MIXER DEVICE, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING WINDOWS OF MIXER DEVICE, AND PROGRAM FOR CONTROLLING WINDOWS OF MIXER DEVICE

• US 20100251168A1
• Filed: 03/24/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: TERADA, Kotaro, FUJITA, Hiroaki
• Application Number:
  US12/730,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20100251168A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/790
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A method is designed for controlling windows of a mixer device including a processing unit, an operating panel, and a touch panel provided on the operating panel, the touch panel functioning as both a display part for displaying windows and an input part for inputting instructions. The method is performed by the processing unit as follows. First, a determining step determines whether or not any window has already been displayed on the touch panel when an instruction to display a new window is made. Then, a first displaying step displays the new window when no window has already been displayed, and otherwise displays, when a window has already been displayed, the new window at foreground while displaying at least a title bar of a window that has already been displayed. Further, a second displaying step displays a close button only on a foreground window among windows displayed on the touch panel and deactivates display of a close button for each window behind the foreground window.

Claims

1. A method for controlling windows of a mixer device including a processing unit, an operating panel, and a touch panel provided on the operating panel, the touch panel functioning as both a display part for displaying windows and an input part for inputting instructions, the method being performed by the processing unit and comprising:

a determining step of determining whether or not any window has already been displayed on the touch panel when an instruction to display a new window is made;

a first displaying step of displaying the new window when no window has already been displayed, and otherwise displaying, when a window has already been displayed, the new window at foreground while displaying at least a title bar of a window that has already been displayed; and

a second displaying step of displaying a close button only on a foreground window among windows displayed on the touch panel and deactivating display of a close button for each window behind the foreground window.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detecting step of detecting that a user has touched a window other than a foreground window at an exposed portion of the window viewed on a screen of the touch panel, in case that a plurality of windows have been displayed on the touch panel; and

a switching step of switching between a display position of the window touched by the user and the foreground window, thereby displaying the window touched by the user at foreground.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detecting step of detecting that a user has touched the close button displayed only at the foreground window or a user has touched a marginal area on the touch panel where no window is displayed; and

a closing step of closing the foreground window when touching of the close button or touching of the marginal area has been detected.

4. A mixer device including an operating panel, a touch panel provided on the operating panel to function as both a display part and an input part, and a plurality of controls arranged on the operating panel near the touch panel, the mixer device comprising:

a storage part that stores a window manager table that registers display sequence data indicating layers for managing an overlapping manner of windows displayed on the touch panel and display position data for managing a display position of each window displayed on the touch panel;

a rearrangement part that determines, when an instruction to display a new window containing image elements placed in an arrangement corresponding to an arrangement of the plurality of controls has been made, whether or not a window containing image elements placed in an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of controls has already been displayed on the touch panel, wherein

(1) when no window has already been displayed,

the rearrangement part calculates display position data that allows the new window to be arranged near a side of the touch panel to which the plurality of controls are arranged and that allows a title bar of the new window to be arranged opposite the side of the touch panel and registers the calculated display position data and display sequence data indicating a foreground layer as an entry of the new window in the window manager table, and

(2) when at least one window containing the image elements has already been displayed,

(2-1) the rearrangement part calculates display position data that allows the new window to be arranged near a side of the touch panel to which the plurality of controls are arranged and that allows a title bar of the new window to be arranged opposite the side of the touch panel and registers the calculated display position data and display sequence data indicating a foreground layer as an entry of the new window in the window manager table, and

(2-2) the rearrangement part calculates, for an entry in the window manager table corresponding to the at least one window that has already been displayed, display position data that allows the already displayed window to be arranged such that only a title bar of the already displayed window is displayed to a side of a title bar of the new window, the side thereof being opposite to the side of the touch panel to which the plurality of controls are arranged, overwrites display position data of the entry of the already displayed window with the calculated display position data, and overwrites display sequence data of the entry with display sequence data allowing the already displayed window to be located in a layer that is immediately behind a layer in which the already displayed window has been located;

a display control part that displays each window on the touch panel using the display position data and display sequence data that are registered in the window manager table by the rearrangement part; and

a close button control part that displays a close button only on a foreground window among displayed windows and deactivates display of a close button for each window behind the foreground window.

5. The mixer device according to claim 4, further comprising:

a detection part for detecting that a user has touched a window other than a foreground window at an exposed portion of the window viewed on a screen of the touch panel incase that a plurality of windows have been displayed on the touch panel; and

a switching part that switches between display position data and display sequence data of the window touched by the user and display position data and display sequence data of the foreground window, thereby displaying the window touched by the user at the foreground.

6. The mixer device according to claim 4, further comprising:

a detecting part for detecting that a user has touched the close button displayed only at the foreground window or user has touched a marginal area on the touch panel where no window is displayed; and

a closing part that closes the foreground window when touching of the close button or touching of the marginal area has been detected.

7. The mixer device according to claim 4, wherein the controls are arranged near to an up side, down side, right side or left side of the touch panel.

8. A machine readable medium containing a window control program for use in a mixer device including an operating panel, a touch panel provided on the operating panel to function as both a display part and an input part, and a plurality of controls provided on the operating panel near the touch panel, the window control program being executable by the mixer device to perform a method comprising:

a storing step of storing a window manager table that registers display sequence data indicating layers for managing an overlapping manner of windows displayed on the touch panel and display position data for managing a display position of each window displayed on the touch panel;

a rearrangement step of determining, when an instruction to display a new window containing image elements placed in an arrangement corresponding to an arrangement of the plurality of controls has been made, whether or not a window containing image elements placed in an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of controls has already been displayed on the touch panel, wherein

(1) when no window has already been displayed,

the rearrangement step calculates display position data that allows the new window to be arranged near a side of the touch panel to which the plurality of controls are arranged and that allows a title bar of the new window to be arranged opposite the side of the touch panel and registers the calculated display position data and display sequence data indicating a foreground layer as an entry of the new window in the window manager table, and

(2) when at least one window containing the image elements has already been displayed,

(2-1) the rearrangement step calculates display position data that allows the new window to be arranged near a side of the touch panel to which the plurality of controls are arranged and that allows a title bar of the new window to be arranged opposite the side of the touch panel and registers the calculated display position data and display sequence data indicating a foreground layer as an entry of the new window in the window manager table, and

(2-2) the rearrangement step calculates, for an entry in the window manager table corresponding to the at least one window that has already been displayed, display position data that allows the already displayed window to be arranged such that only a title bar of the already displayed window is displayed to a side of a title bar of the new window, the side thereof being opposite to the side of the touch panel to which the plurality of controls are arranged, overwrites display position data of the entry of the already displayed window with the calculated display position data, and overwrites display sequence data of the entry with display sequence data allowing the already displayed window to be located in a layer that is immediately behind a layer in which the already displayed window has been located;

a display control step of displaying each window on the touch panel using the display position data and display sequence data that are registered in the window manager table; and

a close button control step of displaying a close button only on a foreground window among displayed windows and deactivates display of a close button for each window behind the foreground window.

9. The machine readable medium containing a window control program according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprising:

a detection step of detecting that a user has touched a window other than a foreground window at an exposed portion of the window viewed on a screen of the touch panel incase that a plurality of windows have been displayed on the touch panel; and

a switching step of switching between display position data and display sequence data of the window touched by the user and display position data and display sequence data of the foreground window, thereby displaying the window touched by the user at the foreground.

10. The machine readable medium containing a window control program according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprising:

a detecting step of detecting that a user has touched the close button displayed only at the foreground window or user has touched a marginal area on the touch panel where no window is displayed; and

a closing step of closing the foreground window when touching of the close button or touching of the marginal area has been detected.