Update data transmission method, computer program for practicing the method, host device and firmware writing system

• US 8,255,894 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2007
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Takamoto, Akio, Nakagawa, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen, Xi D
• Application Number:
  US11/881,687
• Publication Number:
  US 20080028387A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,859 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

Time required sending firmware updates to a peripheral device, e.g., a printer, is shortened without changing the communication speed. A server sequentially reads records of source data in a first format, deletes blocks of consecutive blank data that are contained in object data in records of the first format and are longer than management data in a second format, segments the object data before and after the blanks, connects the object data in records of the first format into units of a certain length, generates management data for each of the segmented object data and connected object data to produce target records in the second format, and sends the update data composed of the target records of the second format to the printer. Records of the first format written in ASCII code are binary converted, and binary records in the second format are sent to the printer.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting firmware update data from a host device to a peripheral device, the method comprising steps of:

sequentially reading first data records of the firmware update data to be transmitted, each first data record being in a text format and including first object data in said text format and first management data in said text format, said first object data being in a first data field within said first record and consisting of data to be written to said peripheral device, said first management data including a first type code field indicative of the record format of said first data record, a first data length field indicative of the amount of data that follows in the rest of the first data record and a first address field indicative of the memory address within the periphery device corresponding to the first byte of said first object data;

converting the first object data in the read first data records to corresponding second object data having a binary format;

sequentially processing said first data records in their read sequence, wherein the processing of said first data records includes the following sub-steps;

(a) creating a new object data block by consecutively appending second object data corresponding to first object data of the sequential first data records, wherein the appending of second object data to the newly created object data block ceases in response to detecting a group of consecutive null data in the sequential first data records, said group of consecutive null data being defined by a predefined minimum number of consecutive null data;

(b) in response to detection of any first data record still awaiting completion of processing, discarding all consecutive null data up to the next non-null data in the first object data of the sequential first data records and returning to sub-step (a);

for each created object data block, defining a corresponding second data record of firmware update data, each second data record including second management data, each second data record having a second data field holding the second object data of its corresponding object data block in said binary format, said second management data including a second type code field in said text format indicative of the record format of said second data record, a second data length field in said binary format indicative of the amount of data that follows in the rest of the second data record, and a second address field in said binary format indicative of the memory address within the periphery device corresponding to the first byte of said second object data; and

transmitting the second data records from the host device to the peripheral device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the group of consecutive null data spans multiple consecutive first data records.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein in sub-step (a) the appending of second object data to the newly created object data block also ceases in response to the data size of said newly created object data block growing to a predefined maximum size.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

said text format consist of only printable characters; and

said binary format lacks any printable characters.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the bit-size of each second object data in said binary format is half the bit-size of its corresponding first object data in said text format.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the text format is an ASCII code format, and the binary format is a non-ASCII format.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein said predefined maximum size is not greater than the batch erase/write sector size of a flash memory in the peripheral device.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein said predefined maximum size is set according to the type of interface to which the peripheral device is connected.

9. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

measuring a communication speed between the host device and the peripheral device; and

wherein said predefined maximum size is based on the measured communication speed.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the consecutive null data within, and consecutively following, said group of consecutive null data are excluded from any object data block.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the consecutive null data within, and consecutively following, said group of consecutive null data are deleted.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said second management data further includes a checksum field in said binary format having a checksum value determined for the second data record.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said text format is a Motorola S-record format.

14. The method of claim 1, further including, following the transmitting of the second data records from the host device to the peripheral device:

updating the firmware in the peripheral device in accordance with the second data records.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

said first address field is indicative of the memory address within the periphery device where the first byte of said first object data is to be written; and

said second address field in said binary format is indicative of the memory address within the periphery device where the first byte of said second object data is to be written.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing of said first data record further includes prior to sub-step (a), an initial sub-step of proceeding to sub-step (b) in response to detecting an initial group of consecutive null data in the sequential first data records, said initial group of consecutive null data being defined by said predefined minimum number of consecutive null data.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein said null data is defined as the erase-state of data cells in a flash memory within said peripheral device.

18. A non-transitory recording medium storing a computer program for transmitting firmware update data from a host device to a peripheral device, the computer program containing instructions for:

sequentially reading first data records of the firmware update data to be transmitted, each first data records being in a first format consisting of printable characters and including first object data in said first format and first management data in said first form at said first object data being in a first data field within said first record and consisting of data to be written to said peripheral device, said first management data including a first type code field indicative of the record format of said first data record, a first data length field indicative of the amount of data that follows in the rest of the first data record and a first address field indicative of the memory address within the periphery device corresponding to the first byte of said first object data;

converting the first object data in the read first data records to corresponding second object data having a second format, said second format lacking any printable characters;

sequentially processing said first data records in their read sequence, wherein the processing of said first data records includes the following sub-steps;

(a) creating a new object data block by consecutively appending second object data corresponding to first object data of the sequential first data records, wherein the appending of second object data to the newly created object data block ceases in response to detecting a group of consecutive null data in the sequential first data records, said group of consecutive null data being defined by a predefined minimum number of consecutive null data;

(b) in response to detection of any first data record still awaiting completion of processing, discarding all consecutive null data up to the next non-null data in the first object data of the sequential first data records and returning to sub-step (a);

for each created object data block, defining a corresponding second data record of firmware update data, each second data record including second management data, each second data record having a second data field holding the second object data of its corresponding object data block in said second format, said second management data including a second type code field in said first format indicative of the record format of said second data record, a second data length field in said second format indicative of the amount of data that follows in the rest of the second data record, and a second address field in said second format indicative of the memory address within the periphery device corresponding to the first byte of said second object data; and

transmitting the second data records from the host device to the peripheral device.

19. A host device configured to transmit firmware update data from the host device to a peripheral device, the host device comprising:

one or more processors;

a data reading unit that sequentially reads first data records of the firmware update data to be transmitted, each first data records being in a first format consisting of printable ASCII characters and including first object data in said first format and first management data in said first format, said first object data being in a first data field within said first record and consisting of data to be written to said peripheral device, said first management data including a first type code field indicative of the record format of said first data record, a first data length field indicative of the amount of data that follows in the rest of the first data record and a first address field indicative of the memory address within the periphery device corresponding to the first byte of said first object data;

a data conversion unit that converts first object data in the read first data records to corresponding second object data having a second format, said second format lacking any printable characters;

a data appending unit that sequentially processes said first data records in their read sequence, wherein the processing of said first data records includes the following sub-steps;

(a) creating a new object data block by consecutively appending second object data corresponding to first object data of the sequential first data records, wherein the appending of second object data to the newly created object data block ceases in response to detecting a group of consecutive null data in the sequential first data records, said group of consecutive null data being defined by a predefined minimum number of consecutive null data;

(b) in response to detection of any first data record still awaiting completion of processing, discarding all consecutive null data up to the next non-null data in the first object data of the sequential first data records and returning to sub-step (a); and

a record generator that generates, for each created object data block, a corresponding second data record of firmware update data, each second data record including second management data, each second data record having a second data field holding the second object data of its corresponding object data block in said second format, said second management data including a second type code field in said first format indicative of the record format of said second data record, a second data length field in said second format indicative of the amount of data that follows in the rest of the second data record, and a second address field in said second format indicative of the memory address within the periphery device corresponding to the first byte of said second object data; and

a communication interface that sends the second data records from the host device to the peripheral device.

20. A firmware writing system, comprising:

a host device and a peripheral device in communication with the host device, the host device being configured to transmit firmware update data to the peripheral device;

wherein the host device comprises;

a data reading unit that sequentially reads first data records of the firmware update data to be transmitted, each first data records being in a first format consisting of printable ASCII characters and including first object data in said first format and first management data in said first format, said first object data being in a first data field within said first record and consisting of data to be written to said peripheral device, said first management data including a first type code field indicative of the record format of said first data record, a first data length field indicative of the amount of data that follows in the rest of the first data record and a first address field indicative of the memory address within the periphery device corresponding to the first byte of said first object data;

a data conversion unit that converts first object data in the read first data records to corresponding second object data having a second format, said second format lacking any printable characters;

a data appending unit that that sequentially processes said first data records in their read sequence, wherein the processing of said first data records includes the following sub-steps;

(a) creating a new object data block by consecutively appending second object data corresponding to first object data of the sequential first data records, wherein the appending of second object data to the newly created object data block ceases in response to detecting a group of consecutive null data in the sequential first data records, said group of consecutive null data being defined by a predefined minimum number of consecutive null data;

(b) in response to detection of any first data record still awaiting completion of processing, discarding all consecutive null data up to the next non-null data in the first object data of the sequential first data records and returning to sub-step (a); and

a record generator that generates, for each created object data block, a corresponding second data record of firmware update data, each second data record including second management data, each second data record having a second data field holding the second object data of its corresponding object data block in said second format, said second management data including a second type code field in said first format indicative of the record format of said second data record, a second data length field in said second format indicative of the amount of data that follows in the rest of the second data record, and a second address field in said second format indicative of the memory address within the periphery device corresponding to the first byte of said second object data; and

a communication interface that sends the second data records from the host device to the peripheral device

wherein the peripheral device comprises;

a flash memory;

a reception unit that receives the firmware update data comprised of the second records; and

a writing unit that rewrites the received firmware update data into said flash memory.