Sony Corporation

Sony Mobile Communications Inc.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan, Inc.

Sony Mobile Communications Ab

Tomohiro Ichikawa

Katsumi Aoyagi

Toshihisa Sanbommatsu

Yasuyuki Hirao

Yoshinori Motoyama

Kenji Asa

Masaya Takahashi

Kenji Takao

Satoshi Hirano

Hidefumi Kaneko

Miki Suzuki

Toru Hayami

Tadashi Kamohara

Kazutoshi Nagatani

Takeshi Kanemoto

Rutger Ljungqvist

Hans Wachtmeister

Haekan Palm

Yoshiyuki Hama

Yimin Li

A software updating method for updating software stored as compressed code in a nonvolatile memory provided in a portable terminal on the basis of differential data via wireless communication includes the steps of providing a file system area having a fault-tolerant property; decompressing, at the execution of software updating, the compressed code of the software and loading the decompressed code into a random-access memory; updating the software in the random-access memory on the basis of the differential data; compressing the updated software; and storing a backup of a compressed updated code sequence corresponding to a compressed updated portion of the compressed updated software in the file system area and then writing the compressed updated code sequence corresponding to the compressed updated portion of the compressed updated software back to the nonvolatile memory.

Software updating method and portable terminal device

A portable terminal includes: a storage unit for storing at least a first program and software converting data to convert the first program into a second program; a storage control unit to perform reading and writing of the program and data as to the storage unit; a software converting processing unit to execute processing that converts the first program into the second program, using the first program and software converting data read by the storage control unit from the storage unit; and a terminal starting control unit to execute at the time of terminal startup one or the other of starting up the first program, and starting up the converting processing from the first program to the second program by the program converting processing unit and the second program that has been converted.

Portable terminal, portable terminal control method, and portable terminal control program

A terminal device may include: a communication interface to receive, from a server via a network, a file for updating software in a memory device coupled with the terminal device, and a software update table that includes data regarding one or more performance values and one or more time values indicative of one or more lengths of time taken to update the software using the file; a processor to obtain data regarding a performance value of the memory device, select, from the software update table, one of the one or more performance values based on the performance value of the memory device, and obtain, from the software update table, a time value associated with the selected performance value; and an output device to provide an output corresponding to the obtained time value. Each performance value is associated with one of the one or more time values, respectively.

Device and method for time notification for updating software

A terminal apparatus including a non-volatile memory for which writing is performed in units of blocks; and a control unit configured to perform a first method of managing bad blocks in the non-volatile memory with respect to blocks corresponding to an information management table in a file system of the non-volatile memory, and to perform a second method of managing bad blocks in the non-volatile memory with respect to blocks corresponding to user data in the file system.

Memory management apparatus and memory management method

A memory management method for managing a non-volatile memory into which writing is performed in units of blocks includes the steps of assigning a plurality of blocks of the non-volatile memory to a management area formed of at least one block for storing management information, to a code area formed of a plurality of blocks into which program code is written, to a substitution area formed of a plurality of blocks for substituting for a defective block, and to an interference area formed of at least one block; storing at least correspondence information between the blocks of the substitution area and a defective block of a substitution target as management information within the management area; and using the block of the substitution area in place of the defective block on the basis of the correspondence information when the defective block is to be used.

Memory management method and portable terminal device

A mobile terminal having a communication function. The apparatus includes: a nonvolatile memory including a memory area storing a main-unit program including an update engine for updating software and an alternative unit area for a unit area in the memory area; a working memory; and control means for accessing both of the memories. The control means downloads differential data between a version of the main-unit program and a version of a new main-unit program, expands the update engine into the working memory area, executes the update engine, updates the main-unit program for each unit area by the differential data, completes the update processing if the update has been successful, and performs the unit-area update processing on the alternative unit area and replaces the defective unit area by the alternative unit area if a defect of a unit area has been detected at the time of the update.

Mobile terminal and software update method

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Tomohiro Ichikawa