Method for simultaneously performing a plurality of handwritten searches

• US 8,145,997 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2006
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Wakai, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Hutton, Jr., Doug
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dasgupta, Soumya
• Application Number:
  US11/472,675
• Publication Number:
  US 20070003143A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,105 Days
• Field of Search: 715/268, 715/863, 382/181
• US Class Current: 715/268
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

In a personal computer, a personal digital assistant or any other information processing device that includes a display screen and a digitizer tablet, thereby accepting handwritten input from a user, a method for simultaneously performing multiple handwritten searches. From handwritten input provided by the user, the method automatically determines that multiple search commands have been given by the user, detects multiple search items specified by the user and simultaneously performs the searches. For each of the multiple search items, the method may assign a weight to each of the multiple search commands based upon the size and position of the corresponding search command. The method also permits the user to delete one or more of the search commands from the simultaneous performance of the multiple searches.

Claims

1. An information processing device, comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a handwriting command interpretation unit configured to interpret handwritten data, input by a handwriting input unit, as a handwriting command;

a search key identification unit configured to identify at least part of the handwritten data as a search key; and

a search unit configured to, when the handwriting command interpretation unit interprets the handwritten data as including a plurality of handwriting search commands and the search key identification unit identifies a plurality of search keys in the handwritten data corresponding to respective input positions of the plurality of handwriting search commands, process the identified plurality of search keys in combination.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the search key identification unit identifies a process target from an area obtained on the basis of a size and a position of the corresponding handwriting search command.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein a display mode of one of the search keys is changed and displayed on a display apparatus so that a user can discriminate the corresponding search key identified by the search key identification unit.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a change unit configured to change a range of a target search key.

5. The information processing device according to claim 1, the search key identification unit including a handwriting character recognition unit configured to recognize stroke data that is displayed on a display device as a character string,

wherein the character string recognized by the handwriting character recognition unit is identified as one of the search keys.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the search key identification unit weights each of the plurality of search keys based upon the size of the corresponding handwriting search command.

7. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising,

a delete unit configured to delete one or more of the handwriting search commands;

and

a search termination unit configured to terminate a search when the corresponding handwriting search command is deleted.

8. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising,

a delete unit configured to delete one or more of the handwriting search commands;

and

a search key exclusion unit configured to exclude from the combination each of the search keys corresponding to the deleted one or more handwriting search commands.

9. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a search key identification rule specification unit for specifying a rule employed to identify one of the search keys.

10. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a handwriting character recognition unit configured to, when the search key identification unit fails to identify a search key, recognize the handwritten data input by the handwriting input unit as a character string.

11. An information processing control method for an information processing device for processing data that is input by a handwriting input unit, the information processing device including a handwriting command interpretation unit, a search key identification unit, a search unit, a processor and a memory, the method comprising:

utilizing the processor and the memory to perform the following;

via the handwriting command interpretation unit, interpreting handwritten data, input by the handwriting input unit, as a handwriting command;

via the search key identification unit, identifying at least part of the handwritten data as a search key; and

via the search unit, when the handwriting command interpretation unit interprets the handwritten data as including a plurality of handwriting search commands and the search key identification unit identifies a plurality of search keys in the handwritten data corresponding to respective input positions of the plurality of handwriting search commands, processing the identified of search keys in combination.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing computer-executable instructions for an information processing device for processing data that is input by a handwriting input unit, the information processing device including a handwriting command interpretation unit, a search key identification unit, a search unit, a processor and a memory, the medium comprising:

computer-executable instructions that interpret, via the handwriting command interpretation unit, handwritten data, input by a handwriting input unit, as a handwriting command;

computer-executable instructions that identify, via the search key identification unit, at least part of the handwritten data as a search key; and

computer-executable instructions that identify, via the search unit, when the handwriting command interpretation unit interprets the handwritten data as including a plurality of handwriting search commands and the search key identification unit identifies a plurality of search keys in the handwritten data corresponding to respective input positions of the plurality of handwriting search commands, process the identified plurality of search keys in combination.