TW201837380A - Air conditioner, control method for same, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

An air purifier (10) to clean air comprises: a comparison unit (11c) that compares indoor environmental data acquired by an indoor environment acquisition unit (11a) and outdoor environmental data acquired by an outdoor environment acquisition unit (11b) via a communication network and a communication unit (15); and an utterance control unit (11d) that controls utterances from the air purifier (10) on the basis of the comparison results.

Description

Air conditioner, control method thereof, and recording medium

The present invention relates to an air conditioner for controlling the air condition in a room, a control method thereof, and a recording medium.

Examples of the air conditioner include an air conditioner having a cooler and heater function, an air cleaner having an air cleaning function for cleaning indoor air, and a humidifier having a humidification function. Generally, in an air cleaner, a pollution sensor detects the degree of pollution of the indoor air, and controls the operation of air purification based on the detection result (for example, the air cleaner described in Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-097955

Recently, so-called network appliances capable of communicating with external devices via a communication network have gradually spread. Therefore, it may be considered to perform an appropriate operation using information from an external device.

One aspect of the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner or the like that performs an appropriate operation more conventionally by using information from an external device.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the air conditioner of the present invention performs air conditioning to adjust the air condition in the room, and is characterized by comprising: a detection unit that detects the air condition in the room; and an acquisition unit that obtains the information through a communication network. Outdoor air condition information; a comparison unit that compares the indoor air state detected by the detection unit with the outdoor air state obtained by the acquisition unit; and an action control unit that controls the air based on the comparison result of the comparison unit The action of the blender.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to achieve an effect that the information from the external device can be used to perform a more appropriate operation than before.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. In addition, for convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in the embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are appropriately omitted.

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4.

(Outline of Air-conditioning Support System) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an air-conditioning support system 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the air-conditioning support system 1, an air cleaner 10 (air conditioner), a cloud server 20, and a mobile terminal 30 installed in a user's home 50 are connected via a wide area communication network 60 (communication network). The air-conditioning support system 1 supports air conditioning to adjust the air condition in the room of the user's home 50. In FIG. 1, although the air cleaner 10, the cloud server 20, the mobile terminal 30, and the user home 50 are each exemplified, the number or type of these is not limited.

The air cleaner 10 cleans the indoor air of the user's home 50. In this embodiment, the air cleaner 10 is a so-called network appliance having a wireless communication function for connecting to the wide area communication network 60 to communicate with the cloud server 20. The wireless communication function may be provided in the main body of the air cleaner 10 or may be provided in a communication adapter (not shown) externally attached to the main body of the air cleaner 10. Moreover, in this embodiment, although the air cleaner 10 has a humidification function, it may not have it. In this embodiment, the air cleaner 10 is installed in the user's home 50 as shown in FIG. 1, but the installation location is not limited, and it may be installed in an office or a public place.

In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 30 is registered in the cloud server 20 in correspondence with the air cleaner 10. The mobile terminal 30 can remotely operate the air cleaner 10 registered in the cloud server 20 corresponding to itself via the cloud server 20 at a distance. The mobile terminal 30 receives from the cloud server 20 various information related to the air cleaner 10 registered in the cloud server 20 in correspondence with itself. Examples of the mobile terminal 30 include a smartphone and a tablet terminal. Multiple air cleaners 10 can be operated from a single mobile terminal 30 at a distance. In addition, one air cleaner 10 may be operated from a plurality of mobile terminals 30 at a distance.

In the present embodiment, the cloud server 20 obtains outdoor environment data of each region and supplies the outdoor environment data of the region including the user's home 50 to the air cleaner 10. Therefore, the identification data including the area of the user's home 50 is registered in the cloud server 20 in correspondence with the air cleaner 10. In addition, the cloud server 20 may collect outdoor environmental data of the local area from sensors located in each local area, and may also obtain outdoor environmental data of the local area collected by other servers.

The environmental data includes data (information) indicating the state of the air and data indicating other environmental states. Examples of the data representing the state of the air include the concentration, odor level, air temperature, and humidity of fine particles (for example, dust, pollen, PM10, PM2.5, etc.) suspended in the air. In addition, as examples of the above-mentioned data showing other environmental conditions, illuminance and the like can be mentioned. Examples of the identification data include the address of the user's home 50 and the postal code.

A wireless LAN (Wiress Local Area Network) is installed in the user's home 50. The wireless LAN relay station 40 is connected to a wide area communication network 60 including an Internet. The relay station 40 is a communication device such as a WiFi (registered trademark) router or a WiFi (registered trademark) access point. In this embodiment, although the wide area communication network 60 is exemplified by a configuration including the Internet, a telephone line network, a mobile communication network, a CATV (Cable TeleVision) communication network, a satellite communication network, or the like may be used.

The cloud server 20 and the air cleaner 10 can communicate via the wide area communication network 60 and the wireless LAN relay station 40. In addition, the cloud server 20 and the mobile terminal 30 can communicate via a wide area communication network 60. The mobile terminal 30 and the Internet of the wide area communication network 60 are connected by a 3G (3rd Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), a WiFi (registered trademark) access point in a house or the public. In addition, both the air cleaner 10 and the mobile terminal 30 are wireless communication devices, and may communicate with each other via the relay station 40 without passing through the wide area communication network 60. In addition, since the cloud server 20 and the mobile terminal 30 may be publicly known, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

(Outline of Air Purifier) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the air cleaner 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the air cleaner 10 includes a control unit 11, a memory unit 12 (memory element), a drive unit 13, a sensor unit 14, a communication unit 15, an operation panel 16, and a sound output unit 17.

The control unit 11 controls the operations of the various units of the air cleaner 10, and is configured by a computer device including an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a dedicated processor. The control unit 11 reads and executes various programs stored in the memory unit 12 for implementing various controls of the air cleaner 10, thereby coordinating and controlling the operations of the various units of the air cleaner 10. The details of the control unit 11 will be described later.

The memory unit 12 stores various data used in the air cleaner 10, including a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the like.

The drive unit 13 executes air conditioning operations such as an air cleaning operation and a humidification operation of the air cleaner 10 by being supplied with electric power. Examples of the driving section 13 include a blower fan for sending air, a discharge element for generating ions and the like in the air, a heater for evaporating water, and the like. The driving section 13 is controlled by the control section 11.

The sensor unit 14 senses the indoor environment of the user's home 50 in which the air cleaner 10 is installed. In this embodiment, the sensor unit 14 includes a dust (dust) sensor 14a that detects particles such as dust, pollen, and PM2.5 suspended in the room, an odor sensor 14b that detects odor, and an illuminance that detects illuminance The sensor 14c, a temperature sensor 14d that detects temperature, a humidity sensor 14e that detects humidity, and a person sensor 14f that detects a person. The sensor unit 14 may include a CO ₂ sensor for detecting a CO ₂ concentration in the room. In addition, since these sensors can be used by a publicly known person, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

The air cleaner 10 performs an air-cleaning operation so that each of the detection level of the fine particles such as dust and the detection level of an odor becomes a predetermined level or less. In addition, when the detection level of the illuminance is below a predetermined level, that is, when the room is dark, the air cleaner 10 performs an air cleaning operation with a weak operation. In this way, the environment sensed by the dust sensor 14a, the odor sensor 14b, and the illuminance sensor 14c is required for the air cleaner 10 to control the air cleaning operation.

The communication unit 15 communicates with the cloud server 20 via the wireless LAN relay station 40 and the wide area communication network 60 under the control of the control unit 11.

The operation panel 16 is a user interface for causing a user to input an instruction to the air cleaner 10 or notify the state of the air cleaner 10 under the control of the control unit 11. Examples of the state of the air cleaner 10 include an operation mode, a temperature and humidity in a room, a value converted from electricity consumption into electricity charges, a degree of pollution (dust, odor, and the like) of indoor air, and presence or absence of humidification.

The sound output unit 17 is a sound output device such as a speaker. The control unit 11 outputs a sound based on the sound data stored in the storage unit 12 from the sound output unit 17.

In addition, the air cleaner 10 is not only operated remotely from the mobile terminal 30, but also may be operated from a remote controller (not shown) such as near-field wireless communication using infrared rays. Alternatively, it may be a sound operation.

In addition, although not shown in the figure, the air cleaner 10 is provided with an air flow path arranged in the air cleaner 10 and a filter for capturing the above-mentioned fine particles in the air, and stores water for the air cleaner 10 to perform humidification operation. Various components such as sinks. In addition, the sensor unit 14 includes various sensors such as a sensor that senses the amount of water stored in the water tank, and a sensor that detects the clogging of the filter. The clogging of the filter can be detected from changes in air volume or pressure, light transmittance of the filter, and the like. The sensing of the clogging of the filter is used for notification to urge the replacement of the filter. In addition, it is also possible to calculate the usage time of the above-mentioned filter for notification to promote replacement.

(Details of Air Cleaner) FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control unit 11 and a memory unit 12 in the air cleaner 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 11 includes an indoor environment acquisition unit 11a (detection unit), an outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b (acquisition unit), a comparison unit 11c, and a speech control unit 11d (action control unit). In addition, the memory unit 12 includes an utterance content table 12a (notification correspondence information).

The utterance content table 12a includes the utterance content and the utterance conditions in association with each other. The utterance content table 12a may be stored in the air cleaner 10 in advance, or may be obtained from the cloud server 20 via the wide area communication network 60, the relay station 40, and the communication unit 15, and stored in the memory unit 12.

The indoor environment acquisition unit 11 a acquires (detects) the indoor environment data sensed (detected) by the sensor unit 14. The indoor environment acquisition unit 11a sends the acquired indoor environment data to the comparison unit 11c and the utterance control unit 11d.

The outdoor environment acquisition unit 11 b acquires outdoor environment data including the area of the user's home 50 from the cloud server 20 via the wide area communication network 60, the relay station 40, and the communication unit 15. The outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b sends the acquired outdoor environment data to the comparison unit 11c.

The comparison unit 11c compares the indoor environment data from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11a with the outdoor environment data from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b. The comparison unit 11c notifies the speech control unit 11d of the comparison result.

The utterance control unit 11d, when a certain utterance condition is satisfied, refers to the utterance content table 12a of the memory unit 12, and controls the sound output unit 17 to issue the utterance content corresponding to the utterance condition.

In this embodiment, the utterance control unit 11d further determines whether the utterance is appropriate based on the comparison result from the comparison unit 11c. Specifically, when the utterance control unit 11d selects the utterance content of "recommended indoor ventilation" from the utterance content table 12a, if it is 控制 compared to the indoor environmental data from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11a, it is from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b The comparison result of the outdoor environmental data of Poor is relatively poor, and it is controlled to not issue the above-mentioned speech content.

As an example, in the utterance content table 12a, the above-mentioned utterance content is related to the utterance conditions of the PM2.5 concentration in the radon room of 35 μg / m ³ or more. At this time, even if the indoor environmental data from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11a satisfies the above-mentioned utterance conditions, if it is a comparison result of the PM2.5 concentration in the room being higher than the indoor PM2.5 concentration, Then, the utterance control unit 11d controls to prevent the utterance content from being issued.

Thereby, the operation of the air cleaner 10 is controlled based on the comparison result between the indoor environment data and the outdoor environment data. Thereby, as compared with the conventional case where the operation of the air conditioner is controlled according to the air condition in the room, a more appropriate operation of the air cleaner 10 can be realized.

In addition, since the utterance (notification) to the user is controlled based on the comparison result, more appropriate utterance to the user can be achieved. In addition, when the indoor environmental data is better than the outdoor environmental data, the ventilation is stopped, so it is possible to avoid the situation where the indoor environment is deteriorated due to the ventilation.

(Speech Control Process) FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of the utterance control process of the utterance control unit 11d of the air cleaner 10 configured as described above. In addition, the utterance control processing shown in FIG. 4 may be performed periodically or in some cases. As shown in FIG. 4, first, it is determined whether or not the utterance condition that the PM2.5 concentration in the room acquired from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11 a is 35 μg / m ³ or more is satisfied (S10). When the above-mentioned speaking conditions are not satisfied (S10, No), the indoor air is cleaned, and the process ends without speaking.

On the other hand, when the above-mentioned utterance condition is satisfied (S10, YES), it is determined whether the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b has obtained the outdoor PM2.5 concentration (S11). This determination can be made based on whether or not the outdoor PM2.5 concentration can be obtained from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b. Alternatively, it may be performed based on the comparison result from the comparison unit 11c. The reason is that when the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b has not obtained the outdoor PM2.5 concentration, the comparison unit 11c may notify the speaking control unit 11d that the comparison cannot be performed.

When the outdoor PM2.5 concentration is obtained (S11, YES), it is determined whether the indoor PM2.5 concentration is higher than the outdoor PM2.5 concentration by referring to the comparison result from the comparison unit 11c (S12). When the concentration of PM2.5 indoors is higher than the concentration of PM2.5 outdoors (S12, YES), the speech content of "recommended indoor ventilation" is transmitted through the sound output unit 17 (S13). Thereby, when the user performs indoor ventilation, the concentration of PM2.5 in the room can be improved (reduced). After that, the process ends.

On the other hand, when the indoor PM2.5 concentration is lower than the outdoor PM2.5 concentration (S12, No), the unit performs the above-mentioned speech and ends the processing. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the user from performing indoor ventilation to further deteriorate (rise) the PM2.5 concentration in the room. When the outdoor PM2.5 concentration is not obtained (S11, NO), the speech content is transmitted through the sound output unit 17 as in the conventional case (S13), and then the process ends.

(Modification) The comparison result from the comparison unit 11c may be one of the above-mentioned speaking conditions in the speaking content table 12a. In this case, the utterance control unit 11 d can transmit the utterance content corresponding to the comparison result from the comparison unit 11 c through the sound output unit 17.

For example, in the case where the indoor PM2.5 concentration is lower than the outdoor PM2.5 concentration in the above comparison result, the air outside may be dirty than the room air, and the room air may be prevented from being ventilated. In addition, in the case where the indoor PM2.5 concentration is higher than the outdoor PM2.5 concentration in the above comparison result, it is possible to give a try to the room air ventilation.

(Embodiment 2) Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. Compared with the air-conditioning support system 1 shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the air-conditioning support system 1 of this embodiment has a different speech control operation by the speech control unit 11 d of the air cleaner 10, and a certain data is added to the speech content table 12 a. The point is different, the other components are the same.

In this embodiment, although the utterance control unit 11d satisfies a certain utterance condition, the utterance content corresponding to the utterance condition does not need to be issued immediately, that is, there is no immediate responsiveness. When the person sensor 14f detects a person, the The utterance was sent out. In addition, in the present embodiment, the utterance content table 12a includes the presence or absence of the aforementioned responsiveness (even the responsive information) in each utterance content. In this case, it is possible to appropriately speak to the user, as compared with the conventional case where the utterance of content that does not have responsiveness is performed by an unrelated user.

For example, in the utterance content table 12a, the illuminance sensor 14c detects a utterance condition that gradually becomes brighter, and the utterance content of the related ｢good morning｣, the related ｢does not have responsive information even if it is responsive. At this time, the utterance control unit 11d does not immediately make an utterance even if the above-mentioned utterance conditions are satisfied, and causes the utterance content to be issued when the person sensor 14f detects a person.

5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the flow of the utterance control process by the utterance control unit 11d according to this embodiment. In addition, each of the utterance control processing shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 may be performed periodically, or may be performed according to some circumstances.

As shown in FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not any of the various speaking conditions included in the speaking content table 12a is satisfied (S20). When neither of the above-mentioned speaking conditions is satisfied (S20, NO), the processing is terminated.

On the other hand, when any of the above-mentioned utterance conditions is satisfied (S20, YES), it is determined whether or not the utterance content corresponding to the utterance condition has an immediate response by referring to the utterance content table 12a (S21). If it has immediate responsiveness (S21, YES), the speech content is transmitted through the sound output unit 17 (S22), and then the processing is terminated. On the other hand, if there is no immediate response (S21, NO), the content of the utterance is retained (S23), and then the processing is ended.

As shown in FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not a person is detected by the person sensor 14f (S30). When no person is detected (S30, No), the process is terminated. On the other hand, when a person is detected (S30, YES), it is determined whether there is a reserved utterance content (S31). If there is no such utterance (S31, No), the processing is terminated.

On the other hand, if there is the content of the utterance (S31, YES), it is determined whether the content of the utterance is appropriate at the present point (S32). For example, the reserved speech content is ｢Good morning｣, and the current speech content is inappropriate at dusk. If it is inappropriate (S32, NO), the process proceeds to step S34. On the other hand, when the utterance content is issued at the present time (S32, YES), the utterance content is transmitted through the sound output unit 17 (S33), and the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S34, the utterance content is deleted from the reserved utterance content, that is, the utterance content that is inappropriate to speak at the current point or the utterance content that has been issued. After that, the process ends.

(Supplementary note) In addition, although the utterance control unit 11d satisfies a certain utterance condition, but the utterance content corresponding to the utterance condition does not have instant responsiveness, the detection frequency of the person in the person sensor 14f may be higher than the reference When the value is issued, the content of the speech is issued. This can be changed from step S30 shown in FIG. 6 to a step of determining whether the detection frequency of the person is more than a reference value.

(Embodiment 3) Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 7 to 10. Compared with the air-conditioning support system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the air-conditioning support system 1 of this embodiment has a different configuration of the control unit 11 of the air cleaner 10, and other configurations are the same.

However, indoors are generally not completely enclosed spaces isolated from the outdoors. Therefore, the indoor environment also changes in response to changes in the outdoor environment.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing examples of temporal changes in the concentration of PM2.5 indoors and outdoors, respectively. Referring to FIG. 7, it can be understood that after a period of time when the PM2.5 concentration in the outdoor begins to rise, the PM2.5 concentration in the indoor also starts to rise. In this way, there is a time delay Δt before the concentration of PM2.5 in the outdoor begins to rise and before the concentration of PM2.5 in the indoor starts to increase.

Therefore, the air cleaner 10 of this embodiment measures the time delay after the outdoor environment change (deterioration) before the indoor environment change. When the outdoor environment changes, the drive unit is controlled in a sequence based on the time delay to Corresponds to a changing environment. In this case, by the above-mentioned outdoor environment change, the air purification can be performed at an appropriate timing before the indoor environment change. As a result, the influence on the indoor environment due to the deterioration of the outdoor environment can be suppressed.

That is, conventionally, passive control to strengthen the air cleaning operation when the indoor environment is degraded is performed, but in this embodiment, active control to strengthen the air cleaning operation before the indoor environment is degraded can be performed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the air cleaner 10 according to the present embodiment. Compared with the control unit 11 shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 11 shown in FIG. 8 is provided with a time delay measurement unit 11e (comparison unit) in place of the comparison unit 11c and a drive control unit 11f (operation control unit). ) The point that replaces the utterance control unit 11d is different, and the other configurations are the same.

The time delay measurement unit 11e compares the indoor environment data from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11a with the outdoor environment data from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b, and measures the period between when the outdoor environment data starts to change and before the indoor environment data starts to change. time delay. The time delay measurement unit 11e notifies the drive control unit 11f of the determined time delay.

The drive control unit 11f controls the drive of the drive unit 13 based on various detection results from the sensor unit 14 or according to a user's instruction via the operation panel 16 or the communication unit 15. For example, when the dust sensor 14a detects an increase in the PM2.5 concentration, it instructs the blower fan to increase the rotation rate.

In the present embodiment, the drive control unit 11f obtains the time delay from the time delay measurement unit 11e in advance, and when the outdoor environment changes, the drive unit 13 is controlled in a sequence based on the time delay to correspond to the change in the environment.

9 and 10 are flowcharts showing the flow of the time delay measurement process and the drive control process of the time delay measurement unit 11e and the drive control unit 11f of the air cleaner 10 configured as described above, respectively. Preferably, the processing shown in FIG. 9 and the processing shown in FIG. 10 are performed interactively.

As shown in FIG. 9, first, it is determined whether the outdoor environmental data has changed (S40). When the outdoor environmental data has not changed (S40, NO), the processing is terminated. On the other hand, when the outdoor environmental data changes (S40, YES), it waits until the indoor environmental data changes (S41). When the indoor environmental data is changed, the time delay after the outdoor environmental data is changed to the indoor environmental data is measured (S42), and the measured time delay is notified to the drive control unit 11f (S43). After that, the process ends.

As shown in FIG. 10, first, it is determined whether the outdoor environmental data has changed (S50). If the outdoor environmental data has not changed (S50, NO), the processing is terminated. On the other hand, when the outdoor environmental data changes (S50, YES), based on the time delay from the time-delay measurement unit 11e, a time point at which the outdoor environmental data changes can be appropriately determined is determined (S51). Then, when this time point is reached (S52), the drive unit 13 is controlled so as to correspond to the change in the outdoor environmental data (S53). After that, the process ends.

(Additional Notes) In addition, the time delay measurement unit 11e may store a record of the measured time delay in the memory unit 12 in advance, and determine the time delay at the present point based on the time delay record. In addition, the drive control unit 11f may control the drive unit 13 so as to correspond to an outdoor environment forecast such as a weather forecast and a pollen forecast. In this case, it is sufficient to change step S50 to a step of determining whether or not to obtain a prediction of changes in outdoor environmental data.

(Embodiment 4) Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12. Compared with the air-conditioning support system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the air-conditioning support system 1 of this embodiment has a different configuration of the control unit 11 of the air cleaner 10, and other configurations are the same.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the air cleaner 10 according to the present embodiment. Compared with the control unit 11 shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 11 shown in FIG. 11 is provided with an air tightness determination unit 11 g (comparison unit) in place of the time delay measurement unit 11 e and a drive control unit 11 h ( The operation control unit) is different from the drive control unit 11f, and the other configurations are the same.

As described above, the indoor environment also changes in response to changes in the outdoor environment. However, the influence of the indoor environment change with respect to the outdoor environment change can be considered to depend on the airtightness of the room. That is, it is considered that the above-mentioned influence is large if the air-tightness of the room is low, and the above-mentioned influence is small when the air-tightness of the room is high. Referring to the graph of FIG. 7, it can be considered that the difference Δx of the concentration of PM2.5 in the outdoor with respect to the concentration of PM2.5 in the room corresponds to the above-mentioned airtightness.

Therefore, in the air cleaner 10 of this embodiment, the airtightness determination unit 11g calculates the normal period during which the indoor environmental data from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11a and the outdoor environmental data from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b have not changed. With respect to the difference Δx of the outdoor environment data with respect to the indoor environment data, the airtightness of the room is determined based on the calculated difference Δx. The air tightness determining unit 11g notifies the drive control unit 11h of the determined air tightness data.

The drive control unit 11h is similar to the drive control unit 11f described above, and controls the drive of the drive unit 13 based on various detection results from the sensor unit 14 or according to a user's instruction via the operation panel 16 or the communication unit 15. In this embodiment, the drive control unit 11h obtains the airtightness from the airtightness determination unit 11g in advance. When the outdoor environment changes, the airtightness control drive unit 13 from the airtightness determination unit 11g is considered to communicate with The changes in the environment described above correspond.

For example, when the air-tightness is low, the drive control unit 11h operates the drive unit 13 in the following manner. That is, even if the amount of scattered pollen outdoors is small, an air-purifying operation for pollen countermeasures is performed. In addition, if the weather forecast is a rainy day, the air cleaner 10 having a humidifying function is stopped in advance in a humidifying operation (humidifying operation), and the air cleaner 10 having a dehumidifying function is executed in advance in a powerful dehumidifying operation (dehumidification) Operation). When the weather forecast is dry, a strong humidifying operation is performed in advance in the air cleaner 10 having a humidifying function.

On the other hand, when the air-tightness is high, the drive control unit 11h operates the drive unit 13 in the following manner. That is, if there is a large amount of scattered pollen outdoors, an air-purifying operation for pollen countermeasures is performed. If the weather forecast is a rainy day, the air cleaner 10 having a humidifying function performs a weak humidification operation in advance, and the air cleaner 10 having a dehumidifying function performs a weak dehumidification operation in advance. When the weather forecast is dry, the air cleaner 10 having a humidifying function performs a weak humidifying operation in advance.

In addition, the airtight room is considered to be poorly ventilated. Therefore, when the air-tightness is high, it is considered that the drive control unit 11h causes the drive unit 13 to perform a powerful air cleaning operation.

According to the above configuration, since the airtightness can be grasped, the influence on the indoor environment based on the outdoor environment can be grasped. Therefore, the air-cleaning operation corresponding to the outdoor environment change may be appropriately performed in consideration of the air-tightness.

FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are flowcharts showing the flow of the airtightness determination process and the drive control process of the airtightness determination unit 11g and the drive control unit 11h of the air cleaner 10 having the above-described configuration, respectively. Preferably, the processing shown in FIG. 12 and the processing shown in FIG. 13 are appropriately performed.

As shown in FIG. 12, first, it is determined whether there is a change in the environmental data of both indoors and outdoors (S60). When at least one of the environmental data changes (S60, No), the processing is ended. On the other hand, when the environmental data of the two have not changed (S60, YES), the airtightness of the room is determined based on the difference Δx between the outdoor environmental data and the indoor environmental data (S61), and the airtightness to be determined will be determined. The drive control unit 11h is notified (S62). After that, the process ends.

As shown in FIG. 13, first, it is determined whether the outdoor environmental data has changed (S70). When the outdoor environmental data has not changed (S70, NO), the processing is terminated. On the other hand, when the outdoor environmental data is changed (S70, YES), the airtightness control drive unit 13 from the airtightness determination unit 11g is considered so as to be able to respond to the outdoor environmental data change (S71). After that, the process ends.

(Supplementary Note) Although the air cleaner 10 for purifying indoor air has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention can be applied to any air conditioner that adjusts the air condition in a room such as an air conditioner and a humidifier.

In the above embodiment, the outdoor environment data is obtained from the cloud server 20, but the outdoor environment data detected by various sensors installed outdoors may also be obtained through a local communication network such as a wireless LAN.

(Software implementation example) The control block (especially the control unit 11) of the air cleaner 10 may be implemented by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in a integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or a CPU (Central Processing Unit) may be used. Implemented by software.

In the latter case, the air cleaner 10 has a CPU (program only) that executes software that implements various functions, that is, program instructions, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a memory device (such as the above-mentioned programs and various data) that can be read by a computer (or CPU). These are called "recording media"), RAM (Random Access Memory) that loads the above-mentioned programs, and the like. In addition, the computer (or CPU) reads the program from the recording medium and executes the program to achieve the object of the present invention. As the recording medium, a “non-transitory tangible medium” such as a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. In addition, the program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) that can transmit the program. In addition, one aspect of the present invention can also be realized by the form of the data signal recorded on the carrier wave realized by the electronic transmission of the program.

(Summary) The air conditioner of the first aspect of the present invention performs air conditioning to adjust the indoor air condition, and is characterized by comprising: a detection unit that detects the indoor air condition; and an acquisition unit that obtains outdoor air through a communication network. State information; a comparison unit that compares the indoor air state detected by the detection unit with the outdoor air state obtained by the acquisition unit; and an action control unit that controls the air conditioner based on the comparison result of the comparison unit action.

According to the above configuration, the operation of the air conditioner is controlled based on a comparison result between the indoor environment data and the outdoor environment data. Thereby, compared with the conventional case where the operation of the air conditioner is controlled according to the air condition in the room, a more appropriate operation of the air conditioner can be realized.

Examples of the air state include temperature, humidity, the concentration of fine particles suspended in the air, and the degree of odor. Examples of the fine particles include dust, pollen, PM10, PM2.5, and the like. In addition, the above-mentioned outdoor air state may be an air state near a home, or may be an air state in an area including the home. In addition, the above-mentioned outdoor air condition information may be obtained through a communication network from a detector that detects the outdoor air condition, a server that provides the outdoor air condition, or other external equipment.

In the air conditioner according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect described above, the motion control unit may control the notification to the user based on the comparison result of the comparison unit. In this case, more appropriate notification to the user can be achieved. In addition, the notification may be performed through a notification component provided in the air conditioner, or may be performed through a communication component, a communication network, and a user terminal.

In the air conditioner according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect described above, the action control unit may notify that the ventilation is stopped when the indoor air condition is better than the outdoor air condition. In this case, by performing ventilation, it is possible to avoid the situation where the air condition in the room is deteriorated.

The air conditioner according to the fourth aspect of the present invention may further include: in the above second aspect, a human sensor to detect a person; and a memory element that stores notification correspondence information, and the notification correspondence information enables the content of the notification to be displayed. Whether there is a real-time responsive real-time responsive information corresponds to the relationship; the action control section refers to the notification corresponding information, and performs the notification without the real-time responsive content when the person sensor detects a person. In this case, the user can be notified appropriately, as compared with the conventional case where the notification is not provided even if the user has no responsive content.

In the air conditioner according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fourth aspects described above, the comparison unit measures a time delay between a change in the air condition in the room and a change in the outdoor air condition; the motion control portion, in When the outdoor air state changes, the air conditioning corresponding to the change is performed at a timing based on the time delay. In this case, the air conditioning can be performed at an appropriate timing before the indoor air state changes by the outdoor air state changes. As a result, it is possible to suppress the influence on the indoor air condition caused by the deterioration of the outdoor air condition.

In the air conditioner according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth aspects, the comparison unit may determine the indoor air condition relative to the outdoor air condition based on the difference between the normal state of the outdoor air and the normal state of the indoor air. Airtightness; The motion control unit performs the air conditioning corresponding to the change of the outdoor air condition in consideration of the airtightness. Since the air-tightness can be grasped, the influence on the indoor air condition based on the outdoor air condition can be grasped. Therefore, the air conditioning can be appropriately performed in consideration of the air tightness in accordance with the change in the outdoor air condition.

A method for controlling an air conditioner according to the seventh aspect of the present invention. The air conditioner performs air conditioning of the air condition in a room, and is characterized in that it includes: a detection step of detecting the air condition in the room; and an acquisition step via a communication network. Acquire information of the outdoor air condition; a comparison step of comparing the air condition of the room detected in the detection step with the outdoor air condition obtained in the acquisition step; and a control step of controlling based on the comparison result of the comparison step The operation of the air conditioner. In this case, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be achieved.

The air conditioner of each form of the present invention can be realized by a computer. In this case, the computer can realize the control program of the air conditioner of the air conditioner by operating the computer as each part (software element) provided in the air conditioner. The computer-readable recording medium on which it is recorded also belongs to the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various changes can be made within the scope indicated in the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, by combining the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments, new technical features can be formed.

1‧‧‧Air-conditioning support system

10‧‧‧Air cleaner (air conditioner)

11‧‧‧Control Department

11a‧‧‧Indoor environment acquisition section (detection section)

11b‧‧‧Outdoor Environment Acquisition Division (Acquisition Division)

11c‧‧‧Comparison

11d‧‧‧Speech control section (motion control section)

11e‧‧‧Time delay measurement section (comparison section)

11f, 11h‧‧‧Drive control unit (action control unit)

11g‧‧‧Airtightness determination section (comparison section)

12‧‧‧Memory section (memory element)

12a‧‧‧ Speaking Contents Table (Report corresponding information)

13‧‧‧Driver

14‧‧‧Sensor Section

14a‧‧‧Dust sensor

14b‧‧‧Odor sensor

14c‧‧‧illumination sensor

14d‧‧‧Temperature Sensor

14e‧‧‧Humidity sensor

14f‧‧‧Personal Sensor

15‧‧‧ Ministry of Communications

16‧‧‧operation panel

17‧‧‧Sound output section

20‧‧‧ Cloud Server

30‧‧‧ mobile terminal

40‧‧‧ relay station

50‧‧‧User home

60‧‧‧Wide area communication network (communication network)

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an air-conditioning support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air cleaner in the air conditioning support system. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control unit and a memory unit in the air conditioning support system. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of a speech control process of the air cleaner having the above-mentioned configuration. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of a speech control process of an air cleaner of an air conditioning support system according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of the utterance control process. FIG. 7 is a graph showing examples of temporal changes in the concentration of PM2.5 indoors and outdoors, respectively. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air cleaner in an air-conditioning support system according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of a time delay measurement process of the air cleaner having the above configuration. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of a drive control process of the air cleaner having the above configuration. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air cleaner in an air-conditioning support system according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of an air-tightness determination process of the air cleaner having the above configuration. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of a drive control process of the air cleaner having the above configuration.

Claims (8)

An air conditioner for performing air conditioning of the air condition in a room, comprising: a detection section that detects the air condition in the room; an acquisition section that obtains information about the outdoor air condition through a communication network; a comparison section, Comparing the indoor air state detected by the detecting unit with the outdoor air state obtained by the obtaining unit; and the action control unit controlling the action of the air conditioner based on the comparison result of the comparing unit. For example, the air conditioner of the first scope of the patent application, wherein the motion control unit controls the notification to the user based on the comparison result of the comparison unit. For example, the air conditioner of the second scope of the patent application, wherein the action control unit notifies the ventilation when the indoor air condition is better than the outdoor air condition. For example, the air conditioner of item 2 of the patent application scope further includes: a human sensor to detect a person; and a memory element to store corresponding information of the notification, which corresponds to the content of the notification and indicates whether the content has an immediate response Corresponding relationship is generated between the instantaneous responsive information; the action control unit refers to the corresponding information of the notification, and performs the notification without the instant responsive content when the person sensor detects the person. For example, the air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the comparison unit measures a time delay of a change in the air condition in the room relative to a change in the outdoor air condition; the motion control portion, When the outdoor air state changes, the air conditioning corresponding to the change is performed at a timing based on the time delay. For example, the air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the comparison unit determines the indoor state relative to the outdoor state based on the difference between the normal state of the outdoor air and the normal state of the indoor air. The motion control unit considers the airtightness to perform the air conditioning corresponding to the change of the outdoor air state. A computer-readable recording medium has a control program recorded thereon, the control program is used to make the computer function as an air conditioner in any one of claims 1 to 6, and the computer functions as each part. An air conditioner control method. The air conditioner performs air conditioning to adjust the air condition in a room, and is characterized by comprising: a detection step of detecting the air condition in the room; an obtaining step of obtaining outdoor air through a communication network State information; a comparison step of comparing the indoor air condition detected in the detection step with the outdoor air condition obtained in the acquisition step; and a control step of controlling the air conditioner based on the comparison result of the comparison step Actions.