Maintenance of over the air upgradeable wireless communication device software

• US 8,479,180 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2006
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Rajaram, Gowri, Kaplan, Diego
• Primary Examiner(s): Nahar, Qamrun
• Application Number:
  US11/552,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20070049263A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,444 Days
• Field of Search: 717/151, 717/153, 717/159, 455/418
• US Class Current: 717/151
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44521 Dynamic linking or loading; Link editing at or after load time, e.g. Java class loading
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and method for maintaining software instructions stored in a wireless communications device memory. The software is organized using code sections, where each code section is in a contiguous portion of memory and relocatable independently of other code sections. Maintenance includes the ability to run a unique software component called a compactor while the normal system is not in executable form. The compactor expands, compresses, and relocates code sections to allow downloaded code to be incorporated into the system code base.

Claims

1. A method for maintaining software, the method comprising:

receiving software over-the-air (OTA), by a wireless communications device having system software stored in a memory operably disposed in the wireless communications device, the system software comprising a plurality of first code sections;

storing received OTA software in at least one second code sections;

performing a compaction operation comprising;

correlating the first code sections with the second code sections for replacement of the first code sections;

selecting at least one first code section for compaction and

producing a compacted first code section;

replacing correlated first code sections with correlated second code sections; and

,

executing the changed system software after the replacement has been completed.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing the received OTA software in a file system, the file system comprised of code sections.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that at least one system software code section, of said plurality of first code sections, can be reduced in size;

saving an indication of said at least one system software code section;

scheduling a maintenance event including the saved indication.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

performing a compaction operation, as part of the maintenance event, to reduce the size of said at least one system software code section using the saved indication.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

relocating at least one code section so that there is at least one contiguous section of available memory that is larger than before the relocating.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein performing the compaction operation further comprises

determining that a correlated second code section, that is larger than a corresponding correlated first code section, can be arranged in unused memory blocks to form a new code section;

and,

arranging the second code section in the unused memory blocks to form the new code section and forming executable system software.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the compaction operation further comprises:

selecting at least one downsizable first code section;

downsizing the at least one downsizable first code section, the downsizing resulting in available memory;

including the available memory in a code section needing to be upsized.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

relocating at least one other code section located, in memory, between the available memory and the code section needing to be upsized so that after the relocating, the available memory and the memory storing the code section needing to be upsized are contiguous.

9. A method for maintaining software comprising:

receiving Over-the-Air (OTA) software using an OTA interface;

storing the OTA software in a file system comprised of OTA code sections;

determining at least one system code section, in a wireless communication device memory storing a plurality of system code sections, to be resized to use less memory space;

scheduling a maintenance event;

starting the maintenance event;

using a compactor after starting the maintenance event to resize the at least one system code section, comprising;

correlating the at least one system code section with at least one OTA code section for replacement of the at least one system code section;

selecting the at least one system code section for compaction and

producing a compacted system code section;

replacing correlated system code sections with correlated OTA code sections; and

xecuting system software, comprising said plurality of system code sections, after resizing the at least one system code section.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

relocating a system code section so that there is at least one contiguous section of available memory that is larger than before the relocating.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein an OTA code section uses the contiguous section of available memory.

12. The method of claim 10 where the relocating further comprises relocating a plurality of system code sections so that after the relocating, the memory recovered from the downsized system code sections forms contiguous available memory.

13. A wireless communications device comprising:

an over-the-air (OTA) interface operable to send and receive OTA communications;

a memory;

system software instructions stored in the memory, the system software instructions organized into a plurality of system code sections, the system software being executable and configured to enable the wireless communications device to be operable, including interacting with the OTA interface, each system code section comprised of contiguously addressable memory blocks;

a file system section for receiving OTA code sections via the OTA interface, including a compaction instruction set identifying corresponding code sections, the corresponding code sections being an OTA code section and a system code section it will replace; and

a compactor configured to compare sizes between corresponding code sections, to upsize system code sections to accommodate corresponding OTA code sections if the OTA code section is larger than its corresponding system code section, to copy OTA code sections into resized system code sections, to copy OTA code sections into unchanged system code sections where no upsizing is needed, and, wherein the arrangement of new code sections forms executable updated system software.

14. The wireless communications device of claim 13 where the compactor is further configured to:

determine if any of system software code sections can be reduced in size after the forming of the updated executable system software;

save indication of which code sections may be reduced in size; and

,

schedule a maintenance event, the maintenance event comprising the saved indications.

15. The wireless communications device of claim 14 where the compactor is further configured to start the maintenance event in accordance with the schedule, and, to reduce the size of code sections indicated by the indications.

16. The wireless communications device of claim 15 where the compactor is further configured to relocate at least one code section resulting in a contiguous section of available memory that is larger than before the relocating.

17. The wireless communications device of claim 13 where the compactor is further configured to determine if an OTA code section that is larger than its corresponding system code section can be arranged in unused memory blocks, resulting in a new code section, and where the new code section forms part of the system software.

18. The wireless communications device of claim 13 where the compactor is further configured to:

select at least one downsizable system code section;

downsize the at least one downsizable system code section, the downsizing resulting in available memory;

including the available memory in a system code section needing to be upsized.

19. The wireless communications device of claim 18 where the compactor is further configured to relocate at least one other system code section located, in memory, between the available memory and the code section needing to be upsized so that after the relocation, the available memory and the memory storing the code section needing to be upsized are contiguous.