JPH07105107A - Downloading method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a downloading method which shortens the time of downloading to a data terminal equipment and correctly performs the downloading operation even in a large-scale system wherein many data terminal equipments are used. CONSTITUTION:One block of downloaded data from a high-order side is received (step S24) through an optical communication port 9. It is checked (step S26) whether the transmission ID number put in the header block matches the ID number of this data terminal equipment. When they match each other, a flag indicating downloaded data addressed to this data terminal equipment is set ON (step S28). The header block contains plural transmission destination ID numbers, so the header block is transferred in the following step S29 as it is to a low-order side through a general communication port 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data terminal device for downloading necessary data and application programs from a host device by using a communication port, and to the same data or a different application for each data terminal device to a plurality of data terminal devices. Regarding the download method when downloading the program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a small portable data terminal device such as a handy terminal, data transfer with a host device is indispensable and the user is not a specialized computer operator. Problems often occur during the operation of attaching and detaching. Therefore, an optical interface that is easy to operate and has few failures is increasingly used for communication with the host device.

This optical interface comprises a dedicated optical communication port and an optical coupler connected to the host device. Data transfer with the host device is performed through this optical communication port, and there is also a large demand for connecting a data input device such as a bar code reader, and a general-purpose communication port is also incorporated. That is, data terminals equipped with two communication ports are becoming common.

As shown in FIG. 18, conventionally, when downloading from the host device to the data terminal device, only the optical communication port is used and the host device 101 and the data terminal device 10 are used.
2 and 1 are connected one-to-one via the optical coupler 103 that converts an electric signal into an optical signal, and downloading is performed.
That is, of the two communication ports, only the optical communication port was used and only one-to-one communication was performed. For this reason,
When the system is large and many data terminal devices are installed in the system, the same data and application programs must be downloaded to many data terminal devices, and many of them are downloaded one by one. Need time.

When the contents to be downloaded are almost the same but the contents to be downloaded are slightly different depending on the business to be used, it is necessary for the system administrator to download 1 to the target data terminal device without mistake. It is necessary to check the number of the data terminal device one by one and download the download data suitable for it from the host device one by one, which also requires a lot of time. Moreover, it was impossible to eliminate errors in downloaded data.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional one-to-one download method, when a large-scale system using a large number of data terminal devices is used,
There has been a problem that much time is required for downloading to the data terminal device. In addition, there was an error in the download work.

In view of the above conventional problems, the present invention shortens the download time to a data terminal device even in a large-scale system in which a large number of data terminal devices are used,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a download method that enables accurate download work.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a plurality of data terminal devices each having two communication ports are connected in series, and an application program or In the download method for downloading data, a unique number is assigned to each of the data terminal devices in advance,
A header storing the number of the data terminal device that should store the download data is added to the download data transmitted from the host device, and each data terminal device receives the download data from one communication port. , The number of the data terminal device of the storage destination stored in the header of the received download data is confirmed, and when the number of this header matches the number of the data terminal device, the download data with the header added The received download data is transmitted from the other communication port, and when the header number does not match the number of the data terminal device, the received download data is directly transmitted from the other communication port. It is a thing.

Preferably, the download data is transmitted byte by byte, and the transmission / reception timing control is also performed byte by byte.

Preferably, error detection is performed for each byte which is a unit of transmission of the download data, and when an error is detected, the download data in which an error has occurred is retransmitted from the data terminal device one level above.

Preferably, transmission of the download data is divided into blocks, and transmission / reception timing control is also performed in block units.

[0012] Preferably, error detection is performed for each block which is a unit of transmission of the download data, and when an error is detected, the block in which the error has occurred is retransmitted from the data terminal device one level above.

Preferably, a plurality of download data are downloaded by one download operation.

[0014]

According to the present invention, the conventional download method uses only one communication port (for example, an optical communication port) to download one-to-one, and therefore the other communication port (for example, a general-purpose communication port) is not used during the download. I am paying attention to what I was in. That is, according to the present invention, a general-purpose communication port which has not been used conventionally can be effectively used without adding a new component, and the same operation can be performed for a large number of data terminal devices by one download operation from the host device. You can download application programs and data.

Further, since a unique number is assigned to each data terminal device and the number information of the data terminal device to be downloaded is added to the download data, the contents required for the required data terminal device are automatically provided. It can be downloaded.

Further, since transmission of download data is divided into blocks and transmission / reception timing control is performed in block units, the amount of data is reduced and the download time is further shortened.

Further, error detection is performed for each byte,
When an error is detected, the block in which the error has occurred is retransmitted from the upper data terminal device, so that the error can be corrected or retransmitted automatically, and the reliability of the download can be improved. Further, when the error resending is performed, the resending is performed from the higher-order data terminal device without having to wait for the host device, so that the time required for the resending is also minimized.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data terminal device in which the download method according to the first embodiment of the present invention is implemented.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU which controls the data terminal device. The CPU 1 includes a RAM 2 which is a readable / writable storage device for storing application programs and data via a bus, and an application program. LCD3 which is a display for displaying information of
A printer 4 that prints information from an application program; a power supply control circuit 5 that controls a power supply 6 that is a battery; a ROM 7 that is a read-only storage device that stores system programs and the like; and data to an application program. A keyboard 8 for inputting, an optical communication port 9 for communicating with a host device, and a general-purpose communication port 10 for communicating with an external data input device are connected.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection state between the host device and the data terminal device according to the download method of the present invention.

In this system, communication information by an electric signal is transmitted from a host device 11 to an optical communication port 9 of a data terminal device.
In order to send the data to the host device 11, the host device 11 is connected to the optical port 9 of the first data terminal device 13 via the optical coupler 12 that converts an electric signal into light. Further, the general-purpose communication port 10 of the data terminal device 13 is connected to the optical port 9 of the second data terminal device 15 via the second optical coupler 14. Similarly, the data terminal device 15 is connected to the third data terminal device 17 via the optical coupler 16.

As described above, in order to transfer the download data from the general-purpose communication port 10 not used in the conventional connection system shown in FIG. 18 to the lower data terminal device,
The data terminal device is connected to the lower data terminal device via the lower optical coupler. That is, a plurality of data terminal devices are provided in the host device as the optical communication port 9 of the first device 13 → the general communication port 10 of the first device 13 → the optical communication port 9 of the second device 15 → the second device 15 General-purpose communication port 10 → ... is connected in series.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a format of download data for realizing the download method according to the present invention.

The download data is divided into a header block, a data block, and an end block, and an ID indicating the contents of the block is attached to the beginning of the block.
The header block is a characteristic block for realizing the present invention, and not only the information necessary for storing this download data on the data terminal device but also which ID
Information about whether the download data is to be sent to the data terminal device having the number is also described.

If a plurality of destination ID numbers are described, download data can be selectively transmitted to a plurality of data terminal devices. Further, if it is determined that the download data whose ID number is designated as "0", for example, is the download data to be stored in all the connected data terminal devices, the same download data is simultaneously downloaded to all the data terminal devices. Can be sent. By effectively using this ID number, the download method according to the present invention is realized by the processing flow described below.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the processing of the download method when the download method of the present invention described in FIG. 2 is followed.

This process is common to the data terminal devices 13 and 15 placed in the middle among the series-connected data terminal devices shown in FIG.

First, in step S21, a file for storing the download data to be received is opened, and subsequently, the optical communication port 9 is opened for receiving the download data sent from the host side (step S22). ). Further, after opening the general-purpose communication port 10 to transfer the download data received from the optical communication port 9 to the lower side (step S23),
One block of download data from the upper side is received through the optical communication port 9 (step S24). And
It is checked whether the received block is a header block (step S25), and if it is determined that it is a header block, the process proceeds to step S26. The processing after step S26 is one of the features of the present invention.

In steps S26 and S27,
It is checked whether the destination ID number stored in the header block matches the ID number of the own data terminal device. When it is confirmed that they match, a flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned on (step S2).
8). Since a plurality of destination ID numbers are stored in the header block, in the subsequent step S29, the header block is transferred as it is to the lower side via the general-purpose communication port 10, and the step S29 is performed in order to receive the next block.
Return to 24.

When it is determined in step S27 that the ID number does not match, the flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned off in step S30, and the header block is transferred to the lower side. Then, the process proceeds to step S29.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S25 that the received block is not the header block, the process proceeds to step S31 to determine whether or not it is a data block. When it is determined that the data block is a data block, the process proceeds to step S32, and the flag, which is set in steps S28 and S30 and is addressed to the own data terminal device, is checked. When it is determined that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device, step S3
3, the received block is stored in the file opened in step S21.

In step S34, the received block is transferred to the lower side through the general-purpose communication port 10. When it is determined in step S32 that the data is not the download data addressed to the own data terminal device, the received block is not stored and the process proceeds to step S34. Step S3
When the transfer to the lower side is completed in step 4, the process returns to step S24 to receive the next block.

When it is determined in step S31 that the received block is not the data block, the process proceeds to step S35, and it is determined whether the received block is the end block. When it is determined that the received block is the end block, the received end block is transferred as it is to the lower side via the general-purpose communication port 10 in step S36.

At step S37, the step S21 is executed.
In step S33, the file storing the download data addressed to the own data terminal device is closed, and in step S38, the optical communication port 9 opened in step S22 for receiving the download data from the host side is closed. Close. Then, in step S39, the general-purpose communication port 10 opened to transfer the download data to the lower side in step S23 is closed, and the process ends. When it is determined in step S35 that the block is not the end block, the block is ignored and the process returns to step S24 to receive the next block.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the processing of the download method of the data terminal device 17 connected to the final end of the data terminal devices connected in series shown in FIG.

First, in step S41, the file for storing the download data to be received is opened, and in the following step S42, the optical communication port 9 is opened for receiving the download data sent from the upper side. . Then, in step S43, the download data from the upper side is sent to the optical communication port 9 for 1
Receive a block.

In step S44, it is checked whether the received block is a header block. If it is determined to be the header block, the process proceeds to step S45. The processing after step S45 is the same as the processing after step S26 in FIG. That is, step S45 and step S4
In step 6, it is checked whether the destination ID number stored in the header block matches the ID number of the own data terminal device. When it is confirmed that they match, a flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned on (step S47), and the process returns to step S43 to receive the next block. In the flow of FIG. 4, since another data terminal device is connected to the lower side, it is necessary to transfer the header block to this data terminal device, and the processing for this transfer (step S29) is entered. However, since it is connected to the final end of the series connection here, transfer processing to the lower side is unnecessary.

When it is determined in step S46 that the ID number does not match, the flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned off in step S48, and the step S4 is performed to receive the next block.
Return to 3.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S44 that the received block is not the header block, the process proceeds to step S49 to determine whether it is a data block. When it is determined that the block is a data block, the process proceeds to step S50, and the flag set in steps S47 and S48 is checked. If it is determined that the download data is for the own data terminal device, the process proceeds to step S51. If it is determined that the download data is not for the own data terminal device, the block is discarded and the process returns to step S43 to receive the next block. To do. In step S51, the download data addressed to the own data terminal device is stored in the file opened in step S41, and the process returns to step S43 to receive the next block. Here, as described above, there is no process of transferring the data block to the lower data terminal device as compared with the flow of FIG.

When it is determined in step S49 that the received block is not the data block, the process proceeds to step S52, and it is determined whether the received block is the end block. When it is determined that the block is the end block, the process proceeds to step S53. Here again, as described above, there is no processing of transferring the end block to the lower data terminal device as compared with the flow of FIG.

At step S53, the step S41 is performed.
In step S51, the file storing the download data addressed to the own data terminal device is closed, and in the next step S54, the optical communication port 9 opened in step 42 for receiving the download data from the upper side is opened. Close and end the process. When it is determined in step S52 that the block is not the end block, the block is ignored and the process returns to step S43 to receive the next block.

As described above, by effectively utilizing the general-purpose communication port 10 which has not been used for the conventional download data, and transferring the download data received from the upper side to the lower side, the host device can perform one download operation. It can be downloaded to multiple data terminal devices. Also, by adding the destination ID number to the header block, the download data unique to a plurality of specific data terminal devices can be selectively selected from a large number of data terminal devices.
It can be transferred in one download operation.

6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the processing of the download method showing the second embodiment of the present invention, and the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are the same in this embodiment as well.

In the processing flow shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in the first embodiment, an error during data transfer is not taken into consideration. That is, if the transfer path is short, there is no problem, but if the transfer path is long, the probability of error occurrence is high, and in order to improve the reliability of download, it is necessary to consider the error occurrence. . In the conventional download method shown in FIG. 18, when an error is detected during transfer, the communication is one-to-one, so the host device that is the parent of the transfer retransmits the error. In the case of the connection method described in FIG. 2, it is useless to retransmit the data back to the host device when an error occurs in any of the transfer paths.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the error retransmission is limited to only the transfer system in which the error has occurred without going back to the host device, and the influence of the retransmission is minimized.

6 and 7 show an example of the processing flow.

First, in step S61, a file for storing the download data to be received is opened, and subsequently, the optical communication port 9 is opened for receiving the download data sent from the host side (step S62). ). Further, after the general-purpose communication port 10 is opened to transfer the download data received from the optical communication port 9 to the lower side (step S63),
The download data sent from the upper side is received through the optical communication port 9 (step S64).

Then, in step S65, it is confirmed whether or not there is an error in the receiving operation. If it is determined that there is no error, the process proceeds to step S66, and if there is an error, the process proceeds to step S66 '. In step S66 ', the control code of the abnormal response is transmitted to the upper side via the optical communication port 9,
The process returns to step S64 to wait for the retransmission from the upper side. In step S66, the control code of the normal response is transmitted to the upper side via the optical communication port 9, and the next step S66
In 67, it is checked whether the received block is a header block. If it is determined that the block is a header block, the process proceeds to step S68, and if it is determined that it is not the header block, the process proceeds to step S69.

In step S68, the destination ID number stored in the header block is confirmed, and in step S70
Then, it is checked whether the destination ID number stored in the header block matches the ID number of the own data terminal device. If they match, the process proceeds to step S71, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S72. In step S71, a flag indicating that the download data being received is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned on. Also, step S7
In 2, the flag indicating that it is the download data addressed to the own data terminal device is turned off, and when the setting of the flag is completed, the process proceeds to step S73 in order to transfer the content of the received header block to the lower side.

On the other hand, in step S69, it is determined whether the received block is a data block. When it is determined that the block is a data block, the process proceeds to step S74,
If it is not a data block, the process proceeds to step S75.
In step S74, a flag indicating whether or not the data block set in steps S71 and S72 is data addressed to the own data terminal device is checked. When it is determined that the downloaded data is addressed to the own data terminal device, the process proceeds to step S76, and the received block is stored in the file opened in step S61. When it is determined that the download data is not for the own data terminal device, the step S76 is skipped, the process of the step S73 is performed, and then the step S77.
Proceed to (Fig. 6).

In step S77, the response from the lower side is waited, and in the next step S78, the content of the response from the lower side is judged. The flow of this processing is the same as step S6 in FIG.
4, step S65, step S66, and step S
This corresponds to the processing flow of 67. In the data terminal devices 13 and 15 connected to the intermediate part in the example of serial connection shown in FIG.
The processing flows shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are similarly executed.

If the response from the lower side is abnormal in step S78, the process proceeds to step S64 to receive the next data block. If the response is abnormal, in order to retransmit the transferred data block, the above step S73
Return to.

In step S75 executed when it is determined in step S69 that the received block is not the data block, it is determined whether the received block is the end block. When it is determined that the block is the end block, the process proceeds to step S79. When it is determined that the block is not the end block, the block is skipped and the process returns to step S64 to continue the reception of the next block.

In step S79, the received end block is transferred to the lower side through the general-purpose communication port 10, and in the next step S80, a response from the lower side to the transfer of the end block is waited for. Then, in step S81, the response from the lower side is judged. If the response is abnormal, the process returns to step S79, and the end block is transferred to the lower side again. If it is not abnormal in step S81, step S82
Then, the file storing the download data is closed, and in the next step S83, the optical communication port 9 receiving the download data from the upper side is closed. Then, in step S84, the general-purpose communication port 10 opened to transfer the received download data to the lower side is closed, and the process is ended.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a process for realizing the download method in the case where the data terminal device 17 connected to the final end of the serial connection shown in FIG. 2 takes error retransmission into consideration. As compared with the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7, it is characterized in that there is no processing for transferring to the lower side.

First, in step S91, a file for storing the received download data is opened, and in the following step S92, the optical communication port 9 is opened for receiving the download data. Further, in step S93, the download data is received from the optical communication port 9, and in step S94, it is determined whether or not an error has occurred in the receiving operation. When it is determined that an error has occurred, the process proceeds to step S95, in order to notify the higher-order side data terminal device of the occurrence of the abnormality, the control code of the abnormality response is returned to the optical communication port 9 and retransmitted from the higher-order side. The process returns to step S93 to wait.

If no error has occurred, step S9.
6, the control code of the normal response is returned to the optical communication port 9 in order to notify the upper data terminal device that the download data has been normally received. Next step S9
In step 7, it is checked whether the received block is a header block. If it is determined that the block is a header block, the process proceeds to step S98. In step S98, the destination ID number stored in the header block is confirmed, and in step S9
At 9 it is checked whether it matches the ID number of the own data terminal device. When they match, the process proceeds to step S100, the flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned on, and the process returns to step S93 in order to receive the data from the upper side again.

If it is determined in step S99 that the ID number does not match, the flag indicating that it is the download data addressed to the own data terminal device is turned off in step S101, and the data is received again from the upper side in order to receive it. Return to step S93.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S97 that the data block is not a data block, the process proceeds to step S102.
It is determined whether the received block is a data block.
If it is determined to be a data block, step S
The process proceeds to step 103 to check whether the data block is a data block addressed to the own data terminal device or not, in the step S1.
00 and the flag set in step S101 to determine. When it is determined that the data block is not addressed to the own data terminal device, the block is skipped,
The process returns to step S93 and waits for the reception of the next block.

When it is determined in step S103 that the data block is addressed to the own data terminal device, the process proceeds to step S104, the content of the received data block is stored in the file opened in step S91, and the process returns to step S93. Wait for the block to be received.

If it is determined in step S102 that the block is not a data block, step S105.
Then, it is determined whether or not the received block is the end block. When it is determined that the block is not the end block, the block is skipped and the process returns to step S93 to wait for the reception of the next block. Step S105
If it is determined that the received block is the end block, the process proceeds to step S106, and the step S91 is performed.
And the file storing the data block received in step S104 is closed. Step S
In 107, the optical communication port 9 opened in step S92 is closed, and the process ends.

As described above, according to the flow charts of FIGS. 6 to 8 of the present embodiment, it is possible to detect an error at the time of data transfer and retransmit the download data to improve the reliability of the download. Further, the resending of the download data when an error occurs can be limited to only the communication system in which the error occurred without going back to the host device.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the first and second embodiments, the number of data blocks is one and the transfer is also performed byte by byte.
As in this embodiment, the data block is divided by a certain length,
By performing the error confirmation on a block-by-block basis, it is possible to reduce the transfer amount of the control code for the transfer control, which speeds up the transfer. Further, it is possible to add error correction information to each block, enable error correction on the receiving side, and consequently reduce the number of error retransmissions.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of download data in the third embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 31 is an ID indicating the type of block. In this example, 01 is a header block, 02 is a data block, and 03 is an end block. In addition, 32 in the figure
Indicates the block length. 33 is the contents of the block itself, which has the contents indicated by the ID. further,
Reference numeral 34 is error correction information added to each block. In this example, there are a plurality of data blocks.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are flowcharts of processing for realizing the download method of this embodiment. This process is executed by the data terminal device 13 or 15 connected to the intermediate part of the data terminal devices shown in FIG.

First, in step S111, a file that stores download data to be received is opened, and then the optical communication port 9 is opened to receive the download data from the host side (step S11).
2). Further, after opening the general-purpose communication port 10 to transfer the received download data to the lower side (step S113), one block is received from the optical communication port 9 (step S114).

Then, in step S115, it is confirmed whether or not there is an error in the receiving operation.
Proceed to 116, and set the control code for the abnormal response to the optical communication port 9
To the upper side, and returns to step S114 to wait for the resending of the download data. When it is determined that there is no error, the process proceeds to step S117, and it is determined whether or not there is an error in the content of the received block. This determination is made based on the error correction information 34 added to each block 33 in the download data shown in FIG. When it is determined that there is an error, the process proceeds to step S118 to correct the error.

In the following step S119, it is determined whether or not the error can be corrected. If the error cannot be corrected, the process proceeds to the step S116, the control code of the abnormal response is sent to the upper side, the process returns to the step S114, and the download data is returned. Wait for resend. If correction is possible, step S120
Go to. In addition, when it is determined in step S117 that the content of the received block is correct, step S1
Go to 20. In step S120, a control code of a normal response is sent to the upper side to the optical communication port 9, and in step S121, the ID of the received block is checked to determine whether it is a header block. If it is determined to be the header block, the process proceeds to step S122, and the destination ID number of the download data described in the header block is checked.

In step S123, it is checked whether the ID number matches the ID number of the own data terminal device. If they match, the process proceeds to step S124, and a flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned on. When it is determined in step S123 that the ID number of the own data terminal device does not match, step S123
In step S126, the flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the next data terminal device is turned off, and the process proceeds to step S126.
Proceed to (Fig. 11).

If it is determined in step S121 that the block is not the header block, step S127.
(FIG. 11), it is determined whether the received block is a data block. When it is determined that the data block is a data block, the process proceeds to step S128, and it is determined whether the data block is a data block addressed to the own data terminal device by referring to the flags set in the steps S124 and S125. When it is determined that the data block is addressed to the own data terminal device, step S12
9, the received data block is processed in step S111.
Store in the file opened by.

In the subsequent step S126, the received data block is sent to the lower side, so that it is transferred to the general-purpose communication port 10 as it is, and then in step S130, the response from the lower side is waited for. Then, in step S131, it is determined whether or not the response from the lower side is abnormal. When it is determined that the response is abnormal, the process returns to step S126 to retransmit the data block. When it is determined that there is no abnormality, the process returns to step S114 and waits for reception of the next block.

The flow of this process is the same as that of step S114, step S115, step S116, step S117, step S118, step S119 of FIG.
And the processing flow of step S120. That is,
The control code of the abnormal response returned in step S116 is received in the process of step S130 of the higher-order data terminal device, and when the abnormal response is determined in step S131, the data block is retransmitted in step S126 and retransmitted. The received contents are received in the process of step S114 of the lower data terminal device, and the process is continued.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S127 that the received block is not the data block, the process proceeds to step S132, and it is determined whether the received block is the end block. When it is determined that the block is not the end block, the block is skipped and the process returns to step S114 to wait for the block to be sent again. When it is determined that the block is the end block, the process proceeds to step S133, the received end block is transmitted to the lower side through the general-purpose communication port 10, and the next step S134 waits for a response from the lower side.

Then, in step S135, the response from the lower side is judged.
Returning to 3, the end block is retransmitted to the lower side. When it is determined in step S135 that the response is not an abnormal response, the process proceeds to step S136, the file storing the received data block is closed, and in the next step S137, the optical communication port 9 opened in steps S112 and S113 is set. The general-purpose communication port 10 is closed and the process ends.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the processing of the data terminal device 17 (FIG. 2) connected to the final end in this embodiment.

First, in step S141, the file for storing the download data to be received is opened, and subsequently, in step S142, the optical communication port 9 for receiving the download data from the upper side is opened. Further, in step S143, one block of download data is received from the upper side. Step S14
In step 4, it is confirmed whether there is an error in the download data reception operation. If a reception error occurs, step S
The process proceeds to step 145, and if there is no reception error, the process proceeds to step S146.

In step S146, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the content of the received block. When it is determined that there is an error, the process proceeds to step S147 and error correction is performed using the error correction information 34. After that, in step S148, it is determined whether or not the error correction is correctly performed. If the error correction is correctly performed, the step S148 is performed.
Proceeding to 149, the control code of normal response is returned to the upper side.
If the error is not corrected correctly, the process proceeds to step S145, the control code of the abnormal response is sent to the upper side, the process returns to step S143, and the block is retransmitted.

If it is determined in step S146 that the content of the received block is correct, then step S1
In step 49, the control code of normal response is sent to the optical communication port 9 to notify the upper side that the block has been correctly received.
Send to. In the following step S150, the block ID3
Examine 1. If it is determined to be the header block, the process proceeds to step S151 to confirm the destination ID number of the download data stored in the header block.

In step S152, it is checked whether the ID number matches the ID number of the own data terminal device. If they match, the process proceeds to step S153, the flag indicating that the data is the download data addressed to the own data terminal device is turned on, and the process returns to step S143 to wait for reception of the next block. If it is determined in step S152 that the ID number of the data terminal device does not match, the process proceeds to step S154, the flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the next data terminal device is turned off, and the process returns to step S143. Wait for the block to be received again.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S150 that the block is not the header block, the process proceeds to step S155, the block ID is checked, and it is determined whether the block is a data block. When it is determined that the data block is a data block, the process proceeds to step S156, and the flag indicating that the data is the download data destined for the own data terminal device set in steps S153 and S154 is checked. When it is determined that the data block is addressed to the own data terminal device, the process proceeds to step S157, and the received data block is stored in the file opened in step S141.
When it is determined that the data block is not addressed to the own data terminal device, the download data is skipped,
The process returns to step S143 and waits for reception of the next block.

If it is determined in step S155 that the block is not a data block, step S158.
Then, it is determined whether the received block is the end block. If it is determined that the block is not the end block, the block is skipped and the process returns to step S143 to wait for reception of the next block. When it is determined that the block is the end block, the process proceeds to step S159, and the file opened in step S141 is closed.
Then, in step S160, the optical communication port 9 opened in step S142 is closed, and the process ends.

According to the flow charts of FIGS. 10 to 12, since the communication is confirmed for each block divided into a plurality of blocks, it is possible to reduce the passing of the control code for confirming the communication. Further, information 34 that can verify the correctness of the data in the block can be added, and the correctness of the block contents can be confirmed. Furthermore, when an error occurs in a block, error correction of the block contents is also performed, so error reproduction can be reduced.

FIG. 13 shows another example of the format of download data. This example has a plurality of header blocks as compared with the format examples of FIGS. 3 and 9. Data block 41 following header block 41 shown in the figure
-1 to 41-3 are contents to be stored in the file A shown in the header block 41. Similarly, the data block 42-1 is added to the file B shown in the header block 42.
To 42-3 are stored, and the contents of the data blocks 43-1 to 43-3 are stored in the file C shown in the header block 43. In addition, reference numeral 44 in the drawing denotes an end block for instructing the data terminal device to end the download operation.

According to this embodiment, a plurality of files can be selectively downloaded to any data terminal device by one download operation.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the contents of the header block of this embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 51 is a block ID representing the type of block. In the example of FIG. 9, 01 is assigned to the header block. The block length 52 is filled in. 53, the ID number of the data terminal device that stores the data block following this header block is entered. Here, the number of ID numbers entered and the actual I
Describe the D number. When the number of ID numbers is 0, it can be defined as download data for all data terminal devices in the connection example shown in FIG. 54, the file name on the data terminal device in which the data block following the header block is to be stored is described. In 55, the length of the file is described. Reference numeral 56 describes error correction information necessary for confirming the block contents and error correction in block units described in the second embodiment.

According to the processing flow described below using such a header, a plurality of download data can be selectively downloaded to the data terminal device connected by the connection method shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are shown in FIG.
11 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the data terminal devices 13 and 15 connected in the middle of the connection example shown in FIG.

First, in step S171, the optical communication port 9 is opened to receive the download data from the upper side, and in the subsequent step S172, the general communication port is used to transfer the download data received from the upper side to the lower side. Open 10 and step S1
At 73, one block of download data is received from the upper side via the optical communication port 9.

Then, in step S174, it is determined whether or not an error has occurred in the receiving operation, and if there is an error, the process proceeds to step S175, and an abnormal response control code is transmitted by optical communication to prompt the upper side to retransmit the block. Return to port 9,
The process returns to step S173 and waits for the resending of the download data from the upper side. If it is determined in step S174 that there is no error, the process proceeds to step S176.
The error correction information 56 shown in FIG. 14 is added to each block. In step S176, the error correction information 56 is checked to determine whether or not the content of the received block is correct. If it is determined that an error has occurred in the contents of the block, the process proceeds to step S177,
The error in the block is corrected using the error correction information 56.

Since error correction may not be possible if many errors occur, it is determined in step S178 whether the error can be corrected. If the error can be corrected, the process proceeds to step S179 to return to the normal route.
If correction is impossible in step S178, step S1
Proceed to 75. A control code of an abnormal response is returned to the optical communication port 9 in order to prompt the upper side to retransmit the block, and the process returns to step S173 to wait for the block to be retransmitted from the upper side.

In step S179, a normal response control code is returned to the optical communication port 9 to notify the upper side that the block has been successfully received. Further, step S1
At 80, the block ID 51 shown in FIG. 14 is checked to determine whether the received block is a header block. If it is determined to be a header block, step S18
If it is determined that the block is not the header block, the process proceeds to step S182. In step S182, it is determined whether or not the received block is a data block, and if it is determined that it is not a data block, the process proceeds to step S183, it is determined whether or not it is an end block, and it is determined that it is not an end block. If so, the block is skipped and the process returns to step S173 to wait for reception of the next block.

When it is determined in step S183 that the block is the end block, the process proceeds to step S184, and the block is transmitted to the general-purpose communication port 10 in order to transfer the received end block to the lower side. In step S185, a response from the lower side to the transfer of the end block is waited for.
In step S186, it is determined whether or not the response from the lower side is an abnormal response. If the response is abnormal, the process returns to step S184 and the end block is retransmitted to the lower side. If it is not an abnormal response, the process proceeds to step S187, and the file storing the reception block is closed.

In step S188, the optical communication port 9 receiving the download data from the upper side is closed. Next, in step S189, the general-purpose communication port 10 that has transferred the download data to the lower side is closed, and the process ends. When it is determined in step S180 that the block received from the upper side is the header block, the process proceeds to step S181, and the destination ID number described in 53 of the header block shown in FIG. 14 is extracted and checked. In step S190, it is determined whether the destination ID number matches the ID number of the own data terminal device. If they match, the process proceeds to step S191, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S192. Step S1
At 91, the flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned on, at step S192 the flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned off, the process proceeds to step S193, and the received header block is Transfer to lower side.

In step S194, if there is download data that has been received by then, the file that stores it is closed. In step S195, based on the storage file name and file length information described in 54 and 55 of FIG. 14 of the header block determined to be the download data addressed to the own data terminal device,
After that, a file for storing the received download data is opened, and the process proceeds to step S193 to transfer the received header block to the lower side.

When it is determined that the block received in step S182 is a data block, step S1
96, reference is made to the flag which is set in steps S191 and S192 and which indicates whether or not the download data is for the own data terminal device. If it is determined that the data is not addressed to the own data terminal device, step S193
When it is determined that the data is addressed to the own data terminal device, the process proceeds to step S197, and the received data block is stored in the file opened in step S195. In step S193, the received block is directly transmitted to the general-purpose communication port 10 in order to transfer the received data block to the lower side.

In step S198, a response from the lower side to the block transmission is waited for. In step S199,
Determine if the response is an abnormal response. If it is an abnormal response, the process returns to step S193, and the block transferred to the lower side is retransmitted. If it is determined in step S199 that the response is not an abnormal response, the process advances to step S173 to wait for reception of the next block.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the processing executed by the data terminal device 17 connected to the lowermost side of the connection example shown in FIG. 2 in this embodiment.

First, in step S201, the optical communication port 9 is opened to receive the download data from the upper side, and in the following step S202, one block is received from the optical communication port 9. Then, step S203
Then, it is determined whether or not an error has occurred in the reception operation, and if there is an error, the process proceeds to step S204, and if no reception error has occurred, the process proceeds to step S205. Information for error correction shown by 56 in FIG. 14 is added in the block. In step S205, the error correction information is checked to determine whether the content of the received block is correct.

When it is determined that an error has occurred in the contents of the block, the process proceeds to step S206 and the error of the block is corrected using the error correction information 56. If there are many errors, error correction may not be possible, so
In step S207, it is determined whether the error can be corrected. If the error can be corrected, the above step S208
Go to and return to the normal route. Step S207
If the correction is impossible in step S204, the process proceeds to step S204, the control code of the abnormal response is returned to the optical communication port 9 to prompt the upper side to retransmit the block, and the process returns to step S202 to retransmit the block from the upper side. wait.

In step S208, a control code for normal response is returned to the optical communication port 9 in order to notify the upper side that the block has been normally received. Further, step S2
At 09, the block ID shown at 53 in FIG. 14 is checked to determine whether the received block is a header block. If it is determined to be a header block, step S2
10. If it is determined that the block is not the header block, the process proceeds to step S211. In step S211,
It is determined whether the received block is a data block. When it is determined that the block is not the data block, the process proceeds to step S212, and it is determined whether the block is the end block. When it is determined that the block is not the end block, the block is skipped and the process proceeds to step S202 to wait for the reception of the next block. When it is determined that the block is the end block in step S212, the process proceeds to step S213, the file storing the reception block is closed, and then, in step S214, the optical communication port 9 that has received the download data from the upper side is closed, The process ends.

In step S209, when it is determined that the block received from the upper side is the header block, the process proceeds to step S210, and the destination ID number described in 53 of the header block shown in FIG. 14 is extracted and checked.

In step S215, it is determined whether the destination ID number matches the ID number of the own data terminal device. If they match, the process proceeds to step S216, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S217.

In step S216, the flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned on, and in step S217, the flag indicating that the download data is addressed to the own data terminal device is turned off.
Return to 02 and wait for reception of the next floc. Step S2
In 18, if there is download data that has been received up to that point, the file that stores it is closed. In step S219, the download data to be subsequently received is stored based on the information about the storage file name and the file length described in the header blocks 54 and 55 that are determined to be the download data destined for the own data terminal device. File is opened, step S2
Proceed to 02 to wait for reception of the next block.

When it is determined that the block received in step S211 is a data block, step S2
20 and proceeds to step S216 and step S21.
Reference is made to the flag which is set in step 7 and indicates whether or not the download data is for the own data terminal device. When it is determined that the data is not addressed to the own data terminal device, step S2
Go to 02. When it is determined that the data is addressed to the own data terminal device, the process proceeds to step S221, the received data block is stored in the file opened in step S219, the process returns to step S202, and the next block is received.

[0109]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a unique number is assigned to each data terminal device in advance, and the data to be stored in the download data transmitted from the host device. A header storing the number of the terminal device is added, and each of the data terminal devices receives the download data from one communication port, and the data terminal of the storage destination stored in the header of the received download data. Check the device number, and when the header number matches the data terminal device number, store the download data with the header added and send the received download data from the other communication port, If the header number does not match the data terminal device number, the received download data Since the data is transmitted from the other communication port as it is, it becomes possible to download the same application program and data from a host device to a large number of data terminal devices with one download operation. Individual download data can be automatically stored only in the data terminal device.

Therefore, the time required for the initial download of the data terminal device can be greatly shortened, and the same application program or data can be downloaded to a large number of data terminal devices, or the data terminal device is unique to a specific data terminal device. Since the download data can be automatically downloaded without operator's operation, operation mistakes can be prevented.

Further, since the transmission of the download data is divided into blocks and the transmission / reception timing control is also performed on a block-by-block basis, the amount of data is consequently reduced and the download time is further shortened.

Further, error detection is performed for each block that is a unit of transmission of download data, and when an error is detected, the block in which the error has occurred is retransmitted from the data terminal device that is one level higher, so the error is automatically corrected. And re-sending is performed, and the reliability of download can be improved. Further, when the error resending is performed, since resending is performed from the data terminal device that can confirm that the data has been surely received on the upper side without delaying to the host device,
The time required for retransmission can also be suppressed to the necessary minimum.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data terminal device in which a download method according to a first embodiment of the present invention is implemented.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection state between a host device and a data terminal device according to the download method of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a format of download data for realizing the download method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the download method when the download method described in FIG. 2 is followed.

5 is a flowchart showing a process of a download method of the data terminal device 17 connected to the final end of the data terminal devices connected in series shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of a download method showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process for realizing a download method in the case where error retransmission is considered in the data terminal device 17 connected to the last end of the serial connection shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of contents of download data according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process for realizing the download method of the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing of the data terminal device 17 connected to the final end in the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is another example of the format of download data.

FIG. 14 is an example of contents of a header block of the third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the data terminal devices 13 and 15 connected in the middle of the connection example shown in FIG. 2 in the third embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the data terminal device 17 connected to the lowermost side of the connection example shown in FIG. 2 in the third embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of connection between a conventional host device and a data terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 RAM 3 LCD 4 Printer 7 ROM 8 Keyboard 9 Optical Communication Port 10 General-purpose Communication Port 11 Host Device 12, 14, 16 Optical Coupler 13, 15, 17 Data Terminal Device

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A download method in which a plurality of data terminal devices each having two communication ports are connected in series, and an application program or data is downloaded from a host device to each of the data terminal devices, wherein each of the data terminal devices is provided in advance. To the download data transmitted from the host device, a header storing the number of the data terminal device that should store the download data is added, When the download data is received from the port, the number of the data terminal device of the storage destination stored in the header of the received download data is confirmed, and when the number of this header matches the number of the data terminal device, Store the download data with the header added and A download method, wherein the received download data is transmitted from the other communication port, and when the header number does not match the number of the data terminal device, the received download data is directly transmitted from the other communication port. 2. The download method according to claim 1, wherein the download data is transmitted byte by byte, and transmission / reception timing control is also performed byte by byte. 3. The error detection is performed for each byte which is a unit of transmission of the download data, and when the error is detected, the download data in which the error has occurred is retransmitted from the data terminal device of one higher rank. The download method according to claim 2. 4. The download method according to claim 1, wherein transmission of the download data is divided into blocks, and transmission / reception timing control is also performed in block units. 5. The error detection is performed for each block which is a unit of transmission of the download data, and when the error is detected, the block in which the error has occurred is retransmitted from the data terminal device which is one level higher. Downloading method described in 4. 6. The download method according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of download data are downloaded by one download operation.