Systems and methods for interacting with a computer through handwriting to a screen

• US 8,487,879 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2004
• Issued: 07/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kim, Jane T, Sommer, Peter D., Wang, Simin, Eason, Natalie M, Cupala, Shiraz J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lefkowitz, Sumati
• Assistant Examiner(s): HERNANDEZ, JESUS J
• Application Number:
  US10/976,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20060092138A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,182 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/171 by use of digital ink
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1444 Selective acquisition, locating or processing of specific regions, e.g. highlighted text, fiducial marks or predetermined fields

Abstract

Systems and methods are described that enable a user to: select a control with a handwritten stroke at least part of which resides outside of a selectable area of the control; use a moving-input control without having to make a selection other than handwriting on, over, or near the control; and/or delete text displayed on an electronic form by handwriting over that text.

Claims

1. A computing device having a screen and computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising:

presenting one or more controls on the screen, at least one of the controls being a moving-input control;

receiving a handwriting stroke made to the screen;

generating a bounded rectangle around at least a first portion of the handwriting stroke made to the screen;

comparing an area within the bounded rectangle to an area associated with the moving-input control to determine if the area within the bounded rectangle overlaps the area associated with the moving-input control;

selecting, without user interaction independent of the handwriting stroke received and while in a mode permitting the handwriting stroke to be interpreted as text, the moving-input control when the area within the bounded rectangle overlaps the area associated with the moving-input control; and

interpreting the handwriting stroke as input to the selected moving-input control.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the interpreting further comprises interpreting a second portion of the handwriting stroke as input.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the controls is a drawing control.

4. The device of claim 1 embodied as a hand-held computer.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the screen comprises a tablet screen capable of receiving handwriting made over the tablet screen.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the bounded rectangle is generated by geometrically bounding the first portion of the handwriting stroke.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the bounded rectangle is generated using a bounding-type algorithm.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the area associated with the moving-input control comprises a selectable area of the moving-input control.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the area associated with the moving-input control comprises a control geometry of the moving-input control.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to interpreting the handwriting stroke as input to the selected moving-input control, causing movement of the screen based on the input.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the moving-input control comprises a slider-bar control.

12. A computer-implemented method comprising:

presenting one or more controls on a screen of a computing device, at least one of the controls being a moving-input control;

receiving a handwriting stroke made to the screen;

generating a bounded rectangle around at least a first portion of the handwriting stroke made to the screen;

comparing an area within the bounded rectangle to an area associated with the moving-input control to determine if the area within the bounded rectangle overlaps the area associated with the moving-input control;

selecting, without user interaction independent of the handwriting stroke received and while in a mode permitting the handwriting stroke to be interpreted as text, the moving-input control when the area within the bounded rectangle overlaps the area associated with the moving-input control; and

interpreting the handwriting stroke as input to the selected moving-input control.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the interpreting further comprises interpreting a second portion of the handwriting stroke as input.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the controls is a drawing control.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the bounded rectangle is generated by geometrically bounding the first portion of the handwriting stroke.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the bounded rectangle is generated using a bounding-type algorithm.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the area associated with the moving-input control comprises a selectable area of the moving-input control.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising, responsive to interpreting the handwriting stroke as input to the selected moving-input control, causing movement of the screen based on the input.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the moving-input control comprises a slider-bar control.

20. A computer-readable storage device having instructions stored thereon that, if executed, perform a method comprising:

presenting one or more controls on a screen of a computing device, at least one of the controls being a moving-input control;

receiving a handwriting stroke made to the screen;

generating a bounded rectangle around at least a first portion of the handwriting stroke made to the screen;

comparing an area within the bounded rectangle to an area associated with the moving-input control to determine if the area within the bounded rectangle overlaps the area associated with the moving-input control;

selecting, without user interaction independent of the handwriting stroke received and while in a mode permitting the handwriting stroke to be interpreted as text, the moving-input control when the area within the bounded rectangle overlaps the area associated with the moving-input control; and

interpreting the handwriting stroke as input to the selected moving-input control.