System for selectively upgrading firmware code for optical disk

Details System for selectively upgrading firmware code for optical disk System for selectively upgrading firmware code for optical disk

1997-08-04

1999-10-19

Lee, Thomas C.

Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/

Input/output data processing

Peripheral configuration

710 8, 710 38, 710 74, 710104, G06F 1310

Patent

active

059681411

ABSTRACT:
An apparatus and the method for upgrading the firmware code of an optical disk drive via the ATA/IDE interface are disclosed. The optical disk drive has a firmware code memory and a microcontroller that executes the firmware code. A drive decoder decodes to connect the optical disk drive to a host computer system via the ATA/IDE interface. The apparatus includes a programming controller that receives signals from the ATA/IDE interface and performs input/output decode to determine whether the host computer system has requested an upgrade of the firmware or to maintain the optical disk drive in normal operation. A multiplexer has a first input connected to the programming controller, and the second input connected to the microcontroller. The multiplexer selects the first input to the memory device via the multiplexed output for performing a firmware upgrade operation when the host computer system requests a firmware upgrade. The on-site upgrade operation can be performed without access to the inside of the drive unit.

REFERENCES:
patent: 5581716 (1996-12-01), Park
patent: 5592640 (1997-01-01), Minoura et al.
patent: 5687346 (1997-11-01), Shinohara
patent: 5809224 (1998-09-01), Schultz et al.
patent: 5812857 (1998-09-01), Nelson et al.

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