JPH0594397A - Data processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the processing time of a CPU and to enable an efficient data processing by declaring it to each device to designate a data transmitting request and successively transmitting data to respective devices after the decleration. CONSTITUTION:Among ECR (electronic registers) 11-13 connected through a communication line 14, the ECR desiring to be a master station outputs an open start command and when this command is received at the ECR of a communicating party, it is recognized that the ECR is the master station. Afterwards, the data are successively transmitted to the respective ECR in the manner of polling. Therefore, only when the data output is generated, the operation as the main station is executed, CPU time can be allocated to the side of a front application, and the efficient processing is executed. Further, since the data can be transmitted from any ECR, operation efficiency can be improved by transmitting the data from the ECR even when a person in charge is away from the master station (master ECR) and stays at the slave station (slate ECR).

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 in communication control such as a data terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art POS systems are used in department stores, supermarkets,
It is a terminal device that is installed at a sales floor such as a specialty store or a retail store and 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 the above-mentioned POS system, a large number of slave stations are generally connected to the master station, and the master station receives polling of the slave station (meaning "invitation to send" transmitted from the control station to a specific slave station) or selection (message to be sent next) In order to instruct the above, a polling method is used in which a "reception request" is sent from the control station to a certain slave station. The polling method communication control in the conventional POS system is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, when the master station issues polling and there is data to be transferred by the slave station (slave station n in FIG. 9), the data was sent in synchronization with this. In the case of this polling, the connection process is operated from the master station, but the disconnection process is carried out from the slave station, and the slave station cannot transmit even if there is a transmission request unless polled by the master station. Therefore, the main station needs to constantly poll the slave stations.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional data processing system for controlling communication, since the master station carries out data communication by the polling method of polling the slave stations, instantaneous processing is required. However, in such applications (for example, a master / B master scanning system), the processing of the master station must be performed at all times, and the processing time of the application operating in the front is reduced. Also, since the master station always polls the slave stations, data transmission is not possible even if the responsible person is at a slave station (slave side) away from the master station (master side) and wants to send program data from there. However, there is also a problem in that the data must be transmitted once to the master side. In order to improve the above-mentioned trouble, for example, a station trying to obtain control of the line transmits ENQ, requests acquisition of the line, and obtains control of the line by an affirmative response from the other side. Alternatively, control by a dedicated CPU is conceivable, but the contention method has a drawback that the communication control system becomes complicated due to the high communication speed, and the control by the dedicated CPU causes an increase in hardware cost. There is. Then, if the data can be transmitted from any station (device) in the same manner as in the contention method even in the polling method, C
It is obvious that the PU processing time can be reduced and efficient data processing can be performed. An object of the present invention is to improve the polling method communication procedure so that data can be transmitted from any device.

[0004]

The means of the present invention are as follows. The declaring means 1 (see the functional block diagram in FIG. 1, the same applies hereinafter) connects a plurality of devices (for example, an ECR; a terminal such as a POS system) and designates a data transmission request from any of the devices. In a data processing system for transmitting data to a device, the device declares to each device that a data transmission request is to be specified. It is declared by outputting a start command to the device. The transmitting means 2 sequentially transmits data to each device after the declaration by the declaring means 1. For example, a start command is output, and if this start command is received by another device, those devices are polled. Transmit data.

[0005]

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 any device specifies a data transmission request, data is ready to be transmitted to another device. When transmitting predetermined data from any device in this state, the declaring means 1 declares to each device that a data transmission request is to be designated, and after the declaring means 1 declares, the transmitting means 2 makes a declaration. Data is sequentially transmitted to each device. Therefore, data can be transmitted from any device.

[0006]

EXAMPLES Examples will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8 are views showing an embodiment of a data processing system having a communication control function. In this embodiment, a master / slave type electronic register (EC) is used as a data processing device.
It is an example applied to R). First, the configuration will be described. Figure 2
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the data processing system 10. In FIG. 2, reference numerals 11, 12, and 13 denote a plurality of electronic registers (ECR) connected via a communication line 14, and one of the electronic registers 11, 12, and 13 is not necessarily the main station. The master ECR does not have to be a master ECR and all slave ECRs of slave stations may be used. Therefore, the electronic registers 11, 12, and 13 can have the same hardware configuration with respect to communication control. Therefore, the electronic register 11 will be described as a representative, and only the member numbers are given to the electronic registers 12 and 13. The description of the overlapping parts will be omitted.
In the electronic register 11, reference numeral 21 is a CPU,
The CPU 21 calculates a value required for various operations while exchanging data with the RAM 22 according to a microprogram stored in a ROM (not shown), and based on the data processed by the calculation unit 21a. The transmission device 24, the printing unit 26, the drawer 27, and the like, which will be described later, are configured to include a control unit 21b that outputs a control signal for controlling the drawer 27, and a flag 21c.

The CPU 21 is composed of a ROM (not shown) for storing a control microprogram for controlling various operations of the ECR including data transmission processing, a volatile memory capable of writing and reading, and is inputted. PLU in which the sales data is classified and stored according to product name, number of products, amount of money, etc.
A RAM 22 having a buffer for data transmission / reception, various registers, a numeric keypad, a function key, an automatic program (PGM) setting key for sequentially setting program data, and a mode switch for designating each mode are provided while composing a file. Key input section 2
3, ECR12, 13 and communication line (including wireless communication) 1
4, a transmission device 24 for mutually transmitting data, a display unit 25 for displaying various data, a printing unit 26 for printing various data such as a PLU file stored in the RAM 22 on journal paper and receipt paper, cash Are connected to drawers 27 that are opened when the cash / deposit key is operated.

The key input section 23 is provided with setting keys such as a numeric keypad 31, function keys, and auto program setting keys on its keyboard, as well as "setting (P)", "registration (REG)", "Power off (OF
A mode switch MS for designating each mode of “F)”, “inspection (X)”, and “settlement (Z)” is provided.

The RAM 22 is a readable and writable volatile memory and is a so-called working memory used for sales data and calculation. Specifically, RA
N22 comprises a PLU file 22a for storing sales data such as the number and amount of money according to the product code, a data transmission buffer, a register, a counter and a flag for temporarily storing the sales data in a compressed form during transmission and reception. Register area, CPU21 operating area (working area)
Etc. are provided as the other memory 22b. Generally, the master electronic register differs from the slave electronic register only in the configuration of the register area of the RAM 22.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. This data processing system performs an operation such as polling by improving the polling communication procedure as follows, and at the same time as in the case of contention, any terminal (ECR
Data (for example, program data) can be transmitted from 11 to 13). For this,
First, open command can be output from any terminal. Then, of these terminals, the terminal that wants to become the master station outputs an open command, and when the other terminals receive this open command, the terminal that has become the master station then sends data by polling or selecting. To do so. That is, it has the following features. All terminals can be master stations. Only when data output occurs, the operation to become the master station is performed by the master station open processing (FIG. 3). After the output is completed, it returns to the slave station by the master station close processing (Fig. 7). Synchronize with other terminals according to the open / close timing. Hereinafter, the data transmission operation from each terminal will be specifically described with reference to the flows of FIGS.

In FIG. 3, there is no master station or slave station, that is, any terminal can be a master station (ECR 11, 12, 13).
Is a data transmission processing flow of, and shows a procedure when data is transmitted from a certain terminal. In the figure, reference numeral Sn
(N = 1, 2, ...) Shows each step of the flow.

When the program starts, it is first determined in step S1 whether or not the master station is open. If any master station is open, step S2 is jumped to step S3. If the main station is not open, the communication line 14 is monitored in step S2 to determine whether the line status is idle (that is, whether the communication line 14 is open). In step S3, the polling of the local station is waited, and in step S4, it is determined whether or not there is polling. If it waits for polling of its own station and if there is no polling, it returns to step S2 to continue waiting for polling.

On the other hand, when the communication line 14 is open when the line is idle in step S2, the main station open start command sequence as shown in FIG. 4 is output to the communication line 14 in step S6, and the step In S7, main station processing (FIG. 5) is performed when the own station wants to become the main station. Then
In step S8, it is determined whether or not the main station processing has been completed for all units, and when all units have been completed, a close command is output in step S9 to end the processing (FIG. 7), and open in step S10. Inside flag 21c (31
c, 41c) is cleared, and the processing of this flow ends.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the main station processing.
It is executed by an automatic program corresponding to step S7 in FIG. This main station process is merely a process of outputting polling and the like from its own station, and is not premised on a process of receiving it.

First, in step S11, selection is performed to output a selection indicating that the user wants to be the master station. Here, selecting means a request for the center to specify a partner and receive data. That is, Polling my id is output as shown in the data flow of FIG. 8 described later. Then, in step S12, the data (see data 1 in FIG. 8) is output as shown in FIG. 8, and in response to the ACK, polling (see polling 1 and polling n in FIG. 8) is output. Here, polling means that the center sequentially requests the other party to transmit data.

Polling is output and the response is waited for in step S14. When there is a response, it is determined in step S15 whether the response is ACK. If there is an ACK, the next data is set in step S16, and step S16
Determines whether or not the file is the end file EOF (end of file). When EOF, the polling output for all files has ended, so the processing of this flow ends, and when it is not EOF, go to step S11. Then, the above process is repeated.

On the other hand, if there is no ACK in step S15 (when NAK), a retry is executed in step S18. If the retry is established, the process returns to step S11 and the above processing is repeated, and the retry is executed a predetermined number of times. If not, it means that there is some deficiency on the communication line 14 or on the other party's terminal, so error processing is performed in step S19 and the processing of this flow ends.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the slave station process.
It corresponds to step S5. First, in step S21, the slave station waits for selection from the master station, and if there is a selection, program data is set in step S22. Next, in step S23, a polling wait is performed, and when polling comes, ACK or N is sent in step S24.
AK is output and the process returns to step S21 to end the slave station process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the closing process, which corresponds to step S9. First, step S3
1 outputs the close command to any terminal, and step S
At 32, it is determined whether or not ACK. When ACK is received, it is determined in step S33 whether or not the closing process has been performed for all units, and when all the units are finished, the process returns to step S31 and the process of outputting the close command is repeated. AC
When there is no K, it is determined that the main station processing has not ended, the main station processing (FIG. 3) is restarted in step S34, and the process returns to step S31.

The transmission procedure when data is transmitted from a certain terminal has been described above using the processing flows of FIGS. 3 to 6. The above procedure can be understood as a data flow between the master station, slave station 1 and slave station n. Is shown in FIG. The operation of the characteristic part of the present data processing system will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the main station open process is executed (FIG. 3). The main station open process is as follows as shown in Fig. 3.
It is executed by the procedure. The communication line 14 is monitored (step S2). When the state of the communication line 14 is idle (as shown in FIG. 8A, the terminal that wants to be the master station outputs the open start command sequence (FIG. 4) as the master station to the communication line 14. After the output, the dummy polling is output. (See FIG. 8A and D.) In synchronization with this polling (Polling 1, Polling n), another terminal (slave station 1, slave station n) issues an affirmative response ACK indicating that the master station start is accepted (FIG. 8C). If the response is other than the negative response NAK, the main station performs the output processing of its own data, and in the case of the positive response, returns to the above.

That is, in the main station processing, as shown in FIG. 8, in order to select from the terminal recognized as the main station,
Polling my id (own ID) is output to the communication line 14, and data 1 and polling 1 ...

When data is transmitted in this way, a certain fixed period (required time until data output + margin)
The room acts as the main station. When there is no data on the communication line 14 and the processing of this cycle ends, the close processing of FIG. 7 is performed. That is, a close command to close is output to another terminal (step S31). If the other terminal has transmission data, a negative response (N
AK). When the negative response is received, the operation is resumed as the main station again (step S34). When an ACK response is received and the closing process for all units is completed, the master station becomes a slave station.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the ECR which is the main station among the plurality of ECRs 11 to 13 connected via the communication line 14 outputs the open start command, and the other ECR sends this command. When the data is received, it is recognized as the master station, and thereafter, data is transmitted in a polling sequence to each ECR. Therefore, the operation as the master station is performed only when data output occurs, and the CPU time is reduced. It can be allocated to the front application side as much as possible, and efficient processing can be realized. Moreover, since data can be transmitted from any ECR, data can be transmitted from the ECR even if the responsible person is away from the master station (master ECR) and is in the slave station (slave ECR), which significantly improves the operational efficiency. Can be improved. Furthermore, since all the terminals have the function as the main station, it is difficult for the system to go down, and the reliability can be improved.

Although the above embodiment is an example applied to ECR, it can be applied to all devices including data transmission processing, and can be applied to data processing devices such as POS system and data terminal. Good.

Further, it goes without saying that the data transmission process may be any kind 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.

[0027]

According to the present invention, each device is declared to specify the data transmission request, and after the declaration, the data is sequentially transmitted to each device. Can be transmitted, the processing time of the CPU can be reduced, and efficient data processing can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a data processing system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a program for data transmission processing of the data processing system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a start command sequence of the data processing system.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing main station processing of the data processing system.

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

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

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a data flow of the data processing system.

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

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 12, 13 ECR 14 communication line 21, 31, 41 CPU 21c, 31c, 41c flag 22, 32, 42 RAM 23, 33, 43 key input unit 24, 34, 44 transmission device 25, 35, 45 display unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a data processing system in which a plurality of devices are connected and a data transmission request is designated from any one of the devices to transmit data to another device, the designation of the data transmission request is performed by each device. A data processing system comprising: a declaring means for declaring according to claim 1; and a transmitting means for sequentially transmitting data to each device after the declaration by the declaring means.