Patent US6000040A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6000040A
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Method and apparatus for diagnosing fault states in a computer system
Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
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Filing: 1996-10-29
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Granted: 1999-12-07
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Expires: 2016-10-29
Abstract
Abstract Faults in a computer system having circuits are managed by fault detectors connected to detect fault states of respective circuits. A fault manager associates the fault states with the respective circuits. The fault manager includes a system manager connected to identify which of the circuits is causing faulty operation in the computer system. The fault detectors associated with the respective circuits are configured to detect faulty operation of and to generate fault state information for the respective circuits. A central manager is connected to accumulate fault state information from the fault detectors. One of the circuits includes a bus, and the fault state includes a bus error condition. The bus is connected to multiple devices, and the fault manager identifies which of the multiple devices causes the bus error condition. One of the circuits includes multiple modules, and the fault manager identifies fault states of the multiple modules. The modules include state machines. One of the circuits includes an internal clock, and the fault state of the circuit includes the internal clock not functioning properly. One of the circuits includes a temperature sensor, and the fault state of the circuit includes a high temperature condition detected by the temperature sensor.
Inventors
- 👤 Paul R. Culley
- 👤 Joseph P. Miller
- 👤 Daniel S. Hull
- 👤 Siamak Tavallaei
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 03:21
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F11/00; G06F11/07; G06F11/0703; G06F11/0706; G06F11/0745; G06F11/0748; G06F11/079
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 41
Claim 1
Independent Claim
114 words
A computer system comprising: circuits; a fault management system connected to independently detect fault states of respective ones of the circuits and to associate the fault states with the respective ones of the circuits, the fault management system including: fault detectors associated with the respective circuits and configured to detect faulty operation of and to generate fault state information for the respective circuits; and a central manager connected to accumulate the fault state information from the fault detectors; a JTAG bus between each fault detector and the central manger over which information associated with the faulty operation is gathered; and the computer system including a mass storage device accessible by the fault management system.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
114 words
A computer system comprising: circuits; a fault management system connected to independently detect fault states of respective ones of the circuits and to associate the fault states with the respective ones of the circuits, the fault management system including: fault detectors associated with the respective circuits and configured to detect faulty operation of and to generate fault state information for the respective circuits; and a central manager connected to accumulate the fault state information from the fault detectors; a JTAG bus between each fault detector and the central manger over which information associated with the faulty operation is gathered; and the computer system including a mass storage device accessible by the fault management system.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The computer system of claim 1, wherein the fault management system includes a system manager connected to identify which of the circuits is causing faulty operation in the computer system.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
The computer system of claim 2, wherein the fault detectors provide indications to the central manager to indicate faulty operation of the respective circuits.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
The computer system of claim 3, wherein the indications include interrupt signals transmitted between the fault detectors and the central manager.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
The computer system of claim 1, wherein at least one fault detector monitors more than one circuit.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The computer system of claim 1, wherein one of the circuits includes multiple modules, and wherein the fault management system further identifies fault states of the multiple modules.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
The computer system of claim 1, wherein one of the circuits includes a bus, and the fault state includes a bus error condition.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
61 words
A computer system comprising: circuits; fault detectors connected to detect fault states of respective circuits; and a fault manager to associate the fault states with the respective circuits, including: a central manager connected to accumulate fault state information from the fault detectors, wherein the fault detectors provide interrupts to the central manager to indicate a faulty operation of the respective circuits.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
61 words
A computer system comprising: circuits; fault detectors connected to detect fault states of respective circuits; and a fault manager to associate the fault states with the respective circuits, including: a central manager connected to accumulate fault state information from the fault detectors, wherein the fault detectors provide interrupts to the central manager to indicate a faulty operation of the respective circuits.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein at least one fault detector monitors more than one circuit.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
32 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein the fault detectors associated with the respective circuits are configured to detect faulty operation of and to generate fault state information for the respective circuits.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
The computer system of claim 10, wherein the fault manager includes a system manager connected to identify which of the circuits is causing faulty operation in the computer system.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
The computer system of claim 8, further comprising: a serial bus over which the interrupt signals are transmitted.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
The computer system of claim 12, wherein the interrupt signals are time-multiplexed onto the serial bus.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
13 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein the bus includes an EISA bus.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
13 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein the bus includes an ISA bus.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
13 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein the bus includes a PCI bus.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
13 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein the bus includes a host bus.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
16 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein the bus error condition includes a bus timeout condition.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
24 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein the bus error condition includes a lack of a refresh cycle in a predetermined amount of time.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
27 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein one of the circuits includes multiple modules, and wherein the fault manager further identifies fault states of the multiple modules.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
12 words
The computer system of claim 20, wherein the modules include state machines.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
30 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein one of the circuits includes an internal clock, and wherein the fault state of the circuit includes the internal clock not functioning properly.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
33 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein one of the circuits includes a temperature sensor, and wherein the fault state of the circuit includes a high temperature condition detected by the temperature sensor.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
63 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein the fault detectors provide interrupt signals to indicate faulty operation of the respective circuits, and wherein at least one of the fault detectors include: a monitor for detecting faulty operation and providing an indication if such faulty operation is detected; and a device for receiving the indication and transmitting an interrupt signal to the fault manager.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
28 words
The computer system of claim 24, wherein the device includes input pins, and the device is operable to receive the indication at any one of the input pins.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
31 words
The computer system of claim 24, wherein the device provides multiple interrupt signals, and the device is operable to map receipt of the indication to any one of the interrupt signals.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
43 words
The computer system of claim 26, further comprising: a serial bus, wherein the interrupt signals are time-multiplexed into time slots on the serial bus, and wherein the device is operable to transmit receipt of the indication to any one of the time slots.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
18 words
The computer system of claim 27, wherein more than one fault detector is connected to the serial bus.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
23 words
The computer system of claim 8, wherein one of the circuits includes a bus, and the fault state includes a bus error condition.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
30 words
The computer system of claim 29, wherein the bus is connected to multiple devices, and wherein the fault manager identifies which of the multiple devices caused the bus error condition.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of managing faults in a computer system having circuits, comprising: providing a fault detector to independently detect faulty operation of the respective circuits; connecting the fault detector to a central manager with a JTAG bus; the fault detector independently detecting faulty operation of the respective circuits; the fault detector generating fault state information for the respective circuits; the fault detector providing interrupts to the central manager to indicate detection of faulty operation of the respective circuits; the central manager accumulating the fault state information; and the central manager identifying the fault states of the respective circuits based on the fault state information.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of managing faults in a computer system having circuits, comprising: providing a fault detector to independently detect faulty operation of the respective circuits; connecting the fault detector to a central manager with a JTAG bus; the fault detector independently detecting faulty operation of the respective circuits; the fault detector generating fault state information for the respective circuits; the fault detector providing interrupts to the central manager to indicate detection of faulty operation of the respective circuits; the central manager accumulating the fault state information; and the central manager identifying the fault states of the respective circuits based on the fault state information.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 31, wherein one of the circuits includes multiple modules, the method further comprising: identifying which of the multiple modules caused the faulty operation.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 31, wherein one of the circuits include a bus connected to multiple devices, and the respective fault state includes a bus error condition, the method further comprising: identifying which of the multiple devices caused the bus error condition.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
95 words
Apparatus for managing faults in a computer system, the computer system having circuits and a bus for connecting to multiple devices, comprising: fault detectors connectable to detect fault states of respective circuits and bus error conditions of the bus; and a fault manager connectable to the computer system and to each fault detector to associate the fault states with the respective circuits, the bus and the multiple devices, wherein the fault detector and fault manager are connectable via a JTAG bus, the JTAG bus being configured to communicate fault state information and bus error information.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
95 words
Apparatus for managing faults in a computer system, the computer system having circuits and a bus for connecting to multiple devices, comprising: fault detectors connectable to detect fault states of respective circuits and bus error conditions of the bus; and a fault manager connectable to the computer system and to each fault detector to associate the fault states with the respective circuits, the bus and the multiple devices, wherein the fault detector and fault manager are connectable via a JTAG bus, the JTAG bus being configured to communicate fault state information and bus error information.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the fault manager includes a system manager connected to identify which of the circuits is causing faulty operation in the computer system.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the fault detectors associated with the respective circuits are configured to detect faulty operation of and to generate fault state information for the respective circuits.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the fault manager further includes: a central manager connected to accumulate fault state information from the fault detectors.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-12-06 | 2003-06-07 | 2003-12-07 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-12-06 | 2007-06-07 | 2007-12-07 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-12-06 | 2011-06-07 | 2011-12-07 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |