JP6861373B2 - Control method and control system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner (particularly an air conditioner), and relates to advice to a user of an energy-saving operation method and a control method of energy-saving operation.

Since air conditioners account for a large part of household electricity bills, users are highly interested in energy-saving driving methods. For example, in the case where the room is temporarily absent, it is often talked about on the Internet etc. whether it is better to leave the air conditioner on or stop it and then turn it on again after returning. .. Whether it is better to leave it on or to stop it and then put it back on cannot be uniquely determined because it depends on various factors such as the heat insulation of the living space, room temperature, set temperature, and outside air temperature. , The user will have trouble making a decision.

In the invention described in Patent Document 1, a branching point that serves as a turning point between when the room is temporarily absent, when the air-conditioning device during operation is stopped, and when the operation is continued, which is the energy-saving operation. It presents a method for calculating the time and notifying the user.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-178917

The invention described in Patent Document 1 is inconvenient because the user must explicitly request advice through a remote controller or the like. It is preferable to notify the user with an appropriate timing message without such an operation. In that case, it is necessary to consider the absence time from the current time. For example, if you are away for 3 hours from now on, even if you are presented with information that it is profitable to leave it on for 1 hour, it will be meaningless information for the user, so it is appropriate according to the user's situation. I need to convey a message.

The air conditioner control system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an air conditioner control system that controls an air conditioner and controls indoor air conditioning, such as the indoor temperature acquired from the sensor of the air conditioner, the amount of electric power when the air conditioner is operating, and the number of people. Using the sensor data storage means for accumulating the presence / absence information of the air conditioner, the air conditioner information data storage means for storing the air conditioner setting information acquired from the air conditioner, and the data accumulated by the environmental data storage means and the air conditioner information data storage means. It consists of an indoor environment / power amount predicting means that predicts room temperature change / power amount with respect to the air conditioner setting of the air conditioner, and an application that gives an instruction to change the air conditioner setting. Is used to calculate the normal time zone when people are normally present and the normal absence time zone when people are absent in the room where the relevant air conditioner exists, and the normal time zone starts from the current time. The time until the time is set as the operation stop time, and the continuous operation power amount when the operation is continued with the same settings as the current operation setting using the indoor environment / power amount prediction means and the operation stop time when the current operation is stopped. The amount of intermittent operation power for starting the operation later and returning to the current room temperature is calculated, and the comparison result of the amount of continuous operation power and the amount of intermittent operation power is displayed.

With such a configuration, the user can easily understand the method of energy-saving operation according to the normal absence time when the user is absent, and the air conditioner can be controlled to save energy.

It is a figure which shows the whole picture of the service provided in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the type of service (in-house data center type) in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the type of service (IaaS utilization type) in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the type (PaaS utilization type) of the service in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the type of service (SaaS utilization type) in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the system structure of the air-conditioning control system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the data structure stored in the history DB in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the air conditioner setting screen in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the energy saving message of the air conditioner setting screen in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the history and the predicted value of the room temperature and the electric energy of the air conditioner in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the timer setting screen of the air conditioner and the energy saving message in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the energy saving message in consideration of a timer operation on the air conditioner setting screen in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the energy saving message based on the absence history in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the air conditioner setting screen at the time of transmitting the energy saving message and performing control in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the method of automatically determining and controlling the energy saving method in the embodiment of the present invention, and sending a message after the control. It is a figure explaining another example in the case of transmitting the control method in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining another form of the display method of the energy saving message in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the process flow of data accumulation in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the display flow of the energy saving message in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the display flow of the energy saving message in consideration of the absence information in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the method of displaying the energy saving message in the embodiment of this invention in a graph. It is a figure explaining the method which considers the operation time to stay in a room in the prediction of the intermittent operation at the time of absence in the embodiment of this invention.

(Overview of services provided)
FIG. 1A shows an overall picture of the service according to the present embodiment.

Group 100 is, for example, a company, an organization, a household, etc., regardless of its size. In the group 100, there are a plurality of devices 101, a device A, a device B, and a home gateway 102. The plurality of devices 101 include devices that can connect to the Internet (for example, smartphones, PCs, TVs, etc.) and devices that cannot connect to the Internet by themselves (for example, lighting, washing machines, refrigerators, etc.). To do. Even if the device itself cannot connect to the Internet, there may be a device that can connect to the Internet via the home gateway 102. Further, in the group 100, there are users 10 who use a plurality of devices 101.

The data center operating company 110 has a cloud server 111. The cloud server 111 is a virtualization server that cooperates with various devices via the Internet. It mainly manages huge data (big data) that is difficult to handle with ordinary database management tools. The data center operating company 110 manages data, manages the cloud server 111, and operates a data center that performs these operations. The services performed by the data center operating company 110 will be described in detail later. Here, the data center operating company 110 is not limited to a company that only manages data, operates a cloud server 111, and the like. For example, if a device maker that develops and manufactures one of a plurality of devices 101 also manages data, cloud server 111, etc., the device maker corresponds to the data center operating company 110. (Fig. 1 (B)). Further, the data center operating company 110 is not limited to one company. For example, when an equipment manufacturer and another management company jointly or share data management and operation of the cloud server 111, it is assumed that both or one of them corresponds to the data center operating company 110 (FIG. 1 (Fig. 1). C)).

The service provider 120 owns the server 121. The server 121 referred to here includes, for example, a memory in a personal computer regardless of its scale. In addition, the service provider may not own the server 121.

The home gateway 102 is not indispensable in the above service. For example, when the cloud server 111 manages all the data, the home gateway 102 becomes unnecessary. Also, there may be no device that cannot connect to the Internet by itself, such as when all devices in the home are connected to the Internet.

Next, the flow of device log information (operation history information and operation history information) in the above service will be described.

First, the device A or the device B of the group 100 transmits each log information to the cloud server 111 of the data center operating company 110. The cloud server 111 collects log information of device A or device B (FIG. 1 (a)). Here, the log information is information indicating, for example, an operation status, an operation date and time, and the like of a plurality of devices 101. For example, TV viewing history, recorder recording reservation information, washing machine operation date / time / amount of laundry, refrigerator opening / closing date / time / opening / closing frequency, etc., but not limited to these, all that can be obtained from any device. Information. The log information may be provided directly to the cloud server 111 from the plurality of devices 101 themselves via the Internet. Further, log information may be temporarily accumulated in the home gateway 102 from the plurality of devices 101 and provided to the cloud server 111 from the home gateway 102.

Next, the cloud server 111 of the data center operating company 110 provides the accumulated log information to the service provider 120 in a fixed unit. Here, the unit may be a unit capable of organizing the collected information by the data center operating company and providing it to the service provider 120, or may be a unit requested by the service provider 120. Although it is described as a fixed unit, it does not have to be constant, and the amount of information to be provided may change depending on the situation. The log information is stored in the server 121 owned by the service provider 120 as needed (FIG. 1 (b)). Then, the service provider 120 organizes the log information into information suitable for the service provided to the user and provides the log information to the user. The user to be provided may be a user 10 who uses a plurality of devices 101, or an external user 20. As a method of providing a service to a user, for example, the service provider may directly provide the service to the user (FIGS. 1 (b) and 1 (e)). Further, the method of providing the service to the user may be provided to the user via the cloud server 111 of the data center operating company 110 again, for example (FIGS. 1 (c) and 1 (d)). Further, the cloud server 111 of the data center operating company 110 may organize the log information into information suitable for the service provided to the user and provide the log information to the service provider 120.

The user 10 and the user 20 may be different or the same.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioning control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The air conditioning system includes an air conditioner 610 and a cloud service 620. Some or all of the blocks of the cloud service 620 belong to either the cloud server of the data center operating company or the server of the service provider.

The air conditioner 610 is a device for adjusting the indoor air quality environment, for example, a room air conditioner. The air conditioner 610 is composed of sensor information acquisition means 611, control information acquisition means 612, and air conditioning control means 613.

The air-conditioning control means 613 is a control mechanism that adjusts the temperature and humidity of the air in the room. Specifically, it is an air-conditioning function of the air conditioner, but if it is a control mechanism that can control the temperature and humidity of the room, it can be used. Not exclusively.

The sensor information acquisition means 611 is a means for acquiring data using a sensor mounted on the air conditioner. The sensor data that can be acquired includes the indoor temperature / humidity acquired from the temperature / humidity sensor installed in the indoor unit, the outdoor temperature / humidity acquired from the sensor installed in the outdoor unit, and the human feeling such as infrared rays. There are "absence information" that indicates "presence" and "no" information of people acquired from the sensor, and "power amount" that is acquired from the power sensor that measures the amount of power when the air conditioner is operating.

The control information acquisition means 612 is a means for acquiring air conditioning control information. The air conditioning control information indicates the control content of the air conditioning control means 613, and specifically, information such as operation status (ON / OFF), setting mode (cooling / heating / dehumidification / automatic), set temperature, wind direction, and air volume. Is.

The above is the description of the configuration of the air conditioner 610.

The cloud service 620 is composed of a sensor information storage means 621, a control information storage means 622, an indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623, an air conditioning setting means 624, a user interface 625, a history DB 626, and an external environment prediction means 627.

The sensor information storage means 621 is a means for storing temperature / humidity information, absence information, and electric power information acquired through the sensor information acquisition means 611 of the air conditioner 610 in the history DB 626. Communication is performed using a communication means such as the Internet. For example, once every five minutes, the sensor information storage means 621 acquires and stores information from the sensor information acquisition means 611. Further, a method of periodically uploading information from the sensor information acquisition means 611 to the sensor information storage means 621 may be used.

The control information storage means 622 is a means for storing the air conditioning control information acquired through the control information acquisition means 612 of the air conditioner 610 in the history DB 626. Communication is performed using a communication means such as the Internet. For example, once every five minutes, the control information storage means 622 acquires and stores information from the control information acquisition means 612. Further, a method of periodically uploading information from the control information acquisition means 612 to the control information storage means 622 may be used, and the control information acquisition means 612 uploads the information to the control information storage means 622 triggered by an event whose control has been changed. It may be a method of doing.

The history DB 626 is a database that stores information received from the sensor information storage means 621 and the control information storage means 622. The format of the database is generally a relational DB such as SQL, but it may be a DB configuration called NoSQL that configures data with a simple relationship such as a key-value type.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the table structure of the history DB 626. The ID is a unique ID that identifies each record, the time is the time when each information was acquired, the indoor temperature, the indoor humidity, the outdoor temperature, the outdoor humidity, the presence / absence information, and the electric energy are the information acquired through the sensor information acquisition means 611. The operation status, operation mode, set temperature, air volume, and wind direction are air conditioning control information acquired through the control information acquisition means 612. For ease of explanation, temperature / humidity information and air conditioning control information are put together in one table, but they may be managed as separate tables. The electric energy in FIG. 7 indicates the integrated electric energy (wh) from the previous record to the current record.

The external environment prediction means 627 is a means for receiving future weather prediction information and weather history information in the relevant area where the air conditioner exists from a weather information server or the like and inputting them to the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623.

The indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 is a means for predicting the future indoor environment (room temperature, indoor humidity, etc.) by machine learning by using the history DB 626. Machine learning is generally classified into two steps, called the learning phase and the identification phase. In the learning phase, training data such as past history data is input and data analysis is performed to extract the relationship between the data. Then, in the next identification phase, identification data (input parameters for making predictions) is input, and prediction values are output based on the relationships of the data extracted in the learning phase. Here, the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 inputs the history data of the history DB 626 and the weather history information acquired from the outside environment prediction means 627 as training data. Then, "future time", "weather forecast value such as future weather forecast", and "air conditioner setting information" are input to the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 as identification data. In this way, environmental information (room temperature / indoor humidity) and electric energy at future times are predicted. In machine learning, what kind of data is input as training data and what kind of data is input as identification data is the key to improving the accuracy of prediction. Learning algorithms range from linear regression to neural networks to deep learning, but are not limited here. As services on the cloud of machine learning, there are Google's Predition API and Microsoft's Azure ML, which are becoming easier to use in general, and the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 should utilize such libraries and APIs. The configuration may be.

Here, the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 learns the data of the history DB 626 and the weather information from the outside environment prediction means 627 as training data, but as in the example of FIG. 7, the data of the history DB 626 By using the setting information of the air conditioner 610, it is possible to extract the relationship between the setting of the air conditioner 610 and the room temperature / electric energy and the weather forecast. As a result, by inputting the setting information of the air conditioner into the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 as identification data, it is possible to accurately predict the room temperature and the electric energy for the corresponding setting.

The interface 625 is an external interface that accepts input by the user, and is, for example, an external I / F (WebAPI) that communicates using the http / https protocol. The setting command for the user's air conditioner received from the application 630 is received, and the air conditioning setting means 624 is notified. In addition, the results of future room temperature prediction and electric energy prediction output by the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 are transmitted to the application 630 through the interface 625, and the information stored in the history DB 626 is transmitted to the application 630 through the interface 625. ..

FIG. 8 shows an example of the GUI of application 630. In the example of FIG. 8, “air conditioner” indicates an air conditioner to be controlled, and when there are a plurality of air conditioners, they can be selected from the pull-down menu. The current state indicates the current state of the air conditioner, and the data of the latest air conditioner setting state of the history DB 626 is acquired and displayed. "Operation" is ON / OFF of operation, "Mode" is the setting mode of the air conditioner such as cooling, heating, and dehumidification, "Temperature" is the set temperature specified for the air conditioner, and "Air volume" is the amount of air discharged by the air conditioner. The setting, "Wind direction", indicates the direction of the wind discharged by the air conditioner. By pressing the "Set" button, the application 630 converts the data set in the GUI into the format of the http / https protocol and notifies the interface 625.

The air conditioning setting means 624 notifies the air conditioning control means 613 of the operation setting based on the setting command received by the interface 625.

In the present embodiment, there are two types of application 630 using the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 when the state of the corresponding air conditioner stored in the history DB 626 is operating through the interface 625 at the time of its activation. Make a prediction.

One is to predict the room temperature and electric energy when operating with the current operation settings. Performing continuous operation in the absence in this way is referred to as continuous operation in the absence, and the prediction result is defined as the continuous operation prediction result in the absence. FIG. 10 shows an example of the prediction result. FIG. 10 shows changes in room temperature and electric energy, with the X-axis showing time and the Y-axis showing electric energy and temperature. The current time is 11:00, and from 10:20 to 11:00, history information is shown, the line shows the transition of room temperature, and the bar graph shows the amount of electric power at 10-minute intervals. After 11:00, the forecast results will change. Here, the room temperature prediction result in the case of operation with the current operation setting is a dotted line B, and the electric energy prediction result is a vertical line bar graph.

Another prediction is that, assuming that the operation stop time is X hours, the operation is restarted after the operation is stopped for X hours, and the room temperature is the room temperature until the time when the room temperature matches the room temperature in the case of continuous operation with the current operation setting.・ It is a prediction of the amount of power. Such an operation of stopping when absent and then turning on again is referred to as an intermittent operation during absenteeism, and the prediction result is referred to as an intermittent operation prediction result when absent. In the example of FIG. 10, when the operation is stopped for 20 minutes and then restarted after 20 minutes, the amount of electric power until the room temperature matches the room temperature (dotted line B) in the case of continuous operation with the current operation setting (dotted line B). Diagonal line bar graph) and room temperature (line A). The operation stop time starts from 10 minutes, increases by 10 minutes, and is repeatedly predicted. Then, the prediction ends when the electric energy of the intermittent operation prediction result in the absence becomes smaller than the electric energy of the continuous operation prediction result in the absence. The longest operation stop time in which the intermittent operation prediction result during absence is larger than the electric energy of the continuous operation prediction result during absence is defined as the "boundary operation stop time".

The application 630 receives this prediction result and displays it on the screen as shown in FIG. 9 so as to inform the user of the boundary operation stop time. For example, if the boundary operation stop time is 30 minutes, the message "If you are absent for 30 minutes, it is advantageous to leave it on" is transmitted. With this configuration, the user can clearly understand how to control the air conditioner during the absence time by simply activating the remote control screen of the air conditioner.

Here, as a means for specifying the operation stop time, the presence / absence history information may be utilized. The example of FIG. 13 shows the period of presence / absence in the normal life of the user based on the history of presence / absence. The time zone in which people are usually absent is referred to as the "normal absence time zone", and the time zone in which they are usually absent is referred to as the "normal time zone". The normal absence / absence period is calculated, for example, based on the absence / absence history for several weeks, as the normal absence time zone when the proportion of presence is high and the normal absence time zone when the proportion of absence is high. To. In this case, with the current time as the base point, the time until the start of the next normal time zone is predicted as the absentee prediction time, and this time is calculated as the operation stop time. In the example of FIG. 13, when the current time is the point A, the length B until the start of the next normal time zone is calculated as the estimated absence time. By using this as the operation stop time and predicting the amount of electric power and the room temperature, it is possible to send a message such as "If you go out for about 30 minutes as usual, it is advantageous to leave it on" as shown in Fig. 13. As a user, it is easier and more intuitive to judge the energy saving setting.

In addition, the method of calculating the normal time zone and the absence time zone may be calculated separately for each day of the week. Calculate using the presence / absence history of each day of the week from Monday to Sunday. Then, the application 630 uses the normal period of stay / absence period of the corresponding day of the week depending on what day of the week the current time belongs to. With this configuration, the accuracy is higher than when it is not every day of the week.

In addition, the method of calculating the normal time zone and the absence time zone may be calculated separately for each weekday and holiday. Calculate the normal presence / absence period on weekdays and the normal presence / absence period on holidays using the presence / absence history on weekdays and holidays. Then, the application 630 uses the normal time zone / absence time zone of the corresponding day depending on whether the current time belongs to a weekday or a holiday. With this configuration, the accuracy is higher than when it is not divided into weekdays and holidays.

Note that the calculation of the normal time zone and the absence time zone may be configured to take into account the information of the scheduler event. For example, when the events of "work", "eating out", and "rehearsal" are input in the scheduler, by learning the time zone / absence time zone together with the event, the event of work / eating out / rehearsal can be performed. In some cases, it is possible to derive a correlation that there are many absent time zones, and the accuracy of the normal absent time zone and absent time zone becomes high.

The calculation of the normal time zone and the absence time zone may be configured to take into account the GPS information of the smartphone. For example, by learning the GPS value in relation to the normal time zone and the normal absence time zone, the current GPS value can be used to improve the prediction accuracy of presence / absence.

In addition, the method of calculating the normal time zone and the absence time zone may be calculated separately for each season. For example, since the life pattern is different between summer and winter, the normal presence / absence time zone is calculated for each season, and the application 630 utilizes the presence / absence time zone of the corresponding season according to the season to which the current time belongs. It may be configured as.

In addition, although the calculation of the normal time zone / absence time zone is given for each day of the week, each weekday / holiday, and each season as an example, each combination may be used.

It was explained that the estimated time of absence of the user is calculated using the normal time zone and the absence time zone, and this is used as the operation stop time. However, as shown in FIG. 22, the operation time after absence is taken into consideration. It may be configured to set the operation stop time. Assuming that the operation stop time is the estimated absence time, it is hot or cold immediately after returning from absence, and it is necessary to spend an unpleasant temperature. Therefore, the operation stop period is calculated based on the operation time in consideration of the time required for the room temperature to be predicted and the temperature to return to the original temperature. Specifically, it is calculated as follows. First, the operation stop time is set to the minimum value of the initial value (example: 10 minutes), and the room temperature when the operation is stopped for the corresponding time is predicted from the current time. Next, the time (operating time) from the start of operation of the air conditioner to the return of the original temperature after the operation stop period is predicted. If the operation stop time + operation time <= absence prediction period, add time to the operation stop period (example: +10 minutes) and perform the same prediction calculation again. This is repeated until the operation stop time + operation time> absence prediction period. As a result of this calculation, the user is configured to use the largest downtime to convey an energy-saving message indicating whether continuous operation is advantageous or intermittent operation is advantageous. By automatically controlling the air conditioner after the operation stop period using the prediction result, the user can perform energy-saving and comfortable control.

The above is the description of the system configuration of the air conditioning control system in the present embodiment.

Next, the processing flow of the air conditioning control system according to the present embodiment will be described. The processing flow in the air conditioning control system of this implementation is divided into two. One is the "data storage flow" and the other is the "air conditioning setting flow".

FIG. 18 shows a “data accumulation flow”.

In step 1801, the air conditioner 610 acquires temperature / humidity information, absence information, and electric power information by the sensor information acquisition means 611.

In step 1802, the air conditioner 610 acquires the setting information of the air conditioner by the control information acquisition means 612.

In step 1803, the air conditioner 610 transmits the temperature / humidity information, the absence information, the power information acquired in step 1801, and the control information acquired in step 1802 to the cloud service 620. The cloud service 620 receives the sensor information and the control information by the sensor information storage means 621 and the control information storage means 622, and registers the sensor information and the control information in the history DB 626.

In step 1804, the air conditioner waits for a certain period (eg, 5 minutes) and returns to step 1801.

The processing sequence of the data accumulation flow is shown in FIG. In step 1803, data transmission is performed between the air conditioner 610 and the cloud service 620.

The data storage flow has a communication path with the cloud service 620 established and always keeps moving when the power is turned on. In this way, all indoor environment / setting information data is registered in the database. Further, although the sensor information acquisition and the control information acquisition are performed sequentially in FIG. 18, they may be executed in parallel. Further, the control information acquisition may be configured to be uploaded at the timing when the control is changed, instead of being executed routinely on a regular basis.

The above is the explanation of the "data accumulation flow".

Next, the "advice display flow" will be described.

The processing flow will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the advice display flow.

At step 1901, the user launches application 630.

In step 1902, the application 630 acquires the prediction result of continuous operation during absence and the prediction result of intermittent operation during absence by using the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 through the interface 625.

In step 1903, the application 630 displays the setting screen. Specifically, this screen is a screen as shown in FIG.

In step 1904, advice is given based on the prediction result acquired in step 1902. At this time, based on the boundary operation stop time, a message including time information that is advantageous when the vehicle is left on is sent. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 9, it displays information such as that it is advantageous to leave it on if you are absent for 30 minutes.

The above is the explanation of the "advice display flow".

Next, the "advice display flow" when the presence / absence information is used will be described.

The processing flow will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the advice display flow.

In step 2001, the user launches application 630.

In step 2002, the application 630 acquires the prediction result of continuous operation during absence and the prediction result of intermittent operation during absence by using the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 through the interface 625. At this time, the normal presence / absence time zone is predicted from the presence / absence information of the human sensor accumulated in the history DB 626, and the time from the current time to the start of the next normal presence period is defined as the absence time. The operation stop time is specified based on the absence period, and the absence operation prediction result and the absence time intermittent operation prediction result are calculated.

In step 2003, the application 630 displays the setting screen. Specifically, this screen is a screen as shown in FIG.

In step 2004, advice is given based on the prediction result acquired in step 2002. At this time, based on the boundary operation stop time, a message including time information that is advantageous when the vehicle is left on is sent. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, information such as that it is advantageous to leave it on if you are absent for 30 minutes as usual is displayed.

The above is the explanation of the "advice display flow".

In the case where the air conditioner 610 is controlled by a timer by specifying the time, the absence time until the corresponding time is taken into consideration to indicate whether it is better to leave it on or not, and the control is automatically performed. You may do it at. For example, on the GUI screen as shown on the left in Fig. 14, if it is advantageous to leave it on, the message "I will leave it on until 19:00" is displayed, and when OK is pressed, it is turned on. It may be controlled by leaving it. Also, on the GUI screen as shown on the right of Fig. 14, if it is not profitable to leave it on, the message "Turn it off until 19:00 and turn it on again" is displayed, and when OK is pressed, it is turned off once. May be performed to control the temperature so that the temperature becomes comfortable at the relevant time or at the relevant time. By doing so, it is possible to save the trouble of controlling the user.

As a method of displaying a message, when the user is in operation, the "operation" field of the GUI may be set to ON and displayed at the timing when the message is changed from ON to OFF. By doing so, the user who does not leave the room and only changes other settings of the air conditioner does not need to see unnecessary messages.

In the present embodiment, the message is displayed on the GUI screen of the application 630 assuming a smartphone, but the application 630 may be an application that operates on a remote controller such as infrared rays that controls the air conditioner 610.

As a method of transmitting the message, voice synthesis may be performed and the message may be reproduced. By doing so, it is possible to convey even a UI with poor expressive power such as a general infrared remote controller.

Although it was supposed to make a prediction when the application 630 is started, the cloud service 620 may calculate the calculation every time, for example, every 10 minutes, and convey only the result at the time of starting. By doing so, the waiting time until the display on the application can be shortened.

In the present embodiment, when the boundary operation stop time is used and the display is performed as shown in FIG. 9, for example, a limit of the absence time may be provided and the display may be performed only when the limit is exceeded. .. For example, when the limit is set to 1 hour, the message is not displayed when the boundary operation stop time is less than 1 hour. If it is more profitable or extremely short to leave it on, it will often be meaningless information to the user, but with this configuration, it is not necessary to present unnecessary information to the user. Therefore, the user can reduce the hassle.

In the present embodiment, when the boundary operation stop time is used and the display is as shown in FIG. 9, for example, the information that the user knows may be reduced while using the display. .. For example, "If you are absent for 10 minutes, you should leave it on" is learned by the user himself, so the information becomes clearer as he conveys the message. You may learn how to display only the boundary condition messages that the user is wondering whether to leave them on or not. The learning method is the operation of the user after the message is displayed. After sending the message "If X minutes are absent, it is advantageous to leave it on", the boundary condition may be clarified based on the operation history of whether to stop or not.

In the GUI of the application 630, in the case of a configuration in which the operation from the specified time is set as shown in FIG. 11, the result of predicting the absence time until the specified time as an input may be displayed as a message. Good. In that case, as shown in Fig. 11, the message is that it is advantageous to leave it on until 17:00, and the user can understand it more easily than telling the boundary operation stop time.

If the timer has already been set in the GUI of the application 630, the predicted result may be displayed as a message on the remote controller screen with the time until the next ON timer as the absence time. For example, in the GUI of FIG. 12, the following timer setting (8/14 17:00 in this example) is displayed at the bottom of the screen, but it is advantageous to leave it on until that time as the absence time. , The message is displayed after judging whether or not. In this case as well, as in FIG. 11, the message is that it is advantageous to leave it on until 17:00, and the user can understand it more easily than being able to tell the boundary operation stop time.

In the case where the air conditioner 610 is controlled by a timer by specifying the time, it is shown whether the continuous operation during absence is energy saving or the intermittent operation during absence is energy saving in consideration of the absence time until the corresponding period. , Control may be performed automatically. For example, on the GUI screen as shown on the left of Fig. 14, if continuous operation during absence is advantageous, the message "I will keep the advantageous value until 19:00" is displayed and OK is pressed. It may be controlled by continuous operation when absent. In addition, on the GUI screen as shown on the right of Fig. 14, if the intermittent operation when absent is advantageous, the message "Turn off and turn on again until 19:00" is displayed, and when OK is pressed, once It may be turned off and controlled so that the temperature becomes comfortable at the corresponding time or the corresponding time. By doing so, it is possible to save the trouble of controlling the user.

In the case where the air conditioner 610 is controlled by a timer by specifying the time, it is calculated whether the continuous operation during absence is energy saving or the intermittent operation during absence is energy saving in consideration of the absence time until the corresponding period. , It may be configured to be controlled by the person who saves energy, and the result may be transmitted after the control. FIG. 15 shows an example of the GUI. On the screen on the left of FIG. 15, when the return time is set to 19:00 and OK is pressed, the cloud service 620 uses the indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 623 to turn it off or turn it off. Calculate whether it is better to reattach, and control with the best deal. Then, the screen when checking the application when returning home is on the right side of FIG. 15, and at this time, the report may be made in the form of "I left it on at a good price until 19:00". The feedback of the result of the control method is not limited to this, and may be configured to present a detailed control method such as a transition of the set temperature as shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the GUI of the application 630 displays advice on the energy-saving operation method as a message, but it may be automatically controlled without going through the application. For example, there is an auto-off function as a function of the current air conditioner. The auto-off function is a function that stops the control when a person is absent or switches to energy-saving operation when the absence of a person is detected by a motion sensor or the like. However, on the other hand, there is a problem that if you leave the room for a short time or go out, it will be erased immediately. Therefore, the normal absence time zone and the normal absence time zone of the absence information are utilized. If a person is absent at the current time and is in the normal absence time zone, there is a high possibility that the person will be absent until the next normal absence time zone. It may be configured to predict and obtain the value and control based on the result.

In addition, as a method of determining the operation with the highest energy-saving efficiency in FIG. 15, not only is it left on, it is turned off and then turned on again, but also "operation is performed by changing (raising or lowering) the set temperature". , A control pattern such as "gradually raise / lower the temperature transition to a specified time" may be prepared so as to select the most efficient one.

When displaying advice information on whether continuous operation during absence is energy saving or intermittent operation during absence is energy saving, the amount of profit may be converted into electricity bill and displayed. For example, leaving it on is a 10 yen discount. By doing so, the user can feel the effect more.

As shown in FIG. 17, the room temperature prediction / power prediction function may be used to display on the screen the degree of profitability of the power amount when the setting is changed. In the case of FIG. 17, when the current state is as shown on the left of FIG. 17, if the set temperature is changed from 25 degrees to 26 degrees, the amount of power for the next 1 hour when the temperature is set to 25 degrees at that time. And, in the case of setting 26 degrees, the amount of electric power for the next hour may be predicted, and the difference may be converted into a monetary amount and displayed as a message on the screen. With this configuration, the user can intuitively determine how to set the effective energy-saving operation. Not only the set temperature but also all the settings of the air conditioner such as the air volume and the wind direction may be configured to calculate and display the electric energy effect in the same manner.

In this embodiment, the message may be transmitted by the push notification of the application 630. Push notification is a function that can be used on the platform of smartphone applications such as Android / iOS, and even if the application is in the background or terminated, it can be displayed as a message of the corresponding application by pushing from the server. .. By using this function, for example, when the user goes out, it is possible to give advice such as "If you go out for 3 hours or more as usual, you should turn off", and the user can control without forgetting the setting. be able to.

Although the verbal energy saving message has been described in the present embodiment, it may be configured to display a graph as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 21, the left side of the current time line shown by the solid line shows the historical data, and the right side shows the prediction result. It is easy for the user to understand if information such as room temperature, outside air temperature, set temperature, electric energy (or electricity bill) is displayed, and the boundary operation stop time in this case is indicated by a dotted line. In addition, if the normal time zone and the absence time zone based on the presence / absence history are displayed as shown below the graph, the relationship with the boundary operation stop time can be easily understood. In addition, when the set temperature is lowered or raised, the prediction result is recalculated and displayed, so that the user can intuitively understand how to control the energy saving.

In the present embodiment, the energy saving property is determined based on the indoor temperature, but the humidity information may be taken into consideration. For example, there is a discomfort index as an index of human comfort, which is determined by room temperature and humidity. In addition to the room temperature of the room, the humidity is also predicted, and the target value is to make the discomfort index at the time of entering the room the same. It may be configured.

The above is the description of the air conditioning control system in this embodiment.

The technique described in the above aspect can be realized, for example, in the following cloud service types. However, the type in which the technique described in the above aspect is realized is not limited to this.

(Service type 1: In-house data center type)
FIG. 2 shows service type 1 (in-house data center type). This type is a type in which the service provider 120 acquires information from the group 100 and provides a service to the user. In this type, the service provider 120 has the function of a data center operating company. That is, the service provider owns a cloud server 111 that manages big data. Therefore, there is no data center operating company.

In this type, the service provider 120 operates and manages the data center (cloud server 111) (203). The service provider 120 also manages the OS (202) and the application (201). The service provider 120 provides the service using the OS (202) and the application (201) managed by the service provider 120 (204).

(Service type 2: IaaS usage type)
FIG. 3 shows service type 2 (IaaS utilization type). Here, IaaS is an abbreviation for Infrastructure as a Service, and is a cloud service provision model that provides the infrastructure itself for constructing and operating a computer system as a service via the Internet.

In this type, the data center operating company 110 operates and manages the data center (cloud server 111) (203). The service provider 120 also manages the OS (202) and the application (201). The service provider 120 provides the service using the OS (202) and the application (201) managed by the service provider 120 (204).

(Service type 3: PaaS usage type)
FIG. 4 shows service type 3 (PaaS utilization type). Here, PaaS is an abbreviation for Platform as a Service, and is a cloud service provision model that provides a platform as a base for building and operating software as a service via the Internet.

In this type, the data center operating company 110 manages the OS (202) and operates and manages the data center (cloud server 111) (203). The service provider 120 also manages the application (201). The service provider 120 provides the service using the OS (202) managed by the data center operating company and the application (201) managed by the service provider 120 (204).

(Service type 4: SaaS usage type)
FIG. 5 shows service type 4 (SaaS utilization type). Here, SaaS is an abbreviation for Software as a Service. For example, a function that allows companies / individuals (users) who do not have a data center (cloud server) to use applications provided by a platform provider who owns a data center (cloud server) via a network such as the Internet. It is a cloud service provision model that it has.

In this type, the data center operating company 110 manages the application (201), manages the OS (202), and operates and manages the data center (cloud server 111) (203). Further, the service provider 120 provides the service using the OS (202) and the application (201) managed by the data center operating company 110 (204).

In any of the above types, it is assumed that the service provider 120 has performed the service provision act. Further, for example, a service provider or a data center operating company may develop an OS, an application, a database of big data, or the like by itself, or may outsource it to a third party.

The air conditioning control system according to one aspect of the present invention makes it possible to control the air conditioner with high energy saving efficiency. Therefore, the air conditioning control system according to the present invention has high utility in the home appliance industry.

10, 20 users 100 groups 101 equipment 102 home gateway 110 data center operating company 111 cloud server 120 service provider 121 server 201 application 202 OS
203 Data center (cloud server)
204 User 610 Air conditioner 611 Sensor information acquisition means 612 Control information acquisition means 613 Air conditioning control means 620 Cloud service 621 Sensor information storage means 622 Control information storage means 623 Indoor environment / electric energy prediction means 624 Air conditioning setting means 625 Interface 626 History DB
627 External environment prediction means 630 Application

Claims (7)

It ’s a control method that lets a computer execute.
Acquire time information, room air conditioning setting information by an air conditioner, environmental information outside the room, and presence / absence information of a person in the room.
Based on the absence information, the time zone in which the person is in the room and the absence time zone in which the person is not in the room are calculated.
By inputting the time information, the setting information, and the external environment information, the continuous operating power amount when the air conditioning is continued by setting the setting information is calculated based on the relationship of the data.
By inputting the time information, the setting information, and the external environmental information, after stopping the air conditioning in the absence time zone, the air conditioning is operated and the temperature of the room is set to the setting information in the time zone. The amount of intermittent operating power when the temperature is set to the set temperature is calculated based on the relationship of the above data.
It is controlled whether or not the comparison result is displayed on the display device according to whether or not the comparison result between the continuous operation power amount and the intermittent operation power amount satisfies the boundary condition.
The relationship of the data is determined based on the time information, the setting information, the external environmental information, the room temperature, and the electric energy of the air conditioner.
The boundary condition is determined based on the history of whether or not the user has performed an operation to stop the air conditioning after displaying the comparison result.
Control method. The intermittent operating electric energy is obtained from the start of the air conditioning to the temperature in the setting of the setting information in the time zone that arrives after the air conditioning is stopped in the absence time zone. The amount of power of the air conditioner,
The control method according to claim 1. The intermittent operating electric energy is determined by stopping the air conditioning in the absence time zone and then starting the air conditioning before the arrival of the time zone, and then setting the temperature of the room in the time zone of the setting information. The amount of power of the air conditioner until the temperature is set.
The control method according to claim 1. The relationship between the data is determined by machine learning using the time information, the setting information, the external environmental information, the room temperature, and the electric energy of the air conditioner as training data.
The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The absence information is historical information on the absence of a person in the room.
The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The air conditioning of the air conditioner is controlled based on the comparison result.
The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An acquisition unit that acquires time information, room air conditioning setting information by an air conditioner, environmental information outside the room, and information on the presence or absence of a person in the room.
Based on the absence information, the time zone in which the person is in the room and the absence time zone in which the person is not in the room are calculated.
By inputting the time information, the setting information, and the external environment information, the continuous operating power amount when the air conditioning is continued by setting the setting information is calculated based on the relationship of the data.
After stopping the air conditioning in the absence time zone by inputting the time information, the setting information, and the external environment information, the air conditioning is operated and the temperature of the room is set to the setting information in the time zone. A calculation unit that calculates the amount of intermittent operating power when the temperature is set to the set temperature based on the relationship of the data, and
An interface that controls whether or not the comparison result is displayed on the display device according to whether or not the comparison result between the continuous operating power amount and the intermittent operating power amount satisfies the boundary condition.
With
The relationship of the data is determined based on the time information, the setting information, the external environmental information, the room temperature, and the electric energy of the air conditioner.
The boundary condition is determined based on the history of whether or not the user has performed an operation to stop the air conditioning after displaying the comparison result.
Control system.

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