JP6168650B2 - Information processing system and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing system and an information processing method for executing processing by a plurality of processes included in an application program (software).

  As an information processing system that executes processing by a plurality of processes included in an application program (software), for example, conventionally, a card-like medium processing system used in an ATM of a financial institution is known.

  A card-like medium processing apparatus used in the card-like medium processing system performs a predetermined process on the card-like medium or stores a plurality of units (for example, a card reader or a card stack unit) that stores the card-like medium; It has a conveying means for conveying a card-like medium between a plurality of units, and a control means (main control board), and it is not only a card reader that executes a predetermined process on the card-like medium, but also a card-like medium. In order to add a medium issuing function, it is also used as a card stack (hopper) in which a large number of card-like media are stacked and stocked (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-052527 A

  Further, in such a card-like medium processing apparatus, when the control means receives a program execution command from the host apparatus, the control means executes a process with reference to the parameters stored in the parameter storage unit in the control means.

  In the card-like medium processing system shown in FIG. 10, the host device 2 and the card issuing machine 3 are connected through a communication line 4. The host device 2 includes a plurality of processes 1, 2, and 3, an exclusive right recording shared memory 10 accessible by the plurality of processes, and an RS-232C interface. Processes 1 and 2 are device control processes, process 1 is a process for controlling a card issuing function, and process 2 is a process for controlling a card reader that executes predetermined processing on a card-like medium. Process 3 is a state monitoring process, and monitors the state in the execution operation of the device control process. Each process 1, 2, and 3 includes an application program and communication middleware.

  Each of the processes 1, 2, and 3 is executed independently and asynchronously, and has a function of performing exclusive control on each other. That is, each of the processes 1, 2, and 3 accesses the application program, the communication middleware, and the exclusive right recording shared memory 10 to perform information processing, and the exclusive right recording shared memory 10 is accessed by each process 1. , 2 and 3 follow the exclusive control negotiated so that contention does not occur. For example, the device control process 1 is exclusively accessed by the device control process 2 and the state monitoring process 3 by exclusive control.

  According to such a configuration, the operating system (OS) that manages the execution state of the processes 1 and 2 at the time of the attach / detach operation that allocates / releases the exclusive right recording shared memory 10 to / from the processes 1 and 2. Service is used, but when data is actually sent and received between processes 1 and 2, either process 1 or 2 writes the transmission data to shared memory 10 for recording exclusive rights, and the other is exclusive. The transmission data written in the right recording shared memory 10 is read.

  However, as shown in FIG. 10, when the host device 2 and the card issuing machine 3 (device) are connected by the communication line 4, existing control software that provides a basic communication function with the device and controls the device Of the plurality of processes (process 1, process 2,...) Possessed by the host device 2, for example, the process 1 accesses the card issuing machine 3, and the card issuance control application possessed by the process 1 is When being executed, the other processes 2 and 3 cannot access the card issuing machine 3 and cannot execute the respective applications.

  More specifically with reference to FIG. 11, the host device 2 first acquires a process exclusive right for executing each device control process (step S1), and confirms the exclusive right (step S2). The confirmation of the exclusive right in step S2 can be performed by referring to the exclusive right recording shared memory 10, and when another process other than the process 1 has acquired the exclusive right, the other process ends. The process exclusive right is continuously acquired (maintained), and if the exclusive right of process 1 can be confirmed and it is determined that the acquisition is successful, the command of process 1 is issued (step S3), and the card issuing machine 3 is operated. The response is received (step S4). Thereafter, the exclusive right of process 1 is discarded (step S5), and this subroutine is terminated.

  For this reason, which of the plurality of processes is executed is restricted by whether or not the exclusive right is acquired. When one process is executed and a device is accessed, the other process is executed. There is a problem that the device cannot be accessed.

  Also, due to device access restrictions, when one process executes another process after execution, or when executing another process by interrupting the executing process, the communication port of the executing process It is necessary to open the communication port of other processes by blocking. For this reason, there is a problem that the communication port is frequently shut down / opened, and it takes a long processing time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to establish communication between a host device and a device and execute a plurality of processes. An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing system and an information processing method apparatus capable of shortening the processing time.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following.

(1) In an information processing system in which a host device and a device that executes processing in accordance with a command from the host device are connected, the host device stores a plurality of application programs for performing predetermined operation processing. A plurality of device control processes in which the device operates according to each application program, and an application program for performing communication control between the host device and the device, and the host device and the device according to the application program has a function of executing a communication control process for establishing communications between said device is for executing a predetermined operation process with each device control process via the communication with the host system The communication control process establishes communication with the device. And performing inter-process communication with the plurality of device control processes .

  According to the present invention, a device executes a predetermined operation process of each device control process in a state where a host device having a function of executing a plurality of device control processes and a communication control process has established communication with the device. Therefore, it is not necessary to block / open the communication port one by one, and as a result, the processing time of each device control process can be shortened.

(2) the host system, the state monitoring application program for monitoring the status of the device is stored, which has a function of executing a state monitoring process to monitor the state of the device in accordance with the status monitoring application program The communication control process performs inter-process communication with the state monitoring process in a state where communication with the device is established , and alternately performs the state monitoring process and each of the plurality of device control processes. An information processing system characterized by executing.

  According to the present invention, since the state monitoring process for monitoring the state of the device and each of the plurality of device control processes are alternately executed, the state of the device can be grasped at any time, and the communication port is blocked / opened. Since it is possible to monitor the state of the device without performing each step one by one, it is possible to grasp the state of the device without time lag.

  (3) The information processing system, wherein the communication control process alternately transmits a status notification command issued by the status monitoring process and an operation command issued by each of the plurality of device control processes to the device.

  According to the present invention, since the status notification command and the operation command are alternately transmitted to the device by the communication control process, the device status can be grasped at any time, and the communication port is not blocked / opened one by one. Since the state of the device can be monitored, the state of the device can be grasped without time lag.

  (4) The information processing system, wherein the host device includes a status notification FIFO buffer for storing the status notification command and a device control FIFO buffer for storing the operation command.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to grasp the state of the device at any time by processing the command stored in each FIFO buffer, and to monitor the state of the device without sequentially shutting down / opening the communication port. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the state of the device without time lag.

  (5) An information processing system characterized in that communication is an RS-232C system.

  According to the present invention, even in the case of an RS-232C communication line that does not support access from a plurality of processes, the device control processes are aggregated by the communication control process, and each device control process has a predetermined Since the device executes the above operation processing, it is not necessary to block / open the communication port one by one, and as a result, the processing time of each device control process can be shortened.

(6) through the communication with the device for executing processing according to the instruction of the host device from the host device An information processing method for executing predetermined device control, communication control between said upper Device equipment for operating the device the host system and a communication control process of establishing communication with the device is executed on the host system, in accordance with each application program for performing a predetermined operation process according to an application program for It is one to execute the control process sequentially to the host system, the communication control process, while establishing communication with the device, and performs inter-process communication with the plurality of device control process Information processing method.

  According to the present invention, since a predetermined device control process included in each device control process can be executed in a state in which communication between the host device and the device is established by executing the communication control process, It is not necessary to open each one step by step, and as a result, the processing time of each device control process can be shortened.

(7) The communication control process, the state monitoring process to monitor the state of the device according to the state monitoring the application program for monitoring the status of the device, while establishing communication with the device, the status monitoring the information processing method characterized by perform interprocess communication with a process to execute the each of the plurality of device control process and the state monitoring process alternately.

  According to the present invention, the status monitoring process for monitoring the status of the device is executed in preference to the device control process, so that the status of the device can be grasped at any time and the communication port is blocked / opened one by one. Since the device status can be monitored without any problem, the device status can be grasped without time lag.

  (8) An information processing method, wherein the communication control process alternately transmits a status notification command issued by the status monitoring process and an operation command issued by each of the plurality of device control processes to the device.

  According to the present invention, since the status notification command and the operation command are alternately transmitted to the device by the communication control process, the device status can be grasped at any time, and the communication port is not blocked / opened one by one. Since the state of the device can be monitored, the state of the device can be grasped without time lag.

  (9) The information processing method, wherein the host device includes a status notification FIFO buffer for storing the status notification command and a device control FIFO buffer for storing the operation command.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to grasp the state of the device at any time by processing the command stored in each FIFO buffer, and to monitor the state of the device without sequentially shutting down / opening the communication port. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the state of the device without time lag.

  In the information processing system and the information processing method according to the present invention, since a plurality of device control processes of the host device establish communication with a device through the communication control process, communication is interrupted every time each device control process is executed. / Because it is not necessary to repeat the establishment, the processing time of each device control process can be shortened.

  In addition, the information processing system and the information processing method according to the present invention process in parallel the status notification command issued by the status monitoring process and the operation command issued by each of the plurality of device control processes, and alternately generate command messages. Because it is possible to grasp the device status at any time and monitor the device status without shutting down / opening the communication port one by one, it is possible to grasp the device status without time lag. it can.

It is a block diagram which shows the principle structure of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the information processing method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the information processing method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a hardware block diagram of the information processing system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the relationship between the processes of the information processing system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the information processing method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the information processing method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the information processing method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a time state figure showing the information processing method concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a software block diagram of the conventional information processing system. It is a flowchart which shows the conventional information processing method.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Principle configuration]
The principle configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The host device 2 of the information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a function of executing device control processes P _C1 , P _C2 ,... As a device control command issuing process group, and as a state monitoring command issuing process group. has the ability to perform status monitoring process P _CW, further, the communication control process P _S for transmitting and receiving the response command between these device control command issue process group and condition monitoring commands issued process group Has the function to execute.

Communication control process P _S is for controlling the exchange of information with the card issuing machine 3 as a card-shaped medium processing apparatus, the device control thread that entity processing application program, and the thread status monitoring, Is forming. The device control thread includes a device control FIFO buffer, and the state monitoring thread includes a state notification FIFO buffer.

  The exclusive right recording shared memory 10 is a process of switching between two threads, ie, a device control thread and a state monitoring thread, without requiring an interrupt process. In other words, rather than setting and controlling the priorities of multiple threads or multiple processes, it functions as simply switching between a device control thread and a state monitoring thread.

  Note that a process is an instance of a program being executed, operates in an execution unit called a process having an independent operation space (user space), and generally executes a plurality of programs in parallel. Multiple units can exist at the same time. Therefore, the process has a structure in which data cannot be exchanged with other processes. A thread, on the other hand, is a single execution path within a program that runs sequentially within a process under the control of the operating system scheduler that allocates time slices to available threads. It is a structure that can exchange data between threads. Since each thread needs to be associated with one process, in the case of multithreading, each process can include multiple threads that share the same address space and stack area.

    FIG. 2 shows an operation procedure among the device control thread, the exclusive right recording shared memory, and the communication control unit shown in the principle configuration.

  The host device 2 first checks whether there is an unexecuted command message in the device control message converter (step S301), and determines whether it is present (step S302). If it is determined that there is no instruction message, the process is repeated until an instruction message arrives. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an instruction message, the thread exclusive right is continuously acquired (maintained) (step S303), and the thread exclusive right is confirmed. If it is determined that the acquisition is successful (step S304), a waiting command message is transmitted (step S305). When a waiting instruction message is transmitted and a response response is received (step S306), the thread exclusive right is discarded (step S307), and this subroutine is terminated. If the thread for exclusive use is being acquired by the state monitoring thread, the processes in steps S303 and S304 are repeated.

  Next, FIG. 3 shows an operation procedure among the state monitoring thread, the exclusive right recording shared memory 10 and the communication control unit 11 shown in the principle configuration.

  First, the host device 2 confirms the presence or absence of an unexecuted command message in the status monitoring message conversion unit (step S401), and determines the presence or absence (step S402). If it is determined that there is no instruction message, the process is repeated until an instruction message arrives. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an instruction message, the thread exclusive right is continuously acquired (maintained) (step S403), and the thread exclusive right is confirmed. If it is determined that the acquisition is successful (step S404), a waiting command message is transmitted (step S405). When a waiting command message is transmitted and a response response is received (step S406), the thread exclusive right is discarded (step S407), and this subroutine is terminated. If the thread for exclusive use is being acquired by the state monitoring thread, the processes in steps S403 and S404 are repeated.

[Hardware configuration]
FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the information processing system 1, a host device 2 that controls various devices connected to a lower level, and a card issuing machine 3 as a device that is controlled by the host device 2 and realizes various functions, communicate with each other via RS-232C. Are connected through a communication line 4 for performing

  Various devices are connected to the host device 2 via a BUS (bus), and a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a display unit 24, a communication interface 25, and an HDD 26 are mainly connected. .

  The CPU 21 monitors the overall flow so that various types of software are executed to monitor whether information is correctly exchanged between the respective units in the higher-level device 2, or the operation start and stop timings of the respective units are instructed. I have control.

  The ROM 22 is a read-only memory that stores a control program and the like.

  The RAM 23 is a random access memory including a work area for the CPU 21 to execute a program. In this embodiment, in addition to the basic software (OS) read from the HDD 20, an application program executed under the OS, and an application program for performing communication control between the higher-level device 2 and the card issuing machine 3. In addition, the API and the programming interface temporarily store a common function. The common functions (common API group) include various functions such as “open” processing for establishing communication with a device such as the card issuing machine 3 and “close” processing for blocking communication with the device.

  The RAM 23 is provided with two FIFO (First In First Out) buffer areas. In the present embodiment, the device control process FIFO and the state monitoring process FIFO are separately formed. As will be described in detail later, each FIFO stores execution commands in time series, and sequentially reads them out by the CPU 21 and sends them to the message conversion unit.

  The display unit 24 includes a display device and a touch panel. The display device is used when displaying operation methods, operation buttons, and the like, and the touch panel is used when the user inputs data and the like.

  The communication interface 25 connects the card issuer 3 that executes various processes based on instructions from the CPU 21 and the host device 2. The card issuer 3 is connected to the communication line 4 of the RS-232C cable. Serial connection.

  The HDD 26 uses a hard disk as a recording medium, and stores various programs such as basic software (OS), application programs, (communication) middleware, and drivers.

  The card issuing machine 3 includes a communication interface 31 that performs communication using RS-232C, a CPU, a memory, and the like, and a control unit 32 that controls the entire card issuing machine 3, a reader / writer 33, and a card as a reader / writer. 33, a card hopper 34 to be supplied to 33, a card collection box 35 for collecting used cards, and a power source 36 for supplying a + 24V voltage thereto. Although the card issuing machine 3 having such a configuration issues and collects cards, it is the same as a publicly known one, and the details thereof are omitted here.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram (software configuration diagram) showing a relationship between processes of the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In the HDD 26 of FIG. 4, a plurality of processes are formed in a unit of processing executed by the CPU when a program or the like is operated by a computer. Specifically, the device control command issuing process group has a function of executing the device control processes P _C1 , P _C2 ,..., A function of executing the communication control process P _S , and status monitoring And a function for executing the state monitoring process _PCW as a command issuing process group. Each process has an application and middleware for communication for executing the process. The communication with the host device 2 and the card issuing machine 3, the row replies instruction transmitted by the communication line 4 of the connected RS-232C cable to RS-232C interface 25 executes communication control processes _{P S} Is called.

The device control command issuing process group includes a plurality of device control processes P _C1 , P _C2,. Specifically, each of the plurality of device control processes P _C1 and P _C2 includes a plurality of application programs and communication middleware for performing predetermined operation processing.

In this embodiment, the device control process P _C1 is the main communication middleware for performing interprocess communication Magnetic · IC read write control application program for controlling the magnetic · IC read-write, a communication control process P _S It is configured. Another device control process P _C2 are card issue control application program for controlling the card issuing machine, a communication middleware for communicating with the communication control process P _S and main components.

The state monitoring command issuing process group includes a state monitoring process _PCW . In the present embodiment, the state monitoring process P _CW has a communication middleware for performing status monitoring application program for monitoring the status of the card issuing machine 3, the inter-process communication between the communication control process P _S .

  Examples of the state of the card issuing machine 3 include the state of the card issuing machine 3 as a whole (power ON / OFF, communication cable online / offline, device busy (device control processing is being executed)), and the state of the reader / writer 3. Is the card transport path (whether it is always functioning), card status (card is present inside the device, jammed / not present at the outlet), shutter status (closed / open) The shutter is jammed).

Communication control process _{P S} controls the plurality of device control process _{P C1, P C2} and condition monitoring process _P a local server application program 40 which receives a command from the _CW to perform each process, the communication control unit 11 RS- The communication middleware 41 for performing communication with the 232C interface 25 and a driver for converting various commands into an issuing machine command message, which are not shown, are mainly configured.

  The local server application 40 has a device control command reception API (application program interface) and a state monitoring command reception API. The communication middleware 41 includes a device control command reception API and a state monitoring command reception API, and includes a device control FIFO buffer and a state notification FIFO buffer for storing commands from the APIs. doing. Unlike the device control command issuing process group and the state monitoring command issuing process group, the communication control command issuing process group has a configuration of a device control thread and a state monitoring thread (see FIG. 1). ).

The communication control process Ps is started prior to the plurality of device control processes P _C1 and P _C2 and the state monitoring process P _CW , and the plurality of device control processes P _C1 are executed by the device control command reception API of the local server application 40. , and waits in the ready accept device control commands issued from P _C2. Further, the state monitoring command reception API of the local server application 40 is set in a state where it can accept the state monitoring command issued from the state monitoring process _PCW and stands by. Then, after the communication control process Ps is activated, a plurality of device control processes _PC1 , _PC2 and a state monitoring process _PCW are activated in order.

If multiple device control process P _C1, P _C2 is started, the command for device control that is present in the local server application 40 of the plurality of device control process P _C1, process communication controller and a communication middleware present in P _C2 P _S a reception API is connected, it is possible to issue device control commands to the communication control process P _S.

On the other hand, when the state monitoring process P _CW is started, the state monitoring process state monitoring commands accepted API present in the local server application 40 of the communication middleware for communication control process P _S present in the P _CW are connected, the communication it is possible to issue a status monitoring command to the control process P _S.

  As described above, the device control command and the state monitoring command are issued to the communication control process Ps using inter-process communication.

  A communication control process Ps that performs inter-process communication includes a device control command reception API, a device control FIFO buffer, a status notification command reception API, a status notification FIFO buffer, a device control message conversion unit for issuing machine commands, It consists of a status monitoring message converter.

  The device control command reception API included in the communication middleware 41 receives the device control command received by the device control command reception API included in the local server application 40 using the middleware.

  The device control FIFO buffer sequentially stores the device control commands received by the device control command reception API of the communication middleware. The device control FIFO buffer has a FIFO (First In First Out) format that is sent to the device control message conversion unit in the order of the device control commands that have arrived first.

  The state monitoring command reception API of the communication middleware 41 receives the state monitoring command received by the state monitoring command reception API of the local server application 40 using the middleware.

  The status monitoring FIFO buffer sequentially stores the status monitoring commands received by the status monitoring command reception API of the communication middleware. The status monitoring FIFO buffer has a FIFO format that is sent to the status monitoring message conversion unit in the order of the status monitoring commands that have arrived first. Note that storing each command in each FIFO buffer is called queuing.

  The device control message conversion unit located at the sending port of the device control FIFO buffer converts the device control command sent from the device control FIFO buffer into a command message for sending to the card issuing machine 3. Since the device control command is composed of a plurality of command messages, in this message conversion unit, one device control command is converted into a plurality of command messages, and the converted command messages are Are sequentially sent to the transmission control unit.

  The status monitoring message conversion unit located at the sending port of the status monitoring FIFO buffer converts the status monitoring command sent from the status monitoring FIFO buffer into a command message for sending to the card issuing machine 3. . In the present embodiment, when one state monitoring command is converted by the message conversion unit, one command message is generated. One command message converted here is sent to the transmission control unit.

  The series of device conversion command message conversion processing and status monitoring command message conversion processing are performed in parallel.

The communication control unit 11 is sent from the command message sent from the device control message conversion unit located at the sending port of the device control FIFO buffer and from the status monitoring message conversion unit located at the sending port of the status monitoring FIFO buffer. The command message is sent to the card issuing machine 3 alternately.
For example, when a device control command arrives at the device control FIFO buffer preceding the state monitoring FIFO buffer, first, one of the command messages converted by the message conversion unit is transmitted to the card issuing machine 3. . If the status notification command has reached the status monitoring FIFO buffer during this period, the status notification command is converted by the message conversion unit, and this command message is transmitted to the card issuing machine 3. After the transmission is completed, the process is returned to the conversion process from the device control FIFO buffer, and one of the remaining command messages is transmitted.

  As described above, when a command exists in both the device control FIFO buffer and the state monitoring FIFO buffer, one command message is alternately transmitted. When a command exists only in one FIFO buffer, the message conversion process from the existing FIFO buffer is preferentially performed without moving the process to the message conversion process from the FIFO buffer that does not exist in the other FIFO buffer.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure at the time of starting the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Procedure for system start-up, start the communication control process _{P S,} to open the RS-232C communication (step S101). Determining these open-activation results (step S102), when it is determined that successful, starts the state monitoring process P _CW, while establishing a communication control process P _S (step S103), if it is determined fail This subroutine is finished.

Determining the activation and connection result in step S103 (step S104), and when it is determined that successful activates the device control process _{P C1,} while connected to the communication control process _{P S} (step S105), determines fails In this case, this subroutine is terminated.

  The activation / connection result in step S105 is determined (step S106). If it is determined to be successful, the activation is completed and the command is waited. If it is determined to be unsuccessful, this subroutine is terminated.

  Next, an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The information processing method shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is an operation procedure of card ejection processing as an example of operation processing.

  First, when the information processing system 1 is in a state of starting a card issuance transaction, information recorded on the IC card is input on the input screen (step S501). In the display unit 24 of the host device 2 of the information processing system 1, the user inputs information recorded on the card on the input screen of the display device.

  When the user presses the card issuance button, the program and data stored in the HDD 20 and ROM 22 are read onto the RAM 23 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 21, and the card issuance connected to the interface 24 via the communication line 4 of the RS-232C cable. The operation of each application is started by controlling the machine 3 using the API.

Next, the status monitoring application issues a status notification command to grasp the status of the card issuing machine 3 (steps S502 and S503). Issued status notification command is converted by the communication middleware, is inputted to the communication control process P _S, the command is converted into a predetermined message. For example, when an error occurs due to some trouble such as a state in which the stored card is cut, it is determined as abnormal (step S503), and the occurrence of the abnormality is displayed (notified) on the screen of the display device ( Step S521). On the other hand, if it is determined that the card issuing machine state is normal (step S503), the card issuing control application is activated to issue a “1-1 card issuing command” (step S504).

  Next, the status monitoring application is activated to issue a “2-1 status notification command” to grasp the card position (step S505). If it is determined in the card position state determination (step S506) that there is no card in the card reader, the process returns to step S505. If it is determined in the card position state determination (step S506) that an abnormality due to a card jam or the like has occurred in the card reader, the abnormal state is notified (step S521). On the other hand, if it is determined in the card position state determination (step S506) that there is a card in the card reader, a “1-2 IC activation command” is issued by the magnetic / IC read / write control application (step S507). .

  Next, the status monitoring application is activated to issue a “2-2 status notification command”, and the IC activation status based on the “1-2 IC activation command” issued in step S507 is grasped (step S508). ). In the IC activation state determination (step S509), if it is determined that the IC card is in an inactive state, the process returns to step S508. If it is determined in the IC activation state determination (step S509) that an abnormality has occurred due to the absence of an IC card in the card reader, the abnormal state is notified (step S521). On the other hand, if it is determined that the IC card is in an activated state, the magnetic / IC read / write control application issues “1-3 IC communication command” (step S510), and the magnetic / IC read / write control application Then, “1-4 IC deactivation command” is issued (step S511).

  Next, a “2-3 state notification command” is issued by the state monitoring application, and an IC activation state based on the “1-4 IC deactivation command” issued in step S511 is grasped (step S512). . If it is determined in the IC activation state determination (step S513) that the IC card is in the activated state, the process returns to step S512. Further, in the determination of the IC activation state (step S513), if it is determined that an abnormality has occurred due to the inability to communicate with the IC card, the abnormal state is notified (step S521). On the other hand, if it is determined that the IC card is in an inactive state, a “1-5 card ejection command” is issued by the card issuance control application (step S514).

  Next, a “2-4 status notification command” is issued by the status monitoring application, and the card position based on the “1-5 card ejection command” issued in step S514 is grasped (step S515). If it is determined in the card position state determination (step S516) that there is a card in the card reader, the process returns to step S515. If it is determined in the card position state determination (step S516) that an abnormality due to a card jam or the like has occurred in the card reader, the abnormal state is notified (step S521). If it is determined in the card position state determination (step S516) that there is no card in the card reader, the process proceeds to step S520. On the other hand, if it is determined in the card position state determination (step S516) that there is a card at the gate port, the display screen is notified to the user to remove the card (step S517).

  Next, the “2-4 status notification command” is issued by the status monitoring application to grasp the card position (step S518). If it is determined in the card position state determination (step S519) that there is a card in the card reader, the process returns to step S518. If it is determined in the card position state determination (step S519) that an abnormality due to a card jam or the like has occurred in the card reader, the abnormal state is notified (step S521). On the other hand, in determining the status of the card position (step S519), the screen is notified that the card has been normally issued (step S520).

  The subroutine is completed through the processing in step S520 or step S521 described above.

In the above-described processing, each command issued by the device control process P _C1, P _C2, sequentially sent to the device control command receiving API in the local server application program of the communication control process P _S, they chronologically The data is sequentially transmitted to the device control command reception API of the communication middleware, and they are queued sequentially to the device control FIFO buffer in time series. The commands stored in the device control FIFO buffer are transmitted to the device control message conversion unit in the order stored earlier at a predetermined timing, and the device control message conversion unit receives the card for each received order. It is converted into a command message of the issuing machine 3 and transmitted to the communication control unit 11. Note that the conversion to an instruction message is converted into a plurality of messages for one command. For example, when converting “1-1 card issue command” to an issuer instruction message, “1-1-1 Status request” is used. "," 1-1-2 Card set ".

On the other hand, in the above-described processing, in parallel with the execution of the processing of the device control command, status monitoring process P state by the state monitoring application program issued regularly in _CW notification command communication control process by the communication middleware P _S The status notification command received by the status monitoring command reception API is queued in the status notification FIFO buffer. Specifically, by a command from the CPU 21, the state monitoring process P _CW, the status monitoring application programs, issues a status notification command periodically (at all times constant intervals), issued in the state monitoring process P _CW The status notification command is sequentially transmitted to the status monitoring command reception API in the local server application program of the communication control process Ps. Each command received by the status monitoring command reception API in the local server application program is sequentially transmitted to the status monitoring command reception API of the communication middleware, and the status notification command received by the status monitoring command reception API Are queued in the device control FIFO buffer. The status notification FIFO buffer sequentially writes and stores the commands received by the status monitoring command reception API. The status notification commands stored in the status notification FIFO buffer are transmitted to the status monitoring message conversion unit and transmitted to the transmission control unit 11 in the order stored in advance at a predetermined timing. The conversion to the command message is, for example, “2-1 Status request” when the “2-1 status notification command” is converted to the issuing machine command message.

  In the above, the command received by the communication control unit 11 is transmitted to the card issuing machine 3 via the communication interface 25 and the communication cable 4. The message thus converted is transmitted to the card issuing machine 3 by the communication control unit 11, and the magnetic / IC card issuing machine 3 executes the status notification command and the device control command alternately.

  Here, when the commands stored in the device control FIFO buffer and the status notification FIFO buffer are converted into messages, they are alternately performed. Specifically, when a command queued in the device control FIFO buffer is converted to an issuer command message, the command queued in the status notification FIFO buffer is not converted to an issuer command message. . Conversely, when a command queued in the status notification FIFO buffer is converted into an issuer command message, the command queued in the device control FIFO buffer is not converted into an issuer command message.

  Further, since the status notification command and the device control command are executed alternately, for example, even if the “1-1 card issue command” has reached the FIFO buffer before the “2-1 status notification command”, Since the converted issuer command message is executed in the order of “1-1-1 Status request”, “2-1 Status request”, “1-1-2 Card set”, the result is “1-1 card issue command”. Before the execution result is notified, the execution result of the “2-1 status notification command” is notified. In other words, even if the device control command is a command that must be converted into multiple issuing machine command messages, the result of the status notification command is notified without waiting for the execution result of the device control command. can do.

  FIG. 9 is a time state diagram showing the information processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram for explaining the operation processing of the card ejection command. This operation process corresponds to the process after step S514 in FIG.

When you issue the card ejection command in device control process P _C2 in the card issuing control applications (see step S514 in FIG. 8), "Card carry the communication control process P _S in the card issuing machine 3 has received the command - Eject "is commanded, and the card is moved to the gate (see steps S515 to S516 in FIG. 8). Card is moved to the gate, when it is withdrawn card card to grasp the state that no gate (see step S517~S520 of FIG. 8), "card ejection to the communication control process P _S in the device control process P _C2 A “completion notice” is sent, and the card discharge command operation process ends.

During such processing, the state monitoring process P _CW is performed monitors the status of the card issuing machine 3, the process of issuing the status notification command and status notifications with the communication control process P _S ( (See steps SS515 and S518 in FIG. 8). Moreover, the card issuing machine 3 has a state determination of the card position (see step S516, S519 of FIG. 8), receives the "Status request" from the communication control process P _S, it is moved card gate A response is made according to the position state that the card is at the gate and the card is not at the gate.

Note that the card ejection operation process shown in FIG. 8 is for the case where the IC card is in an inactive state, but when the card ejection command is issued when the IC card is in an activated state, FIG. as shown in 9, the card issuing machine 3 from the communication control process P _S - can also be carried out by deactivating the IC card receives a "IC contact Release", the operation process of the card ejection.

[Main effects of this embodiment]
As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the host device 2 includes the plurality of device control processes P _C1 and P _C2 that issue device control commands and the state monitoring process P _CW that issues status notification commands. has the function of communicating control process P _S communicating with the card issuing machine 3, in a state where the communication control process P _S has established communications with access devices, each device control process P _C1, P _C2 Are executed in order, it is not necessary to repeat the interruption / opening of communication every time each device control process is executed, so that the processing time of each device control process can be shortened. Further, since the state monitoring process is executed in preference to the plurality of device control processes P _C1 and P _C2 , it is possible to grasp the state of the device at any time without blocking / opening communication.

Moreover, also the upper device and the device is connected through a single communication line, to establish communication with a host device and a device in a state where the communication control process P _S has established communications with access devices plurality The device control process can be executed.

  Further, the host device 2 does not know where the card is stopped. Therefore, even if the card ejection command has not been completed, issuing the status notification command and executing it will tell you the card position, and if the card is in the ejection slot, you can sound an alarm that the user has forgotten to remove. If it is stagnant, it is possible to notify the maintenance company.

[Other embodiments]
The magnetic / IC card issuer 3 as an example is an example, and various devices such as a printer and a barcode reader can be individually or combined. Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the RS-232C system is used for communication, but the present invention can also be applied to other systems such as a USB system.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful as an information processing system and information processing method that can establish communication between a host device and a device and execute a device control process in a short time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing system 2 Host apparatus 3 Card issuing machine 4 Communication line 10 Exclusive record recording shared memory 11 Communication control part

Claims (9)

In an information processing system in which a host device and a device that executes processing according to a command from the host device are connected,
The host device is
A plurality of application programs for performing predetermined operation processing are stored, and a plurality of device control processes in which the device operates according to each application program,
An application program for performing communication control between the host device and the device is stored, and a communication control process for establishing communication between the host device and the device according to the application program,
Has the function to execute
The device executes predetermined operation processing included in each device control process via communication with the host device ,
The information processing system , wherein the communication control process performs inter-process communication with the plurality of device control processes in a state where communication with the device is established . The host system, the state monitoring application program for monitoring the status of the device is stored, it has a function to perform a condition monitoring process to monitor the state of the device in accordance with the status monitoring application program ,
The communication control process performs inter-process communication with the state monitoring process in a state where communication with the device is established , and alternately executes the state monitoring process and each of the plurality of device control processes. The information processing system according to claim 1.   3. The information according to claim 2, wherein the communication control process alternately transmits a status notification command issued by the status monitoring process and an operation command issued by each of the plurality of device control processes to the device. Processing system.   4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the host device includes a status notification FIFO buffer for storing the status notification command and a device control FIFO buffer for storing the operation command.   The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the communication is an RS-232C system. An information processing method for executing predetermined device control via communication between a host device and a device that executes processing according to a command from the host device,
A communication control process for establishing communications between said host device device in accordance with an application program for controlling communication between the between the host system device to execute the host device,
Be one order to be executed on the host system device control process for operating the device according to the application program for performing a predetermined operation process,
The information processing method , wherein the communication control process performs inter-process communication with the plurality of device control processes in a state where communication with the device is established . Wherein the communication control process, the state monitoring process to monitor the state of the device according to the state monitoring the application program for monitoring the status of the device, while establishing communication with the device, and the state monitoring process The information processing method according to claim 6 , wherein inter-process communication is performed to alternately execute the state monitoring process and each of the plurality of device control processes.   8. The information according to claim 7, wherein the communication control process alternately transmits a status notification command issued by the status monitoring process and an operation command issued by each of the plurality of device control processes to the device. Processing method.   9. The information processing method according to claim 8, wherein the host device includes a status notification FIFO buffer for storing the status notification command and a device control FIFO buffer for storing the operation command.