JP2000276099A - Multiscreen display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control the enlargement rates, etc., of display video of individual display units through a master unit when the multiscreen display device is constituted by combining the display units. SOLUTION: The display units 1 and 2 are connected in series through communication cable 21 and 22 enabling bidirectional communication. The display units have control circuits 31 and 41 which perform various control over themselves and transmit and receive information to and from the other display unit. The display unit 1 as an initial stage operates as a master unit, and decides the total number of display units according to information from the other display unit supplied through the communication cables and the connection order of the display units to store identification signals in the respective display units. The master unit uses the identification signals to make various adjustments of the other display unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-screen which is formed by combining a plurality of display units so that a large-screen image can be displayed. The present invention relates to an easy-to-use multi-screen display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a device for displaying a large-screen image, a multi-screen display device in which a plurality of display units are combined vertically and horizontally has become widespread. As each of the above display units, a projection type display device using a CRT or a liquid crystal or the like is generally used, and is often used in presentations at exhibitions, concert halls, television studios, and the like.

In such a conventional multi-screen display device, a processor is used to control the enlargement ratio of a display screen. The processor and each display unit are connected by a communication cable, and each display unit is connected. The enlargement ratio and the like were set individually.

[0004]

However, in the conventional multi-screen display device, each time the total number of display units or the installation condition of each display unit changes, the enlargement ratio and the place of enlargement in each display unit are different. After assembling all the display units, it is necessary to set an enlargement factor and the like for each display unit via the communication cable, and there has been a problem that much labor is required for setting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-screen display device which eliminates the above-mentioned problems and makes it easy to set the enlargement ratio and the like of each display unit.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multi-screen display device, wherein a plurality of display units are combined to form one large screen. Connecting the plurality of display units in series via a communication cable capable of two-way communication;
A connection means that enables transmission and reception of signals from the preceding unit to the succeeding unit and from the succeeding unit to the preceding unit, and is provided in each of the display units to perform various controls of its own display unit and to connect with other display units. A control circuit that performs a process of transmitting and receiving information, a selector circuit that is provided in each of the display units, and controls transmission of information that is input and output through the connection unit. A power supply circuit that supplies a power supply voltage for operation to the display unit, and a storage unit provided in each of the display units, comprising: a first-stage display unit among the plurality of display units connected in series, It operates as a master unit, and based on information from other display units supplied via the connection means, the total number of display units The number and the connection order of each display unit are determined, and an identification signal is stored in the storage unit of each display unit, and various adjustments of each display unit can be performed using the identification signal. Things.

According to the present invention, with this configuration, other display units connected in series via the communication cable can be controlled based on a command from the master unit, and various adjustments of each display unit can be made. Can be performed in a short time.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of each display unit constituting the multi-screen display device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the entire multi-screen display device, and particularly shows the connection relationship between the display units. It is a thing.

First, the overall configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, a multi-screen display device 10 has a plurality of (nine in the embodiment) display units 1 and 2.
.., 9 are arranged vertically and horizontally three by three. In this case, the display units 1, 2, and 3 are arranged in order from the left in the first column, the display units 4, 5, and 6 are arranged in order from the right in the second column, and the display units 4, 5, and 6 are arranged in the third column from the left. Display units 7, 8, and 9 are arranged in order from
To form two large screens.

Each of the display units 1 to 9 is provided with connectors 11, 12, 13,..., 19 for electrically connecting the respective display units. , 22, 23,..., 28. Each of the connectors 11 to 19 has a first terminal (IN) and a second terminal (OUT), respectively, and has a second terminal (OUT) of the preceding display unit and a first terminal (OUT) of the next display unit. (IN) are connected by each communication cable 21-28. (Hereinafter, the first terminal is referred to as IN
The terminal and the second terminal are referred to as an OUT terminal. In the embodiment of the present invention, the first-stage display unit 1 constitutes a master unit, and controls other display units 2 to 9 connected thereafter. Therefore, nothing is connected to the IN terminal of the connector 11 of the first display unit 1, and the OUT terminal is connected to the IN terminal of the second connector 12 by the cable 21.

Thereafter, the cables 22 to 28 are connected so as to connect the OUT terminal of the connector located at the preceding stage and the IN terminal of the connector located at the next stage. Nothing is connected to the OUT terminal of the connector 19 of the display unit 9 at the last stage.
Thus, the display units 1 to 9 are connected in series.

Next, the internal structure of each display unit will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 shows the display unit 1 of the first stage (master) and the display unit 2 of the second stage as representatives, but the other display units 3 to 9 have the same configuration as the display unit 2. , And is controlled by the display unit 1 at the first stage.

The display unit 1 has a control circuit 31, a selector circuit 32, a power supply circuit 33, a storage means 34, and the connector 11. The OUT terminal of the connector 11 is connected to the IN terminal of the connector 12 via a communication cable 21. The communication cables 21, 22,...
The control signal according to the 232C protocol is output from the connector OUT.
Terminals or IN terminals can be input / output.

The control circuit 31 is composed of a microcomputer, and controls the display unit 1 itself and the other display units 2 to 9. The selector circuit 32 outputs a control signal from the control circuit 31 from an OUT terminal of the connector 11, takes in information from another display unit input to the OUT terminal into the control circuit 31, and outputs an OUT terminal and an IN terminal. This is for switching between them so that control signals and information are transmitted by coupling between them. Since nothing is connected to the IN terminal of the master display unit 1, this selector circuit 32 outputs a control signal exclusively to another display unit via the OUT terminal or is input to the OUT terminal. It has the function of receiving information from another display unit.

The power supply circuit 33 supplies a power supply voltage to each circuit in the display unit 1 in accordance with a control signal from the control circuit 31, and also supplies a rise (ON) and a fall (O)
FF) is supplied to the OUT terminal and the IN terminal.

The storage means 34 stores various kinds of information under the control of the control circuit 31. The storage means 34 includes a total number of display units constituting the multi-screen display device, communication cables 21, 22,. Are stored as identification information such as the order in which are connected.

The display units 2, 3,..., 9 have the same configuration as the display unit 1. Display unit 2
For example, the display unit 2 includes a control circuit 41, a selector circuit 42, a power supply circuit 43, and a storage unit 44, and further includes the connector 12. The IN terminal of the connector 12 is connected to the OUT terminal of the connector 11 via the communication cable 21, and the OUT terminal of the connector 12
The terminal is connected to the next connector 13 via the communication cable 22.
(See FIG. 2).

The circuits 41, 42, 43, and 44 are similar to the circuits 31, 32, 33, and 34 of the display unit 1, and each display unit can be used alone.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the multi-screen display device of the present invention having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in the initial setting (step S1), when each display unit is used as a multi-screen display device, the power of each of the display units 1 to 9 is turned on. Alternatively, the input of the video signal source to be displayed on the display unit is switched.

Next, in step 2, each display unit checks the input state to the IN terminals of the connectors 11 to 19, and determines whether or not the input signal has changed. If there is a change in the input signal, the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, since nothing is connected to the IN terminal of the first-stage display unit 1, it is confirmed that its own display unit is the master unit, and the display unit 1 has another terminal connected to the OUT terminal. It is determined whether there is power supply voltage rising information from the display unit, and if there is such information (in the case of YES), it is determined that a multi-screen system is configured. If there is no such information (in the case of NO), it is determined that the information is used alone, and the process proceeds to step S20.

In step S4, it is determined whether or not its own display unit is a set of masters based on the above-mentioned determination result. The master display unit 1 performs the processing of steps S5 to S10 and performs other display. Units 2-9
Performs the processing of steps S11 to S16 (hereinafter, the display unit 1 is referred to as a master set).

In step S5, the master set 1
Outputs an instruction to clear each of the display units 2 to 9 to clear the identification signals (data indicating the total number and the connection order) stored in the storage unit 44 so far, and outputs the storage unit of the master set 1. 34, data indicating the connection order “1” is stored.

The clear command is sent to other display units via the communication cables 21, 22,..., And the other display unit determines in step S11 whether or not there is an identification signal clear command. When a clear command is issued, the control circuit 41 of each of the display units 2 to 9 clears the identification signal stored in the storage unit 44 in the next step S12. When the clearing is completed, the control circuit 41 controls the selector circuit 42 so that the signal does not come out of the OUT terminal of the connector 12. As a result, the control signal from the master set 1 is stopped at the OUT terminal of another display unit, and can not be output to the next display unit.

Thereafter, the master set 1 executes step S
In 6, the connection order is incremented by +1 to obtain a new connection order “2”.
Is generated, and the storage instruction is output to the OUT terminal. When the above instruction is supplied to the IN terminal of the second display unit 2 (in the case of YES in step S13), the second display unit 2 stores the data of the connection order “2” in the storage unit 44 and transmits the data through the selector circuit 42. I of connector 11
A signal (ACK) indicating completion of storage is returned from the N terminal to the OUT terminal of the master set 1 (step S14). Thereafter, the control circuit 41 controls the selector circuit 42 so that a signal is supplied from the IN terminal to the OUT terminal of the connector 12.

The master set 1 waits for a predetermined time in step S7, and determines the presence or absence of the ACK signal in step S8. If there is an ACK signal (YES), the process returns to step S6, increments the connection order by +1 and adds a new connection order "3".
And outputs the storage instruction to the OUT terminal. Thereby, the communication cable 21, the IN to OUT terminal of the connector 12 and the communication cable 22
The command is supplied to the IN terminal of the third display unit 3. Similarly, the display unit 3 stores the data of the connection order “3” in the storage unit 44, and outputs a signal (ACK) indicating that the storage is completed from the IN terminal of the connector 113 to the OUT terminal of the master set 1 via the selector circuit 42. Return
Further, the selector circuit 42 is controlled so that a signal is supplied from the IN terminal to the OUT terminal of the connector 13.

Similarly, connection order data "4", "5",.
“9” will be stored.

If no ACK is returned at step S8 (NO), the process returns to step S7 if the time is within 5 seconds, as shown in step 9, and returns to step S7 after 5 seconds have elapsed. The process proceeds to step S10 assuming that the ACK signal has been returned.

The same processing is repeated until the ACK signal is no longer returned. In this example, the data up to the connection order "9" is stored in each of the display units 2 to 9, and the master set 1 has a total number of units. 9 can be determined. Then, in step S10, a command to set the total number 9 to the control circuits 41 of all the other display units 2 to 9 is sent.

The other display units 2 to 9 execute step S1.
In step S16, an identification signal is stored in each storage means 44 based on the data of the connection order previously stored and the data indicating the total number in step S16. The identification signal is, for example, 2/9, 3/9,.
Any information may be used as long as the total number and connection order can be understood, such as / 9.

In FIG. 3, steps S2, S3,
If the determinations in S11, S13, and S15 are NO, the process proceeds to step S20, and shifts to other normal processing.

Thus, each of the display units 1 to 9 can determine whether its own display unit is a master or not, and can determine the connection relationship with another unit.

Therefore, the video processor is connected to the master set 1, and each of the display units 2 to 9 can be controlled based on the control from the master set. Can be easily controlled. That is, the master set 1 can check the order of connection with the total number and transmit a control signal to the control circuit 41 (microcomputer) of the selected other display unit. 1
The enlargement ratio and the like can be set according to the control from.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the case where nine display units are used has been described.
, 12, 16 or the like can be applied, and is not limited to the embodiment.

[0039]

According to the present invention, through the master set,
The other display units can be controlled, and the master set 1 can transmit a control signal to the control circuit 41 (microcomputer) of an arbitrary display unit by checking the total number and the order of connection. Therefore,
Each of the display units 2 to 9 can set an enlargement ratio or the like in accordance with the control from the master set 1, and can perform various adjustments of each of the display units in a short time when a multi-screen display device is configured. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a display unit constituting a multi-screen display device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a multi-screen display device using a plurality of display units of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-9 display unit 11-19 connector 21-28 communication cable 31,41 control circuit 32,42 selector circuit 33,43 power supply circuit 34,44 storage means

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C025 AA30 BA26 BA27 CA02 DA08 5C058 AA00 BA23 BA24 BA35 BB13 BB25 5C080 AA01 AA09 BB06 CC06 DD13 DD28 DD30 EE21 EE32 FF09 FF13 GG12 JJ01 JJ02 JJ07

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A multi-screen display device comprising a plurality of display units to form one large screen,
The multi-screen display device, the plurality of display units, the plurality of display units are connected in series via a communication cable capable of two-way communication, from the former unit to the latter unit, and from the latter unit to the former unit. A connection unit capable of transmitting and receiving signals; a control circuit provided in each of the display units to perform various controls of its own display unit and perform a process of transmitting and receiving information to and from another display unit; A selector circuit that is provided in each of the display units and controls transmission of information input and output through the connection unit; and a power supply circuit that is provided in each of the display units and supplies a power supply voltage for operation to each of the display units. And storage means provided in each of the display units,
And a display unit at the first stage among the plurality of display units connected in series operates as a master unit, and operates as a master unit based on information from another display unit supplied via the connection unit. The total number and the connection order of each display unit are determined, an identification signal is stored in the storage unit of each display unit, and various adjustments of each display unit can be performed using the identification signal. Multi-screen display device. 2. The connection means includes a connector arranged on each display unit, wherein the connector has a first terminal for connection with a preceding display unit and a first terminal for connection with a subsequent display unit. The multi-screen display device according to claim 1, further comprising a second terminal, wherein the communication cable is connected to the connector to connect to another display unit. 3. The display unit at the first stage among the plurality of display units connected in series detects that no other display unit is connected to the preceding stage, and determines that the display unit is the master unit. To detect that information indicating the generation of the power supply voltage from the display unit is input, determine that a multi-screen system is configured together with the other display units, and control the operation of the other display units. 2. The multi-screen display device according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A display unit at the first stage among the plurality of display units connected in series, when storing the identification signal in another display unit, transmits data indicating a connection order to the other display units. The other display unit outputs a command for generating and storing the same, and stores the data representing the connection order in its own storage means in response to the command, and sends a reply signal to the first-stage display unit. 2. The multi-screen display device according to claim 1, wherein the multi-screen display device is configured to output. 5. The display unit at the first stage among the plurality of display units connected in series generates data representing the connection order incremented by +1 based on the connection order of its own display unit, and displays the data at the next stage. A command to store the data is output to the unit, and when there is a reply signal from the display unit at the next stage, data indicating the connection order added by +1 is generated, and the data is further transmitted to the display unit at the subsequent stage. The multi-screen display device according to claim 4, wherein an instruction to store data is output.