JP2001344131A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inform an operator of the name of a program changed in its state when operation screens of a plurality of programs operated simultaneously are displayed while overlapping each other. SOLUTION: When the program operation screen is indicated on a display 2, a program name display area 41 is arranged in the lower part of the display screen, and a plurality of program names in operation are indicated in this display area. If a condition change such as an error occurs in a certain operation program, the program name corresponding to this operation program is displayed distinctively from others for informing occurrence of the condition change.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for executing a plurality of programs at the same time, and displaying an execution screen of each program on a display unit based on each of the programs being executed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, when a running program notifies an operator of a state change such as an error, an error message or the like is displayed on a program execution screen displayed on a display unit. Was displayed and notified.

[0003]

In such an information processing apparatus, when one program execution screen is entirely displayed on a display screen of a display, when a plurality of programs are executed simultaneously, each program execution screen is displayed. It will be superimposed and displayed on the display screen of the container. That is, only one program execution screen is displayed on the front of the display screen of the display, and the other program execution screens are hidden behind the display.

[0004] In the conventional display in which a status change message is simply displayed on a program execution screen while such a display is being performed, a status change message is displayed in the case of a program execution screen displayed on the front. It is good for the operator to know immediately, but if the status change message is displayed on the program execution screen hidden behind, the display will not appear on the front, so unless the operator switches the front and rear relation of the display screen, the state will be displayed The change message could not be read. For this reason, there is a problem that even if the status change message is an error message with high urgency, the operator does not notice it and is left for a long time.

Therefore, the invention described in each claim displays an execution screen of a plurality of programs that are being executed simultaneously on the display screen of the display unit in a superimposed manner, and immediately displays the program name whose status has been changed. An information processing device capable of notifying an operator is provided.

Further, according to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, a switching operation for displaying a program execution screen hidden behind on the front of the display unit can be quickly performed, thereby improving work efficiency. I will provide a.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, furthermore, the switching operation for displaying the program execution screen hidden behind on the front of the display can be quickly performed, the work efficiency can be improved, and the hidden screen is hidden behind. Provided is an information processing apparatus capable of easily performing a switching operation for displaying a program execution screen on the front of a display when a state change is made on the program execution screen.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
It communicates information with each of a plurality of execution programs that are running simultaneously and manages each execution program.
In addition, a program execution management unit is provided for displaying an execution screen based on each execution program on the display unit so as to be superimposed on each other, and each execution program manages the state change of the program being executed when the execution of the program changes. The program execution management unit notifies the program execution management unit of a program name display means for displaying the names of all programs being executed in a specific area of the display screen of the display unit, and displays that there is a program state change notification from each execution program. State change display means for displaying the program name of the execution program for which the state change notification has been made, from the other program names.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the status change display means of the program execution management unit displays the program name of the execution program for which the status change notification has been given, in a display color and an identification code. Or by blinking the display to distinguish it from other program names.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, information is communicated with a plurality of execution programs being executed at the same time, each execution program is managed, and each program is displayed on a display based on each execution program. Providing a program execution management unit that superimposes and displays the execution screen back and forth, and each execution program notifies the program execution management unit of the status change when there is a status change in the program being executed,
The program execution management unit includes a program name display unit that displays all program names being executed in a specific area of the display screen of the display unit, and a program name display unit that displays that there is a program state change notification from each execution program. Status change display means for displaying the program name of the execution program that has received the status change notice separately from other program names, and displaying the names of all running programs as menu items by a specific operation and changing the status A program switching menu display means for displaying a program switching menu for displaying the program name of the notified execution program separately from other program names on the front of the display screen of the display, and a program switching menu displayed by the program switching menu display means. On the program switching menu Selecting different program name and program name are shown, in the provision of the display screen switching means for displaying the execution screen of the program corresponding to the selected program name on the front of the display screen of the display.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the program switching menu display means of the program execution management section displays the program name of the execution program for which the status change notification has been made, by displaying the program name, identifying the program name, The display of the program is distinguished from other program names by adding a sign or blinking.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect, the program switching menu display means of the program execution management unit executes the execution of the status change notification when displaying the program switching menu. To place a cursor display on the program name of a program.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an information processing apparatus. A display 2 such as a liquid crystal display is disposed on the front of the apparatus main body 1 so as to adjust the angle, and an insertion slot 3 for a storage medium such as a floppy disk is disposed. At the rear, an automatic paper feed mechanism 4 and a discharge tray 5 for printed paper are arranged. Further, a keyboard 6 separate from the apparatus main body is disposed in front of the apparatus main body 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit.
A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 constituting a control unit main body, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12 storing basic program data and the like for controlling the respective units by the CPU 11, various memories used for data processing and an external memory (Random access memory) 13 provided with a memory for storing application program data fetched from the PC, an external memory 14 such as a hard disk for storing data, and the keyboard 2 connected thereto.
A keyboard interface 15 for receiving a key signal from the display unit 2, a display interface 16 for connecting the display unit 2 and outputting display data to the display unit 2, and various application program data inserted into the insertion slot 3 are stored. A storage medium interface 18 for writing and reading data to and from a storage medium 17 such as a floppy disk, and a printer 19 for printing data on paper supplied by the auto feed mechanism 4 are connected.
A printer interface 20 for communicating data and signals with the printer 19 is provided.

The CPU 11, ROM 12, RAM 1
3, external memory 14, keyboard interface 1
5. The display controller 16, the storage medium interface 18, and the printer interface 20 are electrically connected to each other by a system bus line 21.

As shown in FIG. 3, the keyboard 6 is provided with a full key 61, a ten key 62, a specific key 63 for displaying a program switching menu described later, and the like.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram for explaining the program execution management of the information processing apparatus. The program selection section 31 selects a program to be started, the program execution management section 32 manages an execution program, and the program selection section 31. And a control unit 33 for controlling the program execution management unit 32 and an execution program group 34 provided with a plurality of execution programs. The program selection unit 31, the program execution management unit 32, and the control unit 33 communicate with each other via a resident task. To work. These are constituted by a combination of the CPU 11, the ROM 12, and the RAM 13.

Prior to managing the execution program, the program execution management unit 32 stores in the RAM 13 the name of the program being executed as shown in FIG. 4, the previous and next display positions on the display screen of the display 2, normal, error, termination, etc. A program management table 131 for storing the execution status of the program is created.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the processing of the control unit 33. When the control unit 33 activates itself at S1, the program execution management unit 32 is activated at S2 and the program selection unit 31 at S3. Start Then, in S4, a display notification is transmitted as a message to the program selection unit 31, and in S5, notification monitoring of the message is performed. In S6, it is determined whether or not the message notification is the end notification. If the message notification is the end notification, the end notification is transmitted to the program selection unit 31 in S7, and the end notification is transmitted to the program execution management unit 32 in S8. Then, in step S9, the terminal terminates itself.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the processing of the program selecting section 31. When the program selecting section 31 is started, it monitors a message notification in S11 and determines the received notification in S12. Then, if the notification is a display notification, a program selection screen as shown in FIG. On this program selection screen, each business program and system termination program are displayed as icons.

Subsequently, in S14, an input by the operator operating the keyboard 6 is obtained, and in S15, the obtained input is determined. If the acquired input is the selection of a business program, the program execution management unit 32 is notified of the start of the program in S16, and the program selection screen displayed on the display 2 is deleted in S17. Return to message notification monitoring.

If the acquired input is the selection of the system termination program, the system controller notifies the controller 33 of the system termination in S19, and returns to the message monitoring of S11. If the determination of the notification in S12 is an end notification, the process ends in S18.

Thus, on the program selection screen,
When a business program icon is selected and operated, the program can be selected and activated, and when a system termination icon is selected and operated, the entire business processing can be ended.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing of the program execution management unit 32. When the program execution management unit 32 is started, it monitors the notification of a message in S21 and determines the received notification in S22. The notification received by the program execution management unit 32 includes a program start notification and a system termination notification received from the program selection unit 31, a termination notification received from the control unit 33, a program state change notification received from the execution program group 34, and a switching menu display notification. There is.

If the notification is a program activation notification, the business program selected on the program selection screen is read from the storage medium 17 in S23 and read from the RAM1.
3 and activates the business program.

Subsequently, in S24, the program name of the started program is stored in the program management table 131 and displayed on the display unit 2. (Program name display means) The display of the program name on the display 2 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, this is performed in a program name display area 41 which is a specific area provided at the lower part of the display screen. Note that FIG. 11 shows that a business program with three program names of business 1, business 2, and business 3 is being executed.

If the notification is a program status change notification, the display status of the program name is changed in S25. (State change display means) This changes the display state of the program name displayed in the program name display area 41 according to the program state value received together with the program state change notification.

There are three program status values: an error status, a normal status, and an end status. When displaying the error state, the display state of the program name is changed to a display state distinguished from the normal state. For example, a program name in a normal state is displayed in white, and in this case, a program name in an error state is displayed in red, blinks, or an identification symbol E indicating an error is displayed before the program name. . Note that the occurrence of the error state may be notified by a voice message at the same time when the display state is changed when the error occurs.

When returning from the error state to the normal state, the display state is returned to the original white display. In the case of the end state, the display of the program name is deleted.

If the notification is a switching menu display notification, a program switching menu 42 as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the front of the display screen of the display 2 to notify the operator in S26. (Program Switching Menu Display Means) The program switching menu 42 displays the menu items of the tasks 1, 2, and 3, which are the names of the programs currently being executed, and also displays the menu items for starting another program.

The name of the program currently displayed on the front of the display screen of the display 2 is indicated by, for example, an identification symbol of "☆". The name of the program in an error state is, for example, "E". Notify by attaching the identification symbol. At the same time, a cursor display such as reverse display is arranged at the same time as the program name in the error state. As a result, the program name in the error state is preferentially selected. After that, the display screen of the display 2 is switched by only one-touch operation of the key for executing the display switching, and the program name in the error state is changed. Is displayed on the foreground.

At S27, the key input from the keyboard 6 by the operator is obtained, at S28, the program switching menu 42 displayed on the front is deleted, and at S29, the obtained key input is determined.

If the acquired key input is a key input for selecting a program name, the display screen is switched in S30, and the program execution screen of the selected program name is displayed on the front of the display screen. (Display screen switching means) If the acquired key input is another program start, S
At 31, a display notification is sent to the program selection unit 31. As a result, the program selection section 31 displays a program selection screen as shown in FIG.

If the notification is a system end notification,
In S32, it is determined whether or not all of the execution programs of the execution program group 34 have been completed. If all of the execution programs have been completed, an end notification is transmitted to the control unit 33 in S33, and all of the execution programs have been completed. If not, in S34, a warning message is displayed on the front of the display screen of the display 2 to notify that the system cannot be terminated because there is a program being executed.

If the notification is an end notification, the self (program execution management unit 32) end process is performed in S35. Thus, the processing of the program execution management unit 32 ends.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the processing by the execution program of the execution program group 34. The execution program started by the program execution management unit 32 is executed after S4.
At 1, the input from the keyboard 6 is monitored. And
In S42, it is determined whether or not the key input is a display request for the program switching menu. If the key input is a display request for the program switching menu, a program switching menu display notification is transmitted to the program execution management unit 32 in S43. . If it is not a request to display the program switching menu, the process of S43 is skipped.

Subsequently, in S44, it is determined whether or not the state of the execution program has changed. If the status has changed from the normal status to the error status, or from the error status to the normal status, a program status change notification is transmitted to the program execution management unit 32 in S45. At this time,
The state value after the change is also transmitted. If it is determined that there is no state change, the process of S45 is passed.

Subsequently, in S46, execution of the minimum unit of the program, for example, one step, is executed. In S47, the end of the program is determined. When it is determined that the program is not ended, the input of S41 is performed. Return to monitoring. When it is determined that the program has ended, in S48,
A program status change notification is transmitted to the program execution management unit 32. At this time, a state value representing the end state is also transmitted. Then, in S49, a program end process is performed, and a series of processes is ended.

In such a configuration, when the control unit 33 is activated, the program execution management unit 32 and the program selection unit 31 are activated. Then, a display notification is sent from the control unit 33 to the program selection unit 31, whereby the program selection unit 31 displays a program selection screen shown in FIG.

In this state, when the operator selects and operates, for example, the program of the job 1, the program selection unit 31 sends a program start notification of the job 1 to the program execution management unit 32, whereby the program execution management unit 32 stores the program. The program for executing the task 1 is read from the medium 17 and stored in the RAM 13 to activate the program. Then, the entire program execution screen is displayed on the display 2 and the program name “job 1” in the program name display area 41 provided at the lower part of the display screen is displayed.

In this state, the program selection screen is again displayed on the program selection section 31 and the operator is asked to perform the tasks 2 and 3
When the program is selected and operated, the program execution management unit 32 performs a multitask process for simultaneously executing three business programs of business 1, business 2, and business 3.

At this time, the program execution screen of the task 1 is displayed in the foreground, the program execution screen of the task 2 is displayed immediately after this screen, and the program execution screen of the task 3 is displayed thereafter. In this case, the display position information managed in the program management table 131 is 1, 2, and 3 in the order of the operations 1 to 3, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the screen display of the display 2 at this time is such that the program execution screen of the job 1 is displayed on the front, and three program names are displayed in the program name display area 41.

In this state, if, for example, an error occurs in the execution of the program of the task 2, the execution program of the task 2 notifies the program execution management unit 32 of the error state. The program execution management unit 32 displays an error message on the program execution screen of the task 2 and changes the display state of the program name of the task 2 among the three program names displayed in the program name display area 41 of the display 2. Change. If the tasks 1 and 3 in the normal state are displayed in white, the task 2 is changed to, for example, red display.

Thus, the operator cannot confirm the error message, but can immediately know that an error has occurred in the job 2 due to the change of the job 2 to the red display. Then, the operator operates the specific key 63. As a result, the program execution management section 32 displays the program switching menu 42 shown in FIG. In this program switching menu 42, an identification symbol E indicating the occurrence of an error is given beside the program name of the job 2 in which the error has occurred, so that the operator can confirm again that the error has occurred in the execution program of the job 2. You can check.

In addition, since the menu item of the program name of the task 2 is displayed in reverse video as a cursor,
The operator simply performs a one-touch key operation for executing display switching, and the program execution screen of the task 2 is displayed on the front of the display screen of the display 2. That is, the front of the display screen can be switched from the program execution screen of the task 1 to the program execution screen of the task 2 by a simple operation. Then, the error message is displayed on the front side by this screen switching, so that the message can be confirmed.

Even when all the business programs are executed in a normal state, when the specific key 63 is operated, the program switching menu 42 is displayed on the front of the display 2. The user can easily switch the program execution screen to be displayed on the front by performing a key operation for arranging a cursor display on a program name desired to be displayed and executing display switching. Therefore, even when a large number of business programs are running at the same time, an arbitrary program execution screen can be quickly displayed on the front with a simple operation, and the work efficiency can be improved.

In this embodiment, as an example of the status change notification in the case where the program name of the execution program for which the status change notification has been made is displayed separately from other program names, the case of notifying the occurrence of an error state has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where one work in a business program is notified of the end of the work.

[0048]

As described above in detail, according to the invention described in each of the claims, an execution screen of a plurality of programs being simultaneously executed is displayed on a display screen of a display unit so as to be superimposed one on the other. The operator can be immediately notified of the name of the program whose status has changed. Further, according to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, a switching operation for displaying a program execution screen hidden behind on the front of the display can be quickly performed, and the work efficiency can be improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the switching operation for displaying the hidden program execution screen on the front of the display can be performed quickly, so that the work efficiency can be improved and the hidden operation can be performed. When there is a state change in the program execution screen, the switching operation for displaying the program execution screen on the front of the display can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view showing the appearance of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a keyboard according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing a configuration of a program management table used in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram for explaining program execution management in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing of a control unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing of a program selection unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing of a program execution management unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing by an execution program according to the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display screen when a program is selected in the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display screen when a program is executed in the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a program switching menu displayed on the front of the display screen in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 display unit 11 CPU 12 ROM 13 RAM 31 program selection unit 32 program execution management unit 33 control unit 34 execution program group

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. Program execution for performing information communication with each of a plurality of execution programs being executed at the same time, managing each execution program, and displaying an execution screen based on each execution program on a display so as to be superimposed on the display. A management unit is provided, wherein each of the execution programs notifies the program execution management unit of the state change when the program being executed has a state change, and the program execution management unit displays a display screen of the display unit. A program name display means for displaying the names of all programs being executed in a specific area; and a program name indicating that there is a program status change notification from each of the execution programs. State change display means for displaying a program name separately from other program names. Processing apparatus. 2. The status change display means of the program execution management section displays the program name of the execution program for which the status change notification has been made, by distinguishing it from other program names by adding a display color, an identification code, or blinking. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An information communication is performed between a plurality of execution programs being executed at the same time, each execution program is managed, and an execution screen of each program is superimposed on a display based on each execution program. A program execution management unit for displaying the program execution status, and when each of the execution programs has a status change, the program execution management unit notifies the program execution management unit of the status change. Program name display means for displaying the names of all running programs in a specific area of the display screen of the container, and among the program names displayed when there is a program status change notification from each of the execution programs, a status change notification is displayed. Status change display means for displaying the program name of the executed program separately from other program names, and a specific operation A program switching menu for displaying the names of all the programs being executed as menu items and displaying the program name of the execution program for which the status change notification has been made in distinction from other program names is displayed on the front of the display screen of the display unit. When a program name different from the program name currently displayed on the front is selected on the program switching menu display means to be displayed and the program switching menu displayed by the program switching menu display means, the program name corresponding to the selected program name is displayed. An information processing apparatus, comprising: display screen switching means for displaying an execution screen of a program in front of a display screen of the display. 4. The program switching menu display means of the program execution management unit displays the program name of the execution program for which the status change notification has been made, distinguished from other program names by adding a display color, an identification code, or blinking. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: 5. The program switching menu display means of the program execution management unit, when displaying a program switching menu, arranges a cursor display on a program name of an execution program for which a status change notification has been given. Item 5. The information processing device according to item 3 or 4.