JP3613135B2 - Network system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a network system configured by connecting a plurality of terminals to a network bus, and more particularly to a network system capable of handling a failure in any of the terminals connected to the network bus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, network systems have been developed to connect home appliances and information devices in the home to a network bus and perform overall control, and a network bus conforming to the IEEE 1394 standard (hereinafter simply referred to as “1394 bus”) that further increases the transfer speed. As transmission lines such as these have been put into practical use, not only control of home devices but also audio and video can be received / transmitted.
[0003]
There are various types of transmission standards such as LAN (Local Area Network) centered on computers, home buses (EIAJ ET-2102), 1394 buses, etc., and generally as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-178438. A plurality of types of network buses may be used together in a home.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Although reliability is important for the above network system even if it is used in the home, it is difficult to ensure the reliability of the entire network because different types of buses are mixed and many devices are connected. Absent. Therefore, in addition to increasing the reliability of individual devices, a method is known in which distributed processing as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-88865 is performed so that a failure at one location does not lead to an overall malfunction. However, a network system in which sufficient consideration is given in terms of recovery from a failure has not yet been proposed.
[0005]
The present invention has been made paying attention to this point, and even when a failure occurs in any of a plurality of terminals connected to the network bus, recovery measures by other normal terminals can be performed with a relatively simple configuration. The object is to provide a network system that can be used.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, in a network system configured by connecting a plurality of terminals to a network bus, an auxiliary line for connecting the plurality of terminals to each other separately from the network bus is provided. Each of the plurality of terminals includes a control unit that performs overall control of the terminal, a response monitoring unit that monitors response operations of other terminals connected to the network bus, and the response monitoring unit When it is detected that there is another terminal that does not respond properly, a reset signal transmission unit that transmits a reset signal to the terminal via the auxiliary line and a reset signal received via the auxiliary line when it is provided with a reset processing unit resetting the control unit, the network bus, a plurality kinds of buses of different specifications, the plurality One of the terminals is a router connected to all of the plurality of types of buses, and the router does not perform the normal response operation even when the router transmits a reset signal by the reset signal transmission unit. However, when the router still does not perform a normal response operation, the router transmits another terminal connected to the bus via a bus of a different type from the bus to which the other terminal that does not perform the normal response operation is connected. It characterized that you command to transmit a reset signal to other terminals that do not the normal response operation.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a home network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this system, a home router 1 connected to the Internet, a digital broadcast receiver 2 to which a satellite broadcast antenna 8, a terrestrial antenna 9 and a TV monitor 3 are connected, a telephone set 4 and an audio device 5 are connected to a 1394 bus 10. And a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “personal computer”) 6, a printer 7, and a home router 1 are connected to each other via a LAN bus (for example, an Ethernet bus) 11. That is, this system is configured by connecting a home router 1, a digital broadcast receiver 2, a personal computer 6 and the like with two types of network buses, a 1394 bus 10 and a LAN bus 11, and the home router 1, the digital broadcast receiver. 2 and the personal computer 6 correspond to terminals connected to the bus.
[0009]
The home router 1 and the terminals 2 and 4 to 7 include many failure factors such as start-up failure due to a power failure, runaway due to noise mixing, and the like. It is difficult to take effective recovery measures, and there is no choice but to recover by manual reset. Therefore, even if the entire network is not damaged, the operation rate of the network is lowered. Therefore, in the present embodiment, mutual monitoring of communication via the bus is performed on the home router 1 and the terminal (in the present embodiment, the digital broadcast receiver 2, the telephone 4, the audio device 5, the personal computer 6, and the printer 7) on the network. The network buses 10 and 11 are provided for the home router 1 and the terminal (in this embodiment, the digital broadcast receiver 2, the telephone 4, the audio device 5, the personal computer 6, and the printer 7). An auxiliary line by another wireless communication is provided.
[0010]
FIG. 2 shows the main part of the home router 1 and the digital broadcast receiver 2 connected to the 1394 bus and the personal computer 6 connected to the LAN bus 11 as representative examples of terminals connected to the two types of buses. It is a block diagram which shows a structure.
The in-home router 1 is connected to the interface unit 24 connected to the Internet, the 1394 bus 10 and connected to the 1394 controller 25 that controls data transmission via the 1394 bus 10 and the LAN bus 11, and is connected to the LAN bus. 11, the LAN controller 26 that controls the transmission of data via the wireless LAN 11, and the antenna 21, the wireless communication unit 22, and the wireless communication unit 22 for performing data communication with other terminals via a wireless auxiliary line. And a battery 23 to be supplied.
[0011]
The digital broadcast receiver 2 is connected to an antenna 31 for performing data communication via an auxiliary line, a wireless communication unit 32, a battery 33 that supplies power to the wireless communication unit 32, and the 1394 bus 10, and the 1394 bus 10 is connected to the digital broadcast receiver 2. And a 1394 controller 34 for controlling the transmission of data via the network. Similarly, the personal computer 6 is also connected to the LAN bus 11 and the antenna 41 for performing data communication via the auxiliary line, the wireless communication unit 42, the battery 43 that supplies power to the wireless communication unit 42, and the LAN bus 11. And a LAN controller 44 for controlling data transmission via the bus 11.
[0012]
The communication by the wireless communication unit of each terminal (here, router 1, digital broadcast receiver 2, personal computer 6) is a configuration that can exchange extremely simple data such as designation of a communication partner terminal and on / off. Are simple, inexpensive and have low power consumption. The reason why the power of the wireless communication unit is supplied from the battery is to avoid the influence of fluctuations in the power in the terminal.
[0013]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the home router 1 in more detail. The router 1 includes a microprocessor 28 that performs overall control of the router 1, and a reset processing unit 27 that resets the microprocessor 28. A power supply unit 29 that converts AC 100V into a DC voltage and supplies it to the microprocessor 28, the 1394 controller 26, and the like. The wireless communication unit 22 includes a wireless transceiver 51 that performs modulation / demodulation of a carrier wave, transmission / reception of a carrier wave, and the like. The wireless interface unit 52 relays the transmission signal input from the microprocessor 28 to the wireless transceiver 51 and supplies the reception signal input from the wireless transceiver 51 to the reset processing unit 27.
[0014]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the microprocessor 28. The microprocessor 28 includes a bus controller 64 connected to the 1394 controller 25, a bus controller 65 connected to the LAN controller 26, and these bus controllers. Responses for monitoring communication response operations of other terminals connected to the 1394 bus 10 and the LAN bus 11 via 64 and 65 and instructing terminals that do not perform normal response operations to transmit a reset signal In response to the monitoring unit 61, the wireless reset interface unit 62 that outputs a wireless reset signal to the wireless communication unit 22 in response to the reset signal transmission command of the response monitoring unit 61, and the microprocessor reset signal input from the reset processing unit 27 A reset unit 63 for resetting the microprocessor 28; It is provided.
[0015]
Although not shown, other terminals such as the digital broadcast receiver 2 and the personal computer 6 that constitute the network system shown in FIG. 1 are also provided with blocks having the same function. However, the terminal connected to the 1394 bus 10 has only a function of monitoring the response operation of other terminals connected to the 1394 bus 10, and monitors the response operation of the terminal connected to the LAN bus 11. It is not possible. Similarly, the terminal connected to the LAN bus 11 has only a function of monitoring the response operation of other terminals connected to the LAN bus 11, and the response operation of the terminal connected to the 1394 bus 10 is performed. Cannot be monitored. That is, only the home router 1 has a function of monitoring the response operations of all terminals connected to the two buses.
[0016]
The response monitoring unit 61 of the home router 1 instructs a terminal that does not perform a normal response operation to transmit a reset signal to a terminal that does not perform a normal response operation when a terminal on each bus stops for some reason, and performs wireless communication. A reset signal is transmitted from the unit 22 to the terminal via the auxiliary line. For example, if the terminal is the digital broadcast receiver 2, the wireless communication unit 32 of the digital broadcast receiver 2 receives the reset signal, and the digital broadcast receiver 2 receives the reset signal. The microprocessor (control unit) that performs overall control is reset. As a result, in most cases, the digital broadcast receiver 2 can be returned to normal operation.
[0017]
On the other hand, the fact that the home router 1 itself does not normally respond is detected by the response monitoring unit of another terminal, and a reset signal transmitted from the terminal is sent to the reset processing unit 27 via the wireless communication unit 22. And the microprocessor 28 is reset. Thus, in most cases, the router 1 can be returned to normal operation.
[0018]
In FIG. 2, when a terminal on one of the buses has failed and cannot respond, the router 1 performs a recovery operation by transmitting a reset signal from the wireless communication unit 22 to the terminal. Yes. Since each terminal has a function of monitoring each other, even if the router 1 side does not respond, the terminal side transmits a reset signal to the router 1 so that the router 1 can be recovered. That is, the terminals on the same bus can reset each other via an auxiliary line by wireless communication, and are in an equal position.
[0019]
In FIG. 5, for example, the distance between the router 1 and the digital broadcast receiver 2 is long, so that wireless communication cannot be performed between the router 1 and the digital broadcast receiver 2 via the auxiliary line. A case where wireless communication via an auxiliary line is possible between the receiver 2 and the personal computer 6 is shown. In this case, even if the router 1 detects that the digital broadcast receiver 2 does not respond normally and transmits a reset signal, the digital broadcast receiver 2 is not actually reset. Therefore, if the operation of the destination terminal does not return to normal even if a reset signal is transmitted, the router 1 is connected to the LAN bus 11 instead of the 1394 bus 10 to which the digital broadcast receiver 2 is connected. The personal computer 6 is instructed to send a reset signal to the digital broadcast receiver 2 via the LAN bus 11. In response to this, the personal computer 6 transmits a reset signal to the digital broadcast receiver 2 via the auxiliary line. In this way, the digital broadcast receiver 2 can be reset.
[0020]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, by adding an auxiliary line by wireless communication that only communicates a very simple command, it is possible to perform internal resetting that is impossible on the bus, and the failure of the terminal The chance of recovery can be increased.
Further, since the wireless communication units 22, 32, 42, etc. may be simple devices, simple and inexpensive devices can be used, and devices with low power consumption can be used. As a result, by adding an auxiliary device such as a battery, and thereby allowing the operation to be performed constantly, it is possible to provide high reliability without receiving noise from the power supply environment inside the terminal or the bus.
[0021]
Furthermore, in the case of a router that controls different types of buses collectively, even if there is a failure in one entire bus, it can be reset all at once from the other bus through an auxiliary line. Therefore, it is possible to control using different types of buses effectively. As a result, it is possible to reduce the cost and power consumption of the entire terminal, increase the possibility of recovery of the failed terminal by a highly reliable wireless device, and improve the operating rate of the entire network it can.
[0022]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the reset signal is transmitted via the auxiliary line by wireless communication. However, an activation interrupt signal may be transmitted.
[0023]
The operating rate of each terminal is usually low, and most of the time is in standby state with low power consumption, but only the bus controller is operating normally, and the startup sent from other devices via the bus In general, a bus controller activates a microprocessor in response to a signal. However, each bus controller generally performs complex operations and consumes high power. Therefore, if an interrupt signal for activation is transmitted through an auxiliary line by simple and inexpensive wireless communication, the operation of the bus controller can be stopped, and the power consumption can be further reduced.
[0024]
In the above-described embodiment, the auxiliary line is based on wireless communication, but may be based on wired communication.
Also, the types of buses used in the network system are not limited to two, and may be three or more.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, the network system of the present invention includes an auxiliary line that connects a plurality of terminals to each other separately from the network bus, and each of the plurality of terminals includes a control unit that performs overall control of the terminals. A response monitoring unit that monitors the response operation of another terminal connected to the network bus, and when the response monitoring unit detects that there is another terminal that does not perform a normal response operation, A reset signal transmitting unit that transmits a reset signal via the auxiliary line, and a reset processing unit that resets the control unit when the reset signal is received via the auxiliary line. Therefore, a terminal that does not normally respond to communication via the network bus is reset by a reset signal transmitted via an auxiliary line from another normal terminal. It can be restored without resetting. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the operating rate of the entire system decreases due to a failure at one terminal constituting the network system, and to improve the operating rate of the entire system. Can do. Furthermore, the network bus is composed of a plurality of types of buses with different standards, and even if a router connected to all of the plurality of types of buses transmits a reset signal, other terminals that do not perform a normal response operation are still normal. When a normal response operation is not performed, a normal response operation is not performed to another terminal connected to the bus via a bus of a different type from the bus to which the other terminal that does not perform the normal response operation is connected. The router commands to send a reset signal to other terminals that do not. Therefore, it is possible to control using different types of buses effectively.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a home network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a part of the configuration of the system of FIG. 1 in more detail.
3 is a block diagram showing in more detail the configuration of the home router of FIG. 2. FIG.
4 is a diagram showing in more detail the configuration of the microprocessor shown in FIG. 3; FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a coping method when an auxiliary line does not function sufficiently.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Home router (terminal)
2 Digital broadcast receiver (terminal)
4 Telephone (terminal)
5 Audio equipment (terminal)
6 Personal computer (terminal)
7 Printer (terminal)
10 1394 bus (network bus)
11 LAN bus (network bus)
22, 32, 42 Wireless communication unit (auxiliary line, reset signal transmission unit)
27 Reset processing unit 28 Microprocessor (control unit, reset signal transmission unit)
61 Response monitoring unit

Claims (1)

In a network system configured by connecting a plurality of terminals to a network bus,
Auxiliary line for connecting the plurality of terminals to each other separately from the network bus,
Each of the plurality of terminals includes a control unit that performs overall control of the terminal, a response monitoring unit that monitors response operations of other terminals connected to the network bus, and a normal response by the response monitoring unit. When it is detected that there is another terminal that does not operate, a reset signal transmission unit that transmits a reset signal to the terminal via the auxiliary line, and a reset signal received via the auxiliary line Comprises a reset processing unit for resetting the control unit ,
The network bus includes a plurality of types of buses having different standards, and one of the plurality of terminals is a router connected to all of the plurality of types of buses, and the router is connected to the reset signal transmission unit. When the other terminal that does not perform the normal response operation does not perform the normal response operation even after transmitting the reset signal, the router is connected to the bus to which the other terminal that does not perform the normal response operation is connected. different types of over the bus, the network system characterized that you command to transmit a reset signal to other terminals that do not the normal response operation to other terminals connected to the bus.

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