Power adapter and method for upgrading the power adapter

• US 10,394,572 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2015
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corporation Limited
• Original Assignee: Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corporation Limited
• Inventors: Tian, Chen, Zhang, Jialiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Trandai, Cindy
• Application Number:
  US15/324,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20180024842A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,433 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/54 using the same frequency for two directions of communication H04B1/44 takes precedence

Abstract

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a power adapter and a method for upgrading the power adapter. The power adapter includes a radio frequency unit configured to receive firmware upgrade data from a server via an antenna, a micro controller unit configured to upgrade a firmware of the micro controller unit according to the firmware upgrade data received by the radio frequency unit, and a charging interface configured to charge a terminal. In embodiments of the present disclosure, the power adapter includes the radio frequency unit and the antenna, thus the power adapter can communicate with the server via a network, so as to obtain updated firmware upgrade data to upgrade the firmware. That is, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the firmware of the MCU of the power adapter is upgraded via a network.

Claims

1. A power adapter comprising:

a radio frequency unit;

a micro controller unit configured to;

determine whether to upgrade a firmware of the micro controller unit,

transmit, when the micro controller unit determines to upgrade the firmware of the micro controller unit, a request for requesting firmware upgrade data to a server via the radio frequency unit and an antenna,

control the power adapter to switch to a firmware upgrade mode from a standard charging mode upon transmission of the request,

receive the firmware upgrade data from the server to upgrade the firmware of the micro controller unit in the firmware upgrade mode, and

control the power adapter to switch to the standard charging mode from the firmware upgrade mode upon finish of firmware upgrade; and

a charging interface configured to charge a terminal in the standard charging mode.

2. The power adapter of claim 1, wherein the radio frequency unit is configured to obtain update firmware version information from the server via the antenna;

and the micro controller unit is configured to determine whether to upgrade the firmware according to the update firmware version information.

3. The power adapter of claim 2, wherein the micro controller unit is configured to determine to upgrade the firmware when it is determined that a version level of the firmware is lower than that of the update firmware version information, and determine not to upgrade the firmware when it is determined that the version level of the firmware is not lower than that of the update firmware version information.

4. The power adapter of claim 3, wherein the radio frequency unit is configured to transmit another message for querying firmware version information to the server via the antenna to obtain the update firmware version information.

5. The power adapter of claim 2, wherein the radio frequency unit is configured to transmit another request for querying firmware version information to the server via the antenna to obtain the update firmware version information.

6. The power adapter of claim 1, wherein the radio frequency unit is configured to transmit the received firmware upgrade data to the server via the antenna, so as to cause the server to perform data verification;

and the radio frequency unit is further configured to receive an indication message from the server, and the indication message is configured to indicate that the data verification is successful.

7. A method for upgrading a power adapter, the power adapter comprising:

a radio frequency unit, an antenna, a micro controller unit, and a charging interface, the method comprising;

determining, by the micro controller unit, whether to upgrade a firmware of the micro controller unit;

transmitting, by the micro controller unit, a request for requesting firmware upgrade data to a server via the radio frequency unit and the antenna when the micro controller unit determines to upgrade the firmware of the micro controller unit;

controlling, by the micro controller unit, the power adapter to switch to a firmware upgrade mode from a standard charging mode upon transmission of the request;

receiving, by the micro controller unit, the firmware upgrade data from the server to upgrade the firmware of the micro controller unit in the firmware upgrade mode;

controlling, by the micro controller unit, the power adapter to switch to the standard charging mode from the firmware upgrade mode upon finish of firmware upgrade; and

charging, by the charging interface, a terminal in the standard charging mode.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein transmitting, via the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, the request for requesting the firmware upgrade data to the server comprises:

obtaining, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, update firmware version information from the server;

determining, by the power adapter, whether to upgrade the firmware according to the update firmware version information; and

transmitting, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, the request to the server when the power adapter determines to upgrade the firmware.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining, by the power adapter, whether to upgrade the firmware according to the update firmware version information comprises:

determining to upgrade the firmware when it is determined that a version level of the firmware is lower than that of the update firmware version information; and

determining not to upgrade the firmware when it is determined that the version level of the firmware is not lower than that of the update firmware version information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein obtaining, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, the update firmware version information from the server comprises:

transmitting, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, another request for querying firmware version information to the server; and

obtaining, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, the update firmware version information.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, the update firmware version information from the server comprises:

transmitting, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, another request for querying firmware version information to the server; and

obtaining, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, the update firmware version information.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, the received firmware upgrade data to the server, so as to cause the server to perform data verification; and

receiving, by the radio frequency unit and the antenna of the power adapter, an indication message from the server, wherein the indication message is configured to indicate that the data verification is successful.

13. A power adapter comprising:

a radio frequency unit;

an antenna;

a micro controller unit configured to;

determine whether to update a firmware of the micro controller unit according to upgrade firmware version information received from a server via the radio frequency unit and the antenna,

transmit, when the micro controller unit determines to upgrade the firmware of the micro controller unit, a request for requesting firmware upgrade data to a server via the radio frequency unit and the antenna,

control the power adapter to switch to a firmware upgrade mode from a standard charging mode upon transmission of the request,

receive the firmware upgrade data from the server to upgrade the firmware in the firmware upgrade mode; and

a charging interface configured to charge a terminal in the standard charging mode.

14. The power adapter of claim 13, wherein the micro controller unit is configured to determine to upgrade the firmware when it is determined that a version level of the firmware is lower than that of the update firmware version information, and determine not to upgrade the firmware when it is determined that the version level of the firmware is not lower than that of the update firmware version information.

15. The power adapter of claim 13, wherein the radio frequency unit is configured to transmit another request for querying firmware version information to the server via the antenna to obtain the update firmware version information.

16. The power adapter of claim 13, wherein the radio frequency unit is configured to transmit the received firmware upgrade data to the server via the antenna, so as to cause the server to perform data verification;

and the radio frequency unit is further configured to receive an indication message from the server, and the indication message is configured to indicate that the data verification is successful.