Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Touch panel
Reexamination Certificate
1997-01-31
2001-06-19
Hofsass, Jeffery (Department: 2632)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Touch panel
C345S179000, C345S182000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249275
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable information gathering equipment such as a pen computer, and more particularly to a portable information gathering apparatus which enables efficient input of information such as spoken statements, images, and characters, and an information gathering method performed by such apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, pen computers and other similar devices have come into widespread use as portable information gathering equipment. There are being developed pen computers which are not only provided with functions for recording information written on a tablet screen with an input pen, but also pen computers provided with a function for capturing images and spoken statements also. There are increasing tendencies to enhance the multifunctional features of such pen computers for greater convenience.
FIG. 9
is a schematic block-diagram showing conventional portable information gathering equipment constructed to perform the function of recording information written on a tablet screen with an input pen and also the function of capturing images and voice inputs. This portable information gathering equipment is constituted primarily by a CPU
1
, a ROM
2
in which processing programs and the like are stored, a data memory
3
, a tablet
6
which combines a digitizer
4
and an LCD
5
into one piece, an image input device
7
, a voice input device
8
, a voice output device
9
, an information gathering menu selector
10
, and a system bus
11
for connecting these components to the CPU
1
.
Judging from the illustrated configuration, this type of conventional portable information gathering equipment is designed to capture image and voice information in addition to the pen input information which is known as “ink information” captured through the tablet
6
.
In the conventional portable information gathering equipment, however, whenever entering information, a menu selection has to be performed through the information gathering menu selector
11
to properly set the mode in accordance with the type of information to be captured before entering the information. For instance, to enter an image and then characters, the mode must be set first for image input to capture an image, then the mode must changed to character input to take in characters.
For the portable information gathering equipment to be user-friendly, all the different types of captured information, namely, the image information, the voice information, and the ink information, should be handled as a collection on a page basis (hereinafter referred to as “page data”). For example, to record the information about a certain product in terms of one-page information, it would be convenient to enter the image of the product and add the description of the image in terms of voice information or ink information entered using a pen, thus handling all the image, voice, and ink information as a piece of page data, that is, handling them in units of pages.
More specifically, it is desirable that multimedia information, including image information, voice information, and ink information, captured by a user arbitrarily be stored automatically in a storing means as page data, i.e. a single piece of collective data on a page basis without the need for operation by the user so that the user is not even aware of the processing.
This type of conventional portable information gathering equipment, however, has not been designed to automatically handle all of the image information, voice information, and ink information as page data for each page without the need for the performance of operations by the user of the equipment.
Thus, the conventional portable information gathering equipment requires that the mode be set for each type of information to be captured before starting the capture of the information matched to the mode. Further, the conventional equipment is not capable of handling captured image information, voice information, and ink information as a collection of page data for each page without the need operations by the user, thus leaving room for improvement in the aspect of ease of use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information gathering apparatus and an information management method performed therein which obviate the need for setting the mode according to the type of information to be captured, whether it is image information, voice information, or ink information, which enable a user thereof to enter any type of information as he or she desires, and which handle a plurality of types of information such as images, voices, and ink as a collection of page data for each page, thereby permitting markedly easy displaying and reading of captured information.
To this end, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable multimedia information gathering apparatus which gathers and displays entered information and also stores the gathered information, and which is equipped with: respective information input means for capturing a plurality of types of information; data storing means wherein the information entered at random through respective information input means for capturing the plurality of types of information for each page, which corresponds to one screen, is written at specified addresses; page changing means for changing a page, which corresponds to one screen, when capturing information or when reading the information stored in the data storing means; storing means where contents necessary for implementing the processing of the system are stored; and a CPU for controlling all of these means.
The respective information input means for capturing the plurality of types of information are at least two information input means among an input/display tablet which captures information when the screen thereof is touched and displays the captured information, an image input means for entering images, and voice input means for entering spoken information. The information which is captured through these information input means are at least two types of information among tablet input information, image input information, and voice input information.
Thus, a plurality of pieces of multimedia information such as image information, ink information, and voice information can be stored automatically in a data storing means as a single collection of page data for each page without the need for any operations by the user of the apparatus.
The aforesaid storing means has a page address area for specifying the address of each page into which information has been captured, a page content indicating address area which exists at an address indicated in the page address area and to which an address indicating an area where the information regarding a corresponding page has been stored is written, and an input information storing area which exists at an address indicated in the page content indicating address area and to which various types of information captured into corresponding pages are written respectively at predetermined addresses therein.
With this arrangement of the data storing means, when capturing various types of information such as image information, voice information, and ink information, it is no longer necessary to set the mode for each type of information to be captured, enabling the user to enter any type of information as desired. Moreover, the apparatus is capable of handling images, voices, and characters as one collective page data for each page. These features are extremely convenient for displaying or reading the information which has been captured.
The addresses written to the page content indicating address area are: the addresses indicating the areas where the information regarding a page associated with a page which is currently being specified has been stored; and the addresses indicating the areas where such input information, as tablet input information, image information, and voice information, which has been cap
Hofsass Jeffery
Hogan & Hartson LLP.
Seiko Epson Corporation
Tweel , Jr. John
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