Method and apparatus for recognizing handwritten words
First Claim
1. A method for recognizing handwritten entries on a display screen of a computer system, the computer system also having a processor and memory, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a handwritten stroke written on the screen of said computer system, said stroke being received in a form that can be manipulated by said processor;
determining a start point and a stop point of said stroke;
normalizing said stroke with said processor by rotating said stroke about a stroke center until at least one of said start point or said stop point aligns with a predefined axis, thereby obtaining a normalized stroke;
matching said normalized stroke against a template of character parts stored in memory to create one or more associated character part interpretations;
using said processor to group said normalized stroke, if possible, with one or more normalized strokes that were matched in a like fashion to create a character part group; and
using said processor to recognize a higher level object from said character part group utilizing the angles between the strokes of the character part group and using said character part interpretations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for the angle-independent recognition of handwritten objects including: a) receiving a handwritten stroke; b) normalizing the stroke; c) matching the normalized stroke against a stroke database to obtain at least one character part interpretation; and d) recognizing a handwritten object using one or more of the character part interpretations. Preferably, the step of normalizing the stroke includes the step of normalizing an angle of the stroke by first determining a stroke angle and then rotating the stroke by the stroke angle until the stroke is at a normalized position. An apparatus for the angle independent recognition of handwritten objects includes: a) a central processing unit (CPU); b) a pointer mechanism coupled to the CPU for providing a handwritten stroke to the CPU; c) a mechanism for normalizing the strokes provided by the pointer mechanism; d) a mechanism for matching the normalized strokes against a stroke database to obtain a number of character part interpretations; and e) a mechanism for recognizing a handwritten object using the character part interpretations. Preferably, the mechanism for normalizing the strokes includes a mechanism for detecting stroke angles of the strokes, and a mechanism for rotating the strokes by the stroke angles to create normalized strokes. The mechanism for recognizing the handwritten object preferably includes a controller, a number of recognition domains coupled to the controller, and an arbiter coupled to the controller for resolving multiple interpretations of the object.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for recognizing handwritten entries on a display screen of a computer system, the computer system also having a processor and memory, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a handwritten stroke written on the screen of said computer system, said stroke being received in a form that can be manipulated by said processor; determining a start point and a stop point of said stroke; normalizing said stroke with said processor by rotating said stroke about a stroke center until at least one of said start point or said stop point aligns with a predefined axis, thereby obtaining a normalized stroke; matching said normalized stroke against a template of character parts stored in memory to create one or more associated character part interpretations; using said processor to group said normalized stroke, if possible, with one or more normalized strokes that were matched in a like fashion to create a character part group; and using said processor to recognize a higher level object from said character part group utilizing the angles between the strokes of the character part group and using said character part interpretations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for the recognition of handwritten objects on a display screen of a computer system, the computer system also having a processor and a memory, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a handwritten stroke written on the display screen of said computer system, said stroke being received in a form that can be manipulated by said processor; obtaining a start point and a stop point of said stroke; normalizing said stroke by rotating said stroke about a stroke center until at least one of said start point or said stop point aligns with a vertical axis, whereby a normalized stroke is obtained; matching said normalized stroke against a stroke database stored in memory to obtain at least one character part interpretation; and using said processor to recognize a handwritten object using one or more of said character part interpretations. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for the angle-independent recognition of handwritten objects comprising:
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a display screen; a central processing unit (CPU); pointer means for writing a handwritten stroke on said display screen; means for providing the handwritten stroke to said CPU; means for demarcating a start point and a stop point of said stroke; means for normalizing said stroke by rotating said stroke until one of said start point or said stop point aligns with a predefined axis; means for matching said normalized strokes against a stroke database stored in memory to obtain a plurality of character part interpretations; and means for recognizing, with said CPU, a handwritten object using said character part interpretations. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for the recognition of handwritten objects on a display screen of a computer system, the computer system also having a processor and a memory, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a handwritten stroke written on the display screen of said computer system, said stroke being received in a form that can be manipulated by said processor; normalizing the stroke by adjusting the aspect ratio of a bounding box surrounding the stroke when the aspect ratio is greater than a first predetermined valve or less than a second predetermined value, said step of normalizing reducing recognition errors due to distortion; normalizing said stroke by a process including the steps of; (i) identifying the endpoints of the stroke (ii) identifying two of the stroke'"'"'s most widely spaced points, at least one of which is an endpoint of the stroke, (iii) defining a line between these points, (iv) determining an angle between the defined axis and the line defined in step (iii), and (v) rotating the stroke by the angle determined in step (iv) such that at least one of the stroke'"'"'s endpoints lies on said defined axis; matching the normalized stroke against a stroke database stored in memory to obtain at least one character part interpretation; and using the processor to recognize a handwritten object using one or more of the character part interpretations. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A method for recognizing handwritten entries on a display screen of a computer system, the computer system also having a processor and memory, the method comprising the following steps:
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receiving a handwritten stroke written on the display screen of said computer system, said stroke being received in a form that can be manipulated by said processor; normalizing said stroke by a process including the steps of; (i) identifying the endpoints of the stroke (ii) identifying two of the stroke'"'"'s most widely spaced points, at least one of which is an endpoint of the stroke, (iii) defining a line between these points, (iv) determining an angle between the defined axis and the line defined in step (iii), and (v) rotating the stroke by the angle determined in step (iv) such that at least one of the stroke'"'"'s endpoints lies on said defined axis; matching said normalized stroke against a stroke database stored in memory to obtain at least one character part interpretation; and using said processor to recognize a handwritten object using one or more of said character part interpretations, wherein said step of normalizing reduces recognition errors due to handwriting written at various angles. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification