JP2006189974A - Electronic apparatus and program update method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce an updating burden even if the specifications of apparatus must be changed for countries or regions. <P>SOLUTION: For a program update in the electronic apparatus where firmware programs set functions, destination data depending on the country or region in which the apparatus is used is stored in advance in the apparatus. An update program 611 is a program common to all the destinations, and processing depending on the destination is specified by setting data 612 accompanying the update program 611. When the firmware programs are updated with the update program 611 acquired by the apparatus, only setting data (any of 612a, 612b, 612c, etc.) for the destination set in the apparatus out of the setting data 612 is stored in a setting data storing memory. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention uses, for example, a recordable DVD (Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) or the like as a recording medium, and an electronic apparatus suitable for application to a video camera recorder or the like that records a moving image or the like on the recording medium. It relates to the program update method.

  In recent years, various video recording / reproducing apparatuses using a large capacity disk recording medium such as a DVD as a recording medium have been developed. Various disc recording / playback apparatuses (so-called video camera recorders) integrated with a video camera have been commercialized.

  There are various types of media that can be recorded (reproduced) handled by such a video recording / reproducing apparatus. There are various types of recording formats for video data and audio data, and there are many cases where a single recording / reproducing apparatus can support a plurality of formats.

  However, new types of media and recording formats may be developed in the future, and video recording / playback is necessary in order to be able to support new types of media and recording formats with already released products. An update process for updating software as firmware set to operate the apparatus is necessary.

  For example, if the manufacturer collects the corresponding device and connects it to a dedicated update terminal prepared in the factory or service center, the software update can be performed at a relatively high level. However, it is troublesome for the user to bring the device to the service center for software update, and it cannot be said that the update process is very efficient.

For this reason, in a device that is relatively easy to connect to a network such as the Internet, such as a peripheral device connected to a computer device or a mobile phone terminal, the update data is received by the device and received. The software is updated with the updated data. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a firmware update process in a peripheral device for a computer device.
JP 2001-51844 A

  By the way, in this type of electronic device, the operating state and setting may be changed depending on the destination for each country or region in which the device is used, and the firmware program is also changed for the destination. For example, various setting changes are required, such as changing the displayed language depending on the country of use.

  Here, if the firmware program itself is prepared separately for each destination, it is necessary to prepare a large number of programs at the product design stage. There is a case where the program reading process is changed with the set destination data. However, when the firmware program version is upgraded, if the program for each destination is made common and can be changed only by the settings for the destination, the program can be modified if there are a wide variety of functions that can be realized by upgrading the program version. There is a problem that the number of places becomes very large, and it takes much time to create update data. Therefore, when it is necessary to change the specifications of the device in the country or region, there is a problem that the burden for creating the update program is large.

  In the above description, the case of updating the software has been described by taking the video camera recorder as an example. However, the same problem occurs when updating various electronic devices in which other firmwareized software is incorporated. is there.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the burden at the time of updating even when it is necessary to change the specifications of a device in a country or region.

  In the present invention, when updating a program of an electronic device whose function is set by a firmware program, destination data corresponding to the country or region in which the device is used is stored in advance in the device, The program is a common program for all destinations, and the processing that differs for each destination is specified by the setting data attached to the update program, and the update program acquired by the device uses the firmware program. When performing the update process, only the setting data for the destination set in the device among the setting data is stored in the memory for storing the setting data.

  By doing so, it becomes possible to specify in detail the changes for each destination by using setting data different from the update program.

  According to the present invention, it becomes possible to specify in detail the changes for each destination by setting data different from the update program, and even when the firmware program is shared by many destinations, the firmware program It is possible to suppress changes at the time of updating itself to relatively few changes, and the burden at the time of updating can be reduced.

  In this case, since the destination data stored in advance in the device is restricted so that it cannot be rewritten, it is possible to restrict the destination of the device from being changed when updating software by update.

  Further, since the firmware program and the setting data are stored in different memories, the firmware program and the setting data are appropriately managed in the different memories.

  In addition, the update program and setting data are data received or input from the outside and stored in a predetermined storage medium in the device, so that the update based on the update program received or input from the outside is favorably performed. You can do it.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In this example, as an example of an electronic device incorporating firmwareized software, it is applied to a video camera recorder. First, the configuration of the video camera recorder of this example will be described with reference to FIG. The video camera recorder 100 of this example is a video recording / reproducing apparatus that uses a disc recording medium called DVD as a recording (storage) medium, and has a camera unit 10 that performs imaging, and recording / reproduction that performs recording and reproduction on a disc. Part 20.

  The camera unit 10 includes an optical system 11 including a lens, an imager unit 12 that converts image light imaged by the optical system 11 into an electric signal, and an imaging signal obtained by the imager unit 12 in a predetermined format. And an image pickup processing unit 13 for digital video data. In addition, the microphone 14 and the voice processing unit 15 are provided, and the voice signal picked up by the microphone 14 is processed into digital audio data by the voice processing unit 15. The video and audio processing operations in the camera unit 10 are executed by control based on a command from the control unit 30. That is, imaging and audio capture are controlled by a command from the human interface control unit 32 in the control unit 30, and a video and audio processing state is set by a command from the signal system control unit 33. Video data may be captured as moving image data or still image data, and the processing state is different for each.

  The digital video data and digital audio data output from the camera unit 10 are supplied to the encoding / decoding unit 21 in the recording / reproducing unit 20 and encoded for recording. For example, when recording a moving image, video data and audio data are encoded by the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 system. When video data is recorded as a still image, it is encoded by the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) method. The encoded data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 24 connected to the encoding / decoding unit 21 until recording on the disk.

  The encoded data stored in the buffer memory 24 is read out to the disk recording / reproducing unit 22 at the timing of recording, and processing for recording on the disk 23 is performed. The data is recorded on the disk 23 by the irradiation of the laser beam. The data recorded on the disk 23 is read by the disk recording / playback unit 22 and sent to the encoding / decoding unit 21 to be decoded from the MPEG2 system, and the decoded video data and audio are decoded. Data is sent to the input / output processing unit 25 and output from the terminal unit 26 to the outside. Processing operations of recording and reproduction in the recording / reproducing unit 20 are executed by control based on a command from the control unit 30. That is, recording and reproduction on the disc are executed under the control of the disc control unit 31 in the control unit 30.

  The terminal unit 26 includes a terminal for inputting and outputting as digital data in addition to a terminal for inputting and outputting as an analog video signal and audio signal. Examples of terminals for digital data include IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 standard terminal (port), USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard terminal (port), etc. Video data and audio data can be exchanged with video equipment and computer devices equipped with the. The video camera recorder may receive various data by connecting to an information processing device such as a computer device. As data to be received, for example, there is a program for updating a program in the video camera recorder. When data is received, the data is sent from the input / output processing unit 25 to the control unit 30 side.

  The configuration of the control unit 30 includes a disk control unit 31, a human interface control unit 32, a signal system control unit 33, and a display control unit 34, each of which is constituted by a microcomputer that performs control operations. The human interface control unit 32 is supplied with operation input data from the operation input unit 41 such as an operation key or a touch panel, and controls the operation state of each unit of the video camera recorder to a corresponding state based on the operation input. The human interface controller 32 controls the lighting of the pilot lamp 42 composed of a light emitting diode or the like. The pilot lamp 42 is used as a recording lamp indicating that recording is in progress, but in this example, a program to be described later is also turned on when updating.

  The signal system control unit 33 performs control for setting a signal processing path in the camera unit 10 and the recording / reproducing unit 20. The display control unit 34 controls display on the display unit 43 provided for monitoring by the device based on a command from the human interface control unit 32. The display unit 43 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, and displays captured images and reproduced images as images. In addition, various messages and the like are displayed as OSD (On Screen Display) as characters and graphics in the image under the control of the display control unit 34 based on a command from the human interface control unit 32. Character and graphic data necessary for OSD display is prepared in advance in a memory (not shown) provided in the display control unit 34. Characters, graphics, and the display screen of the display unit 43 of this example are configured as a touch panel, and the displayed functions can be operated by the user touching the display screen of the display unit 43.

  Connected to the disk control unit 31 is a flash memory 51 in which a program for performing a control operation in the disk control unit 31 is stored. Functions that can be controlled by the disk control unit 31 are determined by the program stored in the flash memory 51.

  The human interface control unit 32 includes an SDRAM 61 for temporarily storing data for processing in the human interface control unit 32 and the like, and a flash memory 62 in which a program for performing a control operation in the human interface control unit 32 is stored. And an EEPROM 63 in which setting data and the like are stored. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the flash memory 62 stores a program (program A) for loading a program and a program (program B) constituting software that actually functions as firmware. . As shown in FIG. 3, the EEPROM 63 of this example is provided with a storage area for destination data and stores setting data. The setting data is data necessary for developing the program B. When the program B is updated, the setting data may be updated. The setting data itself stored in the EEPROM 63 is for the device and is different data. The correspondence between these data will be described later.

  As for the program stored in the flash memory 62, the program B is executed in a normal operation state, and the load program A is activated when the firmware program is updated. The flash memories 51 and 62 and the EEPROM 63 connected to the control units 31 and 32 are non-volatile storage means in which stored data is not lost even when power is not supplied, and data is controlled by the control of the control units 31 and 32. Can be rewritten. However, the destination data stored in the destination data storage area is restricted so that it cannot be rewritten.

  In addition, the control unit 30 of this example includes a memory card interface unit 35 and is configured to be able to transfer data to and from the memory card 44 mounted in the card slot of the video camera recorder and each unit in the recorder. The memory card 44 can store captured still image data, for example.

  In the video camera recorder 100 of this example configured as described above, a firmware program is stored in advance in the flash memories 51 and 62 connected to the disk control unit 31 and the human interface control unit 32 at the time of product shipment. . The EEPROM 63 connected to the human interface control unit 32 stores setting data for determining the execution state of the program processing depending on the destination of the device 100 (which country or region is the product for). For the device 100, the language of the character displayed on the display unit 43 when the device is operated is set to correspond. The firmware program itself stored in the flash memories 51 and 62 is the same for any destination. In the case of this example, the destination data itself is stored in the EEPROM 63 and is restricted so that the memory interface cannot be rewritten by the human interface control unit 32. The destination determined by the manufacturer at the time of product shipment is determined by the user. It cannot be changed by operation.

  The firmware program stored in the flash memories 51 and 62 connected to the disk control unit 31 and the human interface control unit 32 and the setting data stored in the EEPROM 63 are input to (received by) this device. It can be corrected by the program.

  Next, a process for updating the firmware program will be described. FIG. 2 is a configuration example for downloading a corresponding update program by the video camera recorder 100 when the firmware program is updated. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, a video camera recorder 100 is connected to a personal computer device 200 prepared on the user side. As the connection at this time, for example, any one of the terminal portions 26 prepared in the video camera recorder 100 (for example, a USB terminal) is used. In addition, a disk 23 capable of recording data is loaded in the disk loading section of the video camera recorder 100. Then, the computer apparatus 200 to which the video camera recorder 100 is connected accesses the server 300 that provides the update program via the Internet 400 and causes the computer apparatus 200 to download the corresponding update program. The update data prepared on the server 300 side includes, for example, update data for the disk control program, update data for the human interface control program, and setting data. The update data of each program is common data for each destination, and the setting data is data prepared individually for each destination of the device, as will be described later, for all destinations set in the device. Setting data is downloaded in a batch.

  The update data downloaded to the computer device 200 is input to the video camera recorder 100 by an operation for inputting update data of the video camera recorder 100 (for example, an operation using a menu screen). In this example, the update data input to the video camera recorder 100 is recorded (stored) in the disk 23 under the control of the disk control unit 31.

  When the recording of the update data on the disk 23 is completed, the update process is executed by a predetermined operation, for example. In the example of FIG. 2, the update data is downloaded via the network. For example, the manufacturer of the video camera recorder 100 distributes the disk on which the update data is recorded to the user. The disk may be mounted to start the update.

  As the update process, first, when the disk control unit 31 confirms that the data for update is recorded on the loaded disk 23, the human interface starts from the disk 23 on which the data for update is recorded. Update data is read out to the SDRAM 61 connected to the control unit 32.

  In the case of this example, as shown in FIG. 4, a program 611 for updating the firmware for the human interface control unit and the firmware for the disk control unit, and new setting data necessary for executing the updated program 612 are read from the disk 23 and temporarily stored in the SDRAM 61.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the setting data is individually prepared for each device destination, and all setting data for the destination is transferred to the SDRAM 61. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, setting data for Japan 612a, setting data for US 612b, setting data for Canada 612c,... It is.

  After being read out to the SDRAM 61 in this way, the update is executed, for example, by processing according to the flowchart of FIG. That is, first, the human interface control unit 32 confirms the destination data stored in the destination data storage area (FIG. 3) in the EEPROM 63 (step S11), and the setting data for the same country or region as the destination data is stored in the SDRAM 61. The stored setting data is extracted from the stored setting data, and the stored data in the EEPROM 63 is updated with the setting data of the extracted country or region (step S12).

  Then, the firmware program in the flash memory 51 connected to the disk control unit 31 is updated using the disk control unit firmware update program in the update program stored in the SDRAM 61 to control the human interface. The firmware program in the flash memory 62 connected to the human interface controller 32 is updated using the firmware update program for the component (step S13).

  In this way, the firmware program of the video camera recorder of the present example is updated. For example, by restarting the device, the program can be used under the control of the updated firmware. Here, for example, when the firmware program stored in the flash memory 62 is expanded and executed, the expansion work is performed with reference to the setting data stored in the EEPROM 63, and the firmware functions as the destination firmware for the device. To come. For example, a character displayed on the display unit 43 is a character in a corresponding language.

  As described above, the firmware program may be the same for any destination by changing the processing when deploying the firmware with the setting data for each destination. And, when updating the firmware, the setting data associated with the update program is also updated for the setting data stored in the device, so even if there are many destinations, the firmware program can be updated. The data itself can be created relatively easily without considering so many destinations, and the burden of updating can be reduced that much. All the changes for each destination may be dealt with by the setting data.

  In the case of this example, since the firmware program and the setting data are stored in separate memories (storage means), each data is managed separately, and data management can be performed satisfactorily.

  In the embodiment described so far, the case of updating the firmware of the video camera recorder has been described. However, if the device can update the firmware program, it can be applied to update the firmware program of other electronic devices. Also good. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the update program is once recorded on the disc mounted on the video camera recorder, and then the recorded program is read and updated. You may make it download directly from the outside to internal memory. Alternatively, another storage medium (recording medium) such as a memory card may be used for storing the update program.

  In addition, the configuration of the control unit illustrated in FIG. 1 in the above-described embodiment is an example, and can be applied to devices having other control configurations. As for the configuration of each storage means such as a flash memory, the storage area of one storage means is used separately for each control means instead of physically preparing individual storage means for each control means. The configuration may be substantially the same as that of FIG.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of the electronic device (video camera) by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the download state of the data by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data writing structural example of the flash memory by one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structural example of the data for update by one embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the example of an update process by one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Camera part, 11 ... Optical system, 12 ... Imager part, 13 ... Imaging process part, 14 ... Microphone, 15 ... Audio | voice processing part, 20 ... Recording / reproducing part, 21 ... Encoding / decoding part, 22 ... Disc recording Playback unit, 23... Disk, 24... Buffer memory, 25 .. input / output processing unit, 26... Terminal unit, 30... Control unit, 31. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS Display control part 35 ... Memory card interface part 41 ... Operation input part 42 ... Pilot lamp 43 ... Display part 44 ... Memory card 51 ... Flash memory 61 ... SDRAM 62 ... Flash memory 63 ... EEPROM , 100 ... Video camera recorder, 200 ... Personal computer device, 300 ... Server, 400 ... Internet 611 ... update program, 612 ... setting data, 612a ... Japan for setting data, 612b ... the United States for setting data, 612c ... setting data for Canada

Claims (8)

In a program update method for an electronic device whose function is set by a firmware program,
Data for the destination according to the country or region where the device is used is stored in advance in the device,
The update program is a common program for all destinations, and the processing that differs for each destination is indicated by the setting data accompanying the update program,
When updating the firmware program using the update program acquired by the device, only the setting data for the destination set in the device is stored in the setting data storage memory. A program update method for an electronic device. In the electronic device program update method according to claim 1,
The program update method for an electronic device, wherein the destination data stored in advance in the device is restricted so that it cannot be rewritten. In the electronic device program update method according to claim 1,
The method for updating a program of an electronic device, wherein the firmware program and the setting data are stored in separate memories, respectively. In the electronic device program update method according to claim 1,
A program update method for an electronic device, wherein the update program and setting data are data received or input from outside and stored in a predetermined storage medium in the device. In an electronic device whose function is set by a firmware program and whose destination is set according to the country or region where the device is used,
A non-volatile memory that stores a firmware program, setting data instructing different processing for each destination in the firmware program, and destination data set for the device, and the program stored at the time of device operation is executed Sex storage means,
When the device is controlled by the firmware program stored in the storage unit and the firmware program stored in the storage unit is updated by the update program acquired by the device, the setting data includes: An electronic apparatus comprising: control means for storing in the storage means only setting data for destination set in the apparatus. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein
Electronic data, wherein the destination data stored in advance in the storage means is restricted so that the control means cannot be rewritten. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein
The electronic device, wherein the storage means for storing the firmware program and the storage means for storing the setting data are different storage means. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein
It has an input unit that receives or inputs data from outside,
An electronic device, wherein the update program and setting data input to the input unit are acquired by being stored in a predetermined storage medium in the device.

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