Electronic board system

• US 5,455,906 A
• Filed: 06/01/1993
• Issued: 10/03/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Usuda, Yutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHAUHAN, ULKA J
• Application Number:
  US08/069,370
• Time in Patent Office: 854 Days
• Field of Search: 395/162, 345/173, 345/179
• US Class Current: 345/536
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An electronic board system has a reduced display region at a lower portion of a writing screen on its electronic board, in addition to a non-reduced display region. A character, an image such as a graphic, etc., and an edit command, written on the reduced display region, can be entered into the electronic board system, and can be displayed on the non-reduced display region of the writing screen of the electronic board. Hence, the image displayed on the non-reduced display region can be seen by other persons in front of the electron board without interference from a shadow of the writer, and the electronic board can be manipulated with readiness and at high precision by a person who cannot reach an upper portion of its writing screen. Further, sensors capable of sensing the traces of the image are embedded in the rear of the writing screen so that the electronic board can readily be moved and can be prepared at reasonably low cost. The characters, images, edit commands, and so on written manually on the electronic board with a pointing device can be recognized and edited on the basis of the recognized command. The results of recognition are then projected onto and displayed on the writing screen of the electronic board.

Claims

1. An electronic board system, comprising:

a pointing device;

a plurality of sensors for detecting information written with said pointing device on a writing screen of an electronic board, said sensors being embedded in the back of the writing screen;

first storage means for storing the information detected by said sensors as image data consisting of a sequence of coordinate data;

recognition means for recognizing the information written on the writing screen on the basis of the image data stored in said first storage means, and for recognizing whether the image data relating to particular information thereof corresponds to any of a plurality of preset edit commands;

second storage means for storing the recognized information;

command execution means for editing the recognized information on the basis of an edit command stored in said second storage means; and

projection and display means for projecting and displaying the edited information in a non-reduced form at a non-reduced display region of the writing screen of the electronic board, and for projecting and displaying the edited information in a reduced form at a reduced display region of the writing screen of the electronic board;

wherein the sensors are disposed in the reduced display region of the writing screen of the electronic board and in the non-reduced display region thereof; and

wherein the Sensors are disposed in the reduced display region at a density higher than in the non-reduced display region.

2. An electronic board system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reduced display region having the higher density of sensors is entirely disposed below a midpoint of the writing screen height.

3. An electronic board system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the reduced display region is further entirely disposed to one side of a midpoint of the writing screen width.

4. An electronic board system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recognition means recognizes information originating from both of the non-reduced display region and the reduced display region.