INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20130106773A1
• Filed: 07/31/2012
• Published: 05/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: TOKUTAKE, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 8,872,794 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• 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 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour

Abstract

An information processing apparatus including a touch panel that detects a non-contact operation of an operation element by detecting an electrostatic capacitance of an operation surface of the touch panel; and a controller that determines a distance between the operation surface and the operation element based on the detected electrostatic capacitance, and controls a predetermined operation of the information processing apparatus based on the determined distance.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a touch panel that detects a non-contact operation of an operation element by detecting an electrostatic capacitance of an operation surface of the touch panel; and

a controller that determines a distance between the operation surface and the operation element based on the detected electrostatic capacitance, and controls a predetermined operation of the information processing apparatus based on the determined distance.

2. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the touch panel is a projection-type electrostatic-capacitance touch panel.

3. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the touch panel includes a substrate layer including an insulator film, an electrode layer arranged below the insulator film, and a control integrated circuit.

4. The information processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein

the touch panel includes a plurality of mosaic electrode patterns each including two layers of transparent electrodes in each of vertical and horizontal directions in the electrode layer.

5. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a display that displays one or a plurality of objects.

6. The information processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein

the controller controls the at least one object displayed on the display based on the determined distance.

7. The information processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein

the controller controls the display to change display forms of the at least one object displayed on the display based on the determined distance.

8. The information processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein

the controller controls the display to display to display an object corresponding to a distance within a first predetermined range among a plurality of individual objects on the display in a display form different from display forms of the other individual objects when the determined distance is within the first predetermined range.

9. The information processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein

the controller controls the display to display an object corresponding to a distance within a second predetermined range among the plurality of individual objects on the display in a display form different from display forms of the other individual objects when the determined distance is within the second predetermined range.

10. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the touch panel detects a contact operation of an operation element by detecting an electrostatic capacitance of the operation surface of the touch panel.

11. The information processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein

the touch panel detects a contact operation of an operation element by detecting an electrostatic capacitance of the operation surface of the touch panel, and

the controller fixes an object for which the display form is changed in accordance with a non-contact operation when a contact operation is detected by the touch panel.

12. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a memory that stores a plurality of thresholds for electrostatic capacitances corresponding to ranges of individual distances between the operation surface and the operating element.

13. The information processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein

the controller determines the distance between the operation surface and the operation element by comparing each of the thresholds stored in the memory with the detected electrostatic capacitance.

14. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of vibration units provided at individual operation positions of the operation surface part, wherein the controller controls one of the plurality of vibration units corresponding to a position of the non-contact operation.

15. A method performed by an information processing apparatus, the method comprising:

detecting a non-contact operation of an operation element by detecting an electrostatic capacitance of an operation surface of a touch panel;

determining a distance between the operation surface and the operation element based on the detected electrostatic capacitance; and

controlling a predetermined operation of the information processing apparatus based on the determined distance.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including computer-program instructions, which when executed by an information processing apparatus, cause the information processing apparatus to perform a method comprising:

detecting a non-contact operation of an operation element by detecting an electrostatic capacitance of an operation surface of a touch panel;

determining a distance between the operation surface and the operation element based on the detected electrostatic capacitance; and

controlling a predetermined operation of the information processing apparatus based on the determined distance.