JPH07160375A - Data processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To guarantee an operation similar to a usual operation for a fixed time even at the time of service interruption of the AC power supply by using a secondary battery as a back-up power supply. CONSTITUTION:A UPS 1 has a secondary battery BP which is charged by an AC power supply and supplies the power of the battery BP as the back-up power when the AC power supply has a service interruption. At the same time, the UPS 1 outputs an AC power interruption signal ACINT. When the signal ACINT is supplied, a key input part 5, a display part 6, a printing part 7, etc., are set in an operable state respectively for a fixed with the battery BP used as a back-up power supply.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a personal computer, an electronic cash register, etc.
The present invention relates to a data processing device that can operate with a secondary battery as a backup power source during a power failure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a data processing device such as a personal computer or an electronic cash register, A
A secondary battery (a lithium battery or a nickel-cadmium battery) that is charged when the C power is turned on is provided, and a memory backup or a clock backup is held by the power supply from the secondary battery when the AC power is turned off. That is, the conventional secondary battery is a small-capacity battery and has been used as a backup memory or a clock.

[0003]

By the way, irrespective of the operating state during a power failure of the AC power source,
The entire system is stopped, and all processing is momentarily disabled. Therefore, for example, in an electronic cash register, if a power failure occurs during the registration operation,
There is a drawback that it is necessary to wait until the AC power is restored and restart the registration operation that is interrupted after the AC power is restored. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to guarantee an operation similar to a normal operation within a fixed time by using a secondary battery as a backup power source even when the AC power source fails.

[0004]

The means of the present invention are as follows. (1) The backup power supply unit has a secondary battery that is charged by an AC power supply, and supplies power from the secondary battery as a backup power supply when the AC power supply fails.
Output AC power interruption signal. The secondary battery is, for example, a large capacity lead storage battery or the like. (2) When the AC power interruption interrupt signal is input, the operation control means sets various peripheral devices in an operable state by using the secondary battery as a backup power supply until a predetermined time elapses. In addition, when the AC power interruption interrupt signal is input, a notification means for notifying the fact may be provided. Further, the operation control means may write various data to the external storage device after the lapse of the predetermined time and perform a backup process of stopping the power supply from the backup power supply unit. Further, the backup power supply unit further detects a decrease in the capacity of the secondary battery necessary for backup and outputs a low battery interrupt signal, and the operation control means outputs various data when the low battery interrupt signal is input. May be written in the external storage device and a backup process for stopping the power supply from the backup power supply unit may be performed.

[0005]

The operation of the means of the present invention is as follows. Now, when the AC power is turned on, the entire system is being operated by the AC power and the secondary battery is being charged. However, when the AC power fails, the power of the secondary battery is supplied as the backup power. An AC power interruption interrupt signal is output from the backup power supply unit. When this AC power interruption signal is input, various peripheral devices such as a keyboard, a display device, a printer, etc. are correspondingly set to an operable state using the secondary battery as a backup power source until a predetermined time elapses. It Therefore,
Even when the AC power supply fails, the secondary battery can be used as a backup power supply to guarantee the same operation as a normal operation within a certain period of time.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a personal computer with an electronic cash register (ECR) specification. This ECR specification personal computer has an uninterruptible power supply (Uni) unique to this embodiment as its power supply.
Versal Power Supply: Below UPS
Called) is incorporated. The UPS 1 has a rectifier circuit, a stabilized power supply circuit, and the like as usual, and also has a large-capacity lead-acid battery as a secondary battery. The secondary battery is charged when the AC power supply is turned on. The power of this secondary battery is supplied as a backup power source in case of a power failure. UPS1 also monitors AC power,
While detecting the power failure state of the AC power supply, the AC power failure interrupt signal ACINT is output and given to the CPU 3 via the UPS controller 2. Further, the UPS 1 monitors the decrease in the capacity of the secondary battery, and when detecting that the capacity has decreased to the minimum capacity required for backup, during that time, the low battery interrupt signal LBINT is output and given to the CPU 3 via the UPS controller 2. That is, the UPS 1 has a power failure monitoring circuit for AC power supply and a low battery monitoring circuit, and outputs the interrupt signals ACINT and LBINT according to the detection result.
It is configured to output to the PS controller 2. In addition, the UPS 1 is configured to stop the supply of backup power when the power off signal PWOFF is input from the CPU 3 via the UPS controller 2.

Here, the circuit configuration of the UPS 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The commercial AC power supply AC is a rectifier circuit 1-
In addition to supplying a charging current to the secondary battery BP via the transformer 1, the transformer 1-2, and the smoothing circuit 1-3, the transformer 1 on the DC side 1-
4, power is supplied as a DC voltage DC through the smoothing circuit 1-5. Here, the secondary battery BP is a backup power supply composed of a lead storage battery, and the negative side thereof has a resistance R.
Grounded through.

A PWM (pulse wide modulation) 1-6 on the AC side turns on / off the power transistor Tr1 connected to the primary side of the transformer 1-2 on the AC side to control the power with respect to fluctuations in the AC power supply. In addition to this, in the present embodiment, when it is detected that the output side potential of the smoothing circuit 1-3 (potential on the secondary battery BP side) has dropped below the reference voltage of the Zener diode Z connected in parallel with the resistor R. , The switching transistor Tr2 is turned off. That is, the switching transistor Tr2 is AC
This is provided to prevent over-discharge of the secondary battery BP when the power off signal PWOFF is not sent from the CPU 3 due to a program runaway on the main body side at the time of power failure of the power source. The switching transistor Tr2 is connected to the primary side of the transformer 1-4 via the power transistor Tr3. When the switching transistor Tr2 is forcibly turned off, no current flows in the transformer 1-4, which causes the secondary current. Prevent over-discharge of the battery BP.

The PWM controller 1-7 on the DC side is a power transistor T connected to the primary side of the transformer 1-4.
In addition to turning on / off r3 to control power for load variations, in the present embodiment, when the output-side potential difference of the smoothing circuit 1-5 reaches a predetermined value (for example, 4.75 V) or less,
The low battery interrupt signal LBINT indicating the capacity shortage of the secondary battery BP is output, and when a power failure on the AC power supply side is detected, the AC power failure interrupt signal ACINT is output, and the power is turned off from the CPU 3 via the UPS controller 2. When the signal PWOFF is input, the power transistor Tr3 is turned off to stop the backup power supply. The low battery interrupt signal LBINT indicating that the capacity of the secondary battery BP is insufficient is output by the secondary battery B.
It is output before the remaining capacity of P reaches the required amount required to execute the backup process described later on the personal computer side.

On the other hand, the CPU 3 controls the input / output operations for the peripheral devices such as the key input unit 5, the display unit 6, the printing unit 7, the drawer 8 and the hard disk 9 in accordance with the input / output control program in the ROM 4. Key input section 5 is E
Numerical key A for registering the amount of money, department number, etc. as CR specifications
K, a department key BK operated at the time of registration by department, a closing key CK such as a cash key for ending the registration of one transaction, and a mode key DK for switching to a registration mode, a power OFF mode, an inspection mode, a payment mode, etc. It is provided. The sales data input from the key input unit 5 is displayed and output from the display unit 6, printed out from the printing unit 7, and registered in various totalizers in the RAM 10.

As shown in FIG. 3, the RAM 10 includes a program memory 10-1 for storing various programs such as an ECR application program, and a sales totalizer 10-2 for storing sales data by classifying the sales data into departments and transactions. Besides, in the present embodiment, particularly, the flag registers 10-3, 10-
4. The timer time register 10-5 is provided. The flag register 10-3 has a certain time (3) after the AC power interruption signal ACINT is input from the UPS 1.
This register stores an AC power failure flag that is turned on after the elapse of seconds. Here, the AC power failure flag indicates whether or not the AC power source is in a power failure state, and the reason why the AC power failure flag is turned on 3 seconds after the AC power failure occurs is to ignore the instantaneous power failure. If there is a power failure for about 3 seconds, the secondary battery BP is used as a backup power source to operate the entire system as usual.

The flag register 10-4 is a register for storing a backup processing request flag, and when a certain time (30 seconds) has passed after the AC power interruption interrupt signal ACINT is input from the UPS 1, or the UPS battery 1 interrupts the low battery interrupt signal LBINT. When is input, the backup processing request flag is turned on. The backup processing request flag is a backup processing for writing the contents of the RAM 10, the print buffer 12, etc. to the hard disk 9 for registration and storage, or outputting a power-off signal PWOFF to the UPS 1 to stop the supply of backup power from the UPS 1. Is a flag for requesting the execution of. Here, the reason why the backup processing request flag is turned on after 30 seconds have elapsed after the occurrence of the AC power failure is to consider the capacity of the secondary battery BP in the UPS 1 when it is supplied as the backup power source. This is because if 30 seconds or more has passed from the state where the secondary battery BP is fully charged, the capacity required for backup may be insufficient, and the backup process may be forcibly executed before that.

The contents of the timer time register 10-5 are updated with the operation of measuring the power failure timer time.
When the AC power failure interrupt signal ACINT is input, the time-out operation of the power failure timer is started, and the CPU 3 monitors the power failure timer time in order to turn on the AC power failure flag or the backup processing request flag according to the timer time. To do.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation in the registration mode for registering sales data. Note that FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing in detail the UPS process (step A1) shown in FIG.
Is a flow chart showing the backup process (step A13) in detail. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a power failure recovery process when the AC power failure is normally recovered. Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment (1), if the AC power supply is normal,
(2), 3 seconds before the AC power failure occurs, (3), 3 seconds after the AC power failure occurs, and 3 minutes before the AC power failure occurs, (4), when 3 minutes have elapsed since the AC power failure occurred, (5), When the AC power supply returns to the normal state, each will be described separately.

(1) When the AC power supply is normal. First, in the registration mode of FIG. 2, when the UPS process (step A1) is entered, first, as shown in FIG. 5, it is checked whether or not the low battery interrupt signal LBINT is input from the UPS 1 (step B1). Where AC
Even when the power is turned on, the capacity of the secondary battery BP is insufficient and U
When the low battery interrupt signal LBINT is input from PS1, the backup processing request flag in the flag register 10-4 is turned on (step B6), but if the low battery interrupt signal LBINT is not present, the process proceeds to the next step B2 and UPS1 To AC power interruption signal AC
Check if INT is input. In this case, AC
Since the power supply is normal and no interrupt is detected, at this point the UPS process is exited and the next step A2 shown in FIG.
Move on to.

Here, the flag register 10-3 is accessed to check the ON / OFF state of the AC power failure flag. Now, when the AC power failure is normal, the AC power failure flag is O.
Since it has been FF, proceed to step A4, as usual
When the registration operation is performed, the registration processing is performed accordingly, and when the closing key for ending one transaction is operated, the closing processing is performed accordingly. Next, in step A5, the backup processing request flag is set to ON /
The OFF state is checked, and if the flag OFF is detected, the process returns to step A1, but if the flag ON is detected, the backup process (step A6) described later is started.
In this way, even when the AC power supply is normal, if the secondary battery BP becomes insufficient in capacity, the backup process is forcibly shifted.

(2) Before the elapse of 3 seconds from the occurrence of the AC power failure. When an AC power failure occurs, the UPS 1 sends an AC power failure interrupt signal ACINT to the CPU 3 via the UPS controller 2.
And the power of the secondary battery BP is supplied as a backup power source. This allows the entire system to operate using the secondary battery BP as a power source even during AC power failure.
On the other hand, in the UPS processing of step A1, when the presence of the AC power failure interrupt signal ACINT is detected in step B2 shown in FIG. 5, the process proceeds to step B3, the timer time register 10-5 is accessed, and the power failure timer time is 3 seconds. When the AC power failure occurs, the timer time register 10-5 is cleared. Therefore, the timer timing operation is started (step B7), and the power failure message data is displayed and output on the display unit 6, and the operator To that effect (step B8). In this case, the operator can confirm the power failure message display and judge whether to hurry the registration work, operate the closing key CK, continue the registration work, or the like. And this U
The PS processing is exited, and the process proceeds to step A2 in FIG. In this case, since the AC power failure flag is in the OFF state even 3 seconds after the occurrence of the power failure, the same operation as in the case of the normal AC power supply is performed. In other words, for an instantaneous power failure of about 3 seconds after the AC power failure, the entire system operates normally with the secondary battery BP as the backup power source,
It operates as if no momentary power failure occurred. here,
When the capacity of the secondary battery BP is insufficient and the low battery interrupt signal is output from the UPS 1, the presence of the low battery interrupt is detected in step B1 in the UPS processing of FIG. 5, and the backup processing request flag is turned on ( Step B6), by which the backup processing is the same as in the case of normal AC power supply.

(3) When 3 seconds have passed since the AC power failure occurred (30 seconds before). In this case, when the UPS process is started, it is detected in step B3 of FIG. 5 that the power failure timer time of 3 seconds has elapsed, so the process proceeds to step B4, and the AC power failure flag in the flag register 10-3 is turned ON. Then, the power failure timer time is called again to check whether 30 seconds have elapsed from the AC power failure (step B5). In this case, since 30 seconds have not elapsed, the UPS processing is exited. As described above, in the UPS process, the AC power failure flag is turned on after 3 seconds have elapsed from the occurrence of the AC power failure. Even before 30 seconds have passed, the backup processing request flag indicates that the secondary battery B in the UPS 1
It is similar to the above case that the capacity of P is reduced and turned on when the low battery interrupt signal LBINT is output from the UPS 1. Next, after the UPS processing, the process proceeds to step A2 in FIG. 4, but in this case, since the AC power failure flag is detected to be ON, the process proceeds to step A3, and an emergency message is displayed (a message to stop the backup power supply in about 30 seconds). Display) is performed. As a result, the operator can immediately take a measure such as interrupting the registration work and operating the closing key or rushing the registration work. Thus, when 3 seconds have elapsed from the AC power failure, the AC power failure flag is turned on and the emergency message is displayed.

(4) When 30 seconds have passed after the AC power failure. In this case, in the UPS process, when 30 seconds have been detected in step B5, the backup process request flag in the flag register 10-4 is turned on. As a result, the request flag ON is detected in step A5 of FIG.
The process moves to the backup process (step A6). In other words, it is clear that the required amount is surely insufficient thereafter even if the insufficient capacity of the secondary battery BP is not detected, and therefore the backup process is started even after 30 seconds have elapsed.

In this backup processing, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the power failure timer time in the timer time register 12-5 is cleared (step C1), and the AC power failure flag and flag in the flag register 10-3 are also cleared. The backup processing request flags in the register 10-4 are turned off (step C2). Then RAM
10, all contents of the print buffer 12 and the like are read out and written to the hard disk 9, and all the data is written to the hard disk 9.
It is registered and saved in (step C3). Next, CPU3
Applies a power-off signal PWOFF to UPS1 via the UPS controller 2 to forcibly stop the supply of backup power (step C4).

(5) When the AC power supply returns to the normal state. In this case, the power failure recovery process is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, it is checked whether or not the data is registered and stored in the hard disk 9, that is, whether or not the backup processing has been executed (step D1). Here, if the AC power supply returns to normal before 30 seconds have passed from the AC power failure, or if a low battery of the secondary battery BP is not detected during that period, the entire system is rechargeable.
Since it is backed up by and is operating normally, the registration and storage in the hard disk 9 is not performed. Therefore, in such a case, the absence of data is detected in step SD1 and the power failure recovery process is exited. On the other hand, when 30 seconds have elapsed from the AC power failure or when the low battery of the secondary battery BP is detected, the registration data and the like during the AC power failure are stored in the hard disk 9 by the above-described backup process, so the hard disk The contents of 9 are read and the original RAM 10 and print buffer 1
After returning to 2 or the like (step D2), the contents of the hard disk 9 are all cleared (step D3).

As described above, in this embodiment, UPS1
Indicates that AC power has occurred, its interrupt signal ACINT
Can be notified to the CPU 3. in this case,
The momentary power failure of about 3 seconds is ignored, and the operation state remains the same as when the power failure did not occur. Also,
Even if the AC power supply fails, the entire system can be operated normally for a certain period of time by using the secondary battery as a backup power supply. Therefore, even when the AC power supply is being registered, the registration work of the transaction can be continued as it is. it can. Further, since the emergency message is displayed after 3 seconds have passed from the AC power source, the operator can take a measure such as hurrying the registration work or terminating the registration work by the message display. In addition, 30 seconds after AC power failure, AC
Since the processing contents during a power failure are written and stored in the hard disk 9 during backup processing, by restoring the contents of the hard disk 9 after the AC power is restored,
It is possible to return to the same operating state as if the AC power failure did not occur. Further, in this case, since the power supply by the backup process BP is forcibly stopped, the backup process B
It is possible to avoid wasteful power consumption of P and prolong its life. Such backup processing is also performed when the low battery of the backup processing BP is detected.

In the above embodiment, 3 is in principle during the AC power failure.
The entire system was operated as usual until 0 seconds passed, but the operation may be controlled only for the printer which is a heavy load circuit, for example. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation control in this case. When the receipt / journal printing is performed by the thermal printer, if the AC power supply is normal, as shown in FIG. Although the quality printing is performed, if the dot density is roughened and the receipt / journal printing is performed during the AC power failure as shown in FIG. 8 (2), the power consumption of the secondary battery BP is reduced and the power failure from the AC power failure occurs. It is possible to back up for 30 seconds or more, for example, about 1 minute. Further, the above-mentioned embodiment is
C During the backup period during a power outage, each time a key is input, the processing corresponding to that key is performed.
For example, a series of processes (arrangement process) set in advance may be executed by operating a specific key. A series of processing can be efficiently performed by adding such an arrangement processing function, which is effective in terms of power consumption of the secondary battery BP.

[0024]

According to the present invention, even when the AC power supply is interrupted, the secondary battery can be used as a backup power supply to guarantee the same operation as a normal operation within a certain period of time.
Even if a power failure occurs during registration of sales data at R, the registration work can be continued.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a personal computer with an electronic cash register specification.

FIG. 2 is a circuit configuration diagram showing a configuration of UPS1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a RAM 10.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation under a registration mode.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the UPS processing shown in FIG.

6 is a flowchart for explaining the backup processing shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a power failure recovery process.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of printing with different print dot densities when the AC power supply is normal and when there is a power failure.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 UPS 2 UPS Controller 3 CPU 4 ROM 5 Key Input Section 6 Display Section 7 Printing Section 8 Drawer 9 Hard Disk 10-3, 10-4 Flag Register 10-5 Timer Time Register BP Secondary Battery

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Mitsuo Iwatani 3-2-1 Sakaemachi, Hamura-shi, Tokyo Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Hamura Technical Center (72) Inventor Masanori Kunii 3-2-1 Sakaemachi, Hamura-shi, Tokyo No. Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Hamura Technical Center

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A backup power supply unit that has a secondary battery charged by an AC power supply, supplies power from the secondary battery as a backup power supply when the AC power supply fails, and outputs an AC power failure interrupt signal. When the AC power interruption signal is input, an operation control unit that sets various peripheral devices to an operable state by using the secondary battery as a backup power supply until a predetermined time has elapsed, is provided. Characteristic data processing device. 2. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an informing means for informing that the AC power interruption interrupt signal has been input. 3. The operation control means writes various data in the external storage device after the lapse of the predetermined time and performs a backup process for stopping the power supply from the backup power supply section. (1)
The described data processing device. 4. The backup power supply unit further detects a capacity decrease of the secondary battery necessary for backup and outputs a low battery interrupt signal, and the operation control means outputs the low battery interrupt signal when the low battery interrupt signal is input. The data processing device according to claim 1, wherein various data are written in an external storage device, and a backup process for stopping power supply from the backup power supply unit is performed.