JPH10333867A - Picture display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a picture display device that makes a worker easily retrieve a target window by making the worker intuitively understandable the hierarchy of a window by viewing it even when plural windows are present. SOLUTION: This display device is provided with an outputting device 1 such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display or the like, window information storing means 2 which stores the position, size, and hierarchy of the window which is present on a screen, display format deciding means 3 which decides an image to to be actually outputted to the screen so that the most front face of the screen can be normally displayed, and a part hidden under it can be translucently displayed by thinning-out the number of display dots or changing the color, and screen outputting means 4 which displays the decided image. Thus, even when plural windows are present, a worker can easily retrieve a target window.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image display device for displaying characters and images on a virtual screen called a plurality of windows on an operation screen of a computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a plurality of windows are displayed on an operation screen of a computer or the like, display is performed by an overlap method as shown in FIG. The operation is performed by operating an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. When there are many windows, in order to search for a target window, the operator sequentially operates input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse to change the active window as shown in FIG.
The target window is searched for by closing the active window.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, what kind of screen is displayed for a portion hidden under the overlapped window unless a keyboard, a mouse or the like is operated. There is no way to know. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes time and effort to search for a target window.

The present invention solves the above problems,
Even if there are many windows, as shown in FIG. 6, an image display device is provided in which the hierarchy of windows can be visually and intuitively recognized, and an operator can easily search for a target window.

[0005]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display apparatus for displaying characters and images in a plurality of windows overlappingly displayed on a computer screen. Window information storage means for storing the position, size, and hierarchy of the window, and using the window information of the window information storage means, the display format of the rear window hidden under the overlapped window is displayed as the front window And display output means for displaying a rear window in the determined display format, wherein the front window and the rear window are displayed in different display formats. An image display device.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a screen display device capable of intuitively visually judging the hierarchy of windows and allowing an operator to easily search for a target window.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to an image display apparatus for displaying characters and images in a plurality of windows displayed on a computer screen so as to overlap each other. Using a window information storage means for storing the size and the hierarchy, and using the window information of the window information storage means, a display format of the rear window hidden under the overlapped window is different from the display format of the front window. An image display device comprising: a display format determining unit that determines a front window and a rear window in different display formats; and a screen output unit that displays a rear window in the determined display format. According to the present invention,
The hierarchy of windows can be visually and intuitively determined, and has an effect that an operator can easily search for a target window.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display apparatus for displaying characters and images in a plurality of windows displayed on a computer screen so as to overlap with each other, wherein the position, size and hierarchy of the windows are stored. Display format determining means for determining the display format of the rear window hidden under the overlapped window to a display format different from that of the front window using the window information storage means and the window information of the window information storage means. And a display format selection unit that receives an input from an external input device and selects between a normal display format and a display format determined by the display format determination unit, and displays the rear window in the selected display format. Screen output means, the front window and the rear window can be displayed in a normal display format or a different display format. An image display apparatus characterized by Shimesuru, in addition to the effects possessed by the invention described in claim 1,
Since the screen display determined by the display format determining means is performed only when the operator needs it, there is an effect that a simplified screen can be always displayed by the conventional overlap method.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the display format of the rear window by the display format determining means is a format in which the number of display dots is reduced or displayed in a color different from the display color of the front window. A screen display device according to claim 1 or 2, having the same function as the invention according to claim 1 or 2. The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the display format of the rear window by the display format determining means is a format in which the number of display dots is thinned out and displayed in a color different from the display color of the front window. 3. The screen display device according to 1 or 2,
In addition to the functions of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the portion hidden under the window is displayed with more change, thereby making it easier for the operator to make a visual judgment and easily setting the target window. Has a searchable action.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the image recognition apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1
Is an output device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display, 2 is window information storage means for storing the position, size, and hierarchy of windows, 3 is the number of display dots of windows hidden under the overlapped windows, The display format determining means 4 for decimating or changing the display color to determine an image to be actually output on the screen is a screen output means for displaying the image determined by the display format determining means 3. Reference numeral 8 denotes a control device including a window information storage unit 2, a display format determination unit 3, and a screen output unit 4.

A recognition method of the image recognition apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to an operation flowchart of FIG. In the following description, for simplification, a case where there are two windows as shown in FIG. 5 will be described. Further, the change of the window information due to the window operation in step 3 occurs due to the operation of the input device such as the keyboard and the mouse of the operator or the influence of other applications, and the types of the change of the window information are as shown in FIG. Change, move, disappear and create windows hierarchy.

First, a window A is generated in step 1 and a window B is generated in step 2. Then, in step 3, the window is operated by the operator's operation of the input device or the influence of another application. In step 4, the current window information is compared with the information held in the window information storage unit 2. If there is a change in the window information, the process proceeds to step 5, and if there is no change, the process proceeds to step 6. In step 5, the current window information is stored in the window information storage means 2.
In step 6, the display format determining means 3 determines from the information in the window information storing means 2 normal display for the foreground on the screen and thinning out the number of display dots or changing the color for the part hidden below. An image to be actually output on the screen is determined such as a translucent display. In step 7, the screen output means 4 outputs the image determined by the display image determining means 3 to the screen. In step 8, it is determined whether or not to end the system. If not, the process returns to step 3. (Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing another embodiment of the image recognition apparatus of the present invention. In FIG.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a conventional screen output unit for performing overlap display. Reference numeral 6 denotes display means determining means for determining which of the screen output means 4 of the present invention and the conventional screen output means 5 is used. Reference numeral 7 denotes an external input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. Reference numeral 9 denotes a control device including a window information storage unit 2, a display format determination unit 3, a screen output unit 4, a conventional screen output unit 5, and a display unit determination unit 6.

A recognition method of the image recognition apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to an operation flowchart of FIG. In the following description, for simplicity, a case where there are two windows as shown in FIG. First, a window A is generated in step 1 and a window B is generated in step 2. Thereafter, in step 3, the window is operated by the operator's operation of the input device or the influence of another application. In step 4, the current window information is compared with the information held in the window information storage unit 2. If there is a change in the window information, the process proceeds to step 5, and if there is no change, the process proceeds to step 6. In step 5, the current window information is stored in the window information storage means 2. Step 6
Then, the display format determining means 3 uses the information in the window information storage means 2 to display a normal display on the foreground screen,
An image to be actually output to the screen is determined such that a portion hidden below is translucent by reducing the number of display dots or changing the color. In step 7, the display means determination means 5 determines whether a specific input has been made from the external input device 7 such as a keyboard or a mouse. If it is determined in step 7 that the specific input has been made, the screen display means 4 displays the screen as the image determined in step 6 (step 8-1). If there is no specific input, the conventional screen display means 5 performs the conventional overlap display (step 8-2). In step 9, it is determined whether or not to end the system. If not, the process returns to step 3.

In the first and second embodiments, the format determined by the display format determining means is to display by thinning out the number of dots or to display the display color in a different color. It is also possible to adopt a format in which display colors are displayed in different colors as well as thinning.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, even when there are many windows on the screen, the hierarchy of the windows can be intuitively determined by visual inspection, and it is easy to search for the target window. Has the effect of becoming

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state change of a window used in the description of the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a screen display method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing changes in window information used in the description of the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a conventional screen display method.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 output device such as CRT or liquid crystal display 2 window information storage device 3 display format determination means 4 screen output means 5 conventional screen output means (for performing conventional overlap display) 6 display means determination means 7 keyboard, mouse, etc. Input device 8 control device 9 control device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image display device for displaying characters and images in a plurality of windows overlappingly displayed on a computer screen, a window information storage means for storing a position, a size and a hierarchy of a window, Display format determining means for determining the display format of the rear window hidden under the overlapped window to a display format different from that of the front window, using the window information of the information storage device; and the determined display format. An image display device comprising: a screen output unit for displaying a rear window in the display window, and displaying the front window and the rear window in different display formats. 2. An image display device for displaying characters and images in a plurality of windows overlappingly displayed on a screen of a computer, comprising: a window information storage unit for storing a position, a size and a hierarchy of a window; Display format determining means for determining the display format of the rear window hidden under the overlapped window to a display format different from that of the front window, using the window information of the information storage device; and After receiving the input,
A display format selection unit for selecting a display format determined by the display format determination unit; and a screen output unit for displaying a rear window in the selected display format, wherein the front window and the rear window are displayed in a normal display format. Alternatively, the image display device displays the image in a different display format. 3. The display format of the rear window determined by the display format determining means is a format in which the number of display dots is thinned out, or a format in which the display color is different from the display color of the front window. 3. The screen display device according to 1 or 2. 4. The display format of the rear window by the display format determining means is a format in which the number of display dots is reduced and displayed in a color different from the display color of the front window. Screen display device.