Movable Object Control for Multi-Zone Thermal Comfort in Shared Spaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air conditioning systems controlled by a person's position in a room take time to reach comfortable temperatures and struggle to provide optimal thermal environments in shared spaces like offices, where multiple individuals have different comfort needs.
Innovation Solution
A movable object control system that includes a comfort determination unit to assess individual comfort based on biological data, automatically moving the object to a thermal area where the person feels comfortable, and an air conditioning control unit to create multiple thermal zones, ensuring each person can select a comfortable environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If air conditioning control is performed based on person position detection, then the air conditioning operation can be optimized for the detected area, but it takes time for the room temperature to reach the comfortable temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the air conditioning system adaptable to moving targets. The air conditioner follows the person's position dynamically, adjusting the conditioned air delivery location in real-time as the person moves, rather than fixing the control to a static position. This dynamic approach maintains effective cooling/heating without requiring the entire room to reach a uniform comfortable temperature.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by concentrating air conditioning resources on the local area where the person is currently positioned. Instead of attempting to condition the entire room uniformly, the system directs conditioned air specifically to the person's location, creating a localized comfortable thermal environment around the person while other areas of the room may remain at different temperatures.
2Productivity
If air conditioning control is performed based on person position detection, then the air conditioning operation can be optimized, but if the person moves from the position while the temperature is being adjusted, the air conditioning control ends up useless
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically tracks the person's position using position detection means and continuously adjusts the air conditioning output location to follow the person. This dynamic tracking ensures that the conditioned air is always delivered to the current location, maintaining effectiveness regardless of how much the person moves during the temperature adjustment process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs feedback by continuously detecting the person's position and using this information to adjust the air conditioning operation. The position detection means provides real-time feedback about where the person is located, and the control system uses this feedback to modify the air delivery direction and location, ensuring the conditioned air reaches the person wherever they move to.
3Productivity
If conventional air conditioning control is used in an environment where many persons are present in the same area, then the system can operate, but it is difficult to create an optimum temperature environment for each of the persons who are at neighboring positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the air conditioning service into multiple independent air conditioners, each assigned to serve a specific person. Instead of one large system attempting to serve everyone, multiple smaller units are distributed throughout the space, with each unit detecting and serving its assigned person's location independently, enabling individualized thermal environments for multiple persons simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
Each air conditioner dynamically adjusts its operation based on its assigned person's position. The system is flexible and adaptable, with each unit independently tracking and responding to its person's movements, allowing the overall system to provide customized thermal comfort to multiple persons at different locations without interference between them.
Data Source
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AI summary
A plurality of thermal areas (11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d) of different thermal environments are formed in a room (11). When it is determined that a person (13) riding on a movable object (20) is feeling uncomfortable in the thermal area (11d), the movable object (20) is remotely operated to move toward the thermal area (11a) where the person (13) feels comfortable.