Air-conditioning management system, air conditioner, air-conditioning management device, air-conditioning management method, and program
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air-conditioning systems face challenges in accurately determining the need for drain pan cleaning due to difficulties in estimating dirt accumulation from mold, slime, or other substances, leading to issues like bad odors and water leakage, which are costly and inconvenient for both commercial and residential users.
Innovation Solution
An air-conditioning management system that includes imaging means within the air conditioner to capture images of the drain pan and an air-conditioning management device to acquire and analyze this information, providing dirtiness levels without the need for manual inspection, enabling remote monitoring and scheduling of cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual inspection and cleaning of drain pans is performed, then cleaning effectiveness is ensured, but inspection costs and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses imaging means to create visual copies (images) of the drain pan interior, allowing remote viewing and assessment without physical disassembly. The control unit processes these images to determine dirtiness levels, enabling cleaning decisions to be made based on captured visual data rather than direct manual inspection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical process of manual disassembly and visual inspection with an automated imaging and image processing system. The imaging means captures pictures of the drain pan, and the control unit automatically analyzes these images to assess dirtiness, substituting human mechanical inspection with automated optical and computational methods.
2Measurement precision
If drain pans are removed and inspected manually, then accurate assessment is possible, but operational complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The air conditioner performs self-inspection by using its own imaging means to capture images of its drain pan and processing these images through its control unit to automatically determine whether cleaning is needed. This eliminates the need for external inspection services and reduces operational complexity for users.
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging means and control unit act as intermediaries between the drain pan and the assessment process. Instead of direct human inspection requiring disassembly, the imaging system captures visual data and the control unit processes this data to determine cleaning necessity, providing an automated intermediary assessment mechanism.
3Reliability
If cleaning is performed frequently, then dirt accumulation is prevented, but resource waste occurs when cleaning is unnecessary
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides feedback by automatically analyzing images of the drain pan and determining its dirtiness level. Based on this feedback, the system can notify users or schedule cleaning only when actually needed, preventing both excessive cleaning and insufficient cleaning. The control unit uses image analysis results to make informed decisions about cleaning timing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary assessment by capturing and analyzing images of the drain pan before cleaning is performed. This preliminary image-based evaluation determines whether cleaning is actually necessary, allowing the system to avoid unnecessary cleaning actions and optimize resource usage while still preventing problems when dirt accumulation occurs.
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioner includes a camera to capture an image of a drain pan inside the air conditioner. An air-conditioning management device acquires, from the air conditioner, captured image information indicating an image of the drain pan captured by the air conditioner. The air-conditioning management device compares the captured image information with reference image information indicating a captured image of the drain pan used as a reference to calculate a dirtiness degree. The air-conditioning management device transmits, to a monitoring terminal, information useful for monitoring of the drain pan, such as the capture image information, information indicating the dirtiness degree, and the like.