Space-conditioning control employing image-based detection of occupancy and use
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A control system for a space conditioning system, comprising;
- at least one optical imaging device configured to capture at least one image of a scene in a conditioned space;
at least one processor having an output and connected to receive said at least one image from said at least one optical imaging device;
said at least one processor being configured to detect from said at least one image at least one of an occupancy rate, an occupant activity rate, and an occupant activity class and to generate a control signal for controlling a space conditioning system responsively thereto.
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Abstract
Cameras and image processing techniques are applied to the control of HVAC systems. Occupancy is detected using head-counting or motion detection. Activities are recognized in images and image sequences by machine-recognition techniques. The nature of activities, the intensity of activities, the number of occupants and their activities, etc. are all inferred from images and image sequences and used to predict current loads and/or required control signals for regulating an HVAC system.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A control system for a space conditioning system, comprising;
- at least one optical imaging device configured to capture at least one image of a scene in a conditioned space;
at least one processor having an output and connected to receive said at least one image from said at least one optical imaging device;
said at least one processor being configured to detect from said at least one image at least one of an occupancy rate, an occupant activity rate, and an occupant activity class and to generate a control signal for controlling a space conditioning system responsively thereto. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
- at least one optical imaging device configured to capture at least one image of a scene in a conditioned space;
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4. A method of controlling a space-conditioning system, comprising the steps of:
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capturing an image of a scene of a conditioned space;
identifying at least one of an occupancy rate, an occupant activity rate, and an occupant class by analyzing at least one image resulting from said step of capturing;
controlling at least a portion of a space-conditioning system responsively to a result of said step of identifying. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of controlling space-conditioning system, comprising the steps of:
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capturing an image of a space to be conditioned;
counting a number of occupants in said image;
comparing said number to a previous number;
adjusting a cooling capacity of said space-conditioning responsively to a result of said step of comparing. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method of controlling a space-conditioning system for an area, the method comprising:
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imaging a scene of a conditioned space;
identifying an occupancy rate in two or more sub portions of the area by analyzing at least one image resulting from said step of imaging; and
controlling a portion of a space-conditioning system corresponding to a sub portion of the area responsively to a result of said step of identifying. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A control system for a space conditioning system, comprising;
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at least one optical imaging device configured to capture at least one image of a scene in a conditioned space;
at least one processor having an output and connected to receive said at least one image from said at least one optical imaging device;
said at least one processor being configured to detect from said at least one image, an occupant activity class and to generate a control signal for controlling a space conditioning system responsively thereto.
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Specification