JP2010033375A - Display system, display control device and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display system for enabling a user to easily turn off power supply of a monitor without the user's having to move an image element beforehand, a display control device and a computer program. <P>SOLUTION: A PC 1 and monitors 3a and 3b include communication parts 22 and 38, respectively to be mutually communicable, and when the on/off of the power supply is operated by the operating parts 33 of the monitors 3a and 3b, the PC 1 determines that the power supply states of the respective monitors 3a and 3b change by communication. When the power supply of either of the monitors 3a and 3b is turned off, a window and an image element such as an icon displayed in the monitor 3a or 3b whose power supply is turned off are displayed in the other monitor 3a or 3b whose power supply is turned on. Consequently, the user can easily perform power saving by turning off the power supply of the monitor 3a or 3b having low usage frequency and surely reduce the power consumption of the display system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display system in a so-called multi-monitor environment in which a plurality of display devices such as monitors are connected to a display control device such as a PC (Personal Computer), and to a display control device and a computer program constituting the display system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a multi-window system that allows a user to start a plurality of applications and use them simultaneously by displaying a plurality of windows on a monitor has been widely used. Since the display area of one monitor is limited, when a large number of applications are activated, the user needs to work while frequently switching the window (active window) to be displayed first.

  On the other hand, in recent years, a display system in a multi-monitor environment, in which a plurality of monitors are connected to one PC and different information can be displayed on each monitor, has begun to spread. The display system in a multi-monitor environment can realize an enlargement of the display area at a relatively low cost compared to increasing the size of one monitor, and can increase the user's work efficiency. There is.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a multi-monitor system that can move a plurality of windows between a plurality of display means with a simple operation. In this system, a window movement instruction means for instructing a movement pattern of the window to the first display means or the second display means, and the first display means and the second display means based on the movement pattern designated by the window movement instruction means. Window moving position determining means for determining the moving position of the displayed window is provided. Thereby, since a complicated window operation can be performed by one operation, the burden on the operator can be reduced.

Further, in a display system in a multi-monitor environment, power supply to a plurality of monitors can be individually turned off, so that power consumption by a monitor is reduced by the user voluntarily turning off power supply to a monitor that is not frequently used. There is an advantage that you can.
JP 2002-182893 A

  In a conventional display system in a multi-monitor environment, when the user turns off the power supply of one monitor to save power, the window application displayed on the monitor becomes unavailable, so the user turns off the power supply. It is necessary to move these windows to other monitors that do not operate in advance (or change the OS (Operating System) setting from a multi-monitor environment to a single monitor environment to move the windows to a monitor that does not power off. In some cases).

  However, since the operation of moving the window (or the OS setting changing operation) before turning off the power supply of the monitor is troublesome for the user, the user does not turn off the power supply of the monitor individually. There is a problem that consumption cannot be reduced. In addition, when a user distributes so-called icons for starting an application or applications that are not displayed as windows such as a clock and a calendar on a plurality of monitors, the application is arranged on a monitor with power off. There is a problem that it is impossible to use the icons and applications.

  The multi-monitor system described in Patent Document 1 automatically moves a display of a window having a high priority to another monitor when the user performs an icon operation. All windows are automatically combined into one monitor. Or processing such as automatically distributing a plurality of windows equally to a plurality of monitors. Therefore, in the state where power supply to a plurality of monitors is on, the burden on the user related to the movement of the window can be reduced. However, when the power supply of the monitor is turned off to save power, the user needs to move the window by performing an icon operation, and thus the above-described problem cannot be solved. In addition, there is a problem that power supply to a monitor on which an icon for moving a window is displayed cannot be turned off.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to display a window or a window displayed on the monitor when the power supply of any monitor is turned off in a multi-monitor environment. A display system that allows the user to easily turn off the power supply of the monitor without moving the image element in advance by moving the image element such as an icon to another monitor where the power supply is not turned off and displaying the image element. A display control apparatus and a computer program are provided.

  A display system according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of display devices each having an operation unit that accepts an operation for turning on / off power feeding to an internal circuit related to image display, and the plurality of displays provided with images for display. In a display system including a display control device for displaying an image on the device, the display device includes communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from the display control device, and the display control device includes each display device. Communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from each other, power supply state acquisition means for acquiring the on / off state of power supply to the internal circuit from each display device by the communication means, and the operation received by the operation unit When the power supply state of one display device changes from the on state to the off state, the image element displayed by the one display device is displayed as another display device in which the power supply state is on. And having a display processing unit that performs processing to display.

  In the display system according to the second aspect of the invention, the display processing means causes a part or all of the image element displayed by the one display device to overlap the image element displayed by the other display device. In this case, a plurality of image elements are displayed so as to overlap each other so that the image element displayed on the one display device is on the back side.

  In the display system according to the third aspect of the present invention, when the display control device changes the power supply state of the one display device from the on state to the off state, the image element displayed by the one display device is displayed. Storage means for storing an arrangement in one display device, wherein the display processing means is based on the arrangement stored in the storage means when the power supply state of the one display device changes from an off state to an on state. The image element is displayed on the one display device.

  In the display system according to a fourth aspect, the display control device includes a receiving unit that receives an operation on an image element displayed on the display device, and one or a plurality of image elements displayed on the display device. Specifying means for specifying one image element to be received by the receiving means, and the display processing means is configured to specify the specifying means when the power supply state of the one display device changes from an off state to an on state. The one image element specified by is not displayed based on the arrangement stored in the storage means.

  The display system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention includes a setting reception unit that receives a setting as to whether or not the display control device performs processing by the display processing unit, and the display processing unit includes the setting reception unit. According to the received setting, the image element displayed on the one display device is displayed on the other display device.

  The display system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the power supply state notification in which the display device notifies the display control device of the power supply state by the communication means when the operation unit accepts an operation for turning on / off the power supply. And a power supply state acquisition unit of the display control device is configured to acquire a power supply state of each display device based on a notification from the power supply state notification unit.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a display control apparatus provides an image for display to each of a plurality of display devices each having an operation unit that receives an on / off operation of power supply to an internal circuit related to image display. In the display control device for displaying the information, the communication means for transmitting / receiving information to / from each display device, and the power supply state for acquiring the on / off state of power supply to the internal circuit from each display device by the communication means When the power supply state of one display device is changed from the on state to the off state by the operation received by the acquisition unit and the operation unit, the power supply state is the on state for the image element displayed by the one display device. And display processing means for performing processing to be displayed on another display device.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program for providing an image for display to a computer and displaying the image on a plurality of display devices, and supplying power to an internal circuit related to image display of one display device. When the state changes from the on state to the off state, the step of identifying the image element displayed on the one display device and the other display device whose power supply state is on display the identified image element. And placing the image on an image.

In the present invention, a display system in a multi-monitor environment is configured by connecting a plurality of display devices to a display control device, and the display control device generates an image from one or a plurality of image elements and outputs the image to the display device. This image of each display device is displayed. The image elements constituting the image displayed by the display device include windows such as a window for displaying and accepting an operation for each application, an icon and a task bar for starting the application, and a clock or a calendar. In addition, a display image of an application that only performs display is included.
In the display system, the display control device and the plurality of display devices are each provided with a means for performing communication, and the display control device is in a power supply state of the display device by communication (whether the power supply is on or off). ) To get. As a result, the display control apparatus can determine a change in the power supply state of the display apparatus. When the power supply state of one display device changes from the on state to the off state, the image element displayed on the one display device is displayed on another display device whose power supply state is on.
Thereby, even when the user powers off the display device in a state where the image element is displayed, these image elements are automatically moved and displayed on the other display devices in the power-on state, It is possible to continue work using applications or OSs related to these image elements. Since the user performs only the power-off operation, the user can turn off the power to the display device without feeling bothered.

When displaying a plurality of image elements on one display device, depending on the size of the display area of the display device and the size of each image element, it may be necessary to display a part or all of the image elements in an overlapping manner. . In addition, when power is turned off individually for a plurality of display devices, the image elements displayed on the power-off display device often have low usage frequency or importance for the user.
Therefore, in the present invention, when the image element displayed on the display device to which power is turned off is moved to another display device and displayed, this image element is set to the backmost side (most rear side or lower side). A plurality of image elements are superimposed and displayed on another display device. If an image element with low usage frequency or importance is displayed on the forefront side, there is a possibility that the user's work may be hindered, but this can be avoided.

  In the present invention, when the power supply state of one display device changes from the on state to the off state, the display control device moves the image element displayed by the one display device to another display device. At this time, the arrangement of image elements in one display device is stored. Thereafter, when the one display device is turned on, the image element moved to the other display device is returned to the original arrangement of the one display device based on the stored arrangement. The user can return to the work environment before the power supply is turned off only by performing the power supply on operation of one display device.

  However, when the image element moved from one display device to which power is turned off is a window that forms an application operation reception and display area, for example, and this window is arranged on the user's operation target or the front side (ie, If this window is an active window), returning the arrangement of the image elements in use by turning on the power supply of one display device may hinder the user's work. Therefore, in the present invention, an image element to be operated by the user is specified, and the specified image element does not return to the original arrangement even when one display device is powered on. Avoid obstructions.

  In the present invention, a setting relating to whether or not to perform a process of moving and displaying an image element to another display device in response to power on / off of one display device is received from the user, and according to the received setting. To determine whether or not to perform the above-described processing. As a result, it is possible to display image elements suitable for the usage status of the display device for each user, and to improve the convenience of the display system.

  Further, in the present invention, when the user performs a power on / off operation on the operation unit of the display device, the display device notifies the display control device of the power supply state. Thereby, the display control device can acquire the power supply state of each display device, and can determine whether or not the power supply state of the display device has changed.

  Note that the processing performed by the above-described display control device can be provided as a computer program when the display control device is a device such as a PC. In this case, by installing a computer program recorded on a recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc) in the display control device, the display control device can perform processing related to power on / off of the display device.

  In the case of the present invention, in a display system in which a plurality of display devices are connected to the display control device, when any one of the display devices is turned off, the image element displayed on the display device is changed to the power supply state. Is configured to move to another display device in an on state and display the image element, so that the user need only perform the power-off operation of the display device without moving the image element to the other display device in advance. It is possible to easily turn off the power supply to the display device without feeling it. Thereby, the user can easily perform power saving by turning off the power supply of the display device that is not frequently used, and can surely realize the power consumption reduction of the display system.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof. 1 and 2 are block diagrams showing a configuration of a display system according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows details of a display control device constituting the display system, and FIG. 2 shows a display constituting the display system. Details of the device are shown. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a PC, which corresponds to a display control device constituting the display system of the present invention. In the figure, reference numerals 3a and 3b denote monitors, which correspond to display devices constituting the display system of the present invention. In the example shown in the figure, a display system is configured by connecting two monitors 3 a and 3 b to one PC 1 with cables 5. In FIG. 2, the detailed configuration of only the monitor 3a is shown, but the configuration of the monitor 3b is the same as that of the monitor 3a, and is not shown.

  The PC 1 of the display system is a general-purpose computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a memory 12, a display processing unit 13, an operation unit 14, a hard disk 15, a disk drive 16, and the like. In addition, the PC 1 of the present invention includes two connection portions 20a and 20b for connecting the monitors 3a and 3b, and the connection portions 20a and 20b are connected to the monitors 3a and 3b via the cable 5, respectively. .

  The CPU 11 reads out and executes various programs installed in advance on the hard disk 15 to perform control processing of various units in the PC 1 and various arithmetic processing. In the PC 1 of the present invention, the CPU 11 reads out and executes the display control program 50 installed in the hard disk 15 in advance, whereby image display control processing for the monitors 3a and 3b connected to the connection units 20a and 20b (details will be described later). To do). Further, the PC 1 can manage hardware resources and software resources by reading and executing an OS program preinstalled in the hard disk 15, and displaying a plurality of windows on the monitors 3a and 3b. Various application programs such as spreadsheets and word processors can be executed simultaneously.

  The memory 12 is composed of a memory element such as SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) or DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and temporarily stores programs and data read from the hard disk 15 and data generated in the calculation process of the CPU 11. Remember me. The operation unit 14 includes devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and performs a process of receiving an operation by the user and notifying the CPU 11.

  The display processing unit 13 generates images to be displayed on the plurality of monitors 3a and 3b, performs various image processing on the generated images, and transmits image data relating to the image after the image processing to the connection units 20a and 20b. Give to each. As a result, the images generated by the display processing unit 13 are displayed on the monitors 3a and 3b. The image generated by the display processing unit 13 is only displayed without a window such as a window for each application executed by the PC 1, an icon and a task bar for starting the application, and a clock or calendar. Various image elements such as a display image of an application are appropriately arranged on a predetermined background image.

  The hard disk 15 is a storage device composed of a large-capacity magnetic disk, and stores various programs such as an OS (Operating System) and application programs for operating the PC 1 and data used by these programs. ing. In particular, in the PC 1 of the present invention, the display control program 50 is installed and stored in the hard disk 15 in advance. The disk drive 16 reads and writes data from and on a recording medium such as a CD or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). By reading the program and data from the optical disk by the disk drive 16 and storing them in the hard disk 15, the program and data can be installed.

  The connection units 20a and 20b have, for example, connection terminals conforming to the DVI (Digital Visual Interface) standard, and are connected to the monitors 3a and 3b by a single cable 5, respectively. Image signals are sent to the monitors 3a and 3b. In addition to being able to output, bidirectional communication can be performed. Each connection unit 20 a and 20 b includes an image signal output unit 21 and a communication unit 22. The image signal output unit 21 converts the image data given from the display processing unit 13 into an image signal in a format suitable for transmission / reception via the cable 5, and outputs the image signal to the monitors 3 a and 3 b via the cable 5. .

  The communication unit 22 performs bidirectional communication with the monitors 3a and 3b via the cable 5 according to the DDC / CI (Display Data Channel / Command Interface) standard, for example. The communication unit 22 transmits a power on / off command and a setting change command such as brightness and saturation to the monitors 3a and 3b in accordance with the control of the CPU 11, and the power supply state of the monitors 3a and 3b. Notification of whether it is on or off) and setting values such as brightness and saturation are received and notified to the CPU 11. Thus, the PC 1 can acquire the power supply states of the two monitors 3a and 3b connected to the connection units 20a and 20b, respectively.

  Each of the monitors 3a and 3b includes a display unit 32, an operation unit 33, a power feeding unit 34, a display processing unit 35, a connection unit 36, and a control unit 31 that controls these units. The control unit 31 performs control processing of various parts of the monitors 3a and 3b and various arithmetic processes. The display unit 32 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal panel or a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), and displays an image according to an image signal given from the display processing unit 35.

  The display processing unit 35 adjusts brightness, saturation, and the like according to the set conditions for the image related to the image signal given from the PC 1, and converts it into an image signal suitable for display on the display unit 32. The converted image signal is given to the display unit 32. Thus, images generated from a plurality of image elements by the PC 1 are displayed on the display units 32 of the monitors 3a and 3b, respectively.

  The operation unit 33 includes a plurality of switches disposed on the housings of the monitors 3a and 3b. The operation unit 33 accepts a power on / off operation by the user and a setting value changing operation such as brightness and saturation. The control unit 31 is notified. The power supply unit 34 converts commercial AC power into DC power and supplies the DC power to each unit (particularly, an internal circuit related to image display). The controller 31 starts / stops power supply. Being controlled.

  In the present invention, the “power supply off” state is a state in which the display unit 32 and the display processing unit 35 of the monitors 3a and 3b are not operating because the power supply is stopped. And the control of the start of power supply from the power supply unit 34 to each unit by the control unit 31 can be performed, including a so-called “standby” state. The “power supply on” state is a state in which the display unit 32 and the display processing unit 35 are operated with power supplied, and the monitors 3 a and 3 b are displaying images on the display unit 32.

  The connection unit 36 has, for example, a connection terminal conforming to the DVI standard, and is connected to the PC 1 with a single cable 5. The connection unit 36 acquires an image signal output from the PC 1 and performs bidirectional communication with the PC 1. be able to. The connection unit 36 includes an image signal input unit 37 and a communication unit 38. The image signal input unit 37 acquires the image signal given from the PC 1 and gives it to the display processing unit 35.

  The communication unit 38 performs bidirectional communication with the PC 1 via the cable 5 according to the DDC / CI standard, for example. In response to a request from the PC 1, the communication unit 38 transmits the power supply states of the monitors 3 a and 3 b and the set values such as brightness and saturation to the PC 1, and also includes a power on / off command transmitted from the PC 1 and A setting value change command or the like is received and notified to the control unit 31.

  Next, display control processing of the monitors 3a and 3b in the display system according to the present invention will be described. 3 to 6 are schematic diagrams for explaining the display control processing of the display system according to the present invention, and display examples of the monitors 3a and 3b are shown. For example, two windows A and B and a task bar 51 are displayed on the display unit 32 of the monitor 3a. In addition, one window C, a plurality of icons 52, and a time display image 53 of the clock application are displayed on the display unit 32 of the monitor 3b (see FIG. 3A). In other words, the display processing unit 13 of the PC 1 generates an image in which the windows A and B and the task bar 51 are arranged on the background image, gives the image to the monitor 3a from the connection unit 20a, and displays the window C, the icon 52, and the time display image 53 on the background image. Is generated and given to the monitor 3a from the connection unit 20b to display the image shown in the figure.

  In addition, the PC 1 periodically transmits a power supply state acquisition request from the communication unit 22 to each of the monitors 3a and 3b, and acquires the power supply state notified from each of the monitors 3a and 3b. 3b is periodically determined. Thereby, the PC 1 operates the operation unit 33 of the monitors 3a and 3b to confirm that the power supply state of the monitors 3a and 3b has changed from power supply on to power supply off and that the power supply has changed from power supply off to power supply on. I can judge.

  In this state, when the user operates the power supply switch of the operation unit 33 provided on the monitor 3b to turn off the power supply to the monitor 3b, the monitor 3b stops displaying images and the PC 1 performs communication performed by the communication unit 22. The power supply state of the monitor 3a is acquired. As a result, the CPU 11 of the PC 1 determines that the power supply state of the monitor 3b has changed from the on state to the off state, and gives an instruction to the display processing unit 13 to rearrange the image elements. The display processing unit 13 displays an image element (that is, an image element other than the background) such as the window C, the icon 52, and the time display image 53 included in the image generated for the monitor 3b on the monitor 3a. An image arranged in the background image together with the elements is generated and given to the monitor 3a from the connection unit 20a. Thus, the three windows A to C, the task bar 51, the icon 52, and the time display image 53 are appropriately arranged and displayed on the display unit 32 of the monitor 3a (see FIG. 3B).

  At this time, the arrangement (display position) of the windows A and B and the task bar 51 displayed on the monitor 3a does not change. The arrangement of the window C, the icon 52, and the time display image 53 displayed on the monitor 3b on the monitor 3a is the same as the arrangement on the monitor 3b. However, the window C, the icon 52, and the time display image 53 may be appropriately arranged in an empty area of the monitor 3a where no image element is displayed. In particular, when the sizes of the monitor 3a and the monitor 3b are different, it is preferable that the display processing unit 13 appropriately arranges the image elements in consideration of the size difference between the monitors 3a and 3b.

  In addition, when the window C displayed on the monitor 3b whose power is turned off is displayed on the monitor 3a, if the windows A and B and the window C displayed on the monitor 3a partially or entirely overlap, the display processing unit 13 gives priority to the display of the windows A and B displayed on the monitor 3a, and the three windows A to C are arranged so that the window C displayed on the monitor 3b is the backmost (lowermost) side. The superimposed image is generated and displayed on the monitor 3a. Although illustration is omitted, when the windows A to C and the icon 52 or the time display image 53 overlap, the display processing unit 13 gives priority to the display of the windows A to C, and the icon 52 and the time display 53 are displayed. An image in which the windows A to C and the icon 52 or the time display image 53 are overlapped so as to be on the backmost side is generated and displayed. When the icon 52 and the time display image 53 overlap, the display processing unit 13 generates and displays an image appropriately arranged at a position where they do not overlap.

  In addition, when the monitor 3b is powered off, the PC 1 stores the arrangement of the image elements displayed on the display unit 32 of the monitor 3b in the memory 12 or the like. Thereafter, when the power supply of the monitor 3b is turned on again, the PC 1 acquires the power supply state of the monitor 3a through communication performed by the communication unit 22, so that the CPU 11 of the PC 1 changes the power supply state of the monitor 3b from the off state to the on state. Judge that As a result, the CPU 11 of the PC 1 reads out the arrangement of the image elements stored in the memory 12 and gives it to the display processing unit 13, and also gives an instruction to the display processing unit 13 to rearrange the image elements. The display control unit 13 displays the image elements such as the window C, the icon 52, and the time display image 53 that have moved to the monitor 3a when the monitor 3b is powered off, on the monitor 3b that is powered on. 3b is generated and displayed (see FIG. 4C). Thereby, the user can work in the same state as before the power supply of the monitor 3b is turned off.

  However, after the monitor 3b is powered off and the window C, the icon 52, and the time display image 53 are rearranged and displayed on the display unit 32 of the monitor 3a by the PC 1, the user performs work using the window C. If the window C is active on the monitor 3a (see FIG. 5D), moving the window C to the monitor 3b by turning on the power of the monitor 3b hinders the user's work. There is a risk of becoming.

  Therefore, the PC 1 specifies an active window of the monitor 3a, and does not perform rearrangement when the power supply is turned on for the active window. Therefore, when the power supply of the monitor 3b is turned on when the window C is active, the icon 52 and the time display image 53 moved to the monitor 3a when the power supply of the monitor 3b is turned off are moved to the monitor 3b. The window C is displayed on the monitor 3a without being moved (see FIG. 5E). As a result, the user can continuously perform work using the window C on the monitor 3a.

  Two windows A and B and a task bar 51 are displayed on the display unit 32 of the monitor 3a, and one window C, a plurality of icons 52, and a time display image 53 of the clock application are displayed on the display unit 32 of the monitor 3b. When the monitor 3a is powered off (see FIG. 6A), the monitor 3a stops image display and the PC 1 acquires the power supply state of the monitor 3a through communication performed by the communication unit 22. As a result, the CPU 11 of the PC 1 gives an instruction to the display processing unit 13 to rearrange the image elements. The display processing unit 13 generates an image in which the image elements such as the windows A and B and the task bar 51 displayed on the monitor 3a are arranged on the background image together with the image elements to be displayed on the monitor 3b, and the monitor 3b from the connection unit 20b. Give to. Thereby, three windows A to C, a task bar 51, an icon 52, and a time display image 53 are appropriately arranged and displayed on the display unit 32 of the monitor 3b (see FIG. 6F).

  That is, in the display system according to the present invention, when any of the plurality of monitors 3a and 3b is powered off, the PC 1 displays the windows A to C and the taskbar displayed on the power-off monitors 3a and 3b. 51, the image elements such as the icon 52 and the time display image 53 are moved and displayed on the monitors 3a and 3b that are not powered off (in a power-on state). Further, when any of the monitors 3a and 3b is powered off, the PC 1 stores the arrangement of the image elements displayed on the power-off monitors 3a and 3b in the memory 12, and the monitors 3a and 3b. When the power supply is turned on again, the PC 1 restores the moved image element according to the stored arrangement. However, when the monitors 3a and 3b are turned off and the image elements moved are windows A to C, and the windows A to C moved when the monitors 3a and 3b are turned on, the PC 1 The windows A to C do not move to the monitors 3a and 3b that are turned on.

  Next, processing performed by the display system according to the present invention will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure performed when the monitors 3a and 3b of the display system according to the present invention are turned on / off, and is processing performed by the control unit 31 of the monitors 3a and 3b. Further, the flowchart shown in the figure shows a procedure from the state in which the monitors 3a and 3b are turned off.

  First, the control unit 31 of the monitors 3a and 3b determines whether or not a power-on operation has been performed by the operation unit 33 (step S1), and when a power-on operation has not been performed (S1: NO). Then, it waits until an operation to turn on the power is performed. When the power supply is turned on (S1: YES), the control unit 31 starts power supply from the power supply unit 34 to each unit (step S2), and starts display of an image on the display unit 32 by the display processing unit 35. To do.

  Thereafter, the control unit 31 determines whether or not a power-off operation has been performed by the operation unit 33 (step S3). If the power-off operation has not been performed (S3: NO), the power-off operation is performed. Wait until it is made. When the operation of turning off the power supply is performed (S3: YES), the control unit 31 stops the power supply from the power supply unit 34 to each unit (step S4) and ends the process.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by the monitors 3a and 3b of the display system according to the present invention. The control unit 31 of the monitors 3a and 3b determines whether or not the communication unit 38 has received the power supply state acquisition request from the PC 1 (step S11). (S11: NO), it waits until it receives the acquisition request of the power supply state. When the power supply state acquisition request is received (S11: YES), the control unit 31 transmits the power supply state (power supply on / off) to the PC 1 (step S12) and ends the process.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of display control processing performed by the PC 1 of the display system according to the present invention, and is processing performed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1 executing the display control program 50. The CPU 11 of the PC 1 transmits a power supply state acquisition request to each of the monitors 3a and 3b through the communication units 22 of the connection terminals 20a and 20b (step S21), and notifies the power supply state acquisition request from the monitors 3a and 3b. It is checked whether or not all the power supply states to be acquired have been acquired (step S22). When the power supply state has not been acquired (S22: NO), the CPU 11 stands by until the power supply state is acquired from all the monitors 3a and 3b.

  When the power supply state is acquired from all the monitors 3a and 3b (S22: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the power supply state of any of the monitors 3a and 3b has changed from power supply on to power supply off (step S23). ) If the power supply state has not changed (S23: NO), the monitors 3a and 3b are continuously displayed until the power supply state changes (step S24). When the power supply state changes from power supply on to power supply off (S23: YES), the CPU 11 acquires the image elements displayed on the monitors 3a and 3b that have changed to power supply off in the display processing unit 13 (step S25). The acquired image element arrangement (position or coordinates, etc.) is stored in the memory 12 (step S26).

  Next, the CPU 11 controls the display processing unit 13 to place the image element acquired in step S25 on the image displayed on the other monitors 3a and 3b in the power-on state (step S27). Images to be displayed on the monitors 3a and 3b are generated (step S28), and the generated images are output from the image signal output unit 21 of the connection units 20a and 20b to the other monitors 3a and 3b in the power-on state (step S29). Thereby, an image is displayed on the other monitors 3a and 3b in the power-on state. If a plurality of windows overlap when arranging the image elements in step S27, the windows displayed on the monitors 3a and 3b that are the transmission source notifications of power-off are overlaid on the backmost side, and an icon is displayed. When other image elements such as the above overlap, they are arranged at appropriate positions.

  Thereafter, the CPU 11 ends the image generation by the display processing unit 13 and the output from the image signal output unit 21 of the connection units 20a and 20b, thereby ending the display of the image by the monitors 3a and 3b whose power is turned off. (Step S30), the display control process is terminated.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure of display control processing performed by the PC 1 of the display system according to the present invention, and is processing performed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1 executing the display control program 50. The display control process shown in this figure is a process that is performed only after any of the monitors 3a and 3b is powered off and the display control process shown in FIG. 9 is performed at least once.

  First, the CPU 11 of the PC 1 transmits a power supply state acquisition request to each of the monitors 3a and 3b through the communication units 22 of the connection terminals 20a and 20b (step S41), and monitors 3a and 3b according to the power supply state acquisition request. It is checked whether or not all of the power supply states notified from (1) have been acquired (step S42). When the power supply state has not been acquired (S42: NO), the CPU 11 stands by until the power supply state is acquired from all the monitors 3a and 3b.

  When the power supply state is acquired from all the monitors 3a and 3b (S42: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the power supply state of any of the monitors 3a and 3b has changed from power supply off to power supply on (step S43). ) If the power supply state has not changed (S43: NO), the monitors 3a and 3b are continuously displayed until the power supply state changes (step S44). When the power supply state changes from power supply on to power supply off (S43: YES), the CPU 11 specifies an active window from one or a plurality of windows displayed on the power supply on state monitors 3a and 3b (step S45). 9), the arrangement of the image elements stored in the memory 12 in step S26 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is read (step S46).

  Next, the CPU 11 returns the image elements obtained by removing the active window specified in step S45 from the image elements displayed on the other monitors 3a and 3b when the power supply is turned off, to return the arrangement to the power-on monitors 3a and 3b. Obtained as an element (step S47). The CPU 11 controls the display processing unit 13 to place the image element acquired in step S47 on the image to be displayed on the monitors 3a and 3b that are powered on (step S48), and the monitor that is powered on. Images to be displayed on 3a and 3b are generated (step S49). At this time, the display processing unit 13 generates an image from which the image element acquired in step S47 is removed as an image to be displayed on the other monitors 3a and 3b that are not the powered monitors 3a and 3b.

  Next, the CPU 11 outputs the image generated by the display processing unit 13 from the image signal output unit 21 of the connection units 20a and 20b to the monitors 3a and 3b in the power-on state (step S50). Thereby, an image is displayed on the monitors 3a and 3b in the power-on state. Thereafter, the CPU 11 ends the image generation by the display processing unit 13 and the output from the image signal output unit 21 of the connection units 20a and 20b, thereby ending the display of the image by the monitors 3a and 3b (step S51). The display control process ends.

  In the display system configured as described above, the power supply state of the PC 1 has changed due to communication with the monitors 3a and 3b by providing the communication units 22 and 38 to the PC 1 and the monitors 3a and 3b, respectively. Can be judged. Further, when any of the monitors 3a and 3b is powered off, the image elements such as windows and icons displayed on the power-off monitors 3a and 3b are transferred to the other monitors 3a and 3b in the power-on state. By adopting the configuration to display, it is not necessary for the user to move the image element in advance, and the user only has to perform the power-off operation of the monitors 3a and 3b. Therefore, the monitor 3a, The power supply of 3b can be turned off. As a result, the user can easily save power by turning off the power supply of the monitors 3a and 3b, which are less frequently used, and the power consumption of the display system can be reliably reduced.

  In addition, when the windows displayed on the power-off monitors 3a and 3b are displayed on the other monitors 3a and 3b in the power-on state, when the plurality of windows overlap, the power is off and displayed on the monitors 3a and 3b. By adopting a configuration in which a plurality of windows are overlapped and displayed so that the window is on the backmost side, it is possible to avoid a window with low usage frequency or importance from obstructing the user's work, and a display system Convenience can be improved.

  Further, when the image elements displayed on the power-off monitors 3a and 3b are moved and displayed on the other monitors 3a and 3b in the power-on state, the arrangement of these image elements is stored in the memory 12. In addition, when the power-off monitor 3a, 3b is turned on again, the image element is returned to the original monitor 3a, 3b and displayed according to the stored arrangement, so that the user can turn off the power-off monitor 3a. 3b, it is possible to return to the work environment before the power supply is turned off only by performing the power supply on operation, so that the convenience of the display system can be further improved. However, even when the original monitors 3a and 3b are turned on again, for the active window in which the user is working, the process of returning to the original monitors 3a and 3b according to the arrangement stored in the memory 12 is not performed. By not performing it, it is possible to avoid obstructing the user's work.

  In addition, by executing the display control program 50 stored in the hard disk 15, the PC 1 can perform the display control process by using a general-purpose computer because the PC 1 performs the above-described display control process. The versatility of the display system of the present invention can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the two monitors 3a and 3b are connected to the PC 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more monitors may be connected to the PC 1. In this configuration, when one monitor is powered off, the CPU 11 of the PC 1 may appropriately display and display the image elements displayed on the powered-off monitor on other monitors. It may be displayed by moving to one monitor. The displays on the monitors 3a and 3b shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 are examples, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In addition, the two monitors 3a and 3b are connected to the PC 1 through the cable 5, that is, a so-called star type configuration, but the present invention is not limited to this, but a daisy chain type in which another monitor is connected to one monitor. A configuration may be used, a bus configuration may be used, and other configurations may be used for connection. In addition, the PC 1 and the monitors 3a and 3b are each connected by a single DVI standard cable 5, and the communication between the PC 1 and the monitors 3a to 3b is performed by DDC / CI. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another video signal cable including a communication line such as HDMI-CEC (High Definition Multimedia Inter-Consumer Electronics Control) may be used, and communication such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable apart from a cable for transmitting an image signal. It is good also as a structure which connects the cable for this separately, it is good also as a structure which communicates by radio | wireless, and you may connect PC1 and monitor 3a, 3b by another structure.

  Further, in step S22 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 and step S42 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, when the PC 1 does not acquire the power supply state notified from each of the monitors 3a and 3b, it is configured to wait until acquisition. However, when the monitors 3a and 3b are configured not to perform communication when the power supply is off, the monitors 3a and 3b may be determined to be in the power supply off state when the PC 1 cannot acquire the power supply state within a predetermined time.

  Further, the PC 1 is configured to periodically acquire the power supply state of each monitor 3a, 3b through communication of the communication unit 22 and determine whether or not the power supply state of each monitor 3a, 3b has changed. Instead, for example, when each of the monitors 3a and 3b is operated to turn on / off the power using the operation unit 33, the power supply on / off may be notified to the PC 1.

(Modification)
When one monitor 3a, 3b is powered off, whether or not the image element is moved and displayed on the other monitor 3a, 3b in the power-on state, and when the power-on monitor 3a, 3b is powered on again In such a case, it may be configured so that the user can set in advance whether or not to return the image elements to the original monitors 3a and 3b for display. The PC 1 displays a display setting window on any one of the monitors 3a and 3b, and accepts settings by the user.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display setting window. The display setting window 60 displayed on any one of the monitors 3a and 3b by the PC 1 is effective for a plurality of setting items such as “move window when power is off” and “move icon when power is off”. An option button 61 that can select either / invalid is provided. Further, the display setting window 60 reflects the user settings and closes (hides) the display setting window 60, and cancels the display setting window 60 without reflecting the settings. A button 63 is provided.

  When the OK button 62 of the display setting window 60 is operated, the PC 1 accepts the valid / invalid setting for each setting item and stores this setting in the hard disk 15. Thereafter, when any of the monitors 3a and 3b is powered off, the PC 1 reads the setting stored in the hard disk 15 before performing the process of step S25 in the flowchart shown in FIG. Only the image elements that are set valid may be acquired in step S25, and the image elements may be moved.

  For example, the PC 1 moves the window displayed on the power-off monitor 3a, 3b to another monitor 3a, 3b in the power-on state only when the setting item “move window when power is off” is valid. And display. Similarly, the PC 1 displays the icon displayed on the power-off monitor 3a, 3b only on the other monitor 3a, 3b in the power-on state only when the setting item “Move icon when power is off” is valid. Move to display. Only when the “move task bar when power is off” setting item is enabled, the PC 1 moves the task bar displayed on the power-off monitor 3a, 3b to another monitor 3a, 3b in the power-on state. indicate. Only when the setting item “Move other application display when power is off” is valid, the PC 1 displays the time display image of the clock application or the date display image of the calendar application displayed on the power-off monitor 3a, 3b. Then, the display is moved to and displayed on the other monitors 3a and 3b in the power-on state.

  Further, when the power supply is turned off and the monitors 3a and 3b are turned on again, the PC 1 reads out the setting stored in the hard disk 15 before performing the process of step S47 in the flowchart shown in FIG. Only the image element for which the setting for returning the image is set to be valid is acquired in step S47, and the image element is returned to the original monitors 3a and 3b and displayed.

  For example, only when the setting item “return windows and icons when power is turned on again” is valid, the PC 1 displays the time display images of windows, icons, taskbars, and clock applications on the original monitors 3a and 3b that are turned on again. Is displayed again. In addition, when the setting item “Return active window when power is turned on again” is valid, the PC 1 returns the display to the original monitors 3a and 3b even if the active window is being worked on by the user, and this setting item is invalid. The active window is not returned only in the case of.

  As shown in FIG. 11, by setting the validity / invalidity by the option button 61 of the display setting window 60, the windows A to C, the task bar 51, the icon 52 are displayed as in the examples shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. In addition, the time display image 53 and the like are displayed. Further, the configuration of the display setting window 60 shown in FIG. 11 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. The setting items provided in the display setting window 60 are not limited to those shown in the figure, and can be changed as appropriate. The setting method for each setting item is not limited to the method using the option button 61, and can be changed as appropriate.

  As shown in the above modification, the PC 1 displays the display setting window 60 on any of the monitors 3a and 3b, and determines whether or not to move the image element when the power supply on / off of the monitors 3a and 3b is performed. By adopting a configuration in which the setting is received from the user, it is possible to move the image element according to the preference of each user, so that the convenience of the display system can be further improved.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display system which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display system which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the display control process of the display system which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the display control process of the display system which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the display control process of the display system which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the display control process of the display system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process performed when the monitor of the display system which concerns on this invention turns on / off electric power feeding. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which the monitor of the display system which concerns on this invention performs. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the display control process which PC of the display system which concerns on this invention performs. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the display control process which PC of the display system which concerns on this invention performs. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a display setting window.

Explanation of symbols

1 PC (display control device)
3a, 3b Monitor (display device)
5 Cable 11 CPU (power supply state acquisition means, identification means)
12 Memory (memory means)
13 Display processing unit (display processing means)
14 Operation part (reception means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Hard disk 16 Disk drive 20a, 20b Connection part 21 Image signal output part 22 Communication part (communication means)
31 Control unit (power supply state notifying means)
32 Display unit 33 Operation unit 34 Power feeding unit 35 Display processing unit 36 Connection unit 37 Image signal input unit 38 Communication unit (communication means)
50 Display control program (computer program)
51 Task bar 52 Icon 53 Time display image 60 Display setting window (setting accepting means)
61 Option button 62 OK button 63 Cancel button AC window

Claims (8)

A plurality of display devices each having an operation unit that accepts an on / off operation of power supply to an internal circuit related to image display, and a display control device that provides images for display and displays the images on the plurality of display devices A display system comprising:
The display device has communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from the display control device,
The display control device includes:
Communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from each display device;
Power supply state acquisition means for acquiring the on / off state of power supply to the internal circuit from each display device by the communication means;
When the power supply state of one display device changes from an on state to an off state by an operation received by the operation unit, the image element displayed by the one display device is displayed in another display in which the power supply state is on. A display system comprising: display processing means for performing processing to be displayed on the apparatus. The display processing means displays the one display device when a part or all of the image element displayed by the one display device overlaps with the image element displayed by the other display device. The display system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of image elements are displayed so as to overlap each other so that the image element is on the back side. The display control device stores the arrangement of the image elements displayed on the one display device in the one display device when the power supply state of the one display device changes from an on state to an off state. Have
The display processing unit displays the image element on the one display device based on the arrangement stored in the storage unit when the power supply state of the one display device changes from an off state to an on state. The display system according to claim 1, wherein the display system is configured as follows. The display control device includes:
Receiving means for receiving an operation on an image element displayed on the display device;
Specifying means for specifying one image element to be received by the receiving means from one or a plurality of image elements displayed on the display device;
When the power supply state of the one display device changes from an off state to an on state, the display processing unit displays a display based on the arrangement stored by the storage unit for the one image element specified by the specifying unit. The display system according to claim 3, wherein the display system is not performed. The display control device includes a setting reception unit that receives a setting as to whether or not to perform the processing by the display processing unit,
The display processing unit is configured to perform processing for displaying the image element displayed by the one display device on the other display device in accordance with the setting received by the setting reception unit. The display system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The display device includes a power supply state notification unit that notifies the display control device of a power supply state by the communication unit when the operation unit receives a power supply on / off operation.
The power supply state acquisition unit of the display control device is configured to acquire a power supply state of each display device based on a notification from the power supply state notification unit. Display system described. In a display control device that displays images by giving images for display to a plurality of display devices each having an operation unit that accepts an on / off operation of power supply to an internal circuit related to image display,
Communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from each display device;
Power supply state acquisition means for acquiring the on / off state of power supply to the internal circuit from each display device by the communication means;
When the power supply state of one display device changes from an on state to an off state by an operation received by the operation unit, the image element displayed by the one display device is displayed in another display in which the power supply state is on. A display control device comprising: display processing means for performing processing to be displayed on the device. In a computer program for giving an image for display to a computer and displaying the image on a plurality of display devices,
Identifying an image element displayed by the one display device when a power supply state to an internal circuit related to image display of the one display device changes from an on state to an off state;
Placing the identified image element on an image displayed on another display device whose power supply state is on.

Images