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

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9170606-B2
Application number	US-201113577699-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2011
Priority date	Jan 31, 2011
Publication date	Oct 27, 2015
Grant date	Oct 27, 2015

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.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

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

Assignees

• Matsumoto Takuya
• Kamei Rinako
• Matsui Norihiro
• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Matsumoto Takuya
• Kamei Rinako
• Matsui Norihiro

Classifications

• G06F1/1626 Primary

  with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs] · CPC title

• G06F3/033

  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 title

• G06F2203/04108

  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 title

• G06F3/044

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G06F1/1686

  the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera · CPC title