JP7325060B2 - Clothing amount estimation device, air conditioning control device and skin temperature estimation device - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a clothing amount estimation device, an air conditioning control device, and a skin temperature estimation device.

Conventionally, there is known a technique for estimating the amount of clothing worn by a vehicle occupant. For example, in Patent Document 1, temperature sensors are attached to both sides of a seat belt having a predetermined thermal resistance, and the temperature obtained by the attached temperature sensors and the body temperature of the occupant are used to estimate the amount of clothing worn by the occupant. .

JP-A-62-238106

Michiko Nakahashi, "Study on skin temperature distribution by body type difference (2nd report)", Kasei Gaku Zasshi, 1979, Vol. 30, No. 8, p. 47-55

However, in order to improve the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing, it is necessary to use the temperature of the skin under the clothing as the body temperature used for estimating the amount of clothing in the above conventional technology. However, the skin temperature and body temperature differ depending on individual differences such as physical condition and body type of the occupant. For example, it is known that there is a temperature difference of about 1° C. in chest skin temperature between obese and slim people (see Non-Patent Document 1). As described above, since the skin temperature varies depending on individual differences, the amount of clothing cannot be accurately estimated with the above-described conventional technique.

Accuracy in estimating the amount of clothing can be improved by using the subject's accurate skin temperature. However, in order to accurately measure the skin temperature, it is necessary to provide a temperature sensor under the clothing, which impairs the convenience of estimating the amount of clothing.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a clothing amount estimation device that can easily and accurately estimate the amount of clothing worn by a user, and an air conditioning control device and a skin temperature estimation device that include the clothing amount estimation device.

A clothing amount estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a measurement unit that measures a surface temperature, and an estimation unit that estimates the amount of clothing of a user based on the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit. is a part of the member that contacts the clothes of the user, the surface temperature of a first part having a first thermal resistance value, and a part of the member that is different from the first part, A surface temperature of a second portion having a second thermal resistance value different from the first thermal resistance value is measured.

A clothing amount estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a measurement unit that measures a surface temperature, and an estimation unit that estimates the amount of clothing of a user based on the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit. is a part of the member that comes into contact with the user's clothes and has a first thermal resistance value; Measure the surface temperature of the part.

A clothing amount apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a measurement unit that measures a surface temperature or a heat flux, and an estimation unit that estimates the amount of clothing of a user based on the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit. The measurement unit measures the surface temperature or heat flux of a first portion, which is a part of the member that contacts the user's clothing, and the surface temperature or heat flux of a second portion, which has a different thermal resistance value from the first portion. measure.

An air conditioning control device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an air conditioning control device including the clothing amount estimation device, comprising: an internal environment measurement unit that measures a thermal environment inside a space where the user exists; and the internal environment measurement unit. and an air conditioning control unit that performs air conditioning in the space based on the thermal environment measured by the estimating unit and the amount of clothing estimated by the estimating unit.

A skin temperature estimating device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes the clothing amount estimating device and a skin temperature estimating unit that estimates the skin temperature of the user based on the surface temperature measured by the measuring unit.

Further, one aspect of the present disclosure can be implemented as a program that causes a computer to execute each processing method in the clothing amount estimation device, the air conditioning control device, or the skin temperature estimation device. Alternatively, it can be implemented as a computer-readable non-temporary recording medium storing the program.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a clothing amount estimation device that can easily and accurately estimate the amount of clothing worn by a user, and an air conditioning control device and a skin temperature estimation device that include the clothing amount estimation device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an application example of the clothing amount estimation device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothing, and seat belt, and temperature measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a thermal equivalent circuit diagram of a path from the user's skin to the air via the user's clothing and seat belt. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and a first example of temperature measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and a second example of temperature measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and a third example of temperature measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus for estimating the amount of clothing according to Embodiment 2. As shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothing, and seatbelt, and a first example of temperature and heat flux measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and a second example of the temperature and heat flux measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seatbelt, and a third example of temperature and heat flux measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seatbelt, and a fourth example of temperature and heat flux measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a graph showing an example of the result of estimating the amount of clothing by the apparatus for estimating the amount of clothing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 14 is a graph showing another example of the results of estimating the amount of clothing by the apparatus for estimating the amount of clothing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an application example of the clothing amount estimation device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing Modification 1 of the seat belt according to Embodiment 3. FIG. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing Modification 2 of the seat belt according to Embodiment 3. FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing Modification 3 of the seat belt according to Embodiment 3. FIG. FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus for estimating the amount of clothing according to Embodiment 4. As shown in FIG. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a display message by the clothing amount estimation device according to the fourth embodiment. 23 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a clothing amount estimation apparatus according to Embodiment 5. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a display message by the clothing amount estimation device according to Embodiment 5. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing another example of a display message by the clothing amount estimation device according to Embodiment 5. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing another example of a display message by the clothing amount estimation device according to Embodiment 5. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing another example of a display message by the clothing amount estimation device according to Embodiment 5. FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioning control device according to Embodiment 6. FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a skin temperature estimation device according to Embodiment 7. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of a display message by the skin temperature estimating device according to Embodiment 7. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing another example of a display message by the skin temperature estimating device according to Embodiment 7. FIG. FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to Modification 1 of the embodiment. 33 is a plan view showing an appearance of a clothing amount estimation device according to Modification 1 of the embodiment. FIG. FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating a usage example of the clothing amount estimation device according to Modification 1 of the embodiment. FIG. 35 is a plan view showing the appearance of the configuration of a body fat scale according to Modification 2 of the embodiment. FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a usage example of a body fat scale according to Modification 2 of the embodiment. FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship of muscles, subcutaneous fat, and a body fat scale.

(Summary of this disclosure)
A clothing amount estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a measurement unit that measures a surface temperature, and an estimation unit that estimates the amount of clothing of a user based on the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit. is a part of the member that contacts the clothes of the user, the surface temperature of a first part having a first thermal resistance value, and a part of the member that is different from the first part, A surface temperature of a second portion having a second thermal resistance value different from the first thermal resistance value is measured.

As a result, it is possible to use the difference in heat flux based on the difference in thermal resistance between the first portion and the second portion of the member that contacts the user's clothes, so that the user's skin temperature can be measured. Therefore, it is possible to simply and accurately estimate the amount of clothes worn by the user without using the method.

Further, for example, the member includes a sheet member that contacts the clothing, and a first heat resistance member attached to the sheet member, and the first portion includes the first heat resistance member and the sheet member. and a third portion overlapping the first heat resistance member in plan view.

Accordingly, since the first portion includes the first thermal resistance member, the difference between the thermal resistance value of the first portion and the thermal resistance value of the second portion can be increased. Since the difference in the thermal resistance value can increase the difference in surface temperature, the noise component based on the measurement error can be relatively reduced, and the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the member further includes a second heat resistance member attached to the sheet member, and the second portion is formed by the second heat resistance member and the second heat resistance member in a plan view of the sheet member. and a fourth portion overlying the thermal resistance member.

As a result, the difference between the first heat resistance member and the second heat resistance member can be set to a desired value. can be Since the difference in the thermal resistance value can increase the difference in surface temperature, the noise component based on the measurement error can be relatively reduced, and the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the surface temperature of the first portion is the surface temperature of the surface of the third portion that contacts the clothing, and the surface temperature of the second portion is the surface temperature of the fourth portion that contacts the clothing. It may also be the surface temperature of the surface to be measured.

As a result, since the surface temperature of the portion that is difficult to come into contact with the outside air is measured, the noise component due to the influence of the outside air can be reduced, and the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the measuring unit further measures the surface temperature or heat flux of the surface of the first thermal resistance member opposite to the third portion, and the fourth portion of the second thermal resistance member. may measure the surface temperature or heat flux on the opposite side.

As a result, the temperature of both surfaces (clothing side and opposite side) of the first portion is measured, so that the heat flux flowing through the first portion from the contact portion with the clothing can be calculated with high accuracy. The same is true for the second part. Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently reduce the influence of the heat flux component flowing laterally of the first portion and the second portion, and it is possible to improve the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing. The accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can also be improved when the heat fluxes of the surfaces of the first and second portions opposite to the clothing are directly measured.

Further, for example, the measurement unit further measures the temperature or heat flux of the contact portion between the third portion and the first heat resistance member and the temperature of the contact portion between the fourth portion and the second heat resistance member. Alternatively, the heat flux may be measured.

As a result, the surface temperature or heat flux of a portion that is difficult to come into contact with the outside air is measured, so the noise component due to the influence of the outside air can be reduced, and the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Also, for example, the measurement unit may further measure a heat flux at a contact portion between the third portion and the clothing and a heat flux at a contact portion between the fourth portion and the clothing.

As a result, the surface temperature or heat flux of a portion that is difficult to come into contact with the outside air is measured, so the noise component due to the influence of the outside air can be reduced, and the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the surface temperature of the first portion is the surface temperature of the surface of the first heat resistance member opposite to the third portion, and the surface temperature of the second portion is the surface temperature of the second heat resistance member. It is the surface temperature of the surface of the resistance member opposite to the fourth portion, and the measurement unit further measures the temperature or heat flux of the contact portion between the third portion and the first heat resistance member A temperature or heat flux at a contact portion between the fourth portion and the second thermal resistance member may be measured.

As a result, the heat flux flowing through the first heat resistance member and the heat flux flowing through the second heat resistance member can be calculated with high accuracy, so the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the surface temperature of the first portion is the surface temperature of the surface of the third portion that contacts the clothing, and the surface temperature of the second portion is the surface temperature of the sheet member in plan view. 1 It is the surface temperature of the surface in contact with the clothing in the fourth portion that does not overlap with the thermal resistance member, and the measurement unit further measures the surface temperature of the surface of the first thermal resistance member opposite to the third portion. A surface temperature or heat flux and a surface temperature or heat flux of a surface of the fourth portion opposite the garment may be measured.

As a result, it is possible to estimate the amount of clothing more simply because it is not necessary to use the second heat resistance member.

Further, a clothing amount estimation device according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes a measurement unit that measures a surface temperature, and an estimation unit that estimates the amount of clothing of a user based on the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit. , the measuring unit measures a surface temperature of a first portion, which is a part of a member that is in contact with the user's clothing and has a first thermal resistance value, and a surface of the user's clothing that is covered by the member; You may measure the surface temperature of the 2nd part which is not covered.

This makes it possible to use the difference in heat flux based on the difference in thermal resistance between the first portion of the member that contacts the user's clothing and the second portion that exposes the clothing, so that the user's skin is It is possible to simply and accurately estimate the user's amount of clothing without measuring the temperature.

Further, for example, the member includes a sheet member that contacts the clothing, the sheet member is provided with a through hole that exposes the clothing, and the second portion is the portion exposed through the through hole. may

As a result, since the clothing is held down by the sheet member, wrinkles are less likely to occur in the portion of the clothing exposed to the through-hole of the sheet member. As a result, the measurement accuracy of the surface temperature of the clothing is improved, and the amount of clothing worn by the user can be easily and accurately estimated.

Also, for example, the measurement unit may include a thermo camera.

Thereby, the surface temperature can be measured in a non-contact manner and more simply.

A clothing amount estimation device according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes a measurement unit that measures a surface temperature or a heat flux, and an estimation unit that estimates the amount of clothing of a user based on the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit. and the measurement unit measures the surface temperature or heat flux of a first portion that is a part of the member that contacts the user's clothes, and the surface temperature of a second portion that has a thermal resistance value different from that of the first portion. Alternatively, the heat flux may be measured.

As a result, it is possible to use the difference in heat flux between the first portion and the second portion based on the difference in the respective thermal resistance values. In addition, it can be estimated with high accuracy.

Further, for example, the user may be a passenger of a mobile body, and the member may be a seat belt attached to a seat on which the user sits.

As a result, it is possible to simply and accurately estimate the amount of clothing worn by the occupant of a moving object such as a vehicle or an airplane. In addition, since the standard seat belt is made of a hard member that does not easily wrinkle, it is possible to improve the measurement accuracy of the surface temperature.

Further, for example, the measurement unit may perform the measurement after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the seat belt was worn by the user.

As a result, the measurement can be performed after the thermal equilibrium state is maintained, so the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the clothing amount estimation device may further increase the pulling force of the seat belt during the period in which the measurement unit performs the measurement.

As a result, by strongly pulling the seat belt, it can be brought into close contact with the clothes of the occupant, so that the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothes can be improved.

Further, for example, the measurement unit may perform the measurement while the moving object is stationary.

As a result, the measurement can be performed in an environment with less disturbance such as vibrations during movement and changes in the external environment, so the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the measurement unit may perform the measurement during a period in which a window of the moving body is closed.

As a result, the influence of the wind from the window can be prevented, so the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the moving body may include a window with a variable infrared transmittance, and the clothing amount estimation apparatus may further reduce the infrared transmittance of the window before the measurement unit performs the measurement. good.

As a result, the influence of solar radiation can be suppressed, so the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the clothing estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure may further include a display unit that displays information based on the measurement result by the measurement unit or the estimation result by the estimation unit.

Thereby, the user can be notified of information based on the result of measuring the surface temperature or the result of estimating the amount of clothing.

Note that if the adhesion between the member that contacts the user's clothing and the clothing is not sufficient, variations in the measured values of the surface temperature increase. Therefore, for example, when the variance of the surface temperature measured by the measuring unit within a predetermined period is greater than a threshold value, the display unit may display to the user to bring the member into close contact with the clothing. . As a result, the adhesion between the member and the clothing can be improved, and the measurement accuracy of the amount of clothing can be improved.

Further, for example, the display unit may display the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit.

This allows the user to check the estimated amount of clothing.

Further, for example, the user is an occupant of a mobile body, and the clothing amount estimation device further includes an internal environment measurement unit that measures a thermal environment inside the mobile body, and a first determination unit that determines an appropriate amount of clothing in a thermal environment, and the display unit displays when the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit deviates from the amount of clothing determined by the first determination unit. , a display for prompting the user to increase or decrease the number of clothes may be displayed.

As a result, it is possible to prompt the user to increase or decrease the amount of clothing, so that the comfort of the user can be enhanced. In addition, even if the air conditioning inside the moving body is not controlled, comfort can be improved by increasing or decreasing the amount of clothes worn, so energy consumption of the moving body can be saved. Therefore, it is possible to extend the cruising distance of the moving body and effectively utilize the energy.

Further, for example, when the plurality of users exist as passengers in the moving object, the first determination unit determines whether the amount of clothing deviated from the amount of clothing determined by the first determination unit among the plurality of users. may be specified, and the display unit may perform display for prompting the user specified by the first determination unit to increase or decrease the number of clothes.

Accordingly, by prompting an occupant whose clothing amount is not appropriate among a plurality of occupants to increase or decrease the amount of clothing, the comfort of the occupant can be enhanced. For example, it is possible to realize a comfortable environment for all of the multiple occupants.

Further, for example, the first determination unit may determine an appropriate amount of clothing when the user sleeps in the thermal environment measured by the internal environment measurement unit.

As a result, it is possible to realize a comfortable amount of clothing that does not cause night sweats when taking a nap in the moving body, and allows the user to have a comfortable sleep.

Further, for example, the user is an occupant of a mobile object, and the clothing amount estimation device further includes an external environment measurement unit that measures a thermal environment outside the mobile object, and a thermal environment measured by the external environment measurement unit. a second determining unit that determines an appropriate amount of clothing in a thermal environment, and the display unit displays when the amount of clothing estimated by the estimating unit deviates from the amount of clothing determined by the second determining unit. , a display for prompting the user to increase or decrease the number of clothes may be displayed.

As a result, it is possible to realize a comfortable amount of clothing when going out of the moving body, so that comfort when going out before coming out can be improved.

Further, an air conditioning control device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an air conditioning control device including the clothing amount estimation device, comprising: an internal environment measurement unit that measures a thermal environment inside a space where the user exists; An air conditioning control unit that performs air conditioning in the space based on the thermal environment measured by the measurement unit and the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit.

As a result, air conditioning is controlled based on the amount of clothing estimated with high accuracy, so that a comfortable thermal environment can be easily realized for the occupant.

Further, for example, the air conditioning control unit may stop blowing air when the measurement unit performs the measurement.

Thereby, the measurement accuracy of the surface temperature can be improved.

Further, for example, when there are a plurality of users in the space, the air-conditioning control unit, based on the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit of each of the plurality of users, gives each of the plurality of users An optimum thermal environment may be determined, and the air conditioning may be performed so that a thermal environment obtained by averaging the determined multiple thermal environments is formed in the space.

As a result, it is possible to realize a thermal environment that is the greatest common divisor and comfortable for a plurality of occupants.

A skin temperature estimating device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes the clothing amount estimating device and a skin temperature estimating unit that estimates the user's skin temperature based on the surface temperature measured by the measuring unit.

As a result, it is possible to accurately estimate the user's skin temperature based on the amount of clothing estimated with high accuracy.

Also, for example, the skin temperature estimating device according to an aspect of the present disclosure may further include a body temperature estimating unit that estimates the body temperature of the user based on the skin temperature estimated by the skin temperature estimating unit.

This makes it possible to accurately estimate the user's body temperature.

Further, for example, the clothing amount estimation device, a skin temperature estimation unit for estimating the skin temperature of the user based on the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit, and the skin temperature estimated by the skin temperature estimation unit and a body temperature estimating unit for estimating the body temperature of the user, and the display unit may display the body temperature.

Thereby, the body temperature can be notified to the user.

Further, for example, when the body temperature is greater than a threshold, the display unit may display a message to prompt the user to take a rest.

This can prompt the user for information regarding their health condition, such as the need for rest. Also, when the user is a driver of a car, dangerous driving and accidents can be prevented.

The skin temperature decreases as the amount of subcutaneous fat increases. For this reason, for example, when the skin temperature is lower than a threshold, the display unit may perform display for prompting the user to restrict his or her diet.

This makes it possible to make the user aware of the need for health management by prompting him to restrict his diet.

Embodiments will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

It should be noted that the embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. Numerical values, shapes, materials, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of components, steps, order of steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are examples, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Further, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements not described in independent claims will be described as optional constituent elements.

Each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily strictly illustrated. Therefore, for example, scales and the like do not necessarily match in each drawing. Moreover, in each figure, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected about the substantially same structure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate|omitted or simplified.

In addition, in this specification, terms indicating the relationship between elements such as matching or equal, terms indicating the shape of elements, and numerical ranges are not expressions that express only strict meanings, but substantially equivalent It is an expression that means to include a wide range, for example, a difference of about several percent.

(Embodiment 1)
[1-1. overview]
First, an overview of the clothing amount estimation device according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an application example of a clothing amount estimation device according to the present embodiment.

The clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment estimates the amount of clothing 14 of user 10 (that is, the amount of clothing), as shown in FIG. The user 10 is, for example, an occupant of a mobile object. The moving object is, for example, an automobile, but may also be a vehicle such as a bus or train, or an airplane or ship. In the present embodiment, user 10 is a driver of an automobile, sits on seat 20 which is the driver's seat, and wears seat belt 30 . The user 10 may be a passenger or passenger other than the driver. That is, the seat 20 may be a front passenger's seat or a rear seat.

The seat belt 30 is an example of a member that contacts the clothing 14 of the user 10 . The seat belt 30 is attached to the seat 20 on which the user 10 sits. The seatbelt 30 includes a belt body 31 and a lock mechanism 32 . The belt body 31 is an example of a sheet member that contacts the clothes 14 . As shown in FIG. 1, seat belt 30 further includes a first heat resistance member 41 and a second heat resistance member 42 . Specifically, the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42 are attached to the belt body 31 . An adhesive, an adhesive tape, a clip member, or the like is used to attach the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42, but is not particularly limited.

The seat belt 30 is an object whose surface temperature or heat flux is measured by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment. The clothing amount estimation device measures the surface temperature or heat flux of a first portion of the seat belt 30 including the first heat resistance member 41 and the surface temperature or heat flux of a second portion of the seat belt 30 including the second heat resistance member 42. is measured, and the amount of clothing worn by the user 10 is estimated based on the measurement results. At this time, since the clothing amount estimation device does not measure the skin temperature or body temperature of the user 10, it is not necessary to attach a temperature sensor or the like under the clothing 14, and the clothing amount can be easily estimated. Note that the seat belt 30 or the belt body 31 may be part of the clothing amount estimation device. That is, the clothing amount estimation device may include the seat belt 30 or the belt body 31 .

[1-2. composition]
Next, a specific configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the clothing amount estimation device 100 includes a measurement unit 110 , an estimation unit 120 , a storage unit 130 and a display unit 140 .

The measurement unit 110 measures the surface temperature. In the present embodiment, measurement unit 110 measures the surface temperature of seat belt 30 at four locations. As shown in FIG. 2 , measurement unit 110 includes first temperature sensor 111 , second temperature sensor 112 , third temperature sensor 113 , and fourth temperature sensor 114 . Each of the first temperature sensor 111, the second temperature sensor 112, the third temperature sensor 113, and the fourth temperature sensor 114 is a contact-type temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the attached portion. As the contact-type temperature sensor, for example, a thermocouple, a platinum resistance temperature sensor, a thermistor temperature sensor, or the like is used, but the temperature sensor is not particularly limited. Specific measurement positions by each temperature sensor will be described later with reference to FIG.

The estimation unit 120 estimates the amount of clothing worn by the user 10 based on the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit 110 . In the present embodiment, estimation unit 120 estimates the amount of clothing worn by user 10 based on the surface temperatures at four locations. A specific method of estimating the amount of clothing will be described later with reference to FIG.

The estimation unit 120 is realized by, for example, an LSI (Large Scale Integration), which is an integrated circuit (IC). Note that the integrated circuit is not limited to an LSI, and may be a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. For example, the estimator 120 may be a microcontroller. The estimator 120 may be a programmable FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or a reconfigurable processor in which connections and settings of circuit cells in an LSI can be reconfigured. The functions performed by the estimation unit 120 may be implemented by software or by hardware.

Storage unit 130 is a storage device that stores an estimation program for estimating the amount of clothing, which is a program executed by estimation unit 120 . The storage unit 130 is, for example, a non-volatile memory and is realized by a semiconductor memory or the like. The storage unit 130 stores the heat resistance value Rs of the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30, the heat resistance value Rr1 of the first heat resistance member 41, and the heat resistance value Rr2 of the second heat resistance member . The thermal resistance values Rs, Rr1, and Rr2 are predetermined values, and are stored in advance in the storage unit 130 by the user 10 or the manufacturer of the clothing amount estimation apparatus 100 or the like. The thermal resistance values Rs, Rr1, and Rr2 may be updated as necessary, for example, when the belt body 31 is replaced.

The display unit 140 displays information based on the result of measurement by the measurement unit 110 or the result of estimation by the estimation unit 120 . For example, the display unit 140 displays the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit 120 . The display unit 140 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), but may be an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display.

In the present embodiment, measuring section 110 is provided on seat belt 30 . For example, in FIG. 1, the third temperature sensor 113 and the fourth temperature sensor 114 are attached to the surfaces of the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42 of the belt body 31, respectively. The estimation unit 120, the storage unit 130, and the display unit 140 are provided, for example, in a portion different from the seat belt 30. FIG. For example, if the mobile object is an automobile, the estimation unit 120, the storage unit 130, and the display unit 140 are provided in the instrument panel.

As shown in FIG. 1, each temperature sensor of the measurement unit 110 is connected to the lock mechanism 32 of the seat belt 30 via a cable 16, for example. The lock mechanism 32 is provided with a connection terminal for the cable 16 and a communication interface. A value measured by each temperature sensor is transmitted to the estimation unit 120 via the cable 16 and the lock mechanism 32 . Note that transmission and reception of information between each temperature sensor and the estimation unit 120 may be performed wirelessly instead of wiredly. At least one of the estimation unit 120, the storage unit 130, and the display unit 140 may be a mobile terminal owned by the user 10. FIG.

[1-3. Measurement position by temperature sensor]
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothing, and seat belt, and temperature measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows the skin 12 of the user 10, the clothing 14, the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30, the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member . Note that FIG. 3 is a drawing for explaining the positional relationship of each component, and in order to avoid complication of the drawing, hatching representing the cross section of each component is omitted. This also applies to FIGS. 5 to 7, 9 to 12, 17 and 37 which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30 is in contact with the clothing 14 . Furthermore, the clothing 14 is pressed against the skin 12 by the seat belt 30 and is in contact with the skin 12 .

The first heat resistance member 41 is attached to a third portion 31 a that is a part of the belt body 31 . Specifically, the first heat resistance member 41 is attached to the surface of the third portion 31 a opposite to the clothing 14 . The third portion 31a is a portion of the belt body 31 that overlaps the first heat resistance member 41 in plan view. In this specification, unless otherwise specified, "plan view" refers to the main surface of the belt body 31 (the surface opposite to the surface in contact with the clothing 14) viewed from the front.

The second heat resistance member 42 is attached to a fourth portion 31b that is part of the belt body 31. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the second heat resistance member 42 is attached to the surface of the fourth portion 31 b opposite to the clothing 14 . The fourth portion 31b is a portion of the belt body 31 that overlaps the second heat resistance member 42 in plan view. The second heat resistance member 42 is provided side by side with the first heat resistance member 41 . The first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42 are arranged so as not to contact each other. The thermal resistance value Rr2 of the second thermal resistance member 42 is different from the thermal resistance value Rr1 of the first thermal resistance member 41 .

In the present embodiment, the measurement unit 110 is a part of the seat belt 30 and measures the surface temperature of the first portion 30a having a predetermined first thermal resistance value and the surface temperature of a portion different from the first portion 30a. and the surface temperature of the second portion 30b having a predetermined second thermal resistance value. The second thermal resistance value is a value different from the first thermal resistance value.

The first portion 30a includes a first thermal resistance member 41 and a third portion 31a. Therefore, the first thermal resistance value of the first portion 30a is the sum of the thermal resistance values Rr1 and Rs. The second portion 30b includes a second thermal resistance member 42 and a fourth portion 31b. Therefore, the second thermal resistance value of the second portion 30b is the sum of the thermal resistance values Rr2 and Rs. All of the thermal resistance values Rr1, Rr2 and Rs are predetermined values.

The first temperature sensor 111 is sandwiched between the third portion 31 a of the belt body 31 and the first thermal resistance member 41 . The first temperature sensor 111 is smaller than the first thermal resistance member 41 . The third portion 31 a and the first thermal resistance member 41 are in contact with each other so as to surround the first temperature sensor 111 . The first temperature sensor 111 measures the temperature Ts1 of the contact portion between the third portion 31 a and the first thermal resistance member 41 .

The second temperature sensor 112 is sandwiched between the fourth portion 31 b of the belt body 31 and the second thermal resistance member 42 . The second temperature sensor 112 is smaller than the second thermal resistance member 42 . The fourth portion 31b and the second thermal resistance member 42 are in contact with each other so as to surround the second temperature sensor 112 . The second temperature sensor 112 measures the temperature Ts2 of the contact portion between the fourth portion 31b of the belt body 31 and the second heat resistance member .

The third temperature sensor 113 is attached to the surface of the first thermal resistance member 41 opposite to the third portion 31a. The third temperature sensor 113 measures the surface temperature To1 of the surface of the first thermal resistance member 41 opposite to the third portion 31a. A surface temperature To1 measured by the third temperature sensor 113 is the surface temperature of the first portion 30a.

The fourth temperature sensor 114 is attached to the surface of the second thermal resistance member 42 opposite to the fourth portion 31b. The fourth temperature sensor 114 measures the surface temperature To2 of the surface of the second thermal resistance member 42 opposite to the fourth portion 31b. A surface temperature To2 measured by the fourth temperature sensor 114 is the surface temperature of the second portion 30b.

The first temperature sensor 111, the second temperature sensor 112, the third temperature sensor 113, and the fourth temperature sensor 114 are each fixed at each position by an adhesive, an adhesive tape, a clip member, or the like. In addition, the fixing method of each temperature sensor is not particularly limited.

[1-4. Estimation processing of amount of clothes]
Next, a specific example of the clothing amount estimation process performed by the estimation unit 120 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. FIG. 4 is a thermal equivalent circuit diagram of a path from the user's skin to the air via the user's clothing and seat belt.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the heat propagation path from the skin 12 includes a first path 51 passing through the first heat resistance member 41 after passing through the clothing 14 and the belt body 31 and a second heat resistance member 42 . and a second path 52 passing through the . Therefore, the heat equivalent circuit of the heat propagation path shown in FIG. 3 is represented by a circuit in which a series circuit in which the heat flux Q1 flows and a series circuit in which the heat flux Q2 flows are connected in parallel, as shown in FIG. be done. A series circuit through which the heat flux Q1 flows is a thermal equivalent circuit of the first path 51 in which heat passes through the first thermal resistance member 41, that is, the first portion 30a. The series circuit through which the heat flux Q2 flows is the thermal equivalent circuit of the second path 52 in which heat passes through the second thermal resistance member 42, ie, the second portion 30b.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, Tsk is skin temperature. Ts1 is the temperature of the contact portion between the third portion 31a of the belt body 31 and the first thermal resistance member 41, and is the temperature measured by the first temperature sensor 111; Ts2 is the temperature of the contact portion between the fourth portion 31b of the belt body 31 and the second thermal resistance member 42, and is the temperature measured by the second temperature sensor 112; To1 is the surface temperature of the first thermal resistance member 41 and is the temperature measured by the third temperature sensor 113 . To2 is the surface temperature of the second thermal resistance member 42 and is the temperature measured by the fourth temperature sensor 114 . Ta is the air temperature (the temperature inside the vehicle or room).

Clo is the thermal resistance of the clothing 14 and corresponds to the amount of clothing. That is, Clo is a value estimated by estimation section 120 and is an unknown quantity. Rs, Rr1, and Rr2 are the thermal resistance values of the belt body 31, the first thermal resistance member 41, and the second thermal resistance member 42, respectively, and are values stored in the storage unit 130 in advance. Ra is the thermal resistance of air.

Focusing on the first thermal resistance member 41 and the second thermal resistance member 42 from the thermal equivalent circuit shown in FIG. 4, the following equations (1) and (2) are established.

(1) Q1=(Ts1-To1)/Rr1
(2) Q2=(Ts2-To2)/Rr2

All of Ts1, To1, Ts2 and To2 are values measured by the measuring unit 110, and all of Rr1 and Rr2 are values stored in the storage unit . Therefore, the estimating unit 120 can calculate the heat fluxes Q1 and Q2 using equations (1) and (2).

When thermal equilibrium is maintained, the heat flux Q1 flowing through the first path 51 is constant at any position on the path. The heat flux Q2 flowing through the second path 52 is constant at any position on the path. For example, the heat fluxes Q1 and Q2 are equal to heat fluxes flowing from the skin 12 through the belt body 31 and the first heat resistance member 41 or the second heat resistance member 42 . Therefore, the following equations (3) and (4) hold.

(3) Q1=(Tsk-To1)/(Clo+Rs+Rr1)
(4) Q2=(Tsk-To2)/(Clo+Rs+Rr2)

By solving the equations (1) to (4), the clothing amount Clo is expressed by the following equation (5) or (6).

(5) Clo = (To1 + Q1 x (Rs + Rr1) - To2 - Q2 x (Rs + Rr2)) / (Q2 - Q1)
(6) Clo = (Ts1 + Q1 x Rs - Ts2 - Q2 x Rs) / (Q2 - Q1)

Each term on the right side of Equations (5) and (6) is a value measured by the measurement unit 110, a value stored in the storage unit 130, or a value calculated based on these. Therefore, the estimating unit 120 can calculate the amount of clothing Clo using equation (5) or (6).

As described above, the clothing amount estimation apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment utilizes the heat fluxes Q1 and Q2 flowing through the first portion 30a and the second portion 30b of the seatbelt 30, which have different thermal resistance values. The clothing amount Clo can be calculated. Even if the skin temperature Tsk remains unknown, that is, without measuring the skin temperature Tsk, the clothing amount Clo can be estimated.

[1-5. Modification of measurement position of temperature sensor]
Below, the modification of the measurement position of each temperature sensor is demonstrated. In the following description, differences from the contents based on FIGS. 3 and 4 described above will be mainly described, and descriptions of common points will be omitted or simplified.

[1-5-1. 1st example]
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and a first example of temperature measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, in the first example, the installation positions of the first temperature sensor 111 and the second temperature sensor 112 are different.

The first temperature sensor 111 is attached to the surface of the third portion 31 a of the belt body 31 that contacts the clothing 14 . The first temperature sensor 111 measures the surface temperature Tcl1 of the surface in contact with the clothing 14 in the third portion 31a. A surface temperature Tcl1 measured by the first temperature sensor 111 is the surface temperature of the first portion 30a.

The second temperature sensor 112 is attached to the surface of the fourth portion 31 b of the belt body 31 that contacts the clothing 14 . The second temperature sensor 112 measures the surface temperature Tcl2 of the surface in contact with the clothing 14 in the fourth portion 31b. A surface temperature Tcl2 measured by the second temperature sensor 112 is the surface temperature of the second portion 30b.

In this example, the first temperature sensor 111 , the second temperature sensor 112 , the third temperature sensor 113 and the fourth temperature sensor 114 are supported by the housing 40 . The housing 40 is attached to the belt body 31 so as to accommodate a portion of the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30 . A first heat resistance member 41 and a second heat resistance member 42 are housed inside the housing 40 . The housing 40 is formed using a heat insulating material, for example.

For example, the housing 40 can slide along the longitudinal direction of the belt body 31 . Each temperature sensor and the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42 slide integrally. Accordingly, by sliding the housing 40 after the user 10 wears the seat belt 30 , measurement can be performed at an arbitrary portion of the belt body 31 . Therefore, the housing 40 can be slid to a position where the clothing 14 of the user 10 and the belt body 31 are in close contact with each other, and the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

The thermal equivalent circuit in this example is the same as the thermal equivalent circuit shown in FIG. The difference is that the values obtained by measurement are Tcl1 and Tcl2 instead of Ts1 and Ts2.

Therefore, by focusing on the series portion of the belt main body 31 and the first heat resistance member 41 and the series portion of the belt main body 31 and the second heat resistance member 42, instead of the expressions (1) and (2), the expression (7) and (8) are obtained.

(7) Q1=(Tcl1-To1)/(Rr1+Rs)
(8) Q2=(Tcl2-To2)/(Rr2+Rs)

By solving the equations (3), (4), (7) and (8), the clothing amount Clo is expressed by the following equation (9).

(9) Clo = (Tcl1-Tcl2)/(Q2-Q1)

Each term on the right side of Equation (9) is a value measured by the measurement unit 110, a value stored in the storage unit 130, or a value calculated based on these. Therefore, the estimating unit 120 can calculate the amount of clothing Clo by Equation (9).

[1-5-2. Second example]
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothing, and seat belt, and a second example of temperature measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, in the second example, the installation positions of the first temperature sensor 111, the second temperature sensor 112, the third temperature sensor 113, and the fourth temperature sensor 114 are different. The installation positions of the first temperature sensor 111 and the second temperature sensor 112 are the same as in the first example shown in FIG.

The third temperature sensor 113 is sandwiched between the third portion 31 a of the belt body 31 and the first thermal resistance member 41 . The third temperature sensor 113 measures the temperature Ts<b>1 of the contact portion between the third portion 31 a and the first thermal resistance member 41 . That is, the third temperature sensor 113 corresponds to the first temperature sensor 111 shown in FIG.

The fourth temperature sensor 114 is sandwiched between the fourth portion 31 b of the belt body 31 and the second heat resistance member 42 . The fourth temperature sensor 114 measures the temperature Ts2 of the contact portion between the fourth portion 31b and the second thermal resistance member . That is, the fourth temperature sensor 114 corresponds to the second temperature sensor 112 shown in FIG.

The thermal equivalent circuit in this example is the same as the thermal equivalent circuit shown in FIG. The difference is that the values obtained by measurement are Tcl1 and Tcl2 instead of To1 and To2.

Therefore, by focusing on the belt body 31, equations (10) and (11) are obtained instead of equations (1) and (2).

(10) Q1 = (Tcl1-Ts1)/Rs
(11) Q2 = (Tcl2-Ts2)/Rs

By solving equations (3), (4), (10) and (11), the clothing amount Clo is expressed by equation (9) described above.

In this example, the first temperature sensor 111, the second temperature sensor 112, the third temperature sensor 113, and the fourth temperature sensor 114 are provided at positions that are difficult to come into contact with the outside air. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the noise component due to the influence of the outside air, and to improve the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing.

[1-5-3. Third example]
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and a third example of temperature measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the third example differs from the first example in that the seat belt 30 does not include the second heat resistance member 42 . The installation positions of the first temperature sensor 111, the second temperature sensor 112 and the third temperature sensor 113 are the same as in the first example shown in FIG.

Since the second heat resistance member 42 is not provided in this example, the fourth temperature sensor 114 is attached to the fourth portion 31b of the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30 . The fourth portion 31b is a portion that does not overlap the first thermal resistance member 41 in plan view. The fourth temperature sensor 114 measures the surface temperature Ts2 of the surface opposite to the clothing 14 in the fourth portion 31b.

The thermal equivalent circuit in this example is the same as the thermal equivalent circuit shown in FIG. 4 with the thermal resistance value Rr2 removed. The surface temperature Ts2 measured by the fourth temperature sensor 114 is equal to the surface temperature To2 of the second portion 30b.

Therefore, by focusing on the belt body 31, the equation (12) is obtained instead of the equation (8) in the first example.

(12) Q2 = (Tcl2-Ts2)/Rs

By solving equations (3), (4), (7) and (12), the clothing amount Clo is expressed by equation (9) described above.

In this example, since the second heat resistance member 42 may not be provided, the amount of clothing can be estimated more easily.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described.

The clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in that heat flux is measured instead of temperature. In the following, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and descriptions of common points will be omitted or simplified.

[2-1. composition]
First, a specific configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, clothing amount estimation apparatus 200 includes measurement section 210 and estimation section 220 instead of measurement section 110 and estimation section 120, as compared with clothing amount estimation apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1. Prepare. Moreover, the clothing amount estimation device 200 does not include the storage unit 130 .

The measurement unit 210 measures surface temperature and heat flux. In the present embodiment, the measurement unit 210 measures the surface temperature of the seat belt 30 at two locations and the heat flux at two locations. As shown in FIG. 8 , measurement unit 210 includes first temperature sensor 111 , second temperature sensor 112 , first heat flux meter 215 and second heat flux meter 216 . The first temperature sensor 111 and the second temperature sensor 112 are the same as in the first embodiment.

The first heat flux meter 215 measures the heat flux Q1 flowing through the first portion 30a of the seat belt 30. As shown in FIG. A second heat flux meter 216 measures a heat flux Q2 flowing through the second portion 30b of the seat belt 30 . Each of the first heat flux meter 215 and the second heat flux meter 216 is a contact heat flux meter that measures the heat flux flowing through the attached portion. As a contact heat flux meter, for example, a sensor including a thermopile is used.

In the present embodiment, the values of the heat fluxes Q1 and Q2 in the equations (1) to (12) described in the first embodiment can be acquired as measured values. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of computation processing. In addition, the accuracy of the measurement result and the estimation result of the amount of clothing can be improved as compared with the case of measuring the temperature.

The estimation unit 220 estimates the amount of clothing worn by the user 10 based on the surface temperature and heat flux measured by the measurement unit 210 . In the present embodiment, estimation unit 220 estimates the amount of clothing worn by user 10 based on surface temperatures at two locations and heat fluxes at two locations.

Although details will be described later, the estimation unit 220 does not use the thermal resistance values Rs, Rr1, and Rr2 of the belt body 31, the first thermal resistance member 41, and the second thermal resistance member 42, respectively. Therefore, if the clothing amount estimating apparatus 200 includes a memory for storing a program for the estimating unit 220 to execute the clothing amount estimating process, and a memory used as a program execution area, the thermal resistance The storage unit 130 that stores the value Rs and the like may not be provided.

[2-2. Example of measurement position of temperature sensor and heat flux meter]
An example of specific measurement positions by each temperature sensor and each heat flux meter will be described below.

[2-2-1. 1st example]
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and a first example of temperature and heat flux measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the first temperature sensor 111 and the second temperature sensor 112 are the same as in the first embodiment.

Specifically, the first temperature sensor 111 measures the surface temperature Tcl1 of the surface in contact with the clothing 14 in the third portion 31a. The second temperature sensor 112 measures the surface temperature Tcl2 of the surface in contact with the clothing 14 in the fourth portion 31b.

The first heat flux meter 215 is attached between the third portion 31 a of the belt body 31 and the clothing 14 . The first heat flux meter 215 measures the heat flux Q1 at the contact portion between the third portion 31 a and the clothing 14 .

The second heat flux meter 216 is attached between the fourth portion 31 b of the belt body 31 and the clothing 14 . The second heat flux meter 216 measures the heat flux Q2 at the contact portion between the fourth portion 31b and the clothing 14. FIG.

9 shows an example in which the clothing 14, the first heat flux meter 215, the first temperature sensor 111, and the third portion 31a are provided in this order. The heat flux meter 215 and the third portion 31a may be provided in this order. Also, the first temperature sensor 111 and the first heat flux meter 215 may be arranged side by side in the plane of the third portion 31a on the clothing 14 side. The same applies to the second heat flux meter 216 and the second temperature sensor 112 .

The thermal equivalent circuit in this example is the same as the thermal equivalent circuit shown in FIG. When compared with the first example of Embodiment 1, the difference is that the values obtained by measurement are Q1 and Q2 instead of To1 and To2.

Therefore, by focusing on the clothing 14 on each of the first path 51 and the second path 52, the following equations (13) and (14) are obtained.

(13) Q1=(Tsk−Tcl1)/Clo
(14) Q2 = (Tsk-Tcl2)/Clo

By solving equations (13) and (14), the clothing amount Clo is expressed by equation (9) described above. Each term on the right side of Equation (9) is a value measured by the measuring unit 210 . Therefore, the estimation unit 220 can calculate the amount of clothing Clo based on Equation (9). In the present embodiment, it is only necessary to use the formula (9). None of the values Rr2 may be used. Therefore, for example, even if the heat resistance value stored in the storage unit 130 and the actual heat resistance value deviate due to aged deterioration or damage of the belt body 31, the amount of clothing can be accurately estimated. can be done.

[2-2-2. Second example]
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seatbelt, and a second example of temperature and heat flux measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, compared to the first example of the second embodiment, the installation positions of the first heat flux meter 215 and the second heat flux meter 216 are different.

The first heat flux meter 215 is attached to the surface of the first thermal resistance member 41 opposite to the third portion 31a. The first heat flux meter 215 measures the heat flux Q1 on the surface of the first thermal resistance member 41 opposite to the third portion 31a.

The second heat flux meter 216 is attached to the surface of the second heat resistance member 42 opposite to the fourth portion 31b. The second heat flux meter 216 measures the heat flux Q2 on the surface of the second heat resistance member 42 opposite to the fourth portion 31b.

The thermal equivalent circuit in this example is the same as the thermal equivalent circuit shown in FIG. When compared with the first example of the second embodiment, the measurement positions of the heat fluxes Q1 and Q2 obtained by measurement are different. As described above, when thermal equilibrium is maintained, the heat flux Q1 can be considered constant at any position on the first path 51 . The same applies to the heat flux Q2. Therefore, similarly to the first example of the second embodiment, the estimating section 220 can calculate the amount of clothing Clo based on Equation (9).

In addition, when the heat is transmitted through the belt body 31 , the heat is transmitted not only in the thickness direction but also in the longitudinal direction of the belt body 31 . Therefore, part of the heat transmitted to the third portion 31 a leaks out through the first path 51 from the contact portion between the third portion 31 a and the clothing 14 . That is, a difference may occur between the heat flux Q1 measured at the contact portion between the third portion 31a and the clothing 14 and the heat flux Q1 measured at the surface of the first thermal resistance member 41 as in this example. The heat flux Q1 measured by the first heat flux meter 215 according to this example is the heat flux that flows from the skin 12 to the clothing 14, the belt body 31, and the first heat resistance member 41 in order, and is the longitudinal direction of the belt body 31. The leaked heat flux along is excluded. The same applies to the heat flux Q2 measured by the second heat flux meter 216. Therefore, the heat flux Q1 flowing through the first path 51 and the heat flux Q2 flowing through the second path 52 are measured with high accuracy, so that the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

[2-2-3. Third example]
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and a third example of temperature and heat flux measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the installation positions of the first heat flux meter 215 and the second heat flux meter 216 are different compared to the first example of the second embodiment.

The first heat flux meter 215 is sandwiched between the third portion 31 a of the belt body 31 and the first heat resistance member 41 . The first heat flux meter 215 measures the heat flux Q1 at the contact portion between the third portion 31 a and the first heat resistance member 41 .

The second heat flux meter 216 is sandwiched between the fourth portion 31 b of the belt body 31 and the second heat resistance member 42 . The second heat flux meter 216 measures the heat flux Q2 at the contact portion between the fourth portion 31b and the second heat resistance member .

The thermal equivalent circuit in this example is the same as the thermal equivalent circuit shown in FIG. When compared with the first example of the second embodiment, the measurement positions of the heat fluxes Q1 and Q2 obtained by measurement are different. As described above, when thermal equilibrium is maintained, the heat flux Q1 can be considered constant at any position on the first path 51 . The same applies to the heat flux Q2. Therefore, similarly to the first example of the second embodiment, the estimating section 220 can calculate the amount of clothing Clo based on Equation (9).

Also in this example, the values excluding the heat flux leaking in the longitudinal direction of the belt body 31 are measured by the first heat flux meter 215 and the second heat flux meter 216 . Moreover, both the first heat flux meter 215 and the second heat flux meter 216 are provided at positions where they are unlikely to come into contact with the outside air. Therefore, the heat flux Q1 flowing through the first path 51 and the heat flux Q2 flowing through the second path 52 are measured with high accuracy, so that the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

[2-2-4. 4th example]
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and a fourth example of temperature and heat flux measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12 , the fourth example differs from the second example of the second embodiment in that the seat belt 30 does not include the second heat resistance member 42 . The installation positions of the first temperature sensor 111, the second temperature sensor 112 and the first heat flux meter 215 are the same as in the second example shown in FIG.

Since the second heat resistance member 42 is not provided in this example, the second heat flux meter 216 is attached to the fourth portion 31b of the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30 . The fourth portion 31b is a portion that does not overlap the first thermal resistance member 41 in plan view. The second heat flux meter 216 measures the heat flux Q2 of the surface of the fourth portion 31b opposite to the clothing 14 .

The thermal equivalent circuit in this example is the same as the thermal equivalent circuit shown in FIG. 4 with the thermal resistance value Rr2 removed. A heat flux Q2 measured by the second heat flux meter 216 is the heat flux flowing through the second path 52 . As described above, the heat flux Q2 can be considered constant at any position on the second path 52 when the thermal equilibrium is maintained. The same applies to the heat flux Q1. Therefore, similarly to the second example of the second embodiment, the estimating section 220 can calculate the amount of clothing Clo based on Equation (9).

Also in this example, the values excluding the heat flux leaking in the longitudinal direction of the belt body 31 are measured by the first heat flux meter 215 and the second heat flux meter 216 . Therefore, the heat flux Q1 flowing through the first path 51 and the heat flux Q2 flowing through the second path 52 are measured with high accuracy, so that the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

[2-3. Estimated amount of clothes]
Here, a result of estimating the amount of clothing by the apparatus 200 for estimating the amount of clothing according to the second embodiment based on experiments conducted by the inventors will be described. In the experiment, the installation positions of the first temperature sensor 111, the second temperature sensor 112, the first heat flux meter 215 and the second heat flux meter 216 adopted the fourth example shown in FIG. That is, the first heat resistance member 41 is attached to the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30, and the second heat resistance member 42 is not attached.

13 and 14 are graphs showing examples of results of estimation of the amount of clothing by the apparatus for estimating the amount of clothing according to the present embodiment. 13 and 14, the horizontal axis represents the elapsed time from the start of the estimation process, and the vertical axis represents the estimated amount of clothing.

FIG. 13 shows estimation results when the user 10 wears one T-shirt as the clothing 14 . The clothing amount estimation device 200 estimates the amount of clothing at the time of measurement based on the time-series data of the measurement results of the first temperature sensor 111, the second temperature sensor 112, the first heat flux meter 215, and the second heat flux meter 216. We estimated the amount and generated time-series data of the estimated amount of clothing.

The amount of clothing on one T-shirt was measured using a thermal mannequin and was 0.39 clo. On the other hand, immediately after the start of the estimation, the estimated amount of clothing stabilized at about 0.39 clo about 1.5 minutes after the start of the estimation, although there were variations due to the estimation results. Therefore, it can be seen that the amount of clothing is estimated with extremely high accuracy.

FIG. 14 shows the estimation results when the user 10 wears a T-shirt and a sweatshirt as the clothes 14 . The amount of clothing at this time was 0.83 clo as a result of measurement using a thermal mannequin. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the variation in the estimation results was greater than in the case shown in FIG. 13, and it took time to stabilize. It can be seen that In this manner, the amount of clothing could be estimated with high accuracy even when the wearer wore multiple layers of clothing.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to simply and accurately estimate the amount of clothing without using an expensive measuring device such as a thermal mannequin. It should be noted that only the experimental results employing the fourth example of the second embodiment are shown here, but the results of the first to third examples of the second embodiment, the first embodiment, and the implementation described later are shown. Similarly, high estimation accuracy can be achieved in terms of morphology.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described.

A clothing amount estimation apparatus according to Embodiment 3 differs from Embodiment 1 in that a non-contact temperature sensor is used instead of a contact temperature sensor. In the following, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and descriptions of common points will be omitted or simplified.

[3-1. overview]
First, an overview of the clothing amount estimation device according to Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 15 . FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an application example of the clothing amount estimation device according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 15, the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment uses a thermo camera 311 instead of a temperature sensor when estimating the amount of clothing of the user 10 . The thermo camera 311 measures the surface temperature of the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30 and the surface temperature of the clothing 14 of the user 10 . The clothing amount estimating device estimates the amount of clothing of the user 10 based on the surface temperatures and the air temperature (the temperature inside the vehicle or room) that are measured at the two locations.

[3-2. composition]
Next, a specific configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 16 . FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 16, clothing amount estimation apparatus 300 includes measurement section 310 and estimation section 320 instead of measurement section 110 and estimation section 120, as compared with clothing amount estimation apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1. .

The measurement unit 310 measures the surface temperature without contact. In the present embodiment, measurement unit 310 measures the surface temperature of seat belt 30 and the surface temperature of clothing 14 . As shown in FIG. 16 , measurement unit 310 includes thermo camera 311 .

The thermo camera 311 is a part of the seatbelt 30 and measures the surface temperature Ts1 of the first portion 30a having the first thermal resistance value and the surface of the clothing 14 of the user 10 that is not covered by the seatbelt 30. A surface temperature Tcl2 of the second portion 14b is measured. The thermo camera 311 is an example of a non-contact temperature sensor, such as an image sensor that detects infrared rays, but is not particularly limited.

The thermo camera 311 is installed so that the upper body of the user 10 and the seat belt 30 are within the shooting range. For example, if the user 10 is a driver of an automobile or an occupant sitting in a passenger seat, a thermocamera installed near the rearview mirror and having an angle of view of about 60° or more can be used as the thermocamera 311. is. Alternatively, a thermo camera with an angle wider than 60° may be attached to the top of the A-pillar on the user 10 side. Alternatively, a thermo camera with a narrow angle of view of about 30° may be attached to the top of the A pillar on the side opposite to the user 10 . Also, if the user 10 is a passenger sitting in the back seat of an automobile, the thermo camera 311 may be attached to the top of the B pillar. When the thermo camera 311 has a low resolution, the estimation unit 320 may perform super-resolution processing.

The estimation unit 320 estimates the amount of clothing worn by the user 10 based on the surface temperature and heat flux measured by the measurement unit 310 . In the present embodiment, estimating section 320 estimates the amount of clothing worn by user 10 based on the surface temperature and the air temperature at two locations.

[3-3. Estimation processing of amount of clothes]
Next, a specific example of the clothing amount estimation process performed by the estimation unit 320 will be described with reference to FIG. 17 . FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship among the user's skin, clothes, and seat belt, and the temperature measurement positions by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 17 and 15, in this embodiment, the seat belt 30 has neither the first heat resistance member 41 nor the second heat resistance member . Therefore, the thermal equivalent circuit according to the present embodiment is the same as the thermal equivalent circuit shown in FIG. 4 with the thermal resistance values Rr1 and Rr2 removed.

By paying attention to the thermal resistance value of the air in the vicinity of the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30, the following formula (15) is established.

(15) Q1=(Ts1-To)/Ra

Also, by focusing on the thermal resistance value of the air near the surface of the clothing 14 that is not covered by the seat belt 30, the following formula (16) is established.

(16) Q2 = (Tcl2-To)/Ra

To is the working temperature. Heat emitted from the human body to the surrounding environment mainly takes two paths: convective heat transfer and radiative heat transfer. The working temperature represents these two environmental temperatures. Here, to simplify the explanation, To is assumed to be the same as the temperature.

Note that Ra is the thermal resistance value of air, and varies greatly depending on the presence or absence of airflow. Therefore, when the surface temperatures Ts1 and Tcl2 are measured using the thermocamera 311, it is desirable that there is no wind. If there is no wind, the thermal resistance value Ra of air is a predetermined fixed value.

To is obtained, for example, from a thermometer provided on the moving body. Alternatively, To may be a value acquired by measuring the surface temperature of an object having a surface temperature equivalent to the air temperature with the thermo camera 311 . An object having a surface temperature equivalent to air temperature is, for example, the interior of the vehicle or the interior of the room, such as the curtains or the cloth of the seat 20 .

Both Ts1 and Tcl2 are values measured by the measuring unit 310 , and To is also a value measured by the thermometer or the measuring unit 310 . Ra is a predetermined value. Therefore, the estimating unit 320 can calculate the heat fluxes Q1 and Q2 using equations (15) and (16).

Also, when thermal equilibrium is maintained, the following equations (17) and (18) hold instead of equations (3) and (4).

(17) Q1 = (Tsk - Ts1) / (Clo + Rs)
(18) Q2 = (Tsk-Tcl2)/Clo

By solving the equations (15) to (18), the clothing amount Clo is expressed by the following equation (19).

(19) Clo=(Ts1+Q1×Rs−Tcl2)/(Q2−Q1)

Each term on the right side of Equation (19) is a value measured by the measuring unit 310, a value stored in the storage unit 130, or a value calculated based on these. Therefore, the estimating unit 320 can calculate the amount of clothing Clo by equation (19).

As described above, the clothing amount estimation apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment utilizes the surface temperature of each of the first portion 30a that is a portion of the seat belt 30 and the second portion 30b that is a portion of the clothing 14. can be used to calculate the amount of clothing Clo. Even if the skin temperature Tsk remains unknown, that is, without measuring the skin temperature Tsk, the clothing amount Clo can be estimated. The amount of clothing Clo can be easily estimated using the existing seat belt 30 without requiring the first heat resistance member 41, the second heat resistance member 42, the temperature sensor, the heat flux meter, and the like.

It should be noted that the thermal resistance value Ra changes due to rising air currents when there is a large temperature difference between the surface temperature of the clothing 14 and the air temperature. Therefore, correction may be made according to the difference between the surface temperature Tcl2 of the clothing 14 and the air temperature To. Further, when the vehicle or room is air-conditioned, the airflow generated in the vehicle or room dominates the thermal resistance value Ra. Therefore, for example, the estimation unit 320 may determine the thermal resistance value Ra using the amount of air blown from the car air conditioner. In this case, the measurement by the measurement unit 310 is performed when there is no wind.

A temperature sensor or a heat flux meter may be attached to either one of the first portion 30a and the second portion 14b. The estimation unit 320 may use the surface temperature measured by the thermo camera 311 and the temperature measured by the temperature sensor or the heat flux measured by the heat flux meter.

[3-4. Modification of seat belt]
As described above, in this embodiment, the existing seat belt 30 can be used, but the seat belt 30 may be modified in order to improve the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing. Modified examples of the seat belt 30 will be described below.

[3-4-1. Modification 1]
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing Modification 1 of the seat belt according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 18 , seat belt 330 includes first heat resistance member 41 attached to the surface of belt body 31 .

The first heat resistance member 41 is, for example, a cover made of urethane. The first heat resistance member 41 may be slidable along the longitudinal direction of the belt body 31, similarly to the housing 40 described in the first embodiment. For example, after wearing the seat belt 330, the user 10 may slide the first heat resistance member 41 to move it to the body (specifically, the chest).

In this case, similarly to the third example of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and the fourth example of the second embodiment shown in FIG. To1 and the surface temperature Ts2 of the fourth portion 31b of the belt body 31 are measured. Thereby, the estimation unit 320 can calculate the amount of clothing based on the expression (9). That is, the estimation unit 320 does not use the surface temperature Tcl of the clothes 14 .

Of the surface of the clothing 14 , the surface of the fourth portion 31 b of the seat belt 330 that is not covered with the belt body 31 is likely to have wrinkles or the like on the clothing 14 . For this reason, the thermal resistance value Ra of air becomes unstable in the vicinity of the fourth portion 31b, and the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing may decrease.

On the other hand, since the belt body 31 is usually formed using a material harder than the clothing 14, wrinkles are less likely to form on the surface of the belt body 31. As shown in FIG. Therefore, since the thermal resistance value Ra of air is stabilized in the vicinity of the surface of the fourth portion 31b of the belt body 31, the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

[3-4-2. Modification 2]
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing Modification 2 of the seat belt according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19 , seat belt 331 includes one or more first heat resistance members 341 attached to the surface of belt body 31 .

The first thermal resistance member 341 is, for example, a fabric having raised hair. A plurality of first heat resistance members 341 are periodically arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the belt body 31 . Note that the first thermal resistance member 341 may be a urethane sheet. Also, the thermal resistance values of the plurality of first thermal resistance members 341 may be different from each other.

In this case, similarly to the third example of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and the fourth example of the second embodiment shown in FIG. To1 and the surface temperature Ts2 of the fourth portion 31b (second portion 30b) of the belt body 31 are measured. Thereby, the estimation unit 320 can calculate the amount of clothing based on the expression (9). That is, the estimation unit 320 does not use the surface temperature of the clothes 14 .

In this modification, since a plurality of first heat resistance members 341 are provided periodically, it is possible to select the first heat resistance member 341 that increases the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing. Specifically, when the seat belt 30 is worn by the user 10 , the thermo camera 311 measures the surface temperature of the first thermal resistance member 341 closest to the chest of the user 10 . As a result, the surface temperature can be measured at the portion where the adhesion between the belt body 31 and the clothing 14 is high, so the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

[3-4-3. Modification 3]
FIG. 20 is a diagram showing Modification 3 of the seat belt according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 20, seat belt 332 is provided with one or more through holes 334 .

The through hole 334 penetrates the belt body 31 of the seat belt 332 in the thickness direction. Accordingly, when the seat belt 332 is worn by the user 10 , the clothing 14 can be exposed through the through hole 334 . In this modified example, a plurality of through holes 334 are periodically arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the belt body 31 . The shape of the through-hole 334 is rectangular, but may be circular and is not particularly limited.

In this modification, the thermo camera 311 measures the surface temperature Ts1 of the third portion 31a (first portion 30a), which is a part of the belt body 31, and the surface temperature Ts1 of the clothing 14 of the user 10, which is exposed to the through hole 334. A surface temperature Tcl2 of the second portion 14b is measured. As described above, the estimation unit 320 can estimate the amount of clothing worn by the user 10 based on Equation (19).

Since the periphery of the second portion 14b of the clothing 14 is pressed by the belt body 31, wrinkles are less likely to occur. Therefore, the thermal resistance value Ra of the second portion 14b can be stabilized. As a result, the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, Embodiment 4 will be described.

The clothing amount estimation apparatus according to Embodiment 4 forms an environment suitable for temperature or heat flux measurement by adjusting the temperature or the environment at the time of measurement. As a result, the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved. In the following, differences from Embodiments 1 to 3 will be mainly described, and descriptions of common points will be omitted or simplified.

[4-1. composition]
First, the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 21 . FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 21, clothing amount estimation apparatus 400 newly includes a control unit 450 in comparison with clothing amount estimation apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The control unit 450 controls the timing at which the measuring unit 110 performs measurement.

Further, the control unit 450 controls the environment during measurement by controlling the seat belt 30 or the window 60 as shown in FIG. The window 60 is, for example, a window that separates the inside of a vehicle or a room from the outside, and can be opened and closed. In this embodiment, the window 60 is a window with variable infrared transmittance.

Also, the control unit 450 may control the display content of the display unit 140 based on the measurement results obtained by the measurement unit 110 . A specific control example by the control unit 450 will be described later.

The control unit 450 is implemented by, for example, an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. For example, controller 450 may be a microcontroller. The control unit 450 may be a programmable FPGA or a reconfigurable processor in which connections and settings of circuit cells in the LSI can be reconfigured. The functions executed by control unit 450 may be realized by software or by hardware. The control unit 450 and the estimation unit 120 may be realized by sharing the same hardware resource.

[4-2. Measurement Timing and Measurement Environment]
Next, the timing of measurement performed by the measurement unit 110 and the environment during measurement controlled by the control unit 450 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 21, the control unit 450 acquires vehicle body information regarding the moving body. The vehicle body information is, specifically, information about the vehicle provided with the seat 20 , the seat belt 30 and the window 60 .

For example, the vehicle body information includes belt wearing information indicating that the seat belt 30 is worn by the user 10 . The belt wearing information is output to the control section 450 via the locking mechanism 32 when the belt body 31 is fixed to the locking mechanism 32, for example.

The vehicle body information also includes stop information indicating whether the vehicle is moving or stopped. The stop information may be indicated by the moving speed of the vehicle body. The moving speed is acquired from, for example, a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a sensor that detects the rotational speed of tires, or the like.

Further, the vehicle body information includes opening/closing information of the window 60 . The opening/closing information is obtained from an opening/closing sensor attached to the window 60 . Also, the vehicle body information may include airflow information indicating the presence or absence of airflow in the vehicle.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 450 causes the measurement unit 110 to perform measurement based on the belt wearing information when the seat belt 30 is worn by the user 10 . For example, the measurement unit 110 performs measurement after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the seat belt 30 was put on by the user 10 . The predetermined period is the time required for thermal equilibrium to be formed. For example, the predetermined period is 10 minutes, but is not particularly limited. The accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved by performing the measurement after the thermal equilibrium state is formed.

Also, based on the stop information, the control unit 450 causes the measurement unit 110 to perform measurement while the vehicle is stopped. For example, the measurement unit 110 performs measurement during a period in which the vehicle is stopped after the seat belt 30 is worn and before the user 10 starts the vehicle. Alternatively, the measurement unit 110 may perform measurement while waiting for a traffic light or the like.

In addition, based on the opening/closing information of the window 60, the control unit 450 causes the measurement unit 110 to perform measurement while the window 60 is closed. By closing the window 60, it is possible to suppress air currents from entering the vehicle from the outside and improve the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing. Note that the control unit 450 may control opening and closing of the window 60 . Specifically, the control unit 450 may close the window 60 at a timing at which the measurement unit 110 can perform measurement, and cause the measurement unit 110 to perform measurement after the window 60 is closed.

Moreover, when the window 60 is a window whose infrared transmittance can be changed, the control unit 450 reduces the infrared transmittance of the window 60 before the measurement unit 110 performs measurement. Thereby, the measurement unit 110 can perform measurement during a period when the infrared transmittance of the window 60 is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold.

Further, the control unit 450 increases the tensile force of the seatbelt 30 while the measurement unit 110 performs measurement. As a result, the adhesion between the belt main body 31 of the seat belt 30 and the clothing 14 can be improved, so that the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Note that the measurement unit 110 may always measure, or the estimation unit 120 may select and use data of timing that can be used for estimating the amount of clothing from the time-series data of the measured values. Specifically, the estimating unit 120 determines whether the vehicle is stopped or the window 60 is closed, or when the vehicle is stopped and the window 60 is closed. Measured values obtained during the period of wearing are used for estimating the amount of clothing. Alternatively, the estimating unit 120 may use measurement values obtained during a period in which the tensile force of the belt body 31 is increased or a period in which the infrared transmittance of the window 60 is decreased to estimate the amount of clothing.

[4-3. Control of display section]
Next, control of the display unit 140 by the control unit 450 will be described.

The control unit 450 causes the user 10 to display a predetermined message by controlling the display unit 140 when the measurement result by the measurement unit 110 is not stable. For example, if the adhesion between the belt body 31 of the seat belt 30 and the clothing 14 is poor, excess heat resistance is generated by air. Since the thermal resistance of air also varies depending on the amount of air between the clothing 14 and the belt body 31, when the adhesion is low, the measurement result of the surface temperature varies greatly.

Therefore, the display unit 140 displays to the user 10 to fasten the seat belt 30 to the clothing 14 when the variance of the surface temperature measured within the predetermined period by the measurement unit 110 is larger than the threshold value. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a display message by the clothing amount estimation device according to the present embodiment. The display unit 140 can prompt the user 10 to change his or her posture so that the seat belt 30 and the clothing 14 are in close contact with each other by displaying a message such as that shown in FIG. 22 . As a result, the measurement result becomes stable, and the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

(Embodiment 5)
Next, Embodiment 5 will be described.

An apparatus for estimating the amount of clothing according to Embodiment 5 proposes advice or the like for improving the user's comfort based on the result of estimating the amount of clothing. In the following, differences from Embodiments 1 to 4 will be mainly described, and descriptions of common points will be omitted or simplified.

[5-1. composition]
First, the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 23 . FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 23, clothing amount estimation apparatus 500 newly includes an internal environment measurement unit 560, an external environment measurement unit 562, and an internal clothing amount determination unit, compared to clothing amount estimation apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. A section 570 and an external clothing amount determination section 572 are provided.

The internal environment measuring unit 560 measures the thermal environment inside the moving body. For example, internal environment measurement unit 560 includes a temperature and humidity sensor that measures the temperature and humidity inside the vehicle. The internal environment measuring unit 560 may include an airflow sensor that measures the amount and direction of the airflow inside the vehicle. A thermal environment is defined by at least one of temperature, humidity, and airflow.

The external environment measurement unit 562 measures the thermal environment outside the moving object. For example, the external environment measurement unit 562 includes a temperature/humidity sensor that measures the temperature and humidity outside the vehicle. The external environment measurement unit 562 may include an airflow sensor that measures the air volume and direction of the airflow outside the vehicle.

The internal clothing amount determination unit 570 is an example of a first determination unit that determines an appropriate amount of clothing in the thermal environment measured by the internal environment measurement unit 560 . For example, the internal clothing amount determination unit 570 determines an appropriate amount of clothing in the measured thermal environment based on conventional thermal sensation estimation methods such as PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and SET ^* (Standard Effective Temperature). . The appropriate amount of clothing may be indicated by a predetermined range centered on the optimum value of the amount of clothing. For example, a suitable amount of clothing is within ±0.1 clo of the optimal value.

When a plurality of users 10 are present as passengers in a moving object, the internal clothing amount determination unit 570 may identify a user who deviates from the appropriate amount of clothing among the plurality of users 10 . When there are a plurality of users 10, the clothing amount estimation device 500 performs measurement for each of the plurality of users 10 and estimates the clothing amount of each.

Note that the thermal environment in which the user 10 feels comfortable differs between when he is awake and when he is sleeping inside the mobile object. Therefore, the internal clothing amount determination unit 570 may determine an appropriate amount of clothing when the user 10 sleeps in the thermal environment measured by the internal environment measurement unit 560 .

The external clothing amount determination unit 572 is an example of a second determination unit that determines an appropriate amount of clothing in the thermal environment measured by the external environment measurement unit 562 . For example, the internal clothing amount determination unit 570 determines the optimal amount of clothing in the measured thermal environment based on conventional thermal sensation estimation methods such as PMV and SET ^* .

The internal clothing amount determination unit 570 and the external clothing amount determination unit 572 are realized by, for example, an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. For example, the internal clothing amount determination unit 570 and the external clothing amount determination unit 572 may be microcontrollers. The internal clothing amount determination section 570 and the external clothing amount determination section 572 may be programmable FPGAs or reconfigurable processors in which connections and settings of circuit cells within an LSI can be reconfigured. The functions executed by the internal clothing amount determination section 570 and the external clothing amount determination section 572 may be realized by software or hardware. The internal clothing amount determination unit 570, the external clothing amount determination unit 572, and the estimation unit 120 may be realized by sharing the same hardware resource.

In this embodiment, the display unit 140 performs a predetermined display based on the appropriate amount of clothing determined by at least one of the internal clothing amount determination unit 570 and the external clothing amount determination unit 572 . Specifically, based on the amount of clothing estimated by the estimating unit 120, that is, the current amount of clothing of the user 10 and the appropriate amount of clothing, the display unit 140 displays an image so that the user 10 can obtain a comfortable environment. Display for putting on and taking off clothes.

[5-2. Display example]
Display examples by the display unit 140 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 24 to 27. FIG. 24 to 27 are diagrams showing examples of messages displayed by the clothing amount estimation apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 24 shows a display example when the amount of clothing estimated by the estimating section 120 deviates from the amount of clothing determined by the internal clothing amount determining section 570 . In the example shown in FIG. 24, the display unit 140 displays the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit 120 as "the amount of your clothing", and displays the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit 120 as the "comfortable amount of clothing". The optimal value of the amount of clothing determined by Further, the display unit 140 performs display for prompting the user 10 to increase or decrease the number of clothes. In the example shown in FIG. 24, the estimated amount of clothing is larger than the appropriate amount of clothing, so the display unit 140 displays the message "We recommend wearing a little less clothing." is displayed. If the estimated amount of clothing is smaller than the appropriate amount of clothing, the display unit 140 displays a message to increase the amount of clothing for the user 10 .

FIG. 25 shows a display example when the user 10 is sleeping. The appropriate amount of clothing when sleeping (nap) in the car is different from the appropriate amount of clothing when awake. Specifically, when sleep is introduced, the user 10 dissipates heat to lower the core body temperature, so the appropriate amount of clothing is reduced. The display unit 140 displays a display message based on the amount of clothing suitable for sleeping.

FIG. 26 shows a display example when the amount of clothing estimated by the estimating section 120 deviates from the amount of clothing determined by the external clothing amount determining section 572 . In the example shown in FIG. 26, the display unit 140 displays the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit 120 as "the amount of your clothing", and displays the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit 120 as the "comfortable amount of clothing". The optimal value of the amount of clothing determined by Further, the display unit 140 performs display for prompting the user 10 to increase or decrease the number of clothes. In the example shown in FIG. 26, the estimated amount of clothing is considerably smaller than the appropriate amount of clothing, so the display unit 140 displays the message "Thick clothing is recommended" to encourage the user 10 to increase the amount of clothing. is displayed. At this time, a message "If you can go outside the vehicle" is also displayed so that the user 10 is informed that the amount of clothing is suitable for the environment outside the vehicle, not for the environment inside the vehicle.

FIG. 27 shows a display example when there are a plurality of users 10 in the vehicle. In the example shown in FIG. 27, the display unit 140 displays the amount of clothing worn by each user. Here, the driver's clothing amount deviates from the comfortable clothing amount. Therefore, the internal clothing amount determination unit 570 identifies the driver as the user who deviates from the appropriate amount of clothing. As a result, the display unit 140 provides a display for prompting the driver to wear more or less clothes.

Note that the appropriate amount of clothing may be determined for each user. For example, while the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat in the vehicle are properly heated by air conditioning, the rear seat may be slightly hot. The internal environment measurement unit 560 may measure the temperature distribution inside the vehicle, and the internal clothing amount determination unit 570 may determine an appropriate amount of clothing for each location in the vehicle based on the temperature distribution. As a result, when a comfortable thermal environment for all users 10 cannot be achieved only by air conditioning, a comfortable thermal environment for all users 10 can be achieved by putting on and taking off clothes.

As described above, according to the clothing amount estimation apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to give advice or the like for improving the comfort of the user 10 based on the estimated clothing amount. Note that the display examples shown in FIGS. 24 to 27 are merely examples, and the content of the message and the display content are not particularly limited.

Note that the clothing amount estimation apparatus 500 may include an acquisition unit that acquires weather information indicating the temperature, humidity, wind volume, wind direction, etc. of the area where the moving object exists, instead of the external environment measurement unit 562 .

Also, the amount of clothing estimation device 500 does not have to determine one of the appropriate amount of clothing inside and the appropriate amount of clothing outside. In other words, the clothing amount estimation device 500 does not need to include the internal environment measuring section 560 and the internal clothing amount determining section 570 or the external environment measuring section 562 and the external clothing amount determining section 572 .

(Embodiment 6)
Next, Embodiment 6 will be described.

In Embodiment 6, air conditioning in the vehicle or room is adjusted based on the amount of clothing estimated by the amount-of-clothing estimation device. In the following, differences from Embodiments 1 to 5 will be mainly described, and descriptions of common points will be omitted or simplified.

First, the configuration of the air-conditioning control device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 28 . FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioning control device according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 28 , air conditioning control device 600 includes clothing amount estimation device 500 and air conditioning control section 610 . Air-conditioning control device 600 may include any of clothing amount estimation devices 100 , 200 , 300 and 400 instead of clothing amount estimation device 500 . In this case, air conditioning control device 600 further includes internal environment measuring section 560 .

Air-conditioning control unit 610 air-conditions the space based on the thermal environment measured by internal environment measurement unit 560 and the amount of clothing estimated by estimation unit 120 . Specifically, the air conditioning control unit 610 uses the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit 120 as an input parameter based on conventional thermal sensation estimation methods such as PMV and SET ^* to create a comfortable thermal environment for the user 10. Determine air conditioning parameter setpoints for shaping. The air conditioning parameter is a setting parameter of an air conditioner or the like, and is at least one of temperature, humidity, air volume, and air direction in the space.

It should be noted that the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit 120 is the amount of clothing of a portion (specifically, only the vicinity of the chest of the user 10) with which the belt body 31 contacts. Therefore, the estimation unit 120 may calculate the average amount of clothing for the whole body of the user 10 by multiplying the estimated amount of clothing by a predetermined coefficient. The air-conditioning control unit 610 can improve the accuracy of the air-conditioning parameter setting values by estimating the thermal sensation based on the average amount of clothing worn over the whole body.

In addition, when there are multiple users 10 in the space, the air conditioning control unit 610 determines the optimal temperature for each of the multiple users 10 based on the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit 120 of each of the multiple users 10 . The environment may be determined, and air conditioning may be performed so that a thermal environment obtained by averaging the determined multiple thermal environments is formed in the space. For example, the air conditioning control unit 610 determines the optimum in-vehicle temperature for each of the four users 10 based on the estimated amount of clothing of each of the four users 10 . The air conditioning control unit 610 determines the average value of the four vehicle interior temperatures determined for each user 10 as the set temperature for air conditioning, and performs air conditioning at the determined set temperature.

Note that when there are a plurality of users 10 , the air conditioning control unit 610 may preferentially perform air conditioning for a specific user 10 . For example, air conditioning control unit 610 may perform air conditioning so that the thermal environment of the driver is optimized.

Also, the air conditioning control unit 610 may stop blowing air when the measurement unit 110 performs measurement. As a result, the accuracy of measurement by the measurement unit 110 can be improved, and the accuracy of estimating the amount of clothing can be improved.

Air-conditioning control unit 610 is implemented by, for example, an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. For example, air conditioning control 610 may be a microcontroller. The air-conditioning control unit 610 may be a programmable FPGA or a reconfigurable processor in which connections and settings of circuit cells in an LSI can be reconfigured. The functions executed by air conditioning control unit 610 may be realized by software or by hardware. Air conditioning control unit 610 and estimation unit 120 may be implemented by sharing the same hardware resource.

(Embodiment 7)
Next, Embodiment 7 will be described.

In Embodiment 7, the user's skin temperature or body temperature is estimated based on the amount of clothing estimated by the apparatus for estimating the amount of clothing. In the following, differences from Embodiments 1 to 6 will be mainly described, and descriptions of common points will be omitted or simplified.

[7-1. composition]
First, the configuration of skin temperature estimation device 700 according to the present embodiment will be described using FIG. FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the skin temperature estimating device according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 29 , skin temperature estimating device 700 includes clothing amount estimating device 500 , skin temperature estimating section 710 , and body temperature estimating section 720 . Skin temperature estimation device 700 may include one of clothing amount estimation devices 100 , 200 , 300 and 400 or air conditioning control device 600 instead of clothing amount estimation device 500 .

Skin temperature estimation unit 710 estimates skin temperature Tsk of user 10 based on the surface temperature measured by measurement unit 110 . As described in Embodiments 1 and 2, when the amount of clothing Clo is calculated, the skin temperature Tsk is calculated as shown in equations (3), (4), (13), or (14). can be done. The skin temperature estimation unit 710 can calculate the skin temperature Tsk based on the surface temperature or heat flux measured by the measurement unit 110 and the amount of clothing Clo estimated by the estimation unit 120 .

Body temperature estimator 720 estimates the body temperature of user 10 based on skin temperature Tsk estimated by skin temperature estimator 710 . Specifically, body temperature estimating section 720 calculates body temperature by correcting skin temperature Tsk. Since the chest of the user 10 is close to internal organs, the skin temperature of the chest is close to the core body temperature, and there is little change due to thermal sensation. Therefore, it is possible to determine fever due to illness.

Skin temperature estimator 710 and body temperature estimator 720 are implemented by, for example, an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. For example, skin temperature estimator 710 and body temperature estimator 720 may be microcontrollers. The skin temperature estimating unit 710 and the body temperature estimating unit 720 may be programmable FPGAs or reconfigurable processors in which connections and settings of circuit cells in an LSI can be reconfigured. The functions performed by skin temperature estimating section 710 and body temperature estimating section 720 may be implemented by software or by hardware. Skin temperature estimator 710, body temperature estimator 720, and estimator 120 may be implemented by sharing the same hardware resource.

In the present embodiment, display unit 140 displays the body temperature estimated by body temperature estimation unit 720 . Moreover, the display unit 140 performs a predetermined display based on the estimated body temperature.

[7-2. Display example]
Display examples by the display unit 140 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31. FIG. 30 and 31 are diagrams showing examples of messages displayed by the skin temperature estimating device according to this embodiment.

FIG. 30 shows a display example when the body temperature estimated by the body temperature estimator 720 is greater than the threshold. The threshold is, for example, the normal body temperature of a typical person (ie body temperature when healthy). Alternatively, the threshold value may be a value determined based on the result of past body temperature estimation of the user 10 .

As shown in FIG. 30, the display unit 140 provides a display to prompt the user 10 to rest when the body temperature is greater than the threshold. As a result, it is possible to prevent an accident or the like from occurring by driving a car when the person is in poor physical condition.

FIG. 31 shows a display example when the skin temperature estimated by the body temperature estimator 720 is lower than the threshold. The threshold value is, for example, the average chest skin temperature of many users. In general, if the skin temperature is lower than the average value, fat may be thick. Therefore, the display unit 140 displays a display for prompting the user 10 to restrict the diet, as shown in FIG. Thereby, it can be used for health management of the user 10 as well.

(Modification)
Next, modified examples of the above-described embodiments will be described.

[Modification 1]
First, Modification 1 will be described. The clothing amount estimation device according to Modification 1 is a portable handheld device. In other words, it is possible to estimate the amount of clothing not only inside the moving body but also at any place.

FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the clothing amount estimation device according to this modification. FIG. 33 is a plan view showing the appearance of the clothing amount estimation device according to this modification.

As shown in FIGS. 32 and 33 , the clothing amount estimation device 800 includes a housing 810 , a control circuit 820 , a battery 830 , a display section 840 and an operation switch 850 . As shown in FIG. 32, the clothing amount estimation device 800 includes a first heat resistance member 41, a second heat resistance member 42, a first temperature sensor 111, a second temperature sensor 112, a third temperature sensor 113 and a fourth temperature sensor. A sensor 114 is provided. A heat insulating material 812 is provided around each of the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42 . As a result, heat from the first temperature sensor 111 side of the first thermal resistance member 41 can be prevented from escaping in directions other than the third temperature sensor 113 side. The same applies to the second thermal resistance member 42 as well.

A housing 810 is an outer housing of the clothing amount estimation device 800 . The housing 810 is a housing that houses the control circuit 820 , the battery 830 , the display section 840 , the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42 . The first thermal resistance member 41 is housed in the housing 810 so that the surface on which the first temperature sensor 111 is provided is flush with the outer surface of the housing 810 . The second thermal resistance member 42 is housed in the housing 810 so that the surface on which the second temperature sensor 112 is provided is flush with the outer surface of the housing 810 . Thereby, when the housing 810 is pressed against the clothes 14 of the user 10 , the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42 can be brought into close contact with the clothes 14 .

As shown in FIG. 33 , a plurality of through holes 811 are provided in a portion of housing 810 . The through hole 811 functions as an air hole for releasing air.

Housing 810 is formed using a heat insulating material. As shown in FIG. 32, a portion of insulation 812 is a portion of housing 810 .

The control circuit 820 is a control circuit that controls the operation of the clothing amount estimation device 800 . The control circuit 820 is implemented by, for example, an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. For example, control circuit 820 may be a microcontroller. The control circuit 820 performs the functions of the estimation unit 120 and the storage unit 130 shown in FIG.

Battery 830 is a primary battery or a secondary battery. Battery 830 supplies operating power to each of control circuit 820 , display unit 840 , first temperature sensor 111 , second temperature sensor 112 , third temperature sensor 113 and fourth temperature sensor 114 .

Display 840 performs the function of display 140 shown in FIG. The display unit 840 is, for example, a liquid crystal display.

The operation switch 850 is a physical push-down switch for instructing the start of the estimation of the amount of clothing. Note that the operation switch 850 and the display unit 840 may be a touch panel display.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a usage example of the clothing amount estimation device 800 according to this modification. As shown in FIG. 34 , the clothing amount estimation device 800 is pressed against the clothing 14 so that the exposed surfaces of the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42 are in contact with the clothing 14 . The user 10 presses the operation switch 850 and waits until a thermal equilibrium state is achieved. The amount-of-clothes estimation device 800 may include a buzzer that notifies that a thermal equilibrium state has been achieved. After the thermal equilibrium state is achieved, the control circuit 820 uses the measurement results from each temperature sensor to calculate the amount of clothing. The display unit 840 displays the calculated amount of clothing.

At this time, the clothing amount estimation apparatus 800 may include a wireless communication interface that wirelessly communicates with an external device. For example, the clothing amount estimation device 800 may be able to communicate with a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the user 10 . The amount of clothing may be displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal. In this case, the clothing amount estimation device 800 does not have to include the display section 840 . Further, by cooperating with a mobile terminal, the start of measurement of the amount of clothing may be determined based on an instruction from the mobile terminal. In this case, the clothing amount estimation device 800 may not include the operation switch 850 .

The mobile terminal executes, for example, an application program in cooperation with the clothing amount estimation device 800 . For example, when the user 10 goes out, the application program may accept input of the destination and the estimated date and time of arrival at the destination. By using the weather information of the destination, it is possible to estimate the thermal environment of the destination, and encourage the wearer to wear appropriate clothing based on the estimated thermal environment and the amount of clothing. It is expected that a comfortable environment can be secured even on the go by executing it before going out to an environment different from daily life, such as a business trip to a distant place, a trip, or mountain climbing.

Also, in daily life, by registering the commuting route to the workplace in advance, it is possible to determine the appropriateness of the clothes for commuting. It can be determined whether or not the current amount of clothing is appropriate regardless of whether the means of commuting is walking or train. For example, at the turn of the season, it is likely that the amount of clothing does not match the amount of clothing suitable for the thermal environment. Discomfort and deterioration of physical condition based on this mismatch can be suppressed.

Note that the clothing amount estimation device 800 according to this modification may include a heat flux meter instead of the temperature sensor.

[Modification 2]
Next, modification 2 will be described. In Modification 2, body fat is measured instead of the amount of clothing.

FIG. 35 is a plan view showing the appearance of the configuration of the body fat scale according to this modification. FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a usage example of the body fat scale according to this modification.

As shown in FIG. 35 , body fat scale 900 has the same configuration as clothing amount estimation apparatus 800 according to Modification 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 36 , the body fat scale 900 is used by being pressed into direct contact with the body 910 of the user 10 rather than the clothing 14 . In FIG. 36, a body fat scale 900 is pressed against the abdomen in order to measure the abdominal fat mass of the user 10 . The user 10 may measure the fat mass of the upper arm by pressing the body fat scale 900 against the upper arm.

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship of muscles, subcutaneous fat, and a body fat scale. As shown in FIG. 37 , the first heat resistance member 41 and the second heat resistance member 42 of the body fat scale 900 are each in contact with the body 910 of the user 10 . Body 910 includes muscle (or internal organs) 912 and subcutaneous fat 914 . As shown in FIG. 37, the subcutaneous fat 914 is treated in the same manner as the clothing 14, and the thermal resistance value of the subcutaneous fat 914, that is, the amount of fat Ifat is treated in the same manner as the clothing amount Clo described above. Also, the core body temperature Tcore and the skin temperatures Tsk1 and Tsk2 are handled in the same manner as the skin temperature Tsk and the surface temperatures Tcl1 and Tcl2 of the clothes 14 according to the first embodiment, respectively. As a result, the fat mass of the subcutaneous fat 914 can be calculated in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

At rest, the human body produces 55% heat in the internal organs (mainly the liver), 20% in the muscles, and 15% in the brain. The result of this heat production is core body temperature. The subcutaneous fat 914 generates almost no heat, so it can be considered a thermal resistor similar to clothing 14 .

In addition, the core body temperature Tcore shows fluctuations of about 1° C. at maximum due to the circadian rhythm of the human body even in a healthy state. For this reason, treating the core body temperature Tcore as a fixed value can cause errors, just as skin temperature varies depending on individual differences.

According to the body fat meter 900 according to the present modification, similarly to the first embodiment, the amount of subcutaneous fat 914 can be measured with high accuracy without using the core body temperature Tcore.

As a body fat scale, a device using the bioimpedance method is known. However, in this case, there is a problem that the measurement results vary greatly depending on the moisture content. Also, it is not possible to measure the amount of fat in a specific part of the body.

On the other hand, according to the body fat scale 900 according to the present modified example, it is possible to accurately estimate the amount of fat in the parts that are brought into close contact with each other. For example, changes in fat mass can be visualized by accumulating fat mass measurement results at the same location. For example, it is possible to visualize the effects of dieting or shaping up.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, the clothing amount estimation device, the air conditioning control device, and the skin temperature estimation device according to one or more aspects have been described based on the embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. do not have. As long as they do not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure, various modifications that a person skilled in the art can think of are applied to the present embodiment, and forms constructed by combining the components of different embodiments are also included in the scope of the present disclosure. be

For example, instead of the display unit 140, the clothing amount estimation apparatus may include an output unit that outputs information based on the measurement result by the measurement unit 110 or the estimation result by the estimation unit 120. FIG. The output unit may be, for example, a speaker that outputs information as sound. A speaker may output a voice message instead of displaying a message on the display unit 140 . Alternatively, the output unit may be a communication interface that outputs information as a signal.

Also, for example, the measuring unit does not have to measure the surface temperature. In this case, the measurement unit measures the heat flux of each of the first portion and the second portion. For example, by measuring the heat flux Q1 of the first portion based on Equation (15), the surface temperature Ts1 is calculated from the air temperature To and the air thermal resistance value Ra. By measuring the heat flux Q2 of the second portion based on the equation (16), the surface temperature Tcl2 is calculated from the air temperature To and the air thermal resistance value Ra. Therefore, each term on the right side of Equation (19) is a value measured by the measurement unit, a value stored in the storage unit, or a value calculated based on these. Therefore, the estimation unit can calculate the amount of clothing Clo by using the measured value of the heat flux instead of the surface temperature.

Also, the communication method between the devices described in the above embodiments is not particularly limited. When wireless communication is performed between devices, the wireless communication method (communication standard) is, for example, ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or short-range wireless communication such as wireless LAN (Local Area Network). be. Alternatively, the wireless communication method (communication standard) may be communication via a wide area communication network such as the Internet. Also, wire communication may be performed between devices instead of wireless communication. Wired communication is, specifically, communication using power line communication (PLC: Power Line Communication) or wired LAN.

Further, in the above-described embodiments, the processing executed by a specific processing unit may be executed by another processing unit. Also, the order of multiple processes may be changed, or multiple processes may be executed in parallel.

For example, the processing described in the above embodiments may be implemented by centralized processing using a single device (system), or may be implemented by distributed processing using a plurality of devices. good. Also, the number of processors executing the above program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

Further, in the above embodiments, all or part of the components such as the control unit may be configured with dedicated hardware, or implemented by executing a software program suitable for each component. good too. Each component may be implemented by a program execution unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or processor reading and executing a software program recorded in a recording medium such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or semiconductor memory. good.

Also, components such as the controller may be configured with one or more electronic circuits. Each of the one or more electronic circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

One or more electronic circuits may include, for example, a semiconductor device, an IC (Integrated Circuit), or an LSI (Large Scale Integration). An IC or LSI may be integrated on one chip or may be integrated on a plurality of chips. Although they are called ICs or LSIs here, they may be called system LSIs, VLSIs (Very Large Scale Integrations), or ULSIs (Ultra Large Scale Integrations) depending on the degree of integration. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that is programmed after the LSI is manufactured can also be used for the same purpose.

Also, general or specific aspects of the disclosure may be implemented in a system, apparatus, method, integrated circuit, or computer program product. Alternatively, the computer program may be implemented by a computer-readable non-temporary recording medium such as an optical disc, HDD, or semiconductor memory. Also, any combination of systems, devices, methods, integrated circuits, computer programs and recording media may be implemented.

In addition, various changes, replacements, additions, omissions, etc. can be made to each of the above-described embodiments within the scope of claims or equivalents thereof.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present disclosure can be used as a clothing amount estimation device that can easily and accurately estimate the amount of clothing worn by a user. , and physical condition management of passengers.

10 User 12 Skin 14 Clothing 14b, 30b Second portion 16 Cable 20 Seat 30, 330, 331, 332 Seat belt (member)
30a first portion 31 belt body (sheet member)
31a Third portion 31b Fourth portion 32 Lock mechanism 40, 810 Housing 41, 341 First heat resistance member 42 Second heat resistance member 51 First path 52 Second path 60 Windows 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 800 Clothing amount estimation devices 110, 210, 310 Measurement unit 111 First temperature sensor 112 Second temperature sensor 113 Third temperature sensor 114 Fourth temperature sensor 120, 220, 320 Estimation unit 130 Storage unit 140, 840 Display unit 215 First Heat flux meter 216 Second heat flux meter 311 Thermo cameras 334, 811 Through hole 450 Control unit 560 Internal environment measurement unit 562 External environment measurement unit 570 Internal clothing amount determination unit 572 External clothing amount determination unit 600 Air conditioning control device 610 Air conditioning control unit 700 skin temperature estimating device 710 skin temperature estimating unit 720 body temperature estimating unit 812 heat insulating material 820 control circuit 830 battery 850 operation switch 900 body fat scale 910 body 912 muscle 914 subcutaneous fat

Claims (34)

a measuring unit that measures the surface temperature;
an estimating unit that estimates the amount of clothing worn by the user based on the surface temperature measured by the measuring unit;
The measuring unit
a surface temperature of a first portion, which is a portion of the member that contacts the user's clothes and has a first thermal resistance value;
measuring the surface temperature of a second portion of the member that is different from the first portion and has a second thermal resistance value that is different from the first thermal resistance value;
Clothing amount estimation device. The member is
a sheet member that contacts the clothing;
a first thermal resistance member attached to the sheet member;
The first portion includes the first heat resistance member and a third portion of the sheet member that overlaps the first heat resistance member in plan view,
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 1 . the member further includes a second thermal resistance member attached to the sheet member;
The second portion includes the second heat resistance member and a fourth portion of the sheet member that overlaps the second heat resistance member in plan view,
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 2 . The surface temperature of the first portion is the surface temperature of the surface in contact with the clothing in the third portion,
The surface temperature of the second portion is the surface temperature of the surface in contact with the clothing in the fourth portion,
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 3 . The measurement unit further
a surface temperature or heat flux of a surface of the first heat resistance member opposite to the third portion;
measuring the surface temperature or heat flux of the surface of the second thermal resistance member opposite to the fourth portion;
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 4. The measurement unit further
a temperature or heat flux at a contact portion between the third portion and the first thermal resistance member;
measuring the temperature or heat flux at the contact portion between the fourth portion and the second thermal resistance member;
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 4. The measurement unit further
a heat flux at a contact portion between the third portion and the clothing;
measuring the heat flux of the contact portion between the fourth portion and the clothing;
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 4. the surface temperature of the first portion is the surface temperature of the surface of the first thermal resistance member opposite to the third portion;
the surface temperature of the second portion is the surface temperature of the surface of the second heat resistance member opposite to the fourth portion;
The measurement unit further
a temperature or heat flux at a contact portion between the third portion and the first thermal resistance member;
measuring the temperature or heat flux at the contact portion between the fourth portion and the second thermal resistance member;
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 3 . The surface temperature of the first portion is the surface temperature of the surface in contact with the clothing in the third portion,
The surface temperature of the second portion is the surface temperature of the surface of the sheet member that contacts the clothing in the fourth portion that does not overlap the first heat resistance member in plan view,
The measurement unit further
a surface temperature or heat flux of a surface of the first heat resistance member opposite to the third portion;
Measuring the surface temperature or heat flux of the surface opposite to the clothing in the fourth part;
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 3 . a measuring unit that measures the surface temperature;
an estimating unit that estimates the amount of clothing worn by the user based on the surface temperature measured by the measuring unit;
The measuring unit
a surface temperature of a first portion, which is a portion of the member that contacts the user's clothes and has a first thermal resistance value;
measuring the surface temperature of a second portion of the surface of the user's clothing that is not covered by the member;
Clothing amount estimation device. The member includes a sheet member that contacts the clothing,
The sheet member is provided with a through hole for exposing the clothing,
The second portion is a portion exposed to the through hole,
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 10 . The measurement unit includes a thermo camera,
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 10 or 11. a measuring unit that measures surface temperature or heat flux;
an estimating unit that estimates the amount of clothing worn by the user based on the surface temperature measured by the measuring unit;
The measuring unit
a surface temperature or heat flux of a first portion that is part of the member that contacts the user's clothing;
measuring the surface temperature or heat flux of a second portion having a thermal resistance value different from that of the first portion;
Clothing amount estimation device. The user is an occupant of a mobile body,
The member is a seat belt attached to a seat on which the user sits,
The clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 13. The measurement unit performs the measurement after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the seat belt was worn by the user.
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 14. The clothing amount estimation device further increases the tensile force of the seat belt during the period in which the measurement unit performs the measurement.
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 14 or 15. The measurement unit performs the measurement while the moving object is stationary.
The clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 14 to 16. The measurement unit performs the measurement while the window of the moving body is closed.
The clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 14 to 17. The moving body has a window with a variable infrared transmittance,
The clothing amount estimation device further reduces the infrared transmittance of the window before the measurement unit performs the measurement.
The clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 14 to 18. Furthermore, a display unit for displaying information based on the measurement result by the measurement unit or the estimation result by the estimation unit,
The clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 19. The display unit displays to the user to bring the member into close contact with the clothing when the variance value of the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit within a predetermined period is greater than a threshold value.
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 20. The display unit displays the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit.
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 20 or 21. The user is an occupant of a mobile body,
The clothing amount estimation device further includes:
an internal environment measuring unit that measures a thermal environment inside the moving object;
A first determination unit that determines an appropriate amount of clothing in the thermal environment measured by the internal environment measurement unit,
When the amount of clothing estimated by the estimating unit deviates from the amount of clothing determined by the first determining unit, the display unit displays to prompt the user to increase or decrease the amount of clothing.
The clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 20 to 22. The first determining unit identifies, among the plurality of users, a user who deviates from the amount of clothing determined by the first determining unit when the plurality of users are present as passengers in the moving object, and
The display unit performs display for prompting the user identified by the first determination unit to increase or decrease the number of clothes,
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 23. The first determination unit determines an appropriate amount of clothing when the user sleeps in the thermal environment measured by the internal environment measurement unit.
The clothing amount estimation device according to claim 23 or 24. The user is an occupant of a mobile body,
The clothing amount estimation device further includes:
an external environment measuring unit that measures a thermal environment outside the moving body;
A second determination unit that determines an appropriate amount of clothing in the thermal environment measured by the external environment measurement unit,
When the amount of clothing estimated by the estimating unit deviates from the amount of clothing determined by the second determining unit, the display unit displays to prompt the user to increase or decrease the amount of clothing.
The clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 20 to 25. An air conditioning control device comprising the clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 26,
an internal environment measuring unit that measures the thermal environment inside the space where the user exists;
An air conditioning control unit that performs air conditioning in the space based on the thermal environment measured by the internal environment measurement unit and the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit,
Air conditioning controller. The air conditioning control unit stops blowing air when the measurement unit performs the measurement.
28. The air conditioning control device of claim 27. When there are a plurality of users in the space, the air-conditioning control unit is configured to provide an optimal thermal environment for each of the plurality of users based on the amount of clothing estimated by the estimation unit for each of the plurality of users. is determined, and the air conditioning is performed so that a thermal environment obtained by averaging the determined multiple thermal environments is formed in the space;
The air conditioning control device according to claim 27 or 28. The clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 26,
a skin temperature estimating unit that estimates the user's skin temperature based on the surface temperature measured by the measuring unit;
Skin temperature estimator. Further comprising a body temperature estimating unit for estimating the user's body temperature based on the skin temperature estimated by the skin temperature estimating unit,
31. A skin temperature estimating device according to claim 30. The clothing amount estimation device according to any one of claims 20 to 26,
a skin temperature estimation unit that estimates the user's skin temperature based on the surface temperature measured by the measurement unit;
a body temperature estimating unit that estimates the body temperature of the user based on the skin temperature estimated by the skin temperature estimating unit;
The display unit displays the body temperature,
Skin temperature estimator. When the body temperature is greater than a threshold, the display unit displays a display to prompt the user to take a rest.
33. A skin temperature estimating device according to claim 32. When the skin temperature is lower than a threshold value, the display unit displays a display for prompting the user to restrict the diet.
34. A skin temperature estimating device according to claim 32 or 33.

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