Patent Application
20080052702
The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow for illustration only, and thus is not limitative of the present invention, wherein:
The purpose, construction, features, and functions of the invention can be appreciated and understood more thoroughly through the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings.
As shown in
Then, receive the latest version firmware program through a digital broadcasting (for example, digital audio broadcast (DAB) and/or digital video broadcast (DVB)) system (step 101). In practice, the transmit frame of the digital broadcasting system (the digital audio broadcast (DAB) is taken as an example) is composed of the following channels: a Main Service Channel (MSC), used to carry the audio signal and digital data; a Fast Information Channel (FIC), used to carry the transmit frame type real-time message (control message); and a Synchronization Channel, used to synchronize the transmit frames and evaluate the channel status. In this configuration, the firmware program is transmitted via the Main Service Channel (MSC).
Subsequently, display the difference information between the latest version firmware program and the original version firmware program (step 102), namely, list the functional information of the latest version firmware program for reference and selection by the user.
In the present embodiment, the latest version means the next version. In other words, any version that is later than the version of the present firmware program at the user end can be viewed as the latest version. Then, determine if the firmware program update procedure is indeed to be executed (step 103); upon verifying and making sure that the firmware program update procedure is not to be executed, then terminate directly the firmware program update procedure and return to the system idle state.
However, upon verifying and making sure that the firmware program update procedure is to be executed, then replace the original version firmware program with the latest version firmware program (step 104), wherein the firmware program is stored in the non-volatile memory (for example, the Flash Read-Only-Memory (ROM) or the Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only-Memory (EEPROM)). In practice, the basic input/output system (BIOS) and the Board Management Control (BMC) device are made of a non-volatile memory.
Upon finishing the firmware program update, generate a firmware update completion notification message (step 105), thus enabling the user end to know the update status of the firmware program. Subsequently, verify the completion of the firmware program update procedure and re-execute the system power-up procedure (step 106). In practice, a reset system is utilized to proceed with the power-up operation, hereby ensuring the completion of the firmware update procedure. And finally, reboot the system with the latest version firmware program (step 107), thus executing the functions and operations as specified by the firmware program.
As shown in
The firmware program database 11 is used to store at least a firmware program of the latest version.
The first data transmitting/receiving unit 12 is connected to the firmware program database 11, and used to transmit or receive a firmware program through digital broadcast communication. The firmware program is transmitted via the Main Service Channel (MSC) of a digital broadcasting system.
Moreover, the user end 20 includes a second data transmitting/receiving unit 21, a firmware update unit 22, and a program temporary storage unit 23, a firmware program unit 24, and a system reset unit 25, of which the details will be described as follows.
The second data transmitting/receiving unit 21 is used to communicate with the first data transmitting/receiving unit 12 through the digital broadcast communication, thus receiving or transmitting the firmware programs.
The firmware update unit 22 is connected to the second data transmitting/receiving unit 21 to perform the version check procedure of the firmware program, hereby realizing the update procedure.
The program temporary storage unit 23 is connected to the firmware update unit 22, and is used to temporarily store the latest version of the received firmware program.
The firmware program unit 24 is connected respectively to the firmware update unit 22 and the program temporary storage unit 23, is used to store the latest version firmware program after the completion of the update procedure by the firmware update unit 22. In practice, the firmware program unit 24 is made of a non-volatile memory (for example, the Flash Read-Only-Memory (ROM) or an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only-Memory (EEPROM)).
The system reset unit 25 is connected to the firmware update unit 22, and is used to re-execute a power-up procedure after the completion of the update procedure, thus ensuring the completion of the firmware update procedure.
A digital broadcasting system is used for the application of the firmware update method and system. Firstly, the firmware version checking procedure is executed actively in the system idle state. Next, the applicable firmware program is received. Then, the firmware program update operation is performed after the received firmware program is verified by the user. Finally, the system is rebooted with the latest version firmware program. As such, the firmware program update operation can be achieved without having to go through a computer system, thus facilitating the firmware update operation, and further raising the competitiveness and service life of the system.
Knowing the invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
