JPS6322109B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a system that uses a large number of signal lines in a communication cable for signal transmission to simultaneously perform signal transmission and information storage. According to this system, necessary information can be read out in a short time, it can be installed in an environment without equipment such as air conditioning, and space can be used effectively.

When multiple information processing devices (computers, etc.) work together, it is necessary to mutually check the status of each other, so it is necessary to provide a memory area that can be accessed in common, or to connect the information processing devices with a bus. A method of combining them was used. However, if the information processing devices are physically separated from each other, it is necessary to connect the information processing devices with a communication line and to inquire about the status of the other party. In this case, it is necessary to confirm the connection with the other party, confirm the sending/receiving readiness state of the other party, etc., and it takes a considerable amount of time to complete obtaining the necessary information from the other party.

The present invention enables necessary information to be referenced within a short time between a plurality of information processing devices. In other words, data that is mutually used between information processing devices is always running in a loop on the signal line in the communication cable that connects the information processing devices, and each data processing device is sent to each device without the need to confirm the connection status with the other device. The information processing device writes and reads data as necessary.

Another feature of the present invention is that since the communication cable itself that connects the information processing devices serves as an information storage device, no special space is required, and the space can be used effectively. It is in.

The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The clock signal generated by the clock generator 5 is supplied to the storage signal repeater 9 via a signal line when the system starts operating, and is used as an address clock.
It is transmitted to the storage signal repeater 19 of another terminal device 15 via the address clock line 14, passes through the address clock line 3, and returns to the storage signal repeater 9.
Return to After the address clock signal has completed one cycle, the storage signal repeater 9 does not accept the clock from the clock generator 5. In this way, when the system is in operation, the address clock signal is endlessly circulated between the storage signal repeaters. The storage signal repeater has a clock signal counter and counts the number of clock signals starting from the first clock signal, and the counter is cleared when the clock signal returns after completing one circuit in the system.

The value of the counter can be referenced externally using address reference terminals 7 and 17. The address values indicated by the address reference terminals 7 and 17 differ by the amount of time required for the clock signal to be transmitted between the storage signal repeaters. In other words, if it takes 1 msec for an address clock signal to be transmitted between terminal stations (strictly speaking, between storage signal repeaters), and the clock is 100 KHz, the address values will differ by 100. Become.

Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described using the drawings. The drawings show the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal devices 4 and 15 are connected in a loop by a communication cable. 1 and 12,
Signal transmission lines 2 and 13, 3 and 14 are elements in the communication cable, and each has the role of transmitting information, storing information, and transmitting an address clock for stored information. Each terminal device has 6 and 18, 7 and 17, 8 and 16, 11 and 21.
There are four sets of terminals, each for inputting a signal to distinguish between writing or reading information to be stored, for indicating the address of stored information, for inputting/outputting the information to be stored itself, and for inputting signals for communication. It is used for the purpose of outputting. The terminal equipment 4 is composed of components such as a clock generator 5 and a device 10 for relaying and inputting/outputting signals to be stored and signals to be communicated with a clock signal repeater 9. On the other hand, the terminal device 15 is the terminal device 4
It is made up of a storage signal repeater 19, a signal relay to be communicated, an input/output device 20, etc., excluding the parts related to the clock generator. When writing a signal in the terminal device 4, the address appearing on the address reference terminal 7 is
When the address to be written is reached, the write command terminal 6
A write command signal is sent to the storage signal terminal 8, and a signal to be written is sent to the storage signal terminal 8. The signal repeater 9 of the terminal device 4 sends the signal from the storage signal terminal 8 to the information storage line 13. As a result, the signal on the information storage line of the determined address becomes the signal to be stored, and the address signal and the signal of the information to be stored circulate within the system simultaneously. When storing information in the terminal device 15,
Perform a similar action. When reading stored information in the terminal device 15, when the address appearing on the address reference terminal 17 becomes the address to be read, a read command signal is sent to the write command line 18, and the signal repeater 19 The storage information of the corresponding address is output. When reading a signal in the terminal device 4, reading can be performed using a similar operation. If the contents of the stored information are not rewritten, the stored signal repeater relays both the address clock and the stored signal as is.

In addition, when mutual communication is to be performed between terminal equipment, it is possible to communicate using a conventionally known method using the signal lines 1 and 18 provided for transmitting communication signals. can. Communication signal line 1
Since the signal line 2 for storing information and the clock signal line 3 for address are bundled and housed in the same cable, the signals on each line are transmitted at approximately the same speed. 12, 13,
The same can be said for 14.

In this embodiment, although the structure of the wire bundles 2 and 13 that transmit the information to be stored is not specified, they are actually composed of a plurality of wires. The system can be used efficiently by adjusting the number of lines to match the characteristics of the information processing equipment connected to the system. In other words, when an information processing device that processes data in bytes is connected, the wire bundle that transmits the information to be stored consists of eight lines, which constitute one byte of information and correspond to one address. be able to. By doing so, the data itself that is handled in parallel by the information processing device can be stored in parallel, and there is no need to perform serial-to-parallel conversion between the information processing device and the storage system. Therefore, the time required for writing and reading data can be further reduced.

In particular, if optical fibers are used for signal transfer lines, the cables themselves can be made thinner, even if many cables are bundled together.
It is also less susceptible to electrical noise around the cable. Therefore, there is no need to be careful about the environment in which the cable is laid, and the cable can be laid in an empty space, making effective use of the space.

As described above, according to the present invention, necessary information can be written and read in a short time, and space can be used effectively.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawing is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 and 12 are lines for transmitting information between terminal stations, 2 and 13 are wire bundles for storing information commonly used between terminal stations, and 3 and 14 are addresses of stored information. 4 is a terminal device, 5 is a clock generator,
6 is a write command terminal, 7 is an address reference terminal, 8
9 is a storage signal terminal, 9 is a storage signal repeater, 10 is a signal repeater, and 11 is a signal input/output terminal. 15 is a terminal device, 16 is a storage signal terminal, 17 is an address reference terminal, 18 is a write command line, 19 is a storage signal repeater, 20 is a signal repeater, and 21 is a signal input/output terminal.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 A plurality of (N) terminal devices connect a first signal line used for communication between the terminal devices, a second signal line used for storage information, and a second signal line used for the storage information. The information transmission/storage system is connected in a loop by three types of signal lines including a third signal line for transmitting a clock, and (N-1) of the N terminal devices are ( a) a signal repeater for inputting/outputting signals between the terminal devices to/from the first signal line; (b) means for inputting/outputting the stored information to/from the second signal line in response to an external request; A storage signal repeater comprising means for relaying, and address generation means for generating an address for the storage information using this clock. The remaining terminal equipment is composed of the above (a),
An information transmission and storage system characterized in that, in addition to (b), it further includes a clock generator. 2. The information transmission and storage system according to claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third signal lines are made of optical fiber.