JP5036792B2 - Control method and control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and a system for controlling home electric appliances that mainly maintain temperature, humidity and other environmental factors in a home.

Today, home appliances such as air conditioners, for example, can lead to a comfortable life even in hot summer. The air conditioner operates while adjusting the cooling capacity so as to maintain the set temperature, and the accuracy of the temperature control is higher than before. The temperature, air volume, and other details relating to the operation can be set by the user using the remote controller according to his / her preference.
On the other hand, for example, a remote controller using a biological signal has been proposed so that even a severely disabled person who cannot handle a remote controller can be set with his / her own intention (for example, Patent Document 1). reference.).

JP 2003-244780 A

However, how to use an environmental control device such as an air conditioner is ultimately left to the user, and optimal environmental control according to the situation cannot be performed unless the user performs an appropriate operation.
In view of such conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a control method and a control system capable of performing appropriate environmental control based on sensing of the human body and the environment without depending on the operation of the user. And

(1) The present invention is a control method for detecting a physical quantity related to the human body and the environment with a plurality of sensors, and controlling an environmental control device with a controller based on the output values thereof.
Stores the relationship between the cause of an abnormality that appears in the human body and the characteristics that appear in the output value of each sensor in advance, and indicates an anomaly that the output value of one of the sensors that detect physical quantities related to the human body does not fall within the predetermined allowable range. The weights of the output values of the sensors whose characteristics should appear in relation to the anomaly based on the relevance are set to be relatively larger than the weights of the output values of the other sensors, An integrated value obtained by multiplying the value by a weight is calculated, the cause is estimated based on the integrated value, and when the integrated value exceeds a threshold value, control is performed on a predetermined environmental control device in order to eliminate the anomaly. If the abnormality is resolved, the control is terminated . If the abnormality is not resolved even when the control is performed, the threshold is lowered to prepare for the next control .

According to the above control method, the integrated value is calculated with the occurrence of the abnormality detected by the sensor as a trigger, the cause is estimated based on this, and control for eliminating the abnormality is performed. Therefore, appropriate environmental control can be performed based on sensing of the human body and the environment without depending on human operations.

In addition, since the feature can be expressed numerically by weighting, the cause can be estimated by arithmetic processing.

By providing a threshold value, excessive control can be suppressed, and the suppression also contributes to energy saving.

(2) In the control method of (1) above, it is preferable that the control for eliminating the anomaly is performed using a plurality of environmental control devices.
In this case, higher quality environmental control can be performed.

(3) In the control method of (1), the control for eliminating the abnormality may be changed stepwise from the weak level to the strong level while the abnormality is not resolved.
In this case, the control is initially suppressed and excessive control is prevented. In addition, anomalies can be resolved at an early stage by becoming stronger step by step.

(4) Moreover, in the control method of said (3) , it is preferable to change a level rapidly, so that the danger to a human body is large.
In this case, priority can be given to speed, and danger to the human body can be prevented.

(5) On the other hand, the control system of the present invention includes a plurality of sensors that detect physical quantities related to the human body and the environment, an environmental control device that can control the physical quantities related to the environment, the cause of the abnormality appearing in the human body, and the output of each sensor. When the storage means for storing the relevance with the feature appearing in the value and the output value of any sensor that detects the physical quantity related to the human body indicates an abnormality that does not fall within a predetermined allowable range , based on the relevance, Calculate the integrated value by multiplying the output value of each sensor by the weight by making the weight of the output value of the sensor whose characteristics should appear in relation to the above change relatively larger than the weight of the output value of other sensors. and an estimation means for estimating the cause based on the integrated value, when the integration value exceeds the threshold value, in order to solve the above anomalies, and executes the control for a given environment control device, wherein said accident While ends the control if consumption, If running the control said anomalies not eliminated is obtained and a control unit provided in the next control by lowering the threshold.

According to the control system described above, the integrated value is calculated with the occurrence of the abnormality detected by the sensor as a trigger, the cause is estimated based on the integrated value, and the control for eliminating the abnormality is performed. Therefore, appropriate environmental control can be performed based on sensing of the human body and the environment without depending on human operations. In addition, since the feature can be expressed numerically by weighting, the cause can be estimated by arithmetic processing. In addition, by providing a threshold value, excessive control can be suppressed, and the suppression also contributes to energy saving.

  According to the above control method / control system, appropriate environmental control can be performed based on sensing of the human body and the environment without depending on human operations.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the control system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control method by a controller. It is a figure which shows the characteristic etc. which appear in the output value of each sensor with respect to three causes in a list form.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the controller 1 is connected to an environmental sensor 2 and a biological sensor 3. As the controller 1, for example, an information processing apparatus such as a programmable controller or a personal computer can be used. The environmental sensor 2 is a generic name, and is a plurality of sensors that detect physical quantities related to the environment and send outputs to the controller 1. For example, a temperature sensor or a humidity sensor provided in a room of a house. The temperature sensor and the humidity sensor detect room temperature and humidity, respectively.

  Similarly, the biological sensor 3 is a generic name, and is a plurality of sensors that detect physical quantities (biological information) related to the human body and send outputs to the controller 1. For example, a thermography, a pulse sensor, and a peristaltic sensor provided in the room. Thermography detects the temperature of the body surface of a human body from the distance by the amount of infrared rays. As the pulse sensor, for example, a laser Doppler type blood flow meter can be used, and the pulse can be captured from the period of blood flow detected from the fingertip. The peristaltic sensor detects information such as human tremors and tremors. For example, a human body motion (body motion) can be detected by a piezoelectric element, and the information can be extracted from a time-series pattern. is there. About a pulse sensor and a peristaltic sensor, it can install in a chair, a table, etc., for example. Thereby, the person can catch a pulse and a perturbation unconsciously.

  On the other hand, the controller 1 can communicate with various home appliances as the environmental control device 10 via the home appliance network 4. In the example of FIG. 1, a louver 5, a ventilation fan 6, an air conditioner 7, a cold air fan (including a fan or other one that lowers the perceived temperature locally) 8, and a humidifier 9 that change the amount of light collected from the window are included in the home appliance network 4. It is connected to the. Note that such a network can be configured by a device having an interface such as JEMA, Bluetooth, or Zigbee.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control method by the controller 1. First, in step S <b> 1, the controller 1 reads output values from all environment sensors 2 and biometric sensors 3. Then, the controller 1 compares the output value of each of the biometric sensors 3 with a reference value and determines whether it is within the allowable range (step S2). Here, if the output values of all the biosensors 3 are within the allowable range, it is not necessary to perform environmental control, and the processing of the controller 1 ends.

  On the other hand, when the output value of any one of the biosensors 3 deviates from the allowable range, it means that some change has occurred in the human body with respect to the physical quantity detected by the sensor. However, since an abnormality may occur in the output value of a specific sensor due to various causes, it is difficult to estimate the cause of the abnormality with only the output value of one sensor. Therefore, referring to the output values of other sensors (environmental sensor 2 and biosensor 3), the features appearing in the output values of each sensor are observed. Here, the controller 1 stores in advance the relationship between the cause of the abnormality that appears in the human body and the feature that appears in the output value of each sensor. Further, the controller 1 stores a numerical example of an output value reflecting this feature.

In order to execute the process of estimating the cause from the stored characteristics by looking at the characteristics appearing in the output values of the sensors, for example, a weighting process can be applied. In this case, a large weight is set for a sensor that exhibits a characteristic output value for a certain cause, and a small weight is set for a sensor that does not. That is, each multiplied by the weight W ₁ to _W-m with respect to the output value X ₁ to X _m of each sensor, determining the integration value U as the sum by the following equation (step S3).

  If such a process is performed for each of a plurality of causes with respective specific weights, the “cause” in the case where the integrated value U becomes the largest or becomes the closest to the integrated value obtained in the same manner for the above numerical example. Is the cause to be sought. If the cause can be estimated in this way, the control behavior from the controller 1 to the environmental control device is determined (step S4). Thus, the cause can be estimated by arithmetic processing by numerically expressing the feature by weighting.

  Next, the controller 1 determines whether or not the integrated value U exceeds a predetermined threshold (step S5). When it does not exceed, the processing of the controller 1 ends. The significance of this process is that even if a change in the sensor output value is recognized, control of the environmental control device is not performed in all cases. It is to suppress control. In addition, suppression contributes to energy saving. The threshold is preferably set elastically in consideration of the person's physical strength, tolerance, age, etc. so as not to affect the person's health.

  On the other hand, when the integrated value U exceeds the threshold value, the controller 1 instructs the behavior to the target device (target environment control device) (step S6). The target device is determined in advance corresponding to the estimated cause. The controller 1 waits for a certain time from the behavior instruction, and after the elapse of time, the controller 1 reads the output value of the sensor that triggered the behavior and determines whether or not the output value has returned to the allowable range (step S7). . If the output value returns to the allowable range, the control reaches the purpose, and the processing of the controller 1 is finished.

  On the other hand, when the output value does not return to the allowable range, the controller 1 performs back propagation processing (step S8), and then repeats the processing after step S1. As the back-propagation process, for example, the degree of suppression is reduced by lowering the threshold value in step S5. This is useful after the next time of the process shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  Note that the controller 1 performs (1) storage means 1a for storing the relationship between the cause of the abnormality appearing in the human body and the feature appearing in the output value of each sensor, and (2) the physical quantity relating to the human body. Estimating means 1b for estimating the cause by referring to the output values of other sensors when the output value of one of the detected sensors indicates an abnormality that does not fall within a predetermined allowable range, and (3) eliminating the abnormality Therefore, it can be said that the control unit 1c is provided with a control unit 1c that executes control on a predetermined environment control device and terminates the control when the abnormality is resolved (FIG. 1).

Next, the control method will be described with a specific example. For example, when the body temperature shows a high value that does not fall within the allowable range by thermography,
(A) Heat due to the season (b) Heat due to exercise, bathing, etc. (c) Heat due to diseases such as colds can be considered. Therefore, the controller 1 stores in advance the relevance of the feature that appears in the output value of each sensor with respect to the cause.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing, in a list form, characteristics and others appearing in the output values of the sensors for the above three causes. Regarding thermography, all of (a) to (c) show the feature of “high”. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate the cause only by looking at the output value of the thermography. Therefore, referring to the output values of other sensors, if (a) is the cause, there is a feature that cannot be seen in (b) and (c) that room temperature and humidity are high. If (b) is the cause, there is a feature not seen in (a) or (c) that the pulse is remarkably fast. In addition, if (c) is the cause, there is a feature that cannot be seen in (a) and (b) that there is tremor and palpitation.

  Therefore, by referring to the output values of other sensors, it is possible to estimate the cause of the abnormal temperature rise. As a specific method, weighting can be applied as described above. For example, in order to check whether the heat due to the season of (a) is the cause, the weight for the output value of the thermography, temperature sensor and humidity sensor is set to a large value, and the weight for the output value of the other sensor is set to a small value. What is necessary is just to calculate U. Similarly, the causes of (b) and (c) are also weighted to obtain the integrated value U. As a result, the integrated value U is the largest or the integrated value expected from the stored feature is the highest. “Cause” in the case of closeness is the cause to be sought.

In addition to the calculation of the integrated value U, it is also possible to estimate the cause because the output value of each sensor has the most items that match or approximate the stored features.
In addition to the sensor output value, various events may be referred to. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the possibility of the cause and the probability of the cause are determined in consideration of the season from the calendar function of the controller 1 itself, or the operation status of the home appliance is confirmed. . For example, if the controller 1 stores the operating status of home appliances for a certain period of time, if after bathing, the cause is estimated with reference to the event that the water heater or bathroom lighting was operating immediately before that. Can do.

  The controller 1 that has estimated the cause instructs the target home appliance to perform the behavior according to the cause. Here, the relationship between the cause and the corresponding home appliance is stored in the controller 1 in advance, and if the cause is determined, the target home appliance is also determined.

When the cause is (a), for example, the following behavior is instructed to gradually increase from (1) to (5).
(1) Reduce the amount of sunlight entering the room by adjusting the louver (in the case of daytime).
(2) Dehumidify with an air conditioner.
(3) Weakly cool with an air conditioner.
(4) The cold air stagnated in the lower part of the room is forcibly retained by the function of the air conditioner or the circulator.
(5) Perform strong cooling with an air conditioner.
As described above, the behavior instructed by the controller 1 is a step-up from a light measure to a heavy measure in order to lower the room temperature and humidity.

On the other hand, when the cause is (b), for example, the following behavior is instructed.
(1) Reduce the amount of sunlight entering the room by adjusting the louver (in the case of daytime).
(2) The sensible temperature is lowered in the short term using a cool air blower or the like.
(3) Weak cooling is performed for a short time with an air conditioner.

When the cause is (c), for example, the following behavior is instructed.
(1) Humidification is performed with a humidifier.
(2) Maintain the room temperature with an air conditioner (do not lower the room temperature).
(3) The controller 1 itself is alerted to the person by voice, message, mail, or the like (necessity of medicine or necessity of receiving a doctor's diagnosis).

  As described above, according to the control method / control system according to the present embodiment, the cause is estimated by referring to the output value of another sensor, triggered by the fact that the abnormality is captured by the sensor, Take control. Therefore, appropriate environmental control can be performed based on sensing of the human body and the environment without depending on human operations.

Further, by performing control for resolving the anomaly using a plurality of environmental control devices (home appliances), higher-quality environmental control can be performed.
Further, the control for resolving the anomaly is changed gradually from the weak level to the strong level while the anomaly is not eliminated, so that the control is initially suppressed and excessive control is prevented. In addition, anomalies can be resolved at an early stage by becoming stronger step by step.
On the other hand, if the level is changed more rapidly as the risk to the human body is greater, it is possible to prioritize speed and prevent the human body from being in danger.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Controller 1a Memory | storage means 1b Estimation means 1c Control means 2 Environmental sensor 3 Biosensor 10 Environmental control apparatus

Claims (5)

A control method for detecting physical quantities related to the human body and the environment with a plurality of sensors and controlling an environmental control device with a controller based on the output values thereof,
In advance, memorize the relationship between the causes of abnormalities that appear in the human body and the features that appear in the output values of each sensor,
When an output value of any sensor that detects a physical quantity related to the human body indicates an abnormality that does not fall within a predetermined allowable range , based on the relationship, a sensor characteristic that should appear in the output value in relation to the abnormality The weight of the output value is relatively larger than the weight of the output value of the other sensor, the integrated value obtained by multiplying the output value of each sensor by the weight is calculated, the cause is estimated based on the integrated value ,
When the integrated value exceeds a threshold, in order to eliminate the anomaly, execute control on a predetermined environmental control device,
If the abnormality is resolved, the control is terminated. If the abnormality is not resolved even if the control is executed , the control method is provided to reduce the threshold value and prepare for the next control. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the control for eliminating the abnormality is performed using a plurality of environmental control devices . 2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the control for resolving the abnormality is changed from a weak level to a strong level step by step while the abnormality is not resolved . The control method according to claim 3, wherein the level is changed more rapidly as the danger to the human body is greater . Multiple sensors that detect physical quantities related to the human body and environment,
Environmental control equipment that can control physical quantities related to the environment;
Storage means for storing in advance the relationship between the cause of the abnormality appearing in the human body and the feature appearing in the output value of each sensor;
When an output value of any sensor that detects a physical quantity related to the human body indicates an abnormality that does not fall within a predetermined allowable range, based on the relationship, a sensor characteristic that should appear in the output value in relation to the abnormality Estimating means for calculating an integrated value obtained by multiplying the output value of each sensor by a weight greater than the weight of the output value of another sensor, multiplying the output value of each sensor by the weight, and estimating the cause based on the integrated value When,
When the integrated value exceeds a threshold value, control is performed on a predetermined environmental control device in order to eliminate the abnormality, and the control is terminated when the abnormality is resolved. Control means for lowering the threshold and preparing for the next control if the anomaly has not been resolved
A control system characterized by comprising:

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