Recognition of handwriting in mobile station

• US 6,792,143 B1
• Filed: 11/21/2000
• Issued: 09/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Harmovaara, Matti
• Primary Examiner(s): AHMED, SAMIR ANWAR
• Application Number:
  US09/718,174
• Time in Patent Office: 1,393 Days
• Field of Search: 382/119, 382/181, 382/182, 382/183, 382/185, 382/186, 382/187, 382/188, 382/189, 455/550.1, 455/557, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 345/863, 345/173, 379/67.1
• US Class Current: 382/189
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/007 using both tactile and audible presentation of the information
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72478 for hearing-impaired users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation methods for entering alphabetical characters per se G06F3/0237
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

The invention relates to improving the functions and applicability of a mobile station (201), (301), (401). Advantageous embodiments of the invention include a method in which graphic information may be input to a terminal equipment via a touch-sensitive writing pad and at the same time presented on a display in parallel with the independent execution of other functions, and a portable terminal equipment according to the method, which comprises a voice communicator (for text and file storage and transmission functions) and a display for presenting visual information as well as a graphic writing pad for entering input data in graphic format to the terminal equipment. In a communicator according to an embodiment of the invention a video terminal may be used in the information input simultaneously as a graphic writing pad and a display of the video terminal. The invention enables deaf and dumb people to communicate and take part in a video conference, for example.

Claims

1. Terminal equipment for a radio system, comprising:

a voice communicator,

a display for presenting pictorial information,

a graphic writing pad for entering input data in graphic format to the terminal equipment,

means for realizing data transmission in a radio system in the form of voice, text, files, video image and graphic characters and

means for independently recognizing handwriting in parallel with other listed functions.

2. The equipment according to claim 1, wherein a writing pad in the equipment comprises a display or part of it.

3. Equipment according to claim 2, wherein the display or part of it is sensitive to touch.

4. Equipment according to claim 3, wherein the display is a liquid crystal display.

5. Equipment according to claim 3, wherein the display is a plasma display.

6. Equipment according to claim 3, wherein the writing pad is pressure sensitive, temperature sensitive, magnetically sensitive, optically sensitive or electrostatically sensitive to react to the trace of a given means of writing.

7. Equipment according to claim 1, wherein the means of handwriting recognition is adapted so as to recognize typical features in the handwriting in order to verify the identity of the user.

8. A method for recognizing handwriting in terminal equipment of a radio system, comprising the steps of:

reading graphic information drawn on a writing pad,

converting the read graphic information to character format, and

in parallel with the reading of the graphic information, performing one of the following functions on the graphic information converted to character format;

transmission to radio system,

local storage in terminal equipment,

presentation on the display of terminal equipment, and

acoustic reproduction.