Indoor Air Unit Face Detection for Immediate Post-Bath Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air-conditioning indoor units fail to quickly respond to a user's need for cooling or warming immediately after bathing or entering from extreme temperatures, requiring manual operation and often leading to inconvenience due to the need to find and use a remote controller.
Innovation Solution
An indoor air-conditioning unit equipped with an imaging device for face recognition, a wind direction regulating system, and a controller that automatically adjusts airflow direction and cycle operation based on user presence and proximity, eliminating the need for manual operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the indoor unit uses activity level detection to control air blowing, then the system can respond to user needs based on exercise or physical work, but it cannot quickly respond when the user needs cooling or warming immediately after bathing or entering from extreme temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of the user's presence and position using imaging means before the user actually needs cooling or warming. By detecting the face and determining position in advance, the system can immediately activate the refrigeration cycle and adjust air blowing direction when the user enters the room or finishes bathing, eliminating the time delay associated with manual remote controller operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The indoor unit automatically detects the user's presence, determines the need for cooling or warming, and executes the appropriate control actions without requiring user intervention. The imaging means continuously monitors the room, and the controller autonomously activates the refrigeration cycle and adjusts air blowing based on detected user position and activity state, making the system self-serve the user's temperature control needs.
2Ease of operation
If the user must operate the remote controller to activate and stop the refrigeration cycle, then the system can be controlled, but the user experiences annoyance and delay in quickly cooling down or warming up
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects when a user enters the room or finishes bathing through imaging means, and autonomously activates the refrigeration cycle and adjusts air blowing without requiring the user to operate the remote controller. This self-service capability eliminates the time and effort needed to find and use the remote controller, providing immediate temperature control when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical operation of the remote controller with an automated imaging and control system. The imaging means detects the user's presence and position, and the controller automatically executes the appropriate commands, substituting the manual mechanical interaction with an automated optical detection and electronic control system.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the remote controller is moved from one place to another, then the user has flexibility, but the user may lose the remote controller and need to search for it
Solution Approach 1:
The system eliminates the need for the remote controller by providing self-service through automated detection and control. The imaging means continuously monitors the room for user presence, and the controller autonomously adjusts temperature and air blowing based on detected user position and activity state, making the remote controller obsolete and eliminating the problem of losing it.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the control function from the remote controller and integrates it into the indoor unit itself. By embedding the imaging means and control logic within the indoor unit, the system removes the external remote controller from the operation sequence, eliminating the associated problems while maintaining user control capabilities.
Data Source
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AI summary
[Object] To provide an indoor unit that is capable of easily, quickly, and temporarily cooling (warming) an after-bath person. [Solution] In an indoor unit 100 of an air-conditioning apparatus, a controller recognizes a face F1 of an after-bath person when the face F1 of the after-bath person has been within a face recognition range 52 for a face recognition time T1 (face recognition step, S1, S2), and subsequently activates a refrigeration cycle (including a fan 5) so as to blow conditioned air toward the after-bath person U1 or a close-in location P0 (air-blowing start step, S3). Then, if the after-bath person has stayed in the close-in location P0 for more than a continuous determining time T4, the blowing of conditioned air toward the after-bath person U1 or the close-in location P0 is continued until a stop determining time T6 elapses as far as the after-bath person U1 does not move out of the close-in location P0 (air-blowing continuation step, S5).