EP0478461A1 - Procedure and electronic apparatus for monitoring and storing data concerning the electronic, electrical and mechanical assemblies and sub-assemblies - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of the present invention is an electronic apparatus and process for monitoring and storing data concerning assemblies and sub-assemblies such as electronic equipment and cards, electrical circuits, mechanical equipment and devices, having available, for the component or the electronic circuits, an integrated or external source of electrical supply. The electronic apparatus comprises, in a known way, a central unit associated with at least one data storage memory, connections with the said assembly or sub-assembly and a clock. The said elements make up an electronic circuit (1) which is integrated onto the electronic assembly or sub-assembly itself, the said connections being produced in manufacture in a permanent, final way. The said electronic circuit (1) is linked, on the one hand, to various points (10) on the assembly or subassembly in question in order to pick off measurement values therefrom, and, on the other hand, to a connector (13) of the card which can be connected to an external terminal on request. <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to methods and electronic devices for monitoring and archiving information relating to electronic, electrical and mechanical assemblies and sub-assemblies.

The technical sector of the invention is in the field of manufacturing components, electronic circuits.

The applications of the invention are the monitoring of parameters, the monitoring and the management of information concerning the assemblies such as hardware and electronic cards, electrical circuits, mechanical materials and machines having a means of supply, of integrated electrical energy. or external, for the electronic component or circuits.

One of the main applications of the invention is to be able to monitor and manage electronic cards throughout their period of use, during their replacement, repair, possible reinstallation on other devices by interchangeability, modification, etc.

This monitoring is necessary, in particular for knowledge of the reliability of electronic cards, which is fundamental data for controlling the availability of these cards and therefore of the electrical, electronic, or mechanical equipment that they constitute or in which they are used. 'integrate.

Reliability is indeed one of the components of product quality. It reflects the continuity over time of the other components of this quality: performance, electrical, mechanical characteristics, temperature resistance, etc. Unlike the latter, which can always be measured at a given time, the real reliability is only known at the end of the product's life. To approach the forecast reliability of a product, it is necessary to know the factors likely to influence over time the characteristics of this product; in the case of an electronic card, these are essentially the number of hours of operation, the number of start-ups and / or power-ups, environmental characteristics (such as supply voltage, temperature and even vibrations, shocks, etc.).

Depending on the field concerned, all manufacturers and managers of equipment have been researching and developing for several years different methods or procedures, with or without specific associated equipment to control said equipment during its operation, in order to follow developments, conditions of its use, its environment and all the parameters that can make it possible to carry out systematic routine checks on the state of "health" of this equipment, to establish a diagnosis in the event of an anomaly or breakdown, assess reliability, trigger alerts and / or rescue procedures in the event of danger, etc.

One of the main fields having developed devices that partially meet the above objective, is that of the automobile and transport vehicles in general, such as planes, trucks, coaches, trains, etc.

Most of these even have what are called "black boxes" which record in the vehicle itself certain parameters related to the functioning of the latter, but only during the last periods of use, which can therefore be updated, but limited. whose supports are indestructible and inviolable, even in the event of damage and which allow experts to control the vehicle and / or explain the origin of any damage.

Other systems, such as that in French patent application No. 2,626,399 filed on January 27, 1988 by G. SAVERI, also make it possible to follow the conditions of the guarantee of a vehicle replacing the printed log book used by manufacturers and their dealers, but requires manual entry of information on a keyboard.

We can also cite, in this automotive field, the patent application FR. 2,490,842 filed on September 23, 1980 by the company RENIX ELECTRONIQUE, entitled "electronic adapter device from a diagnostic socket to information supplied by an electrical circuit": the device includes a microcomputer, a monitoring circuit, a control lamp and a microcomputer output plug, linked to this indicator through a circuit protection and ignition and in parallel with diagnostic information. The FR patent application is also known. 2,563,631 deposited April 26, 1984 by the Russian Institute BELORUSSKY POLITEKHNICHESKY on a "device for the measurement of the frequency of rotation", which includes an electronic group comparator and recorder, and being able to control and memorize the faults on the stages of entry of the braking systems provided with electronic anti-lock means. These devices generally only allow real-time analysis for possible immediate action.

Mention may also be made of various existing devices for material control, but these are then external test and control devices which are connected on demand to the material concerned, which on the one hand requires a connection. on it or on one or more of these components, and on the other hand, allows information to be collected only during the connection period, which obscures everything that could have happened between two checks and limits the reliability of the diagnostic, which is the case with vehicle warranty tracking systems. In this context, we note the request for Certificate of Utility No. FR. 2,624,996 of December 18, 1987 by the company Informatique Réalité on a "portable autonomous device for storage, transfer and control of information", which comprises a support capable of receiving electronic components, means of connection between the support and the device to which it is connected, a clock, a random access memory and an interface, the corresponding electronic assembly being of the integrated monolithic type.

We also know, in most automated industrial installations, various control equipment which is itself under the supervision of operators who, from a central unit grouping this equipment, can control the entire said installation: for example, the application for Certificate of Utility No. FR. 2,626,393 deposited on January 27, 1988 by the company FIRAC on a "process and device for controlling the operation of an industrial installation controlled by a programmable automaton": the device of console type then includes a microprocessor, a random access memory, a screen display, a screen management card, two keyboards and their management microprocessor, connectors, a memory drive and a floppy drive with their controller.

Finally, we can cite all the file management systems with updating and analysis of all the devices and / or components that we have identified and put in management code in said systems, in order to follow these devices within the framework inventory management, programming and monitoring of work in a manufacturing plant or repair workshop, cost analysis of each operation, etc., but this generally requires manual data entry with identification of the component code and / or of the device concerned and does not allow real-time recording monitoring of its data, because the goal is then management monitoring without the objective of controlling operating parameters: reliability analysis is then punctual and can only be done afterwards from statistical data of failure reports without knowledge of the environment that may have caused them.

• 1°) les uns concernent les contrôles en temps réel, incluant les moyens de détection et de contrôle de défaut éventuel, sont intégrés au matériel à contrôler pour une action immédiate sous forme par exemple d'alarme, d'arrêt automatique ou de connexion secours, mais ils ne gardent aucune trace des événements précédent la détection du défaut : il s'agit alors souvent de contrôle en tout ou rien.
• 2°) les autres regroupent tous les appareils de contrôle et d'enregistrement, qui peuvent alors être embarqués, ou intégrés si nécessaire, ou seulement connectés à la demande pour évaluer et garder une mémorisation temporaire des événements, sans souci direct d'action immédiate, mais plutôt d'analyse et de diagnostic en fonction des informations recueillies pendant le temps d'enregistrement, mais qui est souvent soit très complet et assez court, soit partiel et intermittent, et sur une longue période.
• 3°) les derniers concernent la gestion à proprement parlé et le suivi des appareils, mais comme indiqué ci-dessus, toujours indépendamment de ceux-ci, uniquement lors de chaque éventuel changement d'affectation, ce qui nécessite des règles strictes de repérage, d'identification, de codification sous peine de confondre des appareils ou d'en perdre la trace.

Thus, each of the systems or equipment mentioned above responds to a specific need for control and these can be grouped into three large independent families, whose objectives are different and the results are often exploited by equally different people:

• 1 °) some relate to real-time controls, including means for detecting and controlling possible faults, are integrated into the equipment to be controlled for immediate action in the form, for example, of an alarm, automatic stop or emergency connection , but they do not keep any trace of the events preceding the detection of the fault: it is therefore often an all-or-nothing check.
• 2) the others group together all the control and recording devices, which can then be on-board, or integrated if necessary, or only connected on demand to assess and keep a temporary memorization of events, without direct concern for immediate action , but rather of analysis and diagnosis according to the information collected during the recording time, but which is often either very complete and quite short, or partial and intermittent, and over a long period.
• 3 °) the last relate to the actual management and monitoring of the devices, but as indicated above, always independently of these, only during each eventual change of assignment, which requires strict rules of location, identification, codification under penalty of confusing devices or losing track of them.

All of these systems are quite cumbersome to implement when it comes to monitoring a large number of equipment, which can be moved very often and of small size, such as electronic cards, because if it is possible to manage, control, monitor, test and analyze large devices or machines by the means and methods described above and specific to each, it is more difficult to do for the parts making up these devices: however it turns out that it is nevertheless these parts that can cause default the operation of the device as a whole. It is therefore important, and this is the main objective of the present invention, to be able to manage and monitor these, that for this invention are the electronic cards taken as such with simpler means, not risking confusion. and allowing monitoring both in real time and in cumulative time over long periods, if possible for the total lifetime of the electronic card concerned, in order to determine its reliability and know all the events main.

• on intègre sur ledit ensemble ou sous-ensemble, un circuit électronique, comportant au moins ladite unité centrale, avec au moins deux types de mémoire, l'une ineffaçable (par exemple, de type EPROM), et l'autre effaçable, (par exemple, de type EEPROM);
• on mémorise, dans une zone de la mémoire ineffaçable, et d'une manière définitive, toutes les informations permanentes liées à l'ensemble ou sous-ensemble;
• on relie ledit circuit électronique, d'une part à au moins un point de l'ensemble ou sous-ensemble, lequel point permettant au moins son alimentation électrique et, d'autre part, à un connecteur de l'ensemble ou sous-ensemble pouvant être relié lui-même à la demande à un terminal extérieur; d'autres liaisons particulières peuvent être établies pour assurer une surveillance analogique ou digitale;
• on programme l'unité centrale de façon connue, pour permettre la gestion des informations qui peuvent lui parvenir du circuit lui-même et de l'ensemble ou sous-ensemble, sur lequel il est connecté ainsi que d'un terminal extérieur ; ladite gestion permet de classer les informations, , les stocker dans une desdites mémoires et surveiller et gérer les voies d'entrées à travers lesquelles parviennent tous types d'informations en provenance dudit ensemble ou sous-ensemble.

A solution to the problem posed and which meets this main objective is a process for monitoring and archiving information relating to any assembly or sub-assembly such as an electronic card, an electrical circuit, a material or a mechanical machine having '' an internal or external power source, and using a central unit associated with at least one data storage memory, connections with said assembly or sub-assembly, a clock and a converter and such that, during manufacture of said subset:

• an electronic circuit is included on said assembly or sub-assembly, comprising at least said central unit, with at least two types of memory, one that cannot be erased (for example, of EPROM type), and the other that can be erased, (by example, type EEPROM);
• all permanent information linked to the assembly or sub-assembly is stored in an indelible memory area;
• connecting said electronic circuit, on the one hand to at least one point of the assembly or sub-assembly, which point allowing at least its electrical supply and, on the other hand, to a connector of the assembly or sub-assembly which can be connected itself on request to an external terminal; other specific links can be established to provide analog or digital monitoring;
• the central unit is programmed in a known manner, to allow management of the information which may reach it from the circuit itself and from the assembly or sub-assembly, to which it is connected, as well as from an external terminal; said management makes it possible to classify the information, to store it in one of said memories and to monitor and manage the input channels through which all types of information arrive from said set or subset.

In a preferred embodiment, we enter, thanks to an external terminal connected to said connector of the assembly or sub-assembly, and we store, with the date of the event concerned and in an erasable memory area of said electronic circuit. , but with a possible update, all the information related to the state of the assembly or sub-assembly, after its manufacture and each time its state changes during its use, such as technical interventions and successive assignments .

Furthermore, it is noted and stored in the erasable memory of said electronic circuit and in an automatic, progressive and periodic manner, or not, during the actual operation of the assembly or sub-assembly placed in its operating environment, any information related to this operation, such as power-ups and / or in operation, the number of hours of total operation as well as that of the appearance of anomalies, the nature of these, provided elsewhere or which may be noted on the at least said particular points of connection with said assembly or sub-assembly and on said electronic circuit itself. The date and time of operation is possible but this requires a maintained power supply and a larger memory size.

It is also possible to connect, on demand, said connector associated with said electronic circuit to an external terminal and one then reads all of said information stored in said memory of said circuit.

The result is the definition of new electronic monitoring and archiving processes and devices for any electronic and / or electrical and mechanical assembly or sub-assembly.

• prévoir les modifications qui élimineront les pannes systématiques et d'augmenter le Temps moyen de bon fonctionnement (Mean time between failure) et la disponibilité de la carte ou du matériel;
• améliorer les conditions d'exploitation de la carte ou du matériel et donc du système associé : formation, documentation;
• déterminer les allocations de rechanges avec plus d'exactitude;
• prévoir les modifications qui permettront une meilleure utilisation de la carte ou du matériel ou simplifieront sa maintenance.

These new methods and devices respond well to the objectives sought and, depending on the embodiments, these objectives are achieved with components adapted to various applications depending on the need for the use and the duration thereof: in particular, can achieve, and the following description makes clear, a device allowing control overall operating for 30 years, which is normally sufficient for the lifetime of an electronic card with a number of power 525,000 times (i.e. a power-up every 30 minutes) and a number of recordable incidents of 4000 with a 15-minute time control unit. These various data are compatible with the realization of a circuit or a very reduced component, which can be integrated into any electronic card, with a cost and a size which do not disturb the basic characteristics of this one: the manufacturers must therefore being able to use the present invention whenever the user of the assembly or sub-assembly including the component, or the cards, or the equipment on which it is mounted, requests to have permanent and reliable monitoring thereof , in order to:

• anticipate modifications which will eliminate systematic breakdowns and increase the Mean time between failure and the availability of the card or equipment;
• improve the operating conditions of the card or equipment and therefore of the associated system: training, documentation;
• determine the allocation of spares more accurately;
• plan changes that will allow better use of the card or equipment or simplify its maintenance.

In particular, this can be requested with great interest by managers and users of military and industrial equipment, whose lifespan and maintenance must be the most long as possible, with maximum reliability, the servicing and maintenance of which may provide for regular verification and systematic replacement of certain parts, which is always associated with stocks of new or reconditioned spare parts which can be used on various devices and even interchangeable: the cost of these and the use made of them, requires a good organization of monitoring and precautions for use and intervention often in a difficult environment.

The present invention is perfectly suited to these needs and can therefore be applied to any electrical, electronic or mechanical assembly or sub-assembly, with or without electrical and / or electronic equipment, but in the latter case an electrical supply is required. particularized coupled with the putting into operation of the material.

We could cite various other advantages of the present invention, but those mentioned above already show enough to demonstrate the novelty and interest.

The description and the figures below represent an exemplary embodiment of the invention, relating particularly to an electronic card but this example is in no way limiting: other embodiments with other assemblies or sub-assemblies are possible from claims which specify the scope and extent of this invention, in particular by choosing other basic components of the electrical and electronic circuit constituting the device. Thus, whenever the reference to a card is cited, the device can be applied to any electronic assembly or sub-assembly.

Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of the method and the device.

Figure 2 is an exterior top view of the device in one piece.

The method and the device according to the invention use, in a known manner and in basic electronic components, a central unit which can be a microprocessor or microcontroller 2, associated with its random access memory 3, called "RAM", a read only memory program storage 4 known as "ROM" and at least one ROM information 5, 6, connections 9 to 15, with the card to which it is then connected, and a clock 7.

The main characteristic of the present invention is that said components and the complementary ones described below, comprising said central unit, form an electronic circuit 1, which is integrated into the hardware or onto said assembly or sub-assembly, either in the example cited. on the electronic card itself, as soon as it is manufactured and therefore follows the latter like any other component which constitutes it, said connections 9 to 15 being made permanently and definitively.

• les informations permanentes liées à la carte et au circuit électronique lui-même 1, qui concernent essentiellement l'identité du matériel ou de la carte, de ses composants et de son fabricant, telles que :

• 1°) le nom du fabricant, sa référence codifiée et le nom et numéro du dossier concerné pour retrouver toute la documentation de la carte;
• 2°) la fonction et le nom de la carte, la référence codifiée de celle-ci, la norme éventuelle, la catégorie d'environnement pour laquelle elle est prévue (gamme de température, tenue aux agressions mécaniques, climatiques etc...), son numéro de série, la catégorie d'assurance de la qualité et de la fiabilité déterminante pour la connaissance de la fiabilité prévisionnelle de la carte;
• 3°) les informations liées au suivi du circuit électronique 1 telles ses références, celles de son logiciel interne, et de son logiciel externe d'exploitation.

Another important characteristic of the invention is the storage in said memories 5, 6 of the different information which can be classified into three groups corresponding to three memory areas of said electronic circuit 1, and which can be grouped into two separate memories:

• permanent information linked to the card and to the electronic circuit itself 1, which essentially concerns the identity of the equipment or card, its components and its manufacturer, such as:

• 1 °) the name of the manufacturer, its coded reference and the name and number of the file concerned to find all the documentation for the card;
• 2) the function and the name of the card, the codified reference of it, the possible standard, the category of environment for which it is intended (temperature range, resistance to mechanical, climatic attacks etc ...) , its serial number, the quality and reliability assurance category which is decisive for knowing the forecast reliability of the card;
• 3) the information linked to the monitoring of the electronic circuit 1 such as its references, those of its internal software, and of its external operating software.

The value of all this information is obvious, both for the users of the card and for the organizations responsible for the logistics of the equipment on which it is mounted: maintenance services, services responsible for managing spare parts, centralizing body, responsible for other from configuration management of said material.

• les informations permanentes avec remise à jour occasionnelles liées au changement d'état de la carte lors par exemple de chaque intervention sur celle-ci, telles que avec chaque fois la date correspondante :

• 1°) les essais et les certifications de la carte;
• 2°) les modifications et les identifications des dossiers correspondants;
• 3°) les natures et les références des interventions de type réparation, le lieu, le nom du responsable;
• 4°) les lieux et types d'affectations successives de la carte.

This information linked to the card is recorded and stored at the time of manufacture in a memory zone which must be erasable, for example of the "PROM" type (programmable memory, programming by blowing of fuses, not erasable or erasing by ultraviolet) or else "EPROM" type 5 (electrical programming 29 by a specific input 12), even if this possibility is less certain for the objective sought. Depending on the number of alphanumeric characters and the type of coding used for this information, the size of the minimum memory area can be defined according to the space available, for example between 200 to 1000 bytes.

• permanent information with occasional updating linked to the change of state of the card during, for example, each intervention on it, such as with the corresponding date each time:

• 1 °) tests and certifications of the card;
• 2) modifications and identifications of the corresponding files;
• 3) the types and references of repair-type interventions, the location, the name of the manager;
• 4 °) the places and types of successive assignments of the map.

Can be stored in the same erasable memory area, which can be located in the same memory 5 as the previous information, instructions and data specific to the application of the electronic circuit 1 (such as the identity and the nature of the parameters monitored explained below, the range of measured values, tolerances ...), as well as any useful comments for the user or maintenance services (precaution of use, restriction of use etc ...).

• Les informations évolutives, liées à la carte durant son fonctionnement, avec mise en mémoire périodique suivant des instructions préalablement programmées dans l'unité centrale; ces informations sont stockées dans une zone mémoire effaçable, telle qu'une mémoire de type "EEPROM" 6 et cela, dès la mise sous tension du matériel ou de la carte, et du circuit électronique 1 pour être sauvegardées immédiatement, évitant les problèmes de réserve d'énergie en cas de coupure d'alimentation, celle-ci provoquant alors seulement l'arrêt du comptage du temps avec celui du fonctionnement du circuit électronique 1 dans son ensemble.

Considering a reasonable and sufficient number of alphanumeric characters for each of the above information and in order an updateable number of inscriptions of 10, 20, 30 and 60 respectively, the minimum size of the memory area concerned can be set at 8 K bytes. The updating can also be done according to the demand for dynamic allocation until the fixed area is saturated. This information is necessary and fundamental for find the history of the card: they will be permanently stored and written by the sole manufacturer and the organizations responsible for maintenance, and only accessible to all other users for reading.

• Evolving information, linked to the card during its operation, with periodic storage following instructions previously programmed in the central unit; this information is stored in an erasable memory area, such as an “EEPROM” type memory 6 and this, as soon as the equipment or the card is powered up, and of the electronic circuit 1 to be saved immediately, avoiding the problems of energy reserve in the event of a power cut, this then only causing the time counting to stop with that of the operation of the electronic circuit 1 as a whole.

• le nombre de mises sous tension de la carte, qui déterminent chaque cycle de fonctionnement;
• les incidents survenus sur la carte, à un cycle et à un nombre d'heures de fonctionnements donnés;
• le "profil de fonctionnement", à l'instant d'une panne ou anomalie, défini par exemple par des paramètres tels que la température, la tension d'alimentation et, éventuellement d'autres paramètres choisis par le concepteur de la carte. Pour cela, ledit circuit électronique 1 est alors relié à différents points 10 de cette carte pour y relever lesdites valeurs de mesure de ces paramètres. On peut relever alors et on stocke dans ladite zone mémoire effaçable 6 et en synchronisation avec l'enregistrement de la panne ou de l'incident ou de l'anomalie, fourni par ailleurs ou relevé sur l'un des points à surveiller de l'ensemble ou sous-ensemble tel que la carte, ainsi que les autres valeurs de paramètres relevés sur les autres points pour conserver ledit profil de fonctionnement à l'instant de l'anomalie.

It involves memorizing and updating it periodically, fully automatically:

• the number of power-ups on the card, which determine each operating cycle;
• incidents occurring on the card, at a given cycle and at a given number of operating hours;
• the "operating profile", at the time of a breakdown or anomaly, defined for example by parameters such as temperature, supply voltage and, possibly other parameters chosen by the designer of the card. For this, said electronic circuit 1 is then connected to different points 10 of this card in order to read said measurement values of these parameters there. It can then be noted and stored in said erasable memory area 6 and in synchronization with the recording of the breakdown or of the incident or anomaly, provided elsewhere or recorded on one of the points to be monitored from the assembly or sub-assembly such as the card, as well as the other parameter values noted on the other points to maintain said operating profile at the time of the anomaly.

The monitoring of the different channels, either in analog mode or in digital mode, coming from these different points of the assembly or sub-assembly, such as the card, according to programmed and modifiable instructions, stored in the memories of the central unit can be permanent, and the recording of the actual value is then only noted when there is a breach of maximum or minimum set values, corresponding then to an anomaly. The same incident or anomaly is no longer stored if it occurs again during the same operating cycle, on the other hand, if there is a return to normal in the same cycle, this change is recorded. The recording of this anomaly can be associated through an output port 16 with an alarm 15.

• 1ère partie : Cycle de fonctionnement dans la situation considérée.
• 2ème partie : Nombre d'heures de fonctionnement cumulées, lié au nombre de cycles de la situation considérée.
• 3ème partie : Détection d'un incident de fonctionnement sur la carte, au cours d'un cycle : suivant instructions données par le programme d'auto-test, test intégré tops, etc... de la carte, exécuté par ailleurs sur celle-ci et dont la signification est stockée dans la mémoire 5.
• 4ème partie : Identification du paramètre hors tolérance mesuré.
• 5ème partie : Valeur mesurée pour ce paramètre, pour les paramètres analogiques, ou états logiques de différents noeuds internes à la carte, pour les cartes purement numériques (par exemple huit pour ne pas nécessiter un grand nombre de broches et de bits d'identification).

We could for example define and organize the recording of the above information by grouping it in a "situation code" during each statement defined as follows:

• Part 1: Operating cycle in the situation considered.
• 2nd part: Number of cumulative operating hours, linked to the number of cycles of the situation considered.
• 3rd part: Detection of an operating incident on the card, during a cycle: following instructions given by the self-test program, integrated test tops, etc ... of the card, also executed on that -ci and whose meaning is stored in memory 5.
• 4th part: Identification of the parameter out of tolerance measured.
• 5th part: Measured value for this parameter, for analog parameters, or logical states of different internal nodes on the card, for purely digital cards (for example eight so as not to require a large number of pins and identification bits) .

• soit enregistrer un code de situation à chaque cycle de fonctionnement, ce qui nécessite cependant une mémoire d'environ 22.000.000 de bits, qui n'existe pas encore à ce jour en microcomposant et ne serait pas directement adressable par un microprocesseur de 8 bits;
• soit cumuler en un seul code de situation le nombre de cycles et le nombre d'heures de fonctionnement jusqu'à l'apparition d'un incident, soit si l'on suppose un nombre maximum d'incidents de 4.000, une mémoire nécessaire de 256.000 bits; ce qui est disponible et intégrable à ce jour dans le circuit électronique suivant l'invention, mais avec le risque de réinscrire sur la même zone de mémoire un nombre de cycles d'effacement/écriture supérieur à 10.000 si aucun incident ne se produit entre temps, or les mémoires de type EEPROM ne supportent pas à ce jour un tel nombre de cycles de réutilisation;
• soit, et ceci est le mode de réalisation préférentiel de la présente invention, définir un code de situation de quatre octets structuré comme suit :
  • 1er octet : comptage du nombre de cycles, de 0 à 255.
  • 2ème octet : comptage du nombre d'heures de 0 à 63 heures et 45 minutes, par pas par exemple de 15 minutes, qui est alors à titre préférentiel l'unité de contrôle de temps dudit circuit électronique tel que défini ci-après, la précision peut être augmentée au détriment de la taille mémoire et de la facilité d'adressage.
  • 3ème octet : Bit de 1 à 4 : codage incident suivant instructions données par le programme et le circuit d'auto-test, de test intégré, top etc... de la carte; ces quatre bits sont accessibles par un port d'entrée parallèle 24 au travers d'une entrée 14 spécifique.
  • BIT 5 à 8 : identification du paramètre hors tolérance mesuré (en mode analogique uniquement).
  • 4ème octet : Valeur mesurée pour ce paramètre à travers par exemple les huit voies d'entrée 10, en mode analogique ou états logiques de différents noeuds internes à la carte, (pour les cartes numériques).

If we consider for example an operating cycle evaluated at a maximum of 525,000 for a lifetime of 30 years of the card, which corresponds to a power-up or cycle every 30 minutes, we can:

• either record a situation code at each operating cycle, which however requires a memory of approximately 22,000,000 bits, which does not yet exist to date in microcomponent and would not be directly addressable by an 8-bit microprocessor ;
• either cumulate in a single situation code the number of cycles and the number of hours of operation until the occurrence of an incident, that is to say if a maximum number of incidents of 4,000 is assumed, a necessary memory of 256,000 bits; which is available and can be integrated to date in the electronic circuit according to the invention, but with the risk of rewriting on the same memory area a number of erase / write cycles greater than 10,000 if no incident occurs in the meantime , however, EEPROM type memories do not currently support such a number of reuse cycles;
• either, and this is the preferred embodiment of the present invention, define a situation code of four bytes structured as follows:
  • 1st byte: counting of the number of cycles, from 0 to 255.
  • 2nd byte: counting the number of hours from 0 to 63 hours and 45 minutes, in steps of 15 minutes for example, which is then preferably the time control unit of said electronic circuit as defined below, the accuracy can be increased at the expense of memory size and ease of addressing.
  • 3rd byte: Bit from 1 to 4: incident coding according to instructions given by the program and the self-test circuit, integrated test, top etc ... of the card; these four bits are accessible by a parallel input port 24 through a specific input 14.
  • BIT 5 to 8: identification of the parameter outside the measured tolerance (in analog mode only).
  • 4th byte: Value measured for this parameter through, for example, the eight input channels 10, in analog mode or logic states of different nodes internal to the card, (for digital cards).

• Nombre maximum d'heures de fonctionnement : 262.980.
• Nombre maximum de cycles de fonctionnement : 525.960.
• Nombre maximum d'incidents enregistrables : 4.000,
  donnant un maximum de 4.000 codes de situation, demandent une mémoire nécessaire minimum 6 de 4.000 x 4 octets = 16.000 octets.

Examples of hypotheses already mentioned above such as:

• Maximum number of operating hours: 262,980.
• Maximum number of operating cycles: 525,960.
• Maximum number of recordable incidents: 4,000,
  giving a maximum of 4,000 situation codes, request a memory required minimum 6 of 4,000 x 4 bytes = 16,000 bytes.

In practice, this memory can contain 16,384 bytes (2¹⁴): two bytes being reserved for saving the address of the last situation code, 4,095 possible situation codes remain, that is: 1,044,225 operating cycles and 261,056 hours of recordable operation.

These values are entirely acceptable with regard to the hypotheses formulated above.

An alarm on output 15 can be triggered when memory 6 reaches a configurable value or not, for example a rate of 96%, which still leaves 10500 h of operation, ie a duration> one year (8760 h).

• Dimensions de la mémoire 6 raisonnables : 16.000 octets.
• Utilisation progressive de la mémoire, sans risque de dépassement du nombre maximum de cycles d'écritures/effacement (255 maximum par octet).
• Connaissance relativement fine des conditions d'utilisation de la carte : nombre de cycles et nombre d'heures de fonctionnement.

The memory 6 must be erasable electrically, or for example of the "EEPROM" type. The coding of information can be done directly in binary. The advantages of this solution are as follows:

• Reasonable memory size 6: 16,000 bytes.
• Progressive use of the memory, without risk of exceeding the maximum number of write / erase cycles (255 maximum per byte).
• Relatively detailed knowledge of the conditions of use of the card: number of cycles and number of hours of operation.

From the three types of information which are therefore to be memorized and stored in the memories 5 and 6 of the electronic circuit 1 and as defined above in general and by way of example encrypted on usage hypotheses, the manufacturer and the users of said electronic circuit 1 and of its associated card, for which it provides control and monitoring, must structure the components and the programs necessary for the operation of the assembly. The techniques necessary for this are known and do not need to be described in detail, especially since several possibilities are available.

• pour éviter des erreurs d'écritures et de lecture par des personnes non autorisées, on peut protéger certaines ou toutes lesdites mémoires de programme 4, 5, 6 de stockage des informations par un code d'accès pour chacune écrit lors de la première écriture et qu'il est ensuite nécessaire de connaître pour lire et écrire dans ladite mémoire; après chaque autorisation d'accès accordée, le code peut être changé.
• le système de sécrutié se bloque en cas d'essais infructueux et ne peut être débloqué que par une numérotation du bon code plusieurs fois consécutives ou par un code superviseur.
• on peut également stocker en complément des autres informations, dans une mémoire du circuit électronique 1 intégré à l'ensemble ou sous-ensemble, tel que la carte électronique des informations en provenance d'autres cartes reliées à celle-ci temporairement ou permanente ou définitivement et ne disposant pas en propre de circuit électronique 1.
• on peut relier ledit circuit électronique 1 à un connecteur 13 incorporé au composant ou faisant partie de ladite carte, lequel peut être relié ensuite à la demande à un terminal extérieur afin de pouvoir lire et/ou écrire de l'extérieur dans les mémoires 5, 6 dudit circuit électronique, en utilisant éventuellement lesdits codes d'accès autorisés ci-dessus.
• Le composant peut être conçu avec des moyens d'autotests et de tests intégrés pour faciliter la certification de son bon fonctionnement lorsqu'il est intégré à l'ensemble ou au sous-ensemble : ce contrôle par autotest pouvant se faire à chaque initialisation, et en cas de test négatif, un signal d'information ou d'alarme peut être diffusé à l'utilisateur.

Furthermore, certain features can be added according to other features of interest to the present invention:

• to avoid errors in writing and reading by unauthorized persons, some or all can be protected said program memories 4, 5, 6 for storing information by an access code for each written during the first writing and which it is then necessary to know in order to read and write in said memory; after each access authorization granted, the code can be changed.
• the security system is blocked in the event of unsuccessful tests and can only be released by numbering the correct code several times consecutively or by a supervisor code.
• it is also possible to store, in addition to the other information, in a memory of the electronic circuit 1 integrated into the assembly or sub-assembly, such as the electronic card, information from other cards linked to it temporarily or permanently or permanently. and does not have its own electronic circuit 1.
• it is possible to connect said electronic circuit 1 to a connector 13 incorporated in the component or forming part of said card, which can then be connected on demand to an external terminal so as to be able to read and / or write from the outside in the memories 5, 6 of said electronic circuit, possibly using said access codes authorized above.
• The component can be designed with self-test and integrated testing means to facilitate the certification of its correct operation when it is integrated into the assembly or sub-assembly: this self-test check can be done at each initialization, and in the event of a negative test, an information or alarm signal may be sent to the user.

In order to minimize the number of contacts taken on the card connector, communication with the read / write terminal can use a standard transmission 17, which can be of the serial type, to reduce the number of points, for example following the standard protocol "RS232.C". Access to the electronic circuit 1 can be done both in reading and in writing from a microcomputer type "PC (Personal computer)" equipped with an interface adapted to the link as above type standard "RS232C" and an alphanumeric screen. A specific interface card can allow connection either through the card connector or through a specific connector, mounted on the card or electronic circuit 1.

From the external operating terminal then connected 13, it is possible to access said memories according to an adapted program and view the different files corresponding to each type of information stored and classified. All exchanges between electronic circuit 1 and the terminal are done in interactive mode: the language used can be compatible with that of a central database, to allow immediate transfer of the data collected to the latter, which constitutes a backup. additional information.

To define the counting of time, one can use in electronic circuit 1 a clock 7 connected to a quartz oscillator 8, which can be outside circuit 1 and connected to outputs 25, and which allows in association with a base 18 comprising counters of the 16 bit type to develop hourly ticks making it possible to date the information stored in memory according to a constant unit of time.

soit une unité de temps de 15 minutes : l'erreur de 0,04 seconde ne représente que 160 secondes après 1.000 heures de fonctionnement ininterrompu, ce qui est négligeable pour l'objectif recherché. Toutes les informations sont alors datées suivant cette unité de temps, soit donc à 15 minutes en temps réel pris par excès ou par défaut, ce qui est cependant largement suffisant pour le traitement des informations alors recueillies.For example, if we choose an oscillator 7 set on the frequency of 4.772 MHz associated with two 16-bit counters in cascade, we can develop a time schedule of: $$\frac{\text{1}}{\text{4,772,000}}\text{X 2¹⁶ X 2¹⁶ = 900.04 s}$$

or a unit of time of 15 minutes: the error of 0.04 seconds represents only 160 seconds after 1,000 hours of uninterrupted operation, which is negligible for the objective sought. All the information is then dated according to this unit of time, that is to say 15 minutes in real time taken by excess or by default, which is however largely sufficient for the processing of the information then collected.

It is possible to modify the time base of the oscillator, quartz and counter to obtain a different time unit more suitable for another application.

To monitor the values of the analog parameters which it is desired to control at different points on the card, these are noted through, for example, an input 10 consisting of eight channels; the assembly is associated with an eight-bit analog / digital converter 19, preceded by an eight-channel multiplexer 20 and a blocking sampler 21. The reference voltage 11 can be external or internal; in the latter case it is defined directly from the general external power supply of circuit 26, 27 through an interface 22, which provides stabilization and programming, and each channel of multiplexer 20 is assigned to a parameter whose identity and the nominal value, the admissible high and low tolerances, as well as the scale factor are memorized. Resistors can be inserted on the input channels 10 to prevent damage to the electronic circuit 1 from disturbing the operation of the card.

One of the analog inputs 10 is used at least to monitor the temperature of the card: it is connected if possible to a temperature sensor 28 for example of the resistive type mounted in contact with the housing of the electronic circuit 1 if it is metallic, if not on a heat sink, integrated into said circuit.

If you want to monitor digital parameters, this operating mode can be chosen by forcing an instruction 9 in the programming; of the electronic circuit 1 and by putting the above set of analog measurements out of service, with the exception of the temperature sensor which can be maintained or deleted by programming, in the case of maintenance, the display is made in the second half of the 3rd byte; the input of the eight digital states at 10 is then made via an eight-bit parallel port 23 which uses the same external connections as the analog inputs.

FIG. 2 is an external view from above of the device including the electronic circuit 1 as described above and shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1, in a monobloc form representing a single component 30 which can be contained in standard boxes, of the " LCC24 "or" DIP24 ", ie with 24 pins of which 22 are therefore assigned to the inputs and outputs defined above and two 25 are assigned to quartz 8, if it is external, to its compensation or to the synchronization input by a external clock.

It includes at least the eight input connections 10 by analog or digital channels, the output connections 13 allowing the restitution of information via an interface to a terminal external to the card, and any other connection pin for its power supply 26 and 27, and additional functions.

Claims (13)

Method for monitoring and archiving information relating to any assembly or sub-assembly such as electronic card, electrical circuit, material and mechanical device having an internal or external power supply source and using a central unit associated with at least a data storage memory, connections with said assembly or sub-assembly, a converter and a clock, characterized in that, during the manufacture of said assembly or sub-assembly: - An electronic circuit (1), comprising at least said central unit, with at least two types of memory, one that cannot be erased (5), for example of EPROM type, and the other, is integrated on said assembly or sub-assembly. erasable (6), for example of the EEPROM type; - It stores, in an indelible memory area (5), and permanently, all of the permanent information linked to the assembly or sub-assembly; - Said electronic circuit (1) is connected, on the one hand to at least one point of the assembly or sub-assembly, which point allowing at least its electrical supply (26, 27) and, on the other hand, to a connector of the assembly or sub-assembly (13) which can itself be connected on demand to an external terminal; - the central unit is programmed in a known manner, to allow the management of the information which may reach it from the circuit (1) itself, from the assembly or sub-assembly to which it is connected as well as from an external terminal , so that this management makes it possible to classify this information, store it in one of said memories (5, 6) and monitor and manage the input channels (9, 10, 12, 14) through which all types of information arrive. provenance of said set or subset. Method for monitoring and archiving information according to claim 1, characterized in that one enters, by means of an external terminal connected to said connector (13) of the assembly or sub-assembly, and one stores, with the date of the event concerned and in an erasable memory area (5) of said electronic circuit (1), but with a possible updating, all the information linked to the state of the assembly or sub-assembly, after its manufacture and each time its state changes during use, such than technical interventions and successive assignments. Method for monitoring and archiving information according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it detects and stores in the erasable memory (6) of said electronic circuit (1) and in an automatic manner , evolving and, periodic or not, during the actual operation of the assembly or sub-assembly placed within its operating framework, any information related to this operation, such as power-ups and / or in operation the number of hours of total operation, as well as that of the appearance of anomalies, the nature thereof, provided elsewhere or which can be noted on the at least said point of connection with said assembly or subassembly and on said electronic circuit (1) himself. Method for monitoring and archiving information according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said connector (13) associated with said electronic circuit (1) is connected on demand to an external terminal and it is read then all of said information stored in said memory (5, 6) of said circuit (1). Method for monitoring and archiving information according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said memories (5, 6) for storing information are protected by an access code for each, written during the first writing and which it is then necessary to know to read and write in said memory. Electronic method for monitoring and archiving information according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that one stores in one of the memories of the electronic circuit (1) integrated into the set or subset of the information from other assemblies or sub-assemblies linked to it temporarily or definitively do not have their own electronic circuit 1 Electronic method for monitoring and archiving information according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that erasable memory (6) is recorded and stored in a memory area and in synchronization with the recording an anomaly noted on one of the monitored points of the set or sub-assembly, other parameter values noted at other points to maintain the operating profile of the assembly or sub-assembly at the time of the anomaly. Electronic method for monitoring and archiving information according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the channels (10) coming from the different points of the line are continuously monitored according to programmed and modifiable instructions. 'set or sub-set according to maximum and minimum set values and the actual value recorded is recorded only when these values are crossed then corresponding to an anomaly, which recording can be associated with an external information output (16), such as an alarm (15). Electronic device for monitoring and archiving information relating to any assembly or sub-assembly and comprising a central unit associated with at least one information storage memory, connections with said assembly or sub-assembly, a clock and a converter, characterized in that said elements making up said central unit and cited above, compose an electronic circuit (1) which is integrated into the assembly or sub-assembly itself, said connections being made during manufacture and permanently and permanently. Electronic device for monitoring and archiving information according to claim 9, characterized in that said electronic circuit (1) is connected, on the one hand, to different points (10) of the assembly or sub-assembly concerned for read there measurement values, such as voltage and temperature and, on the other hand, a connector (13) of said circuit 1 or of the assembly or sub-assembly which can be connected on demand to an external terminal. Electronic device for monitoring and archiving information according to any one of claims 9 and 10, characterized in that said electronic circuit (1) comprises at least three memory areas, two of which are non-erasable and can be grouped into one memory, (5), for example of the "EPROM" type, for storing, on the one hand, information linked to the assembly or sub-assembly itself and written down from its manufacture and, on the other hand, to a update information related to the change status of the assembly or sub-assembly during each intervention on it, and the third memory area is erasable, occupying a memory, for example of the EEPROM type (6), for storing the evolving information linked and during the operation of the assembly or sub-assembly with periodic storage following instructions previously programmed in the central unit. Electronic device for monitoring and archiving information according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the entire electronic circuit (1) corresponding to the said device is a single component grouping in a single housing (30 ) all the elements making up said electronic circuit (1) and comprising at least eight input connections (10) for analog and / or digital channels, the output connections (13) allowing information to be restored via an interface to a terminal external to the assembly or sub-assembly and any other connection pin for its power supply (26, 27) and related functions. Electronic device for monitoring and archiving information according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that said clock is a crystal oscillator (7) (8) which allows in association with a time base (18 ) comprising counters, of the 16-bit type, for developing hourly ticks making it possible to date the information stored in memory according to a constant unit of time.

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