Equipment discovery method and device, equipment, storage medium and program product

Abstract

The invention discloses an equipment discovery method and device, equipment, a storage medium and a program product, and belongs to the technical field of Internet of Things. The method comprises: sending a first query message (301), the first query message being used for querying a device supporting an upgrade bridging capability; and receiving a first response message (302), the first response message indicating that the first device supports the upgrade bridging capability. According to the scheme, the application of the bridging function is not limited to bridging equipment with preset specific bridging capability, so that the bridging application scene is expanded.

Description

Device discovery method, apparatus, device, storage medium, and program product Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of Internet of Things technology, and in particular to a device discovery method, apparatus, device, storage medium, and program product. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, more and more IoT devices have brought great convenience to users' production and life in many fields such as smart homes and industrial production.

[0003] In related technologies, different IoT devices may support different IoT protocols. In order to enable IoT devices supporting different IoT protocols to be interconnected or uniformly managed, IoT devices supporting different IoT protocols can be networked through a bridge device.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides a device discovery method, apparatus, device, storage medium, and program product. The technical solution is as follows:

[0006] In one aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device discovery method, which is performed by a configuration device and includes:

[0007] Sending a first query message, where the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading the bridging capability;

[0008] A first response message is received, where the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0009] In one aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device discovery method, the method comprising:

[0010] receiving a first query message sent by a configuration device, where the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading bridging capabilities;

[0011] A first response message is sent to the configuration device; the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0012] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a device discovery apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

[0013] A sending module, configured to send a first query message, where the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading the bridging capability;

[0014] The receiving module is configured to receive a first response message, where the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0015] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a device discovery apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

[0016] A receiving module, configured to receive a first query message sent by a configuration device, wherein the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading the bridging capability;

[0017] The sending module is used to send a first response message to the configuration device; the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0018] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer device, wherein the computer device is implemented as an information reporting device, and the computer device includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver;

[0019] The memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program to enable the computer device to implement the above-mentioned device discovery method.

[0020] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer device, which includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The memory stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to be executed by the processor to implement the above-mentioned device discovery method.

[0021] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the above-mentioned device discovery method.

[0022] On the other hand, the present application also provides a chip, which is used to run in a computer device so that the computer device executes the above-mentioned device discovery method.

[0023] In another aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, the computer program product including computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the computer device to perform the above-mentioned device discovery method.

[0024] On the other hand, the present application provides a computer program, which is executed by a processor of a computer device to implement the above-mentioned device discovery method.

[0025] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can bring the following beneficial effects:

[0026] The configuration device sends a first query message and receives a first response message indicating that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability, so that the configuration device can discover a bridging device that currently does not have one or more bridging capabilities but can obtain the one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading, so that the application of the bridging function is not limited to bridging devices that are pre-set with specific bridging capabilities, thereby expanding the application scenarios of bridging. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0028] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of the Internet of Things provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the bridging architecture involved in this application;

[0030] FIG3 is a flow chart of a device discovery method provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG4 is a flow chart of a device discovery method provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG5 is a framework diagram of a discovery process of an upgradeable bridge device provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG6 is a flow chart of a device discovery method provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a process of discovering a bridging device according to the embodiment shown in FIG6 ;

[0035] FIG8 is a flow chart of a device discovery method provided by an embodiment of the application;

[0036] FIG9 is a framework diagram of a discovery process of an upgradeable bridging device provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG10 is a flowchart of a device discovery method provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a process of discovering a bridging device according to the embodiment shown in FIG10 ;

[0039] FIG12 is a block diagram of a device discovery apparatus provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG13 is a block diagram of a device discovery apparatus provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG14 is a block diagram of a device discovery apparatus provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a computer device provided in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the implementation methods of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0044] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0045] Please refer to Figure 1, which shows a schematic diagram of the network architecture of the Internet of Things provided by one embodiment of the present application. The network architecture of the Internet of Things may include: Internet of Things devices 110 (shown in Figure 1 as Internet of Things devices 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d) and a configuration device 120; optionally, the network architecture may also include a bridge device 130 and a bridge service management device 140;

[0046] The IoT device 110 may refer to a device in the IoT that is used to provide client functions or server functions corresponding to the IoT protocol.

[0047] For example, the IoT device 110 may be a smart home device, such as a smart switch, a smart lamp, a smart TV, a smart air conditioner, a smart refrigerator, a smart microwave oven, a smart rice cooker, a sweeping robot, and the like.

[0048] Alternatively, the IoT device 110 may be an industrial production equipment, such as a lathe, an industrial robot, a solar panel, a wind turbine, and the like.

[0049] Alternatively, the IoT device 110 may be a commercial service device, such as an unmanned vending machine, etc.

[0050] Alternatively, the IoT device 110 may be a sensing device, such as a surveillance camera, an infrared sensor, a sound sensor, a temperature sensor, and the like.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the configuration device 120 is a user-side terminal device. For example, the configuration device 120 may be a smart controller, a smart remote control, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a smart watch, a smart TV, a smart speaker, a smart switch, a gateway, or the like. Alternatively, the configuration device 120 may be a personal computer, such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a personal workstation.

[0052] In another possible implementation, the configuration device 120 refers to a client entity (which may be a virtual entity) running on the terminal device. For example, the configuration device 120 may be an application (Application, APP) running in the terminal device for accessing, controlling, and managing the IoT device.

[0053] The bridge device 130 is used to enable interaction between two devices supporting different IoT protocols. The bridge device 130 provides information conversion and transmission services between IoT devices 110 supporting different IoT protocols, or between IoT devices 110 supporting different IoT protocols and the configuration device 120.

[0054] The bridge device 130 may be a device dedicated to bridging, or the bridge device 130 may be an intelligent device with a bridging function, such as a gateway or a router.

[0055] The bridging service management device 140 can be a server deployed on the network side or a computer device deployed offline. The bridging service management device 140 can store relevant information about each bridging device 130 or other devices with bridging capabilities, such as supported bridging capabilities, the number of devices supporting bridging, the number of bridged devices, etc. The bridging service management device 140 can manage the bridging devices 130 or other devices with bridging capabilities.

[0056] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned IoT device 110, configuration device 120, bridge device 130, and bridge service management device 140 can be electronic devices that meet the same or different IoT protocols. For example, they can be electronic devices that meet the Matter protocol under the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA).

[0057] In FIG1 , when the IoT device 110 a and the IoT device 110 c support the same protocol specification, a secure connection may be established between the IoT device 110 a and the IoT device 110 c , for example, a secure connection may be established based on the Matter specification.

[0058] When the IoT device 110 b and the IoT device 110 d support different protocol specifications, for example, the IoT device 110 b is a Zigbee device and the IoT device 110 d is a Matter device, the IoT device 110 b and the IoT device 110 d may be connected via the bridge device 130 .

[0059] Please refer to Figure 2, which shows a schematic diagram of the bridging architecture involved in this application. As shown in Figure 2, taking the bridging framework under the Matter protocol as an example, in the current bridge solution of the Internet of Things, a bridge manufacturer application 201 (also called bridge Manufacturer App, which is a manufacturer's privately implemented App) is required to complete the bridging function of heterogeneous devices (i.e., non-Matter protocol devices, such as Zigbee devices) such as bridged sub-devices 202 (also called Bridged Device, corresponding to BD1 to BD3 in Figure 2), wherein the Bridged Device in Figure 2 can be a physical Internet of Things device or a logical device; the bridge Manufacturer App controls the generation of corresponding Matter devices 204 (also called Matter Device, corresponding to MD1 to MD4 in Figure 2) for devices such as BD1 on the bridge device 203 (Bridge), so that the App that supports the Matter protocol (i.e., Matter App 1 to Matter App 3) can view and control the bridged sub-device 202 through the bridge device 203, wherein the Matter Device in Figure 2 can be a logical device.

[0060] Among them, the implementation method of generating corresponding Matter devices 204 for devices such as BD1 can be: generating corresponding endpoints on the Bridge data model, one or more endpoints corresponding to one Matter Device; therefore, the Bridge data model includes both the endpoints of its own functions (which can be called endpoint0) and the endpoints corresponding to the heterogeneous devices it bridges.

[0061] In a bridging solution described in this application, the bridging capability is tightly coupled with the bridging device, meaning that the bridging capability of the bridging device is already installed at the factory. However, devices supporting different IoT protocols require different bridging capabilities for communication. This means that if a matching bridging device is not pre-installed in the IoT, communication between the IoT device and other heterogeneous IoT devices cannot be established via bridging, thus limiting the application scenarios of bridging.

[0062] For the above solution, the subsequent embodiments of the present application provide a device discovery solution that can discover devices in the Internet of Things that have the function of upgrading to obtain new bridging capabilities. That is to say, the configuration device can discover devices in the Internet of Things that have obtained bridging capabilities that they did not previously have through upgrading, thereby greatly improving the flexibility of bridging and expanding the application scenarios of bridging.

[0063] It should be noted that the solutions provided in the various embodiments of this application are not limited to the bridging solution between the Matter protocol and other IoT protocols, but are applicable to heterogeneous device bridging solutions between any two or more IoT protocols.

[0064] Please refer to FIG3 , which shows a flow chart of a device discovery method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method may be performed by a configuration device, for example, the configuration device may be the configuration device 120 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 . The method may include the following steps:

[0065] Step 301: Send a first query message, where the first query message is used to query devices that support upgrading bridging capabilities.

[0066] The above-mentioned support for upgrading the bridging capability may refer to a function of obtaining new bridging capability through upgrading.

[0067] In the embodiments of the present application, bridging refers to a technology in the IoT field that enables two or more IoT devices based on different IoT protocols to communicate with each other.

[0068] The aforementioned bridging capability refers to the ability to provide bridging services between IoT devices corresponding to two different IoT protocols. For example, if device A has the ability to bridge between IoT protocols A and B, IoT device 1 supporting IoT protocol A and IoT device 2 supporting IoT protocol B can each connect to device A, and IoT devices 1 and 2 can communicate through device A. For example, device A converts messages from IoT device 1 using IoT protocol A into messages from IoT protocol B and forwards them to IoT device 2. Conversely, device A can also convert messages from IoT device 2 using IoT protocol B into messages from IoT protocol A and forward them to IoT device 1.

[0069] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned upgrade may include updating the firmware of the device; and / or, the above-mentioned upgrade may also include updating a third-party application in the device.

[0070] The firmware may refer to a program written into the device's Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM) or Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM). The device's operating system can drive specific hardware modules in the device to perform actions through the firmware. For example, in an embodiment of the present application, after the device is upgraded to obtain new bridging capabilities, the device can use the built-in communication module to convert and forward messages between two new IoT protocols.

[0071] Step 302: Receive a first response message, where the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0072] In the embodiment of the present application, the first device may be a device that is not pre-configured with one or more bridging capabilities, and can obtain the one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading.

[0073] For example, the first device is an electronic device that originally has partial bridging capabilities among all bridging capabilities and supports obtaining new bridging capabilities through upgrading; for example, the first device can be a dedicated bridging device with partial bridging capabilities or a non-dedicated bridging device (for example, a certain Internet of Things device can also serve as a bridging device).

[0074] For another example, the first device may be an electronic device that originally did not have bridging capabilities and supports obtaining bridging capabilities through upgrades; for example, the first device may be an Internet of Things device, which does not have bridging capabilities when it leaves the factory, and which supports obtaining one or more bridging capabilities through subsequent upgrades.

[0075] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information;

[0076] The first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols;

[0077] The first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

[0078] In a possible implementation, the first query message further includes device information of the target device;

[0079] The specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the IoT protocol indicated by the first IoT protocol information and the IoT protocol supported by the target device.

[0080] In one possible implementation, the device information includes at least one of the following information:

[0081] Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model.

[0082] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0083] Sending a second query message, where the second query message is used to query a second device having a specified bridging capability;

[0084] Sending a first query message, including:

[0085] If the second device is not found, a first query message is sent.

[0086] In a possible implementation, when the second device is not found, sending the first query message includes:

[0087] If no second response message is received within a specified period of time after sending the second query message, the first query message is sent; the second response message is a message returned by a device that has received the second query message and has the specified bridging capability.

[0088] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0089] receiving bridge status information of the first device sent by the query response device, wherein the bridge status information is used to indicate at least one of a bridge capability and a bridge quantity;

[0090] The bridging capability includes at least one of supported bridging capability, existing bridging capability, and upgradeable bridging capability;

[0091] The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

[0092] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0093] An upgrade request is sent to the first device, where the upgrade request is used to request the first device to upgrade its bridging capability.

[0094] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0095] A bridging instruction is sent to an Internet of Things device corresponding to the upgraded bridging capability of the first device, where the bridging instruction is used to instruct the Internet of Things device to access the first device.

[0096] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0097] Sending a confirmation request message to the first device;

[0098] A confirmation response message returned by the first device is received; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0099] In one possible implementation, the first response message is a message sent by the first device in response to the first query message;

[0100] Alternatively, the first response message is a message sent by a bridging service management device other than the first device in response to the first query message.

[0101] In a possible implementation, when the first response message is a message sent by the first device, sending the first query message includes:

[0102] The first query message is sent by broadcasting.

[0103] In a possible implementation, when the first response message is a message sent by the bridging service management device, the method further includes:

[0104] The identification information of the bridging service management device is sent to the first device, so that the first device registers information that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability with the bridging service management device.

[0105] In a possible implementation manner, the identification information of the bridging service management device includes at least one of device identification information and address identification information of the bridging service management device.

[0106] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes a query identifier; the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0107] In the scheme shown in the embodiment of the present application, when the configuration device discovers a bridging device (including a dedicated or non-dedicated bridging device), it can send a first query message. After the query response device receives the first query message, based on the query conditions of the first query message, if it is determined that the first device can obtain new bridging capabilities through upgrading, it can return a first response message to the configuration device to notify the configuration device that the first device can obtain new bridging capabilities through upgrading, so that the configuration device can discover bridging devices that currently do not have one or more bridging capabilities, but can obtain the one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading.

[0108] To sum up, in the solution shown in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration device sends a first query message and receives a first response message indicating that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability, so that the configuration device can discover bridging devices that currently do not have one or more bridging capabilities but can obtain the one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading, so that the application of the bridging function is not limited to bridging devices that are pre-set with specific bridging capabilities, thereby expanding the application scenarios of bridging.

[0109] Please refer to FIG4 , which shows a flow chart of a device discovery method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method may be performed by a query response device, which may be a device other than the configuration device 120 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 . The method may include the following steps:

[0110] Step 401: Receive a first query message sent by a configuration device, where the first query message is used to query devices that support upgrading bridging capabilities.

[0111] Step 402: Send a first response message to the configuration device; the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0112] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information;

[0113] The first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is a bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols;

[0114] The first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

[0115] In a possible implementation, the first query message further includes device information of the target device;

[0116] The specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and the Internet of Things protocol supported by the target device.

[0117] In one possible implementation, the device information includes at least one of the following information:

[0118] Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model.

[0119] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0120] Sending bridging state information of the first device to the configuration device, wherein the bridging state information is used to indicate at least one of a bridging capability and a number of bridges;

[0121] The bridging capability includes at least one of a supported bridging capability, an existing bridging capability, and an upgradeable bridging capability;

[0122] The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

[0123] In a possible implementation manner, the method is executed by the first device, or the method is executed by a bridging service management device other than the first device.

[0124] In a possible implementation, when the method is performed by the first device, the method further includes:

[0125] receiving an upgrade request sent by the configuration device;

[0126] The bridging capability is upgraded according to the upgrade request.

[0127] In a possible implementation, when the method is performed by the first device, the receiving a first query message sent by the configuration device includes:

[0128] The first query message is received by the configuration device through broadcasting.

[0129] In a possible implementation, when the method is performed by the first device, the method further includes:

[0130] receiving a confirmation request message sent by the configuration device;

[0131] According to the confirmation request message, a confirmation response message is returned to the configuration device; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0132] In a possible implementation, when the method is performed by the bridging service management device, the method further includes:

[0133] receiving a registration request sent by the first device, where the registration request includes information indicating that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability;

[0134] According to the registration request, the first device is registered as a device supporting upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0135] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes a query identifier; the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0136] To sum up, in the scheme shown in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration device sends a first query message, and after the query response device receives the first query message, it returns a first response message indicating that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability to the configuration device, so that the configuration device can discover bridging devices that currently do not have one or more bridging capabilities but can obtain the one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading, so that the application of the bridging function is not limited to bridging devices that are pre-set with specific bridging capabilities, thereby expanding the application scenarios of bridging.

[0137] The query response device may be the bridge device 130 or the IoT device 110 in the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 , or the query response device may be the bridge service management device 140 in the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 .

[0138] For example, through the scheme shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the present application, the configuration device can directly query the first device whether it can obtain one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading, that is, directly query the first device whether it supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0139] Please refer to Figure 5, which shows a framework diagram of the discovery process of an upgradeable bridging device provided by an embodiment of the present application. In a possible application scenario, as shown in Figure 5, when the configuration device 51 in the Internet of Things needs to query surrounding devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities (that is, can obtain one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading), it can send a first query message; after receiving the first query message, if the first device 52 determines that it supports upgraded bridging capabilities, it can return a response message to the configuration device 51 to notify the configuration device 51 that it supports upgraded bridging capabilities; optionally, if the first device 52 determines that it does not have the upgrade function, it may not respond.

[0140] Please refer to FIG6 , which shows a flow chart of a device discovery method provided by one embodiment of the present application. The method can be interactively executed by a configuration device and a first device. For example, the configuration device can be the configuration device 120 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 , and the first device can be the bridge device 130 or the IoT device 110 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 . In this case, the first device can be the query response device in the embodiment shown in FIG3 or FIG4 . The method can include the following steps:

[0141] Step 601: The configuration device sends a first query message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first query message sent by the configuration device.

[0142] The first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading the bridging capability; the aforementioned upgrading the bridging capability may refer to obtaining a new bridging capability through upgrading.

[0143] In a possible implementation, the configuration device sends the first query message in a broadcast manner. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first query message sent by the configuration device in a broadcast manner.

[0144] In an embodiment of the present application, a configuration device may send an IoT broadcast message to trigger responses from devices within the IoT that support the upgraded bridging capability, thereby enabling discovery of bridging devices that support the upgraded bridging capability. Accordingly, upon receiving the broadcast of the first query message, a first device within the IoT, if it determines that it supports the upgraded bridging capability, may send a first response message to the configuration device via unicast.

[0145] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes a query identifier, where the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0146] Among them, the above-mentioned query identifier may refer to an identifier for searching for a device with an upgrade function. For example, the query identifier may be a specified URL (Uniform Resource Locator) identifier, or the query identifier may be a bridgeServiceUpgradeflag (bridge service upgrade flag) identifier added to the payload of the first query message.

[0147] In one possible implementation, the first query message includes first IoT protocol information; the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

[0148] In a possible implementation, the first query message further includes device information of the target device.

[0149] In one possible implementation, the device information includes at least one of the following information:

[0150] Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model, etc.

[0151] For example, the first query message may carry some device information indicating the search conditions, such as supported protocol names, protocol versions, software versions, hardware versions, firmware versions, basic product information (such as manufacturer identification, device type, device model), and other information.

[0152] Step 602: When the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability, the first device sends a first response message to the configuration device; correspondingly, the configuration device receives the first response message.

[0153] The first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0154] In an embodiment of the present application, after the first device receives the above-mentioned first query message, if the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability, it can send a first response message to the configuration device to notify the configuration device that the first device can obtain new bridging capabilities through upgrading.

[0155] The first device may send the first response message to the configuration device in a unicast manner.

[0156] In one possible implementation, when the first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information, the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols.

[0157] In a possible implementation, when the first query message also includes device information of the target device, the specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and the Internet of Things protocol supported by the target device.

[0158] In an embodiment of the present application, the first query message may further include a query condition (i.e., the first IoT protocol information, or the first IoT protocol information and the device information of the target device). In this case, the first query message is used to query for a specified bridging capability that can be obtained through an upgrade to provide a bridging service for the target device. Accordingly, after the first device receives the first query message, if the first device has the function of obtaining the specified bridging capability through an upgrade, it may send a first response message to the configuration device to inform the configuration device that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability and can provide a bridging service for the target device through the upgrade.

[0159] In one possible implementation, before sending the first query message, the configuration device may also send a second query message for querying a second device with a specified bridging capability. Optionally, the second query message may include query conditions (such as the first IoT protocol information, or the first IoT protocol information and the target device's device information).

[0160] The process of sending the first query message may include:

[0161] If the second device is not found, a first query message is sent.

[0162] In a possible implementation, when the second device is not found, the process of sending the first query message may include:

[0163] If the second response message is not received within a specified period of time after sending the second query message, the configuration device sends the first query message; the second response message is a message returned by the device that has received the second query message and has the specified bridging capability.

[0164] In an embodiment of the present application, when searching for a device that can provide a bridging service to a target device, the configuration device may prioritize searching for devices that already have the specified bridging capability. In this case, the configuration device may send a second query message carrying the first IoT protocol information, or the first IoT protocol information and the device information of the target device. When a bridging device receives the second query message and already has the specified bridging capability, it may return a second response message to the configuration device to inform the configuration device that the bridging device has the specified bridging capability. If the configuration device does not receive the second response message within a specified period of time after sending the second query message, it is considered that there are no devices with the specified bridging capability around the configuration device. In this case, the configuration device may initiate a process of querying for devices that can upgrade the specified bridging capability, i.e., sending the aforementioned first query message.

[0165] In addition, after sending the second query message, the configuration device may also determine that the second device is not queried through other means; for example, after sending the second query message, the configuration device receives a second response message, and the signal strength of the second response message is less than the specified signal strength threshold, or it is detected that the distance between the sender of the second response message and the configuration device is greater than the specified distance threshold. At this time, it can also be determined that the second device is not queried.

[0166] For another example, the second query message may be a unicast message sent to a management device. When the configuration device receives a response message returned by the management device, and the response message indicates that there is no second device around the configuration device, the configuration device may determine that the second device is not found.

[0167] Step 603: The first device sends the bridging state information of the first device to the configuration device; correspondingly, the configuration device receives the bridging state information of the first device sent by the first device.

[0168] The bridging state information may be carried in the first response message, or may be sent independently of the first response message.

[0169] The bridging state information is used to indicate at least one of a bridging capability and a number of bridges;

[0170] The bridging capability includes at least one of supported bridging capability, existing bridging capability, and upgradeable bridging capability;

[0171] The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

[0172] The supported bridging capabilities include existing bridging capabilities and bridging capabilities that can be upgraded.

[0173] The total number of bridgeable devices includes the sum of the number of bridged devices and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

[0174] In an embodiment of the present application, for a device with upgradeable bridging capabilities (such as the first device mentioned above), the parameters involved in the above query message can be saved in the device so as to accept a general query message.

[0175] For example, the device with upgradeable bridging capabilities may use a bridgeServiceInfo service to store the above information, such as at least one of the following information: bridgeable protocols, upgraded bridgeable protocols, protocol versions, number of bridged devices, number of remaining bridgeable devices, etc.

[0176] Optionally, the above-mentioned bridging state information may also include upgrade payment information corresponding to new bridging capabilities that can be obtained through upgrade, etc.

[0177] Step 604: The configuration device sends an upgrade request to the first device, where the upgrade request is used to request the first device to upgrade its bridging capability.

[0178] In an embodiment of the present application, the configuration device may trigger the first device to obtain new bridging capabilities through an upgrade through an upgrade request.

[0179] In one possible implementation, the configuration device may display a device list containing identifiers of devices that have responded to the first query message, such as the first device. The configuration device may then receive a user request for a device in the device list (for example, the first device) and send an upgrade request to the first device.

[0180] In an embodiment of the present application, after the configuration device sends the above-mentioned first query message through broadcasting, the first query message can be received by multiple devices. Accordingly, response messages returned by multiple bridging devices including the first device may also be received. At this time, the configuration device can display a device list, which contains device options corresponding to each device that has returned a response message to the first query message. The user can select the device option of a device in the device list to make the configuration device send an upgrade request to the device corresponding to the selected device option.

[0181] Optionally, the device list may further display bridging status information of each device, so that the user can select one or more devices to upgrade the bridging capability based on the bridging status information of each device.

[0182] In one possible implementation, before sending an upgrade request to the first device, the configuration device may also send a confirmation request message to the first device; the confirmation request message is used to request the first device to confirm whether it supports upgrading the bridging capability. Optionally, the confirmation request message can be used to request the first device to confirm whether it supports upgrading the specified bridging capability.

[0183] Correspondingly, the configuration device may also receive a confirmation response message returned by the first device; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0184] In an embodiment of the present application, if the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability and the bridging capability can be upgraded (e.g., the bridging capability has not yet been upgraded), the first device may return a confirmation response message to the configuration device. Optionally, after receiving the confirmation response message, the first device may send an upgrade request to the first device.

[0185] For example, when the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability and currently does not have the specified bridging capability, the first device can return a confirmation response message to the configuration device; accordingly, after receiving the confirmation response message, the configuration device sends an upgrade request to the first device, instructing the first device to upgrade and obtain the above-mentioned specified bridging capability.

[0186] In a possible implementation, the configuration device may further send a bridging instruction to an IoT device corresponding to the upgraded bridging capability of the first device, where the bridging instruction is used to instruct the IoT device to access the first device.

[0187] In an embodiment of the present application, after the configuration device triggers the first device to upgrade and obtain new bridging capabilities (such as upgrading to obtain the above-mentioned specified bridging capabilities) through an upgrade request, it can also send a bridging instruction to the Internet of Things device corresponding to the upgraded bridging capability of the first device (such as the above-mentioned target device), instructing the target device to access the first device.

[0188] Please refer to Figure 7, which shows a schematic diagram of a process for discovering a bridge device involved in an embodiment of the present application. Assume that the configuration device is a configurator (APP) in a mobile phone, the target device is a smart home device (hereinafter referred to as a heterogeneous sub-device), and the Internet of Things includes two devices with or upgradeable bridging capabilities (hereinafter referred to as bridge device 1 and bridge device 2). As shown in Figure 7, the process includes the following steps:

[0189] S701, the APP obtains the device information of the heterogeneous sub-device by scanning a QR code or other means, including but not limited to the supported protocol name, protocol version, software version, hardware version, firmware version, product type, product model, and other information.

[0190] S702 , after acquiring the above information, the APP broadcasts a query message 1 (corresponding to the above second query message) to search for a bridge device that can provide a bridge service for the heterogeneous sub-device.

[0191] The broadcast query message 1 may include the identifier of the bridging device to be searched and / or all or part of the information of the heterogeneous sub-devices involved in step S701. After receiving the above information, the bridging device that can provide bridging services for the heterogeneous sub-devices may respond to the query message 1.

[0192] Among them, step S702 can be an accurate broadcast, that is, the above-mentioned query message 1 is used to query the bridge device that provides bridging services for a specific heterogeneous sub-device; or, the above-mentioned query message 1 can also be used to find all bridge devices, as to whether the found bridge device can provide bridging services for the above-mentioned heterogeneous sub-device, it can be confirmed by the user.

[0193] S703, if no bridge device can provide bridge service for the heterogeneous sub-device (ie, no response to the query message 1 is received), the APP sends a query message 2 via broadcast to search for a device with upgradeable bridge capability.

[0194] The device with upgradeable bridging capability is a device that has acquired new bridging capability through upgrading. Such a device can be upgraded to a bridging device that can provide bridging services for specific heterogeneous sub-devices through online upgrading.

[0195] Optionally, there are two situations: 1. The current device is not a dedicated bridging device, but can be upgraded to a bridging device; 2. The current device is a dedicated bridging device, but currently does not have the ability to bridge the above-mentioned heterogeneous sub-devices (protocols, etc.), and needs to obtain this capability through upgrading.

[0196] The parameters that may be carried in the query message 2 include: an identifier of the device to be searched for upgraded bridging capability; in addition, the message may also carry some search conditions such as protocol, protocol version, manufacturer, device type, device model, etc.

[0197] For a bridging device with upgradeable bridging capability, it can locally store the parameters involved in the query message 2 so as to accept the general query message 2 .

[0198] S704: After receiving the query message 2, the bridge device that meets the above requirements may respond to the query message 2.

[0199] Optionally, the response message to the query message 2 indicates that it can upgrade its ability to bridge the heterogeneous sub-device. In addition, the response message may also carry the number of devices that have been connected to the device, the number of devices that can be connected, (or an access capability index: the index specifies the ability of the device to access devices, for example, the index is divided into 5 levels from 1 to 5, and the higher the level, the stronger the access capability. The grading method can be implemented according to the attributes of the device itself, such as grading based on the number of connected devices, its own computing resources, memory resources, etc.), and may also carry a bridging device information (which can be a URL), which contains information about the heterogeneous sub-devices that can be upgraded to the device: such as protocol, protocol version, manufacturer, category, model, etc., as well as corresponding upgrade payment issues, etc.

[0200] S705 , after receiving the above information, the APP may generate a device list for the user to select a bridge device whose bridge capability is to be upgraded.

[0201] S706, the APP performs an upgrade process on the selected device. After the upgrade, the bridge device becomes a bridge device that can bridge the specified heterogeneous sub-devices.

[0202] To sum up, in the solution shown in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration device sends a first query message, and after the first device that supports upgrading the bridging capability receives the first query message, it notifies the configuration device through a first response message, so that the configuration device can discover the bridging device that currently does not have one or more bridging capabilities, but can obtain the one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading, so that the application of the bridging function is not limited to bridging devices that are pre-set with specific bridging capabilities, thereby expanding the application scenarios of bridging.

[0203] In the solutions shown in Figures 5 and 6 above, the configuration device directly queries the bridge device to see if it has the upgrade capability. Based on the solutions shown in Figures 3 and 4 above, in another solution involved in this application, the configuration device can also query a designated device (i.e., the bridge service management device) for each bridge device that has the upgrade capability. In other words, the configuration device queries the bridge service management device for devices that support the upgrade capability.

[0204] In the above solution, the bridging service management device may store information related to each device supporting the upgraded bridging capability. For example, in one possible implementation, the information related to each device supporting the upgraded bridging capability may be pre-registered with the bridging service management device by the corresponding device.

[0205] Please refer to FIG8 , which shows a flow chart of a device discovery method provided by one embodiment of the present application. The method may be performed by a first device, for example, the first device may be the bridge device 130 or the IoT device 110 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 . The method may include the following steps:

[0206] Step 801: Receive identification information of a bridging service management device sent by a configuration device.

[0207] Step 802: Send a registration request to the bridging service management device according to the identification information of the bridging service management device; the registration request is used to register the second-first device in the bridging service management device as a device with the bridge capability supporting the upgraded function.

[0208] To sum up, in the scheme shown in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration device can instruct the bridging device to register with the bridging service management device, and the subsequent configuration device can send a query message to the bridging service management device. The bridging service management device will indicate the second device with the function of upgrading to obtain new bridging capabilities to the configuration device, so that the configuration device can discover the bridging device that currently does not have one or more bridging capabilities, but can obtain one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading, so that the application of the bridging function is not limited to bridging devices that are pre-set with specific bridging capabilities, thereby expanding the application scenarios of bridging.

[0209] Among them, the scheme shown in the above Figure 8 is explained by taking the configuration device support instructing the first device to register with the bridging service management device as an example. Optionally, the first device can also trigger registration with the bridging service management device in other ways. For example, after discovering the bridging service management device, the first device can actively send a registration request to the bridging service management device, or, after discovering the first device, the bridging service management device can send the above-mentioned registration indication to the first device to instruct the first device to send a registration request to the bridging service management device.

[0210] Through the solutions shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 of the present application, the configuration device can indirectly query the bridging service management device for a second device that can obtain the one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading.

[0211] Please refer to Figure 9, which shows a discovery process framework diagram of an upgradeable bridging device provided by an embodiment of the present application. In a possible application scenario, as shown in Figure 9, the configuration device 901 in the Internet of Things can first instruct the first device 902 to register with the bridging service management device 903 and register it as a device that supports upgraded bridging capabilities; when the configuration device 901 needs to query the surrounding devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities (that is, can obtain one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading), it can send a first query message to the bridging service management device 903; after receiving the first query message, the bridging service management device 903 indicates the first device 902 to the configuration device 901 to notify the configuration device 901 that the first device 902 supports upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0212] Please refer to FIG10 , which shows a flow chart of a device discovery method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method can be interactively executed by a configuration device, a bridging service management device, and a first device. For example, the configuration device can be the configuration device 120 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 , the first device can be the bridging device 130 or the IoT device 110 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 ; the bridging service management device can be the bridging service management device 130 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 ; the method can include the following steps:

[0213] Step 1001: The configuration device sends identification information of the bridging service management device to the first device; correspondingly, the first device receives the identification information of the bridging service management device sent by the configuration device.

[0214] In an embodiment of the present application, for a bridge device in the Internet of Things (e.g., a dedicated bridge device or a non-dedicated bridge device with upgradeable bridging capabilities), a configuration device may configure the bridge device with identification information of a bridge service management device. For example, the configuration device may configure the bridge device with the identification information of the bridge service management device using a configuration instruction.

[0215] In a possible implementation, the identification information of the bridging service management device includes:

[0216] At least one of device identification information and address identification information of the bridging service management device.

[0217] The device identification information may include a node ID or a device ID, etc. The address identification information may include an IP (Internet Protocol) address of the bridge service management device, etc.

[0218] Step 1002: The first device sends a registration request to the bridging service management device according to the identification information of the bridging service management device; correspondingly, the bridging service management device receives the registration request sent by the first device.

[0219] The registration request includes information that the first device supports upgraded bridging capabilities; the registration request is used to register the information that the first device supports upgraded bridging capabilities with the bridging service management device, so as to register the first device as a device supporting upgraded bridging capabilities in the bridging service management device.

[0220] For example, after receiving the identification information of the bridge service management device configured by the configuration device, the first device may send a request carrying a registration identifier to the bridge service management device. The registration identifier may be a URL or specific identification information carried in the payload of the request.

[0221] Optionally, the information that the first device supports upgraded bridging capabilities may include relevant information about the upgraded bridging capabilities supported by the first device, such as identification information of the upgraded bridging capabilities, an Internet of Things protocol corresponding to the upgraded bridging capabilities, and the like.

[0222] Step 1003: The bridging service management device registers the first device as a device supporting upgraded bridging capabilities according to the registration request.

[0223] In an embodiment of the present application, after receiving the registration request, the bridging service management device can set the first device as a device that supports upgrading bridging capabilities, and store relevant information of the first device in the bridging service management device or in a server on the network side.

[0224] In a possible implementation, the first device may further send bridging state information of the first device to the bridging service management device, and accordingly, the bridging service management device receives the bridging state information of the first device; the bridging state information is used to indicate at least one of a bridging capability and a number of bridges;

[0225] The bridging capability includes at least one of supported bridging capability, existing bridging capability, and upgradeable bridging capability;

[0226] The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

[0227] Step 1004: The configuration device sends a first query message to the bridging service management device; correspondingly, the bridging service management device receives the first query message sent by the configuration device.

[0228] The first query message is used to query devices that support upgrading bridging capabilities.

[0229] In an embodiment of the present application, when the configuration device needs to query surrounding devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities, it can send a first query message to the bridging service management device to query bridging devices registered with the bridging service management device that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0230] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes a query identifier; the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0231] In one possible implementation, the first query message includes first IoT protocol information; wherein the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

[0232] In a possible implementation manner, the first query message further includes device information of the target device.

[0233] In one possible implementation, the device information includes at least one of the following information:

[0234] Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model.

[0235] Step 1005: The bridging service management device sends a first response message to the configuration device. Correspondingly, the first response message sent by the bridging service management device is received. The first response message is used to indicate the first device with the upgrade function.

[0236] For example, in an embodiment of the present application, after receiving the first query message, the bridging service management device may send information of each locally registered bridging device (including the first device) with upgrade function to the configuration device in the form of a device list.

[0237] In one possible implementation, when the first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information, the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols.

[0238] In a possible implementation, when the first query message also includes device information of the target device, the specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and the Internet of Things protocol supported by the target device.

[0239] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned first query message can be used to query a bridging device registered with a bridging service management device that has the function of obtaining any new bridging capability through upgrading, or a bridging device registered with a bridging service management device that has the ability to obtain bridging between a specific IoT protocol and other IoT protocols through upgrading, or a bridging device registered with a bridging service management device that has the ability to obtain bridging between a specific IoT protocol and an IoT protocol supported by a target device through upgrading.

[0240] In a possible implementation, the bridging service management device may further send the bridging status information of the first device to the configuration device; correspondingly, the configuration device receives the bridging status information of the first device sent by the bridging service management device.

[0241] In one possible implementation, before sending the first query message to the bridging service management device, the configuration device may also send a second query message. The second query message is used to query the second device that provides bridging service for the target device. The second query message carries the device information of the target device. If the second device is not found, the configuration device sends the first query message.

[0242] In a possible implementation, the process of sending the first query message when the second device is not found may include:

[0243] If the configuration device does not receive the second response message within a specified period of time after sending the second query message, it sends the first query message to the bridging service management device; the second response message is a message returned by the device that has received the second query message and has the specified bridging capability.

[0244] In an embodiment of the present application, the configuration device may prioritize searching for devices that already have the specified bridging capability. If there are no devices with the specified bridging capability around the configuration device, the configuration device may initiate a process of querying devices that can upgrade the specified bridging capability, i.e., send the above-mentioned first query message.

[0245] Step 1006: Before triggering the first device to upgrade and obtain the specified bridging capability, the configuration device sends a confirmation request message to the first device; accordingly, the first device receives the confirmation request message sent by the configuration device; the confirmation request message includes the device information of the target device.

[0246] In the embodiment of the present application, although the first device is registered in the bridging service management device, it may not have the function of obtaining the specified bridging capability through upgrading; in this case, the first device cannot be upgraded to obtain the above-mentioned specified bridging capability.

[0247] Alternatively, after the first device is registered in the bridging service management device, it has acquired the function of providing the designated bridging capability for the target device through an upgrade; in this case, the first device does not need to be upgraded repeatedly.

[0248] Step 1007: The first device returns a confirmation response message to the configuration device according to the confirmation request message; correspondingly, the configuration device receives the confirmation response message returned by the first device.

[0249] In a possible implementation, the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0250] Optionally, the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability (ie, whether the first device can be upgraded to obtain the specified bridging capability).

[0251] In both of the above situations, the configuration device's request for the target device to upgrade to the specified bridging capability is invalid. To avoid sending invalid upgrade requests, the configuration device first confirms with the first device whether it can be upgraded to obtain the specified bridging capability before controlling the first device to upgrade to obtain the specified bridging capability. Accordingly, after receiving the confirmation request message, the configuration device can return a confirmation response message to the configuration device.

[0252] In a possible implementation, the first device may also send the current bridging state information of the first device to the configuration device.

[0253] Step 1008: The configuration device sends an upgrade request to the first device, and the first device receives the upgrade request; the upgrade request is used to trigger the first device to obtain new bridging capabilities through upgrading.

[0254] Correspondingly, the first device upgrades the bridging capability according to the upgrade request.

[0255] In a possible implementation, the configuration device may send a bridging instruction to an IoT device corresponding to the upgraded bridging capability of the first device, where the bridging instruction is used to instruct the IoT device to access the first device.

[0256] The IoT device corresponding to the upgraded bridging capability of the first device may be the target device and / or other IoT devices to be connected to the target device.

[0257] In an embodiment of the present application, the process of the above-mentioned configuration device sending an upgrade request to the first device and sending a bridging instruction to the IoT device corresponding to the upgraded bridging capability of the first device is similar to the corresponding process in the embodiment shown in Figure 6 and will not be repeated here.

[0258] Please refer to Figure 11, which shows a schematic diagram of a process for discovering a bridge device involved in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 11, the process includes the following steps:

[0259] S1101 , the APP sends a broadcast query message 3 to a bridge device with upgradeable bridging capability.

[0260] Among them, this type of device may not currently have bridging capabilities, or may have partial bridging capabilities. In this regard, the query message 3 may specify that the device to be queried is a device that can upgrade its bridging capabilities. The bridging device may reply to the query message to the APP.

[0261] The bridge device that the APP queries here through the query message 3 may be a bridge device that has acquired any bridging capability through upgrading. The query process can refer to the description of the solution shown in FIG6 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0262] S1102: The APP sends the bridge device that can be upgraded to obtain new bridging capabilities the address of a bridge service management (or bridge management service) device with which the bridge device can register. Optionally, the address may include the Device ID and / or IP address of the bridge service management device.

[0263] S1103: The bridge device that can be upgraded to obtain new bridge capabilities registers its bridge capabilities with the bridge service management device.

[0264] For example, the above-mentioned bridging capability may include: the bridgeable protocol and version, the manufacturer of the bridgeable device, the device category, the device model, the bridging capability introduction URL, whether the bridging capability already exists, the information of the existing bridging capability (bridgeable protocol and version, the manufacturer of the bridgeable device, the device category, the device model, etc.), the information of the bridged device (manufacturer, device category, device model, etc.), the remaining bridging capability (the number of devices or the remaining bridging capability index of a device), etc.

[0265] S1104: The bridge device that registered its bridging capability receives a registration completion response message.

[0266] S1105, when the user needs to match a bridge device for a heterogeneous sub-device, the APP sends a query message 4 to the bridge service management device. The query message 4 may carry information of the heterogeneous sub-device, such as protocol, protocol version, manufacturer, device model, etc.

[0267] Optionally, the APP can also query the registration information of all bridge devices that can be upgraded to obtain new bridge capabilities through query message 4, and display the information pointed to by the bridge capability introduction URL in the registration information so that the user can select which bridge device to upgrade.

[0268] S1106 , the user selects a bridge device with upgradeable bridging capability as a candidate bridge device based on the above information, and triggers upgrading of the candidate bridge device to complete bridging of a specific bridge device (such as the above heterogeneous sub-device).

[0269] S1107, optionally, before upgrading the candidate bridge device, the APP may send a confirmation request message to the candidate bridge device to confirm whether it can upgrade the bridging capability of its corresponding heterogeneous sub-device. The confirmation request message may include information such as the protocol and protocol version of the heterogeneous sub-device.

[0270] S1108 , the candidate bridge device returns its current bridge capability information to the APP, such as the number of bridgeable devices.

[0271] S1109, the APP upgrades the bridging service for the candidate bridging device.

[0272] To sum up, in the scheme shown in the embodiment of the present application, the configuration device can instruct the bridging device to register with the bridging service management device, and the subsequent configuration device can send a query message to the bridging service management device. The bridging service management device will indicate the first device with the function of upgrading to obtain new bridging capabilities to the configuration device, so that the configuration device can discover bridging devices that currently do not have one or more bridging capabilities but can obtain one or more bridging capabilities through upgrading, so that the application of the bridging function is not limited to bridging devices that are pre-set with specific bridging capabilities, thereby expanding the application scenarios of bridging.

[0273] The solutions shown in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application can dynamically search for bridging devices that may be upgraded to obtain new bridging capabilities, so that users do not need to purchase specific bridging devices separately, thereby simplifying the user's selection "anxiety" and maximizing the use of existing devices.

[0274] Please refer to Figure 12, which shows a block diagram of a device discovery apparatus provided by one embodiment of the present application. The apparatus has the function of implementing the method shown in Figure 3, Figure 6 or Figure 10 above, which is performed by the configuration device. As shown in Figure 12, the apparatus may include:

[0275] The sending module 1201 is configured to send a first query message, where the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading the bridging capability;

[0276] The receiving module 1202 is configured to receive a first response message, where the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0277] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes a query identifier; the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0278] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information;

[0279] The first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols;

[0280] The first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

[0281] In a possible implementation, the first query message further includes device information of the target device;

[0282] The specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and the Internet of Things protocol supported by the target device.

[0283] In one possible implementation, the device information includes at least one of the following information:

[0284] Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model.

[0285] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1201 is further configured to send a second query message, where the second query message is used to query a second device having the specified bridging capability, and the second query message carries device information of the target device;

[0286] The sending module 1201 is configured to send the first query message if the second device is not found.

[0287] In one possible implementation, the sending module 1201 is used to send the first query message if no second response message is received within a specified time period after sending the second query message; the second response message is a message returned by a device that has received the second query message and has the specified bridging capability.

[0288] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 1202 is further configured to receive the bridging status information of the first device sent by the query response device; the bridging status information is used to indicate at least one of a bridging capability and a number of bridges;

[0289] The bridging capability includes at least one of a supported bridging capability, an existing bridging capability, and an upgradeable bridging capability;

[0290] The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

[0291] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1201 is further configured to send an upgrade request to the first device, where the upgrade request is used to request the first device to upgrade its bridging capability.

[0292] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1201 is further configured to send a bridging instruction to an IoT device corresponding to the upgraded bridging capability of the first device, where the bridging instruction is used to instruct the IoT device to access the first device.

[0293] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1201 is further configured to send a confirmation request message to the first device;

[0294] The receiving module 1202 is further configured to receive a confirmation response message returned by the first device; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0295] In a possible implementation, the first response message is a message sent by the first device in response to the first query message;

[0296] Alternatively, the first response message is a message sent by a bridging service management device other than the first device in response to the first query message.

[0297] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1201 is configured to send the first query message by broadcasting when the first response message is a message sent by the first device.

[0298] In one possible implementation, the sending module 1201 is further used to send identification information of the bridging service management device to the first device when the first response message is a message sent by the bridging service management device, so that the first device registers the information that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability to the bridging service management device.

[0299] In a possible implementation, the identification information of the bridging service management device includes:

[0300] At least one of device identification information and address identification information of the bridging service management device.

[0301] Please refer to Figure 13, which shows a block diagram of a device discovery apparatus provided by one embodiment of the present application. The apparatus has the functions of implementing the methods shown in Figures 4, 6, or 10 above, which are performed by the query response device. As shown in Figure 13, the apparatus may include:

[0302] A receiving module 1301 is configured to receive a first query message sent by a configuration device, where the first query message is used to query devices that support upgrading bridging capabilities;

[0303] The sending module 1302 is configured to send a first response message to the configuration device; the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0304] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes a query identifier; the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0305] In a possible implementation, the first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information;

[0306] The first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols;

[0307] The first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

[0308] In a possible implementation, the first query message further includes device information of the target device;

[0309] The specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and the Internet of Things protocol supported by the target device.

[0310] In one possible implementation, the device information includes at least one of the following information:

[0311] Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model.

[0312] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1302 is further configured to send bridge status information of the first device to the configuration device; the bridge status information is used to indicate at least one of a bridge capability and a bridge quantity;

[0313] The bridging capability includes at least one of a supported bridging capability, an existing bridging capability, and an upgradeable bridging capability;

[0314] The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

[0315] In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus is used in the first device, or the apparatus is used in a bridging service management device other than the first device.

[0316] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 1301 is further configured to, when the apparatus is used for the first device, receive an upgrade request sent by the configuration device;

[0317] The device further includes: an upgrading module, configured to upgrade the bridging capability according to the upgrading request.

[0318] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 1301 is configured to receive the first query message sent by the configuration device in a broadcast manner when the apparatus is used for the first device.

[0319] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 1301 is further configured to, when the apparatus is used for the first device, receive a confirmation request message sent by the configuration device;

[0320] The sending module 1302 is further configured to return a confirmation response message to the configuration device according to the confirmation request message; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

[0321] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 1301 is further configured to, when the apparatus is used as the bridging service management device, receive a registration request sent by the first device, where the registration request includes information that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability;

[0322] The device module further includes: a registration module, configured to register the first device as a device supporting upgraded bridging capabilities according to the registration request.

[0323] Please refer to Figure 14, which shows a block diagram of a device discovery apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus has the function of implementing the method shown in Figure 8 or Figure 10 above, which is performed by the first device. As shown in Figure 14, the apparatus may include:

[0324] The receiving module 1401 is configured to receive identification information of the bridge service management device sent by the configuration device;

[0325] The sending module 1402 is configured to send a registration request to the bridging service management device according to the identification information of the bridging service management device; the registration request is used to register the first device as a device supporting upgraded bridging capability in the bridging service management device.

[0326] In a possible implementation, the identification information of the bridging service management device includes:

[0327] At least one of device identification information and address identification information of the bridging service management device.

[0328] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1402 is further configured to send bridging status information of the first device to the bridging service management device; the bridging status information is used to indicate at least one of a bridging capability and a number of bridges;

[0329] The bridging capability includes at least one of a supported bridging capability, an existing bridging capability, and an upgradeable bridging capability;

[0330] The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

[0331] In a possible implementation, the receiving module 1401 is further configured to receive a confirmation request message sent by the configuration device; the confirmation request message includes device information of the target device;

[0332] The sending module is further used to return a confirmation response message to the configuration device according to the confirmation request message; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device can be upgraded to obtain the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the ability to provide bridging services for the target device.

[0333] It should be noted that the device provided in the above embodiment only uses the division of the above-mentioned functional modules as an example to implement its functions. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0334] Regarding the apparatus in the above embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiment of the method, and will not be elaborated here.

[0335] Please refer to FIG15 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a computer device 1500 provided in one embodiment of the present application. The computer device 1500 may include: a processor 1501 , a receiver 1502 , a transmitter 1503 , a memory 1504 , and a bus 1505 .

[0336] The processor 1501 includes one or more processing cores. The processor 1501 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0337] The receiver 1502 and the transmitter 1503 may be implemented as a communication component, which may be a communication chip, which may also be called a transceiver.

[0338] The memory 1504 is connected to the processor 1501 via a bus 1505 .

[0339] The memory 1504 may be used to store a computer program, and the processor 1501 may be used to execute the computer program to implement each step in the above method embodiment.

[0340] In addition, memory 1504 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic disk or optical disk, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, static access memory, read-only memory, magnetic memory, flash memory, and programmable read-only memory.

[0341] In an exemplary scenario, when the computer device 1500 is implemented as a configuration device, the transceiver is used to send a first query message, where the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgraded bridging capabilities; and receive a first response message, where the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0342] The process executed by the processor 1501 and / or transceiver in the computer device 1500 may refer to the steps executed by the configuration device in the method shown in any one of FIG. 3 , FIG. 6 or FIG. 10 .

[0343] In an exemplary scenario, when the computer device 1500 is implemented as a query response device, the transceiver is used to receive a first query message sent by a configuration device, where the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgraded bridging capabilities; and send a first response message to the configuration device; the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0344] The process executed by the processor 1501 and / or transceiver in the computer device 1500 may refer to the steps executed by the query response device in the method shown in any one of FIG. 4 , FIG. 6 or FIG. 10 .

[0345] In an exemplary scenario, when the computer device 1500 is implemented as a first device, the transceiver is used to receive identification information of a bridging service management device sent by a configuration device; and send a registration request to the bridging service management device based on the identification information of the bridging service management device; the registration request is used to register the first device in the bridging service management device as a device that supports upgraded bridging capabilities.

[0346] The process executed by the processor 1501 and / or transceiver in the computer device 1500 may refer to the steps executed by the first device in the method shown in either FIG. 8 or FIG. 10 .

[0347] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program is loaded and executed by a processor to implement all or part of the steps performed by the configuration device, the first device, or the bridging service management device in the method shown in Figures 3, 4, 6, 8 or 10 above.

[0348] The present application also provides a chip, which is used to run in a computer device so that the computer device executes all or part of the steps performed by the configuration device, the first device or the bridging service management device in the method shown in Figures 3, 4, 6, 8 or 10 above.

[0349] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the computer device to perform all or part of the steps performed by the configuration device, the first device, or the bridge service management device in the method shown in Figures 3, 4, 6, 8, or 10.

[0350] The present application also provides a computer program, which is executed by a processor of a computer device to implement all or part of the steps performed by the configuration device, the first device or the bridging service management device in the method shown in Figures 3, 4, 6, 8 or 10 above.

[0351] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any media that facilitates the transmission of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

Claims

1. A device discovery method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a configuration device, and includes: Sending a first query message, where the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading the bridging capability; A first response message is received, where the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information; The first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols; The first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first query message also includes device information of the target device; The specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and the Internet of Things protocol supported by the target device.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The device information includes at least one of the following information: Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending a second query message, where the second query message is used to query a second device having the specified bridging capability; The sending of the first query message includes: If the second device is not found, the first query message is sent.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The sending the first query message when the second device is not found includes: If no second response message is received within a specified period of time after sending the second query message, the first query message is sent; the second response message is a message returned by a device that has received the second query message and has the specified bridging capability.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving the bridging status information of the first device sent by the query response device, wherein the bridging status information is used to indicate at least one of a bridging capability and a number of bridges; The bridging capability includes at least one of a supported bridging capability, an existing bridging capability, and an upgradeable bridging capability; The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: An upgrade request is sent to the first device, where the upgrade request is used to request the first device to upgrade a bridging capability.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: A bridging instruction is sent to an Internet of Things device corresponding to the upgraded bridging capability of the first device, where the bridging instruction is used to instruct the Internet of Things device to access the first device.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending a confirmation request message to the first device; Receive a confirmation response message returned by the first device; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The first response message is a message sent by the first device in response to the first query message; or, The first response message is a message sent by a bridging service management device other than the first device in response to the first query message.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that In a case where the first response message is a message sent by the first device, the sending the first query message includes: The first query message is sent by broadcasting.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that In a case where the first response message is a message sent by the bridging service management device, the method further includes: The identification information of the bridging service management device is sent to the first device, so that the first device registers information that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability with the bridging service management device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The identification information of the bridging service management device includes: At least one of device identification information and address identification information of the bridging service management device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that: The first query message includes a query identifier; the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

16. A device discovery method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a first query message sent by a configuration device, where the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading bridging capabilities; A first response message is sent to the configuration device; the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information; The first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols; The first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The first query message also includes device information of the target device; The specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and the Internet of Things protocol supported by the target device.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The device information includes at least one of the following information: Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending bridging status information of the first device to the configuration device, wherein the bridging status information is used to indicate at least one of a bridging capability and a number of bridges; The bridging capability includes at least one of a supported bridging capability, an existing bridging capability, and an upgradeable bridging capability; The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, characterized in that The method is executed by the first device, or the method is executed by a bridging service management device other than the first device.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that When the method is performed by the first device, the method further includes: receiving an upgrade request sent by the configuration device; The bridging capability is upgraded according to the upgrade request.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that When the method is performed by the first device, the receiving a first query message sent by a configuration device includes: The first query message is received by the configuration device through broadcasting.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that When the method is performed by the first device, the method further includes: receiving a confirmation request message sent by the configuration device; According to the confirmation request message, a confirmation response message is returned to the configuration device; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

25. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that In the case where the method is performed by the bridging service management device, the method further includes: receiving a registration request sent by the first device, where the registration request includes information that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability; According to the registration request, the first device is registered as a device supporting upgraded bridging capabilities.

26. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, characterized in that The first query message includes a query identifier; the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

27. A device discovery apparatus, characterized in that: The device comprises: A sending module, configured to send a first query message, where the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading the bridging capability; The receiving module is configured to receive a first response message, where the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

28. The device according to claim 27, characterized in that The first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information; The first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols; The first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

29. The device according to claim 28, characterized in that The first query message also includes device information of the target device; The specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and the Internet of Things protocol supported by the target device.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The device information includes at least one of the following information: Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model.

31. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that The sending module is further configured to send a second query message, where the second query message is used to query a second device having the specified bridging capability; The sending module is configured to send the first query message if the second device is not found.

32. The device according to claim 31, characterized in that The sending module is configured to send the first query message if no second response message is received within a specified time period after sending the second query message; The second response message is a message returned by a device that has received the second query message and has the specified bridging capability.

33. The device according to any one of claims 27 to 32, characterized in that The receiving module is further configured to receive the bridging status information of the first device sent by the query response device; the bridging status information is configured to indicate at least one of a bridging capability and a number of bridges; The bridging capability includes at least one of a supported bridging capability, an existing bridging capability, and an upgradeable bridging capability; The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

34. The device according to any one of claims 27 to 33, characterized in that The sending module is further configured to send an upgrade request to the first device, where the upgrade request is used to request the first device to upgrade its bridging capability.

35. The device according to claim 34, characterized in that The sending module is further configured to send a bridging instruction to an IoT device corresponding to the upgraded bridging capability of the first device, wherein the bridging instruction is configured to instruct the IoT device to access the first device.

36. The device according to claim 34 or 35, characterized in that The sending module is further configured to send a confirmation request message to the first device; The receiving module is further configured to receive a confirmation response message returned by the first device; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

37. The device according to any one of claims 27 to 36, characterized in that The first response message is a message sent by the first device in response to the first query message; or, The first response message is a message sent by a bridging service management device other than the first device in response to the first query message.

38. The device according to claim 37, characterized in that The sending module is configured to send the first query message by broadcasting when the first response message is a message sent by the first device.

39. The device according to claim 37, characterized in that The sending module is further configured to send identification information of the bridging service management device to the first device when the first response message is a message sent by the bridging service management device, so that the first device registers information that the first device supports upgrading bridging capabilities with the bridging service management device.

40. The device according to claim 39, characterized in that The identification information of the bridging service management device includes: At least one of device identification information and address identification information of the bridging service management device.

41. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 40, characterized in that The first query message includes a query identifier; the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

42. A device discovery apparatus, characterized in that: The device comprises: A receiving module, configured to receive a first query message sent by a configuration device, wherein the first query message is used to query a device that supports upgrading the bridging capability; The sending module is used to send a first response message to the configuration device; the first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

43. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that The first query message includes first Internet of Things protocol information; The first response message is used to indicate that the first device supports upgrading the specified bridging capability; the specified bridging capability is the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and other Internet of Things protocols; The first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol of the IoT ecosystem in which the configuration device is located, or the first IoT protocol information is used to indicate the IoT protocol supported by the IoT device to which the target device is to be connected.

44. The device according to claim 43, characterized in that The first query message also includes device information of the target device; The specified bridging capability refers to the bridging capability between the Internet of Things protocol indicated by the first Internet of Things protocol information and the Internet of Things protocol supported by the target device.

45. The device according to claim 44, characterized in that The device information includes at least one of the following information: Supported IoT protocols, protocol types of supported IoT protocols, version numbers of supported IoT protocols, device model version numbers, software version numbers, hardware version numbers, firmware version numbers, manufacturer information, device type, and device model.

46. ​​The device according to any one of claims 42 to 45, characterized in that The sending module is further configured to send the bridging status information of the first device to the configuration device; the bridging status information is used to indicate at least one of a bridging capability and a number of bridges; The bridging capability includes at least one of a supported bridging capability, an existing bridging capability, and an upgradeable bridging capability; The bridge quantity includes at least one of the total number of bridgeable devices, the number of bridged devices, and the number of remaining bridgeable devices.

47. The device according to any one of claims 42 to 46, characterized in that The apparatus is used in the first device, or the apparatus is used in a bridging service management device other than the first device.

48. The device according to claim 47, characterized in that The receiving module is further configured to receive an upgrade request sent by the configuration device when the apparatus is used for the first device; The device further includes: an upgrading module, configured to upgrade the bridging capability according to the upgrading request.

49. The device according to claim 47 or 48, characterized in that The receiving module is configured to receive the first query message sent by the configuration device in a broadcast manner when the apparatus is used for the first device.

50. The device according to any one of claims 47 to 49, characterized in that The receiving module is further configured to receive a confirmation request message sent by the configuration device when the apparatus is used for the first device; The sending module is further configured to return a confirmation response message to the configuration device according to the confirmation request message; the confirmation response message is used to indicate whether the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability.

51. The device according to claim 47, characterized in that The receiving module is further configured to, when the apparatus is used as the bridging service management device, receive a registration request sent by the first device, wherein the registration request includes information that the first device supports upgrading the bridging capability; The device module further includes: a registration module, configured to register the first device as a device supporting upgraded bridging capabilities according to the registration request.

52. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 51, characterized in that The first query message includes a query identifier; the query identifier is used to indicate that the first query message is a message for querying devices that support upgraded bridging capabilities.

53. A computer device, characterized in that The computer device includes a processor, a memory and a transceiver; A computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor executes the computer program to enable the computer device to implement the device discovery method according to any one of claims 1 to 26.

54. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to be executed by a processor to implement the device discovery method according to any one of claims 1 to 26.

55. A chip, characterized in that: The chip is configured to run in a computer device, so that the computer device executes the device discovery method according to any one of claims 1 to 26.

56. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes computer instructions, which are stored in a computer-readable storage medium; the processor of the computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device performs the device discovery method as described in any one of claims 1 to 26.

57. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program is executed by a processor of a computer device to implement the device discovery method according to any one of claims 1 to 26.

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