JP2580378B2 - Screen sharing control method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an office work and a design work by a plurality of users synthesizing and sharing respective terminal images on a distributed computer system connected by a communication network. ,
The present invention relates to a screen control system that enables a group such as a software developer to cooperate on a terminal on his or her desk.

(Prior art)

Conventionally, personal computers have been used mainly for supporting personal work such as document creation and table creation, but in recent years, with the development of local area networks and wide area networks, information exchange and file exchange using e-mail between distributed users Information sharing using a server has become possible. However, e-mail and file servers are storage-based communication functions,
It was impossible for a plurality of distributed users to share information in real time.

Recently, with the advent of groupware, software that enables real-time editing of information by a group using a shared window function between users in remote locations has begun to appear (Hiroshi Ishii "Research Trend of Groupware", Information Processing 89 December issue).

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, these softwares have restrictions on the applications and computer models that can be used.
Further, there is a restriction that members of the group must use the same program running in the shared window.

Further, in order to allow a plurality of users to simultaneously perform an instruction operation and a comment writing operation, it was necessary to develop groupware such as a dedicated multi-user editor with a great deal of effort.

On the other hand, there is a system, such as a video conference system, that can hold a conference while viewing each other's faces and presented documents with users at remote locations by real-time communication of image information and audio information. However, there are many restrictions on directly using information previously created and stored in a computer for a conference, and even if information in a computer installed in a conference room can be shared, even if a plurality of pieces of information can be displayed. The user could not simultaneously perform an instruction operation or a comment entry operation.

Another method for real-time cooperative work using distributed computers is to share one computer from a remote location. This is a method of connecting an input device (keyboard and mouse) and a display device of a remote computer to a computer to be shared via a communication line. However, in this method, since one computer is completely shared by all the groups, there is a restriction that only one user can perform an input operation at a time.

Further, while each user is using the shared computer, the personal computer cannot be used, and the discontinuity between the personal work space and the cooperative work space is a serious problem.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to smoothly share information recorded electronically in a personal computer of each user in real time among distributed users. Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooperative work space in which a plurality of users can perform an instruction operation and a comment entry operation on the shared information.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention are as follows.
It will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention divides one continuous image information, can logically continuously display it on a plurality of display devices, and operates an object such as a cursor, an icon, and a window with a mouse or In a computer system having a screen control system capable of moving between the screens of the plurality of display devices by an input operation from a keyboard, the screens of the plurality of display devices are converted into a personal work screen and a cooperative work screen. Separately manage and combine the images of the collaborative work screen so that the images of each other can be seen through the images of the computer screens at other remote locations sent over the communication line, and the combined result Is displayed on a screen for cooperative work and sent to a remote computer via a communication line to be displayed on the screen.

Further, the means for synthesizing the image so that it can be seen through, means for translucently overlaying the entire image, means for partially opaque overlapping, means for partially translucent overlapping,
It is characterized in that a means for performing various image synthesis by combining means for superimposing these images is provided.

(Operation)

According to the above-described means, the original output image to the cooperative work screen and the original output image to the remote user's cooperative work screen are combined while displaying the personal information of each user on the personal work screen. Results can be displayed,
The user of the terminal device and the user of the remote terminal device can perform a collaborative operation while viewing the same screen (cooperative work screen) in real time, and personal information can be easily obtained from the personal work screen by dragging a window with a mouse. Can be moved to the cooperative work screen.

As a result, the cooperative editing work performed on a blackboard or work board in a normal meeting room can be performed between distributed computers while maintaining continuity with a personal work space.

(Example of the invention)

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic basic configuration of a terminal device composed of a computer for implementing the screen sharing control system of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention includes a plurality of terminal devices including a computer having a plurality of display screens, and cooperates with a plurality of display screens connected to each terminal device main body 11 with a personal work screen 12. The work screen 13 is categorized into a work screen 13 and the cooperative work screen 12 is displayed on a plurality of images B
And an image communication control device 14 having a translucent screen synthesizing function. The terminal device main body 11 comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 111 and a screen memory 112. The screen memory 112 stores an original image A of the personal work screen 12.
Is stored. Then, a translucent image synthesis result of the image A and the image B is displayed on the cooperative work screen 13.

The present invention is different from the prior art in that a plurality of logically continuous display screens are functionally classified into a personal work screen and a cooperative work screen, and the cooperative work screen is configured using a translucent image synthesizing function. Is different.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, while displaying personal information of each user on the personal work screen 213 of the terminal device A21,
In the cooperative work screen 214, the original output image A2 to the cooperative work screen 214 and the cooperative work screen 224 of the remote user are displayed.
Since the result of synthesizing the original output image B2 to the user is displayed, the user of the terminal device A21 and the user of the terminal device B22 can perform the cooperative work while viewing the same screen (cooperative work screen) in real time, Personal information can be easily moved from the personal work screen to the cooperative work screen by a window drag operation with a mouse or the like.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

In all the drawings for describing the embodiments, components having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their repeated description will be omitted.

First Embodiment FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment in which users A and B cooperate using the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device A21 of the first embodiment outputs the original output image A2 to the cooperative work screen 214, and the terminal device B22 outputs the original output image B2 to the cooperative work screen 224.
Are transmitted to the partner terminal devices via the communication network 300, respectively, and the image communication control devices 214 and 224 of the terminal devices respectively transmit the transmitted image and the cooperative work screen 21 of the own terminal device (21, 22).
The output screen to 4,224 is translucently synthesized by the translucent image synthesizing devices 216, 226, and the image synthesis result C on the user A side and the image synthesis result D on the user B side are respectively displayed on the cooperative work screen 21.
Display at 4,224.

As is clear from FIG. 3, the respective terminal devices A21 and B22
Windows Aw and Bw, and mouse cursors Amc and B
Since the image of mc can also be synthesized and shared, the user A can point a portion of the information in the drawing software window Bw of the user B with his / her mouse cursor Amc. Further, the user B adds his / her own window to the partner window Aw.
Bw can be overlaid, and figures can be written on it with the mouse 217, 227, or characters can be input from a typewriter to comment on the other party's document. The instruction operation and the comment operation can be performed completely in parallel without being delayed by the operation performed by the partner. As described above, the first feature of the present invention is that it is possible to perform a highly flexible cooperative operation with a remote place in real time by using an arbitrary application program.

Also, personal work screens 213 and 223
From the collaborative work screen 214, 224 by simply dragging a window to the collaborative work screen, or conversely, from the collaborative work screen 214, 224 to the personal work screen 213, 223.
It is easy to move information to A second feature of the present invention is that the user can use both the personal work screens 213 and 223 and the cooperative work screens 214 and 224 at the same time, and can freely exchange information between the two.

Second Embodiment FIG. 4 shows another system configuration for obtaining the same image composition result as the first embodiment of the second embodiment of the present invention.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG.
A translucent image synthesizing process is performed only in the image communication control device 214 on the side, and the image synthesizing result C is distributed to the terminal device B22.

The functional configurations of the image communication control devices 214 and 224 include the following variations as shown in FIG.

(1) View your own image (stand-alone configuration not connected to other terminal devices).

(2) Distribute the image to the outside while viewing the image (configuration for remote presentation).

(3) View images from outside (configuration for viewing remote presentation).

(4) Viewing an external image while sending its own image to the outside (a configuration for sending its own image to a remote computer, translucently synthesizing it with another image there, and seeing the synthesized result returned).

(5) Combine your own image with an external image.

(6) Combine your own image with an external image and distribute the image composition result to the outside (in the configuration of the above 4, the configuration responsible for screen composition).

As seen from the first and second embodiments, various system configurations can be obtained by appropriately selecting and combining the configurations of the image communication control devices 214 and 224 between the terminal devices A21 and B22 according to the application.

Third Embodiment FIG. 6 is an example in which three terminal devices according to a third embodiment of the present invention are connected and a cooperative work screen is combined and shared.

In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, it is needless to say that four or more terminal devices can be connected by a similar configuration method, a cooperative work screen can be synthesized and shared by all the members. In addition, each terminal device 21, 22, 23 has two or more cooperative work screens, each of which can be simultaneously shared in another group, and cooperative work can be easily performed in a plurality of different groups in parallel. realizable.

Fourth Embodiment In the first to third embodiments, the information stored in the computer and the screen of the application program are combined and shared.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a fourth embodiment in which live image information on a desk outside the computer is taken in real time in addition to the information stored in the computer and synthesized and shared.

Desktop video boards that have recently become popular (for example, ColorSpacelli and ColorSpace F from Mass Microsystems)
X etc.) to control the cooperative work screen of the computer, it is possible to capture live images from a TV camera VCR etc. into the cooperative work screen in real time and to synthesize and share it between distributed users. it can.

According to the configuration of the fourth embodiment, in addition to the information stored in the computer, a printed matter on a desk, a handwritten document, a gesture by a hand or a finger, video information recorded on a videotape, and the like are displayed in the cooperative work screen. , And greatly enhances the effectiveness of the present invention.

As mentioned above, although the present invention was explained concretely based on an example, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example.
It goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, (1) information accumulated in distributed user computers can be shared and operated in real time.

(2) By using the translucent image synthesizing function of the communication control device, an instruction operation and a comment operation on a document presented by the other party can be performed using a mouse cursor or a keyboard.
These operations by each user can be performed in parallel with each other in real time.

(3) Both the personal work screen and the cooperative work screen can be used simultaneously, and information can be freely moved between them.

(4) Since the present invention is realized by sharing and synthesizing at an image signal level, any computer that can control two or more display devices can use the present invention irrespective of the type of computer and the type of application program. That is, since each user can use the commonly used computer and application program as they are for the cooperative work, the user does not need to learn the operation of the new tool, and has an advantage that the psychological load is small.

(5) In addition to the information stored in the computer, the use of the desktop video board allows external sources such as printed matter on the desk, handwritten documents, hand and finger gestures, and video information recorded on videotape. The image input can be brought into the cooperative work screen and the image synthesizing means can be shared.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block structure diagram of the screen sharing control system of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration and operation of the present invention, and FIG. And FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another system configuration for obtaining the same image synthesis result as in the first embodiment of the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining the functional configuration of the communication control device. FIG. 6 is a block diagram for connecting three terminal devices according to the third embodiment of the present invention and synthesizing and sharing a cooperative work screen. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a fourth embodiment in which live image information, such as on a desk outside a computer, is captured in real time and synthesized and shared using the desktop video board of the present invention. In the figure, 11: terminal device main body, 12: personal work screen, 13
…… Cooperation work screen, 14 …… Image communication control device, 111…
... Central processing unit (CPU), 112 ... Screen memory.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method according to claim 1, wherein one continuous image information is divided and logically and continuously displayed on a plurality of display devices, and objects such as a cursor, an icon, and a window are input by a mouse operation or a keyboard input operation. In a computer system having a screen control system capable of moving between the screens of the plurality of display devices, the screens of the plurality of display devices are managed separately by dividing them into a personal work screen and a cooperative work screen. Combine the image of the screen and the image of the computer screen at a plurality of other remote locations sent over the communication line so that the images can be seen through each other, and display the combined result on the screen for cooperative work Along with
A screen sharing control method characterized in that the information is sent to a remote computer via a communication line and is displayed on the screen. 2. The means for synthesizing an image so that it can be seen through includes means for translucently superimposing the entire image, means for partially opaque overlapping, means for partially translucent overlapping, 2. The screen sharing control method according to claim 1, further comprising means for performing various image synthesis by combining means for superimposing images.