Data processing apparatus and method

Abstract: A data processing apparatus includes a display for displaying character data, a designation device for designating a desired area on a display screen of the display, an area discriminator for discriminating the area on the display screen of the display designated by the designation device, an adjuster for, when the area designated by the designation device is discriminated to be a character data area, adjusting character data in the character data area, and a controller for causing the display to display the character data adjusted by the adjuster.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION: (a) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an input/output integrated type data processing apparatus (or method) for detecting, e.g., a coordinate position to process data. (b) Related Background Art Document EP-A-0 254 561 shows a keyboardless-entry computer system including a transparent input screen that generates positional information when contacted by a stylus, and a display screen mounted physically below the input screen such that a character that is displayed can be seen below the input screen. The system includes a computer programmed to compile the positional information into Strokes, to calculate Stroke characteristics, and then to compare the Stroke characteristics with those stored in a database in order to recognize the symbol drawn by the stylus. Document EP-A-0 271 280 shows a touch screen form entry system wherein a personal computer connected to a display and touch screen panel is provided with a form entry system integrated therewith. The form entry system is adapted to display a predefined form and to automatically display a predefined tool such as a keyboard, menu, calculator, etc., to facilitate inputting information in a respective field of the form or chart. Furthermore, a wordprocessor which includes a CRT display for displaying input sentences, cursor moving keys for moving a cursor to a position of the displayed sentence data to be edited, edit keys such as a conversion key for converting a character train selected by the cursor into a kanji character, and the like is known. However, in this conventional apparatus, when a character train on a display screen is selected to be converted to a kanji character, a target character train is selected while moving the cursor by the cursor moving keys, and when a kanji conversion key is depressed, the selected character train is converted to a kanji character. In this manner, the character train is selected based on the order of displayed characters (mainly in the horizontal direction) regardless of the moving direction of the cursor. Therefore, the following drawbacks are posed. (1) When a character train which reads "ten-ran-kai" and means "exhibition", and is input over two lines on a display screen, as shown in Fig. 7A, is to be kana - kanji converted, sets of two characters and must be separately selected and kana - kanji converted to obtain and as shown in Fig. 7B, resulting in cumbersome operations. (2) A drawback in kana - kanji conversion on one page will be exemplified. It is easy to mix both vertically and horizontally written character trains using the cursor moving keys. In the input character trains, a horizontally written character train can be kana - kanji converted. However, a vertically written character train cannot be kana - kanji converted since a vertical character train cannot be selected by the cursor. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION : It is an object of the present invention to provide a data processing apparatus which can simultaneously execute character conversion, arrangement, outputting, and the like by designating an alignment direction of an input character train. It is another object of the present invention to provide a data processing apparatus in which a character train displayed on a display device is linearly traced using a designation pen to convert the traced characters into another type of characters and to display the converted characters or to adjust and display the traced characters. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a data processing apparatus which can execute character conversion, adjustment, outputting, and the like regardless of an alignment direction of input characters. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a data processing apparatus which discriminates an externally designated area on a display screen of a display device, and converts character data in an area which is discriminated to be a character area into another type of character data or adjusts the character data. These objects can be achieved by an apparatus or a method as outlined in the attached claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS : Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a data processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figs. 2A and 2B are flow charts for explaining an operation of character train adjustment processing of a CPU 1; Fig. 3 is a view for explaining a method of storing input character data; Fig. 4 is a view showing a character train displayed based on input character data; Fig. 5 is a view for explaining a method of storing designated character data; Fig. 6 is a view showing a character train displayed based on designated character data; and Figs. 7A and 7B are views for explaining conventional kana - kanji conversion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT: A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. A data processing apparatus of this embodiment comprises a character input mode as a standard wordprocessor function, and a character train adjustment mode as a characteristic feature of this embodiment. In the character train adjustment mode, a character train can be designated regardless of an alignment direction of the character train on a display screen. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of the data processing apparatus of this embodiment. The apparatus includes a CPU 1 for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus in accordance with a program stored in a ROM 2, a keyboard 20 comprising keys for inputting characters or designating various operations, and a printer 30 for printing characters upon an instruction from the keyboard 20. At the keyboard 20, a print instruction of a character train adjusted in the character train adjustment mode is issued by a key input in addition to selection of the character input mode and the adjustment mode. The ROM 2 stores a control program, an error processing program, programs for operating the CPU 1 in accordance with the flow charts of Figs. 2A and 2B, and the like. A RAM 3 is used as work areas of the various programs in the ROM 2, a temporary save area in error processing, and a buffer for storing character data (including codes, coordinate positions, and sizes of characters) input at the keyboard 20 or control commands. The main part of the apparatus of this embodiment is roughly classified into an input/output (I/O) block 100 for performing a character input or a display output, and a processing block 200 for executing display/printing processing in the normal character input mode or in the character train adjustment mode. The I/O block 100 includes a coordinate input unit 4 which is constituted by forming vertical and horizontal transparent electrodes and detects a coordinate position, and an input pen 5 for designating a coordinate position on the coordinate input unit 4. When the input pen 5 is pressed onto the coordinate input unit 4, coordinate data of the corresponding coordinate position is input to the CPU 1. Assume that minimum coordinates of the coordinate input unit 4 are (0,0), and maximum coordinates are (320,128). The I/O block 100 also includes a liquid crystal display unit 6 comprising a liquid crystal display and a video RAM. For example, a character train which reads "mondai" and means "problem" is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 6 through the transparent coordinate input unit 4 to be horizontally aligned, and a character train which reads "ten" and means "point" is displayed to be vertically aligned from the character as shown in Fig. 1. In this embodiment, when the character train is traced by the input pen 5, as shown in Fig. 1, the character train displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 6 is display-converted to horizontally aligned (problem point). Thus, the horizontally aligned character train can be confirmed above the transparent coordinate input unit 4. This processing will be described later. In the processing block 200, a character processor 7 supplies character data (including codes, coordinate positions, and sizes of characters) to a display controller 10 (to be described later) upon an instruction from the keyboard 20 in the character input mode to cause the liquid crystal display unit 6 to display characters, and acquires character data designated by the input pen 5 and supplied from the coordinate input unit 4 from the RAM 3 in the character train adjustment mode. A character memory 8 receives and stores designated character data from the character processor 7. The character memory 8 sends character data upon completion of an input operation of designated characters. The areas of the character memory 8 may be allocated in the RAM 3. A character train adjuster 9 updates coordinate data of characters to adjust characters following the start character in the horizontal direction when a character train including two or more continuous characters is input from the character memory 8. The display controller 10 generates display dot coordinate data on the basis of character data supplied from the character train adjuster 9, and sends the coordinate data to the liquid crystal display unit 6. Methods of storing input character data and designated character data of this embodiment will be described hereinafter. The method of storing input character data will first be described below. Fig. 3 is a view for explaining the method of storing input character data, and Fig. 4 is a view showing a character train on the basis of input character data. In Figs. 3 and 4, reference numeral 41 designates an area of the first character (start character) and 42 designates an area of the second character Reference numerals 43 to 46 respectively designate randomly located characters and to follow the character 42. For the first character input character data is stored to have a character code code(1), X- and Y-coordinates x(1) and y(1) of a point A indicating the start point of the area 41, and X- and Y-coordinates x(1)+dx(1) and y(1)+dy(1) of a point B indicating the end point of the area 41. Note that as the X- and Y-coordinates of the point B, only data dx(1) and dy(1) are stored. For the second character input character data is stored to have a character code code(2), X- and Y-coordinates x(2) and y(2) of a point C indicating the start point of the area 42, and X- and Y-coordinates x(2)+dx(2) and y(2)+dy(2) of a point D indicating the end point of the area 42. Similarly, input character data of characters and are stored in the RAM 3. The code code(n) (1 ≤ n ≤ 6) is expressed by a general 2-byte code (JIS). As shown in Fig. 3, an end-of-data code (e.g., FFFF in hexadecimal notation) is always located at the end of the input character data. In this manner, the codes, coordinate positions, and sizes of the input characters are stored. The method of storing designated character data will be described below. Fig. 5 is a view for explaining the method of storing designated character data, and Fig. 6 shows a character train displayed based on the designated character data. When the character in the area 41 is designated first, data code(1), x(1), y(1), dx(1), and dy(1) of the character are loaded from the RAM 3. These data are added with an initial letter "B" and stored as data Bcode(1), BX(1), BY(1), Bdx(1), and Bdy(1) for a designated character in the character memory 8. Therefore, when and are designated in this order, input character data of the character of the area 42 are stored as designated character data Bcode(2), BX(2), BY(2), Bdx(2), and Bdy(2) in turn. Similarly, character data up to the character of the area 46 are stored. After the last data Bdy(6) of the sequentially stored designated character data, an end-of-buffer code (e.g., FFFF in hexadecimal notation) indicating the end of the designated character data is always stored. After the designated character data are stored in this manner, adjustment of a designated character train as the characteristic feature of this embodiment is performed, and a character train is displayed to be horizontally aligned, as shown in Fig. 6. A method of adjusting a character train of this embodiment will be described in detail below. Figs. 2A and 2B are flow charts for explaining an operation of character train adjustment processing of the CPU 1. Various parameters are initialized, and an instruction of a character input mode or a character train adjustment mode is waited. If the character input mode is instructed at the keyboard 20, input character data are stored in the RAM 3 according to character inputs in step S3 (steps S1 to S3). If the character train adjustment mode is instructed at the keyboard, and if a character area is present at a coordinate position detected by the coordinate input unit 4 during a pen-down operation and the designated character is not stored in the character memory 8, the designated character is stored in the character memory 8 (steps S7 to S11). Upon discrimination of the character area, when conditions of X(n) < input coordinate X < X(n)+dx(n) and Y(n) < input coordinate Y < Y(n)+dy(n) are satisfied, the character area is determined. Thereafter, if a pen-up operation is detected, the designated character data stored in the character memory 8 are supplied to the character train adjuster 9 (step S12), and the adjuster 9 checks if the input character data constitute a character train of two or more characters (step S13). Note that a pen-up code is expressed by FFFF, FFFF in hexadecimal notation. If a character train includes only one character, the processing in step S2 and thereafter is repeated. If a character train includes two or more characters, a character train adjustment counter n (n ≥ 1) indicating the order of designated characters is set to be "1" (step S14), and indicated character data of the start character are read out from the character train adjuster 9. The value BX(1) is given to a variable MX, the value BY(1) is given to a variable MY, and the value Bdx(1) is given to a variable Mdx (step S15). The adjustment counter n is incremented by "1" (step S16) to erase a display of an nth character in the character train adjuster 9 (step S17). nth designated character data are updated so that the position of the nth designated character is aligned besides an (n-1)th designated character, and hence, the display start position of the next (n+1)th character is determined. In this case, MX+Md is given to MX, this MX is given to BX(n), MY is given to BY(n), and Bdx(n) is given to Mdx (step S18). Therefore, when n = 2, the content of the second designated character data includes the character code Bcode(2), BX(2) = BX(1)+Bdx(1), BY(1) = BY(1), and Mdx = Bdx(2). In this manner, the designated character data are repetitively adjusted until no (n+1)th designated character is present (steps S16 to S19). After the character train is adjusted, the designated character train is displayed (step S20). The character train adjustment mode of adjusting a character train has been described. Normal kanji conversion may, however, be executed according to this character train adjustment mode. In this case, when the character train adjustment mode is switched to a kana - kanji conversion mode, a kana character train which is freely designated in the vertical and horizontal directions can be converted to kanji characters at the same time. For example, when the areas 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 of the characters shown in Fig. 4 are sequentially designated by the input pen 5 according to processing in the character train adjustment mode, the designated characters are stored in the order of and and the character train need only be sent to a kana - kanji conversion mode such as a conventional Japanese wordprocessor to easily obtain an output If the output of the character train adjustment mode or the kana - kanji conversion mode is set to be the printer 30, the adjusted character train in the same manner as that output to the liquid crystal display unit 6 can be easily printed at the same time. As described above, according to this embodiment, characters on a display screen, e.g., a character train displayed over a plurality of lines, a vertically written character train, a character train in which vertically written characters and horizontally written characters are mixed, and the like can be easily simultaneously adjusted, converted, printed, and so on as a character train in which characters are aligned in a designated order. In the above embodiment, input character data and adjusted designated character data are separately stored when characters are adjusted. After adjustment or the like, input character data corresponding to adjustment processing may be written as designated character data. This arrangement is effective when a plurality of character trains to be designated are present. In the above embodiment, characters are adjusted mainly in the horizontal direction of a screen. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the alignment direction is determined to be the vertical direction of a screen, a horizontally aligned character train may be adjusted in the vertical direction. In this case, processing for adjusting characters to the right in the horizontal direction from the first character in the character train adjustment mode may be modified so that characters are aligned downward from the first character. The same applies to kanji conversion. As described above, according to the present invention, characters on a display screen, e.g., a character train displayed over a plurality of lines, a vertically written character train, a character train in which vertically written characters and horizontally written characters are mixed, and the like can be easily simultaneously adjusted, converted, printed, and so on as a character train in which characters are aligned in a designated order.

Claims: A data processing apparatus comprising: display means (6) for displaying characters; and designation means (5) for designating, in a desired sequential order, a plurality of desired areas on a display screen of said display means (6) by linearly tracing an input of a coordinate input means (4) ; said apparatus being characterized by further comprising: discrimination means (7, 8) for discriminating whether one of a plurality of possible characters is displayed in each of said plurality of desired areas designated by said designation means (5) by acquiring character data from said designation means (5) ; adjustment direction designation means (4, 5) for designating an adjustment direction of the character data in the plurality of desired areas; and control means (10) for causing said display means (6) to display the characters discriminated by said discrimination means (7, 8) in the desired sequential order on the basis of said character data acquired from said designation means (5) . An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by conversion means for converting the character data into another type of character data. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said designation means (5) include input means for inputting character data by hand writing. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by storage means (8) for storing the acquired character data in their designated sequential order. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said designation means (4, 5) comprise a tablet (4) which is arranged immediately on the display screen of said display means (6) and through which the character data displayed on the display screen of said display means (6) are visible, and a designation pen (5) for designating a desired position by touching a surface of said tablet (4) ; that determination means (1) are provided for determining a contact state of said designation pen (5) to said tablet (4) ; and that said discrimination means (7) discriminate a plurality of characters in the area designated by said designation pen (5) in the designated sequential order during a period in which said determination means (1) determine the contact state of said designation pen (5) . A method of processing data comprising the steps of: displaying characters on a display means (6) ; and designating, in a desired sequential order, a plurality of desired areas on a display screen of said display means (6) by linearly tracing an input of a coordinate input means (4) ; said method being characterized by further comprising the steps of: discriminating whether one of a plurality of possible characters is displayed in each of said plurality of desired areas designated by said designating step by acquiring character data; designating an adjustment direction of the character data in the plurality of designated desired areas; and displaying the discriminated characters in the desired sequential order on the basis of said acquired character data. A method according to claim 6, characterized by the further step of converting the adjusted character data into another type of character data. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 6 or 7, characterized in that said step of designating is carried out by using input means for inputting character data by hand writing. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 6 to 8, characterized by the further step of storing the character data of the display area in the designated sequential order, when in said step of discriminating, it is discriminated that the designated area corresponds to the display area of the character data. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 6 to 9, characterized in that said step of designating is carried out by using a tablet (4) which is arranged immediately on the display screen and through which the character data displayed on the display screen are visible, and a designation pen (5) for designating a desired position by touching a surface of said tablet (4) ; a step of determining a contact state of said designation pen (5) to said tablet (4) is provided; said step of discriminating a plurality of characters in the area designated by said designation pen (5) in the designated sequential order is carried out during a period in which, in said step of determining, the contact state of said designation pen (5) is determined. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4 or a method according to any one of the preceding claims 6 to 9, characterized in that said coordinate input means (4) is transparent and is arranged immediately on the display screen of said display means (6) . An apparatus or a method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said display means (6) comprises a liquid crystal display device. An apparatus or a method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said character data are encoded as image data.

Inventors: ARAI TSUNEKAZU, MATSUBAYASHI KAZUHIRO, ARAI, TSUNEKAZU, MATSUBAYASHI, KAZUHIRO
Applicants: CANON KK, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1990
Main classification: G06F3
IPC codes: G06F3, G06F17