Information processing device, firmware update method, image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus that can reduce downtime occurring due to update of firmware.SOLUTION: The present invention is an information processing apparatus having a controller and an operation unit. The controller has a first update unit that updates firmware of the controller. The operation unit has a second update unit that updates firmware of the operation unit while causing the operation unit to maintain its operation. The first update unit and the second update unit update the firmware in parallel in at least some time period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , , , , , , ,

[0005]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a firmware update method, and an image forming apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] An information processing apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a multifunction peripheral executes a plurality of firmware for controlling a controller, an operation unit, a print engine that performs image formation, a FAX engine, a finisher, and the like. By updating these firmware on the user side after shipment, it is possible to improve the functions of the information processing apparatus even after shipment.

[0003] A technique for performing parallel updates of a plurality of firmware is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for simultaneously updating each firmware in parallel and displaying the progress of the update process for each firmware in real time.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the prior art, since user operations during firmware update are restricted, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce downtime. That is, the conventional technique controls so as not to operate other than the update program, and then performs parallel rewriting of each firmware. During the update, the user can hardly operate the information processing apparatus. In addition, since firmware must be updated in parallel in consideration of the cooperative operation between functions, it is likely that the speedup is restricted.

[0005] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of reducing downtime caused by firmware update.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus having a controller and an operation unit, wherein the controller is a first update unit for updating the firmware of the controller. The system includes a first update control unit that controls the firmware update procedure, and a notification unit that notifies the operation unit that the firmware update of the controller has started. The operation unit has a second update unit that updates the firmware of the operation unit while the operation unit is running, and the first update unit and the second update unit each update the firmware in parallel for at least a portion of the time. Upon receiving notification that the update has started, the second update unit starts updating the firmware of the operation unit while the operation unit is still running. It is characterized by the following: [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] We can provide an information processing device that can reduce downtime caused by firmware updates. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is an example of a basic configuration diagram for an image forming apparatus. [Figure 2] This is an example of a hardware configuration diagram for an image forming apparatus. [Figure 3] This is an example of a functional block diagram that explains the functions of an image forming apparatus in terms of firmware updates, by dividing them into blocks. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates how to update the firmware of the control panel using seamless updates. [Figure 5] This is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating the operation or process in which the controller and the control unit update their firmware in parallel. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of an update banner screen displayed during a firmware update on a controller. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of a function restriction notification screen displayed by the display control unit when a user inputs an operation that is unavailable during a controller firmware update. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of a notification screen displayed by the display control unit when the firmware update for the control unit is completed. [Figure 9]This figure shows an example of the update completion restart screen displayed by the display control unit after the operation unit has been restarted. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of downtime when using the sequential update method described in Step 1. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example of downtime when using the sequential update method described in Step 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus and a firmware update method performed by the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings as an example of an embodiment for carrying out the present invention.

[0010] <Example of firmware update method> First, a firmware update method based on several steps will be explained with reference to Figure 1. Figure 1 is a basic configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 200. The image forming apparatus 200 is controlled as a whole by the controller 100. The controller 100 has a CPU 101, an ASIC 102, a DRAM 103, an SSD (Solid State Drive) 104, an NVRAM 105, an SD card I / F 107, a USB I / F 106, and an HDD 112. An SD card 109 is inserted into the SD card I / F 107, and a USB memory 108 is inserted into the USB I / F 106.

[0011] Furthermore, the controller 100 is connected to the operation unit 110 and the engine 111 via a serial interface such as a USB cable. The operation unit 110 has a touch panel and a keyboard, displays an operation screen, and accepts input from the user. The engine 111 performs processing related to the functions of the image forming apparatus 200, such as the print engine, scanner engine, and fax engine.

[0012] The operation unit 110 has an eMMC 120 (embedded Multi Media Card), and the controller 100 has an HDD 112. The OS, firmware, and applications (hereinafter referred to as apps) of the operation unit 110 are stored in the eMMC 120. The OS and firmware of the controller 100 are stored in the HDD 112.

[0013] In this way, the firmware operates on different OSs for the operation unit 110 and the controller 100 respectively. Therefore, the operation unit 110 and the controller 100 are independent devices, and the operation unit 110 can display an operation screen and receive inputs from the user independently of the controller 100. The reason for mounting the HDD 112 on the controller side is that it serves as data storage such as print data, so an HDD 112 with a large capacity and high fault tolerance is preferred. On the other hand, since the operation unit 110 mainly serves as a user interface, an eMMC 120 with excellent read / write speed for ensuring operability is mounted. However, an SSD or eMMC may be mounted on the controller 100, or an SSD or HDD may be mounted on the operation unit 110.

[0014] The following procedure 1 for updating the firmware of the operation unit 110 and the controller 100 respectively can be considered for the image forming apparatus 200.

[0015] (1) The user instructs the controller 100 to update the firmware. The user may instruct the update via a network from a terminal device such as a PC (Personal Computer), or may instruct the update by operating the operation unit 110.

[0016] (2) The user copies a compressed file (referred to as a package) containing the firmware of the operation unit 110 and the controller 100 respectively to the HDD 112. The user may download the compressed file from the network or copy it from an SD card or the like.

[0017] (3) When the OS of the controller 100 finishes copying the package, it deploys the package on the HDD 112.

[0018] (4) Thereafter, the OS of the controller 100 updates the firmware of the controller 100 using the deployed files.

[0019] (5) After the update is completed, the OS of the controller transfers the firmware and applications of the operation unit 110 from the HDD 112 to the eMMC 120 of the operation unit 110.

[0020] (6) The operation unit 110 first updates the applications.

[0021] (7) Thereafter, the operation unit 110 performs a reboot and starts in a dedicated update mode called the recovery mode (without operating unnecessary modules and without user operation).

[0022] (8) In the recovery mode, the OS of the operation unit 110 updates the firmware of the operation unit 110.

[0023] (9) Thereafter, the OS of the operation unit 110 performs a reboot again and starts with the new firmware of the operation unit 110.

[0024] In this update procedure 1, the firmware update of the controller 100 and the firmware update of the operation unit 110 are performed sequentially (sequentially).

[0025] Next, a procedure 2 for performing the firmware update of the controller 100 and the firmware update of the operation unit 110 in parallel (parallel) will be described.

[0026] (1) The user instructs the controller 100 to update the firmware. The user may instruct the update via a network from a terminal device such as a PC (Personal Computer), or may instruct the update by operating the operation unit 110.

[0027] (2) The user copies the compressed files (referred to as packages) containing the firmware for the operation unit 110 and the controller 100 to the HDD 112. The user may download the compressed files from the network or copy them from an SD card or the like.

[0028] (3) Once the OS of controller 100 has finished copying the packages, it unpacks the packages on HDD 112.

[0029] (4) Next, the OS of the controller 100 first transfers the firmware and applications of the control unit 110 from the HDD 112 to the eMMC 120 of the control unit 110.

[0030] (5) After the transfer is complete, the OS of the controller 100 notifies the operation unit 110 that the controller 100 has started updating.

[0031] (6) The controller 100 updates its own firmware.

[0032] (7) The control unit 110 starts updating the firmware in parallel with the controller 100, utilizing redundancy that allows multiple operating systems to process independently. The control unit 110 updates its firmware using a method that updates the firmware while the control unit 110 is running (seamless update technology). In other words, the user can operate the control unit 110 even while the firmware is being updated.

[0033] (8) Furthermore, the OS of the control unit 110 updates the application.

[0034] (9) After the OS of the controller 100 has finished updating its own firmware, it notifies the operation unit 110 that the update of the controller 100 is complete.

[0035] (10) After that, the control unit 110 reboots again and starts up with the new firmware for the control unit 110.

[0036] According to Procedure 2, the application update for the control unit 110, the firmware update for the control unit 110, and the firmware update for the controller 100 can be performed in parallel, reducing the update time. Furthermore, the time required for rebooting when transitioning to recovery mode can also be reduced. Therefore, the update time for multiple firmwares—the firmware of the controller 100, the firmware of the control unit 110, and the application update for the control unit 110—can be limited by the longest update time.

[0037] In Step 2, a seamless update is employed, so the user can operate the control unit 110 even while the firmware or application of the control unit 110 is being updated as shown in Step 2 (6) to (8). In Step 1, the control unit 110 enters recovery mode, preventing unnecessary modules from operating and making it unusable by the user.

[0038] In step 2, since the controller 100 is executing (6) in parallel with (7) and (8), the update of the controller 100 is not yet complete. If a user performs an operation using the controller 100 (copy, scan, etc.) from the operation unit 110, the controller's functions may not be available, and unintended malfunctions may occur.

[0039] Therefore, when the controller 100 starts and finishes a firmware update, the controller 100 notifies the operation unit 110, which determines that applications using the controller 100 cannot be used during that period. If the operation unit 110 detects user input to execute an application, it displays a screen indicating that it is temporarily unavailable. Furthermore, once the operation unit 110 receives notification from the controller 100 that the update has finished, it makes all functions available.

[0040] If the control unit 110 handles these operations, the user will not be unable to use all functions, and processes that can be completed solely by the control unit 110, such as checking and changing settings on the control unit 110, will not be affected, thus maximizing the benefits of seamless updates.

[0041] As described above, the image forming apparatus 200 of this embodiment performs firmware updates for the controller 100 and the operation unit 110 in parallel. Furthermore, since the user can use functions that do not utilize the controller 100 via the operation unit 110 even while the controller 100's firmware is being updated, the user's downtime during the firmware update can be reduced.

[0042] <About Terminology> Firmware is a type of software embedded in information processing devices and electronic equipment, and it is a program that controls the basic functions of the internal circuits and devices. Because firmware is permanently embedded within the device and closely linked to the internal hardware, and its contents are generally not changed during normal use or operation, the term "firm" (meaning rigid or fixed) is used to describe software that is similar in nature to hardware. Due to its function of controlling basic functions, firmware can sometimes refer to a system program.

[0043] "Keeping the control unit operational" means that the control unit is activated and in a state where the user can operate it.

[0044] Downtime is the period of time during which a user is unable to use an information processing device at all.

[0045] <Example Hardware Configuration> Figure 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 200. The image forming apparatus 200 shown in Figure 2 illustrates a detailed configuration in addition to the main configuration shown in Figure 1. Also, some of the configurations shown in Figure 1 have been omitted in Figure 2.

[0046] As shown in Figure 2, the image forming apparatus 200 includes a controller 100, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control unit 930, an operating unit 110, and a network interface 950.

[0047] Of these, the controller 100 includes the main components of the computer: the CPU 101, system memory (MEM-P) 902, northbridge (NB) 903, southbridge (SB) 904, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 906, local memory (MEM-C) 907 (storage unit), HDD controller 908, and HDD 112 (storage unit). The NB 903 and ASIC 102 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 921.

[0048] Of these, the CPU 101 is a control unit that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 200. The NB903 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 101 with the MEM-P902, SB904, and AGP bus 921, and has a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P902, as well as a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master and an AGP target.

[0049] The MEM-P902 consists of a ROM 902a, which is a memory for storing programs and data that realize each function of the controller 100, and a RAM 902b, which is used for program and data deployment and drawing during memory printing. The programs stored in RAM 902b may be configured to be provided as installable or executable files recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray®.

[0050] SB904 is a bridge for connecting NB903 to PCI devices and peripheral devices. ASIC102 is an integrated circuit (IC) for image processing applications that has hardware elements for image processing, and acts as a bridge connecting the AGP bus 921, PCI bus 922, HDD controller 908, and MEM-C907, respectively. This ASIC102 consists of a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of ASIC102, a memory controller that controls MEM-C907, multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that perform image data rotation using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that performs data transfer via PCI bus 922 between the scanner unit 931 and the printer unit 932. Note that ASIC102 may have a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface.

[0051] MEM-C907 is local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. HDD112 is storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, and forms. HDD112 controls data reading or writing to HDD112 according to the control of CPU101. AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for graphics accelerator cards proposed to speed up graphics processing, and by directly accessing MEM-P902 with high throughput, the graphics accelerator card can be made faster.

[0052] Furthermore, the short-range communication circuit 920 is equipped with an antenna 920a for the short-range communication circuit. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit such as NFC or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0053] Furthermore, the engine control unit 930 is composed of a scanner unit 931 and a printer unit 932. The operation unit 110 includes a panel display unit 110a, such as a touch panel, which displays current settings and selection screens and accepts input from the operator, and a hard key 110b consisting of a numeric keypad that accepts setting values ​​for image formation conditions such as density settings and a start key that accepts copy start instructions. The controller 100 controls the entire image forming apparatus 200, for example, controlling drawing, communication, and input from the operation unit 110. The scanner unit 931 or the printer unit 932 includes image processing parts such as error diffusion and gamma conversion.

[0054] The image forming apparatus 200 can be sequentially switched and selected between the document box function, copy function, printer function, and facsimile function using the application switching key on the operation unit 110. When the document box function is selected, the image forming apparatus 200 enters document box mode; when the copy function is selected, it enters copy mode; when the printer function is selected, it enters printer mode; and when the facsimile mode is selected, it enters facsimile mode.

[0055] Furthermore, the network interface 950 is an interface for data communication using network N3. The short-range communication circuit 920 and the network interface 950 are electrically connected to the ASIC 102 via the PCI bus 922.

[0056] <About the functions of the image forming apparatus> Next, the functions of the image forming apparatus 200 will be explained with reference to Figure 3. Figure 3 is an example of a functional block diagram that explains the functions of the image forming apparatus 200 related to firmware updates, divided into blocks.

[0057] The controller 100 of the image forming apparatus 200 includes a first update control unit 11, a first update unit 12, and a notification unit 13. Each of these functional units of the controller 100 is a function or means realized by any of the components shown in Figure 2 operating according to instructions from the CPU 101 that follow the OS (or just a program) deployed from the HDD 112 to the RAM 902b.

[0058] The first update control unit 11 controls the firmware update process on the controller side. Controlling the update process means updating the firmware of the controller 100 in accordance with the procedure 2 described above, and requesting the operation unit 110 to update the firmware.

[0059] The first update unit 12 updates the firmware of the controller 100 using the firmware of the controller 100 stored in the first firmware data storage unit 19.

[0060] The notification unit 13 notifies the operation unit 110 from the controller 100 when the controller 100 starts updating its own firmware and when it finishes updating it.

[0061] Furthermore, a first firmware data storage unit 19 is constructed on the HDD 112 of the image forming apparatus 200. The first firmware data storage unit 19 stores compressed files (referred to as packages) containing the firmware for the operation unit 110 (application and firmware) and the controller 100, respectively. The packages are then unpacked, so the application and firmware for the operation unit 110 and the firmware for the controller 100 are stored in the first firmware data storage unit 19. The firmware can be downloaded by the user from the network or copied from an SD card or the like.

[0062] The operation unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 200 includes a second update control unit 21, a second update unit 22, an operation reception unit 23, and a display control unit 24. Each of these functional units of the operation unit 110 is a function or means realized by the operation unit 110 shown in Figure 2 operating according to instructions from the CPU of the operation unit 110, which is based on the OS (or simply a program) of the operation unit 110 stored in the eMMC 120.

[0063] The second update control unit 21 controls the firmware update process for the operation unit 110. The update process for the operation unit 110 is a seamless update that updates the firmware while the operation unit 110 is running. Details will be described later in Figure 4.

[0064] The second update unit 22 updates the application (for updating) and firmware of the operation unit 110 using the application (for updating) and firmware of the operation unit 110 stored in the second firmware data storage unit 29 (transferred from the controller).

[0065] The operation reception unit 23 accepts various operations for the operation unit 110. Furthermore, the operation reception unit 23 restricts user operations from the time it receives notification that the controller 100 has started updating the firmware until it receives notification that it has finished (hereinafter referred to as the restriction period). In other words, during the restriction period, the operation reception unit 23 only accepts operations that do not use the functions of the controller 100.

[0066] The display control unit 24 displays that only some functions are available during the restricted period, as well as the remaining time required for the update. Furthermore, if a user attempts to use a function of the controller 100 during the restricted period, the display control unit 24 displays that the function is temporarily unavailable.

[0067] Furthermore, a second firmware data storage unit 29 is constructed in the eMMC 120 of the operation unit 110. The second firmware data storage unit 29 stores the application and firmware of the operation unit 110 that have been transferred from the controller 100.

[0068] <Seamless Updates> Next, we will explain seamless updates with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating how to update the firmware of the control unit 110 using seamless updates.

[0069] As shown in Figure 4(a), the control unit 110 is equipped with multiple firmwares A and B. Firmwares A and B are functionally equivalent system firmwares, but they are of different versions. The version differences arise naturally through seamless updates. While Figure 4(a) shows two firmwares, there may be three or more. The versions of firmwares A and B before the update are as follows:

[0070] Firmware A: Version 1.0 Firmware B: Version 0.9 Seamless updates allow the user to update the firmware of the control unit 110 while the control unit 110 is available for use. Therefore, when the control unit 110 starts up, it starts one of two firmware versions, A or B (preferably the newer version). Figure 4(a) shows firmware A (an example of the first firmware) being started.

[0071] Next, as shown in Figure 4(b), when updating the firmware of the operation unit 110, the second update unit 22 updates the firmware B (an example of the second firmware) that is not running in the background. Background means that the process is carried out while prioritizing the execution of the application (while ensuring that the application is running).

[0072] Therefore, the firmware B version was updated as follows:

[0073] Firmware B: Version 0.9 → 1.1 Then, the next time the control unit 110 starts up, it changes the firmware it starts up to the newer version (the last updated firmware). Since the newer version is firmware B, the control unit 110 starts firmware B, as shown in Figure 4(c). The control unit 110 does not start firmware A.

[0074] This allows the control unit 110 to receive firmware updates without causing any downtime. The next time the control unit 110 receives a firmware update, firmware A will be updated.

[0075] <Firmware update operation or process> Next, with reference to Figure 5, the operation or process by which the image forming apparatus 200 updates its firmware will be described. Figure 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation or process by which the controller 100 and the operation unit 110 update their firmware in parallel.

[0076] S1: First, the user instructs the controller 100 to update the firmware. The user may instruct the update via the network from a terminal device such as a PC (Personal Computer), or by operating the operation unit 110. Figure 5 shows the case via the network. The user copies a compressed file containing the application and firmware of the operation unit 110 and the firmware of the controller 100 to the HDD 112 (the compressed file is stored in the first firmware data storage unit 19). The user may download the compressed file from the network or copy it from an SD card, etc.

[0077] S2: The first update control unit 11 of the controller 100 unpacks the package in the first firmware data storage unit 19.

[0078] S3: The first update control unit 11 transfers the application and firmware of the operation unit 110 to the operation unit 110. As a result, the application and firmware of the operation unit 110 are stored in the second firmware data storage unit 29 of the eMMC 120.

[0079] S4: After the transfer is complete, the notification unit 13 of the controller 100 notifies the operation unit 110 that the controller 100 has started updating. Upon receiving this notification, the display control unit 24 of the operation unit 110 starts displaying the update banner screen 210, which will be described later (Figure 6). In addition, upon notification that the update has started, the second update control unit 21 also starts updating the application and firmware of the operation unit 110.

[0080] S5: After notification, the first update control unit 11 instructs the first update unit 12 to update the firmware of the controller 100. The first update unit 12 starts updating the old firmware using the firmware of the controller 100 stored in the first firmware data storage unit 19.

[0081] S6: In parallel with the firmware update by the first update unit 12, the second update control unit 21 of the operation unit 110 keeps the operation unit 110 running and instructs the second update unit 22 to update the firmware. The second update unit 22 updates the firmware of the operation unit 110 using the seamless update method described above. Therefore, the first update unit 12 and the second update unit 22 update the firmware in parallel for at least a portion of the time.

[0082] S7: The second update unit 22 updates the application once the firmware update is complete.

[0083] S8: The control unit 110 remains operational, so the user can operate the control unit 110.

[0084] S9: If a user inputs an operation into the control unit 110 that can be performed even while the controller 100 is updating its firmware, the operation reception unit 23 accepts the operation. Operations that can be performed even while the firmware is updating are processes that can be completed solely by the control unit 110, such as checking or changing the settings of the control unit 110. The control unit 110 performs the processing according to the accepted operation.

[0085] S10: Similarly, suppose the user operates the control unit 110.

[0086] S11: If a user inputs an operation to the operation unit 110 that is unavailable while the controller 100's firmware is being updated, the operation reception unit 23 detects the operation but does not accept it. The display control unit 24 displays the function restriction notification screen 220, which will be described later (Figure 7). The function restriction notification screen 220 displays an error message indicating that the operation is restricted. The operations that are unavailable while the controller 100's firmware is being updated are operations that use the functions of the controller 100.

[0087] S12: When the first update unit 12 finishes updating its own firmware, the notification unit 13 notifies the operation unit 110 that the controller 100 update is complete. At this point, the operation unit 110's application and firmware update may be completed or still in progress. For the sake of explanation, let's assume that the time required for updating the operation unit 110's firmware and application is longer than the time required for updating the controller 100's firmware.

[0088] Upon receiving notification that the controller 100 has finished updating, the display control unit 24 of the operation unit 110 terminates the display of the update banner screen 210.

[0089] S13: The second update unit 22 has finished updating the firmware and application of the operation unit 110. The second update control unit 21 notifies that the firmware and application update of the operation unit 110 is complete. Even if the time required to update the firmware and application of the operation unit 110 is shorter than the time required to update the firmware of the controller 100, the second update control unit 21 will notify that the firmware and application update of the operation unit 110 is complete only after it has received notification that the update of the controller 100 is complete. This is because the controller 100, which is in the process of updating its firmware, cannot receive notifications from the operation unit 110.

[0090] Furthermore, since the firmware and application updates for the control unit 110 are complete, the display control unit 24 displays the update completion notification screen 230 (described later) to prompt the user to restart the image forming apparatus 200 (Figure 8).

[0091] S14: After confirming that the firmware update for the control unit 110 is complete, the user restarts (reboots) the control unit 110. Restarting only the control unit 110 is sufficient, but the user may also restart the entire image forming apparatus 200, including the controller 100.

[0092] S15: The operation unit 110 restarts, and upon restarting, it starts the updated firmware. The display control unit 24 displays the update completion restart screen 240 (described later) to notify the user that the firmware and application updates are complete (Figure 9).

[0093] <Screen example> Referring to Figures 6 to 9, an example of a screen displayed by the operation unit 110 regarding firmware updates will be explained. First, Figure 6 shows the update banner screen 210 displayed on the controller during a firmware update. In step S4 of Figure 5, the display control unit 24 displays the update banner screen 210 when the operation unit 110 is notified by the controller 100 to start the update. The update banner screen 210 displays the message 211, "Main unit FW update in progress. Some functions are available. Estimated update time - remaining XX minutes," as a banner in a location that does not easily interfere with user operation, such as the top or bottom of the panel display unit 110a. The user can see the message 211 and understand that the main unit's firmware is being updated and that some functions are available. For example, the display control unit 24 may display functions that are available even while the controller 100 is updating the firmware, either automatically or in response to user operation.

[0094] Furthermore, the estimated update time is the remaining time until the firmware update of the controller 100 is completed. As for the operation unit 110, even while the firmware of the operation unit 110 is being updated, the user can use the operation unit 110 as long as they do not use the functions of the controller 100, so the operation unit 110 will inform the user of the remaining time. The estimated update time should be notified to the operation unit 110 by the first update control unit 11 in step S4. For example, the first update control unit 11 converts the size (number of bytes) of the firmware of the controller 100 into the estimated update time and notifies the operation unit 110. The display control unit 24 updates "estimated update time - remaining XX minutes" by repeatedly subtracting the elapsed time from the estimated update time.

[0095] Figure 7 shows the function restriction notification screen 220 displayed by the display control unit 24 when a user inputs an operation into the operation unit 110 that is unavailable while the controller 100's firmware is being updated. The function restriction notification screen 220 displays the message 221, "This function is temporarily unavailable because the main unit's firmware is being updated. Estimated update time - remaining XX minutes." The user can see the message 221 and understand that the function they just operated on is unavailable. For example, the display control unit 24 may automatically or in response to user input display the functions that are available even while the controller 100 is updating its firmware.

[0096] Figure 8 shows the update completion notification screen 230 displayed by the display control unit 24 when the firmware update of the operation unit 110 is completed. The update completion notification screen 230 displays a banner message 231 that reads, "The operation unit update is complete. Please restart the device to start with the latest firmware," in a location that does not easily interfere with user operation, such as the top or bottom of the panel display unit 110a. The user can see the message 231 and understand that they should restart the operation unit 110. The restart can be performed by pressing the reset button on the operation unit 110, or by turning the operation unit 110's power OFF and then ON. Alternatively, the restart can be performed by turning the image forming apparatus 200's power OFF and then ON, or by pressing the reset button on the main unit of the image forming apparatus 200.

[0097] Figure 9 shows the update completion restart screen 240 displayed by the display control unit 24 after the operation unit 110 has been restarted. The update completion restart screen 240 displays a banner message 241 stating, "The operation unit version has been updated to xx.xx," in a location that does not interfere with user operation, such as the top or bottom of the panel display unit 110a. By looking at the message 241, the user can understand that the firmware of the operation unit 110 has been updated and that it is now the updated version.

[0098] In Figure 9, the firmware version of the control unit 110 is displayed, but the firmware version of the controller 100 may also be displayed.

[0099] <Examples of reducing downtime> Referring to Figures 10 and 11, an example of downtime reduction using the firmware update procedure of this embodiment will be explained. Figure 10 is an example of downtime in the case of the sequential update method described in Procedure 1. In Figure 10, the downtime is as follows from the start of the firmware update.

[0100] • Package deployment: A seconds ·Preparation before update: B seconds Controller update: C seconds • Data transfer: D seconds App update: E seconds ·Operation unit side update: F seconds • Optimization process: G seconds • Transition to recovery mode: H seconds ·Reboot :I seconds • Post-processing: J seconds As shown in Figure 10, after the firmware of the controller 100 is updated, the firmware of the operation unit 110 is also updated, and the downtime is the sum of A to J seconds.

[0101] Figure 11 shows an example of downtime in the case of the sequential update method described in Step 2. The difference from Figure 10 is that the operation unit 110 starts updating the application and firmware after the update start notification from the controller 100, and there is no transition to recovery mode (H seconds).

[0102] As is clear from Figure 11, since the B seconds for pre-update preparation and the C seconds for controller-side update are performed in parallel with the update on the operating unit side, the downtime in step 2 can be shortened by B + C + H seconds compared to step 1.

[0103] <Main effects> As described above, the image forming apparatus 200 of this embodiment performs firmware updates of the controller 100 and the operation unit 110 in parallel. Furthermore, since the user can use functions that do not utilize the controller 100 even while the firmware of the controller 100 is being updated, the user's downtime during the firmware update can be reduced.

[0104] <Other application examples> Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above using examples, the present invention is not limited in any way to these examples, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0105] For example, in this embodiment, an image forming apparatus was mainly used as the information processing apparatus for updating firmware, but the information processing apparatus is not limited to an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus may be, for example, a projector (PJ), an electronic blackboard (a whiteboard with electronic blackboard functionality), an output device such as a digital signage system, a head-up display (HUD), industrial machinery, an imaging device, a sound collection device, medical equipment, networked home appliances, automobiles (connected cars), notebook PCs, mobile phones, smartphones, tablet devices, game consoles, PDAs (personal digital assistants), digital cameras, wearable PCs, or desktop PCs. For these devices, the output may be any output that is appropriate to the characteristics of the device, such as displaying content.

[0106] In this embodiment, the user copied the firmware to the image forming apparatus 200, but the image forming apparatus 200 may automatically download the firmware from the network.

[0107] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the controller 100 transferred the application and firmware to the operation unit 110, but the operation unit 110 may download the firmware from the network separately from the controller 100.

[0108] Furthermore, the configuration examples in Figure 3 and other figures are divided according to their main functions to facilitate understanding of the processing performed by the image forming apparatus 200. The present invention is not limited by the way the processing units are divided or the names of those units. The processing of the image forming apparatus 200 can be further divided into many more processing units depending on the processing content. Also, one processing unit can be further divided to include many more processes.

[0109] Each of the functions of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Hereinafter, "processing circuit" as used herein includes processors programmed to execute each function by software, such as processors implemented by electronic circuits, as well as devices such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (Digital Signal Processors), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), and conventional circuit modules designed to execute each of the functions described above. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0110] 100 controllers 110 Operation section 200 Image forming apparatus [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0111] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-160113

Claims

1. An information processing device having a controller and an operating unit, The aforementioned controller, A first update unit for updating the firmware of the aforementioned controller, A first update control unit that controls the firmware update procedure, The system includes a notification unit that notifies the operation unit that it has started updating the firmware of the controller, The aforementioned operating unit is The firmware of the control unit is updated by a second update unit that updates the firmware of the control unit while the control unit is in operation. The first update unit and the second update unit each update the firmware in parallel for at least a portion of the time, The information processing device is characterized in that, upon receiving notification that the update has been started, the second update unit starts updating the firmware of the operation unit while the operation unit is still running.

2. The aforementioned operating unit is The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a display control unit that displays that some functions can be used when it receives notification that the aforementioned update has started.

3. The notification unit notifies the operation unit that the firmware update of the controller has been completed. The system has an operation reception unit that detects user actions between the time of receiving notification that the update has started and the time of receiving notification that the update has finished. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the operation reception unit detects an operation that utilizes the function of the controller, the display control unit displays a statement indicating that the function is unavailable.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the display control unit displays the remaining time required to update the firmware of the controller.

5. When the second update unit finishes updating the application and firmware of the operation unit, The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the display control unit displays a statement indicating that the update is completed after the operation unit is restarted.

6. The aforementioned operating unit activates only one of the two firmwares it has pre-installed. When the second update unit receives notification that the update has started while the first firmware is running, it updates the second firmware in the background. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when the operation unit is restarted after updating the second firmware, the operation unit starts the second firmware.

7. A firmware update method performed by an information processing device having a controller and an operating unit, The controller controls the firmware update procedure, and also includes the step of updating the controller's firmware, The operation unit includes the step of updating the firmware of the operation unit while the operation unit is running, The controller and the operating unit update the firmware in parallel for at least a portion of the time, The controller notifies the operation unit that it has started updating the controller's firmware. A firmware update method characterized in that, upon receiving notification that the update has been started, the operating unit starts updating the firmware of the operating unit while keeping the operating unit in operation.

8. An image forming apparatus having a controller and an operating unit, The aforementioned controller, A first update unit for updating the firmware of the aforementioned controller, A first update control unit that controls the firmware update procedure, The system includes a notification unit that notifies the operation unit that it has started updating the firmware of the controller, The aforementioned operating unit is The firmware of the control unit is updated by a second update unit that updates the firmware of the control unit while the control unit is in operation. The first update unit and the second update unit each update the firmware in parallel for at least a portion of the time, The image forming apparatus is characterized in that, in response to a notification that the update has started, the second update unit starts updating the firmware of the operation unit while the operation unit is still running.

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