Circuit pack system with semi-or fully-automatic upgrade...

Data processing: software development – installation – and managem – Software program development tool – Translation of code

Reexamination Certificate

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Reexamination Certificate

active

06301709

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to circuit packs in systems such as shelf controllers and other circuit pack assemblies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Any circuit pack in any system that contains data in memory (for example, software) may need to have the data in that memory upgraded at some point, either during development cycles or following deployment in the field. For example, software may need to be upgraded to fix bugs or to introduce new features. For this reason, some prior art systems with circuit packs are designed so that software can be upgraded without the need to replace any hardware components. This is done by using memory devices which can be erased and reprogrammed, for example, flash EPROM devices. These prior art systems, however, use external interfaces or support hardware which communicate with and upgrade the memory. Such external interfaces complicate the updating process and increase both the level of operator training required and the potential for errors. The updating of circuit packs must also occur one at a time. Others of these prior art systems use emulators which require that the circuit pack be extracted and that an emulator be used; or remote network devices, which require that the device be on a network and that the circuit pack contain logic to control the update process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention seeks to provide a system with multiple circuit packs containing memory in which the memory of one circuit pack can be updated with data from the memory of another circuit pack, and where the entire process is internal to the system.
One aspect of the invention comprises a method for upgrading the contents of a circuit pack containing a memory storage device which stores data within a system comprising two circuit packs containing memory storage devices and a means for communication between said two circuit packs, comprising the steps of: (a) causing one of said two circuit packs, upon receipt by that circuit pack of a signal, to act as slave circuit pack by requesting from the other of said two circuit packs, which acts as master circuit pack, master circuit pack version information stored in a version information storage area within a memory storage device of said master circuit pack to be transferred from said master circuit pack to said slave circuit pack; and (b) causing said slave circuit pack to determine, based upon a calculation using said master circuit pack version information and said slave circuit pack version information stored in a version information memory storage area within a memory storage device of said slave circuit pack, whether said slave circuit pack contains within a memory storage device stored information which should be replaced with stored information that said master circuit pack contains within a memory storage device; and if said slave circuit pack does contain stored information which should be replaced, causing said system to perform steps to effectuate such a replacement.
Another aspect of the invention comprises a method for upgrading the contents of a circuit pack containing a memory storage device which stores data in a system comprising two circuit packs containing memory storage devices and a means for communication between said at least two circuit packs, comprising the steps of (a) upon a signal within the system, causing first circuit pack version information stored in a version information storage area within a memory storage device of said first circuit pack to be transferred from said first circuit pack to said second circuit pack, and causing second circuit pack version information stored in a version information storage area within a memory device of said second circuit pack to be transferred from said second circuit pack to said first circuit pack; (b) causing said first circuit pack to determine, based upon a calculation using said first circuit pack version information and said second circuit pack version information, whether said first circuit pack contains within a memory storage device stored information which should be replaced with stored information that said second circuit pack contains within a memory storage device; and if said first circuit pack does contain stored information which should be replaced, causing said first circuit pack to perform steps to effectuate such a replacement; and (c) causing said second circuit pack to determine, based upon a calculation using said first circuit pack version information and said second circuit pack version information, whether said second circuit pack contains within a memory storage device stored information which should be replaced with stored information that said first circuit pack contains within a memory storage device; and if said second circuit pack does contain stored information which should be replaced, causing said second circuit pack to perform steps to effectuate such a replacement.
According to one embodiment, the present invention provides a method which works in a system containing at least two circuit packs, a first circuit pack and a second circuit pack. When some system signal (for example, a reset signal) is received by either one of the circuit packs, the circuit pack receiving the signal starts to act in a predetermined way, sending requests to the other circuit pack and receiving information from it. While acting in this way the circuit pack receiving the signal is designated a slave circuit pack. The other circuit pack, which receives requests from the slave circuit pack and answers them, is designated a master circuit pack. The slave circuit pack asks for version information for data contained in the master circuit pack and receives that data. The slave circuit pack uses the version information received from the master pack and version information internal to the slave circuit pack to determine whether the data in memory of the slave circuit pack should be updated with the data in the memory of the master circuit pack. For example, the determination may be whether the data in the master circuit pack is a newer version of software or other information that the slave circuit pack should have. If the slave circuit pack determines that an update should occur, the slave circuit pack then causes the master circuit pack to send to the slave circuit pack that data. The slave circuit pack receives the data and writes it to the proper location in its memory. When this is done, the process is over, and the circuit packs continue their usual functioning in the system, until the process is started again by the receipt by one of the circuit packs of the signal which starts its functioning as a slave circuit pack.
According to another embodiment, upon receipt by either or both circuit packs of a system signal, the two circuit packs exchange version information, and whichever of the two circuit packs has older or less preferred data then receives the newer data from the other circuit pack. The transfer of data can be from either a circuit pack that received the signal which initiated the process or from a circuit pack that did not receive a signal, or in some cases, as in the first embodiment, there may be no transfer of data.
Either of the above embodiments allows preferred or newer data to be propagated from one circuit pack to another instead of via external hardware or interfaces. If circuit packs in a number of systems need to be upgraded, then they can be upgraded in the field with only one updated circuit pack. Instead of replacing all circuit packs, place an updated circuit pack in a system in place of a circuit pack with memory containing old information. In many types of circuit pack hardware and configuration, this placement will cause the reset signal that, in some embodiments of the invention, triggers the instant method which causes an update. In other cases, a manual reset will trigger the instant method. After the method causes the updated information to be propagated from the updated circuit pack to another circuit pack in the system using the instant m

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