Method for remotely and reliably updating of the software on a computer with provision for roll back
US6141683A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 30, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 31, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 30, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F8/656
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A technique for updating the software in a remote computer (e.g., a base station, a spacecraft in space, an electronic postage meter in an office, a medical monitoring device in a patient's home, etc.) from a central control (e.g., a wireless switching center, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Houston Control, a postage meter facility, a medical equipment manufacturer's factory, etc.) is disclosed. An illustrative embodiment of the present invention comprises: checking the integrity of a first software application at a first location in a first memory that is pointed to by a first address in a pointer; copying the first software application from the first memory to the second memory and executing the first software application from the second memory, when the integrity of the first software application is nominal; transmitting a first message indicating that the integrity of the first software application is not nominal, when the integrity of the first software application is not nominal; and receiving a first command to store a second address in the pointer, in response to the first message.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.