JP2023158751A - Firmware update method and firmware update system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a firmware update method and a firmware update system which can reduce the firmware update time.SOLUTION: Before updating firmware, a module for update is divided into a plurality of programs after conversion to binary data and CRC values corresponding to the respective programs are calculated by a FW writing device 1. An FW update object device 2 returns CRC values of individual areas which are stored in a memory for FW 212 at a current time, in response to a write instruction from the FW writing device 1 to the FW update object device 2, and the FW writing device 1 compares these CRC values with the preliminarily calculated CRC values to specify program areas to be updated in the memory for FW 212, and the FW update object device 2 writes the program for update into the memory for FW 212 only with respect to the specified program areas.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present application relates to a firmware update method and a firmware update system.

In conventional plant monitoring and control systems, when updating the firmware built into a process input/output device, one writing module is prepared for the process input/output device to be updated, and it is written across all program areas. is being rewritten.

That is, first, the firmware is downloaded to a dedicated writing tool, and after converting this into binary data, a writing instruction is given to the process input/output device to be updated, and the firmware is rewritten (for example, the following patent (See Reference 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-216010

In the conventional firmware update method, the process input/output device to be updated receives a write instruction from a dedicated writing tool, starts the boot program, and once erases all program storage areas in the FW memory. After that, the firmware to be updated is newly written to the program area. Therefore, there is a problem that writing takes time and firmware cannot be updated efficiently.

This application discloses a technology to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a firmware update method and firmware update system that can significantly reduce the time required to rewrite firmware. do.

The firmware update method disclosed in the present application is provided for updating the firmware when writing the firmware from a FW writing device for writing update firmware to a FW update target device to which the firmware is updated. First, the firmware is converted into binary data by the FW writing device, and then divided into a plurality of programs, and a CRC value corresponding to each program is calculated individually, and the FW writing device converts the firmware into binary data. In response to the write instruction, the FW update target device replies with the CRC value of each area currently stored in the FW memory provided in the FW update target device, and the FW writing device writes this CRC value and By comparing the CRC value with a pre-calculated CRC value, the storage area of the program to be updated in the FW memory is specified, and the FW update target device updates the update program only with respect to the specified storage area of the program. write to memory.

Further, the firmware update system disclosed in the present application includes an FW writing device for writing firmware for update, and a FW update target device to which the firmware is updated,
The FW writing device stores the firmware and is equipped with a FW writing tool that writes the firmware to the FW update target device,
When writing the firmware to the FW update target device, the FW writing tool converts the firmware into binary data, divides it into a plurality of programs, and individually assigns a CRC value to each of the programs. At the same time, this calculated CRC value is compared with the current CRC value returned from the FW update target device, and only when the two CRC values do not match, the program having the mismatched CRC value is It is sent to the device subject to FW update,
The FW update target device has an FW memory that stores each program constituting the firmware and a CRC value set individually corresponding to each program, and an update program sent from the FW writing device. an FW write processing unit that writes the calculated CRC value to the FW memory,
The FW write processing unit reads the current CRC value stored in the FW memory and writes the FW in response to an instruction to write the firmware by the FW write tool of the FW write device. A program having a CRC value sent to the tool and also sent by the FW writing tool is written into the area of the FW memory where the CRC value does not match.

According to the firmware update method and firmware update system disclosed in the present application, it is possible to significantly reduce the update time required to write a program when updating firmware.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a firmware update system according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an overview of the processing of the firmware update method according to the first embodiment, particularly the processing content on the FW writing device side. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing an overview of the processing of the firmware update method according to the first embodiment, particularly the processing content on the side of the FW update target device. FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing details of processing in step S1 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing details of processing in step S3 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing details of the processing in steps S9 to S12 shown in FIG. 3. FIG.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a firmware update system according to the first embodiment. Note that in this application, "firmware" may be abbreviated as "FW".

The firmware update system according to the first embodiment includes an FW writing device 1 that writes firmware for updating, and a FW update target device 2 that is the target of updating the firmware.

Here, as a specific example, when the firmware update system is applied to a plant monitoring and control system, the above-mentioned FW update target device 2 updates the plant equipment according to the status of the plant equipment detected by various plant detectors. This corresponds to a process control device that performs process control by transmitting control signals. However, the present application is not limited to such process control devices.

The FW writing device 1 stores update firmware 112 and is equipped with an FW writing tool 11 for writing a program in a specific area of the firmware 112 to the FW update target device 2. The FW writing tool 11 is provided with an FW writing preparation processing unit 111 that prepares for writing the firmware 112 to be updated into the FW update target device 2.

On the other hand, the FW update target device 2 includes an FW memory (for example, a flash memory) 212 that stores each program constituting the firmware and a CRC value set corresponding to each storage area of each program, and It has an FW write processing unit 211 for writing an update program transmitted from the device 1 into the FW memory 212. Further, the FW update target device 2 is provided with a switch 22 for manually permitting firmware update activation in order to prevent erroneous firmware updates.

The configurations and processing operations of the FW write preparation processing unit 111 in the FW writing device 1 and the FW write processing unit 211 in the FW update target device 2 described above will be further clarified in the flowchart described below. Ru.

The outline of the firmware update by the firmware update system in the first embodiment is as shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. While reading the update firmware 112 stored in a file or the like, it communicates with the FW update target device 2 to which the firmware 112 is to be updated and issues a write instruction for the firmware 112.

The FW update target device 2 that has received the write instruction from the FW writing device 1 starts the internally installed boot program 21, and the FW writing processing unit 211 updates the firmware sent from the FW writing device 1. 112 is rewritten with an existing program stored in a specific area within the FW memory 212.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an overview of the processing of the firmware update method, particularly the processing content in the FW writing device 1. Further, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an overview of the processing of the firmware update method, particularly the processing content in the FW update target device 2. Note that in the flowcharts below, the symbol S means each processing step.

When the FW writing tool 11 of the FW writing device 1 starts writing firmware, the FW writing preparation processing unit 111 downloads the update firmware 112 and performs binary conversion (BIN conversion).

Next, the FW write preparation processing unit 111 divides the program constituting the binary-converted update firmware 112 into a plurality of areas, and performs a CRC ( Cyclic Redundancy Check) calculation is performed and a CRC value is added (step S1).

As a result, each divided program 113, a corresponding CRC value 114, and a fixed vector 115 as information specifying the data structure are prepared. When the preparation is completed in this way, the FW write preparation processing unit 111 transmits a firmware update instruction to the FW update target device 2 (step S2).

The FW update target device 2 starts the boot program 21 when the switch 22 is operated in order to prevent erroneous reception of a write instruction. When the boot program 21 is activated and receives an update instruction from the FW writing tool 11 (step S7), the FW writing processing unit 211 writes the FW to the FW memory 212 in the FW update target device 2. The current CRC value set corresponding to each storage area of each stored program is read and sent to the FW writing tool 11 of the FW writing device 1 (step S8).

The FW writing tool 11 that has received the CRC value from the FW update target device 2 uses the FW writing preparation processing unit 111 to calculate the CRC value obtained by calculating the received current CRC value and the FW writing tool 11 side. Compare with. At this time, if the CRC values do not match, the program in that area is to be updated, so identify the program area where the current CRC value does not match, and determine the program area to be updated for the FW update target device 2. (Step S3).

Then, the program 113 to be updated, the CRC value 114 calculated by the FW writing device 1, and the fixed vector 115 are transmitted to the FW update target device 2 (step S4). The CRC value at this time is the calculated CRC value corresponding to the program area to be updated, and the CRC value for all program areas.

The FW update target device 2 receives each data of the update target program 213, CRC value 214, and fixed vector 215 transmitted from the FW writing tool 11 (step S9), and stores the corresponding area in the FW memory 212. Update processing is performed to store these data in 211 (step S10).

When data is stored in each area in the FW memory 212 and the update process is completed, the boot program 21 calculates the CRC value of the program in all areas and compares it with the CRC value 213 for the received program in all areas. , the soundness is confirmed (step S11). As a result of this health check, if the CRC values match, an update completion notification is sent to the FW writing tool 11 (step S12), and when the FW writing preparation processing unit 111 indicates completion, the firmware Writing ends (step S5).

Next, details of the firmware update process will be further explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.
FIG. 4 shows step S1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing details of the process in step S1) for adding a .

First, as an input information check, the file extension of the update firmware 112 is checked (step S20), and if the file extension is not appropriate, the input information is considered abnormal and the process ends abnormally (step S21).

If it is found appropriate in step S20, the update firmware 112 is read 16 bytes at a time, and a format check and a data size check are performed (step S22). If the check is found to be abnormal, it is assumed that the input file is abnormal and the process ends abnormally (step S23).
On the other hand, if the check is normal, binary conversion (BIN conversion) is performed, the binary converted file is divided into a plurality of areas for each area size, and a CRC calculation is performed on the file of each divided area. Then, data consisting of programs divided by area size after binary conversion, corresponding CRC values, and fixed vectors are stored in each area (step S24).

The process of step S24 is repeated over all program areas, and when the creation of each data is completed, the CRC value for all program areas is calculated (step S25), and the input file preparation is completed (step S26). .

FIG. 5 shows step S3 shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing details of the process in step S3) of identifying a program area whose CRC values do not match and determining a program area to be updated for the FW update target device 2. FIG.

When comparing CRC values, first, the current CRC value stored in the FW memory 212 of the FW update target device 2 is obtained (step S30), and the CRC values are compared for each divided area ( Step S31). If the CRC values do not match, the program is included in firmware and should be updated, so it is stored in a buffer (not shown) for download (step S32). If the CRC values match, the program does not need to be updated, so the process returns to step S31 and the CRC values of the next divided area are compared.

When the above processing is completed for all program areas, a completion flag is set (step S33), and this processing is ended. Note that with this completion flag, the firmware transmission process to the FW update target device 2 (step S4) is started.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of steps S9 to S12 shown in FIG. 3, that is, the firmware update procedure in the FW update target device 2.

When the write data (that is, the program to be updated 213, the CRC value 214 calculated by the FW write device 1, and the fixed vector 215) is received from the FW writing tool 11, the received write data is checked (step S40). . When the check is completed normally, each data of the program 213, CRC value 214, and fixed vector 215 is written to a specific data area of the FW memory 212 based on the start address given to the write data (step S41).

When data writing is completed normally, a CRC value is calculated for the overall CRC check, and the soundness is checked by comparing it with the CRC values of all the transmitted program areas (step S42). When these processes are completed, a completion notification is sent to the FW writing device 1 (step S43).

Note that if any abnormality occurs in each processing step S40, S41, and S42, the process ends abnormally (step S44). In particular, if writing of data to the FW memory 212 becomes abnormal in step S41, the state is returned to the state before the firmware update (step S45). This ensures the soundness before firmware update.

As described above, in the first embodiment, instead of completely erasing the entire program area in the FW memory 212 of the FW update target device 2 and then writing the firmware to be updated into the program area, as in the conventional case. In response to the write instruction from the FW writing device 1 to the FW update target device 2, the FW update target device 2 responds with the CRC value of each area currently stored in the FW memory 212, and uses this CRC value and The program area to be updated is identified by comparing the CRC value calculated by the FW writing device 1, and the update program is written only for the identified program area, making it easier to update the firmware than in the past. The update time required can be significantly reduced.

Note that although exemplary embodiments are described in this application, various features, aspects, and functions described in the embodiments are not limited to application of a particular embodiment, and may be used independently. , or can be applied to the embodiments in various combinations.

Therefore, countless variations not illustrated are envisioned within the scope of the technology disclosed herein. For example, at least one component may be modified, added, or omitted.

1 FW writing device, 11 FW writing tool, 111 FW writing preparation processing unit,
112 Firmware for update, 2 FW update target device, 22 Switch,
211 FW write processing unit, 212 FW memory.

Claims (3)

When writing the firmware from a FW writing device for writing update firmware to a FW update target device to which the firmware is to be updated, the FW writing device writes the firmware prior to updating the firmware. is converted into binary data, divided into a plurality of programs, a CRC value corresponding to each program is calculated individually, and the FW is updated in accordance with a write instruction to the FW update target device by the FW writing device. The target device replies with the CRC value of each area currently stored in the FW memory of this FW update target device, and the FW writing device compares this CRC value with a CRC value calculated in advance. A firmware update method in which a storage area of a program to be updated in the FW memory is specified, and the FW update target device writes an update program into the FW memory only for the specified storage area of the program. comprising an FW writing device for writing firmware for update, and a FW update target device to which the firmware is updated,
The FW writing device stores the firmware and is equipped with a FW writing tool that writes the firmware to the FW update target device,
When writing the firmware to the FW update target device, the FW writing tool converts the firmware into binary data, divides it into a plurality of programs, and individually assigns a CRC value to each of the programs. At the same time, this calculated CRC value is compared with the current CRC value returned from the FW update target device, and only when the two CRC values do not match, the program having the mismatched CRC value is It is sent to the device subject to FW update,
The FW update target device has an FW memory that stores each program constituting the firmware and a CRC value set individually corresponding to each program, and an update program sent from the FW writing device. an FW write processing unit that writes the calculated CRC value to the FW memory,
The FW write processing unit reads the current CRC value stored in the FW memory and writes the FW in response to an instruction to write the firmware by the FW write tool of the FW write device. A firmware update system that writes a program having a CRC value transmitted to a tool and also transmitted by the FW writing tool to an area of the FW memory where the CRC value does not match. The FW update target device includes a switch for starting the firmware update, and starts a boot program for writing the firmware into the FW memory only when the switch is operated, thereby preventing errors in the firmware. The firmware update system according to claim 2, wherein the firmware update system prevents updates.