Information processing apparatus and method

• US 7,453,438 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2005
• Issued: 11/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Okamura, Shuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Nitin
• Application Number:
  US11/080,419
• Publication Number:
  US 20050212763A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,343 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-173, 715/771, 715/773, 715/778, 713/182
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/36 by graphic or iconic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/83 input devices, e.g. keyboards, mice or controllers thereof
• 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

Abstract

An information processing apparatus and method for ensuring security when a virtual keyboard is used while an image displayed on a display is disclosed to the outside are provided. According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is determined whether or not a virtual keyboard is displayed on a display (S100). If a virtual keyboard is displayed, it is determined whether or not a target character input window onto which characters are input by using the virtual keyboard is a password input window (S101). If this window is the password input window, VRAM distribution is temporarily stopped (S102). With this operation, the distribution of the image stored in the VRAM (i.e., the image displayed on the display) is stopped while a virtual input device is displayed on the display and the target character input window is the password input window.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

character input means for displaying a virtual input device on a display and inputting a character corresponding to operation on the virtual input device onto a target character input window;

determination means for determining whether or not the virtual input device is displayed on the display and the target character input window is a password input window; and

output means for outputting an image displayed on the display to an external device if said determination means determines that the virtual input device is not displayed on the display or the target character input window is not the password input window, and stopping outputting an image displayed on the display to the external device if said determination means determines that the virtual input device is displayed on the display and the target character input window is the password input window.

2. An information processing method comprising:

a character input step of displaying a virtual input device on a display and inputting a character corresponding to operation on the virtual input device onto a target character input window; and

determination means for determining whether or not the virtual input device is displayed on the display and the target character input window is a password input window; and

an output step of outputting an image displayed on the display to an external device if said determination means determines that the virtual input device is not displayed on the display or the target character input window is not the password input window, and stopping outputting an image displayed on the display to the external device if said determination means determines that the virtual input device is displayed on the display and the target character input window is the password input window.

3. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing an information processing method defined in claim 2.