WO2018069961A1

WO2018069961A1 - Air conditioning apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2018069961A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/080112
Authority: WO
Inventors: 真理折戸; 古橋　拓也
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2016-10-11
Filing date: 2016-10-11
Publication date: 2018-04-19
Also published as: EP3527904A4; CN109790993B; JPWO2018069961A1; EP3527904A1; EP3527904B1; CN109790993A; JP6658907B2

Abstract

Provided is an air conditioning apparatus that is capable of appropriately blowing conditioned air in accordance with the age group of a user, without being affected by the height of the user. Therefore, this air conditioning apparatus is provided with: an air blowing mechanism that is provided in a housing, generates air flow by sucking in air from an intake port and blowing conditioned air from a blowing port, and is capable of changing the wind direction of the conditioned air blowing from the blowing port; a temperature detection means that detects the surface temperature within a preset detection range; and a control device that controls the air blowing mechanism in accordance with a detection result of the temperature detection means, wherein, in the case where a human body has been identified from the distribution of the surface temperature detected by the temperature detection means, the wind direction of the conditioned air is set so as to be oriented toward the human body, and the wind direction of the conditioned air is maintained so as to be oriented toward the human body until the surface temperature of the human body reaches a reference temperature. The reference temperature is set in accordance with the amount of change in the surface temperature of the human body.

Description

Air conditioner

This invention relates to an air conditioner.

Conventionally, an air conditioner equipped with a situation recognition device, which has an air conditioning control unit that realizes air conditioning control based on the situation recognition result identified by the situation recognition means is known. Then, as the situation recognition means, a foot position detecting means for detecting the foot position of the person and a head position detecting means for detecting the head position of the person are provided, and the foot position information obtained by the foot position detecting means and the head A device using height estimation means for detecting the height of a person using head position information obtained by the part position detection means is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-024534

The conventional air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 performs air conditioning control based on the result estimated by the height estimating means, for example, for a child with a short height, the wind from the air conditioner is It is possible not to directly apply air conditioning with a weak air flow, but to directly apply the air from the air conditioner to an adult with a sufficiently high height to perform air conditioning with a strong air flow.

However, in the conventional air-conditioning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, since it is determined whether it is an adult or a child, that is, an age group, based on height alone, for example, a tall child or a short adult Therefore, it is impossible to perform appropriate airflow control according to the age group.

This invention has been made to solve such problems. The purpose of the air conditioner is to be able to achieve appropriate conditioned air blowing according to the age group of the user, and thus improve the comfort of the user, regardless of the height of the user. Is to provide.

In the air conditioning apparatus according to the present invention, the housing formed with the suction port and the air outlet, and the air that is provided inside the housing and exchanges heat with the air sucked from the suction port to generate conditioned air. A heat exchanger and a blower mechanism that is provided in the housing and generates an air flow that sucks air from the suction port and blows out conditioned air from the blower outlet, and can change a wind direction of the conditioned air blown out from the blower outlet; A temperature detecting means for detecting a surface temperature within a preset detection range; and a control device for controlling the air blowing mechanism in accordance with a detection result of the temperature detecting means, the temperature detecting means detecting When the human body is specified from the surface temperature distribution, the wind direction of the conditioned air is set to the direction of the human body, and the wind direction of the conditioned air is maintained in the direction of the human body until the surface temperature of the human body reaches a reference temperature. The reference temperature is configured to be set in accordance with the variation of the human body surface temperature.

In the air-conditioning apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to realize appropriate conditioned air blowing according to the age group of the user without being influenced by the height of the user, and thus improve the user's comfort. There is an effect that can be.

It is an external appearance perspective view of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the detection range of the human body sensor with which the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is provided. It is a figure explaining the detection range of the human body sensor in the depth direction of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the detection range of the human body sensor in the horizontal direction of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the control apparatus of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a time-dependent change of the foot temperature of the human body at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a time-dependent change of the head temperature of the human body at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the ventilation control at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the ventilation control at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the change of the foot temperature of the human body at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the ventilation control at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are simplified or omitted as appropriate. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 to 10 relate to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an air conditioner, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air conditioner, and FIG. 3 is a human body included in the air conditioner. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the detection range of the human body sensor in the depth direction of the air conditioning apparatus, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the detection range of the human body sensor in the horizontal direction of the air conditioning apparatus, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the air conditioner, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control device of the air conditioner, and FIG. 8 is a graph showing the foot temperature of the human body during the heating operation of the air conditioner. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a change with time, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a change with time of the head temperature of the human body during the heating operation of the air conditioner, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the air flow control during the heating operation of the air conditioner It is.

The air conditioner 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is, for example, an indoor unit of an air conditioner. Therefore, the air conditioning apparatus 100 is installed on an indoor wall surface or ceiling surface. Here, it is assumed that the air conditioner 100 is installed on an indoor wall surface.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air conditioner 100 includes a housing 110. The casing 110 of the air conditioner 100 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is horizontally long and has a smooth curved surface from the front surface to the lower surface. A suction port 111 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 110. The suction port 111 is an opening for taking air into the housing 110 from the outside. An air outlet 112 is formed in the lower front portion of the housing 110. The air outlet 112 is an opening for discharging air from the inside of the housing 110 to the outside. The front upper portion of the housing 110 is covered with a front panel 113.

The upper and lower

wind direction plates

131, 132, 141, 142 are provided at the air outlet 112. These up-and-down wind direction plates are for adjusting the blowing angle in the vertical direction of the air blown out from the blow-out port 112.

The up-and-down wind direction plates are respectively installed on the front side and the back side toward the front of the air conditioner 100. Further, the up and down wind direction plates on the near side and the far side are respectively divided into left and right. That is, the front side vertical wind direction plate is divided into a left front side vertical wind direction plate 131 on the left side and a right front side vertical wind direction plate 132 on the right side facing the front of the air conditioner 100. Further, the back side up / down wind direction plate is divided into a left back side up / down wind direction plate 141 and a right back side up / down wind direction plate 142 facing the front of the air conditioner 100.

The position where each vertical wind direction plate is divided into right and left is approximately the center in the longitudinal direction (left and right direction of the air outlet 112) toward the front of the air conditioner 100. A slight gap is formed between the left front side vertical wind direction plate 131 and the right front side vertical wind direction plate 132. Similarly, a slight gap is also formed between the left back side vertical wind direction plate 141 and the right back side vertical wind direction plate 142.

The left front side vertical wind direction plate 131, the right front side vertical wind direction plate 132, the left back side vertical wind direction plate 141, and the right back side vertical wind direction plate 142 are plate-like members that are elongated in the left and right direction of the air outlet 112, respectively. Further, these up-and-down

wind direction plates

131, 132, 141, 142 are each curved so that a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is arcuate.

The vertical

wind direction plates

131, 132, 141, 142 are each attached to the housing 110 via support arms (not shown). Each support arm is rotatably attached to the housing 110. Each support arm rotates with respect to the housing 110 so that the direction of the vertical wind direction plate can be changed. And the air conditioning apparatus 100 can change the ventilation direction up and down by changing the direction of an up-and-down wind direction board.

Each support arm of the vertical wind direction plate is provided so that the angle can be adjusted by driving the stepping motor for the vertical wind direction plate. Specifically, the directions of the left front side vertical wind direction plate 131 and the left back side vertical wind direction plate 141 are changed by the left vertical wind direction plate stepping motor 161 here. The directions of the right front side vertical wind direction plate 132 and the right back side vertical wind direction plate 142 are changed by the stepping motor 162 for the right vertical wind direction plate.

In this manner, the vertical blowing angle (air blowing direction) of the air blown from the left side of the air outlet 112 and the vertical blowing angle (air blowing direction) of the air blown from the right side of the air outlet 112 are adjusted separately. be able to. Note that the left-side up / down wind direction plate stepping motor 161 and the right-side up / down wind direction plate stepping motor 162 are not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Left and right wind direction plates 150 are provided on the back side of the up and down

wind direction plates

131, 132, 141, and 142 at the air outlet 112. The left and right wind direction plates 150 are for adjusting the blowing angle in the left and right direction of the air blown from the blower outlet 112. The left and right wind direction plates 150 are configured by a plurality of plates arranged in the longitudinal direction (left and right direction of the air outlet 112) toward the front of the air conditioner 100. The left and right wind direction plates 150 are attached so that the angle can be adjusted by driving a stepping motor 163 for left and right wind direction plates (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), similarly to the upper and lower

wind direction plates

131, 132, 141, 142. Yes.

Inside the housing 110, an air passage that leads from the suction port 111 to the air outlet 112 is formed. A heat exchanger 121 is installed on the leeward side of the suction port 111 in the air passage. The heat exchanger 121 exchanges heat with the air flowing through the air passage to heat or cool the air flowing through the air passage. Whether the air is heated or cooled depends on whether the air-conditioning apparatus 100 is in a heating operation or a cooling operation. Specifically, the heat exchanger 121 heats the air during the heating operation. On the other hand, the heat exchanger 121 cools the air during the cooling operation.

The heat exchanger 121 adjusts the temperature, humidity, and the like of the air by heating or cooling the air flowing through the air passage, and generates conditioned air. In this way, the heat exchanger 121 exchanges heat with the air sucked from the suction port 111 to generate conditioned air. Note that warm air is generated as conditioned air during heating operation, and cold air is generated as conditioned air during cooling operation.

A blower fan 122 is installed on the leeward side of the heat exchanger 121 in the air path. The blower fan 122 is for generating an air flow from the inlet 111 to the outlet 112 in the air passage.

When the blower fan 122 is operated, an air flow from the suction port 111 toward the air outlet 112 is generated in the air passage, air is sucked from the air inlet 111, and air is blown out from the air outlet 112. The air sucked from the suction port 111 becomes an air flow passing through the air path inside the air conditioner 100 in the order of the heat exchanger 121 and the blower fan 122, and blows out from the air outlet 112. At this time, the direction (air blowing direction) of the wind blown out from the air outlet 112 is adjusted (changed) by the upper and lower

wind direction plates

131, 132, 141, 142 and the left and right wind direction plates 150 arranged on the leeward side of the blower fan 122. The

The blower fan 122, the up / down

wind direction plates

131, 132, 141, 142, the left / right wind direction plate 150, the up / down wind direction plate stepping motors 161, 162, and the left / right wind direction plate stepping motor 163 are provided in a blower mechanism provided in the housing 110. Is configured. The air blowing mechanism configured as described above can generate an air flow that sucks air from the suction port 111 and blows out conditioned air from the blower outlet 112, and can change the wind direction of the conditioned air blown from the blower outlet 112.

A human body sensor 170 is attached to the center of the front surface of the air conditioner 100. However, the mounting position of the human body sensor 170 is not limited to the center of the front surface of the air conditioning apparatus 100. For example, the human body sensor 170 may be attached to the left or right end of the housing 110.

The human body sensor 170 includes, for example, a plurality of infrared sensors (light receiving elements) arranged in the vertical direction. Here, it is assumed that the human body sensor 170 includes, for example, eight infrared sensors (light receiving elements). Each of these eight infrared sensors is a detection element that can individually perform infrared light reception and temperature detection. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, these infrared sensors (light receiving elements) are arranged in a straight line in the vertical direction inside a cylindrical metal can 171. Accordingly, the human body sensor 170 has a function of detecting the room temperature by dividing it into eight areas having different heights.

The detection ranges of these eight infrared sensors are set as rectangular areas having the same size as shown in FIG. The light distribution viewing angle of one infrared sensor is set such that, for example, the vertical light distribution viewing angle in the vertical direction is set to 7 °, and the horizontal light distribution viewing angle in the horizontal direction is set to 8 °.

The light distribution viewing angle 173 of the whole human body sensor 170 that combines the light distribution viewing angles of the respective infrared sensors is set as an elongated area in the vertical direction. In addition, the light distribution viewing angle (detection range) of each infrared sensor does not need to have the same shape and the same size. Further, specific values of the vertical light distribution viewing angle and the horizontal light distribution viewing angle are not limited to the above-described examples. Further, the number of infrared sensors (light receiving elements) is not limited to eight, and the human body sensor 170 includes an arbitrary number of infrared sensors (light receiving elements) of 7 or less or 9 or more. Also good.

The human body sensor 170 can change the direction of a plurality of infrared sensors arranged vertically by a sensor stepping motor 172 (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) to the left and right within a preset angle range. By doing in this way, each of the plurality of infrared sensors arranged vertically is scanned in the left-right direction, and within a preset detection range (hereinafter referred to as “temperature detection target range”) in front of the air conditioner 100. The surface temperature can be detected.

With this configuration, the human body sensor 170 scans the temperature detection target range and acquires the surface temperature distribution (thermal image) in the range without contact. That is, the human body sensor 170 constitutes temperature detecting means for detecting a surface temperature within a preset detection range.

The detection result of the human body sensor 170, that is, the surface temperature distribution (thermal image) data acquired by the human body sensor 170 is processed by the control device 180 or the like to include a person in the room from a temperature difference with the background, for example. The presence / absence and position of the heat source, the surface temperature of the human body, the body part of the human body (exposed and unexposed portions of the skin, head, etc.), etc. can be detected.

In addition, based on the detection result of the human body sensor 170, the temperature of the human body in the room can also be obtained. In this case, the human body with exposed skin is more likely to detect the sensible temperature. Note that the detection accuracy of the human body sensor 170 increases as the number of pixels of the light receiving element used in the human body sensor 170 increases. Specifically, for example, if a light receiving element having 30 or more pixels is used, the position of a person in the room and the distance from the human body sensor 170 to the person can be accurately detected.

The human body sensor 170 detects the temperature of the temperature detection target while scanning the temperature detection target range left and right. Here, the left and right are the left and right when viewed from the air conditioner 100 side. When acquiring thermal image data (temperature distribution data) of indoor walls and floors, for example, the direction of the human body sensor 170 is moved left and right by the sensor stepping motor 172, and the rotation of the sensor stepping motor 172 (that is, the human body sensor). (Rotation in the direction of 170) is stopped for a certain time at every certain angle. The fixed angle at this time is set to 1 to 5 °, for example. Further, the fixed time at this time is, for example, 0.1 to 0.2 seconds. Then, after the change of the orientation of the human body sensor 170 is stopped, it waits for a time shorter than the predetermined time (0.1 to 0.2 seconds), and the detection results (thermal results) of the 8 human body sensors 170 are detected. Image data).

After the detection of the detection result by the human body sensor 170 is completed, the sensor stepping motor 172 is rotated again by the predetermined angle and stopped again, and the detection result (thermal image data) of the human body sensor 170 is acquired by the same operation. By repeating such an operation, the detection results of the human body sensor 170 are obtained at, for example, 90 to 100 locations in the left-right direction within the detection range. And the thermal image data (temperature distribution data) of the temperature detection target range can be obtained from the acquired detection result of the human body sensor 170.

Next, the detection range of the human body sensor 170 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. First, FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the detection range of the human body sensor 170 in the depth direction as viewed from the air conditioning apparatus 100. This FIG. 4 has shown the state which looked at the room | chamber interior in which the air conditioning apparatus 100 was installed from the horizontal direction. In FIG. 4, the air conditioner 100 is installed at a height of about 1800 mm, and the state where the distance from the air conditioner 100 to the human body is about 3600 mm is illustrated.

The detection range of the human body sensor 170 is divided into a plurality of regions equal to the number of infrared sensors (light receiving elements) (here, 8) in the depth direction. That is, the indoor space is divided into eight regions corresponding to the light distribution viewing angles of the respective light receiving elements in the depth direction. The width of each divided area is set according to the vertical spread angle of the light distribution viewing angle.

The lowermost light receiving element of the human body sensor 170 detects the human body in the area on the near side closest to the air conditioner 100. The light receiving element on the upper side of the human body sensor 170 is configured to detect a human body in a far region.

Next, FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the detection range of the human body sensor 170 in the left-right direction as viewed from the air conditioning apparatus 100. This FIG. 5 has shown the state which looked at the room | chamber interior in which the air conditioning apparatus 100 was installed from upper direction. The detection range of the human body sensor 170 is divided into a plurality of regions with respect to the predetermined angle when the human body sensor 170 is rotated by the sensor stepping motor 172 in the left-right direction.

FIG. 5 illustrates a case where the detection range in the left-right direction of the human body sensor 170 is set to about 90 °. The detection range in the left-right direction of the human body sensor 170 is not limited to this angle. For example, the human body sensor 170 can be completely rotated by the sensor stepping motor 172, and the detection range is set to 360 °. May be.

It should be noted that the human body sensor 170 may be swung in the vertical direction by another stepping motor or the like. By making the orientation of the human body sensor 170 changeable in the vertical direction, detailed thermal image data can be acquired not only in the horizontal direction but also in the vertical direction.

Further, the human body sensor 170 may be configured to use an infrared sensor and another detection device in combination. As a specific example, the position, shape, and distance to the human body may be detected using a camera, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like. That is, as the human body sensor 170, in addition to the infrared sensor, for example, an ultrasonic sensor capable of detecting an object may be further provided. By doing in this way, the detection accuracy of the position and distance of the human body by the human body sensor 170 can be improved. Or it is good also as a structure which detects the position of the human body in the depth direction (front-back direction) seen from the air conditioning apparatus 100 using the pyroelectric sensor using a Fresnel lens.

Next, the configuration of the control system of the air conditioner 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The air conditioning apparatus 100 includes a control device 180 and an operation display unit 190. The control device 180 is configured by an electric circuit including, for example, a microcomputer. When the control device 180 includes a microcomputer, the control device 180 includes a processor 181 and a memory 182. The memory 182 stores a control program. The processor 181 reads and executes a program stored in the memory 182.

When the processor 181 executes the control program, the control device 180 executes a preset process to control the operation of the air conditioner 100. In particular, the processor 181 executes the program stored in the memory 182 to realize the functions of the human body detection unit 183, the region specifying unit 184, the age group determination unit 186, and the air blow control unit 187, which will be described later. The

A sensor system including a human body sensor 170 and the like is connected to the input side of the control device 180. On the output side of the control device 180, various actuators including a blower fan 122, a stepping motor 161 for the left and right wind direction plate, a stepping motor 162 for the right and left wind direction plate, a stepping motor 163 for the left and right wind direction plate, and a sensor stepping motor 172. Is connected.

The operation display unit 190 is used for the user to input various setting values and also displays various information to the user. The operation display unit 190 is, for example, a remote controller (remote controller). The operation display unit 190 is connected to the control device 180 so as to be able to communicate with each other. By operating the operation display unit 190, the user can perform power ON / OFF, switching between heating operation and cooling operation, setting of temperature, wind direction, air volume, and the like. The operation display unit 190 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display that displays various types of information. On the liquid crystal display of the operation display unit, for example, setting contents such as an operation mode, temperature, wind direction, and air volume are displayed.

The control device 180 drives each actuator based on the input from the sensor system and the operation display unit 190, and controls the operation of the air conditioner 100. The control executed by the control device 180 includes, for example, control such as cooling operation, heating operation, air blowing operation, and scanning operation of the human body sensor 170. That is, the control device 180 performs control of the air blowing mechanism according to the detection result of the human body sensor 170 which is a temperature detection unit, for example.

The control device 180 includes a human body detection unit 183, a part specification unit 184, a temperature storage unit 185, an age group determination unit 186, and a ventilation control unit 187. The human body detection unit 183 detects a human body existing within the temperature detection target range of the human body sensor 170 based on the detection result of the human body sensor 170 which is a temperature detection unit. The human body can be detected using, for example, the shape, distribution (relative positional relationship), area, and the like of each region where the surface temperature detected by the human body sensor 170 is equal to or higher than a preset reference temperature. The reference temperature at this time is specifically set to, for example, 30 ° C. in consideration of the human body temperature.

The part specifying unit 184 specifies the determination part of the human body detected by the human body detecting unit 183. The determination part is a part of the human body that is used by the age group determination unit 186 to determine the age group of the human body. Which part of the human body is determined as the determination part is specified in advance. The determination part may be specified by first specifying the entire shape of the human body, and then specifying the determination part from the entire shape of the human body, or specifying the determination part directly. .

When specifying the entire shape of the human body, the part specifying unit 184 first specifies a region where the human body detected by the human body detecting unit 183 exists. The region where the human body exists can be specified using, for example, the shape, distribution (relative positional relationship), area, and relative magnitude relationship of the temperature of each region where the surface temperature is equal to or higher than a certain temperature. In addition, if the area | region where a human body exists is specified, the shape of the said area | region will also be specified, ie, the shape of a human body can be specified.

Moreover, when specifying the shape of the whole human body, the part specifying unit 184 may specify the entire area where the human body exists, or the area where the human body exists may be individually specified for each part of the human body. You may specify. In the case of individually specifying the region existing for each part of the human body, the part specifying unit 184, for example, for each part of the human head, chest, arm, upper leg, lower leg, hand and foot, Each of the areas where the Here, the “hand” refers to a portion on the tip side of the wrist. Further, the “foot” here refers to a portion on the tip side of the ankle.

At this time, the part specifying unit 184 particularly sets a part where the surface temperature detected by the human body sensor 170 is equal to or higher than a preset temperature as a region where at least one of the head, chest, and abdomen of the human body exists. It may be specified. Moreover, when specifying the region where each part of the human body exists, the part specifying unit 184 may specify the temperature, position, and clothing state of each part. The “clothing state” is a state relating to whether the skin of the part is covered with clothes or the like or exposed.

When the human body sensor 170 includes an ultrasonic sensor in addition to the infrared sensor that detects the surface temperature, the part specifying unit 184 determines whether the human body is based on the detection result of the infrared sensor and the detection result of the ultrasonic sensor. It is preferable to identify the region where the detected human body exists.

Next, referring to FIG. 4 again, the specification of the region where each part of the human body exists by the part specifying unit 184 will be described with a specific example. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a human body is detected in the detection areas of the four light receiving elements from the uppermost side to the fourth side.

Specifically, first, the uppermost light receiving element detects the head of the human body. The head is exposed and the skin temperature is higher than other parts of the human body, for example, a skin temperature of 30 ° C. or higher. Therefore, the part specifying unit 184 can identify the region to which the head of the human body belongs based on the thermal image data acquired by the human body sensor 170. More specifically, the part specifying unit 184 analyzes thermal image data acquired by the uppermost light receiving element by scanning in the horizontal direction. And when the shape of the heat source whose detected temperature is 30 ° C. or more in the horizontal direction matches the shape of the human head that is stored in advance (for example, a circular shape), this heat source is specified as the head.

Also, the second light receiving element from the top detects the chest and arms of the human body. The chest is almost always covered with clothes and the skin is rarely exposed. The arm portion may or may not be exposed to the skin. The part specifying unit 184 can determine whether or not the arm part is exposed based on the surface temperature detected by the human body sensor 170. Specifically, when the skin of the arm portion is exposed, a skin temperature equivalent to or slightly lower than that of the head is detected at a position corresponding to the arm portion. This is because the arm may be cooler than the head, and in this case, the temperature of the arm is detected as a temperature lower than the head.

The third light receiving element from the top detects the upper leg of the human body. In most cases, the upper leg is covered with clothes. For this reason, the surface temperature of clothes is detected at a position corresponding to the upper leg. The surface temperature of the garment is lower than the temperature of the skin. In addition, when the hand is lowered to the side of the upper leg, a temperature equal to or lower than that of the head is detected at the position of the hand. The hand may be colder than the head. In this case, a temperature lower than that of the head is detected at the position of the hand.

The fourth light receiving element from the top detects the lower leg of the human body. When the human body wears clothing such as socks, the surface temperature of the clothing is detected at the position of the lower leg. When the feet are cold, a temperature lower than the surface temperature of the clothing is detected at a position corresponding to the lower leg regardless of whether or not the clothing is worn.

As for the human chest, arms, upper legs, lower legs, hands, and feet, as in the case of the head of the human body, the part specifying unit 184 determines the shape of the region above a certain temperature in advance. By comparing and comparing the shape of each part stored with each other, an area where each part exists is specified.

The description will be continued with reference to FIG. The age group determination unit 186 determines the age group of the human body based on the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body. The determination part of the human body is a part specified by the part specifying unit 184 as the determination part among the parts of the human body. Here, as the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body, the surface temperature detected by the human body sensor 170 as temperature detecting means is used. In this Embodiment 1, the age group determination part 186 determines the age group of the said human body based on the variation | change_quantity per unit time of the surface temperature of the determination part of a human body.

The age group determined by the age group determination unit 186 includes at least adults and children. As an age group other than an adult and a child, for example, an elderly person can be considered. In the following, an example in which the age group is two adults and children will be described.

FIG. 8 shows an example of temporal changes in the temperature of the feet of adults and children after the start of heating operation. Moreover, what is shown in FIG. 9 is an example of the time change of the temperature of the head of an adult and a child after heating operation start. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, as the heating operation is started and the room temperature rises, the temperature of both feet and heads of adults and children rises. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, there is not much difference in the amount of temperature change with the passage of time between the adult and the child, as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, regarding the temperature of the foot, there is a difference in the amount of temperature change with the passage of time between adults and children. That is, the temporal change in foot temperature in the case of a child is smaller than the temporal change in foot temperature in the case of an adult. The inventor conducted experiments on 8 sets of parents and children and calculated the amount of change in foot temperature per unit time for both adults and children. A significant difference was recognized at a significance level of 1% for both. On the other hand, regarding the amount of change in head temperature per unit time (FIG. 9), there was no significant difference between children and adults.

This is thought to be because children have less developed thermoregulatory functions than the adults and adults are more susceptible to ambient temperature than adults. In other words, the temperature of the foot is susceptible to the temperature of the floor with which the foot is in contact, and the floor temperature is lower than the room temperature at the start of heating operation, so the child is more susceptible to the floor temperature below this room temperature. It can be considered that the temperature of the foot of a person is less likely to rise than the temperature of the foot of an adult.

Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the human foot is designated in advance as the determination part. That is, the part specifying unit 184 specifies the part of the human foot detected by the human body detecting unit 183. The age group determination unit 186 determines the age group of the human body based on the surface temperature of the human foot detected by the human body sensor 170. More specifically, the age group determination unit 186 determines the age group of the human body based on the amount of change per unit time in the surface temperature of the foot, which is the determination site.

As described above, the temporal change in foot temperature for children is smaller than the temporal change in foot temperature for adults. Therefore, the age group determination unit 186 determines that the age group of the human body is a child when the amount of change in the surface temperature of the human foot (determination site) per unit time is equal to or less than a preset reference value α. judge. On the other hand, the age group determination unit 186 determines that the age group of the human body is an adult when the change amount per unit time of the surface temperature of the foot of the human body is not less than the reference value α.

In the first embodiment, the control device 180 includes a temperature storage unit 185 in order to obtain a change amount per unit time of the surface temperature of the determination part. The temperature storage unit 185 stores the value of the surface temperature of the determination part (here, the foot) of the human body detected by the human body sensor 170 for each unit time. The age group determination unit 186 calculates the amount of change per unit time of the surface temperature of the determination part using the value of the surface temperature of the determination part stored in the temperature storage unit 185. Then, the age group determination unit 186 determines whether the human body is an adult or a child by comparing the amount of change in the surface temperature of the calculated determination site per unit time with the reference value α described above. Do.

In addition, here, the case where a foot is designated as a determination part has been described. However, the part of the human body as the determination part is not limited to the foot. Specifically, for example, it may be possible to designate a hand as a determination site as a site where there are many capillaries and active temperature exchange outside the human body.

At the start of cooling operation, the human body temperature decreases with time. Therefore, during the cooling operation, the age group determination unit 186 determines whether the age group of the human body is a child depending on whether the absolute value of the amount of change in the surface temperature of the human foot per unit time is equal to or less than the reference value α described above. Or whether it is an adult.

The air blowing control unit 187 controls the air blowing mechanism described above based on the age group of the human body determined by the age group determining unit 186 as described above. The specific contents of the control of the air blowing mechanism based on the determination result of the age group of the human body will be described next for each of the heating operation and the cooling operation. In addition, control of the ventilation mechanism based on the determination result of the human body age group described below may be performed only in one of the heating operation and the cooling operation, or may be performed in both.

First, the case of heating operation will be described. When the temperature of the human body detected by the human body sensor 170 is lower than the heating reference temperature during the heating operation, the blower control unit 187 controls the blower mechanism so that the wind direction of the conditioned air is directed to the position of the human body. . Further, when the temperature of the human body detected by the human body sensor 170 during the heating operation is equal to or higher than the heating reference temperature, the air blowing control unit 187 sets the air blowing mechanism so that the conditioned air direction is different from the position of the human body. Control and perform the so-called “human blow”.

It is desirable to control the air blowing mechanism so that the distance between the human body and the air flow of conditioned air is 0.3 m or more when performing this “human air blowing”. It is preferable to set the distance so that the distance between the conditioned air flow and the human body is 0.3 m or more even at the closest position. According to this setting, even if the airflow of the conditioned air is diffused to some extent, it is possible to sufficiently suppress the airflow from hitting the human body.

Next, the “heating reference temperature” used as a reference in such air blowing control will be described. The “heating reference temperature” of the human body is a temperature that is a criterion for determining whether or not the human body needs to be warmed.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the “heating reference temperature” is set according to the age group determined by the age group determining unit 186. That is, in the first embodiment of the present invention, specifically, the adult heating reference temperature and the child heating reference temperature can be set as the “heating reference temperature”. The adult heating reference temperature is a reference value used when the age group determined by the age group determination unit 186 is an adult. The child heating reference temperature is a reference value used when the age group determined by the age group determination unit 186 is a child.

In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, each of the adult heating reference temperature and the child heating reference temperature is, for example, when the part specifying unit 184 specifies each part of the human body individually, It is calculated using the temperature of all or part of each part of the arm, upper leg, lower leg, hand and foot. At this time, for each temperature of each part, a product obtained by multiplying a preset weighting coefficient may be used for the calculation. In this case, the weighting coefficient is set in advance and stored in advance in the memory 182 of the control device 180.

As the temperature of each part used for calculating the heating reference temperature, for example, the surface temperature of each part detected by the human body sensor 170 is used. Also, the human body part and weighting coefficient used for calculating the adult heating reference temperature may be different from the human body part and weighting coefficient used for calculating the child heating reference temperature. Specifically, for example, the temperature of each part of the human body is used to calculate the adult heating reference temperature, and each part of the upper body of the human body (the human head, chest, arms and hands) is used to calculate the child heating reference temperature. ) Temperature may be used.

In this way, the air blowing control unit 187 sets the heating reference temperature according to the age group determined by the age group determining unit 186, and controls the air blowing mechanism. That is, the air blowing control unit 187 controls the air blowing mechanism described above based on the age group of the human body determined by the age group determining unit 186.

If a plurality of human bodies are detected in the room and the temperature of two or more human bodies is lower than the heating reference temperature corresponding to each age group, the air blow control unit 187 determines whether the human body temperature corresponds to each age group. The air blowing mechanism may be controlled so that the wind direction of the conditioned air is directed to the position of the human body at an intermediate point between two or more human bodies lower than the heating reference temperature. The plurality of human bodies mentioned here include both combinations of the same age group (adults and adults, children and children) and combinations of those of different age groups (adults and children).

Next, the case of cooling operation will be described. The air blow control unit 187 controls the air blow mechanism so that the air direction of the conditioned air is directed to the position of the human body when the temperature of the human body detected by the human body sensor 170 is equal to or higher than the cooling reference temperature during the cooling operation. . Further, when the temperature of the human body detected by the human body sensor 170 during the cooling operation is lower than the cooling reference temperature, the air blowing control unit 187 sets the air blowing mechanism so that the conditioned air is directed in a direction different from the position of the human body. Control and perform the so-called “human blow”. At this time, as in the case of the heating operation, it is desirable to control the air blowing mechanism so that the distance between the human body and the air flow of the conditioned air is 0.3 m or more.

The “cooling reference temperature” of the human body is a temperature that is a criterion for determining whether or not the human body needs to be cooled. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the “cooling reference temperature” is set according to the age group determined by the age group determining unit 186. That is, in the first embodiment of the present invention, specifically, two adult cooling reference temperatures and child cooling reference temperatures can be set as the “cooling reference temperature”. The adult cooling reference temperature is a reference value used when the age group determined by the age group determination unit 186 is an adult. The child cooling reference temperature is a reference value used when the age group determined by the age group determination unit 186 is a child.

The adult cooling reference temperature and the child cooling reference temperature are set in the same manner as the adult heating reference temperature and the child heating reference temperature. That is, each of the adult cooling reference temperature and the child cooling reference temperature uses, for example, the temperature of all or part of the human head, chest, arms, upper legs, lower legs, hands and feet. Calculated. At this time, for each temperature of each part, a product obtained by multiplying a preset weighting coefficient may be used for the calculation. The human body part and weighting coefficient used for calculating the adult cooling reference temperature may be different from the human body part and weighting coefficient used for calculating the child cooling reference temperature.

In this way, the air blowing control unit 187 sets the cooling reference temperature according to the age group determined by the age group determining unit 186, and controls the air blowing mechanism. That is, the air blowing control unit 187 controls the air blowing mechanism described above based on the age group of the human body determined by the age group determining unit 186.

Next, an example of the flow of the heating operation of the air conditioner 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. When the air-conditioning apparatus 100 starts a heating operation due to a user's operation on the operation display unit 190 or the like, first, in step S1, the human body sensor 170 starts detecting the surface temperature, and the human body detection unit 183 includes the human body sensor 170. The detection of the human body based on the detection result is started. In subsequent step S <b> 2, the human body detection unit 183 confirms whether or not a human body has been detected based on the detection result of the human body sensor 170. If no human body is detected, the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, when the human body detection unit 183 detects a human body, the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the air blowing control unit 187 controls the air blowing mechanism so as to blow conditioned air toward the position of the human body detected by the human body detecting unit 183. In addition, since it is heating operation here, the conditioned air sent is warm air. After step S3, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S4, first, the part specifying unit 184 specifies a region where the human body detected by the human body detecting unit 183 is present. And the part specific | specification part 184 specifies the determination part of the said human body from the area | region where the human body which the human body detection part 183 detected exists. In addition, the determination site | part of a human body is a leg | foot of the said human body here. When the part specifying unit 184 specifies the determination part of the human body, that is, the foot, the human body sensor 170 starts detecting the temperature of the human foot (determination part). The human body sensor 170 detects the temperature of the foot (determination site) of the human body at regular time intervals, for example, every unit time. The temperature of the human foot (determination part) detected by the human body sensor 170 is stored in the temperature storage unit 185 as time series data.

In subsequent step S5, first, the age group determination unit 186 calculates the amount of change in foot temperature per unit time based on the time-series data of the temperature of the human foot (determination part) stored in the temperature storage unit 185. To do. Next, the age group determination unit 186 checks whether or not the calculated amount of change in the foot temperature of the human body per unit time is equal to or less than the reference value α described above. When the amount of change in the foot temperature of the human body per unit time is equal to or less than the reference value α, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the age group determination unit 186 determines that the age group of the human body is a child. And it progresses to step S7, First, the ventilation control part 187 calculates the specific value of the child heating reference temperature, and sets the calculated child heating reference temperature as heating reference temperature. Next, the air blow control unit 187 confirms whether or not the temperature of the human body is equal to or higher than the child heating reference temperature. If the temperature of the human body is not equal to or higher than the child heating reference temperature, the process proceeds to step S8.

In step S8, the blowing control unit 187 controls the blowing mechanism so as to blow conditioned air toward the position of the human body. After step S8, the process returns to step S7, and the air blowing toward the human body is continued until the temperature of the human body becomes equal to or higher than the child heating reference temperature.

On the other hand, if the change amount per unit time of the human foot temperature is not less than or equal to the reference value α in step S5, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the age group determination unit 186 determines that the age group of the human body is an adult. And it progresses to step S10, and the ventilation control part 187 calculates the concrete value of adult heating reference temperature first, and sets the calculated adult heating reference temperature as heating reference temperature. Next, the air blow control unit 187 confirms whether or not the temperature of the human body is equal to or higher than the adult heating reference temperature. If the temperature of the human body is not equal to or higher than the adult heating reference temperature, the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, the air blowing control unit 187 controls the air blowing mechanism so as to blow conditioned air toward the position of the human body. After step S11, the process returns to step S10, and the air blowing toward the human body is continued until the temperature of the human body becomes equal to or higher than the adult heating reference temperature.

In step S7, if the temperature of the human body is equal to or higher than the child heating reference temperature, the process proceeds to step S12. Moreover, also when the temperature of the said human body becomes more than adult heating reference temperature by step S10, it progresses to step S12. In step S <b> 12, the air blowing control unit 187 performs so-called human air blowing. That is, the air blowing mechanism is controlled so as to blow conditioned air in a direction different from the position of the human body detected by the human body sensor 170. And although a series of operation | movement flows are complete | finished, the above steps S1 to S12 are repeatedly performed until the heating operation of the air conditioning apparatus 100 is stopped.

What has been described above is the heating operation, but it is almost the same in the cooling operation. That is, the operation when the air-conditioning apparatus 100 starts the cooling operation by the user's operation on the operation display unit 190 or the like is the heating shown in FIG. 8 for steps S1 to S6, S8, S9, S11, and S12. Same as driving.

In the case of the cooling operation, only steps S7 and S10 are different from the heating operation. That is, in step S7 of the cooling operation, first, the air blow control unit 187 calculates a specific value of the child cooling reference temperature, and sets the calculated child cooling reference temperature as the cooling reference temperature. Next, the air blow control unit 187 confirms whether or not the temperature of the human body is equal to or higher than the child cooling reference temperature. If the temperature of the human body is equal to or higher than the child cooling reference temperature, the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, if the temperature of the human body is not equal to or higher than the child cooling reference temperature, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S10 of the cooling operation, the air blowing control unit 187 first calculates a specific value of the adult cooling reference temperature, and sets the calculated adult cooling reference temperature as the cooling reference temperature. Next, the air blow control unit 187 confirms whether or not the temperature of the human body is equal to or higher than the adult cooling reference temperature. If the temperature of the human body is equal to or higher than the adult cooling reference temperature, the process proceeds to step S11. On the other hand, if the temperature of the human body is not equal to or higher than the adult cooling reference temperature, the process proceeds to step S12.

The air-conditioning apparatus 100 configured as described above includes a human body detection unit 183 that detects a human body based on the surface temperature detected by the human body sensor 170, and a part that specifies a predetermined determination site of the detected human body. An age group determination unit 186 that determines the age group of the human body based on the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body based on the specifying unit 184, and a ventilation control unit that controls the blower mechanism based on the determined age group of the human body 187.

For this reason, it is possible to accurately determine the age group of the user without being influenced by the height of the user, and the conditioned air can be appropriately blown according to the age group of the user. As a result, the user's comfort can be improved. At this time, it is possible to accurately determine the age group of the user by using the human body sensor 170 such as an infrared sensor without taking an image of the user's face and using an image recognition technique or the like. Therefore, the cost required for manufacturing the product can be kept low.

・ Since children and adults have different amounts of metabolism and calorific value, the thermal sensation may be different even in the same environment. In general, children are hotter than adults (especially women), and if there are children and adult women at the same time in a heated room, adult women feel cold at the temperature set for the child, conversely Children often feel hot at preset temperatures tailored to adult women. According to the air conditioner 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the reference temperature for performing “human ventilation” can be changed based on the age group of the human body determined by the age group determination unit 186. Therefore, even if a child and an adult with the same height are in the same room, the conditioned air can be appropriately blown to the child and the adult, thereby improving the user's comfort. it can.

Specifically, during heating operation, an adult misidentified as a child can be prevented from feeling cold due to the wind even though it has not reached a sufficiently warm state. In addition, during cooling operation, it is possible to prevent a child erroneously determined as an adult from being windshielded and feeling hot even though the child has not reached a sufficiently cool state. In the case of heating, for example, after the temperature of the human body has risen sufficiently, the air direction of the conditioned air can be switched to a direction other than the human body to shift to heating of the entire room. Furthermore, the effect of reducing noise can be obtained by reducing the air volume.

In the configuration described above, the age group of the human body is determined based on the amount of change in the surface temperature of the human body per unit time, and the heating reference temperature or the cooling reference temperature is set according to the determined age group. It was a thing. However, regarding this point, in the first embodiment, the heating reference temperature or the cooling reference temperature may be set directly from the amount of change in the surface temperature of the human body without determining the age group of the human body.

That is, when the air conditioner 100 specifies a human body from the distribution of the surface temperature detected by the human body sensor 170 that is a temperature detection means, the air direction of the conditioned air is set to the direction of the human body, and the surface temperature of the human body is You may make it hold | maintain the wind direction of conditioned air in the direction of the said human body until it becomes reference temperature. The heating reference temperature or the cooling reference temperature, which is the reference temperature at this time, is set according to the amount of change in the surface temperature of the human body.

In this case, for example, the control device 180 stores in advance a table of the heating reference temperature or the cooling reference temperature corresponding to the amount of change per unit time of the surface temperature of the human body. And the control apparatus 180 sets the heating reference temperature or the cooling reference temperature from the detection result of the human body sensor 170 with reference to the content of this table.

Even in such a configuration, as in the case where the age group of the human body is determined and the heating reference temperature or the cooling reference temperature is set according to the determined age group, it is used regardless of the height of the user. Therefore, it is possible to realize appropriate conditioned air blowing according to the age group of the user, and to improve the user's comfort.

In the above configuration, the determination result of the age group determination unit may be displayed on the operation display unit 190. That is, the air conditioning apparatus 100 may include a display unit that displays the determination result of the age group determination unit. By doing in this way, the user can know how the user's own age group is determined by the air conditioning apparatus 100 by confirming the display of the operation display unit 190.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 11 relates to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and is a flowchart showing air blow control during heating operation of the air conditioner.

Embodiment 2 described here is a configuration in which the determination of the age group of the human body based on the height of the human body is used in combination with the configuration of the first embodiment described above. That is, the height of the human body detected by the human body sensor 170 is detected, and the age group determination unit 186 first determines the age group based on the height of the human body. As described in the first embodiment, the age group is determined based on the temperature of the determination part of the human body. Hereinafter, the air conditioning apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

First, the basic configuration of the air conditioner 100 according to the second embodiment is the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 shown in the first embodiment. Moreover, the structure of the control apparatus 180 with which the air conditioning apparatus 100 which concerns on Embodiment 2 is provided is fundamentally the same as the structure of Embodiment 1 shown in FIG.

However, in the second embodiment, the function of the age group determination unit 186 is different from that of the first embodiment. That is, in the second embodiment, the age group determination unit 186 first detects the height of the human body based on the shape of the human body specified by the region specifying unit 184. Then, the age group determination unit 186 determines the age group of the human body based on the detected height of the human body.

For example, the age group determination unit 186 determines that the age group of the human body is a child when the detected height of the human body is equal to or less than the height reference value. The height reference value is set in advance after individual consideration according to the setting place, application, and the like of the air conditioner 100. Specific examples of the height reference value include a value such as 130 cm. On the other hand, when the detected height of the human body is not less than the height reference value, the age group determination unit 186 determines the age group of the human body based on the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body. The determination of the age group of the human body based on the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body is exactly the same as in the first embodiment.
Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

Next, an example of the flow of the heating operation of the air conditioner 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 11, steps S1 to S3 are the same as steps S1 to S3 of the flowchart of FIG. And in this Embodiment 2, it progresses to step S21 after step S3.

In step S21, the age group determination unit 186 detects the height of the human body based on the shape of the human body specified by the region specifying unit 184. After step S21, the process proceeds to step S22.

In step S22, the age group determination unit 186 checks whether or not the height of the human body detected in step S21 is equal to or less than the height reference value. If the height of the human body is less than or equal to the height reference value, the process proceeds to step S6, and the age group determination unit 186 determines that the age group of the human body is a child.

On the other hand, if the height of the human body is not less than or equal to the height reference value in step S22, the process proceeds to step S4. After step S4, the age group determination unit 186 determines the age group based on the temperature of the determination part of the human body. Steps S4 to S12 are the same as steps S4 to S12 in the flowchart of FIG.

The air conditioning apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 2 configured as described above first attempts to determine whether or not the age group of the human body is a child based on the height of the human body. If it can be determined that the age group of the human body is a child based on the height of the human body, the age group of the human body is assumed to be a child at that time. On the other hand, when it cannot be determined that the age group of the human body is a child based on the height of the human body, the age group is determined based on the temperature of the determination part of the human body as described in the first embodiment.

For this reason, in addition to being able to achieve the same effects as in the first embodiment, based on the identification of the determination part of the human body and the temperature of the determination part when it can be clearly determined from the height of the human body that it is a child The age group of the human body can be determined without determining the age group. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the processing load in the control device 180. In particular, when the human body sensor 170 detects a plurality of human bodies, it is possible to expect a significant improvement in the processing speed of the control device 180 by reducing the processing load on the control device 180.

In the above description, the case has been described in which the height reference value is set to a value that can be determined to be a child, and first, it is determined whether or not the age group of the human body is a child based on the height of the human body. However, regarding this point, the height reference value may be set to a value that can be determined to be an adult, and first, based on the height of the human body, it may be determined whether or not the age group of the human body is an adult. .

In this case, a specific example of the height reference value is a value such as 170 cm. And the age group determination part 186 determines with the age group of the said human body being an adult, when the height of the detected human body is more than a height reference value. On the other hand, when the detected height of the human body is less than the height reference value, the age group determination unit 186 determines the age group of the human body based on the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body.

In this way, by determining whether or not you are an adult under height conditions first, especially in the case of cooling operation, it will generally prevent wind from hitting adults who are generally colder than children. It is possible to realize the ventilation control. On the other hand, in the case of heating operation, by determining whether or not you are a child under the height condition first, the air blow that prevents the wind from hitting the child that is generally hotter than an adult earlier Control can be realized.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
12 and 13 relate to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of changes in the foot temperature of the human body during the heating operation of the air conditioner, and FIG. 13 is the heating of the air conditioner. It is a flowchart which shows the ventilation control at the time of a driving | operation.

Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 described above determine the age group of the human body based on the amount of change per unit time in the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body. In contrast, the third embodiment described here is based on the amount of change in the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body when the room temperature changes by the unit temperature in the configuration of the first or second embodiment described above. Thus, the age group of the human body is determined. Hereinafter, the air conditioner according to the third embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment, taking an example configured based on the first embodiment.

First, the basic configuration of the air conditioner 100 according to the third embodiment is the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 shown in the first embodiment. Moreover, the structure of the control apparatus 180 with which the air conditioning apparatus 100 which concerns on Embodiment 3 is provided is fundamentally the same as the structure of Embodiment 1 shown in FIG.

However, in the third embodiment, the function of the age group determination unit 186 is different from that of the first embodiment. That is, in the third embodiment, the age group determination unit 186 is configured so that the age group determination unit 186 is based on the amount of change in the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body when the room temperature changes by the unit temperature. Determine the age group.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the relationship between the room temperature after the start of heating operation and the temperature of the feet of adults and children. As the heating operation starts and the room temperature rises, the temperature of the feet of adults and children rises. In this case, as shown in FIG. 12, the inventor compared the amount of change in foot temperature in the case of a child when the room temperature changes by a unit temperature in comparison with the amount of change in foot temperature in the case of an adult. I found it smaller.

Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, as in the first embodiment, the human foot is designated in advance as the determination part. That is, the part specifying unit 184 specifies the part of the human foot detected by the human body detecting unit 183. Then, the age group determination unit 186 determines the age group of the human body based on the amount of change in the surface temperature of the foot, which is the determination site, per unit time when the room temperature changes by the unit temperature.

Specifically, the age group determination unit 186, when the change in the surface temperature of the human foot (determination site) when the room temperature changes by the unit temperature is equal to or less than a preset reference value β, Determine that the human body is a child. On the other hand, if the amount of change in the surface temperature of the human foot when the room temperature changes by the unit temperature is not less than the reference value β, the age group determination unit 186 determines that the age group of the human body is an adult. .

In the third embodiment, in order to obtain the amount of change in the surface temperature of the human foot (determination site) when the room temperature changes by the unit temperature, the air conditioner 100 includes room temperature detection means for detecting the room temperature. ing. As the room temperature detection means, for example, a temperature sensor may be provided in the casing 110, the suction port 111, and the like of the air conditioner 100. A temperature sensor may be provided in a location different from the casing 110 of the air conditioner 100, and the temperature sensor and the air conditioner 100 may be connected to be communicable.

When the floor surface or wall surface is included in the temperature detection target range of the human body sensor 170, the temperature of the indoor floor surface or wall surface detected by the infrared sensor included in the human body sensor 170 may be used as the room temperature. In this case, the human body sensor 170 serves as both a temperature detection unit that detects a surface temperature within a preset detection range and a room temperature detection unit that detects a room temperature.

In the third embodiment, the temperature storage unit 185 stores the value of the surface temperature of the determination part (here, the foot) of the human body detected by the human body sensor 170 and the value of the room temperature detected by the room temperature detection means for a certain period of time. Remember every time. The age group determination unit 186 calculates the amount of change in the surface temperature of the determination part when the room temperature changes by the unit temperature, using the surface temperature value and the room temperature value of the determination part stored in the temperature storage unit 185. To do. Then, the age group determination unit 186 determines whether the human body is an adult or a child by comparing the calculated amount of change in the surface temperature of the determination site with the reference value β described above.
Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

Next, an example of the flow of the heating operation of the air conditioner 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 13, steps S1 to S4 are the same as steps S1 to S4 of the flowchart of FIG. And in this Embodiment 3, it progresses to step S31 after step S4.

In step S31, the age group determination unit 186, the age group determination unit 186, based on the temperature of the human foot (determination site) stored in the temperature storage unit 185 and the time-series data of the room temperature, the room temperature is the unit temperature only. The amount of change in foot temperature when changing is calculated. Next, the age group determination unit 186 checks whether or not the calculated change in the foot temperature of the human body is equal to or less than the reference value β described above. When the amount of change in the human foot temperature is equal to or less than the reference value β, the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if the amount of change in the foot temperature of the human body is not less than or equal to the reference value β, the process proceeds to step S9. Steps S6 to S12 are the same as steps S6 to S12 in the flowchart of FIG.

The air conditioning apparatus 100 configured as described above is configured to determine the age group of the human body based on the amount of change in the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body when the room temperature changes by the unit temperature. . When the change amount per unit time of the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body is used as in the first embodiment, the temperature change amount per unit time is small when the heating and cooling set temperatures are close to the room temperature. Therefore, there is a possibility that the situation is not suitable for determination of the age group. In contrast, if the amount of change in the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body when the room temperature changes by the unit temperature, this is not the case, and in many cases the age group based on the surface temperature of the determination part Judgment can be made.

In the configuration of the first to third embodiments described above, only one of the air blowing control during the heating operation and the air blowing control during the cooling operation may be employed, or both may be employed. Also good. Furthermore, you may make it employ | adopt combining the ventilation control at the time of heating operation of different embodiment, and the ventilation control at the time of cooling operation.

Further, when blowing air toward the human body, the air may be directed toward a specific part of the human body instead of the entire human body. Specifically, for example, the air may be intensively directed toward the feet of the human body. In addition, for example, the air may be intensively directed toward the human hand.

Furthermore, in addition to the floor temperature and skin temperature, the air flow control may be performed using temperature information such as room temperature, temperature at the air inlet 111 of the air conditioner, temperature at the air outlet 112, and the like. At this time, a change amount or a change rate per unit time of the temperature information can also be used.

The present invention can be used for an air conditioner equipped with a blowing mechanism capable of changing the wind direction of the conditioned air blown out from the outlet.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Air conditioning apparatus 110 Case 111 Inlet port 112 Outlet port 113 Front panel 121 Heat exchanger 122 Blower fan 131 Left front side up-and-down air direction plate 132 Right front side up-and-down air direction plate 141 Left back side up-and-down air direction plate 142 Right back side up-and-down air direction plate 150 Left and right wind direction plate 161 Step motor for left and right wind direction plate 162 Step motor for right and left wind direction plate 163 Step motor for left and right wind direction plate 170 Human body sensor 171 Metal can 172 Sensor stepping motor 173 Light distribution viewing angle 180 Controller 181 Processor 182 Memory 183 Human body detection unit 184 Site identification unit 185 Temperature storage unit 186 Age group determination unit 187 Air blow control unit 190 Operation display unit

Claims

A housing in which an inlet and an outlet are formed;
A heat exchanger provided inside the housing and generating conditioned air by exchanging heat with the air sucked from the suction port;
A blower mechanism that is provided in the housing, generates air flow that sucks air from the suction port and blows out conditioned air from the blowout port, and can change a wind direction of the conditioned air blown out from the blowout port;
Temperature detecting means for detecting a surface temperature within a preset detection range;
A control device for controlling the air blowing mechanism according to the detection result of the temperature detecting means,
When the human body is specified from the distribution of the surface temperature detected by the temperature detection means, the wind direction of the conditioned air is set to the direction of the human body, and the wind direction of the conditioned air is set until the surface temperature of the human body reaches a reference temperature. Hold in the direction of the human body,
The air conditioning apparatus in which the reference temperature is set according to the amount of change in the surface temperature of the human body.
The control device includes:
Based on the detection result of the temperature detection means, a human body detection unit for detecting a human body,
A part specifying unit for specifying a predetermined determination part of the detected human body;
Based on the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body, an age group determination unit that determines the age group of the human body,
The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a blowing control unit that controls the blowing mechanism based on the determined age group of the human body.
The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the age group includes at least an adult and a child.
The said age group determination part determines that the age group of the said human body is a child, when the variation | change_quantity per unit time of the surface temperature of the said determination part of a human body is below the preset reference value. The air conditioning apparatus described in 1.
A room temperature detecting means for detecting the room temperature;
The age group determination unit, when the change amount of the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body when the room temperature is changed by the unit temperature is equal to or less than a preset reference value, the age group of the human body is a child The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 3 for determination.
The age group determination unit
When the height of the detected human body is equal to or lower than a preset height reference value, it is determined that the age group of the human body is a child,
The age group of the human body is determined based on the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body when the detected height of the human body is not less than or equal to the height reference value. The air conditioning apparatus described.
The age group determination unit
When the detected height of the human body is greater than or equal to a preset height reference value, it is determined that the age group of the human body is an adult,
The age group of the human body is determined according to any one of claims 3 to 5 based on the surface temperature of the determination part of the human body when the detected height of the human body is not equal to or higher than the height reference value. The air conditioning apparatus described.
The air conditioning apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 7, further comprising a display unit that displays a determination result of the age group determination unit.