Patent Grant
9464819
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-039157, filed on Feb. 24, 2010; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate to an air conditioning control system and an air conditioning control method, which control air conditioning of a building or the like in response to an activity amount of a person present in a room.
In an interior space of a building, it is required to ensure an appropriate interior environment by air conditioning control with energy consumption as small as possible. In the event of ensuring an appropriate interior thermal environment, it is important to consider a thermal sensation such as heat and cold sensations felt by a person.
In the case where, in an amount of heat generated by the person (sum of radiant quantity by convection, heat radiation amount by radiating body, amount of heat of vaporization from the person, and amount of heat radiated and stored by respiration), a thermal equilibrium thereof is maintained, then it can be said that human body is in a thermally neutral state, and is in a comfortable state where the person does not feel hot or cold with regard to the thermal sensation. On the contrary, in the case where the thermal equilibrium is disturbed, then human body feels hot or cold.
There is an air conditioning control system that achieves optimization of the air conditioning control by using a predicted mean vote (PMV) as an index of the human thermal sensation, which is based on a thermal equilibrium expression. The air conditioning control system using the PMV receives, as variables affecting the thermal sensation, six variables, which are: an air temperature value; a relative humidity value; a mean radiant temperature value; an air speed value; an activity (internal heat generation amount of human body) value; and a clothes wearing state value. Then, the air conditioning control system calculates a PMV value.
Among the six variables to be inputted, those measurable with accuracy are the air temperature value, the relative humidity value, and the air speed value. Since it is difficult to directly measure the activity value and such a clothing amount value, values set therefor are usually used. However, it is desired to also measure the activity value and the clothing amount value in real time with accuracy.
Accordingly, as a technology for measuring an activity amount of a person who is present in a room, there is a human body activity amount calculation apparatus described in document 1 (JP 8-178390 A).
In the human body activity amount calculation apparatus described in document 1, human body in a room is imaged by imaging means, and an activity amount thereof is calculated based on an image thus obtained. Therefore, the activity amount of the person can be obtained without contacting human body thereof, whereby accurate air conditioning control can be performed.
In general, according to one embodiment, an air conditioning control system is connected to a camera device, which is installed in an interior as an inside of a room and an air conditioning control target, and to an air conditioner that performs air conditioning for the interior as the air conditioning target, the air conditioning control system includes: an activity amount calculation unit; a current comfort index value calculation unit; a control parameter calculation unit; and an air conditioner control unit. The activity amount calculation unit acquires and analyzes image information formed by imaging the interior as the air conditioning control target from the camera device, and calculates an activity amount of a person present in the room based on the image information. The current comfort index value calculation unit calculates a current comfort index value of the person present in the room based on the activity amount. The control parameter calculation unit calculates a control parameter regarding an operation of the air conditioner based on the current comfort index value. The air conditioner control unit controls the operation of the air conditioner based on the control parameter.
<Configuration of Air Conditioning Control System of First Embodiment>
A description is made of a configuration of an air conditioning control system 1 of a first embodiment with reference to
As the air conditioning control system 1 of the first embodiment, a description is made of the case where, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
<Operations of Air Conditioning Control System According to First Embodiment>
With reference to a sequence diagram of
In the activity amount calculation device 20, such respective pieces of the video information individually transmitted from the camera devices 10-1 to 10-n connected thereto are acquired and analyzed, and based on these pieces of the video information, the activity amounts for each of the persons present in the rooms are calculated on a predetermined time basis (S3). For such a technology for calculating the activity amounts from image information contained in the video information, there can be used, for example, as described in document 1, a method of calculating a moving speed and the like of each person from a difference among the respective pieces of the image information, which are chronologically acquired.
Next, in the activity amount calculation device 20, the number of persons for each of the activity amounts (met) preset for each of action contents is counted (S4). As the activity amounts (met) for each of the action contents, for example, an activity amount of an operation “sitting” is preset at “1.0 met”, an activity amount of an operation “standing” is preset at “1.5 met”, an activity amount of an operation “walking” is preset at “2.0 met”, and so on. In the case of a state illustrated in
Next, the activity amount of the maximum number of persons for each of the rooms is extracted from the counted number of persons for each of the activity amounts (S5). Here, with regard to the room A, the activity amount “2.0” (walking: three persons) in which the number of persons is the maximum is extracted, and with regard to the room B, the activity amount “1.0” (sitting: three persons) in which the number of persons is the maximum is extracted.
Next, the activity amount of the maximum number of persons for each of the rooms, which is extracted from the image information as described above, is calculated. The activity amount of the maximum number of persons, which is calculated by the activity amount calculation device 20, is transmitted as the activity amount of each of the rooms to the EMS 30 (S6).
In the EMS 30, the activity amount of each of the rooms, which is transmitted from the activity amount calculation device 20, is acquired by the activity amount acquisition unit 31, and the current PMV value of each of the rooms is calculated based on the activity amount concerned, on temperature, humidity, air speed, radiant temperature of each of the rooms, which are acquired separately, and on a clothing amount that is also acquired separately.
Moreover, an estimated PMV value of each of the rooms after the elapse of the predetermined time is also calculated based on the activity amount of each of the rooms, which is acquired by the activity amount acquisition unit 31, on estimated temperature, estimated humidity, estimated air speed, estimated radiant temperature of each of the rooms after the elapse of the predetermined time, which are acquired separately, and an estimated clothing amount of the elapse of the predetermined time, which is also acquired separately (S7). This estimated PMV value is a value calculated, for example, in consideration of persons present in the room and an interior environment, which are preset for each of time ranges in one day. When it is estimated: “it will soon be a time period for lunch, the persons will go out of each of the rooms, and the activity amount of each of the rooms will be reduced”, the estimated PMV value is calculated so as to be lower than the current PMV value. When it is estimated: “the outdoor air temperature will rise from now on, and the radiant temperature will also rise”, the estimated PMV value is calculated so as to be higher than the current PMV value.
Then, based on the current PMV value and the estimated PMV value, which are calculated as described above, the control parameter regarding the operations of the air conditioner of each of the rooms is calculated by the control parameter calculation unit 34 (S8). For example, in the case where it is estimated: “it will soon be the time period for lunch, and the persons will go out of the room” and the estimated PMV value is calculated so as to be lower than the current PMV value when the current PMV value becomes higher and it is considered to intensify the air conditioning, the control parameter is calculated so as to suppress an intensification degree of the air conditioning.
At this time, within a preset comfortable range, the control parameter is set so that energy consumption, CO2 emission, or running cost can be minimum, whereby it becomes possible to execute more efficient air conditioning control.
Then, the control parameters regarding the operations of the air conditioners of the respective rooms, which are calculated by the control parameter calculation unit 34, are transmitted by the LCS 40 to the DDCs 50-1 to 50-n corresponding thereto, and the operations of the air conditioners 60-1 to 60-n installed in the respective rooms are controlled based on the control parameters corresponding to the DDCs 50-1 to 50-n connected thereto (S9).
In accordance with the air conditioning system of the first embodiment, which is as described above, the highly accurate activity amounts of the persons in the rooms are calculated by analyzing the image information, and based on circumstances of the current and future interior environments, which are calculated based on the activity amounts concerned, the efficient air conditioning can be executed.
Moreover, in the control parameter calculation unit 34 of the EMS 30 of the air conditioning control system 1 according to the above-described first embodiment, the control parameter may be calculated in consideration of not only the current PMV value and estimated PMV value of the room as the imaging target but also a current PMV value and estimated PMV value of the room or an area, which is adjacent thereto, at the time when the control parameters are calculated.
Circumstances of the persons present in the adjacent room or area are also considered as described above, whereby differences in control parameter among the adjacent rooms or areas can be reduced, and more efficient air conditioning control can be performed in the whole of the building.
For example, when the activity amount of the person present in the room A is 1.0 and the current PMV value therein is 0.1, and the activity amount of the person present in the room B adjacent to the room A is 2.0 and the current PMV value or the estimated PMV value therein is 1.0, the air conditioning control is set to be somewhat intense in consideration of the activity amount and PMV value of the room B at the time of calculating the control parameter of the air conditioner of the room A, whereby the efficient air conditioning control can be performed.
Moreover, at the time when the control parameter is calculated by the control parameter calculation unit 34, the control parameter is calculated based on the current PMV value of the room as the imaging target. In such a way, the efficient air conditioning can be executed based on the circumstances of the current interior environment.
Moreover, each of the camera devices 10-1 to 10-n for use in the air conditioning control system 1 of the above-described first embodiment may be installed on a center portion of a ceiling of each room as illustrated in
Moreover, in the air conditioning control system 1 of the above-described first embodiment, the description has been made of the case where the activity amounts of a larger number of persons are extracted and used (majority decision) at the time of calculating the activity amounts in each room by the activity amount calculation device 20. However, without being limited to this, static values such as a mean value, sum value, and variance value of the activity amounts of a larger number of the persons or the activity amounts of all of the persons present in the room may be calculated, and may be used as the activity amount in each of the rooms, or alternatively, static values such as a mean value, sum value, and variance value of these static values for a predetermined period may be calculated and used as the activity amount in each of the rooms.
Moreover, a time interval at which the calculation processing for the activity amounts is performed by the activity amount calculation device 20 may be fixed to a constant interval or may be varied. The time interval at which the calculation processing for the activity amounts is varied. In such a way, during a time range while variations of the number of users of a station or the like, such as a time range while a commuter rush begins therein, are large, the activity amounts are calculated at a fine time interval, whereby suitable air conditioning control can be performed. Moreover, during a time range while the number of users is stable, the activity amounts are calculated at a rough time interval, whereby a load regarding the air conditioning control can be reduced.
Moreover, in the above-described first embodiment, the description has been made of the case where one camera device and one air conditioner are installed for one room or area. However, without being limited to this, a plurality of camera devices may be installed for one room as illustrated in
When the plurality of camera devices are installed for one air conditioner of one room, the activity amount calculation device 20 may integrate plural pieces of the image information obtained by imaging the interior by the plurality of camera devices, create one panorama image regarding the whole of the room concerned, and calculate the activity amount in the room concerned by using this panorama image. Alternatively, the activity amount calculation device 20 may integrate plural pieces of information on the activity amounts individually calculated from plural pieces of the image information obtained by imaging the interior by the respective camera devices, and define the integrated pieces of information as the activity amount in the room concerned.
Moreover, with regard to the plural pieces of image information obtained by such imaging by the plurality of camera devices, the respective pieces of image information concerned may be analyzed as two-dimensional images by performing monocular image processing therefor. Alternatively, the two pieces of image information may be analyzed as a three-dimensional image by performing binocular image processing such as stereoscopic image processing therefor.
In the case of analyzing the image information by the monocular image processing, the activity amount calculation device 20 can detect motions of the persons present in the room on the image information by using an optical flow, using a background difference method, and so on, and can thereby calculate the activity amount.
Moreover, in the case of analyzing the image information by the stereoscopic image processing, the activity amount calculation device 20 detects attitudes and motions of the persons present in the room in a three-dimensional space from the image information obtained by imaging the interior by the camera devices installed at two different positions. In such a way, the activity amount calculation device 20 determines the motions such as “sitting”, “standing” and “walking”, and can thereby calculate the activity amount. Here, when each of the motions is determined to be “walking”, a more detailed activity amount can be calculated by calculating a walking speed of the person concerned from a moving amount thereof in the three-dimensional space.
Moreover, as illustrated in
Furthermore, by using these technologies, a plurality of camera devices and a plurality of air conditions may be installed for one room or area, and control parameters for the plurality of air conditioners may be calculated by using image information obtained by such imaging by the plurality of camera devices.
Furthermore, the activity amount calculation device 20 may analyze the image information to calculate the activity amount of each of the persons present in the room, and may thereafter calculate the activity amounts of the persons present in the room based on a result of calculating the activity amount concerned. Alternatively, the activity amount calculation device 20 may calculate the activity amounts of the persons present in the room by analyzing the image information and detecting the motions of the persons from the whole of the room.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
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