JPH0898268A - Home controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To exclude the erroneous readout of data and to operate a home controller normally by judging whether or not the data is being written on a ROW and performing such control so as not to perform readout and write simultaneously. CONSTITUTION: A control part 4, when two application programs(AP) being operated alternately periodically, sets a judging flag when the AP on one side writes the data on a memory area 8. When the AP on the other side reads out the data from the area 8, the Judging flag is checked, and when it is already set, a standby state is set until the judging flag is reset. When the AP on one side completes the write and the judging flag is reset, the AP on the other side can perform the readout at this time. Therefore, it is possible to exclude simultaneous read/write work by using the reset/set of the judging flag as a judging means while the write on flash memory is being performed, which excludes the erroneous readout of the data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to home automation systems, and more particularly to home controllers with non-volatile memory.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various devices in the home are connected by a network to realize various systemized services.
So-called home automation systems are widespread.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a home automation system, in which video terminals such as cameras, antennas, televisions, communication terminals such as intercoms, information terminals such as personal computers, smoke detectors and gas detectors. , Security switches, security terminals such as electronic keys, air conditioners,
Equipment terminals such as baths and lights and a home controller are connected to a home bus via an information signal connector.
A signal line from the outside such as a telephone line is also connected to the home controller, and various service functions such as telephone, intercom, security, device control, and telecontrol can be realized.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a general configuration example of a home controller which is the heart of the home automation system. Home controller 101
Is an interface unit 103 to the home bus 102,
It includes a control unit 104, an I / O (Input / Output) unit 105, and a memory unit 106. The I / O unit 105 includes a key input unit, a display unit, a voice input / output unit, and the like. The memory unit 106 of the home controller 101 has a first memory area 107 for storing an operation system program and an application program of a home automation system, a second memory area 108 for storing system data, And a third memory area 109 for use for work when the program is executed. Generally, the first memory area 10 of the memory unit 106
A ROM (Read Only Memory) is used for 7, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) is used for the second memory area 108. Further, in the third memory area 109, EEPRO
M (Electrically Erasable Programable Read Only Me
mory) or SRA backed up by battery
M (Static Random Access Memory) is used.

By the way, regarding the functions that can be realized by the home automation system, the changes in the social environment, the trends of user needs, the enhancement of terminal equipment accompanying the progress of technology,
It is expected that more and more new technologies will be proposed in the future due to the development of communication networks. on the other hand,
Since home automation systems are residential equipment, once installed, they will be used for a long time thereafter. As such, the home automation system needs to be configured for long-term use with future functional expandability.

As a proposal for this, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-26
Japanese Patent No. 5395 discloses a home bus system having a function of adding storage means by using a memory card in order to facilitate modification and expansion after the system is installed. That is, any one of the memory areas 107, 108 and 109 of the memory unit 106 shown in FIG. 6 is added by a memory card.

[0007]

However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-2
In the technique proposed in Japanese Patent No. 65395, it is necessary to newly add hardware called a memory card. Therefore, each time the content of the home automation system is changed or expanded, the cost is increased.

By the way, recently, a flash memory has attracted attention as a nonvolatile memory which has a large capacity, a low unit price per bit, and which can be electrically erased and rewritten. Therefore, in the memory section 106 of the home controller 101 shown in FIG. 6, this flash memory is used as a memory area 107 for storing an application program and a memory area 108 for storing system data. In this way, the contents of the system can be changed or expanded easily by rewriting the contents of the memory without adding additional hardware as in the conventional case.

However, while writing data to the flash memory, desired data cannot be read from the program stored in the flash memory, which causes a problem that the home controller cannot operate normally. The details will be described below.

First, in the flash memory, when writing data, a certain procedure is required before writing. FIG. 7 shows a procedure for writing data in the flash memory. First step (hereinafter,
Simply called "S". ) 101, the value of the write setup command 40H is written in preparation for writing data in the flash memory. The address for writing the write setup command is the same as the address for writing the data. Now that the data is ready to be written, any data is written (S102). Then, in order to confirm whether the data writing is completed, when the address where the data is written is read, a status register (hereinafter, simply referred to as “SR”) indicating whether the data writing is completed or not. The value of can be read (S103). If the SR value is 80H (S
104), which means that the writing of data is completed. If the value is any other value, the writing has not been completed yet, so the process waits until the value reaches 80H. When the writing is completed, the value 50H is written in SR and SR is cleared (S105). This completes the writing of data.

The problem here is that when data is written to the flash memory and data at an address different from the write address is read out, the SR value indicating whether or not the writing is completed is read out. In other words, no matter which address is read during writing, SR
Will be read. Therefore, during writing to the flash memory, not only the desired data in the flash memory cannot be read, but also an unintended one is read.

This causes a problem that the program does not operate normally when it is stored in the flash memory. For example, a problem that occurs in a multitasking operation system program will be described. The multitasking operation system program is a basic program for simultaneously operating a plurality of control programs. At the same time, only one control program is operating at a certain moment, but it means that a plurality of programs are momentarily switched one after another due to the occurrence of an external or internal interrupt. The operation of switching a plurality of programs one after another is a multitasking operation system program.

Referring to FIG. 8 as an example, the control program (1) 108 is operating first. Here, when a timer interrupt occurs at 10 ms intervals, the multitask operation system program 107 is read from the flash memory, the control program (1) 108 is suspended (arrow 111), and the control program (2) 109 is activated. (Arrow 112). Then, the control program (2) 10
If a timer interrupt of 10 ms interval occurs while 9 is operating, multitask operation
The system program is read from the flash memory and the control program (2) 109 is suspended (arrow 11
3), start the control program (1) 108 (arrow 11
4). In this way, the multitask operation system program 107 alternately operates the control program (1) 108 and the control program (2) 109 every 10 ms.

However, in the case where the multitask operation system program is stored in the flash memory, if a timer interrupt occurs while writing data in the flash memory, the SR value is read from the flash memory. I will end up. Therefore, there arises a problem that the multi-task operation system program cannot be read.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a home controller which operates normally even if the control data is read while the control data is being written in the large capacity nonvolatile memory.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a home controller for controlling household equipment via a home bus, which comprises a non-volatile memory for storing control data and the non-volatile memory. Writing means for writing the control data to the memory, reading means for reading the control data from the non-volatile memory, and the reading means for writing the control data to the non-volatile memory by the writing means. Determining means for determining the writing in progress so that the control data is not read by the means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a ROM (Read Only Me) storing the interface program including the non-volatile memory, the writing means, the reading means, and the determining means.
mory) is a home controller.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the nonvolatile memory stores an interface program including the writing means, the reading means, and the determining means, and further, a RAM.
(Random Access Memory), and an execution unit that reads the interface program from the nonvolatile memory and writes the interface program to the RAM when the power is turned on.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the non-volatile memory, the writing means, the reading means, the determining means, and a ROM storing a system program for controlling.
(Read Only Memory).

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system comprising: the non-volatile memory, the writing means, the reading means, and the determining means, wherein the non-volatile memory is controlled.
The program is stored in the RAM (Random A
ccess Memory), and an execution means for reading the system program from the non-volatile memory and writing it in the RAM when the power is turned on.

[0021]

According to the invention of claim 1, the judging means judges whether or not the data is being written in the non-volatile memory, and the reading is not carried out during the writing. Do not read the data.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an interface program including a writing means, a reading means and a judging means is stored in a ROM.
By storing the program in the ROM, the program operates on the ROM. Therefore, the control data of the interface program can be read out without being affected by the operating state of the nonvolatile memory.
It can be read from the OM and executed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the interface program is stored in the non-volatile memory, and the interface program is written from the non-volatile memory to the RAM when the home controller is powered on. Therefore,
The interface program operates on the RAM.
Therefore, as described above, the control data of the interface program can be read from the RAM and executed without being affected by the operating state of the nonvolatile memory.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the system program for controlling the home controller is stored in the ROM so that the system program operates on the ROM. Therefore, the control data of the system program is stored in the ROM without being affected by the operating state of the nonvolatile memory.
Can be read from and executed. Thereby, even when a plurality of control programs are alternately executed, the system program can be operated normally.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a system program for controlling the home controller is stored in a non-volatile memory, and the system program is written from the non-volatile memory to the RAM when the power of the home controller is turned on. Causes the system program to run on RAM. Therefore, the control data of the system program is RA without being affected by the operating state of the nonvolatile memory.
It can be read from M and executed. Thereby, even when a plurality of control programs are alternately executed, the system program can be operated normally.

[0026]

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The home controller 1 includes an interface unit 3 for transmitting and receiving data on the home bus 2 connected to a home device,
A control unit 4 for managing the operation of the entire home controller 1 and an I for performing key input, display / voice input / output, etc.
It includes an / O (Input / Output) unit 5 and a memory unit 6 for storing various data necessary for the operation of the home controller 1.

The memory unit 6 is used for home automation
System programs and applications of the system
A first memory area 7 for storing a program, a second memory area 8 for storing system data,
It includes a third memory area 9 for providing a storage area for work of the control section 4 when the control section 4 executes a system program or an application program. In this embodiment, the first memory area 7 is a ROM, the second memory area 8 is a flash memory, and the third memory area 9 is a RAM.
It consists of.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the operation when the application program writes the system data in this embodiment. First, in the application program, before writing data in the second memory area 8, it is checked whether the determination flag for determining whether or not writing is in progress is set / reset. A set state indicates that writing is in progress, and a reset state indicates that writing is complete (or writing is not in progress). If the determination flag is in the reset state, the determination flag is set (S2) because data is to be written. Then, data writing is performed (S3), and when the data writing is completed, the determination flag is reset (S4).

Here, for example, two applications
Let's assume that the program is cyclically alternating. These application programs have a writing function and a reading function for the flash memory and a determination function based on the determination flag. One of the application programs writes the data in the second memory area 8 to set the determination flag. Then, the other application program is the second memory area 8
If you check the judgment flag to read the data from
The determination flag is already set, and the process waits until the determination flag is reset. One of the application programs performs writing, completes writing, and resets the determination flag. At this point, the other application program can read. As described above, by using the reset / set of the determination flag as the determination means during the writing of the flash memory, it is possible to prevent the writing and reading operations from being performed at the same time, and to eliminate the data reading error.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home controller according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment, and corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals. As in the above-described embodiment, the memory section 6 is configured by the first memory area 7 being a ROM, the second memory area 8 being a flash memory, and the third memory area 9 being a RAM. The system program and the application program are stored in 7, the system data is stored in the second memory area 8, and the third memory area is provided as a working storage area of the control unit 4. However, the application program does not have a writing function, a reading function, or a judging function for the flash memory, unlike the above-described embodiment.

The feature of this embodiment is that the first memory area 7
In addition, an interface program for controlling and managing the second memory area 8 of the home automation system is stored. The writing and reading of data in the second memory area 8 by the application program are performed via the interface program. Then, the interface program prevents data from being read from the second memory area 8 during writing, and prevents double writing from being performed during writing. For example, it is a program provided with a determination means based on the above determination flag.

When the interface program is stored in the second memory area 8, the control data of the interface program is written from the flash memory in order for the application program to write the data in the second memory area 8. It is read and executed by the control unit 4. However, since the second memory area 8 is a flash memory, when data is read during writing, the value of the status register indicating the write state is shown, and the interface program cannot be read.
It will not work properly.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the interface program is stored in the ROM which is the first memory area 7. In this way, the interface program can be read from the ROM and executed by the control unit 4 regardless of the state of the flash memory in the second memory area 8 (even during writing).

Since the multitask operation system program, which is a system program, is a program for periodically executing a plurality of application programs alternately by a timer interrupt or the like, the second memory is similarly used. When stored in the area 8 (flash memory), the control data of the system program stored in the second memory area 8 cannot be read during writing. Therefore, by storing the system program in the ROM which is the first memory area 7,
The system program can be executed regardless of the state of the second memory area 8, and a plurality of application programs can be operated without trouble.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home controller according to the third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is also the first
Since the configuration is almost the same as that of the embodiment, the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

The feature of this embodiment is that the second memory area 8
That is, the interface program and the system program are stored in (flash memory). An application program is stored in the first memory area 7 (ROM), system data is stored in the second memory area 8, and a third memory area (RAM) is used as a working storage area of the control unit 4. provide. However, in this state, as described above, since the second memory area 8 is the flash memory, the data of the interface program or the system program cannot be read during the writing, and the program cannot be executed normally. Occurs.

Therefore, when the power of the home controller is turned on, the interface program and the system program stored in the second memory area 8 (flash memory) are stored.
An execution program for reading the program and writing it in the third memory area 9 (RAM) which is a work area is provided in the system program. When the power of the home controller is turned on, the control unit 4 first reads the system program from the second memory area and executes the execution program. That is, the interface program and the system program are written in the third memory area 9.

When writing data to the second memory area 8, the control section 4 executes the interface program of the third memory area 9. Thereby, the interface program can be executed regardless of the state of the second memory area 8.

When the multitask operation system program which is the system program is executed, the control unit 4 executes the system program stored in the third memory area 9. As a result, the system memory is not affected by any state of the second memory area 8.
The program can be executed, and a plurality of application programs can be operated alternately.

[0040]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the determination means for determining the writing in progress so as not to read the control data while the data is being written in the non-volatile memory is provided, the simultaneous writing is performed. It is possible to prevent the read operation from being performed, eliminate a mistake in reading the data, and operate the home controller normally. In addition to the above effects, the following effects can be obtained. According to the invention of claim 2, an interface including a writing means, a reading means and a judging means.
Since the program is stored in the ROM, the interface program can be executed without any problem regardless of the state of the non-volatile memory. According to the invention of claim 3, the interface program including the writing means, the reading means and the judging means is stored in the non-volatile memory, and the interface program is written from the non-volatile memory to the RAM when the power supply of the home controller is turned on. Therefore, the interface program can be executed without any problem regardless of the state of the non-volatile memory. According to the invention of claim 4, since the system program is stored in the ROM, the system program can be executed without trouble regardless of the state of the non-volatile memory. According to the invention of claim 5, the system program is stored in the non-volatile memory, and the system program is written from the non-volatile memory to the RAM when the power of the home controller is turned on.
The system program can be executed without any problem regardless of the state of the non-volatile memory.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a home controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when an application program writes system data in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the home controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the home controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional home automation system.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional home controller.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure for writing data in a flash memory.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing the operation of a multitasking operation system program.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Home Controller 2 Home Bus 6 Memory Section 7 First Memory Area (ROM) 8 Second Memory Area (Flash Memory) 9 Third Memory Area (RAM)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A home controller for controlling household equipment via a home bus, comprising a non-volatile memory including a block for storing control data, and writing control data to the non-volatile memory. Writing means, a reading means for reading control data from the nonvolatile memory, and a reading means for reading the control data while the control data is being written in the nonvolatile memory by the writing means. And a determination means for determining that writing is in progress so that the home controller does not exist. 2. A ROM (Re which stores an interface program including the writing means, the reading means and the judging means)
The home controller according to claim 1, further comprising an ad only memory). 3. A home controller for controlling household equipment via a home bus, comprising a non-volatile memory including a block for storing control data, and writing control data in the non-volatile memory. Writing means, a reading means for reading control data from the nonvolatile memory, and a reading means for reading the control data while the control data is being written in the nonvolatile memory by the writing means. So as not to write, an interface program including the writing unit, the reading unit, and the determining unit is stored in the non-volatile memory. RAM (Random Access Memory) and the interface program is read from the non-volatile memory at power-on and written to RAM. A home controller comprising: an execution unit for imprinting. 4. The home controller according to claim 1, further comprising a ROM (Read Only Memory) storing a system program for controlling. 5. A home controller for controlling household equipment via a home bus, comprising a non-volatile memory including a block for storing control data, and writing control data to the non-volatile memory. Writing means, a reading means for reading control data from the nonvolatile memory, and a reading means for reading the control data while the control data is being written in the nonvolatile memory by the writing means. A non-volatile memory, and a non-volatile memory in which a system program for controlling is stored, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a power supply. From the non-volatile memory when the system
Execution means for reading the program and writing it in RAM,
A home controller characterized by having.