JP2007069514A - Ink-jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink-jet recording device allowing update of firmware of a device without using a PC in an ink-jet recording device having a PictBridge function. <P>SOLUTION: The ink-jet recording device is provided with a PictBridge interface and a device class determination means. When a device class is a still image class, the device proceeds to a protocol of a PictBridge. When the device class is a mass storage class, the device proceeds to an update mode of the firmware. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In recent years, a standard called PictBridge, which connects a color recording device and a digital camera directly using a USB interface and prints photo data in the digital camera without using a PC, has been established for most color recording devices. The function is installed.

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus according to a method for upgrading a control program of an ink jet recording apparatus having a picto-bridge function, and particularly to a technique for enabling simple version upgrade.

  Conventionally, various proposals have been made for upgrading the version of the control program of the apparatus. For a peripheral device of a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), a method of downloading a new control program from a PC via a PC interface such as a USB is known as the most general method. However, since this method requires a PC in the first place, a system for performing version upgrade becomes expensive and the operation becomes complicated. Therefore, a method that does not use a PC has been proposed.

For example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3 disclose a method of upgrading by installing a memory card interface, storing a control program in the memory card, and inserting a memory card storing the control program. Proposed. Patent Document 4 proposes a method for downloading an extended function via a USB interface without using a PC.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-305839 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-242596 JP 2000-155675 A JP 2004-122596 A

  However, in the prior art, when upgrading from a PC, there is a problem that, as described in the previous section, the system for upgrading becomes expensive and the operation becomes complicated. There is also a digital camera dedicated recording device for recording only the image data of the digital camera by the PictBridge function. Since such a device does not have a PC interface, there is a problem that the version cannot be upgraded from the PC. is there.

  In order to overcome this problem, a version upgrade method using a memory card has been proposed as described above. However, in these cases, there is a problem that a memory card interface must be provided in common.

  Further, in the proposal of Patent Document 1, since the memory card interface is used for other data exchange in addition to the upgrade of the control program, the memory card type is recognized when the memory card is inserted, and the contents of the stored file are stored. There is a problem that the type recognition means for determining the system is required and the system becomes complicated. Also, since data other than version upgrade is included in the memory card, it is unclear whether it is card insertion for version upgrade or card insertion for other purposes, so some operation is required even during version upgrade There is a problem to say.

  Furthermore, although not specifically shown in the proposal, some means for comparing the program version information is also required. For example, set a data file to be versioned separately from the program file, write it down and store it in the card, determine whether to upgrade the version by decoding its contents, or decode the program file itself, There is a problem that a means for discriminating the version of the program is required, and the system for upgrading the version becomes complicated.

  In the proposal of Patent Document 2, there is a problem that an external connection terminal must be provided only for a version upgrade that is not functionally meaningful for the device, and the CPU stores the program code stored in the memory card. A configuration in which the program code itself must be expanded to a predetermined address and the version information must also be stored at a predetermined address to compare program versions in order to operate by directly reading As a result, a dedicated writing device is required, and there is a problem that it is not versatile. Naturally, when a memory card storing data other than the program code is connected, the device malfunctions.

  In Patent Document 3, in order to upgrade the version, the main body must be turned off / on and at the same time a predetermined operation (in the embodiment, the document sensor is turned on when the power is turned on) must be performed. Not only is it troublesome, but there are also concerns about misoperation. For example, there is a problem that the program rewrite mode is entered if the power is turned on while the document is placed, even though the control program is not upgraded.

  Patent Document 4 proposes a method of downloading an extended function from a USB interface that does not use a PC. In this proposal, the USB interface unit functions as a USB host or a USB device depending on a connected device. Therefore, there is a problem that both a host driver and a device driver must be provided in terms of hardware, resulting in a complicated and expensive configuration. Furthermore, since a control driver corresponding to various USB devices (device classes) is necessary in terms of software, there is a problem that the driver software of the USB interface unit becomes large-scale.

  Further, since a general-purpose USB interface is used, as in the proposal of Patent Document 1, when a USB device is connected, the type of the connected device is recognized, and the type recognition means for determining the contents of the stored file There is also a problem that the system is complicated because it is necessary.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an inkjet recording apparatus that can be easily upgraded without providing a new interface for upgrading a program.

  In recent years, small mass storage devices (hereinafter referred to as USB memories) that can be connected to a PC via a USB interface have become widespread. In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes a method for upgrading a control program using this USB memory.

  That is, an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention includes a rewritable nonvolatile memory that stores a control program for controlling the entire apparatus, and a memory having a storage capacity that is at least equal to the storage capacity of the nonvolatile memory that stores the control program. And a USB interface for connecting a digital camera, and a picto-bridge function. When a storage device having a USB interface storing a control program is connected to the USB interface, the USB communication with the storage device is obtained. Based on the information, the program automatically shifts to the program rewrite mode, and the control program stored in the nonvolatile memory is rewritten to the control program stored in the storage device.

  The ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is characterized by determining whether the mode is a pictobridge mode or a program rewrite mode according to a device class of a USB device connected to the USB interface.

  The ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention has means for determining whether or not the data stored in the storage device is a program, and if it is determined that the data is not a program, the program is not rewritten.

  When the control program is rewritten, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention checks whether the data written at a predetermined address among the data expanded in the memory has a predetermined value in order to rewrite the control program. If it is a predetermined value, it is determined that the program is a control program.

  According to the present invention, the upgrade can be performed by the interface originally installed in the ink jet recording apparatus without newly providing an interface for upgrading the control program such as a dedicated memory card slot. Since it is determined whether or not the control program is upgraded based on information essential for USB communication, the means for determining whether or not it is upgraded is simplified.

  Since the transition to the upgrade operation is performed simply by inserting the USB memory into the PictBridge interface, it is possible to upgrade the control program without performing any special operation. Since the USB communication driver installed in the ink jet recording apparatus only needs to support the still image class and the mass storage class, the USB driver software is simplified.

  In addition, the control program can be upgraded in the same manner even in a recording apparatus dedicated to a digital camera not equipped with a PC interface.

  When the control program is rewritten, it is determined only by data stored at a predetermined address in the memory to determine whether or not the data downloaded from the USB memory is a program, so that the determination process is simplified.

  BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The best embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

  Embodiments of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus embodying the present invention. Reference numeral 101 denotes an ink jet recording apparatus main body.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes a CPU that controls the ink jet recording apparatus, reference numeral 103 denotes a memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) used for storing image data sent from the PC for recording and processing for recording, and reference numeral 104 denotes A non-volatile rewritable memory represented by a flash memory (in this embodiment, a flash memory) that stores a control program for controlling the entire inkjet recording apparatus. The CPU 102 stores the flash memory 104 in this embodiment. The entire inkjet recording apparatus is controlled according to the control program, and image data sent from a PC or digital camera connected to the inkjet recording apparatus is recorded by a recording unit (not shown).

  A USB host controller 105 operates as a USB host, and communicates with a connected USB device, here a digital camera or a USB memory, to exchange data. Since various USB devices are usually connected to a USB host, it is necessary to have a communication driver that supports all device classes. However, in the present invention, the USB device connected here is limited to a digital camera or USB memory. Therefore, only still image class and mass storage class are supported.

  Reference numeral 106 denotes a USB device controller, which exchanges data with a connected PC through USB communication. Reference numeral 107 denotes a system bus for connecting the CPU and each block, and reference numeral 108 denotes a USB type-A connector for connection to a digital camera or a USB memory, which is a so-called pictobridge interface. Reference numeral 109 denotes a USB type-B connector for connecting to a PC.

  Reference numeral 201 denotes a PC, 202 denotes a USB cable, 301 denotes a digital camera, and 401 denotes a USB memory in which a control program for version upgrade is stored.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the flash memory 104.

  The flash memory is divided into a plurality of sectors for each memory space, and writing and erasing can be performed for each sector. The flash memory in FIG. 2 is divided into sectors 0 to N, and a program (Loader program) for rewriting the contents of the flash memory is stored in sector 0.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of using the RAM memory space at the time of version upgrade.

  In this example, the RAM capacity is 8 Mbytes, the program data capacity, that is, the flash memory capacity is 2 Mbytes, and the program code stored in the USB memory is expanded from 100000h address to 2FFFFFh address.

  Next, the actual version upgrade operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when any USB device is connected to the PictBridge interface 108 in step S101, the process proceeds to step S102 and the device class of the connected USB device is confirmed by bus enumeration. If it is a still image class, the camera is determined to be a digital camera, and the process proceeds to step S103 to perform the pictobridge mode process. If it is not a still image class, it is confirmed in step S104 whether it is a mass storage class. If it is not the mass storage class, it means that an unexpected device has been connected. Therefore, for example, an error is displayed in step S111, and the process ends.

  If it is the mass storage class in step S104, it is determined that the operation is for version upgrade, and the process proceeds to step S105 to shift to version upgrade processing. From here on, the version upgrade operation proceeds with the loader program written in sector 0 of the flash memory. In step S106, the program file to be upgraded is read from the USB memory, expanded in a predetermined area of the RAM, and stored as a program code.

  In the example of FIG. 4, program codes are sequentially stored from the address 100000h of the RAM. At this time, the file stored in the USB memory may be a text data format file already developed into a program code, or a packet format file with CRC check data in the msx file format. In that case, a simple program code is restored to the RAM by a program stored in advance in the flash memory.

  In step S107, it is confirmed whether or not the data expanded in the RAM is a program code. Specifically, a predetermined value is set in advance in a predetermined address of the program data, and the value is compared with the value written in the predetermined address of the data expanded in the RAM in step S106. If it matches, the program code is determined and the process proceeds to step S108 to continue the upgrade operation. If the values do not match, it is determined that the file is incorrect, the process proceeds to step S111, an error is displayed, and the upgrade operation is stopped.

  In the example of FIG. 4, addresses 2FFFFFEh and 2FFFFFh are confirmation addresses, and values “3B” and “4F” are stored as predetermined values, respectively. Therefore, if the value of this address is “3B” or “4F”, respectively, the program code is determined and the upgrade operation is continued. If the values are different, the upgrade operation is stopped.

  The predetermined value may be a specified value such as a product ID, for example, or a check sum of a program file may be recorded, and a check sum of data expanded in the RAM may be calculated and compared.

  In step S108, the program code written in sectors 1 to N of the flash memory is erased. When the erasure of the flash memory is completed, the process proceeds to step S109, and the program code developed in the RAM is sequentially written from the sector 1 of the flash memory.

  When all the program codes have been written, the process proceeds to step S110 to jump to the start address of the program counter, that is, the address fetched first when the reset of the CPU is released, and the initial process is performed. If the system has a watchdog timer, the watchdog timer may be stopped and a hard reset may be performed to shift to initial processing.

  By performing the above processing, the control program can be easily upgraded simply by connecting the USB memory storing the program code to the PictBridge interface.

  In this embodiment, in order to determine whether or not the data stored in the USB memory is a program code, in step S107, the predetermined address data of the data expanded in the RAM is confirmed. In step S106, the file is read from the USB memory. Before reading, it may be determined whether the file format stored in the USB memory is a file format storing a program code.

  Further, since the connection of the USB memory to the PictBridge interface itself means an upgrade operation of the control program, the confirmation sequence in step S107 may be omitted.

  In this embodiment, the determination as to the pictobridge mode or the version-up mode is performed based on the device class. However, the determination may be performed based on other information such as a device type.

  In this embodiment, the loader program is arranged in the sector 0 of the flash memory. However, the loader program is not limited to the sector 0. Further, some CPUs include a mask ROM, and in such a CPU, a loader program can be arranged in a mask ROM area in the CPU. In that case, the program in the entire area of the flash memory can be rewritten. Alternatively, when the program update mode is entered, the loader program may be transferred to the RAM, and the program may be rewritten by the program transferred to the RAM. Also in this case, the program in the entire flash memory area can be rewritten.

Block diagram of an inkjet recording apparatus embodying the present invention Non-volatile memory structure diagram Flow chart showing the operation of the present invention Diagram showing an example of the program development area

Explanation of symbols

101 Inkjet recording apparatus 102 CPU of the present invention
103 RAM
104 Nonvolatile memory (Flash Memory)
105 USB Host Controller 106 USB Device Controller 107 System Bus 108 USB Type-A Connector 109 USB Type-B Connector 201 PC (Personal Computer)
202 USB cable 301 Digital camera 401 USB memory

Claims (4)

  In an inkjet recording apparatus having a rewritable nonvolatile memory for storing a control program, a memory having a storage capacity at least equal to the storage capacity of the nonvolatile memory, a USB interface for connecting a digital camera, and a pict bridge function When a storage device having a USB interface that stores a control program is connected to the USB interface, the nonvolatile memory automatically shifts to a program rewrite mode based on information obtained by USB communication with the storage device. An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the control program stored in the storage device is rewritten with a control program stored in the storage device.   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus determines whether the mode is a picto bridge mode or a program rewrite mode according to a device class of a USB device connected to the USB interface.   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for determining whether or not the data stored in the storage device is a control program, and if the data is not a program, the program is not rewritten.   When a predetermined value is set in a predetermined address of the control program and the data stored in the storage device is expanded in the memory in order to rewrite the control program, the data is written to the address corresponding to the predetermined address 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein whether or not the data is the predetermined value is confirmed, and if it is the predetermined value, it is determined that the data is a control program.

Images