CN101452692B - Firmware updating system - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for updating firmware by utilizing a display port interface comprises a source device and a terminal device, wherein the source device and the terminal device are provided with the display port interface. The source device includes: a storage circuit for storing and providing the update firmware; and the auxiliary channel of the source equipment is used for outputting the updated firmware in the auxiliary channel signal format according to the updated firmware. The terminal device includes: the auxiliary channel of the terminal equipment is used for receiving the updated firmware in the auxiliary channel signal format and generating an output signal according to the updated firmware; i of terminal equipment²C auxiliary channel equipment server coupled with auxiliary channel of said terminal equipment for receiving said output signal and producing I²Updating firmware of protocol C; and a memory cell for storing data according to the I²And C, updating the firmware to update the firmware. In addition, a method of firmware update is also disclosed.

Description

System firmware update

technical field

The present invention relates to a firmware update method and system, in particular to a firmware update method and system for updating display firmware.

Background technique

Generally speaking, the firmware stored in the display control device inside the display is used to determine various display parameters and then control the operation of the display. Since the firmware needs to be updated with different user needs or to improve the operation of the display, therefore The known technology transmits the updated firmware via the display data channel (Display Data Channel) of the traditional display receiving interface (such as Digital Visual Interface (Digital Visual Interface), High Definition Multimedia Interface (High Definition Multimedia Interface), etc.) through the transmission port of the personal computer to The display control device is used to update the firmware, wherein the display data channel is independent from the audio-video transmission channel.

However, the new-generation digital communication interface DisplayPort (DisplayPort) does not include a known display data channel, so the firmware of the display control device cannot be updated using the aforementioned known technology. Therefore, how to update the firmware under the DisplayPort standard is an important issue.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a firmware update method for updating firmware under the DisplayPort standard specification.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a firmware update system for updating firmware under the DisplayPort standard specification.

Therefore, the firmware update method of the present invention uses a display port (DisplayPort) interface to perform firmware update, the method includes providing a source device with a display port interface, providing a terminal device with a display port interface, and using the source device Auxiliary channel of the device and the auxiliary channel of the terminal equipment for firmware update.

The source device includes: a storage circuit for storing and providing an updated firmware; and an auxiliary channel of the source device for outputting an updated firmware in an auxiliary channel signal format according to the updated firmware.

The terminal equipment includes: an auxiliary channel of the terminal equipment, used to receive the updated firmware of the auxiliary channel signal format, and generate an output signal accordingly; an I ² C auxiliary channel equipment server of the terminal equipment, coupled to the terminal equipment The auxiliary channel is used to receive the output signal and generate an updated firmware of the I ² C protocol; and a storage unit is used to update the firmware according to the updated firmware of the I ² C protocol.

Another firmware update method of the present invention uses a DisplayPort interface for firmware update, the method includes providing a source device with a transmission interface different from the DisplayPort interface, providing a terminal device with a DisplayPort interface, and using the The at least two pins in the main link and the auxiliary channel are used for firmware update.

The source device includes: a storage circuit, used to store and provide an update firmware; and a signal output circuit in a preset format, coupled to the storage circuit, and used to output an update in a preset signal format according to the update firmware firmware.

The terminal equipment includes: a main link; an auxiliary channel, the terminal equipment uses at least two pins of the main link and the auxiliary channel to receive the update firmware of the preset signal format; a selection circuit, coupled to the The main link and the auxiliary channel are used to output the updated firmware in the preset signal format; and a storage unit is used to perform firmware update according to the updated firmware in the preset signal format.

Another firmware update method of the present invention is used to update the firmware of a terminal device with a display port interface, the method includes: providing a source device with a transmission interface different from the display port interface, providing the display port interface with a source device The terminal device, and the firmware update channel between the transmission interface of the source device and the terminal device are used to perform firmware update.

The source device includes: a storage circuit, used to store and provide an updated firmware; and a signal output circuit of a preset format, coupled to the storage circuit, used to output a preset signal through the transmission interface according to the updated firmware Updated firmware for signal format.

The terminal device includes: a firmware update channel, which is independent from the original channel of the DisplayPort interface of the terminal device, and is used to receive the update firmware in the preset signal format; and a storage unit, coupled to the firmware update channel, for Firmware is updated according to the preset signal format.

Another firmware update method of the present invention utilizes a DisplayPort interface for firmware update, the method includes providing a first source device with a DisplayPort interface, providing a second source device with a transmission interface different from the DisplayPort interface , provide a signal synthesis device, and provide a terminal device with a display port interface.

The first source device is used to provide a DisplayPort interface signal. The second source device includes: a storage circuit, used to store and provide an updated firmware; and a signal output circuit of a preset format, coupled to the storage circuit, used to receive the updated firmware, and output a preset signal Formatted update firmware.

The signal synthesizing device is coupled to the first and second source devices, and is used for synthesizing the display port interface signal and the update firmware of the preset signal format, and outputting a synthesized signal.

The terminal equipment is coupled to the signal synthesizing device, and includes: a signal separation circuit, used to separate the update firmware of the preset signal format according to the synthesized signal; and a storage unit, used to separate the update firmware of the preset signal format according to the preset signal format Update the firmware for a firmware update.

The firmware update system of the present invention utilizes a DisplayPort interface for firmware update, and the system includes: a source device with a DisplayPort interface and a terminal device with a DisplayPort interface.

The source device includes: a storage circuit for storing and providing an updated firmware; and an auxiliary channel of the source device for outputting an updated firmware in an auxiliary channel signal format according to the updated firmware.

The terminal equipment includes: an auxiliary channel of the terminal equipment, used to receive the updated firmware of the auxiliary channel signal format, and generate an output signal accordingly; an I ² C auxiliary channel equipment server of the terminal equipment, coupled to the terminal equipment The auxiliary channel is used to receive the output signal and generate an updated firmware of the I ² C protocol; and a storage unit is used to update the firmware according to the updated firmware of the I ² C protocol.

Another firmware update system of the present invention utilizes a DisplayPort (DisplayPort) interface for firmware update. The system includes: a source device with a transmission interface different from the DisplayPort interface, and a terminal device with a DisplayPort interface.

The source device includes: a storage circuit, used to store and provide an update firmware; and a signal output circuit in a preset format, coupled to the storage circuit, and used to output an update in a preset signal format according to the update firmware firmware.

The terminal equipment includes: a main link; an auxiliary channel, the terminal equipment uses at least two pins of the main link and the auxiliary channel to receive the update firmware of the preset signal format; a selection circuit, coupled to the The main link and the auxiliary channel are used to output the updated firmware in the preset signal format; and a storage unit is used to perform firmware update according to the updated firmware in the preset signal format.

Another firmware update system of the present invention utilizes a DisplayPort interface for firmware update. The system includes: a source device with a transmission interface different from the DisplayPort interface, and a terminal device with a DisplayPort interface.

The source device includes: a storage circuit, used to store and provide an updated firmware; and a signal output circuit of a preset format, coupled to the storage circuit, used to output a preset signal through the transmission interface according to the updated firmware Updated firmware for signal format.

The terminal device includes: a firmware update channel, which is independent from the original channel of the DisplayPort interface of the terminal device, and is used to receive the update firmware in the preset signal format; and a storage unit, coupled to the firmware update channel, for Firmware is updated according to the preset signal format.

Another firmware update system of the present invention uses a display port (DisplayPort) interface to perform firmware update, the system includes: a first source device with a display port interface, a second source device with a transmission interface different from the display port interface A source device, a signal combining device, and a terminal device with a DisplayPort interface.

The first source device is used to provide a display port interface signal. The second source device includes: a storage circuit, used to store and provide an updated firmware; and a signal output circuit of a preset format, coupled to the storage circuit, used to receive the updated firmware, and output a preset signal Formatted update firmware.

The signal synthesizing device is coupled to the first and second source devices, and is used for synthesizing the display port interface signal and the update firmware of the preset signal format, and outputting a synthesized signal.

The terminal equipment is coupled to the signal synthesizing device, and includes: a signal separation circuit, used to separate the update firmware of the preset signal format according to the synthesized signal; and a storage unit, used to separate the update firmware of the preset signal format according to the preset signal format Update the firmware for a firmware update.

The present invention can modify the update firmware stored in the storage unit in the multimedia application of the DisplayPort format, so as to fine-tune the image quality or perform other modification operations, thereby achieving the effect of the present invention.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the transmission structure of the DisplayPort interface;

Figure 2 is a hierarchical structure diagram of the DisplayPort interface;

Fig. 3 is a simplified schematic diagram of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Description of main component symbols

1 source device

11 physical layer

111 main link

112 auxiliary channel

113 hot plug detection

12 link layer

121 clock synchronization transmission service

122 Equipment management service

123 link management service

13 audio and video streaming

2 terminal equipment

21 physical layer

211 main link

212 auxiliary channel

213 hot plug detection

22 link layer

221 clock synchronization transmission service

222 Equipment management service

223 link management service

26 extended display identification data circuit

27 display port setting data circuit

31 source device

311 physical layer

312 auxiliary channel

313 multiplexer

314I ² C auxiliary channel device server

315 Intrinsic Auxiliary Channel Device Server

316 stream/link mode setter

317 storage circuit

32 terminal equipment

321 physical layer

322 auxiliary channels

323 multiplexer

324I ² C auxiliary channel device server

325 intrinsic auxiliary channel device server

326 extended display identification data circuit

327 display port setting data circuit

42 terminal equipment

424I ² C auxiliary channel device server

426 extended display identification data circuit

428 MCU

429 non-volatile memory

43 terminal equipment

434I ² C auxiliary channel device server

436 extended display identification data circuit

438 conversion circuit

439 non-volatile memory

51 source equipment

511TTL signal output circuit

512 storage circuit

52 terminal equipment

521 physical layer

522 auxiliary channels

523 multiplexer

524I ² C auxiliary channel device server

525 Intrinsic Auxiliary Channel Device Server

526 extended display identification data circuit

527 display port setting data circuit

528 MCU

529 detection circuit

530 selection circuit

54 terminal equipment

541 physical layer

542 auxiliary channels

546 extended display identification data circuit

548 conversion circuit

549 non-volatile memory

550 detection circuit

551 selection circuit

62 terminal equipment

626 extended display identification data circuit

628 MCU

63 terminal equipment

636 extended display identification data circuit

638 conversion circuit

71 source equipment

72 first source device

73 terminal equipment

731 physical layer

732 auxiliary channel

736 extended display identification data circuit

738 MCU

739 signal separation circuit

740 low pass filter

741 high pass filter

75 signal synthesis device

76 terminal equipment

761 physical layer

762 auxiliary channels

766 extended display identification data circuit

768 conversion circuit

770 signal separation circuit

771 low pass filter

772 high pass filter

Detailed ways

The structure of the DisplayPort will be briefly introduced below, and then how to update the firmware of the display control device under this structure will be introduced. Please note that although the embodiment of the present invention takes updating the firmware of the display control device as an example, it is not limited thereto. As long as the firmware update is achieved according to the method disclosed in the present invention, it falls within the scope of the present invention.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the transmission structure of the DisplayPort interface. It can be seen from the figure that a DisplayPort system includes a source device (Source Device) 1 and a terminal device (SinkDevice) 2, and there are three communication channels between the two, respectively Main Link, Auxiliary Channel (AUX-CH for short) and Hot Plug Detect (HPD for short) signal lines. The main link includes one, two or four AC-Coupled (AC-Coupled) differential pairs. Each main link differential pair is also called a path (Lanes), which is used for unidirectional transmission of clocks and Audio-visual data, etc.; the auxiliary channel includes an AC-coupled differential pair for two-way transmission of status information, control commands, etc.; the hot-plug detection signal line is used to implement the interrupt request of the terminal device 2 (Interrupt Request).

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a layered structure diagram of the DisplayPort interface. The figure shows the physical layer (PHY Layer) 11, 21 and the link layer (Link Layer) 12, 22. The physical layer 11, 21 includes the aforementioned Main link 111, 211, auxiliary channel 112, 212 and hot plug detection 113, 213 and other three parts; link layer 12, 22 is mainly used to realize clock synchronization transmission service (Isochronous Transport Services) through main link 111, 211 over The Main Link) 121, 221, and realize link and device management services (Link and DeviceManagement Services over The AUX-CH) 122, 123, 222, 223 through auxiliary channels 112, 212. The aforementioned clock synchronization transmission service 121, 221 transmits the audio-video stream 13 from the source device 1 to the terminal device 2 via the main link 111, 211 according to a predetermined rule, so that the terminal device 2 can correctly reconstruct the original of the audio-video stream 13 format and time reference; and the aforementioned link and device management services 122, 123, 222, 223 access the DisplayPort Configuration Data (DPCD for short) 27 and extensions of the terminal device 2 via the auxiliary channels 112 and 212 Display identification data (Extended Display Identification Data, EDID for short) 26 to identify the working capability and status of the terminal device 2, and then maintain the link and provide device-level application settings (Device-LevelApplications). Please note that since FIG. 2 is excerpted from the DisplayPort Standard (DisplayPort Standard), each functional block shown in the figure is well known to those skilled in the art, and thus will not be described in detail here.

Since the DisplayPort interface does not include the known display data channel (Display DataChannel), we cannot use the display data channel to update the firmware of the display control device of the display. In view of this, the present invention provides a method for updating display control in DisplayPort applications The method of the firmware of the device is further described as follows.

first preferred embodiment

The first preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes the auxiliary channels 112, 212 of DisplayPort to update the firmware stored in the terminal device 2, so the focus can be placed on the auxiliary channels 112, 212, and FIG. 2 can be simplified as shown in FIG. 3 .

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which shows a source device 31 and a terminal device 32 of a DisplayPort system. The source device 31 includes a stream/link policy maker (Stream/Link Policy Maker) 316, an I ² C auxiliary channel device server (Inter-Integrated Circuit (I ² C) AUX-CH DeviceService) 314, inherent auxiliary channel device server 315 (Native AUX-CH DeviceService), multiplexer (Multiplexer) 313 and the physical layer 311 containing auxiliary channel 312; terminal equipment 32 includes a physical layer 321 with an auxiliary channel 322, a multiplexer 323, an inherent auxiliary channel device server 325, an ^I2C auxiliary channel device server 324, a display port setting data circuit 327, and an extended display identification data (EDID for short) circuit 326. According to this embodiment, when the source device 31 wants to update the firmware of the display control device stored in the terminal device 32, it will use the ^I2C auxiliary channel device server 314 to transmit an updated firmware in the auxiliary channel signal format to the I2C of the terminal device 32. ^2. The transmission process and method of the auxiliary channel device server 324 conform to the DisplayPort standard specification, so it is well known to those skilled in the art.

Referring to Fig. 4, when the I ² C auxiliary channel device server 424 of the terminal equipment 42 receives the data of the firmware update, if the storage unit storing the updated firmware is the EDID circuit 426 and the micro control unit in the terminal equipment 42 ( When the built-in non-volatile memory (Non-Volatile Memory) 429 in the Micro Controller Unit (abbreviated as MCU) 428, the I ² C auxiliary channel device server 424 will transmit the firmware update data from a storage circuit 317 to the EDID The circuit 426 and the MCU 428 are used to update the original firmware.

Referring to FIG. 5, if the storage unit storing the updated firmware in the terminal device 43 is an EDID circuit 436 and an external non-volatile memory 439 (such as a flash memory) independent of the MCU 428 (see FIG. 4 ), The I ² C auxiliary channel device server 434 will transmit the firmware update data to the EDID circuit 436 and a conversion circuit 438, and the conversion circuit 438 will convert the firmware update data from the I ² C protocol to a non-volatile memory 439 The protocol of the data that can be accessed, and then output the converted data to the non-volatile memory 439 for updating the original firmware.

Please note that since the I ² C protocol is a known protocol, how to use the MCU 428 to process the data of the I ² C protocol and store it in the built-in memory 429 and how to implement a conversion circuit 438 to convert the I ² C protocol into a The currently known appropriate data protocol is a technology that can be understood and implemented by those skilled in the art after referring to the description of the present invention, so details are not repeated here. In addition, the aforementioned non-volatile memories 429 and 439 can also access the data of the I ² C protocol through a known and proper design.

Second preferred embodiment

In the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, any two pins in the main link and the auxiliary channel are used to transmit firmware update data to a terminal device 52 with a DisplayPort interface. Please note that in this embodiment, the above-mentioned device for outputting firmware update data does not have a DisplayPort interface, but has other transmission interfaces (such as LPT (Line Print Terminal) interface or COM port interface).

Please refer to FIG. 6 , which is a schematic diagram of this embodiment. It can be seen from the figure that the source device 51 includes: a storage circuit 512 for outputting firmware conforming to the I ² C protocol; and an output circuit for a signal in a preset format. In this embodiment, the signal output circuit of the preset format is a TTL (Transistor-Transistor Level) signal output circuit 511 . The TTL signal output circuit 511 is coupled to the storage circuit 512, and is used to convert the update firmware stored in the storage circuit 512 from the original signal format (a known signal format according to actual design requirements) to a TTL signal format, The implementation of the TTL signal output circuit 511 belongs to the known technology. The terminal device 52 includes the same physical layer 521 with an auxiliary channel 522, a multiplexer 523, an inherent auxiliary channel device server 525, an ^I2C auxiliary channel device server 524, a display port setting data circuit 527, and an extended display identification In addition to the data (EDID) circuit 526, it also includes: a detection circuit 529, which is used to judge whether the signal output by the source device 51 is a TTL signal or a small signal conforming to the DisplayPort specification; and a selection circuit 530, which is used to receive the The output signal, and according to the judgment of the detection circuit 529, output a small signal to the physical layer 521 with an auxiliary channel 522 or output a TTL signal to the storage unit, that is, the EDID circuit 526 and the MCU that stores the firmware of the display control device 528. Since both the TTL signal format and the DisplayPort signal format are known signal formats, the implementation of the detection circuit 529 is known to those skilled in the art, and will not be repeated here.

Please refer to the terminal device 54 in FIG. 7 , which is also a schematic diagram of this embodiment. The difference between FIG. 7 and FIG. 6 is that if the display control device firmware is stored in a non-volatile memory 549 (such as a flash memory) other than the EDID circuit 546 and the MCU 528 (see FIG. 6), the selection circuit 551 will Output the TTL signal to the storage unit, that is, the EDID circuit 546 and a conversion circuit 548, the conversion circuit 548 will convert the TTL signal conforming to the I ² C protocol into a data protocol that can be accessed by the non-volatile memory 549, Then output the converted protocol data to the non-volatile memory 549 for updating the original firmware. In addition, the non-volatile memory 549 can also directly access the data of the I ² C protocol through known and proper design.

The detection circuits 529 and 550 shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 can also be replaced by a register, and the value of the register can be set to 0 or 1 through software or hardware control. When updating the firmware, the user or the preset automatic control mechanism will set the value of the register to 0, so that the selection circuits 530 and 551 in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 will provide the signal output by the source device 51 to the The MCU 528 of Fig. 6 or the switching circuit 548 of Fig. 7; when it is desired to carry out general operation instead of firmware update, the user or the preset automatic control mechanism will set the value of this register to 1, so that Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 The selection circuits 530, 551 of FIG. 7 provide the received signals to the physical layers 521, 541 with auxiliary channels 522, 542 of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, respectively. Please note that when the detection circuits 529 and 550 are replaced by a register, the register does not need to receive and detect the signal output by the source device 51 .

Third preferred embodiment

Please refer to Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention and Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 of the aforementioned second preferred embodiment, the main difference of these two embodiments is that the second preferred embodiment utilizes the main link and Any two pins in the auxiliary channel are used to transmit firmware update data, and in this embodiment, two pins are added to the terminal devices 62 and 63 with DisplayPort interfaces as a firmware update channel, by which the firmware update data is transmitted to the storage unit, that is, the EDID circuit 626 and the MCU 628 of FIG. 8 or the EDID circuit 636 and the conversion circuit 638 of FIG. See Figure 6 and Figure 7) for the controls. Since the circuit operation of this embodiment is similar to that of the previous embodiment, it will not be repeated here.

Fourth preferred embodiment

Please refer to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 , which are schematic diagrams of a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment includes a first source device 72 with a DisplayPort interface, a terminal device 73, 76 with a DisplayPort interface, and a second source device with other transmission interfaces (such as an LPT (Line Print Terminal) interface or a COM port interface) 71 and a signal synthesis device 75. The signal synthesizing device 75 receives the signal output by the first source device 72 and the I ² C signal output by the second source device 71 having other transmission interfaces, and the I ² C signal includes firmware update. The signal synthesis device 75 sums and synthesizes the two signals to output to the terminal equipment 73, 76 via any two pins in the main link and the auxiliary channel. It is a known technology, so it will not be repeated here. The terminal equipment 73, 76 includes a signal separation circuit 739, 770, which is used to separate the signal from the first source equipment 72 in the composite signal and output it to the physical layer 731, 761 with auxiliary channels 732, 762, and to separate Output the signal from the second source device 71 with other transmission interfaces in the composite signal and transmit it to the storage unit, that is, the EDID circuit 736 and MCU 738 in FIG. 10 or the EDID circuit 766 and conversion circuit 768 in FIG. 11 . In this embodiment, since the frequency of the signal output by the first source device 72 is much higher than the frequency of the signal output by the second source device 71 with other transmission interfaces, the signal separation circuits 739 and 770 can use a The filter circuit is used to separate the synthesized signal according to the frequency characteristic. For example, in this embodiment, the frequency of the signal of the first source device 72 is 100 MHz, and the frequency of the signal of the second source device 71 with other transmission interfaces is 1 MHz, and the signal separation circuits 739 and 770 can use the cutoff frequencies of Combination of 10Mhz low pass filters (Low Pass Filter) 740, 771 and high pass filter (High Pass Filter) 741, 772 performs signal separation on the composite signal. Please note that the other circuits of this embodiment have been described in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

To sum up, the present invention provides a method for updating the firmware of the display control device under the DisplayPort standard specification, so as to meet the needs of firmware update.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (4)

1. the system of a firmware update, it utilizes the display port interface to carry out firmware update, and this system comprises:

One has the source device of transmission interface, and this transmission interface is different from the display port interface, and this source device comprises:

One memory circuit is used for storing and provides a renewal firmware; And

The output circuit of the signal of one default form couples this memory circuit, is used for according to this renewal firmware to export the renewal firmware of a preset signals form via this transmission interface; And

One has the terminal device of display port interface, and this terminal device comprises:

One firmware update passage is independent of the original passage of display port interface of this terminal device, is used for receiving the renewal firmware of this preset signals form; And

One storage unit couples this firmware update passage, is used for renewal firmware according to this preset signals form to carry out firmware update.

2. the system as claimed in claim 1, wherein this storage unit is contained in a micro-control unit.

3. the system as claimed in claim 1, wherein this terminal device further comprises a change-over circuit, is used for the data protocol of the renewal firmware of this preset signals form is converted to the treatable data protocol of this storage unit.

4. the system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data protocol of the renewal firmware of this preset signals form is I ²The C data protocol.

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