JP2015056049A - Information processor, control method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable an input operation with fingers of a hand of a user gripping a portable terminal.SOLUTION: An information processor includes: a sensor part (31) which detects contact by a hand of a user gripping a portable terminal (1); an initial state determination part (12) which specifies a first position where the sensor part (31) detects the contact; and a specified operation indication determination part (14) which determines a function to be executed corresponding to the position relation of a second position different from the first position to the first position when the sensor part (31) further detects an input operation by contact with the second position.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus or the like that is held and used by a user.

  In recent years, information processing apparatuses such as mobile terminals have become more multifunctional and have improved convenience. As information processing apparatuses become more multifunctional, touch panels that enable various types of input through intuitive operations are widely used.

  According to Patent Document 1, a detection unit that detects an operation on another surface of a casing adjacent to a surface on which a display unit is provided, and an operation detected when an operation on the other surface is detected by the detection unit. There is disclosed an electronic apparatus including a control unit that displays information displayed in a region on a display surface corresponding to a position where an operation is detected by a detection unit.

JP 2012-174251 A (published September 10, 2012)

  However, the conventional technology as described above has a problem that the position and number of fingers of the user holding the electronic device are limited. For this reason, the user may not be able to operate the electronic device while holding the electronic device in a preferred way of holding, and may need to change the way of holding in order to perform a desired operation. Further, when performing various types of operations exceeding the number of fingers, it is not possible to operate with one hand, and it is necessary to operate with both hands. Furthermore, the technology for determining the type of the finger of the user holding the device and assigning a function according to the type of the finger requires a sensor for recognizing and determining the type of the finger. It will be up.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to detect contact by a user's hand holding a housing by a contact sensor, and which finger is the detected contact. It is to realize an information processing apparatus and a control method capable of performing various input operations without discriminating between them.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that performs a function according to a user's input operation, and a user who holds a casing of the information processing apparatus A contact sensor that can detect a plurality of contacts, and a first position that is a position on each of the one or more areas where the contact sensor detects a contact. And a detection specifying means for specifying the position, and when the contact sensor further detects contact with a second position different from the first position, depending on the arrangement of the first position and the second position on the contact sensor. And a function determining means for determining a function to be executed.

  An information processing apparatus control method according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus control method that executes a function according to a user's input operation, and includes a user who holds the casing of the information processing apparatus. A detection specifying step of specifying a first position, which is a position on the contact sensor, of each of one or a plurality of regions in which a contact sensor that can detect a plurality of contacts is located at a position where the hand contacts. And when the contact sensor further detects contact with a second position different from the first position, a function to be executed according to the arrangement of the first position and the second position on the contact sensor. And a function determining step for determining.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention uses a contact sensor that detects contact by a user's hand to perform various inputs with simple operation without determining the type of finger that touches the touch sensor. There is an effect that the operation can be performed.

It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structural example of the portable terminal which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the external appearance of the portable terminal of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the operation | movement which the portable terminal of FIG. 1 performs. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the designation | designated operation table of the portable terminal which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining the example of input of designation | designated operation in the portable terminal shown to Fig.2 (a). It is a figure explaining the example of an input of the other designation | designated operation in the portable terminal shown to Fig.2 (a). It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the designation | designated operation table of the portable terminal which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a specific operation example of the mobile terminal according to the second embodiment.

Embodiment 1
The mobile terminal 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, an example in which the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a mobile terminal 1 such as a smartphone or a mobile phone having a display screen will be described.

(Configuration of mobile terminal 1)
First, a schematic configuration of the mobile terminal 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of a mobile terminal 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of the mobile terminal 1 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 20, a function unit 30, and a sensor unit 31. Note that the mobile terminal 1 may include devices necessary for functioning as the mobile terminal 1, such as a communication device, a microphone, and a speaker. For convenience of explanation, illustration and description thereof are omitted here.

  The control unit 10 controls each function provided in the mobile terminal 1 in an integrated manner. The control unit 10 includes a contact determination unit 11, an initial state determination unit (detection specifying unit) 12, an operation region determination unit 13, and a designated operation instruction determination unit (function determination unit) 14.

  The storage unit 20 includes (1) a control program executed by the control unit 10 of the mobile terminal 1, (2) an OS program, and (3) an application program executed by the control unit 10 to execute various functions of the mobile terminal 1. (4) Non-temporarily storing various data read when the application program is executed. The storage unit 20 includes an initial state memory 21 and a designated operation table 22. The data stored in the storage unit 20 is nonvolatile storage such as ROM (read only memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (registered trademark) (Electrically EPROM), HDD (Hard Disc Drive), etc. Stored in the device. The mobile terminal 1 may include a temporary storage unit (not shown). The temporary storage unit is a so-called working memory that temporarily stores data used for calculation, calculation results, and the like in the course of various processes executed by the mobile terminal 1, and is a volatile storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). Composed. Which data is stored in which storage device is appropriately determined from the purpose of use, convenience, cost, or physical restrictions of the mobile terminal 1.

  The initial state memory 21 stores, as an initial state, the contact position, the number, and the like detected by the sensor unit 31 of the user's finger holding the casing of the mobile terminal 1. The initial state determination unit 12 of the control unit 10 Read when executing the initial state determination process. The designated operation table 22 is read when the designated operation instruction determination unit 14 of the control unit 10 executes an instruction determination process corresponding to the designated operation, and a position at which the designated operation is input and an operation assigned to the designated operation. It is a table which prescribes | regulates the corresponding relationship. Here, the designation operation is an operation for inputting an instruction set in advance by the user. For example, an operation performed by an intuitive and simple operation such as a single tap, a double tap, a triple tap, a slide, and a scratch. It is desirable that In the designation operation table 22, the instruction content is associated with each input operation based on the relative positional relationship between the position where the input operation is detected and the position where contact is detected in the initial state. The data structure of the designation operation table 22 will be described in detail later with a specific example.

  The sensor unit 31 includes one or a plurality of contact sensors that are provided at positions where the user's hand comes into contact with the casing when the casing of the portable terminal 1 is gripped by the user and detects the user's contact. It is out. FIG. 1 shows an example in which two contact sensors 31R and 31L are provided. The contact sensors 31R and 31L have the same function. The contact sensors 31R and 31L can simultaneously detect a plurality of contacts at positions along a predetermined direction, and detect the position and number of the contacts. That is, the contact sensors 31R and 31L detect a contact by a user's finger or the like arranged on a predetermined line as a one-dimensional contact position. Further, the contact sensors 31R and 31L periodically check changes in input due to contact. Thereby, it is possible not only to detect the detected change of each contact position, but also to detect whether or not each contact continues. Therefore, various designation operations input by the user can be determined. For example, it is possible to distinguish and detect input operations by operations such as single tap, double tap, and slide. Below, the case where designation | designated operation is a double tap is demonstrated as an example. In order to detect a designation operation such as a double tap, for example, it is desirable to periodically check changes in input due to contact at a frequency of 30 times or more per second. However, when the contact is always confirmed with a short cycle, power consumption increases. Therefore, before confirming the input area for detecting the input of the designated operation, for example, contact is confirmed at a cycle of about 5 times per second, and after confirming the input area, the cycle for confirming the contact is shortened. It is desirable to do.

  The function unit 30 includes a display unit 32 and a camera 33. However, this is an example, and the mobile terminal 1 may further include various other functions. The functional unit 30 is not included in the mobile terminal 1 but may be configured in a device external to the mobile terminal 1.

  The display unit 32 is a thin flat panel display such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), or an organic EL (Organic LED). is there. The camera 33 is a digital camera.

  The contact determination unit 11 acquires a detection signal from the sensor unit 31, and at which position of each of the contact sensors 31R and 31L that have detected the contact is detected, and the number of detected contacts is some. judge. The contact determination unit 11 outputs information indicating the contact position and number to the sensor unit 31 to the initial state determination unit 12.

  The initial state determination unit 12 determines whether the contact position and the number detected by the sensor unit 31 are the same as the contact position (first position) and the number in the initial state, which is preset as the initial state memory 21. Match. When the initial state memory 21 does not store the initial contact position and number, the initial state determination unit 12 uses the detected contact position and number acquired from the contact determination unit 11 as the initial state as the initial state. Store in the memory 21.

  When the detected contact position and number are the same as the set initial state, the operation area determination unit 13 determines the sensor unit 31 based on the relative positional relationship with the detected contact position and number. The operation position (second position) at which an input by the designated operation is received is determined.

  The designated operation instruction determination unit 14 determines whether or not the input operation is a designated operation. The designated operation instruction determination unit 14 confirms whether or not a change has occurred in the position of contact detected by the sensor unit 31 and the number of contacts, and determines that a predetermined specified operation has been input within a predetermined time. To do. When it is determined that the input operation is a specified operation, the specified operation determination unit 14 determines the relative positional relationship between the position where the specified operation is input and the contact position in the initial state, and specifies the specified operation table 22. The instruction to execute the function corresponding to the designated operation is determined based on the correspondence relationship between the designated operation and the function defined in the above, and the instruction is output to the function unit 30. Thereby, the event in a predetermined function is executed in the function unit 30.

  Here, for example, when the operation target is the display unit 32, the instruction assigned to the designation operation includes a screen display scroll instruction in each direction or a screen display switching instruction. When the operation target is the camera 33, an instruction to start application software (hereinafter abbreviated as an application) that acquires an image using the camera 33, an instruction to switch on / off the flash, or an instruction to execute shooting Etc. There are no particular restrictions on the instructions assigned to the designation operation, and it is possible to associate instructions for executing events in various functions.

  Note that the information processing apparatus of the present invention can also be applied as a function control apparatus that accepts operation inputs for each function of an external device and outputs an instruction corresponding to each input operation. Therefore, it goes without saying that the mobile terminal 1 described above is merely one aspect of the information processing apparatus of the present invention.

(External appearance example of the mobile terminal 1)
Next, the position and number of the contact sensors 31 included in the mobile terminal 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of the mobile terminal 1 of FIG. 2A shows the left and right side surfaces when the display unit 32 of the mobile terminal 1 is viewed from the front, and FIG. 2B shows the left and right side surfaces of the mobile terminal 1 in addition to the left and right side surfaces. The back side is also shown.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 1 according to the present embodiment has a display unit 32 configured by a thin liquid crystal display or the like on at least one surface of the housing. Although the portable terminal 1 shown by FIG. 3 is provided with the one display part 32, the number of the display parts 32 is not limited to this. In addition, the display unit 32 may be configured by superimposing a touch panel on the display screen of the display unit 32. In this case, the display unit 32 in the display state also has a function as an operation input unit capable of performing an operation input by a user operation. In addition, the operation input by the user is not limited to the touch panel layered on the display screen of the sensor unit 31 and the display unit 32, and other methods may be used. For example, the mobile terminal 1 may be provided with a voice analysis function and perform an operation input by voice.

  The sensor unit 31 is provided at a position where a user's hand holding the casing of the mobile terminal 1 contacts the mobile terminal 1. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration in which one contact sensor 31 </ b> R or 31 </ b> L is provided on each of the surfaces facing each other adjacent to the surface including the display unit 32 of the mobile terminal 1. When the contact sensors 31R and 31L are provided at such positions, the palms and fingers of the user holding the mobile terminal 1 come into contact with the contact sensors 31R and 31L (see FIG. 5A). The sensor unit 31 may be provided anywhere as long as the user's hand holding the casing of the mobile terminal 1 is in contact with the sensor unit 31. For example, the sensor unit 31 may be provided on the entire side surface of the mobile terminal 1 or opposed to the surface including the display unit 32 of the mobile terminal 1 like the contact sensors 31BR and 31BL illustrated in FIG. You may provide in the back surface which is a surface to perform. For example, the contact sensors 31BR and 31BL are positions suitable for a user who operates the touch sensor provided on the display unit 32 of the portable terminal 1 with a thumb or a user who has a small hand and does not easily reach both the contact sensors 31R and 31L. Is provided. In addition, the shape of the contact sensor may be a linear shape or a belt shape that is one-dimensionally extended, or may be a curved shape or a curved shape. Moreover, the number of contact sensors can be changed according to the installation position, and may be one or plural.

(Processing flow of the mobile terminal 1)
Here, FIG. 3 is used for processing for detecting contact by a user's hand holding the mobile terminal 1 according to the first embodiment, detecting a specified operation, and executing a function associated with the specified operation. I will explain. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of operations performed by the mobile terminal 1 of FIG.

  First, in step S1 of FIG. 3 (hereinafter, steps are omitted and simply referred to as S1), the contact of the position of the user along the predetermined direction is provided at a position where the user's hand holding the casing of the mobile terminal 1 comes into contact. The sensor unit 31 for detecting the contact is in a state where the contact can be detected. The power of the sensor unit 31 is preferably turned on when the main power of the mobile terminal 1 is turned on.

  When a change in input due to contact detected by the sensor unit 31 is detected (YES in S2), information indicating that a change in input to the sensor unit 31 has been detected is acquired in S3 (detection specific step). The contact determination unit 11 determines at which position of the sensor unit 31 that detects contact, and the number of detected contact positions. Here, the number of positions where contact is detected can also be expressed as the number of areas where contact is detected. On the other hand, when a change in the input to the sensor unit 31 is not detected (NO in S2), the sensor unit 31 periodically checks the contact position, the number, and the like until a change in the input is detected.

  Next, when the contact position and number are already set as the initial state (YES in S4), the initial state determination unit 12 (1) detects the detected contact position (first position) acquired from the contact determination unit 11. ) And the number, and (2) the contact position and number set as the initial state stored in the initial state memory 21 are collated. If the initial state is not set and the initial state contact position and number are not stored in the initial state memory 21 (NO in S4), the currently detected contact position (first position) and number are determined in S5. The initial state is set and stored in the initial state memory 21 by the initial state determination unit 12.

  When the detected contact position and number are the same as the initial state that has been set, the operation region determination unit 13 determines whether the sensor unit 31 has a relative positional relationship with the detected contact position and number. An operation position for receiving an input by a designated operation is determined.

  Next, when the input operation is a specified operation (YES in S6), in S9, the specified operation instruction determination unit 14 determines the relative position between the position where the specified operation is input and the contact position set in the initial state. To determine the correct positional relationship. On the other hand, if the input operation is different from the designated operation (NO in S6), in S7, the designated operation instruction determination unit 14 determines that the number of contact positions detected after detecting the input operation is the initial state. It is determined whether or not there is a change (i.e., increase or decrease). The designated operation instruction determination unit 14 returns to the initial state when the detected contact is detected continuously for a predetermined time (for example, 2 seconds) after detecting an operation different from the designated operation. It is desirable to determine that a change in the input position has occurred. Thereby, it can prevent that the setting of an initial state will be cancelled | released when the sensor part 31 detects the contact shorter than the predetermined time different from a user's intention. If there is a change in the number of contact positions (YES in S7), in S8, the initial state determination unit 12 cancels the state for accepting the initial state setting and designation operation input, and returns to S2 again. A change in input to the sensor unit 31 is detected. On the other hand, if there is no change in the number of contact positions (NO in S7), the initial state setting and the state of accepting the input of the designation operation are maintained, and the process returns to S2 to detect the change in the input to the sensor unit 31 To do. That is, even when the position where contact is detected is moving, the initial state determination unit 12 does not cancel the initial state setting if there is no change in the number of contact positions.

  Next, in S10 (function determination step), the designated operation instruction determination unit 14 refers to the designated operation table 22, and the relative position between the position where the designated operation is input and the contact position set in the initial state. The operation instruction of the function associated with the relationship is determined. In S <b> 11, the designated operation instruction determination unit 14 outputs an operation instruction for a function corresponding to the designated operation to the function unit 30. When the designated operation that has been input is not defined in the designated operation table 22 (NO in S10), the process returns to S2 to detect a change in the input to the sensor unit 31.

  As described above, the designation operation input to the sensor unit 31 of the mobile terminal 1 is set, and the relative positional relationship between the position where the designated designation operation is input and the contact position set in the initial state is set. The operation instruction of the associated function is determined. The contact position and number set in the initial state do not depend on which finger the user touches, and limit the method of holding the casing of the mobile terminal 1 (that is, how to hold the mobile terminal 1). do not do. As a result, the user can hold the portable terminal 1 in a favorite way and perform an input operation.

(Designated operation table 22)
Next, the data structure of the designation operation table 22 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of the designation operation table 22 of the mobile terminal 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, based on the position where the designation operation is input and the contact position and number set in the initial state, the operation instruction of the function corresponding to the inputted designation operation is given to each designation operation. Assigned.

Consider a case where the number of contact positions in the initial state is three. If these contact positions in the initial state are position A, position B, and position C in order from the top (see contact sensor 31R in FIG. 5A), they are in a relative positional relationship with these contact positions. There are four positions that can detect the input of the designated operation: “above A”, “between A and B”, “between B and C”, and “below C”. An operation instruction for the function to be executed is assigned to each of the designation operations input to these four positions. In the example shown in FIG. 4, “up scroll” of the screen display is assigned to the designation operation “above A”, and the portable terminal is designated for the designation operation “between A and B”. “HOME activation” for displaying a startup screen of 1 is assigned. That is, a function to be executed is assigned according to the arrangement made by the contact position on the sensor unit 31 and the position where the input of the designated operation can be detected.
“No operation” indicates that the operation instruction of the function is not assigned to the designated operation, and can be set so that the operation instruction of the desired function is further assigned. The function assignment in the designated operation table 22 may be set in advance as a predetermined assignment, or may be set by a user as desired.

(Example of instruction input by specifying operation in the mobile terminal 1)
Next, an example in which an operation instruction for a predetermined function is determined by inputting a designation operation in the mobile terminal 1 will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. 4 with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. 5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining an input example of the designation operation in the mobile terminal 1 shown in FIG. In addition, the portable terminal 1 in FIGS. 5 and 6 is assumed to have been assigned a function to be executed for the designated operation in advance as in the designated operation table 22 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, when the mobile terminal 1 is gripped by the user's left hand, the base portion of the thumb is in contact with the contact sensor 31 </ b> L on the left side surface of the mobile terminal 1. On the other hand, four fingers other than the thumb can come into contact with the contact sensor 31R on the right side surface of the mobile terminal 1, but consider a case where the middle finger is lifted and held as shown in FIG. . In this case, the three positions of position A, position B, and position C of the contact sensor 31R are set as the contact positions in the initial state. In FIG. 5B, when the user's middle finger inputs a double tap as a designation operation between the position A and the position B, the input is performed based on the rules of the designation operation table 22 shown in FIG. The operation instruction of the function corresponding to the designated operation is determined. As a result, in FIG. 5C, the “HOME activation” process assigned to the designated operation “between A and B” is executed.

  On the other hand, as for the initial state of the contact sensor 31L on the left side surface of the mobile terminal 1, one contact position is set as the initial state. Therefore, for example, in FIG. 5D, when a double tap is input to the contact sensor 31L using the fingertip of the left hand, the number of the initial contact positions is one. The contact position is position A. Then, “return” assigned to the designation operation above the position A of the contact sensor 31L is selected. Thereby, in FIG.5 (e), the process which switches a screen display to what was displayed immediately before is performed.

  Next, how the initial state setting is maintained when there is no change in the number of contact positions will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 6A, three positions of position A, position B, and position C of the contact sensor 31R are set as contact positions in the initial state. After that, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the position where the index finger and the ring finger are in contact with each other and the positions of the position A and the position B are changed, the number of contact positions remains 3 and does not change. Therefore, the initial setting is not canceled and maintained. In FIG. 6C, when a double tap is performed between the position A and the position B by using the middle finger, in FIG. 6D, as in FIG. The “startup” process is executed.

  As described above, the portable terminal 1 is configured to perform the designated operation with reference to the position where the user's hand or finger is in contact with the portable terminal 1 in a state where the user holds the portable terminal 1 in a desired manner. Determine where to accept input. Since the position in contact with the mobile terminal 1 does not depend on the type of the user's finger, the user can operate while holding the mobile terminal 1 in a preferred manner. In addition, since an instruction for an operation corresponding to each designated operation can be assigned according to a position where the designated operation is input, the user can use the hand of the hand holding the mobile terminal 1 to perform various types of operation instructions. Can be entered.

  Here, a case has been described in which it is assumed that the input of the designation operation is performed in a state where the casing of the mobile terminal 1 is held by either the left or right hand, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to set a designated operation table suitable for holding a portable terminal 1 using both hands at the same time and inputting a designated operation, or when assuming cooperation with the touch panel of the display unit 32. it can. That is, it does not matter which finger is touched at the contact position set as the initial state, and is simply based on the positional relationship of the position where the designated operation is input with respect to the contact position set at the initial state. Thus, the operation instruction of the function corresponding to the input designation operation is determined.

[Embodiment 2]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  The portable terminal 1 according to the second embodiment includes different designation operation tables 22 for a case where a designation operation is input to the contact sensor 31R and a case where a designation operation is input to the contact sensor 31L. Thereby, the portable terminal 1 of Embodiment 2 can accept operation instructions of more various functions. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of the designation operation table of the mobile terminal 1 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, for each of the contact sensors 31R and 31L, it corresponds to the designated operation inputted based on the position where the designated operation is inputted and the contact position and number set in the initial state. The operation instruction of the function to be associated is associated with the designated operation. FIG. 7A shows the designation operation table 22 of the contact sensor 31R (indicated as the right contact sensor in FIG. 7), and FIG. 7B shows the contact sensor 31L (in FIG. 7, the left side). This is a designated operation table 22 (denoted as a contact sensor).

  Next, in the mobile terminal 1 according to the second embodiment, an example in which an operation instruction for a predetermined function is determined by inputting a designation operation will be described more specifically with reference to FIG. 7 with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a specific operation example of the mobile terminal 1 according to the second embodiment.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8A, when the mobile terminal 1 holds the mobile terminal 1 with the thumb, ring finger, and little finger of the left hand of the user, the contact sensor 31L on the left side surface of the mobile terminal 1 includes The base part of the thumb and the fingertip are in contact with the position AL and the position BL, respectively. On the other hand, the ring finger and the little finger contact the position AR and the position BR, respectively, on the contact sensor 31R on the right side surface of the mobile terminal 1. Thereby, the position AL, the position BL, the position AR, and the position BR are set as the contact positions in the initial state. In FIG. 8B, when the user performs a double tap input as a designation operation on the position AR using the middle finger of the left hand holding the mobile terminal 1, as shown in FIG. Based on the position where the designated operation is input and the contact position and number set in the initial state defined by the designated operation table 22, the operation instruction of the function corresponding to the inputted designated operation is determined. . As a result, in FIG. 8C, the “down scroll” process assigned to the designation operation “above AR” is executed. Even when the index finger of the left hand is used, or when the index finger and the middle finger are used, the “down scroll” process is executed in order to detect the designation operation as “above AR”.

  On the other hand, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 8D, when the mobile terminal 1 holds the mobile terminal 1 with the thumb, ring finger, and little finger of the right hand of the user, the contact sensor 31 </ b> R on the right side surface of the mobile terminal 1 is used. The base portion of the thumb and the fingertip are in contact with the position AR and the position BR, respectively. On the other hand, the ring finger and the little finger contact the position AL and the position BL, respectively, on the contact sensor 31L on the left side surface of the mobile terminal 1. Thereby, the position AL, the position BL, the position AR, and the position BR are set as the contact positions in the initial state. In FIG. 8E, when the user performs a double tap input, which is a designated operation, on the position AL using the middle finger of the right hand holding the mobile terminal 1, the state shown in FIG. Based on the position where the designated operation is input and the contact position and number set in the initial state defined by the designated operation table 22, the operation instruction of the function corresponding to the inputted designated operation is determined. . As a result, in FIG. 8F, the “camera activation” process assigned to the designation operation “above AL” is executed. Even when the designation operation is input using the index finger of the right hand, the “camera activation” process is executed in order to detect the designation operation as “above AR”.

  As in the designated operation table 22 shown in FIG. 7, different functions can be assigned to designated operations performed on the respective contact sensors of the sensor unit 31. In the case of the mobile terminal 1 including the contact sensor 31L and the contact sensor 31R in the sensor unit 31, according to the above configuration, the mobile terminal 1 is held in the same way and the designated operation is performed using the same finger. Even if it exists, different processing can be executed depending on which of the contact sensor 31R and the contact sensor 31L has detected that the designation operation has been performed.

  In addition, it further includes means for determining whether the hand holding the mobile terminal 1 is the right hand or the left hand, and the user's hand holding the mobile terminal 1 is the left hand and the right hand. Accordingly, the configuration may be such that the designated operation table 22 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B is switched. Thereby, the portable terminal 1 can be operated in a state of being held by a favorite hand, for example, a dominant hand. In order to determine whether the hand holding the mobile terminal 1 is the left hand or the right hand, for example, the spread of the position where the base of the thumb is in contact or the width of the contact is the position of contact by another finger It is possible to take advantage of the fact that it is large compared to the spread of.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a double tap is used as the designation operation has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to using one type of designation operation. Since the sensor unit 31 periodically checks the input change, the sensor unit 31 can determine the input of a plurality of types of designation operations. Therefore, an operation instruction for a function corresponding to the type of the designated operation may be set in the designated operation table 22 shown in FIGS. According to this configuration, the function corresponding to the input designation operation is based on the positional relationship of the input position of the designation operation with respect to the contact position set in the initial state and the type of the designation operation input. Determine operation instructions. As a result, it is possible to further increase the types of designation operations that can be used to input function operation instructions.

[Embodiment 3]
The control blocks (particularly, the contact determination unit 11, the initial state determination unit 12, the operation region determination unit 13, and the designated operation instruction determination unit 14) of the mobile terminal 1 are logic circuits (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like. Hardware), or software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

  In the latter case, the mobile terminal 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that is software that implements each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which the program and various data are recorded so as to be readable by a computer (or CPU), or A storage device (these are referred to as “recording media”), a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program, and the like are provided. And the objective of this invention is achieved when a computer (or CPU) reads the said program from the said recording medium and runs it. As the recording medium, a “non-temporary tangible medium” such as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) that can transmit the program. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[Summary]
An information processing apparatus (portable terminal 1) according to an aspect 1 of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that performs a function according to a user's input operation, and is in contact with a user's hand that holds the casing of the information processing apparatus. A contact sensor (sensor unit 31) that can detect a plurality of contacts, and a position on each of the one or more regions where the contact sensor detects a contact. Detection specifying means (initial state determination unit 12) for specifying positions (positions A to C, positions AR, BR, AL, BL), and the contact sensor further makes contact with a second position different from the first position. When it detects, it comprises function determining means (designated operation instruction determination unit 14) for determining a function to be executed according to the arrangement formed by the first position and the second position on the contact sensor.

  According to said structure, the function which a contact sensor detects the contact to a 2nd position, and performs according to the positional relationship of the 2nd position where this input operation was performed with respect to the 1st position which has detected the contact. To decide. Note that the first position referred to for determining the function may be the position of all detected contacts, or may be only the position close to the second position, for example. Thereby, it is possible to perform an input operation with a user's finger capable of touching the second position without being restricted by the type or number of fingers touching the first position. Therefore, various input operations by a user who holds the information processing apparatus in a preferred manner can be performed by simple operations.

  The information processing apparatus according to aspect 2 of the present invention is the information processing apparatus according to aspect 1, wherein the function determining unit is executed according to a combination of the number of the first positions and the position of the second position in the array. The function to be performed may be determined.

  According to said structure, the function performed according to the combination of the number of the 1st positions currently detected in the contact sensor and the position in the said arrangement | positioning of a 2nd position is determined. Thereby, different functions can be executed according to the position where the input operation is detected.

  In the information processing apparatus according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the above aspect 1 or 2, when the contact sensor detects contact with the second position, the number of the first positions is changed. The detection specifying unit may cancel the specification of the first position.

  According to said structure, even if a contact sensor detects the contact to a 2nd position, when the number of 1st positions has changed, specification of a 1st position is cancelled | released. Thereby, when the user holding the information processing apparatus changes the holding method, the first position can be specified again for the new holding method. Therefore, it is possible to execute a function corresponding to an operation input performed by a user who holds the information processing apparatus in a desired manner.

  A method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to aspect 4 of the present invention is a method for controlling an information processing apparatus that performs a function according to a user's input operation, wherein a user's hand holding the casing of the information processing apparatus A detection specifying step (S3) for specifying a first position, which is a position on the contact sensor, of each of the one or a plurality of areas in which a contact sensor that can detect a plurality of contacts is located at the contact position. ) And a function to be executed according to an arrangement formed by the first position and the second position on the contact sensor when the contact sensor further detects contact with a second position different from the first position. And a function determining step (S10).

  According to said method, the effect similar to the effect in said aspect 1 is acquired.

  The information processing apparatus according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the information processing apparatus is realized by the computer by causing the computer to operate as each unit included in the information processing apparatus. A control program for the information processing apparatus and a computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, a new technical feature can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

  The present invention can be applied to electronic devices such as smartphones, mobile phones, and portable personal computers.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Portable terminal (information processing apparatus), 10 Control part, 11 Contact determination part, 12 Initial state determination part (detection specific means), 13 Operation area | region determination part, 14 Designated operation instruction | indication determination part (function determination means), 20 Storage part , 21 initial state memory, 22 designation operation table, 30 function unit, 31 sensor unit 31R, 31L contact sensor, S3 detection specifying step, S10 function determining step

Claims (5)

An information processing apparatus that executes a function according to a user input operation,
A contact sensor capable of detecting a plurality of contacts, disposed at a position where a user's hand holding the casing of the information processing apparatus is in contact;
Detection specifying means for specifying a first position which is a position on the contact sensor of each of the one or more areas where the contact sensor detects contact;
When the contact sensor further detects contact with a second position different from the first position, a function to be executed is determined according to an arrangement formed by the first position and the second position on the contact sensor. And an information processing apparatus.   The information according to claim 1, wherein the function determining means determines a function to be executed according to a combination of the number of the first positions and the positions of the second positions in the array. Processing equipment.   When the contact sensor detects contact with the second position, if the number of the first positions has changed, the detection specifying means cancels the specification of the first position. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus that executes a function according to a user input operation,
A contact sensor capable of detecting a plurality of contacts, which is disposed at a position where a user's hand holding the casing of the information processing device contacts, detects the contact on each of the one or more regions. A detection specifying step for specifying a first position which is a position;
When the contact sensor further detects contact with a second position different from the first position, a function to be executed is determined according to an arrangement formed by the first position and the second position on the contact sensor. And a function determining step. An information processing apparatus control method comprising:   A control program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control program causes the computer to function as each of the means.

Images