Editing data

• US 20030023644A1
• Filed: 07/12/2002
• Published: 01/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Anoto Group AB
• Original Assignee: Anoto Group AB
• Inventors: Bryborn, Mattias, Lynggaard, Stefan
• Granted Patent: US 7,246,321 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/541
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0321 by optically sensing the absolute position with respect to a regularly patterned surface forming a passive digitiser, e.g. pen optically detecting position indicative tags printed on a paper sheet constructional details of pen-shaped pointing devices G06F3/03545, G06F3/03542, G06F3/037
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of editing data generated by handwriting. The method comprises the steps of

detecting an initiation of an editing;

identifying a marking stroke which marks data that is to be edited;

determining an essentially minimal convex envelope which surrounds the marking stroke;

identifying the remaining data, in addition to the data of the actual marking stroke, which is positioned within the convex envelope; and

performing an editing operation on said data positioned within the convex envelope.

The invention also relates to a handheld device and a computer program for editing of data generated by handwriting.

Claims

1. A method of editing data generated by handwriting, comprising the steps of

detecting an initiation of an editing;

identifying a marking stroke which marks data that is to be edited;

determining an essentially minimal convex envelope which surrounds the marking stroke;

identifying the remaining data, in addition to the data of the actual marking stroke, which is positioned within the convex envelope; and

performing an editing operation on said data positioned within the convex envelope.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of detecting an initiation of an editing is carried out before the step of identifying a marking stroke, and wherein the marking stroke is the stroke that is performed in connection with the initiation.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of detecting an initiation of an editing is carried out after the step of identifying a marking stroke, and wherein the marking stroke is the last stroke that is performed before the initiation.

4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1-3, wherein the step of determining a convex envelope comprises the step of changing the extent of the convex envelope from a starting position so that it exactly surrounds the marking stroke.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the step of changing the extent of the convex envelope is carried out in such manner that the convex envelope in the starting position has a smallest extent which is then widened to a necessarily large area.

6. A method as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the convex envelope is approximated with a convex envelope consisting of a plurality of intersecting planes.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the planes are arranged in such manner that they are mutually rotated round a common axis in space and their angles of rotation are uniformly distributed over a revolution.

8. A method as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the marking stroke is defined as comprising one or more positions, and wherein the step of changing the extent of the convex envelope for each position comprises the steps of

relating the location of the position to each plane, one plane at a time;

and

moving the plane if the position according to a location criterion is located on the outside of the plane and thus outside the convex envelope, so that the position is located in or on the inside of the plane and thus within the convex envelope.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the location criterion is determined based on the plane equation Ax+By+D=0, a position being defined to be located to the right of a plane when its x and y coordinates introduced in Ax+By+D give a positive sum and to the left of the plane in case of a negative sum, and wherein one side of the plane is determined to constitute the inside.

10. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of identifying the remaining data, in addition to the data of the actual marking stroke, which is positioned within the convex envelope comprises the step of searching for said remaining data among data for one or more previously performed strokes, and wherein the step of carrying out an editing operation comprises the step of editing said remaining data.

11. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1-9, wherein the step of identifying the remaining data, in addition to the data of the actual marking stroke, which is positioned inside the convex envelope comprises the step of searching for said remaining data among data for one or more previously performed strokes, and wherein the step of carrying out an operation comprises the step of editing data for the whole stroke/strokes of which said remaining data constitutes at least a part.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the step of editing data for said whole stroke is conditioned by a predetermined performing of the marking stroke.

13. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of carrying out an editing operation comprises at least one of the measures in a group of measures which comprise editing, copying and formatting.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the group further comprises the measure of sending data.

15. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the convex envelope surrounding the marking stroke is polygonal.

16. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of detecting an initiation of an editing comprises the step of detecting the location of a handwriting device within an initiation area on a surface.

17. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data generated by handwriting represents characters that are handwritten on a surface which is provided with a position code coding a plurality of positions on the surface, the position code being detectable by means of a device for such detection.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein said device comprises a handwriting unit, the surface comprising an initiating portion and the step of detecting an initiation comprising the step of detecting a downstroke of the handwriting unit of the device within the initiating portion.

19. A method of editing data representing characters which have been recorded when writing using a handwriting device on a surface which is provided with a position code coding a plurality of positions on the surface, the handwriting device comprising a detector for detection of the position code, characterized by the steps of

detecting an initiation of an editing;

identifying a marking stroke which comprises at least one coded position and which marks data that is to be edited;

determining a convex envelope which surrounds the marking stroke;

identifying the remaining data, in addition to the data of the actual marking stroke, which is positioned within the convex envelope, said remaining data comprising at least one coded position;

carrying out an editing operation on said data positioned within the convex envelope.

20. A method as claim 19, wherein the step of determining a convex envelope comprises the steps of

defining a starting envelope of a minimum extent;

and

for each coded position included by the marking stroke, determining whether the position is located within the convex envelope or not and, if the position is located outside the envelope, extending the envelope so that it includes the position.

21. A method as claim 20, wherein the convex envelope is approximated with a convex envelope which consists of a plurality of intersecting planes.

22. A method as claim 21, wherein the step of determining a convex envelope for each position in the marking stroke comprises the steps of

relating the location of the position to each plane, one plane at a time;

and

moving the plane if the position according to a location criterion is located on the outside of the plane and thus outside the convex envelope so that the position is located in or on the inside of the plane and thus within the convex envelope.

23. A handheld device for editing data generated by handwriting, the handheld device being arranged to

detect an initiation of an editing;

identify a marking stroke which marks data that is to be edited;

determine an essentially minimal convex envelope which surrounds the marking stroke;

identify the remaining data, in addition to the data of the actual marking stroke, which is positioned within the convex envelope; and

carry out an editing operation on said data positioned within the convex envelope.

24. A computer program for editing data generated by handwriting, said computer program being stored on a computer-readable memory medium and comprising instructions for causing the computer to

detect an initiation of an editing;

identify a marking stroke which marks data that is to be edited;

determine an essentially minimal convex envelope which surrounds the marking stroke;

identify the remaining data, in addition to the data of the actual marking stroke, which is positioned within the convex envelope; and

carry out an editing operation on said data positioned within the convex envelope.