AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING MAGNETIC TRANSDUCER MEANS AND A METHOD OF MAINTENANCE THEREOF

Abstract: The invention relates to an electronic device (20), such as an electronic cash register, having magnetic transducer means. A memory means (40) of the device (20) is provided for storing first data (54) representing a desired operating time of the device (20) between transducer cleaning operations, and second data (56) representing the operating time of the device (20) since the last transducer cleaning operation occurred. Comparator means is also provided arranged to compare the second data (56) with the first data (54), and there is a display (26) coupled to the comparator means whereby when the second data (56) is equal to or greater than the first data (54) a message appears on the display (26) indicating that a transducer cleaning operation is required. The memory means (40) is also arranged to have stored third data (58) representing the number of transducer cleaning operations that have been performed on the transducer means.

Description: AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING MAGNETIC TRANSDUCER MEANS AND A METHOD OF MAINTENANCE THEREOF Technical Field The present invention relates to an electronic device including magnetic transducer means and to a method of maintenance thereof. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to an electronic cash register and to a method for prompting the cleaning of a magnetic disc drive transducer means associated with the cash register. Background Art Floppy disk memories have been used for several years for memory devices for many computer systems. In recent years, the use of floppy disk memory devices in Point of Sale (POS) terminal systems has increased. Due to the environment in which the POS terminals are used, it has been found that one of the reasons for the failure of the disk drive units to perform their assigned tasks is the failure by operators or maintenance personnel to clean the read/write transducer heads of the drive unit. Disclosure of the Invention It is an object of this invention to provide an electronic device including magnetic transducer means, wherein the maintenance of the device is facilitated. According to the present invention there is provided an electronic device including magnetic transducer means characterized by memory means for storing first data representing a desired operating time of the device between transducer cleaning operations, and second data representing the operating time of the device since the last transducer cleaning operation occurred, comparator means arranged to compare said second data with said first data, and indicator means coupled to said comparator means whereby when said second data is equal to or greater than said first data said indicator means indicates that a transducer cleaning operation is required, said memory means also being arranged to have stored therein third data representing the number of transducer cleaning operations that have been performed on said transducer means. In one embodiment the electronic device includes a keyboard having a first key member actuation of which enables the device for further operation when a cleaning operation is not to be performed, and a second key member actuation of which enables further information to be provided instructing an operator on how to perform a transducer cleaning operation. In another embodiment the electronic device has means for printing the third data on a record member in response to the actuation of the second key member on the keyboard. In a preferred embodiment the indicator means is in the form of a display upon which, when the second data is equal to or greater than the first data, information is provided requesting that a transducer cleaning operation is required. Conveniently means are provided for incrementing the third data by one, and reducing the ' value of the second data to zero in response to a cleaning operation of the transducer. In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of indicating the need for a cleaning operation in respect of magnetic transducer means in an electronic device, characterized in that the method includes storing in memory means first data representative of a desired operating time of the device between transducer cleaning operations, storing in said memory means second data representative of the operating time of the device since the last transducer cleaning operation occurred, comparing said second data with said first data whereby when said second data is equal to or greater than said first data information is provided indicating that a transducer cleaning operation is required to be performed, and storing in said memory means third data representing the number of transducer cleaning operations that have been performed on said transducer means. Brief Description of the Drawings An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic cash register or terminal device used in the present checkout system; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the keyboard of the electronic cash register shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the electronic cash register employed in a checkout system which includes a magnetic disk drive unit together with a remotely located optical scanner; Fig. 4 is an illustration showing a portion of the memory in the cash register in which are stored the various records including data pertaining to a head cleaning operation; and Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing one embodiment of the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Referring now to Fig. 1, there is shown a perspective view of an electronic cash register used in an embodiment of the present invention generally indicated by the numeral 20, which includes a keyboard 22, a display 26 extending from the top of the cash register, a printer 24 mounted on the left side of the keyboard 22 and a cash drawer 28 which forms a support for the cash register 20. It will be understood that the present invention is not limited to use in an electronic cash register, since it could be used in any business terminal or other electronic device employing a magnetic disk drive unit and a display. Positioned adjacent the keyboard 22 and the printer 24 is a slot 29 in which a receipt record member (not shown) moves to a position to be removed by the operator of the cash register for presentation to the customer at the conclusion of a merchandise checkout operation. A record member may also be dispensed from this slot which may contain information pertaining to the cleaning of the read/write heads of a magnetic disk memory unit. Further, located in a front wall portion 30 of the cash register 20 is a slot 31 in which is inserted a floppy disk (not shown) for positioning within a magnetic disk drive unit 44 (Fig. 3) located within the electronic cash register 20. Referring now to Fig. 2, there is shown a plan view of the keyboard 22 which includes a 10-key portion 32 comprising a number of conventional numerical keys on which are located indicia indicating the numbers 0-9 inclusive. The keyboard 22 further includes a number of rows of transaction keys 34 which are used to identify the department from which the purchased merchandise items originated, together with other rows of control keys 35 used in totaling the checkout operation. Included among the control keys is an "ENTER" key 36 used to generate data pertaining to the cleaning of the read/write heads of the magnetic disk drive unit in a manner to be described more fully hereinafter. Referring now to Fig. 3, there is shown a block diagram of the electronic cash register or terminal device 20 together with a remotely located UPC optical scanner 42 which interacts with the cash register 20 to provide a checkout operation of the purchased merchandise item. Included in the cash register 20 is a central processor unit (CPU) 37 which controls the printer 24 and the display 26. Associated with the CPU 37 is a ROM memory unit 38 in which is located the application software for operating the cash register 20 and a RAM memory unit 40 in which data pertaining to a head cleaning operation and temporary totals are stored as part of the checkout operation. Also mounted within the cash register 20 is a magnetic disk read/write drive unit 44 in which is located a magnetic disk on which is stored data used in determining when a magnetic disk head cleaning operation is to be performed, as will be described more fully hereinafter. The UPC scanner 42 scans a UPC label located on the purchased merchandise item for generating data identifying the purchased merchandise item by means of which the price of the merchandise item is extracted from the floppy disk in the drive unit 44 in a manner that is well known in the art. As will be described more fully hereinafter, the CPU 37 operates the display 26 in response to the program stored originally on the floppy disk located in the magnetic disk drive unit 44 and transferred to the RAM memory unit 40 to notify the operator of the cash register 20 that a head cleaning operation is to be performed. Referring now to Fig. 4, there is shown a portion 50 of the RAM memory 40 (Fig. 3), showing the type of data that is transferred from a floppy disk located in the disk drive unit 44 (Fig. 3) and stored in the memory 40 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A plurality of records 59, 60 and 62 are shown, each extending horizontally in the diagram of Fig. 4, and including an entry in each of four columns 52, 54, 56 and 58. Each record represents a separate transaction relating to head cleaning, such as an additional day of operation. The ' records provide a history relating to the head cleaning operation. The first column 52 headed "ITE NUMBER" includes a binary data item in the first record 59 identifying the location of the first record 59 stored in the memory 50. In the next column 54, there is stored an item representing the number of operating days of the cash register 20 that are desired to elapse before the next head cleaning operation is to be performed. In the next column 56, an item representing the number of operating days since the last head clean operation was performed is stored. In column 58, there is stored an item representing the number of head cleans that have been performed on the present disk drive unit 44. Referring now to Figs. 5A and 5B, there is shown a flow chart of the head cleaning operation of one embodiment of the present invention. The operation starts (block 64) at the time the terminal device 20 is initiated for operation by the operator of the cash register or terminal device 20 inserting coded data, also called an action code, which initiates start-of-day programming for the terminal (block 66), into the terminal device 20 by indexing the appropriate keys 32 (Fig. 2) on the keyboard 22 together with the control key 36. In response to the insertion of the coded data into the terminal device 20, the CPU 37 (Fig. 3) will access the data stored on the floppy disk (not shown) inserted within the disk drive unit 44 (Fig. 3) and will store in the RAM memory unit 40 (Fig. 3) the record 59 comprising the number of days of operation of the cash register 20 desired between transducer head cleans in column 54 of the memory portion 50 (Fig. 4) (block 68); the number of days of operation since the last transducer head clean in column 56 (block 70) and the number of head cleans performed prior to the insertion of the coded data in column 58 (block 72). The CPU 37 will then increment the value in column 56 by one (block 74) in the next record 60, which represents the next transaction relating to head cleaning, compare the value stored in column 56 with the value stored in column 54 (block 76) and determine if the value stored in column 56 is less than the value stored in column 54 (block 78). If the number of days of operation since the last transducer head clean is less than the number of days desired between transducer head cleans, the terminal device 20 will continue in its normal mode of operation (block 82). If the number of days that has occurred since the last transducer head clean is equal to or greater than the number of days desired between transducer head cleans, the CPU 37 will then control the display 26 to display the logo "HEAD CLEAN" (block 84). At this time, the operator has the election of either performing a head clean operation or ignoring the head clean operation. If a head clean is not to be performed, the operator will actuate the "CLEAR" key 88 (Fig. 2) on the keyboard 22 (block 90). If a head clean is to be performed, the operator will actuate the "ENTER" key 36 (Fig. 2). The system will check (block 86) to see if a head clean operation is going to be performed. If it is not, the system will continue to be operated in a normal operation (block 82). If a head clean operation is to occur, the CPU, in response to the operation of the "ENTER" key 36, will control the display 26 (Fig. 1) to display the logo "INSERT HEAD CLEANING DISK" (block 96) and will control the printer 24 (Fig. 3) to print the number of transducer head cleans that have been performed (block 98) which is stored in column 58 in the memory 50 (Fig. 4). The transducer heads are then cleaned by the insertion of the head cleaning disk (not shown) within the slot 31 (Fig. 1) in the terminal device 20 (block 100). In response to the cleaning of the transducer heads, the CPU will increase the number of head cleans performed which is stored in column 58 (Fig. 4) by one (block 102) in the record 60, reset the number of days since the last head clean which is stored in column 56 (Fig. 4) (block 104) to one in a new record 62 and then return over line 106 to the operating condition awaiting the insertion of the coded data (block 66) at the next start of operation of the terminal device. It will be seen from Fig. 4 that the number of days of operation desired for a transducer head cleaning operation, which is stored in column 54, can be easily changed, if desired, as shown for example in record 62, without affecting the software steps. The major advantage of this system is the automatic prompting in the display of the logo "HEAD CLEAN" which reminds the operator to run a head clean operation, thus eliminating the need for store personnel to remember to perform this operation. Since the number of head cleans performed on the transducer heads is printed and stored in column 58 (Fig. 4) this information can be used by the service engineer to determine if the head clean operation is being performed as often as necessary, thus providing an accurate diagnostic routine which can reduce the time servicing possible malfunctioning of the disk drive.

Claims: CLAIMS : 1. An electronic device including magnetic transducer means characterized by memory means (40) for storing first data (54) representing a desired operating time of the device (20) between transducer cleaning operations, and second data (56) representing the operating time of the device (20) since the last transducer cleaning operation occurred, comparator means arranged to compare said second data (56) with said first data (54), and indicator means (28) coupled to said comparator means whereby when said second data (56) is equal to or greater than said first data (54) said indicator means (26) indicates that a transducer cleaning operation is required, said memory means (40) also being arranged to have stored therein third data (58) representing the number of transducer cleaning operations that have been performed on said transducer means. 2. An electronic device according to claim 1, characterized by a keyboard (22) having a first key member (88) actuation of which enables the device (20) for further operation when a transducer cleaning operation is not to be performed. 3. An electronic device according to claim 2, characterized by a second key member (36) on the keyboard (22) actuation of which enables further information to be provided instructing an operator on how to perform a transducer cleaning operation. 4. An electronic device according to claim 3, characterized by means (24) being provided for printing the third data (58) on a record member in response to the actuation of the second key member (36) on the keyboard (22). 5. An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by the indicator means being in the form of a display (26) upon which, when the second data (56) is equal to or greater than the first data (54), information is provided requesting that a transducer cleaning operation is required. 6. An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by providing means for incrementing the third data (58) by one, and reducing the value of the second data (56) to zero in response to a cleaning operation of said transducer means. 7. A method of indicating the need for a cleaning operation in respect of magnetic transducer means in an electronic device, characterized in that the method comprises storing in memory means (40) first data (54) representative of a desired operating time of the device (20) between transducer cleaning operations, storing in said memory means (40) second data (56) representative of the operating time of the device (20) since the last transducer operation occurred, comparing the second data (56) with the first data (54) whereby when the second data (56) is equal to or greater than the first data (54) information is provided indicating that a transducer cleaning operation is required, and storing in said memory means (40) third data (58) representing the number of transducer cleaning operations that have been performed on said transducer means.

Inventors: KEMP DEBORAH KYZER, KEMP, DEBORAH, KYZER
Applicants: NCR CO, NCR CORPORATION
Application year: 1988
Main classification: G07G1
IPC codes: G07G1