Devices, systems and methods for validating and upgrading firmware in intelligent electronic devices

• US 10,430,263 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2017
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EI Electronics LLC (Hubbell, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Electro Industries/Gauge Tech
• Inventors: Polar Seminario, Jorge A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ehne, Charles
• Application Number:
  US15/421,573
• Publication Number:
  US 20170220404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0736 in functional embedded systems, i.e. in a data processing system designed as a combination of hardware and software dedicated to performing a certain function testing or monitoring of automated control systems G05B23/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0751 Error or fault detection not based on redundancy power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0769 Readable error formats, e.g. cross-platform generic formats, human understandable formats
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0772 Means for error signaling, e.g. using interrupts, exception flags, dedicated error registers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1004 to protect a block of data words, e.g. CRC or checksum G06F11/1076 takes precedence; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorized activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1417 Boot up procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1433 during software upgrading
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1441 Resetting or repowering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/654 using techniques specially adapted for alterable solid state memories, e.g. for EEPROM or flash memories
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

Apparatuses, systems, and method for validating and upgrading firmware in an intelligent electronic device (IED) are provided. In one aspect of the present disclosure, an IED is provided including at least one processor and at least one memory. The at least one memory includes at least a first firmware and a second firmware, where the second firmware is a version of the first firmware. The at least one processor determines if there is an error associated with the first firmware. If the processor determines there is no error associated with the first firmware, the processor executes first firmware. If the processor determines there is an error associated with the at least one firmware, the processor executes the second firmware.

Claims

1. An intelligent electronic device (IED) comprising:

at least one sensor coupled to an electrical distribution system providing power to at least one load external to the IED, the at least one sensor configured to measure at least one parameter of the electrical distribution system and generate at least one analog signal indicative of the at least one parameter;

at least one analog-to-digital converter configured to receive the at least one analog signal and convert the at least one analog signal to at least one digital signal;

at least one memory configured to store at least a first firmware and a second firmware, the second firmware being a previously stored version of the first firmware; and

at least one processor configured to receive the at least one digital signal and calculate at least one power parameter of the electrical distribution system, the at least one processor further configured to determine if there is an error associated with the first firmware, wherein if the at least one processor determines there is no error associated with the first firmware, the at least one processor is configured to execute the first firmware and if the at least one processor determines there is an error with the first firmware, the at least one processor is configured to execute the previously stored second firmware.

2. The IED of claim 1, wherein if the at least one processor determines that there is an error with the at least a first firmware, the at least one processor generates an error message.

3. The IED of claim 2, further comprising a display, wherein the at least one processor is configured to output the error message to the display.

4. The IED of claim 2, further comprising a communication interface configured to communicate with at least one other device, wherein the at least one processor is configured to provide the error message to the at least one other device via the communication interface.

5. The IED of claim 4, wherein the error message is at least one of an email and a short messaging service text message.

6. The IED of claim 1, wherein the second firmware is a previous version of the first firmware.

7. The IED of claim 1, wherein the second firmware is the same version as the first firmware.

8. The IED of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine if there is an error associated with the first firmware by performing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) on the first firmware to obtain a first CRC value and comparing the first value with a saved CRC value stored in the at least one memory, wherein if the first CRC value matches the saved CRC value, the at least one processor is configured to determine that there is no error associated with the first firmware and if the first CRC value does not match the saved CRC value, the at least one processor is configured to determine that there is an error associated with the first firmware.

9. The IED of claim 1, wherein, if there is an error associated with the first firmware, the at least one processor is further configured to determine if there is an error associated with the second firmware and to execute the second firmware if there is no error associated with the second firmware.

10. The IED of claim 9, further comprising a communication interface configured to communicate with at least one remote computing device over a network, wherein if the at least one processor determines there is an error associated with the second firmware, the at least one processor is configured to send a request to the at least one remote computing device via the communication interface over the network to download a desired version of the first firmware from the at least one remote computing device.

11. The IED of claim 10, wherein the communication interface is configured to receive a communication over the network from the at least one remote computing device including the desired version of the first firmware requested by the at least one processor and the at least one processor is configured to execute the version of the first firmware received in the communication.

12. The IED of claim 11, wherein the at least one remote computing device is another IED.

13. The IED of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine if there is an error associated with the first firmware during a boot up mode of the IED.

14. The IED of claim 1, wherein if the at least one processor determines the error associated with the first firmware is a temporary error, the at least one processor is configured to reboot the IED before executing the second firmware, and, if the at least one processor determines the error associated with the first firmware is a non-temporary error, the at least one processor is configured to execute the second firmware.

15. The IED of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor determines a first error check value for the first firmware, determines at least one second error check value for the first firmware, determines that the error associated to the first firmware is a non-temporary error if the first error check value matches the at least one second error check value and determines that the error associated with the first firmware is a temporary error if the first error check value does not match the at least one second error check value.

16. The IED of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further includes a flash memory and the at least one processor is configured to flash the second firmware to the flash memory if the at least one processor determines there is an error associated with the first firmware.

17. An intelligent electronic device (IED) comprising:

at least one sensor coupled to an electrical distribution system providing power to at least one load external to the IED, the at least one sensor configured to measure at least one parameter of the electrical distribution system and generate at least one analog signal indicative of the at least one parameter;

at least one analog-to-digital converter configured to receive the at least one analog signal and convert the at least one analog signal to at least one digital signal;

at least one memory configured to store at least a first firmware;

at least one network communication interface configured to communicate with at least one remote computing device over a network, the at least one communication interface receiving a communication from the at least one remote computing device including at least a second firmware, wherein the second firmware is a version of the first firmware and the second firmware is stored in the at least one memory; and

at least one processor configured to receive the at least one digital signal and calculate at least one power parameter of the electrical distribution system, the at least one processor further configured to determine if there is an error associated with the first firmware, wherein if the at least one processor determines there is no error associated with the first firmware, the at least one processor is configured to execute the first firmware and if the at least one processor determines there is an error associated with the first firmware, the at least one processor is configured to execute the stored, second firmware.

18. The IED of claim 17, wherein the communication from the remote computing device is received in response to a request from the at least one processor for the second firmware.

19. The IED of claim 17, wherein the at least one communication from the remote computing device is received by the at least one processor without a request from the at least one processor requesting the second firmware.

20. The IED of claim 17, wherein the at least one communication interface is configured to communicate with the at least one remote computing device wirelessly.

21. The IED of claim 17, wherein the at least one communication further includes a digital signature and the at least one processor is configured to decrypt the digital signature to obtain a first value, execute a hash function on the second firmware to obtain a second value, and compare the first value and the second value to determine the authenticity of the second firmware.

22. An electrical metering device comprising:

at least one sensor coupled to an electrical distribution system providing power to at least one load external to the IED, the at least one sensor configured to measure at least one parameter of the electrical distribution system and generate at least one analog signal indicative of the at least one parameter;

at least one analog-to-digital converter configured to receive the at least one analog signal and convert the at least one analog signal to at least one digital signal;

at least one memory configured to store at least three copies of firmware, a first copy being a default firmware programmed at a time of manufacture of the IED, a second copy being a currently used firmware and a third copy being a previous firmware installed before the currently used firmware; and

at least one processor configured to receive the at least one digital signal and calculate at least one power parameter of the electrical distribution system, the at least one processor further configured to test for errors the at least three copies of firmware stored in the at least one memory in reverse chronological order and execute a determined latest error free copy of the firmware.