A method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator, and the circulator

Abstract

This invention provides a method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator, which is capable of sufficiently equalizing the temperature of the room space, and also provides a circulator. [Solution] First, an information input step is performed in which spatial information of the room to be controlled by the air conditioning is input (see step S101). Next, an environmental measurement step is performed in which spatial environmental information of the room to be controlled by the air conditioning is measured (see step S102). Next, a control calculation processing step is performed in which a control signal for the circulator 1 is calculated based on the spatial environmental information data obtained in the environmental measurement step (see step S103). Next, a calculation result output step is performed (see Figure 3, step S104). In this calculation result output step, a control step is performed in which the placement of the circulator 1 and the airflow rate and direction are controlled based on the calculation results of the calculation processing server 5.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator and the circulator.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of this type of room, for example, there is a circulation method using a fan disclosed in Patent Document 1. This fan detects the upper temperature of the room with the first temperature sensor of the transmitter and receives it by the fan placed on the floor. The lower temperature inside the room is detected by the second temperature sensor provided in the fan. The microcomputer in the fan detects the temperature difference between the upper temperature and the lower temperature of the room. When a temperature difference of a certain degree or more is detected, the fan is rotated for circulation to eliminate temperature unevenness and make the temperature appropriate.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, since the above conventional fan is at a fixed position on the floor, even when the fan is rotated to circulate the air in the room, there are places where the wind of the fan does not reach efficiently. Therefore, it is difficult to eliminate the temperature unevenness in the space of the room and sufficiently uniformize the temperature in the space of the room by the circulation using the conventional fan.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, an information input step of inputting space information about at least the layout of the rooms and furniture for air conditioning control into a terminal device, A measurement step in which spatial environmental information regarding at least the temperature distribution and airflow of a room is measured by a terminal device, An information transmission step in which spatial information and spatial environment information are sent from a terminal device to a computing server, A calculation processing step in which a calculation processing server calculates the optimal placement of a circulator in the room, as well as the airflow and direction, to eliminate temperature unevenness or air stagnation and equalize the temperature distribution in the room, based on the spatial information obtained from the temperature distribution measured by the terminal device, or to detect air stagnation in the room as obtained from the airflow measured by the terminal device, and to equalize the temperature distribution in the room by eliminating the temperature unevenness or air stagnation. A control step that controls the placement of the circulator and the airflow and direction based on the calculation results. This configuration provides a method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulating fan.

[0006] In this configuration, spatial information about the room layout and furniture arrangement of the room to be air-conditioned is input to the terminal device. The terminal device also measures spatial environmental information about the room's temperature distribution and airflow. The processing server detects air stagnation in the room based on the measured temperature distribution and airflow, and calculates the optimal placement of the circulator in the room, as well as its airflow and direction, to equalize the temperature distribution in the room. The circulator is placed in the room at the location calculated by the processing server and is controlled to the airflow and direction calculated by the processing server.

[0007] Therefore, the circulator is positioned in the optimal location in the room to equalize the temperature distribution, calculated according to the room's temperature distribution and airflow measured at any given time. At that location, the airflow volume and direction are controlled to the optimal level for equalizing the temperature distribution in the room. This provides a method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator, which can eliminate temperature unevenness in the room and sufficiently equalize the temperature throughout the room.

[0008] Furthermore, the present invention is A calculation result transmission step in which the calculation result is sent from the calculation processing server to the terminal device, The system includes a calculation result display step, which causes the calculation result received by the terminal device to be displayed on the display unit of the terminal device. The control step is characterized by being performed by user operation based on the calculation result displayed on the display unit.

[0009] With this configuration, it is possible to sufficiently equalize the temperature of a room using a commercially available standalone circulator without adding any special equipment to the circulator.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention is The system includes a calculation result transmission step that sends the calculation result from the calculation processing server to the smart remote control that operates the circulator. The control step involves sending control signals from the smart remote control to a circulator equipped with an autonomous mobile unit, based on the calculation results received by the smart remote control, to control the placement, airflow, and direction of the circulator, and then the circulator performs the control based on the received control signals. It is characterized by the following:

[0011] This configuration allows the circulator to be equipped with an autonomous mobile unit, enabling it to be positioned in the optimal location within the room to equalize the temperature distribution without requiring user intervention. Therefore, improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using the circulator becomes more efficient and requires less effort.

[0012] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the measurement step involves using a thermographic application installed on the terminal device to make an infrared camera connected to the terminal device function as a thermographic camera, thereby measuring the temperature distribution of the room.

[0013] This configuration allows for the creation of a thermographic camera using a thermographic application installed on a terminal device and an infrared camera. Therefore, it is possible to inexpensively measure the temperature distribution within a room and inexpensively improve the air conditioning efficiency of the room using a circulating fan.

[0014] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the measurement step involves measuring the airflow in a room by using an airflow observation application installed on the terminal device to photograph the room space with the camera provided on the terminal device.

[0015] This configuration allows for the measurement of airflow within a room using an airflow observation application installed on a terminal device. Therefore, airflow within a room can be measured inexpensively, enabling cost-effective improvement of room air conditioning efficiency using a circulating fan.

[0016] Furthermore, the present invention is A circulator unit having a wind-feeding mechanism that changes the amount of air blown out according to the motor speed, and an oscillating mechanism that changes the direction of the air blown out by the wind-feeding mechanism at least in the up, down, left, and right directions, and changing the amount of air blown by the wind-feeding mechanism according to a wind-feeding control signal regarding the amount of air received from a smart remote control, and changing the direction of air blown by the oscillating mechanism according to a wind-direction control signal regarding the wind direction received from a smart remote control, A mobile unit is provided integrally with the circulator unit and has an autonomous driving mechanism, which controls its own position in the room by the autonomous driving mechanism according to a position control signal regarding the position in the room to be air-conditioned, received from a smart remote control. A circulator equipped with [specific features / features] was constructed.

[0017] In this configuration, the circulator changes the airflow volume and direction of the air it sends out according to the airflow control signal and airflow direction control signal received from the smart remote control. In addition, the circulator changes its own position within the air-conditioned room according to the position control signal received from the smart remote control.

[0018] Therefore, by grasping at least the layout information of the rooms to be air-conditioned and the furniture, as well as the spatial environment information regarding at least the temperature distribution and air flow in the rooms, and transmitting to the circulator, via a smart remote control, the layout of the circulator in the room, the air volume, and the air direction, which are optimized to eliminate temperature unevenness or air stagnation and to equalize the temperature distribution in the room space based on the grasped spatial information and spatial environment information, it is possible to improve the air-conditioning efficiency of the room by the circulator.

Advantages of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, as described above, it is possible to provide a method for improving the air-conditioning efficiency of a room by a circulator and the circulator itself, which can eliminate temperature unevenness in the room space and sufficiently equalize the temperature in the room space.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing a schematic external appearance of a circulator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a block diagram showing the correlation between each device in a method for improving the air-conditioning efficiency of a room by a circulator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] It is a general flowchart showing a method for improving the air-conditioning efficiency of a room by a circulator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] It is a sequence diagram of a method for improving the air-conditioning efficiency of a room by a circulator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] Next, modes for carrying out a method for improving the air-conditioning efficiency of a room by a circulator according to the present invention and the circulator itself will be described.

[0022] Figure 1 shows a schematic external view of a circulator 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] The circulator 1 is configured with a circulator section 1a and a running section 1b integrated into one unit.

[0024] The circulator unit 1a has a wind-feeding mechanism that changes the amount of air it blows out according to the rotation speed of the motor, and an oscillation mechanism that changes the direction of the air blown out by the wind-feeding mechanism at least in the up, down, left, and right directions. The wind-feeding mechanism changes the amount of air blown out from the circulator unit 1a according to a wind-feeding control signal related to the amount of air received from the smart remote control 2. The oscillation mechanism changes the direction of the air blown out from the circulator unit 1a according to a wind-direction control signal related to the wind direction received from the smart remote control 2.

[0025] The running unit 1b has wheels on its lower part and an autonomous driving mechanism that moves autonomously using these wheels. The autonomous driving mechanism controls its own position in the room, that is, the position of the circulator 1, according to a position control signal regarding the position in the room to be air-conditioned, which is received from the smart remote control 2.

[0026] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the correlation between each device in a method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Smartphone 3 constitutes a terminal device and measures at least the temperature distribution and airflow as spatial environment information in the room being air-conditioned. Note that the terminal device is not limited to smartphone 3; a tablet or personal computer (PC) may also be used. Smartphone 3 comes pre-installed with a thermographic app and an airflow observation app.

[0028] Smartphone 3 uses an installed thermographic app to make the infrared camera connected to it function as a thermographic camera 4, thereby measuring the temperature distribution of the room under air conditioning control. Alternatively, Smartphone 3 measures the temperature difference between the temperature captured by the thermographic camera 4 connected to it and the temperature measured by the thermometer with communication function 4, thereby understanding the movement and variation of heat within the room and measuring the temperature distribution of the room under air conditioning control.

[0029] Furthermore, Smartphone 3 measures the airflow in the room being air-conditioned by using the installed airflow observation app and taking pictures of the room with its camera. Smartphone 3 also inputs spatial information, such as the room's layout and furniture arrangement, as well as information on the air conditioner's installation location, by taking pictures of the room with its camera.

[0030] The processing server 5 receives spatial environment information measured by the smartphone 3 and spatial information entered into the smartphone 3. It then detects temperature unevenness in the room from the input spatial environment information of the room's temperature distribution and detects stagnant air in the room from the input spatial environment information of the room's airflow. Furthermore, based on spatial information such as the room's layout, furniture arrangement, and air conditioner installation location entered from the smartphone 3, the processing server 5 calculates the optimal placement of the circulator 1 in the room, as well as its airflow and direction, to eliminate temperature unevenness or stagnant air and equalize the temperature distribution in the room.

[0031] The processing server 5 transmits the calculated information on the placement of the circulator 1 in the room, as well as the airflow and air direction, to the smart remote control 2. The smart remote control 2 transmits the received information on the placement of the circulator 1 in the room, as well as the airflow and air direction, to the circulator 1 as a placement control signal, an airflow control signal, and an air direction control signal.

[0032] The circulator 1 moves to the room location indicated by the location control signal received from the smart remote control 2 by driving the travel unit 1b. The circulator 1 also sends out air at the airflow rate and direction indicated by the circulator unit 1a at the moved location, according to the airflow rate and direction control signals received from the smart remote control 2.

[0033] Figure 3 is a general flowchart showing a method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 4 is a sequence diagram of the same method.

[0034] In this method, the first step is to input spatial information of the room to be controlled by the air conditioning system (see Figure 3, step S101).

[0035] In this information input step, as shown in Figure 4, spatial information about at least the floor plan and furniture layout of the room to be air-conditioned is input to the smartphone 3 by the user's operation of the smartphone 3.

[0036] Next, an environmental measurement step is performed to measure spatial environmental information of the room to be controlled by the air conditioning system (see Figure 3, step S102).

[0037] In this environmental measurement step, as shown in Figure 4, spatial environmental information regarding at least the temperature distribution and airflow of the room to be air-conditioned is measured by the user's environmental measurement operation using a smartphone 3 and input into the smartphone 3. The room's temperature distribution is measured using environmental data transmitted to the smartphone 3 from a thermographic camera 4 and a thermometer with communication capabilities 4. In this process, heat generated by people and objects in the room is excluded from the measurement, while airflow includes all the air in the room.

[0038] Next, a control calculation processing step is performed to calculate a control signal for the circulator 1 in order to effectively operate the air conditioning provided by the circulator 1, based on the spatial environment information data obtained in the environmental measurement step of S102 (see Figure 3, step S103).

[0039] In this control calculation processing step, as shown in Figure 4, first, an information transmission step is performed in which the spatial information and spatial environment information obtained by the smartphone 3 are transmitted from the smartphone 3 to the calculation processing server 5. The calculation processing server 5 detects temperature unevenness in the room space, which is understood from the received spatial environment information of temperature distribution, and air stagnation in the room space, which is understood from the received spatial environment information of airflow. Then, based on the received spatial information such as the room layout, furniture layout, and air conditioner installation location, it calculates the optimal placement of the circulator 1 in the room, as well as the airflow rate and air direction, to eliminate temperature unevenness or air stagnation and equalize the temperature distribution in the room space. This calculation result is transmitted from the calculation processing server 5 to the smartphone 3.

[0040] Next, a calculation result output step is performed (see Figure 3, step S104). In this calculation result output step, a control step is performed to control the placement of the circulator 1 and the airflow rate and direction based on the calculation results of the calculation processing server 5.

[0041] Specifically, if the circulator 1 differs from the one shown in Figure 1 and does not correspond to the control signals of the smart remote control 2, then, as shown in Figure 4, a calculation result display step is performed first, in which the calculation results received from the processing server 5 to the smartphone 3 are displayed on the smartphone 3's display. Subsequently, a control step is performed by the user to control the placement of the circulator and the airflow and direction based on the calculation results displayed on the smartphone 3's display.

[0042] Furthermore, if the circulator 1 is as shown in Figure 1 and is controllable in response to the control signals of the smart remote control 2, then, as shown in Figure 4, a calculation result transmission step is first performed in which the calculation results of the processing server 5 are sent from the processing server 5 to the smart remote control 2. Subsequently, based on the calculation results received by the smart remote control 2, control signals for controlling the placement, airflow, and air direction of the circulator 1 are sent from the smart remote control 2 to the circulator 1. The control steps for controlling the placement, airflow, and air direction of the circulator 1 are automatically performed by the driving unit 1b and the circulator unit 1a that receive these control signals.

[0043] After the execution of the calculation result output step in S104, the process is fed back to the environmental measurement step in S102, and the processes from S102 to S104 are executed repeatedly.

[0044] In this embodiment of the method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator, as described above, spatial information such as the layout of the room to be air-conditioned and the arrangement of furniture is input to the smartphone 3. The smartphone 3 also measures spatial environmental information such as the temperature distribution and airflow in the room. The processing server 5 detects stagnant air in the room based on the measured temperature distribution and stagnant air in the room based on the measured airflow. It then calculates the optimal placement of the circulator 1 in the room, as well as the airflow and airflow direction, to equalize the temperature distribution in the room. The circulator 1 is placed in the room at the location calculated by the processing server 5 and is controlled to the airflow and airflow direction calculated by the processing server 5.

[0045] Therefore, the circulator 1 is positioned in the optimal location in the room to equalize the temperature distribution, calculated according to the room's temperature distribution and airflow measured at any given time. At that location, it is controlled to the optimal airflow volume and direction for equalizing the temperature distribution in the room. As a result, it is possible to provide a method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using the circulator 1, which eliminates temperature unevenness in the room and makes the temperature of the room sufficiently uniform. As a result, it becomes possible to flexibly respond to changes in the room's temperature distribution due to changes in furniture layout or people's movement using existing air conditioning equipment, leading to energy savings, decarbonization, and a reduction in air conditioning costs.

[0046] Furthermore, if the circulator 1 does not correspond to the control signals of the smart remote control 2, the room temperature can be sufficiently uniformly distributed using a commercially available standalone circulator without adding any special devices such as the moving unit 1b to the circulator 1. If the calculation server 5 determines that one circulator is insufficient to sufficiently uniformly distribute the room temperature, the calculation result display step, in which the calculation result is displayed on the display unit of the smartphone 3, may include a suggestion to add more circulators.

[0047] Furthermore, if the circulator 1 is controllable in response to the control signals of the smart remote control 2, as shown in Figure 1, by equipping the circulator unit 1a with an autonomously moving unit 1b, the circulator 1 can be automatically positioned in the optimal location in the room to equalize the temperature distribution within the room without requiring any user operation. This makes it possible to improve the air conditioning efficiency of the room using the circulator 1 with minimal effort.

[0048] Furthermore, by configuring a thermographic camera 4 using a thermographic app installed on a smartphone 3 and an infrared camera, the temperature distribution of the room space can be measured in the environmental measurement step S102, allowing for inexpensive measurement of the room's temperature distribution and inexpensive improvement of the room's air conditioning efficiency using the circulator 1.

[0049] Furthermore, by using an airflow observation app installed on smartphone 3 to measure the airflow in the room using the environmental measurement step of S102, the airflow in the room can be measured inexpensively, and the air conditioning efficiency of the room using circulator 1 can be improved inexpensively.

[0050] Furthermore, the circulator 1 in this embodiment changes the airflow volume and direction of the air sent from the circulator unit 1a according to the airflow control signal and airflow direction control signal received from the smart remote control 2. In addition, the circulator 1 changes its own position in the air-conditioned room according to the position control signal received from the smart remote control 2.

[0051] Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a circulator 1 that can improve the air conditioning efficiency of a room by grasping spatial information and spatial environment information, and transmitting to the circulator 1 via the smart remote control 2 the optimal placement of the circulator in the room, as well as the airflow rate and airflow direction, which are calculated based on the grasped spatial information and spatial environment information, in order to equalize the temperature distribution in the room.

[0052] In the above embodiment, the case where the processing server 5 is provided separately from the terminal device such as the smartphone 3 was described. However, by mounting the processing server 5 on the terminal device such as the smartphone 3, it is possible to reduce the device configuration without having to prepare a separate processing server 5, thereby improving the air conditioning efficiency of the room by the circulator 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1... Circulator 1a... Circulator section 1b... Running section 2…Smart remote control 3…Smartphone (terminal device) 4. Thermal imaging camera or thermometer with communication capabilities 5… Processing Server

Claims

1. An information input step involves inputting spatial information, at least regarding the layout of the room and the arrangement of furniture, into a terminal device, A measurement step in which spatial environmental information regarding at least the temperature distribution and airflow of the room is measured by the terminal device, An information transmission step of transmitting the spatial information and the spatial environment information from the terminal device to the computing server, A calculation processing step in which the calculation processing server calculates the optimal placement of a circulator in the room, as well as its airflow and direction, based on the spatial information, which is determined by detecting temperature unevenness in the room space as determined from the temperature distribution measured by the terminal device, or by detecting stagnant air in the room space as determined from the airflow measured by the terminal device, and then determining the optimal placement of the circulator in the room, as well as its airflow and direction, in order to eliminate the temperature unevenness or stagnant air and equalize the temperature distribution in the room space. A control step that controls the arrangement of the circulator, the airflow rate and the airflow direction based on the result of the calculation. A method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator equipped with a circulator.

2. A calculation result transmission step of transmitting the result of the calculation from the calculation processing server to the terminal device, The system includes a calculation result display step, in which the result of the calculation received by the terminal device is displayed on the display unit of the terminal device. The control step is performed by user operation based on the result of the calculation displayed on the display unit. The method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator as described in feature 1.

3. The system includes a calculation result transmission step in which the result of the calculation is transmitted from the calculation processing server to the smart remote control that operates the circulator. The control step is performed by the circulator, which has an autonomous driving unit, after the smart remote control transmits a control signal to the circulator, which has an autonomous driving unit, based on the result of the calculation received by the smart remote control, to control the arrangement of the circulator, the airflow volume and the airflow direction. The method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator as described in feature 1.

4. The method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the measurement step involves measuring the temperature distribution of the room by using a thermographic application installed on the terminal device to make the infrared camera connected to the terminal device function as a thermographic camera.

5. The method for improving the air conditioning efficiency of a room using a circulator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the measurement step involves measuring the airflow in the room space by taking a picture of the room space with a camera provided by the terminal device using an airflow observation application installed on the terminal device.

6. A circulator unit having a wind-feeding mechanism that changes the amount of air blown out according to the rotation speed of the motor, and an oscillating mechanism that changes the direction of the air blown out by the wind-feeding mechanism at least in the up, down, left, and right directions, and changing the amount of air blown by the wind-feeding mechanism according to a wind-feeding control signal related to the amount of air received from a smart remote control, and changing the direction of air blown by the oscillating mechanism according to a wind-direction control signal related to the wind direction received from the smart remote control, A driving unit is provided integrally with the aforementioned circulator unit and has an autonomous driving mechanism, which controls its own position in the room by the autonomous driving mechanism according to a position control signal regarding the position in the room to be air-conditioned, received from the smart remote control. A circulator equipped with this feature.

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