JP2000311087A - Data transmitting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To collectively update the programs of whole microprocessors from an external part download interface in an animation transmitting device provided with a plurality of microprocessors. SOLUTION: A system control parts 1, a video sound encoding part 2, a video sound decoding part 3 and a line control part 4 constituting the animation transmitting device are provided with the microprocessors 11, 21, 31, 41, program storing re-writing possible nonvolatile memories 13, 23, 33 and 43. When the programs are updated, a memory card 6 storing updating programs is read by a memory card reading part 17 arranged in the system control part 1 and stored in the rewriting possible nonvolatile memories 13, 23, 33 and 43 in the respective parts with the external part download interface 14. Thus, a system operation start time in the case of a normal operation start is not increased and the programs are collectively updated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data transmission device such as a moving image transmission device having a plurality of processors, and more particularly to a data transmission device capable of updating programs of a plurality of processors collectively from outside. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When it is necessary to change a program in a moving image transmission apparatus having a plurality of microprocessors, the program is conventionally updated by replacing a nonvolatile memory such as a ROM storing the program. Was. However, in a moving image transmission device often used in a rack mount, this method requires a lot of time and man-hours, and a risk of version mismatch due to a human error when replacing a plurality of nonvolatile memories. There was sex.

In order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed a system in which a rewritable nonvolatile memory and an external download interface are provided in a device and a reprogram is updated by a memory card or serial communication. However, generally, the program of all the microprocessors is not updated, and in many cases, the program of only the system control unit which is highly likely to be updated can be updated from the outside. However, in reality, there are many cases where it is necessary to change the program of each part in addition to the system control part at the same time in order to support various line interfaces and custom-made. It is desired to collectively perform the above from outside.

As a method of externally updating the program of all the microprocessors in the apparatus, the method shown in FIG. 6 has been proposed. In this figure, the programs of all the processors are stored in a rewritable nonvolatile memory 73 provided in the master processor unit 7, so that the program of all the processors can be updated from the external download interface 74. Only the volatile memory 82 is provided in the slave processor unit 8, and a program required at the time of startup is downloaded from the master processor unit 7 to the volatile memory 82 of the slave processor unit 8 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-36704).

[0005]

In the conventional program updating method shown in FIG. 6, the rewritable nonvolatile memory 73 for storing the program exists only in the master processor 7, so that the micro processor of the slave processor is activated when the system is started. It is necessary to download programs for the number of processors. For this reason, there is a problem that the start-up time becomes longer as the number of microprocessors increases.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and to collectively update programs of all processors in an apparatus from an external download interface without causing an increase in system startup time due to an increase in the number of microprocessors. It is an object of the present invention to provide a data transmission device capable of performing the following. It is another object of the present invention to provide a data transmission device which is excellent in maintenance and maintenance by storing programs of all microprocessors in a single memory card, thereby avoiding a risk of program version mismatch of each unit.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a system control unit, a data encoding unit, a data decoding unit, and a line control unit. Rewritable nonvolatile storage means for storing a program for a processor, and an external download interface, wherein the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit are rewritable nonvolatile storage for storing a program. Means for updating a program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage means from an external download interface of the system control unit. With this configuration, when it is not necessary to update the program, the microprocessor of each unit executes the program stored in the dedicated rewritable nonvolatile storage means, so that the microprocessor is executed every time the system is started in the conventional method. The download process from the master processor to the slave processor is not required, and the system can be quickly started.

A storage medium reading section for reading a storage medium, wherein the storage medium reading section reads a program for a system control section, a data encoding section, a data decoding section, and a line control section from the storage medium, and The program stored in the possible non-volatile storage means is updated via an external download interface. With this configuration, it is possible to improve the maintainability when used in a rack mount.

Furthermore, the program stored in the storage medium has version information, and the system control unit recognizes the version information before downloading the program stored in the storage medium.
With this configuration, the system control unit can recognize the version information of the program before downloading the program.

The data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit each include a processor, and when the system is started, these processors store the version information of the program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage means. By notifying the processor of the system control unit, the system control unit collectively manages version information of programs of the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit. With this configuration, the system control unit can collectively manage the version information of the programs of the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit.

Further, the processor provided in the system control unit includes an update program from an external download interface, and a program stored in rewritable nonvolatile storage means of the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit. , And download the program to the processor that needs to be updated. With this configuration, it is possible to skip downloading of a program that does not need to be updated, so that it is possible to reduce the risk of shortening the program download time and reducing the version of the program due to human error. .

Further, the bus interface of the data decoding unit is configured to serve both as control data input / output means for downloading a program from the system control unit and signal reception data input / output means. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce an increase in the device scale due to the addition of the download function.

Further, the bus interface of the line control unit is configured to serve both as control data input / output means for downloading a program from the system control unit and signal transmission data input / output means. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce an increase in the device scale due to the addition of the download function.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention described in claim 1 of the present invention comprises a system control unit, a data encoding unit, a data decoding unit, and a line control unit, wherein the system control unit comprises: A rewritable nonvolatile storage unit for storing a program for a processor and an external download interface, wherein the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit are rewritable nonvolatile storage units for storing a program. A data transmission device that updates a program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage means in a batch from an external download interface of the system control unit, and updates the program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage means of each unit. The update of the program is performed from the external download interface of the system control unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission device according to the first aspect, a storage medium reading unit for reading a storage medium is provided in a system control unit, and the storage medium reading unit reads the storage medium from the storage medium. A data transmission device that reads programs of the system control unit, the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit, and updates a program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage unit via an external download interface. The update program of each unit stored in the storage medium is read by the storage medium reading unit of the system control unit, and the update of the program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage unit of each unit is updated by the external download interface of the system control unit. From the beginning.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission apparatus of the first aspect, the program stored in the storage medium has version information, and the system control unit stores the program in the storage medium. A data transmission device for recognizing the version information before downloading a stored program, and has an operation of recognizing a version number before downloading a program stored in a storage medium.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission apparatus according to the first aspect, the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit each include a processor, and when the system is activated, The processor of the present invention notifies the processor of the system control unit of the version information of the program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage means, so that the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the This is a data transmission device that collectively manages version information of a program of a line control unit, and has a function of collectively managing version information of a program of each unit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission apparatus of the fourth aspect, the processor provided in the system control unit includes an update program from an external download interface, a data encoding unit and a data encoding unit. A data transmission device that compares the versions of the programs stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage means of the decoding unit and the line control unit, and downloads the program to a processor that needs to be updated. The determined processor determines whether or not the update is necessary by comparing the version numbers, and downloads the program to the processor that requires the update.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission apparatus of the first aspect, the bus interface of the data decoding unit is a control data input / output unit for downloading a program from the system control unit. And a signal transmission data input / output unit.The data transmission unit also has a bus interface for controlling the input / output of control data and the input / output of signal reception data when downloading a program from the system control unit. It has the effect that it is also used for.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the data transmission apparatus according to the first aspect, the bus interface of the line control unit is provided with control data input / output means for downloading a program from the system control unit. , A data transmission device that also serves as signal transmission data input / output means, and the bus interface of the line control unit is also used for control data input / output and signal transmission data input / output when downloading a program from the system control unit. It has the effect of being done.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, an example of a moving image transmission apparatus to which the present invention is applied includes a system control unit 1, a data encoding unit 2 connected to the system control unit 1 by a system bus 5, and a video / audio system. It comprises a decoding unit 3 and a line control unit 4. In this example, a system in which video and audio are multiplexed is shown.
The present invention is also applied to a system in which control data such as (Low Speed Data) and HSD (High Speed Data) are multiplexed.

The system control unit 1 includes a microprocessor
11, volatile memory 12 such as RAM, and flash EEPROM
It includes a rewritable nonvolatile memory 13 such as an OM, an external download interface 14, a bus interface 15, and a CPU bus 16 connecting these. The bus interface 15 is connected to the system bus 5. The external download interface 14 is connected to the memory card reading unit 17, and the information stored in the memory card 6 can be read from the microprocessor 11 by attaching the memory card 6 to the memory card reading unit 17.

The video / audio encoding unit 2 includes a microprocessor 21, a volatile memory 22 such as a RAM, and a flash EE.
A rewritable nonvolatile memory 23 such as a PROM, a bus interface 25, a multiplex processing unit 27, an encoding processing unit 28, a video / audio input unit 29, and a CPU bus 26 connecting these,
It comprises download arbitration means 24. The download arbitration unit 24 is connected to the microprocessor 21 and the bus interface 25, and the bus interface 25 is connected to the system bus 5.

The video / audio decoding unit 3 includes a microprocessor 31, a volatile memory 32 such as a RAM, and a flash EE.
A rewritable nonvolatile memory 33 such as a PROM, a bus interface 35, a demultiplexing processing unit 37, a decoding processing unit 38, a video / audio output unit 39, and a CPU bus 36 for connecting these;
And download arbitration means 34. The download arbitration means 34 is connected to the microprocessor 31 and the bus interface 35, and the bus interface 35 is connected to the system bus 5.

The line control unit 4 includes a microprocessor 41
And volatile memory 42 such as RAM, and flash EEPROM
And the like, a rewritable nonvolatile memory 43, a bus interface 45, a line interface unit 47, a CPU bus 46 connecting these, and a download arbitration unit 44. The download arbitration means 44 is connected to the microprocessor 41 and the bus interface 45,
45 is connected to the system bus 5.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of data stored in the memory card 6. As shown in this figure, data stored in the memory card 6 includes a program storage portion of each of the system control unit 1, the video / audio coding unit 2, the video / audio decoding unit 3, and the line control unit 4, Storage part of the version number of the program.

The program updating operation in the moving picture transmitting apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the power of the system is turned on (step S1), the microprocessor 11 of the system control unit 1
The program stored in advance in the rewritable nonvolatile memory 13 is copied to the volatile memory 12, and the program stored in the volatile memory 12 is executed (step S2). The microprocessor 11 first performs a process of determining whether or not to proceed to a program update process. As the determination means, for example, information stored in a rewritable non-volatile memory provided separately from the program storage, an instruction by a dip switch or the like, and whether or not the memory card 6 is attached to the memory card reading unit 17 Depends on such information. By the determination process, the process transits to the program update process or the normal startup process (Step S3).

On the other hand, the microprocessors 21, 31, 41 of the video / audio encoding unit 2, the video / audio decoding unit 3, and the line control unit 4
Are rewritable nonvolatile memories 23, 33, 43 after power-on.
The program stored in advance in the volatile memory 22,
Copies to 32 and 42 and executes programs stored in their volatile memory. Microprocessors 21, 31, 41
After notifying the microprocessor 11 of the system control unit 1 of the version of the program currently being executed, the download arbitration means 24, 34 and 44 enter a state in which a transition instruction to a program update process or a normal start process is given. .

When a transition is made to the program update processing, the microprocessor 11 of the system control unit 1 sets the bus interface 15, the system bus 5, the bus interfaces 25 and 35,
The download arbitration unit 24, 34, 44 is instructed to transition to the program update process via the server 45 (step S4). The microprocessors 21, 31, and 41 of the video / audio encoding unit 2, the video / audio decoding unit 3, and the line control unit 4 are download arbitration means.
By 24, 34, and 44, a transition is made to the program update process, and a state of waiting for the start of download of the update program is established.

Next, the microprocessor 11 of the system control unit 1 reads the version information area of the program stored in the memory card 6 connected to the memory card reading unit 17 via the external download interface 14, and The update program stored in the card 6 and the program currently being executed by the microprocessor 11
The version and the currently executed program version notified from the microprocessors 21, 31, and 41 are compared (step S5). As a result, it becomes possible to download the update program only to the processor that needs to be updated (step S6). When it is necessary to forcibly update the programs of all the processors, this process can be skipped.

The microprocessor 11 of the system control unit 1
When the program for updating is updated, the program for the microprocessor 11 from the external download interface 14 is expanded in the volatile memory 12, and then written in the rewritable nonvolatile memory 13.

The microprocessor of the video / audio coding unit 2
When updating the program for 21, the microprocessor 11 issues a download start instruction to the download arbitration means 24 via the bus interface 15, the system bus 5, and the bus interface 25. The microprocessor 21 receives the download start instruction from the download arbitration unit 24, and returns a response to the download start instruction to the microprocessor 11 via the download arbitration unit 24 and the bus interface 25. In a similar procedure, by arbitrating between the microprocessor 11 and the microprocessor 21 for control such as writing, reading, and download end instruction of the download data, the program for the microprocessor 21 from the external download interface 14 is executed. Through the bus interface 15, the system bus 5, the bus interface 25, and the CPU bus 26, the volatile memory
Expand to 22. After the entire program has been developed in the volatile memory 22, the program is written in the rewritable nonvolatile memory 23 (step S7). The same procedure is used to update each program for the microprocessor 31 of the video / audio decoding unit 3 and the microprocessor 41 of the line control unit 4 (step S8). This eliminates the need for a memory area in the system control unit 1 for storing a download program to another unit.

After the program download to all the processors that need updating is completed (Yes in step S9), the program update judging means is set to the normal start instruction (step S10), and the system is completely restarted (step S10). Step S
By performing 11), each microprocessor executes the update program stored in the non-rewritable nonvolatile memory,
The process transits to the normal activation process (step S12).

In the case of transition to the normal startup processing, the microprocessor 11 of the system control unit 1
After instructing the download arbitration unit 24 to transition to the normal start-up process via the system bus 5 and the bus interface 25, the operation program stored in the volatile memory 12 is executed. The microprocessors 21, 31, and 41 of the video and audio encoding unit 2, the video and audio decoding unit 3, and the line control unit 4 shift to the normal start-up process by the download arbitration means 24, 34, and 44, and then the volatile memory 22, Execute the operation program stored in 32, 42.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the bus interface 35 of the video / audio decoding unit 3 and the line control unit 4 will be described.
45 configuration examples will be described.

The bus interface 35 of the video / audio decoder 3 shown in FIG. 4 comprises a timing generator 351 and a FIFO 352 for received data and program download.
The timing generation unit 351 includes the system bus 5 and the CPU bus 36.
And the download arbitration means 34 and the FIFO 352 for received data and program download. The received data and program download FIFO 352 is connected to the system bus 5, the CPU bus 36, and the timing generator 351. When the moving image transmission apparatus is performing the transmission / reception operation, the reception data and the program download FI
The FO 352 is used as a data FIFO for passing the video / audio multiplexed data received from the line from the line control unit 4 to the separation processing unit 37 in the video / audio decoding unit 3 via the system bus 5. Here, by making the FIFO 352 writable from the system control unit 1 as well, it can be used as a data FIFO for passing the update program from the external download interface to the volatile memory 32 when updating the program.

The bus interface 45 of the line controller 4 shown in FIG. 5 comprises a timing generator 451, a transmission data and program download FIFO 452, and a reception data FIFO 453.
It is composed of The timing generator 451 is connected to the system bus 5, the CPU bus 46, the download arbitration means 44, the transmission data and program download FIFO 452, and the reception data FIFO 453. The transmission data and program download FIFO 452 and the reception data FIFO 453 are all connected to the system bus 5, the CPU bus 36, and the timing generator 451. When the video transmission apparatus is performing the transmission / reception operation, the transmission data and the program download FIFO 452 transmit the video / audio multiplexed data to be transmitted to the line from the video / audio encoding unit 2 to the line control unit Used as a data FIFO to be passed to the line interface unit 47 in the inside. Where this
By making the FIFO 452 writable from the system control unit 1 as well, it can be used as a data FIFO for passing the update program from the external download interface to the volatile memory 42 when updating the program.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when a system that does not require a program update is started, a download process between the microprocessors does not occur, so that a quick system start can be realized. In addition, since the bus interfaces 35 and 45 of the video / audio decoding unit 3 and the line control unit 4 use the FIFO for transferring the transmission / reception data and downloading the program, an increase in the device scale due to the provision of the program download function is avoided. Can be suppressed.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a rewritable nonvolatile memory for storing a program is stored in a system control unit, a data encoding unit, a data decoding unit, and a line control unit of a data transmission apparatus. The update memory downloaded from the external download interface is stored in the rewritable nonvolatile memory for storing the program of each unit, so when there is no need to update the program, download between the microprocessors is possible. An effect is obtained that the system can be quickly started without requiring any processing.

In a data transmission device often used in a rack mount, it is possible to update the program of all the microprocessors in the device by one storage medium. As compared with the method in which the ROM is replaced, the effect of greatly improving the maintenance and maintenance is obtained.

Further, even when the system control unit program and the line control unit program need to be changed synchronously for the line interface or the like, storing all the programs in one storage medium may cause a version mismatch. The effect that the property can be avoided can be obtained.

Further, since the version of the currently running program is compared with the version of the updated program when the program is updated, there is an advantage that the risk of erroneously updating to the old version of the program can be avoided. Can be

In the data decoding section and the line control section, the increase in the scale of the apparatus can be suppressed by using both the control data input / output means for program download and the transmission / reception data input / output means. The effect is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a moving image transmission device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of the structure of data stored in a memory card in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a program update process executed by a microprocessor of a system control unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a bus interface of the video / audio decoding unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a bus interface of a line control unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional multiprocessor system having a program update function.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 System control part 2 Video / audio coding part 3 Video / audio decoding part 4 Line control part 6 Memory card 11, 21, 31, 41 Microprocessor 13, 23, 33, 43 Rewritable nonvolatile memory 14 External download interface 17 Memory card reading unit 352 FIFO for receiving data and downloading program 452 FIFO for transmitting data and downloading program

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kenji Fujimoto 4-3-1 Tsunashima Higashi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd. No.3-1 Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideki Watanabe 4-3-1 Tsunashimahigashi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term inside Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd. 5B045 HH01 HH02 KK06 5B076 AC03 BB06

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A system control unit, a data encoding unit,
A data decoding unit and a line control unit, wherein the system control unit includes a rewritable nonvolatile storage unit for storing a program for a processor and an external download interface, and the data encoding unit and the data The decryption unit and the line control unit each include a rewritable nonvolatile storage unit for storing a program, and update a program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage unit from an external download interface of the system control unit. A data transmission device characterized by being performed collectively. 2. A storage medium reading unit for reading a storage medium is provided in a system control unit, and the storage medium reading unit reads programs from the storage medium from the storage medium to the system control unit, the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit. Read,
2. The data transmission device according to claim 1, wherein a program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage means is updated via an external download interface. 3. The program stored in the storage medium has version information, and the system control unit recognizes the version information before downloading the program stored in the storage medium. The data transmission device according to claim 2, wherein 4. A data encoding unit, a data decoding unit, and a line control unit each include a processor, and at the time of system startup, these processors read version information of a program stored in rewritable nonvolatile storage means. By notifying a processor of a system control unit, the system control unit collectively manages version information of programs of the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit. Item 2. The data transmission device according to Item 1. 5. The processor provided in the system control unit,
The update program from the external download interface is compared with the version of the program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile storage means of the data encoding unit, the data decoding unit, and the line control unit. The data transmission device according to claim 4, wherein the program is downloaded. 6. The data decoding unit according to claim 1, wherein the bus interface serves as both control data input / output means for downloading a program from the system control unit and signal reception data input / output means. A data transmission device according to claim 1. 7. The bus interface of the line controller serves as both a control data input / output unit for downloading a program from the system control unit and a signal transmission data input / output unit. Data transmission equipment.