JP6368571B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a first driving unit that drives an up / down air direction changing unit for a time that does not coincide with an integral multiple of one cycle of an up / down direction air direction, and after the driving of the up / down air direction changing unit by the first driving unit, Second driving means for driving the left / right wind direction changing means for a time longer than a half cycle of the left / right wind direction change, and after the driving of the left / right wind direction changing means by the second driving means is finished, the first driving means is operated again. The control device of the set air conditioner is described.

JP-A-5-79680

  In Patent Document 1, the direction of the blown air blown out from the blowout port can be changed to the left and right direction in a state where the direction of the blown wind blown up and down is temporarily fixed, and the wind in the entire room in the vertical direction is stabilized. The wind direction in the left and right direction is changed while the flow is created. For this reason, the wind direction characteristic of the blowing wind can be improved, and the reachable distance of the blowing wind can be increased. Air conditioning such as cooling and heating of the entire room can be performed efficiently.

  However, for example, it is required to blow air to a predetermined position (for example, a person's foot) within the control range of the wind direction during heating operation or the like. That is, it has been desired to use both the up-and-down wind direction plates and the left and right wind direction plates to concentrate air in an area where air conditioning is desired in the room and to efficiently perform air conditioning such as cooling and heating of the entire room. In addition, the number of people in the room is not limited to one, and it has been desired to efficiently perform a plurality of predetermined positions.

  The present invention is an invention for solving the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner capable of appropriately controlling the wind direction.

In order to achieve the above object, the air conditioner of the present invention includes a blowout port that blows out an airflow, a left and right wind direction plate that changes the airflow direction of the airflow that blows out from the blowout port, and a wind direction of the airflow that blows out from the blowout port in the vertical direction. The vertical wind direction plate to be changed, and one of the left and right wind direction plates and the vertical wind direction plate swings in one direction within the swing range (for example, within the swing range) in the direction of a predetermined position in the room. If reached, the other airflow direction plate possess a airflow controller for directing toward the predetermined position, the one louver has stopped to the other airflow direction plate reaches the direction of the predetermined position, one of the wind direction The plate is characterized in that it starts to swing when the other wind direction plate reaches a predetermined position . Other aspects of the present invention will be described in the embodiments described later.

  According to the present invention, the wind direction can be appropriately controlled.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the external appearance structure of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the external appearance of the remote control of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the sensor part of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the imaging part which has a visible light cut filter which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the wavelength range at the time of imaging through a visible light cut filter. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the control part of the air conditioner which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the whole outline | summary of the process of a control part. It is a flowchart which shows the process of an imaging control part, an obstruction detection part, and a passage passability detection part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the determination process of the presence or absence of the object of an obstruction detection part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the determination process using the gravity center of the object of the passage availability detection part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the determination process using the integrated area of the object of a passage availability detection part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the ratio of the integrated area by the height from the lower end of various furniture. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the determination process whether an object is an obstruction. It is a flowchart which shows the whole process of foot detection. It is a flowchart which shows the difference system and area division system of a foot detection. It is explanatory drawing which shows the difference system and area | region division system of a leg detection. It is a flowchart which shows the airflow mode selection process of an airflow control part. It is a time chart which shows the interlocking process of the left-right wind direction of an airflow control part, and an up-down wind direction. It is explanatory drawing which shows the wind direction of the airflow mode on the obstacle based on 1st Example, step airflow mode, and airflow mode under an obstacle. It is a time chart which shows the interlocking of a right-and-left wind direction and an up-and-down wind direction. It is explanatory drawing which shows the wind direction of the floor plan mode which concerns on a 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows the selection process of the wind direction position in floor plan mode. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between indoor floor plan and the cell position of a wind direction. It is a time chart which shows the interlocking of the left-right wind direction and the up-and-down wind direction in floor plan mode. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other wind direction position which concerns on a 3rd Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the external appearance structure of an air conditioner in case an up-and-down wind direction is 3 divisions. It is explanatory drawing which shows the position of the wind direction cell in case an up-and-down wind direction is 3 divisions. It is explanatory drawing which shows the movement of the direction of a horizontal direction of an imaging part, and a viewing angle. It is a flowchart which shows the process of an imaging control part. It is a flowchart which shows the person position determination process of a person detection part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the person position determination process of a person detection part. It is a flowchart which shows the corner direction determination process of a wall detection part. It is a figure which shows the image process performed by the corner direction determination process of a wall detection part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the indoor plane in the corner direction determination process of a wall detection part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the corner direction determination process of a wall detection part. It is a flowchart which shows the expansion range determination process of a wall detection part. It is a top view which shows indoor arrangement | positioning in the expansion range determination process of a wall detection part.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. First, an outline of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an external configuration of an air conditioner according to the present embodiment. The air conditioner A is a device that performs air conditioning in a room such as cooling using, for example, a heat pump technology. The air conditioner A is roughly classified into an indoor unit 100 installed on an indoor wall, ceiling, floor, etc., an outdoor unit 200 installed outdoors, and the indoor unit 100 by infrared rays, radio waves, communication lines, and the like. A remote controller 40 (remote controller, air conditioning control terminal) for the user to operate the air conditioner A, and various sensor units for obtaining information used for control and display of the air conditioner such as room temperature and outside temperature 50 (see FIG. 5). Moreover, the indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 200 are connected to the refrigerant pipe and a communication cable (not shown). Furthermore, the indoor unit 100 includes an imaging unit 110 that images the room as one sensor of the sensor unit 50.

  A temperature detection unit 130 that detects the indoor temperature is disposed on one side of the imaging unit 110. With such an arrangement, it is possible to reduce detection errors in the distance and angle between the imaging unit 110 and the temperature detection unit 130 to be detected. A near-infrared light source 120 is disposed on the other side of the imaging unit 110. With such an arrangement, the difference between the detection range and angle of the imaging unit 110 and the irradiation range and angle of the near-infrared light source 120 can be reduced. That is, it is desirable to arrange the temperature detection unit 130 and the near-infrared light source 120 on both sides of the imaging unit 110.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a foot monitor 140 is disposed beside the imaging unit 110 or the temperature detection unit 130. As described later, when the foot is detected by the imaging unit 110 or the temperature detection unit 130 or when the foot is estimated, the foot monitor 140 is turned on, and the user can confirm that the foot has been detected. . The foot monitor 140 may be disposed not only on the indoor unit 100 but also on the remote controller 40.

<Indoor unit>
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment. The indoor unit 100 includes a heat exchanger 102, a blower fan 103, a left and right wind direction plate 104 (wind direction portion), an up and down wind direction plate 105 (wind direction portion), a front panel 106, a housing base 101, and various sensor units 50 (see FIG. 5). ) Etc. Of the sensor unit 50, the imaging unit 110, the near-infrared light source 120, the temperature detection unit 130, and the foot monitor 140 are arranged in a space above the blowing air path upper surface 109 c and below the drain pan 99. These sensors and the like need to be installed obliquely downward so as to face the living space. In this embodiment, the substrate itself is installed obliquely downward and these sensors are directly connected to the substrate. . Note that the imaging unit 110, the near-infrared light source 120, the temperature detection unit 130, and the foot monitor 140 are not necessarily mounted on the indoor unit 100, and a sensor or the like mounted on the indoor unit 100 may be selected as appropriate according to the embodiment. That's fine. In addition, a light transmitting member 150 may be disposed on the front surface of the sensor.

  The heat exchanger 102 has a plurality of heat transfer tubes 102a, and heats the indoor air taken into the indoor unit 100 by the blower fan 103 with the refrigerant flowing through the heat transfer tubes 102a to cool the air. Or it is comprised so that it may heat. The heat transfer tube 102a communicates with the above-described refrigerant pipe and constitutes a part of a known refrigerant cycle. The blower fan 103 can adjust the wind speed. The left and right wind direction plates 104 are rotated forward and backward by the left and right wind direction plate motors, with the base end of the rotation shaft provided at the lower part of the indoor unit as a fulcrum. And the front end side of the left and right wind direction plate 104 faces the indoor side, so that the front end side of the left and right wind direction plate 104 can operate in a horizontal direction. The up-and-down wind direction plate 105 is rotated forward and backward by the up-and-down wind direction plate motor with the rotation shafts provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the indoor unit 100 as fulcrums. Thereby, the front end side of the vertical wind direction plate 105 can be operated so as to swing in the vertical direction. The front panel 106 is installed so as to cover the front surface of the indoor unit, and can be rotated forward and backward by the front panel motor with the rotation axis at the lower end as a fulcrum. Incidentally, the front panel 106 may be fixed to the lower end of the indoor unit 100 without rotating.

  When the blower fan 103 rotates, the indoor unit 100 takes indoor air into the indoor unit 100 through the air suction port 107 and the filter 108, and heat-exchanges this air with the heat exchanger 102. Thereby, the air after the heat exchange is cooled by the heat exchanger 102 or heated. The air after the heat exchange is guided to the blowing air passage 109a. Further, the air guided to the blowout air passage 109a is sent out from the air blowout port 109b to the outside of the indoor unit, and air is conditioned in the room. When the air is blown into the room from the air outlet 109 b after the heat exchange, the horizontal wind direction is adjusted by the left and right wind direction plates 104, and the vertical wind direction is adjusted by the upper and lower wind direction plates 105.

<Outdoor unit>
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment. The outdoor unit 200 of the air conditioner A (see FIG. 1) includes a compressor 202 that compresses the refrigerant, an expansion valve that decompresses the high-pressure refrigerant, a four-way valve that switches the refrigerant flow path, and heat exchange between the outside air and the refrigerant. A device such as a heat exchanger 206 is provided. The outdoor unit 200 divides (divides) the heat exchanger chamber 204 and the machine chamber 205 by the partition plate 211, the electrical component box 210, and the lead wire support component 209. In the heat exchanger chamber 204, a propeller fan 207 that promotes heat exchange with the outside air of the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant piping, a motor for driving the propeller fan, a fan column that rotatably supports the propeller fan 207, and the outside air circulate. A heat exchanger 206 that performs heat exchange of the refrigerant is disposed. In the machine room 205, a compressor 202 that converts a circulating refrigerant into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant, an electric expansion valve that converts a normal-temperature / high-pressure liquid refrigerant into a low-temperature / low-pressure liquid refrigerant, a reactor for an electrical component, and a refrigerant flow. A heat transfer tube of refrigerant piping is provided. The electrical component box 210 stores electrical components for controlling the outdoor unit 200, and an electrical component lid is placed on the electrical component box 210.

<Remote control>
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an appearance of a remote control of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment. Reference is made to FIG. 8 as appropriate. The remote controller 40 is operated by the user and transmits an infrared signal to the remote control receiver Q (see FIG. 1) of the indoor unit 100. The contents of the signal are various commands such as an operation request, a change in set temperature, a timer, an operation mode change, and a stop request. The air conditioner A (see FIG. 1) can perform at least indoor cooling, heating, dehumidification, and the like based on these signals. Moreover, you may provide other air conditioning functions, such as air purification. The air conditioner A can adjust indoor air variously.

  On the display screen 41 of the remote controller 40, a message 42 indicating whether or not the foot airflow described with reference to FIG. 19 is being executed is displayed. Specifically, the display contents include an airflow above the obstacle in addition to the airflow at the foot.

  By pressing the automatic operation button 43, based on the detection result of the sensor unit 50 (see FIG. 5), automatic operation for automatically selecting cooling, heating, dehumidification, etc. and adjusting the set temperature and the like is started. Further, in the present embodiment, by pressing the automatic operation button 43, the execution of the obstacle detection unit 65 and the pass-through availability detection unit 66 is started and reflected in the wind direction control. Therefore, the user can start driving with a single operation, and there is no need to separately operate the obstacle detection unit 65 and the pass / fail detection unit 66.

  In the present embodiment, the obstacle detection unit 65 and the pass-through detection unit 66 are not executed even when the automatic operation button 43 is pressed by a button (not shown) inside the remote controller 40, or the wind direction based on these detection results. It can be operated so that control is not executed.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, in addition to the automatic operation button 43, a foot airflow button 44 (operation unit, 3D foot airflow button) is provided exclusively. In the present embodiment, the foot airflow button 44 is provided on the surface of the remote control 40 so that the user can easily start the foot airflow operation even for a user who starts operation with a heating operation button or the like. That is, in the present embodiment, at least the foot airflow button 44 can start the wind direction control based on the detection results of the human detection unit 62, the wall detection unit 64, the obstacle detection unit 65, and the pass / fail detection unit 66. The foot airflow button 44 may be disposed inside the remote controller 40.

  In the present embodiment, the foot airflow button 44 and the floor plan airflow button 45 are arranged under the stop button as dedicated buttons for frequently used functions. Incidentally, the floor plan airflow button 45 is a button for detecting a floor plan in the room by the imaging unit 110 and starting a swing operation in accordance with the floor plan.

<Sensor part>
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a sensor unit of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment. The sensor unit 50 is provided in the indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 200. The sensor unit 50 includes a room temperature sensor, a temperature detection unit 130 (see FIG. 1) that detects the surface temperature of a person, an object, and a room, an outside air temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a refrigerant pipe temperature sensor, a compressor temperature sensor, and an imaging unit 110 ( 1), and is constituted by a clock or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the imaging unit 110 is installed in the lower part of the center of the front panel 106 in the left-right direction.

  When the temperature detection unit 130 is a thermopile, for example, the horizontal and vertical directions are configured by 1 × 1 pixel, 4 × 4 pixel, and 1 × 8 pixel, and are installed at the lower part of the front panel 106 at the center in the left-right direction. In addition, an infrared sensor, a near infrared sensor, and a thermography may be used. What is detected by the temperature detection unit 130 is not limited to the average surface temperature in the room, and within the detection range, the surface temperature of the room in the region excluding the person, the surface temperature of the clothes of the person, the temperature of the skin of the person, It may be the floor surface temperature.

<Imaging unit>
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging unit having a visible light cut filter according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram of the imaging unit 110 as viewed from above. As the imaging unit 110, an imaging unit capable of imaging visible light and near infrared rays is used. Conventionally, in an image pickup unit for detecting a person or the like, an infrared cut filter is attached inside the image pickup unit, but in this embodiment, it is not attached in order not to cut near infrared rays. The visible light cut filter 112 is disposed around the imaging unit main body 111, and the visible light cut filter 112 is rotated and moved in front of the imaging unit main body 111.

  Specifically, the imaging unit 110 includes an annular visible light cut filter 112 having an opening 113 around an imaging unit main body 111 that is a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor. The visible light cut filter 112 can be rotated around the imaging unit main body 111 by a filter motor 114 via a filter gear 115 (filter moving mechanism). Thereby, when performing normal imaging, it is possible to take an image without passing through the visible light cut filter 112 by taking an image through the opening 113 of the visible light cut filter 112. On the other hand, when detecting an object to be described later, the visible light cut filter 112 can be rotated and driven in conjunction with the imaging unit main body 111 via the visible light cut filter 112. Further, if necessary, the near-infrared light source 120 (see FIG. 1) is turned on before photographing, and the near-infrared reflected light can be imaged more clearly by irradiating the near-infrared light.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a wavelength range when an image is captured through a visible light cut filter. Ultraviolet rays and visible light are cut, and imaging can be performed using a wavelength region in the vicinity of near infrared rays (for example, 850 nm). Near-infrared light is characterized in that only the shape of the object is reflected without reflecting the color or pattern of the object. As a result, the shape of the object can be clearly captured. Also, since no color information is used, the amount of information required on the image is reduced, leading to an improvement in accuracy when detecting an object.

  FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the movement of the imaging unit in the horizontal direction and the viewing angle. With reference to FIG. 30, the movement of the imaging unit 110 in the horizontal direction and the viewing angle will be described. FIG. 30 is a conceptual view of the indoor unit 100 and the room in which the indoor unit 100 is provided as viewed from the vertically upper side. The upper side of FIG. 30 is the wall side to which the indoor unit 100 is attached, and the lower side is It becomes a space on the front side of the indoor unit 100 to which the indoor unit 100 is attached.

  In this example, the viewing angle in the horizontal direction of the imaging unit 110 is approximately 60 °. Therefore, if an image is picked up by the image pickup unit 110 when the horizontal direction of the image pickup unit 110 is in front (direction 311), an indoor image in the range 312 indicated by the arrow can be picked up. Further, if the direction of the imaging unit 110 is moved to the right by 45 degrees toward the indoor unit 100 from the direction 311 and imaging is performed in the direction of the direction 313, an indoor image in the range 314 of the arrow can be captured. Furthermore, if the direction of the imaging unit 110 is moved leftward from the direction 311 toward the indoor unit 100 by 45 °, for example, and imaging is performed in the direction of the direction 315, an indoor image in the range 316 indicated by the arrow can be captured. Thereby, in this example, the room in which the indoor unit 100 is installed can be imaged with a viewing angle of about 150 ° in total. Further, the arrow range 312 and the arrow range 314 may partially overlap (a range of about 15 °) to obtain an image. Similarly, the arrow range 312 and the arrow range 316 partially (about 15). ° Range) Overlapping images can be acquired. In order to capture an indoor image with the viewing angle of about 150 °, the orientation of the imaging unit 110 may be changed in the horizontal direction in the range from the direction 313 to the direction 315. The indoor corner detected by the wall detector 64 (see FIG. 8) is indicated as a corner 373. Other symbols will be described later.

<Control unit>
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment. The control unit 60 is provided in the electrical component. The control unit 60 drives the blower fan 103, the left and right wind direction plates 104, and the up and down wind direction plate 105 of the indoor unit 100 based on information from the remote controller 40 via the transmission / reception unit 47 and information from the sensor unit 50, and the outdoor unit 200. The compressor 202 and the propeller fan 207 are driven.

  The control unit 60 is based on an imaging control unit 61 (see FIGS. 30 and 31) that controls the imaging unit 110 in a first imaging mode and a second imaging mode described later, and an image captured by the imaging unit 110. A human detection unit 62 (see FIGS. 32 and 33) for detecting the position of a person in the room, and a foot detection unit 63 for detecting the position of the foot from the detected position of the human foot or the characteristics of the foot (see FIG. 16 to FIG. 16). 18) and a wall detector 64 (see FIGS. 34 to 39) that detects the wall position of the room based on the image taken by the imaging unit 110, and the imaging unit 110 via the visible light cut filter 112. Based on the captured near-infrared image, an obstacle detection unit 65 (see FIGS. 10 and 11) for detecting an object and its position (position of the obstacle) that are obstacles in the path through which the airflow passes, and obstacle detection Obstacles detected by the section 65 pass through the airflow A pass-through detection unit 66 (see FIGS. 12 to 14) that detects whether or not the shape of a person can be detected, and a case where the foot detection unit 63 cannot detect a person's feet (for example, in the case of step S191 in FIG. 19) The air flow control unit 68 (see FIGS. 16 to 21) that changes the direction of the air flow to be blown based on the presence or absence of an obstacle and whether or not the obstruction has a shape that passes through the air flow, and a storage unit 69.

<Imaging control unit>
FIG. 31 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the imaging control unit. With reference to FIG. 30, the imaging process of the imaging control part 61 is demonstrated. Indoor imaging by the imaging unit 110 is performed every predetermined time t1 (for example, one hour). That is, the imaging control unit 61 (see FIG. 8) drives the attachment member by controlling the stepping motor when the predetermined time t1 has elapsed since the end of the imaging process by the previous imaging unit 110 (processing S1, Yes). Thus, for example, the movement of the imaging unit 110 in the horizontal direction is started at a constant angular velocity (processing S2). This operation starts from the direction 318 shown in FIG. 30 toward the direction 317, for example. Then, when the orientation of the imaging unit 110 reaches the direction 315 (processing S3, Yes), the imaging control unit 61 pauses as necessary and performs imaging with the imaging unit 110. ”(Left screen) is stored in the storage unit 69 (see FIG. 8) (processing S4). Next, when the orientation of the imaging unit 110 reaches the direction 311 (processing S5, Yes), the imaging control unit 61 pauses as necessary and performs imaging with the imaging unit 110. It is stored in the storage unit 69 as “image” (medium screen) (processing S6). Next, when the direction of the imaging unit 110 reaches the direction 313 (processing S7, Yes), the imaging control unit 61 pauses and captures images with the imaging unit 110 as necessary. It is stored in the storage unit 69 as “image” (right screen) (processing S8).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 30, when the orientation of the imaging unit 110 reaches the direction 313, the rotation direction of the stepping motor is reversed to change the horizontal orientation of the imaging unit 110 from the direction 313 toward the direction 318. Is started (step S9). While the imaging unit 110 is moving from the direction 313 toward the direction 318, imaging by the imaging unit 110 is not performed. When the direction of the imaging unit 110 returns to the direction 315 (processing S10, Yes), the time is stored in the storage unit 69, the stepping motor is stopped (processing S11), and the process returns. The time may be stored after the image data is stored in the storage unit 69 as the “right image” (step S8).

  Further, the imaging control unit 61 (see FIG. 8) controls the imaging unit 110 (see FIG. 6) including the visible light cut filter 112 and the imaging unit main body 111 that images the room. At this time, the imaging control unit 61 includes the first imaging mode in which the imaging unit main body 111 captures the room with the visible light cut filter 112 positioned in front of the imaging unit main body 111, and the visible light cut filter 112. A second imaging mode in which the imaging unit main body 111 images the room without being positioned in front of the imaging unit main body 111.

<Human detection unit>
The human detection unit 62 (see FIG. 8) determines the position of a person in the room based on an image photographed by the imaging unit 110 (photographed in the first photographing mode) via the visible light cut filter 112 (see FIG. 6). To detect. In addition to the imaging unit 110, an infrared sensor, a near infrared sensor, a thermography, a pyroelectric sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and a noise sensor may be used. What is detected by the person detection unit 62 is not limited to the presence or absence of a person, and the position, activity amount, life scene, and the like may be detected.

  The position of the person detects the position of the person's head or the like from the image captured by the imaging unit 110, and uses the position of the head as the position of the person. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in addition to the position of the person, the position of the person's feet is also detected.

<Foot detection unit>
The foot detection unit 63 (see FIG. 8) may directly detect the position of the person's foot based on the image captured by the imaging unit 110 of the position of the person's foot. The position of the person's head or the like detected by the person detection unit 62 may be detected, and the position of the person's foot may be estimated from the position of the person's head or the like. Details will be described later with reference to FIGS.

<Wall detector>
The wall detection unit 64 (see FIG. 8) extracts edges in the image based on the image photographed by the imaging unit 110 without the visible light cut filter 112 (photographed in the second photographing mode), and is thick and long. Edges are extracted, straight lines are extended, intersections are created, and the center of gravity at the intersection is the vanishing point. Thus, the wall detection unit 64 detects the corner 373 in the room, makes the detected corner 373 (see FIG. 30) a tangent line between the wall and the wall or the wall and the ceiling or the wall and the floor, and the wall or ceiling or floor in the room. The position of the surface is detected.

  Note that the position of the person detected by the person detection unit 62 may be accumulated, and the detection result of the corner 373 may be supplemented based on the accumulated value of the person's position. That is, because the indoor wall exists outside the accumulated value of the person's position and the indoor wall does not exist inside the accumulated value of the person's position, the indoor wall is the accumulated value of the person's position. If detected at a position inside, the detection result may be excluded. Details will be described later with reference to FIGS. 38 and 39.

<Obstacle detection unit>
The obstacle detection unit 65 (see FIG. 8) is configured to detect an object that becomes an obstacle on a path through which an air flow passes, from an image photographed by the imaging unit 110 via the visible light cut filter 112 (photographed in the first photographing mode). The position is detected. Specifically, it detects furniture, such as tables, kotatsu, chairs, sofas, bookshelves, cupboards, baskets, walls, floors, ceilings, doors, windows, small beams, fittings between columns, etc. in the room. Details will be described later with reference to FIG.

<Passthrough detection unit>
The pass / fail detection unit 66 (see FIG. 8) detects the luminance below the object detected by the obstacle detection unit 65. If the luminance is high, it is estimated that there is an object that reflects near-infrared light. For example, it can be estimated that the foot of the object can pass through. In addition to this, there are the following as specific passage determining means for various objects.

(1) Method using the center of gravity of an object (see FIG. 12)
The passage passability detection unit 66 determines whether the furniture is leg-long furniture or leg-short furniture based on the height L of the center of gravity from the lower end of the object detected by the obstacle detection unit 65 and the height H of the object. To do. Specifically, the passage detection unit 66 determines that the furniture is leg-length furniture when the ratio of the height L of the center of gravity of the object to the height H of the object is a predetermined value (for example, 70%) or more. Is estimated to be able to pass through. Further, the pass-through availability detection unit 66 determines that the furniture is leg short furniture when the ratio of the height L of the center of gravity position of the object to the height H of the object is less than a predetermined value, and estimates that the air current cannot pass through. Details will be described later with reference to FIG.

(2) Method using accumulated area of object (see FIG. 13)
The pass-through permission / inhibition detection unit 66 has a ratio of the total area of the object from the lower end of the object detected by the obstacle detection unit 65 to the predetermined height M in the total area, and an object having the predetermined height M from the lower end of the object. Based on the ratio to the height H, it is determined whether the furniture is long leg furniture or short leg furniture. Specifically, the area of the object is accumulated from the lower end of the object, and a height at which the accumulated area reaches, for example, 30% (= predetermined value) of the total area of the object is defined as M. When the ratio of the height M to the height H of the object is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (for example, 50%), the pass-through availability detection unit 66 determines that the furniture is leg-length furniture and estimates that the airflow can pass through. Further, when the ratio of the height M from the lower end of the object to the height H of the object is less than the predetermined value when the integrated area with respect to the total area of the object is less than the predetermined value, Judge and estimate that the airflow cannot pass through. Details will be described later with reference to FIG.

  As described in the present embodiment, when the proportion of the area of the object occupying a predetermined range in the image is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the passage allowance detection unit 66 estimates that the foot of the object can pass through. It is possible to estimate the extent that the air cannot pass through when the air is blown in the direction. It is possible to reduce the amount of heat supplied per unit time for an object that cannot pass through. In addition, it is possible to increase the amount of heat supplied per unit time in the direction in which it can pass through, and to improve comfort.

  FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a process for determining whether or not an object is an obstacle, and (a) and (b) show objects of different sizes. Whether or not the object is an obstacle may be determined by, for example, the width, height, or area of the object. For example, when determining by the width of the object, if it is less than a predetermined value, it is determined that the object is not an obstacle on the path through which the air current passes. judge.

  The obstacle may be determined based on the size of the object and the distance from the indoor unit 100 to the object. Specifically, the absolute value of the area, width or height of the object is calculated from the area of the object screen and the distance to the object, and based on whether the area, width or height of the object is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. Thus, it may be determined whether or not the object is an obstacle.

  A case where the area is determined will be described with reference to FIG. Let X be the total width of an indoor image captured by the image capturing unit 110, and let Y be the total height. The horizontal width of an object in the image is x, and the vertical width is y. Whether or not the object is an obstacle is determined as not an obstacle on the path through which the airflow passes when the area of the object with respect to the area of the entire screen is less than a predetermined value (for example, 8%), and the object with respect to the area of the entire screen If the area is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, it may be determined as an obstacle on the path through which the airflow passes.

  In the case of FIG. 15A, if x / X is 20% and y / Y is 15%, the area of the object is 3% with respect to the area of the entire screen, and it is determined that the object is not an obstacle on the path through which the airflow passes. Is done. On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 15B, the area of the object with respect to the area of the entire screen is 10%, and is determined as an obstacle on the path through which the airflow passes.

  If it is attempted to determine whether or not the wind can pass through all objects, the processing time of the microcomputer constituting the control unit 60 becomes longer. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an object having a size that affects the passage of wind is determined. Like to do. That is, when an object is detected, it is determined whether the length in the vertical direction, the length in the horizontal direction, or both are greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and objects with a predetermined value or less such as a small trash can are excluded from detection targets To do. By doing so, the processing speed of the microcomputer can be improved.

Next, processing contents will be described.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an overall outline of the processing of the control unit. When the driving is started, the control unit 60 detects a person (process S91), and detects a person's foot (process S92), thereby grasping the position of the person. When one hour has not elapsed since the measurement (No in process S93), the process returns to process S91. When 1 hour has passed since the measurement (step S93, Yes), the control unit 60 performs object detection including a pass-through detection process (step S94). After the object detection process, a person is detected again (process S95), an indoor corner is detected (process S96), a person is detected (process S97), and finally the opening / closing of the partition is detected (process S98). Then, a series of processing is completed. The size of the room is determined based on the position of the person and the corner detection by the processing of processing S95 to processing S98. In the present embodiment, the position of a person is grasped based on an image photographed by the imaging unit 110. However, instead of the imaging unit 110, a temperature detection unit 130 or a pyroelectric infrared sensor is used. You may make it grasp | ascertain a position.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the imaging control unit, the obstacle detection unit, and the pass-through availability detection unit. FIG. 10 is a detailed process of process S94 of FIG. The process of FIG. 10 is the process of the control unit 60, and the main components of the imaging control unit 61, the obstacle detection unit 65, and the pass-through availability detection unit 66 will be described clearly.

  The obstacle detection unit 65 determines whether or not sunlight is radiated indoors (the presence or absence of sunlight) (processing S901). The determination of the obstacle detection unit 65 may be performed when the light source is detected and sunlight is not entering the room, or when the amount of sunlight entering the room is equal to or less than a predetermined value. This is because near-infrared rays are also included in sunlight, and therefore, when sunlight enters from a window, there is a risk of erroneous detection if there is an object at the location irradiated with sunlight. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the light source is detected and executed when the sunlight does not enter the room or when the amount of sunlight entering the room is a predetermined value or less. As another method for determining the presence / absence of sunlight, the object detection mode may be executed in a time zone in which the sun does not appear depending on the time zone without identifying the light source itself. It is desirable that the light source identification can be performed because there is a possibility that the object cannot be detected when the user sets an incorrect time zone, and there is a possibility that the object detection may be erroneously detected by the incandescent lamp. .

  The imaging control unit 61 moves so as to apply the visible light cut filter 112 to the opening 113 (see FIG. 6) (processing S902). Then, the imaging control unit 61 moves the imaging unit 110 to an initial imaging position (for example, the imaging position on the left screen) (processing S903), turns on the near-infrared light source 120 (see FIG. 1), and irradiates near-infrared light. (Near-infrared irradiation ON) (processing S904). The imaging control unit 61 images (captures) the room (processing S905), turns off the near-infrared light source 120, and stops near-infrared irradiation (near-infrared irradiation OFF) (processing S906).

  The obstacle detection unit 65 determines the presence / absence of an object (see FIG. 11) (processing S907). Then, the pass / fail detection unit 66 performs pass-through estimation for the object detected by the obstacle detection unit 65 (see FIG. 12 and FIG. 13) (step S908).

  Next, the imaging control unit 61 determines whether or not shooting in the three directions of the left screen, the middle screen, and the right screen has ended (processing S909), and when shooting in the three directions has not ended (processing S909, No), the process returns to step S903. On the other hand, when the photographing in the three directions has been completed (step S909, Yes), the imaging control unit 61 moves the visible light cut filter 112 to the original position (step S910).

  In the control flow of FIGS. 9 and 10, in particular, the object detection process (obstacle detection process, object detection mode) and the pass / fail detection are performed when the automatic operation button 43 (see FIG. 4) of the remote controller 40 is pressed. However, the object detection mode is executed at regular intervals. In the case of this embodiment, it is executed every hour. Note that the object detection mode may be executed by a button different from the automatic operation button 43 (see FIG. 4).

  In the object detection mode executed by the obstacle detection unit 65, the imaging unit 110 having the visible light cut filter 112 is used. In addition, when increasing the object detection accuracy, a near infrared light source 120 (for example, a near infrared LED (Light Emitting Diode)) is also used as necessary. As described above, the imaging unit 110 drives in the left-right direction in the same way as normal imaging, and images the room. The near-infrared light source 120 irradiates the room immediately before imaging by the imaging unit 110, and ends the irradiation when imaging by the imaging unit 110 is completed. By irradiating the near-infrared light source 120 only at the timing of imaging by the imaging unit 110, the lifetime of the near-infrared light source 120 is longer than when the near-infrared light source 120 continues to irradiate near-infrared light during the object detection mode. Can be extended.

  In the present embodiment, since the imaging unit 110 performs imaging three times in the left direction, the middle direction, and the right direction, the near-infrared light source 120 also performs irradiation three times in accordance with the timing of imaging by the imaging unit 110. Then, the image captured by the obstacle detection unit 65 is processed to detect the shape of an object such as furniture.

  Here, normally, when extracting the shape of an object, there is a possibility that the exact shape of the object cannot be extracted due to the color or pattern of the object. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the visible light cut filter 112 is moved to be positioned in front of the imaging unit 110 and the near-infrared light source 120 is irradiated in the object detection mode. Near-infrared light is characterized in that only the shape of the object is reflected without reflecting the color or pattern of the object. By making use of this feature of near infrared rays, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection due to the color and pattern of the object and to detect the shape of the object more accurately. By increasing the detection accuracy in this way, it is possible to accurately determine whether the object has a shape that allows wind to pass through, such as a table with a leg or a chair, or a shape that prevents wind from passing through, such as a sofa.

  In the object detection mode of the present embodiment, the imaging control unit 61 may irradiate the near-infrared light source 120 having a wavelength peak near about 850 nm. The captured image appears white as near infrared rays are reflected in the direction of the imaging unit 110, and appears black so as not to be reflected in the direction of the imaging unit 110. In general, wood, cloth, metal, paper, and the like existing in a living space have a rough surface, and near infrared rays are diffusely reflected on the surface. By imaging near infrared rays reflected in the direction of the imaging unit 110 by diffuse reflection, it is possible to detect that the reflecting object exists in the reflected direction. For this reason, by irradiating the near-infrared light source 120, it is possible to cover materials of furniture that are generally present in the room, and it is possible to obtain high detection accuracy.

  Note that near-infrared light having a peak in the vicinity of about 850 nm by the near-infrared light source 120 includes visible light. Therefore, when the near-infrared light source 120 is turned on, the near-infrared light source 120 looks red. For this reason, the display part which displays whether it is lighting or not becomes unnecessary, and it becomes possible to reduce cost.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a determination process for the presence or absence of an object in the obstacle detection unit. The obstacle detection unit 65 divides the image captured by the imaging control unit 61 into a matrix and manages each divided region as a cell. For example, the matrix 1101 is an image matrix viewed from the indoor unit 100 side of the air conditioner A, and will be described as 5 vertical cells × 10 horizontal cells. The position of each cell corresponds to the position in the case of controlling the left / right wind direction and the up / down wind direction.

  The obstacle detection unit 65 determines whether or not an object exists from the luminance value of the image. The numerical value in each cell indicates the ratio of the area occupied by the object in each cell by 1 to 5. Specifically, it is “1” for an occupied area of 0 to less than 20%, and “2” for an occupied area of 20 to less than 40%.

  The obstacle detection unit 65 performs detection a plurality of times in order to determine whether the object is an object such as furniture that is always installed indoors or is an object that is temporarily placed. Specifically, the image is taken once per hour, and the shape of the object is specified by majority decision among the detection results a predetermined number of times (for example, 10 times). For example, when it is determined that the object is an object from six detection results out of ten times, it is recognized as an always-installed object and its shape is specified.

  In the example shown in FIG. 11, a matrix 1120 that is a majority decision result is shown based on ten detection results of the matrix 1101,. In this case, objects are detected in the second to fourth columns from the left, and similarly, objects are detected in the second and third columns from the right.

  FIGS. 12A and 12B are explanatory diagrams showing determination processing using the center of gravity of the object of the passage pass / fail detection unit, where FIG. 12A is an example of the center of gravity position of the object, and FIG. 12B is a determination example using the center of gravity of the object. FIG. FIG. 12A shows the position of the center of gravity of the object, and the pass-through permission / inhibition detection unit 66 is based on the height H of the object from the bottom of the object and the height L of the position of the center of gravity. However, it is determined whether or not the airflow can pass through or the shape.

  Specifically, the passage detection unit 66 determines that the furniture is leg-length furniture when the ratio of the height L of the center of gravity of the object to the height H of the object is a predetermined value (for example, 70%) or more. Is estimated to be able to pass through. Further, the pass-through availability detection unit 66 determines that the furniture is leg short furniture when the ratio of the height L of the center of gravity position of the object to the height H of the object is less than a predetermined value, and estimates that the air current cannot pass through. That is, when the height L of the center of gravity of the object is compared with the height H of the object, and the height L of the center of gravity of the object is greater than or equal to a predetermined ratio with respect to the height H of the object, It is determined that the shape can pass through.

  In FIG. 12B, the determination result for the cell detected in FIG. 11 (occupied area symbol is 2 to 5) is “1” when the passage is possible and “2” when the passage is impossible. Have been described. A matrix 1220 that is the result of the majority decision is shown based on 10 determination results of the matrix 1201,. In this case, it is determined that the objects detected from the second column to the fourth column from the left cannot pass through. On the other hand, it is determined that the objects detected in the second and third columns from the right can pass through.

  FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a determination process using the accumulated area of the object of the passage detection unit, (a) is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the height from the lower end and the accumulated area, and (b) is an illustration of the object. It is a figure which shows the example of determination using an integration area. In the case of the object on the left side of FIG. 13A, the height from the lower end and the integrated area have a substantially linear relationship, whereas in the case of the object on the right side of FIG. 13B, the height from the lower end and the integrated area. Is not in a linear relationship.

  Specifically, the area of the object is accumulated from the lower end of the object, and a height at which the accumulated area reaches, for example, 30% (= predetermined value) of the total area of the object is defined as M. When the ratio of the height M to the height H of the object is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 50%), the pass-through availability detection unit 66 determines that the furniture is leg-length furniture and estimates that the airflow can pass through. . Further, when the ratio of the height M from the lower end of the object to the height H of the object is less than the predetermined value when the integrated area with respect to the total area of the object is less than the predetermined value, Judge and estimate that the airflow cannot pass through.

  In FIG. 13B, the determination result for the cell detected in FIG. 11 (the occupied area symbol is 2 to 5) is “1” when the passage is possible and “2” when the passage is impossible. Have been described. A matrix 1320 that is the result of the majority decision is shown based on the 10 determination results of the matrix 1301,. In this case, it is determined that the objects detected from the second column to the fourth column from the left cannot pass through. On the other hand, it is determined that the objects detected in the second and third columns from the right can pass through.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the ratio of the integrated area depending on the height from the lower end of various furniture. The horizontal axis indicates the ratio of the distance from the lower end to the upper end, and the vertical axis indicates the ratio of the integrated area from the lower end to the total area. From the results shown in FIG. 14, in the case of furniture of (1), (3), and (5), it can be seen that the ratio of the distance from the lower end to the upper end and the ratio of the integrated area are monotonically proportional. On the other hand, the furniture of (2), (4), and (6) has a parabolic relationship convex downward.

  The furniture (1) is short leg furniture, and similarly, the furniture (5) is short leg furniture (sofa). It can be seen that the furniture (chair) of (3) has an area of a wheel portion at the foot and obstructs the flow of airflow. According to the result of FIG. 14, whether or not the shape is such that the airflow passes through the foot depending on whether or not the ratio of the integrated plane line is 30% and the ratio of the distance from the lower end to the upper end is 50% or more. It can be seen that This result is the same as that shown in the determination of FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the entire process of foot detection. With reference to FIG. 16, the detailed process of process S91 of FIG. 9 and process S92 is demonstrated. The near-infrared light source 120 (see FIG. 1) is turned on and the near-infrared light is irradiated (near-infrared irradiation ON) (processing S921). The imaging control unit 61 images (captures) the room (processing S922), turns off the near-infrared light source 120, and stops near-infrared irradiation (near-infrared irradiation OFF) (processing S923).

The person detection unit 62 detects a person in the room (process S924) and calculates the amount of movement of the person (process S925). The movement amount calculation unit, which is a child processing unit of the human detection unit 62, is based on the position and size of the human body detected by the human detection unit 62 or the change in position and size of the detected face over time. The amount of movement of the room person associated with the labeling value is calculated. Then, the movement amount calculation unit associates the calculated movement amount with the labeling value and outputs it to the activity amount calculation unit that is a child processing unit of the person detection unit 62. The activity amount calculation unit calculates the activity amount of the person based on the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation unit. Note that the “movement amount” means a distance estimated that a person in the room has moved within a predetermined time in a real-world space. The “activity amount” means a metabolic amount [W / m ² ] per unit surface area of the human body and has a positive correlation with the amount of movement. The movement amount calculation unit and the activity amount calculation unit are described in detail in JP2013-253717A.

  The person detection unit 62 determines whether or not the detected movement amount of the person is greater than or equal to a predetermined value and whether or not there is a movement (processing S926). When the detected movement amount of the person is equal to or larger than the predetermined value (processing S926, large), the foot detection unit 63 estimates the foot region by the difference method (processing S927, see FIG. 17A). On the other hand, when the detected movement amount of the person is less than the predetermined value (processing S926, small), the foot detection unit 63 estimates the foot region by the region division method (see processing S928, FIG. 17B). If there is no motion (processing S926, no), the person detection unit 62 determines whether there is n movement (processing S929). If there is no movement n (processing S929, Yes), the detected person is a person. For example, it is determined that it is a poster (processing S930, poster determination). If less than n times (No in process S929), the process returns to process S921. Details of the process S930 will be described later.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a difference method and a region division method for foot detection, where (a) is a difference method and (b) is a region division method. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a difference method and a region division method for foot detection.

  In the case of the difference method shown in FIG. 17A, the foot detection unit 63 detects a difference between the captured image captured this time and the captured image captured last time and creates a difference image (processing S701), and the difference between the difference images. Among the regions, a difference region including a region detected by a person is detected and determined as a human region (processing S702). Then, the foot detection unit 63 estimates the foot region from the human region (processing S703).

  In the example of FIG. 18A, the previously captured image is the image 801, and the captured image captured this time is the image 802. The difference between the image 801 and the image 802 is an image 803, and the contour of a person is detected.

  In the case of the region division method shown in FIG. 17B, the foot detection unit 63 divides the region of the captured image captured this time by color tone, shading, etc. (processing S711), and extracts a region in which a person is detected from the divided region. (Process S712), the foot area is estimated from the human area (Process S713).

  In the example of FIG. 18B, the captured image captured this time is 811, and the face in the captured image is recognized as the region 810. As shown in an image 812, the foot detection unit 63 traces the outline of the body from the recognized face and detects it as a lump (divides the region). In the image 813, the outline of a person is detected from the divided areas.

Of the human region in the image detected by the difference method or the region division method, a portion satisfying at least one of the following items is determined as a foot.
(1) The lowermost part in the area (2) In the area, a part that is more than a predetermined distance away from the part that detected the head and face In the area (3) In the area, the area that is larger than the predetermined area from the part that detected the head and face The lowermost part of the part within the predetermined range with the foot estimated from the position where the head or face was detected in the remote part (4) region

  The predetermined distance, the predetermined area, and the like may be changed based on the distance of the detected person, the frequency of detecting the person, the movement amount or position of the person, and the like. In addition, when a person or foot is detected at a high frequency or higher in the past, the threshold for determining the foot is set low, and when a person or foot is detected at a frequency lower than the predetermined value in the past, it is determined as a foot. The threshold value may be set high. Moreover, a foot may be detected when only one of these items is satisfied, or a foot may be detected when a plurality of items are satisfied. The more items that need to be satisfied to detect a foot, the higher the accuracy of detection.

<Poster judgment>
Since the person detection unit 62 detects a person from the image obtained by the imaging unit 110, there is a possibility that a person or a figurine on a poster is erroneously detected as a person. On the other hand, since posters and figurines are not people, air conditioning based on their position and number is not sufficient for people who are actually in the room, such as excessive cooling or air blow to misdetected objects other than those in the room. It causes control that reduces comfort.

  The person detection unit 62 detects an object that is not an actual person, such as a poster or an ornament, as an object that is not a person based on the detected movement amount of the person. That is, when the detected amount of movement of the person reaches a predetermined value or less reaches a predetermined number of times, it is determined that a poster or figurine that is not a person is detected as a person, and is excluded from control targets. Alternatively, the person detection unit 62 may detect that a person who is not a person is detected as a person from the extent of the change area of the area in which the person is detected among the previously picked up image and the image picked up this time.

  The threshold value for determining a poster or figurine may be changed to a side where it is easier to determine that the person is not a person as the number of times the poster or figurine is determined increases. That is, what is frequently detected as a poster may be determined as a poster in a short time. On the other hand, for people whose detection results are a mixture of cases where the threshold value that is determined to be a person is reached and cases where the threshold value is not reached, the threshold value for determining that a poster is changed to a direction that makes it difficult for a person to be determined to be a poster. Also good.

<Airflow control unit>
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the airflow mode selection process of the airflow control unit. Referring to FIG. 19, the airflow control unit 68 uses the airflow mode during heating based on the processing results of the human detection unit 62, the foot detection unit 63, the wall detection unit 64, the obstacle detection unit 65, and the pass-through availability detection unit 66. A selection method will be described. The airflow control unit 68 determines whether or not the foot detection unit 63 has detected a foot (processing S191), and when the foot is detected (processing S191, Yes), selects a footing mode in which the airflow is directed toward the foot (step S191). Process S199). On the other hand, when the foot cannot be detected (No at Step S191), the airflow control unit 68 determines whether the person detection unit 62 has detected a person (Step S192), and when the person has been detected (Step S192, Yes). ), The obstacle detection unit 65 determines whether or not there is an obstacle in front of the person (processing S193).

  When there is an obstacle in front of the person (step S193, Yes), the airflow control unit 68 determines whether or not the passage possibility detection unit 66 can pass through the airflow (step S194). When the airflow can pass through (Yes in step S194), the airflow control unit 68 selects the downflow mode in which the airflow is directed below the obstacle (step S195). On the other hand, when it is not possible for airflow to pass through (No in step S194), the airflow control unit 68 selects the upper end airflow mode in which the airflow is directed toward the upper end of the obstacle (step S196).

  In process S193, when there is no obstacle in front of the person (process S193, No), the airflow control unit 68 selects a wind application mode for applying air to the person (process S197). Process S197 is a case where the foot mode cannot be selected because a person can be detected but a foot cannot be detected.

  In the process S192, when no person is detected (No in the process S192), the floor plan mode in which the wind direction is adjusted in accordance with the room layout is selected (process S198). For example, the floor plan mode is a mode in which the corner 373 (373a, 373b) detected by the wall detection unit 64 swings and winds.

  According to the present embodiment, the airflow control unit 68 determines whether or not there is an obstacle and whether the obstacle passes through the airflow when the foot detection unit 63 cannot detect a person's feet (No in step S191). Based on this, it is possible to change the direction of airflow to be blown (processing S195, S196, S197).

  In addition, the airflow control unit 68 detects the human foot (for example, when the human foot is hidden by the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit 65) and the airflow is below the obstacle. When it cannot pass through, an airflow can be blown to the upper end of an obstruction (process S196).

  Further, the airflow control unit 68 can blow the airflow below the obstacle when the human foot cannot be detected and when the airflow can pass under the obstacle (processing S195).

  FIG. 20 is a time chart showing the interlocking process between the left and right wind directions and the up and down wind directions of the airflow control unit. In the airflow mode selected in FIG. 19, the airflow control unit 68, while one of the left and right wind direction plates 104 and the upper and lower wind direction plates 105 swings one way within the range of swing (swing control). When the direction of the predetermined position in the room is reached, the other wind direction plate can be controlled to change to the direction of the predetermined position. Thereby, a wind direction can be appropriately blown to a plurality of predetermined positions in the room. For example, in FIG. 20, when a plurality of predetermined positions are positions P1, P2, and P3, the airflow control unit 68 controls the vertical airflow direction plate 105 to an angle of the vertical airflow direction corresponding to the position P1, and after reaching the position P1, The left and right wind direction plate 104 is controlled to the angle of the left and right wind direction corresponding to the position P1. The airflow control unit 68 controls the vertical airflow direction plate 105 to an angle of the vertical airflow direction corresponding to the position P2 after the left and right airflow direction plate 104 reaches the position P1. After the vertical wind direction plate 105 reaches the position P2, the air flow control unit 68 controls the left and right wind direction plate 104 to the angle of the left and right wind direction corresponding to the position P2. By repeating this, the wind direction can be intensively controlled for a plurality of predetermined positions.

  In FIG. 20, the control of the other wind direction plate is started after the left / right wind direction plate 104 or the upper / lower wind direction plate 105 reaches a predetermined position, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when one of the left and right wind direction plates 104 and the upper and lower wind direction plates 105 approaches a predetermined position in the room while swinging one way within the swing range, the other wind direction plate is You may change to the direction of the said predetermined position.

Specific examples are shown below.
<First embodiment>
FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a selection example of the airflow mode when a plurality of persons are detected in the room according to the first embodiment. FIG. 22 is a time chart showing the linkage between the left and right wind directions and the up and down wind directions. With reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, the wind direction of the swing when a plurality of persons are detected in the room will be described. In FIG. 21, as in FIG. 11, an image captured by the imaging control unit 61 is divided into matrices, and each divided area is shown as a cell. The matrix 2000 is an image matrix viewed from the indoor unit 100 side of the air conditioner A, and will be described as 5 vertical cells × 10 horizontal cells. The position of each cell corresponds to the position in the case of controlling the left / right wind direction and the up / down wind direction.

  The left and right wind direction setting positions are regions 1, 2, 3,..., 10 from the right side to the left side of the matrix 2000. Further, the setting positions of the up and down wind directions are regions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from the lower side to the upper side of the matrix 2000. Therefore, the lower right end of the matrix 2000 will be described as the cell position (1, 1), and the upper left end will be described as the cell position (10, 5).

  In the matrix 2000, three persons M1, M2, and M3 are detected. The furniture that is the obstacle F1 is in front of the person M1, and the furniture that is the obstacle F3 is in front of the person M3. . The step of the person M1 is not detected, and it is determined that the obstacle F1 cannot pass through the airflow. At this time, it is considered to control the wind direction during the heating operation. The default wind direction position of the vertical wind direction will be described as a position close to the indoor unit 100 (cell position (*, 1). Note that * corresponds to the left and right wind direction regions 1 to 10.

  In the present embodiment, as described above with reference to FIG. 20, the air flow control unit 68 employs a method of controlling the left and right wind directions and the up and down wind directions in conjunction with each other. That is, after the vertical wind direction reaches the predetermined position, the horizontal wind direction moves to the predetermined position. In addition, a method is adopted in which the vertical wind direction moves to a predetermined position after the horizontal wind direction reaches a predetermined position. When the predetermined position does not change, the movement starts after the movement time to the next cell has elapsed.

  Specifically, in the case of the person M1, in the process of FIG. 19, a foot is not detected, a person is detected, there is an obstacle, and it is impossible to pass through. Select. In this case, the cell position (9, 4) is a predetermined position as the wind direction position.

  In the case of the person M2, since the foot is detected in the process of FIG. 19, the air flow control unit 68 selects the foot mode. In this case, the cell position (6, 2) is used as the wind direction position. Similarly, in the case of the person M3, since the foot is detected, the airflow control unit 68 selects the foot mode. In this case, the cell position (3, 2) is used as the wind direction position.

  FIG. 22 is a time chart of the left and right wind direction and the up and down wind direction, and shows the wind direction position when swinging from the left end side of the matrix 2000 to the right end, turning back and swinging from the right end to the left end. Initially located at cell location (10, 1), and over time, cell locations (10, 4), (9, 4), (9, 1), (8, 1), (7, 1), ( 7, 2),... And the wind direction are sequentially controlled.

  The air conditioner A of the present embodiment has a left and right wind direction plate 104 that changes the airflow in the left and right direction and an up and down wind direction plate 105 that deflects the airflow in the up and down direction. When either one moves within a predetermined movement range and reaches a predetermined position on one way, the other position changes. The left / right wind direction plate 104 and the up / down wind direction plate 105 are controlled according to a matrix 2000 that is divided into 10 parts in the left / right direction and 5 parts in the up / down direction, for example. Specifically, the 10 divisions in the left and right direction mean the direction in which the left and right wind direction plate 104 faces, and the 5 divisions in the up and down direction means the direction in which the up and down wind direction plate 105 faces. When the up / down direction is selected one by one for all of the 10 divided directions in the left / right direction, and the left / right wind direction plate faces one of the 10 divided directions, the up / down direction in that direction is selected. The vertical wind direction plate 105 faces in the direction.

  It is not necessary to select all 10 divisions in the left-right direction, and a range narrower than the full width in the left-right direction may be set as the swing range. Also in the vertical direction, as in the horizontal direction, a range narrower than the full width in the vertical direction may be set as the swing range.

  The swing range in the left-right direction is 150 ° in total width, and the angle in each division direction becomes 15 ° by dividing into 10 parts. On the other hand, the swing range in the vertical direction is 50 °, and by dividing into 10 parts, the angle in each division direction becomes 10 °.

  When the swing of the left / right wind direction plate 104 is selected by the remote controller 40, the left / right wind direction plate 104 continuously moves one by one in each of the 10 divisions of the full width of the swing range. The same applies to the up / down wind direction plate 105, and the up / down wind direction plate 105 continuously moves one by one in each of the five divisions of the full width of the swing range. At this time, the left and right wind direction plates 104 and the upper and lower wind direction plates 105 are moved in relation to each other. For example, when performing swing control, cell positions (10, 1), (9, 2), (8, 3), (7, 4), (6, 5), (5, 5), (4, 4 ), (3, 3), (2, 2), (1, 1). By adopting such a movement, it is possible to create an environment where there is no temperature unevenness in the room both vertically and horizontally.

  The direction of the up / down wind direction plate 105 in each direction of the left / right wind direction plate 104, the direction of the left / right wind direction plate 104 in each direction of the up / down wind direction plate 105, and the swing range of the left / right wind direction plate 104 and / or the up / down wind direction plate 105 are The swing function may be determined in advance.

  On the other hand, the direction of the vertical wind direction plate 105 in each direction of the left and right wind direction plate 104, or the direction of the left and right wind direction plate 104 in each direction of the vertical wind direction plate 105, and the swing range of the left and right wind direction plate 104 and / or the vertical wind direction plate 105 are You may change with the output from the components of the air conditioner A, such as the sensor part 50 and the memory | storage part 69. FIG. That is, the range in which the left and right wind direction plates 104 and the upper and lower wind direction plates 105 move within the wind direction matrix 2000 may be changed by the output from the components of the air conditioner such as the sensor unit 50.

  In the present embodiment, when there is furniture that is an obstacle between a person and the indoor unit 100, even if a person can be detected by the person detection unit 62, the foot may not be detected by the foot detection unit 63. That is, even if the human detection unit 62 detects that there is a person, the lower half of the body is hidden behind the table, is in a kotatsu, or is in a state where the human body sitting on the sofa is detected from the back As a result, there is a case where the foot cannot be detected by the difference method or the region division method described in FIG. In that case, the comfort of the occupants can be enhanced by the following control.

  That is, when the feet are hidden by a table or the like and the wind cannot pass under the table, the air is blown to the lowermost region of the upper region of the table. In other words, within the range in which furniture that is an obstacle is between the person and the indoor unit 100 and the person's feet cannot be detected, the direction of the airflow is the wind direction in which the table can be moved upward regardless of the position of the person in the front-rear direction. It becomes the lowermost of the. On the other hand, when the wind can pass under the furniture and the person's feet are hidden behind the furniture and cannot be detected, the direction of the air is blown through the underside of the furniture, and the direction is within the range where the person's feet are hidden behind the furniture and cannot be detected. Is constant. Thereby, even when the foot cannot be detected, it is possible to improve the comfort by supplying warm air to the feet of the occupants and to prevent the warm air from feeling uncomfortable on the face.

  The airflow control unit 68 controls the air conditioner according to the output of the foot detection unit 63. In other words, the feet can be directly warmed toward the feet detected by the foot detection unit 63 during the heating operation. Further, by blowing air toward the feet, the floor near the feet is also warmed, and it becomes possible to enhance the comfort of the occupants who touch the feet there. In addition, by supplying warm air to the front side of the foot detected by the foot detection unit 63, warm air with a reduced velocity hitting the floor on the front side of the foot without causing a warm air flow directly to the body gives a feeling of air flow. It becomes possible to reduce and supply to a room occupant, and it becomes possible to improve the comfort of a room occupant.

  By controlling the up / down wind direction plate 105 and / or the left / right wind direction plate 104 based on the position of the foot detected by the foot detection unit 63, the comfort of the occupant as described above can be enhanced. Moreover, it becomes possible to improve the comfort of the occupant by changing the wind speed based on the position of the foot detected by the foot detector 63. That is, if the position of the foot is far, the rotational speed of the blower fan is increased and the wind speed is increased, so that the airflow can be reliably delivered to the foot. Further, when the position of the foot is biased to the right side or the left side instead of the front of the indoor unit 100, the wind speed decreases due to the deflection of the air flow by the left and right wind direction plates 104, so the rotation speed of the blower fan is increased and the wind speed is increased. This makes it possible to reliably deliver the airflow to the feet.

  In addition, the temperature detection unit 130 (see FIG. 1) detects the temperature of the foot or the temperature around the foot, so that the environment in which the foot touches promotes heat dissipation from the foot and cools the foot. Heat dissipation from the touching environment to the foot is promoted, and it is possible to determine whether the foot is warm. In other words, if the foot is in an environment where the feet are cold, the wind direction is directed toward the feet, the wind speed is increased, the wind direction time for supplying airflow to the feet is lengthened, and the set temperature is increased to warm the feet in the thermal environment near the feet. It becomes possible to change to the environment, and it becomes possible to improve the comfort of occupants.

  In the present embodiment, when the human detection unit 62 detects a person but the foot detection unit 63 cannot detect the foot, the position of the foot is estimated from the position of the person, and the wind direction, wind speed, and wind direction time are based on the estimated foot position. The blowing air temperature may be controlled.

  Further, when the furniture of the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit 65 is furniture that allows airflow to pass through the feet, and the furniture is between a person (resident) and the indoor unit 100, the feet of the resident Even when the foot detection unit 63 cannot detect the air, it is possible to blow the air under the furniture and supply warm air to the feet of the occupants, thereby improving the comfort of the occupants.

  Further, even when furniture that is an obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit 65 is located between a person (resident) and the indoor unit 100, the feet of the resident can be detected (for example, FIG. 21). In the case of the person M3), the detected furniture does not become an obstacle, and warm air can be directly blown to the occupants' feet. Further, even when there is furniture between the indoor unit 100 and the occupant, if there is a predetermined distance between the furniture and the occupant, the warm air is blown to the front side of the occupant's feet, Without being an obstacle, it becomes possible to supply warm air at a reduced velocity by hitting the floor to the occupant and improving the comfort of the occupant.

  Further, when a plurality of feet or a plurality of people in the room are detected in the room, the left and right wind direction plates 104 perform a swing operation while detecting a foot or a person or between the outer regions. The up-and-down wind direction plate 105 may be blown with reference to the foot of the nearest person.

In the present embodiment, the wind direction, the wind speed, the wind direction time, and the blown air temperature mean the following. 1 to 3 will be referred to as appropriate.
<Wind direction>
The wind direction is the direction of air blown out from the indoor unit 100 controlled by the up / down wind direction plate 105 and / or the left / right wind direction plate 104. In addition to being fixed in only one direction, control that continuously swings, swing control that pauses at a predetermined timing, swing control that swings only at a predetermined timing, and swing control that updates the swing range at a predetermined timing This refers to the wind direction that can be implemented by the up / down wind direction plate 105 and / or the left / right wind direction plate 104, such as control that is changed by sensor output of a person's position or foot position, and fluctuation control at a predetermined cycle of 1 / f. .

<Wind speed>
The wind speed refers to the speed of the air blown out from the indoor unit 100 controlled by the number of rotations of the blower fan 103 and the degree of opening and orientation of the up and down wind direction plates 105 and / or the left and right wind direction plates 104. In addition to being fixed at a constant wind speed, a blower fan for fluctuation control at a predetermined cycle of 1 / f, control updated at a predetermined timing, control changed by output of human position / foot position, etc. The speed of the air blown out from the indoor unit 100, which is controlled by the number of rotations 103, the degree of opening and the direction of the up / down wind direction plate 105 and / or the left / right wind direction plate 104, is indicated.

<Wind direction time>
The wind direction time refers to a pause time in a predetermined direction during the swing of the up / down wind direction plate 105 and / or the left / right wind direction plate 104. The up-and-down wind direction plate 105 includes not only a temporary stop for a certain time but also a stop time based on the position of the up-and-down wind direction plate 105 and / or the left and right wind direction plate 104, a stop time that is changed by the output of the position of the person and the foot And / or the pause time in a predetermined direction during the swing of the left and right wind direction plates 104.

<Blowout air temperature>
The blown air temperature is controlled by the set temperature, the temperature of the heat exchanger 206, the rotational speed of the compressor 202, the rotational speed of the blower fan 103, the degree of opening and the direction of the upper and lower air direction plates 105 and / or the left and right air direction plates 104. The temperature of the air blown out from the indoor unit 100 is indicated. Not only the change in the blown air temperature due to the change in the blown air temperature due to the thermo-on or the thermo-off or the change in the heat load, but also the set temperature, the temperature of the heat exchanger 206, the rotation speed of the compressor 202, the blower fan 103 The temperature of the air blown out from the indoor unit 100 including the positive temperature change, which is controlled by the number of rotations, the degree of opening and the direction of the up and down wind direction plate 105 and / or the left and right wind direction plate 104.

<Foot situation>
The condition of the foot means air conditioning when performing air conditioning based on the foot, such as the presence or absence of foot detection, the position of the foot, the distance from the indoor unit to the foot, the distance from the wall to the foot, the temperature near the foot, etc. This refers to factors that can be influenced by the wind direction, wind speed, wind direction time, and blown air temperature that can be controlled by the machine. The vicinity of the foot refers to the periphery of the foot and may include the foot, but ideally refers to a region near the foot that does not include the foot. The temperature near the foot refers to the surface temperature of an object near the foot and may include the temperature of the foot, but ideally refers to the surface temperature of an object such as a floor, wall, or furniture that does not include the foot.

<Foot monitor (foot lamp)>
The indoor unit 100 includes a foot monitor 140 (see FIG. 1) in a portion that can be visually recognized by a person (resident). The foot monitor 140 is an LED, and may be lit or blinked in the following cases.
(1) Blinks while detecting a foot (2) Turns on when a foot is detected (3) Turns off when a foot is not detected (4) Turns off when a person is detected but no foot is detected (5) Lights when the airflow can be delivered to the feet (6) Lights when the airflow cannot be delivered to the feet and lights up (7) The foot monitor can grasp the status of the foot detection. It is possible to grasp what the air conditioner A is doing, and it is possible to use the air conditioner A with confidence. Note that the method of lighting and blinking the foot monitor 140 is not limited to the above.

<Second embodiment>
FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the wind direction in the floor plan mode according to the second embodiment. FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a wind direction position selection process in the floor plan mode. FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the room layout and the cell position of the wind direction. FIG. 26 is a time chart showing the linkage between the left and right wind directions and the up and down wind directions in the floor plan mode. 23, as in FIGS. 11 and 21, an image captured by the imaging control unit 61 is divided into matrices, and each divided area is shown as a cell. The matrix 2010 is an image matrix viewed from the indoor unit 100 side of the air conditioner A. The setting positions of the left and right wind directions are areas 1, 2, 3,..., 10 from the right side to the left side of the matrix 2010. Further, the setting positions of the up and down wind directions are regions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from the lower side to the upper side of the matrix 2010. Therefore, the lower right end of the matrix 2010 will be described as the cell position (1, 1), and the upper left end will be described as the cell position (10, 5).

  In the floor plan mode, swing control is performed at the detected corners 373a and 373b (see FIG. 36), which is a basic control. However, in consideration of the indoor floor plan, if the air direction is controlled from the corner 373a to the area outside the corner 373a on the far corner 373a side as viewed from the indoor unit 100, the indoor temperature can be made uniform. Therefore, the swing range may be set to cell positions (10, *) to (4, *). In addition, * respond | corresponds to the area | regions 1-5 of an up-down wind direction.

Next, with reference to FIG. 24 and FIG.
24, when the airflow control unit 68 selects the floor plan mode (process S241), the process S243 to S248 is repeated for each cell position in the left-right direction of the swing control (process S242). Specifically, the airflow control unit 68 determines the distance to the wall with respect to the cell position (10, *) (processing S243), and determines whether the distance is equal to or greater than the first distance (for example, 4 m) ( Process S243). If the distance is equal to or greater than the first distance (step S244, Yes), the process proceeds to step 245. If the distance is not equal to or greater than the first distance (step S244, No), the initial (initial) setting is set (step S248). The initial setting is, for example, set to the initial position shown in FIG.

  In the process S245, the airflow control unit 68 determines whether or not the second distance (for example, 6 m) or more. When the distance is equal to or longer than the second distance (Yes in step S245), the airflow control unit 68 sets the position plus 2 (+2) upward from the initial position (step S246). On the other hand, when the distance is not equal to or longer than the second distance (No in process S245), the airflow control unit 68 sets the position plus 1 (+1) upward from the initial position (process S247).

  In FIG. 25, the room is composed of walls 334, 335, and 336 detected by the wall detector 64 (see FIG. 8). The wall 331 is a wall on which the indoor unit 100 is installed, the walls 335 and 336 are side walls of the wall 331, and the wall 334 is a wall that is an opposite surface of the wall 331. 25, cell positions (10, 1), (9, 2), (8, 3), (7, 3), (6, 3), (5, 3), ( 4 and 3) shows the positional relationship.

  FIG. 26 is a time chart showing the linkage between the left and right wind directions and the up and down wind directions in the floor plan mode. 26 swings from the cell position (10, 1) of the matrix 2010 shown in FIG. 23 to the cell position (4, 3), and then turns back to swing from the cell position (10, 1) to the cell position (10, 1). The wind direction position at the time is shown. Initially, at cell position (10, 1), with time, cell positions (9, 2), (8, 3), (7, 3), (6, 3), (5, 3), ( 4, 3) and the wind direction are sequentially controlled and turned back to control the wind direction.

<Third embodiment>
FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing another wind direction position according to the third embodiment. FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing an external configuration of the air conditioner when the vertical wind direction is divided into three sections. FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing the cell position of the wind direction when the vertical wind direction is divided into three sections. 27 to 29, an example in which the vertical wind direction plate 105 is divided into three sections and the wind direction can be controlled in three directions will be described.

  The wind direction of the swing when a plurality of persons are detected in the room will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 27, an image captured by the imaging control unit 61 is divided into matrices, and each divided area is shown as a cell. The matrix 2020 is an image matrix viewed from the indoor unit 100 side of the air conditioner A, and will be described as 5 vertical cells × 10 horizontal cells. The cell position is the same as in FIG.

  In the matrix 2020, five persons M11, M12, M13, M14, and M15 are detected, and there is a sofa (furniture) that is an obstacle F4 behind the persons M11, M12, M13, and M14. There is an obstacle F3 furniture in front of M15. Each person's foot is detected. At this time, it is considered to control the wind direction during the heating operation. The position of each cell corresponds to the position in the case of controlling the left and right wind direction and the up and down wind direction, but when the up and down wind direction is divided into sections 105a, 105b, and 105c as shown in FIG. The control position is controlled as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing the position of the wind direction cell when the vertical wind direction is divided into three sections, (a) is the wind direction position of the left and right wind direction and the vertical wind direction, and (b) is the detection of the wind direction position shown in FIG. It is a result. In the matrix 2030 indicating the position of the wind direction cell when the vertical wind direction is divided into three sections, the left and right wind direction setting positions are regions 1, 2, 3,..., 10 from the right side to the left side, which is the same as the matrix 2020A. In the matrix 2030, the setting positions of the up and down wind directions are the areas 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from the lower side to the upper side, which are the same as the matrix 2020A. Separated from b and c. Regions a, b, and c correspond to the sections 105a, 105b, and 105c shown in FIG. When the cell position in the case of the matrix 2030 is expressed as (cell position in the left / right wind direction, cell position in the up / down wind direction + type of three sections), for example, the lower right of the matrix 2030 is the cell position (1, 1a), and the upper left is the cell position. (10, 5c).

  In the matrix 2020A as the detection result, the cell positions corresponding to the person M11 are indicated as ◯, the cell position corresponding to the person M12 as ▲, the position corresponding to the person M13 as □, and the person M14 as the wind direction cell positions shown in FIG. A cell position corresponding to ▼ is indicated by ▼, a cell position corresponding to the person M14 is indicated by セ ル, and a cell position corresponding to the person M15 is indicated by ■.

  The matrix 2030 shows cell positions corresponding to the cell positions described above. Specifically, the cell position (6, 2) of the matrix 2020A corresponds to the cell positions (7, 2a), (6, 2b), (5, 2c) in the matrix 2030. In the case of the cell position (4, 1) of the matrix 2020A, the matrix 2030 corresponds to the cell positions (5, 1a), (4, 1b), (3, 1c).

  Both ends of the swing range are at the same position in the vertical direction. That is, the cell position (8, 3c) is at the left end, and the vertical direction is the same as the adjacent cell position (8, 3b). The cell position (3, 2c) is at the right end, and the vertical direction is the same as the adjacent cell position (3, 2b).

In the case of the matrix 2030, the swing range in the left and right wind direction is the region 3 to the region 8, and the swing range in the vertical wind direction is the region 1 to the region 3. For example, when the position of the left and right wind direction reaches the region 5 from the region 6 , the vertical wind direction section 105 c starts changing from the region 3 to the region 2. Similarly, the vertical wind direction section 105b starts changing from the area 2 to the area 3, and the vertical wind direction section 105a starts changing from the area 3 to the area 1.

  In the case of the matrix 2030, when swinging (swing), the division (for example, the section 105a) on the leading side of the swing is the position of the vertical wind direction plate 105 in the direction of the left and right wind direction plate 104 ahead. And the division (for example, the division 105 c) on the rearmost side of the swing is at the position of the vertical wind direction plate 105 in the direction of the next left and right wind direction plate 104. As a result, even when the left and right wind direction plates 104 face one front of the area where the occupants are present, the vertical wind direction plate 105 on the leading side of the swing faces the area where the occupants are present. Warm air can be supplied to the occupants even when the blown air diffuses, and the comfort of the occupants can be improved.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, the airflow control unit 68 can appropriately control the position of the three-way vertical airflow direction to the detection position as shown in FIG.

<Up-down wind direction plate>
In the case of the third embodiment, for example, the vertical wind direction plate 105 shown in FIG. 2 is composed of two flaps (upper flap and lower flap), but is divided into three in the left-right direction (see FIG. 28). ). At this time, both the upper flap and the lower flap may be divided into a plurality of three divisions. Alternatively, the upper flap may be divided into three, and the lower flap may be composed of one sheet. By configuring the lower flap of the up-and-down wind direction plate 105 as a single piece, it is possible to configure the up-and-down wind direction plate with a simple configuration, resource saving, and low cost.

  Since the upper and lower wind direction plates 105 are composed of a plurality of sheets (for example, two flaps), it is possible to improve the performance of deflecting particularly during heating operation with a large deflection angle of the wind direction, and a region where more airflow is desired. It becomes possible to supply to.

  At the point where the air blown out from the air outlet 109b is spread by the up-and-down wind direction plate 105 in which the upper flap is divided into a plurality of pieces and the up-and-down wind direction plate 105 in which both the upper and lower flaps are divided into a plurality of pieces. It is possible to adjust the area that hits the floor in the perspective direction. That is, it is possible to supply warm air to each of a plurality of persons with different distances from the indoor unit 100, and to simultaneously improve the comfort of a plurality of people in the room. .

  Further, when the left and right wind direction plates 104 swing within the swing range, the upper and lower wind direction plates 105 in which both the upper flap and the lower flap are divided into a plurality of left and right directions are aimed in order from the side positioned at the tip of the swing. Swing in the direction of the desired area.

  Further, the divided part on the head side of the swing is at the position of the vertical wind direction plate 105 in the direction of the right and left wind direction plate 104, and the divided part on the tail side of the swing is in the direction of the next right and left wind direction plate 104. It is in the position of the vertical wind direction plate 105. As a result, even when the left and right wind direction plates 104 face one front of the area where the occupants are present, the vertical wind direction plate 105 on the leading side of the swing faces the area where the occupants are present. Warm air can be supplied to the occupants even when the blown air diffuses, and the comfort of the occupants can be improved.

  In addition, the vertical wind direction plate 105 on the tail side of the swing is set to the direction of the vertical wind direction plate 105 in the direction of the right and left wind direction plate 104, so that the air blows out from the indoor unit 100 even after the left and right wind direction plate 104 passes. As the air diffuses, it is possible to supply warm air to the occupants on the back side of the swing, and it is possible to improve the comfort of the occupants.

<Left and right wind direction plate>
A plurality of the left and right wind direction plates 104 are arranged in the left and right direction, and they may all be linked in the same direction, or may be divided into a plurality of pieces and linked in the same direction in each division. By grouping the left and right wind direction plates 104 in the left and right direction, the direction control can be performed in units of groups, and the up and down wind direction plates 105 divided in the left and right direction and the corresponding left and right wind direction plates 104 are interlocked. Thus, it becomes possible to supply warm air to a plurality of areas in the room at the same time, and it is possible to provide continuous comfort to the people in the room.

Next, details of the person detection unit 62 and the wall detection unit 64 (see FIG. 8) will be described.
<Human detection unit>
FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing the human position determination process of the human detection unit. FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram showing the human position determination process of the human detection unit, and (a) to (c) are explanatory diagrams for explaining specific calculations, respectively. First, the person detection unit 62 (see FIG. 8) detects the position of a person from the left image, the middle image, and the right image acquired by the imaging process of FIG. 31 (process S31). Next, the person detecting unit 62 converts the detected position of the person from the coordinate system on the screen to the coordinate system in the real space (processing S32). Thereby, it can be determined where the person was in the room. When the coordinates of the person's real space are determined in this way, the person detection unit 62 stores the information on the coordinates in the storage unit 69 (processing S33).

  FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram illustrating in detail the indoor person position determination process in FIG. In the process S32 of FIG. 32, the coordinates of the real space of the person in the room are specifically determined by the following process. First, the size of the head of human body parts is relatively independent of height and sex. Therefore, for each person detected in step S31, the position of the face center of the person is calculated, and the size of the head (length in the vertical direction) D0 is calculated.

  FIG. 33A is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between the optical axis P and the vertical plane S of the imaging unit 110. As shown in FIG. 33A, the optical axis P of the imaging unit 110 has a depression angle ε with respect to the horizontal plane. The vertical plane S is a virtual plane that is perpendicular to the optical axis P and passes through the center of the face of the person 391. The distance L is the distance between the focal point 131 a of a lens (not shown) included in the imaging unit 110 and the face center of the person 391. The distance between the wall 331 where the indoor unit 100 is installed and the focal point 131a of the lens is Δd.

FIG. 33B is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between an image captured on the image plane and a person 391 existing in the real space. An image plane R illustrated in FIG. 33B is a plane that passes through a plurality of light receiving elements (not shown) included in the imaging unit 110. The vertical angle of view γ _y corresponding to the calculated head size D0 is expressed by the following equation (1). Incidentally, the angle β _y [deg / pixel] in the equation (1) is an average value of the angle of view (y direction) per pixel, and is a known value.

Then, the distance L [m] from the focal point 131a of the lens (not shown) included in the imaging unit 110 to the center of the face is the average value of vertical lengths of general human faces, D1 [m] (known Is expressed by the following equation (2). As described above, the depression angle ε is an angle formed by the optical axis of the lens and a horizontal plane.

FIG. 33C is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the distance L from the focal point of the lens to the center of the face and the view angles δ _x and δ _y . Assuming that the angles of view in the x direction and y direction from the center of the image plane R to the center of the face on the image are δ _x and δ _y , these are expressed by the following equations (3) and (4). Here, x _c and y _c are positions of the person center of the person 391 in the image (x coordinate, y coordinate in the image). Further, T _x [pixel] is the horizontal size of the imaging screen, and T _y [pixel] is the vertical size of the imaging screen, each of which is a known value.

Therefore, the position coordinates of the human center in the real space are expressed by the following equations (5) to (7).

  That is, the values of x, y, and z are as shown in FIG. 33. From these values, the X direction (left and right direction in FIG. 12) and Y direction (see FIG. 12) as viewed from the air outlet 109b side of the indoor unit 100. 12 coordinates in the vertical direction) and the Z direction (direction perpendicular to FIG. 12). The process S32 is realized by the above process.

<Wall detector / corner direction determination processing>
FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing corner direction determination processing of the wall detection unit. FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating image processing performed in the corner direction determination processing of the wall detection unit, and (a) to (e) illustrate image processing procedures in this order. This corner direction determination process is performed every time the imaging process of FIG. 31 is executed.

  That is, the following image processing is performed for each of the left image, the middle image, and the right image acquired by the imaging processing of FIG. First, the wall detection unit 64 (see FIG. 8) detects an edge from the image (an example of which is shown in FIG. 35A) acquired by the imaging processing of FIG. 31 (processing S21). Next, the wall detection unit 64 performs a filtering process on the detected edge, leaving only edges that are thicker than a predetermined value, longer than a predetermined value, and clearer than a predetermined value (processing S22). In FIG. 35 (b), the edge 371 obtained from the image of FIG. 35 (a) is shown by a white line diagram. Next, the wall detection unit 64 extends each edge 371 in the length direction (processing S23). FIG. 35C shows each edge 371 extended in this way. Then, the wall detecting unit 64 obtains the intersection (the intersection 372 shown in FIG. 35D) of each edge 371 extended in this way (processing S24). Then, the center of gravity of each intersection 372 (the center of gravity 373 shown in FIG. 35E) is obtained (processing S25). The coordinates of the center of gravity 373 can be calculated by obtaining the average of distances in the X direction (horizontal direction) and Y direction (vertical direction) from the reference position on the image of each intersection 372. The position of the center of gravity 373 on the image can be estimated as the position of the corner (corner) of the room. Thereby, since the horizontal direction seen from the imaging unit 110 of the corner (centroid 373) in the room can be known (whether it is the left image, the middle image, or the right image, the center of gravity 373 in the image). The direction is determined by the number of pixels from the horizontal reference position), and the direction of the corner is stored (set) in the storage unit 69 (processing S26). In the storage processing in this case, the direction of the corner (center of gravity 373) only for the past predetermined number of times (for example, the past 10 times) is accumulated in the storage unit 69, and information older than that is deleted. Then, the average value (moving average value) of the information for a predetermined number of times in the past is determined as the final corner (center of gravity 373) and stored in the storage unit 69. This is because the direction of the left and right corners in the room indicated by the information stored in the storage unit 69 may vary in the time zone due to the arrangement movement of furniture and furniture in the room. Therefore, by obtaining the average value as described above, the noise contained in the information can be removed, and the most probable direction can be set as the direction of the left and right corners (center of gravity 373) in the room. Hereinafter, the center of gravity 373 is referred to as a corner 373 as appropriate. By processing S26, directions 376 and 377 described later are set.

  In the example of FIG. 35 (e), since the sliding door 374 of the room where the indoor unit 100 is installed is open, the edge at the back of the opening is detected, and the position of the center of gravity 373 is shown in FIG. Is in position. However, if an image in which the sliding door 374 is closed is captured, there is a high possibility that the position of the reference numeral 375 or the vicinity thereof becomes the center of gravity 373.

  As shown in FIG. 1, since the imaging unit 110 is located in the vicinity of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the air outlet 109b (see FIG. 2), the center of gravity 373 specified as described above is from the air outlet 109b side. It can be regarded as a corner in the room.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 30, the wall detection unit 64 has a corner 373 (left and right corners 373 a and 373 b toward the indoor unit 100. Hereinafter, referred to as a corner 373 (corners 373 a and 373 b)). Is the angle seen from the direction 311 of the front surface of each indoor unit 100 in the directions 376 and 377 of the center of gravity (meaning FIG. 35 (e)) on the image from the air outlet 109b side as viewed by the imaging unit 110. It is determined how many times it will be (processing S27). Then, it is determined that the wall with the smaller angle is closer to the wall with the larger angle when viewed from the air outlet 109b side (processing S28). That is, if the angle formed by the direction 376 and the direction 311 is smaller than the angle formed by the direction 377 and the direction 311, it is determined that the wall 336 is closer to the air outlet 109 b side than the wall 335 (see FIG. 36). If the angle formed by the direction 377 and the direction 311 is smaller than the angle formed by the direction 376 and the direction 311, it is determined that the wall 335 is closer to the air outlet 109 b side than the wall 336. Information on which of the left and right walls 336 and 335 is nearer or farther from the air outlet 109b side is also stored in the storage unit 69 (processing S29).

  FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram showing an indoor plane in the corner direction determination processing of the wall detection unit. Components similar to those in FIG. 30 are denoted by the same reference numerals. With reference to FIG. 37, the process of process S27 and process S28 is demonstrated concretely. First, the angle a is calculated. For example, if the number of pixels in the imaging unit 110 in the horizontal direction is, for example, 640 [pixel] and the number of pixels in the range of the angle a (in the vertical and horizontal directions) is β [pixel], “640 [ pixel]: β [pixel] = 60 °: a ° ”,“ a ° = 60 ° × β [pixel] / 640 [pixel] ”. Then, the angle A is obtained by “A ° = 30 ° + a °” (the angle of the range 312 is about 60 °, and 30 ° is a half thereof). In the same way, the angle b is obtained, and the angle B is obtained by “B ° = 30 ° −b °”. In this example, since “A °> B °”, in FIG. 18, it can be determined that the wall 335 is farther from the wall 336 when viewed from the air outlet 109b side.

  FIGS. 37A and 37B are explanatory diagrams illustrating corner direction determination processing of the wall detection unit, in which FIG. 37A is a plan view of the room, and FIG. 37B is an explanatory diagram illustrating determination of the center of gravity in the image. Components similar to those in FIG. 30 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Photographed when the interior shape of the room is not rectangular or square as shown in the plan view of FIG. 37 (a), for example, the interior corner portion 378 protrudes in a prismatic shape toward the interior side. An example of the image 379 is as shown in FIG. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 37B, a plurality of corner (center of gravity) 373 candidates (reference numeral 373c) may be obtained.

  In such a case, by obtaining the average of distances in the X direction (horizontal direction) and Y direction (vertical direction) from the reference position on the image of the plurality of candidates 373c, the coordinates after the average are calculated as corners ( Centroid) 373.

  Through the above processing, the wall detection unit 64 can accurately determine the directions 376 and 377 of the left and right corners 373a and 373b (see FIG. 36) of the room as viewed from the air outlet 109b side. Further, the wall detection unit 64 can also determine which of the left and right walls 335 and 336 in the room is closer and which is farther as viewed from the air outlet 109b side.

<Wall detection unit / expansion range determination processing>
FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing an expansion range determination process of the wall detection unit. FIG. 39 is a plan view showing the indoor arrangement in the expansion range determination process of the wall detection unit. With reference to FIG. 38 and FIG. 39, the process of determining the range of indoor expansion using the result of the person position determination process shown in FIG. 32 will be described. First, the imaging process of FIG. 31 is performed every predetermined time t1, the process of FIG. 32 is executed each time, and the result is stored in the storage unit 69. Therefore, when the person's coordinate information is newly stored in the storage unit 69 by the process S33 (see FIG. 32) (Yes in process S41), the wall detection unit 64 calculates the right and left of the room from the person's coordinate information. It is determined whether or not there is a human coordinate in a region 381 outside the region 383 between the direction 376 and the direction 377 of the corner (step S42). When a person's coordinates exist in the area 381 (an example of the person is indicated by reference numeral 382 in FIG. 39) (Yes in step S42), the position of the person in the X direction coordinates (left and right direction in FIG. 39) is set. The position of the right wall 336 (or the left wall 335) toward the indoor unit 100 is estimated (processing S43). The fact that the person 382 is located at the coordinates means that the wall 336 (or the left wall 335) is at least at the position of the coordinates or further outside, so that the position of the person 382 is changed to the current wall. 336 (or the left wall 335).

  As a result, the estimated position of the wall 336 (or the wall 335) at the present time can be known, so that the position of each corner and each wall in the room is estimated (processing S44). That is, the Y direction of the wall 336 (or the wall 335) is extended in the Y direction, and the intersection with the corner direction 376 (or the corner direction 377) can be estimated as the actual corner 422a (or the corner 422b). . Further, the position of the corner 422a (or the corner 422b) is extended in the X direction, and the position of the front wall 334 can be estimated until the other corner direction 377 (or the corner 376) is reached. Then, it can be determined that the position where the corner intersects the direction 377 (or corner 376) is another actual corner 422b (or corner 422a). Furthermore, it can be estimated that the position extending in the Y direction from the position is the position of the other of the walls 335 and 336.

  On the other hand, after the process S44 or when the coordinates of the person do not exist in the area 381 (No in the process S42), the person lies in the area 383 between the directions 376 and 377 of the left and right corners in the room. When the coordinates exist (an example of the person is indicated by reference numeral 384 in FIG. 39) (processing S45, Yes), the person's Y-direction coordinate position is estimated as the position of the front wall 334 of the indoor unit 100. (Processing S46). The fact that the person 384 is located at the coordinates means that the wall 334 is at least at the position of the coordinates or further outside, so that the position of the person 384 is the current position of the wall 334. is there.

  As a result, the position of the front wall 334 can be known, and the position of each corner and each wall in the room is determined (processing S47). That is, the front wall 334 is extended in the X direction, and it can be estimated that the intersections between the corner direction 376 and the corner direction 377 are the actual corner 421a and the corner 421b. Then, when the actual corners 421a and 421b are extended in the Y direction, it can be estimated that the positions are the wall 336 and the wall 335.

  After processing S47 or when no human coordinates exist in the region 383 between the directions 376 and 377 of the left and right corners in the room (processing S45, No), it is estimated in processing S44 and processing S47. Of the actual corner and wall positions, the farthest from the indoor unit 100 side is set as the final determination result of the corner and wall positions (processing S48).

  In FIG. 39, the positions of the walls 331, 334, 335, and 336 estimated based on the person 384 are shown as 331a, 334a, 335a, and 336a (broken lines), respectively. Similarly, the positions of the walls 331, 334, 335, and 336 estimated based on the person 382 are shown as 331b, 334b, 335b, and 336b (solid lines), respectively.

  In this case, when the determination result is obtained only in the process S44 or the process S47, the obtained determination result (the determination result of the one farthest from the indoor unit 100 side when a plurality of persons are detected) is displayed on each wall and The result of determining the position of each corner is used. And this determination result is memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 69 (process S49). Since the information about each wall and each corner is acquired every predetermined time t1, the information is stored every predetermined time t1. Then, the storage of this information is updated with the information of the wall and the corner of the information after the predetermined reference time (for example, the latest past 30 times) that is the farthest from the indoor unit 100 side. To do. As a result, among the information acquired after the predetermined reference time, information on the position of each wall and each corner farthest from the indoor unit 100 side is stored in step S49.

The distances from the air outlet 109b thus specified to the actual corners 421a, 421b, 422a, 422b (estimated positions) on the left and right sides of the room are also obtained as follows. That is,
“Distance to corner 421a = √ ((distance to wall 336a) ² + (distance to wall 334a) ² )”
“Distance to corner 421b = √ ((distance to wall 335a) ² + (distance to wall 334a) ² )”. The distance to the corner 422a and the distance to the corner 422b are obtained in the same manner.

  As described above, the wall detection unit 64 determines the direction of the right corner on the front side of the air outlet 109b and the air outlet 109b from the image captured by the imaging unit 110 in the horizontal direction of the wind direction part. The position of the wall in the room can be detected based on the direction of the left corner on the front side and the position of the person detected by the person detection unit 62.

  In the present embodiment, the wall detection unit 64 using the image of the imaging unit 110 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a near-infrared ray is irradiated indoors, captured by a CCD image sensor equipped with an infrared transmission filter (IR transmission filter), and the side wall is determined by comparing the luminance above the image with a database of luminance and distance. Alternatively, the distance to the front wall may be estimated.

  In addition, near-infrared rays are irradiated indoors in the form of multiple parallel lines, captured by a CCD image sensor equipped with an IR transmission filter, and the distance to the side or front wall is estimated from the difference in the parallel line spacing. May be.

  Furthermore, although the imaging unit 110 has been described as being installed on the front surface of the indoor unit 100, a wall may be detected by detecting the floor using an imaging unit installed on the ceiling in a similar manner.

  The human detection unit 62 and the foot detection unit 63 detect a person based on the image of the imaging unit 110, but are not limited thereto. For example, an infrared sensor, thermopile, thermography, pyroelectric sensor, ultrasonic sensor, or noise sensor may be used as the sensor unit 50. What is detected by the person detection unit 62 is not limited to the position of the person, but may be an activity amount, a life scene, or the like. When a thermopile is used as a temperature detection sensor, for example, a thermopile composed of 1 × 1 pixel, 4 × 4 pixels, and 1 × 8 pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions may be installed at the lower portion in the center in the left-right direction of the front panel. The temperature detection sensor is not limited to the average surface temperature in the room, but the surface temperature in the area excluding the person in the detection range, the surface temperature of the person's clothes, the temperature of the person's skin, the floor, wall, and ceiling. The surface temperature of each part can be detected.

  As a modification of the present embodiment, the imaging unit may be capable of capturing an image of the temperature distribution on the surface of the object. That is, the air conditioner A includes a person detection unit 62 that detects a person in the room based on an image captured by the imaging unit, and a foot detection unit that detects a human foot detected based on the image captured by the imaging unit. 63, an obstacle detection unit 65 that detects the position of an obstacle in the room based on an image photographed by the imaging unit, and a pass-through availability detection unit that detects whether or not the detected obstacle has a shape that passes through the airflow. 66, and an airflow control unit 68 that changes the direction of airflow to be blown based on the presence or absence of an obstacle and whether or not the obstacle is shaped to pass through the airflow when the foot detection unit cannot detect a human foot. This may be a feature. In addition, when the obstacle detection part 65 determines based on a temperature image, it is good to carry out by detecting the temperature difference of the floor and furniture at the time of blowing the warm air flow at the time of heating on a floor surface, for example.

  According to the air conditioner of the present embodiment, it is possible to blow air intensively and appropriately at a predetermined position within the control range of the wind direction.

40 Remote control (air conditioning control terminal)
41 Display screen 44 Foot airflow button (operation unit)
47 Transmitting / Receiving Unit 50 Sensor Unit 60 Control Unit 61 Imaging Control Unit 62 Human Detection Unit 63 Foot Detection Unit 64 Wall Detection Unit 65 Obstacle Detection Unit 66 Passage Permissible Detection Unit 68 Airflow Control Unit 69 Storage Unit 100 Indoor Unit 103 Blower Fan 104 Left and Right Wind direction plate 105 Vertical wind direction plate 106 Front panel 109b Air outlet 110 Imaging unit 111 Imaging unit body 112 Visible light cut filter (filter)
113 opening 114 filter motor (filter moving mechanism)
115 Filter gear (filter moving mechanism)
120 Near-infrared light source 130 Temperature detection unit 140 Foot monitor (display unit)
200 Outdoor unit 202 Compressor 207 Propeller fan A Air conditioner

Claims (6)

An air outlet that blows out airflow;
Left and right wind direction plates that change the wind direction of the air flow blown out from the outlet to the left and right direction;
An up-and-down air direction plate that changes the air direction of the air flow blown out from the outlet to the up and down direction;
When one of the left and right wind direction plates and the upper and lower wind direction plates reaches a predetermined position in the room while swinging one way within the swing range, the other wind direction plate is directed toward the position possess a airflow controller,
The one wind direction plate is stopped until the other wind direction plate reaches the predetermined position, and the one wind direction plate is moved when the other wind direction plate reaches the predetermined position. An air conditioner which starts swinging . The air conditioner further includes:
A human detection unit for detecting the position of the person in the room;
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined position is a position detected by the human detection unit. The air conditioner further includes:
A foot detection unit for detecting a position of a person's foot in the room;
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined position is a position detected by the foot detection unit. When the one wind direction plate is a left and right wind direction plate and the other wind direction plate is a vertical wind direction plate,
The up and down wind direction plate is divided into three sections,
At the time of the swing, the division on the top side of the swing is at the position of the vertical wind direction plate in the direction of the right and left wind direction plate ahead, and the division on the last side of the swing is one. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner is located at a position of the upper and lower wind direction plates in the direction of the next left and right wind direction plate. When there are a plurality of the detected positions on one way within the swing range,
The airflow control unit repeats control to change the other wind direction plate to the direction of the detected position when the one wind direction plate reaches the direction of the detected position. The air conditioner according to claim 3. An air outlet that blows out airflow;
Left and right wind direction plates that change the wind direction of the air flow blown out from the outlet to the left and right direction;
An up-and-down air direction plate that changes the air direction of the air flow blown out from the outlet to the up and down direction;
When one of the left and right wind direction plates and the upper and lower wind direction plates approaches the direction of a predetermined position in the room while swinging one way within the swing range, the other wind direction plate is moved to the predetermined direction. possess a air flow control unit for the control of changing the direction of the position,
The one wind direction plate is stopped until the other wind direction plate approaches the direction of the predetermined position, and the one wind direction plate stops when the other wind direction plate approaches the direction of the predetermined position. An air conditioner that starts moving .