Multi-split air conditioner control device, communication method thereof and multi-split air conditioner system

Abstract

The invention discloses a multi-split air conditioner control device, a communication method of the multi-split air conditioner control device and a multi-split air conditioner system. The multi-split air conditioner control device comprises a master controller and at least one slave controller. The main controller comprises a first bus interface and a second bus interface; the link layer of the first bus interface receives a first link layer protocol data packet sent by an external device, and analyzes the first link layer protocol data packet to separate a first destination address and a first check code; performing data verification on the first link layer protocol data packet according to the first verification code; and forwarding the first link layer protocol data packet based on the first destination address according to the fact that data verification is correct. In the application, the external device can bridge and send the data request to the slave controller through the link layer of the master controller, and an application layer of the master controller does not need to analyze the data request of the external device and cache the response data of the slave controller, so that the communication efficiency of the multi-split control device is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of air conditioning, and in particular, relates to a multi-split control device and a communication method thereof, and a multi-split air conditioning system. Background Art

[0002] Modbus protocol has become the industry standard for industrial communication protocols. Modbus protocol supports multiple electrical interfaces of traditional RS-232, RS-422, RS-485 and Ethernet devices, and can also transmit data on various media, such as twisted pair, optical fiber and wireless.

[0003] Modbus RTU is a version of the Modbus protocol and a commonly used communication protocol in multi-split air-conditioning systems. The characteristic of Modbus RTU is that there can only be one host in each Modbus RTU-based communication network, and the access of external devices to slaves depends on the host. For example, if an external device needs to obtain data from slave 1, the external device can only send a data request to the host, and then the host parses the data request of the external device and sends the data request to slave 1. However, the data request of the external device cannot be sent to slave 1, so the communication efficiency is low. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a multi-split control device and a communication method thereof, and a multi-split air-conditioning system, which can improve the communication efficiency of the multi-split control device.

[0005] A first aspect of the present application provides a multi-connection control device, including: a master controller and at least one slave controller;

[0006] The master controller comprises: a first bus interface and a second bus interface; each of the slave controllers is connected to the second bus interface of the master controller via the second bus, and the first bus interface of the master controller is used to connect to an external device via the first bus;

[0007] The external device and the slave controller communicate with each other based on a preset Modbus protocol stack, and the Modbus protocol stack includes: a link layer protocol and an application layer protocol.

[0008] The multi-connected control device of the first aspect of the present application includes: a master controller and at least one slave controller; the master controller includes: a first bus interface and a second bus interface; each of the slave controllers is connected to the second bus interface of the master controller via the second bus, and the first bus interface of the master controller is used to connect to an external device via the first bus; the external device and the slave controller communicate based on a preset Modbus protocol stack, and the Modbus protocol stack includes: a link layer protocol and an application layer protocol. Compared with the prior art, in the present application, the external device can send a data request bridge to the slave controller through the link layer of the master controller, and can also return the response data of the slave controller to the external device through the link layer bridge of the master controller, without the need for the application layer of the master controller to parse the data request of the external device and cache the response data of the slave controller, thereby improving the communication efficiency of the multi-connected control device.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present application, the first bus interface is configured as a Modbus slave mode, and the second bus interface is configured as a Modbus master mode.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present application, the link layer protocol includes:

[0011] A destination address and a check code are added to the application layer protocol data packet sent by the application layer to obtain a link layer protocol data packet, and the link layer protocol data packet is sent to the transmission bus.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present application, the link layer protocol further includes:

[0013] The link layer parses the link layer protocol data packets received from other nodes to separate the destination address and check code, performs data verification based on the check code, and submits the data packets with correct verification and destination address matching its own address to the application layer.

[0014] The communication method of the multi-connected control device of the second embodiment of the present application is applied to the multi-connected control device of the first embodiment, and the method includes:

[0015] The link layer of the first bus interface receives a first link layer protocol data packet sent by an external device, and parses the first link layer protocol data packet to separate a first destination address and a first check code;

[0016] Performing data verification on the first link layer protocol data packet according to the first verification code;

[0017] If the data is verified to be correct, the first link layer protocol data packet is forwarded based on the first destination address.

[0018] According to the communication method of a multi-connected control device of the second aspect of the present application, an external device can send a data request bridge to a slave controller through the link layer of the main controller, and can also return the response data of the slave controller to the external device through the link layer bridge of the main controller. There is no need for the application layer of the main controller to parse the data request of the external device and cache the response data of the slave controller, thereby improving the communication efficiency of the multi-connected control device.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present application, forwarding the first link layer protocol data packet based on the first destination address includes:

[0020] According to the matching between the first destination address and the address of the main controller, the first link layer protocol data packet is delivered to the application layer of the main controller, and the response data of the application layer is assembled into a response packet and sent back to the external device.

[0021] In some embodiments of the present application, forwarding the first link layer protocol data packet based on the first destination address includes:

[0022] forwarding the first link layer protocol data packet to the link layer of the second bus interface according to the mismatch between the first destination address and the address of the main controller, so that the link layer of the second bus interface sends the first link layer protocol data packet to the second bus and receives a returned response packet;

[0023] The link layer of the first bus interface receives the response packet forwarded by the link layer of the second bus interface, and sends the response packet back to the external device.

[0024] In some embodiments of the present application, the method further includes:

[0025] The link layer of the second bus interface receives an application layer protocol data packet sent by the application layer of the main controller, adds a destination address and a check code to the application layer protocol data packet, obtains a second link layer protocol data packet, and sends the second link layer protocol data packet to the second bus.

[0026] In some embodiments of the present application, the method further includes:

[0027] The link layer of the second bus interface receives the response packet returned on the second bus, and delivers the response packet to the application layer of the main controller.

[0028] The multi-split air conditioning system of the third embodiment of the present application includes the multi-split control device of the first embodiment.

[0029] The multi-split air-conditioning system of the third aspect of the present application adopts the multi-split control device provided by the present application, thereby being able to improve the communication efficiency of the multi-split air-conditioning system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. Also, the same reference symbols are used throughout the accompanying drawings to represent the same components. In the accompanying drawings:

[0031] Attached Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a multi-connection control device provided by the present application is shown;

[0032] Attached Figure 2 A flow chart showing a communication method for a multi-connection control device provided by the present application is shown;

[0033] Attached Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a communication scenario 1 provided in the present application is shown;

[0034] Attached Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a communication scenario 2 provided in the present application is shown;

[0035] Attached Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a communication scenario 3 provided in the present application is shown;

[0036] Attached Figure 6 A structural schematic diagram of a multi-split air conditioning system provided in the present application is shown.

[0037] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0039] It should be noted that all directional indications in the embodiments of the present invention (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0040] In addition, in the present invention, descriptions such as "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0041] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connection", "fixation", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "fixation" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0042] In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the fact that ordinary technicians in the field can implement it. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0043] The present application proposes a multi-connection control device and a communication method thereof, the multi-connection control device comprises: a master controller and at least one slave controller; the master controller comprises: a first bus interface and a second bus interface; each slave controller is connected to the second bus interface of the master controller through the second bus, and the first bus interface of the master controller is used to connect to an external device through the first bus; the external device and the slave controller communicate based on a preset Modbus protocol stack, and the Modbus protocol stack comprises: a link layer protocol and an application layer protocol. Compared with the prior art, in the present application, the external device can send a data request bridge to the slave controller through the link layer of the master controller, and the response data of the slave controller can also be returned to the external device through the link layer bridge of the master controller, without the need for the application layer of the master controller to parse the data request of the external device and cache the response data of the slave controller, thereby improving the communication efficiency of the multi-connection control device.

[0044] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0045] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a multi-connection control device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1As shown, the multi-connection control device includes: a main controller 10 and at least one slave controller 20. The number of slave controllers 20 can be multiple. For the sake of simplicity, Figure 1 One slave controller 20 is shown.

[0046] The main controller 10 includes: a first bus interface 11 and a second bus interface 12. Specifically, the first bus interface 11 is configured as a Modbus slave mode, and the second bus interface 12 is configured as a Modbus master mode.

[0047] Each of the slave controllers 20 is connected to the second bus interface 12 of the master controller via the second bus. The first bus interface 11 of the master controller is used to connect external devices via the first bus. The external devices may be gateway-connected devices, building management systems (Building Management System, BMS for short) and human-machine interfaces (Human Machine Interface, HMI for short), etc.

[0048] The external device, the master controller 10 and the slave controller 20 communicate with each other based on a preset Modbus protocol stack, and the Modbus protocol stack includes: a link layer protocol and an application layer protocol. The link layer protocol is applied to Figure 1 The link layer shown in , the application layer protocol is applied to Figure 1 The application layer shown in .

[0049] The application layers of the master controller 10 and the slave controller 20 communicate based on the application layer protocol in the preset Modbus protocol stack, and the link layers of the master controller 10 and the slave controller 20 communicate based on the link layer protocol in the preset Modbus protocol stack.

[0050] Specifically, Figure 1 As shown, the link layer protocol includes:

[0051] Adding a destination address and a check code to the application layer protocol data packet sent by the application layer to obtain a link layer protocol data packet, and sending the link layer protocol data packet to the transmission bus;

[0052] The link layer parses the link layer protocol data packets received from other nodes to separate the destination address and check code, performs data verification based on the check code, and submits the data packets with correct verification and whose destination address matches its own address to the application layer for further decoding and processing.

[0053] A node refers to a node constituting a Modbus network, and specifically may be a master controller 10, a slave controller 20 or an external device.

[0054] In this application, external devices are allowed to connect to the bus interface of the master controller, that is, all slave controllers in the device connected to another bus interface of the master controller can be accessed through the standard Modbus protocol. It can be seen that the standard Modbus protocol in this application is transparent to both the master and slave parties involved in the communication, making the communication simpler and more efficient.

[0055] The present application also provides a communication method applied to the above multi-connection control device, such as Figure 2 The figure shows a flow chart of a communication method of the multi-link control device, the method comprising:

[0056] S101, a link layer of a first bus interface receives a first link layer protocol data packet sent by an external device, and parses the first link layer protocol data packet to separate a first destination address and a first check code;

[0057] S102, performing data verification on the first link layer protocol data packet according to the first verification code;

[0058] S103. If the data is verified to be correct, forward the first link layer protocol data packet based on the first destination address.

[0059] The execution subject of the above steps S102 and S103 is also the link layer of the first bus interface.

[0060] like Figure 1 As shown, after the request (first link layer protocol data packet) sent by the external device reaches the link layer connected to the first bus interface 11 of the main controller, there are two possible destination addresses, one is the address of the main controller 10, and the other is the address of the slave controller 20. The link layer of the first bus interface 11 parses the request sent by the external device to separate the destination address, so as to obtain the destination address accessed by the external device.

[0061] Specifically, the forwarding of the first link layer protocol data packet based on the first destination address in the above step S103 specifically includes:

[0062] According to the matching between the first destination address and the address of the main controller, the first link layer protocol data packet is delivered to the application layer of the main controller, and the response data of the application layer is assembled into a response packet and sent back to the external device.

[0063] The above embodiment corresponds to the following communication scenario 1.

[0064] Scenario 1: The destination address is the address of the main controller, that is, the external device accesses the application layer data of the main controller through the first bus interface 11. Figure 3 The figure shows a schematic diagram of communication scenario 1. Figure 3As shown, the link layer of the first bus interface 11 receives a request packet whose destination address matches its own address, submits it to the application layer, and assembles the response data of the application layer into a response packet and sends it back to the request initiator through the bus.

[0065] Specifically, the forwarding of the first link layer protocol data packet based on the first destination address in the above step S103 specifically includes:

[0066] forwarding the first link layer protocol data packet to the link layer of the second bus interface according to the mismatch between the first destination address and the address of the main controller, so that the link layer of the second bus interface sends the first link layer protocol data packet to the second bus and receives a returned response packet;

[0067] The link layer of the first bus interface receives the response packet forwarded by the link layer of the second bus interface, and sends the response packet back to the external device.

[0068] The above embodiment corresponds to the following communication scenario 2.

[0069] Scenario 2: The destination address is not the address of the master controller, that is, the external device accesses the application layer data of a slave controller through the second bus interface 12. Figure 4 The figure shows a schematic diagram of communication scenario 2. Figure 4 As shown, the link layer of the first bus interface 11 receives a request packet whose destination address does not match its own address, first records the address of the request initiator, and forwards the request packet to the second bus through the link layer of the second bus interface 12. The slave controller with a matching address on the second bus responds to the request packet, assembles the response data into a response packet and sends it back to the second bus. The link layer of the second bus interface 12 returns the response packet returned on the second bus to the request initiator through the link layer of the first bus interface 11 along the original path.

[0070] In scenario 2, the external device can send data request bridges to the slave controller through the link layer of the main controller, and can also return the response data of the slave controller to the external device through the link layer bridge of the main controller. The application layer of the main controller is not required to parse the data requests of the external device and cache the response data of the slave controller, thereby improving the communication efficiency of the multi-connected control device.

[0071] It can be seen that the present application can realize data subcontracting to any other hardware interface by software without adding hardware interfaces, which will satisfy the real-time acquisition of data of each node in the Modbus network by external devices, thereby eliminating the need for the master node to cache data blocks of the slave node. As long as the accessible address is open, the slave node can be freely accessed and data can be read on demand, thereby improving communication efficiency and achieving the same effect as direct access.

[0072] In the multi-connected control device provided in the present application, the main controller 10 may also send a data request to the slave controller 20. Therefore, in some embodiments, the above communication method provided in the present application may also include:

[0073] S201, the link layer of the second bus interface receives an application layer protocol data packet sent by the application layer of the main controller, adds a destination address and a check code to the application layer protocol data packet to obtain a second link layer protocol data packet, and sends the second link layer protocol data packet to the second bus;

[0074] S202. The link layer of the second bus interface receives a response packet returned on the second bus, and delivers the response packet to the application layer of the main controller.

[0075] The above embodiment corresponds to the following communication scenario 3.

[0076] Scenario 3: The application layer on the master controller directly accesses the slave controller on the second bus through the second bus interface 12. Figure 5 The figure shows a schematic diagram of communication scenario 3. Figure 5 As shown, the link layer of the second bus interface 12 adds the destination address and the check code to the application layer request packet and sends it directly to the second bus. The slave controller with a matching address on the second bus responds to the request packet, assembles the response data into a response packet and sends it back to the second bus. The second bus interface 12 delivers the response packet returned from the second bus to the application layer.

[0077] It can be seen that in the communication method of the present application, the data reading and writing required by the main controller itself is not affected.

[0078] An embodiment of the present application further provides a multi-split air-conditioning system, which includes the multi-split control device described in the above embodiments.

[0079] The multi-split air conditioning system comprises at least one outdoor unit and at least one indoor unit connected to each outdoor unit. Taking one outdoor unit as an example, the outdoor unit adopts the master controller in the multi-split control device, and the indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit adopts the slave controller in the multi-split control device. Figure 6 As shown, the multi-split air conditioning system includes at least one main controller and at least one slave controller connected to each main controller. The communication method of the multi-split control device provided in the present application can be applied to the multi-split air conditioning system to improve the communication efficiency of the multi-split air conditioning system.

[0080] It should be noted that:

[0081] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that the embodiments of the present application can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0082] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present application and help understand one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the above description of the exemplary embodiments of the present application, the various features of the present application are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, the disclosed method should not be interpreted as reflecting the following intention: the claimed application requires more features than the features clearly stated in each claim. More specifically, as reflected in the claims below, the inventive aspects are less than all the features of the single embodiment disclosed above. Therefore, the claims following the specific embodiment are hereby expressly incorporated into the specific embodiment, wherein each claim itself serves as a separate embodiment of the present application.

[0083] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modules in the devices in the embodiments may be adaptively changed and arranged in one or more devices different from the embodiments. The modules or units or components in the embodiments may be combined into one module or unit or component, and in addition they may be divided into a plurality of submodules or subunits or subcomponents. Except that at least some of such features and / or processes or units are mutually exclusive, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or device disclosed in this manner may be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature providing the same, equivalent or similar purpose.

[0084] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although some embodiments described herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, the combination of features of different embodiments is meant to be within the scope of the present application and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims below, any one of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0085] The various component embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) can be used in practice to implement some or all functions of some or all components in the creation device of the virtual machine according to the embodiment of the present application. The application can also be implemented as a device or device program (e.g., computer program and computer program product) for executing part or all of the methods described herein. Such a program implementing the present application can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or can have the form of one or more signals. Such a signal can be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0086] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate the present application rather than limit the present application, and that those skilled in the art may design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbol between brackets should not be constructed as a limitation to the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "one" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of multiple such elements. The present application may be implemented by means of hardware including several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim that lists several devices, several of these devices may be embodied by the same hardware item. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc. does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

[0087] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural changes made by using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings under the concept of the present invention, or directly / indirectly applied in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-connection control device, characterized in that: include: a master controller and at least one slave controller; The master controller comprises: a first bus interface and a second bus interface; each of the slave controllers is connected to the second bus interface of the master controller via the second bus, and the first bus interface of the master controller is used to connect to an external device via the first bus; The external device, the master controller and the slave controller communicate with each other based on a preset Modbus protocol stack, and the Modbus protocol stack includes: a link layer protocol and an application layer protocol.

2. The multi-connection control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first bus interface is configured as a Modbus slave mode, and the second bus interface is configured as a Modbus master mode.

3. The multi-connection control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The link layer protocol includes: A destination address and a check code are added to the application layer protocol data packet sent by the application layer to obtain a link layer protocol data packet, and the link layer protocol data packet is sent to the transmission bus.

4. The multi-connection control device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The link layer protocol also includes: The link layer parses the link layer protocol data packets received from other nodes to separate the destination address and check code, performs data verification based on the check code, and submits the data packets with correct verification and destination address matching its own address to the application layer.

5. A communication method for a multi-connection control device, characterized in that: Applied to the multi-connection control device according to claim 4, the method comprises: The link layer of the first bus interface receives a first link layer protocol data packet sent by an external device, and parses the first link layer protocol data packet to separate a first destination address and a first check code; Performing data verification on the first link layer protocol data packet according to the first verification code; If the data is verified to be correct, the first link layer protocol data packet is forwarded based on the first destination address.

6. The communication method of the multi-connection control device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The forwarding of the first link layer protocol data packet based on the first destination address includes: According to the matching between the first destination address and the address of the main controller, the first link layer protocol data packet is delivered to the application layer of the main controller, and the response data of the application layer is assembled into a response packet and sent back to the external device.

7. The communication method of a multi-connection control device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The forwarding of the first link layer protocol data packet based on the first destination address includes: forwarding the first link layer protocol data packet to the link layer of the second bus interface according to the mismatch between the first destination address and the address of the main controller, so that the link layer of the second bus interface sends the first link layer protocol data packet to the second bus and receives a returned response packet; The link layer of the first bus interface receives the response packet forwarded by the link layer of the second bus interface, and sends the response packet back to the external device.

8. The communication method of a multi-connection control device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The link layer of the second bus interface receives an application layer protocol data packet sent by the application layer of the main controller, adds a destination address and a check code to the application layer protocol data packet, obtains a second link layer protocol data packet, and sends the second link layer protocol data packet to the second bus.

9. The communication method of the multi-connection control device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The link layer of the second bus interface receives the response packet returned on the second bus, and delivers the response packet to the application layer of the main controller.

10. A multi-split air conditioning system, characterized in that: It comprises the multi-connection control device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

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