INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20120032905A1
• Filed: 08/02/2011
• Published: 02/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Oba, Haruo, Morita, Shintarou, Nakano, Minoru, Kondo, Masao, Adachi, Hiroaki, KOSHIYAMA, Atsushi
• Granted Patent: US 9,052,783 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer

Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes a display unit located on a front surface of a case. The information processing apparatus also includes a sensing unit located on a side surface of the case facing away from the display unit.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a display unit located on a front surface of a case; and

a sensing unit located on a side surface of the case facing away from the display unit.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensing unit includes a plurality of sensors disposed in a longitudinal direction of the case and configured to detect a position of an object in the longitudinal direction and to detect a distance between the object and the sensing unit in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, wherein the display unit is controlled in accordance with a change in the position and the distance of the object.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a capacitance sensor.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a display control unit configured to control, in accordance with a movement of the object, a display position of an object on the display unit.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein adjacent sensors of the plurality of sensors are disposed with a gap between the adjacent sensors, and the position is determined by dividing the gap in accordance with a ratio between values obtained by the adjacent sensors.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sensing unit includes a sensor disposed above or below the plurality of sensors, relative to the front surface of the case, the sensor configured to detect the distance in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the sensor provided in a longer range in the longitudinal direction than is one of the plurality of sensors.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the sensing unit is provided on a plurality of side surfaces of the case, and the sensor continuously extends across the plurality of side surfaces.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the sensor continuously extends across every side surface of the case.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the sensing unit is provided on a plurality of side surfaces of the case, the sensor extends as far as opposite ends of one of the side surfaces, and the sensor determines a position of the object in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sensing unit is provided on a plurality of side surfaces of the case, and, when the object is moved from an area facing one of the side surfaces of the case to an area facing another one of the side surfaces of the case, the display unit is controlled to rotate a displayed object.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sensing unit is disposed on a plurality of side surfaces of the case, and the position is determined based on simultaneous values from sensors disposed on different side surfaces of the case.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

an inclination sensor configured to detect an angle of inclination of the information processing apparatus, and the position is determined based on the angle of inclination.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the information processing apparatus attaches to a stand, an angle of inclination associated with the stand is acquired, and the position is determined based on the angle of inclination.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

a light that illuminates an operation area, wherein the information processing apparatus sets the operation area in accordance with the angle of inclination.

15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first sound pickup unit that picks up a sound, wherein the display unit is controlled based on the sound.

16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the sound is at least one of a tapping and a scraping.

17. The information processing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising:

a second pickup unit that picks up a sound, wherein a phase difference between the sound picked up by the first sound pickup unit and the sound picked up by the second pickup unit is measured to input an operation.

18. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a unit that detects that the information processing apparatus has been placed on a horizontal surface, wherein the information processing apparatus starts determining the position when the information processing apparatus has been placed on the horizontal surface.

19. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

means for displaying an object, the means for displaying located on a front surface of a case; and

means for sensing, the means for sensing located on a side surface of the case facing away from the means for displaying.

20. A method, comprising:

sensing, by a sensing unit located on a side surface of a case facing away from a display unit, an object; and

controlling a display on the display unit based on the sensing, the display unit located on a front surface of the case.