JP3058760B2 - Fan error detection method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, a magnetic tape library device which has a magnetic tape device as a basic component, and in which mounting, removing, recording / reproducing and storing of a magnetic tape cartridge (cartridge containing a magnetic tape) are automated. The present invention relates to a fan abnormality detection method for detecting an abnormality of a cooling fan.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 10 and 11 show a conventional example. 10 and 11, 1-1 and 1-2 are host computers,
2 is a magnetic tape library device, 3-1 and 3-2 are upper controllers, 4 is an accessor (moving mechanism of a magnetic tape cartridge), 5 is a cartridge loading / unloading mechanism, 6 is a fan, 7 is a cartridge storage cell, and 8 is magnetic. Tape devices (MTU0 to MTU3), 9 is an accessor control unit, 1
0 indicates an MPU (microprocessor), and 11 indicates an accessor mechanism.

Heretofore, there has been known a magnetic tape library apparatus which has a magnetic tape apparatus as a basic configuration and which automatically mounts, removes, records, reproduces, and stores a cartridge tape. One example is shown in FIG.

In this example, a magnetic tape library device 2
The upper controllers 3-1 and 3-2, the accessor 4,
A cartridge loading / unloading mechanism 5, a cartridge storage cell 7, a plurality of magnetic tape devices 8 and the like are provided, and a fan 6 is provided for cooling the inside.

The magnetic tape device 8 is for loading / unloading a magnetic tape cartridge (hereinafter simply referred to as “cartridge”) and for recording / reproducing data, and the upper controllers 3-1 and 3-2 are lower devices. It performs various controls of a certain magnetic tape device 8, the accessor 4, and the like.

The cartridge loading / unloading mechanism 5 transports the cartridge loaded by the operator to a predetermined position,
Hand over to accessor 4 or accessor 4
Is transported to a predetermined position and discharged to the outside.

The accessor 4 automatically transfers a cartridge to the cartridge loading / unloading mechanism 5, the cartridge storage cell 7, and the magnetic tape device 8. The accessor 4 drives the cooling fan 6 provided in the magnetic tape library device and also monitors the fan.

The accessor 4 is composed of an accessor mechanism 11 and an accessor controller 9 as shown in FIG.
, And also monitors the fan 6.

FIG. 11A shows an example of the accessor controller 9.
In this example, an MPU (microprocessor) 10 is provided therein, and the MPU 10 controls the accessor mechanism 11 and monitors the fan 6.

The MPU 10 captures an output pulse (fan output pulse) of the fan 6 and monitors an abnormality of the fan 6 (for example, a state in which the fan has stopped due to a failure). If an abnormality is detected, an alarm signal is generated. Output to the outside.

In the example shown in FIG. 11B, an MPU 10 for controlling the accessor mechanism 11 is provided in the accessor controller 9 and a fan abnormality detecting circuit 12 for monitoring the fan 6 is provided.

In this case, the fan abnormality detection circuit (hardware) 12 takes in a fan output pulse output from the fan 6, detects an abnormality of the fan, and when an abnormality is detected, generates an alarm and outputs the alarm to the outside. I do.

[0013]

The above-mentioned conventional apparatus has the following problems. (1) As shown in FIG. 11A, in an apparatus in which an MPU that controls an accessor mechanism detects an abnormality in a fan, the MPU mainly controls the accessor mechanism and controls an appropriate fan. 6 Cannot detect abnormalities.

Therefore, even if the fan becomes abnormal, it is difficult to detect this condition at an appropriate time and generate an alarm. (2) As shown in FIG. 11B, a fan abnormality detection circuit having a hardware configuration is provided separately from the MPU that controls the accessor mechanism, and in this device, an abnormality of the fan is detected by this circuit. The physical quantity increases by the amount of the fan abnormality detection circuit, and the size of the device increases. In addition, it also causes an increase in product cost.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and enables the output pulse of the fan to be accurately monitored in a minimum necessary time to reduce the load on the processor.
An object of the present invention is to reduce the size and cost of the device.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the principle of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same components as those in FIGS. 10 and 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Reference numeral 17 denotes a servo control unit.

The present invention has the following configuration in order to solve the above problems. (1) At least in a peripheral device of an electronic computer including a mechanical unit (mechanical unit) 11, a processor 10 for controlling the mechanical unit, and a fan 6 for cooling, the processor 10
However, in the fan abnormality detecting method of monitoring the fan output pulse and detecting an abnormality of the fan 6, the abnormality of the fan is detected at a minimum based on the maximum rotation speed of the fan motor for rotating the fan and the fan output pulse. Is obtained, and for each of the timing times ti,
The abnormality of the fan 6 is detected by monitoring a change in the fan output pulse.

(2) In the configuration (1), when an abnormality of the fan is detected, if the fan output pulse changes within a predetermined time te, it is determined that the fan output is normal, and if the fan output pulse does not change for a predetermined time or more, Assume that the fan output pulse is abnormal.

(3) In the configuration (1), when an abnormality of the fan 6 is detected, a change in a fan output pulse is monitored at each timing time ti, and a pulse duration time te when the fan output pulse becomes abnormal is detected. On the other hand, when the fan output pulse has not changed within half the time te / 2 of the pulse duration te, the counter value is added, and when the fan output pulse has changed, the counter value is subtracted. When the counter value reaches a predetermined value n, an alarm is generated.

(4) The above-mentioned peripheral device includes therein a storage for accommodating a plurality of recording media, a plurality of recording / reproducing devices, a recording medium loading / unloading mechanism, and an accessor mechanism for moving the recording medium. A library device including an accessor control unit that controls the accessor mechanism unit is provided, and the processor 10 is a processor that controls the accessor mechanism unit 11.

[0021]

The operation of the present invention based on the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1A, an MPU (microprocessor) 10 controls an accessor mechanism unit 11 via a servo control unit 17 and fetches a fan output pulse output from a fan 6. Monitoring for fan failure.

The monitoring of the fan output pulse by the MPU 10 is performed at every predetermined timing time ti as shown in FIG. 1B, and the change (level change) of the fan output pulse is checked.

In this case, it is checked whether or not the fan output pulse has changed within a half time te / 2 of the pulse duration te when the fan output pulse becomes abnormal.
Then, if there is no change in the fan output pulse, the counter value of the internal counter 1 is added (+1), and if there is a change, the counter value is subtracted (if the counter value is 0, it is unchanged, otherwise it is -1).

Such addition and subtraction of the counter value are repeatedly performed, and when the counter value reaches a predetermined value n (n is an arbitrary number), an alarm is generated and output to the outside.
By doing so, the MPU 10 only needs to check the fan output pulse at every ti time, so that the abnormality of the fan can be accurately detected in a minimum time.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 2 to 9 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 2 to 9, the same components as those in FIGS. 1, 10 and 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals. 13 is a control unit, 14 is a motor, 16 is a cartridge (magnetic tape cartridge), 18 is an operator panel, 19 is an interface unit, 20 is a clock circuit, 21 is a reset circuit, 22 is a motor drive circuit, and 23 is a detection circuit. , 24 are motors and 25 is a sensor.

This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a magnetic tape library device (see the above-mentioned conventional example), and FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the magnetic tape library device. As shown in FIG. 2, the magnetic tape library device includes a plurality of magnetic tape units (MTU) 8, a cartridge storage cell 7 capable of storing a plurality of cartridges 16, and a motor 14 for driving the cartridge storage cell. , A cartridge loading / discharging mechanism 5, an accessor mechanism unit 11, an accessor control unit 9, a control unit 13 for performing overall control, and the like.

Further, a cooling fan is provided in the magnetic tape library apparatus (for example, it is provided in a peripheral part of the control unit 9), and is controlled and monitored by the accessor control unit 9. ing.

The block diagram of the magnetic tape library device shown in FIG. 10 is the same for the device shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the accessor 4 including the accessor mechanism 11 and the accessor controller 9
(Microprocessor) 10, operator panel 18,
Interface control unit (I / F) 19, clock circuit 20, reset circuit 21, servo control circuit 17, motor drive circuit 22, detection circuit 23, motor 24, sensor 25
(Mechanical parts are not shown).

The motor 24 serves as a drive source of the accessor mechanism 11 and is driven by a motor drive circuit 22. The sensor 25 is a sensor for detecting the movement of the accessor mechanism.
The movement of the accessor mechanism is detected from the output signal.

The servo control circuit 17 performs servo control of the motor 24 and drives and controls the fan 6. The MPU 10 controls the accessor mechanism unit 11 by giving a command to the servo control circuit 17 and inputs an output pulse (fan output pulse) of the fan 6 to monitor the fan. .

Hereinafter, the alarm detection processing in the MPU 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, when an alarm is generated from the output pulse of the fan 6 (fan output pulse), the monitoring timing in the MPU 10 is calculated from the constant periodicity of the output pulse of the fan 6 and the use conditions, and the output signal of the MPU 10 is calculated. Minimize surveillance.

By controlling the accessor mechanism 11 while monitoring the fan, the circuit is simplified. That is, the MPU used for controlling the accessor mechanism 11 controls the timing for detecting the abnormal rotation of the fan, and performs processing for recognizing the abnormal rotation as an alarm.

First, the MPU 10 calculates the maximum number of rotations of the fan motor for rotating the fan 6 and considers the pulse width duty of the output pulse and the like, and determines the timing ti for detecting the rotation abnormality of the fan 6 at a minimum. Ask.

Further, the fan is not stopped due to an instantaneous factor such as a case where the fan is temporarily stopped or a case where the fan is recovered after detecting an abnormal rotation, but the fan is stopped and the apparatus is stopped. From the time until the abnormality occurs, the time at which the alarm is generated after the fan stops is recognized.

Therefore, at each time ti, the output pulse of the fan is checked, the count value for generating an alarm is adjusted according to the duration of the pulse, and the alarm is generated based on the result.

The output pulse of the fan 6 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
This is a pulse as shown in FIG. This pulse has a period T, T = t ₁ (high level V _HI ) + t ₂ (low level V _LO ),
T = t ₃ (time during which V _HI ) + t ₄ (time during which low-level V _LO ).

In this example, one rotation of the fan 6 is
a _{t 1 + t 2 + t 3} + t 4 = 2T. If the pulse width duty in this case is Dt, Dt = t ₁ / T = t ₂
/ T = T ₃ / T = t ₄ / T.

In such a pulse, the fan output pulse is set to te, for example, as shown in FIG. 4B, in consideration of fan decay, voltage displacement, pulse width duty, and the like.
If there is no change over time, it is determined that the output pulse is abnormal.

That is, t ₁ , t ₂ ,
When t ₃ and t ₄ are smaller than te, the fan output pulse is normal, and when t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ , and t ₄ are larger than te, it is recognized that the fan output pulse is abnormal.

When the fan motor rotates at the maximum speed, the output pulse is the shortest pulse as shown in FIG. In this case, depending on the timing time at which the MPU 10 reads the fan output pulse, it may appear that the fan output pulse is not operating. However, in consideration of the pulse width duty, the fan output signal during the maximum rotation of the fan motor is used. The timing time ti is shown in FIG.
Must be within tmi shown in (1).

That is, the level V _{LD of} the fan output pulse,
V _HI lasts for at least tmi or more. In order to minimize the influence of the control of the accessor mechanism, the timing time ti must be large.

Therefore, the MPU 10 can recognize a reliable change in the fan output pulse by looking at the output pulse at each timing of the time ti that satisfies the time tmi.
The purpose of using the fan 6 is to cool the inside of the apparatus and reduce the temperature inside the apparatus. Therefore, when the temperature inside the apparatus rises due to an abnormality of the fan and hinders the apparatus, an alarm must be reported and the operation of the accessor mechanism and the like must be stopped.

Therefore, a counter 1 and a counter 2 are provided in the MPU 10, and processing is performed using these counters.
In this case, the counter 1 performs addition and subtraction based on the check result of the fan output pulse, and generates an alarm based on the counter value of the counter 1.

The counter 2 is for measuring a check time (te / 2 described later) of the fan output pulse. As shown in FIG. 5, in the MPU 10,
Check the change of the fan output pulse every ti time,
If the output pulse does not change within the te time, the output pulse is added using the counter 1.

Then, in the case of an irregular pulse, the value of the counter 1 changes. When the value of the counter 1 is n,
Assuming that an alarm is generated, if the fan 6 is completely stopped, an alarm will be generated n × te after the stop.

However, even if the fan 6 is completely stopped, it takes considerable time before an alarm is generated, and if the output pulse of the fan is restored within that time, it is considered unnecessary to generate an alarm. Can be

Therefore, in the method of FIG. 5, when a pulse abnormality (no change in te time) is detected, the value of the counter 1 is accumulated irrespective of the subsequent pulse change, and even if the output pulse is restored, By repeating this, an alarm is generated.

Therefore, when a normal output pulse is restored, the value of the counter 1 needs to be initialized. As shown in FIG. 6, the pulse change check time of te is set to te / 2.
When the output pulse does not change within the time te / 2, the counter 1 is added, and when there is a change, the counter 1 is subtracted.

In this way, the value taking into account the recovery time enters the counter 1. The above process will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

In the worst case, there is a period of time until the fan 6 stops and the temperature inside the device rises, causing trouble to the device. The time from when the fan 6 stops until the alarm is generated is Ts.
(Set within the time until the temperature inside the device rises and causes trouble to the device).

The counter 2 is set to check the output pulse every time t ₁ . This counter 2 indicates a pulse change check time (for counting every te / 2).

When such a counter is used, the duration of the same pulse is ti × (the value of the counter 2). If the duration is longer than te, the output pulse becomes abnormal. In this case, (the value of the counter 2) ≧ te / ti.

Further, by incrementing the counter 1 by 1 every time the counter 2 exceeds te / ti, the value of the counter 1 becomes Ts
In the case of / te or more, an alarm may be set. in this case,
As shown in FIG. 7A, if the period of the abnormal output pulse is T ′, T ′> 2 × te.

However, uneven rotation of the fan 6 due to cogging and instantaneous causes (temporary stoppage of the fan, etc.).
Therefore, it is necessary to reset the value of the counter 1 according to the duration of the normal output pulse instead of accumulating the value of the counter 1.

Therefore, when the same output pulse continues for te / 2 or more, the counter 1 is incremented by 1, and when it is less than te / 2, the counter 1 is decremented by 1 (however, counter 1 ≠ 0). For example, in the example of FIG. Now, assuming that the period of the continuous abnormal output pulse is T ″, T ″> 4
× te / 2.

Assuming that T ″ −4 × te / 2 = Δt, in order to increase the value of the counter 1 by +1 (T ″ × te /
2) / Δt time is required, and to generate an alarm,
(Ts / te) × (T ″ × te / 2) / Δt = T ″ × T
s / 2 (T ″ −2 × te) time is required.

Next, the processing in the MPU 10 of this embodiment is
A description will be given based on the processing flowcharts of FIGS.
8 and 9 are shown in parentheses. Also,
As described above, the value of the counter 1 is intended to generate an alarm, the value of the counter 2 shows pulse variation check time (t every _2/2). Furthermore, the fan check flag is a flag indicating that the output pulse has changed when it is on.

When performing this processing, the MPU 10
The timer is provided, and the timer ₁Every hour,
Perform an interrupt. When processing a timer interrupt, the counter
+1 is added to the value of 2 (S1). And change to output pulse
If there is (S2), the fan check flag is turned on (S2
3), determine whether the value of counter 2 is (te / 2) / ti
(S4).

If the counter 2 is not equal to (te / 2) / ti, the process is terminated.
2) If / ti, the counter 2 is reset (S5),
Check whether counter 1 = 0.

If the counter 1 = 1, the fan check flag is turned off (S8), and the processing is terminated.
If the counter 1 is not 0, the value of the counter 1 is decremented by 1 (S7), and the fan check flag is turned off (S7).
8).

If there is no change in the output pulse in the process of S2, the counter 2 = (te / 2) / t
Look at i. If the counter 2 is not equal to (te / 2) / ti, the process is terminated, but the counter 2 is equal to (te / 2).
If / ti, it is checked whether the fan check flag is on (S10).

As a result, if the fan check flag is on, the process proceeds to the above-described step S5. If the fan check flag is not on, the value of the counter 1 is incremented by one (S1).
1), check whether or not counter 1 = Ts / te (S1)
2).

If the counter 1 is not Ts / te, the counter 2 is reset (S13), and the process is terminated. If the counter 1 is Ts / te, the fan 6 is determined to be in an abnormal state and an alarm is issued. Move to processing (S1
4).

As described above, the abnormality of the fan is detected by changing the counter value while observing the change of the output pulse during te / 2 at the pulse monitoring timing every ti time. (Other Embodiments) Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention can be implemented as follows.

(1) Not limited to the magnetic tape library device,
It is applicable to other similar peripheral devices. (2) The processor is not limited to an MPU (microprocessor), but can be applied to other processors.

(3) The processor can be applied not only to the case where the accessor mechanism is controlled, but also to a processor which controls another mechanism.

[0067]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. (1) The output pulse from the fan is
It can be monitored accurately. Therefore, the processing amount of a processor (MPU or the like) for monitoring a fan abnormality can be minimized.

(2) Even if the processor that controls the mechanical unit monitors the abnormality of the fan, the influence on the control of the mechanical unit can be minimized. (3) Since there is no need to provide a dedicated circuit (hardware) for detecting an abnormality of the fan unlike the related art, the physical quantity of the apparatus is reduced. As a result, the size of the device can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a magnetic tape library device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an accessor in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram (1) of a process according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating a process according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram (part 3) of the processing in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram (part 4) of a process according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a processing flowchart (part 1) of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a processing flowchart (part 2) of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a conventional magnetic tape library device.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a conventional accessor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Host computer 2 Magnetic tape library device 4 Accessor 6 Fan 10 MPU (microprocessor) 11 Accessor mechanism part 17 Servo control part

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] At least a mechanical part (mechanical part) (11)
And a processor (10) for controlling the mechanical unit, and a peripheral device of a computer including a cooling fan (6). The processor (10) monitors a fan output pulse, and 6) In the fan abnormality detection method for detecting an abnormality, a timing time ti for minimum detection of a fan abnormality is obtained based on a maximum rotation speed of a fan motor for rotating the fan and a fan output pulse. A fan abnormality detection method characterized by monitoring a change in a fan output pulse at each timing time ti to detect an abnormality of the fan (6). 2. When detecting an abnormality of the fan, if the fan output pulse changes within a predetermined time te, it is determined that the fan output pulse is normal. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fan is abnormal. 3. When detecting an abnormality in the fan (6), monitor a change in a fan output pulse at each timing time ti, and adjust a fan output for a pulse duration time te when the fan output pulse becomes abnormal. When the pulse does not change within half the time te / 2 of the pulse duration te, the counter value is added, and when there is a change, the counter value is subtracted, and the counter value becomes 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein an alarm is generated when the predetermined value n is reached. 4. A storage (7) for storing a plurality of recording media (16) therein, a plurality of recording / reproducing devices (8), a recording medium loading / unloading mechanism (5), Accessor mechanism (1) for moving the recording medium (16)
1) and a library device including an accessor control unit (9) for controlling the accessor mechanism unit (11), wherein the processor (10) includes an accessor mechanism unit (11).
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to control the fan.