DATA PROCESSING DEVICE, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM AND DATA PROCESSING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20120019470A1
• Filed: 03/15/2010
• Published: 01/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Inomata, Masayoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,963,854 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A calling and display unit (130) displays the image of a function calling icon (FCI) on at least one of the tour corners of a screen (111) of a touch panel (110). An icon calling unit (140) calls a plurality of function activation icons (FAI) in correspondence to a touch manipulation on the function calling icon (FCI). A function display unit (150) displays the images of the plurality of called function activation icons (FAI) so as to be arranged on at least one of the four sides of the screen (111), which communicates with one of the four corners where the function calling icon (FCI) is located. Therefore, the proportion in which the images of the plurality of displayed function activation icons (FAI) obstruct a display image displayed on the screen (111) can be minimized. In this way, a data processing device capable of minimizing the proportion in which the images of the plurality of function activation icons displayed on the touch panel obstruct the display image is provided.

Claims

1. A data processing device comprising:

a touch panel that includes a rectangular screen which has a function of displaying images and a function of accepting a touch manipulation;

an icon storage unit that stores a plurality of function activation icons each for activating a predetermined function by the touch manipulation and a function calling icon for calling the plurality of function activation icons by the touch manipulation;

a call display unit that displays an image of the stored function calling icon on at least one of four corners of the screen of the touch panel;

a function calling unit that calls the plurality of function activation icons in correspondence to a touch manipulation on the image of the displayed function calling icon; and

a function display unit that displays images of the plurality of called function activation icons so as to be arranged on at least one of the four sides of the screen, which communicates with one of the four corners where the function calling icon is located.

2. The data processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the function display unit displays the images of the plurality of function activation icons so as to be arranged on two of the four sides, which communicate with one of the four corners where the function calling icon is located.

3. The data processing device according to claim 2,

wherein the icon storage unit stores the function calling icon which is displayed as an image in a predetermined vertical height and horizontal width, and

wherein the function display unit displays the images of the plurality of function activation icons so as to be arranged on one of the four sides, which communicates in a vertical direction with the same horizontal width as the function calling icon with one of the four corners where the function calling icon is located, and displays the images of the plurality of function activation icons so as to be arranged on one of the four sides, which communicates with the corner in a horizontal direction with the same vertical height as the function calling icon.

4. The data processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the function display unit displays the images of the plurality of function activation icons so as to be also arranged on one of the four sides, which communicates with another one of two of the four sides where the images of the plurality of function activation icons are arranged and displayed.

5. The data processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the icon storage unit stores the function calling icon of which the display image is changed before and after the images of the function activation icons are displayed.

6. The data processing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an image display unit that displays a display image approximately in the entire area of the rectangular screen; and

a reduction display unit that reduces and displays the display image in a remaining portion of the rectangular screen when the plurality of function activation icons are arranged and displayed on the four sides.

7. An information storage medium storing a computer program of the data processing device according to claim 1, for causing the data processing device to execute:

an icon storage process of storing a plurality of function activation icons each for activating a predetermined function by the touch manipulation and a function calling icon for calling the plurality of function activation icons by the touch manipulation;

a call display process of displaying the image of the stored function calling icon on at least one of the four corners of the screen of the touch panel;

a function calling process of calling the plurality of function activation icons in correspondence to a touch manipulation on the image of the displayed function calling icon; and

a function display process of displaying the images of the plurality of called function activation icons so as to be arranged on at least one of the four sides of the screen, which communicates with one of the four corners where the function calling icon is located.

8. A data processing method of the data processing device according to claim 1, comprising:

an icon storage operation of storing a plurality of function activation icons each for activating a predetermined function by the touch manipulation and a function calling icon for calling the plurality of function activation icons by the touch manipulation;

a call display operation of displaying the image of the stored function calling icon on at least one of the four corners of the screen of the touch panel;

a function calling operation of calling the plurality of function activation icons in correspondence to a touch manipulation on the image of the displayed function calling icon; and

a function display operation of displaying the images of the plurality of called function activation icons so as to be arranged on at least one of the four sides of the screen, which communicates with one of the four corners where the function calling icon is located.