METHOD OF GENERATING FIRMWARE UPDATE FILE, METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UPDATING FIRMWARE BY USING THE FIRMWARE UPDATE FILE

• US 20080256527A1
• Filed: 11/30/2007
• Published: 10/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Sun-nam, Shin, Jun-bum, Moon, Ji-young, Lee, Sang-hong, Lee, Il-jun
• Application Number:
  US11/948,178
• Publication Number:
  US 20080256527A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/572 Secure firmware programming, e.g. of basic input output system [BIOS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/64 Retargetable

Abstract

Provided are a method of generating a firmware update file which restrictively allows a firmware update for a corresponding hardware model, and a method and apparatus for updating firmware using the firmware update file. By generating a data body including program codes of firmware to be updated, generating a data header including model codes of a hardware device to which the data body is applied, and generating the firmware update file by combining the data body and the data header, the firmware update may be restricted for a corresponding model of a hardware device by using the firmware update file so that firmware of other models of hardware devices may not be updated, an integrity check may be performed using a digital signature when the firmware is updated.

Claims

1. A method of generating a firmware update file, the method comprising:

generating a data body comprising program codes of firmware to be updated;

generating a data header comprising model codes of a hardware device to which the data body is applied; and

combining the data body and the data header.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data header further comprises region codes of the hardware device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the region codes of the hardware device comprise at least one of free codes, continental codes, and nation codes.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the data header further comprises version information of the program codes of the data body.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a digital signature which authenticates at least one of the data body and the data header.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising encrypting the data body.

7. A method of amending software of a hardware device, the method comprising:

reading a data header from a firmware update file;

reading first codes from the data header;

reading second codes from the hardware device;

comparing the first codes and the second codes; and

updating a firmware of the hardware device based on a result of the comparing of the first and second codes.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein reading the data header comprises parsing the firmware update file into the data header, a data body comprising program codes of the firmware to be updated, and a digital signature which authenticates at least one of the data header and the data body.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising authenticating the digital signature, wherein the updating of the firmware is performed if the authenticating of the digital signature is successfully performed.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the comparing the first codes and the second codes comprises comparing a first hardware model, which is specified in the first codes, with a second hardware model, which is specified in the second codes and corresponds to the hardware device.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the updating the firmware is performed if the first and second codes are the same.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the updating the firmware comprises:

reading region codes of the hardware device to which the firmware update file is applied, from the data header; and

determining whether to update the firmware by comparing the region codes read from the data header and region codes of the hardware device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the updating of the firmware further comprises determining whether to update the firmware by comparing version information of the firmware which is previously set in the hardware device and version information included in the data header.

14. A computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a data structure of a firmware update file comprising a data body comprising program codes of firmware to be updated, and a data header comprising model codes and region codes of a hardware device to which the data body is applied.

15. An apparatus for generating a firmware update file, the apparatus comprising:

a firmware generation unit which generates a data body comprising program codes of a firmware to be updated;

a header generation unit which generates a data header comprising model codes of a hardware device to which the data body is applied; and

a combination unit which generates the firmware update file by combining the data body and the data header.

16. An apparatus for amending software of a hardware device, the apparatus comprising:

a header reading unit which reads a data header from a firmware update file;

a model distinction unit which reads first codes from the data header and reads second codes from the hardware device;

a model comparison unit which compares the first codes and second codes; and

an update unit which updates the firmware of the hardware device based on a result of the comparing of the first and second codes by the comparison unit.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the comparison unit compares a first hardware model, which is specified in the first codes, with a second hardware model, which is specified in the second codes and corresponds to the hardware device.