US 6,715,068 B1 · Multi-microcomputer system

Abstract

In an electronic endoscope adopting a two-microcomputer system, an operating program for the two microcomputers can be updated easily and with certainty, and the number of photocouplers for isolation can be reduced substantially. A patient-side circuit has a patient-side processing unit and a ROM installed in a socket. An IO-side circuit has an IO-side processing unit, a flash ROM and a RAM for storing a program-rewriting program transferred from the patient-side processing unit. The both processing units adopt a start-stop synchronization communication method and are connected to each other by two signal lines via signal conversion circuits and an isolation circuit. Upon updating a program in the microcomputer in the IO-side circuit, the patient-side processing unit reads the program-rewriting program and the update operating program from the ROM and transfers to the IO-side processing unit. The IO-side processing unit expands the program-rewriting program in the RAM and writes the update operating program in the flash ROM.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A multi-microcomputer system comprising a master microcomputer and a slave microcomputer, the multi-microcomputer system comprising:

in a master circuit having the master microcomputer therein, a socket for installing an update memory loaded with an update operating program, the master microcomputer comprising:
a master processing unit for judging whether or not the update operating program for the slave microcomputer is stored in the update memory when the update memory is installed in the socket and for transferring the update operating program to a slave circuit having the slave microcomputer therein in the case where the memory has been judged to store the update operating program, the slave microcomputer comprising:
a program memory for storing a current operating program;
and
a slave processing unit for updating the current operating program with the update operating program when the update operating program is transferred.

2 more elements

A multi-microcomputer system comprising a master microcomputer and a slave microcomputer, the system comprising:

a signal level conversion circuit for outputting a signal output from a master circuit having the master microcomputer therein to an external apparatus after converting the signal into a signal of voltage level of the external apparatus and for outputting a signal input from the external apparatus to the master circuit after converting the signal from the external apparatus into a signal of a voltage level of the master circuit, the master microcomputer comprising:
a master processing unit for judging whether or not an update operating program is for the slave microcomputer when the program is transferred from the external apparatus via the signal level conversion circuit, and for transferring the update operating program to a slave circuit having the slave microcomputer therein in the case where the program has been judged to be for the slave microcomputer, and the slave microcomputer comprising:
a program memory storing a current operating program, and a slave processing unit for updating the current operating program with the update operating program when the update operating program is transferred.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Multi-microcomputer system

Life of this patent

Multi-microcomputer system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17