Non-volatile fault indicator
US6463559B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 30, 1999 |
| Grant date | Oct 8, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 30, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B2220/90
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A device such as a tape drive or disk drive unit and a computer system that incorporates the device in which he device preferably includes a controller or processor and a non-volatile storage element configured with microcode suitable for execution by the controller. In an embodiment suitable for use in the computer system, the controller is preferably configured for communicating with a peripheral bus of a computer system via a bus interface unit. The device further includes a non-volatile fault indicator and fault logic suitable for detecting a fault condition in the device. The fault logic is adapted to program the non-volatile fault indicator upon detecting a fault condition to preserve the occurrence of the fault. In this manner, both repeatable and intermittent fault conditions are documented for subsequent servicing by a service engineer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.