MOTOR VEHICLE HAVING AN INPUT DEVICE FOR HANDWRITING RECOGNITION

• US 20150294145A1
• Filed: 10/02/2013
• Published: 10/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Bouaziz, Tahar, Betz, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,349,045 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3611 using character input or menus, e.g. menus of POIs character input methods in general G06F3/0233
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/268 Lexical context
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/32 Digital ink
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/36 Matching; Classification

Abstract

A method operates an input apparatus for an electronic appliance in a motor vehicle, by having a sensing device sense a character trace from a user while the latter draws the character trace in order to input a character or a group of characters on an input panel of the sensing device. A handwriting recognition device performs character recognition for the sensed character trace, and a display device produces a display for a result of the recognition. To allow comprehensible appliance operation by handwriting recognition in a motor vehicle, the display device also displays the character trace following the performance of the character recognition.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A method for operating an input apparatus for an electronic appliance in a motor vehicle, the input apparatus comprising a display device, an input panel and at least one controller that provides a database, an evaluation device, a handwriting recognition device and a search device, the method comprising:

receiving a character trace from a user on the input panel while the user draws the character trace in order to input a character or a group of characters on the input panel;

using an evaluation device to sense the character trace received at the input panel, the input panel and the evaluation device together forming a sensing device;

using the handwriting recognition device to perform character recognition for the character trace sensed by the evaluation device, the handwriting recognition device ascertaining a plurality of different recognition results for the character trace;

using a search device to perform a database search in the database, the database being at least one database selected from the group consisting of a navigation database, a music database and an address/telephone number database, the database search searching for at least one database entry that satisfies a match criterion for each of the plurality of different recognition results;

displaying with display device a hits list formed based on the plurality of different recognition results, the hits list being formed from the at least one database entry that satisfies the match criterion; and

after performing character recognition, displaying the character trace sensed by the evaluation device together with the hits list, so that the user can identify an ambiguous input character for which the handwriting recognition device had difficulty and produced the plurality of different recognition results.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the database search is started as soon as the user has lifted a drawing instrument from the input panel or as soon as the character trace has remained unchanged for a predetermined period of time.

14. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the evaluation device senses in succession a plurality of character traces received on the input panel as the user more precisely specifies an input string,

character recognition is performed on each of the character traces after the character trace is sensed, to produce an additional recognition result, and

after each additional recognition result, the database search is refined to more precisely search for a matching entry.

15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the match criterion stipulates that at least one of a prefix search, an infix search and a suffix search is performed on the database.

16. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the handwriting recognition device ascertains a recognition value for each of a plurality of potential results,

for each potential result, the recognition value is a measure of a match between the character trace and the potential result, and

the potential results most closely matching the character trace are selected to produce the plurality of different recognition results.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein

the plurality of different recognition results are identified by determining whether each potential result has a recognition value greater than a predetermined minimum recognition value,

first and second character traces are received on the input panel,

for the first character trace, a plurality of potential results have respective recognition values greater than the predetermined minimum recognition value, to thereby ascertain the plurality of different recognition results for the first character trace, and

for the second character trace, only a single potential result has the recognition value greater than the predetermined minimum recognition value, to thereby ascertain only a single recognition result for the second character trace.

18. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the plurality of different recognition results include at least first and second alpha numeric characters that are different from one another, and

the hits list includes a first database entry including the first alpha numeric character and includes a second database entry including the second alpha numeric character.

19. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the character trace is received by the user stroking a finger on the input panel.

13. The method as claimed in 12, wherein

first and second character traces are received on the input panel, and

a display of the first character trace is removed and replaced with a display of the second character trace when, for the second character trace, the user has lifted a drawing instrument from the input panel or the second character trace has remained unchanged for the predetermined period of time.

20. An input apparatus for an electronic appliance in a motor vehicle, the input apparatus comprising:

an input panel to receive a character trace from a user while the user draws the character trace in order to input a character or a group of characters on the input panel;

an evaluation device to sense the character trace received at the input panel, the input panel and the evaluation device together forming a sensing device;

a handwriting recognition device to perform character recognition for the character trace sensed by the evaluation device, the handwriting recognition device ascertaining a plurality of different recognition results for the character trace;

a search device to perform a database search in a database, the database being at least one database selected from the group consisting of a navigation database, a music database and an address/telephone number database, the database, the evaluation device, the handwriting recognition device and the search device being provided by at least one controller, the database search searching for at least one database entry that satisfies a match criterion for each of the plurality of different recognition results; and

a display device to;

display a hits list formed based on the plurality of different recognition results, the hits list being formed from the at least one database entry that satisfies the match criterion; and

display the character trace sensed by the evaluation device, the character trace being displayed after performing character recognition, the character trace being displayed together with the hits list, so that the user can identify an ambiguous input character for which the handwriting recognition device had difficulty and produced the plurality of different recognition results.

21. A motor vehicle comprising the input apparatus as claimed in claim 20.

22. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 21, wherein

the electronic device is at least one device selected from the group consisting of a navigation appliance, an infotainment system and a mobile radio system, and

the electronic device is controlled based on a selected entry from the hits list.