Information processing apparatus, information processing method and program for magnifying a screen and moving a displayed content

• US 8,581,938 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2009
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Tetsuo, Aoyama, Ryu, Ueno, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Sams, Michelle L
• Application Number:
  US12/567,471
• Publication Number:
  US 20100079501A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,509 Days
• Field of Search: 345/672, 345/660, 345/619, 345/173, 715/863
• US Class Current: 345/660
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• 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 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: an input position detecting unit for detecting a position of an operator positioned on an operation input unit; a direction detecting unit for detecting a moving direction of the operator based on time change of the position of the detected operator; a magnification change unit for changing a magnification of a screen in accordance with a number of the operator detected by the input position detecting unit; and a display content moving unit for moving a content displayed on the screen along the moving direction of the operator detected by the direction detecting unit.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

an input position detecting unit configured to detect at least one operator positioned on an operation input unit;

a direction detecting unit configured to detect a moving direction of the at least one operator based on time change of respective positions of the detected at least one operator;

a magnification change unit configured to change a magnification of a screen in accordance with a number of operators detected by the input position detecting unit; and

a display content moving unit configured to move a content displayed on the screen along the moving direction of the at least one operator detected by the direction detecting unit, wherein

the magnification change unit changes the magnification of the screen in accordance with a number of operators that are simultaneously detected, and

an amount of magnification of the screen in relation to the number of simultaneously detected operators is defined differently between a first application and a second application.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the magnification change unit reduces the magnification as the number of operators increases, and increases the magnification as the number of operators decreases.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when a plurality of operators exists, the direction detecting unit selects, as the moving direction, a direction corresponding to a sum of vectors defined by trails drawn by the respective operators.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the respective position of any one of the at least one operator is changed by a predetermined threshold value or more, the direction detecting unit determines that the corresponding operator has moved.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display content moving unit moves the content displayed on the screen at a fixed speed in accordance with a moving distance of the operator, irrespective of the magnification of the screen.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of magnification corresponding to each number of the simultaneously detected operators is stored in a database for each one of a plurality of executable applications including the first application and the second application.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first application is a map application and the second application is a web browser application.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage unit configured to store information for each one of a plurality of executable applications including the first application and the second application on the amount of magnification corresponding to each number of the simultaneously detected operators.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first application is a map application and the second application is a web browser application.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of magnification in relation to the number of simultaneously detected operators is predefined for each one of a plurality of executable applications including the first application and the second application.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first application is a map application and the second application is a web browser application.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first application is a map application and the second application is a web browser application.

13. An information processing method comprising the steps of:

detecting at least one operator positioned on an operation input unit;

detecting a moving direction of the at least one operator based on time change of respective positions of the detected at least one operator;

changing a magnification of a screen in accordance with a number of operators detected; and

moving a content displayed on the screen along the moving direction of the detected at least one operator, wherein

the magnification of the screen is changed in accordance with a number of operators that are simultaneously detected, and

an amount of magnification of the screen in relation to the number of simultaneously detected operators is defined differently between a first application and a second application.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a program, which when executed by a computer causes the computer to execute a method, the method comprising:

detecting at least one operator positioned on an operation input unit;

detecting a moving direction of the at least one operator based on time change of respective positions of the detected at least one operator;

changing a magnification of a screen in accordance with a number of operators detected; and

moving a content displayed on the screen along the moving direction of the detected at least one operator, wherein

the magnification of the screen is changed in accordance with a number of operators that are simultaneously detected, and

an amount of magnification of the screen in relation to the number of simultaneously detected operators is defined differently between a first application and a second application.