Multi-Touch Event Conversion for Legacy Application Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional applications not supporting multi-touch events fail to operate correctly on information processing apparatuses with touch panels capable of detecting multi-touch operations, leading to performance degradation and compatibility issues when users perform multi-touch operations, such as those by elderly individuals using multiple fingers.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus with a touch panel capable of detecting multi-touch operations includes a detection unit, a generation unit to convert multi-touch events into single touch events, and a transmission unit to send these single touch events to applications not supporting multi-touch events, ensuring compatibility and maintaining conventional operability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a new touch panel capable of detecting multi-touch operations is employed, then the capability to detect multiple touch points simultaneously is improved, but compatibility with conventional applications not supporting multi-touch events deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an event conversion mechanism that acts as an intermediary between the multi-touch panel and single-touch applications. The conversion unit transforms multi-touch events into single-touch events, allowing conventional applications to operate correctly on the new multi-touch panel without modification, thus resolving the compatibility issue while preserving multi-touch detection capability
2Adaptability or versatility
If multi-touch events are transmitted to conventional applications not supporting multi-touch events, then the multi-touch operation capability is improved, but system performance deteriorates due to useless event transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and filters multi-touch events before they reach conventional applications. The conversion unit identifies multi-touch events and converts them to single-touch events, preventing useless multi-touch event transmission to applications that cannot process them, thereby maintaining system performance while preserving multi-touch functionality through proper event routing
3Ease of operation
If conventional applications are used on a new touch panel without modification, then the ease of operation is improved, but the operational correctness deteriorates when users perform multi-touch operations
Solution Approach 1:
The event conversion mechanism serves as an intermediary that translates multi-touch events into single-touch events for conventional applications. This allows users to perform multi-touch operations naturally while the conversion unit ensures the application receives compatible event formats, maintaining both ease of operation and operational correctness
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus having a touch panel capable of detecting multi-touch operations detects a touch event based on an operation by a user on the touch panel, and generates a single touch event based on a detected multi-touch event. Then, the information processing apparatus transmits the generated single touch event to an application not supporting multi-touch events. Thus, conventional operabilities can be maintained even in a case where an application not supporting multi-touch events is operated.