JP2545732B2 - Thermal sensation evaluation method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal sensation evaluation method used for measuring a thermal environment in a room, in a vehicle, in a cabin of a construction machine, for controlling an air conditioner, and for a human thermal reaction simulator in medical treatment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an environmental measuring instrument having a built-in human sensory quantity, there is a thermal comfort meter developed in Denmark. Further, a thermal mannequin, which has a human body shape and is mainly used for evaluating clothes, is used for evaluating the environment.

[0003]

The former one of the above-mentioned conventional techniques is used to evaluate the thermal comfort in a wide space with respect to the size of a person such as a large conference room. This is a system that evaluates the thermal comfort of the whole human being with one meter, and does not integrate the physiological amount and the sense amount for each human part. It was difficult to evaluate thermal comfort under non-uniform thermal environment conditions such as uneven temperature distribution in a small space.

In the latter case, this also does not aim at integration of the whole body, and only the surface temperature or the amount of electric power can be adjusted to the human body. As a solution to these problems, JP-A-5-18581 (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-1
92751), and integrated experiments using a plurality of sensory elements have been conducted.

In order to understand the thermal comfort and thermal stress of human beings, first, the sensory elements of each site must act in the same manner as human physiological reactions while integrating the whole body. That is, while the sensory element for thermal sensation evaluation of each part satisfies the integration condition of the whole body, its electric power amount, surface temperature and internal temperature are the heat radiation amount of each part of the human body,
It is necessary to match the skin surface temperature and the deep temperature. However, the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-18581 filed earlier does not mention a specific means for integrating the whole body.

According to the present invention, while integrating the plurality of sensory elements in the whole body of the human body, the amount of electric power, the surface temperature and the deep temperature of each part can be made equal to the value of each part of the human body. It is intended to provide a feeling evaluation method.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the method for evaluating the thermal sensation according to the present invention comprises a table for each part of the human body.
It is possible to set the temperature corresponding to each temperature of the surface and inside
It has a plurality of heaters that
Sensory sensation for thermal sensation that is compensated by supplying
Rement A corresponds to each part of the human head, chest, arms, hands, etc.
It is placed in multiple parts according to the above conditions under any thermal environment.
Temperature due to heat dissipation from each heater of sensory element A at each part
Temperature, the amount of electricity and the amount of change
In the thermal sensation evaluation method that evaluates the thermal sensation,
From the whole body's metabolic rate, which is determined by the amount of activity between the head, chest, arms,
The amount of metabolism per unit area of each part such as hands, legs, feet, etc.
Initial by heat dissipation of each sensory element placed in each part
Power consumption and changes in the environment such as the head and chest in various parts of the human body
Regardless of the deep temperature set, the deep temperature of each part is constant
The amount of electric power to obtain the temperature and the deep temperature
And the initial power of the sensory elements placed in a certain area,
In order to reach the above set deep temperature at this site
Blood flow adjustment coefficient from the amount of electric power and the surface area of each part of the human body
Using the distribution ratio of
Distributing electricity to sensory elements placed in areas other than positions
Calculate the power, and then calculate the power distribution for each
Each sensory element placed in each part other than the part where the degree is constant
Input into the power module using the power module and
Thermal sensation in the environment from each temperature and electric energy of the element
Evaluate.

[0008]

[Operation] The electric energy, surface temperature, and deep temperature of the sensory elements at each site are integrated while the whole body is integrated under any thermal environment condition by selectively using the temperature control and power control of the sensory elements for thermal sensation evaluation. Can be adapted to the human body. As a result, the temperature of the sensory element of each part, the amount of electric power, the amount of change thereof, and the like can be grasped, and the amount of sensory feeling such as human thermal comfort can be evaluated.

[0009]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the system configuration of the present invention. A plurality of sensory elements A, A, A, ... For evaluating thermal sensation are attached to respective parts of a body B shaped like a human body, and they are connected to a power supply system C and a control unit D, and a computer E is further provided.
Connect to.

The same sensory element A is used, and the structure thereof is as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, for example. In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a front surface side heater formed in a plate shape.
The thermoelectric element 2 is disposed on the back side of the. A heat conduction box 4 made of aluminum is provided on the back side of the thermoelectric element 2 via a heat insulating material 3, and a heat insulation material compensation heater 5 is provided on the back side of the heat conduction box 4. Of these constituent parts, the entire part except the front surface of the front heater 1 is surrounded and supported by the heat insulating covers 6 and 7 and the spacer 7a.

A surface temperature sensor 8 for measuring the surface temperature t ₁ of the surface heater 1 is provided on the front side of the surface heater 1, and an internal temperature t ₂ is measured on the back side of the thermoelectric element 2. An internal temperature sensor 9 is provided, and further, a heat insulating material compensating temperature sensor 10 for measuring the heat insulating material compensating temperature t ₃ is provided in the inner portion of the heat insulating material 3. The lead wires 11a and 11b of both the heaters 1 and 5 and the lead wires of the sensors 8, 9 and 10 are led out from one side of the covers 6 and 7 to the outside. In addition, a lead wire compensation heater 12 having a flexible structure is provided, and a lead wire compensation temperature sensor 13 for detecting the lead wire compensation temperature t ₄ is provided inside the heater.

A humidity sensor 14, a wind speed sensor 15, a wind temperature sensor 16 and a radiation temperature sensor 17 are provided as sensor portions around the front side heater 1 while being supported by the front cover 6.

FIG. 4 shows a control circuit for the heaters 5, 12 and the temperature sensors 8, 9, 10, 13 described above. The surface temperature sensor 8 and the internal temperature sensor 9 are connected to a calculator 18. The power source 19 of the heat insulating material compensating heater 5 is controlled by the heat insulating material compensating temperature sensor 10 and the temperature controller 20 connected to the calculator 18, and the power source 21 of the lead wire compensating heater 12 is the lead wire compensating temperature. The temperature is controlled by a temperature controller 22 connected to the sensor 13 and the calculator 18.

In the above structure, the surface temperature sensor 8 measures the surface temperature t ₁ corresponding to the surface temperature of the human body, the internal temperature sensor 9 measures the internal temperature t ₂ corresponding to the deep temperature of the human body, and heat insulation is performed. The material compensation sensor 10 measures the temperature t ₃ of the heat insulating material compensation heater 5, and further the lead wire compensation temperature t ₄ by the lead wire compensation heater 12.

At this time, the heat insulation material compensation temperature t ₃ becomes lower than the internal temperature t ₂ by the amount of heat radiation of the heat insulation material 3 due to heat radiation.
Therefore, the temperature controller 20 controls the power supply 19 to heat the heat insulating material compensating heater 5 by the amount of the temperature drop so that both temperatures t ₂ and t ₃ become equal. As a result, the amount of heat escaping from the heat insulating material 3 to the outside is compensated, and the heat amount loss through the heat insulating material 3 of the thermoelectric element 2 is apparently zero.

[0016] Similarly, by the lead line supplementary temperature t ₄ when measured by a lead wire compensation sensor 10 controls the power applied to the lead wire compensation heater 12 with a temperature controller 22 as well as an internal temperature t ₂ The heat quantity loss is compensated for in the thermoelectric element 2 via the lead wire portion, so that it can be apparently made zero.

At this time, control may be performed according to the surface temperature t ₁ indicated by the surface temperature sensor 8 or according to a simple average value of the surface temperature t ₁ and the internal temperature t _2. Select according to the condition.

The number of sensory elements A having the above-mentioned structure may be any number, and the number is not particularly limited,
As an example of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the body B was attached to the head, chest, arm, hand, leg and foot at six sites. An example in which six sensory elements A are used will be described below. In the power supply system C, a power supply for a sensor such as humidity and air velocity for grasping the state in the vicinity of each of the sensory elements A, an amplifier, and the like are collected. The control unit also incorporates the heater of the operating portion of the sensory element A, the power source of the thermoelectric element, the temperature control circuit, and the power control circuit. Then, these data are analyzed, calculated, and control commands are output by the computer E.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show examples of software flow charts for integrating the whole body by using these devices. FIG. 5 shows the flow of the whole integration, FIG. 6 shows the control method relating to the sensory factors of the head / chest therein, and FIG. 7 shows the control method of the sensory elements of the arm / hand / leg / leg. Hereinafter, these flows will be described.

First, FIG. 5 will be described. In the case of human beings, when the amount of activity is decided, the amount of metabolism of the whole body is decided. In step (1), this whole-body metabolic rate is input according to the initial metabolic rate calculation program shown in FIG. 8, distributed to each site according to a predetermined ratio, and these metabolic rate values for each site are read first. Next, in step (2),
The surface area of the sensory element A that has already been input according to the element condition input program shown in FIG. 9 is read. Next, in step (3), when considering the clo value (clothing amount), the clo value converted into the input power value of the sensory element is calculated according to the clo value power conversion program shown in FIG. Read the clo value power conversion value for each part. Note that examples of methods for calculating these site-specific metabolism and clo values are shown in the stalwijk model and thermophysiology, but the present invention is not limited to this detailed calculation. Then, in step (4), the sum of these site-specific metabolism amounts and the clo value power conversion value is calculated as the apparent site-specific metabolism amount. Finally, in step (5), the amount of power of the sensory element for each site is converted into an area, which is used as the initial amount of power for each site. Then, the process proceeds to step (6), which will be described with reference to FIG.

In the step (1) in the initial metabolic rate calculation program shown in FIG. 8, the numerical value is decided according to the body feature input program shown in FIG. In step (2), the met value is determined according to the initial met value input program shown in FIG. 12, step (3) is read from step (9) in FIG. 11, and further step (4) is the previous history input program shown in FIG. Read according to.

Further, step (1) in FIG. 10 corresponds to FIG.
Read according to the initial clothing amount input program shown in 4,
Steps (2) and (3) are read according to the control program for whole body integration shown in FIG.

Next, FIG. 6 will be described. Of the six sensory elements A, the part where the deep temperature is constant regardless of the change in the environment is the head and the chest. First, in step (1), how many times the deep temperature Tist (i) is set is calculated. . In addition, (i) represents each part of the human body, i = 1: head, i =
2: chest, i = 3: arm, i = 4: hand, i = 5: leg, i =
6: Use feet. Next, in step (2), deep temperature control is performed for this set temperature using a temperature control circuit. That is, assuming that the actual temperature becomes Ti (i, t) with respect to the set value Tist (i) of the deep temperature, if the difference between the two falls within 0.1 ° C., for example, go to the next step and not If this is the case, branch back to use the temperature control circuit again. Next, in step (3), the electric energy EE (i, t) after the deep temperature module is operated is measured. This is the sum of the electric power of the heater of the sensory element A and the electric power of the thermoelectric element. In step (4), it is determined whether or not this electric energy is within an appropriate range.

That is, the electric energy EE (i, t) is calculated from the initial metabolic rate of the head and chest (values calculated in steps (1) to (5) of FIG. 5) (maximum metabolism of each site). If it is too large, the power control module is used to set the input power amount to the sensory element A of the head and chest to the maximum metabolic amount. After controlling so that, the process proceeds to step (5). In step (5), the deep temperature Ti (i, t) is measured again. Next, the process proceeds to step (6), and the measured deep temperature T
The difference between i (i, t) and the set deep temperature Tist (i) is calculated. If this difference does not fall within the range of a small value, for example, about 0.5 ° C., the flow branches to the right and the sweat control program , Col value change program or metabolic rate increase program. For example, it is determined whether the deep temperature is too high or too low with respect to the set value, and if it is too high, it shifts to a perspiration control program that performs sweating, or if it is too low, it shifts to a metabolic increase program that shakes, For example, the program changes to a clo value changing program that increases the amount of clothing. After the operation of these programs, the process returns to step (2) and the head and chest are controlled again. On the other hand, if the difference between the measured deep temperature and the set deep temperature falls within the small range, the process proceeds to step (7), the electric energy of the head / chest and the deep temperature are confirmed, and the flow of FIG. 6 ends. Then, the process proceeds to step (7) in FIG. For step (7) in FIG.
It will be explained in.

The step (1) in FIG. 6 is calculated according to the physical condition input program shown in FIG. 16 and the environment input program shown in FIG.

In FIG. 7, first, in step (1),
The head calculated in steps (1) to (5) of FIG.
Read the initial energy of sensory element A on the chest. In step (2), the electric energy of the sensory element A of the head / chest measured in step ( 3 ) of FIG. 6 is read. Next, in step (3), the surface area of each human body part calculated from the previously input human body surface area is read. From these values, in step (4), the distribution ratio called the blood flow adjustment coefficient is used to calculate the distribution power amount to each site. This blood flow adjustment coefficient is a value that varies from site to site due to environmental conditions and is a value that is determined by experiments. A calculation example of the power amount for each part will be shown below.

The initial metabolic rate of the human head and torso is MCst
(I) [kcal / h], MB (i) is the heat quantity distributed from the head and torso to each site due to blood flow due to environmental changes
[Kcal / h], and the apparent amount of metabolism after change is calculated as MC
(I) If [kcal / h], then [MC (1) = MCst (1) −MB (1) + δ (1)
MB (1 + 2) ... [1] MC (2) = MCst (2) -MB (2) + δ (2)
MB (1 + 2) ... [2]] Here, MB (1 + 2) = MB (1) + MB (2) MCst (i) = EEst (i) / AE (i) × AD
(I) MC (i) = EE (i) / AE (i) × AD (i) δ; blood flow adjustment coefficient [ND] EE; sensory element power [kcal / h / m ² ] AE; sensory element surface area [M ² ] AD; surface area by body part [m ² ]

When ηA (i) = AD (i) / AE (i), [EE (1) = EEst (1)-(MB (1) + δ] is obtained from the equations [1] and [2].
(1) · MB (1 + 2)) / ηA (1) ... [3] EE (2) = EEst (2) − (MB (2) + δ (2)
MB (1 + 2) / ηA (2) ... [4]] [3] is added to [4] to obtain MB (1 + 2), MB (1 + 2) = ηA (1) · ((EEst (1) -E
E (1)) + ηA (2) ・ ((EEst (2) -EE
(2)) / (1−δ (1) −δ (2)) ... [5] Therefore, the distribution power amount to each part of the arm, hand, leg, and foot is EE (i) = EEst (i) + δ (I) · MB (1+
2) / ηA (i) ... [3] i = 3,4,5,6, and the electric energy to the sensory elements other than the head and chest is obtained.

That is, the initial electric energy of the head and chest is calculated, and the deep temperature of the head and chest is controlled to be constant while being balanced according to environmental conditions. If the electric energy at that time is measured, the It is possible to obtain the electric energy of the sensory elements of the arms, hands, legs and feet other than the chest. Next, in step (5), the amount of electric power of each sensory element A is distributed to the heater and the thermoelectric element. The distribution ratio is to be determined by an experiment, and accordingly, each part of each sensory element A is determined. The amount of power is determined. Figure 7
The flow of FIG. 5 ends, and the process moves to step (8) in FIG. In step (8), the calculated amount of power is input to the arm, hand, leg and foot by the power control module, and then the process goes to STOP of this flow. As a result, although not shown in the flow chart, it is possible to grasp each temperature of each sensory element A, the amount of power, the amount of change thereof, and the like.

Designed by the method of the present invention is shown in FIGS.
An example of comparison with the surface temperature and the deep temperature of each part of the human body under various environmental conditions by using the thermal sensation evaluation method that was manufactured and created by software is shown. From this, it can be seen that the surface temperature and the deep temperature of the human body and those of the sensory elements are almost the same, and the whole body is well integrated.

[0031]

According to the method of the present invention, if the thermal sensation evaluation device is placed in a certain thermal environment, the electric energy of the sensory element A at each site is approximately matched with the amount of heat dissipated at each site of the human body while integrating the whole body. The surface temperature and the internal temperature of the sensory element A can be adjusted to the surface temperature and the deep portion of the human body, respectively, by appropriately adjusting the power ratio between the heater and the thermoelectric element. Further, it is possible to evaluate the sense by using the correlation data with the sense amount such as human thermal comfort from the temperature / power amount of the sense element A for each part and the change amount thereof.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram used in a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a sensory element used in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of a sensory element used in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a control circuit diagram of a compensation heater and a temperature sensor.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the method of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart showing a part of step (6) of the flowchart shown in FIG.

7 is a flowchart showing a part of step (7) of the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an initial metabolic rate calculation program.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a sensory element condition input program.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a clothing amount value power conversion program.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a body feature input program.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an initial met value input program.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a previous history input program.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an initial clothing amount input program.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a control program for whole body integration.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a physical condition input program.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an environment input program.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the relationship between the temperature of the head and the environmental temperature.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a relationship between a foot temperature and an environmental temperature.

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... Sensory element, B ... Body, C ... Power supply system, D ... Control unit, E ... Computer, 1 ... Surface side heater, 2
... thermoelectric element, 3 ... heat insulating material, 4 ... heat conduction box, 5 ... heat insulating material compensating heater, 6, 7 ... cover, 8 ... surface temperature sensor, 9 ...
Internal temperature sensor, 10 ... Insulation material compensation temperature sensor, 11
a, 11b ... Lead wire, 12 ... Lead wire compensation heater, 1
3 ... Lead wire compensation temperature sensor, 14 ... Humidity sensor, 15
... wind speed sensor, 16 ... wind temperature sensor, 17 ... radiation temperature sensor, 18 ... arithmetic unit, 19, 21 ... power supply, 20, 22 ... temperature controller.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-60-219512 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. The surface of each part of the human body and the inside
Has multiple heaters that can be set to temperatures equivalent to the temperature
The amount of heat dissipated by each heater is compensated by supplying power.
The sensory element A for thermal sensation evaluation
Placed on multiple parts corresponding to the head, chest, arms, hands, etc.
However, the sensory elements of each of the above parts under arbitrary thermal environment conditions
Temperature and electric energy due to heat radiation from each heater of
Evaluate the thermal sensation in each part from the change amount of
In the thermal sensation evaluation method described above, the amount of metabolism of the whole body, which is determined by the amount of human activity, is calculated from the amount of head, chest, arms,
Hand, foot, and metabolic rate per unit area of each part, such as a foot, first by the heat radiation of each sense element disposed in each site
The amount of power consumption and the depth of each part of the human body
Set the deep temperature of each part where the part temperature is constant
For the sensory element placed in the area where the deep temperature is constant.
Initial power and the preset deep temperature at this site
From the amount of electric power for
Using the distribution ratio called the blood flow adjustment coefficient,
To sensory elements placed in areas other than a fixed degree
The distribution electric energy of each of the
Power to each sensory element placed in each part other than
Input from each of the sensory elements
Evaluate the thermal sensation in the environment from the temperature and electric energy
Thermal sensation evaluation method which is characterized in that there was Unishi.