INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM

• US 20150077369A1
• Filed: 09/16/2014
• Published: 03/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: NAGAHARA, Takanori, KASATANI, Kiyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,335,860 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/10 Special adaptations of display systems for operation with variable images
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0464 Positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/12 Synchronisation between the display unit and other units, e.g. other display units, video-disc players
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00392 Other manual input means, e.g. digitisers or writing tablets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/42 Systems for two-way working , e.g. conference systems H04N1/32 takes precedence

Abstract

An information processing apparatus including a display unit that displays an image is provided. The information processing apparatus includes a determination unit configured to determine that an electronic pen or a pointer has come into contact with the display unit, and a display control unit configured to control the display unit to display a display corresponding to the pointer when the determination unit determines that the contact with the display unit has been made by the pointer.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus including a display unit that displays an image, the information processing apparatus comprising:

a determination unit configured to determine that an electronic pen or a pointer has come into contact with the display unit; and

a display control unit configured to control the display unit to display a display corresponding to the pointer when the determination unit determines that the contact with the display unit has been made by the pointer.

2. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a coordinate detection unit configured to detect coordinates of the contact with the display unit;

a time measurement unit configured to start a time measurement operation when the coordinate detection unit detects the coordinates; and

a coordinate storage unit configured to store the coordinates in chronological order;

wherein the display control unit connects the coordinates and displays the connected coordinates.

3. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display corresponding to the pointer is displayed at the display unit for a first predetermined time period and is subsequently deleted.

4. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display corresponding to the pointer is displayed for a first predetermined time period and is subsequently deleted over a second predetermined time period.

5. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls the display unit to display a display corresponding to the electronic pen when the determination unit determines that the contact with the display has been made by the electronic pen.

6. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display corresponding to the pointer and a display corresponding to the electronic pen are displayed to be distinguishable from each other.

7. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the display corresponding to the pointer and the display corresponding to the electronic pen are displayed in different widths.

8. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the display corresponding to the pointer and the display corresponding to the electronic pen are displayed at different opacities.

9. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a contact information receiving unit configured to receive contact information indicating that a contact with the display unit has been made by the electronic pen;

wherein the time measurement unit starts the time measurement operation in a case where a width of the coordinates of the contact with the display unit detected by the coordinate detection unit is greater than a lower limit threshold value and less than an upper limit threshold value, the contact information receiving unit does not receive the contact information from the electronic pen, and the coordinate detection unit detects the coordinates of the contact with the display unit made by the pointer without the contact information receiving unit receiving the contact information.

10. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a contact information receiving unit configured to receive contact information indicating that a contact with the display unit has been made by the electronic pen;

wherein when the contact information receiving unit does not receive the contact information, an operation for enlarging, reducing, or moving an image displayed at the display unit is detected based on a history of coordinates detected by the coordinate detection unit.

11. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the image displayed at the display unit is enlarged, reduced, or moved after a third predetermined time period elapses from a time the operation for enlarging, reducing, or moving an image is detected.

12. An information processing system including a plurality of information processing apparatuses that are connected to each other, the information processing system comprising:

a first information processing apparatus including a first display unit; and

a second information processing apparatus including a second display unit;

wherein the first information processing apparatus includes

a determination unit configured to determine that an electronic pen or a pointer has come into contact with the first display unit; and

a display control unit configured to control the first display unit to display a display corresponding to the pointer when the determination unit determines that the contact with the first display unit has been made by the pointer; and

wherein the second display unit of the second information processing apparatus is controlled to display the display corresponding to the pointer.

13. The information processing system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

a status storage unit configured to register communication status information of one or more information processing apparatuses in association with identification information of the information processing apparatuses; and

an information processing apparatus list display unit configured to refer to the status storage unit and display an information processing apparatus list including the identification information and the communication status information of the one or more information processing apparatuses.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a program stored thereon that causes an information processing apparatus to execute an information processing method comprising:

a determination step of determining that an electronic pen or a pointer has come into contact with a display unit of the information processing apparatus; and

a display control step of controlling the display unit to display a display corresponding to the pointer when a determination is made in the determination step that the contact with the display unit has been made by the pointer.