JP2003004278A - Environmental control equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve comfortable feeling and relaxing feeling or to improve workability and to promote an activity by executing an air-conditioning and an illumination control based on a human action and state or a circumferential environment, and creating an environment suitable for the human action and state. SOLUTION: An environmental control equipment comprises an action information cognition means 1 for sensing or inputting human action information in a habitable room, an environmental factor sensing means 2 for sensing an environmental factor around the person, and an environmental factor control means 3 for controlling an illuminator 5 capable of dimming and toning an air conditioner 4 based on information of the means 1 and 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an environmental control device for controlling air conditioning and lighting to create a comfortable space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is well known that lighting is not only an effective means for changing the atmosphere of a living room, but also affects human behavior and physiological / psychological aspects.

[0003] For example, regarding the influence of lighting on human psychology, depending on the brightness and the color temperature, the user may feel easy or active. In general, it feels relaxed under low illumination and low color temperature.
It is also said that adding blue color to the lighting makes you feel calm. On the other hand, under bright sunlight and high color temperature lighting such as outdoors during the day, it feels open and lively.

An air conditioner is used to control the thermal environment in the living room. The air conditioner can mainly control the temperature and humidity in the living room and the wind speed, and as the effect on humans, for example, the thermal environment evaluation index PMV can be used to judge the feeling of comfort. PMV is a value calculated by a mathematical expression using the environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, radiation, wind speed, clothing amount and activity amount which are factors on the human body side as index parameters, and for example, is within the range of PMV = ± 0.5. At this time, the percentage of people who feel comfortable is about 90%, and it is an index that it feels hot when the PMV value becomes positive and feels cold when it becomes negative. There are various other indicators of the thermal environment, but it is possible to judge human thermal comfort by using them.

Regarding the lighting control and the air-conditioning control in these conventional techniques, an invention for improving comfort and energy saving by integrating the lighting control and the air-conditioning control is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-87374. There is a regulated air conditioning system device and a lighting system device. In this device, by changing the light color or illuminance of the lighting, we aim to improve comfort in the thermal environment through vision, and by changing the set temperature to the low load side accordingly, in addition to improving comfort It aims to save energy.

The illumination / air conditioning integrated system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-76959 pays attention to the color temperature. If the color temperature of the illumination is increased, the sensible temperature is felt cool, and if the color temperature of the illumination is decreased. By controlling the lighting and air conditioning by applying the feeling of warmth to the body, it is possible to achieve mutual synergistic comfort and energy saving effects. Further, in the control device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-193738, in consideration of human biorhythm, not only light stimulus affects comfort through vision, but also light having a characteristic that acts on biorhythm is provided. By irradiating and controlling the air conditioner based on the thermal and cooling sensation and comfort that have changed depending on the irradiation experience, it is possible to secure more comfort and improve energy saving.

[0007]

However, these conventional methods,
The systems described in JP-A-5-87374 and JP-A-6-76959 disclose the effects of light in a thermal environment on the human body when integrating lighting control and air-conditioning control. It is thought to change the feeling, and it is a uniform control in any state of human beings, it activates the body when you want to relax, or when you want to concentrate and work It can create an environment that can be uncomfortable or even offensive in some cases.

Alternatively, the control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-193738 irradiates light that acts on the visual sense and biological rhythm, and considers changes in the thermal and thermal sensation and comfort caused by light irradiation, and Since this is for controlling and not for controlling lighting or air-conditioning based on human behavior or state at the time of controlling, this may also become an inappropriate environment in some cases.

The present invention is intended to solve such a conventional problem, and is to perform air conditioning and lighting control based on the behavior and condition of human beings and the surrounding environment, and is suitable for human behavior and conditions. By creating an environment, we aim to improve comfort and relaxation, improve work efficiency, and promote activities.

[0010]

An environmental control device according to claim 1 is a behavior information recognition means for detecting or inputting behavior information of a person in a living room, and an environmental factor detection means for detecting an environmental factor around the person. And an environmental factor control means for controlling an air conditioner and a lighting device capable of at least one of dimming and color adjustment based on the information of the behavior information recognizing means and the environmental factor detecting means. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the environment control device according to the first aspect.
In the environmental control device described above, the behavior information recognition means detects at least the amount of activity of a person in the living room as the behavior information.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the environment control device according to the first aspect.
Alternatively, in the environmental control device described in the paragraph 2, when the activity amount which is an output value of the behavior information recognition means is large and the air conditioner which is an output value of the environmental factor detection means is in a heating operation, the environmental factor is The lighting device is controlled by the control means so as to emit red light.

An environment control device according to a fourth aspect is the first aspect.
In the environmental control device according to any one of 1 to 3, when the activity amount that is the output value of the behavior information recognition means is large and the air conditioner that is the output value of the environmental factor detection means is in the cooling operation, The lighting device is controlled by the environmental factor control means so as to emit light of high color temperature.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the environment control device according to the first aspect.
In the environmental control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, when the activity amount that is the output value of the action information recognition means is small and the air conditioner that is the output value of the environmental factor detection means is in heating operation, The illumination device is controlled by the environmental factor control means so as to emit light of a low color temperature.

The environment control device according to claim 6 is the same as that according to claim 1.
In the environmental control device according to any one of 1 to 5, when the activity amount, which is the output value of the behavior information recognition means, is small, and the air conditioner, which is the output value of the environmental factor detection means, is in the cooling operation, The illuminating device is controlled by the environmental factor control means to emit blue light.

The environmental control device according to claim 7 is the same as that according to claim 3.
In the environment control device described in the above item 1, the illuminance of light emitted from the lighting device is increased.

An environmental control device according to claim 8 is the environment control device according to claim 6.
In the environment control device described in the above item 1, the illuminance of light emitted from the lighting device is reduced.

The environmental control device according to claim 9 is the one according to claim 1.
In the environmental control device according to any one of to 8, the environmental factor control means, based on the control of the lighting device,
It is characterized by changing the set temperature of the air conditioner.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An environmental control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is an action information recognition means for detecting or inputting action information of a person in a living room, and an environmental factor detection for detecting environmental factors around the person. Means, and an environmental factor control means for controlling the air conditioner and the lighting device capable of at least one of dimming and toning based on the information of the behavior information recognition means and the environmental factor detection means. .

In the above configuration, since the air conditioner and the lighting device are controlled according to the activity level and state of the person in the living room and the surrounding environment, an optimal environment for the person can be created. It is possible to improve comfort and workability.

An environmental control device according to another embodiment of the present invention changes the set temperature of the air conditioner based on the control of the lighting device. In the above configuration, it is created based on human behavior. Due to the environment, the load on the air conditioner can be reduced without impairing comfort.

[0022]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an environment control device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a behavior information recognition means for detecting or inputting behavior information about the behavior of a person in a living room, and 2 is a person including an operation mode of an air conditioner such as heating and cooling. It is an environmental factor detecting means for detecting environmental factors such as a thermal environment and a light environment around the. Further, 3 is a behavior information recognition means 1 and an environmental factor detection means 2
Environmental factor control means for controlling the air conditioner 4 and the lighting device 5 capable of dimming and color adjustment based on the information output from the air conditioner 4.

The operation of the environment control device having the above configuration will be described. The action information recognition means 1 is a remote control device 1a as shown in FIG. 2, and action information of a person in the living room can be manually input to the remote control device 1a. In this case, at least a mode in which the user can detect at least the amount of activity is displayed in an easy-to-understand mode so that the user can select the mode according to the situation. For example, easy-to-use languages such as "relaxation", "housework / light work", "learning / reading", "good night" are displayed. The action information recognition means 1 converts the user's situation into an activity amount and outputs the activity amount to the environmental factor control means 3.

The remote control device 1a may also serve as a mode display for controlling the air conditioner 4 and the lighting device 5.

Further, the environmental factor detecting means 2 is equipped with a sensor in the air conditioner 4, for example, and detects the heat condition around the person in the living room. Alternatively, a sensor is mounted on the lighting device 5 in the same manner to detect the illuminance and the color temperature around the person in the living room.

Further, when a person wears the wearable sensor, the temperature and humidity near the human body, the wind speed, the radiant temperature, etc. are detected to improve the accuracy of the detection environmental factor detecting means 2, thereby increasing the pulse rate,
The human body information can be detected more accurately by detecting the skin temperature, the amount of sweat, the blood flow, and the like.

The information thus obtained from the behavior information recognition means 1 and the environmental factor detection means 2 is input to the environmental factor control means 3 such as a microcomputer, and the air conditioner 4 is connected to the air conditioner 4 in accordance with the activity amount and the environmental condition. The lighting device 5 is controlled.

The details will be described with reference to the flowchart showing the method of controlling the air conditioner and the lighting device of FIG.

At STEP 1, the magnitude of the activity amount is determined. When the activity amount is large, in STEP 2, the operating state of the air conditioner is determined.

In step 2, during heating operation, red light is emitted and the lighting device 5 is controlled so as to increase the illuminance, and the set temperature of the air conditioner 4 is lowered to such an extent that it does not cause discomfort.

It is well known that red light is a color that activates human beings. However, if such a color is emitted during use of air conditioners, it may be visually psychologically hot and work efficiency may deteriorate. is there. However, when the air conditioner 4 is in the heating operation, on the contrary, the human being in the living room feels warmth and becomes vigorous, which improves workability. At this time, even if the illuminance of the lighting device 5 is increased, the effect of activating the lighting device 5 can be obtained.

In this state, the amount of change in lowering the set temperature of the air conditioner 4 is small, such as 1 to 2 ° C., so that a person in the living room does not notice the temperature change. In the lighting environment as described above, even if the temperature in the living room falls, it does not change psychologically from the temperature before it falls, so it does not affect human work or activities, and improves the energy saving of the air conditioner 4. Also becomes.

When the learning / reading is input to the remote control device 1a, if all the lighting devices 5 in the living room are made to emit red light, eyestrain may occur. Make sure that the entire room does not turn red, such as using a hand light that uses three-wavelength lighting or using red light as a downlight.

At STEP 2, 6500K during cooling operation
Lighting device 5 to emit three-wavelength light of high color temperature
Is controlled to raise the set temperature of the air conditioner 4 to such an extent that it does not become uncomfortable.

The high color temperature color is generally a bluish color that gives a cool impression to humans, and when humans in the living room are active or working, they can feel slightly cooler even at the same room temperature. , It becomes difficult to feel the heat even if the workability is improved or the activity is active. In such an environment, work efficiency is also improved.

If the amount of activity is large, the PMV value rises. Therefore, in order to return the PMV value to the comfortable range, the operation setting of the air conditioner 4 may be changed to, for example, a low temperature side or a high wind speed side. Psychologically it is difficult to feel the heat under high color temperature lighting, so it is not necessary to suddenly change the setting that puts a load on the air conditioner 4 such as lowering the set temperature or increasing the wind speed, and gradually change according to the situation. Can be changed to
It also saves energy.

Alternatively, even if the amount of human activity is large, the room temperature is stable, and in some cases, the set temperature of the air conditioner 4 can be raised slightly. In that case, the amount of change is small, such as 1 to 2 ° C., so that a person in the living room does not notice the temperature change. Even if the temperature in the living room rises in the lighting environment as described above, it does not change psychologically from the temperature before it rises, so it does not affect human work or activities, and improves the energy saving of the air conditioner 4. It also becomes.

In STEP 1, if the activity amount is small, S
The operating state of the air conditioner is determined at TEP3.

In STEP 3, 3000K during heating operation
The lighting device 5 is controlled so as to emit three-wavelength light having a low color temperature, and the set temperature of the air conditioner 4 is lowered to such an extent that it does not become uncomfortable.

Since the low color temperature illumination has a visually warming effect, the set temperature is controlled so as to be changed to the low temperature side so that the load on the air conditioner 4 is reduced. In that case, the amount of change is small, such as 1 to 2 ° C., so that a person in the living room does not notice the temperature change. In the lighting environment as in this embodiment, even if the temperature in the living room is lowered, it does not change psychologically from the temperature before it is lowered, so that it does not affect the comfort of human beings, and the air conditioner 4 is not affected. It also improves energy conservation.

If "good night" is input to the remote control device 1a, the lighting in the living room is 3000K.
Gradually reduce the illuminance to a low color temperature.
When the person in the living room is completely in the sleeping state, the lighting device 5 is controlled to the minimum illuminance so as not to disturb the sleep.

In STEP 3, during the cooling operation, blue light is emitted and the illumination device 5 is controlled so as to reduce the illuminance, and the set temperature of the air conditioner 4 is raised to the extent that it does not cause discomfort.

Blue light is light containing a wavelength in the range of 320 to 480 nm, for example. It is well known that this wavelength range has the effect of increasing the feeling of relaxation, but in the situation where heating is used, that is, when humans are trying to get warm, blue light is visually Since it has the effect of feeling colder than the temperature, it becomes difficult to obtain the relaxing effect.
Therefore, it can be said that such blue light is suitable for use during cooling operation.

In addition, when the illumination is under such illumination for a long time, the physiological and psychological effects are diminished due to chromatic adaptation. In such a case, the illumination device 5 is gradually returned to the original three-wavelength illumination state. The control may be performed such that the light is returned and, after a while, blue light is emitted again. In this case, a sudden change or a short interval may impair the feeling of relaxation, so it is desirable that the time interval be as long as possible and the change be gradual. Alternatively, the remote control device 1a may be provided with a mode in which the lighting device 5 can be switched so that it can be manually set to a desired state.

When the lighting device 5 changes to blue light,
When the illuminance is reduced at the same time, a more relaxing feeling can be obtained. Further, since such a low illuminance of blue light visually enhances the refreshing feeling, it is possible to simultaneously change the temperature of the air conditioner 4 to a plus side of about 1 to 2 ° C., which is not noticed by a person in the living room. By doing so, it is possible to save energy in the lighting device 5 by reducing the illuminance and reduce the load on the air conditioner 4, so that further energy saving can be achieved.

Further, when "good night" is input to the remote control device 1a, the illumination of the living room is changed to blue light and the illuminance is gradually reduced. When the person in the living room is completely in the sleeping state, the lighting device 5 is controlled so that the illuminance becomes the minimum so as not to disturb the sleep.

In this flowchart, only the amount of activity is discriminated in STEP 1, but "the lighting device 5 is a three-wavelength lighting device having a color temperature of about 5000K" and "a PMV value in which the ambient temperature of a person in the living room is appropriate. If the condition of “within range” is also satisfied, a more comfortable environment can be created by proceeding to STEP 2 or STEP 3.

In this embodiment, the dehumidifying operation is controlled similarly to the cooling operation.

When the amount of activity is small, "good night",
By distinguishing between "learning" and "relaxation", a more comfortable environment can be created according to the action. In this embodiment, the remote control 1a is used for input.
Means for detecting the behavioral information and the mental state such as measuring an electroencephalogram are not limited.

Further, in the action information recognition means 1, in order to grasp the activity amount more accurately, not only the remote controller but also the air conditioner 4 and the lighting device 5 as shown in FIG.
The amount of activity may be detected by the pyroelectric sensor 1b incorporated in the. In this case, the pyroelectric sensor 1b senses the movement of a person in the living room, and the amount of activity obtained therefrom is input to the environmental factor control means 3 such as a microcomputer.

[0052]

As is apparent from the above, the present invention is
Air conditioning based on the information of the behavior information recognition means for detecting or inputting the behavior information of the human in the living room, the environmental factor detection means for detecting the environmental factors around the human, and the information of the behavior information recognition means and the environmental factor detection means. It has an environmental factor control means for controlling a lighting device capable of controlling light and color control, and according to this configuration, an air conditioner can be selected according to the surrounding environment of the person in the living room and the behavior information of the person. It is possible to control the harmony machine and the lighting device, and it is possible to more comfortably perform human actions, and it is possible to support the actions.

Further, the present invention has an effect that human behavior can be more comfortably executed and the behavior can be supported by quantitatively expressing the behavior information by the activity amount.

When the amount of activity is large and the air conditioner is in the heating operation, the lighting device emits red light.
According to this configuration, the red light promotes activation of the person who is active, and visually feels warmth, so that the activity is activated and the work efficiency is improved.

In addition, when the amount of activity is large and the air conditioner is in the cooling operation, the lighting device emits light of high color temperature. With this configuration, a visually cool impression is given, and thus, a human being has a cool impression. Even if you are actively engaged, you will not feel the heat, and the work efficiency will be improved.

When the amount of activity is small and the air conditioner is in the heating operation, the lighting device emits light of a low color temperature. According to this structure, not only the human feeling of relaxation is increased, but also the visual sense is reduced. Since it feels warmth, the effect of heating is also enhanced.

When the amount of activity is small and the air conditioner is in the cooling operation, the lighting device emits blue light.
According to this configuration, not only does the human feel a more relaxed feeling due to the effect of light, but also a cool feeling can be visually obtained, so that the effect of cooling is further enhanced.

Further, when the amount of activity is large and the air conditioner is in the heating operation, the lighting device emits red light and raises the illuminance. According to this configuration, humans are more activated and active. This has the effect of improving the efficiency of work and work.

When the amount of activity is small and the air conditioner is in the air-conditioning operation, the lighting device emits blue light and lowers the illuminance. The effect is that the energy consumption of the lighting device can be further increased.

Further, according to the present invention, the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed based on the control of the illuminating device. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent human activities from being disturbed and the comfort feeling to be impaired. The load on the air conditioner can be reduced,
Energy saving can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method for controlling an air conditioner and a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an air conditioner with a pyroelectric sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Behavior information recognition means 2 Environmental factor detection means 3 Environmental factor control means 4 Air conditioner 5 Lighting equipment

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H05B 37/02 H05B 37/02 L (72) Inventor Makoto Shimizu 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial In-house F-term (reference) 3K073 AA12 AA83 BA00 BA28 BA31 BA32 CF13 CG06 CG42 CJ11 CJ19 CJ22 3L060 AA05 CC02 CC07 CC09 CC11 DD05 DD08 EE45

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A behavior information recognition means for detecting or inputting behavior information of a person in a living room, an environmental factor detection means for detecting an environmental factor around the human, and information of the behavior information recognition means and the environmental factor detection means. An environmental control device comprising: an air conditioner; and an environmental factor control means for controlling a lighting device capable of at least one of dimming and toning. 2. The environment control device according to claim 1, wherein the action information recognition means detects at least the amount of activity of a person in the living room as the action information. 3. When the activity amount which is the output value of the behavior information recognizing means is large and the air conditioner which is the output value of the environmental factor detecting means is in the heating operation, the lighting device is controlled by the environmental factor controlling means. The environmental control device according to claim 1 or 2, which is controlled to emit red light. 4. When the activity amount which is the output value of the behavior information recognizing means is large and the air conditioner which is the output value of the environmental factor detecting means is in a cooling operation, the lighting device is controlled by the environmental factor controlling means. The environment control device according to claim 1, wherein the environment control device is controlled to emit light of high color temperature. 5. When the activity amount which is the output value of the action information recognition means is small and the air conditioner which is the output value of the environmental factor detection means is in the heating operation, the lighting device is controlled by the environmental factor control means. The environment control device according to claim 1, wherein the environment control device is controlled to emit light having a low color temperature. 6. When the activity amount which is an output value of the behavior information recognizing means is small and the air conditioner which is an output value of the environmental factor detecting means is in a cooling operation, the lighting device is controlled by the environmental factor controlling means. The environment control device according to claim 1, wherein the environment control device is controlled to emit blue light. 7. The environmental control device according to claim 3, wherein the illuminance of light emitted from the lighting device is increased. 8. The environmental control device according to claim 6, wherein the illuminance of light emitted from the lighting device is reduced. 9. The environmental control device according to claim 1, wherein the environmental factor control means changes the set temperature of the air conditioner based on the control of the lighting device.