JPH10177503A - Device diagnostic control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the diagnostic time when no fault is detected and to point out in details the fault area if a fault is detected by preparing a normal diagnostic function which has 8 short diagnostic time and a detailed diagnostic function which points out in details the faulty area against detection of a fault. SOLUTION: A test execution control part 2 carries out successively the normal diagnoses 3 to 7 and performs an error check operation 8. If an error is checked during the execution of the diagnoses 3 to 7, a detailed test execution preparation part 10 starts its operation. In the diagnoses 3 to 7, such test items that can specify a defective substrate are carried out and accordingly the diagnostic time is shortened. The part 10 can prepare to perform a detailed test corresponding to each diagnostic area based on the specific one of diagnoses 3 to 7 where a fault is detected. When a detailed test is ready, a detailed test 11 is carried out and the detailed information on the fault is obtained. Then the detailed information is stored in an internal RAM of a fault information storage part 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-diagnosis technique for a device having a microprocessor and a microprogram.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional self-diagnosis of an apparatus is disclosed in
As described in JP-A-133444, a method for shortening the time for reading out diagnostic data, and a method disclosed in JP-A-4-170647.
As described in the above item, there is a method for speeding up the diagnostic processing by loading a diagnostic program from a cache memory. In addition, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-148431, by performing a diagnosis from a tester (diagnosis firmware) outside the apparatus, it is possible to prevent a defective product from being undetected due to a restriction on test time and the like. Is available.

As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-88931, there is a method in which the self-diagnosis is performed twice when the power is turned on and after the start of the communication work, thereby shortening the apparatus start-up time.

[0004]

It is desirable that the time required for the self-diagnosis of the apparatus be short in terms of the operation of the apparatus. Further, the fault information required for the fault recovery work at the equipment delivery destination is sufficient if it is possible to identify the defective part, and it is not necessary to provide detailed information as to which part in the defective part is out of order.

However, it is pointed out by the device self-diagnosis that
If the replacement part is brought back to the factory and a reproduction test is performed, the failure may not be reproduced, and it may be difficult to specify the replacement part in the part. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to conduct a detailed diagnosis and point out even a defective part when a failure is detected.

However, in the device self-diagnosis according to the prior art described above, various methods have been devised for speeding up the diagnosis, but do not take into account the detailed indication of a faulty component at the time of error detection. Since the detailed diagnosis for giving the detailed indication is optional, the detailed diagnosis is not performed immediately after the error is detected in the normal diagnosis (first-stage diagnosis), and the faulty part in the defective part cannot be specified. .

Further, according to the method of performing a diagnosis from a tester (diagnosis firmware) outside the apparatus, a detailed diagnosis cannot be performed at a place where the apparatus is delivered.

In the above prior art, the case where a plurality of faults are present is not taken into consideration, and an error is displayed when the first fault is detected, and the second fault cannot be detected. For this reason, since the second error is detected at the time of restarting after taking measures against the pointed out point, it takes time to replace the defective part.

A first object of the present invention is to reduce the time required for diagnosis in a normal diagnosis in a self-diagnosis of an apparatus,
When a failure is detected, a detailed diagnosis is automatically performed,
The point of failure is to be pointed out in detail.

A second object of the present invention is to enable a failure recovery operation to be completed in a short time by making it possible to detect all failures by one diagnosis in the above-mentioned diagnostic method. A third object of the present invention is to facilitate the diagnosis by integrally executing the above-mentioned diagnosis method and the above-mentioned faulty part detection method.

[0011]

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, in a self-diagnosis of a device equipped with a microprocessor and a microprogram, test items are executed so that a defective part can be specified. Device diagnosis characterized by having a normal diagnosis function, a function to start a detailed diagnosis corresponding to the detected failure part when a failure is detected by the normal diagnosis, and a detailed diagnosis function to point out the failure part finely Provide a method.

Further, the present invention provides a function for temporarily storing information obtained by the above-described device diagnosis method, and a function for executing self-diagnosis to the end by the storage function and detecting all failures in one diagnosis. The present invention provides a diagnostic control method characterized by having:

Further, the present invention provides a device diagnosis control method characterized by having a function of supervising the device diagnosis method and the diagnosis control method, and having a function capable of easily executing a diagnosis.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of a self-diagnosis program according to the apparatus diagnosis control method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus diagnosed by the self-diagnosis program of FIG. In FIG. 1, when the diagnosis is started at START 1, the test execution control 2 includes a channel I / F diagnosis 3, a data compression diagnosis 4, a data buffer diagnosis 5, a drive I / F diagnosis 6, and a library I / F diagnosis 7. Executing control of each normal diagnosis. The error check 8 checks the diagnostic results of the normal diagnoses 3 to 7 (presence or absence of failure detection). The end of the test 9 indicates whether all of the normal diagnoses have been completed or, in this embodiment, the library I / F
It is checked whether diagnosis 7 has been performed. When the processing is completed, the process proceeds to the failure information present 13. If not completed, the processing returns to the test execution control 2.

In the normal diagnosis control of the test execution control 2, first, a channel I / F diagnosis 3 is executed. The result is checked by an error check 8. If no failure is detected, the process proceeds to test end 9 and returns to test execution control 2 because the diagnosis has not been completed.

Next, the test execution control 2 executes the data compression diagnosis 4 and checks whether an error has been detected in the error check 8. As described above, the test execution control 2 executes the normal diagnoses 3 to 7 one by one and performs the error check 8.

When a failure is detected by the error check 8 during the execution of the normal diagnoses 3 to 7, the process proceeds to a detailed test execution preparation 10. In the normal diagnoses 3 to 7, test items are executed to the extent that a defective board can be identified, and the diagnostic time is shortened.

The detailed test execution preparation 10 includes the normal diagnosis 3 to
7, preparation is made to execute a detailed test corresponding to the diagnosis site depending on which diagnosis detected the failure.

The detailed test is usually stored in an area (FD 26) different from the diagnoses 3 to 7, and is moved (loaded) to an area (RAM 27) where the detailed test execution preparation 10 can be executed.
I do. By preparing a detailed test at the time of execution, normally only the diagnoses 3 to 7 are loaded into the RAM 27, so that the load time of the diagnostic program when the apparatus is normal is shortened. When the detailed test is ready, the detailed test 11 is executed to obtain detailed information on the failure. The obtained information is the failure information storage 1
In step 2, the data is stored in the RAM 27 inside the apparatus.

If it is determined that all the diagnoses have been completed at the end of the test 9, the process proceeds to the presence of failure information 13 to check whether the failure information is stored in the apparatus. If it is stored, the process shifts to the error report / display 14 to report all the fault information collectively. The reporting method includes a display panel of the device and a remote maintenance mechanism.

In FIG. 2, the device is connected to a channel I / F2
1, data compression 22, data buffer 23, drive I
/ F24 forms a data transfer system. Normal diagnosis 3-7
The detailed test corresponding thereto is stored in the FD 26 and read out to the RAM 27 before being executed by the microprocessor 28.

The message display 29 displays the progress of the diagnosis and the contents of an error when a failure is detected.

The remote maintenance mechanism 30 is connected to the communication line 31 and reports the status of the apparatus to the maintenance center.

The library I / F 32 communicates with a library device.

The normal diagnoses 3 to 7 and the detailed tests corresponding thereto are stored in the FD 26. First, the normal diagnoses 3 to 7 are loaded into the RAM 27, and are executed by the microprocessor 28. ROM at the beginning address of RAM27
Are assigned, and the operation immediately after power-on is programmed.

The procedure for diagnosing the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 by the self-diagnosis program shown in FIG. 1 will be described below.

At START1, normal diagnosis 3 is performed from FD26.
7 are loaded into the RAM 27. At this time, since the detailed tests corresponding to the normal diagnoses 3 to 7 are not loaded, the loading time is short.

When the diagnosis is started, the test execution control 2
Channel I / F diagnosis 3, data compression diagnosis 4, data buffer diagnosis 5, drive I / F diagnosis 6, library I / F
Diagnosis 7 is performed in order.

Usually, the diagnoses 3 to 7 are test items that can identify a defective board, and the diagnosis time is short.

If no failure is detected in the error check 8 at the end of each normal diagnosis, the test is completed 9 and there is failure information 13
The self-diagnosis is terminated at END15 because the failure information is not stored in the RAM 27.

When a failure is detected by the error check 8 at the end of each normal diagnosis, the process proceeds to a detailed test execution preparation 10. The detailed test corresponding to the failure is on the FD 26, and the detailed test execution preparation 10 selects a detailed test to be executed and loads it into the RAM 27.

In the detailed test of the channel I / F diagnosis 3, a failure site of the transfer control circuit is specified by adding a test item.

In the detailed test of the data compression diagnosis 4, a failure site of the compression / decompression function is specified by adding test data.

The detailed test of the data buffer diagnosis 5 specifies which of the channel-side transfer control circuit / drive-side transfer control circuit / memory control circuit has a failure by adding a test item.

The detailed test of the drive I / F diagnosis 6 specifies which track in the correction circuit of the read data from the drive unit 25 has a fault by adding test data.

The library I / F diagnosis 7 adds the state of the I / F register at the time of detecting a failure to the failure information without adding a detailed test.

The detailed information obtained by executing the above detailed test in the detailed test 11 is stored in the fault information
It is stored in the AM 27 in a prescribed format.

After the storage, the process proceeds to test end 9, and if the diagnosis has not been completed, returns to test execution control 2 to execute the next normal diagnosis. When a failure is detected in the error check 8 of the next normal diagnosis, the detailed test execution preparation 10, the detailed test 11, and the failure information storage 12 are sequentially shifted. In the failure information storage 12, since the information is stored first, it is stored in the next area without overwriting.

If it is determined at the test end 9 that all the normal diagnoses have been completed, the process proceeds to the fault information presence 13. If the information is stored in the RAM 27, the process proceeds to the error report / display 14, and the detailed information obtained by the detailed tests of the normal diagnoses 3 to 7 is reported to the message display 29 of the apparatus.
Also, if the remote maintenance mechanism 30 is connected, it notifies the maintenance center via the communication line 31.

By diagnosing the apparatus as described above, the diagnosis time is usually short, and when a fault is detected, the fault site is pointed out in detail, and all faults are detected by executing the diagnosis once. Also,
These series of diagnoses can be easily performed.

[0043]

According to the present invention, in a self-diagnosis of a device having a microprocessor and a microprogram,
If no failure is detected, the diagnosis time is short, and if a failure is detected, the failure site can be pointed out in detail. In addition, multiple failures can be detected by executing the diagnosis once,
Replacement work of a failed part can be completed in a short time. Since these are automatically executed, self-diagnosis becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a self-diagnosis program according to a device diagnosis control method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus having a microprocessor and a microprogram, which is diagnosed by the self-diagnosis program of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... test execution control, 8 ... error check, 10 ... preparation of detailed test execution, 11 ... detailed test, 12 ... storage of fault information, 14 ... error report / display

Claims (3)

[Claims] In a self-diagnosis of an apparatus including a microprocessor and a microprogram, a self-diagnosis function is provided, a detailed diagnosis function for pointing out a failure part in detail, and a function of controlling activation of the detailed diagnosis based on a result of the normal diagnosis. A device diagnostic method characterized by the following. 2. The apparatus diagnosis system according to claim 1, further comprising means for storing fault information in the device to be diagnosed, a function of storing the result of the detailed diagnosis, and a function of detecting a fault at one location without causing an error down. A diagnosis control method characterized by having a function of continuing diagnosis until the end (entire apparatus) while accumulating information and reporting the accumulated information at the end of diagnosis. 3. A self-diagnosis control system for a device comprising a microprocessor and a microprogram, wherein each device has the functions of claim 1 and claim 2.