JPH0352704B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a transmission method for exchanging information through telephone lines, particularly public telephone lines. [Prior Art] Information transmission systems that use public telephone lines as signal lines have been in the spotlight in recent years as a system for exchanging information between two points in remote locations. The previously proposed information transmission method using public telephone lines is as shown in Figure 4.
1 and 12 to the public telephone line 14 via the modem 13
It is configured to send and receive information by connecting to. [Problems to be solved by the invention] This conventional method is interactive, and when attempting to connect computers via telephone line, if the other party is busy, you must wait until the other party is connected, and both The problem was that information could only be transmitted when the free times of the two users matched. The present invention solves these conventional problems and allows data to be transmitted and stored to the other party even when the other party's computer is not in a state to receive information, and also allows the data contents to be maintained even in the event of a momentary power outage of the computer. The purpose of this is to provide an information transmission system that does not cause any damage, and specifically aims to satisfy the following requirements. (1) Reducing the burden of transmission processing Microcomputers and personal computers used in FA and OA systems are responsible for their respective main tasks, and when processing data for data transmission, they tend to neglect their main tasks. However, in the present invention, it is desired to perform data transmission without any burden. (2) Ability to freely configure the system Factory production systems change constantly. In response to this, I would like to have a degree of freedom that not only allows me to freely expand and reduce changes, but also allows me to collect data on an ad hoc basis. (3) Ability to connect microcontrollers and personal computers of different manufacturers and models.Transmission rules (protocols) vary between different manufacturers and models, making it impossible to connect them directly. Therefore, even if the languages used are different, we would like to transmit the data only indirectly. (4) Connections can be made using simple software. Simple connections can be made without using special languages or processing.
I want to allow users to directly program and transmit data using BASIC or ASSEMBLER. (5) Data storage must be reliable The factory environment is difficult for data transmission, but it is important to ensure that data can be stored reliably against momentary power outages and other accidents, as well as noise-proof measures. I want to be. [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to satisfy the above-mentioned needs, the present invention provides an interface between a modem connected to a telephone line and a computer, in which data transmitted from the computer and data received via the modem are connected to a telephone line. Provided with nonvolatile buffer memories for signal transmission and reception that store data even in the event of a power outage, and a transmission control means that outputs data when the receiving buffer of the other station or the computer of the own station is in a state of receiving data, When transmitting data, the computer of the local station sends a signal consisting of a transmission request signal, the telephone number of the other station, and the transmission data to the nonvolatile buffer memory for signal transmission of the local station, When there is transmission data in the buffer memory, the data is sent via the telephone line to the non-volatile buffer memory for signal reception of the other station, with the address of the own station attached to the other station, and the computer of the receiving side station receives the data. The structure is such that information is transmitted by inquiring whether data is coming from the receiving nonvolatile buffer memory on the side, and if so, receiving the data. Specifically, the following configuration was provided in response to the above purpose. (1) In order to reduce the transmission processing burden, the present invention provides a non-volatile buffer memory, and when a command is attached to the data to be sent, the destination, and the transmission method and is passed to the other station, the other station decodes the command and transmits it. I made it so that I could do it. This command is
These include transmission requests, whether the transmission buffer is empty, whether there is data in the reception buffer, and requests for take-back from the reception buffer. (2) In order to allow for free system configuration, connections can be made freely through public telephone lines. (3) To enable connection with microcontrollers and personal computers of different manufacturers and models, only data is transmitted to the transmit/receive buffer memory. Direct connections between microcomputers and computers of different manufacturers and models are not possible because their protocols are inconsistent. Therefore, once the data is written to nonvolatile memory, the computer moves to another job.
The other party's computer inquires of the other party's buffer memory whether data has arrived, and if so, it will take over the data. This allows data to be exchanged between computers and microcomputers regardless of their protocols. (4) To connect with simple software, use a simple
It is now possible to program using BASIC or ASSEMBLER. (5) In order to ensure data storage, each station is equipped with non-volatile memory, and in the event of a power outage or when the other party's computer is not working (the other party's computer is working on another job).
Even if the receiver is not ready to receive data (such as when the receiver is on standby or not on standby), it is now possible to ensure data is saved by transmitting up to the receiving buffer of the other party. That is, while the conventional information transmission method using public telephone lines is an "interactive method" in which data is transmitted while talking with the other party, the method of the present invention transmits data to the other party's vacant post (corresponding to the reception buffer). Data can be transmitted and the other party can receive the data from the mailbox during their free time, which can be called a ``mail post method.'' In the former method, it is impossible to send or receive data unless it is connected to the other party's computer, but in the latter method of the present invention, there is no need to directly send data to the other party's computer, so the telephone line is free. If so, the data can be sent and the other party can receive the data in their free time. [Example] The present invention will be specifically described below. Figure 1 shows
1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of an information transmission system according to the present invention, in which a public telephone line 1 includes a modem 2;
A and 2B are connected. Each station has a non-volatile RAM 4A, 4B for storing transmitted data and a non-volatile RAM for storing received data via an automatic dialing device 3A, 3B.
RAMs 5A and 5B are provided, and data is input and outputted by personal computers 6A and 6B, respectively. In the figure, 7A and 7B are transmission control units, and 8A and 8B are command decoding units. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the nonvolatile RAMs 4A and 5A, the transmission control section 7A, and the command decoding section 8A. In the same figure, 21 is for the line
A reference clock for operating the CPU 22 and peripheral interfaces, 23 is a ROM for system programs, and 24 is an EEPROM for writing various settings.
The settings are written using the operation panel. 25 is a control for the system
RAM 27 is a real-time clock that can display hours, minutes, seconds, year (last two digits of the Western calendar), month, and day as a system calendar clock. 28
is a modem interface, and is equipped with LSI for controlling the modem and automatic dialing device, and a transmission/reception line driver. 29 is a battery for backing up the non-volatile RAMs 4A and 5A for storing transmitted and received data and the real-time clock 27. 30 is a monitor LED which displays line status and errors, terminal status and errors.
31 is a shared memory for interfacing between the CPU 22 and the sub CPU 34, and is also used as the main memory of the sub CPU 34. 32 is an RS-232C interface for connecting to a terminal such as a personal computer, 33 is a connection interface for a setting operation panel for configuring RS-232C, etc., 34 is a terminal CPU, 3
5 is a power supply that is supplied to the main body. The reception command from PC 6A is RS-
The data is exchanged via the 232C interface 32, and "OK" or "ERR" is returned depending on whether the nonvolatile RAM 4A for storing data for transmission is empty. If "OK", the data is set in the nonvolatile RAM 4A for storing data for transmission via the RS-232C interface 32 and the interface RAM 31. Next, the modem interface 28 instructs the automatic dialing device 3A to indicate the telephone number of the other party, prompting the telephone connection. When the telephone is connected, data from the nonvolatile RAM 4A for storing transmission data is transmitted via the modem interface 28. On the other hand, when receiving data, the non-volatile RAM for storing received data is used via the modem interface 28.
Data is set to 5A. RS from PC
-232C If the command “RX” comes through the interface 32, if the received data storage non-volatile
If there is no data in RAM5A, reply "000",
Non-volatile RAM 5 for storing received data if there is data
RS- from A via interface RAM31
The data is output to the personal computer via the 232C interface 32, and the nonvolatile RAM 5A for storing received data becomes empty. More specifically, communication according to the present invention begins with a personal computer sending and receiving data to and from the other party by attaching a command and an address (the other party's telephone number) to a message. Examples of commands used to implement the present invention will be described.

【table】

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention provides the following effects. (1) Since each station has a non-volatile buffer memory, personal computers and microcontrollers can perform other processing by transferring data to this non-volatile buffer memory, reducing the burden of transmission processing. can. (2) Even if the system capacity increases, since each station is equipped with a non-volatile buffer memory, the system can be freely configured. (3) Since it is a Mailbost method and only data is transmitted, microcomputers and PCs of different manufacturers and models can be connected. (4) Data can be exchanged and received using software written in a simple language. (5) Since it is a non-volatile buffer memory, data can be reliably saved even if there is a power outage or the other party's PC or microcontroller is not in a state to receive data. (6) Generally, when transmitting information between PCs, you have to make a phone call while doing a job, so there is some waiting time, resulting in a long call time, but with the present invention, the necessary data is transmitted in a short time. As a result, call time is significantly shortened.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention.
The figure is a block diagram showing an example of a detailed configuration of a non-volatile RAM and a transmission control unit, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of information transmission according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an information transmission system using a conventional public telephone line. It is. 1: Public telephone line, 2A, 2B: Modem, 3
A, 3B: Automatic dialing device, 4A, 4B: Nonvolatile RAM for storing transmitted data, 5A, 5B: Nonvolatile RAM for storing received data, 6A, 6B: Personal computer, 7A, 7B: Transmission control unit, 8A, 8B: Command decoding Part, 21: Clock, 22: CPU, 2
3: ROM, 24: EEPROM, 25: Control RAM, 27: Real-time clock, 2
8: Modem interface, 29: Backup battery, 30: Monitor LED, 31:
Interface RAM, 32: RS-232C interface, 33: Operation panel interface, 34: Sub CPU, 35: Power supply.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A nonvolatile buffer memory for signal transmission and reception, which stores data transmitted from the computer and data received via the modem, respectively, even in the event of a power outage, between a modem connected to a telephone line and the computer; A reception buffer of the other station or a transmission control means that outputs data when the computer of the own station is in a state of receiving data is provided, and when transmitting data, the computer of the own station sends a transmission request to the nonvolatile buffer memory for signal transmission of the own station. The transmission control means transmits a signal consisting of the signal, the telephone number of the other station, and the transmission data, and when there is transmission data in the nonvolatile buffer memory for signal transmission of the own station, the transmission control means attaches the address of the own station to the other station. The data is transmitted via the telephone line to the non-volatile buffer memory for signal reception of the other station, and the computer of the receiving station inquires of the non-volatile buffer memory for signal reception of the receiving side whether or not data has arrived. An information transmission method characterized by transmitting information by taking the data when it is available.