JPH0619433A - Multi-screen connecting display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the multi-screen linkage display device which displays plural documents and drawings or a large drawing, etc., increases its display range and display area, and also increases the number of display screens by linking and using plural display monitors. CONSTITUTION:This display device is equipped with the display monitors with optional resolution, a joint mechanism which electrically and mechanically links their resolution in optional longitudinal and lateral directions, and a controller 3 which drives the display monitors according to resolution specified at the time of environment setting. The controller 3 consists of a display controller 34, a VRAM35 where screen constitution is allocated according to programmably set values and display data generated by a CPU31 are written, and a driver circuit 36 which reads its contents out and supplies a driving signal to the respective monitors. Consequently, plural documents and drawings are displayed without overlapping with one another and a large drawing is divided and displayed without missing, adsence.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-screen linked display device which uses a plurality of display monitors for large-screen display or screen display of arbitrary configuration.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of terminals, a laptop type, which is small, lightweight and convenient to carry, has become popular in place of the conventional desktop type. A CRT monitor is usually used as a display device for the desktop, and a flat panel such as liquid crystal (LCD) or plasma is used for the laptop type.

In the field of terminals described above, there is only one display surface, and in the case of a personal computer, for example, the resolution is a fixed value of 640 horizontal dots and 400 vertical dots.

[0004]

Normally, in order to display a plurality of documents or large drawings on one screen, the multi-window or scroll function of the terminal is used, but when the windows overlap, the display contents are hidden. It is necessary, and therefore only a part of the whole can be displayed. Further, when executing a multi-window or scroll, it is necessary to perform a complicated operation for that, which is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by connecting and using a plurality of display monitors,
A multi-screen connection display device capable of displaying a plurality of documents, drawings, etc. without overlapping each other and displaying a large drawing without omission as necessary, thereby expanding the display range and display area, and increasing the number of displays. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

The present invention is directed to a plurality of display monitors having arbitrary resolutions, a joint mechanism for connecting the resolutions of the display monitors in arbitrary vertical and horizontal directions, and electrically and mechanically connecting them, and an environment setting. A control device for driving a plurality of display monitors according to a resolution designated at times. The control device includes a display controller, a VRAM in which a screen configuration is allocated according to the value set promably through the display controller at the time of environment setting, and display data generated by the CPU is written, and this VRA.
And a driver circuit which is generated by reading the contents written in M and supplies a drive signal to each display monitor.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a plurality of display monitors for displaying documents, drawings, etc. are vertically and horizontally connected via a joint mechanism, and a plurality of documents, drawings, etc. are displayed by a driver for controlling the display of the plurality of display monitors. A function for displaying on each display monitor without overlapping and for displaying a large drawing on each display monitor is realized. The joint mechanism is movable like a hinge, and the display device can be adjusted to an angle that is easy to see and can be folded. Further, each display monitor is electrically connected via a flat cable, and can be attached / detached so that it can be attached either vertically or horizontally.
In order to realize this, the control device incorporates a programmable controller, a VRAM to which a screen configuration is associated with the display controller, and a display driver.

As a result, a plurality of documents, drawings, etc. can be displayed without overlapping each other, or a large drawing can be divided and displayed without omission. In addition, such a function can be realized by combining existing display units without developing a new display monitor in which the number of vertical and horizontal dots on the display surface is larger than the conventional one.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the external arrangement of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 (11 to 13) is a display monitor, which displays different information on each of the three surfaces, and
Large information can be displayed on the entire surface. Reference numeral 2 is a joint mechanism, which couples each display monitor to transmit data, signals, and power. Like a hinge, the display monitor can be freely moved using one of the fulcrums as a fulcrum, and the display monitor can be adjusted to an angle that is easy to see or folded. It can also be removed. Reference numeral 3 is a display control device, which is a computer main body in which a driver for the device of the present invention is housed. The software used in the present invention is loaded and used from a built-in storage device or an external storage device. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show the appearance of another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a display monitor having two vertical and horizontal surfaces is shown. In the figure, the blocks with the same numbers as in FIG. 1 have the same name functions as those in FIG. In the embodiment of the present invention, three sides or two
This is an example of the case where display control is performed by connecting display monitors on the surface, and the internal configuration thereof is shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the control device shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 31 is a CPU which is a control center of the system, and executes an application program stored in the system RAM 32. A ROM 33 stores a BIOS program that controls various input / output devices connected to the system. For example, the firmware for driving a display monitor with a screen configuration of 640 x 400 dots is stored. The CPU 31 controls the display hardware by reading out and executing this when necessary. A program for setting the environment is also stored here, and the configuration is controlled by driving the program when the system is initialized. Details will be described later.
Reference numeral 34 is a display controller (GDC). The infant controller 34 serves as an interface between the CPU 31 and the display monitors 11 to 13, and controls VRAM 35 control and drive control of the display monitors 11 to 13, which will be described later. Therefore, when the system is initialized, the display screen is controlled according to the contents programmed by the CPU 31. Reference numeral 35 is a video memory (VRAM), which has at least three screens (640 × 4
It has a larger screen capacity than 00x3) and is also allocated a work area. Reference numeral 36 is a display driver, and the display monitors 11 to 13 are driven via the driver circuits in the vertical and horizontal directions incorporated therein. It is driven by a control signal generated by the display controller 34.

The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. The embodiment of the present invention exemplifies a case in which display monitors having the same resolution are connected to both sides of the display monitor incorporated in the laptop personal computer and used as a total of three screens. Display monitor 1 (11-13)
Are connected via a joint mechanism 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, only the left-right direction is shown as the connecting method, but the vertical direction may be used. Data, signals, and power to be displayed on the display monitor are transmitted through the joint mechanism 2. The joint mechanism 2 can be moved like a hinge, and the display monitor can be adjusted to an angle that is easy to see and can be folded. It can also be removed and attached freely. Further, a flat cable also passes through the inside of the joint mechanism, and an electric signal is transmitted through this flat cable to perform a desired display.

First, when the user uses the system,
Input the screen configuration (resolution). This is done in an interactive mode in which a message prompting the user to enter the screen configuration is displayed from the CPU 31 when the environment is set, and the user responds to the message. For example, the input is such that three screens in the horizontal direction and 640 × 400 / screen. This allows the system to have a resolution of 1920
Recognized as × 400 dots, the VRAM 35 is reconfigured. That is, the screen area of three screens (640 × 400 × 3) is allocated as the refresh memory. And CPU3
1 executes the application program stored in the system RAM 32 to generate display contents, and writes the contents in the VRAM 35 via the display controller 34. The display controller 34 is V
The contents written in the RAM 35 are sequentially read out, and signals necessary for driving the display monitors 11 to 13 are supplied to the driver 36. This realizes a desired display on the display monitors 11-13.

Thus, when different information is displayed on each of the three display devices or when it is attempted to display the information on one surface, the information that partially overlaps and cannot be seen can be displayed on each of the three surfaces. You can use it to display information on two sides and work on the other side while watching it. Further, it is possible to divide what cannot be displayed on one screen and display it on three screens.

In the embodiment of the present invention, only the case of using the two or three display surfaces is illustrated, but the number of screens and the combination of screens are arbitrary, and a driver corresponding to the number of screens and the combination may be used. If it does not lose generality. The present invention can be applied not only to personal computers but also to display devices used as engineering workstations, terminals, wall-mounted televisions, and the like.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of documents, drawings and the like can be displayed without overlapping each other,
A large drawing can be divided and displayed without omission. Further, such a function can be realized by combining existing display units without developing a new display monitor in which the number of vertical and horizontal dots on the display surface is larger than the conventional one.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the outer appearance of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 (11 to 13) ... Display monitor 2 ... Joint mechanism 3 ... Control device 31 ... CPU 32 ... System RAM 33 ... BIOS-ROM 34 ... Display controller (GDC) 35 ... ...... VRAM 36 ………… Driver circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of display monitors having arbitrary resolutions,
It is characterized by comprising a joint mechanism for electrically and mechanically connecting the resolutions of the display monitors in arbitrary vertical and horizontal directions, and a control device for driving a plurality of display monitors according to the resolutions specified at the time of environment setting. Multi-screen linked display device. 2. The control device includes a display controller,
A screen configuration is assigned according to the values set promably through the display controller at the time of environment setting, VRAM in which display data generated by the CPU is written, and VRAM generated by reading the contents written in this VRAM. 2. The multi-screen linked display device according to claim 1, further comprising a driver circuit for supplying a drive signal to the.