JP2000242248A - Device and method for picture display - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make automatically discriminable individual area, to which a picture display device is connected, while constituting a multiscreen display device, and to improve the operability of the device. SOLUTION: The picture display device is constituted as a multiscreen display device by coupling plural picture display devices. Video signals received by receiving sections 2001a to 2001c are supplied to a display control section 2005 through a decoder 2004. Connecting sections 2002 are connecting sections, which are used to make connections to other picture display devices so as to constitute a multiscreen display device arranged in the four sides of the display device. A judging section 2003 judges the portion which the picture device occupies in the multiscreen display device based on which connecting section among the sections 2002 is connected to other picture display device and on the connection constitution of the multiscreen display device stored in a storing section 2013. The section 2005 conducts the sampling of the video signals so that the portion judged by the section 2003 is magnified and displayed on a display panel 2008.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image display device for displaying an image according to a video signal and a control method therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as an apparatus for obtaining a large-screen image, a projection-type projection apparatus and a display apparatus such as a plasma display have been used.
However, in these display devices, the larger the screen, the higher the cost of the device, the lower the image quality, and the problems such as difficulty in manufacturing.

On the other hand, a method for displaying a large-screen image by combining a large number of image display devices has been proposed.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 32009. According to this method, by using an enlargement device, one video source can be enlarged to an image on a plurality of image display devices to project a large screen (hereinafter, such an apparatus is referred to as a multi-screen display device). Name). Here, the enlargement device has, for example, a frame memory of an amount corresponding to a plurality of image display devices, and obtains an image of an arbitrary enlargement ratio by controlling reading of data written in the frame memory.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a conventional multi-screen display device. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a video signal generator composed of a VTR, a video disk, or the like. The system includes a personal computer and the like, and includes a system controller (not shown) for controlling the video signal generator 1 and a video enlarging device described later. Reference numeral 3 denotes an image enlargement device for generating an enlarged image signal at an arbitrary enlargement ratio, a frame memory 3a of an amount corresponding to a plurality of image display devices, a selector 3b for selecting image signals from a plurality of image signal generators 1, A program memory (not shown) for storing an automatic operation program sent from the system controller; and an enlargement control means 3d which is controlled in accordance with the program and obtains an arbitrary enlargement ratio by controlling reading of the frame memory 3a. .

[0005] Reference numeral 4 denotes a video switching means for selecting an enlarged video signal from the video enlarging device 3 or an equal size video signal from the video signal generator 1, and 5 denotes a large screen display device comprising a plurality of image display devices. (In the figure, 4 × 4 = 16 cases are shown.)

In the following, for convenience of explanation, each of the image display devices constituting 5 is simply called a display panel, and the whole 5 is called a display panel group.

Next, the operation of the above device will be described. First, an automatic operation program is previously downloaded from the system controller to the enlargement control unit 3d, and the enlargement control unit 3d stores the program in the program memory. Then, the video enlarging device 3 operates according to an execution command from the system controller.

When the above-mentioned program is executed, the enlargement control means 3d controls the writing and reading of the frame memory 3a, enlarges the video signal from the video signal generator 1 at a predetermined magnification rate, and Supplied to

The video switching means 4 selects one of the same-size video signals from the video signal generator 1 or one of the video signals from the video enlarging device 3 and supplies the same to the six driving circuits, and the display panel group 5. The video to be displayed on 5 is switched.

When the same-size video signal is selected, the same-size video signal is supplied to each display panel and the same image is displayed. On the other hand, when the video signal from the video enlarging device 3 is selected, the video signal having a predetermined magnification ratio, which is enlarged by the video enlarging device 3, is displayed on the display panel group 5.

That is, assuming that the enlargement ratio of the video signal enlargement device 3 is 4 times in both the vertical and horizontal directions of the image, in the 4 × 4 image display device as shown in FIG. The image is enlarged and displayed.

Since such a large-screen display device can display a large amount of information, it can be connected to various information devices and input sources for display, and can display powerful and clear images. is there. For this reason, performance and effects superior to other methods are expected. Also, regarding the manufacture of the device, since the display panel group is configured using a plurality of image display panels, it can be manufactured more easily than manufacturing a large-screen panel using a technology such as a plasma display or a CRT. There were various effects such as reduction of manufacturing cost.

[0013]

The present inventors have studied on a multi-screen display device including a plurality of display panels as described above. However, with the increasing number of cases where a user uses a multi-screen display device, a completely new problem has arisen.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a use form of a general multi-screen display device. FIG. 11 shows an example in which a plurality of flat displays (100a to 100d) are used. As described above, the multi-screen display device is an image display device provided with a large number of display panels, and has provided a powerful and clear image display by displaying a large-screen image. Such a use example is the form shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG.
Reference numeral 100d denotes a display panel constituting a multi-screen display device. In FIG. 11, the number of display panels is four.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
In order to effectively use a large number of display panels, separate multiple display panels that make up a multi-screen display device, bring them to different places, and display different images on each display panel to display images. There was a request to enjoy.

However, the multi-screen image display device described in the prior art cannot be basically separated because each display device does not have a video receiving means. Even if it is forcibly separated, it is necessary to connect each display panel to the image switching means 4, and the wiring at this portion becomes extremely long, which is not practical. That is, the conventional multi-screen image display device cannot cope with a use such as using the display panel separately, and even if the multi-screen image display device can cope with it, a video signal is supplied from the enlargement device 3 and the video switching means 4 to each display panel. For this reason, there are various problems, such as that the wiring route for the image display device becomes extremely long and the handling becomes poor, and it is difficult to connect and separate a plurality of image display devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems. It is possible to independently display an image and combine a plurality of units to form a multi-screen display device. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image display device and a method that can be easily operated.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to automatically determine an area to which an image display device is connected when configuring a multi-screen display device, and to perform an operation when the device is used as a multi-screen display device. To improve the performance.

[0019]

An image display apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object has, for example, the following arrangement. That is, an image display device capable of forming a multi-screen display device by being combined with a plurality of image display devices, wherein a receiving means for receiving a video signal is connected to another image display device to form the multi-screen display device. A connection unit to perform, a determination unit that determines a portion occupied by the image display device in the multi-screen display device based on a connection state of the connection unit with another image display device, and a portion determined by the determination unit. Display means for enlarging and displaying.

The image display method of the present invention for achieving the above object includes, for example, the following steps. That is, the image display device includes a connection unit that connects to another image display device to form a multi-screen display device, and connects to a plurality of image display devices via the connection unit to form a multi-screen display device. A control method, a receiving step of receiving a video signal, and a determining step of determining a portion occupied by the image display device in a multi-screen display device based on a connection state between the image display device and another image display method in the connection unit. And a display step of enlarging and displaying the portion determined in the determination step.

[0021]

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

[First Embodiment] Hereinafter, an image display device according to a first embodiment and a plurality of the image display devices are connected.
A multi-screen image display device will be described. In the following, an example is shown in which a total of four image display devices are combined in the vertical direction and two in the horizontal direction to form a multi-screen display device. Can be connected to form a multi-screen display device.

FIG. 1 shows an image display device according to the present embodiment,
It is a figure explaining the multi-screen display device constituted by it. 2016a, 2016b, 2016c, 2016d
Are image display devices, each of which can independently display an image as one image display device. In addition, a multi-screen display device can be formed by connecting each other as shown in FIG. Although detailed description will be given later, the individual image display devices are configured to operate as a multi-screen image display device by being connected to each other via the connection unit 2002.

FIG. 2 shows one of the plurality of image display devices (2016a, 2016b, 2016c, 20c) shown in FIG.
16 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of a unit such as 16d). In FIG. 2, 3001a, 3001b, 300
Reference numeral 1c denotes a receiving unit, which is a circuit for receiving or interfacing a video signal from an NTSC, VTR, video disk, or the like. Reference numeral 2002 denotes a connection unit that is connected when a plurality of image display devices are connected and used.
Reference numeral 3003 denotes a determination unit that determines whether or not another image display device is connected. Reference numeral 3004 denotes a decoder which converts RG from video signals received by the receiving units 3001a to 3001c.
Generate a B component signal. Reference numeral 3005 denotes a display control unit, which enlarges an image as necessary and supplies a digitally sampled video signal to the drive circuit 3007.

The display controller 3005 will be further described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the display control unit 3005. As shown in FIG. 3, the display control unit 300
Reference numeral 5 includes AD converters 3010a to 3010c, a controller 3011, an enlargement control unit 3012, a display area storage unit 3013, a multiplexer 3014, and a frame memory 3015.

The display area storage unit 3013 stores the number of connections M in the vertical direction (M = 2 if a multi-screen display device as shown in FIG. 1 is configured) and the number N of connections in the horizontal direction (N =
2), address information indicating its own connection position in the multi-screen display device is written. This address information
In the case of the 2 × 2 multi-screen display device shown in FIG. 1, for example, the upper left image display device: address (1, 1) the upper right image display device: address (2, 1) the lower left image display device: address ( 1,2) Image display device at lower right: Determined as address (2,2).

The enlargement control unit 3012 supplies sampling pulses to the AD converters 3010a to 3010c in accordance with the number of connections in the vertical and horizontal directions and the address information from the display area storage unit 3013 (details will be described later).

Referring again to FIG. 2, reference numeral 3007 denotes a drive circuit, which is controlled based on a video signal from the display control unit 3005.
A driving signal is supplied to the display panel 3008.

In the image display apparatus of the present embodiment, after the video signal is received by any of the receiving units 3001a to 3001c, the input source is selected by the decoder 3004, and the display control unit 3005 converts the input source into an analog RGB signal.
Output to

When the individual image display devices are not connected to each other, but are used alone, since the image display device is not connected to the connection unit 2002, the determination unit 3003 determines that the image display device is not connected (hereinafter, referred to as “disconnected”). This state is also referred to as a single display mode), and a signal to that effect is sent to the display control unit 3005.

Upon receiving the notification of the single display mode, the display control unit 3005 generates a digital video signal of the same size as the original video signal on the image display device, and the generated digital video signal passes through the drive circuit 3007. Display panel 3008
Supplied to. As a result, the display panel 3007 displays a 1: 1 image based on the video signal. At this time, the enlargement control unit 3012 outputs the sampling pulses for sampling the RGB component signals at the timing shown in FIG. 4 to the A / D converters 3010a to 3010.
c. The digital video signal obtained by sampling with such a sampling pulse is
After being rearranged according to the pixel array by the data array conversion circuit 3014, the data is stored in the frame memory 3015. The digital video signal stored in the frame memory 3015 in this way is supplied to the drive circuit 3007, and an image of the entire screen is displayed on the display panel 3008.

On the other hand, when a multi-screen display device is formed by combining two image display devices in the vertical direction and two in the horizontal direction, the image display device is connected to another image display device by the connection unit 2002 in FIG.
When the determination unit 3003 determines that at least one of the four sides of the image display device is connected to another image display device, the determination unit 3003 determines that the image display device is being connected to the display control unit 3005 (hereinafter, this state is referred to as Multi-screen display mode).

When the display control unit 3005 is notified that the connection is being established (multi-screen display mode), the enlargement control unit 3
At 012, a sampling pulse for enlarging a part of the video signal during one vertical scanning period is generated. The A / D converter supplied with the sampling pulse generates a digital video signal in which the horizontal video signal is doubled. The generated digital video signal is supplied to a driving circuit 3007, and after being converted into a driving signal for a display panel, supplied to a display panel 3008 to display an enlarged image.

Now, in the above multi-screen display mode,
The area to be enlarged and displayed by each image display device constituting the multi-screen display device is determined from the address information stored in the display area storage unit 3013, the number of connections in the vertical direction, and the number of connections in the horizontal direction. For example, the number of vertical and horizontal connections is 2 × 2,
Address information indicating the upper left position of the screen (that is, (1,
In the image display device in which 1)) is stored in the display area storage unit 3013, the image display is performed by enlarging the upper left quarter image of the video signal twice vertically and horizontally in the video signal. An upper left quarter image is enlarged and displayed on the entire screen of the display panel 3008 of the apparatus. More specifically, this is realized by the enlargement control unit 3012 controlling the sampling pulses provided to the AD converters 3010a to 3010c in accordance with the data stored in the display area storage unit 3013.

That is, the enlargement control unit 3012 supplies the sampling pulses corresponding to the display area among the sampling pulses A to D shown in FIG. 5 to the ADs 3010a to 3010c, and based on the position where the image display device is arranged. The sampling of the video signal is performed. For example, in an image display device in which the display area is set to the upper left (address (1, 1) is set in the display area storage unit 3013), sampling is performed at the timing of the sampling pulse A,
The display area is set at the upper right (display area storage unit 30
In the image display device in which the address (2, 1) is set to 13, sampling is performed at the timing of the sampling pulse B, and the display area is set to the lower left (the address (1, 2) is stored in the display area storage unit 3013. In the image display device (set), sampling is performed at the timing of the sampling pulse C, and the display area is set to the lower right (the address (2, 2) is set in the display area storage unit 3013). In, sampling is performed at the timing of the sampling pulse D. For example, the sampling pulse A is a sampling pulse having a sampling rate that is twice the normal sampling rate in the first half of each horizontal scanning signal in the first half of one vertical scanning period of the RGB component signal, and is one upper left in one screen.
The sampling is performed on the video signal in the area of / 4.

The digital video signal sampled as described above is rearranged in accordance with the pixel array by the data array conversion circuit 3014, stored in the frame memory, and output to the drive circuit 3007. In addition, the drive circuit 3007 displays the same video signal every two lines in order to double the size in the vertical direction.

As described above, according to the first embodiment,
Simply by connecting the image display device to the connector, the operation mode of each image display device switches from the single display mode to the multi-screen display mode, and the device operates as a multi-screen display device.

Further, if the power supply line and the video signal line can be transmitted to another device via the connection portion, when the multi-screen display device is formed, the power supply line and the video signal line to each image display device are formed. Since line connection is not required, operability is further improved.

[Second Embodiment] In the above-described first embodiment, the following problems remain. That is,
When connecting and using each other, the connection place is limited by the address stored in the display area storage unit 3015, so that it is very inconvenient for the user to configure the multi-screen display device. As one solution in this case, address information indicating the number of connections in the vertical and horizontal directions and the connection position in the multi-screen display device can be set using a dip switch, a remote controller, or the like. With this configuration, after assembling the multi-screen display device, the setting can be performed according to each connection position. However, even in this case, the work of setting the number of connections and the connection position is required.

In the second embodiment described below, when image display devices are connected to form a multi-screen display device, each image display device automatically recognizes the connection position,
Improve operability. That is, in the second embodiment,
When the plurality of image display devices are connected to each other and used, the connected areas are automatically determined, and the determined areas are enlarged and displayed. In the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment, when a plurality of devices are connected and used as a multi-screen display device, the vertical direction M (1 ≦ M ≦ 3) and the horizontal direction N (1 ≦ N ≦ 3)
Can be combined.

As in the first embodiment, an overview of the image display device according to the second embodiment is as shown in FIG.
FIG. 1 shows a connection example in which the number of vertical connections M = 2 and the number of horizontal connections N = 2 in the image display device. Image display device 20
Reference numerals 16a, 2016b, 2016c, and 2016d denote image display devices according to the second embodiment. Each image display device can independently display an image as one image display device.
Further, a multi-screen image display device can be formed by connecting each other as shown in FIG.

As will be described in more detail later, the individual image display devices function as a multi-screen image display device by being connected to each other via a connection portion 2002 (connection portions A to D). Each image display device forming the multi-screen display device of the present embodiment is provided with connection portions 2002 on four sides, and a plurality of image display devices are connected via the connection portions 2002 to form a multi-screen display device. I do. Here, when the image display devices are connected, there is a feature that there is no restriction on the connection points (positions when forming a multi-screen display device) of the individual image display devices. That is, for example, in FIG.
Even if the arrangement of 16a and 2016b is switched left and right, it functions as a multi-screen display device without any problem. 2016a
This is an image display device having a feature that it functions normally as a multi-screen display device even if the connection between the device and 2016c is reversed.

In FIG. 1, the reference numerals 2016a to 2016d are depicted as flat image display devices, but may be image display devices such as CRTs. However, flat display devices tend to be lighter in weight per unit area of display than CRTs, and have the advantages of being thin and easy to carry, and are particularly advantageous when the present invention is applied to flat display devices. The effect is great.

Examples of the flat-panel image display device to which the present invention can be applied include a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, and a display using a cold cathode device (JP-A-2-257551 by the present applicant). There is no.

FIG. 6 shows an image display device alone (2016a, 2016b, 2016c, 2016) according to the second embodiment.
d is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of FIG. In FIG. 6, reference numerals 2001a, 2001b, and 2001c denote receiving units, which are circuits for receiving or interfacing video signals such as NTSC, VTR, and video discs. Reference numeral 2002 denotes a connection unit for connecting when a plurality of image display devices are connected and used.
As shown in FIG. 1, it is provided for each of the four sides of the display. .

As shown in FIG. 7, here, as shown in FIG. 7, the connection portion A: the connection portion on the upper side of the image display device The connection portion B: the connection portion on the left side of the image display device Connection portion C: the connection portion on the lower side of the image display device D: Connected on the right side of the image display device. It should be noted that the top, bottom, left and right positional relationships are viewed from the direction facing the screen.

Reference numeral 2003 denotes a judgment unit for judging whether or not the connection is being established. The connection status of the connection units A to D is monitored, and the display control unit 2
005 to notify the connection status.

After receiving the video signals received by the receivers 2001a to 2001c, an input source is selected in the decoder 2004, and the input signals are supplied to the display controller 2005 as analog RGB component signals.

Reference numeral 2005 denotes a display control unit, which is a decoder 2
The RGB component signal supplied from 004 is digitally sampled, and the digitized video signal is supplied to the drive circuit 2007. At this time, the image is enlarged as necessary by controlling the sampling pulse as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a display controller 2 according to the second embodiment.
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of 005. As shown in the figure, the display control unit 2005 includes the A / D converter 20
10a to 2010c, a controller 2011, an enlargement control unit 2012, a data array converter 2014, a frame memory 2015, and the like. The operation of each unit will be described later (substantially the same as that described with reference to FIG. 3 in the first embodiment).

In the storage section 2013 of the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the number of vertical connections M and the number of horizontal connections N when used as a multi-screen display apparatus are recorded. The recording means may be a memory such as a RAM or a ROM, or may be a dip switch or the like. The storage unit 2013 supplies the values of the number of vertical connections M and the number of horizontal connections N to the determination unit 2003 and the display control unit 2005.

Reference numeral 2007 denotes a driving circuit, which is a display panel 2
008 is a circuit for supplying a drive signal. Note that the drive circuit 2007 differs depending on the type and type of the display panel, and will not be described in detail.

For example, the connection unit 2002 includes an electrical connection means such as a connector for connecting the image display devices. In the present embodiment, the connection unit 20 connecting the image display devices
02, the connector was arranged as shown in FIG. 1, and power and video signals were supplied from this connector to other image display devices. Note that such power supply and signal supply control is realized by the selection unit 2020 in FIG. Selector 2
In step 020, the determination unit 2003 performs power supply and selects a signal path based on which of the connection units A to D is connected to another image display device. In the present embodiment, when the image display device is not connected to any of the connection units A and B, the selection unit 2020 selects the power supplied from the plug, and supplies the power to the reception unit 2001 to the decoder 2004.
An instruction is issued to adopt a video signal from any of a to c. Then, the selection unit 2003 supplies the power supplied from the plug and the video signal supplied from the decoder 2004 to the connection units C and D. On the other hand, connection part A or B
When the image display device is connected to at least one of the above, the selection unit 2020 supplies the power supplied from the image display device connected thereto to the circuit, and converts the video signal supplied therefrom to the circuit. Decoder 200
Supply to 4. At this time, the selection circuit 2020 instructs the decoder to use the video signal supplied from the selection unit 2020. When the image display device is connected to both the connection parts A and B, one of them is prioritized.

When connecting to a plurality of image display devices, it is not necessary to plug in the power cord for each image display device, and the image display can be performed by plugging in the power plug of any one image display device. It is effective in that it can be done.

Although the connector is illustrated in FIG. 1 as being fixed to the image display device, the image display device is drawn out from each image display device to the connector via a cable so that the image display devices can be easily connected to each other. It does not matter. As described above, the connectors are provided on the four sides of the image display device, and the polarities of the upper and lower connectors are opposite to each other in order to connect the image display devices to each other.
Similarly, the polarities of the left and right connectors are reversed.

Next, the operation of the judgment unit 2003 will be described.

The judging unit 2003 monitors the connection status of the connector for each side, judges the position where the image display device is connected in accordance with the connection status, and notifies the display control unit 2005 of it. For example, when the number of vertical connections M = 1 and the number of horizontal connections N = 2 are stored in the storage unit 2013, the determination unit 2003 determines the position where the image display device is connected by using the image display device 4. Judgment is made as shown in Table 1 below from the connection state of the connection portion provided on the side.

[0058]

[Table 1]

In Table 1, ○ indicates that the connection portion is being connected, and X indicates that the connection portion is not connected. The number of connections in the vertical direction M
= 1 and the number of horizontal connections N = 2, the display areas A,
B is an area shown in FIG. That is, the connection portion A
When all of D are not connected, the determination unit 2003 determines that the mode is the single use mode, and notifies the display control unit 2005 that the full screen display is performed as the area information. When only the connection section D is being connected, the arrangement to which the image display device is connected is determined to be the area A in FIG.
To the display control unit 2005. Further, when only the connection portion A is being connected, the arrangement to which the image display device is connected is determined to be the display area B in FIG. 9A, and that fact is displayed as area information. The control unit 1005 is notified.

As another example, when the number of vertical connections M = 2 and the number of horizontal connections N = 2 are stored in the storage unit 2013, the determination unit 2003 determines the position where the image display device is connected. Is determined as shown in Table 2 from the connection states of the connection portions provided on the four sides of the image display device.

[0061]

[Table 2]

In Table 2, ○ indicates connection, and X indicates non-connection. The display areas A, B, C, and D are as shown in FIG. In this case, for example, when it is detected that the connection units B and C are not connected and the connection units A and D are being connected, the determination unit 2003 determines that the image display device is connected to the display area C. Judge and notify the display control unit 2005 of the judgment.

Further, as another example, the number of connections in the vertical direction M =
3. When the number of horizontal connections N = 3, the determination unit 200
Reference numeral 3 indicates the position where the image display device is connected, as shown in Table 3 below, based on the connection states of the connection portions provided on the four sides of the image display device.

[0064]

[Table 3]

In Table 3, ○ indicates connection, and X indicates non-connection. The display areas A to I are as shown in FIG.

In addition to the above, according to the image display device of the present embodiment, the number of vertical connections M (1 ≦ M ≦ 3) and the number of horizontal connections N (1 ≦ N ≦ 3) are Various combinations of numbers are possible, and the determination unit 2003 displays the image based on the values of M and N set in the storage unit and the connection states of the connection units provided on the four sides of the image display device. The information of the area to be displayed by the device is notified to the display control unit 2005.

Next, the operation of the display control unit 2005 will be described. The image display device according to the present embodiment includes 2001a-
After the video signal is received by any one of the receiving units c, the input source is selected in the decoder 2004 and supplied to the display control unit 2005 as an analog RGB signal.

In the display control unit 2005, analog RGB signals are AD-converted by AD converters 2010a to 2010c to digital RGB signals. Here, the timing of sampling into a digital RGB signal is based on the area information from the determination unit 2003 described above.
It is set so that enlarged display is performed as necessary based on the area information.

For example, when the determination unit 2003 is notified that the display mode is the single display mode, the enlargement control unit 2012
An A / D converter 201 converts a sampling pulse for sampling the GB component signal at the timing shown in FIG.
0a to 2010c. The sampled digital video signal is stored in the frame memory 2015 after being rearranged according to the pixel array by the data array conversion circuit 2014. The digital video signal stored in the frame memory 2015 is output to the drive circuit 2007, and an image of the entire screen is displayed on the screen of the display panel 2008.

On the other hand, in a mode other than the single display mode, the following operation is performed. For example, in a case where a multi-screen display device is formed by combining two image display devices in the vertical direction and two image display devices in the horizontal direction (M = 2 and N = 2 are set in the storage unit 2013), the display control unit The enlargement control unit 2012 in 2005 recognizes the position where the multi-screen display device is arranged based on the area information from the determination unit 2003. Then, based on the recognition result, the sampling pulses A to D shown in FIG.
Is supplied to the AD converters 2010a to 2010c to perform sampling.

That is, in the image display device in which the display area is determined to be the area A, sampling is performed at the timing of the sampling pulse A. In the image display device determined to be area B, sampling is performed at the timing of the sampling pulse B. In the image display device determined to be the area C, sampling is performed at the timing of the sampling pulse C. In the image display device determined to be the area D, sampling is performed at the timing of the sampling pulse D.

The digital video signal sampled as described above is rearranged in accordance with the pixel array by the data array conversion circuit 2014, stored in the frame memory 2015, and output to the drive circuit 2007. Also, in this example, since the number of connections in the vertical direction is 2 (M = 2), it is necessary to display the image in the vertical direction by enlarging it twice. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the driving circuit 200
At 7, the video signal is read from the frame memory 2015, and the same video signal is displayed every two lines. In the vertical direction, an interpolated video signal may be generated from an adjacent video signal to enlarge the image in the vertical direction.

The case where the number of vertical connections M = 2 and the number of horizontal connections N = 2 has been described above, but 1 ≦ M ≦ 3, 1 ≦ M
The case where it changes in the range of N ≦ 3 (M and N are integers) corresponds to the following. That is, (1) When M = 1: The drive circuit 2007 reads the video signal from the frame memory 2015 at the same speed as in the case of the single drive, and displays the vertical direction at the same magnification as the original video signal. (2) When M = 3: The drive circuit 2007 reads the video signal from the frame memory 2015, displays the same video signal every three lines, and enlarges the vertical direction three times. (3) In the case of N = 1: The enlargement control circuit 2012 samples the sampling clock at the same speed as that at the time of independent driving and displays the horizontal direction at the same magnification as the original video signal. (4) When N = 3: The enlargement control circuit 2012 divides 1H into three, samples the video signal in the 1 / 3H period with a sampling clock having a frequency three times, and enlarges the horizontal direction three times. Display images.

As described above, 1 ≦ M ≦ 3, 1 ≦ N
It will be understood that the video signal can be enlarged and sampled to an arbitrary size in a range of ≦ 3 (M and N are integers).

As described above, when the component signal is sampled and the image is displayed on the display panel, the image of the area corresponding to the area information determined by the determination unit 2003 is enlarged and displayed on each image display device. It is possible to display a large screen using a plurality of image display devices as a whole.

As described above, the image display device according to the second embodiment can use not only each image display device as a single image display device but also a multi-screen display device by combining a plurality of image display devices. Also, when used, there is no need to consider how to arrange them (how to connect), so that there is an excellent effect that the user can very easily connect and form a multi-screen display device. In the second embodiment as well, it is necessary to set the number of image display devices constituting the multi-screen display device in the storage unit 2013, but the number of image display devices constituting the multi-screen display device is changed. Since the frequency of the operation is low, the improvement of the operability according to the above embodiment is great. Further, even when the number of connections is changed, it is preferable that the number can be changed by a remote controller or a switch so that the user can easily change the number.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, a multi-screen display device including a plurality of display panels can be used as a single image display device and a plurality of image display devices are combined. It is possible to respond to a wide range of demands from users that can be used as a large-screen multi-screen display device. In particular, according to the second embodiment, when functioning as a multi-screen display device, an image area to be enlarged by each image display device can be automatically determined, and an area to be displayed by each image display device is determined in advance. There is no need to decide. Therefore, the user can easily form the multi-screen display device. That is, when used as a multi-screen image display device, there is no restriction on the arrangement of the individual image display devices, so that there is an excellent effect that it is very easy to combine the image display devices. .

Also, there was a problem in using the device alone.
The difficulty of separating the display panel and the problem that the wiring path becomes very long due to the separation are eliminated, and the individual image display devices can be used as a single image display device by connecting a video source to each image display device. As another effect, since a large screen image display device is configured by combining a plurality of image display devices, even if a failure occurs,
Recovery can be achieved by simply repairing or replacing only the failed image display device. For this reason, there is an effect that maintenance is better than other large screen display devices such as a plasma display.

[0079]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to display images independently, and it is possible to configure a multi-screen display device by connecting a plurality of units to each other, and furthermore, it is possible to easily perform the operations of combining and separating them.
In particular, when a multi-screen display device is configured, the area to which the image display device is connected can be automatically determined individually, so that operability when used as a multi-screen display device is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an image display device according to an embodiment and an example in which the image display device is connected with the number of vertical connections M = 2 and the number of horizontal connections N = 2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the image display device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a display control unit 3005 according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing a sampling pulse corresponding to a previous screen display.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart illustrating sampling pulses when a multi-screen display device is configured with 2 × 2 connections.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image display device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an arrangement of connectors of the image display device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display control unit 2005 according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a connection configuration of an image display device in a multi-screen display device.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a conventional multi-screen display device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a usage form of a general multi-screen display device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a form in which a plurality of display panels constituting a multi-screen display device are separately used.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference) AA14 AA56 BA00 BA34 DA01 DB10 GA10

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An image display device capable of forming a multi-screen display device by being combined with a plurality of image display devices, comprising: a receiving means for receiving a video signal; and another image display device for forming the multi-screen display device. Connection means for connecting to the device; determination means for determining a portion occupied by the image display device in the multi-screen display device based on a connection state of the connection means with another image display device; and determination by the determination means. And a display means for enlarging and displaying the displayed portion. 2. The connection unit includes a connection unit for connecting an image display device to each of four sides of a rectangular display screen, and the determination unit includes any one of the connection units included in the connection unit. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein a portion occupied by the image display device in the multi-screen display device is determined based on whether the image display device is connected to another image display device. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a holding unit that holds the number of vertical and horizontal connections of the image display device in the multi-screen display device to be configured, wherein the determining unit determines the number of vertical and horizontal connections held by the holding unit and the connection unit 2. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein a portion occupied by the image display device in the multi-screen display device is determined based on which of the connection units has a connection with another image display device. 3. . 4. The display unit displays the entire screen on the image display device when the determination unit determines that no other image display device is connected. 2. The image display device according to 1. 5. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the connection unit includes an electric connection unit with another image display device. 6. The image display device according to claim 2, wherein a power supply voltage is supplied from said electrical connection means. 7. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image display device is a CRT. 8. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein said image display device is a flat plate type image display device. 9. A multi-screen display device comprising a connection means for connecting to another image display device to form a multi-screen display device, and an image which can be connected to a plurality of image display devices via the connection means to form a multi-screen display device. A control method for a display device, comprising: a receiving step of receiving a video signal; and determining a portion occupied by the image display device in a multi-screen display device based on a connection state of the connection unit with another image display method. An image display method, comprising: a determination step; and a display step of enlarging and displaying a portion determined in the determination step. 10. The connection unit has a connection unit for connecting an image display method to each of four sides of a rectangular display screen, and the determination step includes determining which one of the connection units the connection unit has 10. The image display method according to claim 9, wherein a portion occupied by the image display device in the multi-screen display device is determined based on whether another image display device is connected. 11. A multi-screen display device to be configured, further comprising a holding step of holding the number of vertical and horizontal connections of the image display device, wherein the determining step includes the step of determining the number of vertical and horizontal connections held by the holding step; The image display method according to claim 9, wherein a portion occupied by the image display method in the multi-screen display device is determined based on which of the connection units has a connection with another image display method. 12. The image display method according to claim 1, wherein, if it is determined in the determination step that no other image display method is connected, the entire screen is displayed in the image display method. 10. The image display method according to 9.