Electronic device, control method, and control program

• US 9,430,081 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2012
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Nagata, Yudai
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Prabodh M
• Application Number:
  US14/007,307
• Publication Number:
  US 20140009424A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,621 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-178, 345/419, 345/424, 345/427, 345/589, 463/36, 715/856, 715/863
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
• 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 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/67 by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

An electronic device includes a display unit configured to stereoscopically display a predetermined object; an operation unit configured to execute an operation associated with the predetermined object; a detecting unit configured to detect a movement of a physical body in a three-dimensional space above the display unit where the predetermined object is displayed; and a control unit configured to a strength of an operation performed by a user on the predetermined object based on the detected movement, change a content of the operation associated with the predetermined object according to the determined strength, and based on a result of detecting a position of the physical body contacting the predetermined object, adjust a degree of stereoscopic vision with which the predetermined object is stereoscopically displayed.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch panel including a display unit configured to stereoscopically display a predetermined object;

an operation unit configured to execute an operation associated with the predetermined object;

a detecting unit configured to detect a movement of a user'"'"'s physical body part in a three-dimensional space above the display unit;

an imaging unit configured to capture images of the user'"'"'s physical body part during the movement, said captured images including a smallest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part at a start of the movement and a largest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part when the user'"'"'s physical body part is closest to the touch panel; and

a control unit configured to

determine a strength of an operation performed by the user'"'"'s physical body part on the predetermined object based on a ratio between the largest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part and the smallest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part,

change a content of the operation associated with the predetermined object according to the determined strength, and

based on a result of detecting a position of the user'"'"'s physical body part contacting the predetermined object, adjust a degree of stereoscopic vision with which the predetermined object is stereoscopically displayed.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the detecting unit is configured to detect the movement without contacting the user'"'"'s physical body part.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to determine the strength of the operation further based on a distance in which the user'"'"'s physical body part moves in the three-dimensional space.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to determine the strength of the operation further based on a time required for the movement of the user'"'"'s physical body part from a first position to a second position.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to determine the strength of the operation further based on a speed converted from a time required for the movement of the user'"'"'s physical body part from a first position to a second position.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit is configured to determine the strength of the operation further based on a time required for a change between a size of the user'"'"'s physical body part in the smallest image and the size of the user'"'"'s physical body part in the largest image.

7. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the user'"'"'s physical body part is a finger, and the size is of an area of a fingertip of the finger.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7,

wherein

the control unit is configured to

determine the strength of the operation further based on an elapsed time between a time at which the smallest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part is captured and a time at which the largest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part is captured.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the user'"'"'s physical body part is a finger.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein

the movement of the user'"'"'s physical body part is detected based on the images captured by the imaging unit, and

the control unit is configured to check previously stored fingerprint data against the images to thereby calculate the size of the user'"'"'s physical body part.

11. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to adjust a threshold for determining the strength of the operation based on a difference or a ratio between a specified strength and the strength of the operation determined based on the movement of the user'"'"'s physical body part.

12. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to cause the display unit to

stereoscopically display an adjusting object with a predetermined degree of stereoscopic vision,

upon a contact of the user'"'"'s physical body part with said adjusting object, change an appearance of said adjusting object, and

after the contact, adjust the degree of stereoscopic vision, with which the adjusting object is stereoscopically displayed, based on a position where the contact is detected.

13. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to cause the display unit to

stereoscopically display a plurality of adjusting objects with different degrees of stereoscopic vision, and

after the user'"'"'s physical body part is in contact with one of the plurality of the adjusting objects, adjust the degree of stereoscopic vision, with which the one adjusting object is stereoscopically displayed, in accordance with the degree of stereoscopic vision of said one adjusting object.

14. A control method executed by an electronic device including a touch panel that includes a display unit, the control method comprising:

stereoscopically displaying a predetermined object;

executing an operation associated with the predetermined object;

detecting a movement of a user'"'"'s physical body part in a three-dimensional space above the display unit;

capturing images of the user'"'"'s physical body part during the movement, said captured images including a smallest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part at a start of the movement and a largest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part when the user'"'"'s physical body part is closest to the touch panel;

determining a strength of an operation performed by the user'"'"'s physical body part on the predetermined object based on a ratio between the largest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part and the smallest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part;

changing a content of the operation associated with the predetermined object according to the determined strength; and

based on a result of detecting a position of the user'"'"'s physical body part contacting the predetermined object, adjust a degree of stereoscopic vision with which the predetermined object is stereoscopically displayed.

15. A non-transitory storage medium that stores a control program for causing, when executed by an electronic device including a touch panel that includes a display unit, the electronic device to execute:

stereoscopically displaying a predetermined object;

executing an operation associated with the predetermined object;

detecting a movement of a user'"'"'s physical body part in a three-dimensional space above the display unit;

capturing images of the user'"'"'s physical body part during the movement, said captured images including a smallest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part at a start of the movement and a largest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part when the user'"'"'s physical body part is closest to the touch panel;

determining a strength of an operation performed by the user'"'"'s physical body part on the predetermined object based on a ratio between the largest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part and the smallest image of the user'"'"'s physical body part;

changing a content of the operation associated with the predetermined object according to the determined strength; and

based on a result of detecting a position of the user'"'"'s physical body part contacting the predetermined object, adjust a degree of stereoscopic vision with which the predetermined object is stereoscopically displayed.