JP5135401B2 - Information processing apparatus, failure sign diagnosis method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus , a failure sign diagnosis method, and a program.

  Conventionally, some information processing apparatuses such as a PC (Personal Computer) include an optical disc drive (ODD: Optical Disc Drive) for reading and writing an optical disc such as a CD (Compact Disk) and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). This optical disk drive is equipped with a loading mechanism such as a disk tray for loading an optical disk and a loading motor for storing or ejecting the disk tray in or from the housing. In / out (load / eject).

  In the information processing apparatus, when the loading mechanism of the optical disk drive suddenly fails, the optical disk cannot be taken in and out, and the convenience for the user is impaired. For this reason, some information processing apparatuses including an optical disk drive perform failure sign diagnosis for diagnosing the presence or absence of a sign related to a failure of the optical disk drive.

  Patent Document 1 is known as a prior art relating to the failure sign diagnosis of the optical disk drive. Patent Document 1 describes a technique for storing the number of times an optical disk drive is loaded, the number of times of seek, and the number of data write blocks, and prohibiting the use or writing of the optical disk drive when any of the values exceeds a threshold value.

JP 2006-18955 A

  However, in the above prior art, with regard to the failure sign diagnosis of the loading mechanism of the optical disk drive, only the number of loadings is used as a diagnosis index, and when the number of loadings exceeds a predetermined threshold, a failure sign is diagnosed. . Therefore, failure sign diagnosis in consideration of individual differences of loading mechanisms, user usage conditions, and the like cannot be performed, and failure sign diagnosis with high accuracy cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides an information processing apparatus , a failure sign diagnosis method, and a program capable of performing a failure sign diagnosis with high accuracy for a loading mechanism of an optical disc drive. Objective.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a drive device having a loading mechanism unit for loading or ejecting a recording medium, and a state indicating an operating state of the loading mechanism unit Status information acquisition means for acquiring information, previous calculated values obtained by summing up the operating statuses of the loading mechanism units included in the plurality of status information prior to the latest, and the status information included in the latest status information When the rate of change of the latest calculated value with respect to the previous calculated value exceeds a predetermined threshold value compared with the latest calculated value obtained from the operating status of the loading mechanism unit, the loading mechanism unit has a sign of failure. And determining means for determining that there is.

The failure sign diagnosis method according to the embodiment is a failure sign diagnosis method for the loading mechanism unit in an information processing apparatus including a drive device having a loading mechanism unit for loading or ejecting a recording medium, and includes state information acquisition means. The step of obtaining the status information indicating the operating status of the loading mechanism section, and the determination means previously obtained by summing the operating status of the loading mechanism section included in the plurality of status information prior to the latest Comparing the calculated value with the latest calculated value obtained from the operating status of the loading mechanism unit included in the latest status information, the rate of change of the latest calculated value with respect to the previous calculated value has a predetermined threshold value. If exceeded, characterized in that it comprises a a step of determining that the loading mechanism is sign of failure.

In addition, the program according to the embodiment includes a status information acquisition unit that acquires a status information indicating an operating status of the loading mechanism unit, a computer including a drive device having a loading mechanism unit for loading or ejecting a recording medium, previous and calculated values obtained by summing the operating status of the loading mechanism included in the earlier plurality of said state information, last determined from operating conditions of the loading mechanism included in the most recent of the status information Functions as a determination unit that determines that there is a sign of failure in the loading mechanism unit when the rate of change of the most recent calculated value with respect to the previous calculated value exceeds a predetermined threshold value compared to the calculated value It is a program to make it.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to perform a failure sign diagnosis with high accuracy for a loading mechanism of an optical disk drive.

FIG. 1 is an example of a perspective view of an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an example of a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart showing log file recording processing of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is an example of a flowchart showing a failure sign notification process of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a notification image of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part in each figure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  First, the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the information processing apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 10 is a notebook personal computer. In the present embodiment, a notebook personal computer is exemplified as the information processing apparatus 10, but the information processing apparatus 10 may be an ODD provided, for example, a desktop personal computer. Similarly, the detailed configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 is not limited to the following description, and for example, the bus configuration for connecting each unit is not limited to the following description.

  The information processing apparatus 10 includes a main body 11 and a display unit 12. The display unit 12 incorporates a display device composed of an LCD 17 (Liquid Crystal Display), and the display screen of the LCD 17 is positioned substantially at the center of the display unit 12.

  The display unit 12 is attached to the main body 11 so as to be rotatable between an open position and a closed position. The main body 11 has a thin box-shaped housing, and an ODD 13 (optical disk drive) is disposed on the right side surface of the main body 11. Further, on the upper surface of the main body 11, an input device such as a keyboard 14, a power button 15 for turning on / off the information processing device 10, an input operation panel 16 for receiving various operation instructions, and a touch pad 18 as a pointing device. And a speaker 19 are arranged.

  The ODD 13 enables execution of read processing and write processing on the optical disc 20. Specifically, the ODD 13 has a disk tray 131a that is loaded and unloaded (loaded / ejected) by a loading motor (described later). The optical disk 20 loaded in the disk tray 131a is loaded into the main body 11; Data reading processing and writing processing are performed on the optical disk 20 loaded by a read / write optical system (not shown) provided inside the main body 11. The optical disk 20 that the ODD 13 reads and writes may be, for example, a CD-ROM, CD-RW, CD + RW, DVD-ROM, and the like, and the type is not particularly limited.

  The input operation panel 16 is used to input an event corresponding to a button pressed by the user to the system, and includes a plurality of buttons for starting a plurality of functions. The buttons provided in the input operation panel 16 include, for example, a load / eject button for instructing to insert / remove the disc tray 131a in the ODD 13. In the information processing apparatus 10, in response to pressing of a load / eject button on the input operation panel 16, a loading motor, which will be described later, is driven to put in and out the disc tray 131a.

  Next, the system configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an example of a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of the information processing apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus 10 includes a CPU 111, a north bridge 112, a memory 113, a video controller 114, an audio controller 115, a south bridge 119, a BIOS-ROM 120, an HDD 121 (Hard Disk Drive), an EC / KBC 124 (embedded). Controller / keyboard controller) and network controller 125. The configuration in which the CPU 111 and each unit illustrated in FIG. 2 are connected via the north bridge 112 and the south bridge 119 is an example, and the information processing apparatus 10 includes, for example, the CPU 111 and each unit connected by one bus. Such other connection configurations may be used.

  The CPU 111 is a processor provided to centrally control the operation of the information processing apparatus 10, and executes an operation system 121 a loaded from the HDD 121 to the memory 113 and various applications. Further, the CPU 111 executes the above-described program 121a, so that the ODD 13 executes at least one of reading processing and writing processing with respect to the loaded optical disc 20.

  The CPU 111 also executes a system BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) stored in the BIOS-ROM 120. The system BIOS is a program for hardware control.

  The north bridge 112 is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 111 and the south bridge 119. The north bridge 112 also includes a memory controller that controls access to the memory 113. The north bridge 112 also has a function of executing communication with the video controller 114 and communication with the audio controller 115 via an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus or the like.

  The memory 113 is a volatile memory, and provides a work area when the CPU 111 executes the program 121a. The video controller 114 is a video playback controller that controls the LCD 17 used as a display monitor of the information processing apparatus 10. The audio controller 115 is an audio playback controller that controls the speaker 19 of the information processing apparatus 10.

  The south bridge 119 controls each device on an LPC (Low Pin Count) bus and each device on a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The south bridge 119 has a built-in controller such as IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) or ATAPI (Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface) for controlling the HDD 121 and ODD 13 which are storage devices for storing various software and data. . Further, the south bridge 119 has a function for controlling access to the BIOS-ROM 120.

  The HDD 121 stores a program 121a, a log file 121b, various setting information, and the like. The storage device of the information processing apparatus 10 may be a semiconductor memory other than the HDD 121 and is not particularly limited.

  The EC / KBC 124 is a one-chip microcomputer in which a embedded controller for power management and a keyboard controller for controlling the ODD 13 (KB) and the touch pad 18 are integrated. The EC / KBC 124 has a function of turning on / off the power of the information processing apparatus 10 in accordance with the operation of the power button 15 by the user. The network controller 125 is a communication device that executes communication with an external network such as the Internet.

  The ODD 13 includes a loading mechanism 131 having a disk tray 131a and a loading motor 131b, and a controller 132. The loading motor 131b is a drive source of the disk tray 131a, and loads / ejects the disk tray 131a under the control of the controller 132. Note that the loading mechanism unit 131 is not limited to the configuration using the disc tray 131a as long as the optical disc 20 can be inserted into and removed from the housing of the information processing apparatus 10. For example, the loading mechanism 131 may be configured to transport the optical disc 20 into the housing by a transport roller provided at the insertion / discharge port.

  The controller 132 controls the operation of the ODD 13 by a control signal (for example, an ATAPI command) notified under the control of the CPU 111. Specifically, the controller 132 controls the loading / ejecting operation of the optical disk by the loading mechanism unit 131 and the reading process and writing process of the loaded optical disk.

  Further, the controller 132 is a non-volatile memory that stores device-specific information such as vendor information, model number, and firmware revision, and a volatile memory that stores operation status while the ODD 13 is operating according to a control signal as status information. Memory (none of which are shown). The controller 132 updates the state information stored in the volatile memory according to the operation of the ODD 13 by the control signal. The status information includes information related to read processing and write processing (spindle motor rotation time, spindle motor ON / OFF count, seek time), information related to the loading mechanism unit 131, and the like.

  The information related to the loading mechanism 131 includes, for example, the driving time of the loading motor 131b, the number of times of loading a disk indicating the number of times the optical disk 20 has been loaded, the number of times of loading a disk indicating the number of times an error has occurred during loading, and the number of times of retrying loading. There are multiple index values such as the number of disk load retries indicating the number of times of ejection, the number of times of disk ejection indicating the number of times of ejection, the number of times of disk ejection errors indicating the number of times an error has occurred during ejection, and the number of times of disk ejection retry indicating the number of times that ejection has been retried. include.

  The controller 132 notifies the CPU 111 of information stored in the nonvolatile memory and the volatile memory in accordance with a control signal notified under the control of the CPU 111. Therefore, the CPU 111 can acquire information related to the loading mechanism unit 131 through, for example, an ATAPI command.

  Here, a log file recording process in which the CPU 111 executes the program 121a to acquire information on the loading mechanism unit 131 and record the information in the log file 121b will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart showing log file recording processing.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the process is started, the CPU 111 determines whether or not a predetermined time set in advance has elapsed, or whether power supply to the ODD 13 is stopped due to power-off by the power button 15 or the like. It is determined whether or not (S10). Note that the power supply to the ODD 13 determined by the CPU 111 in S10 is stopped, for example, when the information processing apparatus 10 is shut down, in standby, hibernation, or when the ODD 13 is taken out.

  In S10, when a predetermined time has elapsed or when power supply to the ODD 13 is stopped, the CPU 111 outputs a control signal such as an ATAPI command to the ODD 13 to acquire information regarding the loading mechanism unit 131 (S11). The acquired information is recorded as a history in the log file 121b (S12).

  Specifically, the drive time of the loading motor 131b, the number of disk loads, the number of disk load errors, the number of disk load retries, the number of disk ejections, the number of disk ejection errors, the number of disk ejection retries, etc. are acquired and recorded in the log file 121b. To do. That is, by reading the log file 121b, the information processing apparatus 10 can acquire the total driving time and the total number so far, in addition to the driving time and the number of times recorded at a predetermined time.

  By executing the log file recording process described above, in the information processing apparatus 10, information regarding the loading mechanism unit 131 of the ODD 13 is recorded in the HDD 121 as the log file 121b every predetermined time. In addition, before the power supply to the ODD 13 is stopped and the information regarding the loading mechanism unit 131 is reset, the information can be recorded in the HDD 121.

  Next, a failure sign notification process for diagnosing a failure sign of the loading mechanism unit 131 by the CPU 111 executing the program 121a and notifying the failure sign will be described with reference to FIGS. . FIG. 4 is an example of a flowchart showing a failure sign notification process. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating notification images G1 and G2 displayed on the LCD 17 when there is a failure sign.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the process is started, the CPU 111 reads the log file 121b (S21), and based on the information recorded in the read log file 121b, the loading mechanism unit 131 has a sign of failure. It is diagnosed whether or not there is (S22).

  In the diagnosis in S22, any one of the index values relating to the determination of the failure symptom such as the total driving time of the loading motor 131b and the various total number of times is determined based on the information recorded in the log file 121b. In addition to diagnosing that there is a failure sign when the threshold value is exceeded, it is diagnosed that there is a failure sign when the result calculated by combining a plurality of the index values described above exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Also, the value indicated by the most recent result varies greatly depending on the result calculated by combining multiple index values such as the drive time and the number of times recorded most recently and the result calculated by combining multiple index values before that. If there is a failure sign (for example, when the rate of increase is high), it may be diagnosed that there is a failure sign.

  Specifically, it is calculated from the disk load error rate calculated from the disk load error count / disk load count, the disk eject error rate calculated from the disk eject error count / disk eject count, the disk load retry count / disk load count. Diagnose that there is a sign of failure when the disk retry rate, the disk ejection retry rate calculated from the number of disk ejection retries / the number of disk ejections exceeds a predetermined threshold, or when there is a significant change in the latest value. .

  That is, in the information processing apparatus 10, failure prediction diagnosis considering the individual difference of the loading mechanism unit 131 and the usage status of the user cannot be performed with only one index value. Is a result calculated by the number of occurrences (for example, the number of disk load errors, the number of disk eject errors, the number of disk load retries, the number of disk eject retries) and the total number of times (for example, the number of disk load times, the number of disk ejects). By diagnosing whether or not there is a failure sign based on the rate of occurrence of an event related to the above, it is possible to perform a failure sign diagnosis with high accuracy in consideration of individual differences in the loading mechanism unit 131 and the usage status of the user It becomes possible.

  In addition, when the driving time required for one loading / ejecting of the disk exceeds a predetermined threshold, which is calculated by dividing the driving time of the loading motor 131b by the number of times of loading or ejecting the disk, or the value closest thereto. When there is a large change, it may be diagnosed that there is a failure sign.

  If the ODD 13 is used for a long period of time, for example, slippage is likely to occur in a portion where power is transmitted due to wear of the driving portion of the loading mechanism portion 131, so that the driving time required for each disc load / eject may be increased. It is done. Therefore, by diagnosing whether or not there is a failure sign based on the drive time required for each disk load / eject, which is a result calculated by combining a plurality of the above index values, for example, retry or error Even when a failure-related event such as the above does not occur, it is possible to perform a failure prediction diagnosis with high accuracy in consideration of individual differences of the loading mechanism unit 131 and user usage.

  In addition, the combination of the index values described above is not particularly limited to the above-described combination, and any combination is possible as long as a failure sign can be diagnosed from the result calculated by combining a plurality of index values. There may be. For example, the number of errors related to loading / unloading of the optical disk is calculated as (disk load error number + disk ejection error number) / 2, and the rate of occurrence of a failure event is calculated based on the error number and the total number of times. May be.

  When it is diagnosed that there is a sign of failure in S22 (YES), the CPU 111 notifies the user that there is a sign of failure in the loading mechanism unit 131 (S23). Specifically, the CPU 111 notifies the user by reading a notification image indicating that there is a failure sign from the setting information of the HDD 121 and displaying the notification image on the LCD 17. Note that the notification to the user may be performed by audio output from the speaker 19 in addition to the display on the LCD 17.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a notification image G <b> 1 that prompts the user to maintain the ODD 13 is displayed on the LCD 17. The notification image G1 may display information about a support center that is a contact address when the user maintenance cannot cope.

  The CPU 111 may execute the failure sign notification process described above at any timing such as when power is turned on, when a predetermined time has elapsed, or when loading / ejecting is performed in the ODD 13. For example, when performing a failure sign notification process when notifying in the ODD 13 and notifying that there is a failure sign, notification may be made together with an ejection confirmation display as in the notification image G2. By notifying that there is a sign of failure when ejecting in this way, the information processing apparatus 10 does not have the optical disk 20 inside the ODD 13 and prompts the user for the maintenance at a timing suitable for the maintenance of the ODD 13. be able to.

  The program 121a of this embodiment may be configured to be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like other than the HDD 121. The program 121a executed by the information processing apparatus 10 according to this embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and is read by a computer such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD. It may be provided by being recorded on a possible recording medium.

  Further, the program 121a executed by the information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. Further, the program 121a executed by the information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

10 Information processing device 13 ODD
15 Power button 17 LCD
20 Optical disk 111 CPU
113 Memory 121 HDD
131 Loading mechanism 131a Disc tray 131b Loading motor 132 Controller G1, G2 Notification image

Claims (7)

A drive device having a loading mechanism for loading or ejecting a recording medium;
Status information acquisition means for acquiring status information indicating the operating status of the loading mechanism section;
Recently determined earlier and calculated values obtained by summing the operating status of the loading mechanism section included in a previous plurality of said state information from the most recent, the operational status of the loading mechanism included in the most recent of the status information A determination means for determining that the loading mechanism unit has a failure sign when a rate of change of the latest calculated value with respect to the previous calculated value exceeds a predetermined threshold value ,
An information processing apparatus comprising:   The determination means calculates the ratio of occurrence of an event related to the failure sign calculated based on the total number of times the recording medium has been loaded or ejected and the number of occurrences of an event related to the failure sign in the loading mechanism unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the loading mechanism unit determines that there is a sign of a failure when a change in the latest ratio relative to a ratio before the latest is large.   The determination means calculates the driving of the loading mechanism unit required for one loading or ejection of the recording medium, calculated based on the total number of times the recording medium is loaded or ejected and the driving time of the loading mechanism unit. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when there is a large change in the most recent driving time with respect to the driving time before the most recent time, it is determined that the loading mechanism unit has a failure sign.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the magnitude of the change based on a comparison with a preset threshold value.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state information acquisition unit acquires the state information when power supply to the drive device is stopped. A method for predicting failure of the loading mechanism in an information processing apparatus including a drive device having a loading mechanism for loading or ejecting a recording medium,
A state information obtaining unit obtaining state information indicating an operating state of the loading mechanism unit; and
The determination means previously calculates the total operation status of the loading mechanism unit included in the plurality of state information before the latest, and the operation status of the loading mechanism unit included in the latest status information. Determining that there is a sign of failure in the loading mechanism unit when the rate of change of the most recent calculated value with respect to the previous calculated value exceeds a predetermined threshold value compared to the most recently calculated value obtained from ,
A failure sign diagnosis method characterized by comprising: A computer comprising a drive device having a loading mechanism for loading or ejecting a recording medium,
Status information acquisition means for acquiring status information indicating the operating status of the loading mechanism section;
Recently determined earlier and calculated values obtained by summing the operating status of the loading mechanism section included in a previous plurality of said state information from the most recent, the operational status of the loading mechanism included in the most recent of the status information A determination means for determining that the loading mechanism unit has a failure sign when a rate of change of the latest calculated value with respect to the previous calculated value exceeds a predetermined threshold value ,
Program to make it function.

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