Method and apparatus for detecting and interpreting path of designated position

• US 7,986,308 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2006
• Issued: 07/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Wakai, Masanori, Kayano, Satomi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala; Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Holton; Steven E
• Application Number:
  US11/590,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20070103452A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,728 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178, 715/863, 178 1801- 1811
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A method of detecting and interpreting a path of designated positions is disclosed. The method concurrently detects a plurality of designated positions on a touch panel, again detects the plurality of designated positions subsequent to a travel of the designated positions, determines the distances between each of the current designated positions and the respective immediately preceding designated positions, treats an immediately preceding designated position, closest to the current designated position of interest, as the immediately preceding designated position of the current designated position of interest, and acquires the path of each designated position, thereby recognizing the paths of the plurality of designated positions that move concurrently. A combination of the paths of the plurality of designated positions is interpreted to identify a designation input by a user, and an operation thus designated is executed.

Claims

1. An operation apparatus comprising:

a path detector means for detecting paths of a plurality of concurrently moving designated positions;

a distance measuring means for measuring a distance between the plurality of designated positions detected by the path detector means;

a distance-change acquisition means for acquiring a change in the distance measured by the distance measuring means;

a magnification acquisition means for acquiring, based on the acquired change in distance, a magnification of distance after the change to distance before the change;

a designation interpreting means for interpreting a designation represented by a combination of the paths of the plurality of designated positions detected by the path detector means based on the acquired magnification; and

an operation means for performing an operation based on the designation interpreted by the designation interpreting means

wherein the magnification acquisition means comprises a rate of change acquisition means for acquiring a rate of change, and acquires an actual magnification from the acquired magnification and the rate of change acquired by the rate of change acquisition means.

2. An operation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designation interpreting means interprets the designation as a contraction operation when the acquired magnification decreases.

3. An operation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designation interpreting means interprets the designation as an expansion operation when the acquired magnification increases.

4. An operational method comprising:

a path detecting step of detecting paths of a plurality of concurrently moving designated positions;

a distance measuring step of measuring a distance between the plurality of designated positions detected in the path detector step;

a distance-change acquisition step of acquiring a change in the distance measured in the distance measuring step;

a magnification acquisition step of acquiring, based on the acquired change in distance, a magnification of distance after the change to distance before the change;

a designation interpreting step of interpreting a designation represented by a combination of the paths of the plurality of designated positions detected in the path detecting step based on the acquired magnification; and

an operation step of performing an operation based on the designation interpreted in the designation interpreting step

wherein the magnification acquisition step comprises a rate of change acquisition step of acquiring a rate of change, and acquiring an actual magnification from the acquired magnification and the rate of change acquired in the rate of change acquisition step.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium retrievably storing a manipulation program for controlling to perform manipulation, the program comprising codes for causing the computer to perform:

a path detecting step of detecting paths of a plurality of concurrently moving designated positions;

a distance measuring step of measuring a distance between the plurality of designated positions detected in the path detector step;

a distance-change acquisition step of acquiring a change in the distance measured in the distance measuring step;

a magnification acquisition step of acquiring, based on the acquired change in distance, a magnification of distance after the change to distance before the change;

a designation interpreting step of interpreting a designation represented by a combination of the paths of the plurality of designated positions detected in the path detecting step based on the acquired magnification; and

an operation step of performing an operation based on the designation interpreted in the designation interpreting step

wherein the magnification acquisition step comprises a rate of change acquisition step of acquiring a rate of change, and acquiring an actual magnification from the acquired magnification and the rate of change acquired in the rate of change acquisition step.