 of Kanji, Hiragana or Katakana characters
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/387 using human interaction, e.g. selection of the best displayed recognition candidate

Abstract

An in-place data input panel provides a user with access to a list of alternate characters to which displayed characters may be converted. The data input panel provides an indicator, such as an indicator bar, corresponding to segmentation of the characters. A user can change the segmentation of the characters by expanding or contracting the segmentation bar. Also, the user can access a drop-down menu listing alternate character choices corresponding to the characters in the segment indicated by the segmentation bar.

Claims

1. A tool for associating characters, comprising:

a segmentation module that associates two or more characters into a segment; and

a user interface that allows a user to designate the segmentation of characters by the segmentation module.

2. The tool recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface

displays a plurality of characters;

and

provides an indicator indicating which of the plurality of characters are associated together into the segment.

3. The tool recited in claim 2, wherein the indicator can be modified by a user to change which characters are associated together into the segment.

6. The tool recited in claim 2, wherein the user interface

provides a menu command that allows a user to designate the segmentation of characters by the segmentation module.

7. The tool recited in claim 2, wherein the user interface

displays a second indicator indicating which of the plurality of characters associated together into a second segment.

8. The tool recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface

displays a plurality of characters on two or more lines;

and

provides an indicator that

indicates which of the plurality of characters are associated together into the segment, and

can be modified by a user to change associate one or more of the characters on different lines together into the segment.

9. The tool recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface

provides a menu command that allows a user to designate the segmentation of characters by the segmentation module.

10. The tool recited in claim 1, further comprising an electronic ink recognition module for recognizing at least one of the characters from electronic ink.

19. The tool recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface

provides a menu command that allows a user to designate the segmentation of characters by the segmentation module.

4. The tool recited in claim 4, where

the indicator appears as a bar running adjacent to characters associated together into the segment;

and

the user can extend the bar to add characters to the segment.

5. The tool recited in claim 4, wherein

the indicator appears as a bar running adjacent to characters associated together into a segment;

and

the user can contract the bar to remove characters from the segment.

11. A tool for converting characters of a first type into characters of a second-type, comprising:

a segmentation module that associates two or more characters of the first type into a segment;

a user interface that allows a user to designate the segmentation of characters by the segmentation module; and

a character conversion module that converts the characters of the segment into at least one character of the second type.

12. The tool recited in claim 11, wherein the user interface

displays a plurality of characters;

and

provides an indicator indicating which of the plurality of characters are associated together into the segment.

13. The tool recited in claim 12, wherein the indicator can be modified by a user to change which characters are associated together into the segment.

14. The tool recited in claim 13, where

the indicator appears as a bar running adjacent to characters associated together into the segment;

and

the user can extend the bar to add characters to the segment.

15. The tool recited in claim 13, wherein

the indicator appears as a bar running adjacent to characters associated together into a segment;

and

the user can contract the bar to remove characters from the segment.

16. The tool recited in claim 12, wherein the user interface

provides a menu command that allows a user to designate the segmentation of characters by the segmentation module.

17. The tool recited in claim 12, wherein the user interface

displays a second indicator indicating which of the plurality of characters associated together into a second segment.

18. The tool recited in claim 11, wherein the user interface

displays a plurality of characters on two or more lines;

and

provides an indicator that

indicates which of the plurality of characters are associated together into the segment, and

can be modified by a user to change associate one or more of the characters on different lines together into the segment.

20. The tool recited in claim 11, further comprising an electronic ink recognition module for recognizing at least one of the characters of the first type from electronic ink.

21. A method of associating two or more characters into a segment;

receiving a plurality of characters;

providing an indicator that associates a first group of the plurality of characters into a segment;

receiving input modifying the indicator to associate a second group of the plurality of characters into the segment.

22. The method recited in claim 21, wherein the second group includes the first group and additional characters.

23. The method recited in claim 21, wherein the second group includes only a portion of the first group of characters.

24. The method recited in claim 21, wherein

the indicator is a bar adjacent to the first group of characters;

and

the input changes a length or position of the bar so that the bar is adjacent to the second group of characters.

25. The method recited in claim 21, further including

displaying the first group of characters on a first line;

displaying a first portion of the second group of characters on the first line;

displaying a second portion of the second group of characters on a second line; and

receiving input that modifies the indicator to extend from the first line to the second line.