Information processing apparatus and vibration control method in information processing apparatus

• US 8,314,777 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2009
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Tetsuo, Miyashita, Ken, Nashida, Tatsushi, Matsuda, Kouichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAM, VINH TANG
• Application Number:
  US12/494,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20090262091A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,239 Days
• Field of Search: 345176-178, 345418-689, 715200-867
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

There is provided an information processing apparatus including a display control unit that moves a display position of an object in accordance with movement of a contact position when the position in a screen where the object is displayed is contacted and moved and a vibration control unit that vibrates the contact position with a vibration amount in accordance with a parameter amount of data associated with the object when the display position of the object moves.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a display control unit that moves a display position of an object in accordance with movement of a contact position when the position in a screen where the object is displayed is contacted and moved; and

a vibration control unit that vibrates the contact position with a vibration amount in accordance with a parameter amount of data associated with the object when the display position of the object moves,

wherein when the moving object comes into contact with another object displayed in the screen, the display control unit moves the other object and the moving object together, and

the vibration control unit vibrates the contact position with the vibration amount in accordance with the total parameter of both objects moving together.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration control unit vibrates the contact position with the vibration amount larger than that during movement of the object for only a predetermined period when the object starts to move.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the vibration control unit vibrates the contact position with the vibration amount larger than that when both objects move together for only a predetermined period after the moving object comes into the contact with the other object.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the parameter amount is a period from an acquisition time or an update time of data associated with the object until the time when the object starts to move, and

the vibration control until vibrates the contact position with an increasing vibration amount as the period becomes longer.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the parameter amount is a data size of data associated with the object.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data is video data or music data, and

the parameter amount is a reproduction time of data associated with the object.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data is image data;

the parameter amount is the image size of data associated with the object.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data contains a plurality of pieces of content, and

the parameter amount is a number of pieces of content contained in the data.

9. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a display control unit that moves a display position of an object in accordance with movement of a contact position when the position in a screen where the object is displayed is contacted and moved; and

a vibration control unit that vibrates the contact position with a vibration amount in accordance with a parameter amount of data associated with the object when the display position of the object moves,

wherein when a display screen is touched by a finger and the display position of the object is moved, the vibration control unit changes the vibration amount in accordance with a number of fingers brought into contact with the display screen.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the vibration control unit decreases the vibration amount when the number of fingers increases.

11. A vibration control method in an information processing apparatus, comprising the steps of:

exercising movement control of a display position of an object in accordance with movement of a contact position when the position in a screen when the object is displayed is contacted and moved;

exercising control so that the contact position vibrates with a vibration amount in accordance with a parameter amount of data associated with the object when the movement control of the display position of the object is exercised; and

exercising control so that the contact position vibrates with a vibration amount larger than that during movement of the object for only a predetermined period when the object starts to move.