JP2002039596A - Air-conditioning controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control air conditioning of a room, where normally it is occupied by no one, so that a person entering from an exterior will not ruin his health according to thermal environmental gap from outdoor. SOLUTION: An air-conditioning controller infers sweating, blood flow, heart beat and blood pressure of each of body's respective parts by a human body physiological model 3, based on detection signals of a first thermal environment detecting means 1 installed in the room where a person is normally present; infers the level of person's health from the behavior of air temperature of sweating, blood flow, heart beet and blood pressure inferred by the model 3 by a health degree inferring means 4 regarding the health degree of the person, when the person enters the room where no person is normally present; and sets a health temperature range as a target thermal environment to a control signal generating means 5. The air conditioner 6 is controlled, based on the signal from a second thermal environment detecting means 2 installed in the room where no person is normally present, so that the condition approaches health temperature range to which the indoor temperature is set in the room, where no person is normally present.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air-conditioning control device, and more particularly, to the degree of human health when moving from a room, such as a living room, where people are always present to a room, such as a toilet or a bathroom, where people are not always present. The present invention relates to an air-conditioning control device that estimates air-conditioning and controls air-conditioning in a room where no person is present at all times so as to approach a target thermal environment set according to the estimated degree of health.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art
In the control of the air conditioner, comfort is emphasized, and various methods of controlling the air conditioner so as not to impair the feeling of comfort have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-283340 discloses a method of designing an environment adjusting means suitable for an individual by controlling an environment adjusting means such as an air conditioner using prediction data of a universal human sense in a certain environment. A comfortable environment design method has been proposed. In this comfortable environment design method, the environment of an air conditioner or the like is adjusted using a predicted value of a human sense (comfortable sensation or thermal sensation).

[0003] However, when there are a plurality of rooms indoors, even if the user feels comfortable in a room with cooling, if the user enters a room without cooling from a room with cooling, a sudden change in temperature causes In some cases, the body's body temperature regulation function cannot follow, causing a shock state (heat shock). Therefore, there is a need for a method of controlling an air conditioner in consideration of human living environment. In addition, when there are a plurality of rooms indoors, if all rooms are controlled to a thermal environment in which humans feel comfortable, energy saving cannot be achieved.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 8-240334 discloses that the comfort temperature calculated from the detected values of temperature and humidity is corrected by the presence or absence of perspiration, thereby giving more importance to the health of the individual than the comfort of the air conditioner, and There has been proposed a healthy air conditioner control device that prevents deterioration of the physical condition due to excessive heat and suppresses deterioration of the body temperature control function.

[0005] However, in this control device, since it is necessary to directly measure human physiological quantities such as sweating,
Suitable for air-conditioning control when it is possible to track changes over time in sweating for a long time, such as during sleep, but control when a person stays indoors for a short time or when no person is indoors Has the problem that it cannot be applied.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner in a room where there is no person at all times, and that a person entering from the outside has a health problem due to a difference in thermal environment from the outside. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning control device capable of performing control so as not to impair the air conditioning.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an air-conditioning control device according to claim 1 includes a first thermal environment detecting means for detecting a thermal environment element in a room where a person is always present, Based on the second thermal environment detecting means for detecting a thermal environment element in a room where a person does not always exist, and the human thermal physiology based on the thermal environment element in a room where a person always exists detected by the first thermal environment detecting means. The model estimates a physiological quantity related to human health when placed in a room where no person is normally present, estimates the human health based on the estimated physiological quantity, and A health degree estimating means for setting a target thermal environment in a room where no person is present at all times in response thereto;
Air conditioning that controls air conditioning based on the thermal environment element in a room where there is no human at all times detected by the thermal environment detecting means, so that the thermal environment inside the room where there is no human always approaches the set target thermal environment. And control means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the first thermal environment detecting means detects a thermal environment element in a room where a person is always present, the health degree estimating means is detected by the first thermal environment detecting means. Based on the thermal environment factor in a room where a person always exists, a human body physiology model estimates a physiological amount related to the degree of human health when placed in a room where no person is always present, and estimates the estimated physiological amount. And a target thermal environment in a room where no person is present at all times is set according to the estimated degree of health. On the other hand, when the second thermal environment detecting means detects a thermal environment element in the room where no person is always present, the air conditioning control means detects the room where no human is normally detected by the second thermal environment detecting means. The air conditioning is controlled based on the thermal environment element in such a manner that the indoor thermal environment in which no person is always present approaches the set target thermal environment.

As described above, according to the present invention, a target thermal environment in a room where no person is always present is set in accordance with the estimated value of the degree of health of a person, and the thermal environment in a room where no person is normally present is determined by the target thermal environment. Since the air conditioning is controlled so as to approach the environment, it is possible to control the air conditioning so that the indoor environment does not impair human health due to the difference in the thermal environment between the room where no person is always present and the outside. In addition, since a physiological quantity related to the degree of human health is estimated using a human body physiology model, and the degree of human health is estimated based on the estimated physiological quantity, there is no need to actually measure the physiological quantity of human beings. The target thermal environment can be set even when the user stays indoors for a short time or when no person is indoors. Furthermore, since air conditioning is controlled so as to approach the target thermal environment set according to the estimated health level, temperature control in a wider range than air conditioning control with a focus on comfort is possible, and power-saving air conditioning is possible. Can be realized.

In the air conditioning control device, the physiological quantity is at least one of sweating, blood flow, blood pressure, and heart rate.
It is preferably one. Further, the thermal environment element includes:
It is preferable to include at least the air temperature, wind speed,
It may include the amount of solar radiation, humidity, and the like.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

The air-conditioning control device according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the first thermal environment detecting means 1 installed in a room where a person is always present (for example, a room which is normally air-conditioned at a comfortable temperature such as a living room in the daytime and a bedroom in the nighttime). Rooms that do not exist (eg, corridors, toilets,
Second thermal environment detecting means 2 installed in a bathroom, etc.)
Is connected to the thermal environment detecting means 1, and based on the signal output from the first thermal environment detecting means 1, sweating, blood flow, heartbeat,
A human body physiology model 3 for estimating the behavior of blood pressure with respect to air temperature change, connected to the human body physiology model 3, and based on the estimated sweating, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure behavior for each air temperature change, enter a room where no person is always present. The degree of health of the human being when placed is estimated, and based on the estimated degree of health of the human, a healthy temperature range which is a target thermal environment in a room where no person is always present is set in the control signal generating means 5 described below. Health level estimating means 4, health level estimating means 4, and second thermal environment detecting means 2 which are connected to the health level estimating means 4. A control signal generating unit 5 as an air-conditioning control unit for controlling air-conditioning so that the temperature in a room where no person is always present approaches a set healthy temperature range, and an air conditioner 6 to be controlled.

The first thermal environment detecting means 1 is constituted by a temperature sensor, and detects the temperature of the air in a room where a person is always present at predetermined time intervals. The second thermal environment detecting means 2 is composed of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and a wind speed sensor, and detects the air temperature, humidity, and wind speed in a room where no person is constantly present at predetermined time intervals.

The human body physiology model 3 calculates the heat balance between the human body and the environment and, based on the thermal environment element detected by the thermal environment detecting means 1, is based on the temperature of the air in the room where the human always exists. This is a mathematical model for calculating values of sweating, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure of each part of the human body, which are physiological information, when entering a room where the user does not enter.

FIGS. 2A to 2D show a human physiology model 3.
3 shows the behavior of each part of the human body with respect to changes in air temperature, such as perspiration, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure, estimated in step (a). FIG. 2A shows the relationship between air temperature and perspiration, and FIG. 2B shows the relationship between air temperature and blood flow. FIG. 2C shows the relationship between the air temperature and the heart rate, and FIG. 2D shows the relationship between the air temperature and the blood pressure.

In the present embodiment, the health level estimation means 4
The degree of human health is estimated from the behavior of the estimated sweat shown in FIG. 2A with respect to the change in air temperature and the estimated behavior of the blood flow shown in FIG. 2B with respect to the change in air temperature. . First, referring to FIG. 2 (A), the sweating is substantially constant below the temperature A, and starts increasing rapidly after the temperature A. Such a rapid increase in sweating suggests that human health has been impaired and health has declined. Also,
Referring to FIG. 2 (B), the blood flow is substantially constant above the temperature B, and when it falls below the temperature B, it begins to rapidly decrease and at the same time the temperature C
After that, it starts to increase sharply. Such a rapid increase or decrease in blood flow suggests that the health condition of humans has been impaired and the degree of health has decreased. Accordingly, the health degree estimating means 4 sets the lower one of the temperature A at which the sweating starts to rapidly increase or the temperature C at which the blood flow starts to rapidly increase as an upper limit, and sets the temperature B at which the blood flow sharply decreases as a lower limit. If the air temperature is equal to or higher than the temperature B and equal to or lower than the temperature A, the degree of health is determined to be high. If the air temperature exceeds the temperature A or falls below the temperature B, the degree of health is determined to be low. Then, a range between the temperature B and the temperature A is set as a health temperature range. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, in the set health temperature range, there is no sudden increase or decrease in sweat, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure that impair the health, and the health is maintained at a high level. Become.

The behavior of each of the estimated sweating, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure with respect to changes in the air temperature changes depending on the type of the room in which the air conditioning is performed. Change. The difference depending on the room in which the air conditioning is performed is considered as a difference in the amount of clothes in the human body physiology model, for example. For example, the amount of clothing does not change in a corridor, the amount of clothing is reduced to approximately half in a bathroom, and the amount of clothing is reduced to zero in a bathroom to calculate the values of sweating, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure of each part of the human body.

The air conditioner 6 is an air conditioner whose outlet temperature and outlet speed are variable, and is installed in a room for air conditioning. The control signal generating means 5 steps the temperature and the amount of air blown out of the air conditioner 6 based on the signal output from the second thermal environment detecting means 2 so as to approach the health temperature range set by the health degree estimating means 4. A control signal is generated for the purpose of the change.

Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, a human physiology model 3,
The processing operations in the health degree estimating means 4 and the control signal generating means 5 will be described together.

In step 100, when a detection signal of an air temperature detected by a temperature sensor installed in a room where a person always exists is input to the human body physiology model 3, in step 102, based on the input detection signal. Therefore, according to the human body physiology model 3, sweating of a person in a room where a person always exists,
The blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure are estimated, and when the person enters a room where no person is always present (room for performing air-conditioning control) as initial values, sweating, blood flow,
The relationship between each of the heart rate and the blood pressure and the air temperature (the air temperature in the room where the air conditioning control is performed) is estimated.

In the next step 104, the human physiology model 3
From the relationship between the perspiration and the air temperature and the relationship between the blood flow and the air temperature estimated in the above, the degree of health of the occupant according to the air temperature in the room where no person is always present is estimated, and in step 106,
The upper and lower limits of the air temperature range in which the degree of health of the occupant is maintained at a high level are determined, and are set in the control signal generating means 5 as the health temperature range.

In the next step 108, the control signal generating means 5 sends detection signals of the air temperature, humidity and wind speed detected by the temperature sensor, humidity sensor and wind speed sensor installed in the room where no person is present at all times. When input, at step 110, the control signal generator 5 determines whether the input indoor air temperature is within the healthy temperature range. as a result,
If the input room air temperature is within the healthy temperature range,
In step 112, a control signal for maintaining the state of the air conditioner 6 at the current value is generated, and the process returns to step 100 to repeat the operations of steps 100 to 110 until the temperature exceeds the healthy temperature range. If the indoor air temperature input in step 110 exceeds the healthy temperature range, the control signal generating means 5 determines in step 114 whether the indoor air temperature has fallen below the lower limit of the healthy temperature range. If the temperature is below the lower limit, a control signal for raising the temperature control target by one level is generated in step 116. If the indoor air temperature is not below the lower limit of the healthy temperature range, it is determined that the upper limit of the healthy temperature range is exceeded. In step 118, a control signal for lowering the temperature control target by one level is generated.

In the next step 120, it is determined whether or not the end of the process has been instructed. If the end has not been instructed, the process returns to step 100, and steps 100 to 120
repeat.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a healthy temperature range is set as a target thermal environment in a room where no person is always present according to the estimated value of the degree of human health. Air conditioning is controlled so that the indoor air temperature does not approach this healthy temperature range, so the air conditioning is controlled so that the temperature difference between the room where no people are always present and the outdoor room does not impair human health due to the temperature difference between the room and the outside. be able to. Thereby, so-called heat shock can be prevented.

Further, since a physiological quantity related to the human health level is estimated by the human body physiology model, and the human health level is estimated based on the estimated physiological quantity, it is necessary to actually measure the human physiological quantity. In addition, even when a person stays indoors for a short time or when a person is not indoors, a healthy temperature range as a target thermal environment can be set, and air conditioning can be controlled.

Further, since the air conditioning is controlled so as to approach the health temperature range set in accordance with the estimated health degree, as shown by comparing the range in FIG. Temperature control over a wider range becomes possible, and power-saving air conditioning can be realized. FIG. 5 shows a state of temperature control in the present embodiment. In the case of cooling, the healthy temperature range is higher than the comfortable temperature range of the conventional air conditioning control, and in the case of heating, the healthy temperature range is higher. Since the range is lower than the comfortable temperature range in the conventional air-conditioning control, the energy required for air-conditioning is small, and power saving is achieved.

In the above description, the air temperature at which perspiration begins to rapidly increase is set as the upper limit, and the air temperature at which blood flow starts to rapidly decrease is set as the lower limit, but the health temperature range is set. The health temperature range can be set with the upper limit as the lower limit of either the air temperature at which the blood flow starts to rapidly decrease or the air temperature at which the blood pressure starts to rapidly increase. Also, when performing cooling, the upper limit is the air temperature at which at least one of the heartbeat or blood flow starts to rise sharply, or the air temperature at which the amount of sweating does not increase at least when moving from outside the room to be air-conditioned to inside. Health temperature range can be set. When heating is performed, the health temperature range can be set with the lower limit of the air temperature at which the blood flow rapidly decreases or the blood pressure starts to rapidly increase.

In the above, the case where the air-conditioning control of a specific room is performed has been described. However, the air-conditioning control of the whole building or a part of the building having a plurality of rooms may be performed. For example, in the case of a residence, there are no people at all times, such as a room with a short stay time such as a toilet, a bathroom, a corridor, etc., or a room that only needs to be weakly air-conditioned during the air-conditioning of the entire building (for example, a room other than a living room where families gather). For a room, air conditioning control can be performed by the air conditioning control device of the present embodiment, and for other rooms, air conditioning control can be performed by a different device.

Also, the detection of temperature, humidity and wind speed detection signals detected by a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor and a wind speed sensor installed in a room where no one is always present,
It may be performed before estimating sweating, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure of the occupant by the human body physiology model.

In the above air conditioning control device, the first
And the second thermal environment detecting means has been described as a specific sensor, but a wind speed sensor for detecting wind speed, a temperature sensor for detecting air temperature, a humidity sensor for detecting humidity, a solar sensor for detecting solar radiation, and the like, respectively. What is necessary is just to be comprised including at least one sensor which detects a thermal environment element.

[0031]

The air-conditioning control device according to the present invention can control air-conditioning in a room where there are no people at all times so that a person entering from the outside does not impair health due to a difference in thermal environment between the room and the outside. To play.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an air conditioning control device according to the present embodiment.

FIGS. 2A to 2D are diagrams showing a relationship between each of sweating, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure estimated by a human body physiology model and an air temperature.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between a degree of health and an air temperature.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of main components of the air conditioning control device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state of temperature control of the air-conditioning control device of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st thermal environment detection means 2 2nd thermal environment detection means 3 Human body physiology model 4 Health estimation means 5 Control signal generation means 6 Air conditioner

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Katsuya Ibaraki 41-cho, Yokomichi, Nagakute-cho, Aichi-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Central Research Laboratory Co., Ltd. No. 41, 41, Yokomichi, Yojimichi, Toyoda Central Research Laboratory Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3L060 AA05 CC02 CC03 CC07 CC11 DD05 EE21

Claims (3)

[Claims] A first thermal environment detecting means for detecting a thermal environment element in a room where a person is always present; a second thermal environment detecting means for detecting a thermal environment element in a room where no person is always present; Based on the thermal environment element in the room where the person is always present, detected by the first thermal environment detecting means, the physiology related to human health when placed in the room where the person is not always present based on the human body physiology model. Health estimating means for estimating an amount, estimating a human health degree based on the estimated physiological quantity, and setting a target thermal environment in a room where no person is always present according to the estimated health degree; The air conditioning is controlled based on the thermal environment element in the room where there is no person at all times detected by the thermal environment detecting means 2 so that the thermal environment inside the room where there is no person at all times approaches the set target thermal environment. Air conditioning control means, Air conditioning control device. 2. The air conditioning control device according to claim 1, wherein the physiological quantity is at least one of sweating, blood flow, blood pressure, and heart rate. 3. The air conditioning control device according to claim 1, wherein said thermal environment element includes at least an air temperature.