JP5632934B2 - Information processing apparatus and operation element selection method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a method for selecting an operation element in the information processing apparatus.

  Conventionally, in a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone equipped with a touch panel or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), operation elements such as buttons, icons and hyperlinks are displayed on the screen of the touch panel, and the user performs a tap operation on the touch panel. To select an operation element is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-72754 A

  However, particularly in a small portable terminal device, the size of the touch panel is small, and therefore there are cases where the size of the operation elements is small or the operation elements are densely packed in a narrow area. In such a case, it is difficult for the user to select a desired operation element by accurately specifying an area in which the desired operation element is displayed.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and a method for selecting an operation element that allow a user to easily select an operation element.

In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays on a screen at least a part of an image including an operation element that can be selected by the user, and an operation on the screen of the user. An operation accepting means for accepting a pointer, a pointer display control means for displaying a pointer for selecting an operation element on the image at a predetermined position on the screen, and a pointer operation according to a scroll operation by the user accepted by the operation accepting means. Scroll control means for scrolling an image with the position fixed with respect to the screen, and a decision to select an operation element displayed in the vicinity of the pointer according to the selection operation by the user received by the operation reception means and it means, when the scroll control means has scroll the image to the edge of the image, which is displayed near the pointer It comprises extracting means for extracting the operating element of a constant number, a. The pointer display control means releases the pointer when the scroll control means scrolls the image to the end of the image, and operates in an unselectable area that cannot be moved to the vicinity of the pointer by scrolling the image. The element can be selected , the extraction unit extracts a plurality of operation elements, changes the pointer to a cursor indicating one of the plurality of operation elements, and the operation reception unit performs a plurality of operations extracted by the extraction unit An operation for switching which element the cursor points to is accepted, and the determination unit determines to select the operation element pointed to by the cursor .

In order to solve the above problem, an operation element selection method according to the present invention is an operation element selection method in an information processing apparatus including a screen, and includes at least one image including an operation element that can be selected by a user. A display step for displaying a part on the screen, an operation reception step for receiving an operation on the screen of the user by the user, and a pointer display for displaying a pointer for selecting an operation element on a predetermined position on the screen. A control step, a scroll control step for scrolling the image with the position of the pointer fixed relative to the screen in response to a scroll operation by the user received in the operation reception step, and a selection operation by the user received in the operation reception step Select the operation element displayed near the pointer position. A determining step of constant which, when the image is scrolled up end portion of the image at the scroll control step comprises an extraction step of extracting the operating elements of a predetermined number that is displayed near the pointer, the. In the pointer display control step, when the image is scrolled to the end of the image in the scroll control step, the pointer is unfixed, and the operation in the non-selectable area that cannot be moved to the vicinity of the pointer by scrolling the image In the extraction step, a plurality of operation elements are extracted, and the pointer is changed to a cursor pointing to one of the plurality of operation elements. In the operation reception step, the plurality of operations extracted in the extraction step are made selectable. An operation for switching which of the elements is pointed to by the cursor is accepted, and in the determination step, it is determined to select the operation element pointed to by the cursor .

According to this information processing device or the method for selecting an operation element, although the image is scrolled while the position of the pointer is fixed with respect to the screen, when the image is scrolled to the end of the image, the pointer is released from being fixed, The operation element in the non-selectable area that cannot be moved to the vicinity of the pointer by scrolling can be selected. Therefore, the user can select an operation element by performing an operation of scrolling the image and moving the operation element to the vicinity of the pointer. Therefore, when the size of the operation element is small or the operation element is narrow Even in the case of being densely packed, the operation elements can be easily selected. In addition, when the image is scrolled to the end of the image, an operation element in the non-selectable area can be selected. As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary for the user to accurately specify the area where the operation element is displayed in order to select the desired operation element. However, the operation element can be easily selected. In addition, the user can easily select an operation element by scrolling the image to the end of the image, and then performing a selection operation and selecting one of the extracted operation elements displayed near the pointer. You can choose.

  In the information processing apparatus, the determination unit may determine to select an operation element displayed overlapping the pointer. In this case, the user can easily select the operation element by performing a scroll operation and overlapping the operation element with the pointer.

  In the information processing apparatus, when the scroll control unit scrolls the image to the end of the image and the pointer display control unit releases the pointer, the pointer display control unit is operated by the user who has received the pointer by the operation reception unit. You may make it move according to operation. In this case, since the fixed pointer is moved according to the operation by the user, the pointer can be moved in accordance with the user's intention.

  In the information processing apparatus, the pointer display control unit is configured to move in a direction opposite to the one direction when the scroll control unit scrolls the image in one direction to the end of the image and the pointer display control unit releases the fixation of the pointer. You may make it move a pointer to. In this case, after the user performs an operation of scrolling the image in one direction to bring the pointer close to the operation element, the pointer moves in a direction opposite to the one direction, so the pointer further approaches the operation element. Therefore, the user can move the pointer according to the user's intention by only performing an operation of scrolling the image in one direction.

  In the information processing apparatus, when an operation element is displayed in the vicinity of the pointer, the display mode of at least one of the pointer and the operation element is different from the mode in which the operation element is not displayed in the vicinity of the pointer. You may make it further provide the display mode change means to change. In this case, when the operation element is displayed in the vicinity of the pointer, the user recognizes which operation element can be selected by changing the display mode of at least one of the pointer and the operation element. The operation element can be selected more easily.

  The information processing apparatus may further include display mode changing means for changing the display mode of the pointer to a different mode depending on whether the pointer display control unit displays the pointer and the operation element in an overlapping manner. Also good. In this case, when the pointer and the operation element are displayed overlapping each other, the user may recognize that the operation element can be selected because the display mode of the pointer has changed. The operation element can be selected more easily.

  The information processing apparatus may further include a display mode changing unit that changes a display mode of the pointer depending on whether the pointer display control unit has released the fixation of the pointer. In this case, the user can determine whether or not the pointer is released based on the manner in which the pointer is displayed. This makes it easier for the user to perform an image scrolling operation or a pointer movement operation as intended by the user.

  In the information processing apparatus, the pointer display control unit displays a plurality of pointers, and the determination unit selects an operation element displayed in the vicinity of one of the plurality of pointers according to a selection operation by the user. May be determined. In this case, the user can select an operation element by using one of a plurality of pointers by a selection operation. Therefore, the user can select an operation element by selecting a pointer that is easy to use for the operation, and can more easily select an operation element.

  According to the present invention, a user can easily select an operation element.

It is a figure which shows an example of a mobile telephone provided with a touch panel. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the mobile telephone which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of a mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the range which can be displayed with the whole page and a mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the range which can be displayed with the whole thin page and a mobile telephone. It is a flowchart which shows the movement process of a pointer. It is a flowchart which shows the selection process of the operation element in the mobile telephone which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the mobile telephone which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the screen display of the mobile telephone which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the selection process of the operation element in the mobile telephone which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification of the screen display of a mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows another modification of the screen display of a mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows another modification of the screen display of a mobile telephone.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, if possible, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 10 according to the first embodiment includes a touch panel 30 that functions as a screen for displaying an image and also functions as a means for receiving an operation input by a user. In the present embodiment, the mobile phone 10 will be described below as an example, but the information processing apparatus of the present invention may be an information processing apparatus provided with the touch panel 30 and is not limited to a mobile phone, for example, a touch panel personal computer. For example, the present invention may be applied.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cellular phone 10 functionally includes a display unit 12 (display unit), an operation reception unit 14 (operation reception unit), a pointer display control unit 16 (pointer display control unit), and scroll control. A unit 18 (scroll control unit), a determination unit 20 (determination unit), and a display mode change unit 22 (display mode change unit) are provided.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the cellular phone 10 physically includes a CPU 10a, a RAM 10b, a ROM 10c, an input device 10d, an output device 10e, a communication device 10f, and a recording device 10g. The hardware is connected to the bus 10h. The CPU 10a loads predetermined computer software (including a computer program for executing processing performed by the mobile phone 10 shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 10) stored in a built-in memory such as the ROM 10c and the recording device 10g into the RAM 10b. By executing the control, the mobile phone 10 is controlled in an integrated manner.

  The input device 10d is an input device including an input unit of the touch panel 30 and outputs input data to the CPU 10a. The output device 10e is a display unit of the touch panel 30, for example, and displays image information and the like input from the CPU 10a. The communication device 10f has an interface for performing a call or communication with another mobile phone via a communication network or the like. The recording device 10g stores computer software executable by the CPU 10a. Each function to be described later is a function realized by the CPU 10a executing computer software stored in the ROM 10c or the recording device 10g and operating each component of the mobile phone 10 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, returning to FIG. 2, each functional block of the mobile phone 10 will be described.

  The display unit 12 is a part that displays on the screen of the touch panel 30 at least a part of a web page including links that can be selected by the user. In the following description, a case where a web page including a link is displayed will be described as an example. However, an image displayed on the screen of the touch panel 30 by the display unit 12 is not limited to a web page, and includes an operation element that can be selected by the user. For example, it may be a menu list that includes an icon associated with the application software and allows the user to select application software to be executed.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the display unit 12 displays a web page on the screen of the touch panel 30. Here, eight links 32 (operation elements) that can be selected by the user are displayed on the screen of the touch panel 30. The user of the mobile phone 10 can browse a hyperlink destination web page associated with the selected link 32 by selecting a desired one of these links 32.

  Here, only the displayable range 42 of the image 40 is displayed on the screen of the touch panel 30 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. When the user wants to view a portion other than the displayable range 42 in the image 40, the user can move the displayable range 42 up, down, left, and right by performing a scrolling operation (described in detail later) to set a desired range. It is displayed on the touch panel 30. As shown in FIG. 5, when the width of the image 40 being referred to and the displayable range 42 are the same, the user can move the displayable range 42 only up and down, and move it left and right. I can't.

  The operation receiving unit 14 is a part that receives an operation on the screen of the touch panel 30 of the user for the image 40. The user operation includes a scroll operation and a selection operation.

  The scroll operation is an operation performed by the user to scroll the image 40 on the screen of the touch panel 30. The operation accepting unit 14 accepts as a scroll operation a flick operation in which the user slides the finger F in any direction of up, down, left, and right at an arbitrary position on the screen of the touch panel 30. For example, when the user performs a flick operation to the right using the finger F, the image 40 scrolls to the right on the screen of the touch panel 30. This corresponds to the fact that the displayable range 42 has moved to the left in the image 40 in FIG.

  The selection operation is a selection operation performed for the user to select a selection element such as the link 32. The operation accepting unit 14 accepts an operation in which the user presses a determination key displayed on the screen of the touch panel 30 as a selection operation.

  The pointer display control unit 16 is a part that displays a pointer 34 for selecting a selection element such as the link 32 on the screen of the touch panel 30 so as to overlap the image 40. Normally, the pointer display control unit 16 fixes the position where the pointer 34 is displayed at the center of the screen of the touch panel 30. However, when the image 40 displayed on the touch panel 30 is scrolled to the end 40a of the image 40, the pointer display control unit 16 releases the fixation of the pointer 34 and moves the pointer 34 according to the operation by the user.

  The fixation release processing and movement processing of the pointer 34 at this time will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. For example, when the user performs a flick operation to the right on the touch panel 30, the image 40 is scrolled to the right on the screen of the touch panel 30, and the displayable range 42 is relatively moved to the left of the image 40 in FIG. Will do. When the user continues the flick operation, the scrolling of the image 40 is stopped when the left end of the displayable range 42 reaches the left end 40a of the image 40. Here, until the displayable range 42 reaches the left end 40 a of the image 40, the position where the pointer 34 is displayed remains fixed at the center of the screen of the touch panel 30. Therefore, only with the scroll operation, the pointer does not overlap the area located at the left end of the image 40 and having a width that is half the width of the displayable range 42. That is, the pointer 34 cannot be superimposed on the link 32 in such an area, and this area becomes an unselectable area. Therefore, the pointer display control unit 16 releases the fixation of the pointer 34 when the displayable range 42 reaches the left end 40a of the image 40. After unfixing the pointer 34, the pointer display control unit 16 moves the pointer 34 in the left direction, which is opposite to the right direction that is the scroll direction of the image 40, as shown in FIG. For example, the pointer 34 may be moved so as to follow an operation with a finger. As a result, the pointer can be overlapped with the link 32 in the non-selectable area.

  The scroll control unit 18 is a part that scrolls the image 40 displayed on the screen of the touch panel 30 in response to a scroll operation by the user received by the operation receiving unit 14. For example, if the user performs a flick operation on the touch panel 30 in a certain direction, the operation reception unit 14 receives this flick operation as a scroll operation. Then, the scroll control unit 18 scrolls and displays the image displayed on the touch panel 30 in the direction in which the flick operation is performed.

  The determination unit 20 is a part that selects the link 32 displayed overlapping the pointer 34 in accordance with the selection operation by the user received by the operation reception unit 14.

  When the pointer 34 and the link 32 are displayed overlapping each other, the display mode changing unit 22 changes the display mode of the pointer 34 to a mode different from the case where the pointer 34 and the link 32 are not displayed overlapping each other. Part. Here, changing the mode specifically means processing for changing the color.

  Next, a method for selecting an operation element in the mobile phone 10 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following, the case where the user can perform only the scroll operation in the left direction or the right direction will be described. However, even when the scroll operation in the vertical direction is possible, the scroll direction of the image 40 is different. Except for this, the contents of the process are the same.

  First, prior to starting the processing of FIG. 6, a part of the image 40 including the link 32 is displayed on the screen of the touch panel 30 by the display unit 12 (display step). Then, the pointer display control unit 16 displays a pointer 34 for selecting the link 32 on the center of the screen of the touch panel 30 so as to overlap the image 40 (pointer display control step). Then, the operation accepting unit 14 accepts a user scroll operation on the screen of the touch panel 30 for the image 40 (operation accepting step).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not the moving direction of the image 40 by the scroll operation is the right direction (step S1). If the movement direction is the right direction, it is next determined whether the image 40 is scrolled to the end 40a of the image 40 and the screen slide has reached the limit (step S2). When the screen slide has not reached the limit, the scroll control unit 18 performs a process of scrolling the image 40 while the position of the pointer 34 is fixed with respect to the screen of the touch panel 30 (step S3: scroll control step). ). Then, it is determined whether or not the scroll operation is continued (step S4). If the scroll operation is not continued, the process proceeds to step S21 shown in FIG. If the scroll operation is continued, the process returns to step S2.

  If the screen slide has reached the limit in step S2, the operation accepting unit 14 determines whether or not the scroll operation is continued (step S5). When the scroll operation is continued, the pointer display control unit 16 releases the fixation of the pointer 34, and the pointer 34 moves to the left, which is the direction opposite to the moving direction of the image 40, as shown in FIG. (Step S6). And it returns to step S5 again. On the other hand, if the scroll operation is not continued in step S5, the display position of the pointer 34 is stopped, and the process proceeds to step S21 shown in FIG.

  In step S1, when the moving direction is not right, that is, when the moving direction is left, the processes of steps S8 to S13 are performed. The processes in steps S8 to S13 are the same as the processes in steps S2 to S7 described above except that the moving direction of the image 40 is left and the moving direction of the pointer 34 is rightward.

  Next, the link 32 selection process shown in FIG. 7 will be described. First, the display mode changing unit 22 determines whether or not the link 32 is displayed under the pointer 34, that is, at a position overlapping the pointer 34 (step S21). When the link 32 is not displayed under the pointer 34, the pointer display control unit 16 moves the pointer 34 to the center of the screen of the touch panel 30 after a period of several seconds for waiting for an operation by the user has elapsed ( Step S22), the process ends.

  On the other hand, in step S21, when the link 32 is displayed under the pointer 34, the display mode changing unit 22 changes the color of the pointer 34 (step S23). And it is determined by the operation reception part 14 whether the determination key was pressed down (step S24). The state in step S24 is maintained for several seconds to wait for the user's operation. When the determination key is pressed, it is determined to select the link 32 displayed under the pointer 34. And the web page of the link destination corresponding to the selected link 32 is displayed on the screen of the touch panel 30 (step S25: determination step). On the other hand, if the enter key is not pressed during the waiting time of several seconds in step S24, it is determined that the user's operation has been stopped, and the pointer display control unit 16 moves the pointer 34 to the center of the screen of the touch panel 30. It is moved (step S22), and the process ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image 40 is scrolled while the position of the pointer 34 is fixed with respect to the screen of the touch panel 30, but when the image 40 is scrolled to the end 40 a of the image 40, The link 32 is released, and the link 32 in the non-selectable area that cannot be moved to the vicinity of the pointer 34 by scrolling can be selected. Therefore, the user can select the link 32 by moving the link 32 to the vicinity of the pointer 34 by performing an operation of scrolling the image 40. Therefore, when the size of the link 32 is small or the link 32 is The link 32 can be easily selected even when it is dense in a narrow area. Moreover, when the image 40 is scrolled to the end 40a of the image 40, the link 32 in the non-selectable area can be selected. As described above, according to this embodiment, in order to select a desired link 32, the user does not need to specify an area where the link 32 is displayed accurately, and to which area the desired link 32 is located. Even if it exists, the link 32 can be selected easily.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the determination unit 20 determines to select the link 32 that is displayed so as to overlap the pointer 34, so that the user performs a scroll operation to overlap the link 32 with the pointer 34. The operation element can be easily selected.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the scroll control unit 18 scrolls the image 40 to the end 40a of the image 40 and the pointer display control unit 16 releases the fixation of the pointer 34, the pointer display control unit 16 sets the pointer. 34 is moved according to the user's operation received by the operation receiving unit 14, the pointer 34 can be moved in accordance with the user's intention. That is, in this embodiment, the pointer display control unit 16 causes the scroll control unit 18 to scroll the image 40 in one direction to the end 40a of the image 40, and the pointer display control unit 16 releases the fixation of the pointer 34. The pointer 34 is moved in the direction opposite to the one direction. Accordingly, after the user performs an operation of scrolling the image 40 in one direction to bring the pointer 34 close to the link 32, the pointer 34 moves in the direction opposite to the one direction. Get closer to. Therefore, the user can move the pointer 34 in accordance with the user's intention by only performing an operation of scrolling the image 40 in one direction.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the link 32 is displayed in the vicinity of the pointer 34, the display mode of the pointer 34 is changed to a mode different from the case where the link 32 is not displayed in the vicinity of the pointer 34. In order to change, when the link 32 is displayed in the vicinity of the pointer 34, the user can recognize which link 32 can be selected because the display mode of the pointer 34 has changed. The link 32 can be selected more easily.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the mobile phone 11 according to the second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the mobile phone 11 has the same functional configuration as the mobile phone 10 according to the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 and 2), and further includes an extraction unit 24 (extraction means). It differs from the mobile phone 10 in that it is provided.

  The extraction unit 24 is a part that extracts a predetermined number (for example, 10) of links 32 displayed near the pointer 34 when the scroll control unit 18 scrolls the image 40 to the end 40a of the image 40. is there.

  The display of the screen of the touch panel 30 when the extraction unit 24 extracts the link 32 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the scroll control unit 18 scrolls the image 40 to the left end 40a of the image 40 by a flick operation in the right direction by the user. At this time, the pointer display control unit 16 releases the fixation of the display position of the pointer 34, and moves the pointer 34 slightly to the left side of the screen of the touch panel 30. Then, eight links 32 are displayed on the screen of the touch panel 30.

  Next, when the extraction unit 24 extracts eight links 32, the extraction unit 24 displays the pointer 34 and the cursor 36 indicating the link B in the vicinity of the pointer 34, as shown in FIG. Change to the display. The cursor 36 indicates one of the links 32 extracted by the extraction unit 24.

  At the same time as the extraction unit 24 changes the pointer 34 to the cursor 36, the extraction unit 24 displays a soft key 38 for accepting an operation by the user in the lower right corner of the screen of the touch panel 30. The soft key 38 includes a return key 38a, a forward key 38b, and an enter key 38c. The return key 38a and the forward key 38b are keys for accepting an operation for switching the link 32 indicated by the cursor 36. The return key 38a is used to switch the link 32 pointed to by the cursor 36 so that the order of the link 32 returns from the back to the front, and the forward key 38b is used to advance the order of the link 32 from the front to the back. Used to switch the link 32 pointed to by 36. The enter key 38c is a key for accepting an operation for determining to select the link 32 indicated by the cursor 36.

  Next, an operation element selection method in the mobile phone 11 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the process of step S1-step S13 shown in FIG. 6 is performed. This process is substantially the same as that of the mobile phone 10 according to the first embodiment. However, in the mobile phone 11, when it is determined that the scroll operation is not continued in step S4 and step S10, and after the end of step S7 and step S13, the process proceeds to step S31 in FIG. This is different from the case of the mobile phone 10 which has shifted to step S21 in FIG.

  Next, steps S31 to S34 in FIG. 10 are performed. This process is the same as steps S21 to S24 in the case of 10 according to the first embodiment (see FIG. 7).

  When the determination key 38c is pressed in step S34, the extraction unit 24 extracts ten links 32 displayed at the position closest to the pointer 34, and the pointer 34 changes to the cursor 36, and returns. The link 32 pointed to by the cursor 36 can be moved by the key 38a and the forward key 38b (step S35). Then, the operation accepting unit 14 determines whether or not the enter key 38c has been pressed (step S36). When the enter key 38c is pressed, it is decided to select the link 32 pointed to by the cursor 36 at that time. And the web page of the link destination corresponding to the selected link 32 is displayed on the screen of the touch panel 30 (step S37: determination step).

  On the other hand, if the determination key is not pressed in step S36, the operation receiving unit 14 determines whether or not there has been no user operation for several seconds (step S38). If it is not determined that there has been no operation for several seconds, that is, if several seconds have not elapsed since step S35 was completed, the process returns to step S36 again. If it is determined that there has been no operation for several seconds, it is determined that the user's operation has been stopped, and the pointer display control unit 16 moves the pointer 34 to the center of the screen of the touch panel 30 (step S39). finish.

  As described above, this embodiment can provide the same operations and effects as those of the first embodiment. Further, according to the present embodiment, when the scroll control unit 18 scrolls the image 40 to the image end 40a, the predetermined number of links 32 displayed in the vicinity of the pointer 34 are extracted by the extraction unit 24. Since the selection unit 20 determines that any one of the extracted links 32 is selected according to the operation by the user received by the operation reception unit 14, the user scrolls the image 40 to the end 40a of the image 40. Then, by performing a selection operation and selecting any of the extracted links 32 displayed in the vicinity of the pointer 34, the link 32 can be easily selected.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was concretely demonstrated based on the embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 20 has been described as selecting the link 32 that is displayed so as to overlap the pointer 34 according to the selection operation by the user. You may change so that the link 32 currently displayed on may be selected. Further, in this case, the display mode changing unit 22 does not change the display mode of the pointer 34 only when the pointer 34 and the link 32 are overlapped and displayed, but the link 32 is located near the pointer 34. The display mode of the pointer 34 may be changed when is displayed.

  Further, although the display mode changing unit 22 changes the mode in which the pointer 34 is displayed, the mode of the link 32 displayed in the vicinity of the pointer 34 may be changed instead. Furthermore, although the display mode changing unit 22 has been described as changing the color of the pointer 34, the shape and size of the pointer 34 may be changed instead of the color.

  An example of changing the display mode of the pointer 34 by the display mode changing unit 22 will be described with reference to FIG. When the pointer display control unit 16 does not display the pointer 34 and the link 32 so as to overlap each other, the display mode changing unit 22 displays the pointer 34 as a white or translucent arrow like the pointer 34a. Note that the pointer 34a shown in FIG. 11 does not completely overlap the link 32, and indicates that the link 32 cannot be selected yet. On the other hand, when the pointer display control unit 16 displays the pointer 34 and the link 32 so as to overlap each other, the display mode changing unit 22 combines the black arrow and the white circle as the pointer 34b. Display as a drawn shape. The process of changing the display mode of the pointer 34 by the display mode changing unit 22 is a process of changing the color of the pointer 34 in, for example, step S23 of FIG. 7 in the operation element selection process shown in FIGS. Can be performed instead. As described above, when the display mode of the pointer 34 is different depending on whether the pointer display control unit 16 releases the fixation of the pointer 34, the user displays the pointer 34 and the link 32 so as to overlap each other. In this case, it is possible to recognize that the link 32 can be selected because the display mode of the pointer 34 has changed from the pointer 34a to the pointer 34b. Therefore, the user can select the link 32 more easily.

  Further, the display mode changing unit 22 may change the display mode of the pointer 34 depending on whether the pointer display control unit 16 has released the fixation of the pointer 34. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the pointer display control unit 16 has not released the fixation of the pointer 34, the display mode changing unit 22 displays the pointer 34 as a black arrow like a pointer 34c. . On the other hand, when the pointer display control unit 16 releases the fixation of the pointer 34, the display mode changing unit 22 displays the pointer 34 as a white or translucent arrow like the pointer 34d. Such processing of changing the display mode of the pointer 34 by the display mode changing unit 22 is performed by the pointer display control unit 16 in step S6 or step 12 in the operation element selection processing shown in FIGS. It can be performed together with the movement. Thus, when the display mode of the pointer 34 is different depending on whether or not the pointer display control unit 16 releases the fixation of the pointer 34, the user is based on the display mode of the pointer 34. It is possible to determine whether or not the pointer 34 has been released. For this reason, it becomes easy for the user to perform an operation of scrolling the image 40 or an operation of moving the pointer 34 as intended by the user.

  Further, in the second embodiment, after the processing of step S7 and step S13 shown in FIG. 6 is completed, the processing of steps S31 to S34 shown in FIG. You may make it perform the process which extracts the link 32 of step S35 immediately after scrolling to 40a.

  Further, the pointer display control unit 16 may display a plurality of pointers 34e on the screen of the touch panel 30, as shown in FIG. FIG. 13 shows a case where four pointers 34e are displayed in the upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right on the screen. The trigger for starting the display of the plurality of pointers 34e by the pointer display control unit 16 is, for example, when an operation by the user is performed or when display of a page having the plurality of links 32 is started. At this time, the user can select any one of the plurality of pointers 34e and select the link 32 displayed in the vicinity of the selected pointer 34e. The selection operation of the pointer 34e by the user is performed, for example, when the user taps the pointer 34e to be selected with a finger on the touch panel 30. In this case, the user can select the pointer 34e that is easy to use for the operation and perform the selection operation of the link 32, and the selection operation of the link 32 can be performed more easily.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,11 ... Mobile phone, 12 ... Display part, 14 ... Operation reception part, 16 ... Pointer display control part, 18 ... Scroll control part, 20 ... Determination part, 22 ... Display mode change part, 24 ... Extraction part, 30 ... Touch panel, 32 ... link, 34, 34a to 34e ... pointer, 36 ... cursor, 38 ... soft key, 40 ... image, 42 ... displayable range, F ... finger.

Claims (9)

Display means for displaying on the screen at least part of an image including an operation element that can be selected by the user;
Operation accepting means for accepting an operation on the screen of the user with respect to the image;
Pointer display control means for displaying a pointer for selecting the operation element on the image in a predetermined position on the screen;
Scroll control means for scrolling the image while the position of the pointer is fixed with respect to the screen in response to a scroll operation by the user accepted by the operation accepting means;
A determination unit that determines to select the operation element displayed in the vicinity of the pointer in response to a selection operation by the user received by the operation reception unit;
An extraction means for extracting a plurality of the operation elements displayed in the vicinity of the pointer when the scroll control means scrolls the image to an end of the image ;
The pointer display control means cancels the fixation of the pointer when the scroll control means scrolls the image to the end of the image, and cannot be moved to the vicinity of the pointer by scrolling the image. The operation element in the impossible area can be selected ,
The extraction means extracts a plurality of operation elements and changes a pointer to a cursor indicating one of the plurality of operation elements,
The operation accepting unit accepts an operation for switching which of the plurality of operation elements extracted by the extracting unit is indicated by the cursor,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines to select an operation element indicated by the cursor .   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines to select the operation element displayed overlapping the pointer.   The pointer display control means receives the pointer when the scroll control means scrolls the image to an end of the image and the pointer display control means releases the fixation of the pointer. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is moved in accordance with an operation by the user.   The pointer display control means reverses the one direction when the scroll control means scrolls the image in one direction to the end of the image and the pointer display control means releases the fixation of the pointer. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pointer is moved in a direction. When the operation element is displayed in the vicinity of the pointer, a mode in which at least one of the pointer and the operation element is displayed is different from a mode in which the operation element is not displayed in the vicinity of the pointer. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising display mode changing means for changing. It further comprises display mode changing means for changing the display mode of the pointer to a different mode depending on whether or not the pointer display control unit displays the pointer and the operation element in an overlapping manner. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . Depending on whether the pointer display control means to release the fixing of the pointer, according to claim 1-4, characterized by further comprising a display mode changing means to the embodiments to be displayed of the pointer different The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims. The pointer display control means displays a plurality of pointers,
Said determining means, in accordance with a selection operation by the user, according to claim 1-7, characterized in that to determine the selection of one said operating element being displayed in the vicinity of the plurality of pointers The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims. A method for selecting an operation element in an information processing apparatus including a screen,
A display step of displaying on the screen at least a part of an image including an operation element that can be selected by the user;
An operation accepting step for accepting an operation on the screen of the user with respect to the image;
A pointer display control step for displaying a pointer for selecting the operation element on the image at a predetermined position on the screen;
A scroll control step of scrolling the image while the position of the pointer is fixed with respect to the screen in response to a scroll operation by the user received in the operation reception step;
A determination step for determining to select the operation element displayed in the vicinity of the position of the pointer in response to the selection operation by the user received in the operation reception step;
An extraction step of extracting a plurality of the operation elements displayed in the vicinity of the pointer when the image is scrolled to the end of the image in the scroll control step ,
In the pointer display control step, when the image is scrolled to the end of the image in the scroll control step, the selection of the pointer is released and cannot be moved to the vicinity of the pointer by scrolling the image The operation element in the impossible area can be selected ,
In the extraction step, a plurality of operation elements are extracted, and the pointer is changed to a cursor indicating one of the plurality of operation elements,
In the operation reception step, an operation of switching which of the plurality of operation elements extracted in the extraction step the cursor points to is received,
In the determination step, it is determined to select an operation element pointed to by the cursor .