KR102137693B1 - Computing system having multi-monitor and management method for power consumption of multi-monitor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a computing system having multiple monitors. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the computing system having multiple monitors comprises a monitor management part, at least one computing device executing an application, and a plurality of display devices connected to the computing device. The monitor management part recognizes at least one of the applications and instances being used by each of the plurality of display devices, and applies different power consumption management modes to each of the display devices according to whether or not to display the applications or instances or to display an activated application or instance.

Description

Computing system with multiple monitors and how to manage power consumed by multiple monitors{COMPUTING SYSTEM HAVING MULTI-MONITOR AND MANAGEMENT METHOD FOR POWER CONSUMPTION OF MULTI-MONITOR}

The present invention relates to a computing system having multiple monitors and a method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors, and more specifically, to differentiate power consumed by a monitor where a window for an executed application is located and a monitor where the window is not located. It relates to a computing system having an applicable multiple monitors and a method of managing power consumed by the multiple monitors.

In general, a display device used as an output device in a computing device is called a monitor.

A monitor is a device that displays a video signal transmitted from a graphics card of a computing device on a monitor screen through a series of signal processing such as digital sampling and scaling.

In recent years, with the development of technology, a monitor has been enlarged, and a digital LCD monitor with high quality characteristics has been commercialized. In particular, the dual monitor refers to an apparatus that receives a plurality of image signals from one computing device and displays images on a plurality of monitor screens.

Such a dual monitor is a multi-monitor computing system that uses two monitors for image output, but as the technology for the graphics card is developed, the number of monitors used is gradually being limited.

Recently, a computing system having a multi-monitor using three or more monitors has also appeared.

However, a computing device using dual or multiple monitors using three or more monitors, since all display devices, i.e., multiple monitors, output images at the same brightness, a monitor or user that is not actually viewed or used by the user. The monitor that does not enter the viewing angle has a drawback of excessive power consumption than necessary.

In order to overcome this drawback, the power consumed by multiple monitors is reduced by operating a screen saver or turning off the power of the monitor when a set time for each display device, that is, for each monitor has elapsed.

However, such a conventional power consumption management method for multiple monitors has the inconvenience of requiring all users to operate all the monitors again when a user needs them, because only the collective control of the multiple monitors is possible.

For example, when a certain time has elapsed, a method of turning off all of the multiple monitors is used. When a user substantially uses two monitors in a computing system of four multiple monitors, the power of all the monitors used according to this conventional method is used. Since it had to be turned off, the user had to manually manage the power for the two monitors they used.

The present invention is to improve the above-described problem, and a computing device using multiple monitors defines a main monitor according to execution information of an application and an input state of a user, and causes a difference in power consumed for each defined monitor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a computing system having multiple monitors and a method for managing power consumed by multiple monitors.

In addition, the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned problems, it is determined whether a user inputs for each monitor, a computing system having multiple monitors that differentially applies a monitor driving mode to each monitor, and a method for managing power consumed by multiple monitors The purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a monitor management unit and at least one computing device that executes an application and a plurality of display devices connected to the computing device, wherein the monitor management unit includes each of the plurality of display devices. Recognizes at least one of the applications and instances in use, and displays different power consumption management modes for each display device according to whether the applications or instances are displayed or whether an active application or instance is displayed. It provides a computing system having multiple monitors to be applied.

The monitor management unit monitors a plurality of display devices connected to the computing device as control target monitors, mouse cursor position information, at least one or more of information about activated and deactivated applications among running applications. The monitoring unit for collecting and monitoring and the monitors to be controlled may further include a power management unit that defines used and unused monitors or primary and secondary monitors, and applies different power consumption management modes for each defined monitor.

The monitor control unit may transmit a command to the firmware storage unit of each display device.

The monitoring unit identifies a display device displaying the applications or instances and a display device failing to display the applications or instances, and the power management unit uses a plurality of display devices depending on whether to display the applications or instances Set and define as a monitor and a non-used monitor, apply at least one of the first to second power consumption management modes to the used monitor, and apply at least one of a third to fourth power consumption management modes to the non-used monitors can do.

The monitoring unit identifies a usage monitor displaying an activated application or instance among the applications and instances among a plurality of usage monitors and a usage monitor displaying a disabled application or instance among the applications and instances, and the power The management unit sets and defines a usage monitor displaying the activated application or instance as a primary monitor, and sets and defines a usage monitor displaying the deactivated application or instance as a secondary monitor, and the primary monitor consumes first power. The saving mode is applied, and at least one of the first and second power saving modes may be applied to the secondary monitor depending on whether the mouse pointer is positioned.

The monitor control unit checks the firmware setting values of each display device and classifies them into a control target monitor and a non-control target monitor according to the identified firmware setting values, and the firmware setting values are identified such as the model name of the display device and the firmware version number. It may include at least one of information and arbitrarily implemented values when manufacturing the display device.

The present invention is a method for managing the power consumed by the multiple monitors in a computing system having multiple monitors to achieve the other object of the present invention, the first step of determining which display devices are connected to the computing device by the monitor control unit A second step of the monitor control unit checking firmware setting values for each of the display devices, and a third step of the monitor control unit setting display devices having specific firmware setting values among the display devices as control target monitors Step, the monitoring unit displays a running application among the control target monitors, or a fourth step of checking whether there is a control target monitor on which the mouse cursor is located, and the power management unit controls each of the controls according to the verification result of the fourth step A fifth step of setting and defining a target monitor as a used or unused monitor, and the power management unit manages power consumed by multiple monitors, including a sixth step of applying different power consumption management modes to the used or unused monitors. How to do.

In the first step, the monitor control unit outputs a list of display devices that have been confirmed to be connected to the computing device through at least one of the display devices, and the monitor control unit includes the display devices. It may further include steps 1-b requesting the transmission of the firmware setting value.

The firmware setting value includes at least one of identification information such as a model name of a display device and a firmware version number and a value arbitrarily implemented when the display device is manufactured, and the monitor control unit when the firmware version number is equal to or more than a certain value, It can be recognized as the specific firmware setting value.

The fourth step includes steps 4-a of checking a control target monitor in which a running application is located in a window form, a control target monitor displaying only a part of the window, and a control target monitor not displaying a window for the running application. It may further include.

In the fifth step, the power management unit sets and defines a control target monitor in which the running application is located in a window form and a control target monitor that displays only a part of the window as a use monitor, and control in which the window for the running application is not located A fifth-a step of setting and defining the target monitor as an unused monitor may be further included.

After the fifth-a step, the monitoring unit may further include a fourth-b step of checking a usage monitor in which an active application is located and a usage monitor in which an inactive application is located among the usage monitors.

After step 4b, the power management unit sets and defines a usage monitor in which an active application is located among the usage monitors as a primary monitor, and sets and defines usage monitors in which the remaining inactive applications are located as secondary monitors. The fifth-b step may be further included.

After the fifth-a step, the power management unit applies at least one of the first to second power consumption management modes to the used monitor, and at least one of the third to fourth power consumption management modes to the unused monitor. A first mode applying step of applying a may be further included.

After the fifth-b step, the power management unit may further include a second mode application step of applying a first power consumption management mode to the main monitor.

After the second mode application step, the monitoring unit determines whether a mouse cursor or a mouse pointer is located on the secondary monitor, and the power management unit determines whether the mouse cursor or a mouse pointer is positioned on the secondary monitor, A third mode application step of applying at least one of the first and second power consumption management modes to the monitor may be further included.

The monitor control unit may output a list of display devices defined as used and unused monitors by the power management unit through at least one of the display devices.

A computing system having multiple monitors and a method for managing power consumed by multiple monitors according to the present invention do not provide a system and method for managing power consumption of all monitors in a batch, so users using computing systems You can use multiple monitors conveniently.

In addition, a computing system having multiple monitors and a method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors according to the present invention define a monitor state for each individual monitor, and various monitor driving modes are applied for each defined monitor to be consumed for driving the monitor. It is very efficient in reducing power consumption.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a computing system having multiple monitors according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of checking display devices connected to a monitor control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting a used monitor and a non-used monitor by the monitor management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting a primary monitor and a secondary monitor by the monitor management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of applying a power consumption management mode to a secondary monitor by a monitor manager according to an embodiment of the present invention.

All of the embodiments described below are exemplarily shown to help understanding of the present invention, and may be implemented in various embodiments by being modified differently from the embodiments described herein. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or known component may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

The accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale in order to help the understanding of the invention, but the dimensions of some components may be exaggerated, and when reference numerals are assigned to each component, different drawings for the same components Even if it is displayed in the same mark as possible.

In addition, in describing the components of the embodiments of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are only for distinguishing the component from other components, and the nature, order, or order of the component is not limited by the term. When a component is described as being'connected','coupled' or'connected' to another component, the component may be directly connected, coupled or connected to the other component, but the component and the other components It should be understood that another component may be'connected','coupled' or'connected' between the elements.

Therefore, the embodiments illustrated in the present specification and the configuration illustrated in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical spirit of the present invention, and thus there may be various modified embodiments of the present invention. .

In addition, the terms or words used in the specification and claims should not be limited to ordinary or lexical meanings, and the inventor can appropriately define the concept of terms in order to describe his or her invention in the best way. Based on the principles, it should be interpreted as meanings and concepts consistent with the technical spirit of the present invention.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in a variety of different forms, only the present embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and the general knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the holder of the scope of the invention, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

Hereinafter, in describing various embodiments of a computing system having multiple monitors and a method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors, one component'transmits' or'transmits' data or signals as another component. If it does, it means that the component can directly transmit the data or signal to another component, and can also transmit the data or signal to another component through at least one other component.

In the present invention, the computing device is an electronic terminal capable of communication through a network, and refers to a computing device capable of using a cloud service function that allows a user to access a server to store or download or share information. As such an electronic terminal or computing device, computing devices include desktop computers, smartphones, notebooks, tablet computers, and servers.

Meanwhile, the cloud server in the present invention means a device that provides a virtual storage space, processes transmission and reception of information with other servers and user terminals, and provides a cloud service capable of generating new information. The cloud server can store various types of information through information exchange with a computing device, and when the computing device stores a file in a virtual space using a cloud service, it recognizes the file name and determines necessary functions or tasks according to each file name can do.

Hereinafter, a computing system 100 having multiple monitors according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 attached for convenience of description.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a computing system having multiple monitors according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The computing system 100 having multiple monitors according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a computing device 1000, a plurality of display devices 1101, 1102, 1103 and an input device 1200.

The plurality of display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 and the input device 1200 may be classified as peripheral devices or peripheral devices of the computing device 1000.

Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 are connected to one computing device 1000 to expand an area where the computing device 1000 outputs or displays.

Although a total of three display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 are disclosed in FIG. 1, these are merely illustrated, and two display devices with fewer than three may be connected to the computing device 1000. A greater number of display devices may be connected to the computing device 1000 than the display device disclosed in 1.

However, hereinafter, for convenience of description, in the present embodiment, a total of three display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 are described as being connected to the computing device 1000.

Each of the plurality of display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 is a screen display device that displays an image output from the computing device 1000, and may also be referred to as a monitor.

Each of the display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) and outputs an image on the LCD screen.

In addition, a firmware storage unit (not shown) is provided inside each of the display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103, and firmware having a firmware setting value is stored in the firmware storage unit.

Here, the firmware setting value includes identification information such as the model name, firmware version, and firmware version number of each display device and a value randomly implemented in the manufacturing process of the display device, that is, a setting value including at least one of a factory reset value. Means

The input device 1200 is composed of a positioning tool including a mouse, joystick, pointing stick, trackball, touch pad, light pen, head pointer, and graphics tablet, and a character input tool including a keyboard and a touch pad.

The user may input a command to the computing device 1000 using the input device 1200.

The computing device 1000 is a computing device capable of executing various applications such as an operating system and application programs, and includes devices such as computers, tablets, mobile devices, servers, and consoles, and the computing system 100 according to the present embodiment is It may include at least one computing device.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, various computing devices in addition to the single computing device 1000 may be connected to the computing system 100 according to the present embodiment.

Meanwhile, the computing device 100 includes a system control unit 1010, a monitor management unit 1020, a peripheral interface 1030, a central processing unit 1040, a system memory 1050, and a data storage unit 1060.

The system controller 1010 includes a plurality of displays connected to the computing device 100, as well as the monitor management unit 1020, the peripheral interface 1030, the central processing unit 1040, the system memory 1050 and the data storage unit 1060. Including the devices 1101, 1102, 1103 and the input devices 1200, these configurations help each other to recognize each other and are responsible for coordinating data communication between them.

Accordingly, the system control unit 1010 may be configured as a mainboard, and may include a mainboard chipset.

The peripheral interface 1030 allows the computing device 1000 to be electronically connected to various peripherals and to communicate data with them. Here, the peripheral devices include a display device including a monitor, an input device including a keyboard and a mouse, and output devices such as a printer, a CD/DVD reader (Compact Disc/Digital Versatile Disc Reader), and a BD reader (Blue-ray Disc Reader). And external storage media, such as USB media, and readers therefor.

The central processing unit 1040 is a central processing unit (CPU) used in the computing device 1000 and may be referred to as a processor.

The central processing unit 1040 interprets a command input by a user using the input device 1200 or a command input from another computing device, performs an operation according to application execution, and is included in the computing device 1000 Give orders to other components.

The system memory 1050 is a main storage device of the computing device 1000, and is a random access memory (RAM) used for the operation of the computing device 1000, and calculations performed in the central processing unit 1040 are recorded. It can be freely accessed to access the records and read the contents at any time.

The data storage unit 1060 is a storage space in which various data including files are stored.

The files herein include compressed files in addition to general files such as video, text and picture files, and all kinds of files that can be created or deleted by a computing device including tablets, mobile devices, computers, and servers. it means.

Meanwhile, the monitor management unit 1020 according to the present exemplary embodiment may control the power supply state or the screen output state of each display device 1101, 1102, 1103, and a display connected to the computing device 1000 through such control You can manage the power consumed by the device.

That is, the monitor management unit 1020 may recognize a plurality of display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 displaying at least one of applications and instances being used or running, and each of the display devices 1101, Different power consumption management modes may be applied to each display device 1101, 1102, 1103 depending on whether 1102 or 1103 displays applications or instances.

In addition, the monitor management unit 1020 may check display devices displaying an activated application or instance, and apply different power consumption management modes for each display device 1101, 1102, 1103.

To this end, the monitor management unit 1020 is connected to the respective display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 through the system control unit 1010 and the peripheral interface 1030. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the monitor management unit 1020 may be connected to the display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 through the peripheral interface 1030 through the system control unit 1010, but does not pass through the system control unit 1010. It can be directly connected to the display devices 1101, 1102, 1103 through the peripheral interface 1030.

Meanwhile, the monitor management unit 1020 includes a monitor control unit 1021, a monitoring unit 1022, and a power management unit 1023.

The monitor control unit 1021 may transmit a command to the firmware storage unit of each display device 1101, 1102, 1103, and check the firmware setting values of the display devices 1101, 1102, 1103 connected to the computing device 1000. have.

In addition, the monitor control unit 1021 can control the power consumption by the monitor management unit 1020 for each display devices 1101, 1102, 1103 according to the firmware setting values of the display devices i) a control target monitor, and power consumption control Ii) It is classified as an uncontrolled monitor.

Here, the firmware setting value is at least one of identification information such as a model name and a firmware version of the display device and a value randomly implemented in the manufacturing process of the display device, that is, a factory reset value. It includes.

When the firmware version number of the display device is equal to or greater than a certain value, the monitor control unit 1021 recognizes that the display device has a specific firmware setting value, and recognizes the display devices as control target monitors. However, when the firmware version value of the display device is less than a certain value, it is recognized that it does not have a specific firmware setting value, and the display device is recognized as non-controlled monitors.

That is, the criterion for determining whether the firmware version number of the display device is greater than or equal to a certain value by the monitor control unit 1021 is a comparison between the firmware version number of the monitor management unit and the firmware version number of the display device, so that the firmware version number of the display device is It is judged according to whether the firmware version value of the monitor management unit is higher or lower.

The monitoring unit 1022 includes a plurality of display devices 1101 where location information on which display device the mouse cursor or mouse pointer is being displayed on a plurality of display devices 1101, 1102, 1103, and a window for an executed application are displayed. , 1102, 1103) collects at least one of location information on which display device is being displayed, information on which display device the active application and the deactivated application are being displayed among the running applications, and Monitor.

That is, the monitoring unit 1022 may identify a display device displaying applications or instances and a display device not displaying applications or instances, and a display device in which a mouse cursor or mouse pointer is located.

Information about whether to display at least one of the mouse cursor or mouse pointer collected by the monitoring unit 1022, window position information of the application, and mouse cursor and mouse pointer, and windows of the application is transmitted to the power management unit 1023, and Based on this information, the management unit 1023 defines each display device 1101, 1102, 1103 as a used and unused monitor or a primary and secondary monitor, and then applies a different power consumption management mode for each defined monitor.

The power management unit 1023 may provide first to fourth power consumption management modes for each of the display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103.

The first power consumption management mode is a screen output from the display device when the display device normally operates, that is, when the user turns on the computing device 1000 and operates the operating system when the user uses the computing device 1000. Or, if the brightness in the state that the user recognizes the image is the default brightness, it means a mode that sets and maintains the display device to display the screen and the image with the default brightness.

Also, the first power consumption management mode may be referred to as a general use mode.

The second power consumption management mode refers to a mode in which the brightness of the screen and video display of the display device is reduced by up to 50% compared to the default brightness when a predetermined time has elapsed.

In the second power consumption management mode, the predetermined time may be variously changed according to the setting, for example, it may be set to a time of 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes or 1 hour. .

In addition, that the brightness of the display device is adjusted in stages in the second power consumption management mode means that the brightness decreases proportionately compared to the basic brightness when the time elapses again in a designated time unit after a certain period of time elapses. For example, when a predetermined time set as 30 minutes has elapsed, the power management unit 1023 decreases the brightness by 10% from the basic brightness of the display device in units of 1 minute, so that the brightness decreases to 50% of the maximum basic brightness. You can control the brightness level of the device.

Also, the second power consumption management mode may be referred to as a first power consumption reduction mode.

The third power consumption management mode is a mode for reducing power consumption more than the second power consumption management mode, and first refers to a mode in which the basic brightness of the display device is set to 10% or more and 50% or less.

In particular, the third power consumption management mode is a mode in which the power of the display device is not completely turned off and the brightness is reduced as much as possible in case of reuse.

Therefore, if the display device to which the third power consumption management mode is applied is in an off state, the power management unit 1023 turns on the display device.

Also, the third power consumption management mode may be referred to as a second power consumption reduction mode.

The fourth power consumption management mode may be referred to as a maximum power consumption reduction mode, and refers to a mode in which the brightness of the display device is set to 0% or the display device is turned off.

On the other hand, the power management unit 1023 according to this embodiment prior to applying the first to fourth power consumption management mode to each of the display devices (1101, 1102, 1103), the mouse cursor collected by the monitoring unit 1022 Alternatively, the display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 are defined as a used monitor and a non-used monitor or a main monitor and a sub-monitor based on location information on the mouse pointer and information on whether to display an application window.

First, the display control unit 1101, 1102, 1103 recognized by the monitor control unit 1021 as control target monitors, and the power management unit 1023 determines whether the control target monitor displays applications or instances again. It is classified and defined as a used monitor and a non-used monitor.

The power management unit 1023 classifies and defines a control target monitor displaying a window for running applications or instances, and a control target monitor in which a mouse cursor or mouse pointer is located as a use monitor or a control target monitor in use. .

In the present invention, when an application or instance is executed on the computing device 1000, the application or instance is represented by a square or elliptical window, which is a screen displayed by a single display device. Alternatively, a case in which all are completely located in the image area is called a normal window type, and when only a part of the window is displayed on the display device, that is, when two or more display devices all display a part of the window, it is defined as an abnormal window type. In addition, when no window is displayed on the display device, it is defined as a state in which the window does not exist.

At this time, the power management unit 1023 sets and defines the control target monitor in use as a use monitor when the control target monitor in use displays a normal window shape or an abnormal window shape.

On the other hand, when the control target monitor in use is in a state in which no window exists, the power management unit 1023 sets and defines the control target monitor in use as a non-use monitor.

In addition, the power management unit 1023 applies at least one of the first to second power consumption management modes to the used monitor, and applies at least one of the third to fourth power consumption management modes to the unused monitor.

The power management unit 1023 applies at least one of the first to second power consumption management modes according to whether the mouse cursor or the mouse pointer is in-and-out to the usage monitor.

More specifically, when the mouse cursor or the mouse pointer is in the monitor, the power management unit 1023 applies the first power consumption management mode to the monitor, and the mouse cursor or mouse pointer is out of the monitor. out), the second power consumption management mode is applied to the monitor.

Meanwhile, the power management unit 1023 applies at least one of the third to fourth power consumption management modes according to whether the mouse cursor or the mouse pointer is in-and-out to the unused monitor.

More specifically, when a mouse cursor or a mouse pointer is input to an unused monitor, the power management unit 1023 applies a third power consumption management mode to the unused monitor, and a mouse cursor or mouse pointer from the unused monitor. When out, the fourth power consumption management mode is applied to the unused monitor.

In addition, the power management unit 1023 according to the present embodiment prior to applying the first to second power consumption management mode to the display devices classified, set and defined as a usage monitor, the mouse collected by the monitoring unit 1022 Usage monitors are defined as primary and secondary monitors based on location information on the cursor or mouse pointer and whether an application is activated.

In this case, the monitoring unit 1022 identifies a usage monitor displaying an activated application or instance among applications and instances and a usage monitor displaying an inactive application or instance.

In the present invention, an activated application or instance means an application or instance corresponding to a window that is used in real time and actually selected by a user among all running applications or instances, and an inactivated application or instance corresponds to a window selected by the user Refers to a running application or instance other than the application or instance.

In addition, the deactivated application or instance includes an application or instance running in the background.

The power management unit 1023 receives information about usage monitors displaying the activated application or instance from the monitoring unit 1022, and sets and defines these usage monitors as the main monitor.

In addition, the power management unit 1023 receives information about usage monitors displaying the disabled application or instance from the monitoring unit 1022, and sets and defines these usage monitors as secondary monitors.

The power management unit 1023 applies the first power saving mode to the usage monitor set and defined as the primary monitor, and applies at least one of the first and second power consumption saving modes to the usage monitor set and defined as the secondary monitor. do.

In particular, the power management unit 1023 applies at least one of the first and second power consumption saving modes to the secondary monitor depending on whether the mouse cursor or the mouse pointer is in-and-out to the secondary monitor. do.

More specifically, when the mouse cursor or the mouse pointer is in the secondary monitor, the power management unit 1023 applies the first power consumption management mode to the secondary monitor, and the mouse cursor or the mouse pointer is out in the secondary monitor. ), the second power consumption management mode is applied to the secondary monitor.

However, the primary monitor is applied to the first power management mode by the power management unit 1023 regardless of whether the mouse cursor or the mouse pointer is in-and-out.

Accordingly, the computing system 100 having multiple monitors according to the present exemplary embodiment operates a display device that displays an application being actually used and operates as if it is normally used, and displays an application that has been dormant or an application that has been inactive for a while. The display device to be driven is driven with a somewhat lower brightness than the display device that is normally turned on and used, and it creates an off state for display devices where no application is displayed at all, thereby reducing the power required to use multiple monitors. Can be minimized.

Hereinafter, a method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors using a computing system having multiple monitors according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

For convenience of description, a method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6, and the same configuration as a computing system having multiple monitors according to an embodiment of the present invention will be repeated. The drawing display can be omitted.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for managing power consumed by multiple monitors according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of checking display devices connected to a monitor control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting a used monitor and a non-used monitor by the monitor management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Meanwhile, FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting a main monitor and a sub-monitor by the monitor management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a power management unit used by the monitor management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention It is a flow chart showing the process of applying the mode.

Referring to FIG. 2, in a method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors according to the present embodiment, a user turns on the power of the computing device 1000 and the computing device 1000 performs a self-check (Power On Self). -Test; POST), when the booting of the operating system (Operating System, OS) is completed, the monitor control unit 1021 is connected to the display device 1101, 1102, 1103 to the computing device 1000 Check whether it is (S1001).

However, the process by which the monitor control unit 1021 checks which display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 are connected to the computing device 1000 is not necessarily performed after the operating system is booted, and the computing device 1000 is In the self-check (POST) step, it may be performed simultaneously with the self-check step.

Meanwhile, when the monitor control unit 1021 confirms that three display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 are connected to the computing device 1000 as illustrated in FIG. 1 (S1001), the monitor control unit 1021 3, as shown in FIG. 3, a list of display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 that are confirmed to be connected to the computing device 1000 may be output through at least one display device among a plurality of display devices. (S10011).

Then, the monitor control unit 1021 may request to transmit the firmware setting values to the display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 where the connection is confirmed (S10012).

When each display device 1101, 1102, 1103 transmits the firmware setting value to the request of the monitor control unit 1021, the monitor control unit 1021 checks the firmware setting value of each display device 1101, 1102, 1103 (S1002).

Here, the firmware setting value is at least one of identification information such as a model name and a firmware version of the display device and a value randomly implemented in the manufacturing process of the display device, that is, a factory reset value. It includes.

Then, the monitor control unit 1021 sets display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 in which specific firmware setting values of the display devices 1101, 1102, and 1103 are checked as monitors to be controlled (S1003).

When the firmware version number of the display device is equal to or greater than a certain value, the monitor control unit 1021 recognizes that the display device has a specific firmware setting value, and recognizes the display devices as control target monitors. However, when the firmware version value of the display device is less than a certain value, it is recognized that it does not have a specific firmware setting value, and the display device is recognized as non-controlled monitors.

When control target monitors are set by the monitor control unit 1021, the monitoring unit 1022 is located between a control target monitor and a mouse cursor or mouse pointer displaying a window for running applications or instances among the control target monitors. Check the monitors to be controlled (S1004).

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the monitoring unit 1022 is a control target monitor where a running application is located in a window form, a control target monitor that displays only a part of the window, and a control target that does not display a window for the running application. Check the monitor (S10041). In addition, the monitoring unit 1022 also checks whether there is a control target monitor in which the mouse cursor or mouse pointer is located even if the window for the running application is not displayed (S10041).

As described above, the information identified in the monitoring unit 1022 is transmitted to the power management unit 1023, and the power management unit 1023 is a control target monitor and mouse cursor or mouse displaying a window for running applications or instances. Set and define the control monitor where the pointer is located as a usage monitor, and disable the control monitor that is not displaying windows for running applications or instances and the control monitor where the mouse cursor or mouse pointer is not located It is set and defined by the monitor (S1005).

More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the power management unit 1023 sets and defines a control target monitor in which a running application is located in a window form and a control target monitor that displays only a part of the window as a use monitor, and is running The control target monitor in which the window for the application is not located is set and defined as an unused monitor (S10051).

In the present invention, the executed application or instance is represented by a window in a square shape or an ellipse shape, and is called a normal window shape when all of the square or oval shape windows are completely located within a screen or image area displayed by one display device. In addition, when only a part of the window is displayed on the display device, it is said to be an abnormal window form. In addition, when no window is displayed on the display device, it is said that the window does not exist.

Subsequently, the power management unit 1023 applies at least one of the first to second power consumption management modes to the used monitors displaying a normal window or an abnormal window, and the third to third power monitors do not have a window. 4 At least one of the power consumption management mode is applied (S10061).

However, even if the window does not exist, the power management unit 1023 may apply the first to second power consumption management modes to the unused monitor where the mouse cursor or mouse pointer is located.

In addition, when the power management unit 1023 sets and defines the used and unused monitors, the monitor control unit 1021 monitors the used and unused power management units 1023 through at least one display device among a plurality of display devices. A list of display devices defined as can be output.

On the other hand, the method for managing power consumed by multiple monitors according to the present invention, even after the power management unit 1023 sets and defines the used and unused monitors, as shown in FIG. 5, the monitoring unit 1022 is used monitor Among them, a usage monitor in which an active application is located and a usage monitor in which an inactive application is located are checked (S10042).

When the monitoring unit 1022 is classified and checked for the usage monitor in which the activated and deactivated application is located, the power management unit 1023, as shown in FIG. 5, the usage monitor in which the activated application is located in the usage monitor Is set and defined as the main monitor, and the used monitors in which the remaining inactive applications are located are set and defined as the secondary monitor (S10052).

In the present invention, an activated application or instance means an application or instance corresponding to a window that is used in real time and actually selected by a user among all running applications or instances, and an inactivated application or instance corresponds to a window selected by the user Refers to a running application or instance other than the application or instance. In addition, the deactivated application or instance includes an application or instance running in the background.

When the main monitor and the sub-monitor are set and defined by the power management unit 1023, the power management unit 1023 applies a first power consumption management mode to the main monitor (S10062).

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the monitoring unit 1022 confirms whether a mouse cursor or a mouse pointer is located on the secondary monitor (S10063), and then transmits the location information of the mouse cursor to the power management unit 1023. .

When the mouse cursor or the mouse pointer is positioned on the secondary monitor, the power management unit 1023 applies the first power consumption management mode to the secondary monitor, and when the mouse cursor or the mouse pointer is not positioned on the secondary monitor, the second power consumption management mode Is applied to the secondary monitor (S10064).

As described above, a computing system having multiple monitors according to the present invention and a method for managing power consumed by multiple monitors using the same provide sufficient brightness by supplying sufficient power to a display device displaying an application actually being used by a user, In addition, a display device displaying an application that is not actually used by a user can significantly reduce power consumption due to the use of multiple monitors by determining the priority of use by the monitor management unit according to the present invention and adjusting brightness.

Meanwhile, in the present specification, each block or each step may represent a part of a module, segment, or code including one or more executable instructions for executing specified logical functions.

It should also be noted that in some alternative embodiments, the functions mentioned in blocks or steps may occur in any order.

For example, it is also possible that two blocks or steps shown in succession are actually executed substantially simultaneously. And, it is possible that blocks or steps are sometimes performed in reverse order according to a corresponding function.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments described herein may be implemented directly by hardware executed by a processor, software module, or a combination of both.

The software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.

An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, which processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. However, alternatively, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.

Meanwhile, the processor and the storage medium may reside in an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC may reside within a user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may reside as separate components within the user terminal.

Further, the present invention can also be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. At this time, the computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording devices in which data readable by a computer system are stored.

Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, etc., which are implemented in the form of carrier waves (for example, transmission via the Internet). Includes.

In addition, the computer-readable recording medium can be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. In addition, functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the present invention can be easily inferred by programmers in the technical field to which the present invention pertains.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments, and may be variously modified without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.

Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical spirits within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: computing system with multiple monitors
1000: computing device
1010: system control
1020: monitor management
1030: Peripheral interface
1040: central processing unit
1050: system memory
1060: data storage
1101, 1102, 1103: display device
1200: input device

Claims (17)

delete delete delete At least one computing device including a monitor management unit and executing an application; And a plurality of display devices connected to the computing device, the computing system comprising:
The monitor management unit,
A monitor control unit recognizing a plurality of display devices connected to the computing devices as control target monitors;
A monitoring unit that collects and monitors at least one of mouse cursor position information, information about an activated application and an inactive application among running applications; And
It characterized in that it includes a power management unit for defining the monitor and the main and secondary monitors used and unused monitors, respectively, and applies a different power consumption management mode for each defined monitor,
The monitoring unit,
Identify a display device that displays the applications or instances and a display device that cannot display the applications or instances,
The power management unit,
If the applications or instances are displayed in the form of a window (WINDOW), the monitor is set to use, and if it does not include the window, the monitor is set to unused,
When the mouse pointer is in the in-use monitor, the first power consumption mode is controlled for the in-use monitor, and when the mouse pointer is out in the outgoing monitor, the second power consumption mode. Controlled by
When the mouse pointer is in the in-use monitor, the third power consumption mode is controlled for the unused monitor. If the mouse pointer is in the out state, the fourth consumption is consumed. Control in power mode,
The first power consumption provides the power of the basic brightness in the normal state recognized by the user, the second power consumption is lowered to 50% of the power of the default brightness, and the third power consumption is the default brightness 10 to 50% of the power, and the fourth power consumption is a computer system having multiple monitors, characterized in that the image brightness is set to 0% or the power of the unused monitor is turned off. . delete The method according to claim 4,
The monitor control unit,
Check the firmware settings of each display device, and classify them into controlled monitors and non-controlled monitors according to the confirmed firmware settings.
The firmware setting value,
A computing system having multiple monitors, comprising at least one of identification information, such as a model name of a display device and a firmware version number, and randomly implemented values when the display device is manufactured.
A method for managing power consumed by the multiple monitors in a computing system including multiple monitors,
A first step of determining which display devices are connected to the computing device by the monitor control unit of the computing system;
A second step in which the monitor control unit checks firmware setting values for each of the display devices;
A third step in which the monitor control unit sets display devices for which specific firmware setting values among the display devices are identified as control target monitors;
A fourth step of monitoring whether the monitoring unit of the computing system displays an application running among the control target monitors or whether there is a control target monitor where a mouse cursor is located;
In the fourth step, the control target monitor in which the running application is located in the form of a window, a control target monitor displaying only a part of the window, and a control target monitor not displaying a window for the running application are identified in step 4-a. Characterized in that it further comprises a step,
A fifth step of setting and defining each control target monitor as a used or unused monitor according to the result of the check in the fourth step;
In the fifth step, the power management unit sets and defines a control target monitor in which the running application is located in a window form and a control target monitor that displays only a part of the window as a use monitor, and a window for the running application is not located. Characterized in that it further comprises a fifth-a step of setting and defining an unused monitor as a non-controlled monitor, and
The power management unit includes a sixth step of applying different power consumption management modes to the used monitor or the unused monitor,
In step 6, if the mouse pointer is in the in-use monitor, the first monitor uses the power consumption mode for the monitor, and if the mouse pointer is out, the second monitor uses the power consumption mode. And
In the non-use monitor, when the mouse pointer is in (in) state, the non-use monitor is controlled by the third power consumption mode, and when the mouse pointer is out, the control is controlled by the fourth power consumption mode. Characterized by,
The first power consumption provides the power of the basic brightness in the normal state recognized by the user, the second power consumption is provided by lowering the power of the default brightness to 50%, and the third power consumption of the default brightness Set the power to 10 to 50%, and the fourth power consumption manages the power consumed by multiple monitors, characterized in that the image brightness is set to 0% or the power of an unused monitor is turned off. How to.
The method according to claim 7,
The first step,
A first-a step in which the monitor control unit outputs a list of display devices that are confirmed to be connected to the computing device through at least one of the display devices; And
And the monitor control unit further comprising a first-b requesting the display devices to transmit the firmware setting value.
The method according to claim 7,
The firmware setting value includes at least one of identification information such as a model name of a display device and a firmware version number and a value arbitrarily implemented when the display device is manufactured,
The monitor control unit, when the firmware version number is more than a certain value, recognizes as the specific firmware setting value, a method for managing power consumed by multiple monitors.
delete delete The method according to claim 7,
After step 5-a above,
The monitoring unit further comprises a fourth-b step of identifying a usage monitor in which an active application is located and a usage monitor in which an inactive application is located among the usage monitors.
The method according to claim 12,
After step 4-b above,
The power management unit further comprises the steps of setting and defining a usage monitor in which an active application is located as a primary monitor among the usage monitors, and setting and defining usage monitors in which the remaining inactive applications are located as secondary monitors. , How to manage power consumed by multiple monitors.
delete The method according to claim 13,
After the fifth-b step,
A method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors, further comprising a second mode applying step of applying a first power consumption management mode to the main monitor by the power management unit.
The method according to claim 15,
After the second mode application step,
The monitoring unit checks whether a mouse cursor or a mouse pointer is located on the secondary monitor, and the power management unit consumes first and second consumption on the secondary monitor depending on whether a mouse cursor or a mouse pointer is positioned on the secondary monitor. A method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors, further comprising a third mode applying step of applying at least one of the power management modes.
The method according to claim 7,
A method of managing power consumed by multiple monitors, wherein the monitor control unit outputs a list of display devices defined as used and unused monitors by the power management unit through at least one of the display devices.

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