TWI443507B - Self-repairing system and self-repairing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Automatic repair system and automatic repair method thereof

The invention relates to an automatic repairing system and an automatic repairing method thereof, in particular to an automatic repairing system with a main core program and an alternate core program and an automatic repairing method thereof.

With the continuous development of technology, digital products are gradually reaching every corner of the user's life. Users are also looking forward to receiving or viewing more digital information through home appliances in their homes, thus enabling Home Multimedia Center ( Home Media The concept of Center) came into being. The home multimedia center is mainly based on existing home appliances, such as television, as the main information integration center. Integrating other digital devices, such as personal computers, mobile phones and other information products, through the Internet or digital transmission, so that users do not need to use other digital devices individually, and only need to use TV as an information integration center to browse or manipulate other digital devices. Digital content information provided by the device.

In addition to the integration of digital devices in the home, as the Internet transmission speed continues to increase, the mainstream network transmission content is no longer limited to text or pictures, but multimedia audio and video information or information convergence, so that the original analog transmission is The main media content, such as television programs and broadcasts, can be digitally transmitted and made available to the user. The advantage is that the digital content can provide high-quality or high-quality media content, and the transmission through the network is relatively fast and stable, so the digital media broadcast content has become the next wave of media broadcast development trend. .

However, at present, the TVs used by ordinary households still mainly receive analog signals. If digital media content needs to be played, they must be viewed through a digital set-top box (STB). A digital video conversion box (or set-top box) is a connection device between a television and an external digital signal source. The digital video conversion box can convert the compressed digital signal into a content that can be presented by the television and display the media content on the television. Since the digital video converter box must receive and convert different types of digital signals, its internal firmware must be updated regularly, but since the digital video converter box does not have a built-in battery, it only relies on an external power source to provide power.

Therefore, if the update operation is interrupted during the firmware update period due to power failure, external power supply loss, or other abnormal operation of the user, the digital video converter box may not be able to be turned on again due to incomplete update, resulting in frequent users. The reset function on the device needs to be manually executed, and the firmware update can be performed after the reboot is completed; or the machine must be returned to the factory for repair before the firmware of the digital video converter box can be restored to the factory. The default version before you can perform the firmware update again to get the latest firmware version.

In this way, for the manufacturer, it is undoubtedly greatly increased the maintenance cost of the digital video converter box, and for the user, because the digital video converter box is not completely updated, it cannot be used at all, and must be reused by the factory for repair. Whether it is convenience or time considerations, the user's willingness to use and purchase is reduced, which is also an issue that manufacturers are eager to solve.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an automatic repairing system and an automatic repairing method thereof for use in an electronic device booting program, so as to solve the problem that the conventional electronic device cannot start the booting process normally when the core program is abnormal, and the program update cannot be automatically performed. The problem of core program fixes and/or program updates must be relied upon by human actions.

The invention discloses an automatic repairing system, which is suitable for starting a program of an electronic device, and the automatic repairing system is electrically connected to a server storing the updated program. The automatic repairing system comprises a control unit, a storage unit and a processing unit. The control unit is electrically connected to one of the power switches of the electronic device. The processing unit is electrically connected to the server, the control unit and the storage device respectively, and the storage unit stores the storage unit. The main kernel (kernel), an alternate core program, and a bug fixer. The control unit receives a power signal of the power switch, and generates a power-on signal according to the power signal. The processing unit receives the power-on signal, and loads the main core program according to the power-on signal to perform the booting process. When the main core program is abnormal, the processing unit restarts the electronic device and selectively loads the alternate core program to execute the boot process and connects to the server through the alternate core program. The processing unit executes the fixer to download the update program from the server and repairs and/or updates the main core program according to the update program. The processing unit restarts the electronic device after the main core program is repaired and/or updated, and performs the repair and/or update of the main core program according to the boot signal.

The invention further discloses an automatic repairing method, which is suitable for one booting process of an electronic device. The automatic repair method comprises the steps of: starting the electronic device; using a processing unit to load a main core program to execute the booting process; using a control unit to determine whether the main core program is normal, and if so, the main core program completing the booting process, if not, The processing unit restarts the electronic device and selectively loads an alternate core program; uses an alternate core program to connect to a server; uses the processing unit to execute a repair program to download one of the server update programs; the processing unit is updated according to the update The program repairs and/or updates the main core program, and after the repair and/or update is completed, the processing unit restarts the electronic device; and uses the processing unit to load the repaired and/or updated main core program, and through repair and/or The updated main core program completes the boot process.

The effect of the invention is that when the electronic device starts the booting process and loads the main core, whether the main core program is normally loaded and executed is determined by the control unit receiving the normally activated feedback signal at the preset time. If it is determined that the electronic device encounters a major core program exception, the processing unit can execute the standby core program to execute the normal booting process, and the standby core program and the repair program are connected to the server to download the update program to repair and/or update. The main core program is damaged, and the electronic device is restarted, so that the electronic device can smoothly load the normal main core program to maintain the normal operation of the electronic device. In addition, the electronic device can successfully complete the booting process by the standby core in the case of major core damage, and then actively download the update program from the server by the repair program, and repair and/or update the previous The main core program is damaged, so when the electronic device is restarted again, the main core program updated to the latest version can be directly loaded to execute the boot process to maintain the most complete function of the electronic device without having to manually execute it through the user. Reset function or update operation, and avoid the inconvenience caused by original factory repair.

The features, implementations, and utilities of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

The automatic repairing system and the automatic repairing method thereof are applicable to a booting process of an electronic device, so that the electronic device can repair the damaged main core program by itself in the booting process, or actively update the main core program to the latest. The version allows the electronic device to always start the boot process with the latest version of the main core program to maintain the full operational function of the electronic device. In the following embodiments of the present invention, the electronic device is used as a digital video conversion box as an example, but is not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the automatic repair system 100 disclosed in the first embodiment of the present invention is disposed in the electronic device 10, and is selectively electrically connected to the Internet through a network in a wired or wireless manner. The server 20 storing the update program is stored.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the automatic repair system 100 includes a control unit 1001 , a storage unit 1002 , and a processing unit 1003 . The control unit 1001 is electrically connected to one of the power switches 1004 of the electronic device 10 and is controlled. Unit 1001 has a timer 1006 that is set for a preset time. The storage unit 1002 stores a main core (kernel), a spare core program, and a repair program, and the processing unit 1003 is electrically connected to the control unit 1001 and the storage device 1002, respectively, in the automatic repair system 100, wherein the processing unit 1003 It can be, but is not limited to, electrically connected to the control unit 1001 through a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART).

In addition, the processing unit 1003 is electrically connected to the server 20 outside the automatic repair system 100 through the Internet. It should be noted that the electrical connection manner between the processing unit 1003 and the server 20 includes, but is not limited to, a wired network connection manner such as a fiber network or a coaxial cable; or 802.11 (g), 802.11 (e), 3G, or Wimax. Wireless internet connection. Those skilled in the art can use different electrical connections depending on their hardware devices and system requirements.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, in general, when the user brakes the power switch 1004 of the electronic device 10 to activate the electronic device 10 (S101), the power switch 1004 generates a power signal and transmits a power signal to Control unit 1001. Then, after receiving the power signal, the control unit 1001 generates a power-on signal according to the power signal, and transmits the power-on signal to the processing unit 1003. After receiving the boot signal, the processing unit 1003 loads the main core program from the storage unit 1002 according to the boot signal normally to execute the boot process (S105).

At this time, the control unit 1001 determines whether or not the main core program is normally loaded (S110). As shown in FIG. 4, in some cases, when the processing unit 1003 loads the main core program, the step of determining whether the main core program is normally loaded (S110) may be further subdivided as follows: First, loading in the processing unit 1003 In the main core program, the control unit 1001 turns on the timer 1006 (S106); then, the timer 1006 of the control unit 1001 calculates whether a feedback signal transmitted by the processing unit 1003 is received within a preset time (S107), and if so, indicates The core program is normally loaded, and the processing unit 1003 transmits a feedback signal to the control unit 1001. The control unit 1001 determines that the main core program is normally loaded (S108), and turns off the timer 1006. At the same time, the processing unit 1003 executes the main core program to complete the booting process of the electronic device 10 (S210). Afterwards, the processing unit 1003 stores the boot time of the electronic device 10, the version of the main core program, and whether the main core program normally executes a boot record of the booting program in the storage unit 1002, so as to update the main core program in the future. Reference information.

Conversely, if the core program loads an exception, the processing unit 1003 does not generate a feedback signal. At this time, since the control unit 1001 cannot receive the feedback signal transmitted by the processing unit 1003 before the end of the preset time. In this case, the control unit 1001 determines the main core abnormality (S109), and transmits a reset signal to the processing unit 1003, causing the processing unit 1003 to restart the electronic device 10 (S115).

When the processing unit 1003 restarts the electronic device 10 according to the reset signal transmitted by the control unit 1001 (S115), the processing unit 1003 selectively loads the spare core program from the storage unit 1002 (S120). The spare core program here is the factory version and the preset initial setting value stored when the electronic device 10 is completed. It should be noted that when the processing unit 1003 restarts the electronic device 10 (S115), the processing unit 1003 may also selectively perform the step of loading the main core program (S105), and perform the foregoing determination by the control unit 1001. The program (S106, S107), according to the above procedure, determines whether the main core program is normally loaded. If the main core program can be loaded normally after the electronic device 10 is restarted, it indicates that the main core program is normal, and the booting process of the electronic device 10 can be successfully completed (S210); if the main core program is still abnormal, the processing unit 1003 is again The restarting of the electronic device 10 repeats the step of loading the main core program, and after a predetermined number of restarts, for example, restarting once, three times or five times, the processing unit 1003 instead selects to load the spare core program. The predetermined number of restarts may be changed according to the hardware design of the electronic device 10 and the user's needs. The purpose is to reconfirm whether the main core program is abnormal and cannot complete the booting process, so as to prevent the control unit 1001 from being set by the timer 1006. The preset time is too short or the processing efficiency of the processing unit 1003 is too slow to misjudge the main core program abnormality to reduce the system to continuously restart the electronic device 10 due to misjudgment.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, after the processing unit 1003 loads the spare core program (S120) for executing the booting process, the processing unit 1003 connects to the server 20 through the standby core program (S125). Next, the processing unit 1003 executes a repair program to download one of the update programs stored in the server 20 (S130), and repairs and/or updates the main core program according to the update program (S135). As shown in FIG. 5, in general, the step of downloading the update program (S130) may include: first, comparing the main core program with the update program stored by the server 20 (S131) through the repair program, and comparing the items. It can include the version difference between the main core version and the update program that was loaded normally before, or the code that the main core program that is currently abnormal may need to be patched. It is worth noting that the main core version that was loaded normally in the previous time can be known from the previous boot record stored in the storage unit 1002; then, the repair program downloads the update program based on the comparison result (S132), and the update program downloaded here. The complete installation file of the latest version of the main core program or the latest core program's patch file and the latest version of the update file can be customized according to the user's needs and the different settings and plans stored in the server 20 to update the program download system. Transform. At the same time, the processing unit 1003 confirms whether the download of the update program is abnormal through the repair program. If the downloaded file is abnormal or the download program is not successfully completed, the update program is re-downloaded. If the update program is successfully downloaded, the download process is ended, and the update program is installed ( S133).

Among them, in the download process for repairing or updating the main core program, since the file of the downloaded patch file or the update file is small, the download time can be shortened to complete the file system reconstruction work as soon as possible, in the shortest time. Repair the damaged firmware in time.

In addition, after the update program is installed, the processing unit 1003 performs an update program repair or/and updates the main core program (S135), and in general, this step may further have different processing flows according to different types of the update program. . That is, if the downloaded update program is a complete installation file of the latest version of the main core program, the processing unit 1003 executes the update program to generate the latest version of the main core program (S136), and directly overwrites and replaces the original storage. The main core program (S137) of the storage unit 1002 is used to complete the update of the main core program; if the downloaded update program is the patch file of the main core program and the latest version of the update file, the processing unit 1003 executes the update program first. The repair file in the repair file to repair the damaged or defective main core program stored in the storage unit 1002 (S138), and after the repair is completed, execute the update file to update the repaired main core program in the storage unit 1002 to The latest version (S139) to complete the repair and / or update of the main core program. It should be noted that, when comparing the main core program and the updated program version (S131), that is, the current core program in the electronic device 10 is determined to be the latest version, the processing unit 1003 only needs to download the patch file of the update program and install the patch. File to fix the main core program, no need to download the update file.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, after the repair and/or update of the main core program is completed (S135), the processing unit 1003 restarts the electronic device 10 again (S140), and loads the main repair and/or update. The core program (S105) executes the booting process, and again executes the foregoing main core program determining step (S110) by the processing unit 1003 and the control unit 1001 to confirm whether the repaired and/or updated main core program can be normally loaded. In. If it can be loaded normally, the boot process is completed and the boot record is stored (S215). If it still cannot be loaded normally, the aforementioned resetting step (S115, S120, S125) is performed again until the main core program can be normally The electronic device 10 can operate normally until the boot process is completed and completed.

Please refer to FIG. 6 , which is a block diagram of an automatic repairing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the second embodiment of the present invention and the first embodiment is that the automatic repair system 100 disclosed in the second embodiment of the present invention further includes a display module 1005 for displaying related operation information of the electronic device 10. . Therefore, the electronic device 10 restarts and executes loading the spare core program, connecting to the server 20, downloading the update program, patching and/or updating the main core program, restarting the electronic device 10, and reloading the patch and/or update. The automatic repair system 100 can display the operation information of the electronic device 10, the download information of the update program (such as download progress and time), and the main core program through the display module 1005. Fix and/or update information so that users can master the current repair status and progress.

The automatic repairing system and the automatic repairing method thereof according to the present invention enable the electronic device to automatically determine the abnormal core program at the time of startup, and restart the electronic device by the processing unit and load the standby core program to execute the booting process. Automatically restores to the original factory settings, and then connects to the server 20 via the backup core program and the fixer to download the update program to repair or/and update the main core program, and then automatically restart the electronic device and repair or / And the updated core program executes the boot process, so that the electronic device can still be damaged or abnormal in the case of power failure, disconnection, or abnormal operation of the main core program caused by improper operation of the user during the previous operation or execution. The main core program is repaired and updated to the latest version through the automatic repair function, so that the electronic device can complete the repair and update program after the power is turned on without manual operation, so that the electronic device can complete the booting process after the booting process is completed. Normal operation and maintain the latest and most complete operational functions.

Although the embodiments of the present invention are disclosed above, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art, regardless of the spirit and scope of the present invention, the shapes, structures, and features described in the scope of the present application. And the number of modifications may be made, and the scope of patent protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the patent application attached to the specification.

10. . . Electronic device

100. . . Automatic repair system

1001. . . control unit

1002. . . Storage unit

1003. . . Processing unit

1004. . . switch

1005. . . Display module

1006. . . Timer

20. . . server

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the connection between an electronic device and a server according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an automatic repairing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a flow chart showing the steps of the automatic repairing method of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing the steps of judging the main core program in the automatic repair method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the steps of repairing and updating the main core program in the automatic repair method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic view showing the connection of the device of the second embodiment of the automatic repairing system disclosed in the present invention.

100. . . Automatic repair system

1001. . . control unit

1002. . . Storage unit

1003. . . Processing unit

1004. . . switch

1006. . . Timer

20. . . server

Claims (14)

An automatic repairing system is applicable to a booting process of an electronic device. The automatic repairing system is electrically connected to a server, and the server stores an update program. The automatic repairing system includes:
a control unit electrically connected to one of the power switches of the electronic device, the control unit receiving a power signal of the power switch, and generating a power-on signal according to the power signal;
a storage unit storing a main kernel (kernel), an alternate core program, and a repair program; and a processing unit electrically connected to the server, the control unit, and the storage device, the processing unit receiving the Turning on the signal, and loading the main core program according to the boot signal to execute the booting program;
Wherein, when the main core program is abnormal, the processing unit restarts the electronic device, and selectively loads the standby core program to execute the booting process, and connects to the server through the standby core program, the processing unit Executing the fixer to download the update program from the server, and repairing and/or updating the main core program according to the update program, the processing unit restarting the electronic device after the main core program repair and/or update is completed, and The main core program after the repair and/or update is performed according to the boot signal. The automatic repair system of claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a timer, and the timer is set to a preset time, and the processing unit transmits a feedback signal to the control unit within the preset time. The control unit determines that the main core program is normal according to the feedback signal, and turns off the timer. The processing unit does not transmit the status signal to the control unit within the preset time, and the control unit determines that the main core program is abnormal. And transmitting a reset signal to the processing unit, causing the processing unit to restart the electronic device. The automatic repair system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit and the server are electrically connected by a wired or wireless network. The automatic repair system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is electrically connected to the processing unit as a universal asynchronous transceiver. The automatic repair system of claim 1, further comprising a display module electrically connected to the processing unit and the electronic device for displaying operation information of the electronic device, downloading information of the update program, and Repair and/or update information for this major core program. An automatic repairing method is applicable to one booting process of an electronic device, and the automatic repairing method comprises the following steps:
Activating the electronic device;
Using a processing unit to load a main core program to execute the boot process;
Using a control unit to determine whether the primary core program is normal, and if so, the primary core program completes the boot process, and if not, the processing unit restarts the electronic device and selectively loads an alternate core program;
Use the alternate core program to connect to a server;
Using the processing unit to execute a repair program to download one of the server update programs;
The processing unit repairs and/or updates the main core program according to the update program, and after the repair and/or update is completed, the processing unit restarts the electronic device; and uses the processing unit to load the repair and/or update The main core program, and the boot process is completed by the main core program after repair and/or update. The automatic repair method of claim 6, wherein the electronic device generates a power signal and transmits the power signal to the control unit after the electronic device is activated, and the control unit generates a power-on signal according to the power signal. And transmitting the boot signal to the processing unit, so that the processing unit loads the main core program according to the boot signal. The automatic repair method of claim 6, wherein the processing unit generates a feedback signal for a predetermined time when the processing unit loads the main core program, and the control unit determines the main core program according to the feedback signal Normally, if the processing unit does not generate the feedback signal within the preset time, the control unit determines that the main core program is abnormal, and transmits a reset signal to the processing unit, so that the processing unit restarts the electronic device. The automatic repair method of claim 8, wherein the preset time is set in a timer of the control unit, and when the processing unit loads the main core program, the control unit starts the timer to calculate the The preset time, and when the control unit determines that the booting procedure is normal, the control unit closes the timer together. The automatic repair method of claim 6, wherein the processing unit stores a boot record of the electronic device after the booting process is completed, the boot record includes a boot time of the electronic device, and a version of the main core program And whether the main core program executes the boot process normally. The automatic repair method according to Item 6, wherein the step of using the control unit to determine whether the booting procedure is normal is that after the processing unit restarts the electronic device, the main core program is loaded first, and The control unit again determines whether the booting process is normal. If yes, the main core program completes the booting process. If not, the processing unit restarts the electronic device, and after a predetermined number of restarts, selects to load the alternate core program. . The automatic repair method of claim 6, wherein the step of executing the repair using the processing unit comprises:
Use the fix to compare the main core program with the updater;
Downloading the update program based on the comparison result; and executing the update program using the processing unit to repair and/or update the main core program. The automatic repair method described in item 12 of the claim further includes confirming whether the download process of the update program is abnormal, and if so, re-downloading the update program, and if not, ending the download. The automatic repair method as described in claim 6 further includes storing the repaired and/or updated primary core program in the storage unit to replace the abnormal core program.