Information processing apparatus, program, and control method

• US 9,958,971 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2015
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Seiji, Miyazawa, Yusuke, Okumura, Yasushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Zheng, Xuemei
• Application Number:
  US14/816,529
• Publication Number:
  US 20150338948A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,002 Days
• 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 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04802 3D-info-object: information is displayed on the internal or external surface of a three dimensional manipulable object, e.g. on the faces of a cube that can be rotated by the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes a display, a touch panel, a sensor, and a controller. The display has a screen. The touch panel is configured to detect contact. The sensor is configured to detect an inclination. The controller is configured to determine whether contact is detected by the touch panel, and control display of an image displayed on the screen based on the inclination detected by the sensor in a period of time from detection of contact by the touch panel to release of the contact.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a display having a screen;

a touch panel configured to detect a contact;

a sensor configured to detect an inclination; and

a controller configured to

determine whether a contact is detected by the touch panel,

set, as a reference point, an inclination angle of the information processing apparatus at a point in time at which the contact is initially detected,

control, while the contact remains detected by the touch panel, display of at least one image displayed on the screen to be displayed in a second display mode, where the display of the at least one image is changed based on a difference between the reference point and the inclination detected by the sensor, and

control, upon a release of the contact, a change of display mode from the second display mode to either a first display mode or to a third display mode, based on whether or not the difference between the reference point and the inclination detected by the sensor at a time of the release of the contact exceeds a threshold value,

wherein, in the first display mode, a first image containing a selection item is displayed on the screen, and in the second display mode, a second image associated with the selection item gradually emerges on the screen as the inclination obtained after the contact is detected becomes large, and

wherein the controller is configured to change the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode in a case where the contact is detected while in the first display mode.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in the third display mode, the second image is displayed on the screen, and

wherein the controller is configured to be capable of changing the display mode from the second display mode to the third display mode.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the controller is further configured to change the display mode from the second display mode to the third display mode when the difference between the reference point and the inclination detected by the sensor at the time of the release of the contact is the threshold value or more.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when the difference between the reference point and the inclination detected by the sensor at the time of the release of the contact is less than the threshold value, the controller changes the display mode from the second display mode to the first display mode.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the selection item is a selection item of content,

the first image is a content selection image containing the selection item of the content, and

the second image is a reproduction image of the content.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the controller starts to reproduce the content in accordance with the inclination obtained after the contact is detected in the second display mode.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the selection item is a selection item of character information,

the first image is an image containing the selection item of the character information, and

the second image is an image containing information associated with the character information.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the controller controls the display such that a three-dimensional display object is displayed in a rotational manner in accordance with the difference between the reference point and the inclination detected by the sensor at the time of the release of the contact.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the three-dimensional display object has a plurality of surfaces, and includes different icons on at least two of the plurality of surfaces.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the controller controls the display such that the three-dimensional display object is displayed in a rotational manner based on information on displacement of a contact position detected by the touch panel.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control display of the at least one image displayed on the screen based on an inclination from the reference point detected in the period of time from the detection of contact by the touch panel to release of the contact.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displaying of the selection item in the second display mode is further configured to gradually emerge on the screen based on an angle of inclination obtained from the reference point.

13. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing a program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to execute a method, the method comprising:

determining whether a contact is detected by a touch panel;

setting, as a reference point, an inclination angle of the touch panel detected by a sensor at a point in time at which the contact is initially detected;

controlling, while the contact remains detected by the touch panel, display of at least one image displayed on a screen to be displayed in a second display mode, where the display of the at least one image is changed based on a difference between the reference point and the inclination detected by the sensor; and

controlling, upon a release of the contact, a change of display mode from the second display mode to either a first display mode or to a third display mode, based on whether or not the difference between the reference point and the inclination detected by the sensor at a time of the release of the contact exceeds a threshold value,

wherein, in the first display mode, a first image containing a selection item is displayed on the screen, and in the second display mode, a second image associated with the selection item gradually emerges on the screen as the inclination obtained after the contact is detected becomes large, and

wherein the controller is configured to change the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode in a case where the contact is detected while in the first display mode.

14. A control method, comprising:

determining whether a contact is detected by a touch panel;

setting, as a reference point, an inclination angle of the touch panel detected by a sensor at a point in time at which the contact is initially detected;

controlling, while the contact remains detected by the touch panel, display of at least one image displayed on a screen to be displayed in a second display mode, where the display of the least one image is changed based on a difference between the reference point and the inclination detected by the sensor; and

controlling, upon a release of the contact, a change of display mode from the second display mode to either a first display mode or to a third display mode, based on whether or not the difference between the reference point and the inclination detected by the sensor at a time of the release of the contact exceeds a threshold value,

wherein, in the first display mode, a first image containing a selection item is displayed on the screen, and in the second display mode, a second image associated with the selection item gradually emerges on the screen as the inclination obtained after the contact is detected becomes large, and

wherein the controller is configured to change the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode in a case where the contact is detected while in the first display mode.