JP4381788B2 - Adapter device, program, and recording medium storing the program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an adapter device that can be accommodated in a telephone line, a digital line, etc., and can accommodate a telephone or other terminal, and in particular, software for causing the adapter device to function. The present invention relates to an adapter device that can be downloaded from an external network and automatically upgraded.

  As an adapter device that can be accommodated in a network line such as a telephone line or a digital line and is used for connecting a telephone or a PC (personal computer) to the network, for example, a modem for an analog telephone line or an ISDN is used. Examples thereof include a terminal adapter for a line, and a router having a function of connecting to such a network line. Such adapter devices have become widely used as demand for connection to a network such as the Internet increases.

  In the old days, such an adapter device has been realized by the operation of only hardware using a large number of individual electronic components. In recent years, an adapter device has a built-in microprocessor and the like, and its function is determined and controlled by software called so-called firmware and other application software.

  In the following description, a device that can accommodate a network line such as a telephone line or a digital line is referred to as an adapter device. Further, a device having a user interface connected to an adapter device such as a telephone or a personal computer is generally referred to as an input / output terminal, and an interface capable of connecting the input / output terminal in the adapter device is referred to as an input / output terminal connection interface. Software and programs such as firmware and applications built in the adapter device are generally referred to as software, and a user of the adapter device is referred to as a user. In addition, the operation that starts after the device is turned off once, and the operation that starts the software without stopping the device power and temporarily replaces it with another software and starts the software again are generally restarted. Called.

  As described above, the adapter device is generally one whose functions are defined and controlled by software, but for the purpose of introducing new functions, responding to changes in specifications on the network line side, bug fixes, etc. There is a case where the software version of the apparatus is upgraded. When the adapter device performs software upgrade, there are many examples that require the entire adapter device to be restarted. That is, simply storing the upgrade data in a nonvolatile memory (storage device) in the adapter device does not mean that the upgrade is complete, and then restarting the adapter device and based on the software after the upgrade. In many cases, the adapter device needs to start a new operation. At this time, if the restart is executed at a timing when the adapter device is not performing any processing or when the user is not using the adapter device, the adapter device can be restarted without any problem. However, although it can be determined whether or not the adapter device is being used, if the user tries to start communication and the adapter device is restarted, the user's communication may be established. An event that cannot be done occurs.

  Therefore, in the conventional technology, the restart timing is executed by an operation or an instruction from the user, or the adapter device is re-executed at a predetermined time such as midnight set in advance. However, the former method requires a user's operation and has a problem that it is not possible to realize a fully automatic software upgrade. In the latter method, for example, the restart time is set assuming the user's life time zone, but the set time is not necessarily a time when the user is likely to start communication using the adapter device. There is a problem that it is not necessarily a belt.

The following prior arts are known as related to restarting applications and systems. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-202861 (Patent Document 1) determines whether or not an abnormal termination has occurred during termination processing at the time of system restart, and controls a flag indicating whether or not there is any problem in starting up the system. It is disclosed to automatically determine whether or not to restart when power is turned on again. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-286679 (Patent Document 2), on the premise of a multitasking application, whether or not an abnormal termination occurs by executing the termination and activation of the application and the termination and activation of the entire system in separate processes. It is disclosed that it is possible to smoothly execute the procedure of determining and automatically restarting the system. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-207070 discloses a restart method for starting a system with a power recovery function after a power failure as a trigger.
JP-A-6-202861 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-286679 JP 2000-207080 A

  As described above, there is no method of automatically executing the software upgrade in the adapter device and realizing automatic restart of the adapter device after the upgrade without restricting the use of the adapter device by the user. is the current situation.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a software upgrade method that can upgrade the software of an adapter device without hindering the user from using the adapter device.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a software version upgrade method that enables automatic restart by determining whether or not an adapter device should be restarted without requiring user operation or instructions.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide an adapter device capable of performing software upgrade based on the above-described software upgrade method.

An adapter device according to the present invention is an adapter device that can be connected to a network line, connects an input / output terminal, is controlled by software, and is used to connect the input / output terminal to the network line. The version upgrade means for acquiring the software from the network line and executing the software upgrade, and after obtaining the new version of the software, refer to the restartability determination flag provided in the adapter device, and To the input / output terminal connection interface to which the input / output terminal is connected, and restart control means for automatically restarting the adapter device when it is determined that restart is possible based on the value The presence or absence of the connection of the input / output terminal is monitored. If no input / output terminal is connected to the input / output terminal connection interface, the restartability determination flag is set to restartable. Flag setting means.

  In the present invention, a determination flag for restartability is held inside the adapter device, and the adapter device is restarted by operating this flag based on the usage history of the user of the adapter device or the device connection status to the input / output terminal connection interface, etc. Automatic version upgrade is performed, and the influence on the user's use of the device at that time is reduced. In other words, the present invention provides a timing that does not cause as much trouble as possible to the user's system use when it is desired to execute firmware upgrades when adding functions or the like with restart when there is no problem in continuous use as a system. To restart.

  The present invention utilizes a restartable determination flag in version upgrade of software installed in an adapter device, and operates the flag based on various types of information about the adapter device and its peripheral terminals to restart the software. Accordingly, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the influence on the use of the adapter device by the user due to the execution of the accompanying automatic software version upgrade.

  Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the adapter device, and also shows the relationship between the adapter device and the input / output terminal.

  The adapter device 1 is connected to a network line 2 such as a telephone line network, and includes a plurality of input / output terminal connection interfaces (I / F) 4 and 5 for connecting input / output terminals. In the illustrated example, a telephone 6 is connected to the input / output terminal connection interface 4 as an input / output terminal, and a personal computer (PC) 7 is connected to the input / output terminal connection interface 5 as an input / output terminal. . The telephone 6 is provided with a so-called “answering button” for absence notification. The adapter device 1 is configured to automatically acquire a new version of software such as built-in firmware or application.

  Further, the adapter device 1 includes a control unit 10 that controls the entire adapter device, a storage unit 11 that stores software such as firmware that defines the functions of the adapter device 1 and controls operations, and stores in the storage unit 11. The upgrade unit 12 that upgrades the software to be upgraded, the restart control unit 14 that controls the restart of the adapter device 1 after the upgrade, and the restart control unit 14 that retains a restartable determination flag And a flag setting unit 16 for operating a restartable determination flag. The control unit 10 controls the operation of the adapter device 1 in accordance with software stored in the storage unit 11. The version upgrade unit 12 is configured to obtain version upgrade data from the network line 2 and upgrade the software in the storage unit 11. However, the upgrade data may be given from the personal computer 7 to the upgrade unit 12, for example.

  Hereinafter, the software version upgrade in such an adapter device will be described in more detail.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in one embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the restart control unit 14 executes the restart operation of the adapter device 1 according to the value of the restart possibility determination flag stored in the flag storage unit 15. That is, the present embodiment relates to a version upgrade method based on a restartability determination using a restartability determination flag, and an immediate version upgrade based on the operation and detection of this flag.

  The restartable determination flag is normally set to “FALSE (false)”, and is operated to “TRUE (true)” by the flag setting unit 16 when each condition described later is satisfied. Is. The restart control unit 14 executes restart processing when the adapter device 1 needs to be restarted and the restart enable determination flag is “TRUE”.

  First, when the acquisition of the new version software by the version upgrade unit 12 and the storage to the storage unit 11 are completed (step 201), the restart control unit 14 requires that the entire adapter device 1 be restarted for the software upgrade. It is determined whether or not to perform (step 202). If it is determined that restart is not necessary, the process proceeds to step 207, and the version upgrade process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 202 that the entire restart is necessary, in step 203, the restart control unit 14 checks the value of the restart possible determination flag, which is “TRUE”. If ", restart is executed (step 206), and then the process proceeds to step 207, where the version upgrade process ends. When executing the restart in step 206, it is necessary to confirm that the adapter device 1 to be restarted is in an execution standby state such as an empty line. If the restart possibility determination flag is “FALSE” in step 203, the process proceeds to step 204, and the restart possibility determination flag is monitored. Thereafter, when a change in the flag state is detected (step 205). Then, the process proceeds to step 203 and the flag is checked again. By repeating this operation, it is possible to complete the upgrade by quick restart.

  Hereinafter, the setting conditions of the restartable determination flag will be described.

<< Setting Example 1 >>
Here, the restartability determination flag is set to “TRUE” in accordance with the connection state of the input / output terminal to the input / output terminal connection interfaces 4 and 5 of the adapter device 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flag setting process in setting example 1. That is, in this setting example, the presence / absence of connection of the wiring to the input / output terminal connection interfaces 4 and 5 of the adapter device 1 is monitored, and the restartability determination flag is operated by the information.

  First, when the adapter device 1 is activated in step 301, the flag setting unit 16 confirms the wiring connection state in the input / output terminal connection interfaces 4 and 5 (step 302). It is determined whether or not there is a terminal connected to any one of the plurality of input / output terminal connection interfaces (step 303). If there is such a connection terminal, a restartable determination flag is set to “ If it is set to “FALSE” and no terminal is connected to any input / output terminal connection interface, the restart enable determination flag is set to “TRUE” in step 303. Thereafter, in step 305, the flag setting unit 16 monitors the connection state of the input / output terminal connection interfaces 4 and 5, and if a change is detected in the connection state of the input / output terminal connection interface (step 306), the process returns to step 302. Then, check the wiring connection status again.

  When the restartable determination flag is set in this way, the process is executed by detecting the operation of the restartable determination flag according to the procedure shown in FIG. Version upgrade is realized.

<< Setting example 2 >>
Here, an example in which the restartable determination flag is operated by an event signal from an input / output terminal connected to the input / output terminal connection interfaces 4 and 5 of the adapter device 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flag setting process in setting example 2. In other words, in this setting example, the flag setting unit 16 turns on / off information of the answering button installed in the input / output terminal (telephone 6) connected to the input / output terminal connection interface 4 of the adapter device 1. And the restartable determination flag is operated according to the information.

  First, when the adapter device 1 is activated in step 401, the flag setting unit 16 sets a restartable determination flag as “FALSE” as an initial setting value (step 402), and from the input / output terminal connected to the adapter device 1 The input of the event signal is awaited (step 403). Here, for example, when an event signal such as an answering button press from the telephone 6 that is an input / output terminal is notified (step 404), the flag setting unit 16 checks the content of the notified event signal in step 405. Then, it is determined whether or not the restartable determination flag is set to “TRUE”. If it is determined that the restartable determination flag is set to “TRUE”, the restartable determination flag is set to “TRUE” in step 407, and to “TRUE”. If it is determined that the state has changed to a state where it cannot be set, in step 406, the restart enable determination flag is set to “FALSE”. Thereafter, the process returns to step 403 and the above processing is repeated.

  When the restartable determination flag is set in this way, the process is executed by detecting the operation of the restartable determination flag according to the procedure shown in FIG. Version upgrade is realized.

<< Setting example 3 >>
In this example, the usage history of the input / output terminal for the adapter device 1 is monitored to extract a time zone in which the adapter device 1 is less used, and the restartable determination flag is operated based on the extracted time zone data. Will be explained. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flag setting process in setting example 3. In other words, in this setting example, the flag setting unit 16 always refers to the table storing the usage history of the input / output terminal 1 (ie, Table 19), and selects the time zone when the adapter device 1 is not used most from the usage history. Then, the restartable determination flag is operated during that time period.

First, when the adapter device 1 is activated in step 501, the flag setting unit 16 sets a restartable determination flag as “FALSE” as an initial setting value (step 502), and in step 503, the adapter device 1 by an input / output terminal. Is used in the flag setting unit 16. Based on the usage history recorded in step 503, the flag setting unit 16 checks the usage history in step 504. At this time, the flag setting unit 16 extracts combinations of days of the week and time periods that are less used, and holds them in the form shown in Table 19. Thereafter, the flag setting unit 16 enters time monitoring in step 505, and in step 506 checks whether the monitored time corresponds to the time zone held in Table 19. If applicable, the restart enable determination flag is set to “ TRUE” in step S508, and if not applicable, the restart enable determination flag is set to “FALSE” in step 507. In this case, the interval at which the flag setting unit 16 performs time monitoring is arbitrary.

  Thereafter, in step 509, the flag setting unit 16 detects whether or not the usage history of the input / output terminal has changed. If there is a change, the flag setting unit 16 executes time zone extraction again in step 510 and updates the table 19 To do. If there is no change, no processing is executed. It should be noted that the processing of steps 510 and 511 can be executed at any timing. Thereafter, the process returns to the time monitoring in step 505, and the above-described processing is repeated.

  When the restartable determination flag is set in this way, the process is executed by detecting the operation of the restartable determination flag according to the procedure shown in FIG. Version upgrade is realized.

  The adapter device 1 described above is generally configured to include a microprocessor as its hardware configuration. The control unit 10, the upgrade unit 12, the restart control unit 14, and the flag setting unit 16 can be realized as software operating on the microprocessor, and the storage unit 11 and the flag storage unit 15 are connected to the microprocessor. It can be realized as a storage area in a storage device or a microprocessor. When the adapter device is configured to have a microprocessor as described above, a program for realizing the above-described software version upgrade method is read into an appropriate storage device in the adapter device, and the program is loaded into the microprocessor. This adapter device 1 can execute the software version upgrade in the above-described procedure. Therefore, as described above, the program itself for executing the software version upgrade can be the target of the version upgrade.

  In any case, the adapter device 1 composed of a microprocessor and a storage device is the same as a general computer in that it is controlled by software. Therefore, a program for executing the software version upgrade method of the present invention is as follows. The data is read into a storage device (or storage area) in the adapter device via a network or a removable storage medium such as an IC card. When the program is executed by the microprocessor, the adapter device 1 performs software upgrade according to the above-described procedure.

  The adapter device software version upgrade method of the present invention is particularly effective in the line connection service industry, the communication service industry, etc. that may frequently update the firmware of the adapter device, and also effective in the adapter device manufacturing industry, etc. It is.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an adapter apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process until the completion of version upgrade after acquisition of the software of a new version. It is a flowchart explaining operation of the restart possibility determination flag by the connection state monitoring of the input / output terminal interface. It is a flowchart explaining operation of the restart possible determination flag by the event signal from an input / output terminal. It is a flowchart explaining operation of the restart possibility determination flag by referring to the usage history of the input / output terminal.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Adapter apparatus 2 Network line 4, 5 Input / output terminal connection interface 6 Telephone 7 Personal computer 10 Control part 11 Storage part 12 Version upgrade part 14 Restart control part 15 Flag storage part 16 Flag setting part 19 Table

Claims (3)

An adapter device that is connectable to a network line and connected to an input / output terminal, the operation of which is controlled by software and used to connect the input / output terminal to the network line,
A version upgrade means for acquiring a new version of software from the network line and executing a version upgrade of the software;
After the acquisition of the new version of software, referring to the restartability determination flag provided in the adapter device, it is determined whether restart is possible based on the value of the restartability determination flag, and restart is possible. Restart control means for automatically restarting the adapter device when determined,
Monitors the presence / absence of connection to the input / output terminal connection interface to which the input / output terminal is connected, and restarts the restartability determination flag if at least one input / output terminal is connected to the input / output terminal connection interface. Flag setting means for setting the restartability determination flag to be restartable if no input / output terminal is connected to the input / output terminal connection interface;
An adapter device. An input / output terminal connection interface and a storage device that are connectable to a network line and connectable to an input / output terminal, are used to connect the input / output terminal to the network line, and to which the input / output terminal is connected A computer comprising a microprocessor,
A version upgrade means for acquiring a new version of software from the network line and executing a version upgrade of the software;
After the acquisition of the new version of software, refer to the restartability determination flag stored in the storage device, determine whether restart is possible based on the value of the restartability determination flag, and allow restarting Restart control means for automatically restarting the computer when it is determined;
The presence / absence of connection to the input / output terminal connection interface is monitored, and if at least one input / output terminal is connected to the input / output terminal connection interface, the restart enable determination flag is set to disable restart, Flag setting means for setting the restartability determination flag to be restartable if no terminal is connected to the input / output terminal connection interface;
Program to function as. A computer-readable recording medium that stores the program according to claim 2 .

Images