TWI757840B - Remote management method for display device and host system - Google Patents

Abstract

A remote management method for a display device and a host system are provided. The method includes: receiving, by a remote communication circuit of the host system, a first remote command configured to perform an abnormal state elimination for at least one display device; performing a transmission cable detection for the display device according to the first remote command to determine whether a connection between the display device and the host system is normal; and reading configuration information of the display device from a default storage space of a display interface circuit of the host system and controlling the display device to output image signal according to the configuration information if the connection between the display device and the host system is normal.

Description

Display remote management method and host system

The present invention relates to a remote management technology, and in particular, to a remote management method for a display and a host system.

Generally speaking, large-scale video walls are often installed in large gathering places such as shopping malls or outdoor plazas, so as to display a larger display screen by a combination of multiple monitors. However, in actual maintenance, when the display of the TV wall is abnormal, it is often due to the lack of local technicians or the lack of equipment maintenance capabilities of the technicians, so that the equipment maintainer needs to frequently go to the location of the TV wall for on-site maintenance, which lacks work efficiency.

The present invention provides a remote management method and a host system of a display, which can improve the maintenance and management efficiency of the display by combining the remote command with the automatic error detection mechanism of the local host system.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a remote management method for a display, which is used in a host system, wherein the host system is connected to at least one display via a display interface circuit, and the remote management method for the display includes: via the host system The remote communication circuit of the receiver receives a first remote command, wherein the first remote command is used to perform abnormal state elimination on the at least one display; according to the first remote command, the transmission line is performed on the at least one display circuit detection to confirm whether the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal; and if the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal, from the display interface circuit The default storage space of the at least one display reads the configuration information of the at least one display and controls the at least one display to output an image signal according to the configuration information.

Embodiments of the present invention further provide a host system for controlling at least one display. The host system includes a display interface circuit, a remote communication circuit and a control circuit. The display interface circuit is used for connecting to the at least one display. The control circuit is coupled to the display interface circuit and the remote communication circuit. The control circuit is used for receiving a first remote command via the remote communication circuit, and the first remote command is used for performing abnormal state elimination on the at least one display. The control circuit is further configured to perform transmission line detection on the at least one display according to the first remote command, so as to confirm whether the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal. If the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal, the control circuit is further configured to read the configuration information of the at least one display from the preset storage space of the display interface circuit and according to the The configuration information controls the at least one display to output image signals.

Based on the above, after the remote communication circuit of the host system receives the first remote command, a transmission line detection can be automatically performed according to the first remote command to confirm whether the connection between the display and the host system is normal. If it is confirmed that the connection is normal, the configuration information of the display can be continuously read from the preset storage space of the display interface circuit of the host system, and the display can be controlled to output image signals according to the configuration information. Thereby, the abnormal state elimination of the display can be completed remotely.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a remote management system for a display according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the remote management system 10 includes a host system 11 , displays 12 ( 1 ) to 12 ( 4 ) and a remote host 13 . The host system 11 is coupled to the displays 12(1)-12(4) and can be used to control the displays 12(1)-12(4). For example, the host system 11 can control the display contents of the displays 12(1)-12(4) and/or perform management actions such as adjustment of setting parameters (such as screen brightness, contrast, etc.) on the displays 12(1)-12(4). . The host system 11 may include various types of computer hosts such as desktop computers or industrial computers.

The displays 12(1) to 12(4) can be respectively a plasma display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display, a light emitting diode (light emitting diode) diode, LED) display or organic light emitting diode (Organic LED, OLED) display or various types of displays. In addition, the displays 12 ( 1 ) to 12 ( 4 ) can be combined into a video wall or a similar integrated display module by a specific arrangement and arrangement, so as to cooperate to display a specific image content, as shown in FIG. 1 . It should be noted that the total number of displays 12(1)-12(4) may be more or less, which is not limited in the present invention.

The remote host 13 may refer to a computer device used by maintenance personnel of a remote equipment maintenance provider. For example, the remote host 13 may include various types of remote communication devices such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a desktop computer or a notebook computer. The remote host 13 can issue commands (also referred to as remote commands) to the host system 11 via the network 101 to instruct the host system 11 to power on, power off, set parameters or abnormal status of the displays 12(1)-12(4). Remote management behavior such as exclusion. The network 101 can be a public network and/or a private network.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a host system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2 , the host system 11 includes a display interface circuit 21 , a remote communication circuit 22 , a storage circuit 23 , a control circuit 24 , a central processing unit 25 and an input/output (I/O) interface circuit 26 . The display interface circuit 21 can provide a communication interface between the host system 11 and the displays 12(1)-12(4). The host system 11 can communicate with the displays 12( 1 ) to 12( 4 ) via the display interface circuit 21 , for example, transmit image signals to the displays 12( 1 ) to 12( 4 ) for display. The display interface circuit 21 may conform to transmission interface standards such as High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI).

The remote communication circuit 22 can provide a wired and/or wireless network signal transmission interface to communicate with the remote host 13 . For example, the remote communication circuit 22 may conform to wired network interface standards such as Ethernet and/or wireless network interface standards such as WIFI.

The storage circuit 23 is used for storing data. For example, the storage circuit 23 may include a volatile memory module and a non-volatile memory module. Volatile memory modules can be used to volatilely store data. Non-volatile memory modules can be used to store data non-volatilely. For example, the volatile memory module may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and the non-volatile memory module may include conventional hard disk drives (HDDs) and/or solid state drives Disk (Solid state drive, SSD).

The control circuit 24 is coupled to the display interface circuit 21 , the remote communication circuit 22 and the storage circuit 23 . The control circuit 24 is used for maintenance operations related to the remote commands received by the remote communication circuit 22, such as starting, shutting down, setting parameters, operating the host system 11 or the displays 12(1)-12(4). Remote management behaviors such as backup and restore or exception status elimination. For example, the control circuit 24 may include any programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), programmable controllers, application specific integrated circuits (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) , ASIC), Programmable Logic Device (PLD) or other similar devices or a combination of these devices.

The central processing unit 25 is the main control chip of the host system 11 . The central processing unit 25 can be coupled to the display interface circuit 21 , the storage circuit 23 , the control circuit 24 and the input/output interface circuit 26 . For example, the central processing unit 25 can perform startup and shutdown of the host system 11, operation of the operating system, and processing of image signals. For example, the central processing unit 25 may include a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) and a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). The BIOS is responsible for behaviors such as initialization when the host system 11 is powered on and loading of the operating system. The graphics processor is responsible for computing graphics resources and generating image signals. The central processing unit 25 can transmit the image signal to the displays 12(1)-12(4) via the display interface circuit 21 for output. In addition, the input/output interface circuit 26 may include input/output interfaces for various signals such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel and a screen, and the present invention does not limit the type of the input/output interface circuit 26 .

It should be noted that during the operation of the host system 11 and the displays 12(1)-12(4), even if the connection between the host system 11 and the displays 12(1)-12(4) is normal (for example, The HDMI transmission line is well connected between the host system 11 and the displays 12(1)-12(4)), and the displays 12(1)-12(4) may still be abnormal. The reason for this exception may be that at least one of the displays 12 ( 1 ) to 12 ( 4 ) is faulty or removed, causing the relative configuration positions of the displays 12 ( 1 ) to 12 ( 4 ) in the physical space to change. , or because the transmission line between the host system 11 and the displays 12(1) to 12(4) is too long, the host system 11 cannot successfully read the extended display capability identification data from the displays 12(1) to 12(4) ( Extended display identification data, EDID) and other configuration information, so that the displays 12(1)~12(4) cannot display images smoothly.

In one embodiment, when the display state of at least one of the displays 12(1)-12(4) is abnormal, the remote host 13 can issue a specific command (also referred to as the first remote command) to the host system 11, to instruct the host system 11 to attempt to eliminate the abnormal state of the displays 12(1)-12(4). For example, the control circuit 24 may receive the first remote command from the remote host 13 via the remote communication circuit 22 . The first remote command is used to perform abnormal state elimination on at least one of the displays 12(1)-12(4).

According to the first remote command, the control circuit 24 can perform transmission line detection on the displays 12(1)-12(4) to confirm whether the connection between the displays 12(1)-12(4) and the host system 11 is normal. . If the connections between the displays 12(1)-12(4) and the host system 11 are normal, the control circuit 24 can read the displays 12(1)-12(4) from a preset storage space of the display interface circuit 21 configuration information. For example, the configuration information may include the EDIDs of the displays 12(1)-12(4), which include production information (such as production serial numbers, production dates, and manufacturer IDs), display settings of the displays 12(1)-12(4) At least one of parameters and pulse information. Then, the control circuit 24 can control the displays 12(1)-12(4) to output image signals according to the configuration information.

In one embodiment, the preset storage space refers to a memory space inside the display interface circuit 21 . The default storage space is pre-stored with configuration information such as the EDIDs of the displays 12(1) to 12(4). For example, when the displays 12 ( 1 ) to 12 ( 4 ) are connected to the host system 11 for the first time, the control circuit 24 can read from the respective internal memories of the displays 12 ( 1 ) to 12 ( 4 ) via the display interface circuit 21 The configuration information such as the EDID of the displays 12(1)-12(4) is stored and the read configuration information is stored in the preset storage space. Thereafter, if the relative arrangement positions of the displays 12(1)-12(4) in the physical space change and/or the host system 11 cannot successfully read the EDID and other configuration information from the displays 12(1)-12(4) When the display of the displays 12(1) to 12(4) is abnormal, according to the configuration information such as the EDID of the displays 12(1) to 12(4) pre-stored in the preset storage space, the display 12(1) can be reconfigured. )~12(4) to configure and output video signal smoothly. In one embodiment, the preset storage space may also refer to a specific storage location in the storage circuit 23 .

In one embodiment, in the transmission line detection, the control circuit 24 may attempt to read specific information from the displays 12( 1 ) to 12( 4 ) via the display interface circuit 21 . For example, this specific information may include the EDID headers of the displays 12(1)-12(4). If the specific information can be successfully read, the control circuit 24 can determine that the connections between the displays 12 ( 1 ) to 12 ( 4 ) and the host system 11 are all normal. Conversely, if the specific information cannot be successfully read from one of the displays 12(1)-12(4) (eg, the display 12(1)), the control circuit 24 can determine that the display (eg, the display 12(1) )) and the host system 11 are not connected properly.

In one embodiment, in the transmission line detection, the control circuit 24 can also detect a hot plug signal via the display interface circuit 21 . If the hot-plug signal is detected, for example, the voltage of the preset pin of the hot-plug signal is logic high (eg, higher than 2V), the control circuit 24 can determine that the displays 12( 1 ) to 12( 4 ) and the The connections between the host systems 11 are all normal. On the contrary, if the hot-plug signal corresponding to a certain display is not detected, for example, the voltage of the preset pin of the hot-plug signal is not logic high (eg, lower than 0.8V), the control circuit 24 can determine the display 12 The connection between one of (1) to 12(4) and the host system 11 is abnormal.

In one embodiment, if the connection between any one of the displays 12(1)-12(4) and the host system 11 is abnormal, the control circuit 24 may provide a connection abnormality message. For example, the connection abnormality message can be sent to the remote host 13 via the remote communication circuit 22 . The maintenance personnel of the remote host 13 can execute other processing procedures according to the abnormal connection message, such as informing the local personnel to reconnect the transmission line between the host system 11 and the displays 12(1) to 12(4), or to connect the host system 11 reboot and so on. In one embodiment, the abnormal connection message can also be displayed on the screen of the host system 11 and can instruct the local personnel to reconnect the transmission line between the host system 11 and the displays 12( 1 ) to 12( 4 ) or connect the host System 11 reboots and so on.

In one embodiment, the control circuit 24 may configure a startup area, a backup area and a system area in the storage circuit 23 . The boot area is used to store the firmware loader. The backup area is used to store backup firmware codes. The system area is used to store the system firmware code. The system firmware code refers to the firmware code of the current operating system of the host system 11 . The system firmware code can also be directly regarded as the operating system of the host system 11 . The backup firmware code is the backup of the system firmware code. The firmware reader is used to load the system firmware code and/or perform backup and restore of the system firmware code.

In one embodiment, the control circuit 24 may receive a specific command (also referred to as a second remote command) via the remote communication circuit 22 . The second remote command is used to update the system firmware code. The control circuit 24 can execute the firmware reader in the boot area according to the second remote command. This firmware reader can use the backup firmware code in the backup area to update (or restore) the system firmware code in the system area.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the division of the storage space of the storage circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the storage space 31 of the storage circuit 23 is configured with a startup area 32 , a backup area 33 and a system area 34 . The boot area 32 is used to store the firmware reader. The backup area 33 is used for storing backup firmware codes. The system area 34 is used to store system firmware codes. In one embodiment, the startup area 32 and the backup area 33 are hidden partitions, so the operating system of the host system 11 has no authority to view the startup area 32 and the backup area 33 .

In one embodiment, when the host system 11 is powered on, the BIOS of the central processing unit 25 may hand over the power-on right to the firmware reader in the boot area 32 . The firmware reader can back up the system firmware code (or some system parameters) in the system area 34 to the backup firmware code in the backup area 33 or use the backup firmware code in the backup area 33 to update (or restore). ) system firmware code (or some system parameters) in the system area 34. After the firmware reader completes the above-mentioned backup or restoration, the BIOS can run the system firmware code in the system area 34 to continue the boot process. In one embodiment, the above-mentioned backup or restore operation in the booting procedure may also be performed in response to the above-mentioned second remote command.

In one embodiment, the control circuit 24 can provide standby power to the remote communication circuit 22 when the host system 11 is in a low power state (eg, a shutdown, standby or hibernation state). The standby power enables the remote communication circuit 22 to maintain the signal receiving (and sending) function, so that commands (such as the first remote command or the second remote command mentioned above) from the remote host 13 can be received in the low power supply state. instruction). The control circuit 24 can perform power-on, power-off, reset, or start the backup and restore functions of the operating system of the host system 11 according to the received command.

In one embodiment, the remote communication circuit 22 and the control circuit 24 can operate independently of the central processing unit 25 . When the host system 11 or the central processing unit 25 fails, the control circuit 24 can still receive remote commands via the remote communication circuit 22 and correspondingly execute the power-on, power-off, reset of the host system 11 or enable the backup and restore functions of the above-mentioned operating systems. .

In one embodiment, the control circuit 24 may set the automatic power-on and/or power-off time of one or more sets of host systems 11 in units of a specific time length. For example, the power-on (or power-off) time of every Monday and every Friday can be set to different time points, so as to improve the operation flexibility when the system operates automatically.

In one embodiment, additional storage space may be configured in the control circuit 24 . The storage space can store system parameters used by the display interface circuit 21 , the remote communication circuit 22 and the control circuit 24 . The system parameters can also be updated according to commands from the remote host 13 .

In one embodiment, the remote management system 10 further includes a remote controller 14, and the input/output interface circuit 26 or the control circuit 24 of the host system 11 further includes a signal receiver. The signal receiver can receive control signals from the remote controller 14 . In this way, the local operator of the host system 11 can use the remote controller 14 to control the host system 11 or the displays 12( 1 ) to 12( 4 ) to start up, shut down, or set parameters.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a remote management method of a display according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4 , in step S401 , a first remote command is received via the remote communication circuit of the host system, wherein the first remote command is used to perform abnormal state elimination on at least one display. In step S402, according to the first remote command, perform transmission line detection on the at least one display to confirm whether the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal. In step S403, it is confirmed whether the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal according to the detection result of the transmission line detection. If the connections are all normal, in step S404, read the configuration information of the at least one display from the default storage space of the display interface circuit of the host system, and control the at least one display to output an image according to the configuration information signal. In addition, if there is an abnormal connection, in step S405, a connection abnormality message is provided.

However, each step in FIG. 4 has been described in detail as above, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that each step in FIG. 4 can be implemented as a plurality of codes or circuits, which is not limited by the present invention. In addition, the method of FIG. 4 can be used in conjunction with the above embodiments, and can also be used alone, which is not limited in the present invention.

To sum up, the remote management method and the host system of the display provided by the present invention can improve the maintenance and management efficiency of the host system and the display by combining the remote command with the automatic debugging and management mechanism of the local host system.

10: Remote Management System 11: Host System 12(1)~12(4): Display 13: Remote host 101: Internet 14: Remote Control 21: Display interface circuit 22: Remote communication circuit 23: Storage circuit 24: Control circuit 25: CPU 26: Input/Output (I/O) Interface Circuit 31: Storage Space 32: Boot area 33: Backup area 34: System area S401~S405: Steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a remote management system for a display according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a host system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the division of the storage space of the storage circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a remote management method of a display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

S401~S405: Steps

Claims (16)

A remote management method of a display is used in a host system, wherein the host system is connected to at least one display via a display interface circuit, and the remote management method of the display comprises: receiving a remote communication circuit through a remote communication circuit of the host system. a first remote command, wherein the first remote command is provided by a remote host and used to perform an abnormal state elimination on the at least one display; according to the first remote command, execute a transmission line on the at least one display circuit detection to confirm whether the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal; and if the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal, from a preset storage space of the display interface circuit Reading configuration information of the at least one display and controlling the at least one display to output image signals according to the configuration information. The remote management method of a display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of performing the transmission line detection on the at least one display comprises: attempting to read specific information from the at least one display via the display interface circuit; Upon reaching the specific information, it is determined that the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal. The remote management method of a display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of performing the transmission line detection on the at least one display comprises: detecting a hot-plug signal via the display interface circuit; and If the hot plug signal is detected, it is determined that the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal. The remote management method of a display according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information includes at least one of production information, display setting parameters and clock information of the at least one display. The remote management method for a display as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: when the at least one display is connected to the host system for the first time, reading the at least one display from the memory of the at least one display via the display interface circuit and storing the read configuration information in the default storage space of the display interface circuit. The remote management method for a display as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: when the host system is in a low power supply state, providing a standby power supply to the remote communication circuit, so that the remote communication circuit can operate in the low power state. The first remote command is received in a powered state. The remote management method for a display as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: configuring an activation area, a backup area and a system area in a storage circuit of the host system, wherein the activation area is used to store a firmware read device, the backup area is used to store a backup firmware code, and the system area is used to store a system firmware code; a second remote command is received through the remote communication circuit, wherein the second remote command is generated by a provided by the remote host for updating the system firmware code; and executing the firmware reader according to the second remote command to use the backup area The backup firmware code of the system updates the system firmware code in the system area. The remote management method for a display according to claim 1, further comprising: if the connection between the at least one display and the host system is abnormal, providing a connection abnormality message. A host system for controlling at least one display, the host system comprising: a display interface circuit for connecting to the at least one display; a remote communication circuit; and a control circuit coupled to the display interface circuit and the A remote communication circuit, wherein the control circuit is used for receiving a first remote command via the remote communication circuit, the first remote command is provided by a remote host, and is used for executing an abnormal state on the at least one display Excluded, the control circuit is further configured to perform a transmission line detection on the at least one display according to the first remote command to confirm whether the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal, if the at least one display is The connection with the host system is normal, and the control circuit is further configured to read configuration information of the at least one display from a preset storage space of the display interface circuit and control the at least one display to output images according to the configuration information signal. The host system of claim 9, wherein the operation of the control circuit performing the transmission line detection on the at least one display comprises: attempting to read specific information from the at least one display via the display interface circuit and if the specific information is read, it is determined that the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal. The host system of claim 9, wherein the step of performing the transmission line detection on the at least one display by the control circuit comprises: detecting a hot-plug signal via the display interface circuit; and if the hot-plug is detected Pulling out the signal, it is determined that the connection between the at least one display and the host system is normal. The host system of claim 9, wherein the configuration information includes at least one of production information of the at least one display, display setting parameters and clock information. The host system of claim 9, wherein when the at least one display is connected to the host system for the first time, the control circuit is further configured to read the at least one display from the memory of the at least one display via the display interface circuit and the control circuit is further used for storing the read configuration information in the default storage space of the display interface circuit. The host system of claim 9, wherein when the host system is in a low power supply state, the control circuit is further configured to provide a standby power to the remote communication circuit, so that the remote communication circuit can operate in the low power state. The first remote command is received in a powered state. The host system of claim 9, wherein the host system further comprises a storage circuit coupled to the control circuit, and the control circuit is further configured to configure an activation area, a backup area and a system in the storage circuit area, the startup area is used to store a firmware reader, the backup area is used to store a backup firmware code, and the system area is used to store a system firmware code, and the control circuit is further used to pass the remote The communication circuit receives a second remote command, wherein the second remote command is provided by a remote host and used to update the system firmware code, and the control circuit is further configured to execute the second remote command according to the second remote command a firmware reader to update the system firmware code in the system area with the backup firmware code in the backup area. The host system of claim 9, wherein if the connection between the at least one display and the host system is abnormal, the control circuit further provides a connection abnormality message.

Images