DISPLAY DEVICE, DISPLAY CONTROL METHOD AND DISPLAY CONTROL PROGRAM, AND INPUT DEVICE, INPUT ASSISTANCE METHOD AND PROGRAM

• US 20140028557A1
• Filed: 05/16/2012
• Published: 01/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Zouda, Shumpei, Otake, Naoto, Obana, Noboru, Igarashi, Tatsuro
• Granted Patent: US 9,470,922 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• 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 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A display device is equipped with a proximity touch panel that detects coming into proximity or contact of a detection target; a position detection unit that detects position coordinates of the detection target whose coming into proximity or contact has been detected, the position coordinates consisting of coordinates in the X and Y directions and a coordinate in the Z direction; a display unit on which the touch panel is placed; a direction judgment unit that judges a direction of the detection target on the basis of the detected position coordinates; and a display control unit for controlling the display unit to perform a display so that a part of display contents of the display unit which would otherwise be hidden by the detection target is prevented from being hidden, on the basis of the direction of the direction-judged detection target.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a touch panel that detects coming into proximity or contact of a detection target;

a position detection unit that detects position coordinates of the detection target whose coming into proximity or contact has been detected by the touch panel, the position coordinates including coordinates in X and Y directions that are parallel with a surface of the touch panel and a coordinate in a Z direction that is perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel;

a display unit on which the touch panel is placed;

a direction judgment unit that judges a direction of the detection target on the basis of the position coordinates detected by the position detection unit; and

a display control unit that controls the display unit to perform a display so that a part of display contents of the display unit which would otherwise be hidden by the detection target is prevented from being hidden, on the basis of the direction of the detection target judged by the direction judgment unit, wherein;

the direction judgment unit judges a direction of the detection target if the coordinate in the Z direction of the detection target detected by the position detection unit is in a first coordinate range; and

the display control unit controls the display unit to perform a display so as to avoid the portion of the screen of the display unit which is hidden by the detection target if the coordinate in the Z direction of the detection target detected by the position detection unit is in a second coordinate range which is smaller in the coordinate in the Z direction than the first coordinate range.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit estimates an overlap portion in the X and Y directions between a screen of the display unit and the detection target, and controls the display unit to perform a display so as to avoid the overlap portion.

3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls the display unit to display part of the display contents of the display unit is displayed at a position that is adjacent to and pointed by a tip of the detection target on the basis of the direction of the detection target judged by the direction judgment unit.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein if sets of position coordinates of two points are detected by the position detection unit, the direction judgment unit judges a direction of the detection target on the basis of a direction of a vector that has, as an initial point, a first point having a large coordinate in the Z direction between the two points and has, as an terminal point, a second point having a small coordinate in the Z direction.

5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein if sets of position coordinates of three points are detected by the position detection unit, the direction judgment unit judges a direction of the detection target on the basis of a positional relationship between a straight line connecting a first point having a largest coordinate in the Z direction among the three points and a second point having a second largest coordinate in the Z direction and a third point having a third largest coordinate in the Z direction.

6. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the display control unit identifies a display item displayed on the screen using the second point between the two points, and controls a display position of information relating to the identified display item according to the position coordinates of the first point.

8. The display device according to claim 1, wherein if the coordinate in the Z direction is in the first coordinate range or the second coordinate range, the display control unit controls the display unit to display information to that effect.

7. (canceled)

9. A display control method of a display device having a touch panel that detects coming into proximity or contact of a detection target, the display control method comprising the steps of:

detecting position coordinates of the detection target whose coming into proximity or contact has been detected by the touch panel, the position coordinates including coordinates in X and Y directions that are parallel with a surface of the touch panel and a coordinate in a Z direction that is perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel;

judging a direction of the detection target on the basis of the detected position coordinates;

controlling a display unit on which the touch panel is placed to perform a display so that a part of display contents of the display unit which would otherwise be hidden by the detection target is prevented from being hidden, on the basis of the direction of the direction-judged detection target;

judging a direction of the detection target if the coordinate in the Z direction of the detected detection target is in a first coordinate range; and

controlling the display unit to perform a display so as to avoid the portion of the screen of the display unit which is hidden by the detection target if the coordinate in the Z direction of the detected detection target is in a second coordinate range which is smaller in the coordinate in the Z direction than the first coordinate range.

10. A display control program for causing a computer which is a display device having a touch panel that detects coming into proximity or contact of a detection target, to execute the steps of:

detecting position coordinates of the detection target whose coming into proximity or contact has been detected by the touch panel, the position coordinates including coordinates in X and Y directions that are parallel with a surface of the touch panel and a coordinate in a z direction that is perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel;

judging a direction of the detection target on the basis of the detected position coordinates;

controlling a display unit on which the touch panel is placed to perform a display so that a part of display contents of the display unit which would otherwise be hidden by the detection target is prevented from being hidden, on the basis of the direction of the judged detection target,

judging a direction of the detection target if the coordinate in the Z direction of the detected detection target is in a first coordinate range; and

controlling the display unit to perform a display so as to avoid the portion of the screen of the display unit which is hidden by the detection target if the coordinate in the Z direction of the detected detection target is in a second coordinate range which is smaller in the coordinate in the Z direction than the first coordinate range.

11. An input device comprising:

a touch panel that detects coming into proximity or contact of a detection target;

a position detection unit that detects position coordinates of the detection target whose coming into proximity or contact has been detected by the touch panel, the position coordinates including coordinates in X and Y directions that are parallel with a surface of the touch panel and a coordinate in a Z direction that is perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel;

a display unit on which the touch panel is placed;

a pointer coordinates control unit that judges whether to display an indicator for pointing a position of a manipulation target designated by the detection target on the basis of information including the coordinate in the Z direction detected by the position detection unit and a predetermined judgment condition; and

a display control unit for controlling the display unit to display the indicator if the pointer coordinates control unit judges that the indicator should be displayed.

12. The input device according to claim 11, wherein to make a judgment according to the judgment condition, the pointer coordinates control unit compares the length of a time that has elapsed in a state that the detection target is spaced from the surface of the touch panel by less than a prescribed distance with a prescribed threshold time.

13. The input device according to claim 11, further comprising an application processing unit that judges an object displayed on the display unit for each of display regions of the display unit,

wherein to make a judgment according to the judgment condition, the pointer coordinates control unit judges that the position of the manipulation target designated by the detection target is in a display region for which the indicator should be displayed or a display region for which the indicator should not be displayed on the basis of judgment results of the objects in the respective display regions.

14. The input device according to claim 11, wherein to make a judgment according to the judgment condition, the pointer coordinates control unit compares the coordinate of the detection target in the Z direction or a speed of approach of the detection target to the touch panel in the Z direction with a prescribed threshold value.

15. The input device according to claim 11, wherein the pointer coordinates control unit judges that the indicator being displayed on the display unit should be erased if a transition from a state that the detection target is in contact with the surface of the touch panel to a non-contact state is detected by the touch panel;

and

the display control unit erases the indicator being displayed on the display unit on the basis of the judgment result of the pointer coordinates control unit.

16. The input device according to claim 15, wherein after making the judgment that the indicator being displayed on the display unit should be erased, the pointer coordinates control unit continues to judge whether to display the indicator again according to the same judgment condition that was employed before the judgment.

17. The input device according to claim 15, wherein after making the judgment that the indicator being displayed on the display unit should be erased, the pointer coordinates control unit judges whether to display the indicator again according to a judgment condition that is different than was employed before the judgment.

18. The input device according to claim 11, wherein the display control unit displays the indicator at a position that is deviated from the coordinates of the detection target in the X and Y directions detected by the position detection unit by prescribed offsets.

19. The input device according to claim 18, wherein:

the pointer coordinates control unit judges whether a prescribed picture has been displayed on the display unit; and

the display control unit changes the offsets according to a judgment result of the pointer coordinates control unit.

20. The input device according to claim 18, wherein:

the pointer coordinates control unit judges whether a speed of a movement of the detection target away from the touch panel in the Z direction is higher than a prescribed speed; and

the display control unit changes the offsets according to a judgment result of the pointer coordinates control unit.

21. An input assistance method of an input device having a display unit on which a touch panel is placed, comprising the steps of:

detecting coming into proximity or contact of a detection target by the touch panel;

detecting position coordinates of the detection target whose coming into proximity or contact has been detected, the position coordinates including coordinates in X and Y directions that are parallel with a surface of the touch panel and a coordinate in a Z direction that is perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel;

judging whether to display an indicator for pointing a position of a manipulation target designated by the detection target on the basis of information including the detected coordinate in the Z direction and a predetermined judgment condition; and

controlling the display unit to display the indicator if it is judged that the indicator should be displayed.

22. A program for causing a computer which is an input device having a display unit on which a touch panel is placed, to execute the steps of:

detecting coming into proximity or contact of a detection target by the touch panel;

detecting position coordinates of the detection target whose coming into proximity or contact has been detected, the position coordinates including coordinates in X and Y directions that are parallel with a surface of the touch panel and a coordinate in a Z direction that is perpendicular to the surface of the touch panel;

judging whether to display an indicator for pointing a position of a manipulation target designated by the detection target on the basis of information including the detected coordinate in the Z direction and a predetermined judgment condition; and

controlling the display unit to display the indicator if it is judged that the indicator should be displayed.