Implicit page breaks for digitally represented handwriting

• US 6,990,237 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2004
• Issued: 01/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lui, Charlton E., Altman, Dan W., Tee, Cynthia C., Feldman, Evan M., Smith, Anthony S.
• Primary Examiner(s): MARIAM, DANIEL G
• Application Number:
  US10/866,130
• Publication Number:
  US 20040234130A1
• Time in Patent Office: 589 Days
• Field of Search: 382175-176, 382/181, 382186-189, 382/195, 382/218, 382/229, 382/313, 178/18.01, 178/19.01, 345/173, 345/179, 715506-508, 715/525
• US Class Current: 382/187
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/114 Pagination
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1423 the instrument generating sequences of position coordinates corresponding to handwriting preprocessing or recognising digital ink G06V30/32

Abstract

A logical separation between pages, such as an implicit page break, is introduced to separate text entered during one handwriting session from text entered during another handwriting session. If the user leaves more than a threshold amount of blank space at the bottom of the page immediately preceding the new page, then an implicit page break may be inserted at the beginning of the new page. The amount of blank space left at the end of the preceding page may be combined with other criteria to determine whether to insert an implicit page break. The amount of time elapsed since ink has been captured on the previous page is another factor that may be used by itself or combined with other factors to determine whether to insert an implicit page break into the new page. A change in context, such as a different date or different recognized subject matter labels, is also a factor that may be considered in determining whether to insert an implicit page break.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for logically separating a first page of digitally represented handwriting from a second page of digitally represented handwriting by performing steps comprising:

determining whether at least a predetermined amount of blank space is present between digitally represented handwriting on the first page and a bottom of the first page;

determining whether at least a predetermined amount of time elapsed between capturing ink on the first page and capturing ink on the second page;

determining whether a context change occurred between recognizing handwriting on the first page and recognizing handwriting on the second page; and

storing an indication that the first page and the second page are logically separate if at least one condition is satisfied, the at least one condition being selected from the group consisting of;

there is more than the predetermined amount of blank space present between digitally represented handwriting on the first page and a bottom of the first page,

more than the predetermined amount of time elapsed between capturing ink on the first page and capturing ink on the second page, and

a context change is determined to exist between recognizing handwriting on the first page and recognizing handwriting on the second page.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 having further computer-executable instructions for performing the steps of:

detecting when a new page is inserted between a first existing page of digitally represented handwriting and a second existing page of digitally represented handwriting;

storing an indication of a logical separation between the first existing page and the new page; and

storing an indication of a logical separation between the new page and the second existing page.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 having further computer-executable instructions for performing the steps of:

displaying, on a display surface, either handwriting entered on the first page or handwriting entered on the second page, but not both handwriting entered on the first page and handwriting entered on the second page, based upon the stored indication of a logical separation between the first and second pages, even when there is sufficient display surface area to display simultaneously both handwriting entered on the first page and handwriting entered on the second page.

4. A method of inserting an implicit page break into digitally represented inked handwriting, the method comprising the steps of:

responsive to capturing first ink on a new page, determining whether at least a first threshold amount of blank space is present between second ink on a page immediately preceding the new page and a bottom of the page immediately preceding the new page; and

inserting an implicit page break indicating that the new page and the page immediately preceding the new page are logically separate if there is more than the first threshold amount of blank space present between the second ink on the page immediately preceding the new page and the bottom of the page immediately preceding the new page.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of inserting the implicit page break includes inserting the page break above the first ink on the new page.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the topmost first ink on the new page is a drawing; and

inserting an implicit page break indicating that the new page and the page immediately preceding the new page are logically separate if there is more than a second threshold amount of blank space present between the second ink on the page immediately preceding the new page and the bottom of the page immediately preceding the new page, wherein the second threshold amount of blank space is greater than the first threshold amount of blank space.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of inserting the implicit page break if there is more than the second threshold amount of blank space present between the second ink on the page immediately preceding the new page and the bottom of the page immediately preceding the new page includes inserting the page break above the first ink on the new page.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising the steps of:

responsive to determining that a drawing is the topmost first ink on the new page, determining a height of the drawing; and

setting an amount by which the second threshold amount of blank space is greater than the first threshold amount of blank space based upon the height of the drawing.

9. A method of inserting an implicit page break into digitally represented inked handwriting, the method comprising the steps of:

responsive to capturing ink on a new page, determining whether at least a threshold amount of time elapsed between capturing the ink on the new page and capturing ink on a page of ink immediately preceding the new page; and

inserting an implicit page break indicating that the new page and the page immediately preceding the new page are logically separate if more than the threshold amount of time elapsed between capturing ink on the page immediately preceding the new page and capturing ink on the new page.

10. A method of inserting an implicit page break, the method comprising the steps of:

responsive to capturing ink on a new page, determining whether a context change occurred between recognizing ink on a page preceding the new page and recognizing ink on the new page; and

inserting an implicit page break indicating that the new page and the page immediately preceding the new page are logically separate if a context change occurred between recognizing ink on the page preceding the new page and recognizing ink on the new page.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of determining whether a context change has occurred between the new page and the page preceding the new page includes

recognizing a first context on the page preceding the new page;

and

recognizing a second context on the new page, wherein the second context is different than the first context.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of:

displaying, on a display surface, either the ink entered on the new page or ink entered on a preceding page, but not both ink entered on the new page and ink entered on the page preceding the new page, based upon the inserted implicit page break, even when there is sufficient display surface area to display simultaneously both ink entered on the new page and ink entered on the page preceding the new page.

13. A method of inserting an implicit page break, the method comprising the steps of:

responsive to capturing ink on a new page, determining whether at least a threshold amount of blank space is present between ink captured on a page immediately preceding the new page and a bottom of the page immediately preceding the new page;

determining whether at least a threshold amount of time elapsed between capturing ink on the page immediately preceding the new page and capturing ink on the new page;

determining whether a context change occurred between recognizing ink on the page immediately preceding the new page and recognizing ink on the new page; and

inserting an implicit page break if at least one condition is satisfied, the at least one condition being selected from the group consisting of;

there is more than the threshold amount of blank space present between ink captured on a page immediately preceding the new page and the bottom of the page immediately preceding the new page,

more than the threshold amount of time elapsed between capturing ink on the immediately preceding page and capturing ink on the new page, and

a context change is determined to exist between recognizing ink on the page preceding the new page and recognizing ink on the new page.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the page immediately preceding the new page is adjacent to the new page.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

detecting when a page is inserted, thereby producing an inserted page, between a first existing page and a second existing page;

inserting an implicit page break substantially at the beginning of the inserted page; and

inserting an implicit page break substantially at the beginning of the second existing page.