INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING PROGRAM

• US 20110310049A1
• Filed: 03/01/2010
• Published: 12/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Homma, Fuminori, Nashida, Tatsushi
• Application Number:
  US13/254,289
• Publication Number:
  US 20110310049A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A user can be made to easily perform operation input without visually recognizing an operating face.

Upon recognizing that an operation has been made as to the operating face of a touch panel (3C) where the contact portion of a finger is changed from the ball of the finger to the fingertip while keeping the finger in contact herewith, a music player device (1) estimates that the direction from the position where the fingertip has come into contact toward the position where the ball of the finger has come into contact is the wrist direction of the hand operating the touch panel (3C), and sets coordinate axes as to the operating face with this direction as the lower direction. The contact position where the finger has come into contact with the operating face is converted into coordinates based on the coordinate axes, and a command is input based on the coordinates. Thus, user operations can be recognized following the orientation of the hand of the user as to the operating face, so the user can be made to perform operations with the orientation of the hand of the user as to the operating face as a reference, and the user can be made to perform operations easily even without visually recognizing the operating face.

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising:

a contact detecting unit which detects a position at which a finger has come into contact with an operating face of an operating unit;

a coordinate conversion unit which converts said position detected by said contact detecting unit into coordinates, based on coordinate axes set on said operating face;

a command input unit which inputs commands, based on coordinates obtained from said coordinate conversion unit;

an operation recognizing unit which recognizes that an operation has been performed as to said operating face in which, with the finger kept in contact with said operating face, the contact portion is changed from the ball of the finger to the tip, or the opposite thereof; and

a coordinate axis setting unit which, upon said operation being recognized by said operation recognizing unit, estimates the direction from the position where the ball of the finger has come into contact toward the position where the tip of the finger has come into contact as being the wrist direction of the hand operating said operating unit, and sets coordinate axes on said operating face in accordance with said direction.

2. The formation processing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a pressure detecting unit which detects the pressing pressure of the finger as to said operating face;

wherein, upon detecting that the position where the finger is in contact with has changed or the pressing pressure of the finger as to said operating face has changed while the finger is in contact with said operating face, said operation recognizing unit recognizes that an operation has been performed wherein the contact portion is changed from the ball of the finger to the tip, or the opposite thereof, with the finger kept in contact with said operating face.

3. The formation processing device according to claim 2, wherein said coordinate axis detecting unit sets coordinate axes on said operating face with said wrist direction being the lower direction, and sets a line passing through said position where the ball of the finger has been in contact with said position where the tip of said finger has been in contact as the Y axis of said coordinate axes.

4. The formation processing device according to claim 3, wherein said command input unit inputs a first command in the event that the coordinates obtained from said coordinate converting unit are in a region to the right side as to the Y axis of said coordinate axes, and inputs a second command in the event that the coordinates obtained from said coordinate converting unit are in a region to the left side as to the Y axis of said coordinate axes.

5. The formation processing device according to claim 1, wherein said contact detecting unit detects a range where the finger has come in contact with said operating face and the range where the finger has come into contact with said operating face;

and wherein, upon detecting that the position where the finger has come into contact has moved and that the shape of the range where the finger has come into contact has changed while the finger is in contact with said operating face, said operation recognizing unit recognizes that an operation has been performed wherein the contact portion is changed from the ball of the finger to the tip, or the opposite thereof, with the finger kept in contact with said operating face.

6. An information processing device comprising:

a contact detecting unit which detects a position at which a finger has come into contact and a range over which a finger has come into contact with an operating face of an operating unit;

a coordinate conversion unit which converts said position detected by said contact detecting unit into coordinates, based on coordinate axes set on said operating face;

a command input unit which inputs commands, based on coordinates obtained from said coordinate conversion unit;

an operation recognizing unit which recognizes that an operation has been performed in which the finger is rotated while kept in contact with said operating face; and

a coordinate axis setting unit which, upon said operation being recognized by said operation recognizing unit, detects, from the range where the finger has come into contact, the position where the base of the finger has come into contact and the position where the fingertip has come into contact, estimates the direction from the position where the base of the finger has come into contact toward the position where the fingertip has come into contact as being the wrist direction of the hand operating said operating unit, and sets coordinate axes on said operating face in accordance with said direction.

7. The formation processing device according to claim 6, wherein, upon detecting that the position where the finger has come into contact has moved and that the position where the finger is in contact with and the shape of the range where the finger has come into contact has changed while the finger is in contact with said operating face, said operation recognizing unit recognizes that an operation has been performed wherein the finger is rotated while kept in contact with said operating face.

8. The formation processing device according to claim 6, wherein said coordinate axis setting unit detects, from the range where the finger has come into contact, the position where the base of the finger has come into contact and the position where the fingertip has come into contact, based on the shape of the range where the finger has come into contact.

9. An information processing method comprising:

a contact detecting unit detecting a position at which a finger has come into contact with an operating face of an operating unit;

an operation recognizing unit recognizing that an operation has been performed in which, with the finger kept in contact with said operating face, the contact portion is changed from the ball of the finger to the tip, or the opposite thereof;

upon said operation being recognized by said operation recognizing unit, a coordinate axis setting unit estimating the direction from the position where the ball of the finger has come into contact toward the position where the tip of the finger has come into contact as being the wrist direction of the hand operating said operating unit, and setting coordinate axes on said operating face in accordance with said direction;

a coordinate conversion unit converting said position detected by said contact detecting unit into coordinates, based on coordinate axes; and

a command input unit inputting commands, based on coordinates obtained from said coordinate conversion unit.

10. A program for causing a computer to execute:

a step for a contact detecting unit to detect a position at which a finger has come into contact with an operating face of an operating unit;

a step for an operation recognizing unit to recognize that an operation has been performed in which, with the finger kept in contact with said operating face, the contact portion is changed from the ball of the finger to the tip, or the opposite thereof;

a step for a coordinate axis setting unit to, upon said operation being recognized by said operation recognizing unit, estimate the direction from the position where the ball of the finger has come into contact toward the position where the tip of the finger has come into contact as being the wrist direction of the hand operating said operating unit, and set coordinate axes on said operating face in accordance with said direction;

a step for a coordinate conversion unit to convert said position detected by said contact detecting unit into coordinates, based on coordinate axes; and

a step for a command input unit to input commands, based on coordinates obtained from said coordinate conversion unit.