Data handling system maintenance arrangement for processing system trouble conditions

Claim 2

A maintenance arrangement for a data handling system comprising a plurality of groups each producing data handling signals and having memory means with servicing equipment to diagnose system trouble conditions, identification means for identifying said groups, trouble means responsive to a trouble condition in one of said groups to generate a system trouble condition signal, with the identification means supplying system trouble identity information for that group; said maintenance arrangement comprising: a particular maintenance storage area in said memory means for trouble identity information; system trouble logic means responsive to said system trouble condition signal for generating a servicing request signal for the servicing equipment; and memory control means responsive to said servicing request signal for causing said system trouble identity information indicative of the identity of a certain group of data handling signals associated with said system trouble condition to be conveyed to said memory means for storage therein and for generating address information for directing said system trouble identity information to said particular maintenance storage area therein so that the servicing equipment can readily identify said certain group of data handling signals.

Claim 3

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said memory control means includes data selecting means for supplying said system trouble identity information to said memory means, counter means for generating select signals to enable selectively said data selecting means to supply sets of said identity information to said memory means, means for conveying said select signals from said counter means to said memory means to serve as said address information.

Claim 4

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said data selecting means includes N number of selecting sets of coincidence logic gates responsive to said data handling signals, said control means generating N number of select signals individually associated with each one of said sets of selecting gates for enabling selectively an a one-at-a-time basis said sets of gates.

Claim 5

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 3, wherein said counter means includes a sequence level counter sequentially advanced by a system clock source, said source also supplying timing signals for data handling system.

Claim 6

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said memory means includes a plurality of processing storage elements and a plurality of maintenance storage elements, a block of said maintenance storage elements for storing said identity information.

Claim 7

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 5, wherein said data handling system includes a plurality of register junctors and register apparatus comprising said memory means, register logic circuits shared on a time division multiplex basis, and a plurality of registers individually associated with said junctors, each register comprising a block of said processing storage elements, said system trouble identity information comprising information identifying one of said registers.

Claim 8

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 6, wherein said data handling signals include said timing signals, said timing signals including register time slot signals, said system trouble identity information comprising one of said register time slot signals.

Claim 9

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 7, further including means responsive to a service bit set in said memory means for preventing said system trouble logic means from generating said service request signal.

Claim 10

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 8, wherein said system trouble logic means comprises a write trouble-service latch circuit.

Claim 11

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 1, further including means responsive to a service bit set in said memory means for preventing said system trouble logic means from generating sAid service request signal.

Claim 12

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 10, wherein said memory means includes a plurality of processing storage elements and a plurality of maintenance storage elements, a block of said maintenance storage elements for storing said identity information.

Claim 13

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 11, wherein said data handling system includes a plurality of register junctors and register apparatus comprising said memory means, register logic circuits shared on a time division multiplex basis, and a plurality of registers individually associated with said junctors, each register comprising a block of said processing storage elements, said system trouble identity information comprising information identifying one of said registers.

Claim 14

A maintenance arrangement for a data handling system producing data handling signals and having memory means, with servicing equipment to diagnose system trouble conditions; wherein said data handling system includes a plurality of register junctors and register apparatus comprising said memory means, register logic circuits shared on a time division multiplex basis, and a plurality of registers individually associated with said junctors, and the memory means comprises a plurality of blocks of storage elements, some of said blocks being processing blocks and other of said blocks being maintenance blocks, each register comprising an individual one of said processing blocks, timing generator means supplying time slot signals in cyclically recurring time slots, with each register assigned an individual time slot with the time slot signals used to address the corresponding processing blocks, trouble responsive means effective during signal processing to record a trouble condition in the processing block for the register being processed and to produce a system trouble condition signal; said maintenance arrangement comprising: a particular maintenance area in one of said maintenance blocks for storing the identity of a register having a trouble condition, said particular maintenance storage area having a given address; system trouble logic means which is enabled responsive to said system trouble condition signal to thereby generate a servicing request signal for the servicing equipment; memory control means including a maintenance address generator, maintenance data selecting means, and means coupling them to the memory means; and means responsive to the system trouble logic means being enabled to set the maintenance address generator to said given address and to enable the maintenance data selecting means to supply time slot signals from said timing generator means which identify the register having the system trouble condition, so that the identity of that register is stored as data in said particular maintenance storage area for use by the servicing equipment.

Claim 15

A maintenance arrangement for a data handling system producing data handling signals and having memory means, with servicing equipment to diagnose system trouble conditions; wherein said data handling system includes a plurality of register junctors and register apparatus comprising said memory means, register logic circuits shared on a time division multiplex basis, and a plurality of registers individually associated with said junctors, and the memory means comprises a plurality of blocks of storage elements, some of said blocks being processing blocks and other of said blocks being maintenance blocks, each register comprising an individual one of said processing blocks, timing generator means supplying time slot signals in cyclically recurring time slots, with each register assigned an individual time slot with the time slot signals used to address the corresponding processing blocks, trouble responsive means effective during signal processing to record a trouble condition in the processing block for the register being processed and to produce a system trouble condition signal; said maintenance arrangement comprising: a particular maintenance area in one of said maintenance blocks for storing the identity of a register having a trouble condition, said particular maintenance storage area having a given address; system trouble logic means which is enabled responsive to said system trouble condition signal to thereby generate a servicing request signal for the servicing equipment; memory control means including a maintenance address generator, maintenance data selecting means, and means coupling them to the memory means; and means responsive to the system trouble logic means being enabled to set the maintenance address generator to said given address and to enable the maintenance data selecting means to supply time slot signals from said timing generator means which identify the register having the system trouble condition, so that the identity of that register is stored as data in said particular maintenance storage area for use by the servicing equipment.

Claim 16

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 13, wherein one storage element of each of the processing blocks of the memory means is for a service bit which is set by the servicing equipment in response to said servicing request signal in the block for the register whose identity is stored in the particular maintenance storage area; and means responsive to the service bit set to prevent enabling of the system trouble logic means.

Claim 17

A maintenance arrangement according to claim 14, wherein each of said processing blocks of the memory means comprises a number of word stores each having a number of said storage elements, and said timing generator means supplies a plurality of sub-time signals during each time slot to select the word stores one at a time; and wherein sub-time slot signals are supplied along with the time slot signals via said maintenance data selecting means and stored in said particular maintenance storage area to further identify the source of the trouble condition.