Live firmware update switchover
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsSira Parasurama Rao, Baskaran Chidambaram
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Abstract
A method includes receiving, by a microcontroller, a live firmware update (LFU) command from an external host; and downloading, by the microcontroller, an image of a new version of firmware responsive to the LFU command. During a first time period, the method includes initializing only variables contained in the new version that are not contained in an old version of firmware. During a second time period, the method includes updating one or more of an interrupt vector table, a function pointer, and/or a stack pointer responsive to the new version. The second time period begins responsive to completing initialization of the variables.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- receiving, by a controller, a live firmware update (LFU) command;
- after receiving the LFU command, during a first time period, initializing variables contained in a new version of firmware that are not contained in an old version of firmware, wherein system interrupts of the controller are enabled during the first time period;
- and
- after the first time period, during a second time period,
- disabling the system interrupts, and
- effectuating a switchover from the old version of firmware to the new version of firmware,
- wherein the second time period begins and ends within an idle window that follows an end of an interrupt service routine (ISR) window.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.