JP2011186488A - Display control device and method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a user's visibility and operability by deleting windows as much as possible, which are displayed over a plurality of displays in multiple display system. <P>SOLUTION: A window display control device at the time of displaying windows on a display surfaces HG1 and HG2 formed in a plurality of displays 12 and 13, which are connected to a computer, includes: a first detecting means for detecting a size of the displayed window; a second detecting means for detecting arrangement of the displayed window on a display surface of the plurality of displays; a determination means for determining whether the displayed window is moved based on the detection result of the first detecting means and the second detecting means; and a window move instruction means for indicating that the window is rearranged in the display surface of any one of the displays, when the determination means determines that the window is to be moved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a window display control apparatus in a multi-display.

  In recent years, LCD (liquid crystal display) prices have been reduced and flattening and space saving of displays for personal computers (personal computers) have been promoted. As a result, the footprint on the desk has been reduced, and a sufficient physical space for using a plurality of displays has been secured even in a normal office work environment.

  Along with this, video graphics controllers for personal computers can support output to multiple displays (multi-displays) by mounting multiple units on a single personal computer or mounting multiple CRTCs. Has increased. They are supported by an OS such as Windows (registered trademark).

In the multi-display, there is a problem of how to display a plurality of images or windows that are processed as one virtual page inside the personal computer. On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, control is performed such that the position of the mouse is located on one virtual page, and the image of the detected area is brought to the front of the user as a main display screen. Is done.
JP 2004-29046 A

  However, in a conventional multi-display, when a window is displayed across a plurality of displays, the window becomes very difficult for the user to see.

  For example, in a multi-display using two displays, a login screen is displayed across two display surfaces when a personal computer is started up, and a user ID or password input portion is displayed at the boundary portion. Therefore, it is not easy to input a user ID or password, and the user has to move the window manually by dragging with the mouse.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to eliminate as many windows displayed across a plurality of displays as possible in a multi-display, and to improve user visibility and operability. To do.

  A display control apparatus according to the present invention is a window display control apparatus for displaying a window on a display surface formed by a plurality of displays connected to a computer, and detects a size of the displayed window. 1 detection means, a second detection means for detecting the arrangement of displayed windows on the display surface of the plurality of displays, and a display based on the detection results of the first detection means and the second detection means. A determination means for determining whether or not to move the window, and a window movement command for issuing a command to rearrange the window within the display surface of any one display when the determination means determines to move the window; Means.

  Preferably, the determination means determines to move only when the window is an active window.

  Further, the determination means determines that the displayed window is moved when the displayed window extends over the display surfaces of the plurality of displays and is smaller than the display surface of one of the displays.

  Further, the determination means is a case where the center of the window to be displayed is in a boundary region set across the boundary portions on the display surfaces of the plurality of displays, and the window is displayed on one display. If it is smaller than the surface, it is determined to move the displayed window.

  The window movement command means issues a command to rearrange the display at the center of the display surface of the display that is closest to the center of the window.

  In this specification, the window includes various areas such as various tables, graphs, character strings, images, and the like that are partitioned from other areas.

  According to the present invention, in a multi-display, it is possible to eliminate windows displayed across a plurality of displays as much as possible, and to improve the visibility and operability of the user.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a multi-display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of a display control part. It is a figure which shows the example of the window displayed on the display surface of a display. It is a figure explaining the judgment method of whether to move a window. It is a figure explaining the other judgment method of whether to move a window. It is a flowchart which shows the display control of a window. It is a figure which shows the example when a display surface is arrange | positioned up and down.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the multi-display device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the display control unit 20, and FIG. 3 shows the display surfaces HG1 and HG2 of the displays DP1 and DP2. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a displayed window WN, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method for determining whether to move the window WN, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another method for determining whether to move the window WN. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing display control of the window WN.
In FIG. 1, the multi-display device 1 includes a personal computer main body 11, a first display 12, a second display 13, a keyboard 14, a mouse 15, and a printer (not shown).

  The personal computer main body 11 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, other peripheral elements, a hard disk device, a CD-ROM device, a DVD device, a communication interface, and the like. The communication interface can be connected to the Internet via a LAN or the like. The personal computer main body 11 is installed with an OS such as Windows (registered trademark) that supports multi-display, and is provided with a video graphics card for realizing multi-display.

  The first display 12 and the second display 13 are liquid crystal displays having the same specifications, have display surfaces HG1 and HG2, respectively, and are connected to the display connector of the personal computer main body 11 by cables CV1 and C2, respectively. The first display 12 and the second display 13 are set to function as a multi-display. In the present embodiment, the first display 12 is arranged on the left side and the second display 13 is arranged on the right side. The first display and / or the second display may be referred to as “display”.

  One or a plurality of various windows WN are displayed on the display surfaces HG1, 2 of the displays 12, 13. The display of the window WN on the display surfaces HG1 and HG2 is controlled by a display control unit 20 provided in the personal computer main body 11.

  The keyboard 14 and the mouse 15 are operation means for inputting data or commands to the personal computer main body 11.

  In FIG. 2, the display control unit 20 includes a first detection unit 21, a second detection unit 22, a determination unit 23, and a window movement command unit 24.

  The first detection unit 21 detects the size of the displayed window WN. When detecting the size of the window WN, for example, the coordinates of the upper left end point and the lower right end point of the window WN1 are read. Based on the read coordinates, the size of the window WN1, for example, the number of vertical or horizontal dots or the number of pixels is calculated.

  The second detection unit 22 detects the arrangement state on the two display surfaces HG1 and HG2 for the displayed window WN. When detecting the arrangement state, for example, the display resolution of the displays 12 and 13 is read. The arrangement state of the window WN1 is detected from the display resolution and the number of dots in the window WN1.

  In reading the coordinates and resolution, for example, an API (Application Programming Interface) function of the OS is used.

  The determination unit 23 determines whether to move the displayed window WN based on the detection results of the first detection unit 21 and the second detection unit 22. The method of determination will be described in detail later.

  When the determination unit 23 determines to move the window movement command unit 24, the window movement command unit 24 issues a command to rearrange the window WN within one of the display surfaces HG1 and HG2. In that case, the movement amount or position is calculated so as to be rearranged in the center of the display surfaces HG1 and HG2 having the closest distance from the center of the window WN, and a command is issued based on the calculated amount. By the command, for example, the coordinates indicating the display position on the display surfaces HG1 and HG2 of the window WN1 are rewritten using the API function.

  In the present embodiment, the window WN to be moved or rearranged in the display control unit 20 is only an active window. Therefore, it is sufficient for each part of the display control unit 20 to perform detection and determination and issue a command only for the active window, and is configured as such.

  In addition, when many windows WN are displayed on the display surfaces HG1 and HG2, and an inactive window WN is activated, the same processing as described above is performed for the window WN at the moment of activation.

  The display control unit 20 may perform processes other than those described above. For example, a process of drawing the window WN or the like on a VRAM or the like, a process of reading the drawn contents and sending them to the displays 12 and 13 may be performed. The display control unit 20 may be configured using various semiconductor elements on a video graphics board, a CPU board, and other various boards or cards. Further, a program for realizing the function of the display control unit 20 may be loaded into a RAM or the like and executed by the CPU. Such a program can be provided by being recorded in various memory media. It is also possible to configure to download via the Internet or the like.

  Next, the process in the display control unit 20 will be described in more detail.

  Assume that there is a window WN1 that is to be displayed on the display surfaces HG1 and HG2, as shown in FIG. At this time, it is detected whether the window WN1 extends over the two display surfaces HG1, 2 and whether the window WN1 is smaller than the one display surface HG1,2. Since all of the windows WN1 in FIG. 3A are yes, it is determined to be moved, and the windows WN1 are rearranged so as to fit in one of the display surfaces HG1 and HG2.

  As a result, the window WN1 is not actually displayed as shown in FIG. 3A, for example, as shown in FIG. 3B. That is, the window WN1 is displayed at the center of the display surface HG1.

  Now, a determination method in the determination unit 23 will be described.

  One method is to move the displayed window WN in the determination unit 23 when the displayed window WN extends over the two display surfaces HG1 and HG2 and is smaller than the one display surface HG1 and HG2. Judge that you want to.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 4, for the window WN2, the display positions X1, Y1 of the window WN2 and the sizes WW1 (width) and HW1 (height) of the window WN2 are obtained from the coordinates of the upper left end point and the lower right end point. Further, for the display surfaces HG1 and HG2, the sizes WD1 (width) and HD1 (height) are obtained from the display resolution.

  Since the display positions X1 and Y1 are smaller than the sizes WD1 and HD1, it is recognized that the upper left end point of the window WN2 is within the display surface HG1. Further, Q is obtained from the following equation (1).

Q = WD1-X1-WW1 (1)
If the obtained Q is negative, it is recognized that the lower right corner point of the window WN2 is within the display surface HG2. Therefore, in this case, the window WN2 is recognized as straddling the two display surfaces HG1 and HG2.

  Further, the sizes WW1 and HW1 are compared with the sizes WD1 and HD1, respectively, and it is determined whether or not the window WN2 is smaller than the display surfaces HG1 and HG2.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the window WN <b> 2 extends over the two display surfaces HG <b> 1 and 2 and is determined to be smaller than the display surfaces HG <b> 1 and 2, and as a result, moves within one of the display surfaces HG <b> 1 and 2. Is done.

  Note that when comparing the size of the window WN and the display surface HG, the height may not affect the determination of whether or not there is any movement. If the height of the window WN is larger than the height of the display surfaces HG1 and HG2, the height of the window WN may be automatically reduced so that the window WN enters the display surfaces HG1 and HG2. .

  Another method is a case where the center of the window WN to be displayed is within the boundary region set across the boundary portions on the two display surfaces HG1 and 2 in the determination unit 23 and the window WN. Is smaller than one display surface HG1,2, it is determined that the displayed window WN is to be moved.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, for the window WN3, the coordinates of the center point CT of the window WN3 are obtained from the coordinates of the upper left corner point and the lower right corner point. Then, it is determined whether or not the coordinates of the center point CT are within the width WR1 of the boundary region KR set on the display surfaces HG1 and HG2. In this case, the width WR1 of the boundary region KR may be set by the user. For example, the user may set the width WR1 of the boundary region KR in consideration of visibility and operability in the window WN.

  Further, as described above, it is determined whether or not the window WN3 is smaller than the display surfaces HG1 and HG2.

  In the example of FIG. 5, it is determined that the coordinates of the center point CT are within the width WR1 of the boundary region KR and smaller than the display surfaces HG1 and HG2, and the window WN3 moves into one of the display surfaces HG1 and HG2. Is done. Note that the display screen HG1 or 2 may be moved to the main display screen set in advance by the user.

  In the determination by the determination unit 23, it is possible to make a determination based on various other conditions.

  Next, display control of the window WN will be described with reference to a flowchart.

  In FIG. 6, first, the resolution of the displays 12, 13 and the coordinates of the upper left end point and the lower right end point of the window WN to be displayed are obtained (# 11). The size of the window WN is calculated (# 12). It is determined whether or not the window WN is smaller than the display surfaces HG1 and HG2 (# 13).

  The window WN is smaller than the display surfaces HG1 and HG2 (Yes in # 13), the upper left end point of the window WN is in the display surface HG1 (Yes in # 14), and the lower right end point of the window WN is in the display surface HG2. If (Yes in # 15), the movement position is calculated so that the window WN is at the center of one of the display surfaces HG1 and HG2 (# 16). Based on the calculation, the coordinates for displaying the window WN are changed (# 17), and the window WN is redrawn at the coordinate position (# 18).

  As described above, when the window WN is displayed, if the active window WN immediately before display straddles the two display surfaces HG1 and HG2, the window WN is automatically displayed on one display surface HG. Displayed in the center. Therefore, the visibility of the window WN is improved for the user, making it easier to see and making input easier.

  Conventionally, the window is manually moved by dragging with the mouse. However, such troublesome operation is not necessary, and the operability is improved.

  In the embodiment described above, the example in which the two display surfaces HG1 and HG2 are arranged on the left and right sides has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 7, even when the two display surfaces HG1 and HG2 are vertically arranged, the present invention can be applied similarly to the case of the left and right. That is, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the window WN4 is to be displayed over the two display surfaces HG1 and HG2 arranged above and below, one of the windows WN4, for example, FIG. ) As shown in the center of the upper display surface HG1. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied when the two display surfaces HG1 and HG2 are arranged in an oblique direction. The same applies to the case where three or more display surfaces HG are arranged in a matrix in the horizontal direction, the vertical direction, the diagonal direction, or the horizontal direction. The same applies when the plurality of display surfaces HG are arranged not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction.

  In the embodiment described above, various thin displays other than the LCD, CRT, and other display devices may be used. In addition, the structure, configuration, shape, dimensions, number, material, contents of the window WN, display format, etc. of the whole or each part of the personal computer main body 11, displays 12, 13, display control unit 20, and multi-display device 1 are described in the present invention. It can be appropriately changed in accordance with the purpose.

  The present invention can be used for various computer devices or personal computers capable of multi-display using a plurality of displays.

1 Multi-display device 11 PC body (computer)
12 First display (display)
13 Second display (display)
20 Display controller (display controller)
21 1st detection part (1st detection means)
22 2nd detection part (2nd detection means)
23 Judgment part (judgment means)
24 Window movement command section (window movement command means)
HG1, 2 Display surface WN Window KR Boundary area (Boundary part)

Claims (5)

A window display control device for displaying a window on a display surface formed by a plurality of displays connected to a computer,
First detection means for detecting the size of the window to be displayed;
Second detection means for detecting an arrangement of displayed windows on a display surface of the plurality of displays;
Determination means for determining whether or not to move the displayed window based on the detection results of the first detection means and the second detection means;
Window movement command means for issuing a command to rearrange the window within the display surface of any one display when the determination means determines to move;
A display control device for a window, comprising: The determination means determines to move only when the window is an active window.
The window display control device according to claim 1. The determination means includes
Determining that the displayed window is to be moved when the displayed window spans the display surfaces of the plurality of displays and is smaller than the display surface of one of the displays;
The window display control device according to claim 1 or 2. The determination means includes
When the center of the window to be displayed is in a boundary region set across the boundary portion on the display surface of the plurality of displays and the window is smaller than the display surface of one of the displays, Decide to move the displayed window,
The window display control device according to claim 1 or 2. The window movement command means
Command to relocate to the center of the display surface of the display closest to the center of the window,
The window display control device according to claim 1.