TOUCHPANEL DEVICE, AND CONTROL METHOD AND PROGRAM FOR THE DEVICE

• US 20110157040A1
• Filed: 11/08/2010
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: KASHIO, Hirokazu
• Application Number:
  US12/941,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20110157040A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-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 and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• 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 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A touchpanel device includes an approach determining unit configured to determine whether an object has approached to a touchscreen; an area presuming unit, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen, configured to presume an area of contact on the touchscreen; and a display controller, based on a presumed area of contact, configured to control a size of a part of graphical user interface, the part being displayed on the touchscreen.

Claims

1. A touchpanel device, comprising:

approach determining means for determining whether an object has approached to a touchscreen;

area presuming means, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen, for presuming an area of contact on the touchscreen; and

display controller means, based on a presumed area of contact, for controlling a size of a part of graphical user interface, the part being displayed on the touchscreen.

2. The touchpanel device according to claim 1, further comprising:

object number determining means, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen, for determining whether a number of the object is plural; and

first display setting means, if it is determined that the number is plural, for setting a graphical user interface displayed on the touchscreen to a first graphical user interface, the first graphical user interface being different from a default graphical user interface.

3. The touchpanel device according to claim 2, further comprising:

second display setting means, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen, for setting the graphical user interface displayed on the touchscreen to a second graphical user interface based on a kind of the object, the second graphical user interface being different from default graphical user interface.

4. The touchpanel device according to claim 1, wherein

the approach determining means is configured to determine whether the object has approached to the touchscreen based on a plurality of images each taken covering from a side to a center of the touchscreen;

and

the area presuming means is configured to presume the area of contact based on three-dimensional shapes obtained by analyzing the plurality of images.

5. The touchpanel device according to claim 4, further comprising:

selected part specifying means, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen, for specifying a part highly possible to be selected by being contacted with the object out of the graphical user interface and displaying the part in a mode different from that of other parts.

6. The touchpanel device according to claim 5, wherein

selected part specifying means is configured to identify the part highly possible to be selected by being contacted with the object out of the graphical user interface, based on a distance between a center of a region on the touchscreen corresponding to the presumed area of contact and a center of gravity point of respective part of the graphical user interface displayed on the touchscreen.

7. The touchpanel device according to claim 6, wherein

the selected part specifying means further comprises selection determining means for specifying a part highly possible to be selected out of the graphical user interface repeatedly at a predetermined time interval, and if it is determined that the object has contacted to a region overlapping with the region of a specified part of the graphical user interface, for establishing a selection of the specified part.

8. The touchpanel device according to claim 1, wherein,

if it is determined that the object has approached the touchscreen, the graphical user interface is displayed on the touchscreen.

9. A method for controlling a touchpanel, comprising the steps of:

determining whether an object has approached a touchscreen by approach determining means;

presuming an area of contact on the touchscreen by area presuming means, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen; and

controlling a size of a part of graphical user interface based on a presumed area of contact by display controller means, the part being displayed on the touchscreen.

10. A computer readable storage medium containing a computer program product for use with a computer, the computer program product including a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in the medium for causing the steps of making the computer serve as a touchpanel device,

the computer readable program code means comprising:

approach determining means for determining whether an object has approached to a touchscreen;

area presuming means, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen, for presuming an area of contact on the touchscreen; and

display controller means, based on thus presumed area of contact, for controlling a size of a part of graphical user interface, the part being displayed on the touchscreen.

11. A recording medium readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of making a computer serve as a touchpanel device, the method comprising:

determining whether an object has approached to a touchscreen by approach determining means;

presuming an area of contact on the touchscreen by area presuming means, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen; and

controlling a size of a part of graphical user interface based on a presumed area of contact, the part being displayed on the touchscreen by display controller means.

12. A touchpanel device, comprising:

an approach determining unit configured to determine whether an object has approached to a touchscreen;

an area presuming unit, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen, configured to presume an area of contact on the touchscreen; and

a display controller, based on a presumed area of contact, configured to control a size of a part of graphical user interface, the part being displayed on the touchscreen.

13. A computer readable storage medium containing a computer program product for use with a computer, the computer program product including a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code system embodied in the medium for causing the steps of making the computer serve as a touchpanel device,

the computer readable program code system comprising:

an approach determining unit configured to determine whether an object has approached to a touchscreen;

an area presuming unit, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen, configured to presume an area of contact on the touchscreen; and

a display controller, based on a presumed area of contact, configured to control a size of a part of graphical user interface, the part being displayed on the touchscreen.

14. A recording medium readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of making a computer serve as a touchpanel device, the method comprising:

determining whether an object has approached to a touchscreen by an approach determining unit;

presuming an area of contact on the touchscreen by an area presuming unit, if it is determined that the object has approached to the touchscreen; and

controlling a size of a part of graphical user interface based on a presumed area of contact, the part being displayed on the touchscreen by a display controller.