JP7163005B2 - Determination device, control method for determination device, room management system, and control program - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a judgment device and the like for judging the usage status of a room.

2. Description of the Related Art A technique for detecting whether a conference room is in use by installing a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of people in the conference room is known as a conventional technique (Patent Document 1 below). According to such technology, it is possible to detect conference rooms that are reserved but not actually used, and make effective use of them.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-79319 (published on April 23, 2015)

However, the conventional technology as described above has a problem that the accuracy of determining whether the conference room is in use is not sufficient. For example, if a sensor that detects changes in the temperature distribution in a conference room is used as a sensor that detects the presence or absence of people, there will be no people during the time period during the conference when the participants are not moving (the conference room is not in use). not). In addition, it is conceivable that a person may enter the conference room, for example, to check the equipment in the conference room. You may be judged. This is not limited to determining whether a conference room is used or not, but is a common problem in determining the usage status of any room.

An object of one aspect of the present invention is to implement a determination device or the like that can determine the usage status of a room with high accuracy.

In order to solve the above problems, a determination device according to one aspect of the present invention is a determination device that determines the usage status of a room in which equipment for maintaining a good environment in the room is arranged , a data acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of data indicating detection results of the internal state of the room by a plurality of different detection devices ; and a determination unit that determines at least one of whether the room is in use and the usage time of the room, using both the data of and the second data, wherein the first data and the second data The second data is data used for controlling devices installed in the room to maintain a good environment in the room.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, a determination device control method according to an aspect of the present invention provides a determination device that determines the usage status of a room in which equipment for maintaining a good environment in the room is arranged. A control method comprising: a data acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of data indicating detection results of the internal conditions of the room by a plurality of detection devices of different types ; and a determination step of determining at least one of whether the room is in use and the usage time of the room, using both the first data and the second data whose combination is determined accordingly . , the first data and the second data are data used for controlling devices installed in the room to maintain a good environment in the room.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, a room management system according to an aspect of the present invention is a room management system that includes a determination device that determines the usage status of a room, and an air conditioner installed in the room. wherein the air conditioner comprises a plurality of detection devices of different types used for control of the air conditioner as detection devices for detecting internal conditions of the room for air conditioning of the room, and the determination device uses both first data and second data among a plurality of data indicating detection results by the plurality of detection devices to determine whether the room is in use and whether the room is in use At least one of the times is determined, and the determining device determines a combination of the first data and the second data used for the determination according to the season or weather at the time of determination .

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the usage status of a room can be determined with high accuracy.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of a main configuration of a determination device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the conference room management system containing the said determination apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of illuminance data and temperature data. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which the said determination apparatus performs. It is a figure which shows an example of illuminance data and _CO2 density|concentration data. It is a figure which shows an example of illuminance data and relative humidity data.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.

[Overview of the system]
An overview of the conference room management system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a conference room management system (room management system) 100. As shown in FIG. The conference room management system 100 is a system for managing a conference room, and performs determination of the usage status of the conference room, management of reservation of the conference room, and the like. In this example, an example in which two conference rooms A and B are to be managed will be described, but the number of conference rooms to be managed is not particularly limited. In addition to the conference room, the conference room management system 100 can manage a room for any purpose as long as it is shared by a plurality of people.

The conference room management system 100 includes a determination device 101, a management device 102, and a terminal device 103, as shown in FIG. Also, in the conference room A, an environment monitor 104A, an air cleaner 105A, and an air conditioner 106A are arranged. Similarly, in conference room B, environment monitor 104B, air cleaner 105B, and air conditioner 106B are arranged. Since the environmental monitor 104A has the same configuration as the environmental monitor 104B, it will simply be referred to as the environmental monitor 104 in the following description when there is no need to distinguish between them. The same applies to air cleaners 105A, 105B and air conditioners 106A, 106B.

Environment monitor 104 , air cleaner 105 , and air conditioner 106 are all communicably connected to management device 102 . Also, the management device 102 is communicably connected to the determination device 101 . The determination device 101 is communicably connected to the terminal device 103 . These communications may be wired communications or wireless communications. Below, the environment monitor 104, the air cleaner 105, the air conditioner 106, and the management device 102 communicate via a LAN (Local Area Network). An example in which the device 103 communicates via a WAN (Wide Area Network) will be described.

Note that the network used by each component of the conference room management system 100 is not particularly limited. For example, if all of these components are located in the same building, the management device 102 and the determination device 101, and the determination device 101 and the terminal device 103 should also communicate via the LAN. may Thus, the conference room management system 100 can also be implemented in a closed network that does not use WAN. Also, in this case, the determination device 101 may have the function of the management device 102 , and these devices may be integrated into one determination device 101 .

The determination device 101 is a server that provides a service for determining the usage status of the conference room and notifying the user of the determination result. The determination device 101 may be, for example, a personal computer or the like. Details of the determination device 101 will be described later.

The management device 102 is a server that manages the environment monitor 104, air cleaner 105, and air conditioner 106 in each conference room. The management device 102 performs operations such as controlling the operation of these devices, and acquiring various data from these devices to be used by the determination device 101 to determine usage conditions, and transferring the data to the determination device 101 . The management device 102 may be, for example, a personal computer or the like.

The terminal device 103 is a device used by a user who uses the conference room. For example, the terminal device 103 is used to display the determination result of the usage status of the conference room by the determination device 101, reserve the conference room, and update the reservation details. The terminal device 103 may be, for example, a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smart phone, or the like.

The environment monitor 104 is a device that monitors the temperature and illuminance (brightness) in the conference room. More specifically, the environment monitor 104 is a composite sensor unit that includes a temperature sensor (detection device) that detects the temperature (room temperature) in the conference room and an illuminance sensor (detection device) that detects the illuminance in the conference room. In addition to the sensors described above, the environment monitor 104 includes, for example, a humidity sensor that detects absolute humidity, a sensor that detects UV (ultraviolet) intensity, a _CO2 concentration sensor that detects carbon dioxide ( _CO2 ) concentration, dust, PM2. A detection device such as a sensor for detecting the scattering amount of fine particles such as 5 and an odor sensor for detecting the strength of an odor may be included. The environmental monitor 104 also has a communication unit for communicating with the management device 102 . The environmental monitor 104 transmits sensing data output by these sensors to the management device 102 via the communication unit. Thereby, the management device 102 can operate the air purifier 105 and the air conditioner 106 according to the sensing result of the environment monitor 104, and can keep the environment in the conference room favorable. Also, these sensing data indicate the results of detection of the internal conditions of the conference room by the sensors. For this reason, although the details will be described later, these sensing data are also used to determine the usage status of the conference room. The same applies to sensing data output from sensors provided in air cleaner 105 and air conditioner 106, which will be described below.

The air purifier 105 is a device that purifies the air in the conference room, and is a type of air conditioner. The air cleaner 105 also has a temperature sensor that detects the room temperature of the conference room, an illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance in the conference room, and a communication unit for communicating with the management device 102 . The air purifier 105 transmits sensing data output from these sensors to the management device 102 via the communication unit. Also, the air purifier 105 receives a control signal from the management device 102 via the communication unit and operates according to the control signal.

The air conditioner 106 is a device that adjusts the temperature and humidity in the conference room. The air conditioner 106 also includes a temperature sensor that detects the room temperature of the conference room, and an illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance in the conference room. Furthermore, like the air cleaner 105, the air conditioner 106 includes a communication unit for communicating with the management device 102, and transmits sensing data output from these sensors to the management device 102 via the communication unit. . Also, the air conditioner 106 receives a control signal from the management device 102 via the communication unit and operates according to the control signal.

As described above, the environment monitor 104, the air purifier 105, and the air conditioner 106 are devices for maintaining a good environment in the conference room. to determine the usage status of the conference room. Therefore, it is possible to determine the usage status of the conference room without introducing a special system (construction/installation of infrastructure) for determining the usage status of the conference room. However, it is of course possible to provide a sensor for determining the usage status of the conference room separately from these devices, and to determine the usage status of the conference room from the detected value of the sensor.

At least one of the environment monitor 104, the air purifier 105, and the air conditioner 106 should be provided with the illuminance sensor, and the same is true for the temperature sensor. If a plurality of these devices have the same type of sensor, the management device 102 may acquire sensing data from any one device.

[Configuration of determination device]
Details of the determination device 101 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the main configuration of the determination device 101. As shown in FIG. The determination device 101 includes a control unit 10 that controls and controls each unit of the determination device 101, a storage unit 20 that stores various data used by the determination device 101, and a communication unit that allows the determination device 101 to communicate with an external device. 30. The control unit 10 also includes a data acquisition unit 11 , a determination unit 12 , a notification unit 13 and a reservation unit 14 . The storage unit 20 stores an illuminance DB 21, a temperature DB 22, and reservation information 23. FIG.

The data acquisition unit 11 acquires various data used when determining the usage status of the conference room. Specifically, the data acquisition unit 11 acquires illuminance data (first data) indicating the illuminance in the conference room and temperature data (second data) indicating the room temperature of the conference room from the management device 102 . The illuminance data is data indicating the detection result of the internal state of the conference room by the illuminance sensor (first detection device) in the conference room, and the temperature data is data indicating the detection result of the conference room temperature sensor (second detection device). This is data indicating the detection result of the internal situation of the . These sensors are included in the environmental monitor 104, the air cleaner 105, and/or the air conditioner 106, as described above.

The determination unit 12 uses both the illuminance data and the temperature data acquired by the data acquisition unit 11 to determine the usage status of the conference room. Specifically, the determination unit 12 determines whether the conference room is in use. The determination unit 12 also determines the usage time of the conference room. Note that the determination unit may determine only one of these.

The notification unit 13 notifies the user of the determination result of the determination unit 12 . For example, when the determination unit 12 determines that the conference room is in use, the notification unit 13 notifies the user that the conference room is in use. Note that the user to be notified may be any user related to the usage status of the conference room, and may be, for example, the user of the terminal device 103 or the user of the management device 102 . Moreover, the notification method to a user is not specifically limited. For example, the notification unit 13 transmits information indicating the usage status of the conference room to the terminal device 103, and causes the terminal device 103 to output a message indicating that the conference room is in use by image or voice, thereby notifying the user of the may notify you. Further, for example, the usage status of the conference room may be notified by e-mail addressed to the user.

The reservation unit 14 performs processing related to conference room reservation. Specifically, if the determination unit 12 determines that the conference room is not in use during a time period during which the conference room is reserved for use, the reservation unit 14 cancels the reservation for use. Then, the reservation content is updated so that users waiting for cancellation (applicants who wish to use the conference room during that time period) can use the conference room during that time period. The reservation processing may be performed by the management device 102, or may be performed by a device different from the determination device 101 and the management device 102. good. If another device different from the determination device 101 has the reservation unit 14, the determination device 101 notifies the other device of the usage status determination result, and the reservation unit 14 of the other device receives the determination result. Based on this, the reservation contents are updated as described above.

The illuminance DB 21 is a database that records the illuminance data acquired by the data acquisition unit 11 , and the temperature DB 22 is a database that records the temperature data acquired by the data acquisition unit 11 . The illuminance data is recorded in the illuminance DB 21 as time-series data, and each illuminance data is associated with the acquisition time of the illuminance data (may be detected by a sensor or the like). The temperature data in the temperature DB 22 is also the same.

The reservation information 23 is information indicating the reservation status of the conference room. The reservation information 23 may be information indicating, for each conference room, the time slot for which the use of the conference room is reserved, the person who is scheduled to use the conference room, and the like.

[Usage status determination using illuminance data and temperature data]
Judgment of usage status using illuminance data and temperature data will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of illuminance data and temperature data. Although an example of determining the usage status of conference room A will be described here, determination of the usage status of conference room B is performed in the same manner.

<Determination using illuminance data>
The judging unit 12 reads out the illuminance data for the target period for judging the usage status of the conference room A from the illuminance DB 21, and judges whether or not the usage status of the conference room A has changed during the target period. Normally, when the conference room A starts to be used, the lighting is turned on and the inside of the conference room A becomes bright, and when the use is finished, the lighting is turned off and the inside of the conference room A becomes dark. Therefore, if the illuminance data for the target period includes a portion where the illuminance value changes from a low state to a high state or a portion where the illuminance value changes from a high state to a low state, the determination unit 12 determines that the illuminance value It can be determined that the usage status has changed at the changed time.

Further, the determination unit 12 determines whether the change in the use state of the conference room A is a change from the non-use state to the use state or from the use state to the non-use state, based on the change in the illuminance data. judge. Specifically, when the illuminance value changes from a low state to a high state, the determination unit 12 can determine that the non-use state has changed to the use state. Further, when the illuminance value changes from a high state to a low state, it can be determined that the use state has changed to the non-use state.

<Determination using temperature data>
The determination unit 12 also reads the temperature data for the target period from the temperature DB 22 and determines whether or not the usage status of the conference room A has changed during the target period. The room temperature of the conference room A changes in conjunction with the outside air temperature, etc., but changes rapidly when the air conditioner 106A is activated, and also changes when the operation of the air conditioner 106A is stopped. . When the conference room A starts to be used, the air conditioner 106A is often operated, and when the use is finished, the air conditioner 106A is often stopped. Therefore, if the temperature data for the target period includes a portion where the rate of change in the room temperature changes, the determination unit 12 determines that the usage status of the conference room A changed at the time when the rate of change in the room temperature changed. can do.

In winter, the air conditioner 106A performs heating operation, so if the temperature data includes a part where the room temperature is rising, it is assumed that the conference room A has changed from the non-use state to the use state. can be done. For example, in the period immediately before time T1 in FIG. 3, the room temperature is flat or falling (the room temperature change rate is zero or negative), but after time T1, the room temperature changes suddenly (the room temperature change rate suddenly changes positively). ing. Therefore, the determination unit 12 can determine that the usage state has changed at the time T1 when the rate of change changes from zero or negative to positive. Also, when the heating operation ends, the room temperature usually drops, so if the temperature data includes a portion where the room temperature has dropped, it is determined that the conference room A has changed from the used state to the unused state. can do. For example, in the period immediately before time T3 in FIG. 3, the room temperature rises or stays the same (the room temperature change rate is zero or positive), but after time T3, the room temperature suddenly changes (the room temperature change rate suddenly becomes negative). ing. Therefore, the determining unit 12 can determine that the usage state has changed at time T3 when the rate of change changes from zero or positive to negative (the absolute value of the rate of change increases).

On the other hand, in the summer, the air conditioner 106A performs cooling and dehumidifying operations, so if the temperature data includes a part where the room temperature has decreased, it means that the conference room A has changed from the non-use state to the use state. can be regarded as Also, when the cooling or dehumidifying operation ends, the room temperature normally rises, so if the temperature data included a part where the room temperature was rising, the conference room A changed from the used state to the unused state. can be determined. Thus, the determination unit 12 can determine that the usage state has changed when the change rate of the room temperature changes suddenly.

However, even in summer, the room temperature drops in the afternoon, and even in winter, the room temperature rises in the morning. It may be determined that it has changed. Further, as the threshold, for example, a previously measured rate of change in room temperature when the air conditioner 106A is not in use may be used. In this case, the threshold to be used may be changed for each time zone (for example, morning, afternoon, night, etc.), or the threshold for use may be changed for each period (season, month, etc.). For example, during a period (May to September) when there is a possibility of using air conditioners, it may be determined that the use state has changed when the room temperature drops at a rate of change of 1° C. or more per hour. Then, during the period (November to March) when there is a possibility of using the heating, it may be determined that the usage state has changed when the room temperature rises at a rate of change of 1° C. or more per hour. That is, the threshold for the room temperature change rate may be 1° C./1 hour. It should be noted that the determination as to whether or not the state of use has changed may be performed, for example, every 10 to 15 minutes. If it is performed every 15 minutes, the above change rate threshold is 0.25° C./15 minutes.

Furthermore, the determination unit 12 determines whether the change in the usage state of the conference room A is a change from the non-use state to the use state or from the use state to the non-use state, based on the change in the temperature data. judge. For example, in winter (when the air conditioner 106A is in heating operation), the determining unit 12 can determine that the non-use state has changed to the use state when the temperature rises. Also, when the temperature drops, it can be determined that the state of use has changed to the state of non-use. On the other hand, in the summer (when the air conditioner 106A is in cooling operation or dehumidifying operation), for example, when the temperature drops, it can be determined that the non-use state has changed to the use state. Also, when the temperature rises, it can be determined that the state of use has changed to the state of non-use.

<Determination of final usage status>
Then, if the determination unit 12 determines that the usage status has changed in the determination using both the temperature data and the illuminance data, if the timing of the change is within a predetermined time (for example, 10 to 15 minutes), It is determined that the use state of conference room A has changed. In other words, the determining unit 12 determines that the usage state of the conference room A has changed when a change in the illuminance value and a change in the change rate of the room temperature are detected within a predetermined period of time.

For example, in the target period P1 in FIG. 3, the room temperature begins to rise at time T1, and the illuminance value increases at time T2. Therefore, in the determination using the temperature data, the determination unit 12 determines that the state of the conference room A has changed from the non-use state to the use state at the time T1. Also, in the determination using the illuminance data, it is determined that the conference room A changed from the non-use state to the use state at time T2. Therefore, if the time difference between the times T1 and T2 is within the predetermined time, the determining unit 12 determines that the usage state of the conference room A changed from the unused state to the used state during the target period P1. Also, in the target period P2, the room temperature starts to decrease at time T3, and the illuminance value decreases. Therefore, the determination unit 12 determines that the usage state of the conference room A changed from the usage state to the non-use state during the target period P2.

Further, the determination unit 12 may determine the start time of using the conference room A. FIG. In this case, the time when the illuminance data changes may be used as the use start time, or the time when the temperature data changes may be used as the use start time. Alternatively, the time at which the illuminance data changed and the time at which the temperature data changed, whichever is earlier or later may be set as the use start time. The same applies to the usage end time. When the usage end time is also specified, the usage time can be calculated by subtracting the usage start time from the usage end time. Further, if the device is in continuous use, the usage time from the start of use to the present can be calculated by subtracting the start time of use from the current time.

[Process flow]
The flow of processing (control method of the determination device) executed by the determination device 101 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the determination device 101. As shown in FIG. To simplify the explanation, an example of judging the usage status of only the conference room A will be explained here. Also, here, it is assumed that this process is performed at a predetermined cycle (for example, every 10 minutes) during the time zone in which conference room A is available. That is, the trigger for executing this process is that a predetermined time has passed since the previous process. Also, although not shown, at least one of the environment monitor 104A, the air purifier 105A, and the air conditioner 106A transmits illuminance data and temperature data of the conference room A to the management device 102 at any time as a premise of this processing. is doing.

In S1 (data acquisition step), the data acquisition unit 11 of the determination device 101 acquires the illuminance data and the temperature data of the conference room A from the management device 102, and stores them in the illuminance DB 21 and the temperature DB 22, respectively.

In S2, the determination unit 12 reads the illuminance data for the target period from the illuminance DB 2, reads the temperature data for the target period from the temperature DB 22, and determines whether the usage status of the conference room A has changed based on these data. determine whether This determination method is as described in the above [Determination of usage status using illuminance data and temperature data]. In this example, it is assumed that the process is performed at a predetermined cycle. data. For example, when the processing of FIG. 4 is performed in a period of 10 minutes, the data is detected by the sensor in the 10 minutes immediately before this processing and stored in the illuminance DB 21 and the temperature DB 22, respectively. If it is determined in S2 that the usage status has not changed (NO in S2), the illustrated process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the usage status has changed (YES in S2), the process proceeds to S3.

In S3 (determination step), the determination unit 12 determines whether or not the conference room A is in use. This determination method is also the same as described in the above [Determination of use status using illuminance data and temperature data]. That is, if the change in the use state determined in S2 is a change from the use state to the unused state, the determination unit 12 determines that the conference room A is not in use, and the change from the unused state to the use state is determined. If so, it is determined to be in use. If the determination unit 12 determines that it is in use in S3 (YES in S3), the process proceeds to S4, and if it determines that it is not in use (NO in S3), the process proceeds to S5.

In S4, the notification unit 13 notifies the user of the usage status of the conference room A, and the illustrated processing is thereby terminated. At this time, the notification unit 13 may also notify the time when the usage state changed (the time when the use of the conference room A started and the time when the use ended). When the process transitions from S3 to S4, the user is notified that conference room A is in use. In addition, when the usage start time and the usage duration of the conference room A are also calculated, the user may be notified of such information.

In S5, the reservation unit 14 refers to the reservation information 23 and determines whether or not the conference room A has been reserved for a period including the current time and whether there is a reservation waiting for use cancellation for the reservation period. . Here, if it is determined that there is no reservation waiting for cancellation (NO in S5), the process proceeds to S4, and the notification unit 13 notifies the user of the terminal device 103 of the usage status of the conference room A, and performs the illustrated process. ends. When the process transitions from S5 to S4, the user is notified that conference room A is not in use. Moreover, when the usage time of the conference room A immediately before is also calculated, the usage time may also be notified to the user. This allows the user to recognize that conference room A is not in use and the duration of the previous conference. In this way, by notifying the user whether or not the conference room A is actually used and the time actually used, the conference room that is used by multiple groups and often conflicts at the time of reservation can be saved. It is possible to operate at a high operating rate.

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a reservation waiting for cancellation (YES in S5), the process proceeds to S6, and the reservation unit 14 updates the reservation information 23. FIG. Specifically, the reservation unit 14 cancels the previous reservation and puts a reservation waiting for cancellation in the time slot in which the reservation was made.

In S7, the notification unit 13 notifies the user of the updated content of the reservation, and the illustrated processing is thereby terminated. In addition, it is preferable that the users to be notified include at least the user who was waiting for cancellation and the user who made the reservation earlier. The notification destination of each user may be included in the reservation information 23 .

[Modified example of processing]
In the above example, if there is a reservation on the waiting list for conference room A that is not being used, the reservation is automatically updated. It may be updated when it is received. For example, the notification unit 13 asks the user who has been waiting for cancellation whether or not to use the conference room A from now on, and cancels the reservation of the conference room A to the user who made the reservation in advance. You may inquire about the availability of Then, the reservation unit 14 may update the reservation when the answers to these inquiries are all acceptable. In addition, it is possible to reply to the inquiry about whether or not to use the conference room A from now on, and the answer to the inquiry about whether to cancel the reservation of the conference room A will not be answered after a predetermined time has passed since the inquiry was sent. You may renew your reservation even if you do not get it.

Further, the process of S4 does not necessarily have to be performed every time. For example, the processing of S4 may be performed when the terminal device 103 makes an inquiry about the usage status of the conference room A to the determination device 101, or when the usage state of the conference room A changes from the usage state to the non-use state. You can go only on occasion.

[Embodiment 2]
In this embodiment, an example will be described in which illuminance data indicating the illuminance in the conference room and CO ₂ concentration data indicating the CO ₂ concentration in the conference room are used to determine the usage status of the conference room. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those of the members explained in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof is omitted. The same applies to the third and subsequent embodiments.

In the present embodiment, the CO ₂ concentration data is used instead of the temperature data used in the first embodiment, so the storage unit 20 of the determination device 101 of the present embodiment includes a CO ₂ concentration DB that stores the CO ₂ concentration data. is Further, in this embodiment, at least one of the environment monitor 104, the air purifier 105, and the air conditioner 106 has a sensor that detects the CO ₂ concentration in the conference room. Then, the data acquisition unit 11 of the determination device 101 acquires CO ₂ concentration data indicating the CO ₂ concentration detected by this sensor via the management device 102 and stores it in the CO ₂ concentration DB. The illuminance data is stored in the illuminance DB 21 in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the determining unit 12 determines the usage status of the conference room using the CO ₂ concentration data and the illuminance data read from these DBs.

[Usage status determination using illuminance data and CO ₂ concentration data]
Judgment of usage status using illuminance data and CO ₂ concentration data will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of illuminance data and CO ₂ concentration data. Although an example of determining the usage status of conference room A will be described here, determination of the usage status of conference room B is performed in the same manner. Further, since the determination using the illuminance data and the final usage status determination are as described in the first embodiment, the description is omitted here.

<Determination using CO ₂ concentration data>
The determination unit 12 reads the CO ₂ concentration data for the target period from the CO ₂ concentration DB, and determines whether or not the usage status of the conference room A has changed during the target period. If the conference room A is in use, the CO ₂ concentration in the conference room A will rise due to the CO ₂ contained in the breath of the conference participants. Then, when the conference ends and the participants leave the conference room A and the _CO2 emission in the conference room A ends, the _CO2 diffuses outside the conference room A and the _CO2 in the conference room A Concentration decreases. Therefore, if the CO ₂ concentration data for the target period includes a portion where the change rate of the CO ₂ concentration has changed, the determination unit 12 determines that the use of the conference room A is prohibited at the time when the change rate of the CO ₂ concentration changes. It can be determined that the situation has changed.

Further, the determining unit 12 determines whether the change in the usage state of the conference room A is a change from the non-use state to the use state or from the use state to the non-use state, based on the mode of change in the CO ₂ concentration data. Determine if there is For example, the determination unit 12 can determine that the non-use state has changed to the use state when the CO ₂ concentration increases. Also, when the CO ₂ concentration decreases, it can be determined that the state of use has changed to the state of non-use.

For example, in the target period P10 in FIG. 5, the CO ₂ concentration starts to rise at time T10, and the illuminance value increases. This rate of increase is, for example, 200-300 ppm/hour. Therefore, the determination unit 12 determines that the usage state of the conference room A changed from the unused state to the used state during the target period P10. Further, in the target period P11, the CO ₂ concentration starts to decrease at time T11, and the illuminance value decreases. Therefore, the determination unit 12 determines that the usage state of the conference room A changed from the usage state to the non-use state during the target period P11.

[Embodiment 3]
In this embodiment, an example will be described in which humidity data indicating the absolute humidity in the conference room and CO ₂ concentration data indicating the CO ₂ concentration in the conference room are used to determine the usage status of the conference room. In this embodiment, the humidity data is used instead of the illuminance data in the second embodiment, so the storage unit 20 of the determination device 101 of this embodiment includes a humidity DB that stores the humidity data. Further, in this embodiment, at least one of the environment monitor 104, the air cleaner 105, and the air conditioner 106 has a sensor that detects the absolute humidity in the conference room. Then, the data acquisition unit 11 of the determination device 101 acquires the humidity data indicating the absolute humidity detected by this sensor via the management device 102 and stores it in the humidity DB. The CO ₂ concentration data is stored in the CO ₂ concentration DB in the same manner as in the second embodiment, and the determination unit 12 uses the CO ₂ concentration data and humidity data read from these DBs to determine the usage status of the conference room. do.

<Determination using humidity data>
The determination unit 12 reads the humidity data for the target period from the humidity DB, and determines whether or not the usage status of the conference room A has changed during the target period. When the conference room A is in use, the humidity in the conference room A rises due to moisture contained in the exhalation of the conference participants and moisture evaporated from the bodies of the participants. When the conference ends, the participants leave the conference room A, and the moisture in the conference room A is completely discharged, the moisture diffuses out of the conference room A and the humidity in the conference room A decreases. do. Therefore, if the humidity data for the target period includes a portion where the rate of change in humidity changes, the determination unit 12 determines that the usage status of conference room A changed at the time when the rate of change in humidity changed. can do.

Furthermore, the determination unit 12 determines whether the change in the usage status of the conference room A is a change from a non-use state to a use state, or a change from a use state to a non-use state, based on the mode of change in the humidity data. judge. For example, the determination unit 12 can determine that the unused state has changed to the used state when the humidity increases. Also, when the humidity drops, it can be determined that the used state has changed to the non-used state.

[Modification]
The determination device 101 can determine the usage status of the conference room with high accuracy based on any combination of CO ₂ concentration data, humidity data, illuminance data, and temperature data. In other words, in addition to the combinations described in Embodiments 1 to 3, even combinations of illuminance data and humidity data, temperature data and humidity data, and temperature data and CO ₂ concentration data can be used to determine the usage status of the conference room with high accuracy. can do.

For example, when using a projector or OHP (overhead projector) during a meeting, the lighting may be turned off. It is possible to avoid erroneously judging that has ended. Also, for example, the humidity in the conference room may rise depending on the weather. It is possible to avoid erroneously judging that Furthermore, for example, the _CO2 concentration in a conference room may increase due to the influence of the air environment around the conference room. Further, when the CO ₂ sensor is arranged near the exhaust port of the ventilation duct, the detected value of the CO ₂ concentration may increase due to the influence of the exhaust air from the ventilation duct. However, even when the CO ₂ concentration data is used, by using any of the above data other than the CO ₂ concentration data, erroneous determination that the meeting has started can be avoided in such a case.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, an example using humidity data indicating absolute humidity was shown, but the humidity data may indicate relative humidity. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of illuminance data and relative humidity data. As shown, the relative humidity, like the absolute humidity, also fluctuates depending on the usage of the conference room. Specifically, the relative humidity increases while the conference room is in use, and decreases when the use ends.

In the target period P20 of FIG. 6, the relative humidity starts to rise at time T20, and the illuminance value rises at time T21. Therefore, if the time difference between the time T20 and the time T21 is within a predetermined period of time, the determination unit 12 determines that the usage state of the conference room A has changed from the non-use state to the use state during the target period P20. Also, in the target period P21, the relative humidity starts to decrease at time T22, and the illuminance value decreases at time T23. Therefore, if the time difference between the time T22 and the time T23 is within a predetermined period of time, the determination unit 12 determines that the usage state of the conference room A has changed from the usage state to the non-use state during the target period P21. In this way, when the conference room is not being cooled or heated, the relative humidity can be used to determine the state of use in the same way as the absolute humidity. Since relative humidity is more commonly used than absolute humidity as a numerical value indicating indoor environment, determination using relative humidity is more versatile than determination using absolute humidity.

Furthermore, the determination unit 12 may dynamically determine a combination of data used to determine the usage status of the conference room according to the situation at the time of determination. For example, the determination unit 12 may use a combination of illuminance data and temperature data or absolute humidity data in seasons such as summer and winter when air conditioning is used. This is because it is preferable not to use the relative humidity data in which the amount of variation due to air conditioning tends to be greater than the amount of variation due to the presence/absence of people during the season when air conditioning is performed. On the other hand, the determination unit 12 may use a combination of illuminance data, CO ₂ concentration data, relative humidity data, or absolute humidity data in seasons such as spring and autumn when air conditioning is not used. This is because it is preferable not to use temperature data in seasons such as spring and autumn when room temperature changes are relatively small.

In the above example, it is sufficient to determine in advance which combination is used in which season (period). In addition, when the air conditioner 106 is in cooling or heating operation, or when a history of cooling or heating operation for a predetermined period (for example, within 3 days) is recorded, a combination for summer and winter is used. good too. Then, when the air conditioner 106 is performing neither cooling nor heating operation, and the history of the previous cooling or heating operation is before a predetermined period (for example, three days), the spring/autumn combination is used. good too.

Further, the determination unit 12 may dynamically determine the combination of data used for determining the usage status of the conference room according to the weather around the conference room. For example, when the weather is cloudy, rainy, snowy, or the like, the determination unit 12 may determine the usage status of the conference room by combining data selected from absolute humidity data and data other than relative humidity data. . This is because under such weather conditions, the absolute humidity and relative humidity may increase to the extent that the determination results are affected. The weather can be identified by accessing a service that provides weather information via the Internet, for example.

The data used to determine the usage status of the conference room is data that indicates the internal status of the conference room, and is not limited to the above example, as long as it is possible to determine the usage status of the conference room from the data. . For example, data indicating the intensity of odor detected by an odor sensor and data indicating air cleanliness detected by a sensor that detects the scattering amount of dust and PM2.5 can be used to determine the usage status of a conference room. may This is because when people gather in a conference room, the odor in the room becomes stronger, and when people enter and leave the conference room at the beginning and end of the conference, dust rises up, temporarily lowering the air cleanliness.

Also, a UV sensor that detects UV intensity can be used as an alternative to the above illuminance sensor. This is because the light emitted by the lighting fixtures contains ultraviolet rays, and the outside light that enters the room through a window or the like also contains ultraviolet rays. In other words, when the lighting fixtures are turned on or the curtains or blinds are opened to allow outside light into the room while the conference room is in use, the detection value of the UV sensor increases in the same manner as the illuminance sensor. Also, when the lighting fixtures are turned off or the curtains or blinds are closed to block external light when the use of the conference room is finished, the detection value of the UV sensor drops in the same manner as the illuminance sensor. Therefore, it is possible to determine the usage status of the conference room from the detection value of the UV sensor. When a UV sensor is used, it is also possible to encourage the users of the meeting room to take measures to prevent sunburn. For example, when the detection value of the UV sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the management device 102 sends a message to the user, such as a message that the conference room is in an environment where it is easy to get sunburned, or a message that recommends taking measures against sunburn. may be presented to

In addition to this, for example, data indicating the presence or absence of people in the conference room detected by a human sensor, image data captured by a camera in the conference room, voice data in the conference room detected by a microphone, etc. You can judge the situation. However, from the viewpoint of protecting the privacy of conference participants, it is preferable to avoid using image data and audio data. Also, if the meeting involves confidential information, it is preferable to avoid using image data and voice data from the viewpoint of preventing information leakage.

Further, for example, the management device 102 may determine the usage status of the conference room using data indicating the control details (operation start/end, etc.) for the air purifier 105 and the air conditioner 106 . In addition, the management device 102 instructs the air purifier 105 and the air conditioner 106 to notify the operating state (running, stopped, etc.), and uses data indicating the content of the notification in response to this instruction to control the conference room. use may be determined.

In addition, it is preferable to use data used for other purposes such as the air conditioning of the conference room as the data used to determine the usage status of the conference room. This allows existing data to be used to determine meeting room occupancy, at a lower cost than installing new sensing equipment to generate data for determining meeting room occupancy. A conference room management system 100 can be constructed.

[Example of realization by software]
The control blocks of the determination device 101 (especially the data acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, the notification unit 13, and the reservation unit 14) may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

In the latter case, the determination device 101 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program, which is software for realizing each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which the program and various data are recorded so as to be readable by a computer (or CPU), or It includes a storage device (these are referred to as a “recording medium”), a RAM (Random Access Memory) for developing the above program, and the like. The object of the present invention is achieved by a computer (or CPU) reading and executing the program from the recording medium. As the recording medium, a "non-temporary tangible medium" such as a tape, disk, card, semiconductor memory, programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. Also, the program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) capable of transmitting the program. Note that one aspect of the present invention can also be implemented in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

〔summary〕
A determination device (101) according to aspect 1 of the present invention is a determination device that determines the usage status of a room (meeting room), and detects a detection result of the internal status of the room by a first detection device (illuminance sensor). and second data (temperature data) indicating the detection result of the internal state of the room by a second detection device (temperature sensor) different from the first detection device. and a determination unit (12) for determining the usage status of the room using both the first data and the second data.

According to the above-described configuration, the usage status of the room is determined based on the detection results of two different types of detection devices. The usage status can be determined with high accuracy. The room usage status includes, for example, whether the room is in use, whether it is not in use, and how long the room has been in use.

In the determination device according to aspect 2 of the present invention, in aspect 1, the determination unit determines whether or not the use state of the room has changed using the first data and the second data. If it is determined that the usage status of the room has changed in the determination using any of the data, it is determined that the usage status of the room has changed, and at least the determination using any data indicates that the usage status has changed. If it is determined that there is no change, it may be determined that the usage status of the room has not changed.

According to the above configuration, when viewed from one of the first data and the second data, it appears that the usage status of the room has changed. can be determined correctly. For example, even if the lighting in the room is temporarily turned off or the light intensity of the lighting is lowered while the room is in use, there is no misjudgment that the use of the room has ended due to the darkening of the room. , it becomes possible to correctly determine that the use of the room continues.

In the determination device according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the above aspect 1 or 2, when the determination unit determines that the room is not in use during a time period in which the room is reserved for use, the use reservation may be provided with a reservation section (14) that updates the reservation content so that the applicant who wishes to cancel the reservation and use the room during the time period can use the room.

According to the above configuration, it is automatically detected that the room has been reserved for use but is not actually used, and the room is made available to the requesting person, so that the room can be used more effectively. can do.

A determination device according to aspect 4 of the present invention is the determination device according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the first data includes illuminance data indicating brightness inside the room and temperature data indicating room temperature of the room. , humidity data indicating the absolute humidity inside the room, and _CO2 concentration data indicating the _CO2 concentration inside the room, and the second data is the illumination data, the temperature data, the Any one of the humidity data and the CO ₂ concentration data different from the first data may be used.

When a room is in use, the absolute humidity and CO ₂ concentration in the room are higher than when the room is not in use due to exhalation of the user and the like. Also, when the room is in use, the room temperature is adjusted by operating the air conditioner, etc., and the room is brightened by turning on the lights, etc., so that the room can be used comfortably. Therefore, since each of the above data can be said to be data indicating the usage status of the room, it is possible to determine the usage status of the room by using these data. In addition, from these data, it is not possible to identify the user of the room or the contents of the conversation in the room, so the privacy of the user can be protected, and even if these data are stolen, confidentiality will not be protected. No leaks. Furthermore, unlike the case of using a motion sensor, it is possible to accurately determine the usage status of the room regardless of whether the user in the room is moving or not.

A control method for a determination device (101) according to aspect 5 of the present invention is a control method for a determination device that determines the usage state of a room, wherein the internal state of the room is detected by a first detection device (illuminance sensor). A data acquisition step of acquiring first data indicating a result and second data indicating a detection result of the internal state of the room by a second detection device (temperature sensor) different from the first detection device. (S1), and a determination step (S3) of determining the usage status of the room using both the first data and the second data. According to this method, the same effects as in the first mode are obtained.

A room management system (room management system 100) according to aspect 6 of the present invention includes a determination device (101) that determines the usage status of a room, and an air conditioner (air cleaner 105, air conditioner) installed in the room. 106), wherein the air conditioner includes a first detection device and the first detection device as detection devices for detecting internal conditions of the room for air conditioning of the room. includes at least one of a second detection device of a different type, and the determination device includes first data indicating the detection result of the first detection device and second data indicating the detection result of the second detection device and the data of the room are used to determine the usage status of the room.

According to the above configuration, the air conditioner uses the detection device used for air conditioning to determine the usage state of the room. There is an effect that a room management system can be constructed at a low cost.

The determination device according to each aspect of the present invention may be implemented by a computer. In this case, the determination device is implemented by the computer by operating the computer as each part (software element) included in the determination device. A control program for the determination device and a computer-readable recording medium recording it are also included in the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims, and can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

11 data acquisition unit 12 determination unit 14 reservation unit 100 conference room management system (room management system)
101 determination device 104 environment monitor 105 air cleaner (air conditioner)
106 air conditioner

Claims (7)

A determination device that determines the usage status of a room in which equipment for maintaining a good environment in the room is arranged,
a data acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of data indicating detection results of the internal state of the room by a plurality of detection devices of different types ;
From among the plurality of data, using both the first data and the second data whose combination is determined according to the season or weather at the time of determination, whether the room is in use and whether the room is in use and a determination unit that determines at least one of the usage time of
The determination device , wherein the first data and the second data are data used for controlling devices installed in the room for maintaining a good environment in the room. The determination unit
Determining whether the usage status of the room has changed using the first data and the second data, respectively;
If it is determined that the usage status has changed in any determination using data, it is determined that the usage status of the room has changed,
2. The determination according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the usage status has not changed in the determination using at least one of the data, it is determined that the usage status of the room has not changed. Device. Applicants who wish to cancel the above-mentioned use reservation and use the above-mentioned room during the above-mentioned time period when the above-mentioned determination unit determines that the above-mentioned room is not in use during the time period when the above-mentioned room is reserved for use. 3. The determination device according to claim 1, further comprising a reservation section for updating reservation contents so that the room can be used by the user. The plurality of data are illuminance data indicating brightness inside the room, temperature data indicating room temperature of the room, humidity data indicating absolute humidity inside the room, and _CO2 concentration inside the room. 4. The determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising at least one of _CO2 concentration data. A control method for a determination device that determines the usage status of a room in which equipment for maintaining a good environment in the room is arranged,
a data acquisition step of acquiring a plurality of data indicating detection results of the internal conditions of the room by a plurality of detection devices of different types ;
From among the plurality of data, using both the first data and the second data whose combination is determined according to the season or weather at the time of determination, whether the room is in use and whether the room is in use and a determination step of determining at least one of the usage time of
A control method for a determination device, wherein the first data and the second data are data used for controlling a device installed in the room for maintaining a good environment in the room. A room management system including a determination device that determines the usage status of a room and an air conditioner installed in the room,
The air conditioner includes a plurality of different types of detection devices used for controlling the air conditioner as detection devices that detect the internal conditions of the room for air conditioning of the room,
The determination device determines whether the room is in use and whether the room is in use and the determining at least one of the hours of use of the room;
The room management system, wherein the determination device determines a combination of the first data and the second data used for the determination according to the season or weather at the time of determination. A control program for causing a computer to function as the determination device according to claim 1, the control program for causing the computer to function as the data acquisition section and the determination section.

Images