JP2002215284A - Multidisplay displaying method, program and information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multidisplay displaying method detecting a cursor and a pointer such as a mouse pointer, which are displayed on a plurality of display devices, specifying the display device performing work at present based on the detected pointer and informing the outside of the specified display device, and to provide a program and an information processor. SOLUTION: The multidisplay displaying method has a process for detecting the pointer from the display picture of a plurality of the display devices, a process for specifying the display device where work is preformed at present and a process for informing the outside of the specified display device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-display method, a program, and an information processing apparatus in which a plurality of display devices are connected to an information processing apparatus such as a computer to perform display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, personal computers (hereinafter, referred to as personal computers).
Called PC. ) Or a workstation (hereinafter, referred to as WS), when a work is performed, a display device is connected to a PC or WS, and a lot of information is displayed on the display device. As a result, the above work is proceeding efficiently. Therefore, in order to display more information on the display device, the display area of the display device is increased by increasing the resolution of the display device, and more information is displayed on the display device. However, if the display area is increased by increasing the resolution of the display device in this way, the size of displayed characters and the like may be reduced, which may make it difficult to work. In order to solve such a problem, there is a technique called a multi-display in which a plurality of display devices are connected to one information processing device, and a large amount of software is displayed on the plurality of display devices.

[0003]

In a multi-display environment as described above, a user can display a large number of software windows on a plurality of display devices to perform work. Therefore, the user can work without increasing the resolution of the display device. Although the display area that can be used can be enlarged, once the location of the display device that is currently working on which display device is lost, the user may not be able to find the display device immediately. In such a case, in order to identify the display device on which the user is working, it is necessary to perform a troublesome operation such as searching for the display device on which the user is working by moving a mouse pointer, for example. Therefore, in order to eliminate such inconvenience, a technique as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-14845 has been proposed. According to this technology, the information processing apparatus detects a user's line of sight, specifies a display device on which the user is working based on the line of sight, and brightens the specified display device to perform the user's operation. It identifies the display device that is in use. However, in the above-described technology, the information processing device must include a sensor, software, and the like for detecting a line of sight, and the mechanism may be complicated and costly. Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a purpose thereof is to detect a pointer such as a cursor and a mouse pointer displayed on a plurality of display devices and to perform a detection based on the detected pointer. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-display method, a program, and an information processing device for specifying a display device on which work is currently performed, and providing a notification for notifying the specified display device to the outside.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a multi-display method in which a plurality of display devices are connected to an information processing device such as a computer and performs display. A first step of detecting a pointer from a display image of the apparatus, a second step of specifying a display apparatus on which work is currently being performed based on the presence or absence of the pointer detected in the first step; And a third step of notifying the display device specified in the two steps to the outside. With this configuration, the information processing device such as a computer can identify the display device on which work is being performed and another display device and notify the external device. Thus, the user can easily confirm the display device on which the work is being performed.

[0005] Further, as a method of notification in the third step, the brightness of display devices other than the display device specified in the second step is reduced so that the display device specified in the second step is externally provided. There may be a case where notification is given. In this case, the information processing device identifies the display device on which the work is being performed by maintaining the brightness of the display device at the normal brightness and reducing the brightness of the other display devices. It can be easily confirmed.

Further, as a method of notification in the third step, the shape and color of the pointer displayed on the display device specified in the second step are changed to specify the pointer in the second step. A method of notifying the display device to the outside is considered. In this case, for example,
By increasing the shape of the pointer or displaying the color of the pointer in a color different from that used during normal use, the user can easily check the display device on which the user is working.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the pointer is a cursor or a mouse pointer. When the pointer is as described above, the information processing apparatus detects a cursor displayed in a window such as word processing software or a mouse pointer displayed on a display screen, and detects the detected cursor or By specifying the display device on which the mouse pointer is displayed, the information processing device can specify the display device on which work is currently being performed.

The means for detecting the pointer may be constituted by scanning a display image on the display device. When the pointer is detected as described above, the information processing apparatus can detect the pointer, and can specify the display device on which work is being performed based on the presence or absence of the detected pointer. It becomes possible.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of display devices are connected to an information processing device such as a computer.
In a multi-display method for performing display, a fourth step of detecting an active window in which work is currently being performed from display images of a plurality of the display devices, and a step other than the active window detected in the fourth step And a sixth step of reducing the brightness of the display image other than the active window specified in the fifth step. . With this configuration, the information processing apparatus detects an active window from windows displayed on a plurality of display devices, and reduces the brightness of a display image other than the active window to thereby reduce the current work. Since the active window in which is performed is highlighted and displayed as compared with other display screen portions, the user can easily confirm the active window.

The active window may be detected by scanning a display image on the display device. Since the active window is detected as described above, the information processing apparatus can detect the active window from the plurality of windows displayed on the plurality of display devices, and the user performs an operation. It is possible to easily confirm the active window that is set.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the processing of the first step or the fourth step be performed when a predetermined operation is performed on an operation unit for operating the information processing apparatus. With this configuration, when the user wants to confirm the display device on which the work is being performed, the user performs the predetermined operation, and the information processing device is connected to the display device on which the work is being performed and another display device. Since the device can be identified and notified to the outside, the identification can be prevented from being performed when the identification is unnecessary.

Further, in the present invention, the processing of the third step or the sixth step may be performed for a preset time. With this configuration, it is possible to automatically return the display device to a normal display state after the display device in which work is being performed or the active window is identified for a predetermined time.

[0013] The present invention can also be configured as a display program. That is, a plurality of display devices are connected to an information processing device such as a computer, and in the multi-display program for performing display, the information processing device includes:
A first step of detecting a pointer from the display images of the plurality of display devices, and a second step of specifying a display device on which work is currently performed, based on the presence or absence of the pointer detected in the first step. The multi-display program may be configured to execute a step and a third step of notifying the display device specified in the second step to the outside. By configuring the multi-display program in this way, the information processing device can identify the display device on which work is being performed and another display device and notify the external device, so that the user can It is possible to easily confirm the display device on which the work is being performed.

The present invention can also be expressed as an information processing device. That is, a plurality of display devices are connected,
In an information processing apparatus such as a computer that performs display, a current operation is performed based on pointer detection means for detecting a pointer from the display images of the plurality of display devices, and presence or absence of the pointer detected by the pointer detection means. The information processing apparatus may be configured to include a specifying unit for specifying the display device being performed, and a notifying unit for notifying the display device specified by the specifying unit to the outside. By configuring the information processing apparatus in this way, the information processing apparatus can identify a display device on which work is being performed and another display device and notify the outside of the display device. Can be easily confirmed.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to provide an understanding of the present invention. The following embodiments and examples are mere examples embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus for executing the multi-display method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a specific example of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a specific example of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the multi-display method according to the embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a modification of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram when the shape of the pointer changes, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram when the shape of the pointer changes, and FIG. 8 is a multi-display according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the display method, and FIG. 9 is an example of a display image in the embodiment of the present invention.

An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the multi-display method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The information processing apparatus 100 performs various processes such as control and determination inside the information processing apparatus 100, and further includes a central control unit 110 having a function of a specifying unit, a first display device 201 and a second
Specific examples of a display control unit 120 that is connected to the display device 202 and has a function of a pointer detection unit and a function of a notification unit and performs display control, and an operation unit for a user to operate the information processing device 100 A certain keyboard 301 and mouse 30
2 and an input control unit 130 for performing input control. Here, the respective definitions of the pointer, the pointer detecting means, the specifying means, and the notifying means will be described.

A pointer is a cursor that indicates a position where a character is being input in word processing software or the like, or a mouse or the like.
02 indicates a mouse pointer on a display screen moved by a pointing device such as 02. Pointer detecting means is means for executing a program or the like for detecting a pointer from a display image displayed on a plurality of display devices. The specifying means executes a program or the like for determining which of the plurality of display devices has the pointer detected by the pointer detecting means, and specifying the display device on which work is currently performed. It is a means to do. The notifying means is means for notifying a user or the like of the display device specified by the specifying means. For example, the brightness of display devices other than the specified display device is reduced, and the brightness of the specified display device is reduced. Is a means of executing a program or the like for notifying the user of the display device on which the user is working by performing a process of maintaining the same as usual.

The configuration of the apparatus including the components shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. Information processing device 10
0 (for example, a personal computer), a first display device 201, a second display device 202, and a keyboard 30
1, a mouse 302 is connected. Of these, the display images transmitted from the information processing apparatus 100 are displayed on two (a plurality of) first and second display devices, and a multi-display environment is realized. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the information processing apparatus 100 operates a keyboard 301a and a pointing device 302 corresponding to the mouse 302.
a, a first display device 201a, and a second display device 20a.
It may be something like the notebook personal computer 100a connectable to 2a. In the following description, it is assumed that the configuration of FIG. 1 is implemented by a specific configuration as shown in FIG. Of course, the number of display devices is not limited to two, and any number of display devices may be used as long as they can be connected to the information processing device.

Next, referring to FIG.
An example of the operation will be described. A series of processing procedures described below are performed by the central control unit 110 based on the multi-display program according to the present invention.
This is performed by operating peripheral devices. The processing is started from step S10 in FIG. Central control unit 1
10 judges whether a predetermined operation is performed on the keyboard 301 or the mouse 302 connected to the input control unit 130 (S10). The predetermined operation is an operation in which the user requests the information processing device 100 to notify the display device when the user wants to confirm the display device on which the user is currently working. Specifically, the predetermined operation pattern is stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown) of the information processing apparatus, and the predetermined operation is performed by, for example, “operating the mouse 302 in a circular motion”. If so, the information processing apparatus 100 performs a process for indicating to the user the display device on which the work is currently performed by the user performing the operation. Therefore, step S1
When it is determined that the predetermined operation has been performed at 0, the process proceeds to step S20 to perform a process for indicating to the user the display device on which the work is currently being performed, that is, a process for notifying the display device to the outside. If it is determined in step S10 that there is no predetermined operation, it is determined that there is no need to indicate to the user the display device on which work is currently being performed, and the current display state is continued.

When it is determined in step S10 that the predetermined operation has been performed, the central control unit 110 instructs the display control unit 120 to detect the pointer. Then, the display control unit 120 receives the command and scans the display images displayed on the first display device 201 and the second display device 202 to detect the pointer (S20). Then, the presence or absence of the detected pointer is determined for each display device, and the central control unit 110 specifies the display device where the pointer is present based on the determination of the presence or absence of the pointer (S25 → S30). Hereinafter, a description will be given assuming that the display device specified in step S30 is, for example, the first display device. Next, the central control unit 110 transmits to the display control unit 120 a command to keep the luminance of the display device specified in step S30 as it is and to reduce the luminance of the display device other than the display device. The first display device 201 and the second display device 202 are displayed based on the command (S40). This step S40 is a process of making the brightness of the first display device different from that of the second display device to notify the display device on which the work is currently being performed to the outside, that is, to indicate to the user.

The central control unit 110 transmits the above-mentioned command to the display control unit 120 in step S40 and, at the same time, activates, for example, an idle counter (not shown) of the central control unit 110 so that the counter value of the idle counter is set in advance. It is determined whether the set specified value has been reached (S5).
0 → S55). That is, the value of the idle counter increases until the counter value reaches the specified value. Then, in step S55, when the counter value reaches the specified value, the luminance of the second display device is returned to normal luminance.
(S60) The processing from step S50 to step S60 is performed such that the processing for providing a luminance difference in step S40 is performed for a predetermined time, that is, a time until the counter value of the idle counter reaches a preset specified value. This is the process for In step S20, the display control unit 120 detects the pointer by scanning the display images of the two display devices. However, the detection of the pointer may be performed as follows. . The keyboard 301 or mouse 302 for moving the pointer is
Since it is connected to the central control unit 110 via the input control unit 130, it can be said that the information related to the display of the pointer is output from the central control unit 110 to the display control unit 120. That is, the display control unit 120 controls the central control unit 11.
It can be said that the display device that displays the pointer is determined from the plurality of display devices based on the information on the display of the pointer received from 0. Therefore, since the display device that displays the pointer is specified at the time of the determination, if information indicating which display device the pointer is to be displayed is left in the display control unit 120, the display control unit 12
If this information at 0 is searched, the processing from step S20 to step S30 in FIG. 4 can be omitted.

[0022]

(Embodiment 1) Step S in FIG.
By changing the processing performed in step 40 to the processing performed in step S40a shown in FIG.
By changing the color, the display device on which work is being performed may be indicated. Step S10 to step S3
0 is the same as that shown in FIG. 4 (S1).
0 → S20 → S25 → S30). The central control unit 110
The shape of the pointer displayed on the display device specified in step S30 is changed, the display data of the pointer is transmitted to the display control unit 120, and the display control unit 120 displays the changed pointer on the display device ( S40a). The processing after step S40a may be the same as the processing after step S50 in FIG. As described above, when the shape of the pointer detected in step S20 is, for example, the pointer 401 shown in FIG.
a is executed, the pointer 40
1 is displayed with its shape changed like a pointer 402 shown in FIG. 7, for example. Of course, the display may be performed by changing the color of the pointer.

(Embodiment 2) Next, among the display images displayed on a plurality of display devices, the brightness of the display images other than the active window in which the work is currently being performed is reduced, so that the user can receive the active window. The case where the location is notified will be described below. In this case, the processing from step S20 to step S40 in FIG. 4 can be implemented as steps S120 to S140 in FIG. In step S10, the same processing as in FIG. 4 is performed (S10). If it is determined in step S10 that a specific operation has been performed, the central control unit 110
Issues an instruction to the display control unit 120 to detect the active window, and the display control unit 120 detects the active window by scanning the display images displayed on the plurality of display devices (S12).
0). Then, the display control unit 120 specifies a display image portion other than the detected active window (S1).
30). The processing after step S130 may be the same as the processing after step S50 in FIG. Step S
The display control unit 120 specified in 130 lowers the brightness of the display image portion other than the active window (S14).
0). By performing the processing in this manner, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the active window 501 is displayed with normal brightness, and the brightness of the windows 502 and 503 other than the active window and the display image portion 504 other than the window is reduced. Thus, the user can easily recognize the location of the active window 501.

[0024]

As described above, the present invention relates to a multi-display method in which a plurality of display devices are connected to an information processing device such as a computer to perform display.
A first step of detecting a pointer from the display images of the plurality of display devices, and a second step of specifying a display device on which work is currently performed, based on the presence or absence of the pointer detected in the first step. And a third step of notifying the display device specified in the second step to the outside. With this configuration, the information processing device such as a computer can identify the display device on which work is being performed and another display device and notify the external device. Thus, the user can easily confirm the display device on which the work is being performed.

Further, as a method of notification in the third step, the brightness of display devices other than the display device specified in the second step is reduced, so that the display device specified in the second step is externally provided. There may be a case where notification is given. In this case, the information processing device identifies the display device on which the work is being performed by maintaining the brightness of the display device at the normal brightness and reducing the brightness of the other display devices. It can be easily confirmed.

Still further, as a method of notification in the third step, the shape and color of the pointer displayed on the display device specified in the second step are changed to thereby specify the pointer in the second step. A method of notifying the display device to the outside is considered. In this case, for example,
By increasing the shape of the pointer or displaying the color of the pointer in a color different from that used during normal use, the user can easily check the display device on which the user is working.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the pointer is a cursor or a mouse pointer. When the pointer is as described above, the information processing apparatus detects a cursor displayed in a window such as word processing software or a mouse pointer displayed on a display screen, and detects the detected cursor or By specifying the display device on which the mouse pointer is displayed, the information processing device can specify the display device on which work is currently being performed.

[0028] The pointer detecting means may be constituted by scanning a display image on the display device. When the pointer is detected as described above, the information processing apparatus can detect the pointer, and can specify the display device on which work is being performed based on the presence or absence of the detected pointer. It becomes possible.

According to the present invention, a plurality of display devices are connected to an information processing device such as a computer.
In a multi-display method for performing display, a fourth step of detecting an active window in which work is currently being performed from display images of a plurality of the display devices, and a step other than the active window detected in the fourth step And a sixth step of reducing the brightness of the display image other than the active window specified in the fifth step. . With this configuration, the information processing apparatus detects an active window from windows displayed on a plurality of display devices, and reduces the brightness of a display image other than the active window to thereby reduce the current work. Since the active window in which is performed is highlighted and displayed as compared with other display screen portions, the user can easily confirm the active window.

The active window may be detected by scanning a display image on the display device. Since the active window is detected as described above, the information processing apparatus can detect the active window from the plurality of windows displayed on the plurality of display devices, and the user performs an operation. It is possible to easily confirm the active window that is set.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the processing of the first step or the fourth step be performed when a predetermined operation is performed on an operation unit for operating the information processing apparatus. With this configuration, when the user wants to confirm the display device on which the work is being performed, the user performs the predetermined operation, and the information processing device is connected to the display device on which the work is being performed and another display device. Since the device can be identified and notified to the outside, the identification can be prevented from being performed when the identification is unnecessary.

Further, in the present invention, the processing of the third step or the sixth step may be performed for a preset time. With this configuration, it is possible to automatically return the display device to a normal display state after the display device in which work is being performed or the active window is identified for a predetermined time.

The present invention can be configured as a display program. That is, a plurality of display devices are connected to an information processing device such as a computer, and in the multi-display program for performing display, the information processing device includes:
A first step of detecting a pointer from the display images of the plurality of display devices, and a second step of specifying a display device on which work is currently performed, based on the presence or absence of the pointer detected in the first step. The multi-display program may be configured to execute a step and a third step of notifying the display device specified in the second step to the outside. By configuring the multi-display program in this way, the information processing device can identify the display device on which work is being performed and another display device and notify the external device, so that the user can It is possible to easily confirm the display device on which the work is being performed.

The present invention can also be expressed as an information processing device. That is, a plurality of display devices are connected,
In an information processing apparatus such as a computer that performs display, a current operation is performed based on pointer detection means for detecting a pointer from the display images of the plurality of display devices, and presence or absence of the pointer detected by the pointer detection means. The information processing apparatus may be configured to include a specifying unit for specifying the display device being performed, and a notifying unit for notifying the display device specified by the specifying unit to the outside. By configuring the information processing apparatus in this way, the information processing apparatus can identify a display device on which work is being performed and another display device and notify the outside of the display device. Can be easily confirmed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus that executes a multi-display method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific example of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a multi-display method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a modified example of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram when the shape of a pointer changes.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram when the shape of a pointer changes.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a multi-display method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of a display image according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Information processing device 110 Central control unit 120 Display control unit 130 Input control unit 201 First display device 202 Second display device 301 Keyboard 302 ………mouse

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Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A multi-display method in which a plurality of display devices are connected to an information processing device such as a computer to perform display, a first step of detecting a pointer from a display image of the plurality of display devices, A second step of specifying a display device in which work is currently being performed based on the presence or absence of the pointer detected in the first step; and a third step of notifying the display device specified in the second step to the outside. And a multi-display method. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third step includes notifying the display device specified in the second step to the outside by lowering the brightness of a display device other than the display device specified in the second step. Item 4. The multi-display method according to Item 1. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step (c) further comprises the steps of:
2. The multi-display method according to claim 1, wherein the display device specified in the second step is notified externally by changing a color. 4. The multi-display method according to claim 1, wherein the pointer is a cursor or a mouse pointer. 5. The multi-display display method according to claim 1, wherein the detection of the pointer is performed by scanning a display image on the display device. 6. A multi-display method in which a plurality of display devices are connected to an information processing device such as a computer to perform display, wherein a fourth step of detecting an active window from display images of the plurality of display devices is provided. A fifth step of specifying a display image other than the active window detected in the fourth step, and a sixth step of lowering the brightness of the display image other than the active window specified in the fifth step. A multi-display method. 7. The multi-display method according to claim 6, wherein the detection of the active window is performed by scanning a display image on the display device. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the processing of the first step or the fourth step is performed when a predetermined operation is performed on an operation unit for operating the information processing apparatus. A multi-display method according to any one of the above. 9. The multi-display method according to claim 1, wherein the processing of the third step or the sixth step is performed for a preset time. 10. A multi-display program for connecting a plurality of display devices to an information processing device such as a computer and performing display, the information processing device is provided with a pointer from a display image of the plurality of display devices. A first step of detecting a display device, a second step of specifying a display device on which work is currently being performed based on the presence or absence of the pointer detected in the first step, and a display specified in the second step. And a third step of notifying the device to the outside. 11. An information processing apparatus, such as a computer, to which a plurality of display devices are connected and performs display, includes a pointer detecting means for detecting a pointer from a display image of the plurality of display devices, and a pointer detecting means. It is provided with identification means for identifying a display device on which work is currently performed based on the presence or absence of the detected pointer, and notification means for notifying the display device identified by the identification means to the outside. Information processing device.