Abstract:
A computing device-implemented method and the computing device thereof are provided. A center area and an outer area of the picture displayed on the touch-sensitive screen are defined. An image processing operation, such as zooming in, zooming out, or movement on the picture displayed on the touch-sensitive screen is performed based on the relationship of the initial location and the orientation of the sliding motion, and the center area and the outer area of the picture. Therefore, basic picture operations can be carried out by a single finger possibly while holding the device with the same palm to improve usability and to user safety.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates in general to a touch-based zooming technology in an electronic device and, more particularly, to an electronic device having a touch-sensitive screen, and a touch-based zooming control method in such a device. 
         [0003]    2. Related Art 
         [0004]    It is in known art that the electronic devices, particular hand-held devices, to may employ touch panels. With this type of information processing device, more intuitive operations are realized by using touch operations, such as tapping, dragging, sweeping etc., on the touch panel. For example, the sweeping is an operation in which a surface of the touch panel is lightly flicked by a finger. 
         [0005]    Recently, touch-screen displays have become popular user interfaces for is certain electronic devices. Touch-screens are especially conducive to small electronic devices at least because they allow for an expansive set of user inputs and can replace other limited input interfaces such as dedicated mechanical input buttons. However, there remains room to improve upon standard touch screen interfaces. 
         [0006]    For example, the zooming function of the mobile device is used by means of two finger interactions. Therefore, the user has to use both palms when using the zooming function. Unfortunately, this may cause inconvenience to a user who frequently uses a zooming function of the mobile device. Also, due to the zooming function is based on a multi-touch input by means of two finger interactions. Therefore, this technique may not be applicable to a mobile device having a normal touch screen incapable of handling a multi-touch input. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    To solve the aforementioned problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a digital image processing method and the computing device thereof that allow improved operability when performing an image processing operation, particular in zooming processing. 
         [0008]    Accordingly, the present invention discloses a computing device-implemented method. The method comprising: detecting, by a processor of the computing device, that a sliding motion is being made on a touch screen of the computing device; detecting, by the processor and in response to detecting the sliding motion, an initial location and an initial orientation of the sliding motion; identifying, by the processor and in response to detecting the sliding motion and the initial location and the initial orientation of the sliding motion, an item, being displayed by the touch screen, wherein a center area and an outer area of the item are defined; and zooming in or zooming out, by the processor, on the item displayed on the touch screen based on the relationship of the initial location and the initial orientation of the sliding motion, and the center area and the outer area of the item and in response to the processor detecting that the sliding motion is being made on the touch screen. 
         [0009]    In another embodiment, the present invention provides a computing device comprising: a touch-sensitive screen; a memory to store a plurality of instructions; and a processor to execute instructions in the memory to: detect a sliding motion is being made on the touch-sensitive screen; detect, in response to detecting the sliding motion, an initial location and an initial orientation of the sliding motion; identify, in response to detecting the sliding motion and the initial location and the initial orientation of the sliding motion, an item, being displayed by the touch screen, wherein a center area and an outer area of the item are defined; and zoom in or zoom out on the item displayed on the touch-sensitive, in response to the processor detecting that the sliding motion is being made on the touch-sensitive screen, based on the relationship of the initial location and the orientation of the sliding motion, and the center area and the outer area of the item. 
         [0010]    These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein for illustration only, and thus is not limited to the present invention, and wherein: 
           [0012]      FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3  are respective views of exemplary embodiments of the computing device in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is block diagram of the computing device in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIGS. 5A to 5B  are respective views of the area definition of the picture in embodiments in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIGS. 6A to 6B  illustrate examples of the image processing of the computing device-implemented method in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary process of zooming out the picture; 
           [0016]      FIGS. 7A to 7B  illustrate examples of the image processing of the computing device-implemented method in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary process of zooming in the picture; 
           [0017]      FIGS. 8A to 8B  illustrate examples of the image processing of the computing device-implemented method in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary process of moving the picture; 
           [0018]      FIGS. 9A to 9D  illustrate examples of the image processing of the computing device-implemented method in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary process of zooming out and in the picture; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 10A to 10B  illustrate examples of the image processing of the computing device-implemented method in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary process of zooming in the picture; 
           [0020]      FIGS. 11A to 11B  illustrate examples of the image processing of the to computing device-implemented method in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary process of showing the control; 
           [0021]      FIGS. 12A to 12B  illustrate examples of the image processing of the computing device-implemented method in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary process of hiding the control; 
           [0022]      FIGS. 13A to 13B  illustrate examples of the image processing of the computing device-implemented method in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary process of changing the picture; and 
           [0023]      FIGS. 14A to 14B  illustrate examples of the image processing of the computing device-implemented method in accordance with the present invention, showing an exemplary process of changing the picture. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0024]    Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description refers to the same or the like parts. 
         [0025]    Devices and/or methods described herein may provide a user interface for processing the digital images. The device may include, for example, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet personal computer, a laptop computer, a remote control (e.g., for a television), a digital camera, a portable gaming system, a display device, a global positioning system (GPS) device, etc.  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3  provide diagrams illustrating an exemplary implementation of the device, such as the smart phone  11 , see  FIG. 1 , the digital camera  12 , see  FIG. 2 , and the tablet personal computer  13 , see  FIG. 3 . As illustrated, the device, the smart phone  11 , the digital camera  12 , or the tablet personal computer  13 , may include a touch-sensitive screen (also called a touch screen)  20  to show an item, such as a picture  30  thereon. As is known in the art, a touch screen is a type of display that can detect the presence and location of touch within the display area. 
         [0026]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , assume that a picture  30  is being displayed via touch screen  20 . According to implementations described herein, the picture  30  may be processed by a user using a single finger, especially by the thumb  40  so that the user can operate by one palm. For example, a zoom in operation (e.g., to enlarge a displayed portion of picture  30 ), a zoom out operation (e.g., to shrink a displayed portion of picture  30 ), or a movement may be performed on picture  30 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is an exemplary block-diagram of the device. As illustrated, the device  200  may include a processor  210 , a memory  220 , and a touch-sensitive screen  230 . The processor  210  may include one or more microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or the like. The processor  210  controls the operations of device  200  and its components. In one implementation, the processor  210  may control operation of components of device  200  in a manner described herein. 
         [0028]    The memory  220  may be a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), or another type of memory to store data and instructions that may be used by the processor  210 . In one implementation, memory  220  may store instructions for performing a zooming operation on one or more items displayed on the screen  230 . The touch-sensitive screen  230  is configured to receive a user input, especially a sliding motion. The processor  210  is configured to perform the instructions in response to the user input. 
         [0029]    As will be described in detail below, the device  200  may perform certain operations described herein in response to the processor  210  executing software instructions of an application contained in a computer-readable medium, such as the memory  220 . A computer-readable medium may be defined as a physical or logical memory device. A logical memory device may include a space within a to single physical memory device or spread across multiple physical memory devices. The software instructions may be read into the memory  220  from another computer-readable medium. The software instructions contained in the memory  220  may cause the processor  210  to perform processes that will be described later. 
         [0030]    The picture  30  is processed based on the initial location and the initial orientation of the sliding motion. Therefore, please see  FIG. 5A , a center area  32  and an outer area  33  of the picture  30  are defined. The outer area  33  is 15% of a width and a height of the picture  30  counting from edges of all sides of the picture  30 . And the center area  32  covers the remaining area of the picture  30 , totaling 70% of the width and height of the picture. A boundary  31  is presented therebetween. Therefore, the shape and the absolute size of the center area  32  vary depending on the shape and the size of the picture  30 . When the aspect ratio of the picture  30  differs from the aspect ratio of the screen  20 , the empty or blank areas are regarded as parts of the outer area  33 , please refer to  FIG. 5B . When the user first touches the picture  30 , the boundary  31  or the center area  32 , the outer area  33  is indicated by flashing, coloration, sound etc. 
         [0031]    Please refer to  FIGS. 6A and 6B , when the initial location  61  is located at the center area  32  and the initial orientation  62  of the sliding motion is towards to a focal point X of the picture  30 , the zooming out from the same initial location is performed by the processor  210  as long as the sliding motion continues regardless of a later direction of the same sliding motion. 
         [0032]    Please refer to  FIGS. 7A and 7B , when the initial location  61  is located at the center area  32  and the initial orientation  62  of the sliding motion is outwards from the focal point X of the picture  30 , the zooming in to the same initial location is performed by the processor  210  as long as the sliding motion continues regardless of a later direction of the same sliding motion. 
         [0033]    Please refer to  FIGS. 8A and 8B , when the picture  30  is zoomed in, and the initial location  61  is located at the outer area  33 , the picture  30  is moved by the processor  210  along the orientation  62  of the sliding motion. 
         [0034]    Please refer to  FIGS. 9A to 9D , when the initial location  61  is located at the boundary  31  of the center area  32 , the zooming out from or in to the same initial location  61  is performed by the processor  210  depending on the initial orientation  62  of the sliding motion. On the other hand, when the initial orientation  62  of the sliding motion is towards to a focal point X of the picture  30 , the zooming out is performed by the processor  210 , please see  FIGS. 9A and 9B . When the initial orientation  62  of the sliding motion is outwards from the focal point X of the picture  30 , the zooming in is performed by the processor  210 , please see  FIGS. 9C and 9D . 
         [0035]    Please refer to  FIGS. 10A and 10B , when the initial location  61  is located at the focal point X of the picture  30 , the zooming in to the same initial location  61  is performed by the processor  210 . Also, the memory  220  further includes a plurality of parameters. The parameters are associated with how the zooming in or zooming out is performed by the processor  210 . The parameters include a minimum or a maximum size parameter that indicates a percentage of an original size to which the picture  30  can be zoomed out or zoomed in. The original size corresponds to a displayed size of the picture  30  prior to the sliding motion. The zooming out on the picture  30  is performed to a size corresponding or exceeding the minimize size parameter. And the zooming in on the picture  30  is performed to a size at or below the maximum size parameter. 
         [0036]    Please refer to  FIGS. 11A and 11B , when a tapping motion is made by the user, a controls  34  is shown. Furthermore, a next tapping motion or a double-tapping motion is made, the controls are hidden, please see  FIGS. 12A and 12B . 
         [0037]    Sweeping the picture  30  from left to right or from right to left across the picture borders changes to the next or previous picture  30  on the screen  20 , regardless of the picture  30  is zoomed in or not, please refer to  FIGS. 13A and 13B . When the picture  30  is not zoomed in, a sliding motion on the outer area  33  from left to right or from right to left moves the next or previous picture  30  on the screen  20 , please refer to  FIGS. 14A and 14B . 
         [0038]    Excepting for the picture  30 , any item displayed on the screen  20  may be zoomed, such as a digital image, a document, etc. Furthermore, the above-mentioned motion can also be made by a mechanical tool, such as a touch pen, or anything similar. 
         [0039]    While an illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.