Air conditioning system, control method and program

Abstract

A system, method, and program are provided that can detect biological information with high accuracy while taking privacy into consideration, and can control the operation of an air conditioner based on the biological information. [Solution] The air conditioning system is a system that controls the operation of the air conditioning device based on biometric information, and includes an air conditioning device equipped with multiple indoor units 10, multiple devices 13 that can acquire infrared image information of a user and the user's biometric information, and a control device 12 that selects one or more devices 13 from the multiple devices 13 that acquire the user's biometric information based on location information of the user and the multiple devices 13 and the multiple infrared image information acquired by the multiple devices 13, and controls the operation of one or more of the multiple indoor units 10 based on the user's biometric information acquired by the selected one or more devices 13.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioning system equipped with a plurality of indoor units, a method for controlling the operation of the indoor units, and a program for executing the control. [Background technology]

[0002] Systems are known that detect biological information without contact using a sensor and control the operation of an indoor unit based on the biological information (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). These systems detect biological information using microwaves or millimeter waves, but the sensor is not always positioned appropriately relative to the user, and may detect biological information with low accuracy.

[0003] As a method for measuring biometric information with high accuracy, a technique has been proposed in which multiple captured images of a user are acquired using multiple cameras, biometric signals containing the user's biometric information are extracted based on the multiple captured images, the reliability of the biometric signals is calculated, and the captured images used to estimate the user's biometric information are selected and output based on the reliability (see, for example, Patent Document 4). This technique detects the position of the user's face in the captured images, sets an area within the detected face position where changes in facial color on the face surface are measured, extracts a time-series signal indicating changes in facial color in that area, calculates a reliability for estimating the pulse measurement accuracy of the pulse data based on the waveform of the time-series signal, and estimates the biometric information with high accuracy from the reliability. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-027773 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2024-084521 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2024-108659 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-144028 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 4 cannot be applied when using a millimeter wave sensor, a microwave sensor, or the like, or when capturing an image from above and it is not possible to accurately determine the position and orientation of the face, due to privacy concerns. For this reason, there has been a demand for a system, method, and program that can detect biometric information with high accuracy while respecting privacy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units, a plurality of information acquisition devices capable of acquiring infrared image information of a user and biometric information of the user; a control device that selects one or more information acquisition devices from the plurality of information acquisition devices to acquire biometric information of the user based on location information of the user and the plurality of information acquisition devices and a plurality of pieces of infrared image information acquired by the plurality of information acquisition devices, and controls operation of one or more indoor units among the plurality of indoor units based on the biometric information of the user acquired by the selected one or more information acquisition devices; An air conditioning system is provided, including: [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a system, a method, and a program that can detect biometric information with high accuracy while taking privacy into consideration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an air conditioning system. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit provided in an air conditioning system. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for selecting a device for acquiring biometric information. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process for acquiring coordinate information. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of device performance information. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which infrared image information of a user is acquired by multiple devices. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of an air conditioning system. The air conditioning system includes an air conditioner and circulates a refrigerant through the system while changing its pressure and state, thereby continuously cooling or heating the air in the room.

[0010] The air conditioning system includes multiple indoor units 10 and at least one outdoor unit 11. In the example shown in FIG. 1, there is one outdoor unit 11, but there may be two or more. The multiple indoor units 10 are installed in the space (indoors) to be air-conditioned, and the outdoor unit 11 is installed outdoors. The air conditioning apparatus has an operation unit that is operated by the user. The user operates the operation unit to start and stop the air conditioning apparatus, change modes, change the set temperature, etc. The operation unit has, for example, buttons for changing modes, changing the set temperature, etc., and a screen that displays temperatures, etc. The operation unit may also have a touch panel that allows for user input and displays temperatures, etc.

[0011] In the air conditioning system, a refrigerant is circulated between a plurality of indoor units 10 and an outdoor unit 11, and therefore the indoor units 10 and the outdoor units 11 are connected by refrigerant piping for circulating the refrigerant.

[0012] As the refrigerant, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) can be used. Examples of HFCs include R410A and R32. Examples of HFOs include R1234yf.

[0013] The multiple indoor units 10 receive various signals from the operation unit, such as operation commands, stop commands, commands to change the set temperature, and commands to change the operation mode. The multiple indoor units 10 and the operation unit may be connected by cables and communicate wired, or may communicate wirelessly using infrared or the like. The operation unit can individually accept set temperatures and other commands to be set for the multiple indoor units 10. Therefore, for example, the set temperature for indoor unit A of the multiple indoor units 10 can be set to 26°C and the set temperature for indoor unit B can be set to 25°C. Note that only some of the multiple indoor units 10 may be in operation. The multiple indoor units 10 are connected to the outdoor unit 11 via communication lines and work together with the outdoor unit 11 to condition the air in the rooms.

[0014] The indoor units 10 start up in response to an operation command from the operating unit, and instruct the outdoor unit 11 to start up. After starting up, the outdoor unit 11 adjusts the compressor rotation speed, the outdoor expansion valve opening, etc., and controls the amount of refrigerant circulating, etc., so that the ambient temperature of each indoor unit 10 (the temperature measured by an indoor temperature sensor provided in each indoor unit 10) becomes the set temperature.

[0015] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit provided in an air conditioning system. The air conditioning system is provided with multiple indoor units 10, but since all of the multiple indoor units 10 have the same configuration, only the configuration of one indoor unit 10 will be described here.

[0016] The indoor unit 10 is equipped with an indoor heat exchanger 20, an indoor fan 21, and an indoor fan motor 22 as power equipment, and an indoor expansion valve 23. The indoor fan 21 is driven by the indoor fan motor 22 to take in indoor air and send it to the indoor heat exchanger 20. The indoor heat exchanger 20 has heat transfer tubes through which a refrigerant flows, and is configured so that the sent air comes into contact with the surface of the heat transfer tubes to exchange heat. The air that has undergone heat exchange by the indoor heat exchanger 20 is discharged indoors. The indoor expansion valve 23 adjusts the pressure and flow rate of the refrigerant supplied to the indoor unit 10.

[0017] The indoor unit 10 may also be equipped with various sensors for measuring the room temperature around the indoor unit 10 and the like.

[0018] The outdoor unit 11 includes a compressor 30, an accumulator 31, a four-way valve 32, an outdoor expansion valve 33, an outdoor heat exchanger 34, an outdoor fan 35, and an outdoor fan motor 36 as a power device. The compressor 30 is driven by a compressor motor, compresses low-pressure gas refrigerant, and discharges it as high-pressure gas refrigerant. The accumulator 31 separates gas and liquid to prevent liquid from entering the compressor 30.

[0019] The four-way valve 32 switches the refrigerant flow path depending on the operating state (operating mode) of the air conditioner. The operating modes include cooling mode, heating mode, and fan mode. The outdoor expansion valve 33 expands high-pressure refrigerant and adjusts the pressure and flow rate of the refrigerant. The outdoor fan 35 is driven by an outdoor fan motor 36, takes in outdoor air, and sends it to the outdoor heat exchanger 34. Similar to the indoor heat exchanger 20, the outdoor heat exchanger 34 has heat transfer tubes through which the refrigerant flows, and is configured so that the sent air comes into contact with the surface of the heat transfer tubes to exchange heat. The air that has undergone heat exchange by the outdoor heat exchanger 34 is discharged outdoors.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 1, the air conditioning system is equipped with a control device 12, which is connected to and controls the indoor fan motor 22, indoor expansion valve 23, compressor 30, four-way valve 32, outdoor expansion valve 33, and outdoor fan motor 36. Specifically, the control device 12 adjusts the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 22, the opening of the indoor expansion valve 23, the rotation speed of the compressor motor, the opening of the outdoor expansion valve 33, the rotation speed of the outdoor fan motor 36, etc. Various sensors are also attached to the outdoor unit 11 in order to control these.

[0021] The control device 12 may be provided as a control panel on the side wall of the outdoor unit 11, as shown in FIG. 1, separately from the outdoor unit 11, or may be provided within the outdoor unit 11, or may be separated into two devices and provided in the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11, respectively.

[0022] 2 again, during cooling operation, the indoor heat exchanger 20 is used as an evaporator, and the outdoor heat exchanger 34 is used as a condenser. For this reason, the control device 12 circulates the refrigerant sealed in the system in the following order, as shown by the arrows: compressor 30, four-way valve 32, outdoor heat exchanger 34, outdoor expansion valve 33, indoor expansion valve 23 of each indoor unit 10, indoor heat exchanger 20 of each indoor unit 10, four-way valve 32, accumulator 31, and compressor 30.

[0023] The compressor 30 compresses a low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant (refrigerant gas) in a gaseous state and discharges it as a high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas. The outdoor heat exchanger 34 exchanges heat with outdoor air, cooling and condensing the refrigerant gas. The outdoor expansion valve 33 expands the refrigerant and adjusts the pressure and flow rate of the refrigerant throughout the system. The indoor expansion valve 23 adjusts the pressure and flow rate of the refrigerant in the indoor unit 10 to maintain a constant degree of superheat at the evaporator outlet. The degree of superheat indicates how many degrees higher than the saturation temperature, and is an index of the degree of superheat.

[0024] The indoor heat exchanger 20 exchanges heat with the indoor air and returns the refrigerant gas heated to the above-mentioned superheat degree to the outdoor unit 11. The refrigerant gas returned from the indoor heat exchanger 20 is combined with refrigerant gas from other indoor units 10, sent to the accumulator 31 through the four-way valve 32, and returned to the compressor 30.

[0025] During heating operation, the process is the opposite of that during cooling operation, with the indoor heat exchanger 20 used as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger 34 used as an evaporator, and the refrigerant sealed in the system circulates in the following order: compressor 30, four-way valve 32, indoor heat exchanger 20 of each indoor unit 10, indoor expansion valve 23 of each indoor unit 10, outdoor expansion valve 33, outdoor heat exchanger 34, four-way valve 32, accumulator 31, and compressor 30.

[0026] The air conditioning system includes a plurality of information acquisition devices. As shown in Fig. 1, each information acquisition device is referred to as device 13 and is capable of acquiring infrared image information and biometric information of a user. Device 13 may include a photographing means for acquiring the infrared image information of the user and a sensor as an acquisition means for acquiring the biometric information of the user.

[0027] Hereinafter, the device 13 will be described assuming that the sensor for acquiring biometric information is a millimeter wave sensor and the imaging means for acquiring infrared image information is a thermo camera, but this is not limited to these. The sensor for acquiring biometric information may also be a microwave sensor or the like.

[0028] The millimeter wave sensor transmits radio waves in the millimeter wave band (wavelength 1mm to 10mm, frequency 30GHz to 300GHz) and calculates the distance from the millimeter wave sensor to the user based on the time it takes to receive the radio waves reflected from the user, whose biometric information is to be acquired, and the difference between the frequency of the transmitted radio waves and the frequency of the received radio waves.

[0029] By continuously measuring distance for a specified period of time, the millimeter wave sensor can detect the movement of the user's chest (repeated temporal fluctuations) as a detection result, and from this detection result, the user's breathing rate, heart rate, etc. can be obtained as biometric information.

[0030] The only difference between a microwave sensor and a millimeter wave sensor is that a microwave sensor uses microwaves (having a frequency of 300 MHz to 300 GHz), and the microwave sensor can acquire biological information in the same manner as a millimeter wave sensor.

[0031] In addition to distance, the millimeter wave sensor can obtain the reflection intensity distribution by changing the direction of transmission and reception of radio waves, and determine the direction with the highest reflection intensity as the direction in which the user is located, thereby obtaining the angle relative to a predetermined direction. The user's location information can be calculated from the distance and angle information obtained by the millimeter wave sensor and the location information of the millimeter wave sensor. The location information of the millimeter wave sensor can be calculated from the location information of the device 13, because the millimeter wave sensor is attached to a predetermined position on the device 13 and the positional relationship between the position representing the location information of the device 13 and the predetermined position where the millimeter wave sensor is attached is known. Note that the location information of the millimeter wave sensor may also use the location information of the device 13.

[0032] The position information may be coordinate information relative to an arbitrary reference position defined as coordinates (0,0,0), or latitude, longitude, and height may be used as coordinate information. The arbitrary reference position may be any position, for example, a corner of the floor or a corner of the ceiling in a room where multiple indoor units 10 are installed. If one of the four corners of a rectangular floor is defined as the reference position, the direction of the side extending in one direction from that corner may be the x-axis, the direction of the side extending perpendicular to the x-axis may be the y-axis, and the direction extending from the floor of that corner toward the ceiling may be the z-axis. If latitude, longitude, and height are used as coordinates, the latitude direction may be the x-axis, the longitude direction may be the y-axis, and the height direction may be the z-axis. Note that the x-axis may be the longitude direction, and the y-axis may be the latitude direction.

[0033] If the coordinate information of device 13 is measured in advance when device 13 is installed and is known, the user's coordinate information can be obtained from the distance and angle obtained by the millimeter wave sensor based on the coordinate information of device 13.

[0034] The coordinate information of the device 13 may be acquired based on the signal strength of a wireless signal called a beacon transmitted by the device 13, which includes, for example, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE) tag as a transmitting means. The signal strength of the beacon varies depending on the distance from the BLE tag and the angle relative to the direction in which the BLE tag transmits the beacon, and therefore the coordinates of the device 13 can be calculated based on the signal strength. In this case, the coordinates are measured in advance, and multiple receiving means are installed at each position where the coordinate information is set, and the coordinates of the device 13 can be calculated based on the signal strength of the beacon received by each receiving means. The coordinates of the device 13 can be calculated using a method such as triangulation.

[0035] Similarly, when a user carries a transmitting means (for example, a BLE tag), the user's coordinate information can be acquired based on the intensity of a beacon transmitted by the BLE tag. The beacon transmitted by the BLE tag includes identification information for identifying the device 13 or the user, so the coordinate information of each device 13 or user can be acquired together with the identification information.

[0036] Therefore, the coordinate information of multiple devices 13 and the user may be acquired using BLE tags, or the coordinate information of multiple devices 13 may be acquired using BLE tags and the coordinate information of the user may be acquired using a millimeter wave sensor of device 13.

[0037] A thermal camera is a device that acquires information in the form of an image (infrared image) that visualizes the temperature distribution of an object. A person is an object that generates heat and radiates infrared rays, and the amount of infrared radiation is proportional to the temperature of the object. A thermal camera utilizes this principle to acquire information in an infrared image that shows high temperature areas in red, low temperature areas in blue, and the same temperature range in the same color. Note that because a thermal camera only creates an image that shows the temperature distribution of an object in different colors, it can determine that it is a person from the characteristics of the temperature distribution, but it cannot determine the person's identity, so privacy is protected.

[0038] Incidentally, in order to acquire biometric information with high accuracy using a millimeter wave sensor, it is necessary to measure using a millimeter wave sensor that is close to the user from whom the biometric information is to be acquired and that is within a range where it can properly detect the movement of the user's chest.

[0039] Therefore, the control device 12 selects one or more appropriate devices 13 from the multiple devices 13 to acquire the user's biometric information based on multiple coordinate information as multiple position information of the multiple devices 13, coordinate information as the user's position information, and multiple infrared image information acquired by the thermal cameras equipped in each of the multiple devices 13.

[0040] The control device 12 calculates the distance between each device 13 and the user, and the angle formed by a line connecting each device 13 and the user with respect to a predetermined direction, using the coordinate information of each device 13 and the coordinate information of the user. The predetermined direction is, for example, the x-axis direction, y-axis direction, and z-axis direction.

[0041] Each device 13 may be provided in each indoor unit 10, or may be installed on a wall, ceiling, shelf, or the like in the room other than the indoor unit 10. Each device 13 may only be provided in each indoor unit 10, but in order to obtain biometric information with higher accuracy, it is desirable to install devices 13 in places other than the indoor unit 10 as well.

[0042] In the example shown in FIG. 1, two indoor units 10 are installed on the ceiling of a room, each of which is equipped with a device 13, and one further device 13 is installed on a wall or the like.

[0043] The control device 12 can acquire biometric information using the device 13 installed at a location with known accuracy by selecting the device 13 at an appropriate distance and angle. The device 13 installed at a location with known accuracy is a device at a recommended location, but a device that is far away from the user and not at an appropriate distance and angle, or a device at a non-recommended location such as behind or above the user, cannot properly detect the movement of the user's chest.

[0044] Therefore, the control device 12 uses the infrared image information acquired from each device 13 to determine whether the device is located in front of the user and is capable of appropriately detecting the movement of the user's chest.

[0045] In this way, the control device 12 selects one or more devices 13 located at recommended positions in front of the user as devices that will acquire the user's biometric information. The number of devices that acquire the user's biometric information may be one or more. The selected device 13 receives an instruction from the control device 12 to acquire the user's biometric information, and acquires the user's biometric information. The selected device 13 uses a millimeter wave sensor to detect the movement of the user's chest and acquires the respiratory rate, heart rate, etc. as biometric information. The selected device 13 transmits the acquired biometric information to the control device 12.

[0046] The control device 12 controls the operation of one or more of the multiple indoor units 10 based on the user's biological information acquired by the selected device 13. For example, if the breathing rate and heart rate are increasing, it is assumed that the user's body temperature is rising, and therefore the operation of the indoor units 10 can be controlled to lower the current set temperature and lower the temperature around the user. In this case, the operation of the indoor unit 10 closest to the user's location can be controlled.

[0047] When multiple indoor units 10 each have a device 13 installed, the coordinate information of each indoor unit 10 can be calculated from the coordinate information of each device 13, because the positional relationship between the position indicated by the coordinate information of each indoor unit 10 and the position indicated by the coordinate information of each device 13 installed in each indoor unit 10 is known. The coordinate information of each indoor unit 10 may also be measured when each indoor unit 10 is installed and set in advance. Furthermore, the coordinate information of each indoor unit 10 may be obtained using a BLE tag as the above-mentioned transmission means.

[0048] 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for selecting a device 13 from which biometric information is to be acquired. The process starts in step 100, where one of the devices 13 is selected, and in step 101, coordinate information for each indoor unit 10, the user, and the device 13 is acquired. As described above, the coordinate information for both the device 13 and the user may be acquired using a BLE tag or the like, or the coordinate information for the user may be acquired using a millimeter wave sensor provided in the device 13. The coordinate information for each indoor unit 10 and device 13 may be set in advance when each indoor unit 10 and device 13 is installed, or may be acquired using a BLE tag or the like.

[0049] In step 102, it is determined whether the device 13 is located at a non-recommended location. That is, it is determined whether the device 13 is located at a location where known accuracy is not possible when acquiring the user's biometric information. If it is determined at step 102 that the device 13 is located at a non-recommended location, the process proceeds to step 104, and the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the device 13 is not located at a non-recommended location, the process proceeds to step 103, since the device 13 is located at a recommended location, and the process proceeds to step 103, and the device 13 is added as a candidate sensor (available sensor) for acquiring biometric information. Then, the process proceeds to step 104, and the process ends.

[0050] If processing has not been completed for all devices 13, processing starts from step 100, another device 13 is selected, and processing from steps 101 to 104 is executed. Note that the coordinate information of each indoor unit 10 and the user has been acquired when processing was executed for the first device 13, and therefore there is no need to acquire it again. The processing from steps 100 to 104 is repeated to execute processing for all of the multiple devices 13 installed in the room. Such processing can be realized by a processor also implemented in the control device 12 executing a program stored in a memory implemented in the control device 12. Note that this is not limited to being realized by a program, and may be realized only by hardware such as a dedicated circuit, or may be realized by both a dedicated circuit and a program.

[0051] The process of acquiring coordinate information will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 4. Coordinate information is set in advance for each device 13. The coordinate information may be acquired using a BLE tag or the like. The coordinates of device 1 are acquired as (x1, y1, z1), the coordinates of device 2 as (x2, y2, z2), and the coordinates of device 3 as (x3, y3, z3).

[0052] The millimeter wave sensor provided in the device 13 measures the distance and angle to the target person (user), and the coordinate information of the device 13 obtained is used to calculate the user's coordinates (x, y, z). For example, the measured distance can be decomposed into components of the xy plane, xz plane, and yz plane, and the x, y, and z coordinates can be calculated using trigonometric functions using the measured angles relative to the x axis, y axis, and z axis. The user's coordinates can be calculated using the coordinate information of each device 13, and the calculated x, y, and z coordinates can be averaged, and the average values ​​of the x, y, and z coordinates can be used as the user's coordinates.

[0053] In the process shown in FIG. 3, it is determined whether a device 13 is located in a non-recommended location, and the device 13 located in the non-recommended location is excluded from the candidates for the device 13 from which biometric information is acquired. Whether a device is located in a non-recommended location can be determined using the device performance information shown in FIG. 5. The device performance information shown in FIG. 5 includes a device number (No.) as identification information assigned to each device 13, and a maximum measurement distance (m) and angle range (°) as device performance. The device performance information specifies the recommended distance between each device 13 and the user from whom biometric information is acquired, and the viewing angle, which is the angle formed by a line connecting each device 13 and the user relative to the orientation of each device 13, which is the direction in which infrared images for acquiring infrared image information and biometric information are captured and radio waves are transmitted.

[0054] If the distance from the device 13 to the user exceeds the measured distance included in the device performance information, the device 13 is determined to be a device located at a non-recommended location. Also, if the angle formed by a line connecting the device 13 and the user relative to the orientation of the device 13 is outside the range of the viewing angle, the device 13 is determined to be a device located at a non-recommended location. In other words, if the distance exceeds the measured distance or is outside the range of the viewing angle, the device 13 is determined to be a device located at a non-recommended location.

[0055] In addition to the method of excluding devices located at non-recommended locations from the candidates, available devices 13 may be selected by assigning a score to each device 13 based on the positional relationship between the user and the device 13, such as the distance from the device 13 to the user and the angle formed by the line connecting the device 13 and the user relative to the orientation of the device 13, and assigning an evaluation score to the device 13, and selecting devices with a predetermined evaluation score or higher.

[0056] If the device performance of device 1 is measured at a distance of 5 m and a viewing angle of ±45°, for example, a distance of more than 5 m can be assigned 0 points, a distance of 2 m to 5 m can be assigned 1 point, a viewing angle of less than 2 m can be assigned 2 points, a viewing angle of more than ±45° can be assigned 0 points, a viewing angle of ±20° to ±45° can be assigned 1 point, and a viewing angle of less than ±20° can be assigned 2 points. In this case, when a measurement is made at a distance of 2.5 m and an angle of 25°, the evaluation score can be assigned as 1 + 1 = 2 points. If it is set to adopt devices with an evaluation score of 3 points or more, a device 1 evaluated as 2 points above can be eliminated from the candidates as it is not a usable device 13.

[0057] After extracting candidate available devices 13 based on the coordinate information of the user and the coordinate information of each device 13, the orientation of the user is estimated from the characteristics of the temperature distribution in the infrared image of the infrared image information acquired by each device 13, and one or more devices 13 can be selected from the candidate available devices 13 based on the estimated orientation of the user. An example of a method for selecting one or more devices 13 is to select the device 13 closest to the front of the user.

[0058] An infrared image is an image that shows temperature distribution using different colors, and because people emit heat even when covered by hair or clothing, they are displayed in colors that indicate areas of higher temperature than walls, floors, furniture, etc., which do not emit any heat. Also, people have exposed skin areas and areas covered by hair or clothing, and a temperature difference occurs between these areas, with the exposed skin areas being higher, so the exposed skin areas are displayed in colors that indicate areas of even higher temperature. In this way, because the parts of a person are displayed in colors that indicate areas of higher temperature than their surroundings, it is possible to detect a person from the outline represented by the boundary between them.

[0059] Furthermore, since people wear clothes, the exposed parts of the skin are the face, hands, neck, arms, etc. Since the face accounts for most of the exposed skin, it can be determined that the device 13 with the thermal camera that captured the image with the most exposed skin is the device 13 closest to the front of the user.

[0060] An infrared image is an image made up of multiple pixels, and each pixel has a value that indicates a color. Exposed skin areas have a value that indicates a dark color, indicating a high-temperature area. Therefore, the device 13 with the thermal camera that captured the infrared image with the largest number of pixels indicating a high-temperature area can be selected as the device 13 to acquire biometric information.

[0061] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of how infrared image information of a subject (user) is acquired by multiple devices 13. Device 1 (indicated by "1" in a circle in FIG. 6) is mounted in indoor unit 10a installed on the ceiling in front of the user and has a thermal camera. Device 2 (indicated by "2" in a circle in FIG. 6) is mounted in indoor unit 10b installed on the ceiling above the user and has a thermal camera. Device 3 (indicated by "3" in a circle in FIG. 6) is installed to the side of the user separately from indoor unit 10 and has a thermal camera.

[0062] Infrared images taken by a thermal camera show white pixels indicating the lowest temperature in areas other than the PC, user, and other heat-generating objects, while areas where heat-generating objects such as the PC or user are present have pixel colors that vary in shade depending on the temperature range. Darker colors indicate higher temperatures.

[0063] The infrared image taken by the thermal camera equipped in device 1 was taken from the front of the user, so there are many pixels showing high temperature areas (for example, pixels showing the darkest colors). The infrared image taken by the thermal camera equipped in device 2 was taken from above the user's head, and since the skin is covered by hair, there are no pixels showing the darkest colors, but there are pixels showing lighter colors. The infrared image taken by the thermal camera equipped in device 3 was taken from the side of the user, and since half of the face is exposed, there are fewer pixels showing the darkest colors than in device 1.

[0064] Note that the pixel indicating the high temperature region is not limited to the pixel showing the darkest color. In the example shown in Fig. 6, since the temperature distribution is shown with four levels of color shading, the pixel indicating the high temperature region may include, for example, the pixel showing the second darkest color. When the temperature distribution is shown with five or more levels of color shading, the pixel indicating the high temperature region may include, for example, the pixel showing the temperature region above a predetermined temperature, such as the first to second darkest color or the first to third darkest color.

[0065] In this way, since an infrared image taken from the front of the user has a larger number of pixels indicating high temperature areas, the device 13 having a thermal camera that took the infrared image with the largest number of pixels indicating high temperature areas can be selected as the device 13 to acquire biometric information.

[0066] The method for selecting the device 13 closest to the front of the user is not limited to this, and the device 13 may be selected based on a score obtained by quantifying the orientation result thus estimated and adding or multiplying the score to the results of scoring the positional relationships such as the distance and angle from each device 13 to the user. Specifically, the largest score obtained by adding or multiplying two scores can be selected as the device 13 closest to the front of the user.

[0067] Alternatively, the installation position of device 13 may be changed to measure the distance and angle to a specific user, acquire an infrared image, and use the measured distance, angle, and acquired infrared image as learning data to create an algorithm for estimating the user's orientation, and the created algorithm may be used to estimate the user's orientation.

[0068] There may be heat-generating objects (e.g., PCs, lights, cups of hot drinks, etc.) near the user's location. These objects have temperatures above a certain level, so a temperature threshold can be set and the presence of a heat-generating object can be detected in an infrared image captured by a thermal camera. Heat-generating objects are often located in front of the user, so if the temperature area corresponding to the user's location includes the temperature area of ​​the heat-generating object, it can be determined that the direction is close to the front.

[0069] The device 13 may be connected via a mounting jig that can rotate up and down and left and right, and may be configured so that the orientation of the millimeter-wave sensor and thermal camera can be changed. This allows the orientation of the user to be estimated from an infrared image captured by the thermal camera, and one or more of the multiple devices 13 to be adjusted to a more appropriate angle relative to the user. In other words, adjusting the angle of one or more devices 13 so that they face the user makes it possible to acquire biometric information with higher accuracy.

[0070] Infrared images captured by a thermal camera are color-coded to represent temperature distribution, and the location of a person's face can be estimated from the characteristics of this temperature distribution. Furthermore, since the chest is located a certain distance below the position of the person's face, the position of the chest can be estimated from the relative positions of the estimated face and chest. A millimeter-wave sensor can be aimed at the estimated chest position to measure chest movement and obtain biometric information such as respiratory rate and heart rate.

[0071] The control device 12 controls the operation of one or more of the multiple indoor units 10 based on the acquired biometric information. The control device 12 can control the operation of the indoor unit 10 closest to the user using the user's coordinate information acquired by a millimeter wave sensor or the like of the device 13 and the coordinate information of each indoor unit 10. The coordinate information of each indoor unit 10 may be set in advance, or may be acquired using the above-mentioned BLE tag. Note that each of the multiple indoor units 10 also has identification information for identifying it. Therefore, when acquiring coordinate information using the BLE tag, the control device 12 can also acquire the identification information of each indoor unit 10.

[0072] As described above, multiple devices 13 that make it difficult to identify the user, such as millimeter wave sensors and thermal cameras, are used, and the device 13 that is closest to the front of the user is selected from the multiple devices 13 to acquire biometric information, making it possible to detect biometric information with high accuracy while taking privacy into consideration.As a result, it is possible to provide a system, method, and program that can control the operation of one or more indoor units out of multiple indoor units based on biometric information detected with high accuracy.

[0073] The air conditioning system, control method, and program of the present invention have been described in detail using the above-mentioned embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and can be modified within the scope of what a person skilled in the art can conceive, such as other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, etc., and any aspect is within the scope of the present invention as long as it achieves the functions and effects of the present invention.

[0074] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide (1) an air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units, the air conditioning system including a plurality of information acquisition devices capable of acquiring infrared image information of a user and biometric information of the user, and a control device that selects one or more information acquisition devices from the plurality of information acquisition devices to acquire the biometric information of the user based on location information of the user and the plurality of information acquisition devices and the plurality of pieces of infrared image information acquired by the plurality of information acquisition devices, and controls the operation of one or more of the plurality of indoor units based on the biometric information of the user acquired by the selected one or more information acquisition devices.

[0075] According to the present invention, (2) it is possible to provide an air conditioning system as described in (1) above, in which the control device estimates the orientation of the user from the characteristics of the temperature distribution in the infrared image of the infrared image information according to the location information, and selects the one or more information acquisition devices based on the estimated orientation of the user.

[0076] According to the present invention, (3) the control device holds performance information specifying the recommended distance between each information acquisition device and the subject from which the biometric information is to be acquired, and the recommended angle as the angle between the direction of each information acquisition device, which is the direction in which the information acquisition device takes an infrared image to acquire the infrared image information and the biometric information, and transmits radio waves, and extracts available information acquisition devices as candidates based on the position information and performance information of the user and the multiple information acquisition devices, and selects one or more information acquisition devices from the extracted candidates based on the estimated direction of the user, thereby providing an air conditioning system as described in (2) above.

[0077] According to the present invention, (4) an air conditioning system as described in (2) or (3) above can be provided, in which the control device uses location information of the user and the multiple information acquisition devices to calculate the distance between each information acquisition device and the user and the angle formed by a straight line connecting each information acquisition device and the user in a predetermined direction, derives an evaluation score for each information acquisition device based on the calculated distance and angle and the estimated direction of the user, and selects one or more information acquisition devices based on the derived evaluation score.

[0078] According to the present invention, (5) it is possible to provide an air conditioning system as described in any of (2) to (4) above, in which each of the plurality of information acquisition devices is capable of capturing an infrared image for acquiring the infrared image information and the biometric information and changing the orientation of the information acquisition device, which is the direction in which radio waves are transmitted, and the control device adjusts the orientation of the one or more selected information acquisition devices according to the estimated orientation of the user.

[0079] According to the present invention, (6) it is possible to provide an air conditioning system described in any of (2) to (5) above, in which the control device estimates the position of the user's face from the characteristics of the temperature distribution in the infrared image, and based on the estimated position of the face, estimates the position of the chest, which is the area for acquiring the user's biometric information.

[0080] According to the present invention, (7) it is possible to provide an air conditioning system as described in any one of (1) to (6) above, in which the control device uses location information of the user and the plurality of indoor units to identify the indoor unit among the plurality of indoor units that is closest to the user, and controls the operation of the identified indoor unit as one or more indoor units among the plurality of indoor units based on the biometric information of the user acquired by the one or more selected information acquisition devices.

[0081] According to the present invention, (8) it is possible to provide an air conditioning system described in any of (1) to (7) above, in which each of the plurality of information acquisition devices includes an imaging means for acquiring the infrared image information and a sensor for acquiring the biometric information, and the user's location information is acquired by the sensor.

[0082] Furthermore, according to the present invention, (9) a control method can be provided which is a method executed by an air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units, the control method including the steps of selecting one or more information acquisition devices from the plurality of information acquisition devices for acquiring the user's biometric information based on a plurality of information acquisition devices capable of acquiring infrared image information of a user and the user's biometric information, location information of the user, and the plurality of pieces of infrared image information acquired by the plurality of information acquisition devices, and controlling the operation of one or more indoor units of the plurality of indoor units based on the user's biometric information acquired by the selected one or more information acquisition devices.

[0083] According to the present invention, (10) it is possible to provide a control method as described in (9) above, in which in the selecting step, the orientation of the user is estimated from the characteristics of the temperature distribution in the infrared image of the infrared image information according to the location information, and the one or more information acquisition devices are selected based on the estimated orientation of the user.

[0084] According to the present invention, (11) the air conditioning system holds performance information specifying the recommended distance between each information acquisition device and the subject from which the biometric information is to be acquired, and the recommended angle as the angle between the direction of each information acquisition device, which is the direction in which the information acquisition device takes an infrared image to acquire the infrared image information and the biometric information, and transmits radio waves, and a straight line connecting each information acquisition device and the subject; and in the selecting step, based on the position information and the performance information of the user and the multiple information acquisition devices, the information acquisition devices are extracted as candidates for available information acquisition devices, and based on the estimated direction of the user, one or more information acquisition devices are selected from the extracted candidates.

[0085] According to the present invention, (12) the control method described in (10) above can be provided, in which, in the selecting step, using position information of the user and the plurality of information acquisition devices, the distance between each of the information acquisition devices and the user and the angle formed by a line connecting each of the information acquisition devices and the user relative to a predetermined direction are calculated, an evaluation score for each of the information acquisition devices is derived based on the calculated distance, the angle formed, and the estimated orientation of the user, and one or more of the information acquisition devices are selected based on the derived evaluation score.

[0086] According to the present invention, (13) it is possible to provide a control method according to any one of (10) to (12) above, in which each of the plurality of information acquisition devices is capable of capturing an infrared image for acquiring the infrared image information and the biometric information and changing the orientation of the information acquisition device, which is the direction in which radio waves are transmitted, and the control method includes a step of adjusting the orientation of the one or more selected information acquisition devices according to the estimated orientation of the user.

[0087] According to the present invention, (14) it is possible to provide a control method according to any one of (10) to (12) above, wherein the control method includes a step of estimating the position of the user's face from the characteristics of the temperature distribution in the infrared image, and estimating the position of the chest, which is an area for acquiring the biometric information of the user, based on the estimated position of the face.

[0088] According to the present invention, (15) it is possible to provide a control method as described in any one of (9) to (14) above, in which, in the controlling step, location information of the user and the plurality of indoor units is used to identify an indoor unit among the plurality of indoor units that is closest to the user, and operation of the identified indoor unit is controlled as one or more indoor units among the plurality of indoor units based on the biometric information of the user acquired by the one or more selected information acquisition devices.

[0089] According to the present invention, (16) it is possible to provide the control method described in (9) to (15) above, wherein each of the plurality of information acquisition devices is equipped with an imaging means for acquiring the infrared image information and a sensor for acquiring the biometric information, and the control method includes a step of acquiring location information of the user by the sensor.

[0090] Furthermore, according to the present invention, (17) it is possible to provide a computer-readable program for executing each step included in the control method according to any one of (9) to (16) above. Also, the present invention can provide a recording medium on which this program is recorded. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 10, 10a, 10b…indoor unit 11...Outdoor unit 12...Control device 13...Device 20…Indoor heat exchanger 21...Indoor fan 22...Indoor fan motor 23...Indoor expansion valve 30...Compressor 31...Accumulator 32...Four-way valve 33...Outdoor expansion valve 34…Outdoor heat exchanger 35...Outdoor fan 36...Outdoor fan motor

Claims

1. An air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units, a plurality of information acquisition devices capable of acquiring infrared image information of a user and biometric information of the user; a control device that selects one or more information acquisition devices from the plurality of information acquisition devices to acquire biometric information of the user based on location information of the user and the plurality of information acquisition devices and the plurality of pieces of infrared image information acquired by the plurality of information acquisition devices, and controls operation of one or more indoor units among the plurality of indoor units based on the biometric information of the user acquired by the selected one or more information acquisition devices; an air conditioning system, including

2. The air conditioning system of claim 1, wherein the control device estimates the user's orientation from characteristics of the temperature distribution in the infrared image of the infrared image information corresponding to the location information, and selects the one or more information acquisition devices based on the estimated user's orientation.

3. The air conditioning system of claim 2, wherein the control device retains performance information that specifies the recommended distance between each information acquisition device and the subject from which the biometric information is to be acquired, and the recommended angle as the angle between a straight line connecting each information acquisition device and the subject relative to the orientation of each information acquisition device, which is the direction in which the information acquisition device takes an infrared image to acquire the infrared image information and the biometric information and transmits radio waves, and extracts candidate information acquisition devices that can be used based on the position information and performance information of the user and the multiple information acquisition devices, and selects one or more information acquisition devices from the extracted candidates based on the estimated orientation of the user.

4. The air conditioning system of claim 2, wherein the control device uses location information of the user and the multiple information acquisition devices to calculate the distance between each information acquisition device and the user and the angle formed by a straight line connecting each information acquisition device and the user relative to a predetermined direction, derives an evaluation score for each information acquisition device based on the calculated distance, the angle, and the estimated direction of the user, and selects one or more information acquisition devices based on the derived evaluation score.

5. each of the plurality of information acquisition devices is capable of capturing an infrared image for acquiring the infrared image information and the biological information, and changing an orientation of the information acquisition device, which is a direction in which the information acquisition device transmits radio waves; The air conditioning system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the control device adjusts the orientation of the one or more selected information acquisition devices in accordance with the estimated orientation of the user.

6. The air conditioning system described in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the control device estimates the position of the user's face from the characteristics of the temperature distribution in the infrared image, and based on the estimated position of the face, estimates the position of the chest, which is the area for obtaining the user's biometric information.

7. The air conditioning system of claim 1, wherein the control device uses location information of the user and the plurality of indoor units to identify an indoor unit among the plurality of indoor units that is closest to the user, and controls operation of the identified indoor unit as one or more of the plurality of indoor units based on the biometric information of the user acquired by the one or more selected information acquisition devices.

8. each of the plurality of information acquisition devices includes an imaging means for acquiring the infrared image information and a sensor for acquiring the biological information; The air conditioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the user's location information is acquired by the sensor.

9. A method performed by an air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units, selecting one or more information acquisition devices for acquiring the user's biometric information from among the plurality of information acquisition devices based on a plurality of information acquisition devices capable of acquiring the user's infrared image information and the user's biometric information, location information of the user, and the plurality of pieces of infrared image information acquired by the plurality of information acquisition devices; controlling operation of one or more indoor units among the plurality of indoor units based on the biological information of the user acquired by the selected one or more information acquisition devices; A control method comprising:

10. 10. The control method according to claim 9, wherein the selecting step estimates the orientation of the user from characteristics of a temperature distribution in an infrared image of the infrared image information according to the location information, and selects the one or more information acquisition devices based on the estimated orientation of the user.

11. the air conditioning system holds performance information that specifies a recommended distance between each of the information acquisition devices and the target from which the biological information is to be acquired, and a recommended angle as an angle formed by a line connecting each of the information acquisition devices and the target relative to the direction of each of the information acquisition devices, which is a direction in which the infrared image information and the biological information are captured and radio waves are transmitted; The control method according to claim 10, wherein the selecting step extracts available information acquisition devices as candidates based on the position information and performance information of the user and the plurality of information acquisition devices, and selects one or more information acquisition devices from the extracted candidates based on an estimated orientation of the user.

12. The control method described in claim 10, wherein the selection step uses position information of the user and the multiple information acquisition devices to calculate the distance between each information acquisition device and the user and the angle formed by a straight line connecting each information acquisition device and the user relative to a predetermined direction, derives an evaluation score for each information acquisition device based on the calculated distance, the angle, and the estimated direction of the user, and selects one or more information acquisition devices based on the derived evaluation score.

13. each of the plurality of information acquisition devices is capable of capturing an infrared image for acquiring the infrared image information and the biological information, and changing an orientation of the information acquisition device, which is a direction in which the information acquisition device transmits radio waves; The control method according to claim 10 , further comprising the step of adjusting an orientation of the one or more selected information acquisition devices in accordance with the estimated orientation of the user.

14. 11. The control method according to claim 10, further comprising the steps of: estimating a position of the user's face from characteristics of the temperature distribution in the infrared image; and estimating a position of the user's chest, which is an area for acquiring the biometric information of the user, based on the estimated position of the face.

15. The control method according to claim 9, wherein in the controlling step, location information of the user and the plurality of indoor units is used to identify an indoor unit among the plurality of indoor units that is closest to the user, and operation of the identified indoor unit is controlled as one or more indoor units among the plurality of indoor units based on the biometric information of the user acquired by the one or more selected information acquisition devices.

16. each of the plurality of information acquisition devices includes an imaging means for acquiring the infrared image information and a sensor for acquiring the biological information; The control method according to claim 9 , further comprising the step of acquiring position information of the user by the sensor.

17. A program for causing a computer to execute each step included in the control method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

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