JP2001282540A - External storage device and firmware updating method for interface portion of external storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To update firmware of an interface of an external storage device without requiring a host PC. SOLUTION: An identification code indicating that the recording medium is a recording medium for firmware update is recorded in a head sector 2a of the recording medium 2, and the recording medium 2 is set in an external storage device (storage). Thus, the interface device 1a recognizes that the recording medium 2 is a recording medium for changing the firmware, downloads the firmware code from the recording medium 2, and rewrites the contents of the RAM 1d constituting the interface device 1a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an external storage device and a method for updating the firmware of an interface portion of the external storage device, and more particularly to a device having a USB interface for improving the firmware update operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a kind of a program necessary for operating a device, which is stored in a personal computer or a peripheral device such as a modem, there is a program stored in a dedicated memory chip called firmware. Recently, it has become rewritable, allowing hardware to support the latest features and fix bugs. Currently, firmware update of the interface part in the external storage device having the USB interface is performed by any of the following methods. That is, the first is the ROM in the USB interface device.
The second method is to prepare for each operating system on a host computer to which an external storage device having a USB interface device (hereinafter also referred to as an external storage device) is connected. This is a method for operating a dedicated firmware update program.

However, according to the above-mentioned method, it is not easy to replace the ROM manually by an unfamiliar user, the firmware cannot be updated without the host PC, and the firmware for operating on the host PC cannot be updated. Software is dependent on the operating system of the PC to be used, and software for changing the firmware must be prepared for each operating system. Furthermore, unexpected processing during firmware update due to malfunction of the PC etc. Is interrupted, the connection with the host computer becomes poor, and a problem occurs in that the firmware cannot be updated.

[0004]

A conventional external storage device,
In addition, the method of updating the firmware of the interface portion of the external storage device is configured as described above, and there is a problem in that it is necessary to manually replace a physical ROM or to prepare firmware change software for each OS.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and does not physically replace a ROM in a USB interface device, and uses a dedicated computer for each operation system on a host computer. Firmware data can be easily updated without causing the firmware update program to operate and without causing troubles such as poor connection with the host computer due to sudden interruption during the firmware update. An object of the present invention is to provide a firmware update method for an external storage device and an interface portion of the external storage device.

[0006]

An external storage device according to a first aspect of the present invention is an external storage device having a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface, wherein the firmware update program on the external storage device stores the firmware update program on the device. In this case, data for updating the firmware at a predetermined position on the recording medium used in step (1) is read to update the firmware program in the USB interface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the external storage device according to the first aspect, the firmware update program for operating the external storage device is located at a predetermined position on the recording medium. The data for firmware update and the normal data are distinguished by reading the identifier information on the recording medium read at the time of startup.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for updating the firmware of an interface portion of an external storage device, wherein the firmware of an interface portion of the external storage device having a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface is updated. A storage device for reading firmware update data at a predetermined position on a recording medium used on the device; and using the read firmware update data to update the firmware of the USB interface portion. Updating the program.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for updating firmware of an interface of an external storage device according to the third aspect of the present invention, wherein the method of updating firmware of an interface of an external storage device operates the external storage device. An operating system for reading the identifier information on the recording medium at the time of booting; and determining whether the data at a predetermined position on the recording medium is firmware update data or normal data based on the read identifier information. Discriminating.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, an external storage device, a firmware update device for an interface portion of an external storage device, and a firmware update method according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. It will be described based on. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration diagram of a system of a set of external storage devices with a USB interface according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a sector position of a recording medium, and firmware set in the device. It shows the positional relationship between the data for update and the logical sector information of the recording medium. Further, FIG.
FIG. 4 shows a detailed configuration of a sector in FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation flowchart from when an external storage device with an SB interface is activated to when a firmware update program determines a firmware update medium and updates firmware.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1a denotes a USB I / F device, which comprises the elements 1b to 1d described later. That is, 1b is a microcomputer for controlling the USB interface,
c is a ROM that stores a USB interface control firmware update basic program, and 1d is a RAM that stores USB interface control firmware.

Reference numeral 1e denotes an external storage device connected to a host interface (not shown) via the USB interface device 1a. Further, reference numeral 1f denotes a recording medium in which update firmware data is stored, for example, a magnetic or magneto-optical medium, or an optical recording medium.

The operation will be described below with reference to FIG. After activating the external storage device with the USB interface (step S1), the control microcomputer 1b activates the firmware update-dedicated basic program 1c. Then, the firmware update-dedicated basic program 1c checks whether there is a recording medium 1f on the external storage device 1e (step S2), and if there is no recording medium 1f, shifts the control to a program for performing a normal start-up process (step S2). S4). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that the recording medium 1f is present, the process proceeds to step S5.
Then, it is determined whether or not the fixed sector position on the recording medium, that is, the identification data 3a for firmware update is present in the first sector 2b. If there is such data, the recording medium is a recording medium exclusively for firmware update. In step S7, the firmware data for updating is updated from the fixed sector position to the RAM for storing the firmware for controlling the USB interface.
1d, and updates the firmware of the USB interface, that is, the data in the RAM 1d. Thereafter, in order to return the external storage device to normal processing, the entire device (drive and interface) is initialized, and control is transferred to the updated firmware (step S9).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that there is no identification data 3a for updating the firmware at the fixed sector position 2b, the process proceeds to step S8, where the entire apparatus is initialized to shift to normal processing. Then, the process proceeds to step S9, where normal processing is performed.

Normally, when the data on the recording medium 2 is used by the operating system of each computer system, the data on the first sector 2a of the recording medium 2 indicates the sector position of the file management table 2c of the recording medium. , The file management table 2c has a structure indicating all the sector positions of the data file on the recording medium. However, since the update firmware data 2b is located at a sector position not shown in the file management table 2c, it is not read from the operating system as it is. For example, in this sector location, “This Secotor is the excl
The word “usive area for DownLoad” is written to distinguish it from other sectors. Even if other data is written in the update firmware data 2b position by normal use, the firmware update Medium identification data 3a
Is determined not to exist on the medium, so that the recording medium is no longer handled as a firmware update-only medium. As described above, the firmware update data stored in the recording medium can realize the firmware update without affecting the operation at all in the normal use of the operating system of the computer system.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the identification code indicating that the recording medium is a recording medium for firmware update is recorded in the leading sector 2a of the recording medium 2, and the recording medium 2 Is set in an external storage device (storage), the interface device 1a recognizes that the recording medium 2 is a recording medium for firmware change, and downloads a firmware code from the recording medium 2 to configure the interface device 1a. RA to do
Since the content of M1d is rewritten, there is no need for the user to physically replace the ROM in the USB interface device, and a dedicated firmware update program is operated for each operation system on the host computer. This eliminates the necessity, and can also prevent the occurrence of troubles such as a poor connection with the host computer due to sudden interruption during firmware update.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the US
Focusing on the fact that the external storage device can be controlled by firmware of the external storage device connected to the B interface device, a specific sector position on a recording medium set in these external storage devices is determined. The firmware data to be updated is written in advance, and when the USB interface device and the external storage device are turned on, it is checked whether or not the recording medium is set in the external storage device. Then, the update firmware data at the determined sector position on the recording medium set in the external storage device is read by the firmware update dedicated program,
Since the firmware of the SB interface device is updated, it is not necessary to connect to the host computer, and the firmware is updated without depending on the type of the host computer connected to the external storage device having the USB interface. The effect that it can be obtained is obtained.

In the medium used for updating the firmware, the update firmware is written in a sector that cannot be seen from the file management table initialized in the original logical format. From the viewpoint of the file system data, there is an effect that normal operation is not affected because the file system data cannot be seen.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system of an external storage device with a USB interface according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing various data position configurations (sector units) on a recording medium mounted on the external storage device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a sector of the recording medium in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation flowchart when updating the firmware by the external storage device according to the first embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 computer peripheral device with USB interface device 1a USB interface device 1b USB interface control microcomputer 1c USB interface control firmware update dedicated program 1d RAM 1e external storage device 1f recording medium 2 recording medium 2a recording medium sector 0 (top sector) 2b Sector position where update firmware data is set 2c Media file management table (logical format information of operating system) 3 Byte configuration of fixed position sector where update firmware data is set 3a Firmware update medium identification data 3b Update Firmware data

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An external storage device having a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface, wherein the firmware update program on the external storage device is used for updating firmware at a predetermined position on a recording medium used on the device. Read the data and
An external storage device for updating a firmware program in an SB interface portion. 2. The external storage device according to claim 1, wherein the firmware update program for operating the external storage device activates firmware update data at a predetermined position on the recording medium and normal data. An external storage device which distinguishes by reading identifier information on a recording medium which is sometimes read. 3. A method for updating firmware of an interface portion of an external storage device having a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface, wherein the external storage device is located at a predetermined position on a recording medium used on the device. Reading the update data of the external storage device; and updating the firmware program of the USB interface portion using the read firmware update data. Firmware update method. 4. The firmware updating method for an interface of an external storage device according to claim 3, wherein an operating system operating the external storage device reads identifier information on a recording medium at the time of booting, and Determining whether the data at a predetermined position on the recording medium is firmware update data or normal data based on the identifier information. Method.