Picture display device and picture display method

• US 7,176,908 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2001
• Issued: 02/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takegoshi, Hirotaka, Matsubara, Yoshiaki, Yamazaki, Nobuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala; Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): DHARIA, PRABODH M
• Application Number:
  US09/936,158
• Publication Number:
  US 20030001966A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,225 Days
• Field of Search: 345/563, 345/572, 345/204, 345/1.2, 345733-736, 345/750, 345/1.1, 345/501, 345/168, 345632-635, 345/690, 345/698, 345/503, 345/443, 714/48, 386/52, 360/13, 375/240.03, 725/35, 364/514, 710/8, 710/65, 395/183.22, 379/96, 348/553, 348/556, 348/806
• US Class Current: 345/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/08 Arrangements within a display terminal for setting, manually or automatically, display parameters of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/045 using multiple communication channels, e.g. parallel and serial
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/20 Details of the management of multiple sources of image data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/24 Keyboard-Video-Mouse [KVM] switch
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/34 for rolling or scrolling

Abstract

Video signals from a plurality of personal computers are written to a memory that stores video signals for a plurality of display screens through respective buffers. The video signals may be read from the respective buffers and displayed simultaneously on a single monitor. By selecting the video displayed in a portion of the monitor, the personal computer sending those video signals to the monitor may be selected for active operation. In this manner, a single set of input devices may be used to control a plurality of personal computers.

Claims

1. A picture display device for displaying a video signal supplied from a data process device, comprising:

input means for inputting a plurality of video signals that are outputted by a plurality of data process devices;

communication means for bi-directionally communicating with each of the plurality of data process devices to receive associated synchronous frequency information for each of the plurality of video signals;

video process means for combining the inputted plurality of video signals into a combined video signal for display on one screen according to associated picture size information for each of the plurality of video signals, the picture size information associated with a given one of the plurality of video signals being based on the received synchronous frequency information associated with that video signal;

display means for displaying the combined video signal that is outputted from said video signal process means;

input device connection means for connecting to an input device and for receiving, from the input device, a first control signal based on a user input operation;

transmission means for generating a second control signal for controlling the plurality of data process devices, the second control signal being based on the first control signal outputted from said input device connection means, and for causing said communication means to transmit the first control signal and the second control signal to the plurality of data process devices; and

communication control means for controlling said communication means to communicate with each of the plurality of data process devices.

2. The picture display device as set forth in claim 1,

wherein said communications means supplies the first control signal to a selected data process device of the plurality of data process devices and notifies the other data process devices that the user input operation has not been performed.

3. The picture display device as set forth in claim 1,

wherein a screen of said display means is comprised of a plurality of display areas corresponding to the plurality of data process devices,

the plurality of data process devices are controlled so that a control pointer that is displayable in the display areas of the data process devices is moved among specific ones of the display areas according to an operation of the input device, and

a data process device corresponding to a display area in which the display pointer is displayed is selected as a controllable object using the first control signal.

4. The picture display device as set forth in claim 3,

wherein the communications between said communication means and the plurality of data process devices are controlled on the screen of said display means using the input device.

5. The picture display device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

means for issuing an operation command intended for the plurality of data process devices, the operation command being transmitted to the plurality of data process devices by said communication means.

6. The picture display device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

operation means for outputting a third control signal corresponding to a further user control operation, wherein control of said video process means is based on the third control signal.

7. The picture display device as set forth in claim 6, further comprising:

means for issuing an operation command for the plurality of data process devices,

the issuance of the operation command being controlled according to the third control signal.

8. The picture display device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

picture generation means for generating a picture portion that represents a display state of a picture displayed by said display means, control states of each of the plurality of data process devices, and a control state of the picture display device.

9. The picture display device as set forth in claim 8,

wherein said picture generation means generates a picture portion that represents display states of pictures formed of the combined video signals displayed by said display means and that represents communication states among the plurality of data process devices.

10. A method of displaying a video signal supplied from a data process device, said method comprising:

inputting a plurality of video signals received from a plurality of data process devices;

bi-directionally communicating with each one of the plurality of data process devices to receive associated synchronous frequency information for each of the plurality of video signals;

combining the received plurality of video signals into a combined video signal for display on one screen according to associated picture size information for each of the plurality of video signals, the picture size information associated with a given one of the plurality of video signals being based on the received synchronous frequency information associated with that video signal;

displaying the combined video signal;

receiving, from an input device, a first control signal based on a user input operation;

generating a second control signal for controlling the plurality of data process devices, the second control signal being based on the first control signal;

transmitting the first control signal and the second control signal to the plurality of data process devices; and

controlling communications with the plurality of data process devices such that the plurality of data process devices bi-directionally communicates with each other.