Patent · US Active

Firmware update data generating apparatus and information device

US8904374B2 · kind B2 · utility

14Cited by
4References
3Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateAug 18, 2010
Grant dateDec 2, 2014
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 28, 2033

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F8/66
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

There is provided a firmware updating technique for which consumed memory and writing time are small for devices subject to a firmware update, for which the distributed update size is small, and which is performed via a broadcast network. To this end, assuming that the latest firmware version is N, there is provided a means that extracts differences between firmware of version j−i and firmware of version i (j−1→j differences) for j=2 to N, and that distributes these differences together via the broadcast network. With respect to a device subject to an update comprising firmware of version i, there is provided a means that saves, of the distributed j−1→j differences (where 2≦j≦N), only the differences for which j<i in a storage area, generates an i→N difference based on the saved j−1→j differences (where i≦j≦N), and updates the firmware in flash memory based on the content of the i→N difference (see FIG. 1).

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.