MOBILE TERMINAL, POWER ADAPTER, AND UPGRADE METHOD THEREOF

• US 20170293483A1
• Filed: 09/24/2015
• Published: 10/12/2017
• 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, ZHANG, Jun, LIAO, Fuchun
• Granted Patent: US 10,474,452 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/24 Loading of the microprogram
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00036 Charger exchanging data with battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00047 with provisions for charging different types of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• 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

A mobile terminal, a power adapter, and an upgrade method are disclosed. The method includes: downloading firmware upgrade information data of the power adapter by a mobile terminal; and sending the firmware upgrade information data to a processor of the power adapter by the mobile terminal through a data line in a charging port when the mobile terminal is coupled to the power adapter through the charging port to facilitate the processor to upgrade the firmware of the power adapter according to the firmware upgrade information data. The mobile terminal downloads the firmware upgrade information data, and the most updated firmware upgrade information data is transmitted to the power adapter during the process that the mobile terminal connects to the power adapter, the power adapter is upgraded to solve the problem that the power adapter is difficult to upgrade.

Claims

1. A method for upgrading firmware of a power adapter, comprising:

downloading firmware upgrade information data for upgrading firmware of the power adapter by a mobile terminal;

transmitting the firmware upgrade information data to a processor of the power adapter via a data line in a charging port of the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal is electrically coupled to the power adapter through the charging port; and

upgrading the firmware of the adapter by the processor based on the received firmware upgrade information data.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal transmits the firmware upgrade information data to the processor of the power adapter through the data line in the charging port comprises:

converting the firmware upgrade information data into data in accordance with a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) format by the mobile terminal; and

transmitting the data in accordance with UART format to a UART port of the processor of the power adapter by the mobile terminal through the data line in the charging port.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal converts the firmware upgrade information data into the data in accordance with UART format comprises:

converting downloaded firmware upgrade information data into the data in accordance with UART format by an application processor (AP) of the mobile terminal;

utilizing a General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) port to simulate the UART port by the AP of the mobile terminal so as to transmit the data in accordance with UART format to a microcontroller unit (MCU) of the mobile terminal; and

transmitting the data in accordance with UART format to the UART port of the processor of the power adapter by the MCU of the mobile terminal through the data line in the charging port.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

sending a handshake request message to the power adapter by the MCU of the mobile terminal, the handshake request message being configured to obtain a current version of the firmware of the power adapter;

receiving a handshake response message fed back from the power adapter by the MCU of the mobile terminal, the handshake response message including a message indicating the current version of the firmware of the power adapter; and

determining whether the current firmware of the power adapter needs to be upgraded by the MCU of the mobile terminal according to the version of the current firmware of the power adapter and a latest updated version indicated by the downloaded firmware upgrade information data;

and wherein transmitting the data in accordance with UART format to the UART port of the processor of the power adapter by the MCU of the mobile terminal through the data line in the charging port comprising;

transmitting the data in accordance with UART format to the UART port of the processor of the power adapter by the MCU of the mobile terminal through the data line in the charging port when determining that the current firmware of the power adapter needs to be upgraded.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising:

determining whether a power supply device plugged in is the power adapter by the AP of the mobile terminal through a first link, wherein the first link connects a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port of the AP and the charging port of the mobile terminal; and

switching the mobile terminal from the first link to a second link through a USB switch when determining that the power supply device plugged in is the power adapter, wherein the second link connects the MCU of the mobile terminal and the charging port;

and wherein transmitting the data in accordance with UART format to the UART port of the processor of the power adapter by the MCU of the mobile terminal through the data line in the charging port comprising;

transmitting the data in accordance with UART format to the UART port of the processor of the power adapter by the MCU of the mobile terminal through the second link.

6-8. -8. (canceled)

9. A method for upgrading firmware of a power adapter comprising:

receiving firmware upgrade information data of the power adapter from a mobile terminal by the power adapter through a data line in a charging port when the power adapter is electrically coupled to the mobile terminal through the charging port; and

upgrading firmware of the power adapter by a processor of the power adapter according to the firmware upgrade information data.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the step that the power adapter receives the firmware upgrade information data of the power adapter from the mobile terminal through the data line in the charging port comprises:

receiving data in accordance with a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) format transmitted by the mobile terminal by the power adapter through a UART port of the processor, wherein the data in accordance with UART format is formed by converting the firmware upgrade information data by the mobile terminal.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein receiving the data in accordance with UART format transmitted by the mobile terminal by the power adapter through the UART port of the processor comprises:

receiving the data in accordance with UART format transmitted from a General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) port of an application processor (AP) of the mobile terminal by the power adapter through the UART port of the processor, wherein the GPIO port is configured to simulate the UART port to transmit the data in accordance with UART format.

13. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a handshake request message from the mobile terminal by the power adapter, the handshake request message configured to enquire about a version of the firmware currently used by the power adapter, and

transmitting a handshake response message to the mobile terminal by the power adapter, the handshake response message including a message indicating the version of the firmware currently used by the power adapter,

receiving the firmware upgrade information data of the power adapter from the mobile terminal by the power adapter comprising;

receiving the firmware upgrade information data of the power adapter from the mobile terminal by the power adapter when the mobile terminal determines that the firmware currently used by the power adapter needs to be upgraded according to a most updated version indicated by the firmware upgrade information data.

12. (canceled)

14-15. -15. (canceled)

16. A mobile terminal comprising:

a download controller configured to download firmware upgrade information data of a power adapter, the firmware upgrade information data configured to upgrade firmware of the power adapter; and

a first sending controller configured to transmit the firmware upgrade information data to a processor of the power adapter through a data line in a charging port when the mobile terminal is electrically coupled to the power adapter through the charging port to facilitate the processor to upgrade the firmware of the power adapter according to the firmware upgrade information data.

17. The mobile terminal as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first sending controller is configured to convert the firmware upgrade information data into data in accordance with a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) format;

transmit the data in accordance with UART format to a UART port of the processor of the power adapter through the data line in the charging port.

18. The mobile terminal as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first sending controller is configured to convert downloaded firmware upgrade information data into the data in accordance with UART format through an application processor (AP) of the mobile terminal;

utilize a General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) port to simulate a UART port through the AP of the mobile terminal to transmit the data in accordance with UART format to a Microcontroller Unit (MCU) of the mobile terminal;

transmit the data in accordance with UART format to the UART port of the processor of the power adapter by the MCU of the mobile terminal through the data line in the charging port.

19. The mobile terminal as claimed in claim 18, further comprising:

a second sending controller configured to transmit a handshake request message to the power adapter through the MCU of the mobile terminal, the handshake request message configured to enquire about a version of the firmware currently used by the power adapter;

a receiving controller configured to receive a handshake response message transmitted by the power adapter through the MCU of the mobile terminal, the handshake response message including a message indicating the version of the firmware currently used by the power adapter; and

a determination controller configured to determine whether the firmware currently used by the power adapter needs to be upgraded according to the version of the firmware currently used by the power adapter and a most updated version indicated by the downloaded firmware upgrade information data;

the first sending controller being configured to transmit the data in accordance with UART format to the UART port of the processor of the power adapter through the MCU of the mobile terminal when determining that the firmware currently used by the power adapter needs to be upgraded.

20. The mobile terminal as claimed in claim 19, further comprising:

a judge controller configured to determine whether a power supply device plugged in is the power adapter through a first link, wherein the first link connects a USB port of the AP and the charging port; and

a link switching controller configured to switch the mobile terminal from the first link to a second link through the USB switch when determining that the power supply device plugged in is the power adapter, wherein the second link connects the MCU of the mobile terminal and the charging port;

the first sending controller being configured to transmit the data in accordance with UART format to the UART port of the processor of the power adapter through the second link.

22. The mobile terminal as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first sending controller is configured to transmit the firmware upgrade information data to the processor of the power adapter through the data line in the charging port when the power adapter uses a normal charging mode to charge the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal further comprises:

a switch controller configured to switch the power adapter from the normal charging mode to the fast charging mode after the power adapter upgrades the firmware of the power adapter according to the firmware upgrade information data, wherein a charging speed of the fast charging mode is greater than a charging speed of the normal charging mode.

21. (canceled)

23. (canceled)

24. A power adapter comprising:

a first receiving controller configured to receive firmware upgrade information data of the power adapter from a mobile terminal through a data line in a charging port when the power adapter is electrically coupled to the mobile terminal through the charging port; and

an upgrade controller configured to upgrade firmware of the power adapter through the processor of the power adapter according to the firmware upgrade information data.

25. The power adapter as claimed in claim 24, wherein the first receiving controller is configured to receive data in accordance with a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) format transmitted by the mobile terminal through a UART port of the processor, wherein the data in accordance with UART format is formed by converting the firmware upgrade information data by the mobile terminal.

26. The power adapter as claimed in claim 24, wherein the first receiving controller is configured to receive the data in accordance with UART format transmitted from a General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) port of an application processor (AP) of the mobile terminal through the UART port of the processor, wherein the GPIO port is configured to simulate the UART port to transmit the data in accordance with UART format.

28. The power adapter as claimed in claim 24, wherein the power adapter further comprises:

a second receiving controller configured to receive a handshake request message from the mobile terminal, the handshake request message being configured to enquire about a version of the firmware currently used by the power adapter, and

a sending controller configured to transmit a handshake response message to the mobile terminal, the handshake response message including a message indicating the version of the firmware currently used by the power adapter;

the first receiving controller being configured to receive the firmware upgrade information data of the power adapter from the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal determines that the firmware currently used by the power adapter needs to be upgraded according to a most updated version indicated by the firmware upgrade information data.

29. The power adapter as claimed in claim 24, wherein the first receiving controller is configured to receive the firmware upgrade information data of the power adapter from the mobile terminal by the power adapter through the data line in the charging port when the power adapter uses a normal charging mode to charge the mobile terminal;

the power adapter further comprises;

a switch controller configured to switch the power adapter from the normal charging mode to the fast charging mode after the power adapter upgrades the firmware of the power adapter according to the firmware upgrade information data, wherein a charging speed of the fast charging mode is greater than a charging speed of the normal charging mode.

27. (canceled)

30. (canceled)