Display control device and method

• US 7,260,786 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2003
• Issued: 08/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshii, Taketo, Okamura, Kazuo, Sekiguchi, Takuya, Yasutake, Kouichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu; Sy D.
• Application Number:
  US10/695,901
• Publication Number:
  US 20040119706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,391 Days
• Field of Search: 715/781, 715/792, 715/806, 715/807
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/506 Constraint
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• 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: G06F 9/5011 the resources being hardware resources other than CPUs, Servers and Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/04 Partial updating of the display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/02 Handling of images in compressed format, e.g. JPEG, MPEG
• 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 2340/125 wherein one of the images is motion video
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/12 Frame memory handling
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/001 Arbitration of resources in a display system, e.g. control of access to frame buffer by video controller and/or main processor
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/39 Control of the bit-mapped memory
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/393 Arrangements for updating the contents of the bit-mapped memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 : End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 : for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895

Abstract

The present invention provides a device and a method for displaying appropriately on the display area for each processing unit such as an application according to the applied equipment. The CPU 12 processes display area acquisition requests from a plurality of processing units R1-Rn according to a display management program. The display management program decides whether use of the display area is allowed to each processing unit, considering the relationship of the plurality of display areas requested from each processing unit R1-Rn. Each processing unit R1-Rn executes display processing for the display area for which use is allowed. In this way, whether use is allowed is notified from the display management program to each processing unit R1-Rn after each processing unit R1-Rn sends the display area acquisition request. As a consequence, display in a plurality of areas by each processing unit R1-Rn can be controlled appropriately.

Claims

1. A method of controlling display on a display apparatus in response to one or more processing units, comprising:

receiving a request from one of the processing units for acquiring one of predefined display areas;

determining whether or not to provide an authorization to acquire the one of the predefined display areas in response to the request; and

monitoring whether or not the authorization to acquire the one of the predefined display areas is provided to a processing unit when a display processing is implemented by the processing unit;

wherein, when a plurality of requests for acquiring the same one of predefined display areas from a plurality of processing units are received, the authorization is provided to one and only one of the processing units that made one of the requests for acquiring the same one of the predefined display areas.

2. A controlling method according to claim 1, further comprising disabling a display processing by a processing unit to which the authorization is not provided.

3. A controlling method according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit comprises an application.

4. A controlling method according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit comprises a plurality of applications.

5. A controlling method according to claim 1, wherein the authorization is provided to the processing unit having a higher predefined priority.

6. A controlling method according to claim 1, further comprising notifying the at least one processing units whether the authorization is given.

7. A device for controlling display on a display apparatus in response to one or more processing units, comprising:

a receiver that receives a request from the processing units to acquire one of predefined display areas;

a determining device that determines whether or not to provide an authorization to acquire the one of predefined display areas in response to the request; and

a monitoring device that monitors whether or not the authorization to acquire the one of the predefined display areas is provided to a processing unit when a display processing is implemented by the processing unit, wherein, when a plurality of requests for acquiring the same one of predefined display areas from a plurality of processing units are received by the receiver, the authorization is provided to one and only one of the processing units that made one of the requests for acquiring the same one of the predefined display areas.

8. The device of claim 7, further comprising a disabling device that disables display processing by a processing unit to which the authorization is not provided.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the processing unit comprises an application.

10. The device of claim 7, wherein the processing unit comprises a plurality of applications.

11. The device of claim 7, wherein the authorization is provided to a certain processing unit having a higher predefined priority.

12. The device of claim 7, further comprising a notifying device that notifies the at least one processing unit whether the authorization is given.

13. A computer-readable medium that stores a plurality of instructions to be executed by one or more processors to control display on a display apparatus in response to one or more processing units, the plurality of instructions comprising:

receiving a request from one of the processing units to acquire one of predefined display areas;

determining whether or not to provide an authorization to acquire the one of the predefined display areas in response to the request; and

monitoring whether or not the authorization to acquire the same one of the predefined display areas is provided to a processing unit when a display processing is implemented by the processing unit, wherein, when a plurality of requests to acquire the one of predefined display areas from a plurality of processing units are received, the authorization is provided to one and only one of the processing units that made one of the requests to acquire the same one of the predefined display areas.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, further comprising disabling display processing by a processing unit to which the authorization is not provided.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the processing unit comprises an application.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the processing unit comprises a plurality of applications.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the authorization is provided to a certain processing unit having a higher predefined priority.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, further comprising notifying the at least one processing unit whether the authorization is given.