Method and apparatus for detecting and interpreting path of designated position

• US 7,138,983 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2001
• Issued: 11/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Wakai, Masanori, Kayano, Satomi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Jennifer T.
• Application Number:
  US09/769,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20020036618A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,125 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-158, 345173-178, 178 1801- 1803, 178/18.09, 178/19
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• 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

A method of detecting and interpreting a path of designated positions is disclosed. The method concurrently detects a plurality of designated positions on a touch panel, again detects the plurality of designated positions subsequent to a travel of the designated positions, determines the distances between each of the current designated positions and the respective immediately preceding designated positions, treats an immediately preceding designated position, closest to the current designated position of interest, as the immediately preceding designated position of the current designated position of interest, and acquires the path of each designated position, thereby recognizing the paths of the plurality of designated positions that move concurrently. A combination of the paths of the plurality of designated positions is interpreted to identify a designation input by a user, and an operation thus designated is executed.

Claims

1. A position information processing apparatus for processing position information comprising:

designated position detector means for detecting a plurality of concurrently designated positions at a plurality of times, sequentially;

identifying means for identifying, each time the concurrently designated positions are detected, a corresponding one designated position, from among the plurality of designated positions detected at a preceding time, having an area closest in size to an area of each of the plurality of designated positions detected at a current time, by calculating the difference in size between each of the areas of the designated positions detected at the current time and each of the areas of the designated positions at the preceding time; and

travel path recognizer means for recognizing respective travel paths of the plurality of designated positions by recognizing each travel path which connects corresponding designated positions detected at the plurality of times.

2. A position information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designated position detector means is a touch-panel-type detector means.

3. A position information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designated position detector means comprises:

an image-pickup means for picking up a scene in which an operator designates a position; and

a designated-position recognizer means for recognizing the designated position from the image of the scene picked up by the image-pickup means.

4. A position information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designated position detector means detects the position of a finger tip of an operator.

5. A position information processing method for processing position information, comprising:

a detecting step of detecting a plurality of concurrently designated positions at a plurality of times, sequentially;

an identifying step of identifying, each time the concurrently designated positions are detected, a corresponding one designated position, from among the plurality of designated positions detected at a preceding time, having an area closest in size to an area of each of the plurality of designated positions detected at a current time, by calculating the difference in size between each of the areas of the designated positions detected at the current time and each of the areas of the designated positions at the preceding time; and

a travel path recognition step of recognizing respective travel paths of the plurality of the designated positions by recognizing each travel path which connects corresponding designated positions detected at the plurality of times.

6. A computer-readable storage medium storing a position information program for controlling a computer to perform processing of position information, the program comprising codes for causing the computer to perform:

an acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of concurrently designated positions at a plurality of times, sequentially;

an identifying step of identifying, each time the concurrently designated positions are detected, a corresponding one designated position, from among the plurality of designated positions acquired at a preceding time, having an area closest in size to an area of each of the plurality of designated positions acquired at a current time, by calculating the difference in size between each of the areas of the designated positions detected at the current time and each of the areas of the designated positions at the preceding time; and

a travel path recognition step of recognizing respective travel paths of the plurality of the designated positions by recognizing each travel path which connects corresponding designated positions acquired at the plurality of times.