JP2007052518A - Information processor, method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform software updating processing with high versatility in an information processor to be incorporated into another device and used. <P>SOLUTION: A FTP (file transfer protocol) daemon 41 acquires a software package obtained by summarizing a plurality of pieces of software from another device, and holds it in a RAM. A software package expansion processing section 42 expands the software package on the RAM. A shell script execution section 43 executes, one line at a time, the description of the shell script included in a file expanded and obtained by the software package expansion processing section 42, thus makes a ROM writing control section 44 perform writing into a known ROM for a general-purpose platform, and makes an update program execution section 45 perform writing into an unknown ROM for the general-purpose platform by executing an update program included in the software package. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program capable of performing a more versatile software update process.

  Conventionally, as a method of updating software incorporated in a product later, firmware is transferred via a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark), and the transferred firmware is recorded on a recording medium such as a flash memory or a hard disk. There exists a method (for example, refer patent document 1).

  In such a case, a program for transferring firmware and a program for recording firmware on a recording medium are incorporated in the product in advance (for example, at the time of factory shipment).

  By the way, with the enlargement of the software embedded in products, not only hardware but also software sharing has begun. For example, a general-purpose platform (configuration that includes general-purpose hardware and software) that incorporates software commonly used in various products on a small CPU (Central Processing Unit) board is commonly developed and incorporated into various products. Thus, there are methods for reducing the development cost of hardware and software of each product and shortening the development period.

  Since the method for updating the software as described above (software update function) is required in each apparatus, in order to reduce the development cost and shorten the development period related to the software update function, It is desirable to be incorporated as common software for general-purpose platforms.

JP 2005-11209 A

  However, each product in which a general-purpose platform is incorporated generally has a product-specific storage medium (flash memory, etc.), but a general-purpose platform is usually developed before each product in which the platform is incorporated. . Therefore, this product-specific storage medium may have an unknown configuration for the platform.

  In such a case, the software update program incorporated as the common software in the general-purpose platform does not grasp the product-specific storage medium unknown to the general-purpose platform as described above, and is stored in the storage medium. There was a possibility that the software update process could not be performed. That is, in order to update the software stored in such a product-specific storage medium, it is necessary to develop a dedicated software update program for each product.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to perform software update processing with higher versatility.

  An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that is used by being incorporated in another apparatus and that provides a predetermined function to the other apparatus that is an installation destination. A rewritable storage medium having a configuration other than the information processing apparatus, and the first software written in the first storage medium having a configuration unknown to the information processing apparatus together with the first software An acquisition unit that acquires a program for writing to a medium from outside the other device, and the program execution that executes the program acquired by the acquisition unit and writes the first software to the first storage medium Means.

  Shell script execution means for executing a shell script for specifying a software writing procedure is further provided, wherein the acquisition means further acquires the shell script together with the first software and the program, and the shell script execution means includes: The shell script acquired by the acquisition unit is executed, and the program execution unit executes the program according to a description of the shell script executed by the shell script execution unit, and the first software is installed in the first software. One storage medium can be written.

  As a configuration known to the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus further includes a rewritable second storage medium, and further includes a writing unit that writes software to the second storage medium, and the acquisition unit includes the first software and the Along with the program, second software to be written to the second storage medium may be further acquired, and the writing means may write the second software to the second storage medium.

  The storage area of the second storage medium includes a common function storage area that stores software that provides general-purpose functions and a unique function storage area that stores software that provides functions unique to the other apparatus. It can be formed as different regions.

  The image processing apparatus further includes expansion means for expanding a plurality of files archived into a single file, and the acquisition means acquires the first software and the program as one archived software package. Then, the expansion unit can expand the software package acquired by the acquisition unit and separate the first software and the program.

  The apparatus further comprises decryption means for decrypting the encrypted file by a predetermined method, wherein the acquisition means acquires the first software and the program encrypted, and the decryption means is acquired by the acquisition means. Further, the encrypted first software and the program are decrypted by a predetermined method, and the program execution means executes the program decrypted by the decryption means, and the decrypted by the decryption means One software can be written in the first storage medium.

  Setting holding means for holding whether to allow acquisition of the first software and the program in plain text not encrypted by the obtaining means, and setting for confirming the setting held by the setting holding means And a confirmation unit.

  An information processing method according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing method for an information processing apparatus that is used by being incorporated in another apparatus and provides a predetermined function to the other apparatus as an installation destination. The device is a rewritable storage medium having a configuration other than the information processing device, and the first software is written together with the first software written to the first storage medium having an unknown configuration to the information processing device. A step of acquiring a program for writing to the first storage medium from outside the other device, executing the program acquired by the acquisition means, and writing the first software to the first storage medium; including.

  A program according to an aspect of the present invention is a program that is used by being incorporated in another device, and that causes a computer to perform a process of providing a predetermined function to the other device that is the installation destination. Is a rewritable storage medium having a configuration other than the information processing apparatus, and the first software is written to the first storage medium having a configuration unknown to the information processing apparatus together with the first software. A program for writing to the other storage medium is acquired from outside the other device, the program acquired by the acquisition means is executed, and the first software is written to the first storage medium. .

  In one aspect of the present invention, the rewritable storage medium that the other apparatus has as a configuration other than the information processing apparatus, and the first software that writes to the first storage medium that is an unknown configuration for the information processing apparatus, A program for writing the first software to the first storage medium is acquired from the outside of the other device, the acquired program is executed, and the first software is written to the first storage medium.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, software can be updated. In particular, a more versatile software update process can be performed.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. The correspondence relationship between the invention described in this specification and the embodiments of the invention is exemplified as follows. This description is intended to assure that embodiments supporting the claimed invention are described in this specification. Therefore, although there is an embodiment which is described in the embodiment of the invention but is not described here as corresponding to the invention, it means that the embodiment is not It does not mean that it does not correspond to the invention. Conversely, even if an embodiment is described herein as corresponding to an invention, that means that the embodiment does not correspond to an invention other than the invention. Absent.

  Further, this description does not mean all the inventions described in this specification. In other words, this description is an invention described in the present specification and is not claimed in this application, that is, an invention that will be filed in the future or added by amendment. Is not to deny.

  An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is used by being incorporated in another apparatus (for example, the image processing apparatus in FIG. 4), and provides a predetermined function to the other apparatus at the incorporation destination. (For example, the general-purpose platform in FIG. 1), which is a rewritable storage medium that the other apparatus has as a configuration other than the information processing apparatus, and a first storage medium that is unknown to the information processing apparatus A program (for example, the update program of FIG. 6) for writing the first software to the first storage medium together with the first software (for example, the image data of FIG. 6) to be written to (for example, the ROM of FIG. 5) ) Is acquired from outside the other device (for example, FTP daemon in FIG. 3), and the program acquired by the acquisition unit is executed, and the first Program executing means for writing software to said first storage medium (e.g., the update execution unit of FIG. 3) and a.

  Shell script execution means (for example, the shell script execution unit of FIG. 3) for executing a shell script (for example, the shell script of FIG. 6) for specifying a software writing procedure is further provided, and the acquisition means includes the first software The shell script is further acquired together with the program, the shell script execution means executes the shell script acquired by the acquisition means, and the program execution means is executed by the shell script execution means. The program can be executed in accordance with the description of the shell script, and the first software can be written to the first storage medium.

  As a configuration known to the information processing apparatus, a rewritable second storage medium (for example, ROM in FIG. 1) is provided, and writing means for writing software into the second storage medium (for example, ROM writing in FIG. 3) And the acquisition means further acquires second software (for example, image data in FIG. 6) to be written to the second storage medium together with the first software and the program. The means can write the second software in the second storage medium.

  The storage area of the second storage medium provides a common function storage area (for example, the product common function storage area of FIG. 2) for storing software that provides general-purpose functions, and functions unique to the other devices. The unique function storage area for storing software (for example, the product unique function storage area in FIG. 2) may be formed as different areas.

  The image processing apparatus further includes expansion means (for example, a software package expansion processing unit in FIG. 3) that expands a plurality of files archived into one, and the acquisition means includes the first software and the program, Obtained as one software package archived and collected (for example, the software package of FIG. 6), and the expansion means expands the software package acquired by the acquisition means, and the first software and the program Can be separated.

  Decryption means (for example, the decryption processing unit in FIG. 22) for decrypting the encrypted file by a predetermined method is further provided, and the acquisition means includes the encrypted first software and the program (for example, FIG. 19). The ciphertext software package), and the decrypting means decrypts the encrypted first software and the program obtained by the obtaining means by a predetermined method. The program decrypted by the decrypting means may be executed, and the first software decrypted by the decrypting means may be written to the first storage medium.

  A setting holding unit (for example, the setting of FIG. 20) that holds a setting as to whether or not to acquire the unencrypted plaintext first software and the program (for example, the plaintext software package of FIG. 19) by the acquiring unit. A value storage area) and setting confirmation means (for example, a setting confirmation unit in FIG. 22) for confirming the setting held by the setting holding means.

  The information processing method or program according to one aspect of the present invention is used by being incorporated in another apparatus (for example, the image processing apparatus in FIG. 4), and provides a predetermined function to the other apparatus to be incorporated. An information processing method of a processing device (for example, the general-purpose platform in FIG. 1), which is a rewritable storage medium that the other device has as a configuration other than the information processing device, and has a configuration unknown to the information processing device A program for writing the first software to the first storage medium together with first software (for example, image data of FIG. 6) to be written to a certain first storage medium (for example, the ROM of FIG. 5). The update program in FIG. 6 is acquired from outside the other device (for example, step S31 in FIG. 9), and the program acquired by the acquisition unit is acquired. Run the beam, writing the first software to said first storage medium (e.g., step S35 in FIG. 9) comprising the steps.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example according to an embodiment of a general-purpose platform to which the present invention is applied.

  In FIG. 1, a general-purpose platform 1 is a unit that is used by being incorporated in some product, and is configured by general-purpose hardware and software. For example, a predetermined general-purpose function such as a communication function and a control function is included in the product. It is a platform to provide. That is, a product in which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated has the same function even if they are different devices.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the general-purpose platform 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, and an Ethernet (registered) connected to each other via a bus 10. Trademark) I / F (InterFace) 14

  The bus 10 is a bus of a predetermined standard such as PCI (Peripheral Components Interconnect), and transmits information exchanged between the CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13, and the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14. The bus 10 is also connected to an external configuration of the general-purpose platform 1 (a configuration unique to a product in which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated), the configuration specific to the product, the CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13, and the Ethernet (registered trademark). Information exchanged with the I / F 14 is also transmitted.

  The CPU 11 is a processing unit that controls the operation of each unit by executing, for example, a program stored in the ROM 12 and loaded into the RAM 13. The ROM 12 is a non-volatile rewritable storage medium such as a flash memory, and is configured as a platform and records common software (programs, data, and the like) that provides functions common to products. The ROM 12 also records product-specific software (programs, data, etc.) that provide functions specific to each product. The detailed configuration of the ROM 12 will be described later.

  The RAM 13 is a volatile storage medium configured by a volatile semiconductor memory. For example, the RAM 13 is controlled by the CPU 11, temporarily holds software (programs, data, and the like) read from the ROM 12, and provides information held in the CPU 11 and the like as necessary. The Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 communicates with an external device (a device connected with a product incorporating the general-purpose platform 1 via a network) via a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or the Internet. To exchange information with external devices. For example, the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 obtains software update data stored in the ROM 12 from an external device, and stores it in the RAM 13 via the bus 10. The CPU 11 updates the software recorded in the ROM 12 using the update data held in the RAM 13.

  The general-purpose platform 1 may be physically configured as a single unit, but may be configured as a plurality of units, and the relationship between the components is substantially the same as the configuration illustrated in FIG. As long as they are equivalent to each other, any physical configuration may be used. Of course, the general-purpose platform 1 provides not only one general-purpose function but also a plurality of general-purpose functions.

  Examples of products in which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated include various home appliances such as AV equipment, personal computers, refrigerators, and washing machines, devices constituting broadcasting facilities and traffic management systems, automobiles, airplanes, and the like. Various electronic devices such as an electronic control device to be incorporated can be considered. In other words, any device may be used as long as control and processing are performed by an electronic circuit.

  There are various possible development methods for the general-purpose platform 1, but here, for the sake of convenience, in the development of the general-purpose platform 1, in order to limit the description to the present invention, the configuration and function ( In particular, product specific functions) shall not be specified.

  That is, as will be described later, the ROM 12 of the general-purpose platform 1 can store software for realizing functions specific to the product of the installation destination. However, when the general-purpose platform 1 is developed, the ROM 12 does not store such software. However, such software itself is not developed (software specific to an embedded product is developed when the product is developed).

  A developer of a product into which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated can omit development related to the general-purpose functions by using the already-developed general-purpose platform 1 when developing the product. In other words, the product developer incorporates the general-purpose platform 1 into the product, thereby reducing the development cost and the development period.

  At this time, the developer of the product at the installation destination can store the product-specific software developed as described above in the product-specific ROM, but can also store it in the ROM 12.

  Of course, the developer of the general-purpose platform 1 and the developer of the product incorporating the general-purpose platform 1 may be the same person, but here, for convenience of explanation, they will be described as being different from each other.

  In addition, the general-purpose platform 1 shown in FIG. 1 has, as general-purpose functions, for example, a communication function with an external device of a built-in product using the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14, a ROM 12, and a built-in destination. Provides a function to write information to the product-specific ROM. That is, for example, the general-purpose platform 1 can acquire software from an external device of the product of the installation destination, and update the software stored in each ROM using the software.

  Next, the configuration of the storage area of the ROM 12 that stores software for providing such functions will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of the storage area of the ROM 12.

  In FIG. 2, the storage area of the ROM 12 has an operating system storage area 21, a product common function storage area 22, and a product specific function storage area 23.

  The operating system storage area 21 stores an operating system (software configured as an operating system) such as Linux (registered trademark). The product common function storage area 22 stores software (programs, data, etc.) commonly used (providing common functions) for various products in which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated.

  The product common function storage area 22 includes an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server program 31, a deployment processing program 32, a shell script execution program 33, a general-purpose installation program 34, and a setting value 35.

  The FTP server program 31 is a program executed by the CPU 11. The CPU 11 executes the FTP server program 31 to control the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and realize an FTP server function for providing a file transfer service using FTP. For example, the CPU 11 controls the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and uses this FTP server function to receive information for updating software stored in the ROM 12 from an external device.

  The expansion processing program 32 is a program executed by the CPU 11. The CPU 11 executes the development processing program 32 to realize a development processing function for developing (separating) a plurality of software archived and collected into one file. For example, the CPU 11 uses the expansion processing function to expand a software package obtained through the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and archived into a single file and separated. Each software is held in the RAM 13 as different files.

  The shell script execution program 33 is a program executed by the CPU 11. The CPU 11 implements a shell script execution function for executing the description of the shell script held in the RAM 13 line by line by executing the shell script execution program 33. For example, the CPU 11 uses this shell script execution function to execute a software update program according to a shell script that describes a software update method.

  The general installation program 34 is a program executed by the CPU 11. The CPU 11 implements a general-purpose installation function for installing various software in the ROM 12 by executing the general-purpose installation program 34. The ROM 12 is a storage medium constituting the general-purpose platform 1 and is known to the general-purpose platform 1 (developer of the general-purpose platform 1). That is, the general-purpose installation program 34 is a program that realizes a writing process to the known ROM 12 when the general-purpose platform 1 is developed. In other words, since the ROM 12 is known when the general-purpose platform 1 is developed, the developer of the general-purpose platform 1 can create a general-purpose installation program 34 that performs a process of writing software in the ROM 12 when the general-purpose platform 1 is developed. Can do. For example, the CPU 11 updates the various software stored in the ROM 12 by executing the general installation program 34.

  The setting value 35 includes a setting value used when executing various software (for example, the above-described program). The set value 35 is referred to as necessary, for example, when various software is executed.

  The product-specific function storage area 23 stores software (programs, data, etc.) used only by the product (providing product-specific functions). Therefore, when a product to be incorporated is not specified at the time of development of the general-purpose platform 1, the product-specific function storage area 23 is an empty area.

  The CPU 11 implements various functions by loading software (programs, data, etc.) stored in these areas into the RAM 13 and executing it. Next, functions that the CPU 11 has by executing the program in this way will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of functional blocks indicating functions of the CPU 11 by executing the various programs illustrated in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the CPU 11 loads the FTP server program 31, the expansion processing program 32, the shell script execution program 33, the general-purpose installation program 34, and the setting value 35 of FIG. It has an FTP daemon 41, a software package development processing unit 42, a shell script execution unit 43, a ROM write control unit 44, and an update program execution unit 45, which are functional blocks.

  The FTP daemon 41 is a functional block indicating functions obtained by the CPU 11 executing the FTP server program 31. The FTP daemon 41 controls the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and provides a function as an FTP server. The FTP daemon 41 controls, for example, the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14, receives a file transfer by FTP from another apparatus, and acquires a software package in which a plurality of pieces of software are collected. The FTP daemon 41 holds the acquired software package in the RAM 13 and passes the processing to the software package development processing unit 42.

  The software package development processing unit 42 is a functional block indicating functions obtained by the CPU 11 executing the development processing program 32. The software package development processing unit 42 develops a plurality of software (programs, data, and the like) that have been archived and collected into one file (software package), and stores them in the RAM 13 as different files. For example, the software package development processing unit 42 develops the software package acquired by the FTP daemon 41 on the RAM 13 and passes the processing to the shell script execution unit 43.

  The shell script execution unit 43 is a functional block showing functions obtained by the CPU 11 executing the shell script execution program 33. The shell script execution unit 43 executes the description of the shell script held in the RAM 13 line by line. The shell script is a file composed of a description indicating the procedure when a plurality of processes are performed together (batch process), and is processed by being directly interpreted by the shell of the operating system. For example, the shell script execution unit 43 executes the description of the shell script included in the file obtained by the development by the software package development processing unit 42 line by line, so that the ROM write control unit 44 and the update program execution unit 45 are executed. Is controlled as necessary, and a plurality of processes are executed continuously.

  The ROM write control unit 44 is a functional block indicating functions obtained by the CPU 11 executing the general installation program 34. The ROM writing control unit 44 performs control processing related to writing of software to the ROM 12. For example, the ROM write control unit 44 is controlled by the shell script execution unit 43 to control the ROM 12 and the RAM 13, and writes the software designated by the description of the shell script to the ROM 12.

  The update program execution unit 45 is a functional block indicating the function of the operating system executed by the CPU 11. The update program execution unit 45 executes an update program that is stored in the RAM 13 and is a software update program. For example, the update program execution unit 45 executes the update program designated by the description of the shell script, which is controlled by the shell script execution unit 43 and held in the RAM 13, and corresponds to the update program (for example, the ROM 13). The software specified by the description of the shell script stored in the product-specific ROM is updated.

  This update program is software created at the time of development of the product into which the general-purpose platform 1 is embedded, and information on product-specific ROM (unknown ROM for the general-purpose platform 1) that was unknown at the time of development of the general-purpose platform 1 And a program for realizing writing to the unknown ROM.

  That is, the CPU 11 of the general-purpose platform 1 realizes writing to the ROM 13 known to the general-purpose platform 1 by executing the general-purpose installation program 34 (performed by the ROM write control unit 44), and the ROM (product that is unknown to the general-purpose platform 1) Writing to the unique ROM) is realized by executing the update program (performed by the update program execution unit 45).

  The CPU 11 implements the functions as described above by executing each program in the ROM 12. Note that the setting unit 35 is appropriately referred to when performing the above-described processes. Of course, some or all of the functional blocks shown in FIG. 3 may be realized by hardware.

  Next, a specific usage example of the above-described general-purpose platform will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a specific usage example of the general-purpose platform 1.

  In FIG. 4, the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated in an image processing device 51. The general-purpose platform 1 is connected to the personal computer 52 and the image providing device 53 via the network 50, and the image processing device 51 performs processing related to communication with other devices. For example, the general-purpose platform 1 communicates with the image providing apparatus 53 via the network 50 and acquires image data to be processed by the image processing apparatus 51 from the image providing apparatus 53.

  For example, the general-purpose platform 1 communicates with the personal computer 52 via the network 50, acquires a software package for updating software (firmware) of the image processing apparatus 51 from the personal computer 52, and the software package Is used to update the software included in the image processing apparatus 51.

  That is, the image processing apparatus 51 can update software (firmware), and the function is provided by the general-purpose platform 1. At this time, the general-purpose platform 1 has the hardware and software described above, and can update not only the software stored in the known ROM 12 but also the software stored in the ROM unique to the image processing apparatus 51. . A specific example will be described below.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the image processing apparatus 51.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the image processing apparatus 51 includes a decoder unit 60 in addition to the general-purpose platform 1. The decoder unit 60 is a unit that realizes a decoder function unique to the image processing apparatus 51, and performs decoding processing on image data acquired by the general-purpose platform 1 from the image providing apparatus 53. The decoder unit 60 includes an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) 61, a decoder 62, a RAM 63, and a ROM 64.

  The FPGA 61 is a processing unit that implements various processes such as controlling the respective units of the decoder 62, the RAM 63, and the ROM 64 by loading the software stored in the ROM 64 into the RAM 63 and executing the software. For example, the FPGA 61 is connected to the bus 10 of the general-purpose platform 1, and supplies image data supplied from the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 to the decoder 62 via the bus 10.

  The decoder 62 is a processing unit that is controlled by the FPGA 61 and decodes image data encoded by a predetermined method. For example, the decoder 62 decodes the image data supplied from the FPGA 61 and outputs it to the outside of the image processing device 51.

  The RAM 63 temporarily holds software (programs and data) supplied from the FPGA 61. The ROM 64 is controlled by the FPGA 61, and controls software for realizing functions unique to the image processing device 51, including programs executed by the FPGA 61 and data necessary at that time (for example, decoding processing in the decoder 62. Program).

  The CPU 11 of the general-purpose platform 1 updates not only the software stored in the ROM 12 of the general-purpose platform 1 but also the ROM unique to the image processing apparatus 51 and updates the software stored in the ROM 64 unknown to the general-purpose platform 1.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a software package supplied from the personal computer 52.

  In FIG. 6, a software package 70 is a file in which a shell script 71, an update program 72, image data 73, and image data 74, which are programs and data for updating software stored in the ROM 12 and the ROM 64, are archived. It is.

  As will be described later, the shell script 71 (update.sh) is a script file configured by a description indicating the update procedure of the ROM 12 and the ROM 64. The update program 72 (fpga_update) is a configuration unique to the image processing apparatus 51, and is a program file that performs processing for updating software stored in the ROM 64 under the control of the FPGA 61. Image data 73 (app.image) is software written in the ROM 12. Image data 74 (fpga.image) is software written in the ROM 64.

  When the CPU 11 acquires the software package 70 having such a configuration, expands it, and restores each file, the CPU 11 writes the image data 73 to the ROM 12 or executes the update program 72 according to the description of the shell script 71 to execute the image data 74. Is written in ROM64.

  Among these softwares, at least the shell script 71, the update program 72, and the image data 74 are in a state in which the configuration of the decoder unit 60 that is a configuration unique to the image processing device 51 is known (for example, after the development of the image processing device 51). It has been created. Of course, when the image data 73 is, for example, software unique to the image processing device 51 stored in the product-specific function storage area 23, the configuration of the decoder unit 60 that is a configuration unique to the image processing device 51 is known. In any case, at the time of development of the general-purpose platform 1, as shown in FIG. 2, a configuration capable of processing the software package 70 having the configuration shown in FIG. 6 is prepared. The software package 70 shown in FIG. 6 (and each file constituting the software package 70) itself is not created.

  In other words, the general-purpose platform 1 processes the software package 70 created based on the configuration unique to the image processing apparatus 51 as shown in FIG. It can be performed. That is, the general-purpose platform 1 can perform software update processing with higher versatility by having the above-described configuration.

  More specifically, the CPU 11 of the general-purpose platform 1 can not only write the image data 73 to the known ROM 12 by using a general-purpose installation program 34 prepared in advance, but also an update program 72 supplied together with the image data 74. By executing the above, the image data 74 can be written in the ROM 64 unknown to the general-purpose platform 1. Furthermore, since the shell script 71 for the CPU 11 to continuously execute these processes is prepared, the general-purpose platform 1 does not require a configuration for receiving a user operation such as a keyboard and a display. The write process (software update process) described above can be executed.

  Note that the configuration of the software package 70 shown in FIG. 6 is merely an example, and any other configuration may be used. For example, when only the software in the ROM 64 is updated, the image data 73 can be omitted. When only the software in the ROM 12 is updated, the update program 72 and the image data 74 can be omitted.

  In order to describe the flow of software update more specifically, an example of description of a shell script will be described next. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a description example of the shell script 71 (update.sh) in FIG.

  In FIG. 7, “#! / Bin / sh” is described in the first line of the shell script 71, indicating that this file is a shell script. The shell script execution unit 43 executes the description of each line of the shell script 71 in order from the top. That is, the CPU 11 executes the shell script execution program 33 and performs control processing according to the description of the shell script 71.

  The second line of the shell script 71 describes “update app.image” and indicates an instruction to execute the program “update” with an argument “app.image”. Based on this description, the shell script execution unit 43 causes the ROM write control unit 44 to execute “update” processing, and causes the image data 73 (app.image) to be written to the ROM 12. That is, the CPU 11 executes the general installation program 34 based on this description, executes processing corresponding to the “update” command, and writes the image data 73 (app.image) to the ROM 12.

  The third line of the shell script 71 describes “fpga_update fpga.image”, which indicates “fpga_update”, that is, an instruction to execute the update program 72 with an argument “fpga.image”. Based on this description, the shell script execution unit 43 causes the update program execution unit 45 to execute the “fpga_update” process and write the image data 74 (fpga.image) into the ROM 64. The update program 72 includes a process for writing software in the ROM 64 which is a configuration unique to the image processing apparatus 51. That is, the CPU 11 executes the update program 72 (fpga_update) based on the description in the third line of the shell script 71, so that the image data 74 (fpga.image) is not assumed when the platform 1 is developed ( Write to ROM 64 (unknown to platform 1).

  Note that the description of the shell script 71 shown in FIG. 7 is merely an example, and any other description may be used. For example, the command name, the type of argument, the description method, and the like are determined in advance and may be anything as long as the CPU 11 can process them.

  Next, an example of a specific flow of software update processing of the image processing apparatus 51 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  A software package 70 for updating software stored in the ROM 12 and the ROM 64 is supplied from the personal computer 52 via the network 50 as shown in FIG. That is, the personal computer 52 uses the FTP server function provided by the FTP daemon 41 of the general purpose platform 1 to FTP transfer the software package to the general purpose platform 1. The FTP daemon 41 has a unique address (for example, an IP address or a MAC address) in advance. In step S11 of FIG. 8, the personal computer 52 transmits an FTP start command (for example, “ftp” command or “open” command) to the address, and the image processing apparatus 51 (general platform 1) and the FTP file are transmitted. Establish a communication connection for transfer processing. In response to this process, the FTP daemon 41 performs the process of step S21 and performs a response process for establishing a connection.

  When the FTP connection is established, the personal computer 52 next transmits a transfer request command (for example, “put” command) for requesting file transfer to the general-purpose platform 1 in step S12, and the software package 70 is transferred to the general-purpose platform. 1 (transfer) to 1.

  In response to this transmission process, the image processing apparatus 51 executes an installation process in step S22.

  Next, an example of a detailed flow of the installation process executed in step S22 of FIG. 8 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, a case where the software package 70 having the configuration shown in FIG. 6 is received will be described. At this time, the script shown in FIG. 7 is described in the shell script 71 included in the software package 70.

  When the FTP daemon 41 of the general-purpose platform 1 receives the “put” command from the personal computer 52, it controls the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and performs reception processing of the software package 70 in step S 31. When acquiring the software package 70 supplied from the personal computer 52, the FTP daemon 41 causes the RAM 13 to store the software package 70, and the process proceeds to step S32. In step S32, the software package expansion processing unit 42 expands the software package 70 held in the RAM 13, restores the shell script 71, the update program 72, the image data 73, and the image data 74, and stores them in different files. As shown in FIG. When the software package is expanded, the software package expansion processing unit 42 advances the process to step S33.

  The shell script execution unit 43 executes the shell script 71 held in the RAM 13 in step S33. As shown in FIG. 7, the second line of the shell script 71 is instructed to write to the ROM 12. Accordingly, the ROM write control unit 44 is controlled by the shell script execution unit 43 that executes the description (update app.image) on the second line of the shell script 71 in step S34, and writes the image data 73 into the ROM 12. As shown in FIG. 7, execution of the update program 72 (writing to the ROM 64) is instructed on the third line of the shell script 71. Accordingly, the update program execution unit 45 is controlled by the shell script execution unit 43 that executes the description (fpga_update fpga.image) on the third line of the shell script 71 in step S35, and writes the image data 74 into the ROM 64 of the FPGA 61. When the process of step S35 is finished and the execution of the shell script is finished, the shell script execution unit 43 finishes the installation process.

  As described above, the general-purpose platform 1 acquires the update program for writing the software in the predetermined ROM of the image processing apparatus 51 together with the software for updating the software of the image processing apparatus 51, and uses the update program. Since the software can be updated, the software stored in the ROM that is unique to the product in which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated and is unknown to the general-purpose platform 1 can be updated. That is, the general-purpose platform 1 has the above-described configuration, and by executing the above-described processing, the software stored in the ROM unique to the product can be updated regardless of the configuration of the product. it can. That is, the general-purpose platform 1 can perform software update processing with higher versatility.

  At that time, the general-purpose platform 1 continuously executes a plurality of processes using the shell script 71, so that the series of write processes (software update processes) described above are continuously executed without requiring a user instruction. can do. Accordingly, since the flow of the software update process can be controlled by the description of the shell script, the development of the software package is facilitated, and the user who performs the software update process can easily perform the update work.

  In general, since the general-purpose platform 1 is assumed to be incorporated into various products, for example, it is desirable that the configuration be the minimum necessary in order to reduce the manufacturing cost of the product of the incorporation destination. . Since the general-purpose platform 1 uses the shell script 71 as described above, a configuration for accepting an operation by a user such as a keyboard and a display becomes unnecessary, so that an increase in the configuration for software update can be suppressed. it can.

  Further, the general-purpose platform 1 has the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and acquires the above-described software package 71 from a device (personal computer 52) other than the product (image processing device 51) of the installation destination via the network 50. Therefore, even if the product of the installation destination does not have a configuration related to operation reception such as a keyboard or a display, the user who performs software update work, for example, only for the software update Software can be easily updated without connecting a personal computer to the product using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like and operating a notebook personal computer.

  Furthermore, the general-purpose platform 1 has the FTP server program 31, and has a function as the FTP daemon 41 by executing the FTP server program 31. The software of the image processing apparatus 51 can be easily updated simply by operating the personal computer 52 connected to the computer and FTP-transferring the software package 70 described above to the general-purpose platform 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ROM 12 has a product common function storage area 22 and a product specific function storage area 23 as different areas. That is, the ROM 12 stores general-purpose software and product-specific software in different areas. Therefore, for example, even in the case of a product-specific software update, even if a failure such as the update process fails and ends, or the software update destination is incorrect between the ROM 12 and the ROM 64, a program that performs software update is stored. Since the information in the product common function storage area 22 is not destroyed, the CPU 11 can perform the update process again. That is, the general-purpose platform 1 can perform correct software update processing more reliably.

  In the above, the case where the software stored in the ROM (nonvolatile storage medium such as a flash memory) is updated has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when software is newly written to the ROM, The same applies when deleting stored software. In other words, the general-purpose platform 1 executes a program created based on the configuration of the product at the installation destination, and writes, deletes, and updates software to the ROM specific to the installation-target product that is unknown to the general-purpose platform 1. Can do.

  In the above description, it has been described that the general-purpose platform 1 acquires the software package 70 using FTP, but any file transfer protocol may be used. For example, file transfer may be performed using HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol).

  Further, at the time of this file transfer (software package exchange), the general-purpose platform 1 may perform an authentication process for authenticating the transmission source.

  Hereinafter, an example in which the general-purpose platform 1 performs file transfer using HTTP and performs authentication processing at the time of file transfer will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the storage area of the ROM 12 in that case.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the ROM 12 in this case also has an operating system storage area 21, a product common function storage area 22, and a product specific function storage area 23, as in the case of FIG. In the storage area 22, an expansion processing program 32, a shell script execution program 33, a general installation program 34, and a setting value 35 are stored. However, unlike the case of FIG. 2, the ROM 12 in the case of FIG. 10 stores the HTTP server program 81 and the authentication processing program 82 in the product common function storage area 22 instead of the FTP server program 31 shown in FIG. .

  The HTTP server program 81 is a program executed by the CPU 11. The CPU 11 executes the HTTP server program 81 to control the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and realize an HTTP server function that provides a file transfer service using HTTP. For example, the CPU 11 controls the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and uses this HTTP server function to provide a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for accepting a file transfer instruction to an external device or the GUI. The information about the update of the supplied software is acquired when the file transfer instruction is accepted based on the above.

  The authentication processing program 82 is a program executed by the CPU 11. The CPU 11 executes the authentication processing program 82 to perform an authentication process based on information supplied from an external device. For example, the CPU 11 executes the authentication processing program 82 to control the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14, and performs authentication processing of the authentication key acquired together with information related to software update acquired from an external device. Authenticate the source of information about updates.

  That is, in this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the CPU 11 includes an HTTP daemon 91, an authentication processing unit 92, and a software package extraction unit 93 instead of the FTP daemon 41 of FIG. 3. In this case, the CPU 11 also has a software package development processing unit 42, a shell script execution unit 43, a ROM write control unit 44, and an update program execution unit 45, as in the case of FIG.

  The HTTP daemon 91 is a functional block indicating functions obtained by the CPU 11 executing the HTTP server program 81. The HTTP daemon 91 controls the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 to provide a function as an HTTP server. The HTTP daemon 91 controls, for example, the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and supplies a GUI for accepting a file transfer instruction to another device, or a software package transferred using HTTP from another device. Or get it. At this time, as will be described later, the software package is transferred as MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) multipart data in a format that includes binary data in text data. The HTTP daemon 91 stores the acquired MIME multipart data (software package) in the RAM 13 and passes the processing to the authentication processing unit 92.

  The authentication processing unit 92 is a functional block indicating functions obtained by the CPU 11 executing the authentication processing program 82. The authentication processing unit 92 performs authentication processing on the authentication key supplied via the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14. For example, the authentication processing unit 92 controls the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and determines whether or not the transmission source of the software package is valid by performing authentication processing of the authentication key supplied together with the software package. To do. When the authentication key is authenticated, that is, when it is determined that the transmission source of the software package is valid, the authentication processing unit 92 passes the processing to the software package extraction unit 93.

  The software package extraction unit 93 is a functional block indicating functions obtained by the CPU 11 executing the HTTP server program 81. The software package extraction unit 93 extracts a software package from MIME multipart data stored in the RAM 13. When the software package extraction unit 93 extracts the software package, the software package extraction unit 93 passes the processing to the software package development processing unit 42.

  Subsequent processing is performed in the same manner as in FIG. Note that the configuration example of the software package and the description example of the shell script included in the software package are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG.

  Next, a specific example of the software update process of the image processing apparatus 51 in the example shown in FIG. 4 when the general-purpose platform 1 performs file transfer using HTTP as described above, and further performs authentication processing of the transmission source. An example of the flow will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In this case, the personal computer 52 requests an upload screen from the image processing apparatus 51 (general-purpose platform 1) in step S41. The upload screen is a GUI image for accepting a file transfer instruction, and the data is composed of a description such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language). When the HTTP daemon 91 of the image processing apparatus 51 accepts this request in step S51, it supplies the upload screen data requested in step S52 to the personal computer 52. When the personal computer 52 acquires the upload screen data in step S42, in step S43, the personal computer 52 displays the acquired upload screen using, for example, a WEB browser or the like, and accepts a file transfer instruction input from the user, for example.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of the upload screen. In FIG. 13, an upload screen 100 shows a configuration example of an upload screen displayed on a display or the like in the personal computer 52.

  As shown in FIG. 13, on the upper side of the upload screen 100, a title “software update” indicating that this GUI screen is the upload screen is displayed. In addition, a file name input field 101 and a reference button 102 are displayed below the title of the upload screen 100 together with a message “Please select a file”. In the file name input field 101, the file name of the software package designated as the file to be transferred to the general-purpose platform 1 is displayed along with its path. That is, the user operates the keyboard or mouse to input a file name in the file name input field 101 together with the path name, or operates the reference button 102 to start another window and displays it in the window. The software package to be transferred is specified by causing the file name input field 101 to display the file name and path name specified selectively on the GUI.

  Further, an upload button 103 is provided below the file name input field 101 on the upload screen 100. When the user operates the upload button 103, the software package (software package selected by the user) whose file name and path name are displayed in the file name input field 101 is uploaded (transferred to the general-purpose platform 1).

  Further, an install key input field 104 to an install key input field 106 are further provided below the upload button 103 on the upload screen 100. The installation key is an authentication key for authenticating the transmission source of the software package, which is necessary when authentication processing is performed in the general-purpose platform 1 when uploading the software package.

  Before operating the upload button 103, the user inputs the required number of installation keys to one of the installation key input fields 104 to 106 into one input field. That is, the number of installation keys to be input may be zero, one, or a plurality. When the user operates the upload button 103 after inputting the installation key, the personal computer 51 uploads (transfers) the software package and the installation key to the general-purpose platform 1 together with the MIME multipart data.

  When the file transfer instruction is received on the upload screen 100 having the above configuration, the personal computer 52 embeds the designated software package in the text data as binary data and transmits it to the image processing apparatus 51 as MIME multipart data ( Forward.

  FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of MIME multipart data. As shown in FIG. 14, in the MIME multi-part data 111, a software package and an installation key are embedded as binary data in a portion of “(binary data)” between text data. Note that the description “(binary data)” indicates the embedded position of the software package or installation key, which is binary data, and does not actually exist.

  On the other hand, the image processing apparatus 51 performs installation processing in step S53, and acquires such MIME multipart data 111.

  Next, an example of a detailed flow of the installation process executed in step S53 of FIG. 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, a case will be described in which the MIME multipart data 111 including the software package 70 having the configuration shown in FIG. 6 and the installation key is received. At this time, the script shown in FIG. 7 is described in the shell script 71 included in the software package 70.

  In step S <b> 61, the HTTP daemon 91 of the general-purpose platform 1 controls the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and performs the reception process of the MIME multipart data 111. When the MIME multipart data 111 supplied from the personal computer 52 is acquired, the HTTP daemon 91 stores the data in the RAM 13 and advances the process to step S62. In step S62, the authentication processing unit 92 extracts an installation key from the MIME multi-part data 111, and performs an authentication process using the extracted installation key. When the installation key is authenticated, the software package extraction unit 93 extracts the software package from the MIME multi-part data 111 and stores it in the RAM 13.

  The subsequent processing from step S64 to step S67 after the software package is extracted is executed in the same manner as the processing from step S32 to step S35 in the flowchart of FIG.

  As described above, the general-purpose platform 1 can acquire a software package using HTTP. In this way, the user of the personal computer 52 can easily upload the software package to the general-purpose platform 1 without knowing the FTP command.

  Further, the general-purpose platform 1 can perform authentication processing of the transmission source of the software package using the installation key when uploading the software package. Therefore, the general-purpose platform 1 can suppress unauthorized software update and perform safer software update processing.

  Of course, the product-specific configuration of the product in which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated may be other than the decoder unit 60 in the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a configuration unique to a product into which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated.

  In FIG. 16, the general-purpose platform 1 is connected to a control unit 121 by a bus 10. The control unit 121 includes a dedicated bus 130, a CPU 131, a ROM 132, and a RAM 133 that are connected to each other via the bus 130, and a bus bridge 134 that performs a relay process between the bus 10 and the bus 130.

  The CPU 131 controls the ROM 132 and the RAM 133 via the bus 130, and executes a control process for controlling other components (not shown). The ROM 132 is configured by a rewritable nonvolatile storage medium such as a flash memory, and stores device-specific software executed by the CPU 131. The RAM 133 temporarily holds the software when the CPU 131 executes the software.

  Also in this case, the CPU 11 performs the software update process in the same manner as described above. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 17, the software package 140 in this case is similar to the case of FIG. 6, the shell script 141 (update.sh), the update program 142 (app2_update), and the image data 73 (app.image). , And image data 144 (app2.image). Each of these files is basically the same kind of software except for the contents of each file shown in FIG. Therefore, the configuration of the software package 140 shown in FIG. 17 is the same as the configuration of the software package 70 of FIG.

  That is, the developer of the software package can basically develop the same for any product by simply changing each software included in the software package according to the configuration of the product into which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated. can do.

  FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a description example of the shell script 141. The example shown in FIG. 18 differs from the example shown in FIG. 7 only in the description on the third line instructing the writing process to the ROM unique to the product into which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated. In this way, the developer of the software package can easily make each software of the software package correspond to the product configuration by updating the description of the shell script according to the configuration of the product into which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated. Image data can be written to a target ROM. That is, the general-purpose platform 1 can provide software update processing with higher versatility.

  In the above description, the ROM 12 has been described so as to store the setting value 35 used in each program in the product common function storage area 22 of the ROM 12, but the setting value 35 having a high update frequency is stored in the operating system storage area 21, It may be stored in an area other than the product common function storage area 22 and the product specific function storage area 22. By storing in this way, the ROM 12 can suppress the destruction of other programs due to the failure to update the setting value 35.

  In the above, as shown in FIG. 19A, a plaintext software package 151 (XXX.tar.), Which is a plaintext software package, is transmitted from the personal computer 52 to the general-purpose platform 1 of the image processing apparatus 51 via the network 50. Although it has been described that gz) is transferred, the software package 151 may be encrypted.

  Further, in this case, as shown in FIG. 19B, the general-purpose image 1 can receive both the ciphertext software package 152 (YYY.elp) and the plaintext software package 151, which are encrypted software packages. It is possible to have two modes, a mode and a mode in which only the ciphertext software package 152 can be received, and the software update process may be performed in either one of the modes.

  In FIG. 19, the ciphertext software package 152 (YYY.elp) is obtained by encrypting the plaintext software package 151 (XXX.tar.gz) by a predetermined method such as DES (Data Encryption Standard). .

  FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the storage area of the ROM 12 in this case. The ROM 12 has a setting value storage area 161 in addition to the operating system storage area 21, the product common function storage area 22, and the product specific function storage area 22.

  The setting value storage area 161 is a storage area for holding various setting values referred to when executing various software. As described above, the storage area of the setting value having a high update frequency is distinguished from the storage area of other information, so that the general-purpose platform 1 prevents the destruction of other software when the setting value is updated. Safety can be improved.

  In addition to the FTP server program 31 to the general-purpose installation program 34 shown in FIG. 2, the product common function storage area 22 of the ROM 12 is decrypted so that the ciphertext software package 152 can be processed as described above. A processing program 171 and a setting confirmation program 172 are further stored.

  The decryption processing program 171 is a program executed by the CPU 11. The CPU 11 executes the decryption processing program 171 to realize a decryption processing function for decrypting software encrypted by a predetermined method and obtaining plain text software. For example, the CPU 11 decrypts the ciphertext software package 152 acquired through the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 using this decryption processing function, and restores the plaintext software package 151 before being encrypted. Note that the encryption process and the decryption process are performed using a predetermined secret key, and the general-purpose platform 1 corresponds to the secret key used for the encryption process or the secret key used for the encryption process. It already has a secret key for decryption processing. For example, this secret key is embedded in the decryption processing program 171 in advance, and the CPU 11 can extract and use this secret key when executing the decryption processing program 171.

  The setting confirmation program 172 is a program executed by the CPU 11. The CPU 11 implements a setting confirmation function for confirming the setting value stored in the setting value storage area 161 by executing the setting confirmation program 172. For example, the CPU 11 refers to the setting value storage area 161 and confirms whether or not the plaintext software package 151 is accepted.

  FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of setting values stored in the setting value storage area 161. In FIG. 21, a setting value 181 is a setting value related to acquisition of a software package by the general platform 1, and the description “MAC Address = 00: 11: 22: 33: 44: 55” on the first line is This indicates that the MAC address of the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 is “00: 11: 22: 33: 44: 55”, and the description “IP Address = 192.168.0.1” on the second line is Ethernet ( This indicates that the IP address of the registered trademark I / F 14 (FTP daemon 41) is “192.168.0.1”.

  The description “shipping = no” on the third line indicates that the state of the general-purpose platform 1 is not a “shipment” state that is generally sold. The developed general-purpose platform 1 has a state for development used for development of a product to be embedded, and a state for sales in which a product incorporating the general-purpose platform 1 is generally sold. That is, even if the general-purpose platform 1 itself has been developed, there are two cases: a case where a product into which the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated is under development, and a case where the product has been developed and is being sold.

  For example, if a product to be embedded has been developed and the general-purpose platform 1 is incorporated for sale (shipment), the general-purpose platform 1 rejects the plaintext software package 151 and accepts only the ciphertext software package 152. For example, it is possible not only to suppress the creation of an unauthorized software package by a third party such as an end user, but also to reject an unauthorized software package created by the third party. Unauthorized hacking can be prevented, and software updates can be performed more safely.

  However, when only the ciphertext software package 152 is received in this way at the time of development of an embedded product, the ciphertext software package is updated every time the software (firmware) of the embedded product is updated using the software package. 152 is prepared, and not only is the update process complicated, but the ciphertext software package 152 cannot be confirmed even if the user directly refers to this file. There is a risk that it will be difficult to manage. Therefore, at the time of development of an embedded product, the general-purpose platform 1 can accept both the plaintext software package 151 and the ciphertext software package 152, thereby reducing the development cost of the embedded product. The development period can be shortened.

  “Shipping” in the setting value 181 in FIG. 21 is a setting for distinguishing between these two states. In FIG. 21, the description “shipping = no” on the third line of the setting value 181 indicates that the embedded product is under development and the state of the general-purpose platform 1 is not the “shipped” state that is generally sold. Is shown.

  A configuration example of the functional block of the CPU 11 in this case is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 22, the CPU 11 loads the program shown in FIG. 20 into the RAM 13 and executes it, thereby causing the decoding processing unit 191 and the setting confirmation unit 192 to be included in addition to the functional blocks shown in FIG. 3. Have.

  The decryption processing unit 191 is a functional block indicating functions obtained by the CPU 11 executing the decryption processing program 171. The decryption processing unit 191 provides a decryption function for decrypting the encrypted software by a predetermined method. For example, the decryption processing unit 191 decrypts the ciphertext software package 152 acquired by the FTP daemon 41 using a predetermined secret key, and acquires the plaintext software package 151. The decryption processing unit 191 holds the acquired plain text software package 151 in the RAM 13 and passes the processing to the software package development unit 42.

  Also, when the software package acquired by the FTP daemon 41 is the plaintext software package 151, the decryption processing unit 191 passes the processing to the setting confirmation unit 192 without performing the decryption process.

  The setting confirmation unit 192 is a functional block showing functions obtained by the CPU 11 executing the setting confirmation program 172. The setting confirmation unit 192 confirms the setting value 181 stored in the setting value storage area 161 of the ROM 12, and determines whether to update the software according to the confirmation result.

  Next, an example of the flow of the general platform installation process in this case will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the transfer of the software package is the same as that described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8 in both plaintext and ciphertext, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  In step S81, the FTP daemon 41 of the general-purpose platform 1 controls the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14 and performs software package reception processing in the same manner as in step S31. Upon obtaining the software package supplied from the personal computer 52, the FTP daemon 41 causes the RAM 13 to hold it and advances the process to step S82. In step S82, the decryption processing unit 191 determines whether or not the received software package is the ciphertext software package 152. If it is determined that the received software package is the ciphertext software package 152, the process proceeds to step S83. The ciphertext software package 152 is decrypted, and the plaintext software package 151 before being encrypted is restored. When the decoding process ends, the decoding processing unit 191 advances the process to step S85.

  If it is determined in step S82 that the received software package is not the ciphertext software package 152 (the plaintext software package 151), the decryption processing unit 191 skips the decryption process and advances the process to step S84.

  In step S84, the setting confirmation unit 192 refers to the setting value 181 stored in the setting value storage area 161, and determines whether or not the value of the setting item “shipping” is “YES”. That is, the setting confirmation unit 192 determines whether or not the state of the general-purpose platform 1 is a shipping state (whether or not development of a product to be incorporated has been completed). If it is determined that the value of the setting item “shipping” is “NO”, the setting confirmation unit 192 permits the plaintext software package 151 to be accepted, and the process proceeds to step S85.

  Each functional block of the CPU 11 performs the software update process as described above by performing the processes of steps S85 to S88 in the same manner as steps S32 to S35 of FIG. 9, and ends the installation process. If it is determined in step S35 that the value of the setting item “shipping” is “YES”, that is, if it is determined that the development of the product of the installation destination has been completed and is in the shipping state, the setting confirmation unit 192 , The process from step S85 to step S88 is omitted, and the installation process is terminated.

  As described above, since the general-purpose platform 1 updates software using the encrypted software package, the software update process can be performed more safely, such as preventing hacking by a third party. Further, by determining whether or not the plaintext software package 151 is accepted depending on whether or not the product into which the general platform 1 is incorporated is in a sales state (shipment state), the product into which the general platform 1 is incorporated The software update process can be performed more safely while suppressing the development of the software.

  In the above description, it has been described that whether to receive the plaintext software package 151 is determined depending on whether or not the product to which the general-purpose platform 1 is installed is in a shipping state. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Whether to accept the plaintext software package 151 may be determined by a user who adds or updates product software. In this way, the security level can be adjusted for each user who adds or updates software. Further, it may be determined whether or not the plaintext software package 151 is accepted for each software to be added or updated. Further, conditions other than those described above may be used. Furthermore, it goes without saying that these various conditions may be used in combination.

  In the above description, it has been described that the general-purpose platform 1 only sets whether to accept the plaintext software package 151, but at the same time, whether to accept the ciphertext software package 152 may also be set. However, it may be set only whether to accept the ciphertext software package 152.

  Furthermore, in the above description, the general-purpose platform 1 has been described as acquiring a software package for update processing from the personal computer 52 which is another device via the Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 14. For example, a general-purpose platform 201 illustrated in FIG. 24 may include a drive 211 corresponding to a predetermined removable medium 212 and obtain a software package recorded on the removable medium 212. .

  That is, the above-described series of processing can be executed by hardware or software, but when the above-described series of processing is executed by software, the above-described software is read from the recording medium. It may be installed.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 24, the recording medium is distributed to distribute the program to the user separately from the apparatus main body, and includes a magnetic disk (including a flexible disk) on which the program is recorded, an optical disk ( Removable media 212 such as CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory), DVD (digital versatile disk), magneto-optical disk (including MD (mini-disk) (registered trademark)), or semiconductor memory Composed.

  However, in this case, the CPU 11 automatically executes a process of reading the software package recorded on the removable medium 212 mounted on the drive 211 so that the general-purpose platform 201 does not require a configuration for receiving an instruction from the user ( It is desirable that the software package recorded on the removable medium 212 can be automatically reproduced).

  In the present specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium is not limited to the processing performed in chronological order according to the described order, but is not necessarily performed in chronological order. It also includes processes that are executed individually.

  Further, in this specification, the system represents the entire apparatus composed of a plurality of devices (apparatuses). In the above description, the configuration described as one device may be divided and configured as a plurality of devices. Conversely, the configurations described above as a plurality of devices may be combined into a single device. Of course, configurations other than those described above may be added to the configuration of each device. Furthermore, if the configuration and operation of the entire system are substantially the same, a part of the configuration of a certain device may be included in the configuration of another device.

It is a figure which shows the structural example which concerns on one Embodiment of the general purpose platform to which this invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a storage area of the ROM in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the functional block which shows the function which CPU of FIG. 1 has. It is a figure which shows the specific usage example of the general purpose platform 1 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the image processing apparatus in FIG. 4. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of a software package. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a description of the shell script of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the example of the flow of a software update process. It is a flowchart explaining the example of the detailed flow of an installation process. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another configuration example of the storage area of the ROM in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of the functional block which shows the function which CPU of FIG. 1 has. It is a flowchart explaining the other example of the flow of a software update process. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of an upload screen. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of MIME multipart data. It is a flowchart explaining the other example of the detailed flow of an installation process. It is a block diagram which shows the other example of the structure peculiar to the product of the installation destination of a general purpose platform. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other structural example of a software package. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other description example of the shell script of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the mode of the transfer of a software package. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing still another configuration example of the storage area of the ROM in FIG. 1. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the setting value stored in the setting value storage area | region of FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating still another configuration example of the function block indicating the functions of the CPU in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart explaining the further another example of the detailed flow of an installation process. It is a figure which shows the other structural example based on one Embodiment of the general purpose platform to which this invention is applied.

Explanation of symbols

  1 general-purpose platform, 10 buses, 11 CPU, 12 ROM, 13 RAM, 14 Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F, 21 operating system storage area, 22 product common function storage area, 23 product specific function storage area, 31 FTP server program , 32 Deployment processing program, 33 Shell script execution program, 34 General installation program, 35 Setting value, 41 FTP daemon, 42 Software package deployment processing unit, 43 Shell script execution unit, 44 ROM write control unit, 45 Update program execution unit, 50 network, 51 image processing device, 52 personal computer, 53 image providing device, 60 decoder unit, 61 FPGA, 62 decoder, 63 RAM, 64 ROM, 70 software Wear package, 71 shell script, 72 update program, 73 and 74 image data, 81 HTTP server program, 82 authentication processing program, 91 HTTP daemon, 92 authentication processing unit, 93 software package extraction unit, 100 upload screen, 111 MIME multipart Data, 121 control unit, 130 bus, 131 CPU, 132 ROM, 133 RAM, 134 bus bridge, 140 software package, 141 shell script, 142 update program, 144 image data, 151 plaintext software package, 152 ciphertext software package, 161 Setting value storage area, 171 decoding processing program, 172 setting confirmation program, 181 setting value, 191 Decoding processing unit, 192 Setting confirmation unit, 201 General-purpose platform, 211 drives, 212 Removable media

Claims (9)

An information processing apparatus that is used by being incorporated in another apparatus and provides a predetermined function to the other apparatus of the installation destination,
The rewritable storage medium that the other apparatus has as a configuration other than the information processing apparatus, and the first software that is written to the first storage medium that is an unknown configuration for the information processing apparatus Acquisition means for acquiring from the outside of the other device a program for writing the data to the first storage medium;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a program execution unit that executes the program acquired by the acquisition unit and writes the first software in the first storage medium. A shell script executing means for executing a shell script for specifying a software writing procedure;
The acquisition means further acquires the shell script together with the first software and the program,
The shell script execution means executes the shell script acquired by the acquisition means,
The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the program execution means executes the program according to a description of the shell script executed by the shell script execution means, and writes the first software to the first storage medium. apparatus. As a configuration known to the information processing apparatus, a rewritable second storage medium is provided,
Writing means for writing software to the second storage medium;
The acquisition means further acquires second software to be written to the second storage medium together with the first software and the program,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the writing unit writes the second software into the second storage medium. The storage area of the second storage medium includes a common function storage area that stores software that provides general-purpose functions and a unique function storage area that stores software that provides functions unique to the other apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information processing apparatus is formed as a different area. And further comprising a decompression means for decompressing a plurality of files archived into a single file,
The acquisition means acquires the first software and the program as one software package that is archived and collected,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the expansion unit expands the software package acquired by the acquisition unit and separates the first software and the program. Further comprising decryption means for decrypting the encrypted file by a predetermined method;
The acquisition means acquires the encrypted first software and the program,
The decrypting means decrypts the encrypted first software and the program acquired by the acquiring means by a predetermined method,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program execution unit executes the program decoded by the decoding unit, and writes the first software decoded by the decoding unit to the first storage medium. Setting holding means for holding a setting as to whether to acquire the first software and the program in plain text not encrypted by the acquiring means;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: setting confirmation means for confirming the setting held by the setting holding means. An information processing method for an information processing apparatus that is used by being incorporated in another apparatus and provides a predetermined function to the other apparatus of the installation destination,
The rewritable storage medium that the other apparatus has as a configuration other than the information processing apparatus, and the first software that is written to the first storage medium that is an unknown configuration for the information processing apparatus From the outside of the other device, and a program for writing to the first storage medium,
An information processing method including a step of executing the program acquired by the acquisition unit and writing the first software into the first storage medium A program that is used by being incorporated in another device, and that causes a computer to perform a process of providing a predetermined function to the other device to be incorporated,
The rewritable storage medium that the other apparatus has as a configuration other than the information processing apparatus, and the first software that is written to the first storage medium that is an unknown configuration for the information processing apparatus From the outside of the other device, and a program for writing to the first storage medium,
A program including the step of executing the program acquired by the acquisition means and writing the first software to the first storage medium

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