Infrared Room Mapping in Air Conditioners for Boundary Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air conditioners struggle to accurately calculate room capacity and floor/wall temperatures when wall and floor boundaries cannot be favorably calculated from two-dimensional infrared thermal image data, leading to difficulties in pattern recognition for unknown rooms.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioner with integrated spatial recognition and detection functions, using an infrared sensor to scan and calculate room shape based on temperature differences between floor and walls, human body detection position logs, and capacity zones, allowing for accurate calculation of floor dimensions and wall positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If wall and floor boundary is calculated by image processing of two-dimensional infrared thermal image data, then room capacity and floor/wall temperatures can be calculated, but calculation accuracy deteriorates when boundary cannot be favorably calculated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary substance (white paper or mirror) to reflect infrared rays onto the floor, creating a visible boundary marker that the infrared sensor can detect. This mediator transforms the invisible thermal boundary into a detectable pattern, allowing accurate room dimension calculation even when direct boundary detection fails.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by placing boundary markers (white paper or mirror) in advance before conducting the temperature measurement. This preparatory step ensures that the infrared sensor can reliably detect room boundaries and calculate accurate room capacity and temperature data, avoiding measurement errors that would occur without such preparation.
2Productivity
If conventional image processing is used to detect room boundaries, then calculation can be performed, but pattern recognition difficulty increases for unknown rooms
Solution Approach 1:
The white paper or mirror acts as an intermediary that creates a standardized visual pattern on the floor. This pattern is easily recognizable by the infrared sensor and provides a consistent reference for calculating room dimensions, significantly reducing pattern recognition difficulty compared to detecting natural architectural boundaries.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the detection parameter from detecting architectural features (walls, floors) to detecting thermal patterns created by the intermediary substance. This parameter change transforms a complex pattern recognition problem into a simpler task of identifying and measuring the position of the placed marker.
3Loss of information
If infrared sensor scans temperature detection target area, then thermal image data can be acquired, but device complexity increases with integrated spatial recognition functions
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the existing infrared sensor's thermal detection capability to serve dual purposes: both temperature measurement and spatial boundary detection. By analyzing the thermal pattern created by the white paper or mirror, the system extracts room dimension information without requiring separate sensing hardware, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The infrared sensor is designed to perform multiple functions: it detects both temperature data for climate control and spatial boundary data for room mapping. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate cameras or sensors, reducing device complexity while maintaining comprehensive room information detection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise determination of room shape and temperature calculations, improving air conditioning efficiency by effectively utilizing thermal image data for room information detection.
Implementation Method 1
an infrared sensor attached to a front of the main body at a prescribed downwardly facing depression angle that detects a temperature of a temperature detection target by scanning a temperature detection target area from right to left
Implementation Method 2
calculates on the thermal image data a floor dimension of an air conditioning area by integrating three information... a room shape calculated based on a temperature unevenness of the floor and walls occurring during an operation of the air conditioner
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an air conditioner with spatial recognition and detection functions for deciding room shape by determining, based on temperature difference information between the floor and walls occurring during air conditioning operation, a human body detection position log, and a capacity zone of the air conditioner. In an embodiment, an infrared sensor detects a temperature of an area of the room by scanning the area and a control unit acquires thermal image data of the area scanned by the infrared sensor and then calculates a temperature of a wall of the room from the acquired thermal image data. The control unit detects a human body in the room from the thermal image data, calculates a distance between the body and the wall, and calculates a radiation temperature from the wall for the body based on the calculated temperature of the wall and the distance between the body and the wall.