AIR CONDITIONING CONTROL SYSTEM AND AIR CONDITIONING CONTROL METHOD

• US 20110205366A1
• Filed: 09/02/2010
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Nagata, Kazumi, Baba, Kenji, Nishimura, Nobutaka, Enohara, Takaaki, Noda, Shuhei
• Granted Patent: US 9,464,819 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/159
• 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 11/62 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 2120/10 Occupancy
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/14 Activity of occupants

Abstract

According to one embodiment, an air conditioning control system is connected to a camera device, which is installed in an interior as an inside of a room and an air conditioning control target, and to an air conditioner that performs air conditioning for the interior as the air conditioning target, the air conditioning control system includes:

an activity amount calculation unit; a current comfort index value calculation unit; a control parameter calculation unit; and an air conditioner control unit. The activity amount calculation unit acquires and analyzes image information formed by imaging the interior as the air conditioning control target from the camera device, and calculates an activity amount of a person present in the room based on the image information. The current comfort index value calculation unit calculates a current comfort index value of the person present in the room based on the activity amount. The control parameter calculation unit calculates a control parameter regarding an operation of the air conditioner based on the current comfort index value. The air conditioner control unit controls the operation of the air conditioner based on the control parameter.

Claims

1. An air conditioning control system connected to a camera device and an air conditioner, the camera device installed in an interior as an inside of a room and an air conditioning control target, and the air conditioner performing air conditioning for the interior as the air conditioning control target, the air conditioning control system comprising:

an activity amount calculation unit that acquires and analyzes image information formed by imaging the interior as the air conditioning control target from the camera device, and calculates an activity amount of a person present in the room based on the image information;

a current comfort index value calculation unit that calculates a current comfort index value of the person present in the room based on the activity amount;

a control parameter calculation unit that calculates a control parameter regarding an operation of the air conditioner based on the current comfort index value; and

an air conditioner control unit that controls the operation of the air conditioner based on the control parameter.

2. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an estimated comfort index value calculation unit that calculates an estimated comfort index value of the person present in the room after elapse of a predetermined time based on the activity amount, wherein

the control parameter calculation unit calculates the control parameter regarding the operation of the air conditioner based on the current comfort index value and the estimated comfort index value.

3. The air conditioning control system according to claim 2, wherein

the control parameter calculation unit calculates the control parameter based on at least one of an activity amount, a current comfort index value, and an estimated comfort index value in a space adjacent to a space as the air conditioning control target, in addition to the current comfort index value and the estimated comfort index value in the space as the air conditioning control target.

4. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, wherein

in a case where two or more persons are present in the room, the activity amount calculation unit analyzes the image information thereby calculates the activity amounts of the respective persons present in the room.

5. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, wherein

the activity amount calculation unit analyzes the image information thereby calculates the activity amount of each of the persons present in the room, and calculates, as the activity amounts of the persons present in the room, activity amounts of a maximum number of persons among a number of the persons present in the room for each of preset activity amounts, and a static value of the calculated activity amounts of the persons present in the room.

6. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, wherein

the activity amount calculation unit analyzes the image information thereby calculates the activity amount of each of the persons present in the room, and calculates, as the activity amounts of the persons present in the room, activity amounts of a maximum number of persons among a number of the persons present in the room for each of preset activity amounts, and a static value of the calculated activity amounts of the persons present in the room for a constant or variable predetermined period.

7. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, wherein

a plurality of the camera devices are installed in the room as the air conditioning control target, and

the activity amount calculation unit creates one piece of integrated image information from plural pieces of the image information formed by imaging the interior by the plurality of camera devices and thereby calculates the activity amounts of the persons present in the room by using the one piece of integrated image information, or alternatively, individually calculates the activity amounts from the plural pieces of image information formed by imaging the interior by the plurality of camera devices and thereby calculates the activity amounts of the persons present in the room by integrating plural pieces of information of the calculated activity amounts.

8. The air conditioning control system according to claim 2, wherein

a plurality of the air conditioners are installed in the room as the air conditioning control target,

the activity amount calculation unit divides the image information formed by imaging the interior by the camera device into pieces of the image information in response to control target areas of the plurality of air conditioners and thereby calculates the activity amounts of the persons present in the room for each of the areas, or alternatively, calculates the activity amounts of the respective persons present in the room from the image information formed by imaging the interior by the camera device and thereby calculates the activity amounts for each of the areas based on positional information of the respective persons present in the room, and

the control parameter calculation unit calculates the control parameters regarding the operations of the air conditioners corresponding thereto from the current comfort index values of the persons present in the room, the current comfort index values being individually calculated from the activity amounts for each of the areas, the activity amounts being calculated by the activity amount calculation unit, and from the estimated comfort index values of the persons present in the room, the estimated comfort index values being calculated by the estimated comfort index value calculation unit.

9. An air conditioning control method using an air conditioning control system connected to a camera device and an air conditioner, the camera device installed in an interior as an inside of a room and an air conditioning control target, and the air conditioner performing air conditioning for the interior as the air conditioning control target, the air conditioning control method comprising:

acquiring and analyzing image information formed by imaging the interior as the air conditioning control target from the camera device, and calculating an activity amount of a person present in the room based on the image information;

calculating a current comfort index value of the person present in the room based on the activity amount;

calculating a control parameter regarding an operation of the air conditioner based on the current comfort index value; and

controlling the operation of the air conditioner based on the control parameter.