Abstract: An input device which includes plural inputting units, each accepting external information, including a unit for recognizing an input time of input information accepted via each of the plural inputting means; a unit for dividing or merging the input information into a predetermined primitive analysis unit, to obtain a recognition result; a unit for estimating the input time of a unit recognition result, by using an estimating method predetermined for each of the inputting units; and a unit for collecting some of the recognition results whose estimated input times are close to one another, and outputting the collected information as a semantic analysis unit. An input content is specified by collecting plural pieces of input information being signals input from plural inputting units.

Abstract: It is an object to provide a computer system including a practical input device which can be operated with more natural sense. The present input pen which is used in combination with a tablet includes: a speech recognition unit for analyzing a speech sound, which is fetched in through a microphone, as a command or the like; an image reconfiguring unit for composing, after correcting image distortion generated due to inclination of the pen body for each image in the vicinity of a pen head which is photographed along with the strokes of the input pen by a CCD camera, the series of images into a general image; and a reference line generating circuit for lasing a laser beam with which a projected image utilized to calculate an angle of inclination is formed onto a face of an object of photographing. In addition, since an oscillation circuit generates a magnetic field corresponding to the data forming the general image on the basis of control by an a.c.

Abstract: A text retrieval method and a text retrieval apparatus for retrieving texts based on a handwritten keyword inputted from an optical character reader are provided. Respective characters of a keyword string are recognized by character recognizing device, and recognized characters of respective characters are stored in a recognized character table. At least one recognized character is extracted as proposed recognized characters of respective characters from recognized characters stored in the recognized character table, and a plurality of character strings are generated by combining one proposed character among proposed recognized characters of respective characters with one another and stored in a keyword string table. A retrieval command string for retrieving texts including at least one character string among generated character strings out of a text database is generated, and the text database is retrieved by the retrieval command, thus obtaining a retrieved result.

Abstract: An input device (12) receives a natural language or conversational statement in the form of a character string (1). A processor (14) performs a natural language analysis (2) to convert the input natural language into a command language instruction for a computer program. A morphological analysis (3) compares words of the input character string with contents of a dictionary (10) to convert the input words into preselected words indicated by the dictionary which are output as another character string. In a semantic or syntax analysis (4; FIG. 9), one of the inputted and another character strings are analyzed to generate a corresponding chained functions structure (FIGS. 2, 3). From knowledge (FIG. 5, 7) described by the plurality of chained function structures and from rules stored in knowledge memory (11), a new character string is generated. If the new character string is in command language, the command is executed (7).