JP6457756B2 - Information processing apparatus, control method thereof, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program.

  In the firmware update (software update), there is an update firmware for updating the normal firmware (software), and the update process is executed in the update firmware. Hereinafter, firmware and software are referred to as firmware, and firmware update and software update are referred to as firmware update.

  In the field of office machines and the like, the mainstream method is to pre-update an update firmware in a ROM and perform the update without rewriting the firmware. However, in recent years, it has become necessary to update bugs and update functions of update firmware, and the number of cases where update firmware is updated has increased. For this reason, the update firmware is not in the form of being pre-burned into the ROM, but a technique for updating in the market in the same manner as the normal firmware has come to be known.

  In the case of a configuration in which a normal firmware (hereinafter referred to as “std firmware”) and an update firmware (hereinafter referred to as “safe firmware”) coexist, a case where the operation depends on both occurs. For example, when updating the std firmware, the std firmware is updated first using an old safe firmware that has an operation record (a safe firmware that is stored and operated in the device), and then the safe firmware is updated. Update. On the other hand, for example, in order to update the std firmware, there is a case where the safe firmware needs to be updated first. In this case, a plurality of update methods are known in which the safe firmware is updated once and then the std firmware is updated. Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for performing a repair operation when an update fails.

JP 2011-128702 A

  However, the above prior art has the following problems. For example, in the above prior art, when an error is detected during update, control is performed to automatically recover to the previous version or to search for another version and update to another version. However, in the above-described conventional technology, although the operation of the device is guaranteed, as a result, it is impossible to update to a desired firmware. Further, when it is known in advance that there is a failure or there is a necessity to update the safe firmware in order to improve the function, the above-described conventional technology cannot cope with it.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for starting update of firmware to be updated from a state in which the firmware is activated with appropriate firmware.

The present invention is, for example, has a function to activate the device, an information processing apparatus for have at least a first firmware and the second firmware, receiving means for receiving the firmware update target from an external device, the receiving the included in the updated firmware has been received by the means according to the information of the start mode that corresponds to the version of the firmware to start the one firmware selected from among the first firmware and the second firmware startup In response to the first firmware being activated by the control means and the activation control means, the second firmware is updated based on the firmware to be updated, and the second firmware is updated by the activation control means. in response to the activated, the first file A updating means for updating based on the updated firmware to firmware, the activation control unit refers to the information of the activation mode, the current version is the first firmware firmware of the information processing apparatus If the boot mode corresponds to the boot mode to boot, the first firmware is booted, and if the current firmware version of the information processing apparatus corresponds to the boot mode to boot the second firmware, the first firmware The second firmware is activated .

  According to the present invention, at the time of updating the firmware, the update of the firmware to be updated can be started from a state where the firmware is started with appropriate firmware.

The figure which shows the structural example of the information processing apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of the update system of the information processing apparatus 100 centering on FlashROM219 which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which showed the firm structure of the information processing apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which showed the firm structure of the update object which concerns on one Embodiment, and version / startup mode. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the update system in the information processing apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the present invention. .

<Configuration of information processing apparatus>
First, the configuration of an information processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 is connected to a PC 260 and an external server 250 via a LAN 110. The information processing apparatus 100 includes a control unit 200, an operation unit 220, a printer engine 221, a scanner engine 222, and an external power supply 240. Further, the control unit 200 includes a CPU 210, a chip set 211, a RAM 212, an SRAM 213, a NIC 214, an operation unit I / F 215, a printer I / F 216, a scanner I / F 217, an HDD 218, and a Flash ROM 219.

  The control unit 200 controls the overall operation of the information processing apparatus 100. The CPU 210 reads the control program stored in the flash ROM 219 to the RAM 212 and executes various control processes such as reading control, printing control, and firmware update control. The flash ROM 219 is also used as a file storage area for firmware update, a work area, and a user data area. The RAM 212 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory or work area for the CPU 210. The SRAM 213 is a non-volatile memory, and stores setting values, image adjustment values, and the like necessary for the information processing apparatus 100, and data is not lost even when the power is turned on again. The HDD 218 stores image data, user data, and the like.

  The operation unit I / F 215 connects the operation unit 220 and the control unit 200. The operation unit 220 includes a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function, a keyboard, and the like. The printer I / F 216 connects the printer engine 221 and the control unit 200. A printer engine farm 231 is stored in a ROM included in the printer engine 221. Image data to be printed by the printer engine 221 is transferred from the control unit 200 to the printer engine 221 via the printer I / F 216, and is printed on a recording medium by the printer engine 221.

  The scanner I / F 217 connects the scanner engine 222 and the control unit 200. A scanner engine farm 232 is stored in a ROM included in the scanner engine 222. The scanner engine 222 reads an image on a document to generate image data, and inputs the image data to the control unit 200 via the scanner I / F 217.

  A network I / F card (NIC) 214 connects the control unit 200 to the LAN 110. The NIC 214 transmits image data and information to external devices (for example, the external server 250 and the PC 260) on the LAN 110, and conversely receives update firmware and various types of information.

  The external server 250 may be connected to the information processing apparatus 100 via the Internet. Further, the information processing apparatus 100 can be operated from a Web browser included in the PC 260. Chipset 211 represents a series of related integrated circuits. The RTC 270 is a RealTimeClock (real time clock) and is a chip dedicated to timekeeping. Since the RTC 270 is supplied with power from the built-in battery even when the external power supply 240 is not connected, the RTC 270 can operate during sleep. Thereby, in a state where a part of power is supplied to the chipset 211, the return from sleep can be realized. Conversely, the RTC 270 cannot operate in a shutdown state in which no power is supplied to the chipset 211.

<Configuration of FlashROM>
Next, the configuration of the FlashROM 219 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numerals 300 and 310 denote partitions configured in the FlashROM 219. Reference numeral 300 denotes a safe partition including a safe farm 301 used at the time of update, and reference numeral 310 denotes an std partition including an std farm 311 which is a firmware used at normal startup. As described above, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is preinstalled with a plurality of firmwares.

  The safe firmware 301 includes a std firmware update firmware 302, a printer engine firmware update firmware 303, and a scanner engine firmware update firmware 304. The std firmware update firmware 302 has a function of updating the std firmware 311. The printer engine firmware update firmware 303 has a function of updating the printer engine firmware 231 described in FIG. Similarly, the scanner engine firmware update firmware 304 has a function of updating the scanner engine firmware 232 in FIG.

  The same applies when a configuration other than the scanner engine or printer engine, such as a finisher, is connected as the information processing apparatus 100. The std firmware 311 includes a safe firmware update firmware 312 and a normal startup firmware 315. The safe firmware update firmware 312 has a function of updating the safe firmware 301. The normal startup firmware 315 is a firmware that manages general operations as a multifunction peripheral such as copying and printing. The activation mode according to the present invention refers to either activation at the safe farm 301 or activation at the std farm 311, and each has a function of switching the activation mode.

<Configuration management>
Next, configuration management of the firmware stored in the FlashROM 219 in the information processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 401 indicates the version of the firmware, and in the example of FIG. 3, it indicates that version 2.0 is stored in the information processing apparatus 100. Reference numeral 402 indicates that the configuration information of the std farm 311 is stored here, and it can be seen that, for example, a module called gui-sub is stored in the version of 0.01 in 403. Reference numeral 404 indicates that the configuration information of the safe farm 301 is stored here, and it can be seen that, for example, a module “data-sub” at 405 is stored in a version of 0.0.1. As described above, the configuration management 400 manages the version of each firmware currently stored in the information processing apparatus 100.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a configuration management 500 indicating the status of the firmware to be updated will be described. The configuration management 500 is management information that is managed as a file and is included in a firmware downloaded from, for example, the external server 250 shown in FIG. The start mode of the safe firmware 301 and the std firmware 311 is switched according to the configuration management 500 (boot mode described later) included in the downloaded firmware.

  Reference numeral 501 denotes a firmware version. In this case, version 4.0 is the firmware version to be updated. Reference numeral 502 indicates that the configuration information of the std farm 311 is stored here, and it can be seen that, for example, in 503, the module called “gui-sub” is scheduled to be updated to a version of 0.0.2.

  Reference numeral 504 indicates that the configuration information of the safe farm 301 is stored here, and it can be seen that, for example, in 505, the module “data-sub” is scheduled to be updated to a version of 0.4.0.

  Reference numeral 506 denotes a boot mode according to the present invention. For example, in 507, when the original machine is version 1.0, information indicating that start in the std mode (start in the std farm 311) is performed. Is described. Based on this, the safe farm 301 and the std farm 311 switch the activation mode. Similarly, 508 describes the movement in version 2.0. In this case, activation in the safe mode (activation in the safe farm 301) is performed and normal operation is performed. 509 describes the operation at the time of version 3.0, and describes the information to start in the std mode (starting at the std farm 311) as in the case of version 1.0. In this way, the configuration information defines the activation mode (firm) corresponding to each current firmware version of the information processing apparatus 100.

  By describing the start mode for each version in this way, it is preferable to start in the std mode and in the safe mode in the market where there are many aircraft to be updated. Can be executed. That is, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can switch which mode should be activated based on the activation information (configuration management) as described above when the firmware is upgraded. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the product of the information processing apparatus 100 is shipped, it is not necessary to define the activation order at the time of firmware update in advance, and the activation order can be controlled after shipment to the market.

<Control procedure>
Next, with reference to FIG. 5, a processing procedure at the time of firmware update will be described. The processing described below is realized by the CPU 210 reading out the control program stored in the HDD 218 or the Flash ROM 219 to the RAM 212 and executing it. In the processing described below, the CPU 210 operates as an example of a reception unit, a start control unit, and an update unit.

  In step S <b> 101, an instruction from the CPU 210 is received to activate the safe farm 301. Subsequently, in S102, the firmware to be updated (target to be updated) having the configuration as shown in FIG. 4 is downloaded. In step S103, the CPU 210 reads configuration management information included in the firmware downloaded in step S102. Specifically, the CPU 210 reads the boot mode 506 shown in FIG. Thereafter, in S104, the CPU 210 compares the read boot mode 506 with the current version information of the information processing apparatus 100. If the target version is described in the boot mode 506, the process proceeds to S105. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S110.

  In step S <b> 105, the CPU 210 determines whether the activation mode defined in the boot mode 506 is std (activation with the std firmware 311) or safe (activation with the safe firmware 301). If the activation mode is std (activation by the std farm 311), the process proceeds to S106, and if not, the process proceeds to S110.

  In S106, the CPU 210 switches the activation mode to std. Subsequently, in step S <b> 107, the CPU 210 is activated by the std firmware 311 and updates the safe firmware 301. Thereafter, in S108, the CPU 210 switches the start mode to safe, that is, switches to a start mode different from the previously restarted start mode, proceeds to S109, and restarts using the safe farm 301. Thereafter, the std firmware 311 is updated, and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the target version is not found in S104, or if the activation mode is safe (activation in the safe farm 301) in S105, the process proceeds to S110. In S110, the CPU 210 updates the std firmware 311 and then proceeds to S111 to switch the activation mode to std (activation in the std firmware 311). Subsequently, in S112, the CPU 210 restarts with the std firmware 311 to update the safe firmware 301, and ends the processing. When the update is complete, it is restarted to perform normal operations.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus receives the firmware to be updated from the outside, and restarts the information processing apparatus according to the information indicating the start mode when updating the firmware included in the received firmware to be updated. Start and update the firmware. As a result, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment does not need to define the activation mode and the activation order when updating the firmware at the time of product shipment, and can suitably update the firmware according to information acquired from the outside. it can.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, as another method, when the activation mode is determined in S105, the boot mode 506 included in the downloaded configuration management information may not directly indicate the activation mode. For example, the boot mode 506 is simply flag information, and in S105, processing for determining a start mode may be executed according to the flag information. For example, the description of the boot mode 506 may be that version 1.0 has a flag and version 2.0 has no flag. In this case, the switching of the activation mode in S105 executes a process for determining the activation mode according to the flag information. In other words, the control is such that the std firmware is activated if there is a flag, and the safe firmware is activated if there is no flag. The subsequent processing is the same as the steps after S106 and after S110.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

  210: CPU, 211: chipset, 212: RAM, 213: SRAM, 214: NIC, 218: HDD, 219: FlashROM, 220: operation unit, 221: printer engine, 222: scanner engine, 240: power supply, 250: External server, 260: PC

Claims (8)

Has a function to activate the device, an information processing apparatus for have at least a first firmware and the second firmware,
Receiving means for receiving firmware to be updated from an external device ;
Said included the update target firmware received by the receiving means, according to the information of the start mode that corresponds to the version of the firmware, start one firmware selected from among the first firmware and the second firmware Activation control means for causing
In response to the activation of the first firmware by the activation control unit, the second firmware is updated based on the firmware to be updated, and the second firmware is activated by the activation control unit. And updating means for updating the first firmware based on the firmware to be updated,
The activation control means refers to the information on the activation mode, and if the current firmware version of the information processing apparatus corresponds to the activation mode for activating the first firmware, the activation control means An information processing apparatus that is activated and activates the second firmware when a current firmware version of the information processing apparatus corresponds to an activation mode that activates the second firmware . The information of activation mode includes a current startup mode information corresponding to each version of firmware of the information processing apparatus,
The activation control means includes
The information processing apparatus according the current firmware version, from said start mode information, to claim 1, characterized in that to determine the start mode for starting the information processing apparatus. Before Symbol activation control means, said the updating of the by updating means first firmware is completed, further activates the information processing apparatus by using a different firmware and the firmware used when the last started,
It said updating means, the information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein updating the second firmware. Information of the start mode includes the boot order information of the first firmware and the second firmware,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the activation control unit determines firmware to be used when the activation is performed according to the information of the activation order. The first firmware is a normal firmware used in the normal startup,
The second firmware, the information processing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that a firmware for updating used when updating firmware. It said activation control means, if the firmware corresponding to the startup mode is not installed in the information processing apparatus, to claim 5, characterized in that activating the information processing apparatus by using the second firmware The information processing apparatus described. Has a function to activate the device, a control method of an information processing apparatus which have at least a first firmware and the second firmware,
A receiving step in which receiving means receives the firmware to be updated from an external device ;
One of the first firmware and the second firmware selected by the activation control means according to the information of the activation mode corresponding to the version of the firmware included in the firmware to be updated received in the reception step a starting control step of the firmware is started,
An update unit updates the second firmware based on the firmware to be updated in response to the first firmware being activated in the activation control step, and the second firmware is updated in the activation control step. An update step of updating the first firmware based on the firmware to be updated in response to being activated ,
In the activation control step, if the current firmware version of the information processing apparatus corresponds to the activation mode for activating the first firmware with reference to the information on the activation mode, the first firmware is A method for controlling an information processing apparatus , wherein the second firmware is activated when the current firmware version of the information processing apparatus corresponds to an activation mode for activating the second firmware. . A computer-readable program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 .

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