JP2002342122A - Device and method for processing data - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data processor and a data processing method which can always monitor data showing the operating condition of a CPU on a window image for an application without being affected and also enable a user to easily grasp the operation condition of the CPU by changing icon display contents in accordance with the operating condition. SOLUTION: Icon data displayed in accordance with the change state of the CPU operating condition are changed in accordance with a CPU speed and a CPU activity ratio as the CPU operating condition, and the icon data are also displayed at a position where the user easily confirms the icon data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus and a data processing method having a function of displaying the operating status of a CPU built in a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A data processing device such as a personal computer is provided with a built-in device such as a CPU or an HDD (hard disk device), a cable such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus), or a wireless communication such as Bluetooth. Various devices such as printers and other externally connected devices are configured in response to user requests. When using the personal computer configured as described above, the user sometimes wants to know the operation states of various devices.

[0003] As a technique for displaying the operation state of an externally connected device to a user, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-237339. The technology described in the gazette displays the status of a printer connected to a computer on a display device, and performs printing with a high-speed printer based on information indicating a printer type indicating whether the printer is a high-speed printer or not. There is a statement that the display speed of a moving image indicating a printing operation is increased.

[0004] The CPU, which is an arithmetic processing means built in a personal computer, has been improving its performance year by year. As described above, by improving the performance of the CPU, a plurality of application programs such as business software such as a word processor and a spreadsheet, and AV software such as audio and video can be started. On the other hand, there is a demand for a user using a personal computer to know how much the CPU is operating.

As an example of this kind of software for monitoring the operating status of a CPU, there is a "system monitor" manufactured by Microsoft Corporation. With this software, the CPU usage is detected at time intervals specified by the user, and the detected value is sent to the user as a line graph,
A bar graph and the latest numerical values are displayed on the desktop screen.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned software for monitoring the operating status of the CPU,
Since a monitor screen (window screen) for confirming the value is displayed on the desktop screen, when another application is activated, it may be hidden behind the window screen for the application and become invisible. As described above, in the conventional method, in order for the user to constantly monitor the operation status of the CPU, the position of the window screen is not overlapped so that the monitor window screen and the application window screen do not overlap. Such complicated operations were involved.

Accordingly, the present invention is to allow data indicating the operation status of the CPU to be constantly monitored without being affected by the application window screen, and to change the icon display content according to the operation status. It is another object of the present invention to provide a data processing device and a data processing method that enable a user to easily grasp the operation status of a CPU.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a data processing apparatus comprising: a CPU; an acquiring unit for inquiring the CPU to acquire information indicating a CPU speed; a stepping process in accordance with the CPU speed; A display icon storage unit that stores a display icon whose color has been changed in association with the display icon information, and obtains corresponding display data from the display icon storage unit based on the information indicating the CPU speed acquired by the acquisition unit. And display means for displaying the display data at a position not overlapping with a display window screen showing execution of other system processing.

Further, the data processing device of the present invention has a CPU
Acquiring means for inquiring the CPU to obtain information indicating the CPU speed, and obtaining a CPU usage rate from the CPU speed and a predetermined maximum speed of the CPU; and the CPU usage rate; A display icon storage means for storing display icons whose colors are changed stepwise in accordance with the display icon storage means, and a C icon obtained by the acquisition means.
A display unit that obtains corresponding display data from the display icon storage unit based on the information indicating the PU usage rate, and displays the display icon at a position that does not overlap with a display window screen that indicates execution of another system process. It is characterized by having.

Further, the data processing device of the present invention has a
U, acquisition means for inquiring the CPU to obtain information indicating the CPU operating status, and changing display data visually representing the information indicating the CPU operating status in a stepwise manner in accordance with the operating status. A display data storage unit that obtains display data from the display data storage unit based on the information indicating the CPU operation status acquired by the acquisition unit and does not overlap with a display window screen that indicates execution of another system process. Display means for displaying the display data at a position.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the data processing device according to the first embodiment. The data processing device 1 is realized by, for example, a notebook or desktop personal computer, or a portable information device such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) or a mobile phone.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the data processing device. This functional block diagram shows only those related to the present embodiment.

The data processing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a display device 2 for displaying various data, a keyboard device 3 for inputting various data, a pointing device 4 for inputting position information, and the like. ing. Various devices such as a CPU are built in the main body of the data processing device 1. The function of detecting and displaying the operation status of the CPU according to the present embodiment is configured as utility software, and is installed in an HDD (hard disk device) (not shown) of the data processing device 1 or the like.

The CPU 21 is a processor built in the data processing device 1 for performing various arithmetic processing. CP
The U operation monitor unit 22 periodically sends C
It has a function of detecting the operating status of the PU and displaying the operating status on a display unit described later. The timer 23 is used to adjust the timing at which the CPU operation monitoring unit 22 detects the CPU operation status. The display control unit 24 performs control to display the CPU operation status on the display unit 25 based on the content detected by the CPU operation monitor unit 22. Display unit 25
Displays the CPU operation status. The monitor setting unit 27
The display status of the CPU operation status, the detection interval of the CPU operation status, and the method of displaying the operation status are set. The memory 26 includes icons for indicating the CPU operation status,
The setting information set by the monitor setting unit 27 is stored.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit. The desktop screen 10 is an area where various data are displayed in window units. Taskbar area 1
Reference numeral 1 denotes an area for displaying a currently operating application, a running state, and the like. In the task bar area 11 of FIG.
An icon 15a indicating the CPU operation status and an icon 15b indicating the speaker state are displayed in the start button 12, the start application button 13, and the task icon display area 14.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a setting screen for CPU operation status display. When the user gives a setting instruction, the monitor setting unit 27 changes the setting screen 30 shown in FIG.
Is displayed on the desktop screen 10. The user performs a setting operation for each setting item using the keyboard device 3 and the pointing device 4 while viewing this screen.

Next, each setting item on the setting screen 30 will be described. First, whether or not to display the CPU operation status is set in item 31. In the example of FIG. 5, the item for displaying the CPU operation status is selected (black circle in the figure). When displaying the CPU operation status,
The following detailed setting items will be set. Item 32
Is to select the content to be displayed from the CPU speed or the CPU usage rate as the CPU operation status. In the present embodiment, the operating speed information obtained from the CPU 21 is assumed to be the speed of the CPU, that is, the clock frequency. In other words, the content to be presented to the user includes CPU speed (clock frequency) or CP
U usage rate (the ratio of the current speed to the maximum speed of the CPU). In the example of FIG.
The setting for displaying the U speed is performed.

The item 33 is used to select an icon type, and there are "Type A" without an indicator and "Type B" with an indicator as selection items.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show examples of actually displayed icons.
It will be something like shown below. In the example of FIG. 7, one icon is selected and displayed from four types of icons corresponding to the CPU speed in order to grasp the CPU operation status. In the example of FIG. 8, an icon is displayed according to the CPU usage rate as the CPU operation status. In the example of FIG. 5, the icon type B has been selected.

Type A icons indicate CPU speed and CP
It does not involve an indicator display indicating the status of U usage. In the case of FIG. 7, the colors of the icons are changed from dark to bright as the CPU speed goes from low (clock frequency is low for clock frequency) to high CPU speed (clock frequency is low for clock frequency). Things are changed in stages (continuously). Similarly, in the case of FIG. 8, the color of the icon is gradually changed from dark to bright as the CPU usage rate increases from the low CPU usage rate to the high CPU usage rate. In the case of type A in FIG. 7, the colors are changed to bright colors in the order of 51a, 52a, 53a, and 54a. Similarly, in the case of type A in FIG. 8, the colors are changed to bright colors in the order of 61a, 62a, 63a, and 64a.

The type B icon displays an indicator indicating the status of the CPU speed and the CPU usage rate in addition to the basic icon of the type A. For the basic icon part, as in the case of type A described above, the CPU
The color is changed stepwise according to the speed and the CPU usage rate. Furthermore, the indicator portion of the type B icon in the form of a bar graph gradually fills the indicator portion as the CPU speed increases (as the CPU usage rate increases), so that the speed change and the change in the usage ratio can be determined in other than colors. It has become. In the case of type A in FIG. 7, the indicator portion is changed so that the filled portion becomes longer in the order of 51b, 52b, 53b, and 54b. The same applies to the indicators in the case of type A in FIG.
The painted portion is changed so as to be longer in the order of b, 63b, and 64b.

Item 34 is an item for setting the detection timing of the CPU operation status. A detection interval can be set as appropriate by directly inputting a number into this item or operating a button for increasing or decreasing the numerical value. In the initial state, a detection interval of, for example, 500 ms is set. Item 35 is an item for setting an icon display position. As the selection items, there are two cases of displaying on the task tray area 14 and displaying on the desktop screen 10. For each option, detailed setting items for display control are further prepared. Items to be displayed in the task tray area include the following options: "If the taskbar is set to be hidden automatically, display it on the desktop screen" and "as is". In a state where “as is” is selected, if the task bar is set to be hidden automatically, the task bar is hidden (it is not displayed) and the icon indicating the operating status of the CPU is also hidden. To prevent this, if the task bar is set to be hidden automatically, the task bar is displayed on the desktop screen so that the user can always grasp the CPU operation status.

The items to be displayed on the desktop include "display in front when hidden" and "as is".
Are available. When “as is” is selected, even if an icon indicating the CPU operation status is displayed on the desktop, an application window is displayed on the desktop screen 10 due to activation of another application or the like. In some cases, CP
The icon indicating the U operation status may be hidden.
To prevent this, if the application window or the like partially overlaps the icon indicating the CPU operation status, the icon indicating the CPU operation status is displayed on the foreground so that the user can always grasp the CPU operation status. ing.

The information of each item set in FIG.
6 is stored. If it is desired to use the information of the setting items at the time of starting the data processing device 1 next time, the information may be stored in a recording device such as an HDD.

FIG. 6 shows the state of CPU operation according to the state of operation.
5 shows a table in which information on which icon data is to be displayed is stored. The table 40 has a CPU speed of 4
Information on which icon data 42, 43 is to be displayed in accordance with 1 is stored. In the example shown in the figure, if the CPU speed (clock frequency) is 0 to 200 MHz, the icon data A1 is displayed when the icon data type A is selected. Hereinafter, the same applies to other speeds. Also,
Icon data B1 when icon data type B is selected
Is displayed. As the information of the icon data A1, bitmap data of the icon may be stored, or link information indicating a position where the bitmap data is stored may be separately stored.

The table 44 stores information on which icon data 46, 47 is to be displayed according to the CPU usage rate 45. In the example of the figure, the CPU usage rate is 0 to
If it is 25%, the icon data A1 is displayed when the icon data type A is selected. When the icon data type B is selected, the icon data B1 is displayed. Hereinafter, the same applies to other usage rates.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a series of processing steps for detecting and displaying the CPU operation status. First, the CPU operation monitoring unit 22 determines whether or not a mode for displaying an icon indicating a CPU operation status is set (step S10). The setting information of the presence or absence of the display of the CPU operation status icon is determined by referring to the information of the item 31 stored in the memory 26. Subsequently, it is determined whether it is time to acquire information on the CPU operation status (step S11). If it is the acquisition timing, the process proceeds to step S12. If it is not the acquisition timing, the acquisition timing is reached. The judgment is repeated until. At this time, the detection interval item 34 stored in the memory 26
The timing is adjusted with reference to the timer 23 on the basis of the detection interval set in.

Then, the CPU operation monitor section 22 outputs the CP
CPU operation status information is obtained from U21 (step S21).
12). In the present embodiment, the CPU operation status information obtained from the CPU 21 is a CPU speed (clock frequency). When displaying the CPU speed as the CPU operation status, the speed information is used as it is,
When displaying the U usage rate, the ratio of the CPU speed obtained from the maximum speed of the CPU is calculated and used as the CPU usage rate.

Subsequently, the display controller 24 determines whether the icon to be displayed is type A by referring to the icon type setting item 33 stored in the memory 26 (step A13). If type A is selected as the display icon, the process proceeds to step S14, where type B is selected.
If is selected, the process proceeds to step S15.

In step S14, the table 40 or 4
4 obtained or obtained in step S12 with reference to FIG.
The icon data to be displayed is specified from the data type item 42 or 46 based on the PU speed or the CPU usage rate, and an icon without an indicator indicating the CPU operation status is displayed according to the content indicating the icon display position of the item 35 stored in the memory 26. indicate.

In step A15, the table 40
Or 44, the icon data to be displayed is specified from the data type item 43 or 47 based on the CPU speed or the CPU usage rate obtained or obtained in step S12 with reference to 44, and the icon display position of the item 35 stored in the memory 26 Is displayed with an indicator indicating the CPU operation status in accordance with the contents indicating the above.

Step S14 or step A
When the process of step 15 is completed, the CPU operation monitor unit 22 refers to the item 31 of the memory 26 and determines whether or not the setting has been changed to not display the icon of the CPU operation status. When the content of the item 31 is set to “not display”, the CPU operation status icon display is ended, and when the setting is “display”, the process returns to step S11 again (step A16). ).

[0031]

According to the present invention, data indicating the operation status of the CPU can be constantly monitored without being affected by the window screen of the application or the like.
The user can easily grasp the operation status of the CPU by changing the icon display content in accordance with the change in the operation status of U.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a data processing device.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a processing function for displaying a CPU operation status.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on a display device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation for displaying a CPU operation status;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a setting screen for CPU operation status display.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a correspondence between a CPU operation status and icon data corresponding thereto.

FIG. 7 is a view showing that different icon data is allocated according to the CPU speed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing that different icon data is allocated according to the CPU usage rate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 data processing device 2 display device 3 keyboard 4 pointing device 21 CPU 22 CPU operation monitor unit 23 timer 24 display control unit 25 display unit 26 memory 27 monitor setting unit

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A CPU, acquisition means for acquiring information indicating a CPU speed by inquiring the CPU, and correlating the CPU speed with a display icon whose color is changed stepwise according to the CPU speed. A display icon storage unit attached and stored, and a display window screen showing execution of other system processing, obtaining corresponding display data from the display icon storage unit based on the information indicating the CPU speed acquired by the acquisition unit. A display means for displaying the display data at a position not overlapping with the data processing apparatus. 2. A CPU and a CPU for inquiring of the CPU.
Acquiring means for acquiring information indicating the U speed, and obtaining a CPU usage rate from the CPU speed and a predetermined maximum speed of the CPU; and a step-by-step color change according to the CPU usage rate and the CPU usage rate. A display icon storage unit that stores the display icons in which the display icons are changed in association with each other, and obtains corresponding display data from the display icon storage unit based on the information indicating the CPU usage rate obtained by the acquisition unit. And a display means for displaying the display icon at a position not overlapping with a display window screen showing execution of another system process. 3. A CPU and a CPU for inquiring of the CPU.
Obtaining means for obtaining information indicating the U operating status; display data storing means for storing a plurality of display data visually representing the information indicating the CPU operating status with the visual effect varied stepwise according to the operating status And obtaining display data from the display data storage means based on the information indicating the CPU operation status acquired by the acquisition means,
A data processing apparatus comprising: a display unit that displays the display data at a position that does not overlap with a display window screen that indicates execution of another system process. 4. The data processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information indicating the CPU operation status is a CPU speed. 5. The display data storage means obtains a CPU speed as information indicating a CPU operation status, and obtains a CPU usage rate from the CPU speed and a predetermined maximum speed of the CPU. 4. The data processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of display data having different visual effects are stored stepwise according to the CPU usage rate. 6. A data processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said display data stored in said display data storage means has different colors in a stepwise manner according to a CPU operating condition. 7. The display data stored in the display data storage means includes a portion in which the color is changed stepwise according to the CPU operation status, and a portion in which the bar-shaped indicator section is changed stepwise. The data processing device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the data processing device is configured. 8. Inquiring a CPU to obtain information indicating a CPU speed, and based on the obtained information indicating the CPU speed, a display icon whose color is changed stepwise according to the CPU speed. A corresponding display data from a memory in which the display icons are displayed in correspondence with a display window screen indicating execution of another system processing. 9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the CPU speed is obtained by inquiring of the CPU and a predetermined maximum speed of the CPU.
The usage rate is determined, and based on the determined information indicating the CPU usage rate, the CP
A display window screen showing execution of other system processing, taking out corresponding display data from a memory in which a U use rate and a display icon whose color is changed stepwise according to the CPU use rate are stored in association with each other. A data processing method, wherein the display icons are displayed at positions that do not overlap. 10. A CPU that obtains information indicating a CPU operation status by inquiring of a CPU, and that has a visual effect that varies stepwise according to the CPU operation status based on the obtained information indicating the CPU operation status.
Corresponding display data is retrieved from a memory that stores display data that visually represents information indicating an operation status, and the display data is displayed at a position that does not overlap with a display window screen that indicates execution of another system process. Data processing method. 11. The information indicating the CPU operation status is a CPU
11. The data processing method according to claim 10, wherein the speed is a speed. 12. The information indicating the CPU operating status is C
A PU speed is obtained, and a CPU usage rate is obtained from the CPU speed and a predetermined maximum speed of the CPU. As the display data, a visual effect is provided in a stepwise manner according to the CPU usage rate in the memory. 11. The data processing method according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of data are stored differently. 13. The data processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the display data stored in said display data storage means has different colors in a stepwise manner in accordance with a CPU operating condition. 14. The display data stored in the display data storage means includes a portion in which the color is changed stepwise according to the CPU operation status and a portion in which the bar-shaped indicator section is changed stepwise. 13. The data processing device according to claim 10, wherein the data processing device is configured.