JPH07243687A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an air conditioner in which an interior air conditioning operation is carried out in response to hot or cold feeling of an individual person present in a room. CONSTITUTION:There are provided an air conditioning means for use in air conditioning an interior area; a skin temperature sensing means 22 for sue in sensing a skin temperature of a person including a nose part where the person is present; a hot feeling or cold feeling calculating means 23 for use in calculating a feeling amount of hot feeling or cold feeling of a person in response to the skin temperature detected by the skin temperature sensing means 22; and an air conditioning control means 24 for use in controlling the air conditioning means in response to an amount of feeling of the person obtained through the hot feeling or cold feeling calculating means 23.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for performing indoor air conditioning in a room according to the condition of a person existing in the room.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of air conditioner, a solid-state image pickup device such as a CCD has been used as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-10045, and the number of persons existing indoors and the number of adults or children. It has been proposed to detect such a situation and control the air conditioning in the room.

In this conventional apparatus, the image information in the room is previously stored in the memory by the CCD as an initial image, and the number of people in the room and the area in the image are determined by the image difference from the image information when a person enters the room. The area inside the image is corrected according to the distance detected and the distance detected by the ultrasonic sensor to determine the number of people in the room and whether the person is an adult or a child. Then, the operating capacity of the air conditioner is controlled based on the determined number of people existing in the room and the size (difference between adult and child) to control the room to a desired set temperature.

[0004]

However, since the above-mentioned conventional apparatus controls the air conditioning in the room regardless of the thermal sensation of each person in the room, the same method is applied to all the people in the room. Could not give the comfort of.

On the other hand, recently, a method of estimating the thermal sensation of a person from the skin temperature has been proposed. The air conditioning control of the air conditioner is performed based on the specific content and the thermal sensation estimated from the skin temperature. There was no specific suggestion to make.

The present invention has been made in view of the above point, and obtains the thermal sensation of each person existing in the room from the skin temperature and controls the air conditioning in the room based on the thermal sensation. An object is to provide an air conditioner.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided an air conditioning means for air conditioning a room, a skin temperature detecting means for detecting a skin temperature including a nose of a person existing in the room, and a skin temperature detecting means for detecting the skin temperature. Based on the skin temperature, the thermal sensation calculation means for calculating the sensation amount of the person's thermal sensation, and the air conditioning means is controlled based on the human sensation amount obtained by the thermal sensation calculation means. Air conditioning control means for

Further, the infrared ray detecting means for detecting infrared rays radiated from a person existing in the room as image data is provided, and the skin temperature detecting means converts the infrared image data from the infrared image detecting means. Based on this, the temperature of the skin including the nose of the person may be detected.

Further, the skin temperature detecting means may be configured to detect the skin temperature of the nose, cheek, chin and ear of the human face area.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the sensory sensation of a person's thermal sensation is calculated from the skin temperature including the nose of each person existing in the room, and the indoor sensation is calculated based on the calculated thermal sensation. Air conditioning control is performed. Furthermore, since the sensory sensation of the thermal sensation is calculated based on the skin temperature of the nose, the sensory sensation of the thermal sensation can be obtained in consideration of the mental stress state of each person existing in the room.

Further, an infrared image detecting means for detecting infrared rays radiated from a person existing in the room as image data is provided, and when the skin temperature is detected based on the infrared image data, a human being is contactless. The thermal sensation of can be easily detected.

Furthermore, when the sensory sensation of thermal sensation is calculated based on the skin temperature of the nose, cheeks, chin, and ear of the human face area, the sensation of thermal sensation with high accuracy can be obtained. Calculation can be done.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment thereof. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an indoor state when the air conditioner of the present invention is mounted indoors. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is an indoor space, and 2 is a wall surface forming the indoor space 1, and an indoor unit 3 of an air conditioner is installed on the wall surface 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a person who is in the room 1, and 5 denotes an image pickup means attached to the indoor unit 3, which is composed of a CCD camera that takes an image of the state of the room 1 and outputs video data composed of RGB signals. Reference numeral 6 denotes an infrared image detecting means which is attached to the indoor unit 3, detects infrared rays emitted from a person 4 who is in the room 1, and outputs infrared image data, which is composed of an infrared camera (thermoviewer). .

Next, the structure of the air conditioner of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the air conditioner. In the figure, 21 is a CPU (microcomputer) that controls the driving of the CCD camera 5 and the infrared camera 6 and takes in the detected video data and infrared image data, and 22 is the video data from the CPU 21. Based on the infrared image data and the infrared image data, as will be described later, position detection of the person 4 in the room 1 and site extraction (in the present embodiment, the nose, cheek, chin, and ear of the face area are extracted. The temperature of the skin is detected by the skin temperature detecting unit.

Reference numeral 23 is a temperature for calculating a sense amount representing the thermal sensation of each person 4 present in the room, as will be described later, based on the skin temperature of the extraction site obtained by the skin temperature detecting unit 22. It is a cooling sensation calculation unit. Here, the sense amount is -100 to 1
The value has a value of 00, and when the amount of sensation is 100, it feels the hottest, when the amount of sensation is -100, it feels the coldest, and when the amount of sensation is 0, it is hot. Without
It represents the most comfortable state without being cold.

An air conditioning control circuit 24 is connected to the CPU 21 and controls the operating capacity, air flow direction, air volume, etc. of the air conditioner based on commands from the CPU 21. A ROM (read-only memory) 25 is connected to the CPU 21, and controls the skin temperature detection unit 22, the thermal sensation calculation unit 23, and the air conditioning control circuit 24 based on a program stored in advance in the ROM 25. .

Reference numeral 26 denotes an initial state storage unit for storing the indoor state when the person 4 is not present in the room (initial state), and RAM (random access) for temporarily storing image data obtained from the CCD camera 5. Memory).

In this embodiment, the sensory value representing the thermal sensation of an individual human is calculated based on the skin temperature of the nose, cheek, chin, and ear of the human face area existing in the room 1. Although calculated, this is because the skin temperature of the face area fluctuates as the thermal sensation changes. Further, it has been confirmed by experiments by the applicant of the present application that the sensory value of the thermal sensation and the various mental stresses have a correlation. The experimental results in this respect will be described below.

This confirmation experiment was conducted under constant environmental conditions such as indoor humidity, wind speed, and the amount of clothing and activity of the subject (humidity:
Approximately 50%, wind speed: about 0 m / s, clothing amount: about 0.1 clo, activity amount: about 1.0 met)
Experiments were conducted in which the subject was subjected to various mental stresses under the respective environmental temperatures according to the procedure shown below, while changing the temperature to 0, 25, and 30 ° C.

Procedure: After resting the eyes for 43 minutes,
The subject declares the amount of thermal sensation at that time (first time), and then starts the experiment. It takes 2 minutes to report the sense of heat and cold.

Procedure: After leaving the subject to rest and eyes closed for 8 minutes,
The test subject reports the amount of thermal sensation at that time (second time). Procedure: 8 minutes, computer work (2-digit arithmetic calculation)
After performing, the test subject declares the amount of feeling of thermal sensation at that time (third time).

Procedure: After leaving the subject to rest and eyes closed for 8 minutes,
The test subject declares the amount of thermal sensation at that time (fourth time). Procedure: After playing a video game for 13 minutes, the subject declares the sense of thermal sensation at that time (fifth time).

Procedure: After keeping the eyes closed for 6 minutes,
The test subject declares the amount of thermal sensation at that time (sixth time). Procedure: After playing a video game for 13 minutes, the subject declares the amount of thermal sensation at that time (seventh time).

Procedure: After leaving the subject to rest and eyes closed for 8 minutes,
The test subject declares the amount of thermal sensation at that time (eighth time) and ends the experiment. The above procedure ~ is conducted for three subjects, male and female, aged 24 to 30 years old, and for 80 minutes from the start to the end of the experiment, each part of the subject's face area (nose, cheek, chin) The skin temperature of the skin (part, ear, forehead) was continuously measured using a thermistor at a sampling cycle of 5 seconds.

FIG. 3 shows changes in the thermal sensation at the time of each declaration by the subject at each environmental temperature. The values in the figure show the average value of all subjects. From this figure, the reported values of thermal sensation increased at the time of the 3rd, 5th, and 7th declarations immediately after various mental stresses were applied, and the reported values of thermal sensation at the start of the experiment were particularly hot. Environmental temperature of about 40 = 3
It can be seen that this tendency is remarkably exhibited except at 0 ° C. That is, it can be said that the thermal sensation of individual human beings is the amount of sensation that increases due to the effects of various mental stresses.

When the ambient temperature is 20 ° C. or 25 ° C., the sense of thermal sensation is close to 0, and it feels relatively comfortable, whereas when the ambient temperature is 15 ° C. or 30 ° C. Indicates that the amount of sensation is far from 0, indicating that the user feels uncomfortable. That is, it can be said that the thermal sensation is obviously changing with the change of the environmental temperature. This is because the human body temperature regulation function works and the skin temperature changes according to the change in the environmental temperature.

Next, in the above experiment, changes in skin temperature of the nose and ear of the face region of one subject from the start to the end of the experiment are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. From FIG. 4, the skin temperature of the nose is lower than that in the resting state at the time of the third, fifth, and seventh declaration immediately after various mental stresses are applied, and the mental temperature of the nose is It can be seen that the skin temperature changes in good synchronization. Particularly, when the environmental temperature is 20 ° C., the skin temperature is lowered by 1 ° C. to 3 ° C. immediately after various mental stresses are applied, and this tendency is remarkable. That is, when mental stress is applied, the skin temperature of the nose decreases, conversely the sense of thermal sensation increases, and the skin temperature of the nose has a negative correlation that is substantially synchronized with the change in the sense of thermal sensation. Have a relationship.

Further, the skin temperature of the nose changes up and down in accordance with the up / down change of the environmental temperature, like the sense of thermal sensation, and has a correlation with the sense of thermal sensation. I understand.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, it can be seen that the skin temperature of the ear is very stable at all environmental temperatures, with almost no change in temperature due to the various mental stresses. And, it can be seen that the skin temperature of the ear changes according to the change of the environmental temperature, and unlike the nose, the skin temperature of the ear is determined only by the body temperature adjusting function regardless of the mental stress. . In addition, about the other parts of the face area, that is, the cheeks and the jaws, almost the same results as the ears were obtained. However, regarding the forehead part of the face area,
Although the results were similar to those of the ears, the width of the skin temperature change in the forehead with respect to the environmental temperature change was very small compared to other parts of the face area.

As described above, the skin temperature of each part of the face region changes up and down in accordance with the up and down change of the environmental temperature like the sense of heat and cold, and the skin temperature of the nose is mental. It has a negative correlation with the change in sensory sensation of thermal sensation when stress is applied, and the sensory sensation of thermal sensation can be determined using the skin temperature of each part of the face area including the nose. is there.

Based on the above experimental results, a variable reduction method (refer to "Multivariate analysis method (revised edition)", published by Nikka Giren Publishing Co., Ltd., published in 1971) , The skin temperature T1 ° C. of the nose in the face area, the skin temperature T2 ° C. of the cheeks, the skin temperature T3 ° C. of the jaws, and the skin temperature T4 ° C. of the ears are shown in the following equation.

[0032]

[Equation 1]

Here, the sensory amount y calculated by the equation 1
And the correlation coefficient between the test subject's declared sensory quantity obtained in the above experiment (correlation coefficient = 1 represents perfect agreement) is 0.89.
It has a high value of 7, and it is possible to calculate the sensation amount of the thermal sensation from the skin temperature of the face area including the nose portion with high accuracy by the above mathematical expression 1. The skin temperature of the forehead is not included in the above expression 1 because the skin temperature of the forehead is a variable that hardly affects the relational expression with respect to the sensory amount y.

Next, the operation of the air conditioner of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. First, it is determined whether or not the initial state is detected when the person 4 is not in the room (S
101), the CCD camera 5 is driven when the initial state is detected, and the image data in the room is used as initial value data in the RAM 26.
(S103) and returns to step S101.

If the initial state is not detected in step S101, that is, in the normal operation, the CCD camera 5 and the infrared camera 6 are driven to read the indoor video data and infrared image data (S105). .

Then, based on the initial value data stored in the RAM 26 and the image data read in step S105, the number n of the persons 4 in the room and the direction θi (i from each indoor unit 3 of each person. = 1 to n), the skin temperature corresponding to the nose Ai, cheek Bi, chin Ci, and ear Di of each person's face area is detected (S107).

Next, the skin temperatures corresponding to the nose Ai, cheeks Bi, chin Ci and ears Di of each person extracted in step S107 are detected from the infrared image data corresponding to the extracted parts. (S109). In addition, this skin temperature detection,
This is based on the fact that the brightness value of infrared image data represents the temperature of the image.

Then, in the next step S111, the skin temperatures corresponding to the detected nose Ai, cheek Bi, chin Ci, and ear Di of each person are substituted into the above-mentioned mathematical expression 1 so that each person in the room 1 Of the thermal sensation yi (i = 1 to n) of the person 4 of
It proceeds to step S113.

In step S113, step S111
The operating capacity, the wind direction, and the air volume of the air conditioner are automatically controlled via the air conditioning control circuit 24 based on the sensed amount yi of the thermal sensation of the n persons in the room 1 calculated in.

Specifically, the operating capacity of the air conditioner is set higher as the number n of persons 4 in the room 1 increases so that the room 1 reaches the set temperature. Also, step S111
The thermal sensation yi calculated for each person is compared and compared with the thermal sensation yi closest to 0, for example, during cooling operation, so that the thermal sensation yi of each person is equal and approaches 0. hand,
For a person 4 having a large sense amount yi in the positive direction, the air amount in the direction θi is reduced or set to zero.

With the above operation, comfortable air conditioning control of the room can be performed based on the thermal sensation of each person 4.
Further, as described above, infrared rays radiated from the person 4 existing in the room are detected, and the thermal sensation of the person 4 is obtained based on the skin temperature calculated from the detected data. Therefore, the human thermal sensation can be easily detected in a non-contact manner, and the indoor air conditioning can be controlled based on the human thermal sensation existing in the room, and a comfortable air conditioning environment can be realized. .

In the above embodiment, the number n of persons 4 in the room 1 is based on the image data from the CCD camera 5.
The case where each person's direction θi from the indoor unit 3 and each person's face area is detected has been described, but these detections may be performed based on the image data from the infrared camera 6. I do not care. Specifically, the image data from the infrared camera 6 is extracted in a brightness value range corresponding to the skin temperature band,
Based on the area information, position information, and shape information of the extracted data, the number of people n and the direction θi of each person from the indoor unit 3
Then, the part of the face area of each person is determined.

In the above embodiment, the case where the skin temperature in the face area is detected based on the image data from the infrared camera 6 has been described, but it may be detected by other methods.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, the human sense of thermal sensation is calculated from the skin temperature of each person present in the room, and based on the calculated sense of thermal sensation. Since the air conditioning is controlled in the room, it is possible to realize a comfortable air conditioning environment according to the amount of thermal sensation of each person.

Furthermore, since the sensory sensation of the thermal sensation is calculated based on the skin temperature of the nose, the sensory sensation of the thermal sensation is calculated in consideration of the mental stress state of each person existing in the room. Therefore, a more comfortable air conditioning environment can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an indoor state when the air conditioner of the present invention is mounted in a room.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the air conditioning apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in the sense of thermal sensation at the time of each declaration by a subject in a confirmation experiment.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in the skin temperature of the nose of the face region of one subject from the start to the end of the confirmation experiment.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in the skin temperature of the ears in the face region of one subject from the start to the end of the confirmation experiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the air conditioner of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Indoors 3 Indoor Units 4 People 5 CCD Camera (Imaging Means) 6 Infrared Camera (Infrared Image Detecting Means) 21 CPU (Microcomputer) 22 Skin Temperature Detecting Unit 23 Thermal Sensation Calculating Unit 24 Air Conditioning Control Circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An air-conditioning unit for air-conditioning a room, a skin temperature detecting unit for detecting a skin temperature including a nose of a person existing in the room, and a skin temperature detected by the skin temperature detecting unit. A thermal sensation calculation unit that calculates the sensation amount of the human thermal sensation, and an air conditioning control unit that controls the air conditioning unit based on the human sensation amount obtained by the thermal sensation calculation unit. An air conditioner characterized by being. 2. An infrared image detecting means for detecting infrared rays radiated from a person present in the room as image data, wherein the skin temperature detecting means converts the infrared image data from the infrared image detecting means. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the skin temperature including the nose of the person is detected based on the temperature. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the skin temperature detecting means detects skin temperatures of the nose, cheeks, chin and ears of the human face area. .