JP2014020569A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

【Task】
It is difficult for humans to stay in the same position for a long time. On the other hand, the position of the combination of posters, figures and furniture does not change. Based on this difference, it prevents false combinations of posters, figures and furniture.
[Solution]
An imaging unit that images a room in which the indoor unit is installed, and a control unit that detects a human body based on image information captured by the imaging unit and performs air-conditioning control according to the detection result. Human body determination means for creating human body information including presence / absence of a human body and the position of the human body based on the image information, and human body information in which the position of the human body included in the human body information is continuously within the set range for the first set number And a human body information correction unit that creates human body correction information, and an air conditioning control unit that performs air conditioning control based on the human body correction information.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner and an air conditioner control method.

  There is known an air conditioner that detects a human body in an indoor unit in which an indoor unit is installed and reflects the detection result in air conditioning control.

  For example, Patent Literature 1 describes an air conditioner that extracts a person from an image measured by an imaging unit based on a certain size equivalent to or more than a person. According to Patent Literature 1, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of a human being having a predetermined size or less as a human.

Japanese Patent No. 2697676

  However, human size varies depending on whether it is a child or an adult. In addition, the size of a person to be imaged varies depending on the distance from the air conditioner. Therefore, in Patent Document 1 based on the size of the human body, it is not possible to sufficiently distinguish a person from a poster, figure, furniture or the like having a predetermined size or more.

  By the way, it is difficult for humans to stay at the same position for a long time. On the other hand, the position of the combination of posters, figures and furniture does not change.

  Therefore, an object of the air conditioner of the present invention is to prevent erroneous detection of a poster, figure, furniture or the like having a predetermined size or more as a human being.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention detects an human body based on an imaging unit that images a room in which an indoor unit is installed, and image information captured by the imaging unit, and performs air conditioning control according to the detection result. A human body determination unit that creates human body information including presence / absence of a human body and a position of the human body based on the image information, and the position of the human body included in the human body information is a first set number. Human body information correcting means for excluding human bodies in the set range continuously from the human body information and creating human body correction information, and air conditioning control means for performing air conditioning control based on the human body correction information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of a combination of a poster, a figure, and furniture as a human being.

It is a front view of the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this invention, an outdoor unit, and a remote control. It is a sectional side view of an indoor unit. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which a control means performs. This is information obtained by dividing a full pixel output from the imaging unit into three. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship between the human body before a movement, a lens, and an imaging surface, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship between the human body after a movement, a lens, and an imaging surface. is there.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the common part in each figure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, and a remote controller of an air conditioner according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner A includes an indoor unit 100, an outdoor unit 200, and a remote controller Re. The indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 200 are connected by a refrigerant pipe (not shown), and air-conditions the room where the indoor unit 100 is installed by a known refrigerant cycle. The indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 200 transmit and receive information to and from each other via a communication cable (not shown).

  The remote controller Re is operated by the user and transmits an infrared signal to the remote control receiver Q of the indoor unit 100. The contents of the signal are commands such as an operation request, a change in set temperature, a timer, an operation mode change, and a stop request. The air conditioner A performs air conditioning operations such as a cooling mode, a heating mode, and a dehumidifying mode based on these signals.

  In addition, an imaging unit 110 is installed at the lower part of the center in the left-right direction of the front panel 106 of the indoor unit 100. Details of the imaging unit 110 will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the indoor unit. The housing base 101 houses internal structures such as the heat exchanger 102, the blower fan 103, and the filter 108.

  The heat exchanger 102 includes a plurality of heat transfer tubes 102a, and heats the air taken into the indoor unit 100 by the blower fan 103 with a refrigerant flowing through the heat transfer tubes 102a to heat or cool the air. It is configured as follows. The heat transfer tube 102a communicates with the refrigerant pipe (not shown) and constitutes a part of a known refrigerant cycle (not shown).

  The left and right wind direction plates 104 are rotated by a left and right wind direction plate motor (not shown) using a rotation shaft (not shown) provided at the lower portion as a fulcrum according to an instruction from an indoor unit microcomputer (not shown). .

  The vertical wind direction plate 105 is rotated by a vertical wind direction plate motor (not shown) using pivot shafts (not shown) provided at both ends as fulcrums according to instructions from an indoor unit microcomputer (not shown). The

  The front panel 106 is installed so as to cover the front surface of the indoor unit 100, and is configured to be rotatable by a front panel motor (not shown) with the lower end as an axis. Incidentally, you may comprise the front panel 106 as what is fixed to a lower end.

  When the blower fan 103 shown in FIG. 2 rotates, the indoor air is taken in through the air suction port 107 and the filter 108, and the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger 102 is guided to the blowout air passage 109a. Further, the air guided to the blowout air passage 109a is adjusted in air direction by the left and right airflow direction plates 104 and the vertical airflow direction plate 105, and is sent to the outside from the air blowing port 109b to air-condition the room.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration including control means provided in the air conditioner. The imaging means 110 is, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera, and is installed at the lower part of the center of the front panel 106 in the left-right direction as described above (see FIG. 1). The imaging unit 110 is installed such that the optical axis of the lens is directed downward by a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal line, so that the room in which the indoor unit 100 is installed can be appropriately imaged. Further, the imaging unit 110 captures the air-conditioned room over time and outputs the captured image as image information to an A / D converter (not shown).

  The A / D converter (not shown) is an electronic circuit that converts image information input as an analog signal from the imaging unit 110 into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal to the human body determination unit 111. An A / D converter (not shown) may be built in the imaging unit 110.

  The control means (not shown) includes a human body determination means 111, a human body information correction means 112, an air conditioning control means 113, and a pause period 114.

  The human body determination unit 111 detects the presence of the human body and the position of the human body when the process by the imaging unit 110 is executed N times.

  The human body determination unit 111 detects the position of the human body in the perspective direction based on the size of the human face detected by the imaging unit 110, and the human body in the left-right direction based on the center position of the human body face detected by the imaging unit 110. The position of is detected.

  The human body determination unit 111 detects a human body including the head of the human body based on image information input from an A / D converter (not shown), and detects a human body in the same area continuously P times or more. Sometimes it is determined that there is a human body at the position.

  In the present embodiment, the processing by the imaging unit 110 is repeated 14 times. Then, when a human body is detected in the same area in four or more images among the 14 images, it is determined that there is a human body at the position.

  Among the 14 pieces of image information, a human body having a low appearance rate (eg, a human body detected in 3 out of 14 pieces) is determined as noise (eg, a person shown on a television).

  Incidentally, “detecting a human body including a head” includes a case where the whole body including a head (head region), a shoulder (shoulder region), and a foot (foot region) is detected.

  And when the human body determination means 111 does not detect a human body S times continuously, it determines that a human body is absent.

  When the human body determination unit 111 does not detect the human body S times consecutively, the operation is stopped or the set temperature is changed.

  In this embodiment, when the human body determination unit 111 is the same 33 times continuously, it is determined that the human body is absent. It is possible to prevent frequent changes in control due to temporary leaving or entering the room and the accompanying deterioration of the indoor thermal environment.

Further, when the human body is detected 33 times or less in 4 or less of 14 sheets, it is determined that the human body is absent. Therefore, even when a human body is detected from several pieces of image information due to erroneous detection, the absent driving can be executed and continued.
In other words, by counting the detection results of the human body in two stages, when erroneously detecting that there is a human body despite the absence of a human body, and when erroneously detecting that there is no human body despite the presence of a human body Both false detections can be reduced.

  The human body information correction unit 112 excludes human bodies whose positions detected by the human body determination unit 111 are within the set range for a set number of times.

  It is difficult for humans to stay in the same position for a long time. On the other hand, the position of the combination of posters, figures and furniture does not change. Therefore, when the human body information correcting unit 112 detects a human body within a set range continuously for a predetermined number of times, the human body information correcting unit 112 determines that it is a combination of a poster, a figure, and furniture and excludes it from the human body.

  When the human body determination unit 111 detects the human body in the same area P times consecutively, the air conditioning control unit 113 detects the vertical wind direction plate motor (installed on the vertical wind direction plate 105 based on the detected position of the human body ( The setting position of the motor for left and right wind direction plates (not shown) installed on the left and right wind direction plates 104 is changed.

  In this embodiment, when the human body determination unit 111 detects a human body at the same position twice in succession, it is determined that there is a human body at the position.

  When the operation to apply wind is selected in advance, the up / down wind direction plate 105 and the left / right wind direction plate 104 are directed so that the wind reaches the position. On the other hand, when the operation for avoiding wind is selected in advance, the up / down wind direction plate 105 and the left / right wind direction plate 104 are controlled so that the wind does not reach the position.

  When two or more human bodies are detected, in the case of wind blowing, the left-right direction swings between the rightmost area and the leftmost area where people are present. In the case of wind blowing, the front-rear direction swings between the farthest area where people are and the nearest area. In the case of wind avoidance, it blows in the wide direction of both sides in the area next to the area where people are present in both the left and right direction and the front and rear direction. In the absence, the wind direction is not changed.

  On the other hand, when the human body determination unit 111 does not detect the human body S times consecutively, the air conditioning control unit 113 performs control to stop the compressor motor (not shown) included in the outdoor unit 200 or reduce the rotational speed. Do.

  In addition, when the human body determination unit 111 does not detect the human body S times consecutively, the imaging in the pause period 114 is paused every 14 images. In this embodiment, imaging is paused for 5 minutes. By providing the pause period 114, it is possible to reduce the number of processes by the imaging unit 110 and to reduce the energy consumption by the imaging unit 110 when it is absent.

  Further, when the human body determination unit 111 does not detect the human body S times continuously, the S times is changed to 1. When the human body determination unit 111 determines that there is no human body again after the pause period 114 has elapsed, since the S times is 1, the process immediately shifts to the pause period 114.

  Further, even when the pause period 114 is provided, since the imaging by the imaging unit 110 is performed periodically, it is possible to return to the normal air conditioning operation when a person returns to the room. In addition, since 14 images are continuously captured, it is possible to continue noise determination for determining a human body having a low appearance rate as noise.

  If the human body determination unit 111 determines that there is a human body, the S times are returned from 1 to the original value.

Further, the detection result of the human body determination unit 111 may be used for a movement amount calculation unit (not shown). The movement amount calculation unit calculates the movement amount of the human body associated with the labeling value based on the temporal change in the position and size of the human body detected by the human body determination unit 111. Then, the process by the movement amount calculation means is executed three times, the movement amount of the human body is calculated based on the average value of the movement amounts for the three times, and the set temperature is changed.

  The storage means (not shown) is constituted by, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and stores the processing by the control means 130. Then, the program stored in the ROM is read out by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the control means 130, expanded in the RAM, and executed.

  Next, a method for detecting the position of the human body in the left-right direction will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows information obtained by dividing the full pixel output from the imaging unit 110 into three.

The human body determination unit 111 divides the room into a plurality of areas and detects an area where the human body is located based on image information input from the imaging unit 110.

In this embodiment, the position of the human body is determined based on the center position of the human body face. Therefore, FIG. 4 determines that the human body A is in the center position, the human body B is in the left position, the human body C is in the right position, and the human body D is in the left position. Although the case where the full pixel is divided into three has been described, six divisions or other division numbers may be used.

A method of detecting the position of the human body in the perspective direction will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the human body before movement, the lens, and the imaging surface, and FIG. 5B is the positional relationship between the human body after movement, the lens, and the imaging surface. It is explanatory drawing which shows.

The human body determination unit 111 calculates the width P of the face image on the imaging surface p of the imaging unit 110. Incidentally, the width P of the face image can be calculated by multiplying the maximum number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the face image by the width per pixel.

  The human body determination unit 111 calculates the position of the human body in the perspective direction using (Equation 1) using the width of the face (or head) on the imaging surface p.

Reference sign D is the distance from the human body to the lens g, reference sign P is the lateral width of the face image on the imaging surface p, and reference sign F is the distance from the lens g to the imaging surface p. Symbol H is the width of the human body's face (or head), and is stored in the storage means 140 in advance as a predetermined value.

  As described above, the human body determination unit 111 can accurately calculate the position of the human body by determining the position of the human body in the left-right direction and the position in the perspective direction.

Based on the detected position of the human body, it is possible to determine whether the human body is a poster or the like based on the change in the horizontal position and the perspective position of the human body.

  In addition, when the position of the human body in the left-right direction and the position in the perspective direction are each divided into three, it is determined at which position the human body is in the area, and the set positions of the up-down wind direction plate 105 and the left-right wind direction plate 104 are changed.

  Further, in the absence determination, for example, when it is determined that the human body detected in 3 out of 14 is noise, the number obtained by dividing the 14 pieces of image information by the number of divisions is larger than 3. By limiting the number of divisions in the absence determination, it is possible to detect four or more human bodies in any area even when the human body moves around the room.

Further, the distance D ₁ from the human body to the lens g before the movement can be calculated from the lateral width P ₁ of the face image on the imaging surface p. On the other hand, the distance D ₂ from the human body after movement to the lens g can be calculated from the lateral width P ₂ of the face image on the imaging surface p. Then, the moving amount of the human body in the perspective direction can be calculated from the distance D ₂ from the human body after movement to the lens g and the distance D ₁ from the human body to lens g before the movement.

Note that a sound sensor may be provided, and it may be determined from the output of the sound sensor that the amount of activity is large when the sound is loud, and the amount of activity calculated by the movement amount calculation means is corrected to improve accuracy. Further, from the output of the sound sensor, when the sound is loud, it may be determined that it is not absent, and the detection result by the human body determination unit 111 may be corrected to improve the accuracy.

The floor plan may be detected by the image pickup means 110 and may not be blown toward the wall during windbreak to prevent the wall from cooling and condensing on the wall surface or inside the wall. Further, from the installation position setting at the time of installation, it may be prevented from blowing toward the wall at the time of windbreak.

Further, from the output of the CO ₂ sensor, it may be determined that the number of people is large when the concentration is high, and the number determination of the human body determination unit 111 may be corrected.

  Further, if the human body exists at the same position for a predetermined period (for example, 1 hour), the human body is determined as an element other than a human body having a feature that is detected as a human body such as a poster or a doll, and is not treated as a human body. It should be noted that elements other than the human body having characteristics detected with the human body, such as posters and dolls, may be stored and excluded from the detection result.

  By such processing, it is possible to prevent a malfunction in which an element having a feature detected as a human body is determined as a human body.

  Moreover, although the case where one imaging means 110 was installed in the lower part of the center of the left-right direction of the front panel 106 of the indoor unit 100 was demonstrated, it is not restricted to this. For example, the imaging unit 110 may be installed on the right side or the left side of the front panel 106.

  Further, a plurality of image pickup means 110 may be installed on the front panel 106.

The imaging unit 110 may be configured to be driven by a driving unit (not shown).
For example, the imaging unit 110 is connected to a shaft of a stepping motor as a driving unit, and reciprocates within a predetermined angle range by operating the motor. In this case, the motor stops for imaging for each area obtained by dividing the range of the predetermined angle into a plurality of areas, and after the imaging, the operation is resumed to direct the imaging means 110 to the next area. Note that if the time required for imaging is sufficiently short compared to the driving speed of the imaging means 110, the stepping motor may be operated continuously.

  This makes it possible to use the imaging means 110 with a narrow viewing angle and inexpensive. Also, by changing the image processing such as noise removal, face detection, human body detection, etc. according to the illuminance and luminance for each area, face detection and human body detection with higher accuracy, position and activity estimation based on them Can be performed. Furthermore, it is possible to avoid an increase in cost by mounting a plurality of inexpensive imaging means 110 having a narrow viewing angle, and to avoid an increase in the size of the indoor unit by securing an installation space for the plurality of imaging means 110. Become.

In addition, by displaying the number of human bodies detected by the human body determination unit 111 on the occupant information display unit (not shown), the occupants can know the control contents and what kind of control is performed. Compared with the case where it is not shown, it is possible to relieve control.

In addition, by displaying the number of human bodies on the occupant information display unit, if the actual number of human bodies and the number of human bodies displayed on the occupant information display unit are different, the occupants of the human body determination unit 111 It is possible to know the characteristics (what kind of human body can be detected and what kind of human body cannot be detected), and to be more worried about control than when not showing what kind of control it is doing . The same can be said for the case where the position of the occupant is displayed.

  As described above, the air conditioner of the present invention detects the human body based on the imaging unit 110 that images the room in which the indoor unit 100 is installed, and the image information captured by the imaging unit 110, and according to the detection result. Control means for performing air-conditioning control, and the control means includes a human body determination means 111 for creating human body information including presence / absence of a human body and a position of the human body based on image information, and a position of the human body included in the human body information. A human body information correcting unit 112 that excludes human bodies in the set range continuously from the first set number and creates human body correction information; an air conditioning control unit 113 that performs air conditioning control based on the human body correction information; Have

In the air conditioner of the present invention, the human body determination unit 111 determines the presence or absence of a human body based on the image information when the imaging unit 110 images the room for the first set number of times, and out of the first set number of times. When a human body is detected more than the second set number of times, it is determined that there is a human body, and when a human body is detected that is less than the second set number of times among the first set number of times, it is determined that there is no human body.

In the air conditioner of the present invention, the human body determination unit 111 detects the position of the human body in the perspective direction based on the size of the human face detected by the imaging unit 110.

In the air conditioner of the present invention, the human body determination unit 111 excludes the human body whose face size detected by the imaging unit 110 is equal to or less than the set value from the human body information acquired by the human body determination unit 111.

Further, in the air conditioner of the present invention, when the human body determination unit 111 determines that there is no human body continuously for the second set number, the imaging unit 110 stops the imaging for the pause period 114 and the second set number Is 1.

In the air conditioner of the present invention, the air conditioning control unit 113 changes the rotation speed of the compressor motor or the set temperature in the room based on the number of human bodies included in the human body information.

A Air conditioner Re Remote controller 100 Indoor unit 200 Outdoor unit 104 Left and right wind direction plate 105 Vertical wind direction plate 110 Imaging means 111 Human body determination means 112 Human body information correction means 113 Air conditioning control means 114 Rest period

Claims (6)

Imaging means for imaging the room in which the indoor unit is installed;
A control unit that detects a human body based on image information captured by the imaging unit and performs air-conditioning control according to a detection result;
The control means includes
Human body determination means for creating human body information including the presence of the human body and the position of the human body based on the image information;
Human body information correction means for excluding human bodies whose human body positions included in the human body information are within a setting range for the first set number continuously from the human body information and creating human body correction information;
An air conditioner having air conditioning control means for performing air conditioning control based on the human body correction information. The human body determination means determines the presence or absence of a human body based on the image information when the imaging means images the room for the first set number of times.
When the human body is detected more than the second set number of times in the first set number of times, it is determined that there is a human body. When the human body is detected less than the second set number of times in the first set number of times, the human body is determined. It is determined that there is no air conditioner according to claim 1.   The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the human body determination unit detects the position of the human body in the perspective direction based on the size of the face of the human body detected by the imaging unit.   The human body determination unit excludes a human body whose face size detected by the imaging unit is equal to or less than a set value from the human body information acquired by the human body determination unit. Air conditioner.   When the human body determination means determines that there is no human body continuously for the second set number, imaging by the imaging means is suspended for a set period, and the second set number is set to 1. Item 5. The air conditioner according to any one of Items 1 to 4.   2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioning control unit changes a rotation speed of a compressor motor or a set temperature in the room based on the number of human bodies included in the human body information.