JPH0774703B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to control of an air conditioner.

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional air conditioner of this type detects the skin temperature of a person in a room and controls operating conditions such as the capacity of the air conditioner, the amount of blown air, and the wind direction based on the absolute value. (For example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-91138) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, when the skin temperature is to be detected in a non-contact manner with the above-mentioned configuration, a face having a relatively large area is exposed outside the clothes. Although it is a detection target, the absolute value of the skin temperature on the face is less sensitive to changes in ambient temperature than other parts, and there are individual differences, so it is possible to judge the temperature sensation only by the absolute value of the skin temperature. There was an inconvenience that it was difficult.

The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to detect the temperature sensation of a resident in a room with high accuracy in a non-contact manner to determine the operating conditions of the air conditioner, and to provide a comfortable environment. To do.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the air conditioner of the present invention detects at least one forehead for the skin surface temperature of a human face, and detects the temperature at a plurality of places together with other parts. Temperature sensor and an arithmetic unit for calculating an average value or a representative value of a plurality of outputs from the temperature sensor and a variation value such as a difference between the maximum value and the minimum value or a standard deviation.

Action The present invention, by the above configuration, the skin temperature of the face is measured at a plurality of locations, for example, the average value and the calculation result of the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value, the capacity of the air conditioner, the rotation speed of the blower, The occupant's comfort is improved by controlling the operating conditions such as the direction of the wind deflector.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is the main body of the air conditioner of the present invention,
It has a heat exchanger 2, a blower 3 and the like inside. An infrared temperature sensor 4 for detecting the facial skin temperature of a resident in the room and a human body tracking mechanism 5 for directing its visual field toward the resident are attached to the front surface of the main body 1. The air outlet 6 is provided with a wind direction deflecting blade 7 for controlling the wind direction.

FIG. 2 shows a human body tracking mechanism 5, which supports an infrared sensor 4 and a first stepping motor 7 for horizontal rotation,
A second stepping motor 8 for vertical rotation is provided.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of control. The output of the infrared sensor 4 is input to the calculator 9, where the average value and the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value are calculated, and the wind direction deflecting blade control device 10 controls the wind direction deflecting blade 7 based on the calculation result. To be done.

A case where the heating operation is started in the above configuration will be described as an example.

First, the human body tracking mechanism 5 scans the entire room with the infrared sensor 4 to search for occupants whose temperature is higher than the surroundings. After finding the direction to be detected, the facial skin temperature is measured. There are several facial skin temperatures (for example, forehead, cheeks,
Measured at three positions on the jaw, the calculator 9 calculates the average value and the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value, and the wind direction deflecting blade 7 is controlled based on this value.

Immediately after the start of operation, the temperature in the room is low, and the residents feel that it is cold, but the skin temperature on the face at this time is low and the variation is large. At this time (for example, the average value is less than 31 ° C. and the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is 5 ° C. or more), if the blowing air current is directly applied to the occupant, the occupant will feel uncomfortable due to the feeling of cold wind. Are kept horizontal (Fig. 4A).

As the room temperature rises, the cold sensation decreases, the skin temperature on the face rises, and the variation decreases (for example, the average value is 31 ° C or more and less than 32.5 ° C, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is 2.5 ° C or more. Less than 5 ° C). Here, the wind deflector 7 is directed downward so that the blowing airflow acts on the occupant so that the heating effect can be obtained (FIG. 4B).

Furthermore, as the skin temperature rises, the variation in the skin temperature becomes smaller (for example, the average value 32.5 ° C).
If the temperature is less than 34 ° C and the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is less than 2.5 ° C), it is determined that the user has been released from the cold and is in a comfortable state. The blowing airflow that was acting on the occupants to obtain the heating effect gradually becomes uncomfortable due to the annoyance after the cold is eliminated. (Fig. 4C).

FIG. 5 schematically shows the relationship between the temperature sensation and the average skin temperature of the face and its variation. In the figure, the solid line D is the average value of the skin temperature, and the broken line E is the variation. As described above, the skin temperature of the face when feeling cold is low and has a large distribution, and when the temperature is soft, it becomes high and nearly uniform.

As described above, according to the air conditioner of the present embodiment, since the blowing air direction is finely controlled by the average value of the skin temperature of the face highly correlated with the temperature sensation and its variation, the warming effect by the airflow without causing a feeling of cold wind. Is used to the maximum value, and comfort is not impaired from the start of driving to stable operation.

Although the heating operation has been described here, the operating conditions can be controlled by applying the above relationship even during cooling.

Further, in this embodiment, a tracking mechanism is provided to direct the field of view of the infrared sensor toward the resident, but as another embodiment, if a large number of infrared sensors are used, the face of the occupant in the room can be removed without the tracking mechanism. You can seek out the temperature. (Not shown) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the air conditioning equipment value of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the skin temperature of the face is detected at a plurality of places and the average value or the representative value thereof is combined with the value expressing the difference such as the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value or the standard deviation, the temperature sensation is determined. The accuracy of judgment is improved even on the face, which is less sensitive to changes in ambient temperature than other parts, and the control of driving conditions based on the judgment result is more detailed for the occupants, which greatly improves comfort. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an air conditioner in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a human body tracking mechanism of the same, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of control in the controller, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of wind direction control in the device, and FIG. 5 is a view showing the relationship between the average value and variation of the skin temperature of the face and the temperature sensation. 1 ... Air conditioner body, 4 ... Infrared sensor, 7 ...
Wind deflector, 9 ... Calculator, 10 ... Wind deflector controller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A skin temperature of a person's face, at least one of which includes a forehead, and temperature sensors which detect temperatures at a plurality of places including other portions, and an average value of a plurality of outputs from the temperature sensor. An air conditioner comprising a computing unit that computes a representative value and a variation value such as a difference between the maximum value and the minimum value or a standard deviation, and a controller that controls operating conditions based on the computation result by the computing unit.