JPH02195462A - Information processing terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to change and add an I/O device and to make the correspondence of the change and addition flexible by allowing a command analyzing part to refer the contents of a device control table at the time of using the device. CONSTITUTION:At the time of generating an I/O command after specifying a device and setting up a device parameter from the side of a task processing part 3, the command analyzing part 2 receives the command and retrieves whether the device concerned exists in the device control table 6 or not. When the specified device exists and the device is not acquired yet, a device processing part 5 is started and device operation is started. After ending the event of the device 7, a device processing part 5 returns a mail message to a mail box part 1.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention is equipped with a plurality of input/output devices, operates the plurality of devices at the same time, and provides services to users! The present invention relates to an information processing terminal provided by the Company.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, due to the diversification of service operations, a variety of portable and stationary information processing terminals have come into existence. These terminals are built-in or control multiple devices connected externally. A conventional information processing terminal has a configuration as shown in FIG. 9 in order to realize control of each device. Referring to FIG. 9, 40 is an information processing terminal to be described here, 37 is a device within the information processing terminal 40, and 33 is a device 37 that is effective for operating the hardware device, while various A task processing unit 32 executes the application cage program of 32, and a command analysis unit 36 has a function of interpreting the command for the device 37 issued from the task processing unit 33 and starting the selected device 37. is actually device 3
This is a device processing unit that has the function of operating 7.

The operation will be explained below according to FIG. The description will be made assuming that the device 37 in the information processing terminal 40 is set as a keyboard. In order to operate this information processing terminal 40 and allow the service user to select what kind of service he or she would like to receive, it is assumed that the information processing terminal 40 is in a state of waiting for keyboard input for several types of displayed services. First, the task processing unit 33 issues a command to use the device 37 that the user wants to use. In FIG. 10, the command analysis section 32 and the device processing section 36 are collectively shown as a device processing section 42. It is assumed that the command includes information on usage parameters (specified device name, number of input characters, etc.). The command analysis unit 32 determines the validity of the parameter, and if valid, transfers control to the device processing unit 36, and if invalid, returns a result of parameter invalidation to the task processing unit 33.

When the parameter is valid, the device processing unit 36 starts up the corresponding device 37. Assuming that the device processing unit 36 is configured to be able to determine that a key has been input if there is an interrupt input for the keyboard, the device processing unit 36 is now in an interrupt input waiting state. At this time device 3
The task program in the task processing section 33 that issued the request to use 7 is also stopped waiting for the processing result from the corresponding device processing section 36.

When the device 37 enters a waiting state, the task program cannot perform any other processing other than the waiting state.

Therefore, by introducing a multitasking operating system and configuring the system so that when one task program enters a wait state, the next task program performs another process, it is possible to perform other processes while in this wait state. can. Of course, when the wait state is avoided, processing of the previous task program is continued.

When a keyboard interrupt input occurs, the device processing unit 36 starts device processing. When the process is finished,
It prohibits keyboard interrupt input and notifies the task processing unit 33 of the processing result (eg, keyboard input number). When the task processing unit 33 accepts the processing result, it starts executing the selected service.

The information processing terminal 40 has a plurality of devices 37, a command for starting the devices 37, and a device processing section 36. These device processing units 36 are generally referred to as device drivers, and in many cases, the operating system incorporates the functions of this device driver into an operating system that is integrated with an input/output driver. In developing programs for the information processing terminal 40, the device software is limited in order to reduce manufacturing costs and shorten delivery times, thereby reducing the amount of development programs. Therefore, normally, the task processing section 33 and the device processing section 36
are developed at the same time, assembled or compiled at the same time, and the program combination work called linking is performed on the development machine side, and the linked object program is stored in a non-volatile, non-rewritable memory such as the ROM of the information processing terminal 40. Store in memory.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the configuration of the information processing terminal as described above,
The following issues were encountered.

In the first method of building an operating system that integrates input/output drivers, each device processing program in the device processing section does not have a structure that allows for easy changes and additions. It was difficult to add output devices.

Second, when all the processing programs for the assumed input/output devices are prepared in advance, there is a problem that the size of the device processing program increases dramatically as the number of devices increases.

The present invention solves these problems and provides an information processing terminal having a function that allows input/output device processing programs to be easily added sequentially.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a device management table that holds device information in a terminal, a device processing section that performs device input/output processing, and an execution result of the device processing section. A mailbox section that has the function of storing the results and sending the results to the requested location, a command analysis section that has the function of analyzing commands necessary for device processing, and issuing the necessary commands to the command analysis section. , a task processing unit that realizes various information processing, and a device change unit that has a function of changing device information in the terminal, and the device change unit manages the device management at the same time as the re-registration of the device processing unit. The device has a means for changing device information by rewriting the contents of the table.

Effect With this configuration, all device existence information in the device processing section is written in the device management table, and when the device starts to be used, the command analysis section can start device processing by referring to the contents of the table. In addition, by having the ability to change and add the contents of the device management table, it is possible to flexibly respond to various system requests.

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in detail below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1Q is an information processing terminal described here, 7 is a device that is an input/output device in the information processing terminal 10, 6 is a device processing unit that directly controls the device 7, and 6 is an information processing terminal. 10 is a device management table that stores information held by the device 7, 2 is a command analysis unit that selects a designated device 7, 4 is a device change unit that changes device processing content, 1 is a process of the device processing unit 6 Mailbox part 3 stores results, issues input/output commands,
This is a task processing unit that has a function of performing arithmetic processing other than device processing.

The details of the internal processing of this information processing terminal 1o are shown below. Here, the description will be made assuming that the device 7 is a keyboard input device. First, a mailbox is created in the mailbox unit 1 to store the processing results of the keyboard input device. Next, as shown in FIG. 2, after specifying a device and setting device parameters from the task processing unit 3 side, an input/output command is issued. The command analysis unit 2 on the device processing 12 side accepts this command and searches the device management table 6 to see if the corresponding device 7 exists. Here, the device processing 12 includes the command analysis section 2, the device processing section 6, and the device management table 6. The command analysis unit 2 starts the necessary input/output devices.
Waits for input/output commands corresponding to device 7. For example, for keyboard input commands, there is a dedicated “K IEY I N
j command is used. The command analysis section 2 determines which process of which device 7 this command corresponds to, sets the operating parameters of the device 7, and transfers the processing to the device processing section 6.

An example showing a configuration example of this device management table 6 is shown in the third example.
It is a diagram. FIG. 3 shows the name of the device 7 registered in the information processing terminal 10, the address where the device processing unit 6 is located, and information such as whether the device 7 is currently waiting for an input or whether it is currently in the active state. Stores device status information indicating device acquisition and usage status.

A method for changing or adding information to the device management table 6 will be described in detail later. Further, an example showing the state of the device 7 will be described in detail later.

If the device 7 specified by the task processing unit 3 exists and its acquisition state is an unacquired state, the corresponding device processing unit 6 is activated and the operation of the device 7 is started. Here, the keyboard input device is set to the operating state, a certain specific keyboard input is used as an interrupt input signal, and if there is an interrupt input, input determination processing is started. The difference from the conventional example is that the present invention has a configuration in which, before proceeding to the input waiting process, a response indicating that the corresponding device 7 has changed to the usage permission state is returned to the task processing unit 3. By waiting for this configuration, the task processing unit 3 can start arithmetic processing other than designated device processing. During this time, it is also possible to perform calculation processing such as aggregating today's cash services. It is also possible to issue commands for input/output device requests to other devices 7. When the processing result of the device 7 is desired, the function of the mailbox section 1 is used and the user waits until the corresponding mail message arrives. Therefore even under multitasking operating systems.

Even without operating a plurality of task programs in the task processing unit 3 as in the conventional example, it is possible to continue processing one after another as long as there is no waiting for a mail message. Of course, a plurality of task programs may be operated.

When the interrupt signal from the keyboard is accepted, device processing is started, and when the processing is completed, the device 70 interrupt input is not accepted and the device processing is ended. This processing result is sent to the mailbox unit 1 as a mail message. Depending on the type of device 7, this device processing section 5 may operate with an interrupt input, or may operate without an interrupt input. Device processing that does not involve interrupts usually requires no waiting time, but if another interrupt is input while device 7 processing that does not involve interrupts is being executed, the current processing will be interrupted. If the corresponding device processing unit 6 is configured to be activated, the user must wait until the interrupt processing program that accompanies the latter interrupt is completed. In addition, the end of processing of all device processing units 6 is notified via the mailbox unit 1 so that the user can develop programs without being aware of the distinction between devices 7 with interrupts and devices 7 without interrupts. The configuration is as follows. Further, the number of mailboxes in the mailbox section 1 must be greater than the total number of devices 7 that operate in parallel at the same time. In addition to the function of waiting until the desired e-mail message is received, the mailbox section 10 functions include checking whether or not an e-mail message has been received.
It may be configured to have a function of receiving and accepting a mail message when it has arrived, and starting the next process without processing any mail message when it has not arrived. As mentioned above, if the 5 o'clock time that has not yet arrived is configured to perform another process, the multiplicity of processes will be increased.

When the event of the corresponding device 7 is completed, the device processing unit 6 corresponding to each device 7 returns the result to the mailbox unit 1 as a mail message. In addition to notifying you that the process has been completed successfully, the corresponding device 7
is out of order, or a device abnormality is detected.
Alternatively, a message indicating that a parameter is found to be defective is sent to the mailbox section 1 as a mail message.

The contents of this mail message may be composed of a plurality of messages, such as the current device status and the end status. For example, normal.

Parity error (an abnormality discovered during data reception processing, indicating that data could not be received correctly), timeout error (indicating that processing did not finish within the time limit), termination status of forced termination It can also be configured to return detailed content. In addition to this example, the message may also be configured to include actual data itself. For example, in the case of a keyboard device, the email message may include a key number indicating which keyboard was pressed. Also, when processing to receive 10 bytes of data, up to the 8th byte was received correctly, but when a parity error occurred at the 9th byte, there were two types of data: reception of the 8 bytes of data and occurrence of a parity error. may be included in the message.

The device 7 may be, for example, a real-time clock that generates an interrupt input at every necessary time.

Generates an interrupt when input from a keyboard, etc. occurs When communicating data with an input device or other device, generates an interrupt if there is input, or generates an interrupt when preparations are made to send data. A communication device such as this is configured using hardware. There are other devices 7 such as speaker devices that can operate even with interrupts.

The system is configured to wait for an interrupt as many times as a condition set by a parameter is satisfied for each type of device termination that involves an interrupt. For example, if you set parameters to receive 3 bytes of data and configure the device 7 to generate an interrupt when there is 1 byte of received data, it will wait for 3 reception interrupts and complete the data reception. The configuration is such that the interrupt of the corresponding device 7 is enabled, and when the interrupt occurs three times, the interrupt is prohibited and the corresponding device 7 is inactivated. Some devices 7 perform only one process like this, and some devices 7 themselves are intelligent and have a microcomputer etc. installed on them.
If you send a certain command, the process will be performed on the device 7 side,
In some cases, the device may be configured so that the results can be received as a response after the device processing is completed.

When changing the device processing content, the device change section 4
, and load the device processing section 6 that you want to change.

At this time, the device changing section 4 refers to the device management table 6, checks the available memory area, and loads the corresponding program of the device processing section 6 there. The device processing program must be written in a relocatable format in which the program code is expressed by relative addresses so that it can be placed anywhere in the memory of the information processing terminal 1o. If it is not written in a relocatable format, it is necessary to read the contents of the device management table 6, find a free memory, and program with that absolute address.

There are several possible ways to change the device management table 6.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the information is added to the device management table 6 one after another. In FIG. 3, device name M to X are the device name and device program address programmed into the terminal from the beginning.

When it is desired to change the processing content of device name C, 1, the configuration is such that the device name C and the device program address are written in the change area. If a method is adopted in which the contents of the change area are searched with priority, the processing contents of the corresponding device 7 can be changed. FIG. 4 shows the memory configuration of the device management table 6. Information unique to the terminal is stored in the fixed information section 61 from the beginning, and changed information is stored in the changed information section 62. The device selection section 60 implements the function of preferentially searching the change information section 62. The fixed information section 61 is composed of non-volatile, non-rewritable memory,
The change information section is a non-volatile rewritable memory (][F
It consists of ROM and battery-backed RAM. The device selection unit 60 stores location information such as the memory configuration of the device management table 6.

The device information is searched using the priority information (here, the rule that the change information part 62 is given priority).

Has the authority to decide on actions.

Alternatively, the device management table e may be constructed entirely of non-volatile rewritable memory, and the change information may be overwritten on the corresponding device information. At this time as well, the device processing unit 6 is configured to check the free area of the memory and allocate the area. If you have a way to delete any unnecessary device processing programs when you run out of space to allocate, you'll have even more flexibility.

To change the contents of the device management table 6, there are cases where a dedicated table change processing section such as the device change section 4 described here is provided, and cases where the contents are directly rewritten by the user. However, if the user rewrites it without permission and it no longer works properly, it will be difficult to analyze.
It is better to take a method that does not allow this. It is preferable to entrust management of the table to system software such as the device changing unit 4. Also, from the point of view of security protection, it seems better not to release this device management table 6 to the user. This is because there is a risk that unauthorized use may be possible by rewriting information about the device without permission.

As a second embodiment, an information processing terminal 10 will be described in which not only the contents of device processing can be changed but also a device 7 and a device processing section 6 can be added.

The components and method of use of the information processing terminal 1Q are the same as those in the first embodiment. However, the device change unit 4 accepts not only changes in device processing content but also requests for additions. The additional content is written in the change information section 62 in the device management table e. Care must be taken to ensure that the additional device name is not the same as the name of the currently owned device.

Therefore, the device changing unit 4 needs a function to eliminate the same name when registering a device and request a different name again. Alternatively, it may be configured to automatically assign a different name internally and return the changed name.

The third embodiment shows another configuration example of the command analysis section 2 that determines a device processing request and starts the specified device processing section 6. The command analysis unit 2 first searches the device management table 6 and determines whether the corresponding device 7 exists. If the corresponding device 7 is found, the command analysis unit 2 only takes on the role of directly starting the device processing unit 6. The configuration is as follows. With this configuration, the corresponding device processing can be activated without having a device-specific issue command.

The parameter processing performed by the first command analysis section 2 may be performed within the device processing section 6, which is activated immediately thereafter.

The command analysis method uses a method called a system call for command processing described below. This involves storing the minimum parameters required to execute a command in registers or memory, and then using software interrupts to transfer control to the microprocessor's interrupt pointer table area. For example, when an "INT n" (in the case of Intel Corporation 8086) instruction is executed, a jump is made to the interrupt service address written in the corresponding interrupt pointer table area. By using this instruction, an abduction program created outside the terminal can issue this software interrupt after setting data indicating the device name, even if it does not know the address of the device processing program of the internal device. Device processing can be achieved simply by writing the program that generates it.

There are cases where device processing is performed by a task program within the task processing unit 3, without using a method called a system call.

When device processing is performed using a task program, it is easy to change the device processing program, but there is a problem that the device response speed becomes slow. When a task program operates under a multitasking operating system, it is necessary to determine the priority of multiple task programs and decide which task program to stop and which task program to run. This process is called schedule time or dispatch time. The longer this time takes, the longer it takes for a corresponding device to respond to a request for processing. The faster the device 7 becomes, the more this time becomes a problem. However, the method of activating the device processing unit 6 using a system call is superior in response speed. This is because the corresponding device processing can be started without schedule time.

The fourth embodiment has a function of rearranging information in the device management table 6. There is also a device 7 in the terminal that requires high-speed processing.

The device management table 6 must be configured so that devices 7 that should be processed preferentially can be searched at high speed. However, in the first and second embodiments, the initially determined arrangement of device information cannot be changed. Therefore, the arrangement in the device management table e is changed so that the device 7 that requires high-speed processing is searched first. This may be done by putting the information about the high-speed device 7 at the top and then gradually lowering the information, or by replacing the information at the top with the added high-speed device 7. The device 7 registered first may be arranged in the order of high-speed processing required, and the additional device 7 may be inserted at the number desired to be added, and the rest may be moved to the beginning. At this time, each device processing program in the device processing section 6 is also relocated,
It would be even better if a garbage collection function could be implemented to fill in gaps in memory. When rearranging device processing programs, as mentioned earlier, all programs must be in a relocatable format. This is to enable the program to operate no matter where it is placed. Further, depending on the microprocessor, it is necessary to develop a program that takes into account a large-scale memory configuration by using the instruction "l-FmR" like the Intel Corporation 8086.

As a sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the device processing section 6 is equipped with a device driver section 8 which has the function of directly controlling the hardware of the device 7, and... - functions that cannot be realized by hardware alone. An expanded configuration including a device handler section 9 that notifies the mailbox section 1 of device processing results will be described.

For example, a serial board (R8) that performs serial communication processing
-2320 etc.) control device 7 (YFK 825 etc.)
1) does not have advanced processing such as block transfer. It only supports byte transfers. If you want to receive a certain continuous data string, it is necessary to operate this device 7 consecutively a specified number of times. The device driver section 8 supports this byte transfer, and the device handler section 9 operates the device 7 until the specified number of times is reached. The reason why the work of the device processing section 6 is divided into the device driver section 8 and the device handler section 9 is as follows. When the hardware is fixed, the hardware processing that can be performed using that device 7 is fixed. However, there are times when you want to use the same device 7 in a different way. For example, consider an example communication protocol in which the first byte waits for a certain pattern of characters to be input, continues receiving data until a certain character string comes next, and finally accepts the input of communication test data. Of these, the only function that can be performed on the hardware side is the 1-byte input function, so it is all software that determines where in the received data is determined to be valid data, where it ends, and where the test data comes. It is necessary to do so. However, this communication protocol may be changed due to the circumstances of the other party, or the same device 7 may be used to connect to different devices, and a completely different communication protocol may have to be realized.

Therefore, it is divided into a device driver section 8, which depends on the hardware and does not change unless the hardware changes, and a device handler section 9, which incorporates the desired conditions and is used by replacing them as appropriate. Alternatively, even if the hardware itself is changed to a new one, the aim is to realize a hierarchical program structure that allows only the device driver section 8 to be changed without changing the rest.

The task processing unit 3 does not know when the device driver unit 8 is operating. The task processing unit 3 is notified of its existence by an email message sent from the device handler unit 9. The task processing section 3, device driver section 8, and device handler section 9 can operate independently. The only means for communicating with each other is issuing commands and receiving email messages. After receiving the necessary command, the command analysis section 2 checks the device management table 6 and learns of the existence of the device driver section 8 for the first time. In addition, the device handler section 9
After the device driver unit 8 is activated, it starts operating for the first time.

In the sixth embodiment, one device driver section 8 has a plurality of device handler sections 9. As described in the fifth embodiment, in order to implement multiple requests with different usage methods for one device 7, a plurality of device handler units 9 are provided, and the command analysis unit 2 It is necessary to select and start up the driver section 8 and device fund 2 section 9. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, one device driver section 8 and two device handler sections 9 are provided for one device 7.
1.92, and select either device handler section 9 as necessary. Alternatively, there are times when the device handler section 93 added later is selected. By adopting such a divided configuration, there are also first-order advantages. Conventionally, if two types of functions were realized with one device processing program, it would be necessary to have a selection option within the program to select one of these, and it would also be necessary to create a program that corresponds to both of the two types of parameters. There was a need. However, if the device handler section 9 is selected in advance, classification processing becomes unnecessary and parameter processing is simplified, resulting in a high-speed and flexible processing system. Furthermore, the device handler section 9 can be configured independently for each specification, and can flexibly respond to small-scale specification changes. Furthermore, if there are a plurality of device driver sections 8 with the same function, it is also possible to combine the plurality of device driver sections 8 with the same device handler section 9.

However, when requesting the command analysis section 2, it is necessary to send bare information of the device driver section 8 and device handler section 9. FIG. 7 shows this bare state in the device management table 6.

Device handler numbers “21” and “22” correspond to device driver number “Ql”.

The command analysis unit 2 has a function that changes the acquisition status to ``1'' (usually ``0'') when the device driver ``01'' and device handler ``21'' are specified. It has a mechanism that allows you to know whether it has been selected. It is desirable that the device handler section 9 and the device driver section 8 have a configuration that allows additions and changes to be made, respectively, as in the first and second embodiments. The configuration is such that it can be added or changed independently as needed to follow the flexibility of the system.

A seventh embodiment is shown below. In FIG. 8, the device management table 6 is composed of two types, a device table 64 and a controller table 66, and the connection relationship between each can be dynamically changed. A different handler table 66 can be specified by having a mechanism for rewriting information indicating a device handler address in the device table 64. 63 in Figure 8
6e indicates a driver program specified in the device table 64, and 6e indicates a handler program specified in the handler table 66. Here, it is shown that the device driver "ol" has been specified and the device handler "01" has been selected from the device handler table 66.

With this configuration, the device management table 6 can be dynamically created according to the number of added or changed devices 7. When configured as shown in FIG. 7, free space is configured in advance in the device management table 6 and added to that area, but when configured as shown in FIG. 8, only the device table 64 has free space. All you have to do is create an area, and you can flexibly respond to the addition of information that is optimal for your purpose. The reason is device table 6
This is because if the device handler address in 4 is rewritten, the handler table 66 can be created anywhere in the memory space, resulting in a configuration that is not affected by the size of the handler double 65.

As an eighth embodiment, an example will be shown in which the command analysis unit 2 looks at the device status in the device management table e, thereby prohibiting conflicting use of the same device 7 at the same time under a multitasking operating system. The acquired states in FIGS. 3, 7, and 8 are one implementation example of this device status. After specifying and selecting the corresponding device, the command analysis unit 2 sets the status of the device to the acquired state. Jin's status has information indicating the acquisition or usage status of the device 7. Even if a task program within the task processing unit 3 has already issued a request to acquire the device 7 and started using it, another task program may have issued a request to acquire the same device 7. If is in the acquisition state, subsequent acquisition requests are canceled and wait until the previous task program's requests are completely fulfilled.

This status is canceled immediately before the device processing section 6 or the device handler section 9 finishes processing and notifies the mailbox section 1 of the message.

However, until the message reaches the mailbox section,
It is better not to accept the next device acquisition request. This is to prevent the next device from starting processing before the message is delivered, causing the next message to erase the previous message, or to prevent two messages from being mixed together. In this status, not only the two states of acquired and unacquired, but also the acquired state can be stored separately, such as waiting, which indicates that it is currently in a waiting state, or currently executing processing. can.

Or, when a malfunction is found in the device 7, information is stored to notify the user that the device 7 is malfunctioning, or that the device 7 cannot be used even if it is registered due to an external device not being connected. can also be configured.

To summarize the effects of the present invention, firstly, the existence of the device processing unit 6 that operates the device 7 is all described in the device management table 6, and the command analysis unit 2 only needs to search this content. device information can be understood. Second, since device processing is configured to end only by waiting for an e-mail message, processing requests can be issued to multiple devices 7 without waiting for the processing of a single device 7 to end, making it possible to start multiple task programs. First, it is now possible to perform multiple processing on the device 7 with just one task program. Thirdly, by having a configuration that allows changes and additions to the device 7, the flexibility of the system has increased. Fourth, even if you do not have special input/output commands, you can add,
It is possible to analyze commands for the changed device 7. Sixth, by preferentially arranging the devices 7 that require high-speed processing, the devices 7 can be processed even faster. Sixth, by having the device driver section 8 and the device handler section e, it is possible to respond quickly and flexibly to multiple device processing requests. Seventhly, it is necessary to have a means to avoid conflict between these devices 7.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the information processing terminal of the present invention has all the device information for controlling the device in the device management table, and when the device is used, the command analysis section refers to this content, so that the corresponding device can be To provide an information processing terminal that can flexibly respond to changes in device components, changes in specifications, etc. by having a configuration that can process and change or add this device information. Can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the information processing terminal of the first embodiment;
The figure shows the processing hand condyle of the information processing terminal device in Figure 1,
4 is a memory configuration diagram of the device management table; FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an information processing terminal according to the sixth embodiment; FIG. 6 is a device configuration diagram of the sixth embodiment. Configuration diagram of device handler section and device handler section, 7th
The figure is a configuration diagram of the device management table of the sixth embodiment, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing information relationships showing the contents of the device management table of the seventh embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a diagram of the conventional information processing terminal. The configuration diagram, FIG. 10, is a diagram showing the processing procedure of a conventional information processing terminal. 1°°°...Mailbox section, 2...Command analysis section, 3...Task processing section, 4...
...Device change section. 6...Device processing unit, 6...Device management table, 7...Device, 10...
...Information processing terminal. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and one other person

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) It has a device management table that holds device information in the terminal, a device processing unit that performs device input/output processing, and a function that stores the execution results of the device processing unit and sends the results to the requested location. mailbox section,
a command analysis unit having a function of analyzing commands necessary for device processing of the device processing unit; a task processing unit that realizes various information processing by issuing commands necessary to the command analysis unit; and a terminal device. and a device change unit having a function of changing device information in the device, and the device change unit can change the device information by rewriting the contents of the device management table at the same time as reregistering the device processing unit. An information processing terminal having means for 2. The information processing terminal according to claim 1, further comprising means for writing new device information in the device management table and additionally registering a device processing section. (3) The information processing terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the command analysis section has a function of searching the device management table and determining the presence or absence of a held device. (4) The information processing according to claim 2, further comprising means for rearranging device information by preferentially handling devices that require high-speed processing among owned devices when registering device information in the device management table. Terminal. (5) The device processing unit includes a device driver unit that has the function of directly controlling device hardware, and a function that expands functions that cannot be achieved with device hardware alone and notifies the mailbox unit of device processing results. 3. The information processing terminal according to claim 2, wherein the information processing terminal comprises a device handler section having a device handler section. (6) According to claim 6, there is provided means for realizing a plurality of usage purposes using one device by configuring one device driver section and one or more device handler sections for one device. information processing terminal. (7) The information processing terminal according to claim 5, further comprising means for storing, in the device management table, linkage information specifying one device driver section and a specific device handler among the plurality of device handler sections. (8) The device management table has a device status that stores information indicating the usage status of the device, and the command analysis unit can check the device status when analyzing a command, so that two or more devices can be used under a multitasking operating system. 2. The information processing terminal according to claim 1, wherein the task processing section realizes a conflict elimination function that prohibits the use of the same device at the same time.