Control method for air-conditioning equipment, program, and mobile information terminal

• US 9,791,208 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2014
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sasaki, Taiji, Nishida, Yoichi, Fuchikami, Tetsuji, Harada, Shunji, Sugiyama, Masashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Van
• Application Number:
  US14/509,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20150105917A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 11/523 for displaying temperature data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/57 using telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/14 Activity of occupants
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/00 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2614 HVAC, heating, ventillation, climate control
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1904 variable in time
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1905 associated with tele control

Abstract

An air-conditioning setting screen has a coordinate space defined by a Y-axis along which temperature items are indicated in increments of one degree and an X-axis along which time-point items are indicated in increments of one hour. Operation points PT corresponding to the time-point items are arranged in the coordinate space. The air-conditioning setting screen displays time-series changes in a previous day'"'"'s body-movement values such that the density of a background color is higher for times at which the body-movement value is larger and the density of a background color is lower for times at which the body-movement value is smaller.

Claims

1. A control method for a mobile information terminal having a display to control air-conditioning equipment connected through a network, the method causing the mobile information terminal to:

display, on the display, a temperature setting screen on which set temperatures of the air-conditioning equipment are settable for respective time slots;

output pieces of set temperature information for the respective time slots set on the temperature setting screen to the network at a predetermined timing as the set temperatures of the air-conditioning equipment;

measure body-movement values of a user for the respective time slots, by using an acceleration sensor; and

change a view of the temperature setting screen, based on the body-movement values of the user for the time slots, and display the view on the display.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein background color of the temperature setting screen is changed based on the body-movement values of the user for the respective time slots, and resulting background color is displayed on the display.

3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein

the temperature setting screen includes images indicating temperature setting portions for the respective time slots,

the images indicating the temperature setting portions for the respective time slots are changed based on the body-movement values of the user for the respective time slots, and

the resulting images are displayed on the display.

4. The control method according to claim 3, wherein colors of the images indicating the temperature setting portions for the respective time slots are changed based on the body-movement values of the user for the respective time slots, and the resulting images are displayed on the display.

5. The control method according to claim 3, wherein sizes of the images indicating the temperature setting portions for the respective time slots are changed based on the body-movement values of the user for the respective time slots, and the resulting images are displayed on the display.

6. The control method according to claim 2, wherein, on the temperature setting screen, a background color for the time slot in which the body-movement value of the user exceeds a predetermined threshold is displayed on the display, the background color being different from a background color for another time slot.

7. The control method according to claim 4, wherein, on the temperature setting screen, the color of the image indicating the temperature setting portion for the time slot in which the body-movement value of the user exceeds a predetermined threshold is displayed on the display by using a color different from the color of the image indicating the temperature setting portion for another time slot.

8. The control method according to claim 5, wherein, on the temperature setting screen, the image indicating the temperature setting portion for the time slot in which the body-movement value of the user exceeds a predetermined threshold is displayed on the display with a larger size than the size of the image indicating the temperature setting portion for another time slot.

9. The control method according to claim 1, wherein a graph indicating the body-movement values of the user in a time series is displayed superimposed on the temperature setting screen on the display.

10. The control method according to claim 9, wherein, on the temperature setting screen, luminance of an area inside the graph indicating the body-movement values in a time series is displayed such that an area where the body-movement value is larger is displayed with a higher luminance.

11. The control method according to claim 1, wherein

the temperature setting screen includes a control start button for outputting, when the user starts to sleep, the pieces of set temperature information for the respective time slots to the network, the pieces of set temperature information being set on the temperature setting screen;

and

the predetermined timing is timing at which an operation for selecting the control start button is input.

12. The control method according to claim 11, wherein

the set temperature information comprises information for time slots during sleep of the user;

and

the view of the temperature setting screen is changed based on past body-movement values of the user in respective time slots during sleep.

13. A program for causing a mobile information terminal having a display to control an air-conditioning equipment connected through a network, the program being recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium and causing the mobile information terminal to execute:

processing for displaying, on the display, a temperature setting screen on which set temperatures of the air-conditioning equipment are settable for respective time slots;

processing for outputting pieces of set temperature information for the respective time slots set on the temperature setting screen to the network at a predetermined timing as the set temperatures of the air-conditioning equipment;

processing for measuring body-movement values of a user for the respective time slots, by using an acceleration sensor; and

processing for changing a view of the temperature setting screen, based on the body-movement values of the user for the time slots, and displaying the view on the display.

14. A mobile information terminal that executes the program according to claim 13.