DISPLAY DEVICE

• US 20130120304A1
• Filed: 08/25/2011
• Published: 05/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Miyahara, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 10,503,289 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display

Abstract

When an application displays image straddling display units (110-1 and 110-2), a coordinate conversion unit (120) uses a predetermined operation to transform the physical coordinates indicating the position at which a display unit (110-1 or 110-2) senses contact to virtual coordinates and supplies the virtual coordinates. A coordinate notification unit (130) notifies an application (140) of the physical coordinates at which contact was sensed when the application is displaying the image on one of the display units (110-1 or 110-2) and notifies the application (140) of the virtual coordinates supplied by the coordinate conversion unit (120) when the one application is displaying the image straddling the display units (110-1 and 110-2).

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a plurality of display units that are equipped with a touch panel function and that display an image that is information;

a coordinate conversion unit that, when one application is displaying said image straddling said plurality of display units, uses a predetermined operation to convert physical coordinates that indicate the position at which said display unit senses contact to virtual coordinates; and

a coordinate notification unit that, when one application is displaying said image on one display unit among said plurality of display units, reports the physical coordinates at which said display unit senses contact to the application and, when one application is displaying said image straddling said plurality of display units, reports said virtual coordinates to the application.

2. The display device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said coordinate conversion unit converts to said virtual coordinates the physical coordinates on, from among said plurality of display units, a display unit other than a primary display unit that includes the coordinates of the origin that said application recognizes.

3. The display device as set forth in claim 2, wherein said coordinate conversion unit converts, from among said physical coordinates, the coordinate of the direction along which said primary display unit and a display unit other than the primary display unit are aligned.

4. The display device as set forth in claim 3, wherein said coordinate conversion unit carries out conversion to said virtual coordinates by adding a coordinate portion that accords with the size of said primary display unit to the physical coordinates on display units other than said primary display unit.

5. The display device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said coordinate conversion unit carries out conversion of said physical coordinates to said virtual coordinates according to movement of physical coordinates with respect to the origin that said application recognizes that is caused by rotation of the length and width of the display device.

6. A coordinate notification method in a device that is equipped with a plurality of displays having a touch panel function, comprising:

a step of sensing contact to said plurality of displays;

a step of judging whether one application is displaying said image straddling said plurality of displays;

a conversion step of, when one application is displaying said image straddling said plurality of displays, using a predetermined operation to convert the physical coordinates that indicate the position at which said contact is sensed to virtual coordinates;

a step of, when one application is displaying said image on one display among said plurality of displays, reporting the physical coordinates at which said contact is sensed to the application; and

a step of, when one application is displaying said image straddling said plurality of displays, reporting said virtual coordinates to said application.

7. The coordinate notification method as set forth in claim 6, wherein, in said conversion step, physical coordinates on, from among said plurality of displays, a display other than a primary display that includes the coordinates of an origin that said application recognizes are converted to said virtual coordinates.

8. The coordinate notification method as set forth in claim 7, wherein, in said conversion step, from among said physical coordinates, coordinates of the direction along which said primary display and a display other than the primary display are aligned are converted.

9. The coordinate notification method as set forth in claim 8, wherein, in said conversion step, conversion to said virtual coordinates is carried out by adding to physical coordinates on a display other than said primary display a coordinate portion that accords with the size of said primary display.

10. The coordinate notification method as set forth in claim 6, wherein, in said conversion step, said physical coordinates are converted to said virtual coordinates in accordance with movement of physical coordinates that correspond to the origin that said application recognizes that results from rotation of the length and width of the device.

11-15. -15. (canceled)