Environmental apparatus control system

• US 7,809,471 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2006
• Issued: 10/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nagoya University, Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Miyake, Toshiyuki, Oobayashi, Fumiaki, Murakami, Yoshifumi, Harada, Masayuki, Kuno, Satoru, Terano, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Ramesh B
• Application Number:
  US11/883,528
• Publication Number:
  US 20080135634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,709 Days
• Field of Search: 700276-278, 700/291, 700/295, 165/200, 165/203, 165/205, 165288-289, 236/1, 236/44
• US Class Current: 700/276
• 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 11/62 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 2140/60 Energy consumption

Abstract

An environmental apparatus control system assures a consistent temperature control for realizing a comfortable residential environment based upon demands from the residents, yet in an energy-saving manner. The system includes an apparatus for controlling a residential space, and an initializer which provides an initial target value for control of the residential space at the start of operating the system. Comfortableness demands from residents are analyzed in order modify the initial target value to a working target value. The initial target value is shifted in a direction of saving the energy such that the working target value can always approach from and settle on the energy-saving side as the demands from the residents are analyzed. The working target values within a past time period are weighted to give a corrected target value which replaces the initial target value for the start of next operation cycle of the system.

Claims

1. An environmental apparatus control system comprising:

an apparatus configured to control a residential environment;

an initializer configured to provide an initial target value for control of said residential environment by said apparatus at the start of operating said environmental apparatus control system;

a demand collector connected through a network to a plurality of terminals and configured to collect comfortableness demands from each of said plurality of terminals;

a project composer configured to give an analysis of said comfortableness demands so as to modify said initial target value to a working target value based upon said analysis, and to provide a specific control project of realizing said working target value;

an apparatus controller configured to control said apparatus in accordance with said specific control project;

wherein said environmental apparatus control system further includes;

a calibrator configured to collect said working target values obtained within a predetermined past time period and to weight thus collected working target values for giving a corrected target value, said calibrator replacing said initial target value by said corrected target value for a next start of operating said environmental apparatus control system.

2. The environmental apparatus control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said calibrator is configured to obtain a running average of said working target values each determined at the end of each one of operation cycles repeated during said predetermined past time, and to give said corrected target value which is a sum of said running average and a predetermined offset.

3. The environmental apparatus control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said initializer is configured to collect said environmental parameters with respect to said residential environment for evaluation of a comfortable range within which residents are expected to show comfortableness,

said initializer being configured to set said initial target value which is beyond said comfortable range in a direction of saving energy which said apparatus consumes.