Portable electronic device and method for downloading a firmware loader from a host computer

• US 8,250,223 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2009
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chi Mei Communication Systems Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Chi Mei Communication Systems Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Chen, Chi-Hsien
• Primary Examiner(s): Chankong, Dohm
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chang, Julian
• Application Number:
  US12/614,568
• Publication Number:
  US 20100241752A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: 709217-219, 709227-237, 717171-173, 714/748
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading

Abstract

A method for downloading a firmware loader from a host computer to a portable electronic device establishes a communication connection between the host computer and the portable electronic device. Transmission parameters between the portable electronic device and the portable electronic device are configured. The firmware loader is transmitted from the host computer to the portable electronic device according to the transmission parameters. The firmware loader is verified, where the portable electronic device obtains a start address of the firmware loader.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a storage system;

at least one processor; and

a device downloading unit stored in the storage system and executable by the at least one processor, the device downloading unit comprising;

a device connecting module operable to establish a communication connection between a host computer and the portable device over an input/output (I/O) interface;

a device synchronizing module operable to communicate with the host computer to verify that the portable electronic device is ready to receive a firmware loader;

a device configuring module operable to configure a plurality of transmission parameters between the portable electronic device and the host computer, wherein the transmission parameters comprise a connection mode, a data transmission rate, a waiting time, and a data acknowledgement parameter that determines if the portable electronic device is required to acknowledge a reception of the firmware loader;

a device transmitting module operable to receive the firmware loader from the host computer according to the transmission parameters, acknowledge the reception of the firmware loader upon condition that the data acknowledge is enabled, and store the firmware loader into the storage system, wherein the host computer resends the firmware loader upon condition that an acknowledgement of the reception of the firmware loader has not been received from the portable electronic device within the waiting time;

a device checking module operable to verify the received firmware loader;

a device notifying module operable to obtain a start address of the firmware loader in the portable electronic device from the host computer; and

a device disconnecting module operable to terminate the communication connection with the host computer.

2. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the storage system is selected from the group consisting of a smart media card (SMC), a secure digital card (SDC), a compact flash card (CFC), a multimedia card (MMC), a memory stick (MS), an extreme digital card (XDC), and a trans flash card (TFC).

3. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the firmware loader is divided into a plurality of data blocks to transmit.

4. The portable electronic device of claim 3, wherein each of the data blocks is transmitted to the portable electronic device along with a checksum.

5. A method for downloading a firmware loader from a host computer to a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

establishing a communication connection between the host computer and the portable electronic device over an input/output (I/O) interface;

communicating between the host computer and the portable electronic device to verify that the portable electronic device is ready to receive the firmware loader;

configuring transmission parameters between the portable electronic device and the host computer, wherein the transmission parameters comprise a connection mode, a data transmission rate, a waiting time, and a data acknowledgement parameter that determines if the portable electronic device is required to acknowledge a reception of the firmware loader;

transmitting the firmware loader from the host computer to the according to the transmission parameters, wherein the portable electronic device acknowledges the reception of the firmware loader upon condition that the data acknowledge is enabled, and the host computer resends the firmware loader upon condition that an acknowledgement of the reception of the firmware loader has not been received from the portable electronic device within the waiting time;

verifying the firmware loader received by the portable electronic device;

notifying the portable electronic device of a start address of the firmware loader in the portable electronic device; and

terminating the communication connection between the host computer and the portable electronic device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the firmware loader is divided into a plurality of data blocks to transmit.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the data blocks is transmitted to the portable electronic device along with a checksum.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a portable electronic device, cause the portable electronic device to execute a method for downloading a firmware loader from a host computer to a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

establishing a communication connection between the host computer and the portable electronic device over an input/output (I/O) interface;

communicating between the host computer and the portable electronic device to verify that the portable electronic device is ready to receive the firmware loader;

configuring transmission parameters between the portable electronic device and the host computer, wherein the transmission parameters comprise a connection mode, a data transmission rate, a waiting time, and a data acknowledgement parameter that determines if the portable electronic device is required to acknowledge a reception of the firmware loader;

transmitting the firmware loader from the host computer to the portable electronic device according to the transmission parameters, wherein the portable electronic device acknowledges the reception of the firmware loader upon condition that the data acknowledge is enabled, and the host computer resends the firmware loader upon condition that an acknowledgement of the reception of the firmware loader has not been received from the portable electronic device within the waiting time;

verifying the firmware loader received by the portable electronic device;

notifying the portable electronic device of a start address of the firmware loader in the portable electronic device; and

terminating the communication connection between the host computer and the portable electronic device.

9. The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the firmware loader is divided into a plurality of data blocks to transmit.

10. The storage medium of claim 9, wherein each of the data blocks is transmitted to the portable electronic device along with a checksum.