JPS6141419B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an online system consisting of a plurality of terminal devices connected to a central processing unit or a terminal control device via a communication line. This relates to a method for optimally controlling the screen.

Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of an online system.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a central processing unit, 2 is a file device within the central processing unit, 3 is a modem device, and 4 is a file device in the central processing unit.
is a communication line. 5 is a terminal control device, 6 is a file device in the terminal control device, 7 is a modem device,
8 is a communication line. Reference numeral 9 indicates a terminal device controlled by the terminal control device 5. FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a terminal device, which includes a keyboard 10, a storage device 11, a display device 12, a printing device 13, and a control circuit 14 that controls each of these parts.

The outline of the operation is as follows. When the operator of the terminal device 9 presses the keyboard 10, the input data is held in the storage device 11 under the control of the control circuit 14. At the same time, this input data is displayed on the display device 12, so that the operator can visually verify his input data. When the predetermined input is completed, the operator presses the send key on the keyboard 10. When the control circuit 14 detects that the transmit key is pressed, it reads the input data held in the storage device 11 and sends it to the terminal control device 5 through the modem device 7 and the communication line 8. The terminal control device 5 performs certain processing on the data received from the terminal device 9 and transmits the data to the central processing unit 1 via the modulation/demodulation device 3 and the communication line 4. The central processing unit 1 creates a certain answer to the data received from the terminal device 9 via the terminal control device 5, and returns the answer to the terminal device 9 via the reverse route. The answer from the central processing unit 1 is sent to the terminal control unit 5.
The data is received by the terminal device 9 via the terminal device 9, temporarily stored in the storage device 11 under the control of the control circuit 14, and then displayed on the display device 12 or printed out by the printing device 13 depending on the content of the data.

By the way, when an operator keys in input data using a keyboard, it is easier to operate if a desired input operation guidance screen is displayed on a display device, and for example, this method is used in a bank online system. FIG. 3 shows an example of an input operation guidance screen in the bank online system. This is an example of a screen using kanji display. 20 is "Normal Deposit" is the title that represents the screen content, 21 is "001" is the screen number for the index, and 22 is "01" to "08". Display line number.
The operator looks at the display such as "account number" and "previous balance" and keys in the input data. In this case, the current input item can be known by the 23 input position marks.

The input operation guidance screen as shown in FIG. 3 can be obtained by displaying what is stored in the storage device in the terminal device on the display device. The types of input operation guidance screens that are generally required for operation are:
It ranges from 50 to 200, and rarely exceeds 1000. In addition, the storage capacity to hold one screen's worth of information is approximately 256 bytes in the example shown in Figure 3, and generally
It is approximately 256 to 1024 bytes.

Now, conventionally, due to storage capacity constraints, the input operation guidance screen was kept in the storage device of the terminal device.
Only one screen is currently in use, and the remaining input operation guidance screens are retained in the file device of the terminal control device or central processing unit, and transferred to the storage device of the terminal device whenever necessary. Generally taken. The necessary input operation guidance screen is called up by the operator inputting the corresponding screen number using the keyboard. FIG. 4 shows a code table for a business-specific operation guidance screen in the case of a banking system. That is, the operator looks at the code table shown in FIG. 4, keys in the corresponding screen number code, and executes an operation to call up the input operation guidance screen. With this operation,
The terminal device requests the terminal control device or central processing unit for the next input operation guidance screen to be displayed,
In response to this, the terminal control device or central processing unit searches the file device for input operation guidance screen data for the code and transmits it to the terminal device. The terminal device that has received the screen data stores the screen data in its storage device and simultaneously displays it on its display device. At this time, the screen information that was displayed up to that point disappears.

As described above, in the conventional system, the operator had to carry out a screen call operation every time the handling task changed to obtain the necessary input operation guidance screen. Therefore, the operation is troublesome for the operator, and the time required for screen conversion cannot be ignored, which unnecessarily lowers the operating rate of the system. As a countermeasure to this, it is possible to greatly increase the capacity of the storage device in the terminal device and store all the input operation guidance screens in advance, but this is not recommended due to reasons such as the mounting location and the increase in device price. Not. There is also a method that permanently stores about 10 types of screen information that are used most frequently in the terminal device, but in this case, it is not easy to change the specifications of the screen contents, and the screen information may vary depending on the installation location and the time of use. This is inconvenient in systems where the screen is variable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a display screen control method that minimizes the increase in the number of storage devices in a terminal device, and practically eliminates the waiting time for display screen conversion in most cases.

However, a feature of the present invention is that among the display screen information such as a large number of input operation guidance screens stored in the file device of the terminal control device or central processing unit, the most recently used or frequently used It is assumed that only about 10 screens are retained in the storage device of the terminal device, and these display screens are sufficient for most of the normal work, and if a new screen is required in the process of carrying out the work, the storage device of the terminal device is saved. The oldest or least frequently used display screen is removed from among the display screens held in the system, and replaced with a new display screen read out from the file device of the central processing unit or terminal control unit.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail based on an illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the present invention, particularly showing a configuration related to the present invention in a terminal device. In FIG. 5, 10 is a keyboard, and 12 is a display device, which are the same as in FIG. 2. 101 is a display screen storage area, which is provided in the storage device 11 shown in FIG. In this example,
The display screen storage area 101 corresponds to the display screen A,
It is divided into 10 areas B, ...J, and the 10 most recently used input operation guidance screens can be maintained at all times. Each area of A, B, ...J is 256
It has a capacity of ~1024 bytes and stores display control codes and display code groups corresponding to the display screen and according to the agreement with the terminal control device. 102 is a screen number table, each area of which corresponds one-to-one with A, B, ...J of the display screen storage area 101, and the input operation guidance screen held in A, B, ...J. Memorize the corresponding screen number. 103 is a usage order counter, which is also stored in the display screen storage area 10.
1 in one-to-one correspondence with A, B, . . . J, and stores the order of use among the input operation guidance screens held in A, B, . In this example,
When a new input operation guidance screen is stored in a certain area of the display screen storage area 101, the value of the corresponding use order counter 103 is set to "9", and at the same time, a value larger than the value of the counter before updating is set. If there are any use order counters that indicate this, the values of those counters are set to -1. As a result, the usage order of the input operation guidance screens held in A, B, ...J of the display screen storage area 101 is such that the one whose corresponding usage order counter in 103 indicates "9" is stored most recently, and the following is as follows. , "8", "7", . . . "1" are the oldest, and "0" indicates the oldest stored one.

104 is a register that temporarily stores the screen number input by the operator, and 105 is a comparison circuit that compares the input screen number of the register 104 with the screen number stored in the screen number table 102. Reference numeral 106 indicates a transmitting/receiving circuit for exchanging data, etc. with the terminal control device, and 107 indicates a refresh memory of the display device 12. A control circuit 108 controls the operation of the terminal device, and has a microcomputer structure, for example.

The operation of FIG. 5 is as follows. Initially, the display screen storage area 101, screen number table 102, and use order counter 103 are all cleared, and the operation of calling a necessary input operation guidance screen from the terminal control device and registering it in the display screen storage area 101 will be explained. FIG. 6 is an overview of the operations of the terminal device and terminal control device in this case.

First, as shown in the steps in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the operator inputs the screen number "001" from the keyboard 10 in order to execute the task of the screen number "001". The screen number "001" entered by this operator from the keyboard 10 is sent to the register 1 through the signal line 109, the control circuit 108, and the signal line 110.
04. Subsequently, the operator inputs a screen call signal from the keyboard 10. By inputting this screen call signal, the contents of the register 104 are changed to the signal line 111 under the control of the control circuit 108.
At the same time, the contents of the screen number table 102 are sent to the signal line 118 one after another.
The signal is applied to the comparator circuit 105 through. The comparison circuit 105 compares the contents of the screen number table 102 given one after another through the signal line 118 with the contents of the register 104, and if they match, sends a match signal, and if they do not match, sends a mismatch signal to the control circuit via the signal line 112. There is a circuit that notifies the screen number table 108, but in this case, since the screen number table 102 is all cleared, there is no match, and the comparison circuit 105
will notify you of the discrepancy.

When the control circuit 108 receives the mismatch signal from the comparison circuit 105, it sends a screen request signal with input screen number "001" to the terminal control device via the signal line 113 and the transmission/reception circuit 106. The input screen number to be sent to the terminal control device may be the contents of the register 104, or the control circuit 108 may also hold the screen number input from the keyboard 10 and send it out. . When the terminal control device receives the screen request signal, it reads the input operation guidance screen with the screen number "001" from the file device and sends it back to the terminal device as a response. When the control circuit 108 receives the circuit through the transmitting/receiving circuit 106 and the signal line 114, the screen information being answered is extracted, and the input operation guidance screen is stored in the A area of the display screen storage area 101 with the screen number "001'' is stored in the screen number table 102 at a location corresponding to area A of 101 above. Further, the control circuit 108 sets "9" to the counter corresponding to the A area of the display screen storage area 101 in the use order counter 103 through the signal line 116. Subsequently, the contents of area A of the display screen storage area 101 are transferred to the refresh memory 107 via the signal line 117, and an input operation guidance screen with screen number "001" is displayed on the display device 12.

Next, as shown in the steps in Figure 6, the operator executes the task with screen number "005".
Assume that the screen number “005” is input from the keyboard 10. In this case, the screen number "005" is stored in the register 104, and then when the operator instructs to call up the screen, the contents of the register 104 are compared with the contents of the screen number table 102 one after another, and as a result, a mismatch signal is generated. is notified to the control circuit 108, and a screen request signal with the input screen number "005" is sent to the terminal control device, as in the case of the previous step. For this screen request,
The terminal control device reads the input operation guidance screen with screen number "005" from the file device and sends it back to the terminal device as an answer. The terminal device displays the input operation guidance screen among the returned answer information in area B of the display screen storage area 101 with screen number "005".
is stored in the screen number table 102 at a location corresponding to area B of 101 above. At the same time, in the use order counter 103, the counter corresponding to the B area of the above 101 is set to "9", and the value of the counter corresponding to the A area is set to "8" by -1. Subsequently, the contents of area A of the display screen storage area 101 are transferred to the refresh memory 107, and an input operation guidance screen with screen number "005" is displayed on the display device 12.

Similarly, A of the display screen storage area 101
~ Until J is full, requests from the terminal device and responses from the terminal control device are repeated, and the necessary input operation guidance screen is stored in the free space of the display screen storage area 101, and its screen number is stored in the screen number table 10.
Further, the corresponding counter of the usage order counter 103 is set to "9", and the values of the counters corresponding to other stored areas are decremented by 1.

Now, after the above step, as shown in the step of FIG.
Assume that the screen number "001" which has already been stored in "01" is needed again, and the operator inputs the screen number "001" from the keyboard 10. This screen number "001" is stored in the register 104, and then when the operator instructs to call the screen, the contents of the register 104 are compared with the contents of the screen number table 102 in the comparison circuit 105. Since the screen number "001" has already been registered in 102, the comparison circuit 105 notifies the control circuit 108 of a match signal. Control circuit 108
Upon receiving the matching signal, immediately guides the corresponding input operation from area A in the display screen storage area 101, which corresponds one-to-one with the registered area of the screen number "001", without issuing a screen request signal to the terminal control device. The screen is read out and displayed on the display device 12 via the refresh memory 107. At the same time, the control circuit 108 again sets the value of the corresponding counter in the use order counter 103 to "9", and subtracts the value of the counter corresponding to the B area of screen number "005" by 1 to "8".

FIG. 7 shows the state after all of A to J in the display screen storage area 101 have been used. In this example, A holds the display screen with screen number "001" and its usage order is "8", and B holds the display screen "005" and its usage order is "5". It is becoming. The same applies to areas C to J. In the state shown in FIG. 7, the most recently used area is the H area, which is the screen with screen number "003," and the area that has been used most recently is the screen with screen number "020." On average, the state of the usage order counter 103 can be considered to be the average handled business ratio in the terminal device.

Next, an explanation will be given of the operation when the display screen storage area 101 is full and a task that requires a new screen that is not stored in the storage area occurs. FIG. 8 is a processing flow of the terminal device in this case.

Assuming that the states of the currently displayed screen storage area 101, screen number table 102, and use order counter 103 are as shown in FIG. Suppose that you input from 10. This screen number "041" is stored in the register 104, and when the operator subsequently instructs to call up a screen, the comparison circuit 105 searches to see if the screen number "041" already exists in the screen number table 102. As shown in FIG. 7, since "041" is not held in the screen number table 102,
Comparison circuit 105 notifies control circuit 108 of the mismatch signal. When the control circuit 108 receives the mismatch signal, it sends a screen request signal with screen number "041" to the terminal control device. In response to this screen request, the terminal control device reads the input operation guidance screen with screen number "041" from the file device and sends it to the terminal device.

On the other hand, the control circuit 108 of the terminal device searches for the one with the smallest count value among the use order counters 103, and selects the corresponding one in the display screen storage area 103.
Recognize that the area is . That is, the screen with screen number "040" stored in the area is the screen used most in the past. the result,
When the terminal device receives the input operation guidance screen “041” from the terminal control device, it stores the screen in the display screen storage area 101 and registers the screen number “041” in the corresponding area of the screen number table 102. . At the same time, the corresponding counter in the usage order counter 103 is set to "9", and the values of all other counters are decremented by 1. Therefore, the next area to be replaced will be G. Display screen storage area 101
The screen "041" stored in the area is displayed on the display device 12 via the refresh memory.

In addition, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, even if a usage number counter is used instead of the usage order counter 103 and the corresponding counter is incremented by 1 every time a certain screen in the display screen storage area 101 is read out, A similar function is achieved. In other words, in this case, the value of the usage counter is larger for frequently used screens, and smaller for infrequently used screens, so when it becomes necessary to memorize a new screen, the minimum value of the usage counter is , and replace the screen in the corresponding area of the display screen area 101 with a new screen.

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to control the operation guidance screen as if it were all in the terminal device without significantly increasing the storage device of the terminal device. In other words, there are differences in the frequency of screens used depending on the installation location (for example, in a bank, the screens used at a deposit counter and loan counter are completely different even though the same terminal device is used), and differences in the frequency of screens used depending on the time of use (same example). In the example of a bank, you can perform necessary operations without having to worry about the same terminal device being used on different screens depending on the 3:00 p.m. The drawbacks of the prior art receiving technology can be eliminated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the online system, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the operation guidance screen at the bank terminal.
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence between screen numbers and tasks, Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 5 is a diagram showing an example of the usage status of the screen information storage area, the screen number table, and the usage order counter in FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is an operation flow diagram of FIG. 5. 1...Central processing unit, 5...Terminal control device, 9
... terminal device, 10 ... keyboard, 11 ... storage device, 12 ... display, 101 ... display screen storage area, 102 ... screen number table,
103...Usage order (number of uses) counter, 10
4...Register, 105...Comparison circuit, 106...
...transmission/reception circuit, 107...refresh memory,
108...Control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an online system comprising a plurality of terminal devices operating by being connected to a central processing unit or a terminal control device via a communication line, the central processing unit or terminal control device has displays required by the plurality of terminal devices. A file means for storing all the screen information is provided, and the terminal device includes:
a first storage means for storing any part of the display screen information as necessary; and a second storage means for storing an identifier for each display screen information stored in the first storage means. and a third storage means for storing information indicating a usage history between the display screen information stored in the first storage means, and an identifier of the required display screen information is stored in the second storage means. If the corresponding identifier is stored, the corresponding display screen information is read out from the first storage means and displayed, and the usage history information stored in the third storage means is read out and displayed. If the relevant identifier is not stored, the relevant display screen information is transferred from the file means of the central processing unit or the terminal control device, and the information is ranked according to the usage history information of the third storage means. The identifier of the display screen information is newly stored in a desired area of the first storage means and used for display, and the identifier of the display screen information is newly stored in a desired area of the second storage means. A display screen control method characterized by updating usage history information.