Patent ID: 7069452

Claim:
A method of controlling updates of a programmable memory of a device, the method comprising: providing an update window of predefined duration during which the programmable memory may be updated; and allowing updates of the programmable memory only during the update window; wherein the steps of providing an update window and allowing updates comprise the steps of: allowing access to the programmable memory based on the state of an access latch; setting the access latch to allow access to the programmable memory after a hardware reset of the device; executing an update control program to control access to the programmable memory; resetting the latch to prevent access to the programmable memory upon completion of the update control program; allowing access to a memory where the update control program resides when the access latch allows access to the programmable memory; and preventing access to the memory where the update control program resides when the access latch prevents access to the programmable memory.