Control device and control method

Abstract

To provide a control device which can suppress the unnecessary switching of air-conditioning control, and can perform stable air-conditioning control without lowering a comfort while maintaining a quick response, and a control method.SOLUTION: A control device of the present embodiment has a determination part, a decision part, a calculation part and a control part. The determination part periodically determines a clothing amount of a person who exists in a prescribed area. The decision part decides a change amount for changing a CLO value in the prescribed area according to a change of the clothing amount which is determined by the determination part, and when an increase and a decrease of the clothing amount are inverted, decides the CLO value by setting the change amount to zero. The calculation part calculates a PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) in the prescribed area on the basis of the CLO value which is decided by the decision part. The control part controls an air conditioner according to the PMV which is calculated by the calculation part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The disclosed embodiments relate to a control device and a control method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an infrared sensor provided in a vehicle interior detects the temperature of an occupant, and when the amount of change in the occupant's temperature within a predetermined time exceeds a threshold value, it is determined that the amount of clothing worn by the occupant has changed, and an air-conditioning control device controls a vehicle air-conditioning device according to the change in the amount of clothing worn (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, air-conditioning control that controls an air-conditioning device according to a change in the amount of clothing worn is suitable for temperature adjustment in a vehicle interior where there is little movement of the human position and the number of seats is determined. However, in a large space such as an office where the number of people using it and the human position fluctuate, information indicating the clothing state of a person frequently changes and the control state becomes unstable, so it is not suitable.

[0005] One aspect of the embodiment has been made in view of the above, and an object is to provide a control device and a control method capable of suppressing unnecessary switching of air-conditioning control, maintaining immediate responsiveness, and performing stable air-conditioning control without degrading comfort.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A control device according to one embodiment includes a determination unit, a decision unit, a calculation unit, and a control unit. The determination unit periodically determines the amount of clothing worn by a person in a predetermined area. The decision unit determines an amount to change the CLO value of the predetermined area in accordance with the change in the amount of clothing determined by the determination unit, and if the increase or decrease in the amount of clothing reverses, it sets the amount to 0 to determine the CLO value. The calculation unit calculates the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) of the predetermined area based on the CLO value determined by the decision unit. The control unit controls the air conditioning equipment in accordance with the PMV calculated by the calculation unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] A control device and control method according to one embodiment can suppress unnecessary switching of air conditioning control, maintain immediate responsiveness, and perform stable air conditioning control without reducing comfort. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a control system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by the control device according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the control device according to the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the control device and control method will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0010] [1. Technical fields to which control devices and control methods belong] First, the technical field to which the control device and control method according to the embodiment belong will be described. Generally, the clothing status of occupants is an important parameter in determining air conditioning control. For example, the amount of clothing is treated as a CLO (clo) value and is one of the components of PMV (Predicted Mean Vote), and is an indispensable element in estimating a person's thermal comfort.

[0011] Furthermore, since people remove their jackets when it's hot and put them on when it's cold, changes in clothing can be seen as an expression of the worker's preference regarding temperature. In recent years, task-ambient air conditioning, which controls the environment around desks to match individual preferences (expressed as PMV, etc.), has also become widespread in office air conditioning.

[0012] The control device according to this embodiment belongs to the technical field of performing air conditioning control using PMV, taking into consideration the recent office air conditioning control described above, by acquiring the clothing status of occupants from RGB information or infrared information acquired by an image sensor such as an RGB camera or infrared camera, treating the amount of clothing as a CLO value, and performing air conditioning control.

[0013] [2. Problems with conventional technology] Next, I will explain the problems with conventional technology. For example, in the air conditioning system inside a car, there is a technology that uses an infrared camera to detect changes in clothing and controls the air conditioning according to the changes in clothing.

[0014] In situations like automobiles, where a person can be measured from the front within a limited space, where there is little to no movement of the person's position, and the number of seats is fixed, a method that determines that clothing has changed when the change in a person's surface temperature within a certain period of time exceeds a threshold, and then switches the air conditioning control accordingly, is effective.

[0015] However, in large spaces such as offices, unlike the interior of a car, physical constraints arise when installing measuring instruments. Therefore, it is not always possible to measure the subject from the front, and measurements may be impossible due to the influence of obstacles.

[0016] Also, in a large space such as an office, since people move frequently, the number of people within the measurement target range is not fixed. Due to such spatial characteristics, the information representing the clothing state of a person may sometimes take values that fluctuate relatively frequently. Therefore, if the change information of the clothing state is directly used for air conditioning control, a problem occurs where the control state becomes unstable.

[0017] On the other hand, by using the image recognition technology based on deep learning that has been widely popularized in recent years, it is possible to estimate the clothing state of a person. However, when using image recognition technology for a large space such as an office, due to the aforementioned spatial characteristics, the information representing the clothing state may change frequently.

[0018] Furthermore, since the image recognition accuracy cannot reach 100%, misrecognition (including detection omission) occurs at a certain rate. In such a situation, if the clothing state detected from each recognition result is directly converted into a CLO value and PMV control is attempted, the control is likely to become unstable. Therefore, when converting the image recognition result into a control parameter, it is necessary to devise a method so that while maintaining as much immediate responsiveness as possible to changes in the clothing state, unnecessary control switching does not occur.

[0019] [3. Outline of the control method] Next, the outline of the control method according to the embodiment will be described. The control device according to the embodiment does not directly determine the CLO value (control parameter) according to the change in the clothing state of a person recognized from an image captured by a camera, for example. Instead, it determines the amount of change in the CLO value (the amount of change in the control parameter) according to the recognized change in the clothing state.

[0020] Then, when the amount of change in the CLO value changes from a positive state (a state where the CLO value increases) to a negative state (a state where the CLO value decreases), the control device always causes it to pass through "0" as the amount of change, thereby moderating the increase and decrease of the CLO value with respect to the change in the clothing state.

[0021] Even when the amount of change in the CLO value changes from a negative state (a state in which the CLO value decreases) to a positive state (a state in which the CLO value increases), the control device similarly always passes through "0" as the amount of change, thereby moderating the increase or decrease in the CLO value with respect to changes in the clothing state.

[0022] That is, the control device determines the amount of change for changing the CLO value in a predetermined area according to the recognized change in the amount of clothing worn, and when the increase or decrease in the amount of clothing worn reverses, sets the amount of change in the CLO value to "0" to determine the CLO value. Then, the control device calculates the PMV in the predetermined area based on the determined CLO value, and controls the air conditioning equipment according to the calculated PMV.

[0023] Thereby, even if the number of people, the positions of the people, and the amount of clothing worn by the people in the predetermined area change frequently, the control device can suppress unnecessary switching of the air conditioning control, maintain immediate responsiveness, and perform stable air conditioning control without degrading comfort. Furthermore, the control device can contribute to energy savings by suppressing unnecessary switching of the air conditioning control.

[0024] [4. Configuration example of the control system] Next, referring to FIG. 1, a configuration example of the control system 100 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the control system 100 according to the embodiment.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, the control system 100 according to the embodiment includes a camera 10, an air conditioning device 20, and a control device 1. The camera 10 is, for example, an image sensor that captures an RGB image or an infrared image of people present in a predetermined area such as an office. The camera 10 inputs the image data of the captured RGB image or infrared image to the control device 1.

[0026] The air conditioning device 20 is, for example, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) device that adjusts the temperature within a predetermined area such as an office. The air conditioning device 20 adjusts the temperature within the predetermined area according to a control signal input from the control device 1.

[0027] The control device 1 includes a microcomputer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and various circuits. The control device 1 includes a determination unit 11, a decision unit 12, a calculation unit 13, and a control unit 14, all of which function by the CPU executing a program stored in ROM using RAM as a working area.

[0028] Furthermore, the determination unit 11, decision unit 12, calculation unit 13, and control unit 14 of the control device 1 may be partially or entirely composed of hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0029] Furthermore, the control device 1 includes a storage unit 2. The storage unit 2 is, for example, an information storage device such as a data flash, and stores the CLO value 21, the CLO value change amount 22, and the clothing value 23.

[0030] The CLO value 21 is a value that serves as an air conditioning control parameter for the measurement range (predetermined area) of the clothing value 23, and is a value that affects the PMV. In this embodiment, the control device 1 has one CLO value 21 for each unit area (predetermined area) of individual air conditioning.

[0031] Here, the initial value of CLO 21 is set to "0.8". It is desirable that the initial value of CLO 21 be set to the value corresponding to the most common attire in an office subject to air conditioning control.

[0032] Here, the upper limit of the CLO value 21 is set to "0.8". The upper limit of the CLO value 21 is set assuming, for example, that a person is wearing long sleeves and long pants. Also, here, the lower limit of the CLO value 21 is set to "0.5". The lower limit of the CLO value 21 is set assuming, for example, that a person is wearing short sleeves and long pants.

[0033] For example, if the control device 1 determines that no one is present due to a temporary absence or an error in image recognition, initializing the CLO value 21 would cause a sudden change in the control state. Therefore, even if no one is present in the designated area, the control device 1 retains the CLO value 21 at its previous value. Then, when a person is detected again, the control device 1 starts control to change the CLO value 21 from the retained CLO value 21.

[0034] The CLO value change amount 22 is the amount of change in the CLO value 21 that is increased or decreased by the control device 1. The control device 1 has one CLO value change amount 22 for each CLO value 21 in the measurement target range (predetermined area) of the clothing value 23. Here, the initial value of the CLO value change amount 22 is set to "0". The upper limit of the CLO value change amount 22 is set to "0.1". The lower limit of the CLO value change amount 22 is set to "-0.1".

[0035] The control device 1 changes the CLO value 21 in a predetermined area by a CLO value change amount 22 minutes for each measurement cycle of the clothing value 23. When a person leaves the predetermined area, the control device 1 resets the CLO value change amount 22 to its initial value of "0".

[0036] The clothing value 23 is a numerical value corresponding to the clothing status of a person, recognized by AI (Artificial Intelligence) from the captured image for each measurement cycle (each frame of the captured image). In this embodiment, the measurement cycle for the clothing value 23 is set to "30 seconds". However, the measurement cycle is not limited to "30 seconds"; any cycle other than "30 seconds" is acceptable as long as several measurements can be taken per minute. The control device 1 has one clothing value 23 for each CLO value change amount 22 for each measurement target range (predetermined area) of the clothing value 23.

[0037] The determination unit 11 periodically determines the amount of clothing a person is wearing in a predetermined area. For example, if a person is present in the predetermined area, the determination unit 11 uses an AI (image recognition model) to perform image recognition on the image data sequentially input from the camera 10 at each measurement cycle, and obtains a clothing value 23 that corresponds to the amount of clothing the person is wearing. The image recognition model used here classifies the clothing of a person into two types: long sleeves and short sleeves.

[0038] The determination unit 11 sets the clothing value 23 for long sleeves to "0.1" and the clothing value 23 for short sleeves to "-0.1". Also, if the output value of the image recognition model does not fall below a certain value, the determination unit 11 determines it to be intermediate (unknown whether it is long sleeves or short sleeves) and sets the clothing value 23 at this time to "0". If there are multiple people in the area, the determination unit 11 sets the sum of the clothing values ​​23 of all people as the clothing value 23 for the predetermined area.

[0039] The determination unit 12 determines a CLO value change amount 22 that changes the CLO value 21 of a predetermined area in accordance with the change in the clothing value 23 determined by the judgment unit 11. If the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 reverses, the CLO value change amount 22 is set to 0 to determine the CLO value 21.

[0040] For example, if the clothing value 23 in a predetermined area is greater than "0", the determination unit 12 adds "0.1" to the change in CLO value 22. If the clothing value 23 in a predetermined area is less than "0", the determination unit 12 subtracts "0.1" from the change in CLO value 22. If the clothing value 23 in a predetermined area is "0", the determination unit 12 sets the change in CLO value 22 to "0".

[0041] The calculation unit 13 calculates the PMV of a predetermined area based on the CLO value 21 determined by the determination unit 12. The control unit 14 controls the air conditioning equipment 20 according to the PMV calculated by the calculation unit 13. For example, the control unit 14 controls the air conditioning equipment 20 so that the PMV is within the range of "-0.5" to "+0.5".

[0042] A specific example of the operation of the control device 1 will be described later with reference to Figure 3. Note that the internal configuration of the control device 1 is not limited to the configuration shown in Figure 1; other configurations are acceptable as long as they perform the information processing described later.

[0043] [5. Processes executed by the control device] Next, with reference to Figure 2, the processes executed by the control device 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the processes executed by the control device 1 according to this embodiment.

[0044] As shown in Figure 2, when the control device 1 starts measurement, it first sets the CLO value 21 to its initial value of "0" and sets the CLO value change amount 22 to its initial value of "0" (step S101). Subsequently, the control device 1 performs person detection within the area by image recognition of the image data input from the camera 10 (step S102).

[0045] Then, the control device 1 determines whether there is a person present (step S103). If it determines that there is no person, it holds the CLO value 21 and holds the CLO value change amount 22 to "0" (step S105), and moves the process to step S102. If the control device 1 determines that there is a person present, it sets the area clothing value to 0 (step S104).

[0046] Next, the control device 1 determines the clothing status of the person that was determined to be present in step S103 (step S106). If the control device 1 determines that the person is wearing short sleeves, it sets the clothing value 23 to "-0.1" (step S107). If the control device 1 determines that the person is wearing intermediate or unknown clothing, it sets the clothing value 23 to "0" (step S108). If the control device 1 determines that the person is wearing long sleeves, it sets the clothing value 23 to "0.1" (step S109).

[0047] Then, the control device 1 loops through steps S106 to S109 for each person detected in the predetermined area and obtains an area clothing value by adding the clothing value 23 for each detected person (step S110).

[0048] Subsequently, the control device 1 performs area clothing value determination (step S111). If the control device 1 determines that the area clothing value is less than 0, it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "-0.1" (step S112). At this time, the control device 1 may also set the CLO value change amount 22 to "-0.05".

[0049] If the control device 1 determines that the area clothing value is 0, it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to 0 (step S113). If the control device 1 determines that the area clothing value is greater than "0", it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "+1.0" (step S114). In this case, the control device 1 may also set the CLO value change amount 22 to "+0.05".

[0050] Then, the control device 1 adds the CLO value change amount 22 determined in steps S112 to S114 to determine the CLO value 21 (step S115). At this time, the control device 1 determines the CLO value 21 with an upper limit of "0.8" and a lower limit of "0.5". Then, the control device 1 performs PMV calculation based on the determined CLO value 21 (step S116).

[0051] Next, the control device 1 outputs a control signal corresponding to the calculated PMV to the air conditioning equipment 20 to perform air conditioning control (step S117). After executing the process in step S115, the control device 1 moves to step S102 after 30 seconds have elapsed.

[0052] [6. Examples of Control Device Operation] Next, an example of the operation of the control device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 3. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the operation of the control device 1 according to the embodiment.

[0053] The column showing the detected clothing status in Figure 3 displays the presence, number, and clothing of people detected within a designated area in chronological order for each measurement cycle. For example, "Absent" indicates that there are no people in the designated area. "Long" indicates that there is one person wearing long-sleeved clothing in the designated area.

[0054] "Half-Long" indicates that there are two people in the designated area, one wearing short sleeves and the other wearing long sleeves. "Half-Long-Long" indicates that there are three people in the designated area, one wearing short sleeves, another wearing long sleeves, and the remaining person wearing long sleeves. In addition, the column for detected clothing status shows the time t1 to t28 in which the clothing value 23 was measured in chronological order.

[0055] The "Clothing Value 23" column shows the total clothing value 23 for all individuals detected in a predetermined area for each measurement cycle, in time series. The "CLO Value Change 22" column shows the amount of change in the CLO value 21 for each measurement cycle, in time series. The "CLO Value 21" column shows the CLO value 21 corresponding to a predetermined area for each measurement cycle, in time series.

[0056] The determination unit 11 uses AI to image-recognize the number of people in a predetermined area and the clothing each person is wearing from the image input from the camera 10, and determines the clothing value 23 based on the recognition result. The decision unit 12 determines the amount of change in the CLO value 22 at that time based on the clothing value 23 determined by the determination unit 11, and changes the CLO value 21 by the amount of the determined amount of change in the CLO value 22 to determine the CLO value 21 of the predetermined area. As mentioned above, the CLO value 21 determined at this time has a predetermined upper limit of "0.8" and a lower limit of "0.5".

[0057] As shown in Figure 3, when the control device 1 starts measurement, it first sets the CLO value change amount 22 to the initial value of "0" and sets the CLO value 21 of the predetermined area that is the measurement target range to the initial value of "0.8".

[0058] Subsequently, the determination unit 11 sets the clothing value 23 to "null" if there is no person in the predetermined area at time t1. The decision unit 12 sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0", thereby determining the CLO value 21 to "0.8".

[0059] At time t2, the determination unit 11 determines the clothing value 23 to be "0.1" if there is one person wearing long sleeves in the designated area. The determination unit 12 sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0.1" because the clothing value 23 is greater than "0", but holds the CLO value 21 at "0.8" because the CLO value 21 has reached its upper limit of "0.8".

[0060] At time t3, the determination unit 11 determines the clothing value 23 to be "0.1" if there is one person wearing long sleeves in the designated area. The determination unit 12 sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0.1" because the clothing value 23 is greater than "0", but maintains the CLO value 21 at "0.8" because the CLO value 21 has reached its upper limit of "0.8". In this way, the control device 1 can suppress excessive air conditioning control by setting an upper limit on the CLO value 21.

[0061] At time t4, if there is one person wearing short sleeves in the designated area, the determination unit 11 determines the clothing value 23 to be "-0.1". The determination unit 12 determines that although the clothing value 23 is less than "0", the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has reversed since the previous measurement, so instead of setting the CLO value change amount 22 to "-0.1", it sets it to "0" and holds the CLO value 21 at "0.8".

[0062] In this way, even if, for example, one person in a designated area takes off their long-sleeved clothing and changes to short sleeves, the control device 1 will not immediately change the CLO value 21 by setting the CLO value change amount 22 to "0". As a result, the control device 1 can suppress frequent switching of the air conditioning control and perform stable air conditioning control without reducing comfort.

[0063] At time t5, the determination unit 11 determines the clothing value 23 to be "-0.1" if there is one person wearing short sleeves in the designated area. The determination unit 12 determines the CLO value change amount 22 to be "-0.1" because the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, and subtracts "0.1" from the CLO value 21 to determine it to be "0.7".

[0064] At time t6, if the determination unit 11 finds that there is a person (medium) in the designated area whose clothing (long sleeves or short sleeves) is unknown, it determines the clothing value 23 to be "0". Since the clothing value 23 is "0", the determination unit 12 sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0" and maintains the CLO value 21 at "0.7".

[0065] At time t7, the determination unit 11 determines the clothing value 23 to be "-0.1" if there is one person wearing short sleeves in the designated area. The determination unit 12 determines the CLO value change amount 22 to be "-0.1" because the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase or decrease of the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, and subtracts "0.1" from "0.7" to determine the CLO value 21 to be "0.6". In this way, the control device 1 reduces the CLO value 21 when the increase or decrease of the clothing value 23 has not reversed but the clothing value 23 is consecutively "0" or less, thus maintaining the immediate responsiveness of the air conditioning.

[0066] At time t8, the determination unit 11 determines the clothing value 23 to be "-0.1" if there is one person wearing short sleeves in the designated area. The determination unit 12 determines the CLO value change amount 22 to be "-0.1" because the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, and subtracts "0.1" from "0.6" to determine the CLO value 21 to be "0.5". In this way, the control device 1 reduces the CLO value 21 when the clothing value 23 is less than "0" for several consecutive times, thus maintaining the immediate responsiveness of the air conditioning.

[0067] At time t9, the determination unit 11 determines the clothing value 23 to be "-0.1" if there is one person wearing short sleeves in the designated area. The determination unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, but the CLO value 21 has reached the lower limit of "0.5", so it holds the CLO value 21 at "0.5". In this way, the control device 1 can suppress excessive air conditioning control by setting a lower limit on the CLO value 21.

[0068] At time t10, if the determination unit 11 finds that there is one person wearing short sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "-0.1" and one person wearing long sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "0.1" in a predetermined area, it determines that the sum of the clothing values ​​23 of the two people, "0", is the clothing value 23. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is "0", so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0" and holds the CLO value 21 at "0.5".

[0069] At time t11, the detected clothing status is the same as at t10, so the clothing value 23 is determined to be "0". The determination unit 12 sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0" and holds the CLO value 21 at "0.5" because the clothing value 23 is "0".

[0070] At time t12, if the determination unit 11 finds that there is one person wearing short sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "-0.1" and two people wearing long sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "0.1" in a predetermined area, it determines that the sum of the clothing values ​​23 of the three people, "0.1", is the clothing value 23. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is greater than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0.1" and determines the CLO value 21 to be "0.6" by adding "0.1" to "0.5". In this way, the control device 1 increases the CLO value 21 when there are consecutive clothing values ​​23 of "0" or greater, thus maintaining the immediate responsiveness of the air conditioning.

[0071] At time t13, the detected clothing status is the same as at t12, so the clothing value 23 is determined to be "0.1". The determination unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is greater than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0.1", and determines the CLO value 21 to be "0.7" by adding "0.1" to "0.6". In this way, the control device 1 increases the CLO value 21 when the clothing value 23 is greater than "0" for several consecutive times, thus maintaining the immediate responsiveness of the air conditioning.

[0072] At time t14, the determination unit 11 determines that the clothing value 23 is "0.1" because the detected clothing condition is the same as at t13. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is greater than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0.1" and determines the CLO value 21 to be "0.8" by adding "0.1" to "0.7". In this way, the control device 1 increases the CLO value 21 when the clothing value 23 is greater than "0" for several consecutive times, thus maintaining the immediate responsiveness of the air conditioning.

[0073] At time t15, the determination unit 11 determines that the clothing value 23 is "0.1" because the detected clothing state is the same as at t13. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is greater than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0.1". However, since the CLO value 21 has reached the upper limit of "0.8", it holds the CLO value 21 at "0.8".

[0074] At time t16, the determination unit 11 determines that if there are two people wearing short sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "-0.1" and one person wearing long sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "0.1" in a predetermined area, the sum of the clothing values ​​23 of the three people, "-0.1", is the clothing value 23. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase / decrease in clothing value 23 has reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0" and maintains the CLO value 21 at "0.8".

[0075] At time t17, if the determination unit 11 finds that there is one person wearing short sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "-0.1", one person whose clothing is either long-sleeved or short-sleeved (medium), and one person wearing long sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "0.1" in a predetermined area, it determines that the sum of the clothing values ​​23 of the three people is "0". The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is "0", so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0" and holds the CLO value 21 at "0.8".

[0076] At time t18, the determination unit 11 determines that if there are two people wearing short sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "-0.1" and one person wearing long sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "0.1" in a predetermined area, the sum of the clothing values ​​23 of the three people, "-0.1", is the clothing value 23. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the change in CLO value 22 to "-0.1" and subtracts "0.1" from "0.8" to determine the CLO value 21 to "0.7".

[0077] At time t19, the determination unit 11 determines that if there are three people wearing short sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "-0.1" in a predetermined area, the sum of the clothing values ​​23 of the three people, "-0.3", is the clothing value 23. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the change in CLO value 22 to "-0.1" and subtracts "0.1" from "0.7" to determine the CLO value 21 to "0.6".

[0078] At time t20, the determination unit 11 determines that if there are two people wearing short sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "-0.1" and one person whose clothing is unknown (medium) in a predetermined area, the sum of the clothing values ​​23 of the three people, "-0.2", is the clothing value 23. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the change in CLO value 22 to "-0.1" and subtracts "0.1" from "0.6" to determine the CLO value 21 to "0.5".

[0079] At time t21, if there are three people wearing long sleeves with a clothing value 23 of "0.1" in a predetermined area, the determination unit 11 determines that the sum of the clothing values ​​23 of the three people, "0.3", is the clothing value 23. The decision unit 12 determines that although the clothing value 23 is greater than "0", the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0" and maintains the CLO value 21 at "0.5".

[0080] At time t22, the determination unit 11 determines that the clothing value 23 is "0.3" because the detected clothing condition is the same as at t21. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is greater than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0.1" and adds "0.1" to the CLO value 21 to determine it to be "0.6".

[0081] At time t23, the determination unit 11 determines that the clothing value 23 is "0.3" because the detected clothing condition is the same as at t22. The decision unit 12 determines that the clothing value 23 is greater than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, so it sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0.1" and adds "0.1" to the CLO value 21, which is "0.6", to determine it as "0.7".

[0082] Between times t24 and t26, if a person leaves the designated area and becomes unoccupied, the clothing value 23 is set to "null". The determination unit 12 then sets the CLO value change amount 22 to "0", thereby maintaining the CLO value 21 at "0.7".

[0083] At time t27, the determination unit 11 determines the clothing value 23 to be "-0.1" if there is one person wearing short sleeves in the designated area. The determination unit 12 determines the CLO value change amount 22 to be "-0.1" because the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, and the CLO value 21 is determined to be "0.6" by subtracting "0.1" from "0.7".

[0084] At time t28, the determination unit 11 determines the clothing value 23 to be "-0.1" if there is one person wearing short sleeves in the designated area. The determination unit 12 determines the change in CLO value 22 to be "-0.1" because the clothing value 23 is less than "0" and the increase or decrease in the clothing value 23 has not reversed since the previous measurement, and subtracts "0.1" from "0.6" to determine the CLO value 21 to be "0.5".

[0085] The calculation unit 13 calculates the PMV of a predetermined area based on the CLO value 21 each time the CLO value 21 is determined at each time from time t1 to t28. Then, the control unit 14 controls the air conditioning equipment 20 according to the PMV calculated by the calculation unit 13 each time the PMV is calculated.

[0086] As described above, the control device 1 according to the embodiment recognizes the state of a person's clothing value 23 in a predetermined area and does not change the parameters affecting air conditioning control (e.g., CLO value 21) unless it detects a continuous change in the same state or passes through an intermediate state.

[0087] Furthermore, the control device 1 anticipates that temporary departures from a designated area or errors in image recognition may occur, and retains the control parameters of the area to be measured even when a person leaves the designated area. When a person returns to the designated area, it starts control using the retained parameters.

[0088] According to the control device 1, in situations where it is not always possible to measure the person being measured from the front, such as in a large space like an office, or in situations where measurement is impossible or only partial due to the influence of obstacles, the measurement results are less likely to affect air conditioning control even if the subject being measured is not in a stable state.

[0089] Furthermore, the control device 1 assumes that multiple people are present in a single task air conditioning area, and determines the air conditioning control for the target area based on the combined clothing status of all individuals. According to the control device 1, even in situations where objects are frequently moved, such as in large spaces like offices, or where the number of people within the measurement range is not fixed, and even if multiple people gather within the measurement range, appropriate air conditioning control can be implemented while taking into account the clothing status of all individuals.

[0090] Furthermore, since the control device 1 is characterized by its ability to provide task-based air conditioning tailored to each individual's preferences and condition, it is expected to prevent unstable control in exceptional situations.

[0091] Further effects and modifications can be readily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments expressed and described above. Accordingly, various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the overall concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0092] 1. Control device 10 Cameras 11 Judgment section 12. Decision Section 13 Calculation Section 14 Control Unit 2 Storage section 20 Air conditioning equipment 21 CLO value 22 Change in CLO value 23 Clothing Value 100 control systems

Claims

1. A determination unit that periodically determines the amount of clothing worn by people in a designated area, A determination unit determines the amount of change to change the CLO value in the predetermined area according to the change in the amount of clothing determined by the determination unit, and if the increase or decrease in the amount of clothing reverses, it sets the amount of change to 0 and determines the CLO value. A calculation unit that calculates the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) of the predetermined area based on the CLO value determined by the determination unit, A control unit that controls the air conditioning equipment according to the PMV calculated by the calculation unit. A control device characterized by having the following features.

2. The determination unit, The amount of clothing is determined by using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to perform image recognition on the image data input from the image sensor that captures the predetermined area. The control device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned determination unit, If the increase or decrease in the amount of clothing has not reversed between the previous determination by the determination unit and the current determination, and if the amount of clothing has increased in the current determination compared to the previous determination, the current CLO value is determined by adding a predetermined value to the CLO value determined in the previous determination. The control device according to claim 1.

4. The aforementioned determination unit, If the increase or decrease in the amount of clothing has not reversed between the previous determination by the determination unit and the current determination, and if the amount of clothing has decreased in the current determination compared to the previous determination, the current CLO value is determined by subtracting a predetermined value from the CLO value determined in the previous determination. The control device according to claim 1.

5. The aforementioned determination unit, The CLO value is determined within a predetermined range from an upper limit to a lower limit. The control device according to claim 1.

6. The determination unit, The number of people present in the predetermined area is determined, and if there are multiple people in the predetermined area, the amount of clothing in the predetermined area is determined based on the clothing status of all of them. The control device according to claim 1.

7. The aforementioned determination unit, If the determination unit no longer recognizes a person in the predetermined area, the CLO value determined previously is set as the current CLO value. The control device according to claim 1.

8. A control method performed by a control device, A determination process that periodically determines the amount of clothing worn by people in a designated area, A determination step in which, in accordance with the change in the amount of clothing determined by the determination step, a change amount is determined to change the CLO value of the predetermined area, and if the increase or decrease in the amount of clothing reverses, the change amount is set to 0 and the CLO value is determined, A calculation step for calculating the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) of the predetermined area based on the CLO value determined by the determination step, A control step that controls the air conditioning equipment according to the PMV calculated by the calculation step, A control method including

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