JP2006235868A - Controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ordering system which has reliability as a system, and easily extends a service area. <P>SOLUTION: A controller is provided with a fault tolerant function, for example, the duplex and power failure processing function of the controller using a radio and cable communication means, and when radio communication is used for the duplex of a controller, a radio transmission output is minimized. And, the cable communication means of the controller is disabled, and the controller functions as a radio repeater, to be set in a desired place in a service area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a control apparatus that controls a control system centering on storing and managing order data in an ordering system in a restaurant or the like.

A conventional ordering system includes an input device for inputting customer orders, a data control device that receives and manages order data from the input device, an output device that outputs information received from the data control device, and an input device. And an output device and a wireless repeater for relaying communication with the data control device. In this ordering system, when extending the service area, a wireless repeater is added and the controller is connected with the Ethernet. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-195071

  The ordering system described in Patent Document 1 needs to install a radio repeater in the area in order to achieve frequent high-speed communication between the control device, the input device, and the output device, and for service area expansion. However, the control device and the wireless repeater are heavily loaded on their CPUs for synchronization and the like for mutual communication. Further, since the wireless repeater is connected to the wireless repeater via a wired LAN, not only is the cost required for laying high, but the flexibility regarding the installation location is lacking.

  Further, the control device described in Patent Document 1 does not consider the reliability of the ordering system at all. For example, the control device of the ordering system stores and manages all information related to the system, and frequently performs high-speed communication with other devices in the system. It is not described in Patent Document 1.

  If duplication or mirroring of a commonly used control device is performed on the control device of Patent Document 1, the stored data is protected, but the wireless repeater in Patent Document 1 operates independently. As a result, a system down is inevitable. Although it is possible to mount an uninterruptible power supply for preventing system down in the control device of Patent Document 1, the CPU of the control device of Patent Document 1 communicates with the wireless repeater as described above. Therefore, it is necessary to install a dedicated microcomputer for power supply control, and an extra cost increase is inevitable. As described above, the technique of Patent Document 1 has no reliability even when a control device failure occurs in the ordering system.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an ordering system that is reliable as a system and that can easily expand a service area.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention inputs an order received from a customer, generates an order data, a data control device that receives and stores the order data, and information received from the input device or the data control device An ordering system including an output device that performs print output or display output based on the data control device, wherein the data control device includes a plurality of control devices having the same configuration, and each of the control devices is an input device, an output device, and a control device. Wireless communication means for data communication between, wired communication means for data communication between control devices, storage means for storing information received from the input device and the output device, received from the input device and the output device Implements fault-tolerant functions between control devices using processing means for processing information, wireless communication means, and wired communication means Providing ordering system and a that failure dealing means. Also provided is a data control device used in this ordering system.

  As a result, the data control device that manages the ordering system in an integrated manner is composed of a plurality of control devices and has a fault-tolerant function, so that the reliability of the system at the time of failure is improved.

  The data control device of the present invention normally communicates with the input device and the output device and stores the received information in the first control device and the information stored in the storage means of the first control device. A fault control unit that transmits information from the first control unit to the second control unit using a wired communication unit. In addition, when a failure occurs in the wired communication means, information is transmitted from the first control device to the second control device using the wireless communication means. When using wireless communication means, the failure handling means sets the wireless transmission output of the wireless communication means to the minimum and transmits information from the first control device to the second control device.

  As a result, the ordering system can perform data duplication with excellent fault tolerance because a plurality of control devices of the data control device store the same information and have a plurality of communication means between the control devices. I can do it.

  Further, the failure handling means of the present invention has a function of switching and operating the second control device to the first control device when a failure occurs in the first control device.

  Thereby, the ordering system can avoid a system down due to a failure occurring in the control device of the data control device.

  Further, the failure handling means of the present invention further has a battery for power backup at the time of power failure and a power control function for power backup using the battery.

  As a result, the ordering system does not lose the information in the storage means of the control device in the event of a power failure.

  The ordering system of the present invention further includes a third control device having the same configuration as the control device, separately from the control device constituting the data control device, and the third control device is separated from the data control device. It is installed and communicates with the data control device by wireless communication means.

  As a result, the third control device can function as a repeater in the ordering system, and since there is no need for wired LAN wiring to install the third control device, it is very easy to expand the service area of the ordering system. It can be carried out.

  According to the present invention, the control device in the ordering system has a function for power backup in the event of a power failure, and a wireless communication function with the input device and the output device, so that the installation location can be shrunk and an inexpensive system can be constructed. It becomes.

  In addition, because the controller is duplicated and has a fault-tolerant function with wired Ethernet and wireless, even if Ethernet cannot be duplexed due to troubles in communication lines including HUB, it uses wireless. The system can continue to operate stably and contribute to improving reliability.

  In addition, by controlling each component of the control device with a single CPU, it is possible to eliminate communication loss with the wireless repeater and contribute to performance improvement.

  In addition, by minimizing the radio transmission output when duplexing by radio, it is possible to avoid radio mutual interference even if the control devices are installed close to each other, thus matching the store image without being restricted by the installation location. Flexible layout is possible.

  In addition, by preparing a control device separately from the redundant control device and starting it up without a wired Ethernet connection, it can function as a wireless repeater that operates as a wireless extension function. As a result, the input device can be used and the output device can be installed in various places, and the service area can be expanded.

  A specific embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a typical conventional ordering system.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the conventional control device 4 includes a CPU (401), a RAM (403), a control circuit (404), an RTC (real time clock) & backup (405), a wired LAN (407), and a serial communication circuit (408). ), LCD LED buzzer key (409), HDD (402), FDD (406), power supply circuit (411), and power supply control microcomputer (410). An uninterruptible power supply 6 is externally connected to the control device 4.

  The input device 2 and the output device 3 perform high-speed wireless communication with the wireless repeater 5, and the wireless repeater 5 is connected to the control device 4 through a wired LAN.

  In this system configuration, the order data from the input device 2 is once relayed by the wireless repeater 5 and transferred to the control device 4 via the wired LAN. The control device 4 stores the received order data, and creates slip data for cooking instruction, provision instruction, accounting, etc. based on the order data. These slip data are wirelessly transferred to the output device 3 via the wireless repeater 5. When a power failure occurs, the uninterruptible power supply 6 keeps the power, and also notifies the controller 4 of power-off by serial communication, and the CPU of the controller 4 performs OS shutdown processing. Then, when the shutdown process is completed, the power supply of the power supply circuit is cut off via the power supply control microcomputer.

  As described above, in the conventional ordering system, in order to manage the data in the system in an integrated manner, realize high-speed communication with various devices, and perform power control, in addition to the CPU (401), a power control microcomputer ( 410) is mounted.

  Further, the communication between the control device 4 and the input device 2 and the output device 3 needs to pass through the wireless repeater 5, and since the control device 4 and the wireless repeater 5 are connected by a wired LAN, It turns out that there is difficulty in laying.

  Next, the data control apparatus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a typical ordering system of the present invention.

  The data control device includes a master control device 1M corresponding to the first control device of the present invention and a slave control device 1S corresponding to the second control device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the master control device 1M of the present invention includes a CPU (101), ROM (102), RAM (103) (corresponding to storage means), a control circuit (104), an RTC & backup (105), Wireless LAN (106) (corresponding to wireless communication means), wired LAN (107) (corresponding to wired communication means), serial communication circuit (108), LCD / LED / buzzer / key (109), AC / UPS / The battery voltage & secondary switch detection circuit (110), the power supply control circuit (111), and the UPS battery (112) are included. The slave control device 1S has the same configuration and the same function as the master control device 1M, performs mutual communication with the wired LAN (107) and the wireless LAN (106), and duplicates the order data in the RAM (103). We are trying to make it.

  The failure handling means of the present invention is a function realized by executing an operation program stored in the ROM (102). Specifically, communication is performed between the master control device 1M and the slave control device 1S using the wired LAN (107) and the wireless LAN (106), and the order data stored in the RAM (103) is duplicated. A function for switching to a master control device 1M when a failure occurs in the master control device 1M, a function for switching the slave control device 1S to the master control device 1M, a power control circuit (111), etc. in the event of a power failure, For example, a function of cutting off the power supply to the CPU (101) while trying to maintain it.

  The input device 2 and the output device 3 have a wireless LAN communication function and directly communicate with the master control device 1M. Thus, there is no need to provide a wireless repeater as in the conventional system, and the load on communication synchronization and the like is reduced as a system.

  Next, the function of the failure handling means of the duplicated master control device 1M and slave control device 1S will be described in detail.

  Normally, order data from the input device 2 is input by the wireless LAN (106) of the master control device 1M. The order data to the slave control device 1S is transferred from the master control device 1M via the Ethernet system when the wired LAN (107) from the master control device 1M to the slave control device 1S is operating normally. When the wired LAN (107) is not operating normally due to a failure or the like, the wireless LAN (106) automatically transfers the wireless transmission output to the minimum from the master control device 1M. Even if the wireless LAN (106) between the master control device 1M and the slave control device 1S fails, if the wired LAN (107) is normal, the ordering system should normally duplicate data. I can do it. Since the wireless transmission output is minimized when data is transmitted on the wireless LAN (106), duplex data is not received by other devices in the system, and the influence of wireless mutual interference can be avoided.

  Regarding the operation of the ordering system, even if the wired LAN (107) and the wireless LAN (106) between the master control device 1M and the slave control device 1S are out of order, the ordering system can be operated in the master single operation state. . Further, when the CPU (101) of the master control device 1M fails, the slave control device 1S is switched to the master, and the system can be continuously operated stably.

  When a power failure occurs, the AC voltage detection circuit (110) detects a power interruption, and the power control circuit (111) automatically switches the power resource to the UPS battery (112). At the same time, the CPU (101) is notified that the power supply is cut off, the OS shutdown process is performed through the control circuit (104), and the CPU (101) notifies the power supply control circuit (111) of completion when the process is completed. As a result, the power supply to the CPU (101) is cut off. These processes are centrally managed by the CPU (101). This prevents data from disappearing and improves reliability.

  If it is desired to expand the service area as shown in FIG. 3, the control device of the present invention is prepared separately from the control devices 1M and 1S, and the control device is activated without being connected to the Ethernet. It is possible to operate as a wireless repeater 7 that expands. The wireless repeater 7 performs wireless communication with the input device 2b and the output device 3b in the expanded area, and wirelessly transfers the order data to the control device 1. Data management is concentrated and the control device 1M (or 1S) is managed.

  When cost is prioritized over reliability, the control device 1M can be operated independently, and the wireless repeater 7 can be added according to the service area.

  As described above, the present invention uses wireless and wired, can duplicate the control device, and can control the power supply inside the control device to prepare for a power failure. Therefore, the reliability of the failure of the ordering system is extremely high. Improved.

  In addition, by using the wireless communication function of the control device of the present invention, the control device can function as a repeater, and the service area can be expanded without giving an extra load related to communication to the control device. This can be done easily without the need to lay a LAN cable.

It is a block diagram of the typical ordering system of this invention. It is a block diagram of the conventional typical data control apparatus. It is the block diagram which expanded the typical ordering system of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control apparatus 2 Input apparatus 3 Output apparatus 4 Conventional control apparatus 5 Wireless repeater 6 Uninterruptible power supply apparatus 7 Wireless repeater

Claims (14)

An input device for inputting an order received from a customer and generating order data; a data control device for receiving and managing the order data; and a printout based on information received from the input device or the data control device or An ordering system including an output device for performing display output,
The data control device is composed of a plurality of control devices having the same configuration,
Each of the control devices is
Wireless communication means for data communication between the input device, the output device, and the control device;
Wired communication means for data communication between the control devices;
Storage means for storing information received from the input device and the output device;
An ordering system comprising failure handling means for realizing a fault tolerant function between the control devices using the wireless communication means and the wired communication means. The data control device normally communicates with the input device and the output device, and stores the received information in the first control device, and the information stored in the storage means of the first control device as the fault A second control device that acquires and stores the response means,
The failure handling means uses the wired communication means to transmit information in the storage means of the first control device to the second control device and store it in the storage means in the second control device. The ordering system according to claim 1.   When a failure occurs in the wired communication unit, the failure handling unit transmits information stored in the storage unit of the first control unit to the second control unit by using the wireless communication unit. The ordering system according to claim 2, wherein the ordering system is stored in storage means in the control device of 2.   4. The ordering system according to claim 3, wherein the failure handling unit sets the wireless transmission output of the wireless communication unit to a minimum and transmits information from the first control device to the second control device. 5.   2. The control device switching function according to claim 1, wherein the failure handling unit has a control device switching function for switching and operating the second control device to the first control device when a failure occurs in the first control device. Ordering system.   6. The ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the failure handling means further includes a battery for power backup at the time of a power failure and a power control function for power backup using the battery. The ordering system further includes a third control device having the same configuration as the control device, separately from the control device configuring the data control device,
The ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the third control device is installed apart from the data control device and communicates with the data control device by the wireless communication unit. A data control device comprising a plurality of control devices having the same configuration, communicating with an external device by wireless communication, storing and managing information received from the external device,
Each of the control devices is
Wireless communication means for data communication between the external device and the control device;
Wired communication means for data communication between the control devices;
Storage means for storing information received from the external device;
A data control device comprising a failure handling means for realizing a fault tolerant function between the control devices using the wireless communication means and the wired communication means. The control device usually communicates with the external device and acquires the information stored in the storage unit of the first control device and the first control device that stores the received information by the failure handling unit. A second control device for storing
The failure handling means uses the wired communication means to transmit information in the storage means of the first control device to the second control device and store it in the storage means in the second control device. The data control device according to claim 8.   When a failure occurs in the wired communication unit, the failure handling unit transmits information stored in the storage unit of the first control unit to the second control unit by using the wireless communication unit. The data control device according to claim 9, wherein the data control device is stored in storage means in the control device of 2.   11. The data control device according to claim 10, wherein the failure handling unit transmits information from the first control unit to the second control unit by setting a radio transmission output of the radio communication unit to a minimum.   9. The control device switching function according to claim 8, wherein the failure handling unit has a control device switching function for switching and operating the second control device to the first control device when a failure occurs in the first control device. Data control unit.   13. The data control device according to claim 8, wherein the failure handling means further includes a battery for power backup at the time of power failure and a power control function for power backup using the battery. The external device is an input device for inputting an order and an output device used in an ordering system used in a restaurant or the like,
The data control device according to claim 8, wherein the data control device is a device that manages the ordering system in an integrated manner.

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