Abstract:
A centralized managing system for an industrial data storage is provided. The centralized managing system includes at least one industrial apparatus outputting a first interface datum; at least one serial converting interface connected with the industrial device, and converting the first interface datum into a second interface datum; a hub device connected with the at least one serial converting interface, and receiving and transmitting the second interface datum; and at least one storage device connected with the hub device, and storing the second interface datum.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to Taiwan Application No. 97141896, filed Oct. 30, 2008. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a managing system and the method for managing industrial storage devices, and more particular to a centralized managing system and the method for managing industrial storage devices. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present industrial equipments are usually designed as two parts, wherein one part is the engineering execution apparatus and the other is the storage apparatus, as shown in  FIG. 1 . Moreover, among the present storage apparatuses, the hard disk is the main stream and used as the storage apparatus in the industrial equipment, due to the facts of the large storing capacity, the fast accessing velocity and the low cost. 
         [0004]    The industrial equipments are usually operated in harsh environments, e.g. under the extremely high or low temperature, in the vacuum chamber or in the shaking environment, and the stored data therein mostly belong to the formats not supporting the internet access, such as the IDE, the SCSI or the SATA formats. Among the mentioned formats, the length of the cable line in the standards of the IDE format has to be shorter than 45 cm, the length of the cable line in the standards of the SATA format has to be shorter than 2 m, and the length of the cable line in the standards of the SCSI format has to be shorter than 3 m, which means that the industrial apparatus  1  and the storage apparatus  2  have to be set together in the mentioned harsh environments in the present standard as shown in  FIG. 1 . However, the storage apparatus  2  is unlikely to stand those harsh conditions and thus might be damaged. Once the storage apparatus  2  and the data saved therein are damaged, the industrial process will be disrupted which leads to loss. Besides, the storage apparatus  2  has to be repaired or replaced and the data have to be recovered, wherein each of these tasks increases the loss scale. On the other hand, it is difficult to manage such structure where the industrial apparatus  1  and the storage apparatus  2  are set together. Specially, it usually takes more extra money, labors and time to backup and recover the damaged data with the broken storage apparatus  2 . 
         [0005]    For preventing the process interruption and the data loss caused by the damaged storage devices and for improving the managing method, a centralized managing system and the method for managing industrial storage devices are provided in the present invention. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a centralized managing system for an industrial data storage is provided. The centralized managing system comprises at least one industrial apparatus outputting a first interface datum; at least one serial converting interface connected with the industrial device, and converting the first interface datum into a second interface datum; a hub device connected with the at least one serial converting interface, and receiving and transmitting the second interface datum; and at least one storage device connected with the hub device, and storing the second interface datum. 
         [0007]    According to the centralized managing system described above, the first interface datum has a format being one selected from a group consisting of a IDE, a SCSI and a SATA formats which are accessible for the industrial apparatus. 
         [0008]    According to the centralized managing system described above, the second interface datum has a format being one selected from a group consisting of a FDDI, an Ethernet, a SAN, a NAS and an iSCSI formats which are accessible for an internet. 
         [0009]    According to the centralized managing system described above, the at least one storage device is connected with an external network, through which accessing the second interface datum. 
         [0010]    According to the centralized managing system described above, the at least one industrial apparatus comprises a connecting interface connecting with the at least one serial converting interface. 
         [0011]    According to the centralized managing system described above, the hub device includes a first hub connected with the at least one serial converting interface and a second hub connected to the at least one storage device. 
         [0012]    According to the centralized managing system described above, the first and the second hubs are connected with each other via one selected from a group consisting of a coaxial cable, an internet line or a fiber cable. 
         [0013]    According to the centralized managing system described above, the first and the second hubs are switch hubs, and the second hub is configured for distributing the second interface datum to the at least one storage device. 
         [0014]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an integrated managing method is provided. The integrated managing method comprises steps of generating a first interface datum; converting the first interface datum into a second interface datum; distributing and storing the second interface datum; and accessing and managing the second interface datum via an external network. 
         [0015]    According to the integrated managing method described above, the first interface datum has a format being one selected from a group consisting of a IDE, a SCSI and a SATA formats which are accessible for an industrial device. 
         [0016]    According to the integrated managing method described above, the second interface datum has a format being one selected from a group consisting of a FDDI, an Ethernet, a SAN, a NAS and an iSCSI formats which are accessible for an internet. 
         [0017]    According to the integrated managing method described above, the second interface datum is distributed into at least one storage device by a hub device. 
         [0018]    In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a remote managing system for an industrial data storage is provided. The remote managing system for an industrial data storage comprises an industrial apparatus outputting a first interface datum; a serial converting interface connected with the connecting interface, and converting the first interface datum into a second interface datum; and a storage device connected with the serial converting interface, and storing the second interface datum. 
         [0019]    According to the remote managing system described above, the first interface datum has a format being one selected from a group consisting of a IDE, a SCSI and a SATA formats which are accessible for the industrial apparatus. 
         [0020]    According to the remote managing system described above, the second interface datum has a format being one selected from a group consisting of a FDDI, an Ethernet, a SAN, a NAS and an iSCSI formats which are accessible for an internet. 
         [0021]    According to the remote managing system described above, the storage device is connected with an external network, through which the second interface datum is accessed. 
         [0022]    According to the remote managing system described above, the industrial apparatus comprises a connecting interface connecting with the serial converting interface. 
         [0023]    The above contents and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed descriptions and accompanying drawings, in which: 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0024]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of the conventional industrial equipment; 
           [0025]      FIG. 2  is a diagram of the centralized managing system for industrial storage devices according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 3  is a diagram of the centralized managing system for industrial storage devices according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of the centralized managing system for industrial storage devices according to the third preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0028]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart of the centralized managing method for industrial storage devices in the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0029]    The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purposes of illustration and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. 
         [0030]    Please refer to  FIG. 2 , which is a diagram of the centralized managing system for industrial storage devices according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. The centralized managing system includes an industrial apparatus  11  comprising a storage device linkage interface  12 , a serial converting interface  13  connected to the storage device linkage interface  12 , and a serial hard disk  14  connected to the serial converting interface  13 . 
         [0031]    When a datum is generated by the industrial apparatus  11 , it will be transferred to the serial converting interface  13  through the storage device linkage interface  12 . The datum is an apparatus accessible format datum, such as the IDE, SATA or SCSI format, and will be converted into an internet accessible format, such as the FDDI, Ethernet, SAN, NAS or iSCSI format, by the serial converting interface  13 . Then, the internet accessible format datum is transmitted to the serial hard disk  14  and stored therein, which is far from the industrial apparatus  11 , through the network equipments, such as the coaxial cable, the Ethernet line, or the fiber cable, etc. In this way, the transmitting distance can be boundlessly extended without limitation. Therefore, the serial hard disk  14  can be configured far from the harsh environment where the industrial apparatus  11  is configured, even in another room or building. 
         [0032]    Contrarily, when the industrial apparatus  11  needs a parameter datum for operation, the parameter datum will be accessed from the serial hard disk  14  to the serial converting interface  13  for being converted back into the apparatus accessible format. Then, the parameter datum is transferred to the storage device linkage interface  12  and accessed by the industrial apparatus  11  to perform the operation. 
         [0033]    Please refer to  FIG. 3 , which is a diagram of the centralized managing system for industrial storage devices according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. The centralized managing system includes plural industrial apparatuses  21   1,2,3, . . . n , plural serial converting interfaces  23   1,2,3, . . . n , a hub  24 , and plural serial hard disks  24   1,2,3, . . . n . Each industrial apparatus  21   1,2,3, . . . n  has a storage device linkage interface  22   1,2,3, . . . n , and each storage device linkage interface  22   1,2,3, . . . n  is connected to a serial converting interface  23   1,2,3, . . . n . The serial converting interfaces  23   1,2,3, . . . n  are all connected to the hub  24 , and the plural serial hard disks  25   1,2,3, . . . n  are also connected to the hub  24 . 
         [0034]    As a datum is generated by one of the plural industrial apparatuses  21   1,2,3, . . . n , it will be transferred to the serial converting interface  23   1,2,3, . . . n  through the storage device linkage interface  22   1,2,3, . . . n . The datum is an apparatus accessible format datum, such as the IDE, SATA or SCSI format, and will be converted into an internet accessible format, such as the FDDI, Ethernet, SAN, NAS or iSCSI format, by the serial converting interface  23   1,2,3, . . . n . Then, the datum will be transmitted to the hub  24 , which serves as a switch to distribute the datum into the serial hard disks  25   1,2,3, . . . n . Finally, the datum is distributed and stored in the serial hard disks  25   1,2,3, . . . n  Because the datum is converted into the internet accessible format, it is able to be transmitted by using the network equipments, such as the coaxial cable, the Ethernet line, or the fiber cable, etc., between the serial converting interface  23   1,2,3, . . . n  and the hub  24 , or between the hub  24  and the serial hard disks  25   1,2,3, . . . n  l Since the network equipments can be boundlessly extended without limitation, the serial hard disks  25   1,2,3, . . . n  can be configured far from the harsh environment where the industrial apparatuses  21   1,2,3, . . . n  are configured, even in another room or building. 
         [0035]    Similarly, the industrial apparatus  21   1,2,3, . . . n  can access the parameter data from the serial hard disks  25   1,2,3, . . . n  through the hub  24 , the serial converting interface  23   1,2,3, . . . n  and the storage device linkage interface  22   1,2,3, . . . n . In this case, the parameter datum is reversely transmitted to the serial converting interface  23   1,2,3, . . . n  and converted back into the apparatus accessible format. Then, the converted parameter datum is read into the industrial apparatus  21   1,2,3, . . . n  via the storage device linkage interface  22   1,2,3, . . . n . Since the datum is distributed by the hub  24  and stored in the corresponding serial hard disk  25   1,2,3, . . . n , the datum required by each industrial apparatus  21   1,2,3, . . . n  can be found in the corresponding serial hard disk  25   1,2,3, . . . n  rapidly; it is unnecessary to search among the serial hard disks  25   1,2,3, . . . n  one by one. 
         [0036]    Please refer to  FIG. 4 , which is a diagram of the centralized managing system for industrial storage devices according to the third preferred embodiment of the present invention. The centralized managing system includes plural industrial apparatuses  31   1,2,3, . . . n , plural serial converting interfaces  33   1,2,3, . . . n , a first hub  34 , a second hub  35  and plural serial hard disks  36   1,2,3, . . . n . Each industrial apparatus  31   1,2,3, . . . n  has a storage device linkage interface  32   1,2,3, . . . n , and each storage device linkage interface  32   1,2,3, . . . n  is connected to a serial converting interface  33   1,2,3, . . . n . The serial converting interfaces  33   1,2,3, . . . n  are all connected to the first hub  34 , the plural serial hard disks  36   1,2,3, . . . n  are all connected to the second hub  35 , and the first and the second hubs  34 , 35  are connected with each other. 
         [0037]    While a datum is generated by one of the plural industrial apparatuses  31   1,2,3, . . . n , it will be transferred to the serial converting interface  33   1,2,3, . . . n  through the storage device linkage interface  32   1,2,3, . . . n . The datum is an apparatus accessible format datum, such as the IDE, SATA or SCSI format, and will be converted into an internet accessible format, such as the FDDI, Ethernet, SAN, NAS or iSCSI format, by the serial converting interface  33   1,2,3, . . . n . Then, the datum will be transmitted to the first hub  34 , and then to the second hub  35 . The first hub  34  serves as a switch to accept the datum from the plural serial converting interfaces  33   1,2,3, . . . n , and the second hub  35  serves as a switch to distribute the datum into the serial hard disks  36   1,2,3, . . . n . Finally, the datum is distributed and stored in the serial hard disks  36   1,2,3, . . . n . Because the datum is converted into the internet accessible format, it is able to be transmitted by using the network equipments, such as the coaxial cable, the Ethernet line, or the fiber cable, etc., between the serial converting interface  33   1,2,3, . . . n  and the first hub  34 , between the first hub  34  and the second hub  35  or between the second hub  35  and the serial hard disks  36   1,2,3, . . . n . Because the network equipments can be boundlessly extended without limitation, the serial hard disks  35   1,2,3, . . . n  can be configured far from the harsh environment where the industrial apparatuses  31   1,2,3, . . . n  are configured, even in another room or building. 
         [0038]    Similarly, the industrial apparatus  31   1,2,3, . . . n  can access the parameter data from the serial hard disks  36   1,2,3, . . . n  through the first and the second hubs  34 , 35 , the serial converting interface  33   1,2,3, . . . n  and the storage device linkage interface  32   1,2,3, . . . n . In this case, the parameter datum is reversely transmitted to the serial converting interface  33   1,2,3, . . . n  and converted into the apparatus accessible format. Then, the converted parameter datum is read into the industrial apparatus  31   1,2,3, . . . n  via the storage device linkage interface  32   1,2,3 . . . n . Since the datum is distributed by the second hub  35  and stored in the corresponding serial hard disk  36   1,2,3, . . . n  the datum required by each industrial apparatus  31   1,2,3, . . . n  can be found in the corresponding serial hard disk  36   1,2,3, . . . n  rapidly; it is unnecessary to search among the serial hard disks  36   1,2,3, . . . n  one by one. 
         [0039]    Furthermore, since the data are stored in the serial hard disks  14 ,  25   1,2,3, . . . n ,  36   1,2,3 . . . n  in the internet accessible format, the serial hard disks  14 ,  25   1,2,3, . . . n ,  36   1,2,3, . . . n  can be further linked to the external network, so that it is more convenient for the users to remotely operate the data access in different places. With such configuration, it is unnecessary to shut the industrial apparatuses  11 ,  21   1,2,3, . . . n ,  31   1,2,3, . . . n , when backuping or maintaining the data, or even when exchanging the hard disks in the serial hard disks  14 ,  25   1,2,3, . . . n ,  36   1,2,3, . . . n . Therefore, the efficiency will be raised and the loss caused by the data damage will be decreased. 
         [0040]    Please refer to  FIG. 5 , which is a flow chart of the centralized managing method for industrial storage devices in the present invention. In the beginning, the industrial apparatus generates the apparatus accessible format datum (step  51 ). Next, the apparatus accessible format datum is converted into the internet accessible format datum (step  52 ). Subsequently, the internet accessible format datum is distributed and stored in the serial hard disks (step  53 ). Finally, the internet accessible format datum in the serial hard disks is accessed and managed through the internet (step  54 ). 
         [0041]    Based on the above, the present invention provides an easier way to access and manage the data far from the harsh environment where the industrial apparatuses are configured, which can significantly decrease the risk of the data damage. 
         [0042]    While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.