Patent Publication Number: US-10324597-B2

Title: Electronic apparatus and method for controlling the same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure generally relates to electronics and, more particularly, to an electronic apparatus and a method for controlling the electronic apparatus. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Recently, an electronic apparatus, such as a smartphone and a digital camera including a touch panel mounted thereon has been widely used. An exemplary operation method using a touch panel is as follows. When a display item, such as a touch button, is displayed on the touch panel and the display item is touched, a function corresponding to the display item that has been touched is typically performed. 
     However, accurately touching a region on which the display item has been displayed is not necessarily an easy task. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-326843 discloses an operation method in which a touch button can be touched without an accurate touch operation by setting a touch sensitive region that corresponds to a touch button, in a wider area than the touch button. 
     As in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-326843, when a touch sensitive region is set in a wider area than a display item and when a plurality of display items is displayed in close with each other, touch sensitive regions of the display items are likely to overlap. When an overlapped touch sensitive region like this is touched, it is difficult to determine which display item a user intends to operate. Therefore, a function of a different display item from a display item intended by the user may be performed. As a result, an operation intended by the user sometimes cannot be performed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure is directed to performing a touch operation to a display item intended by a user even when a plurality of display items is in close with each other. 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic apparatus includes a display control unit configured to display a plurality of display items on a display unit; a detecting unit configured to detect a touch operation to the display unit; a setting unit configured to set a plurality of sensitive regions for receiving a touch operation to each of the plurality of display items, in a wider region than each of display regions of the plurality of display items; a selecting unit configured to select any of the plurality of display items; a moving unit configured to move a touched display item in accordance with a touch operation detected by the detecting unit; and a reception unit configured to receive, when the detecting unit detects a touch operation to an overlapped region including sensitive regions of the plurality of display items overlapping each other due to approach of the plurality of display items to each other by the moving unit, the detected touch operation as an operation to a display item that has been selected by the selecting unit. 
     Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to the attached drawings). 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an external view of a digital camera according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a configuration of the digital camera. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of moving image edit mode processing. 
         FIGS. 4A to 4D  are views of exemplary edit screens. 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of starting point/end point designating processing. 
         FIGS. 6A to 6F  are views of exemplary display regions and sensitive regions of display items. 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are flowcharts of starting point item/end point item moving processing. 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  are explanatory views of sensitive region moving processing. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that in the embodiment to be described below, a case where a digital camera is applied as an exemplary imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. 
       FIG. 1  is an external view of a digital camera according to the present embodiment. 
     A display unit  101  is an exemplary display and displays an image and various information. A shutter button  102  serves as a button with which a user issues an image capturing instruction. A mode selection switch  103  serves as a switch with which the user switches various modes of the digital camera  100 . A connector  104  is a connection unit for coupling, to the digital camera  100 , a connection cable  105  for communicating with an external apparatus, such as a personal computer or a printer. As used herein, the term “unit” generally refers to any combination of software, firmware, hardware, or other component, such as circuitry, that is used to effectuate a purpose. 
     Operation units  106  receive various operations by the user. The operation units  106  include operating members such as various switches, buttons, a touch panel  107  disposed on a screen of the display unit  101 , and a controller wheel  108 . The operation units  106  include a four-direction button including an upper button  109 , a lower button  110 , a left button  111 , and a right button  112 ; and a set button  113 . Note that the upper button  109  and the lower button  110  are examples of a first operating member, and the buttons are collectively called an up-down key. The left button  111  and the right button  112  are examples of a second operating member, and the buttons are collectively called a left-right key. 
     A power switch  114  serves as a push-button for switching between power-on and power-off. A storage medium  115  includes, for example, a memory card and a hard disk. A storage medium slot  116  houses the storage medium  115 . The storage medium  115  housed in the storage medium slot  116  is capable of communicating with the digital camera  100 . Therefore, image data can be stored in and reproduced from the storage medium  115 . A lid  117  closes the storage medium slot  116 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , opening the lid  117  enables the storage medium  115  to be housed into and extracted from the storage medium slot  116 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a configuration of the digital camera  100 . Note that constituent elements similar to those in  FIG. 1  are denoted with the same reference signs, and the descriptions thereof are omitted. 
     A capturing lens  200  is a lens group including a zoom lens and a focus lens. A shutter  201  is provided with an aperture function. An imaging unit  202  serves as an imaging element that includes, for example, a charged coupled device (CCD) element or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) element, which converts an optical image into an electrical signal. An analog to digital (A/D) converter  203  converts an analog signal output from the imaging unit  202  into a digital signal. A barrier  204  covers the capturing lens  200  of the digital camera  100  so as to prevent an imaging system including the capturing lens  200 , the shutter  201 , and the imaging unit  202  from being stained or damaged. 
     An image processing unit  205  performs resizing processing and color conversion processing, such as predetermined pixel interpolation and reduction, to image data from the A/D converter  203  or image data from a memory control unit  206 . In addition, the image processing unit  205  performs predetermined calculation processing using captured image data. A system control unit  207  performs exposure control and ranging control, based on a calculation result obtained from the image processing unit  205 . Through a series of the control by the system control unit  207 , autofocus (AF) processing, automatic exposure (AE) processing, and electronic flash (EF) processing of a through-the-lens (TTL) type are performed. Furthermore, the image processing unit  205  performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and performs automatic white balance (AWB) processing of the TTL type based on a calculation result obtained from the predetermined calculation processing. 
     The image data from the A/D converter  203  is directly written in a memory  208  through the image processing unit  205  and the memory control unit  206 , or the memory control unit  206 . The memory  208  stores image data that is obtained by the imaging unit  202  and converted into digital data by the A/D converter  203 , and image data to be displayed on the display unit  101 . The memory  208  is provided with a large storage capacity enough to store a predetermined number of still images, and moving images and audio with a predetermined time length. In addition, the memory  208  serves as a memory (video memory) for displaying an image. 
     A digital to analog (D/A) converter  209  converts, into an analog signal, the image data for display stored in the memory  208  so as to supply the analog signal to the display unit  101 . Therefore, the display unit  101  displays the image data for display written in the memory  208 , through the D/A converter  209 . The display unit  101  performs, on a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), display corresponding to the analog signal from the D/A converter  209 . The D/A converter  209  performs analog conversion to the digital signal stored in the memory  208  after A/D conversion once by the A/D converter  203 . After that, an analog signal is successively transmitted to and displayed on the display unit  101  so as to display a through image (live-view display). Therefore, the display unit  101  serves as an electronic view finder. 
     A nonvolatile memory  210  serves as an electrically erasable and recordable storage medium and includes, for example, an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory). The nonvolatile memory  210  stores, for example, a constant and a program for operating the system control unit  207 . The program performs various flowcharts to be described later according to the present embodiment. 
     The system control unit  207  controls the entire digital camera  100 . The system control unit  207  corresponds to an example of a display control unit, a setting unit, a reception unit, a moving unit, and a notification unit. The system control unit  207  executes the program stored in the nonvolatile memory  210  so as to implement each processing to be described later in the present embodiment. For example, a RAM is used for a system memory  211 . The program read from the nonvolatile memory  210 , a variable, and the constant for operating the system control unit  207  are developed into the system memory  211 . The system control unit  207  also controls, for example, the memory  208 , the D/A converter  209 , and the display unit  101  so as to perform display control. A system timer  212  serves as a clocking unit for measuring time to be used for various control or time of a clock embedded in the digital camera  100 . 
     The mode selection switch  103 , a first shutter switch  213 , a second shutter switch  214 , and the operation units  106  serve as operating units for inputting various operating instructions into the system control unit  207 . 
     The mode selection switch  103  can switch an operating mode of the system control unit  207  to any of, for example, a still image recording mode, a moving image capturing mode, and a reproducing mode. The still image recording mode includes, for example, an automatic capturing mode, an automatic scene determination mode, a manual mode, various scene modes for capturing settings for respective capturing scenes, a program AE mode, and a custom mode. The mode selection switch  103  can directly switch to any of the above modes included in a menu button. Alternatively, other operating units may be used to switch to any of the modes included in the menu button after the mode selection switch  103  once switches to the menu button. Similarly, the moving image capturing mode may include a plurality of modes. In addition, the reproducing mode includes a moving image edit mode to be described later. 
     The first shutter switch  213  is turned on during operation of the shutter button  102 , which is the so-called half-depression (capturing preparation instruction), so as to generate a first shutter switch signal SW 1 . The first shutter switch signal SW 1  enables the system control unit  207  to start operation of, for example, AF processing, AE processing, AWB processing, and EF processing. 
     The second shutter switch  214  is turned on upon completion of the operation of the shutter button  102 , which is the so-called full-depression (capturing instruction), so as to generate a second shutter switch signal SW 2 . The second shutter switch signal SW 2  enables the system control unit  207  to start a series of capturing processing operations that includes reading of the signal from the imaging unit  202  and writing of the image data into the storage medium  115 . 
     Various function icons displayed on the display unit  101  are, for example, selectively operated so that each of the operating members of the operation units  106  is appropriately allocated to a function in each scene. Therefore, the operating members of the operation units  106  serve as various function buttons. The function buttons include, for example, an end button, a back button, an image feeding button, a jump button, a narrowing-down button, and an attribute change button. For example, when the menu button is pressed, a menu screen that enables various settings is displayed on the display unit  101 . The user can intuitively perform the various settings using the menu screen displayed on the display unit  101 , the up-down key, the left-right key, and the set button. 
     The controller wheel  108  is an operating member capable of a rotary operation, included in the operation units  106 . The controller wheel  108  is used, for example, to instruct a selection item together with the up-down key and the left-right key. 
     A power control unit  215  includes, for example, a battery detecting circuit, a DC-DC converter, and a switch circuit for switching a block that is electrically conducted, so as to detect whether a battery is mounted, a type of a battery, and a remaining battery capacity. In addition, based on detected results and an instruction of the system control unit  207 , the power control unit  215  controls the DC-DC converter so as to supply, for a period of time, a voltage to each of the units including the storage medium  115 . A power unit  216  includes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery and a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as an NiCd battery, an NiMH battery, and an Li battery, and an AC adapter. A storage medium I/F  217  serves as an interface with the storage medium  115 . The storage medium  115  includes, for example, a semiconductor memory, an optical disk, or a magnetic disk. 
     A communication unit  218  transmits and receives, for example, an image signal, a video signal, and an audio signal to and from an external apparatus through wireless communication or a wired cable. The communication unit  218  can also be connected to a wireless LAN and the Internet. The communication unit  218  can transmit an image (including a through image) captured by the imaging unit  202  and an image stored in the storage medium  115 . In addition, the communication unit  218  can receive image data and other various information from the external apparatus. 
     An attitude detecting unit  219  detects an attitude of the digital camera  100  in a gravity direction. Based on the attitude detected by the attitude detecting unit  219 , the system control unit  207  can determine whether the image captured by the imaging unit  202  is an image captured by the digital camera  100  held in a lateral direction or a longitudinal direction. The system control unit  207  can add orientation information in accordance with the attitude detected by the attitude detecting unit  219 , to an image file of the image captured by the imaging unit  202 . The system control unit  207  can also rotate and store the image. For example, an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor can be used for the attitude detecting unit  219 . 
     A touch panel  107  serving as a detecting unit that can detect contact (touch) with the display unit  101  is provided as one of the operation units  106 . The touch panel  107  and the display unit  101  can be integrally formed. For example, the touch panel  107  is attached to an upper layer of a display surface of the display unit  101  in order not to cause transmittance of light to optically deteriorate display of the display unit  101 . Input coordinates on the touch panel  107  and display coordinates on the display unit  101  are made to correspond to each other. As a result, it is possible to constitute a GUI designed as if the user could directly operate the screen displayed on the display unit  101 . Any of various methods, such as a resistance film method, an electrostatic capacitance method, a surface acoustic wave method, an infrared method, an electromagnetic induction method, an image recognition method, and an optical sensor method can be used for the touch panel  107 . Any of a method for detecting a touch when the touch panel  107  is touched, and a method for detecting a touch by approach of a finger or a stylus pen to the touch panel  107  may be used. 
     The system control unit  207  can detect the following operations to the touch panel  107  by the user or states of the touch panel  107 . 
     (1) A state in which a finger or a stylus pen that has not touched the touch panel  107  touches the touch panel  107  anew, namely, a start of a touch (hereinafter referred to as Touch-Down). 
     (2) A state in which the finger or the stylus pen has touched the touch panel  107  (hereinafter referred to as Touch-On). 
     (3) A state in which the finger or the stylus pen moves while touching the touch panel  107  (hereinafter referred to as Touch-Move). 
     (4) A state in which the finger or the stylus pen that has touched the touch panel  107  is lifted (hereinafter referred to as Touch-Up). 
     (5) A state in which nothing touches the touch panel  107  (hereinafter referred to as Touch-Off). 
     Here, when a Touch-Down is detected, a Touch-On is also detected. After the Touch-Down, typically the Touch-On is continuously detected as long as a Touch-Up is not detected. When a Touch-Move is detected, the Touch-On has been detected. Even when the Touch-On is detected, the Touch-Move is not detected without movement of a touch position. After the Touch-Up of all the fingers or the stylus pen that have touched the touch panel  107  is detected, a Touch-Off occurs. 
     The system control unit  207  is notified of, through an internal bus, the above operations and states, and position coordinates at which the finger or the stylus pen has touched the touch panel  107 . The system control unit  207  determines which operation has been performed on the touch panel  107 , based on information the system control unit  207  is notified of. In terms of a Touch-Move, the system control unit  207  can determine a moving direction in which the finger or the stylus pen moves on the touch panel  107 , for each vertical component and horizontal component on the touch panel  107 , based on a change of the position coordinates. When a Touch-Up is performed through a certain Touch-Move after a Touch-Down on the touch panel  107 , it is assumed that a stroke has been drawn. An operation in which the stroke is quickly drawn is called a flick. The flick is an operation in which the finger is lifted after the finger quickly moves a certain distance while touching the touch panel  107 . In other words, this is an operation in which the touch panel  107  is quickly traced with the finger, like a flick with a finger. When the system control unit  207  detects a Touch-Move that has been performed over a predetermined distance or more at a predetermined speed or more and a Touch-Up, the system control unit  207  determines that a flick has been performed. In addition, the system control unit  207  determines that a drag has been performed upon detecting that a Touch-Move has been performed over the predetermined distance or more at less than the predetermined speed. 
     Next, moving image edit mode processing of the digital camera  100  will be described with reference to a flowchart in  FIG. 3 . The system control unit  207  develops the program stored in the nonvolatile memory  210  into the system memory  211  and executes the developed program so that processing of the flowchart in  FIG. 3  is implemented. 
     Note that the moving image edit mode processing receives an instruction of a moving image edit from the user while a moving image stored in the storage medium  115  is being displayed on the display unit  101  in the reproducing mode. As a result, the moving image edit mode processing is started. In the moving image edit mode, the user can segment and store a period of a part of the moving image. More specifically, for a current moving image that has been displayed, a starting point can be designated and a period before the starting point can be deleted (referred to as front cut). For the current moving image that has been displayed, an end point can be designated and a period after the end point can be deleted (referred to as rear cut). In other words, an edit can be performed so that a period between the starting point and the end point that are designated by the user is stored. The period is a part of an entire period of the current moving image that has been displayed. 
     At S 301 , the system control unit  207  displays an edit screen in the moving image edit mode on the display unit  101 . 
       FIG. 4A  is a view of an exemplary edit screen in the moving image edit mode. A current frame video having been selected from a moving image to be edited has been displayed on an edit screen  400 , remaining stationary. 
     A time sequence bar  401  indicates an entire period of the moving image to be edited. A starting point item  402  is a display item for designating the starting point for the front cut. The starting point item  402  can be moved along the time sequence bar  401  in accordance with a user operation. An end point item  403  is a display item for designating the end point for the rear cut. The end point item  403  can be moved along the time sequence bar  401  in accordance with a user operation. However, the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  cannot be moved to a right side beyond the end point item  403  and to a left side beyond the starting point item  402 , respectively. 
     A starting point selection icon  404  is an icon for selecting the starting point for the front cut. When the left-right key is operated with the starting point selection icon  404  selected, the starting point item  402  can be move to the left side and the right side. Therefore, the user can designate, as the starting point, an arbitrary position in an entire moving image. 
     An end point selection icon  405  is an icon for selecting the end point for the rear cut. When the left-right key is operated with the end point selection icon  405  selected, the end point item  403  can be move to the left side and the right side. Therefore, the user can designate, as the end point, an arbitrary position in the entire moving image. 
     The starting point selection icon  404  and the end point selection icon  405  correspond to examples of a selecting unit. 
     Note that each of the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  can also be moved by directly touching and dragging each of display positions of the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403 . Note that a region that receives a touch operation to the starting point item  402  (sensitive region) and a region that receives a touch operation to the end point item  403  (sensitive region) are arranged so as to be wider than each of display regions of the display items. 
       FIG. 4C  is a view of a relationship between the display region and the sensitive region of the display item. 
     A sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  is arranged in a wider (larger) region than the starting point item  402  itself. Similarly, a sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403  is arranged in a wider region than the end point item  403  itself. Processing of arranging the sensitive regions corresponds to exemplary processing of the setting unit. 
     Therefore, each of the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  displayed in a small area so that a fine position can be designated by the time sequence bar  401 , can be easily touched and operated even with, for example, a finger that has a large touch area. Meanwhile, when the sensitive regions are larger than the display regions of the display items themselves and when the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  are in close with each other, the sensitive regions are likely to overlap as shown in  FIG. 4D . In the present embodiment, when a touch operation is performed to the region (overlapped region) in which the sensitive regions overlap, the touch operation is received as a touch operation to a current display item that has been selected. This processing corresponds to exemplary processing of the reception unit. Note that the detailed descriptions will be given later. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 4A , a preview icon  406  serves as an icon for receiving an instruction to reproduce and preview the period from the starting point to the end point. A save icon  407  serves as an icon for receiving an instruction to determine an edit and, at that point, perform an overwrite save or a new save of the period from the starting point to the end point as a moving image file, on the storage medium  115 . A cursor  408  is a selection frame for indicating which one of the starting point selection icon  404 , the end point selection icon  405 , the preview icon  406 , or the save icon  407  has been selected. In  FIG. 4A , since the starting point selection icon  404  has been selected with the cursor  408 , the starting point item  402  has been displayed in a first display mode that indicates a selected state. On the other hand, the end point item  403  has been displayed in a second display mode that indicates a deselected state. An image displayed on the edit screen  400  is a frame image that has been indicated by the starting point item  402 . 
     A guidance display  410  serves as guidance about a current icon that has been selected with the cursor  408 . In  FIG. 4A , since the starting point selection icon  404  for selecting the starting point for the front cut has been selected, guidance about the front cut has been displayed. The guidance display  410  is displayed for a predetermined period of time (approximately two seconds) after a shift to the moving image edit mode or for a predetermined period of time (approximately two seconds) after a selection of the starting point selection icon  404 . After a predetermined period of time, the guidance display  410  is hidden. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 3 , at S 302 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a cursor moving operation has been performed. When an operation of the up-down key or a Touch-Down to any of the starting point selection icon  404 , the end point selection icon  405 , the preview icon  406 , and the save icon  407  is detected, the system control unit  207  determines that the cursor moving operation has been performed. When the cursor moving operation has been determined, the processing proceeds to S 303 . When the cursor moving operation has not been performed, the processing proceeds to S 304 . 
     At S 303 , the system control unit  207  moves the cursor  408  in accordance with the cursor moving operation. More specifically, when the up-down key is operated, the system control unit  207  moves the cursor  408  in an upward direction or a downward direction selected with the up-down key. In addition, when the Touch-Down to any of the starting point selection icon  404 , the end point selection icon  405 , the preview icon  406 , and the save icon  407  is detected, the system control unit  207  moves the cursor  408  to a position at which the Touch-Down has been performed. 
       FIG. 4B  is a view of the cursor  408  moved to the end point selection icon  405 . An image displayed on the edit screen  400  is a frame image at a position that has been indicated by the end point item  403 . The end point item  403  has been displayed in the first display mode that indicates the selected state. On the other hand, the starting point item  402  has been displayed in the second display mode that indicates the deselected state. A guidance display  411  has displayed guidance about the rear cut. The guidance display  411  is displayed for a predetermined period of time (approximately two seconds) after a selection of the end point selection icon  405  and the guidance display  411  is hidden after a predetermined period of time. 
     At S 304 , the system control unit  207  performs starting point/end point designating processing. Here, positions of the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  are changed in accordance with a user operation. In other words, the system control unit  207  receives designation of positions of the starting point and the end point from the user. The starting point/end point designating processing will be described later with reference to a flowchart in  FIG. 5 . 
     At S 305 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the menu button included in the operation units  106  has been pressed. When the menu button has been pressed, the positions of the starting point and the end point are cancelled so that the moving image edit mode processing is completed. On the other hand, when the menu button has not been pressed, the processing proceeds to S 306 . 
     At S 306 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the set button  113  included in the operation units  106  has been pressed. When the set button  113  has been pressed, the processing proceeds to S 307 . When the set button has not been pressed, the processing goes back to S 302  and the same processing is repeated. 
     At S 307 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the preview icon  406  has been selected (the cursor  408  is on the preview icon  406 ). When the preview icon  406  has been selected, the processing proceeds to S 308 . When the preview icon  406  has not been selected, the processing proceeds to S 309 . 
     At S 308 , the system control unit  207  reproduces and displays, on the display unit  101 , the period between the starting point and the end point in a moving image to be edited. The user watches a reproduced moving image so as to determine whether the period from the starting point to the end point is a desired period. 
     At S 309 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the save icon  407  has been selected (the cursor  408  is on the save icon  407 ). When the save icon  407  has been selected, the processing proceeds to S 310 . When the save icon  407  has not been selected, the processing goes back to S 302  and the same processing is repeated. 
     At S 310 , the system control unit  207  determines an edit and performs an overwrite save or a new save of the period from the starting point to the end point at that point as a moving image file on the storage medium  115 . After that, the system control unit  207  completes the moving image edit mode processing. 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart of the starting point/end point designating processing at S 304  in  FIG. 3 . The system control unit  207  develops the program stored in the nonvolatile memory  210  into the system memory  211  and executes the developed program so as to implement processing of the flowchart in  FIG. 3 . 
     At S 501 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the cursor  408  is on the starting point selection icon  404  (the starting point item  402  has been selected). When the cursor  408  is on the starting point selection icon  404 , the processing proceeds to S 502 . When the cursor  408  is not on the starting point selection icon  404 , the processing proceeds to S 511 . 
     At S 502 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a Touch-Down has been performed to the touch panel  107 . When the Touch-Down has been performed, the processing proceeds to S 503 . When the Touch-Down has not been performed, the processing proceeds to S 509 . 
     At S 503 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a position touched by the Touch-Down is inside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and inside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403  (that is, the overlapped region). 
       FIG. 6A  is a view of an example of a position touched in the overlapped region, namely, determination as Yes at S 503 . The overlapped region can be arranged so as not to include the display region of the starting point item  402  or the display region of the end point item  403 . As shown in  FIG. 6A , when a touched position Ta is inside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and inside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 , the processing proceeds to S 504 . Otherwise, the processing proceeds to S 505 . 
     At S 504 , the system control unit  207  performs starting point item moving processing. More specifically, the system control unit  207  moves the starting point item  402  in accordance with a drag operation (Touch-Move). A detailed description of the starting point item moving processing will be given later with reference to a flowchart in  FIG. 7A . 
     At S 505 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the position touched by the Touch-Down is inside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and outside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 . 
       FIG. 6B  is a view of an example of a position touched inside a sensitive region of a display item that has been selected, namely, determination as Yes at S 505 . As shown in  FIG. 6B , when a touched position Tb is inside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and outside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 , the processing proceeds to S 506 . Otherwise, the processing proceeds to S 507 . 
     At S 506 , the system control unit  207  performs starting point item moving processing. More specifically, the system control unit  207  moves the starting point item  402  in accordance with a drag operation (Touch-Move). The detailed description of the starting point item moving processing will be given later with reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 7A . 
     At S 507 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the position touched by the Touch-Down is outside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and inside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 . 
       FIG. 6C  is a view of an example of a position touched in a sensitive region of a display item that has not been selected, namely, determination of Yes at S 507 . As shown in  FIG. 6C , when a touched position Tc is outside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and inside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 , the processing proceeds to S 508 . Otherwise, the starting point/end point designating processing is completed and the moving image edit mode processing proceeds to S 305  in  FIG. 3 . 
     At S 508 , the system control unit  207  performs end point item moving processing. More specifically, the system control unit  207  moves the end point item  403  in accordance with a drag operation (Touch-Move). A detailed description of the end point item moving processing will be given later with reference to a flowchart in  FIG. 7B . 
     At S 509 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the left-right key has been operated. When the left-right key has been operated, the processing proceeds to S 510 . When the left-right key has not been operated, the starting point/end point designating processing is completed and the moving image edit mode processing proceeds to S 305  in  FIG. 3 . 
     At S 510 , the system control unit  207  moves a position of the starting point item  402  along the time sequence bar  401  in accordance with the left-right key operation (a press of the left button  111  or the right button  112 ). However, the system control unit  207  does not move the starting point item  402  to the right side beyond the end point item  403 . Furthermore, the system control unit  207  does not move the starting point item  402  to a position at which the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  overlap. 
     At S 511 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the cursor  408  is on the end point selection icon  405  (the end point item  403  has been selected). When the cursor  408  is on the end point selection icon  405 , the processing proceeds to S 512 . When the cursor  408  is not on the end point selection icon  405 , the starting point/end point designating processing is completed and the moving image edit mode processing proceeds to S 305  in  FIG. 3 . 
     At S 512 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a Touch-Down has been performed to the touch panel  107 . When the Touch-Down has been performed, the processing proceeds to S 513 . When the Touch-Down has not been performed, the processing proceeds to S 519 . 
     At S 513 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a position touched by the Touch-Down is inside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and inside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403  (namely, the overlapped region). 
       FIG. 6D  is a view of an example of a position touched in the overlapped region, namely, determination as Yes at S 513 . As shown in  FIG. 6D , when a touched position Td is inside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and inside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 , the processing proceeds to S 514 . Otherwise, the processing proceeds to S 515 . 
     At S 514 , the system control unit  207  performs end point item moving processing. More specifically, the system control unit  207  moves the end point item  403  in accordance with a drag operation (Touch-Move). The detailed description of the end point item moving processing will be given later with reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 7B . 
     At S 515 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the position touched by the Touch-Down is inside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and outside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 . 
       FIG. 6E  is a view of an example of a position touched in a sensitive region of a display item that has not been selected, namely, determination as Yes at S 515 . As shown in  FIG. 6E , when a touched position Te is inside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and outside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 , the processing proceeds to S 516 . Otherwise, the processing proceeds to S 517 . 
     At S 516 , the system control unit  207  performs starting point item moving processing. More specifically, the system control unit  207  moves the starting point item  402  in accordance with a drag operation (Touch-Move). The detailed description of the starting point item moving processing will be given later with reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 7A . 
     At S 517 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the position touched by the Touch-Down is outside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and inside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 . 
       FIG. 6F  is a view of an example of a position touched inside a sensitive region of a display item that has been selected, namely, determination as Yes at S 517 . As shown in  FIG. 6F , when a touched position Tf is outside the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and inside the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 , the processing proceeds to S 518 . Otherwise, the starting point/end point designating processing is completed and the moving image edit mode processing proceeds to S 305  in  FIG. 3 . 
     At S 518 , the system control unit  207  performs end point item moving processing. More specifically, the system control unit  207  moves the end point item  403  in accordance with a drag operation (Touch-Move). The detailed description of the end point item moving processing will be given later with reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 7B . 
     At S 519 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a left-right key has been operated. When the left-right key has been operated, the processing proceeds to S 520 . When the left-right key has not been operated, the starting point/end point designating processing is completed and the moving image edit mode processing proceeds to S 305  in  FIG. 3 . 
     At S 520 , the system control unit  207  moves a position of the end point item  403  along the time sequence bar  401  in accordance with the left-right key operation (a press of the left button  111  or the right button  112 ). However, the system control unit  207  does not move the end point item  403  to the left side beyond the starting point item  402 . Furthermore, the system control unit  207  does not move the end point item  403  to the position at which the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  overlap. 
       FIG. 7A  is the flowchart of the starting point item moving processing at S 504 , S 506 , and S 516  in  FIG. 5 . The system control unit  207  develops the program stored in the nonvolatile memory  210  into the system memory  211  and executes the developed program so that processing of the flowchart in  FIG. 7A  is implemented. 
     At S 701 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the cursor  408  is on the starting point selection icon  404  (the starting point item  402  has been selected). When the cursor  408  is not on the starting point selection icon  404 , the processing proceeds to S 702 . When the cursor  408  is on the starting point selection icon  404 , the processing proceeds to S 703 . 
     At S 702 , the system control unit  207  moves the cursor  408  to the starting point selection icon  404  so that the starting point item  402  is in the selected state. In other words, even when the cursor  408  is positioned on the end point selection icon  405  and the end point item  403  has been selected, the system control unit  207  moves the cursor  408  to the starting point selection icon  404  without depending on the cursor moving operation as in S 302 . Therefore, here, the system control unit  207  detects a Touch-Down to the starting point item  402  so as to move the cursor  408  to the starting point selection icon  404 . Accordingly, on the edit screen  400 , the starting point item  402  is in the first display mode that indicates the selected state, and the end point item  403  is in the second display mode that indicates the deselected state. In addition, the system control unit  207  displays, on the edit screen  400 , a frame image of a position indicated by the starting point item  402 . 
     At S 703 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a Touch-Move having a component in a direction along the time sequence bar  401  has been performed. When the Touch-Move has been performed, the processing proceeds to S 704 . When the Touch-Move has not been performed, the processing proceeds to S 705 . 
     At S 704 , the system control unit  207  causes the starting point item  402  to track a touch position so as to move the starting point item  402  along the time sequence bar  401  in accordance with the Touch-Move. Therefore, the starting point item  402  can be moved to a user&#39;s desired position. However, the system control unit  207  does not move the starting point item  402  to the right side beyond the end point item  403 . Furthermore, the system control unit  207  does not move the starting point item  402  to the position at which the end point item  403  and the starting point item  402  overlap. 
     At S 705 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a Touch-Up has been performed. When the Touch-Up has been performed, the starting point item moving processing is completed. When the Touch-Up has not been performed, the processing goes back to S 703  and the same processing is repeated. 
       FIG. 7B  is the flowchart of the end point item moving processing at S 508 , S 514 , and S 518  in  FIG. 5 . The system control unit  207  develops the program stored in the nonvolatile memory  210  into the system memory  211  and executes the developed program so that processing of the flowchart in  FIG. 7B  is implemented. 
     At S 711 , the system control unit  207  determines whether the cursor  408  is on the end point selection icon  405  (the end point item  403  has been selected). When the cursor  408  is not on the end point selection icon  405 , the processing proceeds to S 712 . When the cursor  408  is on the end point selection icon  405 , the processing proceeds to S 713 . 
     At S 712 , the system control unit  207  moves the cursor  408  to the end point selection icon  405  so that the end point item  403  is in the selected state. In other words, even when the cursor  408  is positioned on the starting point selection icon  404  and the starting point item  402  has been selected, the system control unit  207  moves the cursor  408  to the end point selection icon  405  without depending on the cursor moving operation as in S 302 . Therefore, here, the system control unit  207  detects a Touch-Down to the end point item  403  so as to move the cursor  408  to the end point selection icon  405 . Accordingly, on the edit screen  400 , the end point item  403  is in the first display mode that indicates the selected state and the starting point item  402  is in the second display mode that indicates the deselected state. In addition, the system control unit  207  displays, on the edit screen  400 , a frame image of a position indicated by the end point item  403 . 
     At S 713 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a Touch-Move having a component in a direction along the time sequence bar  401  has been performed. When the Touch-Move has been performed, the processing proceeds to S 714 . When the Touch-Move has not been performed, the processing proceeds to S 715 . 
     At S 714 , the system control unit  207  causes the end point item  403  to track a touch position so as to move the end point item  403  along the time sequence bar  401  in accordance with the Touch-Move. Therefore, the end point item  403  can be moved to a user&#39;s desired position. However, the system control unit  207  does not move the end point item  403  to the left side beyond the starting point item  402 . Furthermore, the system control unit  207  does not move the end point item  403  to the position at which the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  overlap. 
     At S 715 , the system control unit  207  determines whether a Touch-Up has been performed. When the Touch-Up has been performed, the end point item moving processing is completed. When the Touch-Up has not been performed, the processing goes back to S 713  and the same processing is repeated. 
     As described above, according to the present embodiment, when display items having wider touch sensitive regions than display regions are in close with each other and when a touch operation to an overlapped region in which the respective touch sensitive regions overlap is detected, the touch operation is received as a touch operation to a display item having been selected at that point. Therefore, even when it is difficult to determine at which of a plurality of display items an operation instruction is aimed, a display item assumed to be intended by a user as an object to be operated can be the object to be operated. In other words, the user can perform a touch operation to an intended display item. 
     Note that, as described above, in the present embodiment, when a touch operation is performed to the overlapped region of the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403 , the touch operation is received as a touch operation to a display item having been selected at that point. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the present embodiment. 
     In other words, even when a touch operation to an overlapped region is performed, in a case where the touch operation to a display region of a display item is performed, the touch operation may be received as a touch operation to a display item having been displayed at a touched position regardless of which display item has been selected. More specifically, it is assumed that a Touch-Down is performed to the overlapped region of the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  and the sensitive region  413  of the end point item  403  within the display region of the starting point item  402  itself. In this case, even when the end point item  403  has been selected, the system control unit  207  changes the end point item  403  to the starting point item  402  so that the starting point item  402  is an object to be operated. The user does not visually recognize a sensitive region of a display item. Therefore, when the inside of a display region of the display item itself is touched, it is natural that an operation instruction to a display item having been displayed at a touched position is received. Therefore, when a display region of a display item itself is not touched but a periphery of the display region of the display item is touched, the object to be operated is determined in accordance with a display item that has been selected as in the above embodiment. As a result, usability for the user can be improved. 
     A change to a different display item from a display item that has been selected before a touch at S 702  in  FIG. 7A  and at S 712  in  FIG. 7B , has been described. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this case. In other words, a different display item from the display item that has been selected before the touch may be arranged so as not to be moved by a Touch-Move without the change to the different display item from the display item that has been selected before the touch. In this case, when the determination is No at S 701  in  FIG. 7A  and when the determination is No at S 711  in  FIG. 7B  above, processing is completed without performing the processing in accordance with the Touch-Move. Here, for example, it is assumed that the user intends to operate, by a Touch-Move, a different display item from a current display item that has been selected. In this case, it is necessary that a cursor moving operation be performed before a touch operation to the display item (the starting point item  402  or the end point item  403 ) and one icon the user intends to operate be selected from the starting point selection icon  404  and the end point selection icon  405 . The above processing is performed so that an object to be operated becomes clear. As a result, a misoperation upon a designating operation of the starting point and the end point by the Touch-Move can be prevented. 
     Note that when the starting point item moving processing is performed in accordance with the determination as Yes at S 503  in  FIG. 5 , since the Touch-Down has been performed to the overlapped region, the display item intended by the user may be not the starting point item  402  but the end point item  403 . In this case, the user is likely to be confused because the user cannot understand why the starting point item  402  has been selected as the object to be operated. In order to solve this problem, when the determination is Yes at S 503  (the Touch-Down in the overlapped region is detected), the user may be notified that the starting point item  402  has been selected as the object to be operated because the starting point selection icon  404  has been selected. This processing corresponds to exemplary processing of the notification unit. 
     More specifically, in accordance with the determination as Yes at S 503  (the Touch-Down in the overlapped region is detected), the system control unit  207  performs an enhanced display, such as flashing of the current starting point selection icon  404  that has been selected, or displays a pop-up message. The user can be notified, by these notifications, that in order to easily move the end point item  403 , the cursor  408  is first moved to the position of the end point selection icon  405  by, for example, an up-down key operation, and then a Touch-Move operation is performed. Similarly, when the determination is Yes at S 513  (the Touch-Down to the overlapped region is detected), the user may be notified that the end point item  403  has been selected as the object to be operated because the end point selection icon  405  has been selected. 
     Furthermore, after a direction of the Touch-Move is further determined, a current display item that has been selected may be estimated not to be a display item that the user intends to move and the user may be notified of the estimation. For example, when the determination is Yes at S 503 , a notification may not be performed at that point. The user may be notified why the starting point item  402  has been selected as the object to be operated in accordance with detection of the Touch-Move in the right direction after the determination. Detection of the Touch-Down to the overlapped region indicates that the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  are in close with each other. The Touch-move that has been performed in the right direction after the Touch-Down indicates that the user intends to move either the starting point item  402  in the right direction or the end point item  403  in the right direction. However, movement of the starting point item  402  in the right direction indicates movement in the right direction beyond the end point item  403  in close with the starting point item  402 . However, the starting point item  402  cannot be moved in the right direction beyond the end point item  403 . Therefore, it can be estimated that the user does not intend to move the starting point item  402  in the right direction but intends to move the end point item  403  in the right direction. In other words, the starting point item  402  as the object to be operated is very unlikely to be an item intended by the user, that is, the end point item  403 . 
     Therefore, when the determination is Yes at S 503 , the system control unit  207  notifies the user why the starting point item  402  has been selected as the object to be operated, in accordance with the detection of the Touch-Move performed in the right direction after the determination. More specifically, the system control unit  207  performs an enhanced display, such as flashing of the current starting point selection icon  404  that has been selected, or displays a pop-up message. Accordingly, the user can recognize that, in order to move the end point item  403  that the user intends to operate, the cursor  408  may be first moved to the end point selection icon  405 . Similarly, when the determination is Yes at S 513 , a notification may not be performed at that point. The user may be notified why the end point item  403  has been selected as the object to be operated, in accordance with detection of the Touch-Move performed in the left direction after the determination. 
     Note that it is assumed in the above embodiment that an overlapped region exists. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this case. The overlapped region may be reduced or in some cases the overlapped region may be omitted. In other words, as shown in  FIG. 8A , the following position relationship and state are assumed. That is, display items are in close with each other and the sensitive regions of the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403  overlap, and the cursor  408  is on the end point selection icon  405 . In this case, as shown in  FIG. 8B , the system control unit  207  shifts (moves) and arranges, by a predetermined value, the sensitive region  412  of the starting point item  402  that has not been selected, in a direction opposite to the end point item  403  having been displayed. Therefore, the overlapped region can be reduced. In some cases, the overlapped region can be omitted. Even when the display items are in close with each other, the user can easily perform an intended touch operation to the display item. 
     In the above embodiment, the present disclosure is applied to display items for designating a starting point and an end point in a moving image edit. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this case. When sensitive regions corresponding to the display items are arranged so as to be larger than display regions themselves of the display items and the display items are displayed in close with each other, and when the sensitive regions overlap, the present disclosure can be applied. For example, in a music edit, the present disclosure can be applied when a starting point and an end point are designated in order to segment an arbitrary period of time from an entire period of time. In addition, the present disclosure can be applied when a starting point and an end point are designated in order to display an arbitrary range from an entire range of, for example, a table or an image. The present disclosure can be also applied when touch buttons allocated to some functions and having a customizable arrangement are arranged in close with each other, instead of the starting point and the end point. 
     In the above embodiment, an edit of a moving image that includes a series of images has been described. The present disclosure is not limited to this case. The present disclosure can be also applied when continuously captured still images that include a series of images are edited. 
     In the above embodiment, there are two display items, i.e., the starting point item  402  and the end point item  403 . The present disclosure is not limited to this case. The present disclosure can be also applied when three items or more are arranged. 
     Control of the system control unit  207  may be performed by a piece of hardware. Alternatively, a plurality of pieces of hardware may share processing so that control of the entire apparatus is performed. 
     The present disclosure has been described based on the preferred embodiment. The present disclosure is not limited to the specified embodiment. The present disclosure includes various embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the above embodiment is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The above modifications can be appropriately combined with the above embodiment. 
     In the above embodiment, the present disclosure applied to a digital camera has been described. The present disclosure is not limited to this case. The present invention can be applied to an electronic apparatus that enables a touch operation to a display item. In other words, the present disclosure can be applied to, for example, a personal computer, a PDA (personal digital assistant), a mobile phone terminal, a portable image viewer, a printer apparatus provided with a display, a digital photo frame, a music player, a game console, and an electronic book reader. 
     Other Embodiments 
     The present disclosure can also be implemented by performing the following processing. Specifically, a program that implements functions in the above embodiment is supplied to an electronic apparatus through a network or various storage media so that a computer (for example, a central processing unit (CPU)) of the electronic apparatus reads and executes the program. In this case, the program and a computer-readable storage medium that stores the program constitute the present invention. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, even when display items are in close with each other, a touch operation to a display item intended by a user can be performed. 
     Other Embodiments 
     Embodiment(s) of the present disclosure can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)), or the like, and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like. 
     While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. 
     This application claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-170465, filed Aug. 25, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.