JP2007034695A - Starting device, program transfer device and program transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a starting device capable of flexibly responding to a request change for starting electronic equipment through a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The starting device 1 which executes starting processing for starting electronic equipment comprises a RAM 3 for storing a program supplied from the outside; a nonvolatile memory 4 for storing a boot program BP for starting the starting device 1 itself; and a CPU 2 executing a write program WP stored in the RAM according to an external instruction and transferring the boot program BP stored in the RAM 3 to the nonvolatile memory 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an activation device, a program transfer device, and a program transfer method, and is suitable for application to an activation device that activates an electronic device when power is turned on, for example.

  Conventionally, electronic devices such as set-top boxes and hard disk recorders are activated by a basic device stored in ROM (Read Only Memory) being read by a boot device installed in the electronic device onto RAM (Random Access Memory). In addition, various operations are executed according to the basic program.

  In recent years, a basic program is stored in a nonvolatile memory (for example, a NAND flash memory) that has a large storage capacity and is lower than that of a ROM, and is executed prior to the basic program, and the basic program is stored in the nonvolatile memory. There is also an activation device in which only a boot program to be read into the RAM is stored in the ROM (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The contents stored in the ROM cannot be rewritten, but the contents stored in the non-volatile memory can be changed at any time, so it is easy even when the basic program needs to be changed due to improvements in electronic equipment. It can correspond to.
JP 2004-355560 A

  Here, if the boot program conventionally stored in the ROM is stored in a non-volatile memory such as a NAND flash memory together with the basic program, the ROM can be eliminated and the configuration of the activation device can be simplified. At the same time, the boot program can be easily changed.

  In the NAND flash memory, due to its structure, there is a possibility that a defective block cannot be read / written normally. The basic program described above needs to be stored (written) in the NAND flash memory while avoiding the defective block.

  However, since the positions of the defective blocks of the NAND flash memory are different for each memory, there is a problem that the basic program cannot be written uniformly at the time of manufacture or shipment of the NAND flash memory. .

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and proposes an activation device that can flexibly respond to a request change for activating an electronic device with a simple configuration, and a program transfer device and a program transfer method for the activation device. It is something to try.

  In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, in an activation device that executes an activation process for activating an electronic device, a first storage unit that stores a program supplied from the outside, and activation that activates the activation device itself A second storage means for storing the program, and a transfer program stored in the first storage means in response to a command supplied from the outside, and an activation program stored in the first storage means Control means for transferring to the second storage means is provided in the starting device.

  After storing the transfer program and the start program in the first storage means, the transfer program is started from the outside, and the start program is written in the second storage means by the control means for executing the transfer program, With a simple configuration, it is possible to flexibly cope with a request change for starting an electronic device.

  According to the present invention, in the program transfer device that transfers the activation program for activating the activation device itself to the activation device that executes the activation process for activating the electronic device, the first storage provided in the activation device A first transfer means for transferring and storing the activation program and the transfer program, and the activation device for executing the transfer program stored in the first storage means, so that the activation program is read from the first storage means. The program transfer device is provided with second transfer means for reading and transferring to a second storage means provided in the activation device.

  After the transfer program and the activation program are stored in the first storage means, the transfer program is activated from the program transfer apparatus, and the activation program is written in the second storage means by the transfer program, thereby simplifying the configuration. Thus, it is possible to flexibly cope with a request change for starting the electronic device.

  According to the present invention, in a program transfer method for transferring an activation program for activating the activation device itself to an activation device that executes an activation process for activating an electronic device, the first storage provided in the activation device A first transfer step for transferring and storing the activation program and the transfer program, and causing the activation device to execute the transfer program stored in the first storage unit, so that the activation program is read from the first storage unit. And a second transfer step for reading and writing to a second storage means provided in the activation device.

  After the transfer program and the activation program are stored in the first storage means, the transfer program is activated from the program transfer apparatus, and the activation program is written in the second storage means by the transfer program, thereby simplifying the configuration. Thus, it is possible to flexibly cope with a request change for starting the electronic device.

  According to the present invention, after the activation program and the transfer program for activating the activation device itself are stored in the first storage unit, the transfer program is activated from the outside, and activated by the control unit that executes the transfer program By enabling the program to be written in the second storage means, an activation device capable of flexibly responding to a request change for activating an electronic device with a simple configuration, and a program transfer device and a program transfer method for the activation device are realized. can do.

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

(1) Configuration of Startup Device In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a startup device to which the present invention is applied as a whole, and is configured by connecting a RAM 3 and a nonvolatile memory 4 formed of a NAND flash memory to a CPU 2. .

  A non-volatile memory 4 as a second storage means stores a boot program BP and a basic program MP. At the time of activation, the CPU 2 first reads the boot program BP from the nonvolatile memory 4 to the RAM 3 and activates an electronic device (not shown) to be activated according to the boot program BP. Subsequently, the CPU 2 reads the basic program MP from the nonvolatile memory 4 to the RAM 3 and executes various processes of the electronic device according to the basic program MP.

(2) Writing of program to nonvolatile memory As described above, the nonvolatile memory 4 stores the boot program BP and the basic program MP. Since the nonvolatile memory 4 is a NAND flash memory, and a defective block is generated in the NAND flash memory, the boot program BP and the basic program MP need to be written while avoiding the defective block. Further, in order to read and execute the program stored in the nonvolatile memory 4, the CPU 2 needs to recognize the position of the defective block.

  However, since a defective block is generated at an unspecified position in the nonvolatile memory 4, when these programs are written in the nonvolatile memory 4 in advance and then incorporated into the activation device 1, the CPU 2 fails in the nonvolatile memory 4. There is a problem that the block position cannot be recognized. For this reason, in the starting device 1 of the present invention, the non-volatile memory 4 is incorporated into the starting device 1 at the time of manufacture, and then the boot program BP and the basic program MP are externally written into the non-volatile memory 4.

  In order to perform such program writing to the nonvolatile memory 4, a dedicated program writing jig is connected to the circuit board of the activation device 1, and the defective block position of the nonvolatile memory 4 is recognized by the program writing jig. It is conceivable to write the program while transmitting the recognized defective block position to the CPU 2. However, the program writing jig having such a function is complicated and expensive, and it is necessary to provide a connection part for connecting the program writing jig to the circuit board, which also complicates the activation device 1 itself. There's a problem.

  Further, if the CPU 2 of the activation device 1 can write the program to the nonvolatile memory 4, the above-described program writing jig is not necessary, but if the boot program BP is not stored in the nonvolatile memory 4, the activation is performed. There is a problem that the device 1 itself cannot be activated.

  Therefore, in the present invention, at the time of manufacturing the activation device 1, first, the write program WP having only the function of writing the program to the nonvolatile memory 4 is stored in the RAM 3 as the first storage unit together with the boot program BP and the basic program MP. Forward to. Then, the CPU 2 is forced to execute the write program WP on the RAM 3 from the outside, and the boot program BP and the basic program MP are read from the RAM 3 and written to the nonvolatile memory 4.

  For such program transfer to the RAM 3, a boundary scan system such as JTAG (Joint European Test Action Group) or EJTAG (Enhanced JTAG) can be applied. JTAG is a standard boundary scan system, and has the advantage of having a CPU debug function and a program transfer function to the RAM, and the required circuit configuration is simple, but allows the program on the RAM to be executed (execution authority) Cannot move). On the other hand, EJTAG is an extended version of JTAG and has the function of transferring execution authority for programs on the RAM in addition to the function of JTAG, but has the disadvantages that the circuit configuration is complicated and that it is vulnerable to noise.

  Therefore, in the starter 1 of the present invention, the write program WP, the boot program BP, and the basic program MP are transferred to the RAM 3 using the above-described JTAG, and an interrupt instruction called NMI (Non-Maskable Interrupt) is controlled. By giving it to the CPU 2 as means, the CPU 2 is forced to execute the write program WP on the RAM 3. NMI is an unmaskable interrupt instruction, and the CPU 2 can understand and execute the NMI even when the boot program BP is not operating.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the CPU 2 has a built-in JTAG circuit and a test external terminal called TAP (Test Access Port) corresponding to JTAG and an NMI terminal. At the time of manufacturing the activation device 1, the program transfer device 10 is connected to the TAP terminal and the NMI terminal, and the write program WP, the boot program BP, and the basic program MP are transferred from the program transfer device 10 to the activation device 1. To do.

  Next, a processing procedure when the boot program BP is transferred and written into the nonvolatile memory 4 to be executable at the time of manufacturing the activation device 1 will be described with reference to a flowchart.

  When the assembly of the activation device 1 is completed and the program transfer device 10 is connected to the CPU 2, the program transfer processing procedure RT1 shown in FIG. 2 is started. At the start, the power is supplied to the activation device 1 and the RAM 3 and the nonvolatile memory 4 are both empty.

  In step SP1, the program transfer apparatus 10 as the first transfer means transfers the write program WP and the boot program BP to the RAM 3 via the TAP terminal as shown in FIG. 3A, and the next step SP2 Move on. In step SP2, the program transfer apparatus 10 as the second transfer means starts the write program WP on the RAM 3 as shown in FIG. 3B (that is, moves the execution authority to the write program WP). Send the NMI signal to the CPU 2 via the NMI terminal.

  In the next step SP3, the CPU 2 of the activation device 1 operates in response to the NMI signal, activates the writing program WP stored in the RAM 3, and proceeds to the next step SP4.

  In step SP4, the CPU 2 reads the boot program BP and the basic program MP on the RAM 3 and writes them in the nonvolatile memory 4 as shown in FIG. At this time, the CPU 2 detects the defective block in the nonvolatile memory 4 and stores the position as defective position information, and writes the boot program BP and the basic program MP while avoiding the defective block.

  Thus, the boot program BP is written into the non-volatile memory 4 of the activation device 1, and the activation device 1 can be activated independently according to the boot program BP. Then, the CPU 2 moves to step SP5 and ends the program transfer processing procedure.

(3) Operation and effect In the above configuration, the activation device 1 stores the boot program BP and the basic program MP for activating the activation device 1 itself in the nonvolatile memory 4. The ROM that previously stores the boot program BP is eliminated to simplify the overall configuration of the boot device 1 and the boot program BP and the basic program MP can be easily changed.

  When the boot program BP and the basic program MP are written into the nonvolatile memory 4, the boot program BP and the basic program MP are temporarily stored in the RAM 3 together with the write program WP using the JTAG function, and then the write is performed. The program WP is forcibly activated from the outside by an NMI signal, and the CPU 2 reads the boot program BP and the basic program MP from the RAM 3 and writes them in the nonvolatile memory 4 in accordance with the write program WP.

  As a result, the activation device 1 recognizes a defective block that occurs unspecified in the nonvolatile memory 4 by the CPU 2 and stores the position as defective position information, while avoiding the defective block, the boot program BP and the basic program MP are stored. In addition to being able to write, the boot program BP and the basic program MP can be accurately read and executed based on the defect position information.

  According to the above configuration, the write program WP transferred to the RAM 3 is started from the outside, and the boot program BP and the basic program MP are written from the RAM 3 to the nonvolatile memory 4, so that the boot can be started with a simple configuration. The boot program BP of the device 1 can be written into the nonvolatile memory 4 from the outside of the activation device 1.

(4) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, both the boot program BP and the basic program MP are transferred to the RAM 3 and are simultaneously written in the nonvolatile memory 4 by the write program WP. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the boot program BP indispensable for the start-up device 1 to start up independently is transferred to the RAM 3 and written into the nonvolatile memory 4 by the write program WP. This may be written after this.

  In the above-described embodiment, both the boot program BP and the basic program MP are transferred to the RAM 3 and are simultaneously written in the nonvolatile memory 4 by the writing program WP. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, only the boot program BP indispensable for the activation device 1 to be activated independently may be transferred to the RAM 3 and written to the nonvolatile memory 4 by the writing program WP, and the basic program MP may be written after this.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where a NAND flash memory is used as the nonvolatile memory 4 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various nonvolatile memories such as a NOR flash memory may be used. .

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the boot program BP is targeted as information necessary for starting up the electronic device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the electronic device is started up. Various other information such as personal information, internal information, and the like necessary for the processing may be targeted.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the starting device by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows a program transfer process sequence. It is an approximate line figure used for explanation of program writing processing. It is an approximate line figure used for explanation of program writing processing.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Start-up device, 2 ... CPU, 3 ... RAM, 4 ... Nonvolatile memory, 10 ... Program transfer apparatus.

Claims (5)

In an activation device that executes an activation process for activating an electronic device,
First storage means for storing a program supplied from outside;
Second storage means for storing an activation program for activating the activation device itself;
The transfer program stored in the first storage means is executed in response to a command supplied from the outside, and the activation program stored in the first storage means is transferred to the second storage means and written. An activation device comprising: control means. The activation device according to claim 1, wherein the second storage means is a NAND flash memory. The startup device according to claim 1, wherein the second storage unit stores a basic program of the startup device in addition to the startup program. In a program transfer device that transfers a startup program that starts the startup device itself to a startup device that executes startup processing for starting an electronic device,
First transfer means for transferring and storing the start program and transfer program to the first storage means provided in the start device;
Causing the activation device to execute the transfer program stored in the first storage means, reading the activation program from the first storage means, and transferring it to the second storage means provided in the activation device; And a second transfer means for writing the program. In a program transfer method for transferring an activation program for activating the activation device itself to an activation device that executes an activation process for activating an electronic device,
A first transfer step of transferring and storing the start program and the transfer program to a first storage means provided in the start device;
The transfer program stored in the first storage means is executed, and the activation program is read from the first storage means, transferred to the second storage means provided in the activation device, and written. A program transfer method comprising: two transfer steps.

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