Information processing apparatus, information processing method and program

• US 8,446,384 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2011
• Issued: 05/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Miyazaki, Reiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H
• Application Number:
  US13/041,053
• Publication Number:
  US 20110221693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 345/179, 345/156, 345/157, 178/18.01, 178/19.04, 200/512, 200/515
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04805 Virtual magnifying lens, i.e. window or frame movable on top of displayed information to enlarge it for better reading or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

There is provided an information processing apparatus including a detecting unit detecting a pressing force applied by an operating body that presses a surface of a display unit displaying a plurality of input regions operated by the operating body, and a region control unit operable when it has been determined from a detection result of the detecting unit that the operating body has pressed one of the input regions with a pressing force that is equal to or above a predetermined value, to enlarge the input region being pressed by the operating body and to move at least one of the input regions so that adjacent input regions do not overlap one another.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a detecting unit detecting a contact area of an operating body and a pressing force applied by the operating body that presses a surface of a display unit displaying a plurality of input regions operated by the operating body; and

a region control unit operable when it has been determined from a detection result of the detecting unit that the contact area of the operating body is equal to or above a first predetermined value, or the operating body has pressed one of the input regions with a pressing force that is equal to or above a second predetermined value, to enlarge the input region being pressed by the operating body and to move at least one of the input regions so that adjacent input regions do not overlap one another.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the region control unit comprises:

a size deciding unit deciding a size of the input region after enlargement depending on the pressing force of the operating body; and

an ideal position calculating unit calculating ideal positions where the adjacent input regions do not overlap each other after enlargement has been carried out.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the ideal position calculating unit comprises:

an overlap avoidance region deciding unit deciding an overlap avoidance region that enables an input region to avoid overlapping other input regions after enlargement has been carried out;

a pair deciding unit deciding a pair of the adjacent input regions;

an ideal relative position deciding unit deciding ideal relative positions for the pair of adjacent input regions so that the corresponding overlapping avoidance regions do not overlap; and

an ideal position deciding unit calculating the ideal positions so as to minimize a difference between present relative positions of the corresponding overlap avoidance regions and the ideal relative positions.

4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the ideal relative position deciding unit is operable when present positions of the overlap avoidance regions corresponding to the pair of input regions do not overlap, to set the present positions of the overlap avoidance regions as the ideal relative positions, and is operable when the present positions of the overlap avoidance regions corresponding to the pair of input regions overlap, to set positions where one of the overlap avoidance regions has been moved in a direction of a reference line that joins centers of the overlap avoidance regions so as to not overlap another of the overlapping avoidance regions as the ideal relative positions.

5. An information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the size deciding unit optimizes enlargement ratios of the input regions so that all of the input regions fit in a specified area.

6. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising a prediction unit predicting input information to be inputted by a user,

wherein the region control unit changes a display of the input region based on predicted input information that is input information predicted by the prediction unit.

7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the prediction unit analyzes past input information that has already been inputted from the input regions and predicts an input region to be operated next to input the predicted input information as a next operation region, and

the region control unit changes a display of the predicted next operation region.

8. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a detecting unit detecting a contact area of an operating body in accordance with a state of the operating body with respect to a surface of a display unit displaying a plurality of input regions operated by the operating body; and

a region control unit operable when it has been determined from a detection result of the detecting unit that the contact area of the operating body is equal to or above a predetermined value, to enlarge one of the input regions that is being indicated by the operating body and to move at least one of the input regions so that adjacent input regions do not overlap one another.

9. An information processing apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein the detection unit detects the contact area of the operating body based on a pressing force of the operating body on the surface of the display unit.

10. An information processing apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein based on approach distances between the operating body and the surface of the display unit, the detection unit detects the contact area of the operating body specified from a distribution of the approach distances.

11. An information processing method comprising steps of:

detecting a contact area of an operating body and a pressing force applied by the operating body that presses a surface of a display unit displaying a plurality of input regions operated by the operating body; and

enlarging the input region being pressed by the operating body and moving at least one of the input regions so that adjacent input regions do not overlap one another when it has been determined from a detection result that the contact area of the operating body is equal to or above a first predetermined value, or the operating body has pressed one of the input regions with a pressing force that is equal to or above a predetermined value.

12. An information processing method comprising steps of:

detecting a contact area of an operating body in accordance with a state of the operating body with respect to a surface of a display unit displaying a plurality of input regions operated by the operating body; and

enlarging one of the input regions that is being indicated by the operating body and moving at least one of the input regions so that adjacent input regions do not overlap one another when it has been determined from a detection result that the contact area of the operating body is equal to or above a predetermined value.

13. A program for causing a computer to function as an information processing apparatus comprising a region control unit operable when it has been determined, based on a contact area of an operating body and a pressing force applied by the operating body that presses a surface of a display unit displaying a plurality of input regions operated by the operating body, that the contact area of the operating body is equal to or above a first predetermined value, or the operating body has pressed one of the input regions with a pressing force that is equal to or above a second predetermined value, to enlarge the input region being pressed by the operating body and to move at least one of the input regions so that adjacent input regions do not overlap one another.

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

an area calculating unit calculating a contact area of an operating body in accordance with a state of the operating body with respect to a surface of a display unit displaying a plurality of input regions operated by the operating body;

and

a region control unit operable when it has been determined that the area of the operating body calculated by the contact area calculating unit is equal to or above a predetermined value, to enlarge one of the input regions that is being indicated by the operating body and to move at least one of the input regions so that adjacent input regions do not overlap one another.