INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISPLAYING AUXILIARY INFORMATION

• US 20100005428A1
• Filed: 06/30/2009
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: MIYASHITA, Ken, IKEDA, Tetsuo, NASHIDA, Tatsushi, MATSUDA, Kouichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,327,295 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

There is provided an information processing apparatus, including a direction detection unit that detects a drawing direction of a locus drawn in an input process of a gesture when the gesture is input, a gesture search unit that searches for the gesture matching the drawing direction of the locus detected by the direction detection unit from among a plurality of predetermined gestures, and an auxiliary information display unit that displays a search result by the gesture search unit in a screen as auxiliary information each time the drawing direction of the locus is detected by the direction detection unit.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a direction detection unit that detects a drawing direction of a locus drawn in an input process of a gesture when the gesture is input;

a gesture search unit that searches for the gesture matching the drawing direction of the locus detected by the direction detection unit from among a plurality of predetermined gestures; and

an auxiliary information display unit that displays a search result by the gesture search unit in a screen as auxiliary information each time the drawing direction of the locus is detected by the direction detection unit.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary information display unit displays complete pictures of the predetermined gestures extracted by a search of the gesture search unit as the auxiliary information.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the gesture search unit searches for the gesture matching the drawing direction of the locus from among the predetermined gestures associated with an application related to display information in the screen.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an application activation unit that activates the application associated with the predetermined gesture when the complete picture of the predetermined gesture displayed by the auxiliary information display unit is selected.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary information display unit displays the drawing direction corresponding to the predetermined gesture extracted in search processing by the gesture search unit and following an end edge of the locus as the auxiliary information.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the auxiliary information display unit displays information about an application corresponding to the predetermined gesture extracted in search processing by the gesture search unit by associating with the drawing direction following the end edge of the locus.

7. A method for displaying auxiliary information, comprising the steps of:

detecting a drawing direction of a locus drawn in an input process of a gesture when the gesture is input;

searching for the gesture matching the drawing direction of the locus detected by the direction detection step from among a plurality of predetermined gestures; and

displaying a search result by the gesture search step in a screen as auxiliary information each time the drawing direction of the locus is detected by the direction detection step.