JP2001005430A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor e.g. a protable information processor the display part of which can be used as the display part of other personal computer(PC) and which has an input terminal for display and hardware, software resources for receiving the input of the terminal. SOLUTION: In the information processor 1 provided with the display part 3, a display data generation means generating the data to be displayed on the display part 3, the input terminal inputting the display data from the outside and a selection means selecting the display data generated by the display data generation means and the display data inputted from the input terminal and supplying one side to the display part 3 are provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A notebook personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as "note PC") and a space-saving desktop personal computer with a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as a "liquid crystal"). Abbreviated as "mounted desktop PC.")
Is currently displayed on the CRT (cathode ray).
tube) Many are comparable to the size of the display.

[0003] Therefore, in the case of notebook PCs, the usage of connecting to an external display in certain cases in order to compensate for the small size of the display is decreasing. In particular, XGA (ext
It can be said that a notebook PC equipped with an "ended Graphics Array" hardly has such a use form for complementation.

In addition, conversely, in many cases, even if the display section of a notebook PC or a desktop PC with a liquid crystal is used as a display section for another PC, it does not matter in size in many cases.

[0005] When a notebook PC is used on a desk, it is often used to save space. However, if a PC is also used on a desk at the same time, space is required as a whole, even if space is saved. In this case, for the display unit, sharing and sharing the display unit can be one method of solving the problem.

Further, even when the notebook PC itself becomes obsolete and its performance is inferior, it is conceivable that it is desired to use the notebook PC for a desktop application due to its high standard only by looking at its display portion.

[0007] From these circumstances, it has been concluded that even a notebook PC with a built-in liquid crystal display or a desktop PC with a liquid crystal display can desirably be used as a display unit for another PC. it can.

On the other hand, in a general desktop PC, a digital output terminal for outputting to a liquid crystal display (for example, TM
DS-based ones have appeared, and a standard (for example, DVI standard) for outputting these digital-format signals and existing analog-format signals with a single connector is being created. That is, a desktop PC having a digital output terminal for display may become a standard in the future.

However, in the past, there was only a note PC having an output terminal for connecting to an external CRT for the purpose of compensating for a small display, and also having an analog CRT output terminal. That is, note P
It is considered that C was not considered to be used as a display unit of another PC because of the original concept of portability and integration of C as a product.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has been made to make it possible to use, for example, a display unit of an information processing apparatus having portability as a display unit of another PC. Another object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus having a display input terminal, hardware for receiving the input, and software resources.

[0011]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus having a display unit.
Display data generating means for generating data to be displayed on the display unit; an input terminal for inputting display data from outside;
A display unit that selects display data generated by the display data generation unit and display data input from the input terminal and supplies one of the display data to the display unit.

Thus, for example, a display section of an information processing apparatus having portability can be used as a display section of another PC.

[0013] Further, it is characterized in that it further comprises means for notifying the attribute of the built-in display unit to the outside.

Thus, external display data suitable for the attributes of the built-in display unit can be input.

Further, the selection means is controlled by the display data generation means.

Thus, it is possible to easily set a display mode of another PC as one use mode of the information processing apparatus.

Further, the display data from outside is a digital signal.

This makes it possible to input digital display data, which is becoming mainstream in PCs compatible with liquid crystal display devices, and to easily use it as a display unit for the data.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and particularly shows a configuration in a case where the personal computer is used as a display unit of another PC.

As shown in FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, for example, having portability and integration.
Comprises a processing main unit 2 and a display unit 3.

The processing main unit 2 includes a processing main unit 4, a display controller 5, a display signal transmitter 6, a display signal switching unit 10, a display signal receiver 11, a switching control unit 12,
And a terminal 13.

The processing body circuit section 4 performs input / output processing, arithmetic processing, and the like for exhibiting the function of a normal PC.
Further, it supplies a signal for display to the display controller 5 and supplies a setting signal necessary for display switching to the switching control unit 12.

The display controller 5 generates a display signal 20 and supplies it to the display signal switching unit 10.

The display signal transmitter 6 converts the display signal received from the display signal switching unit 10 into a transmission format and transmits it to the display unit 3 side.

The display signal switching section 10 switches between a display signal 20 from the inside and a display signal 21 from the outside.

The display signal receiver 11 receives an external display signal in a transmission format from a terminal 13 and converts it into a normal display signal 21.

The switching control section 12 outputs a switching control signal 24 for directly instructing the state of the display signal switching section 10,
It is to output a control signal 22 for making the display controller of the external PC conform to the standard of the internal display unit 3.

The terminal 13 receives a display signal in an external transmission format and sends out a control signal 22 for making the display controller of the external PC conform to the standard of the internal display unit 3. .

The display section 3 has a display signal receiver 7, a display drive circuit 8, and a display panel 9.

The display signal receiver 7 receives a display signal in a transmission format from the processing main unit 2, converts the display signal into a normal display signal, and supplies it to the display drive circuit 8.

The display drive circuit 8 drives the display on the display panel 9.

The display panel 9 is, for example, a liquid crystal device and visualizes a display signal as a screen.

The external PC 14 has a processing main unit 15, a display controller 16, a display signal transmitter 17, and a terminal 18, and is connected to an information processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention via a cable 19. You.

The processing main body 15 supplies a signal for display to the display controller 16. Display controller 1
6 generates a display signal while being controlled by the control signal 23 and supplies the display signal to the display signal transmitter 17. The display signal transmitter 17 converts the display signal into a transmission format and supplies the transmission signal to the terminal 18. The terminal 18 sends out a display signal in a transmission format to the cable 19 and receives a control signal 23.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

First, the case where the internal display signal 20, which is the normal operation mode of the information processing apparatus 1, is supplied to the internal display unit 3 will be described.

The switching control section 12 receives a signal from the processing body circuit section 4 and generates a switching control signal 24. The switching control signal 24 in this case controls the display signal switching unit 10 to supply the internal display signal 20 to the display signal transmitter 6.

The setting of the switching control unit 12 is performed by, for example, a BIOS (basic) operating in the processing main body circuit unit 4.
This is done by driver software having an input output system) or a similar function. When a user requests switching from input means such as a keyboard, software writes data for switching to the switching control unit 12, and in response thereto, the switching control unit 12 switches the switching control signal 24.
Is generated, and the display signal switching unit 10 is brought into the above state.

The display controller 5 is provided with a processing main unit 4
A display signal 20 is generated in response to a signal for display from the PC, and supplied to the display signal transmitter 6 via the display signal switching unit 10. The display signal transmitter 6
The supplied display signal is converted into a transmission format display signal (for example, L
(VDS system) and transmits it to the display signal receiver 7 in the display unit 3.

The display signal receiver 7 returns the display signal in the transmission format to the normal format and supplies it to the display drive circuit 8. The display drive circuit 8 drives the display panel 9 and displays the display signal on the display panel 9 as image information.

As described above, the case where the internal display signal 20, which is the normal operation mode of the information processing apparatus 1, is supplied to the internal display unit 3 is achieved.

Next, a case where the information processing apparatus 1 is operated as a display unit of the external PC 14 will be described.

The switching control section 12 receives a signal from the processing body circuit section 4 and generates a switching control signal 24 so that the display section 3 is used for displaying an external display signal inputted from the terminal 13. . Thus, the display signal 21 is supplied to the display signal transmitter 6 via the display signal switching unit 10. That is, the display signal switching unit 10 is controlled by the switching control signal 24 so that the display signal 21 is supplied to the display signal transmitter 6.

For this reason, when a user requests a switch from an input means such as a keyboard or the like, the software controls the switch controller 1.
2, the switching control unit 12 generates a switching control signal 24, and places the display signal switching unit 10 in the above state. The display signal (for example, TMDS system) of the transmission format input from the terminal 13 is supplied to the display signal receiver 11, where it is returned to the normal format, and as the display signal 21, as described above, the display signal switching unit. 10
Is supplied to the display signal transmitter 6 via the. The operation after the display signal transmitter 6 is the same as the case described above in which the internal display signal 20 in the normal operation mode is supplied to the internal display unit 3.

In the external PC 14, the display controller 16 receives a signal from the processing body 15 to generate a display signal, and supplies the display signal to the display signal transmitter 17.
The display signal transmitter 17 converts the display signal into a display signal of a transmission format (for example, the TMDS method), guides the converted signal to a terminal 18, and outputs the signal to the outside.

Here, as for the external PC 14, if the display unit 3 of the information processing apparatus 1 recognizes what standard, the connection can be made smoothly. That is, if the external PC 14 can generate a display signal in a signal format conforming to the standard in advance, the information processing apparatus 1 can eliminate the need for a special conversion process.

For this reason, in this embodiment, as an example, it is assumed that the display controller 16 of the external PC 14 receives the switching of the display signal mode. That is, the display controller 16 receives the control signal 22 of the switching control unit 12 of the information processing apparatus 1 as the control signal 23 via the terminal 13, the cable 19, and the terminal 18. Thus, when the display unit 3 of the information processing device 1 is used as the display unit, the display controller 16 generates a display signal in a signal format that matches the standard (characteristics) of the display unit 3.

The control signal 22 of the information processing apparatus 1 for realizing such an operation is generated by the switching control unit 12. This control signal 22 is, for example, DDC (di
This can be performed according to a spray data channel method. That is, the DDC is for notifying the attribute of the display unit to the main system.

As described above, the display unit 3 of the information processing apparatus 1 can function as the display unit of the external PC 14.

The display signal of the transmission format flowing through the cable 19 is not limited to the digital signal of the TMDS system illustrated above, but may be an analog VGA (videograph).
phis array) signal. In this case, in this embodiment, the display signal receiver 11 is used.
Need to have an AD conversion function. It is possible to reduce the scale of hardware to be implemented by using a digital signal such as TMDS rather than by transmitting a display signal using such an analog signal.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, a desktop P corresponding to the external PC 14 using the display unit 3 of the information processing apparatus 1 will be described.
The usage of C will be described. The same reference numerals are given to the components already described in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the information processing apparatus 1 having a built-in display unit can use the external PC 14 as a single display unit. Further, as is apparent from this figure, the same usability can be realized even if the information processing apparatus 1 having a built-in display unit is a desktop PC equipped with a liquid crystal.

[0054]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
In an information processing apparatus having a display unit, an input terminal for inputting display data from the outside, display data generated from a main body and the input display data are selected, and one of them is displayed on the display unit. And a selection unit for supplying the information to the display unit of the information processing apparatus having portability.
Can be used as a display unit.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided means for externally informing the attribute of the display unit.
External display data suitable for the attributes of the display unit can be input.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the display data selecting means is controlled by the main body, one of the use modes of the information processing apparatus is set to another PC. The display unit can be easily set.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the display data from the outside is a digital signal, the digital data which is becoming the mainstream in a PC compatible with a liquid crystal display device is used. It becomes possible to input display data in a format and easily use it as a display unit for the data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a use mode of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 information processing device 2 processing main unit 3 display unit 4 processing main unit circuit unit 5 display controller 6 display signal transmitter 7 display signal receiver 8 display drive circuit 9 display panel 10 display signal switching unit 11 display signal receiver 12 switching control unit 13 terminal 14 External PC 15 Processing body 16 Display controller 17 Display signal transformer 18 Terminal 19 Cable 20 Display signal from inside 21 Display signal from outside 22 Control signal 23 Control signal 24 Switching control signal

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page F term (reference) 5B069 KA07 5C006 AA02 AB03 AC02 AF23 AF24 AF52 BB11 BC02 EC01 FA06 FA07 5C080 AA10 BB05 CC03 DD30 FF12 GG17 JJ02 KK02 KK03 KK04 KK52

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus having a display unit, a display data generating means for generating data to be displayed on the display unit, an input terminal for inputting external display data, An information processing apparatus comprising: selection means for selecting display data generated by display data generation means and display data input from the input terminal and supplying one of them to the display unit. . 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that externally notifies an attribute of the display unit. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit is controlled by the display data generation unit. 4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said external display data is a digital signal.