Information processing apparatus and information processing method

• US 20060092466A1
• Filed: 11/01/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Nobuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,895,269 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

Use and selection of, e.g., a wireless video transmission apparatus cumbersome for a user are eliminated. When a new application is activated, a wireless video transmission apparatus 2 is selected as the transmission destination of image data. Image data rasterized on a VM1 is transferred to a temporary memory. Image data rasterized on a VM2 is transferred to the VM1. Image data of the new application is transferred to the VM2. The image data rasterized on the VM1 and VM2 are transmitted to the wireless video transmission apparatuses 1 and 2, respectively.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus which is connected to a plurality of external apparatuses through a communication network, comprising:

an application controller which activates a plurality of applications;

a plurality of memories which are provided in correspondence with the plurality of external apparatuses and on which data generated by the plurality of applications are rasterized;

a transmitting unit which transmits the data rasterized on said plurality of memories to the corresponding external apparatuses;

a temporary memory to temporarily save data rasterized on one of said plurality of memories;

a selector which, when a new application different from the applications whose data are already rasterized on said plurality of memories is activated by said application controller, selects an external apparatus as a transmission destination of data generated by the new application from the plurality of external apparatuses;

a first transferring unit which transfers, to said temporary memory, one of data rasterized on a first memory as one of said plurality of memories, which corresponds to the external apparatus selected by said selector, and data rasterized on a second memory as one of said plurality of memories, which is different from the first memory;

a second transferring unit which transfers, to the second memory, the data rasterized on the first memory when the data rasterized on the second memory is transferred to said temporary memory; and

a third transferring unit which transfers the data generated by the new application to the first memory.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said selector selects the external apparatus which uses an optimum communication protocol for transmitting the data generated by the new application.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said selector selects, from the plurality of external apparatuses, the external apparatus capable of displaying the data generated by the new application at optimum display performance for displaying the data.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a managing unit which stores communication protocol types of the plurality of external apparatuses and image display resolutions of the plurality of external apparatuses in a managing table after communication connection of the plurality of external apparatuses,

wherein said selector selects the external apparatus as the transmission destination of the data generated by the new application on the basis of the information stored in the managing table.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a determination unit which determines whether to transfer the data rasterized on the second memory to the first memory when the first memory is freed in accordance with an end of processing by the new application;

a fourth transferring unit which transfers the data rasterized on the second memory to the first memory on the basis of a determination result by said determination unit; and

a fifth transferring unit which transfers the data rasterized on said temporary memory to one of the first memory and the second memory on the basis of the determination result by said determination unit.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said determination unit determines to transfer the data rasterized on the second memory to the first memory when the external apparatus corresponding to the first memory uses an optimum communication protocol for transferring the data rasterized on the second memory.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said determination unit determines to transfer the data rasterized on the second memory to the first memory when the external apparatus corresponding to the first memory has optimum display performance for transferring the data rasterized on the second memory.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when said fifth transferring unit cannot transfer the data rasterized on said temporary memory to one of the first memory and the second memory in a predetermined time, an application corresponding to the data rasterized on said temporary memory is activated to rasterize the data rasterized on said temporary memory on one of the first memory and the second memory.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting unit transfers the data to the plurality of external apparatuses by using a contention free period as a time period which can be occupied and used by an arbitrary external apparatus on a radio channel shared by the plurality of external apparatuses.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit which receives, from the plurality of external apparatuses, control data related to image display on the information processing apparatus by using a contention period as a time period when communication with the plurality of external apparatuses is possible by using predetermined procedures.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the control data is position information of a first cursor by a pointing device moved and displayed on a display image by the plurality of external apparatuses.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit which displays a plurality of control windows corresponding to the plurality of external apparatuses,

wherein said selector selects the external apparatus corresponding to the first memory as the transmission destination of the data generated by the new application when the new application is activated on the control window of the external apparatus corresponding to the first memory.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a detection unit which detects one of the plurality of control windows, which includes, in an internal area, a display position of a second cursor by a pointing device on said display unit,

wherein said transmitting unit further transmits position information of the second cursor to the external apparatus corresponding to the control window detected by said detection unit.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display unit which displays control windows corresponding to the plurality of external apparatuses; and

a detection unit which detects one of the plurality of control windows, which includes, in an internal area, a display position of a second cursor by a pointing device on said display unit,

wherein said transmitting unit further transmits position information of the second cursor to the external apparatus corresponding to the control window detected by said detection unit.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said transmitting unit transmits the position information of the second cursor representing a predetermined position to the external apparatus corresponding to a control window which is not detected by said detection unit.

16. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said transmitting unit transmits the position information of the second cursor representing a final position of the second cursor on the control window area to the external apparatus corresponding to a control window which is not detected by said detection unit.

17. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said selector selects the external apparatus corresponding to the first memory designated in advance.

18. An information processing method by an information processing apparatus including a plurality of memories which are provided in correspondence with a plurality of external apparatuses and on which data of a plurality of applications are rasterized, and a temporary memory to temporarily save image data rasterized on one of said plurality of memories, and connected to the plurality of external apparatuses through a communication network, comprising:

a selection step of, when a new application different from the applications whose data are already rasterized on the plurality of memories is activated by an application controller, selecting an external apparatus as a transmission destination of data generated by the new application from the plurality of external apparatuses;

a first transferring step of transferring, to the temporary memory, one of data rasterized on a first memory as one of the plurality of memories, which corresponds to the external apparatus selected in the selection step, and data rasterized on a second memory as one of the plurality of memories, which is different from the first memory;

a second transferring step of transferring, to the second memory, the data rasterized on the first memory when the data rasterized on the second memory is transferred to the temporary memory; and

a third transferring step of transferring the data generated by the new application to the first memory.

19. A program which causes a computer to execute an information processing method of claim 18.

20. A computer-readable recording medium which records a program of claim 19.