Firmware update in electronic devices employing SIM card for saving metadata information

• US 20040093592A1
• Filed: 10/28/2003
• Published: 05/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Bitfone Corp. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bitfone Corp. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Rao, Bindu Rama
• Application Number:
  US10/695,312
• Publication Number:
  US 20040093592A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A system and method for saving metadata information related to firmware/software updates in a SIM card is disclosed. An electronic device with an update agent may employ an update package reference storage area in a SIM card to save metadata information related to a downloaded update package. The update agent may access the stored metadata information during power up or reboot in order to access and/or process the downloaded update package. The SIM card, or in various embodiments of the present invention, a smart card, a removable memory card, or a removable memory module, may be employed by the electronic device to save information about downloaded files that are stored in a file system in the electronic device. Such information may subsequently be accessed by the update agent when the file system is not available. This may occur, for example, during power-up or reboot, when the update package needs to be accessed to perform a firmware/software update.

Claims

1. An updatable electronic device comprising:

a memory comprising at least one of firmware and software;

at least one firmware component, functioning to update at least a portion of at least one of firmware and software;

an interface for communicatively coupling to a removable electronic memory device; and

the removable electronic memory device comprising information related to the updating of the at least a portion of the at least one of firmware and software.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the at least one firmware component comprises:

an update agent for updating the at least a portion of the at least one of firmware and software, the update agent using at least one of an update package and the information related to the updating of the at least one of firmware and software.

3. The device of claim 2 further comprising:

a communication interface for receiving the update package.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the communication interface is a wireless communication interface.

5. The device of claim 2 wherein the update package comprises a set of instructions for updating the at least a portion of the at least one firmware and software.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the information related to the updating of the at least one firmware and software comprises at least one of a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), a location in a file system, a memory address, a status flag, and new firmware.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the information related to the updating of the at least one firmware and software comprises an indication of the availability of an update for the at least one of a firmware and software.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the information related to the updating of the at least one firmware and software comprises an indication of the success of an update of the at least one of firmware and software.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein the information related to the updating of the at least one firmware and software is used to verify or authenticate an update of the at least one of firmware and software.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein the removable electronic memory device comprises one of a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a smart card, an integrated circuit (IC) card, a removable memory card, and a removable memory module.

11. A method of updating an updatable electronic device comprising a memory containing at least one of firmware and software, and a user removable electronic memory device, the method comprising:

retrieving information from the user removable electronic memory device;

determining whether an update of the at least one of firmware and software is available using information from the user removable electronic memory device;

performing an update of at least a portion of the at least one of firmware and software using at least information from the user removable electronic memory device, if an update of the firmware is available; and

refraining from performing an update of at least a portion of the at least one of firmware and software, if an update of the firmware is not available.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the user removable electronic memory device comprises one of a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a smart card, an integrated circuit card, a removable memory card, and a removable memory module.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the updatable electronic device is a mobile handset.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the information from the user removable electronic memory device comprises at least one of a signature, a location in a file system, a memory address, a status flag, and new firmware.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the signature comprises a cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the information from the user removable electronic memory device comprises an indication of the availability of an update for the at least a portion of the at least one of a firmware and software.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the information from the user removable electronic memory device is used to verify or authenticate an update of the at least a portion of the at least one of a firmware and software.

18. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

receiving an update package from a server; and

the update package comprising a set of instructions for updating the at least a portion of the at least one firmware and software.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein:

the receiving is performed using a wireless network; and

the information from the user removable electronic memory device comprises the location of at least one of the update package and the server.

20. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

storing status information in the user removable electronic memory device, if an update was performed; and

refraining from storing status information in the user removable electronic memory device, if an update was not performed.

21. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

performing at least one of restarting or rebooting the updatable electronic device.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein at least one of a need to restart or reboot and a type of reboot is resident in the user removable electronic memory device.

23. The method of claim 11 wherein the determining comprises:

verifying whether the retrieved information is at least one of appropriate and authentic;

continuing the performance of an update, if the verification is successful; and

executing a normal startup of the updatable electronic device, if the verification is not successful.