WO2018189925A1 - Air conditioner, control method for same, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

An air purifier (10) to clean air comprises: a comparison unit (11c) that compares indoor environmental data acquired by an indoor environment acquisition unit (11a) and outdoor environmental data acquired by an outdoor environment acquisition unit (11b) via a communication network and a communication unit (15); and an utterance control unit (11d) that controls utterances from the air purifier (10) on the basis of the comparison results.

Description

Air conditioner, control method therefor, and control program

The present invention relates to an air conditioner that adjusts the state of indoor air, a control method thereof, and a control program.

Examples of the air conditioner include an air conditioner having a cooling / heating function, an air purifier having an air purifying function for purifying indoor air, and a humidifier having a humidifying function. Generally, in an air cleaner, the degree of indoor air contamination is detected by a contamination sensor, and the operation of air purification is controlled according to the detection result (for example, the air purification device described in Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Publication “JP 2012-097955”

Recently, so-called Internet home appliances that can communicate with external devices via a communication network are becoming widespread. Therefore, it is conceivable to perform an appropriate operation using information from an external device.

One embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner or the like that performs more appropriate operation than before by using information from an external device. It is an object.

In order to solve the above problems, an air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention is an air conditioner that performs air conditioning that adjusts the state of indoor air, and detects the state of indoor air. And the acquisition unit that acquires information on the state of outdoor air via a communication network, the state of indoor air detected by the detection unit, and the state of outdoor air acquired by the acquisition unit And a control unit that controls the operation of the air conditioner based on the comparison result of the comparison unit.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to perform more appropriate operation than before by using information from an external device.

It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the air-conditioning assistance system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the air cleaner in the said air-conditioning assistance system. It is a block part which shows schematic structure of the control part and memory | storage part in the said air cleaner. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an example of the speech control process in the air cleaner of the said structure. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the speech control process in the air cleaner of the air-conditioning assistance system which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the said speech control process. It is a graph which shows the example of the time change of the density | concentration of PM2.5 indoors and outdoors, respectively. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the air cleaner in the air-conditioning assistance system which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the time lag measurement process in the air cleaner of the said structure. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the drive control process in the air cleaner of the said structure. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the air cleaner in the air-conditioning assistance system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the airtight determination process in the air cleaner of the said structure. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the drive control process in the air cleaner of the said structure.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in the embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

Embodiment 1
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Outline of air conditioning support system)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an air conditioning support system 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the air conditioning support system 1, an air purifier 10 (air conditioner), a cloud server 20, and a mobile terminal 30 installed in a user's home 50 include a wide area communication network 60 (communication network). Connected through. The air conditioning support system 1 supports air conditioning that adjusts the state of the air in the user's home 50. In addition, in FIG. 1, although the air cleaner 10, the cloud server 20, the portable terminal 30, and the user house 50 are illustrated one by one, it is not limited to these numbers and types.

The air cleaner 10 cleans the air in the user's home 50. In the present embodiment, the air cleaner 10 is a so-called network home appliance having a wireless communication function for connecting to the wide area communication network 60 and communicating with the cloud server 20. The wireless communication function may be built in the main body of the air cleaner 10 or may be provided in a communication adapter (not shown) attached to the main body of the air cleaner 10. In addition, in this embodiment, although the air cleaner 10 has a humidification function, it does not need to have it. Moreover, in this embodiment, although the air cleaner 10 is installed in the user's house 50 as shown in FIG. 1, an installation place is not limited and may be installed in an office or a public place.

In the present embodiment, the cloud server 20 registers the mobile terminal 30 and the air purifier 10 in association with each other. The portable terminal 30 is configured so that the air cleaner 10 registered in association with itself in the cloud server 20 can be remotely operated via the cloud server 20. The portable terminal 30 receives various information regarding the air purifier 10 registered in association with the cloud server 20 from the cloud server 20. Examples of the portable terminal 30 include a smartphone and a tablet terminal. It is possible to remotely control a plurality of air purifiers 10 from one mobile terminal 30. In addition, one air cleaner 10 can be remotely operated from a plurality of portable terminals 30.

In the present embodiment, the cloud server 20 acquires outdoor environmental data in each region, and provides the outdoor air environmental data in the region including the user home 50 to the air cleaner 10. For this reason, the identification data of the area including the user home 50 is registered in the cloud server 20 in association with the air purifier 10. Note that the cloud server 20 may collect outdoor environmental data in each region from sensors provided in each region, or may acquire outdoor environmental data in each region collected by another server.

The environmental data includes data (information) indicating the air condition and data indicating other environmental conditions. Examples of the data indicating the air state include the concentration of fine particles (for example, dust, pollen, PM10, PM2.5, etc.) floating in the air, odor level, temperature, humidity, and the like. In addition, examples of data indicating the other environmental conditions include illuminance. Examples of the identification data include the address of the user's home 50, a zip code, and a prefecture name.

The user's home 50 is equipped with a wireless local area network (LAN) that is a narrow area communication network. The wireless LAN relay station 40 is connected to a wide area communication network 60 including the Internet. The relay station 40 is a communication device such as a WiFi (registered trademark) router or a WiFi (registered trademark) access point, for example. In the present embodiment, a configuration including the Internet is exemplified as the wide area communication network 60, but a telephone line network, a mobile communication network, a CATV (CAble TeleVision) communication network, a satellite communication network, and the like can also be used.

The cloud server 20 and the air purifier 10 can communicate via the wide area communication network 60 and the wireless LAN relay station 40. In addition, the cloud server 20 and the mobile terminal 30 can communicate with each other via the wide area communication network 60. The mobile terminal 30 and the Internet in the wide area communication network 60 are connected using 3G (3rd Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), a home or public WiFi (registered trademark) access point, and the like. Note that the air cleaner 10 and the mobile terminal 30 are both wireless communication devices, and can communicate with each other via the relay station 40 without using the wide area communication network 60. In addition, since the cloud server 20 and the portable terminal 30 can utilize a well-known thing, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Outline of air purifier)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the air cleaner 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the air cleaner 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12 (storage device), a drive unit 13, a sensor unit 14, a communication unit 15, an operation panel 16, and an audio output unit 17.

The control unit 11 controls the operation of each unit of the air purifier 10 and includes, for example, a computer device configured by an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a dedicated processor. The control unit 11 comprehensively controls the operation of each unit of the air cleaner 10 by reading and executing a program for executing various controls in the air cleaner 10 stored in the storage unit 12. Details of the control unit 11 will be described later.

The storage unit 12 stores various data used in the air cleaner 10, and includes a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the like.

The drive unit 13 performs air conditioning operations such as an air cleaning operation and a humidifying operation in the air purifier 10 when electric power is supplied. Examples of the drive unit 13 include a blower fan for sending out air, a discharge device for generating ions and the like in the air, a heater for evaporating water, and the like. The drive unit 13 is controlled by the control unit 11.

The sensor unit 14 senses the environment inside the user's home 50 where the air purifier 10 is installed. In the present embodiment, the sensor unit 14 detects a dust (dust) sensor 14a that detects fine particles such as dust, pollen, and PM2.5 floating in the room, an odor sensor 14b that detects odor, and illuminance. It has an illuminance sensor 14c, a temperature sensor 14d for detecting temperature, a humidity sensor 14e for detecting humidity, and a human sensor 14f for detecting humans. Further, the sensor unit 14 may include a CO ₂ sensor for detecting the indoor CO ₂ concentration. In addition, since these sensors can utilize a well-known thing, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

The air cleaner 10 performs an air cleaning operation so that the detection level of the fine particles such as dust and the detection level of odors are not more than predetermined levels. In addition, the air cleaner 10 performs an air cleaning operation with a weak operation when the detection level of illuminance is equal to or lower than a predetermined level, that is, when the room is dark. Thus, the environment sensed by the dust sensor 14a, the odor sensor 14b, and the illuminance sensor 14c is necessary for the air cleaner 10 to control the air cleaning operation.

The communication unit 15 performs mutual communication with the cloud server 20 via the wireless LAN relay station 40 and the wide area communication network 60 under the control of the control unit 11.

The operation panel 16 is a user interface for the user to input an instruction to the air cleaner 10 or to notify the state of the air cleaner 10 under the control of the control unit 11. Examples of the state of the air purifier 10 include an operation mode, a room temperature and humidity, a value converted into an electricity bill for power consumption, a degree of indoor air dirt (dust, odor, etc.), presence / absence of humidification, and the like. It is done.

The audio output unit 17 is an audio output device such as a speaker. The control unit 11 outputs a sound based on the sound data stored in the storage unit 12 from the sound output unit 17.

The air cleaner 10 is configured not only to be remotely operated from the portable terminal 30 but also to be operable by short-range wireless communication using, for example, infrared rays from a remote controller (not shown). Alternatively, voice operation may be possible.

Although not shown in the drawings, the air purifier 10 is disposed in the air flow path in the air purifier 10 and the air purifier 10 performs a humidifying operation because it is a filter that captures the fine particles in the air. Various members such as a water tank for storing water are provided. The sensor unit 14 includes various sensors such as a sensor that senses the amount of water stored in the water tank and a sensor that senses clogging of the filter. The clogging of the filter can be detected from changes in air volume and pressure, light transmittance of the filter, and the like. Sensing clogging of the filter is used for notification of prompting replacement of the filter. Note that the filter usage time may be counted and used for notification of prompting replacement.

(Details of air purifier)
FIG. 3 is a block unit illustrating a schematic configuration of the control unit 11 and the storage unit 12 in the air purifier 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 11 includes an indoor environment acquisition unit 11 a (detection unit), an outdoor environment acquisition unit 11 b (acquisition unit), a comparison unit 11 c, and an utterance control unit 11 d (operation control unit). The storage unit 12 includes an utterance content table 12a (notification correspondence information).

The utterance content table 12a includes the utterance content in association with the utterance condition. The utterance content table 12 a may be stored in the air cleaner 10 in advance, or acquired from the cloud server 20 via the wide area communication network 60, the relay station 40, and the communication unit 15 and stored in the storage unit 12. May be.

The indoor environment acquisition unit 11a acquires (detects) indoor environmental data sensed (detected) by the sensor unit 14. The indoor environment acquisition unit 11a sends the acquired indoor environment data to the comparison unit 11c and the utterance control unit 11d.

The outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b acquires outdoor environmental data in an area including the user home 50 from the cloud server 20 via the wide area communication network 60, the relay station 40, and the communication unit 15. The outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b sends the acquired outdoor environment data to the comparison unit 11c.

The comparison unit 11c compares the indoor environment data from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11a with the outdoor environment data from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b. The comparison unit 11c notifies the utterance control unit 11d of the comparison result.

When a certain utterance condition is satisfied, the utterance control unit 11 d refers to the utterance content table 12 a of the storage unit 12 and controls the voice output unit 17 to utter the utterance content corresponding to the utterance condition. Is.

In the present embodiment, the utterance control unit 11d further determines whether the utterance is appropriate based on the comparison result from the comparison unit 11c. Specifically, when the utterance content “Recommend ventilation in the room” is selected from the utterance content table 12a, the utterance control unit 11d reads “outdoor than the indoor environment data from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11a. If the comparison result indicates that the outdoor environment data from the environment acquisition unit 11b is worse, control is performed so that the utterance content is not uttered.

As an example, in the utterance content table 12a, it is assumed that the utterance content is associated with an utterance condition that “the concentration of PM2.5 in the room is 35 μg / m ³ or more”. At this time, even when the indoor environment data from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11a satisfies the utterance condition, the comparison is “the outdoor PM2.5 concentration is higher than the indoor PM2.5 concentration”. If it is a result, the utterance control unit 11d performs control so that the utterance content is not uttered.

Thereby, the operation of the air cleaner 10 is controlled based on the comparison result between the indoor environmental data and the outdoor environmental data. Thereby, more appropriate operation | movement of the air cleaner 10 is realizable compared with the conventional case which controls operation | movement of an air conditioner based on the state of indoor air.

Moreover, since the utterance (notification) to the user is controlled based on the comparison result, it is possible to realize a more appropriate utterance to the user. Further, when the indoor environment data is better than the outdoor environment data, the speech of ventilation is stopped, so that the situation where the indoor environment deteriorates can be avoided by performing the ventilation.

(Speech control process)
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of an example of an utterance control process in the utterance control unit 11d of the air cleaner 10 configured as described above. Note that the utterance control process shown in FIG. 4 may be performed periodically, or may be performed according to some trigger. As shown in FIG. 4, first, it is determined whether or not the utterance condition that the indoor PM2.5 concentration acquired from the indoor environment acquiring unit 11a is 35 μg / m ³ or more is satisfied (S10). If the above utterance condition is not satisfied (NO in S10), it is determined that the room air is clean, and the process ends without speaking.

On the other hand, if the above utterance condition is satisfied (YES in S10), it is determined whether the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b has acquired the outdoor PM2.5 concentration (S11). This determination can be made based on whether or not the outdoor PM2.5 concentration can be acquired from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b. Or you may carry out based on the comparison result from the comparison part 11c. This is because, when the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b has not acquired the outdoor PM2.5 concentration, the comparison unit 11c can notify the speech control unit 11d that comparison is impossible.

When the outdoor PM2.5 concentration is acquired (YES in S11), referring to the comparison result from the comparison unit 11c, the indoor PM2.5 concentration is higher than the outdoor PM2.5 concentration. It is determined whether or not it is higher (S12). When the indoor PM2.5 concentration is higher than the outdoor PM2.5 concentration (YES in S12), the utterance content “Recommended indoor ventilation” is uttered via the audio output unit 17. (S13). As a result, when the user ventilates the room, the concentration of PM2.5 in the room can be improved (decreased). Thereafter, the process ends.

On the other hand, if the indoor PM2.5 concentration is lower than the outdoor PM2.5 concentration (NO in S12), the process is terminated without performing the above-mentioned speech. Thereby, it can avoid that a user ventilates a room | chamber interior and the density | concentration of PM2.5 in a room | chamber further deteriorates (rises). If the concentration of outdoor PM2.5 is not acquired (NO in S11), the utterance content is uttered via the audio output unit 17 (S13), and the process is terminated, as in the conventional case. To do.

[Modification]
Note that the comparison result from the comparison unit 11c may be one of the utterance conditions in the utterance content table 12a. In this case, the utterance control unit 11 d can utter the utterance content corresponding to the comparison result from the comparison unit 11 c via the audio output unit 17.

For example, in the case of the above comparison result that the indoor PM2.5 concentration is lower than the outdoor PM2.5 concentration, “the air in the room is more dirty than the air in the room. Please refrain from ventilation. " Further, if the comparison result indicates that the concentration of PM2.5 in the room is higher than the concentration of PM2.5 in the room, it can be said that "Please ventilate the air in the room."

[Embodiment 2]
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The air conditioning support system 1 of this embodiment differs from the air conditioning support system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 in the speech control operation in the speech control unit 11d of the air cleaner 10, and certain data is stored in the speech content table 12a. Is added, and other configurations are the same.

In the present embodiment, the utterance control unit 11d satisfies a certain utterance condition. However, if the utterance content corresponding to the utterance condition does not need to be uttered immediately, that is, has no immediate response, When the sensor 14f detects a person, the utterance content is uttered. In the present embodiment, the utterance content table 12a includes the presence / absence of the responsiveness (responsiveness information) for each utterance content. In this case, it is possible to utter an appropriate utterance to the user as compared to the conventional case where the utterance having the non-responsiveness is performed regardless of the presence or absence of the user.

For example, in the utterance content table 12a, the utterance content “Good morning” is associated with the utterance condition “Detecting that the illuminance sensor 14c gradually becomes brighter”, and the responsiveness information “No responsiveness” is included. Assume that they are associated. At this time, even if the utterance condition is satisfied, the utterance control unit 11d does not immediately utter, but utters the utterance content when the human sensor 14f detects a person.

5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the flow of the speech control process in the speech control unit 11d of the present embodiment. Each of the utterance control processes shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 may be periodically performed or may be performed in response to some trigger.

As shown in FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not any of various utterance conditions included in the utterance content table 12a is satisfied (S20). If none of the above utterance conditions is satisfied (NO in S20), the process is terminated.

On the other hand, if any of the above utterance conditions is satisfied (YES in S20), it is determined by referring to the utterance content table 12a whether or not the utterance content corresponding to the corresponding utterance condition has responsiveness (S21). . If it is responsive (YES in S21), the content of the utterance is uttered via the audio output unit 17 (S22), and then the process is terminated. On the other hand, if it does not have responsiveness (NO in S21), the content of the utterance is put on hold (S23), and then the process ends.

As shown in FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not the human sensor 14f detects a person (S30). If no person is detected (NO in S30), the process is terminated. On the other hand, when a person is detected (YES in S30), it is determined whether or not there is an utterance content put on hold (S31). If there is no utterance content (NO in S31), the process is terminated.

On the other hand, if the utterance content is present (YES in S31), it is determined whether or not it is appropriate to utter the utterance content at this time (S32). For example, when the content of the utterance put on hold is “good morning” and the current time is in the evening, the content of the utterance is not valid. If not valid (NO in S32), the process proceeds to step S34. On the other hand, if it is appropriate to utter the utterance content at this time (YES in S32), the utterance content is uttered via voice output unit 17 (S33), and the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S34, the utterance content, that is, the utterance content that is not appropriate to be uttered at the present time, or the uttered utterance content is canceled from the suspended utterance content. Thereafter, the process ends.

(Additional notes)
The utterance control unit 11d satisfies a certain utterance condition, but when the utterance content corresponding to the utterance condition is not responsive, the human detection frequency by the human sensor 14f is higher than the reference value. The content of the utterance may be uttered at the time. This may be performed by changing step S30 shown in FIG. 6 to a step of determining whether or not the human detection frequency is higher than a reference value.

[Embodiment 3]
Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The air conditioning support system 1 of the present embodiment is different from the air conditioning support system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 in the configuration of the control unit 11 in the air cleaner 10, and the other configurations are the same.

By the way, a normal room is not a completely sealed space from the outside. For this reason, the indoor environment also changes according to the change of the outdoor environment.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of changes in PM2.5 concentration over time both indoors and outdoors. Referring to FIG. 7, it can be understood that the concentration of PM2.5 in the room also starts increasing after a while after the outdoor PM2.5 concentration starts to increase. Thus, there is a time lag Δt from when the outdoor PM2.5 concentration starts to increase until the indoor PM2.5 concentration starts increasing.

Therefore, the air cleaner 10 of the present embodiment measures in advance the time lag from when the outdoor environment changes (deteriorates) until the indoor environment changes, and when the outdoor environment changes, the environment changes to the changed environment. The drive unit is controlled at a timing based on the time lag so as to correspond. In this case, when the outdoor environment changes, the air cleaning can be executed at an appropriate timing before the indoor environment changes. As a result, the influence on the indoor environment due to the deterioration of the outdoor environment can be suppressed.

That is, conventionally, passive control is performed in which the air cleaning operation is enhanced when the indoor environment deteriorates. However, in the present embodiment, the active operation of enhancing the air cleaning operation before the indoor environment deteriorates. Control can be performed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the air cleaner 10 of the present embodiment. Compared to the control unit 11 shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 11 shown in FIG. 8 is provided with a time lag measurement unit 11e (comparison unit) instead of the comparison unit 11c, and is driven instead of the speech control unit 11d. The difference is that a control unit 11f (operation control unit) is provided, and the other configurations are the same.

The time lag measurement unit 11e compares the indoor environmental data from the indoor environment acquisition unit 11a with the outdoor environmental data from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b, and after the outdoor environmental data starts changing, It measures the time lag, which is the period until environmental data starts to change. The time lag measurement unit 11e notifies the drive control unit 11f of the determined time lag.

The drive control unit 11 f controls the drive of the drive unit 13 based on various detection results from the sensor unit 14 or based on an instruction from the user via the operation panel 16 or the communication unit 15. For example, when the dust sensor 14a detects an increase in the concentration of PM2.5, it instructs the blower fan to increase the rotation rate.

In the present embodiment, the drive control unit 11f acquires the time lag from the time lag measurement unit 11e in advance, and when the outdoor environment from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b changes, the drive unit responds to the change in the environment. 13 is controlled at a timing based on the time lag.

9 and 10 are flowcharts showing the flow of the time lag measurement process and the drive control process in the time lag measurement unit 11e and the drive control unit 11f of the air cleaner 10 having the above-described configuration, respectively. The process shown in FIG. 9 and the process shown in FIG. 10 are preferably performed alternately.

As shown in FIG. 9, first, it is determined whether outdoor environmental data has changed (S40). If the outdoor environmental data has not changed (NO in S40), the process ends. On the other hand, if the outdoor environmental data has changed (YES in S40), the process waits until the indoor environmental data changes (S41). When the indoor environmental data changes, the time lag from when the outdoor environmental data changes until the outdoor environmental data changes is measured (S42), and the measured time lag is notified to the drive control unit 11f (S43). Thereafter, the process ends.

As shown in FIG. 10, first, it is determined whether outdoor environmental data has changed (S50). If the outdoor environmental data has not changed (NO in S50), the process ends. On the other hand, when the outdoor environmental data has changed (YES in S50), a time point that can appropriately respond to the change in the outdoor environmental data is determined based on the time lag from the time lag measuring unit 11e (S51). When the time is reached (S52), the drive unit 13 is controlled so as to correspond to the change in the outdoor environmental data (S53). Thereafter, the process ends.

[Additional Notes]
The time lag measurement unit 11e may store the measured time lag history in the storage unit 12 and determine the current time lag based on the time lag history. Moreover, the drive control part 11f may control the drive part 13 so that it may respond | correspond to the forecast of outdoor environments, such as a weather forecast and pollen forecast. In this case, what is necessary is just to change step S50 to the step which judges whether the forecast which outdoor environmental data changes is acquired.

[Embodiment 4]
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The air conditioning support system 1 of the present embodiment is different from the air conditioning support system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 in the configuration of the control unit 11 in the air cleaner 10, and the other configurations are the same.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the air cleaner 10 of the present embodiment. Compared with the control unit 11 shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 11 shown in FIG. 11 is provided with an airtightness determination unit 11 g (comparison unit) instead of the time lag measurement unit 11 e and the drive control unit 11 f. Instead, a drive control unit 11h (operation control unit) is provided, and the other configurations are the same.

As described above, the indoor environment changes in accordance with the change in the outdoor environment. However, the influence of the indoor environmental change on the outdoor environmental change is considered to depend on the airtightness of the room. That is, if the airtightness of the room is low, the above influence is large, and if the airtightness of the room is high, the above influence is considered to be small. Referring to the graph of FIG. 7, it is considered that the difference Δx in the outdoor PM2.5 concentration relative to the indoor PM2.5 concentration corresponds to the airtightness.

Therefore, in the air cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, the airtightness determining unit 11g is in a steady state where the indoor environmental data from the indoor environment acquiring unit 11a and the outdoor environmental data from the outdoor environment acquiring unit 11b are not changed. During the state period, a difference Δx of the outdoor environmental data with respect to the indoor environmental data is calculated, and the airtightness of the room is determined based on the calculated difference Δx. The airtightness determination unit 11g notifies the drive control unit 11h of the determined airtightness data.

Similarly to the drive control unit 11f described above, the drive control unit 11h is based on various detection results from the sensor unit 14 or based on instructions from the user via the operation panel 16 or the communication unit 15. Is controlled. In the present embodiment, the drive control unit 11h acquires the airtightness from the airtightness determining unit 11g in advance, and responds to the change in the environment when the outdoor environment from the outdoor environment acquisition unit 11b changes. The drive unit 13 is controlled in consideration of the airtightness from the airtightness determining unit 11g.

For example, when the airtightness is low, the drive control unit 11h may operate the drive unit 13 as follows. That is, even if the amount of pollen outdoors is small, the air cleaning operation for pollen measures is performed. In the case of a weather forecast with rain, the air cleaner 10 having a humidifying function stops the humidifying operation (humidifying operation) in advance, and the air cleaner 10 having a dehumidifying function performs a powerful dehumidifying operation (dehumidifying operation). Run in advance. In the case of the weather forecast for drying, the air cleaner 10 having a humidifying function executes a powerful humidifying operation in advance.

On the other hand, when the airtightness is high, the drive control unit 11h can be considered to operate the drive unit 13 as follows. That is, if the amount of pollen outdoors increases, an air cleaning operation for pollen measures is performed. In the case of rainy weather forecasts, the air cleaner 10 having a humidifying function performs a weak humidifying operation in advance, and the air cleaner 10 having a dehumidifying function executes a weak dehumidifying operation in advance. In the case of the weather forecast for drying, the air cleaner 10 having a humidifying function performs a weak humidifying operation in advance.

In addition, it is considered that the airtight room is poorly ventilated. Therefore, when the airtightness is high, the drive control unit 11h can cause the drive unit 13 to execute a powerful air cleaning operation.

According to the above configuration, since the airtightness can be grasped, the influence on the indoor environment based on the outdoor environment can be grasped. Therefore, the air cleaning operation corresponding to the change in the outdoor environment can be appropriately executed in consideration of the airtightness.

12 and 13 are flowcharts showing the flow of the airtightness determination process and the drive control process in the airtightness determination unit 11g and the drive control unit 11h of the air cleaner 10 having the above-described configuration, respectively. The process shown in FIG. 12 and the process shown in FIG. 13 are desirably performed as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 12, first, it is determined whether both indoor and outdoor environmental data have changed (S60). If at least one of the environmental data has changed (NO in S60), the process ends. On the other hand, if both environmental data have not changed (YES in S60), the airtightness of the room is determined based on the difference Δx of the outdoor environmental data with respect to the indoor environmental data (S61), and the determined airtightness is determined. The drive controller 11h is notified (S62). Thereafter, the process ends.

As shown in FIG. 13, first, it is determined whether outdoor environmental data has changed (S70). If the outdoor environmental data has not changed (NO in S70), the process ends. On the other hand, if the outdoor environmental data has changed (YES in S70), the driving unit 13 is controlled so as to cope with the change in the outdoor environmental data in consideration of the airtightness from the airtightness determining unit 11g ( S71). Thereafter, the process ends.

[Additional Notes]
In addition, although the said embodiment demonstrated the air cleaner 10 which cleans indoor air, this invention is applied to arbitrary air conditioners which adjust the state of indoor air, such as an air conditioner and a humidifier. be able to.

In the above embodiment, outdoor environment data is acquired from the cloud server 20, but outdoor environmental data detected by various sensors provided outside the room is acquired via a narrow-area communication network such as a wireless LAN. May be.

[Example of software implementation]
The control block (especially the control unit 11) of the air cleaner 10 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit). It may be realized by.

In the latter case, the air cleaner 10 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that is software that realizes each function, and a ROM (Read Memory) in which the program and various data are recorded so as to be readable by the computer (or CPU). Alternatively, a storage device (these are referred to as “recording media”), a RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the program, and the like are provided. And the objective of this invention is achieved when a computer (or CPU) reads the said program from the said recording medium and runs it. As the recording medium, a “non-temporary tangible medium” such as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) that can transmit the program. Note that one embodiment of the present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[Summary]
An air conditioner according to aspect 1 of the present invention is an air conditioner that performs air conditioning that adjusts the state of indoor air, and includes a detection unit that detects the state of indoor air, and an outdoor air state. An acquisition unit that acquires information via a communication network, a comparison unit that compares a state of indoor air detected by the detection unit, and a state of outdoor air acquired by the acquisition unit; It is a structure provided with the operation control part which controls operation | movement of the said air conditioner based on a comparison result.

According to the above configuration, the operation of the air conditioner is controlled based on the comparison result between the indoor air condition and the outdoor air condition. Thereby, compared with the conventional case which controls operation | movement of an air conditioner based on the state of indoor air, more appropriate operation | movement of the said air conditioner is realizable.

Examples of the air condition include temperature, humidity, concentration of fine particles floating in the air, and odor level. Examples of the fine particles include dust, pollen, PM10, and PM2.5. Moreover, the state of the outdoor air may be a state of air in the vicinity of a house, or a state of air in an area including the house. In addition, the outdoor air state information includes a detector that detects the outdoor air state, a server that provides the outdoor air state, and other outdoor devices via the communication network. Just get it.

In the air conditioner according to aspect 2 of the present invention, in the aspect 1, the operation control unit may control notification to the user based on a comparison result of the comparison unit. In this case, more appropriate notification to the user can be realized. The notification may be performed via a notification device provided in the air conditioner, or may be performed via a communication device, a communication network, and a user terminal.

The air conditioner according to aspect 3 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to aspect 2, wherein the operation control unit stops notification of ventilation when the indoor air state is better than the outdoor air state. May be. In this case, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the indoor air condition deteriorates by performing ventilation.

In the air conditioner according to aspect 4 of the present invention, in the aspect 2, the human sensor that detects a human, the content of the notification, and the responsiveness information indicating whether the content has responsiveness are associated with each other. A storage device for storing notification correspondence information, wherein the motion control unit refers to the notification correspondence information, and the human sensor detects a person in the notification of the non-responsive content. You may go if you do. In this case, it is possible to appropriately notify the user as compared with the conventional case in which notification of contents that are not responsive is performed regardless of the presence or absence of the user.

In the air conditioner according to aspect 5 of the present invention, in the above aspects 1 to 4, the comparison unit measures a time lag of a change in the indoor air state relative to a change in the outdoor air state, When the state of the outdoor air changes, the operation control unit may execute the air conditioning corresponding to the change at a timing based on the time lag. In this case, when the state of the outdoor air changes, the air conditioning can be executed at an appropriate timing before the indoor air state changes. As a result, the influence of the outdoor air condition on the indoor air condition caused by the deterioration of the outdoor air condition can be suppressed.

The air conditioner according to aspect 6 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to aspects 1 to 5 described above, wherein the comparison unit is configured to compare the indoor space with respect to the outdoor space based on a difference between a steady state of the outdoor air and a steady state of the indoor air. The operation control unit may execute the air conditioning corresponding to a change in the state of the outdoor air in consideration of the airtightness. Since the airtightness can be grasped, the influence on the air condition in the room based on the air condition outside the room can be grasped. Therefore, the air conditioning corresponding to the change of the outdoor air condition can be appropriately executed in consideration of the airtightness.

An air conditioner control method according to aspect 7 of the present invention is an air conditioner control method for executing air conditioning that adjusts the state of indoor air, and a detection step of detecting the state of indoor air; The acquisition step of acquiring information on the state of outdoor air via a communication network, the state of indoor air detected in the detection step, and the state of outdoor air acquired in the acquisition step The method includes a comparison step for comparison, and a control step for controlling the operation of the air conditioner based on a comparison result of the comparison step. In this case, the same effects as those of the first aspect are obtained.

The air conditioner according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the air conditioner is operated on the computer by operating the computer as each unit (software element) included in the air conditioner. The air conditioner control program to be realized and a computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, a new technical feature can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

1 Air-conditioning support system 10 Air purifier (air conditioner)
11 Control unit 11a Indoor environment acquisition unit (detection unit)
11b Outdoor environment acquisition department (acquisition department)
11c Comparison unit 11d Speech control unit (motion control unit)
11e Time lag measurement unit (comparison unit)
11f, 11h Drive control unit (operation control unit)
11g Air tightness determination part (comparison part)
12 Storage unit (storage device)
12a Utterance content table (information for notification)
13 Drive unit 14 Sensor unit 14a Dust sensor 14b Odor sensor 14c Illuminance sensor 14d Temperature sensor 14e Humidity sensor 14f Human sensor 15 Communication unit 16 Operation panel 17 Audio output unit 20 Cloud server 30 Mobile terminal 40 Relay station 50 User home 60 Wide area communication Network (communication network)

Claims (8)

An air conditioner that performs air conditioning to adjust the state of indoor air,
A detection unit for detecting a state of air in the room;
An acquisition unit for acquiring outdoor air state information via a communication network;
A comparison unit that compares the state of indoor air detected by the detection unit with the state of outdoor air acquired by the acquisition unit;
An air conditioner comprising: an operation control unit that controls the operation of the air conditioner based on a comparison result of the comparison unit. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the operation control unit controls notification to a user based on a comparison result of the comparison unit. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the operation control unit stops notification of ventilation when the state of the indoor air is better than the state of the outdoor air. A human sensor to detect humans,
A storage device for storing notification correspondence information in which the content of the notification and the responsiveness information indicating whether the content has responsiveness are associated with each other;
The said operation control part performs the said alerting | reporting of the content which does not have the said responsiveness with reference to the said alerting | reporting corresponding information, When the said human sensor detects a human being, The said alerting | reporting information is performed. Air conditioner. The comparison unit measures a time lag of a change in the indoor air state with respect to a change in the outdoor air state,
The said operation control part performs the said air conditioning corresponding to this change at the timing based on the said time lag, when the state of the said outdoor air changes, The any one of Claim 1 to 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Air conditioner as described in. The comparison unit determines the airtightness of the room with respect to the outdoor based on the difference between the steady state of the outdoor air and the steady state of the indoor air,
The said operation control part performs the said air conditioning corresponding to the state of the said outdoor air changing in consideration of the said airtightness, In any one of Claim 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. The air conditioner described. A control program for causing a computer to function as the air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control program causes the computer to function as each of the above-described units. A control method for an air conditioner that performs air conditioning to adjust the state of indoor air,
A detection step of detecting the state of the indoor air;
An acquisition step of acquiring outdoor air state information via a communication network;
A comparison step for comparing the indoor air state detected in the detection step with the outdoor air state acquired in the acquisition step;
And a control step for controlling the operation of the air conditioner based on the comparison result of the comparison step.

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