JPH1091406A - Communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication equipment which can notify a user of an update content of a control program by informing a user of received update information when update information is received from another communication equipment with a control program for update. SOLUTION: When an incoming call is terminated from a service center and that it is the update of the control program in a flash memory 3 is recognized, a facsimile equipment 1 receives the control program for update with update information, temporarily stores them in RAM 4 and changes the control program in the flash memory 3. Received update information (version information, release year, month and date, change year, month and date, text data on a change content and the like) are displayed and outputted on an operation display part 8 or are recorded and outputted on recording paper by a plotter 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication device,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a communication device that rewrites a control program with a control program transmitted from another communication device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a communication apparatus, for example, a facsimile apparatus, a facsimile control program for executing facsimile communication processing is stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory).
If it is necessary to replace the ROM to update the facsimile control program, the service engineer or engineer will have the ROM storing the new facsimile control program directly to the user's facsimile machine. I went and replaced it with a new ROM.

[0003] In this case, however, a serviceman or an engineer directly brings the ROM storing the new facsimile control program to the user and replaces the ROM, which causes a problem of increased labor and transportation costs. In order to solve this problem, the facsimile control program is stored in a rewritable memory, and the facsimile control program stored in the memory can be rewritten by a facsimile control program transmitted via a telephone line. By doing so, it is conceivable to reduce labor costs, transportation costs, and the like when replacing the ROM.

A method of updating a control program via such a communication line is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-1827.
There is a software update method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 42-42.
In this software updating method, the resources of the remote computer are effectively used by transferring the operation program of the maintenance program related to the updating together with the software to be updated.

[0005]

However, in a conventional communication device having a function of updating a control program via a communication line, communication is performed by another communication device such as a service station terminal or a master computer. Since the control program of the device was automatically updated, the user or service person using the communication device can obtain information on the update, such as when the control program was updated and for what purpose. Could not know.

For this reason, if a failure occurs in the communication device immediately after the update of the program, the user does not know that the program has been updated, and therefore cannot notify the serviceman of the failure, and goes to the user. If the service engineer does not know that the program has been updated, the cause of the failure cannot be ascertained, causing a waste of time.

Therefore, the invention according to claim 1 rewrites the control program by the received update control program when receiving the update control program and the update information relating to the update of the control program transmitted from another communication device. By notifying the update information, when the control program is updated, it is possible to notify the update contents of when and what update was performed for what purpose, thereby providing a communication device with good usability. It is intended to be.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when an update control program and update information relating to the update of the control program transmitted from another communication device are received, the control program is rewritten by the received update control program, and the update program is updated. The information is stored in the non-volatile storage means, and when there is an instruction to output the update information, the update information is read out from the non-volatile storage means and notified to determine when and what update was performed for what purpose. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication device that can extract updated information as needed and know it, and is more usable.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the update information for a plurality of updates of the control program is stored, and when there is an output instruction designating the update information, the designated update information is notified, It is possible to extract and know, as needed, what is updated and for what purpose the update is performed, and to know the update history of the control program, so that a communication device with even better availability can be obtained. It is intended to provide.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a communication apparatus having a communication function, which is rewritable and various types of data are stored based on a control program stored in a program storage means which retains stored contents even when power is turned off. In a communication device that performs communication processing, when receiving an update control program transmitted from another communication device and update information relating to the update of the control program, the received update control program causes the control program in the program storage unit to be updated. The object is achieved by providing an updating unit for rewriting, and a notifying unit for notifying the update information when the updating of the control program by the updating unit is completed.

The control program is stored in a rewritable memory that retains its stored contents even when the power is turned off, such as a flash memory, and is rewritten by the received update control program.

The update information is, for example, version information, release date, update date, text data of the update content, etc., and is notified by the notification means.

According to the above configuration, upon receiving the update control program and the update information relating to the update of the control program transmitted from another communication device, the control program is rewritten by the received update control program, and the update information is transmitted. Since the notification is made, when the control program is updated, it is possible to notify the user of the content of the update as to when and what the update was performed for, thereby improving the usability of the communication device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication apparatus having a communication function and performing various communication processes based on a control program stored in a program storage means which is rewritable and retains stored contents even when power is turned off. Receiving an update control program transmitted from another communication device and update information relating to the update of the control program, rewriting the control program in the program storage unit with the received update control program, Nonvolatile storage means for storing the updated information,
Output instructing means for instructing output of the update information stored in the nonvolatile storage means, and when the output instruction means instructs output of the update information, the update information is read out from the nonvolatile storage means and notified. The above-mentioned object is achieved by providing the notification means.

According to the above configuration, upon receiving the update control program and the update information relating to the update of the control program transmitted from another communication device, the control program is rewritten by the received update control program, and the update information is transmitted. When the update information is stored in the non-volatile storage means and there is an instruction to output the update information, the update information is read out from the non-volatile storage means and notified. It can be taken out and known as needed, and the usability of the communication device can be further improved.

In this case, for example, the nonvolatile storage means stores the update information of the update of the control program for a plurality of times, and the output instruction means stores the update information in the nonvolatile storage means. Means for instructing the output of any update information out of the update information for a plurality of times, and the notifying means notifying the update information in the nonvolatile storage means designated by the output instructing means. You may.

According to the above configuration, the update information for a plurality of updates of the control program is stored, and when there is an output instruction specifying the update information, the specified update information is notified. It is possible to extract and know the update contents for what the update was performed as necessary, and to know the update history of the control program, thereby further improving the usability of the communication device. it can.

[0018]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, although the embodiment described below is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, various technically preferable limitations are added.
The scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified in the following description.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the communication apparatus according to the present invention.
1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and the present embodiment is applied to a facsimile machine. FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of a facsimile apparatus to which a first embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, a facsimile machine 1 has a C
PU (Central Processing Unit) 2, flash memory 3, RAM (Random Access Memory) 4, image processing unit 5, scanner 6, plotter 7, operation display unit 8, and NC
U9 and the like are provided, and each unit is connected by a bus 10.

The CPU (updating means) 2 controls each part of the facsimile machine 1 in accordance with a control program stored in the flash memory 3, executes a sequence as the facsimile machine 1, and updates a control program described later. And operating the update information (version information, release date, update date, update content text data, etc.) according to the user's update information selection operation and output mode selection operation Display 8
Then, an update information output process of displaying the information on a recording paper or outputting the information on a recording sheet by the plotter 7 is executed.

Flash memory (non-volatile storage means) 3
Is a memory capable of writing and erasing data and retaining stored contents even when the power is turned off. The flash memory 3 stores a control program as the facsimile machine 1, an update information output processing program, and the like. With
Data and system data necessary for executing each of the above processes are stored.

The RAM 4 is composed of, for example, a nonvolatile RAM, has a work memory area for storing various data, and has a control program received from another communication device such as a service center (not shown) at the time of update information output processing. And a memory area for temporarily storing update information.

The image processing section 5 encodes (compresses) image information according to a predetermined encoding method, and decodes (expands) the encoded image information.

The scanner 6 is, for example, a CCD (Charge C).
The scanner 6 scans a document and reads an image of the document at a predetermined resolution. The image information of the image of the document read by the scanner 6 is temporarily stored in the RAM 3.

As the plotter 7 (notifying means), for example, a thermal recording device using a thermal element or an electrophotographic recording device is used. The plotter 5 converts a received image or an image of a document read by the scanner 6. In addition to recording on the recording paper, update information of the control program is recorded and output on the recording paper.

Operation display section (notification means, output instruction means) 8
Has various operation keys such as a numeric keypad, a start key, and a display (for example, a liquid crystal display).
Various commands such as a transmission operation are input from the operation keys, and the display displays the content of the commands input from the operation keys and various information notified from the facsimile apparatus 1 to the operator. Also, the operation display unit 8 displays the CP
In the update information output process performed by U2, an operation of selecting the update information to be output is performed, and selection of whether to display the update information on the display of the operation display unit 8 or to output the recording information to recording paper by the plotter 7 is performed. The operation selection screen is displayed, and the update information is displayed and output.

The NCU 9 includes a network control unit and a communication control unit. The NCU 9 has a line L (for example, a public telephone line).
Is connected. The NCU 9 automatically receives a call from the line L and performs an automatic call processing to the line L. Further, the NCU 9 exchanges a facsimile control signal with a facsimile apparatus of the other party and executes a facsimile communication procedure.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When the facsimile apparatus 1 receives a call from another communication apparatus such as a service center (not shown) and confirms that the control program in the flash memory 3 has been updated, the update control program and the update information are updated. Received and RA
After temporarily storing it in M4 and updating the control program with the update control program, the output method of the received update information (version information, release date, update date, text data of update content, etc.) can be selected. There is a feature in that.

Hereinafter, this update information output process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the facsimile apparatus 1 receives a call from another communication apparatus such as a service center (not shown) to the NCU 9 and confirms that the control program in the flash memory 3 has been updated, the NCU 9 updates the control program. After receiving the update control program and the update information, and temporarily storing the received update control program and the update information in the RAM 4, the control program in the flash memory 3 is updated.

When the update of the control program in the flash memory 3 is completed, the CPU 2 starts the update information output processing shown in FIG. 2 and displays the update information stored in the RAM 4 on the operation display unit 8 or outputs the update information to the plotter 7. Is displayed on the operation display unit 8 to select whether to record and output as a report from (Step S1). The CPU 2 determines whether a display output or a report recording output is selected as an output mode by a user's selection operation on the operation display unit 8 (step S2). In step S2,
When the report recording output is selected, the CPU 2
4, the update information (version information, release date, update date, update content text data, etc.) is developed on a bitmap according to a preset data format (step S3), and the developed bitmap data Then, the update information is recorded and output on the recording paper by the plotter 7 based on the above, and the present processing is ended (step S4).

When the display output to the operation display unit 8 is selected in step S2, the CPU 2
Is converted into text data according to a preset data format (step S5), and the text data is displayed on the display of the operation display unit 8 (step S6). Next, the CPU 2 terminates this processing when a key operation indicating the end of display is performed by the user on the operation display unit 8 (step S7).

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the control program in the flash memory 3 is updated by the update control program received from another communication device such as a service center, the fact that the control program has been updated is
After managing the update information (version information, release date, update date, update content text data, etc.) and updating the control program, the operation display unit 8 outputs or displays the update information as a report. Since a selection screen for selecting whether to output is displayed, the user can select whether to output the update information as a report or to display and output by a selection operation, and the user or service person can control the version information of the control program, the release information, and the like. Date, renewal date,
Update contents such as text data of the update contents can be properly and reliably known.

Further, since the update information is stored in the RAM 4, the user or serviceman can output the updated contents of the updated control program at any time, thereby improving the usability of the facsimile machine 1. be able to.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a communication apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is applied to a facsimile apparatus similar to that of the first embodiment. In the description of the present embodiment, the same reference numerals are used in the description of the facsimile apparatus of the first embodiment. This will be described below using the above as it is.

The facsimile apparatus 1 of the present embodiment stores the update information transmitted together with the update control program in the RAM 4 every time the control program is updated, stores a plurality of update information in the RAM 4, These pieces of update information are output when outputting the update information.

That is, the facsimile machine 1 receives a call from another communication device such as a service center (not shown) and confirms that the control program in the flash memory 3 has been updated. When the control program in the flash memory 3 is updated by the update control program, the update information is sequentially stored in the RAM 4 and the number of updates is stored in the RAM 4. Then, the image reading device 1 enables the user to select whether to output the update information on the operation display unit 8 or to record and output the update information from the plotter 7, and outputs a plurality of update information in the RAM 4 according to the selection operation.

Hereinafter, this update information output process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The CPU 2 checks whether there is an update information output request by operating the operation display unit 8. If there is an update information output request, the CPU 2 displays the update information stored in the RAM 4 on the operation display unit 8. Alternatively, a selection screen for selecting whether to record and output as a report by the plotter 7 is displayed on the operation display unit 8 (step S11), and whether a display output or a report recording output is selected by the user on the operation display unit 8 is determined. (Step S1)
2). When the report recording output is selected in step S12, the CPU 2 develops the update information on the bitmap from the oldest update information among the update information stored in the RAM 4 in accordance with a preset data format, for example. (Step S13), the plotter 7 records and outputs the recording data on recording paper based on the developed bitmap data (Step S14).

Then, based on the number of updates stored in the RAM 4, the CPU 2 checks whether the output of all the update information stored in the RAM 4 has been completed, that is, whether it is a data end ( Step S1
5) If it is not the data end, the process returns to step S13, where the next oldest update information is read from the RAM 4, and
In the same manner as described above, a bit map is developed according to a predetermined data format, and the plotted data is recorded on a recording paper by the plotter 7. The above processing is sequentially performed, and when the data ends in step S15, the CPU 2 ends this processing.

In step S12, when a display output is selected by operating the operation display section 8, the CPU 2
Converts the oldest update information from the update information stored in the RAM 4 into text data according to a preset data format (step S16), and converts the text data into a display on the operation display unit 8. (Step S17). Next, when it is confirmed that a key operation indicating the end of display has been performed by the user on the operation display unit 8 (step S1).
8) Based on the number of updates stored in the RAM 4, the CPU 2 checks whether the output of all the update information stored in the RAM 4 has been completed, that is, whether it is a data end (step S19). If it is not the data end, the process returns to step S16, where the next oldest update information is read from the RAM 4, converted into text data in a predetermined data format in the same manner as described above, and displayed on the display of the operation display unit 8. The above processing is sequentially performed, and when the data ends in step S19, the CPU 2 ends this processing.

As described above, according to the facsimile apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when the control program in the flash memory 3 is updated by the update control program received from another communication device such as a service center, the control program is updated. The update information is managed by the update information, and the update information for a plurality of updates of the control program is stored in the RA.
When the update information is stored in M4 and there is a request for output of the update information, the plurality of pieces of update information are output. Therefore, the user or service person can surely and accurately know the update content of the control program. The update history of the program can be known, and the usability of the facsimile machine 1 can be further improved.

As described above, each invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described ones and does not depart from the gist of the invention. It goes without saying that various updates are possible.

For example, in the second embodiment, when there is a request to output update information, all the plurality of update information in the RAM 4 are output in a predetermined order. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, any one of a plurality of pieces of update information in the RAM 4 or a plurality of pieces of
Only the specified update information may be output. In addition, it is possible to select and specify only a specific item, for example, only the update date and time and the purpose of update, among a plurality of information items of the update information, and to output the selected and specified information item for all update information. Good.

[0046]

According to the communication apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, when an update control program transmitted from another communication apparatus and update information relating to the update of the control program are received, the received update control program executes the update control program. Since the control program is rewritten and the update information is notified, when the control program is updated, it is possible to notify the update content of when and what update was performed for what purpose. Can be improved.

According to the communication apparatus of the second aspect,
When receiving the update control program and update information related to the update of the control program transmitted from another communication device, the control program is rewritten by the received update control program, and the update information is stored in the non-volatile storage unit. When there is an instruction to output the update information, the update information is read out from the non-volatile storage means and notified, so that it is necessary to take out the update contents as to when, what update was performed, and for what purpose. Therefore, the usability of the communication device can be further improved.

According to the communication device of the third aspect of the present invention,
Stores update information for multiple updates of the control program,
If there is an instruction to output specified update information, the specified update information is notified, so the update contents of what time, what update was performed, and for which purpose are taken out and known as necessary The update history of the control program can be known, and the usability of the communication device can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of a facsimile apparatus to which a first embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing update information output processing by the facsimile machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing update information output processing by a facsimile apparatus according to a second embodiment of the communication apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Facsimile apparatus 2 CPU 3 Flash memory 4 RAM 5 Image processing part 6 Scanner 7 Plotter 8 Operation display part 9 NCU 10 Bus

Claims (3)

[Claims] A communication device having a communication function and performing various communication processes based on a control program stored in a program storage means which is rewritable and retains stored contents even when the power is turned off, is transmitted from another communication device. When receiving the update control program and the update information relating to the update of the control program, the update means for rewriting the control program in the program storage means by the received update control program, and the update of the control program by the update means is performed. A communication unit that, when completed, notifies the update information. 2. A communication device which has a communication function and performs various communication processes based on a control program stored in a program storage means which is rewritable and retains stored contents even when power is turned off. Receiving an update control program and update information relating to the update of the control program, updating means for rewriting the control program in the program storage means by the received update control program, and a non-volatile memory for storing the received update information. Sex storage means, output instruction means for instructing output of the update information stored in the nonvolatile storage means, and when the output of the update information is instructed by the output instruction means,
A communication unit that reads the update information from the nonvolatile storage unit and notifies the update information. 3. The non-volatile storage means stores the update information of the update of the control program for a plurality of times, and the output instructing means stores any update information of the update information of the non-volatile storage means for a plurality of times. 3. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an instruction is issued to output said update information, and said notifying means notifies said update information in said nonvolatile storage means specified by said output instruction means.