Image processing apparatus, operation standardization method, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with operation standardization program with an application program that supports both a touch panel capable of detecting only one position and a touch panel capable of detecting a plurality of positions simultaneously

• US 9,001,368 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2013
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: Itoh, Ayumi, Kawamoto, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Zheng, Jacky X
• Application Number:
  US14/018,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20140078546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 579 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 345/156, 345/174, 715/863, 715/716
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/12 Digital output to print unit , e.g. line printer, chain printer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00392 Other manual input means, e.g. digitisers or writing tablets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes a display portion, a touch panel, and a control portion. The control portion includes a touch event generating portion to output a touch event indicating a position detected by the touch panel, a gesture event determining portion to determine a gesture event on the basis of a set of touch events continuously output from the touch event generating portion, an application portion operable, when receiving process identification information, to perform a process corresponding to the process identification information, an association portion operable, at the stage when an application program is installed, to associate each of a plurality of types of processes determined by the application program with one of gesture events, a process specifying portion to specify the process associated with the gesture event determined, and an operation notification portion to output the process identification information of the specified process to the application portion.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a display device to display an image;

a touch panel capable of detecting touching of one or more positions a user on a display surface of said display device; and

a processor configured to;

(a) control said display device and said touch panel,

(b) in response to detection of the touching of one or more positions by said touch panel, to output touch events each including positional information indicating each of said one or more positions,

(c) based on a set of a plurality of touch events continuously output, to determine one of a plurality of gesture events accepted based on a designation of a user, and

(d) in response to acceptance of said gesture event, to control said image processing apparatus to cause it to execute a process,

wherein said processor is configured to;

in response to acceptance of the gesture event, control execution of a process corresponding to said accepted gesture event based on a predetermined corresponding relationship between the gesture event and the process;

accept an installation of an application program for accepting an operation different from the gesture event and executing the process;

in a case where the process executed in said application program and the process determined by said corresponding relationship are the processes of the same type, to associate the gesture event corresponding to the process determined by said corresponding relationship with the process executed in said application program,

in response to acceptance of the gesture event at the time of execution of said application program, to specify a process associated with said accepted gesture event, and

to execute said specified process.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the case where no process corresponding to said accepted gesture event, said processor specifies one or more pieces of positional information included in the plurality of gesture events on which determination of said gesture event is based.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said processor determines a detected state indicating the state of said touch event on the basis of a temporal change of each of the one or more positions detected by said touch panel, and

said touch event includes said detected position and said detected state.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processor determines said gesture event on the basis of the number of touch events simultaneously output and also on the basis of changes of the detected states included in the respective touch events continuously output.

5. An operation standardization method performed by a computer controlling an image processing apparatus, said image processing apparatus comprising:

a display device to display an image;

a touch panel capable of detecting one or more positions designated by a user on a display surface of said display device, and

a processor configured to;

(a) control said display device and said touch panel,

(b) in response to detection of the touching of one or more positions by said touch panel, to output touch events each including positional information indicating each of said one or more positions,

(c) based on a set of a plurality of touch events continuously output, to determine one of a plurality of gesture events accepted based on a designation of a user, and

(d) in response to acceptance of said gesture event, to control said image processing apparatus to cause it to execute a process,

wherein said method comprises;

in response to acceptance of the gesture event, controlling execution of a process corresponding to said accepted gesture event based on a predetermined corresponding relationship between the gesture event and the process;

accepting an installation of an application program for accepting an operation different from the gesture event and executing the process;

in a case where the process executed in said application program and the process determined by said corresponding relationship are the processes of the same type, associating the gesture event corresponding to the process determined by said corresponding relationship with the process executed in said application program,

in response to acceptance of the gesture event at the time of execution of said application program, specifying a process associated with said accepted gesture event, and

executing said specified process.

6. The operation standardization method according to claim 5, wherein in a case where no process corresponds to the accepted gesture event, said processor specifies one or more pieces of positional information included in the plurality of gesture events on which determination of said gesture event is based.

7. The operation standardization method according to claim 5, wherein

said processor determines a detected state indicating the state of said touch event on the basis of a temporal change of each of the one or more positions detected by said touch panel, and

said touch event includes said detected position and said detected state.

8. The operation standardization method according to claim 7, wherein said processor determines said gesture event on the basis of the number of touch events simultaneously output and also on the basis of changes of the detected states included in the respective touch events continuously output.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with an operation standardization program performed by a computer controlling an image processing apparatus, said image processing apparatus comprising:

a display device to display an image;

a touch panel capable of detecting one or more positions designated by a user on a display surface of said display device, and

a processor configured to;

(a) control said display device and said touch panel,

(b) in response to detection of the touching of one or more positions by said touch panel, to output touch events each including positional information indicating each of said one or more positions,

(c) based on a set of a plurality of touch events continuously output, to determine one of a plurality of gesture events accepted based on a designation of a user, and

(d) in response to acceptance of said gesture event, to control said image processing apparatus to cause it to execute a process,

wherein said method comprises;

in response to acceptance of the gesture event, controlling execution of a process corresponding to said accepted gesture event based on a predetermined corresponding relationship between the gesture event and the process;

accepting an installation of an application program for accepting an operation different from the gesture event and executing the process;

in a case where the process executed in said application program and the process determined by said corresponding relationship are the processes of the same type, associating the gesture event corresponding to the process determined by said corresponding relationship with the process executed in said application program,

in response to acceptance of the gesture event at the time of execution of said application program, specifying a process associated with said accepted gesture event, and

executing said specified process

said image processing apparatus including

a display portion to display an image,

a touch panel capable of detecting one or more positions designated by a user on a display surface of said display portion, and

an application portion operable, in the case where an application program is executed and one of a plurality of pieces of process identification information for respectively identifying a plurality of types of processes determined by said application program is input, to perform one of said plurality of types of processes that corresponds to said input process identification information,

the program causing said computer to perform;

a touch event generating step of, in response to detection of one or more positions by said touch panel, outputting touch event(s) each including positional information indicating the corresponding one of said one or more positions;

a gesture event determining step of, in the case where a plurality of touch events are continuously output in said touch event generating step, determining one of a plurality of gesture events on the basis of a set of said continuously output touch events;

an association step of, at the stage when said application program is installed, associating each of said plurality of types of processes determined by said application program with one of said plurality of gesture events in correspondence with said application program;

a process specifying step of specifying one of said plurality of types of processes that is associated in said association step, in correspondence with said application program, with the gesture event determined in said gesture event determining step; and

an operation notification step of outputting the process identification information of said specified process to said application portion.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with the operation standardization program according to claim 9, wherein in a case where no process corresponds to the accepted gesture event, said processor specifies one or more pieces of positional information included in the plurality of gesture events on which determination of said gesture event is based.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with the operation standardization program according to claim 9, wherein

said processor determines a detected state indicating the state of said touch event on the basis of a temporal change of each of the one or more positions detected by said touch panel, and

said touch event includes said detected position and said detected state.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with the operation standardization program according to claim 11, wherein said processor determines said gesture event on the basis of the number of touch events simultaneously output and also on the basis of changes of the detected states included in the respective touch events continuously output.