Patent Document ID: 8050500
Application ID: 11825471

Base Claim:
1. A method ( 30 ) of recognizing handwriting input, comprising the steps of: a) providing ( 32 ) a database of characters to be recognized, wherein characters are defined by a sequence of written reference strokes; b) acquiring ( 34 ) written spatiotemporal input from a user in the form of discrete input strokes; c) comparing ( 36 ) the discrete input strokes to the database of characters to obtain a comparison result; and d) selecting and updating ( 38 ) a plurality of candidate character sequences based on (i) the comparison result and (ii) a candidate character sequence history derived from at least two sequential strokes previously acquired in step b, wherein the candidate character sequence history comprises a plurality of candidate characters.

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Claim 23:
23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a database of characters comprises providing a trellis definition ( 50 ) having a plurality of nodes corresponding to a plurality of written characters to be recognized, each character defined by at least one discrete stroke element; and the step of comparing the discrete input strokes to the database comprises defining and updating a plurality of node scores ( 60 ) for each discrete input stroke, wherein the node scores are advanced non-uniformly in time through the trellis.