JP2003083590A - Air-conditioning system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the comfortableness in a room by air-conditioning. SOLUTION: An air-conditioning system is composed of a physiological quantity measuring means which measures the physiological quantity of a person staying in the room and an air-conditioning means which air-conditions the room and air-conditions the room by means of the air-conditioning means based on the physiological quantity of the person obtained from the measuring means. The physiological quantity measuring means is composed of a sweating amount sensor, a pulse rate sensor, and a skin temperature sensor, all of which are mounted on the wrist watch of the person.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention measures human physiological quantities such as sweating rate, pulse rate, and skin temperature to estimate a person's senses, and operates air conditioning means in accordance with the estimated senses. Relates to an air conditioning system for controlling the

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional air conditioning system, the operation of the compressor of the outdoor unit and the fan of the indoor unit are controlled so that the temperature matches the set temperature set by the user using a remote controller. Was being adjusted.

[0003]

However, in the conventional air conditioning system as described above, the temperature in the room does not necessarily reflect the thermal comfort or uncomfortable feeling of the person in the room. There were times when it wasn't.

For example, it is often impossible to know whether the temperature set by the remote controller is comfortable for a person without actually operating the air conditioner. , It was necessary to continue the operation of raising and lowering the set temperature until people felt comfortable.

The object of the present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and a person in a room feels comfortable rather than performing air conditioning by a set temperature directly input by a person using a remote controller or the like. Air conditioner outdoor unit, so that
Alternatively, it is to provide an air conditioning system that can realize operation control of an indoor unit.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 comprises a physiological amount measuring means for measuring the physiological amount of a person in a room and an air conditioning means for performing air conditioning in the room. An air conditioning system for performing indoor air conditioning by the air conditioning means based on a person's physiological amount obtained from the above, wherein the physiological amount measuring means is a perspiration amount sensor, a pulse rate sensor and a skin temperature sensor mounted on a wristwatch. It is characterized by consisting of.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the safety condition of the person is estimated based on the physiological amount of the person obtained by the physiological amount measuring means, and the estimated safety condition is notified. The air conditioning system according to claim 1.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the temperature setting by manual operation based on human experience is eliminated, and the person feels comfortable based on the human physiological amount obtained by the physiological amount measuring means. The room temperature is controlled so that Further, as this physiological amount measuring means, three sensors, a sweat rate sensor, a pulse rate sensor, and a skin temperature sensor, which can be measured on the wrist of a person, are used, and these sensors are mounted on a wristwatch, so that a person wears this wristwatch. Just by wearing it, it is possible to measure the physiological amount without any particular discomfort.

According to the second aspect, the safety of the person in the room can be reported to other persons (family, doctor, etc.), so that comfort and safety can be secured.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an air conditioning system according to the present invention. The air conditioning system shown in FIG. 1 is attached to a person, and measures a person's autonomic nervous system physiological amount to estimate a person's sensation (thermal comfort or uncomfortable feeling) and a human sense sensor 9. An air conditioner 10 that performs air conditioning according to the human sense estimated by the human sensation sensor 9.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the air conditioner 10. In the figure, the outdoor unit 11, the indoor unit 12, and the control device 13
The outdoor refrigerant pipe 14 of the outdoor unit 11 and the indoor refrigerant pipe 15 of the indoor unit 12 are connected via connecting pipes 24, 25.

The outdoor unit 11 is installed outdoors, and the compressor 16 is arranged in the outdoor refrigerant pipe 14. The accumulator 17 is on the suction side of the compressor 16 and the four-way valve 18 is on the discharge side via the outdoor refrigerant pipe 14. This four-way valve 1
8, an outdoor heat exchanger 19 is connected via an outdoor refrigerant pipe 14. An outdoor fan 20 that blows air toward the outdoor heat exchanger 19 is arranged adjacent to the outdoor heat exchanger 19.

On the other hand, the indoor unit 12 is installed indoors, the indoor heat exchanger 21 is installed in the indoor refrigerant pipe 15, and
An electric expansion valve 22 is arranged near the indoor heat exchanger 21 in the indoor refrigerant pipe 15. An indoor fan 23 that blows air to the indoor heat exchanger 21 is arranged adjacent to the indoor heat exchanger 21.

Further, the control device 13 controls the operation of the outdoor unit 11 and the indoor unit 12. This control device 13
Actually, the outdoor control device 13A installed in the outdoor unit 11
And an indoor control device 13B installed in the indoor unit 12. The outdoor control device 13A controls the compressor 16, the four-way valve 18, and the outdoor fan 20 in the outdoor unit 11,
The indoor control device 13B controls the electric expansion valve 22 and the indoor fan 23 in the indoor unit 12, respectively. The outdoor control device 13A and the indoor control device 13B are connected by a communication line 26 so that they can communicate with each other.

The air conditioner 10 is set to the cooling operation or the heating operation by switching the four-way valve 18 by the outdoor control device 13A. That is, the outdoor control device 13
When A switches the four-way valve 18 to the cooling side, the refrigerant flows as shown by the solid line arrow, the outdoor heat exchanger 19 functions as a condenser, and the indoor heat exchanger 21 functions as an evaporator, which results in a cooling operation state.
The indoor heat exchanger 21 of the indoor unit 12 cools the room. Further, when the outdoor control device 13A switches the four-way valve 18 to the heating side, the refrigerant flows as indicated by the broken line arrow, the indoor heat exchanger 21 functions as a condenser, and the outdoor heat exchanger 19 functions as an evaporator. Then, the indoor heat exchanger 21 of the indoor unit 12 heats the room.

Further, the indoor control device 13B includes the indoor unit 12
The electric expansion valve 2 in the indoor unit 12 according to the air conditioning load of the
2, the indoor fan 23 in the indoor unit 12 is controlled.
Control the fan drive system.

Further, the indoor control device 13B has a set temperature change signal from a remote controller (not shown) and a human sensation estimated by the human sensation sensor 9 (FIG. 1) (thermal comfort or uncomfortable feeling). By receiving control indices (described later) based on the above, and transmitting these to the outdoor control device 13A, the outdoor control device 13A varies at least one of the capacity of the compressor 16 and the rotation speed of the outdoor fan 20, and the indoor control device 13B changes the rotation speed of the indoor fan 23, and air conditioning is controlled.

The human sensation sensor 9 is mounted on the wristwatch W, measures the physiological amount of a person's autonomic nervous system, detects the activity of the person's autonomic nerve, and estimates the sensation of the person. As shown in FIG. 3, a skin temperature sensor 27, a sweat rate sensor 28, a pulse rate sensor 29, a skin temperature detection circuit 30,
Sweat rate detection circuit 31, pulse rate detection circuit 32, control index estimation unit 33, wireless module 34, wearing confirmation sensor 3
5. The weak wireless module power source controller 36 is provided. Furthermore, the environmental temperature sensor 37 shown by being surrounded by a broken line
Is equipped with an environmental temperature detection circuit 38.

The human sensation sensor 9 thus mounted on the wristwatch W will be further described below. Also,
FIG. 4 shows the respective sensor elements arranged on the back surface of the wristwatch W, that is, the surface that comes into contact with human skin. In these figures, reference numeral 40 indicates ON / OFF of the human sensor 9
It is a switch. Reference numeral 41 is a pulse rate display window, reference numeral 42 is a temperature display window for displaying the set temperature of the air conditioner 10 and the skin temperature of the wearer of the human sensation sensor 9, and these display windows are normal clocks. It is also used as the time display window for display. That is, the ON / OFF switch 40
When is OFF, the pulse rate display window skin 41 displays the hour of the clock and the pulse rate display window 42 displays the minute of the clock. The ON / OFF switch 40, the pulse rate display window 41, and the temperature display window 42 are provided on the front surface side of the wrist sensor W of the human sensor 9.

In these figures, the skin temperature sensor 27
As shown in FIG. 4, the thermistor S
1 is contacted with the skin of the wearer of the wristwatch W having the human sensor 9 and the skin temperature is measured. The skin temperature detection circuit 30 detects the skin temperature of the wearer of the human sensation sensor 9 from the measurement value of the skin temperature sensor 27.

The sweat rate sensor 28, as shown in FIG.
It has two electrodes S2 and S2 on the back surface of the wristwatch W, and is provided on the back surface or the peripheral portion of the wristwatch 90 and comes into contact with the skin of each wearer of the human sensation sensor 9, and its skin electrical reaction (GS).
R) is measured. The sweat rate detection circuit 31 detects the sweat rate of the wearer of the human sensation sensor 9 from the measurement value (GSR) of the sweat rate sensor 28.

The pulse rate sensor 29, as shown in FIG.
The piezoelectric element S3 provided on the back surface of the wristwatch W comes into contact with the skin of the wearer and measures the pulse rate of the wearer of the human sensor 9, and the pulse rate detection circuit 32 uses the measured value of the pulse rate sensor 29 to determine the human being. The pulse rate of the wearer of the sensor 9 is detected.

The skin temperature, the amount of sweat, and the pulse rate detected by the skin temperature detecting circuit 30, the sweating amount detecting circuit 31, and the pulse rate detecting circuit 32 are autonomic nervous system physiological quantities representing the activity of the autonomic nerve. Is. Generally, the activity of the autonomic nerves, especially the sympathetic nerves, is activated when the human sense is in a tense state or in an uncomfortable state, and as a result, as shown in FIG.
The sweating rate and pulse rate increase, and the skin temperature decreases due to blood rising on the head. Further, the activity of the sympathetic nerve is calmed down when the human sense is in a relaxed state or in a comfortable state, which reduces the amount of sweat and the pulse rate and raises the skin temperature.

In the control index estimation unit 33 shown in FIG. 3, the skin temperature, the amount of sweat, and the pulse rate detected by the skin temperature detection circuit 30, the sweat rate detection circuit 31, and the pulse rate detection circuit 32 rise with time. Or comprehensively analyzing whether the wearer is wearing the human sensation sensor 9 to find out what kind of sensation the human sensor 9 is currently in, in particular the thermal comfort sensation based on heat or cold. The sensation of the wearer of the human sensation sensor 9 whether it is present or uncomfortable is objectively estimated and used as a control index.

The wireless module 34 includes a control index estimating unit 3
Convert the control index estimated in 3 into a weak radio signal,
Indoor control device 1 for indoor unit 12 in air conditioner 10
3B or a remote controller (not shown) capable of transmitting a control signal to the indoor control device 13B.
The transmission of the control index by the wireless module 34 is performed in a state where it is confirmed that the human sensor 9 is worn by a person.

The indoor control device 13B, to which the control index is directly input from the wireless module 34 of the human sensor 9 or indirectly via the remote controller, is the outdoor unit 11
In cooperation with the outdoor control device 13A, the four-way valve 18 is switched according to the control index, the set temperature is set, and the compressor 1
6 and the rotation speeds of the outdoor fan 20 and the indoor fan 23 are determined to control the air conditioning by the air conditioner 10 so that the person wearing the human sensor 9 is most comfortably and thermally comfortable. To do.

In the present embodiment, the wristwatch W is
Further, since the environment temperature detecting sensor is provided, the air conditioner 10 can be controlled by using the information of the environment temperature, that is, the actual room temperature, in addition to the output from the human sensor, and more comfortable temperature control Is possible.

In the above description, the operation of the air conditioner 10 is controlled by using the wireless module 34 shown in FIG. 3, but the wristwatch W is further operated by using the wireless module 34. It is possible to communicate the safety information of the person who wears it to the attending doctor and a distant family.
For example, when the pulse rate is lower than the normal value and the skin temperature is lower than the normal value, or when the amount of sweat is higher than the normal value and the skin temperature is higher than the normal value, a sudden illness or a sudden death occurs. When the control index estimation unit 33 determines that the situation is true, the fact can be reported to a preset doctor or family member. As a communication network in such a case, as shown in FIG. 3, from the above-mentioned wireless module 34, for example, via a home terminal 40 constituting a home network, a network server using a telephone line is relayed to a doctor. It is possible to send an e-mail or the like notifying the emergency to the mobile phone 42 of the family.

Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0031]

As described above, according to the air conditioning system of the present invention, since the wristwatch is equipped with the physiological amount measuring means capable of measuring on the wrist of a person, the person only wears this wristwatch. This makes it possible to improve the comfort of air conditioning in a room without the discomfort of a special sensor, and to confirm the safety of the person wearing this sensor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an air conditioning system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a refrigerant circuit in the air conditioner of FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing the human sensor of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a chart showing a relationship between a human sense and an autonomic nervous system physiological amount.

5 is a configuration diagram of the back surface of a wrist watch equipped with the human sensor shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

9 Human sensor 10 Air conditioner 12 Indoor unit 27 Skin temperature sensor 28 Perspiration sensor 29 pulse rate sensor 33 Control index estimation unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A physiological amount measuring means for measuring a physiological amount of a person in a room and an air conditioning means for performing an air condition in the room, wherein the air conditioner is based on the physiological amount of a person obtained from the physiological amount measuring means. An air conditioning system for performing indoor air conditioning by means, wherein the physiological amount measuring means comprises a sweat rate sensor, a pulse rate sensor and a skin temperature sensor mounted on a wristwatch. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the safety condition of the person is estimated based on the physiological amount of the person obtained by the physiological amount measuring means, and the estimated safety condition is notified. system.