JP2011060043A - Electric device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the convenience for a user even if the case of a failure of update processing of firmware in an electric device. <P>SOLUTION: A TV receiver 1 includes a USB port for connecting a USB memory device, a memory, and a control part. The memory stores firmware, a user set value, and an individual set value. When firmware is updated, the control part detects an empty area of the USB memory device (S2) if the USB memory device is connected (YES in S1), transfers the user set value and individual set value stored in the memory to the USB memory (S4) when the empty area is sufficient (YES in S3), and then updates the firmware using firmware update data (S6). If the update fails, the current memory is replaced by another new memory storing updated firmware, and the user set value and individual set value stored in the USB memory device are transferred to the TV receiver for restoration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric device that stores user setting values and the like and can update firmware.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, an electric device such as a television (hereinafter referred to as a TV) receiver has a memory capable of storing various types of information. This memory includes firmware for controlling the device and user setting values set by a user. In addition, individual adjustment values such as white balance optimized for each product by process adjustment at the time of shipment are often stored. In general, this type of TV receiver receives firmware update data via terrestrial, cable, or external memory, and updates its own firmware.

  In the TV receiver, when updating the firmware, data such as individual adjustment values is often stored in a memory in advance for backup together with the current version of firmware. When the firmware update process fails due to power interruption or the like, the recovery is performed using the backup firmware and data stored in the memory as a recovery method.

  Recently, there are many requests for cost reduction for electric devices such as TV receivers, the capacity of the memory is reduced, and there is no room for free space in the memory, and backup firmware and data cannot be stored in the memory. There is. Therefore, when the update process of the formware fails, for example, if the memory in which the firmware is recorded is replaced, the setting value and the individual adjustment value by the user cannot be recovered, and these values are adjusted again. Because it is necessary, it is inconvenient for the user. In particular, individual adjustment values optimized for individual products must be adjusted using dedicated equipment, and thus cannot be recovered quickly.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 includes an external recording medium, an image projection device, and a computer device. The version information of the current firmware is written in the external recording medium, and compared with the updated version information of the computer device. An image projection system that updates firmware when there is a version is disclosed. However, since this system records only the version information of the current firmware on an external recording medium, if the firmware update process fails, the user setting value and the like must be set again. It cannot be solved.

  In Patent Document 2, the firmware stored in the optical disk is written into the serial flash memory of the CD recording / reproducing apparatus, and the firmware is updated by writing the firmware data into the serial flash memory of the own apparatus via the USB cable. An image forming apparatus is disclosed. However, even this image forming apparatus cannot solve the above problem. Patent Document 3 stores new program data on a magnetic tape, which is the same recording medium as the recording medium used by the device, reads it, performs processing based on the new program, and updates the flash memory. Thus, a data recorder for quickly exchanging old and new program data is disclosed. However, even this data recorder cannot solve the above problem.

JP 2008-282310 A JP 2007-210308 A Japanese Patent No. 2961922

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric device that is convenient for the user even when the firmware update process fails.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a connection unit to which an external recording medium can be connected, rewritable firmware storage means for storing firmware for controlling the device, and setting information unique to the device. A data writing means for writing the setting information stored in the setting information storage means to the external recording medium in an electrical device comprising setting information storage means for storing the control information and control means for controlling each part of the apparatus The control means, when updating the firmware stored in the firmware storage means, if the external recording medium is connected to the connection unit, using the data writing means, After writing the setting information stored in the setting information storage means to the external recording medium, the firmware storage unit And it performs an update process of the firmware stored in the.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electric device according to the first aspect, the electric device further includes a free area detecting unit that detects a free area of the external recording medium, and the control unit is stored in the firmware storage unit. When the firmware is updated, if the external recording medium is connected to the connection unit, the free area detection unit is used to detect a free area of the external recording medium, and based on the detection result The setting information stored in the setting information storage means using the data writing means when it is determined that the setting information stored in the setting information storage means can be written to the external recording medium. After the information is written to the external recording medium, the firmware stored in the firmware storage means is updated.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electric device according to the first or second aspect, the setting information includes an individual adjustment value for each device set in an adjustment process at the time of factory shipment. It is.

  According to the present invention, when updating the firmware, if the external recording medium is connected to the connection unit, the control means performs the firmware update process after writing the setting information to the external recording medium. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, even when the firmware update process fails when data cannot be backed up to the recording means in the own device, the setting information is quickly restored using the setting information recorded on the external recording medium. This is convenient for the user.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a television device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the internal structure of the said television receiver. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the formware update process in the said television receiver. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the recovery process at the time of the firmware update failure in the said television receiver.

  Hereinafter, a television receiver (electric device) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a television (hereinafter referred to as TV) receiver, and FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the TV receiver 1. The TV receiver 1 includes a USB port (connection unit) 13 to which a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory device (external recording medium) 3 can be connected, and performs an operation based on an instruction operation by the remote control device 2.

  The TV receiver 1 connects a display 11 that displays video of content such as a TV program, a speaker 12 that outputs audio of content such as a TV program, and a USB memory device 3 having a connection terminal 31 that conforms to the USB standard. USB port 13. The TV receiver 1 includes a tuner 14 that receives a TV program based on a TV broadcast signal broadcast from a broadcasting station, a remote control signal receiver 15, and a non-volatile memory (firmware storage means, A setting information storage unit) 16 and a control unit (control unit) 17 for controlling each unit of the apparatus.

  The remote control signal receiving unit 15 receives a remote control signal transmitted from the remote control device 2 having a plurality of operation buttons (not shown). The memory 16 stores firmware 16a for controlling the device itself, user setting values (setting information) 16b, and individual setting values (setting information) 16c.

  The user setting value 16b is a setting value set by the user, such as a display language or the brightness of the display 11. The individual setting value 16c includes individual adjustment values for each device set in the adjustment process at the time of factory shipment, specifically, adjustment values such as white balance and flicker.

  The control unit 17 includes a CPU 17a that executes firmware 16a and the like, a volatile DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 17b that temporarily stores acquired data and the like, a data transfer unit (data writing unit) 17c, a free space And a detector (free area detector) 17d. The control unit 17 receives various data from a TV broadcast signal received using the tuner 14, an external device connected to the USB port 13 via a USB cable, or an external memory such as a USB memory device, and performs various processes. It can be performed. Specifically, for example, the control unit 17 can use the tuner 14 to receive firmware update data included in the TV broadcast signal and perform update processing of the firmware 16a.

  The data transfer unit 17c writes data such as the user setting value 16b and the individual setting value 16c in the memory 16 to the USB memory device 3 connected to the USB port 13 (hereinafter referred to as transfer). The free area detection unit 17 d detects a free area of the USB memory device 3 connected to the USB port 13.

  Next, the update process of the firmware 16a will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the tuner 14 is used to receive the formware update data included in the TV broadcast signal.

  First, when the USB memory device 3 is connected to the USB port 13 (YES in S1), the control unit 17 detects the free space of the USB memory device 3 using the free space detection unit 17d (S2). As a result of this detection, if there is sufficient free space (YES in S3), the control unit 17 uses the data transfer unit 17c to transfer the user setting value 16b and the individual setting value 16c stored in the memory 16 to the USB memory device. 3 (S4), the firmware update data received using the tuner 14 is transferred to the DRAM 17b (S5).

  Then, the control unit 17 updates the firmware 16a by using the firmware update data stored in the DRAM 17b (S6), and when the update is completed normally (YES in S7), the process ends. On the other hand, if the update has not ended normally (NO in S7), a warning message is displayed on the display 11 (S9). The warning message is, for example, “Firmware update failed. Please contact the manufacturer”.

  When the USB memory device 3 is not connected to the USB port 13 (NO in S1) or as a result of the detection in S2, there is no sufficient free space in the USB memory device 3 (NO in S3). ), A message that the data including the user setting value 16b and the individual setting value 16c cannot be restored when the update of the firmware 16a fails and a message that prompts the user to select whether or not to continue the update process are displayed on the display 11 ( S10). And the control part 17 performs the process after said S5, when a user operates the remote control apparatus 2 and instruct | indicates operation continuation of an update process (it is YES at S11). On the other hand, when the user performs an instruction operation not to continue the update process (NO in S11), this process ends.

  Next, a recovery process when the update process of the firmware 16a fails will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the user setting value 16b and the individual setting value 16c of the memory 16 are stored in the USB memory device 3 in advance by the processing shown in FIG.

  First, the current memory 16 is replaced with another new memory 16 in which updated firmware is stored (S21), for example, by a service person of the manufacturer. Then, the user setting value 16b and the individual setting value 16c stored in the USB memory device 3 are transferred to the new memory 16 exchanged in S21 (S22), and the restoration process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the TV receiver 1 according to the present embodiment, when the control unit 17 updates the firmware 16a, if the USB memory device 3 is connected to the USB port 13, the user setting value is set. After transferring 16b and the individual setting value 16c to the USB memory device 3, firmware update processing is performed. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, the user setting value 16b and the individual setting value 16c transferred to the USB memory device 3 are used even when the firmware update process fails when data cannot be backed up to the memory 16 in the own device. Therefore, it is easy to use for users.

  Further, since the controller 17 transfers the individual setting value 16c to the USB memory device 3 when updating the firmware 16a, if the update process of the firmware 16a fails, adjustment performed using a dedicated device at the time of factory shipment Since there is no need to perform the operation again, the time and effort for restoration are reduced, and the usability is further improved for the user. Further, since the memory 16 does not require a free space for backup, a memory with a small storage capacity can be used as the memory 16, so that the manufacturing cost of the TV receiver 1 can be suppressed.

  In addition, this invention is not restricted to the structure of the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible in the range which does not change the meaning of invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the example in which the electric device in the claims is the TV receiver 1 has been shown. However, the present invention is applied to other electric devices such as a Blu-ray disc player that performs firmware update processing. Also good. In the above embodiment, an example in which the external recording medium in the claims is the USB memory device 3 has been described, but other types of nonvolatile memory such as an SD card may be used.

1 TV receiver (electrical equipment)
3 USB memory device (external recording medium)
13 USB port (connection part)
16 memory (firmware storage means, setting information storage means)
17 Control unit (control means)
16a Firmware 16b User setting value (setting information)
16c Individual setting value (setting information)
17c Data transfer unit (data writing means)
17d Free space detection unit (free space detection means)

Claims (3)

A connection part to which an external recording medium can be connected;
Rewritable firmware storage means for storing firmware for controlling the device itself;
Setting information storage means for storing setting information unique to the own device;
In electrical equipment comprising a control means for controlling each part of the device,
A data writing means for writing the setting information stored in the setting information storage means to the external recording medium;
If the external storage medium is connected to the connection unit when the firmware stored in the firmware storage unit is updated, the control unit uses the data writing unit to store the setting information. An electrical apparatus comprising: updating the firmware stored in the firmware storage unit after writing the setting information stored in the unit to the external recording medium. A free area detecting means for detecting a free area of the external recording medium;
When the control unit updates the firmware stored in the firmware storage unit and the external recording medium is connected to the connection unit,
The free space detection unit can be used to detect a free space in the external recording medium, and based on the detection result, the setting information stored in the setting information storage unit can be written to the external recording medium. The firmware update process stored in the firmware storage unit after the setting information stored in the setting information storage unit is written to the external recording medium using the data writing unit. The electrical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   The electrical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting information includes an individual adjustment value for each apparatus set in an adjustment process at the time of factory shipment.

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