JP2011095952A - Method for updating firmware and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten time required for the updating of firmware which is associated with alteration of a partition. <P>SOLUTION: According to a firmware-updating program code, a processor 1: (a) loads a partition definition file 41, which includes updating-finished partition definition information, on a RAM 3; (b) identifies a data area, to which a partition size is altered, on the basis of the partition definition information; and (c) writes the data of firmware, which correspond to the partition size-altered data area, to an address identified by the partition definition information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a firmware update method and an electronic device.

  Electronic devices that execute various processes by executing kernel programs such as operating system (OS) and control programs store firmware in EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) such as flash memory. The processor executes the firmware, loads the above-described kernel program according to the firmware, and starts execution.

  In such an EEPROM, for example, firmware may be stored in a plurality of partitions such as a boot area, a kernel area, and an application area. In this case, the boot area is provided at an address that is first called at the time of startup, and has a boot loader at that address. The boot loader loads the code in the kernel area from the EEPROM into a RAM (Random Access Memory) and executes it. The application area stores user programs and the like, and is executed as appropriate.

  Such firmware may be updated for reasons such as function addition and defect correction.

  When updating the firmware, if there is no change in the size of the firmware, the update can be performed by overwriting the firmware as it is. However, if the size of the firmware is changed, it is necessary to change the partition of the EEPROM.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a firmware update method (first method) in the case of updating firmware accompanied by a partition change.

  First, the processor loads and starts executing a program code for executing firmware update (step S101).

  When updating firmware accompanied by a partition change, the processor, in accordance with this program code, has a data area (eg, boot area) having current partition definition information (eg, the start address and partition size of each of one or more partitions). At this time, since the firmware before update has already been started, the processor specifies the write position of the update firmware based on the partition definition information in the firmware before update. .

  Thereafter, in order to validate the updated partition, the processor restarts in accordance with this program code, switches the partition definition information to the updated one (step S103), and again executes the firmware update program code. Is started to be executed (step S104). Then, the processor writes the firmware of each update target area in the updated partition according to the program code (steps S105 to S107).

  In this way, the firmware can be updated with the partition change.

  As another method, for example, there is a firmware update method (second method) described in Patent Document 1. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of a firmware update method in the case where firmware is updated with a partition change.

  In this firmware update method, after the boot process is executed and the OS starts executing (step S201), the partition definition information in the predetermined boot parameter area is updated (step S202), and the update target is matched with the current partition. The area update firmware is divided and written (step S203). Thereby, after the restart, the firmware written in the new partition is executed.

JP 2007-193505 A

  However, since the first method described above requires restart, the time required for firmware update becomes longer, and the period during which the electronic device cannot be used increases.

  Further, in the second method described above, it is necessary to update the boot parameter area of the EEPROM and to divide the firmware for update, so that the time required for firmware update becomes longer and the period during which the electronic device cannot be used increases. End up. Furthermore, since the boot parameter area needs to be updated, the partition of the boot parameter area needs to be fixed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a firmware update method and an electronic apparatus that can shorten the time required for firmware update accompanied by a partition change.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

  The firmware update method according to the present invention includes a step of starting execution of a program code for firmware update, a step of loading a partition definition file including the updated partition definition information, and a partition code based on the partition definition information by the program code. The step of specifying the data area whose size is to be changed and the step of writing the firmware data corresponding to the data area after the change of the partition size to the address specified by the partition definition information by the program code.

  As a result, it is not necessary to perform a restart in the middle of the firmware update, or to divide the image data for update, so that the time required for the firmware update accompanying the partition change is shortened.

  In addition to the firmware update method described above, the firmware update method according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the data area described above includes a boot area.

  That is, according to this method, the boot area can be updated with the firmware with the partition change in the same manner as the other data areas.

  In addition to the firmware update method described above, the firmware update method according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the firmware corresponding to the plurality of data areas after the partition size change is read from the plurality of image files respectively corresponding to the data areas by the program code, and written to the data areas specified by the partition definition information. .

  In addition to the firmware update method described above, the firmware update method according to the present invention may be as follows. In this case, the partition definition file includes partition definition information about the data area and the file name of the image file corresponding to the data area. Then, referring to the partition definition file, an image file corresponding to the data area is specified.

  An electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes a storage device that stores firmware and a processor that executes the firmware. Then, the processor starts executing the program code for firmware update, loads the partition definition file including the updated partition definition information, and identifies the data area whose partition size is to be changed based on the partition definition information according to the program code Then, according to the program code, the firmware data corresponding to the data area after the partition size change is written to the address specified by the partition definition information.

  As a result, it is not necessary to perform a restart in the middle of the firmware update, or to divide the image data for update, so that the time required for the firmware update accompanying the partition change is shortened.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the time required for firmware update accompanying partition change.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the firmware in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the partition definition file in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the firmware update method according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of changing a partition when updating firmware in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a firmware update method in the case where firmware is updated with a partition change. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of a firmware update method in the case where firmware is updated with a partition change.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The electronic device shown in FIG. 1 includes a processor 1, a bus 2, a RAM 3, a flash memory 4, and an interface 5.

  The processor 1 is an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) that executes various programs.

  The bus 2 is a signal line that is connected to the processor 1 and transmits and receives data, addresses, and instructions.

  The RAM 3 is a memory that is connected to the bus 2 and temporarily stores programs and data used by the processor 1. For example, DRAM (Dynamic RAM) is used as the RAM 3.

  The flash memory 4 is a storage device that is connected to the bus 2 and stores firmware 11. Note that another type of EEPROM may be used instead of the flash memory 4. The flash memory 4 storing such firmware 11 is not provided with a file system, and the processor 1 accesses the firmware 11 by directly specifying an address.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the firmware 11 in FIG. The firmware 11 includes firmware of three data areas, that is, a boot area, a kernel area, and an application area, and three partitions are used in the flash memory 4 for these three data areas. The boot area is provided at an address that is first called by the processor 1 at startup, and has a boot loader at that address. The boot loader is executed by the processor 1 and loads the code in the kernel area from the flash memory 4 to the RAM 3 for execution. A user program or the like is stored in the application area, and is loaded into the RAM 3 and executed as appropriate. In this embodiment, F / W update program code for updating the firmware 11 exists in any of these data areas. By executing this F / W update program code, a firmware update accompanied by a partition size change described later is executed.

  The interface 5 is connected to the bus 2 and is a circuit for inputting / outputting data to / from a recording medium or an external host device. An update firmware image file is supplied via the interface 5.

  In this embodiment, a recording medium 21 is connected to the interface 5, and an installation package 31 for firmware update is supplied from the recording medium 21. The installation package 31 includes a partition definition file 41 and an image file (here, a boot image file 42, a kernel image file 43, and an application image file 44) corresponding to a data area that is a firmware update target. Yes.

  The partition definition file 41 includes partition definition information after firmware update. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the partition definition file 41 in the embodiment of the present invention.

  The partition definition file 41 includes an area identifier for designating a data area in which firmware is updated. Further, the partition definition file 41 is associated with the area identifier, and the file names of the image files 42 to 44 and the updated partition definition information (start address). And size). The partition definition file 41 shown in FIG. 3 includes three area identifiers: boot indicating a boot area, kernel indicating a kernel area, and apl indicating an application area. Accordingly, three data areas are designated as firmware update targets: a boot area, a kernel area, and an application area.

  The boot image file 42 has the updated boot area program code (that is, firmware), and the kernel image file 43 has the updated kernel area program code (that is, firmware), and the application image file 44. Has the updated application area program code (ie firmware).

  Next, a firmware update method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the firmware update method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the F / W update program code is loaded into the RAM 3 and started to be executed by the processor 1 (step S1).

  The processor 1 loads the partition definition file 41 into the RAM 3 according to the F / W update program code (step S2), refers to the partition definition file 41, specifies the data area to be updated, and updates the updated partition. That is, the start address and size of the data area are specified (step S3).

  Then, in accordance with the F / W update program code, the processor 1 selects one data area that is a firmware update target but has not been updated (step S4), and reads an image file for the data area into the RAM 3 The data in the image file (that is, the updated firmware) is written into the flash memory 4 (step S5). At this time, the data (firmware) is written at the specified size at the start address specified in the partition definition file 41 for the data area.

  The processor 1 determines whether the firmware update has been completed for all the data areas specified in the partition definition file 41 according to the F / W update program code (step S6). If there is a remaining data area in which the firmware update has not been completed among the data areas specified in the partition definition file 41, the processes in steps S4 and S5 are repeatedly executed until the firmware update is completed for all the data areas. When the firmware update is completed for all the data areas, the firmware update process is completed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of changing a partition when updating firmware in the embodiment of the present invention. For example, in the case of the partition definition file 41 shown in FIG. 3, the firmware of each data area is updated after the partition size is changed as shown in FIG.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the processor 1 loads (a) the partition definition file including the updated partition definition information according to the firmware update program code, and (b) based on the partition definition information. Thus, the data area for changing the partition size is specified, and (c) the firmware data corresponding to the data area after the partition size change is written to the address specified by the partition definition information.

  As a result, it is not necessary to perform a restart in the middle of the firmware update, or to divide the image data for update, so that the time required for the firmware update accompanying the partition change is shortened.

  The above-described embodiments are preferred examples of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. is there.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the flash memory 4 is connected to the processor 1 via the bus 2, but the flash memory 4 may be directly connected to the processor 1.

  The present invention can be applied to, for example, updating firmware of an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a multifunction peripheral.

1 processor 4 flash memory (an example of a storage device)
11 Firmware 41 Partition definition file 42 Boot image file (an example of an image file)
43 Kernel image file (an example of an image file)
44 Application image file (an example of an image file)

Claims (5)

In a firmware update method for updating firmware stored in a storage device,
Starting execution of firmware update program code;
Loading a partition definition file including updated partition definition information;
Identifying a data area whose partition size is to be changed based on the partition definition information by the program code;
Writing the firmware data corresponding to the data area after the partition size change to the address of the storage device specified by the partition definition information by the program code;
A firmware update method comprising:   The firmware update method according to claim 1, wherein the data area includes a boot area.   Using the program code, the firmware corresponding to the plurality of data areas after the partition size change is read from the plurality of image files respectively corresponding to the data areas and written to the data areas specified by the partition definition information. The firmware update method according to claim 1, wherein: The partition definition file includes partition definition information about the data area and a file name of an image file corresponding to the data area,
Identifying an image file corresponding to the data area with reference to the partition definition file;
The firmware update method according to claim 3. A storage device storing firmware; and
A processor for executing the firmware,
The processor starts executing the program code for firmware update,
A partition definition file including updated partition definition information is loaded, a data area whose partition size is changed is specified based on the partition definition information according to the program code, and data after the partition size is changed according to the program code Writing firmware data corresponding to an area to the address of the storage device specified by the partition definition information;
Electronic equipment characterized by

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