JPH05248681A - Detecting method for temperature for controlling warm heat environment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Control the thermal environment by detecting the skin temperature in a non-contact manner. [Structure] When automatically controlling the thermal environment of the work area where seating work or similar fixing work is performed by heat source equipment, the temperature of an object existing in the work area is detected by an infrared radiation thermometer in a non-contact manner, The detected data is temporarily accumulated, the minimum value of those data is defined as the environmental temperature, and when the detected data having a certain range difference from the determined environmental temperature is obtained, the arithmetic mean of them is obtained. The value is predicted to be the skin temperature of the living body, and the heat source devices are operated based on the predicted skin temperature to control the thermal environment in the work area within the comfortable range.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for forming a comfortable environment when a room occupant is in a fixed position such as desk work, and more specifically, it detects the skin temperature of the room occupant in a non-contact manner. To control the thermal environment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in offices, factories, and the like, people are often working at fixed positions due to individualization and specialization of work. It is inevitable that the hotel guest room, hospital sick room, passengers in the vehicle, cab of the car, etc. will stay in a fixed position.

In the conventional air conditioning system, the indoor temperature is determined without considering the individual differences such as the behavior of the occupant, the state of clothing, the sex, the age, the work content, etc., and the indoor temperature is the set temperature. Normally, the operating condition of the air conditioner is automatically controlled so that That is, in the conventional control of the comfortable thermal environment, the comfortable range is empirically determined by physical quantities such as temperature, humidity, air flow, and radiation of the atmosphere, and the control is performed so that the value of the physical quantity becomes a target value.

[0004]

However, it is unreasonable to fixedly define the thermal conditions to be the comfortable range in the following points.

(1) The body temperature of a person is diurnal, and the comfortable range may slide depending on the time of day. (2) The mental tension (awakening) level also changes over time,
The preferred comfort range (physical quantity) may differ depending on the level of arousal. (3) Clothing changes every day, and therefore the black value changes. If the black value changes, the comfort range (physical quantity) will differ. (4) Metabolism also changes over time. Therefore, the comfortable range (physical quantity) differs depending on the metabolic rate.

In the conventional air-conditioning system, the thermal condition is fixedly determined without considering such a change, so there is a possibility that the temperature may be controlled to a temperature range deviating from the actual comfortable range.

The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a new method for appropriately detecting a comfortable condition preferred by a person and controlling the comfortable thermal environment.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an infrared radiation thermometer for automatically controlling the temperature environment of a work area in which seating work or similar fixing work is performed by heat source devices. Non-contact detection, the detected data is temporarily accumulated, the minimum value of those data is set as the environmental temperature, and the detected data having a certain range difference from the determined environmental temperature is obtained. If it is determined that those arithmetic mean values are the skin temperature of the living body, and in some cases, the average value of several previously measured skin temperatures is compared with the predicted skin temperature this time. By confirming that the skin temperature predicted this time is the skin temperature of the living body, the heat source equipment is operated based on this predicted skin temperature to control the thermal environment of the work area to a comfortable range. And wherein the Rukoto.

[0009]

Function As is well known, the infrared radiation thermometer can detect the surface temperature of an object in a non-contact manner, but it does not have the ability to identify the object to be measured. Taking desk work as an example, if an infrared radiation thermometer is installed so that the temperature of an object on the desk can be detected, it is possible to detect the temperature of articles such as documents on the desk and the living body temperature of the back of the hand, fingers, palm, etc. , As it is,
It is not possible to distinguish whether the detected temperature is the temperature of the living body or the temperature of the article. This is possible according to the invention.

The surface temperature of articles such as documents on the desk is close to the ambient temperature. On the other hand, the skin temperature of the back of the hand and palm which is doing deskwork is close to the skin temperature of the peripheral part and shows a relatively large change under the influence of the environment, but it is several degrees higher than the environment temperature by the amount of heat release of metabolic amount. Indicates a value. Therefore, the minimum value of the temperature detected by the infrared radiation thermometer is set as the "environmental temperature" for estimating the skin temperature, and the object temperature detected by the infrared radiation thermometer is set to be lower than this "environmental temperature". If they differ by several degrees or more, it can be judged that this object temperature is the skin temperature near the back of the human hand. Then, the skin temperature is used as the current value to control the heat source equipment.

Since the skin temperature in the peripheral part (hand part) changes depending on the history of metabolism and the amount of work, the black value, and the level of arousal, it is suitable as a clue signal for knowing the thermal sensation (comfort). A true comfortable thermal environment can be formed by controlling the skin temperature.

In general, in order for the human body temperature to be constantly maintained, the heat production in the body and the heat release to the outside must be in physiological equilibrium. Part of the metabolic energy is used for work, but most of it is heat. Heat exchange with the surrounding environment is carried out by radiation, convection and evaporation,
When the internal heat storage amount S expressed by the following equation (1) is 0, the human body heat storage and the heat dissipation to the environment are balanced and the body temperature is kept constant.

S = M− (± W) −E−R−C (1) However, S: heat storage in the body, M: metabolism, W: work done by work (+) ,: work by work When (+) is added, E is the amount of heat released by evaporation, R is the amount of radiant heat exchange, and C is the amount of convective heat exchange.

The working temperature at which the heat storage amount S becomes 0 is ≉25 to 29 ° C. in the clothes state and ≅29 to 31 ° C. in the naked body. In this temperature range, heat exchange is regulated exclusively by changing the skin surface temperature, and the change in the skin surface temperature is caused by the regulation of the blood flow rate between the deep part of the body and the skin surface layer by the expansion and contraction of blood vessels. In the working temperature range where the heat storage amount S is 0, there should be an external condition in which heat dissipation to the environment is balanced with metabolic heat storage, even without such adjustment of the blood flow rate. Call it a point. On the higher temperature side, there is an evaporative heat control area where evaporative heat is released by sweating, and on the lower temperature side, metabolism is increased by muscle tension, tremors, exercise, etc., location is selected, or clothing is laminated to provide heat insulation. Go into the cold zone of behavioral regulation, where you regulate by actions such as strengthening. In these regions of high temperature and low temperature, the physiological response for body temperature regulation is considered to be a kind of strain, so the factor that evokes such an environment can be regarded as environmental stress. The environment where such environmental stress is small is the so-called comfortable range.

From the above, it is known that the thermal environment for giving the neutral point varies depending on the amount of metabolism of human. We also know that changes in skin temperature are involved in body temperature regulation, which determines the comfort range.

Fanger announced the derivation of the comfort equation in 1967, combining the heat load of the human body with the human thermal sensation, and PMV
(Predicted Mean Voto: Predicted Mean Voto) was proposed. Among them, as a comfortable condition, skin temperature T _s = 35.7-0.032 (H / A) H = M (1-η) M: Metabolism (kcal / h) η: Efficiency of external work A: Body surface area of human body (M ² ) is given. Here, the skin temperature is the average value of each part of the human body. Therefore, if the skin temperature and the amount of metabolism are calculated and the temperature and humidity are adjusted based on them, the environment for maintaining the neutral point can be given to the human body.

On the other hand, the amount of metabolism (M) is M = α (T _S −T _R ) ··· (a) T _S : human skin temperature (° C) T _R : indoor temperature (° C) α: proportional coefficient It can be estimated by a formula. Although there is some individual difference in α depending on the sex of the person in the room, age, work content, etc., it should be corrected to an appropriate value according to the person in the room before use.

In the present invention, the exposed skin temperature is detected in a non-contact manner and used as a controlled amount for controlling the thermal environment. However, the skin temperature is liable to change depending on the environment and metabolism, especially in the peripheral region. By adopting the skin temperature of the part,
It is possible to create a truly comfortable thermal environment.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a desk 1 for controlling a comfortable thermal environment of a personal work area of the desk work.
2 shows a state in which the infrared radiation thermometer 2 detects the object temperature of FIG. The infrared radiation thermometer 2 is installed using a stand 4 at a position where the skin temperature of the hand 3 of the operator can be detected. The stand 4 can be appropriately movable, and the operator's hand 3 is set at a position where light can be collected most easily.

As the infrared radiation thermometer 2, a known one using a ceramic sensing element can be used. For example, a commercially available current collecting type infrared sensor module is convenient.

FIG. 2 illustrates a control mode according to the present invention when such an infrared radiation thermometer 2 is used. The infrared radiation thermometer 2 comprises a condenser lens 6, an infrared sensor 7, an amplifier 8 and a filter 9, and the condenser lens 6
The infrared light collected by the sensor 7 is converted into an electric signal (voltage corresponding to the amount of received light energy) by the sensor 7, and then enters the skin temperature prediction device 10 via the amplifier 8 and the filter 9.

The detection signal of the infrared radiation thermometer 2 is input to the skin temperature predicting device 10 at regular time intervals, and the data is temporarily stored. When the data is complete, the minimum value is searched from these data and this value is set as the "environmental temperature". Next, the range of skin temperature is predicted from the "environmental temperature" and this value is output.

For example, data (T ₁ , T
₂ , T ₃ , T ₄ , ...) is temporarily stored and the minimum
(T _E) searching, set this (T _E) to ambient temperature. Now, assuming that the lower limit of the predicted skin temperature is T _SL and the upper limit is T _HL , these are obtained by the function of T _SL = f ₁ (T _E ) T _HL = f ₂ (T _E ). When a detected value within the upper and lower bounds of this predicted skin temperature is obtained, that is _, when T _SL ≤ (T _i, T ₃ , ・ ・ T _n ) ≤ T _HL , T _i, T _j・ ・ T _n The arithmetic mean T _N of
_N is predicted as the skin temperature, and this value is the skin temperature prediction device 1
0 is output.

At that time, this signal is once input to the memory 12 and the value is stored. If the stored data before the previous time is stored, the average value and the input value are compared, and if the difference is within a certain range, it is confirmed that the instruction signal is the skin temperature. That is, if there is a mean value T _'N T _"N ·· several skin temperature that has already been determined in previous predicts T _SL T _HL using another function based on these values, The average value of the detected values falling within this range is predicted as the skin temperature, whereby the skin temperature can be reconfirmed.If the accuracy of the skin temperature predicting device 10 is improved, the memory meter 12 can be omitted. .

FIG. 3 shows a control flow of the infrared radiation thermometer 2, the skin temperature predicting device 10 and the memory 12.

When the skin temperature is detected in this way,
This skin temperature is input as an instruction signal to the control device 13 for controlling the thermal environment of the environment. When the instruction signal is out of the comfortable range in that state, the control device 13 operates the heat source device 14 to control the thermal environment of the work area so as to be within the comfortable range. As the heat source device 14, an air conditioner can be normally used, but a cool air or hot air supply device or a heater using radiant heat may be used. Further, the heat source device 14 may be a personal air conditioner, a cold / hot air supply device, or the like, which is provided separately from the main air conditioning equipment for air conditioning the entire room.

Although the above-mentioned embodiment uses the desk work as the work area, the work area where the position in the factory is specified, the specific area such as the vehicle, the seat of the car, the bed, the guest room, the reception counter, etc. However, the same control can be performed, and a comfortable environment suitable for a person existing in these specific areas can be formed. It can also be applied to incubators and, in some cases, animal rooms.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the infrared radiation thermometer can detect the skin temperature of a person in a non-contact manner, and the heat control can be performed so as to provide a comfortable environment according to the metabolism of the person. .. The fact that the skin temperature can be detected in a non-contact manner has no discomfort associated with wearing compared to the use of a thermometer that is in close contact with the skin, and there is no need to attach or detach it. It does not disturb the work and does not cause discomfort. From this, it can greatly contribute to the development of human comfortable thermal environment control technology and the improvement of work efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a surface temperature of an object on a desk is detected by an infrared radiation thermometer.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a control mode of the present invention for controlling a heat source device by detecting skin temperature with an infrared radiation thermometer.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the control of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Desk 2 Infrared Radiation Thermometer 3 Human Hand 4 Stand 6 Condenser Lens 7 Infrared Sensor 8 Amplifier 9 Filter 10 Skin Temperature Prediction Device 12 Memory Meter 13 Control Device 14 Heat Source Device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An infrared radiation thermometer is used to detect the temperature of an object existing in the work area in a non-contact manner when automatically controlling the thermal environment of the work area where seating work or similar fixing work is performed by heat source devices. However, the detected data is temporarily stored, the minimum value of those data is defined as the environmental temperature, and when the detected data having a certain range difference from the determined environmental temperature is obtained, those data are detected. Thermal environment control characterized by predicting the arithmetic mean value to be the skin temperature of the living body and operating the heat source equipment based on the predicted skin temperature to control the thermal environment of the work area to a comfortable range Detection method for. 2. The temperature of an object existing in the work area is detected by an infrared radiation thermometer in a non-contact manner when automatically controlling the thermal environment of the work area in which the seating work or the fixing work similar thereto is performed by the heat source devices. However, the detected data is temporarily stored, the minimum value of those data is defined as the environmental temperature, and when the detected data having a certain range difference from the determined environmental temperature is obtained, those data are detected. By predicting the arithmetic mean value as the skin temperature of the living body and comparing the mean value of several previously measured skin temperatures with the skin temperature predicted this time, the skin temperature predicted this time is After confirming that it is the skin temperature of the living body, based on this predicted skin temperature, the heat source equipment is operated to control the heat environment of the work area to a comfortable range. Warm Degree detection method. 3. The temperature detection method for controlling a thermal environment according to claim 1, wherein the infrared radiation thermometer is installed at a position on the desk for detecting an object temperature.