JPH02191031A - information processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a malfunction caused by the difference of versions by holding the information at each version number of a hardware mechanism and a software mechanism, and determining the propriety of the continuity of the hardware mechanism and the software mechanism based on the comparison result of the information. CONSTITUTION:The version number information at every hardware mechanism is held by a hardware version level switch 7, the self-version number information is applied to each software, and the information of the propriety condition of the compatibility between the hardware and software at every version is applied to a table 11. Further in a mechanism 2, the version number of an offered hardware 3 is read from the switch 7, the version number of offered software 6', information from the table 11, etc., are fetched by a monitor 5', the propriety of the compatibility of the both numbers is confirmed by a monitor 10, and it is notified to the mechanism 2 and the monitor 5'.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention makes it possible to simply and easily check the consistency between a hardware mechanism and a software mechanism in, for example, a computer or device control system. In particular, by adding a self-diagnosis (self-check) function regarding the possibility of connection between the two mechanisms, it is possible to reliably prevent various malfunctions caused by inconsistencies in version differences. The present invention relates to an information processing device with improved reliability and ease of maintenance.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, in an information processing apparatus having a computer, a device control system, etc., consistency between the hardware mechanism and the software mechanism is a problem.

In order to confirm such consistency, some conventional information processing apparatuses are equipped with a self-diagnosis mechanism.

Next, an information processing apparatus including a conventional self-diagnosis mechanism, such as an office computer or a word processor, will be described.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a conventional information processing device equipped with a self-diagnosis mechanism. In the drawing, 1 is a maintenance panel, 2 is a diagnostic hardware mechanism,
3 is provided hardware, 4 is a display/diagnostic monitor TV, 5 is a diagnostic software monitor, and 6 is provided software.

The functions of each part of the self-diagnosis mechanism shown in FIG. 7 are outlined as follows.

The maintenance panel l is provided with a maintenance LED lamp (for lighting an alarm) or an alarm buzzer.

Lights up or sounds when there is a mismatch.

The diagnostic hardware mechanism 2 has a self-diagnosis function on the physical level of hardware (circuit) and a diagnostic function on the normality of the bus between the hardware and software.

The providing hardware 3 is a hardware component that provides functions and services as a system or device.

The display/diagnosis monitor TV4 has a display as a display means of the information processing device and a monitoring function during diagnosis.

The diagnostic software monitor 5 has an interface function with the diagnostic hardware mechanism 2 and the providing software 6.

The provided software 6 is a software component that provides functions and services as a system or device.

The conventional self-diagnosis mechanism shown in FIG. It is only a diagnosis of the normality of the path.

However, in the case of information processing devices, during the development of systems and various devices, many different versions occur due to differences between the hardware development level and the software development level. Further, even after commercialization, various versions of the product will appear on the market as the performance improves.

In this type of product, that is, a product with different versions of hardware and software, intelligence, system maintainability, and flexibility are achieved by downloading the software or replacing the ROM.

These methods have the advantage of being relatively easy to deal with.

However, on the other hand, there is a disadvantage that various malfunctions may occur due to version inconsistencies between the hardware and software that constitute each system.

Furthermore, the conventional self-diagnosis mechanism has many disadvantages, such as the inability to self-diagnose the consistency of the functions provided in the details of the system.

The information processing apparatus of the present invention, which has a high capacity, overcomes the disadvantages of conventional information processing apparatuses equipped with a self-diagnosis mechanism, that is, it is only possible to check the hardware mechanism.
This solves the inconvenience of malfunctions caused by version inconsistencies between the hardware and software that make up each system, and the inability to self-diagnose the consistency of the system's detailed functions. The purpose is to easily and accurately check the connectivity (consistency) of versions between versions, and to discover inconsistencies in versions before they occur, thereby improving the reliability of the system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an information processing apparatus that includes an input means, a display means, a hardware mechanism, and a software mechanism, and has a function of processing data input from the input means. a first version number information holding means for holding information on the version number of the hardware mechanism;
a second version number information holding means for holding version number information of the software mechanism; and a version number information comparison means for comparing the version number information held in the first and second version number information holding means. Based on the comparison result of the version number information comparison means, it is determined whether or not the hardware mechanism and the software mechanism can be connected.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the information processing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the main configuration of an information processing apparatus of the present invention. The symbols in the drawing are the same as in FIG. 7, and 1' is a maintenance panel that can be preset from the outside, 4' is a display, and 5 is a
' is the diagnostic software monitor, 6' is the provided software, 7 is the hardware version level switch,
8 is an input device such as a keyboard, 9 is a diagnostic monitor TV, 1
0 indicates a consistency confirmation monitor, and 11 indicates a consistency confirmation table.

In the block diagram of Fig. 1, basically the block diagram shown in Fig. 7 is as follows.
The difference is that blocks 7 to 11 are added, but blocks 1' and 4' to 6' are also slightly modified.

That is, the maintenance panel 1' has a configuration that can be preset from the outside, and the diagnostic software/monitor 5' and the provided software 6' are also different in detail, so they are distinguished by adding "r'" to the reference numerals in FIG. There is. The display 4' is functionally the same as that shown in FIG. 7, but is distinguished by the addition of a diagnostic monitor TV 9.

Like the maintenance panel 1', the hardware version level switch 7 has a configuration that can be preset from the outside, and the version number for each hardware mechanism is set as described in connection with FIG. 2 below. It has the function of retaining information.

The input device 8 consists of a keyboard, etc., and is basically the same as a normal input device of an information processing device, but each version is The difference is that it has a function to input data on whether or not compatibility between hardware and software is possible and conditions.

The diagnostic monitor TV 9 uses the version number of the provided software itself and the information in the consistency confirmation table 11 to
It has a function to monitor data on whether or not compatibility between hardware and software is compatible for each version.

The consistency check monitor 10 has a function of checking the consistency between the hardware and the software based on the consistency data notified from the hardware and software sides.

The consistency confirmation table 11 has information on whether or not consistency is possible between hardware and software for each version.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of hardware version number information used in the information processing apparatus of the present invention.

Each system or device is provided with information indicating the version (level) of the hardware itself.

In FIG. 2, it is composed of eight DIP switches r8 to r1, and indicates "1" in the on state and "0" in the off state.

Then, the first two "8~7" are the highest rank, the next three "6"
~4'' corresponds to the next rank, and the last three items '3 to 1' correspond to the lowest rank. Therefore, the version number information is rl,23
It becomes J.

Each piece of software is given its own version number information in order to confirm the version number of the software itself and its consistency with the hardware.

As already mentioned, the hardware version number information shown in FIG. 2 may be added like the hardware version level switch 7 in FIG. 1, or it may be added to the maintenance panel 1'. May be added.

The following FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of software version number information used in the information processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a case where 8 bits (7 to 0) are used, and the version number is r3. I'm working with OIJ.

In other words, as in Figure 2 above, the first 2 bits "7~
6" corresponds to the highest order, the next three bits "5 to 3" correspond to the second order, and the last three bits "2 to O" correspond to the lowest order. Note that this version number information is preset by input from the cutting device 8 or from outside, is converted into a predetermined data format, and is notified to the consistency confirmation monitor 10.

When checking the consistency between the hardware and software, the hardware version number information shown in FIG. 2 and the software version number information shown in FIG. 3 are read out and compared.

Further, in this consistency check process, information in the consistency check table 11 shown in FIG. 1 is used.

FIG. 4 shows the consistency check table 11 in FIG.
It is a figure showing an example of the table data. In the drawings, a 0 mark indicates that matching is possible, and an x mark indicates that matching is not possible.

The consistency confirmation table 11 is provided with a comparison table as shown in FIG.

Next, the self-diagnosis operation by the information processing apparatus of the present invention will be explained.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the main processing flow during self-diagnosis of the information processing apparatus of the present invention. In the drawings, #1 to #28 indicate steps.

When the system is started, the flow shown in FIG. 5 starts.

In step #1, the diagnostic mechanism is activated by a reset operation such as turning on the system power. Therefore, the diagnostic hardware mechanism 2, diagnostic software monitor 5 of FIG.
', each diagnostic function of the consistency check monitor 10 is activated.

When the diagnostic hardware mechanism 2 is operated in step #2, the hardware version number shown in FIG. 2 is read in step #3 in order to recognize the version number of its own hardware. In this Figure 2, the version number is rl, 23J, and the setting status of the eight DIP switches is "OFF, ON, OFF, ON, OFF, OFF.
, ON.

Since it is "ON", it is converted to "r53 (hexadecimal)" data.

In step #4, a consistency confirmation request is made to the consistency confirmation monitor 10, and in the next step #5, =11 This diagnostic hardware mechanism 2 enters a standby state to wait for the confirmation result.

Meanwhile, the diagnostic software monitor 5' also performs step #2.
1, and in step #22, the software version required for matching is similarly inputted from the input bag M8, and information on the version number of the own software (Fig. 3),
and information from the consistency confirmation table 11 (FIG. 4).

In step #23, a consistency confirmation request is made to the consistency confirmation monitor 10, and in step #24, the diagnostic software monitor 5' also waits for the confirmation result, just like the previous diagnostic hardware mechanism 2. Enters standby state.

The consistency check monitor 10 is operated in step #11,
Similarly, in step #12, the system is in a state of waiting for a consistency confirmation request.

The consistency check monitor 10 is connected from the diagnostic hardware mechanism 2 to the hardware side to the diagnostic software monitor 5.
Upon receiving notification of each version number information on the software side from ', the process proceeds to step #13, where consistency confirmation processing is performed (for details, see FIG. 6 below).

In step #14, it is determined whether or not there is a match, and if there is a mismatch, the previous step #5. At step #24, each waiting diagnostic hardware mechanism 29
The diagnostic software monitor 5' is notified of the abnormality.

In the flow shown in FIG. 5, cases of matching and cases of mismatch are distinguished so that error handling can be easily performed on the hardware mechanism side.

If there is a mismatch, the diagnostic hardware mechanism 2 performs a process corresponding to the mismatch in the next step #6.

That is, after proceeding to step #7 and lighting up the alarm LED on the maintenance panel 1', sounding the alarm buzzer, or displaying an error message on the screen of the diagnostic monitor TV9, in step #8, Stop the system, etc.

In addition, the result of the judgment of inconsistency in the previous step #14 is
When matching, proceed to step #15, and also proceed to step #5. In step #24, the respective standby diagnostic hardware mechanisms 22, diagnostic software monitors 5' are notified that they are normal.

In the diagnostic hardware mechanism 2 that received this normal notification,
At step #9, normal self-check processing is performed, and the diagnostic software monitor 5' also performs step #2.
At step 5, normal self-check processing is performed.

Then, in the next step #26, it is determined whether the self-check result is correct or not.

If the result of determining whether it is correct or not in step #26 is abnormal, the process proceeds to step #27, where processing for the abnormality is performed.
In step #7, the maintenance panel 1' etc. are notified.

On the other hand, as a result of determining whether it is correct or not in step #26,
If it is normal, the process advances to step #28 and the provided service is started.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the detailed flow of the consistency check process shown in FIG. In the drawing, #31~
#38 indicates a step.

This FIG. 6 shows steps #12 to #16 in FIG. 5 in detail.

When the consistency check monitor 10 receives a consistency check request and data from the diagnostic hardware mechanism 22 and the diagnostic software monitor 5' when it is in the standby state at step #31 (step #12 in FIG. 5), Next step #
The process proceeds to step 32, where information is received from the consistency check table 11 and stored.

At step #33, version number information data is received from both the diagnostic hardware mechanism 2 and the diagnostic software monitor 5'.

In step #34, the previously received and stored consistency check table 11 is searched (for example, using the search key on the input device 8).

In the next step #35, it is determined whether the condition is compatible.

If the matching is possible, in step #36 it is notified that matching is possible (normal), and the process is stopped in step #38.

Also, if the matching is not possible, step #37
Then, it is notified that matching is impossible (abnormal), and the process is stopped in step #38.

In addition, in the above embodiments, the explanation was mainly given to information processing devices such as office computers and word processors, but it is also possible to apply to facsimile machines and high-end copying machines, etc., and is limited to the case of the embodiments. It's not a thing.

According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, by operating the self-check mechanism in the system, the self-diagnosis ability of the system is improved.

In other words, conventional self-diagnosis mechanisms mainly diagnose the physical level of various circuits that make up the hardware, and when it comes to diagnosing the system, they simply check the normality of the paths between hardware and software. It is now possible to check for version inconsistencies, as opposed to only diagnosing versions.

Therefore, various malfunctions caused by version inconsistencies between the hardware and software that make up each system are prevented, reliability is significantly improved, and maintenance work is also simplified. can get.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the main configuration of an information processing device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an example of hardware version number information used in the information processing device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of software version number information used in the information processing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the consistency confirmation table 11 of FIG.
A diagram showing an example of the table data, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of main processing at the time of self-diagnosis regarding the information processing device of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a consistency confirmation process shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a conventional information processing device equipped with a self-diagnosis mechanism. In the drawing, 1' is a maintenance panel that can be preset from the outside, 2 is a diagnostic hardware mechanism, 3 is provided hardware, 4' is a display, 5' is a diagnostic software monitor, 6' is provided software, and 7 is hardware.・Version level switch, 8 is an input device such as a keyboard, 9 is a diagnostic monitor TV, 10 is a consistency check monitor, 1
1 is a consistency check table. ↑

Claims (1)

[Claims] An information processing device comprising an input means, a display means, a hardware mechanism, and a software mechanism, and having a function of processing data input from the input means, retaining information on a version number of the hardware mechanism. a first version number information holding means for holding version number information of the software mechanism; a second version number information holding means holding information on the version number of the software mechanism; and a version number held in the first and second version number information holding means. An information processing device comprising a version number information comparing means for comparing information, and determining whether connectivity between a hardware mechanism and a software mechanism is possible based on a comparison result of the version number information comparing means.