PROGRAM UPGRADE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OTA-CAPABLE PORTABLE DEVICE

• US 20070294685A1
• Filed: 06/19/2007
• Published: 12/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: OH, Sung Jo
• Application Number:
  US11/765,191
• Publication Number:
  US 20070294685A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates

Abstract

A program upgrade system and method for portable device using an over-the-air programming mechanism, that includes an upgrade package processor for generating an upgrade package for a program and an upgrade package server allowing a recipient device to download the upgrade package. The method includes generating, the upgrade package on the basis of differences between a first and second versions of the program at the upgrade package processor; notifying, the recipient device of an issuance of the upgrade package at the upgrade package server; downloading, the upgrade package from the upgrade package server to the recipient device; installing the upgrade package in a first memory; and merging the upgrade package and the first version of the program to be loaded as the second version of the program on a volatile memory in response to an upgrade command.

Claims

1. A program upgrade method in a network, comprising:

generating an upgrade package on the basis of differences between a first version of a program and a second version of the program;

notifying at least one recipient device of an issuance of an upgrade package at the upgrade package server; and

downloading the upgrade package from the upgrade package server to the receipt device, installing the upgrade package in a first memory, and merging the upgrade package and the first version of the program to be loaded as the second version of the program in a second memory in response to an upgrade command.

2. The program upgrade method of claim 1, wherein the upgrade package includes install data for merging the upgrade package with the first version of the program and upgrade data to be combined with the first version of the program.

3. The program upgrade method of claim 2, wherein the install data includes history data for merging the first version of the program and the upgrade package, and map data for mapping the upgrade data to the first version of the program.

4. The program upgrade method of claim 1, wherein generating the upgrade package comprises:

comparing the first and the second versions of the program in a unit of a block;

generating install data containing map data for mapping blocks of the second version of the program to the first version of the program based on the comparison result; and

generating the upgrade package by packing the install data and an upgrade data.

5. The program upgrade method of claim 4, wherein the first version of the program and at least one upgrade package are separately stored in the first memory.

6. The program upgrade method of claim 5, wherein the upgrade command is generated with a selection of a version when the recipient device is initialized or by a key input.

7. The program upgrade method of claim 4, wherein the map data includes indexes of blocks of the second version of the program associated with the program upgrade and upgrade commands for applying the blocks to the first version of the program.

8. The program upgrade method of claim 7, wherein the map data includes command strings each structured in the form of [Cmd][start block No][number of blocks][flag][distance], where the [Cmd] field has a value indicating at least one of commands “

copy”

, “

modify”

, and “

shift”

, the [start block No] field has a block index of a start block the [number of blocks] field has value indicating a number of blocks from the start block, the [flag] field has a value indicating an origin of the blocks, and the [distance] field has a value indicating a distance from a block of the first version of the program to a block of the second version of the program mapped each other.

9. The program upgrade method of claim 8, wherein the command “

modify”

implies a insertion of a new block or a modification of a block of the first version of the program.

10. The program upgrade method of claim 7, wherein the map data includes command strings each structured in the form of [Cmd][start block No, number of blocks][flag][distance][difference], where the [Cmd] field has a value indicating one of commands “

copy”

, “

modify”

, and “

shift”

, the [start block No, number of blocks] field has a block index of a start block and a value indicating a number of blocks from the start block, the [flag] field has a value informing an origin of the blocks, the [distance] field has a value indicating a distance from a block of the first version of the program to a block of the second version mapped each other, and the [difference] field has a value indicating a difference between the blocks of the first version and the second version of the program.

11. The program upgrade method of claim 10, wherein the [difference] field is set for canceling a generation of upgrade data of a corresponding block.

12. The program upgrade method of claim 11, wherein the first version of the program is an original version of the program installed during a manufacturing phase of the recipient device, and the second version of the program is a program upgraded from the first version of the program, the second version of the program representing multiple versions of the program issued after the first version of the program.

13. A program upgrade package generation method, comprising the steps of:

comparing a first version and a second version of a program in units of a block;

generating upgrade data containing map data for mapping blocks of the second version to blocks of the first version of the program based on the comparison result;

generating an upgrade package by packing history data for indicating a relationship of the upgrade package and the first version of the program and the upgrade data;

advertising an issuance of the upgrade package; and

downloading, the upgrade package to at least one recipient device, installing the downloaded upgrade package in a non-volatile memory, generating the second version of the program by merging an upgrade package with the first version in response to an upgrade request signal, and operating the recipient device with the second version of the program.

14. The program upgrade method of claim 13, wherein the first version of the program and at least one upgrade package are separately stored in the non-volatile memory.

15. The program upgrade method of claim 14, wherein the upgrade command is generated when the recipient device is initialized or by a key input, and the upgrade package is selectable from among multiple upgrade packages.

16. The program upgrade method of claim 15, wherein the upgrade package includes install data having history data for indicating a relationship of the upgrade package and first version of the program to support the merge of the upgrade package and the first version.

17. The program upgrade method of claim 16, wherein the upgrade data includes at least one of copy block data structured in a string of [start block No][number of blocks], modify block data structured in a string of [start block No][number of blocks][data], and shift block data [start block No][number of blocks][previous version position], wherein the [start block No] field has a block index of a start block, the [number of blocks] field has value indicating a number of blocks from the start block, the [data] field contains data of corresponding block, and the [previous version position] field has a start block index for the blocks to be shifted.

18. The program upgrade method of claim 17, wherein the [previous version position] field indicates one of a block number of the second version of the program±

a number of blocks and a block number of the second version of the program−

a block number of the first version of the program.

19. A program upgrade method in a network including an upgrade package processor for generating an upgrade package for a program and an upgrade package server allowing a recipient device to download the upgrade package, comprising the steps of:

generating the upgrade package based on differences between a first version and a second version of the program at the upgrade package processor;

notifying the recipient device of an issuance of the upgrade package at the upgrade package server;

downloading the upgrade package from the upgrade package server to the recipient device,;

installing the upgrade package in an upgrade package region of a first memory in which the first version of the program is installed;

upgrading the first version to the second version of the program by merging the upgrade package and the first version of the program in response to an upgrade command; and

loading the second version of the program into a second memory.

20. The program upgrade method of claim 19, wherein generating the upgrade package comprises:

comparing the first version and the second version of the program in units of a block;

generating install data containing map data for mapping blocks of the second version of the program to blocks of the first version based on the comparison result; and

generating the upgrade package by packing the install data and upgrade data.

21. The program upgrade method of claim 20, wherein the first memory comprises:

a first version storage region for storing the first version of the program; and

an upgrade package storage region having at least two areas for storing different upgrade packages, the install data and the upgrade data packed in the upgrade package being stored separately.

22. The program upgrade method of claim 21, wherein the install data includes history data for indicating a relationship of the upgrade package and the first version of the program to support the merge of the upgrade package and the first version of the program, and installing the upgrade package comprises:

extracting the history data, the map data, and the upgrade data from the upgrade package;

storing the history data within a history data area of a corresponding upgrade package region;

storing the map data within a map data area of a corresponding upgrade package region; and

storing the upgrade data within an upgrade data area of a corresponding upgrade package region.

23. The program upgrade method of claim 22, wherein upgrading the first version to the second version of the program comprises:

loading the upgrade package of a latest version of the program from the first memory; and

applying the upgrade data of the loaded upgrade package to the first version of the program with reference to the map data of the upgrade package.

24. The program upgrade method of claim 23, wherein the first memory is a non-volatile memory, and the second memory is a volatile memory.

25. The program upgrade method of claim 24, wherein the upgrade command is generated when the recipient device is initialized or by a key input, and a last issued upgrade package among multiple upgrade packages is selected for upgrading the program.

26. A program upgrade method in a network including an upgrade package processor for generating an upgrade package for a program and an upgrade package server allowing a recipient device to download the upgrade package, comprising the steps of:

comparing a first version and a second version the program in units of a block at the upgrade package processor;

generating install data containing map data for mapping blocks of the second version to the first version of the program based on the comparison result; and

generating the upgrade package by merging the install data and upgrade data;

downloading the upgrade package at the recipient device; and

upgrading the first version of the program installed at the recipient device to the second version of the program by applying the upgrade package to the first version.

27. The program upgrade method of claim 26, wherein the map data is structured as a string of [Cmd][start block No][number of blocks][flag][distance], where the [Cmd] field has a value indicating one of commands “

copy”

, “

modify”

, and “

shift”

, the [start block No] field has a block index of a start block, the [number of blocks] field has value indicating a number of blocks from the start block, the [flag] field has a value informing an origin of the blocks, and the [distance] field has a value indicating a distance from a block of the first version to a block of the second version of the program mapped each other.

28. The program upgrade method of claim 27, wherein the command “

modify”

implies a insertion of a new block or a modification of a block of the first version.

29. The program upgrade method of claim 26, wherein the map data includes command strings each structured in the form of [Cmd][start block No, number of blocks][flag][distance][difference], where the [Cmd] field has a value indicating one of commands “

copy”

, “

modify”

, and “

shift”

, the [start block No, number of blocks] field has a block index of a start block and a value indicating a number of blocks from the start block, the [flag] field has a value informing an origin of the blocks, the [distance] field has a value indicating a distance from a block of the second version to a block of the first version of the program mapped each other, and the [difference] field has a value indicating a difference between the blocks of the first and second versions of the program.

30. The program upgrade method of claim 29, wherein the [difference] field is set for canceling a generation of the upgrade data of a corresponding block.

31. A program upgrade system, comprising:

an upgrade package processor for generating an upgrade package using a first version and a second version of a program;

an upgrade package server for storing the upgrade package and advertising an issuance of the upgrade package; and

at least one recipient device for downloading the upgrade package and upgrading the program using the downloaded package, the recipient device includes a first memory for separately installing the first version of the program and the upgrade package and a second memory for loading the second version of the program upgraded by merging the first version of the program and the upgrade package.

32. The program upgrade system of claim 31, wherein the upgrade package processor comprises:

a comparator for comparing the first version and the second version of the program in units of a block;

an install data generator for generating install data having map data for mapping blocks of the second version to blocks of the first version of the program; and

a package generator for creating the upgrade package by merging the install data and upgrade data.

33. The program upgrade system of claim 32, wherein the recipient device comprises:

an installer for installing the upgrade package within an upgrade package region of the first memory; and

a translator for loading the first version of the program and the upgrade package in the first memory in response to an upgrade command, generating the second version of the program by applying the upgrade package to the first version of the program, and loading the second version of the program into the second memory.

34. The program upgrade system of claim 33, wherein the upgrade command is generated when the recipient device is initialized or by a key input, and a last issued upgrade package among multiple upgrade packages is selected for upgrading the program.

35. The program upgrade system of claim 34, wherein the install data includes history data for indicating a relationship between the upgrade package and the first version of the program.

36. The program upgrade system of claim 35, wherein the map data includes indexes of blocks of the second version of the program associated with the program upgrade and commands for applying the blocks to the first version of the program.

37. The program upgrade system of claim 35, wherein the map data includes command strings each structured in the form of [Cmd][start block No][number of blocks][flag][distance], where the [Cmd] field has a value indicating one of commands “

copy”

, “

modify”

, and “

shift”

, the [start block No] field has a block index of a start block, the [number of blocks] field has value indicating a number of blocks from the start block, the [flag] field has a value informing an origin of the blocks, and the [distance] field has a value indicating a distance from a block of the first version of the program to a block of the second version of the program mapped each other.

38. The program upgrade system of claim 36, wherein the command “

modify”

implies a insertion of a new block or a modification of a block of the first version.

39. The program upgrade system of claim 35, wherein the map data includes command strings each structured in the form of [Cmd][start block No, number of blocks][flag][distance][difference], where the [Cmd] field has a value indicating one of commands “

copy”

, “

modify”

, and “

shift”

, the [start block No, number of blocks] field has a block index of a start block and a value indicating a number of blocks from the start block, the [flag] field has a value informing an origin of the blocks, the [distance] field has a value indicating a distance from a block of the second version of the program to a block of the second version of the program mapped each other, and the [difference] field has a value indicating a difference between the blocks of the first and second versions of the program.

40. The program upgrade system of claim 39, wherein the [difference] field is set for canceling a generation of upgrade data of a corresponding block.

41. The program upgrade system of claim 40, wherein the first version of the program is an original version of the program installed during a manufacturing phase of the recipient device, and the second version of the program is a program upgraded from the first version of the program, the second version of the program any one of multiple versions of the program issued after the first version of the program.

42. The program upgrade system of claim 31, wherein the upgrade package processor comprises:

a comparator for comparing the first version and the second version of the program in units of a block;

an install data generator for generating install data having upgrade data for merging blocks of the second version and blocks of the first version of the program; and

a package generator for creating the upgrade package by merging the upgrade data containing map data for mapping the blocks of the second version to blocks of the first version of the program and the history data for indicating a relationship between the upgrade package and the first version of the program.

43. The program upgrade system of claim 42, wherein the recipient device comprises:

an installer for extracting the map data from the upgrade package and installing the upgrade package containing the history data, the map data, and the upgrade data within an upgrade package storage region of the first memory based on the map data; and

a translator for generating the second version of the program by merging the upgrade data and the first version of the program based on the map data and loading the second version of the program into the second memory.

44. The program upgrade system of claim 43, wherein the upgrade command is generated when the recipient device is initialized or by a key input, and a last issued upgrade package among multiple upgrade packages is selected for upgrading the program.

45. The program upgrade system of claim 44, wherein the upgrade data includes at least one of copy block data structured in a string of [start block No][number of blocks], modify block data structured in a string of [start block No][number of blocks][data], and shift block data [start block No][number of blocks][previous version position], wherein the [start block No] field has a block index of a start block, the [number of blocks] field has a value indicating a number of blocks from the start block, the [data] field contains data of corresponding block, and the [previous version position] field has a start block index for the blocks to be shifted.

46. The program upgrade system of claim 45, wherein the [previous version position] field indicates one of a block number of the second version of the program±

a number of blocks and a block number of the second version−

a block number of the first version of the program.