JP2013213642A - Indoor environment control system and air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an indoor environment control system capable of providing a comfortable sleeping environment for a sleeper.SOLUTION: An indoor environment control system includes a biological information obtaining part 21 for obtaining biological information of a sleeper; a detection position determining part 22 for using a predetermined numbers of the biological information obtained up to now to determine a position of the sleeper and obtaining position information of the sleeper; a sleeping state determining part 24 for determining a sleeping state from the transition of the biological information during a predetermined period each time the biological information is obtained; and an equipment control part 25 for controlling indoor environment control equipment on the basis of the position information and the sleeping state. The system controls indoor environment according to biological information changing hour by hour.

Description

  The present invention relates to an indoor environment control system.

  Conventionally, techniques for comfortably controlling indoor air conditioning during user sleep have been developed. For example, the air conditioner with a sleep mode controls the air conditioning in the room according to the operation time of the sleep mode and the intake temperature of the air conditioner (the temperature around the main body of the air conditioner).

  In Patent Documents 1 and 2 below, when the user's sleep state is determined and air conditioning control is performed according to the sleep state, the sleep state is determined using the size and number of body movements, and the sleep depth A technique for saving energy by shutting down the air conditioner when the depth is deep is disclosed. Further, Patent Document 3 below discloses a technique for an air conditioner that tracks a user's face with a pyroelectric sensor and an infrared sensor and determines comfort based on the surface temperature of the face.

JP 2010-136992 A JP 2007-132558 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-157551

  However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, air conditioning control is performed based on the body motion information sensed first. Therefore, there is a problem that the comfort of the sleeping person is not taken into consideration when the user's sleeping position changes due to turning over, or when a plurality of people are sleeping in the same room. Moreover, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 3, the method of determining the comfort from the surface temperature by following the face with a visible image and an infrared sensor is in a relaxed state because the user's clothing amount, activity amount, and terminal temperature cannot be determined. It is not possible to judge whether it is a sleeping state. Further, when the resolution is rough, the average temperature of the face and the background space is output, so that there is a problem that the face position cannot be accurately determined.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above, Comprising: It aims at obtaining the indoor environment control system which can provide a sleep environment comfortable for a sleeping person.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a biological information acquisition unit that acquires biological information of a sleeping person, and the position of the sleeping person using a predetermined number of the biological information acquired so far. Detecting position determining means for obtaining the position information of the sleeping person, and a sleep state determining means for determining the sleeping state of the sleeping person from the transition of the biological information in a predetermined period each time the biological information is acquired, Device control means for controlling an indoor environment control device based on the position information and the sleep state, and controls the indoor environment according to biological information that changes with time.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that a comfortable sleep environment can be provided to a sleeping person.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an indoor installation example of the indoor environment control system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the indoor environment control system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an air conditioning control operation of the indoor environment control system in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a position detection method in the detection position determination unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sensing target range in the biological information acquisition unit. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating how the sensing target range is changed in the biological information acquisition unit. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a sleep depth determination method in the sleep state determination unit. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a sleep depth determination method in the sleep state determination unit. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a set target value table for the air conditioner. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an indoor environment control system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the air conditioning control operation of the indoor environment control system in the second embodiment.

  Embodiments of an indoor environment control system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an indoor installation example of the indoor environment control system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor environment control system is a system built in an air conditioner 10 that is an indoor environment control device, and is biometric information (body motion information) of sleeping persons 1 and 2 who are sleeping persons. ) From the ecological information acquisition unit 21 provided in the air conditioner 10 to control the air conditioner 10. Here, the air conditioner 10 will be described as an example of the indoor environment control device.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the indoor environment control system according to the present embodiment. The indoor environment control system 20 is connected to the biological information acquisition unit 21 that detects (sensing) the biological information of the sleeping person using a biological sensor, and is connected to the biological information acquisition unit 21. A detection position determination unit 22 that determines a correct position each time sensing is performed in the biological information acquisition unit 21, a control change unit 23 that controls a sleep state determination method, and the biological information acquisition unit 21, and detects detected biological information. Based on the sleep state determination part 24 which determines a sleep state from the origin, and the information from each determination part, the apparatus control part 25 which changes the preset temperature and the set humidity of the air conditioner 10 is provided. Note that FIG. 2 shows only the configuration of the main part according to the present embodiment, and illustration of various components that are normally provided in the air conditioner 10 such as a blower fan and a refrigeration cycle is omitted.

  The biological information acquisition unit 21 may be a sensor that acquires biological information that changes in accordance with the sleeping state of the sleeper. For example, in the case of a sensor installed at the front of the air conditioner 10 as shown in FIG. There are sensors that can be acquired in a non-contact manner such as a camera, a Doppler radar sensor, a thermopile sensor, a pyroelectric sensor, or a radiation sensor. In addition, as the biological information acquisition unit 21, a sensor (for example, a pulse meter or an electroencephalograph) that acquires biological information by directly contacting a sleeping person, or a laying device under the bedding, and a pressure change during body movement is used. A sensor (for example, a piezoelectric sensor or a vibration sensor) that acquires biological information may be used. The biological information acquisition unit 21 detects biological information (body motion information) of the sleeping person, and outputs biological information (presence / absence of body motion) indicating the biological information to the detection position determination unit 22 and the sleep state determination unit 24. As the output timing, the biological information acquisition unit 21 detects the biological information of the sleeping person once every predetermined time T1 seconds (for example, 30 seconds), and the detected biological information is detected by the detection position determination unit 22 and the sleep state determination. To the unit 24.

  The detection position determination unit 22 uses the biometric information sensed n times every predetermined time T1 seconds by the biometric information acquisition unit 21, and uses the difference or correlation value of the biometric information for a specified number of times (predetermined number). The position information of the sleeping person is output to the device control unit 25.

  The sleeping state determination unit 24 determines the sleeping state of the sleeping person from the biological information output by the biological information acquisition unit 21. For example, the sleep state determination unit 24 determines that sleep is deep (deep sleep) when there is no body movement during a certain period t1, and sleep is detected when body movement is detected during a certain period t2. Judged to be shallow (light sleep).

  The device control unit 25 determines the indoor environment target values (temperature, humidity, wind direction, etc.) according to the sleeper position information determined by the detection position determination unit 22 and the sleep depth of the sleeper determined by the sleep state determination unit 24. The air volume etc.) is set, the ejection temperature of the air conditioner 10, humidification / dehumidification, the rotational speed of the outdoor compressor, etc. are controlled, and the environment is constructed so that the indoor temperature and humidity become the target values.

  Each block is processed by an electronic circuit including a microcomputer to control the entire indoor environment control system.

  Next, the air conditioning control operation of the indoor environment control system 20 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the air conditioning control operation of the indoor environment control system 20 in the present embodiment.

  First, when the indoor environment control system 20 is started by starting the operation of the air conditioner 10, the biological information acquisition unit 21 detects and acquires the sleeper's biological information (for example, body movement information) (step S11). . The biological information acquisition unit 21 outputs the biological information to the detection position determination unit 22 and the sleep state determination unit 24 (step S12).

  Based on the biological information obtained by sensing (biological information detection) n times during a certain period T in the biological information acquisition unit 21, the detection position determination unit 22 performs, for example, the nth and (n-1) th times. By taking the difference or the correlation value and correcting the position of the sleeping person, the number and position of the air-conditioning target person are accurately determined each time, and the obtained position information is output to the device control unit 25 (step S13). FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a position detection method in the detection position determination unit 22. The detection position determination unit 22 can determine, for example, that the position detection target area is subdivided into smaller areas and that a sleeping person is present at the position where the biological information is detected. In addition, as an example, although the case where the difference or correlation value of the nth time and the (n-1) th time was taken was mentioned, it does not limit to this. The detection position determination unit 22 may use a plurality of pieces of biological information detected by the biological information acquisition unit 21 to take a difference or a correlation value to correct the position of the sleeping person.

  Note that the target range to be sensed in the biological information acquisition unit 21 is not constant, and the size of the target range may be changed. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sensing target range in the biological information acquisition unit 21. When the sensing target range of the biological information acquisition unit 21 is large with respect to the place where the sleeping person is present, the biological information acquisition unit 21 determines the body movement of the sleeping person to be relatively small, and the biological information is buried in noise. There is a risk that. Therefore, in the indoor environment control system 20, the biometric information acquisition unit 21 senses the size of the sensing target range n times in several patterns, and the detection position determination unit 22 performs division determination with each pattern, and reacts. You may make it determine a sleeping person's position correctly, leaving only the part with (body movement). The division determination indicates that the correlation value of each pattern sensed n times is taken (with a noise filter).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the sensing target range in the biological information acquisition unit 21 is changed. For example, the biological information acquisition unit 21 can make only the range where the sleeping person is present as the sensing target range by gradually excluding the part without the reaction (body movement) from the sensing target range. By using the biometric information obtained by the biometric information acquisition unit 21 in this manner, the detection position determination unit 22 further accurately determines the number and position of the air conditioning target person each time as compared with the case where the sensing target range is constant. Can be determined. In addition, when the sensing target range is made small, it is expected that the sleeping person will move by turning over and the sleeping person will be out of the sensing target range. Therefore, in the biometric information acquisition unit 21, for example, sensing may be performed again with some patterns every time (every predetermined number of times), and division determination may be performed. That is, the sensing target range is expanded every time a predetermined number of times are sensed without continuing the sensing target range in a small state.

  The sleep state determination unit 24 determines the sleep depth of the sleeper based on the obtained biological information (step S14). Here, the determination of the sleep depth in the sleep state determination unit 24 will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a sleep depth determination method in the sleep state determination unit 24. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the sleep state determination unit 24 determines, for example, that there is no body movement for a certain period t1 as “deep sleep” (step S14: deep sleep), and the sleep depth as a result of the determination (Deep sleep) is output to the device control unit 25 (step S15). Moreover, the sleep state determination part 24 determines the case where a body motion is detected for a certain fixed period t2 as "shallow sleep" (step S14: shallow sleep), and uses the sleep depth (shallow sleep) as a result of the determination. It outputs to the control part 25 (step S16). Such a determination method is assumed to be real-time control.

  Moreover, the determination of the other sleep depth in the sleep state determination part 24 is demonstrated. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a sleep depth determination method in the sleep state determination unit 24. As shown in FIG. 8, for example, the sleep state determination unit 24 counts the infinite movement state during a certain period of time t3 and accumulates the number of the infinite movement state. It is determined as “deep sleep” (step S14: deep sleep), and the depth of sleep (deep sleep) is output to the device control unit 25 as a result of the determination (step S15). In addition, the sleep state determination unit 24 determines that the number of body movements in a certain period is equal to or less than a predetermined number of times as “shallow sleep” (step S14: shallow sleep), and the sleep depth is determined as a result of the determination. (Sleep Sleep) is output to the device control unit 25 (step S16). Such a determination method is referred to as inbody movement count control. In the indoor environment control system 20, the control change unit 23 controls changes in these determination methods.

  The device control unit 25 determines the sleep state determination result (“light sleep” or “deep sleep” received from the sleep state determination unit 24 with respect to the sleeper position indicated by the position information received from the detection position determination unit 22. )), The target value of the air conditioner 10 is set, and the ejection temperature, the air direction, the air volume, the rotational speed of the outdoor compressor, etc. are controlled so that the indoor environment becomes the target value (step) S17).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a set target value table for the air conditioner 10. The device control unit 25 holds a target value table set in consideration of energy saving and comfort as shown in FIG. 9, and when the sleep state determination unit 24 determines shallow sleep, the device control unit 25 is illustrated in FIG. 9. From the set target value table, air is set to target values such as “target temperature: 26.0 ° C.”, “target humidity: 45.0%”, “wind direction: upward”, “human feeling: wind protection”, “compressor drive: high speed”. The harmony machine 10 is controlled. In addition, when the sleep state determination unit 24 determines that the sleep state is deep sleep, the device control unit 25 determines “target temperature: 28.0 ° C.” “target humidity: 50.0%” from the set target value table shown in FIG. The air conditioner 10 is controlled to achieve target values such as “wind direction: upward”, “human feeling: windbreak”, and “compressor drive: low speed”. Note that these set values are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these. For example, the target temperature can be set to 27.0 ° C. during deep sleep, the target humidity can be set to 40.0% during shallow sleep, or the range can be changed within a range that does not cause discomfort due to personal preference / installation environment.

  Thereafter, the indoor environment control system 20 repeatedly executes the above operation until the end of control. At this time, for example, even when a plurality of sleepers are sleeping in the same room (the room subject to indoor environment control), the detection position determination unit 22 detects the position of each person and outputs the detected position to the device control unit 25. The control part 25 provides the air-conditioning environment suitable for each sleep state, for example, performing control which blows a wind separately according to each person's sleep depth.

  Although the sleeping position is determined by the sleeping state determining unit 24 (step S14) after detecting the sleeping person's position by the detecting position determining unit 22 (step S13), the processing order is not limited to this. . The sleep state determination by the sleep state determination unit 24 may be performed first, or the detection position determination unit 22 and the sleep state determination unit 24 may perform processing in parallel.

  In general, for sleepers, it is important to note that the transition cycle of shallow sleep and deep sleep is different in early sleep and late sleep, when the sleep is close (the latter is faster in transition). 24, the control of the control change unit 23 is used to control the sleep depth, such as using the inactive movement count control in the early sleep where the transition is relatively stable, and determining the sleep depth using the real-time control in the late sleep. The control for determination can be arbitrarily changed.

  As described above, the indoor environment control system 20 can create an indoor environment according to the sleep depth based on the sleeper's biological information (body motion information), and obtain a difference or correlation between the body motion information sensed for a certain period. Thus, it is possible to determine a more optimal position, determine the sleep depth in real time, and improve the followability of the indoor environment.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the indoor environment control system 20, the detection position determination unit 22 accurately determines the sleeping person's position each time for the biological information acquired by the biological information acquisition unit 21. The sleep state determination unit 24 determines the sleep depth in real time, and the device control unit 25 controls the indoor environment, so that it is possible to create an indoor environment that matches the body condition of the sleeping person. is there. In addition, by taking the difference or correlation value every time for biometric information acquired constantly, and correcting the sleeping person's position, by grasping the optimal person's position and performing air conditioning control compared to the conventional one, It becomes possible to provide a comfortable sleep environment.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In this embodiment, an indoor environment control system including an air conditioning management device will be described. A different part from Embodiment 1 is demonstrated.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the indoor environment control system according to the present embodiment. The indoor environment control system 20 a includes an air conditioning management device 30 that is an external input unit such as a local remote controller or a centralized management device, and an indoor environment control device 40 built in the air conditioner 10. Note that FIG. 10 shows only the configuration of the main part according to the present embodiment, and illustration of various components normally provided in the air conditioner 10 such as a blower fan and a refrigeration cycle is omitted.

  The air conditioning management device 30 has a schedule function for performing arbitrary air conditioning control at an arbitrary time, and is set with a driving operation setting unit 31 in which a user sets a desired indoor environment state, driving operation, and schedule. A storage unit 32 for storing contents, a clock unit 33 for recognizing time, a control unit 34 for controlling transmission of settings stored in the storage unit 32 to the indoor environment control device 40 side, and an indoor environment control device 40 And a transmission / reception unit 35 for transmitting the setting contents to the side.

  The indoor environment control device 40 is connected to the biological information acquisition unit 21, the detection position determination unit 22, the control change unit 23 a that controls the determination method of the rising time, and the biological information acquisition unit 21, and detects the detected biological information. Based on the information from each determination part, the apparatus control part 25a which changes the setting temperature and the setting humidity of the air conditioner 10 based on the information from each determination part is provided originally. .

  Next, the air conditioning control operation of the indoor environment control system 20a will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an air conditioning control operation of the indoor environment control system 20a in the present embodiment.

  First, after the operation of the air conditioner 10 is started, the user sets a desired indoor environment state at the time of getting up from the air conditioning management device 30 such as a local remote controller or a centralized management device via the operation setting unit 31. (Step S21). As setting contents in the present embodiment, for example, start / stop (operation start or stop) of the air conditioner 10, an operation mode, a set temperature, an operation prohibition setting, and the like, which are conventionally provided, are set. The driving operation setting unit 31 stores the set content (indoor environment state) in the storage unit 32. In the air conditioning management device 30, the control unit 34 transmits the indoor environment state set in the storage unit 32 to the indoor environment control device 40 side via the transmission / reception unit 35.

  Next, in the indoor environment control device 40, the biological information acquisition unit 21 detects and acquires the biological information of the sleeping person (step S22). The biological information acquisition unit 21 outputs the biological information to the detection position determination unit 22 and the wake-up time estimation unit 26 (step S23).

  The detection position determination unit 22, for example, the difference between the nth time and the (n−1) th time based on the biological information obtained by performing sensing (biological information acquisition) n times during a certain period T in the biological information acquisition unit 21. Alternatively, the correlation value is taken and the position of the sleeping person is corrected to accurately determine the number and position of the air conditioning target person each time, and the obtained position information is output to the device control unit 25 (step S24). A specific position detection method is the same as that in the first embodiment.

  The wake-up time estimation unit 26 estimates the wake-up time of the sleeping person based on the obtained biological information. As a method of estimating the wake-up time, for example, the wake-up time estimation unit 26 determines the sleep depth based on the body motion information of the sleeper obtained from the biometric information acquisition unit 21 and determines the sleeper's body that has been determined multiple times. The wake-up time is estimated by the ratio of shallow / deep sleep depth. About the method of determining a sleep depth, the method similar to the sleep state determination part 24 in Embodiment 1 may be used. As another method for estimating the wake-up time, the wake-up time estimation unit 26 learns the body motion information at the time of waking up by using the body motion information of the sleeper obtained from the biological information acquisition unit 21. The wake-up time is estimated by detecting the body movement when waking up. The wake-up time estimation unit 26 outputs the estimated wake-up time (estimated wake-up time) to the device control unit 25a (step S25).

  The device control unit 25a sets the air conditioning environment state (air conditioning) set by the user at the estimated wake-up time received from the wake-up time estimation unit 26 with respect to the sleeper position indicated by the position information received from the detection position determination unit 22. The ejection temperature, the wind direction, the air volume, the rotational speed of the outdoor compressor, etc. of the air conditioner 10 are controlled so as to be in the desired indoor environment state received from the management device 30 side (step S26).

  Thereafter, the indoor environment control system 20a repeatedly executes the above-described operation until the control end time.

  In addition, after detecting the position of a sleeping person by the detection position determination part 22 (step S24), the wake-up time is estimated by the wake-up time estimation part 26 (step S25), but the processing order is not limited to this. . The wake-up time estimation unit 26 may estimate the wake-up time first, or the detection position determination unit 22 and the wake-up time estimation unit 26 may perform processing in parallel.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, when the indoor environment control system 20a is configured from the air conditioning management device 30 and the indoor environment control device 40, the indoor environment control device 40 performs air conditioning management at the estimated wake-up time. The indoor environment is controlled so as to be in the indoor environment state set on the apparatus 30 side. Even in this case, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in the first embodiment.

  As described above, the indoor environment control system according to the present invention is useful for controlling the indoor environment, and is particularly suitable for controlling the indoor environment for a sleeping person.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Air conditioner 20, 20a Indoor environment control system 21 Biometric information acquisition part 22 Detection position determination part 23, 23a Control change part 24 Sleep state determination part 25, 25a Equipment control part 26 Wake-up time estimation part 30 Air conditioning management apparatus 31 Driving | operation operation Setting unit 32 Storage unit 33 Clock unit 34 Control unit 35 Transmission / reception unit 40 Indoor environment control device

Claims (12)

Biometric information acquisition means for acquiring biometric information of a sleeping person;
Detection position determination means for determining a position of a sleeping person using a predetermined number of the biological information acquired so far, and obtaining position information of the sleeping person;
Sleep state determination means for determining a sleep state of a sleeping person from the transition of the biological information in a predetermined period each time the biological information is acquired;
Device control means for controlling indoor environment control devices based on the position information and the sleep state;
With
An indoor environment control system that controls an indoor environment according to biological information that changes with time. When the biological information is body motion information indicating the body motion of a sleeping person,
The sleep state determination means determines a sleep state when a sleeper's body movement state or a sleeper's body movement state continues for the predetermined period.
The indoor environment control system according to claim 1. When the biological information is body motion information indicating the body motion of a sleeping person,
The sleep state determination means counts the asleep state of the sleeper in the predetermined period, and determines the sleep state based on the accumulated number of the abody movement state,
The indoor environment control system according to claim 1. Control change means for changing a sleep state determination method in the sleep state determination means;
With
The control change means is one of the determination methods, or the sleep state determination means switches from one determination method to the other determination method while the sleep state determination is continuing.
The indoor environment control system according to claim 2 or 3. If multiple people are sleeping in a room subject to indoor environment control,
The sleep state determining means determines each person's sleep depth from each person's biological information acquired from the biological information acquiring means,
The device control unit controls indoor environment control devices based on the sleep depth of each person.
The indoor environment control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. An air conditioning management device in which a user sets a desired indoor environment state;
Biometric information acquisition means for acquiring biometric information of a sleeping person;
Detection position determination means for determining the position of a sleeping person using a predetermined number of the biological information, and obtaining the sleeping person's position information;
A waking time estimating means for estimating a waking time of a sleeping person using the biological information and obtaining an estimated waking time;
Device control means for controlling the indoor environment control device so as to be in the desired indoor environment state based on the position information and the estimated wake-up time;
With
An indoor environment control system that controls an indoor environment according to biological information that changes with time. The wake-up time estimating means determines the sleep state of the sleeper from the transition of the biological information in a predetermined period, and estimates the wake-up time based on the ratio of shallow / deep sleep depth of the sleeper determined multiple times.
The indoor environment control system according to claim 6. The detection position determination means determines the number of people in the room environment control target based on a difference between a predetermined number of pieces of biological information acquired during a specified period by the biological information acquisition means, and determines the position of each person in the living body Correct each time biometric information is acquired from the information acquisition means,
The indoor environment control system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The detection position determination means determines the number of people in the room environment control target from the correlation value of a predetermined number of pieces of biological information acquired during a specified period by the biological information acquisition means, and determines the position of each person Correct each time biometric information is acquired from the biometric information acquisition means,
The indoor environment control system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The biometric information acquisition means excludes the range of no response from the previous target range from the previous target range when there is no response in the biometric information of the sleeper acquired last time. And make the target range smaller than the previous time,
The detection position determination means obtains a correlation value from the biological information acquired by the biological information acquisition means;
The indoor environment control system according to claim 9. The biometric information acquisition means, after acquiring the biometric information a predetermined number of times, sets the target range for acquiring the next sleeper's biometric information as a target range larger than the previous time,
The indoor environment control system according to claim 10.   The air conditioner provided with the indoor environment control system of Claims 1-11.

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