Air conditioner multi-module infrared off-line encryption upgrading method and system thereof

Abstract

This invention provides a method and system for offline infrared encryption upgrade of multiple air conditioning modules. The method includes a pre-storage step, a power-on time limitation step, a multi-layered anti-false trigger encryption and unlocking step, a module-specific hardware addressing and filtering step, a layered infrared protocol segmented upgrade package distribution step, a response retransmission verification step, and an upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance step. The system includes an infrared transmitting upgrade terminal and an air conditioning unit module. This invention achieves offline program upgrades of each electronic control module of the air conditioning unit through infrared communication. It eliminates the need to disassemble the air conditioning unit casing, carry a laptop, or use a wired programmer; independent upgrades of the outdoor unit electronic control module, indoor unit electronic control module, and wired controller electronic control module can be completed solely through a handheld infrared transmitting upgrade terminal. The purpose of this invention is to automatically, intelligently, efficiently, conveniently, and at low cost complete the program upgrade of air conditioning equipment, improving after-sales maintenance efficiency and user experience.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of air conditioning machine refrigeration equipment technology, specifically to an infrared offline encryption upgrade method and system for multiple air conditioning modules, applicable to offline program upgrades of the outdoor unit electrical control module, indoor unit electrical control module, and wired controller electrical control module of an air conditioner. Background Technology

[0002] In scenarios such as after-sales quality repair or production line re-outsourcing, if program updates or functional upgrades are required for existing air conditioning units, it is typically necessary to reprogram the various electronic control modules of the air conditioning unit. Air conditioning equipment usually includes multiple program-programming units, such as the external board electronic control module, the indoor unit main board electronic control module, and the wired controller electronic control module. When these modules require program updates and upgrades, the existing operational methods are as follows: First, the air conditioner casing needs to be disassembled to locate the programming interface of each module's motherboard. Then, an operator carries a laptop and connects it to the programming port via a wired programmer, inserting it into the programming port of the corresponding module's motherboard to program and upgrade the system. After the programming of each module is completed, the disassembled casing is reassembled.

[0003] The existing methods for upgrading air conditioner programs have the following obvious drawbacks: First, the process is complex and cumbersome: each upgrade requires going through the complete process of "disassembling the outer shell - finding the burning port - connecting the computer and the burner - burning the program - restoring the outer shell", which involves many steps and takes a long time.

[0004] Second, the upgrade efficiency is low: According to statistics, when upgrading the inner board module of an air conditioner using the traditional wired burning method, it takes an average of about 30 minutes for a single person to complete the disassembly and packaging. In the case of batch repackaging, the labor and time costs are extremely high.

[0005] Third, there are personal safety hazards: during the process of disassembling the air conditioning equipment casing and operating the live programming port, operators face safety risks such as electric shock.

[0006] Fourth, it can easily cause secondary damage to the equipment: During the disassembly and assembly of the outer casing, the air conditioner casing is easily worn and scratched, affecting the product's appearance quality.

[0007] Fifth, poor user experience: When providing on-site after-sales repair, users have to endure long repair waiting times, and it is difficult to guarantee the effect of restoring the equipment to its original state after disassembly.

[0008] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a technical solution that can automatically, intelligently, efficiently, conveniently, and at low cost complete the multi-module program upgrade of air conditioners. Summary of the Invention

[0009] To overcome the shortcomings of existing air conditioner program upgrade methods, such as complex procedures, low efficiency, safety hazards, and poor user experience, this invention provides a multi-module infrared offline encrypted upgrade method and system for air conditioners. This method achieves offline program upgrades for each electronic control module of the air conditioner via infrared communication. It eliminates the need to disassemble the air conditioner casing, carry a laptop, or use a wired programmer; independent upgrades of the outdoor unit's electronic control module, indoor unit's electronic control module, and wired controller's electronic control module can be completed using only a handheld infrared transmitter upgrade terminal. The purpose of this invention is to automatically, intelligently, efficiently, conveniently, and at low cost complete the program upgrade of air conditioner equipment, improving after-sales maintenance efficiency and user experience.

[0010] The present invention achieves the above objectives through the following technical solutions: A method for upgrading multi-module infrared offline encryption in air conditioners includes: Pre-storage steps: Insert the SD memory card containing the complete upgrade program package for each module of the air conditioning unit into the SD card slot of the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal. After the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal is powered on, the terminal MCU reads all the upgrade program packages in the SD memory card and caches them in the terminal's local memory. Power-on time limit procedure: After powering off the entire air conditioning unit module, power it back on. All modules of the air conditioning unit will continuously listen for the infrared upgrade signal for a preset time after power-on. If the preset time is exceeded, the infrared upgrade receiving channel will be turned off. Multi-layer anti-accidental trigger encryption unlocking steps: Press and hold the button or combination of buttons on the upgrade terminal via infrared transmission to trigger the unlocking entry. After the password verification is successful, you will enter the module upgrade selection interface. Module hardware addressing and filtering steps: Select the unique hardware address of the target air conditioning unit module to be upgraded on the upgrade selection interface. Modules in the air conditioning unit that are not selected remain in a dormant state, while only the target address module remains ready to receive infrared signals. The steps for distributing upgrade packages in segments using the layered infrared protocol are as follows: The terminal MCU splits the complete upgrade package into equal-length fixed-size data segments, encapsulates each data segment with a frame header, frame middle, and frame tail to form a segmented data packet, and distributes it segment by segment to the target module through the infrared communication protocol. The frame header contains the unique hardware address identifier of the target module, and the frame tail contains a CRC cyclic redundancy check field. Response retransmission verification steps: After receiving the segmented data packet, the target module extracts the CRC check field for verification. When the verification matches, it sends back an infrared response signal carrying the local hardware address within a fixed timeout window. After receiving the response signal with the matching address, the terminal sends the next data packet. If no response is received within the timeout period, the current data segment is automatically retransmitted.

[0011] The present invention provides an air conditioner multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method, which further includes upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance steps: during data packet transmission and burning, the target module display screen switches from constant light to periodic flashing; after all program packets are segmented and verified and burned, an upgrade success indicator is displayed; and a fault indicator is displayed when a transmission failure occurs.

[0012] According to the present invention, an infrared offline encryption upgrade method for multiple modules of an air conditioner is provided, wherein the infrared transmission upgrade terminal is any one of the following terminal forms: a modified air conditioner remote control with an infrared transmission circuit, a portable infrared programmer, or a production line-specific upgrade fixture.

[0013] According to the present invention, an air conditioning multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method is provided. The air conditioning unit module includes an external board electronic control module, an indoor unit main board electronic control module and a wired controller electronic control module that are independent of each other. Each electronic control module is independently equipped with a module MCU, an infrared receiving unit and a digital display unit. Each module's MCU independently receives and parses the segmented data packets sent by the infrared communication protocol through its corresponding infrared receiving unit, and matches the hardware address identifier carried in the frame header with the local pre-stored address to independently determine whether to activate the upgrade burning process of this module. In the module hardware addressing and filtering step, the MCU of the unselected electronic control module controls the corresponding infrared receiving unit to stop parsing the upgrade protocol and maintain a sleep state to avoid unrelated modules accidentally erasing or writing programs; the MCU of the selected electronic control module controls the corresponding digital display unit to display the corresponding module identifier during the upgrade process, and displays the upgrade success mark or fault mark in the upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance steps.

[0014] According to the present invention, the minimum Flash storage configuration of the MCU of each electronic control module is ≥8MB. The Flash storage space of each module's MCU is divided into a regular firmware storage partition and an upgrade cache partition, which are independent of each other. The standard firmware storage partition is used to store the firmware for normal air conditioner operation. The upgrade cache partition is a 4MB independent cache partition, which is used to cache each segment data packet of infrared transmission in the step of segmenting the upgrade package of the layered infrared protocol. After the current segment data packet is confirmed to be verified successfully in the response retransmission verification step, the cached segment data is written to the upgrade target area of ​​the regular firmware storage partition. After the entire upgrade package has been transferred and successfully verified and burned, the upgrade cache partition releases the cache space to await the next upgrade task.

[0015] According to the present invention, a multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method for air conditioners includes a multi-layer anti-false trigger encryption and unlocking step, specifically comprising: By continuously pressing a single button or combination of buttons on the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal for a preset pressing time, the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal is triggered to switch from the normal control mode to the password unlock interface. On the password unlock screen, users can enter a preset number of digits to unlock the device via the infrared transmitter's buttons. The device then compares the entered password with a pre-stored verification password. If the verification fails, the device will repeatedly prompt users to re-enter the password until the verification passes or the exit condition is triggered. If the terminal does not detect any key presses within the preset inactivity timeout period during the unlock entry sub-step or password verification sub-step, the terminal will automatically exit the upgrade operation process and switch back to the normal control mode.

[0016] According to the present invention, in the module-by-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method for air conditioners, each electronic control module is configured with a unique and fixed hardware address identifier in the module hardware addressing and filtering step. Address identifier 01 is configured for upgrading the corresponding external board electrical control module, address identifier 02 corresponds to upgrading the indoor unit main board electrical control module, and address identifier 03 corresponds to upgrading the wired controller electrical control module. In the hierarchical infrared protocol segmented upgrade packet distribution step, the hardware address identifier is encapsulated in the frame header of each segment data packet. The infrared transmission upgrade terminal writes the corresponding hardware address identifier into the frame header and distributes it according to the target module selected in the upgrade selection interface. After receiving the segmented data packets, the MCU of each electronic control module extracts the hardware address identifier in the frame header and compares it with the pre-stored address. Only the target module with the matching address activates the upgrade and burning process, while the non-target module with the mismatched address remains in a dormant state and its MCU is prohibited from performing firmware data writing operations in the middle of the frame in the segmented data packets.

[0017] According to the present invention, in the step of segmented distribution of upgrade packages using a layered infrared protocol in an air conditioner multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method, the infrared communication protocol is divided into two layers: a physical layer and a data interaction layer. Physical layer: The terminal MCU directly drives the infrared emitting tube with 0V / 5V standard high and low levels, and transmits signals using a custom short frame pulse infrared encoding method; Data Interaction Layer: Used to read firmware from SD memory card, perform data segmentation and encapsulation, control infrared transmission timing, and receive and parse response signals returned by target module; each segment of data is uniformly encapsulated into a three-layer data structure containing frame header, frame middle and frame tail; after sending the current segment data packet, the data interaction layer starts a timeout timer and decides to send the next data packet or retransmit the current data packet based on the response result of the response retransmission verification step; The SD storage card stores independent upgrade packages for different modules of the air conditioning unit in folders, and the names of each folder are mapped to the hardware address identifiers of the corresponding modules. The data interaction layer reads the complete upgrade package that matches the target module directly from the corresponding folder according to the mapping relationship based on the target module selected in the module hardware addressing and filtering step.

[0018] According to the present invention, in the response retransmission verification step of an air conditioner multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method, when a single data packet does not receive a matching response signal during the first transmission, the infrared transmission upgrade terminal automatically triggers the retransmission mechanism of the current data segment. The retransmission mechanism is configured with a maximum number of retransmissions N; When the number of consecutive retransmissions of a single data packet does not exceed N, the infrared transmission upgrade terminal maintains the retransmission status of the current data segment and continues to perform retransmission until a matching response signal is received. When a single data packet is retransmitted N times without receiving a matching response signal, the infrared transmission upgrade terminal determines that there is an unrecoverable persistent fault in the current communication link, immediately terminates the upgrade process, and outputs an upgrade communication fault message on the display screen.

[0019] According to the present invention, in the upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance steps of an air conditioner multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method, the digital display unit of the target module presents differentiated display states according to different stages of the upgrade process: During the execution of the step of segmenting the upgrade package and the step of responding and retransmitting the verification of the layered infrared protocol, the digital display unit of the target module switches from a standby constant-on state to a periodic flashing state to indicate that the upgrade program is being continuously burned. When the number of retransmissions of a single data packet reaches the maximum number of retransmissions in the response retransmission verification step and no matching response signal is received, or when signal loss or CRC verification failure occurs during segmented data transmission, the digital display unit of the target module continuously displays the first fault character, and the continuous display mode is distinguished from the periodic flashing state. At the same time, the module MCU of the target module automatically clears the current segment and all previously written fragment program data. Before the module MCU of the target module completes the fragment clearing, it is prohibited to load or run the air conditioner's normal operation firmware. The infrared transmission upgrade terminal needs to re-execute the complete upgrade process starting from the power failure and power restoration of the air conditioner unit module before it can initiate the next upgrade attempt. Once all segments of the program package have been verified as successful through the response retransmission verification step and completely burned into the regular firmware storage partition of the target module, the digital display unit of the target module displays the second success character and automatically turns off after the first preset duration. Subsequently, the module MCU of the target module automatically switches to the regular standby operation state, waiting for the normal operation command of the air conditioning unit.

[0020] An air conditioning multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade system, the system includes an infrared transmitting upgrade terminal and an air conditioning unit module; The infrared transmission upgrade terminal integrates an SD card slot, a terminal MCU unit, an infrared emitting diode, a button module, and a display screen. The SD card slot is used to insert an SD memory card, which is pre-stored with the complete upgrade program package for each module of the air conditioner. The terminal MCU can directly read and write the firmware in the SD memory card. The air conditioning unit module includes an independent external board electrical control module, an indoor unit main board electrical control module, and a wired controller electrical control module. Each module is independently equipped with a module MCU, an infrared receiving unit, and a digital display unit. The infrared transmitter upgrade terminal and the air conditioning unit module exchange data via an infrared communication protocol to execute the aforementioned air conditioning multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method.

[0021] Therefore, compared with the prior art, the air conditioner multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method and system proposed in this invention have the following advantages: 1. EEPROM storage chips have limited capacity and cannot store the complete air conditioner module upgrade package; SIM cards are only used for mobile communication and do not support large-capacity firmware file storage, requiring an additional storage chip. This invention uses a universal SD storage card for large-capacity offline storage of the complete multi-module upgrade package, simplifying the hardware structure and significantly reducing costs.

[0022] 2. This invention defines the device as an infrared transmission upgrade terminal, covering three types of hardware forms: remote control modification, portable programmer, and production line fixture. It overcomes the industry limitation that ordinary air conditioner remote controls do not have a memory card interface and broadens the product application scenarios.

[0023] 3. The infrared segmented transmission upgrade program requires local caching of data packets. This invention limits the air conditioner module MCU to a minimum of 8MB Flash storage, and independently allocates an upgrade cache partition to specifically store infrared segmented transmission data packets. This solves the problems of insufficient storage space, packet loss, and upgrade failure in existing motherboards, providing the necessary hardware foundation for infrared segmented upgrades.

[0024] 4. This invention integrates multiple interception mechanisms, including whole-machine power failure restart, 5-minute upgrade time window, 10-second combination hidden button trigger, 6-digit password verification, and automatic exit after 15 seconds of inactivity. It prevents users or after-sales personnel from accidentally triggering the upgrade from multiple dimensions such as timing, hardware, operation, and password, and avoids accidental damage to the air conditioner module program.

[0025] 5. The physical layer short pulse coding combined with the interactive layer segmented retransmission protocol with address and CRC check results in short transmission time for a single segment of data. Lost or erroneous data packets can be automatically retransmitted, ensuring stable transmission even over long distances and in obstructed environments, thus significantly improving reliability.

[0026] 6. Each air conditioner module has an independent hardware address. Only the selected module is activated for upgrade, while the others remain dormant. There is no need to simultaneously flash the program across the entire unit, resulting in a short upgrade time for a single module. After-sales service does not require disassembling the entire unit or wired programming; it can be completed using only a handheld small terminal with infrared operation, significantly reducing on-site upgrade costs.

[0027] 7. This invention provides intuitive feedback on four different display states: constantly lit digital tube, flashing, "Er" error, and "FF" success. These states indicate four working conditions: pending upgrade, upgrading in progress, transmission failure, and upgrade completed. After-sales personnel can quickly determine the upgrade status without professional testing tools, significantly improving troubleshooting efficiency.

[0028] 8. The SD card can be pre-copied with multiple sets of upgrade firmware for different models and modules. After-sales personnel do not need to carry laptops and wired burning equipment. They can complete the upgrade offline on-site. It is suitable for complex after-sales scenarios such as outdoor and no network, and truly achieves low-cost and convenient upgrades.

[0029] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0030] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of an air conditioner multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method according to the present invention.

[0031] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the present invention: an infrared offline encryption upgrade method for multiple air conditioning modules.

[0032] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the communication network topology between the infrared transmitting upgrade terminal and the air conditioning unit module in an embodiment of the air conditioning multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the data encapsulation and processing flow of the data interaction layer in an embodiment of the air conditioner multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0034] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0035] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0036] See Figures 1 to 4 This embodiment provides a method for upgrading the infrared offline encryption of multiple air conditioning modules, including: Pre-storage step S1: Insert the SD memory card containing the complete upgrade program package for each module of the air conditioning unit into the SD card slot of the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal. After the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal is powered on, the terminal MCU reads all the upgrade program packages in the SD memory card and caches them in the terminal's local memory. Power-on time limit step S2: After powering off the entire air conditioning unit module, power it back on. All modules of the air conditioning unit will continuously listen for the infrared upgrade signal for a preset time (e.g., 5 minutes) after power-on. If the preset time is exceeded, the infrared upgrade receiving channel will be turned off. Multi-layer anti-accidental trigger encryption unlocking step S3: The unlocking entry is triggered by long-pressing the button or combination button on the upgrade terminal via infrared transmission. After the password verification is successful, the sub-module upgrade selection interface is entered. S4: Select the unique hardware address of the target air conditioning unit module to be upgraded on the upgrade selection interface. Modules in the air conditioning unit that are not selected remain in a dormant state, while only the target address module remains ready to receive infrared signals. Step S5 of the layered infrared protocol segmented upgrade package distribution: The terminal MCU splits the complete upgrade package into equal-length fixed-size data segments, encapsulates each data segment with a frame header, frame middle and frame tail to form a segmented data packet, and distributes it segment by segment to the target module through the infrared communication protocol. The frame header contains the unique hardware address identifier of the target module, and the frame tail contains a CRC cyclic redundancy check field. Response retransmission verification step S6: After receiving the segmented data packet, the target module extracts the CRC check field for verification. When the verification matches, it sends back an infrared response signal carrying the local hardware address within a fixed timeout window of 30 milliseconds. After the terminal receives the response signal with the matching address, it sends the next data packet. If no response is received within the timeout, the current data segment is automatically retransmitted. Upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance step S7: During the data packet transmission and burning process, the target module display screen switches from being constantly lit to periodically flashing. After all program packets are segmented and verified and burned, an upgrade success indicator is displayed. If a transmission failure occurs, a fault indicator is displayed.

[0037] Among them, the infrared transmission upgrade terminal can be any one of the following terminal forms: a modified air conditioner remote control with infrared transmission circuit, a portable infrared programmer, or a production line-specific upgrade fixture.

[0038] In this embodiment, the air conditioning unit module includes an external board electrical control module, an indoor unit main board electrical control module, and a wired controller electrical control module, each of which is independently equipped with a module MCU, an infrared receiving unit, and a digital display unit. Each module's MCU independently receives and parses the segmented data packets sent by the infrared communication protocol through its corresponding infrared receiving unit, and matches the hardware address identifier carried in the frame header with the local pre-stored address to independently determine whether to activate the upgrade burning process of this module.

[0039] During the pre-storage step, the terminal MCU drives the infrared emitting diode to complete the infrared communication physical layer encoding by outputting 0V / 5V high and low levels: when the output is 0V, the diode is forward-biased and emits light, transmitting a customized infrared carrier signal; when the output is 5V, the potentials at both ends of the diode are equal, the diode is cut off, and the infrared signal output stops. The SD card contains three types of independent upgrade packages for different modules, categorized by folder. The terminal MCU can directly read the corresponding firmware by module name without secondary format conversion.

[0040] In the module hardware addressing and filtering step, the MCU of the unselected electronic control module controls the corresponding infrared receiving unit to stop parsing the upgrade protocol and maintain a sleep state to avoid unrelated modules accidentally erasing or writing programs; the MCU of the selected electronic control module controls the corresponding digital display unit to display the corresponding module identifier during the upgrade process, and displays the upgrade success identifier or fault identifier in the upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance steps, so that the upgrade status of each module can be independently distinguished.

[0041] In this embodiment, the minimum Flash storage configuration of the MCU of each electronic control module is ≥8MB; The Flash storage space of each module's MCU is divided into a regular firmware storage partition and an upgrade cache partition, which are independent of each other. The standard firmware storage partition is used to store the firmware for normal air conditioner operation. The upgrade cache partition is a 4MB independent cache partition, which is used to cache each segment data packet of infrared transmission in the step of segmenting the upgrade package of the layered infrared protocol. After the current segment data packet is confirmed to be verified successfully in the response retransmission verification step, the cached segment data is written to the upgrade target area of ​​the regular firmware storage partition. After the entire upgrade package has been transferred and successfully verified and burned, the upgrade cache partition releases the cache space to wait for the next upgrade task. The regular firmware storage partition and the upgrade cache partition are physically isolated, so that data write failures during infrared segmented transmission do not affect the normal storage of the regular operating firmware.

[0042] In this embodiment, the multi-layered anti-accidental trigger encryption and unlocking steps specifically include: Triggering the unlock entry sub-step: Press and hold a single button or combination of buttons on the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal for a preset duration, such as 10 seconds, to trigger the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal to switch from the normal control mode to the password unlock interface; the upgrade-related trigger buttons are hidden to avoid accidental triggering in daily life.

[0043] Password verification sub-step: On the password unlock interface, input a preset number of digits (e.g., 6 digits) numeric unlock password via the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal's buttons, press the confirmation button to complete the verification, and the terminal compares the input password with the pre-stored verification password; if the verification does not match, the terminal will repeatedly prompt for re-entry of the password until the verification passes or the exit condition is triggered; for example, if the password verification does not match, the terminal will repeatedly prompt for re-entry of the password. If no button operation is detected on the unlock interface for 15 consecutive seconds, the terminal will automatically exit the upgrade operation and switch back to the normal control mode.

[0044] Automatic Exit Sub-step: In the unlock entry sub-step or password verification sub-step, if the terminal does not detect any key operation within the preset no-operation timeout period, the terminal will automatically exit the upgrade operation process and switch back to the normal control mode.

[0045] The trigger unlock entry sub-step, password verification sub-step, and automatic exit sub-step constitute a multi-layered security interception link from physical operation triggering, password identity verification to automatic timeout reset. The preset press duration, preset password length, and preset no-operation timeout duration together form a multi-dimensional time / operation security window to avoid unauthorized upgrade operations caused by accidental touches by non-target users during normal use or after-sales maintenance.

[0046] In the modular hardware addressing and filtering process, each electronic control module is configured with a unique and fixed hardware address identifier. Address identifier 01 is configured for upgrading the corresponding external board electrical control module, address identifier 02 corresponds to upgrading the indoor unit main board electrical control module, and address identifier 03 corresponds to upgrading the wired controller electrical control module. In the hierarchical infrared protocol segmented upgrade packet distribution step, the hardware address identifier is encapsulated in the frame header of each segment data packet. The infrared transmission upgrade terminal writes the corresponding hardware address identifier into the frame header and distributes it according to the target module selected in the upgrade selection interface. After receiving the segmented data packets, the MCU of each electronic control module extracts the hardware address identifier in the frame header and compares it with the pre-stored address. Only the target module with the matching address activates the upgrade and burning process, while the non-target module with the mismatched address remains in a dormant state and its MCU is prohibited from performing firmware data writing operations in the middle of the frame in the segmented data packets. Address identifiers 01, 02, and 03 constitute three sets of independent addressing codes that correspond one-to-one with the external board electrical control module, the indoor unit main board electrical control module, and the wired controller electrical control module. This enables a single infrared transmitter upgrade terminal to selectively upgrade different air conditioning unit modules through the same infrared communication protocol and the same frame header address field.

[0047] In this case, the modules in the air conditioning unit that are not selected by the address remain in a dormant state, and their infrared receiving units stop parsing the upgrade protocol. Only the target address module keeps the infrared signal receiving ready, thereby reducing the power consumption of the whole unit and avoiding accidental program erasure and writing of irrelevant modules.

[0048] In the step of distributing the layered infrared protocol upgrade package in segments, after clicking the terminal's confirm upgrade button, the terminal MCU executes the layered infrared communication protocol distribution process. The infrared communication protocol consists of two layers: the physical layer and the data interaction layer. Physical layer: The terminal MCU directly drives the infrared emitting tube with 0V / 5V standard high and low levels and transmits signals using a custom short frame pulse infrared encoding method. The encoding logic of the physical layer is independently encapsulated to adapt to infrared emitting heads with different power specifications without modifying the packetization and verification logic of the data interaction layer. Data Interaction Layer: Used to read firmware from SD memory card, perform data segmentation and encapsulation, control infrared transmission timing, and receive and parse response signals returned by target module; each segment of data is uniformly encapsulated into a three-layer data structure containing frame header, frame middle and frame tail; after sending the current segment data packet, the data interaction layer starts a timeout timer and decides to send the next data packet or retransmit the current data packet based on the response result of the response retransmission verification step; In the physical layer, the terminal MCU directly drives the infrared transmitter with 0V / 5V standard high and low levels, improving the level switching response speed; the custom short frame pulse infrared encoding shortens the duration of high and low levels of a single frame pulse, significantly reducing the time required for a complete upgrade; the physical layer logic is independently packaged, which can be adapted to infrared transmitters of different power without modifying the upper layer data packet and verification code, resulting in a high degree of modularity and compatibility with multiple different models of repair and upgrade terminals; The data interaction layer includes functions for firmware reading, packet encapsulation, infrared transmission, and response reception control, including: Firmware reading: The terminal reads the complete air conditioner upgrade program package stored on the local SD card, supports multi-model firmware partition storage, and can retrieve the corresponding program file according to the target air conditioner model.

[0049] Fixed-length segmentation: The large-capacity complete firmware package is cut into data segments of equal length and fixed size to avoid infrared packet loss caused by excessive data volume in a single transmission. The length of a single segment can be adaptively configured according to the infrared transmission distance.

[0050] Data packet encapsulation format: Each segment of data is uniformly encapsulated in a three-layer structure: Frame header: Unique hardware address identifier for the target module (address identifier 01 corresponds to the outer board, address identifier 02 corresponds to the inner motherboard, and address identifier 03 corresponds to the wired controller); Middle of the frame: Segmented firmware raw data; Frame tail: CRC cyclic redundancy check field, generated based on all data in this segment.

[0051] Segmented Infrared Transmission: The encapsulated segmented data packets are converted into infrared light signals through physical layer short frame pulse coding and continuously transmitted segment by segment to the infrared receiving window of the air conditioning unit.

[0052] The SD memory card stores independent upgrade packages for different modules of the air conditioning unit in folders. The names of each folder are mapped to the hardware address identifiers of the corresponding modules. The data interaction layer reads the complete upgrade package that matches the target module directly from the corresponding folder according to the mapping relationship based on the target module selected in the module hardware addressing and filtering step. No data format conversion or file parsing adaptation is required, which enables the terminal MCU to directly address and read the firmware in the SD memory card by module. The layered architecture of the physical layer and the data interaction layer, the folder-based storage structure of the SD memory card, and the mapping relationship between folder naming and hardware address identifiers work together to enable a single infrared transmitter upgrade terminal to quickly retrieve and reliably distribute offline upgrade packages for different air conditioning units and modules through the same layered protocol and the same SD memory card.

[0053] In the response retransmission verification step, if a matching response signal is not received during the first transmission of a single data packet, the infrared transmitting upgrade terminal automatically triggers the retransmission mechanism for the current data segment. The retransmission mechanism is configured with a maximum number of retransmissions N, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and is an adjustable parameter that can be pre-configured by the user or the host computer. When the number of consecutive retransmissions of a single data packet does not exceed N, the infrared transmission upgrade terminal maintains the retransmission status of the current data segment and continues to perform retransmission until a matching response signal is received. When a single data packet is retransmitted N times and no matching response signal is received, the infrared transmission upgrade terminal determines that there is an unrecoverable persistent fault in the current communication link, immediately terminates the upgrade process, and outputs an upgrade communication fault prompt message on the display screen. The maximum number of retransmissions N is adaptively set based on the ambient noise level of the infrared communication link, the transmission distance between the infrared transmitting upgrade terminal and the air conditioning unit module, and the obstruction status. The default value is 3 times. The retransmission mechanism is executed independently within the data interaction layer. During the retransmission of the current data segment, the data interaction layer pauses the reading and encapsulation of subsequent segment data packets. After the current data segment is successfully retransmitted or the maximum number of retransmissions is reached, the layer decides whether to continue sending the next data segment or terminate the upgrade and report an error based on the judgment result. This ensures that the transmission reliability of a single data packet is not affected by the time-varying interference of the infrared channel, thus ensuring the integrity of the entire upgrade package.

[0054] Specifically, in the response retransmission verification step, the MCU of the air conditioning unit module is the receiving entity, and the single-segment data packet integrity processing rules are as follows: After receiving the data packet, the tail CRC check field is extracted first, and the check value of this data segment is recalculated using the same CRC algorithm. Verification and judgment branch: Branch 1: CRC checksum mismatch → No response signal is generated, and this data segment is discarded directly; Branch 2: CRC checksum matching → Within a fixed timeout window of 30 milliseconds, a response infrared signal carrying the local hardware address must be sent back to the upstream infrared transmitting terminal; Retransmission determination of the transmitting terminal: After each data packet is sent, the transmitting terminal starts a 30ms timer. If a matching address is received before the timer expires, the transmission of this segment is considered successful, and the next data packet is automatically sent. If no response is received within 30ms or an unmatched address response is received from another device, the current data segment is determined to be lost or corrupted. The current data segment will be automatically retransmitted, with a maximum of N retransmissions (configurable, default 3). If the number of retransmissions is exceeded, the terminal screen will display an upgrade communication failure message.

[0055] After the target module identifies the data packet address and matches it with its own hardware address, it activates the upgrade and programming function, and the air conditioner module display unit stays lit with the corresponding code S1 / S2 / S3.

[0056] In the upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance process, the digital display unit of the target module presents a differentiated display status according to different stages of the upgrade process: Upgrade in progress: During the steps of distributing upgrade packages in segments according to the layered infrared protocol and the response retransmission verification step, the digital display unit of the target module switches from a standby constant-on state to a periodic flashing state to indicate that the upgrade program is being continuously burned; among them, during the continuous transmission and burning of data packets, the code on the target module display screen switches from a constant-on state to a periodic flashing state, indicating that the program is being burned. The entire upgrade process takes about 1 minute. Fault Feedback and Fault Tolerance Handling Sub-steps: When the maximum number of retransmissions for a single data packet is reached during the response retransmission verification step and a matching response signal is still not received, or when signal loss or CRC verification failure occurs during segmented data transmission, the target module's digital display unit continuously displays the first fault character, distinguishing it from periodic flashing. Simultaneously, the target module's MCU automatically clears this segment and all previously written fragmented program data. Before clearing the fragmented data, the target module's MCU is prohibited from loading or running the air conditioner's regular operating firmware. The infrared transmission upgrade terminal must re-execute the complete upgrade process starting from the power-off and power-on of the entire air conditioning unit module before initiating the next upgrade attempt. For example, if signal loss, verification failure, or timeout without response occurs during transmission, the module display unit continuously displays the character "Er" to report the error. Clearing the written fragmented program requires re-executing the above steps to initiate a complete secondary upgrade. Upgrade Success Confirmation Sub-step: After all segments of the program package have been successfully verified through the response retransmission verification step and completely burned into the regular firmware storage partition of the target module, the digital display unit of the target module displays the second success character and automatically turns off after the first preset duration. Subsequently, the module MCU of the target module automatically switches to the normal standby running state, waiting for the normal operation command of the air conditioning unit. For example, after all segments of the program package have been verified and burned, the module display unit displays the character [FF] and stays on for 10 seconds, then automatically turns off, and the air conditioning unit module switches to the normal standby running state.

[0057] The first fault character and the second success character are different characters or combinations of characters. The continuous display mode and the periodic flashing mode constitute two visually distinguishable status prompts, allowing on-site operators to independently determine whether the upgrade is faulty or successful based on the display status of the digital display unit without the need for external testing equipment.

[0058] An embodiment of an air conditioner multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade system An air conditioning multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade system, the system includes an infrared transmitting upgrade terminal and an air conditioning unit module; The infrared transmission upgrade terminal integrates an SD card slot, a terminal MCU unit, an infrared emitting diode, a button module, and a display screen. The SD card slot is used to insert an SD memory card, which is pre-stored with the complete upgrade program package for each module of the air conditioner. The terminal MCU can directly read and write the firmware in the SD memory card. The air conditioning unit module includes an independent external board electrical control module, an indoor unit main board electrical control module, and a wired controller electrical control module. Each module is independently equipped with a module MCU, an infrared receiving unit, and a digital display unit. The infrared transmitter upgrade terminal and the air conditioning unit module exchange data via an infrared communication protocol to execute the upgrade method described above.

[0059] In practical applications, the process of upgrading the indoor unit motherboard using the air conditioner multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method of the present invention is as follows: (1) Copy the complete program package of the indoor unit motherboard required for the upgrade to the SD memory card (the SD card stores the independent upgrade program packages of the three types of modules, namely the outer board, the indoor unit motherboard and the wired controller, in separate folders). (2) Insert the SD memory card into the SD card slot of the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal; (3) Power on the inner panel of the air conditioner to be upgraded (without removing the outer casing); (4) Operation of infrared transmitter upgrade terminal: Press and hold the hidden combination button for 10 seconds to trigger unlock, enter a 6-digit numeric password to complete the verification, select address identifier 02 (corresponding to the indoor unit motherboard electrical control module) on the upgrade selection interface, and click confirm upgrade; (5) The infrared transmission upgrade terminal sends the indoor unit motherboard upgrade program package in segments to the infrared receiving unit of the indoor unit motherboard through the infrared communication protocol; (6) The MCU module of the indoor unit receives and verifies each segment of data packet and completes the program burning; (7) After the upgrade is completed, the digital display unit of the indoor unit motherboard will display “FF” for 10 seconds and then automatically turn off, and the module will switch to the normal standby operation state.

[0060] The entire upgrade process requires no disassembly of the air conditioner unit; only the internal panel needs to be powered on. Statistics show that upgrading the internal panel of an air conditioner unit using this invention takes an average of about 1 minute per person. Compared to the traditional method (approximately 30 minutes), the upgrade efficiency is increased by about 30 times.

[0061] This invention is not only applicable to the upgrade of the air conditioner indoor unit main board module, but also to the efficient upgrade of the air conditioner outdoor unit electrical control module and the wired controller electrical control module. Simply select the corresponding address identifier (01 for the outdoor unit, 03 for the wired controller) on the upgrade selection interface.

[0062] This embodiment uses an after-sales on-site repair scenario as an example to further illustrate the implementation of the present invention.

[0063] A customer's air conditioner outdoor unit's electrical control module needed a program upgrade. The after-sales personnel arrived at the customer's home carrying an infrared transmitter upgrade terminal (portable infrared programmer) and an SD memory card pre-loaded with the corresponding model's outdoor unit upgrade program.

[0064] After the after-sales personnel insert the SD card into the terminal, follow these steps: First, power off the entire air conditioning unit and then power it back on to ensure that the air conditioning unit enters the 5-minute upgrade monitoring window. Secondly, press and hold the hidden combination button on the terminal for 10 seconds. The terminal display will then jump to the password unlock interface. Enter a 6-digit password to unlock the device. Next, after the password verification is successful, select address identifier 01 (external board electronic control module) on the upgrade selection interface and confirm the upgrade; Finally, the terminal automatically executes processes such as segmented distribution, response retransmission verification, and programming, completing the external board program upgrade in about 1 minute, and the digital tube displays "FF" to confirm the successful upgrade.

[0065] Throughout the process, after-sales personnel do not need to carry a laptop, disassemble the air conditioner outdoor unit, or connect any wired programming cables. They can quickly and safely complete the upgrade operation at the user's home, resulting in a good user experience.

[0066] This embodiment uses a production line mass upgrade scenario as an example for illustration.

[0067] On the air conditioning production line, if a software defect is found in the electronic control module of the wired controller in a certain batch of products, a batch upgrade is required. Production line operators use a special upgrade fixture (a form of infrared transmitter upgrade terminal) fixed at the production line station, with the wired controller upgrade program pre-stored on an SD card.

[0068] After powering on the air conditioner unit (including the wired controller) to be upgraded, the operator places it at the designated workstation and starts the production line's dedicated upgrade fixture. The fixture automatically executes the following steps: trigger unlocking → select address identifier 03 (wired controller electrical control module) → infrared segmented distribution of the upgrade package → verification and programming → display of upgrade results. Upgrading a single wired controller takes approximately 1 minute. The operator only needs to power on and off the air conditioner unit, without any disassembly or wiring work, significantly improving the efficiency of the production line's repackage upgrade process.

[0069] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0070] The above embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. Any non-substantial changes and substitutions made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for upgrading multi-module infrared offline encryption in air conditioners, characterized in that, include: Pre-storage steps: Insert the SD memory card containing the complete upgrade program package for each module of the air conditioning unit into the SD card slot of the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal. After the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal is powered on, the terminal MCU reads all the upgrade program packages in the SD memory card and caches them in the terminal's local memory. Power-on time limit procedure: After powering off the entire air conditioning unit module, power it back on. All modules of the air conditioning unit will continuously listen for the infrared upgrade signal for a preset time after power-on. If the preset time is exceeded, the infrared upgrade receiving channel will be turned off. Multi-layer anti-accidental trigger encryption unlocking steps: Press and hold the button or combination of buttons on the upgrade terminal via infrared transmission to trigger the unlocking entry. After the password verification is successful, you will enter the module upgrade selection interface. Module hardware addressing and filtering steps: Select the unique hardware address of the target air conditioning unit module to be upgraded on the upgrade selection interface. Modules in the air conditioning unit that are not selected remain in a dormant state, while only the target address module remains ready to receive infrared signals. The steps for distributing upgrade packages in segments using the layered infrared protocol are as follows: The terminal MCU splits the complete upgrade package into equal-length fixed-size data segments, encapsulates each data segment with a frame header, frame middle, and frame tail to form a segmented data packet, and distributes it segment by segment to the target module through the infrared communication protocol. The frame header contains the unique hardware address identifier of the target module, and the frame tail contains a CRC cyclic redundancy check field. Response retransmission verification steps: After receiving the segmented data packet, the target module extracts the CRC check field for verification. When the verification matches, it sends back an infrared response signal carrying the local hardware address within a fixed timeout window. After receiving the response signal with the matching address, the terminal sends the next data packet. If no response is received within the timeout period, the current data segment is automatically retransmitted.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance steps: During the data packet transmission and burning process, the target module display screen switches from being constantly lit to periodically flashing. After all program packets are segmented, the upgrade success indicator is displayed, and a fault indicator is displayed when a transmission failure occurs.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air conditioning unit module includes an independent external board electrical control module, an indoor unit main board electrical control module, and a wired controller electrical control module. Each electrical control module is independently equipped with a module MCU, an infrared receiving unit, and a digital display unit. Each module's MCU independently receives and parses the segmented data packets sent by the infrared communication protocol through its corresponding infrared receiving unit, and matches the hardware address identifier carried in the frame header with the local pre-stored address to independently determine whether to activate the upgrade burning process of this module. In the module hardware addressing and filtering step, the MCU of the unselected electronic control module controls the corresponding infrared receiving unit to stop parsing the upgrade protocol and maintain a sleep state to avoid unrelated modules accidentally erasing or writing programs; the MCU of the selected electronic control module controls the corresponding digital display unit to display the corresponding module identifier during the upgrade process, and displays the upgrade success mark or fault mark in the upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance steps.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The minimum Flash storage configuration for the MCU of each electronic control module is ≥8MB; The Flash storage space of each module's MCU is divided into a regular firmware storage partition and an upgrade cache partition, which are independent of each other. The standard firmware storage partition is used to store the firmware for normal air conditioner operation. The upgrade cache partition is a 4MB independent cache partition, which is used to cache each segment data packet of infrared transmission in the step of segmenting the upgrade package of the layered infrared protocol. After the current segment data packet is confirmed to be verified successfully in the response retransmission verification step, the cached segment data is written to the upgrade target area of ​​the regular firmware storage partition. After the entire upgrade package has been transferred and successfully verified and burned, the upgrade cache partition releases the cache space to await the next upgrade task.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multi-layered encryption and unlocking process to prevent accidental triggering specifically includes: By continuously pressing a single button or combination of buttons on the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal for a preset pressing time, the infrared transmitter upgrade terminal is triggered to switch from the normal control mode to the password unlock interface. On the password unlock screen, users can enter a preset number of digits to unlock the device via the infrared transmitter's buttons. The device then compares the entered password with a pre-stored verification password. If the verification fails, the device will repeatedly prompt users to re-enter the password until the verification passes or the exit condition is triggered. If the terminal does not detect any key presses within the preset inactivity timeout period during the unlock entry sub-step or password verification sub-step, the terminal will automatically exit the upgrade operation process and switch back to the normal control mode.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: In the modular hardware addressing and filtering process, each electronic control module is configured with a unique and fixed hardware address identifier. Address identifier 01 is configured for upgrading the corresponding external board electrical control module, address identifier 02 corresponds to upgrading the indoor unit main board electrical control module, and address identifier 03 corresponds to upgrading the wired controller electrical control module. In the hierarchical infrared protocol segmented upgrade packet distribution step, the hardware address identifier is encapsulated in the frame header of each segment data packet. The infrared transmission upgrade terminal writes the corresponding hardware address identifier into the frame header and distributes it according to the target module selected in the upgrade selection interface. After receiving the segmented data packets, the MCU of each electronic control module extracts the hardware address identifier in the frame header and compares it with the pre-stored address. Only the target module with the matching address activates the upgrade and burning process, while the non-target module with the mismatched address remains in a dormant state and its MCU is prohibited from performing firmware data writing operations in the middle of the frame in the segmented data packets.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the segmented upgrade package distribution process of the layered infrared protocol, the infrared communication protocol is divided into two layers: the physical layer and the data interaction layer. Physical layer: The terminal MCU directly drives the infrared emitting tube with 0V / 5V standard high and low levels, and transmits signals using a custom short frame pulse infrared encoding method; Data Interaction Layer: Used to read firmware from SD memory card, perform data segmentation and encapsulation, control infrared transmission timing, and receive and parse response signals returned by target module; each segment of data is uniformly encapsulated into a three-layer data structure containing frame header, frame middle and frame tail; after sending the current segment data packet, the data interaction layer starts a timeout timer and decides to send the next data packet or retransmit the current data packet based on the response result of the response retransmission verification step; The SD storage card stores independent upgrade packages for different modules of the air conditioning unit in folders, and the names of each folder are mapped to the hardware address identifiers of the corresponding modules. The data interaction layer reads the complete upgrade package that matches the target module directly from the corresponding folder according to the mapping relationship based on the target module selected in the module hardware addressing and filtering step.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: In the response retransmission verification step, if a matching response signal is not received during the first transmission of a single data packet, the infrared transmitting upgrade terminal automatically triggers the retransmission mechanism for the current data segment. The retransmission mechanism is configured with a maximum number of retransmissions N; When the number of consecutive retransmissions of a single data packet does not exceed N, the infrared transmission upgrade terminal maintains the retransmission status of the current data segment and continues to perform retransmission until a matching response signal is received. When a single data packet is retransmitted N times without receiving a matching response signal, the infrared transmission upgrade terminal determines that there is an unrecoverable persistent fault in the current communication link, immediately terminates the upgrade process, and outputs an upgrade communication fault message on the display screen.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, In the upgrade progress visualization and fault tolerance process, the digital display unit of the target module presents a differentiated display status according to different stages of the upgrade process: During the execution of the step of segmenting the upgrade package and the step of responding and retransmitting the verification of the layered infrared protocol, the digital display unit of the target module switches from a standby constant-on state to a periodic flashing state to indicate that the upgrade program is being continuously burned. When the number of retransmissions of a single data packet reaches the maximum number of retransmissions in the response retransmission verification step and no matching response signal is received, or when signal loss or CRC verification failure occurs during segmented data transmission, the digital display unit of the target module continuously displays the first fault character, and the continuous display mode is distinguished from the periodic flashing state. At the same time, the module MCU of the target module automatically clears the current segment and all previously written fragment program data. Before the module MCU of the target module completes the fragment clearing, it is prohibited to load or run the air conditioner's normal operation firmware. The infrared transmission upgrade terminal needs to re-execute the complete upgrade process starting from the power failure and power restoration of the air conditioner unit module before it can initiate the next upgrade attempt. Once all segments of the program package have been verified as successful through the response retransmission verification step and completely burned into the regular firmware storage partition of the target module, the digital display unit of the target module displays the second success character and automatically turns off after the first preset duration. Subsequently, the module MCU of the target module automatically switches to the regular standby operation state, waiting for the normal operation command of the air conditioning unit.

10. A multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade system for air conditioners, characterized in that, The system includes an infrared transmitter upgrade terminal and an air conditioning unit module; The infrared transmission upgrade terminal integrates an SD card slot, a terminal MCU unit, an infrared emitting diode, a button module, and a display screen. The SD card slot is used to insert an SD memory card, which is pre-stored with the complete upgrade program package for each module of the air conditioner. The terminal MCU can directly read and write the firmware in the SD memory card. The air conditioning unit module includes an independent external board electrical control module, an indoor unit main board electrical control module, and a wired controller electrical control module. Each module is independently equipped with a module MCU, an infrared receiving unit, and a digital display unit. The infrared transmission upgrade terminal and the air conditioning unit module interact with each other via an infrared communication protocol to execute the air conditioning multi-module infrared offline encryption upgrade method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

Images