JP2010079718A - Portable terminal apparatus, information processing apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide smooth operability in an information processing apparatus having a removable portable terminal apparatus with different operation modes. <P>SOLUTION: A whole information processing apparatus 100 includes the removable portable terminal apparatus 110 equipped with a touch panel 111 and an information processing apparatus 120. When detecting an operation input with the fingertip as an operation input to the touch panel 111 by a user, the portable terminal apparatus 110 functions as the pointing device of the information processing apparatus 120, and when detecting the operation input with a stylus pen, the portable terminal apparatus functions as a thin client terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal device, an information processing device, and a program, and more particularly, to an information processing device having a detachable portable terminal device.

As technologies related to the present invention, technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are listed. Patent Document 1 discloses a session management system for automatically connecting to a server or reconnecting a session without the user being aware of it in a thin client system. In addition, in relation to a touch screen glide pad (hereinafter also referred to as “touch pad”), Patent Document 2 discloses the position, pressure, and contact area of physical contact with the input surface of the touch pad. There is a description of detecting the contact position, pressure, and contact area information as operation signals according to the detection.
JP 2007-334686 A JP 2008-146453 A

  For example, in the technical field of information processing devices such as notebook computers, some of the functions and data of the devices are transferred to small portable devices with higher portability, or the devices are used via a network. There is an increasing need to remotely use some functions of the device by operating from a small device. Therefore, it is considered that a part of the information processing apparatus is physically separated and configured as a removable portable terminal device. Such a portable terminal device often has a plurality of different operation modes in order to provide various functions to the user. However, the current situation is that a cumbersome operation is required to switch the operation mode.

  Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide smooth operability in an information processing apparatus having a portable terminal device having different operation modes in a detachable manner.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

  A first portable terminal device according to the present invention is a portable terminal device that includes a touch panel and can be used by being incorporated in an information processing apparatus, and is operated by a fingertip as an operation input to the touch panel by a user. When an input is detected, it functions as a pointing device of the information processing apparatus, and when an operation input with a stylus pen is detected, it functions as a thin client terminal.

  A second portable terminal device according to the present invention is a portable terminal device that includes a touch panel and can be used by being incorporated in an information processing apparatus, and includes a plurality of different operation modes, and the operation on the touch panel. An input type determining means for determining an input type of input, an operation mode determining means for determining an operation mode corresponding to the input type determined by the input type determining means, and the operation mode determining means for the operation input And control means for controlling the operation mode.

  A program according to the present invention comprises a plurality of operation modes different from those of a touch panel, a portable terminal device that can be attached to and detached from an information processing device, an input type determination unit that determines an input type of an operation input to the touch panel, An operation mode determination unit that determines an operation mode corresponding to the input type determined by the input type determination unit, and a control unit that controls the operation mode determined by the operation mode determination unit with respect to the operation input. It is characterized by making it.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide smooth operativity in the information processing apparatus which has a portable terminal device provided with different operation modes so that attachment or detachment is possible.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the entire apparatus according to the present embodiment. As illustrated, the entire information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a portable terminal device 110 and an information processing apparatus 120. The portable terminal device 110 is configured to be detachable from the information processing device 120, and can be attached to the information processing device 120 using the detachable unit 122.

  The portable terminal device 110 includes a touch panel 111. The touch panel 111 is configured as a device in which a display device such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL display is combined with a position input device such as a touch screen glide pad.

  The information processing apparatus 120 includes a display 121, an attachment / detachment unit 122, and a keyboard 123. The display 121 is an output device that displays a processing result by the information processing apparatus 120, and the keyboard 123 is an input device that inputs a user operation to the information processing apparatus 120.

  The attachment / detachment unit 122 is a mechanism for attaching the portable terminal device 110 to the information processing apparatus 120. The attachment / detachment unit 122 may have any configuration as long as it has a function of attaching the portable terminal device 110 to the information processing device 120. However, as illustrated, a bathtub-shaped depression is provided on the same surface as the keyboard 123. It is preferable that it is comprised as. When the portable terminal device 110 is attached to the information processing apparatus 120, the thickness of the portable terminal device 110 is absorbed, for example, the touch panel 111 is made to be the same height as the key top of the keyboard 123, and the user can have good operability. This is because it can be provided.

  In addition, the information processing apparatus 120 has a normal touch pad (slide pad controller) (not shown) at the bottom of the attaching / detaching unit 122. This touchpad functions as a pointing device of the information processing apparatus 120, and can provide a user with good GUI operability even when the portable terminal device 110 is not attached to the detachable unit 122.

  Next, operation modes provided by the portable terminal device 110 will be described. The operation modes provided by the portable terminal device 110 are not limited, but in the present embodiment, there are two modes: a thin client mode and a main body operation mode. Note that there may be more than two operation modes.

  The thin client mode is a mode in which the portable terminal device 110 is operated as a thin client terminal, and the information processing result by the information processing device 120 is transmitted to the portable terminal device 110 by communication, and the touch panel 111 of the portable terminal device 110 is transmitted. It is a mode that can be displayed on the screen. In another mode, for example, the desktop screen displayed on the display 121 is displayed on the touch panel 111 in real time, so that the user can check the mail that has arrived at the information processing apparatus 120 and view the file. is there.

  On the other hand, the main body operation mode is a mode in which the portable terminal device 110 is operated as a pointing device or the like of the information processing apparatus 120. In the main body operation mode, the user operates the information processing apparatus 120 by operating the touch panel 111. In addition, since the touch panel 111 also has a function as a display device as described above, the main body operation mode displays the portable terminal device 110 in the second display area of the information processing device (the first display area is a display). In this case, the operation mode is as follows. The user can visually obtain the display of the information processing result by the information processing device 120 via the touch panel 111.

  Therefore, this embodiment can provide functions as described below, for example, in the main body operation mode, and when the same user uses two devices, the portable terminal device 110 and the information processing device 120, More advanced operations can be performed without requiring any other special device. The functions provided by the present embodiment in the main body operation mode are, for example, as follows.

  First, it provides a shortcut icon function. The shortcut icon function is stored in the information processing apparatus 120 (or may be in the portable terminal device 110), and application software that is activated when called, for example, displays a thumbnail of the application software on the touch panel 111, and is displayed by the user. This is to detect and call the thumbnail point. The shortcut icon function makes application switching smooth.

  Second, it provides a sub-display function. The sub-display function displays on the touch panel 111 an overlay when viewing 1Seg, displays a check result of a net update check application (for example, RSS aggregator), or displays a mail delivery confirmation result of an e-mail application. To do. According to the sub-display function, it is possible to provide the user with an operational feeling as if an additional display was obtained without requiring any other special device.

  Third, it provides a handwriting input function. The handwriting input function causes the touch panel 111 to function as an input area for a handwriting input application. According to the handwriting input function, it is possible to provide the user with a feeling of operation of the so-called tablet PC without requiring any other special device.

  Next, a functional configuration of the entire information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the present embodiment. Note that each means or each unit in the figure includes, for example, hardware such as a communication device, an input / output device, an arithmetic device (CPU, etc.), a storage device (memory, etc.), and a software program that uses these hardware. It can be realized by working. However, since the specific implementation method is well known to those skilled in the art, description thereof is omitted.

  As illustrated, the portable terminal device 110 includes a terminal control unit 112, a built-in detection sensor 115, and a communication unit 117 in addition to the touch panel 111 described in FIG. The terminal control unit 112 has a function of controlling the entire portable terminal device 110. The built-in detection sensor 115 is a sensor that detects whether or not the portable terminal device 110 is attached (embedded) to the information processing apparatus 120.

  The communication unit 117 has a function for the information processing apparatus 120 and the portable terminal device 110 to communicate. Although there is no particular limitation on the communication method, when the portable terminal device 110 is attached to the information processing apparatus 120, a signal is transmitted / received via the attachment / detachment unit 122. When the portable terminal device 110 is not attached, the signal is transmitted / received wirelessly. It is preferable to do. As the wireless system, for example, a wireless LAN (IEEE802.11b / g) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used.

  The terminal control unit 112 includes a touch panel control unit 113, an operation mode determination unit 114, and an input type determination unit 116. The touch panel control unit 113 inputs information related to an operation input by the user obtained from the touch panel 111 to the terminal control unit 112, and sends a control result of the terminal control unit 112 and a control command from the information processing device 120 to the touch panel 111. Control to display and output.

  The input type determination unit 116 has a function of determining the input type of the operation input based on information related to the operation input to the touch panel 111 by the user by the touch panel control unit 113. The input type is, for example, an operation input with a fingertip or an operation input with a stylus pen. In the present embodiment, the input type is determined by determining the input type based on the degree of width of the contact area with the touch panel 111 when an operation input to the touch panel 111 is detected.

  FIG. 3 illustrates determination of the input type in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the operation input by the fingertip 132, the contact surface 131 tends to be wider than the contact surface 133 of the operation input by the stylus pen 134 shown in FIG. The area of the contact surface 133 for operation input by the stylus pen 134 is usually constant. Therefore, the input type determination unit 116 may determine that the input type is an operation input with a stylus pen if the contact area is a predetermined value, and determines that the input is an operation input with a fingertip if the input area is wider than that. The determination of the input type in the present embodiment described above is advantageous because it does not cost much compared to other methods.

  The operation mode determination unit 114 has a function of determining an operation mode corresponding to the input type determined by the input type determination unit 116. In the present embodiment, the thin client mode is determined in the case of operation input with a stylus pen, and the main body operation mode is determined in the case of operation input with a fingertip. And the terminal control part 112 performs the information processing according to the operation mode which the operation mode determination means 114 determined with respect to the operation input to the touch panel 111. FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus 120 includes a communication unit 124 and a main body control unit 125. The communication unit 124 is the same as the communication unit 117 of the portable terminal device 110, and the main body control unit 125 performs the operation input when the portable terminal device 110 performs an operation input on the touch panel 111 in the main body operation mode, for example. It has a function to perform information processing according to.

Next, the control flow of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the touch panel control means 113 detects an operation input to the touch panel 111 (step S101). Then, the input type determination unit 116 determines the input type of the operation input (step S102). Next, the operation mode is determined according to the input type for which the operation mode 114 has been determined (step S103). Next, the terminal control unit 112 performs information processing according to the determined operation mode (step S104). The touch panel control means 113 outputs the information processing result to the touch panel 111 (step S105).

  According to the present embodiment described above, since the type of operation input by the user is determined and the operation mode is automatically switched, smooth operability can be provided for the user. In addition, if the portable terminal device 110 is configured to have a mode for operating (controlling) the information processing device 120 of the main body as an operation mode, the user can use the control of the main body and the other controls separately with a very simple operation for the user. Is more preferable. Further, the determination of the input type is advantageous because it is not costly if it is based on the degree of contact area width when the operation input to the touch panel 111 is detected.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(Other embodiments)
The configuration for determining the operation mode in the above embodiment based on information indicating whether the portable terminal device 110 is attached to or detached from the information processing device 120 in addition to the determined input type. If so, it is more advantageous. For the information on whether it is in the removable state, the detection result of the built-in detection sensor 115 shown in FIG. 2 is used.

FIG. 5 shows the relationship between attachment / detachment information and operation mode determination according to the present embodiment.
In general, it is conceivable to design to switch the operation mode by detecting the incorporation (first operation mode). In this case, the user can use the portable terminal 110 in the main body operation mode when worn, for example, as a pointing device of the main body, and in the thin client mode when removed, for example, as a mail browsing terminal.

  However, as described in detail in the above embodiment, if a plurality of modes can be selected depending on the difference in operation input at the time of wearing or removing, providing a user with smooth operability. Yes (second operation mode). For example, the inconvenience that the function as a thin client terminal cannot be used when the portable terminal device 110 is mounted can be easily eliminated.

  Here, “selectable” shown in FIG. 5 means that the user can switch between “main body operation mode” and “thin client mode” by switching the operation input means (user's own finger, stylus pen). It means that you can choose your own will.

  On the other hand, when removed, the portable terminal device 110 can be carried by the user. For example, if the information processing device 120 of the main body is operated one by one with a simple operation input such as touching with a fingertip, May increase. Therefore, if the operation input mode is determined not only based on the input type but also based on the attachment / detachment state (third operation mode), inconvenience such as an erroneous operation is eliminated, which is further advantageous. .

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the whole apparatus which concerns on embodiment by this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating determination of the input classification of embodiment by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of control of embodiment by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the determination of the operation mode of other embodiment by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information processing apparatus 110 Portable terminal device 111 Touch panel 112 Terminal control unit 113 Touch panel control unit 114 Operation mode determination unit 115 Built-in detection sensor 116 Input type determination unit 117 Communication unit 120 Information processing device 121 Display 122 Attachment / detachment unit 123 Keyboard Communication means 125 Main body control unit 131, 133 Contact surface 132 Fingertip 133 Stylus pen

Claims (7)

A portable terminal device that includes a touch panel and can be incorporated into an information processing apparatus and used.
When an operation input at the fingertip is detected as an operation input to the touch panel by the user, it functions as a pointing device of the information processing apparatus,
A portable terminal device that functions as a thin client terminal when an operation input with a stylus pen is detected. A portable terminal device that includes a touch panel and can be incorporated into an information processing apparatus and used.
With different operating modes,
An input type determining means for determining an input type of an operation input to the touch panel;
An operation mode determination unit that determines an operation mode corresponding to the input type determined by the input type determination unit;
And a control unit that controls the operation mode determined by the operation mode determination unit in response to the operation input.   The portable terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the operation mode includes a mode in which the portable terminal device operates the information processing apparatus main body.   The portable type according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the input type determining means determines an input type based on a degree of contact area when an operation input to the touch panel is detected. Terminal equipment.   The operation mode determination means operates based on information indicating whether the portable terminal device is attached to or detached from the information processing apparatus main body and the input type determined by the input type determination means. The portable terminal device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the mode is determined. An information processing apparatus using the portable terminal device according to any one of claims 2 to 5 in a mounting portion,
An information processing apparatus that receives a signal indicating an operation mode determined by the operation mode determination unit via the mounting unit and performs an operation corresponding to the received operation mode. A portable terminal device having a plurality of operation modes different from those of a touch panel and detachable from an information processing device.
An input type determining means for determining an input type of an operation input to the touch panel;
An operation mode determination unit that determines an operation mode corresponding to the input type determined by the input type determination unit;
Control means for controlling the operation mode determined by the operation mode determination means for the operation input;
A program characterized by functioning as

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