JPH08123368A - Electronic message board - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] An electronic message board that conveys a large amount of information and that can transmit accurate and easy-to-understand information using image information, and that electronically displays and manages electronic information. I will provide a. [Composition] A message board for providing predetermined information by being displayed at a public meeting place such as a waiting room at a station, the display surface of which is composed of a liquid crystal panel 40, and a touch panel 60 is provided on the surface thereof. Attaching the touch panel 60, the public also uses it as a display selection means for selecting the display information displayed on the display surface, and also uses it as the display information input means for inputting the displayed information. The image input means 10 for inputting the video signal from 11 is included, and display information including image information as well as character information is displayed. After the display information is compressed I
A display signal stored in the C memory card 80, taken out by the main control unit 50, and displayed on the display surface of the liquid crystal panel is generated, and the character information and the image information are combined on the VRAM 20. Is displayed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a message board for providing information to the public, and more particularly to an electronic message board for displaying and managing information provided by electronic means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a message board installed in a public gathering place such as a waiting room at a station to provide information to the public has, for example, a blackboard placed on the wall surface of the waiting room. Then, the information provider has described the information to be transmitted by writing on the surface of the blackboard with chalk or the like and using the erasable writing means.

[0003]

However, in such a message board according to the prior art, information can be described on the message board by the information provider from the information description method of describing information using chalk on the blackboard. Usually, it is only letters and hand-drawn pictures, so the information that can be transmitted to the public was limited. In addition, the display area is limited to the blackboard surface, so that there is a problem that it is not always possible to post a sufficient amount of information. Furthermore, in the case of handwritten information written on a blackboard, in particular,
If you try to express the image information with a hand-drawn picture,
It is not always possible to express it accurately enough, so
It was also pointed out that the information transmitted was inaccurate.

In view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, that is, the amount of information transmitted is small and the inaccuracy of information is taken into consideration, the present invention uses an electronic means to obtain a sufficient amount of information. It is possible to transmit the information to the public, and in particular, to provide accurate and easy-to-understand information using image information, and to provide an electronic message board that electronically displays and manages the information to be provided. That is the purpose.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, display information including message information and image information is displayed at a place where the public gathers and is displayed on the display surface. A message board for providing predetermined information to the display surface for displaying information on the surface of the liquid crystal panel, and further inputting display information to be displayed on the liquid crystal panel. Display information input means for storing the display information, the information storage means for storing the display information input by the display information input means, the display information stored in the information storage means, or the stored display information is taken out and the liquid crystal panel An electronic device comprising display information control means for generating a display signal for display on the display surface, and display selection means for the public to select display information to be displayed on the display surface. Saying plate have been raised.

[0006]

That is, according to the electronic message board of the present invention described above, the image information extracted from the image from the video camera is displayed on the display surface constituted by the liquid crystal panel together with the message information such as handwritten characters. Because you can
It is possible to transmit accurate and easy-to-understand information, and by storing the display information in the information storage means, it is possible to transmit a large amount of information to the public. Controllable electronic means, which allows accurate, detailed,
In addition, it is possible to transmit message information that is easy to understand and has an impact on the other party.

[0007]

The details of the embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
Description will be given with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic system configuration of an electronic message board according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 10 is
For example, it is an image input means for inputting a video signal of an image photographed by an image pickup device such as the video camera 11 and converting it to analog / digital (A / D) output.
The image signal input from the image input means 10 is stored in the VRAM 20 which stores digital image information. The digital image information stored in the VRAM 20 is read by the image output means 30 and displayed on the display unit 40 formed of a thin liquid crystal panel (liquid crystal display device). In addition, these image input means 10 and VRAM 2
0, the image output means 30 is configured to include a central processing unit (CPU), a program ROM storing predetermined program contents, a work RAM for arithmetic processing, etc., including the components described below. Centralized control is performed by the main control unit 50.

Further, a display section 40 comprising the above liquid crystal panel
A so-called touch panel 60 is attached on the display surface of, and the input from the touch panel is input to the main control unit 50 via the touch panel input means 70.
The main control unit 50 further includes a so-called IC memory card 80 as a means for storing display information.
It is connected through the IC memory card input / output means 90. Incidentally, the IC memory card 8 which is the information storage means
Image data and data such as handwritten characters and figures input via the touch panel 60 mounted on the display surface of the liquid crystal panel display unit 40 are also stored in 0 as compressed data. Further, the compression / decompression processing of the image data, data such as handwritten characters and graphics, etc., is also performed by the main control unit 50.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the VRAM 20 for storing digital image information in the electronic message board. The VRAM 20 is an image VRAM 21 for storing image data taken by an image pickup device such as a video camera, and handwritten characters input via a touch panel 60 mounted on the display surface of the liquid crystal panel display unit 40. VR for messages that stores data such as graphics and figures
It is composed of AM22. In particular, the latter message VRAM 22 is specifically for displaying characters and graphics handwritten on the touch panel 60 with an input pen by performing dot drawing as their coordinate data.
It is converted into coordinates on M, compressed, and stored as data.

In this embodiment, the image VRAM 21 is used.
Has luminance information and two color difference information for each pixel, and is thereby displayed in color on the display surface of the liquid crystal panel display section 40. More specifically, as is clear from the figure, the image VRAM 21 is divided into areas in which luminance information, color difference information 1 and color difference information 2 are stored, and each of these divided areas is 1 Pixel is 8 bits and 6
It includes an area for storing 40 × 480 pixels.

On the other hand, the message VRAM 22 includes only an area for storing 640.times.480 pixels for one pixel of 8 bits, and has no color difference information here. Therefore, the message VRAM 22 is included in the message VRAM 22. Only binary data for monochrome display will be stored.

The image VRAM 21 and the message VR described above.
The image data from the VRAM 20 provided with the AM 22 is output to the image output means 30 described above. The image output means 30 uses the image VRAM 21 and the message VRAM.
On the basis of the information from 22, the digital RGB signal is output to the liquid crystal panel display unit 40. As a result, it is possible to simultaneously display the full-color image from the image VRAM 21 and the black-and-white handwritten information (characters, figures, etc.) from the message VRAM 22 superimposed on it.

Next, the operation of the electronic message board whose configuration has been described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying FIGS. These figures explain the transition of the display information to the liquid crystal panel display unit 40, that is, the so-called operation transition when operating the electronic message board. That is, in the electronic message board, all operation inputs are input via the touch panel 60 mounted on the display surface of the liquid crystal panel display unit 40. Specifically, the main control unit 50 determines which operation is instructed by the coordinate data input from the touch panel 60, and a predetermined program for executing a process according to each selected operation. That process will be executed.

When the electronic message board starts up, first, the display information on the liquid crystal panel display section 40 becomes a so-called default state display 100 as shown in the upper part of FIG.
In this display state, the operator can select either “message creation” 101 or “message display” 102. In this state, a guide display 103 is displayed at the bottom of the display screen, "Welcome. Please press either message creation or message display.".

When the operator touches the area of "message creation" 101, the screen display 200 of the video camera input setting is displayed. In this state, the electronic message board continuously captures the video signal from the video camera 11 into the image VRAM 20 via the image input means 10, and the predetermined area 201 on the liquid crystal panel display section 40.
Project to. At this time, the image displayed in this area 201 is a moving image display, and at the same time, the display screen 200 is displayed.
At the bottom of, "Please take a picture and press the pose."
Is displayed 202, and buttons for "pause" 203 and "return" 204 are displayed on the right side thereof.

Now, when the operator touches the "return" button 204, the display screen on the liquid crystal panel display section 40 returns to the display 100 in the default state. On the other hand, when the operator touches the “pause” button 203, the display screen on the liquid crystal panel display unit 40 moves to the display screen 300 for confirming the still image. In this state, the video signal from the video camera 11 is displayed. The capturing is stopped, and the data in the image VRAM 21 of the VRAM 20 is determined as a still image. Then, in the upper right part of the screen 300, "Title" 3
The input guidance such as 01 and “message” 302 is displayed, thereby prompting the operator to input a message. At this time, at the bottom of the display screen 300, there is displayed an indication 303 "Please fill in the title and message and press finish" and an "end" button 304 on the right side.

When the touch panel 60 is traced with a pen or the like in the state of the display screen 300, the message is drawn on the message VRAM 22 of the VRAM 20 as it is, and the handwritten input data is displayed on the liquid crystal panel display section 40. To display. Then, by touching the area of the “end” button 304, the main control unit 50 causes the data on the image VRAM 21 at that time and the message VRAM 22.
The above data is compressed, written in a designated area in the IC memory card 80 to store the data, and the display 100 in the default state is returned again.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, in the state of the display 100 in the default state described above, a state in which nothing is touched on the touch panel 60, that is, no one performs "message creation" or "message display" and is constant. When the time elapses, the main control unit 50 of the electronic message board automatically stores the information stored in the IC memory card 80, that is, the image information and the handwritten message information written in the state of the display screen 300. And are drawn on the image VRAM 21 and the message VRAM 22 of the VRAM 20, and these pieces of information are displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal panel display section 40. The display screen at this time is indicated by reference numeral 400. A "return" button 401 is displayed in the lower right part of the display screen 400. When the "return" button 401 is pressed, the display 100 in the default state is returned again.

Next, the above-mentioned default state display 100
When the “message display” area 102 is touched in the state of, the main control unit 50 of the electronic message board lists only the message titles among the information stored in the IC memory card 80, and in the figure A list display as indicated by reference numeral 500 is performed. Reference numeral 501 in the drawing indicates an area in which the titles of the message displays displayed in a list are displayed. Further, in this display state 500, a display 502 “Please press the title” is displayed at the bottom of the display screen, and a “Return” button 503 is displayed on the right side of the display 502.
By pressing the "return" button 503, the display screen of the liquid crystal panel display section 40 returns to the display 100 in the default state again.

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned message list display state 500, the user of the message board selects one message from the displayed messages by selecting the title area 501 on the displayed display screen. When pressed by a pen or a finger to select, the main control unit 50 of the electronic message board causes the information stored in the area corresponding to the message selected by the user among the information stored in the IC memory card 80, That is, the image information and the handwritten message information written in the state of the display screen 300 when the still image is determined are set to the VR.
The image is drawn on the VRAM 21 for image and the VRAM 22 for message of the AM 20, and the information is drawn on the liquid crystal panel display unit 40.
Is displayed on the display screen of. This display screen is indicated by reference numeral 600, and this display screen is indicated by reference numeral 400 above.
This is the same as the display information indicated by. As described above, by displaying the title and its contents hierarchically and sequentially on the display screen of the liquid crystal panel display unit 40 according to the instruction of the operator, it becomes possible to convey a lot of information. In addition, a "return" button 601 is displayed at the lower right of the display screen 600.
Is displayed, and when this “Return” button 601 is pressed,
Again, the list display state 500 is returned to.

The memory configuration in the IC memory card 80 in which the main control unit 50 of the electronic message board stores the compressed message information to be displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal panel display unit 40 will be attached. This will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the area for compressing and storing the image and the message data is an example in which an IC card is adopted for the purpose of saving the data and carrying the data (portability). Instead of
For example, it is possible to achieve the same effect as the above by using another memory (SRAM or DRAM) which is further incorporated and built in the device of the electronic message board.

First, the IC memory card 80 is effective for 25 areas (each area is 80 KB) 801 to 825 for storing images and message data, and is effective for each of these area No1 to area No25. Information for indicating whether or not various data are stored, that is, a management information area 830. And, as is clear from the figure, these area numbers 1 to 1
Each area of area No. 25 further includes an area 851 (8 KB) for storing title data, an area 852 (16 KB) for storing message data, and
Area 853 (56KB) for storing image data
It is divided into In addition, the management information area 830 includes the above 25 area numbers 1 to 25 (801 to 8).
It is divided into 25 management information areas 861 to 885 corresponding to 25). The title data and message data described above, together with the touch coordinates input from the touch panel 60, together with the message VRA of the VRAM 20.
It is data obtained by compressing the binary data written in M22. As the data compression method, for example, the Wile method, which is one of the run-length compression encoding methods, is used.
The image data is the VRA for image in the VRAM 20.
This data is obtained by dividing the data of M21 into 8 × 8 pixel blocks, performing DCT (discrete cosine transform) calculation processing on each of the blocks, quantizing the result, and further Huffman coding and compressing the result.

A processing procedure for compressing each of the above-mentioned data and storing them in the IC memory card 80 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, in the flowchart of FIG. 7, the data in the image VRAM 21 of the VRAM 20 is DCT-calculated (step S11), and the data after the DCT calculation is quantized (step S12). afterwards,
The quantized data is Huffman-encoded (step S
13), and then the message VRAM 2 of the VRAM 20.
The title data and the message data on 2 are encoded using the Wile method (step S14), and the encoded data are stored in the IC memory card 80 (step S14).
15) End the operation.

Next, contrary to the above, the IC memory card 8
The processing procedure for reading data from 0, decompressing the data, and displaying the data is shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, in the flowchart of FIG. 8, the Huffman-coded image data is read from the IC memory card 80 (step S
21), the decoding process is performed (step S22), and the inverse quantization process is further performed (step S23). The data obtained by the inverse quantization is further subjected to IDCT calculation and written in the image VRAM 21 of the VRAM 20 (step S24). Further, the title data and the message data encoded by Wile are read (step S2).
5), Wile decryption processing is performed and writing is performed on the message VRAM 22 of the VRAM 20 (step S26).
finish.

The operation of the control program of the main control unit 50 of the electronic message board will be described below with reference to the attached FIGS. 9 and 10. First, when the power of the electronic message board, which is the device of the present invention, is turned on, the variables on the work RAM are initialized as follows. That is, the operation mode is "0".
Display area No (I indicating the image to be displayed and the message)
The area number of the C memory card) is set to "1" (step S101).

That is, the determination of the operation mode (step S
As a result of 102), when the operation mode is "1", the default screen 100 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed (step S103) and the timer 1 is started (step S104). Then, if there is no valid input data from the touch panel (step S105), it is checked whether or not the timer 1 has timed up (step S106), and if it is, the image and message in the display area No are expanded. It is displayed (step S107) (see the display screen 400 in FIG. 4), the display area No is updated (step S108), and the operation mode is set to "1" (step S109).

In the above steps S105 and S106, if there is valid input data from the touch panel before the timer 1 times out, the touch panel input is checked (step S110). For example, in this case, the default screen 100 is displayed. When the "message display" or "message creation" area of is touched, the following processing is performed. First, when "message display" is touched,
Only the title data in the effective area in the IC memory card is read out, expanded and displayed, and a list of titles only (see reference numeral 500 in FIG. 5) is displayed (step S11).
1), start timer 2 (step S11)
2). Then, if there is no valid input data from the touch panel again (steps S113 and 114), it is checked whether or not the timer 2 has timed out (step S115), and if it is timed out, the process returns to the operation mode determination. If there is a "return" touch from the touch panel before the timer 2 times out, the process similarly returns to the determination of the operation mode (step S102). If any title is touched, the area number of the designated title is calculated (step S116), and the area N
o is set in the display area No, and the image and message are expanded and displayed (step S107).

If message creation is input at the time of the touch panel input determination (step S110), video input setting is performed (step S117), and the image VRAM is updated by the input signal from the video camera. Then
Switching to moving image display (step S118: For moving image display, refer to reference numeral 200 in FIG. 3). Here, the timer 3 is started (step S119). Then, there is no valid input data from the touch panel (steps S120, 12
1) If the timer 3 times out (step S1)
22) and cancel the input from the video camera (step S
123), and returns to the operation mode determination (step S102). Similarly, when there is a touch of "return" before the timer 3 times up (step S121 above),
Cancel the input from the video camera (step S12
3) Return to operation mode determination.

In the above touch panel input determination (step S120), if a "pause" is touched here, the updating of the image VRAM is stopped and the data of the image VRAM is fixed as a still image. That is, the display is switched to the still image display (step S124). Next, input guidance such as "Title" and "Message" is added to the message VRA.
The message is displayed by being written in M (step S125), thereby prompting the user to input a message by handwriting. Subsequently, the touch panel input is determined (step S126). In the case of "other",
VRA for message corresponding to the coordinates input on the touch panel
Data (1) is written in the position of M, and characters and figures are displayed as they are input. Then, the touch panel input is determined (step S127), and "end"
When touched, the contents of the VRAM will be compressed and the IC
The data is stored in the memory card (step S128: see reference numeral 300 in FIG. 3).

Judgment of the above operation mode (step S10)
In 2), when the operation mode is "1", the timer 4 is started (step S129), and when there is no valid data from the touch panel due to the touch panel input determination (step S130), the timer 4 sets the time. Check if it is up (step S1
31) If the time is up, the operation mode is set to "0" (step S132), and the process returns to the operation mode determination. Also, before the timer 4 times out, "return"
The same applies when is touched.

According to the electronic message board described above, the message information of the message board, which has conventionally been transmitted only by handwritten characters or figures, is converted into message information by using an image from a video camera or the like. Therefore, more accurate information can be provided and obtained, that is, better communication can be achieved than in the past. Further, the electronic message board is used not only for public facilities such as a waiting room at a station as in the above embodiment, but also for communication in various social organizations such as schools, companies, and homes. Compared to the memos in the conventional message board, the transmitted information is accurate, detailed, and easy to understand, and can give an impact to the other party. Will also fully fulfill the role of.

[0032]

As is apparent from the above detailed description of the present invention, the electronic message board according to the present invention is compared with a conventional message board which can transmit information only by handwritten characters or figures. It is possible to display handwritten characters and graphic information as well as image information extracted from a video image from a video camera or the like, which enables accurate and detailed and easy-to-understand information transmission.
Further, by storing the display information in the information storage means, it is possible to transmit a large amount of information to the public as compared with the related art, and these display information can be constituted by a computer. It is possible to provide message information that is more flexible and easy to understand and has an impact on the other party by being managed electronically, which is an extremely excellent effect both technically and practically. Demonstrate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an electronic message board which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration in a VRAM of the electronic message board.

FIG. 3 is an operation transition diagram for explaining an operation in creating a message of the electronic message board of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation transition diagram illustrating an operation when the touch panel is not touched for a predetermined time in the electronic message board.

FIG. 5 is an operation transition diagram illustrating an operation in message display of the electronic message board of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data storage state in the IC memory card of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a process of compressing and storing an image and message data in the electronic message board.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a process of expanding and displaying an image and message data on the electronic message board.

FIG. 9 is a part of a flow chart showing a processing content by the control program of the electronic message board, which is a dashed line AA
The whole is shown with the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a part of the rest of the flowchart divided by the alternate long and short dash line AA and shows the processing contents by the control program of the electronic message board together with FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 image input unit 11 video camera 20 VRAM 21 image VRAM 22 message VRAM 30 image output unit 40 liquid crystal panel display unit 50 main control unit 60 touch panel 70 touch panel input unit 80 IC memory card 90 IC memory card input / output unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A message board for displaying predetermined display information including message information and image information on a display surface which is displayed at a place where the public gathers and provides predetermined information to the public. A display surface for displaying information on the liquid crystal panel, and further, a display information input means for inputting display information displayed on the liquid crystal panel,
Information storage means for storing the display information input by the display information input means, and storing the display information in the information storage means or taking out the stored display information and displaying it on the display surface composed of the liquid crystal panel. An electronic message board, comprising: display information control means for generating a display signal for displaying the display information; and display selection means for allowing the public to select the display information displayed on the display surface. 2. The electronic message board according to claim 1, wherein the display information input means includes an image input means for inputting a video signal from a video camera. 3. The electronic message board according to claim 2, wherein the display surface comprises the liquid crystal panel forming the display surface, and a touch panel arranged on the surface of the liquid crystal panel. The touch panel functions as the display information input unit together with the display selection unit. 4. The electronic message board according to claim 3, further comprising: a still image input from the video signal from the video camera by the image input means, and handwritten display information input from the touch panel. An electronic message board having a VRAM that is edited as a signal. 5. The electronic message board according to claim 1, wherein the information storage means includes an IC memory card. 6. The electronic message board according to claim 1, wherein the display information stored in the information storage means is compressed information. 7. The electronic message board according to claim 1, wherein the display information control means selectively and periodically selects a part of the display information stored in the information storage means. An electronic message board having a function of automatically displaying on a panel. 8. The electronic message board according to claim 1, wherein the display information control means has a function of sequentially displaying the display information stored in the information storage means hierarchically in accordance with a user's instruction. An electronic message board characterized by being present.