INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD AND PROGRAM

• US 20100110031A1
• Filed: 10/23/2009
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: NASHIDA, Tatsushi, MIYAZAWA, Yusuke, MATSUDA, Kouichi, HOMMA, Fuminori
• Granted Patent: US 9,507,507 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An information processing apparatus has: a touch operating unit touch-operating by at least operators; a detecting unit for detecting a touch state of each of the operators in touch with the touch operating unit; a coordinate system determining unit for determining a coordinate system of the touch operating unit in accordance with an operating direction of the operators detected by the detecting unit; a relative position calculating unit for calculating a relative position of each of the two or more operators from a touch position of the operators detected by the detecting unit and the coordinate system of the touch operating unit determined by the coordinate system determining unit; and a command issuing unit for issuing a predetermined operation command based on the touch state of each of the operators detected by the detecting unit at the relative position of the operators calculated by the relative position calculating unit.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a touch operating unit touch-operating by operators;

a detecting unit for detecting a touch state of each of the operators in touch with the touch operating unit;

a coordinate system determining unit for determining a coordinate system of the touch operating unit in accordance with an operating direction of the operators detected by the detecting unit;

a relative position calculating unit for calculating a relative position of each of the two of more operators from a touch position of the two or more operators detected by the detecting unit by an additional touch operation by the two or more operators and the coordinate system of the touch operating unit determined by the coordinate system determining unit; and

a command issuing unit for issuing a predetermined operation command based on the touch state of each of the two or more operators detected by the detecting unit at the relative position of the two or more operators calculated by the relative position calculating unit.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coordinate system determining unit determines the coordinate system of the touch operating unit on a condition where a y axis is a direction in parallel with the operating direction of the operator detected by the detecting unit and an x axis is a direction perpendicular to the operating direction.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coordinate system determining unit determines the coordinate system of the touch operating unit when the detecting unit detects the two or more operators which are in touch with the touch operating unit, spaced with a predetermined distance away from each other and moved by a predetermined distance on the touch operating unit.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the relative position calculating unit calculates the relative position of each of the two or more operators from the touch position of the two or more operators detected by the detecting unit by the additional touch operation of the two or more operators after the coordinate system of the touch operating unit is determined by the coordinate system determining unit.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a mode selecting unit for selecting a first mode in which a y axis is a vertical direction of a housing of the information processing apparatus and an x axis is a horizontal direction of the housing or a second mode in which a y axis is a direction in parallel with an operating direction of each of the operator and an x axis is a direction perpendicular to the operating direction, wherein

the mode selecting unit selects the second mode when the detecting unit detects the two or more operators which are in touch with the touch operating unit, spaced with a predetermined distance away from each other and moved by a predetermined distance on the touch operating unit.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the mode selecting unit selects the second mode, the coordinate system determining unit determines the coordinate system of the touch operating unit in accordance with the operating direction of each of the two or more operators, and

the relative position calculating unit calculates the relative position of the two or more operators based on the coordinate system of the touch operating unit determined by the coordinate system determining unit and the touch position of the two or more operators detected by the detecting unit after the second mode is selected by the mode selecting unit.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting unit detects the touch state including a touch order and a number of touches of the two or more operators and

the command issuing unit issues the predetermined operation commands in accordance with the touch order and the number of touches of the two or more operators.

8. An information processing method comprising the steps of:

detecting a touch state of each of operators which are in touch with a touch operating unit;

determining a coordinate system of the touch operating unit in accordance with an operating direction of each of the detected operators;

calculating a relative position of each of the two or more operators from a touch position of the two or more detected operators by the detecting unit by an additional touch operation by the two or more operators and the coordinate system of the touch operating unit determined by the coordinate system detecting unit; and

issuing a predetermined operation command based on the touch state of each of the two or more operators detected at the relative position of the two or more operators calculated.

9. A program for causing a computer to function as an information processing apparatus comprising:

a touch operating unit touch-operating by operators;

a detecting unit for detecting a touch state of each of the two or more operators in touch with the touch operating unit;

a coordinate system determining unit for determining a coordinate system of the touch operating unit in accordance with an operating direction of the operators detected by the detecting unit;

a relative position calculating unit for calculating a relative position of each of the two or more operators from a touch position of the two or more operators detected by the detecting unit by an additional touch operation by the two or more operators and the coordinate system of the touch operating unit determined by the coordinate system determining unit; and

a command issuing unit for issuing a predetermined operation command based on the touch state of each of the two or more operators detected by the detecting unit at the relative position of the two or more operators calculated by the relative position calculating unit.