JPH10207797A - High speed screen sharing network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high speed screen sharing network system in which a monitor screen shared between a master device and plural slave devices connected in a network can be reloaded at a high speed. SOLUTION: The computers of a master device teacher system and plural slave device student system connected in a network 10 are operated by a common operating system OS. A property manager PM (PMT, PMS) and a dual video card 110(110T, 110S) are installed in this OS. The PM operates the management of the network and the screen display of monitors M1-M3 independently of the OS and an application on the OS. The video card 110 is in charge of the hardware processing of the screen display shared between the master device and the slave devices under the management of the PM. The slave device screens can be operated in a real time by the mouse and keyboard operation of the master device through the PM independent of the OS.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network system for rapidly sharing the contents of a monitor screen between a network-connected master unit and a plurality of slave units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a demand for an education system in which a teacher and a large number of students are connected to each other by a network in or out of school, and a small number of teachers can efficiently teach many students one-on-one.

[0003] Such a system can be constructed as an extension of an electronic conference environment if an appropriate network environment and application software are provided. One example is a Microsoft meeting based on Windows 95, one of the known operating systems.

When the above network system is used, for example, a monitor screen operation content of a teacher is transmitted via a teacher side screen processing application, a teacher side operating system, a network line, a student side operating system, and a student side screen processing application. Then, it is projected on the monitor screen of each student. When the teacher views the contents of the screen on the student side, the image information is sent through the reverse route.

[0005]

When the conventional network system as described above is used, the exchange of image information is performed through a plurality of software (operating system and application for both transmission and reception) which take time to process. Because of this, it takes too much time for the teacher to communicate the will to the student and for the result to be output on the student's screen (or vice versa), and the dialogue between the teacher and the student
It is practically difficult to communicate in real time.

[0006] This "too much time" means that the contents of the monitor screen cannot be shared between the teacher and the students at high speed, so that an educational system in which a small number of teachers can efficiently teach many students one-on-one cannot be realized. In.

An object of the present invention is to provide a high-speed screen sharing network system capable of rewriting the contents of a monitor screen shared between a parent device connected to a network and a plurality of child devices at a high speed.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a network (Ethernet 10).
The connected parent device (100) and the plurality of child devices (210 to
240) run on a common operating system (Windows 95).
A predetermined software (property manager) and a predetermined hardware (dual video card) that mediate between the operating system and the network (10) are incorporated in the master unit and each slave unit, respectively. In the network system described above, the predetermined hardware (dual video card) includes a graphic device (110) supporting a plurality of monitors (M1 to M3); and the predetermined software (property manager) includes the graphic device (110). ), The image information displayed on the monitors (M1 to M3) of the master unit and its control information (mouse or keyboard control) are selected (ID specified) by one or more slave units (210 to 24).
0) (M01-M02)
The communication processing is performed via the network (10) independently of the function of the operating system.

The information communicated between the master unit and the selected slave unit via the network may include audio information in addition to the image information displayed on the monitor.

Information communicated between the master unit and the selected slave unit via the network is compressed (MP
EG2).

Image information (world map, etc.) communicated between the master unit and the selected slave unit via the network
May be configured to be displayed across the plurality of monitors (M1 and M2).

The image information communicated between the master unit and the selected slave unit via the network includes a first image content (education panel) and a second image content (inspection panel). A first image is displayed on a portion (M2) of the plurality of monitors, and the second image is displayed on another portion (M2) of the plurality of monitors.
It can be configured to be displayed in 3).

The control information communicated from the master unit to the selected slave unit via the network includes an operation device such as a keyboard or a mouse connected to a computer (DOS / V + Windows) of the selected slave unit. May be included.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A high-speed screen sharing network system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, an example will be described in which one teacher operates a parent device (single or triple monitor) and a plurality of students occupy their own child device (single or dual monitor). Note that common reference numerals are used for functionally common parts in a plurality of drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a high-speed screen sharing network system according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Regarding the network card (hardware) constituting the terminal of this network, TCP / IP (tr
The target is 10 bases to 100 bases that support an ansmission control protocol / internet protocol. However, a dedicated line (Ethernet) is prepared to eliminate the factor of speed reduction as much as possible. Here, the local area network LAN line 10 in the school
Ethernet (communication is possible at a transfer rate of 10 Mbps).

A parent computer 100 for teachers and a plurality of child computers 210 to 240 for students are connected to the network line 10 (four in FIG. 1, but more than 100 actual child units are assumed). doing). These computers 100, 210 to 240 may be general personal computers. For example, 100MH
Uses a DOS / V machine equipped with a CPU having a processing capacity equal to or greater than Pentium (registered trademark) of z clock, a main memory of 16 MB or more, and a plurality of expansion card slots for peripheral devices as a computer for a master device and a slave device. it can.
A dual video card 110 described later is inserted into this card slot.

On the hard disk (not shown) of the master computer 100, Windows 95 (registered trademark) of Microsoft Corporation is installed as system software (operating system), and word processing software, drawing software, Animation software and others are installed.

The hard disk of the master computer 100 further includes system software (property manager) unique to the present invention for managing network communication with the slave independently of the operating system, the property manager, the video card 110, The device driver to link the is installed.
This property manager will be described later in detail.

In the expansion card slot of the parent computer 100, a voice exchange PBX (private branch exchange) is installed.
e; private branch exchange) 102 and the processing card of the video transfer system 104 are inserted.

The voice PBX 102 performs voice exchange processing so that the teacher can make a voice call (stereo) only with the student of the specific child device on the network 10. This stereo audio PBX system enables pair lessons (one-on-one instruction) with any student.

The video transfer system 104 includes a video camera (not shown), a scanner, and a digital video disk (C
It is used when digital data from a DROM, a video CD, a DVD, or the like) is loaded into application software running on the master computer 100.

Although not shown, the expansion card slot further includes an audio processing board (A / D conversion of an analog audio signal from a microphone or the like into a digital signal, and D / A conversion of a given digital signal). An analog signal that is supplied to a speaker or headphones) is also inserted. A speaker / headphone / microphone 106 is connected to the audio processing board.

The operating system and applications of master computer 100 convert input from keyboard / mouse 108 into corresponding screen information.
The converted image information (characters, mouse pointer, etc.) is passed to the dual video card 110 via a device driver. The video card 110 develops the received image information into a bit map in an internal video memory (VRAM) and converts the bit map data into the corresponding monitors M1 to M
Supply 3

In this embodiment, it is assumed that one video card 110 can process a bitmap area for two monitors. When three or more monitors are used, the corresponding number of video cards 110 are inserted into the expansion slot of the computer 100. When three monitors are used, two dual video cards 110 are used.

In the VRAM of the first video card 110, for example, a digital image of a world map is developed, and a part (the Americas) is displayed on the left monitor M1, and the other part (Africa to Central Asia) ~ Far East) is displayed on the right monitor M2. Even if the display is physically separated on two monitors, the original bitmap data is a single world map, and logically (from the viewpoint of the operating system or application of the computer 100) is one horizontal large display. This is equivalent to using a size monitor. Therefore, an operation of copying or cutting a part of the display of the left monitor M1 and pasting it as it is to a predetermined part of the right monitor M2 can be executed by a standard function of the operating system. Of course, the mouse pointer and the displayed icons and windows can be moved freely between the monitors M1 and M2.

In the VRAM of the second video card 110, for example, the monitor screen of each of the slave computers 210 to 240 is reduced and expanded. This expanded screen is displayed on the third monitor M3 in quadrant.

The second video card 110 also has a VRAM with a capacity of two monitors. V for the first unit
If the RAM is a main memory and the second VRAM is a shadow memory, a four-split screen (A,
B, C, D) are developed in the main memory, and the shadow memory is empty. Image information of another student (not shown) can be written in the empty shadow memory. If it is written in the shadow memory in advance, the current display image (main memory) on the monitor M3 can be
It is possible to immediately switch to another image (another bitmap image developed in the shadow memory).

In the case of the dual monitor as described above, 2
Not only can the same object be widely displayed on one monitor, but different contents can be displayed on each monitor.

The above is the configuration of the master computer 100. Each slave computer 210 on the network 10
240 to 240 each have the same application / system software / property manager / device driver / dual video card / audio PBX as the parent machine.

Dual Video Card 110 of Master Computer 100, Property Manager, and Network 1
0, and through the property manager of each of the slave computers 210 to 240 and the dual video card 110 (without passing through the respective operating systems), the monitor screen of the master (here, the world map displayed on M1 and M2) ) Is displayed on the screen of the monitor (M01 and M02) of each slave unit. This means that data on the monitor M1 of the master unit can be copied or moved to a part of the screen of the monitor M02 of the slave unit.
It is performed at a considerably high speed because no software operation by the operating system of each computer is involved.

Particularly, when digital data communicated (information exchange) between the master unit and the slave unit is compressed by MPEG (in this case, the video card 110 of the master unit and the slave unit is used).
It is assumed that an MPEG encoder / decoder is provided.) The result of tweaking an image shared between the parent device and the child device is transmitted between the parent device and the child device almost in real time. (M
The PGE2 can transmit a digital video having a resolution of VGA class at a rate of 30 frames per second. If the communication speed can be tolerated (that is, it takes time to exchange information during screen sharing), the Ethernet 10 in FIG. 1 is connected to an Internet provider via a host computer (not shown) and an existing digital line. Then, the screen may be shared (or the child screen operation control from the parent device) between the parent device and the child device that are long distances from each other by using the Internet (wide area network WAN).

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the logical device of the property manager installed in the system of each computer (100, 210 to 240) connected to the network of FIG. Here, it is assumed that there are 100 information providers (Information Provider), and the addresses (addresses of the computers of the information providers) are indicated by IP001 to IP100.

The network 10 such as Ethernet can be identified by its addresses IP001 to IP100. Although all addresses are the same, the address IP001 will be described here. The logical device of the property manager is configured as follows.

That is, the property manager includes:
(1) Monitor (M1 to M3 or M01 to M0 in FIG. 1)
(2) a logical device “screen” 21 that handles a bitmap image displayed on a maximum of four monitors as a logical device; and (2) two-dimensional movement pulse information from a mouse. In response, the user moves the mouse pointer on the screen 21 and selects or activates an object (window, icon, etc.) on the screen 21 indicated by the mouse pointer according to on / off information from a mouse button. "25 and (3)
(4) a logical device "keyboard" 27 for inputting characters, numbers, and the like to a predetermined portion (a portion selected with a mouse, etc.) on the screen 21 according to key code information from the keyboard;
A logical device “control panel” CP (optional) that handles input and output of video or audio information from an external video system (104 in FIG. 1) or an audio device (106 in FIG. 1) is provided.

The logical device “screen” 21 has a maximum of nine (No. 0 to No. 8) dual video cards 110.
Is connected. Each video card 110 has a main VRAM that handles two bitmaps (the resolution is equivalently double that of one screen) and a shadow VRA having the same capacity.
Have M. Therefore, four monitors can be connected to one video card 110, and one desktop window environment can be displayed on four monitor screens. on the other hand,
It is possible to divide one screen into a plurality (for example, four) and display two independent screens (Q1 to Q4 in FIG. 2) on one monitor.

Each video card 110 is provided with digital compression / decompression hardware (MPEG2 encoder) for exchanging image information (along with audio information as necessary) at high speed with another computer connected to the network. / Decoder, etc.).

The logical device “mouse” 25 has 1 to 3
A button-type bus mouse or a serial mouse (whichever may be used, for example, a two-button serial mouse) 115X is connected.

The logical device "keyboard" 27 is connected to a general personal computer keyboard 114X.

Logical Device "Control Panel" CP
, An audio input / output device (a headphone or a speaker as an output device, a microphone as an input device) 108 is connected.

The property manager treats the logical devices "screen", "mouse", "keyboard", and "control panel" as virtual input / output devices, and specifies information exchanged with these devices by an IP address. It has a function of directly exchanging with the logical device of the external personal computer (a specific example will be described later with reference to FIG. 4).

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a typical system configuration example in the network of FIG. Here, a case where the teacher system (ID = 0) of the parent device 100 is connected to the student system (ID = 1) of the child device 210 via the Ethernet 10 is illustrated.

The application layer (software for word processor, drawing, etc.) of the teacher system APNT transmits its processing contents (character output, graphic output, etc.) to its own property manager PMT. When the layer APNT uses the operation of the keyboard 114T, the keyboard operation information is transmitted to the property manager PMT via the keyboard hook 27T. When this layer APNT uses the operation of the mouse 115T, the mouse hook 25
Mouse operation information is transmitted via the property manager PM
It is told to T.

Processing output from the application layer (including the desktop environment of the operating system);
Character output from the keyboard 114T, mouse operation output from the mouse 115T, and the like are given to the display driver DDT via the screen hook 21T. The display driver DDT converts the given information into corresponding bitmap data and gives it to the video card 110T.
The output of the video card 110T is supplied to monitors M1 and M2. When another video card is installed as shown by the broken line, the display driver DDT sends the third monitor M3 via this video card.
Is also supplied with bitmap image information.

The image information (icons, menus, windows, etc. on the desktop screen) displayed on any of the monitors M1 to M3 (or over a plurality of monitors) includes a control panel CP for graphically issuing various setting / operation commands. It is included. This control panel C
The display contents of P are displayed on the mouse 115T or
By operating with 4T, the headphones and microphone 108T of the teacher system can be connected to the headphones and microphone 108S of a specific student system (ID = 1) via a voice link (wired or wireless) (at this time, , The audio PBX 102 of FIG. 1 is used).

As described above, the property manager PMT of the teacher system (master unit 100 in FIG. 1) stores application operation information, keyboard operation information,
The mouse operation information and the screen information of the monitor are transmitted to the operating system of the teacher system (Windows 95, etc.).
Can be handled independently.

The property manager PM of the teacher system
The image information and the like handled by T are the network card (0) of the teacher system, the Ethernet 10, and the specific (I)
D = 1) via the student system's network card (1) via the student system's property manager PM
It is conveyed to S.

The application hierarchy of the student system (software for word processor, drawing, etc.) APNS transmits its processing contents (character output, graphic output, etc.) to its own property manager PMS. When the hierarchical APNS uses the operation of the keyboard 114S, the keyboard operation information is transmitted to the property manager PMS via the keyboard hook 27S. When the hierarchical APNS uses the operation of the mouse 115S, the mouse hook 25
Mouse operation information via S
It is conveyed to S.

Processing output from the application layer (including the desktop environment of the operating system);
Character output from the keyboard 114S, mouse operation output from the mouse 115S, and the like are given to the display driver DDS via the screen hook 21S. The display driver DDS converts the given information into the corresponding bitmap data and gives it to the video card 110S.
The output of video card 110S is provided to monitor M1 (and M2 if connected).

As in the case of the teacher system, the property manager PMS of the student system (for example, the slave unit 210 in FIG. 1) transmits application operation information, keyboard operation information, mouse operation information, and monitor screen information of the student system to the student system. It can be handled independently of the system operating system (such as Windows 95).

Property Manager PM for Student System
When S is connected to the teacher system via the Ethernet 10, the S can be made dependent on the property manager PMT of the teacher system. In that case, the property manager PMT of the teacher system can behave as if it were the property manager of the student system (see the description of FIG. 4 described later).

If the second monitor M2 is not connected to the video card 110T of the teacher system shown in FIG. 3, the shadow VRAM of the video card 110T is stored in a buffer memory storing another screen or the screen of the monitor M1. Can be effectively used as an undo buffer.

The monitor M1 of the teacher system can be used as a control screen of the entire system in the classroom network system.

The monitor M2 of the teacher system can be used mainly for transmitting messages, class contents, and the like.
If the third monitor M3 is not connected, the monitor M2 can be switched for monitoring student screens on the network.

The monitor M3 of the teacher system is mainly used for monitoring student screens, and can be displayed in one to nine screens (for example, four screens).

Control Panel CP of Teacher System
For connection and disconnection of a shared device (screen, mouse, keyboard, etc.) between a teacher and a student, control of an audio line, etc., a device equivalent to the current Windows system can be used.

The system shown in FIG. 3 is composed of one teacher system (parent device) and 30 or more student systems (child devices), all of which are connected by a network.

Normally, the teacher system is equipped with two or three monitors, and the student system is composed of one or two monitors. In some cases, two students can provide one extended monitor.

The important points in configuring this system are:
Each system can operate independently and can be easily added.

In this system, the network is a logical bus line, and a mouse, a keyboard, and a screen (a screen on a monitor) are logically connected to each computer system.

The most important point in this system is a high screen sharing speed between the master unit and the slave unit. In realizing this, a GDI (graph graph) described later with reference to FIG.
hicsdisplay interface) (command interpreter) is used.

Further, by using an image compression technique (MPEG2 or the like) for shared image data, a high-speed operation that can follow a screen refresh rate (30 frames per second) can be obtained. Video and audio can be transferred at a refresh rate of 30 frames per second. In this case, the hardware of each of the parent and child units is provided with an MPEG encoder and an MPEG decoder.)

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a case where the keyboard and mouse of the child device (student system) are controlled from the parent device (teacher system) in the configuration of FIG.

During a lesson, a teacher may need to specifically explain to a particular student.

When a student considers a given task or prepares an incorrect answer, the teacher may need to operate the student's system from his / her own system to provide individual guidance to the student. This request can be satisfied by using the teacher monitor screen and the student monitor screen linked (shared) in real time via the network under the management of the property manager.

That is, the property manager PMT on the teacher side connected to the property manager PMS on the specific student side (ID = 1) via the Ethernet 10
The teacher application layer APNT is disconnected (note that the teacher keyboard 114T and mouse 115T are connected to the teacher property manager PMT). And the teacher-side property manager PMT
The application hierarchy AP on the student side via the property manager PMS of the specific student connected to the network
Connected to NS. At that time, the student's keyboard 114
S and mouse 115S are detached from keyboard hook 27S and mouse hook 25S.

As a result, the teacher can remotely control the screen created on the student's monitor M1 by the student's application using his / her keyboard 114T and mouse 115T. Voice communication between the teacher and the specific student is performed by headphones and a microphone connected by a voice link of another route.

The bottleneck of the screen operation speed in the network connection state is the transmission rate of the network 10. If the transmission image data is compressed by MPEG or the like, even if the transmission rate of the Ethernet (10 Mbps or less), 30 frames per second. Is possible, so that teachers and students can share their screens in real time.

That is, by connecting the teacher's keyboard 114T and mouse 115T to the student's system, the student's screen M1 can be projected onto the teacher's screen M2. ). This allows the teacher to operate the student's screen M1 as his / her own screen M2.

Then, the student can check the teacher's problem solving method on his own screen M1 at the same time as the teacher's screen M2. When the problem is solved and the student is satisfied with the learning, the teacher disconnects the student screen M1 from the teacher screen M2 (closes the student screen window). Then, the teacher returns the control right of the keyboard 114S and the mouse 115S to the student.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the student property manager P via the keyboard hook 27S.
The MS's own keyboard 114S is connected to the MS, and the student's property manager PMS is connected via the mouse hook 25S.
Is connected to the mouse 115S. At the same time, the teacher's property manager PMT leaves the student's application hierarchy APNS and
Reconnect to PNT.

FIG. 5 illustrates a case where the operation screen of each of the four slave units (four student systems) is divided and displayed on the monitor M2 of the master unit (teacher system) via the network in the configuration of FIG. FIG.

Now, the student system (I) shown in FIGS.
D = 1) with four student systems (ID
= 1 to ID = 4) are connected to the Ethernet 10 network. In this case, the student of ID = 1 outputs the information of his / her own screen M1 created using his / her application to the Ethernet via the network (1). Similarly, the students of ID = 2 to ID = 4 output their own screen information created by the respective applications to the Ethernet via the network (1).

Information for four screens from students with ID = 1 to ID = 4 is taken into the teacher's property manager PMT via the network (0) of the teacher system. The teacher's property manager PMT passes the captured screen information of the four students to the display driver DDT. Then, the display driver DDT divides the display area for one screen into four, and assigns ID = 1 to ID to each divided area.
Images of four screens from the student with ID = 4 are equally distributed.
The four screen data evenly distributed in this way is the video card 1
Input to 10T. Then, the video card 110T simultaneously displays the screen information of the four students on the monitor M2. (In the monitor M2 in FIG. 5, the screen areas indicated by ID: 2 to ID: 4 respectively have ID = 1 to ID = (Corresponding to information for 4 screens from 4 students).

FIG. 6 shows a configuration as shown in FIG. 3, in which the question screen displayed on the monitor M2 (education panel) of the master unit (teacher system) is sent to four slave units (four student systems) via the network. And the answer screens of the four students to the question are sent to the parent monitor M3 via the network.
It is a figure explaining the case where it divides and displays on (inspection panel).

When the example of FIG. 6 is applied to FIG.
Is output to the monitor M1 of the teacher system (parent device), the problem created by the teacher application APNT is output to the teacher system monitor M2, and the monitor screen of each of the four students is divided into four. Will be displayed on the teacher system monitor M3.

More specifically, in the system shown in FIG. 3, the image information of “find this area X” in the education panel M2 in FIG. It is transferred to the student's property manager PMS. The same question image transferred to each student (ID = 1 to ID = 4) is displayed on each student's monitor M1 via the student's device driver DDS and video card 110S.
Awakening means your keyboard 114S and mouse 11
Solve problems given on your application while operating 5S.

The process in which the student solves the problem is displayed in real time on the inspection panel M3 in FIG. 6 by a process similar to the configuration in FIG. After a lapse of a predetermined time or when all the students' answers have been collected, the teacher sets the examination panel M3
Evaluate each student's response while watching

In FIG. 6, the control panel on the monitor M1 is used for displaying all control information or displaying messages in conjunction with the hardware control panel.

The education panel on the monitor M2 is used for sending a question and explaining (commenting) the question. Screen 4
The divided inspection panel on the monitor M3 is used for monitoring a plurality of student screens. This M3 screen can be used full screen or divided into four. It should be noted that the full screen or the four-split use may be used in the education panel of the monitor M2.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the teacher's correspondence to the above evaluation. That is, an evaluation or a comment for each student's answer is input to the monitor M2 (education panel) of the teacher system, and an image of each evaluation or comment is transmitted to the network 10 and the corresponding student property manager PM
Via S, it is copied to the monitor screen M1 of the corresponding student.
Then, the monitor M1 (ID =
In 1), an explanation of the problem is displayed, and a message urging the user to think again is displayed on the monitor M1 (ID = 2, ID = 4) of the student who gave an incorrect answer. In 3), a message to the effect that the answer is correct is displayed.

For the student who could not solve the problem (ID = 1), the teacher individually gives an explanation (one-on-one instruction or pair lesson). In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the keyboard 114S and the mouse 115S of the student (ID = 1) are once disconnected from the teacher side, and the keyboard 114T and the mouse 115T of the teacher (ID = 1) are used on the monitor M1 of the student (ID = 1). Mouse and character input as appropriate. At this time, the voice PBX 102 of FIG. 1 and the voice link of FIG. 4 are used to enable conversation between only the teacher and the student (ID = 1). As a result, the lesson can be advanced at a pace that does not cause dropout.

In some cases, the answer explanation screen of FIG.
It can be transferred to another student's computer along with the conversation with the teacher, and the problem can be explained to multiple students at the same time.

In the explanation of the problem, if the student is also a dual monitor (M1, M2), an easy-to-understand collaboration between the teacher and the student is realized using a large desktop.

The above is a 1: 1 or 1: N connection relationship between a teacher and a plurality of students. Since the system of each student is basically configured in the same manner as the teacher system, any student can be connected to any student. A 1: 1, 1: N or M: N connection with other students can also be established (although the probability of network 10 being busy increases and information exchange may be slowed). Then, questions and answers, discussions, and the like can be performed between the students, and the teacher can monitor the questions and answers. In that case, the teacher can observe the student's independent teaching and can interrupt and comment only when necessary (the property manager PMT of the teacher system has priority over the property manager PMS of the student system). When high).

When the students are discussing each other via the network 10, the keyboard 114S and the mouse 115S of each student are both connected to the system and are active.

The screen sharing between the master unit (teacher) and the slave unit (student) is performed by hardware processing, and is independent of the application running on the OS of the master unit or the slave unit. That is, there is no need to modify the application responsible for the contents of the screen for implementing the present invention. Therefore, the screen operation can be performed with the existing (user's favorite) application. The screen data is transferred (exchanged) at high speed by the hardware (dual video board) of the present invention, and the same screen is shared in real time between the master unit and the slave units (plural units).

In FIG. 7, depending on the system configuration,
In some cases, the optional monitor (M3) is not used. In such a case, if the shadow memory of the dual video board 110 is used for saving another screen, the screen between the currently displayed screen and the saved another screen can be used. Screen switching can be performed at high speed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying a hardware configuration incorporated in the parent computer (100) connected to the network of FIG. Here, instead of transmitting image information (including moving images) at high speed digitally using MPEG or the like, an example of a case where image information is modulated at a high frequency like a TV broadcast and transferred to an external device (slave computer) at a high speed. Is shown.

The computer 100 includes a dual video board 110, an image capturing board 111, a communication I / F board 112, a dedicated LAN board 113,
A keyboard I / F 114, a mouse I / F 115, and an audio processing board 116 are installed.

Dual video board 110 (110T)
Are a main VRAM having a capacity for storing bitmap images of a display area for two monitors, and a shadow VRA having the same capacity.
M is provided. The video board 110 includes a main CRT (left monitor in FIG. 1) M1 and a monitor CRT.
(Right monitor in FIG. 1) M2 is connected.

The image capturing board 111 captures a high frequency (RF) signal in which image information and audio information are multiplexed from an external device (such as a slave computer). The fetched RF signal is demodulated in the board 111 and converted into analog video signals and audio signals.

The converted video signal is transmitted to the communication I / F 112
(RS232C) via the master AV box 120
A is sent to RS232C interface 122 of A.
The AV box 120A has a function as a private branch exchange (PBX).

The image of the video signal received by the interface 122 is controlled by the CPU 121 under the control of the RF modulator
It is sent to the mixer 128. The transmitted video image is supplied to an external video input 1 in the RF modulator / mixer 128.
3 or video information from the antenna input, and is transferred to a plurality of slave computers via the RF distributor 130. When an RF signal is used, real-time image transmission (communication of a moving image) can be performed over a considerably long distance using an optical fiber or the like.

The audio signal demodulated by the image capturing board 111 is sent to the audio control / audio switching unit 127 of the AV box 120A. Voice control / voice switching unit 127
Transfers a control signal for selecting an audio signal corresponding to the video image output to the RF distributor 130 to an audio control terminal of the slave computer under the control of the CPU 121.

The audio signal sent to the audio control / audio switching section 127 is also transferred to the audio processing board 116.
The board 116 can appropriately apply an effect to the transmitted audio signal or superimpose another signal (such as a synthesizer signal) and return the signal to the AV box 120A.

Under the control of the CPU 121, a microphone voice (teacher voice) input to the microphone input I / F 125 can be mixed with the voice signal. Or CP
Under the control of U121, the audio signal from the board 111 can be replaced with microphone audio. The audio signal operated in this manner can be monitored by a teacher using headphones connected to the AV box 120A via the headphone I / F 126.

The control by the CPU 121 can be operated by the user (teacher) using the external personal computer 100X connected via the screen console I / F 123. That is, the operation panel displayed on the display 100Y of the personal computer 100X is
C via the operation panel I / F 124 of the box 120A
It is linked with PU121. The operation (setting) of the operation panel of the personal computer display 100Y is CP
This is fed back to U121, whereby the operation of the voice control / voice switching unit 127 and the RF modulator / mixer 128 is controlled.

The image information (keyboard operation information, mouse operation information, etc.) and audio information of the parent computer related to the images (window operation screens, moving images, etc.) distributed from the RF distributor 130 to the child computer are stored in a dedicated LAN.
Via the board 113, for example, a 10-base LAN1
Sent to 0.

The functions and operations of the keyboard 114T connected to the keyboard I / F 114 and the mouse 115T connected to the mouse I / F 115 are as described above with reference to FIGS. That is, the LAN board 113
The information output from the PC to the LAN 10 is a keyboard 114T.
And the operation information of the mouse 115T, and the information distributed from the RF distributor 130 to the plurality of slave computers can include image information (movable images) other than the keyboard operation information and the mouse operation information.

FIG. 9 is a diagram exemplifying a hardware configuration incorporated in each of the slave computers (210 to 240) connected to the network of FIG.

In FIG. 9, the configuration of the child personal computers (210 to 240) is basically the same as that of the parent computer 100 of FIG. The difference is that the AV box 120B of the slave personal computer is simplified for a branch. This AV box 1
20B can function as a private branch exchange (PBX).

That is, the audio bus from the audio control / audio switching unit 127 of the master unit in FIG. 8 is daisy-chain connected by the audio control / audio switching unit 127 of the AV box of the slave unit. When the audio ID of a specific child device is specified by the parent personal computer (teacher system), the AV box 120B of the child device is connected to the parent computer 100, and the audio signal from the parent device can be listened to by the headphone 108S of the child device. it can.

The slave personal computer (210-2)
40) The operation result of the keyboard 114S or the mouse 115S is transmitted to the AV box 1 via the communication I / F 112.
The information is transmitted to the RS232 CI / F control unit 129 of 20B. As a result, voice switching control (for example, switching control for allowing a child device with ID = 1 to make a voice call with a child device with ID = 2) can be performed between arbitrary child devices.

Further, keyboard / mouse operation information and monitor screen information (CRT) on the slave personal computer
Still images on M1 and M2) are managed by the dedicated LAN board 11 under the management of the property manager (PMS) described above.
3 to the LAN 10 (such as an Ethernet network).

Even if the speed of the 10-based LAN 10 is insufficient for real-time communication of moving images (uncompressed),
Since the F-modulated high-frequency signal path is used, image information including a moving image can be shared in real time between the parent device and the child device or between the child device and the child device at a sufficient speed.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the dual video board 11 among the devices incorporated in the computers (100, 210 to 240) connected to the network shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a zero. Here, a description will be given assuming that the illustrated configuration is that of the master unit.

[0107] The device driver DD of the master unit (teacher system) is connected to the property manager PM via the attached drawing path. The property manager PM is network-connected to another system (a student system of an arbitrary child device) via the network 10. Network 1
The operation screen data of the student system sent to the teacher system via the “0” is supplied to the device driver DD via the attached drawing path.

Application APN of Teacher System
Sends a standard drawing command to the device driver DD via a graphic display interface GDI of system software (such as Windows 95). Then, in the device driver DD, the drawing command in the teacher system can be appropriately applied to the operation screen in the student system. The screen data thus obtained is sent to the image processing control unit 1100 in the dual video board 110 of the teacher system.

The image processing control unit 1100 separately converts the operation screen of the teacher system application APN and the operation screen of the student system into bitmap data, and respectively converts them into video memory VRAMs 1101 and 1102.
Expand to

The operation screen bitmap data of the teacher system developed in the VRAM 1101 is converted into an analog RGB video signal via the graphic control chip 1103, and sent to, for example, the left screen monitor M1 in FIG.

On the other hand, the operation screen bitmap data of the student system developed in the VRAM 1102 is converted into an analog RGB video signal via the graphic control chip 1104 and sent to, for example, the right screen monitor M2 (or M3) in FIG. .

In the system shown in FIG. 10, GDI capture technology is used for each of the shared devices (mouse, keyboard, screen), and interlocks with the network management function. Each shared device can be connected to or disconnected from all the computers of the parent device and the child device. This means that each shared device can be independently connected to other computer systems. The display driver (device driver) uses screen compression (JPEG, M
A function of performing PEG or other known image compression techniques is used as needed.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the property manager installed in the system of each computer (100, 210 to 240) connected to the network of FIG. 1, system software, and the like.

An existing application APN (warbro, drawing software, etc.) runs on the desktop of the system software (operating system) OS. The OS incorporates the property manager PM of the present invention. Property Manager PM is OS
In addition, the management of the network 10 and the device driver DD can be performed independently of the application APN. The device driver DD controls the operation of the device 110 such as a dual video card under the management of the property manager PM.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining data processing in the property manager installed in the parent and child computers (100, 210 to 240) in FIG.

System software (Windows 95
Etc.) When the property manager PM is accessed from the OS or the network 10, the access contents and property information are analyzed (step ST1).
0).

If the property information is “Receive” (step ST20) and the access target is “screen” (step ST21), the screen number (ID on the monitor M2 in the example of FIG. 5) and the four division position Is analyzed (step ST22). After the IDs of the four divided positions are specified, a drawing process is performed on those positions (step ST23).

If there is only one screen to be accessed, there is only one screen number (ID) in step ST22, and therefore, the position analysis processing of four divisions is skipped.

If the property information is "receive" (step ST20) and the access target is "mouse" (step ST25), the coordinates of the mouse pointer are obtained (step ST26), and the process returns to the OS.

If the property information is "receive" (step ST20) and the access target is "keyboard" (step ST27), key input data is obtained (step ST28), and the process returns to the OS.

When the property information is “transmission” (step ST 30) and the access target is “screen” (step ST 31), the screen number (ID on the monitor M 2 in the example of FIG. 5) and the four division positions Is analyzed (step ST32). After the ID of each of the four divided positions is specified, drawing processing is performed on those positions (step ST33), and the drawing processing is transmitted to the child device having the specified ID (step ST34).

If there is only one screen to be accessed, there is only one screen number (ID) in step ST32, and therefore, the position analysis processing of four divisions is skipped.

If the property information is "transmit" (step ST30) and the access target is "mouse" (step ST35), the mouse operation data is transmitted to the child device having the specified ID (step ST94).

If the property information is "transmit" (step ST30) and the access target is "keyboard" (step ST77), the key input data is transmitted to the child device having the specified ID (step ST94).

FIG. 13 shows the master computer (10) of FIG.
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining command processing in the property manager installed in (0).

In this process, first, the application interface command of the parent machine is analyzed (step ST100).

When the analyzed command is "initialize" (step ST110), the property manager of the master unit transmits all the personal computers (child units) on the network.
(Step ST112).
An instruction to save property information and initialize information is created for each slave in response to the inquiry (step S
T113), which is transmitted to each slave personal computer (step ST114). This property information can be constituted by a table for managing the connection / non-connection state between the parent device and the child device.

If the analyzed command is "attach" (step ST120), first the "screen" is accessed (step ST121), and the screen number and the four-division position are analyzed (step ST22). At the same time, a "mouse" (step ST125) and a "keyboard" (step ST127) are also accessed. Then, the connection of the property information based on the access results of “screen”, “mouse” and “keyboard” is registered in the property manager of the parent device (step ST123), and is transmitted to each child device personal computer (step ST123). S
T124).

When there is only one screen to be attached, there is only one screen number (ID) in step ST122, and therefore, the position analysis processing of four divisions is skipped.

If the analyzed command is "detach" (step ST130), the "screen" is accessed first (step ST131), and the screen number and four-division position are analyzed (step ST132). At the same time, "mouse" (step ST135) and "keyboard"
(Step ST137) is also accessed. And
The connection of the property information based on the access results of "screen", "mouse" and "keyboard" is deleted from the property manager of the parent device (step ST133), and transmitted to each child device personal computer (step ST134). .

If there is only one screen to be attached, there is only one screen number (ID) in step ST132, and therefore, the position analysis processing of four divisions is skipped.

The following features can be obtained by using the command processing of FIG.

A) The teacher system uses its own screen contents (M
2) can be specified or its own screen content can be sent to multiple students.

B) The teacher system disconnects the keyboard / mouse of a specific or a plurality of students from each system, and connects the keyboard / mouse of the teacher instead.
Explain (eg, via the teacher's keyboard / mouse operation on the student's screen).

C) The teacher system can disconnect the student screen and connect the teacher screen to the student screen.

D) The teacher system displays the screen of a specific student or the screens of four students at the same time on its own screen (M2, M
It can be monitored in 3).

E) The teacher system uses the screen (M
1) can be transferred to other student screens. The student system has the same capabilities as the teacher system, but the management and operation of the student system is mainly performed by the teacher system.

As an example, taking the case where a teacher gives an explanation to a specific student, the teacher needs to completely control the student's system. To achieve this, a teacher's input device (keyboard / mouse) is connected to the student system. Subsequently, the screen of the student system is connected to the teacher's M2 or M3 monitor.

Specific examples of the property manager command operation are as follows: -DETACH ID: 1 MOUSE -DETACH ID: 1 KEYBOARD -DETACH ID: 0 MOUSE -DETACH ID: 0 KEYBOARD -ATTACH ID: 0 MOUSE TO ID: 1 -ATTACH ID: 0 KEYBOARD TO ID: 1 -RECEIVE ID: 1 M1 TO ID: 0 M2 FULLSCREEN When the teacher wants to monitor 4 students, the command operation of the property manager is as follows. Becomes: -RECEIVE ID: 1 M1 TO ID: 0 M2 SECTION1 -RECEIVE ID: 2 M1 TO ID: 0 M2 SECTION2 -RECEIVE ID: 3 M1 TO ID: 0 M2 SECTION3 -RECEIVE ID: 4 M1 TO ID: 0 M2 SECTION4 Incidentally, any method of acquiring the image of the student screen may be adopted. Any method may be employed for the screen compression method and the network transfer method. For example, images / sounds compressed by MPEG2 are transmitted using TCP / IP.
(Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
) Protocol. Regarding the control method of the dual video board 110, the board supplier can arbitrarily determine the method.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing each slave computer (2) shown in FIG.
10 is a diagram for explaining command processing in the property manager installed in (10-240). FIG.

Master unit (teacher system) via network
When a command is received (step ST198),
First, the application interface command of the child device (student system) is analyzed (step ST20).
0).

If the analyzed command is "initialization" (step ST210), the property manager of the slave unit executes an initialization process of property information (step S210).
T212).

If the analyzed command is "attach" (step ST220), the "screen" is accessed first (step ST221), and the screen number and the four division positions are analyzed (step ST222). At the same time, "mouse" (step ST225) and "keyboard"
(Step ST227) is also accessed. And
The connection of the property information based on the access of “screen”, “mouse” and “keyboard” is registered in the property manager of the child device (step ST223).

When there is only one screen to be attached, there is only one screen number (ID) in step ST222, and therefore, the position analysis processing of four divisions is skipped.

If the analyzed command is "detach" (step ST230), first the "screen" is accessed (step ST231), and the screen number and the four division positions are analyzed (step ST232). At the same time, "mouse" (step ST235) and "keyboard"
(Step ST237) is also accessed. And
The connection of the property information based on the access of “screen”, “mouse” and “keyboard” is deleted from the property manager of the slave unit (step ST233).

If there is only one screen to be attached, there is only one screen number (ID) in step ST232, and therefore, the position analysis processing of four divisions is skipped.

The following features can be obtained by using the command processing of FIG.

A) Normally, each student system can operate independently.

B) The student system does not have the function of connecting / disconnecting the shared device (monitor screen), and the connection / disconnection of the shared device is controlled by the teacher system.

C) If the student system does not have an optional monitor (M2) and the teacher system connects the screen to the student system, the dual video board 110
You can use the shadow memory to save the screen.

D) When a screen transfer request is issued from the teacher system to the student system, the student system transfers the screen by itself. At this time, necessary control is performed by the teacher system.

E) If the student system wants to connect its own keyboard, mouse and screen to the teacher system, this is done under the supervision of the teacher system.

[0153]

According to the network system of the present invention, an operating system (and application software running thereon) is used for information exchange between the master unit (teacher) and each slave unit (student having a specific ID). And system software (property manager) and hardware (dual video board) unique to the present invention. As described above, since there is system software and screen processing hardware independent of the operating system (and applications running thereon), information exchange between the master unit (teacher) and each slave unit (student of a specific ID) is performed. It can be performed at high speed.

In particular, the exchange information (image information, screen operation information, audio information, etc.) is stored in MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) or MPE as standard.
By compressing and transferring according to G2, moving images and audio can be transferred to real time over a network line of Ethernet class speed (10 Mbps or less).

As described above, if high-speed screen supply is realized between the master unit (teacher) and each slave unit, the dialogue between the teacher and the student can be performed without stress even if computer communication is interposed. An effective electronic education environment can be built.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exemplary view for explaining a high-speed screen sharing network system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view for explaining a logical device of a property manager installed in a system of each computer (100, 210 to 240) connected to the network in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view for explaining a typical system configuration example in the network of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a case in which a keyboard and a mouse of a child device (student system) are controlled from a parent device (teacher system) in the configuration of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a case where the operation screens of four child units (four student systems) are separately displayed on a monitor M2 of a parent unit (teacher system) via a network in the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration as shown in FIG. 3, in which a question screen displayed on a monitor M2 (education panel) of a master unit (teacher system) is transferred to four slave units (four student systems) via a network. , Monitor M3 (examination panel) of the parent device via the network with the answer screens of the four students to the problem
The figure explaining the case where it divides and displays.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration as shown in FIG. 3, in which information on a student evaluation screen displayed on a monitor M2 (education panel) of a master unit (teacher system) is networked to four slave units (four student systems). FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a case where screens of four students to which individual evaluation / explanation screens are added via a network are divided and displayed on a monitor M3 (inspection panel) of a parent machine via a network.

FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying a hardware configuration incorporated in a parent computer (100) connected to the network of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of hardware incorporated in each of the slave computers (210 to 240) connected to the network of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of a dual video board 110 among devices incorporated in each of the computers (100, 210 to 240) connected to the network of FIG. 1;

11 is an exemplary view for explaining the relationship between a property manager installed in the system of each computer (100, 210 to 240) connected to the network in FIG. 1 and system software and the like;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the parent device and the child device computer (10) shown in FIG.
0, 210 to 240) is a diagram for explaining data processing in the property manager installed in the property manager.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining command processing in a property manager installed in the parent machine computer (100) of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating each computer (210 to 24) in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining command processing in the property manager installed in 0).

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Network line (LAN such as Ethernet or WAN such as Internet); 100 Master computer (teacher system); 102 Voice PBX; 104
... video camera etc. (video transfer system); 106 ... speaker / headphone / microphone; 108, 108S, 10
8T: keyboard / mouse; 110, 110S, 110
T: dual video card; 210-240: slave computer (student system); 21: screen;
S, 115T: mouse; 27, 114S, 114T: keyboard; 120A, 120B: AV box; 121
... CPU; 122 ... RS232C interface; 1
23: screen console I / F; 124: operation panel I / F
F; 125: microphone input I / F; 126: headphone I
/ F; 127: voice control / voice switching unit; 128: RF modulator / mixer; 129: RS232 CI / F control unit;
30 RF dispenser; 25S student mouse hook; 25
T: teacher's mouse hook; 27S: student's keyboard hook; 27T: teacher's keyboard hook; CP: control panel; M1-M3, M01-M02: monitor (bitmap display); IP001-IP10
0: Information provider ID; PM, PMS, PMT: Property manager; OS: System software (operating system); APN: Application (application layer); DD, DDS, DDT: Device driver; GDI: Graphic display interface.

Claims (6)

[Claims] A master unit and a plurality of slave units connected to a network are constituted by a plurality of computers operating on a common operating system; predetermined software and predetermined hardware for mediating between the operating system and the network are provided. In the master unit and each slave unit, the predetermined hardware includes a graphic device supporting a plurality of monitors; and the predetermined software is displayed on a monitor of the main unit supported by the graphic device. The communication processing is performed via the network independently of the functions of the operating system so that the image information and the control information thereof are reflected on the monitor of one or more selected slave units. The net characterized by Work system. 2. The information communicated between the master unit and the selected slave unit via the network includes audio information in addition to the image information displayed on the monitor. The network system according to claim 1. 3. The information communicated between the parent device and the selected child device via the network includes compressed digital information. 2. The network system according to claim 1. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image information communicated between said master unit and the selected slave unit via said network is displayed across said plurality of monitors. The network system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The image information communicated between the master unit and the selected slave unit via the network includes a first image content and a second image content, and the first image is 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second image is displayed on a part of the plurality of monitors, and the second image is displayed on another part of the plurality of monitors. 6. Network system. 6. The control information communicated from the master unit to the selected slave unit via the network is information for controlling an operation device such as a keyboard or a mouse connected to a computer of the selected slave unit. The network system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: