JPH10161835A - Overlap display method and multi-screen system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the visibility when a pointing device, a menu, etc., are displayed with overlap on a screen consisting of plural display areas. SOLUTION: In a multi-screen system where the display screens 10a and 10b are combined into a single screen, a display control means 3 has a function to display with overlap the images located at the parts near a screen boundary. When the graphic type that is designated by the display instruction of an application program 2 is equal to a menu/cursor, an overlap processing part 5 checks whether the relevant graphic form crosses a current overlap area. If the graphic form crosses the overlap area, the part 5 dynamically changes the size of the overlap area in response to the size of the graphic form. Thus, the graphic form is never divided into sections and can be included in the overlap area when it is displayed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a multi-screen system, and more particularly to an overlap display method of an image over a screen boundary.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a multi-screen system in which a plurality of display devices are combined to form one large screen, when an interactive menu displayed at the position of a pointing device extends between displays, it is displayed on one display. The interactive menu has been moved. Further, when the moving pointing device crosses the overlap area set near the display boundary, the moving amount of the device is changed and controlled. For example,
In the "pointing cursor movement control device" described in JP-A-5-143238, a pointing cursor for moving a multi-window temporarily stops in an overlap area, and when a movement instruction becomes a predetermined amount or more, the pointing cursor moves over a boundary. Is controlled to move to the window.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned prior art, the size of the overlap area is fixed. Therefore, if the size of the menu or the pointing cursor indicated by the display instruction from the application program is larger than the overlap area, these figures may be displayed across the displays. When the menu or the pointing cursor is displayed across the displays, the visibility of the menu selection items or the tip position of the cursor is reduced, and the operability of the operator is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to display a pointing device, a menu, and the like on a screen composed of a plurality of display areas, and display the whole of the graphics in one display area. It is an object of the present invention to provide an overlap display method in which visibility of a pointing device and a menu is improved, and an operator's operation is easy, and a multi-screen system to which the overlap display method is applied.

[0005]

An object of the present invention is to form one screen by a plurality of display areas and display an image near a boundary of one display area in an overlap area of another adjacent display area. In an overlap display method for ensuring continuity of an image extending between display areas, when an image displayed in the overlap area is a specific graphic according to a display command, the overlap area is included so as to include the specific graphic. Is achieved by varying the size of

The overlap display in the overlap area is performed only in the case of the specific graphic. In this case, those other than the specific graphic are displayed at the positions according to the display command. Incidentally, the specific figure is a menu or a pointing device.

Further, in the overlap display method according to the present invention, when the type of the graphic according to the display command of the application program is a menu or a pointing device, it is determined whether or not the display position of the graphic intersects with the overlap area. In this case, the size S of the figure is compared with the size P of the overlap area. If the result is S ≧ P, the size P of the overlap area is changed so that S ≦ P. The overlap display is performed.

When the size P of the overlap area increases from P1 before change to P2 after change by ΔP, the figure intersecting the overlap area before change is adjacent to the figure by ΔP. Scroll in the direction opposite to the other display area, and then, in the other display area bordering the overlap area, which is farther than P1 from the border and within the range of ΔP, the figure is vacated by the scroll. And copying to the overlap display area.

Further, the multi-screen system to which the method of the present invention is applied, sets an overlap area on one side of an adjacent display screen, and transfers an image near the boundary of one display screen to the other display screen. The display control means for overlappingly displaying the overlap area in the overlap area dynamically changes the size of the overlap area in accordance with the size of the specific figure when the type of the figure according to the display command is a specific figure of a menu or a pointing device. It is characterized by having lap processing means.

[0010] The overlap processing means calculates an overlap area that is equal to or less than a maximum overlap area allowed on the display screen and is obtained by adding a predetermined margin to the size of the specific figure.

According to the present invention, when displaying a screen control graphic such as a pointing device or a menu on a display device comprising a plurality of display areas formed by screens or windows, the entire graphic is displayed. 1
Since the display can be performed in the display area, the visibility of the pointing device and the menu is improved, and the operation of the operator becomes easy. In addition, since it is not necessary to consider the screen layout and the size of the mouse cursor in the application program, it is easy to create the program.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a multi-screen system according to one embodiment, and shows an example in which one large screen is configured by two display devices 10a and 10b.

The central processing unit 1 has a business processing function by an application program 2 and a display control function by a display control program 3 including a graphic discrimination process 4, an overlap process 5, a display process 6, and a display switching process 7. .

The application program 2 transfers a display command (graphic data) to the display control program 3 to display a graphic such as a menu. FIG. 2 shows the format of the graphic data. The graphic data includes a graphic identifier 21 representing the type of the graphic, unique information 23 such as a display position, size, and color information of the graphic, and a data length 22.

The display control program 3 determines the display device 10a / 10b to be displayed from the graphic data, converts the graphic data into a hard command (for example, a hexadecimal value), and transfers it to the graphic drawing device 8a / 8b. The graphic drawing device 8 interprets the transferred hard command, performs vector / raster conversion, and writes it as pixel information into the frame memories 9a / 9b. The pixel information developed in the frame memory 9 is displayed on the display devices 10a / 10b after performing D / A conversion.

In the multi-screen display device of this embodiment, a current overlap area 101a of a predetermined size is set on the screen of the display device 10b adjacent to the screen boundary of the display device 10a. And
When the menu or the mouse cursor according to the display command intersects with the overlap area 101a, the size of the overlap area 101 is appropriately controlled so as to include the entire menu or cursor.

In cases other than the above, ordinary graphic processing is performed at the position according to the display command without performing the overlap display processing. Of course, even in other types of graphics, when it is necessary to ensure the continuity of the image near the boundary, the overlap display processing may be performed.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the display control program according to the present embodiment. When the display control program 3 receives the display command from the application program 2, it performs the figure determination based on the figure type number 21 (S
300). When the type of the graphic is other than the menu or the mouse cursor, the processing shifts to the normal graphic processing (S360).

When the type of figure is a menu or a mouse cursor, the figure is the current overlap area 1
01a is determined (S310). If they do not intersect, the process moves to step S350. If they intersect, the graphic size S of the menu or the mouse cursor is compared with the size P1 of the overlap area 101a (S32).
0) When S ≧ P1, an overlap area P2 that can include the size S is calculated (S330). Then, an overlap area display process is performed so that the entire area of the menu or cursor is included in the overlap area P2 (S340), and a menu or cursor display process is performed (S350).

Display processing of menu or cursor (S3
50) and the normal display processing (S360), a hard command is created from the graphic data as in the conventional case, and if the graphic to be displayed extends over the two displays 10a and 10b, it is transferred to the graphic drawing devices 8a and 8b. If it is one of them, the display is switched so as to transfer to the corresponding graphic drawing device 8a / 8b.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the details of S320 and S330, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram thereof. First, the size P1 of the current overlap area 101a
Is compared with the graphic size S according to the display command to determine whether P1 ≦ S (S320).

As shown in FIG. 5A, when the size S of the menu 201 is larger than P1, the value obtained by multiplying the screen size R of the display 10b by the coefficient W1 is compared with the size S.
It is determined whether S <R1 * W1 (S331). As shown in FIG. 5B, the coefficient W1 <1.0, and indicates the ratio of the maximum overlap area allowable in the screen. Therefore, the figure size S is the maximum overlap area (R1 * W
In the case where it becomes larger than 1), the change of the area becomes meaningless and is not performed.

Next, a value obtained by multiplying the figure size S by a coefficient W2 (for example, a value exceeding 1.0 such as W2 = 1 / W1) is set as the size P2 of the changed overlap area 101b (S332). As shown in FIG. 5C, the figure size S is enlarged by the margin W2, and the overlap area 101b of the size P2 is set. In addition, W1,
Each value of W2 can be specified by the application program 2 or an operator.

FIG. 6 shows an overlap area display process (S
340) is a flowchart showing the details, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram thereof. When the size of the overlap area 101 increases from P1 before the change to P2 after the change by ΔP (= P2−P1), the overlap area 10 before the change
Figure 201 on the frame memory 9b side intersecting with 1a
Is scrolled leftward by ΔP in the direction opposite to the boundary (S
341). Next, the graphic 201 on the frame memory 9a side
In the range from P1 to △ P beyond the boundary
1 is copied to the overlap display area vacated by the first scroll (S342). As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, data of all the figures of the menu 201 are drawn in the frame memory 9b.

FIG. 8 shows the overlap display screen according to the present embodiment in comparison with the conventional overlap display screen. FIG. 2A shows a conventional example, in which a menu 201 is a fixed overlap area 101.
The display 10
a and 10b are displayed. In order to select a desired menu item on this screen, it is necessary to compare two screens, and visibility is poor.

FIG. 2B shows a display example according to the present embodiment, in which the overlap area change processing is performed.
01 are included. According to this, since the contents of the menu items can be immediately confirmed only on the screen 10b, the operation of the operator is facilitated.

The same applies to a mouse cursor. If the tip of the cursor is separated and extends over two screens, it may be difficult to confirm the indicated position. However, in the present embodiment, the graphic portion separated on another screen is synthesized and displayed in the changed overlap area 101b, so that the operator's operation is facilitated.

Although the multi-screen display device of the present embodiment has been described as having a configuration including a plurality of display devices, it is needless to say that the multi-screen display device can be applied to a multi-window system using one display device.

[0029]

According to the present invention, when a specific figure used for screen control, such as a menu or a pointing device, is displayed on a multi-screen, a current overlap area set on one side near a screen boundary. Is changed in accordance with the size of the specific graphic according to the display command, and the overlap display processing is performed so that the entire graphic is displayed on the screen on the one side, so that the visibility of the specific graphic is improved, There is an effect that the operability of the operator can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a multi-screen display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a format diagram of graphic data included in a display command.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an overlap display process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of changing an overlap area.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a process of changing an overlap area.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of redisplaying an overlap area.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a process of redisplaying an overlap area.

FIG. 8 is a screen transition diagram showing an example of a menu screen before and after an overlap area is changed.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Central processing unit, 2 ... Application program (business processing function), 3 ... Display control program (Display control function), 4 ... Graphic discrimination processing, 5 ... Overlap processing,
6 display processing, 7 display switching processing, 8a, 8b figure drawing device, 9a, 9b frame memory, 10a, 1
0b: display device, 101a, 101b: overlap display area, 201: menu.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shinji Homma 5-2-1 Omikacho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Pref. No.2-1 Hitachi Process Computer Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Daisuke Watanabe 5-2-1 Omika-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Pref.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A screen is composed of a plurality of display areas, an image near a boundary of one display area is overlap-displayed on an overlap area of another adjacent display area, and an image extending between display areas is displayed. In the overlap display method for securing continuity, in a case where an image displayed in the overlap area is a specific figure according to a display command, the size of the overlap area is changed to include the specific figure. Overlap display method. 2. The overlap display method according to claim 1, wherein the specific graphic is a menu or a pointing device. 3. The overlap display method according to claim 1, wherein the overlap display in the overlap area is performed only for the specific figure. 4. A single screen is constituted by a plurality of display areas by screens or windows, and an image near a boundary of one display area is overlap-displayed on an overlap area of another adjacent display area. In the overlap display method to ensure the continuity of the image over the screen, when the type of the figure by the display instruction of the application program is a menu or a pointing device,
It is determined whether the display position of the graphic intersects with the overlap area. If the display position intersects, the size S of the graphic is compared with the size P of the overlap area.
An overlap display method characterized by changing the size P of the overlap area so as to satisfy S ≦ P when ≧ P, and performing overlap display of the figure. 5. The graphic according to claim 4, wherein when the size P of the overlap area increases from P1 before the change to P2 after the change by ΔP, the figure intersecting the overlap area before the change is displayed. Scrolls by ΔP in the direction opposite to the other display area adjacent thereto, and then the other display area that borders the overlap area and that is farther than P1 from the boundary and within the range of ΔP Is copied to the overlap display area vacated by the scroll. 6. A screen is formed by combining a plurality of display screens, an overlap area is set on one side of an adjacent display screen, and an image near the boundary of one display screen is displayed on the other display screen. In a multi-screen system comprising display control means for displaying overlapped display in an overlap area, the display control means reduces the size of the specific graphic when the type of the graphic according to the display command is a specific graphic of a menu or a pointing device. A multi-screen system comprising an overlap processing means for dynamically changing the size of the overlap area in accordance with the overlap processing. 7. The overlap processing unit according to claim 6, wherein the overlap processing unit calculates an overlap area that is equal to or less than a maximum overlap area allowed on the display screen and that adds a predetermined margin to the size of the specific graphic. A multi-screen system having a function.