JP2022024882A - Air conditioning system - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform air conditioning control according to movement of persons and change of environment.SOLUTION: An air conditioning system 10 includes: n (n>1) indoor units 14 respectively disposed in a plurality of spaces 12; m (m>1 and m<n) outdoor units 16; and a piping network 18 for a heat exchange medium, connecting among n indoor units 14 and m outdoor units 16. A management center server 26 is functioned as an acquisition portion and a control portion, and the acquisition portion acquires at least one of person presence state in each of the plurality of spaces 12 and environment information in each of the plurality of spaces 12. The control portion controls air-conditioning of each of the plurality of spaces 12 by n indoor units 14 and m outdoor units 16 on the basis of at least one of the person presence state in each of the plurality of spaces 12 and the environment information in each of the plurality of spaces 12 acquired by the acquisition portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioning system.

Patent Document 1 includes an air supply unit having a plurality of indoor units arranged in different rooms and an air supply unit main body capable of supplying outdoor air to each indoor unit via different pipes. The harmonizer is listed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-229054

Patent Document 1 describes air-conditioning control via a common pipe, and when it is estimated that a person moves between different rooms or the environment in the room changes, the air-conditioning control is performed accordingly. Is not listed.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and can control a plurality of indoor units connected in a closed loop in a combination that maximizes the heat exchange efficiency of the plurality of outdoor units, and can control the movement of people and the environment. The purpose is to obtain an air conditioning system that can control air conditioning according to changes.

The air-conditioning system according to the invention according to claim 1 includes n indoor units (n> 1), m units (m> 1 and m <n) outdoor units, respectively, provided in a plurality of spaces, and the above-mentioned n. At least one of the piping of the heat exchange medium connecting the indoor unit of the unit and the outdoor unit of the m unit, the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces, and the environmental information in each of the plurality of spaces. Based on at least one of the acquisition unit for acquiring the image, the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces acquired by the acquisition unit, and the environmental information in each of the plurality of spaces, the n indoor units. It includes a control unit that controls the air conditioning of each of the plurality of spaces by the machine and the m outdoor units.

In the invention according to claim 1, the n indoor units and m are based on the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces in which the indoor units are provided and at least one of the environmental information in each of the plurality of spaces. The air conditioning of each of the n spaces is controlled by the outdoor unit of the table. As a result, even when a person moves between a plurality of spaces or the environment in the space changes, the air conditioning control can be performed according to the movement of the person or the change in the environment.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, a plurality of indoor units connected in a closed loop can be controlled in a combination that maximizes the heat exchange efficiency of the plurality of outdoor units, and air conditioning control can be performed in response to the movement of people or changes in the environment. It has the effect of.

It is a schematic block diagram of the air conditioning system which concerns on embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of a management center server.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The air-conditioning system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, a system for air-conditioning a plurality of spaces 12 (for example, offices, houses, commercial facilities, industrial facilities, etc.) existing in each place in one town. The air conditioning system 10 includes n indoor units (n> 1) indoor units 14 and m units (m> 1 and m <n) outdoor units (heat exchange facilities) 16 provided in each of the plurality of spaces 12. It includes a piping network 18 for a heat exchange medium that connects between the indoor unit 14 of the table and the outdoor unit 16 of the m unit.

Note that FIG. 1 shows an example in which the number of spaces 12 is 4, the number n of the indoor units 14 is 4, and the number m of the outdoor units 16 is 3, but the number of spaces 12 and the number of indoor units 14 are shown. n, the number m of the outdoor unit 16 is not limited to the example shown in FIG.

The piping network 18 includes a main pipe 20 that forms a circulation path for circulating a heat exchange medium, and a branch pipe 22 that connects the main pipe 20 to each of the indoor unit 14 or the outdoor unit 16. There is. The piping network 18 is connected to the individual indoor unit 14 and the outdoor unit 16 in a closed loop.

The outdoor unit 16 is a collection of outdoor units, which are conventionally provided one-to-one with an indoor unit, into a smaller number (= m units) of outdoor units, and has heat exchange media and heat circulating in the piping network 18. Make an exchange. The m-unit outdoor units 16 are installed in different places in one town. The outdoor unit 16 is preferably installed in a place where heat exchange can be performed with high efficiency. An example of a place where heat exchange can be performed with high efficiency is a place where there is little temperature change, such as underground. Further, if groundwater or the like can be utilized, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which heat exchange is performed by a water-cooled type as the outdoor unit 16.

Further, sensors 24 are provided in the space 12 in which the indoor unit 14 is provided. The sensors 24 provided in each space 12 include a first sensor for detecting the environment in the space 12, a second sensor for detecting the environment around the space 12, and a person existing in the space 12. Each includes a third sensor for detection.

As the first sensor, for example, a temperature sensor that detects the air temperature in the space 12, a wind speed sensor that detects the wind speed in the space 12, a humidity sensor that detects the humidity in the space 12, and a wall surface temperature in the space 12 are detected. Examples include a wall surface temperature sensor and a thermo camera that detects the temperature distribution in the space 12.

As the second sensor, for example, an outside air temperature sensor that detects the outside air temperature around the space 12, a wind speed sensor that detects the wind speed around the space 12, a humidity sensor that detects the outside air humidity around the space 12, and the space 12 An example is a solar radiation sensor that detects the amount of solar radiation around the.

As the third sensor, for example, a personnel number sensor that detects the number of personnel existing in the space 12, a clothing amount sensor that detects the clothing amount of a person existing in the space 12, and a metabolism of a person existing in the space 12. Examples include a metabolic amount sensor that detects the amount. The number of personnel sensor may be configured to recognize a person from an image taken in the space 12 and detect the number of personnel, or may be a counter for counting people entering and exiting the space 12. good. Further, the clothing amount sensor and the metabolism amount sensor can also be configured to recognize a person from an image taken in the space 12 and detect the clothing amount and the metabolism amount, for example.

Further, the air conditioning system 10 includes a management center server 26. The management center server 26 is connected to n indoor units 14 and n sets of sensors 24, respectively, provided in a plurality of spaces 12, and m outdoor units 16 via a communication line. As shown in FIG. 2, the management center server 26 includes an acquisition unit 28, an air conditioning preference storage unit 30, and a control unit 32.

The acquisition unit 28 includes a spatial information acquisition unit 34, a surrounding environment information acquisition unit 36, a number of personnel acquisition unit 38, a clothing amount acquisition unit 40, and a metabolism amount acquisition unit 42. The spatial information acquisition unit 34 acquires spatial information representing the environment in the space 12 detected by the first sensor from the first sensor of the sensors 24 provided in each of the plurality of spaces 12.

The surrounding environment information acquisition unit 36 acquires peripheral environment information representing the surrounding environment of the space 12 detected by the second sensor from the second sensor of the sensors 24 provided in each of the plurality of spaces 12. .. The surrounding environment information may be acquired from a meteorological server that provides meteorological information such as outside air temperature, wind speed, humidity, solar radiation, and clouds, instead of acquiring from the second sensor.

The personnel number acquisition unit 38 acquires the number of personnel existing in the space 12 detected by the personnel number sensor from the personnel number sensor among the third sensors of the sensors 24 provided in each of the plurality of spaces 12. The clothing amount acquisition unit 40 is the clothing amount of a person existing in the space 12 detected by the clothing amount sensor from the clothing amount sensor among the third sensors of the sensors 24 provided in each of the plurality of spaces 12. To get. The metabolism amount acquisition unit 42 is a person's metabolism amount existing in the space 12 detected by the metabolism amount sensor from the metabolism amount sensor among the third sensors of the sensors 24 provided in each of the plurality of spaces 12. To get.

The air-conditioning preference storage unit 30 stores the air-conditioning preference of an individual (individual space 12). The control unit 32 includes a future spatial information estimation unit 44, a future personnel state estimation unit 46, and an air conditioning / heat exchanger control unit 48.

The future space information estimation unit 44 estimates the temperature, wind speed, humidity, wall surface temperature, and number of personnel in the future space 12 as future space information for each individual space 12. Specifically, the future spatial information estimation unit 44 estimates the number of personnel in the future space 12 from the past actual information on the number of personnel existing in the space 12 acquired by the personnel number acquisition unit 38. Further, the future spatial information estimation unit 44 acquires the temperature, wind speed, humidity, and wall surface temperature in the future space 12 by the current spatial information acquired by the spatial information acquisition unit 34 and the surrounding environment information acquisition unit 36. It is calculated using a multiple regression equation from the surrounding environment information obtained, the number of personnel in the space 12 acquired by the personnel number acquisition unit 38, and the current set temperature.

The air temperature, wind speed, humidity, and wall surface temperature in the future space 12 are not limited to being calculated using a multiple regression equation, but are calculated using a neural network (NN) model (RNN, LSTM, etc.). You may. Further, instead of using the currently set temperature as an input value, a direct value such as an air conditioning output may be used.

The future personnel state estimation unit 46 will use the current personnel clothing amount acquired by the clothing amount acquisition unit 40 and the metabolism amount of the current personnel acquired by the metabolism amount acquisition unit 42 for each space 12 in the future. As the personnel state of, the amount of metabolism in the space 12 of the future personnel is estimated. Specifically, the estimation of the metabolic amount can be performed by using the time transition formula of the metabolic amount based on the transition of the past metabolic amount. In addition, instead of this, the movement of the personnel is recognized by an image or the like, and the metabolic amount is estimated by using the transition formula according to the recognized state of the personnel (for example, switching the transition formula between resting and exercising). You may do it.

The air-conditioning / heat exchanger control unit 48 calculates the current set temperature for each space 12 by back calculation so as to match the air-conditioning preference stored in the air-conditioning preference storage unit 30. Specifically, the multiple regression equation used by the future spatial information estimation unit 44 to calculate the air temperature, wind speed, humidity, and wall surface temperature in the future space 12 is an equation for calculating the current set temperature (current set temperature). Convert to (formula of = ...) and calculate the current set temperature using the converted formula.

As an example, the air conditioner / heat exchanger control unit 48 lowers the set temperature when it is estimated that the room temperature will rise to 27 ° C if the air conditioning preference is 25 ° C and the current environment is set as it is. Adjust so that the space temperature does not deviate from 25 ° C. As a result, since the required set temperature is known in advance, feedforward control is realized.

Further, if the heat exchange efficiency of the m outdoor unit 16 differs depending on the time zone depending on the installation environment of the m outdoor unit 16, the air conditioner / heat exchanger control unit 48 may select the m outdoor unit 16 at that time. The outdoor unit 16 that can operate with the highest heat exchange efficiency is selected. To select the outdoor unit 16, the heat exchange efficiency of the m outdoor unit 16 for each time zone is measured in advance, and the measurement result of the heat exchange efficiency of the m outdoor unit 16 for each time zone is set in a map or the like. It can be done by referring to the map.

Further, the air conditioner / heat exchanger control unit 48 calculates the required heat exchange amount in the outdoor unit 16 to be operated from the future set temperature and the space air volume of the space 12.
Amount of heat exchange required for temperature adjustment of space 12 [J]
= Specific heat of air [J / m ³ K] × Spatial air volume [m ³ ] × Difference between current set temperature and future set temperature [℃]
The spatial air volume is estimated by back-calculating from the individual input values or the amount of heat required for past temperature adjustment. Further, the multiple regression equation used by the future spatial information estimation unit 44 to calculate the air temperature, wind speed, humidity, and wall surface temperature in the future space 12 is an equation for calculating the air conditioning output (air conditioning output = ...). In the case of the formula), the calculated air conditioning output becomes the required heat exchange amount as it is.

Then, the air conditioner / heat exchanger control unit 48 transmits the calculated heat exchange amount (fan flow rate, cooling water flow rate) to the outdoor unit 16 to be operated, and sets the temperature to the n indoor units 14. Sends operation control information such as wind direction, air volume, and operation mode. As a result, the outdoor unit 16 and the n indoor units 14 air-condition the n spaces 12.

As described above, in the air conditioning system 10 according to the present embodiment, n indoor units (n> 1) and m units (m> 1 and m <n) outdoor units provided in each of the plurality of spaces 12 are provided. 16 and a piping network 18 of a heat exchange medium connecting between n indoor units 14 and m outdoor units 16. Further, the acquisition unit 28 acquires at least one of the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces 12 and the environmental information in each of the plurality of spaces 12. Then, the control unit 32 has n indoor units 14 based on at least one of the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces 12 and the environmental information in each of the plurality of spaces 12 acquired by the acquisition unit 28. And m units of outdoor units 16 control the air conditioning of each of the plurality of spaces 12. As a result, the plurality of indoor units 14 connected in a closed loop can be controlled in a combination that maximizes the heat exchange efficiency of the plurality of outdoor units 16, and air conditioning control can be performed according to the movement of people and changes in the environment. can.

Further, in the present embodiment, the m outdoor units 16 are installed in different places from each other, and the control unit 32 is used for the current air conditioning based on the current heat exchange efficiency of each of the m outdoor units 16. The outdoor unit 16 is selected from m units of outdoor units. This makes it possible to improve the heat exchange efficiency of the outdoor unit 16.

Further, in the present embodiment, the outdoor units conventionally provided one-to-one with the indoor unit are integrated into a smaller number (= m units) of the outdoor units 16, so that the outdoor units 16 are derived from the space 12. Noise can be reduced, and it is possible to prevent the outdoor unit 16 from damaging the landscape of the space 12 (for example, a house, an office, etc.).

Further, in the present embodiment, since feedforward control for adjusting the set temperature is performed so that the space temperature does not deviate from the preferred temperature of air conditioning, feedback control for changing the blowout temperature after the space temperature changes is performed. It is possible to suppress the discomfort of the user as compared with.

Further, in the present embodiment, the number of personnel in the future space 12 is estimated, and the air conditioning is performed in consideration of the estimated number of personnel in the future space 12. As a result, even when the user moves between a plurality of spaces 12, such as when the user moves from an office to a house, the air conditioning is not operating in the destination space 12, so that the user temporarily moves. It is possible to prevent discomfort and make the destination space 12 a comfortable environment for the user.

In the above, the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces 12 and the environmental information in each of the plurality of spaces 12 are acquired, and the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces 12 and the plurality of spaces. An aspect of controlling the air conditioning of each of the plurality of spaces 12 based on the environmental information in each of the twelve has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one of the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces 12 and the environmental information in each of the plurality of spaces 12 is acquired, and a plurality of them are acquired based on the acquired information. The air conditioning of each of the spaces 12 of the space 12 may be controlled.

10 Air conditioning system 12 Space 14 Indoor unit 16 Outdoor unit 18 Piping network 24 Sensors 26 Management center Server 28 Acquisition unit 32 Control unit

Claims (1)

N indoor units (n> 1) provided in each of multiple spaces, and
An outdoor unit in the m range (m> 1 and m <n),
The piping of the heat exchange medium connecting the n indoor units and the m outdoor units, and
An acquisition unit that acquires at least one of the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces and the environmental information in each of the plurality of spaces.
Based on at least one of the existence status of a person in each of the plurality of spaces and the environmental information in each of the plurality of spaces acquired by the acquisition unit, the n indoor units and the m outdoor units. A control unit that controls the air conditioning of each of the plurality of spaces by the machine,
Air conditioning system including.

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