Air conditioning control device, air conditioning apparatus, air conditioning system and method for controlling an air conditioning apparatus

Abstract

Air conditioning control device (1, 1B) for controlling an air conditioning device (2, 2A) configured to perform air conditioning of a room (200) in which a device (30) is located that changes the amount of water vapor, wherein the air conditioning control device (1, 1B) has the following: - a data reference device (11) comprising a device data receiver (11b) and a sensor data receiver (11c); - a memory (12); and - a calculation device (13) comprising a condensation occurrence determination device (132) and a climate control device (133), wherein the memory (12) is configured to store facility operating data (121b) relating to an operating state of the facility (30) and a facility operating table (123) which includes an operating time of the facility (30) and a change value of the water vapor in the room (200) in relation to each other, wherein the condensation occurrence determination device (132) is configured to predict the rate of change of water vapor until after a certain period of time by collating the device operating data (121b) with the device operating table (123) and determining whether condensation occurs in the room (200) after a certain period of time by using the amount of water vapor in the room (200) and the predicted rate of change of water vapor, and wherein the climate control (133) is configured to change an operating state of the air conditioning device (2, 2A) when the condensation occurrence determination device (132) determines that condensation is occurring.

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioning control device, an air conditioning apparatus, an air conditioning system for controlling the state of the air in a room, and a method for controlling an air conditioning apparatus. State of the art

[0002] Conventional techniques for determining the probability of condensation occurrence based on the temperature and humidity in a room measured by sensors have been proposed for controlling air conditioning devices to prevent the occurrence of condensation (see, for example, JP 2012-215355 A). The air conditioning device in JP 2012-215355 A calculates the current dew point temperature based on measurement results of the temperature and humidity in a room, and performs an anti-condensation operation when it is determined from a history of previous room temperature records that the room temperature reaches a temperature equal to or lower than the current dew point temperature within a predetermined period of time. Here, the anti-condensation operation is an operation in which the humidity in a room is reduced, such as a dehumidification operation and an air sending operation.

[0003] US 2016 / 0 054 018 A1 describes an air conditioning control unit that is capable of accurately estimating indoor humidity even for a room in which no humidity sensor is installed and of preventing indoor temperature and humidity from deviating from comfortable ranges.The control device of the air conditioning system includes a thermal characteristic parameter setting unit configured to determine a thermal characteristic parameter of a building thermal model based on a heat equation, a humidity characteristic parameter setting unit configured to determine a humidity characteristic parameter of a building humidity model based on a humidity balance equation in an air-conditioned space, and a control data generation unit configured to generate control data of an air conditioning system such that a temperature and a humidity of the air-conditioned space are each within a preset range.

[0004] From DE 20 2005 015 397 U1 a device for determining the surface humidity of a surface, in particular a wall surface, is known, which device has a first device for determining the air humidity, a second device for determining the air temperature, a third device for determining the surface temperature by means of an infrared radiation measuring device and an arrangement for determining the room dew point from air humidity and air temperature as well as the surface humidity from room dew point and surface temperature.

[0005] EP 2 818 803 B1 discloses a method for controlling the climate in a building by means of at least one building or process engineering system, the method comprising the following steps: (a) providing a thermodynamic model for the building, wherein the thermodynamic model has at least one input variable; (b) providing actual data of the at least one input variable; (c) determining at least one manipulated variable for the building or process engineering system based on the thermodynamic model and the actual data of the at least one input variable; and (d) controlling the building or process engineering system by means of the at least one determined manipulated variable. BibliographyPatent literature Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication JP 2012- 215 355 A Patent literature 2: US 2016 / 0 054 018 A1 Patent literature 3: DE 20 2005 015 397 U1 Patent literature 4: EP 2 818 803 B1 Summary of the inventionTechnical problem

[0006] The air conditioning device in JP 2012-215355 A performs a uniform anti-condensation process when the time required for a future room temperature to fall below the current dew point temperature is less than the predetermined time. Accordingly, if the amount of water vapor in a room increases during a period from the time the anti-condensation process is started until a target control period is reached, the occurrence of condensation is inevitable.

[0007] The present invention was conceived to solve the aforementioned problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioning control device, an air conditioning apparatus, an air conditioning system, and a method for controlling an air conditioning apparatus for preventing the occurrence of condensation even when the amount of water vapor in a room changes. Solution to the problem

[0008] An air conditioning control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is an air conditioning control device for controlling an air conditioning apparatus configured to perform air conditioning of a room in which a device that changes the amount of water vapor is located. The air conditioning control device is defined in claim 1.

[0009] An air conditioning device according to another embodiment of the present invention includes the above-described air conditioning control device and is controlled by the air conditioning control device. The air conditioning device is defined in claim 9.

[0010] An air conditioning system according to yet another embodiment of the present invention includes the above-described air conditioning control device and a wall temperature sensor configured to measure a wall surface temperature, which is a surface temperature of a wall surface area in the room. The condensation occurrence determining device is configured to determine a dew point temperature in the room by using the change value of water vapor predicted from the device operation table and by using information about the wall surface temperature measured by the wall temperature sensor, and to determine that condensation occurs in the room when a predicted wall surface temperature falls below the dew point temperature after a certain time has elapsed. The air conditioning system is defined in claim 10.

[0011] Claim 14 defines a method for controlling an air conditioning device for air conditioning a room in which a device is located that changes the amount of water vapor.

[0012] Further features of the present invention are set out in the subclaims. Advantageous effects of the invention

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, a change in water vapor predicted by using device operation data with a device operation table is used to determine whether condensation occurs in a room after a certain period of time has elapsed, and the operation of an air conditioning device is controlled based on the determination result. Since the operating state of the air conditioning device can be controlled depending on the change in the amount of water vapor in the room, the occurrence of condensation can be prevented even if the amount of water vapor in the room changes. Short description of the drawings Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an air conditioning system having an air conditioning control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the air conditioning control device in Fig. 1 illustrates. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a facility operation table in Fig. The pattern contained in Figure 2 is illustrated by way of example. Fig. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an air-conditioned room where the air conditioning system consists of Fig. 1 is installed. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an exemplary operation for anti-condensation control of the air conditioning control device in Fig. 1 illustrates. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of a setup operation table compiler in Fig. 2 illustrates. Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an air conditioning system having an air conditioning control device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an air conditioning control device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Description of embodimentsEmbodiment 1

[0014] Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an air conditioning system having an air conditioning control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Fig. 1 shows an exemplary configuration in which an air conditioning control device 1 is connected to an air conditioning device 2, a device unit 3, and a sensor unit 4 via a control network 5. That is, the air conditioning system 100 includes the air conditioning control device 1, the air conditioning device 2, the device unit 3, and the sensor unit 4.

[0015] The appliance unit 3 is an electrical energy-consuming appliance different from the air conditioning device and includes one or more appliances 30. For example, when the air conditioning system 100 including the air conditioning control device 1 is intended for home use, examples of the appliances 30 include a cooking appliance, a lighting appliance, a ventilation appliance, a humidifier-dehumidifier, and a ventilation fan. Each of the appliances 30 includes one or more appliance sensors 31, each of which detects the state of the appliance 30. Hereinafter, the one or more appliances 30 will also be referred to simply as the appliance 30 or appliances 30.

[0016] The sensor unit 4 has one or more sensors 40 that measure a physical quantity. Each sensor 40 is, for example, a sensor that measures a temperature, a humidity, a radiation temperature, or another factor. That is, examples of the sensor unit 4 include, as the plurality of sensors 40: a temperature sensor that measures a temperature, a humidity sensor that measures a humidity, and a radiation sensor that measures a radiation temperature. The radiation temperature sensor serves, for example, as a wall temperature sensor that measures a wall surface temperature, which is a surface temperature of a wall surface area in the room. Hereinafter, the one or more sensors 40 are also simply referred to as the sensor 40 or the sensors 40.

[0017] The air conditioning device 2 includes an outdoor unit 21, an indoor unit 22, and a remote control 23. The outdoor unit 21 cools or heats a heat medium such as a refrigerant and water. The indoor unit 22 allows heat exchange between the heat medium and the air in a room to control the temperature in the room. The outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 22 are connected to each other via a pipe in which the heat medium circulates to form a refrigeration cycle. The air conditioning device 2 is desirably a heat pump air conditioning device that efficiently cools or heats a heat medium by utilizing heat in the outside air.

[0018] The remote control 23 is a device with which a user turns the power on or off and manually changes settings such as the set temperature, airflow rate, and airflow direction. That is, the remote control 23 accepts an input operation performed by the user to control the air conditioning device 2. The remote control 23 has the function of communicating with the air conditioning device 2 in a wired or wireless manner and transmits user operation information indicating the content of the user's input operation to the air conditioning device 2. The air conditioning device 2 is configured to transmit the user operation information received from the remote control 23 to the air conditioning control device 1.

[0019] When the air conditioning system 100 is configured for home use, an indoor unit 22 is typically installed in each room. For example, a room air conditioner is a typical example of the air conditioning device 2. Note that the air conditioning device 2 may be of a type in which a plurality of indoor units 22 are connected to a single outdoor unit 21. Alternatively, the air conditioning device 2 may be an integrated air conditioning device that has both the function of the outdoor unit 21 and the function of the indoor unit 22. The air conditioning system 100 may include a plurality of air conditioning devices 2.

[0020] The air conditioning control unit 1 controls the air conditioning device 2, which performs air conditioning of a room in which the devices 30 that vary the amount of water vapor are located. When the device unit 3 has a single device 30, the amount of water vapor in the room is varied depending on the operating state of the device 30. If the water vapor in the room is varied to increase, or the temperature in the room is reduced as a result of the operation of the device 30, condensation may occur in the room. When the device unit 3 has a plurality of devices 30, each of the devices 30 operates while individually switching between an activation state and a deactivation state.If a change in the operating state of each of the devices 30 causes a change such that the water vapor in the room increases or causes a decrease in the temperature in the room, condensation may occur in the room. To solve this problem, the air conditioning control device 1 controls the operation of the air conditioning device 2 based on the change in the water vapor in the room so that condensation is not caused in the room. Hereinafter, the control of the air conditioning device 2 performed by the air conditioning control device 1 to prevent condensation in the room before it occurs is referred to as anti-condensation control.When a sensor that measures temperature, humidity, radiation temperature, or another factor is included in the air conditioning device 2, the air conditioning control device 1 can use detection information obtained from the sensor in the air conditioning device 2 for anti-condensation control.

[0021] The control network 5 is a communication network for connecting the air conditioning control device 1, the air conditioning device 2, the device unit 3, and the sensor unit 4. In Embodiment 1, the control network 5 is not limited to a specific type in terms of cable type, communication protocol, and other aspects. That is, the control network 5 can use wired communication such as LAN and wireless communication such as WLAN, infrared communication, and Bluetooth (registered trademark). The control network 5 can also use a general-purpose protocol available to the public, or it can use dedicated lines, dedicated protocols, and other standards prepared by the manufacturers of the air conditioning device 2 and the devices 30.

[0022] The air conditioning system 100 does not necessarily need to include the air conditioning device 2 or the device unit 3, and may be constituted only by the air conditioning control device 1 and the sensor unit 4. Alternatively, the air conditioning system 100 may include any one of the device unit 3 and the sensor unit 4.

[0023] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the air conditioning control device 1 in Fig. 1 illustrates. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a facility operation table in Fig. 2 is illustrated by way of example. The detailed configuration of the air conditioning control device 1 is described below with reference to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. As described in Fig. 2, the air conditioning control device 1 comprises a data acquisition device 11, a memory 12, a calculation device 13, an output device 14 and a display device 15.

[0024] The data acquisition device 11 acquires current data 121 at a predetermined detection interval and stores the current data 121 in the memory 12. The data acquisition device 11 includes an air conditioning device data receiver 11a, a device data receiver 11b, a sensor data receiver 11c, and a room occupancy number specifier 11d. The detection interval can be set to a desired interval and can be changed.

[0025] The air conditioning device data receiver 11a receives the air conditioning device operation data 121a from the air conditioning device 2 and stores the air conditioning device operation data 121a in the memory 12. The air conditioning device data receiver 11a receives, as the air conditioning device operation data 121a, operation data indicating the operating state of the air conditioning device 2, user operation information obtained from the remote controller 23, and activation / deactivation information indicating whether the air conditioning device 2 is in the activation state or the deactivation state. If the air conditioning device 2 has various sensors, the air conditioning device data receiver 11a receives detection information obtained from the various sensors of the air conditioning device 2 and stores the detection information in the memory 12.

[0026] The device data receiver 11b receives device operation data 121b, which is information regarding the operation state of the device 30, from the device unit 3 and stores the device operation data 121b in the memory 12. The device data receiver 11b receives, as the device operation data 121b, at least operation data indicating the operation state of each device 30, user operation information indicating the content of an operation performed by the user, and detection data indicating detection results obtained by the device sensor 31. For example, when the device 30 is an induction heating cooker such as an induction hot plate, examples of the device operation data 121b include activation-deactivation information indicating whether the device 30 is in the activation state or the deactivation state, data such asthe output of device 30, as well as information about the temperature measured in device 30.

[0027] The sensor data receiver 11c receives sensor data 121c from the sensor 40 installed indoors or outdoors and stores the sensor data 121c in the memory 12. The sensor data 121c is information indicating a detection result obtained by the sensor 40, and is, for example, information such as temperature, humidity, and radiation temperature. That is, the sensor data 121c includes information about the water vapor in the room.

[0028] The room number of people specifier 11d specifies the number of people in the room and stores information about the specified number of people in the memory 12 as room number of people data 121d. For example, the room number of people specifier 11d may acquire an image captured by a camera or similar device placed in the room and detect a person in the captured image to specify the number of people in the room. In this case, the camera or similar device may be mounted in the air conditioning control device 1 or the air conditioning device 2, it may be mounted in another device installed in the room, or it may be mounted in the room.

[0029] Alternatively, for example, each user may wear a transmitter, and the number of people in the room specifier 11d may detect the number of transmitters present in the room, thus specifying the number of people in the room. Alternatively, the number of people in the room specifier 11d may include, for example, a communication unit that has the function of performing short-range communication. The communication unit may detect a radio wave from a mobile terminal worn by a person in the room, and accordingly, the number of people in the room specifier 11d may specify the number of people in the room. Each mobile terminal is a terminal that can be worn by a user, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet PC, and a notebook PC.A radio wave from any mobile terminal is a radio wave emitted by the mobile terminal when the short-range communication function is enabled.

[0030] The memory 12 acquires the air conditioning device operation data 121a, the facility operation data 121b, the sensor data 121c, and the room number of people data 121d through the data acquisition device 11, and stores the air conditioning device operation data 121a, the facility operation data 121b, the sensor data 121c, and the room number of people data 121d as the current data 121. The memory 12 also accumulates pieces of the current data 121 over a predetermined period in the past as time history data 122. That is, the memory 12 accumulates pieces of the current data 121 acquired by the data acquisition device 11 over time as the time history data 122.

[0031] The time history data 122 includes the following: time history 122a of air conditioning device operation data, time history 122b of facility operation data, time history 122c of sensor data, and time history 122d of number of people in the room data. The time history 122a of air conditioning device operation data chronologically stores a plurality of pieces of air conditioning device operation data 121a acquired over a period from a predetermined past time to the present. The time history 122b of facility operation data chronologically stores a plurality of pieces of facility operation data 121b acquired over a period from a predetermined past time to the present. The time history 122c of sensor data chronologically stores a plurality of pieces of sensor data 121c acquired over a period from a predetermined past time to the present.The time history data 122d for the number of people in the room chronologically stores a plurality of pieces of data 121d for the number of people in the room, obtained over a period from a predetermined past time to the present. The time history data 122 is input into a device operation table compiler 131 included in the calculation device 13.

[0032] The memory 12 also stores a device operation table 123 generated by the device operation table compiler 131 and an air conditioning control command 124 issued by the air conditioning controller 133. The device operation table 123 represents table information in which an operation time of the device 30 and a change value of water vapor in the room are correlated. The change value of water vapor in the room represents information about the amount of water vapor in the room that changes until a certain time elapses as a result of the operation of the device 30. It will also be referred to simply as "water vapor change value" hereinafter. That is, the device operation table 123 represents information indicating a correlation between the operating state of the device 30 and the state of the air in the room.

[0033] As in Fig. 3, the facility operation table 123 is organized, for example, as follows: "PATTERN NO.", which represents the number of a pattern; "OCCURRENCY," which represents information about the number of times the pattern occurs; and "LAST UPDATE, DATE, AND TIME," which represents the date and time at which the pattern was last updated. The facility operation table 123 stores, as time series data of each pattern, the operating state of the facility 30 and the change value of the water vapor until a certain time has elapsed. That is, each of the patterns included in the facility operation table 123 is chronologically organized in relation to the facilities 30 that are in operation, their operating duration, occurrence frequency, date and time of the last update, the water vapor change values, and other information. In the Fig. 3, the facility operation table 123 stores a change value of the water vapor until a certain time has elapsed, such as a change value of the water vapor until after 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 15 minutes.

[0034] In the Fig. In the patterns shown in Figure 3, the elapsed times are specified in 5-minute increments, and pieces of time series data are stored every 5 minutes, by way of example and not by way of limitation. The elapsed times can be specified in increments of any length, and they do not necessarily have to be specified at equal intervals. Fig. 3 exemplifies only one pattern in the device operation table 123, the device operation table 123 stores a plurality of patterns. When the device unit 3 includes the devices 30 whose operating states are controllable, that is, the devices 30 whose operating states are controllable in steps, the devices 30 whose operating states are controllable linearly, or other types of devices 30, the patterns are also set regarding combinations of the operating states of the devices 30.

[0035] The calculation device 13 is constituted, for example, by a processor and includes the device operation table compiler 131, a condensation occurrence determination device 132, and the climate control device 133. The device operation table compiler 131 obtains the predetermined time history data 122 from the memory 12 and generates the device operation table 123 through a learning calculation. That is, the device operation table compiler 131 performs a learning process for the water vapor change values ​​stored in the device operation table 123 by using the time history 122b of the device operation data and the time history 122c of the sensor data. The facility operation table compiler 131 performs a learning calculation each time the current data 121 is stored in the memory 12 and the timing data 122 is updated, and updates the contents of the facility operation table 123.

[0036] The condensation occurrence determination device 132 predicts a change in the water vapor in the room until a certain time has elapsed, depending on the operating state of the device 30, based on the device operation table 123 and the current data 121 in the memory 12. The condensation occurrence determination device 132 also determines whether condensation will occur in the room after a certain time has elapsed, using the predicted change in the water vapor. Furthermore, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 outputs a determination result to the climate controller 133.

[0037] If the device unit 3 includes a plurality of devices 30, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines whether the device operation table 123 has a pattern that matches a combination of the current operating states of the devices 30 contained in the device operation data 121b. If the device operation table 123 contains the matching pattern, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 obtains the water vapor change value associated with the pattern from the device operation table 123.

[0038] The condensation occurrence determining device 132 may obtain a change value of the water vapor after 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes or other times from the pattern in the device operation table 123, as shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 3, the change in water vapor after 5 minutes corresponds to "A", the change in water vapor after 10 minutes corresponds to "B", and the change in water vapor after 15 minutes corresponds to "C". In contrast to the example in Fig. 3, when the elapsed times in the device operation table 123 are not set at equal intervals or are set more finely, the condensation occurrence determining means 132 may determine a change value of the water vapor until the elapse of a certain irregular time, such as after 5 minutes, 8 minutes, and 10 minutes.

[0039] Furthermore, the condensation occurrence determining means 132 determines the current water vapor amount in the room from the air conditioning device operation data 121a and the sensor data 121c. The condensation occurrence determining means 132 also adds the change value of the water vapor obtained from the device operation table 123 to the current water vapor amount in the room, so that an achievable water vapor amount is determined, which is a predicted value of the water vapor amount in the room after a certain time elapses.

[0040] The condensation occurrence determining means 132 may have a function of determining a person-generated water vapor value, which represents an amount of water vapor generated by a human body until a certain time elapses, by using the number of people indicated in the data 121d for the number of people in the room and the amount of water vapor generated per person in the certain time. In this case, the condensation occurrence determining means 132 desirably multiplies the amount of water vapor generated per person in the certain time by the number of people indicated in the data 121d for the number of people in the room to determine the amount of water vapor generated by people. Subsequently, the amount of water vapor generated per person in a certain period of time, that is,The amount of water vapor generated by one person in the room until a certain time elapses is referred to as a "unit amount of generated water vapor." The unit amount of generated water vapor is predetermined and stored in an internal memory or similar device (not shown) of the memory 12 or the calculation device 13. The condensation occurrence determination device 132 can add the change value of water vapor and the amount of water vapor generated by people to the current amount of water vapor in the room to determine an achievable amount of water vapor.

[0041] Furthermore, the condensation occurrence determination means 132 determines the dew point temperature in the room based on the amount of attainable water vapor. Furthermore, the condensation occurrence determination means 132 determines whether the room temperature falls below the dew point temperature after a certain time has elapsed. This determination corresponds to determining whether condensation occurs in the room. When the sensor unit 4 includes a radiation temperature sensor as the sensor 40, the sensor data receiver 11c acquires a wall surface temperature, which is information about the temperature of a surface of a wall, as the sensor data 121c. Then, the condensation occurrence determination means 132 determines whether the determined dew point temperature falls below a wall surface temperature predicted after a certain time has elapsed.Furthermore, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 can analyze the wall surface temperature and individually obtain information about the temperature of each area in the room, such as a window surface and a wall surface. In this case, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines whether a predicted temperature of each area falls below the dew point temperature after a certain period of time has elapsed.

[0042] If the device operation table 123 does not have a pattern matching a combination of the current operating states of the devices 30 included in the device operation data 121b, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 may also not perform any processing and wait for the next detection time. The condensation occurrence determination device 132 may also not perform any processing and wait for the next detection time if the matching pattern is found, but the occurrence frequency associated with the found pattern is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold. The threshold used for comparison with respect to the occurrence frequency is set in advance as a probability reference that each device 30 will continue the operating state to follow the pattern in the future.That is, when the occurrence frequency exceeds the threshold, it can be determined that the currently operating device 30 is likely to follow the pattern in the future, and that the currently non-operating device 30 is likely to continue the non-operational state.

[0043] The climate controller 133 determines the control content of the air conditioning device 2 based on the change value of water vapor predicted by the condensation occurrence determination means 132, and stores the climate control command 124 indicating the determined control content in the memory 12. Specifically, when the condensation occurrence determination means 132 determines that condensation is occurring, the climate controller 133 changes the operating state of the air conditioning device 2 so that the room temperature or another temperature becomes greater than or equal to the dew point temperature after a certain time has elapsed. The climate controller 133 is configured to perform anti-condensation control to control the airflow direction, airflow amount, set temperature, and other aspects of the air conditioning device 2.

[0044] When the sensor unit 4 includes a radiation temperature sensor as the sensor 40, the climate controller 133 can control the operation of the air conditioning device 2 so that the surface temperature of a portion of the wall surface area where condensation is determined to occur by the condensation occurrence determination device 132 becomes greater than or equal to the dew point temperature after a certain time elapses. The climate controller 133 can perform anti-condensation control so that the control content of the air conditioning device 2 is gradually changed. For example, the climate controller 133 can first change the preset temperature of the air conditioning device 2 within a comfortable temperature range.If the wall surface temperature does not exceed the dew point temperature despite changing the preset temperature, the climate controller 133 may change the airflow direction toward an area where condensation may occur and further increase the airflow rate by one level. The comfort temperature range may be preset to a variable temperature range. Alternatively, the comfort temperature range may be determined based on a PMV (Predicted Mean Value Tuning) calculated by the climate controller 133 using the sensor data 121c.

[0045] The output device 14 reads the air conditioning control command 124 from the memory 12 and transmits a control command to the air conditioning device 2, which is a control target, according to the air conditioning control command 124. The air conditioning device 2 is configured to operate according to the control command output from the output device 14.

[0046] The display device 15 comprises, for example, a liquid crystal display and displays information about the control state of the air conditioning device 2 based on the air conditioning control command 124 stored in the memory 12. For example, when the air conditioning device 2 is automatically controlled, the display device 15 displays information indicating, for example, how the control state is changed.

[0047] The air conditioning control device 1 may be implemented in hardware, such as a circuit device that implements the functions described above, or it may be implemented as software to be executed on a microprocessor, such as a digital signal processor (DSP), and a computing device, such as a central processing unit (CPU). A hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory, or other similar devices may also be used as the memory 12.

[0048] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an air-conditioned room where the air conditioning system 100 of Fig. 1 is installed. That is, as in Fig. 4, it is assumed that the air conditioning system 100 in Embodiment 1 is installed in a room 200 such as a dining room-kitchen room in a house. In Fig. For the sake of simplicity, an air conditioning device 2 and the device unit 3 including three devices 30 are illustrated by way of example in Fig. 4. In Fig. 4, two sensors 40 forming the sensor unit 4 are also connected to the air conditioning control device 1 in a wired or wireless manner.

[0049] In the Fig. In the situation shown in Figure 4, the air conditioning controller 1 predicts a future change value of the water vapor in the room 200 from the device operation data 121b, which represents information about the operating states of the plurality of devices 30, namely, an induction heating cooker 30a, a ventilation fan 30b, and a humidifier 30c. The air conditioning controller 1 also determines whether condensation is occurring using the predicted change value of the water vapor. If it is determined that condensation is occurring, the air conditioning controller 1 performs anti-condensation control for the air conditioning device 2 in the room 200 to prevent condensation before it occurs.

[0050] The induction heating cooker 30a, the ventilation fan 30b, and the humidifier 30c are devices that change the amount of water vapor in a room. More specifically, the induction heating cooker 30a and the humidifier 30c are devices that generate water vapor. The ventilation fan 30b is a device that ventilates a room by exchanging the air inside the room and the outside air, and discharges the air inside the room to the outside, thereby discharging the water vapor in the room. When air with a lower humidity than that of the indoor air is drawn in as a result of ventilation, the ventilation fan 30b reduces the water vapor in the room. Conversely, when air with a higher humidity than that of the indoor air is drawn in as a result of ventilation, the ventilation fan 30b increases the water vapor in the room.That is, when a change in the operating conditions of the induction heating cooker 30a, the ventilation fan 30b, and the humidifier 30c causes such a change that the water vapor in the space 200 increases or causes a decrease in the temperature in the space 200, the vapor pressure in the space 200 exceeds the saturated vapor pressure of water, and condensation may occur.

[0051] In Fig. 4, the air conditioning device 2 includes a temperature sensor (not shown) that measures an inlet temperature. One of the sensors 40 is a humidity sensor that measures humidity, and the other sensor 40 is an infrared camera. Accordingly, the air conditioning controller 1 obtains information about the inlet temperature of the air conditioning device 2 from the temperature sensor of the air conditioning device 2 as information included in the air conditioning device operation data 121a. The air conditioning controller 1 also obtains humidity data indicating the humidity of the room 200 from one sensor 40. Then, the air conditioning controller 1 divides an image obtained from the infrared camera serving as the other sensor 40 into sections at predetermined intervals and averages the sections to obtain a wall surface temperature.

[0052] The wall surface temperature is usually lower at the points that have lower thermal insulation properties, such as a window 6 and corner areas 7, which are in Fig. 4 than at the other wall surface areas. In this regard, if the air conditioning system 100 includes an infrared camera as the sensor 40, the air conditioning controller 1 can obtain the temperatures of areas on the wall surface as the wall surface temperatures. Accordingly, the air conditioning controller 1 can determine whether condensation is occurring for each area on the wall surface. The air conditioning controller 1 controls the operation of the air conditioning device 2 based on the determination results, thereby being able to prevent the occurrence of condensation.

[0053] With the configuration described above, the air conditioning control device 1 predicts a future change in the water vapor in the room with a predetermined detection interval. Accordingly, the air conditioning control device 1 can accurately determine whether condensation will occur when a user operates the devices 30 that can change the amount of water vapor, such as a cooking device, a ventilating device, a dehumidifier, and a humidifier, or when the number of people in the room changes. That is, the air conditioning control device 1 changes the operating state of the air conditioning device 2 while taking into account the predicted result of the future change in the water vapor in the room and a temperature distribution along the wall surface. This prevents condensation before it occurs. Accordingly, the air conditioning control device 1 can accurately detect conditions such as:Avoid contamination and unhygienic conditions caused by mold growth on the inside of a room as a result of condensation.

[0054] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an exemplary operation of the air conditioning control device 1 in Fig. 1 for anti-condensation control. With reference to Fig. 5, the content of the anti-condensation control performed by the air conditioning control device 1, wherein the air conditioning system 100 includes a plurality of devices 30, is described. A pattern generation method performed by the device operation table compiler 131 is described below with reference to Fig. 6 described.

[0055] First, the data acquisition device 11 acquires the current data 121 at a predetermined detection interval and stores the acquired current data 121 in the memory 12 ( Fig. 5, step S101). Then, the condensation occurrence determination means 132 collates the current data 121 stored in the memory 12 by the data acquisition means 11 with the device operation table 123 to determine whether the device operation table 123 contains a pattern that matches one in the current data 121. That is, the condensation occurrence determination means 132 searches the device operation table 123 for a pattern that matches a combination of the current operating states of the devices 30 contained in the device operation data 121b ( Fig. 5, step S102). If the condensation occurrence determination device 132 does not detect a pattern that matches any of the current data 121 ( Fig. 5, NO in step S102), then the process proceeds to step S113.

[0056] When the pattern matching one in the current data 121 is detected ( Fig. 5, YES in step S 102), then the condensation occurrence determining means 132 obtains the occurrence frequency associated with the detected pattern from the device operation table 123 ( Fig. 5, step S103). Then, the condensation occurrence determining means 132 determines whether the related occurrence frequency exceeds a predetermined threshold value ( Fig. 5, step S104). If the condensation occurrence determining means 132 determines that the related occurrence frequency is less than or equal to the threshold value ( Fig. 5, NO in step S104), then the process proceeds to step S113.

[0057] If the occurrence frequency exceeds the threshold ( Fig. 5, YES in step S104), then the condensation occurrence determination means 132 determines that each of the devices 30 continues the operation state so that the pattern is followed in the future, and obtains the change value of the water vapor associated with the pattern detected in step S102 ( Fig. 5, step S 105). In addition, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines that the data 121d for the number of people in the room in the current data 121 will still be retained in the future, and multiplies the unit value of generated water vapor by the number of people indicated in the data 121d for the number of people in the room, so that it determines a value of person-generated water vapor, which is the change value of the water vapor originating from the people ( Fig. 5, step S106). In addition, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines the current water vapor amount in the room from the information about the room temperature and humidity contained in the air conditioning device operation data 121a and the sensor data 121c stored in step S101 ( Fig. 5, step S107).

[0058] Then, the condensation occurrence determining means 132 adds the change value of the water vapor obtained in step S105 and the amount of person-generated water vapor determined in step S106 to the current water vapor amount in the room determined in step S107 to determine an achievable water vapor amount, which is a predicted value of the water vapor amount in the room after a certain time elapses ( Fig. 5, step S108). Then, the condensation occurrence determining means 132 determines a dew point temperature of each area in the room, namely the window surface and the wall surface, based on the achievable water vapor amount ( Fig. 5, step S109).

[0059] Subsequently, the condensation occurrence determination means 132 determines whether a predicted wall surface temperature, which is a predicted temperature of the wall surface temperature after a certain time has elapsed, falls below the dew point temperature determined in step S109. Accordingly, the condensation occurrence determination means 132 determines whether condensation occurs at any region in the space between the window surface and the wall surface after a certain time has elapsed ( Fig. 5, step S110).

[0060] In step S110, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 may determine that the change in the wall surface temperature over time is small and may use the wall surface temperature in the current data 121 as the predicted wall surface temperature. Furthermore, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 may determine a rate of change in the wall surface temperature from the time-history data 122 and correct the current wall surface temperature based on the determined rate of change to determine a predicted wall surface temperature. Furthermore, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 may use, as a predicted wall surface temperature, a temperature predicted using a thermal model of a wall or other factor.

[0061] Then, when the condensation occurrence determining means 132 determines that condensation occurs, ( Fig. 5, YES in step S110), the climate controller 133 controls the operation of the air conditioning device 2 such that the surface temperature of a part of the wall surface area where condensation is determined to occur becomes greater than or equal to the dew point temperature after a certain time has elapsed. That is, the climate controller 133 determines the change content of the operating state of the air conditioning device 2 and issues an anti-condensation climate command depending on the determined change content. Then, the climate controller 133 stores the issued anti-condensation climate command in the memory 12 as the climate control command 124 ( Fig. 5, step S111).

[0062] Here, the airflow direction, airflow rate, set temperature, and other aspects of the air conditioning device 2 are to be changed according to the anti-condensation climate command. The climate controller 133 can use a change in the set airflow direction, a change in the set airflow rate, and a change in the set temperature of the air conditioning device 2 to issue an anti-condensation climate command, so that the control content is gradually changed. For example, the climate controller 133 can change the set temperature within a comfortable temperature range and the airflow direction toward a range where condensation may occur if the surface temperature of the part of the wall surface area where condensation is determined to occur does not exceed the dew point temperature, even if the set temperature is changed.Then, when the surface temperature of the part of the wall surface area where condensation is determined to occur does not exceed the dew point temperature even if the target airflow direction is changed, the climate controller 133 may change the target airflow amount depending on, for example, a difference between a predicted temperature of the area after the target time elapses and the dew point temperature, and may increase the amount of airflow.

[0063] In turn, when the condensation occurrence determining means 132 determines that no condensation occurs ( Fig. 5, NO in step S110), the climate controller 133 issues a normal climate control command indicating that the control content of the air conditioning device 2 is in the normal state. Then, the climate controller 133 stores the issued normal climate control command in the memory 12 as the climate control command 124 ( Fig. 5, step S112).

[0064] Then, the device operation table compiler 131 updates the contents of the patterns in the device operation table 123. That is, the device operation table compiler 131 organizes the time history data 122 over a predetermined period of time, stored up to the present time, as patterns, and stores the patterns in the device operation table 123 ( Fig. 5, step S113).

[0065] The output device 14 reads the climate control command 124 from the memory 12. Then, the output device 14 issues a control command according to the climate control command 124 and outputs the issued control command to the air conditioning device 2 ( Fig. 5, step S114). The display device 15 reads the climate control command 124 from the memory 12. Then, the display device 15 displays information about the control content of the climate control command 124, ie, information about the current control state obtained from the climate control 133 ( Fig. 5, step S115), and then the process returns to step S101. That is, the air conditioning control device 1 periodically executes a sequence of processes shown in steps S101 to S115 in Fig. 5, in a predetermined detection interval.

[0066] The operation was described above in the order of step numbers in Fig. 5, but the order is not limited to this order. For example, any of the processes in steps S105 to S107 may be executed first. Similarly, any of the processes in steps S113 to S115 may be executed first. In the foregoing description, the display device 15 reads the climate control command 124 from the memory 12 by way of example and not limitation. For example, a control unit such as the climate controller 133 may cause the display device 15 to display information about the control content of the climate control command 124.

[0067] In Fig. 5, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 also adds the change value of water vapor and the amount of person-generated water vapor to the current water vapor amount in the room, thereby determining an achievable water vapor amount, by way of example and not limitation. For example, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 may first determine, as a total change value of water vapor, the change value of water vapor in the room over a period from the current time until the elapse of a certain time.That is, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 can add the amount of person-generated water vapor, which is determined by multiplying the unit amount of generated water vapor by the number of people specified in the number of people in the room data 121d, to the water vapor change value obtained from the device operation table 123, so that a total water vapor change value until a certain time has elapsed is predicted. Then, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 can add the predicted total water vapor change value to the current water vapor amount in the room, so that an achievable water vapor amount is determined.

[0068] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of a setup operation table compiler 131 in Fig. 2. With reference to Fig. 6, a process for generating and updating the device operation table 123 by the device operation table compiler 131 is described. It should be noted that the sequence of processes performed in S201 to S209 in Fig. 6, the process of S113 in Fig. 5 corresponds.

[0069] First, the setup operation table compiler 131 obtains the time history data 122 obtained over a period from the time of the current data 121 to a predetermined period set in advance from the memory 12 ( Fig. 6, step S201). Then, the device operation table compiler 131 obtains information about combinations of operating states of the devices 30 from the time history 122b of the device operation data in the obtained time history data 122 and stores the information in the device operation table 123 as time series data. That is, the device operation table compiler 131 chronologically organizes combinations of the operating states of the devices 30 into patterns ( Fig. 6, step S202).

[0070] Then, the facility operation table compiler 131 calculates the amount of water vapor in the room at each time point from the time point 122a of the air conditioning device operation data and the time point 122c of the sensor data. Each time point corresponds to a time point at the end of the elapsed times, as shown in Fig. 3. The facility operation table compiler 131 calculates the relationship between the elapsed time and the change value of water vapor based on the calculated water vapor amount at each time point, and stores the calculation result in the facility operation table 123. More specifically, the facility operation table compiler 131 subtracts the amount of person-generated water vapor, which is determined by multiplying the number of people at each time point by the unit amount of generated water vapor, from a water vapor amount at each time point obtained from an observed value to determine a change value of water vapor, and stores the change value of water vapor in the facility operation table 123.That is, the device operation table compiler 131 chronologically organizes the water vapor change values ​​and the information on the combinations of operation states of the devices 30, which are stored in association with each other in step S202, to form patterns (. Fig. 6, step S203).

[0071] Subsequently, in step S202, the device operation table compiler 131 determines whether the device operation table 123 contains patterns indicating the combinations of the operating states of the devices 30 stored in the device operation table 123. That is, the device operation table compiler 131 determines whether the device operation table 123 has a pattern that matches the combination of the operating states of the devices 30 at the current time ( Fig. 6, step S204). If the combination of the operating states of the devices 30 is included ( Fig. 6, YES in step S204), then the device operation table compiler 131 performs a learning process and increases the occurrence frequency of the pattern that matches the combination of the operating states of the devices 30 at the current time by one ( Fig. 6, step S205).

[0072] If there is no combination of facilities 30 in the company ( Fig. 6, NO in step S204), the device operation table compiler 131 determines whether the device operation table 123 has reached a maximum memory size ( Fig. 6, step S206).

[0073] When the facility operation table 123 has reached the maximum memory size ( Fig. 6, YES in step S206), then the facility operation table compiler 131 extracts patterns with an old last update date and time from the facility operation table 123 ( Fig. 6, step S207). Then, the setup operation table compiler 131 selects and deletes a pattern associated with the lowest occurrence frequency from the extracted patterns ( Fig. 6, step S208). Then, the device operation table compiler 131 registers the pattern generated in step S202 again in the device operation table 123 and sets its occurrence frequency to 1 ( Fig. 6, step S209). If the device operation table 123 has not reached the maximum memory size ( Fig. 6, NO in step S206), then the setup operation table compiler 131 executes the process in step S209.

[0074] Here, the device operation table compiler 131 can determine the water vapor amounts at the time points calculated in step S203 in the device operation table 123 through learning calculation. That is, in the device operation table 123, the operating times of the devices 30 can be further correlated with the water vapor amounts in the space. This configuration allows the condensation occurrence determination device 132 to predict the amount of water vapor generated in the future by the currently operating device 30 from the relationship between the device operation data 121b in the past and the water vapor amount in the space at that time.

[0075] As described above, in the air conditioning control device 1 in Embodiment 1, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 uses a change value of water vapor predicted by collating the device operation data 121b with the device operation table 123 to determine whether condensation occurs in the room after a certain time has elapsed. Then, the air conditioning controller 133 controls the operation of the air conditioning device 2 based on the determination result of the condensation occurrence determination device 132. Accordingly, the air conditioning control device 1 can control the operating state of the air conditioning device depending on a change in the amount of water vapor in a room. Therefore, even if the amount of water vapor in the room changes, the occurrence of condensation can be prevented.

[0076] Furthermore, the device operation table compiler 131 performs learning processes for a change value of water vapor or other information stored in device operation data by using the time history 122b of the device operation data containing information about the operating states of the devices 30 and the time history 122c of the sensor data containing information regarding the water vapor in the room. That is, the air conditioning control device 1 can update the information in the device operation table 123 by using the most recent time history 122b of the device operation data containing the current device operation data 121b and the most recent time history 122c of the sensor data containing the current sensor data 121c, with a detection timing corresponding to a predetermined detection interval.Accordingly, the air conditioning control device 1 can determine whether condensation occurs in the room by using the most recent change value of the water vapor with which the learning process was performed and other information, and therefore the detection accuracy can be improved.

[0077] In addition, the air conditioning control device 1 classifies the frequencies at which the devices 30 are used, combinations of the devices 30, and operation periods of the devices 30 into patterns based on the time history data 122, and stores the patterns as the device operation table 123 in the memory 12. When the devices 30 are started to be used in the future, the device operation table 123 is referred to, thereby predicting the change value of water vapor based on the devices 30 that are used simultaneously and the duration of the use period.

[0078] Specifically, when the device unit 3 includes a plurality of devices 30 that change the amount of water vapor, the memory 12 stores the device operation data 121b and the time history 122b of the device operation data for each of the devices 30. Then, the device operation table compiler 131 classifies combinations of the operating states of the devices 30 in the time history 122b of the device operation data into patterns and stores information about the occurrence numbers for each of the classified patterns in the device operation table 123 as the occurrence frequency. If the occurrence frequency associated with the pattern of the device operation data 121b exceeds a threshold value, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 obtains the water vapor change value from the device operation table 123.Accordingly, when a combination of the devices 30 is operated at a high frequency, the air conditioning control device 1 can predict future changes in the operating states of the devices 30, and it can predict a change value of the water vapor caused by the devices 30.

[0079] Even if the device unit 3 includes only one device 30, the operating states of the device 30 can be organized into patterns if the operating states of the device 30 are controllable. That is, the device operation table compiler 131 can classify the changes in the operating state of the one device 30 into patterns and store information about the number of occurrences of each of the classified patterns in the device operation table 123 as the occurrence frequency. Thus, when the device 30 operates in an operating state set at a high frequency, the air conditioning control device 1 can predict future changes in the operating state of the device 30 and can predict a change value of water vapor caused by the device 30.

[0080] Furthermore, when the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines that condensation is occurring, the air conditioning controller 133 changes at least one of the airflow direction, airflow amount, and set temperature of the air conditioning device 2 so that they fall within a range in which comfortable conditions are maintained within the room. This configuration allows the air conditioning controller 1 to prevent condensation before it occurs without compromising comfort in the room.

[0081] Furthermore, the air conditioning control device 1 includes the room occupancy number specifier 11d, which specifies the number of occupants in the room. When determining whether condensation occurs in the room after a certain period of time, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 can determine and use the amount of water vapor generated by the occupants.

[0082] Accordingly, the air conditioning control device 1 can determine the probability of future occurrence of condensation by taking into account the amount of water vapor generated by the bodies of people present in the room.

[0083] Furthermore, in the air conditioning control device 1, the display device 15 displays information about the future control state of the climate control 133. This operation allows the user viewing the display device 15 to recognize that the air conditioning device 2 is operating under anti-condensation control, with a climate setting being automatically changed. Consequently, the air conditioning control device 1 can improve the user's satisfaction level and prevent a user who is unaware of a setting change from further changing the setting.

[0084] It is known that condensation is likely to occur in a wall surface area such as a thermal bridge area, a corner area, and a window surface with low thermal insulation properties, and that the temperature of the wall surface area is different from the room temperature. However, the air conditioning device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 uses the room temperature to determine the occurrence of condensation, and a temperature distribution along the wall surface area where condensation actually occurs is not considered.

[0085] In this regard, the air conditioning system 100 includes, as the sensor 40 or similar component, a wall temperature sensor that measures a wall surface temperature, which is a surface temperature of a wall surface area in the room. The condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines whether condensation occurs in the room based on information about the wall surface temperature measured by the wall temperature sensor. That is, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines a dew point temperature in the room by using the change value of water vapor predicted from the device operation table 123 and information about the wall surface temperature measured by the wall temperature sensor.When the predicted wall surface temperature falls below the dew point temperature after a certain period of time, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines that condensation is occurring in the room. If the wall temperature sensor is an infrared camera or other similar device that detects wall surface temperature distribution information indicating the temperature distribution along the surface of the wall surface area, the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines whether condensation is occurring for each part of the wall surface area based on the wall surface temperature distribution information. Accordingly, the air conditioning control device 1 can identify an area likely to undergo condensation, such as the room.the window 6 and the corner areas 7 by taking into account the distribution of wall surface temperatures without pre-entering position and other information. This configuration saves the user time and allows for more accurate identification of a location with a high probability of condensation occurring.

[0086] Furthermore, the climate controller 133 changes the settings of the air conditioning device 2 for a part of the wall surface area where the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines that condensation occurs. For example, the climate controller 133 performs control to change, for example, the airflow direction of the air conditioning device 2 so that air is blown toward the area on the wall surface area where condensation is determined to occur. That is, the air conditioning control device 133 performs climate control so that at least one of the airflow direction and the airflow amount is changed for a part likely to be subject to condensation, such as a window surface, a thermal bridge area, and a corner area of ​​the wall. As a result, the occurrence of condensation can be more accurately prevented, and condensation can be prevented before it occurs.

[0087] That is, the air conditioning control device 1 in Embodiment 1 accumulates pieces of the time histories of operations commonly performed by a user on the devices 30 and learns high-frequency user operations. When the device 30 that can change the amount of water vapor, such as a cooking device, a ventilating device, a dehumidifier, and a humidifier, is operated, or when the number of people in the room changes, the air conditioning control device 1 can accurately determine whether condensation is occurring. Furthermore, the air conditioning control device 1 automatically changes the operating state of the air conditioning device 2 based on the determination result. Accordingly, the air conditioning control device 1 can prevent condensation before it occurs and mitigate conditions such as high humidity.Avoid contamination and unhygienic conditions caused by mold growth on the inside of a room as a result of condensation. Embodiment 2

[0088] Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an air conditioning system including an air conditioning controller according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The air conditioning system 100 described above in Embodiment 1 includes the air conditioning controller 1 as a separate element from the air conditioning device 2. In contrast, in an air conditioning system 100A in Embodiment 2, the air conditioning controller 1 is included in the air conditioning device 2. Here, the same elements as those in Embodiment 1 are assigned the same reference numerals and will not be described herein.

[0089] As in Fig. As illustrated in FIG. 7, in the air conditioning system 100A, the air conditioning control device 1 is mounted in an indoor unit 22A of an air conditioning device 2A. The air conditioning device 2A is configured in a manner similar to that in the air conditioning device 2 of Embodiment 1, except that the air conditioning device 2A includes the air conditioning control device 1. That is, the air conditioning system 100A operates in a manner similar to that in the air conditioning system 100 of Embodiment 1, and the operation of the air conditioning system 100A will therefore not be described herein.

[0090] The air conditioning control device 1 may be configured integrally with a controller (not shown) that controls the indoor unit 22A, or with a controller (not shown) that controls the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 22A. Note that the air conditioning device 2A may be an integrated air conditioning device that has both the function of the outdoor unit 21 and the function of the indoor unit 22A, in which case the air conditioning control device 1 is mounted in the main body of the air conditioning device 2A.

[0091] As described above, in the air conditioning device 2A in Embodiment 2, the air conditioning controller 1 determines the probability of condensation occurring after a certain time elapses based on a predicted change in water vapor, and controls the operation of the air conditioning device 2A based on the determination result. Accordingly, the air conditioning device 2A can control the operating state of the air conditioning device depending on the change in the amount of water vapor in a room. Therefore, even if the amount of water vapor in the room changes, the occurrence of condensation can be prevented.

[0092] That is, the air conditioning device 2A includes the air conditioning control device 1 and is controlled by the air conditioning control device 1. That is, in the air conditioning device 2A, the internal control device can predict the amount of water vapor that will be generated in the room from a change in the operating state of the device 30 and automatically change the operating state of the air conditioning device 2A. Consequently, costs can be reduced and condensation can be prevented before it occurs. The other advantageous effects are similar to those of Embodiment 1. Embodiment 3

[0093] Fig. Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an air conditioning control device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The air conditioning system in Embodiment 3 is configured in a manner similar to that of the air conditioning system 100 shown in Fig. 1, or the air conditioning system 100A shown in Fig. 7. It has an air conditioning control device 1B as shown in Fig. 8, instead of the air conditioning control device 1. The elements equivalent to those in the above-described embodiments 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals and will not be described herein.

[0094] As in Fig. As illustrated in Figure 8, the air conditioning control device 1B includes a calculation device 13B including a device controller 134 that controls the operation of the device 30. The remaining elements of the calculation device 13B are similar to those of the calculation device 13 of Embodiment 1. The device controller 134 changes the operating state of the device 30 when the condensation occurrence determination device 132 determines that condensation is occurring after the air conditioning controller 133 changes the operating state of the air conditioning device 2. Hereinafter, the control of the air conditioning device 2 and the device 30 performed by the air conditioning control device 1B to prevent condensation in the room before it occurs is referred to as anti-condensation control.

[0095] That is, the air conditioning control device 1B can perform the anti-condensation control by combining the control of the air conditioning device 2 and the control of the device 30. For example, the air conditioning control device 1B can perform the control in such a way that, when the occurrence of condensation is unavoidable, after the air conditioning controller 133 controls the air conditioning device 2 so that the comfort in the room is not impaired, the device controller 134 changes the operating state of the device 30.That is, the air conditioning control device 1B also controls the operating state of the device 30 that affects the amount of water vapor in the room under conditions in which condensation may occur and in which the occurrence of condensation is unavoidable only with the control of the air conditioning device 2, thereby being able to prevent condensation before it occurs.

[0096] When the device unit 3 includes a plurality of devices 30, the device controller 134 may be configured to be capable of controlling all of the devices 30, or to control at least one of the plurality of devices 30. That is, the device controller 134 changes the operating state of a device 30 that is a control target with respect to the controllability set in advance for each of the devices 30. For example, the device controller 134 stops the operation of the device 30 that is a control target, or decreases the operating state of the device 30 that is the control target, so that the temperature in the room becomes greater than or equal to the dew point temperature after a certain time elapses.

[0097] Specifically, the device controller 134 determines the content of the control to be performed for the device 30, such as suspending the operation of the device 30 when the condensation occurrence determination means 132 determines that condensation occurs even after the air conditioning controller 133 changes the operating state of the air conditioning device 2, depending on the determined content, and performs air conditioning control so that the occurrence of condensation is prevented. Then, the device controller 134 issues a device control command 125 indicating the determined content of the control, and stores the issued device control command 125 in the memory 12. That is, the memory 12 in Embodiment 3 is configured to store the device control command 125.The device controller 134 may issue the device control command 125 when, for example, a control command is received from the climate control 133.

[0098] Furthermore, in Embodiment 3, the output device 14 has a function of reading the device control command 125 from the memory 12 and transmitting a control command to the device 30, which is a control command, according to the device control command 125. That is, the device controller 134 controls the device 30 through the output device 14.

[0099] Furthermore, in Embodiment 3, the display device 15 has the function of displaying the control performed for the device 30 by the device controller 134. That is, the display device 15 displays information about the control state of the device 30 based on the device control command 125 stored in the memory 12. Other functional elements and operations are similar to those in Embodiment 1 described above and will not be described herein.

[0100] As described above, the air conditioning control device 1B determines whether condensation occurs after a certain time has elapsed by using a change in water vapor predicted from the device operation data 121b and the device operation table 123, and controls the operation of the air conditioning device 2 based on the determination result. Accordingly, since the air conditioning control device 1B can control the operating state of the air conditioning device depending on a change in the amount of water vapor in the room, the occurrence of condensation can be prevented even if the amount of water vapor in the room changes.

[0101] Furthermore, in Embodiment 3, the air conditioning control device 1B can control the device 30. Therefore, when the occurrence of condensation can be avoided only by controlling the air conditioning device 2, the device 30 is controlled to change the amount of water vapor, thereby making it possible to prevent condensation before it occurs. The air conditioning control device 1B can more accurately prevent the occurrence of condensation when the device 30, which is a control target of the device controller 134, is a humidifier or a similar device that generates water vapor. The other advantageous effects are similar to those of Embodiments 1 and 2.

[0102] The above-described embodiments are preferred specific examples of an air conditioning control device, an air conditioning apparatus, and an air conditioning system, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these aspects. For example, in Fig.4, the building in which the air conditioning control device 1 performs the anti-condensation control is a normal house, and the air conditioning device 2 is a room air conditioner, which is a typical air conditioning device installed in a house, by way of example and not by way of limitation. For example, a building in which the air conditioning control devices 1 and 1B perform the anti-condensation control may be a large building or other structure, and the air conditioning device 2 may be an air-handling unit or other unit installed in a large building or other structure. Furthermore, the air conditioning control devices 1 or 1B may include an input device that accepts an input operation performed by a user or any other person.The user or any other person can set and change a threshold, detection interval, elapsed time, or other aspect through the input device. List of reference symbols 1 air conditioning control device 1B Air conditioning control device 2 air conditioning device 2A Air conditioning device 3 furnishing units 4 Sensor unit 5 Control network 6 windows 7 Corner area 11 Data access facility 11a Air conditioning device data receiver 11b Facility data recipient 11c Sensor data receiver 11d Specifier for number of people in the room 12 storage 13, 13B Calculation device 14 Output device 15 Display device 21 outdoor unit 22, 22A indoor unit 23 Remote control 30 furnishings 30a cooker with inductive heating 30b Ventilation fan 30c humidifier 31 Facility sensor 40 sensors 100, 100A air conditioning system 121 current data 121a Air conditioning device operating data 121b Facility operating data 121c Sensor data 121d Data for number of people in the room 122 time series data 122a Time history of air conditioning device operating data 122b Time history of facility operating data 122c Time course of sensor data 122d Time series of data for number of people in the room 123 Facility operating table 124 Climate control command 125 Setup control command 131 Setup Operation Table Compiler 132 Condensation occurrence determination device 133 Climate control 134 Facility control 200 room

Claims

[1] Air conditioning control device (1, 1B) for controlling an air conditioning device (2, 2A) configured to carry out air conditioning of a room (200) in which a device (30) that changes the amount of water vapor is located, the air conditioning control device (1, 1B) comprising: - a data acquisition device (11) comprising a device data receiver (11b) and a sensor data receiver (11c); - a memory (12); and - a calculation device (13) comprising a condensation occurrence determination device (132) and a climate control device (133), wherein the memory (12) is configured to store device operating data (121b) relating to an operating state of the device (30) and a device operating table (123) including an operating time of the device (30) and a change value of the water vapor in the room (200) in relation to each other, wherein the condensation occurrence determining means (132) is configured to predict the change value of the water vapor until after the lapse of a certain period of time by collating the device operation data (121b) with the device operation table (123) and determines whether condensation occurs in the space (200) after a certain time has elapsed by using the amount of water vapor in the space (200) and the predicted change value of the water vapor, and wherein the climate control (133) is configured to change an operating state of the air conditioning device (2, 2A) when the condensation occurrence determining means (132) determines that condensation occurs. [2] Air conditioning control device (1, 1B) according to claim 1, further comprising a device operation table compiler (131) configured to create the device operation table (123), wherein the memory (12) is configured to store sensor data (121c) containing information about the amount of water vapor in the room (200), a time history (122c) of the sensor data (121c) being a history of the sensor data (121c) in past times, and a time history (122b) of the device operating data (121b) being a history of the device operating data (121b) in past times, and wherein the device operation table compiler (131) is configured to perform a learning process for the change value of the water vapor stored in the device operation table (123) by using the time history (122b) of the device operation data (121b) and the time history (122c) of the sensor data (121c). [3] Air conditioning control device (1, 1B) according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of devices (30) are located in the room (200), wherein the device operation table compiler (131) is configured to classify combinations of operating states of the plurality of devices (30) into patterns from the time course (122b) of the device operation data (121b) and to store information about an occurrence number of each of the classified patterns in the device operation table (123) as an occurrence frequency, and wherein the condensation occurrence determining means (132) is configured to predict the change value of the water vapor from the device operation table (123) when the occurrence frequency associated with a pattern in the device operation data (121b) exceeds a threshold value. [4] The air conditioning control device (1, 1B) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the device operation table (123) has the operating time of the device (30) and the amount of water vapor in the room (200) associated with each other. [5] The air conditioning control device (1, 1B) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the air conditioning controller (133) is configured to change at least one of an airflow direction, an airflow amount, and a set temperature of the air conditioning device (2, 2A) when the condensation occurrence determining means (132) determines that condensation occurs. [6] The air conditioning control device (1, 1B) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a specifier (11d) for a number of people in the room (200) configured to specify the number of people in the room (200), wherein the memory (12) is configured to store information about an amount of water vapor generated per person, and wherein the condensation occurrence determining means (132) is configured to determine whether condensation occurs by further using an amount of person-generated water vapor determined by multiplying the amount of water vapor generated per person by the number of people specified by the specifier (11d) for the number of people in the room (200). [7] The air conditioning control device (1B) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a device controller (134) configured to change the operating state of the device (30) when the condensation occurrence determining device (132) determines that condensation occurs after the air conditioning controller (133) changes the operating state of the air conditioning device (2, 2A). [8] The air conditioning control device (1, 1B) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a display device (15) configured to display information about a current control state of the air conditioning controller (133). [9] An air conditioning device (2A) comprising an air conditioning control device (1, 1B) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the air conditioning device (2A) is controlled by the air conditioning control device (1, 1B). [10] Air conditioning system (100, 100A) comprising: - Air conditioning control device (1, 1B) according to one of claims 1 to 8; and - a wall temperature sensor (40) configured to measure a wall surface temperature, which is a surface temperature of a wall surface area in the room (200), wherein a condensation occurrence determining device (132) is configured to determine a dew point temperature in the room (200) by using a change value of the water vapor predicted from the device operation table (123) and by using information about the wall surface temperature measured by the wall temperature sensor (40), and to determine that condensation occurs in the room (200) when a predicted temperature of the wall surface temperature falls below the dew point temperature after a certain time elapses. [11] Air conditioning system (100, 100A) according to claim 10, wherein the wall temperature sensor (40) comprises an infrared camera, and wherein the condensation occurrence determining means (132) is configured to acquire wall surface temperature distribution information indicating a temperature distribution along a surface of the wall surface region from the infrared camera as the wall surface temperature information, and to determine whether condensation occurs for each part of the wall surface region based on the acquired wall surface temperature distribution information. [12] The air conditioning system (100, 100A) according to claim 11, wherein the climate controller (133) is configured to change a setting of the air conditioning device (2, 2A) for a part of the wall surface area where the condensation occurrence determining means (132) determines that condensation occurs. [13] The air conditioning system (100A) according to any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising an air conditioning device (2A) including the air conditioning control device (1, 1B), wherein the air conditioning device (2A) is controlled by the air conditioning control device (1, 1B). [14] Method for controlling an air conditioning device (2, 2A) for air conditioning a room (200) in which a device (30) is located which changes a quantity of water vapor, the method comprising: - receiving and storing current device operating data (121b) relating to an operating state of the device (30) and current sensor data (121c) containing information about the amount of water vapor in the room (200); - accumulating pieces of the current device operating data (121b) and sensor data (121c) over a predetermined period in the past as a time history (122b) of the device operating data (121b) and a time history (122c) of the sensor data (121c), - creating and storing a device operation table (123) which associates an operating time of the device (30) and a change value of the water vapor in the room (200); - collating the facility operating data (121b) with the facility operating table (123); - Predicting a change in water vapor after a certain period of time; - determining whether condensation occurs in the space (200) after a certain time has elapsed by using the water vapor value in the space (200) and the predicted change value of the water vapor; - changing an operating state of the air conditioning device (2, 2A) when it is determined that condensation occurs; and - performing a learning process for the change value of the water vapor stored in the device operation table (123) using the time history (122b) of the device operation data (121b) and the time history (122c) of the sensor data (121c). [15] The method of claim 14, wherein, when a plurality of the devices (30) are located in the space (200), - classifying combinations of operating states of the plurality of devices (30) into patterns from the time course (122b) of the device operation data (121b) and storing information about an occurrence number of each of the classified patterns in the device operation table (123) as an occurrence frequency, and - predicting the change value of the water vapor from the device operation table (123) when the occurrence frequency associated with a pattern in the device operation data (121b) exceeds a threshold value.

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