Display control method for multi-window system
First Claim
1. A method of display control for a multi-window system provided with a display screen in which a plurality of rectangular windows are set, first memory means for storing display data in positions corresponding to the windows on the display screen, second memory means for storing a plurality of display data of a virtual screen corresponding to each of said windows which displays data included in the partial region on the virtual screen corresponding thereto, third memory means for storing definition data representing the positional data on the display screen for each window and the correspondence thereof with the virtual screen, and control means for partially rewriting the display data stored in said first memory means;
- the method comprising;
a first step of designating one of the windows in the display screen as an object window, the display status of which is to be changed;
a second step of sequentially selecting another window as a reference window among the rest of said windows in the display screen excepting said object window and comparing said object window with said another window selected as the reference window on the screen on the basis of the definition data stored in the third memory means to check whether said object window crosses said reference window;
a third step of dividing said object window into a subregion overlapped with said reference window and at least one rectangular non-overlapped subregion with the boundary of said overlapped subregion as a dividing line if said object window and said reference window cross each other;
a fourth step of comparing said non-overlapping subregion selected as an object rectangle with still another window selected sequentially as a reference window among the rest of said windows on the screen, and if said non-overlapped subregion selected as the object rectangle and said reference window cross each other, subdividing said non-overlapped subregion selected as object rectangle into a new subregion overlapped with said reference window and at least one rectangular non-overlapped subregion with the boundary of said new overlapped subregion as a dividing line, said comparing and subdivision being repeated by substituting said obtained non-overlapped subregion for a new object rectangular region until no more windows to be selected as said reference window remain; and
a fifth step of partially applying the display data of at least one partial area in said second memory means to a corresponding partial area in said first memory means, said partial area being divided in accordance with the resultant overlapped or non-overlapped subregions,thereby changing the contents of display in the visible region occupied by the object window on the display screen.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a multi-window system for setting a plurality of windows on the screen for independent display in each window, a novel display control method is disclosed in which a visible region of a given window is determined from the positions and overlapped relations between the windows on the display screen, and display data is selectively applied to the visible region. The visible region is checked for crossing between an object window and another window making up a reference window on the screen, and if they cross each other, the object window is divided into subregions, while the subregion not overlapped with the reference window is regarded as a new object region, which is collated with another reference window and subdivided. This process of collation and division is repeated. A display output is thus applied sequentially to the subregions which are found to be a visible region.
112 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of display control for a multi-window system provided with a display screen in which a plurality of rectangular windows are set, first memory means for storing display data in positions corresponding to the windows on the display screen, second memory means for storing a plurality of display data of a virtual screen corresponding to each of said windows which displays data included in the partial region on the virtual screen corresponding thereto, third memory means for storing definition data representing the positional data on the display screen for each window and the correspondence thereof with the virtual screen, and control means for partially rewriting the display data stored in said first memory means;
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the method comprising; a first step of designating one of the windows in the display screen as an object window, the display status of which is to be changed; a second step of sequentially selecting another window as a reference window among the rest of said windows in the display screen excepting said object window and comparing said object window with said another window selected as the reference window on the screen on the basis of the definition data stored in the third memory means to check whether said object window crosses said reference window; a third step of dividing said object window into a subregion overlapped with said reference window and at least one rectangular non-overlapped subregion with the boundary of said overlapped subregion as a dividing line if said object window and said reference window cross each other; a fourth step of comparing said non-overlapping subregion selected as an object rectangle with still another window selected sequentially as a reference window among the rest of said windows on the screen, and if said non-overlapped subregion selected as the object rectangle and said reference window cross each other, subdividing said non-overlapped subregion selected as object rectangle into a new subregion overlapped with said reference window and at least one rectangular non-overlapped subregion with the boundary of said new overlapped subregion as a dividing line, said comparing and subdivision being repeated by substituting said obtained non-overlapped subregion for a new object rectangular region until no more windows to be selected as said reference window remain; and a fifth step of partially applying the display data of at least one partial area in said second memory means to a corresponding partial area in said first memory means, said partial area being divided in accordance with the resultant overlapped or non-overlapped subregions, thereby changing the contents of display in the visible region occupied by the object window on the display screen. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of display control for a multi-window system provided with a display screen in which a plurality of rectangular windows are allocated according to definition data representing the position on the display screen and the display priority order for each window, comprising the steps of:
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(a) designating one of said windows to change the display status thereof; (b) comparing on the basis of said definition data said designated window with another window selected sequentially in a predetermined order among the rest of the windows in the display screen to detect an overlap window crossing said designated window on the display screen; (c) dividing said designated window into a subregion overlapped with said overlap window and at least one rectangular non-overlapped subregion which is the remaining portion of said designated window excepting said overlapped subregion if said overlap window is detected at step (b), (d) comparing on the basis of said definition data said non-overlapped subregion with still another window selected sequentially in said predetermined order among the rest of the windows in the display screen and subdividing said non-overlapped subregion into a new subregion overlapped with said another window and at least one new non-overlapped subregion which is the remaining portion of said non-overlapped subregion excepting said new overlapped subregion if said another window is detected to cross with said non-overlapped subregion, said comparing and subdivision being repeated by substituting said obtained new non-overlapped subregions for said non-overlapped subregion until no more windows to be compared with said non-overlapped region remain in the display screen; and (e) partially rewriting display contents of at least one partial region of the display screen corresponding to the resultant subregions. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of determining display data to be displayed in a plurality of rectangular windows on a display screen comprising:
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a first step of storing basic data to be used for each of said windows; a second step of storing definition data including positional data defining positions in display of the respective windows on the display screen and priority data indicating priorities of the respective windows in display on the display screen; a third step of designating a specific one of said windows as an object window of which display status may be changes and selected ones of the other windows as reference windows; a fourth step of sequentially selecting one by one said reference windows in an order of the priorities thereof; a fifth step of comparing said object window with the first selected reference window based on the positional data thereof to determine whether said object window and said first-selected reference window overlap and if they overlap, dividing said object window into an overlapped rectangular subregion which overlaps with said first-selected reference window and a non-overlapped region including at least one rectangular non-overlapped subregion which is not overlapped with said first-selected reference window; a sixth step of applying said fifth step to each of said non-overlapped rectangular subregions obtained by said fifth step, while replacing each of the non-overlapped rectangular subregions for said object window and a next selected one of said reference windows for said first-selected reference window; repeating said sixth step until no more reference window remains to be compared in the fifth step; and a seventh step of determining said non-overlapped regions obtained after repetition of the sixth step as a non-overlapped area and the remaining regions of the window designated as the object window as an overlapped area and selecting display data to be displayed in each of the areas of said object window from said basic data depending on whether the area is an overlapped one or non-overlapped one. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification