KR101409376B1 - Control method and Device for Cooing/Heating With Come Home Pattern Recognition - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention controls the temperature of the cooling / heating device automatically before reaching the target point of the user by using the current position of the user and the learned ears pattern so that the temperature of the target point reaches the target temperature set by the user, And more particularly, to a cooling / heating device control apparatus and method for allowing a comfortable temperature environment to be enjoyed when a temperature reaches a target point. The present invention can minimize the energy required to optimize the temperature of the target point by using the current position of the user and the learned ear pattern, so that the energy consumption can be reduced.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control method and apparatus for controlling heating /

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling a cooling / heating apparatus using a portable device of a user, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for controlling a home / And automatically controlling the cooling / heating device to optimize the temperature of the target point.

The present invention has been derived from research carried out by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Ubiquitous Computing Research Center as part of the ubiquitous computing and network-based technology development project. [Task Number: 12C4-T3-10M, Development of intelligent space community system platform and application test bed].

Generally, a cooling / heating system installed in a house or an apartment building is controlled by a predetermined input so as to reach a target temperature at which the user can feel comfort. In this process, it takes some time until the cooling device or the heating device is operated to reach the target temperature, so that the user feels uncomfortable as much as the cooling / heating operation time.

Particularly, in the cold winter or hot summer, the user took a long time to reach the comfortable temperature after the air conditioner or the heating device was operated after the user went out and got home.

To solve this inconvenience, a technique has been proposed to control the heating / cooling device remotely. As such prior art, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2005-0106650 entitled " Boiler Remote Control and Integrated Management System Using Internet "

The prior art provides a function to operate and manage a boiler at a remote site using an existing Internet network infrastructure. Thus, the user can remotely control the boiler of the target point (home) to reach the desired temperature. However, such a method has the disadvantage that the user has to control the boiler at a remote place repeatedly, and if the user preliminarily operates the boiler while starting from a remote place, the boiler consumes unnecessary energy As a result, a considerable amount of energy is wasted.

Another approach is to set the heating device to be driven by a predetermined schedule. Such a method is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-0740243 entitled " Heating Energy Saving System ". This prior art has a possibility to feel uncomfortable because the main purpose is to reduce the heating energy and the heating is shut off when the user returns home early or late at home.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0106650 Korean Patent No. 10-0740243

The object of the present invention is to enable the user to feel the comfortable temperature of the target point when the user returns home by automatically controlling the temperature of the cooling / heating device before the user reaches the target point.

It is another object of the present invention to minimize energy waste in automatically operating a cooling / heating device at a target point in the absence of a user.

The present invention aims at intelligently recognizing the user's home by learning a user's ears pattern and the like so that the user can automatically operate the cooling / heating device at the target point without having to control the cooling / heating device remotely .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a cooling / heating device, including: learning a home pattern of a user of a portable device; Tracking the current location of the user using the portable device; And controlling the temperature of the cooling / heating device at the target point of the user in consideration of the current position, the current time, and the learned return pattern of the user.

At this time, the control method of the cooling / heating device may further include a step of setting one or more target temperature candidates of the cooling / heating equipment step by step according to the distance from the target point by the user.

According to another embodiment, a method for controlling a cooling / heating device includes extracting a predicted return time from the learned return pattern; And setting one or more target temperature candidates of the cooling / heating equipment step by step in accordance with the difference from the extracted estimated ear time.

The step of learning the return pattern may include analyzing a time required to reach the target point from a position distant by at least one specific distance from the target point.

The control method of the cooling / heating device may control the cooling / heating device based on the position, or may control the cooling / heating device based on time, depending on whether the user's current position is traceable. Alternatively, consideration may be given to both the location-based algorithm and the time-based algorithm in consideration of the time elapsed since the last position of the user's current position, considering both the position and the time, and an optimal control sequence may be derived.

A controller for controlling the cooling / heating device according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a collecting unit for tracking and collecting position information according to a user's time using a portable device; A learning unit for learning the ear pattern of the user using the collected location information according to the user's time; And a control unit for controlling the temperature of the cooling / heating device at the target point of the user in consideration of the current position of the user, the current time, and the learned return pattern.

At this time, the control device of the cooling / heating device controls one of the cooling / heating devices in a step-by-step manner considering at least one of the distance from the target point or the difference from the expected home- And a recognition unit for setting the above target temperature candidates. The recognition unit may select any one of the target temperature candidates as the current target temperature in consideration of the position or current time of the user depending on whether the position of the user is trackable or not.

The controller of the present invention may further include an input unit having an input interface for allowing the user to input one or more target temperature candidates of the cooling / heating equipment in consideration of the efficiency and characteristics of the cooling / .

According to the present invention, the temperature of the cooling / heating device is automatically adjusted before the user reaches the target point, and when the user returns home, the temperature of the target point can be comfortably adjusted.

According to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the energy required for automatically operating the cooling / heating equipment at the target point in the absence of the user, while providing a comfortable temperature environment to the user, thereby saving energy.

According to the present invention, since the user can intelligently recognize the home of the user by learning the home pattern, etc., and can follow the optimized cooling / heating control sequence in consideration of the current time information and the location information of the user, And it is possible to further enhance the convenience of the user because the cooling / heating device of the target point is automatically operated without the user having to control the cooling / heating device remotely.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a cooling / heating apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a cooling / heating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates in detail the case where the user can track the position and the case where the user can not track the position.
FIG. 3 is an operational flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a cooling / heating device that utilizes location information of a last tracked user in a case where the user's location can be tracked, but is currently impossible.
FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment in which a target temperature candidate is set stepwise according to the range of the distance the current user is located from the target point, and the cooling / heating device is controlled.
5 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment in which a target temperature candidate is set according to a range of time predicted to be consumed until a user reaches a target point, and the cooling / heating device is controlled.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a control apparatus for a cooling / heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

However, the present invention is not limited to or limited by the embodiments. Like reference symbols in the drawings denote like elements.

Hereinafter, an apparatus and method for controlling a cooling / heating apparatus according to a home return pattern learning method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG.

The target point mentioned below may be a home or office of a user, and means a space where a cooling / heating device to be controlled by the present invention is disposed. The present invention is not limited to a single point or a building, but may be interpreted as a concept of space. In the case of one building (for example, a house), the space is divided into a plurality of spaces, The control method of the present invention can be applied to each of the divided spaces, provided that individual heating / cooling devices are arranged for cooling / heating.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a control apparatus for a cooling / heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 6, the cooling / heating device control apparatus 600 of the present invention collects position information and the like from the portable device 10, learns a return pattern, and controls the cooling / heating device 11.

The collection unit 610 uses the portable device 10 to track and collect location information according to the user's time.

The learning unit 620 learns the user's ear pattern by using the position information according to the collected user's time.

The control unit 650 controls the temperature of the cooling / heating device 11 at the target point of the user in consideration of the user's current position, current time, and learned return pattern.

The control unit 600 may further include a recognizing unit 640. The recognizing unit 600 may be configured to determine whether the user desires the distance from the target point or the ears extracted from the learned e- The target temperature candidate of the cooling / heating device may be set in a stepwise manner considering at least one of the difference between the target temperature and the expected time. Also, the recognition unit 640 may select any one of the predetermined target temperature candidates as the current target temperature in consideration of the user's position or the current time depending on whether the user's position is traceable.

The control unit 600 may further include an input unit 630. The input unit 630 may control the cooling and heating device 11 in consideration of efficiency and characteristics of the cooling / Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > input of one or more target temperature candidates.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a cooling / heating apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, the learning unit 620 learns a user's ear pattern using the position tracking function of the portable device 10 (S110).

The collecting unit 610 tracks the current location of the user using the location tracking function of the portable device 10 (S120). The current position information of the user tracked in step S120 is transmitted to the learning unit 620 and the current position information of the data learned in step S110 is transmitted to the learning unit 620. In step S120, It will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the description of the present invention that utilization as basic data is obvious.

The control unit 650 controls the temperature of the cooling / heating device 11 at the target point of the user in consideration of the current position of the user, the current time, and the learned return pattern (S130).

At this time, the return pattern learned by the learning unit 620 is a time required for the user to return home, a time required for the user to return home, or a time required for the user to reach the target point at a position outside a certain distance from the target point And a time for which the time has elapsed.

The patterns of return can be learned by day, week, week, month, or season, and may be distinguished by considering these factors when the user's primary travel route is affected by special seasonal influences such as summer vacation.

The recognition unit 640 may set one or more target temperature candidates for the cooling / heating device 11 step by step. In this case, the criterion for setting the target temperature candidate may be the range of the distance from the target point, the difference between the user's usual return time and the current time, Time may be a reference.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a cooling / heating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates in detail the case where the user can track the position and the case where the user can not track the position.

Referring to FIG. 2, the learning unit 620 learns a user's ear pattern using the user's past location tracking data collected by the collection unit 610 (S210).

The operation of the recognizing unit 640 may be performed differently depending on whether the collecting unit 610 can track the current position of the user (S230). The recognition unit 640 may set one or more target temperature candidates in step S221 according to the distance between the target point and the user's position (S221). In addition, the recognition unit 640 may set one or more target temperature candidates in a stepwise manner according to the difference between the expected return time and the current time (S222).

For the step S222, the learning unit 620 can extract the expected time for home return from the return pattern and the average time for return home. The recognition unit 640 can identify the target temperature candidates (the number of the target temperature candidates) using the extracted estimated home time and average home time, and set the target temperature candidate value for each step.

In step S221 or step S222, the recognizing unit 640 recognizes the operation characteristics of the cooling / heating device 11, the energy consumption characteristics, the tendency of the temperature change with respect to the input energy, / The size of the heating space, and so on, and the target temperature candidate value can be set for each step. In this process, the user may input a predetermined temperature value as the target temperature candidate through the input unit 630 or receive an input for the user's verification of the automatically set target temperature candidate value.

If the current position of the user is traceable by the collecting unit 610 (S230), the recognizing unit 640 selects one of the preset target temperature candidates as the current target temperature according to the distance between the target point and the current position (S241).

If the current position of the user is not traceable by the collecting unit 610 (S230), the recognizing unit 640 recognizes any one of preset target temperature candidates according to the difference between the expected return time and the current time, (S242).

The control unit 650 controls the temperature of the cooling / heating equipment 11 so that the target temperature reaches the target temperature selected through either step S241 or step S242 (S250).

On the other hand, the user can return home by using various transportation means. Depending on the location characteristic, there may be a section where position tracking is easy and a section which is not easy depending on the position of the user. In this case, if the user's location is tracked and the tracking is disabled, the method from step S221 to step S241 in FIG. 2 is used in the section in which the user's location is tracked. In the section in which the user's location is not tracked, The method of steps S222 to S242 may be used.

According to another embodiment of the present invention for the case where the user's position is tracked and can not be traced, the ear pattern that is learned by the learning unit 620 is a distance from the target point to a target point Time may be tracked and analyzed step by step.

For example, if the average time to reach the target point from a point 15 km away from the target point is 1 hour and the average time to reach the target point 6 km away from the target point is 30 minutes, The learning unit 620 can separately grasp and store the pattern data.

By using the stored return pattern, it is possible to estimate the time required for the user's home, for example, when it is used together with the method shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an operational flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a cooling / heating device that utilizes location information of a last tracked user in a case where the user's location can be tracked, but is currently impossible.

Referring to FIG. 3, the learning unit 620 learns a user's ear pattern (S310).

The collecting unit 610 confirms the position of the last user identified (S320).

The recognition unit 640 may estimate the ear-time estimation time using the location information of the user finally identified and the learned ear pattern (S330).

The recognition unit 640 may set any one of the target temperature candidates to the current target temperature using the estimated estimated return time and the learned return pattern (S340).

The configuration in which the control unit 650 controls the temperature of the cooling / heating equipment 11 to control the temperature of the space at the target point (S350) is the same as in Fig. 1 or Fig.

For example, if the location of the last identified user was 15 km away from the target location, it would be expected that the time taken to travel home by 15 km using the learned ears pattern would be one hour.

Estimation of the expected ear time can be made by considering the time confirmed by the user at a distance of 15 km and the time required to return home according to the learned ear pattern. Thereafter, the temperature of the target point can be adjusted while estimating the position of the user or the time required for returning to the user according to the passage of time.

Then, when the user is confirmed at a position 6 km away, the estimated time of the ears can be re-estimated and the temperature of the target point can be adjusted in consideration of the elapsed time and the average time of about 30 minutes.

To this end, the collecting unit 610 and the learning unit 620 may further acquire and analyze information as to where the user is located on the ears path and where the location is not confirmed.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment in which a target temperature candidate is set stepwise according to the range of the distance the current user is located from the target point, and the cooling / heating device is controlled.

Referring to FIG. 4, a number of steps have been set according to the distance range from the target point S to the current position of the user. Although four steps are set in FIG. 4, the number of steps can be variously set by a number of factors.

For convenience of explanation, range 1 410 may be set to a range of 10 km to 7 km from the target point S. [ Range 2 420 may range from 7 km to 5 km from the target point S, range 3 430 may range from 5 km to 2 km from the target point S, Can be set within a range of 2 km from the point (S).

The controlled target temperature candidate can be set considering the difference between the temperature in the target point S before the cooling / heating operation is performed and the final target temperature (a comfortable optimal room temperature desired to be provided when the user arrives) .

The target temperature candidate may be set step by step to the final target temperature in consideration of seasonal factors or the day's climate.

For example, if the final target temperature is 20 degrees Celsius and the temperature before the cooling / heating operation is 0 degree centigrade, if the user is located in range 1 410 considering four intervals, the target temperature candidate is [20 Target temperature candidate is 10 [deg.] C, 2/4 of [20 [deg.] - 0 [deg.]], And target temperature candidate is 3 [ Candidates can be target temperature candidates at 20 degrees Celsius, which is about 15 degrees Celsius, 3/4 degrees of [20 degrees - 0 degrees], and range 4 (440 degrees).

Or the seasonal factors such as the final target temperature is 20 degrees Celsius, the basic temperature is predicted to be 10 degrees Celsius, and the difference between the final target temperature and the predicted basic temperature (temperature before cooling / heating) is divided into four steps The target temperature candidate can be set.

As described above, the target temperature candidate may have temperature values of 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 of the final target temperature according to the distance range of the user. Is a value of any one of these target temperature candidates. As described above, the target temperature candidates may be set at equal intervals in steps, but may be set differently.

5 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment in which a target temperature candidate is set according to a range of time predicted to be consumed until a user reaches a target point, and the cooling / heating device is controlled.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a case where a target temperature candidate is set for each of four steps according to the difference between the estimated time and the present time of the user's ears.

If the estimated time of the ears extracted by the ears pattern is 7 pm, it corresponds to the 1st step if the current time is from 6 pm to 6:30 pm. In step 1, the target temperature may be 1/5 of the fluctuation to the final target temperature.

If the current time is in the range of 6:30 to 6:40, it corresponds to the second step. In the second step, the target temperature may be 3/5 of the fluctuation range to the final target temperature.

If the current time is in the range of 6:40 to 6:50, it corresponds to the third step. In the third step, the target temperature may be 4/5 of the fluctuation range to the final target temperature.

If the current time is later than 6:50 pm, it corresponds to step 4, and in step 4, the target temperature is the final target temperature.

The control method of the cooling / heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a program command that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, such as specific elements, and specific embodiments and drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above- And various modifications and changes may be made thereto by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, belong to the scope of the present invention .

S: Target point
610:
620:
630:
640:
650:
10: Mobile devices
11: Heating / heating equipment

Claims (14)

Learning the ear pattern of the user of the portable device;
Tracking the current location of the user using the portable device;
Setting one or more target temperature candidates of the cooling / heating equipment of the target point step by step along a distance from the user target point; And
Controlling the temperature of the cooling / heating device at the target point of the user in consideration of the current position of the user, the current time, and the learned return pattern;
/ RTI > The method of claim 1, The method according to claim 1,
The return pattern may include at least one of a time when the user returns home, a time required for the user to return home, or a time required for the user to reach the target point outside a certain distance from the target point And controlling the cooling / heating device. delete The method according to claim 1,
The step of controlling the temperature of the cold /
Selecting one of the set one or more target temperature candidates as a current target temperature according to a distance between the current position of the user and the target point when the current position of the user can be traced; And
Controlling the temperature of the cooling / heating device such that the temperature of the target point reaches the selected target temperature;
/ RTI > The method of claim 1, The method according to claim 1,
Wherein setting the one or more target temperature candidates comprises:
And sets the number and the temperature value of the one or more target temperature candidates using the learned return pattern. The method according to claim 1,
Extracting a predicted ear time from the learned ear pattern; And
Setting one or more target temperature candidates of the cooling / heating equipment step by step in accordance with the difference from the extracted estimated return time;
Further comprising the steps of: The method according to claim 6,
The step of controlling the temperature of the cold /
Selecting one of the set one or more target temperature candidates as the current target temperature according to the difference between the current time and the estimated return time when the current position of the user can not be tracked; And
Controlling the temperature of the cooling / heating device such that the temperature of the target point reaches the selected target temperature;
/ RTI > The method of claim 1, The method according to claim 1,
The step of learning the return pattern
And analyzing the time required to reach the target point from a position distant from the target point by at least one specific distance. 9. The method of claim 8,
The step of controlling the temperature of the cold /
Until the user reaches the target point by using the distance between the last position recognized by the user and the target point and the required time information reaching the target point from a point spaced apart from the analyzed one or more specified distances Estimating an estimated time required to be consumed;
Setting a target temperature of the cooling / heating device according to the estimated range of the estimated time required; And
Controlling the temperature of the cooling / heating device so that the temperature of the target point reaches the set target temperature;
/ RTI > The method of claim 1, A computer-readable recording medium having recorded therein a program for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 or 9 to 9. A collection unit for tracking and collecting location information according to a user's time using a portable device;
A learning unit for learning the ear pattern of the user using the collected location information according to the user's time;
A recognition unit configured to set at least one target temperature candidate of the cooling / heating apparatus in a stepwise manner considering at least one of a distance from the target point to the user, or a difference from the expected return time extracted from the learned return pattern; And
A controller for controlling the temperature of the cooling / heating appliance at the target point of the user in consideration of the current position of the user, the current time, and the learned return pattern,
And a controller for controlling the cooling / heating device. delete 12. The method of claim 11,
The recognition unit
Wherein the control unit selects one of the target temperature candidates as the current target temperature in consideration of the position or the current time of the user depending on whether the position of the user is traceable. 12. The method of claim 11,
An input unit having an input interface for allowing the user to input one or more target temperature candidates of the cooling / heating equipment in consideration of efficiency and characteristics of the cooling / heating equipment;
Further comprising a control unit for controlling the cooling / heating device.

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