JP2006189975A - Electronic device and its program update method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to update software with a simple operation in program update of the electronic device. <P>SOLUTION: Whether a device is ready for update of the prescribed program is determined based on an update program acquired by the device (S11). When it is prepared, a prescribed message showing that the update is being processed is displayed with an image (S12), and the update of the prescribed program is started (S17) while the image for the message is continuously displayed (S15). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention uses, for example, a recordable DVD (Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) or the like as a recording medium, and an electronic apparatus suitable for application to a video camera recorder or the like that records a moving image or the like on the recording medium. It relates to the program update method.

  In recent years, various video recording / reproducing apparatuses using a large capacity disk recording medium such as a DVD as a recording medium have been developed. Various disc recording / playback apparatuses (so-called video camera recorders) integrated with a video camera have been commercialized.

  There are various types of media that can be recorded (reproduced) handled by such a video recording / reproducing apparatus. There are various types of recording formats for video data and audio data, and there are many cases where a single recording / reproducing apparatus can support a plurality of formats.

  However, new types of media and recording formats may be developed in the future, and video recording / playback is necessary in order to be able to support new types of media and recording formats with already released products. An update process for updating software as firmware set to operate the apparatus is necessary.

  For example, if the manufacturer collects the corresponding device and connects it to a dedicated update terminal prepared in the factory or service center, the software update can be performed at a relatively high level. However, it is troublesome for the user to bring the device to the service center for software update, and it cannot be said that the update process is very efficient.

For this reason, in a device that is relatively easy to connect to a network such as the Internet, such as a peripheral device connected to a computer device or a mobile phone terminal, the update data is received by the device and received. The software is updated with the updated data. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a firmware update process in a peripheral device for a computer device.
JP 2001-51844 A

  However, in the case of an electronic device such as a video camera recorder, the control configuration of the device is complicated, and the process from input of update data to the device to update using the data cannot be performed so easily. There was a problem. That is, for example, in the case of a video camera recorder that uses a disk as a recording (storage) medium, a control unit that controls recording and reproduction of the disk, a control unit that controls shooting with a camera block, and a monitor display A control unit for controlling the display of the user and the reception of the operation by the user is required separately. In general, each control unit is composed of a separate microcomputerized integrated circuit, and software for determining processing in each control unit is also required separately. Depending on the configuration of the device, some control units may be configured as a single unit, but a plurality of control units are still required.

  When updating software with such an electronic device with a complicated control configuration, it is necessary to make it possible for the user to operate it in an easy-to-understand procedure. In fact, the update procedure is explained in documents such as a manual. This is not a situation that the user can easily operate. In particular, during the update of the software of the control unit related to the display, the display cannot be controlled by the control unit, so the display cannot be performed, and the operation procedure for the update is basically explained by displaying characters etc. It was impossible to explain the update operation in the manual.

  In the above description, the case of updating the software has been described by taking the video camera recorder as an example. However, there is a similar problem when various electronic devices in which other firmwareized software is incorporated are updated. .

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object thereof is to make it possible to easily update software.

  In the present invention, when performing a program update of an electronic device in which a function that can be realized by the device is set by the predetermined program, the update program acquired by the device is ready to update the predetermined program, A predetermined message indicating that updating is in progress is displayed as an image, and updating of the predetermined program is started while the image display of the message is continued.

  By doing in this way, it is possible to display an appropriate message before starting the update, and to explain the processing required at the end of the update by the message.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display an appropriate message before starting the update, and to explain the processing necessary when the update is completed by the message, and to update the software of the function related to the display Even so, the update can be appropriately executed according to the operation displayed on the image.

  In this case, the functions that can be realized by a predetermined program include functions related to image display, and during the update of the program, the lighting display different from the image display is informed that the update is in progress. In combination with the message that has been displayed before the update is started, it becomes possible to appropriately instruct the operation necessary for the update, and the user can easily perform the update operation.

  Further, the predetermined message is a message prompting the user to perform an operation for restarting the electronic device after the lighting display is turned off, so that the timing for restarting can be appropriately notified.

  The update program is a program received or input from the outside and stored in a predetermined storage means in the device, and at least when the update program is ready to be updated, the update program is stored in the storage means. By being in the completed state, the update based on the update program received or input from the outside can be performed satisfactorily.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In this example, as an example of an electronic device incorporating firmwareized software, it is applied to a video camera recorder. First, the configuration of the video camera recorder of this example will be described with reference to FIG. The video camera recorder 100 of this example is a video recording / reproducing apparatus that uses a disc recording medium called DVD as a recording (storage) medium, and has a camera unit 10 that performs imaging, and recording / reproduction that performs recording and reproduction on a disc. Part 20.

  The camera unit 10 includes an optical system 11 including a lens, an imager unit 12 that converts image light imaged by the optical system 11 into an electric signal, and an imaging signal obtained by the imager unit 12 in a predetermined format. And an image pickup processing unit 13 for digital video data. In addition, the microphone 14 and the voice processing unit 15 are provided, and the voice signal picked up by the microphone 14 is processed into digital audio data by the voice processing unit 15. The video and audio processing operations in the camera unit 10 are executed by control based on a command from the control unit 30. That is, imaging and audio capture are controlled by a command from the human interface control unit 32 in the control unit 30, and a video and audio processing state is set by a command from the signal system control unit 33. Video data may be captured as moving image data or still image data, and the processing state is different for each.

  The digital video data and digital audio data output from the camera unit 10 are supplied to the encoding / decoding unit 21 in the recording / reproducing unit 20 and encoded for recording. For example, when recording a moving image, video data and audio data are encoded by the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 system. When video data is recorded as a still image, it is encoded by the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) method. The encoded data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 24 connected to the encoding / decoding unit 21 until recording on the disk.

  The encoded data stored in the buffer memory 24 is read out to the disk recording / reproducing unit 22 at the timing of recording, and processing for recording on the disk 23 is performed. The data is recorded on the disk 23 by the irradiation of the laser beam. The data recorded on the disk 23 is read by the disk recording / playback unit 22 and sent to the encoding / decoding unit 21 to be decoded from the MPEG2 system, and the decoded video data and audio are decoded. Data is sent to the input / output processing unit 25 and output from the terminal unit 26 to the outside. Processing operations of recording and reproduction in the recording / reproducing unit 20 are executed by control based on a command from the control unit 30. That is, recording and reproduction on the disc are executed under the control of the disc control unit 31 in the control unit 30.

  The terminal unit 26 includes a terminal for inputting and outputting as digital data in addition to a terminal for inputting and outputting as an analog video signal and audio signal. Examples of terminals for digital data include IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 standard terminal (port), USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard terminal (port), etc. Video data and audio data can be exchanged with video equipment and computer devices equipped with the. The video camera recorder may receive various data by connecting to an information processing device such as a computer device. As data to be received, for example, there is a program for updating a program in the video camera recorder. When data is received, the data is sent from the input / output processing unit 25 to the control unit 30 side.

  The configuration of the control unit 30 includes a disk control unit 31, a human interface control unit 32, a signal system control unit 33, and a display control unit 34, each of which is constituted by a microcomputer that performs control operations. The human interface control unit 32 is supplied with operation input data from the operation input unit 41 such as an operation key or a touch panel, and controls the operation state of each unit of the video camera recorder to a corresponding state based on the operation input. The human interface controller 32 controls the lighting of the pilot lamp 42 composed of a light emitting diode or the like. The pilot lamp 42 is used as a recording lamp indicating that recording is in progress, but in this example, a program to be described later is also turned on when updating.

  The signal system control unit 33 performs control for setting a signal processing path in the camera unit 10 and the recording / reproducing unit 20. The display control unit 34 controls display on the display unit 43 provided for monitoring by the device based on a command from the human interface control unit 32. The display unit 43 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, and displays captured images and reproduced images as images. In addition, various messages and the like are displayed as OSD (On Screen Display) as characters and graphics in the image under the control of the display control unit 34 based on a command from the human interface control unit 32. Character and graphic data necessary for OSD display is prepared in advance in a memory (not shown) provided in the display control unit 34. Characters, graphics, and the display screen of the display unit 43 of this example are configured as a touch panel, and the displayed functions can be operated by the user touching the display screen of the display unit 43.

  Connected to the disk control unit 31 is a flash memory 51 in which a program for performing a control operation in the disk control unit 31 is stored. Functions that can be controlled by the disk control unit 31 are determined by the program stored in the flash memory 51.

  The human interface control unit 32 includes an SDRAM 61 that temporarily stores data for processing by the human interface control unit 32, and a flash memory 62 that stores a program for performing a control operation by the human interface control unit 32. Are connected to an EEPROM 63 in which setting data and the like are stored. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the flash memory 62 stores a program (program A) for loading a program and a program (program B) constituting software that actually functions as firmware. . In a normal operation state, the program B is executed, and when the firmware program is updated, the load program A is started. The flash memories 51 and 62 and the EEPROM 63 connected to the control units 31 and 32 are non-volatile storage means in which stored data is not lost even when power is not supplied, and data is controlled by the control of the control units 31 and 32. Can be rewritten. However, some data such as destination data to be described later is restricted so that it cannot be rewritten.

  In addition, the control unit 30 of this example includes a memory card interface unit 35 and is configured to be able to transfer data to and from the memory card 44 mounted in the card slot of the video camera recorder and each unit in the recorder. The memory card 44 can store captured still image data, for example.

  In the video camera recorder 100 of this example configured as described above, a firmware program is stored in advance in the flash memories 51 and 62 connected to the disk control unit 31 and the human interface control unit 32 at the time of product shipment. . The EEPROM 63 connected to the human interface control unit 32 stores setting data for determining the execution state of the program processing depending on the destination of the device 100 (which country or region is the product for). For the device 100, the language of the character displayed on the display unit 43 when the device is operated is set to correspond. The firmware program itself stored in the flash memories 51 and 62 is the same for any destination. In the case of this example, the destination data itself is stored in the flash memory 62 so that the destination determined by the manufacturer at the time of product shipment cannot be changed by a user operation.

  The firmware program stored in the flash memories 51 and 62 connected to the disk control unit 31 and the human interface control unit 32 can be modified by an update program input (received) to the device.

  Next, a process for updating the firmware program will be described. FIG. 2 is a configuration example for downloading a corresponding update program by the video camera recorder 100 when the firmware program is updated. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, a video camera recorder 100 is connected to a personal computer device 200 prepared on the user side. As the connection at this time, for example, any one of the terminal portions 26 prepared in the video camera recorder 100 (for example, a USB terminal) is used. In addition, a disk 23 capable of recording data is loaded in the disk loading section of the video camera recorder 100. Then, the computer apparatus 200 to which the video camera recorder 100 is connected accesses the server 300 that provides the update program via the Internet 400 and causes the computer apparatus 200 to download the corresponding update program.

  The update program downloaded to the computer device 200 is input to the video camera recorder 100 by an operation for inputting update data of the video camera recorder 100 (for example, an operation using a menu screen). In this example, the update data input to the video camera recorder 100 is recorded (stored) in the disk 23 under the control of the disk control unit 31.

  When the recording of the update data on the disk 23 is completed, the update process is started by the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. In the example of FIG. 2, the update data is downloaded via the network. For example, the manufacturer of the video camera recorder 100 distributes the disk on which the update data is recorded to the user. You may do it.

  The process until the update is started will be described according to the flowchart of FIG. 4. First, the disk 23 on which data for updating the program is recorded is loaded under the control of the human interface control unit (HI control unit) 32 or the like. It is determined whether or not there is (step S11). This determination is made based on, for example, the file name of data recorded on the disk 23. Alternatively, it may be determined from the actual data structure itself. During the recognition of the disk 23 on which the update data is recorded, for example, as shown as display f1 in FIG. 5 (f), the display unit 43 displays “Update program” and the like to prepare for the update. Show what is happening.

  If it is determined that the disc on which the corresponding data is recorded is loaded, it is determined that the update start conditions are met, and the human interface control unit 32 notifies the display control unit 34 for the update start confirmation. A command to make the OSD display is sent, and the display unit 43 displays the corresponding display. As a display example at this time, for example, as shown as a display f2 in FIG. 5 (f), “Are you sure?”, A character for confirming the start of the update, and “Yes” and “No” buttons are displayed (steps). S12). In a state where this display is performed, the user touches the display area of “Yes” or “No” to operate whether or not the update is started, and the human interface control unit 32 determines the operation ( Step S13).

  Here, if “No” is operated, the update process is ended, and the recording mode (recording) and playback on the disc can be performed by setting the operation mode of the video camera recorder 100 to the normal mode (step S14). ).

  If “yes” is operated, the update start process is continued, and a command for OSD display of a message indicating the start of update is sent from the human interface control unit 32 to the display control unit 34. Make the appropriate display. As a display example at this time, for example, as shown as display f3 in FIG. 5 (f), a message indicating the operation at the end of the update is displayed as "Please reset when the recording lamp goes off" (step S15). . The display control unit 34 that has received the instruction to perform the display continuously displays the same message until there is an operation to reset the video camera recorder 100 and restart the power supply.

  In a state in which this message is displayed, the human interface control unit 32 changes a program for operating the control unit 32 from a program for normal operation (ie, program B in FIG. 3) to a program for loading program (ie, FIG. 3). Program A) is jumped to (step S16).

  Then, by executing the program for loading the program, the update program data recorded on the disk 23 is read, and the update process is started (step S17). As specific update processing, the update program data read from the disk 23 is transferred to the SDRAM 61 connected to the human interface control unit 32. Thereafter, the program (program B) stored in the flash memory 51 connected to the human interface control unit 32 is modified by processing based on the update data stored in the SDRAM 61. Further, the program stored in the flash memory 51 connected to the disk control unit 31 is also corrected by processing based on the update data accumulated in the SDRAM 61.

  Here, in this example, during the execution of the update process, the human interface control unit 32 turns on the pilot lamp 42 constituting the recording lamp, and turns off the pilot lamp 42 when the update process is completed. It is like that. During the update process, the pilot lamp 42 is turned on and off by, for example, processing by a program loading program (that is, program A in FIG. 3).

  Next, the processing status of the device when the program is updated by such processing is shown in FIG. 5 in time series. The operation program in FIG. 5A is a program executed by the human interface control unit 32, and the programs A and B indicate the programs A and B shown in FIG. The operation status in FIG. 5B is an operation status in the human interface control unit 32, and the communication status in FIG. 5C is a communication status between the human interface control unit 32 and another control unit. The reset signal in FIG. 5D is a signal issued by a reset operation by the user. The recording lamp in FIG. 5E is a lighting state of the pilot lamp 42. The display example of FIG. 5 (f) shows a display image on the display unit 43.

  First, while the human interface control unit 32 is recognizing the disc on which the update program is recorded, the display f1 “update the program” in FIG. When the recognition of the disc is completed, the display f2 “Are you sure”, “Yes”, or “No” in FIG. In this state, if there is an operation to touch “Yes”, the display f3 “Reset when the recording lamp goes off” in FIG. 5 (f) is displayed on the display unit 43 and at the same time, FIG. 5 (b). As shown in FIG. 5, a program A jumping process is performed, and the active program is switched to the program A as shown in FIG. 5A, and the firmware rewriting process is started. Lamp 42) is lit. During the firmware rewriting process, communication between the human interface control unit 32 and the other control units is stopped (however, only data transfer necessary for the rewriting process is performed).

  During the rewriting process of the firmware, the display on the display unit 43 of “Reset when the recording lamp goes off” is continuously performed based on the command given before the start of the rewriting process. When the firmware rewriting process is completed, the recording lamp is turned off as shown in FIG. It takes a relatively long time, for example, about several minutes from when the firmware rewrite process is started to when it is finished. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5D, when the user performs a reset operation d1 for restarting the video camera recorder 100, the video camera recorder 100 is restarted and the human interface control unit 32 is operated by the program B. Then, the program B is operated with the rewritten program B. At the time of this restart, the display on the display unit 43 becomes a normal screen display during startup.

  In this manner, the firmware program of the video camera recorder 100 is updated, so that the device 100 having a complicated control configuration can be updated with a simple operation. That is, in this example, a process for updating the firmware program of the human interface control unit 32 that issues a control command related to image display is performed, but the image display is performed immediately before the update process of the program is started. Since the instruction to continuously perform the operation at the end of the program update is issued, the corresponding message is continuously displayed, and the fact that the program update operation is being performed is notified using the recording lamp 42. It is not necessary to notify the end of the program update by using the image display unit 43, and the human interface control unit 32 does not need to perform extra display operation control when updating the firmware. Only the operations related to the update need be performed under the control of the program. Therefore, it is possible to reliably notify the user of necessary operations without performing extra display control during firmware update, and the user can easily perform firmware update operations without referring to a separate manual or the like. . Since turning on and off the recording lamp 42 is a simple operation, it can be easily executed by controlling a loading program or the like even during firmware update.

  In the embodiment described so far, the case of updating the firmware of the video camera recorder has been described. However, if the device can update the firmware program, it can be applied to update the firmware program of other electronic devices. Also good. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the update program is once recorded on the disc mounted on the video camera recorder, and then the recorded program is read and updated. You may make it download directly from the outside to internal memory.

  In addition, the configuration of the control unit illustrated in FIG. 1 in the above-described embodiment is an example, and can be applied to devices having other control configurations. More specifically, the present invention has the same effect by being applied to updating of firmware program updates used by a control unit that issues a control command related to display, such as a human interface control unit.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of the electronic device (video camera) by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the download state of the data by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a program write structure of the flash memory by one embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the example of a process until the update start by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the example of the operation timing at the time of the update by one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Camera part, 11 ... Optical system, 12 ... Imager part, 13 ... Imaging process part, 14 ... Microphone, 15 ... Audio | voice processing part, 20 ... Recording / reproducing part, 21 ... Encoding / decoding part, 22 ... Disc recording Playback unit, 23... Disk, 24... Buffer memory, 25 .. input / output processing unit, 26... Terminal unit, 30... Control unit, 31. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS Display control part 35 ... Memory card interface part 41 ... Operation input part 42 ... Pilot lamp 43 ... Display part 44 ... Memory card 51 ... Flash memory 61 ... SDRAM 62 ... Flash memory 63 ... EEPROM , 100 ... Video camera recorder, 200 ... Personal computer device, 300 ... Server, 400 ... Internet

Claims (8)

In a program update method for an electronic device in which functions that can be realized by the device are set by a predetermined program
When an update program acquired by the device is ready to update the predetermined program, a predetermined message indicating that the update is in progress is displayed as an image,
A program update method for an electronic device, wherein update of the predetermined program is started while image display of the message is continued. In the electronic device program update method according to claim 1,
The functions that can be realized by the predetermined program include functions related to image display,
A method of updating a program for an electronic device, characterized in that, during the update of the program, a lighting display different from the image display is used to notify that the update is in progress. In the electronic device program update method according to claim 2,
The program update method for an electronic device, wherein the predetermined message is a message prompting an operation to restart the electronic device after the lighting display is turned off. In the electronic device program update method according to claim 1,
The update program is a program received or input from the outside and stored in a predetermined storage means in the device,
The electronic device program update method is characterized in that the stage in which the update is ready is at least a state in which the storage of the update program in the storage means is completed. In an electronic device in which functions that can be realized by a predetermined program are set,
First storage means for storing the predetermined program;
Display means for displaying an image in accordance with a display control command;
Second storage means for storing the acquired update program;
A display control command for controlling a device by a program stored in the storage means and displaying a predetermined message indicating that the update is being performed as an image in a state where the update program is stored in the second storage means. An electronic apparatus comprising: control means for performing control to start updating the predetermined program after being sent to the display means. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein
With lighting display means that lights up according to the operating state of the equipment,
An electronic apparatus characterized in that the lighting display means is turned on during the update of the program. The electronic apparatus according to claim 6.
The predetermined message to be displayed on the display means is a message prompting to perform an operation of restarting the electronic apparatus after the lighting display means is turned off. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein
It has an input unit that receives or inputs data from outside,
The electronic device, wherein when the update program input to the input unit is stored in the second storage unit, the control unit starts updating the predetermined program.

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