KR20090114974A - Program Update Method and Device for Remote Electric Tilt System of Antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A program update method in a remote tilt system and an apparatus thereof without a program recovery through access of a direct antenna are provided to update the application program in an RET(Remote Electric Tilt) system. CONSTITUTION: An update program data is received(500). The received update program data is stored in a first memory(502). In case the update program data is stored in the first memory, a flag state is set in a set state(504). The stored update program data is copied in a second memory(506). The flag state is converted in a clear state(508) after completing the copy of update program data of the second memory.

Description

Program Update Method and Device for Remote Tilt System of Antennas

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for updating a program, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for updating a program in a remote tilt system of an antenna.

Radiation patterns of the base station antennas may be affected by external conditions such as weather, and may be affected by changes in the surrounding topology, such as adding new base stations or adding new buildings. For this reason, the beam tilt of the antenna needs to be adjusted to provide a communication signal to a desired coverage.

Initially, the beam tilt of the antenna was manually adjusted by the operator. In general, the base station antenna is located at a high place such as a mountain, and is mainly mounted on the stomach. This method requires a worker to climb the tower and adjust the tilt angle whenever the beam tilt needs to be adjusted. It was.

Afterwards, a method of electrically adjusting the beam tilt of the antenna has been proposed, and when this method is used, the problem that the operator has to climb the tower directly and adjust the antenna tilt angle has been solved. However, even though the beam tilt of the antenna is adjusted by an electrical method, there is a problem that the operator must move to the place where the antenna is located, and it still takes a lot of cost and time in view of the fact that the location of the antenna is high, such as a mountain.

In order to solve such a conventional problem, a method of controlling a beam tilt of an antenna at a remote location has been proposed. Such an antenna beam tilt control method is called a RET (Remote Electric Tilt).

1 is a diagram illustrating a general RET system.

Referring to FIG. 1, the RET system includes a beam tilt control device 100, a central control device 102, and an antenna 104.

The beam tilt control device 100 and the central control device 102 are connected through a network, where the network may include a wireless network as well as a wired data communication network such as a dedicated private network and an internet network.

The central control unit 102 provides beam tilt control information to the beam tilt control unit 100, and the beam tilt control unit 100 according to the beam tilt control information provided by the central control unit 102 according to the beam tilt control information. Adjust

In general, electrical control of the beam tilt is performed by a phase shifter, and the beam tilt control device 100 is coupled to a motor for driving the phase shifter, and provides a motor driving signal to adjust the beam tilt of the antenna. .

The beam tilt control device 100 is provided with an application program for communication with the central control device and for providing a motor driving signal. Such an application program needs to be updated for reasons such as a change in a communication protocol or a change in a control scheme.

In the related art, the application program update of the beam tilt control device 100 is performed through the network, but the update procedure fails only when an error occurs during the update process or when a system occurs suddenly such as a reset or power supply interruption. But there was a problem that the existing program is also damaged.

Therefore, in the related art, when an update procedure fails, a worker has to directly access a base station antenna to recover a damaged program.

In the present invention, to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, it is proposed a program update method and apparatus that can be more stable application program update in the RET system.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a method and apparatus for updating a program in a RET system in which an operator does not need to directly access an antenna and recover a program even if an update procedure fails.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, a program updating method in a RET beam tilt control apparatus including a first memory and a second memory, receiving the update program data to receive the first memory (A) storing in the; (B) setting a flag state to a set state when all update program data is stored in the first memory; (C) copying update program data stored in the first memory into the second memory; And (d) transitioning the flag state to a clear state when copying of the update program data to the second memory is completed.

 Step (a) receives the update program data on a packet basis and performs CRC verification on the received data.

The method may further include performing a system reset after the flag state is set to the set state in the step (b).

In step (c), after CRC verification of the update program data stored in the first memory, the data of the first memory is copied to the second memory.

Existing program data is stored in the second memory. If an error occurs while the update program data is stored in the first memory, the existing program data of the second memory is not damaged.

If an error occurs during the step (c), after resetting the system, the process of copying the update program data stored in the first memory to the second memory after resuming the flag state is resumed.

According to another aspect of the invention, the communication unit for receiving the update program data via the network; A first memory; Second memory; And a program update control unit for storing the update program data received by the communication unit in the first memory primarily, copying the update program data to the second memory after the storing is completed, and controlling a flag state of the first memory. A program update device is provided in a RET system that includes.

Preferably, the first memory is a nonvolatile memory, and the first memory and the second memory are physically separate memories.

The first memory may be an EEPROM and the second memory may be a flash memory.

The area of the first memory may include a program data storage area for storing update program data received through the communication unit and a flag area for storing the flag state.

The region of the second memory may include a boot load region in which a booting process is performed, an application execution region providing an execution space when a program is booted and executed, and a program data storage region in which application program data is stored.

The program update control unit sets the flag state to a set state after all of the update program data is stored in the first memory.

The program update control unit sets the flag state to a clear state after all of the update program data stored in the first memory has been copied to the second memory.

The program update control unit resets the system after setting the flag state to the set state, and after confirming that the flag state is the set state after system reset, copies the update program data of the first memory to the second memory.

According to the present invention, a more stable application program update can be made in the RET system, and even if the update procedure fails, the operator does not need to directly access the antenna to restore the program.

Hereinafter, a method and apparatus for updating a program in a RET system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a module configuration of a program updater included in the beam tilt control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2, a program update apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a first memory 200, a second memory 202, a program update controller 204, and a communication unit 206.

In the conventional RET system, the program data file is stored in one memory, and the program data file to be updated is updated in such a manner as to overwrite the existing program data file.

Therefore, if the program update is interrupted in the middle, the update fails as well as the existing program.

The program update apparatus of the present invention performs a program update procedure by using two memories of the first memory 200 and the second memory 202. The first memory 200 and the second memory 202 of FIG. 1 may be physically different separate memories or different storage areas of the same memory. However, the first memory 200 is preferably a nonvolatile memory that retains data even after the system is powered off.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an EPIROM may be used as the first memory 200 and a flash memory may be used as the second memory 202, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The communication unit 206 functions to receive update program data via a network.

The update program data received through the communication unit 206 is stored in the first memory 200.

3 is a diagram illustrating a storage area of a first memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the storage area of the first memory includes a program data storage area 300 and a flag area 302.

The program data storage area 300 stores update program data received through the communication unit 206. The update program data is received by the communication unit 206 in packet units and then stored in the program data storage area 300.

In the flag area 302, a flag associated with the update procedure is set or cleared. The flag is set to either set or clear state for stable update.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flag is set when the update program data are all stably stored in the first memory, and is cleared when the update procedure is stably terminated.

4 is a diagram illustrating a storage area of a second memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a storage area of a second memory according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a boot loader area 400, an application execution area 402, and a program data area 404.

The boot loader area 400 is an area where a boot process is performed when a system is reset.

The application execution region 402 provides a program execution space when a program is booted and executed.

The program data area 404 is a space for storing application program data, and program data for RET control are stored in a form such as .img or .bin.

The program update control unit 204 controls the overall process of the update program, and the operations of the communication unit 206, the first memory 200, and the second memory 202 are controlled by the program update control unit 204.

Hereinafter, a detailed operation of the program updater of the RET system having the configuration as described above will be described.

5 is a flowchart illustrating the overall flow of the program update method of the RET system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the beam tilt control apparatus requests an update of an application program through a network (step 500). The beam tilt control device may request an update of an application program from the central control device, or may request a separate server that stores the update program.

The update program data transmitted through the network is received through the communication unit, and the received data is primarily stored in the first memory (step 502). As described above, the first memory is preferably a nonvolatile memory, and an EEPROM may be used.

When all the update program data is received and stored in the first memory, the flag is switched to the set state in the flag area 202 of the first memory. The flag serves as an indicator of the status for stable updates.

When all update program data is stored in the first memory and a flag is set, the update program data stored in the first memory is copied to the program data area 404 of the second memory.

In the conventional program update method, update program data received through a network is directly stored in the program data area 404. However, in the present invention, update program data is first stored in the first memory and then moved to the second memory.

The copying of the update program data to the second memory after the update program data is primarily stored in the first memory as described above is to prevent the existing program data from being damaged even if an error occurs while receiving the update program data.

When all of the update program data is copied from the first memory to the second memory, the program update procedure ends and the flag of the first memory flag area is cleared (step 508).

That is, the update procedure of the present invention is divided into a first procedure for storing update program data in a first memory and a second procedure for copying update program data stored in a first memory to a second memory. The flag is used.

In this manner, the update can be reliably performed even if an error occurs in any of the first and second procedures. Hereinafter, the first procedure and the second procedure will be described in more detail, and a recovery method in the event of an error during the first and second procedures will be described.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a first procedure of storing update program data in a first memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, first, a procedure of receiving a program update data packet is performed (step 600).

Program data is received in packet units, and a sequence number is assigned to each packet, and data packets are received in sequence order.

Each data packet includes additional information for cyclic redundancy checking (CRC) check, and a CRC verification procedure for whether there is an error in the received data is performed using this (step 602).

CRC is a method to check if there is an error in the data transmitted on the communication link. 16-bit or 32-bit polynomial is applied to the data block to be transmitted, the resulting code is added to the block, and the receiving side applies the same polynomial to the data. It compares the result with the result transmitted from the sender and verifies whether there is an error.

Although FIG. 6 illustrates a case of verifying a data packet received through a CRC, a method for verifying a received data packet is not limited to the CRC, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various data verification methods may be used. .

When data verification is complete, the received data packet is written to the first memory (step 604).

When the packet data is written to the first memory, the first memory written data is read (step 606), and it is checked whether the read data of the first memory and the data written in step 604 are the same (step 608). ).

This operation is for checking whether an error has occurred during the data writing process, and if the read data does not match the written data, the procedure for downloading the update program fails (step 610).

If the read data and the written data match, it is checked whether all data packets have been received (step 612), and if there are still data packets to receive, the procedure of steps 600 to 608 is performed for the next packet.

If all data packets have been received, CRC checks on the entire program data are performed again to see if there are any errors (step 614).

If there is no error in the CRC check for the entire program data, a flag set is made (step 616).

7 is a flowchart illustrating a second procedure in which update program data of a first memory is copied to a second memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

If all program data is stored in the first memory and the flag is set, the system is reset (step 700).

The system is set to always check the state of the flag upon reset, and checks the state of the flag upon system reset (702).

The system is configured to copy the program data of the first memory to the second memory when it is confirmed that the flag is in the set state, and to perform a normal program booting operation when the flag is not in the set state.

After the flag is checked, the update program data stored in the first memory is verified again through the CRC check (step 704).

If there is no error as a result of the CRC verification, the update program data of the first memory is copied to the second memory (step 706).

When all the program data has been copied to the second memory, the flag is switched to the clear state (step 708).

When the program update is completed, the updated program is executed and operated (step 710).

When the RET program update method as described above is applied, even if an error occurs during the update process, it is possible to proceed with a stable update process later without affecting the existing program, and the worker moves to the place where the antenna is located for recovery. The need to do is eliminated.

If an error such as a power off or network disconnection occurs during the first procedure of receiving update program data through the network, operation by the existing program is possible because the second memory in which the existing program data is stored is not affected. The update procedure can be resumed by receiving the update program data.

On the other hand, if an error occurs while copying the update program data stored in the first memory to the second memory, the system resets the flag because the flag of the first memory is set and the received update program data is still stored in the first memory. It is possible to resume the update procedure.

If an error occurs while copying the program update data from the first memory to the second memory, the flag of the first memory is checked when the system is reset. Since the flag is set, the update program data stored in the first memory is stored in the second memory. Since the copying process is started, the update process can be performed again by system reset.

1 illustrates a typical RET system.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a module configuration of a program updater included in the beam tilt control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 illustrates a storage area of a first memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 illustrates a storage area of a second memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flow chart showing the overall flow of the program update method of the RET system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a first procedure in which update program data is stored in a first memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a second procedure in which update program data of a first memory is copied to a second memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (15)

A program update method in a RET beam tilt control apparatus including a first memory and a second memory, (A) receiving and storing update program data in the first memory; (B) setting a flag state to a set state when all update program data is stored in the first memory; (C) copying update program data stored in the first memory into the second memory; And And (d) converting the flag state to a clear state when copying of the update program data to the second memory is completed. The method of claim 1, The step (a) is a program update method in the RET system, characterized in that for receiving the update program data in the packet unit, and performing CRC verification on the received data. The method of claim 1, And performing a system reset after the flag state is set to the set state in the step (b). The method of claim 1, The step (c) is performed after confirming that the flag state is set state, the program update method in the RET system. The method of claim 1, The step (c) is a program update method in the RET system, characterized in that to copy the data of the first memory to the second memory after CRC verification for the update program data stored in the first memory. The method of claim 1, In the RET system, existing program data is stored in the second memory. If an error occurs while the update program data is stored in the first memory, the existing program data of the second memory is not damaged. How to update the program. The method of claim 4, wherein If an error occurs during the step (c), after updating the program, after checking the flag state, the process of copying the update program data stored in the first memory to the second memory is resumed. Way. A communication unit which receives update program data via a network; A first memory; Second memory; And And a program update controller configured to first store the update program data received by the communication unit in the first memory, to copy the update program data to a second memory after the storing is completed, and to control a flag state of the first memory. Program updating apparatus in the RET system, characterized in that. The method of claim 8, And the first memory is a nonvolatile memory, and the first memory and the second memory are physically separate memories. The method of claim 9, And the first memory is an EEPROM and the second memory is a flash memory. The method of claim 8, The area of the first memory includes a program data storage area for storing update program data received through the communication unit and a flag area for storing the flag state. The method of claim 8, The region of the second memory includes a boot load region in which a booting process proceeds, an application execution region providing an execution space when a program is booted and executed, and a program data storage region in which application program data is stored. Program update device from. The method of claim 8, And the program update control unit sets the flag state to a set state after all of the update program data is stored in the first memory. The method of claim 13, And the program update control unit sets the flag state to a clear state after all of the update program data stored in the first memory has been copied to the second memory. The method of claim 14, The program update control unit resets the system after setting the flag state to the set state, and after the system reset, confirms that the flag state is set and copies the update program data of the first memory to the second memory. Program update device in the RET system characterized in that.

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