Input method and input apparatus

• US 9,007,325 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2013
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Rekimoto, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pervan, Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/095,356
• Publication Number:
  US 20140104213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 497 Days
• Field of Search: 178 1801- 1907, 345173-178
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus including a controller configured to initiate an operation command based on a combination of a first moving operation on a first operation surface and a second moving operation on a second operation surface, wherein the first operation surface and the second operation surface are separately provided on a housing body.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a controller configured to initiate an operation command determined based on a combination of a first moving operation on a first operation surface and a second moving operation on a second operation surface,

wherein the first operation surface and the second operation surface are separately provided on a housing body, and

wherein each one of a plurality of candidate operation commands corresponds to a respective unique combination of an operational direction detected in association with the first operation surface and an operational direction detected in association with the second operation surface, and the operation command is determined based on a matching, of the combination of the first moving operation and the second moving operation, with one of the unique combinations.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the first moving operation is detected according to a movement of a position of a first operator upon the first operation surface, and

the second moving operation is detected according to a movement of a position of a second operator upon the second operation surface.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first operation surface and the second operation surface are provided on different surfaces of the housing body.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first operation surface and the second operation surface are provided on different sides of the housing body.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first operation surface and the second operation surface are provided on different faces of the housing body.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a display provided along a surface of the housing body,

wherein the first operation surface is provided on a same surface as the display.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the operation command is a scroll command for scrolling an image being displayed on the display.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first operation surface and the second operation surface are provided on substantially opposite surfaces of the housing body.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first operation surface is provided on a front face of the housing body, and the second operation surface is provided on a back face of the housing body.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller initiates a first operation command when a movement direction of the first moving operation and a movement direction of the second moving operation are substantially the same, and the controller initiates a second operation command when the movement direction of the first moving operation and the movement direction of the second moving operation are not substantially the same.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein one of the first operation command and the second operation command is a scroll command for scrolling a displayed image.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the other one of the first operation command and the second operation command is a zoom command for zooming-in or zooming-out a displayed image.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first operation and the second operation are drag operations.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operation command is a scroll command.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first operation surface detects the first moving operation at a same time the second operation surface is detecting the second moving operation.

16. A method comprising:

detecting a first moving operation made upon a first operation surface of a device;

detecting a second moving operation made upon a second operation surface which is provided on the device separately from the first operation surface; and

initiating an operation command determined based on a combination of the first moving operation and the second moving operation,

wherein each one of a plurality of candidate operation commands corresponds to a respective unique combination of an operational direction detected in association with the first operation surface and an operational direction detected in association with the second operation surface, and the operation command is determined based on a matching, of the combination of the first moving operation and the second moving operation, with one of the unique combinations.

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

detecting a first moving operation made upon a first operation surface of a device;

detecting a second moving operation made upon a second operation surface which is provided on the device separately from the first operation surface; and

initiating an operation command determined based on a combination of the first moving operation and the second moving operation,

wherein each one of a plurality of candidate operation commands corresponds to a respective unique combination of an operational direction detected in association with the first operation surface and an operational direction detected in association with the second operation surface, and the operation command is determined based on a matching, of the combination of the first moving operation and the second moving operation, with one of the unique combinations.