WO2018109942A1

WO2018109942A1 - Control apparatus, air conditioning system, air conditioning control method and program

Info

Publication number: WO2018109942A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/087642
Authority: WO
Inventors: 拓也平岡; 雄喜小川
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2016-12-16
Filing date: 2016-12-16
Publication date: 2018-06-21
Also published as: JPWO2018109942A1; JP6584695B2

Abstract

In the present invention, a temperature acquisition unit (200) acquires the air temperature in a bathroom and the air temperature in a living room in a house. An operation information acquisition unit (201) acquires operation information relating to the operation of a water heater. An air conditioning control unit (202) determines the awareness level of a heat shock on the basis of the temperature difference between the air temperature in the bathroom and the air temperature in the living room, and determines a scheduled bathing time on the basis of the operation information. The air conditioning control unit (202) activates a bathroom heater when the determined awareness level and the time from the current time to the determined scheduled bathing time satisfy a predetermined condition.

Description

Control device, air conditioning system, air conditioning control method, and program

The present invention relates to a technique for adjusting the air temperature in a bathroom.

There is known a phenomenon (so-called heat shock) in which blood pressure rapidly rises and falls or a pulse becomes early due to a rapid temperature change. Heat shock has a high risk of occurring in winter bathrooms with large temperature changes.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a bathroom heating device for the purpose of avoiding the occurrence of heat shock in such a bathroom. In this bathroom heating apparatus, when the temperature difference between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor provided in the bathroom remote controller (that is, the bathroom air temperature) and the temperature of the bath water is larger than the allowable temperature difference, the bathroom heater is operated to operate the bathroom. Do heating.

JP 2014-214982 A

When heating the bathroom based on the difference in temperature detected in different objects as described above, or only the difference in air temperature detected in different places, even if the user is not bathed for a long time, There is a concern that the bathroom heater will heat the bathroom. Then, since electric power is consumed unnecessarily, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of energy saving.

Note that Patent Document 1 also discloses a configuration in which, before starting heating of a bathroom, the user is inquired as to whether or not to perform heating, and heating is started when the user permits. However, such a configuration is not convenient because the user needs to perform a confirmation operation every time to start heating. Furthermore, when the operation is forgotten, heating is not performed, and thus there is a problem that heat shock cannot be sufficiently prevented.

This invention was made in order to solve the said subject, and it aims at providing the control apparatus etc. which can adjust the air temperature of a bathroom appropriately, suppressing the increase in power consumption.

In order to achieve the above object, a control device according to the present invention provides:
Temperature acquisition means for acquiring the air temperature of the bathroom in the house and the air temperature of a specific location different from the bathroom;
Operation information acquisition means for acquiring operation information related to the operation of the water heater;
Air conditioning control means for controlling air conditioning means for adjusting the air temperature in the bathroom,
The air conditioning control means includes a heat shock attention level determined based on a temperature difference between the bathroom air temperature and the air temperature at the specific location, and a scheduled bathing time determined based on the operation information from a current time. If the time until the above condition satisfies a predetermined condition, the air conditioning means is operated.

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately adjust the air temperature in the bathroom while suppressing an increase in power consumption.

The figure which shows the structure of the air conditioning system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. Block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the control device according to the first to third embodiments The figure for demonstrating the secondary storage device with which the control apparatus which concerns on

Embodiment

1 and 2 is provided Diagram for explaining the operation information table in the first to third embodiments Diagram for explaining the operation information table in the first to third embodiments The figure for demonstrating the temperature information table in Embodiment 1-3 A diagram for explaining a time pattern table according to the first to third embodiments. The figure for demonstrating the attention level table in

Embodiment

1 and 2 The block diagram which shows the function structure of the control apparatus which concerns on

Embodiment

1 and 2 The flowchart which shows the procedure of the air-conditioning control process in

Embodiment

1 and 3. The figure which shows the structure of the air conditioning system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the air blower in Embodiment 2. FIG. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the air-conditioning control process in Embodiment 2. The figure which shows the structure of the air conditioning system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a measurement apparatus according to Embodiment 3. The figure for demonstrating the secondary storage device with which the control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 is provided The figure for demonstrating the biometric information table in Embodiment 3 The figure for demonstrating the attention level table in Embodiment 3. The block diagram which shows the function structure of the control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. The figure which shows the structure of the air conditioning system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
An air conditioning system 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is a system that performs air conditioning of a bathroom in a house H, and includes a control device 2, an operation terminal 3, an electric water heater 4, and a bathroom heater 5. And an air conditioner 6.

The control device 2 is installed at an appropriate location in the house H, and can communicate with the electric water heater 4, the bathroom heater 5 and the air conditioner 6 via a wireless network (not shown) constructed in the house H. Connect to. The control device 2 controls the bathroom heater 5 based on information obtained from the electric water heater 4, the bathroom heater 5 and the air conditioner 6. In the present embodiment, the control device 2 is an energy management controller constituting a so-called HEMS (Home Energy Management System) that manages electric power used in a general household. Details of the control device 2 will be described later.

The operation terminal 3 includes an input device such as a push button, a touch panel, a touch pad, a display device such as an organic EL display or a liquid crystal display, and a communication interface, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a wall-mounted remote controller. Etc. is a smart device. The operation terminal 3 communicates with the control device 2 in accordance with a known communication standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Wi-SUN (registered trademark), or wired LAN. The operation terminal 3 receives an operation from the user and transmits information indicating the received operation content to the control device 2. Further, the operation terminal 3 receives the information transmitted from the control device 2 and presented to the user, and displays the received information. In this way, the operation terminal 3 plays a role as an interface (so-called user interface) with the user.

Although not shown, the electric water heater 4 includes a hot water remote controller, an electric heater, and a tank, and a so-called electric water heater that boiles hot water at a preset temperature by heating water in the tank with the electric heater. It is. Hot water boiled by the electric water heater 4 is supplied to a bathtub or a shower and a faucet provided in a bathroom. The user can input a command such as start of hot water, reservation of hot water, and chasing by operating a hot water remote controller installed in the bathroom or kitchen.

Also, the hot water remote controller has a wireless communication interface and is connected to the control device 2 via the wireless network so as to be communicable. This wireless network is, for example, a network conforming to ECHONET Lite. When a new command is input by the user, the hot water supply remote controller notifies the control device 2 to that effect. Specifically, the hot water remote controller transmits to the control device 2 the content of the command input by the user, that is, information indicating the user's operation on the electric water heater 4 (hereinafter referred to as operation information).

The bathroom heater 5 corresponds to the air conditioning means of the present invention. The bathroom heater 5 is installed in a manner such as being embedded in the ceiling of the bathroom or hung on the wall of the bathroom to heat the bathroom. The bathroom heater 5 includes a temperature sensor 50 that measures the air temperature in the bathroom, a heating remote controller, an electric heater, and a fan, although none of them is shown. The bathroom heater 5 sucks the air in the bathroom, heats the sucked air with an electric heater, and sends it to the bathroom, thereby raising the temperature of the bathroom air to a preset temperature.

The user can operate a heating remote controller installed at the entrance of the bathroom to input a heating start or stop command, or specify a set temperature (that is, a target temperature), wind power, and the like. Further, the heating remote controller includes a wireless communication interface and is communicably connected to the control device 2 via the above-described wireless network. Thereby, it is possible to give a heating start or stop command from the control device 2 to the bathroom heater 5, or to specify a set temperature (that is, a target temperature), wind power, and the like.

In addition, the heating remote controller transmits information indicating the current operating state of the bathroom heater 5 (hereinafter referred to as “heater information”) to the control device 2 in response to a request from the control device 2. The heater information includes an ID (identification) of the bathroom heater 5, data indicating whether heating is being performed, data indicating a specified set temperature, and data indicating a specified wind force. In addition, the heating remote controller responds to a request from the control device 2 and includes information indicating the ID of the bathroom heater 5 and data indicating the bathroom air temperature measured by the temperature sensor 50 (hereinafter referred to as first temperature information). ) To the control device 2.

The heating remote controller may voluntarily transmit the heater information to the control device 2 at a constant time interval (for example, every one minute), or may transmit the first temperature information to the control device 2. .

Alternatively, the main body of the bathroom heater 5 may be configured to include a wireless communication interface so that the main body of the bathroom heater 5 and the control device 2 communicate with each other.

The air conditioner 6 is a general air conditioner that includes an outdoor unit (not shown), an indoor unit, and an air conditioning remote controller, and performs air conditioning such as cooling, heating, and dehumidification of a room in which the indoor unit is installed. In this Embodiment, the indoor unit of the air conditioner 6 is installed in the aspect hung on the wall of the living room in the house H.

The user can operate the air conditioning remote controller to input a command for starting or stopping the air conditioning, and can specify a set temperature (that is, a target temperature), wind power, and the like. The air conditioner 6 includes a wireless communication interface and is communicably connected to the control device 2 via the above-described wireless network. This wireless communication interface is provided in any of the indoor unit, the outdoor unit, and the air conditioning remote controller. The air conditioner 6 may be connected to this wireless network via an external communication adapter (not shown). In this case, the communication adapter is electrically connected to the indoor unit of the air conditioner 6 through an interface conforming to a standardized serial communication standard.

The control device 2 can give a command to start or stop the cooling, heating, or dehumidification to the air conditioner 6, and can specify the set temperature, wind power, and the like through communication. Further, in response to a request from the control device 2, the air conditioner 6 transmits information indicating the current operation state of the air conditioner 6 (hereinafter referred to as air conditioner information) to the control device 2. The air conditioner information includes the ID of the air conditioner 6, data indicating any one of cooling, heating, dehumidifying, and stopping, data indicating a specified set temperature, and data indicating a specified wind force. included.

In addition, the air conditioner 6 responds to a request from the control device 2 and includes information indicating the ID of the air conditioner 6 and data indicating the air temperature measured by the temperature sensor 60 provided in the air conditioner 6 (hereinafter referred to as “first”). 2 temperature information) is transmitted to the control device 2. The temperature sensor 60 is provided in the indoor unit of the air conditioner 6 and measures the air temperature of the room in which the indoor unit is installed, that is, the living room.

The air conditioner 6 may voluntarily transmit the air conditioner information to the control device 2 at a constant time interval (for example, every one minute), or may transmit the second temperature information to the control device 2. Good.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 2 includes a processor 20, a communication interface 21, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 22, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 23, and a secondary storage device 24. These components are connected to each other via a bus 25. The processor 20 controls the control device 2 in an integrated manner. Details of the functions of the control device 2 realized by the processor 20 will be described later.

The communication interface 21 includes a network card for wirelessly communicating with the electric water heater 4, the bathroom heater 5, and the air conditioner 6 via the wireless network described above, and a network card for wirelessly or wiredly communicating with the operation terminal 3. Consists of including.

The ROM 22 stores a plurality of firmware and data used when the firmware is executed. The RAM 23 is used as a work area for the processor 20.

The secondary storage device 24 includes an EEPROM (Electrically-Erasable-Programmable-Read-Only Memory), a readable / writable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk-Drive), or the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the secondary storage device 24 stores a heat shock prevention program 240, an operation information table 241, a temperature information table 242, a time pattern table 243, and an attention level table 244.

In addition to this, the secondary storage device 24 stores a program for managing the power consumed in the home and data used when the program is executed.

The heat shock prevention program 240 is a computer program executed by the processor 20. The heat shock prevention program 240 describes a process for preventing a heat shock of a user who is a resident of the house H.

The operation information table 241 is a data table in which user operations on the electric water heater 4 and times of the operations are stored. When the processor 20 receives the above-described operation information from the hot water remote controller, the processor 20 stores the received time and the user operation indicated by the operation information in the operation information table 241. The processor 20 acquires the current time from a clock function unit (not shown) included in the control device 2.

If the operation time from the hot water remote controller includes the time when the user operated, the processor 20 may store the time extracted from the received operation information in the operation information table 241.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the operation information table 241. In the example of FIG. 4, it is shown that a “hot water start” operation was performed by the user at 19:30. Here, “hot water” refers to storing hot water in a bathtub so that the user can take a bath. Other user operations on the electric water heater 4 include “hot water reservation” and “retreat”. “Hot water reservation” refers to an operation in which the electric water heater 4 automatically performs hot water so that the user can take a bath at a designated time (hereinafter referred to as “reservation time”). When the user's operation is “hot water reservation”, the operation information transmitted from the hot water supply remote controller includes the reservation time. In this case, the processor 20 also stores the reserved time in the operation information table 241 as shown in FIG. In addition, “reheating” refers to boiling the cold water in the bathtub to the set temperature again.

The temperature information table 242 is a data table for storing the latest air temperature measured by the temperature sensor 50 of the bathroom heater 5 and the latest air temperature measured by the temperature sensor 60 of the air conditioner 6. FIG. 6 shows an example of the temperature information table 242.

The processor 20 periodically requests the bathroom heater 5 and the air conditioner 6 to transmit the measured temperatures at the same timing. When the first temperature information and the second temperature information are received from the bathroom heater 5 and the air conditioner 6 in response to these requests, the processor 20 acquires the bathroom air temperature from the first temperature information and obtains the second temperature. Get the living air temperature from the information. Then, the processor 20 stores the time at which the first temperature information and the second temperature information are received, and the acquired air temperature of the bathroom and the living room in the temperature information table 242, respectively. That is, the contents of the temperature information table 242 are updated periodically.

In the present embodiment, the processor 20 requests the bathroom heater 5 and the air conditioner 6 to transmit the measured temperatures at intervals of 1 minute and at the same timing. Since the error between the time when the first temperature information is received from the bathroom heater 5 and the time when the second temperature information is received from the air conditioner 6 is theoretically less than 1 second, the reception time is managed in units of one minute. When doing so, it is in a negligible range.

When the time at which the air temperature is measured is included in each of the first temperature information and the second temperature information, the processor 20 sets the time extracted from the received first temperature information or second temperature information. The temperature information table 242 may be stored.

The time pattern table 243 is a data table in which a plurality of patterns (hereinafter referred to as time patterns) in which a relationship between a user operation on the electric water heater 4 and a scheduled bathing time is defined are registered. The scheduled bathing time is the time when the user is scheduled to start bathing, in other words, the time when the start of bathing is estimated. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, three time patterns are registered in the time pattern table 243.

In FIG. The time pattern of 1 indicates that the scheduled bathing time when the “hot water start” operation by the user is performed is 20 minutes after the operation time. No. The time pattern 2 indicates that the scheduled bathing time when the user performs a “hot water reservation” operation is the reservation time.

No. The time pattern 3 indicates that the scheduled bathing time in the case where the user performs the “chase” operation is 10 minutes after the operation time.

The registration of the time pattern to the time pattern table 243 is performed by a construction worker when the control device 2 is installed. Note that the contents of the time pattern table 243 may be appropriately updated by the user via the operation terminal 3.

The attention level table 244 is a data table in which a level indicating the degree of attention to the heat shock (hereinafter referred to as an attention level) is set for each condition that causes heat shock. The attention level table 244 indicates that the higher the attention level, the higher the risk of heat shock. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the attention level table 244 has three levels of attention levels 1 to 3.

FIG. 8 shows that when the difference between the air temperature in the living room and the bathroom (living air temperature−bathroom air temperature) is 10 ° C. or more, the attention level is “3”, which is the highest. The caution level is “2” when the difference in air temperature between the living room and the bathroom is 5 to 10 ° C, and the caution level is “1” when the difference in air temperature between the living room and the bathroom is less than 5 ° C. The lowest is shown.

Subsequently, the functional configuration of the control device 2 will be described. Functionally, the control device 2 includes a temperature acquisition unit 200, an operation information acquisition unit 201, and an air conditioning control unit 202, as shown in FIG. These functional units are realized by the processor 20 executing the heat shock prevention program 240 stored in the secondary storage device 24.

The temperature acquisition unit 200 corresponds to the temperature acquisition means of the present invention. The temperature acquisition unit 200 periodically acquires the air temperature measured by each of the bathroom heater 5 and the air conditioner 6. Specifically, the temperature acquisition unit 200 requests the bathroom heater 5 and the air conditioner 6 to transmit the measured temperatures at intervals of 1 minute and at the same timing. In response to these requests, when receiving the first temperature information and the second temperature information from the bathroom heater 5 and the air conditioner 6, the temperature acquisition unit 200 acquires the air temperature of the bathroom from the first temperature information, 2. Obtain the air temperature in the living room from the temperature information. And the temperature acquisition part 200 stores the time which received 1st temperature information and 2nd temperature information, and the air temperature of the acquired bathroom and living room in the temperature information table 242, respectively.

The operation information acquisition unit 201 corresponds to the operation information acquisition unit of the present invention. When the operation information acquisition unit 201 receives the above-described operation information sent from the hot water remote controller of the electric water heater 4 when a user operation is performed, the operation information acquisition unit 201 acquires and receives the user operation indicated by the operation information. It is stored in the operation information table 241 in association with the time. Note that the operation information acquisition unit 201 may make an inquiry to the hot water remote controller of the electric water heater 4 periodically (for example, every 30 seconds) as to whether a new operation has been received from the user. In this case, the hot water remote controller of the electric water heater 4 may transmit operation information relating to the new operation to the control device 2 when receiving the first inquiry after receiving a new operation from the user.

The air conditioning control unit 202 corresponds to the air conditioning control means of the present invention. The air conditioning control unit 202 operates the bathroom heater 5 to adjust the air temperature in the bathroom when the current level of attention level of the heat shock and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time satisfy the predetermined conditions. Raise. Hereinafter, details of the function of the air conditioning control unit 202 will be described.

The air conditioning control unit 202 includes a caution level determination unit 2020, a scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021, an air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022, and a control command transmission unit 2023.

The attention level determination unit 2020 determines the current attention level based on the latest air temperature of the bathroom and living room stored in the temperature information table 242 and the attention level table 244. Specifically, the attention level determination unit 2020 first calculates the difference between the air temperature in the living room and the bathroom by subtracting the air temperature in the bathroom from the air temperature in the living room. Then, the caution level determination unit 2020 refers to the caution level table 244 and determines a numerical value corresponding to the calculated difference in air temperature as the current caution level.

The scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021 determines the scheduled bathing time at which the user is scheduled to start bathing based on the operation information table 241 and the time pattern table 243. First, the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021 acquires a user operation and an operation time from the operation information table 241. Then, the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021 selects a time pattern corresponding to the acquired user operation from the time pattern table 243.

More specifically, when the user's operation is “start hot water”, the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021 determines from the time pattern table 243 No. No. 1 time pattern is selected, and when the user's operation is “hot water reservation”, No. 1 2 is selected, and when the user's operation is “chase”, the time pattern table 243 indicates No. 3 time pattern is selected.

When the user's operation is “start hot water” or “retreat”, the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021 determines the scheduled bathing time from the selected time pattern and the operation time. For example, when the user's operation is “start hot water” and the operation time is 19:30, the scheduled bathing time is 19:50. In addition, when the user's operation is “chase” and the operation time is 19:30, the scheduled bathing time is 19:40.

When the user's operation is “reservation of hot water”, it is defined in the selected time pattern that the scheduled bathing time is the reservation time as shown in FIG. For this reason, the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021 determines the reserved time (for example, 20:00) included in the user operation acquired from the operation information table 241 as the scheduled bathing time.

The air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines the necessity of air conditioning in the bathroom based on the attention level determined by the attention level determination unit 2020, the scheduled bathing time determined by the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021, and the current time. To do.

More specifically, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 needs to air-condition the bathroom when the attention level and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time satisfy one of the following conditions (1) to (3): It is determined that
(1) The attention level is “3” and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time is less than 15 minutes.
(2) The attention level is “2” and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time is less than 10 minutes.
(3) The attention level is “1” and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time is less than 5 minutes.

When the air conditioning necessity determining unit 2022 determines that the air conditioning of the bathroom is necessary, the control command transmitting unit 2023 operates the bathroom heater 5, that is, instructs the bathroom heater 5 to start heating. Specifically, the control command transmission unit 2023 transmits a control command for instructing the start of heating to the heating remote controller of the bathroom heater 5. Thereby, the bathroom heater 5 starts heating the bathroom.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the air conditioning control process executed by the air conditioning control unit 202 of the control device 2. This air conditioning control process is executed at a predetermined time interval (1 minute in the present embodiment) when the activation of the heat shock prevention program 240 is set to ON in advance by the user.

In step S101, the attention level determination unit 2020 determines the current attention level as described above.

In step S102, the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021 determines the scheduled bathing time as described above.

In step S103, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines whether it is less than 15 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time. As a result, if it is not less than 15 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S103; NO), the air conditioning control unit 202 ends the air conditioning control processing in this cycle.

On the other hand, if it is less than 15 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S103; YES), the air conditioning necessity determining unit 2022 determines the value of the caution level (step S104). When the attention level is “3”, that is, the risk of heat shock is “high”, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines that the air conditioning of the bathroom is necessary. When the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines that the bathroom needs air conditioning, the control command transmission unit 2023 instructs the bathroom heater 5 to start heating (step S105). More specifically, the control command transmission unit 2023 transmits a control command for instructing the start of heating to the heating remote controller of the bathroom heater 5. Thereby, the bathroom heater 5 starts heating the bathroom.

When the attention level is “2”, that is, the risk of heat shock is “medium”, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines whether it is less than 10 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S106). ). As a result, if it is not less than 10 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S106; NO), the air conditioning control unit 202 ends the air conditioning control processing in this cycle.

On the other hand, if it is less than 10 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S106; YES), the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines that the air conditioning of the bathroom is necessary. Thereby, the control command transmission unit 2023 instructs the bathroom heater 5 to start heating (step S105).

When the attention level is “1”, that is, the risk of heat shock is “low”, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines whether or not it is less than 5 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S107). ). As a result, if it is not less than 5 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S107; NO), the air conditioning control unit 202 ends the air conditioning control processing in this cycle.

On the other hand, if it is less than 5 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S107; YES), the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines that the bathroom needs air conditioning. Thereby, the control command transmission unit 2023 instructs the bathroom heater 5 to start heating (step S105).

In step S105, the control command transmission unit 2023 further determines whether or not the bathroom heater 5 is in operation, and heating the bathroom heater 5 only when it is not in operation (in other words, not in heating). You may make it transmit the control command which instruct | indicates a start.

As described above, in the air conditioning system 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the control device 2 determines the user's scheduled bathing time based on the user's operation on the electric water heater 4, and the air in the bathroom and the living room The level of attention to heat shock is determined based on the temperature difference. And the control apparatus 2 discriminate | determines the necessity for the air conditioning of a bathroom based on the determined attention level and the time from the present time to the scheduled bathing time, and when it determines that the air conditioning is necessary, the bathroom heater 5 is activated.

For this reason, it is possible to suppress an increase in power consumption without unnecessarily operating the bathroom heater 5. In addition, in order to determine the necessity of air conditioning in the bathroom in consideration of the level of attention to heat shock determined based on the difference between the air temperature in the bathroom and the living room, the air temperature in the bathroom is appropriately adjusted before the user takes a bath. And the occurrence of heat shock can be effectively suppressed.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, components and the like that are common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the air conditioning system 1A of the second embodiment. In the air conditioning system 1A, a blower 7 is further added to the configuration of the air conditioning system 1 of the embodiment.

The blower 7 is, for example, a centrifugal fan or a multiblade fan driven by a DC fan motor or the like. The blower 7 is communicably connected to the control device 2 via the above-described wireless network, like the electric water heater 4, the bathroom heater 5, and the air conditioner 6. The start and stop of driving of the blower 7 are switched based on a command from the control device 2.

The blower 7 is provided in a duct 8 disposed on the ceiling of the house H as shown in FIG. One end of the duct 8 is connected to a suction port provided on the top surface of the living room, and the other end is connected to an air outlet provided on the top surface of the bathroom. When the blower 7 is driven, that is, starts to rotate, the air in the living room is sucked in from the suction port, conveyed in the duct 8, blown out from the outlet, and flows into the bathroom.

Since the air in the living room is warmed to an appropriate temperature by the air conditioner 6, the air temperature in the bathroom can be raised by conveying the air in the living room to the bathroom. That is, in this Embodiment, the bathroom heater 5 and the air blower 7 respond | correspond to the air-conditioning means of this invention.

In the present embodiment, the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the control device 2 are the same as those of the control device 2 of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 2 and 9). In the present embodiment, the secondary storage device 24 included in the control device 2 includes a heat shock prevention program 240, an operation information table 241, a temperature information table 242, and a time pattern, as in the first embodiment. A table 243 and an attention level table 244 are stored (see FIG. 3).

However, part of the processing by the air conditioning control unit 202 of the present embodiment is different from the air conditioning control unit 202 of the first embodiment. The air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 of the air conditioning control unit 202 in the present embodiment includes the attention level determined by the attention level determination unit 2020, the scheduled bathing time determined by the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021, and the current time. Based on this, the necessity of air conditioning by the bathroom heater 5 and the necessity of air conditioning by the blower 7 are determined.

As in the first embodiment, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 of the present embodiment has the following conditions (1) to (3) for the attention level and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time: When satisfy | filling, it discriminate | determines that the air conditioning of the bathroom by the bathroom heater 5 is required.
(1) The attention level is “3” and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time is less than 15 minutes.
(2) The attention level is “2” and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time is less than 10 minutes.
(3) The attention level is “1” and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time is less than 5 minutes.

Further, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 of the present embodiment, when the caution level and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time satisfy the following conditions (1) and (2): It is determined that air conditioning of the bathroom according to 7 is necessary.
(1) The attention level is “2” and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time is 10 minutes or more.
(2) The attention level is “1” and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time is 5 minutes or more and less than 10 minutes.

When the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines that the bathroom air conditioner needs to be air-conditioned, the control command transmission unit 2023 of the present embodiment instructs the bathroom heater 5 to start heating. When the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines that the air conditioning of the bathroom by the blower 7 is necessary, the control command transmission unit 2023 operates the blower 7, that is, instructs the blower 7 to start blowing. . Specifically, the control command transmission unit 2023 transmits a control command for instructing start of blowing to the blower 7. Thereby, the air blower 7 starts operation, that is, starts rotating, and the air in the living room is blown into the bathroom.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure of air conditioning control processing executed by the air conditioning control unit 202 of the control device 2 according to the present embodiment. As in the first embodiment, this air conditioning control process is performed at a predetermined time interval (1 minute in the present embodiment) when the activation of the heat shock prevention program 240 is set to ON in advance by the user. Executed.

In step S201, the attention level determination unit 2020 determines the current attention level, and in step S202, the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021 determines the scheduled bathing time.

In step S203, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines whether it is less than 15 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time. As a result, if it is not less than 15 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S203; NO), the air conditioning control unit 202 ends the air conditioning control processing in this cycle.

On the other hand, if it is less than 15 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S203; YES), the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines the value of the caution level (step S204). When the attention level is “3”, that is, the risk of heat shock is “high”, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines that the bathroom heater 5 needs to air-condition the bathroom. In this case, the control command transmission unit 2023 instructs the bathroom heater 5 to start heating (step S205). Thereby, the bathroom heater 5 starts heating the bathroom.

When the attention level is “2”, that is, the risk of heat shock is “medium”, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines whether it is less than 10 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S206). ). As a result, if it is not less than 10 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S206; NO), the air conditioning necessity determination unit 202 determines that the bathroom 7 needs to be air-conditioned. In this case, the control command transmission unit 2023 instructs the blower 7 to start blowing (step S207). More specifically, the control command transmission unit 2023 transmits a control command for instructing start of blowing to the blower 7. Thereby, the air blower 7 is driven, that is, starts to rotate, and the air in the living room is blown into the bathroom.

On the other hand, if it is less than 10 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S206; YES), the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines that the bathroom heater 5 needs to air-condition the bathroom, and a control command transmission unit 2023 instructs the bathroom heater 5 to start heating (step S205).

When the attention level is “1”, that is, the risk of heat shock is “low”, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines whether it is less than 5 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S208). ). As a result, if it is less than 5 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S208; YES), the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022 determines that the bathroom heater 5 needs to air-condition the bathroom, and transmits a control command. The unit 2023 instructs the bathroom heater 5 to start heating (step S205).

If it is not less than 5 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time, that is, it is not less than 5 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S208; NO), the air conditioning necessity determining unit 2022 It is determined whether or not it is less than a minute (step S209). As a result, if it is less than 10 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S209; YES), the air conditioning necessity determination unit 202 determines that the air conditioning of the bathroom by the blower 7 is necessary. In this case, the control command transmission unit 2023 instructs the blower 7 to start blowing (step S207).

On the other hand, if it is not less than 10 minutes from the current time to the scheduled bathing time, that is, 10 minutes or more from the current time to the scheduled bathing time (step S209; NO), the air conditioning control unit 202 performs the air conditioning control processing in this cycle. finish.

As described above, the air-conditioning system 1A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention has a configuration that blows air from the living room to the bathroom. Usually, it is assumed that the air in the living room is heated by the air conditioner 6 in the bathing time zone. For this reason, it becomes possible to adjust the air temperature of a bathroom, without operating the bathroom heater 5, and the energy saving effect can further be aimed at.

(Embodiment 3)
Subsequently, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described. In the following description, components and the like that are common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 14 shows the configuration of the air conditioning system 1B of the third embodiment. In the air conditioning system 1B, a measuring device 9 is further added to the configuration of the air conditioning system 1 of the embodiment. The measuring device 9 is a human-worn type (for example, wristband type) device that measures biological information of a user (resident) of the house H. Here, the biological information is information called so-called vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate, body surface temperature, and the like.

The measuring device 9 includes a processor 90, a communication interface 91, a biological information sensor 92, a ROM 93, a RAM 94, and a secondary storage device 95, as shown in FIG. These components are connected to each other via a bus 96. The processor 90 controls the measuring device 9 in an integrated manner. The measuring device 9 includes a battery 97 such as a primary battery or a secondary battery that supplies power to each component.

The communication interface 91 includes an IC chip for wirelessly communicating with the control device 2 via the above-described wireless network built in the house H. The biological information sensor 92 measures biological information (for example, blood pressure, heart rate, body surface temperature, etc.) of a consumer.

The ROM 93 stores a plurality of firmware and data used when the firmware is executed. The RAM 94 is used as a work area for the processor 90.

The secondary storage device 95 is configured by a readable / writable nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory. Although not shown, the secondary storage device 95 stores a program related to the measurement of biological information, a program for communicating with the control device 2, and data used when these programs are executed.

The processor 90 wirelessly transmits the biological information measured by the biological information sensor 92 to the control device 2 via the communication interface 91 at regular time intervals (for example, every one minute).

In the present embodiment, the hardware configuration of the control device 2 is the same as that of the control device 2 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 2). However, in the present embodiment, the content stored in the secondary storage device 24 included in the control device 2 is different from the secondary storage device 24 of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 16, the secondary storage device 24 of the present embodiment includes a heat shock prevention program 240, an operation information table 241, a temperature information table 242, a biological information table 245, a time pattern table 243, The attention level table 244A is stored.

The biometric information table 245 is a data table for storing a history of the biometric information of the user measured by the measuring device 9. In the biological information table 245, a history of biological information for a predetermined time (for example, for 10 minutes) is cyclically stored. FIG. 17 shows an example of the biometric information table 245. The heart rate in the present embodiment indicates the number of beats per minute.

In the caution level table 244A, as in the caution level table 244 of Embodiment 1 (see FIG. 8), three levels of caution levels from 1 to 3 are set according to the difference in air temperature between the living room and the bathroom. Yes. Furthermore, in the attention level table 244A, as shown in FIG. 18, the attention level is also associated with the amount of change in the user's biological information.

In FIG. 18, when the change amount of blood pressure per 6 minutes is ± 90 mmHg or more, the attention level is “3”, and when it is ± 60 to 90 mmHg, the attention level is “2” and ± 30 to 60 mmHg. In this case, the attention level is “1”.

When the amount of change in heart rate per minute (more specifically, the amount of increase) is 30 bpm or more, the attention level is “2”, and when it is 20-30 bpm, the attention level is “1”. It has been shown to be. In addition, when the amount of change in body surface temperature per minute (more specifically, the amount of decrease) is 10 ° C. or higher, the caution level is “2”. 1 ".

Next, the functional configuration of the control device 2 in the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 19, the control device 2 according to the present embodiment includes a temperature acquisition unit 200, an operation information acquisition unit 201, a biological information acquisition unit 203, and an air conditioning control unit 202. Thus, the biometric information acquisition unit 203 is added to the functional configuration of the control device 2 in the present embodiment.

The biological information acquisition unit 203 corresponds to the biological information acquisition means of the present invention. The biometric information acquisition unit 203 acquires the biometric information received from the measurement apparatus 9 periodically (for example, every minute). The biometric information acquisition unit 203 cyclically stores the biometric information acquired in the biometric information table 245 in association with the time when the biometric information is acquired (that is, the received time). When the measurement time is included in the biological information from the measurement device 9, the biological information acquisition unit 203 may store the measurement time in the biological information table 245.

The attention level determination unit 2020 of the air conditioning control unit 202 includes the latest air temperature in the bathroom and living room stored in the temperature information table 242, the history of biological information stored in the biological information table 245, and the attention level table 244A. Based on this, determine the current attention level.

Specifically, first, the attention level determination unit 2020 calculates the difference between the air temperature in the living room and the bathroom by subtracting the air temperature in the bathroom from the air temperature in the living room, as in the first embodiment. Then, the attention level determination unit 2020 refers to the attention level table 244A, and temporarily determines, that is, temporarily determines a numerical value corresponding to the calculated difference in air temperature as the current attention level. Hereinafter, the attention level determined based on only the difference in air temperature between the living room and the bathroom is referred to as a first attention level.

Further, the attention level determination unit 2020 also determines the attention level based on the amount of change in the biological information, separately from the determination of the first attention level. Specifically, the attention level determination unit 2020 determines the amount of change in blood pressure per 6 minutes, the amount of change in heart rate per minute (amount of increase), and the body from the history of biological information stored in the biological information table 245. The amount of change (amount of decrease) per minute of the surface temperature is calculated. Then, the attention level determination unit 2020 refers to the attention level table 244A, and provisionally determines the largest value among the calculated numerical values corresponding to the change amounts as the current attention level.

For example, when the change in blood pressure per 6 minutes is ± 90 mmHg or more, the change in heart rate per minute is 30 bpm or more, and the change in body surface temperature per minute is 5 to 10 ° C. The attention level determination unit 2020 temporarily determines “3” as the current attention level. Hereinafter, the attention level determined based on only the change amount of the biological information as described above is referred to as a second attention level.

The attention level determination unit 2020 compares the first and second attention levels determined as described above, and officially determines the larger one as the current attention level.

The functions of other components (the scheduled bathing time determination unit 2021, the air conditioning necessity determination unit 2022, and the control command transmission unit 2023) in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment.

As described above, in the air conditioning system 1B according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, the control device 2 determines the safety level in consideration of changes in the user's biological information. For this reason, even if a gap occurs between the determined scheduled bathing time and the actual bathing time, the temperature of the bathroom can be adjusted appropriately, so that a further effect of preventing heat shock can be expected.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in each of the above embodiments, the control device 2 acquires the air temperature of the bathroom from the bathroom heater 5 and acquires the air temperature of the living room from the air conditioner 6. However, a temperature sensor (referred to as a first temperature sensor) separate from the bathroom heater 5 is installed in the bathroom, and a temperature sensor (referred to as a second temperature sensor) separate from the air conditioner 6 is installed in the living room, You may connect the control apparatus 2 with each of a 1st temperature sensor and a 2nd temperature sensor so that communication is possible. In this case, the control device 2 acquires the bathroom air temperature from the first temperature sensor, and acquires the living room air temperature from the air conditioner 6.

Further, the

air conditioning systems

1, 1A, 1B may further include a temperature sensor that measures the outside air temperature, and each control device 2 may determine the attention level in consideration of the outside air temperature.

In addition, the specific place in the present invention is not limited to the living room, and may be, for example, a bedroom or a guest room.

Further, in the air conditioning system 1A of the second embodiment, a configuration in which air in a place other than the living room is sent to the bathroom by the blower 7 may be adopted.

In the air conditioning system 1A of the second embodiment, the bathroom air heater 5 may not be provided, and the bathroom air temperature may be adjusted only by the blower 7. In this case, the first temperature sensor may be installed in the bathroom.

In addition, by operating the operation terminal 3, the user may forcibly operate the bathroom heater 5 or the blower 7 to start heating the bathroom.

Further, the control device 2 may further include an input device for accepting an operation from the user and a display device for presenting information to the user.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the control device 2 is installed in the house H has been described. However, a device having the same function as that of the control device 2 may be installed outside the house H.

An example of this case is shown in FIG. In the air conditioning system 1 </ b> C in this example, a router 10 is installed in the house H instead of the control device 2. On the other hand, a server 11 is installed outside the house H so as to be communicable with the router 10 via the Internet. In this case, the router 10 and the server 11 cooperate to play the same role as the control device 2.

In each of the above embodiments, the heat shock prevention program 240 stored in the secondary storage device 24 is executed by the processor 20, thereby realizing each functional unit (see FIGS. 9 and 19) of the control device 2. It was done. However, all or part of the functional units of the control device 2 may be realized by dedicated hardware. The dedicated hardware is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

In each of the above embodiments, the heat shock prevention program 240 includes a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a magneto-optical disc (Magneto-Optical Disc), and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. It is also possible to store and distribute in a computer-readable recording medium such as a memory card or HDD. Then, by installing the heat shock prevention program 240 distributed in this way on a specific or general-purpose computer, it is possible to cause the computer to function as the control device 2 in each of the above embodiments.

Further, the heat shock prevention program 240 is stored in a disk device or the like of a server on the Internet (for example, the server 11 in FIG. 20), and the heat shock prevention program 240 is downloaded from the server to the computer. Good.

The present invention can be variously modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the broad sense. The above-described embodiments are for explaining the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention. In other words, the scope of the present invention is shown not by the embodiments but by the claims. Various modifications within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the equivalent invention are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention can be suitably employed in a technique for preventing the occurrence of heat shock during bathing.

1,1A-1C air conditioning system, 2 control device, 3 operation terminal, 4 electric water heater, 5 bathroom heater, 6 air conditioner, 7 blower, 8 duct, 9 measuring device, 10 router, 11 server, 20, 90

processor

21, 91 communication interface, 22, 93 ROM, 23, 94 RAM, 24, 95 secondary storage device, 25, 96 bus, 50, 60 temperature sensor, 92 biological information sensor, 97 battery, 200 temperature acquisition unit, 201 Operation information acquisition unit, 202, air conditioning control unit, 203, biological information acquisition unit, 240 heat shock prevention program, 241 operation information table, 242 temperature information table, 243 time pattern table, 244, 244A attention level table, 245 biological information table, 2020 Attention level determination section 2021 bathing scheduled time determining unit, 2022 an air conditioning necessity determination unit, 2023 a control command transmission unit

Claims

Temperature acquisition means for acquiring the air temperature of the bathroom in the house and the air temperature of a specific location different from the bathroom;
Operation information acquisition means for acquiring operation information related to the operation of the water heater;
Air conditioning control means for controlling air conditioning means for adjusting the air temperature in the bathroom,
The air conditioning control means includes a heat shock attention level determined based on a temperature difference between the bathroom air temperature and the air temperature at the specific location, and a scheduled bathing time determined based on the operation information from a current time. A control device that activates the air-conditioning means when the time until the condition satisfies a predetermined condition.
The control device according to claim 1, wherein the air-conditioning means includes a blower that sends air at a location different from the bathroom in the house to the bathroom.
Further comprising biometric information acquisition means for acquiring biometric information of the user,
3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioning control unit determines the attention level based on a temperature difference between an air temperature in the bathroom and an air temperature at the specific location, and a change amount of the biological information. .
A water heater,
Air conditioning means for adjusting the air temperature in the bathroom;
An air conditioning system comprising: the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
Obtain the air temperature of the bathroom in the house and the air temperature of a specific location different from the bathroom,
Get operation information about the operation of the water heater,
Determine the attention level of the heat shock based on the temperature difference between the air temperature of the bathroom and the air temperature of the specific location,
Determine the scheduled bathing time based on the operation information,
The air-conditioning control method of operating the air-conditioning means which adjusts the air temperature of the said bathroom, when the said attention level and the time from the present time to the said bathing scheduled time satisfy | fill the predetermined condition.
Computer
A temperature acquisition means for acquiring an air temperature of a bathroom in a house and an air temperature of a specific part different from the bathroom;
Operation information acquisition means for acquiring operation information related to the operation of the water heater,
The attention level of the heat shock determined based on the temperature difference between the air temperature of the bathroom and the air temperature of the specific location, and the time from the current time to the scheduled bathing time determined based on the operation information, A program that functions as an air-conditioning control unit that operates an air-conditioning unit that adjusts the air temperature of the bathroom when a predetermined condition is satisfied.