CN117492795A

CN117492795A - Firmware upgrading method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN117492795A
Application number: CN202311446264.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 请求不公布姓名
Original assignee: Hangzhou Chipjet Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hangzhou Chipjet Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-10-31
Filing date: 2023-10-31
Publication date: 2024-02-02

Abstract

The invention discloses a firmware upgrading method, equipment and a system. The method is applied to firmware upgrading equipment comprising a main control chip, a communication module and a probe; the firmware upgrading device is connected with the intelligent terminal through the communication module and connected with a consumable chip to be upgraded through the probe, and the intelligent terminal remotely acquires a firmware upgrading packet matched with a target firmware version from the cloud server; the method comprises the following steps: sending a first initial firmware version of the consumable chip to the intelligent terminal; acquiring a firmware upgrade package matched with a target firmware version from an intelligent terminal; and writing the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version into the consumable chip to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip. The invention can realize the upgrade of consumable chips without returning the consumable of the printer to the factory on the basis of reducing the volume, simple structure and low hardware cost of the firmware upgrade equipment, thereby effectively improving the use efficiency of the firmware upgrade equipment and improving the use experience of users.

Description

Firmware upgrading method, device and system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of printer consumables, in particular to a firmware upgrading method, equipment and a system.

Background

In the production process, the firmware in the consumable chip can be modified by using a code writing and reading device, so that the consumable chip can be normally used after being installed in a printer. But current code reading and writing equipment comprises thing networking module, display screen, main control chip and read-write wharf, and current code reading and writing equipment's is bulky, structure complicacy and with high costs promptly to need carry out the firmware upgrading to the consumptive material chip at the mill end, the operation is extremely complicated. After encountering the upgrade of the printer, the terminal client cannot update the consumable chip in the printer by itself, and the consumable chip in the printer needs to be returned to the factory to be updated, and the terminal client can be normally used after the upgrade is completed, so that the use efficiency is low and the use experience of a user is poor.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a firmware upgrading method, equipment and a system, which are used for solving the technical problems of large size, complex structure, high cost, low use efficiency and poor user experience of firmware upgrading equipment in the prior art.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention provides a firmware upgrade method, which is applied to a firmware upgrade device, where the firmware upgrade device includes: the device comprises a main control chip, a communication module and a probe; the firmware upgrading device is connected with the intelligent terminal through the communication module and connected with the consumable chip to be upgraded through the probe, and the intelligent terminal remotely acquires a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version from the cloud server; the method comprises the following steps:

The method comprises the steps of sending a first initial firmware version stored by firmware upgrading equipment to an intelligent terminal;

acquiring a firmware upgrade package matched with a target firmware version from the intelligent terminal;

and writing the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version into the consumable chip to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip.

Further, before writing the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version into the consumable chip to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip, the method further includes:

establishing electrical connection between the firmware upgrading device and the consumable chip through the probe;

receiving a second initial firmware version stored by the consumable chip;

and generating a corresponding update instruction according to a version comparison result between the second initial firmware version and the target firmware version.

Further, after writing the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version into the consumable chip to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip, the method further comprises:

receiving a first check code fed back by the consumable chip;

prompting the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip according to the first check code.

Further, the writing the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version into the consumable chip includes:

if the data of a part of the sector in the consumable chip is different from the data of the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version, replacing the corresponding part of the data in the firmware upgrading packet of the second initial firmware version stored in the consumable chip by the part of the data in the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version;

if the data of all the sectors in the consumable chip are different from the data of the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version, replacing all the data in the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version with the corresponding all the data in the firmware upgrading packet of the second initial firmware version stored in the consumable chip.

Further, after the obtaining the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal, the method further comprises:

writing a firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version into a storage module of the firmware upgrade equipment, and replacing the firmware upgrade package of the first initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrade equipment;

Generating a corresponding second check code according to the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading package of the firmware upgrading device;

and sending the second check code to the intelligent terminal so as to prompt the intelligent terminal of the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading equipment.

Further, the writing the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version into the storage module thereof and replacing the firmware upgrade package of the first initial firmware version stored in the storage module thereof comprises the following steps:

if the data of the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version is different from the data of a part of sectors in the firmware upgrading device, replacing the corresponding part of data in the firmware upgrading package of the first initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrading device by the part of data in the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version;

if the data of the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version is different from the data of all the sectors in the firmware upgrading device, replacing all the data in the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version with the corresponding all the data in the firmware upgrading package of the first initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrading device.

and responding to a restarting instruction, and sending the version number of the target firmware version to the intelligent terminal so that the intelligent terminal records the current firmware version information of the firmware upgrading equipment.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention provides a firmware upgrade apparatus, including: the device comprises a main control chip, a communication module and a probe;

the main control chip is respectively connected with the communication module and the probe; the main control chip is connected with the consumable chip to be upgraded through the probe; the main control chip is connected with the intelligent terminal through the communication module, and the intelligent terminal remotely acquires a firmware upgrade package of a target firmware version from the cloud server;

the main control chip sends a first initial firmware version stored by the main control chip to the intelligent terminal through the communication module;

and the communication module acquires a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal so that the main control chip can upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip according to the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version.

Further, the communication module includes: a wired communication module and a wireless communication module;

when the intelligent terminal is a mobile terminal, the firmware upgrading equipment is connected with the intelligent terminal by adopting the wireless communication module;

when the intelligent terminal is a PC, the firmware upgrading equipment is connected with the intelligent terminal by adopting the wired communication module.

Further, the firmware upgrade apparatus further includes: a power module and a state prompting module; the power supply module and the state prompting module are connected with the main control chip; the power supply module is used for supplying power to the firmware upgrading equipment; and the state prompt module is used for carrying out sound, light or vibration prompt on the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip.

Further, the main control chip is further configured to receive a first check code fed back by the consumable chip through a probe, and control the status prompting module to perform acoustic, optical or vibration prompting on the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip according to the first check code.

Further, the status prompting module at least comprises one of the following: a buzzer and an LED lamp; wherein, the buzzer and the LED lamp are connected with the main control chip;

The buzzer prompts the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip in a sound mode according to the first check code;

and the LED lamp carries out lamplight prompt on the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip according to the first check code.

Further, the main control chip includes: the device comprises a data processing unit, a control unit and a storage unit;

the data processing unit is respectively connected with one end of the control unit, the storage unit, the probe and the communication module;

the data processing unit sends a first initial firmware version of the consumable chip to the intelligent terminal through the communication module, and receives a firmware upgrading packet which is returned by the intelligent terminal and matched with a target firmware version through the communication module and generates a pre-update instruction and sends the pre-update instruction to the control unit under the condition that the first initial firmware version is inconsistent with the target firmware version;

the control unit controls the data processing unit to replace the firmware upgrade package of the first initial firmware version in the storage unit with the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version based on the pre-update instruction;

Establishing electrical connection between the data processing unit and the consumable chip through the probe; the data processing unit receives a second initial firmware version sent by the consumable chip, and sends an update instruction to the control unit under the condition that the second initial firmware version of the consumable chip is inconsistent with a target firmware version; the control unit controls the data processing unit to update the second initial firmware version of the consumable chip based on the target firmware version based on the update instruction, and replaces all or part of data of the firmware update package of the target firmware version with corresponding data in the firmware update package of the second initial firmware version stored in the consumable chip.

Further, the data processing unit is used for generating a second check code according to the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading packet in the storage unit; the control unit is used for controlling the data processing unit to send the second check code to the intelligent terminal.

Further, the main control chip further comprises: an IO interface; the other end of the control unit is connected with the state prompt module through the IO interface;

The data processing unit is also used for receiving a first check code fed back by the consumable chip and sending the first check code to the control unit; and the control unit controls the state prompt module to prompt sound, light or vibration of the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip through the IO interface according to the first check code.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a firmware upgrade system, comprising: the cloud server, the intelligent terminal, the consumable chip to be upgraded and the firmware upgrading equipment according to any one of the embodiments;

the firmware upgrading device is respectively connected with the intelligent terminal and the consumable chip, and the intelligent terminal is in remote wireless connection with the cloud server;

the intelligent terminal remotely acquires a firmware upgrading packet matched with a target firmware version from the cloud server and sends the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version to the firmware upgrading equipment; the firmware upgrading equipment reads a second initial firmware version of the consumable chip; and under the condition that the second initial firmware version is inconsistent with the target firmware version, the firmware upgrading equipment performs firmware upgrading on the consumable chip according to a firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version.

Further, the intelligent terminal is further configured to compare the target firmware version with a third initial firmware version stored in the intelligent terminal, and replace the third initial firmware version stored in the intelligent terminal with the target firmware version and generate a corresponding successful upgrade identifier when the target firmware version is inconsistent with the third initial firmware version.

Further, the cloud server encrypts the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version and sends the firmware upgrade package to the intelligent terminal; and the intelligent terminal decrypts the firmware upgrading packet, and updates the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version to the intelligent terminal under the condition that the target firmware version is inconsistent with the third initial firmware version.

Further, the firmware upgrading device is further configured to replace a firmware upgrading packet of the first initial firmware version stored in the firmware upgrading device with a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version, generate a corresponding second check code according to a firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading packet, and send the second check code to the intelligent terminal; and the intelligent terminal pops up a corresponding prompt dialog box according to the second check code.

According to the technical scheme, firmware upgrading is carried out on the consumable chip through an independent firmware upgrading device, and a main control chip in the firmware upgrading device sends a first initial firmware version stored by the main control chip to the intelligent terminal through a communication module; the intelligent terminal obtains the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version from the cloud server and sends the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version to the main control chip, so that the main control chip carries out firmware upgrade on the consumable chip according to the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version, the technical problems of large size, complex structure, high cost, low use efficiency and poor user experience of firmware upgrade equipment in the prior art are solved, and on the basis of reducing the size, simple structure and low hardware cost of the firmware upgrade equipment, the upgrade of the consumable chip can be realized without returning the consumable of the printer, the use efficiency of the firmware upgrade equipment is effectively improved, and the use experience of a user is improved.

It should be understood that the description in this section is not intended to identify key or critical features of the embodiments of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description that follows.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is apparent that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a firmware upgrade method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of another firmware upgrade method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a firmware upgrade apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another firmware upgrade apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a main control chip according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a firmware upgrade system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is an update schematic diagram of a firmware version of an intelligent terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of firmware upgrading a consumable chip by a firmware upgrading device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order that those skilled in the art will better understand the present invention, a technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any inventive effort, shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and the claims of the present invention and the above figures are used for distinguishing between similar objects and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used may be interchanged where appropriate such that the embodiments of the invention described herein may be implemented in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

In an embodiment, fig. 1 is a flowchart of a firmware upgrading method provided in the embodiment of the present invention, where the embodiment is applicable to a case of chip upgrading of consumable in a printer, the firmware upgrading method is applied to a firmware upgrading device, and the firmware upgrading device may be implemented in a hardware form. Wherein, firmware upgrade equipment includes: the device comprises a main control chip, a communication module and a probe; the firmware upgrading device is connected with the intelligent terminal through the communication module and connected with the consumable chip to be upgraded through the probe, and the intelligent terminal remotely acquires a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version from the cloud server.

As shown in fig. 1, the firmware upgrade method includes:

s110, the first initial firmware version stored by the firmware equipment is sent to the intelligent terminal.

The first initial firmware version refers to a firmware version corresponding to a firmware upgrading packet currently stored in the firmware upgrading device; the target firmware version refers to the version of the firmware upgrade package to which the consumable chip needs to be updated. The consumable chip can be a chip on an ink box in the printer or a chip on a selenium drum in the printer. The intelligent terminal may include, but is not limited to: intelligent terminal and PC. Illustratively, the intelligent terminal may include, but is not limited to: smart phones, notebook computers, iPad and other intelligent terminals with wireless communication functions.

In an embodiment, after the intelligent terminal and the cloud server are successfully connected, the intelligent terminal automatically and remotely acquires a firmware upgrade package matched with a target firmware version from the cloud server, and stores the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version into the intelligent terminal; the firmware upgrading device sends a first initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrading device to the intelligent terminal, and obtains a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal; the method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the Then, the firmware upgrading device is connected with the consumable chip, the second initial firmware version of the consumable chip is obtained through the firmware upgrading device, and the initial firmware version is sent to the intelligent terminal.

In an embodiment, an APP or a third party application with firmware upgraded is installed in the intelligent terminal, and a user may log in the APP or the third party application on a display interface of the intelligent terminal to establish a communication connection between the intelligent terminal and the cloud server. On the APP of the intelligent terminal, the user may directly input or select a target firmware version, where the target firmware version may be the latest firmware version or a firmware version specified by the user. Under the condition that the target firmware version is the latest firmware version, a user can directly inquire the latest firmware version in a remote cloud server through an APP of the intelligent terminal, and then a firmware upgrading packet corresponding to the latest firmware version is issued to the intelligent terminal; and under the condition that the target firmware version is the firmware version appointed by the user, the intelligent terminal sends the target firmware version to the cloud server so as to download the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version from the cloud server.

S120, acquiring a firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal.

Under the condition that the first initial firmware version stored in the firmware upgrading device is inconsistent with the target firmware version after the intelligent terminal is updated, the firmware upgrading device acquires a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal, and replaces the firmware upgrading packet of the first initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrading device with the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version. In an embodiment, the intelligent terminal and the firmware upgrading device may be connected through a wireless communication module or may be connected through a wired communication module, which is not limited.

S130, writing the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version into the consumable chip to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip.

In an embodiment, in a case where the initial firmware version of the consumable chip is inconsistent with the target firmware version in the firmware upgrading device, the firmware upgrading device writes a firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version into the consumable chip to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip.

According to the technical scheme, firmware upgrading is carried out on the consumable chip through the independent firmware upgrading equipment, the first initial firmware version stored by the intelligent terminal is sent to the intelligent terminal through the firmware upgrading equipment, the intelligent terminal obtains a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version, then the firmware upgrading equipment carries out firmware upgrading on the consumable chip according to the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version, the technical problems that the firmware upgrading equipment in the prior art is large in size, complex in structure and low in use efficiency and poor in user experience are solved, the intelligent terminal can remotely obtain the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version from the cloud server on the basis of reducing the size, the structure and the hardware cost of the firmware upgrading equipment, the consumable chip can be upgraded without returning the consumable of the printer to a factory, the use efficiency of the firmware upgrading equipment is effectively improved, and the use experience of a user is improved.

In an embodiment, fig. 2 is a flowchart of another firmware upgrading method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the present embodiment further describes an interaction process between a firmware upgrading device and a consumable chip based on the above embodiment. As shown in fig. 2, the firmware upgrade method in the present embodiment includes the following steps:

s210, a first initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrading device is sent to the intelligent terminal, so that the intelligent terminal can remotely acquire a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version from the cloud server.

S220, acquiring a firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal.

S230, establishing electrical connection between the firmware upgrading equipment and the consumable chip through the probe.

After the firmware version of the firmware upgrading package stored in the firmware upgrading device is updated to be the target firmware version, the electric connection between the firmware upgrading device and the consumable chip is established through the probe, so that the contact time between the firmware upgrading device and the consumable chip is shortened, and the operation of firmware upgrading is more convenient.

S240, the receiving consumable chip sends the second initial firmware version stored by the receiving consumable chip.

The electrical connection between the firmware upgrading equipment and the consumable chip is established through the probe, so that the probe can be in direct contact with the contact of the consumable chip, or the probe can be in indirect contact with the contact of the consumable chip through other electrical connectors, and the specific contact mode is not limited.

The second initial firmware version refers to a firmware version corresponding to a firmware upgrade package adopted before the consumable chip is upgraded. After the firmware upgrading device successfully establishes connection with the consumable chip, the firmware upgrading device automatically acquires a second stored firmware version stored by the consumable chip.

S250, generating a corresponding update instruction according to a version comparison result between the second initial firmware version and the target firmware version.

The update instruction is used for indicating whether to update the firmware version of the firmware upgrade package in the consumable chip, and can also indicate whether to be consistent between the second initial firmware version adopted by the consumable chip and the target firmware version. In the embodiment, after the firmware upgrading device obtains the second initial firmware version of the consumable chip, the firmware upgrading device compares whether the second initial firmware version is consistent with the target firmware version, and if so, the consumable chip and the firmware upgrading device work normally; if the firmware version is inconsistent, the firmware upgrading device generates a corresponding updating instruction to trigger the firmware upgrading device to write the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version into the consumable chip.

S260, writing the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version into the consumable chip to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip.

According to the technical scheme of the embodiment, on the basis of the embodiment, after the firmware upgrading package stored in the firmware upgrading device is updated to the firmware upgrading package of the target firmware version, the electric connection between the firmware upgrading device and the consumable chip is established, so that the contact time between the firmware upgrading device and the consumable chip is shortened, and the operation of firmware upgrading is more convenient.

In an embodiment, after writing the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version into the consumable chip to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip, the method further includes: receiving a first check code fed back by the consumable chip; prompting the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip according to the first check code. The first check code is used for representing whether the consumable chip is successfully upgraded or not. In an example, the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip may be represented according to whether the firmware upgrading device successfully receives the first check code, or may be represented according to the information of the first check code. In an example, when the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip is represented according to whether the firmware upgrading device successfully receives the first check code, if the firmware upgrading device receives the first check code, the firmware upgrading device indicates that the firmware upgrading of the consumable chip is successfully completed, prompting of sound, light and vibration is performed; if the firmware upgrading device does not receive the first check code, which indicates that the firmware upgrading device does not successfully complete the firmware upgrading of the consumable chip, another sound, light or vibration prompt is carried out. In an example, when the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip is represented according to the information of the first check code, if the firmware upgrading device receives that the first check code is 1, indicating that the firmware upgrading device successfully completes the firmware upgrading of the consumable chip, prompting of sound, light or vibration is performed; if the firmware upgrading device receives the first check code of 0, which indicates that the firmware upgrading device does not successfully complete the firmware upgrading of the consumable chip, another sound, light or vibration prompt is performed, so that a user can more intuitively check the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip.

In an embodiment, after acquiring the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal, the firmware upgrade method further includes: writing a firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version into a storage module of the firmware upgrade equipment, and replacing the firmware upgrade package of the first initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrade equipment; generating a corresponding second check code according to the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading package of the firmware upgrading device; and sending the second check code to the intelligent terminal so as to prompt the intelligent terminal of the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading equipment.

The second check code is used for representing the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading device. In an example, the firmware upgrade condition of the firmware upgrade device may be characterized according to whether the intelligent terminal successfully receives the second check code, or may be characterized according to information of the second check code. In an example, when the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading device is represented according to whether the intelligent terminal successfully receives the second check code, if the intelligent terminal receives the second check code, the firmware upgrading device successfully completes the firmware upgrading of the intelligent terminal; if the intelligent terminal does not receive the second check code, the firmware upgrading equipment does not successfully complete the firmware upgrading of the intelligent terminal. In an example, when the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading device is represented according to the information of the second check code, if the intelligent terminal receives that the second check code is 1, the intelligent terminal indicates that the firmware upgrading device successfully completes the firmware upgrading of the intelligent terminal; if the intelligent terminal receives that the second check code is 0, the firmware upgrading equipment does not successfully complete the firmware upgrading of the intelligent terminal.

In an embodiment, the firmware upgrade apparatus writes a firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version into its own storage module to replace the firmware upgrade package of the first initial firmware version stored by itself. In one embodiment, writing a firmware upgrade package matching with a target firmware version into a storage module of the firmware upgrade apparatus itself, and replacing the firmware upgrade package of an initial firmware version stored in the firmware upgrade apparatus itself, includes: if the data of the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version is different from the data of a part of the sector of the firmware upgrading device, replacing the part of the data in the firmware upgrading package of the initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrading device by the part of the data in the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version; if the data of the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version is different from the data of all the sectors in the firmware upgrading device, replacing all the data in the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version with all the corresponding data in the firmware upgrading package of the initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrading device. Under the condition that the data of partial sectors in the firmware upgrading device are different, the data in the firmware upgrading packet of the first initial firmware version can be partially covered; under the condition that the data of all the sectors in the firmware upgrading device are different, the data in the firmware upgrading package of the first initial firmware version can be fully covered, so that the data updating efficiency can be improved, and the firmware upgrading efficiency is further improved. After the firmware upgrading package in the firmware upgrading device is updated, the firmware upgrading device generates a corresponding second check code according to the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading device, and sends the second check code to the intelligent terminal, so that the intelligent terminal knows the firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading device according to the second check code.

In an embodiment, after obtaining the firmware upgrade package matching the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal, the method further includes: and responding to the restarting instruction, and sending the version number of the target firmware version to the intelligent terminal so that the intelligent terminal records the current firmware version information of the firmware upgrading equipment. After the firmware upgrading device successfully completes the firmware upgrading of the firmware upgrading device, the firmware upgrading device can be restarted and sends the version number of the target firmware version to the APP in the intelligent terminal, so that the APP display interface in the intelligent terminal records the current firmware version information of the firmware upgrading device.

In an embodiment, writing the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version to the consumable chip includes: if the data of the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version is different from the data of the partial sector of the consumable chip, replacing the corresponding partial data in the firmware upgrading packet of the second initial firmware version stored by the consumable chip with the partial data in the firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version; if the data of the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version is different from the data of all the sectors in the consumable chip, replacing all the data in the firmware upgrading package matched with the target firmware version with all the corresponding data in the firmware upgrading package of the second initial firmware version stored by the consumable chip. Under the condition that the data of partial sectors in the consumable chip are different, the data in the firmware upgrade package of the second initial firmware version can be partially covered; under the condition that the data of all the sectors in the consumable chip are different, the data in the firmware upgrade package of the second initial firmware version can be fully covered, and the same is true, so that the data processing efficiency can be improved, and the upgrade operation efficiency is improved.

In an embodiment, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a firmware upgrading device according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the embodiment is applicable to a case of chip upgrading of consumable parts in a printer, and the firmware upgrading device may be implemented in a hardware form. As shown in fig. 3, the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 includes: a main control chip 101, a communication module 102 and a probe 103;

the main control chip 101 is respectively connected with the communication module 102 and the probe 103; the main control chip 101 is connected with the consumable chip 20 to be upgraded through the probe 103; the main control chip 101 is connected with the intelligent terminal 30 through the communication module 102, and the intelligent terminal 30 remotely acquires a firmware upgrade package of a target firmware version from the cloud server 40;

the main control chip 101 sends a first initial firmware version stored by the main control chip to the intelligent terminal 30 through the communication module 102; and the communication module 102 obtains the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal 30, so that the main control chip 101 performs firmware upgrade on the consumable chip 20 according to the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version.

Wherein, the first initial firmware version refers to a firmware version corresponding to a firmware upgrade package currently stored by the firmware upgrade apparatus 10; the target firmware version refers to the version of the firmware upgrade package to which the consumable chip 20 needs to be updated. In an example, the target firmware version may be the latest firmware version or a firmware version specified by the user. In one example, consumable chip 20 may be a chip on a cartridge in a printer or a chip on a cartridge in a printer.

In an embodiment, the main control chip 101 sends the first initial firmware version stored by the main control chip 101 to the intelligent terminal 30 through the communication module 102, acquires a firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version acquired by the intelligent terminal 30 from the cloud server 40, and sends the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version to the main control chip 101, so that the main control chip 101 updates the first initial firmware version stored by the main control chip 101 to the target firmware version. After the firmware upgrading device 10 is started, the probe 103 in the firmware upgrading device 10 is contacted with the consumable chip 20 to be upgraded, after the probe 103 is confirmed to be successfully contacted with the consumable chip 20, the main control chip 101 obtains a second initial firmware version of the consumable chip 20, the second initial firmware version of the consumable chip 20 is compared with a target firmware version in the firmware upgrading device 10, and if the second initial firmware version is the same as the target firmware version, the consumable chip 20 is normally used; if the second initial firmware version is different from the target firmware version, the main control chip 101 writes the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version into the consumable chip 20, and performs firmware upgrade on the consumable chip 20. It can be understood that the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 may receive the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal 30, and perform the writing and reading operations on the consumable chip 20, so as to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip 20.

In the actual operation process, the main control chip 101 may write part of the data in the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version into the consumable chip 20, or may write all of the data in the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version into the consumable chip 20.

In an example, after the intelligent terminal 30 and the cloud server 40 are successfully connected, the intelligent terminal 30 compares the third initial firmware version stored in itself with the target firmware version, if the third initial firmware version and the target firmware version are inconsistent, a firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version is obtained from the cloud server 40, the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version is stored in the intelligent terminal 30 and written into a storage module of the upgrade device, and then the firmware upgrade device 10 is electrically connected with the consumable chip 20, so that the contact duration between the firmware upgrade device 10 and the consumable chip 20 is reduced. The third initial firmware version refers to an initial version stored in the intelligent terminal before upgrading.

According to the technical scheme, firmware upgrading is carried out on a consumable chip through an independent firmware upgrading device, an intelligent terminal automatically obtains a firmware upgrading packet matched with a target firmware version from a cloud server and sends the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version to a main control chip, so that a first initial firmware version stored in the firmware upgrading device is updated to the target firmware version; then, a main control chip in the firmware upgrading equipment automatically reads a second initial firmware version of the consumable chip through a probe, and sends the second initial firmware version to the intelligent terminal through a communication module; under the condition that the second initial firmware version is inconsistent with the target firmware version, the main control chip writes the firmware upgrading package of the target firmware version into the consumable chip so as to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip, so that the technical problems of large size, complex structure, high cost, low use efficiency and poor user experience of firmware upgrading equipment in the prior art are solved, the consumable chip can be upgraded without returning the consumable of the printer to a factory on the basis of reducing the size, simple structure and low hardware cost of the firmware upgrading equipment, and the use efficiency of the firmware upgrading equipment and the use experience of a user are effectively improved.

In one embodiment, a communication module includes: a wired communication module and a wireless communication module; when the intelligent terminal is a mobile terminal, the firmware upgrading equipment is connected with the intelligent terminal by adopting a wireless communication module; when the intelligent terminal is a PC, the firmware upgrading equipment is connected with the intelligent terminal by adopting a wired communication module. Illustratively, the mobile terminal may include, but is not limited to: smart phones, notebook computers, iPad and other intelligent terminals with wireless communication functions. In an example, the wireless communication module may include, but is not limited to: a WiFi module and a Bluetooth module; the wired communication module may include, but is not limited to: connecting wire interface module, type-C interface module etc.. Under the condition that the intelligent terminal is a mobile terminal, installing an APP on the mobile terminal, and inquiring the latest firmware version or the firmware version appointed by a user through the APP; in the case that the intelligent terminal is a PC, the latest firmware version, or the firmware version specified by the user, may be queried through software in the PC.

In an embodiment, fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of another firmware upgrading device according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the structure of the firmware upgrading device is further described based on the above embodiment. As shown in fig. 4, the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 further includes: a power module 104 and a status prompting module 105; the power module 104 and the state prompt module 105 are connected with the main control chip 101; the power module 104 is used for supplying power to the firmware upgrading device 10; the status prompting module 105 is used for prompting the firmware upgrade condition of the consumable chip 20 by sound, light or vibration.

In an embodiment, the power module 104 may be a power supply battery or a power supply interface module; wherein the power supply battery can be a rechargeable battery; the power supply interface module may be connected to an external power supply, for example, the power supply interface module may be a connection line interface module, a Type-C interface module, or the like, and may be connected to a PC or a mobile power interface, and supply power to each module in the firmware upgrade apparatus 10, so as to ensure normal operation of each module. The status prompt module 105 can prompt whether the consumable chip 20 is successfully upgraded by sound or light, so that a user can more intuitively check the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip 20.

In one embodiment, the power module 104 and the wired communication module may be the same interface module. For example, the power module 104 and the wired communication module may be a connection line interface or a Type-C interface, and the data communication between the firmware upgrading device and the intelligent terminal may be implemented through the connection line interface or the Type-C interface module, and the power supply function of the firmware upgrading device may also be implemented.

In an embodiment, the main control chip is further configured to receive a first check code fed back by the consumable chip through the probe 103, and control the status prompting module according to the first check code to prompt the firmware upgrade condition of the consumable chip. The first check code is used for representing whether the consumable chip is successfully upgraded or not. In an example, the firmware upgrade condition of the consumable chip may be represented according to whether the master control chip successfully receives the first check code, or may be represented according to the information of the first check code. In an example, when the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip is represented according to whether the first check code is successfully received by the main control chip, if the main control chip receives the first check code, the firmware upgrading equipment is indicated to successfully complete the firmware upgrading of the consumable chip, and then a sound, light or vibration prompt is carried out through the state prompt module; if the main control chip does not receive the first check code, which indicates that the firmware upgrading equipment does not successfully complete the firmware upgrading of the consumable chip, the state prompt module prompts another sound, light or vibration. In an example, when the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip is represented according to the information of the first check code, if the main control chip receives that the first check code is 1, the firmware upgrading equipment successfully completes the firmware upgrading of the consumable chip; if the main control chip receives the first check code of 0, the firmware upgrading equipment does not successfully complete the firmware upgrading of the consumable chip.

In one embodiment, the status prompting module at least includes one of the following: a buzzer and an LED lamp; wherein, the buzzer and the LED lamp are connected with the main control chip; the buzzer prompts the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip in a sound mode according to the first check code; the LED lamp carries out lamplight prompt on the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip according to the first check code. In the embodiment, the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip can be prompted through the buzzer, the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip can be prompted through the LED lamp by means of light, and the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip can be prompted through the buzzer and the LED lamp simultaneously by means of sound and light. In an example, different color lights can be used to prompt the firmware upgrading condition, for example, when the firmware upgrading device successfully upgrades the firmware of the consumable chip, the main control chip can be used to control the LED lamp to turn on the green light; when the firmware upgrading equipment does not successfully upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip, the main control chip can control the LED lamp to light the red lamp. In an example, different sounds may be used to prompt the firmware upgrade, for example, when the firmware upgrade device successfully upgrades the firmware of the consumable chip, the main control chip may control the buzzer to sound; when the firmware upgrading equipment does not successfully upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip, the main control chip can control the buzzer to continuously make two sounds.

In an embodiment, fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a main control chip according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the structure of the main control chip is further described based on the above embodiment. As shown in fig. 5, the main control chip 101 includes: a data processing unit 1011, a control unit 1012, a storage unit 1013, and an IO interface 1014;

wherein the data processing unit 1011 is connected to one end of the control unit 1012, the storage unit 1013, the probe 103, and the communication module 102, respectively;

the data processing unit 1011 sends the first initial firmware version of the storage unit 1013 to the intelligent terminal 30 through the communication module 102, and in the case that the first initial firmware version is inconsistent with the target firmware version, the data processing unit 1011 receives a firmware upgrade package matching with the target firmware version returned by the intelligent terminal 30 through the communication module 102, generates a pre-update instruction, and sends the pre-update instruction to the control unit 1012;

the control unit 1012 controls the data processing unit 1011 to replace the firmware upgrade package of the first initial firmware version in the storage unit 1013 with the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version based on the pre-update instruction;

establishing electrical connection between the data processing unit and the consumable chip through the probe; the data processing unit 1011 receives the second initial firmware version sent by the consumable chip 20, and sends an update instruction to the control unit 1012 if the second initial firmware version of the consumable chip 20 is inconsistent with the target firmware version; the control unit 1012 controls the data processing unit 1011 to update the second initial firmware version of the consumable chip 20 based on the target firmware version based on the update instruction, and replaces all or part of the data of the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version with the corresponding data in the firmware upgrade package of the second initial firmware version stored in the consumable chip 20 itself.

In an embodiment, data interaction may be performed between firmware upgrade apparatus 10 and intelligent terminal 30 through communication module 102. The data interaction process between the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 and the intelligent terminal 30 includes: the data processing unit 1011 reads the first initial firmware version in the storage unit 1013 and transmits the first initial firmware version to the intelligent terminal 30 through the communication module 102; the data processing unit 1011 receives the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version returned from the intelligent terminal 30 through the communication module 102, writes the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version in the backup data area of the storage unit 1013, and transmits a pre-update instruction to the control unit 1012 after the writing is completed; the control unit 1012 controls the data processing unit 1011 to replace the first initial firmware version according to the target firmware version of the backup data area based on the pre-update instruction. In an example, the control unit 1012 in the main control chip 101 may be deleted, and the above operation is directly performed by the data processing unit 1011.

In an example, the storage unit 1013 may include a plurality of sectors, and the main control chip 101 inside the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 may be configured as a main program area, a firmware data area, a serial number area, a code table area, and a backup data area by classifying the plurality of sectors. When firmware upgrades are performed, the data processing unit may read, write and erase all or part of the sectors based on the data in the backup data area. If the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 compares all the data in the sectors to be different, the data of all the sectors are covered (i.e. fully covered); if the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 is different than the partial data in the comparison sector, the partial sector data is covered (i.e., partially covered).

In an embodiment, an electrical connection may be made between firmware upgrade apparatus 10 and consumable chip 20 through probe 103. The data interaction process between the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 and the consumable chip 20 includes: the data processing unit 1011 receives the second initial firmware version currently adopted sent by the consumable chip 20, acquires the target firmware version stored by the firmware upgrading device 10 in the storage unit 1013, and judges whether the second initial firmware version adopted by the consumable chip 20 is consistent with the target firmware version of the firmware upgrading device 10, if not, the data processing unit 1011 sends an update instruction to the control unit 1012; the control unit 1012 controls the data processing unit 1011 to update the initial firmware version of the consumable chip 20 based on the target firmware version based on the update instruction, and writes a firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version into the consumable chip 20 to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip.

In one embodiment, the other end of the control unit 1012 is connected to the status prompting module 104 through the IO interface 1014; the data processing unit 1011 is further configured to receive a first check code fed back by the consumable chip, and send the first check code to the control unit 1012; the control unit 1012 controls the status prompt module 104 to prompt the firmware upgrade condition of the consumable chip through the IO interface 1014 according to the first check code. In an embodiment, the data processing unit 1011 is further configured to receive the first check code sent by the consumable chip, and forward the first check code to the control unit 1012; the control unit 1012 controls the status prompt module 104 to sound or light prompt the firmware upgrade condition of the consumable chip according to the first check code through the IO interface 1014. For example, when the first check code is received, the control unit 1012 controls the LED lamp to turn on the green light through the IO interface 1014, so as to display that the upgrade is successful; when the first check code is not received, the control unit 1012 controls the LED lamp to turn on the red lamp through the IO interface 1014, and the upgrade failure is displayed. It should be noted that, the explanation of the firmware upgrade by the status prompt module 104 is described in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

In an embodiment, the data processing unit is configured to generate a second check code according to a firmware upgrade condition of the firmware upgrade package in the storage unit; the control unit is used for controlling the data processing unit to send the second check code to the intelligent terminal. After the firmware version of the firmware upgrading device 10 is updated by the intelligent terminal, the data processing unit can be controlled by the control unit, and the second check code is sent to the intelligent terminal by the communication module, so that the intelligent terminal can more directly observe the update condition of the firmware version in the firmware upgrading device. For example, if the intelligent terminal successfully receives the second check code, a dialog box is popped up on the intelligent terminal to prompt that the firmware is updated successfully; if the intelligent terminal does not successfully receive the second check code, a dialog box is shot out in the intelligent terminal to prompt that the firmware upgrade fails.

In an embodiment, fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a firmware upgrade system according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the embodiment is applicable to a case of chip upgrade of consumable parts in a printer, and the firmware upgrade system may be implemented in a hardware form. As shown in fig. 6, the firmware upgrade system includes: the system comprises a cloud server 40, an intelligent terminal 30, a consumable chip 20 to be upgraded and firmware upgrading equipment 10;

The firmware upgrading device 10 is respectively connected with the intelligent terminal 30 and the consumable chip 20, and the intelligent terminal 30 is remotely and wirelessly connected with the cloud server 40;

the intelligent terminal 30 remotely acquires a firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version from the cloud server 40 and transmits the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version to the firmware upgrade apparatus 10; the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 reads a second initial firmware version of the consumable chip 20; in the case where the second initial firmware version is inconsistent with the target firmware version, the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 performs firmware upgrade on the consumable chip 20 according to the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version.

In the embodiment, the firmware upgrading device 10 and the intelligent terminal 30 can perform data interaction through a wireless communication module, and can also perform data interaction through a wired communication module; the firmware upgrade apparatus 10 is electrically connected with the consumable chip 20 through a probe.

In an embodiment, after a user inputs a target firmware version through the smart terminal 30, the smart terminal 30 may acquire a firmware upgrade package matching the target firmware version from the cloud server and transmit the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version to the firmware upgrade apparatus 10. After the firmware upgrading device 10 is started and electrically connected with the consumable chip 20, if the second initial firmware version in the consumable chip 20 is inconsistent with the target firmware version, the firmware upgrading package of the target firmware version is written into the consumable chip 20 by the firmware upgrading device 10 so as to update the firmware version in the consumable chip 20 from the second initial firmware version to the target firmware version.

In an embodiment, the intelligent terminal is further configured to compare the target firmware version with the third initial firmware version stored in the intelligent terminal, and replace the third initial firmware version stored in the intelligent terminal with the target firmware version and generate a corresponding successful upgrade identifier when the target firmware version is inconsistent with the third initial firmware version. The successful upgrade mark is used for representing that the firmware version stored in the intelligent terminal is successfully updated to the target firmware version. After the cloud server is successfully accessed by the intelligent terminal, the intelligent terminal sends the target firmware version to the cloud server, compares the target firmware version with the initial firmware version stored by the intelligent terminal, and if the target firmware version is inconsistent with the initial firmware version stored by the intelligent terminal, the intelligent terminal replaces the third initial firmware version stored by the intelligent terminal with the target firmware version, and generates a corresponding successful upgrading identifier.

It should be noted that the first initial firmware version, the second initial firmware version and the third initial firmware version may be the same or different, and may be determined by the version of the upgrade device, the consumable chip and the intelligent terminal stored in the upgrade device, the consumable chip and the intelligent terminal.

In an embodiment, a cloud server encrypts a firmware upgrade package of a target firmware version and sends the firmware upgrade package to an intelligent terminal; the intelligent terminal decrypts the firmware upgrading packet, and updates the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version to the intelligent terminal under the condition that the target firmware version is inconsistent with the third initial firmware version.

The method includes the steps that after the intelligent terminal and the cloud server are successfully connected, the intelligent terminal sends a designated password to the cloud server, and after the password is successfully verified, the cloud server allows the intelligent terminal to obtain a firmware upgrade package of a target firmware version; encrypting the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version by the cloud server, transmitting the encrypted firmware upgrade package to the inside of the intelligent terminal, decrypting the firmware upgrade package by the intelligent terminal, comparing the target firmware version with the third initial firmware version, if the target firmware version and the third initial firmware version are inconsistent, updating the firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version to the intelligent terminal, and generating a corresponding successful upgrade identifier after the third initial firmware version stored in the intelligent terminal is successfully updated to the target firmware version.

In an embodiment, fig. 7 is an update schematic diagram of a firmware version of an intelligent terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, taking the target firmware version as the latest firmware version and the intelligent terminal as the intelligent mobile phone as an example, the update process of the firmware version is described. As shown in fig. 7, the process of querying the database of the cloud server by using the intelligent terminal APP and updating the firmware upgrade package of the latest firmware version in the APP includes the following steps:

First, the smart phone APP is opened and the software is available after the user fills in the complete information. The APP is connected to the cloud server through a public network domain name, an IP or a port number.

The complete information may include basic information of the smart phone APP user, such as name and phone number.

And after the access is passed, the APP automatically acquires the latest firmware version in the cloud server database and downloads the latest firmware version to the backup area, and the APP compares the latest firmware version with the third initial firmware version.

And if the passwords are inconsistent, the APP sends the appointed passwords to the cloud server, the cloud server allows the APP to acquire the data packet of the firmware upgrading packet corresponding to the target firmware version after verifying the passwords, and the data packet is sent to the inside of the APP after being encrypted by the cloud server ECC. The APP uses ECC decryption and compares the firmware version information to overwrite the APP's internal data.

Finally, after the APP finishes upgrading, the APP sends a successful upgrading identification to the server.

Wherein the successful upgrade flag is used to characterize successful updating of the third initial firmware version into the target firmware version in the intelligent terminal.

The embodiment realizes that the display interface of the code writing and reading device in the prior art is transferred to the intelligent mobile phone, and the firmware upgrading operation can be completed through the intelligent mobile phone, and the firmware upgrading device has a simple structure and small occupied volume.

In an embodiment, the firmware upgrading device is further configured to replace a firmware upgrading packet of the first initial firmware version stored in the firmware upgrading device with a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version, generate a corresponding second check code according to a firmware upgrading condition of the firmware upgrading packet, and send the second check code to the intelligent terminal; and the intelligent terminal pops up a corresponding prompt dialog box according to the second check code.

In an embodiment, a connecting wire or a Type-C connecting wire is plugged into the firmware upgrading device to be connected with an external power supply, and the firmware upgrading device is connected with the intelligent terminal through Bluetooth, a connecting wire data wire or a Type-C data wire; then the firmware upgrading equipment sends a first initial firmware version stored by the firmware upgrading equipment to the intelligent terminal; then, the firmware upgrading device obtains a firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal and replaces the firmware upgrading packet of the first initial firmware version. If the firmware upgrading device is successfully upgraded from the first initial firmware version to the target firmware version, the firmware upgrading device sends a second check code to the intelligent terminal, and a prompt dialog box is popped up on the APP of the intelligent terminal to prompt that the upgrading is successful. And restarting the firmware upgrading device, sending a new firmware version (namely a target firmware version) to the APP of the intelligent terminal, and recording the current firmware version (namely the target firmware version) of the firmware upgrading device at the APP interface of the intelligent terminal. If the firmware upgrading device is not successfully upgraded from the first initial firmware version to the target firmware version, the intelligent terminal cannot receive the second check code, a prompt dialog box pops up on the APP of the intelligent terminal to prompt the upgrading failure, at this time, if the fact that the cyclic redundancy check (Cyclic Redundancy Check, CRC) check is not passed due to power failure, communication abnormality and data loss of the firmware upgrading device occurs, the data of the backup data area are invalid data, when waiting for the next re-upgrading, the firmware upgrading device actively erases the invalid data of the backup data area and then re-upgrades the firmware package until the verification passes.

In an embodiment, fig. 8 is a flowchart of firmware upgrading a consumable chip by a firmware upgrading device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 8, a process of firmware upgrading the consumable chip by the firmware upgrading device in the embodiment includes the following steps:

s601, starting the firmware upgrading equipment.

S602, the probe on the firmware upgrading device is contacted with the consumable chip.

S603, after the probe is confirmed to be in contact with the consumable chip, the firmware upgrading equipment automatically reads a second initial firmware version of the consumable chip.

S604, when the second initial firmware version is inconsistent with the target firmware version, writing a firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version into the consumable chip.

S605, performing CRC data check on firmware in the consumable chip.

S606, if the upgrade is successful, prompting by an LED lamp or a buzzer in the firmware upgrade equipment.

If the first check code is received, the data representing that the firmware upgrading equipment successfully upgrades the consumable chip is displayed successfully by the LED on green light under the control of the main control chip in the firmware upgrading equipment;

if the first check code is not received, the failure of upgrading the consumable chip data of the firmware upgrading equipment is indicated, and the main control chip in the firmware upgrading equipment controls the LED to turn on the red light to display the failure of upgrading.

S607, finishing firmware upgrading of the consumable chip.

It should be appreciated that various forms of the flows shown above may be used to reorder, add, or delete steps. For example, the steps described in the present invention may be performed in parallel, sequentially, or in a different order, so long as the desired results of the technical solution of the present invention are achieved, and the present invention is not limited herein.

The above embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alternatives are possible, depending on design requirements and other factors. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A firmware upgrade method, applied to a firmware upgrade apparatus, the firmware upgrade apparatus comprising: the device comprises a main control chip, a communication module and a probe; the firmware upgrading device is connected with the intelligent terminal through the communication module and connected with the consumable chip to be upgraded through the probe, and the intelligent terminal remotely acquires a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version from the cloud server; the method comprises the following steps:

acquiring a firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal;

and writing a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version into the consumable chip to upgrade the firmware of the consumable chip.

2. The firmware upgrade method according to claim 1, further comprising, before writing the firmware upgrade package matching the target firmware version to the consumable chip to perform firmware upgrade on the consumable chip:

receiving a second initial firmware version stored by the consumable chip;

3. The firmware upgrade method according to claim 1, further comprising, after the writing of the firmware upgrade package matching the target firmware version to the consumable chip to perform firmware upgrade on the consumable chip:

Receiving a first check code fed back by the consumable chip;

4. The firmware upgrade method of claim 1, wherein writing a firmware upgrade package matching the target firmware version to the consumable chip comprises:

5. The firmware upgrade method of claim 1, further comprising, after the obtaining of the firmware upgrade package matching the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal:

6. The firmware upgrade method of claim 5, wherein writing the firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version to the own memory module and replacing the firmware upgrade package of the first initial firmware version stored by the own memory module comprises:

7. The firmware upgrade method of claim 1, further comprising, after the obtaining of the firmware upgrade package matching the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal:

8. A firmware upgrade apparatus, comprising: the device comprises a main control chip, a communication module and a probe;

the main control chip sends a first initial firmware version stored by the main control chip to the intelligent terminal through the communication module, and obtains a firmware upgrading packet matched with the target firmware version from the intelligent terminal through the communication module, so that the main control chip carries out firmware upgrading on the consumable chip according to the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version.

9. The firmware upgrade apparatus of claim 8, wherein the communication module comprises: a wired communication module and a wireless communication module;

10. The firmware upgrade apparatus of claim 8, wherein the firmware upgrade apparatus further comprises: a power module and a state prompting module; the power supply module and the state prompting module are connected with the main control chip; the power supply module is used for supplying power to the firmware upgrading equipment; and the state prompt module is used for carrying out sound, light or vibration prompt on the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip.

11. The firmware upgrading device of claim 10, wherein the main control chip is further configured to receive a first check code fed back by the consumable chip through a probe, and control the status prompting module to perform acoustic, optical or vibration prompting on the firmware upgrading condition of the consumable chip according to the first check code.

12. The firmware upgrade apparatus of claim 8, wherein the main control chip comprises: the device comprises a data processing unit, a control unit and a storage unit;

the data processing unit sends a first initial firmware version in the storage unit to the intelligent terminal through the communication module, and receives a firmware upgrading packet which is returned by the intelligent terminal and matched with a target firmware version through the communication module and generates a pre-update instruction and sends the pre-update instruction to the control unit under the condition that the first initial firmware version is inconsistent with the target firmware version;

establishing electrical connection between the data processing unit and the consumable chip through the contact of the probe; the data processing unit receives a second initial firmware version sent by the consumable chip, and sends an update instruction to the control unit under the condition that the second initial firmware version of the consumable chip is inconsistent with a target firmware version; the control unit controls the data processing unit to update the second initial firmware version of the consumable chip based on the target firmware version based on the update instruction, and replaces all or part of data of the firmware update package of the target firmware version with corresponding data in the firmware update package of the second initial firmware version stored in the consumable chip.

13. The firmware upgrade apparatus of claim 12, wherein the data processing unit is configured to generate a second check code according to a firmware upgrade condition of the firmware upgrade package in the storage unit; the control unit is used for controlling the data processing unit to send the second check code to the intelligent terminal.

14. The firmware upgrade apparatus of claim 12, wherein the main control chip further comprises: an IO interface; the other end of the control unit is connected with the state prompt module through the IO interface;

15. A firmware upgrade system, comprising: cloud server, intelligent terminal, consumable chip to be upgraded, firmware upgrade apparatus according to any of claims 8-14;

16. The firmware upgrade system of claim 15, wherein the intelligent terminal is further configured to compare the target firmware version with a third initial firmware version stored in the intelligent terminal, and to replace the third initial firmware version stored in the intelligent terminal with the target firmware version and generate a corresponding successful upgrade identifier if the target firmware version is inconsistent with the third initial firmware version.

17. The firmware upgrade system of claim 16, wherein the cloud server encrypts a firmware upgrade package of the target firmware version and transmits to the intelligent terminal; and the intelligent terminal decrypts the firmware upgrading packet, and updates the firmware upgrading packet of the target firmware version to the intelligent terminal under the condition that the target firmware version is inconsistent with the third initial firmware version.

18. The firmware upgrade system of claim 16, wherein the firmware upgrade apparatus is further configured to replace a firmware upgrade package of a first initial firmware version stored in the firmware upgrade apparatus itself with a firmware upgrade package matched with the target firmware version, generate a corresponding second check code according to a firmware upgrade condition of the firmware upgrade package, and send the second check code to the intelligent terminal; and the intelligent terminal pops up a corresponding prompt dialog box according to the second check code.