Screen information storing system for information communication system

Abstract

To provide a screen information storing system which reliably stores image information on a screen in order to grasp a situation of an information communication device without requiring a special resource for the information communication device, and which suppresses costs and improves user-friendliness.SOLUTION: A screen information storing system 1 includes: a screen display device 300 that displays image data on a screen output by an industrial controller; and an NAS device 200 that is connected to the industrial controller 100 via a network NW. The screen data output by the industrial controller is distributed to the NAS device and the screen display device by a distributor 400. The NAS device includes an image receiving unit 203 which receives the distributed image data and stores the received data in a buffer. The industrial controller includes an RAS function unit 103 which detects an abnormality of its own and notifies a control unit 201 of the NAS device 200 of the detected abnormality. Upon receiving the notification, the control unit outputs, to the image receiving unit, a storing command to store the image data in the buffer into a data storing unit 202.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for saving screen output of an information communication device such as an industrial computer as image information in an external storage device.

Background Art

[0002] As is well known, industrial computers are used in industrial fields such as factory manufacturing sites, equipment control devices, and medical devices. In particular, industrial computers are often used for long-term operation and in harsh environments, and high durability and reliability are required. Various methods have been proposed for investigating the causes of system abnormalities (failures and malfunctions).

[0003] For example, in Patent Document 1, a method for acquiring and saving information related to processing before OS (Operating System) startup has been proposed. Here, the screen information acquisition circuit monitors the presence or absence of operation inputs such as a mouse and keyboard after power-on.

[0004] When the operation monitoring unit detects the operation input, the VRAM reading unit reads the image information of the screen stored in the VRAM, and the saving unit saves the read image information in the storage device within the own device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Certainly, acquiring and saving the image information of the screen in order to grasp the state of an information communication device such as an industrial computer can be said to be useful because the state of the information communication device can be visually recognized by the user.

[0007] However, in the method of Patent Document 1, special hardware resources and software resources such as a VRAM reading unit and a storage unit are required to store image information in the information communication device, which may make it difficult to suppress costs. In addition, when an abnormality such as an OS stop (freeze, etc.) occurs, there is also a possibility that the storage of image information may be hindered.

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve such problems of the prior art, and without requiring special resources in the information communication device, it reliably stores the image information of the screen for grasping the situation, and aims to solve the problems of suppressing costs and improving convenience.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] (1) The present invention relates to a screen display device that displays image information of a screen output from an information communication device, an external storage device connected to the information communication device via a network, and is provided with a system that stores the image information in the external storage device, characterized in that the image information output from the information communication device is distributed to the screen display device and the external storage device, and the distributed image information is stored in the external storage device.

[0010] (2) One aspect of the external storage device is a control unit that controls the processing operation of the own device, an image receiving unit that receives and stores the distributed image information, and is provided with The image receiving unit stores the image information in the data storage unit in response to a storage command from the control unit. Note that the image receiving unit can store the image information by overwriting it periodically, and the external storage device may be configured by a NAS device.

[0011] (3) In one aspect of the present invention, The information communication device includes a RAS function unit that detects an abnormality in the device itself and notifies the external storage device via the network. On the other hand, When the external storage device receives the notification, the control unit detects an abnormality in the information communication device, and outputs the save command to the data storage unit.

[0012] (4) In another aspect of the present invention, The information communication device includes an EC function unit that detects an abnormality in the operating system of the device itself. When the function unit detects an abnormality, it notifies the external storage device via DI / DO or the network. On the other hand, When the external storage device receives the notification, the control unit detects an abnormality in the information communication device, and outputs the save command to the data storage unit.

[0013] (5) In each aspect of the information communication device, The notification includes the time when the function unit detected the abnormality. The save command includes the time of the notification. The image reception unit can also start saving in order from the image information corresponding to the time obtained by advancing the time by an arbitrary number of minutes from the time, and end the saving of the image information in response to an end command from the control unit.

[0014] (6) In still another aspect of the present invention, The control unit constantly confirms the response via the network to the function unit, and if there is no response, it detects an abnormality in the information communication device and outputs the save command to the data storage unit.

[0015] At this time, the image reception unit can also start saving in order from the image information corresponding to the time obtained by advancing the time by an arbitrary number of minutes from the time when the response timed out, and end the saving of the image information in response to an end command from the control unit.

Effects of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, without requiring special resources for the information communication device, it is possible to reliably save the image information of the screen for grasping the situation, and to suppress costs and improve convenience.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, a screen information storage system for an information communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. This screen information storage system captures the screen output of an information communication device such as an industrial computer in cooperation with a maintenance monitoring function and stores it in an external storage device.

[0019] For example, as the external storage device, a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device connected to the information communication device via a network is used. This NAS device can store the image data of the screen output from the information communication device. As a result, it becomes possible to acquire information before and after an abnormality (failure or malfunction) occurs in the information communication device, and by utilizing this information for cause investigation and restart, a highly reliable system is constructed.

[0020] ≪System Configuration Example≫ Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 indicates the screen information storage system, which includes an industrial controller 100, a NAS device 200, and a screen display device 300. This industrial controller 100 is used, for example, in an on-vehicle computer of an overhead line inspection device or a line appearance inspection device.

[0021] Industrial controller 100 is equipped with a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) terminal as an interface for video output, and outputs a digital video signal of screen data from the DVI terminal to a screen display device 300. This screen display device 300 is composed of a video monitor and displays the image data output from the DVI terminal.

[0022] In addition, industrial controller 100 is connected to network NW via Ethernet (Ethernet / Registered Trademark). A NAS device 200 is connected to this network NW, enabling data transmission and reception between the two, 100 and 200.

[0023] Industrial controller 100 is composed of a computer and is equipped with normal computer hardware resources (CPU, RAM, ROM, HDD, SSD, etc.). As a result of the cooperation between this hardware resource and software resources (OS, applications, etc.), industrial controller 100 implements a control unit 101, a data processing unit 102, and a RAS function unit 103.

[0024] That is, control unit 101 executes control of devices, apparatuses, etc. in response to an application operation on industrial controller 100 by the user. Information such as this operation log is transmitted from data processing unit 102 to NAS device 200 via network NW. On the other hand, screen information such as the OS, folders, and applications displayed on screen display device 300 is output from the DVI terminal as a signal of image data.

[0025] At this time, a distributor 400 is provided in the display cable connected to the DVI terminal. Thereby, the image data output from the DVI terminal is distributed to screen display device 300 and NAS device 200.

[0026] The NAS device 200 implements a control unit 201 that controls the processing operations of the device itself, an image receiving unit 203 that receives image data via a distributor 400, and a data storage unit 202 that stores the image data received by the image receiving unit 203. The received data (image data) of the image receiving unit 203 is stored in the data storage unit 202 according to the instructions of the control unit 201.

[0027] <<Operation of NAS Device 200>> The operation of the NAS device 200 will be described based on Examples 1 to 3. In each example, image data distributed by the distributor 400 is constantly input to the NAS device 200, the input image data is stored as a buffer in the image receiving unit 203, and the time when each image data is stored is also retained as history information in the buffer.

Example

[0028] First, Example 1 will be described. In this example, the RAS function unit 103 of the industrial controller 100 detects its own abnormality (failure or malfunction). For example, it monitors the presence or absence of abnormalities such as system stops (freezes, etc.), malfunctions, and application errors, and if an abnormality is detected, it notifies the NAS device 200 via the network NW. This notification shall include the time information when the abnormality was detected (hereinafter referred to as the abnormality occurrence time).

[0029] If the NAS device 200 receives the above notification, the control unit 201 detects the abnormality of the industrial controller 100 (S01). As a result, a storage command for image data is output from the control unit 201 to the image receiving unit 203 (S02).

[0030] This storage command includes the abnormality occurrence time in the above notification. When the image receiving unit 203 receives the storage command, it refers to the history information to identify the image data stored immediately before the abnormality occurrence time (for example, a few seconds before). The identified image data is sequentially extracted from the buffer starting from the head, and the extracted group of image data is stored in the data storage unit 202 (S03).

[0031] Based on FIG. 2, an example will be described. Image data N1 to N5 are stored in the image receiving unit 203. Here, the save command includes the time T2 as the abnormal occurrence time, and referring to the history information, the extraction of the image data is started from the immediately previous time T1. As a result, the image data is extracted in order from N2 and stored in the data storage unit 202.

[0032] However, if necessary, any arbitrary time period can be advanced from time T2 and extracted as the immediately previous image data. For example, although it is set to time T1 in the initial setting, depending on the operation of the industrial controller 100 and the occurrence status of abnormalities, etc., it is preferable to appropriately advance and adjust the time, and it may be extracted from the image data N1 before time T1.

[0033] Thereafter, an end command for saving is output from the control unit 201 to the image receiving unit 203 (S04). When the image receiving unit 203 receives the end command of S04, the saving of the image data is ended. In FIG. 2, the end command is output at time T3, and the image receiving unit 203 ends the extraction and saving of the image data at time T3, and the image data N2 to N4 between times T1 and T3 are stored in the data storage unit 202.

[0034] As a result, in the data storage unit 202 of the NAS device 200, an image data group before and after the abnormal occurrence time when the RAS function unit 103 detects an abnormality is stored, and for example, it is possible to store an image data group indicating the operation status around the system stop time of the industrial controller 100.

[0035] In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, if the image data N in the data storage unit 202 is displayed on the screen display device, the user can visually and easily grasp the situation before and after the occurrence of the abnormality (when an error occurs), which is beneficial for investigating and quickly resolving the cause of the abnormality.

[0036] Therefore, without requiring special resources for the industrial controller 100, by utilizing the NAS device 200 for file storage, it is possible to reliably store the image data for grasping the situation at the time of abnormality, and in this regard, cost reduction and versatility are improved.

[0037] Note that although the image data group in the data storage unit 202 is stored permanently, it is preferable to overwrite and update it periodically from the viewpoint of avoiding capacity compression of the NAS device 200.

Example

[0038] Next, Example 2 will be described. Here, the control unit 201 of the NAS device 200 constantly checks for a response via the network with the RAS function unit 103 of the industrial controller 100, and if there is no response, it detects an abnormality (failure or malfunction) of the industrial controller 100.

[0039] Specifically, the control unit 201 periodically transmits a confirmation message to the RAS function unit 103 via the network NW. Here, the period of the confirmation message is initially set in the NAS device, and the initial setting value can be appropriately changed according to operation and the occurrence status of abnormalities.

[0040] In response to this confirmation message, the RAS function unit 103 returns a response message to the control unit 201 via the network NW. Therefore, normally, the exchange of the confirmation message and the response message is periodically performed between the two devices 100 and 200.

[0041] However, if the control unit 201 of the NAS device 200 does not receive the response message from the RAS function unit 103 within a predetermined time, it determines that a timeout has occurred and determines that the response to the confirmation message has been interrupted.

[0042] Thereby, the control unit 201 detects an abnormality of the industrial controller 100 (S01), and by executing the processes of S02 to S04 with the timeout time as the abnormality occurrence time, it stores the image data before and after the abnormality occurrence time in the data storage unit 202.

[0043] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the abnormality of the industrial controller 100 can be detected by the external NAS device 200 and the image data can be saved, and it is possible to handle even abnormalities that are difficult to detect by the industrial controller 100 itself. In this regard, it is possible to more reliably save the image data for grasping the situation such as when an abnormality occurs.

Embodiment

[0044] Finally, Embodiment 3 will be described. In this embodiment, the RAS function unit 103 of the industrial controller 100 is executed by an EC (Embedded Controller / embedded controller). This RAS function unit 103 is called an EC function unit, and if an abnormality in the OS of the industrial controller 100 is detected, it is notified to the control unit 201 of the NAS device 200 via DI / DO or the network NW.

[0045] This notification also includes the time when the abnormality occurred. If the NAS device 200 receives this notification, the control unit 201 detects the abnormality of the industrial controller 100 (S01). As a result, a save command for the image data is output from the control unit 201 to the image reception unit 203 (S02), and the image data before and after the time when the abnormality occurred is saved in the data storage unit 202. As a result, it is possible to detect an abnormality even when the OS of the industrial controller 100 is not operating, and in this regard, it is possible to handle a wide range of causes of abnormalities.

[0046] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented with modifications within the scope described in each claim. For example, if the abnormality detection by message exchange in Embodiment 2 is added to Embodiments 1 and 3, it is possible to improve the accuracy of abnormality detection.

[0047] Further, instead of the NAS device 200 connected to the local area network NW, an online storage on the Internet may be used as an external storage device for saving image data.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0048] 1... Screen information storage system 100…Industrial controller 101, 201…Control unit 102…Data processing unit 103…RAS function unit 200…NAS device 202…Data storage unit 203…Image receiving unit 300…Screen display device 400…Distributor

Claims

1. A screen display device that displays image information of a screen output from an information communication device, An external storage device connected to the information communication device via a network, Comprising, A system for storing the image information in the external storage device, The image information output from the information communication device is distributed to the screen display device and the external storage device, An information communication device screen information storage system characterized by storing the distributed image information in the external storage device.

2. The external storage device, A control unit that controls the processing operation of the device itself, An image receiving unit that receives and stores the distributed image information, Comprising, The image receiving unit stores the image information in a data storage unit in response to a storage command from the control unit The information communication device screen information storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that.

3. The image receiving unit, The information communication device screen information storage system according to claim 2, characterized in that the image information is periodically overwritten and stored.

4. The external storage device is a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device The information communication device screen information storage system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that.

5. The information communication device, While having a RAS (Reliability Availability Serviceability) function unit that detects an abnormality in the device itself and notifies the external storage device via the network, When the external storage device receives the notification, the control unit detects an abnormality in the information communication device, The information communication device screen information storage system according to claim 2, characterized in that a storage command is output to the data storage unit.

6. The information communication device includes an EC (Embedded Controller) function unit that detects an abnormality in the OS (Operating System) of the device itself, When the function unit detects an abnormality, it notifies the external storage device via DI / DO or the network, When the external storage device receives the notification, the control unit detects an abnormality in the information communication device, The information communication device screen information storage system according to claim 2, characterized in that a storage command is output to the data storage unit.

7. The notification includes the time when the function unit detected the abnormality, The storage command includes the time of the notification, The image receiving unit starts saving in order from the image information corresponding to the time obtained by advancing an arbitrary time from the said time, The screen information saving system of the information communication device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that it ends the saving of the said image information in response to an end command from the said control unit.

8. The information communication device, while having a RAS (Reliability Availability Serviceability) function unit that detects its own abnormality and notifies the external storage device, the control unit constantly confirms a response via the network to the said function unit, and if there is no such response, detects the abnormality of the information communication device, The screen information saving system of the information communication device according to claim 2, characterized in that it outputs the saving command to the said data storage unit.

9. The image receiving unit starts saving in order from the image information corresponding to the time obtained by advancing an arbitrary time from the time when the said response timed out, The screen information saving system of the information communication device according to claim 8, characterized in that it ends the saving of the said image information in response to an end command from the said control unit.

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