Patent Abstract:
Disclosed is a handwriting recognition system with a plurality of input modes, including a storage unit, a touch screen display unit, and a processing unit. The storage unit stores character fonts; each of the character fonts corresponds to at least one of the input modes. The touch screen display unit includes an input panel having at least two input areas located thereon; each of the areas inputs data in one of the input modes. The processing unit judges an input set of touch signals to recognize a character input by handwriting in one of the input modes, according to a position on which one of the input areas, which position corresponds to at least one of the set of touch signals. The character is represented by the set of touch signals. A handwriting recognition method applicable to an electronic apparatus with a plurality of input modes is also provided.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of China Patent Application No. 201310043886.3, filed on Feb. 4, 2013, in the State Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein its entirety by reference 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to a multiple-input handwriting recognition system and measure thereof, in particular with respect to different input areas collate with different input modes so as to provide a multiple-input handwriting recognition system and measure thereof in an interface. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     According to the touch tester, the current touch panels generally comprise capacitive, resistive, electromagnetic, pressure, conductive, surface acoustic wave, ultrasonic, optical and so on and so forth. The common types, resistive and capacitive touch panels are mainly applicable to the consumer electronics, such as laptop, tablet, and personal digital assistant and so on, and the usage thereof is to move on the touch panel through a stylus or fingers so as to input characters by handwriting or simulate the click of mouse. 
     As far as the existing handwriting input modes are concerned, in case the user desires to input characters in different languages, such as English and Chinese, the switch between the input modes are inevitable. This does not only result in inconvenience, but also waste time. As a result, the inventor invented a handwriting input mode, which recognizes the characters input by the user through different input modes. However, the way the technology actives the different input modes in the meantime to conduct judging the character fonts does not only need a complex algorithm, but also result in lower recognition rate in recognizing different languages, such as Chinese character font, English character font and symbol font. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the above problems, an objective of the present invention is to provide a handwriting recognition system and a handwriting recognition method, in which different input modes are set corresponding to different input areas on an input panel, and according to the position on which one of the input areas, one of the input modes can be activated for recognizing a character input by handwriting, thereby improving efficiency of handwriting recognition. 
     The present invention provides a handwriting recognition system with a plurality of input modes which includes a storage unit for storing a plurality of character fonts, each of the character fonts corresponds to at least one of the input modes; a touch screen display unit includes an input panel having at least two input areas located thereon, and each of the areas is for inputting data in one of the input modes; and a processing unit is configured to conduct judging an input set of touch signals to recognize a character input by handwriting in one of the input modes, according to a position on which one of the input areas, which position corresponds to at least one of the set of touch signals, and the character is represented by the set of touch signals. A handwriting recognition method applicable to an electronic apparatus with a plurality of input modes is also provided. 
     In an embodiment, the character fonts include a Chinese character font, an uppercase English letter font, a lowercase English letter font, a numeral font, or a symbol font. 
     In an embodiment, said at least one touch signal is first in the set of touch signals. 
     In an embodiment, the processing unit is configured to recognize a character according to positions on which of the input areas, with the positions corresponding to at least a plurality among the set of touch signals. 
     In an embodiment, the touch screen display unit further includes a display panel, and the processing unit is configured to conduct displaying at least one of the recognized characters, upon recognizing the characters, on the display panel in an order of descending frequencies respectively with which the characters were input. 
     The present invention also provides a handwriting recognition method applicable to an electronic apparatus with a plurality of input modes. The electronic apparatus has a storage unit and a touch screen display unit. The storage unit is for storing a plurality of character fonts, and each of the character fonts corresponds to at least one of the input modes. The touch display unit has at least two input areas, and each of the areas is for inputting data in one of the input modes. The handwriting recognition method includes: receiving an input set of touch signals at the touch screen display unit; and judging an input set of touch signals to recognize a character input by handwriting in one of the input modes, according to a position on which of the input areas, which position corresponds to at least one of the set of touch signals, wherein the character is represented by the set of touch signals. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of elements of a handwriting recognition system with a plurality of input modes according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of an appearance of a tablet according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3A  is a schematic view of “V” of a handwritten character font. 
         FIG. 3B  is an analog view of “v” of character font according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4A  is an analog view of “           ” of character font according to another embodiment of the present invention.
         FIG. 4B  is an analog view of “           ” of character font according to the other embodiment of the present invention.
         FIG. 5  is a flow chart of a handwriting recognition system with a plurality of input modes according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a flow chart of selecting different input modes in different input areas according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart of judging whether an input character font matches an input mode in an area according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can realize the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 ,  FIG. 1  is a block diagram of elements of a handwriting recognition system with a plurality of input modes according to the present invention, and  FIG. 2  is a schematic view of an appearance of a tablet according to the present invention. The handwriting recognition system with a plurality of input modes of the present invention takes a tablet as an example for explaining, but shall not subject to this restriction. A cell phone, camera or any electronics with touch function can also be included. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , the handwriting recognition system with a plurality of input modes comprises a storage unit  110 , a touch screen display unit  120  and a processing unit  130 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, the storage unit  110  stores an uppercase English letter font  111 , a lowercase English letter font  112 , a numeral font  113 , or a symbol font  114  and a Chinese character font  115 , and each of character fonts respectively corresponds to an input modes. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the storage unit  110  takes the aforementioned character fonts as examples, but shall not subject to this restriction. In addition, the preceding input mode belongs to an input mode which is applicable for recognizing any characters in each languages input by the user. 
     The touch screen display unit  120  comprises an input panel  140  and a display panel  150 . The input panel  140  can be capacitive, resistive, electromagnetic, optical or sonic, and has at least two input areas. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the input panel  140  takes an uppercase English letter font input area  141 , a lowercase English letter font input area  142 , a numeral font input area  143  and a symbol font input area  144  as examples. Wherein, the uppercase English letter font input area  141  corresponds to the uppercase English letter font  111 , the lowercase English letter font input area  142  corresponds to the lowercase English letter font  112 , the numeral font input area  143  corresponds to the numeral font  113  and the symbol font input area  144  corresponds to the symbol font  114 , and the arrangements for each input areas along with the corresponding input modes thereof shall not subject to this restriction; each input areas can be divided according to the habit of the user as well as to set the input modes corresponding to each input areas respectively. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3A  for a schematic view of “v” of a handwritten character font, when the user desires to input a character font, he/she can conduct writing on the input panel  140  by fingers or a stylus, so that the input panel  140  can obtain a set of touch signals S (not shown), and the set of touch signals S comprise at least one ouch signal. Take the handwritten character font “v” as example, it at least produces an initial point p 1 , a turning point p 2  and an ending point p 3 , and the set of touch signals S at least comprise the signals of p 1 -p 3 . The processing unit  130  conducts judging an input set of touch signals to recognize a character input by handwriting in one of the input modes, according to a position on which of the input areas  141 - 144 , with the position corresponding to at least one of the set of touch signals S, and the character being represented by the set of touch signals. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3B  for an analog view of “v” of character font according to an embodiment of the present invention, the processing unit  130  recognizes the character according to positions on which of the input areas, with the positions corresponding to at least a plurality among the set of touch signals S, and the set of touch signals S has the biggest proportion in the lowercase English letter font input area  142 . As a result, the processing unit  130  actives the input mode of the lowercase English letter font  112  to conduct judging the set of touch signals S so as to recognize the character is a lowercase English letter “v”. In the meanwhile, in case the user desires to input a symbol “-”, he/she only conducts writing in the symbol font input area  144 , and the processing unit  130  will instantly active the input mode of the symbol font input area  144  to conduct judging the set of touch signals S so as to recognize the character is a symbol “-” (not shown). Hence, the user needn&#39;t make a switch between the English and the symbol input modes. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the processing unit  130  conducts judging an input set of touch signals to recognize a handwriting character input in one of the input modes, according to a position on which of the input areas. In the embodiment, the touch signal is the initial point p 1  corresponding to  FIG. 3A , and the position thereof is in the uppercase English letter font input area  141 . Therefore, the processing unit  130  actives the input mode of the uppercase English letter font  111  to conduct judging the set of touch signals S so as to recognize the character is an uppercase English letter “V”. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 4A and 4B ,  FIG. 4A  is an analog view of “           ” of character font according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment, when the processing unit  130  judges that the set of touch signals S corresponding to the character font “         ” is produced in the input areas  141 - 142 , the processing unit  130  therefore actives a preset input mode. Consequently, the user can set the preset input mode as the most commonly used input mode, such as the Chinese input mode.
     In addition, with reference to  FIG. 4B , when the processing unit  130  conducts judging the set of touch signals S corresponding to the character font “           ” produced in the input areas  141 - 142 , the processing unit  130  therefore actives a preset input mode. From the above said, a conclusion can be reached that the user can set the preset input mode as the most commonly used input mode, such as the Chinese input mode; while writing in either of the two input areas, the preset input mode will active instantly to conduct judging the set of touch signals S so as to recognize the character.
     Preferably, the display panel  150  of the tablet  100  has a candidate character selection area  146 . The processing unit  130  further conducts displaying at least one of the recognized characters, upon recognizing the characters, on the candidate character selection area  146  of the display panel  150  in an order of descending frequencies at which the characters were input respectively. Preferably, the order is arranged by the input frequency of the character fonts. The input frequency of the character fonts, such as when the processing unit  130  is handling the selected fonts, can be obtained in accordance with the select frequency. 
     In addition, the input panel  140  further comprises a function key area  147  including an esc key  1471 , a next line key  1472 , a last line key  1473  and a delete key  1474 , wherein, the esc key  1471  is used to escape the editing screen, the next line key  1472  and the last line key  1473  are used to switch lines to demonstrate the other candidate characters while the fonts are too many, and the delete key  1474  is used to delete the incorrect selection. With reference to  FIGS. 5 and 2 , firstly, the user clicks the editing mode of the input panel to active the handwriting input screen (Step  510 ), and arranges at least two input areas in the input panel  140  (Step  520 ), namely, to write a character font on the input panel  140  by handwriting or a stylus. An input set of touch signals are judged to recognize a character input by handwriting in one of the input modes, according to a position on which of the input areas, with the position corresponding to at least one of the set of touch signals, wherein the character is represented by the set of touch signals. (Step  530 ). 
     With reference to  FIG. 6  for a detailed flow chart of step  520  to step  530 , when a character font is obtained from the input panel  140 , the proportion to the handwriting input area in each input areas is calculated (step  521 ) and the input area of the character font is judged according to the proportion to each input areas of character fonts (Step  522 ). 
     Following, at least one candidate font selected from the character font corresponding to the input mode in a candidate character selection area is put according to the order of descending frequencies of fonts (Step  540 ). Wherein, with reference to  FIG. 7 , it further comprises to calculate the order of descending frequencies of fonts by the processing unit  130 , and the processing unit  130  can arrange at least one candidate character in the input area according to the input frequencies of each character fonts. 
     As it can been seen that when inputting “v”, it needs to exceed in a preset proportion and in the lowercase English letter font input area  142 . As  FIG. 3B  shows, the initial point p 1  of “v” indicates the position of the touch signal in the uppercase English letter font input area  141 . However, the turning point p 2  and the ending point p 3  of “v” both in the lowercase English letter font input area  142 , and the processing unit  130  conducts judging that “v” has a bigger proportion in the lowercase English letter font input area  142  according to the set of touch signals S. Consequently, according to the proportion to the written area, the processing unit  130  actives the corresponding input mode to conduct judging the set of touch signals S. 
     As a result, whether an uppercase English letter font, a lowercase English letter font, a numeral font, or a symbol font is input, the applied modes thereof are the same as the aforementioned description, and the user needn&#39;t to switch the different input modes frequently. 
     In addition, in terms of inputting a Chinese character font, the input mode thereof is different. The input area of a Chinese character font must be in at least two input areas. With reference to  FIG. 4A , “             400 ” is written in the uppercase English letter font input area  141  and the lowercase English letter font input area  142  at the same time. Hence, the result of the processing unit is to active the preset input mode.
     With reference to  FIG. 4B , when inputting the             it covers across the uppercase English letter font input area  141 , the lowercase English letter font input area  142 , the numeral font input area  143  and the symbol font input area  144 . Consequently, the result of the processing unit  130  is to active the preset input mode to recognize the several corresponding candidate characters  410  and to show which in the candidate character selection area  146 .
     In other words, in case the             is written in at least two areas, the processing unit  130  actives the preset input mode (Chinese input mode in the embodiment) and when the            400  covers two or more areas of the uppercase English letter font input area  141 , the lowercase English letter font input area  142 , the numeral font input area  143  and the symbol font input area  144 , the preset Chinese input mode actives to conduct judging the input character font and according to the frequencies of each input character fonts to show the corresponding candidate character  410  in the candidate character selection area  146 .
     Finally, the user judges whether the compilation in the editing area is completed (Step  560 ); if not, returns to Step  520 ; if the compilation is done, uses the esc key  1471  in the function key area  147  to escape from the editing screen. In the present invention, the input panel has a plurality of input areas for inputting data in different input modes corresponding to a plurality of character fonts, such as a Chinese character font, an uppercase English letter font, a lowercase English letter font, a numeral font, or a symbol font. As a result, the handwriting recognition system can recognize a character according to positions on which of the input areas, with the positions corresponding to at least a plurality among the set of touch signals so as to promote the recognition rate and the speed thereof. 
     In addition, the user needn&#39;t to keep switching the input interface as inputting the different input modes anymore. Preferably, the handwriting recognition system can store the characters or symbols which are frequently used and to recognize them in an order of descending frequencies at which the stored characters or symbols were input respectively, so that the speed for selecting correct characters or symbols to user can be accelerated. 
     While the means of specific embodiments in present invention has been described by reference drawings, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims. The modifications and variations should in a range limited by the specification of the present invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6