INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM, AND POINTING METHOD

• US 20110018806A1
• Filed: 07/23/2010
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LLNS, Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: YANO, Keijiro
• Application Number:
  US12/842,852
• Publication Number:
  US 20110018806A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a display module, a coordinate information generation module, a cursor display module, and a processing module. The display module displays image information on a display screen. The coordinate information generation module detects that objects are simultaneously contacted with or approached to first and second detection points of the display screen, and generates coordinate information of the first and second detection points. The cursor display module displays a cursor on the display screen. The processing module, when the coordinate information generation module detects that the objects are contacted with or approached to the first and second detection points and the first detection point exists on the cursor, generates a predetermined event which corresponds to an input operation of a mouse, in accordance with the coordinate information of the second detection point.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a display configured to display image information on a display screen;

a coordinate information generator configured to detect whether first and second detection points of the display screen are simultaneously contacted with or substantially close to objects, and to generate coordinate information of the first and second detection points;

a cursor display configured to display a cursor on the display screen; and

a processor configured to generate a predetermined event which corresponds to an input operation of a mouse, in accordance with the coordinate information of the second detection point, when the coordinate information generator detects that the first and second detection points are contacted with or substantially close to the objects and the first detection point is on the cursor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing module is configured to cause the cursor display module to display the cursor in a display position as a destination of a movement of the first detection point when detecting that the first detection point is continuously moving.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to generate an event corresponding to a left click of a mouse input operation if the coordinate information of the second detection point indicates a left side of the coordinate information of the first detection point when viewed from a user'"'"'s side, and to generate an event corresponding to a right click of the mouse input operation if the coordinate information of the second detection point indicates a right side of the coordinate information of the first detection point.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cursor display is configured to switch between displaying and hiding of the cursor on the display screen, and

the processor is configured to cause the cursor display to display the cursor, when the coordinate information generator detects that objects are simultaneously contacted with or substantially close to two points on the display screen, or objects are sequentially contacted with or substantially close to two points on the display screen within a predetermined time while the cursor display is hiding the cursor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cursor display is configured to switch between displaying and hiding of the cursor,

the display is configured to display a predetermined area, and

the processor is configured to cause the cursor display to switch between displaying and hiding of the cursor when the first and second detection points detected by the coordinate information generator are within the predetermined area.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cursor display is configured to move a first point on the cursor comprising the coordinate information of the first detection point, and a second point on the cursor comprising the coordinate information of the second detection point, by the amount of the changes in coordinate information of the first detection point and the second detection point, in order to scale-up, scale-down or rotate the cursor in such a manner that positions of the first point and the second point on the cursor match positions on the previously displayed cursor, and to redraw and display the cursor, when the first and second detection points detected by the coordinate information generator are on the cursor while at least one of the first and second detection points is moving.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cursor display is configured to display the cursor in a larger size than the size of a cursor displayed while a mouse is operated.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a mouseover module configured to display predetermined information corresponding to a predetermined position on the display screen, if the cursor is in the predetermined position for more than a predetermined period.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon that is executable by a computer to control the computer to execute functions of:

causing a coordinate information generator to detect whether first and second detection points of the display screen are simultaneously contacted with or substantially close to objects, and to generate coordinate information of the first and second detection points, when displaying image information on a display screen;

causing a cursor display to display a cursor on the display screen; and

causing a processor to generate a predetermined event which corresponds to an input operation of a mouse, in accordance with the coordinate information of the second detection point, when the coordinate information generator detects that the first detection point is on the cursor.

10. A pointing method for an information processing apparatus, comprising:

displaying image information on a display screen;

displaying a cursor on the display screen;

detecting whether first and second detection points are simultaneously contacted with or substantially close to objects on the display screen, and generating coordinate information of the first and second detection points; and

generating a predetermined event which corresponds to an input operation of a mouse, in accordance with the coordinate information of the second detection point, when it is detected that the first and second detection points are contacted with or substantially close to objects and the first detection point is on the cursor.