Air conditioner control system, sensor device control method, and program

• US 10,145,575 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2014
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Endo, Satoshi, Koizumi, Yoshiaki, Mega, Toshihiro, Tomisawa, Kazuo, Kamimura, Tomoyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): CRENSHAW, HENRY T
• Application Number:
  US14/912,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20160201932A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,558 Days
• Field of Search: 700 8, 700 9
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/66 Sleep mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/70 Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/89 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties

Abstract

An air conditioner control system comprises air conditioners configured to condition an environment in a target space, an integrated controller configured to control the air conditioners based on control parameter data, sensor devices configured to measure the temperature of the target space and transmit measurement data, and wireless master devices configured to create control parameter data based on the measurement data. The wireless master devices each determine sleep times so that at least two sensor devices run out of battery charge around the same time according to the remaining charge amount of each of the sensor devices. The sensor devices each will be in the sleep mode in which power consumption is lower than in the normal mode according to the sleep time decided by the wireless master devices.

Claims

1. A control system comprising:

one or more facility apparatuses configured to condition an environment in a target space;

an integrated controller configured to communicate with the one or more facility apparatuses;

a plurality of sensor devices configured to communicate with the integrated controller; and

a relay device configured to relay communication between each of the plurality of sensor devices and the integrated controller, wherein;

each of the plurality of sensor devices comprises a battery,

the plurality of sensor devices are configured to be put, according to remaining charge amounts of the batteries, in a sleep mode in which power consumption is lower than in a normal mode so that at least two of the plurality of sensor devices run out of battery charge around the same time,

the relay device comprises a sleep time decider configured to decide a first interval or a second interval according to the remaining charge amounts of the batteries, the first interval and the second interval differing from each other;

each of the plurality of sensor devices comprises a sleep controller configured to put a target sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices in the sleep mode at the first interval or the second interval decided by the sleep time decider,

the integrated controller comprises an apparatus controller configured to control the one or more facility apparatuses based on control parameter data,

each of the plurality of sensor devices further comprises a measurer configured to measure an environment value of the target space and send measurement data including the measured environment data to the relay device,

the relay device further comprises a control parameter creator configured to create the control parameter data based on the measurement data received from each of the plurality of sensor devices, and

the control parameter creator further comprises;

a determiner configured to determine whether measurement data including a most recent environment value measured within a predetermined time period is received from each of the plurality of sensor devices;

a complementer configured to create, when there is at least one sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices for which the determiner determined to not receive the measurement data including the most recent environment value, the control parameter data for the at least one sensor device by complementation using measurement data including environment values measured prior to the predetermined time period, among the measurement data received from the sensor device; and

a creator configured to create, when there is at least one sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices for which the determiner determined to receive the measurement data including the most recent environment value, the control parameter data including the most recent environment value for the at least one sensor device.

2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein

the complementer is configured to create, when there is at least one sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices for which the determiner determined to not receive the measurement data including the most recent environment value, the control parameter data for the at least one sensor device by complementation using measurement data including environment values measured prior to the predetermined time period among the measurement data received from the sensor device and measurement data received from the sensor devices other than the at least one sensor device.

3. The control system according to claim 1, wherein

the one or more facility apparatuses comprise a plurality of facility apparatuses,

the relay device further comprises an association data storage configured to store association data in which the plurality of sensor devices and the plurality of facility apparatuses are associated with each other,

the control parameter creator is configured to create the control parameter data for each of the plurality of facility apparatuses based on the measurement data of which the transmission source is the sensor device associated with each of the plurality of facility apparatuses in the association data, among the measurement data received from each of the plurality of sensor devices, and

the apparatus controller is configured to control the corresponding facility apparatus based on the control parameter data for each of the plurality of facility apparatuses created by the control parameter creator.

5. The control system according to claim 1, wherein

three or more sensor devices of the plurality of sensor devices are provided,

the sleep time decider comprises:

a classifier configured to classify the three or more sensor devices into a plurality of groups so that two or more sensor devices of the three or more sensor devices belong to at least one group and a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of the two or more sensor devices in the same group is smaller than a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of all of the three or more sensor devices; and

a decider configured to decide, according to the remaining charge amount of the battery of each of the two or more sensor devices classified by the classifier into the same group, the first interval or the second interval so that the two or more sensor devices classified into the same group run out of battery charge around the same time.

6. The control system according to claim 2, wherein

three or more sensor devices of the plurality of sensor devices are provided,

the sleep time decider comprises:

a classifier configured to classify the three or more sensor devices into a plurality of groups so that two or more sensor devices of the three or more sensor devices belong to at least one group and a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of the two or more sensor devices in the same group is smaller than a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of all of the three or more sensor devices; and

a decider configured to decide, according to the remaining charge amount of the battery of each of the two or more sensor devices classified by the classifier into the same group, the first interval or the second interval so that the two or more sensor devices classified into the same group run out of battery charge around the same time.

7. The control system according to claim 3, wherein

three or more sensor devices of the plurality of sensor devices are provided,

the sleep time decider comprises:

a classifier configured to classify the three or more sensor devices into a plurality of groups so that two or more sensor devices of the three or more sensor devices belong to at least one group and a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of the two or more sensor devices in the same group is smaller than a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of all of the three or more sensor devices; and

a decider configured to decide, according to the remaining charge amount of the battery of each of the two or more sensor devices classified by the classifier into the same group, the first interval or the second interval so that the two or more sensor devices classified into the same group run out of battery charge around the same time.

12. The control system according to claim 1, wherein

the relay device further comprises a remaining charge amount estimator configured to estimate the remaining charge amounts of the batteries based on communication history with each of the plurality of sensor devices, and

the sleep time decider is configured to decide, according to the remaining charge amounts of the batteries estimated by the remaining charge amount estimator, the first interval or the second interval so that the at least two sensor devices of the plurality of sensor devices run out of battery charge around the same time.

13. The control system according to claim 12, wherein

the sleep time decider comprises:

a classifier configured to classify three or more sensor devices of the plurality of sensor devices into a plurality of groups so that two or more sensor devices of the three or more sensor devices belong to at least one group and a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of the two or more sensor devices in the same group is smaller than a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of all of the three or more sensor devices; and

a decider configured to decide, according to the remaining charge amount of the battery of each of the two or more sensor devices classified by the classifier into the same group, the first interval or the second interval so that the two or more sensor devices classified into the same group run out of battery charge around the same time.

4. A control system comprising:

one or more facility apparatuses configured to condition an environment in a target space;

an integrated controller configured to communicate with the one or more facility apparatuses; and

a plurality of sensor devices configured to communicate with the integrated controller, wherein;

each of the plurality of sensor devices comprises a battery,

the plurality of sensor devices are configured to be put, according to remaining charge amounts of the batteries, in a sleep mode in which power consumption is lower than in a normal mode so that at least two of the plurality of sensor devices run out of battery charge around the same time,

a sleep time decider is configured to decide a first interval or a second interval according to the remaining charge amounts of the batteries, the first interval and the second interval differing from each other;

each of the plurality f sensor devices comprises a sleep controller configured to put a target sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices in the sleep mode at the first interval or the second interval decided by the sleep time decider, and

the sleep time decider comprises;

a classifier configured to classify three or more sensor devices of the plurality of sensor devices into a plurality of groups so that two or more sensor devices of the three or more sensor devices belong to at least one group and a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of the two or more sensor devices in the same group is smaller than a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among the batteries of all of the three or more sensor devices; and

a decider configured to decide, according to the remaining charge amount of the battery of each of the two or more sensor devices classified by the classifier into the same group, the first interval or the second interval so that the two or more sensor devices classified into the same group run out of battery charge around the same time.

8. The control system according to claim 4, wherein

the integrated controller comprises the sleep time decider.

9. A sensor device control method for controlling a plurality of sensor devices, the sensor device control method comprising:

putting the plurality of sensor devices, according to remaining charge amounts of batteries, in a sleep mode in which power consumption is lower than in a normal mode so that at least two of the plurality of sensor devices run out of battery charge around the same time,

determining whether each of the plurality of sensor devices receives measurement data including a most recent environment value measured within a predetermined time period;

creating, when at least one sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices is determined to not receive the measurement data including the most recent environment value, control parameter data for facility apparatuses by complementation using measurement data including environment values measured prior to the predetermined time period, among the measurement data received from the sensor device; and

creating, when at least one sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices is determined to receive the measurement data including the most recent environment value, the control parameter data including the most recent environment value for the at least one sensor device.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored thereon a program for a computer communicating with three or more sensor devices, the program allowing the computer to execute the following:

to classify the three or more sensor devices into a plurality of groups so that two or more sensor devices of the three or more sensor devices belong to at least one group and a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among batteries of the two or more sensor devices in the same group is smaller than a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among batteries of all of the three or more sensor devices;

to decide, according to the remaining charge amount of the battery of each of the two or more sensor devices classified by the classifier into the same group, a first interval or a second interval that is different from the first interval so that the two or more sensor devices classified into the same group run out of battery charge around the same time; and

to control a target sensor device to be put in a sleep mode at the first interval or the second interval.

11. A sensor device control method configured to control three or more sensor devices, comprising:

classifying the three or more sensor devices into a plurality of groups so that two or more sensor devices of the three or more sensor devices belong to at least one group and a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among batteries of the two or more sensor devices in the same group is smaller than a largest difference in the remaining charge amount among batteries of all of the three or more sensor devices;

deciding, according to the remaining charge amount of the battery of each of the two or more sensor devices classified by the classifier into the same group, a first interval or a second interval that is different from the first interval so that the two or more sensor devices classified into the same group run out of battery charge around the same time; and

controlling a target sensor device to be put in a sleep mode at the first interval or the second interval.