JP2009140398A - External memory, portable terminal device, loading method of program, and software loading program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent, in the event of leak of an external memory storing a program for loading (software loading) to a memory in a cellular phone, unauthorized software loading using the leaked external memory by a third person as much as possible. <P>SOLUTION: To the external memory storing the program for software loading, expiration date information, showing the period that allows software loading of the program stored in the external memory is attached. When software loading is performed from the external memory, the cellular phone acquires a current time clocked by RTC, and executes software loading, only when the date of the acquired current time lies within the expiration date attached to the external memory. According to this, even if the external memory is leaked, the executable period of software loading using the external memory can be limited within the expiration date, and a trouble, such as unauthorized execution of software loading by a third person can be prevented, as much as possible. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is used when a predetermined program stored in an external memory is loaded into a mobile device such as a mobile phone, a PHS phone (PHS: Personal Handyphone System), or a PDA device (PDA: Personal Digital Assistant). In particular, an external memory, a portable terminal device, a program loading method, and a software load program, in particular, an effective period indicating a period during which loading of a program stored in the external memory is permitted is set, and this effective period After the elapse of time, the external memory, the portable terminal device, and the program that prevent the inconvenience that the program is loaded illegally by a third party when the external memory is leaked by refusing to load the program And a software loading program.

  Conventionally, a software license management method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-102335 (Patent Document 1) is known as a technique for preventing unauthorized use of a software program. In the case of this software license management method, the user device that has executed the installer creation software stored on the media, when installing the package software, to the selling server that manages the installation of each media. Make a download request for the installer.

  When this download request is made, the selling server determines whether or not the installer required for installing the package software has already been distributed to the user device that is currently making the download request. Determine. This installer is associated with each medium, such as one installer for one medium. When the distributor server determines that the installer is not distributed to the medium, The installer is distributed to the user device. The user device installs the package software stored in the medium using the installer distributed from the vendor server.

  The selling server manages the media that has distributed the installer as the media for which the installation of the package software has been completed, and rejects the distribution request when an installer distribution request is made for the media thereafter. As a result, even when the media on which the package software is installed on one user device is mounted on the other user device, and the installer download request is made from the other user device to the selling server, the media Since the installer has been distributed, the distribution of the installer to the other user device can be rejected, and unauthorized use of the software program can be prevented.

  Here, when mobile phones that are widely used today are shipped from a factory, a predetermined software program such as a communication program is loaded from a personal computer connected via a USB cable or the like (= software However, in recent years, since many mobile phones have an external memory mounting unit, the external memory 100 storing the predetermined software program is mounted on the external memory. In many cases, a software load is performed from the external memory that is mounted on the external memory.

  The software load using the external memory will be described based on a mobile phone operating in the NAND boot system. This NAND boot method is an operation method in which a program stored in the internal NAND memory 101 is expanded and executed on the SDRAM 102 at the time of booting as shown in FIG. 8, and is applied to a mobile phone that performs communication by the CDMA communication method. Many are used.

  First, as shown in FIG. 9, the NAND memory 101 built in the mobile phone includes a boot program storage area 110 in which a boot program is stored, and a program code storage area 111 in which a program code loaded from an external memory is stored. And a boot loader area 112 in which a boot loader program for executing a software load is stored, and a user data area 103.

  Further, in the external memory, as shown in FIG. 10, a software load execution program (Progrun) for controlling execution of software load, a sequence file for executing software load, a program code (Rombuild.bin) to be loaded, Similarly, fixed data (Font.bin) such as character font data to be loaded is stored.

  The flowchart of FIG. 11 shows the flow of the operation of the user (mobile phone producer) and the operation of the control unit of the mobile phone during soft loading. When performing soft loading, as shown in step S101 of the flowchart of FIG. 11, the producer of the mobile phone externally stores the software loading execution program (Progrun), the program code to be loaded (Rombuild.bin), and the like. A memory is mounted on the external memory mounting portion of the mobile phone, and a power-on operation is performed in a state where a predetermined key for designating execution of soft loading is pressed.

When the control unit of the cellular phone detects a power-on operation in a state where the predetermined key is pressed, it recognizes that execution of the soft load is designated, and in step S102, the external memory mounting unit stores the external memory. Then, the boot loader program stored in the boot loader storage area 112 of the NAND memory 101 is read.
The control unit functions as a boot loader by reading this boot loader program. In step S103, the control unit reads the software load execution program (Progrun) from the external memory shown in FIG. 10, and this software load execution program (Progrun) is shown in FIG. The data is expanded on the SDRAM 102 and executed. In step S104, the program code (Rombuild.bin) and fixed data (Font.bin) stored in the external memory are stored in the program storage area of the NAND memory 101 in accordance with the commands described in the sequence file shown in FIG. 111 is loaded. Thereby, the software load using the external memory is completed. Note that when such software loading is completed, the control unit notifies the display unit of completion such as displaying a software loading completion message.

JP-A-2004-102335 (pages 14 to 16, FIGS. 4 and 7)

  However, the external memory is easy to handle, and by using this external memory for software loading, it is possible to eliminate the need for a software loading environment such as the above personal computer device or USB cable. Since it is easy to handle, there is a risk that it may easily reach a third party due to loss or theft. Such an outflow of external memory is not preferable because a third party who does not have a management duty or manufacturing responsibility for the mobile phone can easily execute an illegal software load.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and even when an external memory for software loading reaches a third party's hand, unauthorized software loading by the third party can be prevented as much as possible. An object of the present invention is to provide such an external memory, a portable terminal device, a program loading method, and a software loading program.

An external memory according to the present invention is an external memory that is detachable from a memory mounting portion of a predetermined device,
A program for loading into the memory in the device;
A load execution control program for causing the control means of the device to function so as to load the program to the memory in the device;
Time stamp information that is time information in which the program is stored;
The effective period information indicating the period during which the program is allowed to be loaded is stored,
The load execution control program is
A program for acquiring current time information from the time measuring means of the device;
When the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is within the validity period indicated by the time stamp information and the validity period information, the program is loaded to the memory in the device. A program for causing the control means of the device to function;
When the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is outside the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information, the execution of loading the program to the memory in the device is rejected. The above-mentioned problems are solved by providing a program for causing the control means of the device to function.

Moreover, the portable terminal device according to the present invention is a means for solving the above-described problems.
A memory provided inside the mobile phone;
A program for loading into the memory, a load execution control program for controlling execution of loading of the program into the memory, time stamp information which is time information storing the program, and loading of the program A memory mounting unit in which an external memory storing valid period information indicating a permitted period is mounted;
A time measuring means for measuring time;
By operating based on the load execution control program stored in the external memory, current time information is acquired from the time measuring means, and the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is stored in the external memory. The program stored in the external memory is loaded into the memory provided in the mobile phone when it is within the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information. When the current time indicated by the current time information acquired from the time measuring means is outside the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information, the loading of the program to the internal memory is rejected. And control means.

In addition, the program loading method according to the present invention is a program loading method for loading a program stored in an external memory mounted in a memory mounting section of a predetermined device into a memory provided in the device. A method,
A program for loading into the internal memory, a load execution control program for controlling execution of loading of the program into the memory, time stamp information which is time information storing the program, and Valid period information indicating a period during which loading is permitted is stored in the external memory,
The control means operates based on the load execution control program stored in the external memory, thereby acquiring current time information from the time measuring means for measuring time, and the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is When the time stamp information stored in the external memory and the effective period indicated by the effective period information are within the effective period, the program stored in the external memory is loaded into the internal memory, and By rejecting loading of the program to the internal memory when the current time indicated by the current time information acquired from the time measuring means is outside the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information. Solve the above problems.

The software load program according to the present invention loads a load target program stored in an external memory that is detachable from a memory mounting portion of a predetermined device into a memory provided in the device. A software loading program for
The computer functions as current time acquisition means for acquiring current time information from the time measuring means of the device,
By causing the computer to function as the current time acquisition unit, the current time indicated by the current time information acquired from the time measurement unit is stored in the external memory, and the load target program is stored in the external memory. When the load target program is loaded into the memory in the device when it is within the valid period indicated by the time stamp information that is the time information and the valid period information indicating the period during which the loading of the load target program is permitted When the current time indicated by the current time information acquired from the time measuring means is outside the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information, the load target for the memory in the device is executed. By causing the computer to function as a control means that rejects execution of program loading To solve the problems of the predicate.

  In the present invention, an effective period is set for the external memory, and only when the date of the current time acquired from the time measuring means is the effective period set in the external memory, it is stored in the external memory. Load the current program into the internal memory of the device. As a result, even if the external memory is in the hands of a third party, the period during which the program can be loaded can be limited by the valid period, and unauthorized software loading by the third party can be prevented as much as possible. Can do.

  The present invention can prevent unauthorized software loading by a third party as much as possible even when the external memory for software loading reaches a third party.

The present invention can be applied to a mobile phone that performs wireless communication in accordance with a CDMA communication system (CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access).

[Configuration of mobile phone]
As shown in FIG. 1, a cellular phone according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied includes a voice call, videophone call, e-mail, Web data (Web: World) based on the CDMA communication method with a radio base station. Antenna 1 and communication circuit 2 for performing wireless communication such as Wide Web), a display unit 3 for displaying operation menus, e-mails, images (still images and moving images), etc. An operation unit 4 for performing a software load execution designation operation and a predetermined password input operation, a speaker unit 5 for outputting received voices, and a microphone unit 6 for collecting transmitted voices. And a camera unit 7 for capturing a still image or a moving image of a desired subject, and a light emitting unit 8 (LED: Light Emitting Diode) for notifying the user of incoming / outgoing calls or the like with light.

  In addition, this mobile phone is provided with a vibration unit 9 for vibrating the casing of the mobile phone to notify the user of incoming / outgoing calls, etc., and a power source supplied from a secondary battery 11 which is a built-in battery or a battery (not shown). RTC 10 (Real Time Clock) that operates and counts the current time, NAND memory 12 (NAND: NOT-AND) in which a CDMA communication program and various application programs from the external memory 14 are loaded when software is loaded, and program execution At the time, an SDRAM 13 (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) in which a predetermined program read from the NAND memory 12 is developed and an external memory 14 in which a program for software load control and a program code to be loaded are stored are mounted. External memory interface 15 (external memory IF If, in addition to the software load control, and a control unit 16 for controlling the operation of the entire mobile phone.

That is, the mobile phone of this embodiment is operated by the NAND boot system described with reference to FIG. 8, and various programs stored in the NAND memory 12 by software loading are expanded on the SDRAM 13 at the time of booting. To run.

[Configuration of NAND memory]
As described with reference to FIG. 9, the NAND memory 12 stores a boot program storage area (110) in which a boot program is stored, a program storage area (111), and a boot loader program for executing software loading. It has a boot loader area (112) and a user data area (113).

  The program storage area includes, for example, an e-mail management program for controlling creation and transmission / reception of e-mail, and camera control for performing imaging control of the camera unit 7 in addition to a CDMA communication program loaded from the external memory 14 by software loading described later. Program, schedule book management program for managing a schedule book in which a user's schedule is registered, a phone book management program for managing a phone book, a music player program for playing music content, and a desired Web This is an area for storing various application programs such as a web browsing program for browsing a page.

The user data area includes a schedule book in which the schedule of the user of the mobile phone is registered, a user name such as a user's acquaintance or friend, a still image (face photo, etc.), an address, a telephone number, an e-mail address, a date of birth Phone book in which the date is registered, music content reproduced based on the music player program, still image content and moving image content reproduced based on the viewer function of the camera control program, transmitted / received e-mail content, telephone and This is an area in which the history of incoming and outgoing e-mails is stored.

[Configuration of external memory]
As shown in FIG. 2, the external memory 14 includes a software load execution program (Progrun) for controlling execution of software load, a sequence file for executing software load, and the CDMA communication program and camera control program to be loaded. Program code (Rombuild.bin) and fixed data (Font.bin) such as character font data to be loaded are stored. The external memory 14 also includes a time stamp which is time information given from a personal computer device or the like when the program code (Rombuild.bin) or fixed data (Font.bin) is stored in the external memory 14. Information, valid period information indicating a period during which soft loading using the external memory 14 is permitted, valid / invalid information indicating whether the valid period information is valid or invalid, and the external memory 14 Unique identification information (external memory ID) is stored.

  A hash function such as MD5 (Message Digest Algorithm 5) is added to the software load execution program (Progrun), the program code (Rombuild.bin), and the fixed data (Font.bin). The data is written to the external memory 14 from the personal computer device.

  Specifically, when the software load execution program (Progrun), the program code (Rombuild.bin), and the fixed data (Font.bin) are written to the external memory 14, the personal computer device 21 is configured as shown in FIG. , A hash function corresponding to the software load execution program (Progrun), a hash function corresponding to the program code (Rombuild.bin), and a hash function corresponding to the fixed data (Font.bin) are calculated respectively. A hash function corresponding to the load execution program (Progrun) is added to the soft load execution program (Progrun), a hash function corresponding to the program code (Rombuild.bin) is added to the program code (Rombuild.bin), After adding a hash function corresponding to the fixed data (Font.bin) to the fixed data (Font.bin) Write to the external memory 14.

  When the personal computer device writes the software load execution program (Progrun), program code (Rombuild.bin), and fixed data (Font.bin) to the external memory 14, the software load execution program (Progrun) and program Consistency between the contents of the program code written in the external memory 14 based on each hash function attached to the code (Rombuild.bin) and the contents of the program code stored on the personal computer device side Perform the check.

  The control unit 16 of the mobile phone reads each program and data when a software load execution program (Progrun), a program code (Rombuild.bin), and fixed data (Font.bin) are read from the external memory 14 at the time of software loading. In addition to separating the attached hash function, a new hash function is created based on the software load execution program (Progrun), program code (Rombuild.bin), and fixed data (Font.bin) after separating the hash function. Respectively. When each of these newly calculated hash functions is compared with each hash function separated from the soft load execution program (Progrun), program code (Rombuild.bin), etc. In addition, a soft load from the external memory 14 to the NAND memory 12 of the mobile phone is executed.

  In addition, when the control unit 16 of the mobile phone loads the software load execution program (Progrun), the program code (Rombuild.bin), and the fixed data (Font.bin) to the NAND memory 12, the software load execution is performed. Based on each hash function attached to the program (Progrun) and the program code (Rombuild.bin), the contents of the program code and the like loaded into the NAND memory 12, the program code stored in the external memory 14 side, etc. Check the consistency with the contents of.

Here, the software load execution program (Progrun) performs software load control of program code (Rombuild.bin) and fixed data (Font.bin) stored in the external memory 14 to the NAND memory 12 of the mobile phone. It has become an important program. For this reason, in addition to the hash function, a predetermined password is added to the software load execution program (Progrun) as shown in FIG. This password is a password that only a person who has the authority to use the external memory 14 right, such as the producer of the mobile phone, can know. As will be described later, the control unit 16 asks for the input of this password before executing the software load. If the input password does not match the password assigned to the software load execution program (Progrun), The execution of soft load is refused. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a third party from executing the software load execution program (Progrun), which is the important program, illegally.

[Soft load operation]
Next, a soft load operation using the external memory 14 in the mobile phone according to the embodiment will be described.

[Operation at boot]
First, the flowchart of FIG. 5 shows a flow of processing at the time of booting in the mobile phone of the present embodiment. When detecting the main power-on operation, the control unit 16 of the mobile phone starts the processing of this flowchart, reads the current time information set in the RTC 10 shown in FIG. 1 in step S1, and performs step S2. It is determined whether or not the current time set in the RTC 10 is an indefinite value.

  When it is determined that the current time set in the RTC 10 is an indefinite value (= when the current time is not set in the RTC 10), the control unit 16 proceeds with the process to step S3, which is the coordinated universal time “ “January 6, 1980 00:00:00” is set as the current time in the RTC 10, and the process proceeds to step S4.

  The processing in steps S1 to S3 will be described in detail. First, in order to set the current time in the RTC 10, when the main power is turned on, an air connection is made to the communication network of the mobile phone, It is necessary to detect and set the system time by receiving a sync channel message or the like.

  However, the current time is not necessarily set in the RTC 10 for the mobile phone before soft loading. For this reason, when the current time is not set in the RTC 10, the control unit 16 determines in step S2 that the current time set in the RTC 10 is an indefinite value. If it is determined that the current time set in the RTC 10 is an indefinite value, the control unit 16 sets, in the above-described step S3, the past time that is far back from the current time as the current time in the RTC 10.

  In other words, when the true current time at the time of booting is, for example, September 20, 2007, the control unit 16 is a past time that is far back from September 20, 2007, “1980 1 “Month 6th 00:00:00” is set in the RTC 10 as the current time. If it is this indefinite value, the time set in the RTC 10 is any past time that is far from the true current time (= a time that is unlikely to be set by the user). However, in the case of the mobile phone of the embodiment, the coordinated universal time “January 6, 1980 00:00:00” is set in the RTC 10 as the current time. .

  As a result, even if the air connection to the communication network has never been attempted (= even when the system time cannot be acquired) because it was before soft loading, the RTC 10 of the mobile phone described above “January 6, 1980” The clocking starts from “00:00:00”. As shown in FIG. 1, the RTC 10 can be operated with the secondary battery 11 built in the mobile phone, and can continue counting even when the battery is removed. During the second and subsequent boots, the control unit 16 determines that the current time has already been set in the RTC 10 in step S2, and advances the processing to step S4.

  In general, the user can manually set a desired time for the RTC 10, but the user can manually set a date in the past 20 years or more from the current date such as the coordinated universal time to the RTC 10 manually. It is hard to think about setting. For this reason, in the case of the mobile phone according to the embodiment, the date that can be manually set by the user is limited, and the control unit 16 sets the time of the date before 2000, for example, to the RTC 10 by the user. If this happens, reject this setting. For this reason, the setting of the coordinated universal time for the RTC 10 is possible only when the control unit 16 operates as a system. As a result, rewriting of the time of the RTC 10 intended for unauthorized use of the external memory 14 can be prevented.

  Next, when the process proceeds to step S4, the control unit 16 detects whether or not the external memory 14 is attached to the external memory IF 15, and proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the control unit 16 transfers the external memory 14 to the external memory IF 15. It is determined whether or not is attached. When it is determined that the external memory 14 is not attached to the external memory IF 15, the software load control is terminated because the software load using the external memory 14 cannot be performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the external memory 14 is attached to the external memory IF 15, the control unit 16 proceeds to step S6 to detect the operation state of the operation unit 4, and in step S7, the software It is determined whether or not a predetermined key operation for designating execution of loading is performed. If the predetermined key operation is not detected, it means that the execution of the software load is not specified by the user. Therefore, the control unit 16 ends the soft load control as it is and detects the predetermined key operation. If so, the process proceeds to step S11 in the flowchart of FIG. 6 to execute soft loading.

[Operation based on boot loader program]
Next, in step S6 and step S7 in the flowchart of FIG. 5 described above, by detecting a predetermined key operation that designates execution of soft loading, the process proceeds to step S11 in the flowchart of FIG. Then, it functions as a boot loader based on the boot loader program (see FIG. 9) stored in the NAND memory 12, initializes the external memory 14, and advances the process to step S12.

  In step S12, the control unit 16 functioning as a boot loader accesses the external memory 14, and in step S13, it is determined whether or not the soft load execution program (Progrun) is stored in the external memory 14. Since the software load cannot be performed when the software load execution program (Progrun) is not stored in the external memory 14, the control unit 16 displays an error message on the display unit 3 and ends the software load control. .

  On the other hand, when the soft load execution program (Progrun) is stored in the external memory 14, the control unit 16 accesses the external memory 14, and the program code (Rombuild.bin) shown in FIG. Time stamp information, which is time information given from the personal computer device 21 when data (Font.bin) is stored in the external memory 14, and an effective period indicating a period during which soft loading using the external memory 14 is permitted Information and valid / invalid information indicating whether this valid period information is valid or invalid are read out, and in step S15, an external memory ID uniquely assigned to the external memory 14 is read out, and step S16 is performed. Proceed with the process.

  In the NAND memory 12 built in the mobile phone, the external memory IDs of the external memories used for soft loading are listed and stored (external memory ID list). Therefore, when the process proceeds to step S16, the control unit 16 refers to the external memory ID list based on the external memory ID of the external memory 14 acquired in the process of step S14, and external memory of the external memory 14 It is determined whether or not an ID exists in the external memory ID list.

  When the external memory ID of the external memory 14 exists in the external memory ID list, the control unit 16 advances the process to step S18 to update the external memory ID list, and the external memory ID of the external memory 14 is If it does not exist in the external memory ID list, the process proceeds to step S17, and the above universal time is set again for the RTC 10 (= reset of the set time) for the reason described later.

  Next, in step S19 and step S20, the control unit 16 uses the external memory 14 based on the time stamp information, valid period information, and valid / invalid information acquired from the external memory 14 in step S14. Determine whether the load is right or wrong. If the execution of the software load is rejected due to elapse of the effective period of the external memory 14 described later, an error message is displayed on the display unit 3 and the software load control is terminated.

  Further, when the valid / invalid information indicates that the valid period is invalid, the valid period set in the external memory 14 is canceled, or when the valid / invalid information indicates the valid period, the RTC 10 When the acquired date of the current time is within the valid period set in the external memory 14, the control unit 16 determines that the soft load may be executed, and in steps S21 and S22, 4 checks the software load execution program (Progrun) stored in the external memory 14 based on the hash value such as MD5 shown in FIG. 4, and displays a password input screen on the display unit 3 in steps S23 and S24. Display and prompt the user for a password. When the input password matches the password assigned to the software load execution program (Progrun) as described with reference to FIG. 4, the control unit 16 executes the software load stored in the external memory 14. The program (Progrun) is developed on the SDRAM 13 and executed, and the program code (Rombuild.bin) and the fixed data (Font.bin) are stored in the NAND memory 12 according to the sequence file for executing the software load stored in the external memory 14. Are loaded into the program code storage area (reference numeral 111 in FIG. 9), and the soft load control shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 6 is terminated.

The soft load control based on the effective period set in the external memory 14 will be described in detail (mainly, each process in steps S14 to S20). The processing is different between “when a distant date is set” and “when a date near Coordinated Universal Time is set in the RTC”.

[When RTC is set to a date that is far away from Coordinated Universal Time]
As described above, when the cellular phone is once connected to the communication network by air, the system time which is the correct current time is set for the RTC 10 of the cellular phone, and the battery is removed from the RTC 10. Even in such a case, an accurate timing operation is performed by the electric power supplied from the secondary battery 11. For this reason, even when the above-mentioned coordinated universal time is set for the RTC 10, the accurate current time is set for the RTC 10 after the air connection to the communication network (= the coordinated universal time is the exact current time). Therefore, the current time acquired from the RTC 10 is a time of a date far from the coordinated universal time, such as a date of 27 years after the coordinated universal time. .

  When the current time acquired from the RTC 10 is a date with a date far from the coordinated universal time, the control unit 16 sets the current accurate time by air connection to the communication network. It is recognized that In this case, the date indicated by the valid period information is added to the date indicated by the time stamp information read from the external memory 14 to calculate the valid period of the external memory 14, and the current time acquired from the RTC 10 is When it is within this valid period, the above-described soft load is controlled to be executed.

  Specifically, when the current time acquired from the RTC 10 is a time that is far from the coordinated universal time, the time stamp information read from the external memory 14 is, for example, the date “September 18, 2007”. If the effective period information read from the external memory 14 indicates an effective period of “7 days”, the control unit 16 reads “September 18, 2007 to September 24, 2007 (total 7 days ) ”Is recognized as a period during which soft loading using the external memory 14 is permitted. Then, the current time is acquired from the RTC 10, and execution control of the above-described soft load is performed only when the current time is within the effective period of “September 18, 2007 to September 24, 2007”.

As a result, even if the external memory 14 tries to perform an unauthorized software load using the external memory 14 by passing it to a third party who is not authorized to use the external memory 14 properly, The mobile phone that is trying to perform this unauthorized software load is a mobile phone that has a system time set for the RTC 10 after shipment from the factory, and the time of the date far away from the coordinated universal time is set in the RTC 10. Therefore, after the effective period of the external memory 14 elapses, the execution of the software load can be rejected, and the period during which the illegal software load can be performed can be suppressed to an extremely short time (in the above example, at most) It can be reduced to 7 days.)

[When a date near Coordinated Universal Time is set in RTC]
Next, when the time of the date near the Coordinated Universal Time is set for the RTC 10, this means that the air connection has never been made to the communication network. Only the validity period information is used without using the time stamp information read from the memory 14, and the period from the date of the coordinated universal time to the date corresponding to the validity period indicated by the validity period information is used for the external memory 14. Recognize that the soft load was permitted.

  Specifically, when the time of the date near the Coordinated Universal Time is set for the RTC 10 and the validity period information read from the external memory 14 is 7 days, the control unit 16 The period from the 6th of the month (Coordinated Universal Time) to the 12th January 1980 is recognized as a period during which soft loading using the external memory 14 is permitted. When the current time acquired from the RTC 10 is the time of a date within the period “January 6, 1980 to January 12, 1980”, execution control of the above-described soft load is performed.

  Here, when the main power supply is turned on as described above, the mobile phone is set with the coordinated universal time for the RTC 10 (see step S3 in the flowchart of FIG. 5). Start timing immediately after setting the time. For this reason, for example, when the date has passed due to a program code change work to be soft-loaded, a result of a communication test, an installation part change work, etc., the date when the effective period of the external memory 14 has passed when performing soft load It is conceivable that the inconvenience of acquiring the time from the RTC 10 occurs.

  In other words, when the main power supply is turned on to the mobile phone that performs soft loading, the coordinated universal time of January 6, 1980 is set for the RTC 10, but before the actual soft loading is performed. If, for example, 15 days have elapsed since the program code to be soft-loaded is changed, and the current time of the RTC 10 is January 21, 1980, the validity period is “January 1980”. The software load using the external memory 14 set to “6th to January 12, 1980” is rejected because the validity period of the external memory 14 has passed.

  However, it is preferable that software load can be executed even for a person who has the authority to perform software load properly even when the external memory 14 having passed such a valid period is used. For this reason, when a date near the coordinated universal time is set in the RTC 10 and the time of the date acquired from the RTC 10 has passed the effective period of the external memory 14, the control unit 16 immediately performs a soft load. Without rejecting, the external memory ID is acquired from the external memory 14 and the external memory ID is stored in the NAND memory 12 as shown in Step S15 and Step S16 of the flowchart of FIG. It is determined whether or not it exists in the memory ID list.

  If the external memory ID acquired from the external memory 14 exists in the external memory ID list, there is a high possibility that a third party illegally uses the external memory 14 to execute a software load. For this reason, the control part 16 refuses a soft load on the reason for progress of the above-mentioned effective period.

On the other hand, the fact that the external memory ID acquired from the external memory 14 does not exist in the external memory ID list means that the program code stored in the external memory 14 is a newly developed program code or the like. It is highly likely that the rightful owner is trying to perform a soft load. For this reason, the control unit 16 sets the coordinated universal time again for the RTC 10 (= reset of the set time). As a result, the RTC 10 starts measuring time again from the coordinated universal time of “January 6, 1980 00:00:00”, and the control unit 16 is within the valid period set in the external memory 14. The time of date can be acquired from the RTC 10 and the software load can be executed.

[When a long-term validity period is set in the external memory]
Next, so far, the description has been made using an example in which a short effective period such as 7 days is set for the external memory 14, but a long period such as one year is set for the external memory 14. It is possible to set an effective period. However, if a long effective period is set for the external memory 14 in this way, several new program codes and the like are developed during the effective period, and the program to be soft loaded may be upgraded. Conceivable. When the version of the program is upgraded, it is preferable to soft load the latest version of the program.

  For this reason, in the case of the mobile phone according to the embodiment, when the software load is performed again on the NAND memory 12 that has been previously loaded with software, the version number of the already loaded program and the new software load The version number of the program to be loaded is compared, and when the version number of the program to be newly loaded is a newer version number, the software load is executed.

  The flowchart of FIG. 7 shows the flow of the software load execution operation based on this version number. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 7 is a flowchart schematically showing the flowchart of FIG. 6, and that each process of steps S31 to S33 is added to each process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6. It has become. In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the same step numbers are assigned to the steps that perform the same processes as those shown in the flowchart of FIG. For this reason, in the description of the flowchart of FIG. 7, the description of the processing of the step having the same step number as that of the flowchart of FIG. 6 is referred to the description of the flowchart of FIG.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 7, when it is confirmed that the software load execution program (Progrun) is stored in the NAND memory 12, the control unit 16 advances the process to step S <b> 31 and stores the program stored in the external memory 14. Get the version number. In step S32, the version number of the program already loaded in the NAND memory 12 is acquired.

In step S 32, the control unit 16 compares the two, and the version number of the program stored in the external memory 14 is a newer version number than the version number of the program already loaded in the NAND memory 12. In some cases, execution control of soft load is performed. As a result, even when a long valid period is set for the external memory 14, it is possible to always soft-load the latest version of the program.

[Effect of the embodiment]
As is clear from the above description, the mobile phone of this embodiment sets an effective period for the external memory 14, and the date of the current time acquired from the RTC 10 is the effective period set in the external memory 14. Only when it is, the program code stored in the external memory 14 is soft-loaded into the NAND memory 12 in the mobile phone.

  Since the external memory 14 for software loading is easy to handle, it is distributed to various places involved in program development. For this reason, it is difficult to strictly manage all the external memories 14 distributed to each location. However, in the case of the external memories 14 used in the mobile phone according to the embodiment, an effective period for permitting soft loading. Is set, the management of the external memory 14 can be facilitated. Further, even when the external memory 14 for software loading is in the hands of a third party, its use can be limited by the above-mentioned effective period, so that security can be improved.

  Further, for example, when the external memory 14 storing a program under development is leaked, such a program under development often includes a defect. May affect However, the version of the program under development is older than the version of the completed program, and in most cases, the validity period of the external memory in which the old version of the program is stored has passed. Even when an external memory in which an intermediate program is stored leaks, software loading using this can be substantially disabled.

  Further, when performing software loading, the version of the program stored in the external memory 14 is compared with the version of the program already loaded in the mobile phone, and the version of the program stored in the external memory 14 is compared. When the software load is executed when it is newer, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that the program under development is soft loaded. However, in the case of the external memory 14 used in the mobile phone according to the embodiment, as described above. In most cases, the external memory in which the old version of the program is stored is the one whose validity period has expired. Therefore, the program under development is soft-loaded without performing the process of comparing the versions. Inconvenience can be substantially prevented. For this reason, the process of comparing the above versions can be omitted from a series of processes of software loading using the external memory 14, and the software loading sequence using the external memory 14 can be simplified.

  On the other hand, when a long period of validity is given to the external memory 14, the latest version of the software load is always executed by executing the process of comparing the versions before the software load. Can be possible.

Further, for example, when the external memory 14 is used in a place where product management is sufficiently performed and there is little concern about theft, the valid period set in the external memory 14 is canceled with the valid / invalid information, While using the external memory 14 with a valid period, it is possible to perform free soft loading as before.

[Modification]
In the description of the above-described embodiment, the target of the software load is a mobile phone. Other devices such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a portable game machine, and a notebook personal computer device may be subjected to software loading. In either case, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  Finally, the above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made according to the design and the like as long as they do not depart from the technical idea of the present invention. I add that there is something.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile phone according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating the various data for software loading memorize | stored in the external memory which can be attached or detached with respect to the mobile telephone of embodiment. It is a figure which shows a mode that a hash function is attached | subjected with respect to the data for soft loading memorize | stored in the external memory which can be attached or detached with respect to the mobile telephone of embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the hash function and password which are attached | subjected with respect to the soft load execution program memorize | stored in the external memory removable with respect to the mobile telephone of embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process at the time of booting in the mobile telephone of embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process based on the boot loader program memorize | stored in the NAND memory in the mobile telephone of embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for executing a software load when the software program stored in the NAND memory is an older software program than the software program stored in the external memory in the cellular phone according to the embodiment. is there. It is a figure for demonstrating the program execution process in a NAND boot system. It is a figure for demonstrating the kind of data memorize | stored in NAND memory. It is a figure for demonstrating the program and data which are memorize | stored in the external memory for the conventional soft load. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the conventional soft load performed using an external memory.

Explanation of symbols

  1 antenna, 2 communication circuit, 3 display unit, 4 operation unit, 5 speaker unit, 6 microphone unit, 7 camera unit, 8 light emitting unit (LED), 9 vibration unit, 10 RTC (timer), 11 built in mobile phone Secondary battery, 12 NAND memory, 13 SDRAM, 14 external memory, 15 external memory interface (external memory IF), 16 control unit

Claims (9)

An external memory that is detachable from a memory mounting portion of a predetermined device,
A program for loading into the memory in the device;
A load execution control program for causing the control means of the device to function so as to load the program to the memory in the device;
Time stamp information that is time information in which the program is stored;
Valid period information indicating a period during which the program is allowed to be loaded is stored,
The load execution control program is
A program for acquiring current time information from the time measuring means of the device;
When the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is within the validity period indicated by the time stamp information and the validity period information, the program is loaded to the memory in the device. A program for causing the control means of the device to function;
When the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is outside the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information, the execution of loading the program to the memory in the device is rejected. And an external memory including a program for causing the control means of the device to function. The external memory according to claim 1,
Valid / invalid information indicating validity or invalidity of the validity period information is stored,
The load execution control program is
When the validity / invalidity information indicates invalidity of the validity period information, the current time acquired from the time measuring means is not checked for whether or not the current time is within the validity period indicated by the validity period information. A program for causing the control means of the device to function to load the program to the memory in the device;
When the valid / invalid information indicates the validity of the valid period information, according to the result of the confirmation process as to whether or not the current time acquired from the time measuring means is within the valid period indicated by the valid period information, An external memory comprising: a program that causes the control means of the device to function so as to execute loading of the program to the memory in the device or to reject the loading. The external memory according to claim 1 or 2,
Unique identification information is stored,
The load execution control program is
A program for causing the control means of the device to function so as to acquire the identification information;
By referring to the external memory identification information list provided in the device and stored in a list of identification information of each external memory used for loading the program, based on the acquired identification information, A program for causing the control means of the device to function to determine whether or not the acquired identification information exists in the external memory identification information list;
When the acquired identification information does not exist in the external memory identification information list, the time information of the predetermined date that is larger than the date of the current time and goes back in the past is set for the time measuring means of the device. A program for causing the control means of the device to function;
By adding the time information of the predetermined date set for the time measuring means of the device and the validity period information, the device is configured so as to calculate a new validity period that permits the loading of the program. A program for causing the control means to function;
When the current time information is acquired from the time measuring means of the device in which the time information of the predetermined date is set, and the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is within the newly calculated effective period And an external memory comprising: a program that causes the control means of the device to function so as to load the program to the memory in the device. The external memory according to claim 1 or 2,
The version information of the program to be loaded is stored,
The load execution control program is
A program for causing the control means of the device to function so as to obtain version information of the program loaded in the memory in the device;
The version information of the program to be loaded is compared with the acquired version information of the loaded program, and when the loaded program is a newer program, the program is loaded into the memory in the device. An external memory comprising: a program that causes the control means of the device to function as described above. A memory provided inside the mobile phone;
A program for loading into the memory, a load execution control program for controlling execution of loading of the program into the memory, time stamp information which is time information storing the program, and loading of the program A memory mounting unit in which an external memory storing valid period information indicating a permitted period is mounted;
A time measuring means for measuring time;
By operating based on the load execution control program stored in the external memory, current time information is acquired from the time measuring means, and the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is stored in the external memory. The program stored in the external memory is loaded into the memory provided in the mobile phone when it is within the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information. When the current time indicated by the current time information acquired from the time measuring means is outside the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information, the loading of the program to the internal memory is rejected. And a portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device according to claim 5,
Having wireless communication means for performing wireless communication via a wireless communication network;
The control means sets current time information acquired through the wireless communication network when the wireless communication means is controlled to connect a wireless communication line to the wireless communication network in the time measuring means. The portable terminal device characterized by this. The mobile terminal device according to claim 6,
If the current time is not set for the time measuring means because the control means has no opportunity to connect a wireless communication line to the wireless communication network, the control means has a predetermined date that is larger than the date of the current time. The time information of the date is set in the time measuring means, the effective period is calculated by adding the effective period information to the time information of the predetermined date set in the time measuring means, and the current time is calculated from the time measuring means. When the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is within the calculated effective period, the program stored in the external memory is provided in the mobile phone. The internal memory is loaded when the current time indicated by the current time information loaded from the time measuring means is outside the calculated effective period. Mobile terminal device characterized in that it refuses to load the program against. A program loading method for loading a program stored in an external memory mounted in a memory mounting unit of a predetermined device into a memory provided in the device,
A program for loading into the internal memory, a load execution control program for controlling execution of loading of the program into the memory, time stamp information which is time information storing the program, and The validity period information indicating the period during which loading is permitted is stored in the external memory,
The control means operates based on the load execution control program stored in the external memory, thereby acquiring current time information from the time measuring means for measuring time, and the current time indicated by the acquired current time information is When the time stamp information stored in the external memory and the valid period indicated by the valid period information are within the valid period, the program stored in the external memory is loaded into the internal memory, and If the current time indicated by the current time information obtained from the time measuring means is outside the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information, the loading of the program to the internal memory is rejected. A method for loading a program. A software load program for loading a load target program stored in an external memory that is detachable from a memory mounting portion of a predetermined device into a memory provided in the device,
The computer functions as current time acquisition means for acquiring current time information from the time measuring means of the device,
By causing the computer to function as the current time acquisition unit, the current time indicated by the current time information acquired from the time measurement unit is stored in the external memory, and the load target program is stored in the external memory. When the load target program is loaded into the memory in the device when it is within the valid period indicated by the time stamp information that is the time information and the valid period information indicating the period during which the loading of the load target program is permitted When the current time indicated by the current time information acquired from the time measuring means is outside the valid period indicated by the time stamp information and the valid period information, the load target for the memory in the device is executed. To allow the computer to function as a control means to refuse to load the program. A featured software loading program.

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