Handwriting detecting and storing apparatus

• US 6,031,936 A
• Filed: 01/28/1998
• Issued: 02/29/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GOV Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yashima Electric Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Nakamura, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Phuoc
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mariam, Daniel G.
• Application Number:
  US09/014,595
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• Field of Search: 382/181, 382/187, 382/188, 382/312, 382/314
• US Class Current: 382/187
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus

Abstract

A handwriting detecting and storing apparatus comprises a lens having a cone shape at front-most position of a lens system which introduces handwriting image to image pick up means such as a charge coupled device or the like, and a pen shaft provided at a center of the lens having a cone shape, and wherein an optical axis of the lens system, an optical axis of the lens having a cone shape and a central axis of the pen shaft are coincident with one another, so that a writing operation is performed using a writing device, handwriting image is picked up and picked up handwriting information is stored therein. The apparatus decreases handwriting image which is hidden by an edge section of the writing device as little as possible, and obtains handwriting information within a region of a recording face accurately and with a low cost, the region corresponding to a position just below the leading edge of the writing device and a neighboring region with respect to the position.

Claims

1. A handwriting detecting and storing apparatus comprising:

a case body;

a writing device for performing writing operation on a recording medium, which device is housed within the case body;

image pick up means for picking up a predetermined extent of the recording medium, the extent including a leading edge of the writing device and a handwriting, which image pick up means is housed within the case body;

a lens system for introducing an image of the predetermined extent on the recording medium to the image pick up means, which lens system is housed within the case body;

storage means for storing image information picked up by the image pick up means, which storage means is housed within the case body; and

a power supply section for supplying power to the image pick up means and the storage means, which power supply section is housed within the case body; and

wherein the lens system includes a lens having a cone shape at its frontmost position.

2. A handwriting detecting and storing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising correction means for correcting deformation of a partial image among an entire image picked up by the image pick up means which partial image is neighboring to a shadow region due to an edge section of the writing device.

3. A handwriting detecting and storing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein an optical axis of the lens having a cone shape and an optical axis of the lens system are coincident with one another.

4. A handwriting detecting and storing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein an optical axis of the lens having a cone shape, an optical axis of the lens system and a central axis of the writing device are coincident with one another.

5. A handwriting detecting and storing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the writing device is provided through a center of the lens having a cone shape.