JP3416961B2 - Information processing device that makes it easy to change the usage environment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for changing the setting of the usage environment of a personal computer, which uses a pop-up menu to execute the environment changing means quickly and easily, and obtains environment information of the personal computer system. The present invention relates to an information processing device that helps reduce the time required for processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 13, when the usage environment of a personal computer used by a user (the environment of a display device or various functional environments provided by a BIOS) is changed, first, it is activated at present. The application program being executed is terminated (1300), the system is once reset (1301), the BIOS program for changing the usage environment (hereinafter referred to as the environment setting menu) is started (1302), and desired settings are made. (1303), the system had to be restarted (1305), and the application program had to be started again (1306).

Conventionally, it is possible to change the display setting of the LCD by pressing a specific key in combination while using the personal computer. (Hereinafter, such a function is called a key switch.)
FIG. 12 shows a list of functions that can be realized by key switches.

Some of the key switch functions are realized by the keyboard subsystem and some of them are realized by the keyboard interrupt processing. The respective realizing methods will be briefly described.

Within the keyboard subsystem, CTRL
When the key and the GRPH key are pressed, the pressed key is checked, and if a combination of key presses exists in the key switch item, the corresponding function is realized. The key switch function in which the "*" symbol is added in front of the key combination item shown in FIG. 12 is the key switch function realized by the keyboard subsystem in this way.

Next, the means for realizing the key switch in the keyboard interrupt processing will be described. Even within the keyboard interrupt processing, the pressed state of the CTRL key and the GRPH key is monitored. If both the CTRL key and the GRPH key are pressed, the other pressed key is searched for, and the key combination is the key switch function. If you are requesting, implement the corresponding function. The function in which the "*" symbol is not added in front of the key combination item in FIG. 12 is the key switch function realized by the keyboard interrupt processing in this way.

Also, in recent years, portable personal computers have been greatly improved in expandability and various disk devices can be connected, and the entire device has become complicated. It was difficult to do.

[0008]

According to the conventional method, the system is reset every time the setting of the environment is changed. Therefore, when it is desired to change the setting during execution of the application program, the application program is temporarily terminated. There is a problem that it is not convenient to use.

Further, when it is desired to validate the setting of the resume function, there is a problem that the resume function cannot be used because the start address of the interrupt process for turning off the power is set uniquely depending on the application program.

Further, depending on the application program, this key combination may be used for the key combination to which the key switch function is assigned.
There is a problem that such an application program cannot be used satisfactorily.

Further, in a personal computer system configured to connect a large number of disk devices, the relationship between the disk device management information (hereinafter referred to as drive information) of the operating system currently used and the actual disk device. There was a problem that the user could not grasp.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as an example, an environment setting menu that can be called even while an application program is running (hereinafter,
It is intended to solve the problem by realizing a pop-up menu) and to obtain an information processing device in which the use environment can be easily changed.

In the description of the present invention, the setting items of the environment of the display device mean the settings of the brightness of the LCD, the setting items of the LCD reverse display, and the various function setting items provided by the BIOS. , Setting whether to use the resume function,
This includes setting items for operating the personal computer in power saving mode.

The resume function described in the present invention is that the BIOS refers to the resume flag when an interrupt occurs due to power-off of the personal computer system, and if resume is enabled, various status information is supplied to the power source. If the power is turned off during the execution of the application program by saving the information in the backup memory that remains even when it is turned off and then reading the status information when the system is powered on and setting the system operation. Also, when the power is turned on next time, the application program can be continuously used from the state just before the power off. The pop-up menu is described as a screen that simultaneously displays the setting items or the settings of the resume function described above, and items for changing all settings. This screen displays the items to be changed, for example, every two or three lines. The object of the present invention can be achieved even with a display screen that is displayed on the screen, and items are shifted while selecting with the arrow keys, and the smallest example may be one line at a time.

[0015]

The present invention comprises display means for displaying a pop-up menu when input is made by the input means not only when the system is started but also when the application program is executed, and various input means are provided. After the setting is completed, the environment changing means is provided for continuing the operation of the application program again. The environment changing means activates the pop-up menu to interrupt the start processing address of the power-off when the application program is executed and the power-off status. The interrupt disable / enable state is saved, and the interrupt processing start address of the power off is stored in the BIOS.
Set the power-off interrupt processing start address in S to enable the power-off interrupt, and when the popup program ends, the power-off interrupt processing start address when the application program is executed and the power-off interrupt prohibition / The permission environment is returned to the state before the pop-up menu was started, so that the use environment can be easily changed, and the environment change means can enable / disable the resume function or display the liquid crystal by the pop-up menu. It is characterized in that it is means for dynamically changing settings such as the brightness of the body, and the environment changing means enables / disables the key switch function of the input means by the pop-up menu. , Assign the optimum key switch function according to the application program. Characterized in that to change the key combination was applied, further, the start the pop-up menu, characterized in that the BIOS is to view and allocation of disk drives.

[0016]

The pop-up menu is displayed by pressing the designated key not only when the system is started but also when the application program is executed. As a result, the settings of various devices are changed and the application program is continued again. In addition, a pop-up menu is used to enable / disable the resume function and dynamically change the brightness of the LCD while the device is still operating.

The pop-up menu saves the power-off interrupt start address and the power-off interrupt disable / permit state, and sets the power-off interrupt start address as the power-off interrupt start address in the BIOS. Even in the case of an application program that cannot be set even if you try to set it, enable power-off interrupts, and try to switch to normal resume mode, the pop-up menu can be started to turn off the power during menu execution and enable resume operation. To do.

[0018]

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment according to the present invention, which is a schematic diagram of a portable personal computer. The central processing unit CPU controls the main memory 2, the keyboard subsystem 4, the buzzer 5, and the display controller 7 via the bus line 3. The keyboard subsystem 4 is composed of a keyboard control program 4c for controlling the portable keyboard 4d, a keyboard CPU 4b, and a keyboard interface 4a for communicating with the main body, and is displayed via the keyboard control and display controller 7. The control of the unit 8 can be performed. The display controller 7 controls the display unit 8 in this embodiment, and light is emitted from the side light 9 from one side of the liquid crystal display unit. The main memory 2 includes an operating system (OS) 2a, an application program 2b and a BIOS 2c, and in the BIOS, popup menu activation / termination processing, power off interrupt processing, and various processing for setting in the popup menu. And a storage area 2d for a pop-up menu is included. Further, reference numeral 10 is a power source for operating the present apparatus and storing the contents of the memory, which is a battery in this embodiment.

The video RAM 11 displays characters and figures on the display unit 8.
The video memory 12 is for displaying various information, and the backup memory 12 is for saving various information. The resume flag, the key switch flag, the set value of the brightness of the LCD, and the status information required for the resume are saved. can do. 14 is a floppy disk drive,
A disk device such as a hard disk drive.
Reference numeral 5 is a system RAM which provides the same interface as the disk device to the user and whose contents are saved by the backup power supply. The system RAM 15 is a mode that provides the same interface as a floppy (hereinafter referred to as RAM
It can be used in modes such as a drive) and a mode that provides the same interface as a SASI hard disk (hereinafter referred to as a RAM hard disk). A battery 10 is connected to each device and means through a power supply line 13.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the pop-up menu start / end processing. The keyboard interrupt generation (201) and subsequent steps will be described with reference to the flowchart.

Check the pressed state of the key, and press the CTRL key and G
When the RPH key and HELP key are pressed simultaneously,
The popup menu activation request is determined (202), and the popup menu processing is started. If it is not a popup activation request, normal keyboard interrupt processing (20)
Perform 3). Text processing (204), graphic processing (205), and power-off interrupt setting processing (206) are performed to activate the pop-up menu.

In the text processing, text screen setting information is saved, text screen information is initialized, text video RAM information is saved, the text video RAM is cleared, and text display is started. In the graphic processing, graphic screen setting information is saved and the graphic display is stopped.

In the power-off interrupt setting process (206), the start address of the power-off interrupt process and the state of power-off interrupt prohibition / permission are saved, and the power-off interrupt start address of the power-off interrupt process in the BIOS is stored. Set to start address and enable power-off interrupt.

The processing up to this point is called popup menu activation processing. After that, a setting screen using a pop-up menu is provided to prompt the user to make settings (207).

After the setting is completed, as a pop-up menu end process, a power-off interrupt restoration process, (208)
Then, a graphic end process (209) and a text end process (210) are performed. In the power-off interrupt restoration process, the start address of the power-off interrupt process is restored and the power-off interrupt prohibited / permitted state is restored.

In the graphic end process, the screen setting information in which the graphic is saved is reset, and the start / stop of the graphic display is returned to the state before the pop-up menu was activated. In the text ending process, the screen setting information in which the text is saved is reset, the text video RAM is restored, and the start / stop of the text display is returned to the state before the popup menu was started.

The pop-up menu storage area 2d in the main memory 2 is used as the area for storing information in the description of the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a selection setting screen on the pop-up menu 301. Valid / invalid of resume function, brightness control of liquid crystal display, gradation display switching, reverse display, CPU clock, key switch function,
The sector length of the hard disk is adjusted. Items marked with "*" are displayed as not changeable. Here, the extended drive name 1101 is displayed beside the screen of the pop-up menu to make it easier for the user to see.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart at the time of selecting and setting the pop-up menu. In the selection screen, the user can move the cursor up and down to select a setting item by pressing the up and down arrow keys (403). In addition, the setting of the currently selected item can be changed by pressing the left and right arrow keys (405). However,
For items that adversely affect the operation of the system by changing the settings of the operating personal computer system, a "*" symbol is added to the beginning of the item to clearly indicate to the user that the item cannot be changed. When the user tries to change those items, the buzzer 6 is briefly sounded and a warning message is displayed to call the user's attention (406).

FIG. 5 shows a summary (501) of the processing performed in (405) of FIG. 4 for each setting item. When the enable / disable of the resume process is changed, the value of the resume flag 12a (FIG. 1) is changed. After that, BI
The OS executes the resume process if the resume flag is valid in the power-off interrupt process.

When the brightness of the LCD is changed, L
Update the brightness setting value 12c (Fig. 1) of the CD
By setting the brightness of D on the display controller,
You can change the current brightness. The saved value is
After that, the brightness of the LCD can be reproduced in the same manner when the system is started up next time.

When the setting of gradation display and reverse display is changed, the current setting is changed by setting a new set value in the display controller.

When the CPU clock changing process is performed, the CPU clock changing process can be performed to dynamically change the CPU clock.

When the validity / invalidity of the key switch is changed, the value of the key switch flag is changed. Further, by issuing a prohibition or permission command to the keyboard subsystem, it is possible to manage the key switch prohibition state or the permission state within the keyboard subsystem.

Here, the key input processing in the keyboard subsystem will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The keyboard control program in the keyboard subsystem always scans the pressed state of the keyboard (60
1). Then, it is checked whether the CTRL key and the GRPH key are pressed (602). Ordinary key code transmission process (6 to send the key code to the main body if not pressed)
05) is performed. If the CTRL key and the GRPH key are pressed, the key switch status is checked (603), if the key status is prohibited, normal key code transmission is performed, and if the key status is enabled, the current key combination is checked (604). If the combination of keys is to be realized, the corresponding key switch function is realized (606).

Further, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a key switch monitoring and executing process in the keyboard interrupt process. FIG. 7 corresponds to a part of 203 in FIG. 2, and the key combination for activating the popup menu is not affected by the following processing. First, CTRL key and GRPH
It is checked whether the key is pressed (701). If the CTRL key and the GRPH key are pressed, the key switch flag is checked (702). If the key switch is permitted, the current key combination is checked (703).
If the combination of keys is to be realized as a key switch, the corresponding key switch function is realized (70
4). In this manner, the processing in the keyboard subsystem and the keyboard interrupt processing can inhibit / enable all the key switches other than the key combination for activating the pop-up menu.

With the above-described processing, the user can execute the pop-up menu by pressing a specific key combination even when using the application program, and after the various settings are completed, the user can use the pop-up menu when starting the pop-up menu. It is possible to continue using the existing application program, and items such as the enable / disable of the resume function and the brightness setting of the LCD as shown in FIG. 3 can be dynamically changed even while the application is running. .

Further, even if the application program is set to independently process the power-off interrupt process, the resume process can be performed while the pop-up menu screen is being displayed.

Further, among various miscellaneous application programs, there is one in which the role of the key is arbitrarily changed to operate, and the user may execute the application program by requesting the key combination of the key switch. Even in this case, by activating the pop-up menu and disabling the key switch function, the user can use the key combination required by the application program as the function of the application program.

FIG. 8 shows that after activating the pop-up menu, the drive allocation is changed to MS-DOS or DISK.B.
6 is a flowchart displayed by the BIOS according to the ASIC specifications, and this processing is included in the display (401) of the pop-up menu screen in the flowchart of FIG. 4. The connection state of the floppy disk device is checked to obtain the parameter value indicating the type number and order number of each disk device (801). The usage status of the hard disk device of the SASI interface is checked (802). Here, as a feature of the present invention, it is possible to grasp what is the first hard disk device used as the second hard disk device. A specific management area of the OS is examined to determine whether it is DISK / BASIC or MS-DOS, and otherwise it is determined to be another OS (8
03).

If it is MS-DOS, the disk device allocation display suitable for MS-DOS is displayed (804), and DISK / BA is displayed.
If it is SIC, a disk device allocation display suitable for DISK / BASIC (805) is displayed, and if it is another OS, the maximum display that can be recognized without accessing the OS area is displayed (806). If it is judged to be another OS,
Only the information obtained in (801) and (802) is displayed.

FIG. 9 shows an example of parameter values obtained for each floppy disk device, which is 1007 in FIG.
It is a parameter referred to in the processing of. In the example of FIG.
It is assumed that there are five disk devices connected and each has a parameter value as shown in the figure. Here, the parameter value of the disk device is 1-byte data composed of type number 4 bits and order number 4 bits. If the type number is "9h", a 1 Mbyte floppy disk device is used, and the type number is "7h". Then 640Mb
yte floppy disk device, type number "8
"h" indicates a SAS hard disk drive, and the type number "Ah" indicates a SCSI hard disk drive.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for displaying the disk device allocation in MS-DOS, and FIG.
804 is a detailed flowchart of FIG.

The parameter value is obtained from the fixed address that stores the disk drive management information of MS-DOS (1
001). When the parameter value is not obtained, it indicates that the disk device is not used any more, and the display of the disk allocation is terminated. If the type number of the obtained parameter value is "9h" or "7h", the floppy disk device is shown (1003), and the obtained parameter value is stored in the table obtained from the connection state as in the example of FIG. The disk device name to which the disk device corresponds is displayed and the obtained disk device name is displayed (1007). If the obtained parameter value type number indicates a SASI interface hard disk device of "8h" (1004), the order number of the parameter value is checked to determine whether it is the first device or the second device. 8
The disk device is displayed according to the information obtained in (02) (1008).

If the obtained parameter value type number indicates a SCSI interface hard disk device of "Ah" (1005), "SCSI hard disk"
Is displayed. Further, since the SCSI interface device has the recognition ID value of the SCSI hard disk device as the order number, even ID values that have not been implemented conventionally are displayed (1009). This is also a feature of the present invention.

If the type number of the obtained parameter value does not correspond to any of the above, "other drive"
Is displayed.

In the case of the DISK / BASIC of (805) of FIG. 8, the process of obtaining the parameter value from the fixed address storing the disk drive management information of (1001) is performed.
If it conforms to ISK / BASIC, other processing can be performed in the same manner as in MS-DOS.

FIG. 11 shows a drive allocation display screen example 1102 of DISK / BASIC displayed on the pop-up menu screen and a drive allocation display screen example 11 of MS-DOS.
01. These disk device allocation screens have a structure for displaying 1101 or 1102 by utilizing the empty area of the pop-up menu screen (FIG. 3).

By executing the pop-up menu by the above processing, it is possible to quickly confirm the correspondence between the drive allocation recognized by the OS and the actual disk device.

[0050]

According to the menu changing device of the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the pop-up menu is activated by pressing the designated key not only when the system is started but also when the application program is executed to change the environment. ,
After completing various settings, the pop-up menu can be closed and the application program can be continued again (claim 1).

The pop-up menu saves the power-off interrupt processing start address and the power-off interrupt disabled / enabled state, and sets the power-off interrupt start address as the power-off interrupt processing start address in the BIOS. The power-off interrupt is permitted, and the application program that cannot normally be resumed can also be powered off and resumed during menu execution by activating a pop-up menu (claim 2).

[0052]

By activating the pop-up menu and enabling / disabling the key switch function, it is possible to change the key combination to which the optimum key switch function is assigned according to the application program (claim 3).

The pop-up menu is activated, and the drive allocation is displayed by the BIOS regardless of the OS or application software. The drive configuration is internal, external, or additional, and the hard disk type and ID are displayed. In a personal computer system configured to connect a large number of disc devices such as optical discs, it is possible to easily recognize the relationship between the drive information currently used and the actual disc device (claim 4).

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of pop-up menu activation / termination processing of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a setting screen with a pop-up menu of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for confirming an unsettable item according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an environment setting process in a pop-up menu of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of key input processing according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of keyboard interrupt processing of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a drive allocation of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of parameters of the floppy disk of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of disk device allocation according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a drive allocation display screen of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of an allocation function of a conventional key switch.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a conventional environment changing process.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: CPU 2: Main memory 3: Bus line 4: Keyboard subsystem 5: Timer 6: Buzzer 7: Display controller 8: Display 9: Side light 10: Power supply (battery) 11: Video RAM 12: Backup memory 13: Power line

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References What is Windows 3.0, Monthly ASCII ASCII, Japan, ASCII Corporation, March 1, 1991, Volume 15, No. 3, p. 238-239 Katsushi Ichiyanagi, Motoichi Mizuguchi, First time to use MS-WINDOWS, Japan, Technical Review, July 1, 1987, 1st edition, 1st edition, p. 83-85 FM R-CARD / E Japanese MS-DOS ROM version 3.22 User's Reference, Fujitsu Limited, Japan, July 31, 1992, 1st edition, pp. 26-28 (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 1/00 G06F 13/14

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A display means for displaying a pop-up menu when input is made by the input means not only when the system is started up but also when the application program is executed, and after various settings are made by the input means, the display is again displayed. An environment changing unit for continuously operating the application program is provided, and the environment changing unit sets the power-off interrupt processing start address and the power-off interrupt disabled / enabled state when the application program is executed by activating the pop-up menu. the Save, the interrupt processing starting address of the power-off is set to the interrupt processing start address of the power-off in BIOS, the permit interruption of power off, the pop-up menu at the end to the application program execution time of power-off Interrupt processing start address An information processing device which facilitates a change of a use environment, wherein the power-off interrupt prohibition / permission state is returned to the state before the pop-up menu is activated. 2. The environment changing means is means for dynamically changing the setting such as the enable / disable of the resume function or the brightness of the liquid crystal display body by the pop-up menu. Information processing device that facilitates changes in the usage environment of Internet Explorer. 3. The environment changing unit changes the key switch function of the input unit to a combination of keys to which an optimum key switch function is assigned according to an application program, by enabling / disabling the key switch function of the input unit using the pop-up menu. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the usage environment is easily changed. 4. The pop-up menu is activated,
The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the BIOS allocates and displays the disk drive.