WO2018086306A1

WO2018086306A1 - Chip version switching method, apparatus and system

Info

Publication number: WO2018086306A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/080021
Authority: WO
Inventors: 杨言安; 王波; 毛宏程; 段维虎
Original assignee: 广州小微电子技术有限公司
Priority date: 2016-11-10
Filing date: 2017-04-11
Publication date: 2018-05-17
Also published as: CN106626791B; CN106626791A

Abstract

A chip version switching method, apparatus and system. The switching method comprises: a first determining step (A01): after a flag bit of version information is accessed, determining whether the flag bit is vacant; an information changing step (A02): if the determining result in the first determining step indicates that the flag bit is not vacant, changing version information in chip data according to the flag bit; a flag rewriting step (A03): modifying a flag in the flag bit into a version setting flag or writing the version setting flag into the flag bit after a first part of address bit of the chip data is accessed; a second determining step (A04): determining whether a second part of address bit of the chip data is accessed; and a flag erasing step (A05): if the determining result in the second determining step indicates that the second part of address bit of the chip data is accessed, erasing the version setting flag in the flag bit. According to the chip version switching method, apparatus and system, version information of a chip can match version information of an imaging device by means of accessing an address bit in chip data, so that the chip is suitable for different versions of imaging devices, and firmware upgrade resistance is high.

Description

Chip version switching method, switching device and switching system

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method for switching a version of a consumable chip, a version switching device for a consumable chip, and a version switching system for a consumable chip.

Background technique

Current imaging devices such as printers, copies, fax machines, and all-in-ones typically include lasers and inkjets. A consumable container such as a toner cartridge/ink cartridge used in an image forming apparatus usually requires a chip to be mounted. After the image forming apparatus communicates with the chip normally, the image forming apparatus can normally use the consumables in the consumable container, for example, the consumable can be ink or toner.

The chip can be used for storing communication data required for communication between the imaging device and the chip, realizing communication protocols and communication methods between the imaging device and the chip, and the chip can also be used for storing chip data corresponding to the consumable container, such as consumables. Container serial number, internal consumables, consumable container production date, consumable container model, applicable area, total print volume, printed pages consumed, consumable capacity, initial use of consumable containers, last used time, etc. When the consumable container on which the chip is mounted is mounted to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus can acquire the communication data, chip data, and the like from the chip, and then verify whether the chip can communicate with the image forming apparatus.

At present, OEMs offer different versions of imaging devices according to different sales areas for certain imaging devices of their own brands, and different versions of imaging devices require different chips: for example, the imaging devices sold in China are Chinese versions. It requires a Chinese version of the chip; the imaging device sold in Europe is the European version, which requires the use of the European version of the chip. If the Chinese version of the chip is used on the European version of the imaging device, the verification will not pass, that is, the European version of the imaging device cannot use the Chinese version of the chip. Therefore, different versions of the imaging device must use the chip relative to the version thereof, so that the user must use the corresponding special version of the chip for different versions of the imaging device when using the device, which increases the user's use cost, and is inconvenient for the user to use.

In order to solve the above problem, a chip version switching method has been appeared. The existing method is to determine whether the chip is suitable for use by determining whether the imaging device stops accessing the chip after reading the current chip data for two consecutive times (or more). The corresponding version of the imaging device. In this way, it is necessary to know the number of times the imaging device stops accessing the general-purpose chip after continuously taking the current chip data, and if it is not known, it is difficult to use, because the number of times of product setting by different OEMs is different, even The number of times that the same OEM has different series or different batches of product settings is not necessarily the same. Some imaging devices change the number of times the imaging device accesses the chip after the firmware is upgraded, which may result in the chip that could be used being unusable due to firmware upgrade. Therefore, the existing method may cause the chip to be suitable for the corresponding version of the imaging device, and the firmware upgrade capability is poor.

Summary of the invention

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a chip version switching method, a switching device, and a switching system that can switch version information, and the chip version switching method, the switching device, and the switching system can make the same or similar chips suitable for different versions. Imaging equipment.

A chip version switching method includes the following steps:

The first determining step: reading the mark bit of the version information, and determining whether the mark bit is empty;

Information replacement step: if the determination result of the first determining step is no, the version information in the chip data is replaced;

Marking rewriting step: after the first part of the chip data address is accessed, modifying the mark in the mark bit to a version setting mark or writing a version setting mark in the mark bit;

a second determining step: determining whether the second partial address bit of the chip data is accessed;

The flag erasing step: if the judgment result of the second determining step is YES, the version setting flag in the flag bit is erased.

Preferably, if the determination result of the first determining step is YES, the information replacement step is not performed, and the mark rewriting step, the second determining step, and the mark erasing step are performed.

Preferably, the first partial address bit includes a version address bit in which version information is stored.

Preferably, the second determining step comprises the following substeps:

The obtaining step: obtaining an instruction for accessing the address of the second part according to the instruction that the chip data is accessed;

a determining substep: generating a feedback signal according to the instruction, and determining, according to the feedback signal, whether the second partial address bit is accessed

Preferably, before the marking rewriting step, a third determining step is further included: determining whether the first partial address bit is accessed, and if so, performing a flag rewriting step.

According to the purpose of the present invention, the present invention further provides a chip version switching apparatus, including:

a first determining module: after accessing the flag bit of the version information, the first determining module is configured to determine whether the flag bit is empty;

The information replacement module: if the judgment result of the first judging module is no, the information replacing module is used to replace the version information in the chip data; if the judgment result of the first judging module is yes, the module does not execute The operation of replacing the version information in the chip data;

a markup rewriting module: the markup rewriting module is configured to modify a mark in the mark bit to a version set mark or write a version set mark in the mark bit;

a second determining module: configured to determine whether a second partial address bit of the chip data is accessed;

a mark erasing module: if the judgment result of the second determining step is YES, the mark erasing module is configured to erase the version setting flag in the mark bit; if the second determining step is not The tag erasure module does not perform the step of erasing the version tag within the tagged bit.

Preferably, the chip version switching device further includes a chip substrate and a consumable container; the chip substrate is mounted on the consumable container; the first judging module, the information replacing module, the mark rewriting module, the second judging module, and the marking wipe The modules are disposed on the chip substrate.

According to an object of the present invention, the present invention further provides a chip version switching system including: an imaging device and a chip; and the chip includes the chip version switching device described above.

Preferably, the imaging device includes an access module for accessing tag bits and address bits in the chip data.

According to the purpose of the present invention, the present invention further provides a chip version switching method, including the following steps:

Access step: the chip accesses the flag bit and determines whether the flag bit is empty;

a fourth determining step: the chip determines, according to the result of the access, whether the flag bit is empty;

Replacement step: If not, the chip replaces the version information in the data stored therein;

a rewriting step: after the first part of the chip data is accessed by the imaging device, the chip performs to modify the mark in the mark bit to be a version setting mark or write a version setting mark in the mark bit;

a fifth determining step: after the rewriting step, the chip determines whether the second partial address bit of the chip data is accessed by the imaging device;

Erase step: If the imaging device accesses the second portion of the chip data address bit, the chip performs a version setting flag in the erase flag bit.

The beneficial effects of the invention:

Compared with the prior art, the present invention marks the version information by setting a mark bit in the chip data, and marks the version information by marking the bit, and then determining whether the second part address bit in the chip data is accessed by the chip data in the switching process. The version information is correct. When the version information is incorrect, the version information in the chip data can be replaced until the version information is correct, so that the same chip can be used in different versions of the imaging device without additional The imaging device sets the corresponding chip data. In addition, it is judged whether the version information is correct by judging whether the second address bit is accessed, which can increase the probability of verification.

By judging whether each address bit of the chip is accessed to determine whether the chip is verified or not, the result of the firmware upgrade cannot be verified, so that the anti-firmware upgrade capability is strong.

DRAWINGS

1 is a flowchart of a chip version switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram of a chip version switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a block diagram of a chip version switching system in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a second flowchart of a chip version switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a chip version switching method is provided in this embodiment. After the chip is connected to the imaging device and powered on, the method may include the following steps: first determining step A01, information replacing step A02, marking rewriting step A03, and Second, the determining step A04 and the marking erasing step A05; of course, other steps may be included.

The first determining step A01: after power-on, accessing the flag bit of the version information, and determining whether the flag bit is empty; or determining whether the flag bit exists. For example, whether the tag bit stores a tag representing version information, if not, it is not empty, and if not, it is empty. The tag bit of the chip can be accessed by the chip, and then the tag in the tag bit is read. If yes, the tag in the tag bit is obtained and the information replacement step A02 is performed. If not, the information replacement step A02 is not executed. The flag rewrites step A03. The number of tags may be a plurality of different code representations, and different codes respectively correspond to corresponding version information. For example, the mark may be represented by code F0, and the version information represented by it is version information of the Chinese version. If the mark does not exist, it can also be represented by FF.

The information replacement step A02: if the determination result of the first determining step is no, the version information in the chip data is replaced; that is, if the mark bit has a mark, the mark may be The tag in the bit replaces the version information in the chip data. When the determination result of the first determining step is negative, it is generally indicated that the version information in the last switching process may not be consistent with the preset version information, that is, the appropriate version information is not switched. The process of replacing the version information in the chip data in the information replacement step is changed according to the mark of the mark bit. For example, if the flag of the flag bit is F0, the version information in the chip data can be replaced with the version information corresponding to F0. If the result of the determination in the first determining step is YES, execution of writing the version setting flag in the flag bit is performed. For example, F0 can be written to this flag bit.

Marker rewriting step A03: after the first part of the chip data address is accessed, or during the access of the first part address, the mark in the mark bit is modified to be the version set mark or the version set is written in the mark bit Mark. Usually, the chip data includes a plurality of version setting flags, for example, the version setting flag can be from F0-Fn, where n is a natural number. For example, when the flag bit originally exists F0, F1 can be written into the flag bit to implement F0 coverage or modification to F1. Therefore, after this step, the mark inside the mark bit may change. When the content indicated by the mark in the mark bit is empty, the writing of the version setting mark operation in the mark bit may be performed, and the case where the mark is not empty may be to modify the mark to the version set mark. The first part address bit may be an address bit of the chip data accessed when determining whether the imaging device is compatible with the chip. For example, when the imaging device is incompatible with the chip, the address bit of the chip data accessed by the imaging device is composed of the address of the first part. Bit. After the first partial address bit is accessed, it can be determined whether the second partial address bit continues to be accessed. For example, when the chip is compatible with the imaging device, the second partial address bit can be accessed, and when the chip is incompatible, the second partial address bit is not accessed.

Second determining step A04: determining whether the second partial address bit of the chip data is accessed. When the second partial address bit is accessed, it indicates that the version information replaced in the information replacement step A02 is correct, or the version information in the chip data has been modified to the preset version information or that it is correct. With the version information, the mark erasing step can be performed. The second partial address is accessible by the imaging device, and the imaging device can transmit the accessed instructions and/or the result of the access to the chip, when the chip receives the accessed instruction and/or access under a preset condition The result indicates that the second part of the address bit is accessed, otherwise it is not accessed, the mark erasing step may not be performed. For example, if it is accessed, the version information of the chip data is consistent with the version information of the imaging device after the information replacement step, that is, the version of the chip and the image device can be used. The preset condition may be that the imaging device itself sets a time for accessing the address of the second part, for example, within 1-12 ms; the time changes in time as the firmware of the imaging device is upgraded, but if the chip needs to be verified, the second part of the address still needs to be It is accessed, so this change does not affect the chip version switching process. When the second partial address bit is accessed, it indicates that the version information of the chip is correct, and the chip can be recognized and communicated by the imaging device.

Marker erasing step A05: If the judgment result of the second judging step is YES, the version setting flag in the flag bit is erased, so that the flag bit is empty, and one version switching operation is completed. If the step is not executed, the version setting flag modified by the mark rewriting step A03 remains in the mark bit, and the version setting mark can be used as a mark at the next version switch to execute the next version switching process. When this step is performed, the version information in the chip data is correct, or it can be said that the chip can be verified by the imaging device, or the chip and the imaging device can successfully communicate. If the judgment of the second determining step If the result is no, it indicates that the version information in the chip data is incorrect, or it can be said that the chip cannot be verified by the imaging device, and it is necessary to return and execute the first determining step. For example, the version of the imaging device is the US version, and the version information in the chip data indicates that it is the Chinese version. In the manner of returning to perform the first determining step, the power can be turned off and then re-energized, or the chip can be taken out from the image forming apparatus, or the cover of the image forming apparatus can be opened and re-covered, of course, can be set by the chip as the second determining step. When the judgment result is no, the imaging device and the like are automatically restarted.

As another preferred embodiment, the chip version switching method may be set to be empty or set to other off-air tags before the first execution, for example, other than F0-Fn. mark. Therefore, when the present method is executed for the first time, the information replacement step A02 may not be performed, but the flag rewriting step A03, the second judging step A03, and the mark erasing step A04 may be performed. When the flag bit is empty, the tag rewriting step at this time may be: writing a version setting flag in the tag bit. After the first execution, if the version information in the chip data is consistent with the imaging device version information, the written version setting flag in the flag bit will be erased, so if it is executed after the first execution, In this method, the version information in the chip data will not be modified, so that the chip can always be verified by the imaging device.

In another preferred embodiment, the first partial address bit and the second partial address bit respectively comprise a number of sub-address bits. For example, the first partial address bit includes a version sub-address bit in which version information is stored. It should be noted that the first partial address bit may further include a sub-address bit in which the serial number is stored. The first part of the address bit may be different from the second part of the address bit. The second partial address bit may include a sub-address bit for storing a consumable capacity, and the storage has been At least one of a sub-address bit of the number of printed pages consumed, a sub-address bit of the first use time of the storage consumable container, and a sub-address storing the last use time.

As another preferred embodiment, the second determining step A04 includes the following sub-steps:

The obtaining step: obtaining an instruction for accessing the address of the second part according to the instruction that the chip data is accessed. For example, an instruction to access chip data can be sent by the imaging device, the instruction can include an instruction to access the first portion of the address bits and an instruction to access the second portion of the address bits. The chip may generate corresponding feedback data according to an instruction for accessing the second partial address bit. For example, after the second partial address bit is accessed according to the corresponding instruction, the chip may think that the imaging device feeds back the data stored in the second partial address bit. Otherwise, the data is returned internally within a predetermined time, or data indicating that the second partial address bit cannot be accessed is returned. The process of whether the chip is compatible with the imaging device may be obtaining version information of the version address bit; comparing the version information in the chip data with the imaged version information, and determining whether the version information of the two is consistent, and if they are consistent, imaging The device will send a command or instruction to access the second part of the address bit, otherwise the command or instruction to access the second part of the address bit will not be sent.

The determining sub-step: generating a feedback signal according to the instruction, and determining, according to the feedback signal, whether the second partial address bit is accessed. If the received data of the second partial address bit is received or the result of the second partial address bit being accessed is determined, the second partial address bit is accessed, and vice versa.

As another preferred embodiment, before the marking rewriting step, a third determining step is further included: determining whether the first partial address bit is accessed, and if so, performing a flag rewriting step. Otherwise, it indicates that there is data in the first part of the address bits that cannot be verified by the imaging device, so it is necessary to return to perform the first determining step again. The third determining step can be set in the After a judgment step, or after the version information replacement step.

Referring to FIG. 2, in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, the present invention further provides a chip version switching apparatus, including a first judging module 1, an information replacing module 2, a mark rewriting module 3, a second judging module 4, and a mark erasing module 5. The switching method of the chip version switching device may adopt the chip version switching method described in the above embodiments.

The first determining module 1 is configured to determine, by the first determining module 1, whether the marking bit is empty after the marking bit of the version information is accessed.

The information replacement module 2 is configured to replace the version information in the chip data when the determination result of the first determining module 1 is negative; if the judgment result of the first determining module 1 is yes At this time, the module does not perform the corresponding operation, that is, the operation of not replacing the version information in the chip data.

The mark rewriting module 3 is configured to modify the mark in the record to the version setting mark or write the version set mark in the mark bit.

The second determining module 4 is configured to determine whether the second partial address bit of the chip data is accessed.

The mark erasing module 5 is configured to: when the determination result of the second determining step is YES, the mark erasing module erases the version setting flag in the mark bit, so that the mark bit is empty; When the determination result of the second judging module 4 is NO, the mark erasing module 5 does not perform the step of erasing the version mark in the marked bit.

In another preferred embodiment, the chip version switching device may further include a chip substrate and a consumable container; the chip substrate is mounted on the consumable container; the first judging module 1, the information replacing module 2, and the mark rewriting module 3 Second judging module 4 and mark erasure mode Blocks 5 are all disposed on the chip substrate.

Referring to FIG. 3, in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, the present invention further provides a chip version switching system, including: an imaging device 100 and a chip 200; and the chip 200 includes the chip version switching device described in the above embodiments. The imaging device includes an access module for accessing tag bits and address bits in the chip data.

Referring to FIG. 4, in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, the present invention further provides a method for performing chip version switching in the above-mentioned chip version switching system. The method for switching the chip version includes the following steps: accessing step S01, fourth determining step S02, The step S03, the rewriting step S04, the fifth determining step S05, and the erasing step S06 are replaced. The steps of the accessing step S01, the fourth determining step S02, the replacing step S03, the rewriting step S04, the fifth determining step S05, and the erasing step S06 may be completed by the cooperation of the imaging device 100 and the chip 200, and the specific process may be The chip version switching method is the same as or similar to the above embodiments.

Access step S01: accessing the flag bits in the chip data by the imaging device and transmitting the result of the access to the chip.

Fourth determining step S02: The chip determines whether the flag bit is empty according to the result of the access. Then, the replacement step S03 is executed, and if so, the replacement step S03 is not performed.

Replacement step S03: If the result of the fourth determination step S02 is negative, the chip 100 replaces the version information in the chip data stored therein.

The imaging device accesses the first portion of the address bits in the chip data, and determines whether the chip is compatible with the imaging device according to the information stored in the first portion of the address bits. If it is compatible, the version information in the chip data is the same as or matches the version information of the imaging device, otherwise the chip is described. The version information in the data is different from or matches the version information of the imaging device.

Rewriting step S04: after the first partial address bit of the chip data is accessed, the chip further performs to modify the mark in the mark bit to the version set mark or write the version set mark in the mark bit. The rewriting step S04 is performed regardless of whether the chip is compatible or incompatible with the imaging device.

The fifth determining step S05: after the rewriting step S04, whether the second partial address bit of the chip is accessed by the imaging device. If so, the erasing step S06 is performed, otherwise the erasing step S06 is not performed.

Erase step S06: If the imaging device accesses the second partial address bit of the chip data, the chip performs a version setting flag in the erase flag bit.

In summary, the present invention marks the version information by setting a flag bit in the chip data, and then determining the version information by marking the bit, and then determining whether the second part of the address bit in the chip data is accessed by the chip data in the switching process. The version information is correct. When the version information is incorrect, the version information in the chip data can be replaced until the version information is correct. Thus, the same chip can be used in different versions of the imaging device without additional The imaging device sets the corresponding chip data. In addition, if the chip can be verified by the imaging device, the imaging device needs to access the first part address bit and the second part address of the chip data, so it is determined whether the version information is correct by determining that the second address bit is accessed. Increase the probability of verification. By judging whether each address bit of the chip is accessed to determine whether the chip is verified or not, the result of the firmware upgrade cannot be verified, so that the anti-firmware upgrade capability is strong.

It should be noted that the first part address bit and the second part address bit described above may be Address bits stored for storage as EEPROM data within the chip. The EEPROM data can include chip data. In addition, the chip data can also be stored by flash or rom or other memory.

Various other changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art in light of the above-described technical solutions and concepts, and all such changes and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

A chip version switching method, comprising the steps of:

The first determining step: reading the mark bit of the version information, and determining whether the mark bit is empty;

Information replacement step: if the determination result of the first determining step is no, the version information in the chip data is replaced;

Marking rewriting step: after the first part of the chip data address is accessed, modifying the mark in the mark bit to a version setting mark or writing a version setting mark in the mark bit;

a second determining step: determining whether the second partial address bit of the chip data is accessed;

The flag erasing step: if the judgment result of the second determining step is YES, the version setting flag in the flag bit is erased.
The chip version switching method according to claim 1, wherein if the determination result of the first determining step is YES, the information replacement step is not performed, and the mark rewriting step, the second determining step, and the marking rubbing are performed. In addition to the steps.
The chip version switching method according to claim 1, wherein the first partial address bit comprises a version address bit in which version information is stored.
The chip version switching method according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the second determining step comprises the following substeps:

The obtaining step: obtaining an instruction for accessing the address of the second part according to the instruction that the chip data is accessed;

The determining sub-step: generating a feedback signal according to the instruction, and determining, according to the feedback signal, whether the second partial address bit is accessed.
The chip version switching method according to claim 1, wherein The marking rewriting step further includes a third determining step of: determining whether the first partial address bit is accessed, and if so, performing a flag rewriting step.
A chip version switching device, comprising:

a first determining module: after accessing the flag bit of the version information, the first determining module is configured to determine whether the flag bit is empty;

The information replacement module: if the judgment result of the first judging module is no, the information replacing module is used to replace the version information in the chip data; if the judgment result of the first judging module is yes, the module does not execute The operation of replacing the version information in the chip data;

a markup rewriting module: the markup rewriting module is configured to modify a mark in the mark bit to a version set mark or write a version set mark in the mark bit;

a second determining module: configured to determine whether a second partial address bit of the chip data is accessed;

a mark erasing module: if the judgment result of the second determining step is YES, the mark erasing module is configured to erase the version setting flag in the mark bit; if the second determining step is not The tag erasure module does not perform the step of erasing the version tag within the tagged bit.
The chip version switching device according to claim 6, further comprising a chip substrate and a consumable container; the chip substrate is mounted on the consumable container; the first judging module, the information replacing module, the mark rewriting module, and the The second determining module and the marking erasing module are both disposed on the chip substrate.
A chip version switching system, comprising: an imaging device and a chip; the chip comprising the chip version switching device according to claim 6 or 7.
The chip version switching system according to claim 8, comprising: said imaging device comprising an access module, said access module for accessing a mark bit and an address bit in the chip data.
A chip version switching method, comprising the steps of:

Access step: the chip accesses the flag bit and determines whether the flag bit is empty;

a fourth determining step: the chip determines, according to the result of the access, whether the flag bit is empty;

Replacement step: If not, the chip replaces the version information in the data stored therein;

a rewriting step: after the first part of the chip data is accessed by the imaging device, the chip performs to modify the mark in the mark bit to be a version setting mark or write a version setting mark in the mark bit;

a fifth determining step: after the rewriting step, the chip determines whether the second partial address bit of the chip data is accessed by the imaging device;

Erase step: If the imaging device accesses the second portion of the chip data address bit, the chip performs a version setting flag in the erase flag bit.