Patent ID: 7984239

Claim:
A control program download device to be connected to a host computer so as to download a control program to a rewritable internal memory circuit, comprising: an external setting unit in which external information indicating an external device and a software loader device is preset; an external memory unit into which the external information is loaded from the external setting unit in response to a control signal input to the external memory unit; and a download control unit that includes the software loader device and that controls download of the control program to the rewritable internal memory circuit; wherein to download the control program, the download control unit loads the external information from the external setting unit into the external memory unit, reads the external information from the external memory unit to send the read external information to the host computer in response to a request for configuration information from the host computer, and downloads the control program from the host computer to the rewritable internal memory unit, and wherein the control program is a program for controlling the external device, wherein the external information sent to the host computer causes the host computer to execute driver software corresponding to the external device and driver software, corresponding to the software loader device, which transmits the control program to the control program download device, and wherein the download control unit checks whether download of the control program is completed while downloading the control program, and, if the download control unit receives a data transmission request from the host computer before download of the control program for controlling the external device is completed, the download control unit causes the host computer to wait for the data transmission.