Method of registering a character pattern into a user dictionary and a character recognition apparatus having the user dictionary

• US 5,754,686 A
• Filed: 02/08/1995
• Issued: 05/19/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Harada, Takashi, Matsubayashi, Kazuhiro, Yoshii, Hiroto, Arai, Tsunekazu, Mori, Shigeki, Takasu, Eiji, Sakaguchi, Katsuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): BELLA, MATTHEW C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Johnson, Brian L.
• Application Number:
  US08/385,469
• Time in Patent Office: 1,196 Days
• Field of Search: 382/200, 382/198, 382/189, 382/188, 382/187, 382/186, 382/185, 382/182, 382/161, 382/159
• US Class Current: 382/187
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/28 Determining representative reference patterns, e.g. by averaging or distorting; Generating dictionaries

Abstract

In the present invention, an input handwritten character pattern is subjected to character recognition processing, and a recognition reliability of the character as a standard characteristic feature pattern is determined from the recognition result. If the recognition reliability is low, a warning is issued. In response to the warning, a user or operator can decide whether the character pattern should be registered in the user dictionary (106). If it is decided that the character pattern should be registered in the user dictionary, the character pattern is stored in the user dictionary with the information representing that the character pattern has low recognition reliability. When character patterns registered in the user dictionary are displayed on a screen, these characters are displayed in such a manner that it is possible to distinguish characters having low recognition reliability from characters having high recognition reliability. There is also provided a user name index file (5309) for storing information regarding characteristic features of a handwritten character pattern peculiar to a specific user. Furthermore, there is also provided a password input-and-decision part (5103) for making a decision of whether or not allow to access to the user dictionary based on the information of the handwritten character pattern input by a specific user.

Claims

1. A character recognition apparatus that inputs a character pattern and recognizes the character pattern, said character recognition apparatus comprising:

input means for inputting a character pattern to be registered into a dictionary;

warning issuing means for recognizing the input character pattern, for automatically judging whether or not the input character pattern is a suitable pattern to be registered into the dictionary based on a recognition result of the input character pattern and reliability of the recognition result, and for automatically issuing a warning corresponding to the input character pattern in a case that the input character pattern is not a suitable pattern to be registered into the dictionary;

indicating means for indicating whether or not the input character pattern corresponding to the warning should be registered in the dictionary;

registration means for registering the input character pattern together with information indicating that the input character pattern has been registered in spite of the warning in a case that said indicating means indicates that the input character pattern should be registered in the dictionary.

2. A character recognition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reliability of the recognition result is estimated according to information including information of a handwritten character pattern.

3. A character recognition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying characters in such a manner that it is possible to distinguish a character with high recognition reliability from a character with low recognition reliability by means of at least one of reverse techniques, color difference, shade difference, display density difference, and outline difference.

4. A character recognition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying characters in such a manner that characters with low recognition reliability are displayed in a display area different from a display area in which characters with high recognition reliability are displayed.

5. A character recognition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying a character pattern registered in the dictionary in such a manner that is possible to distinguish whether or not the displayed character pattern has caused recognition reliability of the dictionary to decrease.

6. A character recognition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

handwritten character pattern registration means for registering information of handwritten character patterns peculiar to a specific user inputted via said input means;

access allowing means for determining whether or not the user is allowed to access the dictionary based on the information of the input handwritten character pattern peculiar to the specific user; and

dictionary edit means for editing the dictionary allowed to be accessed.

7. A method of registering a character pattern in a user dictionary in a character recognition apparatus for inputting a character pattern and recognizing the character pattern, said method comprising the steps of:

recognizing the input character pattern to be registered into a dictionary;

automatically judging whether or not the input character pattern is a suitable pattern to be registered into the dictionary based on a recognition result of the input character pattern and reliability of the recognition result;

automatically issuing a warning corresponding to the input character pattern in a case that the input character pattern is not a suitable pattern to be registered into the dictionary; and

registering the input character pattern in the user dictionary together with information representing that the input character pattern has been registered in spite of the warning in a case that it is requested that the input character pattern corresponding to the warning be registered in the dictionary.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the reliability of the recognition result is estimated according to information including information of a handwritten character pattern.

9. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable program steps for registering a character pattern in a user dictionary in a character recognition apparatus for inputting a character pattern and recognizing the character pattern, said computer-executable program steps including:

a recognizing step to recognize the input character pattern to be registered into a dictionary;

a judging step to automatically judge whether or not the input character pattern is a suitable pattern to be registered into the dictionary based on the recognition result of the input character pattern and reliability of the recognition result;

an issuing step to automatically issue a warning corresponding to the input character pattern in a case that the input character pattern is not a suitable pattern to be registered into the dictionary; and

a registering step to register the input character pattern in the user dictionary together with information representing that the input character pattern has been registered in spite of the warning in a case that it is requested that the input character pattern corresponding to the warning be registered in the dictionary.

10. A computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein said computer-readable medium includes a dictionary means for registering the input character pattern together with information representing that the input character pattern has caused recognition reliability of the dictionary to decrease.