JP2015021634A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner which performs comfortable air conditioning operation depending on various life scenes.SOLUTION: An air conditioner 1 includes: a camera 28 for capturing an image inside an air-conditioned room R; and a room interior control part 31 which, on the basis of the image information captured by the camera 28, determines whether or not a person H is present in the air-conditioned room R and recognizes the posture of the person H present in the air conditioned room R and the brightness B in the air conditioned room R, and then changes the operation condition of the air conditioning operation by estimating the behavior of the person H.

Description

  Embodiments according to the present invention relate to an air conditioner.

  There is known an air conditioner that improves comfort by air-conditioning both an area where a person is detected in an air-conditioned room and an area where the person is likely to move.

JP 2012-197985 A

  By the way, a person in an air-conditioned room is standing, moving, sitting on a chair or sofa, sitting down, watching TV, lying down, relaxing or sleeping. A conventional air conditioner cannot perform an air conditioning operation in accordance with these various life scenes.

  Therefore, the present invention proposes an air conditioner that performs comfortable air conditioning operation in accordance with various life scenes.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures an image of the air-conditioned room, and whether a person exists in the air-conditioned room based on image information captured by the imaging unit. A control unit that recognizes the presence of the person in the air-conditioned room and the brightness of the air-conditioned room, and estimates the behavior of the person to switch the operating condition of the air-conditioning operation.

The block diagram which shows the air conditioner which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The perspective view of the appearance which shows the indoor unit of the air harmony machine concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which shows the mode in the air-conditioned room where the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment is installed. The perspective view which shows the mode in the air-conditioned room where the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment is installed. The perspective view which shows the mode in the air-conditioned room where the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment is installed. The perspective view which shows the mode in the air-conditioned room where the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment is installed. The figure which shows the relationship between the recognition image by the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment, and driving | running conditions.

  An embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment includes an indoor unit 2 and an outdoor unit 3.

  The indoor unit 2 includes an upper and lower louver 5, a motor 6, a left and right louver 7, a motor 8, a light receiving unit 11, a light emitting unit 12, an indoor fan 13, a motor 14, an indoor heat exchanger 15, The temperature sensor 16, the indoor fan drive unit 18, the upper and lower louver drive unit 19, the left and right louver drive unit 21, the EEPROM 22, the ROM 23, the RAM 25, the sound generation unit 26, the speaker 27, the camera 28, the room And a control unit 31.

  The outdoor unit 3 includes a compressor 41, a four-way valve 42, an outdoor heat exchanger 43, an expansion valve 45, an outdoor fan 46, and an outdoor control unit 47.

  During cooling, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 41 is guided to the outdoor heat exchanger 43 through the four-way valve 42, as indicated by solid arrows in FIG. The refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger 43 passes through the expansion valve 45 and the indoor heat exchanger 15 and is sucked into the compressor 41 again via the four-way valve 42. Through the flow path indicated by the solid line arrows of the refrigerant (hereinafter simply referred to as “cooling flow path”), the outdoor heat exchanger 43 functions as a condenser and the indoor heat exchanger 15 functions as an evaporator.

  On the other hand, at the time of heating, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 41 is guided to the indoor heat exchanger 15 via the four-way valve 42, as indicated by broken line arrows in FIG. The refrigerant flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger 15 passes through the expansion valve 45 and the outdoor heat exchanger 43 and is sucked into the compressor 41 through the four-way valve 42 again. Through the flow path (hereinafter simply referred to as “heating flow path”) of the broken line arrows of the refrigerant, the indoor heat exchanger 15 functions as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger 43 functions as an evaporator.

  The outdoor fan 46 is disposed on the downstream side of the outdoor heat exchanger 43, and sucks and blows out air after heat exchange from the outdoor heat exchanger 43 side by operation. The indoor fan 13 is arrange | positioned in the downstream of the indoor heat exchanger 15, and draws in and blows in the air in the air-conditioned room R after heat exchange from the indoor heat exchanger 15 side by operation.

  The indoor temperature sensor 16 is provided on the suction side of the indoor heat exchanger 15 and detects the temperature of air sucked into the indoor unit 2. The indoor control unit 31 reads the detection result from the indoor temperature sensor 16.

  The light receiving unit 11 receives an infrared signal transmitted from a remote controller 51 (hereinafter simply referred to as “remote controller 51”). The light emitting unit 12 emits an infrared signal sent from the indoor control unit 31 to the remote controller 51.

  The indoor fan drive unit 18 drives the motor 14 in accordance with an operation signal from the indoor control unit 31. The driving motor 14 rotates the indoor fan 13 and blows air. The vertical louver drive unit 19 drives the motor 6 in accordance with the operation signal from the indoor control unit 31. The driving motor 6 rotates the upper and lower louvers 5 within a predetermined angle range to control the wind direction in the vertical direction. The left and right louver drive unit 21 drives the motor 8 in accordance with an operation signal from the indoor control unit 31. The driving motor 8 swings the left and right louvers 7 within a predetermined angle range to control the wind direction in the left and right direction.

  The ROM 23 is a non-rewritable storage medium and stores a control program. The EEPROM 22 is a rewritable storage medium and stores image information and operating conditions. The RAM 25 temporarily stores various information.

  The sound generator 26 converts various types of guidance information sent from the room controller 31 into actual sound signals, and emits sound from the speaker 27 to the air-conditioned room R.

  The camera 28 is an imaging unit that performs imaging electronically, such as a CCD camera or a CMOS camera. The camera 28 is a color visible camera, a gray scale visible camera, a near infrared camera, an infrared camera, a thermopile sensor in which sensors are arranged in an array, a thermopile sensor arranged in a line, a plurality of pyroelectric sensors, etc. It is only necessary that an image capable of recognizing the person H in the air-conditioned room R can be taken. The camera 28 is preferably provided with a tilt mechanism and a pan mechanism that swing up and down, left and right, and can capture a wide range. Image information captured by the camera 28 is sent to the indoor control unit 31.

  The indoor control unit 31 reads the operation of the remote controller 51 from the light receiving unit 11 and accepts the setting of the operation condition, and cooperates with the outdoor control unit 47 to execute the air conditioning operation according to the set operation condition. The outdoor control unit 47 and the indoor control unit 31 are connected to each other by a signal line 52.

  There are a plurality of acceptable driving conditions, for example, four settings of a normal mode, a silent mode, a sleeping mode, and a powerful mode, which are stored in the EEPROM 22 in advance. The normal mode is a normal air conditioner operation and is a standard operating condition. The silent mode is an operating condition in which the rotational speed of the indoor fan 13, the rotational speed of the outdoor fan 46, and the rotational speed of the compressor 41 are suppressed as compared with the normal mode. The sleeping mode is an operating condition in which, for example, a 2-hour timer control and turning off the display lamps are added to stop the air conditioning operation in addition to the silent mode. The powerful mode is an operating condition in which the rotational speed of the indoor fan 13, the rotational speed of the outdoor fan 46, and the rotational speed of the compressor 41 are increased as compared with the normal mode. The indoor control unit 31 reads the information of the air conditioning operation for the predetermined operating condition received from the remote controller 51 from the EEPROM 22 and executes the air conditioning operation.

  FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the light receiving unit 11, the light emitting unit 12, and the camera 28 of the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment are disposed on the front surface of the indoor unit 2. In addition, the upper and lower louvers 5 are arranged at the lower front part of the indoor unit 2.

  3 to 6 are perspective views showing a state of the air-conditioned room in which the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment is installed.

  FIG. 3 shows a case where the person H is not present in the air-conditioned room R. FIG. 4 shows a case where the person H stands in the air-conditioned room R. FIG. 5 shows a case where the person H is sitting in the air-conditioned room R. FIG. 6 shows a case where the person H is lying in the air-conditioned room R.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a recognition image and an operation condition by the air conditioner according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the indoor control unit 31 of the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment indicates whether the person H exists in the air-conditioned room R from the image information captured by the camera 28, The posture of the person H present in the air-conditioned room R and the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R are recognized, the behavior of the person H is estimated, and the operating condition of the air-conditioning operation is switched.

  Specifically, the indoor control unit 31 processes image information captured by the camera 28 and recognizes the person H from the image information. First, the indoor control unit 31 compares two pieces of image information captured at different times, and generates a difference image in which a region where the image information has changed is extracted. Then, an area larger than a preset area is extracted from the difference image, and this area is defined as an area where the person H exists (hereinafter, simply referred to as “person area”), and the center of gravity, the lower end and the upper end of the image information. The position of the right end, the left end, etc. is detected, and the posture of the person H is estimated. The posture of the person H to be estimated is at least one of standing, sitting, or lying. On the other hand, the indoor control unit 31 estimates that the person H is not present in the air-conditioned room R when an area larger than a preset area cannot be extracted from the difference image.

  Furthermore, the indoor control unit 31 processes the image information captured by the camera 28 and recognizes the brightness B of the air-conditioned room R. The indoor control unit 31 detects whether or not the illuminance of the entire image information is brighter than a predetermined brightness. From this detection result, it is determined whether the brightness B of the entire area in the air-conditioned room R is brighter or darker than a predetermined brightness. The indoor control unit 31 detects whether or not the illuminance of a part of the image information is brighter than a predetermined brightness. From this detection result, it is determined whether a part of the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is brighter or darker than a predetermined brightness. The case where a part of the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is brighter than a predetermined brightness is assumed in the case where an electric appliance E such as a television or partial lighting is used in the dark air-conditioned room R. Yes. In the recognition of the brightness B of the air-conditioned room R, the predetermined brightness for determining the brightness of the entire air-conditioned room R and the predetermined brightness for determining the brightness of a part of the air-conditioned room R are the same. It may be different or different.

  In addition, the room control unit 31 starts from the light emitting unit 12 when there is no person in the air-conditioned room R and the brightness B of a part of the air-conditioned room R is brighter than a predetermined brightness. A power off code signal of the electric appliance E such as a television or lighting is transmitted into the air-conditioned room R. This control corresponds to a life scene in which an electric appliance E such as a television or partial lighting in the air-conditioned room R is left forgotten to be turned off. Moreover, the indoor control part 31 stops an air-conditioning driving | operation automatically, when a person does not exist in the air-conditioned room R. This control corresponds to a life scene in which the air conditioner 1 itself is left forgotten to be turned off.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the indoor control unit 31 determines that the driving condition is satisfied when the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is brighter than a predetermined brightness and the person H is standing. Switch to powerful mode. This control corresponds to a life scene in which the person H in the air-conditioned room R is walking around for housework.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the indoor control unit 31 is configured such that the brightness H of a part of the air-conditioned room R is brighter than a predetermined brightness B and a person H is sitting. Switches the driving condition to the silent mode. This control corresponds to a life scene in which the person H in the air-conditioned room R is watching TV.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the indoor control unit 31 determines that the operating condition is satisfied when the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is darker than a predetermined brightness and the person H lies down. Switch to sleep mode. Further, when the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is darker than a predetermined brightness and the person H lies down, the indoor control unit 31 waits for a cleaning operation when stopping the air-conditioning operation. The cleaning operation is performed after the person H leaves the air-conditioned room R. This control corresponds to a life scene in which the person H in the air-conditioned room R is sleeping.

  The air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment estimates the presence / absence of the person H from the image information in the air-conditioned room R, the posture of the person H, and recognizes the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R, thereby realizing various types. Perform air-conditioning operation according to the life scene.

  In particular, the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment performs the air-conditioning operation in the powerful mode when the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is brighter than a predetermined brightness and the person H is standing, The comfort is enhanced by adapting to the life scene walking around in the air conditioning room R.

  In addition, the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment performs air conditioning in the silent mode when a part of the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is brighter than a predetermined brightness and the person H is sitting. Drive and suppress wind noise in response to the life scene of watching TV.

  Furthermore, the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment performs the air conditioning operation in the sleep mode when the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is darker than the predetermined brightness and the person H lies down, Sleep is continued without bothering the person H by stopping the air conditioner 1 or setting a timer in correspondence with the sleeping life scene.

  Furthermore, the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment is used when the air conditioning operation is stopped when the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is darker than a predetermined brightness and the person H lies down. Waiting for the cleaning operation, the cleaning operation is performed after the person H exits the air-conditioned room R, and the sleep scene due to noise is avoided in correspondence with the sleeping life scene.

  In addition, the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment has no person in the air-conditioned room R, and a part of the brightness B in the air-conditioned room R is brighter than a predetermined brightness. Corresponding to the life scene in which the electric appliances E such as televisions and partial lightings in the air-conditioned room R are left forgotten to turn off, the power off code signal of the electric appliances E such as televisions and lightings from the light emitting unit 12 Is sent into the air-conditioned room R, and the electric appliance E is turned off to prevent waste of electricity.

  Therefore, according to the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, comfortable air conditioning operation suitable for various life scenes can be performed.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner 2 Indoor unit 3 Outdoor unit 5 Vertical louver 6 Motor 7 Left and right louver 8 Motor 11 Light-receiving part 12 Light emission part 13 Indoor fan 14 Motor 15 Indoor heat exchanger 16 Indoor temperature sensor 18 Indoor fan drive part 19 Vertical louver drive part 21 Left and right louver drive unit 22 EEPROM
23 ROM
25 RAM
26 Sound generator 27 Speaker 28 Camera 31 Indoor controller 41 Compressor 42 Four-way valve 43 Outdoor heat exchanger 45 Expansion valve 46 Outdoor fan 47 Outdoor controller 51 Remote controller (remote controller)
52 Signal line

Claims (6)

An imaging unit for imaging an air-conditioned room;
From the image information captured by the imaging unit, the presence or absence of a person in the air-conditioned room, the posture of the person existing in the air-conditioned room and the brightness of the air-conditioned room are recognized, and the action of the person is determined. An air conditioner comprising: a control unit that estimates and switches operating conditions of air conditioning operation. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein when the brightness of the air-conditioned room is darker than a predetermined brightness and the person lies down, the control unit switches the operation condition to a sleep mode. When the brightness of the air-conditioned room is darker than a predetermined brightness and the person lies down, the control unit waits for a cleaning operation when stopping the air-conditioning operation, and The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cleaning operation is performed after the person leaves the room. When there is no person in the air-conditioned room and the brightness of a part of the air-conditioned room is higher than a predetermined brightness, the control unit turns off electric appliances such as a television and lighting. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a code signal is transmitted to the air-conditioned room. 5. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the person is sitting and the brightness of a part of the air-conditioned room is brighter than a predetermined brightness, the operation condition is switched to a silent mode. The air conditioner of any one of Claims. 6. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the brightness of the air-conditioned room is brighter than a predetermined brightness and the person stands, the operation condition is switched to a powerful mode. The air conditioner described in the paragraph.

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