Method for updating firmware of a computer peripheral device
US6253281A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 15, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jun 26, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 15, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/327
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An optical disc drive includes a system controller in the form of a microcontroller and a FLASH memory which holds program code for the micro controller. The FLASH memory is formed in two areas, the first being a protected area in which the code cannot be changed and the second being an unprotected area in which the micro controller can write updated program code. The updated code is received from a host computer over an interface (28). The code in the protected area and in the micro controller ROM is sufficient to enable the basic functions of requesting and receiving program code from the host computer and writing the received program code into the unprotected area of the FLASH memory to be performed. This enables recovery of the drive if the code in the unprotected area becomes corrupted, for example if a power supply failure occurs during transfer of the code.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.