Multimedia system and navigation unit terminal
First Claim
1. A multimedia system including a plurality of unit terminals, comprising:
- a master unit terminal defined as one of said plurality of unit terminals in said multimedia system and functioning as an interface for performing communications with a server located outside said multimedia system and with each of said plurality of unit terminals;
a slave unit terminal defined as a unit terminal other than said master unit terminal in said plurality of unit terminals and connected on a communication-enabled basis to said master unit terminal;
a slave information acquiring unit acquiring, when said master unit terminal and said slave unit terminal are connected on the communication-enabled basis, property information on said slave unit terminal for said master unit terminal;
an update program acquiring unit acquiring an update program for said slave unit terminal from said server via said master unit terminal on the basis of the property information acquired by said slave information acquiring unit;
an updating unit updating a program in said slave unit terminal into the update program acquired by said update program acquiring unit; and
an update checking unit causing, via said master unit terminal, said server to check based on the property information acquired by said slave information acquiring unit whether or not the program held by said slave unit terminal at which the property information is targeted is a program required to be updated,wherein said multimedia system updates the program held on said slave unit terminal by performing the communications with said server and with said master unit terminal,said update program acquiring unit acquires, when said update checking unit determines that the program is required to be updated, the update program for the slave unit terminal from said server via said master unit terminal, andsaid update checking unit (1) segments the update target program in said slave unit terminal into predetermined areas, (2) checks a necessity for updating the program by making a partial comparison about the update target program between said server and said slave unit terminal for each predetermined area via said master unit terminal, then narrows stepwise, when confirming the necessity for updating the program as a result of the comparison, a capacity of each predetermined area becoming a further comparison target down to a predetermined minimum capacity, and (3) checks the necessity for updating the program for each predetermined area of which the capacity has been narrowed down stepwise.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multimedia system includes a master unit terminal and slave unit terminals. The master unit terminal functions as an interface for communications with an external server, in which status a program updating process is executed between the server and the slave unit terminal. In the multimedia system, property information on the slave unit terminal is acquired when the master unit terminal is connected to the slave unit terminal on a communication-enabled basis, an update program for the slave unit terminal is acquired from the server via the master unit terminal on the basis of the property information, and thereafter the updating process is executed. This scheme in the multimedia system enables troublesomeness felt by a user to be reduced to the greatest possible degree and security for updating the program of the unit terminal to be guaranteed.
12 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A multimedia system including a plurality of unit terminals, comprising:
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a master unit terminal defined as one of said plurality of unit terminals in said multimedia system and functioning as an interface for performing communications with a server located outside said multimedia system and with each of said plurality of unit terminals; a slave unit terminal defined as a unit terminal other than said master unit terminal in said plurality of unit terminals and connected on a communication-enabled basis to said master unit terminal; a slave information acquiring unit acquiring, when said master unit terminal and said slave unit terminal are connected on the communication-enabled basis, property information on said slave unit terminal for said master unit terminal; an update program acquiring unit acquiring an update program for said slave unit terminal from said server via said master unit terminal on the basis of the property information acquired by said slave information acquiring unit; an updating unit updating a program in said slave unit terminal into the update program acquired by said update program acquiring unit; and an update checking unit causing, via said master unit terminal, said server to check based on the property information acquired by said slave information acquiring unit whether or not the program held by said slave unit terminal at which the property information is targeted is a program required to be updated, wherein said multimedia system updates the program held on said slave unit terminal by performing the communications with said server and with said master unit terminal, said update program acquiring unit acquires, when said update checking unit determines that the program is required to be updated, the update program for the slave unit terminal from said server via said master unit terminal, and said update checking unit (1) segments the update target program in said slave unit terminal into predetermined areas, (2) checks a necessity for updating the program by making a partial comparison about the update target program between said server and said slave unit terminal for each predetermined area via said master unit terminal, then narrows stepwise, when confirming the necessity for updating the program as a result of the comparison, a capacity of each predetermined area becoming a further comparison target down to a predetermined minimum capacity, and (3) checks the necessity for updating the program for each predetermined area of which the capacity has been narrowed down stepwise. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A multimedia system including a plurality of unit terminals, comprising:
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a server supplying, when updating a program in a unit terminal, a new program to said unit terminal; a master unit terminal defined as one of said plurality of unit terminals in said multimedia system and functioning as an interface for performing communications with said server and with each of said plurality of unit terminals; a slave unit terminal defined as a unit terminal other than said master unit terminal in said plurality of unit terminals and connected on a communication-enabled basis to said master unit terminal; a slave information acquiring unit acquiring, when said master unit terminal and said slave unit terminal are connected on the communication-enabled basis, property information on said slave unit terminal for said master unit terminal; an update program acquiring unit acquiring an update program for said slave unit terminal from said server via said master unit terminal on the basis of the property information acquired by said slave information acquiring unit; an updating unit updating a program in said slave unit terminal into the update program acquired by said update program acquiring unit; and an update checking unit causing, via said master unit terminal, said server to check, based on the property information acquired by said slave information acquiring unit, whether or not the program held by said slave unit terminal at which the property information is targeted is a program required to be updated, wherein said update program acquiring unit acquires, when said update checking unit determines that the program is required to be updated, the update program for said slave unit terminal from said server via said master unit terminal, and said update checking unit (1) segments the update target program in said slave unit terminal into predetermined areas, (2) checks a necessity for updating the program by making a partial comparison about the update target program between said server and said slave unit terminal for each predetermined area via said master unit terminal, then narrows stepwise, when confirming the necessity for updating the program as a result of the comparison, a capacity of each predetermined area becoming a further comparison target down to a predetermined minimum capacity, and (3) checks the necessity for updating the program for each predetermined area of which the capacity has been narrowed down stepwise.
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10. A navigation unit terminal comprising:
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a navigation information acquiring unit acquiring navigation information from an external server located outside a vehicle, said navigation unit terminal being mounted on the vehicle and navigating the vehicle on the basis of the navigation information acquired by said navigation information acquiring unit, said navigation unit terminal being connected to at least one slave unit terminal mounted on the vehicle on a communication-enabled basis and functioning as an interface for performing the communications with a multimedia system including said navigation unit terminal and said at least one slave unit terminal and with said external server, said navigation unit further comprising; a slave information acquiring unit acquiring property information on said at least one slave unit terminal when said navigation unit terminal is connected to said at least one slave unit terminal on the communication-enabled basis; an update program acquiring unit acquiring an update program needed for updating a program in said at least one slave unit terminal from said external server via said navigation information acquiring unit on the basis of the property information acquired by said slave information acquiring unit; an updating unit causing said at least one slave unit terminal to update the program in said at least one slave unit terminal into the update program acquired by said update program acquiring unit; and an update checking unit causing, via said master unit terminal, said server to check based on the property information acquired by said slave information acquiring unit whether or not the program held by said at least one slave unit terminal at which the property information is targeted is a program required to be updated, wherein said update program acquiring unit acquires, when said update checking unit determines that the program is required to be updated, the update program for said at least one slave unit terminal from said server via said master unit terminal, said update checking unit (1) segments the update target program in said at least one slave unit terminal into predetermined areas, (2) checks a necessity for updating the program by making a partial comparison about the update target program between said external server and said at least one slave unit terminal for each predetermined area via said navigation unit terminal, then narrows stepwise, when confirming the necessity for updating the program as a result of the comparison, a capacity of each predetermined area becoming a further comparison target down to a predetermined minimum capacity, and (3) checks the necessity for updating the program for each predetermined area of which the capacity has been narrowed down stepwise.
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Specification