Data inputting devices for inputting typed and handwritten data in a mixed manner

• US 5,838,302 A
• Filed: 02/21/1996
• Issued: 11/17/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Kuriyama, Yuji, Moriya, Koji, Kashiwagi, Motoyuki, Sugihara, Masaki, Kaneko, Katsuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Brier, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEWIS, DAVID LEE
• Application Number:
  US08/604,176
• Time in Patent Office: 1,000 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/173, 345/178, 345/179, 345/358, 382/185-189, 395/792-94, 395/768, 395/350
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

When data is keyed in by operating a keyboard K displayed in a touch panel input area 14a, its character code is stored in a real data memory 46b of a RAM 23 and data on its attribute, pointer and data length is stored as management data. When handwritten data is input by manipulating a handwriting board P displayed in the input area 14a, coordinate data corresponding to the locus of the input handwritten data is stored in the real data memory, and data on its attribute, pointer and data length is stored as management data. The keyed-in data including the character code and the handwritten data including image data are both displayed in an output area 14b on the basis of the real data and its management data. Data edition including data erasure can be dealt with in a unified manner.

Claims

1. A data input device having a tablet-type coordinate input unit disposed on a display screen, the data input device comprising:

an input board display device for displaying on the display screen a keyboard by which code data is input and a handwriting board by which image data is input;

a first memory device for storing the code data input by the keyboard and the image data input by the handwriting board;

a second memory device for storing the order and kinds of input data; and

a data output device for reading the code and image data stored in said first memory device on the basis of the order and kinds of input data stored in said second memory device and for displaying the read code data and image data in accordance with the order input data on the display screen.

2. The data input device according to claim 1, wherein the display screen comprises:

an input area for displaying the keyboard and handwriting board; and

an output area for displaying the input data.

3. The data input device according to claim 2, wherein said data output device comprises means for adjusting a size of an image represented by the handwritten data input by the handwriting board to a size of said output area.

4. The data input device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a marking device for marking off the input data, and wherein said first memory device stores the input code and handwriting data marked off by said marking device.

5. The data input device according to claim 4, further comprising:

commanding means for commanding erasure of data; and

means responsive to said commanding means for erasing a last one of the marked-off code or handwritten data stored in said first memory device, by referring to said second memory device.