Method And Apparatus For Area-Efficient Graphical User Interface

• US 20130024806A1
• Filed: 01/19/2012
• Published: 01/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Funabashi, Yoshimitsu, Kunieda, Shunsuke
• Granted Patent: US 9,207,864 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

A user operates a GUI with a thumb and an index finger while holding an information processing device with left and right hands. The GUI screen image displays a directional keys input area at the lower left on the screen image, a button input area at the lower right on the screen image, an L1/L2 button input area at the upper left on the screen image, and an R1/R2 button input area at the upper right on the screen image. The L1/L2 and the R1/R2 button input areas are in the form of circle sectors, whereby the center angles of the circle sectors are at right angles of the two upper corners of the screen, and by internally dividing the center angles further so as to divide the sectors into two sectors respectively, the L1 and L2 buttons, and the R1 and R2 buttons are distinguished.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

a display device placed with an information processing device in a housing in an integrated fashion; and

a touch panel covering the display, the input device converting information on a point of contact with a finger or thumb of a hand that is detected by the touch panel into an operation made by a user and allows the information processing device to process the operation,

wherein the display device displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen image as an on-screen display on an output image generated as a result of information processing performed by the information processing device, GUIs being disposed in the GUI screen image in correspondence with a position of an index finger and a thumb of a user when the user holds the housing from both sides so that an index finger and a thumb are placed on the upper surface of the display device, opposite a middle finger that supports the housing from underneath.

2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein, among the GUIs, a GUI disposed at the position of an index finger has a circle sector shape that corresponds to a range of movement of an upper part from a joint of the index finger.

3. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the GUI disposed at the position of the index finger receives an individual input for each of a plurality of circular sector shaped areas formed by internally dividing the center angle of the circle sector.

4. The input device according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of circular sector shaped areas are formed so that the smaller an angle of bending produced by the index finger that operates an area is, the smaller the center angle of the area is.

5. The input device according to claim 1, wherein, among the GUIs, a GUI displayed at the position of an index finger is a GUI including a plurality of buttons laid out so as to form an arc shape that corresponds to a range of movement of an upper part from a joint of the index finger.

6. The input device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of buttons are laid out so that the smaller an angle of bending produced by the index finger that operates a button is, the larger the spacing between the button and an adjacent buttons is.

7. The input device according to claim 1, wherein, among the GUIs, a GUI disposed at the position of a thumb is at least one of:

a GUI for specifying a direction where a plurality of direction instruction keys are disposed on the circumference of a circle;

a GUI for operating buttons where a plurality of buttons are disposed on the circumference of a circle; and

a pseudo joystick GUI that receives an input of an arbitrary direction and an arbitrary quantity by a continuous displacement of a contact position.

8. The input device according to claim 7, wherein circles corresponding to the circumferences are displayed in a partially translucent manner in the GUI for specifying a direction and the GUI for operating buttons respectively.

9. The input device according to claim 7, wherein

the GUI for specifying a direction detects an operation made on each direction instruction key by a detection area surrounding the graphic symbol of the direction instruction key, and

an area where detection areas for adjacent direction instruction keys overlap with each other is defined as an detection area for an operation in a direction between the two directions corresponding to the adjacent direction instruction keys.

10. An information processing device comprising:

an information processing unit operative to perform information processing in accordance with an operation made by a user;

a display device operative to display an output image generated as a result of information processing performed in the information processing device, the upper surface of the display device being covered by a touch panel; and

a housing operative to store the information processing device and the display device in an integrated fashion, wherein

the display device displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen image as an on-screen display, GUIs being disposed in the GUI screen image in correspondence with a position of an index finger and a thumb of a user when the user holds the housing from both sides so that an index finger and a thumb are placed on the upper surface of the display device, opposite a middle finger that supports the housing from underneath, and

the information processing unit converts information on a point of contact with a finger or thumb of a hand on the GUI that is detected by the touch panel into an operation made by a user and performs information processing.

11. An input value acquiring method comprising:

displaying a GUI (Graphical User Interface) on a display device, which is placed with an information processing device in a housing in an integrated fashion, as an on-screen display on an output image generated as a result of information processing;

converting information on a point of contact with a finger or thumb of a hand that is detected by the touch panel covering the display device into an operation on the GUI made by a user; and

allowing an information processing device to perform information processing in accordance with the operation,

wherein the displaying as an on-screen display displays GUIs as an on-screen display by disposing the GUIs in correspondence with positions of an index finger and a thumb of a user when the user holds the housing from both sides so that an index finger and a thumb are placed on the upper surface of the display device, opposite a middle finger that supports the housing from underneath.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium containing a computer program, the computer program comprising:

a module configured to display, which is placed with a computer in a housing in an integrated fashion, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) on a display device as an on-screen display on an output image generated as a result of information processing;

a module configured to convert information on a point of contact with a finger or thumb of a hand that is detected by the touch panel covering the display device into an operation on the GUI made by a user; and

a module configured to perform information processing in accordance with the operation,

wherein the module configured to display as an on-screen display displays GUIs as an on-screen display by disposing the GUIs in correspondence with positions of an index finger and a thumb of a user when the user holds the housing from both sides so that an index finger and a thumb are placed on the upper surface of the display device, opposite a middle finger that supports the housing from underneath.