JP2002366341A - Picture display system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a picture display system which can suppress the increase of traffic on network. SOLUTION: A GDI 124 receives a plotting request outputted from an application program 122 and calls a projector source-side driver 128 on the basis of the plotting request and transfers the plotting request to it. A network interface part 112 transmits a plotting command to a projector 200 through a network 300, and the projector 200 receives the transmitted plotting command by a network interface part 212 and transfers it to a projector destination-side driver 228. The driver 228 analyses the plotting command and controls a picture processing part 214 in accordance with the analysis result and makes the picture processing part 214 plot a picture in a display memory to make a bit map. The picture processing part 214 drives a projection part 216 on the basis of picture data expanded in the display memory, and the picture is displayed by projection of a projection part 216.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image display system provided with an image supply device and a projector connected via a network, and more particularly to an image display system suitable for use in presentations and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, when an image is supplied from a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a PC), which is an image supply device, to a projector and the image is projected and displayed by the projector, the PC and the projector are VGA (Vide).
o Graphics Array). However, only one-to-one connection is possible with such a connection using a VGA cable.
When an image is supplied to one projector and the image is projected and displayed, it is necessary to connect and disconnect the VGA cable each time to connect and disconnect the VGA cable to the PC supplying the image to be displayed. There is a problem that it takes time to switch.

In order to solve such a problem, a technique of connecting a PC and a projector via a network has been conventionally proposed. Thus, P
By connecting C and the projector via a network, a plurality of PCs can be connected to the network, and images from the plurality of PCs can be simultaneously transmitted to one network.
It is also possible to supply these to multiple projectors and project and display these images simultaneously.

[0004]

However, conventionally, when a PC and a projector are connected via a network and an image is supplied from the PC to the projector, the image is stored in image data (for example, pits). Map data).

Therefore, when the amount of supplied image data is large, there is a problem that network traffic increases and the response deteriorates. For example, as an example of the response deterioration, there is a case where a change in the screen is missed when the screen is switched, and all the screen changes cannot be reflected on the video.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image display system which can solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and can suppress an increase in network traffic.

[0007]

In order to achieve at least a part of the above object, an image display system according to the present invention comprises an image supply device, a projector, the image supply device, and the projector. And a network that connects to the projector, supplying an image from the image supply device to the projector via the network,
An image display system in which the image is projected and displayed by the projector, wherein the image supply device supplies the image as a drawing command to the projector via the network.

As described above, in the image display system of the present invention, the image supply device supplies an image as a drawing command to the projector via the network. The drawing command is a command for displaying an image, such as drawing various shapes such as lines, circles and rectangles, filling a closed area, specifying a color, copying, moving, cutting, rotating, Various commands such as enlargement / reduction and deformation are included.

Therefore, according to the image display system of the present invention, since the image is supplied not as image data (for example, pit map data) but as a drawing command, the amount of data actually transmitted through the network Is small, the increase in network traffic can be suppressed, and the response can be greatly improved.

In the image display system according to the present invention, it is preferable that the projector projects and displays the image based on the drawing command supplied from the image supply device via the network.

As described above, since the projector has the function of projecting and displaying an image based on a drawing command, there is no problem even if the image is supplied from the image supply device via the network as the drawing command. In the projector, the image can be projected and displayed.

In the image display system according to the present invention, the image supply device may supply the drawing command to the projector via the network together with element data representing an element of the image.

[0013] Even if it is not possible to draw all of the image only with the drawing command prepared in advance, the drawing command is supplied to the projector together with the drawing command and the element data representing the elements of the image. , An image can be reliably drawn.

In the image display system of the present invention, it is preferable that the projector projects and displays the image based on the drawing command and the element data supplied from the image supply device via the network.

As described above, since the projector has the function of projecting and displaying an image based on the drawing command and the element data, even if the drawing command and the element data are supplied, the projector has no problem. The image can be drawn and projected and displayed.

An image supply apparatus according to the present invention is an image supply apparatus capable of supplying an image to a projector via a network, wherein the image supply apparatus supplies the image as a drawing command to the projector via the network. Is the gist.

As described above, according to the image supply apparatus of the present invention, the image is supplied to the projector via the network as a drawing command instead of as image data (for example, pit map data). The amount of data actually transmitted through the
An increase in network traffic can be suppressed, and the response can be significantly improved.

A projector according to the present invention is a projector capable of receiving an image from an image supply device to the projector via a network, and rendering the image from the image supply device via the network. When supplied as a command, the gist is that the image is projected and displayed based on the drawing command.

As described above, according to the projector of the present invention, since the projector has the function of projecting and displaying an image based on a drawing command, the image is sent from the image supply device via the network as the drawing command. Even if supplied, the image can be projected and displayed without any problem.

The present invention is not limited to the aspects of the apparatus invention such as the image display system, the image supply apparatus, and the projector described above, but can also be realized in the form of a method invention such as an image supply method. Furthermore, aspects as a computer program for constructing those methods and apparatuses, aspects as a recording medium on which such a computer program is recorded, and data signals embodied in a carrier wave including the computer program, It can be realized in various modes.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of an image display system as one embodiment of the present invention.

The image display system 10 of this embodiment is similar to the image display system shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
, Projector 200 for projecting and displaying an image supplied from PC 100, PC 100 and projector 2
00 and a network 300 for connecting to the network.
The network 300 further includes a plurality of PCs.
Or, a projector or other peripheral devices may be connected.

As described above, in the image display system 10 of the present embodiment, the PC 100 and the projector 200 are connected via the network 300, the PC 100 supplies the image to the projector 200, and the projector 200 projects and displays the image. I have to. At this time, conventionally, the image supplied via the network 300 is supplied as image data (for example, pit map data). However, in the present embodiment, not the image data but the drawing command Images are supplied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the PC 100 and the projector 200 of FIG.

The PC 100 includes a CPU 102 and a RAM 1
04, the hard disk drive 106, and the ROM 10
8, an input unit 110 including a keyboard and a pointing device, and a network interface unit 11.
2, a display adapter 114, a display 116 composed of a liquid crystal display or the like, and a bus 118 connecting these components. Of these, RA
M104 includes an application program 122 and a graphical device interface (GDI: Graphics).
Device Interface) 124, display driver 1
26, various computer programs such as a projector source side driver 128 are stored. GD
The I124, the display driver 126, the projector source side driver 128, and the like function as a part of the operating system. In the present embodiment, Windows (registered trademark) provided by Microsoft Corporation is assumed as the operating system.

Such various computer programs are provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM. The PC 100 reads the computer program from the recording medium and reads the computer program from the RAM 1 as an internal storage device.
04, or temporarily stored in a hard disk drive 106, which is an external storage device, and then transferred to the RAM 104 at startup. Alternatively, a computer program may be supplied to the PC 100 via the network 300 or the like. When implementing the functions of the computer program, the computer program stored in the RAM 104 is a microprocessor C
It is executed by the PU 102. Further, the PC 100 may read a computer program recorded on a recording medium and directly execute the computer program.

The "recording medium" in the present invention includes a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, an IC card, a ROM cartridge, a punched card, a printed matter on which a code such as a bar code is printed, and an internal storage of a computer. Device (RAM, ROM, etc.)
Various computer-readable media such as an external storage device and the like can be used.

On the other hand, the projector 200
2, a ROM 208, a RAM 204, an input unit 210 including operation buttons, a network interface unit 212, an image processing unit 214, a projection unit 216 including a light source lamp, a liquid crystal panel, and a projection optical system. A bus 218 for connecting the components. Among them, the ROM 208 stores various computer programs such as the projector destination driver 228. When implementing the functions of the computer program, the computer program stored in the ROM 208 is executed by the CPU 202, which is a microprocessor, directly or after being transferred to the RAM 104.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation procedure when displaying an image in the image display system of FIG.

To display an image, first, the application program 122 having a drawing function
A drawing request is issued to 124. The GDI 124 is a computer program that uniformly manages drawing on a display device (the display 116 or the projector 200) or a printing device (a printer (not shown)). GD
The I124 provides an application program interface (API: Application Program Interface) for drawing called an “GDI function” to the application program 122, and supports drawing by the application program 122. Note that an API generally refers to a set of procedures for an application program to use various functions of an operating system. GDI124
Is an API (GDI function) that manages colors to be displayed, specifies the shape of a line to be drawn (solid line, broken line, dashed line, etc.), draws a line, circle, ellipse, rectangle, etc.
Provides a wealth of functions related to image output such as paint processing.

Therefore, the application program 12
2 uses the GDI function, which is an API,
For example, a drawing request such as “draw a line”, “draw a rectangle”, “draw a circle”, or “paint with a certain color” is issued to the DI 124. It should be noted that the drawing request also includes information on the output destination of the image (that is, information specifying whether to output the image to the display device or the printing device).

Next, the GDI 124 receives the drawing request issued from the application program 122, checks the output destination of the image based on the drawing request, and, if the output destination is a display device, the display driver 12
6 and the projector source side driver 128 are called, and the drawing request is passed to each of them.

Next, the display driver 126 drives the display adapter 114 in accordance with the passed drawing request, causes the display adapter 114 to draw on the display memory in the display adapter 114, and forms a bitmap.

Then, the display adapter 114
The image is displayed on the display 116 based on the image data (that is, the bitmap data) developed in the display memory.

On the other hand, the projector source side driver 12
8 generates a drawing command based on the drawing request passed from the GDI 124, and
Hand over to 12. When a drawing command is generated based on a drawing request, a new drawing command may be generated, or the drawing request may be used as it is as a drawing command. That is, in this specification, the concept of generating a drawing command includes a case where a drawing request is used as a drawing command as it is.

For example, in response to a drawing request of “drawing a line”, a drawing command of Line (start, end) is generated, and in response to a drawing request of “painting with a certain color”, Fill (point, color) is generated, and for a drawing request of "drawing a circle",
A drawing command (center, radius) is generated. Note that start, end, point, color, center, r
adius and the like are parameters.

Next, the network interface unit 11
2 transmits the passed drawing command to the projector 200 via the network 300. Projector 20
At 0, the network interface unit 212 receives the transmitted drawing command and passes it to the projector destination driver 228.

The projector destination driver 228 analyzes the received drawing command, controls the image processing unit 214 according to the analysis result, and causes the image processing unit 214 to draw the image on a display memory in the image processing unit 214. Make a bitmap.

The image processing unit 214 drives the projection unit 216 based on the image data (that is, bitmap data) developed in the display memory, and causes the projection unit 216 to project and display an image.

As described above, in the image display system of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the image is displayed on the display 116 of the PC 100 and the projector 200 connected via the network 300 is used.
The image can be projected and displayed.

As described above, according to the image display system of the present embodiment, the PC 1
Since the image supplied from 00 to the projector 200 is not supplied as image data (for example, pit map data or the like) but is supplied as a drawing command, the amount of data actually transmitted via the network 300 is Only a small amount is required, and an increase in network traffic can be suppressed, and the response can be significantly improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, but can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the projector 2 is connected to the PC 100 via the network 300.
When the image is supplied to the image 00, only the drawing command is supplied. However, if not all of the image can be drawn only with the prepared drawing command, the image Element data representing an element may be supplied together. As the element data, bitmap data having a data amount equal to or less than a predetermined value that does not increase the traffic of the network may be used.

As described above, together with the drawing command,
When the element data is also supplied to the projector 200, the projector 200 draws an image based on the supplied drawing command and the element data, and projects and displays the image.

As such a specific drawing command, Put (start, bitmapdata), which is a drawing command corresponding to a drawing request of "pasting an image", and the like can be given. This drawing command uses the parameter bitmapdata
Is attached to the position indicated by the parameter start with the element data (bitmap data) indicated by.

In the above-described embodiment, a notebook PC is used as the image supply device. However, a desktop PC may be used. Further, instead of the PC, a server computer, a mobile computer, a handheld computer, a workstation, or the like may be used. Further, in addition to these computers, devices that can be connected to a network and have the same functions as the computers may be used. Such devices include, for example, portable information terminals, mobile phones, mail terminals, game machines, set-top boxes, and the like.

As a network, various networks such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, and an intranet can be applied. Also, the network may be configured by wire,
It may be configured wirelessly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of an image display system as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a PC 100 and a projector 200 of FIG. 1, respectively.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation procedure when displaying an image in the image display system of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Image Display System 100 PC 102 CPU 104 RAM 106 Hard Disk Drive 108 ROM 110 Input Unit 112 Network Interface Unit 114 Display Adapter 116 Display 118 Bus 122 Application Program 124 GDI 126 Display Driver 128 Projector source side driver 200 Projector 202 CPU 204 RAM 208 ROM 210 Input unit 212 Network interface unit 214 Image processing unit 216 Projection unit 218 Bus 228 Projector destination driver 300 Network

Claims (7)

[Claims] An image supply device, a projector, and a network connecting the image supply device and the projector, wherein the image supply device supplies an image to the projector via the network, An image display system for projecting and displaying the image according to the image supply device, wherein the image supply device, the image as a drawing command,
An image display system, wherein the image is supplied to the projector via the network. 2. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the projector projects and displays the image based on the drawing command supplied from the image supply device via the network. Image display system. 3. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the image supply device supplies the drawing command to the projector via the network together with element data representing an element of the image. An image display system characterized by the following. 4. The image display system according to claim 3, wherein the projector projects and displays the image based on the drawing command and the element data supplied from the image supply device via the network. An image display system, characterized in that: 5. An image supply device capable of supplying an image to a projector via a network, wherein the image supply device supplies the image as a drawing command to the projector via the network. apparatus. 6. A projector capable of receiving supply of an image from an image supply device to a projector via a network, wherein the image is supplied from the image supply device as a drawing command via the network. A projector configured to project and display the image based on the drawing command. 7. An image supply method for supplying an image from an image supply device to a projector via a network, comprising supplying the image as a drawing command from the image supply device to the projector via the network. Characteristic image supply method.