JP2008193258A - Multi-screen display device and multi-screen display control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To limit a user capable of an operation to a screen and to facilitate the screen selecting operation of the user. <P>SOLUTION: The multi-screen display device capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of inputted video images is provided with a fingerprint registration means for registering fingerprint data of the user in a fingerprint storage means and a screen attribute registration means for registering the fingerprint data as the screen attribute of a screen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-screen display device and a multi-screen display control method.

  In recent years, in order to simultaneously display a wide variety of video data supplied from various media, a multi-screen function has been realized in which a plurality of screens are opened on one display and different input sources are displayed on each screen. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). With this multi-screen function, for example, a plurality of users (viewers) can view each video at the same time on one display at home.

JP-A-2005-300845

  However, in a display having a conventional multi-screen display function, all users can perform settings such as channel change and volume adjustment, and screen size change for a plurality of displayed screens. Therefore, there is a problem that the user performs an operation on an unintended screen or the viewing is hindered by another user's operation.

  This is because multiple users share one remote control, select the screen to be operated by screen selection operation such as pressing the screen selection button on the remote control before operation, and operate on any displayed screen This is because it was possible.

  Furthermore, performing such a screen selection operation is a great effort for the user. In particular, when the number of displayed screens increases, an operation for selecting a target screen from among them is a comfortable viewing operation. Can be a hindrance.

  Further, in consideration of the viewing position, the user places a screen that the user views on a position where viewing is easy on the display. For example, in the home, the screen position of each user is generally determined. However, in the conventional display, each user has to change the position of the screen every time it is viewed, which is also troublesome.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to limit the users who can operate the screen and to facilitate the user's screen selection operation.

  Therefore, the present invention is a multi-screen display device capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of input images, the fingerprint registration means for registering the user's fingerprint data in the fingerprint storage means, and the fingerprint data on the screen. Screen attribute registration means for registering as a screen attribute.

  Further, the present invention may be a multi-screen display control method.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while restricting the user who can operate with respect to a screen, a user's screen selection operation can be made easy.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a multi-screen display device. As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-screen display device according to the present embodiment uses inputs from one tuner unit 1 and one external input unit 2 as input sources, and displays two input sources as one display. A multi-screen display is possible on the unit 3 at the same time. Note that the number of input sources input to the multi-screen display device may be two or more, or two or less.

  The tuner unit 1 receives digital signals from analog terrestrial waves, BS / CS broadcasting, CATV (cable TV), and the like. The tuner unit 1 passes the received signal through a band filter, a down converter, and the like, and then performs decoding processing, error correction processing, and the like to generate a transport stream. The generated transport stream is divided into video data, audio data, and additional information by a demultiplexer included in the tuner unit 1. The divided video data is output to the image processing unit 5, the audio data is output to the audio processing unit 6, and the additional information is output to the control unit 9.

  The external input unit 2 receives video data and audio data from an external device connected to the external input unit 2 as an input source. When the received input source is a composite signal output from the DVD device, the external input unit 2 outputs the composite signal to the image processing unit 5 as video data. When the received input source is a computer analog signal, the external input unit 2 outputs the analog signal to the image processing unit 5 as video data.

  The image processing unit 5 has as many processing units as the number of video data input to the image processing unit 5, and performs processing according to the video data input to the image processing unit 5. When the video data input to the image processing unit 5 is video data output from the tuner unit 1, the image processing unit 5 decodes the video data and follows the instructions from the control unit 9 to display the screen format (size and size). Color number). When the video data input to the image processing unit 5 is a composite signal from the DVD device output from the external input unit 2, the image processing unit 5 performs color conversion or IP conversion for converting from YUV to RGB. In accordance with an instruction from the control unit 9, the screen format is converted.

  Further, the image processing unit 5 synthesizes each processed video data in accordance with an input from the control unit 9 so as to have a predetermined screen layout (position, size, overlay effect, etc.), and the final multi-screen Is generated. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a multi-screen when two input sources are displayed simultaneously.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 1 again, the audio processing unit 6 has processing units as many as the number of audio data input to the audio processing unit 6, decodes the audio data input to the audio processing unit 6, and outputs audio as an audio signal. Output to the control unit 8.

  The audio control unit 8 determines an output destination of each audio signal related to a plurality of videos to be displayed on the multi-screen in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 9. The control unit 9 sets the order in which the screens are generated as the voice priority. And the control part 9 sets an audio | voice priority as one of the screen attributes of the screen which the control part 9 hold | maintains. The voice control unit 8 acquires the voice priority of each screen from the control unit 9 and determines the output destination of each voice signal. For example, the audio control unit 8 controls the audio signal related to the screen with the highest audio priority to be reproduced by the main speaker, and the audio signal related to the screen with the low audio priority is output from the audio output terminal. Control as follows.

  In accordance with the input from the control unit 9, the display control unit 7 controls the display drive according to the characteristics of the display unit 3 and converts the display format of the input video data in synchronization with the frame rate of the display unit 3. .

  The display unit 3 is a display device, and any device may be used as long as it can display an image, such as liquid crystal, plasma, or CRT. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the display unit 3 is a large-screen, high-definition high-definition liquid crystal display or plasma display for the purpose of realizing a multi-screen.

  The audio output unit 4 is an audio output device, and reproduces an audio signal input from the audio control unit 8. The multi-screen display device according to the present embodiment includes two audio output units including a main speaker and headphones connected to an audio output terminal so that two audio signals can be reproduced simultaneously. When a plurality of audio signals are input from the audio processing unit 6, the audio control unit 8 controls the main speaker to output the audio signal having the highest audio priority among the input audio signals as described above. Then, control is performed so that the audio signal having the next highest audio priority is output from the headphones.

  Note that the user may set the output destination of the audio signal by an input from the operation input unit 10. And the control part 9 or the audio | voice control part 8 may determine the output destination of an audio | voice based on the output destination set by this user.

  The operation input unit 10 is a user interface, and receives input from the user such as power on / off, television channel selection, and volume adjustment. In the present embodiment, a remote controller (remote controller) is used as the operation input unit 10.

  FIG. 3 is an overview diagram showing the configuration of the remote controller. In FIG. 3, the input unit is composed of a touch panel and has buttons such as a power source, a channel, and a volume. In the present embodiment, a remote controller is used as the operation input unit 10, but a user interface such as a mouse or a keyboard can also be used. In addition, the operation input unit 10 can be provided in a multi-screen display device.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 1 again, the operation input control unit 12 converts an input command or data signal into a signal suitable for input to the control unit 9 and outputs the signal to the control unit 9.

  The fingerprint acquisition unit 11 reads a user's fingerprint and transmits the read data as fingerprint data to the fingerprint authentication control unit 13 via the remote control transmission unit 23, the remote control reception unit 24, and the like. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the fingerprint acquisition unit 11 is realized by a remote controller. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, by mounting a fingerprint sensor function on the touch panel portion, the user's fingerprint can be read simultaneously with the user pressing a button on the touch panel. Therefore, the user can perform the operation input operation without being aware of the fingerprint authentication operation.

  Note that the fingerprint acquisition unit 11 and the operation input unit 10 can be realized independently, and the user can perform the fingerprint authentication operation and the operation input operation as separate operations.

  In the present embodiment, description is given using fingerprint authentication as a user authentication method, but biometric authentication such as iris or voice may be used.

  The remote control transmission unit 23 uses the infrared communication function to transmit commands and data from the operation input unit 10 and fingerprint data acquired by the fingerprint acquisition unit 11 to the remote control reception unit 24 of the multi-screen display device using infrared as a communication medium. Send.

  The remote control receiving unit 24 includes a remote control light receiving unit, and receives commands, data, and fingerprint data transmitted from the remote control transmission unit 23. Then, the remote control receiving unit 24 outputs the received command and data to the operation input control unit 12 and outputs fingerprint data to the fingerprint authentication control unit 13.

  The fingerprint authentication control unit 13 has a fingerprint storage unit for temporarily holding fingerprint data therein, and holds the fingerprint data and the screen ID number received from the control unit 9 in combination. Here, the screen ID number is a number indicating a screen having fingerprint data as a screen attribute.

  The screen attribute registration unit 21 registers fingerprint data or the like as the screen attribute of the screen for the screen generated by the control unit 9.

  When fingerprint data is acquired by the fingerprint acquisition unit 11, the screen selection unit 20 selects a screen having fingerprint data as a screen attribute from the screens managed by the control unit 9.

  The control unit 9 is a control unit that controls the entire multi-screen display device according to the present embodiment, and includes a CPU having computing power, a RAM that temporarily stores data, a ROM that stores a control program, and a counter that measures time. Etc.

  For example, the control unit 9 manages the screen displayed on the display unit 3, and stores the screen ID number indicating the screen and the screen attribute of the screen in the RAM in combination. The screen ID number is set as a number that uniquely indicates the screen when the control unit 9 generates the screen. In this embodiment, the screen attribute registration unit 21 registers screen size, position, fingerprint data, color tone, volume, user name, voice priority, and the like as screen attributes.

  The fingerprint collation unit 14 collates with fingerprint data stored in the database of the fingerprint storage unit 15 using the fingerprint data as a collation key. As a result of the collation, when fingerprint data matching the fingerprint data of the collation key is stored in the database of the fingerprint storage unit 15, the fingerprint collation unit 14 acquires a personal ID number corresponding to the fingerprint data from the database.

  The fingerprint collation unit 14 collates with fingerprint data held in the fingerprint authentication control unit 13 using the fingerprint data as a collation key. As a result of the collation, when the fingerprint data matching the fingerprint data of the collation key is held in the fingerprint authentication control unit 13, the fingerprint collation unit 14 acquires a screen ID number corresponding to the fingerprint data.

  Here, the fingerprint storage unit 15 stores a combination of fingerprint data and a personal ID number corresponding to the fingerprint data. The fingerprint storage unit 15 functions as a fingerprint storage database using a hard disk or flash memory that retains data even when the power is turned off. Furthermore, the fingerprint storage unit 15 can designate the corresponding fingerprint data from the personal ID number, or can designate the corresponding personal ID number from the fingerprint data.

  The fingerprint registration unit 16 registers the fingerprint data input from the fingerprint authentication control unit 13 and the personal ID number input from the personal setting control unit 17 in the database of the fingerprint storage unit 15.

  The personal setting control unit 17 controls reading of personal setting information and registration processing in accordance with instructions from the control unit 9. When receiving an instruction for reading the personal setting information, the personal setting control unit 17 calls the personal setting search unit 18 and acquires the personal setting information. When receiving the instruction for the registration process of the personal setting information, the personal setting control unit 17 calls the fingerprint registration unit 16 and the personal setting registration unit 22.

  The personal setting search unit 18 searches the personal setting information from the database of the personal setting storage unit 19 using the personal ID number as a search key, and acquires the personal setting information obtained as a result of the search.

  The personal setting storage unit 19 stores personal setting information and a personal ID number corresponding to the personal setting information in combination. The personal setting storage unit 19 functions as a personal setting storage database using a hard disk or flash memory that retains data even when the power is turned off. In the present embodiment, the personal setting storage unit 19 can have a screen size, position, color tone, volume, and user name as personal setting information. Furthermore, the personal setting storage unit 19 can read or write the corresponding personal setting information from the personal ID number.

  The personal setting registration unit 22 registers the personal setting information (screen size, position, etc.) input from the personal setting control unit 17 in combination with the personal ID number in the personal setting storage unit 19.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation (screen display control operation) of the multi-screen display device.
First, screen generation and operations for registering a fingerprint (fingerprint data) as a screen attribute of the generated screen will be described.

  When the user touches a button on the remote controller to view a television program and inputs a television channel to be viewed, the operation input unit 10 acquires a command from the user (step S1).

  Simultaneously with the command acquisition from the user, the fingerprint acquisition unit 11 reads the user's fingerprint and acquires fingerprint data. The acquired fingerprint data and the command acquired in step S1 are transmitted from the remote control transmission unit 23 to the remote control reception unit 24 of the multi-screen display device by infrared communication. When receiving the signal from the remote control transmission unit 23, the remote control reception unit 24 outputs a command from the user to the control unit 9 and the user's fingerprint data to the fingerprint authentication control unit 13 (step S2).

  When the fingerprint authentication control unit 13 acquires the user's fingerprint data from the remote control reception unit 24, the fingerprint authentication control unit 13 passes the fingerprint data to the fingerprint verification unit 14. The fingerprint collation unit 14 collates with the fingerprint data held by the fingerprint authentication control unit 13 using the fingerprint data as a collation key. When fingerprint data corresponding to the fingerprint data received from the fingerprint authentication control unit 13 is held in the fingerprint authentication control unit 13, the fingerprint collation unit 14 acquires the screen ID number held in combination with the fingerprint data. And supplied to the screen selection unit 20 via the fingerprint authentication control unit 13. The screen selection unit 20 acquires the screen ID number of the currently displayed screen from the control unit 9, compares the acquired screen ID number with the screen ID number supplied from the fingerprint verification unit 14, and operates It is determined whether there is a screen to be (step S3).

  If the screen selection unit 20 determines in step S3 that there is no operation target screen, the screen selection unit 20 notifies the control unit 9 that there is no operation target screen. Upon receiving this notification, the control unit 9 requests the personal setting control unit 17 to search for personal setting information prior to screen generation. When the personal setting control unit 17 receives a search request for personal setting information from the control unit 9, the personal setting control unit 17 requests the fingerprint authentication control unit 13 to perform fingerprint verification in order to obtain a personal ID number serving as a search key. When the fingerprint collation unit 14 receives the fingerprint data acquired in step S <b> 2 from the fingerprint authentication control unit 13, the fingerprint collation unit 14 collates the fingerprint data with the fingerprint data stored in the fingerprint storage unit 15. If fingerprint data corresponding to the fingerprint data acquired in step S2 is stored in the fingerprint storage unit 15 as a result of the collation, the fingerprint collation unit 14 assigns the personal ID number corresponding to the fingerprint data to the fingerprint authentication control unit. 13 to the personal setting control unit 17. Subsequently, the personal setting search unit 18 that has received the personal ID number from the personal setting control unit 17 searches the personal setting information (size, position, etc.) from the personal setting storage unit 19 using the personal ID number as a search key. Perform (step S5).

  The personal setting search unit 18 determines whether or not the personal setting information corresponding to the personal ID number exists in the personal setting storage unit 19 based on the search result (step S6).

  If it is determined in step S6 that the personal setting information corresponding to the personal ID number exists in the personal setting storage unit 19, the personal setting search unit 18 calls (or acquires) the personal setting information, and controls personal settings. The data is sent to the control unit 9 via the unit 17 (step S7).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that the personal setting information corresponding to the personal ID number does not exist in the personal setting storage unit 19, the personal setting search unit 18 sets the personal setting information corresponding to the personal ID number to the personal setting. The personal setting control unit 17 is notified that it is not in the storage unit 19. Upon receiving this notification, the personal setting control unit 17 calls (or acquires) the initial setting value as personal setting information from the personal setting storage unit 19 via the personal setting search unit 18 and sends it to the control unit 9 (step S12). ).

  When receiving the personal setting information from the personal setting control unit 17, the control unit 9 generates a screen having the personal setting information as a screen attribute (size, position, etc.) based on the personal setting information (step S8). That is, the control unit 9 generates a screen in which personal setting information is set as a screen attribute (screen setting).

  Subsequently, the screen attribute registration unit 21 acquires a screen ID number corresponding to the fingerprint data acquired in step S <b> 2 from the fingerprint authentication control unit 13, and the acquired screen ID number is the screen of the screen generated by the control unit 9. It registers as an attribute (step S9).

  On the other hand, the command from the user acquired in S1 is converted into a form suitable for input to the control unit 9 by the operation input control unit 12, and is input to the control unit 9 as a command for the screen generated in step S8. The The control unit 9 inputs an input source to be processed, a screen format specification, and the like as commands to the image processing unit 5. The image processing unit 5 performs necessary processing on each input source in accordance with a command input from the control unit 9, performs synthesis, and outputs final multi-screen video data to the display control unit 7. . Then, the final video is displayed on the display unit 3. Similarly, the audio processing unit 6 performs necessary processing on each input source in accordance with the input from the control unit 9 and outputs an audio signal to the audio control unit 8. The voice control unit 8 determines the output destination of the voice signal input from the voice processing unit 6 in accordance with the input from the control unit 9. Then, the sound is finally output from the sound output unit 4 (step S10).

  Next, the operation for the input operation from the user after the screen is generated will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the screen to be operated exists, the screen selection unit 20 notifies the control unit 9 of the screen ID number of the screen to be operated. The control unit 9 sets a screen having the screen ID number as a screen attribute as a target screen of a command input from the operation input control unit 12. Subsequently, the control unit 9 starts interpretation (decoding) of the command input to the control unit 9 and determines whether or not the input command is input related to personal settings (step S4).

  If it is determined in step S4 that the input command is not a command related to personal settings, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the input command is a command related to screen erasure (step S13).

  If it is determined in step S13 that the input command is not a command related to screen erasure, the control unit 9 executes processing corresponding to the input command (step S14). For example, the input command is a command related to channel change, volume adjustment, input source switching, and the like, and the control unit 9 performs necessary processing such as parameter setting according to the input command. Then, the control unit 9 inputs a command to the image processing unit 5, the audio processing unit 6, the audio control unit 8, or the like.

  When there is no input from the user again, the process waits for input again, and loop processing is performed. In the multi-screen display device, image processing and audio processing of the input source are continued, and screen display and audio output are performed (step S11). ).

  Next, the operation for the personal setting registration operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  If the control unit 9 determines in step S4 that the input command is a command related to personal settings, the control unit 9 receives personal setting information such as the screen position and size input by the user from the operation input control unit 12, and the personal settings. It requests the personal setting control unit 17 to register information. When acquiring the personal setting information from the control unit 9, the personal setting control unit 17 gives a personal ID number to the personal setting information and requests the personal setting registration unit 22 to register. At the same time, the personal setting control unit 17 sends the personal ID number to the fingerprint registration unit 16 and requests registration of fingerprint data. The personal setting registration unit 22 registers the personal ID number acquired from the personal setting control unit 17 and the personal setting information in the personal setting storage unit 19 in combination. On the other hand, when acquiring the personal ID number from the personal setting control unit 17, the fingerprint registration unit 16 receives the fingerprint data acquired in step S2 from the fingerprint authentication control unit 13, and obtains the personal ID number and the fingerprint data. The combination is registered in the fingerprint storage unit 15 (step S15).

  Next, the operation for the screen erasing operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  If it is determined in step S13 that the input command is a command related to screen erasure, the control unit 9 erases the operation target screen, and erases the screen ID number and the screen attribute of the operation target screen that is held. Is performed (step S16).

  Subsequently, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the number of held screens is 0 (step S17). If it is determined that the number of screens is 0, the control unit 9 turns off the power of the multi-screen display device and ends the process shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to limit the users who can operate the screen and to facilitate the user's screen selection operation.
According to the above-described multi-screen display device, the fingerprint data of the user is associated with each screen of the multi-screen, and the screen to be operated is selected by fingerprint authentication. As a result, operations from other users can be prohibited, and viewing can be prevented from being hindered by other users' operations. Further, the operation target screen can be automatically selected by fingerprint authentication, and the trouble of screen selection operation can be saved. In addition, if the personal settings of the screen are registered in advance, the personal settings of the operation target screen are automatically performed by fingerprint authentication. It can be omitted.

<Other embodiments>
The object of the present invention is achieved by the following. That is, a recording medium (or storage medium) that records a program code of software that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus. Then, the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

  Also, by executing the program code read by the computer, an operating system (OS) or the like operating on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. The case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing is also included.

  Furthermore, it is assumed that the program code read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. After that, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU of the function expansion card or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing. It is.

  When the present invention is applied to the recording medium, the recording medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of a multiscreen display apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a multiscreen at the time of displaying two input sources simultaneously. It is a general-view figure which shows the structure of a remote control. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of a multiscreen display apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Fingerprint acquisition part 12 Operation input control part 13 Fingerprint authentication control part 14 Fingerprint collation part 15 Fingerprint memory | storage part 16 Fingerprint registration part 17 Personal setting control part 18 Personal setting search part 19 Personal setting storage part 20 Screen selection part 21 Screen attribute registration part 22 Personal Settings Registration Department

Claims (6)

A multi-screen display device capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of input images,
Fingerprint registration means for registering user fingerprint data in the fingerprint storage means;
Screen attribute registration means for registering the fingerprint data as a screen attribute of the screen;
A multi-screen display device comprising: Fingerprint collation means for collating the acquired fingerprint data with the fingerprint data stored in the fingerprint storage means;
A screen selection unit that selects a screen having fingerprint data stored in the fingerprint storage unit as a screen attribute based on a result of collation by the fingerprint collation unit;
The multi-screen display device according to claim 1, further comprising: Personal setting registration means for associating the user's personal settings with the user's fingerprint data and registering in the personal setting storage means;
Personal setting search means for searching for the personal setting of the user based on the result of matching by the fingerprint matching means;
Control means for setting a screen based on a search result of the personal setting search means;
The multi-screen display device according to claim 2, further comprising: A multi-screen display control method in a multi-screen display device capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of input images,
A fingerprint registration step of registering the user's fingerprint data in the fingerprint storage means;
A screen attribute registration step of registering the fingerprint data as a screen attribute of the screen;
A multi-screen display control method comprising: A fingerprint collation step for collating the acquired fingerprint data with the fingerprint data stored in the fingerprint storage means;
A screen selection step for selecting a screen having the fingerprint data stored in the fingerprint storage means as a screen attribute based on the result of collation in the fingerprint collation step;
The multi-screen display control method according to claim 4, further comprising: A personal setting registration step for registering the personal setting of the user in the personal setting storage means in association with the fingerprint data of the user;
A personal setting search step for searching for the personal setting of the user based on the result of matching in the fingerprint matching step;
A control step for setting a screen based on a search result of the personal setting search step;
The multi-screen display control method according to claim 5, further comprising:

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