JPH10312275A - Terminals that can automatically update programs - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] -Issue In an online real-time system using a large number of terminals, it is intended to provide a terminal capable of automating program updating of the terminal and saving labor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of automatically updating a program in a terminal. SOLUTION: A main processing unit 30 is provided with a program update detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a program update and a stop possibility detecting means for detecting whether or not the operation of the program can be stopped. Further, the program update processing unit 20 is provided in the terminal, and after the program update detection unit of the main processing unit 30 detects the update notification, the stop enable detection unit determines that the operation of the main processing unit can be stopped. Is stopped, the program update processing unit 20 switches to the program of the new main processing unit. The communication between the terminal and the external device, which occurs during the switching of the main processing unit, is configured to be executed by the sub processing unit 40 without interruption.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to updating a program of each terminal in a computer system composed of a large number of terminals, and more particularly to a terminal having an automatic program updating function. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional computer terminal, when updating an arithmetic control program, the operation of the terminal is temporarily stopped, a new program is manually switched, and then the new program is started and updated. ing.

[0003] However, in the case of a device that operates 24 hours a day and cannot be stopped, such as a seismometer, a power and gas supply control device, a telephone exchange and a communication control device, a plurality of computations are required in advance. A control computer is provided, and one computer performs normal arithmetic control, during which time the other computer's program is switched, and then the arithmetic control computer is switched to the updated computer, thereby performing arithmetic control. Update the program without delay.

[0004]

In the continuous operation system as described above, in order to update the program, two or more computer systems are used to switch and update, or the apparatus is temporarily stopped to update the program. . In the former case, two sets of hardware are required, and a special control device for switching processing is also required. On the other hand, when the operation is temporarily stopped, the operator is required to make an advanced judgment on when to stop and update the program.

[0005] Particularly, in an online real-time system composed of a large number of terminals, the situation becomes more complicated when the program of each terminal is updated. For example, even when the operation is temporarily stopped and the program is updated, the timing for stopping the operation must be determined for each terminal, and therefore, it is necessary to assign personnel to each terminal and monitor the operation state of the device. There is. In addition, since the update of the program is usually performed by a specialized engineer, it is also difficult to secure the required personnel, which imposes a heavy burden on the system administrator.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an online real-time system using a large number of terminals.
An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal capable of automating and saving labor for updating a program of the terminal, and in particular, to provide a device capable of automatically updating a program in a continuous operation type terminal.

[0007]

In the continuous operation type terminal of the online real-time system, first, software for operating the terminal is provided with a main processing unit which performs data processing and process processing; It is composed of a plurality of sub-processing units which are provided between the main processing unit and various machines controlled or managed by the terminal or between the main processing unit. The main processing unit and each of the sub-processing units operate in a so-called multitask, and processing is simultaneously executed in the terminal.

In the above continuous operation type terminal, for example,
In some cases, the program of the main processing unit needs to be updated to upgrade the version or add functions. In the present invention, in preparation for the program update, the main processing unit is provided in advance with a program update detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the program update and a stop possibility detecting means for detecting whether or not the operation of the program can be stopped. Further, a program update processing unit is provided in the terminal separately from the main processing unit and the sub-processing unit, and after the program update detection unit of the main processing unit detects the update notification, the stop possibility detection unit operates the main processing unit. When it is determined that the stop is possible and the main processing unit is stopped, the program update processing unit switches to a new main processing unit program. The communication between the terminal and the external device, which occurs during the switching of the program for the main processing unit, solves the above problem by being configured to be executed by the sub processing unit without interruption. The solution will be described below.

That is, a terminal capable of automatically updating a program according to the present invention comprises a single main processing unit and one or more sub-processing units that operate in a multitasking manner. A program update detecting means for detecting and storing a program update notice, and a stop possibility detecting means for detecting that the execution of the main processing unit can be stopped; When the program update notification is detected when the operation of the main processing unit is stopped, the program of the main processing unit is updated, and when the program update notification is not detected when the operation of the main processing unit is stopped, the own process ends. And a program update processing unit for causing the program to be updated.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal capable of automatically updating a program according to the present invention, wherein the program update detecting means and the stop enable detecting means are provided in addition to the first aspect. , Provided in the main processing unit.

Further, the terminal capable of automatically updating the program according to the present invention is, as described in claim 3, in addition to the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, the program update processing unit is provided with a terminal Means for starting the main processing unit when the machine is started, restart means for restarting the main processing unit after updating the program of the main processing unit, and update notification for deleting the program update notification after updating the program of the main processing unit Erasing means.

Furthermore, a terminal capable of automatically updating a program according to the present invention is, as shown in claim 4, claim 1.
In addition to any one of the inventions described in any one of (1) to (3), the main processing unit may be configured to start a sub-processing unit when the operation of the main processing unit is started, and to terminate its own processing when detecting an updatable state of the program. Means, and means for terminating the operation of the sub-processing unit when the operation of the terminal is terminated.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, a production system including the terminal of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an online real-time system including a continuously operating terminal. The online real-time system according to the present embodiment monitors the operation status of the production machine 7 that operates continuously for 24 hours and the distribution machine 10 that supplies parts and materials to the production machine 7, and based on the operation conditions of the production machine 7, The so-called C provided for adjusting each part
AM (Computer Aided Production System). In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a continuously operating terminal. The continuous operation type terminal 1 is directly connected to the production machine 7 and also connected to the database server 9 and the distribution management device 8 via the communication line 11, and the distribution management device 8 is connected to the production machine 7. Logistics machine 1 for supplying and unloading parts and materials
Connected to 0. Reference numeral 6 denotes a remote control device for monitoring and controlling the operation status of the continuous operation type terminal 1, which will be described in detail later.

The database server 9 stores production plan data and production result data of the production machine 7 and the distribution machine 10, and also stores data of other production machines and distribution machines (not shown) connected to the communication line 11. doing. The continuous operation type terminal 1 of the present embodiment pulls out production plan data of the connected production machine 7 from the database server 9,
In addition to instructing the distribution management device 8 to supply the materials and parts of the product concerned, the processing device of the production machine 7 is adjusted based on the product processing instruction data. When the processing of the materials and parts is completed, defective and non-defective data generated during the processing is transmitted to the database server 9 and the sorting data of the non-defective and non-defective products is sent to the physical distribution management device 8, and the distribution machine 1
0 carries out the product from the production machine 7 while selecting the product. As described above, in the production system according to the present embodiment, since the parts and materials are processed by batch processing for each product, the operation of the production machine 7 is temporarily stopped when the product is switched.

Next, the configuration of the continuous operation type terminal 1 provided in the production system will be described. The continuous operation terminal 1 includes an arithmetic and control unit 2, a storage device 3, an input device 4, a display device 5, and the like. The continuous operation type terminal 1 is a so-called FA (Factory Automation) computer, and is connected to the production machine 7 by an interface (not shown) in order to monitor the operation status of the production machine 7. The server 9 and the distribution management device 8 are connected via a communication line 11 by a LAN (Local Area Network) device such as Ethernet.

The arithmetic and control unit 2 of the continuous operation type terminal 1 comprises:
As shown in FIG. 4, a main processing unit 30 mainly responsible for data editing and processing, and a sub-processor responsible for data communication and signal input / output between the production machine 7, the distribution management device 8, the database server 9, and the like. And a processing unit 40. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the continuous operation type terminal 1 of the present invention includes, in the arithmetic and control unit 2, an update processing unit 20 for updating a program. The update processing unit 20
As shown in FIG. 2, the program comprises an update notification detecting unit 22, an update processing unit 23, an update notification erasing unit 24, a main processing unit activation unit 21, and a self-processing end process 25.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the main processing unit 30 includes a sub-processing unit activation unit 31, an update notification detection unit 32, an update notification holding unit 33, a stoppability detection unit 34, and a sub-processing end processing unit 45. And self-processing end processing means 36. Further, the remote control device 6 shown in FIG. 1 includes an update notifying unit for notifying an update of the program.

Next, the operation of the continuously operating terminal 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a program update process in the continuously operating terminal of the present invention.
The continuous operation type terminal, as shown in the figure, steps 1-5
Start according to the processing procedure shown in (1). The start of the continuous operation type terminal of this embodiment is performed by turning on the power. First, in step 1, the operation of the update processing unit 20 is started.
Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the main processing unit 30 is started by the main processing unit starting means 21 provided in the update processing unit 20 (step 2), and the operation of the main processing unit is started (step 3). ). Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the sub-processing unit 40 is started by the sub-processing unit starting means 31 provided in the main processing unit 30 (step 4), and the operation of the sub-processing unit is started (step 5). ). In the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the main processing unit to be activated first is described as an old / main processing unit for convenience, and the main processing unit to be updated is described for convenience. It is described as a new main processing unit.

When the operation of the main processing unit 30 and the sub-processing unit 40 is started, the update processing unit 20 stops its operation, and the terminal enters a normal operation mode. The normal operation mode of the terminal is as follows.
9 is performed by repeating the main processing. Note that the sub-process of step 6 is performed by the production machine 7 as shown in FIG.
Between the machine signal input / output means 42 for controlling the operation of the machine and monitoring the operation status, and the physical distribution management device 8 for managing a physical distribution machine (not shown) for supplying and unloading materials and components to and from the production machine 7. This is a process performed by the distribution information communication means 43 for communication, the data communication means 44 for communicating data with the database server 9 storing the production plan data and production result data of the production machine 7, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the main processing in step 7 is a mechanical signal input / output means 42 provided in the sub-processing unit 40.
And processing and processing of the signals, information, and data of the production machine 7, the distribution management device 8, and the database server 9 obtained through the
Data editing and processing means 37 to be transmitted to the related device
And a process performed by the process processing means 38 for arithmetically controlling the control procedure of the apparatus and the data editing processing procedure.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the update notification holding process of step 8 and the stop determination process of the main processing unit are executed by the update notification detecting means 32 provided in the main processing unit 30 and the update notification holding unit 32. This is a process performed by the means 33 and the stop possibility detecting means 34. However, the update notification holding process in step 8 and the stop determination process in step 9 are the same as those in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
On the other hand, unless a program update notification is issued, the operation is not performed substantially, and thus the main processing of step 7 is normally repeated.

Next, a processing flow when a program update notification is issued from the remote control device 6 to the continuous operation type terminal 1 will be described. As described above, in the production system of the present embodiment, since the parts and materials are processed in batch processing for each product by the production machine 7, the operation of the production machine 7 may be temporarily stopped only at the time of product switching. However, they are usually running continuously without any pauses. Therefore, it is difficult to update the program of the terminal while the production machine 7 is operating, and it is necessary to avoid suspending the operation of the production machine 7 for a long time in order to update the program. Therefore, in the production system of this embodiment,
The method of updating the program of the continuous operation type terminal 1 in a short time, simply and accurately without hindering the operation of the production machine 7 is adopted, and details thereof will be described below.

As described above, the main processing unit 30 of the continuous operation type terminal 1 of the present embodiment includes, as shown in FIG.
Update notification holding means 33 for storing and holding the update notification. Therefore, by issuing a program update notification from the remote control device 6 shown in FIG. 1 while the main processing unit 30 is operating, the main processing unit 30 detects the program update notification and holds the update notification in step 8. can do. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the update notification is held by the update software receiving unit 41 provided in the sub-processing unit 40.
Thus, the update program transmitted from the remote control device 6 is received and stored in the storage device 3 such as the hard disk shown in FIG.

Next, in steps 9 and 10,
The end processing of the old / main processing unit is performed. This processing is shown in FIG.
This is a process performed by the stop possibility detecting means 34 and the self-processing end processing means of the main processing unit 30 shown in FIG. First, in step 9, the presence or absence of an update notification is checked, and if an update notification (here, an update program) is stored, the process proceeds to the end process of step 10. In the end processing of step 10, the operation state of the main processing is checked by the stop possibility detecting means 34, and it is confirmed that even if the main processing is stopped, it does not affect the data editing processing and the process processing. Terminate. If processing such as data editing processing or processing is continuing, the main processing is terminated after these processings are completed.

When the main processing is completed, the control operation of the terminal 1 shifts to the update processing section 20 and proceeds to the program update processing in step 11. The update processing is performed by the update processing unit 2 shown in FIG.
This process is performed by the update notification detecting unit 22 and the update processing unit 23. In the update process of step 11, first, the presence / absence of the update program transmitted from the remote control device 6 is checked. If the update program exists in the storage device 3, the program file of the old / main processing unit is Exchange the program file of the new main processing unit. The exchange of the program file is specifically performed by changing the directory name where the program is stored.

Next, the process proceeds to the start processing of the new / main processing unit shown in steps 12, 13 and 14. This processing is performed by the update notification deleting unit 2 of the update processing unit 20 shown in FIG.
4 and the processing performed by the main processing unit activation means 21. First, in the update notification deletion processing of step 12,
The program of the old / main processing unit already exchanged with the update program in step 11 or the directory in which the program is stored is deleted. Next, in step 13, the updated program of the new / main processing unit is started, and in step 14, the operation of the new / main processing unit is started. During this time, the operation of the sub-processing unit 40 continues without interruption, and the production machine 7 and the distribution machine 8 can be operated without interruption. After the program update process is completed, the new / main processing unit 30 having the improved or added function is linked with the continuously executed sub-processing unit 40 in step 15 to Edit processing and process processing in cooperation.

Next, the termination processing of the continuously operating terminal 1 of the present embodiment will be described. The termination process of the terminal is executed according to the procedures shown in steps 16 to 19. When ending the operation of the terminal, the operation is performed by operating the input device 4 shown in FIG. First, by pressing a stop switch (not shown) of the input device 4, the main processing unit 30 checks the operation status of the production machine 7 and the distribution machine via the sub-processing unit 40, and stops the operation of the terminal. After confirming that there is no problem, the process proceeds to the stop processing of the sub-processing unit 40 in step 16.
Next, when the sub-processing unit 40 ends the operation in Step 17, the main processing unit 30 proceeds to its own process end processing in Step 18. The stop processing of the sub-processing unit in step 16 and the termination processing of the main processing unit in step 18 are described in FIG.
This is a process performed by the sub-processing end processing means 35 and the self-processing end processing means 36 of the main processing unit 30 shown in FIG.

The processing of the old / main processing unit shown in steps 8 and 9 is also executed in the new / main processing unit, but the program update notification is already deleted in step 12 Step 18
The termination processing of the main processing unit is a normal termination processing operation.
When the operation of the main processing unit shown in step 18 is completed, the control operation of the terminal shifts to the update processing unit 20 and step 19
To the end processing of the update processing unit.

This termination processing is processing performed by the update notification detecting means 22 of the update processing unit 20 and the self-processing termination processing means 25 shown in FIG. The end processing of the update processing unit 20 in step 19 is performed by first updating the update notification detecting means 2
2 confirms the presence or absence of an update notification. Here, since the update notification has already been deleted in step 12, the update processing is not executed, and the own processing end processing means 25 simply executes the end processing of the update processing unit 20.

As explained in detail by the above embodiment,
In the continuous operation type terminal of the present invention, the update of the program can be automatically performed as needed, without any human intervention, and without impeding the operation of the production machine or the distribution machine. . In this example,
Although the program to be updated is transmitted via the communication line using the remote control device 6, if the terminal itself has a program reading means such as a floppy disk or a magneto-optical disk, the The update program may be individually incorporated into the program. However, it is apparent without any further explanation that the automatic switching to the update program, which is the gist of the present invention, can be effectively used.

In this embodiment, the switching to the update program can be automatically performed. However, for example, a work pause switch or a program update switch is provided on the input device, and the program is switched only when these switches are operated. Updating may be performed. In this case, since a switch is simply pressed, a supervisor or an operator of a production machine or a logistics machine may operate the system. It is not necessary to arrange a user for each terminal.

[0031]

As described in detail above, a terminal capable of automatically updating a program according to the present invention has a single main processing unit operating in multitasking and one or more programs. A terminal configured with a sub-processing unit, which is difficult to arbitrarily stop the operation, a program update detection unit for detecting and storing a program update notification, and capable of stopping execution of the main processing unit Means to detect the update of the main processing unit when the operation of the main processing unit is stopped, and the update of the program in the main processing unit is not detected when the operation of the main processing unit is stopped. Sometimes, it has a program update processing unit that terminates its own process, so based on the program update notification,
The main processing unit can be updated to a new program at an appropriate timing at which the main processing unit can be stopped, and the program is automatically updated by the terminal itself without manual intervention.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal capable of automatically updating a program according to the present invention, wherein the program update detecting means and the stop enable detecting means are mainly provided. Since it is provided in the processing unit, the main processing unit itself can determine whether the program can be updated, and
Since the timing to stop the operation of the program to be updated is accurately grasped, the program can be updated without any trouble in the operation of the terminal, that is, the operation of the production machine.

Further, the terminal capable of automatically updating the program according to the present invention is the terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the program update processing unit is provided with a terminal. Means for activating the main processing unit at the time of starting, after updating the program of the main processing unit, restart means for restarting the main processing unit, and after updating the program of the main processing unit,
Since the main processing unit is always under the control of the program update processing unit, the main processing unit is always controlled under the control of the program update processing unit. This has the effect that the program can be updated.

Furthermore, a terminal capable of automatically updating the program according to the present invention has the following features.
3. The terminal according to any one of 3, wherein the main processing unit activates a sub-processing unit when the operation of the main processing unit starts, and a unit that terminates its own processing when detecting a state in which the program can be stopped. Means for terminating the operation of the sub-processing unit when the operation of the terminal is terminated, so that the sub-processing unit is started under the control of the main processing unit, and the sub-processing unit is updated while the program of the main processing unit is being updated. The operation of the terminal is continued only by the processing unit, and the program is updated again under the control of the main processing unit. Therefore, the program can be updated without interruption of the operation of the terminal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a continuously operating terminal.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of an update processing unit.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of a main processing unit.

FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of a sub-processing unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a program update process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 continuous operation type terminal 20 update processing unit 21 main processing unit starting means 22 update notification detecting means 23 update processing means 24 update notification erasing means 30 main processing unit 31 sub-processing unit starting means 32 update notification detecting means 33 update notification holding means 34 stop possibility detecting means 35 sub-processing end processing means 36 self-processing end processing means 40 sub-processing unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A terminal comprising a single main processing unit and one or more sub-processing units which operate in multitasking, and it is difficult to stop the operation arbitrarily. A program update detecting means for detecting and storing, a stop possibility detecting means for detecting that the execution of the main processing unit can be stopped, and a program update detecting means for detecting the update of the program when the operation of the main processing unit is stopped. A program update processing unit for updating the program and terminating its own process when the program update notification is not detected when the operation of the main processing unit is stopped, and the program can be automatically updated. Terminal. 2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the program update detecting means and the stop enable detecting means are provided in a main processing unit. 3. The program update processing unit includes: a unit that starts a main processing unit when the terminal is started; a restart unit that restarts the main processing unit after updating the program of the main processing unit;
3. The terminal capable of automatically updating a program according to claim 1, further comprising: an update notification erasing unit that erases a program update notification after the main processing unit updates the program. 4. The main processing unit activates a sub-processing unit at the start of operation of the main processing unit, terminates its own processing when detecting a program updatable state, and operates the terminal. A terminal capable of automatically updating a program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising means for terminating the operation of the sub-processing unit upon termination.