Air-conditioning management device, air-conditioning management method, and program

• US 9,442,497 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2011
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Kuroiwa, Takeru, Ishizaka, Taichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Kenneth M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wellman, Geoffrey
• Application Number:
  US13/991,920
• Publication Number:
  US 20130261805A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,057 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 11/47 Responding to energy costs
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/60 Energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/00 Control of temperature

Abstract

An air conditioning management device is mutually communicably connected to multiple air conditioners, and is equipped with: a storage that stores connection information that indicate remote control devices respectively controlling the plurality of air conditioners, the air conditioners connected thereto; a wasteful operation determiner that determines whether or not any of the plurality of air conditioners are in a wasteful operating state; and a wasteful operation notifier which, in the case where wasteful operation determiner determines that at least one of the plurality of air conditioners is in a wasteful operating state, notifies that the air conditioner is in a wasteful operating state to the remote control device connected to that air conditioner, on the basis of the connection information stored in the storage.

Claims

1. An air conditioning management device mutually communicably connected to a plurality of air conditioners, comprising:

a storage that stores connection information that indicate remote control devices respectively controlling the plurality of air conditioners, the air conditioners connected to these remote control devices, a plan view of a floor where the plurality of air conditioners are installed, air conditioner position information indicating the installation position of each of the air conditioners on the plan view, and door-window position information indicating the positions of at least one of a door and a window on the plan view;

a wasteful operation determiner that determines whether or not any of the plurality of air conditioners are in a wasteful operating state; and

a wasteful operation notifier which, in the case where wasteful operation determiner determines that at least one of the plurality of air conditioners is in the wasteful operating state, notifies that the air conditioner is in the wasteful operating state to the remote control device connected to that air conditioner, on the basis of the connection information stored in the storage, wherein

the wasteful operation determiner further specifies the position of the at least one of the door and the window disposed at the approximate position causing the air conditioner determined to be in the wasteful operating state to enter the wasteful operating state, based on the air conditioner position information and the door-window position information of the plan view stored in the storage, and

the wasteful operation notifier additionally

cuts out, from the plan view, a portion of the plan view which contains the at least one of the door and the window specified by the wasteful operation determiner, and

displays, on the cut out portion of the plan view, at the position indicated by the door-window position information corresponding to the door-window causing the wasteful operation, an icon representing the door-window causing the wasteful operation which notifies the position of the at least one of the door and the window specified by the wasteful operation determiner in the notification.

2. The air conditioning management device according to claim 1, wherein

the storage stores an indoor temperature for each room in which the plurality of air conditioners are installed, and a set temperature for each of the plurality of air conditioners, and

the wasteful operation determiner determines whether or not the air conditioner is in the wasteful operating state on the basis of the difference between an indoor temperature and a set temperature stored in the storage.

3. The air conditioning management device according to claim 2, wherein

the wasteful operation determiner determines that the air conditioner is in the wasteful operating state in the case where the difference between the indoor temperature and the set temperature is equal to or greater than a threshold value over a period that continues for a given period or longer.

4. The air conditioning management device according to claim 1, wherein

the storage additionally stores area settings data that groups each of the plurality of air conditioners, a plurality of doors, and a plurality of windows by area of installation, and

the wasteful operation determiner specifies a plurality of one or more of doors and windows in an area where the air conditioner determined to be in the wasteful operating state is installed on the basis of the area settings data stored in the storage, and from among the specified plurality of one or more of doors and windows, specifies the position of at least one of the door and the window disposed at the approximate position causing the air conditioner determined to be in the wasteful operating state to enter the wasteful operating state, on the basis of the air conditioner position information and the door-window position information.

5. The air conditioning management device according to claim 4, wherein

the storage additionally stores room area information including coordinate groups indicating the positions of each of a plurality of areas on the plan view,

the air conditioning management device further comprising:

an area settings deriver that specifies the air conditioners and the plurality of one or more of doors and windows respectively existing in each of the plurality of areas indicated by the room area information on the basis of the room area information, the air conditioner position information, and the door-window position information, and derives the area settings data by associating the specified air conditioners and the plurality of one or more of doors and windows with the areas.

6. The air conditioning management device according to claim 5, further comprising:

a room information deriver that specifies a background color on the basis of a hue of each pixel in image data of the plan view, derives the room area information by taking the coordinates of pixel groups whose difference versus the specified background color is equal to or greater than a threshold value as the coordinate groups of the areas, and derives the door-window position information by taking the positions of pixels in the plan view whose hue is equivalent to pixels stored in advance to be the positions of the plurality of one or more of doors and windows.

7. An air conditioning system comprising the air conditioning management device according to claim 1.

8. The air conditioning management device according to claim 1, wherein

the storage additionally stores room area information including coordinate groups indicating the positions of each of a plurality of areas on the plan view,

further comprising

a room information deriver that specifies a background color on the basis of a hue of pixels in image data of the plan view, derives the room area information by taking the coordinates of pixel groups whose difference versus the specified background color is equal to or greater than a threshold value as the coordinate groups of the areas, and derives the door-window position information by taking the positions of pixels in the plan view whose hue is equivalent to pixels stored in advance to be the positions of the plurality of one or more of doors and windows.

9. The air conditioning management device according to claim 1, wherein

the door-window position information indicates coordinate positions of a plurality of doors and windows on the plan view which has a plurality of rooms, the doors and windows including the at least one of the door and the window,

the storage additionally stores room area information including coordinate groups indicating the positions of each of the plurality of rooms on the plan view,

the wasteful operation notifier further

determines, from the coordinate groups of the plurality of rooms and the coordinate position of the at least one of the door and the window, the portion of the plan view corresponding to a room of the plurality of rooms containing the at least one of the door and the window specified by the wasteful operation determiner,

wherein the determined portion which is cut out by the wasteful operation notifier is determined to correspond to the room containing the at least one of the door and the window specified the wasteful operation determiner,

wherein (i) the cut out portion which is displayed corresponds to the room which is cut out from the plan view and (ii) the icon representing the door-window causing the wasteful operation is displayed on the cut out portion at the coordinate position of the door-window in the room which is cut out from the plan view.

10. An air conditioning management method conducted by an air conditioning management device mutually communicably connected to a plurality of air conditioners, the air conditioning management method comprising:

an acquiring step that acquires connection information that indicate remote control devices respectively controlling the plurality of air conditioners, the air conditioners connected to these remote control devices, a plan view of a floor where the plurality of air conditioners are installed, air conditioner position information indicating the installation position of each of the air conditioners on the plan view, and door-window position information indicating the positions of at least one of a door and a window on the plan view;

a wasteful operation determining step that determines whether or not any of the plurality of air conditioners are in a wasteful operating state; and

a wasteful operation notifying step which, in the case where it is determined in the wasteful operation determining step that at least one of the plurality of air conditioners is in the wasteful operating state, notifies that the air conditioner is in the wasteful operating state to the remote control device connected to that air conditioner, on the basis of the connection information acquired in the acquiring step, wherein

the wasteful operation determining step that further specifies the position of the at least one of the door and the window disposed at the approximate position causing the air conditioner determined to be in the wasteful operating state to enter the wasteful operating state, based on the air conditioner position information and the door-window position information of the plan view acquired in the acquiring step, and

the wasteful operation notifying step that additionally

cuts out, from the plan view, a portion of the plan view which contains the at least one of the door and the window specified by the wasteful operation determiner, and

displays, on the cut out portion of the plan view, at the position indicated by the door-window position information corresponding to the door-window causing the wasteful operation, an icon representing the door-window causing the wasteful operation which notifies the position of the at least one of the door and the window specified in the wasteful operation determining step in the notification.

11. The air conditioning management method according to claim 10, wherein

the storage additionally stores room area information including coordinate groups indicating the positions of each of a plurality of areas on the plan view,

further comprising

a room information deriver that specifies a background color on the basis of a hue of pixels in image data of the plan view, derives the room area information by taking the coordinates of pixel groups whose difference versus the specified background color is equal to or greater than a threshold value as the coordinate groups of the areas, and derives the door-window position information by taking the positions of pixels in the plan view whose hue is equivalent to pixels stored in advance to be the positions of the plurality of one or more of doors and windows.

12. The air conditioning management method according to claim 10, wherein

the door-window position information indicates coordinate positions of a plurality of doors and windows on the plan view which has a plurality of rooms, the doors and windows including the at least one of the door and the window,

the storage additionally stores room area information including coordinate groups indicating the positions of each of the plurality of rooms on the plan view,

the wasteful operation notifier further

determines, from the coordinate groups of the plurality of rooms and the coordinate position of the at least one of the door and the window, the portion of the plan view corresponding to a room of the plurality of rooms containing the at least one of the door and the window specified by the wasteful operation determiner,

wherein the determined portion which is cut out by the wasteful operation notifier is determined to correspond to the room containing the at least one of the door and the window specified the wasteful operation determiner,

wherein (i) the cut out portion which is displayed corresponds to the room which is cut out from the plan view and (ii) the icon representing the door-window causing the wasteful operation is displayed on the cut out portion at the coordinate position of the door-window in the room which is cut out from the plan view.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a program executable by a computer causing the computer to be mutually communicably connected to a plurality of air conditioners to function as:

a storage that stores connection information that indicate remote control devices respectively controlling the plurality of air conditioners, the air conditioners connected to these remote control devices, a plan view of a floor where the plurality of air conditioners are installed, air conditioner position information indicating the installation position of each of the air conditioners on the plan view, and door-window position information indicating the positions of at least one of a door and a window on the plan view;

a wasteful operation determiner that determines whether or not any of the plurality of air conditioners are in a wasteful operating state; and

a wasteful operation notifier which, in the case where wasteful operation determiner determines that at least one of the plurality of air conditioners is in the wasteful operating state, notifies that the air conditioner is in the wasteful operating state to the remote control device connected to that air conditioner, on the basis of the connection information stored in the storage, wherein

the wasteful operation determiner further specifies, based on the plan view in the storage, the position of the at least one of the door and the window disposed at the approximate position causing the air conditioner determined to be in the wasteful operating state to enter the wasteful operating state, and

the wasteful operation notifier additionally

cuts out, from the plan view, a portion of the plan view which contains the at least one of the door and the window specified by the wasteful operation determiner, and

displays, on the cut out portion of the plan view, at the position indicated by the door-window position information corresponding to the door-window causing the wasteful operation, an icon representing the door-window causing the wasteful operation which notifies the position of the at least one of the door and the window specified by the wasteful operation determiner in the notification.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein

the storage additionally stores room area information including coordinate groups indicating the positions of each of a plurality of areas on the plan view,

further comprising:

a room information deriver that specifies a background color on the basis of a hue of pixels in image data of the plan view, derives the room area information by taking the coordinates of pixel groups whose difference versus the specified background color is equal to or greater than a threshold value as the coordinate groups of the areas, and derives the door-window position information by taking the positions of pixels in the plan view whose hue is equivalent to pixels stored in advance to be the positions of the plurality of one or more of doors and windows.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein

the door-window position information indicates coordinate positions of a plurality of doors and windows on the plan view which has a plurality of rooms, the doors and windows including the at least one of the door and the window,

the storage additionally stores room area information including coordinate groups indicating the positions of each of the plurality of rooms on the plan view,

the wasteful operation notifier further

determines, from the coordinate groups of the plurality of rooms and the coordinate position of the at least one of the door and the window, the portion of the plan view corresponding to a room of the plurality of rooms containing the at least one of the door and the window specified by the wasteful operation determiner,

wherein the determined portion which is cut out by the wasteful operation notifier is determined to correspond to the room containing the at least one of the door and the window specified the wasteful operation determiner,

wherein (i) the cut out portion which is displayed corresponds to the room which is cut out from the plan view and (ii) the icon representing the door-window causing the wasteful operation is displayed on the cut out portion at the coordinate position of the door-window in the room which is cut out from the plan view.