JP2016169925A - Indoor environment control device, indoor environment control method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an indoor environment control device, an indoor environment control method, and a computer program, capable of improving user amenity.SOLUTION: An indoor environment control device of an embodiment comprises: a comfort evaluation part; a state estimation part; an affinity evaluation part; a control target value determination part; and an equipment operation control part. The comfort evaluation part evaluates the comport which is a barometer indicating the comfort of a place where a user is positioned on the basis of user biological information and environment information which is a barometer determining an indoor environment state. The state estimation part estimates a user active state on the basis of the biological information and the environment information. The affinity evaluation part evaluates the affinity between the active state and control object equipment which is provided at the place where the user is positioned so as to change the indoor environment state. The control target value determination part determines a control target value of the control object equipment. The equipment operation control part controls the operation of the control object equipment in accordance with the control target value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an indoor environment control device, an indoor environment control method, and a computer program.

Conventionally, in controlling the temperature and humidity environment in a room, the user himself / herself determines the state in the room, and performs operations such as switching between air-conditioning operation and changing temperature settings. However, it is difficult to perform optimal air-conditioning control, and in many cases, excessive cooling or heating results in a loss of user comfort. Therefore, conventionally, there has been proposed a technique for controlling air conditioning so as to improve user comfort by using environmental information such as temperature and humidity and user's biological information.
However, since the specific technique of air conditioning control is not clear in the prior art, it is impossible to perform air conditioning control comfortable for the user. As a result, the user's comfort may not be improved.

JP 2014-159916 A JP 2005-128976 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an indoor environment control device, an indoor environment control method, and a computer program capable of improving user comfort.

  The indoor environment control device according to the embodiment includes a comfort evaluation unit, a state estimation unit, an affinity evaluation unit, a control target value determination unit, and a device operation control unit. The comfort evaluation unit evaluates comfort, which is an index representing the comfort of the place where the user is located, based on the user's biological information and environmental information serving as an index for determining the state of the indoor environment. The state estimation unit estimates the activity state of the user based on the biological information and the environment information. The affinity evaluation unit evaluates the affinity between the activity state and the control target device that changes the state of the indoor environment provided in a place where the user is located. The control target value determining unit determines a control target value of the control target device based on the evaluation result. The device operation control unit controls the operation of the device to be controlled according to the determined control target value.

The system configuration figure showing the system configuration of indoor environment control system 100 in an embodiment. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of an indoor environment control device 10 according to a first embodiment. The figure which shows the specific example of an affinity evaluation table. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the indoor environment control apparatus 10 concerning 1st Embodiment. The schematic block diagram showing the structure of the indoor environment control apparatus 10a concerning 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the indoor environment control apparatus 10a concerning 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram showing the structure of the indoor environment control apparatus 10b concerning 3rd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the indoor environment control apparatus 10b concerning 3rd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram showing the structure of the indoor environment control apparatus 10c concerning 4th Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the indoor environment control apparatus 10c concerning 4th Embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the control method by time division control.

Hereinafter, an indoor environment control device, an indoor environment control method, and a computer program according to embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a system configuration of an indoor environment control system 100 in the embodiment.
The indoor environment control system 100 includes an indoor environment control device 10.
The indoor environment control device 10 controls the indoor environment by controlling the control target devices 20 provided in the rooms 11-1 to 11-M (M is an integer of 2 or more) in the building. Here, the control target device 20 is a device that changes the indoor environment, such as an air conditioner, an air conditioner, a fan, a humidifier, a curtain, a blind, and a ventilation fan.

  In FIG. 1, a control target device 20, an image sensor 30-1, and a sensor 41 are provided in a room 11-1. Furthermore, one person 40 is located in the room 11-1. A living body sensor 42 is attached to the person 40. In FIG. 1, an image sensor 30-M and a sensor 41 are provided in a room 11-M. In the following description, the image sensors 30-1 to 30-M are described as the image sensor 30 when they are not distinguished.

The image sensor 30 images each room.
The sensor 41 acquires indoor environment information. The environmental information represents information serving as an index for determining the state of the indoor environment. Specific examples of the environmental information include temperature, humidity, wind speed, illuminance, oxygen content, carbon monoxide content, carbon dioxide content, and ventilation.
The biometric sensor 42 acquires human biometric information. The biological information is, for example, skin temperature, pulse, heartbeat, blood pressure, activity level, blood oxygen concentration, and the like.
The indoor environment control device 10 controls the control target device 20 based on information obtained from the image sensor 30, the sensor 41, and the biological sensor 42.
Hereinafter, each embodiment (1st Embodiment-4th Embodiment) of the indoor environment control apparatus 10 in the indoor environment control system 100 is described in detail.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the indoor environment control device 10 according to the first embodiment.
The indoor environment control device 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes an indoor environment control program. By executing the indoor environment control program, the indoor environment control device 10 causes the acquisition unit 101, the comfort evaluation unit 102, the state estimation unit 103, the indoor information storage unit 104, the evaluation data storage unit 105, the affinity evaluation unit 106, the control target. It functions as a device including the value calculation unit 107 and the device operation control unit 108. Note that all or a part of each function of the indoor environment control device 10 may be realized by using hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). Good. The indoor environment control program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is a storage device such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk built in the computer system. The indoor environment control program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

The acquisition unit 101 acquires various types of information. For example, the acquisition unit 101 acquires room imaging data from the image sensor 30. For example, the acquisition unit 101 acquires room environment information from the sensor 41. For example, the acquisition unit 101 acquires the biological information of a person from the biological sensor 42.
The comfort evaluation unit 102 evaluates the comfort of a person based on the acquired environment information and biometric information. Comfort is an index representing the comfort of a person. For example, the comfort evaluation unit 102 may evaluate the comfort by PMV (Predicted Mean Vote). A value representing comfort evaluated by this processing is referred to as a comfort value.

The state estimation unit 103 estimates the state of the target person based on the acquired environment information and biological information. Here, the state of a person represents a person's activity state, posture, health state, and the like. Specific examples of the state of a person include sleeping, taking a bath, cooking, television, and activities. The state classification and conditions may be set in advance or may be changed as appropriate.
The indoor information storage unit 104 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The room information storage unit 104 stores room information. The room information includes information about each room in the building such as a floor plan of the room in the building and devices installed in each room.

The evaluation data storage unit 105 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The evaluation data storage unit 105 stores an affinity evaluation table. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the affinity evaluation table.
In the affinity evaluation table, for each combination of the human state and the environment information, an affinity evaluation standard when the output of the index indicated by the environment information by the control target device 20 is changed is shown. The affinity evaluation evaluates whether it is appropriate to change the output of environmental information. In FIG. 3, + (plus) represents that the affinity is high, and-(minus) represents that the affinity is low. Here, high affinity means that it is appropriate to change the output of the index indicated by the environmental information with respect to the human state. On the other hand, low affinity means that it is not appropriate to change the output of the index indicated by the environmental information with respect to the human condition.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, the states “sleep”, “bath up”, “cooking”, “TV”, “exercise”, and indicators “temperature (position)” and “humidity (position)” indicated by environmental information. In each combination of “wind speed (position)”, “sunlight (position)”, and “ventilation (position)”, it is shown whether or not the affinity is high. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, when it is estimated that the person's state is “sleep”, it is evaluated that the control that strongly applies the wind is evaluated as having low affinity because the comfort is greatly reduced. Has been. In addition, the example shown in FIG. 3 shows that when it is estimated that the person's state is “sleep”, the control that strongly applies solar radiation is evaluated as having low affinity because it greatly reduces comfort. Has been. Information on affinity evaluation criteria in the affinity evaluation table is registered in advance. Note that the information on affinity evaluation criteria in the affinity evaluation table may be represented by a numerical value.

Returning to FIG. 2, the description of the configuration of the indoor environment control device 10 will be continued.
The affinity evaluation unit 106, based on the state of the person, the room information, the affinity evaluation table, and the position information, in the room where the person indicated by the position information is located, the state of the person and the control target device The affinity with 20 output changes is evaluated. In this case, the affinity evaluation unit 106 determines whether the control target device 20 can be controlled based on the room information as the affinity evaluation. For example, in a room without a device (humidifier) that changes humidity, the humidity cannot be changed. Therefore, the affinity evaluation unit 106 determines that control is not possible, and evaluates the change in humidity in the room as having low affinity.

The control target value calculation unit 107 calculates a control target value that maximizes the evaluation value using the comfort value, the target temperature, the evaluation result by the affinity evaluation unit 106, and the evaluation function.
The device operation control unit 108 controls the operation of the device based on the control target value calculated by the control target value calculation unit 107.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the indoor environment control device 10 according to the first embodiment.
The acquisition unit 101 acquires environment information (step S101). The acquisition unit 101 outputs the acquired environment information to the comfort evaluation unit 102 and the state estimation unit 103. Moreover, the acquisition part 101 acquires biometric information (step S102). At this time, the acquisition unit 101 acquires image data of each room from the image sensor 30. The acquisition unit 101 outputs the acquired biological information to the comfort evaluation unit 102 and the state estimation unit 103.

  The comfort evaluation part 102 evaluates comfort based on environmental information and biometric information (step S103). The state estimation unit 103 estimates the state of the person based on the environment information and the biological information (Step S104). The control target value calculation unit 107 determines a weighting coefficient for each term in the evaluation function (step S105). Specifically, the control target value calculation unit 107 determines the weighting coefficient for each term based on the operation mode. For example, if the term of the evaluation function is composed of PMV improvement level, immediate effect (time until control effect appears), energy consumption, affinity (control is appropriate for the target person), the operation mode is For example, emphasis on comfort, rapidity, and energy conservation are possible. Therefore, when energy saving emphasis is selected, the weighting coefficient (for example, γ) for the energy consumption term is set to the weighting coefficient (for example, α, The value is larger than (β, δ). Thus, the weighting factor may be a predetermined value or may be dynamically changed. The operation mode may be input at the start of the process in FIG. 4 or may be set in advance. The affinity evaluation unit 106 evaluates the affinity according to the place where the person is located and the state of the person (step S106).

The control target value calculation unit 107 determines each value in the evaluation function (step S107). Specifically, the control target value calculation unit 107 determines values such as the degree of PMV improvement, immediate effectiveness, and energy consumption in the evaluation function. The degree of PMV improvement is calculated using a function having a positive correlation with the PMV improvement. The immediate effect is calculated by using a function having a positive correlation with the time until the effect of the control is shortened. The energy consumption is calculated using a function having a positive correlation with the decrease in energy consumption.
Thereafter, the control target value calculation unit 107 calculates a control target value that maximizes the evaluation value by using the following first evaluation function (step S108).

(First evaluation function)
Evaluation value = α · PMV improvement f () + β · immediate effect g () + γ · energy consumption h () + ζ · affinity i ()
Here, each value of α, β, γ, and ζ represents a weighting coefficient. Note that a heuristic optimization method such as a genetic algorithm may be used to calculate the combination of control target values. The device operation control unit 108 controls the control target device 20 based on the calculated control target value (step S109).

According to the indoor environment control device 10 configured as described above, user comfort can be improved. Hereinafter, this effect will be described in detail.
Specifically, the indoor environment control device 10 evaluates the comfort of the user at the location from the environment information at the location where the user is located and the biological information of the user. Next, the indoor environment control device 10 estimates the operation state of the user and evaluates the operation state and the affinity at the place where the user is located. And the indoor environment control apparatus 10 calculates the control target value from which an evaluation value becomes the maximum using an evaluation function, and controls operation | movement of the control object apparatus 20 according to the calculated control target value. Therefore, the indoor environment of the place where the user is located can be controlled in view of the user's comfort and the affinity according to the place and the state. Therefore, it is possible to improve user comfort.

(Second Embodiment)
In the second embodiment, the indoor environment control device 10a authenticates a person located in the house. Then, the indoor environment control device 10a evaluates the comfort according to the authentication result. Thereafter, the indoor environment control device 10a learns the parameters of each person.
FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the indoor environment control device 10a according to the second embodiment.
The indoor environment control device 10a includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes an indoor environment control program. By executing the indoor environment control program, the indoor environment control device 10a causes the acquisition unit 101, the comfort evaluation unit 102a, the state estimation unit 103, the indoor information storage unit 104, the evaluation data storage unit 105, the affinity evaluation unit 106, the control target. It functions as an apparatus including a value calculation unit 107, a device operation control unit 108, an authentication unit 109, and a parameter learning unit 110. Note that all or part of the functions of the indoor environment control device 10a may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The indoor environment control program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. The indoor environment control program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

  The indoor environment control device 10a is different from the indoor environment control device 10 in that it includes a comfort evaluation unit 102a instead of the comfort evaluation unit 102, and additionally includes an authentication unit 109 and a parameter learning unit 110. The indoor environment control device 10a is the same as the indoor environment control device 10 in other configurations. Therefore, description of the entire indoor environment control device 10a is omitted, and the comfort evaluation unit 102a, the authentication unit 109, and the parameter learning unit 110 will be described.

The authentication unit 109 performs user authentication. User authentication is performed based on biometric information acquired by the acquisition unit 101. For example, the authentication unit 109 authenticates the user using a heartbeat, blood pressure, pulse wave, and the like. When the object of authentication is a resident of a house, candidates are limited. Therefore, the accuracy of authentication by the authentication unit 109 is improved.
The parameter learning unit 110 learns, for each user, parameters used for comfort evaluation based on parameters including biological information and environment information used for comfort evaluation. Here, the parameter may include a value of a weighting factor for each term of the evaluation function.
The comfort evaluation unit 102a evaluates the comfort of the person based on the authentication result of the authentication unit 109. Specifically, the comfort evaluation unit 102a evaluates comfort for the authenticated user by using the parameters learned by the parameter learning unit 110 and the acquired biological information and environment information. On the other hand, for users who have not been authenticated, the comfort evaluation unit 102a evaluates comfort using the biological information and environment information acquired by the acquisition unit 101.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the indoor environment control device 10a according to the second embodiment. In addition, about the process similar to FIG. 4, the code | symbol similar to FIG. 4 is attached | subjected in FIG. 6, and description is abbreviate | omitted.
When the processing up to step S102 is executed, the authentication unit 109 performs authentication based on the acquired biometric information (step S201). The authentication unit 109 determines whether authentication has been performed (step S202). When the authentication is performed (step S202—YES), the authentication unit 109 outputs a message indicating that the authentication has been performed to the comfort evaluation unit 102a. In this case, the comfort evaluation unit 102a uses the parameters of the authenticated person learned by the parameter learning unit 110, and the biometric information and the environment information acquired in the processes of steps S101 and S102, to improve the comfort. Is evaluated (step S203).
On the other hand, when the authentication is not performed (step S202—NO), the authentication unit 109 outputs to the comfort evaluation unit 102a that the authentication has not been performed. In this case, the comfort evaluation unit 102a evaluates the comfort using the environment information and the biological information acquired in the processes of steps S101 and S102 (step S204). Thereafter, the processing from step S103 to step S109 is executed. Thereafter, the parameter learning unit 110 learns the evaluation result according to the control in accordance with the input of the target person (step S205). For example, in the case of PMV, if the subject person feels cold even though the PMV is controlled to be comfortable, the current state is cold when calculating the PMV. The parameters are learned so as to be calculated as follows.

According to the indoor environment control device 10a configured as described above, it is possible to perform control with improved comfort as compared with the first embodiment. Hereinafter, this effect will be described in detail.
Specifically, the indoor environment control device 10a authenticates who is biometric information by personal authentication. As a result of the authentication, if it is known who the biometric information is, it is possible to adjust the calculation formula used when evaluating the value indicating comfort according to the individual. For example, when PMV is used as a value indicating comfort, the indoor environment control device 10a adjusts the parameters in the formula used when calculating the PMV according to the user's operation according to the individual. Then, the indoor environment control device 10a reads the adjusted parameters and evaluates the comfort. This makes it possible to perform control with improved comfort.
Further, as described above, the indoor environment control device 10a performs personal authentication using the biometric information, and learns the control result according to the individual when receiving the user evaluation and evaluating the comfort according to the individual. This can improve comfort by reflecting different feelings for each individual.

(Third embodiment)
The first embodiment and the second embodiment assume a case where the target person is one person in the building. On the other hand, the third embodiment is an embodiment assuming a case where there are a plurality of target persons in a building. Details will be described below.
FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the indoor environment control device 10b according to the third embodiment.
The indoor environment control device 10b includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes an indoor environment control program. By executing the indoor environment control program, the indoor environment control device 10b causes the acquisition unit 101, the comfort evaluation unit 102, the state estimation unit 103, the indoor information storage unit 104, the evaluation data storage unit 105, the affinity evaluation unit 106, the control target. It functions as a device including a value calculation unit 107b, a device operation control unit 108, and a priority setting unit 111. Note that all or part of the functions of the indoor environment control device 10b may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The indoor environment control program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. The indoor environment control program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

  The indoor environment control device 10b is different from the indoor environment control device 10 in that a control target value calculation unit 107b is provided instead of the control target value calculation unit 107 and a priority setting unit 111 is newly provided. The indoor environment control device 10b is the same as the indoor environment control device 10 in other configurations. Therefore, the description of the entire indoor environment control device 10b is omitted, and the control target value calculation unit 107b and the priority setting unit 111 will be described.

  The priority setting unit 111 sets the priority of a person according to a predetermined condition. As the predetermined condition, for example, child priority, action priority, etc. can be considered. The priority setting unit 111 sets the priority of the child higher than the priority of the adult when the child priority is given as the predetermined condition. In addition, when priority is given to behavior as a predetermined condition, the priority setting unit 111 sets the priority of a person performing an action related to the behavior of the person such as sleep or cooking to another state (for example, after taking a bath). Set higher than priority.

  The control target value calculation unit 107b sets the control target value that maximizes the total evaluation value weighted to the evaluation value of a plurality of persons using the evaluation function and the evaluation result of the comfort value, the target temperature, the affinity evaluation unit 106, and the evaluation function. calculate.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the indoor environment control device 10b according to the third embodiment. In addition, about the process similar to FIG. 4, the code | symbol similar to FIG. 4 is attached | subjected in FIG. 8, and description is abbreviate | omitted. Further, a case will be described as an example where the priority of the person is already set at the start of the processing of FIG.
When the processing up to step S102 is executed, the acquisition unit 101 determines whether biometric information for the number of people in the house has been acquired (step S301). This determination may be made by determining in advance that the number of people in the house has been input to the indoor environment control device 10, or the acquisition unit 101 may detect the biological sensor 42 to make the determination.

When the biometric information for the number of persons is not acquired (step S301—NO), the acquisition unit 101 repeatedly executes the process of step S102 until the biometric information for the number of persons is acquired.
On the other hand, when biometric information for the number of persons is acquired (step S301—YES), the acquisition unit 101 outputs the acquired biometric information, environment information, and image data to the comfort evaluation unit 102 and the state estimation unit 103.

  Thereafter, the comfort evaluation unit 102 and the state estimation unit 103 select one piece of biological information and environmental information from the output biological information and environmental information (step S302). The biometric information and environment information selected here are information acquired in the same room. The comfort evaluation unit 102 and the state estimation unit 103 select the same biological information and environment information. The comfort evaluation unit 102 evaluates comfort based on the selected biological information and environment information (step S103). The state estimation unit 103 estimates a person's state based on the selected environment information and biological information (step S104). Thereafter, when the processing from step S105 to step S107 is executed, the control target value calculation unit 107a determines whether or not the values in the evaluation function have been calculated for the number of people (step S303). Note that the control target value calculation unit 107a may determine the value of the weighting factor for each person in the process of step S105, or may determine the weighting factor of all persons to be the same value.

When the values in the evaluation function are not calculated for the number of people (step S303—NO), the processing after step S302 is executed.
On the other hand, when the value in the evaluation function is calculated for the number of people (step S303—YES), the control target value calculation unit 107a uses the following second evaluation function to weight based on the set priority. A control target value that maximizes the total evaluation value is calculated (step S304). Note that the control target value calculation unit 107a may take an average value of the control target values when different control target values exist in the same room. Further, the control target value calculation unit 107a may calculate the control target value by multiplying the control target value by a weighting factor based on the user priority.

(Second evaluation function)
Evaluation value Person 1 = α1 × PMV improvement f1 () + β1 × immediate effect g1 () + γ1 × energy consumption h1 () + ζ1 × affinity i1 ()
Evaluation value Person 2 = α2 × PMV improvement f2 () + β2 × immediate effect g2 () + γ2 × consumed energy h2 () + ζ2 × affinity i2 ()
...
Evaluation value Person n = αn × PMV improvement fn () + βn × immediate effect gn () + γn × consumed energy hn () + ζn × affinity in ()
Total evaluation value = A × Evaluation value person 1 + B × Evaluation value person 2+... + N × Evaluation value person n

  Here, each value of α, β, γ, ζ, A, B, and N represents a weighting coefficient. Note that the weighting factors of A, B, and N are weighting factors obtained based on the priority set by the priority setting unit 111.

According to the indoor environment control device 10b configured as described above, it is possible to improve user comfort even when there are a plurality of persons in the house. Hereinafter, this effect will be described in detail.
Specifically, for each user, the indoor environment control device 10b evaluates the comfort of the user at the location from the environment information at the location where the user is located and the biological information of the user. Next, for each user, the indoor environment control device 10b estimates the operation state of the user and evaluates the operation state and the affinity at the location where the user is located. And the indoor environment control apparatus 10b calculates a control target value based on a user priority, and controls operation | movement of the control object apparatus 20 according to the calculated control target value. Thereby, it becomes possible to control in consideration of values and health conditions in each home, and it is possible to further improve comfort.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the indoor environment control device 10c according to the fourth embodiment.
The indoor environment control device 10c includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes an indoor environment control program. By executing the indoor environment control program, the indoor environment control device 10c causes the acquisition unit 101, the comfort evaluation unit 102a, the state estimation unit 103, the indoor information storage unit 104, the evaluation data storage unit 105, the affinity evaluation unit 106, the control target. It functions as an apparatus including a value calculation unit 107c, a device operation control unit 108, an authentication unit 109, a parameter learning unit 110, and a priority setting unit 111. All or some of the functions of the indoor environment control device 10c may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The indoor environment control program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. The indoor environment control program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

  The indoor environment control device 10c is different from the indoor environment control device 10a in that a control target value calculation unit 107c is provided instead of the control target value calculation unit 107 and a priority setting unit 111 is newly provided. The indoor environment control device 10c is the same as the indoor environment control device 10a in other configurations. Therefore, description of the entire indoor environment control device 10c is omitted, and the control target value calculation unit 107c and the priority setting unit 111 will be described.

The priority setting unit 111 sets the priority of the person according to a predetermined condition. For example, the priority setting unit 111 sets priorities under the same conditions as in the third embodiment.
The control target value calculation unit 107c calculates a control target value that maximizes the total evaluation value weighted to the evaluation value of a plurality of persons using the evaluation value and the evaluation result of the comfort value, the target temperature, the affinity evaluation unit 106, and the evaluation function. calculate.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of the indoor environment control device 10c according to the fourth embodiment. In addition, about the process similar to FIG. 6, the code | symbol similar to FIG. 6 is attached | subjected in FIG. 10, and description is abbreviate | omitted.
When the processing up to step S102 is executed, the acquisition unit 101 determines whether biometric information for the number of people in the house has been acquired (step S401). When the biometric information for the number of persons is not acquired (step S401—NO), the acquisition unit 101 repeatedly executes the process of step S102 until the biometric information for the number of persons is acquired.

  On the other hand, when the biometric information for the number of persons is acquired (step S401—YES), the acquisition unit 101 outputs the acquired biometric information, environment information, and image data to the comfort evaluation unit 102, the state estimation unit 103, and the authentication unit 109. .

  Thereafter, the authentication unit 109 selects one piece of biological information and environmental information from the output biological information and environmental information (step S402). The biometric information and environment information selected here are information acquired in the same room. Then, the authentication unit 109 performs authentication based on the selected biological information. Thereafter, processing from step S203 or step S204 to step S107 is executed according to the authentication result.

The control target value calculation unit 107c determines whether or not the values in the evaluation function have been calculated for the number of people (step S403). When the value in the evaluation function is not calculated for the number of people (step S403-NO), the processing after step S402 is executed.
On the other hand, when the values in the evaluation function are calculated for the number of persons (step S403—YES), the control target value calculation unit 107c uses the following second evaluation function to weight based on the set priority. A control target value that maximizes the total evaluation value is calculated (step S404). Since the control target value calculation method performed by the control target value calculation unit 107c is the same as that in the third embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

According to the indoor environment control device 10c configured as described above, it is possible to perform control with improved comfort as compared with the third embodiment even when there are a plurality of persons in the house. . Hereinafter, this effect will be described in detail.
Specifically, the indoor environment control device 10c authenticates who is biometric information for each user through personal authentication. As a result of the authentication, if it is known who the biometric information is, the calculation formula used when evaluating the value indicating comfort can be adjusted according to the individual. Then, the indoor environment control device 10c evaluates the comfort by reading the adjusted parameters for the authenticated user. This makes it possible to perform control with improved comfort.
Further, as described above, the indoor environment control device 10c performs personal authentication using the biological information, and learns parameters for evaluating the comfort by accepting user evaluation for the control result according to the individual. This can improve comfort by reflecting different feelings for each individual.

Hereinafter, modifications common to the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment will be described.
As described above, when different control target values exist in the same room, the indoor environment control devices 10b and 10c may adjust the control content by time-sharing control.
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a control method based on time-sharing control. In FIG. 11, a case where there are two persons will be described as an example for simplification of description.
When different control target values exist in the same room, the indoor environment control devices 10b and 10c perform the control of the person A and the control of the person B according to the priority as shown in FIG. In this example, the control is performed so as to improve the comfort of the person A during the time from the time t0 to the time t1, and the control is performed so as to improve the comfort of the person B during the time from the time t1 to the time t2. Is done.

A modification common to the above embodiments will be described.
The control target value calculation unit may be configured to determine the control target value by a method other than the calculation based on the evaluation result.

A common effect in each of the above embodiments will be described.
In each of the above embodiments, the biosensor 42 that directly installs a sensor on a person is used to acquire the biometric information of the person. Therefore, the estimation accuracy can be improved as compared with the method of estimating biological information such as activity amount using a conventional infrared sensor. Further, position information indicating where the person is in the house is acquired using the image sensor 30 installed in the house. Therefore, the position detection accuracy in a house can be improved as compared with an infrared sensor, a wireless access point, GPS (Global Positioning System), or the like.

  According to at least one embodiment described above, a comfort evaluation unit 102 that evaluates comfort, which is an index representing the comfort of a place where a person is located, based on the user's biological information and environmental information; Based on the state estimation unit 103 that estimates the activity state of the person based on the biological information and the environment information, the affinity evaluation unit 106 that evaluates the affinity between the activity state and the control target device 20, and the evaluation result Then, a control target value determination unit (control target value calculation unit 107 in the embodiment) that determines the control target value of the control target device 20, and a device that controls the operation of the control target device according to the determined control target value By having the operation control unit 108, user comfort can be improved.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Indoor environment control apparatus, 20 ... Control object apparatus, 30 (30-1-30-M) ... Image sensor, 41 ... Sensor, 42 ... Biosensor, 101 ... Acquisition part, 102, 102a ... Comfort evaluation part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 103 ... State estimation part, 104 ... Room information storage part, 105 ... Evaluation data storage part, 106 ... Affinity evaluation part, 107, 107b, 107c ... Control target value calculation part, 108 ... Equipment operation control part, 109 ... Authentication part , 110 ... parameter learning unit, 111 ... priority setting unit

Claims (10)

A comfort evaluation unit that evaluates comfort, which is an index representing the comfort of a place where the user is located, based on the biological information of the user and environmental information that is an index for determining the state of the indoor environment;
A state estimation unit that estimates an activity state of the user based on the biological information and the environment information;
An affinity evaluation unit that evaluates the affinity between the activity state and the control target device that changes the state of the indoor environment provided in a place where the user is located;
Based on the evaluation result, a control target value determining unit that determines a control target value of the control target device;
In accordance with the determined control target value, a device operation control unit that controls the operation of the device to be controlled,
An indoor environment control device.   The indoor environment control device according to claim 1, wherein the affinity evaluation unit evaluates the affinity based on whether or not it is appropriate to change the state of the indoor environment by the control target device.   The affinity evaluation unit evaluates that the affinity is high when it is appropriate to change the state of the indoor environment by the control target device from the activity state, and the indoor environment by the control target device from the activity state. The indoor environment control device according to claim 2, wherein the affinity is evaluated to be low when it is not appropriate to change the state of the indoor environment.   4. The indoor environment control device according to claim 1, wherein the control target value determination unit determines the control target value that maximizes the evaluation value, using a first evaluation function. 5. An authentication unit for authenticating the user;
For each user, a parameter learning unit that learns parameters used for the comfort evaluation based on parameters including the biological information and the environment information used for the comfort evaluation;
Further comprising
The comfort evaluation unit evaluates the comfort using the biometric information and the environment information included in the parameters learned by the parameter learning unit for the authenticated user, and the authentication The indoor environment control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the comfort is evaluated using the biological information and the environment information acquired from the user for a user who has not been performed. .   The indoor environment control device according to claim 5, wherein the authentication unit determines whether authentication is performed using the biometric information.   The room according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the parameter learning unit receives the user's evaluation in an indoor environment after being controlled by the device operation control unit, and performs the learning with reference to the received evaluation result. Environmental control device. The comfort evaluation unit evaluates the comfort for each user based on biological information of a plurality of users and environmental information of a place where each user is located,
The state estimation unit estimates the activity state for each user,
The affinity evaluation unit evaluates the affinity for each user,
The said control target value determination part determines the said control target value which maximizes the total evaluation value which totaled the evaluation value for every said user using a 2nd evaluation function, The any one of Claim 1 to 7 The indoor environment control device according to Item. A comfort evaluation step for evaluating comfort, which is an index representing the comfort of a place where the user is located, based on the biological information of the user and environmental information serving as an index for determining the state of the indoor environment;
A state estimation step of estimating an activity state of the user based on the biological information and the environment information;
An affinity evaluation step for evaluating an affinity between the activity state and a control target device that changes a state of the indoor environment provided in a place where the user is located;
Based on the evaluation result, a control target value determining step for determining a control target value of the control target device;
A device operation control step for controlling the operation of the device to be controlled in accordance with the determined control target value;
An indoor environment control method. A comfort evaluation step for evaluating comfort, which is an index representing the comfort of a place where the user is located, based on the biological information of the user and environmental information serving as an index for determining the state of the indoor environment;
A state estimation step of estimating an activity state of the user based on the biological information and the environment information;
An affinity evaluation step for evaluating an affinity between the activity state and a control target device that changes a state of the indoor environment provided in a place where the user is located;
Based on the evaluation result, a control target value determining step for determining a control target value of the control target device;
A device operation control step for controlling the operation of the device to be controlled in accordance with the determined control target value;
A computer program for causing a computer to execute.

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