Method for updating firmware of electronic device and program for updating firmware of electronic device

Abstract

To provide a firmware update method for electronic devices, configured to guard firmware files for new and old models of electronic devices so as to prevent improper update.SOLUTION: A firmware update method for electronic devices is configured to allow firmware to be updated on the condition of matches between records of identification information in firmware files. A firmware file for a new model of an electronic device includes a record of second identification information in addition to a record of first identification information which is identical with a record of identification information of a firmware file for an old model. Firmware for the new model of the electronic device can be updated on the condition of using the records of the first and second identification information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for updating firmware for an electronic device and a program for updating firmware for an electronic device. [Background technology]

[0002] Software (programs) for controlling the computer system of the hardware built into electronic devices are called firmware. This firmware is written in advance into the memory built into the electronic device and then built into the electronic device. Recently, with the advent of flash memory, it has become possible to update (rewrite) firmware simply by electronic operations, making it relatively easy to update (upgrade) electronic devices after they are shipped (see, for example, Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication 2005-63050A)).

[0003] In this specification, firmware does not only refer to software, but also includes circuit information used in a PLD (Programmable Logic Device (including an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Allay))). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-63050 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Motorola's S-record format is often used as a firmware file format. S-record format files convey binary information in ASCII hexadecimal text format (strings).

[0006] Figure 6 shows the structure of a file in the S record format, and the file is made up of nine types of records: S0 record, which is a header record, S1 / S2 / S3 records, which are data records, S5 / S6 records, which are records indicating the number of records (count), and S7 / S8 / S9 records, which are end records. The record structure, as shown in Figure 7, consists of a record type, number of bytes, address, data, and checksum. The record type consists of two characters, the letter S and a number from 0 to 9, and indicates which type of record it is.

[0007] Files in the S record format are imported record by record and processed sequentially. The first record in an S record format file, the S0 record (a record with a record type of S0), has a file name and comments inserted as data. In a firmware file for an electronic device, the S0 record data contains a character string such as the model name. That is, in a firmware file for an electronic device, the S0 record can be used as identification information for identifying which model it is.

[0008] Therefore, when updating firmware, the S0 record, which serves as identification information for the model of the electronic device, is checked against the updating firmware file (updated firmware file) and the firmware file to be updated (the firmware file before the update), and if the two match, the update is carried out and the contents of the flash memory are rewritten with the S1 / S2 / S3 records, which are the data records of the new updating firmware file.

[0009] However, even if the model is the same, new models often appear that have a different computer system configuration from the previous models. In such cases, the firmware files for the new model and the old model will be different, so when updating, it is necessary to prevent the firmware file of the old model electronic device from being updated with the update firmware file for the new model, or the firmware file of the new model electronic device from being updated with the update firmware file for the old model.

[0010] In the case of a method of performing an update on the condition that the S0 records match as described above, a simple way to protect against incorrect updates to the firmware files of new and old models of electronic devices as described above could be to change the contents of the S0 records of the firmware files for the new and old models of electronic devices so that they are different from each other.

[0011] However, when the S0 record is not used only as a condition for determining whether or not an update firmware file can be updated, but is used in common for an old model and a new model for different purposes, there are cases where the S0 record cannot be changed. For example, there are cases where the S0 record is used in common for a firmware file of a new model and a firmware file of an old model as information for starting an update execution application software for executing an update. In such cases, the S0 record must be the same for the new model and the old model, and cannot be simply changed.

[0012] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to prevent erroneous updating of firmware files for new and old models of electronic devices while avoiding the above problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] In order to solve the above problems, the position indicator according to the present invention comprises: An electronic device that determines whether firmware updates are possible if the records of firmware file identification information match Firmware update device performs In the firmware update method, The firmware file of the new model of the electronic device includes, in addition to a record of first identification information that is the same as the record of identification information of the firmware file of the old model, The firmware for the new model providing a record of second identification information; determining that updating of the firmware file of the old model is not possible based on detection that a record of the first identification information and a record of the second identification information exist in a new firmware file for updating; When there is only one record of the identification information of the new firmware file to be updated, it is determined that the firmware file of the new model cannot be updated, and when a record of the first identification information and a record of the second identification information exist, it is determined that the firmware file to be updated can be updated based on the fact that the second identification information is identical to the identification information of the firmware file to be updated. The present invention provides a method for updating firmware for an electronic device.

[0014] According to the above-mentioned configuration of the electronic device firmware update method of the invention of claim 1, the identification information of the firmware file of the new model of the electronic device includes first identification information and second identification information, and the first identification information is the same as the identification information of the firmware file of the old model. Therefore, the first identification information that is the same for the old model and the new model can be used for purposes other than the condition for update permission judgment.

[0015] Furthermore, for a new model of electronic device, the conditions for updating the firmware file are set to use not only the first identification information but also the second identification information, so it is possible to permit updating of the firmware file of a new model of electronic device with an update firmware file for the new model while avoiding updating of the firmware file of the new model of electronic device with an update firmware file for the new model.

[0016] Furthermore, for an older model of electronic device, updating of the firmware file can be made impossible with the firmware file of a new model because there is only one identification information, the first identification information, or because the first identification information is different from the second identification information of the update firmware file for the new model. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to this invention, in addition to a record of first identification information that is identical to the record of identification information in the firmware file of the old model, a record of second identification information is added to the firmware file of a new model of electronic device.This makes it possible to use the same first identification information for both the old model and the new model for other purposes as conditions for determining whether to allow an update, while protecting the firmware files for the new and old models of electronic device from erroneous updates. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of a communication system to which an embodiment of a firmware updating method for an electronic device according to the present invention is applied; [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of an embodiment of a firmware updating method for an electronic device according to the present invention, and is a diagram for explaining a format of an example of an updated firmware file. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow of an update execution application for an old model electronic device. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow of an update execution application for a new model electronic device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining another example of a system configuration to which the embodiment of the firmware updating method for an electronic device according to the present invention is applied. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of a format of a firmware file of an electronic device. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of a format of a firmware file of an electronic device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the method for updating firmware for an electronic device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the example described below, the embodiment of the method for updating firmware for an electronic device according to the present invention is applied to updating a firmware file of an electronic device that constitutes a part of a communication system.

[0020] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a communication system including an electronic device to which an embodiment of a firmware update method for an electronic device according to the present invention is applied. In the example of the system configuration shown in FIG. 1, an electronic device 1 is connected to a communication network NW. The electronic device 1 is, for example, a terminal adapter, and a communication device (not shown) is connected under the electronic device 1.

[0021] In this example, there are old and new models of electronic devices 1, each of which is connected to a communication network NW. In the following description, in order to distinguish between the two, the old model electronic device 1 will be referred to as electronic device 1 (old) and the new model electronic device 1 will be referred to as electronic device 1 (new).

[0022] The electronic device 1 includes a control unit 10 including a processor, a communication unit 11 for communicating through a communication network NW, an electronic circuit 12, and a memory unit 13. The memory unit 13 stores firmware 131 for the control unit 10 and an application program (hereinafter, abbreviated as an update execution application) 132 for controlling the execution of updates of the firmware 131. 。 In this example, the electronic circuit 12 is provided between the communication unit 11 and a communication device (not shown) connected under the electronic device 1, and constitutes a communication control circuit. The control unit 10 uses firmware 131 in the memory unit 13 to control the electronic circuit 12 and perform communication control between the communication unit 11 and the communication device.

[0023] In this example, the firmware 131 and the update execution application 132 in the memory unit 13 are different between an old model and a new model of the electronic device 1. In this specification, therefore, in order to distinguish between the two, the firmware 131 and the update execution application 132 of the old model will be referred to as firmware 131 (old) and update execution application 132 (old), respectively, and the firmware 131 and the update execution application 13 of the new model will be referred to as firmware 131 (new) and update execution application 132 (new), respectively.

[0024] In the system of this example, an update firmware providing server (hereinafter, abbreviated as providing server) 2 is connected to the communication network NW. As shown in Fig. 1, the providing server 2 is provided with an old model update firmware file storage unit 21 in which an update firmware file for an old model electronic device 1 (old) is stored, and a new model update firmware file storage unit 22 in which an update firmware file for a new model electronic device 1 (new) is stored, as well as an update management unit 23.

[0025] For example, in response to an update request from the electronic device 1 (including both old and new models), the update management unit 23 of the providing server 2 downloads an update firmware file to the electronic device 1. In addition, the update management unit 23 of the providing server 2 may notify the electronic device 1 (including both old and new models) that a new update firmware file is available, and download the update firmware file.

[0026] Next, the formats of the firmware file for an old model and the firmware file for a new model used in the firmware update method for an electronic device of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The example in Fig. 2 is an example in which the firmware file format is the S record format. Fig. 2(A) shows an example of the format of the firmware file for an old model, and Fig. 2(B) shows an example of the format of the firmware file for a new model.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 2(A), in the firmware file for an old model, the first record is an S0 record serving as identification information consisting of a character string such as the model name of the electronic device 1. Then, in the firmware file for an old model, this single S0 record is followed by an S3 record which is a data record (the program body of the update firmware). The format of the update firmware file for an old model stored in the update firmware file storage unit 21 for old model is also the record format of Fig. 2(A).

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2B, in the firmware file of the new model, the first record is an S0 record as an example of first identification information consisting of a character string such as the model name of the electronic device 1, similar to the format of the firmware file of the old model. Then, in the firmware file of the new model, as shown in FIG. 2B, after the S0 record as an example of the first identification information, a second S0 record (on the second line) as an example of second identification information is provided. In this example, the content (character string) of this second S0 record is different from that of the first (first (first line)) S0 record, and consists of a character string indicating that it is a new model. Then, in the firmware file of the new model, after the second S0 record (on the second line) as an example of second identification information, an S3 record which is a data record (the program body of the updated firmware) follows.

[0029] That is, the firmware file for the new model has two S0 records with different contents at the beginning of the file. In this example, if there are two or more types of electronic devices 1 (new), the contents of the second S0 record will include a character string that differs according to the type of the new model. The format of the update firmware file for the new model stored in the update firmware file storage unit 22 for new model is similarly the record format of FIG. 2(B).

[0030] 2A in the file format of firmware 131(old) of electronic device 1(old) is stored in memory unit 13 at the time of shipment from the factory. In addition, update execution application 132(old) is also stored in memory unit 13 at the time of shipment from the factory.

[0031] The update execution application 132 (old) determines whether to execute an update based on a match of the S0 record. This update execution application (old) is used as is even after the electronic device 1 (new) appears.

[0032] As described later, when the electronic device 1 (old) receives an update firmware file for a new model, the update execution application 132 (old) determines that the update is not possible because the S0 record in the second entry (second line) of the update firmware file for the new model does not match the S0 record in the file of firmware 131 (old) in the memory unit 13.

[0033] In other words, the format of the firmware file for the new model shown in FIG. 2(B) is configured so that the firmware 131(old) of the electronic device 1(old) cannot be updated even if the update execution application 132(old) is used as is.

[0034] 2B in the file format of the record format of the firmware 131(new) of the electronic device 1(new) is also stored in the memory unit 13 at the time of shipment from the factory. In addition, the update execution application 132(new) is also stored in the memory unit 13 at the time of shipment from the factory.

[0035] As described later, this update execution application 132 (new) has a processing sequence different from that of the update execution application 132 (old), which determines whether or not to execute an update based on a match between both of the two S0 records. As described later, when the electronic device 1 (new) receives an update firmware file for an old model, the update execution application 132 (new) determines that the update is not possible based on the fact that the update firmware file does not have the second S0 record.

[0036] [Update process by update execution application 132 (old) for electronic device 1 (old)] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining an example of the flow of update processing by the update execution application 132 (old) of the electronic device 1 (old). Note that the processing of each step of the flowchart in Fig. 3 is performed by the control unit 10 of the electronic device 1 (old) executing the update execution application 132 (old), so in the following explanation, the processing of each step will be explained as being performed by the update execution application 132 (old).

[0037] The update execution application 132 (old) reads the first record of the update firmware file downloaded from the provision server 2 (step S101), and determines what the read record is (step S102).

[0038] If it is determined in step S102 that the read record is other than the S0 record, the update execution application 132 (old) determines that the downloaded update firmware is not an update firmware file for the electronic device 1 and therefore the update is not possible (step S103), and ends this processing routine. Note that in step S103, after determining that the update is not possible, the provision server 2 may be notified that the update is not possible.

[0039] When it is determined in step S102 that the read record is an S0 record, the update execution application 132 (old) determines whether the firmware 131 of the electronic device 1 (old) is an update-permitted target based on whether the model name indicated by the character string of the S0 record matches the S0 record of the file of the firmware 131 (old) in the memory unit 13 (step S104).

[0040] In step S104, if it is determined that the model name indicated by the character string of the read S0 record does not match the S0 record of the file of the firmware 131 (old) and the electronic device 1 (old) is not subject to update permission, the update execution application 131 (old) shifts the process to step S103, determines that the update is not permitted, and ends this processing routine.

[0041] Furthermore, in step S104, if it is determined that the model name indicated by the character string of the read S0 record matches the S0 record in the file of the firmware 131 (old) and the local electronic device 1 (old) is an update-permitted target, the update execution application 132 (old) reads the next record (the record on the second line) (step S105) and determines what the next record that was read is (step S106).

[0042] In step S106, if it is determined that the next record read is other than the S0 record (in this example, the S3 record), the update execution application 132 (old) determines that the downloaded update firmware is an update firmware file for the electronic device 1 (old) and therefore the update is permitted, reads the records following the S3 record, and executes the update of firmware 131 (old).

[0043] Furthermore, when it is determined in step S106 that the next record read is an S0 record (second S0 record), the update execution application 132 (old) returns the process to step S104 and determines whether the firmware 131 of the own electronic device 1 (old) is an update-permitted target based on whether the model name indicated by the character string in the second S0 record matches the S0 record in the file of the firmware 131 (old).

[0044] Here, the second S0 record exists in the update firmware file for the electronic device 1 (new), and the content of the character string of the second S0 record indicates a new model, so this second S0 record does not match the S0 record of the file of the firmware 131 (old) of the electronic device 1 (old). Therefore, in this step S104, the update execution application 132 (old) determines that the model name indicated by the character string of the second S0 record does not match the S0 record of the file of the firmware 131 (old), moves the process from step S104 to step S103, determines that the update is not possible, and ends this processing routine.

[0045] [Update process by update execution application 132 (new) for electronic device 1 (new)] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining an example of the flow of update processing by the update execution application 132(new) of the electronic device 1(new). Note that the processing of each step of the flowchart in Fig. 4 is performed by the control unit 10 of the electronic device 1(new) executing the update execution application 132(new), so in the following explanation, the processing subject of each step will be explained as the update execution application 132(new).

[0046] The update execution application 132 (new) reads the first record (the record on the first line) of the update firmware file downloaded from the provision server 2 (step S201), and determines what the read record is (step S202).

[0047] If it is determined in step S202 that the read record is other than the S0 record, the update execution application 132 (new) determines that the downloaded update firmware is not an update firmware file for the electronic device 1 and therefore the update is not possible (step S203), and ends this processing routine. Note that in step S203, after determining that the update is not possible, the provision server 2 may be notified that the update is not possible.

[0048] When it is determined in step S202 that the read record is an S0 record, the update execution application 132 (new) determines whether the S0 record is the first record (first line) or the second record (second line) (step S204).

[0049] If it is determined in step S204 that the S0 record is the first one (first line), the update execution application 132 (new) determines whether the firmware 131 of the electronic device 1 (new) is an update-permitted target based on whether the model name indicated by the character string in the S0 record matches the first S0 record (first line) in the file of the firmware 131 (new) (step S205).

[0050] In step S205, if it is determined that the model name indicated by the character string of the first S0 record (first line) read does not match the S0 record of the first file (first line) of the firmware 131 (new) and the electronic device 1 (new) is not subject to update permission, the update execution application 132 (new) transitions the process to step S203, determines that the update is not permitted, and ends this processing routine.

[0051] Furthermore, in step S205, if it is determined that the model name indicated by the character string of the read S0 record matches the first S0 record (first line) of the file of the firmware 131 (new) and the electronic device 1 (new) is an update-permitted target, the update execution application 132 (new) reads the next record (step S206) and returns the process to step S202.

[0052] Then, if it is determined in step S202 that the record is other than an S0 record (in this example, an S3 record), the downloaded update firmware file is an update firmware for electronic device 1 (old) which has only one S0 record, and is not an update firmware file for electronic device 1 (new), so the update execution application 132 (new) transitions the process from step S202 to step S203, determines that the update is not possible, and ends this processing routine.

[0053] Furthermore, when it is determined in step S202 that the record is an S0 record, the update execution application 132 (new) advances the process to step S204, where it determines whether the S0 record is the first record (first line) or the second record (second line).

[0054] When it is determined in step S204 that the S0 record is the second S0 record (second line), the update execution application 132 (new) determines whether the firmware 131 (new) of the electronic device 1 (new) is an update-permitted target based on whether the model name indicated by the character string in the second S0 record (second line) matches the second S0 record (second line) of the file of the firmware 131 (new) in the memory unit 13 (step S207).

[0055] In step S207, if it is determined that the model name indicated by the character string in the second S0 record (second line) does not match the second S0 record (second line) in the file of the firmware 131 (new) and the firmware 131 of the electronic device 1 (new) is not subject to update permission, the update execution application 132 (new) transitions the process from step S207 to step S203, determines that the update is not permitted, and terminates this processing routine.

[0056] Furthermore, in step S207, if it is determined that the model name indicated by the character string in the second (second line) S0 record matches the second (second line) S0 record in the file of firmware 131 (new) and the firmware 131 of the electronic device 1 (new) is permitted to be updated, the update execution application 132 (new) determines that the update is permitted, reads the record next to the second (second line) S0 record, in this example the records after the S3 record, and executes the update of the firmware 131 (new).

[0057] As described above, in the firmware update method according to this embodiment, the configuration of the update firmware file for the electronic device 1 (old) is not changed, but the update firmware file for the electronic device 1 (new) is configured to have two S0 records (two lines).

[0058] As a result, the update execution application 132(old) can update the update firmware file for the electronic device 1(old) without any problems, and can block the update of the update firmware file for the electronic device 1(new) so that the update is not performed, as shown in Fig. 3. Moreover, in this case, there is an advantage that the update execution application 132(old) of the memory unit 13 of the electronic device 1(old) that was provided to the market before the appearance of the electronic device 1(new) can be used as is without modification.

[0059] In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the update execution application 132 (new) can execute the update of the update firmware file for the electronic device 1 (new) without any problems, and can block the update of the update firmware file for the electronic device 1 (old) so that the update is not performed.

[0060] Furthermore, the first S0 record (first line) of the update firmware file is the same for both the old model and the new model, so this first S0 record (first line) can be used in common for other purposes for electronic device 1 (old) and electronic device 1 (new).

[0061] 3, when there is a second S0 record (second line), the second S0 record (second line) does not match the S0 record of the file of firmware 131(old) in memory unit 13 of electronic device 1(old), and therefore update execution of the update firmware file for electronic device 1(new) in electronic device 1(old) is blocked. However, update execution application 131(old) for electronic device 1(old) may be configured to determine, when determining the second S0 record (second line), that the update firmware file is an update firmware file for electronic device 1(new) and not for electronic device 1(old), without determining whether the S0 records match or not.

[0062] 4, when it is determined that the model name of the first S0 record (first line) of the update firmware file is an update permitted target, the second S0 record (second line) is read, and when it is determined that the read record is not an S0 record, it is determined that the update firmware file is an update firmware file for the electronic device 1 (old) and cannot be updated, but this is equivalent to determining that the update firmware file is an update firmware file for the electronic device 1 (old) and cannot be updated based on the absence of the second S0 record (second line) in the update firmware file. Therefore, the update execution application 132 (new) for the electronic device 1 (new) may be configured to monitor whether the update firmware file has only one S0 record or whether there are two S0 records, and if there are not two S0 records, it may determine that the update firmware file is an update firmware file for the electronic device 1 (old) and cannot be updated.

[0063] In the above example, the electronic device 1 is configured to be constantly connected to the communication network NW, such as a terminal adapter, and to receive the update firmware file by downloading it from the providing server device 2 via the communication network NW. However, it goes without saying that the method of providing the update firmware file to the electronic device 1 is not limited to such a communication method.

[0064] The example shown in FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a configuration in which an update firmware file is provided from an external storage memory, in this example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.

[0065] 5 includes a connector 14 into which a USB memory 3 is inserted. The connector 14 is connected to a control unit 10A including a processor or the like. In the electronic device 1A(old) and electronic device 1A(new) of this example, the control unit 10A controls the electronic circuit 12A using firmware 131(old) or firmware 131(new) of the memory unit 13 to perform predetermined control, as in the electronic device 1(old) and electronic device 1(new) described above.

[0066] Then, the control unit 10A uses the update execution application 132 (old) or the update execution application 132 (new) in the memory unit 13 to determine whether or not to execute update processing for the update firmware file imported from the USB memory 3 by processing the flowcharts shown in Figures 3 and 4 described above, and performs processing according to the result of the determination.

[0067] Needless to say, the external storage memory is not limited to a USB memory, but may be a memory card such as an SD card.

[0068] [Modifications of the above embodiment] Although the above embodiment has been described for the case where the firmware file is in the S record format, the present invention is also applicable to updating firmware files in other formats, not limited to the S record format, as long as the firmware file has a record of file identification information such as an S0 record and has a format for processing files on a record-by-record basis.

[0069] In the above embodiment, the first S0 record (first line) as an example of the first identification information and the second S0 record (second line) as an example of the second identification information are configured to be different, but if there is only one new model electronic device, the first S0 record (first line) and the second S0 record (second line) may be the same. In that case, however, the update execution application (old) determines whether there is one or two S0 records, and if there are two, it does not allow updating as an update firmware file for the new model electronic device, and the update execution application (new) also determines whether there is one or two S0 records, and if there is only one, it does not allow updating as an update firmware file for the old model electronic device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 1...electronic device, 1 (old)...old model electronic device, 1 (new)...new model electronic device, 2...update firmware providing server, 3...USB memory, 10, 10A...control unit, 11...communication unit, 12, 12A...electronic circuit, 13...memory unit, 14...connector, 21...update firmware file storage unit for old model, 22...update firmware file storage unit for new model, 23...update management unit, 131 (old), 131 (new)...firmware, 132 (old), 132 (new)...update execution application

Claims

1. 2. A firmware updating method performed by a firmware updating device of an electronic device in which a condition for determining whether a firmware update is permitted is a match between records of identification information of a firmware file, a record of second identification information of the firmware for the new model of the electronic device is provided in addition to a record of first identification information identical to a record of identification information of the firmware file for the old model of the electronic device; determining that updating of the firmware file of the old model is not possible based on detection that a record of the first identification information and a record of the second identification information exist in a new firmware file for updating; Based on the existence of only one record of the identification information of the new firmware file for updating, it is determined that updating of the firmware file for the new model is not possible, and when a record of the first identification information and a record of the second identification information exist, it is determined that updating of the firmware file to be updated is possible based on the fact that the second identification information is identical to the identification information of the firmware file to be updated. Firmware updating method for an electronic device comprising:

2. A firmware updating method performed by a firmware updating device of an electronic device in which a match of records of identification information of a firmware file is a condition for determining whether a firmware update is permitted, comprising: a record of second identification information of the firmware for the new model of the electronic device is provided in addition to a record of first identification information identical to a record of identification information of the firmware file for the old model of the electronic device; When a record of the first identification information and a record of the second identification information exist in a new firmware file for updating, it is determined that updating of the firmware file to be updated is not possible based on the fact that the second identification information is different from the identification information of the firmware file to be updated. Firmware updating method for an electronic device comprising:

3. A firmware updating method performed by a firmware updating device of an electronic device in which a match of records of identification information of a firmware file is a condition for determining whether a firmware update is permitted, comprising: a record of second identification information of the firmware for the new model of the electronic device is provided in addition to a record of first identification information identical to a record of identification information of the firmware file for the old model of the electronic device; Based on detection of the existence of a record of the first identification information and a record of the second identification information in a new firmware file for updating, it is determined that updating of the firmware file of the old model is not possible. Firmware updating method for an electronic device comprising:

4. A firmware updating method performed by a firmware updating device of an electronic device in which a match of records of identification information of a firmware file is a condition for determining whether a firmware update is permitted, comprising: a record of second identification information of the firmware for the new model of the electronic device is provided in addition to a record of first identification information identical to a record of identification information of the firmware file for the old model of the electronic device; Based on the fact that there is only one record of the identification information of the new firmware file for updating, it is determined that updating of the firmware file for the new model is not possible. Firmware updating method for an electronic device comprising:

5. The first identification information and the second identification information are different 5. The method for updating firmware of an electronic device according to claim 1.

6. A computer included in a firmware update device of an electronic device, the firmware update being determined to be possible when a match is made between records of identification information of a firmware file, a record reading means for reading a record of a new firmware file for updating; a first determination means for determining whether the read record is an identification information record; a second discrimination means for discriminating whether the read record of the identification information is a first record or a second record when the discrimination result of the first discrimination means is a record of the identification information; a third determination means for determining, when the second determination means determines that the record of the identification information is the first one, whether or not the record coincides with the first record of the identification information of the firmware to be updated; a fourth determination means for determining, when the second determination means determines that the identification information is second, whether or not the record of the second identification information of the firmware to be updated matches; A program for causing the device to function as a When the third determination means determines that the identification information matches, and when the fourth determination means determines that the identification information matches, it is determined that the firmware file to be updated can be updated. Firmware update program for an electronic device.

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