Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9348445-B2
Application number	US-201314234583-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 20, 2013
Priority date	May 25, 2012
Publication date	May 24, 2016
Grant date	May 24, 2016

Abstract

Provided are an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program, which simply switch to a display method which a user desires. When an information processing device ( 100 ) in which two touch panels ( 40, 50 ) are rotatably connected by a hinge ( 30 ) is in a two-screen state, the current screen mode is switched to another screen mode by carrying out a re-fold operation which, via a prescribed angle within a prescribed time, returns the information processing device ( 100 ) to an original state.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An information processing apparatus that includes a first housing having a first screen and a second housing having a second screen and that is allowed to switch between a first screen state where the rear surfaces of the first screen and the second screen are put together while facing each other and that performs displaying by a single screen mode capable of displaying one application on one of the first screen and the second screen and a second screen state where the first screen and the second screen are spread and that performs displaying by a full-screen mode capable of displaying one application on the entirely of the first screen and the second screen or a two-application mode capable of displaying different applications on the respectively of the first screen and the second screen by changing arrangement of the first housing and the second housing, the first housing and the second housing being rotatably connected to each other, the information processing apparatus comprising:
a sensor that detects an angle formed by the first screen and the second screen;
a shape determining section that determines a shape of the information processing apparatus based on the detected angle and determines whether or not a fold-and-return operation is performed, the fold-and-return operation being an operation in which a first angle formed by the first screen and the second screen in the second screen state is changed to a predetermined second angle and then returned to the first angle within a predetermined time;
a mode control section that switches a display method of the full-screen mode or the two-application mode to another display method when the fold-and-return operation is performed;
a display section that performs a display operation in the first screen and the second screen using the display method resulting from the switching performed by the mode control section;
a storage section that stores a combination of a plurality of applications which are simultaneously used, and frequency of use of the combination, as history information; and
a list generating section that generates, when a first application is started on the first screen, list information on a second application having a high simultaneous use-frequency with respect to the first application, based on the history information, wherein
the display section displays the generated list information on the second screen.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the mode control section switches, when a fold-and-return operation in which the first angle is changed to one or more of a previously set plurality of angles and then returned to the first angle is performed, the display method to a display method in association with the one or more of the plurality of angles.

3. An information processing apparatus that includes a first housing having a first screen and a second housing having a second screen and that is allowed to switch between a first screen state and a second screen state by changing arrangement of the first housing and the second housing, the first housing and the second housing being rotatably connected to each other, the information processing apparatus comprising:
a sensor that detects an angle formed by the first screen and the second screen;
a shape determining section that determines a shape of the information processing apparatus based on the detected angle and determines whether or not a fold-and-return operation is performed, the fold-and-return operation being an operation in which a first angle formed by the first screen and the second screen in the second screen state is changed to a predetermined second angle and then returned to the first angle within a predetermined time;
a mode control section that switches a display method for performing a display operation in the first screen and the second screen to another display method when the fold-and-return operation is performed;
a display section that performs a display operation in the first screen and the second screen using the display method resulting from the switching performed by the mode control section;
a storage section that stores a combination of a plurality of applications which are simultaneously used, and frequency of use of the combination, as history information; and
a list generating section that generates, when a first application is started on the first screen, list information on a second application having a high simultaneous use-frequency with respect to the first application, based on the history information, wherein
the display section displays the generated list information on the second screen.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the frequency is a use-time of the combination, a use-frequency of the combination, or an index based on the use-time and the use-frequency.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the list generating section generates the list information in a descending order of the frequencies.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein:
the display section includes a first display region and a second display region; and
the display section displays an image of the started first application in the first display region, and displays the list information in the second display region.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising a registering section that sets registration information in which the first application and an optional third application are associated with each other, wherein
the list generating section generates list information on the third application when the first application is started.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising a shape determining section that determines either that the information processing apparatus is in the first screen state or that the information processing apparatus is in the second screen state, wherein
the list generating section generates the list information when the information processing apparatus shifts from the first screen state to the second screen state.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising a communicating section that transmits the history information to a server apparatus and receives a notification of a fourth application having a high simultaneous use-frequency with respect to the first application from the server apparatus, the fourth application being determined in the server apparatus based on history information transmitted from a plurality of information processing apparatuses, wherein
the list generating section generates list information on the fourth application when the first application is started.

10. An information processing method in an information processing apparatus that includes a first housing having a first screen and a second housing having a second screen and that is allowed to switch between a first screen state where the rear surfaces of the first screen and the second screen are put together while facing each other and that performs displaying by a single screen mode capable of displaying one application on one of the first screen and the second screen and a second screen state where the first screen and the second screen are spread and that performs displaying by a full-screen mode capable of displaying one application on the entirely of the first screen and the second screen or a two-application mode capable of displaying different applications on the respectively of the first screen and the second screen by changing arrangement of the first housing and the second housing, the first housing an

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Corp America

Inventors

• Kunitake Yuji
• Yokoyama Ryo
• Shimizu Kenji

Classifications

• G06F1/1647

  including at least an additional display (G06F1/1692 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/1692

  the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders · CPC title

• G06F1/162

  changing, e.g. reversing, the face orientation of the screen with a two degrees of freedom mechanism, e.g. for folding into tablet PC like position or orienting towards the direction opposite to the user to show to a second user · CPC title

• G06F1/1641 Primary

  the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components (G06F1/1647 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F3/041 Primary

  Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means · CPC title