JP5858807B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a technique in which a room is photographed by a camera, a occupant is detected from the photographed image, and the detection result is used for various controls of the air conditioner (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which an air conditioner is automatically turned on when an occupant is detected by an outdoor camera provided near an outdoor doorway (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2005-172288 ([0036])

  By the way, if the remote controller of the air conditioner is lost, the only way to start the operation of the air conditioner is to press the switch mounted on the indoor unit body. However, since the indoor unit is generally installed at a high place in the room, it is difficult for a child or an elderly person to operate, and the operation cannot be started until a lost remote control is found.

  In the above Patent Document 1, since the air conditioner is turned on when a person is detected by the outdoor camera, the operation of the air conditioner can be started without a remote control. However, in Patent Document 1, since it is automatically turned on regardless of the intention of the occupant, the operation of the air conditioner is particularly desired, for example, when the user returns to the room for a short period of time in order to pick up forgotten items. Even if there is not, the operation is automatically started. In addition, when the operation of the air conditioner is started using the remote controller, but the remote controller is not found after that, the air conditioner cannot be operated in the same manner, and the operation cannot be stopped.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the air conditioner which can detect the intention of the operation start by the occupant and can turn on or off an air conditioner.

An air conditioner according to the present invention includes an air conditioner body that blows air whose temperature is adjusted by an air conditioning unit into a room, and the air conditioner body that is attached to the air conditioner body, and the air conditioner body is turned off while the air conditioner body is turned off. An imaging device that captures and sequentially outputs the captured image data, and the image data captured by the imaging device is sequentially input and processed, so that a human body exists in a predetermined area and a human body face is preset. The human body is present in the predetermined area and the human face is kept facing the imaging device for a predetermined intention confirmation time. When the air conditioner body is turned on and the air conditioner body is in operation, the human body is present in the predetermined area and the human face is imaged during a predetermined intention confirmation time. Suitable for equipment If it is determined that the continued, in which a control device for turning OFF the power of the air conditioner body.

  According to the present invention, when it is detected that the occupant moves into the predetermined area and the occupant's face is intentionally directed to the imaging device during the intention confirmation time, the power is turned on or off. Therefore, the air conditioner can be operated without a remote control, and an air conditioner excellent in operability can be obtained.

1 is an external perspective view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the air conditioner of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air conditioner of FIG. It is a block diagram of the control system of the air conditioner of FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view (part 1) illustrating a detection area of the camera of FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view (No. 2) illustrating a detection area of the camera of FIG. 1. It is the figure which showed the face detection process simply. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the image process part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the main body control part of FIG. It is the figure which showed the countdown display as an example of the notification display of intention confirmation time. It is the figure which showed an example of the guidance display.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a front panel is opened. FIG. 2 is a front view of the air conditioner of FIG. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air conditioner of FIG.
The air conditioner main body 1a of the air conditioner 1 has a housing 2 having a base 2a attached to a wall surface and a front grill 2b attached to the front surface of the base 2a so as to be detachable and openable. . A suction port 3 for sucking room air is formed on the upper surface of the base 2a. A blower outlet 4 for blowing air into the room is formed on the lower side of the housing 2.

  Inside the housing 2, a heat exchanger 5, a blower fan 6 that blows air to the heat exchanger 5, a filter 7, and moisture dehumidified by the heat exchanger 5 are disposed below the heat exchanger 5. And a drain pan unit 8 for discharging the water. The housing 2 further includes a camera 10 as an imaging device that captures an image of the room, a display device 20, and an electrical component box (not shown) including various electrical components such as the control device 30.

  The air conditioner 1 is a refrigerating cycle configured by sequentially connecting a heat exchanger 5 and a compressor or the like mounted in an outdoor unit (not shown) as piping as an air conditioning unit that adjusts the indoor temperature, The heat exchanger 5 and the blower fan 6 in the air conditioning unit are provided in the air conditioner body 1a, and the others are provided on the outdoor unit (not shown) side. Then, the refrigerant circulates in the refrigeration cycle, and heat exchange is performed between the indoor air and the heat exchanger 5, whereby the temperature-adjusted air is blown into the room to air-condition the room (cooling or heating).

  The camera 10 is installed in the lower part of the front of the air conditioner 1, and takes a visible image of the room with a depression angle through a window provided on the front grill 2b facing the camera 10. The captured image data is output to the control device 30 sequentially, for example, every 200 msec.

  The display device 20 is provided to face the front grille 2b and displays various types of information. At least a portion facing the display device 20 in the front grill 2b is configured to be transparent or translucent, and the display on the display device 20 can be confirmed from the outside through the transparent or translucent portion.

  The air conditioner 1 configured as described above sucks indoor air from the suction port 3 into the housing 2 by the blower fan 6 and heat-exchanges the sucked air by the heat exchanger 5 to cool air or warm air. Alternatively, the warm air is blown into the room from the suction port 3 by controlling the wind direction using the flap 9.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system of the air conditioner of FIG.
The control device 30 includes a CPU, a RAM that stores various data, and a ROM (none of which is shown) that stores a program for performing operation control, and the air conditioner 1 according to the program in the ROM. Control the whole. The control device 30 roughly includes a main body control unit 31 and an image processing unit 32. Further, the camera 10, the display device 20, the blower fan 6 and the compressor 40 are connected to the control device 30, and the main body control unit 31 inputs power from the outside to drive the blower fan 6 and the compressor 40. Control and perform air-conditioning operation (cooling or heating). The control device 30 is supplied with power from the outside even when the operation of the air conditioner 1 is stopped (when the power is off), and the main body control unit 31 and the image processing unit 32 can perform processing.

  The control device 30 supplies power to the camera 10 even when the operation of the air conditioner 1 is stopped (when the power is OFF), and image data from the camera 10 is sequentially input even when the operation is stopped. Then, the image processing unit 32 of the control device 30 processes the input image data to perform human body detection and face detection, which will be described later, or detects the presence of a television or lighting, etc. To the unit 31. The main body control unit 31 performs comfortable control in response to a notification from the image processing unit 32. It should be noted that the presence detection of the television is performed in order to prevent the television from being erroneously recognized as a person at the time of human body detection, and is detected based on the size, position, and the like. In addition, as control using the illumination detection result, for example, when the illumination becomes dark, it is assumed that the user has fallen asleep. For example, control (for example, reduction of the rotational speed of the blower fan 6) is performed.

  In the present embodiment, for example, even when the remote control is lost, the intention of the occupant to start the operation is detected, and the air conditioner 1 is turned on to turn on the air conditioner (cooling or The characteristic feature (hereinafter referred to as a remote control-less operation start function) is realized by the control device 30.

  The detection of the intention to start the operation by the occupant in the remote control-less operation start function is performed as follows. The control device 30 processes the image data input from the camera 10, so that there is a resident in the predetermined area S and a predetermined intention confirmation time (here, for example, 3 seconds). Meanwhile, if it is determined that the occupant continues to face the camera 10 without facing down or sideways on the way, it is detected as an intention to start driving by the occupant.

  In addition, what is necessary is just to let an occupant know as a response | compatibility at the time of remote control loss by describing in advance in the instruction manual etc. of the air conditioner 1 about this remote control-less operation start function. As a result, if the occupant loses the remote control, he moves into the predetermined area S in the room and intentionally points his / her face to the camera 10 for the intention confirmation time, so that air conditioning can be performed without the remote control. Operation can be started.

  In order to prevent malfunction when the occupant does not intend, the air conditioner 1 detects the occupant's face in the predetermined area S and starts counting the intention confirmation time. Is displayed on the display device 20 to notify the occupants. Specifically, the time until the power is turned on after the intention confirmation time is counted is counted down as shown in FIG. The occupant can know that the remote control-less operation start function has been activated by this countdown display. For this reason, when the operation of the air conditioner 1 is not desired, the power ON by the remote controlless operation start function can be stopped by performing an operation such as turning the face sideways.

  “On” or “Off” of the remote controllerless operation start function in the control device 30 can be performed by setting a remote controller (not shown). Therefore, for example, this function may be set to “ON” in advance in case the remote control is lost.

  The control device 30 requires an image processing technique for detecting a human body from image data and an image processing technique for detecting a face in order to realize a remote control-less operation start function. Details of these techniques are not particularly limited in the present invention, and publicly known techniques can be adopted as appropriate, but they will be briefly described here.

  5 and 6 are top views showing detection areas of the camera shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, α is the viewing angle of the camera. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the face detection process. Hereinafter, human body detection and face detection will be briefly described with reference to FIGS.

(Human body detection)
In the human body detection process, a difference between the previous image and the current image is taken, and a human body is detected from a region having the difference. Then, the center of the lower end of the human body rectangular image 50 in which the detected human body region 50a is surrounded by a rectangle is defined as the human body position portion 51 with the foot as a foot. When the human body position portion 51 is within the predetermined area S shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, it is detected that the human body is detected. 5 shows a state in which the human body rectangular image 50 is not in the predetermined area S, and FIG. 6 shows a state in which the human body rectangular image 50 is in the predetermined area S.

(Face detection)
Face detection is performed when it is determined that there is human body detection, and a rectangular window smaller than the human body rectangular image 50 (hereinafter referred to as a “face detection window”) is scanned in the human body rectangular image 50 to detect feature points of the human body face. A part having a match rate of a certain level or more is detected as a face. The face detection window is scanned repeatedly by reducing the size of the face detection window stepwise to detect the face.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the face detection window (large) 53 is scanned in the human body rectangular image 50 in the scanning direction 52, and the feature points of the human body face have a certain degree of coincidence. Search for a face. If a face is detected in the human body rectangular image 50, the process ends. When a face cannot be detected by the face detection window (large) 53, the face detection window (small) 54 is rescanned. In this way, scanning is performed with the face detection window being made smaller in steps, and if it still cannot be detected, it is determined that no face is detected, and if it is detected, it is determined that face detection is present. Here, instead of simply determining whether or not there is a face in the human body rectangular image 50, it is determined that the face is detected when the face is facing the camera 10 side. Therefore, for example, when the face is facing sideways or the face is facing down, it is determined that no face is detected. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 55 denotes a portion detected as a face.

  Next, the operation flow of the remote controlless operation start function in the air conditioner 1 will be described.

(Image processing unit)
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the image processing unit in FIG.
As described above, the air conditioner 1 captures a room by the camera 10 while the air conditioner main body 1a is turned off, and performs human body detection as described above based on the image data (S1). ). And if a human body is detected, it will be judged whether the occupant is in the predetermined area S from the air conditioner 1 (S2). If it is determined that it is not within the predetermined area S, the process returns to step S1.

  If it is determined in step S2 that the occupant is in the predetermined area S, the image processing unit 32 performs face detection processing for the occupant and determines that the face is detected (S3), and determines that the face is detected. It is determined whether or not the set period continues for a predetermined time (for example, 1 second here) (S4). Since the image data from the camera 10 is input to the image processing unit 32 every 200 msec here, if it is determined that the face detection is present in the image data for 5 frames, it is determined that the image processing unit 32 has continued for 1 second. Will be.

  If the period determined to have face detection continues for 1 second, a face detection notification is sent to the main body control unit 31 (S5), and the process returns to step S3 again. On the other hand, if the person in the room turns his face downward or sideways, it is determined that no face is detected, and the process returns to step S2.

  With the above processing, if the person in the room intends to face the camera 10, a face detection notification is sent to the main body control unit 31 every second.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the main body control unit of FIG. Note that “N” in FIG. 9 is set to a predetermined number (seconds of intention confirmation time), for example, “3” here. First, the body control unit 31 sets the countdown number N to “3” (S11). When a face detection notification is received from the image processing unit 32 (S12), a countdown display is performed on the display device 20 (S13). Here, since N is 3, “3” is displayed as shown in FIG. Then, N is decremented to “2” (S14), and then it is determined whether the face detection notification is received within a predetermined time (here, 1 second) from the previous reception of the face detection notification (S15). ).

  When the face detection notification is received within a predetermined time (here, 1 second) from the reception of the previous face detection notification, it is determined that the face-facing operation by the occupant continues, and N is not 0 (S16). ), Returning to step S13 again, the countdown display is performed. Therefore, if a face detection notification is received from the image processing unit 32 every second, countdowns “3”, “2”, and “1” are displayed. If YES is determined in step S15 and N = 0, the main body control unit 31 turns on the power of the air conditioner main body 1a and operates the blower fan 6 and the compressor 40 to start the air conditioning operation. (S17).

  The operation content started here reflects the content of the previous operation as it is. That is, if the previous operation is a cooling operation, the cooling operation is performed.

  On the other hand, if the face detection notification is not received within a predetermined time (here, 1 second) from the reception of the previous face detection notification, for example, the occupant once turned the face to the camera 10, but the next moment When the face is turned sideways, the face detection notification is not notified from the image processing unit 32. Therefore, in this case, the determination in step S15 is NO, the process returns to step S11, the countdown number N is returned to a predetermined number, and the same processing as described above is repeated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the occupant moves into the predetermined area S and the occupant's face is intentionally directed toward the camera 10 during the intention confirmation time. When detected, the power supply is turned on to start the air conditioning operation. Therefore, the operation can be started without a remote controller, and an air conditioner excellent in operability can be obtained.

  In the above description, the power-on without the remote controller has been described. However, the power-off without the remote controller may also be performed for the face to the camera 10 during the intention confirmation time.

  Moreover, when the air conditioner 1 cannot detect the occupant's face well, as shown in FIGS. 11 (a) to 11 (d), a guidance display is displayed on the display device 20 (FIG. 11 shows a guidance display using arrows). It is also possible to display 60 and display the standing position and the angle of the face that are easy to detect the face to guide the occupants.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, although the example of countdown was shown as a display which notifies an occupant that the air conditioner 1 entered into the count of the intention confirmation time of a remote control-less operation start function, it was limited to this It is not a thing. The notification method is not limited to display, and notification may be made by sound or lighting of a lamp.

  In addition, the contents of the air conditioning operation that is started by the remote control-less operation start function have been described as reflecting the cooling or heating operation at the previous operation as they are, but when the air blowing control and windbreak control are set by the operation setting The setting may be reflected as it is. In this case, it is sufficient to follow the human body detected by the human body detection process and perform wind blowing control or windbreak control.

  In addition, the remote control or the air conditioner 1 itself has a calendar function, and the operation mode when the operation is started by the remote controlless operation start function is cooling if it is a cooling time, and heating if it is a heating time. May be. In addition to the calendar function, the air-conditioning operation may be started by automatically setting the temperature and humidity that are normally set at each time.

  In addition, to prevent accidental operation by children, specify the height from the visible image or specify the age from the facial features at the time of face detection, and do not start the air conditioning operation by the remote controlless operation start function when judged to be a child Also good.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner, 1a Air conditioner main body, 2 Case, 2a Base, 2b Front grille, 3 Inlet, 4 Outlet, 5 Heat exchanger, 6 Blower, 7 Filter, 8 Drain pan unit, 9 Flap, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Imaging device (camera), 20 Display apparatus, 30 Control apparatus, 31 Main body control part, 32 Image processing part, 40 Compressor, 50 Human body rectangular image, 50a Human body area | region, 51 Human body position part, 52 Scan direction, 53 Face detection Window (large), 54 Face detection window (small), 55 Face detection unit, S Predetermined area.

Claims (4)

An air conditioner main body for blowing air adjusted in temperature by the air conditioning unit into the room,
An imaging device that is attached to the air conditioner main body, captures the room while the power of the air conditioner main body is turned off, and sequentially outputs the captured image data;
By sequentially inputting and processing the image data photographed by the imaging device, a human body exists in a predetermined area, and the human body face is directed toward the imaging device during a predetermined intention confirmation time. If it is determined that the human body is present in the predetermined area and the human face is kept facing the imaging device for a predetermined intention confirmation time, the air When the air conditioner main body is turned on and the air conditioner main body is in operation, a human body is present in the predetermined area, and the human body face is directed toward the imaging apparatus during a predetermined intention confirmation time. An air conditioner comprising: a control device that turns off the power of the air conditioner main body when it is determined that the air conditioner is continued . Comprising a notification device, wherein the control device, the human body is present in a predetermined area, and the body of the face starts counting the senses that is directed to the imaging device the intention confirmation time counts it has an air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that the or al report knowledge the notification device.   3. The notification device is a display device, and the control device counts down on the display device a time until the power is turned on when counting of the intention confirmation time is started. The air conditioner described.   The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control device performs the same operation as the previous air conditioning operation when the power supply is turned on to start the air conditioning operation. .

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