AIR CONDITIONER CONTROL DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD, AND AIR CONDITIONER CONTROL SYSTEM

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP2023/008035, filed Mar. 3, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates to technologies for an air conditioner control device, a control method, and an air conditioner control system.

BACKGROUND ART

An air conditioner acquires an indoor temperature from an intake temperature sensor provided in an air conditioner and decides an air conditioning capacity in accordance with a temperature difference between the indoor temperature and a set temperature (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H1-10046).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 A diagram showing an example of a configuration of an air conditioner control system including an air conditioner control device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 A diagram showing a specific configuration of an air conditioner control device.

FIG. 3 A diagram showing an example of a configuration of zone information.

FIG. 4 A diagram showing an example of a configuration of air conditioner compatibility information.

FIG. 5 A diagram showing an example of a configuration of registration information.

FIG. 6 A diagram showing an example of illuminance measurement by a user.

FIG. 7 A diagram showing an example of solar altitude, a clear sky index, a cloudless index, and a sky condition index for each season.

FIG. 8 A diagram showing an example of derivation.

FIG. 9 A flowchart showing an example of a flow of a process of an air conditioner control device 100.

FIG. 10 An explanatory diagram of conventional technology.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an air conditioner control device, a control method, and an air conditioner control system according to embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an air conditioner control system 10 including an air conditioner control device 100 according to the present embodiment. The air conditioner control system 10 includes the air conditioner control device 100, one or more (n in FIG. 1) air conditioners 200-1, 200-2, . . . , 200-n, and a user terminal 300. In the following description, when there is no particular need to distinguish between the air conditioners 200-1, 200-2, . . . , 200-n, they are referred to as air conditioners 200.

The air conditioner control device 100 controls the air conditioner 200. The air conditioner 200 is an indoor unit and adjusts a temperature according to control of the air conditioner control device 100. It is only necessary for a communication scheme between the air conditioner control device 100 and the air conditioner 200 to enable communication between the air conditioner control device 100 and the air conditioner 200, such as wireless communication or wired communication. For example, a general-purpose protocol such as Modbus may be used.

Although the user terminal 300 is an illuminance sensor, a smartphone capable of measuring illuminance, or a smartwatch capable of measuring illuminance, it is only necessary for the user terminal 300 to be any device capable of measuring illuminance.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific configuration of the air conditioner control device 100. The air conditioner control device 100 includes an operation unit 110, a display unit 111, a communication unit 112, a control unit 120, and a storage unit 140.

The operation unit 110 is configured using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (a mouse, a tablet, or the like), a touch panel, and buttons. The operation unit 110 is operated by an operator of the air conditioner control device 100 when the operator's instructions are input to the air conditioner control device 100. The operation unit 110 may be an interface for connecting an input device to the air conditioner control device 100. In this case, the operation unit 110 inputs an input signal generated in the input device in accordance with a user's input to the air conditioner control device 100.

The display unit 111 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic electroluminescence (EL) display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT) display. The display unit 111 displays, for example, a state of each air conditioner 200 and the like. The display unit 111 may be an interface for connecting an image display device to the air conditioner control device 100. In this case, the display unit 111 generates a video signal for displaying the air conditioner control device 100 and outputs the video signal to the image display device connected to the display unit 111.

The communication unit 112 communicates with other devices. For example, the communication unit 112 performs communication between the air conditioner 200 and the user terminal 300. The communication unit 112 transmits a control signal indicating a set temperature to the air conditioner 200 and receives a state of the air conditioner 200 and the like. Moreover, the communication unit 112 receives illuminance and the like from the user terminal 300.

The storage unit 140 stores an application program 141, zone information 142, air conditioner compatibility information 143, and registration information 144. The application program 141 is a program executed by the control unit 120 (for example, a program for controlling the air conditioner 200).

The zone information 142 indicates a range of a zone by east longitude and north latitude and is information indicating a specific time period determined by an influence of solar radiation. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of the zone information 142. The zone information 142 includes a zone identifier, a range, a specific time period, and a set heat load. The zone identifier is information for uniquely identifying a zone. The range is indicated by east longitude and north latitude as described above. For example, the range is indicated as X≤east longitude≤Y and x≤north latitude≤y or the range is indicated as within a circle of radius R centered on east longitude and north latitude. The specific time period is a time period when the zone corresponding to the zone identifier is not affected by solar radiation or a time period when the influence of solar radiation on the zone is at a level that can be ignored. Examples of the specific time period include nighttime, a time period when solar radiation is blocked by other buildings such as neighboring buildings, and the like. The set heat load is a heat load set for an interior zone, which will be described below.

The air conditioner compatibility information 143 is information indicating the air conditioner identifier and wattage of the air conditioner 200, and the target zone in which air conditioning is possible. The target zone is a zone that includes a location where the user terminal 300 has measured the illuminance. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of the air conditioner compatibility information 143. In FIG. 4, the air conditioner compatibility information 143 includes an air conditioner identifier, wattage, and one or more zone identifiers. The air conditioner identifier is information for uniquely identifying the air conditioner 200. The wattage indicates the wattage of the air conditioner 200 corresponding to the air conditioner identifier. The zone identifier is a zone identifier of a zone in which the air conditioner 200 corresponding to the air conditioner identifier is capable of air conditioning.

The registration information 144 is information indicating terminal identification information (e.g., international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) or the like) of the user terminal 300 that has been registered. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of the registration information 144. The registration information 144 includes one or more terminal identification information items. The terminal identification information is information for uniquely identifying the user terminal 300. A number of terminal identification information items, equal to the number of registered user terminals, are stored.

In addition, to register the user terminal 300, for example, an ID and a password may be assigned to a regular user, and registration may be possible only if they are authenticated. When a registration process is performed in this way, it is possible to prevent air conditioning and the like from being performed by an unregistered terminal. For example, even if the air conditioner control system according to the present embodiment is operated in another building and a user terminal used in the other building is operated, because the user terminal cannot be used in an unregistered building, there is no need to perform unnecessary air conditioning by such a user terminal.

The control unit 120 controls the entire air conditioner control device 100. The control unit 120 is configured using a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory. The control unit 120 executes an application program 141 to implement the functions of an illuminance acquisition unit 121, a heat load acquisition unit 122, a target zone determination unit 123, a derivation unit 124, a correction value transmission unit 125, and a registration unit 126.

The illuminance acquisition unit 121 acquires illuminance measured by the user terminal 300. The heat load acquisition unit 122 estimates an amount of solar radiation from the acquired illuminance and acquires a heat load from the estimated amount of solar radiation. A method for acquiring the heat load will be described below. The target zone determination unit 123 determines whether or not a target zone including a location where the user terminal 300 has measured the illuminance is a perimeter zone. Specifically, the target zone determination unit 123 compares the estimated amount of solar radiation with a threshold value to determine whether or not the target zone is a perimeter zone. In the present embodiment, a zone other than the perimeter zone is referred to as an interior zone. When the amount of solar radiation is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the target zone determination unit 123 determines the zone as the perimeter zone. Otherwise, the target zone determination unit 123 determines the zone as the interior zone. In addition, a difference between outdoor illuminance and indoor illuminance is large. The illuminance of artificial illumination is about 300 to 1,000 lx, while the outdoor illuminance reaches 100,000 lx.

The derivation unit 124 derives a correction value of a set temperature of the air conditioner 200 in accordance with a determination result of the target zone determination unit 123 and a heat load acquired by the heat load acquisition unit 122. The correction value transmission unit 125 transmits the correction value derived by the derivation unit 124 to the air conditioner 200. The registration unit 126 registers the user terminal 300 in the registration information 144 in advance.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of illuminance measurement by a user. In FIG. 6, air conditioners 200-1, 200-2, and 200-3, solar radiation indicated by an arrow, a user, and a user terminal 300 are shown. As shown in FIG. 6, the user is located in a perimeter zone close to the solar radiation. Moreover, the user measures the illuminance using the user terminal 300 held by the user.

Next, a method for acquiring the heat load with the heat load acquisition unit 122 described above will be described. First, in the present embodiment, the heat load is a total amount of heat (a sensible heat load) and moisture (a latent heat load) required to maintain a predetermined temperature. For example, it is necessary to select an air conditioner in which the capacity is higher when the heat load is larger. Moreover, the heat load is expressed as an amount of heat per unit time [cal/h] or [W]. However, the heat load changes with a difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures.

In the present embodiment, first, the amount of solar radiation is estimated from the illuminance acquired by the illuminance acquisition unit 121. The amount of solar radiation is estimated using the following Eq. 1.

Amount ⁢ of ⁢ solar ⁢ radiation [ W / m 2 ] = ( luminous ⁢ efficiency [ lm / W ] , amount ⁢ of ⁢ precipitable ⁢ water [ mm ] , solar ⁢ altitude , cloudless ⁢ index ) Eq . 1

As shown in Eq. 1, the amount of solar radiation is a function of the luminous efficacy, precipitable water [mm], solar altitude, and cloudless index.

The luminous efficiency is calculated using the following Eq. 2.

Illuminance [ lx ] × user ⁢ area [ m 2 ] / wattage [ W ] Eq . 2

The illuminance is illuminance acquired from the user terminal 300. The user area is a predetermined area including a location where the user terminal 300 has measured the illuminance, for example, 1.5 m×1.5 m. The wattage is wattage of the air conditioner 200. This wattage is stored in the air conditioner compatibility information 143.

The amount of precipitable water is an amount of water vapor in the atmosphere converted into liquid water. This amount of precipitable water is calculated, for example, from the humidity provided by the Japan Meteorological Agency. Alternatively, the amount of precipitable water may be calculated on the basis of the following literature:

Junsei Kondo and Jianqing Xu, Empirical formula for estimating the precipitable water from the dew-point temperature at the ground level, (Journal of Japan Society of Hydrology and Water Resources, Volume 9, Issue 5 (1996))

The solar altitude is decided by the season and the time of day. The cloudless index is an index indicating a magnitude of a direct solar radiation component and is decided by the season. Therefore, the heat load acquisition unit 122 also acquires the humidity, solar altitude, and cloudless index described above. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the solar altitude, clear sky index, cloudless index, and sky condition index for each season. Such values may be stored in advance as defaults and the amount of solar radiation may be estimated with reference to these values.

In addition, when the amount of solar radiation is calculated, if the amount of precipitable water or the like is calculated, regional information (for example, approximately ○○ city, ○○ prefecture) may be input to at least one of the air conditioner control device 100 and the user terminal 300 and the input regional information may be used.

When the amount of solar radiation is estimated from the illuminance, the heat load is acquired by the heat load acquisition unit 122. As described above, in the present embodiment, the heat load is acquired by multiplying the amount of solar radiation by a predetermined floor area, as shown in the following Eq. 3.

Estimated ⁢ heat ⁢ load [ W ] = amount ⁢ of ⁢ solar ⁢ radiation [ W / m 2 ] × floor ⁢ area [ m 2 ] Eq . 3

Here, the floor area in Eq. 3 is, as an example, an air conditioning range (3 m ×3 m) of a custom air conditioner that is generally used for office air conditioning

When the heat load is acquired by the heat load acquisition unit 122, the derivation unit 124 first calculates the following Eq. 4.

Heat ⁢ load ⁢ difference = estimated ⁢ heat ⁢ load - set ⁢ heat ⁢ load Eq . 4

The derivation unit 124 derives a correction value on the basis of a heat load difference calculated by the above-described equation. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of derivation. The derivation example shown in FIG. 8 shows an example of derivation of correction values during a cooling operation and a heating operation. For example, when the calculated heat load difference is +1, the correction value is set to −1. In the present embodiment, the set temperature is decreased by 1° C. in correspondence with a correction value of −1.

When the heat load difference is +1, it can be seen that the target zone is warmer than the interior zone due to solar radiation. In other words, when the set temperature of the air conditioner installed in the target zone is decreased by 1° C. during the cooling operation, the operating capacity of the air conditioner installed in the target zone can be strengthened compared to other air conditioners. Thereby, it is possible to increase a comfort level of the user. On the other hand, when the set temperature of the air conditioner installed in the target zone is decreased by 1° C. during the heating operation, the operating capacity of the air conditioner installed in the target zone can be weakened compared to other air conditioners. Thereby, it is possible to increase the comfort level of the user.

The example shown in FIG. 8 is merely an example and is determined by tests, experiments, or the like. In other words, the correction value may differ according to a cooling operation time and a heating operation time. In this way, according to the present embodiment, the heat load is estimated and the correction value is derived, such that the air conditioner 200 can be appropriately controlled.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of a process of the air conditioner control device 100 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 9, the air conditioner control device 100 acquires the illuminance measured by the user terminal 300, terminal identification information, and location information from the user terminal 300 (step S101). The location information is information indicating east longitude and north latitude.

The air conditioner control device 100 determines whether or not the user terminal has been registered according to whether or not the terminal identification information is registered (step S102). When the user terminal has not been registered (step S102: NO), the air conditioner control device 100 discards the acquired illuminance and ends the process. In addition, it is possible to ascertain in advance whether or not the user terminal 300 is registered before acquiring the illuminance and acquire the illuminance only from the user terminal 300 that has been registered.

The air conditioner control device 100 identifies a zone by acquiring a zone identifier from the acquired location information with reference to the zone information 142 (step S103). Thereby, it is possible to ascertain the specific time period of the zone or the like. After identifying the zone, the air conditioner control device 100 determines whether or not the current time is within the specific time period (step S104). When the current time is within the specific time period (step S104: YES), the process ends as it is.

When the current time is not within the specific time zone (step S104: NO), the air conditioner control device 100 determines whether or not the acquired illuminance is greater than or equal to a threshold value (step S105). When the acquired illuminance is less than the threshold value (step S105: NO), the air conditioner control device 100 determines that the zone is the interior zone and ends the process without deriving a correction value.

When the acquired illuminance is greater than or equal to the threshold value (step S105: YES), the air conditioner control device 100 estimates the heat load (step S106), identifies the corresponding air conditioner (step S107), and derives a correction value (step S108). The estimation method and derivation method are as described above. The air conditioner control device 100 transmits the derived correction value to the air conditioner 200 (step S109), and ends the process. Moreover, because the zone identifier is acquired in step S103, the air conditioner 200 of the transmission destination can identify the corresponding air conditioner with reference to the air conditioner compatibility information 143.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide technology for appropriately controlling an air conditioner. Although it is necessary to centrally manage the illuminance sensors when the illuminance sensor is provided in each zone as in the conventional technology, it is only necessary to communicate with a user terminal because the user terminal is used in the present embodiment.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to the present embodiment and various designs and the like are included without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is applicable to air conditioners that cover a perimeter zone as one of the areas to be air-conditioned.