JPH02105203A - Artificial environment control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To create rearing environment near to natural environment by accumulating and storing a setting value of multiple stages in the memory of an artificial controller, and supplying a control signal obtained by comparing the setting value with an observation value to a control circuit for a heater, a humidifier, etc. CONSTITUTION:The control of a temperature and humidity is performed by designating the setting mode of a controlled object by a setting key 4, and setting the upper and lower critical values of the temperature and the humidity to be controlled as observing a display device 6, respectively. The setting values are stored in the memory 3, and the control is started by designating the turn-on of the control by operating the setting key. The temperature and the humidity stored in the memory 3 are compared with the values of the temperature and the humidity from a sensor 1, and the control signal is outputted to the control circuit 8 when they exceed the critical values. The control circuit 8 controls external connection terminals 9-12 corresponding to the kind of the signal. The terminal 9 is the terminal to turn on a circuit for the heater, and the terminal 10 for the humidifier, and the terminal 11 for a cooling fan, etc.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is particularly applicable to office buildings and general homes where the environmental conditions during the day and night are kept constant by air conditioning, such as when there is almost no sunlight. If the artificial environment is maintained, it relates to a method of controlling the artificial environment to a state close to that of the natural environment, which is suitable for cultivating and growing plants, for example.

[Conventional technology]

In large-scale agricultural greenhouses, an artificial environment is created by a combination of various individual control devices. Management is performed using relatively large-scale air conditioning equipment.

C. Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention] It cannot be said that a simple, economical, and effective method has been achieved with conventional methods of controlling artificial environments on a relatively large scale. Furthermore, it goes without saying that fine-grained control cannot be expected depending on the means of large-scale control. In the present invention, in cases where the inside of a building or house is maintained at a substantially constant temperature and humidity by air conditioning, etc., in order to eliminate conditions that are not convenient for objects, the temperature, humidity, and lighting are controlled. We provide an artificial environment control method that creates conditions close to the natural environment that the object prefers in a certain section of the building or house, and also artificially create, for example, the relationship between the calendar and daytime hours in a program. The present invention aims to provide a control method that can promote or suppress plant growth.

Furthermore, by completely automating artificial environment control, the present invention saves labor in commercial greenhouses, maintains the natural environment in some areas during holidays in offices, etc., and can be used in general households. This aims to maintain the plants in their natural environment, for example, even when both parents and single workers are away from home, such as when traveling.

In addition to the above, the present invention aims to record the environmental conditions of items transported for long periods of time during international courier services, etc., and to confirm the transport conditions. be able to.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention focuses on the preferred environment of plants depending on their type, and the temperature, humidity, and lighting (
The environmental conditions (corresponding to sunlight) are selected as multi-stage settings that are close to natural ones, and the multi-stage setting values are stored and stored in the memory of the artificial environment control device, and these set values are used for heating. , a control signal obtained by comparing the measured value of illuminance of a humidity sensor or other lighting is supplied to a control circuit for a heater, humidifier, fan, or other lighting equipment.

To further improve snow resistance, the present invention sets (specifies) the time and the upper and lower limits of temperature and humidity to be controlled in the memory of the artificial environment control device using setting keys. When the time arrives, the control range of temperature and humidity is switched by comparing the value from the sensor (temperature, humidity) with the value set above, and multi-stage control is performed, or the time from sunrise to sunset (daytime time) is stored in the memory above. In this method, lighting time is controlled by specifying (setting) a plurality of programs using setting keys.

[For production]

The present invention is capable of controlling temperature and humidity control settings (upper and lower limits, respectively) at a preset time using a timer, for example, during daytime switching, thereby controlling indoor greenhouses, etc. in buildings and homes where ambient changes are small. To create a better growing environment by giving plants changes similar to their natural environment.

FIG. 1 is for explaining the control method, and shows a conventional method for a case where the control range of temperature and humidity is varied depending on the time of day.

The range of temperature and humidity conditions that are favorable for the growth of a certain plant is represented by the diagonal lines indicated by ■ in the figure. In this case, the conventional method is to control the temperature or humidity by setting upper and lower limits for the permissible growth limits of the plant, as shown by Ho and La. In this conventional method, if the surrounding natural environment changes as shown in ■ during the transition from night to day and back again to night, the result of environmental control in this case is the state shown by ■. exhibits.

In the method of the present invention, for example, in the case of two-stage control, daytime setting switching time 1. ．． When the upper and lower limits of humidity and temperature for 12 are set to H+, L+, Ht, and Lt, respectively, if the surrounding natural environment is ■, the control result will be in the state ■, which is a good environment for growing plants. Get results. In addition, in the example shown in Figure 2, which schematically shows changes in the calendar and daytime determined by locations on the earth, programs corresponding to multiple locations can be stored in the memory of the artificial environment control device, and settings can be pressed externally. Select and control the lighting. Usually, a program corresponding to a specific location (latitude and longitude) is selected, and a timer is used to control the lighting (cultivation lights) on and off at the time specified in the program to create a natural environment during daytime hours.

〔Example〕

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of an artificial environment control device applied to implement the method of the present invention.

This control device includes a processing unit I-A that includes a processing circuit 2 made up of a microcomputer, a temperature and humidity sensor 1, etc., and external controls such as a heater connection terminal 9 and a humidifier connection terminal 10 based on control signals from said A. It consists of a dedicated cord (cable) 7 etc. that connects the control unisol I-B that controls the power of the connected equipment. temperature,
The electrical signal from the humidity sensor 1 is AD converted and data processed by the processing circuit 2, and the temperature and humidity are digitally displayed on the display 6. To control temperature and humidity,
The user specifies the setting mode of the controlled object using the setting key 4, and sets the upper and lower limits of the temperature and humidity to be controlled while looking at the display 6. The setting value is memory 3
When the control is turned on by operating the setting key, the control is started.

The temperature and humidity values stored in the memory 3 and the temperature and humidity values from the sensor 1 are compared by the processing circuit 2, and if they exceed the limit values, a control signal is output to the control circuit 8.

The control circuit 8 controls external device connection terminals 9 to 12 depending on the type of signal. Incidentally, 11 is a cooling fan connection terminal, 12 is a connection terminal for a lighting equipment, and 13 is a commercial power supply connection terminal.

For example, if the lower limit of humidity has been exceeded,
The humidifier's power circuit is designed to turn on.

In the case of multi-stage control, a plurality of switching times, temperatures, and humidity are set in the memory 3. The timer 5 is a real-time calendar clock and sends a time signal to the processing circuit 2 at regular time intervals. When the set time comes, the processing circuit 2 switches the temperature and humidity stored in the memory 3 to be controlled.

To control the daytime time, first store the calendar day change table of the daytime time as a program in the memory 3, and select the corresponding program using the setting key 4. and memory 3
A control signal is output to the control circuit 8, and the commercial power source 13 is connected to the lighting equipment terminal 12 to control the lighting.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention can be used, for example, in cases where plants are grown in a human habitation environment, and in cases where the environmental conditions of warehouses, computer rooms, museums, etc. are efficiently managed. In this case, each environment can be understood as being close to the natural environment.

The values of temperature and humidity corresponding to the natural environmental conditions over time are stored in the memory 3, and the program is stored in the memory 3 by capturing the sunshine state of the calendar month as the duration of lighting. If you remember it,
This environment becomes a necessary environment for plants, items stored in warehouses, computers, and other works of art, and enables efficient management of environmental conditions such as maintaining a good environment.

Since the device applied to the present invention can be miniaturized, it is possible to maintain the environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity at appropriate values during transportation of the cargo, so that it is possible to reduce the size of the device. It is possible to realize the management, and in this sense, it can be carried by the sick person, which brings about the advantage of creating new uses.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a principle explanatory diagram for explaining the multi-stage control method of the environment, Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the illumination time of lighting (growth lights), and Fig. 3 is an artificial FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an environmental control device. ■...Temperature and humidity sensor, 2...Processing circuit consisting of a microcomputer, 3...Memory that stores temperature, humidity, etc. as multistage setting values, 4...Setting key, 5...・Timer 6... Display, 7... Cable, 8... Control 11 circuits.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Temperature, humidity, and illumination that approximately match natural environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and sunlight are set in a memory in an artificial environment control device as multistage setting values as time or calendar progresses. (3) to obtain control signals for multi-stage control by comparing the multi-stage set values with actual measured values of temperature, humidity, or lighting under residential or other installation conditions such as humans, animals, and other plants. Characteristic artificial environment control method. 2. In the memory (3), specify the time, temperature and humidity to be controlled using the setting key (4), and switch the temperature or humidity control range when the specified time arrives in conjunction with the timer (5). The artificial environment control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The memory (3) stores a multi-stage daytime program corresponding to the amount of sunlight from sunrise to sunset,
2. The artificial environment control method according to claim 1, wherein the lighting time is changed in multiple steps.