Method and apparatus for entering and manipulating spreadsheet cell data
First Claim
1. A method for translating a graphic element into a machine readable character, said method comprising the steps of:
- defining a plurality of sets of machine readable characters, each of which contains machine readable characters of a unique type;
generating descriptors for said machine readable characters in each of said sets of machine readable characters;
generating descriptors for said graphic element; and
for each one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters, performing recognition on said graphic element by;
comparing said descriptors of said graphic element to said descriptors of said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters in order to determine whether any of said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters matches said descriptors of said graphic element using predetermined match criteria that are substantially the same for each of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters; and
when said comparing step determines that said descriptors of at least one of said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters matches said descriptors of said graphic element, identifying for each one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters one of said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters that matches said descriptors of said graphic element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for entering and manipulating spreadsheet cell data is described. The present invention provides a method for determining the target cell for written information and for scaling the information to fit within the boundaries of the target cell. A multi-tiered character recognition scheme is used to improve the accuracy and speed of character recognition and translation of handwritten data. The original handwritten data is preserved so that either the translated data or original data may be displayed. The present invention also provides for improved editing of cell entries by allowing a plurality of editing tools to be selected. Manipulation of blocks of data can be accomplished with simple gestures. Arithmetic, statistical and logical functions can be invoked with a single command.
168 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method for translating a graphic element into a machine readable character, said method comprising the steps of:
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defining a plurality of sets of machine readable characters, each of which contains machine readable characters of a unique type; generating descriptors for said machine readable characters in each of said sets of machine readable characters; generating descriptors for said graphic element; and for each one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters, performing recognition on said graphic element by; comparing said descriptors of said graphic element to said descriptors of said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters in order to determine whether any of said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters matches said descriptors of said graphic element using predetermined match criteria that are substantially the same for each of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters; and when said comparing step determines that said descriptors of at least one of said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters matches said descriptors of said graphic element, identifying for each one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters one of said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters that matches said descriptors of said graphic element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for providing a graphic element as data for a data input comprising the steps of:
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creating descriptors of said graphic element; determining whether each respective one of said descriptors of said graphic element corresponds to at least one respective machine readable character, all of said respective machine readable characters being from a single predetermined set of machine readable characters; storing a series of machine readable characters, each of which corresponds to one of said descriptors of said graphic element, as data for said data input if each of said descriptors of said graphic element is determined by said determining step to correspond to at least one machine readable character from said single predetermined set of machine readable characters; and storing said descriptors of said graphic element as data for said data input if any of said descriptors of said graphic element is determined by said determining step to not correspond to at least one machine readable character from said single predetermined set of machine readable characters. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for converting data comprising a series of graphic elements into converted data comprising a series of machine readable characters, comprising the steps of:
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defining a plurality of sets of machine readable characters, each of which contains machine readable characters of a unique type; for each one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters, comparing each one of said series of graphic elements to said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters to determine if each of said graphic elements corresponds to any of said machine readable characters in said one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters; and converting said series of graphic elements into a corresponding series of machine readable characters only if said comparing step determines that each of said graphic elements corresponds to at least one machine readable character from said single one of said plurality of sets of machine readable characters. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for translating a handwritten entry into at least one machine readable character comprising the steps of:
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defining a predetermined number of character data types; creating a plurality of sets of machine readable characters, each such set of machine readable characters comprising characters having a single character data type; defining, for each of said character data types, for each of said sets of machine readable characters, match criteria for matching said handwritten entry to characters in said set of machine readable characters; identifying one of said character data types as an expected data type for said handwritten entry; and comparing said handwritten entry to said sets of machine readable characters in a predetermined sequence according to said match criteria for said expected data type of said handwritten entry. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method for translating a handwritten entry into a series of machine readable characters comprising at least one machine readable character comprising the steps of:
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creating a first set of machine readable characters; defining first and second match criteria for matching said handwritten entry to characters in said first set of machine readable characters, said first match criteria applicable to a first expected data type of said handwritten entry and said second match criteria applicable to a second expected data type for said handwritten entry; determining an expected data type for said handwritten entry; comparing said handwritten entry to characters in said first set of machine readable characters according to said first match criteria if said handwritten entry has said first expected data type; and comparing said handwritten entry to characters in said first set of machine readable characters according to said second match criteria if said handwritten entry has said second expected data type.
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37. A method for editing data contents of a cell of a spreadsheet having a plurality of cells displayed on a display, each of said cells having one of a plurality of predetermined data types, said plurality of predetermined data types including a text data type, a value data type, and an ink data type, said method comprising the steps of:
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creating a plurality of editing pads, each of said plurality of editing pads for editing said data contents that are of a data type among said plurality of predetermined data types; selecting said cell for editing; displaying on said display one of said plurality of editing pads that is applicable to the data type of said selected cell for editing data contents of said selected cell, said editing pad comprising a display area for displaying said data contents of said selected cell and a command input for accepting a command which causes said data contents displayed in said display area to be accepted and which also causes a cell adjacent to said selected cell to be selected; displaying said data contents of said cell in said display area of said editing pad; applying a handwriting recognizer to said data contents and displaying results of said application of said handwriting recognizer in said display area of said editing pad if said data contents of said selected cell comprise a handwritten character; and accepting a command at said command input which both causes said data contents displayed in said display area to be accepted and causes a cell adjacent to said selected cell to be selected. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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40. A method for editing data contents of a cell of a spreadsheet having a plurality of cells displayed on a display, each of said cells having one of a plurality of predetermined data types, said plurality of predetermined data types including a text data type, a value data type, and an ink data type, said method comprising the steps of:
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creating a plurality of editing pads, each of said plurality of editing pads for editing said data contents that are of a data type among said plurality of predetermined data types; selecting said cell for editing; displaying on said display one of said plurality of editing pads that is applicable to the data type of said selected cell for editing data contents of said selected cell, said editing pad comprising a display area for displaying said data contents of said selected cell and a gesture entry area for entering handwritten gestures for invoking commands; displaying said data contents of said cell in said display area of said editing pad; accepting a handwritten gesture that is entered in said gesture entry area and that is used to invoke a command which both accepts said data contents displayed in said display area and selects a cell adjacent to said selected cell; and applying a gesture recognizer to any handwritten gesture entered in said gesture entry area.
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41. A method for entering handwritten data into a computer comprising the steps of:
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creating first and second handwriting input areas; defining a first set of machine readable characters for said first handwriting input area; defining a second set of machine readable characters for said second handwriting input area; entering a handwritten character in one of said handwriting input areas; accepting said handwritten character only if said handwritten character matches, according to a first predetermined match criteria, a character in said first set of machine readable characters if said handwritten character is entered in said first handwriting input area; and accepting said handwritten character only if said handwritten character matches, according to a second predetermined match criteria, a character in said second set of machine readable characters if said handwritten character is entered in said second handwriting input area.
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Specification