Patent Publication Number: US-2011063210-A1

Title: Information processing apparatus, display control method, and program

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a display control method, and a program. 
     2. Related Art 
     A display apparatus in which a location upon a display panel is specified through a user operation made on an X-axis touch sensor and a Y-axis touch sensor provided in a frame member that surrounds the edges of the display panel has been disclosed (for example, see JP-A-2007-200002). 
     However, with the stated technology, when the position of a pointer has moved, the user cannot be made aware of the movement path and the movement direction of the pointer. 
     SUMMARY 
     An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, a display control method, and a program capable of making a user aware of a movement path and a movement direction of a pointer with ease. 
     An information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the invention includes an input receiving unit that receives an input of a movement operation including a movement direction and a movement distance of a pointer displayed on a display unit, and a display control unit that causes the pointer to move in accordance with the movement operation; each time the input receiving unit receives an input of a movement operation for moving the pointer, the display control unit causes the post-movement pointer to be further displayed on the display unit in a different display form than the pre-movement pointer. 
     In the aforementioned information processing apparatus, the display control unit may cause the post-movement pointer to be further displayed on the display unit in a different display form than the pre-movement pointer in accordance with a display rule by which a movement sequence of the pointer can be identified. 
     In the aforementioned information processing apparatus, the display form may be represented by a darkness. 
     In the aforementioned information processing apparatus, the display control unit may cause the darkness of the pre-movement pointer and the darkness of the post-movement pointer to differ by increasing the darkness of the pre-movement pointer. 
     The aforementioned information processing apparatus may further include a determination unit that determines whether or not a display screen of the display unit is to be rewritten, and the display control unit may rewrite the display screen in the case where the determination unit has determined that the display screen is to be rewritten. 
     In the aforementioned information processing apparatus, the display control unit may not rewrite the display screen each time the input receiving unit receives an input of the movement operation, and may rewrite the display screen in the case where the determination unit has determined that the display screen is to be rewritten. 
     In the aforementioned information processing apparatus, the determination unit may determine that the display screen is to be rewritten in the case where a number of times the pointer has moved has reached a predetermined number. 
     In the aforementioned information processing apparatus, the determination unit may determine that the display screen is to be rewritten in the case where a display time of the display screen has reached a predetermined amount of time. 
     Furthermore, a display control method according to a second aspect of the invention includes receiving an input of a movement operation including a movement direction and a movement distance of a pointer displayed on a display unit, and causing the pointer to move in accordance with the movement operation; each time an input of the movement operation for moving the pointer in the causing is received in the receiving, the post-movement pointer is caused to be further displayed on the display unit in a different display form than the pre-movement pointer. 
     Furthermore, a program according to a third aspect of the invention is a program that causes a computer to function as an input receiving unit that receives an input of a movement operation including a movement direction and a movement distance of a pointer displayed on a display unit, and a display control unit that causes the pointer to move in accordance with the movement operation; each time the input receiving unit receives an input of the movement operation for moving the pointer in the display control unit, the display control unit causes the post-movement pointer to be further displayed on the display unit in a different display form than the pre-movement pointer. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements. 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a terminal apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a terminal apparatus. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure of a terminal apparatus. 
         FIGS. 4A through 4D  are diagrams illustrating examples of display screens displayed on a display. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating another example of a display screen displayed on a display. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a terminal apparatus  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. Note that in this embodiment, the terminal apparatus  100 , which displays document data, will be described as an example of an information processing apparatus according to the invention. However, it should be noted that the terminal apparatus  100  may be a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile telephone, a personal computer, or the like as well. 
     The terminal apparatus  100  includes a housing  110 , a display  112 , and a stylus pen  120 . The display  112  is provided in the front surface of the housing  110 . The display  112  displays document data. In addition, the display  112  displays a pointer. The pointer indicates a currently-selected position in the document data displayed in the display  112 . For example, a cursor, a mouse pointer, or the like can be given as an example of the pointer. Note that in addition to the document data, the terminal apparatus  100  is also capable of displaying image data, administrative data, buttons, icons, and the like on the display  112 . Electronic paper that employs an electrophoretic system is used as the display  112  of the terminal apparatus  100  according to this embodiment. 
     The stylus pen  120  is provided as a separate entity from the housing  110 . The stylus pen  120  inputs operations into the terminal apparatus  100 . The terminal apparatus  100  detects contact or pressure from the stylus pen  120  through a touch panel that is provided in the surface of the display  112 , and identifies the operations inputted through the stylus pen  120  based on the location, pattern, or the like of the detected contact or pressure. The terminal apparatus  100  then carries out processing in accordance with the identified operations. For example, the terminal apparatus  100  causes the pointer displayed on the display  112  to move in accordance with a pointer movement operation inputted using the stylus pen  120 . The pointer movement operation includes the movement direction and the movement distance of the pointer. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the terminal apparatus  100 . The terminal apparatus  100  includes an input unit  202 , an input receiving unit  204 , a display control unit  206 , a display unit  208 , and a storage unit  210 . The input unit  202  inputs operations into the terminal apparatus  100 . The input receiving unit  204  receives the input of operations for the terminal apparatus  100  as inputted using the input unit  202 . For example, the input unit  202  inputs a movement operation for the pointer that is displayed on the display unit  208 . In this case, the input receiving unit  204  receives the input of the pointer movement operation as inputted using the input unit  202 . 
     With the terminal apparatus  100  according to this embodiment, the stylus pen  120  illustrated in  FIG. 1  functions as the input unit  202 . The terminal apparatus  100  may include an input device such as a mouse, operational buttons, or the like instead of or in addition to the stylus pen  120 . In this case, the input device may function as the input unit  202  instead of or in addition to the stylus pen  120 . 
     The display unit  208  displays document data. In addition, the display unit  208  displays the pointer. The display control unit  206  controls the display of the display unit  208 . For example, the display control unit  206  reads out the document data stored in the storage unit  210  and causes the read-out document data to be displayed on the display unit  208 . In addition, the display control unit  206  causes the pointer displayed on the display unit  208  to move in accordance with the pointer movement operation whose input has been received by the input receiving unit  204 . With the terminal apparatus  100  according to this embodiment, the display  112  illustrated in  FIG. 1  functions as the display unit  208 . 
     Here, the display control unit  206  according to this embodiment causes the post-movement pointer to be additionally displayed on the display unit  208  in a different display form than the pre-movement pointer each time the input of the pointer movement operation has been received by the input receiving unit  204 . To be more specific, each time the input of the pointer movement operation has been received by the input receiving unit  204 , the display control unit  206  causes the post-movement pointer to be additionally displayed on the display unit  208  in a different display form than the pre-movement pointer in accordance with a display rule by which the movement sequence of the pointer can be identified. 
     For example, each time the input of the pointer movement operation has been received by the input receiving unit  204 , the display control unit  206  causes the post-movement pointer to be additionally displayed on the display unit  208  at a different darkness than the pre-movement pointer in accordance with the display rule by which the movement sequence of the pointer can be identified. The display control unit  206  may cause the darkness of the pre-movement pointer and the darkness of the post-movement pointer to differ by increasing the darkness of the pre-movement pointer each time the input of the pointer movement operation has been received by the input receiving unit  204 . 
     The display control unit  206  may increase the darkness of the pre-movement pointer by a predetermined amount each time the input of the pointer movement operation has been received by the input receiving unit  204 . As another example, the display control unit  206  may increase the darkness of the pre-movement pointer by an amount equivalent to the difference between a current value and a target value each time the input of the pointer movement operation has been received by the input receiving unit  204 . 
     An example in which the darkness of the pre-movement pointer is increased by 25% at a time will be described hereinafter. For example, in the case where the pointer displayed in a first display position and at a darkness of 0% (the pointer in an initial state) is caused to move to a second display position, the display control unit  206  changes the darkness of the pointer displayed in the first display position to 25%, and further causes the pointer at a darkness of 0% (the pointer in the initial state) to be displayed in the second display position. Furthermore, in the case where the pointer displayed in the second display position is caused to move to a third display position, the display control unit  206  changes the darkness of the pointer displayed in the first display position to 50%, changes the darkness of the pointer displayed in the second display position to 25%, and further causes the pointer at a darkness of 0% (the pointer in the initial state) to be displayed in the third display position. 
     For example, in the case of the display  112 , which uses electronic paper that employs an electrophoretic system, the display control unit  206  increases the darkness of the pointer by applying, to each of multiple pixels corresponding to the pointer, a predetermined voltage for increasing the darkness of the pixels for an amount of time based on the additional amount of darkness of the pointer. Note that the darkness of the pointer in the initial state may not need to be 0%. In addition, the amount by which the darkness of the pointer is increased need not be 25%. 
     In this manner, the terminal apparatus  100  according to this embodiment displays multiple pointers at differing darknesses upon the movement path of the pointer in accordance with the movement of the pointer, and it is thus possible to make the user of the terminal apparatus  100  aware of the movement path and the movement direction of the pointer with ease. Note that the display control unit  206  may cause the darkness of the pre-movement pointer and the darkness of the post-movement pointer to differ by reducing the darkness of the pre-movement pointer. In addition, the display control unit  206  may cause the transparency, color, shape, size, or the like of the pre-movement pointer and the post-movement pointer to differ in accordance with the display rule by which the movement sequence of the pointer can be identified. 
     The terminal apparatus  100  according to this embodiment further includes a determination unit  212 . The determination unit  212  determines whether or not to rewrite the display screen of the display unit  208 . For example, the determination unit  212  determines to rewrite the display screen of the display unit  208  in the case where the number of pointer movements has reached a predetermined number. The determination unit  212  may determine to rewrite the display screen of the display unit  208  in the case where the display time of the display screen on the display unit  208  has reached a predetermined amount of time. The display control unit  206  may rewrite the display screen of the display unit  208  in the case where the determination unit  212  has determined to rewrite the display screen of the display unit  208 , rather than rewriting the display screen of the display unit  208  each time the input receiving unit  204  has received an input of a movement instruction. 
     The display control unit  206  rewrites the display screen of the display unit  208  by newly displaying, on the display unit  208 , a display screen that reflects the latest display content, after first initializing the display screen of the display unit  208 . For example, in the case of the display  112 , which uses electronic paper that employs an electrophoretic system, the display control unit  206  initializes the display screen of the display unit  208  by reducing the darkness of each of the multiple pixels provided in the display unit  208  through the application, to each of those pixels, of a predetermined voltage for decreasing the darkness of the pixels for an amount of time based on the reduction amount of darkness of those pixels. 
     In the case where the display screen of the display unit  208  has been rewritten, the display control unit  206  may display the pointer indicating the latest selected position in the post-rewrite display screen without displaying the pre-movement pointer, which had been displayed in the pre-rewrite display screen, in the post-rewrite display screen. In addition, the display control unit  206  may determine whether or not to rewrite the display screen of the display unit  208  based on a condition aside from that stated above. For example, the display control unit  206  may determine to rewrite the display screen of the display unit  208  in the case where the darkness of any of the pointers displayed in the display screen of the display unit  208  has reached a predetermined darkness (for example, 100%). 
     In addition, the display control unit  206  may rewrite the entirety of the display screen, or may rewrite only part of the display screen. For example, in the case where the display screen contains multiple regions, the terminal apparatus  100  may rewrite, of those multiple regions, the region in which the pointer is displayed. Note that the timing at which the calculation of the display time of the display screen is commenced is not limited to the timing at which the display screen is displayed; for example, the timing at which the pointer movement operation stops may be used instead. 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the terminal apparatus  100 . First, the display control unit  206  initializes the display screen of the display unit  208  (step S 302 ). Next, the display control unit  206  causes the document data and the pointer in the initial state to be displayed on the display unit  208  (step S 304 ). 
     Next, the display control unit  206  determines whether or not the pointer has been rewritten from the initial state of the display screen (step S 306 ). In the case where the display control unit  206  has determined in step S 306  that the pointer has been rewritten from the initial state of the display screen (step S 306 : Yes), the terminal apparatus  100  advances the processing to step S 308 . However, in the case where the display control unit  206  has determined in step S 306  that the pointer has not been rewritten from the initial state of the display screen (step S 306 : No), the terminal apparatus  100  advances the processing to step S 310 . 
     In step S 308 , the determination unit  212  determines whether or not a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the document data and the pointer were displayed in step S 304  (step S 308 ). In the case where the determination unit  212  has determined in step S 308  that the predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the document data and the pointer were displayed in step S 304  (step S 308 : Yes), the terminal apparatus  100  returns the processing to step S 302 . However, in the case where the determination unit  212  has determined in step S 308  that the predetermined amount of time has not elapsed since the document data and the pointer were displayed in step S 304  (step S 308 : No), the terminal apparatus  100  advances the processing to step S 310 . 
     In step S 310 , the display control unit  206  determines whether or not a pointer movement operation input has been received by the input receiving unit  204  (step S 310 ). In the case where it has been determined in step S 310  that a pointer movement operation input has not been received by the input receiving unit  204  (step S 310 : No), the terminal apparatus  100  returns the processing to step S 306 . However, in the case where it has been determined in step S 310  that a pointer movement operation input has been received by the input receiving unit  204  (step S 310 : Yes), the terminal apparatus  100  advances the processing to step S 312 . 
     In step S 312 , the determination unit  212  determines whether or not the number of pointer movements has reached a predetermined number (step S 312 ). In the case where the determination unit  212  has determined in step S 312  that the number of pointer movements has reached the predetermined number (step S 312 : Yes), the terminal apparatus  100  returns the processing to step S 302 . On the other hand, in the case where the determination unit  212  has determined in step S 312  that the number of pointer movements has not reached the predetermined number (step S 312 : No), the display control unit  206  increases the darkness of the pre-movement pointer displayed on the display unit  208  (step S 314 ), and the display control unit  206  additionally displays the post-movement pointer indicating the latest selected position on the display unit  208  (step S 316 ). The terminal apparatus  100  then returns the processing to step S 306 . 
       FIGS. 4A through 4D  are diagrams illustrating examples of the display screens displayed on the display  112 . A screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4A  is a display screen displayed on the display  112 , and indicates the display screen prior to the pointer moving from an initial position. A pointer  402  is indicated in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4A . The darkness of the pointer  402  in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4A  is 0%. As a result, in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4A , the display position of the pointer  402  indicates the current position of the pointer. Meanwhile, only a single pointer is displayed in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4A . As a result, in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4A , the display position of the pointer  402  indicates the initial position of the pointer. 
     The screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4B  indicates the state of the display screen displayed on the display  112  as a result of the pointer being moved from the state displayed in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4A . The pointer  402  and a pointer  404  are indicated in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4B . In the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4B , the darkness of the pointer  402  is 33%, whereas the darkness of the pointer  404  is 0%. As a result, the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4B  indicates that the pointer has moved from the display position of the pointer  402  to the display position of the pointer  404 , and that the display position of the pointer  404  is the current position of the pointer. 
     The screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4C  indicates the state of the display screen displayed on the display  112  as a result of the pointer being further moved from the state displayed in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4B . The pointer  402 , the pointer  404 , and a pointer  406  are indicated in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4C . In the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4C , the darkness of the pointer  402  is 66%, the darkness of the pointer  404  is 33%, and the darkness of the pointer  406  is 0%. As a result, the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4C  indicates that the pointer has moved from the display position of the pointer  402  to the display position of the pointer  406  via the display position of the pointer  404 , and that the display position of the pointer  406  is the current position of the pointer. 
     The screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4D  indicates the state of the display screen displayed on the display  112  as a result of the pointer being further moved from the state displayed in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4C . The pointer  402 , the pointer  404 , the pointer  406 , and a pointer  408  are indicated in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4D . In the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4D , the darkness of the pointer  402  is 100%, the darkness of the pointer  404  is 66%, the darkness of the pointer  406  is 33%, and the darkness of the pointer  408  is 0%. As a result, the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4D  indicates that the pointer has moved from the display position of the pointer  402  to the display position of the pointer  408  via the display position of the pointer  404  and the display position of the pointer  406 , and that the display position of the pointer  408  is the current position of the pointer. 
     In this manner, according to the terminal apparatus  100  of this embodiment, multiple pointers are displayed at differing darknesses upon the movement path of the pointer in accordance with the movement of the pointer, and it is thus possible to make the user of the terminal apparatus  100  aware not only of the current position of the pointer, but also of the movement path and the movement direction of the pointer with ease. 
     Note that the terminal apparatus  100  may display a pointer that has undergone bordering processing, or may display a pointer that has not undergone bordering processing. In addition, the terminal apparatus  100  may display the pointer in a transparent manner so that the user can be aware of the information present behind the pointer, or may display the pointer in a non-transparent manner so that the user cannot be aware of the information present behind the pointer. 
       FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating another example of a display screen displayed on the display  112 . A screen  500  illustrated in  FIG. 5  indicates a display screen displayed on the display  112  as a result of the pointer being further moved from the state displayed in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4D . To be more specific, the pointer has been moved from the state displayed in the screen  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4D  and from the position of the pointer  408  illustrated in  FIG. 4D  to the position of a pointer  502  indicated in  FIG. 5 . Through this, the number of pointer movements has reached a predetermined number of four. Accordingly, the terminal apparatus  100  initializes the screen  400  displayed on the display  112 , and newly displays the screen  500  on the display  112 . 
     The darkness of the pointer  502  in the screen  500  is 0%. As a result, in the screen  500 , the display position of the pointer  502  indicates the current position of the pointer. In addition, only a single pointer is displayed in the screen  500 . As a result, in the screen  500 , the display position of the pointer  502  indicates the initial position of the pointer after the screen  400  has been initialized. 
     Note that before the number of pointer movements reaches the predetermined number, the terminal apparatus  100  initializes the screen  400  and newly displays the screen  500  on the display  112 , in the same manner as the case where the display time of the screen  400  has reached a predetermined amount of time. Meanwhile, in the case where the pointer is further moved from the state in which the screen  500  is displayed on the display  112 , the terminal apparatus  100  displays multiple pointers at differing darknesses upon the movement path of the pointer in accordance with the movement of the pointer, in the same manner as illustrated in  FIGS. 4A through 4D . Furthermore, in the case where the number of pointer movements has further reached the predetermined number or the case where the display time of the screen  500  has reached the predetermined amount of time after the screen  500  has been displayed on the display  112 , the screen  500  is initialized and a display screen indicating the latest display content is newly displayed, in the same manner as the processing illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     In this manner, according to the terminal apparatus  100  of this embodiment, the display screen is rewritten in the case where a predetermined rewriting condition has been met, rather than rewriting the display screen each time the pointer moves; as a result, the latest display screen indicating the current position of the pointer can be displayed in a short amount of time. Furthermore, according to the terminal apparatus  100  of this embodiment, the darkness of the pointer is changed by increasing the darkness of the pointer from the current value by a predetermined amount or to a target value; the processing for changing the darkness of the pointer can be carried out in a shorter amount of time than newly displaying the pointer at the post-change darkness. As a result, the latest display screen indicating the current position of the pointer can be displayed in a short amount of time, thus allowing the user to view the document data without causing him/her to feel any stress. 
     The information processing apparatus, the display control method, and the program according to the invention can be applied in various information processing apparatuses that include a display unit that displays a pointer. In particular, it takes time to rewrite the display screen in an information processing apparatus that uses electronic paper employing an electrophoretic system as the display  112 , such as the terminal apparatus  100  of this embodiment. Accordingly, applying the information processing apparatus, the display control method, and the program according to the invention in such an information processing apparatus makes it possible to reduce the amount of time involved in displaying the display screen more than an information processing apparatus that displays a pointer using another display technique. 
       FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal apparatus  100 . In addition to the display  112  and the stylus pen  120  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the terminal apparatus  100  further includes a CPU  1505 , a ROM  1510 , a RAM  1520 , an HD (hard disk) drive  1525 , a communication interface  1530 , an external memory drive  1540 , and an external memory  1542 . 
     The ROM  1510 , the RAM  1520 , and the HD drive  1525  store various types of data and various types of programs. At least one of the ROM  1510 , the RAM  1520 , and the HD drive  1525  functions as the storage unit  210  described with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 5 . 
     The CPU  1505  performs various types of data processing and various types of hardware control by executing programs stored in the ROM  1510 , the RAM  1520 , and the HD drive  1525 . The programs executed by the CPU  1505  cause a computer to function as the input receiving unit  204 , the display control unit  206 , and the determination unit  212  described with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 5 . 
     The communication interface  1530  connects to a communication network and exchanges data with an external device via the communication network. The external memory drive  1540  connects to the external memory  1542  and exchanges data with the external memory  1542 . A memory card can be given as an example of the external memory  1542 . The external memory  1542  may, however, be a recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, or the like. The external memory  1542  may function as the storage unit  210  described with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 5 . 
     The programs executed by the CPU  1505  may be stored, for example, in the external memory  1542  as described above, or may be provided to the terminal apparatus  100  from the external memory  1542 . In addition, the programs executed by the CPU  1505  may be stored in a recording medium such as a memory, a hard disk, or the like provided in the external device, or may be provided to the terminal apparatus  100  from the external device via the communication network. 
     The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-215504, filed Sep. 17, 2009 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.