Information processing apparatus, information processing method and program for executing processing based on detected drag operation

• US 8,854,317 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2010
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Homma, Fuminori, Nashida, Tatsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ritchie, Darlene M
• Application Number:
  US12/861,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20110050608A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,506 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178, 345/156, 345/507, 345/660, 178 1801- 1811, 382187-189, 715769-770, 715863-864, 715/255, 715/702, 715/700, 715/716, 715/268, 340/407.2, 340/540, 36167908-67955, 708/139, 708/140, 710/303, 463/37
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

There is provided an information processing apparatus including a display section capable of displaying information on its display surface, a touch panel capable of detecting a position in the display surface where an operation tool has contacted with as a contact position, a pressure value detection section detecting a pressure value which is a size of a pressure applied to the contact surface by a contact between the operation tool and the contact surface, a process control section specifying a first processing or a second processing as a processing subject to be executed in accordance with a change of the detected pressure value, a first processing section executing the first processing when the first processing is specified to be a processing subject to be executed, and a second processing section executing the second processing when the second processing is specified to be a processing subject to be executed.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a display section that has a display surface and is capable of displaying information on the display surface;

a touch panel that has a contact surface and is capable of detecting a position in the display surface where an operation tool has contacted with as a contact position;

a pressure value detection section that detects a pressure value which is a size of a pressure applied to the contact surface by a contact between the operation tool and the contact surface;

a pressure value monitor section that monitors the pressure value detected by the pressure value detection section in conjunction with an elapsed time;

a drag detection section that detects a drag that is an operation in which the operation tool moves while contacting with the contact surface;

a process control section that specifies a first processing or a second processing as a processing subject to be executed according to an amount of change of the pressure value, within a predetermined period of time, monitored by the pressure value monitor section when the drag detection section detects the drag;

a first processing section that executes the first processing when the process control section specifies the first processing as a processing subject to be executed; and

a second processing section that executes the second processing when the process control section specifies the second processing as a processing subject to be executed,

wherein when the monitored pressure value does not reduce by a threshold amount during the predetermined period of time, the process control section specifies the second processing as the processing subject to be executed and initiates, as the second processing, a scroll operation to scroll the information displayed on the display surface in correspondence with the detected drag,

wherein when the monitored pressure value reduces by at least the threshold amount during the predetermined period of time, the process control section specifies the first processing as the processing subject to be executed, and initiates, as the first processing, a selection of a displayed object located in correspondence with the contact position and a moving of the displayed object relative to other portions of the displayed information in correspondence with the detected drag,

wherein the detected drag is initiated from the contact position, and the detected drag is a same gesture which initiates the execution of either the first processing or the second processing based on the monitored pressure in conjunction with the elapsed time of the operation tool upon the contact surface at the contact position,

wherein the drag detection section further detects a time when the drag has been started as a drag start time, and

wherein the process control section uses a ratio of the pressure value at the drag start time to the pressure value at a time the predetermine period of time earlier than the drag start time detected by the drag detection section as the amount of change within the predetermined period of time.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the threshold amount is a 30% decrease of pressure value during the predetermined period of time.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when the drag detection section has detected the drag, the pressure value monitor section stops monitoring the pressure value detected by the pressure value detection section.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the process control section specifies the first processing as a processing subject to be executed when a condition that its ratio is equal to or less than a predetermined value is met, and specifies the second processing as a processing subject to be executed when the condition is not met.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a contact start detection section that detects a position where the operation tool starts contacting with the contact surface as a contact start position,

wherein the first processing section executes a processing using the contact start position detected by the contact start detection section as the first processing.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the first processing section executes a processing of selecting information existing in an area to be specified based on the contact start position, and a position which is moved from the contact start position based on the direction and the distance that are detected by the drag detection section, among information displayed on the display surface, as the first processing.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the second processing section fast-forwards or fast-rewinds a video image to be displayed in the display surface based on the direction and the distance that are detected by the drag detection section.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein when a contact start position is to be a start point, and when a position moved from the contact start position based on the direction and the distance that are detected by the drag detection section is to be an end point, the first processing section executes a processing to draw a line at a position in the display surface corresponding to from the start point to the end point as the first processing.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the drag detection section further detects a distance and a direction which the operation tool moves while contacting the contact surface by the drag, and

wherein the first processing section executes a processing to move an object displayed at a position corresponding to the contact start position detected by the contact start detection section, among information displayed on the display surface, based on the direction and the distance that are detected by the drag detection section as the first processing.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the second processing section executes a processing of scrolling a screen displayed in the display surface, among information displayed in the display surface, based on the distance and the direction which are detected by the drag detection section as the second processing.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the first processing section executes a processing of displaying a window, in which a button for specifying a command by the operation tool is arranged, at the contact start position of the display surface as the first processing.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein the first processing section executes a processing following the command specified by the selected button when determined that the operation tool has selected the button arranged in the window.

13. An information processing method comprising the steps of:

detecting a pressure value which is a size of a pressure applied to a contact surface by a contact between an operation tool and the contact surface by a pressure value detection section of an information processing apparatus which includes a display section that has a display surface and is capable of displaying information on the display surface, a touch panel that has the contact surface and is capable of detecting a position in the display surface where the operation tool has contacted with as a contact position, the pressure value detection section, a pressure value monitor section that monitors the pressure value detected by the pressure value detection section in conjunction with an elapsed time, a drag detection section that detects a drag that is an operation in which the operation tool moves while contacting with the contact surface, a process control section, a first processing section, and a second processing section;

specifying, by the process control section, a first processing or a second processing as a processing subject to be executed in accordance with an amount of change of the pressure value, within a predetermined period of time, detected by the pressure value detection section;

executing, by the first processing section, the first processing when the process control section specifies the first processing as a processing subject to be executed; and

executing, by the second processing section, the second processing when the process control section specifies the second processing as a processing subject to be executed,

wherein when the monitored pressure value does not reduce by a threshold amount during the predetermined period of time, the second processing is specified by the process control section as the processing subject to be executed and a scroll operation is initiated as the second processing to scroll the information displayed on the display surface in correspondence with the detected drag,

wherein when the monitored pressure value reduces by at least the threshold amount during the predetermined period of time, the first processing is specified by the process control section as the processing subject to be executed and, as the first processing, a selection is initiated of a displayed object located in correspondence with the contact position and the displayed object is moved relative to other portions of the displayed information in correspondence with the detected drag, and

wherein the detected drag is initiated from the contact position, and the detected drag is a same gesture which initiates the execution of either the first processing or the second processing based on the monitored pressure in conjunction with the elapsed time of the operation tool upon the contact surface at the contact position,

wherein the drag detection section further detects a time when the drag has been started as a drag start time, and

wherein the process control section uses a ratio of the pressure value at the drag start time to the pressure value at a time the predetermine period of time earlier than the drag start time detected by the drag detection section as the amount of change within the predetermined period of time.

14. A program stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium for causing a computer to function as an information processing apparatus including:

causing a display section that has a display surface to display information on the display surface;

causing a touch panel that has a contact surface to detect a position in the display surface where an operation tool has contacted with as a contact position;

causing a pressure value detection section to detect a pressure value which is a size of a pressure applied to the contact surface by a contact between the operation tool and the contact surface;

causing a pressure value monitor section to monitor the pressure value detected by the pressure value detection section in conjunction with an elapsed time;

causing a drag detection section to detect a drag that is an operation in which the operation tool moves while contacting with the contact surface;

causing a process control section to specify a first processing or a second processing as a processing subject to be executed in accordance with an amount of change of the pressure value, within a predetermined period of time, detected by the pressure value detection section;

causing a first processing section to execute the first processing when the process control section specifies the first processing to be a processing subject to be executed; and

causing a second processing section to execute the second processing when the process control section specifies the second processing to be a processing subject to be executed,

wherein when the monitored pressure value does not reduce by a threshold amount during the predetermined period of time, the second processing is specified by the process control section as the processing subject to be executed and a scroll operation is initiated as the second processing to scroll the information displayed on the display surface in correspondence with the detected drag,

wherein when the monitored pressure value reduces by at least the threshold amount during the predetermined period of time, the first processing is specified by the process control section as the processing subject to be executed and, as the first processing, a selection is initiated of a displayed object located in correspondence with the contact position and the displayed object is moved relative to other portions of the displayed information in correspondence with the detected drag, and

wherein the detected drag is initiated from the contact position, and the detected drag is a same gesture which initiates the execution of either the first processing or the second processing based on the monitored pressure in conjunction with the elapsed time of the operation tool upon the contact surface at the contact position,

wherein the drag detection section further detects a time when the drag has been started as a drag start time, and

wherein the process control section uses a ratio of the pressure value at the drag start time to the pressure value at a time the predetermine period of time earlier than the drag start time detected by the drag detection section as the amount of change within the predetermined period of time.