COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND KEY FOR VEHICLE

• US 20150347121A1
• Filed: 11/27/2013
• Published: 12/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: HARUMOTO, Hideaki
• Application Number:
  US14/649,461
• Publication Number:
  US 20150347121A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2871 Implementation details of single intermediate entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A narrow-area IF is connectable to an electronic device. A wide-area IF is connectable to a server apparatus. A version information acquisition unit acquires information regarding the version of software stored in the electronic device. An update data acquisition unit acquires update data from the server apparatus based on the information regarding the version. An update unit outputs the update data to the electronic device. After outputting the update data to the electronic device, the update data acquisition unit acquires the information regarding the version of the software stored in the electronic device.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus comprising:

a first interface that is connectable, via a first network, to an electronic device that stores software subject to update;

a second interface that is connectable, via a second network that is different from the first network, to a server apparatus that stores update data for updating the software stored in the electronic device to which the first interface is connectable;

a first acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the version of the software stored in the electronic device from the electronic device to which the first interface is connected and stores the information regarding the version in a memory;

a second acquisition unit that acquires the update data from the server apparatus to which the second interface is connected based on the information regarding the version stored in the memory even when the first interface is not connected to the electronic device and stores the update data in the memory; and

an update unit that outputs the update data stored in the memory to the electronic device to which the first interface is connected even when the second interface is not connected to the server apparatus.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the update unit determines the necessity of outputting the update data by comparing the information regarding the version of the software acquired from the electronic device to which the first interface is connected with the version of the update data stored in the memory.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the update unit allows the electronic device to determine the necessity of outputting the update data by outputting the information regarding the version of the update data stored in the memory to the electronic device to which the first interface is connected.

4-6. -6. (canceled)

7. An electronic device that stores software subject to update, comprising:

a communication unit that is connectable to a communication apparatus that is connectable to the electronic device via a first network and is also connectable, via a second network that is different from the first network, to a server apparatus that stores update data for updating the software stored in the electronic device;

an output unit that outputs information regarding the version of the software stored in the electronic device to the communication apparatus to which the communication unit is connected; and

an input unit that receives the update data from the communication apparatus to which the communication unit is connected even when the communication apparatus is not connected to the server apparatus, given that the update data is acquired from the server apparatus in the communication apparatus based on the information regarding the version that is stored even when the communication unit is not connected to the communication apparatus,

wherein, when the software is updated by the update data received by the input unit, the output unit outputs the information regarding the version of the software stored in the electronic device to the communication apparatus to which the communication unit is connected.

8-9. -9. (canceled)

10. A communication method comprising:

by connecting via a first network to an electronic device that stores software subject to update, acquiring information regarding the version of the software stored in the electronic device from the electronic device and storing the information regarding the version in a memory;

by connecting, via a second network that is different from the first network, to a server apparatus that stores update data for updating the software stored in the electronic device based on the information regarding the version stored in the memory even when not connected to the electronic device, acquiring the update data from the server apparatus and storing the update data in the memory; and

outputting the update data stored in the memory to the electronic device that is connected even when not connected to the server apparatus.

11-13. -13. (canceled)