Information processing device, processing control method, program, and recording medium

• US 9,170,606 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2011
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Takuya, Kamei, Rinako, Matsui, Norihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): HOFFNER, LINH NGUYEN
• Application Number:
  US13/577,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20120299862A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- 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 without distance measurement in the Z direction
• 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 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0425 using a single imaging device like a video camera for tracking the absolute position of a single or a plurality of objects with respect to an imaged reference surface, e.g. video camera imaging a display or a projection screen, a table or a wall surface, on which a computer generated image is displayed or projected tracking a projected light spot to determine a position on a display surface G06F3/0386
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• 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

An information processing device, while in a first input mode for receiving a touchless operation as an input, receives a touchless operation as an input, and starts processing that corresponds to the received touchless operation. If the information processing device detects a switch operation, which is made with a touch on the information processing device for switching from the first input mode to a second input mode that is a mode for receiving a touch operation as an input, within a predetermined time period after the reception of the touchless operation, the information processing device sets an output status obtained as a result of the started processing to an output status which has been obtained before the start of the processing.

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising:

a touch operation detection unit operable to detect a touch operation made on a body of the information processing device;

a touchless operation detection unit operable to detect a sign made by part of a user'"'"'s body, as a touchless operation made with no touch on the body of the information processing device;

a switch detection unit operable to detect a switch operation for switching an input mode from a first input mode to a second input mode, the switch operation being made with a touch on the body of the information processing device, the first input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touchless operation detected by the touchless operation detection unit, and the second input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touch operation detected by the touch operation detection unit;

a processing unit operable to perform processing in accordance with an instruction; and

a control unit operable, in the first input mode,

to receive, as an input, a touchless operation detected by the touchless operation detection unit, and issue a first instruction to the processing unit to start processing that corresponds to the received touchless operation, and

when an output status is obtained as a result of the processing started by the processing unit in accordance with the first instruction,

if the switch detection unit detects a switch operation within a predetermined time period after the reception of the touchless operation, to issue a second instruction to the processing unit to set the output status to an output status which has been obtained immediately before the start of the processing.

2. The information processing device of claim 1, further comprising

a display, wherein

the control unit issues, as the first instruction, an instruction to start display switch processing of switching a screen to be displayed on the display, and

the control unit issues, as the second instruction, an instruction to perform processing of displaying, on the display, a previous screen that has been displayed on the display immediately before the start of the display switching processing by the processing unit in accordance with the first instruction.

3. The information processing device of claim 2, wherein

in response to reception of the first instruction, the processing unit starts, as the display switch processing, processing of switching from the previous screen to a subsequent screen, such that part of the subsequent screen increasingly appears on the screen and all of the subsequent screen appears on the screen at an elapse of the predetermined time period after the reception of the touchless operation.

4. The information processing device of claim 2, wherein

the processing unit performs, as the display switch processing, processing of switching from the previous screen to a screen resulting from scaling an object included in the previous screen.

5. The information processing device of claim 2, wherein

the switch detection unit includes a hardware button, and

the switch detection unit detects the switch operation, based on a press of the hardware button.

6. The information processing device of claim 2, wherein

the switch detection unit includes an acceleration sensor operable to detect acceleration of the information processing device, and

the switch detection unit detects the switch operation, based on detection by the acceleration sensor that the acceleration has varied by a predetermined extent.

7. The information processing device of claim 2, wherein

the touch operation detection unit includes a touch sensor overlaid on the display, and

the switch detection unit detects the switch operation, based on a touch operation made on the touch sensor detected by the touch operation detection unit in the input first mode.

8. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein

the touchless operation detection unit includes a camera, and

the touchless operation detection unit detects the touchless operation, by performing comparison processing based on images photographed by the camera.

9. The information processing device of claim 1, further comprising a speaker, wherein

the control unit issues, as the first instruction, an instruction to start outputting audio through the speaker, and issues, as the second instruction, an instruction to stop outputting the audio through the speaker.

10. An information processing device comprising:

a touch operation detection unit operable to detect a touch operation made on a body of the information processing device;

a touchless operation detection unit operable to detect a sign made by part of a user'"'"'s body, as a touchless operation made with no touch on the body of the information processing device;

a switch detection unit operable to detect a switch operation for switching an input mode from a first input mode to a second input mode, the switch operation being made with a touch on the body of the information processing device, the first input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touchless operation detected by the touchless operation detection unit, and the second input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touch operation detected by the touch operation detection unit;

a processing unit operable to perform processing in accordance with an instruction;

a control unit operable, in the first input mode,

to receive, as an input, a touchless operation detected by the touchless operation detection unit, and issue a first instruction to the processing unit to start processing that corresponds to the received touchless operation, and

if the switch detection unit detects a switch operation within a predetermined time period after the reception of the touchless operation, to issue a second instruction to the processing unit to set an output status obtained as a result of the processing started by the processing unit in accordance with the first instruction to an output status which has been obtained before the start of the processing; and

a display, wherein

the control unit issues, as the first instruction, an instruction to start display switch processing of switching a screen to be displayed on the display,

the control unit issues, as the second instruction, an instruction to perform processing of displaying, on the display, a previous screen that has been displayed on the display immediately before the start of the display switching processing by the processing unit in accordance with the first instruction,

the information processing device is connectable to a cradle, the switch detection unit includes a sensor operable to detect whether the information processing device is connected to or disconnected from the cradle, and

the switch detection unit detects the switch operation, based on detection by the sensor that the information processing device is disconnected from the cradle.

11. An information processing device comprising:

a touch operation detection unit operable to detect a touch operation made on a body of the information processing device;

a touchless operation detection unit operable to detect a sign made by part of a user'"'"'s body, as a touchless operation made with no touch on the body of the information processing device;

a switch detection unit operable to detect a switch operation for switching an input mode from a first input mode to a second input mode, the switch operation being made with a touch on the body of the information processing device, the first input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touchless operation detected by the touchless operation detection unit, and the second input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touch operation detected by the touch operation detection unit;

a processing unit operable to perform processing in accordance with an instruction; and

a control unit operable, in the first input mode,

to receive, as an input, a touchless operation detected by the touchless operation detection unit,

if the switch detection unit does not detect a switch operation within a predetermined time period after the reception of the touchless operation, to issue an instruction to the processing unit to start processing that corresponds to the received touchless operation, and

if the switch detection unit detects a switch operation within the predetermined time period after the reception of the touchless operation, not to issue the instruction to the processing unit to start the processing that corresponds to the received touchless operation, wherein

the information processing device is connectable to a cradle, the switch detection unit includes a sensor operable to detect whether the information processing device is connected to or disconnected from the cradle, and

the switch detection unit detects the switch operation, based on detection by the sensor that the information processing device is disconnected from the cradle.

12. A processing control method for use in an information processing device that performs processing that corresponds to an input, the processing control method comprising:

a touch operation detection step of detecting a touch operation made on a body of the information processing device;

a touchless operation detection step of detecting a sign made by part of a user'"'"'s body, as a touchless operation made with no touch on the body of the information processing device;

a switch detection step of detecting a switch operation for switching an input mode from a first input mode to a second input mode, the switch operation being made with a touch on the body of the information processing device, the first input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touchless operation detected in the touchless operation detection step, and the second input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touch operation detected in the touch operation detection step;

a first control step of, in the first input mode, receiving, as an input, a touchless operation detected in the touchless operation detection step, and starting processing that corresponds to the received touchless operation; and

a second control step of, when an output status is obtained as a result of the processing started in the first control step, if the switch detection step detects a switch operation within a predetermined time period after the reception of the touchless operation, setting the output status to an output status which has been obtained immediately before the start of the processing.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded therein a program for causing a computer included in an information processing device to perform control processing, the information processing device performing processing that corresponds to an input, the control processing comprising:

a touch operation detection step of detecting a touch operation made on a body of the information processing device;

a touchless operation detection step of detecting a sign made by part of a user'"'"'s body, as a touchless operation made with no touch on the body of the information processing device;

a switch detection step of detecting a switch operation for switching an input mode from a first input mode to a second input mode, the switch operation being made with a touch on the body of the information processing device, the first input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touchless operation detected in the touchless operation detection step, and the second input mode being for receiving, as an input, a touch operation detected in the touch operation detection step;

a first control step of, in the first input mode, receiving, as an input, a touchless operation detected in the touchless operation detection step, and starting processing that corresponds to the received touchless operation; and

a second control step of, when an output status is obtained as a result of the processing started in the first control step, if the switch detection step detects a switch operation within a predetermined time period after the reception of the touchless operation, setting the output status to an output status which has been obtained immediately before the start of the processing.