Runaway detection/restoration device

• US 5,809,229 A
• Filed: 09/20/1996
• Issued: 09/15/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Mori, Yoshiteru
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Jr., Robert W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Elmore, Stephen C.
• Application Number:
  US08/717,307
• Time in Patent Office: 725 Days
• Field of Search: 395/185.08, 395/185.04, 364/221.7, 364/551.01, 364/264, 364/264.2, 364/264.5, 364/265, 364/267.9, 364/267, 364/267.8, 364/943.9, 364/944.9, 364/945.2, 364/945 , 364/944.61, 364/285.3, 364/268.9
• US Class Current: 714/55
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0754 by exceeding limits
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0757 by exceeding a time limit, i.e. time-out, e.g. watchdogs

Abstract

The invention provides a runaway detection/restoration device which enables an automatic restoration of a high degree of safety and carries out the control of devices when the runaway of a CPU has been generated. The runaway detection/restoration device is provided with runaway detecting means such as a watchdog timer 89 or the like which monitors troubles in a sequential control program for the device operations, and a memory 87 which stores information related to the runaway detected by the runaway detecting means, for the CPU 82 which controls the devices. The runaway detection/restoration device judges whether or not the CPU 82 is automatically restored according to the information related to the runaway stored at the time of the detection of a new runaway, such as the number of times runaway was detected, operation mode at the time of the detection of the runaway and the generation frequency of the runaway.

Claims

1. A runaway detection and restoration device comprising:

a processor for controlling an apparatus,

runaway detecting means for monitoring an abnormal state of a sequential control program of an operation of the apparatus to detect a runaway of the processor;

memory means for storing an operation mode of the apparatus when the runaway is detected by the runaway detecting means; and

restoration control means for regulating an operation in the operation mode when, by referring to the memory means at the time of the detection of the runaway, it is judged that the number of times the runaway is detected by the detecting means in the same operation mode exceeds a predetermined value.

2. The runaway detection and restoration device of claim 1, wherein when the number of times the runaway is detected in the same operation mode is equal to or smaller than a predetermined number of times, the restoration control means carries out the automatic restoration.

3. The runaway detection and restoration device of claim 1, the device further comprising a display means for displaying an abnormal state,

wherein when the number of times the runaway is detected in the same operation mode is smaller than a specified number, the restoration control means carries out the automatic restoration, and when the number of times the runaway is detected is equal to or larger than the specified number, an error indication is given with the display means and the automatic restoration is carried out, or the operation control of the apparatus is stopped.

4. The runaway detection and restoration device of claim 1,

wherein when the number of times the runaway is detected in the same operation mode is equal to or larger than a specified number of times, the restoration control means carries out the automatic restoration to store the operation mode and the operation of the apparatus is inhibited when the operation mode is selected.

5. A runaway detection and restoration device comprising:

a processor for controlling an apparatus;

runaway detecting means for monitoring an abnormal state of a sequential control program of an operation of the apparatus to detect the runaway of the processor;

runaway generation frequency calculating means for calculating a runaway generation frequency on the basis of the use time from the detection of the previous runaway to the detection of the current runaway, in response to an output of the runaway detecting means;

memory means for storing the runaway generation frequency in response to an output from the runaway generation frequency calculating means; and

restoration control means for judging whether or not the processor is to be automatically restored, depending on the runaway generation frequency in the memory means when the runaway is detected.

6. The runaway detection and restoration device of claim 5, the device further comprising a display means for displaying an abnormal state in response to an output from the restoration control means,

wherein, when the runaway frequency is smaller than a predetermined first frequency, the restoration control means allows the processing device to be automatically restored, when the runaway frequency is included within a range of the first frequency to a predetermined second frequency, the restoration control means allows the processing device to be automatically restored by providing an alarm display, and when the runaway frequency is larger than the second frequency, the restoration control means allows the control of the apparatus to be suspended.

7. A runaway detection and restoration device comprising:

a processor for controlling an apparatus,

runaway detecting means for monitoring an abnormal state of a sequential control program of an operation of the apparatus, the runaway detecting means comprising a plurally of detecting sections which detect the runaway of the processor, and for each of which a predetermined runaway evaluation value is predetermined;

memory means for storing a runaway evaluation value determined for each detecting section, the value being given from the detecting section of the runaway detecting means which has detected the runaway; and

restoration control means for allowing the processor to be automatically restored when the runaway evaluation value of the memory means is smaller than a predetermined value and for suspending the control of the apparatus when the evaluation value is larger than the predetermined value at the time of the detection of the runaway.

8. A runaway detection and restoration device comprising:

a processor for controlling an apparatus,

runaway detecting means for monitoring an abnormal state of a sequential control program of an operation of the apparatus to detect a runaway of the processor;

first memory means for storing information related to the runaway detected by the runaway detecting means;

second memory means for storing information related to an operation of the apparatus when the runaway is detected by the runaway detecting means;

verifying means for confirming the information stored in the second memory means; and

restoration control means for judging whether or not the processor is to be automatically restored depending on the content of the information related to the runaway stored in the first memory when the information stored in the second memory means is abnormal.