Indoor unit of air-conditioning apparatus

• US 9,551,541 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2013
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Everett, Christopher E
• Application Number:
  US13/851,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20140020860A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,399 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0057 mounted in or on a wall
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0071 with means for purifying supplied air perfuming or deodorising means F24F1/008
• 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 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/77 by controlling the speed of ventilators
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/79 for controlling the direction of the supplied air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/10 Occupancy
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/38 Personalised air distribution
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 27/00 Control arrangements or safety devices specially adapted for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus control arrangements in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

When user face information and user air-conditioning information are stored in advance via a portable information terminal and a face of a user is located within a face recognition range of an indoor imaging device, an indoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus recognizes the face. In addition, when it is determined that the face of the user corresponds to the face of a first user represented by first user information stored in advance, the indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus blows conditioned air that satisfies a first user air-conditioning environment represented by first user air-conditioning information set for the first user toward the first user.

Claims

1. An indoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus, the indoor unit comprising:

a main unit that includes an air inlet and an air outlet and that is mounted on a wall inside a room;

a fan that sucks indoor air from the air inlet and that forms an air path extending to the air outlet;

a heat exchanger that is arranged in the air path and that implements part of a refrigeration cycle;

an air flow direction adjusting device that is arranged at the air outlet and that adjusts a blowing direction of conditioned air in the heat exchanger;

an indoor imaging device that captures an image inside the room; and

a controller that controls at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device on the basis of user face information and user air-conditioning information that are transmitted by a portable information terminal and the image captured by the indoor imaging device,

wherein when a face of a person is located within a face recognition range, which is a specific field of view, and the indoor imaging device recognizes the face of the person, the controller compares the face of the person with faces represented by the user face information that is stored in advance and that is transmitted from the portable information terminal, and in a case where the controller determines that the face of the person corresponds to a face of a specific user of the faces represented by the stored user face information, the controller controls at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies an air-conditioning environment represented by user air-conditioning information set for the specific user toward the person, wherein

the user face information and the user air-conditioning information include first user face information regarding a face of a first user, first user air-conditioning information set for the first user, second user face information regarding a face of a second user, and second user air-conditioning information set for the second user,

in a case where the controller determines that the face of the person recognized in the face recognition range corresponds to the face of the first user, the controller controls at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies an air-conditioning environment represented by the first user air-conditioning information toward the person for a specific exclusive time, the specific exclusive time is a nonzero period of time, and

in a case where the controller determines that a different person who is different from the person whose face is recognized in the face recognition range is located inside the room after the specific exclusive time has passed and determines that a face of the different person who is different from the person whose face is recognized in the face recognition range corresponds to the face of the second user, the controller controls at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies an average air-conditioning environment between the air-conditioning environment represented by the first user air-conditioning information and an air-conditioning environment represented by the second user air-conditioning information toward inside the room.

2. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the controller recognizes the face of the person while the refrigeration cycle is not operating, the controller starts up the refrigeration cycle.

3. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the person whose face is recognized moves, the controller tracks the person, specifies a position of the person, and controls at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to send the conditioned air toward the specified position.

4. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein in a case where the controller determines that the person whose face is recognized in the face recognition range moves outside the room while the controller is controlling any of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device, the controller continues to perform the control until a specific duration has passed since the determination, and stops performing the control when the specific duration has passed.

5. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the air flow direction adjusting device to send a larger amount of conditioned air or send the conditioned air for a longer time toward a specified position than a position distant from the specified position.

6. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein in a case where the controller determines that the person whose face is recognized in the face recognition range is still located at the specified position even after a specific time has passed while the controller is controlling any of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device, the controller controls the air flow direction adjusting device to send the conditioned air substantially uniformly inside the room.

7. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indoor imaging device is a charge coupled device (CCD) camera having 1,000,000 pixels or less.

8. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the air flow direction adjusting device includes at least one pair of up/down air flow direction plates that adjusts an up/down blowing direction of the conditioned air and one pair of left/right air flow direction plates that adjusts a left/right blowing direction of the conditioned air.

9. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the portable information terminal includes

face imaging part for imaging a face of a user,

air-conditioning environment setting part which a user sets an air-conditioning environment, and

transmitting part for transmitting the user face information regarding the face of the user imaged by the face imaging part and the user air-conditioning information regarding the air-conditioning environment set by the air-conditioning environment setting part.

10. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein

in a case where the controller controls at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies the average air-conditioning environment, the controller is further configured to

recognize the second user is within the face recognition range,

override the average air-conditioning environment in response to recognizing that the second user is within the face recognition range, and

control at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies an air-conditioning environment represented by the second user air-conditioning information.

11. An indoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus, the indoor unit comprising:

a main unit that includes an air inlet and an air outlet and that is mounted on a wall inside a room;

a fan that sucks indoor air from the air inlet and that forms an air path extending to the air outlet;

a heat exchanger that is arranged in the air path and that implements part of a refrigeration cycle;

an air flow direction adjusting device that is arranged at the air outlet and that adjusts a blowing direction of conditioned air in the heat exchanger;

an indoor imaging device that captures an image inside the room; and

a controller that controls at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device on the basis of user face information and user air-conditioning information that are stored and the image captured by the indoor imaging device, wherein

the stored user face information and user air-conditioning information are transmitted by a portable information terminal,

the user face information and the user air-conditioning information include first user face information regarding a face of a first user, first user air-conditioning information set for the first user, second user face information regarding a face of a second user, and second user air-conditioning information set for the second user, and

the controller performs controls of;

a step of receiving user face information regarding a face of a user imaged by the portable information terminal and user air-conditioning information regarding an air-conditioning environment set for the user by the portable information terminal,

a step of storing the received user face information and user air-conditioning information,

a step of recognizing a face of a person when the face of the person is located within a face recognition range in the field of view of the indoor imaging device during a specific face recognition time,

a step of starting up, in a case where the face of the person recognized in the recognizing step is compared with faces represented by the user face information and it is determined that the face of the person corresponds to a face of a specific user of the faces represented by the stored user face information, the refrigeration cycle when the refrigeration cycle is stopped, and controlling at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies an air-conditioning environment represented by user air-conditioning information set for the specific user toward the person after the refrigeration cycle is started up or when the refrigeration cycle is operating,

a blowing stopping step of stopping the refrigeration cycle in a case where the person whose face is recognized in the face recognition range moves outside a close-range position, which is a relatively narrow range including the face recognition range, after the conditioned air is blown and before a specific close-range determination time has passed, in a case where a specific close-range blowing time has passed after the conditioned air is blown, or in a case where the person whose face is recognized moves outside the close-range position before the close-range blowing time has passed,

a step of controlling of starting up, in a case where the face of the person located in the face recognition range is compared with the faces represented by the user face information and it is determined that the face of the person corresponds to the face of the first user, the refrigeration cycle when the refrigeration cycle is stopped, and controlling at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies an air-conditioning environment represented by the first user air-conditioning information toward the user until a specific exclusive time has passed after the refrigeration is started up or when the refrigeration cycle is operating, the specific exclusive time is a nonzero period of time, and

a step of controlling, in a case where it is determined that the person whose face is recognized in the face recognition range and a different person who is different from the person whose face is recognized in the face recognition range are located inside the room after the specific exclusive time has passed and it is determined that a face of the different person who is different from the person whose face is recognized in the face recognition range corresponds to the face of the second user, at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies an average air-conditioning environment between the air-conditioning environment represented by the first user air-conditioning information and an air-conditioning environment represented by the second user air-conditioning information toward inside the room.

12. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein the indoor imaging device is a charge coupled device (CCD) camera having 1,000,000 pixels or less.

13. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein the air flow direction adjusting device includes at least one pair of up/down air flow direction plates that adjusts an up/down blowing direction of the conditioned air and one pair of left/right air flow direction plates that adjusts a left/right blowing direction of the conditioned air.

14. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 11,

wherein the portable information terminal includes

face imaging part for imaging a face of a user,

air-conditioning environment setting part which a user sets an air-conditioning environment, and

transmitting part for transmitting the user face information regarding the face of the user imaged by the face imaging part and the user air-conditioning information regarding the air-conditioning environment set by the air-conditioning environment setting part.

15. The indoor unit of the air-conditioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein

in a case where the controller controls at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies the average air-conditioning environment, the controller is further configured to

recognize the second user is within the face recognition range,

override the average air-conditioning environment in response to recognizing that the second user is within the face recognition range, and

control at least one of the fan, the refrigeration cycle, and the air flow direction adjusting device to blow conditioned air that satisfies an air-conditioning environment represented by the second user air-conditioning information.