JPH09231246A - Data collection system and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To evade an entire system down state by switching the transmission lines and carrying out the operation mode of a data collector if the function abnormality of the data collector is detected in the operation mode of a monitor terminal equipment. SOLUTION: A monitor control part 50 of a monitor terminal equipment 5 monitors the states of telegraphic messages outputted to a transmission line B connected to a receiving circuit 56 via a monitor 54 of the line B and also monitors the states of telegraphic messages outputted to a transmission line A connected to a transmitting circuit 55 via a monitor 53 of the line A. If no telegraphic message is outputted to the line B from a data collector nor outputted to the line A from another ticket issuing machine for a fixed time or longer, the function abnormality of the data collector is decided. Then the line A is switched to the line B and also the operation mode of the equipment 5 is switched to that of the data collector via the control of a relay 58 of a transmission line switching part 57.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data collection system and a data collection method suitable for, for example, ticketing processing and ticket gate processing at stations of transportation facilities.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a data collection system for performing communication using an unbalanced type data link has been adopted for ticketing processing and ticket screening processing at stations of transportation facilities.

This conventional data collection system is composed of a data collector which is a primary station and a terminal which is a secondary station connected to it. This unbalanced data link has 1
The secondary station responds to the message from the next station, and the primary station sends messages to the connected secondary stations in sequence for each secondary station, and sends the response. Monitor.

[0004]

However, the conventional system using the unbalanced data link has only one primary station in the data link.
For this reason, the power of the primary station is turned off or down, and
When the secondary station does not function, the unbalanced data link cannot communicate with the secondary stations, resulting in a system down.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data collecting system and a data collecting method which can prevent the entire system from going down even if the data collecting machine goes down.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention uses an unbalanced data link to perform communication between a plurality of terminals and a data collector so that each terminal can communicate with each other. In the data collection system for collecting the processed data of the above with the data collector, one of the plurality of terminals has a transmitting circuit for transmitting a message, a receiving circuit for receiving the message, and at least the receiving circuit. A monitoring means for monitoring the output state of a message to a transmission line connected to the transmission line; and a control means for executing an operation mode as a data collector or an operation mode as a terminal according to the monitoring result of the monitoring means. It is characterized by having done.

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, in one of the plurality of terminals, the monitoring means outputs the message to the transmission line connected to the receiving circuit, for example, the message from the data collector. Monitor for output. While the operation mode as the terminal is being executed, the control means does not output the message from the data collector to the transmission line connected to the receiving circuit due to the monitoring result by the monitoring means. If it is determined that the function is abnormal, the operation mode of the data collector is executed.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data collection system showing an embodiment of the present invention.

The data collecting system 1 includes a data collecting machine 2 and a plurality of ticket vending machines 4 as processing terminals via a transmission path 3 including a transmission path (A) 3a and a transmission path (B) 3b.
, 4n and the monitoring terminal 5 are connected, and each ticket vending machine 4 and the monitoring terminal 5 are connected using the unbalanced data link.
And the data collector 2 communicate with each other.

The data collector 2 includes ticket vending machines 4a, 4b,
4n to collect ticket processing data, which will be described later, and to transmit the telegram of the status information from each ticket vending machine 4a, 4b, ... 4n to the monitoring terminal 5 via the transmission path (B) 3b. Has become.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control system of the ticket vending machine 4.

The ticket vending machine 4 has a ticket vending control section 400 for controlling the ticket vending machine 4 as a whole, and a calling button 401, a cancel button 402, a number button 403, an adult,
A ticket type button 404, a confirmation button 405, an account button 406, a display unit 407, a card processing unit 408 for processing a card such as a prepaid card, a coin processing and a change processing A message is transmitted to the processing unit 409, the bill processing unit 410 that processes bills, the ticket issuing unit 411 that issues tickets such as boarding tickets, and the data collector 2 (the monitoring terminal device 5 when the data collector 2 is down). The receiving circuit 4 for receiving a message from the transmitting circuit 412 and the data collector 2 (the monitoring terminal 5 when the data collector 2 is down)
13 are connected to each other.

The ticket vending controller 400 comprises a CPU for controlling the ticket vending machine 4 as a whole, a ROM for storing a control program for the CPU, a RAM for storing various information, and the like. The ticket issuance process, and based on the telegram indicating the transmission request from the data collector 2 (the monitoring terminal 5 when the data collector 2 is down), the ticket sales time, the content of the sold ticket (ticket type, account) , Processing data such as the amount of money to be inserted, the amount of change, and status information of the ticket vending machine 4, for example, a response telegram including information indicating whether or not it is in an abnormal state is transmitted from the transmission circuit 412 via the transmission path (A) 3a. The data is periodically transmitted to the collector 2 (the monitoring terminal 5 when the data collector 2 is down).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control system of the monitoring terminal 5.

The monitoring terminal 5 has a monitoring control section 50 for controlling the entire terminal 5, and the monitoring control section 50 collects information from a display section 51 for displaying various information and each ticket vending machine 4. A collected data storage unit 52 that stores ticket processing data, a transmission line (A) monitor 53 that monitors the output state of a telegram to the transmission line (A) 3a, and an output state of a telegram to the transmission line (B) 3b. A transmission line (B) monitor 54, a transmission circuit 55 for transmitting a message, a reception circuit 56 for receiving a message, a transmission line switching unit 57 for switching between the transmission lines (A) 3a, and the transmission line (B) 3b are connected to each other. ing.

The transmission line switching unit 57 is provided with a relay 58 which operates under the control of the monitoring control unit 50. The transmission circuit 55 has a contact point 58a and a reception circuit 56 has a contact point 58b, and the transmission line (A) 3a has a contact point 58c. The connection 58d of the transmission line (B) 3b or the contact 58e of the transmission line (B) 3b and the contact 58f of the transmission line (A) 3a are connected.

The monitoring control unit 50 is composed of a CPU for controlling the entire terminal unit 5, a ROM for storing a control program of the CPU as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, a RAM for storing various information, and the like. The status is displayed on the display unit 51 based on the content of the electronic message of the status information of each ticket vending machine 4a, 4b, ... 4n transmitted from the data collector 2.

Further, the monitor control unit 50 monitors the output state of the message to the transmission line (B) 3b connected to the reception circuit 56 by the transmission line (B) monitor 54, and the transmission connected to the transmission circuit 55. The transmission line (A) monitor 53 monitors the output state of the message to the line (A) 3a, and the operation mode as a data collector or the operation mode as a monitoring terminal is executed according to the monitoring result. ing. That is,
Whether or not a state in which a message from the data collector 2 is not output to the transmission line (B) 3b and a state in which a message from another ticket vending machine 4 is not output to the transmission line (A) 3a continues for a certain time or more. If it continues for a certain period of time,
It is determined that the data collector has a malfunction (down), and the operation mode as the monitoring terminal device is switched to the operation mode as the data collector and executed. When switching the operation mode, the relay 58 of the transmission path switching unit 57 is controlled to switch between the transmission path (A) 3a and the transmission path (B) 3b.
That is, when the operation mode as the monitoring terminal is executed, the contact 58a of the transmission circuit 55 is moved to the contact 58 of the transmission line (A) 3a by the operation of the relay 58, as shown in FIG.
c and connect the contact 58b of the receiving circuit 56 to the transmission line (B).
Connect to contact 58d of 3b. When executing the operation mode as the data collector, the operation of the relay 58 causes
The contact 58a of the transmission circuit 55 is replaced with the contact 5 of the transmission line (B) 3b.
8e, and the contact 58b of the receiving circuit 56 is connected to the contact 58f of the transmission line (A) 3a. In the operation mode as the data collector, the ticket processing data collected from each ticket vending machine 4 is stored in the collected data storage unit 52, and
The status is displayed on the display unit 51 based on the content of the electronic message of the status information from each ticket vending machine 4.

Next, the operation of the data collection system 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the monitoring terminal 5.

While the ticket vending machine 4 normally operates as a secondary station, the transmitting circuit 55 is connected to the transmission line (A) 3a and the receiving circuit 56 is connected to the transmission line (B) 3b. . That is, the contact 58a of the transmission circuit 55 and the contact 58c of the transmission line (A) 3a are connected, and the contact 58b of the reception circuit 56 and the contact 58d of the transmission line (B) 3b are connected.

The monitor control unit 50 of the monitor terminal 5 monitors whether or not the transmission line (B) monitor 54 detects a message from the data collector 2 (S1). Further, the monitoring controller 50 monitors whether or not the transmission line (A) monitor 53 is detecting a message from the ticket vending machine 4 (S2). By monitoring whether or not a message from the ticket vending machine 4 is detected, disconnection on the transmission line (B) 3b or a line from the transmission line (B) 3b to the transmission line (B) monitor 54 is disconnected. It is possible to prevent a malfunction when there is.

Transmission line (B) monitor 54 and transmission line (A)
If none of the monitors 53 has detected a telegram, the monitoring controller 50 sets a timer (S3).

When the transmission line (B) monitor 54 and the transmission line (A) monitor 53 have not detected a telegram for a certain period of time (S4, S5, S6), the monitoring control unit 50 causes the transmission line switching unit 57 to operate. The transmission circuit 55 is controlled to connect to the transmission line (B) 3b, and the reception circuit 56 is connected to the transmission line (A) 3a. That is, the operation of the relay 58 connects the contact 58a of the transmission circuit 55 and the contact 58e of the transmission line (B) 3b,
Contact 58b of receiving circuit 56 and contact 5 of transmission line (A) 3a
8f is connected (S7).

After that, the monitoring terminal 5 instead of the data collector 2 executes the operation mode as the data collector which is the primary station (S8).

The monitoring control unit 50 uses the transmission line (B) monitor 54 to allow the data collector 2 to recover while the operation mode of the data collector 2 is being executed. It is monitored whether or not a message from is detected (S9).

The telegram sent from the transmission circuit 55 and the telegram received by the transmission line (B) monitor 54 are the same, and
If the transmission path (B) monitor 54 does not detect a message while the message is not being transmitted from the transmission circuit 55, it is determined that the data collector 2 has not returned.

The monitoring control unit 50 includes a transmission line (B) monitor 5
4 detects the message from the data collector 2, it judges that the data collector 2 has returned, controls the transmission path switching unit 57, and operates the relay 58 to cause the transmission circuit 55 to operate the transmission path (A). 3a, and the receiving circuit 56 is connected to the transmission line (B) 3b.
(S10).

The monitoring terminal 5 executes the operation mode as a monitoring terminal (S11).

According to the present system 1 described above, even if the data collector 2 malfunctions, the monitoring terminal 5 functions as a data collector, so that the entire system 1 can be prevented from going down. .

Further, the transmission line (B) monitor 5 is used for a certain time or longer.
4 and the transmission line (A) monitor 53 do not detect a telegram, the monitoring terminal 5 functions so as to function as a data collector. (B) It is possible to prevent malfunction when the line from 3b to the transmission line (B) monitor 54 is broken.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various forms are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the monitoring terminal 5 is provided separately from the plurality of ticket vending machines 4, and when the data collector 2 goes down, the monitoring terminal 5 executes the operation mode as the data collector. The monitoring terminal 5 may not be provided, and one of the plurality of ticket vending machines 4 may execute the operation mode as the data collecting machine when the data collecting machine 2 goes down. Further, the one ticket vending machine 4 may also execute the operation mode as the monitoring terminal.

In the above embodiment, the ticket vending machine 4 is used as an example of the processing terminal device for sending the processing data to the data collector 2. However, instead of the ticket vending machine 4, an automatic ticket gate is connected and the automatic ticket gate is used as a data terminal. The processing data may be sent to the collecting machine 2, and a plurality of ticket vending machines 4 and a plurality of automatic ticket gates are connected to the data collecting machine 2, and the processing data are respectively collected from the ticket vending machine 4 and the automatic ticket gate. You may send it to.

[0034]

According to the present invention described in detail above, even if the data collector is down, one of the plurality of terminals functions as a data collector, so that the entire system is down. Avoidance is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data collection system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a ticket vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a monitoring terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the surveillance terminal according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 data collection system 2 data collection machine 3, 3a, 3b transmission line 4a, 4b, ..., 4n ticket vending machine 5 monitoring terminal unit 50 monitoring control unit 53 transmission line (A) monitor 54 transmission line (B) monitor 57 transmission line switching Department

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A data collection system in which an unbalanced data link is used to communicate between a plurality of terminals and a data collector, and processing data from each terminal is collected by the data collector. In one of the plurality of terminals
One terminal is a transmitting circuit for transmitting a message, a receiving circuit for receiving the message, a monitoring means for monitoring at least the output state of the message to the transmission line connected to the receiving circuit, and the monitoring result of this monitoring means. And a control means for executing an operation mode as a data collector or an operation mode as a terminal according to the above. 2. A data collection system in which an unbalanced data link is used to communicate between a plurality of terminals and a data collector, and processing data from each of the terminals is collected by the data collector. In one of the plurality of terminals
One terminal has a transmitting circuit for transmitting a message, a receiving circuit for receiving the message, switching means for switching between a transmission line connected to the transmitting circuit and a transmission line connected to the receiving circuit, and at least the receiving circuit. A monitoring means for monitoring the output state of a telegram to a transmission line connected to the circuit, and an operation mode as a data collector or a terminal device by switching the transmission line by the switching means according to the monitoring result of this monitoring means. A data collection system, comprising: a control unit that executes an operation mode. 3. An unbalanced data link is used to communicate between a plurality of processing terminals and monitoring terminals and a data collector, and processing data from each of the processing terminals is sent to the data collector. In the data collection system in which the monitoring terminal performs display based on the terminal status information transmitted from each processing terminal via the data collector, the monitoring terminal transmits a message. A transmission circuit for transmitting, a reception circuit for receiving a message, a switching means for switching between a transmission line connected to the transmission circuit and a transmission line connected to the reception circuit, and at least a transmission line connected to the reception circuit. Monitoring means for monitoring the output state of a telegram to the device, and an operating mode as a data collector or a monitoring terminal device by switching the transmission path by the switching means according to the monitoring result of this monitoring means. And a control means for executing the operation mode of 1. 4. The monitoring means monitors whether or not a state in which a message from the data collector is not output to a transmission line connected to the receiving circuit continues for a certain time or more. The data collection system according to claim 1, 2, or 3. 5. The monitoring means is in a state where a message from the data collector is not output to a transmission line connected to the receiving circuit and a message from the other terminal is connected to the transmitting circuit. The data collection system according to claim 1, wherein the data collection system monitors whether or not a state in which the data is not output to the transmission path continues for a predetermined time or longer. 6. A data collection method in which an unbalanced data link is used to communicate between a plurality of terminals and a data collector, and processing data from each terminal is collected by the data collector. In one of the plurality of terminals, a monitoring step of monitoring an output state of a telegram to at least a transmission line connected to a receiving circuit of the terminal, and a data collector according to the monitoring result. And a step of executing the operation mode as a terminal or the operation mode as a terminal. 7. The monitoring step comprises monitoring whether or not a state in which a message from the data collector is not output to a transmission line connected to a receiving circuit of the terminal continues for a certain time or more. The data collection method according to claim 6, which is characterized in that 8. The monitoring step comprises a state in which a telegram from the data collector is not output to a transmission line connected to a receiving circuit of the terminal and a telegram from the other terminal is in the terminal. 7. The data collection method according to claim 6, further comprising monitoring whether or not the state of not being output to the transmission path connected to the transmission circuit continues for a predetermined time or longer.