INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20100088633A1
• Filed: 09/23/2009
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakurada, Akiko
• Granted Patent: US 9,710,096 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/790
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An information processing apparatus is provided which includes a display unit 110 for displaying an image on a screen based on image data, a contact and proximity detection unit 161 for detecting contact or proximity between a subject of operation and the surface of the display unit, a covered time measurement unit 165 for measuring covered time when the screen is covered by the contact or proximity of the subject of operation, and an object display control unit 166 for removing an object displayed in a covered region on the screen covered by the subject of operation from the covered region when the covered time is longer than a predetermined time.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a display unit for displaying an image on a screen based on image data;

a contact and proximity detection unit for detecting contact or proximity between a subject of operation and the surface of the display unit;

a covered time measurement unit for measuring covered time when the screen is covered by the contact or proximity of the subject of operation; and

an object display control unit for removing an object displayed in a covered region on the screen covered by the subject of operation from the covered region when the covered time is longer than a predetermined time.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a covered area calculation unit for calculating a covered area of the covered region,

wherein

the object display control unit removes the object displayed in the covered region from the covered region when the covered area is larger than a predetermined value.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an overlapped area calculation unit for calculating an overlapped area where the covered region and the object are overlapped each other,

wherein

the object display control unit removes the object displayed in the covered region from the covered region when the overlapped area is larger than a predetermined value.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object display control unit shifts the object displayed in the covered region to a region outside the covered region and displays the object.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the object is plural, the object display control unit displays the plurality of objects in alignments in the region outside the covered region on the screen.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a new object display control unit for displaying a new object in the covered region after the object displayed in the covered region is removed from the covered region.

7. An information processing method, comprising the steps of:

displaying an image on a screen of a display unit based on image data;

detecting contact or proximity between a subject of operation and the surface of the display unit;

measuring covered time when the screen is covered by the contact or proximity of the subject of operation; and

removing an object displayed in a covered region on the screen covered by the subject of operation from the covered region when the covered time is longer than a predetermined time.

8. A program for allowing a computer to perform the steps of:

displaying an image on a screen of a display unit based on image data;

detecting contact or proximity between a subject of operation and the surface of the display unit;

measuring covered time when the screen is covered by the contact or proximity of the subject of operation; and

removing an object displayed in a covered region on the screen covered by the subject of operation from the covered region when the covered time is longer than a predetermined time.