JPH04216124A - Display device with translucent screen - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the changing state of a lower screen recognizable simultaneously with the information displayed on an upper screen by displaying information on the upper screen in a translucent state in the area where the upper and lower screens overlap each other. CONSTITUTION:A screen processing policy deciding block 2 decides the translucence processing method against the dots to be processed on the basis of the attribute information of image memories 1a and 1b. A translucence processing block 3 generates a translucent screen by processing dot data following the algorithm decided by the block 2 and outputs the translucent screen. Therefore, when plural screens are displayed on the same display device, the information displayed on the upper screen is displayed in a translucent state by mixing and processing the screen information at the overlapping section of the upper and lower screens.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transflective screen display device, which is used, for example, to display pull-down menus and multi-windows.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of computer-based office automation equipment, improvements in man-machine interfaces have been required. One widely used method is to simultaneously display multiple screens on the same display device, such as pull-down menus and multi-windows. In such a multi-screen display system for a computer, there is a problem in that the lower screen is hidden in the area where the lower screen and the upper screen overlap, making it invisible. Therefore,
As a workaround, they had the ability to change the size of the screen, swap the top and bottom screens, and change the layout of the screen.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, as mentioned above, in conventional display systems that change the size of the screen, swap the top and bottom screens, and change the layout of the screens, multiple screens overlap at the same time. The problem was that it was not possible to obtain information about In other words, even if a plurality of screens are displayed at the same time, the lower screen is hidden by the upper screen in the portion where the screens overlap vertically, making the lower screen invisible. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is not possible to know the changes that occur in the invisible portion of the lower screen. In this way, with conventional display methods, the amount of information obtained from the lower screen inevitably decreases, and it is difficult to simultaneously know the information on the invisible portion of the lower screen without damaging the information on the upper screen. The problem was that it couldn't be done.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its object is to provide a half screen that allows changes in the lower screen of a plurality of vertically overlapping screens to be grasped together with the upper screen. An object of the present invention is to provide a transparent screen display device.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the transflective screen display device according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2 or 3, a plurality of screens are vertically overlapped. The device is characterized in that the upper screen is displayed semi-transparently in the area where the upper screen and the lower screen overlap.

[0006]

[Function] In this way, by making the upper screen semi-transparent, changes in the lower screen that overlaps with the upper screen can be grasped as is, and furthermore, the upper screen is not completely transparent but semi-transparent. By being transparent, screen display can be performed without impairing the visibility of the upper screen.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the present invention. 1a is an image memory that stores R, G, B information and attribute information of the upper screen, and 1b is an image memory that stores R, G, B information and attribute information of the lower screen. Here, the R, G, B information is luminance information of the three primary colors of each dot, where R is red, G is green, and B is blue. In addition, attribute information is information that modifies the dots displayed on the screen, such as blink (blinking display), reverse (black and white inverted display)
In addition to the above, information indicating the distinction between text information and graphic information is included. 2 is a screen processing policy determining block, which determines what kind of semi-transparent processing is to be performed on the dot to be processed (and neighboring dots including it) based on the attribute information in the image memories 1a and 1b. Decide whether 3 is a semi-transparent processing block which processes dot data using the algorithm determined by the screen processing policy determining block 2, creates and outputs a semi-transparent screen. With this, when a plurality of screens are displayed on the same display device, the screen information of the overlapping portion of the upper screen and the lower screen can be mixed and processed to make the upper screen appear semi-transparent.

[0008] Here, the processing contents in the semi-transparent processing block 3 will be explained by giving an example. For example, characters on the upper screen and dots on the lower screen that do not overlap are displayed as they are. The distinction between character information and graphic information is determined based on attribute information. Regarding dots other than the above, the upper and lower screens are mixed at a ratio such that 1 dot on the lower screen is mixed with 3 dots on the upper screen. At this time, if you extract 1/4 of all the dots on the upper screen using random numbers in the area where the upper screen and lower screen overlap and replace that dot with the dots on the lower screen, you can see through the screen. You can obtain a display effect that makes the lower screen visible. Furthermore, if the proportion of dots extracted using random numbers can be set arbitrarily, the transmittance can be adjusted freely. Any other algorithm can be used for such a semi-transparent processing method, and whether it is performed by software or hardware is closely related to the algorithm.

FIG. 2 is an example of a pull-down menu using a semi-transparent screen. 4a is a VDT, and among the main menus 5 displayed in a horizontal strip at the top of the screen,
When the mouse cursor 6 is placed on one item and the mouse item selection button is pressed, a submenu appears as a pull-down menu 7 so as to overlap the lower screen. Although some figures are drawn on the lower screen, since the pull-down menu 7 is displayed semi-transparently, changes on the lower screen can be prevented from being hidden.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a multi-window using a semi-transparent screen. 4b is a VDT, in which an upper window 8 and a lower window 9 are partially overlapped and displayed. Although some figures are drawn on the lower window 9, since the upper window 8 is semi-transparent, changes in the lower window 9 can be prevented from being hidden by the upper window 8.

[0011]

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention,
In a device that displays multiple screens overlapping each other vertically, the upper screen is displayed semi-transparently in the area where the upper and lower screens overlap, making it possible to see changes in the lower screen at the same time as information on the upper screen. It has the effect of being able to. Also, compared to the case where the upper screen is fully transparent,
This has the effect of making the upper screen easier to see.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a Upper screen image memory 1b Lower screen image memory 2 Screen processing policy decision block 3 Semi-transparent processing block 4a VDT 4b VDT 5 Main menu 6 Mouse cursor 7 Semi-transparent pull-down menu 8 Translucent multi-window

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transflective screen display device that displays a plurality of screens in a vertically overlapping manner, characterized in that the upper screen is displayed semi-transparently in an area where the upper screen and lower screen overlap.