JP2000276257A - Computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a unit structure in which individual function blocks or a power source can easily be exchanged and maintenance management is easily performed in a high-redundancy configuration. SOLUTION: An AC power source 2a and a network 3 are connected to a substrate 1. Besides, a plurality of power source blocks 4a, 4b and 4c, a plurality of control blocks 5a, 5b and 5c, a plurality of storage blocks 6a and 6b and a backup battery 7 are mounted on the substrate 1 and the individual function blocks are multiplexed into a parallel redundant configuration. Furthermore, the individual power source blocks and control blocks are connected to the interface of the substrate 1 by a connector. Thus, the data of the storage block 6a are held in the storage block 6b as well during operation. Therefore, when the storage block 6a is broken down, it is automatically switched to the storage block 6b, a computer is continuously operated and the broken storage block 6a having no power supply can be easily removed from the connector.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer mounting structure, and more particularly, to a computer device capable of performing installation and replacement by replacing functional blocks.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a computer used as a server is usually incorporated in a single housing. Each functional block is designed so that it can be individually separated from the bus line so that maintenance and electrical inspection can be easily performed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-262871
The publication discloses a technique including a bus line dividing circuit for dividing a bus line and a power supply control circuit for connecting / disconnecting a power supply for each functional block. In this way, functional blocks for maintenance and unnecessary functional blocks can be easily separated from the bus line, or can be separated from the power supply to save power. Also,
In order to increase computer redundancy, the technology of fault-tolerant computers is also known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-16533 discloses a technology in which a multiplexed processor module is mounted on a computer so that a function block expansion process can be performed during online business.

[0003]

However, in the conventional computer including Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-262871, since the entire system is mounted as one dedicated housing, the functional blocks must be disassembled unless the housing is disassembled. Cannot be separated. In addition, the mounting mechanism of each unit has an individual shape for each housing constituting the device and is not unified. Therefore, the electrical interface between the units has a structure in which even if it is a standard component such as a connector, the physical shape is different or the connection with the corresponding connector is easily mistaken. For this reason, specialized knowledge is required for the separation and replacement of functional blocks for installation and repair of a computer. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-1653
Even in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H03-157, without specialized knowledge, it is impossible to perform a function block expansion process in a highly redundant state.

[0004] In recent years, computers as control centers of homes and offices, for example, home computers and home networking have rapidly become widespread. In such an environment, the operation and management of the computer itself can be performed remotely by using a network, but since the installation and maintenance of the computer equipment must be performed individually by the user, the workability can be reduced. Is desired. That is, easiness of installation work, simplicity at the time of operation, easiness of continuous operation, easiness of maintenance management, and the like are desired.

[0005] However, current computers often have special dedicated devices such as power supplies and storage devices. Even when components that are globally standardized such as personal computers are used, the mounting mechanism for individual devices differs for each device, and maintenance parts and replacement parts are dedicated parts. You also need the expertise and skills to perform these tasks. In the future, when computers are widely used in homes, parts for maintenance and replacement are required to be inexpensively cheap and have high compatibility. At the same time, the accompanying work can be easily performed, and for example, it is desired to be positioned to replace a light bulb or a fuse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily replace each functional block, power supply, and the like and to provide a highly redundant configuration for maintenance management. It is another object of the present invention to realize a highly reliable computer physical unit structure that can be easily performed.

[0007]

A computer device according to the present invention is provided with components for each functional block, mounted on a board, and multiplexed components. When a failure occurs in one system, the system is automatically switched to another system. To improve the maintainability by improving the reliability and facilitating the insertion and removal of each component by the connector. That is, each component is plugged in by a connector for each unit on a board (backbone) to which a power supply and a network are connected, and is connected to an interface. In addition, if necessary, in order to prevent the connector from falling off, a fixing means other than the connector is provided to enable physical fixing.

[0008] As a specific use form, in one example,
The “mounting board”, “power supply”, “backup battery”, “processing device”, and “storage device” are configured as basic functional blocks, and further, if necessary, “input device” and “display”. Equipment, etc. are added. In each of the functional blocks, “power supply”, “backup battery”, “processing device”, and “storage device” are multiplexed. Therefore, when a failure occurs or a failure is expected in any of the functional blocks, it is possible to dynamically switch from the operating system in operation to another standby system.
There is no hindrance to the operation of the computer. further,
The disconnected system can be replaced with a new unit by notifying a repair replacement message via the network.

For this reason, when the function blocks are multiplexed, the "storage device" must be always subjected to operational software processing such as data mirroring. Although many such processing methods have been published in server products, they are not the main focus of the present invention, and thus description thereof is omitted.

Further, as a specific image of the computer structure of the present invention, the installation form is an indoor power breaker,
It is easy to understand assuming that a fuse box of an automobile is used as a component and a server computer that operates continuously is used as an operation mode. However, the functional blocks are replaced after the blocks themselves are functionally separated from the computer system. Therefore, it is only necessary to replace the physical box (block), and no special knowledge is required for the replacement operation, and the skill is not required. Therefore, the burden on the operator from the viewpoint of the system is easier than replacing the bulb because there is no need to confirm the power-off itself.

That is, in the computer device according to the first aspect of the present invention, in a computer device in which a plurality of functional blocks are connected by a bus line, each functional block is individually made into a component, and an arbitrary function is provided. The blocks are connected so that they can be inserted and removed in component units.

As a specific configuration, each component is mounted on a board for connecting each functional block by a bus line, and the board is connected to a power supply and a network available at a place where the computer is installed. It is configured to be connectable. Further, a plurality of interface connectors are provided on the board, and each component is configured to be connected to a bus line via each interface connector.

[0013] Of the components, those composing the basic functional blocks necessary for the operation of the computer are multiplexed to form a parallel redundant system. Thus, when a failure occurs in one system, the system is configured to automatically switch to another system. Further, when a failure occurs in one system and the system is switched to another system, a unit exchange message for a failed portion is issued through the network.

Further, the computer device having such a configuration is characterized in that it is continuously operated and used as a server computer for a small office or a home in an environment where a system administrator is not resident.

[0015]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a computer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an AC power supply 2a and a network 3 are connected to a substrate 1 in advance. Here, the power supply 2a is a normal household power line, and the network 3 is, for example,
An interface signal line group combining an IEEE 1394 interface, a USB interface, and additional signals. A plurality of power supply blocks 4a,
4b, 4c and a plurality of control blocks 5a, 5b, 5c
And a plurality of storage blocks 6a and 6b and a backup battery 7a. That is, for each functional block, a plurality of blocks are multiplexed and configured in parallel redundancy.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a power supply connection state in the computer device of FIG. In FIG. 2, only one system (a system in the figure) of each functional block is shown. As shown in FIG. 2, each of the power supply blocks 4a, 4a
As for b and 4c, the substrate 1 side is connected to the connector 8a, and the power supply blocks 4a, 4b and 4c side are connected to the connector 8b. Further, the power supply block 4a has a function of converting from the AC power supply 2a to the DC power supply 2b.

The control blocks 5a, 5b and 5c are connected to the board 1 by a board side connector 9a and a block side connector 9b. Also, the control blocks 5a, 5b,
Inside 5c, the network 3 is controlled using the input from the DC power supply 2b as a power supply. In this embodiment, the network 3 constitutes a local network only in the target installation location, but it is also possible to connect to a wide area by connecting to a wide area network.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, each of the storage blocks 6a and 6b also has a corresponding one of the control blocks 5a and 5b.
Similarly to b and 5c, reading and writing to each of the storage blocks 6a and 6b can be performed using the input from the DC power supply 2b as a power supply.

The empty connector 10a on the substrate 1 shown in FIG.
2 has a termination processing circuit 10 shown in FIG. 2 attached thereto, and short-circuited contacts necessary for protecting the empty connector 10a and at the same time performing a circuit network configuration. That is, the unused empty connector 10a is connected to the termination processing circuit 10 that short-circuits wiring for protection and circuit network configuration.
Further, when a cover or shutter is attached for dust prevention of the empty connector 10a, the cover or shutter itself has the function of the termination processing circuit 10, and when the functional block is not attached, the termination processing circuit 10 is provided by the cover or shutter. Can be short-circuited and the circuit can be opened when the functional block is attached, depending on the structure of the empty connector 10a.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the case of the minimum configuration of only the system a.
Are stepped down and rectified by the power supply block 4a to the voltage required for the operation of each functional block, and output the DC power supply 2b. That is, the internal configuration of the power supply block 4a is as follows.
A switching power supply circuit or a dropper power supply circuit for converting the AC power supply 2a to the DC power supply 2b is included. For example, in a Japanese home, the AC power supply 2a is AC100
V, 50/60 Hz, which is converted to a DC power supply 2b of DC 3.3 to 5V. The DC power supply 2b is wired only inside the substrate 1 and is not output to the outside.

The control block 5a includes a processor, a memory,
It is a computer with a built-in network interface, operates on a DC power supply 2b supplied from a power supply block 4a, and controls information that can be input and output via the network 3. Further, the storage block 6a stores the control block 5a.
Store, read and write information under the control of. Generally, it is a storage device such as a hard disk, a memory, and a silicon disk. In addition, also about b and c systems,
The description is omitted because it is the same as the system a.

Next, the operation of the computer structure having such a configuration will be described. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, an AC power supply 2a and a network 3 are connected to the board 1. For example, when the installation location is a home, the extension of the network 3 includes various electric devices, such as an intercom, an electric door lock, lighting, air conditioning, hot water supply, a television,
Various devices that can be controlled by computer, such as audio, game devices, personal computers, alarm devices, etc. are connected,
It diagnoses and manages continuous operation under preset conditions and resources and input states of each device.

The display of operating conditions and results of diagnosis management, and changes and corrections of settings are remotely controlled via a network, displayed on display devices installed on the network, and each time the present invention shown in FIG. It is also possible to connect a display device and an input device to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and to construct the configuration as software.

Since the entire system is continuously operated to maintain the home environment, self-diagnosis and failure prediction are periodically performed, data is copied and distributed management is performed, and set values relating to failure are set in advance. If the threshold value is exceeded, the corresponding function block can be switched to another system. For example, the current storage block 6a system is constantly monitored, and data is always copied and distributedly managed in the storage block 6b system. If a malfunction is predicted in the storage block 6a, the control block 5a
Prepares for the separation of the storage block 6a by confirming that the contents of the storage block 6a are also multiplexed in the storage block 6b or by newly saving the storage block 6a.

After confirming that the data protection has been completed, the control block 5a turns off the power supply of the storage block 6a to electrically disconnect it from the system. At the same time, a failure occurrence of the storage block 6a, confirmation of data saving, a unit replacement alarm of the storage block 6a, and the like are transmitted as information on the network 3. As a result, the detached storage block 6a is replaced by a resident for repair and replacement. In the exchange state, the storage block 6a
Is not already energized, and data is not stored in another storage block 6.
Since it is protected within b, it may be physically removed and replaced without any special care. At this time, in order to further ensure safety, a display device is provided on the substrate 1 or a display device indicating the energized / operating state, for example, a lamp or an LED, is provided in each functional block, so that the operating status can be checked from the outside. It is also possible to do so.

[0026]

As described above, according to the computer system of the present invention, even if a failure occurs in any of the functional blocks, the system is automatically switched to another system, so that there is no hindrance to the operation of the computer. Does not occur. Furthermore, since the failed component is not live, it can be easily removed from the connector as a box and a new component can be inserted into the connector. Therefore, even a user without specialized knowledge can easily perform computer maintenance management. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a computer device having high reliability and excellent maintainability and operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a computer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection state of a power supply in the computer device of FIG.

[Description of Signs] 1 ... substrate, 2a ... AC power supply, 2b ... DC power supply, 3 ... network, 4a ... power supply block (system 1), 4b ... power supply block (system 2), 4c ... power supply block (system 3),
5a: control block (system 1), 5b: control block (system 2), 5c: control block (system 3), 6a: storage block (system 1), 6b: storage block (system 2), 7a: backup battery ( System 1), 8a: board side connector (power supply block), 8b: block side connector (power supply block), 9a: board side connector (control block), 9b: block side connector (control block),
10 termination processing circuit, 10a empty connector

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A computer device in which a plurality of function blocks are connected by a bus line, wherein each of the function blocks is individually made into a component, and an arbitrary function block is connected so as to be able to be inserted and removed in component units. A computer device, characterized in that: 2. The computer device according to claim 1, wherein each of the components is mounted on a board for connecting respective functional blocks by a bus line, and the board is a power supply available at a location where the computer is installed. A computer device configured to be connectable to a network and a network. 3. The computer device according to claim 2, wherein the board is provided with a plurality of interface connectors, and each of the components is connected to the bus line via each of the interface connectors. A computer device characterized by being performed. 4. The computer device according to claim 3, wherein, among the components, components constituting basic functional blocks necessary for computer operation are multiplexed so as to constitute a parallel redundant system. A computer device having a system configuration such that when a failure occurs in a system, the system is automatically switched to another system. 5. The computer device according to claim 4, wherein when a failure occurs in one system and the system is switched to another system, a unit exchange message for a failed portion is issued through the network. . 6. The computer device according to claim 5, wherein the computer device is continuously operated and used as a small office and home server computer in an environment where a system administrator is not resident. Computer device.