Patent Publication Number: US-2009238494-A1

Title: System for character recognition

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-074276, filed on Mar. 21, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     A certain aspect of the embodiments discussed herein is related to a system for character recognition. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present art relates to a system for character recognition that inputs character to a personal computer, for example. 
     Personal computers have been widely spread, and text is generally created by using a personal computer. 
     Hitherto, a character input system with a keyboard, a mouse and a remote control device according to the mouse is applied for inputting characters to a personal computer (refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-78251 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-49623, for example.) A character input system with voice input has come to use for inputting characters by voice by reading desired characters aloud by a user. 
     Elderly or handicapped people are not familiar with operations on personal computers to use a keyboard requiring operations on multiple keys thereon. The character input system with the mouse and/or remote control device allows input of characters by placing a cursor on a monitor to a desired character among strings displayed on the monitor. Elderly people or users as described above may easily input characters incorrectly due to the excessive high degree of freedom of the movement of the mouse, for example. The character input system with voice input requires complicated preparations including the registration of a characteristic of his/her voice before inputting characters. 
     A character input system which is easy also for elderly or handicapped users to use has been demanded with the situations as described as a background. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an aspect of an embodiment, a system for character recognition from a sheet bearing a plurality of characters has a base for supporting the sheet, an image input device for taking an image of each of the characters on the sheet, a handle for supporting and manipulating the image input device, an axis fixed to the handle at one end thereof, a sphere part, fixed to the axis at the other end of the axis, a receiving part fixed to the base and having a hollow for accommodating the sphere part, one of the sphere part and the hollow having a plurality of depressions and the other of the sphere part having a projection for fitting into one of the depressions, whereby when a view angle of the image input device is changed to point a location of each of characters on the sheet by manipulation of the handle, the image input device is rotated about the axis and a character recognizing unit for recognizing the character on the image taken by the image input device. 
     The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram showing a specific embodiment of a first basic form of the character input system; 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are schematic diagrams showing a structure of the supporting mechanism shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged diagram of the area C in  FIG. 2A ; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged diagram showing characters and cross-shape marks on the character sheet in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  are diagrams conceptually showing the search for a cross-shape mark; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram showing how a cross-shape mark is searched and how a recognition area is defined; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram conceptually showing the emphasis of a character to be performed before pattern recognition; 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart showing a flow of character input processing; 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram showing another character sheet example, which is different from the character sheet shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram showing an example of the character sheet on which characters are hand-written; and 
         FIG. 11  is a diagram showing a specific embodiment of a second basic form of the character input system. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to drawings, specific embodiments of the character input system described above according to the first and second basic forms will be described below. 
     First of all, a specific embodiment of the first basic form of the character input system will be described. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram showing a specific embodiment of the first basic form of the character input system. 
     A character input system  1  shown in  FIG. 1  includes a character input apparatus  100  that photographs a desired character of multiple characters arranged on a character sheet, which will be described later, and a personal computer  200  that recognizes a character in the photographed image by pattern recognition. In this embodiment, the personal computer  200  also functions as a personal computer to which a character is inputted by the character input system  10 . The character input apparatus  100  corresponds to an example of the character input apparatus in the first basic form of the character input system, and the personal computer  200  corresponds to an example of the character recognizing apparatus in the basic form. The sheet bears a plurality of characters. 
     As the character sheet in the character input apparatus  100 , a character sheet is used on which a maximum of 55 characters are arranged in an arrangement of 5 rows by 11 columns. Then, the character input apparatus  100  includes a base  120  having a sheet tray  121  on which the character sheet is to be placed. The base  120  corresponds to an example of the base in the first basic form of the character input system. 
       FIG. 1  shows a character sheet  110  on which alphabets from “A” to “Z” printed in black are arranged as described above. The character sheet  110  corresponds to an example of the sheet in the first basic form of the character input system. Besides the alphabets,  29  characters such as numbers etc. are printed on the character sheet  110 . 
     In the character input system  10 , a control handle  130  to be grasped by a user by one hand is supported on the base  120  rotatably in five steps at predetermined intervals in the first direction indicated by the shown arrow A, which is orthogonal to the base  120 , and rotatably in 11 steps at predetermined intervals in the second direction indicated by the shown arrow B. In this embodiment, the control handle  130  is supported on the base  120  as described above through a supporting mechanism  140 , which will be described below. The combination of the control handle  130  and the supporting mechanism  140  corresponds to an example of the controller in the first basic form of the character input system. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  are schematic diagrams showing a structure of the supporting mechanism shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 2A  shows a section of the supporting mechanism  140 , which is orthogonal to the base  120 .  FIG. 2B  shows a section of the supporting mechanism  140 , which is in parallel with the base  120 . In  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the right side corresponds to the sheet tray  121  side in  FIG. 1  of the base  120 . 
     The supporting mechanism  140  shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B  includes an axis part  141  with one of both ends fixed to the control handle  130 , a sphere part  142  fixed to the other end of the axis part  141  and a receiving part  143  having a hollow  143   a  to accommodate the sphere part  142 . The sphere part  142  is fitted into the hollow  143   a  of the receiving part  143 . 
     The sphere part  142  has 55 depressions  142   a  in a part of ¼ of the surface of the sphere part  142  on the opposite side of the sheet tray  121 , which is close to the base  120  side, in  FIG. 1 . The receiving part  143  has a projection  143   b  to fit into an arbitrary one of the 55 projections  142   a  on the internal surface of the hollow  143   a.    
     The 55 depressions  142   a  are provided in an arrangement of 5 rows by 11 columns at equal intervals on the surface of the sphere part  142 . Here, the row direction in the arrangement corresponds to the vertical direction in  FIG. 2A  and the direction of depth in  FIG. 2B . The column direction corresponds to the direction of depth in  FIG. 2A  and the vertical direction in  FIG. 2B .  FIG. 2A  shows an arrangement of 5 rows of the depressions  142   a , and  FIG. 2B  shows an arrangement of 11 columns of the depressions  142   a.    
     The attitude of the sphere part  142  is stable when the projection  143   b  of the receiving part  143  fits into one of 55 depressions  142   a . A small gap is provided between the sphere part  142  and the hollow  143   a  of the receiving part  143 . If a certain amount of force is applied to the sphere part  142 , the depression  142   a  currently holding the projection  143   b  comes off the projection  143   b , and the projection  143   b  fits into the adjacent depression  142   a . In other words, in this embodiment, a click is formed by the depression  142   a  of the sphere part  142  and the projection  143   b  of the receiving part  143 . This structure allows the sphere part  142  to rotate in five steps at predetermined intervals in the first direction indicated by the arrow A in  FIG. 2A , which corresponds to the row direction of the arrangement of the depressions  142   a , and to rotate in 11 steps at predetermined intervals in the second direction indicated by the arrow B shown in  FIG. 2B , which corresponds to the column direction. Because the control handle  130  connects to the sphere part  142  through the axis part  141 , the supporting mechanism  140  supports the control handle  130  on the base  120  rotatably in five steps in the first direction and rotatably in 11 steps in the second direction. As a result, the control handle  130  can freely take 55 attitudes depending on the combinations of the rotations in 5 steps in the first direction and the rotations in 11 steps in the second direction. A view angle of a digital camera  150  is changed to point a location of each of characters on the sheet by manipulation of the handle, and the digital camera  150  is rotated about the axis part  141 . When the view angle of the digital camera  150  is changed, the projection travels along with the depression to cause the axis to rotate so as to correct the rotation angle of the digital camera  150  with respect to each of the characters. 
     In this embodiment, the surface of the projection  143   b  and the internal surfaces of the depressions  142   a  are covered by conductors which will be described below. 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged diagram of the area C in  FIG. 2A . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the surface of the projection  143   b  is covered by a conductor  143   b _ 1 , and the inner surfaces of the depressions  142   a  are covered by two conductors  142   a _ 1 , which are electrically isolated. If the projection  143   b  fits into one of the depressions  142   a , the two conductors  142   a _ 1  on the depression  142   a  side are brought into conduction through the conductor  143   b _ 1  on the projection  143   b  side. If the control handle  130  is rotating and the projection  143   b  does not fit into any of the depressions  142   a , the two conductors  142   a _ 1  on the depression  142   a  side are brought out of conduction. In this embodiment, by monitoring the conduction state between the two conductors  142   a _ 1  on each of the depressions  142   a , whether the control handle  130  has one of the 55 attitudes or is rotating and not taking any attitude or not is determined. The determination on the attitude of the control handle  130  will be described again later. 
     Ending the description on the supporting mechanism  140  above, the character input system  10  will be continuously described with reference back to  FIG. 1  again. 
     In this embodiment, a digital camera  150  for photographing a character on the character sheet  110  is mounted on the end on the sheet tray  121  side of the control handle  130  supported by the base  120  through the supporting mechanism  140 . A photograph switch  160  to be operated by a user for instructing the digital camera  150  to photograph is mounted on the trunk part of the control handle  130 . In this case, the digital camera  150  corresponds to an example of the camera in the first basic form of the character input system, and the photograph switch  160  corresponds to an example of the switch in the basic form. 
     As described above, the control handle  130  can take 55 attitudes depending on the combinations of the rotations in five steps in the first direction indicated by the arrow A and the rotations in 11 steps in the second direction indicated by the arrow B. As a result, the digital camera  150  can photograph 55 subject positions within the sheet tray  121 , which correspond to the 55 attitudes of the control handle  130 . 
     In this case, the arrangement positions of the characters on the character sheet  110  placed on the sheet tray  121  corresponds to the positions where the characters can be placed at the 55 subject positions when the character sheet  110  is placed on the sheet tray  121 . As a result, the attitudes of the control handle  130  correspond to the characters arranged on the character sheet  110  on the one-to-one basis, and the digital camera  150  can capture the character corresponding to the attitude of the character handle  130  in the angle of field. 
     In this embodiment, the photographing by the digital camera  150  is implemented if two conditions are satisfied that the control handle  130  is taking one of the 55 attitudes and that the photograph switch  160  is being pushed. Whether the former condition is satisfied or not is determined by monitoring the conduction state of the two conductors  142   a _ 1  on the 55 depressions  142  of the sphere part  142  in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , as described with reference to  FIG. 3 . More specifically, if the conduction is recognized at one of the 55 depressions  142 , the satisfaction of the condition that the control handle  130  is taking one of the 55 attitudes is determined. If conduction is recognized at none of the depressions  142 , it is determined that the condition is not satisfied. In this way, the photographing by the digital camera  150  is implemented under the condition that a character is securely captured by the angle of field of the digital camera  150 . 
     A light  170  is mounted on the control handle  130 . The light  170  illuminates the character corresponding to the attitude of the control handle  130  at the subject position corresponding to the attitude of the control handle  130 , that is, on the character sheet  110 . The illumination by the light  170  allows a user to visually recognize which character is currently being captured by the angle of field of the digital camera  150 . The digital camera is an image input device for taking an image of each of the characters on the sheet. The control handle  130  supports and manipulates the image input device. In this embodiment, the colors of illumination by the light  170  differ between the time when the digital camera  150  captures a character simply by the angle of field and the time when the photograph switch is pushed to cause the digital camera  150  to photograph a character. Thus, a user can recognize that the character desired by him/her is being photographed. 
     In this embodiment, a user basically moves the control handle  130  to illuminate a desired character to capture the character within the angle of field of the digital camera  150  and then pushes the photograph switch  160  to photograph it. The basic operation is performed to photograph one character each time. In this embodiment however, for example, in order to photograph desired serial multiple characters in the row direction or column direction, the control handle  130  may be moved to illuminate the first character of the series, and the control handle  130  may be moved to illuminate a character sequentially along the series by keeping the control switch  160  pushed. This operation automatically photographs because the two conditions are satisfied every time a character is captured by the angle of field when the control handle  130  is moved by keeping the photograph switch  160  pushed, which allows more effective photographing than the photographing each one character by pushing the photograph switch  160 . In this case, the color of the illumination of the light  170  stays the color indicating that photographing is being performed. 
     In the character input system  10  in  FIG. 1 , pattern recognition is performed in the personal computer  200  on the photographed image obtained by the photographing as described above by the digital camera  150  to recognize the character on the photographed image. The personal computer  200  includes a monitor  201 , and the recognized character is displayed on the monitor  201 . 
     In this embodiment, the base  120  has a power switch  122  for powering on/off components of the character input apparatus  100  and further acts as an interface for exchanging information with the personal computer  200 . The personal computer  200  is connected to the base  120  via a connection cable  202 . The photographed image for each character obtained by photographing by the digital camera  150  is transmitted to the personal computer  200  through the base  120  and via the connection cable  202  and is made available for the character recognition. Here in this embodiment, a cross-shape mark  111  is provided above each character on the character sheet  110  in order to increase the accuracy of the character recognition. The cross-shape mark  111  corresponds to an example of the reference mark, which is a reference for the position of a character on an image for the character recognition. 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged diagram showing characters and cross-shape marks on the character sheet in  FIG. 1 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the cross-shape marks  111  are placed at positions above and away from the characters by a predetermined distance D, fitting into the angle of field of the digital camera  150  along with the characters. In this embodiment, the recognition of a character on a photographed image by the personal computer  200  includes first searching the cross-shape mark  111 , which is common in form to all characters, and then performing pattern recognition on the character within a predetermined recognition area about the cross-shape mark  111 . 
     The character recognition using the character mark  111  will be described below. 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  are diagrams conceptually showing the search for the cross-shape mark. 
     In this embodiment, the search for the cross-shape mark  111  is performed within a circular search area SA of a predetermined radius, and the search is performed by moving the search area SA so as to move the center SA 1  of the search area SA from the center point of the photographed image in six directions.  FIG. 5A  shows the six directions D 1 , D 2 , . . . and D 6  in which the center SA 1  of the search area SA moves.  FIG. 5B  shows a state that the search area SA moves with the movement of the center SA 1 . 
     If the cross-shape mark  111  is found within the search area SA moving in that way, the movement of the search area SA stops. Next, a similar circular recognition area to the search range SA is defined about the found cross-shape mark  111  as the recognition area for the pattern recognition on a character. 
       FIG. 6  is a diagram showing how a cross-shape mark is searched and how a recognition area is defined. 
       FIG. 6  shows how the cross-shape mark  111  is searched, and how the recognition area TA is defined. 
     For clear illustration, the starting point of the movement of the search area SA is illustrated at a position greatly away from a character in  FIG. 6 . 
     In the example in  FIG. 6 , the cross-shape mark  111  is found within the search area SA when the center SA  1  of the search area SA moves to some extent in the direction D 4  toward the lower right of  FIG. 6 . Then, if the cross-shape mark  111  is found, the circular recognition area TA, which is similar to the form of the search area SA, is defined by handling the cross-shape mark  111  as the center TA 1 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . Here, the recognition area TA has a size sufficiently containable the known distance D between the cross-shape mark  111  and the character, as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     The pattern recognition is performed on the character within the recognition area TA. 
     In this embodiment, in aid of the pattern recognition, a subject character is emphasized before the pattern recognition, as will be described below. 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram conceptually showing the character emphasis to be performed before the pattern recognition. 
     In the character recognition, a color difference is calculated between the cross-shape mark  111  and the surrounding background when the cross-shape mark  111  is found. 
     Here, in this embodiment, characters on the character sheet  110  are written in black. Then, after the recognition area TA is defined as described above, the value corresponding to the color difference is added to the pixel values of the pixels excluding pixels in a predetermined range including black pixels among multiple pixels within the recognition area. The addition of the color difference in this way can strength the color of the background within the recognition area TA and thus increase the contrast between the character in black and the background, emphasizing the character. 
     After emphasizing the character as described above, the pattern recognition is performed thereon within the recognition area TA, and the character within the recognition area TA is recognized. Then, the recognized character is recorded in a predetermined memory within the personal computer  200  shown in  FIG. 1  and is displayed on the monitor  201  of the personal computer  200 . 
     Next, the character input processing will be described which uses the character input system  100  described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 7 . 
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating a flow of the character input processing. 
     The processing illustrated on the flowchart in  FIG. 8  is started upon powering on the personal computer  200  shown in  FIG. 1 , powering on the power switch  122  on the base  120  and powering on components of the character input apparatus  100 . 
     In the beginning of the processing, whether the photograph switch  160  is pushed by a user to obtain the ON-state or not is determined (step S 101 ). If the photograph switch  160  has the ON-state (Yes in step S 101 ), the processing moves to the next step (step S 102 ). If the photograph switch  160  is not pushed by a user and has the OFF-state (No in step S 101 ), the character input system  10  keeps a standby state until the photograph switch  160  is turned to have the ON-state. 
     In step S 102 , whether the two conductors  142   a _ 1  shown in  FIG. 3  on at least one of the 55 depressions  142   a  of the sphere part  142  in  FIG. 2  have the conduction or not is determined. If so (Yes in step S 102 ), the processing moves to the next step (step S 103 ). If not (No in step S 102 ), the character input system  10  keeps the standby state until the conduction is confirmed. 
     Because reaching step S 103  in the processing means that the two photographing conditions are satisfied, the character is first photographed by the digital camera  150  in step S 103 . Then, the photographed image obtained by the photographing is transmitted to the personal computer  200 . In the personal computer  200 , the character within the photographed image is recognized as described above. 
     If the character is recognized, the recognized character is then recorded in a predetermined memory within the personal computer  200 , and the character is displayed on the monitor  201  (step S 104 ). 
     If the processing in step S 104  ends, whether the photograph switch  160  has the OFF-state or not is next determined (step S 105 ). If the photograph switch  160  still has the ON-state (No in step S 105 ), a user intends to photograph characters serially. Therefore, it is determined that the control handle  130  is being moved toward the next character by keeping the photograph switch  160  pushed. The processing returns to step S 102 , and the processing in step S 102  to step S 104  is repeated. On the other hand, if the photograph switch  160  has the OFF-state (Yes in step S 105 ), the processing returns to step S 101 , and the processing in step S 101  to step S 104  is repeated to photograph the next character. In the character input system  10  in  FIG. 1 , the processing is repeated until the power switch  122  on the base  120  in  FIG. 1  is turned to have the OFF-state. 
     The processing as described above implements the character input for each character including photographing by pushing the photograph switch  160  for each character or the serial character input including serial photographing by moving the control handle  130  by keeping the photograph switch  160  pushed. 
     Having illustrated the character sheet  110  in  FIG. 1  on which  26  alphabets are printed as an example of the character sheet having an arrangement of a maximum of 55 characters in 5 rows by 11 columns to be placed on the sheet tray  121  on the base  120  in  FIG. 1 , other character sheets, which will be described below, can be placed on the sheet tray  121  for character input in the character input system  10  of this embodiment. 
       FIG. 9  is a diagram showing another character sheet example, which is different from the character sheet shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The character sheet  110  only has an arrangement of 26 alphabets while a character sheet  310  shown in  FIG. 9  has multiple kinds of phrase available for text creation printed. However, like the character sheet  110  in  FIG. 1 , the arrangement of characters included in a phrase is also in 5 rows by 11 columns on the character sheet  310  in  FIG. 9 . The character sheet  310  in  FIG. 9  has a break for each phrase. 
     On the character sheet  310  in  FIG. 9 , each phrase is provided by an arrangement of characters in the row direction. In order to perform character input by using the character sheet  310 , the control handle  130  in  FIG. 1  is operated to illuminate the first character of a desired frame, and the photograph switch  160  is pushed under the state. With the photograph switch  160  kept pushed, the control handle  130  is moved in the direction corresponding to the row direction of the phrase. Because the characters of a phrase are serially photographed in the row direction, the character input is performed efficiently. 
     Having illustrated up to this point that the character sheet on which characters are printed, a character sheet having hand-written characters may be placed on the sheet tray  121  to perform character input in the character input system  10  of this embodiment. 
       FIG. 10  is a diagram showing an example of the character sheet having hand-written characters. 
       FIG. 10  shows a character sheet  320  on which a desired phrase is constructed by hand-written characters. However, also on the character sheet  320 , the arrangement of characters must be an arrangement of 5 rows by 11 columns, like the character sheets  110  and  310  by printing, corresponding to the 55 subject positions on the sheet tray  121  on the base  120  in  FIG. 1 . For that reason, in order to create the character sheet  320  by hand-writing, a manuscript paper  321  having 55 fields  321   a  arranged in 5 rows by 11 columns is prepared in this embodiment. 
     On the manuscript paper  321 , a cross-shape mark  111  to be used for the character recognition is provided at an upper predetermined position in each of the fields  321   a . In order to write a desired phrase in the manuscript paper  321 , a user may write characters of the phrase under the cross-shape marks  111  within the fields  321   a.    
     The character input by using the character sheet  320  by hand-writing can also be performed efficiently by serial photographing along the arrangement of characters of a phrase, like the character input by using the character sheet  310  in  FIG. 9 . 
     As described above, the character input system  10  of this embodiment allows easy character input by operating the control handle  130  in  FIG. 1  by one hand and photographing a character on the character sheet. Because the attitudes that the control handle  130  can take are limited to multiple attitudes corresponding to the arrangement positions of characters on the character sheet on the one-to-one basis, incorrect input of characters due to a problem in photographing such as photographing parts excluding characters or photographing a character partially can be effectively suppressed without particular user awareness. Because the character input system  10  of this embodiment allows character input by easy operations by one hand, elderly or handicapped users, for example, can input characters easily. 
     A specific embodiment of the second basic form of the character input system will be described next. 
     The embodiment of the second basic form of the character input system is different from the embodiment of the first basic form of the character input system in that character input is performed without using a character sheet as described above. The difference will be focused in the following description on the embodiment of the second basic form of the character input system. 
       FIG. 11  is a diagram showing the specific embodiment of the second basic form of the character input system. 
     The same reference numerals as those in  FIG. 1  will be given to similar components in  FIG. 11  to the components shown in  FIG. 1 , and the repetitive description thereon will be omitted hereinafter. 
     A character input system  20  shown in  FIG. 11  includes a character input apparatus  400  having the control handle  130  to be moved by a user to select a desired character from the multiple characters displayed on a monitor  501  of a personal computer  500 . In the personal computer  500 , the character corresponding to the attitude of the control handle  130  is recognized. Also in this embodiment, the personal computer  500  functions as the personal computer to which a character is inputted by the character input system  20 . The character input apparatus  400  corresponds to an example of the character input apparatus in the second basic form of the character input system, and the personal computer  500  corresponds to an example of the character recognizing apparatus in the basic form. 
     The character input system  20  also includes a base  420  on which the control handle  130  is supported by a supporting mechanism  410  having an equivalent structure to that of the supporting mechanism  140  shown in  FIG. 2 . Like the base  120  of the embodiment of the first basic form of the character input system shown in  FIG. 1 , the base  420  has a power switch  421  for powering on components of the character input apparatus  400  and also acts as an interface for exchanging information with the personal computer  500 . However, because no sheet trays such as the one on the base  120  in  FIG. 1  are provided, the base  420  has a smaller size than that of the base  120  in  FIG. 1 . The base  410  corresponds to an example of the base in the second basic form of the character input system. 
     In this embodiment, because the character input is performed by character selection on the monitor  501  instead of the photographing in the embodiment of the first basic form of the character input system, a select switch  430  to be used for the character selection is only mounted on the control handle  130 , and the control handle  130  does not have a digital camera and a light that illuminates a subject position like those in the embodiment of the first basic form of the character input system. 
     In this embodiment, if the personal computer  500  is powered on and the power switch  421  on the base  420  is turned to have the ON-state to power on components excluding the personal computer  500 , the monitor  501  displays a control screen  510  for performing character input. 
     The control screen  510  includes a first display section  511  and a second display section  512 . The first display section  511  displays a list of a maximum of 55 characters in an arrangement of 5 rows by 11 columns, which are inputted in advance to the personal computer  500  as a parent population under selection and are stored in a predetermined memory. The second display section  512  displays characters selected and arranged sequentially as text. In the example in  FIG. 11 , alphabets are displayed on the first display section  511  in an arrangement of 5 rows by 11 columns as the parent population under selection. 
     In this embodiment, 55 depressions (refer to  FIG. 2 ) on a sphere part  411  of the supporting mechanism  410  correspond to 55 layout positions in the arrangement of 5 rows by 11 columns on the first display section  511  on the one-to-one basis on the program. Thus, the correspondence is established between 55 attitudes of the control handle  130  supported by the supporting mechanism  410  and the 55 layout positions on the first display section  511  on the one-to-one basis. A predetermined memory in the personal computer  500  stores a table having correspondence between the 55 attitudes of the control handle  130  and the 55 layout positions on the first display section  511 . Here, each of the layout positions on the first display section  511  has a character which is input in advance to the personal computer  500 . In other words, the table having correspondence between the attitudes of the control handle  130  and the layout positions on the first display section  511  indirectly has correspondence between the attitudes of the control handle  130  and the characters which are input in advance to the personal computer  500 . The table corresponds to an example of the table in the second basic form of the character input system. 
     If a user moves the control handle  130  and causes the control handle  130  to have one attitude, the two conductors (refer to  FIG. 3 ) on the depression according to the attitude are brought into conduction. Then, attitude information describing which depression of the 55 depressions has two conductors in conduction, that is, which attitude of the 55 attitudes the control handle  130  is taking is transmitted from the base  420  to the personal computer  500 . 
     The personal computer  500  in response to the reception of the attitude information recognizes the layout position corresponding to the attitude indicated by the attitude information on the table. The monitor  501  displays the character at the layout position within a circle as shown in  FIG. 11 . Thus, a user can visually check which character of the characters displayed on the first display section  511  is currently being selected. 
     Next, a user may move the control handle  130  until a desired character is placed within a circle by checking the display of the characters on the first display section  511  and push the select switch  430  with the desired character within a circle. Then, switch operation information indicating that the select switch  430  has been pushed is transmitted from the base  420  to the personal computer  500 . 
     The personal computer  500  in response to the reception of the switch operation information recognizes the character at the layout position corresponding to the attitude indicated by the attitude information at that time. The recognized character is recorded in a predetermined memory within the personal computer  500 . The monitor  501  displays the character at the layout position on the second display section  512  as shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     In this embodiment, a character is only placed within a circle if the select switch  430  is not pushed. If the select switch  430  is pushed to select a character, the inside of the circle enclosing the character is colored on the display. Thus, a user can check that the character desired by himself/herself is recognized. 
     Here, each of the 55 depressions corresponds to an example of the sensor in the second basic form of the character input system. The select switch  430  corresponds to an example of the switch in the second basic form. The combination of the control handle  130 , supporting mechanism  410  and select switch  430  corresponds to an example of the controller in the second basic form. 
     Even in the character input system  20  as the embodiment of the second basic form of the character input system as described above, a user can perform a character input operation by one hand, and the control handle  130  can take the limited attitudes, which can effectively suppress incorrect input of characters. Therefore, like the embodiment of the first basic form of the character input system, the character input system  20  as the embodiment of the first basic form of the character input system allows elderly or handicapped users, for example, to input characters easily. 
     Having illustrated above the character input system in which the control handle can take 55 attitudes and the maximum number of characters which can be inputted is 55 in connection with that as embodiments of the character input system according to the first and second basic forms, the present invention is not limited thereto. In a character input system according to the basic forms, the control handle may take the number of attitudes excluding 55, and the maximum number of characters which can be inputted may be any number excluding 55. 
     Having illustrated above the character input system in which the arrangement of characters is 5 rows by 11 columns, and, in accordance with the arrangement of the characters, the control handle can rotate in five steps in the direction corresponding to the row direction of the arrangement and can rotate in 11 steps in the column direction as embodiments of the characteristic input system according to the first and second basic forms, the present invention is not limited thereto. In the character input system according to the basic forms, the arrangement of characters may be any arrangement excluding the arrangement of 5 rows by 11 columns, and the control handle may rotate in accordance with the arrangement. 
     All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present inventions have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.