KR100837355B1 - Air conditioner and method of controlling airflow having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An air conditioner and an airflow control method thereof are disclosed. Air conditioner according to the present invention is a cabinet in which the inlet is formed; A head rotatably installed at an upper side of the cabinet and having a discharge port formed therein; Resident recognizing means installed in the cabinet; And airflow control means for receiving the recognition information of the occupant from the occupant recognition means and controlling the position of the head. According to this, the airflow is appropriately controlled according to the cognitive information of the occupants, thereby improving the satisfaction and energy efficiency of the heating and cooling felt by the occupants. In addition, since the position of the head can be controlled, there is no restriction in the installation position of the air conditioner, which is advantageous in terms of interior harmony and utilization of indoor space.

Air Conditioners, Cameras, Airflow Controls, Stereo Vision, Head Rotation

Description

Air conditioner and its airflow control method {AIR CONDITIONER AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING AIRFLOW HAVING THE SAME}

1 is a view in which a general air conditioner is disposed in a room where a guest is present to discharge airflow;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an air conditioner having an occupant recognition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention disposed in a room where an occupant is present to rotate a head according to recognition information of an occupant to discharge airflow;

3 is a perspective view showing the air conditioner of FIG.

4 is a front view showing the air conditioner of FIG.

5 is a view showing an extract of the first camera, the second camera, the airflow control means of FIG.

6 is a view for explaining a driving unit of the air flow control means of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling air flow of the air conditioner of FIG. 2.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

10, 100: air conditioner 110: cabinet

111: suction port 120: means for recognizing occupants

121: first camera 123: second camera

130: air flow control means 131: arithmetic unit

133: drive unit 133a: motor fixing plate

133b: motor 140: head

141: discharge port 143: louver

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner for controlling airflow by controlling the position of an air conditioner head by receiving cognitive information of an occupant. will be.

In general, an air conditioner is a device that cools or heats a room by using an air conditioning cycle of a refrigerant consisting of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator in order to create a more comfortable indoor environment.

Such a general air conditioner controls the airflow regardless of the occupant's cognitive information, that is, the number of occupants, the number of occupants, or the position and distance of the occupants. Here, the airflow control refers to a manual or automatic adjustment of factors such as wind speed, air volume, temperature, humidity, and direction of the air discharged by the air conditioner. In other words, the factors are adjusted according to the temperature and humidity set by the occupant, or the air conditioner calculates the optimal comfort index (PMV) that the occupant feels without adjusting the occupants.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for controlling air flow of a general air conditioner. The arrow indicates the flow of air discharged from the air conditioner, that is, the air flow.

Referring to Figure 1, there are four occupants in the center of the room. In this case, the temperature in the center of the room is relatively high due to the body temperature of the occupants, so in the summer, more cold air should be provided in the center of the room. In winter, on the contrary, due to the temperature of the occupants, the warm air should be provided to the other side of the room rather than the center of the room.

However, the general air conditioner described above discharges the airflow in the direction of the arrow regardless of whether or not the occupants, the number of occupants, or the position and distance of the occupants, which are recognition information. Of course, the general air conditioner 10 can also control the speed of the air flow to strong, medium, and weak, and the amount of air flow can be adjusted to a large amount and a small amount, but the airflow is the same speed and amount in the indoor areas A and B It must be discharged.

Therefore, the factors such as the wind speed, air volume, temperature, humidity, direction of the air flow can not be properly adjusted according to the cognitive information, and the satisfaction of the cooling and heating felt by the occupants is lowered.

In addition, since the factors such as wind speed, air volume, temperature, humidity, and direction of the discharged air are not properly adjusted, the air is unilaterally discharged, thus reducing the energy efficiency of the air conditioner. there was.

In addition, the air conditioner described above is discharged through the discharge port provided on the front side, the discharge direction is limited to the front. Therefore, even when the occupants are located in the center of the room, the airflow is discharged only in front of the air conditioner without the occupants. Therefore, there is a problem in that the satisfaction of the heating and cooling that the occupants are lowered and the energy efficiency is lowered.

In addition, in order to solve such a problem, since the air conditioner should be installed at a position where the airflow can be evenly distributed in the room, there is a disadvantage in terms of interior harmony and indoor space utilization of the room.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of actively controlling airflow according to cognitive information of a occupant. In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide an airflow control method for an air conditioner that actively controls airflow according to cognitive information of a occupant. In addition, another object is to provide an air conditioner without restriction in the installation position of the air conditioner.

Air conditioner according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a cabinet in which the inlet is formed; A head rotatably installed at an upper side of the cabinet and having a discharge port formed therein; Resident recognizing means installed in the cabinet; And airflow control means for receiving the recognition information of the occupant from the occupant recognition means and controlling the position of the head.

Here, the occupant recognition means is preferably a plurality of cameras.

Here, the air flow control means, the calculation unit for calculating the optimum comfort index according to the acquired recognition information; And a driving unit for rotating the head according to the optimum comfort index. The driving unit may include a motor fixing plate installed in the cabinet under the head; And a motor mounted to the motor fixing plate and having a rotation shaft connected to the head.

In addition, the object, the operation mode selection step; Receiving a signal from a pair of cameras; A stereo vision step of acquiring cognitive information of the occupants from the signal; And controlling the position of the head according to the acquired recognition information.

Hereinafter, an air conditioner and an airflow control method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an air conditioner having an occupant recognition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention disposed in a room where an occupant is present to rotate a head according to recognition information of an occupant to discharge airflow, and FIG. 3 is FIG. 4 is a front view showing the air conditioner of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a view showing an extract of the first camera, the second camera, and the airflow control means of FIG. 3, and FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the drive part of the airflow control means of this.

2 and 3, the air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is the head 140 according to the recognition information of the occupants, that is, the presence of the occupants, the number of occupants, the position and distance of the occupants Rotate to adjust airflow properly. That is, if there are four occupants in the center of the room, the temperature of the center of the room is relatively high due to the body temperature of the occupant, and in summer, the head toward the center 140 provides more cold air. If, in winter, on the contrary, due to the body temperature of the occupant, the warm air is provided to the head 140 toward the other side of the room rather than the center of the room.

3 to 5, the air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in order for the air conditioner 100 to properly adjust the airflow according to the recognition information of the occupants, the inlet 111 The cabinet 110 is formed; A head 140 rotatably installed above the cabinet 110 and having a discharge port 141 formed therein; Re-patient recognition means 120 installed in the cabinet 110; And airflow control means 130 which receives the position information of the occupant from the occupant recognition means 120 and controls the position of the head 140.

The inlet 111 is formed in the lower front of the cabinet 110 is the air intake. A fan motor (not shown) is installed in the cabinet 110 to control the amount and speed of airflow discharged through the discharge port 141. In addition, an air conditioning cycle (not shown) including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and an evaporator is provided. Of course, such an air conditioning cycle, the installation position may vary depending on whether the type of the air conditioner is separate or integrated. That is, the separate type installs the indoor unit of cooling / heating function on the indoor side and the outdoor unit of heat dissipation / cooling and compression function on the outdoor side and connects the two separated devices by refrigerant pipe, and the integrated type functions the cooling heat dissipation compression. Integrate. This embodiment is an example of an integrated type air conditioner, in which case an air conditioning cycle (not shown) is all installed in the cabinet 110.

An operation panel 115 for operating the air conditioner 100 is installed at the center of the front surface of the cabinet 110.

The front of the head 140 is formed with a discharge port 141 for discharging air into the room. The discharge port 141 is provided with a louver 143 that can adjust the opening and closing of the discharge port 141 and the wind direction of the air flow up and down.

The occupant recognition means 120 collects occupant recognition information such as whether there are occupants, the number of occupants, the location and distance of the occupants. A plurality of cameras are used as the occupant recognition means 120.

4 and 5, the occupant recognition unit 120 includes a first camera 121 and a second camera 123 spaced apart from the first camera 121 by a predetermined distance (L).

The first camera 121 and the second camera 123 are installed in front of the cabinet 110 to secure a wide field of view. In addition, in order to secure a wide field of view, the first camera 121 and the second camera 123 are disposed symmetrically with respect to the center line V of the cabinet 110. Here, the lens of the first camera 121 and the second camera 123 is preferably used a fisheye lens that can put the subject of the entire hemisphere in one circle in order to secure a wide field of view. In addition, based on two independent image information obtained from the first camera 121 and the second camera 123, three-dimensional image information is obtained as a stereo vision which is generally used.

Stereo vision is a process of reconstructing two two-dimensional images in three dimensions. It is a method of generating a three-dimensional model in consideration of the fact that the human eye uses the visual difference between both eyes when recognizing the depth of the object. From the left and right input images, the predicted variation, which is matching information between two images, is extracted, and a part of the model to be generated is extracted. The final three-dimensional model is generated by assigning the variation information predicted to the extracted feature as the depth information. In general, the geometric model of a camera in stereo vision has a structure in which two cameras look at a single object and show various shapes depending on the application. When two two-dimensional images are reconstructed in three dimensions by stereo vision, the position and distance of the occupants can be accurately known, and thus more accurate recognition of the occupants can be obtained.

In order to easily obtain three-dimensional image information with such a stereo vision, the first camera 121 and the second camera 123 are placed in a straight line on the horizontal line (H). Through the three-dimensional image information obtained in this way it is possible to determine the cognitive information of the occupants, that is, whether there are occupants, the number of occupants, the location and distance of the occupants.

Referring to FIG. 5, the airflow control unit 130 controls the airflow according to the occupant recognition information obtained as described above, and for this purpose, the airflow control unit 130 calculates an optimal comfort index. ; And a driving unit 133 for controlling the position of the head 140 according to the optimum comfort index.

Referring to FIG. 6, the driving unit 133 is mounted to the motor fixing plate 133a and the motor fixing plate 133a which are installed in the cabinet 110 under the head 140, and the rotation shaft is connected to the head 140. 133b. Of course, instead of the motor 133b, a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder whose rotation angle is adjusted in multiple stages may be used. In addition, any mechanism would be possible if the head 140 could be rotated. On the other hand, the driving unit 133 may be configured to adjust the rotational speed of the fan motor (not shown), the vertical rotation of the louver 143, the comp driving unit. Since the head 140 is rotatable in this way, the airflow can be discharged in more various directions. In addition, it is not necessary to install the air conditioner 100 in a location where the airflow can be evenly distributed in the room, which is advantageous in terms of interior harmony and indoor space utilization of the room.

Hereinafter, the airflow control method of the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling air flow of the air conditioner of FIG. 2. 2 and 7, the airflow control method of the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an operation mode selection step (S10); Receiving a signal from a pair of cameras (S20); And a stereo vision step (S30) of acquiring cognitive information of the occupants. Controlling the position of the head according to the acquired recognition information (S40); and adjusting the rotation speed of the fan motor or the angle of the louver or the comp driving unit (S50).

The operation mode selection step (S10) is a step in which the occupant sets the operation of the air conditioner 100 to the manual mode or the automatic mode by a button or a voice.

That is, in the manual mode, regardless of the presence of occupants, the number of occupants, the position and distance of the occupants, the airflow can be controlled by unilaterally rotating the head 140 according to the tastes of the occupants. Alternatively, the acquired acknowledgment information of the occupant is automatically received, and accordingly, the airflow may be controlled by rotating the head 140 according to the taste of the occupant. Of course, the air flow may be controlled by adjusting the rotation speed of the fan motor (not shown) or the angle of the louver 143 or the comp driving part (not shown).

On the other hand, in the automatic mode, the air conditioner 100 calculates an optimal comfort index according to the cognitive information of the occupants. Then, the factors such as the wind speed, air volume, temperature, humidity, direction of the air flow, the rotation of the head 140, the rotation speed of the fan motor (not shown), the angle of the louver 143, the comp driving unit ( Adjust automatically through the adjustment.

Receiving a signal from the pair of cameras (S20), through the camera (121, 123) transmits the presence or absence of the occupants in the signal form to the calculating unit 131 of the airflow control means 130.

In the stereo vision step (S30) of acquiring cognitive information of the occupants, the calculator 131 calculates the position and distance of the occupants using the stereo vision and calculates an optimal comfort index from the calculated occupants' positions and distances. .

In step S40 of controlling the position of the head according to the recognition information, the driving unit 133 rotates the head 140 in the direction of the occupant according to the optimal comfort index. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the head 140 is rotated to the center of the room where the occupants are present. By doing so, more cold air can be supplied to the indoor central zone where the temperature rises due to the body temperature of the occupants. Of course, if the occupant is not desired, the head 140 may be rotated in a direction in which the occupant is not present.

Adjusting the rotational speed of the fan motor (not shown) or the angle of the louver 143 or the comp driving part (not shown) (S50) is a step of controlling the airflow in parallel or alone with the rotation of the head 140. . For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the head 140 may be rotated to the center of the room where the occupants are present and at the same time, the cooler may be blown harder by increasing the rotation speed of the fan motor (not shown).

As described above, according to the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, the factors such as the wind speed, air volume, temperature, humidity, direction of the air flow can be appropriately adjusted according to the recognition information of the occupants In addition, the satisfaction of air-conditioning and heating that the occupants feel is improved. In addition, factors such as wind speed, air volume, temperature, humidity, and direction of the discharged air may be appropriately adjusted according to the cognitive information, thereby improving energy efficiency of the air conditioner.

In addition, the airflow can be controlled by rotating the head according to the position of the occupants, thereby improving the satisfaction of cooling and heating felt by the occupants, improving the energy efficiency, and having no restrictions on the location of the air conditioner. It is advantageous in terms of space utilization.

Claims (10)

A cabinet formed with a suction port; A head rotatably installed at an upper side of the cabinet and having a discharge port formed therein; An occupant recognizing means fixedly installed in the cabinet and arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line V of the cabinet, the first and second cameras being disposed in a straight line on a horizontal line H; And Receiving the occupant recognition information of the position and distance of the occupant from the occupant recognition means as a signal to determine the recognition information of the occupant as a stereo vision, And an airflow control means having a calculation unit for calculating an optimum comfort index according to the acquired cognition information, and a driving unit for rotating the head according to the optimum comfort index. delete delete delete delete delete delete The method of claim 1, wherein the driving unit, A motor fixing plate installed in the cabinet under the head; And And a motor mounted to the motor fixing plate and having a rotation shaft connected to the head. delete delete

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