Automated handwriting input for entry fields

• US 9,524,428 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2014
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nicholson, John Weldon, Kelso, Scott Edwards, Perrin, Steven Richard, Zhang, Jianbang
• Primary Examiner(s): Sternbane, Larry
• Application Number:
  US14/263,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20150310267A1
• Time in Patent Office: 967 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 382/189
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 10/235 based on user input or interaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/333 Preprocessing; Feature extraction

Abstract

An embodiment provides a method, including: detecting, at a surface of a device accepting handwriting input, a location of the display surface associated with initiation of a handwriting input; determining, using a processor, a location of an entry field in a document rendered on a display surface, the location of the entry field being associated with a display surface location; determining, using a processor, a distance between the location of the surface associated with initiation of the handwriting input and the location of the entry field; and automatically inserting input, based on the handwriting input, into the entry field after determining the distance is less than a threshold value. Other aspects are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

detecting, using a processor, at a surface of a display device, a location of the surface associated with initiation of a handwriting input;

wherein a location of an entry field in a document displayed on the surface, is associated with a surface location;

automatically inserting, using the processor, input into the entry field based on a distance between the location of the surface associated with initiation of the handwriting input and the location of the entry field;

determining, using the processor, that the handwriting input has completed; and

thereafter, using the processor, inserting additional handwriting input into a separate entry field associated with a surface location of the additional handwriting input after detecting that the separate entry field includes space accommodating the additional handwriting input.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting the handwriting input into machine text;

wherein the machine text is inserted into the entry field.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the handwriting input has completed;

the determining that the handwriting input has completed occurring prior to the insertion of the input into the entry field.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises determining, based on a language model, that the additional handwriting input is not associated with the handwriting input.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises detecting that a surface location associated with the separate entry field has been utilized to provide the additional handwriting input.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the surface location associated with the separate entry field is closer to the additional handwriting input than the entry field.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises determining the separate entry field includes space accommodating the additional handwriting input.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises:

detecting a time greater than a predetermined threshold has elapsed since a last handwriting input; and

detecting that the surface location associated with the separate entry field has been utilized to provide the additional handwriting input.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises detecting that language of the handwriting input and the additional handwriting input provided to another surface location are not associated with one another according to a language model.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises:

detecting a time greater than a predetermined threshold has elapsed since a last handwriting input;

detecting that a surface location associated with the separate entry field has been utilized to provide the additional handwriting input; and

detecting the language of the handwriting input and the additional handwriting input are not associated with one another according to a language model.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the handwriting input has not completed based on detecting that language of the handwriting input and the additional handwriting input are associated with one another according to a language model.

12. An apparatus, comprising:

a display;

a processor operatively coupled to the display; and

a memory that stores instructions executable by the processor to;

detect, at a surface of the display, a location of the surface associated with initiation of a handwriting input;

wherein a location of an entry field in a document displayed on the surface is associated with a surface location;

automatically insert the handwriting input into the entry field based on a distance between the location of the surface associated with initiation of the handwriting input and the location of the entry field;

determine that the handwriting input has completed; and

thereafter insert additional handwriting input into a separate entry field associated with a surface location of the additional handwriting input after detecting that the separate entry field includes space accommodating the additional handwriting input.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to convert the handwriting input into machine text;

wherein conversion of the handwriting occurs prior to insertion of the handwriting input into the entry field.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to determine that the handwriting input has completed;

wherein determining that the handwriting input has completed occurs prior to inserting the handwriting input into the entry field.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises detecting a time greater than a predetermined threshold has elapsed since a last handwriting input.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises detecting that the surface location associated with the separate entry field has been utilized to provide the additional handwriting input.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the surface location associated with the separate entry field is closer to the additional handwriting input than the entry field.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises detecting that the additional handwriting input fits within the separate entry field.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises:

detecting a time greater than a predetermined threshold has elapsed since a last handwriting input; and

detecting that the surface location associated with the separate entry field has been utilized to provide the additional handwriting input.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein determining that the handwriting input has completed comprises detecting that language of the handwriting input and the additional handwriting input are not associated with one another according to a language model.