Vehicle Control Unit Software Update via Sector-Based Difference Data

The patent divides the flash memory into multiple sectors and processes difference data sector by sector rather than loading entire difference data at once. This segmentation allows the update process to work within the constraints of low-capacity memory (SRAM) by handling only small portions of data at each step, making difference update technology applicable to vehicle control units with limited resources.

The patent performs preliminary actions by calculating and storing the starting addresses of each sector in the old version data before the actual update process. This preparation allows the system to sequentially access and process difference data sector by sector from flash memory without needing to load all difference data into SRAM simultaneously, thus completing the update while respecting memory capacity constraints.

The patent implements continuous useful action by systematically processing each sector in sequence without idle time. The controller continuously calculates starting addresses, loads difference data from flash memory to SRAM, and performs updates in a continuous pipeline manner. This approach minimizes idle time between operations while maintaining low memory usage, achieving a balance between update speed and memory constraints.