Communication method and apparatus for multi-split system, and multi-split system and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Disclosed is a communication method for a multi-split system. The multi-split system comprises an outdoor unit, a relay device and a plurality of indoor units, wherein the relay device is in communication connection with one or more indoor units. The method comprises: an outdoor unit and a relay device determining a first indoor unit that has been configured with a fixed address, and assigning a temporary address to a second indoor unit that has not been configured with a fixed address; and the relay device assigning an official address to the second indoor unit on the basis of a communication level and the fixed address. In the present application, on the basis of a communication level, a relay device re-assigns a more suitable official address to a second indoor unit with which the relay device communicates, so as to ensure that a manually set fixed address can be avoided, thereby implementing address competition and automatic address assignment of the second indoor unit. The present application can avoid conflicts between manually set fixed addresses and automatically assigned official addresses, thereby helping to ensure the accurate execution of indoor unit control. Further disclosed in the present application are a communication apparatus for a multi-split system, and a multi-split system and a computer-readable storage medium.

Description

Communication method and device for multi-connection system, multi-connection system, and computer-readable storage medium

[0001] This application is based on the Chinese patent application with application number 202311282188.9 and application date September 28, 2023, and claims the priority of the Chinese patent application. The entire content of the Chinese patent application is hereby introduced into this application as a reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, for example, to a communication method and device for a multi-connection system, a multi-connection system, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0003] Currently, multi-split systems are widely used in large shopping malls and building complexes. Each outdoor unit in a multi-split system can connect to multiple indoor units, which can be located in different rooms or even different buildings. With the advancement of society, people are demanding more and more areas controlled by multi-split systems, and long-distance communication is becoming a trend in multi-split systems. However, long-distance communication can pose problems such as signal attenuation and interference. To extend the communication distance between indoor and outdoor units, high-performance and reliable communication chips are often used, or communication repeaters are added to achieve one-to-one communication.

[0004] While using high-performance, reliable communication chips can extend communication distance to a certain extent, the extended distance is limited, and all internal and external devices in the system must simultaneously replace the chips, which is costly. Existing communication repeaters typically use data transparent transmission, which only enables one-to-one communication. This requires a large number of additional relays and results in high installation costs. Based on this, related technologies provide a customized communication repeater that can achieve one-to-many communication by adding special protocols such as address matching.

[0005] During the implementation of the embodiments of the present disclosure, it was found that at least the following problems exist in the related art:

[0006] When connecting multiple indoor units via multiple relay devices, the relevant technology requires that each indoor unit address be unique and non-conflicting. However, in actual installation, manual and automatic installations often create complex situations where the user-set indoor unit address may conflict with the automatically assigned indoor unit address, affecting indoor unit control.

[0007] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of this application, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to ordinary technicians in this field.

[0008] Summary of the Invention

[0009] In order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed embodiments, a brief summary is given below. The summary is not an extensive review, nor is it intended to identify key / critical elements or delineate the scope of protection of these embodiments, but rather serves as a prelude to the detailed description that follows.

[0010] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, device, multi-split system, and computer-readable storage medium for a multi-split system, which can avoid conflicts between manually set fixed addresses and automatically assigned official addresses, and are conducive to ensuring the accurate execution of indoor unit control.

[0011] In some embodiments, the multi-connected system includes an external unit, a relay device and multiple internal units, and the relay device is communicatively connected to one or more internal units; the method includes: the external unit and the relay device determine the first internal unit that has been configured with a fixed address, and assign a temporary address to the second internal unit that has not been configured with a fixed address; the relay device assigns a formal address to the second internal unit based on the communication level and the fixed address.

[0012] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a processor and a memory storing program instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the above-mentioned communication method for a multi-connection system when running the program instructions.

[0013] In some embodiments, the multi-connected system includes: an external unit; multiple internal units; a relay device that is communicatively connected to one or more internal units; and the above-mentioned communication device for the multi-connected system.

[0014] In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium stores program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed, the computer is used to execute the above-mentioned communication method for the multi-connection system.

[0015] The communication method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for a multi-connection system provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can achieve the following technical effects:

[0016] The embodiment of the present disclosure first identifies the first indoor unit in the multi-connected system that has been configured with a fixed address through manual setting, and accordingly filters out the other second indoor units that are not configured with a fixed address. Then the outdoor unit and the relay device assign temporary addresses to these second indoor units that are not configured with fixed addresses, which is conducive to quickly turning on the indoor unit control after power-on. And the temporary address can be automatically changed at any time to ensure that there is no conflict between the addresses of each indoor unit. Then, based on the communication level of the relay device, the embodiment of the present disclosure enables the relay device to reallocate a more appropriate formal address to the second indoor unit communicating with it, to ensure that it can accurately avoid the manually set fixed address, thereby realizing the address competition and automatic allocation of the second indoor unit. Therefore, the embodiment of the present disclosure can avoid the conflict between the manually set fixed address and the automatically assigned formal address, which is conducive to ensuring the accurate execution of the indoor unit control.

[0017] The above general description and the following description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not intended to limit the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] One or more embodiments are exemplarily described by corresponding drawings. These exemplary descriptions and drawings do not limit the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are shown as similar elements. The drawings do not constitute a scale limitation. In addition,

[0019] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-connected system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication method for a multi-connection system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another communication method for a multi-connection system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of another communication method for a multi-connection system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another communication method for a multi-connection system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a communication device for a multi-connection system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to be able to understand the features and technical content of the embodiments of the present disclosure in more detail, the implementation of the embodiments of the present disclosure is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are for reference only and are not used to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following technical description, for the sake of convenience of explanation, a full understanding of the disclosed embodiments is provided through multiple details. However, one or more embodiments can still be implemented without these details. In other cases, to simplify the drawings, well-known structures and devices can be simplified for display.

[0026] In the description and claims of the embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as in the accompanying drawings, the terms "first," "second," and the like are used to distinguish similar items and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or precedence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate to describe the embodiments of the present disclosure herein. In addition, the terms "including," "having," and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0027] Unless otherwise stated, the term "plurality" means two or more.

[0028] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the character " / " indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B.

[0029] The term "and / or" describes an association between objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B means: A or B, or A and B.

[0030] The term "correspondence" may refer to an association relationship or a binding relationship. The correspondence between A and B means that there is an association relationship or a binding relationship between A and B.

[0031] Currently, multi-split systems are widely used in large shopping malls and building complexes. Each outdoor unit in a multi-split system can connect to multiple indoor units, which can be located in different rooms or even different buildings. With the advancement of society, people are demanding more and more areas controlled by multi-split systems, and long-distance communication is becoming a trend in multi-split systems. However, long-distance communication can pose problems such as signal attenuation and interference. To extend the communication distance between indoor and outdoor units, high-performance and reliable communication chips are often used, or communication repeaters are added to achieve one-to-one communication.

[0032] While using high-performance, reliable communication chips can extend communication distance to a certain extent, the extended distance is limited, and all internal and external devices in the system must simultaneously replace the chips, which is costly. Existing communication repeaters typically use data transparent transmission, which only enables one-to-one communication. This requires a large number of additional relays and results in high installation costs. Based on this, related technologies provide a customized communication repeater that can achieve one-to-many communication by adding special protocols such as address matching.

[0033] When connecting multiple indoor units via multiple relay devices, the relevant technology requires that each indoor unit address be unique and non-conflicting. However, in actual installation, manual and automatic installations often create complex situations where the user-set indoor unit address may conflict with the automatically assigned indoor unit address, affecting indoor unit control.

[0034] As shown in Figure 1, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multi-connected system, including: an outdoor unit, an indoor unit and a relay device. There are multiple indoor units (11). The relay device is communicatively connected to one or more indoor units. Optionally, there are multiple relay devices (8). In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the multi-connected system includes 4 communication layers. The smaller the level of the communication layer, the closer it is to the outdoor unit. Among them, the outdoor unit is communicatively connected to the relay device 1, relay device 2, indoor unit 1, and indoor unit 2 on the first communication layer. Relay device 1 is communicatively connected to the relay device 1_1 and relay device 1_2 on the second communication layer. Relay device 2 is communicatively connected to the relay device 2_1, relay device 2_2, indoor unit 3, indoor unit 4, indoor unit 5, and indoor unit 6 on the second communication layer. Relay device 1_1 is communicatively connected to the relay device 1_1_1, relay device 1_1_2, and indoor unit 7 on the third communication layer. Relay device 1_2 is communicatively connected to the indoor unit 8 on the third communication layer. The relay device 1_1_2 is communicatively connected to the indoor units 9, 10, and 11 on the fourth communication layer.

[0035] It should be understood that the serial numbers of the indoor units in Figure 1 are used only to distinguish similar objects and do not describe the specific address numbers of each indoor unit. Furthermore, the number of outdoor units, indoor units, and relay devices in Figure 1 is merely illustrative; any number of outdoor units, indoor units, and relay devices can be used as needed. For example, a single relay device can communicate with multiple indoor units, enabling long-distance communication between indoor and outdoor units by adding a smaller number of relay devices. For example, a relay device can be installed for each floor, allowing all indoor units on a given floor to share a single relay device, facilitating installation and reducing costs.

[0036] Optionally, the multi-split system is a multi-split air conditioning system. Correspondingly, the external unit is an outdoor air conditioning unit, and the internal unit is an indoor air conditioning unit. This enables remote communication and control of the multi-split air conditioning system.

[0037] Optionally, the multi-connection system further includes a communication device for the multi-connection system. In this way, the embodiment of the present disclosure can execute a corresponding control method through the device to achieve reasonable competition and automatic allocation of internal machine addresses, thereby avoiding conflicts between manually set fixed addresses and automatically allocated official addresses.

[0038] 2 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method for a multi-connection system, including:

[0039] S201: The outdoor unit and the relay device determine a first indoor unit that has been configured with a fixed address, and allocate a temporary address to a second indoor unit that has not been configured with a fixed address.

[0040] S202: The relay device allocates a formal address to the second indoor unit according to the communication level and the fixed address.

[0041] Using the communication method for a multi-connected system provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, first identify the first indoor unit in the multi-connected system that has been configured with a fixed address through manual setting, and based on this, screen out the other second indoor units that are not configured with a fixed address. Then the outdoor unit and the relay device assign temporary addresses to these second indoor units that are not configured with fixed addresses, which is conducive to quickly turning on the indoor unit control after power-on. And the temporary address can be automatically changed at any time to ensure that there is no conflict between the addresses of the various indoor units. Then, based on the communication level where the relay device is located, the embodiment of the present disclosure enables the relay device to reallocate a more appropriate formal address to the second indoor unit communicating with it, to ensure that it can accurately avoid the manually set fixed address, thereby realizing address competition and automatic allocation of the second indoor unit. Therefore, the embodiment of the present disclosure can avoid the conflict between the manually set fixed address and the automatically assigned formal address, which is conducive to ensuring the accurate execution of the indoor unit control.

[0042] Optionally, the indoor unit can be manually assigned a fixed address, immediately becoming the first indoor unit with a fixed address. Alternatively, the indoor unit can automatically compete for an address, becoming the second indoor unit without a fixed address. Manually assigning a fixed address is more intuitive and convenient, but requires manual setup during installation. Automatically competing for an address eliminates the need for manual address setup, making installation even more convenient. During installation, manual and automatic address assignment can be combined to quickly assign indoor unit addresses, depending on site conditions or user needs.

[0043] Optionally, the fixed addresses, temporary addresses, and official addresses involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be communication addresses sorted by number, or may be different address types such as network addresses and physical addresses. Any address type that can accurately represent the location of the indoor unit may be used, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific implementation method of the address type.

[0044] Optionally, as shown in FIG3 , the external unit and the relay device allocate a temporary address to the second internal unit that is not configured with a fixed address, including:

[0045] In step S301, the external machine and the relay device determine their corresponding internal machines from among the second internal machines that are not configured with fixed addresses according to the communication level.

[0046] S302: The external device and the relay device allocate temporary addresses other than fixed addresses to their corresponding internal network devices.

[0047] In this way, the external unit and relay device establish corresponding intranets based on their respective communication levels and determine their respective corresponding intranet units from among the second indoor units that have not been assigned a fixed address. The external unit and relay device then avoid the fixed address assigned to the first indoor unit, allowing their corresponding intranet units to compete for unused addresses within the network, thereby automatically allocating temporary addresses to each second indoor unit. This allows the disclosed embodiment to quickly activate indoor unit control after power-up, and because temporary addresses can be automatically changed at any time, it ensures that the addresses of the indoor units do not conflict.

[0048] Among them, an intranet indoor machine is a machine that communicates with an external machine or relay device at the next communication layer below it. Referring to Figure 1, let's take relay device 2 as an example. Relay device 2 is located at the first communication layer and is in communication with indoor machines 3, 4, 5, and 6 at the second communication layer. Therefore, the intranet indoor machines corresponding to relay device 2 are indoor machines 3, 4, 5, and 6. Similarly, the intranet indoor machines corresponding to the external machine are indoor machines 1 and 2. The intranet indoor machine corresponding to relay device 1_1 is indoor machine 7. The intranet indoor machine corresponding to relay device 1_2 is indoor machine 8. The intranet indoor machines corresponding to relay device 1_1_2 are indoor machines 9, 10, and 11.

[0049] In addition, in addition to the internal network internal machine, the external network internal machine is also included. The external network internal machine is the internal machine that is connected to the relay device at the same communication layer. In conjunction with Figure 1, the relay device 2 is used as an example for explanation. The relay device 2 is located at the first communication layer, and the first communication layer is also provided with internal machine 1 and internal machine 2. The relay device 2, internal machine 1, and internal machine 2 are all connected to the external machine for communication, and data transmission can be achieved through the external machine. Therefore, the external network internal machines corresponding to the relay device 2 are internal machine 1 and internal machine 2. Similarly, the external network internal machines corresponding to the relay device 1 are also internal machine 1 and internal machine 2. The external network internal machines corresponding to the relay device 2_1 and the relay device 2_2 are internal machine 3, internal machine 4, internal machine 5, and internal machine 6. The external network internal machine corresponding to the relay device 1_1_1 and the relay device 1_1_2 is internal machine 7.

[0050] Specifically, in conjunction with FIG. 1 , the relay device 2 and the indoor units 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 communicatively connected thereto are taken as an example for explanation.

[0051] First, after the multi-connected system is powered on for a period of time (e.g., 60 seconds), relay device 2 communicates with all indoor units within its intranet to determine which units are manually dialed, thereby identifying the first indoor unit. For example, indoor unit 4 is manually dialed and has been assigned a fixed address of 1#. The remaining indoor units do not have fixed addresses, and their factory default addresses are 0#. At this point, the initial intranet address corresponding to relay device 2 can be shown in Table 1 below:

[0052] Table 1

[0053] Then, referring to steps S301 and S302, a temporary address is assigned to the intranet host corresponding to relay device 2. Relay device 2 is located on the first communication layer and is in communication with hosts 3, 4, 5, and 6 on the second communication layer. Excluding host 4, which has been assigned a fixed address of 1#, the hosts corresponding to relay device 2 are now hosts 3, 5, and 6. Hosts 3, 5, and 6 compete for addresses within the network other than 1#. Therefore, the temporary intranet addresses corresponding to relay device 2 can be shown in Table 2 below:

[0054] Table 2

[0055] Because of the multi-layer network decision process, the temporary address of the second indoor unit may change at any time. To reduce bus data and improve transmission efficiency, the disclosed embodiment only transmits data from the first indoor unit. Once the intranet is stable, the relay device only transmits data from the first indoor unit with a fixed address within the intranet to the external network bus. This facilitates determining which fixed addresses exist within the multi-connected system communication network, thereby facilitating the subsequent reallocation of unused addresses to the second indoor unit. Specifically, once the intranet of relay device 2 is stable, relay device 2 only transmits data from indoor unit 4 to the external network, while data from indoor units 3, 5, and 6 is not forwarded to the external network.

[0056] Optionally, as shown in FIG4 , the relay device assigns a formal address to the second indoor unit according to the communication level and the fixed address, including:

[0057] S401: The relay device determines the corresponding external network internal machine and internal network internal machine from the second internal machine according to the communication level.

[0058] S402: The relay device allocates a formal address to the internal machine in the external network based on the fixed address.

[0059] S403: The relay device allocates a formal address to the intranet machine based on the fixed address and the allocated formal address.

[0060] In this way, the relay device determines its corresponding external network and internal network according to the communication level it is in, and determines the corresponding external network internal machine and internal network internal machine from the second internal machine. Then the relay device avoids all the statistical fixed addresses, so that the external network internal machine competes for the remaining unused addresses, thereby realizing the reasonable allocation of formal addresses of the external network internal machine. After the external network is stable, the relay device further avoids all the allocated formal addresses and fixed addresses, so that the internal network internal machine competes for the remaining unused addresses, thereby realizing the reasonable allocation of formal addresses of the internal network internal machine. Therefore, the embodiment of the present disclosure preferentially allocates formal addresses to the external network internal machine of the relay device, and then allocates formal addresses to the internal network internal machine of the relay device, so as to facilitate the layer-by-layer stabilization of the internal machine addresses and further avoid conflicts between the addresses of each internal machine.

[0061] Optionally, the relay device assigns a formal address to the external network internal machine based on the fixed address. This includes: if the external network internal machine's temporary address does not conflict with the fixed address, the relay device sets the temporary address of the external network internal machine as the external network internal machine's formal address; or, if the external network internal machine's temporary address conflicts with the fixed address, the relay device sets the smallest address that does not conflict with the fixed address as the external network internal machine's formal address. In this way, when the external network internal machine's temporary address does not conflict with the fixed address, the relay device maintains the original address number and upgrades the temporary address of the external network internal machine to the formal address, thereby avoiding interference with the control of those internal machines. If the temporary address of the external network internal machine conflicts with the fixed address, the relay device changes the address number so that the external network internal machine avoids the fixed address while setting the smallest remaining unused address as its formal address. This prevents conflicts between manually set fixed addresses and automatically assigned formal addresses, ensuring accurate subsequent control of the internal machine.

[0062] Optionally, the relay device assigns an official address to an intranet machine based on a fixed address and an assigned official address. This includes: if the intranet machine's temporary address does not conflict with the fixed address or the assigned official address, the relay device sets the temporary address of the intranet machine as the official address of the intranet machine; or, if the temporary address of the intranet machine conflicts with the fixed address or the assigned official address, the relay device sets the smallest address that does not conflict with either the fixed address or the assigned official address as the official address of the intranet machine. Thus, when the temporary address of the intranet machine does not conflict with the fixed address or the assigned official address, the relay device maintains the original address number and upgrades the temporary address of the intranet machine to the official address, thereby avoiding interference with the control of those intranet machines. If the temporary address of the intranet machine conflicts with the fixed address or the assigned official address, the relay device changes the address number so that the intranet machine avoids the fixed address and the assigned official address while setting the smallest remaining unused address as its official address. This ensures that the addresses of each indoor unit are unique and non-conflicting, which helps to ensure the accurate execution of subsequent control of the indoor unit.

[0063] Specifically, in conjunction with FIG1 , the relay device 2 and its indoor units 1 and 2 connected to the external network, and indoor units 3, 4, 5, and 6 connected to the internal network are used as examples for explanation.

[0064] First, before relay device 2's external network stabilizes, it only sends data from external devices to the internal network. Data from internal devices 1 and 2 on the external network is not forwarded to the internal network. Because the addresses of internal devices on the external network are unstable and subject to change, sending them directly to the internal network could potentially affect the internal device's judgment and stability. For example, internal device 2 is the first internal device and is assigned a fixed address of 0#. Before the external network stabilizes, the initial external network address corresponding to relay device 2 can be shown in Table 3 below:

[0065] Table 3

[0066] Optionally, referring to steps S301 and S302 above, a temporary address can be automatically assigned to indoor unit 1, which does not have a fixed address. The external unit is communicating with indoor units 1 and 2 on the first communication layer. Since indoor unit 2 has been assigned a fixed address of 0#, the external unit's corresponding indoor unit on the intranet is indoor unit 1. The external unit can assign an address other than 0# to indoor unit 1. Thus, the temporary intranet address corresponding to the external unit can be shown in Table 4 below:

[0067] Table 4

[0068] Then, referring to the aforementioned steps S401 and S402, a formal address is preferentially assigned to the external network internal machine corresponding to the relay device 2. Among them, the relay device 2 is located in the first communication layer and can communicate with the internal machine 1 and the internal machine 2 on the same communication layer through the external machine. Excluding the internal machine 2 that has been configured with a fixed address 0#, the external network internal machine corresponding to the relay device 2 at this time is the internal machine 1. However, because in the aforementioned steps, the relay device 2 has sent the data of the internal machine 4 that has been configured with a fixed address 1# in its internal network to the external network, the internal machine 1 in the external network can recognize that its temporary address 1# conflicts with the fixed address 1# of the internal machine 4. According to the competition principle that manual address allocation is better than automatic address allocation, the internal machine 4 maintains its fixed address 1#, while the internal machine 1 automatically changes its temporary address, avoiding 0# and 1#, and setting the remaining unused minimum address 2# as its formal address. As a result, the external network of the relay device 2 tends to be stable, and its corresponding external network formal address can be shown in the following Table 5:

[0069] Table 5

[0070] Finally, referring to step S403, the official address is reassigned to the internal network machine corresponding to relay device 2. After the external network stabilizes for a period of time (e.g., 60 seconds), the relay device again transmits data from the external machine and all internal machines on the external network bus to the internal network. At this point, the relay device still only transmits data from the first internal machine in the internal network, which has a fixed address, to the external network bus. That is, relay device 2 can transmit data from internal machines 1 and 2 on the external network to the internal network, while relay device 2 only transmits data from internal machine 4 on the internal network to the external network. Based on the temporary internal network address of relay device 2 shown in Table 2, internal machine 3 will detect that its temporary address 2# conflicts with the official address 2# of internal machine 1. However, since internal machine 1 on the external network cannot receive data from internal machine 3, it will not detect the conflict between its official address 2# and its temporary address 2#. Therefore, only internal machine 3 on the internal network can detect the conflict and automatically changes its temporary address, while internal machine 1 maintains its official address. Therefore, the disclosed embodiment can ensure that the internal machine address of the external network remains unchanged and the internal machine address of the internal network changes automatically, thus realizing the automatic priority allocation of external network addresses. Similarly, internal machine 6 will detect that its temporary address 0# conflicts with the fixed address 0# of internal machine 2, and internal machine 6 will also automatically change its temporary address. The temporary address 3# of internal machine 5 does not conflict with the current fixed address and the assigned formal address, so the original address number can be maintained and its temporary address can be upgraded to a formal address, thereby reducing the update cost. On this basis, internal machine 3 can compete with internal machine 6 for the remaining unused addresses (in order from small to large), such as 4# and 5#. As a result, the internal network of relay device 2 tends to be stable, and its corresponding formal address of the internal network can be shown in Table 6 below:

[0071] Table 6

[0072] Once the intranet is stable, relay device 2 can send data from all the internal devices to the external network bus. Specifically, relay device 2 can send data from devices 5, 6, 7, and 8 to the external network simultaneously. This helps assign official addresses to the remaining second-tier devices, ensuring stability in the subsequent communication layer.

[0073] 5 , the present disclosure provides another communication method for a multi-connection system, including:

[0074] S501: The outdoor unit and the relay device determine a first indoor unit that has been configured with a fixed address, and allocate a temporary address to a second indoor unit that has not been configured with a fixed address.

[0075] S502: When there are multiple relay devices, each relay device determines its corresponding address allocation execution order according to the communication level.

[0076] S503: Each relay device allocates a formal address to the second indoor unit according to the address allocation execution order, the communication level and the fixed address.

[0077] The communication method for a multi-connected system, provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, first identifies the first indoor units in the multi-connected system that have been manually configured with fixed addresses. Based on this, other second indoor units that do not have fixed addresses are screened out. The outdoor unit and relay device then assign temporary addresses to these second indoor units, facilitating rapid activation of indoor unit control after power-up. The temporary addresses can be automatically changed at any time to ensure that addresses do not conflict with each other. If multiple relay devices exist, this may involve multiple communication levels. The embodiments of the present disclosure determine the order in which address allocation is performed for each relay device, based on their respective communication levels, in a top-down, layer-by-layer manner. This ensures that each indoor unit's address is unique and conflict-free. The embodiments of the present disclosure then reassign more appropriate official addresses to the second indoor units communicating with it, based on their respective communication levels. This ensures that these second indoor units can accurately avoid manually configured fixed addresses, thereby achieving address contention and automatic allocation for the second indoor units. Therefore, the embodiment of the present disclosure can avoid conflicts between manually set fixed addresses and automatically assigned official addresses, which is conducive to ensuring accurate execution of indoor unit control.

[0078] Optionally, the lower the communication level, the earlier the relay device's address assignment is performed. That is, the closer the relay device is to the outdoor unit, the more prioritized it is in assigning the official address of the second indoor unit communicating with it. Specifically, the order of address assignment for each relay device is determined sequentially, following the principle of layer-by-layer stability from top to bottom. This allows for layer-by-layer stability of indoor unit addresses, until all indoor unit addresses are unique and conflict-free.

[0079] Specifically, as shown in Figure 1, following the aforementioned steps, after relay device 2's intranet, or the second communication layer, reaches stability, relay devices 1_1 and 1_2 are subsequently controlled sequentially to achieve proper allocation of official addresses for indoor units 7 and 8, thereby stabilizing the third communication layer. Relay devices 1_1_2 are then controlled to achieve proper allocation of official addresses for indoor units 9, 10, and 11, thereby stabilizing the fourth communication layer. Thus, the disclosed embodiment achieves layer-by-layer stability of indoor unit addresses, ensuring that each indoor unit address is unique and non-conflicting.

[0080] As shown in Figure 6, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device 600 for a multi-connected system, including a processor 601 and a memory 602. Optionally, the device 600 may also include a communication interface 603 and a bus 604. The processor 601, the communication interface 603, and the memory 602 may communicate with each other via the bus 604. The communication interface 603 may be used for information transmission. The processor 601 may invoke logic instructions in the memory 602 to execute the communication method for a multi-connected system of the above embodiment.

[0081] In addition, the logic instructions in the memory 602 can be implemented in the form of software functional units and can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium when sold or used as an independent product.

[0082] Memory 602, as a computer-readable storage medium, can be used to store software programs and computer-executable programs, such as program instructions / modules corresponding to the methods in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Processor 601 executes the program instructions / modules stored in memory 602 to execute functional applications and process data, thereby implementing the communication method for a multi-connected system in the above-described embodiments.

[0083] The memory 602 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store an operating system and at least one application required for a function; the data storage area may store data generated based on the use of the terminal device. Furthermore, the memory 602 may include high-speed random access memory and non-volatile memory.

[0084] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions are configured to execute the above-mentioned communication method for a multi-connection system.

[0085] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the above-mentioned communication method for a multi-connection system.

[0086] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program product, which includes computer instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium. When the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer implements the above-mentioned communication method for a multi-connection system.

[0087] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes one or more instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, among other media capable of storing program code.

[0088] The above description and the accompanying drawings fully illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure so that those skilled in the art can practice them. Other embodiments may include structural, logical, electrical, process and other changes. The embodiments represent only possible variations. Unless explicitly required, individual components and functions are optional, and the order of operations may vary. Parts and features of some embodiments may be included in or replace parts and features of other embodiments. Moreover, the words used in this application are only used to describe the embodiments and are not used to limit the claims. As used in the description of the embodiments and claims, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to also include plural forms. Similarly, the term "and / or" as used in this application refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more associated listings. In addition, when used in this application, the term "comprise" and its variations "comprises" and / or comprising refer to the presence of stated features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups of these. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprising a..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method or device that includes the element. In this article, each embodiment may focus on the differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts between the various embodiments can be referenced to each other. For the methods, products, etc. disclosed in the embodiments, if they correspond to the method part disclosed in the embodiments, then the relevant parts can be found in the description of the method part.

[0089] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software may depend on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. The technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The technicians will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0090] In the embodiments disclosed herein, the disclosed methods and products (including but not limited to devices, equipment, etc.) can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units can be merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between each other shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected to implement this embodiment according to actual needs. In addition, the functional units in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0091] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings show the possible implementation architectures, functions and operations of the systems, methods and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each box in the flowchart or block diagram can represent a module, program segment or part of the code, and the module, program segment or part of the code contains one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical functions. In some alternative implementations, the functions marked in the box can also occur in an order different from that marked in the accompanying drawings. For example, two consecutive boxes can actually be executed substantially in parallel, or they can sometimes be executed in the opposite order, which can depend on the functions involved. In the descriptions corresponding to the flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings, the operations or steps corresponding to different boxes can also occur in an order different from that disclosed in the description, and sometimes there is no specific order between different operations or steps. For example, two consecutive operations or steps can actually be executed substantially in parallel, or they can sometimes be executed in the opposite order, which can depend on the functions involved. Each block in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, may be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or action, or may be implemented by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

Claims

1. A communication method for a multi-connection system, characterized in that: The multi-connection system includes an external machine, a relay device and a plurality of internal machines, wherein the relay device is communicatively connected with one or more internal machines; the method includes: The external unit and the relay device determine the first internal unit that has been configured with a fixed address, and allocate a temporary address to the second internal unit that has not been configured with a fixed address; The relay device assigns a formal address to the second indoor unit based on the communication level and fixed address.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The relay device assigns a formal address to the second indoor unit according to the communication level and fixed address, including: The relay device determines the corresponding external network indoor machine and the internal network indoor machine from the second indoor machine according to the communication level; The relay device assigns formal addresses to the machines inside the external network based on the fixed addresses; The relay device allocates formal addresses to the intranet machines based on the fixed addresses and the formal addresses that have been allocated; Among them, the external network internal machine is an internal machine that is connected to the relay device for communication at the same communication layer, and the internal network internal machine is an internal machine that is connected to the relay device for communication at the next communication layer.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The relay device allocates formal addresses to the external network machines based on the fixed addresses, including: If the temporary address of the external network machine does not conflict with the fixed address, the relay device sets the temporary address of the external network machine to the formal address of the external network machine; or, When the temporary address of the external network machine conflicts with the fixed address, the relay device sets the smallest address that does not conflict with the fixed address as the official address of the external network machine.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The relay device allocates formal addresses to the intranet machines based on the fixed addresses and the allocated formal addresses, including: If the temporary address of the intranet machine does not conflict with the fixed address and the assigned formal address, the relay device sets the temporary address of the intranet machine to the formal address of the intranet machine; or, When the temporary address of an intranet machine conflicts with a fixed address or an assigned formal address, the relay device sets the smallest address that does not conflict with either the fixed address or the assigned formal address as the formal address of the intranet machine.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The external unit and the relay device allocate a temporary address to the second internal unit that is not configured with a fixed address, including: The external machine and the relay device determine their corresponding internal machine on the intranet from the second internal machine that is not configured with a fixed address according to the communication level; The external machine and relay equipment allocate temporary addresses other than fixed addresses to the corresponding internal machines in the internal network; Among them, the intranet internal machine is an internal machine that communicates with the external machine or relay device at the next communication layer.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Before the relay device assigns a formal address to the second indoor unit according to the communication level and fixed address, it also includes: When there are multiple relay devices, each relay device determines the execution order of address allocation corresponding to each other according to the communication level.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The smaller the communication level, the earlier the address allocation of relay devices is executed.

8. A communication device for a multi-connection system, comprising a processor and a memory storing program instructions, characterized in that: The processor is configured to execute the communication method for a multi-connection system according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when running the program instructions.

9. A multi-link system, characterized in that: include: Outdoor unit; Indoor units, there are multiple; A relay device, connected to one or more indoor units for communication; The communication device for a multi-connection system as claimed in claim 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, characterized in that: When the program instructions are executed, the computer is used to execute the communication method for a multi-connection system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

11. A computer program, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the communication method for a multi-connection system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

12. A computer program product, comprising computer instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the communication method for a multi-connection system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.

Images