KR20240150076A - Method for self recovery of photo booth and photo booth adopting the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a self-recovery method of a photo booth and a photo booth to which the method is applied. More specifically, when a part of the photo booth malfunctions and it is difficult to perform a normal role, the corresponding malfunction is self-diagnosed and related software or hardware is restarted to automatically recover to a normal operation out of the malfunction, thereby reducing manpower, time, and cost for maintenance and increasing the availability of the photo booth.

Description

METHOD FOR SELF RECOVERY OF PHOTO BOOTH AND PHOTO BOOTH ADOPTING THE SAME

The present invention relates to a self-recovery method for a photo booth and a photo booth applying the method. More specifically, when a part of the photo booth malfunctions and has difficulty performing its normal function, the photo booth automatically recovers from the malfunction to normal operation by diagnosing the malfunction on its own and restarting related software or hardware, thereby reducing the manpower, time, and cost for maintenance and increasing the availability of the photo booth.

When the photo booth malfunctions and the overall service is not functioning normally, there is a method to reset each functional module of the photo booth to initialize the corresponding operation or reset the entire power of the photo booth to reboot the photo booth from the beginning and restart it.

Also, when the OS (Operating System) repeatedly accesses the file system and schedules and uses various applications or processes for a long time in the processor responsible for controlling the photo booth and the module responsible for the direct interface with the user, zombie processes increase or tasks between processes become entangled, causing memory to run out at some point or non-working processes to not disappear, causing the performance of the photo booth to gradually decline and eventually become malfunctioning or inoperable.

Although it has and operates functions to manage processes and file systems at the OS level, deadlocks often occur when used continuously for 24 hours due to excessive loads such as security or network access. In order to improve errors or limitations of the OS itself, there are cases where a lightweight embedded OS is used that is specialized for a specific device and removes unnecessary functions as much as possible. However, although it is possible to improve the limitations, it does not fundamentally solve this problem.

That is, in the case of modules responsible for control or human interface, the operating system (OS) itself loaded on the processor may have unavoidable errors when used for a long time, regardless of the function of the photo booth, and this may occasionally cause operation to stop, communication or user interface operation to be impossible, or even if operation is possible, the processing speed may be very slow.

In the event of such errors or malfunctions, by forcibly managing the work for the relevant functional module, the memory of each functional module can be cleared and the relevant process or the entire process can be restarted, thereby allowing the photo booth to continue its operation naturally without bottlenecks or entanglements between processes. If it becomes difficult to manage this with software, a method is needed to more reliably respond to errors or malfunctions by temporarily cutting off the power supply and then re-supplying it to reboot a specific functional module in hardware.

Even in the case of hardware errors or malfunctions in a specific function module, since most hardware modules have their own firmware and memory, if they are run for a long time, unexpected reasons may cause them to not operate smoothly. In this case, complex problems are often solved at once by resetting the firmware, driver software, register values, etc., or by cutting off and then re-supplying the power input to the function module.

In addition, since the photo booth is composed of devices including various types of electrical or electronic devices, it must have an optimal environment for taking pictures and there must be no interruption in the connection and service of each device. The characteristic is that if even one of the many components does not operate properly, problems occur in the overall service.

Therefore, the present invention proposes a self-recovery method for a photo booth, which can restart and test a module inside the photo booth when an error occurs in a component module of a photo booth composed of various types of devices, and a photo booth capable of self-recovery.

Next, prior inventions existing in the technical field of the present invention will be briefly explained, and then technical matters that the present invention seeks to achieve differently from the prior inventions will be described.

First, Korean Patent No. 10-2388317 (April 14, 2022) relates to a photo studio operation method and system, and specifically, to a method and system for controlling the lighting, music, and camera of a shooting room according to a shooting concept selected by the user, analyzing the user's behavior to control the lighting of the shooting room, and setting the optimal camera parameters desired by the user from the user's test photos based on machine learning.

That is, Korean Patent No. 10-2388317 (April 14, 2022) is a patent for the invention applied for by the applicant for the operation and method of a photo studio. It is possible to remotely control the photo studio and change the studio settings by analyzing user characteristics, but it does not describe at all how to recognize and recover when an error occurs in the photo studio.

In addition, U.S. Patent No. 09843795 (December 12, 2017) relates to a photo booth capable of providing self-diagnosis and status reporting and a control system for managing the photo booth. The method involves projecting a prepared image in advance using a projector to check for abnormalities in the photo booth and taking a picture remotely to determine whether the photo booth is abnormal and repair it.

That is, U.S. Patent No. 09843795 (December 12, 2017) records a preset image remotely, compares it with the previous image to determine if there is an abnormality in the photo booth, and if an abnormality is found, registers the information on the control server and repairs the photo booth through on-site maintenance. This is a very complex method, and there is no description at all of a method for self-repair in a photo booth where an error has occurred, as in the present invention.

Therefore, the prior art inventions described above and the present invention have significant differences in their technical configuration, purpose, and effect.

The present invention was created to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a self-repair method for a photo booth, which collects status information of each component module constituting the photo booth, detects whether an error has occurred, and self-repairs to minimize maintenance costs, and a photo booth applying the method.

In addition, the present invention aims to enable hardware or software to diagnose and cure malfunctions (including malfunctions, processing speed delays, and incorrect operations) that occur while performing their respective functions, thereby automatically recovering from a state of delayed operation, malfunction, or malfunction in a photo booth and allowing it to operate normally.

In addition, the present invention provides a self-recovery method for a photo booth, which performs self-recovery through a soft reset that initializes the memory or process of a corresponding component module according to status information when the occurrence of an error is detected, and performs secondary self-recovery through a hard reset that resets the power of the component module in which the error occurred if the error is not recovered even after self-recovery through the soft reset, and a photo booth applying the same.

In addition, the present invention aims to provide a self-recovery method for a photo booth that detects whether an error has occurred by comparing each state information with a predetermined threshold value (threshold range) for each state information and whether the threshold value is exceeded, and a photo booth applying the method.

In addition, the present invention aims to provide a self-recovery method for a photo booth, which sets each threshold value (range) to multiple levels, predicts in advance a case in which an error is highly likely to occur according to the threshold value (range) of each level, and enables self-recovery in advance, and a photo booth applying the method.

A self-repair method of a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a self-diagnosis step of collecting status information on each component module of a photo booth including a plurality of component modules, detecting whether an error has occurred, and performing a self-diagnosis; and a self-repair step of resolving the error and performing self-repair when the occurrence of the error is detected, and is characterized in that the self-diagnosis and self-repair steps are periodically and repeatedly performed so that the photo booth operates normally.

In addition, the self-diagnosis step is characterized by further including a status information collection step for collecting status information for each of the above configuration modules, and an error detection step for comparing the collected status information with a predetermined threshold value (range) to determine and detect whether an error has occurred.

In addition, the above error detection step includes comparing each of the collected status information with a predetermined threshold range, and determining that an error has occurred if the range is exceeded, and the status information is characterized in that it includes memory fullness, number of processes, process duration, response delay, number of tasks being performed simultaneously, CPU occupancy, duration of network connection, network traffic volume, or a combination thereof in relation to each of the above configuration modules.

In addition, the self-recovery method is characterized in that it is possible to predict in advance a case in which an error occurrence probability is high from a case in which an error occurrence probability is low among the multiple levels by pre-setting the critical range to have multiple levels.

In addition, the self-recovery step is characterized by including a soft reset step that performs a soft reset including memory initialization, process release, network connection release, interface initialization, or a combination thereof, and a hard reset step that resets the power of each corresponding component module if recovery to a normal state is not possible with the soft reset alone.

In addition, it further includes a status reporting step for reporting the results before and after performing the self-recovery step, and the status reporting step includes determining that the corresponding component module has been recovered to a normal state and reporting the result if the occurrence of an error is not detected as a result of performing the self-diagnosis step again, and reporting a maintenance request if the corresponding component module is not recovered to a normal state.

In addition, a self-recoverable photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by including a self-diagnosis unit that collects status information for each component module of a photo booth including a plurality of component modules, detects whether an error has occurred, and performs self-diagnosis; and a self-recovery unit that, if the occurrence of the error is detected, resolves the error and performs self-recovery.

In addition, the self-diagnosis unit is characterized by further including a status information collection unit that collects status information for each of the configuration modules, and an error detection unit that compares the collected status information with a predetermined threshold range to determine and detect whether an error has occurred.

In addition, the error detection unit is characterized by including a unit that compares each collected status information with a predetermined threshold value (range) and determines that an error has occurred if the range is exceeded.

In addition, the photo booth is characterized in that it is possible to predict in advance a case in which an error occurrence probability is high from a case in which an error occurrence probability is low among the multiple levels by pre-setting the critical range to have multiple levels.

In addition, the self-recovery unit is characterized by including a soft reset unit that performs a soft reset including memory initialization, process release, network connection release, interface initialization, or a combination thereof, and a hard reset unit that resets the power of each corresponding component module if recovery to a normal state is not possible with the soft reset alone.

In addition, it further includes a status reporting unit that reports the results before and after performing the self-recovery, and the status reporting unit is characterized in that, if the occurrence of an error is not detected as a result of performing the self-diagnosis step again, it determines that the corresponding component module has been recovered to a normal state and reports the result, and if the corresponding component module is not recovered to a normal state, it reports a maintenance request.

As described above, the self-recovery method of the photo booth of the present invention and the photo booth applying the same can restart a module in accordance with the characteristics of the module in which an error occurred when an error occurred in a photo booth composed of various component modules, and can test the restarted module to check whether the module is operating normally, thereby enabling efficient maintenance manpower management by minimizing maintenance manpower investment for errors that can be recovered by restarting only the corresponding component module, and can have the effect of quickly normalizing a photo booth in which an error occurred.

In the case of a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention, a photo booth including various types of electric or electronic devices has the effect of providing an optimal environment for taking pictures and ensuring uninterrupted connection and service of each device.

The various component modules constituting the photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention are made of electric or electronic devices, so that in the event of a simple error, the error can be resolved simply by restarting through a soft reset or hard reset of the corresponding component module.

In addition, the photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention can restart and test a module in which an error has occurred by itself before reporting whether an error has occurred in the photo booth in which an error has occurred, thereby enabling efficient operation of maintenance personnel and quick recovery of a photo booth in which an error has occurred.

In particular, even if an error occurs in the HMI module that manages the entire photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention or an error occurs in the network connecting the photo booth and the server, the HMI module can automatically restart and perform tests, and can also diagnose and resolve network errors by itself, thereby providing the advantage of being able to easily understand tasks via the network and perform self-recovery.

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a self-repair method of a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention and the characteristics of a photo booth applying the method.
Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of a photo booth according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a power relay integration module according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an HMI module that applies a self-recovery method of a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for detecting and self-recovering an error in a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, a preferred embodiment of a self-repairing method for a photo booth of the present invention and a photo booth applying the same will be described in detail. The same reference numerals presented in each drawing represent the same members. In addition, specific structural and functional descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are merely illustrative for the purpose of explaining the embodiments according to the present invention, and unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the related technology, and are preferably not interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined herein.

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a self-repair method of a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention and the characteristics of a photo booth applying the method.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a photo booth (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention self-diagnoses errors in each component module (not illustrated) constituting the photo booth (100) and self-recovers (self-recovers) errors to self-heal malfunctions caused by the errors, thereby enabling normal operation to be continuously maintained.

The above photo booth refers to a device that provides various options such as backgrounds, accessories, filters, and frames, allowing users to take photos in the style they want within a designated space.

These photo booths interface with multiple different component modules to provide users with photo-taking services, so if even one device malfunctions, the service cannot be provided properly.

These malfunctions have various aspects including failure to operate, processing speed delay, and incorrect operation. Here, failure to operate means that each component module does not operate, and incorrect operation means that each component module operates but does not perform normal operation. In addition, the processing speed delay means that the time required to perform a specific task (e.g., printing a photo) exceeds a specified time.

For example, in the case of incorrect operation, it refers to providing a specific background image and outputting a background different from the background selected by the user when the user selects it. Such incorrect operation can occur in various types.

A photo booth (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention first performs the self-diagnosis by periodically collecting status information of each component module and detecting whether an error has occurred based on the status information.

Next, the photo booth (100) performs self-diagnosis to detect whether an error has occurred in each component module, and if the occurrence of an error is detected, it is configured to perform self-recovery to resolve the error.

Here, the status information includes, with respect to each component module, the degree of memory fullness (or the degree of remaining storage space in memory), the number of processes, the process duration, the response delay, the number of concurrently executing tasks, the processor occupancy rate, the duration of a network connection, the amount of network traffic, or a combination thereof. Although not specifically listed herein, the foregoing is not limited thereto.

The above number of processes refers to the total number of processes created and currently alive for each component module, and the process lifetime refers to the time period between the time each process was created and the current time.

In addition, response delay refers to the time it takes for a response message (command execution completion message) to be received after sending a specific message (e.g., a specific command) to each configuration module to exceed a specified threshold time.

Additionally, processor occupancy refers to the ratio of the processor usage generated for each component module (or the ratio of time the processor is allocated and used by each process).

In addition, the duration of a network connection refers to the duration of a network connection. At this time, the network connection refers to the connection between the server and the photo booth (more specifically, the network module among the configuration modules) and the connection between each configuration module, and includes not only the physical connection but also the session connection for communication.

Ultimately, the duration of the network connection refers to the session maintenance time for data transmission and reception between the server and the photo booth (100) and each component of the photo booth (100).

In addition, the photo booth (100) is configured to primarily perform self-recovery through a soft reset for the corresponding configuration module when the occurrence of at least one error is detected, and secondarily perform self-recovery through a hard reset for each corresponding configuration module when the occurrence of an error is still detected as a result of performing self-recovery primarily through a soft reset (i.e., when it is not restored to a normal state).

The above soft reset includes memory initialization of each component module, process release, network connection release, interface initialization, or a combination thereof.

The above hard reset is performed by resetting the power of each corresponding component module in case the error is not recovered (i.e., restored to the normal state) through the soft reset. In other words, the above hard reset means rebooting each component module.

The above photo booth (100) reports to the server (200) when an error is detected, and reports to the server (200) that the error self-recovery has failed (is not possible) and a maintenance request when the error is not recovered. At this time, the server (200) transmits the report to the administrator terminal (300) so that the photo booth (100) can be quickly maintained. The report can be directly transmitted to the administrator terminal (300).

Meanwhile, the server (200) of Fig. 1 is for managing a plurality of photo booths (100), and can provide and update programs such as firmware required for the operation of the photo booth (100) to each photo booth (100), and can include receiving status information of each photo booth (100), including the status (whether normal or not) and self-recovery status of each photo booth (100), from each photo booth (200) and reporting it to the administrator terminal (300).

When applying a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention, there is an advantage in that predictive maintenance (predicting errors that may occur in the future by applying error levels) of each photo booth is possible through self-diagnosis and self-repair, and the service life time increases. Ultimately, self-diagnosis and self-repair have the effect of reducing maintenance interactions.

Hereinafter, a method of performing self-recovery in a photo booth (100) will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a photo booth according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a photo booth (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention enables a user to take high-quality photos of various concepts desired by providing a wall including a front, side, back, or a combination thereof in a predetermined space to serve as a studio for taking photos.

The above photo booth (100) is configured to include a configuration module including a power relay module (105), an HMI module (110), a touch screen module (125), a lighting module (130), a camera module (135), a printer module (140), a payment module (145), and a sensor module (150).

The above power relay module (105) is connected to an external commercial power source and supplies power to each component module of the photo booth (100). At this time, the power relay module (105) can be connected to a commercial power source through an AC power port and a multi-tap.

The above power relay module (105) is configured to include a switched mode power supply (SMPS), an adapter, or a combination thereof, and provides commercial power applied from the outside to each component module, or converts it into direct current power suitable for each component module and provides it to each component module.

The above power relay module (105) is configured to include a relay module (105b), and the relay module (105b) connects the power required to utilize each component module of the photo booth (100) and communication for data transmission and reception. In particular, the relay module (105b) functions as a switch that connects various types of power generated from the power relay module (105) to each component module.

Referring to Fig. 3, the power relay module (105) is divided into a power module (105a) and a relay module (105b). Here, the relay module (105b) includes a switching relay, and can be configured to turn on and off the power supplied from the power module (105a) to the relay module (105b). Of course, a switching relay can be provided at the input terminal of the relay module (105b) to turn on and off the power supplied from the power module (105a).

The above HMI (human machine interface) module (110) includes the overall control of the photo booth and the functions of a user interface, and is a module that integrates and controls each component module so that the user can take and print desired photos through interaction with the user using the photo booth (100). The HMI module (110) may be configured to operate on at least one direct current power source of 12 V, 5 V, or 3.3 V, depending on its configuration.

The above touch screen module (125) displays a user interface according to the control of the HMI module (110) so that the user can set shooting parameters including camera settings, lighting, background, etc. The above touch screen module (125) can be configured to operate with a direct current power of 12 V, 5.5 A. Although the present invention presents specific values for voltage and current, this is only an example and can be changed at any time depending on the corresponding configuration module.

At this time, the HMI module (110) controls the lighting module (130) according to the lighting conditions set by the user or server, so that the lighting set by the user can be produced.

The above lighting module (130) is configured to include at least one light source, such as an LED, and a converter. The converter operates by receiving commercial power (AC22V/17A) from the power module (105), and the HMI module (110) performs dimming of at least one light source by controlling the voltage or current of the converter, thereby performing lighting effects according to the lighting set by the user or server.

The above camera module (135) is for taking pictures of the user and can be configured with a DC power supply of 8.4 V, 2 A. The camera module (135) sets shooting conditions including ISO sensitivity, shutter speed, white balance, aperture value, and auto focus according to camera settings. It is preferable that the shooting conditions be determined by linking the camera settings with lighting.

When the settings for taking a photo, including camera settings, lighting, background, etc., are completed, the HMI module (110) controls the camera module (135) to enable the user to take a photo. At this time, the HMI module (110) outputs a countdown for taking a photo through the user interface so that the user can take a photo when he or she is ready to take a photo. Alternatively, the user can directly initiate taking a photo using a remote control or a gesture.

The above printer module (140) outputs a photo taken by the above camera module (135) as an actual photo through the control of the HMI module (110).

The above payment module (145) is for paying the fee for using the photo booth (100) and may be configured to include a cash payment module and a card payment module.

The above HMI module (110) checks whether payment is made in cash or by card through the user interface and controls each payment module to enable payment by inserting cash into the cash slot or inserting a card into the card slot.

The above sensor module (150) may include various sensors such as an infrared sensor, a light sensor, a temperature sensor, a motion sensor, etc. The infrared sensor may be used to check the presence of a user in front of the camera module (135), and the light sensor may be used to check the surrounding illuminance.

That is, the HMI module (110) can control the camera module (135) to check whether the user is present in front of the camera module (135) when taking a photo of the user, and can take the photo. In addition, the HMI module (110) can control the lighting module (130) to brightly light the interior of the photo booth (100) when the ambient illuminance measured by the illuminance sensor is low.

Additionally, the photo booth (100) may be configured to further include auxiliary devices to assist in taking pictures, including a microphone, speaker, QR scanner, etc.

The above HMI module (110) can also take pictures by recognizing the user's voice through a microphone. That is, if the user has a vision problem and cannot perform operations through the user interface, the shooting conditions including camera settings, lighting, background, or a combination of these can be set according to the user's voice.

The above HMI module (110) outputs information about taking pictures not only through the user interface but also through the speaker, so that the user can recognize the procedure for taking pictures visually and audibly.

For example, if a user selects and sets a specific background through the user interface, the HMI module (110) can output auditory information about the background through the speaker.

In addition, the HMI module (110) can also transmit and store a photographed image to the storage medium based on information about the storage medium obtained through the QR scanner. For example, if a user scans a QR code containing information about a smartphone (phone number) or information about the user's cloud storage using the QR scanner, the HMI module (110) can transmit the photographed image based on the information.

Additionally, power between each component module, including the power relay module (105) and HMI module (110), is supplied through a power supply line (115).

In addition, data between each configuration module is transmitted and received through a data line (120). The data line (120) may be configured as a USB (universal serial bus), an Ethernet cable, or a combination thereof.

That is, data between each configuration module can be transmitted and received according to the USB or Ethernet protocol. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and data can be transmitted and received through various wired and wireless communication methods, and a data line (120) can be configured according to the wired and wireless communication method.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a power relay module according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a power relay module (105) according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to include a relay controller (105-1), a power switching relay (105-2), a data switching relay (105-3), and an Ethernet port (105-4).

Here, the relay controller (105-1) receives commands through a server, administrator terminal, or HMI module and controls the switching relay (105-2, 3) to turn on and off.

The above Ethernet port (105-4) directly performs an Ethernet connection between an external network and an internal HMI module. The ports may be connected to each other so that the power relay module (105) does not participate in its operation, or it may be configured to pass through the relay controller (105-1).

Since the above HMI module (110) is connected to the power relay module (105) through the data switching relay (105-3), it can command the relay controller (105-1) to turn off its own power.

In addition, when the HMI module (100) detects the occurrence of an error, it saves the result of detecting the occurrence of the error as a log and reports it to the server (200) through the Ethernet port (105-4).

In addition, the HMI module (100) stores the results of self-inspection and self-recovery for a specific configuration module as a log, and if self-recovery is not achieved even through a hard reset, it reports the results of self-recovery, including the inability to self-recover and a request for maintenance, to the server (200).

When performing self-recovery for the HMI module (110) itself, if the error detection result for the HMI module (100) saved as a log before and after the soft reset is referenced and the error is not recovered, a reboot request can be made to the power relay module (105) to perform its own hard reset.

That is, when the HMI module (110) requires its own hard reset, it controls the power relay module (105) to cut off the power supply to the HMI module (110) and then supply the power again.

In summary, a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of component modules (105 to 150) constituting the photo booth and a power relay module (105) that switches on and off power supplied to each of the plurality of component modules, thereby turning on and off power supplied to at least one of the plurality of component modules through the power relay module.

The above power relay module (105) includes a switching relay (105-2) that switches on and off the power supplied to each of the plurality of component modules, and a relay controller (105-1) that controls the on/off of the switching relay.

In addition, a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention further includes an HMI module (110) as one of the plurality of component modules, and the relay controller (105-1) commands the HMI module (110) to switch the power of the power relay module (106) on and off through data communication between the HMI module (110) and the power relay module (105), or commands the power of the power relay module to be switched on and off from an external server (200) or an administrator terminal (300), thereby hard resetting the power supplied to at least one of the plurality of component modules.

In addition, the power relay module (105) further includes at least one Ethernet port (105-4), and through the Ethernet port (105-4), the HMI module (110) is connected to an external server (200) or an administrator terminal (300), or the external server or administrator terminal is connected to the relay controller (105-1), or a combination thereof.

In addition, the power relay module (105) includes a power module (105a) that supplies power to each of the plurality of component modules, and a relay module (105b) including the switching relay and the relay controller, and through the relay controller (105-1), a command is given to turn on and off the power supplied from the power module (105a) to the relay module (105b) from the HMI module (110), or the external server (200) or the administrator terminal (300), thereby hard resetting the power supplied to the relay module (105b).

Meanwhile, the power module (105a) further includes a switching relay (105-2) for power supplied to the relay module (105b), and includes controlling the switching relay (105-2) provided in the power module (105a) from the relay module (105b).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an HMI module that applies a self-recovery method of a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the HMI module (110) according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to detect the occurrence of errors in a plurality of component modules (component modules #1 to #N) constituting the photo booth (100) and to resolve the errors and perform self-recovery, and includes a self-diagnosis unit (111), a self-recovery unit (112), and a status reporting unit (113).

Therefore, the configuration module of the present invention is configured to include an HMI module (110), a power module (105), a touch screen module (125), a lighting module (130), a camera module (135), a printer module (140), a payment module (145), and a sensor module (150).

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the HMI module (110) is configured to perform self-diagnosis by first periodically collecting status information of each component module, including the HMI module (110) itself, to detect whether an error has occurred.

At this time, the HMI module (110) detects the occurrence of the error by comparing each collected status information with a predetermined threshold value (range) set for each status information and determining that an error has occurred if the range is exceeded.

Additionally, when the HMI module (100) detects the occurrence of an error, it saves the result of detecting the occurrence of the error as a log and reports it to the server (200).

The above self-diagnosis unit (111) is configured to perform self-diagnosis for each component module, including collecting status information of each component module and detecting whether an error has occurred in each component module based on the collected status information, and is configured to include a status information collection unit (111a) and an error detection unit (111b).

The above status information collection unit (111a) periodically collects status information of each component module. The above status information collection unit (111a) requests status information from each component module, and each component module can be configured to provide the status information to the status information collection unit (111a) when a request for status information is received.

The above status information refers to information related to each component module and is explained with reference to Figure 1, so it is omitted here.

The above error detection unit (111b) detects whether an error has occurred in each component module based on the status information collected for each component module.

The above error detection unit (111b) is configured to detect whether an error has occurred by comparing the status information for each configuration module with a predetermined threshold range set for each status information.

At this time, if the comparison result exceeds each critical range in at least one or more status information, the error detection unit (111b) determines that an error has occurred in the corresponding configuration module.

That is, the error detection unit (111b) compares the status information and the critical range for each status information to detect the occurrence of an error in each configuration module.

Meanwhile, the threshold range for each status information is preset to have multiple levels, and the error detection unit (111b) of the self-diagnosis unit (111) can detect that an error has occurred when each status information exceeds each threshold range of a specific level for detecting the occurrence of an error.

At this time, the self-recovery unit (112) can be configured to perform self-recovery corresponding to a specific level of the critical range.

That is, the HMI module (110) presets the critical range to have multiple levels, and checks for exceeding the critical range step by step according to the multiple levels, thereby enabling prediction of the probability of error occurrence in advance.

For example, if the critical range for specific status information is composed of levels 1 to 4, and the error occurrence probability increases in order from levels 1 to 4, and level 4 has an error occurrence probability of 70%, and the level for error occurrence detection is set to level 4, when the critical range of level 4 is exceeded, the error detection unit (111b) detects that an error has occurred in the configuration module of the corresponding status information, and the self-recovery unit (112) performs self-recovery corresponding to 70%. In the above example, when the CPU occupancy rate of the status information collected for the HMI module (110) itself exceeds the critical range of level 4 by 80% or more, the process with the highest CPU occupancy rate or the process with the longest duration is released so that the CPU occupancy rate is maintained at 70% or less.

As another example, if the threshold range for detecting whether an error has occurred is set to level 4 with a 70% probability, and the memory usage (or memory fullness) of the self-status information of the HMI module (100) exceeds the threshold range of level 4 by using more than 80% of the memory (i.e., the memory fullness is less than 20%), the error detection unit (111b) detects that an error has occurred in the corresponding HMI module (100), and the self-recovery unit (112) performs self-recovery by deleting data in the order of the longest storage in the memory to adjust the memory usage to less than 70%.

That is, the photo booth (100) sets the critical range to multiple levels and self-recovers in advance before a malfunction due to an error occurs according to the probability of each level, thereby reducing the interaction for maintenance with the server (200) through predictive maintenance for errors (i.e., only reporting when an error occurs and the self-recovery result thereof), minimizing the manpower, time and cost for maintenance, and increasing the life time (or availability) of the photo booth (100).

Additionally, when an error is detected, the status reporting unit (113) saves the detection result as a log and reports it to the server (200).

The above self-recovery unit (112) is configured to perform self-recovery for at least one component module in which an error has occurred based on the result of detecting an error through the self-diagnosis unit (111), and includes a soft reset unit (112a) and a hard reset unit (112b).

The above soft reset unit (112a) performs self-recovery by performing a soft reset including memory initialization, process release, network connection release, interface initialization, or a combination thereof of each corresponding component module in which an error has occurred.

Meanwhile, in the case of a network connection release, it is performed even when an error occurs in the network connection between the server (200) and the photo booth (100) (more specifically, the network module) as well as in the network connection between each configuration module through network self-diagnosis.

The above network self-diagnosis is performed by detecting the occurrence of an error in the network connection based on status information corresponding to the network connection duration and network traffic volume.

In this case, if the duration of the session connected for data transmission and reception with the server (200) (i.e., the duration of the process of network connection with the server), the amount of network traffic, or a combination thereof exceeds a predetermined threshold range (or a threshold range of a predetermined level), the soft reset unit (112a) performs a soft reset to release the corresponding process to perform self-recovery.

Meanwhile, the soft reset unit (111a) is configured not to release the process for the operating system that is the basis for the operation of the photo booth (100) when performing a soft reset through a process release. This is because if the process for the operating system is released, the photo booth (100) itself cannot operate.

At this time, if a soft reset is performed, the self-diagnosis unit (111) collects status information of each configuration module again to detect an error.

Afterwards, the self-recovery unit (112) performs a soft reset, detects an error again through the self-diagnosis unit (111), and if the same error persists, performs self-recovery by hardware-initializing each corresponding component module through the hard reset unit (112b).

The above hard reset unit (112b) controls the power module (105) to cut off the power supply to each corresponding component module in which an error has been detected, and then supply power, thereby initializing each corresponding component module in hardware and performing self-recovery.

In addition, the self-diagnosis unit (111) collects status information of each component module again after performing a hard reset to detect errors.

At this time, if the status report unit (113) performs a hard reset but the error is still not recovered, it saves the self-recovery result as a log and reports the self-recovery result including the inability to recover and a maintenance request to the server (200) so that maintenance can be performed quickly. The status report unit (113) can transmit the self-recovery result to the server (200) even if the error is recovered.

The above soft reset and hard reset have been described with reference to Fig. 2, so further detailed description will be omitted.

That is, the HMI module (110) periodically and repeatedly performs self-diagnosis and self-repair for each component module constituting the photo booth through the self-diagnosis unit (111) and self-repair unit (112).

Meanwhile, if an error is detected through self-diagnosis of the HMI module (110) and a soft reset is performed, if the error is not recovered by referring to the log saved before the soft reset, a reboot is requested to the power module (105) to perform a hard reset.

The above status reporting unit (113) is intended to report the results before and after performing self-recovery to the administrator terminal (300). Since the operation of the status reporting unit (113) has been described above, a detailed description is omitted.

Meanwhile, the report is preferably configured to be transmitted to the server (200), but may also be configured to be transmitted to the administrator terminal (300).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for detecting and self-recovering an error in a photo booth according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the procedure for self-recovering an error in a photo booth (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention first performs a self-diagnosis step in which the photo booth (100) detects whether an error has occurred in each component module constituting the photo booth (100) and self-diagnoses the same.

The above self-diagnosis step is configured to include a status information collection step (S110) for collecting status information for each component module of the photo booth (100) and an error detection step (S120) for detecting whether an error has occurred for each component module based on the status information.

The above status information is collected periodically. The above status information collection step collects status information on multiple component modules that constitute the photo booth (100), including the HMI module (110).

The above self-diagnosis step includes self-diagnosis of the HMI module (110), self-diagnosis of the remaining component modules excluding the HMI module (110), and network self-diagnosis.

Self-diagnosis of the above HMI module (110) uses status information related to the HMI module (110), and self-diagnosis of the remaining configuration modules uses status information related to each configuration module. In addition, network self-diagnosis is performed by using status information related to network connections.

The above error detection step detects that an error has occurred in each corresponding component module when the status information collected for each of the above-mentioned configuration modules exceeds each threshold range for each status information. At this time, the threshold range is set to multiple levels according to the error occurrence probability, and a specific level threshold range (e.g., a threshold range of a specific level with a probability of 60% or 70%) is set to detect the occurrence of an error.

Meanwhile, although not shown in FIG. 6, the photo booth (100) performs a status reporting step of saving the error detection results as a log and reporting them to the server (200) so that the administrator can check them.

Next, the photo booth (100) performs a self-recovery step when an error is detected (S130).

The above self-recovery step is configured to include a soft reset step (S140) for performing a soft reset on each corresponding configuration module in which an error has been detected to perform self-recovery, and a hard reset step (S160) for performing a hard reset on each corresponding configuration module to perform self-recovery if the error is not recovered after performing the soft reset (S150).

The above soft reset step performs a soft reset according to the probability of a certain level set in the threshold range for detecting an error. The performing of a soft reset according to the probability has been described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, so it is omitted here.

The above soft reset step performs a soft reset for each corresponding component that has experienced an error, including memory initialization, process release, network connection release, interface initialization, or a combination thereof.

For example, if an error is detected for at least one configuration module other than the HMI module (100), the soft reset step may perform a soft reset including initializing the interface between the HMI module (100) and each corresponding configuration module (or releasing a process generated in the HMI module for the corresponding configuration module), initializing the memory of the corresponding configuration module, or a combination thereof.

As another example, if the HMI module (110) performs self-diagnosis and detects an error, the soft reset step performs a soft reset including memory initialization, process release, or a combination thereof.

As another example, if the occurrence of an error is detected through network self-diagnosis, the soft reset step performs a soft reset that includes releasing the network connection, a process for network connection, or a combination thereof.

After performing the above soft reset, the photo booth (100) detects whether an error has occurred again through the above self-diagnosis step, and if the error is not recovered (S150), it performs a hard reset step for performing a hard reset on the corresponding configuration module (S160).

The above hard reset step performs a hard reset by controlling the power module (105) to cut off and re-supply power to each corresponding component module where an error has occurred.

Meanwhile, if the configuration module in which an error has occurred is the HMI module (110) itself, the hard reset step performs a hard reset by requesting the power module (105) to reboot the HMI module (110) and then cutting off and re-supplying power to the HMI module (110).

In other words, the hard reset stage refers to the stage of resetting the power of each corresponding component module to initialize it in hardware when it is impossible to restore each corresponding component module to its normal state with just a soft reset.

Next, the photo booth (100) performs a hard reset, and then, if the occurrence of an error is detected through a self-diagnosis step again and the same error as the error saved in the log is still not recovered, the status reporting step is performed to report the results of performing self-recovery, including the impossibility of self-recovery and a maintenance request, to the server (200) (S180). At this time, the status reporting step can report only the self-recovery results to the server (200) if the error is recovered.

As described above, the present invention relates to a self-recovery method for a photo booth and a photo booth applying the same, which performs self-diagnosis and self-recovery for each component module constituting the photo booth periodically and repeatedly so that, when some component module of the photo booth malfunctions due to an error and has difficulty performing its normal function, the error is resolved by itself to enable normal operation, thereby minimizing manpower, time, and cost for maintenance.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, but these are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the following patent claims.

100: Photo booth 105: Power relay module
105a: Power module 105b: Relay module
110: HMI module 111: Self-diagnosis unit
111a: Status information collection unit 111b: Error detection unit
112: Self-recovery section 112a: Soft reset section
112b: Hard reset section 113: Status report section
115: Power supply line 120: Data line
125: Touchscreen module 130: Lighting module
135: Camera module 140: Printer module
145: Payment module 150: Sensor module
200: Server 300: Admin Terminal

Claims (12)

A self-diagnosis step for collecting status information on each component module of a photo booth including multiple component modules and detecting whether an error has occurred to perform self-diagnosis through the self-diagnosis section of the photo booth; and
A self-recovery step for resolving the error and self-recovering when the occurrence of the error is detected through the self-recovery part of the photo booth;
A self-recovery method for a photo booth, characterized in that the self-diagnosis is performed periodically or repeatedly to extend the period during which the photo booth operates normally. In claim 1,
The above self-diagnosis steps are:
A status information collection step for collecting status information for each of the above configuration modules through a status information collection unit; and
A self-recovery method for a photo booth, characterized by further including an error detection step of comparing the collected status information with a predetermined critical range through an error detection unit to determine and detect whether an error has occurred. In claim 2,
The above error detection step is,
It includes comparing each of the collected status information with a predetermined critical range and determining that an error has occurred if the range is exceeded.
A self-recovery method of a photo booth, characterized in that the status information includes, with respect to each of the above configuration modules, memory fullness, number of processes, process duration, response delay, number of tasks being performed simultaneously, processor occupancy, network connection duration, network traffic volume, or a combination thereof. In claim 2,
The above self-recovery method is,
A self-recovery method for a photo booth, characterized in that the threshold range is preset to have multiple levels, and the probability of an error occurring is predicted in advance by checking for exceeding the threshold range in stages according to the multiple levels. In claim 1,
The above self-recovery steps are:
A soft reset step, through a soft reset section, performing a soft reset including memory initialization, process release, network connection release, interface initialization, or a combination thereof; and
A self-recovery method for a photo booth, characterized by including a hard reset step for resetting the power of each corresponding component module through a hard reset unit if the normal state cannot be restored with only the soft reset. In claim 1,
Further comprising a status reporting step for reporting the status before and after performing the self-recovery step when the occurrence of the above error is detected as a result of performing the self-diagnosis through the status reporting section of the above photo booth;
The above status reporting steps are:
If the above self-diagnosis step is performed again and no error is detected, it is determined that the corresponding component module has been restored to normal status and the result is reported.
A self-recovery method for a photo booth, characterized in that it includes reporting a maintenance request if the above-mentioned corresponding component module is not restored to a normal state. A photo booth applying a self-repairing method of a photo booth according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Multiple configuration modules for the photo booth; and
It includes a power relay module that switches on and off the power supplied to each of the above plurality of component modules;
A photo booth characterized in that the power supplied to at least one of the plurality of component modules is turned on and off through the power relay module. In claim 8,
The above power relay module,
A switching relay that switches on and off the power supplied to each of the plurality of component modules; and
A photo booth characterized by including a relay controller that controls the on/off of the switching relay. In claim 9,
The above photo booth is,
Further comprising an HMI module as one of the above plurality of configuration modules;
The above relay controller,
Through data communication between the HMI module and the power relay module, the HMI module commands the power of the power relay module to be switched on and off; or
By commanding the power relay module to be switched on and off from an external server or administrator terminal,
A photo booth characterized by including a hard reset of power supplied to at least one of the plurality of component modules. In claim 10,
The above power relay module,
At least one Ethernet port;
A photo booth characterized in that it includes a means for connecting the HMI module to an external server or administrator terminal, or for connecting the external server or administrator terminal to the relay controller, or a combination thereof, through the Ethernet port. In claim 11,
The above power relay module,
A power module that supplies power to each of the plurality of component modules; and
A relay module including the above switching relay and the above relay controller;
Through the relay controller, the HMI module, or the external server or administrator terminal, includes a command to turn on and off the power supplied from the power module to the relay module, thereby hard resetting the power supplied to the relay module.
A photo booth characterized in that the power module comprises a switching relay for power supplied to the relay module, and the relay module controls the switching relay provided in the power module.