JPH09237182A - Communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable executing restoration even when abnormality such as power source disconnection, etc., occurs in the midst of the updating of a system program and also to facilitate addressing at the time of updating in a communication equipment having a function for updating the old system program into a received new system program. SOLUTION: A communication equipment is provided with a non-volatile memory 3 storing the system programs and RAM 2a with a back-up function whereby the old system program is temporarily stored at the time of updating and also a power source is supplied by a battery at the time of power source disconnection and constituted so as to store the new system program received based on the old system program which is stored in RAM 2a with the back-up function in the non-volatile memory 3. An address space control part 4 which mutually exchanges the address space of the non-volatile memory 3 and the address space of RAM 2a with the back-up function at the time of updating is also provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a facsimile machine,
Regarding a communication device such as a personal computer or a multi-function device having a communication means, particularly in a communication device having a function of updating a system program received to a new system program, an abnormality such as power interruption occurs during the updating process. Even if it is, it relates to a communication device that prevents an old program from being lost.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When communicating between a large number of terminal devices, the compatibility of programs between communication devices often becomes a problem. In particular, in a system in which a large number of terminal devices are set to be communicable by compatible programs, it is desirable to be able to update all the terminal devices at once when updating the programs. For this reason, conventionally, when updating a program of a communication device, a means has been adopted in which a new program is distributed to each update destination terminal device via a network and automatically updated. By the way, the types of programs can be roughly classified into system programs that perform control and management related to hardware and the like, and application programs that operate on the system programs. For example,
Processing such as writing (storing) the received program (system program or application program) in a predetermined memory is performed based on the system program. Even when updating the system program, the process of writing the received new system program in the RAM must be performed by the old system program. After all the programs are normally written in the RAM, the process shifts to the process of the new program. Become. Therefore, when updating the program, first, the received new system program is written in the RAM, and the old system program stored in, for example, a non-volatile memory is once copied to the RAM according to the old system program and is also stored in the RAM. After jumping to the required address of the copied old system program, the new system program stored in the RAM is written in the nonvolatile memory in which the old system program was stored, in accordance with the jumped old system program.

[0003]

However, in the conventional method as described above, if a power failure occurs during writing the new system program in the non-volatile memory,
The old system program in RAM is lost, and the system program in the non-volatile memory is partially transferred, so it becomes incomplete, and even when the power is restored, both the old and new programs can be restored. It will be impossible.
Even if the writing of the new system program to the non-volatile memory is completed, if the check is incomplete and the writing mistake of the new system program has not been corrected, the recovery is also impossible. . In addition, after copying the old system program, the new system program is written to the non-volatile memory, and the old system program operates in the new address space until the write check is completed. There was an addressing problem that address translation became complicated.

The present invention has been made in order to solve various problems at the time of updating a program in the conventional communication apparatus as described above, and recovers even if an abnormality such as a power failure occurs at the time of updating the system program. Providing a communication device capable of performing, and facilitating addressing at the time of updating,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a communication device that can be realized with high reliability.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the communication device according to claim 1 stores a system program in a communication device having a function of updating an old system program to a new system program received. A non-volatile memory and a RAM with a backup function that temporarily stores the old system program when updating and that can be powered by a battery when the power is cut off,
The new system program received based on the old system program stored in the backup RAM is stored in the non-volatile memory. The communication apparatus according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the communication apparatus according to claim 1, an address space control unit is provided for exchanging the address space of the non-volatile memory and the address space of the RAM with backup when updating. To do. In the communication device according to claim 3, in the communication device according to claim 1, the RAM with backup function has at least a first area for storing a new system program and a second area for storing an old system program. In addition, an address space control unit for exchanging the address space of the non-volatile memory and the address space of the second area of the RAM with backup function with each other at the time of updating is provided. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein in the communication device according to claim 1, the RAM with backup function is at least a first area for storing a new system program and a part of the old system program, that is, an update of the old system program. A second area for storing only a program used therein, and when updating, the address space of the second area of the RAM with backup is transferred to a predetermined address space of the non-volatile memory and the non-volatile Address memory control unit for transferring the address space of the local memory to an arbitrary unused address space.

[0006]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it is preferable that the invention is as follows.
In the communication device described, the old system program is not destroyed even if the power is turned off when the system program is updated. Further, in the communication device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, even during updating of the system program, the fetching of the system program is performed from the address space as it is.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1A is a block configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention. In this example, a communication device having a facsimile communication function is illustrated. As shown, this communication device
A non-volatile memory 3 such as a flash memory that stores a system program, a CPU 5 that manages and controls the entire apparatus according to the system program, and a keyboard or a facsimile machine for an operator to give instructions to the communication apparatus. An operation display unit 6 including display means for giving a message or the like to a person, image information read by the scanner 7, and an encoding / decoding unit (DCR) for the image information.
The first RAM 1 for temporarily storing the image information data compressed by 10, the received compressed image information data and the image information expanded by the DCR 10, and the DCR 10
A plotter 8 for outputting the received image information decompressed by the first RAM 1 through the first RAM 1 and a communication unit 9 including a modem and a network control unit (NCU) for performing facsimile transmission / reception through a public telephone network are provided. There is.

A control example for transmitting a facsimile in this configuration will be described. First, the image information is read into the first RAM 1 by the scanner 7 under the control of the CPU 5. The image information is compressed by the DCR 10 and stored again in the first RAM 1. Further, the call designation information such as the destination designated by the operation display unit 6 is acquired by the CPU 5, and the communication unit 9 having received this destination information sets a call with the designated destination. Subsequently, after the communication unit 9 executes the phase B transmission procedure, the process shifts to the phase C, and the image information data stored in the first RAM 1 is modulated by the modem in the communication unit 9 and passed through the NCU. Sent out. At the time of reception, after a call is set up by the NCU, predetermined communication is performed via the modem in phase B, the phase shifts to phase C, and compressed image information data is received. The image information data is transferred to the first R via the communication unit 9.
After being stored in AM1 and further expanded by DCR10,
It is output to the plotter 8 via the first RAM 1.

The communication unit 9 includes a data modem and a NCU for data communication, and can perform data communication with other communication devices via a public line.

Further, the communication device shown in this embodiment is
A RAM using a volatile memory for temporarily storing the system program or the like in the nonvolatile memory 3 when the system program or the like is updated (hereinafter referred to as a second RAM)
2a. A backup power supply 12 is connected to the second RAM 2a, and when a power failure of the system is detected by means (not shown), the backup power supply 12 automatically supplies power. Therefore, although the second RAM 2a itself is a volatile memory, the data stored therein is not lost even when the system power is turned off. The communication device shown in this embodiment includes an address space control unit 4. This address space control unit 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b) and (c), it includes an address decoder 4a and a memory management block 11 connected to the second RAM 2a and the non-volatile memory 3 via the chip select signal line (CS). The address decoder 4a switches the chip select signal line based on the state of the flag in the memory management block 11 so that the address space of the non-volatile memory 3 and the address space of the second RAM 2a are updated when the system program or the like is updated. Exchange each other.

1B and 1C show details of the operation of the address space control unit 4. As shown, this address space control unit 4 can operate in two states. That is, in this case, in the first state, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the second RAM 2a has 100000h to 17
It is allocated to the address space of FFFFh, and the nonvolatile memory 3 is allocated to the address space of F80000h to FFFFFFh. In the second state, the address decoder 4a replaces the above two address spaces with each other, so that the second RAM 2a is F800 as shown in FIG. 1C.
The address space is allocated from 00h to FFFFFFh, and the nonvolatile memory 3 is allocated to the address space from 100000h to 17FFFFh. In this way, the address decoder 4a
Is the address space of the non-volatile memory 3 and the second RAM 2
The address space of a can be substantially exchanged.

FIG. 2 is an operation flow chart for explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. The operation of the first embodiment will be described below based on the memory area configuration shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. First, the communication unit 9 receives data from another communication device (communication device such as a service center) via the NCU for data communication, a data modem, etc., and the received information includes information requesting a system program update. When the communication unit 9 recognizes that the update program is displayed, the communication unit 9 notifies the CPU 5 to that effect, and the CPU 5 having received the notification activates the update program (S1). At that time, the address space of each memory is allocated as shown in FIG. 3A, which will be described later, and the update program is included in the system program in the nonvolatile memory (for example, flash memory) 3. And In the example shown in FIG.
The number on the left side is the address shown in hexadecimal, and RAM
The address spaces described as 1, RAM 2, and Flash memory are areas (address spaces) allocated to the first RAM 1, the second RAM 2 a, and the nonvolatile memory 3, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that all system programs in the communication device are stored in the nonvolatile memory 3 in this embodiment.

Next, the CPU 5 executes the received new system program in the first RA according to the activated update program.
Stored (stored) in M1, and then in the non-volatile memory 3 (Flash memory area) according to the above update program.
The old system program is copied to the second RAM 2 (S2). Further, the state of the flag in the memory management block 11 is changed from the inactive state (reset) to the active state (set).
Change to. Then, the address decoder 4a switches the chip select signal line to exchange the address space of the nonvolatile memory 3 with the address space of the second RAM 2a (S3). As a result, the address space allocation is as shown in FIG. That is, the address decoder 4a is connected to the upper address signal line connected to the non-volatile memory 3 and the second RAM 2a in advance or at that time depending on the state of the flag in the memory management block 11 by the CPU 5. The corresponding upper address signal line is switched.

In this way, first, according to the old system program, the CPU 5 continues to use the address space F800.
The data in 00 (hexadecimal) to FFFFFF (hexadecimal ... h) is fetched (acquired), but it is the second RAM2.
The system program (update program) following the running program copied to a will be fetched. Therefore, the CPU 5 fetches the system program as before, and operates according to the fetched system program. Also, during the updating of the system program, various interrupts, subroutine calls of the update program, etc. occur, and the fetching of the corresponding program in the system program and the execution by the CPU occur, but the jump instruction described in the corresponding program And subroutine call instructions are from F80000 (h) to FFFFFF (h)
Even if the address inside is shown, it can be executed normally.

Next, according to the update program in the old system program stored in the second RAM 2a, the CPU
5 erases the old system program in the non-volatile memory (for example, Flash memory) 3 moved to the new address space, and copies the new system program in the first RAM 1 to the erased area (S4). Then, when the copying is completed, it is checked whether the new system program copied in the non-volatile memory 3 and the new system program in the first RAM 1 are the same in order to check whether or not the copying has been successful. A comparison process, that is, a verify check is performed (S5). If the result of the verify check is OK (Yes in S6), then the flag in the memory management block 11 is reset. Then, the address decoder 4a switches the chip select signal line to return the address space of the nonvolatile memory 3 and the second RAM 2a to the original state, that is, the state of FIG. 3A (S).
7). When the updating of the system program in the non-volatile memory 3 is completed in this manner, the new system program is stored in the non-volatile memory 3. Therefore, if the system is reset in this state (S
8) The communication device starts up according to the new system program, and the subsequent operations are executed.

In the above, when the result of the verify check is not OK, for example, a message to that effect is displayed on the operation display unit 6 with the flag set, and the process ends. In this case, when the system is reset,
The communication device starts up according to the old system program in the second RAM 2a, issues a resend request of the new system program to the communication device of the other party (for example, a service center) according to the update program in the old system program, and is resent according to the request. The new system program is stored in the first RAM 1 and the process is repeated from step S4. In the above embodiment, as described above, the second R
Since the AM2a is backed up by the battery, even if an abnormality such as a power failure occurs during updating, that is, during the period of S4 and S5, the old system program in the second RAM2a is preserved as it is and destroyed. There is no risk of Therefore, after that, when the power is restored, this communication device can start over and update again according to the old system program stored in the second RAM 2a.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the communication device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5A, the RAM 2b with the backup power supply 12 shown in the figure includes at least a first area 12 for storing a new system program and a second area 13 for copying an old system program. ing. The address space control unit 4 shown in FIG. 4 is configured similarly to the address space control unit 4, and exchanges the address space of the non-volatile memory 3 and the second area 13 of the RAM 2b when updating the system program. The role of the first RAM 1 of the first embodiment is the first of the RAM 2b backed up by the backup power supply 12.
Since the area 12 of FIG. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. The operation flow is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, but the copy (S2) of the old system program in the nonvolatile memory 3 is performed in the second area of the RAM 2b, and the address decoder 4b performs the chip select. The exchange of the address space (S3) by switching the lines is performed between the address space of the non-volatile memory 3 and the second area (see FIG. 5). The second embodiment has a device configuration including only one RAM and functions in the same manner as the first embodiment, which is convenient for cost reduction.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the communication apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7A, the RAM 2c with the backup power supply 12 shown in FIG. 7 has a first area 12 in which at least a new system program is stored and a second area in which a part of the old system program is copied. 14 and. The address space control unit 4 shown in FIG. 6 is configured in the same manner as the address space control unit 4, moves the address space of the non-volatile memory 3 to an arbitrary unused address space at the time of updating the system program, and stores it in the second area of the RAM 2c. The address space of the area 14 is moved to the address space of the non-volatile memory 3 thus far (see FIG. 7). Therefore, in this embodiment as well as the second embodiment, the RAM may be only the RAM 2c. Further, the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. The operation flow of the communication device shown in this example is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, but only a part of the copy (S2) of the old system program in the nonvolatile memory 3 is backed up by the backup power supply 12. Performed on the second area 14 of the RAM 2c. The above-mentioned part of the system program is a program used during updating, and corresponds to, for example, the updating program, a subroutine used in the updating program, and various interrupts that may occur during the updating. Programs, etc., which are collectively stored in continuous areas of the non-volatile memory 3.

Further, in the case of changing the address space (S3), in the case of the example of FIG. 7, the address decoder 4c changes the address space F80000 (h) to FFFFFF (h) when the flag in the memory management block 11 is in the reset state. When the non-volatile memory 3 is decoded and chip-selected and the flag is set, the address space 100000 (h) to 17FFFF (h) (FIG. 7b) is displayed.
(Refer to FIG. 7), the nonvolatile memory 3 is chip-selected, and when the flag is reset thereafter, the address space FC0000 (h) to FFFFFF (h) (FIG. 7B).
(Refer to FIG. 3) to access the second area 14 of the RAM 2c. The above decoding, chip selection, and area selection (access) are realized by the address decoder 4c, the logic circuit in the memory management block 11, and the like.

That is, in the third embodiment, when updating the system program, the CPU 5 first activates the update program included in the old system program in the non-volatile memory 3 (S1). Then, the received new system program is stored in the first area 12 of the RAM 2c according to the activated update program (S2), and then the old system program in the nonvolatile memory 3 is stored in the second area of the RAM 2c according to the update program. Is copied to the area 14 (S2). After that, by setting the flag in the memory management block 11, the chip select signal line is switched by the address decoder 4a,
The address space of the non-volatile memory 3 and the address space of the second second area 14 of the RAM 2c are exchanged (S3). As a result, the address space allocation is as shown in FIG.

Next, the CPU 5 erases the old system program in the non-volatile memory 3 moved to the new address space according to the update program stored in the second area 14 of the RAM 2c, and the erased area is stored in the RAM 2c. Copy the new system program in the first area 12 (S
4). When the copying is completed, a verify check is performed (S5), and if the check result is OK (S6).
If Yes, the flag in the memory management block 11 is reset. Then Address Day Coder 4
a switches the chip select signal line to return the address space of the non-volatile memory 3 and the second area 14 of the RAM 2c to the original state, that is, the state of FIG. 7A (S7).

When the updating of the system program in the non-volatile memory 3 is completed in this manner, the new system program is stored in the non-volatile memory 3. Therefore, when the system is reset in this state (S8), this communication device starts up in accordance with the new system program and the subsequent operations are executed. As described above, in the third embodiment, only a part of the old system program is copied to the RAM so that the updating process of the system program can be performed, so that the capacity of the RAM is smaller than that in the second embodiment. The cost can be further reduced. In the above-described embodiments, the case where the RAM with backup and the address space control unit for changing the address space are all provided has been described, but it is not necessary to limit to this example when implementing the present invention. The address space control unit that changes the space may be configured without the backup function. In other words, the RAM with backup may be provided, and when the system program is updated, the old system program may be moved to the RAM with backup having the same address space as before. However, in that case, as described above, it is necessary to consider a program corresponding to a subroutine or an interrupt used in the update program so that the program can be fetched on the RAM with backup of the address space.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
First, since the old system program is not destroyed even if the power is turned off when updating the system program, it is possible to recover by turning the power on again. Second, since the system program is fetched from the same address space as before even while the system program is being updated, addressing when fetching a subroutine call or interrupt processing program executed during the update is extremely easy. It is realized with high reliability. Third,
In addition to the above effects, cost reduction is possible with the method in which the RAM is configured only with the RAM with backup.
In the configuration in which only a part of the old system program is copied, the RAM capacity can be further reduced, so that the cost can be further reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 1B and 1C are (a).
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the main part of the communication device shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a memory area configuration diagram for explaining the first embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a memory area configuration diagram before update and (b) is an updated memory region configuration diagram.

FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention.

5A and 5B are memory area configuration diagrams for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5A is a memory area configuration diagram before update and FIG. 5B is a memory area configuration diagram after update.

FIG. 6 is a block configuration diagram showing a third embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention.

7A and 7B are memory area configuration diagrams illustrating a third embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 7A is a memory area configuration diagram before update and FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... First RAM, 2a, 2b, 2c ... RAM with backup (second RAM), 3 ... Non-volatile memory, 4 ...
Address space control unit, 4a, 4b, 4c ... Address decoder, 5 ... CPU, 11 ... Memory management block, 12 ... Backup power supply.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical indication H04N 1/00 106 H04L 13/00 317

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In a communication device having a function of updating an old system program to a new system program received, a non-volatile memory for storing the system program and an old system program temporarily stored at the time of updating,
Further, a RAM with a backup function capable of supplying power by a battery when the power is cut off is provided, and a new system program received based on the old system program stored in the RAM with backup is stored in the nonvolatile memory. A communication device characterized by the above. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising an address space control unit that exchanges the address space of the non-volatile memory and the address space of the RAM with backup when updating. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the RAM with backup function has at least a first area for storing a new system program and a second area for storing an old system program, and is updated. A communication device comprising an address space controller for exchanging the address space of the non-volatile memory with the address space of the second area of the RAM with backup function. 4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the RAM with backup function stores at least a first area for storing a new system program and a second area for storing only a program used during updating among old system programs.
And the address space of the second area of the RAM with backup is transferred to a predetermined address space of the non-volatile memory at the time of updating, and the address space of the non-volatile memory is set to any unused address space. A communication device comprising an address space control unit that is moved to the.