JPH04181427A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily change a program through an external interface and to accelerate starting time by providing a control part, non-volatile memory, read only memory, reloading control part and external interface. CONSTITUTION:An EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM) 18 is detached from an IC socket 13 and by exchanging this, the processing program can be changed. On the other hand, when a program reloading instruction 20 is inputted from an external interface 17 and a prescribed data for reloading is inputted, a reloading control part 19 executes an update processing program 14b and updates the contents of the EEPROM 18. Thus, the exchange of the memory due to the service staff is not required, and the program is automatically reloaded by the comparatively simple operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an information processing device whose program can be updated via an external interface.

(Prior Art) Various information processing devices such as personal computers usually read programs stored in a memory using a microprocessor and execute predetermined processing.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a conventional general information processing device. The operation of the device is controlled by a microprocessor 2 connected to a pass line 1. Pass line 1 has an IC
A socket 3, a read/write memory 5, and a peripheral circuit 6 are connected. Further, a read-only memory 4 made of a read-only memory or the like is connected to the IC socket 3.

The read/write memory 5 is composed of a random access memory or the like.

Further, the peripheral circuit 6 includes input/output devices, communication control circuits, and the like. An external interface 7 is connected to this peripheral circuit 6. A communication line (not shown) is connected to the external interface 7, and via the host device,
It is configured so that various commands and data can be input. In the device shown in the figure, a microprocessor 2 is successively installed, reads a program stored in a dedicated memory 4, and accesses a read/write memory 5 and peripheral circuits 6 according to the contents of the program.

Further, in response to a command input via the external interface 7, a corresponding program is read from the read-only memory 4 and the program is executed.

A read-only memory 4 is removably attached to the IC socket 3, and a read-only memory storing various processing programs is attached to the IC socket 3 as required.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of another conventional information processing device.

In the figure, path line 1 includes microprocessor 2.
, an IC socket 3, a read/write memory 5, a peripheral circuit 6, and a file read/write controller 8 are connected thereto.

In this device, a read-only memory 4 stores an initial program loader (IPL) and part of a program for operating the microprocessor 2. First, the microprocessor 2 reads this read-only memory 4!
The stored initial program loader is read out, and access to the read/write menu 5, peripheral circuit 6, and file read/write controller 8 is executed according to its contents.

In this case, the initial program loader first accesses the file read/write control unit 8 and transfers the program stored in the floppy disk device 9 to the read/write memory 5. Thereafter, the program transferred to the read/write memory 5 is activated, and accesses to each part are executed in accordance with commands input via the external interface 7 or the like.

As described above, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 2, the processing program for executing the operation of the microprocessor 2 is stored in the read-only memory 4
By replacing the g-sale dedicated memory 4, the contents of its operation can be changed.

Further, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, a program is transferred from an external storage device such as a floppy disk device 9 to the read/write memory 5, and the program is used to execute operations.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in a device as shown in FIG. 2 in which a processing program for executing main operations is stored in a read-only memory 4, it is difficult to change the contents of the processing program. In this case, it is necessary to replace the read-only memory 4.

The read-only memory 4 is implemented via the IC socket 3 as described above to facilitate such exchange. However, if the device is installed at the user's side, a service person must go to the user's side and replace the read-only memory 4. Such work is complicated and has the drawback that it is difficult to quickly provide replacement services for the read-only memory 4 to a large number of users.

On the other hand, if the processing program is stored in a floppy disk device or the like, the floppy disk device 9 storing the new program can be mailed, or the new program can be transferred to the floppy disk device 9 via the external interface 7. Processing such as writing is now possible.

Therefore, according to this method, it is possible to omit the time and effort of service personnel to travel, and it is possible to exchange programs relatively quickly. However, when the power is turned on, it is necessary to transfer the program from the floppy disk device 9 to the read/write memory 5, which poses a problem in that it takes a long time to start up the device.

The present invention has been made with the above points in mind, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device that facilitates program changes via an external interface and that can relatively speed up the start-up time. It is something.

(Means for Solving the Problems) An information processing device of the present invention includes: a control unit that controls the operation of the entire device; a rewritable nonvolatile memory that stores a processing program for executing main operations of the control unit; At least a continuous read only memory for storing an update processing program for updating the processing program in the non-volatile memory, and a memory for executing the update processing program in accordance with a program rewriting instruction to update the processing program in the non-volatile memory. The present invention is characterized in that it is equipped with a rewriting control section for rewriting the program, and an external interface for receiving the program rewriting command.

(Function) Since this information processing device stores the processing program in the nonvolatile memory, its startup time is fast. Furthermore, since the program in the non-volatile memory is rewritten in accordance with a program rewriting command input via an external interface, it is possible to eliminate the need for service personnel to travel.

Furthermore, since the update processing program for updating the program is stored in a memory dedicated for continuous access, it will not be destroyed when updating the processing program. In this way, it is possible to quickly deal with changes in the specifications of the device. Furthermore, the device can be made smaller.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an information processing apparatus of the present invention.

In the illustrated device, a microprocessor 12 , an IC socket 13 , a read-only memory 14 , a read/write memory 15 , and a peripheral circuit 16 are connected to a pass line 11 . The IC socket 13 contains EEP, which is non-volatile memory.
A ROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM) is connected to the pass line 11.
Rewrite control unit 1 for rewriting control of PROMI 8
9 is connected.

Further, an external interface 17 is connected to the peripheral circuit 16, and is configured to receive a program rewriting command 2o from an external device (not shown). The microprocessor 12 is called a control section in the present invention, and is a circuit for controlling the operation of the entire device. or,
The continuous output memory 14 is configured to store a startup program 14a, which is an initial program loader (IPL), and an update processing program 14b.

A processing program 18a for executing the main operations of the microprocessor 12 is stored in the EEPROM 1,8.

The update processing program 1.4b stored in the read-only memory 14 is a control program for updating the processing program 18a.

Further, the rewrite control unit 19 executes the update processing program 14b according to the program rewrite command, and updates the EEPR.
This is a circuit that executes processing to update the processing program 18a in OMI B.

That is, the device having the configuration shown in FIG.
By removing it from the C socket 13 and replacing it, the processing program can be changed.

On the other hand, when the program rewrite λ command 2o is input from the external interface 17 and predetermined rewrite data is input, the update processing program 14b is executed by the rewrite control unit 19 and the contents of the EEPROMI 8 are updated. There is.

FIG. 4 shows an explanatory diagram of the structure of such a program rewriting instruction.

As shown in the figure, the program rewriting instruction 20 is composed of various data connected to a 1-byte command 20a from bl to b8. The second byte contains the transfer block number 20b and the transfer block! h 20 c is placed. The command 20a is executed by the microprocessor 12 of FIG.
is for recognizing an instruction to rewrite the EEPROMI 8, and the rewriting control unit 19 is activated in accordance with this.

The information processing apparatus having the above configuration operates as follows.6 The functions of each data shown in FIG. 4 will be specifically explained therein.

First, in a normal case, the microprocessor 12 reads a program stored in the read-only memory 14 and the EEPROM1B, and accesses the read/write memory 15, peripheral circuit 16, rewrite control unit 19, etc. according to the contents of the program. Execute.

Here, FIG. 5 shows an explanatory diagram of the address space of the apparatus of the present invention. The address space in the diagram is from “ooooo” to “”
It is configured up to “FFFFFF”.And “0”
Arithmetic buffer from ``0000'' to address ``X0OOOO'', program memory from ``xoooo'' to address ``YOOOO°'', program memory from ``YOOOO'' to ``20000''
``'' is the EEPROM, the area from ``20000'' to ``FOOOO'' is an empty area, and the area from ``FOOO'' is empty.
Addresses are set such that the area from address "O" to the last address "FFFFF" is read-only memory.

Then, when the power is turned on, the memory 14 (the first
The IPL startup program 14a shown in Figure 1 is executed to initialize various memories, perform memory checks, and other processes. Thereafter, the processing program stored in the EEPROMI 8 is transferred to the read/write memory 15. Thereafter, the microprocessor 12 reads and executes the processing program stored in the read/write memory 15.

In this case, the program transfer from the EEPROMI 8 to the read/write memory 15 is a high-speed data transfer between memories and is executed in an extremely short time since no magnetic disk device or the like is used.

On the other hand, if it becomes necessary to change the processing programs 1 and 8a due to specification changes, etc., the IC
It is also possible to remove the EEPROMI 8 from the socket 13 and install another EEPROM.

However, in the device of the present invention, first, after the power is turned on, a program rewriting command 20 is input from an external device (not shown) through the external interface 17 while the device is normally started up.

A command 20a shown in FIG. 4 is an instruction for rewriting the memory. Further, the number of transfer blocks 20b indicates the number of commands issued when the memory rewriting commands 20a are issued continuously. The transfer block run 20c indicates which command the memory rewriting command 20a is. Length 20d is the number of bytes of transfer data 20e to be transferred after this length 20d and check code 2.
It shows the total number of bytes of Of. That is, the figure shows the number of bytes between 4 and n.

When the program rewrite command 20 is input, the microprocessor 12 shown in FIG. 1 activates the EEPROM rewrite control section 19. This rewriting control unit 19 performs the EEP indicated in the program rewriting instruction 20 described above.
The address space of ROMI 8 is accessed and the contents of transfer data 20e (Fig. 4) are sequentially transferred to EEPROMI 8.
and perform the update. If commands are input continuously, similar rewriting processing is executed for each corresponding address of EEFROMI 8.

Here, if the check code 2Of is referred to and the preset specific arithmetic processing is performed, and the one generated on the sending side 9 and the one generated on the receiving side do not match, it will be indicated that the rewriting was unsuccessful. is notified to the external device and prohibits the rewriting process. Considering the case where such an error occurs,
For example, if multiple commands are transferred at once, the transfer data 20e is stored in a specific area of the EEPROMI 8 until the final block memory rewrite command is successfully received, and the transfer data 20e is determined to be received normally. It is only necessary to start rewriting the EEPROMI 8 in that case. Among multiple blocks of transferred data -
This is because if the rewriting is incomplete even in some places, it becomes impossible to rewrite the processing program normally.

Note that when the program rewrite command 20 is manually executed, an interrupt occurs and the update processing program 14b shown in FIG. can continue as is.

Note that in order to reduce the size of the device and speed up startup, it is also possible to execute the process as is without transferring it to the program memory 15. In such a case, an address space as shown in FIG. 6 is constructed.

6th leap: Well, ■This is a 7 trace space explanatory diagram when the PROM 18 is used as a blockogram memory.

In contrast to the address space shown in FIG. 5, the address space marked "x" is a program memory space or empty area from address ``X0OOO'' to address ``YOOOO''.

By the way, in such a case, the EEPROM 18 in FIG.
If the program is rewritten by the program rewriting instruction 20 while the microprocessor 12 is executing the processing program 18a, there is a possibility that the process being executed up to that point becomes abnormal. Therefore, in such a case,
- First, after waiting for an interrupt caused by the program rewriting instruction 20, completing the currently executing program, and setting the masked state to prohibit other interrupts, the update processing program 14b of the continuous output dedicated memory 14 is started. be done. For such processing, the stack memory used during program execution is referenced, and the various interrupt processes that have already occurred are sequentially executed based on the contents of the program address. It is also possible to clear all memory and complete the program before updating.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. In the above embodiment, the EEPROM 18 is used as an example of a non-volatile memory, but it is also possible to use a random access memory backed up by a battery or the like, other similar non-volatile memories, or other devices. It is.

(Effects of the Invention) The information processing device of the present invention as described above stores a processing program in a nonvolatile memory, stores an update processing program for updating the processing program in a read-only memory, and connects an external interface. Since a program rewrite command is input through the rewrite controller and the above-mentioned processing program is updated by the rewrite controller, there is no need for service personnel to replace the memory, and the program can be rewritten automatically with a relatively simple operation. It becomes possible.

In addition, by using non-volatile memory, program transfer time can be shortened or program transfer can be eliminated, making it possible to
It is possible to speed up the process and downsize the device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1: A diagram of an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an information processing device, Fig. 3 is a block diagram of another conventional information processing device, Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the program rewrite command configuration, and Figs. 5 and 6 are address space explanatory diagrams. 1]...pass line, 12...microprocessor (control unit), 14...
Read-only memory, 1, 4 a... Startup program, ], 4b... Update processing program, ]5... ε memory for first numbering, 18... EEPROM (non-volatile memory), 1, 8
a... Processing program, 19... Rewriting control unit. Patent issued and filed by Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A control section that controls the operation of the entire device; a rewritable nonvolatile memory that stores a processing program for executing main operations of the control section; and at least a processing program in the nonvolatile memory. a read-only memory that stores an update processing program for updating; a rewrite control unit that executes the update processing program and updates the processing program in the nonvolatile memory according to a program rewrite instruction; and accepts the program rewrite instruction. An information processing device comprising an external interface.