JPH06308922A - Display adaptor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the degree of freedom of display mode of a display simplifying a display driver of the computer body side. CONSTITUTION:When an adaptor control circuit 9 receives a blink command of a video signal from the computer body side, on/off operation of an output from the computer body side to the display side of the video signal is performed, blink display is performed by repeating on/off operation of display on a display with the prescribed period, also when a control signal is not inputted from the computer body side continuously for the prescribed time or more, display on the display is temporarily stopped by turning off a video signal output of a video signal output control circuit 6 by the adaptor control circuit 9, further, when an external input signal monitoring section 13 detects an input signal from an external input device, the adaptor control circuit 9 tries to turn on an output of a video signal of the video signal output control circuit 6 again.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display adapter device which is connected between a computer main body and a display to control a video signal output from the computer main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional computer system, display control for outputting a video signal from a computer body and displaying it on a display is performed by a display driver on the computer body side, and is connected between the computer body and the display. There is no known adapter device for controlling a video signal.

[0003]

However, conventionally, there is no video signal control adapter device connected between the computer body and the display, and the display driver of the computer body side controls the display of the video signal. Therefore, there is a problem that the display driver is likely to be complicated and the load on the CPU is likely to be large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and the video signal is controlled by an adapter device connected between the computer main body and the display. An object of the present invention is to provide a display adapter device that can simplify the display driver and reduce the load on the CPU.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display adapter device which is used by being connected between a computer body and a display, wherein a video signal input from the computer body side is sent to the display side. It is provided with a video signal output control circuit for controlling the output on / off and an adapter control circuit for receiving a control signal from the computer main body and repeating the on / off operation of the video signal output of the video signal output control circuit. is there.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display adapter device connected between a computer main body and a display for on / off control of output of a video signal input from the computer main body side to the display side. The video signal output control circuit and the adapter control circuit for turning off the video signal output of the video signal output control circuit when the control signal is not continuously input from the computer main body for a certain period of time or longer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the display adapter device according to the second aspect further includes an external input signal monitoring section for monitoring an input signal from the external input device, and the adapter control circuit inputs the external input signal monitoring section. It has a function of restarting the output of the video signal when the signal is detected.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display adapter device which is used by being connected between a computer main body and a display, and on / off controls output of a video signal input from the computer main body side to the display side. A video signal output control circuit, an external input signal monitoring unit that monitors an input signal from an external input device, and a control signal from the computer main body side to turn on / off the video signal output of the video signal output control circuit. The function to repeat, the function to turn off the video signal output of the video signal output control circuit when the control signal is not continuously input from the computer for a certain period of time, and the external input signal monitor detects the input signal. And an adapter control circuit having a function of resuming the output of the video signal from time to time.

[0009]

In the display adapter device of the present invention, when the adapter control circuit receives the blink command of the video signal from the computer main body side, it turns on / off the output of the video signal from the computer main body side to the display side. , Blinks are displayed by repeating the display on / off.

In the display adapter device according to the second aspect of the invention, the adapter control circuit turns off the video signal output of the video signal output control circuit when the control signal is not continuously input from the computer main body side for a predetermined time or longer. This suspends the display of the display, prevents the display screen from burning, and saves power consumption.

In the display adapter device according to the third aspect of the invention, when the external input signal monitor detects the input signal from the external input device, the adapter control circuit restarts the output of the video signal of the video signal output control circuit. By doing so, it becomes possible to automatically restart the display of the video signal in response to the restart of the normal input operation without any input operation for restarting the display.

According to another aspect of the present invention, when the adapter control circuit receives a video signal blink command from the computer main body side, output of the video signal from the computer main body side to the display side is turned on / off.
The display is blinked by turning it off and turning on / off the display on a fixed cycle, and when the control signal is not continuously input from the computer for a fixed time, the adapter control circuit displays the video. By turning off the video signal output of the signal output control circuit, the display on the display is temporarily stopped, and when the external input signal monitor detects an input signal from the external input device, the adapter control circuit causes the video signal output control circuit By restarting the signal output, you do not have to perform any input operation to restart the display.
When the normal input operation is restarted, the video signal can be automatically restarted in response to the restart.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a computer device in which a display adapter device of a common embodiment of the inventions of claims 1 to 4 is used, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the display adapter device of FIG. .

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the display adapter device 1 of this embodiment is used by being connected between a computer main body 2 and a display 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the display adapter device 1 receives the video signal input from the computer main body 2 side through the video signal line 4, and outputs the video signal to the display 3 through the video signal line 5. The video signal output control circuit 6 for controlling the operation on / off, and the control signal line 7 from the computer main body 2 side
Interface 8 for control signals input through
An adapter control circuit 9 for performing on / off control of the video signal of the video signal output control circuit 6 in accordance with a control signal input to the interface 8, and an external input device 10 such as a mouse, a trackball or a keyboard. An external input monitoring circuit which transmits an incoming external input signal input through the input signal line 11 to the computer main body 2 side through the input signal line 12 and, at the same time, detects the input of the external input signal and gives the detected signal to the adapter control circuit 9. 1
3 and 3.

Next, the operation of the display adapter device having the above configuration will be described. When using a normal computer system, a display control signal is input from the computer main body 2 side to the interface 8 of the adapter device 1 through the control signal line 7, and the interface 8 outputs the control signal to the adapter control circuit 9 if the control signal is input. Then, the adapter control circuit 9 gives a video signal output command to the video signal output control circuit 6. As a result, the video signal from the computer main body 2 passes through the video signal line 4 and the adapter device 1
Is input to the video signal output control circuit 6 and is output to the display 3 through the video signal line 5 without passing therethrough and displayed.

However, when it is necessary to blink the display on the display 3 due to a warning or caution to the operator as a result of some arithmetic processing on the computer main body 2 side, a control signal is sent from the computer main body 2 side. A control signal including a blink command is input to the interface 8 through the line 7. The interface 8 gives this control signal to the adapter control circuit 9, and the adapter control circuit 9 gives the video signal output control circuit 6 a command to turn on / off the video signal output.

As a result, the video signal output control circuit 6 controls on / off of the output of the video signal inputted from the computer main body 2 side through the video signal line 4, and the video signal which is turned on / off through the video signal line 5. The signal is output to the display 3, and the image to be displayed by the video signal sent from the computer main body 2 is displayed on the display 3 in a blinking manner.

Further, the adapter control circuit 9 monitors the control signal sent from the computer main body 2 side through the control signal line 7, and the control signal does not change for a preset time, for example, 5 minutes or 10 minutes. In this case, it is determined that the operator is not operating, and the video signal output control circuit 6 is instructed to turn off the video signal output.

As a result, the video signal output control circuit 6 stops outputting the video signal sent from the computer main body 2 side to the display 3, and stops the display on the display 3. In this way, when the operation is interrupted for a certain period of time or more, the display on the display 3 is stopped to realize the power saving and the burn-in of the display 3 is prevented.

The external input monitoring circuit 13 monitors an input signal from the keyboard or mouse input through the external input signal line 11, and when an operation input occurs, the signal is transparently transmitted to the computer main body 2 side. A necessary operation input signal is output through the control signal line 12 to be input to the computer main body 2, and the adapter control circuit 9 is provided with the input signal detection signal. Therefore, the adapter control circuit 9 gives the video signal output control circuit 6 a command to restart the output of the video signal, outputs the video signal sent from the computer main body 2 side to the display 3 side again, and restarts the display of the display 3.

Thus, in the case where the operation is completed and the operator stops the operation and then resumes the operation, the operator simply uses the mouse or the keyboard 10 to give some input,
It is possible to automatically restart the display of the display 3 from the display stopped state and redisplay the image by the video signal from the computer main body 2 side.

In the case of this embodiment, the external input signal does not necessarily have to be transmitted to the computer main body 2 side.
A specific operation signal may be set in advance as a display restart signal by software, and when the display restart is required, the operation signal may be input only to the adapter device 1 and not transmitted to the computer body 2 side. . In this way, in the display adapter device of this embodiment, the video signal to be displayed on the display 3 is turned on / off at a constant cycle only by receiving the control signal from the computer main body 2 side without operating the CPU of the computer main body 2 side. It is possible to control the display, and to prevent burn-in by stopping the display when there is no operation for a certain period of time. In addition, the display can be automatically restarted when an operation signal is input. This can be performed without imposing a load on the CPU on the computer main body 2 side, and the load can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and corresponds to the invention of claim 1 and is provided with only a video signal output control circuit 6, an interface 8 and an adapter control circuit 9, and a computer. In response to the control command from the main body 2 side, the adapter control circuit 9 gives an on / off control command of a constant cycle to the video signal control circuit 6, whereby the video signal from the computer main body 2 side is transmitted to the display 3 side. Intermittently in a fixed cycle,
It is possible to provide only the function of controlling the display of the image on the display 3 to be blinked by intermittently displaying the image at regular intervals.

Further, as an embodiment corresponding to the invention of claim 2, when the computer main body 2 needs to forcibly restart the display at the time of updating the image or due to some state change, it is automatically performed. The control signal is output to the adapter device 1, and when the control signal is not input from the computer main body 2 side for a certain time or longer, the adapter control circuit 9 turns off the video signal output control circuit 6 and the computer main body 2 side. It is possible to provide only the function of stopping the output of the video signal from the display 3 to the display 3 and stopping the display of the display 3. In this case, the adapter control circuit 9 monitors the control signal from the computer main body 2 side, and when the control signal for restarting the display is received, the video signal output control circuit 6 is turned on to restart the display on the display 3. To do so.

Further, as an embodiment corresponding to the invention of claim 3, the embodiment of the invention of claim 2 is further provided with an external input monitoring circuit 13, and an operation input of a keyboard or an operation input of a mouse or a touch panel. Is monitored, and when the external operation input is detected, the detection signal is given to the adapter control circuit 9, and the adapter control circuit 9 receives the signal and turns on the video signal output control circuit 6 to restart the display of the video signal. It can be configured to. In the case of this embodiment, the external input signal does not necessarily have to be transmitted to the computer main body 2 side, and a specific operation signal is set in advance as a display restart signal by software, and if the display restart is required, the operation is performed. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a signal is input only to the adapter device 1 and is not transmitted to the computer main body 2 side.

[0027]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1,
When the adapter control circuit receives the blink command of the video signal from the computer main body side, the video signal output control circuit is turned on / off at a constant cycle to output the video signal from the computer main body side to the display side at a constant cycle. The blink display can be performed by turning the display on / off with, and the display on the display can be blinked by turning on / off the display on the display. The driver software can be simplified and the load on the CPU can be reduced.

According to the invention of claim 2, the adapter control circuit turns off the video signal output of the video signal output control circuit when the control signal is not continuously input from the computer main body for a predetermined time or more. Since the display on the display is paused, it is possible to prevent burn-in of the display screen by continuing to display the same image for a long time, and to save power consumption. Since the stop processing is performed on the adapter device side and not on the computer main body side, the display driver on the computer main body side does not need to have software for temporarily suspending the display. Can be simple, CP
The burden on U can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the adapter control circuit restarts the output of the video signal from the video signal output control circuit when the external input signal monitoring section detects the input signal from the external input device. Therefore, even when the display of the display is paused, the video signal can be automatically restarted in response to the restart of the normal input operation without any input operation when the display needs to be performed. Moreover, since the process for restarting the automatic display can be performed only by the adapter device side, the display driver on the computer main body side does not need to have software for automatically restarting the display on the display by external input. , The software of the display driver on the computer side can be simplified and the load on the CPU is reduced. It can be.

In the display adapter device of the fourth aspect of the invention, when the adapter control circuit receives the blink command of the video signal from the computer main body side, the output of the video signal from the computer main body side to the display side is turned on / off.
The display is blinked by turning it off and turning on / off the display on a fixed cycle, and when the control signal is not continuously input from the computer for a fixed time, the adapter control circuit displays the video. By turning off the video signal output of the signal output control circuit, the display on the display is temporarily stopped, and when the external input signal monitor detects an input signal from the external input device, the adapter control circuit causes the video signal output control circuit Since the signal output is restarted, the display device blink processing, display stop, and automatic display restart functions can be controlled on the adapter device side, and the display driver on the computer main body side can control those functions. You don't have to have software to implement the functions The software of the side display drivers can be simple, it is possible to reduce the burden on the CPU.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a system in which a display adapter device according to a common embodiment of claims 1 to 4 is connected between a computer main body and a display.

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of the display adapter device of the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Display Adapter Device 2 Computer Main Body 3 Display 4 Video Signal Line 5 Video Signal Line 6 Video Signal Output Control Circuit 7 Control Signal Line 8 Interface 9 Adapter Control Circuit 10 External Input Device 11 External Input Signal Line 12 External Input Signal Line 13 External Input Monitoring circuit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A display adapter device used by being connected between a computer main body and a display, wherein the video signal output controls on / off of output of a video signal input from the computer main body side to the display side. A display adapter device comprising: a control circuit; and an adapter control circuit that receives a control signal from the computer main body side to repeat ON / OFF operation of the video signal output of the video signal output control circuit. 2. A display adapter device used by connecting between a computer main body and a display, wherein the video signal output controls on / off of output of a video signal input from the computer main body side to the display side. A display adapter device comprising: a control circuit; and an adapter control circuit for turning off a video signal output of the video signal output control circuit when a control signal is not continuously input from the computer main body side for a predetermined time or longer. 3. The display adapter device according to claim 2, further comprising an external input signal monitoring unit that monitors an input signal from an external input device, wherein the adapter control circuit causes the external input signal monitoring unit to receive an input signal. A display adapter device having a function of resuming the output of the video signal when the video signal is detected. 4. A display adapter device used by being connected between a computer main body and a display, the video signal output controlling on / off of output of a video signal input from the computer main body side to the display side. A control circuit, an external input signal monitoring unit that monitors an input signal from an external input device, and a control signal from the computer main body side to repeat the ON / OFF operation of the video signal output of the video signal output control circuit. A function, a function of turning off the video signal output of the video signal output control circuit when a control signal is not continuously input from the computer main body side for a certain period of time, and the external input signal monitoring unit detects an input signal And an adapter control circuit having a function of restarting the output of the video signal when Ray adapter device.