INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20100283758A1
• Filed: 04/29/2010
• Published: 11/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Homma, Fuminori, Nashida, Tatsushi
• Granted Patent: US 8,629,845 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• 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 includes: display means for displaying an image including an object; detection means, which is stacked on the display means, for detecting a contact with the display means; and control means for switching an operation mode of the display means based on a ratio of the area of the object displayed in the display means to the area of a region of the display means in which the contact is detected by the detection means.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

display means for displaying an image including an object;

detection means, which is stacked on the display means, for detecting a contact with the display means; and

control means for switching an operation mode of the display means based on a ratio of the area of the object displayed in the display means to the area of a region of the display means in which the contact is detected by the detection means.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein an operation of moving a contact object by a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction with the contact object being brought into contact with the display means is a trace operation,

wherein, as the operation modes, there are a first mode, in which the object brought into contact with a finger out of the objects displayed in the display means is moved along the trajectory of the finger according to the trace operation as a process for the trace operation, and a second mode, in which one or more of the objects displayed in the display means are moved to be collected along the trajectory of the finger according to the trace operation as a process for the trace operation, and

wherein the control means switches the operation mode to the first mode in a case where the ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and switches the operation mode to the second mode in a case where the ratio is smaller than the predetermined value.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means also controls the performance of a process corresponding to the switched mode of the first mode and the second mode.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control means controls the performance of the process by using a result calculated by a physical engine in a case where switching to the second mode is performed.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means calculates the ratio by using an average value of areas of a plurality of target objects or a processed value thereof as the area of the object in a case where there are the plurality of target objects to be operated out of the objects displayed in the display means.

6. An information processing method of an information processing apparatus that includes the display means for displaying an image including the object and the detection means, which is stacked on the display means, for detecting a contact with the display means, the method comprising the step of:

allowing the information processing apparatus to switch an operation mode of the display means based on a ratio of the area of an object displayed in the display means to the area of a region of the display means in which a contact is detected by the detection meanssing.

7. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a display unit configured to display an image including an object;

a detection unit, which is stacked on the display means, and configured to detect a contact with the display unit; and

a control unit configured to switch an operation mode of the display unit based on a ratio of the area of the object displayed in the display unit to the area of a region of the display unit in which the contact is detected by the detection unit.