JPS5947337B2 - Data transfer control method for data collection system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a data transfer control method for a data collection system that generates an alarm when the transmission buffer of a transaction terminal becomes low and, if necessary, processes transaction data with priority over transmission data. It is.

Conventionally, transaction terminal systems at department stores, stores, etc. have consisted of a plurality of transaction terminals (POS) that perform transactions with customers and input data, and a data collection device (D/C) that collects data from these POS. ).

Its configuration is as shown in Fig. 1. A data collection device (C/D) 1 having a file 2 is connected to a plurality of P054s via a local line 3.
1 to 4n are connected in a series. Data such as product codes and sales quantities input through transactions in each P054 to 4n are stored in respective transmission buffers 51 to 5n, edited, and transmitted to the data collection device 1. When downsizing this POS, the transmission buffer of each POS cannot have a large capacity.
When transmission is stopped due to internal line trouble, D/C trouble, etc., data overflows from the transmission buffer, causing an accident in which important transaction data is lost. Therefore, it is necessary for the operator to recognize the memory air end of the transmission buffer in advance. An object of the present invention is to provide a data transfer control method for a data collection system that can easily prevent transaction data from overflowing and dropping from a transmission buffer of a transaction terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, the data transfer control method of the data collection system of the present invention provides a data collection system in which data generated at a transaction terminal and stored in a transmission buffer is collected into a data collection device via a line, wherein the transmission buffer is A detection section configured with a predetermined number of unit buffers and detecting that the number of units of the unit transmission buffer is less than a predetermined number, and an alarm generation device that generates an alarm based on the output of the detection section and prohibits generation of data. an instructing means operated by an operator to instruct to cancel the alarm; and a means for storing data generated at the transaction terminal in a unit buffer for storing untransferred data to a data collection device when the instructing means instructs to cancel the alarm. After the alarm occurs, the latest data generated at the transaction terminal is stored in the buffer according to an instruction from the instruction means.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples. FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic explanatory diagrams of a transmission buffer which is a main part of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the transmission buffer 5 is divided into a plurality of blocks, for example, unit blocks having a capacity that can store data for a predetermined number of single item transactions, and is numbered #1 to #N. There is.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2B, a pointer area 6 is provided, including an edit completion pointer indicating the last block number for which the editing of the transmission data has been completed, and a transmission completion pointer indicating the last block number for which the transmission has been completed. Become. Edit,
Transmission is also performed in order of increasing block number, #
It is controlled cyclically, such as #1 after N.
Normally, a buffer block that has been edited is subject to transmission, and can be reused once transmission is complete. Line trouble or D
/C When transmission is stopped due to trouble or the like, the transmission completion pointer remains stopped and only the editing completion pointer increases, and the remaining buffer block gradually decreases.

Therefore, each time the editing of one block's worth of transmission data is completed, the remaining buffer block is checked, and if it is below a certain value, an alarm such as a blinking memory near end lamp, lighting of an input error indicator, or intermittent speaker sound is generated, and the operation is stopped. Lock automatically. When the operator recognizes the occurrence of an alarm, he clears the current manual data, stops all alarms other than the lighting of the memory near-end lamp, unlocks the operation, and waits.

Once the line and D/C troubles mentioned above are resolved, data transmission is resumed. Then, when the remaining buffer block at the time of completion of one block transmission of the transmission buffer reaches a certain value or more, the memory near end is released and the normal state returns.

The above procedure is for normal cases, but in special cases, it may be necessary to prioritize the continuation of the current input data and store it in the transmission buffer even if it means sacrificing the existing data. In such a case, by turning off the I/O key provided on the POS operation panel, all the alarm sources including the memory near end will be cleared by clearing the data entered by the operator at the time of alarm occurrence. The operation will be unlocked and any remaining transmit buffer alarm conditions will be ignored. Therefore, if the operation continues after the transmission buffer remains at zero, the oldest transmission data will be sacrificed and written. Note that old transmission data is usually printed on a journal, etc., and if an alarm code is added and printed after memory remaining 0, it will be stored in the transmission buffer, and the data that was not transmitted will be stored in the buffer from that alarm code. It can be identified that the data is at a position subtracted by the number of stages.
Therefore, you can input it again and send it later. FIG. 3 is an example of a POS operation panel used in the present invention.

In the figure, a keyboard 11 including a numeral key 1 and a function key 1 is arranged on the right side of an operation panel 10, and a clear key 111 with diagonal lines is provided in a part of the numeral key 1.

A display section 12 is provided on the left side, with reference numeral 121 a monitor display screen for input data at the time of input, 122 a mode display lamp for a function key, and 123 a display lamp for operating status, alarm, etc. Lamp 12 indicated by a black circle
4 is the aforementioned memory near-end lamp. A power switch 13 and an I/0 key 14 are provided at the upper right.
By setting the /0 key 14 off, input data can continue to be stored at the expense of the previously mentioned existing transmitted data. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

In the same figure, input data is inputted from the keyboard section 11 of FIG. Write.

Then, each time one block is completed, the contents of the edit completion pointer for each block and the transmission completion pointer (described later) are added to the AND circuit 2.
7 to the buffer near-end detection circuit 28, and if it is determined as described above and is near-end, an alarm and drive signal is sent to the alarm circuit 30, which blinks the memory near-end lamp 121 in FIG. 3 and lights up the input alarm. , generates an intermittent sound from the speaker. Next, when the operator presses the alarm release key (clear key) 111, an alarm release key input signal is sent to the alarm release circuit 29,
An alarm release signal is given to the alarm circuit 30, only the memory near-end lamp 121 is lit, and other input errors and intermittent speaker sounds are stopped.

In this case, if transaction data from the keypad takes priority, /
By setting the O key 14 to OFF, a near-end detection prohibition signal is sent to the AND circuit 27, and input to the buffer near-end detection circuit 28 is prohibited, and the transmission buffer memory 2
4 sacrifices old data and imports new data.
During normal operation, the readout circuit 25 reads out the contents of the transmission buffer memory 24, and the transmission circuit 26 sends out transmission data.

The transmission completion signal from the transmission circuit 26 indicates the transmission completion pointer of the transmission buffer memory 24, and if it is normal, the AN
The buffer near end detection circuit 28 is made inactive via the D circuit 27, and if the alarm state is present at that time, an alarm release signal is sent from the alarm release circuit 29 to the alarm circuit 3.
Send to 0. It also inverts the near-end detection prohibition signal and enters a standby state for memory near-end detection. As explained above, according to the present invention, an alarm is generated when the transmission buffer of the transaction terminal becomes low, and further includes means for canceling the alarm, and it is possible to prioritize transaction data over transmission data if necessary. It is.

In this way, it is possible to effectively prevent transaction data from overflowing and dropping from the transmission buffer of the transaction terminal, and if necessary, it is possible to store transaction data by sacrificing some transmission data. It is also possible to do so.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a general explanatory diagram of the transaction terminal system, Figure 2 A, b
3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the transmission buffer which is the main part of the present invention.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of a POS operation panel used in the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. ~4
n is a transaction terminal (POS), 5, 51-5.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a data collection system in which data generated at a trading terminal and stored in a transmission buffer is collected by a data collection device via a line, the transmission buffer is composed of a predetermined number of unit buffers, and the remaining number of unit transmission buffers is a detection unit that detects that the number is below a predetermined number; an alarm generating device that generates an alarm based on the output of the detection unit and prohibits generation of data; an instruction means that is operated by an operator and instructs to cancel the alarm; means for storing the data generated at the trading terminal in a unit buffer for storing untransferred data to the data collection device when the alarm is instructed to be canceled by the alarm, and instructing the latest data generated at the trading terminal after the alarm is generated. A data transfer control method for a data collection system, characterized in that data is stored in the buffer according to an instruction from a means.