TWI705371B - Multi-device system running a single operating system - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a multi-device system running a single operating system, comprising a first device and a second device. The first device comprises a central processing unit (CPU), a first display unit and a first communication unit, wherein the CPU runs a single operating system. The second device comprises a second communication unit, a microcontroller and a second display unit. The first display unit and the first communication unit are electrically connected to the CPU respectively. The first display unit displays an interface of the operating system for a first user to operate. The first communication unit is connected to the second communication unit. Based on the data transmission between the first communication unit and the second communication unit, the CPU, via the microcontroller, indirectly controls the second display unit to display another interface of the operating system for a second user to operate. According to the operation made by the first user and the operation made by the second user, the first display unit and the second display unit respectively display the different interfaces of the operating system. From the first user’s perspective and the second user’s perspective, the first user and the second user are operating two independent operating systems.

Description

Multi-device system running on a single operating system

The present invention relates to a multi-device system, in particular to a multi-device system operating under a single operating system, and each device in the system can be independently operated by different users.

With the development of technology, the combination of screen devices and applications has brought great convenience to people’s lives. In particular, mobile screen devices are usually very portable, making this combination of software and hardware allow people to operate the mobile screen device at hand for use anytime, anywhere Various applications in the operating system, such as email programs, SMS programs, calendars, browsers, communication applications such as LINE ^TM or WeChat...etc.

In addition, in order to cope with the multi-screen era, multi-device systems have begun to be applied to many occasions in people’s lives. For example, offices, homes, and even vehicles are equipped with multi-device systems to cater for people to handle work in a multi-tasking manner, or to Multi-screen enjoyment of entertainment video and audio needs.

However, in the case of existing multi-device systems, some multi-device systems need to operate on more than two operating systems, and individual devices are equipped with their own central processing units so that multiple users can independently operate the multi-device system Although multiple devices in some multi-device systems operate on a single operating system, they can only be operated by the same user under a single operating system. It is not possible for multiple users to operate on a single operating system. Independently operate individual devices in a multi-device system under the operating system.

The present invention provides a multi-device system, including a plurality of devices, the devices operate in a single operating system, and only one of the devices is provided with a central processing unit with complex computing capabilities. In this case, even if these devices are all operating in the same operating system, different devices can still be operated independently by different users.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-device system operating on a single operating system, including a first device and a second device. The first device includes a central processing unit, a first display unit, and a first communication unit. The central processing unit operates a single operating system, and the second device includes a second communication unit, a microcontroller, and a second display unit. The first display unit and the first communication unit are respectively electrically connected to the central processing unit, and the central processing unit controls the first display unit to display the operation screen of the operating system for the first user to operate. The first communication unit is connected to the second communication unit, and the microcontroller is electrically connected between the second display unit and the second communication unit. Through the data transmission between the first communication unit and the second communication unit, the central processing unit controls the second display unit to display the operation screen of the operating system through the microcontroller, and is operated by the second user.

In this device system, the first display unit of the first device and the second display unit of the second device can respectively present different operation screens of the operating system according to the operations of the first user and the second user. The advantage of the multi-device system provided by the present invention is that only one of the devices needs to be equipped with a central processing unit with complex computing capabilities to operate the operating system, and the system can accurately determine which device the system should display the executed application on. The program allows multiple users to independently operate individual devices. That is to say, the multi-device system provided by the present invention not only saves the system setup cost, but also provides multiple users with the function of individually operating the devices, taking into account economic benefits and flexibility of use.

In order to further understand the features and technical content of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed descriptions and drawings about the present invention, but these descriptions and accompanying drawings are only used to illustrate the present invention, not the rights to the present invention The scope is subject to any restrictions.

1‧‧‧Multi-device system

10‧‧‧First device

12‧‧‧First display unit

14‧‧‧Central Processing Unit

16‧‧‧The first communication unit

20‧‧‧Second device

22‧‧‧Second display unit

24‧‧‧Microcontroller

26‧‧‧Second communication unit

A, B‧‧‧application

L‧‧‧Application Launcher

AF‧‧‧Application Framework

S‧‧‧Servo unit

F‧‧‧Function Library

E‧‧‧Execution environment

K‧‧‧System Core

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multi-device system operating on a single operating system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an operating system of a multi-device system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic diagram of a multi-device system operating on a single operating system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, and some exemplary embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings. However, the inventive concept may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. To be precise, the provision of these exemplary embodiments will make the present invention detailed and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the concept of the present invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, similar numbers always indicate similar elements.

[An embodiment of a multi-device system]

This embodiment provides a multi-device system that can operate on a single operating system and can be operated by multiple users individually. Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multi-device system operating on a single operating system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-device system 1 provided by this embodiment includes a first device 10 and a second device 20, and the first device 10 and the second device 20 can perform data transmission via wired or wireless data transmission. For example, the first device 10 and the second device 20 can transmit commands under the Wi-Fi wireless communication protocol, and the first device 10 and the second device 20 can also transmit video and audio signals through a multimedia serial link. , But the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, for ease of description, in this embodiment, the multi-device system 1 only includes the first device 10 and the second device 20, but the present invention does not limit the number of devices included in the multi-device system 1 here.

The first device 10 includes a first display unit 12, a central processing unit 14 and a first communication unit 16, wherein the central processing unit 14 is electrically connected between the first display unit 12 and the first communication unit 16. Similarly, the second device 20 includes a second display unit 22 and a second communication unit 26. However, it is worth noting that the second device 20 is not equipped with a central processing unit 14 with complex computing capabilities like the first device 10. A microcontroller 24 is provided, and the microcontroller 24 is electrically connected between the second display unit 22 and the second communication unit 26.

For ease of understanding, it must be explained first that in this embodiment, the "frame" refers to the complete pixel data displayed on the screen, which is generated by the library. For example, if the resolution of the screen is 800x600, the screen has 480000 pixels, and the picture formed by the color data of each pixel is what the user sees on the screen. "Screen data" refers to the original data that constitutes a screen, which is generated by the application. Screen data can include text, pictures, binary data (Binary Data), application programming interface (API), function (Function), structured data (such as: XML), or other means (such as: game application Each role in this can be represented by a picture). "Desktop screen" refers to the initial interface screen displayed by the operating system after the device is turned on. "Application ID" refers to the unique ID of each application, which is used to identify the application. "Device ID" refers to the unique ID of each device, used to identify the device. For example, the device identification code can be an Internet Protocol address (IP) of a device or a unique identifier (UID) of the device itself, and the present invention is not limited herein.

In addition, "Event" refers to the data generated by the input device after the user selects the application to be used through the input device, such as the aforementioned first display unit 12 or second display unit 22. The event contains the device identification code. For example, if the event is generated by the first display unit 12, the device identification code included in the event corresponds to the first device 10. If the event is generated by the second display unit 22, the device identification code included in the event is The device identification code corresponds to the second device 20. In addition, the event also includes user input data. For example, if the user uses the touch screen Click the application icon on the screen or mouse, or click the keyboard button to select the application. The event can include the location coordinates of the user's touch screen or mouse click, or the click data of the keyboard button.

The nouns defined above will be used to describe the multi-device system 1 provided in this embodiment in the subsequent description, but the definitions of the aforementioned nouns in the subsequent description will not be repeated.

In this embodiment, the central processing unit 14 runs a single operating system. When no user has operated the first device 10 or the second device 20, the central processing unit 14 transmits the desktop screen generated by the application launcher L to the first display unit 12 and controls it to display the desktop screen. In addition, through the data transmission between the first communication unit 16 and the second communication unit 26, the central processing unit 14 also transmits another desktop screen generated by the application launcher L to the microcontroller 24. Then, the microcontroller 24 transmits the desktop screen to the second display unit 22 to control it to display the desktop screen. It should be noted that the desktop screen is displayed via the first display unit 12 or the second display unit 22 to present individual desktop screens of the operating system operated by the central processing unit 14 for the first user and the second user to operate.

According to the operations of the first user and the second user, the first display unit 12 and the second display unit 22 can respectively present different operation screens of the operating system. Here, the first display unit 12 and the second display unit 22 can be touch screens or general display screens, but the invention is not limited.

It should be noted that in this embodiment, the function of the central processing unit 14 is mainly used to operate the operating system, and the function of the microcontroller 24 is simply to send and receive commands, and to control the display of the second display unit 22 The data received. The working mechanism between the central processing unit 14 and the microcontroller 24 will be described in the following description.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 at the same time. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an operating system of a multi-device system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The software architecture of the operating system of the multi-device system 1 is shown in Figure 2. The operating system of the multi-device system 1 at least includes a system core K, a library F, an execution environment E, and applications. A program framework AF is used, where the library F includes at least a server unit S, and a plurality of applications A, B and an application launcher L are constructed on the application framework AF. In addition, the library F and the execution environment E are structured on the system core K and under the application framework AF.

It is worth noting that, in this embodiment, the application program A refers to the application program completed by the program developer according to the user's needs for customized programming, which can be selected by the first user and the second user at the same time. Start-up and independent operation. For example, application A can be a map application. The first user and the second user can use this map application at the same time. The first user can browse the map of Taiwan, and the second user can browse the map of the United States. Does not affect.

To further illustrate, when the first user operates the first device 10 to select the application A (for example, clicks on the icon of the application A displayed on the first display unit 12), the application A can be activated for the first use者 uses. At this time, the second user can still operate the second device 20 to select application A (for example, click on the icon of application A displayed on the second display unit 22), so that application A is activated again for the second User use. Similarly, when the second user operates the second device 20 to select application A (for example, clicks on the icon of application A displayed on the second display unit 22), application A can be activated for the second use者 uses. At this time, the first user can still operate the first device 10 to select application A (for example, click on the icon of application A displayed on the first display unit 12), so that application A can be activated again for the first User use.

That is to say, in this embodiment, the application launcher L can repeatedly launch the same application A, that is, the first user and the second user can pass through the first device 10 and the second device as different users at the same time. The device 20 individually activates and successively operates the application program A without being restricted by each other.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 2, the application built on the application framework AF can also be the application B. It should be noted that, taking the device using the Android system as an example, application B refers to the applications pre-installed in the device system, such as email programs, SMS programs, calendars, browsers, contacts, and other applications Programs, or applications downloaded and installed by the user from a program store (e.g. Google Play ^TM ), such as maps, LINE ^TM , WeChat... etc

It is worth noting that the difference between the application B and the application A is that the application B cannot be activated and operated by the first user and the second user through the first device 10 and the second device 20 at the same time.

To further illustrate, when neither the first user nor the second user selects any application A or B through the first display unit 12 or the second display unit 22, the information displayed by the first display unit 12 and the second display unit 22 Both application A and B icons can be included in the desktop screen. However, when the first user selects the application B through the first display unit 12, the application B icon will not appear in the system operation screen presented by the second display unit 22. In other words, when the first user has activated the application B, the second user cannot activate the application B again. On the other hand, when the second user selects the application B through the second display unit 22, the application B icon will not appear in the system operation screen presented by the first display unit 12. In other words, when the second user has activated the application B, the first user cannot activate the application B again.

Or, when the first user selects application B through the first display unit 12, the icon of application B is still displayed on the system operation screen presented by the second display unit 22, but if the second user When the application B is selected through the second display unit 22, the central processing unit 14 will issue an error message, which will be sent to the microcontroller 24 through the data transmission between the first communication unit 16 and the second communication unit 26, and then be controlled by the microcontroller 24 The controller 24 controls the second display unit 22 to display this error message. In other words, when the first user has activated the application B, the second user cannot activate the application B again. On the other hand, when the second user selects application B through the second display unit 22, the icon of application B is still displayed on the system operation screen presented by the first display unit 12, but if the first When the user selects application B through the first display unit 12, the central processing unit 14 will issue an error message and control the first display unit 12 to display This error message. In other words, when the second user has activated the application B, the first user cannot activate the application B again.

Next, for ease of understanding, the operating system in the following description is an Android system as an example, but the present invention does not limit the type of operating system here. For the Android system, the execution environment E is the Android runtime (Android Runtime), and the system core K is the Linux kernel (Linux Kernel). In addition, the library F contains a variety of system components written in programming languages for use by application developers. Under the Android system, when a device is turned on, the central processing unit starts to operate the operating system. The system core K in the operating system starts the execution environment E and the library F. The execution environment E starts the application framework AF, and the application The application frame AF starts the application launcher L. When a user selects any application A or B, the application launcher L will start A or B. When the application A or B needs to perform a certain function, the application A or B can call the corresponding function in the library F through the application framework AF, and the library F executes the function. When the application launcher L needs to perform a certain function, the application launcher L can also call the corresponding function in the library F through the application framework AF, and the library F executes the function. However, the detailed working principles of the architecture of the Android system should be understood by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs, and will not be described in more detail here.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the application launcher L itself is also an application, which is mainly used to launch the application A or B, but the function of the application launcher L can actually include switching of the desktop, Application shortcut (Shortcut) function, background image (Wallpaper)... etc.

Next, it will be explained how the application program in this embodiment is selected by the user, and activated and executed by the multi-device system 1. Since the above description has explained the difference between application A and B, the following description only explains how application A is selected by the user and is activated and executed by the multi-device system 1.

When the first user selects application A through the first display unit 12 (for example, clicks on the icon of application A), the first display unit 12 will generate a first event, and This first event is transmitted to the central processing unit 14. When the second user selects application A through the second display unit 22 (for example, clicks on the icon of application A), the second display unit 22 will generate a first event and send the first event to The microcontroller 24 receives the first event through the data transmission between the second communication unit 26 and the first communication unit 16.

Then, this first event will be sent from the CPU 14 to the system core K, from the system core K to the library F, and then sent from the library F to the application framework AF, and sent by the application framework AF To the application launcher L. After the application launcher L receives the first event, it can learn which application the user selects the application A according to the first event, and start the application.

In the process of the application launcher L starting the selected application A, the application launcher L obtains the application ID and the device ID, packs the two into one command, and sends this command to the application framework AF, the application framework AF executes the application A and passes this command to the server unit S. After the server unit S receives this command, it records the correspondence between the device identification code and the application program identification code in the command.

Next, application A will generate a splash screen data, and send the splash screen data to the application framework AF. The application framework AF sends the splash screen data to the library F, and the library F generates a Splash screen. The library F can learn a target display device by referring to the correspondence between the device identification code recorded by the server unit S and the application program identification code, and then the library F sends the startup screen to the target display device. If the target display device is the first device 10, the library F transmits the startup screen to the central processing unit 14, and the central processing unit 14 sends it to the first display unit 12. If the target display device is the second device 20, the library F sends the startup screen to the central processing unit 14, and through the data transmission between the first communication unit 16 and the second communication unit 26, the microcontroller 24 The startup screen is received and the second display device 22 is controlled to display the startup screen. In this way, the startup and execution of the application program A by the multi-device system 1 is completed.

Next, it will be explained how the application program is operated after being executed by the multi-device system 1 in this embodiment. Similarly, since the difference between application A and B has been described in the above description, the following description only explains how the application A is operated after being executed by the multi-device system 1.

When the selected application A has been activated by the application launcher L and executed by the application framework AF, its screen is displayed on the first display unit 12 or the second display unit 22, the first user or the second user You can start to operate application A.

When the first user clicks on any place of the screen presented by the first display unit 12 to operate the application program A, the first display unit 12 will generate a second event and send the second event to the central processing unit 14. When the second user clicks on any place of the screen presented by the second display unit 22 to operate the application program A, the second display unit 22 will generate a second event and send the second event to the microcontroller 24. Through the data transmission between the second communication unit 26 and the first communication unit 16, the microcontroller 24 transmits the second event to the central processing unit 14.

Then, the central processing unit 14 transmits the second event to the system core K, and the system core K transmits the second event to the library F. Therefore, the library F learns the device identification code according to the second event, and sends the device identification code to the server unit S. Since the server unit S records the correspondence between the device identification code and the application program identification code, the server unit S can inform the library F which application program A the device identification code corresponds to. When the library F knows the application A corresponding to the device ID, the library F transmits this second event to the application A through the application framework AF, and the application A executes the second event.

When application A executes this second event, application A will generate an operation screen data and send this operation screen data to application framework AF, and application framework AF will send this operation screen data to library F , Generate an operation screen from the library F. The library F can learn a target display device by referring to the correspondence between the device identification code recorded by the servo unit S and the application program identification code, and then the library F sends the operation screen to the target display device. If the target display device is the first device 10. The library F transmits the operation screen to the central processing unit 14, and the central processing unit 14 sends it to the first display unit 12. If the target display device is the second device 20, the library F will send the operation screen to the central processing unit 14, through the data transmission between the first communication unit 16 and the second communication unit 26, by the microcontroller 24 receives this operation screen and controls the second display device 22 to display this operation screen. In this way, the operation process of the activated application A is completed.

Generally speaking, the feature of the multi-device system 1 provided in this embodiment is that the multi-device system 1 operates under a single operating system, and only one of the multiple devices in the multi-device system 1 needs to be equipped with a central processing unit. It can correctly determine which device the system should display the executed application on, so that multiple users can independently operate each device operating under a single operating system.

For example, the application of the multi-device system provided by this embodiment can refer to FIG. 3. 3 is a schematic diagram of a multi-device system operating on a single operating system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 3, the multi-device system 1 provided by this embodiment can be installed in a vehicle, in which the first device 10 and the second device 20 are respectively installed behind the headrests of the two front seats. As a result, This allows the first user and the second user sitting on the left and right sides of the rear seat to individually operate the first device 10 and the second device 20 in front of them according to their needs. It is worth noting that in this embodiment, since only one of the first device 10 and the second device 20 needs to be provided with a central processing unit, the multi-device system provided in this embodiment can provide multiple users in addition to individual The ease of operation of the device can also save system setup costs.

[Possible effects of the embodiment]

In summary, the multi-device system provided by the present invention has at least the following advantages: First of all, the multi-device system provided by the present invention includes multiple devices, and these devices are all in a single operating system. Compared with the conventional multi-device system, there is no need to switch the operating system. The instructions can be directly operated on a single operating system, reducing the complexity of the operation of a multi-device system.

Furthermore, in the multi-device system provided by the present invention, only one of the multiple devices in the multi-device system needs to be equipped with a central processing unit to be responsible for computing the instructions sent by each device. Compared with the conventional multi-device system, there is no need for each device. Independent devices are equipped with a central processing unit, which can also perform event judgment and instruction calculation smoothly, which can save system setup costs.

In addition, in the multi-device system provided by the present invention, although only one of the multiple devices is equipped with a central processing unit, different users can still activate and operate the same application through their respective devices without being affected by the same application. The limitation that only a single device can be activated and operated provides users with considerable flexibility.

The above are only the embodiments of the present invention, and they are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention.

1‧‧‧Multi-device system

10‧‧‧First device

12‧‧‧First display unit

14‧‧‧Central Processing Unit

16‧‧‧The first communication unit

20‧‧‧Second device

22‧‧‧Second display unit

24‧‧‧Microcontroller

26‧‧‧Second communication unit

Claims (12)

A multi-device system operating in a single operating system includes: a first device, including: a central processing unit, operating the operating system; a first display unit, electrically connected to the central processing unit, displaying the operating system Operation screen for a first user to operate; and a first communication unit electrically connected to the central processing unit; and a second device including: a second communication unit electrically connected to the first communication unit A microcontroller, electrically connected to the second communication unit; and a second display unit, electrically connected to the microcontroller, through the data transmission between the first communication unit and the second communication unit, the The CPU controls the second display unit to display the operation screen of the operating system through the microcontroller for a second user to operate; wherein, according to the operations of the first user and the second user, the first user A display unit and the second display unit respectively output a corresponding first event to the central processing unit to present different operation screens of the operating system, wherein the microcontroller is based on the first event generated by the second display unit The second communication unit and the first communication unit are transmitted to the central processing unit, the first event includes a device identification code corresponding to the first device or the second device; wherein the central processing unit receives the first device When an event is output to the operating system, the operating system processes the first event to generate a corresponding startup screen, and outputs the startup screen to the first event corresponding to the device identification code contained in the first event. The device or the second device is displayed, so that the first device or the second device can simultaneously operate independently of the application under a single operating system according to the first user and the second user. The multi-device system according to claim 1, wherein the software architecture of the operating system includes at least a system core, a library, an execution environment, and an application framework, wherein a plurality of application programs are constructed on the application framework , The plurality of applications include at least one application launcher. The multi-device system according to claim 2, wherein the library includes at least one server unit. The multi-device system according to claim 1, wherein the operating system is an Android operating system. The multi-device system according to claim 3, wherein when the first user or the second user selects one of the plurality of applications through the first display unit or the second display unit, the first display unit Or the second display unit generates and transmits the first event to the central processing unit, the central processing unit transmits the first event to the system core, the system core transmits the first event to the library, the The library sends the first event to the application framework, the application framework sends the first event to the application launcher, and the application launcher starts the application according to the first event and sends a command To the application framework to execute the application by the application framework, and at the same time hand the command to the server unit, wherein the command includes an application identification code and the device identification code; wherein the application identification code corresponds to For the selected application program, the device identification code corresponds to the first device or the second device, and the server unit records the application program identification code and the device identification code in the command. The multi-device system according to claim 5, wherein the activated and executed application generates and transmits the splash screen data to the application framework, and the application framework transmits the splash screen data to the library to generate the Startup screen, if the device identification code corresponds to the first device, the library transmits the startup screen to the central processing unit, so that the central processing unit controls the first display unit to display the Splash screen. The multi-device system according to claim 6, wherein after the application is activated and executed, when the first user operates the application through the first display unit, the first display unit generates and transmits a second Event to the central processing unit, the central processing unit sends the second event to the system core, and the system core sends the second event to the library, which is based on the recorded application identifier and The corresponding relationship of the device identification code transmits the second event to the application program through the application program framework, so that the application program executes the second event. The multi-device system according to claim 7, wherein after the application executes the second event, the application generates and transmits an operation screen data to the application framework, and the application framework transmits the operation screen data to The library generates an operation screen, and according to the recorded correspondence between the application ID and the device ID, the library transmits the operation screen to the central processing unit for control by the central processing unit The first display unit displays the operation screen. The multi-device system according to claim 5, wherein when the second user selects one of the plurality of applications through the second display unit, through data transmission between the first communication unit and the second communication unit, The microcontroller transmits the first event generated by the second display unit to the central processing unit to activate and execute the application program, wherein the device identification code in the instruction corresponds to the second device. The multi-device system according to claim 9, wherein the activated and executed application generates and transmits a splash screen data to the application framework, and the application framework transmits the splash screen data to the library to generate a The startup screen, according to the device identification code, the library sends the startup screen to the CPU to send the startup screen to the microcontroller through data transmission between the first communication unit and the second communication unit , To control the second display unit by the microcontroller Yuan to display the splash screen. The multi-device system according to claim 10, wherein after the application is activated and executed, when the second user operates the application through the second display unit, the second display unit generates and transmits a second Event to the central processing unit, the central processing unit sends the second event to the system core, and the system core sends the second event to the library, which is based on the recorded application ID The corresponding relationship with the device identification code transmits the second event to the application through the application framework, so that the application executes the second event. The multi-device system according to claim 11, wherein after the application executes the second event, the application generates and transmits an operation screen data to the application framework, and the application framework transmits the operation screen data to The library generates an operation screen. According to the recorded correspondence between the application ID and the device ID, the library transmits the operation screen to the central processing unit to communicate with the CPU through the first communication unit. The data transmission between the second communication unit transmits the operation screen to the microcontroller, so that the microcontroller controls the second display unit to display the operation screen.

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