TW202136986A - Multi-screen display method and electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A multi-screen display method and an electronic apparatus are provided. The method is adapted to the electronic apparatus and includes the following steps. Display specifications data of a portable electronic apparatus is obtained in response to connecting to the portable electronic apparatus. The display specifications data is written into a memory in response to that recorded data in the memory of the electronic apparatus is not match to the display specifications data. A switch device connected between the memory and a graphic processor is switched, such that the graphic processor is enable to read the display specifications data in the memory through the switch device. Frame data is generated according to the display specifications data by the graphic processor, and the frame data is provided to the portable electronic apparatus for displaying.

Description

Electronic device and multi-screen display method

The present invention relates to a multi-screen application, and particularly relates to an electronic device and a multi-screen display method.

With the increase in the amount of information processing, single-screen notebook computers have gradually been unable to meet the needs of workers. For notebook computer users, using multiple screens to improve work efficiency has become a common operating situation. Generally speaking, users in the office can connect a laptop to another desktop monitor to use the multi-screen display function to improve work efficiency. However, users who work outside cannot carry a large desktop display with them, so it is more difficult to enjoy the convenience brought by the multi-screen display function. Therefore, with the popularization of portable electronic devices (such as smart phones or tablet computers, etc.), the application scenarios of using these portable electronic devices with display functions as portable screens have gradually attracted attention. The user can connect the portable electronic device to the notebook computer, allowing the user to watch the screen of the notebook computer and the screen of the portable electronic device at the same time, thereby realizing a multi-screen display application.

However, there are various types of portable electronic devices on the market, and the hardware specifications of the displays of these portable electronic devices are also different. When using a portable electronic device as an expansion screen, the user needs to manually set the display specifications of the output image frame (such as screen resolution and screen update rate, etc.), and cannot automatically adapt to the display specifications of the portable electronic device To generate the corresponding output frame. If the user's settings are not good, it is easy to cause the screen displayed by the portable electronic device to be distorted or not as expected by the user, resulting in a poor user experience.

In view of this, the present invention provides an electronic device and a multi-screen display method, which can automatically detect the display hardware specifications of the portable electronic device, so that the portable electronic device provides a good display effect.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-screen display method suitable for electronic devices. The method includes the following steps. In response to the connection to the portable electronic device, the display specification data of the portable electronic device is obtained. It is reflected that the recorded data in the memory of the electronic device does not meet the display specification data, and the display specification data is written into the memory. The switching device connected between the graphics processor and the memory is switched, so that the graphics processor reads the display specification data in the memory through the switching device. The graphics processor generates screen data according to the display specification data, and provides the screen data to the portable electronic device for display.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device, which includes a connection device, a processor, a memory, a microcontroller, a switching device, a basic input output unit, and a graphics processor. The processor is coupled to the connection device, and responds to the connection to the portable electronic device through the connection device to obtain display specification data of the portable electronic device. The microcontroller is coupled to the memory, and the switching device is coupled to the memory, the microcontroller and the graphics processor. The basic input output unit is coupled to the processor and the microcontroller. Reflecting that the recorded data in the memory does not meet the display specification data, the basic input output unit writes the display specification data into the memory through the microcontroller. The basic input output unit switches the switching device connected between the graphics processor and the memory through the microcontroller, so that the graphics processor reads the display specification data in the memory through the switching device. The graphics processor generates screen data according to the display specification data, and the processor provides the screen data to the portable electronic device for display via the connecting device.

Based on the above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the portable electronic device automatically provides the hardware specification information to the electronic device, so that the electronic device can ensure that the recorded data in the memory matches the display specification data of the portable electronic device. Thus, by switching the switching device connected between the graphics processor and the memory, the graphics processor can read the display specification data in the memory and generate screen data accordingly. In this way, the portable electronic device can display according to the screen data that meets its own hardware conditions, which not only simplifies the user's setting steps, but also provides a good display effect.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Part of the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The reference symbols in the following description will be regarded as the same or similar elements when the same symbol appears in different drawings. These embodiments are only a part of the present invention, and do not disclose all the possible implementation modes of the present invention. To be more precise, these embodiments are only examples of the devices and methods within the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-screen display system according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to FIG. 1, the multi-screen display system 10 includes an electronic device 110 and a portable electronic device 120. The electronic device 110 is equipped with a graphics processor supporting multi-screen display function, such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, etc., which is not limited by the present invention. The portable electronic device 120 has a display function, such as a tablet computer, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, an e-book, or a game console, etc., which is not limited by the present invention.

The electronic device 110 is connected to the portable electronic device 120 via the data transmission interface I1, and the data transmission interface I1 is, for example, a wireless/wired communication interface or a wired bus interface, which is not limited by the present invention. For example, the data transmission interface I1 can be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface or a WiFi communication interface, etc.

In one embodiment, the portable electronic device 120 is used as an extended screen of the electronic device 110, and the multi-screen display system 10 implements a multi-screen application through the display 121 of the portable electronic device 120 and the display 119 of the electronic device 110. In one embodiment, after the electronic device 110 establishes a connection with the portable electronic device 120 via the data transmission interface I1, the portable electronic device 120 can provide its own hardware specification data d1 to the electronic device via the data transmission interface I1. For the device 110, the hardware specification data d1 includes the hardware specifications of the display 121 of the portable electronic device 120, such as the screen resolution and the screen update rate. The electronic device 110 can generate the screen data s1 according to the hardware specifications of the display 121, and provide the screen data s1 to the portable electronic device 120 for display. Based on this, the user does not need to manually use the electronic device 110 or the portable electronic device 120 to configure the display settings of the extended screen. The electronic device 110 can automatically provide suitable screen data for the hardware specifications of the portable electronic device 120, so that the portable The integrated electronic device 120 can provide a good display effect.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. 2, the electronic device 110 includes a connection device 111, a processor 112, a memory 113, a microcontroller 114, a switching device 115, a basic input output unit 116, a graphics processor 117, a storage device 118, and a display 119.

The connecting device 111 is used for providing the electronic device 110 to connect with the portable electronic device 120 and transmit data. The connecting device 111 is, for example, a wireless network communication chip, an antenna, and other electronic components that support the Bluetooth communication protocol and the Wi-Fi communication protocol, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the connecting device 111 may be a wired data transmission interface, such as an Ethernet component, a USB interface component, etc., but the present invention is not limited to this. The electronic device 110 can transmit data to the portable electronic device 120 through the connection device 111 or can receive data from the portable electronic device 120 through the connection device 111.

The memory 113 is, for example, Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. (Flash memory) and other non-volatile memory, the present invention is not limited to this.

The microcontroller 114 is, for example, an Embedded Controller (EC) of the electronic device 110 or other control chips with computing capabilities.

The switching device 115 is coupled to the memory 113, the microcontroller 114 and the graphics processor 117. In addition to the combination of transistors, the switching device 115 can also be implemented by a complex programmable logic device (Complex Programmable Logic Devic, CPLD) or a Field Programmable Gate Array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA). Limit its implementation.

The basic input output unit 116 is coupled to the processor 112 and the microcontroller 114. The basic input output system unit 116 is a non-volatile memory (Non-volatile Memory), such as a read-only memory (Read Only Memory, ROM) or a flash memory (Flash Memory), in which is stored for loading into a computer The most basic firmware code of the system is the Basic Input Output System (BIOS).

A graphics processing unit (GPU) 117 provides a multi-screen display function, which can generate image data for multiple displays. In this embodiment, the graphics processor 117 can generate the screen data provided to the display 119 and the screen data provided to the display 121, so that the display 119 and the display 121 can display at the same time.

The processor 112 is coupled to the storage device 118, the connection device 111, the basic input output unit 116 and the graphics processor 117. The processor 112 can be a central processing unit (CPU) with a single core or multiple cores, or other programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors (Microprocessors), digital signal processors (Digital Signal Processors). Processor, DSP), programmable controller, Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or other similar components or a combination of the above components. The processor 112 is used to access various software components loaded into the storage device 118. For example, the processor 112 can execute the application program and the operating system in the storage device 118 to implement the multi-screen display method of the embodiment of the present invention.

The storage device 118 is, for example, any type of fixed or removable random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), flash memory (Flash memory), hard disk Disk or other similar device or combination of these devices, which is used to store data. The storage device 118 can load various software components (for example, operating systems, applications, drivers, various commands, etc.) and data for the processor 112 to execute and use.

The display 119 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (Light-Emitting Diode, LED) display, a field emission display (FED), an organic light-emitting diode display (Organic Light-Emitting Diode, OLED) or other types of displays, the present invention is not limited to this.

In order to further illustrate the multi-screen display method, an embodiment is given below to illustrate the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a multi-screen display method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to FIGS. 2 to 3 at the same time. The method of this embodiment is applicable to the electronic device 110 in FIG. 2, and the detailed flow of the method of this embodiment is described below in conjunction with various components in the electronic device 110.

In step S301, in response to the connection to the portable electronic device 120 through the connection device 111, the processor 112 obtains the display specification data of the portable electronic device 120. Display specification data includes extended display identification data (EDID). In one embodiment, in response to the connection to the portable electronic device 120 through the connection device 111, the processor 112 receives the hardware specification information from the portable electronic device 120, and sends the hardware specification information of the portable electronic device 120 Convert to display specification data. It should be noted that the electronic device 110 can be directly connected to the portable electronic device 120 via a USB interface or other wired data transmission media, or the electronic device 110 and the portable electronic device 120 located under the same local network can be connected via The WiFi access point is connected, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In step S302, reflecting that the recorded data of the memory 113 does not meet the display specification data, the basic input output unit 116 writes the display specification data into the memory 113 through the microcontroller 114. In one embodiment, in response to the fact that the memory 113 does not include recording data, the basic input output unit 116 writes the display specification data into the memory 113 through the microcontroller 114. Responding to the fact that the recorded data in the memory 113 is different from the display specification data, the basic input output unit 116 updates the recorded data in the memory 113 through the microcontroller 114 with the display specification data. Specifically, the processor 112 compares whether the display specification data of the portable electronic device 120 is the same as the recorded data in the memory 113. When the recorded data of the memory 113 does not meet the display specification data (that is, the recorded data of the memory 113 does not exist or is different from the display specification data of the portable electronic device 120), the processor 112 notifies the basic input output unit 116 to update Record data in the memory 113. Therefore, the basic input output unit 116 writes the display specification data into the memory 113 through the microcontroller 114 to update the recorded data in the memory 113. It should be noted that the switching device 115 connects the path Q between the microcontroller 114 and the memory 113, so that the microcontroller 114 can read or refresh the recorded data in the memory 113. Path Q can be realized by I2C communication interface.

Next, in step S303, the basic input/output unit 116 uses the microcontroller 114 to switch the switching device 115 connected between the graphics processor 117 and the memory 113, so that the graphics processor 117 reads from the memory 113 through the switching device 115 The display specification data. The switching device 115 connects the path P between the graphics processor 117 and the memory 113, so that the graphics processor 117 can read the display specification data in the memory 113 through the path P. The path P can be implemented by an I2C communication interface, that is, the graphics processor 117 can read the display specification data in the memory 113 through the I2C interface. It can be seen that the switching device 115 can turn on the path P or the path Q in response to the control signal provided to the controller 114, and connect the I2C port of the memory 113 to the I2C port of the graphics processor 117 or the I2C of the microcontroller 114 port.

In one embodiment, while the path P is being conducted, the basic input output unit 116 switches the switching device 115 through the microcontroller 114, so that the graphics processor 117 receives the hot plug detection (Hot plug detection) associated with the portable electronic device 120. Plug Detection) signal to enable the multi-screen display function. In detail, the graphics processor 117 detects the presence of an external display through the hot plug detection signal received by a specific pin (Pin), thereby enabling the multi-screen display function. In one embodiment, the switching device 115 can conduct the path M between the voltage V1 (for example, 5V) and the graphics processor 117, so that a specific pin of the graphics processor 117 can receive the hot pull associated with the portable electronic device 120 Plug-in detection signal, and activate the multi-screen display function in response to the hot-plug detection signal.

Finally, in step S304, the graphics processor 117 with the multi-screen display function enabled generates the screen data s2 according to the display specification data, and the processor 112 provides the screen data s2 to the portable electronic device 120 for display via the connecting device 111. Specifically, the processor converts the screen data s2 generated by the graphics processor 117 into a streaming data format, and streams the screen data s2 to the portable electronic device 120 for display.

It is worth mentioning that, in one embodiment, reflecting that the recorded data of the memory 113 meets the display specification data, the basic input output unit 116 does not write the display specification data into the memory 113 through the microcontroller 114. Specifically, when the recorded data of the memory 113 is the same as the display specification data of the portable electronic device 120, step S303 and step S304 can be directly executed.

In an application scenario, a user connects a notebook computer to a tablet computer and uses a tablet computer with handwriting function to perform image editing operations. When a laptop is connected to a tablet using the multi-screen display function for the first time, the laptop can detect that the screen resolution of the tablet is 1920*1080 and the screen update rate is 60fps. The laptop will change the display specifications of the tablet The data (i.e. the screen resolution is 1920*1080 and the screen update rate is 60fps) are recorded in an electronically erasable rewritable read-only memory (EEPROM). Therefore, the notebook computer can generate screen data with a screen resolution of 1920*1080 and a screen update rate of 60fps, and project it on the tablet computer. In the future, if the user connects the laptop to another tablet, the laptop will detect that the screen resolution of the other tablet is 3840*2160 and the screen update rate is 60fps. Reflecting that the notebook computer judges that the display specification data of another tablet computer is different from the recorded data in the EEPROM (that is, the screen resolution of 1920*1080), the notebook computer uses the screen resolution of the other tablet computer to refresh the EEPROM. Record data in. In this way, the electronic device will generate screen data with a screen resolution of 3840*2160 and a screen update rate of 60fps based on the refreshed recorded data, and project it on another tablet computer.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a multi-screen display method according to an embodiment of the invention. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the electronic device 110 and the portable electronic device 120 execute the application program A1 and the application program A2 respectively to realize the multi-screen display method.

4, in step 1, the application A1 of the electronic device 110 establishes a connection with the application A2 of the portable electronic device 120, and the application A2 can obtain the hardware specification information of the portable electronic device 120 (like Is the screen resolution, screen update rate and other hardware information) and provide it to application A1.

In step 2, the application program A1 converts the hardware specification information of the portable electronic device 120 into the current EDID, and confirms whether the current EDID is the same as the recorded EDID in the memory 113. In step 3, if the current EDID is different from the recorded EDID in the memory 113, the application A1 informs the basic input output unit 116 to update the recorded EDID in the memory 113 through a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) command.

In step 4, the basic input output unit 116 uses the microcontroller 114 to write the current EDID to the memory 113 via the I2C interface to update the recorded data of the memory 113. In step 5, in response to the current EDID being written into the memory 113, the basic input output unit 116 notifies the application program A1 that the current EDID write operation has been completed through the WMI command.

In step 6, the application program A1 notifies the basic input output unit 116 to enable the multi-screen display function of the graphics processor 117 through the WMI command. In step 7, the basic input output unit 116 switches the switching device through the microcontroller 114 to enable the multi-screen display function of the graphics processor 117 and generate screen data according to the current EDID in the memory 113. In step 8, the basic input output unit 116 informs the application program A1 that the multi-screen display function has been enabled through the WMI command. In step 9, the application A1 uses the Microsoft package DirectX to capture screen data from the graphics processor 117 and stream the screen data to the application A2 of the portable electronic device 120 for display.

In summary, in the embodiments of the present invention, the display specification data of the portable electronic device is detected through the cooperation of software and hardware, so that the electronic device can ensure that the recorded data in the memory and the portable electronic device's Shows that the specification data matches. Thus, by switching the switching device connected between the graphics processor and the memory, the graphics processor can read the display specification data in the memory and generate screen data accordingly. In this way, the portable electronic device can display according to the screen data that meets its own hardware conditions, which greatly simplifies the operation steps of the display setting, improves the convenience of the multi-screen display function, and brings a good user experience.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to those defined by the attached patent application scope.

10: Multi-screen display system 110: electronic device 111: Connect the device 112: processor 113: Memory 114: Microcontroller 115: switching device 116: Basic Input Output Unit 117: graphics processor 118: storage device 119: Display 120: Portable electronic device 121: display s1, s2: screen data d1: hardware specifications I1: Data transmission interface M, P, Q: path V1: Voltage A1, A2: App S301～S304: steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-screen display system according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a multi-screen display method according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a multi-screen display method according to an embodiment of the invention.

S301~S304: steps

Claims (12)

A multi-screen display method suitable for electronic devices, the method includes: In response to connecting to a portable electronic device, obtaining display specification data of the portable electronic device; It is reflected that the recorded data of a memory in the electronic device does not meet the display specification data, and the display specification data is written into the memory; Switching a switching device connected between the graphics processor and the memory, so that the graphics processor reads the display specification data in the memory through the switching device; and The graphics processor generates screen data according to the display specification data, and provides the screen data to the portable electronic device for display. In the multi-screen display method described in claim 1, the display specification data includes extended display identification data (EDID). The multi-screen display method according to claim 2, wherein the step of acquiring the display specification data of the portable electronic device in response to being connected to the portable electronic device includes: In response to being connected to the portable electronic device, receiving hardware specification information from the portable electronic device; and The hardware specification information of the portable electronic device is converted into the display specification data. The multi-screen display method according to claim 2, wherein the graphics processor reads the display specification data in the memory ^{through an I 2 C interface.} The multi-screen display method of claim 1, wherein the record data reflected in the memory of the electronic device does not meet the display specification data, and the display specification data is written into the memory The steps include: Writing the display specification data into the memory in response to the memory not including the recording data; and It is reflected that the record data in the memory is different from the display specification data, and the record data in the memory is updated with the display specification data. The multi-screen display method according to claim 1, wherein the method further includes: Switching the switching device causes the graphics processor to receive the hot plug detection signal associated with the portable electronic device to turn on a multi-screen display function. An electronic device, including: A connecting device; A processor coupled to the connection device, in response to the connection to a portable electronic device through the connection device, to obtain display specification data of the portable electronic device: A memory; A microcontroller; A switching device coupled to the memory and the microcontroller; A basic input output unit, coupled to the processor and the microcontroller, and responding to the fact that the recorded data of the memory does not meet the display specification data, and the microcontroller writes the display specification data Into the memory; and A graphics processor coupled to the switching device, Wherein, the basic input output unit switches the switching device connected between the graphics processor and the memory through the microcontroller, so that the graphics processor reads the switching device through the switching device. The display specification data in the memory, Wherein, the graphics processor generates screen data according to the display specification data, and the processor provides the screen data to the portable electronic device for display via the connecting device. In the electronic device according to claim 7, the display specification data includes extended display identification data (EDID). The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein in response to being connected to the portable electronic device through the connecting device, the processor receives hardware specification information from the portable electronic device, and sends the The hardware specification information of the portable electronic device is converted into the display specification data. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the graphics processor reads the display specification data in the memory ^{through an I 2 C interface.} The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein in response to the memory does not include the recording data, the basic input output unit writes the display specification data into the memory through the microcontroller; and Reflecting that the record data in the memory is different from the display specification data, the basic input output unit updates the record data in the memory with the display specification data through the microcontroller . The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the basic input output unit switches the switching device through the microcontroller, so that the graphics processor receives the hot plug detection associated with the portable electronic device Measure the signal and turn on the multi-screen display function.

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