JPH08161160A - Firmware update method for optical disk player - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Even if an error occurs in the control program (firmware) of the system control unit in the optical disk playback device and the device becomes inoperable, the device is updated by updating the firmware. Return to normal. [Structure] The firmware of the system control unit 8 is divided into a loader unit that performs processing at the time of device startup including firmware update processing and a program unit that performs normal processing other than this loader unit. If the device becomes inoperable due to an abnormality, turn on the function limiting switch 7
By setting N, the functioning firmware is limited only to the loader section, and the function of the loader section alone is used to restart the apparatus and perform the firmware update processing. Therefore, even if the device becomes inoperable due to an abnormality in the firmware, the function limiting switch 7 is turned on.
The firmware update process can be performed by a simple operation of only setting to N.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a CD-ROM capable of rewriting a CPU control program (firmware).
The present invention relates to a firmware updating method for an optical disk reproducing device such as a reading device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is sometimes necessary to change a control program (firmware) for a microcomputer (CPU) incorporated in a CD-ROM reading device for reasons such as speeding up of processing and addition of functions.

In such a case, conventionally, the method of replacing the ROM storing the firmware has been dealt with. However, in recent years, an increasing number of products use electrically rewritable EEPROM or the like to introduce a system in which firmware can be easily updated. As an example,
BIOS (basic input / outputsy) of Sonar computer
A system is well known in which the BIOS is updated by registering the stem) in the EEPROM and the user activating the updating program on the personal computer.

On the other hand, also in the CD-ROM reader, a rewritable ROM such as an EEPROM is used as a ROM for storing the firmware, and a product capable of updating the firmware is being put to practical use.

The update of the firmware in the CD-ROM reader is performed after writing the new firmware, and it is confirmed (verified) whether it can be written correctly. The checksum is sometimes executed to confirm the normal operation of the firmware.

However, in this CD-ROM reader, after the firmware is updated, the new firmware has some reason (for example, the updated firmware has a malfunction and cannot operate normally, or data of different firmware is loaded). If it becomes inoperable due to (for example
The D-ROM reader became inoperable and the firmware could not be updated again.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and in an optical disk reproducing apparatus such as a CD-ROM reading apparatus, the apparatus operates normally due to an abnormality in firmware. It is an object of the present invention to provide a firmware updating method for an optical disk reproducing device that can perform a firmware updating process to restore the state of the device to a normal state even when it is stopped.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the firmware updating method for an optical disk reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention uses firmware for controlling the control means for system control, and firmware update processing. The firmware storage means separately stores the loader unit for performing the device start-up process and the program unit for performing the normal process other than the loader unit. Further, a switch means is provided for receiving an instruction input for limiting the function of the firmware from the outside, and when the switch means receives the instruction input for limiting the function of the firmware, the control means changes the firmware. The loader unit is independently operated to update the program unit.

In order to achieve the above object, the firmware updating method for the optical disk reproducing apparatus of the second invention is
The firmware for controlling the control means for controlling the system is divided into a loader section for performing device startup processing including firmware update processing and a program section for performing normal processing other than this loader section. It is stored in the storage means. Further, the firmware storage means is provided with a management table for storing management information for managing the program unit in units of functional blocks that make up the program unit. When a new functional block is added to the program section, the control means executes the processing by the additional functional block before registering the management information about the functional block in the management table, confirms its operation, and operates normally. Then, the management information about the functional block is registered in the management table, and a new functional block is formally added to the program section.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the function of the firmware is activated by operating the switch means when the apparatus becomes inoperable due to an abnormality in the program section of the firmware. By giving the instruction input for the limitation, the function of the firmware is limited only to the loader section, and the function of the loader section alone can restart the apparatus to update the program section.

Since the second invention is configured as described above, when adding a new functional block to the program section, only the management information of the functional block which has been confirmed to operate normally is registered in the management table. Then, the functional block can be formally added to the program section.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a CD-RO according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the M reading device.

In the figure, 1 is a CD-ROM disc (hereinafter, simply referred to as a disc), 2 is a disc drive unit for driving the disc 1, 3 is an optical pickup for reading a signal recorded on the disc 1, and Reference numeral 4 is a signal processing unit for demodulating a signal read from the disc 1, 5 is a disc control unit for controlling the disc drive unit 2 and the pickup 3, and 6 is an interface (I) for controlling data input / output with the host computer 100. / F) section, 7 is a function limiting switch for receiving an instruction input for limiting the function of the firmware, 8 is a system control section for controlling the entire CD-ROM reading device, 9 is a RAM section, 10
Is a rewritable ROM unit such as an EEPROM for storing firmware.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the memory section in this CD-ROM reader. In the figure,
Reference numeral 11 is a RAM area, 12 is an I / O area, 13 is a loader section area, and 14 is a program section area. Where RAM
The area 11 and the I / O area 12 are provided in the RAM section 9, and the loader section area 13 and the program section area 14 are provided in the rewritable ROM section 10. The loader section 13 and the program section 14 store a loader section and a program section, which are control programs (firmware) for the system control section 8, respectively. The loader unit is firmware that performs processing at the time of starting the device and includes minimum functions necessary for updating the firmware. On the other hand, the program section is firmware for realizing normal processing other than the loader section. The target of the above-mentioned firmware update is this program section. The loader unit and the program unit can be independently activated as independent processing modules.

The function limiting switch SW7 is a switch for instructing to limit the functioning firmware only to the loader section when an abnormality occurs in the firmware (program section) and the apparatus becomes inoperable. is there. The state of the function limiting switch 7 is read by the system control unit 8 under the control of the loader unit during the processing at the time of starting the device. When the function limiting switch 7 is ON, the system control unit 8 limits the functioning firmware to only the loader unit, and the firmware updating process is performed by the lobe unit. When it is OFF, both the loader section and the program section are made to function and normal processing is performed.

Next, the operation of the firmware (program section) update processing will be described. When the firmware data is transferred from the host computer 100, the system control unit 8 checks the firmware data under the control of the loader unit, and if normal, writes the data in the rewritable ROM unit 10. Update the program section with. After writing, the system control unit 8 confirms (verifies) whether or not the data has been correctly written on the ROM unit 10. When it is confirmed that the data has been written correctly, the same code (version number) as that of the head area is written in the tail area of the written program section as shown in FIG. After performing the above processing, the system control unit 8 performs device reset processing.

Next, the operation after updating the firmware will be described with reference to FIG.

First, under the control of the loader section, the system control section 8 executes initialization processing of each processing section (step 30).
1) Then, the data check process of the program part is performed (step 302). In this data check, the version numbers of the firmware recorded in the head area and tail area of the program section are compared, and if they are the same, it is determined that the data is normal. If the data is abnormal, the loader unit performs firmware update (re-update) processing (step 303). If the data is normal,
The system control unit 8 reads the state of the function limiting switch 7 (step 304). If the function limiting switch 7 is ON, the functioning firmware is limited to the loader unit only and the loader unit updates the firmware (re-update). The process is performed (step 303), and when it is OFF, the process shifts to the normal process, that is, the process by the program section (step 30).
5).

The firmware updating (re-updating) process by the loader section is performed by issuing a firmware updating request to the host computer 100.
The firmware data is transferred again from 0, and after checking this data, it is overwritten in the program section area 14,
If the verification is successful and the data is normal, the data is stored in the ROM section 1
This is done by writing to 0.

As described above, in the CD-ROM reading apparatus of the present embodiment, the loader section that executes the firmware, which is the control program of the system control section 8, at the time of starting the apparatus including the firmware update processing, and this loader section. Other than the program unit for performing normal processing other than the above, if the device becomes inoperable due to an abnormality in the firmware (program unit), the function limiting switch 7 is turned on to enable the functioning firmware. Is limited to the loader unit only, and the function of the loader unit alone is used to restart the apparatus and update the firmware.
Therefore, even if the apparatus becomes inoperable due to an abnormality in the firmware (program section), the firmware update process can be performed again by a simple operation of turning on the function limiting switch 7. .

Next, another embodiment will be described.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of the CD-ROM reader of this embodiment. In the figure, 21
Is a CD-ROM disc (hereinafter, simply referred to as a disc), 22 is a disc drive unit that drives the disc 21, 23 is an optical pickup for reading a signal recorded on the disc 21, and 24 is a signal read from the disc 21. A signal processing unit for demodulating data, a disk control unit 25 for controlling the disk drive unit 22 and the pickup 23, an interface (I / F) unit 26 for controlling data input / output with the host computer 100, and a CD 28.
A system control unit for controlling the entire ROM reading device, 29 is a RAM unit, and 30 is a rewritable ROM unit such as an EEPROM for storing firmware.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the structure of the memory section in this CD-ROM reader. In the figure,
Reference numeral 31 is a RAM area, 32 is an I / O area, 33 is a loader section area, 34 is a data management table area, and 35 is a program section area. Here, the loader section area 33, the data management table area 34, and the program section area 35 are provided in the rewritable ROM section 30. The loader section 33 and the program section 35 store a loader section and a program section, which are control programs (firmware) for the system control section 28, respectively. The loader unit is firmware that performs processing at the time of starting the device and includes minimum functions necessary for updating the firmware. On the other hand, the program section is firmware for realizing normal processing other than the loader section. The loader section and the program section can be independently activated as independent processing modules.

In the data management table area 34, addresses and the like which are management information of each functional block forming the program section stored in the program section area 35 are registered. The program section area 35 is divided into an original function block area for storing original function blocks and an additional function block area for storing function blocks added later. On the other hand, the data management table area 34 includes a regular registration unit and a temporary registration unit, and the temporary registration unit temporarily stores the management information of the additional function block before the operation check stored in the additional function block area.

Next, the operation of adding a new function to the firmware will be described.

When the firmware data of the additional function block is transferred from the host computer 100, the system control unit 28 first checks the firmware data under the control of the loader unit, and if it is normal, it can be rewritten. At the same time as writing the data in the additional function block area of the ROM unit 30, the data management table area 34
The management information is registered in the temporary registration section of. After that, the system control unit 28 confirms (verifies) whether the data has been correctly written in the ROM unit 30. When it is confirmed that the data has been written correctly, the same code (version number) is written in the head area and tail area of the written additional function block as shown in FIG. After performing the above processing, the system control unit 28 performs device reset processing. If the power is turned off during the process of adding the function and it is found that the data is not written correctly, the version number is not written.

Next, the operation after writing the additional functional block will be described with reference to FIG. First, under the control of the loader unit, the system control unit 28 executes the initialization process of each processing unit (step 801), and then checks the temporary registration unit of the data management table area 34 to determine whether or not the additional function block is registered. Is confirmed (step 802). If the additional function block is registered, the system control unit 28 first compares the version numbers of the firmware recorded in the start area and the end area of the additional function block, and if they are the same, determines that the data is normal. Then, it is confirmed whether or not the normal operation is performed by actually executing the processing by the additional function block (step 803). Here, when an abnormality occurs in the operation of the additional function block (for example, when the additional function block does not operate properly due to a defective ROM or a bug in firmware), the system control unit 28 causes the temporary registration unit of the data management table area 34 to operate. The management information of the additional function block is deleted from (step 804), and a firmware update request is issued to the host computer 100 to update the additional function block (step 805). If the additional function block operates normally, the additional function block is officially registered in the data management table area 34. That is, the management information of the additional function block registered in the temporary registration unit is moved to the regular registration unit (step 806).

After that, the system control unit 28 checks the data of the program unit (step 807). This check is performed by comparing the version numbers of the firmware recorded in the head area and the tail area for each functional block constituting the program section, and if they are the same, it is determined that the data is normal. When an abnormality is detected in the functional block that is the data check, the system control unit 28 deletes the management information of the functional block from the regular registration unit of the data management table area 34 (step 808), and the host computer 100 stores the firmware. An update request is issued and firmware (a functional block in which an abnormality is detected) is updated (step 809). If the program is normal, the process proceeds to the normal process by the program section (step 810).

As described above, in the case of adding the firmware function, the CD-ROM reading apparatus of the present embodiment writes the additional function block firmware data in the rewritable ROM section 30 and then adds the additional function block. By actually executing the process described above, it is confirmed whether it operates normally, and only when it operates normally, the additional function block can be officially registered in the data management table area 34 and officially incorporated in the program section. . In addition, in the present embodiment, since the additional function block having an abnormality is configured to be rejected from being incorporated into the program unit at the stage of temporary registration, it is determined that the abnormality of the additional function block is detected and the firmware is newly added to the firmware. When trying to add the function, the next function adding process can be promptly performed (without rewriting the regular registration contents of the data management table area 34).

In this embodiment, the transfer data of the additional function block is written in the ROM section 30, and the operation is confirmed by executing the processing by the additional function block in the state of being temporarily registered in the data management table area 34. Although it is configured, before writing the additional function block data to the ROM unit 30, the CD-ROM reading device performs the processing while inputting the additional function block data from the host computer, confirms the operation, and operates normally. If it is found, the additional function block may be written in the ROM section 30 and the additional function block may be registered in the data management table area 34 at the same time.

Further, a function limiting switch is added to the configuration of this embodiment, and when the apparatus becomes inoperable due to an abnormality in the firmware (program section), the function limiting switch is set to ON, whereby the function is improved. The firmware to be used may be limited to only the loader section, and the apparatus may be restarted by the processing of the loader section alone to perform the firmware update processing.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in the program part of the firmware and the apparatus becomes inoperable, the switch means is operated to limit the function of the firmware. The loader section of the firmware can function independently by giving an instruction input for this, and the function of this loader section can restart the apparatus and update the program section.

Further, according to the present invention, when a new functional block is added to the program section, only the management information of the functional block which has been confirmed to operate normally is registered in the management table and the functional block is officially registered. Can be added to the program section.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a CD-ROM reader according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a memory unit in the CD-ROM reader of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an operation after firmware update in the CD-ROM reading device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data structure of a program section in firmware.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a CD-ROM reader according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a memory unit in the CD-ROM reading device of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a data configuration of functional blocks of a program section.

8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation after writing the additional functional block in the CD-ROM reading device of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... CD-ROM disc, 2 ... disc drive unit, 3 ...
Optical pickup, 4 ... Signal processing unit, 5 ... Disk control unit, 6 ... Interface (I / F) unit, 7 ... Function limiting switch, 8 ... System control unit, 9 ... RAM unit, 10 ...
Rewritable ROM section, 13 ... Loader section area, 14 ... Program section area.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location G11B 19/04 501 A 7525-5D

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Control means for performing system control, and firmware for controlling the control means,
A loader unit for performing a device activation process including a firmware update process, and firmware storage means for storing a program unit that is firmware for performing a process other than the loader unit and is a target of the update process, And a switch unit that receives an instruction input for limiting the function of the firmware from the outside, the control unit detects a state of the switch unit, and inputs an instruction input for limiting the function of the firmware. When detected, the loader section of the firmware is caused to function independently to execute the update processing of the program section stored in the firmware storage means, the firmware update method for an optical disk reproducing apparatus. 2. Control means for controlling the system, and firmware for controlling the control means,
A loader unit for performing a device activation process including a firmware update process, a program unit for performing a process other than the loader unit and a target of the update process, and a functional block forming the program unit Firmware storage means for storing a management table storing management information for managing the program unit in units, and the control means is newly added to the program section stored in the firmware storage means. When a new functional block is added, the processing by the additional functional block is executed and its operation is confirmed before the management information about the functional block is registered in the management table of the firmware storage means. For example, management information about the functional block is registered in the management table of the firmware storage means. Then, the new functional block is officially added to the program section, and the firmware updating method for the optical disk reproducing apparatus is characterized. 3. Control means for controlling the system, and firmware for controlling the control means,
A loader unit for performing a device activation process including a firmware update process, a program unit for performing a process other than the loader unit and a target of the update process, and a functional block forming the program unit A firmware storage unit that stores a management table that stores management information for managing the program unit in units, and a switch unit that externally receives an instruction input to limit the function of the firmware. When the control unit adds a new functional block to the program unit stored in the firmware storage unit, before registering management information about the functional block in the management table of the firmware storage unit. If the operation is confirmed by executing the processing by the additional function block and confirming its operation, Management information about the functional block is registered in the management table of the firmware storage means to formally add the new functional block to the program section, and the control means detects the state of the switch means. However, when an instruction input for limiting the function of the firmware is detected, the loader unit of the firmware is caused to function independently, and the updating process of the program unit stored in the firmware storage unit is executed. A method for updating firmware of an optical disc reproducing apparatus, which is characterized by: