KR20130055936A - Method of updating firmware and apparatus for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A firmware updating method and a device thereof are provided to continue updating from the next block of a completed block by updating a block having a small number of blocks of a new file even though the updating is failed in the middle of the process. CONSTITUTION: An extracting unit(110) compares first and second files with each other to extract and count a block of the second file referring to a block of the first file. A determining unit(130) determines an update sequence about the block of the first file according to the number of blocks of the second file. The determining unit determines the update sequence according to the number of the blocks of the second file. An updating unit(150) updates the blocks of the first file according to the update sequence. [Reference numerals] (110) Reference block extracting unit; (130) Update order determining unit; (150) Updating unit; (170) Delta file storage unit

Description

Firmware update method and device therefor {METHOD OF UPDATING FIRMWARE AND APPARATUS FOR THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a firmware update, and more particularly, to a firmware update method and an apparatus therefor for updating an older version of firmware to a newer version of firmware.

With the development of wireless communication technology, technological developments of portable terminals including various services and functions for user convenience, such as portable CDP (Compact Disk Player), portable MP3 player, and Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), are also remarkably developing. .

As the portable terminal has various functions and complexity, the software mounted on the portable terminal is also more likely to cause a lot of bugs, and there is an increasing demand for the addition of new functions after the release of the portable terminal. For this reason, portable terminals have recently accommodated various functions that reflect user needs.

In particular, the recent portable terminal is not all development is completed at the product release stage, but also pursues the evolution of the software that is constantly loaded even after the initial release of the product.

Therefore, the development and production companies of portable terminals continue to modify and supplement firmware on the released products even after the initial release of the product.

In general, the firmware is configured to be updateable so that new functions added due to the development of various programs or hardware can be used by installing the update file even after manufacture of the portable terminal.

Here, the firmware generally refers to a micro program that controls the hardware stored in the ROM (Read Only Memory). The firmware is the same as the software from the program point of view, but the characteristics of the software and the hardware at the same time are closely related to the hardware. Have

As the portable terminal has various functions and complexity, the software mounted on the portable terminal is also more likely to cause a lot of bugs, and there is an increasing demand for the addition of new functions after the release of the portable terminal. For this reason, portable terminals have recently accommodated various functions that reflect user needs. In particular, the recent portable terminal is not all development is completed at the product release stage, but also pursues the evolution of the software that is constantly loaded even after the initial release of the product.

Therefore, in the case of developing and producing a portable terminal, even after the initial release of the product, an update operation such as firmware modification of the released product can be continuously performed.

However, in order to update a portable terminal, the user has conventionally made a service center or downloaded an update file to a computer, and then connected the computer and the mobile terminal by wired or wireless to perform an update.

However, during the update process, the entire firmware is written to the flash memory. If a user mistake, an error in the operating system, a system reboot, a power failure, or a bad power cable contact occurs, the update process needs to be executed again. Accordingly, there is a problem that a lot of time is wasted in performing the firmware update.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide a firmware update method for block-by-block updating the update target firmware.

Another object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide a firmware update device for block-by-block updating the update target firmware.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, a firmware update method according to an embodiment of the present invention compares a first file and a second file in block units, and refers to the block for each block of the first file. Extracting and counting blocks of the second file, and determining an update order for each block of the first file according to the number of blocks of the counted second file.

In the determining of the update order, the update order may be determined such that the number of blocks of the counted second file is updated from the smallest block for each block of the first file.

The firmware update method may further include performing an update on each block of the first file according to the determined update order.

The updating may include updating each block of the first file by using a delta file from which the difference between the block of the first file and the block of the new file is extracted.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a firmware update apparatus that compares a first file and a second file in block units, and refers to the block for each block of the first file. A reference block extracting unit extracting and counting blocks of a second file and an update order determining unit determining an update order for each block of the first file according to the number of blocks of the counting second file.

Here, the update order determiner may determine the update order such that the number of blocks of the counted second file for each block of the first file is updated from the smallest block.

The apparatus may further include an updater configured to update each block of the first file according to the determined update order.

Here, the updater may update the block of the first file by using a delta file from which the difference between the block of the first file and the block of the second file is extracted.

In the case of using the firmware update method and apparatus therefor according to the present invention as described above, the number of blocks of the new file referring to each block is updated from a small block for each block of the old file. Even if the update fails in the middle, the update can continue from the block after the previous updated block.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a firmware update apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a process of extracting a reference table by a reference block extractor of a firmware updater according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a reference table extracted by the reference block extracting unit of the firmware updater according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a process of determining an update priority by an update priority determiner of a firmware update apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a firmware update process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

The terms first, second, A, B, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a firmware update apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus for updating a firmware extracts and counts a block of a new file referring to a block for each block of the old file by comparing the old file and the new file in units of blocks. The update order determination unit 130 determines the update order according to the number of blocks of one new file, and the update unit updates the old file to the new file using the delta file stored in the delta file storage unit 170 according to the update order ( 150).

The reference block extracting unit 110 may receive the old file and the new file to compare the old file and the new file in units of blocks. Here, the block unit refers to a physical unit of the nonvolatile memory in which the firmware is stored, and the block unit may be, for example, a sector unit or an arbitrary unit of the flash memory.

For example, if there are two blocks of the old file and four blocks of the new file referencing the old file, the reference block extractor 110 compares whether a block referencing the first block of the old file exists in the second file. After the search for the first block is finished, a block referring to the second block of the old file is compared with the second file.

In addition, the reference block extractor 110 extracts a block of a new file that references a block of the old file, generates a reference table by counting the number of blocks of the extracted new file, and updates the generated reference table with an update order determiner ( 130).

For example, when a block of a new file that refers to the first block is the second block and the fourth block with respect to the first block of the old file, the reference block extractor 110 refers to the first block of the old file. You can extract the second and fourth blocks as blocks. Detailed description thereof will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG. 2.

Here, the second and fourth blocks of the new file contain pointer information about some or all of the information contained in the first block of the old file, and the pointer information can be used to refer to the first block of the old file. have.

The update order determiner 130 may receive the reference table from the reference block extractor 110 and determine the update order using the received reference table. Here, the update order determiner 130 determines the update order so that the blocks of the old file are updated from the blocks of the old file with respect to each block of the old file.

The updater 150 may receive the update order from the update order determiner 130 and update the block of the old file with the new version file according to the provided update order.

Here, the updater 150 may update the block of the old file with a new version file by using the delta file received from the delta file storage unit 170. Here, the delta file refers to a file generated by extracting only portions that are not identical among blocks of an old file and blocks of a new version file.

That is, since the updater 150 uses the delta file including only the part to be updated received from the delta file storage unit 170 when updating the block of the old file, the update can be performed at a short time.

2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a process of extracting a reference table by a reference block extractor of a firmware updater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the reference block extractor 110 receives the old file 100 and the new file 200, compares the blocks of the received old file 100 with the blocks of the new file 200 to obtain the old file 100. A block of the new file 200 referring to each block of the file 100 may be extracted.

In FIG. 2, a case where there is one new file 200 using the old file 100 will be described as an example. However, one or more new files using the old file 100 may be used.

Also, in FIG. 2, the old file 100 is composed of eight blocks, and the new file 200 is composed of eight blocks. However, the block of the old file 100 and the block of the new file 200 are files. 2 may be changed as the number of blocks of the old file 100 and blocks of the new file 200 is changed.

The reference block extractor 110 may extract a block of the new file 200 referring to the eight blocks of the old file 100 with respect to the eight blocks of the new file 200.

If the reference block extracting unit 110 determines that the block of the new file 200 is the second block with the same information as some or all of the information included in the first block with respect to the first block of the old file 100, The reference block of the first block of the old file 100 may be extracted as the second block of the new file 200.

In addition, when the reference block extracting unit 110 determines that the same information as some or all of the information included in the second block with respect to the second block of the old file 100 does not exist in the block of the new file 200 It is determined that the reference block of the second block of the old file 100 does not exist. Therefore, the reference block extractor 110 does not extract the reference block of the first block of the old file 100.

The reference block extracting unit 110 performs the same process as the first block and the second block of the old file 100 with respect to the third to eighth blocks of the old file 100, so that the three of the old files 100 The reference block of the first block is extracted as the second block of the new file 200, and since the reference block of the fourth block of the old file 100 does not exist, the reference block of the fourth block of the old file 100 is extracted. I never do that.

In addition, the reference block extractor 110 extracts the reference block of the fifth block of the old file 100 as the sixth block of the new file 200, and the reference block of the sixth block of the old file 100 exists. Instead of extracting the reference block of the sixth block of the old file 100, the reference block of the seventh block of the old file 100 is extracted as the seventh and eighth blocks of the new file 200. The reference block of the eighth block of the old file 100 may be extracted as the seventh block of the new file 200.

3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a reference table extracted by the reference block extracting unit of the firmware updater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the reference block extractor 110 may generate a reference table as shown in FIG. 3 using a block of a new file 200 referring to a block of the old file 100 as shown in FIG. 2. .

Referring to the reference table, the block of the new file 200 that refers to the first block 101 relative to the first block 101 of the old file 100 is the second block. Therefore, the number of blocks referring to the first block 101 is one. Here, the second block of the new file 200 includes pointer information about some or all of the information included in the first block 101 of the old file 100, and the old file 100 using the pointer information. See first block 101 of.

Also, for the second block 102 of the old file 100, there is no block referring to the second block 102. Therefore, the number of blocks referring to the first block 101 is zero. For the third block 103 of the old file 100, the block of the new file 200 that refers to the third block 103 is the fourth block. Therefore, the number of blocks referring to the third block 103 is one.

In addition, for the fourth block 104 of the old file 100, there is no block of the new file 200 referring to the fourth block 104. Therefore, the number of blocks referring to the fourth block 104 is zero. For the fifth block 105 of the old file 100, the block of the new file 200 that refers to the fifth block 105 is the sixth block, so the number of blocks that refer to the fifth block 105 is 1 to be.

In addition, for the sixth block 106 of the old file 100, there is no block of the new file 200 referring to the sixth block 106. Therefore, the number of blocks referring to the sixth block 106 is zero. The blocks of the new file 200 that refer to the seventh block 107 for the seventh block 107 of the old file 100 are the seventh and eighth blocks, and thus refer to the seventh block 107. The number of blocks is two.

The block of the new file 200 that refers to the eighth block 108 for the eighth block 108 of the old file 100 is the seventh block. Thus, the number of blocks referring to the eighth block 108 is one.

4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a process of determining an update order by an update priority determiner of a firmware update apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the update order determiner 130 receives the reference table as shown in FIG. 3 from the reference block extractor 110 and uses the received reference table to update the order of blocks of the old file 100. You can decide.

Here, the update order determiner 130 may determine the update order such that the number of blocks of the new file referring to the block among the blocks of the old file 100 is updated from the smaller block with reference to the reference table.

First, the update order determiner 130 refers to the reference table, and among the blocks of the target file 100, the second block 102 and the fourth block 104 in which the block of the new file referring to the block does not exist. And the sixth block 106 order to determine the update order.

Thereafter, the update order determiner 130 refers to the reference table, and includes the first block 101, the third block 103, and the fifth block having one block of the new file referring to the block among the blocks of the target file 100. The update order may be determined in the order of the first block 105 and the eighth block 106.

Thereafter, the update order determiner 130 may determine the update order for the seventh block 107 having two blocks of the new file referring to the block among the blocks of the target file 100 with reference to the reference table.

In conclusion, the update order determiner 130 may refer to the reference table to sequentially check the second block 102 and the fourth block (blocks) in order of the smallest number of blocks of the new file referring to the block among the blocks of the target file 100. 104, the sixth block 106, the first block 101, the third block 103, the fifth block 105, the eighth block 106, and the seventh block 107 in order to determine the update order. Can be.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a firmware update process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the firmware updater may extract a block of a new file referring to each block for each block of the old file by comparing the old file and the new file in block units (S510).

The firmware updater may determine an update order of blocks of the old file according to the number of blocks of the new file referring to each block for each block of the old file (S520). For example, the firmware updater may determine the update order such that the number of blocks of the new file referring to each block is updated from the smallest block for each block of the old file.

In addition, the firmware updater may update the blocks of the old file to the blocks of the new version file according to the determined update order (S530).

As such, the firmware updater determines the update order such that the number of blocks of the new file referring to the block is updated from the smallest block with respect to the block of the old file, and converts the blocks of the old file into blocks of the new file according to the determined update order. You can update it.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

110: reference block extraction unit 130: update order determination unit
150: update unit 190: delta file storage unit

Claims (8)

Comparing the first file and the second file in units of blocks and extracting and counting a block of a second file referring to the block for each block of the first file; And
Determining an update order for each block of the first file according to the number of blocks of the counted second file. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the update order comprises:
And an update order is determined so that the number of blocks of the counted second file is updated from a small block for each block of the first file. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
And updating the respective blocks of the first file according to the determined update order. The method of claim 3, wherein the updating comprises:
And updating each block of the first file by using a delta file from which the difference between the block of the first file and the block of the new file is extracted. An extraction unit which compares a first file and a second file in units of blocks and extracts and counts a block of a second file referring to the block for each block of the first file; And
And a determining unit to determine an update order for each block of the first file according to the number of blocks of the counted second file. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining unit,
And an update order is determined for each block of the first file so that the number of blocks of the counted second file is updated from a smaller block. The method according to claim 5 or 6,
And an update unit for updating the respective blocks of the first file according to the determined update order. The method of claim 7, wherein the update unit,
And updating the block of the first file by using a delta file from which the difference between the block of the first file and the block of the second file is extracted.

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