JP2000235484A - Computer system and method for starting the system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a computer system in which reliability can be improved by stably starting an application program developed on a general OS from a primary storage medium. SOLUTION: Data are read from a CD-ROM at the time of start (S44), and an RAM disk to which access can quickly be performed from a CPU is generated in a main memory (S45), and data to be at least written by a secondary OS during an application are copied from the CD-ROM to the RAM disk, and held (S46), and the secondary OS is started (S47), and the application is started (S48). A time-out value is set from the application, and a watch dog timer is started (S49), and the timer is periodically reset before the time-out from the secondary OS so that the state of the secondary OS can be monitored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer device for executing a specific application, and more particularly, to a general-purpose computer.
The present invention relates to a computer device that executes a specific application on S.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A game machine installed in a game center, etc., and a device for printing and issuing an original sticker in which a self-portrait photographed by a built-in camera is placed in an appropriate modification framework (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as a game-only device). ) Is equipped with dedicated hardware for each model. These hardware are configured such that a dedicated application program is stored in a primary storage device such as a ROM, and is always in the same state after power is turned on or after a coin is inserted.

However, the development and creation of dedicated hardware is very time-consuming and costly, and
It takes enormous time and cost to develop the game machine itself.

[0004] On the other hand, general-purpose computers represented by personal computers have dramatically improved their processing capabilities in recent years, and OSs used have become easier to use. Regarding personal computers, regarding hardware, the processing of the CPU and the drawing controller are different for each manufacturer,
From the viewpoint of application development, if the same OS is used, development can be performed using a common application programming interface (API). Compared to doing so, the development environment is much better.

Therefore, the inventors of the present application set the internal hardware to have the same configuration as that of a general-purpose information processing apparatus such as a personal computer so that an application of a game machine can be developed on a general-purpose OS. I have been searching for a game-only machine that can be used to develop a program using a game.

As a general-purpose OS used in a general-purpose information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, Windows by Microsoft in the United States, UNIX developed by AT & T Bell Laboratories in the United States, and the like are widely known.

In particular, Windows uses a GUI (Graphical User Interface) such as icons and pop-up menus that are easy to understand.
It is widely used by using a raphical user interface), and many tools for developing applications on Windows are available in various fields.

[0008] In such an OS, various information on a large number of registered applications and systems are generally managed in one or two files resident in a rewritable secondary storage device such as a hard disk.
For example, in Windows, an environment file called a registry is resident on a hard disk, and this file stores various information on applications and systems.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, Win
If a general-purpose OS such as Windows is installed in a game-only machine as it is, the following inconvenience occurs.

The OS automatically updates, that is, rewrites, the contents of the environment file at various timings at the time of starting, operating, and terminating the application. For this reason, if the power is accidentally turned off or the device is reset while rewriting the environment file, the environment file is destroyed,
It may not start properly.

For example, in Windows, even when power is turned off, it is necessary to shut down the power supply after ending Windows according to a predetermined procedure, and if this procedure is erroneous, data on the hard disk may be destroyed. . Then, at the next start-up, a scan disk program for checking an error in the hard disk is automatically started, and when an error is found in the hard disk, an operation for selecting a corresponding process is required.

Further, since the hard disk is relatively vulnerable to vibration, in a game machine dedicated to various situations in which various mechanical loads are likely to be applied by the user during operation, part or all of the data on the hard disk is lost. It may be destroyed.

When the environment file is destroyed or the data on the hard disk is destroyed, the system cannot be restored. Therefore, a special operation such as reinstallation of the OS is required. However, the gaming machine has an I / O device used for a specific application, but does not have an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse used for a general-purpose personal computer. In addition, the manager of a game center or the like where a dedicated game machine is installed usually does not have the specialized knowledge of personal computers, so in order to return the dedicated game machine, it is necessary for specialized maintenance personnel to perform repairs. Occurs.

Further, apart from the destruction of the environment file and the data of the hard disk, if installation and uninstallation are repeated for updating or changing the application program, unnecessary data is gradually accumulated in the environment file, and the time required for startup is increased. Or the system may become unstable. In equipment where reliability is important, such as FA, a watchdog timer is usually provided to monitor the state of the device. However, an OS that rewrites data on the hard disk like Windows is used.
In the system using the above, many problems occur when the system is reset from the watchdog timer for the reasons described above.

Therefore, it is not possible to periodically confirm that the system is operating properly, and there is a disadvantage that the device is unreliable, requires a long time and costs for maintenance, and is cumbersome.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and it is possible to monitor the state of a system using a watchdog timer while using a general-purpose OS. An object of the present invention is to provide a device that is high and easy to maintain.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above object, a computer device of the present invention is a computer device for executing a specific application, and is a primary OS that is activated first, and is activated by the primary OS. A secondary OS having a user interface that is more operable than the primary OS and having a directly executable format generated by the installation and an application operating on the secondary OS. A secondary storage medium, a reading unit for reading the primary storage medium, a volatile secondary storage unit that can be accessed at a high speed from a CPU, and a timer, and a system is provided when the timer value reaches a predetermined value. Means for outputting a reset signal, wherein the reading means activates the primary OS, and the activated primary OS
Copies data to be written at least by the secondary OS during the operation of the application to a predetermined area of the secondary storage means, and stores the copied data in the predetermined area and the primary storage medium. The secondary OS is activated by using the stored remaining data, and the activated secondary OS is configured to activate the application, and the timer is started after the application is activated. The secondary OS periodically resets the timer before the timer value reaches the predetermined value.

According to another aspect, a computer device of the present invention for achieving the above object is a computer device for executing a specific application, wherein the OS and the application are stored in a form which can be directly executed. Boot means for booting from a storage medium; and in a first stage upon booting, at least the OS and the application are stored in a volatile secondary storage device accessible by the CPU and having a file system. A preprocessing means for copying data to be written from the storage medium; a second stage after performing a copying operation by the preprocessing means; a means for operating the OS and the application; and a timer. Means for outputting a system reset signal when the timer value reaches a predetermined value;
Timer control means for starting the timer after the application is started and periodically resetting the timer before the value of the timer reaches the predetermined value is provided.

A method of activating a computer device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a method of activating a computer device for executing a specific application, wherein the primary OS is activated first, and the primary OS is activated by the primary OS. And the 1
A secondary OS having a user interface that is more operable than the secondary OS and having a directly executable format generated by installation, and a primary storage medium storing an application that runs on the secondary OS The primary O
S is started, and the primary OS copies at least the data to be written by the secondary OS during the operation of the application to a predetermined area of the volatile secondary storage means that can be accessed at high speed from the CPU. Activating the secondary OS by using the data copied to the predetermined area and the remaining data stored in the primary storage medium, activating the application by the activated secondary OS, When the value reaches a predetermined value, a timer for outputting a system reset signal is started, and the secondary OS periodically resets the timer before the timer value reaches the predetermined value.

That is, the data is read from the primary storage medium at the time of startup, and the secondary OS is read during the operation of the application.
By copying at least the data to be written from the primary storage medium to a volatile secondary storage medium that can be accessed at high speed from the CPU, the data is retained, an application operating on the secondary OS is started, and Monitoring is performed by a watchdog timer.

Therefore, although a user interface having excellent operability such as a widely used general-purpose OS is provided, a secondary OS for writing data during the operation of an application is replaced with a secondary storage medium such as a magnetic storage medium. Without being resident, the system can be started up stably from the primary storage medium, and its status can be monitored by a watchdog timer to improve reliability.

Thus, the configuration of the computer device used as a special-purpose machine such as a game-only machine or a vending machine can be made versatile, the system is substantially prevented from becoming unstable, and maintenance is facilitated. And the reliability can be improved.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a game machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

When a predetermined number of coins are inserted, the present amusement apparatus guides the user through a screen or a voice. When the user selects and inputs characters according to this, several characters and illustrations are synthesized, This device creates and issues an original seal that resembles a Sensha bill that is attached to a pillar or ceiling.

The configuration of this game machine includes a coin shooter having a coin insertion slot 1 and a return slot 2 for selecting inserted coins, a monitor 3 for displaying a demonstration screen and a guide screen, and a user stacked on the monitor 3. A touch panel 4 as an input interface, a speaker 5 for outputting sound effects and voices, a presentation board 6 on which descriptions of the apparatus and operations are described, and a paper output port 7 for outputting a sticker. CPU to control
Motherboard, printer to print stickers,
It has a lighting device such as a presentation board and a CD-ROM drive as an external storage device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the game machine of FIG.

As shown in the figure, the amusement device of this embodiment is configured so that the entire device is controlled by a motherboard 10 having a CPU to which power is supplied from a power supply 11, and is provided with an E-IDE (Enhanced Integrated Drive Electrode).
nics) port to CD-ROM drive 12, RGB output terminal to monitor 3, COM terminal to touch panel 4,
A printer 13 is connected to the LPT terminal, a speaker 5 is connected to the Line Out terminal, a coin controller 14 including a counter 142 and a coin shooter 141 is connected to the I / O connector via a relay board 140, and a lighting device 15 such as a fluorescent lamp is connected to the motherboard 10. Connected to each other.

The relay board 140 is provided as necessary to facilitate maintenance and the like.
Although not used in the present embodiment, the motherboard 10 has a video input terminal, and can capture an image captured by a camera or the like.

Next, the configuration of the motherboard will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

As a whole part, a power supply circuit 103 connected to a main switch, a clock generator 102 for supplying a clock to each part, a reset circuit 104 for outputting a reset signal, and a CPU for controlling the whole apparatus
The CPU bus has a secondary cache 11
1. Main memory (main memory) 113, memory controller, cache controller, CPU bus and PC
A peripheral LSI chipset A112 having a function such as conversion of an I (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus is connected.

As will be described later, the main memory 113 has a normal space 113A for storing programs and execution data,
RAM disk area 113 treated as a virtual disk
B and used separately.

Controlled by chipset A112, C
A PCI bus which is treated as an external bus directly connected to the PU 101 includes a graphics controller 121 having an RGB output terminal to which the monitor 3 is connected and an output terminal to a liquid crystal display, and a PCI and ISA (Industry Standa
rd Architecture), and is optionally connected to a chipset B122 having functions such as an E-IDE port to which an external storage device such as the CD-ROM drive 12 is connected, USB control, interrupt and DMA control. A video capture 123 for capturing image data from a camera or the like, and a PI common to the PCI bus and the ISA bus.
The SA bus slot 124 is connected.

ISA controlled by chipset B122
The bus includes a COM terminal to which the touch panel 4 is connected, an LPT terminal to which the printer 13 is connected, a super I / O 131 having an interface with a keyboard and a mouse floppy (registered trademark) disk, and a speaker 5.
A sound controller 132 having a sound source and a MIDI interface for outputting to a computer, a BIOS (basic input / output system) 133, and a parallel I / O 134 having a watchdog timer to be described later and connected to the coin controller 14, the lighting device 15, and the like. SIMA-ISA conversion connector 1 for outputting ISA bus via SIMM socket
35 are connected.

As described above, the configuration of the amusement apparatus of this embodiment is based on the configuration adopted in PC-AT of IBM Corporation of the United States (PC-AT compatible). However, the only external storage device used in this game device is the CD-ROM drive 12, and does not include a generally used magnetic recording hard disk.

Next, the processing at the time of starting the game apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when the main switch is turned on and power is turned on in step S41, power is supplied from the power supply circuit 103 to each unit in step S42, the clock generator 102 is activated to generate a clock, and the reset circuit 104 A reset signal is input to each part of the device. Next, in step S43, the BIOS 133 is started,
According to the setting of the BIOS set to start the CD-ROM drive 12 with the highest priority, the CD-ROM drive 12
The drive 12 is started up and the booting CD-
Data is read from the ROM and expanded in the main memory 113.

FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually showing data recorded on the booting CD-ROM. Startup CD-R
The OM 50 includes a DO such as MS-DOS as a primary OS.
There are three types of data: S data (system file) 51, Windows data 52 which is a secondary OS, and game device application data 53, each of which is recorded in a compressed area. .

The Windows data 52 recorded on the booting CD-ROM 50 is not data for installation stored on a generally known setup disk or the like, but data in a file format generated by installation. It is. And this Win
By setting the dows data 52 to only files necessary for the application of the amusement device, the starting CD
The amount of data recorded in the ROM 50 is reduced,
The manufacture of the D-ROM is facilitated, the amount of data read from the CD-ROM is reduced, and the time from when the power is turned on to when the application is started is reduced.

In step S44, the starting CD-ROM 50
The first to be read into the main memory 113 from
D which is the primary OS recorded in the boot area of the D-ROM
When the data is read, the MS-DOS automatically starts up, and in step S45, the DOS creates a RAM disk 113B on the main memory 113 which is treated as a virtual disk.

Next, at step S46, 2
Some files of Windows as the next OS are copied from the booting CD-ROM 50 to the RAM disk 113B. Here, what is copied to the RAM disk 113B are files that are always rewritten (updated) during the operation of the application by the secondary OS, specifically, a swap area, a disk cache, a registry file, and the like. In addition, a startup file (wi) required for starting the secondary OS (Windows in this embodiment) is used.
n.comm).

In this case, the file which is not rewritten but frequently accessed during the operation of the application, specifically the device driver, the dynamic link library, the font, etc., is also stored in the RAM.
Copy to disk 113B. This way,
Advantageously, the number of accesses to the CD-ROM during the operation of the application is reduced, so that errors occurring due to mechanical operations at the time of accessing the CD-ROM are reduced, and the reading time is significantly reduced.

When the copying to the RAM disk 113B is completed, the process proceeds to step S47, where the RAM disk 113B is copied.
Execute the startup file copied to B.
RAM disk 113B and start-up CD-ROM 50
Is used to start Windows as a secondary OS. Then, the process proceeds to step S48, and when Windows starts up, the data of the application 53 is read using the starting CD-ROM 50 and started.

In step S49, when the set timer times out, a watchdog timer for resetting the device is started, and thereafter, the operation as a game device is started.

Here, the operation of the watchdog timer will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S61, a timeout value is set by the application. This is done by setting C for each application running on the game device.
This is because the load on the PU or the secondary OS (Windows) is different.

Then, the process proceeds to step S62 to start a timer. Thereafter, the watchdog timer compares the value of this timer with the set timeout value in step S63, and determines whether or not a timeout has occurred. Is repeated.

Normally, as shown in step S64,
Windows, which is the secondary OS, periodically resets the timer before a timeout occurs. Therefore, while the system is operating normally, the timer does not time out, the loop processing in step S63 is repeated, and the system is not reset.

On the other hand, for some reason, the secondary OS Wi
If the operation of "nws" becomes unstable and the timer cannot be reset, a timeout occurs and step S65 is executed.
To automatically reset the system.

The above processing is performed, and during the operation as the amusement device, the application and Windows files are read from the booting CD-ROM 50 as necessary. The swap area, disk cache, registry file, and the like copied on the RAM disk 113B are rewritten during the operation of the application as described above.

When shutting off the power supply of the present amusement apparatus, the Wi
There is no need for a special procedure as in a normal personal computer equipped with Windows, and it is sufficient to simply turn off the main switch. At this time, the RAM disk 113
B, and the swap area, disk cache, registry file, etc., which were rewritten during the operation of the application, are deleted without being saved. Then, when the game device is started, the processing according to the above-described flowchart is performed in a fresh state, so that the device can always be started stably.

In this way, the present amusement apparatus does not include a secondary storage device having a mechanical access mechanism such as a magnetic recording type hard disk capable of reading and writing, and only a stable reading at the time of startup. Possible CD
-This is because a file is configured to read data from the ROM, and a file to be written is stored in a RAM disk generated on a main memory which is an electric volatile storage device.

According to the gaming machine of the present embodiment described above, the following effects are obtained.

Since the development of the application program can be performed on the application programming interface of the general-purpose OS equipped with an environment, the time required for the development of the application program can be significantly reduced and the cost can be greatly reduced.

Further, since hardware other than a specific I / O device, which is different for each application, can be common to all the amusement devices, the entire amusement device can be implemented using the common hardware whose reliability has been confirmed. And the cost of hardware can be reduced by mass production.

Even when a part of the application is modified or changed, the ROM needs to be changed in the past.
In the present amusement apparatus, it is only necessary to change the booting CD-ROM, so that even an administrator of a game center or the like who does not have specialized knowledge of the personal computer can perform the operation without any problem.

Even though a general-purpose OS such as Windows is installed, the start-up and shut-down of the apparatus can be stably performed simply by turning on / off the main switch.

A watchdog timer that can set a timeout value set for each application constantly monitors the state of the system, and when the system becomes unstable, automatically resets the system to eliminate the unstable state. Can improve the reliability of the system and the device.

In the amusement device of this embodiment, a CD-ROM is used as a primary storage medium for storing three types of data, that is, data of a primary OS, data of a secondary OS, and data of an application of the amusement device. However, a primary storage medium other than a CD-ROM, such as a DVD-ROM, is a medium that can store such data and can be read stably.
A RAM or the like may be used.

Similarly, in the amusement apparatus of the present embodiment, a file which is always rewritten during the operation of the application is copied to the RAM disk and rewritten on the RAM disk. Other media and configurations may be used as long as they are capable of a secondary storage device.

In the above embodiment, the primary OS is Microsoft MS-DOS of the United States, and the secondary OS is Windows.
Has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, UNIX is a basic CUI OS like MS-DOS. Then, the system X (GUI user interface) may be operated as the secondary OS described in the above embodiment. Note that the system X is not strictly an OS, but is positioned as a shell serving as a UNIX user interface.

In short, according to the present invention, when an environment in which an application can be finally operated is constructed, an OS that assists the operation of the application includes the OS itself.
Alternatively, since writing to a storage device is performed in response to a request from an application, a high-speed and volatile storage medium such as a RAM drive is used as the storage device, and the system is monitored by a watchdog timer. It is characterized by that.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the amusement apparatus described in the above embodiment, and may be applied to a vending machine or an industrial machine. It can be widely applied to special-purpose machines that execute only the application.

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention,
At the time of startup, data is read from the primary storage medium, and data to be written at least by the secondary OS during operation of the application is volatile secondary storage medium that can be accessed from the primary storage medium by the CPU at high speed. Then, the application running on the secondary OS is started, and the system is monitored by a watchdog timer.

Therefore, although a user interface having excellent operability such as a widely used general-purpose OS is provided, a secondary OS for writing data during the operation of an application is replaced with a secondary storage medium such as a magnetic storage medium. Without being resident, the system can be started up stably from the primary storage medium, and its status can be monitored by a watchdog timer to improve reliability.

Thus, while making the configuration of a computer device used as a special-purpose machine such as a game-only machine or a vending machine versatile, the instability of the system is substantially eliminated, and maintenance is facilitated. And the reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an appearance of a game device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the game machine of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motherboard in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of starting the game device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating data recorded on a bootable CD-ROM.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the watchdog timer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 3 monitor 4 touch panel 5 speaker 10 motherboard 12 CD-ROM drive 13 printer 14 coin control unit 15 lighting fixture 50 boot CD-ROM 51 DOS data 52 Windows data 53 application data 113 main memory 113A normal space 113B RAM disk

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on front page (72) Inventor Katsuhiko Kondo 2-7-1-304 Wakamatsu, Funabashi-shi, Chiba F-term (reference) 5B042 GA09 GB05 JJ21 KK02 5B076 BA05

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A computer device for executing a specific application, comprising: a primary OS that is started first; a user interface that is started by the primary OS and has better operability than the primary OS. A secondary OS in a directly executable format generated by the installation, a primary storage medium storing an application operating on the secondary OS, and reading means for reading the primary storage medium; A volatile secondary storage device that can be accessed at a high speed from a CPU; and a device that has a timer and that outputs a system reset signal when the value of the timer reaches a predetermined value. And the activated primary OS stores at least data to be written by the secondary OS during the operation of the application. Is copied to a predetermined area of the secondary storage means, and the secondary OS is started using the data copied to the predetermined area and the remaining data stored in the primary storage medium, and The secondary OS is configured to start the application, the timer is started after the application is started, and the secondary OS is periodically started before the value of the timer reaches the predetermined value. Computer device, wherein the timer is reset. 2. The computer device according to claim 1, wherein said secondary storage means is a semiconductor memory. 3. The computer device according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined area is an area generated as a RAM disk on the semiconductor memory. 4. The computer device according to claim 1, wherein the primary OS has only basic functions and is smaller in size than the secondary OS. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined value is set when the application is started.
A computer device according to any one of the preceding claims. 6. The computer device according to claim 1, wherein the primary storage medium is a CD-ROM. 7. A computer device for executing a specific application, comprising: a boot means for booting from an OS and a storage medium in which the application is stored in a format that can be directly executed; A preprocessing means for copying, from the storage medium, at least the data to be written while the OS and the application are operating, to a volatile secondary storage device accessible by a CPU and having a file system; In a second stage after the copying operation by the pre-processing means, there is provided a means for operating the OS and the application, and a timer, and a system reset signal is output when the value of the timer reaches a predetermined value. Means for starting the timer after the application is started, and Computer system characterized in that it comprises a timer control means for resetting periodically the timer before the value of over becomes a predetermined value. 8. A method of activating a computer device for executing a specific application, comprising: a primary OS to be activated first; a user interface activated by the primary OS and having better operability than the primary OS. Booting the primary OS from a secondary storage medium in which a secondary OS in a directly executable format generated by the installation and an application operating on the secondary OS are stored; The OS writes at least the data to be written by the secondary OS during the operation of the application.
The data is copied to a predetermined area of a volatile secondary storage device that can be accessed at high speed from a PU, and the data and the 1
Using the remaining data stored in the secondary storage medium,
Activating the next OS, activating the application by the activated secondary OS, and starting a timer for outputting a system reset signal when the value reaches a predetermined value, wherein the secondary OS sets the timer value to the predetermined value. Resetting the timer periodically before the start of the operation. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein a semiconductor memory is used as the secondary storage medium. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein an area that can be used as a RAM disk on the semiconductor memory is generated as the predetermined area. 11. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the primary OS has only basic functions and is smaller in size than the secondary OS. 12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined value is set when the application is activated. 13. A computer device equipped with an OS for executing an application, comprising: a starting unit for starting the OS and the application from a storage medium in which the application is stored; A pre-processing means that is accessible and rewrites at least data to be written into the volatile secondary storage device having a file system during operation of the OS to predetermined data based on the storage medium; Means for operating the OS in a second stage after the rewriting operation by the processing means; means for having a timer, means for outputting a system reset signal when the value of the timer reaches a predetermined value, and activation of the application After the timer is started, the timer is periodically started before the timer value reaches the predetermined value. Computer system characterized in that it comprises a timer control means for resetting the timer. 14. The computer device according to claim 13, wherein the files rewritten during the operation include a swap area, a disk cache, or a registry file. 15. The computer device according to claim 13, wherein the storage medium is stored in a format in which the OS can be directly executed. 16. The computer device according to claim 13, further comprising: means for operating said activating means in response to a system reset signal from said outputting means.