Air conditioning system and air conditioning control method

Abstract

To realize air flow control for preventing virus infection.SOLUTION: Among a plurality of outlet ports 10-1 to 10-3 supplying air to a control object space and a plurality of inlet ports 20-1 to 20-3 exhausting air from the space, an air conditioning controller 12 of an air conditioning system instructs to open the outlet port and close the inlet port in a first area and close the outlet port and open the inlet port in a second area among a plurality of areas 9-1 to 9-3 partitioning the space. An area certified as the area with long retention time of an occupant is preliminarily designated as the first area and the area certified as the area with short retention time of the occupant is preliminarily designated as the second area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioning system, and more particularly to an air conditioning system and an air conditioning control method capable of realizing airflow control for preventing infectious diseases. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, variable air volume (VAV) air conditioning systems have been used in spaces such as offices to measure the indoor temperature of each room and adjust the volume of air supplied to the room (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] The spread of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has drawn attention to air conditioning control (ventilation). Experts from the Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of Japan have pointed out the following points (I) to (IV).

[0004] (I) Droplet infection cannot be prevented by air conditioning (ventilation). Measures such as maintaining a distance of at least 1 to 2 meters are necessary. (II) It is advisable to maintain interpersonal distance of 1 to 2 meters or more and to use both medium-performance filters and adequate ventilation.

[0005] (III) It is desirable for ventilation to have a ventilation rate of at least 2 times per hour (Japan Hospital Equipment Design Guidelines). The ventilation rate is the amount of outside air taken in per hour divided by the room volume. (IV) In offices, the law on maintaining a sanitary environment in buildings requires that there be a minimum of 30 m per person. 3 The standard is the amount of outdoor air intake per hour (based on carbon dioxide concentration). The ceiling height is 2.8m and the occupied area is 5m 2 / person, the ventilation rate is 2.1 times / h.

[0006] In this way, the operation of air conditioning equipment as a measure against COVID-19 infection has been proposed. However, in the conventional air conditioning systems disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, even if the required ventilation rate is met, there are places in the air flow in the indoor space where ventilation is good and places where ventilation is poor locally. In other words, conventional air conditioning systems do not intentionally control the air flow, and there is a possibility that the air flow is not appropriate for preventing infectious diseases such as COVID-19. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-132396 A [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-178249 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an air conditioning system and an air conditioning control method that can realize airflow control for preventing viral infection. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The air conditioning system of the present invention includes an airflow environment setting unit configured to instruct, among a plurality of air outlets supplying air to a space to be controlled and a plurality of air inlets discharging air from the space, to open the air outlet and close the air inlet in a first area among a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the space, and to close the air outlet and open the air inlet in a second area among the plurality of areas; an air outlet control unit configured to open the air outlet in the first area and close the air outlet in the second area in response to an instruction from the airflow environment setting unit; and an air inlet control unit configured to close the air inlet in the first area and open the air inlet in the second area in response to an instruction from the airflow environment setting unit. a stay time calculation unit configured to calculate a stay time of a person in each area for each area and for each person based on a detection result of a human detection sensor provided in each area of ​​the space; and an area determination unit configured to classify an area in which a person's stay time is determined to be long as the first area and to classify an area in which a person's stay time is determined to be short as the second area based on a history of past stay times calculated by the stay time calculation unit. The present invention is characterized by comprising:

[0011] Further, an air conditioning control method of the present invention includes a first step of issuing an instruction to open the air outlet and close the inlet of a first area among a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the space and a plurality of inlets that exhaust air from the space, and to close the air outlet and open the inlet of a second area among the plurality of areas; a second step of controlling the air outlet of the first area to be opened and the air outlet of the second area to be closed in response to the instruction from the first step; and a third step of controlling the inlet of the first area to be closed and the inlet of the second area to be opened in response to the instruction from the first step. a fourth step of calculating a time spent by a person in each area for each area and for each person based on a detection result of a human detection sensor provided in each area of ​​the space; and a fifth step of classifying an area determined to have a long time spent by a person into the first area and classifying an area determined to have a short time spent by a person into the second area based on a history of past stay times calculated in the fourth step. The present invention is characterized in that it comprises: Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, by providing an airflow environment setting unit that instructs opening the air outlet in a first area and closing the air inlet, and closing the air outlet in a second area and opening the air inlet, an air outlet control unit that controls the opening and closing of the air outlet in accordance with instructions from the airflow environment setting unit, and an air inlet control unit that controls the opening and closing of the air inlet in accordance with instructions from the airflow environment setting unit, it is possible to achieve appropriate airflow control to prevent infectious diseases such as the new coronavirus.

[0014] In addition, in the present invention, by providing a stay time calculation unit and an area determination unit, the first area and the second area can be automatically designated. In the present invention, the administrator of the air conditioning system can be saved from the trouble of manually designating the areas.

[0015] Furthermore, in the present invention, by providing an area determination unit, airflow control for preventing infectious diseases can be performed in real time. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example in which a plurality of air outlets are provided in one VAV unit in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which a plurality of suction ports are provided in one suction port damper in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning controller according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a VAV controller according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the airflow control according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning controller according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of airflow control according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of airflow control according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning controller according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of airflow control according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer that realizes the VAV controller and the air conditioning controller according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] [Principle of the invention] The position of the suction port is an important factor in creating an airflow for preventing infectious diseases, but the position of the suction port cannot be changed to create a desired airflow. Therefore, the inventor came up with the idea of ​​changing the apparent position of the suction port by opening and closing it.

[0018] [First Example] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The air conditioning system includes an air conditioner 1, a cold water valve 2 that controls the amount of cold water to the air conditioner 1, a hot water valve 3 that controls the amount of hot water to the air conditioner 1, an air supply duct 7 that supplies air from the air conditioner 1 to areas 9-1 to 9-3, VAV units 8-1 to 8-3 that are variable air volume units that control the amount of air supplied to the areas 9-1 to 9-3 for each area, VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3 that control the VAV units 8-1 to 8-3, and an air conditioning controller 12 that controls the entire system. The air conditioner is equipped with temperature sensors 13-1 to 13-3 that measure the indoor temperatures of areas 9-1 to 9-3, a return air duct 14, intake dampers 15-1 to 15-3 that adjust the amount of air discharged from areas 9-1 to 9-3 to the return air duct 14, an exhaust adjustment damper 16 that adjusts the amount of air discharged to the outside, a return air adjustment damper 17 that adjusts the amount of return air returning to the air conditioner 1, an outdoor air adjustment damper 18 that adjusts the amount of outdoor air taken in to the air conditioner 1, and a temperature sensor 19 that measures the temperature of the supply air.

[0019] The air conditioner 1 is composed of a cooling coil 4, a heating coil 5, and a fan 6. In this embodiment, the space inside the building is divided into a plurality of areas 9-1 to 9-3, and VAV units 8-1 to 8-3 and VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3 are provided for each area 9-1 to 9-3. Each area 9-1 to 9-3 is not separated by walls or the like, and is a space that allows air to circulate.

[0020] A damper (not shown) is provided in each of the VAV units 8-1 to 8-3, so that the amount of supply air passing through the VAV units 8-1 to 8-3 can be adjusted. In Fig. 1, 10-1 to 10-3 are supply air outlets from the VAV units 8-1 to 8-3, 20-1 to 20-3 are suction ports, and 21 is an outside air intake.

[0021] In the example of FIG. 1, one air outlet is provided for each VAV unit (each area), but in an actual building, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of air outlets 10-1 are often provided for one VAV unit 8-1.

[0022] Similarly, in the example of FIG. 1, one suction port is provided for each suction port damper (for each area), but as shown in FIG. 3, multiple suction ports 20-1 may be provided for one suction port damper 15-1.

[0023] Next, a general VAV will be briefly described. Air cooled by cooling coil 4 or air heated by heating coil 5 of air conditioner 1 is blown out by fan 6. The air (supply air) blown out by fan 6 is supplied to VAV units 8-1 to 8-3 of each of areas 9-1 to 9-3 via supply air duct 7, passes through VAV units 8-1 to 8-3, and is supplied to each of areas 9-1 to 9-3 from air outlets 10-1 to 10-3.

[0024] VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3 calculate the required airflow for areas 9-1 to 9-3 based on the deviation between the indoor temperature measured by temperature sensors 13-1 to 13-3 in areas 9-1 to 9-3 and the indoor temperature set value, and send the required airflow values ​​to air conditioning controller 12, while controlling the opening of dampers (not shown) in VAV units 8-1 to 8-3 to ensure the required airflow.

[0025] The supply air that passes through the VAV units 8-1 to 8-3 and is blown out to the areas 9-1 to 9-3 through the air outlets 10-1 to 10-3 contributes to the air conditioning control in the areas 9-1 to 9-3, and then is discharged through the air inlets 20-1 to 20-3, the air inlet dampers 15-1 to 15-3, the return air duct 14, and the exhaust air adjustment damper 16, but a part of the air is returned to the air conditioner 1 as return air through the return air adjustment damper 17. Then, with respect to the return air returned to the air conditioner 1, outside air is taken in at a predetermined ratio through the outside air adjustment damper 18. The opening degree of each of the exhaust air adjustment damper 16, the return air adjustment damper 17, and the outside air adjustment damper 18 is adjusted by a command from the air conditioning controller 12.

[0026] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioning controller 12, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the VAV controller 11-1.

[0027] The air conditioning controller 12 has an operation amount calculation unit 120 that calculates an operation amount indicating the opening degree of the cold water valve 2 and the hot water valve 3, an operation amount output unit 121 that outputs the operation amount to the cold water valve 2 and the hot water valve 3, an airflow control unit 122 that controls the fan 6 of the air conditioner 1, an airflow environment setting unit 123 that instructs the controller 1 to open the air outlet of the first area and close the air inlet, and to close the air outlet of the second area and open the air inlet, and a damper control unit 124 (air inlet control unit) that closes the air inlet damper of the first area and opens the air inlet damper of the second area in accordance with the instructions of the airflow environment setting unit 123.

[0028] VAV controller 11-1 has an airflow calculation unit 110 that calculates the required airflow for area 9-1 based on the deviation between the indoor temperature measured by temperature sensor 13-1 in the corresponding area 9-1 and the indoor temperature set value, a required airflow value notification unit 111 that notifies the air conditioning controller 12 of the required airflow value for area 9-1, and a damper control unit 112 (air outlet control unit) that controls the opening of a damper in VAV unit 8-1 to ensure the required airflow and opens and closes the damper in response to instructions from airflow environment setting unit 123. VAV controllers 11-2 and 11-3 have a similar configuration to VAV controller 11-1.

[0029] The manipulated variable calculation unit 120 of the air conditioning controller 12 calculates the manipulated variable so that the supply air temperature measurement value measured by the temperature sensor 19 matches the supply air temperature set value, and the manipulated variable output unit 121 outputs the manipulated variable calculated by the manipulated variable calculation unit 120 to the cold water valve 2 and the hot water valve 3. In this way, the openings of the cold water valve 2 and the hot water valve 3 are controlled, and the amount of heat medium (cold water or hot water) supplied to the air conditioner 1 is controlled. When the air conditioner 1 is in cooling operation, the opening of the hot water valve 3 is fixed at 0%, and when the air conditioner 1 is in heating operation, the opening of the cold water valve 2 is fixed at 0%.

[0030] Air volume calculation units 110 of VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3 calculate the required air volumes for areas 9-1 to 9-3 based on the deviation between the indoor temperatures measured by temperature sensors 13-1 to 13-3 in the corresponding areas 9-1 to 9-3 and the indoor temperature set values.

[0031] Damper control sections 112 of VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3 control the opening degrees of dampers (not shown) in VAV units 8-1 to 8-3 so as to ensure the required air volumes for the corresponding areas 9-1 to 9-3.

[0032] The required airflow value notification units 111 of the VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3 notify the air conditioning controller 12 of the required airflow values ​​for the areas 9-1 to 9-3 determined by the airflow calculation units 110 of the VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3, respectively.

[0033] The airflow control unit 122 of the air conditioning controller 12 calculates the total required airflow value of the entire system from the required airflow values ​​sent from each VAV controller 11-1 to 11-3, determines the fan rotation speed according to this total required airflow value, and controls the fan 6 of the air conditioner 1 to achieve this determined fan rotation speed. The operation of the air conditioning system described above is similar to that of a conventional air conditioning system.

[0034] Next, the characteristic airflow control of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 6 is a flow chart explaining the operation of the airflow control of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the air outlet (damper of the VAV unit) of an area where people stay for a long time, such as a pre-designated seat, is opened, and the air inlet (air inlet damper) is closed. Also, the air outlet is closed and the air inlet is opened in an area where people stay for a short time, such as a pre-designated passage.

[0035] For example, an air conditioning system manager designates in advance an area that is recognized as an area where people stay for a long time as a first area, and designates in advance an area that is recognized as an area where people stay for a short time as a second area.

[0036] In the example of Figure 1, for example, among areas 9-1 to 9-3, area 9-1 is designated as an area (second area) where people stay for a short time, and areas 9-2 and 9-3 are designated as areas (first area) where people stay for a long time.

[0037] The airflow environment setting unit 123 of the air conditioning controller 12 instructs the VAV controller 11-1 in the area 9-1 where people spend a short time in the area to close the air outlet 10-1 (Step S100 in FIG. 6).

[0038] Damper control section 112 of VAV controller 11-1 closes the damper of VAV unit 8-1 in response to an instruction from airflow environment setting section 123 (FIG. 6, step S101). For VAV units 8-2 and 8-3 in areas 9-2 and 9-3 for which there is no instruction from airflow environment setting section 123 to close the air outlets, the dampers remain open, and the air volume control described above is maintained.

[0039] Furthermore, the airflow environment setting unit 123 instructs the damper control unit 124 to open the air inlet 20-1 in the area 9-1 where people stay for a short time, and to close the air inlets 20-2 and 20-3 in the areas 9-2 and 9-3 where people stay for a long time (Step S102 in FIG. 6).

[0040] In response to an instruction from airflow environment setting unit 123, damper control unit 124 opens air inlet damper 15-1 in area 9-1 and closes air inlet dampers 15-2 and 15-3 in areas 9-2 and 9-3 (Step S103 in FIG. 6).

[0041] Air from the air outlet travels through various routes within the room before being discharged to the air inlet. The time it takes for air to travel is likened to the age of the air, from when it is born into the room at the air outlet and when it ends its life by being discharged from the air inlet, and the time it takes for the air to reach a specific point from the air outlet is called the age of the air (reference: Kato Shinsuke, "Commentary: Special Feature: Monitoring Technology for the Safety of Buildings - Temporal and Spatial Variation Characteristics of Indoor Air Pollution and Their Detection", Measurement and Control, Vol. 46, No. 8, August 2007 issue). The longer the air age, the more it will be contaminated by viruses and pollutants. Also, generally, the closer to the air outlet the shorter the air age.

[0042] Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to supply people with air that is as uncontaminated as possible, the air outlets in areas where people stay for a long time are opened. Also, if the intake ports near people are open, the proportion of fresh air escaping through the intake ports before reaching the people increases. Therefore, the intake ports in areas where people stay for a long time are closed. Also, the air age becomes longer at points closer to the intake ports, and the possibility of the air being contaminated by viruses or pollutants increases. Therefore, in this embodiment, the intake ports in areas where the air is less likely to be contaminated and where people stay for a short time are opened.

[0043] In this manner, in this embodiment, appropriate airflow control can be achieved to prevent infectious diseases such as the new coronavirus.

[0044] In this embodiment, the air outlets in areas where people spend a short time are closed, so the temperature is not controlled in those areas. In areas where the temperature is not controlled, the thermal environment may become uncomfortable. However, there are few people in the areas where the air outlets are closed, and as described above, the areas are not separated by walls or the like, and the air conditioned in the areas where the air outlets are open also flows into the areas where the air outlets are closed, so the thermal environment in the areas where the air outlets are closed is unlikely to become extremely uncomfortable.

[0045] [Second Example] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that areas where people stay for long periods of time and areas where people stay for short periods of time are specified in advance. Therefore, an air conditioning system manager or the like needs to manually specify the areas. In contrast to this, in this embodiment, areas with long stay times and areas with short stay times are automatically detected and designated from human detection statistical information.

[0046] Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to this embodiment, and Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning controller of this embodiment. The air conditioning system of this embodiment adds human detection sensors 22-1 to 22-3, each of which is, for example, an infrared sensor, to each area of ​​the air conditioning system of the first embodiment.

[0047] The air conditioning controller 12a of this embodiment includes an operation amount calculation unit 120, an operation amount output unit 121, an air volume control unit 122, an airflow environment setting unit 123a, a damper control unit 124, a stay time calculation unit 125 that calculates the stay time of people in each of the areas 9-1 to 9-3 for each area and for each person based on the detection results of the human detection sensors 22-1 to 22-3, a memory unit 126 that stores the calculation results of the stay time calculation unit 125, and an area determination unit 127 that classifies an area where a person's stay time is determined to be long as a first area and classifies an area where a person's stay time is determined to be short as a second area based on the history of past stay times calculated by the stay time calculation unit 125.

[0048] 9 and 10 are flow charts for explaining the operation of airflow control in this embodiment. The stay time calculation unit 125 of the air conditioning controller 12a calculates the stay time of a person in each of the areas 9-1 to 9-3 for each area and person based on the detection results of the human detection sensors 22-1 to 22-3 (step S200 in FIG. 9). The stay time calculation unit 125 constantly calculates such stay time. The calculation results of the stay time calculation unit 125 are stored in the memory unit 126 (step S201 in FIG. 9).

[0049] The calculation method of the staying time may be other than the method of this embodiment. For example, cameras may be used as the human detection sensors 22-1 to 22-3, and the staying time may be calculated based on the results of image processing of images captured by the cameras.

[0050] The area determination unit 127 of the air conditioning controller 12a performs statistical processing on the data of stay time stored in the memory unit 126 for each area to calculate a representative value of past stay time for each area (maximum, average, minimum, etc.), and classifies each of the areas 9-1 to 9-3 into either an area where people stay for a long time or an area where people stay for a short time based on this representative value for each area (Figure 10, step S202).

[0051] For example, the area determination unit 127 determines an area where a representative value of stay time is equal to or greater than a predetermined time threshold as an area where people stay for a long time, and determines an area where a representative value of stay time is less than the time threshold as an area where people stay for a short time.

[0052] However, if there is no area whose representative value of stay time is equal to or greater than the time threshold, the area determination unit 127 determines the area with the longest representative value of stay time among the areas 9-1 to 9-3 as the area with the longest stay time. Similarly, if there is no area whose representative value of stay time is less than the time threshold, the area determination unit 127 determines the area with the shortest representative value of stay time among the areas 9-1 to 9-3 as the area with the shortest stay time. In this way, the areas are specified so that there are at least one area with long stay time and one area with short stay time.

[0053] The airflow environment setting unit 123a of the air conditioning controller 12a instructs the VAV controller of the area determined by the area determination unit 127 as an area where people stay for a short time to close the air outlet (Step S203 in FIG. 10).

[0054] The operation of the VAV controller that receives the instruction from the airflow environment setting unit 123a (step S204 in FIG. 10) is the same as step S101.

[0055] In addition, the airflow environment setting unit 123a instructs the damper control unit 124 to open the air inlets of areas determined by the area determination unit 127 as areas where people stay for a short time, and to close the air inlets of areas determined by the area determination unit 127 as areas where people stay for a long time (Step S205 in FIG. 10).

[0056] The operation of the damper control unit 124 that receives the instruction from the airflow environment setting unit 123a (step S206 in FIG. 10) is the same as that of step S103.

[0057] In this manner, in this embodiment, areas where people stay for long periods of time and areas where people stay for short periods of time can be automatically detected and specified. It is preferable to periodically perform the processes in steps S202 to S206 and appropriately correct the area classification.

[0058] [Third Example] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, areas with long and short stay times are automatically detected and designated based on past human detection statistical information, but in this embodiment, the airflow control is performed in real time.

[0059] Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to this embodiment, and Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning controller of this embodiment. The air conditioning system of this embodiment, like the second embodiment, further includes human detection sensors 22-1 to 22-3, each of which is formed of, for example, an infrared sensor, for each area.

[0060] The air conditioning controller 12b of this embodiment has an operation amount calculation unit 120, an operation amount output unit 121, an air volume control unit 122, an airflow environment setting unit 123b, a damper control unit 124, and an area determination unit 127b that classifies areas where people are present as first areas and areas where no people are present as second areas based on the detection results of the human detection sensors 22-1 to 22-3.

[0061] Fig. 13 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the airflow control of this embodiment. The area determination unit 127b of the air conditioning controller 12b classifies each of the areas 9-1 to 9-3 into an area where people are present (first area) and an area where people are not present (second area) based on the detection results of the human detection sensors 22-1 to 22-3 (Fig. 13, step S300).

[0062] The airflow environment setting unit 123b of the air conditioning controller 12b instructs the VAV controller of the area determined by the area determination unit 127b as an area where no one is present to close the air outlet (Step S301 in FIG. 13).

[0063] The operation of the VAV controller that receives the instruction from the airflow environment setting unit 123b (step S302 in FIG. 13) is the same as step S101.

[0064] In addition, the airflow environment setting unit 123b instructs the damper control unit 124 to open the suction ports of areas determined by the area determination unit 127b to have no people present, and to close the suction ports of areas determined by the area determination unit 127b to have people present (step S303 in FIG. 13).

[0065] The operation of the damper control unit 124 that receives the instruction from the airflow environment setting unit 123b (step S304 in FIG. 13) is the same as step S103.

[0066] In this way, in this embodiment, airflow control to prevent infectious diseases can be performed in real time, but the result of the determination by the area determination unit 127b may result in the suction inlets being closed in all areas. Since the supplied air volume must be recovered, it is necessary to open the minimum number of suction inlets required. Since the suction air volume per suction inlet is known, the minimum number of suction inlets that should be opened for the current total supply air volume of the entire system is known.

[0067] Therefore, if the airflow environment setting unit 123b determines that the number of suction ports that are actually open is insufficient compared to the minimum number of suction ports that should be open (step S305 in FIG. 13), it selects an area to satisfy the minimum required number of suction ports, and instructs the damper control unit 124 to open the suction ports in the selected area (step S306 in FIG. 13).

[0068] The damper control unit 124 opens the air inlet damper of the designated area in response to an instruction from the airflow environment setting unit 123b (Step S307 in FIG. 13). It is preferable that the positions of the open air inlets are spatially sparse, but the airflow environment setting unit 123b may arbitrarily select the areas in which the air inlets are opened.

[0069] The air conditioning controller 12b repeatedly performs the processes of steps S300 to S307 until the air conditioning control ends (YES in step S308 in FIG. 13).

[0070] In the first and second embodiments, too, there may be a case where the number of open suction inlets is insufficient for the supply air volume. If the number of suction inlets is insufficient, processing similar to steps S305 to S307 can be performed.

[0071] Furthermore, in the first to third embodiments, it is necessary to meet the required ventilation rate, but there may be cases where the VAV unit with the damper open is already at maximum airflow, and the required ventilation rate cannot be met by the airflow of the VAV unit with the damper open alone.

[0072] Therefore, when the required ventilation rate cannot be satisfied by the airflow volume of the VAV unit with the damper open alone, the airflow environment setting unit 123, 123a, 123b can select an arbitrary area to satisfy the required ventilation rate and instruct the VAV controller to open the air outlet of the selected area.

[0073] Each of the VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3 and the air conditioning controllers 12, 12a, and 12b in the first to third embodiments can be realized by a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device, and an interface with the outside, and a program that controls these hardware resources. An example of the configuration of this computer is shown in Fig. 14. The computer is equipped with a CPU 300, a storage device 301, and an interface device (I / F) 302.

[0074] In the case of the VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3, the I / F 302 is connected to the VAV units 8-1 to 8-3, the temperature sensors 13-1 to 13-3, and the air conditioning controllers 12, 12a, and 12b. In the case of the air conditioning controllers 12, 12a, and 12b, the I / F 302 is connected to the air conditioner 1, the valves 2 and 3, the dampers 15-1 to 15-3, 16 to 18, the temperature sensor 19, and the VAV controllers 11-1 to 11-3. A program for implementing the air conditioning control method of the present invention is stored in the storage device 301. The CPU 300 of each device executes the processes described in the first to third embodiments according to the program stored in the storage device 301. However, it is not necessary to realize all the configurations of the air conditioning controllers 12, 12a, and 12b in one computer, and they may be realized by multiple computers. [Industrial Applicability]

[0075] The present invention can be applied to air conditioning systems. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 1...air conditioner, 2...cold water valve, 3...hot water valve, 4...cooling coil, 5...heating coil, 6...fan, 8-1 to 8-3...VAV unit, 9-1 to 9-3...area, 10-1 to 10-3...air outlet, 11-1 to 11-3...VAV controller, 12, 12a, 12b...air conditioning controller, 13-1 to 13-3, 19...temperature sensor, 14...return air duct, 15-1 to 15-3...intake port damper, 16...exhaust adjustment damper, 17...return air adjustment damper, 18...outdoor air adjustment damper, 20-1 to 20-3...intake ports, 22-1 to 22-3...human detection sensors, 110...air volume calculation unit, 111...required air volume value notification unit, 112, 124...damper control unit, 120...operation amount calculation unit, 121...operation amount output unit, 122...air volume control unit, 123, 123a, 123b...airflow environment setting unit, 125...stay time calculation unit, 126...memory unit, 127, 127b...area determination unit.

Claims

1. an airflow environment setting unit configured to instruct, among a plurality of air outlets that supply air to a space to be controlled and a plurality of air inlets that exhaust air from the space, to open the air outlets and close the air inlets in a first area among a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the space, and to close the air outlets and open the air inlets in a second area among the plurality of areas; an air outlet control unit configured to open an air outlet in the first area and close an air outlet in the second area in response to an instruction from the airflow environment setting unit; an air inlet control unit configured to close an air inlet in the first area and open an air inlet in the second area in response to an instruction from the airflow environment setting unit; a stay time calculation unit configured to calculate a stay time of a person in each area for each area and for each person based on a detection result of a human detection sensor provided in each area of ​​the space; and an area determination unit configured to classify an area determined to have a long human stay time as the first area based on a history of past stay times calculated by the stay time calculation unit, and to classify an area determined to have a short human stay time as the second area.

2. a first step of instructing, among a plurality of air outlets for supplying air to a space to be controlled and a plurality of air inlets for discharging air from the space, to open the air outlets and close the air inlets in a first area among a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the space, and to close the air outlets and open the air inlets in a second area among the plurality of areas; a second step of controlling the air outlet in the first area to be opened and the air outlet in the second area to be closed in response to an instruction from the first step; a third step of controlling the suction port of the first area to be closed and the suction port of the second area to be opened in response to the instruction of the first step; A fourth step of calculating a stay time of a person in each area for each area and for each person based on a detection result of a human detection sensor provided in each area of ​​the space; and a fifth step of classifying an area determined to have a long human stay time based on the history of past stay times calculated in the fourth step into the first area, and classifying an area determined to have a short human stay time into the second area.

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