JP2000137628A - Information processing terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly impart the abnormality of an information processing part to an operator. SOLUTION: At the time of detecting the abnormality of an information processor, a processor loaded on a communicating part transmits an abnormality communication signal from the communicating part through a communication line different from the communication line to a display part. The display part receives the abnormality detection signal transmitted from the communicating part, and interrupts the display of processing data at an information processing part, and displays a preliminarily stored abnormality announcement screen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing unit for performing various types of information processing based on a preset program, a communication unit for connecting a communication line to perform data communication with an external device, and the information processing unit. More particularly, the present invention relates to an information processing terminal device having an improved means for notifying an abnormality of the information processing unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An information processing unit for performing various types of information processing based on a preset program, a communication unit for connecting a communication line to perform data communication with an external device, and processing data and the like in the information processing unit. As an information processing terminal device having a display unit for displaying, there is a POS (Point Of Sales: point of sale information management) terminal used in a distribution retail business or the like. The POS terminal, when information related to product sales is input from an input unit such as a keyboard and a scanner, obtains sales information of the sales product from the input information in the information processing unit, registers the obtained information in the storage unit, and displays the sales information on the display unit. Display sales information of the product for sale. Further, the content registered in the storage unit is transmitted from the communication unit to the host device via the communication line.

Conventionally, in such an information processing terminal device, key operations and other operations may suddenly be disabled while the operator is operating the keyboard. One possible cause is that the OS (Operating System) installed in the information processing terminal device has been locked due to a key operation error or the like. In this case, usually, it is sufficient to cope by turning off the main power supply once and then turning it on again to restart the system. Further, as another cause, the drive voltage of a circuit constituting the information processing unit abnormally rises, or the above-mentioned circuit goes down due to a malfunction of a cooling fan inside the device and an abnormally high temperature inside the device. It is possible. In this case, there is no other way than to ask a specialized manager for repair.

[0004]

However, the operator who operates this type of information processing terminal device cannot operate because the OS has been locked or cannot operate because the circuit of the information processing unit has gone down. It was a fact that it was impossible to determine whether or not it had become. For this reason, the operating system becomes inoperable due to the locked state, and the power supply needs to be turned off and on, and the operation is inoperable due to calling the administrator or the circuit of the information processing unit being down. Nevertheless, the power was turned off and on many times, wasting wasted time.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing terminal device that can promptly notify an operator of an abnormality in an information processing unit.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing section, a communication section with a built-in processor for connecting a communication line and performing data communication with an external device, and processing data in the information processing section. In an information processing terminal device comprising a display unit for displaying, the processor mounted on the communication unit is provided with an abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality of the information processing unit, and communicating when the abnormality of the information processing unit is detected by the detecting means. A signal transmission means for transmitting an abnormality notification signal to the display unit via a communication line different from the communication line from the unit, and a display unit,
A signal receiving unit that receives an abnormality notification signal transmitted from the communication unit, and an abnormality that interrupts display of processing data in the information processing unit and displays a previously stored abnormality notification screen when the abnormality notification signal is received by the reception unit. Notification means.

[0007] The invention described in claim 2 of the present application is the above-described claim 1.
In the described invention, the signal transmission means is means for transmitting an abnormality notification signal of a different pattern depending on the type of abnormality generated in the information processing section, and the abnormality notification means is generated in the information processing section from the pattern of the abnormality notification signal. This is means for recognizing the type of abnormality and displaying an abnormality notification screen corresponding to the type.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a POS terminal as an information processing terminal device will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of a POS terminal 1 according to the present embodiment. -A journal printer 14 and a drawer 15 are provided. A LAN (Local Area Network) 1 as a communication line
6 (see FIG. 2) so as to be freely communicable with the host device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of the internal configuration of the POS terminal 1. At least the POS terminal 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an OS, and various components constituting a control unit main body of the POS terminal. RO that stores application programs in advance
M (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory) having a memory area for temporarily storing input data from the keyboard 11, arithmetic processing data in the CPU, and the like.
System board 2 as an information processing unit implementing y) etc.
1, a LAN board 22 with a built-in CPU mounted with a circuit as a communication unit for performing information communication with the host device via the LAN 16, and display data generated by the CPU on the system board 21 on the screen of the CRT device 12. And a display control board 23 on which a circuit for converting the video signal to be displayed and transferring the video signal to the CRT device 12 is mounted.

The POS terminal 1 is provided with an error which occurs in the system board 21,
An abnormality detection circuit 24 for detecting lock, voltage abnormality, temperature abnormality, and the like is provided. When any abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection circuit 24, an abnormality detection signal S is supplied to the CPU built-in LAN board 22. It has become.

As shown in FIG. 6A, a CPU as a processor built in the LAN board 22 receives an abnormality detection signal S from the abnormality detection circuit 24 (S
At T1), the abnormality detection circuit 24 and the circuit on the system board 21 are checked to determine the type of abnormality (ST2), and an abnormality notification signal P having a different pattern depending on the type of abnormality is generated (ST3). . Then, the abnormality notification signal P is transmitted to the CRT device 12 via a dedicated cable 17 which is a communication line different from the LAN 16 (ST4).

Here, C built into the LAN board 22
When the PU detects an abnormality in the system board 21, the PU connects the dedicated cable 17 different from the LAN 16 from the LAN board 22 as the communication unit. And a signal transmitting means for transmitting a CRT device 12 abnormality notification signal P as a display unit via the display unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main part of the functional configuration of the CRT device 12. At least this CRT device 12 is a CRT display 31 and a video transferred from a circuit on the display control board 23. An interface unit 32 for receiving a signal; a signal input unit 33 for receiving an abnormality notification signal P transmitted from the CPU built-in LAN board 22 via the dedicated cable 17; An abnormality determination unit 34 for determining the type of abnormality that has occurred in the system board 21 from a pattern; a message image storage unit 35 that stores message image data that warns of the occurrence of an abnormality for each type of abnormality that occurs in the system board 21; The screen displayed on the CRT display 31 is received by the interface unit 32. And includes the an image switching unit 36 for switching whether the screen of the message image data stored in the message image storage unit 35 or the screen of the video signal.

As shown in FIG. 4, the abnormality discriminating section 34 is adapted to correspond to the pattern of the abnormality notifying signal P transmitted from the CPU built-in LAN board 22 and to assign the type of the abnormality and the type of the abnormality. An abnormality pattern table 40 in which a unique abnormality code for identifying a name is set in advance.
have. The message image storage unit 35
As shown in FIG. 5, there is provided a message table 50 which stores message data for each abnormality code, which warns of the occurrence of the abnormality identified by the abnormality code.

The CRT device 12 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
When the abnormality notification signal P transmitted from the U built-in LAN board 22 via the dedicated cable 17 is received (YE in ST5)
S), the abnormality determining unit 34 operates. First, the pattern of the received abnormality notification signal P is recognized, and an abnormality code corresponding to the recognized pattern of the abnormality notification signal P is acquired with reference to the abnormality pattern table 40 (ST).
6). Next, the acquired error code is transferred to the message image storage unit 35, and a switching command signal is transmitted to the image switching unit 36. Thereby, the message image storage unit 35 refers to the message table 50 and reads out the warning message data corresponding to the abnormality code received from the abnormality determination unit 34 (ST7). Then, a warning message screen is created in which the warning message data is substituted for the fixed screen characters for displaying the characters for screen adjustment of the CRT display 31 (ST8). On the other hand, the image switching unit 36 disconnects the input of the video signal received by the interface unit 32 in response to receiving the switching command signal from the abnormality determining unit 34 (ST9). Thereafter, the warning message screen generated by the message image storage unit 35 is captured and displayed on the CRT display 31 (ST10).

Here, the CRT device 12 includes a signal receiving means for receiving an abnormality notification signal P transmitted from the LAN board 22 which is a communication unit, and a system by the display control board 23 when receiving the abnormality notification signal by the receiving means. Abnormality notification means for interrupting the processing data display of the board 21 and displaying a previously stored abnormality notification screen.

The PO according to the present embodiment thus configured is
In the S terminal 1, an abnormality occurs in the system board 21, and the abnormality detection signal S
When transmitted to the U built-in LAN board 22, the type of abnormality is checked by the CPU incorporated in the LAN board 22, and an abnormality notification signal P having a different pattern depending on the type is transmitted to the CRT device 12 via the dedicated cable 17. Is done. As a result, in the CRT device 12, the system board 21
The type of the abnormality that has occurred is determined, and a fixed screen of a warning message that warns of the occurrence of the abnormality is created. And
Instead of a normal screen display by a video signal supplied from the display control board 23, a fixed screen of the warning message is displayed on the CRT display 31.

Therefore, the operator operates the keyboard 11
If the OS is locked and becomes inoperable during the operation of, the warning message “OS is locked.” Is immediately displayed on the screen of the CRT device 12, and the operator immediately confirms that the OS is locked. Can be grasped. As a result, the operator can quickly take appropriate measures such as turning off and on the power.

If, for example, the fan inside the apparatus breaks down and the temperature inside the apparatus rises abnormally, the CRT device 12
Warning message "The system temperature is abnormal." Is displayed on the screen. As a result, the operator can immediately take appropriate measures such as requesting a specialized manager for repair.

The present invention is not limited to a POS terminal, but can be applied to any information processing terminal device having an information processing unit, a communication unit, and a display unit such as a CRT device 12.

[0022]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing terminal device capable of promptly notifying an operator of an abnormality of the information processing section. Further, according to the invention described in claim 2 of the present application, it is possible to provide an information processing terminal device capable of promptly notifying an operator of the abnormality of the information processing unit together with the content thereof.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a POS terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of an internal configuration of the POS terminal.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main part of a functional configuration of a CRT device provided in the POS terminal.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an abnormal pattern table included in the abnormality determining unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a message table included in the message image storage unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing main operation procedures of a LAN board and a CRT device provided in the POS terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... POS terminal 12 ... CRT device 21 ... System board 22 ... LAN board with built-in CPU 23 ... Display control board 24 ... Abnormality detection circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] An information processing terminal comprising: an information processing unit; a communication unit with a built-in processor for connecting a communication line to perform data communication with an external device; and a display unit for displaying processing data in the information processing unit. In the device, a processor mounted on the communication unit includes an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality of the information processing unit, and when the abnormality of the information processing unit is detected by the detection unit, the communication unit separates from the communication line. Signal transmitting means for transmitting an abnormality notification signal to the display unit via the communication line of the above, signal receiving means for receiving the abnormality notification signal transmitted from the communication unit, and the receiving means And an abnormality notification means for interrupting the display of the processing data in the information processing unit and displaying a previously stored abnormality notification screen when the abnormality notification signal is received. Information processing terminal equipment. 2. A signal transmission means for transmitting an abnormality notification signal having a different pattern depending on the type of abnormality generated in the information processing section, wherein the abnormality notification means determines the information processing section based on the pattern of the abnormality notification signal. 2. The information processing terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the information processing terminal device recognizes a type of the abnormality that has occurred and displays an abnormality notification screen corresponding to the type.