Management device, management method, and program

Abstract

Provided is a management device that can select a flying object capable of flying close to an air conditioner and that can acquire information about the air conditioner even if the buildings in which the flying object can fly are limited.　The management device comprises a building designation acquisition unit that acquires designation information for a building in which an air conditioner is installed, a flying object selection unit that selects a flying object corresponding to the building of the designation information acquired by the building designation acquisition unit, a flying object control unit that flies the flying object selected by the flying object selection unit to the vicinity of the air conditioner, and an information acquisition unit that acquires information relating to the air conditioner from the flying object.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a management device, a management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, remotely controlled flying objects such as drones have been used to manage various facilities, including air conditioning equipment. Also, a technology has been disclosed in which air temperatures at various positions in an air-conditioned space are detected by an air vehicle, and an air-conditioning system is operated based on the detected temperatures (see Patent Document 1). Also, a technology has been disclosed in which a device such as a smartphone acquires an infrared image of an area including an air conditioner's air outlet and transmits it to a server, which then determines the operating status of the air conditioner (see Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-085410 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2017 / 017791 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with remotely controlled flying objects such as drones, there is a problem in that there are sometimes restrictions on the buildings within which the flying object can fly, such as no-fly zones being set or the object being restricted from leaving the building.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides a management device, management method, and program that can select an aircraft that can fly close to an air conditioning unit and obtain information about the air conditioning unit, even if the number of buildings over which the aircraft can fly is limited. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] This invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one aspect of the present invention is a management device that includes a building designation acquisition unit that acquires designation information for a building in which an air conditioning unit is installed, an aircraft selection unit that selects an aircraft corresponding to the building of the designation information acquired by the building designation acquisition unit, an aircraft control unit that flies the aircraft selected by the aircraft selection unit to the vicinity of the air conditioning unit, and an information acquisition unit that acquires information about the air conditioning unit from the aircraft.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned management device, wherein the building designation acquisition unit acquires designation information for the building's section in addition to the designation information for the building, and the aircraft selection unit selects an aircraft corresponding to the designation information for the building and the designation information for the building's section.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned management device, which is equipped with a monitoring unit that monitors the operating data of the air conditioning device and, when an abnormal value is detected in the operating data, instructs the aircraft to obtain information regarding the air conditioning device.

[0009] Another aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned management device, wherein the information acquisition unit determines information about the air conditioning device that the aircraft should acquire based on operating data acquired from the air conditioning device.

[0010] Another aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned management device, further comprising a countermeasure decision unit that decides a countermeasure for the air conditioning device based on the operating data and information relating to the air conditioning device.

[0011] Another aspect of the present invention is a management method comprising a first step of acquiring designated information for a building in which an air conditioning unit is installed, a second step of selecting an aircraft corresponding to the building of the designated information acquired in the first step, a third step of flying the aircraft selected in the second step to the vicinity of the air conditioning unit, and a fourth step of acquiring information about the air conditioning unit from the aircraft.

[0012] Another aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as a building designation acquisition unit that acquires designation information for a building in which an air conditioning unit is installed, an aircraft selection unit that selects an aircraft corresponding to the building in the designation information acquired by the building designation acquisition unit, an aircraft control unit that flies the aircraft selected by the aircraft selection unit to the vicinity of the air conditioning unit, and an information acquisition unit that acquires information about the air conditioning unit from the aircraft. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The management device of the present invention can select an aircraft that can fly close to an air conditioner and obtain information about the air conditioner, even if the number of buildings over which the aircraft can fly is limited. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning apparatus management system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of a management device 100 according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] 10 is a table showing an example of the contents stored in an air conditioning apparatus DB 107 according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a table showing an example of the contents stored in the aircraft DB 108 according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a table showing an example of the contents stored in an acquired information DB 103 according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the management device 100 according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a notification screen by a notification unit 110 according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a management device 100 according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning device management system 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The management system 10 comprises a management device 100 and drones 200a, 200b, and 200c. The management device 100 uses the drones 200a, 200b, and 200c to manage air conditioning devices 300a, 300b, and 300c.

[0016] Drones 200a, 200b, and 200c are equipped with equipment such as a camera or an infrared camera that can observe air conditioning devices 300a, 300b, and 300c, and fly according to instructions from management device 100. Drone 200a is located in a position from which it can fly to the vicinity of the indoor unit of air conditioning device 300a in building B1. Drone 200b is located in a position from which it can fly to the vicinity of the indoor unit of air conditioning device 300b in section A1 of building B2. Drone 200c is located in a position from which it can fly to the vicinity of the indoor unit of air conditioning device 300c in section A2 of building B2.

[0017] Air conditioning device 300a is an air conditioning device installed in building B1 and is communicatively connected to management device 100. Air conditioning device 300b is an air conditioning device installed in section A1 of building B2 and is communicatively connected to management device 100. Air conditioning device 300c is an air conditioning device installed in section A2 of building B2 and is communicatively connected to management device 100. Building B2 is divided into multiple sections A1 and A2. These sections are sections in which drones 200b and 200c cannot move freely between them because there are doors separating them, or they are on different floors, for example.

[0018] Although FIG. 1 shows only drones 200a, 200b, and 200c, buildings B1 and B2, and sections A1 and A2, there may be more or fewer drones, buildings, and sections. Furthermore, there may be multiple indoor units of air conditioners within a section or building where one drone can fly. Furthermore, the objects observed by the drone may include things other than the indoor units, such as the piping or outdoor units of the air conditioners.

[0019] 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of a management device 100 according to this embodiment. The management device 100 includes a monitoring unit 101, an information acquisition unit 102, an acquired information DB (Data Base) 103, a building designation acquisition unit 104, an aircraft selection unit 105, an aircraft control unit 106, an air conditioning device DB 107, an aircraft DB 108, a countermeasure determination unit 109, and a notification unit 110.

[0020] The monitoring unit 101 monitors the operation data of the air conditioning units 300a, 300b, and 300c, and when an abnormal value is detected in the operation data, the monitoring unit 101 instructs the information acquisition unit 102 to acquire information about the air conditioning unit 300a, 300b, and 300c from which the abnormal value was detected, using one of the drones 200a, 200b, and 200c.

[0021] The information acquisition unit 102 acquires information about the air conditioning devices 300a, 300b, and 300c from the drones 200a, 200b, and 200c in accordance with instructions from the monitoring unit 101. The information acquisition unit 102 may refer to the acquired information DB 103 and determine the information items about the air conditioning devices that the drones 200a, 200b, and 200c should acquire based on the operating data acquired from the air conditioning devices 300a, 300b, and 300c. The information items about the air conditioning devices may include information indicating which indoor or outdoor unit the information is about. For example, the information acquisition unit 102 determines that the information item to acquire is a visible light image of the filter portion of the indoor unit based on the fact that the heat exchanger temperature of the indoor unit in the operating data exceeds a threshold. The information acquisition unit 102 notifies the building designation acquisition unit 104 of information specifying the air conditioning device. The information acquisition unit 102 may notify the building designation acquisition unit 104 of information designating an indoor unit or an outdoor unit in addition to information designating an air conditioner.

[0022] When the building designation acquisition unit 104 is notified of information designating an air conditioning apparatus from the information acquisition unit 102, it references the air conditioning apparatus DB 107 and acquires designation information for the building in which the air conditioning apparatus 300a, 300b, or 300c for which information is to be acquired is installed. The building designation information is information designating the building, such as a number identifying the building, the address of the building, or the property name of the building. The building designation acquisition unit 104 may be notified of information designating the indoor unit or the outdoor unit in addition to the information designating the air conditioning apparatus, and acquire the corresponding building designation information. Furthermore, the building designation acquisition unit 104 may acquire designation information for the section of the building and information indicating the installation location of the air conditioning apparatus, in addition to the building designation information. The section designation information is information designating a section of the building, such as a number identifying the section or the name of the section.

[0023] The air vehicle selection unit 105 refers to the air vehicle DB 108 and selects from among the drones 200a, 200b, and 200c a drone that corresponds to the building of the designation information acquired by the building designation acquisition unit 104. When the building designation acquisition unit 104 acquires designation information for the block of the building in addition to the designation information for the building, the air vehicle selection unit 105 selects a drone that corresponds to the designation information for the building and the designation information for the block of the building.

[0024] The air vehicle control unit 106 flies the drone selected by the air vehicle selection unit 105 from among the drones 200a, 200b, and 200c to the vicinity of the air conditioning unit 300a, 300b, and 300c from which information should be acquired. At this time, the air vehicle control unit 106 may use information indicating the installation location of the air conditioning unit acquired by the building designation acquisition unit 104.

[0025] The countermeasure determination unit 109 determines a countermeasure based on the operating data acquired by the monitoring unit 101 and the information related to the air conditioning apparatus acquired by the information acquisition unit 102. For example, the countermeasure determination unit 109 associates an abnormality in the heat exchanger temperature of the indoor unit with a clogged filter in the indoor unit and stores in advance cleaning of the filter portion of the indoor unit as a countermeasure. Then, when the countermeasure determination unit 109 detects an abnormality in the heat exchanger temperature of the indoor unit and a clogged filter from a visible light image of the filter portion of the indoor unit, it determines cleaning of the filter portion of the indoor unit as the countermeasure. Image recognition technology may be used to detect a clogged filter.

[0026] The notification unit 110 notifies the user or maintenance personnel of both or either of the information about the air conditioning devices 300a, 300b, and 300c acquired by the information acquisition unit 102 and the countermeasure decided by the countermeasure decision unit 109. This notification may be made by displaying on a display provided in the management device 100, or by using a messaging service such as email, SMS (Short Message Service), or text chat, or by displaying on a terminal such as a tablet terminal or smartphone used by the user or maintenance personnel.

[0027] The acquired information DB 103 stores the correspondence between abnormal values ​​in the operating data and items of information that should be acquired. The air conditioning device DB 107 stores information indicating the building or building section in which the air conditioning device is installed, in association with each of the air conditioning devices 300a, 300b, and 300c. The air vehicle DB 108 stores information indicating the building or building section in which the drone can fly, in association with each of the drones 200a, 200b, and 200c.

[0028] FIG. 3 is a table showing an example of the contents stored in the air conditioning apparatus DB 107 according to this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioning apparatus DB 107 stores, in association with each other, an air conditioning apparatus #, a corresponding indoor / outdoor unit #, a building #, a section #, and installation location coordinates. The air conditioning apparatus # is a number that identifies one of the air conditioning apparatuses 300a, 300b, or 300c. The corresponding indoor / outdoor unit # is a number that identifies the indoor unit or the outdoor unit. The building # is a number that identifies the building, B1 or B2, in which the indoor unit or outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus indicated by the air conditioning apparatus # and the corresponding indoor / outdoor unit # is installed. The section # is a number that identifies the section, A1 or A2, in which the indoor unit or outdoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus indicated by the air conditioning apparatus # and the corresponding indoor / outdoor unit # is installed. The installation position coordinates are coordinates that indicate the location where the indoor unit or outdoor unit of the air conditioner indicated by the air conditioner # and the corresponding indoor / outdoor unit # is installed.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of the contents stored in the air vehicle DB 108 according to this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the air vehicle DB 108 stores a building #, a section #, and an air vehicle # in association with each other. The air vehicle # is information identifying one of the drones 200a, 200b, and 200c. The building # is a number identifying a building in which the drone indicated by the air vehicle # can fly. The section # is a number identifying a section in which the drone indicated by the air vehicle # can fly. In addition to the above, the air vehicle DB 108 may also store information indicating time, such as the date, day of the week, and time zone, and the air vehicle selection unit 105 may also take time into consideration when selecting a drone. This makes it possible to handle cases where the sections in which the drones 200a, 200b, and 200c can fly change over time.

[0030] FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of the contents stored in the acquired information DB 103 according to this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 5, detection items, acquisition items, and indoor / outdoor are stored in association with each other. The detection items are information indicating abnormal values ​​detected from the operating data, such as an abnormality in the heat exchanger temperature of an indoor unit. The acquisition items are information indicating items to be acquired, such as a visible light image, an infrared image, or air temperature. The indoor / outdoor is information indicating whether information should be acquired about the indoor unit or the outdoor unit. For example, the acquired information DB 103 stores a visible light image of the filter portion of the indoor unit as an acquisition item, in association with an abnormality in which the heat exchanger temperature of the indoor unit exceeds a threshold value.

[0031] 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the management device 100 according to this embodiment. First, the monitoring unit 101 acquires operating data from the air conditioning devices 300a, 300b, and 300c (step Sa1). The monitoring unit 101 determines whether the acquired operating data contains an abnormality (step Sa2). If it is determined that no abnormality is contained, that is, if no abnormality is detected (step Sa2-No), the monitoring unit 101 returns to step Sa1.

[0032] On the other hand, when it is determined that an abnormality is included, that is, when an abnormality is detected (step Sa2-Yes), the information acquisition unit 102 refers to the acquired information DB 103 and acquires the acquired information item corresponding to the detected abnormality (step Sa3). Next, the building designation acquisition unit 104 refers to the air conditioning device DB 107 and acquires designation information for the building and section corresponding to the air conditioning device of the acquired item (step Sa4). Next, the aircraft selection unit 105 selects a drone corresponding to the acquired building and section (step Sa5). Next, the aircraft control unit 106 flies the selected drone to the vicinity of the air conditioning device of the acquired item (step Sa6).

[0033] Next, the information acquisition unit 102 acquires information about the air conditioner using the flying drone (step Sa7). Here, the acquired information is the information about the items acquired in step Sa3. Next, the countermeasure determination unit 109 determines a countermeasure based on the operating data acquired in step Sa1 and the information about the air conditioner acquired in step Sa7 (step Sa8). The notification unit 110 notifies the user or maintenance personnel of the countermeasure determined in step Sa8 (step Sa9).

[0034] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a notification screen by the notification unit 110 according to this embodiment. The notification screen G1 shown in FIG. 7 is an example of a screen that the notification unit 110 displays on the display of the management device 100, and includes Table TB1 and Table TB2. Table TB1 displays an abnormality (detected abnormality) detected by the monitoring unit 101. Table TB2 displays information (acquired information) acquired by the information acquisition unit 102 and a countermeasure determined by the countermeasure determination unit 109. If the acquired information is an image, the acquired information in Table TB2 may be an image instead of text. Furthermore, Table TB1 or Table TB2 may include the indoor / outdoor unit #. Furthermore, if the notification unit 110 notifies the user via a message service or by displaying the message on a terminal, a display similar to the notification screen G1 may be displayed on the recipient of the message service or the terminal.

[0035] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the management device 100 according to this embodiment. The management device 100 includes an input / output module I, a storage module M, and a control module P. The input / output module I includes some or all of the following: a communication module H11, a connection module H12, a pointing device H21, a keyboard H22, a display H23, a button H3, a microphone H41, a speaker H42, a camera H51, or a sensor H52. The storage module M includes a drive H7. The storage module M may further include some or all of a memory H8. The control module P includes a memory H8 and a processor H9. These hardware components are connected to each other via a bus so that they can communicate with each other, and are supplied with power from a power supply H6.

[0036] The connection module H12 is a digital input / output port such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus). In the case of a portable device, the pointing device H21, keyboard H22, and display H23 are touch panels. The sensor H52 is an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a GPS receiver module, a proximity sensor, or the like. The power supply H6 is a power supply unit that supplies the electricity necessary to operate each device. In the case of a portable device, the power supply H6 is a battery. The drive H7 is an auxiliary storage medium such as a hard disk drive or a solid-state drive. The drive H7 may be a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, or a magneto-optical disk drive or a flexible disk drive. The drive H7 is not limited to being built into each device, but may also be an external storage device connected to the connector of the connection module H12. The memory H8 is a main storage medium such as a random access memory. The memory H8 may be a cache memory. The memory H8 stores instructions when the instructions are executed by one or more processors H9. The processor H9 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor H9 may be an MPU (Microprocessing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The processor H9 reads programs and various data from the drive H7 via the memory H8 and performs calculations to execute instructions stored in one or more memories H8.

[0037] The input / output module I is used for the information acquisition unit 102, the flying object control unit 106, the notification unit 110, etc. The memory module M realizes the acquired information DB 103, the air conditioning device DB 107, and the flying object DB 108. The control module P is used to implement each unit of the management device 100. Note that in this specification, etc., the descriptions of the management device 100, the monitoring unit 101, the information acquisition unit 102, the building designation acquisition unit 104, the flying object selection unit 105, the flying object control unit 106, the countermeasure determination unit 109, and the notification unit 110 may be replaced with the description of the control module P.

[0038] The present invention may also be embodied as follows. (1) A management device comprising: a building designation acquisition unit that acquires designation information for a building in which an air conditioning unit is installed; an aircraft selection unit that selects an aircraft corresponding to the building in the designation information acquired by the building designation acquisition unit; an aircraft control unit that causes the aircraft selected by the aircraft selection unit to fly close to the air conditioning unit; and an information acquisition unit that acquires information about the air conditioning unit from the aircraft. This makes it possible to select an aircraft that can fly close to the air conditioner and obtain information about the air conditioner, even if the number of buildings over which the aircraft can fly is limited.

[0039] (2) In the management device of (1) described above, the building designation acquisition unit acquires designation information for the building's section in addition to the designation information for the building, and the aircraft selection unit selects an aircraft corresponding to the designation information for the building and the designation information for the building's section. This makes it possible to select an aircraft that can fly close to the air conditioning unit and obtain information about the air conditioning unit, even if the areas within the building that the aircraft can fly in are limited.

[0040] (3) A management device according to (1) or (2) above, comprising a monitoring unit that monitors the operation data of the air conditioning device and, when an abnormal value is detected in the operation data, instructs the aircraft to acquire information about the air conditioning device. This makes it possible to obtain information about an air conditioner when an abnormality is detected in the air conditioner.

[0041] (4) In the management device of (3) described above, the information acquisition unit determines information about the air conditioning device that the flying object should acquire based on the operating data acquired from the air conditioning device. This makes it possible to obtain information about the air conditioner according to the operating data of the air conditioner.

[0042] (5) The management device according to (3) or (4) above, further comprising a countermeasure determination unit that determines a countermeasure for the air conditioning device based on the operating data and information relating to the air conditioning device. This makes it possible to determine a course of action based on the operating data and information about the air conditioning apparatus.

[0043] (6) A management method comprising a first step of acquiring designated information of a building in which an air conditioning unit is installed, a second step of selecting an aircraft corresponding to the building of the designated information acquired in the first step, a third step of flying the aircraft selected in the second step to the vicinity of the air conditioning unit, and a fourth step of acquiring information about the air conditioning unit from the aircraft. This makes it possible to select an aircraft that can fly close to the air conditioner and obtain information about the air conditioner, even if the number of buildings over which the aircraft can fly is limited.

[0044] (7) A program that causes a computer to function as a building designation acquisition unit that acquires designation information for a building in which an air conditioning unit is installed, an aircraft selection unit that selects an aircraft corresponding to the building in the designation information acquired by the building designation acquisition unit, an aircraft control unit that flies the aircraft selected by the aircraft selection unit to the vicinity of the air conditioning unit, and an information acquisition unit that acquires information about the air conditioning unit from the aircraft. This makes it possible to select an aircraft that can fly close to the air conditioner and obtain information about the air conditioner, even if the number of buildings over which the aircraft can fly is limited.

[0045] 2 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to realize management device 100. Note that the term "computer system" as used herein includes one or more computers, an OS, peripheral devices, and other hardware.

[0046] Furthermore, if a WWW system is used, the "computer system" also includes the homepage provision environment (or display environment). "Computer-readable recording media" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording media" also includes devices that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs over networks like the Internet or over communication lines like telephone lines, and devices that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within computer systems that serve as servers or clients. The programs may also be programs that implement some of the aforementioned functions, or may be programs that can realize the aforementioned functions in combination with programs already stored in the computer system.

[0047] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like are also included within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 100 Management device 101 Monitoring Department 102 Information acquisition department 103 Acquisition information DB 104 Building Designation Department 105 Aircraft Selection Section 106 Aircraft Control Unit 107 Air Conditioning Equipment DB 108 Aircraft DB 109 Countermeasure Decision Unit 110 Notification Department 200a, 200b, 200c drones 300a, 300b, 300c Air conditioning equipment

Claims

1. a building designation acquisition unit that acquires designation information for a building in which an air conditioning device is installed; an aircraft selection unit that selects an aircraft corresponding to the building of the designation information acquired by the building designation acquisition unit; an aircraft control unit that causes the aircraft selected by the aircraft selection unit to fly to the vicinity of the air conditioning apparatus; an information acquisition unit that acquires information about the air conditioning device from the flying object; A management device comprising:

2. The building designation acquisition unit acquires designation information of a section of the building in addition to the designation information of the building, The aircraft selection unit selects an aircraft corresponding to the designation information of the building and the designation information of the section of the building. The management device according to claim 1 .

3. The management device according to claim 1, further comprising a monitoring unit that acquires operating data of the air conditioning device and, when an abnormal value is detected in the acquired operating data, instructs the aircraft to acquire information regarding the air conditioning device.

4. The management device according to claim 3 , wherein the information acquisition unit determines information about the air conditioning device that the flying object should acquire based on operating data acquired from the air conditioning device by the monitoring unit.

5. The management device according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising a countermeasure decision unit that decides a countermeasure for the air conditioning device based on the operating data and information related to the air conditioning device.

6. A first step in which a management device acquires designation information of a building in which an air conditioning device is installed; a second step in which the management device selects an aircraft corresponding to the building of the designation information acquired in the first step; a third step in which the management device flies the flying object selected in the second step to the vicinity of the air conditioning device; a fourth step in which the management device acquires information about the air conditioning device from the flying object; A management method comprising:

7. Computer, a building designation acquisition unit that acquires designation information for a building in which the air conditioning device is installed; an aircraft selection unit that selects an aircraft corresponding to the building of the designation information acquired by the building designation acquisition unit; an aircraft control unit that flies the aircraft selected by the aircraft selection unit to the vicinity of the air conditioning apparatus; an information acquisition unit that acquires information about the air conditioning device from the flying object A program to function as a

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