Handwritten character size determination apparatus based on character entry area

• US 5,513,278 A
• Filed: 05/26/1994
• Issued: 04/30/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Norio, Hashizume, Tatsuo, Shitanda, Hideki, Sasaki, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Boudreau, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Johns, Andrew W.
• Application Number:
  US08/249,879
• Time in Patent Office: 705 Days
• Field of Search: 382/13, 382/40, 382/47, 382/61, 382/19, 382/25, 382/26, 382/187, 382/195, 382/203, 382/204, 382/229, 382/286, 382/298, 382/301, 395/102, 395/110, 395/150, 395/151, 345/143, 345/194, 345/195
• US Class Current: 382/187
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/36 Matching; Classification

Abstract

When a handwritten character is inputted with a pen of a pen input device, a handwritten character recognition unit recognizes the character according to coordinate data of the character. Also, a handwritten area judge unit judges the size of the character and a blank area according to a range of preset areas passed though the handwriting. A character font determination unit detects a character font from a plurality of character fonts to correspond to the character size judged by the handwritten area judge unit. The determined character font is outputted to a display device and the like.

Claims

1. A handwritten character input device comprising:

an input means for inputting coordinate data which represents an operator'"'"'s handwriting to a preset character inputting coordinate system;

a character recognition means for recognizing a character from the handwriting according to the coordinate data, and generating a character code corresponding to the recognized character;

a character size determination means for determining a size of the character according to a range of the handwriting in the character inputting coordinate system by generating a plurality of predetermined divided areas in the character inputting coordinate system and determining the character size by detecting a range of divided areas which have been passed through by the handwritten character, the character size determination means generates the divided areas by dividing a character inputting area for a single character, and assigns a range of the divided areas to a standard character size; and

a character font generation means for generating a character font according to the character code generated by the character recognition means and the character size determined by the character size determination means, including a font data storage for storing character font data which corresponds to the character code and the character size, defined by a predetermined range of the divided areas.

2. The handwritten character input device of claim 1, wherein the character size determination means assigns a minimum range of the divided areas to the standard character size.

3. The handwritten character input device of claim 2, wherein the character size determination means comprises a blank area judge means for judging the divided areas in the character inputting area for a single character where the handwriting does not pass through as a blank area.

4. The handwritten character input device of claim 3, wherein the input means comprises a pen with which the operator handwrites characters and a tablet for converting the handwriting with the pen into coordinate data.

5. A handwritten character input device comprising:

input means, provided with a character inputting area for detecting coordinate data representing an operator'"'"'s handwriting on said character inputting area;

character recognition means for recognizing a character based on said detected coordinate data to generate a character code;

handwritten area detection means for dividing said character inputting area lengthwise and crosswise into a set of divided areas to detect all the divided areas on which said handwriting passes;

handwritten character-shape recognition means for recognizing a shape of an input character of said handwriting using the number of the divided areas detected by said handwritten area detection means and an alignment direction thereof;

character font storage means for storing a plurality of character fonts for any combination of the character code and character shape; and

character font selection means for selecting an adequate character font from said character font storage means for a combination of said character code generated by said character recognition means and the shape of said input character recognized by said handwritten character-shape recognition means.

6. A handwritten character input device comprising:

input means, provided with a character inputting area for detecting coordinate data representing an operator'"'"'s handwriting on said character inputting area;

character recognition means for recognizing a character based on said detected coordinate data to generate a character code;

handwritten area detection means for dividing said character inputting area lengthwise and crosswise into a set of four sections on which said handwriting is inscribed;

handwritten character-shape recognition means for recognizing a shape of an input character of said handwriting using the number of the sections detected by said handwritten area detection means and an alignment direction thereof, said handwritten character-shape recognition means recognizes the shape of said input character to be;

(a) a standard size when one section is detected by said handwritten area detection means;

(b) a vertically-double size when two vertically adjacent sections are detected;

(c) a horizontally-double size when two horizontally adjacent sections are detected; and

(d) a double size when all four sections are detected;

character font storage means for storing a plurality of character fonts for any combination of the character code and character shape; and

character font selection means for selecting a character font from said character font storage means for a combination of said character code generated by said character recognition means and the shape of said input character recognized by said handwritten character-shape recognition means.

7. A handwritten character input device comprising:

an input device to permit the inscription of a character by an operator on a defined area, the input device generating corresponding data representative of the inscribed character relative to a plurality of predetermined sections of the defined area that are segregated in a two-dimensional coordinate system;

a character recognition means for recognizing a shape of an input character independent of the number of sections that are inscribed upon and generating a character code corresponding to the recognized character;

a character size determination means for determining the size of the character based upon the number of predetermined sections that have been inscribed upon by the character;

character font storage means for storing a plurality of character fonts for any combination of character code and character size, including different sizes of the same character; and

character font selection means for selecting a particular size of stored character fonts based upon the character code generated by said character recognition means and character size determination means.

8. A handwritten character input device of claim 7 wherein the character font selection means varies both the width and the height of the character based upon the determination of the character size determination means.

9. A handwritten character input device of claim 7 wherein at least four sections define the area in a vertical and horizontal coordinate system and the character size is determined to be:

(a) a standard size when one section is detected by said character size determination means;

(b) a vertically-double size when two vertically adjacent sections are detected;

(c) a horizontally-double size when two horizontally adjacent sections are detected; and

(d) a double size when two vertically adjacent sections and two horizontally adjacent sections are detected.

10. A handwritten character input device comprising:

an input means for inputting coordinate data which represents an operator'"'"'s handwriting to a preset character inputting coordinate system;

a character recognition means for recognizing a character from the handwriting according to the coordinate data, and generating a character code corresponding to the recognized character;

a character size determination means for determining a size of the character according to a range of the handwriting in the character inputting coordinate system by generating a plurality of sections of a predetermined divided area in the character inputting coordinate system and determining the character size by detecting the number of sections which have been passed through by the handwritten character, the character size determination means generates the sections by dividing the character inputting area for a single character, and assigns a predetermined number of sections to a standard character size and other predetermined numbers of sections to character sizes other than a standard character size; and

a character font generation means for generating a character font according to the character code generated by the character recognition means and the character size determined by the character size determination means, including a font data storage for storing character font data which corresponds to the character code and the character size, defined by a predetermined range of the divided areas, the stored character font data includes the same characters in separate different size fonts.