JPH0281152A - Computer communication system and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform the same action in the same application between two computers by using the communication adaptor devices to send the information on the input device of one of both computers directly to the other computer. CONSTITUTION:The information supplied from an input device 22 is sent to the remote side via a communication adaptor device 21 and a circuit terminating device DCE 23 as well as to its own computer 20. Then the input information is transferred to a computer 25 of the remote side via a DCE 24 and a communication adaptor device 26 of the remote side. In the same way, the information supplied from an input device 27 is sent to the computer 20 of the remote side as well as to its own computer 25. Thus the same application software can be started between two computers 20 and 25 and the same operation can be performed between them. Therefore the document processing efficiency is improved in the conference communication using the documents.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a computer communication system, and particularly to a system for performing conference communication. For example, in the present invention, when a plurality of computers that perform the same processing (for example, word processing) are connected through a communication line, and an input operation of one computer is performed,
Commonly used in systems where each computer performs the same processing.

(Prior Art) As a method of transferring input information of a computer, there is a method of controlling a computer at a remote location by transmitting the input information via a boat equipped with a computer.

FIG. 3 shows a specific example of the conventional method. computer 2
The pedestals are connected via input/output ports 30.33. For example, computer input device (keyboard)29
The input information (command) input from
Communication interface) 30, DCE (line termination equipment)
31, the data is input to a remote-controlled computer 34 via a public network. In addition, it is also possible to operate the computer 28 from the input device 35. In this way, by sending and receiving input information between computers,
A remote computer can be operated interactively.

FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of the conventional system.

Commands input from the keyboard are interpreted and processed by the application software 37, and then the information to be transmitted is passed to the communication control device 38. After converting the information into a format for transmission, the communication control device 38 transfers the information to the communication interface 39 and sends it to a remote location via the DCE 40. On the other side, the transfer information received by the communication interface 44 via the DCE 45 is converted by the communication control device 43 into a format that can be understood by the application, and then passed to the application software 41.

The application software 41 interprets and executes the sent commands.

(Problem to be interpreted by the invention) The conditions for communication between computers are (1)
(2) Communication between computers must not degrade the processing power of the computers themselves. In the conventional system shown in FIG. 4, the input/output communication control device 38.43 and the application software 37.41 are processed in parallel, so the O5 (operating system) of the computer
If 36.42 is a single-task process such as MS-DOS, a special mechanism is required. Furthermore, there is a possibility that communication processing may put a strain on the CPU, slowing down the processing of the application software 37.41 itself, or that communication processing and application software cannot be started at the same time due to memory capacity limitations. be. Furthermore, it is necessary to define in detail the data format for the exchange of information between the input/output communication control device 38 and the application software 37 that executes the intended processing of the computer.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention was invented in view of the above points, and uses a communication adapter device connected to a computer to transfer information sent from an input device of a computer to its own computer. At the same time, it is transferred to the other party's computer. This allows input information to be transferred to the other computer without deteriorating the computer's processing capacity, without requiring communication processing for the computer itself, and in exactly the same way as running an application program on its own. be able to. Further, as described above, no communication processing is required for input information from the other party.

(Function) By directly transferring input device signals, computers can perform the same operation on the same application without being involved in communication processing. Furthermore, by converting the interface of the input device, the same operation can be performed between different types of computers.

(Embodiment) FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram to which the computer communication device of the present invention is applied. Information input from the input device 22 is transferred to the own computer 20, and at the same time,
Communication adapter device 21 and DCH2:l according to the invention
is sent to a remote location via. In addition, the opponent's DC
The input information is transferred to the other party's computer 25 through the computer 24 and the device 26 of the present invention. In addition, the input device 27
The input information inputted from the computer 25 is transferred to the own computer 25 and simultaneously transferred to the remote computer 20.

A functional block diagram of this method is shown in FIG. The input information is input to the own application software 47 and at the same time to the communication interface 48, DCH.
49 to a remote location at the input signal level. On the other party's side, the information is received by the communication interface 52 via the DCH 53, and can be input to the application software 50 from the user interface level in exactly the same way as when inputting from the own input device. Therefore, the present method shown in FIG. 5 is different from the communication control device 38 as in the conventional method shown in FIG.
There is no need to use 43.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram (functional block diagram) of this device.

A keyboard and mouse are used as input devices.

Information input from the keyboard is input to the key input interface 2. The key input interface 2 controls matching with signals from the keyboard and whether or not operations are possible. When the key input interface 2 is enabled (operation is possible, that is, the user has the operation authority), the input information from the key input interface 2 is generated into a header via the key output interface 1 and the heterogeneous interface conversion 3. Sent to Department 12. The heterogeneous interface conversion 3 will be described later. When the key input interface 2 is disabled (cannot be operated, that is, the user does not have the operating authority), input from the keyboard is buffered in the key input interface 2. The key output interface 1 has the function of matching the interface with the main body with respect to its own keyboard and keyboard input from the other party. On the other hand, the header generation section 12 adds header information representing the type to the mouse information, keyboard information, and operation authority information, respectively, and the signal synthesis section 13 generates a synthesized data. The generated data is connected to the DCH via the communication interface 14 and sent to a remote partner computer via, for example, a public network. Furthermore, input information from the other party received via the communication interface 14 is decomposed into mouse information, keyboard information, and operating authority information by the signal separation unit 11 . The keyboard information is sent to the keyboard output interface 1 via the heterogeneous interface converter 3, where it is converted into input information consistent with the keyboard interface of the combinator body and sent out.

Information input from the mouse is provided by the mouse input interface 5.
is input to. The mouse input interface 5 controls matching with signals from the mouse and whether or not the mouse can be operated. When the mouse input interface 5 is enabled (operation is possible, that is, you have the operation authority), the input information from the mouse input interface 5 is sent to the button via the mouse output interface 4 and the heterogeneous interface converter 6. The information is sent to the management section 7 and the coordinate management section 8.

When the mouse input interface 5 is disabled (cannot be operated, that is, the user does not have the authority to operate it), input from the mouse is buffered in the mouse input interface 5. The mouse output interface 4 has the function of matching the interface with the computer main body with respect to its own mouse and mouse input information from the other party. On the other hand, the coordinate management unit 8 constantly receives input information and calculates the coordinate position of the current pointer. Here, when a mouse button is operated, the button information is transferred to the button management section 7.

At this time, the button management section 7 sends the state of the mouse button to the data synthesis/decomposition section 9, and at the same time sends a signal from the control line to the coordinate management section 8 to prompt the coordinate information to be sent when the button is operated. Only when that signal is received, the coordinate management 8
The coordinate position is sent to the data synthesis/decomposition section 9. The data synthesis/decomposition unit 9 synthesizes the button information and coordinate position information. The combined data is sent to the header generation section 12. The header generation unit 12 adds header information representing the type to the mouse information, keyboard information, and operating authority information, respectively, and the signal synthesis unit 13 generates composite data. The generated data is connected to the DCH via the communication interface 14 and sent to a remote partner computer via, for example, a public network. In this way, regarding mouse input, only significant positional information is transferred in consideration of transfer efficiency. Further, input information from the other party received via the communication interface 14 is sent to the signal separation unit 11,
It is broken down into mouse information, keyboard information, and operation authority information. The mouse information is decomposed into button information and coordinate position information by a data synthesis/decomposition section 9, and sent to a button management section 7 and a coordinate management section 8, respectively.

These pieces of information are sent to the mouse output interface 4 via the heterogeneous interface conversion section 6, where they are converted into input information consistent with the mouse interface of the computer main body and sent out.

In operation authority control, in order to avoid processing inconsistencies due to simultaneous input from both blade devices, the operation authority is always limited to one input device.
Manage requests and transfers of operational rights to other parties. A method for managing operating rights will be explained using FIG. 6 and the processing flow in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that side A initially has the operating authority. That is, the input interface on the A side is enabled, and the interface on the B side is disabled. If there is input information on the B side, information indicating that there is input is sent to the operating authority control unit 68 via the control line 75.

Further, the signal separation section 69 monitors the presence or absence of input information from the other party, and sends information on the presence or absence to the operating authority control section 68 via a control line 73. Here, if there is no input from the other party, the operation authority request information is sent to the operation authority control unit 6.
8, the header generator 70, and the signal synthesizer 71, and then the signal is sent to the other party's device. If there is input information from the other party at this time, it is confirmed that there is no input information from the other party's input device for a certain period of time, and then information requesting operation authority is sent. During this time, input information from its own input device is buffered at the input interface 66. When the operation authority control unit 57 of the other party having the operation authority receives the information of the operation authority request, if there is no own input information at that time, it disables the input interface 55 through the control line 63 and makes it impossible to input. , to this device on the other side,
Sends information on transfer of operating rights. If it has its own input information at that time, after confirming that no input information continues for a certain period of time, it disables the input interface 55 to make input impossible, and sends out information on transfer of operating rights.

The operating authority control unit 68 that has received the operating authority transfer information enables the input interface 66 through the control line 74 to enable input if there is no input from the other party at this time. If there is input information from the other party at this time, after confirming that there is no input information from the other party's input device for a certain period of time, the input interface 66 is enabled to enable input. When input becomes possible, if input information is held in the buffer of the input interface 66, it is sent out.

The heterogeneous interface conversion block is used only when the models of the computer and the computer of the other party are different. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the input interface signal of the own model from the key input interface 2 is converted into the input interface signal of the other model by the different model interface converter 3 and sent to the other party. On the other hand, the input information from the other party is converted into an input interface signal of its own model, and then the input information is sent to the output interface 1.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, the present invention enables the same application software to be launched between computers and the same operation to be performed in both directions by sending information from the computer's input device directly to the other computer. This is effective for efficient document processing when conducting conference communications using documents. Furthermore, any application software that is started independently can be used with the apparatus of the present invention. Furthermore, by converting the interface of the input device, conference communication can be performed between different types of computers.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration example of a communication adapter device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram to which this device is applied, FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram according to a conventional system, and FIG. 4 is a configuration example of a conventional system. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the system, FIG. 6 is an example of the configuration of this device when the input device in FIG. 1 is used as one, and FIG. 10 shows a processing flow for controlling operating authority regarding the transfer of information. 4: Output interface section, 5: Input interface section, 6: Different model interface conversion section, button management section, 8: Coordinate management section, data synthesis and decomposition section, 10: Operation authority control section, signal separation section, 12
: header generation section, signal synthesis section, 14: communication interface section. It depends on the tree climbing sun and moon, but 2゛Figure 2

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) In a computer communication system that communicates between computers via a communication line, a communication adapter device is provided that is coupled to the computer and coupled to the input device of the computer and the communication line, and input information from the input device is information is sent to the computer and the communication line via the communication adapter device; input information from the communication line is input to the computer via the communication adapter device; processing related to the communication line is performed by the communication adapter device; A computer communication method that is characterized by not being directly involved in processing. (2) The computer according to claim 1, wherein the input device is a mouse that continuously generates position information, and the position information when a button of the mouse is operated is sent to the computer and a communication line. Communication method. (3) When the computer and the device connected to the far end of the communication line are different models, the communication adapter device is provided with a different model interface converter, and the signal from the input device is transferred to the converter. 2. The computer communication method according to claim 1, wherein the computer communication method is transmitted to a communication line via a communication line. (4) The communication adapter device is provided with an operation authority control unit that gives operation authority to either the input device of the device itself or the input from the communication line, and prevents simultaneous input from the input device of the device itself and the communication line. The computer communication system according to claim 1, characterized in that: (5) An input interface unit that receives information from an input device, a communication interface unit that connects to a communication line, an output interface unit that connects to a computer, and selectively outputs input from the input device and input from the communication line. an operating authority control unit that inputs input to the computer via an interface unit; a header generation unit that is connected to the outputs of the operating authority control unit and the input interface unit and adds a header for transferring each output to a communication line; It has a signal synthesis section that synthesizes the output signals from the header generation section and inputs the signal to the communication interface section, and a signal separation section that separates the received signal from the communication interface section and connects it to the computer or the operating authority control section. A communication adapter device characterized by: (6) The input device includes a mouse input device, a button management unit that receives mouse button information via an input interface unit and manages the button information, and a button management unit that receives mouse button information via an input interface unit, and receives coordinate information of a mouse pointer via an input interface unit. A coordinate management unit that receives and manages coordinate information, and a data synthesis and decomposition unit that combines and decomposes information from the button management unit and the coordinate management unit and connects to the header generation unit and the signal separation unit. The communication adapter device according to claim 5. (7) A heterogeneous interface conversion unit is provided between the input interface unit and the header generation unit, and between the signal separation unit and the output interface unit, and converts the signal into a signal suitable for the device connected to the far end of the communication line. The communication adapter device according to claim 5, characterized in that: