US 9,851,117 B2 · Need identifying device, air-conditioning controlling system, need identifying method, and air-conditioning controlling method

Abstract

A need identifying device is provided with a need storing portion that receives, from an informant, a need pertaining to the surrounding environment, an environment state variable controlling portion that calculates an environment state variable for indicating the state of the surrounding environment of the informant based on an environment element measured value collected from a space occupied by the informant, and calculates, from the environment state variable, a dissatisfaction level for the surrounding environment of the informant, and an identification processing portion that identifies, based on the dissatisfaction level, a need from the informant as a temporary need or as a persistent need.

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Drawings

Claims4

Dependent claims

A need identifying device comprising:

an inputting portion that receives, from an informant, a need pertaining to air-conditioning a surrounding environment;
an environment state variable calculating portion that calculates an environment state variable for indicating the state of the surrounding thermal environment of a space occupied by the informant based on an environment element measured value collected from the space occupied by the informant;
a dissatisfaction level deriving portion that calculates a first and second dissatisfaction level regarding the surrounding thermal environment of the informant based on the environment state variable;
an identification processing portion that identifies the need from the informant as a temporary need or as a persistent need based on the dissatisfaction level;
wherein
when calculating the dissatisfaction level in accordance with the state of the thermal environment, indicated by the environment state variable, the dissatisfaction level deriving portion calculates the first dissatisfaction level corresponding to occupants in the surrounding environment feeling too hot and the second dissatisfaction level corresponding to the occupants feeling too cold;
and
the identification processing portion identifies the need reported by the informant as a temporary need if:
the need from the informant indicates the informant is too cold when the first dissatisfaction level is greater than the second dissatisfaction level or
the need reported by the informant indicates the informant is too hot when the first dissatisfaction level is less than the second dissatisfaction level,
and identifies other needs as persistent needs;
and
a control plan determining portion that establishes, in response to a temporary need being identified, that a control setting value of the device will change in accordance with the need from the informant, and that the control setting value will be returned to a value from prior to the change after a specific sustaining time has elapsed;
and
in response to a persistent need being identified, establishes that the control setting value will be changed on a persistent basis in accordance with the need from the informant.

12 more elements

A need identifying device comprising:

an inputting portion that receives, from an informant, a need pertaining to air-conditioning a surrounding environment;
an environment state variable calculating portion that calculates an environment state variable for indicating the state of the surrounding thermal environment of a space occupied by the informant based on an environment element measured value collected from the space occupied by the informant;
a dissatisfaction level deriving portion that calculates a first and second dissatisfaction level regarding the surrounding thermal environment of the informant based on the environment state variable;
an identification processing portion that identifies the need from the informant as a temporary need or as a persistent need based on the dissatisfaction level;
wherein
when calculating the dissatisfaction level in accordance with the state of the thermal environment, indicated by the environment state variable, the dissatisfaction level deriving portion calculates the first dissatisfaction level corresponding to occupants in the surrounding environment feeling too hot and the second dissatisfaction level corresponding to the occupants feeling too cold;
and
the identification processing portion identifies the need reported by the informant as a temporary need if:
the need from the informant indicates the informant is too cold when the environmental state variable corresponds to occupants feeling too hot or
the need reported by the informant indicates the informant is too hot when the environment sate variable corresponds to occupants feeling too cold,
and identifies other needs as persistent needs;
and
a control plan determining portion that establishes, in response to a temporary need being identified, that a control setting value of the device will change in accordance with the need from the informant, and that the control setting value will be returned to a value from prior to the change after a specific sustaining time has elapsed;
and
in response to a persistent need being identified, establishes that the control setting value will be changed on a persistent basis in accordance with the need from the informant.

12 more elements

A need identifying method, comprising:

an inputting step that receives, from an informant, a need pertaining to air-conditioning a surrounding environment,
an environment state variable calculating step that calculates, via a processor, an environment state variable for indicating the state of the surrounding thermal environment of a space occupied by the informant, based on an environment element measured value collected from the space occupied by the informant;
a dissatisfaction level deriving step that calculates, via the processor, a first and second dissatisfaction level regarding the surrounding thermal environment of the informant based on the environment state variable,
an identifying step that identifies, via the processor, the need from the informant as a temporary need or as a persistent need based on the dissatisfaction level, wherein
the dissatisfaction level deriving step includes a step that calculates the first dissatisfaction level corresponding to occupants in the surrounding environment feeling too hot and the second dissatisfaction level corresponding to the occupants feeling too cold;
and
the identifying step includes a step that identifies the need reported by the informant as a temporary need if:
the need from the informant indicates the informant is too cold when the first dissatisfaction level is greater than the second dissatisfaction level or
the need reported by the informant indicates the informant is too hot when the first dissatisfaction level is less than the second dissatisfaction level, and
identifies other needs as persistent needs;
and
a control plan determining step that establishes, in response to a temporary need being identified, that a control setting value of the device will change in accordance with the need from the informant, and that the control setting value will be returned to a value from prior to the change after a specific sustaining time has elapsed ;
and
in response to a persistent need being identified, establishes that the control setting value will be changed on a persistent basis in accordance with the need from the informant.

11 more elements

A need identifying method, comprising:

an inputting step that receives, from an informant, a need pertaining to air-conditioning a surrounding environment,
an environment state variable calculating step that calculates, via a processor, an environment state variable for indicating the state of the surrounding thermal environment of a space occupied by the informant, based on an environment element measured value collected from the space occupied by the informant;
a dissatisfaction level deriving step that calculates, via the processor, a first and second dissatisfaction level regarding the surrounding thermal environment of the informant based on the environment state variable,
an identifying step that calculates, via the processor, the need from the informant as a temporary need or as a persistent need based on the dissatisfaction level, wherein
the dissatisfaction level deriving step includes a step that calculates the first dissatisfaction level corresponding to occupants in the surrounding environment feeling too hot and the second dissatisfaction level corresponding to the occupants feeling too cold;
and
the identification processing step includes a step that identifies the need reported by the informant as a temporary need if:
the need from the informant indicates the informant is too cold when the environmental state variable corresponds to occupants feeling too hot or
the need reported by the informant indicates the informant is too hot when the environmental state variable corresponds to occupants feeling too cold, and
identifies other needs as persistent needs;
and
a control plan determining step that establishes, in response to a temporary need being identified, that a control setting value of the device will change in accordance with the need from the informant, and that the control setting value will be returned to a value from prior to the change after a specific sustaining time has elapsed;
and
in response to a persistent need being identified, establishes that the control setting value will be changed on a persistent basis in accordance with the need from the informant.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Description9,851 words

Summary1,923 words

#This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-130316, filed on Jun. 21, 2013, the entire content of which being hereby incorporated herein by reference.

#The present disclosure relates to a need identifying device and need identifying method for identifying whether a need regarding the surrounding environment from an informant is a temporary need or a persistent need, and relates to an air-conditioning controlling system and air-conditioning controlling method for applying the identification result to the air-conditioning control.

#A summary of a method for evaluating whether or not a report from an occupant is for a temporary need, in a building that has equipment that is operated in response to an improvement need report from an occupant regarding the surrounding environment, has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2012-194847 (“the JP '847”).

Brief description of the drawings11 figures

#FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an air-conditioning controlling system.

#FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a need identification-type air-conditioning controlling device according to an example according to the present disclosure.

#FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a need identifying portion according to an example according to the present disclosure.

Detailed description7,675 words

#In the present disclosure, a contradictory report, which is a need report for which the probability of occurrence can be inferred, from the environment state variable of the occupied space, to be low is identified as a temporary need, and a non-contradictory report, which is a need report for which the probability of occurrence can be inferred, from the environment state variable, to be high is identified as a need that is not temporary (hereinafter termed a “persistent need”). Given this, in the present invention, if a need is identified as a temporary need, then by having the equipment control respond to this need be a temporary response, the change in the environment state variable when the temporary need continues can be kept to that which is temporary. Moreover, in the present invention, when a persistent need has been identified, the equipment control in response to that need report can be performed continuously. At this time, the relationship between the environment state variable and the dissatisfaction level with the surrounding environment by the need informant follows the dissatisfaction distribution, described below, so that a non-contradictory report (a persistent need) will eventually become a contradictory report (a temporary need) accompanying a change in the environment state variable.

#Here, when the environment state variable is the horizontal axis and the dissatisfaction level of the need informant in relation to the surrounding environment is the vertical axis, the distribution of the dissatisfaction A of “Too Hot,” corresponding to a hot environment, is a monotonic distribution wherein the dissatisfaction level A increases with an increase in the hotness that is indicated by the environment state variable. Similarly, when the environment state variable is the horizontal axis and the dissatisfaction level of the need informant in relation to the surrounding environment is the vertical axis, the distribution of the dissatisfaction B of “Too Cold,” corresponding to a cold environment, is a monotonic distribution wherein the dissatisfaction level B increases with an increase in the coldness that is indicated by the environment state variable.

#For example, an occupant who has an extreme tendency to feel too cold or an extreme tendency to feel too hot will continuously report a need for the equipment control to operate in a single direction (for example, in the direction to reduce the room temperature in the air-conditioning equipment). According to the aforementioned dissatisfaction distribution, when the reports first start, even if the report is a non-contradictory report (a persistent need), when the equipment controlling operation responds in the direction of improving the indoor environment persistently in response to the non-contradictory need report and the environment state variable changes in the direction of improvement, eventually the one-way reports will inevitably turn into contradictory reports (temporary needs). As a result, this makes it possible to avoid extreme changes in the indoor environment due to reports that are in one direction, while still achieving equipment control operations that respond to reports from the occupants.

Facts

Application

14/308,944Filed 19 Jun 2014

Priority

JP 2013-13031621 Jun 2013

Published

US 2014/0374496 A125 Dec 2014

Granted

26 Dec 2017

Term ends

14 May 2036

Estimated · how

20 years from earliest known nonprovisional domestic filing plus recorded patent term adjustment, including 695 days of adjustment. Maintenance-fee lapses, terminal disclaimers and statutory extensions have not been checked. The continuity chain may be incomplete; this is not an enforceability determination.

Classification8 codes

F24F 11/63
Characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values: electronic…
F24F 11/30
Control or safety arrangements: for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
F24F 11/89
Control or safety arrangements: arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
F24F 2110/00
Control inputs relating to air properties

Timeline

21 Jun 2013Priority claimedJP 2013-130316
19 Jun 2014Application filedUS 14/308,944
19 Jun 2014Assigned to Azbil Corporationassignment of assignor's interest
25 Dec 2014PublishedUS 2014/0374496 A1
26 Dec 2017GrantedUS 9,851,117 B2
12 Oct 2026TodayWithin its term
14 May 2036Term endsEstimated, includes 695 days of adjustment

Need identifying device, air-conditioning controlling system, need identifying method, and air-conditioning controlling method

Life of this patent

Need identifying device, air-conditioning controlling system, need identifying method, and air-conditioning controlling method

Life of this patent

Life of this patent

Abstract

Drawings

Drawings

Claims4

Description9,851 words

Drawings

Classification8 codes

Life of this patent

Description9,851 words