JPH05158835A - Data processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save the labor and time of transmitting twice the same data to a master device and a backup master device. CONSTITUTION:In a POS system 30, a store controller 31, the master device 34, the backup master device 35, and slave devices 36, 37 are connected through two inline cables 32, 33. Then, at the time of transmitting a communication block from the slave devices 36, 37 to the master device 34 and the backup master device 35, the data is transmitted to each of the master device 34 and the backup master device 35 by setting the server address of the communication block to each of the master device 34 and the backup master device 35.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electronic register (EC
R), a POS system, a data processing system used in a data terminal, and the like, and more particularly, to a data processing system in which a master / backup master type communication protocol in the POS system is improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the distribution industry, it is important to collect and process data related to merchandise in a timely manner and link it to the next merchandise sale, and systemization for this purpose is in progress. The POS terminal device (electronic register or the like) is a terminal device which is installed in a department store, a supermarket, a specialty store, a retail store, or the like, and which immediately collects data used for single item management, customer management, sales management, and the like. Generally, it has a register function, a file function for temporarily storing data, and an online function for connecting to a host device. In addition, an electronic register (ECR) is for accumulating (registering) sales data and then outputting the sales data to inspect or settle the registered amount and number of times, etc. so as to be useful for business management. In general, a single type electronic register (ECR) that performs registration and data collection independently, and a master register that performs registration and data collection by separate registration machines.
There is a slave (parent-child) type electronic register.

9 and 10 are diagrams for explaining a master / backup master communication protocol in a POS system. FIG. 9 shows the communication protocol and FIG. 10 shows the communication block. In FIG. 9, 11 is a master terminal.
(Hereinafter referred to as master, abbreviated as M in the figure), 1
2 is a backup master terminal (Backup Master Terminal) for backing up the master 11 (hereinafter, backup master, abbreviated as BM in the figure), 13 is a slave terminal (Slave Terminal)
(Hereinafter referred to as a slave, abbreviated as S in the drawing), and these terminals are connected via a predetermined communication line. Communication using this communication line includes in-line (indoor communication) in which indoor devices are connected via a dedicated line, and online in which data is exchanged in store units using, for example, a telephone line. In this case, the master 11 side can also register, but normally, the slave 13 side registers and the registered sales data (data such as product code and its number) is transmitted inline via a communication line or sent online. The master 11 side collects the sales data and collectively processes the sales data to manage the sales data. With this,
Data from slave 13 is backup master 12
The backup master 12 stores the same data as the data stored in the master 11 for backup. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, when the slave 13 sends a PLU unit price inquiry INQ to the master 11, the master 11 sends a PLU unit price response RES to the slave 13, and then the slave 13 sends it to the master 11. The operation ADD (M) of the PLU is transmitted as operation data, and when the master 11 receives the data ADD (M), a response ACK for the operation of the PLU is received.
(M) is returned to the slave 13. Slave 13 is ACK
When (M) is received, the PL to the backup master 12 is backed up to back up the arithmetic ADD of the PLU.
The operation ADD (BM) of U is transmitted, the backup master 12 returns a response ACK (BM) of the operation of PLU to the slave 13, and the series of communication protocols ends. Figure 10
Indicates a communication block 14 used in the above communication protocol, and the communication block 14 indicates the start frame S
Starting with F, the preamble PA, the server address SA of the master (M), the client address CA, the data length LN, and the data DATA are sequentially added, and the check digit BCC is added after the data DATA, and the block is made by the end frame EF. Is the end of. The master (M) 11 and the backup master (BM) 12 have the same hardware configuration, and the master 11 and the backup master 12 only transfer the master right depending on the presence or absence of a flag. That is, when the master 11 has a failure (down), the master 1
When the flag of 1 is cleared and the flag of the backup master 12 is set, the master right is transferred to the backup master 12 and becomes the master. In this way, even if the master right is transferred, the file contents and the program contents of the two are kept the same so that the operation is not hindered.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional master / backup master type data processing system, the slave and the master and the backup master communicate individually and the contents of both are completely the same. Since the backup master is configured to perform backup (mirror matching), the same data needs to be transmitted twice to the master and the backup master, resulting in a decrease in the line usage efficiency. Then, if the slave can specify the master and the backup master so that data can be transmitted at one time, the same data will not be transmitted to the master and the backup master twice. It is obvious that the usage efficiency is improved. An object of the present invention is to enable data to be transmitted from a slave to a master and a backup master at one time.

[0005]

The means of the present invention are as follows. (1) Multiple devices (see the block diagram of FIG. 1, the same applies hereinafter)
And a master device 2 for processing data based on the data transmitted from the slave device 1. For example,
The plurality of devices are terminals such as ECR. In the case of the POS system, the slave side registers and the master side updates the stored data based on the registered data. (2) The backup master device 3 that backs up the master device 2 based on the data transmitted from the slave device 1 is provided. For example, the backup master device stores the same data as the data stored in the master device, and when the master device goes down, the backup master device becomes the master device. (3) When the transmission data is transmitted from the slave device 1 to the master device 2 and the backup master device 3, each of the master device 2 and the backup master device 3 is designated so that the data can be transmitted. For example, the transmission data is a communication block, and the data is transmitted to the master device at the time of data transmission and the backup master device by adding information for specifying the destination device to the transmission data.

[0006]

The operation of the means of the present invention is as follows. First,
It is assumed that a plurality of devices are connected through a communication line or the like, and when a data transmission request is designated by any one of the devices, data can be transmitted to another device. When transmitting predetermined data from the slave device 1 to the master device 2 and the backup master device 3 in this state, information for identifying each of the master device 2 and the backup master device 3 is added to the transmission data. It transmits to each device 2, 3. The master device 2 and the backup master device 3 respectively receive the transmitted data. Therefore, data can be transmitted from the slave to the master and the backup master at one time.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. Description of Principle First, the basic idea of the data processing system will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a communication protocol of the master / backup master system of the present data processing system, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a communication block thereof.
And correspond to FIG. In FIG. 2, 21 is a master terminal (Masrer Terminal) (hereinafter referred to as a master, abbreviated as M in the figure), and 22 is a master 21.
Backup Master Terminal (hereinafter referred to as Backup Master, abbreviated as BM in the figure) and 23 are Slave Terminals (hereinafter referred to as Slave, abbreviated as S in the figure) ), And these terminals are connected via a predetermined communication line. These terminals are the communication blocks shown below with the conventional one (Fig. 3).
The difference is that data can be transmitted using. That is, FIG. 3 shows a communication block 24 used in the communication protocol of this data processing system.
4 is started by the start frame SF, followed by the preamble PA, and then the server address SA1 of the master (M) 21 and the backup master (BM) 2 in place of the server address SA of the conventional master (M).
A server address SA2 of 2 is provided, and similarly, a client address CA, a data length LN, and data DATA follow, and a check digit B follows DATA.
CC is added, and the end frame EF ends the block.

As described above, the communication block 24 has the server address SA indicating the machine number of the master (M) 21.
1 and a backup master (BM) 22 are provided with a server address SA2 indicating the machine number, and the slave 23 is the server address SA of the communication block 24.
By setting either (or both) of 1 and SA2, data can be sent to the set terminal.

Using this communication block 24, the communication protocol of this data processing system is as follows.
As shown in FIG.
When the unit price inquiry INQ of U is sent, the master 11
Sends a unit price response RES of the PLU to the slave 23, and then sets the server addresses SA1 and SA2 of the communication block 24 to the master 21.
And PLU as calculation data in the backup master 22
The calculation ADD (M / BM) of is transmitted. Then, when the PLU calculation ADD is transmitted to the master 21 as shown in FIG. 2A, the PLU calculation ADD is simultaneously transmitted to the backup master 22 as shown in FIG.
When the master 21 receives the data ADD, the master 21 receives a response ACK for the PLU operation as shown in FIG.
(M) is returned to the slave 23, and the backup master 2
2 is also a backup master 2 as shown in FIG.
Slave 23 responding ACK (BM) of operation of PLU 2
Then, the series of communication protocols is completed.

As described above, the present data processing system sends the communication block 24 of the operation to the master 21 and the backup master 22 only once by setting the server address to SA1 and SA2, respectively. Make sure you get back an ACK. By doing so, it is possible to omit the labor of transmitting the calculation ADD (BM) of the PLU to the backup master 22 separately from the master 21 to back up the calculation ADD of the PLU as in the conventional data processing system.

Therefore, if this data processing system is used, the same operation data need not be sent twice, but only once.
The use efficiency of the line can be improved. One Embodiment FIGS. 4 to 8 are views showing one embodiment of a data processing system, and this embodiment is an example applied to a POS system as a data processing system. First, the configuration will be described. Figure 4
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the POS system 30. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 31 denotes a store controller SC (Stor Controller) that operates the entire store, and is a master host controller that reprocesses the master total data and creates a store-level management report and the like. The store controller (SC) 31 has a master (M) 3 that performs processing such as updating stored data based on registration data transmitted via the two high-speed inline cables 32 and 33.
4, a backup master (BM) 35 that backs up the master 34, and a plurality of slaves (S1 to S
N) 36 and 37 are connected. Further, a master file 38 is connected to the store controller 31, and the contents of the master file 38 are transferred to the master 34 or the backup master 35 that serves as a master. The master 34 and the backup master 35 have software search files 39 such as PLU files.
40 are connected to each.

The store controller (SC) 31 is
Operate the entire store, store controller 31 and each PO
The S terminal is connected by high-speed in-line cables 32 and 33, and the master (M) 34 and the backup master (BM) 35 have the same data (mirror) for managing and grasping the operation of the POS system 30. Each slave 3
The contents registered by 6, 37 are inline cable 3
It is immediately updated by the master 34 and the backup master 35 through 2, 33, and even if one of the master 34 and the backup master 35 goes down for some reason, the other terminal remains as the center of the POS system 30 and enables system operation. .. Software search files 39, 4 possessed by the master 34 and the backup master 35
For 0, a product master (PLU file) / customer file, etc. is used. The POS system 30 uses the master file 38 in the store controller 31 as the master 34
To the backup master 35 at high speed and accurately so that the master 34 and the backup master 35 can be mirrored.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the master 34 or the backup master 35 used in the POS system 30. Since the master 34 and the backup master 35 have completely the same hardware configuration as described above, the master 34 will be described as a representative.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 41 is a CPU,
The CPU 41 performs arithmetic processing of values required for various operations while exchanging data with the RAM 43 according to a microprogram stored in the software storage section 42, and an arithmetic control section described later based on the processed data. A control signal for controlling 43, the key input unit 45, the in-line control unit 46, the display unit 48, and the drawer control unit 49 is output.

The CPU 41 includes a software storage unit 42 including a ROM for storing a control microprogram for controlling various operations of the master terminal including a function switching process, an arithmetic control unit 43 for controlling various arithmetic operations, and a writing operation. It consists of a readable volatile memory and stores sales data, data used for calculations, calculation results, etc.
The AM 44, various item keys, operation keys, and a key input unit 45 provided with a mode switch for designating each mode, a store controller 31, a backup master 34, slaves 36 and 37, and in-line cables 32 and 33, and mutually. An in-line control unit 46 for communication, a display unit 47 for displaying various data, a printing unit 48 composed of an R / J printer for printing various data stored in the RAM 44 on journal paper and receipt paper, cash for storing cash / A drawer control unit 49 that controls a drawer that is opened when a deposit key or the like is operated is connected thereto.

The RAM 44 is used as a so-called working memory for temporarily storing processing data, data used for calculation, calculation results, etc. Specifically, the software search file 39 consisting of a PLU file, a customer file, etc., The error count storage unit 50 stores a block counter for specifying an error location when an error occurs, and the reception buffer unit 51 temporarily stores received data. In addition, slave 3
The configurations of 6, 37 are substantially the same as the configuration of the master 34, except that there is no PLU file and the programs stored in the software storage unit 42 are partly different.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In describing the operation of the present data processing system, first, the PLU corresponding to FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described using the flows of FIGS.
The communication protocol at the time of calculation will be described, and then the detailed operation of the POS system 30 according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 shows a communication flow at the time of calculation of the PLU of the slave (S) 23. In FIG. 6, reference numeral Sn (n = 1, 1)
2, ...) indicates each step of the flow. FIG. 2
First, in step S1, the server address SA1 of the master (M) 21 and the server address SA2 of the backup master (BM) 22 are set in the communication block 24 shown in FIG. 3, and PL is set in step S2.
The communication block ADD (M / BM) for U operation is transmitted.
As a result, as shown in FIG.
When the U calculation ADD is transmitted, the PLU calculation A is simultaneously sent to the backup master 22 as shown in FIG.
DD will be sent.

In step S3, the response AC from the master 21
It is determined whether or not there is K (M), and when there is ACK (M) (c in FIG. 2), it is determined in step S4 whether or not there is a response ACK (BM) from the backup master 22. When there is an ACK (BM) in this state, both the master 21 and the backup master 22 are normally PLU.
Since the operation data has been received, the processing of this flow ends. When there is no ACK (BM), the PLU is set by setting the server address SA2 in step S3.
The communication block ADD (BM) for calculation is retransmitted to the backup master 22, and if there is a response ACK (BM) from the backup master 22 to it in step S6, the processing of this flow is ended, and if there is no ACK (BM). Returning to step S5, the process of sending ADD (BM) to the backup master 22 is repeated.

On the other hand, if there is no response ACK (M) from the master 21 in step S3, it is determined in step S7 whether or not there is a response ACK (BM) from the backup master 22, and the response from the backup master 22 is also received. If not, the process returns to step S2 and master 21 again.
The server address SA1 of the backup master 22 and the server address SA2 of the backup master 22 are set, and the process of sending the communication block ADD (M / BM) of the PLU calculation is repeated.

Further, although there is no response ACK (B) from the master 21 in step S7, the backup master 2
When there is a response ACK (BK) from 2, master 2
Since only the second side has to be retransmitted, the server address SA1 is set in step S8 to resend the communication block ADD (M) of the PLU operation to the master 21, and the response AC from the master 21 to it in step S9.
When there is K (M), the processing of this flow is finished and ACK
If there is no (M), the process returns to step S8 and the master 21
The process of sending ADD (M) to is repeated.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a communication flow when the PLU of the master 21 is calculated, and shows a receiving process for receiving data from the slave 23 by the flow of FIG. First, the PL transmitted from the slave 23 in step S11.
It is determined whether or not the U operation data ADD (M / BM) has been received, and the communication block received in step S12 indicates the server address S indicating the machine number (of the master 21) of its own station.
It is determined whether or not there is A1. Server address S of own station
When there is A1, in step S13, as shown in FIG. 2C, the response ACK (M) of the operation of the PLU of the master 21 is sent to the slave 23, and the operation based on the data received in step S14 is executed to complete the operation. The flow process ends. On the other hand, in step S11, the PLU calculation data ADD
(M / BM) is not received or step S
If the server address SA is not the own station at 12, the process returns to step S11 to wait for data transmission to the own station.

FIG. 8 shows the PLU of the backup master 22.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a communication flow at the time of calculation, and shows a receiving process for receiving data from the slave 23 according to the flow of FIG. 6. First, in step S21, it is determined whether or not the PLU operation data ADD (M / BM) transmitted from the slave 23 is received, and in the communication block received in step S22, the machine N (of the backup master 22) of its own station is
It is determined whether or not there is a server address SA2 indicating o. When there is the server address SA2 of the local station, the response ACK (B of the operation of the PLU of the backup master 22 to the slave 23 as shown in FIG.
M) is transmitted, the calculation based on the data received in step S24 is executed, and the processing of this flow ends. On the other hand, when the PLU operation data ADD (M / BM) is not received in step S21 or the server address SA is not the own station in step S22, the process returns to step S21 and waits for data transmission to the own station.

In this way, the server addresses are set in SA1 and SA2, respectively, and the communication communication block 24 for calculation is set.
Is sent only once and ACKs are returned from the master 21 and the backup master 22, the same operation data need only be sent once, and the line usage efficiency is improved.

Next, the operation of the POS system 30 shown in FIG. 4 will be described. Since the POS system 30 uses the store controller (SC) 31 as a transfer method in which the file settings of the master / backup master system are performed at high speed and the consistency (mirror file) is surely obtained by the master 34 and the backup master 35 after data transfer, The method like ~ is used. Perform non-procedural transfer of all data. In this case, Master 3
4. The backup master 35 is in block units (BLOCK
Check with #). The master 34 and the backup master 35 store the block BLOCK # in which the error occurred, and after the error occurs, it is discarded. In order to realize this, the error count storage unit 4
The error occurrence location is stored in 3. After transferring all data, the store controller 31 checks the reception status of the master 34 and the backup master 35.
Do against. When the error state is received, the master 34 and the backup master 35 sequentially retransmit from the smaller block in which the error has occurred. The master 34 and the backup master 35 have the N-block receiving buffer unit 51. Until the normal reception of N blocks, the N blocks are received by the above method. After receiving N blocks, the received block is expanded in the software search file 39.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the store controller 31 first notifies the master 34 of the start of data transfer. Master 34 received is master 3
The initial value 1 is set in the block counter Mn of No. 4. After that, the master 34 enters the reception waiting mode and waits for data. In addition, the store controller 31 is notified that the reception state has been entered. The same process is performed on the backup master 35.

In this case, the backup master 35 has an initial value 1 set in the block counter BMn of the backup master 35. Also, in the store controller 31, the block counter n is set to 1 and data transfer is started. In addition, n of the data to be transferred
Simultaneous notification of the block block to the master / backup master and data reception at both terminals at the same time.

On the other hand, in the master 34 (backup master 35), the block counters n and M which are normally receiving the block or are in the received block.
A block omission check is performed by checking whether it is equal to n (BMn). If both checks are correct, the received block is expanded to the target file (PLU file, customer file). After that, the Mn (BMn) counter is incremented by 1,
Wait for reception again.

On the store controller 31 side, the master 34 required for the above-mentioned check after sending the n-th block
Wait for a time with a little extra time spent by the (backup master 35). Then, the store controller 31 is incremented by +1 and if the entire data is not transmitted, the block is transmitted. At the end of all data, Mn is requested from the master 34 to check whether the data has been normally received by the master 34. The master 34 returns Mn to the store controller 31, performs the same processing on the backup master 35, and receives BMn from the backup master 35.

If all blocks are normally received by the master 34 (backup master 35), n = Mn
It should be (BMn). When n = Mn (BMn), the process ends normally, but if not so, it means that the reception / deployment in the master 34 (backup master 35) is interrupted for some reason in the middle, so Mn is compared with BMn. , The smaller one is obtained, the smaller data is set as a new n, and the data is retransmitted from n again. After the completion of the transfer of all data, it is checked again whether n = Mn (BMn). If they are equal, it is judged to be normal and the processing is ended.

As explained above, the present POS system 3
0 is connected to the store controller 31, the master 34, the backup master 35 and the slaves 36 and 37 via two in-line cables 32 and 33, and transmits a communication block from the slaves 36 and 37 to the master 34 and the backup master 35. At this time, since the server address of the communication block is set in each of the master 34 and the backup master 35 to transmit the data to each of the master 34 and the backup master 35, it is only necessary to send the communication block once. Well, it is possible to save the trouble of transmitting the same data twice to the master 34 and the backup master 35, and it is possible to greatly improve the use efficiency of the line. In this way, the communication efficiency can be improved, so that even if the number of slaves increases, the
The processing capacity can be improved by about 0%.

Further, in this embodiment, since the two in-line cables 32 and 33 are used in the master / backup master POS system 30, the master / backup master is 2.2 times faster than the conventional one. File updates are possible. That is,
The slaves 36 and 37 improve the processing capability by the above-mentioned server address sending method (5 steps in the present embodiment / conventional 6).
In addition to (step = 20% increase), the one of the two in-line cables 32 and 33 which has an empty line can be preferentially used, so that the waiting time due to the blockage of the line can be eliminated. It will be possible.

Although the above embodiment is an example applied to a POS system, it is applicable to all devices including data processing, and may be applied to a data processing system such as ECR or data terminal. ..

Further, it goes without saying that the data transmission process may be any type of process as long as it is a communication system, and can be applied to, for example, sales data inspection / accounting process and an automatic program.

In this embodiment, the server address of the communication block is doubled, but any data form may be used as long as the transmission data is added with the information for identifying the device. Of course.

[0036]

According to the present invention, data can be transmitted from the slave device to the master and the backup master at one time. Therefore, by transmitting the data once, it is possible to save the trouble of transmitting the same data twice to the master device and the backup master device.
The usage efficiency of the line can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a communication protocol of a data processing system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a communication block of a data processing system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a data processing system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a master of the data processing system.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a communication process of a slave of the data processing system.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a master communication process of the data processing system.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a communication process of the backup master of the data processing system.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a communication protocol of a conventional data processing system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a communication block of a conventional data processing system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21,34 Master (M) 22,35 Backup master (BM) 23,36,37 Slave (S) 24 Communication block 30 Data processing system 31 Store controller 32,33 Inline cable SA1 Master server address SA2 Backup master server address

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A master device that connects a plurality of devices and processes data based on data transmitted from a slave device; and a backup master device that backs up the master device based on data transmitted from the slave device. A data processing system comprising: a device for transmitting data from the slave device to the master device and the backup master device, wherein the master device and the backup master device are designated to enable data transmission. Data processing system characterized by. 2. A master device that connects a plurality of devices and processes data based on data transmitted from a slave device; and a backup master device that backs up the master device based on data transmitted from the slave device. A data processing system comprising: the transmission data, information for identifying a destination device is added, and the transmission data is transmitted from the slave device to the master device and the backup master device. A data processing system, wherein a device to be transmitted is designated according to information added to the data and the transmission data is transmitted. 3. A master device that connects a plurality of devices and processes data based on data transmitted from a slave device; and a backup master device that backs up the master device based on data transmitted from the slave device. A data processing system comprising: the transmission data, information for identifying a destination device is added, and the transmission data is transmitted from the slave device to the master device and the backup according to the information added to the transmission data. A data processing system characterized in that the data is transmitted to the master device at one time. 4. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein the information for specifying the transmission destination device added to the transmission data is a server address of a communication block.