Method and apparatus for detecting and interpreting path of designated position

• US 8,531,421 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2011
• Issued: 09/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Wakai, Masanori, Kayano, Satomi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOLTON, STEVEN E
• Application Number:
  US13/184,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20110279396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178, 178 1801- 2004, 715/863
• 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. An operation apparatus comprising:

a detection unit for detecting a plurality of designated positions which are designated by touching a touch panel with fingers;

a stationary time measurement unit for measuring a duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions detected by the detection unit remain stationary;

a determination unit for determining whether the duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions remain stationary, which is measured by the stationary time measurement unit, is not shorter than a predetermined duration of time; and

a designation interpreting unit for interpreting the designation as a command for designating an area of characters enclosed by the plurality of designated positions when the determination unit determines that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured by the stationary time measurement unit, is not shorter than the predetermined duration of time and for interpreting the designation as a command for an expansion operation based on the plurality of designated positions when the determination unit determines that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured by the stationary time measurement unit, is shorter than the predetermined duration of time.

2. An operation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designation interpreting unit comprises a specifying unit for specifying the interpreted designated area of characters in a manner that clearly distinguishes the interpreted designated of characters area from the remaining area.

3. A computer-readable storage medium storing a manipulation program for controlling to perform manipulation, the program comprising codes for causing the computer to perform:

a detection step of detecting a plurality of designated positions which are designated by touching a touch panel with fingers;

a stationary time measurement step of measuring a duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions detected in the detection step remain stationary;

a determination step of determining whether the duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions remain stationary, which is measured in the stationary time measurement step, is not shorter than a predetermined duration of time; and

a designation interpreting step of interpreting the designation as a command for designating an area of characters enclosed by the plurality of designated positions when it is determined in the determination step that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured in the stationary time measurement step, is not shorter than the predetermined duration of time and of interpreting the designation as a command for an expansion operation based on the plurality of designated positions when it is determined in the determination step that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured in the stationary time measurement step, is shorter than the predetermined duration of time.

4. An operational method comprising:

a detection step of detecting a plurality of designated positions which are designated by touching a touch panel with fingers;

a stationary time measurement step of measuring a duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions detected in the detection step remain stationary;

a determination step of determining whether the duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions remain stationary, which is measured in the stationary time measurement step, is not shorter than a predetermined duration of time; and

a designation interpreting step of interpreting the designation as a command for designating an area of characters enclosed by the plurality of designated positions when it is determined in the determination step that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured in the stationary time measurement step, is not shorter than the predetermined duration of time and of interpreting the designation as a command for an expansion operation based on the plurality of designated positions when it is determined in the determination step that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured in the stationary time measurement step, is shorter than the predetermined duration of time.

5. An operation apparatus comprising:

a detection unit for detecting a plurality of designated positions which are designated by touching a touch panel with fingers;

a stationary time measurement unit for measuring a duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions detected by the detection unit remain stationary;

a determination unit for determining whether the duration of time which during which the plurality of designated positions remain stationary, which is measured by the stationary time measurement unit, is not shorter than a predetermined duration of time; and

a designation interpreting unit for interpreting the designation as a first command for designating an area of characters enclosed by the plurality of designated positions when the determination unit determines that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured by the stationary time measurement unit, is not shorter than the predetermined duration of time and for interpreting the designation as a second command different from the first command when the determination unit determines that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured by the stationary time measurement unit, is shorter than the predetermined duration of time.

6. An operation apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the designation interpreting unit comprises a specifying unit for specifying the interpreted designated of characters area in a manner that clearly distinguishes the interpreted designated area of characters from the remaining area.

7. An operation apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second command different from the first command for designating the area of characters is a command for an expansion operation.

8. An operation method comprising:

a detection step of detecting a plurality of designated positions which are designated by touching a touch panel with fingers;

a stationary time measurement step of measuring a duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions detected in the detection step remain stationary;

a determination step of determining whether the duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions remain stationary, which is measured in the stationary time measurement step, is not shorter than a predetermined duration of time; and

a designation interpreting step of interpreting the designation as a first command for designating an area of characters enclosed by the plurality of designated positions when it is determined in the determination step that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured in the stationary time measurement step, is not shorter than the predetermined duration of time and of interpreting the designation as a second command different from the first command when it is determined in the determination step that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured in the stationary time measurement step, is shorter than the predetermined duration of time.

9. A computer-readable storage medium storing a manipulation program for controlling to perform manipulation, the program comprising codes for causing the computer to perform:

a detection step of detecting a plurality of designated positions which are designated by touching a panel with fingers;

a stationary time measurement step of measuring a duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions detected in the detection step remain stationary;

a determination step of determining whether the duration of time during which the plurality of designated positions remain stationary, which is measured in the stationary time measurement step, is not shorter than a predetermined duration of time; and

a designation interpreting step of interpreting the designation as a first command for designating an area of characters enclosed by the plurality of designated positions when it is determined in the determination step that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured in the stationary time measurement step, is not shorter than the predetermined duration of time and of interpreting the designation as a second command different from the first command when it is determined in the determination step that the stationary time of the plurality of designated positions, measured in the stationary time measurement step, is shorter than the predetermined duration of time.